Friday, December 5, 2008

Cate made me do it!

Cate over at the poisoned Apple did this first and it looked like fun. Mine won' t be near as impressive as hers but I thought, "what the hell." So here it goes:

Age when I decided I wanted to be a writer: 13

Age when I wrote my first story: 13. Although I didn't write anything good until I was 17-18.

Age when I first submitted a short story to a magazine: 21, although I had a short story published in the Omaha World herald when I was 18 that my high school English teacher submitted for me. I have no idea what it was called but it was a vampire type story.

Age when I sold my first short story: 33. It was to Pen Pricks Micro Fiction.

Total number of submissions: hundreds.

Total acceptances: 10

Thickness of file of rejection slips prior to first story sale: about an inch or so.

Approximate number of short stories/novelettes/novellas sold for cash money: 2.

Poems sold: LOL! Even my poetry professor in college cringed when I had to write the stuff.

Age when I started writing my first novel: 33

Age when I started writing my first completed novel: 33

Age I finished that novel: 33

Age I started my second novel: 34

Age I finished my second novel: 34

Age when I sold a first novel: Ha!

Total number of novels written (discounting duds): 3 (2 thriller, 1 YA)

Books sold: 0 (yet)

Books in the process of querying: 0

Short stories in the slush: 13

Short stories written this year: 25

Age when I became a full-time novelist: 36.

Age now: 34 years 9 months and 21 days.

11 comments:

Cate Gardner said...

Ooh, you started really, really young. I want to be one of those people who say 'I always wanted to be a writer and sold my stories for pennies when I was 2'.

Jamie Eyberg said...

My old college roommate and I wrote the entire Stephan King's Children's collection (Furious George, The little chainsaw that could- you get the picture) but decided that they were too close to the books they were meant to spoof so we never tried to find a market for them. He is a good illustrator too.

Cate Gardner said...

My schoolfriend and I wrote really, really bad songs :/)

Jeremy D Brooks said...

I have a friend who was in a band called Furious George in the mid-90s...he sang in this grunting/screaming fashion like his tongue was swollen and he was yelling about how upset that made him, and would (literally) vomit on stage some nights.

Jamie Eyberg said...

gross. I got spit on by Marylin Manson once. I wasn't impressed.

Fox Lee said...

Tempting : )

Jeremy D Brooks said...

Yeah, happy to say he's older now and his current band play music sans bodily fluids.

I saw Manson once about 9 years ago--he stood on stage and peed on the front fow of the crowd. Anyone who would do that to their fans doesn't deserve to have any fans, no matter how shocking your alter ego is supposed to be.

Aaron Polson said...

I wish I had an alter ego. Not a "pee in the crowd" type, but just a cool guy that folks would want to have a beer with.

Suzanne Casamento said...

You're very brave to fill that out. I think answering those questions might hurl me into depression.

I love the way you answered that the age you became a full time novelist is 36 and that you're only 34. It's all about the vision.

Jamie Eyberg said...

Welcome to the post Suzanne. Thanks for reading

Carrie Harris said...

I saw Marilyn Manson once too. He did something else in front of the crowd. I'm still scarred.