Michele Venne's Blog, page 16

I Shouldn’t Be Surprised

I know it’s not just in my experience that several issues/tasks/things come up/together/are due at about the same time. A couple of weeks ago, I finished two books right around the time I was dealing with a few personal changes. And it seems like that trend continues. I typed all I had written for Desert Zydeco to see the word count. I was ready to dive back in and finish the first episode.

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Coasting

This week was a blur. Having finished those two HUGE projects, I was still in the flow. My monthly newsletter turned out to be heavy, so I decided to split it into two parts. A large section of my personal life needed a transition, so that took 3 days and some mental gymnastics (not too much). Then I received some unexpected news which led to more shifting in my thinking… maybe I’m not lazy.

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Enjoying the Accomplishments

I met my deadline! Both HUGE projects are published by the end of September! First, Building Fluency: Advanced Number Sense is a math workbook I’ve dreamed of doing for years. I’m grateful I have a new computer. Equation Editor and Word would have given me so much trouble on my old machine, I never would have finished it. I have author copies on the way to give to those who took their time to give...

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Too Close to Call

The second audiobook, Of Hoof Prints and Heartbeats, is done! It has been approved and uploaded and is ready for purchase on all retailers (as soon as the retailers approve it), including my website (already approved!). One more to go in the trilogy! I’m finished with all the edits on the nonfiction, Building Fluency: Advanced Number Sense… just waiting for one last beta reader to peruse the pages...

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The Finish Line

This is the exact moment when the front runner’s chest connects with the ribbon strung across the finish line! It isn’t broken. Yet. The race isn’t done. Yet. I’ve met my deadlines, but the projects are ready for publication. Yet. I’ve finished this round of edits on The Bookie. Next is running it through ProWriting Aid. The final edit is me sitting in the office with the door closed...

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Desire

Epiphanies are like a sample from a bakery. They give you a taste but leave you searching for more. I had one this week. Quick context, I’m in a yoga collective where we study something different each month, learn about some yoga techniques, and apply it to our life for transformation. As a yoga instructor, I’ve read or learned much of this before. But taking an entire month to study these...

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Taking a Breath

I mentioned three months ago that I would be conducting some experiments. I’ve completed most of them. For a few, I wonder if I’ll gain any usable data, or if there’s a way to even find a beginning and know when it’s done. For the rest, I’ve learned about my process, which, after 14 years, is something I didn’t know could still happen. With most of those experiments concluded, I can look at what I...

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Two Steps to the Left

A couple of days ago, I let my graphic designer know that I had 12 pages left in the nonfiction. I figured I would finish it by Sunday and get it to beta readers early next week. I also told her that by the middle of next week, I would be through this round of edits on the novel and would have a final page count for her. Then I checked my email last night and saw a message from Findaway Voices...

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Finish Energy

Joanna Penn, a fairly famous indie author in the UK whom I’ve followed since she began offering stuff for indie writers back in 2008, talks about “beginning energy” when she starts a project and “finish energy” as she nears the end of a project. I (still) currently have 3 projects in a stage where I feel what she talks about with “finish energy.” It’s a push to keep going, to get the words down...

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Next STeps

My beta reader finished The Bookie. I’ve been working this week on her suggestions/edits. I should finish those this weekend. I have a list of what to check, what to research, what to change. No major rewrites needed, just a tightening up of the plot and making sure details aren’t repeated, and that all the details needed are there. “The Raid,” the short story prequel to the Waldman Investigations...

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