For the past few months I’ve used Duotrope to track my fiction submissions to various markets. Previously I was using Google Sheets, with different sections of one large spreadsheet to track stories and submissions, markets, and responses. The sheet worked great for a long time, but once I had over twenty stories, hundreds of responses from publishers, and dozens of markets to track, the spreadsheet solution became unwieldy. I started to miss things, and in one cases submitted a story twice to the same publisher. I also started to submit fewer stories, simply because of the difficulty in using the spreadsheet. Time for a new solution!
Author: J.D. Moyer Page 25 of 104
J.D. Moyer is a science fiction author and electronic music producer from Oakland, California.
Front gates of Avignon
Almost exactly two weeks ago, I was at the Oakland Airport with my family, about to board a flight to Paris. We were all checked in.
I heard the Norwegian Air staff call my daughter’s name. Always the optimist, my first thought was that maybe they were going to upgrade her to first class (a weird random thought, but that’s what popped into my head). Unfortunately, there turned out to be an issue with her passport, which expired on October 5th.
The Fountain of Youth by Lucas Cranach the Elder
My interest in anti-aging goes back as long as my interest in health and nutrition, but in the past year or so I’ve done a deep dive into the topic. I’ve just turned fifty, and I’d very much like to live at least another half-century. I have long lists of things I’d like to both accomplish and experience, and I’ll need time to do that. I became a father on the later side, so I’d like to be around for my daughter’s adulthood. And for the most part, on most days, I greatly enjoy being alive. Why end the party early?
A 1970’s artist depiction of a ringstation (from https://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/70sArt/art.html).
Becoming a published science fiction author was a jubilant moment for me, and I coasted on that high for a long time.
But of course everything that goes up must come down. I’ve found my mood and attitude regarding my nascent writing career to be significantly less jubilant now that I’ve struggled with the problem of how to sell more books.
I’m fascinated by how one aspect of an author’s writing process can influence others. Brian Pinkerton writes first drafts by hand, which is probably why he doesn’t do any revisions until his first draft is complete. He maps out his novels using note cards, which is something I’ve always wanted to do but I never seem to have enough table space.
Word Craft is a deep dive into writer’s methods and practices. Please welcome Brian Pinkerton, author of The Gemini Experiment!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR – BRIAN PINKERTON
Brian Pinkerton deep in plotting mode.
Tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to become a writer.
I’ve always been fascinated by stories and storytelling. My earliest aspirations were to be a cartoonist and book writer. I wrote my first novel when I was very young. I enacted the entire plot with the Fisher Price Little People Village and then wrote it all down as quickly as I could remember it. I still have that manuscript somewhere. It was written on lined, three-hole-punch paper. The pages were tied together with string.