September 22, 2021
Day 356, Week 50
- Emotional State: Practicality & Anxiety in Motion
The First Book
Not a lot to say here. It’s been a month. The book exists, people are buying it, life is looking good. I’m getting reviews.
I’ve hit my third goal: 51 copies sold in the first month. And I’ve got 8 reviews of it so far; none of them are my superfans because I just sent out those copies last week. And they are arriving, which is awesome.
I’ve received more comments about the world. I think I didn’t explain it enough in book one and it’s a bit of a problem. Not enough to stop people from enjoying the book (except for that one reviewer), but enough for them to comment. So, I have to tackle more of it in book 2 and do it in a way that doesn’t bog down the plot. Challenge accepted, people!
My online launch party for the book is tomorrow. I’m not expecting a lot of people, but I’m preparing as if hundreds will be there. Because every person who supported and supports me is worth thousands of book purchases from random strangers. Not that I’d say no to random strangers, mind you. I still want to a be full-time writer.
Speaking of which….
The Second Book
I’m over 30k words in and I’m enjoying the pantsing of the plot. I have had some ego conflicts with it though.
I realized recently that I didn’t know what my character arc is, which means I can’t create a false victory or defeat at the midpoint without it. Enter a small panic moment.
I want to go with the flow. I want to write it without an outline and see where it takes me. I’ve had a lot of fun so far on this journey, so why stop when I hit a little snag. Why? Because my ego is an asshole. And it started to take me down a path I’d rather not tread again.
So I smacked that sucker back in place, stopped freaking out and within one day knew what my midpoint was and how to get there, all while still pantsing the plot. I’ve also figured out the intrigue (since it’s not as heavy a mystery as the first book) and how to build that in earlier in the book.
And, I’ve written some fabulous scenes between my two protagonists. I am on track to get the rough draft down by Halloween. I think. But I have to.
Because my world builder and I have a bet on right now. I need to write a baseline of 10k a week to hit my goal of finishing the first draft. He needs to write more (just write, not anything specific). So, the bet is that any amount I write over 10k he has to at least write half of. If I write 12,000, he has to write 1001 words, for example. The winner gets a massage from the loser.
I definitely want to win. And finish my rough draft so that in November I can write…book three.
A new Plan – Book 2 & 3, And A Cozy Mystery Series
Okay. There’s been a new plan since last week. Yes, I’m that flexible and all over the place. I’m a work in progress in more ways than one.
I’m still going to write a cozy mystery series.
But first, I’m going to write and publish books 1 – 3 of the Space Between urban fantasy series. This way, Seraphina’s story will be well underway and I’ll be established as a fantasy writer at that point (I hope). This then means that the Novella I planned to write and publish next year will get pushed off to 2023, which will be a placeholder for fans keen on my UF series while I write the first three cozy mysteries.
It also means people who are interested in book 2 of the Space Between series will get that book much quicker than if I fit a cozy mystery series in between them.
And, my world builder and I came up with a plan as to how to tackle all the new things he needs to figure out that I’ve written in book 2. I will hand him my rough draft and go on to write book 3. He will read book 2 and figure out just what all needs to be determined based on what’s in the book.
A hint for book 2: The main security force in the series will be a crossover of The Knights Templar, the CIA and the FBI.
After he’s done with book 2, I’ll revise it while he reads book 3 and then we can build in any necessary pieces into book 2 and 3 during revisions. With all that said and done, I hope to publish the trilogy by October of next year.
But I also need to figure out editors, cover designers, etc., so that’s a loose goal, not a fixed one.
I will be working on the novella materials as well this year, because I want to write out the in-between scenes and second character scenes while book 1 is still fresh in my brain. But then it won’t get looked at until later next year when my brain is bleeding from all of the other revisions I’ve done.
And then, somewhere in there I will write the cozy mystery series. Because I really want to and it sounds like fun.
A Closing thought
My past two weekly journals have been more planning and practicality than emotional regurgitation and reflection. And that is okay. This is where I’m at right now. I don’t know what I’m going to type when I sit down every week. My Wednesday posts are literally word vomit.
I’ve also chosen not to discuss the usual: marketing. Not because I’m not doing it, but because on top of all the other figuring out I’m doing on the writing front, I’m also rejiggering what I’m doing on the marketing front and how hard I’m hitting it. The biggest issue I have in this entire process is that this is my first book. I have no idea how it’s supposed to go nor how successful I should be as an indie author with only me pushing the book.
And so my marketing journey is ebbing and flowing while I rethink my strategy and determine how hard to push and when. What all this means is: I will undoubtedly be focusing on the slog of marketing again soon and I’ll have some emotional rollercoaster moments as well.
Don’t worry, I’m not as stable as my current journals would make you think. Nor am I as wobbly as I once was. Or rather, my wobbles have shifted to a different plane, one that is not as emotionally fraught as the writing process (for me).
I think.
To read more of my weekly whine fests and writing journal journey posts, click here.