October 2014 Round-Up and November 2014 Plan

October was certainly an interesting month. I spent most of it trying to figure out my new schedule of less social media and more writing.

I did OK to start with, but then I found my hours creeping up again on social media. I am certainly going to have to be stricter with myself.

October:

– Didn’t exactly keep to schedule. Got most things done on time, but not others.
– Started my new Books on my Bookshelf series.
– Got my first reviews for The Magic Spark.
– Didn’t meet my reading target. Though I was only off by about half a book 😀 Forbidden Quest by Alaina Stanford, Reunion of the Heart by Elaine Jeremiah, and Hands of Evil by Melissa Barker-Simpson.
– Attempted to cut my social media right down and concentrate on the writing. Started well, but hasn’t been so successful towards the end of the month.
– I did some marketing using photosets, but still not enough.
– Managed to connect with bloggers regularly, and share their posts and news on Twitter and FB more consistently.
– I didn’t manage to sort out my Pinterest boards.

November:

It’s all change for November yet again to what I intended last time.

Unfortunately, there will be no Christmas novella. As much as I want to write it, I am just not in a place to do so at the moment. There is a lot of upheaval at home and things moving around, which will eventually result in a writing space of my own. But until then, I don’t really have anywhere that I can go to focus on writing.

I am one of those writers who needs quiet and peace to write 😀 And I just can’t get that at the moment, and my writing is suffering for it. I don’t want to put out a book that is less than my best, so I’ve decided to wait (though I will probably do the Christmas novella for next year because the characters and plots are just too awesome to forget!).

Instead this months goal is: To write 500 words a day.

Doesn’t matter what it is- short fiction, long fiction, fanfiction, poetry, as long as it’s something. I may not have the space to concentrate on a full book, but that doesn’t mean I have to stop writing altogether, I love it too much to do that 😀

November will be about writing practice, which is just as important as anything else! But it will also give me more time to help at home and eventually get this writing space up together, which I am VERY excited about 🙂

As for reading this month, I plan to read three books: The Masked Empire by Patrick Weekes, Asunder by David Gaider (re-read that one, as I’ve read it before!), and Not Wonder More – Mad Maggie and the Mystery of the Ancients by Rod Raglin (for review group). Those are the only ones that I will definitely be reading, and any extra will be a bonus 😀

That means no reviews except my review group one this month, and none in December either. My normal reading and reviews will resume in January 2015 (a scary thought to think that’s not so far away!).

So, there you have it. This post was a lot longer than intended, sorry!

**TL;DR – No Christmas novella due to a lot of stuff going on. Tons of writing practice instead this month! Back to book writing in the New Year.**

Other things that happened around the writing/blogging community this month:

Callum McLaughlin released his new book, False Awakening!

Topaz Winters has a beautiful new look to her site.

EclecticAlli has been hosting a brilliant set of posts for her Masquerade Ball Blog Party.

Natacha Guyot announced an exciting new project she’s working on!

Island of Glass by Ruth Nestvold is at a lowered price until Mid-November!

My Creative Flows blog had a great post on tips for those participating in NaNo and how to get through it! 😀

Oh, also, to all those actually participating in NaNoWriMo this month- Good Luck! 😀

How did your October go? Do you have many plans for November?

September 2014 Round-up and October 2014 Plan

I know, I’m a bit late!

Anyway, didn’t I just write one of these? 😀 I can’t even keep up with this year!

This month was a little bit of a blur, what with my vacation and getting The Magic Spark ready for release. But I managed it!

September:

– Kept to schedule.
– Released The Magic Spark, my fifth book!
– Had an awesome vacation, and got some lovely rest.
– Connected regularly with bloggers and found some new blogging friends, which was nice 😀
– Managed to share other people’s posts and book releases on Twitter and Facebook much more effectively.
– Just managed to squeeze in 4 books to reach my target! – The Rule of Four by Dustin Thomason and Ian Caldwell, Destiny of Kings by Fiona Tarr, The Christmas Beginning by Anne Perry, and The Forbidden Quest by Alaina Stanford.
– Cut social media hours down to 2 hours a day- Still figuring that out. It started well, but has recently started creeping back up!

Doesn’t seem like I did a lot, but it certainly felt like an exhausting month!

As for marketing… yeah, let’s not talk about that utter failure to do anything…

Onto October 😀

1st-31st- Write first draft of next book.
15th- Mid-October Book Review.
29th- End of Month Indie Review.

Goals:

– Read 4 books.
– I’m gonna put marketing in this list, but we all know how that’s going to go! 😀
– Write some short pieces, I miss that.
– Actively support others, and find new ways of doing so!
– Sort out my Pinterest boards, they are such a mess.

So, other things that happened around the blogging/writing community this month:

– Marcia Meara set up a new writing focused blog- http://marciamearawrites.com/

– Shehanne Moore came back to us! – http://shehannemoore.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/a-whole-new-league-with-anne-lange/

– Cassie at My Etch a Sketch Life gave Stolen Bloodline a great review! http://myetchasketchlife.com/2014/09/17/stolen-bloodline-by-mishka-jenkins/

– Got a sneak peek of characters from The Legends of Windemere by Charles Yallowitz series I am really looking forward to reading! – http://legendsofwindemere.com/2014/09/16/picture-sneak-peek-gabriel-and-his-unicorn/

– Karen at My Train of Thoughts posted some great quotes from some awesome bloggers- http://mytrainofthoughtson.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/3-quotes-by-writers-we-know-and-admire/

– D. Emery Bunn released his new book, Darkness Concealed, which has gotten some great reviews so far! – http://www.demerybunn.com/blog/2014/09/23/darkness-concealed-is-out-now/

Hope everyone has a great October, a month (from the looks of Pinterest and Tumblr) that is going to be filled with pie and everything pumpkin related 😀

Photo by Twisted Pixel on Flickr- Click photo to go to Photostream

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Progress Report:

Status of sixth manuscript: Writing first draft.
Word count: 6,865

Books read: 1/4

Mid-October Book Review: Writing review.

August 2014 Round-Up and September 2014 Plan

Books and Reading Wednesday postponed until Friday, because I am currently writing it! 😀

So, September already!

Actually this month felt rather normal compared to the others which have whipped by! It was still a busy month, but a bit more manageable at least.

Now a round up of August:

– Kept to schedule even though I completely skipped a week of writing.
– Posted every scheduled day.
– Started posting scheduled posts on a weekend.
– Got some great reviews for my books, including my newest, Prophecy of Stones.
– Connected regularly with other bloggers, who I have to say are some amazing, talented, and very supportive people!
– Found the ‘Home’ button on Facebook! 😀 Meaning I can share other authors links more effectively.
– Read 5 books (1 over target, oh yeah!)- Scandal of the Season by Sophie Gee, In Search of a Love Story by Rachel Schurig, Sins of the Father by Melissa Barker-Simpson, The Unraveling of Lady Fury by Shehanne Moore, The Camelot Code by Sam Christer
– Started my Books and Reading Wednesday posts!
– Managed to write a couple of short pieces.
– Had an amazing interview done with DKC
– Didn’t do well on marketing 😦

I really am going to have to market better and in an imaginative way!

I have hardly done any marketing and seeing as I am trying to make this my career I am just going to have suck it up and get to it 😀

I’m still tempted by trying my hand at drawing, which I took back up this month after having a break. I did a couple of fan art pieces (sorry about quality, my scanner hates me so I took pics with camera):

Daniel and Teal’c from Stargate SG-1

Anders and Hawke from DA2 (Far too obsessed with this game!)

Maybe a teensy bit obsessed with this Stargate SG-1 too!

Would illustrations of scenes from a book be the type of thing that might get you interested in it? Any idea for other forms of imaginative marketing?

Anyway, moving onto September.

Plan:

1st-5th- Self edits of manuscript/ Hopefully come up with a title!
6th-14th- Vacation! Woohoo! 😀
6-21st- Off to the readers/Work on cover/ Work on blurb/ Create interest in my other books (aka. The dreaded marketing!).
17th- Mid-September Book Review.
22nd-29th- Final edits and read out/ Finish formatting/Drum up interest!
24th- End of September Indie Book Review.
30th- Release day!

Wow, that was a bit confusing 😀

Goals:

– Read 4 books (which I should hit as I plan to read A LOT on my vacation).
– Do some actual marketing instead of grumbling about doing it 😀
– Continue to actively support others and find new inventive ways of doing so.
– Write short and prompted pieces on regular basis.

Some other stuff that went on this month:

Elaine Jeremiah released her latest book, Reunion of the Heart!

The Amazing Winter (which should be her title with the amount she manages to accomplish!) got signed twice!

I won a copy of A Gift of Wings by Stephanie Stamm on the blog of L.Marie!

Blimey, that was a lot longer post than I meant it to be! Should be an exciting month 😀

How was your August? Have you got much going on in September?

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Progress Report:

Status of fifth manuscript: Editing first draft.

Books read: 1/4

Mid-September Book Review: Read, need to write review.

July 2014 Round-Up and August 2014 Plan

It’s August! Yeah, I don’t how that happened. Seems every month this year has crept up on me faster than it should have.

This month was a rather hectic one, but fun!

July
– Kept completely to schedule.
– Posted every scheduled day, except one I missed due to internet not working.
– I received more great reviews for my books 😀
> Heart of the Arena: 1x 5*, 4x 4*
> Stolen Bloodline: 4x 5*, 1x 4*
> The Queen’s Jester: 3x 4*
– Connected regularly with bloggers.
– Used twitter and facebook more effectively to help support other authors.
– Read 3 books (1 below target!)- The Commons, Book 1: The Journeyman by Michael Alan Peck, The Soul by S.R.Carrillo, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
– Updated my blog.
– Set up a mailing list and newsletter- Click here to sign up!
– Released Prophecy of Stones!

One goal I didn’t reach was that I didn’t look into different forms of marketing quite enough. This is something I am going to have to do, no matter how much I dislike marketing 😀 If I want to earn enough to live on from my writing, then it is something I am going to have to think about more and start implementing.

So, now onto August!

Plan:
1st- 31st- Write first draft of next book.
13th- Book review, either traditional or indie.
29th- Indie eBook review

Goals:
– Read 4 books!
– Find new ways of marketing and implement them.
– Continue actively supporting others and look into different ways of achieving this.
– Write more short pieces for prompts.

A lot of other things happened in July:

Melissa Barker-Simpson released her new book, Hands of Evil! You should definitely check it out. I am currently reading her book, Sins of the Father, and am thoroughly enjoying it (review to come!).

Ness Kingsley has returned to us 😀 She’s a great blogger, and definitely worth checking out her posts. Very excited to hear more from her in the future.

Lost to the Aether (my best friend and one of my amazing readers!) has started posting his comic, which is great fun read!

Kimberley M Ringer achieved an amazing thing by completing the Wharf to Wharf race! So a major round of applause to her!

Shehanne Moore has been posting some brilliant and hilarious posts, worth checking out just for the hamsters 😀

The Legends of Windemere trailer was released!

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Wow, what a wrap up of this month 😀

I also want to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone who re-blogged, tweeted and shared my release day post. I am so grateful for your amazing and continued support!

This weekend I will be posting some scheduled marketing posts, but I won’t be around until Monday as usual 🙂

June 2014 Round-Up and July 2014 Plan

Hello all! 😀

This is the first post I’ve had to properly say hi to everyone after my break, which was lovely, and thank you for all the nice comments you replied with 🙂

So, now onto the round-up of June. Wow, I don’t think I can even keep up with how fast this year is going! How is it July already? 😀

June:
– Kept on schedule! Finished the first draft of my book by the end of June.
– Posted every scheduled day including re-blogging.
– I got my first reviews for my books (5* for Stolen, 4* for Heart of the Arena!!- Rather excited if you couldn’t tell).
– Connected regularly with other bloggers.
– Started to more actively support fellow authors with tweets and facebook as well as doing a support post with links to other indie books (worth checking out the comments too, some great suggestions for books for your summer reading).
– Read 4 books- The Vessel by Callum McLaughlin, The Stolen Throne by David Gaider, Olivia’s Choice by Taylor Grace, Immortal Dreams Anthology by Chrissy Peebles and C.M.Owens
– Linked to other’s posts, but not enough!

So I think I actually met most of my goals for June, which is a nice surprise as it felt like another rather manic month!

Onto July:

Plan:
1st-5th- Editing first draft/Work on art for the book
6th- 20th- Off to the readers for editing/Plan next book/Start working on the cover of current book.
21st-29th- Finish editing/Formatting/Cover
30th July- July EBook Review
31st July- Release Day!

Goals:
– Read 4 books
– Link to other’s post more often.
– Keep actively supporting other authors.
– Look for new ways to market my books (using illustration, etc)

An exciting month ahead again!

I was also interviewed by Melissa Barker-Simpson, which was great fun!

I am planning to do a complete overhaul of my blog social media pages etc, changing the theme and taking some suggestions that people commented in my marketing post (books in the side bar, etc). So if my blog looks messy and weird over next few days, it’s probably because I am fiddling with it, apologies in advance! 😀

It’s also CampNano this month, which I’m not participating in, but to all those brave writers who are… GOOD LUCK! 😀

Progress Report:

Status of Fourth Manuscript: Editing first draft.

Books read: 0/4

July eBook review: Book read. Review written and ready (Yay for being super-organised!)

April 2014 Round-up and May plan

So, it’s May! How did that happen? 😀

It’s time for my monthly round-up and plan for this month, let’s have a look at how I did.

So, for April:

– Well, the biggest thing was that I didn’t get to publish my books at end of April as planned. But, as I say, I would rather wait and put them out at the best they can possibly be! 🙂
– I posted every scheduled day (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday).
– Read 4 books, a good amount for me.
– Found some great new blogs
– Connected more with regular bloggers 🙂

April has felt like such a busy month, and I don’t think May is going to be any better. If I can offer advice to anyone, it would be don’t publish 3 books at once 😀 I understand the benefits of doing it, especially as a new author, but blimey! It’s hard work!

So, looking ahead to May:

3rd-4th- Work on photos for covers.

5-9th- Final read outs of Stolen and The Queen’s Jester.

10th-16th- Produce covers/Work on blurbs/Formatting

17th-23rd- Work on marketing material/Author pages on Amazon and other platforms/Get everything organised and together 😀

29th- May E-Book Review

End of May- Publish books? (Hopefully!)

Hey, maybe this will be the month? It would be nice to think so 😀

I have to say a MASSIVE thank you so much to you guys for being so supportive! Your comments and emails really keep me motivated, and your blog posts help to keep me inspired! This writing and blogging community is such a great place to be a part of 🙂

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Progress Report

Publishing status:
> Stolen- Final read out. (Still to do: Cover, blurb, formatting, marketing).
> The Queen’s Jester- Final edits. (Still to do: Cover, blurb, final read-out, formatting, marketing).
> Third Manuscript- Final edits. (Still to do: Cover, blurb, formatting, marketing).

May E-Book Review: Book chosen.

February Round-up and Plan for March 2014

Ok, seriously, this year is going far quicker than it should!

So, now February is over it’s time to take a look back and see how it went 😀

– I posted every scheduled day (Monday, Wednesday and Friday).
– I read one e-book (only one, but at least it was something).
– I won my first blog award!
– I finished the first draft of my second novella ahead of schedule.
– I finished the editing of Stolen and put it away until April.

Not bad, it felt a lot more whilst I was doing it! It did feel like a successful month though 🙂

Now, onto the plan for March:

3rd- 8th- Plan third novella and do research/Finishing editing second novella when back from proof-readers

10th March -3rd April- Write first draft of third novella

31st March- March E-Book Review

I also hope to get back to writing short pieces of fiction, which I will probably post on my other blog, Inspiring the Words, which has become a bit neglected.

Melissa Barker-Simpson is holding some writing contests over at Featured Fiction, which I’d like to enter (you should check it out to, it‘s relatively new and looks great fun!). I also want to look into other prompted pieces, as I do miss just doing little snippets of writing that isn’t to do with a novella, so that is another of my goals this month.

With February being such a short month, it kind of put everything a little out of schedule for me trying to write a novella a month, so I have to go into April for my next. But, I am not writing one in April (as this is the month of finalising things and publishing!), so I should be back on track in May.

Busy month ahead, but exciting! 😀 I am so glad I decided to start this writing journey, I am loving every minute of it and my life is pretty much all consumed by it now!

How did your February go? Did you meet any targets you set yourself? Any goals for March?