Sent my book to my developmental editor! Yay! That means, of course, that I have lots of free time to figure out how to MARKET said book.
Hmmmm. I suppose this thing called the Internet might have some ideas.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Deadlines, and how bad I am at them
One of the perks and/or dangers of indy and/or self-publishing is that I get to set my own deadlines. I'm on my own schedule, for the most part, and I can control when and how much I work on something.
A week or so ago, I set a deadline for today to get my draft of the novel to my developmental editor. I've done a first pass, fixed comma errors, gotten rid of some of the over adverb-y places, tried to tighten the language myself, on 95% of the novel. I thought it was more but I realized last week that I had about 30 more pages to finish up. I got some of that done, but not all. Last week was my kiddos' 9th birthday and that, plus an unexpected bout of minor illness for me just wore me out.
So long story short: I'm not ready for my deadline of today. I have just a little bit more to do, and I may be able, if I buckle down RIGHT NOW to get it done today. And that's a plan, and I will do it as soon as I hit the "publish" button on this post. But I just stink at deadlines. I'm a procrastinator, as those people who have followed me from back in the days when my blog was literally called "Kim Procrastinates."
I just really want to take a nap right now and not buckle down to the work I truly need to do today. Perhaps a compromise: finish up the last few pages of the one scene I really need to finish, and then I earn a nap? Maybe.
I also realize that I can't get everything done every single time. I'm only human, and I wear a lot of hats (mom's taxi driver & head babysitter, head chef, are the biggest ones nowadays.)
So there. Now, get to work, Kim.
A week or so ago, I set a deadline for today to get my draft of the novel to my developmental editor. I've done a first pass, fixed comma errors, gotten rid of some of the over adverb-y places, tried to tighten the language myself, on 95% of the novel. I thought it was more but I realized last week that I had about 30 more pages to finish up. I got some of that done, but not all. Last week was my kiddos' 9th birthday and that, plus an unexpected bout of minor illness for me just wore me out.
So long story short: I'm not ready for my deadline of today. I have just a little bit more to do, and I may be able, if I buckle down RIGHT NOW to get it done today. And that's a plan, and I will do it as soon as I hit the "publish" button on this post. But I just stink at deadlines. I'm a procrastinator, as those people who have followed me from back in the days when my blog was literally called "Kim Procrastinates."
I just really want to take a nap right now and not buckle down to the work I truly need to do today. Perhaps a compromise: finish up the last few pages of the one scene I really need to finish, and then I earn a nap? Maybe.
I also realize that I can't get everything done every single time. I'm only human, and I wear a lot of hats (mom's taxi driver & head babysitter, head chef, are the biggest ones nowadays.)
So there. Now, get to work, Kim.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Cover Art Update
It's so exciting to work with an artist to get the art for my cover perfect. We started working a couple of months ago, and yesterday, he finished what is most likely the very last draft.
This is one of the things that I think is so neat about indy publishing. I had a co-worker who was published traditionally, and she did get to provide lots of great feedback about her cover art, and worked pretty closely with the artist. But I suspect that's not always the case, especially with a first novel. I have complete control over this. Yes, that also means I get to pay for it up front... which is probably a drawback for a lot of people. But for me, it's fine, sort of. My bank account for this is already set up. Of course, this means if I don't at least break even on sales, I'll feel like a sucker. But Maia has plans for me to be the next J.K. Rowling, anyway, so if she can work her personal 9 year old mojo on my writing career, it won't be an issue.
I can't wait to show the art on here. I'm going to do a cover reveal party/announcement tour soon. I am still working on getting all the websites and social networks and such to point in the right place.
But ooooooooh. It's so fun!
This is one of the things that I think is so neat about indy publishing. I had a co-worker who was published traditionally, and she did get to provide lots of great feedback about her cover art, and worked pretty closely with the artist. But I suspect that's not always the case, especially with a first novel. I have complete control over this. Yes, that also means I get to pay for it up front... which is probably a drawback for a lot of people. But for me, it's fine, sort of. My bank account for this is already set up. Of course, this means if I don't at least break even on sales, I'll feel like a sucker. But Maia has plans for me to be the next J.K. Rowling, anyway, so if she can work her personal 9 year old mojo on my writing career, it won't be an issue.
I can't wait to show the art on here. I'm going to do a cover reveal party/announcement tour soon. I am still working on getting all the websites and social networks and such to point in the right place.
But ooooooooh. It's so fun!
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