Weekly Writing Check In – Page 12

Weekly writing check-in: of owls and edits

Editing owl thinks you should be editing.

I met my goal this week. The paper edits for The Trouble with Necromancers are done!

Not only that, but I’m up to page 8 on getting those edits back into the electronic version of the manuscript.

Slow and steady and all that.

And since I was in the editing zone, I also edited two pieces of flash fiction as well.

This week’s goal is to get as many edits as I can from the page and into the manuscript. This really will be a slow and steady endeavor (I’m trying not to call it a slog–need to stay optimistic).

Also, we have barred owls in the neighborhood, although this is not the most photogenic picture of them. They must be nesting close by because yesterday, the “who cooks for you” sounded like it was coming from the back porch.

I wonder how they are at editing.

Weekly writing check-in: spring break

Spring hasn’t exactly sprung here yet, but since the driveway is no longer an ice rink, I’ll take it.

I’m continuing the paper edit of The Trouble with Necromancers.

I’m really hoping to finish that this week. Just the paper part, mind you, not the part where I put all the updates into the actual manuscript. That’s its own challenge.

Otherwise, that’s about it. There’s not a lot that’s exciting about editing. Oh, look! I removed a comma. Oh, look! I put it back in.

Weekly writing check-in: back again

I was offline for a bit. And now? Here I am! Back again.

I’m working my way through the paper edits of The Trouble with Necromancers. I’ve forgotten how much I like editing on paper. It’s so tactile.

In Coffee and Ghosts news, I have all the large print editions available. You can find them most easily on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Not only that, The Complete Coffee and Ghosts is now live on all vendors (and in print).

You may have noticed that I didn’t do a launch for this box set. My goal is to (hopefully, eventually) snag a BookBub featured deal on the set. But for now, it’s selling quite well on Barnes and Noble.

Also? I took the plunge (again) and signed up for the Iowa Summer Writing Festival. So. Very. Excited.

Weekly writing check-in: round one, done

They look like they’re about to drop an album … or take a nap.

Somehow (and I’m not sure how), I made it through the first round of edits on The Trouble with Necromancers. I managed to cut ~6,500 words in the process as well.

Yesterday I printed the whole thing off, and I will do this next edit on paper. While I’m doing that, I will also revisit the series structure, because changing up the first book means all the others change as well (like so many falling dominos).

I also managed to get the second Coffee and Ghosts book into large print. This coming week I hope to finish up the third, and then I may just tackle hardcovers. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Weekly writing check-in: some really large print

Is it War and Peace or Coffee and Ghosts?

Another week where I make all the things. Well, two things.

I received proof copies for both The Complete Coffee and Ghosts and the large print version of Must Love Ghosts.

Just look at the size of The Complete Coffee and Ghosts! It’s like War and Peace, only with a lot less Napoleon and the burning of Moscow and more … coffee and ghosts.

I’m also pleased that I can create large print editions now as well, and one of my goals for this coming week is to get books two and three into the large print format.

This week, I also did some more revision work on The Trouble with Necromancers.

Not only that, but I tackled the taxes, and they’re (almost) ready to go to the accountant.

Not a bad week here in blustery, snowy, cold Minnesota.

Weekly writing check-in: Pulp Literature and some progress

I’m making some progress on the revision of The Trouble with Necromancers. So much so that I’m actually writing this ahead of time so I can get more hours in on Sunday morning. (Writing first, then the internet: a strategy that seems to work. Although really, this shouldn’t be a surprise.)

In this week’s fun thing, I was featured as part of Pulp Literature’s Year of Authors. They’re celebrating their five-year anniversary, and I’m thrilled that I’ve had two stories published with them during that time. To celebrate, they’re also running sales on their magazine and books. So head on over for some deals.

This week, I also finished up the formatting for the Coffee and Ghosts series bundle, which I’m calling The Complete Coffee and Ghosts. You know, for those who need all their ghosts (and coffee) in one place. The ebook is already up for pre-order and the paperback is making its way into various stores as well.

That’s it for this week. Have a lovely Sunday filled with reading and writing.

Weekly writing check-in: dork side wide

A snowy week filled with … pneumonia, for my daughter. She’s on the road to recovery, but it wasn’t a week where I got much writing work done. Sometimes, when you’re anxious or worried or there’s too much going on, you need to step away from the writing. And that’s okay.

I did do a variety of other things. For instance, Dating on the Dork Side is now wide!

Actually, it’s the same size it has always been. What I mean is it’s now available (nearly) everywhere online, not just Amazon. It’s already up on the big retailers such as Nook, Kobo, Google Play, and Apple. So, if you’ve been waiting to grab a copy for your Nook, now’s your chance.

In other cool news, Vellum can now format for large print. So I’m getting Coffee & Ghosts into large print. I’m also combining the three books into one set, for ebook and paperback, but not large print, since the three-book paperback weighs in at +800 pages! It’s a doorstopper.

In audio news, I signed the contract for Coffee & Ghosts. More on that when it’s officially official. Right now, I’m pulling together some notes for the narrator. I’m very excited about this.

That’s it for now. With a little luck, we’ll be able to return to our regularly scheduled writing and Girl Scout cookie selling next week.

Weekly writing check-in: polar vortex and editing

The only way to deal with the polar vortex

Oh, it was cold here this week. I think it got down to -29, without the windchill. And, yes, the only way to handle the polar vortex is to bundle up and nap.

In writing news this week, I have the edits back for The Trouble with Necromancers. So I’m switching gears to work on that because the changes I make in the first book will naturally spill into the second.

The changes I need to make? Ahem. I need to make sure the story in my head is actually on the page. To solve this issue, I asked myself: What if Poppy (the main character) knew something about the antagonist from the very start of the story?

The single question opened up not only this novel but the entire series. I’m so excited to dig in and make those changes. In related news, I now have a post-it note next to my computer that says:

Stop being sneaky.

Here’s the thing about getting an edit. You don’t necessarily need to take the editor’s suggestions (although you may want to). You do need to look at the issues and address them in some way. Maybe that way is not to delete or change but amplify. A good edit helps you see your blind spots.

In audio news, I think I’m a step closer to securing the narrator I want for Coffee & Ghosts. More on that when it’s official.

Weekly writing check-in: it’s cold enough to freeze all the words

It’s so very cold here, so very, very cold. And it’s going to get colder before it gets warmer.

So we’re just going to bundle up here, read and write and hope for the best.

In actual writing news, I’m making progress turning the novella into book two of the series. This isn’t a super speedy process, but it seems to be working, and I’m pleased.

I also have some samples to review for the audio version of Coffee & Ghosts, and I’m so excited. I can’t wait to get the entire series into audio format.

Weekly writing check-in: chapters and podcasts

As I mentioned last week, the draft of The Trouble with Necromancers was finished, minus giving it some chapters. I’m happy to report I have done just that and sent the manuscript off for editing.

Then I jumped right into organizing the expansion of the novella The Trouble with Doppelgangers into an actual novel. There are several threads I can weave into the narrative. I created a book map for the existing story, looked at where I could expand or add, and brainstormed three major plot threads.

In this coming week, I will tackle … well, I’m not really sure what I’ll tackle. Something related to the novel, I’m certain. It’s a check-in with a cliffhanger. You’ll have to come back next week to see what I accomplished.

Even though it’s 2019, I’m still rounding up some of my favorite things from last year. I didn’t discover podcasts last year, mind you, but I truly embraced them in 2018.