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
