December 8, 2021
Day 429, Week 61
Emotional State: Scheduled to the Max
Life, BOOKS, & WritinG
I’ve done it. I finished Book Three on Sunday. I wrote for four hours and wrapped it up. And it’s good. Seriously, deliciously good. I’ve been giddy since I saved it (and backed it up – twice).
I had thought I wrote the next to the last chapter on Saturday. And then I realized it was the last chapter and I needed to fill in the one before. So, I sat down to write the one before it and it took a turn. It took a twist. I was just hanging on by the tips of my fingers and it wanted, no needed, another chapter.
I love pantsing. Mostly. When it works. Ask me again in a few months when I’m editing what I think and I may give you another answer.
That leads me to my next thing. December was set for planning. Planning my 2022 publishing schedule, which was supposed to include writing and publishing the cozy mystery series. Did you see that ‘supposed to’? Me too. I’m so excited about the series and I have these great ideas for it.
But.
4 out of 5 experts agree that it is better to establish yourself in one genre first before branching into another. You want to nurture the flames of the fans you have, grow it to a bonfire and then pursue that other series. Or so they say. I want to rail against “them.” Both of my series are paranormal, doesn’t that count?
No. Because one is a cozy and one is urban fantasy. But then I twist myself around. Well, technically The Space Between series is a mix between coming of age, fantasy and mystery, because I just couldn’t pick one genre, now could I? So doesn’t that mean I can write them both?
Yes. I can. But trying to publish them both turned into such a logistical nightmare that two hours later I wasn’t any further down the pipeline. Completely confused, exhausted, and now stressed out at everything I needed to get done, I walked away, sulking. My world builder told me to write them anyway. And maybe I will. Maybe I’ll find that slot for them to fit into. Maybe I won’t and I’ll do it anyway. We’ll see.
I have figured out the schedule for my urban fantasy series. And promptly decided to change it this morning. Sigh. But it’ll all work out. Now I’m planning to publish a new book every 10 months (as of this morning), with novellas/box sets in the middle between each mini trilogy. This will mean I’ll be done with my series by 2027.
Yeah, I’m not waiting 5 years to publish my cozy series. So, you know, it’s happening, I just don’t know when yet. But I’m writing it and it’s going well. When it’s time to revise the UF Book 2 next month, I’ll set it aside and focus on that so that I can get Seraphina’s next phase published in September.
And with all of that crazy scheduling, plus my to do list for this month, I’ve created a very compact, very uptight, very specific schedule for my work week. It has room for writing, exercising, fun, book business stuff (promos, etc.), and of course, work. I’m very proud of my schedule, but it feels restrictive. My world builder just went to Costco. He’ll be back right in the middle of my fun time, which means I’ll spend it portioning out the meat he brought home instead of doing fun time. And I’m a little peeved about it. Adulting sucks.
While we’re on that topic, let me tell you something else that’s overwhelming me. So around the time I decided to write the cozy series and become a full-time writer (not there yet, but I will be), I finally got off the ledge of indecision where I stood for at least 9 months and purchased Scrivener.
Scrivener is complicated, or it can be. There are so many ways to use it and trying to figure out the best way for me has been tricky. And to be fair, I didn’t put a lot of effort into it. But now I want to include a series bible in there, for my urban fantasy series and eventually for my cozy series as well. And that requires filling in a bunch of information. Not a bunch. A LOT. Doing it after the fact kinda sucks, if I’m honest.
And then, after my Nano win, I took advantage of a coupon and purchased Plottr, which will help me outline all of this stuff and keep track of all the narratives. And it’s great, but I’m still figuring out how to use it, because it’s not so simple and I don’t want to set it up only to have to redo the whole thing. So, I’m learning that.
All this stuff needs to be done by January so that I can focus on revising and all the other stuff I scheduled. And life is piling on too. And I’m overwhelmed by my own schedule.
Why did I sign on to this again?
To read more of my weekly whine fests and writing journal journey posts, click here.