Switching to writing more fiction
I spent last year writing non fiction – this year, that is going to change. Writing fiction is deeply satisfying and after a day of it, there’s a sense of a day well spent. I do a lot of ghostwriting and if I spend the day writing about bitcoin or leadership techniques then see it posted in someone else’s name, it feels somewhat lacking when it comes to job satisfaction. Whiny of me, I know. I write about the pros and cons of ghostwriting here.
I’m not being ungrateful, (well, maybe a bit,) as it pays the bills and I have achieved my childhood dream of working in my pants in bed. I do also enjoy writing my websites, nerdy stuff like science fiction, and cool stuff like gadgets and classic literature.
I have written some self-published fiction and non-fiction and thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, it hasn’t paid the bills. When I first published The Uneven Passage of Time (three time-based short stories), I was selling a few books a day. Now… not so much. The key is momentum. Probably.
The plan is to share the fiction journey – everything from pitching to magazines, trying out platforms like Simily, and self publishing generally.
I mention all this to prepare regular readers for some self promotion down the line. But I will also be writing about how well it is all going. I know what I am doing with journalism and non fiction, so this will be a journey that I will share. With a bit of luck, it will help others trying to do the same thing.
I almost got published in Analog magazine recently and ended up getting rejected with a personal email from the editor. Which was encouraging and gutting at the same time. I will try and get something in a magazine and see the process. I have paid for Duotrope for ages, so might as well use it. There is also a new platform called Simily that is supposed to be a bit like Medium but for fiction. I read about it on Medium, so maybe there is something in it.
Writing about it here also acts as a psychological spur, self-encouragement to do it. I read that somewhere. Say it in public and if you fail, you look a bit of twat. I think that was how they put it.
Anyway, hopefully it will be fun, I can quit the day job, and work in my pants in bed doing something else. That’s the dream.
In the spirit of the above – check out my books!
