Ever wonder what a freelance author/editor does? Each month of 2014, I’m going to list my daily notes on what I do. As I always say, being your own boss means you choose with 70 hours of the week you work. None of this talks about the random pub IMs, time doing research, time reading books for blurbs, introductions, and reviews, or short author questions. It doesn’t cover my pays-the-bills work either. This is just publishing industry stuff. “Answered pub industry email” can be anything from a request for an interview, to contract queries, to reading anthology invites, to answering questions about dates… and the list goes on.
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June
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Sunday
2014.06.01
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Answered pub industry email. Blog post.
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2014.06.02
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Answered pub industry email. AIP blog post. Wrote the Origins Game Fair convention card. Edits on Famished: The Commons. Approved cover art.
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2014.06.03
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Answered pub industry email. Freelancer summary blog post. Edits on Famished: The Commons.
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2014.06.04
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Answered pub industry email. A whole lot of Origins Game Fair prep as a dealer and as a panelist.
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2014.06.05
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Answered pub industry email. Final edits on Apocalypse Girl Dreaming.
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2014.06.06
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Final edits on Apocalypse Girl Dreaming.
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2014.06.07
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Answered pub industry email. Final edits on Apocalypse Girl Dreaming.
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Sunday
2014.06.08
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Final edits on Apocalypse Girl Dreaming. Pre-pack prep for Origins.
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2014.06.09
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Answered pub industry email. Final edits on Apocalypse Girl Dreaming. Pre-pack prep for Origins.
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2014.06.10
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Final edits on Apocalypse Girl Dreaming and emailed to publisher. Pack and travel to Origins Game Fair.
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2014.06.11
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Origins Game Fair. Dealer table setup. Answered pub industry email.
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2014.06.12
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Origins Game Fair. Dealer table. Panels.
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2014.06.13
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Origins Game Fair. Dealer table. Panels.
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2014.06.14
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Origins Game Fair. Dealer table. Panels.
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Sunday
2014.06.15
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Origins Game Fair. Dealer table tear down. Panels. Answered pub industry email.
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2014.06.16
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Answered pub industry email. Travel home from Origins Game Fair.
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2014.06.17
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Answered pub industry email. Project expense summary projection on potential project. Invoice client. Pub industry phone call x2. Contract negotiation. Blog Post.
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2014.06.18
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Answered pub industry email. Blog Post. AIP Blog Post. Noted freelance expenses from Origins. Contract negotiation. Googlegroup management for both AIP and JenniferBrozek.
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2014.06.19
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Answered pub industry email. Practice reading for live event. Edits on Famished: The Commons.
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2014.06.20
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Answered pub industry email. Reading at Waywards. Edits on Famished: The Commons.
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2014.06.21
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Answered pub industry email. Contract negotiation. Edits on Famished: The Commons.
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Sunday
2014.06.22
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Finished edits on Famished: The Commons. Pub industry phone call. Back cover copy for Flotsam 1: Exile.
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2014.06.23
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Editorial reading on The Bringer of War. Invoiced a client.
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2014.06.24
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Answered pub industry email. Editorial reading on The Bringer of War. Blog announcement of Chicks Dig Gaming.
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2014.06.25
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Answered pub industry email. Editorial reading on The Bringer of War. Facebook interview.
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2014.06.26
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Answered pub industry email. Back cover copy for The Bringer of War. Editorial reading on The Bringer of War. Anthology story pitch.
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2014.06.27
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Editorial reading on The Bringer of War.
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2014.06.28
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Answered pub industry email. Editorial reading on The Bringer of War. Contract negotiation. Approving new cover art.
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Sunday
2014.06.29
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Answered pub industry email. Editorial notes for The Bringer of War. Contract negotiation. Signed and returned Melissa Allen series contract.
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2014.06.30
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Answered pub industry email. Final polish of Exile: Flotsam 1. Blog announcement of Melissa Allen series sale. AIP Blog announcement of Cross Cutting trilogy acquisition.
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Some really awesome things said to me at Origins. I want to remember them. It's quotes like these that make going to conventions and working my butt off worth the sweat and toil.
“I want to be you when I grow up. You are just awesome.”
“Last year, you told me that I should consider writing short stories because they do have a faster turnaround than novels. I did that and I just recently made my first sale. Thank you for that.”
“You may not remember me but last year, you told me that I needed to focus and figure what I really wanted to do… and I did. I decided that I wanted to edit comic anthologies. Here are my first two. So, thank you for that kick in the butt.”
“You are one of my favorite people at Origins. I always have to come see you.”
A conversation with a nine year old budding author that was just too cute for words. “My first story is a mystery and I don’t know if I have enough paper to print it out on but I wanted to know… how big is a chapter?” and “Do you get to draw the pictures, too?”
Ever wonder what a freelance author/editor does? Each month of 2014, I’m going to list my daily notes on what I do. As I always say, being your own boss means you choose with 70 hours of the week you work. None of this talks about the random pub IMs, time doing research, time reading books for blurbs, introductions, and reviews, or short author questions. It doesn’t cover my pays-the-bills work either. This is just publishing industry stuff. “Answered pub industry email” can be anything from a request for an interview, to contract queries, to reading anthology invites, to answering questions about dates… and the list goes on.
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May
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2014.05.01
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Answered pub industry email. 750 words on Red Aegis assignment. Multiple virtual introductions to link people together. Edited 49 pages of Gaming anthology. Created the convention card for World Horror Con.
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2014.05.02
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Answered pub industry email. Freelancer monthly summary blog post. Wrote foreword for Gaming anthology. Turned in Gaming anthology. Final edit of Red Aegis assignment and turned it in.
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2014.05.03
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Answered pub industry email. VikingCon (panel and dealer table).
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Sunday
2014.05.04
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Wrote book foreword to Apocalypse Girl Dreaming.
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2014.05.05
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Answered pub industry email. Wrote 2 story forewords for Apocalypse Girl Dreaming.
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2014.05.06
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Answered pub industry email. Answered interview. Writing blog post. Wrote 4 story forewords for Apocalypse Girl Dreaming.
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2014.05.07
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Wrote 15 story forewords for Apocalypse Girl Dreaming and emailed it to the editor.
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2014.05.08
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Answered pub industry email. Tinkered with a collab story. Reviewer list of RPG anthology. Outlined new short story.
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2014.05.09
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Answered pub industry email. Wrote 4000 words on “Making Amends in the Ghost City of Fanghan.”
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2014.05.10
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World Horror Con. Panel.
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Sunday
2014.05.11
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Wrote 1400 words on, and finished rough draft of, “Making Amends in the Ghost City of Fanghan.”
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2014.05.12
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Answered pub industry email. Final proof of a “Kelpie Storm” for an anthology. Polished “Making Amends in the Ghost City of Fanghan” and sent it out to beta readers.
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2014.05.13
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Answered pub industry email. Sent in a YA novel for awards consideration. Wrote 300 words on Salton Academy 3.
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2014.05.14
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Answered pub industry email. Processed feedback edits for “Making Amends in the Ghost City of Fanghan” and added 300 words. Wrote 650 words on Salton Academy 3.
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2014.05.15
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Answered pub industry email. Wrote 2000 words on Salton Academy 3.
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2014.05.16
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Answered pub industry email. Processed feedback edits for “Making Amends in the Ghost City of Fanghan” and added 100 words. Wrote 2000 words on Salton Academy 3.
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2014.05.17
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Answered pub industry email. Wrote 250 words on Salton Academy 3.
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Sunday
2014.05.18
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Answered pub industry email. Meeting with photographer to discuss novel covers.
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2014.05.19
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Answered pub industry email. Wrote 2100 words on Salton Academy 3. Freelancer consulting Skype meeting.
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2014.05.20
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Answered pub industry email. Invoiced client. Wrote 600 words on Salton Academy 3.
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2014.05.21
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Wrote 2300 words on Salton Academy 3.
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2014.05.22
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Answered pub industry email. Wrote 2200 words on Salton Academy 3. Phone call with prospective publisher.
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2014.05.23
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Wrote 4100 words on Salton Academy 3 and finished the rough draft at 16,200.
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2014.05.24
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Partial polish of Salton Academy 3.
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Sunday
2014.05.25
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Answered pub industry email. Finished polish of Salton Academy 3 and sent to alpha reader.
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2014.05.26
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Answered pub industry email. Posted “Tell Me” blog post. Plans for a convention book release party. Began edits on Flotsam 1: Exile.
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2014.05.27
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Answered pub industry email. Posted blog post. Edits on Flotsam 1: Exile.
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2014.05.28
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Answered pub industry email. Approved cover art thumbnails. Edits on Flotsam 1: Exile.
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2014.05.29
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Answered pub industry email. Completed edits on Flotsam 1: Exile. Final polish on The Last Days of the Salton Academy and sent off to beta readers.
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2014.05.30
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Answered pub industry email. Quarterly taxes paid. Googlegroup posts done (on time!). Paid PA.
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2014.05.31
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Answered pub industry email. Edits on Famished: The Commons.
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I do not want to read this on Tor.com. I do not want to write this about Jay. I don’t. I really don’t. But I have no choice. Jay is dead.
He wrote for me. My first anthology, Grants Pass, when I was nothing and no one. He wrote for me every single time I asked him to. For the Edge of Propinquity. For small press anthologies and large.
He was my mentor for years before I published his non-fiction book, Jay Lake’s Process of Writing. We talked by phone, by Skype, and at conventions. He was generous with his time and his advice. It was this wealth of knowledge that led me to ask him if AIP could publish a non-fiction book. It was then I learned so much more from him.
I can’t help but feel for his family, Bronwyn, Lisa, and the rest of those family members—by choice and blood—whose names I just can’t remember though the tears.
All I can remember is how good he was to me and how much I’m going to miss him.
Radcon 2009 - Not the first time I met him in person but close to.
JayWake 2013
I was tagged by Steven Savage for this blog hop with these questions:
1. What am I working on?
2. How does it differ from others of its genre?
3. Why do I write what I do?
4. How does my writing process work?
What am I working on?
I work on several projects at a time and which gets preference is based on which deadline is soonest in conjunction to the amount of words due. Usually have a number of editing gigs going on at the same time as my writing gigs. Currently, as an author, I am working on the following:
Unnamed short story - due at the end of the month for an invitation-only anthology. It is urban fantasy.
The Last Days of the Salton Academy 3: Plan for Success - the third in a trilogy of novelettes. This is a near future, post apocalyptic zombie tales. Due in June.
Chimera Incarnate - Book four of the Karen Wilson Chronicles. Urban fantasy due at the end of the year.
How does it differ from others of its genre?
Unnamed short story - I don't know if it does. I just know it is relevant to today and I haven't read a story like it yet.
Salton Academy - I don't particularly like zombies and I think the genre is getting stale. For the most part, I'm not writing about the zombies. I'm writing about the survivors and how they handle the stress of the apocalypse. I thought it would be interesting to set the story in a boarding school in-between quarters.
Chimera Incarnate - This is the last in the urban fantasy series and, really, it is classic urban fantasy: a hidden supernatural world set next to our reality. I'm not trying to stretch the genre. I'm writing within it. Only the details differ.
Why do I write what I do?
I write the stories I do because it is what I like to read. I have stories to tell—to myself, to my fans, to anyone who wants to read them. I would write whether or not I was getting paid for it. I really do live to write and write to live. It is my passion.
How Does My Writing Process Work?
Once I have an idea, I let it sit for a week or so. Ideas are easy. Writing/execution is hard. If the idea is still shiny in a week, then I work on it.
First, I outline. My idea of outlining is deciding if it has a 3 or 5 act structure and then bullet pointing the main thing per act. That's it for a short story. For a long work, I break each act out into 3 or 5 scenes and bullet point the main thought per scene. That's it. I know where I start, where I believe I'm going, and where I will end up.
Then I write. Write. Write. Write. Splat it to the page. Get the whole of it down. Never mind the mistakes. I don't look back until it's complete. Unless I figure out a giant plot hole as I'm going. Then I stop. Re-outline to fix the hole. Then I write again.
After it is complete, I give it a single edit pass to smooth out the edges.
Once I'm satisfied, I put it away to stew and work on something else. If it's a short story, a week. If it's longer, a couple of weeks.
After stewing, I take it out and look at it with fresh eyes and fix everything I couldn't see before. When I'm not ashamed of it, I send it to my 1st round readers. That gives me more time and distance and people outside my head a chance to tell me where I messed up.
Then I fix those mistakes. I polish the manuscript. I read it out loud away from wherever I wrote it.
When I'm finally happy with it, I send it to my editor and pray they like it, too.
Tagged
After chatting with them, I am tagging: Lucy Snyder, Nate Crowder, Minerva Zimmerman, and M Todd Gallowglas.
Ever wonder what a freelance author/editor does? Each month of 2014, I’m going to list my daily notes on what I do. As I always say, being your own boss means you choose with 70 hours of the week you work. None of this talks about the random pub IMs, time doing research, time reading books for blurbs, introductions, and reviews, or short author questions. It doesn’t cover my pays-the-bills work either. This is just publishing industry stuff. “Answered pub industry email” can be anything from a request for an interview, to contract queries, to reading anthology invites, to answering questions about dates… and the list goes on.
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April
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2014.04.01
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Answered pub industry email. Tell Me blog post. Wrote 1000 words on Salton Academy 2. Updated AIP website.
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2014.04.02
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Answered pub industry email. Googlegroup posts. Wrote 2200 words on Salton Academy 2. Updated personal website.
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2014.04.03
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Answered pub industry email. Wrote 2200 words on Salton Academy 2.
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2014.04.04
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Answered pub industry email. Wrote 2100 words on Salton Academy 2, finishing the first draft at 14,100 words.
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2014.04.05
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Answered pub industry email. Polish edited Salton Academy 2, added 150 words, and sent it to alpha reader. Re-outlined Salton Academy 3.
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Sunday
2014.04.06
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Answered pub industry email. Updated personal website.
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2014.04.07
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Answered pub industry email. Tell Me blog post. Editorial read of Famished: The Commons, Chapter 1. Sent in playtest feedback on a game in development.
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2014.04.08
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Answered pub industry email. Final proof of “Janera” for Athena’s Daughters I. Posted AIP blog post. Editorial read of 3 chapters for Famished: The Commons.
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2014.04.09
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Answered pub industry email. Editorial read of 9 chapters for Famished: The Commons.
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2014.04.10
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Answered pub industry email. Editorial read of 7 chapters for Famished: The Commons and emailed notes to the author. Contract negotiations for an RPG gig.
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2014.04.11
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Answered pub industry email. Signed the contract for the RPG gig. Editorial read of 9 chapters for Exile novella. Updated my deadlines calendar for the next 6 months.
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2014.04.12
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Answered pub industry email. Editorial read of 8 chapters for Exile novella and emailed notes to the author.
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Sunday
2014.04.13
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Went to Norwescon Stuffing Party to put AIP bookmarks in the swag bags. AIP blog post. Personal blog post.
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2014.04.14
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Answered pub industry email. A whole lot of Norwescon prep. Signed short story contract. Created my convention autograph card. AIP blog post.
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2014.04.15
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Answered pub industry email. AIP blog post. Personal blog post. Packed for Norwescon. Updated AIP website sidebar. AIP googlegroup post about book releases.
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2014.04.16
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Norwescon. 1700 words on Salton Academy 3.
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2014.04.17
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Norwescon. AIP Booth. Panels. Answered pub industry email. Meeting with EGM.
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2014.04.18
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Norwescon. AIP Booth. Panels. BLESS YOUR MECHANICAL HEART and KEYSTONES release party.
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2014.04.19
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Norwescon. AIP Booth. Answered pub industry email. Meeting with Vorpol Games.
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Sunday
2014.04.20
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Norwescon. AIP Booth. Home. Keel over.
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2014.04.21
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Answered pub industry email. So much email. Posted a new “Tell Me” guest blog. Outlined Red Aegis RPG assignment.
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2014.04.22
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Answered pub industry email. Posted a blog post. 300 words on Salton Academy 3.
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2014.04.23
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Answered pub industry email. Signed gig contract. Norwescon follow-up activites.
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2014.04.24
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Answered pub industry email. Answered an SF Signal mind meld. Read Red Aegis updates. 160 words on Red Aegis assignment.
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2014.04.25
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Answered pub industry email. 200 words on Red Aegis assignment.
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2014.04.26
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Answered pub industry email. Had to remind the internet not to send me unsolicited novels to my personal email account.
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Sunday
2014.04.27
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Answered pub industry email. Playtested Red Aegis. Re-outlined Red Aegis assignment.
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2014.04.28
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Answered pub industry email. Posted Tell Me post. 1400 words on Red Aegis assignment. Edited 50 pages of Gaming anthology.
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2014.04.29
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Answered pub industry email. Posted convention blog post. 1500 words on Red Aegis assignment. Edited 52 pages of Gaming anthology.
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2014.04.30
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Answered pub industry email. 800 words on Red Aegis assignment. Edited 55 pages of Gaming anthology. Created the convention card for VikingCon.
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Ever wonder what a freelance author/editor does? Each month of 2014, I’m going to list my daily notes on what I do. As I always say, being your own boss means you choose with 70 hours of the week you work. None of this talks about the random pub IMs, time doing research, time reading books for blurbs, introductions, and reviews, or short author questions. It doesn’t cover my pays-the-bills work either. This is just publishing industry stuff. “Answered pub industry email” can be anything from a request for an interview, to contract queries, to reading anthology invites, to answering questions about dates… and the list goes on.
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March
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2014.03.01
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Answered pub industry email.
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Sunday
2014.03.02
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Answered pub industry email. Dealt with an issue of miscommunication via email and phone. Edited 40 pages of Sheynan novel #1.
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2014.03.03
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Answered pub industry email. Juggled AIP release schedule. AIP Googlegroup post. Jennifer Brozek Googlegroup post. Blog post. Edited 41 pages of Sheynan novel #1.
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2014.03.04
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Answered pub industry email. Edited 37 pages of Sheynan novel #1 and returned it to the author.
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2014.03.05
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Answered pub industry email. Submitted a query to an agent. Voted for the Stokers. Voted for the Nebulas. Voted for SFWA board.
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2014.03.06
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Answered pub industry email. Processed all of the publisher copy edits for BLESS YOUR MECHANICAL HEART. Received publisher copy edits for SHATTERED SHIELDS.
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2014.03.07
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Answered pub industry email. Processed publisher copy edits for SHATTERED SHIELDS. Edited and wrote 500 words on the Bear Cult story I’m co-writing.
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2014.03.08
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Answered pub industry email. Wrote back cover copy for BYMH and for KEYSTONES. Final proof of my story in a forthcoming anthology.
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Sunday
2014.03.09
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A whole lot of PR stuff for AIP, including approval of new book covers and bookmarks.
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2014.03.10
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Answered pub industry email. Posted cover art for BYMH. Processed publisher copy edits for SHATTERED SHIELDS.
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2014.03.11
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Taxes. Feel like I’ve been beaten with sticks by them. Agreed to go to VikingCon in Bellingham, WA on May 3. Processed publisher copy edits for SHATTERED SHIELDS.
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2014.03.12
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Processed publisher copy edits for SHATTERED SHIELDS.
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2014.03.13
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Answered pub industry email. Processed publisher copy edits for SHATTERED SHIELDS. Proofed “Janera” for Athena’s Daughters.
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2014.03.14
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Answered pub industry email. Processed publisher copy edits for SHATTERED SHIELDS. Proofed “Ley of the Land” for Time-Traveled Tales 2.
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2014.03.15
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Answered pub industry email. Approved the final covers of the Sheynan trilogy for AIP. Processed publisher copy edits for SHATTERED SHIELDS. Updated AIP store with forthcoming book covers.
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Sunday
2014.03.16
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Answered pub industry email. Processed publisher copy edits for SHATTERED SHIELDS.
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2014.03.17
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Answered pub industry email. Processed publisher copy edits for SHATTERED SHIELDS and turned the manuscript in. Posted AIP blog of cover of Sheynan #1. Wrote tax checks (OW). Wrote 700 words on Chimera Incarnate. Invoiced a client.
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2014.03.18
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Answered pub industry email. Mail SHATTERED SHIELDS manuscript back to Baen. Redlined 3 chapters of Sheynan #1. Wrote 86 words on Chimera Incarnate.
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2014.03.19
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Answered pub industry email. Invoiced a client. Read AIP submissions. Redlined 6 chapters of Sheynan #1. Wrote 300 words on Chimera Incarnate.
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2014.03.20
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Wrote 1000 words on Chimera Incarnate. Redlined 4 chapters of Sheynan #1.
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2014.03.21
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Answered pub industry email. Wrote 1200 words on Chimera Incarnate. Redlined 6 chapters of Sheynan #1.
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2014.03.22
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Wrote 1000 words on Chimera Incarnate. Redlined 7 chapters of Sheynan #1.
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Sunday
2014.03.23
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Answered pub industry email. Wrote 1200 words on Chimera Incarnate. Final proof polish of KEYSTONES.
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2014.03.24
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Answered pub industry email. Blog post. AIP blog post. Processed the redline edits for Sheynan #1and turned it in. Wrote 400 words on Chimera Incarnate.
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2014.03.25
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Answered pub industry email. Revisions to Salton Academy 1.
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2014.03.26
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Answered pub industry email. Added 830 words to Salton Academy 1. Outlined Salton Academy 2.
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2014.03.27
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Wrote 1700 words on Salton Academy 2.
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2014.03.28
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Answered pub industry email. Wrote 1800 words on Salton Academy 2. Turned in edit requests on the Valdemar story.
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2014.03.29
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Answered pub industry email. Wrote 700 words on Salton Academy 2. Got contracts back for cover art.
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Sunday
2014.03.30
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Wrote 1000 words on Salton Academy 2. Paid PA.
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2014.03.31
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Answered pub industry email. Read AIP submissions. Wrote 1500 words on Salton Academy 2. AIP website work. Tell Me blog post.
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Writers, by and large, are mildly crazy. We have voices in our heads. We see stories everywhere. We are affected by both. Case in point. After my shower, I was standing naked in the bathroom, combing out my hair. I heard a noise. I walked out of my bathroom to look down the stairs to see what I could see. Nothing but cats. Probably a cat making noise.
Back in the bathroom, this conversation ensued. It lasted all of 10 seconds. Maybe.
“You know, people in horror movies do stupid shit because they don’t know they’re in a horror movie. Like you just did… walking naked to the top of the stairs to investigate a strange noise.”
“Not in a horror movie.”
“Naked girls get killed first.”
“Not a girl. Not nubile. Not in a horror movie. I have 4 cats. They make noise.”
“The cat is always the ruse.”
I was starting to freak myself out. “Not. In. A. Horror. Movie.”
“That you know of.”
The strange sound of an unfamiliar truck* drives by in my quiet neighborhood. It is loud and weirdly menacing. Quick assessment. Garbage truck? No. Delivery truck? No. Neighbor’s truck? No. Assessment: possible danger.
“Fuck.”
“Yeah.”
“Fine. I’ll get dressed. I’m not going to die naked. Sneakers today, I think, too. Never know what you’ll need to run from.”
And thus, I quickly got dressed in jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers. Because, you never know when your life is going to shift from the everyman story into a horror story. I’m just lucky, this time, I didn’t have a conversation like this at midnight and need to sleep with the light on.
*Saw the offending truck later. It was one of those big dump trucks for leaves, branches, and tree trunks. Guess a neighbor is getting a tree cut down. It was empty, thus echoing and strange.
Ever wonder what a freelance author/editor does? Each month, I’m going to list my daily notes on what I do. As I always say, being your own boss means you choose with 70 hours of the week you work. None of this talks about the random pub IMs, time doing research, time reading books for blurbs, introductions, and reviews, or short author questions. “Answered pub industry email” can be anything from a request for an interview, to contract queries, to reading anthology invites, to answering questions about dates… and the list goes on.
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February
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2014.02.01
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Bookkeeping on BYMH contracts. Weekly planning with the Shadow Minion. AIP Googlegroup post. Jennifer Brozek Googlegroup post. Wrote 250 words on Colonial Gothic: Roanoke Colony.
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Sunday
2014.02.02
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Answered a questionnaire. Filled out information for a press release. Mapped out anthology invites.
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2014.02.03
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Answered pub industry email. Tell Me blog post. Wrote Introduction to BYMH. Wrote 1177 words on Colonial Gothic: Roanoke Colony. Blog post. Bookkeeping on BYMH contracts. Bookkeeping on Shattered Shields contracts.
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2014.02.04
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Answered pub industry email. Proofed an RPG supplement. Wrote 1108 words on Colonial Gothic: Roanoke Colony.
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2014.02.05
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Answered pub industry email. Proofed 3 new essays for CDG anthology. Bookkeeping on BYMH contracts. Wrote 1482 words on Colonial Gothic: Roanoke Colony.
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2014.02.06
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Final edit polish on BLESS YOU MECHANICAL HEART full manuscript and turned in. Wrote 1630 words on Colonial Gothic: Roanoke Colony. Bookkeeping on BYMH contracts.
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2014.02.07
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Answered pub industry email. Approved cover art. Wrote 1370 words on Colonial Gothic: Roanoke Colony. Signed 200 signature sheets for a book. Applied to become a Gen Con Industry Insider.
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2014.02.08
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Answered pub industry email. Outlined the rest of Colonial Gothic: Roanoke Colony. Wrote 102 words on Colonial Gothic: Roanoke Colony.
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Sunday
2014.02.09
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Answered pub industry email. Wrote 1700 words on Colonial Gothic: Roanoke Colony. Read AIP submissions.
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2014.02.10
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Answered pub industry email. Tell Me blog post. Wrote 1650 words on Colonial Gothic: Roanoke Colony. Bookkeeping on BYMH contracts. Answered an interview.
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2014.02.11
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Answered pub industry email. Approved cover art. Wrote 1800 words on Colonial Gothic: Roanoke Colony. Rough draft of Colonial Gothic: Roanoke Colony done! Read AIP submissions.
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2014.02.12
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Answered pub industry email. Paid all of my BLESS YOUR MECHANICAL HEART payments. Sent out the 2nd wave of SHATTERED SHIELD payments. Edited 16 pages of KEYSTONES. Scheduled out the AIP 2014 book release schedule.
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2014.02.13
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Answered pub industry email. Final polish and turned in Colonial Gothic: Roanoke Colony, complete at 20,350 words. Consulted on cover art. Read AIP submissions.
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2014.02.14
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Edited and revised 3 chapters of KEYSTONES.
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2014.02.15
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Answered pub industry email. Edited and revised 3 chapters of KEYSTONES.
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Sunday
2014.02.16
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Edited and revised 3 chapters of KEYSTONES.
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2014.02.17
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Answered pub industry email. Poked a publisher about a contract update. Edited and revised 4 chapters of KEYSTONES. Read AIP submissions.
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2014.02.18
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Answered pub industry email. Blog post. Writing list for Rainforest Writers Retreat. Invoiced a client. Read AIP submissions.
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2014.02.19
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Rainforest Writers Retreat. Answered pub industry email. Bookkeeping on Shattered Shields contracts—got the last contract back in. Wrote 600 words on Valdemar story.
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2014.02.20
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Rainforest Writers Retreat. Wrote 3400 words on Valdemar story. Rough draft done. Outlined 3 Salton Academy novelettes for Outbreak: Undead.
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2014.02.21
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Rainforest Writers Retreat. Wrote 4500 words on Salton Academy novelette 1.
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2014.02.22
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Rainforest Writers Retreat. Wrote 4030 words on Salton Academy novelette 1.
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Sunday
2014.02.23
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Rainforest Writers Retreat. Wrote 4060 words on Salton Academy novelette 1.
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2014.02.24
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Answered pub industry email. Tell Me blog post. Polish edit 3 chapters of KEYSTONES. Final edit of Valdemar story and turned it in. Edited 47 pages of Sheynan novel #1. Read AIP submissions.
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2014.02.25
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Answered pub industry email. Blog post. Polish edit 3 chapters of KEYSTONES. Wrote 500 words on Salton Academy novelette 1. Phone call with publisher. Edited 21 pages of Sheynan novel #1.
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2014.02.26
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Answered pub industry email. Blog post. Polish edit 3 chapters of KEYSTONES. Edited 54 pages of Sheynan novel #1.
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2014.02.27
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Answered pub industry email. Proofed an anthology story. Polish edit 4 chapters of KEYSTONES. Edited 52 pages of Sheynan novel #1.
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2014.02.28
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Entered in all of the polish edits of KEYSTONES and turned in the novel manuscript. Fought with my down website for hours. Edited 33 pages of Sheynan novel #1.
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One of the things that people tell me when they quit their day job to write (or shift to working at home) is that they spin their wheels and they don’t seem to do enough (or anything) done. They’ve had a structured day job for so long that they don’t know how to structure themselves. This happens to remote workers, to full-time freelancers, and to people who temporarily stuck at home for whatever reason.
1. Dress for Work.
You are working even if you can do it in your underwear. Until you have come to a workable system, I recommend getting “dressed for work” every workday. This doesn’t mean a suit and tie unless you need to have a Skype meeting with someone who expects you in a suit and tie. It does mean getting up, putting on (relatively) clean clothes, and grooming yourself. It does mean getting out of the kind of clothes you like to relax in. Dressing for work (even if is comfortable) puts you in the correct mindset to sit down and work.
2. Daily Schedules.
I keep a number of schedules to keep me on track. The most important is the Daily Schedule. What do you have planned for every single day this week? What is a priority? What can slip? What has an immediate due date? What is a huge project that you have to get a little done each day to succeed? Daily schedules allow you to be productive and to feel productive. They also get you back on track when you come back from playing with the cat or come back from a doctor’s appointment. It tells you what you need to get done. It also tells you how much you can get done on an average week. And once you’re done with your daily task list, you can walk away and go do whatever.
3. Monthly and Yearly Goals.
The only way you can get Daily Schedules written is if you know what you want to accomplish that month. Monthly Schedules are created out of Yearly Goals. Yearly Goals gives you a starting point to break down into Monthly Schedules. These are living documents. As new projects are added, you need to adjust your Monthly Schedule. I keep a running 6-9 month Monthly Schedule with due dates. My Daily Schedule comes out of the Monthly Schedule I’m in. I always know what is due went and who it is due to. This way, you won’t over schedule yourself
4. Get a Timer.
There will be times where you just don’t wanna. Don’t wanna write or edit or do anything you need to do. I have a 15 minute, a 30 minute, a 45 minute, and a 60 minute timer. Depending on what project needs doing, I set my timer and focus on just that one project for the amount of time I’ve bargained with myself. “All I have to do is 30 minutes. Anything else is extra.” Usually, I will do my set time and then continue on. I’ve gotten over the hump of “Don’t wanna.” and can get on with the rest of my day.
Conversely, I will give myself recess. 30 minutes to read. 60 minutes to crochet. 45 minutes to go walking. The timer allows me to set an amount of time to play hooky. But when that timer bings, I know I need to get back to work.
5. Isolate Yourself.
Sometimes, your biggest problem is all the shiny things around you. You need to shut your door, close the curtains, and turn off all your chat programs. Sometimes, all you really need to is hunker down and get to work. A lot of times, this works best in conjunction with a timer. Put away all (or most of) the distractions and work.