[process] A writerly meme
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A writerly meme, gleaned from a locked post elsewhere but provided here unlocked. In case you thought this was a quick or easy career path…
- Age when I decided I wanted to be a writer: 14
- Age when I got my hands on a typewriter and taught myself to use it: 14
- Age when I wrote my first short story: 14
- Age when I wrote my first novel: 30
- Novels written between age 30 and age 39: 4
- Age when I first submitted a short story to a magazine: 27
- Number of rejections prior to first story sale: About 150
- Lifetime number of rejections: Over 1,100
- Age when I sold my first short story: 37
- Age when I wrote a saleable novel: 39
- Age when I sold that novel: 40
- Novels written since age 40: 8
- Age when a story was first shortlisted for the Hugo award: 39
- Age when I won the Campbell award: 40
- Age now: 44
- Age when the money coming in exceeded my statuory employment: not yet
- Number of books sold: 8 (novels), 2 (single title novellas), 5 (short story collections), 12 (anthologies edited or co-edited)
- Number of short stories sold: about 240
- Number of titles in print: 4 (novels), 4 (short story collections), 10 (anthologies)
- Number of titles in production or pre-production: 4 (novels), 2 (single title novellas), 1 (short story collection), 2 (anthologies)
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You have short little fingers now, don’t you?
Amazing and humbling stats, Mr. Lake.
Some fellow aspirants and I are pondering this post with solemnity.
Thanks for the perspective, Jay. Now I don’t feel quite so bad…that is to say, I *still* feel bad sometimes about my progress or lack thereof in the Quality Lit. game…just not as much now after reading the above.