Back in November, I made a shocking discovery about myself. It's something I should've realized when I started my first novel (Reborn) on January 15, 2009, but I guess I've been in denial.
I'm not a full-time writer.
I have a full-time day job as a library assistant for a small academic library. I've had this job since December 1, 2008. When I don't have day job related work, I can do as I please. Read, edit, blog, write, spend too much time on Facebook. But when I'm at the day job, that work comes first. That's what they pay me for, after all.
But I wanted to write and publish like a full-time writer. I see other people writing 3,000+ words a day. They publish four, six, twelve novels a year! I wanted to be just like them, so I set goals, tons of goals, to write and edit and blog and everything else all these full-time writers could do. And sometimes those goals were finished on time. Most of the time, they're not.
Something
was always not getting done. I would always finish my day job work, but
if I replied back to blog comments, then I didn't get any writing done.
If I wrote, I didn't get editing done. If I edited, nothing else got done.
I started to think about what I wanted to write and publish months and years
ahead (I think I was up to 2020 or more), and it all overwhelmed me. I
lost a day or two of writing in my NaNoWriMo novel because of that.
Then, it smacked me in the forehead. I need to work like a part-time
writer. Duh! Trust me, I'm usually quite more brilliant than this.
So what am I changing?
No
more thinking I can publish four novels a year. I have two to three works
(Reborn and People of Foxwick and Their Neighbors and Remarked) lined up for publication this year. Two out of the three are written and in various
stages of edits, and I'm slowly starting to write Remarked, The Fate Challenges #1.5 Novella, which I hope will be around 20,000-30,000 words. Next year in 2015, I'm looking at two to three publications (Reigned, a prequel novel in The Fate Challenges, and Reforged, a novel, book two of The Fate Challenges, and possibly Loveless, a short novel, which is book one of Less Than Princess Perfect), but we'll see. I won't publish any of them, if I don't feel they are ready.
As you've seen I'm
cutting back on blogging. I love blogging, but it eats up a ton of
time. Last year, I cut down to twice a week, so 8-10 posts a month per blog. Yes, people, I had two blogs, so it was more like 16-20 times a month. I dropped Surrounded by Books Reviews, and I'm posting once a week on Wednesdays on this blog (I'm still over on Untethered Realms' blog
too, but that's less frequent). Of course, my blog schedule is subject
to change for various reasons, but Wednesdays are mainly when I'll post.
Mondays are always busy at work. I'm not always at work on Fridays,
since I have an alternating schedule (Monday-Saturday one week and then
Monday-Thursday the next). Wednesdays seemed like a good idea, and I
didn't want to give up IWSG and Indie Life!
I'm
giving myself more time to write and edit. I don't want to make
deadlines I can't keep. I keep saying I won't, but I still have here and
there. I hope to do better with it this year.
I won't be so hard on myself when I don't complete a goal on time. Goals are flexible. I need to keep that in mind.
Maybe one of these days I'll be a full-time writer. It's the main goal, but until then, I'll be content writing part-time.
Science fiction - space
opera/adventure
EBook ISBN 978-0-9827139-6-9
CassaStar was only the beginning…
The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather.
The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren's civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan's technology and strange mental abilities.
To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves, the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. All Byron wanted was his privacy…
The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather.
The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren's civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan's technology and strange mental abilities.
To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves, the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. All Byron wanted was his privacy…
“This sequel to Cavanaugh's first novel, CassaStar,
delivers on the promise of its predecessor, combining military action sequences
and political intrigue with strong, memorable characters. Reminiscent of the
action-driven stories of Robert A. Heinlein's early fiction…” - Library
Journal
To Purchase: Amazon Kindle / Amazon UK
