Hi All!
Here's what I did last week:
I finished reading through my NaNo project and making notes of things that need to be addressed on the re-write...
Wait, back the train up a bit... I decided not to write the shiny new book during NaNo, and instead work on re-writing a suspense novel I never finished. So, to that end, I sent what I already had to my Kindle, read through it, made notes of what needs to be addressed, and got ready to write by opening a new file.
The reasoning for this change... and I've been hesitating to mention any this, but for the life of me can't figure out why... is that I'm planning on leaping into self-publishing early next year. And the book I'm working on for NaNo would dovetail nicely as the second or third book to launch (depending on time and finances).
To that end, another thing I did last week was read Let's Get Digital by David Gaughran. It all about how to self publish and why you should. And it made me want to kick myself for being such a sissy-pants and not doing this sooner.
Also to that end, I'm in the process of contacting editors and pricing stuff out and junk.
I've also been playing with covers to see if I can do it myself or if I need to pay someone else. But I won't share any of that until I know what I'm going to launch first and how it'll all play out.
Lord knows I have enough books written to launch one every month of 2015 and still have a couple left over for 2016 without ever putting down new words. (Not counting the one I'll be working on this month.) They just all need to be edited and polished and made pretty so people will actually want to read them, and then after they read them, they'll want to buy the next, etc. That's what happens when you write for 10 years without being published - especially if you adhere to the philosophy of 'write the next book' while submitting. You end up with a LOT of material. But I've heard one of the keys to being successful at self-publishing is to give your readers plenty to buy, so I guess I'm golden with that.
In non-writerly news, I cleaned out the iris bed to make it ready for winter, and then forgot to cover the bed with fresh leaves for the coming freeze. It got down to 22 last night, so keep your fingers crossed my plants survived.
I broke my bird feeder a couple days ago. Not bad enough that it won't hold seed anymore, but it's life is just about over, so I ordered a new one. It's not exactly what I wanted, but it'll do. At least the bird will be happy with it. And that's all that really matters.
In readerly news, I'm only 3 books behind on my goals now. That's because I read three books last week. I'll probably slip further behind as November progresses, but I can't worry about that now. I have work to do.
So, how are things in your world?
My world is good but I'm already behind on NaNo. LOL What else is new? Except...this is the FIRST year I started out behind. I have like 600 words written. This whole writing one project while worrying about line edits on a sold project is keeping my head spinning like Linda what's her name in "The Exorcist." I really need to get my focus on! And get off the intrawebz!
ReplyDeleteFYI? I'm glad you're looking at this path. It's worked well for me. Here's hoping to much success for you!
Hey, on the bright side, you're trying something new. ;o) I wouldn't worry too much. You'll catch back up. I'm actually ahead for the first time, but that's because this is a rewrite. I'll slow down when I get to the 'new words' part.
DeleteThanks! You've been a big help and a huge supporter. You have no idea how much that means to me.
Good for you! Self publishing has worked for a LOT of writers. With your list, you'll be up and running double time. :-)
ReplyDeleteThis week I sent "The Art of the Mantua-Maker: 1870 - 1879" to Createspace for a paperback proof. I can't wait to get it (and see what I need to fix. LOL!)
Thanks, Deb! I'm kinda kicking myself for not trying this sooner. Here's hoping it works.
DeleteWay to go! I hope your proofs come back fairly clean so you don't have a ton to fix. :hugs:
Things are peachy-keen. But cold. Yeah, where did THAT come from? I should have known it would come sooner rather than later.
ReplyDeleteI'm not doing NaNo, so I'm not behind. I'm behind in my project, but it is what it is. I did get somewhat caught up in my reading. Read 4 books on my vacation. Now THAT was fun!! Tomorrow it's back to writing. But I'm ready. I've been thinking about the book all week and I'm anxious to get back to it.
Well my weekend has been busy which is unusual for me as I'm a lazy cow, but I actually did some housework. I spring cleaned my front room including washing the windows - shock horror! I changed beds, washed sheets etc but the fun part was making some stuff to auction for a fundraiser for colleague's disabled daughter. I made some bags, cuddly toys and a super-quick quilt. I'm glad you're looking at self-publishing. You'll just have to tell me where as I've been looking forward to reading your work. I've just topped 189 on my books read list this year and really enjoyed reading Kresley Cole's Dark Skye, the latest in her Immortals after Dark series - remember I'm lazy so if its a choice between housework or reading, reading wins. I see from your book list that you've just read Silver's book 8 so I popped over to Amazon and got book 1 to try it out. I'm also interested in Debs book, that one sounds fascinating.
ReplyDelete22 degrees!! Yikes! I'm not ready for that kind of cold.
ReplyDeleteIn my neck of the woods, I got my husband back and we spent the whole weekend together as a full time married couple. I could get used to this. :)
Good luck on your publishing journey. It never hurts to open up your options and stick your toe in the water. I liked Gaughran's book, but I must admit I only read the parts that interested me.