Chopping Wood

Albert Einstein once said, “People love chopping wood. In this activity one immediately sees results.”

Writing is not like chopping wood. One spends months, often years, working on a manuscript. Most of the work is solitary, and much of the time is spent revising. In the end (especially if you’re a “beginner”), the next phase is months, often years, spent writing query letters, sending off excerpts and synopses, waiting to hear back from agents, then waiting to hear from publishers.

Waiting, waiting, waiting. So much time spent waiting.

Now there is another thing to wait for, another “magical date”: January 15.

My writing was deemed “eligible” by the Amazon Higher Powers. As one of the official 5000, I must wait until sometime before January 15, when Amazon announces the 1,000 Semi Finalists.

I suppose I’ll get back to work on the next manuscript.

Published by Valya

Valya Dudycz Lupescu is the author of Mother Christmas, The Silence of Trees, Forking Good, and Geek Parenting. She is also the editor of Embroidered Worlds: Fantastic Fiction from Ukraine and the Diaspora, published in 2023 by Atthis Arts. Valya earned her MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work has been published in The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Ukrainian American Poets Respond, Kenyon Review, Strange Horizons, Mythic Delirium, and others. Valya has been making magic with words and food for 25 years, incorporating traditions from her Ukrainian heritage with practices that honor the Earth.

3 thoughts on “Chopping Wood”

  1. Shauna says:

    I wish you the best of luck! As a fellow writer, I know what you mean about the long process of writing. And, having read the sample pieces of your book, I can’t wait for it to get published so that I can read the whole thing!

  2. Mark says:

    Good Luck

  3. Sandy says:

    I just read the excerpts of your book & it’s too short. I can’t wait to read the whole book soon! GOOD LUCK in the contest. I sure you’ll make top 10 & then #1.

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