♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦
Topic #155
Share your writing goals for 2019.
Welcome back to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop! If you’re new to the series, the authors included are grateful for your reads and appreciate, even more so, when you share our writings with your friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors engage and impress weekly. Be prepared to become a regular reader.
Changes started coming for 2019 in the fourth quarter of 2018. Admittedly, those changes were forming long before then. Having a baby does a lot to alter one’s life, right down to how we get our work done. Concessions have to be made! But, it’s not just family that influences our schedule. Trial and error, learning and growth, do a lot to shape plans.
Writing, like all art, is shaped by our experiences. Who I am isn’t the same person today as a few years ago. I’m much happier and have learned a lot the last couple of years. My political fire is hotter than ever. Being a mom is something I enjoy more than I even assumed I would. I’m totally slacking on cooking, however, but I feel the desire building around that once more, so hopefully there will be new recipes to share in the coming months.
Most importantly, I’ve learned that spending time with my daughter is my priority. The time I have is limited, due to professional obligations that keep a roof over our heads and food on the table, so trimming something else has had to take place. During my pregnancy, I worked very hard to get the blog written for months, and throughout 2018, once that work had come and gone, I underwent great efforts to keep the blog written for two months out, so that if anything came up, I would have that time to buffer me.
That worked great for the year, but I’ve found that it’s gotten harder as the baby grows into toddler-hood. I’m far more tired at night (when I would write my posts), and far more greedy for time with her, and just life in general. But, don’t fear. I had already planned out my books long before my pregnancy. While still in graduate school, I had written my trilogy. It takes a long time to get books on their feet, even after the writing is done. And, other events came along that delayed them: changes in publishers, editors, and formatting. Don’t forget, I’m not independently wealthy, so I have to save up to afford editors and other publishing expenses that come with this gig (like advertising).
Covers also take a bit to get done. I have an amazing artist who has done all my covers and sets me up with some swag and professional items like cards. Again, costs and design time add to the timeline.
Trust me, though, that’s great. You probably wonder how I’d think that, because nothing is more exciting than getting a book out, but I’m comfortable with taking plenty of time to walk my work through the process. (Which is also why I get so ticked off when a typo comes up in any of my books–how is that even possible after editors and proofreaders and I have read it several times over before it goes to print?)
Those are a couple of the things that will be on my docket. This coming year, I’ve planned to reduce my blog to posts on Fridays. This blog hop will still happen on Mondays. My environmental news roundup has been moved to a facebook page, on an ‘as I can basis.’ Thus, my workload is halved–on the blog, anyway. More importantly, the blog will focus on topics that are more appropriate to my site, which is smart.
In addition, I’m planning the publication of the third part of my trilogy. The editing has been done, and I just need to finalize my review of it. A proofreader will need to be hired and the job completed. The cover will need to undergo design and execution. Since mid 2018, I’ve been working on short videos and GIFs to deepen the engagement readers can have with my series and other books. I foresee that continuing, because it’s insanely fun. Still, there’s a reality to face: the book may not make it out until 2020, should any portion of the above be delayed. Certainly, that is all part of my planning. Hopefully the cover will be available in 2019, because I’ve already created other media with that date, although I’ve missed release dates in the past, like anyone else.
Toward the end of the year, I’ll need to look into hiring an editor for the sequel to OP-DEC, if I can afford to do so. Let me tell you all about the cost of daycare and how that affects writing plans…
So, with the blog under a new format, and the final book of the trilogy edging toward completion, 2019 is shaping up to be a great year for writing. Let’s hop on over to see what the other authors have planned…
That typo thing- how does that happen when so many people have checked your work? I don’t understand it either!
Gremlins! hahaha! (Remember that old guy in the Gremlins movie? “It’s gremlins!”)
I’ve been reading a lot from authors trying to decide at what frequency to release a book.
I think the projects decide, and the level work being put into them from the writing, through the editing and formatting. There’s no way I could produce them faster than I have without killing the quality.
As I said in my own blog – ‘Life’ gets in the way! I don’t have any goals – too much stress.
Amen to that. Let it ride! There’s enough going on in our lives, and we don’t need to add to it.