December is for Revisions

Another year, another 50,000 words. This year it was a little difficult to get through the last 10,000 words. It tripped me up a bit.

I have December to revise and tie it all together, maybe release it as an introduction of the character before I send her into space. The 50,000 words I wrote kept my protagonist earth-bound.

Digging through my early notes when I first chose to do the story and I had different names for the characters and I need to decide whether to keep or change them. I have to say it enough times to see if it sings to me.

Then there is the second volume that follows. The planning for the writing needs to start soon. It helps with continuity (and there is no rule that commits me to it).

Was it fun? Yes. Was it maddening and insane? Yes. Will I do it again? Oh, yes!

It’s about commitment and discipline, confidence and creativity and a combination of craziness and adventure.

No day job doesn’t make it easier. In fact, it may fracture your loyalties in ways an 8-10 hour a day job might not. This is because you spend so much time weeding through job boards, updating resumes, tweaking the CV and cover letters…

Then there is the freelancing. I’m thrilled I can get some business, but if you are going to freelance, it requires a thick skin (you will write and rewrite proposals and submit dozens that will never get any response).

These activities take a lot of time and energy!

That does not mean that you let the writing slide. It means you have to readjust to what time you have for yourself and dedicate some of it to writing. But write you must: it is therapy and escape.

It is also a way to hone your craft, so you keep doing until you come close to a high level of excellence.

December is for revisions in other ways too: besides tweaking NaNoWriMo manuscripts, it is the last ditch to salvage the year or improve on the good stuff to end the year on a high note!

Do all your holiday shopping at Smashwords and Amazon

I need to release new work, and I have plenty of work to do: some writing, mostly edits, and a lot of transcription! But for those new to my work, I did create new PDFs for Justified, One Night with B.B., Chronicles of Ash, The Scent of Honeysuckle, Remembrance of Dingbats, and Kali, The Food Goddess: Volumes 1 & 2. 

Authors ready to publish: if anyone needs help formatting manuscripts to electronic formats (EPUB, MOBI, PDF, etc.) for submission to Smashwords (premium catalogue), Kindle, CreateSpace can check out my professional services page or contact me through elance.

Keep me busy! Help me keep the economy going!