#ROW80 Final Check-in 6/9/19

I’ve been so busy that it’s been almost impossible to do weekly check-ins. I know I probably won’t be able to post my final check-in in 11 days, so I decided to end my round a bit early.

I’ve been trying to get on a consistent writing schedule, and that’s been a challenge with work being so busy. I’ve also been trying to work better hours, which is going okay so far.

My surgery recovery is coming along. I’m still doing PT, which has been helping a lot. My recent re-evaluation results were not bad. My foot was pretty strong in some places, but weak in others.

The Achilles’ tendon, unfortunately, seems to be a problem still. When I saw my foot doc on Friday, she said the swelling was worse than before (and it’s still very sore). She prescribed a special orthotic that I’ll need to wear for 3 months to help it heal. Getting the orthotic however will be an adventure. They have to be custom made and Binson’s is extremely booked up right now (it’s summer, people are going out there and hurting themselves!) so I won’t be able to start the process until the 19th. And then it takes 2 to 5 weeks to make. Yikes! But unfortunately that’s all that can be done, so I will deal.

Writing wise…making slow progress on The Vanishing. I’m up to 10k now, and I got unstuck recently, so yay! I also have about 3 or 4 ideas for other books hitting me so I could theoretically switch projects if I need to.

Final standing:

~Participate in Camp Nano with a modest goal of 10,000 words. ~I amended my goal to 5,000 and did not make it. I got halfway: 2,505 words. However, in the bigger picture, I was able to start The Vanishing, so I am happy about that. Overall progress on The Vanishing: 10,000 words. 

Continue placing ads for 3 of my books each month. Also, do a free run with Reaper Girl. ~May 1st was my last paid ad. I have since made the decision to back off ads for a few months and just do newsletter swaps. I’ve decided to hold off on the free Reaper Girl run due to lack of time to stack ads. (I need an assistant, lol!). It’s still happening at some point.

~Progress on more sane work hours. Includes taking Sundays off. ~I’ve taken a few days off here and there when things are slower. I have also decided on a quitting time. It’s working better now. (And I am working only a bit today so progress?)

~Start Survivor Rewrite ~Have not started, but I’d like to.

~Accountability partner check-in ~I keep forgetting to mention this. I’ve been checking in with my accountability partner every week. It’s been fun and helpful. 🙂 

~Final chocolate consumption report: Chocolate mug cakes, hot chocolate, Hersey’s kisses. Junior mints, chocolate cupcakes…I’m probably missing stuff. I’m pretty sure I’ve eaten more than that. 😉

I’ll be back for Round 3!

#ROW80 Check-in 5/12/19

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there!

It’s ROW80 time! How have I been doing so far?

Seeing as this post was written last week and I am now getting to post it…yeah. I’ve been really busy with work and physical therapy. I’ve also been really tired, so my energy levels haven’t been the best. But still, I’ve been trying to get stuff done.

~Participate in Camp Nano with a modest goal of 10,000 words. ~I amended my goal to 5,000 and did not make it. I got halfway: 2,505 words. However, in the bigger picture, I was able to start The Vanishing, so I am happy about that. Overall progress on The Vanishing: 5,178 words. 

Continue placing ads for 3 of my books each month. Also, do a free run with Reaper Girl. ~May 1st was my last paid ad. I have since made the decision to back off ads for a few months and just do newsletter swaps. I also have not decided on a date for the Reaper Girl free run. I am considering doing it in July, like I did with Fey Touched. It would give me enough time to stack ads.

~Progress on more sane work hours. Includes taking Sundays off. ~I’ve taken a few days off this week since things are a bit slow. I have also decided on a quitting time. Seems to be working so far.

~Start Survivor Rewrite ~Nope, but I am still still thinking about it. 

~Accountability partner check-in ~I keep forgetting to mention this. I’ve been checking in with my accountability partner every week. It’s been fun and helpful. 🙂 

~Chocolate consumption report: Chocolate mug cakes, hot chocolate, Hersey’s kisses.

#ROW80 Round 2/Q2 2019 Goals

So here we are on April 1st and it is the beginning of Round 2 of #ROW80 and the beginning of Q2 2019. As I did previously, I’m combining the two into one handy post.

I have been given clearance to walk now! However, I’m still not 100% (it’s been, what, 3 days?) so I can’t go crazy with some of my big plans yet. However, I can try to slowly get back into the groove. I am so ready to write and be productive again!

So here are my goals:

~Participate in Camp Nano with a modest goal of 10,000 words. I’ve got two projects competing for my attention: one is Immortal (which may be called Eternal) and the other is a contemporary romance idea that’s been gnawing on me for awhile. Need to make a decision. Or do both. I’ve done that before.

~Continue placing ads for 3 of my books each month. Also, do a free run with Reaper Girl.

~Progress on more sane work hours. Includes taking Sundays off.

~Start Survivor Rewrite

~Chocolate consumption reports 😉

 

That’s all I want to declare for now. I can always add to this later.

Definitely starting slow.

#ROW80 Final Check-in 3/20/19

Oh, wow, I was actually able to post on a Wednesday! Holy crap!

Just kidding. It’s Tuesday. I wanted to get a jump on it. Since I hardly updated this round, I wanted to at least do the final check-in.

As you probably know, I am recovering from my foot surgery. This Friday will be 3 weeks, halfway through. It’s been feeling like forever, and I can’t wait to walk again. The pain isn’t too bad, but today I had to take some motrin because it was a bit worse than the past few days. It fluctuates.

The surgery more or less killed the quarter/round for me, but I was able to get a fair amount done and I am very happy that I got anything done at all. I’ve been working, but I’ve also been very tired—more so than usual. So that effected things as well.

Here’s the rundown:

~Loosely plot Immortal I kind of abandoned the How to Think Sideways stuff for the time being. I pretty much know the set up and the main plot. But not much else which is not necessarily a bad thing as I like to have mystery.
~Book ads for Gain with Pain, Reaper Girl, and Fey Touched. Put together a tracking system. Up to April on ads. Been getting some sales from the ads and newsletter swaps. I think I’m up to 30 sales this month, whereas I’d be in a huge slump at this time of the year. So, win.
~Start manifestation journal (first entry: 1/5/19)
~Put together modified Kanban board for Q1 Abandoned the Kanban journal and will be repurposing it after I’m walking again. I’m not spending much time in my bedroom (except to sleep) so I haven’t updated it at all. Will be starting with a Kanban board as soon as I can use my office again.
~Purchase Energy Oracle deck. Started strong but petered out toward the end. They aren’t feeling the same as Tarot cards, which is not a bad thing, but it’s an adjustment.
~Progress on Oubliette or finish ~1,103 words. I’m calling that progress.
~Do All The Things related to TDP Anthology (to be released sometime in Q1) ~Yes! The anthology, Love Shines Through: A Fractured World Anthology, is out now! Grab a copy here. My story, Of Poison and Promises, is a f/f story about best friends who become something more while fighting for their lives.
~Begin rewrite of Survivor. Continue working on it on Sundays. ~Never happened, but I am very close to starting.
~Catch up up on ARCs:
Go Manifest Yourself
Cure for Chaos
The Ones Who Left ~Still reading
Hell’s Hinges
Queen Takes Camelot
Alpha Legacy 1-5
~My Fair Millennial books 1 & 2 ~Started #2
~Take Sundays off work when possible ~Tried really hard to do this. Mostly worked, though, or worked a half day.
~Start back on MyFitnessPal. Log food 5x a week minimum. ~Nope, didn’t log beyond the first few days. I did lose those 8 pounds though.
~Water 5x a week 

Accountability partner: This worked out very well for me. I’m big on accountability.  My partner is really nice and talking to her every week was fun. 🙂 I missed a few Fridays due to my surgery, but as of last week we are back at it. I vote we continue this for sure. 😀

So I think I did okay, all things considered. Will definitely be back for Round 2/Q2.

Final chocolate consumption report: Chocolate cupcakes, Andes Mints, Oreos, hot chocolate, chocolate “mug” cakes, chocolate chip cookies, mini Junior Mints, Regular-sized Junior Mints, Hersey’s minis…is that enough? 😉

2018 Year-in-Review and Q1 2019 Goals #ROW80

So here I am with my end-of-year review and a new goals post. I have switched to quarterly planning, which works so much better for me than yearly goals. Thank you, Sarra Cannon, for showing me the way!

This year was HUGE for my virtual assisting/freelance editing business. I landed several new clients in very quick succession which was absolutely awesome. My workload increased a lot, which required adjustments and better planning. However, I am ecstatic that I was able to make this happen. That was my biggest goal: increasing my client base and by extension bringing in more money.

I have also learned so much from my clients, stuff that I can apply to my own publishing efforts. So it’s a win-win.

Health wise…ugh, a lot of stuff went wrong this year. Not going to get into it, but suffice to say it was tough and stressful. However, I’ve survived it and I am looking forward to a new slate.

Since it’s my intention to jump back into ROW80 again, I figured I would put everything into one, handy-dandy simple post.

But first, let’s look at what I did (or didn’t do) this year:

~2nd round of edits/release secret project (early 2018) – DONE. Except it was delayed by unavoidable issues until 12/7. Very happy to have it finally out in the world! 
~Revise and release Fireborn – DONE. Released August 1st.
~Get serious about exercise and DO SOMETHING – Nope. I remain a couch potato. 😦 
~Take pictures regularly (once a month, 1 a day for x amount of days, etc) – Nope, and I really wish I could have.
~Get moving with dictation again – DONE. Not dictating currently, but I did purchase the latest version of Dragon Naturally Speaking and I also bought a digital recorder for transcription. Just need to actually start doing it.
~Progress on Covenant – DONE. I don’t have the exact figures handy, but I think I got it up to around 25k.
~Progress on When She Sleeps – This has been put on hold.
~Start Survivor Rewrite for reals this time – Nope, but one of my goals for Q1 is to JUST DO IT.
~Do something with Death Dancer/Pirouette – Nope. But as soon as I can, I’ll start working on this. I have Plans. 
~Get better with planning – My mom bought me a planner for Christmas last year, so I used that for deadlines/appointments/modified bullet journal. It worked great, so 
I asked for another one. And got it. Also, Sarra Cannon’s quarterly planning system worked wonderfully as well. I believe this planning system is the only reason why I was able to release the secret project this year. I was focused in a way I haven’t been in awhile. Being that I am a head planner (that is, I do all my planning in my head), this is a HUGE accomplishment.
~Start writing every day again, even if it’s 100 words – Nope. Time seems to get away from me sometimes.
~Figure out Reaper Girl #3, Faeborn – DONE. I have a premise. And apparently I’d forgotten that I’d called it Faeborn. Oops.

As for how many words I wrote this year: 75,000, which was my modest goal. I was hoping to write more, but given how busy I was and how awful my health was at times, I’ll take it. 🙂

Alrighty, so what’s on tap for Q1 and #ROW80? I’m glad you asked.

~Loosely plot Immortal Faeborn
~Book ads for Gain with Pain, Reaper Girl, and Fey Touched. Put together a tracking system.
~Start manifestation journal (first entry: 1/5/19)
~Put together modified Kanban board for Q1
~Purchase Energy Oracle deck. Start pulling cards daily and journaling.
~Progress on Oubliette or finish
~Do All The Things related to TDP Anthology (to be released sometime in Q1)
~Begin rewrite of Survivor. Continue working on it on Sundays.
~Catch up up on ARCs
~Take Sundays off work when possible
~Start back on MyFitnessPal. Log food 5x a week minimum.
~Water 5x a week

I think that’s it for now. 🙂

Links to the books:

Gain with Pain on Amazon
Fireborn on Amazon 

#ROW80 Check-in Jan. 10th

I can finally do my first post of Round 1! Been busy, and struggling with TN pain. I recently had to have dental work done (prep for a crown) and that was miserable. I am glad the hard part is done, though.

Here’s the rundown:

~2nd round edits on secret project (I am contemplating releasing it around my birthday in March. We will see how things go). ~I  haven’t received the last two betas yet.
~Revisions on Fireborn ~Haven’t received my edits back, either.
~Covenant words ~Don’t have wordcounts handy at the moment. Maybe 1,000 new words?
~Survivor Sundays (Survivor my book, not the TV show) Have not started yet.
~Poke at Fireborn cover? ~Waiting to finish Cover Workshop I am taking

Non-writing stuffs:

~Read 1 book a week Finished both Midnight Rain by Kate Aeon and Die for Me by Dan Rix (ARC).
~Water 5x a week
~Print out test roll pics in darkroom Nope.
~Poetry, maybe? Nope.
~Housewalking 3x a week Nope.
~And everyone’s favorite, chocolate consumption reports 1 whole bag of Hersey’s Kisses (not in one sitting, though!) and lots of hot chocolate. Chocolate minis, too!

2017 Year-End Review and 2018 Goals

Time has been flying! Holy cow! It’s almost 2018 already, and and and —

Okay, I’m a bit early. I don’t expect much to change drastically in 3 days, so here we are.

So how did I do?

~Release 1 book (besides Ever Touched) ~NOT DONE, although I got a new cover for In Flames and put Reaper Girl into KDP Select. 
~Publish Ever Touched (set for May release)~DONE! 
~Start revision of Pirouette/Death Dancer ~NOT DONE, but had an interesting idea the other day about Alisia’s lineage. 
~Finish Covenant ~NOT DONE, but it’s at 24k now. Wanted to hit 30k before the new year, but I’m not sure that’s possible now. 😦 
~Start Elysium ~NOT DONE. At all.
~Finish and release Fireborn ~DONE. Rewrote it and submitted it to TDP for publication next year.
~Outline book #1 in Fey Touched spin-off series ~NOT DONE. May toy with this next year.
~Get on a consistent, simple exercise plan and STICK WITH IT ~NOPE. 
~Eat healthier/Gluten-free ~NOT DONE.  😦 Well, made the attempt, anyway…
~Get back into darkroom when hands are better ~NOT DONE.
~Add in a second writing session twice a week (8 minutes)~NOT DONE. Have been fighting pain and exhaustion.
~Try to write more short fiction ~DONE! Fireborn (55k) and When She Sleeps (projected 60k) 
~Continue with FYFB class (so behind right now!)~NOPE. Downloaded everything that’s available that I haven’t gotten to.
~Start working on Survivor Rewrite outline again ~DONE! Not finished due to wrist issues.

This year has been roughly for me physically. I have been exhausted more, and the trigeminal neuralgia flared up again so we’ve been trying to find the right combination of meds to control the pain. So far, we haven’t been very successful.

I was also laid off from my job in August, so there’s been some upheaval there. I have been working on my freelancing/virtual assistant business to try to bring in more money. Things are kind of up in the air, and it has been wreaking havoc on my productivity.

I have decided to buckle down and make things happen in 2018!

Goals:

~2nd round of edits/release secret project (early 2018)
~Revise and release Fireborn
~Get serious about exercise and DO SOMETHING
~Take pictures regularly (once a month, 1 a day for x amount of days, etc)
~Get moving with dictation again
~Progress on Covenant
~Progress on When She Sleeps
~Start Survivor Rewrite for reals this time
~Do something with Death Dancer/Pirouette
~Get better with planning
~Start writing every day again, even if it’s 100 words
~Figure out Reaper Girl #3, Faeborn

I’ve written roughly 80k this year, which is down from last year. Would like to hit 100k and more in 2018.

#ROW80 Round 1 2018 Goals

Here are are with a goals post. Dang, this year went by so fast. And we’re almost to 2018 already. Wut. is. this. insanity.

Ahem. Alrighty, goals for Round 1:

~2nd round edits on secret project (I am contemplating releasing it around my birthday in March. We will see how things go).
~Revisions on Fireborn
~Covenant words
~Survivor Sundays (Survivor my book, not the TV show)
~Poke at Fireborn cover?

Non-writing stuffs:

~Read 1 book a week
~Water 5x a week
~Print out test roll pics in darkroom
~Poetry, maybe?
~Housewalking 3x a week
~And everyone’s favorite, chocolate consumption reports

A bit ambitious, but we’ll see how it goes.

I really would like to get back to photography and poetry. I miss them both. I am also toying with doing a 365 day photography thing, but I am not going to declare that as a goal just yet. We’ll see how January goes.

Annnd that’s it for now!

 

#ROW80 Final Check-in 12/17/17

Technically, the round ends on the 20th, but I will be busy with Christmas prep so I am, as usual, ending a bit early.

So, how did I do?

~Finish rewrite of Fireborn, revise it, edit it, and submit it for Dec. 1st deadline. ~ DONE. That was the priority. I get edits back on January 1st.
~Transfer Survivor outline to notecards, for reals this time ~NOT DONE. Started, but my hand started complaining so I had to stop. I will try to do this between now and the beginning of Round 1 2018 so I can maybe start writing on Sundays again.
~Participate in NanoWriMo with an amended goal of 30k (Survivor) ~ NOT DONE. Between Fireborn, freelance jobs, and helping my mom, I’ve had no extra time at all. I am still considering a “Nano” of my own at some point.
~Begin edit of Secret Project ~DONE. Editing done and it’s now with betas. Two got back with me. So far, the response has been very positive, which is encouraging.
~Decide on next project and start working on that (Covenant and When She Sleeps are the top contenders) ~DONE. I chose Covenant, and I have 1,578 words already written.
~Finish In Flames cover or hire someone to do it  ~DONE. A writer friend generously offered to make me a cover. Cover reveal soon!

Non-writing stuffs:

~Water 5x a week~DONE, with a few exceptions.
~Read 1 book a week ~DONE, for the most part.
~Chocolate consumption reports, of course! ~DONE! Lots and lots of hot chocolate, dark chocolate M&Ms, and dark chocolate minis! 

I will be participating in ROW80 next year (so weird to be saying that!) so see you all next round!

And Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

#ROW80 Check-in 12/10/17

Fifteen days till Christmas, and ten days to the end of the round. Time is just flying for me!

Here’s the rundown:

~Finish rewrite of Fireborn, revise it, edit it, and submit it for Dec. 1st deadline. ~ Submitted on Friday 12/1!
~Transfer Survivor outline to notecards, for reals this time ~Started, but my hand started complaining so I had to stop. Still not finished.
~Participate in NanoWriMo with an amended goal of 30k (Survivor) ~ Nope. Between Fireborn, freelance jobs, and helping my mom, I’ve had no extra time at all. I am contemplating doing my own Nano once Fireborn is submitted.
~Begin edit of Secret Project ~Now with betas. :twitches:
~Decide on next project and start working on that (Covenant and When She Sleeps are the top contenders) ~Most likely Covenant, with When She Sleeps as a secondary. Also toying with the idea of restarting Survivor Sundays.
~Finish In Flames cover or hire someone to do it ~A writer friend generously offered to make me a cover. Cover reveal soon!

Non-writing stuffs:

~Water 5x a week
~Read 1 book a week ~ Finished Lifeblood by Gena Showalter and started White Death by Jack Castle and Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst.
~Chocolate consumption reports, of course! ~Lots and lots of hot chocolate and dark chocolate minis!