Compared to the previous few months, this last week was actually not that bad. Well, outside of my daughter's car breaking down at my house and spending a day and a half in the sun working on it.
I don't handle sunlight and heat very well...at all.
Still, I was able to keep the week marching at a decent clip and still put in quite a bit more time into various projects that I haven't been able to touch much since February. So, I suppose I'll call that a win. Especially when you consider how much time I was able to spend working on my second book.
I'm still quite a bit behind finishing VII as I wanted. But to be honest, I'd rather get Kingmaker published and on the shelves. Don't get me wrong, I'll keep working on the Wattpad novel. But any writing time I could muster up this week prioritized Kingmaker.
A Decently Productive Week
I keep track of every minute I spend as a freelancer/creator. Part of that is so I always have an accurate portrayal of how long any project takes so I can quote estimates with precision. Not to mention that I am a bit of a dork when it comes to spreadsheets and like to pour over data to see where I can improve strategies for working at home.
Anyway, if not for the car issue on Monday and Tuesday, this week would have definitely been my best of 2023. I'm falling a bit short of writing one million words this year, but I have fixed a major issue for a client, started producing regular videos again on YouTube, put in quite a bit of time editing the book, and planned out some of my best blog posts yet. Well, best posts according to me, anyway.
Switching how I view productivity from word count to time management has made a big difference in managing stress. Instead of getting frustrated that I didn't write X number of words, I simply tell myself that at least I put in X amount of hours working on various projects.
The New Blog is Growing...Slowly
I am quite excited about this new blogging project. I've created a website with the sole purpose to demonstrate how anyone can start a blog and build something successful spending nothing more than $106.20 for a three-year hosting package. Plus, I'm using it to show my viewers on YouTube how to use and optimize WordPress for any blog they wish to build.
Because this is kind of a secondary project, though, the process is coming along a bit slower than I would like. After all, I have a few blogs already that need some serious attention.
Still, the new blog is providing quite a bit of content for the others. Plus, what I'm learning while building this new website will help me fine-tune the different YouTube channels I have as well.
I know, you're probably thinking that I have quite a bit on my plate as it is. And you'd be right. But in the grand scheme of things, I'm not really adding more than I can handle. I already have blocks of time set up throughout the week for YouTube videos. And since I am seriously debating on dumping Twitch, that will free up another chunk of time.
The bottom line is that I'm very interested in getting more out of the YouTube channels and would like an online "journal" to jot down what I've learned and what I need to do next. That is precisely how WriterSanctuary.com turned me into a very successful freelance writer. Who knows what this process will turn me into over time?
A Chapter a Day?
Aside from Monday, I've been able to edit a chapter per day for Kingmaker. Compared to the past few months, that's not all that bad of a pace. However, I already know that the vast majority of at least three of the chapters coming up are going to be rewritten. That's because I am changing up a few sections and fixing a couple of major issues brought up by beta readers. They made some good points and I know exactly how I am going to restructure those chapters.
In any case, I don't know if I'll hit my goal of having the second draft ready to read by the end of April. But it won't be long into May when it's completely done. Depending on how this next round goes, I might actually have this book published before my birthday in July. Maybe that could be a birthday present for myself?
The thing is that I'd rather spend the time polishing up something enjoyable as opposed to just slapping up a half-assed story on Amazon and crossing my fingers. But I also don't want to be perpetually in edits for the next two decades.
You need to come to a point when you believe the story is good enough. Otherwise, you'll spend the next years of your life fine-tuning something that could have already been published. An author will always find things that need to be tweaked in his or her story. Just remember that there is no such thing as absolute perfection.
WriterSanctuary Looking to Break Records
The traffic to WriterSanctuary.com has been on a sharp rise over the past few months. Mostly because of the SEO-focused content I created for various reviews and tutorials.
Amazing things happen when you actually write something people want to read.
At the current pace of growth, the blog will break its all-time traffic record of 51,510 page views by November 3rd. And yes, I have a spreadsheet that calculates those estimates.
As of right now, the site has brought in more traffic than in 2019 as a whole. That's kind of exciting, especially considering how often I have to battle the Google algorithm. If I can write about three more posts that are as popular as enabling dark mode on Wattpad, the site would easily hit 10,000 visits per month.
The YouTube channel, on the other hand, isn't faring as well. I'm telling you, getting a blog post on the first page of Google's search results is far easier than getting a video seen on YouTube.
According to recent watch time numbers, I'll be able to monetize the channel with AdSense sometime in the 2030s. That is unless I upload something that goes mega-viral.
Educational channels just don't seem to perform well on YouTube.
That's why I kind of stopped caring about monetizing the channel. I'd rather focus on uploading the videos that my die-hard fans want to watch. Sure, I'm not binge-worthy, but at least those few people are entertained while I show them how to do what I do for a living.
Besides, AdSense is like the bottom rung of ways to monetize anything. It's nice to have a trickle of cash coming in each month, but it should be viewed as more of an afterthought. There are far better ways to monetize blogs and YouTube channels.
Not a Bad End to April
There is one full week of April remaining. While I doubt I'll break any monthly writing records, I'm still having one of the most productive months so far this year. And as long as I make some major headway into publishing my next book, that's all that really matters.
Let's see if Chaos can lay off for a week so I can see how much I can actually get done.