You Win Some, You Lose Some

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The life of a freelancer is filled with times of feast or famine, or things dropping out of the clear blue with no warning whatsoever.On Monday, I got contacted by an editor I had never worked with. He had a media license and all his initial pitches had been rejected by the licensee. Said licensee was looking for something that used fresh characters and stories, not sequels to what had already been seen by fans. The publisher was up against a hard deadline and needed something approved this week.It just so happened that I had a half-baked notion for a story for that particular license rattling in the back of my head so it took no time at all to put together three paragraphs – about two paragraphs more than I was told was necessary to get a rush provisional approval.If the licensee liked it, I’d have an assignment with work due by October 15. I really wanted this and figured I’d somehow find a way to fit it in with existing freelance commitments, my sub committee schedule and my day job.Yesterday, though, I heard back. The licensee didn’t reject my story, but wound up picking something else. The editor liked the notion well enough to hang on to it for a subsequent publishing opportunity.Oh well. Easy come, easy go.Also this week, I heard back from the editor of the media tie-in comic book I had written over the summer. Turns out they liked the story but decided to turn it into more of a special so could I add six pages? That and address some story points that I admittedly rushed to fit the page count. No problem. Got that done and turned in today.Michael A. Burstein and I have cleared our decks to begin working on ideas for the sequel to our forthcoming Analog story, “Things That Aren’t” and this time I’m looking forward to being in on this from the beginning.It’s nice to have a manageable number of projects to work with. Certainly helps fill the time and keep the freelance muscles flexed.

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