Leah R. Cutter's Blog, page 2

Rough Start

It’s been a rough start to the year, quite frankly.

It started actually on Christmas day, when I stepped on a nail and skewered myself good. Which was bad. But what was worse was getting a tetanus shot. I reacted weirdly to it, as I always do. So that was a week that was bad. (Shooting pains down my arms and hands, so much so I couldn’t type.)

Then on New Year’s Day, I came down with a stomach flu. We thought at first that it was merely food poisoning. But as it lasted a week, and took several days before my stomach settled and I got hungry again, we decided flu.

Figured everything was over at that point. But no! In part, because of the above, I wasn’t eating right. So I ended up with a week of migraines (4 migraines over the course of 7 days.)

My word count for this year has sucked as a result. I’m still getting back on that damned horse, though. Today is a new day and I feel better. Gonna hit that page and write lots.

Speaking of which…

#amwriting

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Happy birthday Jeff! New B4B Available!

It’s January 12th.

For those of you who don’t know, today is Jeff Bezos’ birthday.

While I don’t think Amazon is my friend, and I really don’t believe that they always have my best interests at heart, I also am aware that I make a lot of money by selling books via Amazon KDP.

Jeff has made my life possible, in many ways. Otherwise, I’d still be grinding away at a day job. I wouldn’t have published half the books I have.

So for the last few years, Knotted Road Press has put out a book on Jeff’s birthday. It’s always been a “Business for Breakfast” book.

This year is no exception.

Here’s the blurb:

So. You’d like to take your publishing business to the next level, and want to create a business plan to help you get there.

But all of those stupid business books make no sense. They were not written for you.

The writers of those books mean well. But they’re talking to other business types and MBAs. If you hate spreadsheets, and have problems understanding business books, this one (and this series!) may be just what you need.

The background. Actually – this is the beginning of the intro. I was, and still remain, pissed off about this.

Introduction to Business for Breakfast, Volume 5: Business Planning for Professional Publishers

I’ve run successful businesses, plural, for years.

Yet, I’ve never had a business plan. Not for any of them. Not until recently.

Why?

Because trying to create all the stupid things that the stupid f@#$%g MBAs tell you must be part of your business plan have always stopped me.

It wasn’t until recently that I figured out they were lying.

Or rather, that they were talking to other MBAs. To people like themselves. To that very small minority of writers who actually like spreadsheets.

The rest of us were just screwed.

Until now.

Bastards.

Let me back up and tell you about my first breakthrough. There were several, and they kind of piled one on top of the other. I’ll get to them in later chapters.

I attended the Master Publishing Workshop offered by Kristine Kathrin Rusch, Dean Wesley Smith, M.L. Buchman, and Allyson Longueira, in October 2016, in Lincoln City, OR.

The first breakthrough came when Kris mentioned that she’d been trained as a reporter. That meant that every day, she walked into some random event at work. She never knew what she would be doing on any given day. She partially blames that training for her butterfly brain.

That was a real ah ha moment for me. When I applied the concept of “being trained by the day job” to myself, it explained so much about myself and my processes.

I worked as a technical writer for decades. The software companies I worked for generally released new versions of the software every quarter or so.

That meant that every three to four months, I started something new. Either I moved to a new team or I started working on a new product. Frequently, I had a new technology that I had to learn. (That was one of the things that I really liked about doing technical writing—they paid me to learn.)

One of the things I already knew about myself was that I couldn’t follow the same routine for more than three to four months. I’d develop a successful process or habit, and after a few months, it would stop working.

Now, finally, I understood why. That was as long as I ever worked on any project for the day job.

I did mention that I’d done technical writing for decades, right?

So I’d trained myself to do the same thing for only a few months. Then I would need to do something else.

Well, fuck.

All the MBAs tell you that must write a year-long business plan. Or two. Or, just shoot me now, three.

My brain does not think in terms of years. It thinks, and works best, in terms of quarters.

So instead of trying to create a year-long business plan, I pulled back.

I created a business plan for just a quarter instead.

And I was successful for the first time ever.

I cannot tell you how pissed off I was. Am. Remain. That no one, in any of the business books I’d ever read, had started off, up front, saying, “Create a business plan for the length of time that you’re most comfortable planning.” Whether that be a week, a month, a quarter, what have you.

Fuckers.

So this book is going to be all about making a business plan that actually works for you, the indie writer/publisher. I’m going to do what I did with the other Business for Breakfast books, and translate all that technobabble bullshit that the MBAs tell you into language, concepts, and actual plans that you, a creative person, can use. And implement.

My main goal is to explain things such that you can ignore all those stupid business people and get on with your own, individual, artistic works.

And build a plan that works for you, not them.

You’re welcome.

Yup. Just read through that, and realized that I’m still pissed off. I couldn’t create a business plan for years because I couldn’t follow how everyone said it should be done.

Came up with my own solution. It’s still working, BTW.

So if you need help creating a business plan, and those other books/methods/plans have never worked for you, you may want to give the latest Business for Breakfast book a try.

Available at your favorite retailers: http://www.knottedroadpress.com/book/business-for-breakfast-volume-5-business-planning-for-professional-publishers/

And be sure to check out the other Business for Breakfast books as well:

Volume 1: The Beginning Professional Writer

Volume 2: The Beginning Professional Publisher

Volume 3: The Beginning Professional Storyteller

Volume 4: The Intermediate Professional Storyteller

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Leafy Greens

*le sigh*

I need to eat leafy greens on a daily basis.

No, really.

This month that fact really hit home. Again.

If I eat leafy greens on a regular basis, I get significantly fewer migraines.

Period.

I actually already knew this. But I keep sliding. Stopping. Plus, there were the holidays.

It isn’t as if I wasn’t eating vegetables. I was. But not specific leafy greens.

So this month, I’m really suffering as a result.

I can’t keep doing this to myself. I’m making a pact with myself, here and now, to get back into the habit of eating leafy greens most every day, for the rest of the year.

What do I mean by leafy greens?

When I’m “on schedule”, I make myself a smoothie every morning, with a 1:1 ratio of greens to berries/fruit. Most of the time, I use curly green kale.

NOTE #1: Freeze your kale. Seriously. Buy curly green or red kale, process it, then throw it in a plastic bag and throw the bag into the freezer. When the kale freezes, it breaks down into tiny little pieces. This makes it really easy to make smoothies from. In addition, freezing the kale makes it less bitter and more easily digestible.

In addition to the kale/fruit, I also add half a cup of plain Greek yogurt, a touch of honey water and a touch of vanilla.

NOTE #2: Honey water. I make a simple syrup of honey & water. One cup honey, one cup water, thrown into a pot and heated until the honey dissolves. I pour it into a glass bottle and keep it in the fridge. This way, I always have a liquid, pourable honey for sweetening things, such as lemonade or hot chocolate.

In addition to the kale, I need to have a salad almost every day. Lettuce and stuff.

So why don’t I eat leafy greens every day?

One problem is that I get bored with having the same food all the time. I have an entire smorgasbord worth of “extras” to add to the lettuce for making salads. As well as half a dozen different flavors of salad dressing. So I’m trying.

The other problem is that it’s winter here in Seattle. Not as cold as in Mpls, where I grew up. But having a cold breakfast smoothie, as well as a cold salad for lunch or dinner, ends up being unappetizing. (I have fewer problems eating more leafy greens in the summertime, when it’s warmer.)

However, migraines suck. Seriously. I haven’t been able to do much today because I’ve had a migraine all day. I’m going to try to write tonight, but I’m not hopeful.

I just need to remember how bad today has been, particularly the next time I look at the lettuce and think, “Ugh. Not hungry.”

Plus, keep track and make sure that 5 out of 7 days a week I eat enough leafy greens!

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Fox and Hound available for free for January!

The story Fox and Hound is available for free for the month of January. (http://www.leahcutter.com/books/short...)

Fox and Hound was originally published in the anthology, Fiction River: Hex in the City.

It is the origin story of Huli Transport, a company that specializes in delivering messages and packages to non-humans.

Fox and Hound leads directly to the novel The Immortals’ War.

I already have the next book (The Strawberry Girl) planned out. At some point, I’ll write it. I’ve already written another Huli Transport short story (for an anthology.)

So if you think you might want to try riding along with Tong Yi and Huli Transport, go take a look at Fox and Hound.

I think you’ll like what you see.

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

That year end thang…

It’s that end of the year look-back-look-forward time.

At least it is for me, and in particular, in terms of my writing.

I did not make my writing goals for 2016.

I’d wanted to write 500,000 words.

I’m only going to manage 410,000 words or so. (Final count yet to be determined.)

Why didn’t I make my goal?

From Jan-June, I was having 12-15 migraines a month. That made it seriously difficult to meet my word count every week.

July-August, I finally managed to get the migraines down to 3-4 a month. However, in July, I was still having headaches almost every day. Come August, I had significantly lowered the number of headaches I was having and was able to write more.

So I was poised to take a run at the writing…only to get sick. I hadn’t been ill for 18+ months. But starting in September, I came down with four different illnesses over the course of six weeks. And the writing took a hit as a result.

Master publishing workshop happened at the end of October–and I ended up sick again.

Now, I have written more words this year than last.

I have to count what I managed to do as a win, despite not making my goal.

400K+ words really isn’t anything to sneeze at.

Looking forward…I’m going to take another run at my 500,000 word goal again in 2017.

I’m much more stable in terms of my migraines. I generally only have one really bad week per month, and am migraine free the rest of the time.

I need to focus on the writing during those weeks. 15,000 words a week or more. Then, when the bad weeks come (and they will come) I’ll be able to slack off and still make my word count. (I am seeing an acupuncturist, so hopefully the bad weeks won’t be as bad.)

The good news is that I’m really excited about the writing. In January I’ll start “The White Harp” – a fantasy trilogy set 1000 years in the future after the “novels never to be published.” I have other novels planned as well as short stories.

Life is good.

I will probably do a publishing post, looking-backwards-and-forwards next.

How has your year been? What are you looking forward to?

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

The Immortals’ War, Now Available!

WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

I AM SO EXCITED.

I have a new novel out today! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!

Here’s the blurb:

Tong Yi lives in Taiwan and works as a messenger for Huli Transport—a company that specializes in delivering messages and packages for non-humans. He values his oath to the company and makes heroic efforts to ensure the messages entrusted to him arrive safely and on time.

However, between the awesome motorcycle he rides who insists of “dancing” with him by fishtailing and trying to dump him every chance she gets, and the brewing war between the non-humans, “…or die trying” seems more likely with every message he delivers.

And then his brother turns up as a combatant, and possibly his enemy…

If you enjoy Chinese myths and legends woven into a modern story, you’ll love “The Immortals’ War.”

Available from your favorite retailers: http://www.knottedroadpress.com/book/...

I actually loved writing this “novel”. I sometimes put quotes around that because this story is actually told in six parts.

The first three were written as stories for the Uncollected Anthology series (www.UncollectedAnthology.com) But I needed to go much longer, I knew, to finish Tong Yi’s story. The short story format wouldn’t work any more–there was too much background that would need to go into each independent story in order for it to make sense. So I stopped trying to write independent pieces, though this story continued to want to come out in pieces.

The stories are:

Dancing With Tong Yi

War On All Fronts

The Sweet Shop

Girls’ Night Out

The Immortals’ War

Kiss. And Make Up.

There will be other Huli Transport stories. I’m just about to write the next one. I also have lots of notes for the next novel as well.

I love this new world, that I can tell a story however I choose. I get to create the extended universe, or not, and publish them all.

I hope you enjoy this novel as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Hi

Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve posted. But I’m still here. Still writing. Still publishing.

The Immortals’ War comes out December 20th. It’s available for pre-order in the usual places. www.knottedroadpress.com/book/the-imm...

In January, the next of the Business for Breakfast books comes out. All about business plans.

In February, my next Uncollected Anthology story comes out. If you want to read the first year of stories, there’s now a print version of the “collected uncollected.” There are also ebooks of all four issues of the first year.

Issue One, Magical Motorcycles: http://amzn.to/2gktE19

Issue Two, Winter Witches: http://amzn.to/2gL8mgJ

Issue Three, Heartspells: http://amzn.to/2gkuUBh

Issue Four, Portals & Passageways: http://amzn.to/2fRzYi2

I think that’s all for now. Am recovering from horrific food poisoning today, so not much brain.

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

RAVEN on sale now!

YAY! I’m having a sale!

Over at Kobo, I’m having a sale on The Raven and the Dancing Tiger!

It’s currently 35% off. But just for this weekend! So get it while you can!

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Moving Forward and NEWS

I was doing really well after the Master Publishing workshop. I had a single day of downtime, and then I was right back to work. Wrote a hell of a lot that first week.

Then Blaze got sick. (BW: Terry’s fault!!!)

Then I caught it.

After a week and a half, I’m finally well enough to start writing again. (Still hoping to finish the novel The Dwarven Wars this month. But I’m gonna have to write a lot in order to do that.) Making forward progress is good. This is the third novel and final novel in the Clockwork Fairies trilogy. (The Clockwork Fairy Kingdom and The Maker, The Teacher, and The Monster being the first two titles.)

And then, there’s NEWS.

Ah-hem.

I have been asked to be a guest editor for the Fiction River anthology series for next year. (www.FictionRiver.com)

Here’s the blurb about the anthology series from the website:

Called “one of the best and most exciting publications in the field today” by Adventures Fantastic, Fiction River is an original anthology series. Initially, based on the anthology series of old—Universe, Orbit, Pulphouse—Fiction River rapidly evolved into its own entity. Fiction River publishes stories in many genres from all kinds of writers, with New York Times bestselling authors published alongside some of the best new voices in fiction. Fiction River also goes where no anthology series has gone before, with regular audio editions as well as ebook and trade paperback volumes that never go out of print. And Fiction River is available in English worldwide.

OMG OMG OMG SQUEEEEEEE

Ah-hem.

Seriously, I can’t tell you how honored and flattered I was by the invitation.

This is what they call an “upscale risk”. Blaze and I had to rearrange some things on our calendars, but this opportunity is so worth it.

Come January and February I’m gonna be amazingly busy. You know. Reading 1.2 million words of AMAZING fiction.

SO excited.

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

The Island Sampler Now Available!

Like many writers, I write all over the map.

I figured out a way to group my stories together, by time (Past/Present/Future) as well as by energy level (Languid/Exciting/Pulse Pounder).

Then I mapped out all of my novels, and discovered I had five “islands”.

It was time for a treasure map!

Come and taste the flavor of each of all of my very different islands. You may only find one island that delights you, or perhaps you’ll love them all…

For more information (and a picture of The Map) visit my site: http://www.leahcutter.com/faq/what-book-should-i-read-first/map/

Available for $0.99 at your favorite retailers. Or get a copy for free by signing up for my newsletter!

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.