2022 Roundup
Hello fellow travellers in the sphere of chaos! It’s been a
long time since we last spoke, and – much like meeting relatives at a wedding
party – I’m here to give a roundup of recent(ish) events. It’s been a mixed
year of highs and lows, and I think that cocktail is quite important to endure
and for others (especially writers, given my occupations) to recognise that it's not all unicorn poo and rainbow dust, so here’s the dirt
and the diggidy:
AGENTS
Con: In January, just before my birthday, my then-agent
dropped me. I gotta admit, it was pretty devastating and felt like a major step
backwards in my career. Finding an agent is usually a long and arduous process
full of rejection (I was rejected 70 times before landing an agent) but I guess
that’s the way the cookie sometimes crumbles. And my, what stinking crumble it
was.
Pro: Not long after being dropped, I was fortunate enough to
find a wonderful new agent in Caro Clarke at Portobello Literary. Caro has really
championed my writing, is really supportive and offers great feedback. They
also did a lot of hard work to get my book into editors’ hands. Good things
happened, but as of this moment I’m still waiting to sign on dotted lines, so I
shouldn’t say too much (but come on, you can put 2 and 3 together, you maths
whizzes).
WRITING PROJECTS
Con: I wrote no poems this year. I think the poetry well has
been dry because of the pandemic (it’s too big, I have to write poems about
small things… or weird things in outer space). I hope it will return some day! I
did, however, write a novel this year, but it was a real struggle (more than any
other I’ve written, in some respects). I felt it wasn’t coming together well enough,
and maybe it’d be for the scrap heap. That happens now and again, but with all
the time invested in a novel it’s a bummer. However…
Pro: Many edits later and it’s much improved. My agent,
Caro, seemed to really like it so there’s hope for the poor thing yet! It’s
easy to get downhearted by early drafts, but (as I like to tell mature students)
editing is like sculpting a pile of crap into a statuette (made, potentially,
of crap).
BOOKS/SALES
Con: It’s been a slow year publication-wise, as I published no
books. Compared with publishing my epic fantasy trilogy over one year in 2020/21,
it was a bit daunting not to know when the next advance might be coming my way.
The whole traditional publishing industry seemed to move at a glacial rate, and
when you’re living on book sales it’s a worry.
Pro: Despite no big publications in 2022, I do have a
novella coming out in 2023 and at least another novel due in 2024. My “Beast Realms”
series sales have slowed, but I’m still getting welcome chunks of money each
quarter.
AWARDS, JOBS ETC
Con: I applied for quite a few things this year, including
three or four jobs. I got one of the jobs (see below). That’s not a total loss though, as working a regular
job would detract from my writing time, and mostly I love writing each day. I
also missed out on a residency in South Korea, and a few other little
residencies. But I’m too long in the tooth now to get overly bothered by
failure. Welcome to writing!
Pro: I was lucky enough to get funding from Creative
Scotland to help me edit a novel I’m currently working on. The money was hugely
useful and allowed me the time to work on things. I also became a writer in
residence at a primary school in Stirling, where I’ll be looking at “improving
the future” with the kids next year. After losing a lot of work during the
pandemic, it’s nice to be somewhat in demand again.
SHORELINE OF INFINITY
Con: Mark Toner and Noel Chidwick (the two founders of the magazine,
who I’ve worked with since issue 1) have stepped back from the magazine and
almost everything that involves. They’ll be very missed in the Shoreline
engine.
Pro: But we also have new team members who are wonderful and
will bring a lot of new, different energy to Shoreline of Infinity. We also
gained Creative Scotland funding for our magazine and events, which is
fantastic as it means we can pay everybody for their work and contributions!
Here’s hoping we are equally as successful next year. We’ve put on 4 or 5 great
events, and published 4 magazines this year. No small feat.
PERSONAL
Con: I won’t lie, this has been a hard year. I spent the
latter half of it feeling very anxious, primarily because I learned to drive
and had a right old mare of a time with my instructor. I think the pandemic
also affected me more than I realised, and found that even some simple things
(which I wouldn’t blink at in the past) became difficult. It’s been one of the
hardest years of my life to date, but there’s been lots to like as well…
Pros: I went to Greece and (finally, after cancelling multiple
times since 2019) Florida. Okay, we were hit by a major hurricane, but it was
still a lot of fun. I passed my driving test and (whilst I still don’t like
driving) am now taking Pass Plus lessons to build my confidence. I also feel I
reconnected with my dad a bit more, as he was great during the driving kafuffle
– he came to Edinburgh and took me around in my car, so I could re-take my test
(after my nightmare instructor abandoned me), as well as taking my dogs into
his home when we went to Florida (and our dog sitter cancelled just a few weeks
before we flew out). I managed to see my sister, her wife and kids too, which is a rare treat. I’ve also seen more of my friends in Edinburgh, which is
really important to me – I’ve missed them, and hope they stick around!
THAT’S ABOUT IT
Yep, I think that’s about it. As you can probably see, it’s
not been an entirely jolly time, but maybe the bad bits help us to appreciate
the good bits. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger and all that, right? I
feel like I should be Superman by new year.
I hope you’re all doing well out there in Internet Land.
Peace, all!
