There's no point to talking about the situation yet, because I'm just going to depress myself when things could actually be okay.
So.
I ended up resetting my goal in September to allow for any income related to my writing skills to go toward my $7500 a month goal goal. (Which means, editing, ad money from a writing blog, money for hosting writing classes, royalties etc. all count.)
On this new system, I'm taking a look at income generated and word-count, because I do really want my actual book writing to add the majority to my income.
Generated Income
Last month, I'd set a goal for $300 generated which is the sum of incomes generated previously and future income. Yes, this means I count the incomes twice, but it works because I want to see how my income generation grows while also seeing how much I'm actually getting in every month.
This month, though, some royalty money I'd loaned to my family got paid back, and it was enough to actually boost my income so much that I lifted the goal to $500 about half-way through. (And then still managed to get over that.)
But because most of this money is a real windfall (writing related as it is), I decided to keep the goal at $500 this month, because it's a nice, lofty goal to reach for, which should keep me busy for time being.
What am I spending all this money on? Mmm... first, the programs I need to update my books. Second, I bought a new web domain (with a custom e-mail address.) Other than that, I'm buying a map for The War of Six Crowns and everything else will go into a kitty to either carry me if I happen to go into a lean month (which feels like it might happen this month) and marketing.
I'm delaying most of my marketing plans until my books are updated. (Just makes sense to me.) So really, finishing those updates are vital.
Writing
When it comes to writing, I didn't achieve most of what I'd wanted to do, but I did win NaNoWriMo. In fact, I ended up writing 60,000 words.
I still feel like I've got 100,000 words to go. (Yes, I'm aware this book is huge.) So, I have a bit of a monster task in front of me. Especially now that I have a fraction of my time available.
So... I don't think I'll be able to finish the book this year. (Which makes me really, really upset. Deep breaths.)
I also need to finish updating my books this month so I can start pushing with marketing. I'm hoping to start with this over the weekend. I'm just glad to have all the tools at my disposal again. I just need time. (Deep deep breaths.)
So how are you doing?
Extra money is always good!
ReplyDeleteYou beat NaNo in three weeks. Well done.
Fantastic NaNo win there, well done! I hope everything settles down for you soon, don't let it drag you down too much :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's good that you won with writing the most words... hopefully you'll find time to write the rest of it soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear things are still so stressful, keep holding out hope it will change for the good Misha. It took me years for me to be able to work from home which has given me back my life so I can do other things... xox ♡
I'm sorry about the stress, but it looks like you're doing well with your goals, so congrats on that! And good luck finishing those books so you can move forward.
ReplyDeleteWow, congrats on your NaNoWriMo win! It looks like you're doing really well at achieving your goals so far. I realised during NaNo that my book is a beast too - I'm no where near done - if I manage to even finish the first draft by summer I'll be happy
ReplyDeleteCongrats on all that you have achieved so far Misha. You have come a long way and always remember that every stepping stone will take you to the next plateau.
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