Book contract and other stuff

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I've signed a book contract with a Finnish academic publisher. The book should be out later this year. Sadly it's not for a novel nor a medical textbook, but it's a subject pretty close to my heart (which I'll reveal in a few months). Also, the publisher is possibly interested in publishing the next Finnish version of my CFS/ME/fibromyalgia treatment book, which would of course be great. In general I believe I will probably be writing other books for them. Writing books - especially in Finnish - is not something to get rich with, but I think there are worse ways to spend your time. I still plan to write novel #6 this year. It might be NaNoWriMo or it might not. I promised myself I'll never do NaNo again unless a) I do it in English (about 1/3 less work) or b) I'm in a better shape. Now I seem to be in a better shape thanks to inosine, but who knows how I'll be come November.

In other good news, I'll be traveling to the Netherlands tomorrow. It's great to be going home - I just hope our housesitter won't kill off too many of our 75+ plants. Sadly it's not yet permanent, but hopefully we will move there later this year. It mostly depends on whether my boyfriend can find a job there. He has already started applying. It's funny - when I was finishing Reviving the Broken Marionette I was also moving house at the same time. Not a good idea and probably a prime reason why my adrenal insufficiency soon later got much worse. I swore to never do it again. Now I might be moving to another country while finishing a book. Heh. Hope the move won't happen until slightly later.

The summer has been pretty decent. My Italian BFF fogbank was here for ten days and we did all kinds of fun stuff, like going to our summer cabin. Sadly I haven't been able to go to any forest parties yet. A few park parties but nothing special. Reclaim the Streets was great as always, although it probably triggered my median tibial syndrome (shin splints), which is a complication of my adrenal insufficiency and will probably never heal as long as I have that (read: for at least many more years). I've finished quite a lot of artworks recently: two ASCII pictures (for Evoke and Buenzli), a digital painting and a pixel picture (for Assembly) and two mixed media pieces (collage sculpture and ASCII art/traditional art mixed media) which will hopefully be accepted into the exhibition at Altparty. How have I got so productive? Well, deadlines help a lot with that...

Now that over half of the year is already gone, let's take a look at the plans I jotted down at the end of last year.

  • learning Dutch Uh, working on this. I started studying a few months ago, but had to keep a pause and considering the neurological problems I have, I have already forgotten most of what I learned. I do wish I'd have had the chance to study more before this trip.
    • finishing my sociomedical essay collection Kind of working on this. At least in thinking... Haven't got much writing done. Have to get it done by the end of the year - the project was started in 2004, after all.
      • a new awesome writing job (in the negotiation phases) Got this, though it hasn't yielded as much work as I wished. However, it seems I didn't get another, much more awesome job, even though they were very impressed with my application (especially my versatility) and the interview went well.
        • get CFS/ME articles published in Finland Still working on this... If I get the contract for my CFS/ME/FM book it would greatly improve my chances.
          • paid photography gigs (bands, decoration etc) Not yet, though I've had some band photos published in the Qstock magazine (as far as I know, still haven't got my copy). Was hoping to start doing wedding photography this summer, but the worsening adrenal insufficiency made it necessary to cancel this plan. Would have paid very well. :-|
            • self-publishing the English version of my novel #4 Done.
              • writing novel #6 Plans are underway and I've already done quite a bit of research.
                • financial independency (one can always dream?) Well, I've earned enough money for that in two months this year. Better than nothing.
                  • getting a publication deal for novel #5 (-"-) Still waiting to hear from about 20 publishers.
                    • traveling to Great Britain Had to cancel this plan. Hopefully next year. I may be speaking at the LDN conference in Scotland next spring.
                      • moving to the Netherlands Working on this.


                      New plans:

                      • getting a book contract for the next Finnish version of my CFS/ME/FM book
                        • more medical copywriting assignments Did two in the spring and while it is a bit like wh*ring, it pays well, is interesting and offers a good match to my skills and experience
                          • finish a few dozen poems I haven't actually finished a non-haiku poem for years, but I have almost 50 poem ideas drafted up. Just have to refigure out how to write poetry, like I've been trying to do for a few years. Or alternatively, I'll just have to publish a DYI poem anthology...
                            • avoid the swine flu Might sound like a joke, but I'm serious. Even the ordinary flu is life-threatening to me due to my immune deficiencies, adrenal insufficiency and other problems, so I'd rather not experience H1N1. Hopefully Siberian ginseng and plentiful doses of vitamin D will keep me safe.

                              P.S. 18 people in my DA poll said that they'd consider buying The Atlas Moth and 10 said "it depends on what it's about". However, I haven't sold that many copies yet, so maybe you should consider it again if you're among those people! ;->

                              Current works

                              Works in progress
                              • three haiku
                                • plans for novel #6
                                  • my sociomedical essay series
                                    • a few poems


                                    Works finished but not yet submitted
                                    • an ASCII/mixed media piece
                                      • a collage sculpture
                                        • two scifi drabbles
                                          • a typographic picture
                                            • 55-word fiction
                                              • five ASCII pictures
                                                • some fractals
                                                  • an acrylic painting
                                                    • a digital painting
                                                      • three pixel pictures
                                                        • a whole bunch of photos


                                                        Works I wish to start in the near future
                                                        • some poems
                                                          • novel #6
                                                            • some crafts
                                                              • henna tattooing
                                                                • molding clay sculpture


                                                                Non-art/DA TODO (inconclusive)
© 2009 - 2024 diamondie
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Djoseph's avatar
Djoseph
:thumbsup:

You are an inspiration to us all!