A January Review
Greetings, readers!
A belated Happy New Year to you all. It's hard to believe we're nearing the close of the first month of 2020. With the end of the month rapidly approaching, it's time for me to check in and review my goals for January 2020. I start every month setting goals for myself, in the hopes they act as a road map for how I approach the month. As a writer, I am often subject to working at my own pace, so goals keep me moving and on track. I share my goals via social media to show readers what I'm up to, as well as serve as a reminder of what I need to accomplish. If no one else knew the goals I've set for myself, it would be much easier for me to skate by them and shove them under the proverbial carpet if I don't get around to them. So, by publishing my goals publicly, I'm creating an even bigger sense of accountability for myself.
At the beginning of the new year, I set about making January's goals. I don't make year-long goals (other than the number of books I want to publish) as they seem too open-ended, encouraging the wrath of procrastination. Monthly goals are much more manageable for me to accomplish, and are much more helpful in achieving my larger vision for my writing.
January's goals were:
Polish first 50 pages for Book 2 in the Trending Topic Mysteries and send to my publisher
Write the synopsis for Book 2 in the Trending Topic Mysteries
Write at least 10,000 words in the next Court of Mystery novel
Write one blog post
Let's break them down, shall we?
Polish first 50 pages for Book 2 in the Trending Topic Mysteries and send to my publisher: You may remember in Spring 2019, I signed a three-book book deal with Camel Publishing for a cozy mystery series. Book 1 is in the hands of the publisher and I am eagerly awaiting my publication date, but that doesn't mean I'm just sitting around. Book 2 in the series is due to my editor at Camel on June 1st of this year. At the start of January, I was about 100 pages into the second book (and had been working on it even before I sold the series) when I realized I needed to scrap everything and do a total rewrite. I've learned a lot about the cozy industry in the past year, and I realized that the current state of Book 2 just wasn't up to industry standards. For example, the murder didn't occur until the 7th chapter. So, I spent much of January rewriting and finessing the opening pages of the manuscript to send to my editor.
Write the synopsis for Book 2 in the Trending Topic Mysteries: This was really tough for me. I'm more of a 'write the synopsis once the whole story is written' kind of writer. When I'm writing a mystery, I know only a few things for certain: who is murdered and who the murderer is. How, why, where, when…all those questions tend to get answered and reworked while I'm writing the story. My outlines are always vague and I tend to go off in different directions as new situations present themselves while I'm writing. So, to have to create a full synopsis before even finishing the manuscript was really tricky. And it changed a lot. But it was also helpful in weeding down the events taking place in my story. My original idea had way too many moving pieces for my main character to effectively process, so the creation of the synopsis really helped framed what is important to this particular story and murder. Once I get the approval from my publisher to proceed, then it will be off to the races getting everything together for June.
Write at least 10,000 words in the next Court of Mystery novel: I'm happy to report I've surpassed this goal by 5,000 words! After all the struggles I encountered with the two above goals, it felt nice to unwind and relax in the Realm of Virtues. It's funny how quickly I begin to miss Jax and her friends after wrapping up a project, so it was great to head back into their world. If all goes according to plan, the next Court of Mystery novel will be out by late spring.
Write one blog post: Last but certainly not least…and I'm coming in right under the wire on this one. For those of you who follow me, you'll know I'm the absolute worst with blog posts. I feel like my life isn't interesting or exciting enough to chronicle via a blog. I'm always so impressed by my colleagues who find the time to write books and keep an active, engaging blog. It's something I really need to get better at, so I figured I would use my blog as a time to recap what I've been up to for the month. Another way to hold myself accountable for my goals, and to give you a little insight as to what goes on in the life of a writer who is horrible at writing blog posts. While I might not be posting recipes or pictures of cute animals, I do want to provide you with some form of entertainment or takeaway, which is why I have come up with the following featurette….
Sarah's Bookshelf:
Going forward, at the conclusion of every blog post, I will share what I've been reading during the month. This won't be an inclusive list, but I want to try to share some of the stand-outs from the month.
Midnight Son by James Dommek Jr.
I listened to this short book on Audible. James Dommek Jr. investigates the folklore of the native Alaskans and how it is woven into a string of crimes committed by a rising Alaskan actor. A fascinating read about a culture I'm not particular well-versed on.
Come Homicide or High Water by Denise Swanson
Denise is my cozy author icon. In the third installment of her Welcome Back to Scumble River series, the author delivers a fun, festive cozy mystery that is sure to delight fans of the genre.
Killer Jam by Karen MacInerney
I recently discovered this author on Kindle Unlimited, after finding my membership included both the Kindle and Audible downloads. That's right, you can rent audiobooks with your Kindle Unlimited subscription! This cozy takes place on a Texas farm and had me wanting to start a farm of my own. An intriguing mystery with a great cast of characters, I'm already listening to book 2!
The Last Days of August by Jon Ronson
*Warning: this book contains very mature content* I've never listened to a book like this before in my life. Jon Ronson investigates the suicide of porn star August Ames and whether or not social media "cancel-culture" was to blame. What unfolds is a sordid, eye-opening, and shocking tale about the porn industry, which left me speechless. This book haunted me for days, but was so well-constructed, it would be wrong to not mention it, despite the macabre topic.
All these books can be found on Audible.com.
Until next month's review!
Arms around,
S.B.