Ellen suggested the reason the other day: waiting for other people to get around to things.
Right now, I’m somewhat depressed, partly due to another short story rejection (but I submitted two others, one to the same mag, one to Analog). And I just finished complete edits on my two completed next novels. But…
I’m now holding off on looking for an agent for the next story that I’m trying to sell, because…
I’m waiting for my rights reversion letter from the now-shuttered Ring of Fire Press – my 11,000 Years was certainly not in the 1632 universe, and the contract specified that. However, there are over 200 authors published by RoF Press or the Grantville Gazette. RoF Press was putting out a book a week, which no small press I’ve ever heard of did. And from what I’ve read, a “volunteer” is dealing with the rights reversion letters.
And I’m waiting to see if Toni Weidskopf, chief editor of Baen, who is personally looking into “rehoming” at least some of us at Baen directly (RoF Press books were sold through Baen) is going to take my novel.
But I can’t sign a contract until I get the rights reversion letter.
And I don’t want to try to sell my next novel, Becoming Terran, which is in the same universe as 11,000 Years, but runs from about 55 years from now to 95 years from now, about 75 years before 11,000 Years starts, because if Baen takes the first novel, I *need* to offer this to them as well, because there’s a good chance they’d take that, too.
So it’s a line of dominoes… and I’m waiting for a) the volunteer and b) Toni, and as the writer, have to just sit here and stew.
Hm. Are authors allowed to put up tasters for their unpublished stuff? Or does that generate risk of not landing publication?
I’ve been looking into that. It looks like under 5%, and I’m considering just a few pages. I also just bought a new mike, and if that works out, I may record a reading.