It seems that my distress over working on potentially unmarketable novellas might have been a bit premature. I won't go into the specific details - I can't - but suffice to say, all may not be lost.

Once I finish the cowboy story and send it off, I'll start working on the detailed outline of the steampunk novel, as I'd intended. However, I'll also start working on the outlines for three stand-alone steampunk novellas, set in my old hometown of Tacoma a couple of years before the start of the Klondike gold rush (which started in 1897). I plan on writing the first novella by sometime in mid-January 07. What happens after that is... I can't say. I'm not holding my breath. Then again, that's almost beside the point. I'm very excited about all of these projects - for the first time since starting Clarion, I'm excited about writing again. That's pretty important, to say the least.

And, if for some reason all of this is for naught, then I think what I'll do is post the first novella on this website. Posting on a personal blog or website, contrary to popular belief, does not constitute publishing, so it won't jeopardize the future of the novella or the trilogy as a whole. And if reading the first novella piques someone's (as in publisher or agent) interest enough to want to see more, then that's good. At least people will be able to read something I've written - besides a bunch of angsty writing posts, that is. :)

Labels: tacoma steampunk