It was a busy week here at Sandersonville. And I still don't feel like I got anything done.
Only rewrote 11303 words this week. Call it the mid-NaNo slump. Call it the blahs. I'm still ahead of the curve for reaching 50K this month, but I'm a little behind the curve of my personal goal of 60K this month - or a 2K a day average. But I have written at least some words every day for 15 days straight, so I'm not complaining. (Not too much.)
I finished reading 4 more books this past week and as of last night, I'm caught up with the goal of 100 this year.
In other writerly news, the kick off of my revamped business blog - B.E.'s Writerly Space - went kinda okay. I'd still like to see some new followers enjoy the fun, though, so the contest is still open and ready for you to follow along (and get entries). Tell ya what, bring a friend and I'll give you an extra entry - just have them email me after they follow and tell me that you sent them, and I'll give you both an extra entry. Just cuz.
In life news, we raked leaves. Oh, they're still out there in a big long pile stretching thru the middle third of my yard, but they're on their way into the woods. If it hadn't been sleeting, we probably could've gotten more done yesterday. But it was, and sleet stings, so we stopped for the day. We'll resume Monday or something after the snow they're predicting for today melts.
Also this week, we had a minor veterinary thing. Max started developing an abscess under his chin, so off he went to the vet for a day, where they fixed his booboo, gave him steroids, and gave me a bottle of oral antibiotics to administer to Mr. Max for 7 days. Max is cool with it - except when he tries to push me away with his claws. Only one small scratch so far, so I'm chalking this in the win column so far.
Other than that, it's freakin' cold in SW MO, but probably less so than a lot of you have to deal with, so I'll save my whining for my southern friends. (You know who you are.) ;o)
How are things in your world lately?
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
About Me
I've been playing around with the layout of B.E.'s Writerly Space this morning, and trying something new - PAGES! They're all static, but they'll have information some day that will point you in the direction you want to go. Right now, the only one that's not 'under construction' is the About Me page.
Go take a look and let me know what you think.
And don't forget to follow the blog over there for a chance to win a scrumptious kringle.
Go take a look and let me know what you think.
And don't forget to follow the blog over there for a chance to win a scrumptious kringle.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Sunday Update - Week 45
The last week was a total blur, but I managed to piece it back together a little.
I've been writing my brains out. I typed 14538 words over each of the days.
I hired an editor and a cover artist.
Somewhere in there, I did some more research work on the world of self-publishing.
I read three books. (Because hey, if I can't work and still find time to read, what the heck am I doing? Ya know?)
I went grocery shopping.
Took Max for a walk nearly every day - except when it was raining. He hates that. He also hates walking on leaves, so the walks have been short.
I spent some time talking to my financial backer (aka Hubs) about cover artists and editing.
Hubs and I took a drive up a couple roads we'd never been down before. One of them was supposed to - according to Google - connect with the other which would bring us to the water. That first road ended up being a one lane that sort of ended at what might have been a trail through the woods. When we backtracked and went down the second road from the other direction, we found where the two roads shoulda oughta joined up if Google had been right. :shrug: It was fun and the car didn't die, so it's all good.
Oh, and if you didn't read Friday's post, I'm resurrecting the old 'Pound of BS' blog into something more professional where I can share publishing news, stories about murder and mayhem, and anything related to the book I'll be putting out in 2015. If you don't follow it already, you get extra brownie points in the contest I designed to go live on Monday if you're a follower before the contest actually goes live. (Same for here.)
I'm really excited and I hope you are, too.
Anyway, what's up in your world?
I've been writing my brains out. I typed 14538 words over each of the days.
I hired an editor and a cover artist.
Somewhere in there, I did some more research work on the world of self-publishing.
I read three books. (Because hey, if I can't work and still find time to read, what the heck am I doing? Ya know?)
I went grocery shopping.
Took Max for a walk nearly every day - except when it was raining. He hates that. He also hates walking on leaves, so the walks have been short.
I spent some time talking to my financial backer (aka Hubs) about cover artists and editing.
Hubs and I took a drive up a couple roads we'd never been down before. One of them was supposed to - according to Google - connect with the other which would bring us to the water. That first road ended up being a one lane that sort of ended at what might have been a trail through the woods. When we backtracked and went down the second road from the other direction, we found where the two roads shoulda oughta joined up if Google had been right. :shrug: It was fun and the car didn't die, so it's all good.
Oh, and if you didn't read Friday's post, I'm resurrecting the old 'Pound of BS' blog into something more professional where I can share publishing news, stories about murder and mayhem, and anything related to the book I'll be putting out in 2015. If you don't follow it already, you get extra brownie points in the contest I designed to go live on Monday if you're a follower before the contest actually goes live. (Same for here.)
I'm really excited and I hope you are, too.
Anyway, what's up in your world?
Friday, November 7, 2014
The Winds of Change Are Blowing
Hey all,
I just posted to my long-ignored other blog... which I have renamed in order to make it more professional. (Okay, so B.E. Sanderson ain't sexy, but it works for now.)
Go over there for a sec and check out the post. You'll be glad you did.
The Winds of Change are Blowing
Tell me what ya think.
I just posted to my long-ignored other blog... which I have renamed in order to make it more professional. (Okay, so B.E. Sanderson ain't sexy, but it works for now.)
Go over there for a sec and check out the post. You'll be glad you did.
The Winds of Change are Blowing
Tell me what ya think.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Weightless
I was in a mood yesterday. Not a bad mood. More of a piss and vinegar mood. Joking around on FB, making up funny songs, whistling as I walked through the house. Something was going on and I wasn't quite sure what, but I wasn't going to question it. I mean, I was feeling pretty happy but I'm generally a happy person these days, so I didn't think it was just that.
Then last night it occurred to me. I felt like a rock I didn't know I had on my back had slipped off somewhere along the way. Ker-thunk. And I felt light. Like I could fly. All because I finally said 'enough'.
Enough of finely honing queries until my heart and my brain bleed.
Enough of sending submission materials out into a world of people I don't understand.
Enough of waiting for someone else to decide my fate.
Ten years. I was carrying that weight for ten years. It's like on Biggest Loser when it's far enough along in the season that the contestants have lost a lot of weight, and then they make them carry the equivalent amount up a big hill. You don't know how much that shit weighs you down until it's gone.
I told this revelation to Hubs, and he came over to hug me. He actually apologized because he never knew how much this was weighing on me. I hugged him back and told him it was okay because I didn't know the weight was there either. Only now that it's gone do I recognize exactly how heavy it was.
Oh, I realize there's a whole other set of obstacles out there. But now they're in my control. "Is this ready to publish, Ms. Sanderson?" "Well, yes, it is, Ms. Sanderson." "Do you like this cover art?" "Yes. Yes, I do." "And the editing?" "It's coming along nicely, thank you very much."
:twirls a little:
Even reader reviews are somewhat in my hands - because the reviews are reflective of my skills. If I get bad reviews, I can work harder to write better and affect a change. Sure, there will always be those people who give a bad review based on nothing, but I can ignore them (and hopefully my readers will ignore those, too.)
I can understand readers. I've been a reader since as early as I can remember. Real readers who are in it for the story and aren't worried whether they can cover a print run or how many books they'll have to pulp if this doesn't sell or if they'll make enough commission to feed their kids. Readers are my tribe, man. And since I know I don't like everything I've ever read, I can roll with that. Takes all kinds to make a tribe. I just want my books to be available so the people who might like what I write have a real chance to read it.
OMG, it feels so good to think I never have to crawl to some industry person again and beg them to please please please read my 10 pages.
Hubs keeps saying - when I least expect it, like when we were dropping off to sleep last night - "You're going to publish a book." And every time, I smile.
It's really a very freeing experience. And for now, anyway, I feel weightless.
Then last night it occurred to me. I felt like a rock I didn't know I had on my back had slipped off somewhere along the way. Ker-thunk. And I felt light. Like I could fly. All because I finally said 'enough'.
Enough of finely honing queries until my heart and my brain bleed.
Enough of sending submission materials out into a world of people I don't understand.
Enough of waiting for someone else to decide my fate.
Ten years. I was carrying that weight for ten years. It's like on Biggest Loser when it's far enough along in the season that the contestants have lost a lot of weight, and then they make them carry the equivalent amount up a big hill. You don't know how much that shit weighs you down until it's gone.
I told this revelation to Hubs, and he came over to hug me. He actually apologized because he never knew how much this was weighing on me. I hugged him back and told him it was okay because I didn't know the weight was there either. Only now that it's gone do I recognize exactly how heavy it was.
Oh, I realize there's a whole other set of obstacles out there. But now they're in my control. "Is this ready to publish, Ms. Sanderson?" "Well, yes, it is, Ms. Sanderson." "Do you like this cover art?" "Yes. Yes, I do." "And the editing?" "It's coming along nicely, thank you very much."
:twirls a little:
Even reader reviews are somewhat in my hands - because the reviews are reflective of my skills. If I get bad reviews, I can work harder to write better and affect a change. Sure, there will always be those people who give a bad review based on nothing, but I can ignore them (and hopefully my readers will ignore those, too.)
I can understand readers. I've been a reader since as early as I can remember. Real readers who are in it for the story and aren't worried whether they can cover a print run or how many books they'll have to pulp if this doesn't sell or if they'll make enough commission to feed their kids. Readers are my tribe, man. And since I know I don't like everything I've ever read, I can roll with that. Takes all kinds to make a tribe. I just want my books to be available so the people who might like what I write have a real chance to read it.
OMG, it feels so good to think I never have to crawl to some industry person again and beg them to please please please read my 10 pages.
Hubs keeps saying - when I least expect it, like when we were dropping off to sleep last night - "You're going to publish a book." And every time, I smile.
It's really a very freeing experience. And for now, anyway, I feel weightless.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Talking about NaNo
Since it's NaNo, I thought about resurrecting my pitfall posts, but I'm kinda past that. If you're interested, go over to my frozen-in-place blog The Unpublished Writers' Guide to Survival - they're all there in links on the left hand side.
This will be my unofficial 6th or so year doing NaNo. It's unofficial because I spent time over here doing it on my own before I actually joined the site, and I've also done the 50K in 30 days thing during other months when my November has been busy.
What I've learned is that NaNo isn't for everyone. I get that. Sustained sprint writing takes a certain kind of masochistic mindset. I put down just over 3K on the first night, and my hands were cramping so bad at the end there I wanted an Aspercreme bath afterwards. But the book is worth it.
Additionally, if you haven't been following The Writing Spectacle in the past years, I've got a severe case of NaNo brain. (It's like pregnant brain without the cravings.) All my creative juices are being diverted to this book, so I'm kinda lame elsewhere. This too shall pass.
I've also learned that you can participate even if you don't have new words to put down. This year, I'm rewriting the beginning of a novel so I can finish writing it. Which means right now, I'm throwing down the words like I'm feeding chickens. (You know, if words were chicken feed.) When I reach the end of the words I already have, I expect I'll slow down a bit. Especially if I haven't figured out the last half of this book before I get there. That'll totally suck.
Anyway, if you're in this, you have my empathy. If not, I need your understanding for the next month or so. I might not be here. I might be here but not HERE, if you catch my drift. And some of the things that come out of my fingers might be totally off the wall. (Okay, maybe that last part isn't so unusual.)
Thanks for your support. Have an awesome day.
This will be my unofficial 6th or so year doing NaNo. It's unofficial because I spent time over here doing it on my own before I actually joined the site, and I've also done the 50K in 30 days thing during other months when my November has been busy.
What I've learned is that NaNo isn't for everyone. I get that. Sustained sprint writing takes a certain kind of masochistic mindset. I put down just over 3K on the first night, and my hands were cramping so bad at the end there I wanted an Aspercreme bath afterwards. But the book is worth it.
Additionally, if you haven't been following The Writing Spectacle in the past years, I've got a severe case of NaNo brain. (It's like pregnant brain without the cravings.) All my creative juices are being diverted to this book, so I'm kinda lame elsewhere. This too shall pass.
I've also learned that you can participate even if you don't have new words to put down. This year, I'm rewriting the beginning of a novel so I can finish writing it. Which means right now, I'm throwing down the words like I'm feeding chickens. (You know, if words were chicken feed.) When I reach the end of the words I already have, I expect I'll slow down a bit. Especially if I haven't figured out the last half of this book before I get there. That'll totally suck.
Anyway, if you're in this, you have my empathy. If not, I need your understanding for the next month or so. I might not be here. I might be here but not HERE, if you catch my drift. And some of the things that come out of my fingers might be totally off the wall. (Okay, maybe that last part isn't so unusual.)
Thanks for your support. Have an awesome day.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Sunday Update - Week 44
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?
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?
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