November Wrap-up: News, Announcements, and Impending Dilemmas

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IT IS NOT THE END OF NOVEMBER YET.

Okay, the calendar is calling my bluff on that one.

For those of you who struggled through NaNo — YOU ROCK. Whether you’ve hit the 50K word count or not, YOU ROCK.

As of Sunday, I declared my NaNo win. The certificate is printed out and filled in.

And although I survived, I am seriously beginning to question the worthiness of attempting this challenge in the future.

NaNoWriMo sounds just barely realistic on its own — 50,000 words in 30 days equals an average of 1,670 words a day, and for some of us (“turtle” writers) that’s nearly impossible. Then you throw in jobs, school, children, errands, appointments, and all the other things that life will NOT stop throwing at you during November, and, well…

Plus — and I have to say this — it kind of stinks that the biggest prize is your “street cred” among your fellow writers. When I logged in to see the “winners’ goodies package” last year, I was gutted to discover that, after killing ourselves for the past 3-4 weeks, we still have to pay for our prizes. Yeah, we get great deals (50% off) on software and hardware and professional editing queries, mugs and t-shirts and fancy tote bags. But, in my opinion, it’s not a real win if you don’t get free stuff as a result of your massive effort.

So, all of this grumping and grouching is paving the way for my first dilemma: Next year, to NaNo, or Na-NOOOOOO!??

At least I have 11 months to figure it out.

In the news: There was a slight delay in sending Rulers and Mages to print, but nothing we can’t handle, and now it really *will* be on sale within the next few days.

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It may even come out the same day as Kyle Shultz’s Stroke of Eleven — please, no one hurt us. I swear, we are not conducting a sinister plot to bankrupt you all by having a dual book release.

(What do you think, Kyle, did I convince them?)

Anyway, Rulers and Mages shall be available in plenty of time for holiday shopping (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), and I thank everyone again for their patience.

My plans for further releases in 2018 are as follows: Perhaps by late winter, I’ll get my revamped/almost failed/switched over NaNo project into a semblence of a completed manuscript. Volume 3 (yet to be graced with a title) I anticipate sending to the printer around April or May. And Volume 4 I hope to have in the pipeline for paperback by the end of summer.

In the meantime… I also am working piece meal on the field guide and companion novel for The Order of the Twelve Tribes, and debating whether to begin putting sections of these up on a new Wattpad account.

This would be a big undertaking, as I already am quite unsure how much time I’ll have to devote to writing/publishing. However, I’ve heard from other indie authors that Wattpad usage has created a boost to their reader base, and I love the idea of that. So, presenting dilemma #2…

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Do you have any thoughts on the Wattpad quandary, moths? Also, if you use Wattpad yourself, could you let me know your experiences? It would help soothe the already way-frayed nerves of this poor soul!

Other things I did in November:

I read. Nothing major, just a few YA selections from the library, and some Charles DeLint short story anthologies. And this was IMPORTANT, because even during NaNo, we cannot just write all day long. Taking a break to recharge your creative batteries is VITAL.

I also had children to deal with, since there was no school around Veterans’ Day and Thanksgiving. I participated in Thanksgiving as well. Food really matters, too, and human contact.

(At least every now and then, regarding the latter.)

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And then there’s this totally cool thing called: collaborating with your son on a new project. White Fang and I are developing a character/plot to be featured in the spinoff/companion novel, and we’re both very excited. (My hope is to have more information ready to share after the holidays.)

Now the march onwards to the Christmas season begins again. I, for one, will be taking it more or less lying down, and letting others carry on around me, while I lounge in the background with a good book and pretend it is not happening.

But that’s just me.

Winter is coming. (Yes, it really is, I didn’t make that reference just to watch you fans jump and down with joy. Though, if you did, I’m pleased to have made your day.) Winter is typically a slow time of year for us, full of school and staying warm inside.

So, after the holiday madness, that should mean a good chance to get ahead on my writing plans…

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