Annual Reconciliation

In January every year since I started writing professionally, I put together my productivity statistics for the previous twelve months. Besides giving perspective to the business of my writing, it helps me decide where I want to focus my efforts for the coming year. 2024 seemed a very positive and reaffirming year for my writing and I had to look at the cold hard numbers to see if that feeling was correct. It was.
Disclaimer: I do not compare these stats to anyone else or to any “standard” that might be proposed by others. This is just for my own analysis and motivation.
Books:
Death in the Cards
After an unfortunate series of events, the publisher of my occult novella Death in the Cards (Sept 2023) sadly closed for business. My contract was already expired and I owned the rights, so I had a difficult decision to make – either take it out of print permanently or try to find a publisher that would re-publish the book under its own catalog. Most publishers don’t want to want to touch that situation with a forty foot pole. I canceled my association with the first publisher, announced that the book was out of print, and pondered my choices. At least I had some author copies that I could sell on my own.
Over the next few months, I had several conversations with the new owner of the defunct press. Her intention was to rename, rebrand, and revitalize the publishing company with no ties to its former identity or staff. After getting to know her better, I was impressed with her integrity and sincerity. She suggested that her new publishing company would be willing to republish Death under her new brand.
I pondered that for a few days. I didn’t want to close down Death and take it out of print after only a few months on the shelves. I believed it was a good book that had a good amount of appeal and salability left in it. I let her know, and she was delighted. Death in the Cards will be available again in 2025 with Twisted Dreams Press.
In addition, I’ve had subsequent discussions with Twisted Dreams Press about another horror novel The One in the Noose. We haven’t signed a contract yet, but the book has been accepted for a future publication.
Haunted in Paradise
I signed a contract with Grendel Press in January 2024 to publish my supernatural mystery novel, Haunted in Paradise. Originally planned for release in the fall, delays at the publisher have pushed back that date. The manuscript is now with an editor from the publisher and I believe we will be moving forward from that point soon.
I anticipate that Haunted in Paradise will be released in 2025.
Lady, Will You Hear Me?
This is the second book in my series True Ghost Stories, and I self-published it on Draft2Digital. If you’ve read my previous Substack posts, you’ll know the details of that journey. This paranormal non-fiction, quasi-memoir, book follows my personal experience with the spirit world.
When the previous plans for publication of my books during the year never materialized, I decided this was a viable option. I finalized the completed manuscript and moved forward with publication. Lady, Will You Hear Me? was released in July 2024.
Short Stories:
During 2024, as in previous years since 2020, I submitted short stories to various submission calls from anthologies as well as literary and genre magazines. Statistics as follows:
Total Submissions 171
Anthologies 14
Magazines 155
Podcasts 2
Total Acceptances 10 – 5.8%
Anthologies 5
Magazines 3
Podcasts 2
I’m happy to note that all these publications paid me for my work. While the total was not significant, it’s an indication that my work is valued. The competition for short story publication is fierce, to put it mildly. There are an incredible number of magazines and publishers who pay their contributors nothing, and consider payment is “Exposure” for their work.
I’ve decided this situation is unfair and unacceptable to me. In past years, my choice of where to submit was mixed. This year, however, I made it a point not to submit to those publishers. I understand that publishing is a highly competitive industry. What path others take is up to them, but I chose not to participate. This may have impacted the number of stories I had accepted, but I knew that going in. When payment is involved, obviously the stakes, and the competition, are higher.
What’s coming in 2025
Look for my books, Death in the Cards and Haunted in Paradise, and perhaps The One in the Noose. I’m planning to release a third book in the True Ghost Story series, tentatively titled I am Somebody, the Struggle of a Woman in the Victorian Era.
Watch for my short stories published in anthologies and magazines. I had my first acceptance of 2025 this month with a publishing date in March in parABnormal Magazine.
You can stay up to date with new releases on my website www.susanerogers.com
What’s next?
Publishing with a publisher.
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