I started off this blog with the idea that I’d do a post on how to improve your odds of getting accepted to Factor Four Magazine. But then I got to thinking, that’s no way to start of 2018. Instead I thought I’d get a short post going about things to expect in 2018. The positives this year is going to bring. And hopefully not curse myself along way.
First off is the elephant in the room. Today I finished selecting the stories for Issue 1 of Factor Four Magazine. I read nearly 600 stories to get to the point of accepting just 16. There was a lot of good fiction in that reading queue. I must admit I was overwhelmed by the task at first. It took only 6 weeks to hit 600 submissions and the speed only seems to be picking up. To top that off, I really had trouble getting down to just a few stories to select. Even the short list was hard to whittle down to these final 16. Once contracts are signed, the Factor Four Magazine Twitter account will be announcing the authors selected. April 2018 is the release of Issue 1. The next task in contracts, and cover art selection.
I have two short fiction stories of my own coming out this year. I haven’t got a date yet on either. The first will be released in Mind Candy Vol. 1, this was my first pro-rate sale. The other will be read on The Centropic Oracle. I can’t wait to hear a story of mine read aloud. I have a couple other short fiction pieces that I haven’t sold yet. I’ll be looking for a home for those this year also.
The urge to write is strong, the time to write is not there. Work has be crazy. But I am also the only reader for Factor Four Magazine. All that being said, I am making a goal to get Book 3 of The Serenity Saga out this year. I am also still toying around with another Volition Agent novel and possible sequel to Broken Trust. I have a fourth novel idea that will likely work on a stand alone basis. But the first priority is to continue Christina Serenity’s story.
2018 is the year of conventions for me. I am looking to speak at a few again. My longtime followers know that I loved speaking at DetCon1. I’ve applied to speak at SpoCon and plan to apply at OryCon. I may even apply to talk at VCon in Vancouver. I plan to attend WorldCon in San Jose and Norwescon in Seattle as well, but I was too late to apply to talk at either of those. I’ve created an “appearances” page on my website. If you are going to any of these conventions, I’d love to say hello. I’d also like to say how great it is to have so many Science Fiction Conventions locally.
Many of you may know that I really love the Washington State Parks system. Unfortunately I didn’t get to many of the state parks in 2017. This year I hope to spend some weekends out exploring nature again. The exercise is great, but the calm and peacefulness of nature is a great clearing of the mind.
I’d also like to take a vacation of some type again this year. I took my family to Disneyland last year, it was the first time for my kids. My wife and I hadn’t been since 2004. I love that place. I didn’t want to leave. I don’t think I’ll get to Disneyland in 2018, but I’d like to take the kids on another memorable vacation. Life is worth more to me than just working. That’s why I made it a point to start publishing again, and I also want to make it a priority to enjoy the time with my family while the kids are young.
The last one is that I’ve made it a point to get back to being financially stable. It did pretty well until the end of the year. So this year I am making more of a point of creating a savings account. It seems counterproductive to launch a magazine and plan a lot of trips. But I have a financial road-map that I’ve made and it seems to be working out well.
So that is my plan for 2018. We shall see how it all plays out. But it sounds like I have a busy year ahead of me.