The Past, The Future, and Don Hollinger's Typewriter

It's 2020, so that means I'm compelled to examine the progress I have made in 2019 and use that to determine what's going to take the highest priorities this year.

2019 -- The Year of the Almosts

There was a lot of things I almost accomplished in 2019. I almost hit my goal of publishing four new pieces. I published three, but that was only because much of my time was getting existing projects into better shape, including 53 total poems in Pieces on Wattpad. I almost hit my Goodreads reading goal of 100 books, but I was four short, even with all of the children's books I read. I almost took a vacation. I almost stuck to a strict budget--until the holidays came around. I almost received one last payout from Textbroker before I said goodbye for good, but couldn't quite hit the minimum payout before the requirement to switch to Payoneer. So now $8.16 is in limbo, and it will stay there until Textbroker realizes what a mistake they have made and returns to providing a PayPal option. I'm not holding my breath for that one, but I just can't click the Close Account button with money on the table, as insignificant as it is.

The Inspiration to Keep Going

I would love to say that the past two weeks have been filled with writing, planning about my writing, and more writing, but it wasn't. I was binge-watching That Girl as it expired from Hulu. It's been three days since I finished it and like all good shows, it has left me with a bit of an emotional hangover from not being able to immediately rewatch it, though it is back on television as of today if I need to get back to it. I haven't felt like that since I watched all six seasons of Community three times in a single year.

What surprised me about watching the show was what my brain chose to focus on. There are so many things it could have been: Ann's super-mod wardrobe, her ability to assert independence when the times didn't call for it, the fact that she could afford a super-cute East Side apartment on haphazard pay (similar to a freelancer's life), or that this show has many similarities to Get Smart, aside from both shows sharing Bernie Kopell. No, what my brain decided needed a laser-like focus was Don Hollinger's career. It makes sense. He was a writer.

But that's still not what really inspired a renewal of effort to get back to my writing. It was the dude's super-cute portable typewriter.

This typewriter only appears in like three episodes--and I should know. I watched 138 episodes in fourteen days. I can't get enough of how adorable it is. I'll certainly be on the lookout to buy one someday, but what the typewriter did was get me to think about how much time I spend not writing, and why I can't fill in some of those gaps. Also, it made me think about all the female writer characters on TV, and I had a hard time quickly coming up with a list. It took me ten minutes to remember Carrie Bradshaw was a writer because her lifestyle--considering her employment--was ridiculously fictional. And all of that leads me into 2020...

2020--The Year of New and Exciting Adventures (Fingers Crossed!)

The first project on deck for the year is one of my pilot scripts. Both of the pilots that I wrote first drafts of have a female lead who is or wants to be a writer. I think that it's important to tell these stories, so I'm going to do everything I can to get at least one script to the point where I can receive script coverage. I want to see where I really stand. Hopefully, I can get a recommend rating that takes the project outside of my hands and on to the next phase.

I'm also looking to not sit on content. I do write a lot of content, and often it goes unseen. There are a lot of factors that go into that, but sitting on a short story for a year before submitting (which I tend to do) is not productive. That's not going to happen anymore. I'm going to keep my goal of published pieces at four for the year, but I intend to post a lot more content on Medium this year. I'm going to merge my love for sitting in front of the TV for a little too long with my ability to write reviews.

2020 will also be the year I get more rejection letters. I don't mean that I'm looking for them, but there is no reason I need all of these unpublished pieces sitting around, not being considered.

In terms of adventure, I'm putting myself on the strictest budget my little life will allow so that I can finally do something big--a vacation, a relocation, attending a conference, participate in a residency program. I don't know what it will be yet, but I know that this is the year I have to do something, otherwise I don't know if I ever will. I'm inspired to do great things and I don't want this feeling to subside, so I'm grabbing it and holding it close. Let's hope I don't end up smothering it.

Happy New Year! I hope everyone out there has big dreams of their own and we can all accomplish them together.

New Work Released

If you have been following Pieces on Wattpad (or if you are thinking about doing it right now), there have been more pieces added to the collection. Enjoy 31-37, with more to come in the next two weeks.

And if you want exclusive content, you can always check out my Patreon page. While many of my posts are free to browse, you can get a lot of exclusive content by becoming a patron. There are still 10 spots left to get full access for just $1, but those spots will disappear before you know it!

August Has Arrived

It's August and it's scary close to being the end of the year already. How did that happen?!

As you may have already heard on one of many other platforms, I did get an acceptance for one of my pieces this week. However, when it came to checking the final manuscript for issues, I noticed that the publication left off the last line of my poem. I contacted them to correct the error. I haven't heard back. I have a hunch that it'll be fixed in time, but if it isn't... oh boy. That last line is the difference between the poem being a bit of happy-go-lucky imagery and it being a bit of social commentary, which was the original intention.

I'm also back to work nearly full time (as full time as a writer can spend on creative projects) on Pieces. You'll be seeing weekly exclusives on Patreon again as well as new posts to the project on Wattpad.

Medium has a few pieces that you can peruse, all poetry and short fiction for now, but I'm trying to talk myself into getting some creative nonfiction ready. I've published essays before, but they seem great in the moment, then I read them the next day and they are either flat and boring or skip around too many ideas that don't make it as cohesive as it could have been.

I have a choice between some essays already drafted about my personal experiences in the public education system or I could pivot and start a fresh essay on why I haven't and probably never will read the Harry Potter series. The education ones would have to be scrubbed of as many identifiers of other people as I can manage, but I lived in small communities my whole life and that just may not be entirely possible. And let's call the Harry Potter idea what it is--a bit of click bait, even if it's a solid piece of writing.

That's what is on my agenda for August. What will you be writing or reading this month?

News and Notes from the Writing Desk: July Edition

I'd love to say that there are tons of things to tell you all about this month, but all of the projects I'm working on are going very slow. I'm persisting with them all, but that doesn't make the frustration of it all go away. I don't know if it is the usual distractions or a lack of inspiration. Either way, I found myself rereading some of my published work--something I rarely do. I think I just needed to remind myself that I am capable of getting these things done, and I can find my way back to productivity.

Pieces

This is officially back on the agenda. New pieces should be available on Patreon next week, and once I get 23 and 24 written and edited, you'll get to see these new pieces on Wattpad.

Latest Project

The still untitled set in the 70s story is slowly chugging along. I've snapped out of the heavy research phase, but I'm still only managing about half a page a day.

Submissions

I sent out two more poetry submissions out this week. I wanted to get back to sending short stories out again, but every time I find a good place to submit, I'm finding reading fees. Unless I'm at least 75% confident that it will take my work AND that it is a paying publication, I won't pay. I will say 75% confidence in my own work standing out from the crowd is rare, but it has happened before. I have better things to do with that money, including writing contests and pro coverage for my pilot script... if I ever get back to that project.

The Art of Deadlines

My Kindle Worlds titles are officially no longer available on Amazon. We all knew it was coming, but I didn't know that I would also be getting a parting ding to my author ranking to go along with it:

So with Kindle Worlds officially kaput, I've been thinking about all of my new projects in progress. My mind doesn't focus on characters or linger on plots twists, but delves into the business side of writing. The next project needs a good launch, so I have been considering giving myself a hard deadline to get it out. I always set deadlines for myself, but the thing with being a freelance writer working on your own projects is that all of your deadlines end up being soft. This is because you pick up a new client, you suddenly get swamped with one-time gigs, or you simply don't feel that your project is quite ready yet. And there's no one to hold you accountable for your deadlines--unless you announce them to the world.

I'm considering putting the next project on pre-order so that I have a hard deadline to meet. It also helps so I can work with all of the marketing options that could generate buzz, and so I know that I'm continuing to move forward with my career. The only question is: which project will it be? Right now it's a toss up between Pieces, which is being released in pieces (ha ha) on Patreon and Wattpad. Putting this project on pre-order for the ebook would give me a strong deadline to complete it, but the problem with this one is that I still don't know how long it will be. I always aim for 100 pages for a poetry project, so I still have awhile to go. And since this project was released for free, I would need to come up with some sort of additional value for grabbing the completed book other than the convenience of having it in one place.

I could also go with something totally new--maybe even something that I've never talked about before. I don't actually think I have a project I've never talked about, but you never know when inspiration will strike!

Taking Stock

It's wild to think about, but 2018 is nearing the halfway point. I had some writing goals to complete before the end of the year, so I'm spending a few moments to take stock to see where I am on that.

My main goal was to publish four works--it didn't matter what form it took, I just wanted to get four pieces out there. So far this year there has been a novella, a poetry collection, and a story on the Episode app. The first one is getting pulled soon, and those last two are not completed, but since the finished parts are live and available to the public, it still counts towards my goal. I just have to find one more piece to finish, submit, and find success with.

Speaking of submissions--all of those submissions I was waiting to hear back on in January all died in April. Every last one of them, including the rhyming poetry I submitted to a contest specifically for rhyming poetry in which all of the winners and finalists were not rhyming poems. That's what I get for not realizing they lumped rhyming in with "traditional" so top prizes went to those instead. My poor rhyming poem... it's been through it all, and still no one takes it seriously.

Anyway, the two submissions I was waiting to hear back from when I last wrote about it were also rejections, but specifically rejections because they had each received a record number of submissions for that submission period. Both publications pointed to being featured in Submittable's weekly emails--and of course that's where I was getting my submission leads, so apparently it's completely counterintuitive to use that weekly email. Who knew?

My next step will be getting back to finding a home for my poetry chapbook. I don't think I'll be aiming for contests anymore because they simply don't work out (and can get pricey with entry fees). I'll be targeting micro-presses instead, which may give me a better chance at getting that fourth publication before the end of the year.

Still on the NaNo Road

It's never a good thing when you can say that you are thousands of words behind in your writing. Especially during November. But don't worry. Even though the goal is to hit 15,000 words tomorrow and I'm stuck hovering around 7000, I'll be able to get back on track. After all, Thursday night is one of my TV-free nights--not because I force myself not to watch it. There's just nothing good on. And what better way to use that time than to write, write, write. Or agonize for two hours about how I still don't have a title. Which ever one of those options strikes my fancy.

Between freelancing work (still have plenty of spots available for my Fiverr gigs), NaNo, and revising Melody's Valentine, I've probably neglected doing all of the promotional work I should be doing. Let's get that back on track: remember, all of my books are available through Amazon and most of the major book/ebook retailers worldwide. You can check out the full list of titles to see what you may be interested in. Might I suggest my Melody of Love Kindle Worlds series books #1 and #2 so you can be ready to read #3 in January? And please, if you read it and like it, don't forget to review it!

If you are looking for a little more, you can still sign up to get exclusive content at Patreon. This week I'm releasing the cover for Melody's Valentine, and next week you can get the first look at an excerpt from Pieces, my poetry collection that's debuting on Wattpad in 2018.

A Few Quick Updates

It's that time of year again -- NaNoWriMo is in full swing. Although I tried to get to that magic 1667 this morning, it didn't quite work out. A few other quick writing projects cut in line, but I'm planning on hitting the magic number before the day is done.

The other update: my Patreon page is now live! It's a new adventure for me, so I'm already expecting a few hiccups along the way. If you want to support it, I can tell you there are a few fun posts coming up. Some of the exclusive content being released to patrons in November includes a detailed update on Melody's Valentine, a cover reveal, a first look at an exclusive excerpt from Pieces (a new project for Wattpad coming in 2018) and an excerpt from this year's NaNoWriMo project.

Now I'm going to get back to that NaNo project. Happy Writing to all those participating this month!

Old Projects Have New Plans

Things have been going in a slow pace around here. I realized that it was because I had so many projects that didn't have a solid ending--not just the story itself, but what I wanted to do with them once they were done. Now, things have been reorganized and I have a clear path for many of these projects.

To sum it up:

• In Another Life is no longer going to be a trilogy. Instead, books 1 and 2 will be combined into a single story, and the third book will be the sequel.

• Another series (one that I haven't said much about) is being planned and the first story is going to be posted on Wattpad sometime before the end of the year. 

• I'm still working on a project for Channillo, and hopefully it will be accepted. 

• The third (and last) installment of the Melody of Love Kindle Worlds series will be completed by the end of the year. 

• Something (I still don't know what) will be on Kindle Scout--I just have to pick which of my projects will have the best chance at success.

When it comes to new projects and challenges, I'm looking into doing a massive reading project. Since I still have a number of reading obligations for March, it's not going to start just yet. When I get closer to launching myself on this new journey, I'll have more information. That, and I have to be very good at staying away from NetGalley and Penguin First to Read so that I don't continue to bog myself down with even more reading obligations.

What are your reading/writing plans for March?

Writing Off Write On

The time has come to let the dream die--Write On was not all that it was cracked up to be. I thought that I had found something that would help out with some significant gaps in my writing process, but it all ended up just being a big headache.

Write On, for those who don't know, is platform where you can upload your work-in-progress or completed project to get feedback from other members. I've tried it with two different projects and the results were less than thrilling. Is it a beta read site? Not really. Is it more of an online critique group? Not quite. Is it more like Wattpad, offering your completed work for free to build an audience? No. Definitely not.

Before publishing it last year, I put up my novel Seeing What Develops. I initially thought Write On was geared more towards the beta reading aspect of writing: users would take my almost completed project, tell me what's still not working, and I could go from there to complete a final round of revisions. While there was some interest, the comments were more of a "I like it" aspect without any suggestions. And once I put up the final chapter and marked it complete, it only received about 58 reads--and it's unclear whether those reads were counting the whole project or counting every time someone read a chapter.

So it wasn't for beta reading. This year I put up In Another Life to see if users would be more helpful earlier in the writing process. This project was two revisions in (I usually do 4+ before I think it's ready to go) and so far, I've had one helpful comment. But this time around, Write On has more options to provide information to the reader. You can choose to label your project as Drafting, Revising, or Complete. I left it on drafting for some reason. I don't know why, even though I was definitely in the revising stage.

The site isn't for early-stage critiques, either.

I guess the issue with this site is that most of the users are writers, not readers, unlike Wattpad where there's a more even mix of readers and writers. And the biggest problem with writers? We have egos when it comes to time management. Example:

"Oh, I would love for all these people to read my story. But I'm not going to bother with theirs. I don't have time to read something that isn't finished yet."

I'm not criticizing anyone--I've had these thoughts too. So if the site has something like 80% writers on it, then you're probably getting upwards of 60% with this mindset.

I don't like how the site works for my projects, but there are authors who've found success, like one author who only put up the first 5000 words of her novel, then took the critique of that and used it to build her Kindle Scout campaign (and won a contract). Let's just say that might have been my own intention, but again, it's not working for me personally. What I failed to realize from trying to mimic this situation is that she brought an audience with her. I was trying to use this resource to build one.

I haven't tried a fully formed, finished project upload to compare it to Wattpad. But I don't think I'll bother. Aside from the lack of enthusiasm I fail to generate, I also realized that my novel was 20k short of a standard-size novel, which means a massive rewrite or combining book one and book two (which I know at first draft is only 25k). Nowhere near ready for the plans I had for it.

I need to find something that's more helpful in shaping my writing to be the best it can be, which is probably building a small beta reading group just for myself. Of course I'll have to build twelve separate groups because I hate writing in just one genre, but whatever. As long as the story gets what it needs, it's worth it.