End of the Story Match Challenge—Moving Forward

Well, my Story Match Challenge finished on the 2nd August. It wasn’t the greatest of finishes, but I can’t complain. I learned a lot, even if I didn’t manage to complete the 28 stories I was aiming for. I managed 10 new tales, completely finished. With a bunch of stories unfinished, a pile of editing to catch up on, and five titles still in the publishing queue, I think my next challenge is pretty clear.

I think I’ll call it the Back on Track Challenge. The aim is to be back on track by the end of the year. I’ve broken the tasks down into sections and given each title a tentative publishing date. It’s a pretty scary list, and doesn’t include everything I’ve started, but it helps put things into perspective and give a priority work order.

At the moment, I’m defining ‘back on track’ as having everything ready that has a publication date of February 2016 or earlier. The good thing is that this will give me a clear idea of what I can do while at university and what I can do when I don’t have university. The bad thing is that I probably haven’t included everything I need to do, or I’ve overlooked including something on the list that should be in my word calculations, and that I will have trouble succeeding because of it.

So, calculating on 2,000 words a day of publishable writing, this is what I’m aiming at for. The cover design, editing, formatting and uploading will have to be fitted in around the rest AND I still have to keep up with family and university commitments. It’s a pretty big ask.

I will only blog when I hit a milestone, such as completing one of the following tasks, but I will do the usual blogs for new covers and releases. I also need to catch up and keep on top of the art blog. So, a lot to do, and I’m probably aiming too high, again, but we’ll see how it goes.

Design covers for, edit, format, and upload the following:

YANovel26—Pyrie (August 2015)

ShortStory474—Hammer and the Trolls (August 2015)

SciFanNovel1A—Freeman’s Choice (September 2015)

ShortStory479—Miss Delight’s Mistake (September 2015)

Annual25A—C.M. Simpson: Short Stories and Poems from 2014, Vol. 1: (October 2015)

ShortStory480—Tischa’s Rescue (October 2015)

Annual25B—C.M. Simpson: Short Stories and Poems from 2014, Vol. 2: (November 2015)

ShortStory481—Melerom Joins the Dance (November 2015)

Annual25C—C.M. Simpson: Short Stories and Poems from 2014, Vol. 3: (December 2015)

ShortStory487—Autumnal Threat (December 2015)

ShortStory488—In Service to the Pinnacle (January 2016)

ShortStory489—Earth and Lunar Dreaming (February 2016)

ShortStory492—The Taleteller’s Slumber (March 2016)

ShortStory493—A Legacy of Elves (April 2016)

ShortStory501—The Heights of Winter (May 2016)

Finish

Annual27—366 Days of Poetry (December 2015)

Annual28—366 Days of Flash Fiction (January 2016)

Annual1—365 Days of Zombies (April 2016)

ShortStory495—The Plain Magician (May 2016)

Annual26A—C.M. Simpson: Short Stories and Poems from 2015, Vol.1 (June 2016)

Annual26B—C.M. Simpson: Short Stories and Poems from 2015, Vol. 2 (June 2016)

Annual26C—C.M. Simpson: Short Stories and Poems from 2015, Vol. 3 (June 2016)

ShortStory61—Seppelitus (June 2016)

New Writing

Chapbook5E—Rocky and the Spacefarer’s Christmas (December 2015)

Chapbook5B—Rocky and the Great Teddybear Rescue (January 2016)

DarkFantasy2B—The Priestess, the Prince and the Dragon’s Children (January 2016)

RomanceNovel1B—Nadine’s Story (January 2016)

Chapbook5C—Rocky Rides the Space Range (February 2016)

YANovel9A—Andromeda’s Pledge (February 2016)

RomanceNovel14B—Sonia’s Story (February 2016)

Chapbook5D—Rocky Touches Down (March 2016)

YANovel1A—Trollbridge Summer (March 2016)

Chapbook14I—Legacy of Hope (April 2016)

Chapbook14J—Legacy of Hearts (May 2016)

Chapbook3B—The Ribbondrake Mountains (June 2016)

Chapbook3C—The Ribbondrake Riders (July 2016)