Tag: writing goals

Posted in News

NOBODY’S PAWN Release Day! (The End of The Never Veil Series)

Posted on by Amy McNulty

NOBODY’S PAWN Is Out in the Wild!

Men can love, but they can also hate. Noll knows too well that the men in her village have adjusted poorly to the freedom of their hearts, but she hopes to bring peace back to her community. With the lord’s return, Noll feels confident that together, they can work to settle down the villagers, but in his rebirth, he remembers only one thing about her: that she caused the curse that tortured him for a millennium in the first place.

Determined to start anew, Noll must accept that, romantically, she and the lord are better without one another, but she’ll need his help to uncover what’s really behind all of the suffering in her village. Escorted to a land beyond the mountains, Noll uncovers the truth about her village and the strange occurrences in which she’s had a hand. When someone who loves her discovers the same things and betrays her, Noll feels powerless to stop her village’s fate. By learning to forgive and seek forgiveness, Noll finally understands true love of a free heart—along with true sacrifice.

It’s important that Kobo and Nook readers act fast, as the book will only be available for the foreseeable future on these platforms for about a week! Why? Learn more below! But first, a LONG look back at the evolution of this series.

It’s bittersweet to see The Never Veil Series come to an end. The seedlings of Noll’s story began 13 years ago in 2003 when, determined to make my life-long dream of being a published author come true, I decided to actually put words to paper (or digital screen) and try to get it done. I was a sporadic writer at best, and I could never quite get a handle on the story I had in mind. I knew one thing, though–I wanted to write a fantasy story with a willful heroine and a Byronic hero, my homage to my favorite film of all time, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth. By 2012, it was a ridiculous 129,000 words and only “halfway” finished in my mind. I didn’t have the drive or the follow-through to plot a full story. Then I read The Hunger Games trilogy (late, I know) and fell madly in love with the series. I hadn’t felt that way since Harry Potter. I wanted so badly to try again–to be an “author” for real, to write stories like those I loved.

One night, shortly after I finished Mockingjay, I thought about my meandering, endless story and how I could make it shorter and make it work. I thought about the elements I loved the most–the stubborn heroine, the moody hero hiding himself behind a veil, and the two of them forced to co-habitate in his castle–and how I could make a more compelling story out of them. I was in a dystopian mood (this was long before “dystopian fatigue” set in), and I wondered why more dystopians weren’t set in medieval-like settings instead of always grim futures. It hit me that maybe the lord shouldn’t be the only one in town forced to cover his face–maybe every man in town should. Maybe, in a reversal of popular dystopians where women are forced to marry men and have their children, men should be forced to fall in love and be subjected to women’s whims. Maybe, then, Noll (then called Feilia!) wasn’t the only “special snowflake” in town. Maybe all the women were loved like a special snowflake–maybe every woman was a goddess. (Of course, in the end, Noll was still far more of a special snowflake than the average goddess after all.)

I set aside my favorite scenes from that meandering draft and wrote like mad for nine days. “It won’t take me long,” I figured, thinking I could salvage more from that draft than I eventually could. It was a light work week for me and somehow I managed to write 50,000 words in those nine days, although I had trouble sleeping and eating–I had to keep writing. I changed those few scenes I was able to salvage and added an additional 5000 from that draft. 5000 words out of 129,000. But still, those words I wrote so long ago made it into NOBODY’S GODDESS today. (I remember actually playing the chess game way back in like 2005 to see if it could work out the way I wrote it did!) When I was finished, I had The Veiled Man’s Goddess, my first completed manuscript and the first book I could ever try to get published.

It was a long, crazy road after that. Eventually, through countless edits and revisions, the book grew from a too-short 55,000 words to a just-right 85,000. I got an agent, who was amazingly enthused about my work and made me think there might be a day when I could share Noll with the rest of the YA community and hold my book baby in my hands. I plotted out the two sequels shortly after I signed, so eager to work on them, I even wrote three sample chapters of NOBODY’S LADY. (Then called something dull like Behind the Veil.) But there was no guarantee anyone would buy the book, so there was no point in writing the sequels, as much as I wanted to. Every time a publisher expressed interest, I got my hopes up! Several “big 5” publishers shared kind words and one even asked for a revision. (Several others were not impressed, naturally!) Ultimately, the revision notes didn’t feel like the right direction for my story, but I tried rewriting it anyhow, feeling traditional publication within reach and eager to get there. In the end, that editor passed, as did many, many others.

We decided to go the indie route by 2013, which led to finding the book’s first publisher and to finding many of you, my readers! That opportunity raised my spirits and gave me hope. My book babies would get published and I had the go-ahead to finish Noll’s story! I wrote both NOBODY’S LADY and NOBODY’S PAWN in 2014, struggling more with the smaller second installment than the longer third. All three books were written by the time the newly-renamed NOBODY’S GODDESS was published in 2015 and I was finally able to share my strange little story with so many readers. So many reacted so positively, I was overwhelmed! I know there are a lot of people who hated Noll, my poor main character (I love her, stubborn or not!), but I hope a number of them stuck with the series all the way through, as it’s been so much fun to have her grow as a person and mature. Look up reactions to Labyrinth‘s Sarah, who loosely inspired her, and you’ll find they’re much the same! I just feel that Noll is a flawed person who seems stubborn and selfish to a fault–but she lives in a world where that’s one honest reaction to everything going on around her, especially in a young adult. She learns how to be more selfless over time, just as the lord learns to correct his faults.

Things have changed. My agent and I parted ways (although I still think he’s amazing and helpful), as did my first publisher and I. I found a new publishing home at Patchwork Press, which has offered to take on more of my book babies and gives me a level of control I don’t find outside of co-op publishing. I don’t know if I’ll ever find an agent or get that close to “traditional publishing” again, but I’ve decided that’s okay. When I tried for traditional, I was faced with the prospect of shelving NOBODY’S GODDESS and writing something new to be my YA debut. I really didn’t want that because I really believed in this story. If that means I’ll be an indie author from now on, then that’s fine with me–because being an indie author let me find a way to keep my stories from gathering digital dust on my hard drive. It’s let me make my dream a reality. And it’s let me share those dreams with you. I hope you’ll stick with me and check out the other worlds and stories I still have to share with you.

The Never Veil Series on Kindle Unlimited and New Paperbacks!

NOBODY’S GODDESS and NOBODY’S LADY are now available on Kindle Unlimited, which means that for one low monthly subscription fee, you can read both books and countless others for free! If you’re already read them, please spread the word to your friends and family with Unlimited access!

NOBODY’S GODDESS: https://www.amazon.com/Nobodys-Goddess-Never-Veil-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWYA52V/

NOBODY’S LADY: https://www.amazon.com/Nobodys-Lady-Never-Veil-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWMT7E6/

The books have gained even more readers by becoming available via this subscription service, so I’ve decided to keep the entire series there for the foreseeable future. That means the e-books won’t be available on any other platform besides Amazon. However, I realize a number of fans first found the books on Kobo and Barnes & Noble, so I want to give them a chance to pick up NOBODY’S PAWN before I pull the book from these outlets and offer NOBODY’S PAWN via Kindle Unlimited as well. If you’re an Unlimited reader, hang on a few more weeks and you can read the third book for free with your subscription.

For those of you who love the new covers, thank you! I love them, too. *-* I’m happy to report the paperbacks for all three are available as well! They’re the same height and width as the old versions, although the new formatting makes them a tiny bit thicker. However, if you already own the old versions and you only want the third book, which is available for the first time, they shouldn’t look wrong together on your shelf!

NOBODY’S GODDESS Paperback New Cover: https://www.amazon.com/Nobodys-Goddess-Never-Veil-1/dp/1927940680/
NOBODY’S LADY Paperback New Cover: https://www.amazon.com/Nobodys-Lady-Never-Veil-2/dp/1927940699/
NOBODY’S PAWN Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Nobodys-Pawn-Never-Veil-3/dp/1927940702/

Remember, these new editions include bonus material, such as a scene written from the lord’s point of view, and previews of my other work. Look for them at other retailers such as CreateSpace and Barnes & Noble as well–or even ask your local bookstore to order them!

Posted in Writing

WIP Marathon 28

Posted on by Amy McNulty

Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count:

YA FANTASY FAIRY TALE RETELLING/PREQUEL: 67,323 words, 27 chapters + epilogue–first revisions done, off to beta, some subsequent revisions done.

Current report WC + CC/ SC: 

YA FANTASY FAIRY TALE RETELLING/PREQUEL: 67,664 words, 28 chapters + epilogue–post-beta copyedits done (I didn’t add another chapter–she discovered I named two chapters the same number, ha)

WIP Issues This Month: I barely, barely worked on editing/fiction writing. My life kind of blew up in a dozen different ways and it’s been difficult for me to accomplish anything.

What I learned this month in writing: Publishing is a wild ride of highs and lows.

What distracted me this month while writing: My life. I don’t want to get into too many details, but I have literally half a dozen extremely stressful things going on right now. But it could always be worse. (It could always be worse, it could always be worse…)

In good news, I had a great time at BookCon! And I got to meet Ifeoma! 😀 She was so sweet and supportive and I signed TWO books for her. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Next month, I’m signing at a WI Barnes & Noble for B-Fest! That’ll be an interesting experience.

Goal for next month: I need to do another read-through of the fairy tale story and probably a big chapter one rewrite. I don’t know if I’ll have time, but that’s the goal I’m setting.

Posted in Writing

WIP Marathon 27

Posted on by Amy McNulty

Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count:

YA FANTASY FAIRY TALE RETELLING/PREQUEL: 65,273 words, 27 chapters + epilogue–first draft complete, about 15% through first revisions.

Current report WC + CC/ SC: 

YA FANTASY FAIRY TALE RETELLING/PREQUEL: 67,323 words, 27 chapters + epilogue–first revisions done, off to beta, some subsequent revisions done.

WIP Issues This Month: I didn’t start my new project, but I’ve decided I’m going to focus solely on polishing this (and getting ready to query!) before I do anyway.

What I learned this month in writing: It’s weird to read something you wrote years ago and be like, “Yeah, I wrote that one word at a time….”

What distracted me this month while writing: Excuse the rambling of distractions this month… Nobody’s Lady (The Never Veil Book Two) released April 12th, and I’ve been happy to see so many readers enjoyed it. It was both my boyfriend’s and my birthday this month, and we had a nice time celebrating. Something’s been going on in my life that’s kind of extra stressful, but I’m coping. I’ve been busy with work and I finished reading/giving feedback for my best friend from 5th grade’s 150,000-word novel! I also started edits for my best friend/beta’s latest. My Wattpad novel (eventually releasing through Patchwork Press), Fall Far From the Tree, is going to be featured as of May 19th, yay! Also, I’m off to Book Con in Chicago next month! Anyone else going?

 

Amy (1)

Plus, NOBODY’S GODDESS is only 99¢ for a limited time! It’s available on Kindle, Nook and Kobo at that price through the end of May (I think). This is the first time my book has been on sale.

Goal for next month: I want to start querying! I am so excited to query, you don’t even know! 😉 But I know I then have to go *quiet* now and not actually mention if/when I start querying. Plus, I have to finish polishing the book first. I’m not sure I’ll have time to start the new project with everything going on in my life, but maybe…

Posted in Writing

WIP Marathon 26

Posted on by Amy McNulty

Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count:

YA FANTASY FAIRY TALE RETELLING/PREQUEL: 52,517 words, 20 chapters

Current report WC + CC/ SC: 

YA FANTASY FAIRY TALE RETELLING/PREQUEL: 65,273 words, 27 chapters + epilogue–first draft complete, yay! About 15% through first revisions.

WIP Issues This Month: I managed to finish my draft a couple of weeks into March and then… I could not find time to write or edit at all for almost two weeks. I know you’re supposed to let a draft sit anyway, but there were some changes I wanted to make ASAP and I wouldn’t have minded starting on the next project. But taking a break wasn’t terrible.

What I learned this month in writing: I can finish a manuscript again! (Seriously, I haven’t done that since late 2014. I tried in late 2015 and shelved that one and before that I was mostly burnt out.)

What distracted me this month while writing: I was really busy with work. I also had a dozen or so interviews and guest posts to write for my upcoming blog tour. (NOBODY’S LADY is out April 12th!) I went to C2E2 for a day, which was nice, even if it was crowded. Normal stresses, etc.

Also, from March 29th through April 3rd, I’m going to be part of YASH again!

pink

Goal for next month: I want to finish revising my fairy tale prequel and get it off to my beta! I might also start writing my next project, a NA romance I plotted a few months ago. I’ll try not to get distracted by book release fun! 😉 It feels a little different this time around, though, as only the people who really liked the first book would even care about its sequel, you know? I’m still working on trying to get people to read the first one!

Posted in Writing

WIP Marathon 25

Posted on by Amy McNulty

Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count:

YA FANTASY FAIRY TALE RETELLING/PREQUEL: 36,153 words, 14 1/2 chapters

Current report WC + CC/ SC:

YA FANTASY FAIRY TALE RETELLING/PREQUEL: 52,517 words, 20 chapters

WIP Issues This Month: I got really busy with work and had a cold, so there were multiple days in which I didn’t work on the manuscript at all. I really wanted to get further than this, but I’m getting close to the end at least.

What I learned this month in writing: (I decided not to do “four” things because I’m learning a lot of the same things each month at this point!) Juggling everything is hard. (But we all already knew that.)

What distracted me this month while writing: My cold, a client manuscript edit, lots of work writing… My boyfriend’s been sick as well (both from my cold and other issues). I got to look over the NOBODY’S LADY proofs, and it should be off to the printer soon! Other stresses….

But also, the NOBODY’S LADY cover reveal! And the blog tour sign-ups/e-ARC info! Click here for more information!

Nobody's Lady

Goal for next month: I would love to finish this manuscript, but I said that last month. I really want to finish it, though!

Posted in Writing

WIP Marathon 24

Posted on by Amy McNulty

Has it really been two years since we started these monthly updates for the WIP Marathon group?

Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count:

YA FANTASY FAIRY TALE RETELLING/PREQUEL: 10,704 words, 4 chapters

NOBODY’S LADY: 70,746 words, 28 chapters (waiting to get final edits)

Current report WC + CC/ SC:

YA FANTASY FAIRY TALE RETELLING/PREQUEL: 36,153 words, 14 1/2 chapters

NOBODY’S LADY: 70,881 words, 28 chapters (revisions turned in)

WIP Issues This Month: I was doing really well with the new WIP toward the beginning of the month. I managed to write at least 1000 words a day for a while. Then I got caught up with a lot of work and kind of hit a “meh” part of my manuscript and I stopped working on it every single day, or only wrote a few hundred words a day. I had revisions to do as well. Still, I wish I could write faster. I know it’s not a race (no deadline for this), but I hate drafting. I love everything else about writing (revising, marketing, even querying) much more.

Four things I learned this month in writing: 1. You can run out of steam on a book even when you don’t think you will at first.

2. Pushing through and working on the manuscript anyway is painful, but every writing session takes you closer to the end.

3. After stepping away from a manuscript for a long time (NOBODY’S LADY), some of it can seem brand new when you read it.

4. Reading your work a year and a half after you initially wrote it is a strange experience.

What distracted me this month while writing: It’s been cold, so I’ve mostly stayed home this month. I’ve been busy and stressed with work and life, but I do have some news to share. The short story that I wrote back in April (I reported the word count on these updates) can finally be announced! It’s going to appear in a charity anthology later this year. I was also allowed to reveal the blurb for NOBODY’S LADY and you can pre-order the paperback. (The e-book will be available but isn’t up for pre-order yet.) My cover reveal is scheduled for February 26th, and you can sign up here if you want to participate!

Goal for next month: I might have NOBODY’S LADY proofs to look over and then it’s probably ready to go to the printer! *-* Meanwhile, I want to keep working on my YA FAIRY TALE. I’d love to finish it in February, but I’ll try not to set the goal only to be disappointed.

Posted in Writing

WIP Marathon 23: End of Year

Posted on by Amy McNulty

I already did an end-of-the-year and goals-for-next-year writing update here, if you’re interested.

Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count:

YA SUSPENSE:  53,965 words,  16 1/2 chapters

YA FANTASY FAIRY TALE RETELLING/PREQUEL: Not even thought of yet

NA CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE: Thought of, but not outlined at all yet

Current report WC + CC/ SC:

YA SUSPENSE:  58,546 words,  17 1/2 chapters  — SHELVED

YA FANTASY FAIRY TALE RETELLING/PREQUEL: Outlined completely; 10,704 words,  4 chapters

NA CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE: Outlined completely

WIP Issues This Month: Coming off NaNoWriMo “failing” (even with 25,000 words) and just not feeling the love at all for my YA SUSPENSE, I struggled in early December. I wrote every day (until I FINALLY took one day off), but it was often just 100 words. I’d been off-outline for a while with this book, but I just wasn’t loving it at all. But at the same time, it was already my second take at this (having thrown out the vast majority of the 50,000-word draft from 2012!), and I was worried I’d never finish it if I didn’t keep moving forward. (Also, I didn’t finish a single manuscript this year.) Plus, I’d worked on it EVERY DAY since early September, forcing myself to write even on insanely busy, tiring and stressful days.

But I just got.tired.of.it. I knew it might mean I’ll never finish it, or maybe I will come back to it someday. (It’s near the end and I have a vague idea of where it’s going, but it probably needs another 10-20k I’m not up for.) I wondered if I should give it up and work on my next project, which I pictured as the first of four books in a NA contemporary romance series I intended to straight-to-self-pub, but at the same time, I did want some finished YA manuscript to try to get an agent with again. (Coming up on two years without one soon!) Then I got a shiny new idea–finally a fairy tale retelling like I’ve always wanted to do that I think hasn’t been done before. (The fairy tale has been, but not this aspect of it–it’s more of a prequel with some of the same elements. Also, it’s not even one of the more popular fairy tales among YA retellings.)

So I got my love for writing back by telling myself it was okay to give up on the YA suspense. I outlined the new idea for a week while I tried to keep going with the YA suspense and finally decided to turn my attention to the new idea instead. And I’ve written a lot more per day so far, so I’m hopeful… I just hate being back at square one with a manuscript practically. ;-; Oh, but I also outlined the entire first book in the NA contemporary romance series in my downtime when on this writer’s high, so I feel like this had been a good decision for me.

Four things I learned this month in writing: 1. Shelving a manuscript might sometimes be the best thing. (I’m just hoping I don’t get to 58k with this new one and think the same thing…)

2. It’s hard to tell the difference between the “this really should be shelved” and the “this is just you struggling and you really should finish it” feelings.

3. Writing is just… always hard!

4. Ideas hit you during the strangest most unexpected moments.

What distracted me this month while writing: I haven’t gone on any day trips this month, but I’ve been busy with work. (And Christmas! Yay!) Oh, and of course I saw Star Wars and felt like a kid again, and I’ve seen a few other movies.

Oh, fellow WIP Marathoner Suzanne van Rooyen and I have our books I HEART Robot and NOBODY’S GODDESS up for a Month9Books Readers Choice Award until December 31st! Throw either of us some love and vote or comment?

Goal for next month: I’m hoping I’ll finally get the edits for the second round (perhaps final instead of expected three rounds?) of NOBODY’S LADY revisions for real in January. There was a hiccup and I expected them back in October and each month since, but… I think now they’re for sure on their way. I’d love to get a lot more done in the YA fairy tale retelling. I don’t think I’ll want or need to start the NA until I finish the YA. I could start outlining the other books in that series, but I’ll probably wait until I’m focusing on that manuscript.

 

Posted in Writing

Writing Goals for 2016

Posted on by Amy McNulty

Weapenry and Patchwork Press are getting ready to make 2016 our best writing year yet, and we want all of you to dream big with us. This week, authors are coming together to start thinking about the coming year and all of the books we’re getting ready to write. If we dream big and write all year round, we can easily make this our best year yet!

What is your favorite writing/publishing memory from 2015?

Seeing my YA romantic fantasy debut, Nobody’s Goddess, go on sale and hearing from readers who enjoyed it. I know it’s out there in a few bookstores and libraries as well, but the first time I saw it “in the wild” was just recently at a branch of my local library. That was a cool moment.

bookinwild

Also, my first signing was at BookCon! I felt awkward, but I had a lot of fun thanks to my boyfriend and my bestie/beta reader, Melissa Giorgio.

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What story are you most looking forward to working on in 2016?

I want to finish the YA suspense I started in September. It’s my second time tackling this concept, and I completely revised a few major things about an old, shelved draft. It’s been tough for me to feel passionate about this project, but I’m determined to see it all the way through.

Are you the type of person who makes New Year’s resolutions? Why or why not?

Usually not, no. I don’t like the feeling of defeat that comes along with not meeting my goals.

What area(s) of your writing/publishing process are you going to work on improving in 2016? (dialogue, marketing, output, pacing, formatting, etc.)

Not repeating the same gestures over and over even in the drafting stage. (“She crossed her arms,” “I bit my lip” type of things.) It takes a lot of work to fix that in revising, and it’d be nice if I just didn’t rely on the same descriptions while drafting!

How would you describe a successful publishing year in 2016? What goals are you working toward?

I hope more and more people discover Nobody’s Goddess so Nobody’s Lady (out April 12) is successful as well. I hope to get my Wattpad-first Patchwork Press title, Fall Far from the Tree, featured on Wattpad so more people discover it, and I’ll finish publishing all of it on Wattpad in 2016. I’m hoping I can then release the e-book and paperback versions in late 2016, although it may be 2017.

Tablet-FFFTT

If you had to guess, what do you think your biggest challenge will be when it comes to publishing and writing next year?

I need to get this YA suspense to a place where I’m satisfied with it and then start querying agents again.

How far ahead do you plan your writing schedule? Do you prefer to prepare or to see where your muses take you?

I don’t really schedule my writing. Now that I’m finished drafting my contracted work (THE NEVER VEIL SERIES), I just have to worry about revisions for those books whenever they’re ready for me to work on them. Besides that, I can write what I please!

Tell us about something non book related that you’re currently looking forward to for 2016.

Going to NYC again (as I do at least once a year to visit my boyfriend’s family) and attending C2E2 and BookCon in Chicago… Although I guess that’s book-related.

If you could offer up one piece of advice to other authors and writers for 2016, what would it be?

Don’t give up! It’s really easy to give up and ignore your little successes in the face of larger failures. But every little success counts!

What about you? What goals (bookish and otherwise) are you planning to work toward in 2016? Let us know in the comments! Weapenry will be giving away ebook packs of both Refilling Your Inkwell by Kellie Sheridan, and Surviving First Drafts by Erica Crouch to three randomly selected commenters across the posts going up this week. Be sure to either include your email address or to Tweet at us @patchwork_press along with your goals so we can get in touch if you win!

Posted in Writing

WIP Marathon 22

Posted on by Amy McNulty

Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count:

YA SUSPENSE: 30,155 words, 10 chapters

Current report WC + CC/ SC:

YA SUSPENSE:  53,965 words,  16 1/2 chapters

WIP Issues This Month: This is the first year I’ve tried NaNoWriMo that I lost. So even though I got more words done this month than I did the previous couple of months, I’ve been bummed about that. I’m losing the drive to finish this story. AGAIN. (This is my second attempt at it, with some major changes, and last time I petered out at about 50,000 words, too. Only last time I was stuck in the narrative and this time, I’m just bummed about it.)

Four things I learned this month in writing: 1. Sometimes even NaNoWriMo fails me. 😦

2. Even when I have an idea of where I’m going, it’s possible to lose interest in writing it.

3. Finding not one, but 2-3 similarities to a popular YA book in your WIP also helps make you less enthused about finishing it.

4. It’s hard to go from 100-500 words a day to 1700. (I managed for like 3 days and then just couldn’t do it anymore.)

What distracted me this month while writing: I went to Chicago (again ^^) one day early this month, but mostly I’ve been really busy with work. The time I do spend writing just isn’t that productive, either. But I have continued to work on it every single day, even if it’s only a few hundred words.

NOBODY’S LADY got an official release date: April 12, 2016, a few months earlier than expected!

I revealed the cover to my YA fantasy that’s going to someday be published with Patchwork Press! …And I started serializing it on Wattpad! It’s going to be a Wattpad-first novel with eventual ebook and paperback release in late 2016 or 2017. Click on the image to start reading today! 😀 Btw, this was my first WIP Marathon manuscript from back in 2013! *-*

Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000040_00007]

And I made a trailer for NOBODY’S GODDESS! That was actually a really fun distraction. I always wanted a trailer, even though I know they’re not the most effective marketing tools. I didn’t have the budget for one, so I made it myself. I had so much fun, I want to make one for FFFTT, but I really shouldn’t waste the time when I’m so busy. (See, I always want to do marketing stuff instead of draft when I’m unhappy with a draft’s progress!)

Goal for next month: I’m hoping I’ll finally get the edits for the second round of NOBODY’S LADY revisions this month. So I have to do that if so. Also, just to keep going with this YA suspense and not be tempted to move on to shiny new ideas. I have a feeling if I give up now, I won’t finish it at all. It’s not unsalvageable or anything, I just am not feeling the love….

 

Posted in Writing

WIP Marathon 20

Posted on by Amy McNulty

Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count:

Nothing on a new YA suspense manuscript (Well… You can count the 20 chapters and 53,910 words I wrote during my first go at this manuscript back in 2012, but I’m doing a page one rewrite with different characters and a supernatural element removed so 70-80% of that will be scrapped.)

Current report WC + CC/ SC:

YA SUSPENSE: 15,706 words, 6 chapters

WIP Issues This Month: Setting myself up with unrealistic expectations. I’m probably in the minority of writers in that the first draft is my least favorite aspect of writing. I just get weighed down by the tens of thousands of words still ahead of me and wish I could finish a draft in 10 days every time. (I did it once! Of course, I wound up adding 30k in edits over the next few years, but still.) 5000 words a day for 10 days seems doable on paper… Ha, but it’s only rarely doable for me.

Four things I learned this month in writing: 1. Drafting doesn’t always come easily for me. (Not really a new lesson!)

2. I’m strangely very interested in marketing my books after they’re out when I have a draft I should be working on–probably because I don’t want to draft.

3. I feel like I’m not a “real writer” if I don’t say that writing is my favorite part of being a writer (does that make sense?), but it’s not. I have moments where it’s amazing, but it usually feels like a chore until I get to editing and the excitement of hoping the manuscript has a future.

4. Publishing is slow.

What distracted me this month while writing: Not too much. I tried to work on the manuscript every day, even if just a few hundred words. I spent a day in Chicago earlier in the month and attended a local cartoonist’s fair, both of which were fun.

Goal for next month: I might be getting my 2nd round of edits for NOBODY’S LADY in October, so that’ll have to take priority, but naturally, I want to continue working on writing the YA SUSPENSE and I actually have to start a new idea soon, too. I’m going to NYC again for a week, so that’ll put a dent in my progress, as I’m usually too exhausted and busy to get much done while on vacation. I hope I don’t lose my (slow-going) momentum on the project if I take a break, though.

Oh, I’m participating in YASH again in early October with NOBODY’S GODDESS! Stop by to win prizes and play along. 😀