On Vacation During NaNoWriMo

My NaNoWriMo graph never looked so fantastically ... fantastic. Wow, those NaNo words are doing great things for my vocabulary, am I right?

I decided a few months ago I was going to take a vacation the first week of NaNo to see what my life would be like if I treated my writing like a full time job. Mainly, I wanted to see how much I could get done within that first week. Not only did I finish NaNo in the week, but I've gone on to finish the first rough draft of WHO IS KILLING RISSA GRANT and have written 12,000 words for DESMOND MOORE IS HOPELESS.

See the graph below for how much I wrote week one, compared to the steady normal NaNo graph thereafter.

I am up to 77,000 words total now, and I won't stop until Desmond is finished. I am thinking Desmond will be finished at 80,000 words, so I have a long way to go, but I am really happy with both projects thus far.

For me, it's important to reach a point where I can support myself on my writing. This is my passion, this is my hope and dream. This is what I am aspiring to me, and if I have 40 hours to dedicate to it, I can write 50k words in a week. Which means, I could likely have a book published every 3-4 months.

Which is shocking, but it also gives me motivation to keep plugging away, even when I am tired and exhausted from work. My book will not write itself, my future will not magically crop up out of nothing. I will keep querying and self-publishing (when appropriate), but the next big step is to come up with a decent marketing plan for myself.

Without marketing, my writing career will continue to be dead in the water.

So on that note... did you know I have books published? Things you can buy to support this quest to work for myself? You can find all of them here.

But in all seriousness, if I did end up making enough money to have this as my full time job, I wouldn't be quitting the nine to five. On the contrary, I would have to hustle more, but I would be doing it for myself. My business would be entirely on my shoulders. Part of that terrifies me, but part of it exhilarates me.

I can say I am excited to see what the future brings. This NaNo and vacation combo gave me hope that I will get there eventually.

Until then, keep hustling friends, and if you are like me and are currently rocking the full time job, I am right there in the trenches with you.

Like a Phoenix from the Ashes

Well, folks, it happened. I spent the precious time (during NaNoWriMo no less) to resurrect my newsletter from the ashes. I have revamped it for MailerLite, so I am starting over from scratch.

So if you subscribed before, you will need to resubscribe. But fear not! I have come back with a vengeance (and a ploy to get you to sign up again.) I have not only Zero available for free, but also two of my Wattpad stories, exported to mobis and epubs exclusive for people who subscribe to my newsletter.

Here's an insider tip, there will be two more free books before the holidays (full length books, for free for limited days). Announcements will be made, but signing up for my newsletter is the best way to be notified!

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Pitch Wars Prep and the Eternal Editing Flames

Hi folks! It has been a bit, so I figured I'd do a simple post to say I am currently lost in the editing stacks. I've edited Dissimulate and The Mundane List, which I have been shopping to agents for the time being, and I'm working to bring Ferals into a finished state before Pitch Wars starts on September 26th.

I am really excited to have the opportunity to enter this delightful story into Pitch Wars, but I am even more excited to start pitching it as soon as possible. It's my first attempt a YA Horror, and honestly, I love it.

I predict there will be more YA Horror and Suspense novels in the future, because editing has thus far gone very smoothly (for once in my life I am ... enjoying the editing process?) Okay, okay, you caught me, "enjoy" is too strong of a word, but I am not hating it, which is a huge step up in my book, because let's be honest: I have the attention span of a bee surrounded by pollen when it comes to editing. I want to go to all of the flowers, but like... really should be paying attention to this flower, but look at all of the other flowers that need my attention and how do I spent all of my time on just one flower?!

You get the picture.

Anyway! Pitch Wars has given me a (much needed) deadline, so now I will edit, polish, and sweat from my fingertips until the final words are done and ready for pitching.

Anyone else out there with me?