Tag: time

Weekly Roundup 7-18-18

Weekly Roundup is an update on what’s going on in my world. Welcome!

I’ve got so much going on in my head I don’t know whether I’m coming or going. This week has been particularly overwhelming and I wish I had some time off work to deal with everything!

  • Current manuscript – Traitor’s Moon is coming along, though not as fast as I would like. Word count is 30,000+ and I am almost finished with chapter four. I’ve been looking forward to writing this part of the story for quite a while, though it presented its own challenges which slowed me down. I’m looking forward to book 3 which I hope will be a bit less involved and complicated. We’ll see.
  • Book sales are still flat and I need to start building my email list. I now have MailPoet, but it  isn’t set up completely yet. Relying on forums to answer my questions is a waste of my time, especially when I am already paying for the service! I need to hire a tech-savvy assistant to do this kind of stuff for me.
  • I’ve been joking around with a co-worker about writing a custom short story with her as the heroine. We have a lot of fun laughing over possible titles and content, and I would really enjoy doing it – but no time! My current book gets the majority of my attention for the foreseeable future, and I can’t allow myself to be distracted. Easier said than done…
  • The countdown to my move across country is getting close now – only a couple of months! It’s going to mean a major interruption in my writing, of course, and I hate the thought of losing momentum. It will push the release date out further too, but it can’t be helped. Meanwhile I have to start packing and make arrangements. There’s a lot to do!
  • I read a blog post this week in which the author suggested traveling to the places you write about. In some ways that would be cool, but then I decided it would punch too many holes in my imagined world. My current series is set in Michigan’s upper peninsula, which is someplace I have never been. I use maps and Google to get the info I need and base the story on real names, places, and facts, but add my own details when necessary. Actually traveling there (while I’m writing the books) wouldn’t be a good idea, as I would begin to doubt everything I’ve already written! Perhaps I’ll visit after the series is complete.
  • This week I started re-reading a quirky series from a few years back: Ganymede Quartet, by Darrah Glass. The basic premise involves a forbidden gay romance between a rich teen and his personal slave. The whole thing is fascinating and disturbing and difficult to put down. The biggest disappointment is that the author never really finished, leaving her readers hanging without some kind of resolution or addressing the important questions the MC has about his life and future. Still, if you want something different, this series might fit the bill! Get it HERE.

Reader Roundup 5-9-18

Reader Roundup is a weekly update on what’s going on in my world. Welcome!

I have learned much since launching my first books last August. Many revisions have already taken place as I update/correct/improve the manuscripts, but there is always more to be done. Time is, as always, in short supply, so do I spend it writing new material or improving existing books? Some authors advise focusing only on new material, rather than wasting time on older work. I want to do both and hate having to make a choice!

This week, I put off starting on the second book in the Gladstone Shifters series to do some work on Green’s Thumb, which has already received significant revision. You see, a recent review caught my eye, and I took the reviewers words to heart (yes, I pay attention!). Later today I should have the manuscript in better shape and it will replace the version currently for sale. Now I have another problem – I want to expand the book!

A number of earlier reviews for Green’s Thumb made note of its brevity and “hurried” whirlwind romance, reducing its real-world credibility. I may or may not agree with that assessment, but I acknowledge the story could be improved by fleshing it out with more back story and additional interaction between the characters. Now that I recognize it needs to be done, where will I ever find the time to actually write it?

I already have readers demanding the next Gladstone Shifters book, so how can I justify delaying new material by going back and improving an older book? Not an easy decision, but I think I need to file my notes for Green’s Thumb for sometime in the future. The old adage “strike while the iron is hot” applies in this case, and I don’t want to lose the feel of the series or characters by allowing too much time to pass between books.

The quality of my writing increases with each book I write, so at some point I will be able to bring my earlier works up to speed while producing new novels which won’t need major post-published corrections. Until then, I have to figure out how to balance it all and keep everybody, including me, happy.