Managing March
Greetings, dear readers!
I have a secret to share. I have always hated the month of March. It feels like it drags on forever with the weather all over the place, no end in sight. March is the first month since the previous year's August where we don't have a three-day weekend or holiday break to look forward to. I've always felt March is the first true test of the year.
2021 proved to be the exception. I can't believe it's already the end of the month. It flew by. I know you've been reading a lot of posts about people reflecting on this month marking "One Year of the Pandemic," so I won't go there. We all know what's been going on and what's still going on. And yet, we are pushing forward. That spirit and strength should be celebrated.
So, what’s been going on in my world? In between my various writing projects, I've been growing my side hustle: BookstaBundles. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, earlier this year, I began offering social media packages designed to help authors promote their books. How did this come about? Through this whole publishing process, I've discovered that I really love designing visual content for my books. I love putting together pictures and icons and text to create eye-catching designs, all in the hopes of enticing someone to buy my books. A picture says a thousand words, and my goal is to make at least some of those words say, "you should read this book."
I love designing so much because it's a creative outlet that is not as mentally taxing (for me) as writing. I'm still doing something to further my career as an author, but for some reason, it's not as draining as sitting down and writing a new chapter can be. Besides, I've always been a computer nerd, so learning new design programs has been a fun challenge for me. This month, I dabbled in Photoshop by taking some online classes to further my skills. It's amazing how many free online classes are out there for basically any type of service. And if there isn't an online class, you can bet there's a YouTube video about it. I think a lot of people forget that there are so many tools at our disposal these days. You can learn anything IF you take the time and put your mind to it. So, my productivity tip of the month? If you are struggling with something, whether it be posting a Facebook post, organizing your email, or even turning on your computer…go to YouTube. Watch a video. You'll be amazed at what you can learn yourself!
Because I am still learning how to balance my new business with my writing (I was never much good at this before, when I was in the world of corporate America) my March goals leave a little to be desired. However, I got a lot accomplished this month that I'm proud of, so I'm going into April on a happy note.
Let's see what my writing goals were for the month:
Reach 30,000 words in the next Court of Mystery book
Prep paranormal cozy for beta readers
Write 10,000 words in new cozy
Read 3 books
Let's break these down:
Reach 30,000 words in the next Court of Mystery book: I ended up coming in just under 25,000 words in my manuscript, meaning I wrote about 10,000 words in my latest Jax story this month. While I didn't meet my intended goal, Jax has stumbled across a dead body, and for me, that's always the turning point in a manuscript. Everything that follows feels like I'm going downhill, following the trail to the end of the book. Getting to my mystery is always the toughest part, so once I hit that goal, I feel much more confident in my ability to finish the manuscript. My timeline is to introduce this book by June, so April will be a busy month of writing.
Prep paranormal cozy for beta readers: I finished my second/third draft of "Crisis in Crucible" and it is with my beta readers now. I was really on the fence about this book for the longest time, uncertain if it was any good, or if the story made any coherent sense. Sometimes, you need a different perspective and I'm getting it. Reader #1 is almost done with the book, sending me text updates along the way. So far, her biggest complaint is the MC drives a crappy car (in her opinion) and deserves something better. Which I suppose is the best feedback possible. It's definitely revived my confidence in this piece!
Write 10,000 words in new cozy: Yikes, I didn't even open this document. Based on everything else I am working through, I need to be more realistic about what I can write and how many projects I can juggle at once. I am looking to table this project until the early summer. It will be nice to write outside, and it will be a fun, new world to focus on while other books are in publishing limbo.
Read 3 books: I did this! When I reviewed my goals this month, I saw this goal and was like "crap, I couldn't even read three books this month," but thanks to Goodreads keeping track of my progress, I actually did! See, I told you March was an endless month! Two of my bookshelf recommendations are: Last Call by Cathi Stoler and The Fatal Flying Affair by T.E. Kinsey
Side note: One project that I worked on that I had not accounted for was revisiting Coco Cline and her friends in Central Shores. You may recall Coco's brief moment in the spotlight before I decided to part ways with her old publisher and find her a new home. Things kick off with the new publisher, Level Best Books, in August, when I deliver the remastered manuscript for Book 1. So, I decided it was time to revisit my original manuscript and begin bringing it up to snuff. Since it was written all the way back in 2017, there were quite a few dated references. You rarely get a second chance at a first impression, so it was fun to go back and launch Coco into 2021. I also got to incorporate some new content, too, ideas that I had along the way but couldn't implement during the first go-around.
Phew, March is a long month, so I guess it deserves a long post. Thanks for hanging in there with me and cheers to meeting April with confidence and poise!
Think positive, test negative.
Arms around,
S.B.