Hello again. I can’t believe it’s another Sunday. No idea how long I have to type before the kids bust in on me, so I’ll get right to it. I feel like I’m split between a bunch of fronts right now. It doesn’t help that work is absorbing a lot of my energy, too. We’re also going to the coast next weekend, so I need to get ready for that. We reserved a dog friendly yurt at a state park I used to spend time at as a kid. I can’t wait! We haven’t spent enough time at the beach the last couple of years.
Now, diving into all things writing:
I’m reviewing the proof of Queen Witch in print. It’s very strange to see my book in paperback. I’m doing a regular and a large print edition, so I have two copies to review. I already know I’ll have to resubmit because I made some rookie mistakes. I chose white paper instead of cream, for one, and now that I have it in hand it looks totally unnatural. I also need to increase my margins at the top, which might mess with my page count, meaning requesting more work from my cover artist…argh. I struggle with whether it’s worth it to put the paperback together. Maybe I’ll think about contracting out for the formatting, etc. next time. But it’s still a lot of work, especially doing two editions.
I’m working through plot bunnies in Chaos Calling, the sequel to Queen Witch. Today I want to print out my outline for the last half of the book, compare it with notes I’ve been making over the last couple of weeks, and start fixing it. I want to have a good idea where I’m headed by May 10 so that I can blast through the rest of the first draft in the last five weeks of the round.
Until then, my major focus is revising Flight, a paranormal romance novella. I’m over one major hurdle, and staring a second one in the face. After that it should be smooth sailing until I need to tackle the ending, which needs a bunch of work. And….by May 10.
Another novella in the Children of the Sidhe series, Vessel, is free on Amazon today. The promotion started yesterday and this morning it’s at #13 free in paranormal fantasy and #46 free in paranormal romance. That’s pretty cool! The first novella, Tribute, is only $0.99 right now, and I’ve seen a spike in sales with the free promotion.
That’s it from me. Best of luck to all of you in the coming week!
Boy, J.R., you’ve been busy! It’s wonderful that you’ve been able to accomplish so much this past week.
Don’t be too hard on yourself about rookie mistakes–it’s the way we learn, and the reason we look at galleys.
Enjoy the coast–I’ve never been there but most of my family has been, and they love it.
Have a great week!
Thanks, Elizabeth!
Sounds like you’ve been very busy and productive!
I feel your pain about being pulled in different directions by different projects, and balancing the rest of life as well – but I’m sure you’ll make it all happen!
Have a great week and I’ll tune in next Sunday for another dose of encouragement!
Best regards,
Edward
http://read-write-listen.blogspot.com/
http://theperfidiousmisterwickham.blogspot.com/
Good luck balancing your projects, Edward. Nice to meet you!
I have had a huge lesson in learning curves through making seemingly daft mistakes. They’re only that in hind sight of course. You need these moments to truly learn the lesson – or at least that’s what I tell myself every time I cringe. 🙂 You’re rocking this whole thing – You have to allow yourself a huge slap on the back. 🙂
We’re all going to make mistakes. Taking the road less traveled, baby! There are no good maps! 🙂
Okay, what is a yurt???
I always do my books in white paper, and I’ve never thought they looked “off”. What font are you using? Cream probably looks more elegant.
A lesson I learned from my good friend and experienced author, Ruth Ann Nordin. Once you have a book formatted the way you want it, save it also as a template, then use that same template for all your other books. When I did that, I just cut and pasted, staring right after “Chapter One”. I had some issues, but I figured it out. It really helped not having to do those page numbers all over again! That’s the worst part of formatting. *shudders*
A yurt is a semi-permanent structure, so we don’t have to sleep in a tent, which would be pretty cold this time of year. It’s less than a cabin, but is nice and sturdy, keeping out all weather. It has a covered porch, heat, bunks, a table and electricity. It makes year-round camping an option in rain-sodden Oregon. 🙂
Thanks for the advice about a template. You’re completely right, and I feel foolish for not thinking of it. So many tiny decisions to make! I get lost in the details sometimes.
wow good author