In Other News

My freelance writing career has begun gaining traction in recent weeks.  The short story I mentioned in my last post was submitted as an entry in the everywritersresource.com Halloween short story contest, and I am pleased to announce it won first prize!  I now have $1,000 worth of ad space that I really don't have any use for!  Since their primary audience is writers and publishers I wouldn't get much freelance business, which is the only thing I have to promote right now.  I've entered several writing contests this year with substantial cash prizes, carefully crafting compelling tales that haven't received so much as an honorable mention.  Now that I've finally won, with 150 words I farted out in 15 minutes, I feel like I've gotten $1,000 in Monopoly money.  The universe is constantly finding new ways to screw with me.

Maybe I shouldn't complain.  I could publish a collection of all my failed short stories in an ebook and advertise that.  Everybody knows ebooks are gold mines; Fifty Shades of Grey started out as an ebook and now it's one of the most successful novels in the history of forever.  That happens all the time, right?

I have also begun writing for a comedy website called Absrd News.  It's like the Onion only without the fame and acclaim.  I have my own author's page and everything.  You can check it out here: http://www.absrdcomedy.com/author/danaschellings/

Now I have to get back to my latest writing project.  It's a little more complicated in the sense that I have to do a lot of research and verify all the facts.  It's very dull and time-consuming.  No wonder journalists don't do it anymore.