Katherine Bone's Blog - Posts Tagged "goals"
And So It Goes...
Coming out of deadline edits on Lost Treasure, Captive Princess, to give a shout out to you all. Woot!
Late nights and early mornings make for a very tired captain, me hearties. One thing I'm learning as I work my way through publishing is it's a very time-consuming, emotionally draining, risky business. Writing from the heart is hard. Even harder is making sure you hit those deadlines with professional finesse. And then double that by family obligations and living every day life too.
I'm not complaining, mind you. I LOVE what I'm doing! Part of the process is learning how to manage it all.
While I've been doing edits, my third grandson was born!!! Yes!! What a delight! He's healthy and beautiful and I couldn't be more proud of my oldest daughter. She's doing fabulous as a first-time mother, y'all. Did I mention I was proud?
How do you manage to divide your time between family, your occupation, social obligations, and every day life? Do you rely on calendars? Post-it notes?
My family is continuing to grow. But how do I continue to publish books for my readers, market those books, handle my own promotion, and move on to the next book without neglecting family and living life? I've got to get organized!
I recently bought a calendar I hope will help me organize my time. It's the 2013 Action Day Planner, Designed for Action by Thorsteinn Gardarsson. You can find this calendar online at Staples.com or in stores. Perfect way to divide chunks of time into little snippets. Easier to take on, don't you think? Well, I'm hoping this system will help improve my time management.
The best way to manage time is to have a good attitude. No matter what you tackle in life, me hearties, think positive.
"Your attitude about who you are and what you have is a very little thing that makes a very big difference." Theodore Roosevelt
With a fantastic, go-getting, I can do it and nothing's going to stop me attitude, the world is your playground. Learn to play. Strive to have fun. And most important, be.
Blessings,
Katherine
Late nights and early mornings make for a very tired captain, me hearties. One thing I'm learning as I work my way through publishing is it's a very time-consuming, emotionally draining, risky business. Writing from the heart is hard. Even harder is making sure you hit those deadlines with professional finesse. And then double that by family obligations and living every day life too.
I'm not complaining, mind you. I LOVE what I'm doing! Part of the process is learning how to manage it all.
While I've been doing edits, my third grandson was born!!! Yes!! What a delight! He's healthy and beautiful and I couldn't be more proud of my oldest daughter. She's doing fabulous as a first-time mother, y'all. Did I mention I was proud?
How do you manage to divide your time between family, your occupation, social obligations, and every day life? Do you rely on calendars? Post-it notes?
My family is continuing to grow. But how do I continue to publish books for my readers, market those books, handle my own promotion, and move on to the next book without neglecting family and living life? I've got to get organized!
I recently bought a calendar I hope will help me organize my time. It's the 2013 Action Day Planner, Designed for Action by Thorsteinn Gardarsson. You can find this calendar online at Staples.com or in stores. Perfect way to divide chunks of time into little snippets. Easier to take on, don't you think? Well, I'm hoping this system will help improve my time management.
The best way to manage time is to have a good attitude. No matter what you tackle in life, me hearties, think positive.
"Your attitude about who you are and what you have is a very little thing that makes a very big difference." Theodore Roosevelt
With a fantastic, go-getting, I can do it and nothing's going to stop me attitude, the world is your playground. Learn to play. Strive to have fun. And most important, be.
Blessings,
Katherine
Life's An Adventure!
Life's an adventure, isn't it?
Twenty years ago, I decided I wanted to tell stories the muse put into my head. I began to research. I started writing, even though I practically had no idea what I was doing. Like a fish out of water, I struggled against the currents/percentages that foretold I was wasting my time, wouldn't finish my novel, and would probably quit before it ever got published. But I didn't quit. I read countless "how to" writing books, took online classes, and went to workshops and conferences. I joined writing groups and sought out people who had a compass that pointed to what they wanted most. (Success is all about how you view life, isn't it?)
During those twenty years, was my glass half-full or half-empty? If you asked me at various times, I might have said, half-empty. Why? When those rejections started pouring in, doubts came home to roost. Will I ever finish my novel? Will anyone ever like my stories? Will I ever get my novel published?
Being positive is hard work. It's in our belief that we achieve. It's in our belief that we receive. By accepting the stages of life we're in the process of living, we have the power to overcome any obstacle, to move past rejections, critics, contest judges, and internal editors striving to empty our glass, or whatever hurdles we face.
There's adventure in everything, isn't there? Including never giving up. Along adventure's path, you might have to recalibrate your heading a time or two, or maybe more, but as long as you steer toward that next horizon, you will rendezvous with success. It's only a matter of time.
"You have to send your ship out before you ship can come in."
The most wonderful thing about books is they give readers untold adventure. Some mirror the reality of daily living. Others manifest dreams stored in the human heart. Writers hope to deliver both by imagining readers's deepest longings and bringing them to life. So what has my compass been pointing to for twenty years? Bringing joy to readers. If I'm able to do that, every single year striving to get my stories published has produced an overflowing glass.
Life's an adventure! It's like a Tootsie Roll Pop. You never know what you're going to get. But as long as you see life as a glass half-full, gooey-centered goodness is guaranteed.
Don't ever give up on your goals, whatever they may be. Strive to thrive. Believe to receive. Meet doubt head on. Don't be afraid of crashing and burning. Pick yourself up and reach for that half-full glass. It just might overflow with rum. ;)
Blessings,
Katherine
Twenty years ago, I decided I wanted to tell stories the muse put into my head. I began to research. I started writing, even though I practically had no idea what I was doing. Like a fish out of water, I struggled against the currents/percentages that foretold I was wasting my time, wouldn't finish my novel, and would probably quit before it ever got published. But I didn't quit. I read countless "how to" writing books, took online classes, and went to workshops and conferences. I joined writing groups and sought out people who had a compass that pointed to what they wanted most. (Success is all about how you view life, isn't it?)
During those twenty years, was my glass half-full or half-empty? If you asked me at various times, I might have said, half-empty. Why? When those rejections started pouring in, doubts came home to roost. Will I ever finish my novel? Will anyone ever like my stories? Will I ever get my novel published?
Being positive is hard work. It's in our belief that we achieve. It's in our belief that we receive. By accepting the stages of life we're in the process of living, we have the power to overcome any obstacle, to move past rejections, critics, contest judges, and internal editors striving to empty our glass, or whatever hurdles we face.
There's adventure in everything, isn't there? Including never giving up. Along adventure's path, you might have to recalibrate your heading a time or two, or maybe more, but as long as you steer toward that next horizon, you will rendezvous with success. It's only a matter of time.
"You have to send your ship out before you ship can come in."
The most wonderful thing about books is they give readers untold adventure. Some mirror the reality of daily living. Others manifest dreams stored in the human heart. Writers hope to deliver both by imagining readers's deepest longings and bringing them to life. So what has my compass been pointing to for twenty years? Bringing joy to readers. If I'm able to do that, every single year striving to get my stories published has produced an overflowing glass.
Life's an adventure! It's like a Tootsie Roll Pop. You never know what you're going to get. But as long as you see life as a glass half-full, gooey-centered goodness is guaranteed.
Don't ever give up on your goals, whatever they may be. Strive to thrive. Believe to receive. Meet doubt head on. Don't be afraid of crashing and burning. Pick yourself up and reach for that half-full glass. It just might overflow with rum. ;)
Blessings,
Katherine
Deadlines
Deadlines! One of the things about being a new author is discovering that deadlines are a major chink in your armor. No time for excuses. No time for backing down. Deadlines are a call for authors to stand up and be held accountable for the promises they've made.
There are so many life events that can get in the way of deadlines. I'm learning to figure out how to work around them in order to keep my word. It's a very difficult new world. But I love it and don't ever want to sound like I'm complaining.
The Rogue's Prize is due on Friday, February 15th. I'm in the home stretch and working long hours. In fact, when I got home from work today I took a 3 1/2 hour nap just to catch up on my rest. I didn't expect or want to sleep that long, but I'm going with it because it felt so good to sleep.
No matter what life hands you, never forget that your dreams are reachable. And when life gets hectic and you feel like you've been given a sack of lemons, add some sugar to your day. It sounds cliche but lemonade is a heck of a lot more tasty than lemons.
Keep your eyes on that horizon, me hearties!
Katherine
There are so many life events that can get in the way of deadlines. I'm learning to figure out how to work around them in order to keep my word. It's a very difficult new world. But I love it and don't ever want to sound like I'm complaining.
The Rogue's Prize is due on Friday, February 15th. I'm in the home stretch and working long hours. In fact, when I got home from work today I took a 3 1/2 hour nap just to catch up on my rest. I didn't expect or want to sleep that long, but I'm going with it because it felt so good to sleep.
No matter what life hands you, never forget that your dreams are reachable. And when life gets hectic and you feel like you've been given a sack of lemons, add some sugar to your day. It sounds cliche but lemonade is a heck of a lot more tasty than lemons.
Keep your eyes on that horizon, me hearties!
Katherine
Becalmed
Happy Easter, me hearties! (Sorry for being a day late with my blessing.) My family and I celebrated by going to visit my rogue's family for Easter dinner in Tennessee, with a booksigning thrown in. Good times!
Today, I want to talk about being becalmed. Yep. The moment when the wind stops blowing and a ship sits sweltering in the hot sun until a breeze can send it on its way. That's how I feel these days after a week in Cancun on vacation and two weeks taking care of my grandson. Becalmed.
But that's also an illusion. Thoughts are echoing in my brain. Ideas for books. Which one do I write now? Questions about promotion. Am I doing it right? Career goals. Where do I see myself in five years? So many thoughts with too little answers. What a conundrum!
So if I've been absent of late, chalk that up to me having been on vaca and cuddling my infant grandson. Woot! And if you listen closely, you can probably hear the wheels turning in my head as I try to figure out my immediate future plans.
Until then, don't forget you still can sign up for a chance to win an autographed copy of Duke by Day, Rogue by Night in my Goodreads giveaway, which ends April 9th!
Blessings!
Katherine
Today, I want to talk about being becalmed. Yep. The moment when the wind stops blowing and a ship sits sweltering in the hot sun until a breeze can send it on its way. That's how I feel these days after a week in Cancun on vacation and two weeks taking care of my grandson. Becalmed.
But that's also an illusion. Thoughts are echoing in my brain. Ideas for books. Which one do I write now? Questions about promotion. Am I doing it right? Career goals. Where do I see myself in five years? So many thoughts with too little answers. What a conundrum!
So if I've been absent of late, chalk that up to me having been on vaca and cuddling my infant grandson. Woot! And if you listen closely, you can probably hear the wheels turning in my head as I try to figure out my immediate future plans.
Until then, don't forget you still can sign up for a chance to win an autographed copy of Duke by Day, Rogue by Night in my Goodreads giveaway, which ends April 9th!
Blessings!
Katherine
