Year Nine of this enterprise has now drawn to a close, and this is my annual review of progress. Last year I was able to report a gradual shift in emphasis from short form to long, as single-author volumes became more of a practical proposition, and I have spent considerable time this year in pursuit of this goal.
Crimson Blade took much longer to deliver than expected, but went to Hiraeth at the end of October and is due at press any day now as I write this. The Remarkable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Volume 1 was released by Belanger Books earlier this year, and Volume 2 has now been delivered, along with Of Old Gods and Dreamlands, my H P Lovecraft anthology. In progress at this time, is Sherlock Holmes: Ravensgate for release in 2025, and Tales of the Middle Stars Volume 1, to appear with Jay Henge Publishing in Sweden also during the coming calendar year.
The bulk of this work has been tackled in the last six months, which says something about current productivity levels. I also could not have done it without the amazing input of Jen Downes, my editor and companion in creative efforts. We have co-written some stories this year, and have more collaborations to come.
Now for the raw data:
In the last nine years, I’ve made 3295 submissions (176 in the last twelve months, a marked decline from the 270 last year, which was itself well reduced from the previous year). I have 266 placements (12.39:1 submission/acceptance ratio, up from 12.78:1 last year, which was up from 14.53:1 the year before that, which bettered 15.11:1 in the previous year). Over five consecutive years this ratio has tightened down, suggesting that while overall numbers are not high, I am more efficiently targeting my work to markets that really want it.
With the shift toward single author volumes I have had less time and inclination to blanket the short story market with submissions, so my total number of submissions active at any one time has fallen. I have averaged forty-something active submissions logged at Submission Grinder during the year (32 at this point, including some old ones that must be dead by now—I have periodic clear-outs), sometimes as high as fifty, sometimes thirty-something.
These figures also indicate 2861 rejections or other null-responses (that tells you how slow things have been in the last year, a surprisingly small increase on the previous total), giving an overall rejection/acceptance ratio since 2016 of 10.75:1—improved for the fifth year running (2023: 11.65:1, 2022: 13.18:1; 2021: 13.52:1; 2020: 14.27:1).
During 2024 I made 180 submissions, almost a hundred less than the previous year, which was itself way down on the year before. This alone is a good indicator of my shift in emphasis. I had 21 acceptances, my second-poorest year in terms of total numbers since the very beginning. My submission : rejection ratio was 8.57:1, slightly poorer than last year’s 7.23:1. So, although total numbers were low, I was targeting material quite effectively, and my mystery writing was an almost 100% acceptance result.
Things seem to have been slow on a day to day basis, and that’s reflected in the figures. An average of 17.38 days elapsed between acceptances in the year, almost twice as long as last year (which had many more acceptances). Again, this is a function of the shift away from concentrating on short stories, which have by and large attracted disappointing pay scales. I recently scored a pro publication, and if I could do that more often things would be different, but it constitutes a statistical outlier at this point.
I completed 23 new stories in 2024, 15 of which were Sherlock Holmes pieces, almost all of which went directly into print with either Belangers or MX, or were written to complete The Remarkable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Volume II. I produced 42, 040 words of science fiction, fantasy and other genres, while my Sherlock Holmes short stories total 159, 200 words, for a grand total of 201, 240 words produced during the year. This is a markedly greater output than either of the two previous years, and does not count novel work.
At the end of 2023 I expected to write some eight Sherlock Holmes stories in the coming year, and in fact almost doubled that figure. I will make no firm predictions this year, but write to the markets as they present themselves.
As mentioned above, my second title with Belanger Books, The Remarkable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was released not long after midyear, and I have already delivered the second volume, for release when schedules permit in 2025. The third volume of the series is over half complete at this time, as are two other Holmesian anthologies. I am approaching 50, 000 words on my second Sherlock Holmes novel at this time, also scheduled for publication during 2025. My next volume coming up for release should be Of Old Gods and Dreamlands, my H P Lovecraft collection.
I have recently put together a list of projected work over the next three years, including projects for my established group of small presses but also embracing a number aiming into the professional arena. I have a novel near completion which I would be happy to offer out for agency representation, and another project to begin with which I could sound out local publishers on a non-agented basis. These are all ‘test-the-water’ ventures, and success in any particular area will shape the way things move from that point.
My total accepted wordcount now stands at 1, 390, 888 words, not counting novel length projects.
That’s it from the statistician for another year. 365 days from now will mark ten years since I decided to take the writing game for a spin, and I hope to have new milestones to report by that point, including extra small press releases plus, I sincerely hope, agency representation to the professional marketplace, with pro contracts in the offing.
Cheers from South Australia,
Mike Adamson
Header image royalty free from Unsplash, Aaron Burden photo
