What A Rough Week It Has Been

This week has felt as if it has dragged on with no end in sight. I didn’t accomplish as much as I wanted to while editing this week. Or at least that’s the way it feels. I have had a long and hard work week with some grueling events and I just haven’t been sleeping all that great. The fact that I made it through the week without committing a homicide is quite the accomplishment. It has just been one of those weeks where I am happy it's over. As I sit here writing this post, I’m starting to think about what I did get done. What I accomplished in terms of editing, was thirty pages. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot but the fact that I added about seven pages to the manuscript just this past week is a lot of work. I have added almost fifteen pages to this manuscript over all and I am not even a quarter of the way through. There will be a lot more changes to come and additions to the book between now and when I finish this edit. There will be even more changes when it goes through three more edits before it is even published.

On top of my editing, I have in the last two week done six takeover parties which resulted in two more books being sold, six books I gave away and I connected to new prospective readers and new authors. I was able to join a new group for another paranormal author which means more opportunities for both of us.

I also accomplished getting the next cover paid for. The cover artist and I will begin brainstorming and creating Monday on the Bad Origins cover. This is an exciting process and it is a new artist I will be working with. Working with a new artist is a little scary. Every artist works a little differently and that means I am going to be learning what it is to design a cover all over again. She seems to want to know as much as possible about the book. As scary as it is, it’s also exciting. It thrills me to have someone new to talk to about my books. I have only a few individuals outside of my immediate circle, I actually get to talk to about the series. To be able to breakdown the books in order to create the best cover possible is fun and gets my creative juices flowing. It also makes me want to start the next book. I have already started some of the research for book six in the series and I am chomping at the bit to start drafting but I have to control myself. And that means so does Savannah. It also means my new friend has to control himself as well. He has given me a scene for his book and I have not had the opportunity to write it. I was working at my day job when he shared it with me. So it has been sitting there in my head, wanting to get out on the page. I will have to find the time to write it down without angering Savannah. She gets testy when I move over to write something we are not even working on.

The last thing I accomplished was paying the rest of my table fees for my first book event in 2021. I am so excited about this. It is more than a year away and yet I am ready to start jumping up and down because I am excited to take part in this event. I will get to meet authors I have only met through Facebook. I will get to meet some of my readers and hopefully get to meet people who will become readers. With the table fee paid it makes me think about what my branding will look like when it is finished. I have only seen the first part of it but my friend Val of Can’t Faze Me Custom Designs has been working on it this week. I am hoping I will get to see what the final product looks like within the next week or two. The branding will be on my social media pages, on my banner that Val is also making me and on new business cards. I may even put it on the backs of my bookmarks. I haven’t decided yet.

So has it been an unproductive week? No, not when I actually look at all I have accomplished. It was my goal to get more pages edited and to get that scene for my new series written but it didn’t happen. The pages I have been working on needed more attention than I realized at first glance. The brightside is, I realized they needed work and I didn’t rush through. I learned from my earlier mistake with book four. That in of itself is a win. I was able to pay for my cover and table fees which ensures I am moving forward. I have been doing more takeovers, meeting new people, and doing what I need to do. I have accomplished quite a bit this week, it’s just hard to see sometimes when you have had a difficult week.

When we have tough weeks like I have, it is hard to see what we have actually completed. It is hard to see that we made it through the week and met at least some of our goals. It is important to not let life get to you to the point that you feel like you have failed on every front. It is important to remember that even the smallest accomplishment is still a win. Keep your head up! Success doesn’t happen overnight. It is a long and hard battle that is won with many small accomplishments. Keep working hard and when you feel like you have accomplished nothing, take a moment and review all you have done. You may just surprise yourself with how much you have gotten done, and how many goals you did meet. Stay positive and keep pushing. Until next time!