Four Steps Forward, Two Steps Back #IWSG

The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh. April's co-hosts are Christopher D. Votey, Madeline Mora-Summonte, Fundy Blue, and Chrys Fey. Visit the other IWSG bloggers here.

The "steps" I am alluding to in this post's title involve months. It's already April, and yet I'm already two months behind in my goals. I must admit it is making me question (almost) everything. If I complete half my goals this month, it'll be a miracle. So insecurity, I'm feeling it in spades this month.

April's IWSG question: Have you taken advantage of the annual A to Z Challenge in terms of marketing, networking, publicity for your book? What were the results? I did use the A to Z Challenge one year to create a flash fiction book set in my fictional world of Foxwick and its neighbors. I've sold 30 copies of A to Z Flashes of Foxwick and have given away 2269 copies. Not bad for a collection less than 10,000 words.

As for my March goals, I pretty much still have everything left over from March to do in April. I did finish editing a friend's novel, and yesterday (April 4), I finished writing A Soul to Keep (Soul Reaper #2). The novel, my ninth completed one, came in just under 80,000 words.

Despite my April goals, I would do well if I could remember I'm not a full-time writer. I tend to forget that. So we'll just see what I can do this month.

Here is my to-do list for April:

- Edit two novellas for a friend.

- Edit Marked. This goal will contain a content edit, a line edit, and a Kindle proofread.

- Edit Determined. This goal will contain a line edit and a Kindle proofread.

- Outline A Soul to Take (Soul Reaper #3).

- Create mock-up covers for Reborn, Determined, Marked, Forged, and Destined.

- Read through and create a glossary for the Soul Reaper series. I have around 217,000 to read through so I can catch up where I'm heading in the series. I know I've gotten details wrong, so it's important not to make things worse. *sighs* Yes, I should have taken better notes all along. Next series, I promise.

I don't expect to get through that last goal this month, but we'll see.

2017 Stats: 61,770 words written and 275,965 words edited

In March, I read Alex J. Cavanaugh's CassaDawn short story. I really liked it. It's a fun read, although I would have liked a little more buildup surrounding Byron's conflict. I will write a proper review soon. I'm nearing the end of Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley. It has such beautiful descriptions, although I wished for more action. I've enjoyed how it plays off the Beauty and the Beast tale.

Have you seen the Beauty and the Beast movie? We went the Saturday after it premiered. It was magical.

SPECULATIVE FICTION BOOKS

RELEASING IN APRIL

Toward a Secret Sky by Heather Maclean

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

Gauntlet by Holly Jennings

The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams

Tyrant’s Throne by Sebastien de Castell

Skullsworn by Brian Staveley

Long Black Veil by Jennifer Finney Boylan

The Castaways by Jessika Fleck

Glass Faerie by Rachel Morgan

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

The Breaking Light by Heather Hansen

True North by L.E. Sterling

Given to the Sea by Mindy McGinnis

Rescued by the Space Pirate by Nina Croft

Stolen by the Space Pirate by Nina Croft

Saving the Space Pirate by Nina Croft

Star Struck by Kalli Lanford

Falling for the Billionaire Wolf and His Baby by Sasha Summers

Drakon’s Prey by N.J. Walters

Once Bitten by Heather McCorkle

Brimstone by Cherie Priest

Locked Tight by Susan Kaye Quinn

#IWSG: The Pros and Cons of Writing Every Day | A Cover Reveal of Misha Gerrick's Endless

IWSG was created by the Captain Ninja Alex J. Cavanaugh. Click here to visit the other IWSG participants. The co-hosts are Megan Morgan, Christopher D. Votey, Viola Fury, Christine Rains, Madeline Mora-Summonte, L.G. Keltner, Patricia Lynne, and Rachna Chhabria.

"Write every day" is common advice given to writers.

When I first started writing, I wrote most days, but I was only writing in other people's worlds via online roleplaying games and fan fiction. That dedication to writing most days changed when I started writing for publication. I wrote in spurts. Some months I would write 20,000+ words. Others, I was lucky to get in 2,000 words. On July 1, 2015, I decided to spend a number of minutes a day on writing.

Now I don't believe you have to write every day. It's what is working for me now, but that doesn't mean I won't skip a day or more in the future. Like all advice, writing every day has its pros and cons.

Three pros are consistent writing, easier to remember where you left off in a manuscript, and completing works in a timely manner.

Two cons are you never get a day off and the necessity of having a new project ready to go when you finish an old one. That last con is my big insecurity for the day. I'm a few weeks away from starting a new novel, A Soul to Reap (Soul Reaper #1). In three or four months, I will start a new series, To the Future (YA Urban Fantasy). I've been panicking the last few weeks and wondering how in the world will I be ready to write these new books.

What is your insecurity this month?

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If you haven't guessed by now, I'm a big overachiever. I finished last month's goals. Two months in a row! On March 14, I completed the first draft of A Soul to Kill (Soul Reaper #0). The first draft came in at 40,905 words. Of course, two days after I finished it, I've been wondering if the story should have been told in first person point of view instead of third. If so, then I have a big rewrite to do in April/May. *sighs* Destined (The Fate Challenges #3) continues to progress, and I've completed 17 chapters out of 41. I finished edits on "Folds in Life and Death" and the bonus woodwose section, which I  plan to make available for free on my website in the coming months. I also outlined "A Soul to Protect" and have been writing it since March 15 and am on scene two out of five. I've made some progress with marketing, but we'll see how it goes the next few months.

My goals for April are:

• Write for 30 minutes a day in Destined.
• Write for 15 minutes a day in "A Soul to Protect." When I finish this short story, I'll start writing A Soul to Reap.
• Outline A Soul to Reap.
• Edit Marked based off my first critique partner's notes.
• Start rewriting/editing A Soul to Kill.

What are your goals for April?

Current 2016 Stats: 90,027 words written and 705 pages edited

I'm over at the Parallels' blog today for the A-Z Challenge: Emotions. I have an excerpt from "Folds in Life and Death."

“First, do no harm.” Blake Ryan swore that oath to become a doctor. Ironic, given that he spent most of his thousand year life sucking souls out of other immortals. 

Things are different now. Using regular shots of morphine to keep his inner monster at bay, Ryan has led a quiet life since the Second World War. His thrills now come from saving lives, not taking them.

Until a plane crash brings Aleria into his hospital. Her life is vibrant. Crack to predators like him. She’s the exact sort of person they would hunt, and thanks to a severe case of amnesia, she’s all but defenseless.

Leaving Aleria vulnerable isn’t an option, but protecting her means unleashing his own inner monster. Which is a problem, because his inner monster wants her dead most of all.

Pre-order at AmazonUS | Amazon Universal | Apple | Nook | Kobo or add to Goodreads.

Misha Gerrick lives near Cape Town, South Africa, and can usually be found staring at her surroundings while figuring out her next book. Tumblr | Twitter | Google Plus | Writing Blog

To celebrate one year since its re-release, Once upon a Nightmare: A Collection is 99c for a limited time. Purchase at Amazon.com | Other Amazon Stores | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo | Nook | OmniLit | Smashwords.

Writing Update: April Goals

Happy Wednesday!

A while back, I mentioned I was going to the doctor about my wrist. Well, a couple weeks ago, I had a nerve conduction study. It's confirmed I do have carpal tunnel. The good news is it's mild and hasn't caused any permanent nerve damage yet. My day job is working to make my work space more ergonomic. I also discovered I have osteoarthritis, which accounts for my joint/back pain. Because of these problems, there will be times that I'll have to go slower on my writing/editing and have already removed Destined (The Fate Challenges 3) off my 2015 goals list.

As for the progress on my March goals, I've been pushing through the pain to get things done. I finished editing my friend's novel (It was so good, and I think people will enjoy it!). As for Once upon a Nightmare: A Collection, I completed the content edits, line edits, and Kindle proofread. Starting today, I'll be formatting the collection for print. I haven't made much progress in writing "On Day 168," but I'm still hoping to finish it by the end of March or early April.

Here are my April goals:

• Once upon a Nightmare: A Collection - I have the print proofread, incorporating changes in the print and ebook documents, final formatting, and publishing. This collection will be published in April.
• Once upon a Nightmare Blog Tour - A few people inquired about promoting the collection. I plan to create a promo post with options for them. Also, I am going ahead with the you-choose-your-horror-ending type blog tour. My goal is to write up the story and find hosts (I have a list of those who have said they'd be interested in helping out). You'll see the blog tour sometime in May.
• Revamp the Blog - A while ago, I decided my author tagline should be "Feeding your inner bookworm." I've been meaning to change the blog to reflect my tagline, but I haven't quite gotten around to it yet. A lot of the images I want to create involve drawing them too. If I want to get them done at some point, then I have to add them to my to-do list.
• Marked - If time, I want to get back to writing Marked (The Fate Challenges 1.5).

If you're interested in helping promote Once upon a Nightmare: A Collection (paranormal horror/thriller; approx. 46,000 words) or review it and haven't already told me so, please let me know. I must admit I'm so proud of the progress I've made with this collection and am so happy I decided to create a second edition and republish it. I've added over 8,000 words to it since January and think the stories are now told the way they should've been all along.

What are your goals for April?

2015 Stats (1/1/2015-3/24/2015): 14,131 words written and 811 pages edited

March Stats and April Goals

As I mentioned yesterday, I would recount March's stats and April's goals.

My stats for March:
Submissions: 2
Rejections: 3
Acceptances: 1
Word Count: 9,088
Short Stories Written and Completed: 1

I wrote fourteen flash fiction pieces, and multiple blog posts. Except for a few posts that might creep up here and there, I'm set and ready to go in the blogs for April and May. If you haven't realized yet, I'm participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge. I plan to comment at least on every blog once during the month of April or at least trying to. If I don't respond much to other people's blogs, it isn't because I have stopped reading. I do read or at least glance through all blog posts, but I don't have time to comment everywhere. There aren't that many hours in the day, but I will try to stop by. I promise.

April's Goals:
Write five short stories within the first week or two of the month
Revise the first five chapters of Virtuoso this weekend
Revise my query letter for Virtuoso this weekend
Rewrite through Chapter 14 in Virtuoso by the end of April

I'll also have my PWP assignments, books to read and review, and some friends' works to critique.

Will I get it all done? I don't know. It's a lot to do, but I'm going to try my best.

In the end, though, April's going to be crazy fun.