A Week in the Life of a Part-Time Author

Merry Christmas

Much has happened this week. I received my first two rejection letters, I guess technically, it was two weeks ago when I traveled for work. First ClarkesWorld and then Asimov’s. That means that Immortal of the Saltless Sea will be self-published. The target date for release is the end of March 2025. I hope people like it. I plan on offering it for free in exchange for people signing up for my newsletter. Those who have already signed up will get it as soon as it is released. Many of you have already seen it in various drafts. I’ve received nothing but positive feedback on the story. It will be an eBook-only release, and its cover work has been commissioned this week.

I added an option to subscribe to my journey. The form is straightforward and on the front page of my website. This is the gateway to all things M.B. Everett. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the uptake. I set a goal for one new subscriber per week. I think I received twenty and one or two people I’ve never met. I remember that, early in Brandon Sanderson’s career, he did a great job keeping in touch with his readers, and I hope to follow that pattern. I hope to get my first Member’s Only newsletter out for those who have subscribed next week. In it, I’ll include a couple of samples from my Works in Process. If you want to see it, you have a week to sign up to receive the first edition. I promise never to share my mailing list with another soul. However, I may introduce new authors I’ve met in my newsletter, read their works, and recommend you check them out. I am informed that this is a standard industry practice. If you check them out and give them your email address for their freebies, that is up to you.

My first Instagram ad went up this week and was swatted down for reasons that baffle me. I named The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien, and NBC in my post. I guess that isn’t allowed. I didn’t fight it, but I don’t think I did anything untoward. Please let me know if you saw the post and where I went afoul of the law.

Two weeks ago, my real job’s boss returned from leave, and my work life became more manageable to write part-time. So, I’ve committed to being more present to my social media audience and to writing more regularly.

I’ve been taking some online courses by John Mathew Fox—BookFox Academy. One of the modules outlines writing habits. I’ve incorporated many of the things from this, and in a little over a week, the results are promising. The one I’ll highlight is writing in sprints. Every morning, every day, I write for twenty-five minutes without distraction (no internet, no eating, no getting up and going to the bathroom), and then I take a five-minute break. I repeat the twenty-five-minute sprint, followed by another break and a final sprint. My writing has been more focused, and the first submission to my in-person critique group was well-received

If you dip your toes in the Fantasy Fiction world, you know that Brandon Sanderson released the last of the first half of the Stormlight Archives last week. I’ve not read (I’ve not even purchased) it yet. I’ve been trying to avoid spoilers on the internet. I’ll probably start it next.

I’m currently reading The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie. It took a while to get going, but I’m starting to get into it. It has been out a while. If you’ve read it, let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I also recently finished The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay. That was very, very good. The man is probably the best writer in the genre in terms of literary skill. It isn’t high fantasy by any means, but it has more of a historical fiction with a light fantasy touch. Regardless, the character work and story arcs were fabulous.

Thank you to all who read this. Please interact with me on social media or my blog. I want to turn this into a two-way conversation. At the very least, a ‘like’ doesn’t cost anything, and feel free to recommend me to others. If this whole writing thing is to work, I’ll need more than family and friends to be engaged.

M.B. Everett