Trying something new

So this week, I finally faced up to the fact that I can’t maintain an eHow writing schedule fast enough to leave time for magazine queries of any sort. And I do want some queries out there—eHow’s good, but it never hurts to have more irons in the fire.
My solution: Cut back my fiction-writing time to 12 hours a week (which isn’t really a cut—it’s what I was doing when I worked at The Log) and devote five hours to queries and other nuts-and-bolts stuff (like keeping my books balanced). That comes to a total 42 hours a week, which feels positively sybaritic compared to my old schedule (counting my reporting for The Log, 55 hours a week was the minimum). Seriously, I find myself almost uncomfortable in the evenings when I realize my time is my own (well, it’s TYG’s too, but you know what I mean).
Today was the first query sessions. It went … so-so. Did get one off, but I spent far too much time distracted—not surprising, since I’m looking at multiple query topics, so I can’t really focus on one thing and one alone. But I went through that when I was getting back into short stories after finishing Screen Enemies of the American Way, so I know I’ll improve.
On a more dour note, I do wonder if it’s worth the effort. My magazine freelance has been very hit or miss over the years; I’ve sold to some major markets (Newsweek, Air & Space, Boys’ Life) and had others tell me they’d love it if I could find an idea that interested them. But I never quite reached the point where nonfiction was a significant and dependable part of my income, or where the occasional reversals (a magazine goes under, an editor who likes my stuff quits) were easy to overcome.
And I’ve had a hell of a lot of stories written, submitted and then rejected. Which is perfectly legitimate on the editors’ part, of course, but it’s a huge waste of time on mine—and unlike an unpublished short story, I don’t get any aesthetic pleasure from an unsold article (and there’s not usually a market I can just resubmit it to).
So maybe I’ll end up in a couple of months standing in the street with nothing to show for my efforts but a hatful of rain. But I’m not taking time away from fiction or from anything that pays the bills—so why not forge ahead?
Wish me luck.