Back to the Grind

I sent off 8 more short story/flash fiction submissions this past week. Already got one rejection with some detailed personal feedback, which is always preferable to the customary generic form letter. I typically like to keep a few dozen active submissions out there, but with all the distractions surrounding the novel launch, I only have 16 more, outside of the new 8. Plenty of magazines (and anthology calls) take a few months to get back to you, so it's easy to keep a good number of active subs going. One never knows what can happen when stories are "out there" in the world.

I've been thinking that it's time to retire a few stories. Put them out to pasture, so to speak. Possibly up to 10 stories, some of which I've received positive feedback on, and recently. A few have placed first in writing forum contests, and I like them very much, but some of these unsold stories are over 2 years old, and I'm simply a different writer now than I was back then.

A couple months ago, I received an acceptance for a story I truly believed in (Thaw - spec-fic horror). It had been rejected nearly 30 times before it finally found a home (print release in Spring 2026). For context, I usually receive 10-12 rejections before a good piece gets published.

So, I've wondered if these other stories might have a similar chance. Now I am thinking, no, they do not. They're a bit too niche, and aren't up to my current standards in the way that Thaw was, and is.

And so, I feel that it's time to write some new flash and short stories - always in my wheelhouse of SFFH of course. I'm hoping some forum prompts will get those creative juices flowing again until I'm ready to commit to the next "big" project. Will that be self-publishing my second novel, or will that be a soft relaunch of Chester and the Sex Robot vs the Woke Mind Virus? Depends. I've got a serious, hard sci-fi book in my back pocket as well. And I'd LOVE to write a Sex Robot sequel if the sales would only compel me to.

Current focus is on the shorts. Let's see how she goes for a bit.