So here I am, a bit late. I promised to be back on Monday, but Monday wasn't a good day. It started with people visiting our neighbors keeping us awake past twelve on Saturday and Sunday. But just as things settled down on Monday morning, a huge thunderstorm, the likes I have never seen in the Western Cape, came over us.
Our cats were like: Meh.
Our dogs... Two were in a blind panic. The third was completely confused by the drama, which, in his barking to understand what was up with his buddies... added more drama.
I think I fell asleep at 4am.
I managed to get work done, but when it came to actually writing anything (blog, fiction, whatever)... no go. By lunch time, I was a zombie.
Needless to say, I'm so behind on my goals that I have to hit 3k words every day for the rest of the month to get anywhere approaching the goal I'd set.
I'm feeling good about my rewrite, though. So I might just make it. If I don't have any more horrific late nights to screw up my writing routine. But yeah. So far, I've written almost 1500 words today, so I should be making progress.
In somewhat unrelated news, I'm struggling to decide if I should still publish Endless this year. The plan had been to have it out by end November, but... it's hard to set a date when it isn't clear on when you can actually pay for your cover so that you can use it.
The good news is, I'll be getting a salary real soon. The problem is that the date isn't finalized. Which means I can't finalize a date. Which means that I can't set up anything approaching marketing around the launch...
*Headdesk*
*Glances up.* How are you doing?
And the crazy continues. =) 3K a day? Gosh, that sounds like a blast. I suppose if there were no kids in the house... As it is, I'm slow and steady.
ReplyDeleteSo I say, push back your date if you're not ready. I mean, the amount of work that goes into promotion... You deserve all the time you need to prep for a launch.
Sometimes things just don't go to plan - especially if we've not had enough sleep.
ReplyDeleteYou've been a busy woman! Push back your date and relieve some of your stress. We'll still be here eagerly awaiting.
ReplyDeleteHey Crystal! Slow and steady gets you done too. I'm actually in the process of pushing myself a bit so I don't fall into a groove, just plodding along and all that. I have to say, you're right about prepping for the launch. Just such a drag when my book is pretty much ready. :-/
ReplyDeleteThat's true, Patsy.
I try to keep busy and myself out of trouble, Christine. ;-) Pushing back will relieve some stress...
Good job on your rewrite. And don't stress if you don't make your writing goal. We all need to give ourselves a little break when things don't go our way.
ReplyDeleteI've been struggling with trying to decide if I should publish something or not...I still haven't decided. Take your time with Endless. When its time, publish it. Don't rush. :)
Nice to hear that your world is settling in and stabilizing. And yes, the weather has been up and down and all around! I posted two pix on my latest blog post that are dramatic evidence of this.
ReplyDeleteLife has a funny way of messing up with ur best laid plans. I hope your writing goals go well for the rest of the month!
ReplyDeleteQuality is better than quantity in my book. Better 1000 finely distilled words that 3K in rough form. Where I live, bad weather is almost a constant! Better writing luck!
ReplyDeleteIf you have to postpone for better timing, do it. Don't kill yourself and don't overstretch your dollar. Take your time and do it right.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a crazy weekend indeed. Best to take your time with the cover and release.
ReplyDeleteProps to you for managing to write through all of that. Certainly doesn't sound easy:)
ReplyDeleteChrys, that's true. Sometimes I do have a tendency to push myself too hard, and maybe publishing on such short notice will be one thing too many.
ReplyDeleteCatherine, the weather's insane here. I mean, we didn't even get half our usual rainfall and our wet season is pretty much over. The worst thing about the thunderstorm (other than the panicked dogs) was that for all that drama, we didn't get more than a tiny bit of rain. So tiny, our meter couldn't even measure it.
Thanks Meradeth!
Hi Roland! Nice seeing you here. :-) I agree with you. When I say 3k, I mean 3k of not-filler. Which actually does fall in my realm of possibility when I manage to wrangle my stray thoughts into writing the way I'm supposed to. Thanks for the good wishes!
Thanks Alex. I think you (and everyone else) are probably right. I need to be sensible about this.
Thanks for weighing in, Pat.
It often isn't, Mark, but it can be fun if I remember to enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by! :-)
I hope you make the deadline for the end of November. If not, it's okay to push the publishing date back. It doesn't mean you failed. It just means the time isn't right. And . . . sometimes things come up. Wishing you best.
ReplyDeleteYay for a salary! Those are some great word counts. Good job!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think my dogs would've freaked out. Whenever they hear something that scares them, they crawl onto our bed and lie down on my head. Then I have a shivering dog on top of my head when I'm trying to sleep. Gah!
It sounds like you are prioritizing things that are important, like having a salary so that your needs will be met. It's all about balance. Sometimes that means dreams or goals have to take it down a notch in the interest of reality. You did a great job with the launch of your Vanished Knight series, so go easy on yourself. If you get Endless published by the end of December, it will be just in time for all those holiday gift cards to be spent purchasing it. Marketing will probably go further at that point, anyway.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the upcoming salary.
ReplyDeleteWhatever you decide on Endless, its going to work out just fine. You're a great author.
I understand your pain of loud neighbors... I have new ones that are so loud ... it makes it hard to sleep, which then makes it difficult to focus.
ReplyDeleteWow to getting so many words written in a day... keep going. I'm sure when the time comes everything will fall into place for your book ♡
All you can do is press on the best you can on the fronts that you're able.
ReplyDeleteThat's true, Murees. The time might just not be right, and it's better to accept it and do what I can.
ReplyDeleteLoni, that's pretty much exactly what happened, except the big one ducked his head under my mother's bed and hyperventilated (I kid you not) while the small one basically threw everything over and dug things out of all the nooks and crannies trying to escape.
Good point, Shell. Right now, I still feel like I can achieve my goals long term. It's just the short term repeated putting off of things for absolute stupid things like not having $10 that makes my batteries go flat.
Thanks so much, Sandra!
Launna, I hope they quiet down for you soon! The good thing for me is that those noisy ones were just temporary.
True, Terry. Very true.