This week has been a busy one. Then again, most of my weeks lately have been exceptionally busy. However, I'm still keeping with my positive attitude and am looking forward to putting out some great stuff in the near future.
I'm not just talking about the book, either. After looking at some data this morning, all kinds of things are starting to become clear. This is why I push to never give up. You never know what's around that next corner.
Editing the Book
While I wait for the beta readers to give me their opinions and impressions, I'm in the process of editing Kingmaker. Although I fixed quite a bit of the beginning, I only managed to add another 172 words to the total of the book. Though, I'm sure that number will jump up soon. I know there are a few places that need to be fleshed out a bit more.
This is probably one of the more difficult aspects of self-publishing. You want to put out the best book you can possibly write, but you should never edit your own work. That's mainly because of how the human mind works with immediate information. It's easy to gloss over obvious errors when you would pick them out in someone else's work. It's also why taking a month-long break helps you see those issues. Since it's not fresh in your mind, the problems seem to jump out at you.
In any case, I'm going to be cutting it awfully close if I want to publish the book before Christmas. But I'll still take my time and do it right as I don't want to upload a junk manuscript to Amazon.
Working on Blog Rewrites
I've spent quite a bit of time rewriting old blog posts this week. If I can continue the trend of attracting an audience, WriterSanctuary.com might hit 10k visitors per month by next December. That's kind of exciting considering that I've been having a hell of a time fighting the damn Google algorithm.
I'm also working on polishing up quite a bit of CrossingColorado.com and ColoradoPlays.com. The idea is to see how much work is entailed to revitalize a seemingly dead blog. Yes, I have a spreadsheet to record the data. I plan on sharing the results in six months to possibly help anyone who is in a similar predicament.
Later today, I plan on playing with a few new themes and layouts for MichaelBrockbank.com. I figured I needed something a bit more snazzy, especially if I plan on continuing to publish books. After all, Kingmaker is one of a four-book series.
Testing Out Some New Writing Tools
I've put together a list of writing tools and apps I'm looking to test out. Mostly, I want to use them as content for the blog and YouTube channel. However, I wouldn't mind stumbling across something that streamlines the writing process. Especially with how much stuff I handle during the week.
Today, I'll make a First Look video of Scribus. It's an open-source writing app that is supposed to be designed for Authors. Since I've never tried it before, you'll see my immediate reactions to setting it up. Maybe I should change the videos to "First Look Reactions." Perhaps that'll do better in the YouTube algorithm.
Anyway, the plan is to use Scribus to write VII for NaNoWriMo. Then, I'll copy and paste it over to Wattpad. I'm not sure if I'll actually publish VII on something like Amazon or just keep it a free book. Either way, there are several people awaiting for VII to be rewritten and finished. That's the goal for November.
Still On Track to Break Records
There's no doubt that I'm having one of the best months in 2022 for both time efficiency and word count. And even though I had a few lulls this month, it looks like October 2022 is going to be the month to beat after it's done. Between the book, the blogs, client work, and everything else I handle, it's been a very productive month.
This is why I monitor everything I do throughout the week. Not only does it help me negotiate writing contracts, but the spreadsheet also keeps me motivated to push myself. And when I see those numbers go green for breaking personal records, I get empowered with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
I still think that November is going to be the best month yet simply because I plan to write 50,000+ words for NaNoWriMo, not to mention getting the blogs on an established publishing schedule. There is still a lot I plan to do before the end of the year.
How Did Your Week Go?
For the past few weeks, I have felt better than I have in a long time. It's not just feeling good from finishing my book, but everything else that is falling into place. Throughout most of the year, I've been feeling drained, blah, and discouraged. Can you blame me, though? I didn't have the most stellar beginning to 2022. Nowadays, though, I feel like I am finally moving forward.
It all started with deciding I wanted to take myself beyond my perceived limits.
What kind of week did you have?