MEMES MAKE SICK LEE FEEL... NO, NOT BETTER, ACTUALLY

Ugh. Home sick. Need distraction. Or sleep. Find meme at groundbyground. Do that instead.

Pro-writer career path meme.

Current Status as of this morning:

Short Stories: One The Possession of Mister Snopes. In line-edit phase for about a yera now, will probably remain that way for anywhere up to another year while I concentrate on novels.

Novels: Napoleone's Land-- finished, awaiting courage to tackle agent-requested rewrites I've been avoidiong for months. The Corpse-Rat King-- 65K through first draft. The Last Death of Vaz Tey-- 5K through first draft, awaiting me to throw it all out and start again. Public Savants-- 40K thorugh third draft, 30K of which will be discarded when I start it all again. Genuine expectations of being somewhere around finished with at least 3 of these by end of 2009.

Age when I decided I wanted to be a writer: 18

Age when I wrote my first story: Outside of a class project? 16

Age when I got my hands on a typewriter: 18. A massive, clunky old Imperial 80 manual typewrite that I still miss, even if only out of a sense of nostalgia.

Age when I first submitted a short story to a magazine: 18

Thickness of file of rejection slips prior to first story sale: Very few. I quickly gave up and move on to other things. When I returned to writing fiction, I made my first sale after only a few attempts. Maybe a dozen rejections in total?

Age when I sold my first short story: 30. The Divergence Tree to Orb, followed half an hour later by Carrying The God to Writers Of The Future.

Age when I killed my first market: 31. Whispers From The Shattered Forum.

Approximate number of short stories/novelettes/novellas sold for copies (small press): 2

Approximate number of short stories/novelettes/novellas sold for cash money: Cash? None. Money? Plenty.

Age when I first sold a poem: 19. I sold several poems before my first short story.

Age when I wrote my first novel/book: Finished Napoleone's Land at 36.

Age when I sold a first novel: Not yet.

Awards won: 1 Aurealis Award, 1 Australian Shadows, 1 Ditmar. 3rd place, Writers of the Future, 2nd quarter, 2001.

Age when a work was first shortlisted for a Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy or Stoker award: Not in this lifetime.

Age when I became a full-time writer: 34. Age at which I admitted defeat and went back to a full time day job, 36. Age by which I want to be a full time writer again, 45.

Age now: 38
Now I need a lie down.