Skye Callahan's Blog, page 2

Airtable: Content & Project Planning #SkyeWriting

Projects & Deadlines

This table is where all of the magic happens.

I have this table synced with my book sheet from my Series Bible, so it automatically pulls over any of the information I need. If you don’t know how to sync or don’t want to get into that, you can easily add any of the information you need by copying and pasting, or entering it manually.

This sheet breaks down all of my projects and includes their status, start date, deadline, target word counts, to-do list items (if I click any item in this column, it will show me the details for each task), plus it calculates the number of days until the manuscript is due, and how many words are needed per day to hit my goal. This sheet automatically pulls information from the next sheet to calculate the number of words still left to be completed.

Under views, I also have it broken down by month, to see what projects are most pressing at the moment and plan accordingly.

At the very bottom of each month’s view, you can see how your writing goals and deadlines will affect the total number of words needed each month by looking at the Sum under the Avg Words Month column.

Chapter Progress

This is where I keep my notes and word counts for each individual chapter. The view is grouped by book, so I can easily see my total word count for the book in the SUM above the word count column in the header. All of these numbers will autofeed into the Projects & Deadlines sheet so you know approximately how many words you have left to write before the deadline.

To-Do

I am using this to block out any separate items that need done for projects. Currently, I have the release dates and Radish uploads planned out. I use a checkbox to send items to my Todoist Calendar on Google when I’m ready for them to be added to my list.

I also have separate views set up so that I can see my list on a calendar in Airtable, broken down by project, broken down by type of task, or chronological.

Promotions

Since I’m using this base to plan all of my content, not just books, I have this sheet to track promotions so I can easily see what posts need to be scheduled on social media or included in my newsletter or blog.

Featured Reads

I use this sheet to track any features that will be mentioned in my newsletter, like swaps from BookFunnel, promotions, etc. I can break it down by date or by newsletter and easily see what’s coming up, who I’ve swapped with previously, and what books are going to be shared by someone else.

A second perk to this sheet is that I can also create a gallery to display and automatically update. I have this gallery embedded on my website, so that readers who miss the promotions can still stop by and see any of the books I have shared.

Newsletters

I recently added this sheet to condense all of the information I’ll be including in each newsletter, and share it to my Google Calendar, so I can quickly see that I have a newsletter going out and click the link to see what I need to include. I will also be adding images created for the newsletter round-up shared on my blog and a space to keep additional notes.

Clicking any of the titles under the featured reads column will also allow me to see the details for that promo from the previous sheet.

Marketing Copy

This is a combination of 2 sheets I kept in the past for teasers and review quotes so I can easily see the reviewer’s name and break the marketing copy down by book while still keeping everything in one place.

You can break down your teasers and promo materials as much as you like by adding headings, text, and attributions, and this table brings everything together (with the help of the following sheet) to create copy for social media. The Twitter column truncates the text used and the following column lets you know if it’s under Twitter limits after being combined with hashtags and the link.

Clicking the title in the book (section) column will reveal any of the marketing materials I have saved for that title from the next sheet.

Marketing Materials

This is where I organize my links, hashtags, images, etc, that can be used for each book. Clicking on any of the items under copy will reveal the teaser or review linked to that book. All links, instructions, or hashtags used here will be brought over to the proper book in the previous sheet.

Automations

These are the automation I use to share my promo dates, newsletter dates, and deadlines to my Google Calendar.

If you’d like to download a blank copy of my Content & Project Planning database to customize it for yourself and plan your goals, you can get it here.

The post Airtable: Content & Project Planning #SkyeWriting appeared first on Skye Callahan.

Friday Fives: Favorite Autographs

I thought it would be fun, now that I have my blog up and running, to share some of my favorite things. Every week, I’ll be back with a new top 5 list with everything from books to snacks.

Today, I’m sharing some of my most prized autographs.

Deborah Harkness

I read A Discovery of Witches during my final year of grad school. It was the first work of fiction I’d read voluntarily in years! And the first time I read it, I picked it apart like dissecting it was an assignment for one of my classes. But, I couldn’t get it out of my head and read it three more times by the end of the year. This was the book that inspired me to pick up my pen and start writing again. It was fantastic to meet Deborah Harkness and hear her speak on the series.

Bruce Campbell

Hail to the King, baby! I’ve met Bruce Campbell twice, and he’s always entertaining and good to his fans. The second time I met him, I was 19, and my 17-year-old sister and I drove four hours each way, by ourselves, to meet him. After I was up the entire night before with food poisoning. I’m really surprised our family agreed to the whole thing, but we had a blast!

Alan Alda

Oh, how I love thee. I’ve been watching M*A*S*H since I was baby. My family would put me in front of the TV while it was on and I’m told that every time Alan Alda appeared on screen I always reached out for him. Which was odd, because if anyone else tried to pick me up, or even look at me, I erupted into tears. I still watch M*A*S*H often, and I’ve collected all of Alan Alda’s memoirs and listen to his podcast.

Joe Bob Briggs

Heads will roll! Did anyone else grow up on MonsterVision on TNT? It was my weekly ritual and I discovered a lot of my favorite horror movies on the show. I particularly remember the Dusk to Dawn Friday the 13th Marathon that aired in 1998 when I gathered all of my siblings around the TV for an epic introduction to Jason. Which means I would have been about 14, and my youngest sibling was 7, so it’s probably a good thing it was edited for cable TV, but Joe Bob’s commentary through the marathon was a riot.

Corinne Michaels

Another of my author idols, this is one of my many signed books from Corinne Michaels. Consolation was the first book I read from her, and it was heart-gripping. I love how she can interject the right about of humor and realism into her stories. It feels like I can walk outside and run into one of the characters from her books. I also met Corinne back in 2014 in NYC and was so nervous, I’m surprised I could make words. Now, I’m participating in her Salvation Society World, and I’m so excited for everyone to see our characters collide.

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Newsletter Recap, January 13

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Newsletter Recap, Jan 7

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Friday Fives: Crushes

I thought it would be fun, now that I have my blog up and running, to share some of my favorite things. Every week, I’ll be back with a new top 5 list with everything from books to snacks.

Today’s list doesn’t really require much explanation, so with that I give you my top 5 crushes!

Richard Armitage

Favorite Role: Lucas North, Spooks

Jason Momoa

Favorite Role: Aquaman!

Jamie Dornan

Favorite role: Paul Spector in The Fall

Tom Ellis

Favorite role: Lucifer

Bruce Campbell

Favorite role: Okay, seriously… Burn Notice, Evil Dead, My Name Is Bruce, Bubba Ho-Tep, Ash vs Evil Dead, Jack of All Trades…. Hail to the King, Baby!

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Newsletter Recap, Dec 26

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Newsletter Recap, Dec 17

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Friday Fives: Girl Crushes

I thought it would be fun, now that I have my blog up and running, to share some of my favorite things. Every week, I’ll be back with a new top 5 list with everything from books to snacks.

This week, I’m flipping the switch from last week’s Friday Fives and presenting my top 5 girl-crushes!

Ksenia Solo

Favorite Role:��Kenzi, Lost Girl

Gal Gadot

Favorite Role: Wonder Woman

Lesley-Ann Brandt

Favorite role: Maze, Lucifer

Diana Prince

Favorite role: Darcy the Mail Girl, The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs

Karen Gillan

Favorite role:��Amy Pond, Doctor Who

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Have you visited Eden?

Did you know there’s a indie retailer dedicated to Romance and Women’s Fiction?And that they’re offering an unbelievable deal on gift cards through Dec 15?

I’ve mentioned Eden Books a couple of times because I’m not always able to get my pricing and book details updated at the big retailers, but I wanted to take a couple of minutes to share what Eden is really about (and why I love it so much).
Eden Books was created by Robyn Crawford, and is currently the only online bookstore and social media platform dedicated to romance and women’s fiction. The project was born when Robyn watched as online retailers began blocking and banning romance and erotica books, and banning readers from leaving reviews.

Meet Robyn

���Eden Books is dedicated to providing a safe, supportive, inclusive platform that gives authors of all genders, races, ages, or sexual orientation the opportunity to promote and sell their original stories within the romance and women���s fiction genres.���

Robyn

Eden Books is a platform where I feel comfortable and confident sharing the stories I love to write, knowing that I have full control over my books and pricing.
And it’s great for readers, too!
You don’t have to worry about being locked into a single reading device because Eden offers formats compatible with them all. Plus you can find thousands of books from clean & wholesome to dark and taboo.
It even has its own social media aspect where you can connect with other readers and authors. So, if you’re already a member, or decide to join, don’t forget to send me a friend request.

And whether you’re an existing Eden customer or new to the store, there’s an awesome deal going on right now…

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Friday Fives: Video Games

I thought it would be fun, now that I have my blog up and running, to share some of my favorite things. Every week, I’ll be back with a new top 5 list with everything from books to snacks.

I rarely pick up a game controller anymore, but when I do (or maybe because��when I do) I tend to get so immersed I don’t put it down for days. I also tend to play a lot of older games and don’t really keep up to date on systems. I’ve had a PS3 since I was an undergrad and it’s not going anywhere in the near future. I love that you can go to the online store and get a lot of the older games on the new system, and I also have a PlayStation Vita that has been great for downloading and playing older games.

Metal Gear

Metal Gear for PSOne was my favorite game. At the time, it had some of the most advanced graphics and gameplay I had ever experienced and it was unique in its gaming style. There was one battle in particular where the tactic to beat the boss was to use controller 2 instead of controller 1 so the psychic boss couldn’t predict your moves. MG challenged players to think outside of the box. I also loved that the game was more about tactics than the usual shoot-em-up soldier games. MG is about not being seen, making it through the game with as few kills as possible, and finding creative ways to get around obstacles. I’ve played all of the games up to Metal Gear 4 and beaten them all multiple times. The best games of the series are probably 1, 3, and 4. After 4, the producers decided to replace the long-time voice actor of snake, without really telling him, and being that David Hayter made the whole snake experience for me, I felt betrayed by the move and haven’t picked up a new game since, but I still play all of the old games from time to time.

Resident Evil

This was the first game I ever played on a PlayStation. Before Resident Evil, my gaming experience had been the Atari with PacMan, Asteroids, and I even had a copy of the illustrious ET game that sucked so bad the company basically dumped most of the games. And then, my mom got a PSOne and it was mind-blowing. The following Christmas I got my own PSOne and the Director’s Cut of Resident Evil (I didn’t live with my mom, so before that playing was limited to when I went to visit for a while). I think it took me a year to finally beat the game, because I kept ending up in situations where I couldn’t progress because I’d already used all of my weapons or I’d spend weeks trying to figure out one of the puzzles. The game came out in ’96 so I was in sixth grade at the time, and it went a little over my head sometimes. I also loved this game for the challenge of the puzzles, and the suspenseful atmosphere, and I miss that old style of RE games. I’ve tried to get into the newer games but the focus on shooting your way through the new games, just isn’t the same.

Mass Effect

Sir got me interested in Mass Effect when he got the trilogy last year. I’ve watched him play the second game for a while now. He enjoys replaying to take different tactics and make different choices, but I never really connected with it. While I was home alone one day, I decided to try out ME1 and found that it’s actually pretty fun and less focused on shooting than I thought. There are a lot of choices you can make in the dialogues that lead to some pretty interesting conversations and impact the final outcome of the game–and all subsequent games.

Crash Bandicoot

Crash was my jam! My sister and I used to play it for hours on end, and it’s a goo��d break from monotony every now and then. Crash is just good entertainment, without a lot of seriousness. I have some of the retro games on PS4 and cue one up every now and then when I’m feeling like having a mental break. However, I also tend to underestimate and forget how frustrating the game can get sometimes.

Evil Dead

It’s EVIL DEAD! I always feel like anything associated with Bruce Campbell goes without saying for me. He is the King after all. The Evil Dead games were fun. I particularly remember playing the first one for PSOne, I borrowed it form my mom after she tried numerous times to beat it and couldn’t. It’s snarky as hell, of course, but keeping enough gasoline for that damn chainsaw was a challenge. I think I had to restart the game three or four times in order to beat it because I kept running out of gasoline and ammo, making it impossible to continue.

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