Good call

I took He Kindly Stopped To Me to the writer’s group and they loved it. Since the last two markets I sent it to were “Good, but …” and “It just went on and on and on.” this was very encouraging (and closer to the general tenor of the responses).
Plus a guy from the locally based magazine Hennen’s Observer stopped by and mentioned that they’re a paying market for fiction. I have a question about their submittal process, but once it’s answered, I look forward to submitting.
And I finally took the plunge and bought a Writer’s Market. The past few years I’ve found it more cost-effective to just browse it in the store, but the bookstores are much further away here, and if I really want to start submitting magazine queries on a regular basis, this is the smart thing to do.
In short, a good night.
A so-so week, though—sleep has been dreadful for various reasons, slowing me down to the point I’ve been able to finish my eHows but not much short-story work. Plus I gave blood Tuesday which took up a chunk of time. But I know my sleep center will reassert itself eventually.
Despite the sluggishness, I feel strangely wired to get more done (though not this week)—more queries, more shorts, more submissions, more novels. I know better than to push myself too far (that never works for me, trust me), but maybe I can amp up my productivity this fall.