The amateur

Bewildering stories will be publishing my short story "Snow Globe" next week. It will be my 72nd story published since June 2003. It will be my 11th this year, which matches the total number of stories I had published in 2011. If I get one more story published this year, I will have set a new record of an even dozen in one calendar year. I'm pretty sure I will do that, thanks to a story scheduled in the winter edition of 4 Star Stories. I have another three stories pending publication elsewhere.

This year I've had stories published from up to eight cents a word to zilch per sale. I don't think that's common, but I suppose it highlights the fact that I write for the enjoyment and don't think much about the money - at least from this source. I'm fortunate because I like my day job, and unlike many fiction writers, I would rather do that than write fiction. So although on the basis of my publications and earnings I'm considered a professional genre writer, I really see myself as an amateur.