Oh no! Not Another Indie Summer!
It's that time of year, aka, SUMMER TIME!
So, that means beach bum time, or lounging by the pool/lake/body-of-water, right?
Eh, maybe.
How about cranking the air conditioning on and getting writing done? (Or editing...)
During the Summer, I have time off from school, so I find writing happens most for me during the spring and summer months. Which is fine, don't get me wrong, but what I have trouble with is prioritizing.
I can't write and edit two separate projects at the same time. Maybe it's a mental thing? One task at a time. I can either hash out a book or work on edits for another one.
Before the publishing part, I simply wrote. The writing is my favorite part of all of this, to be honest.
The editing, I don't mind either.
It's the publishing bit that gets complicated.
1. It's the formatting (which I still hate). I don't know what it is about formatting. It shouldn't be so hard, but I get frustrated most during it. The book needs to look presentable to anyone reading, right? That perfectionist kicks into overdrive when things just don't align.
2. Perhaps proofreading/editing should've gone to number 1. I edit as I go, then take a break and do a full read-through of edits.
However, the nerve-wracking part is the paying-for-someone-trustworthy to do editing/proofreading. When you're on a budget though, you're limited, aka me.
I do most of everything, minus the final stages of editing, I send it off to a proofreader I trust.
At this point, once I receive those edits back, I have to have a talk with myself at this stage in the game.
Perfection versus making sure it's "OK enough" (by my standards for my work), and simply being kinder to that inner harsh critic that I've battled with all my life. (She's a mean bully and needs a time-out, that cranky and traumatized lady. )
(ノ)ʘ﹃ʘ(ヾ)
I have to ask myself, "Are you happy with what you've written? Do you like it? If not, what can you do to change things, and how can you grow as a writer moving forward with each book?"
If I'm happy with those answers, then I know I'm doing okay.
The main thing is that someone enjoys what you've written, whether it be the story or characters, love scenes, etc...
If I can have someone escape for a few hours, then I'm happy. Whether it's a shitshow or not. *awkwardly hides when a reader throws the book*
3. (That was a long explanation for number 2, sorry about that!)
But alas, paying for cover designs (And deciding on being selfish/creative or joining your genre bandwagon).
Me, personally, I love "artwork/illustration" covers, and as an artist myself, that's what I want to look at on my covers, and I hope others appreciate that. Maybe that makes me marketable or maybe not... The point is I got into self-publishing to do what I want. No one can tell me take out a sex(y) scene if I don't want to!
I didn't ever care for playing by the rules anyways!
4. Marketing as a new author... is an experience. (Especially when you aren't full-timing it), but hey, I do what I can.
That's what matters, right?
I'm having fun for the most part, and it's all a learning process and finding what does and doesn't work. Everyone operates differently on what works, and I'm still figuring it out too.
5. The bookish people are always fun. So many like-minded people, and I love supporting others in my same boat (genre doesn't matter), having a supportive community of both readers and other indie authors, is always a good thing! I embrace it and I love cheering others on.
Regardless if a book is for someone or not, I think all of us could use a kind word or encouragement with how hectic life gets.
Anyway, WRITING is number 1 for me, and I get super engrossed and obsessive!
(Is it weird to fangirl over characters you create? No? Just me? Okay... )
All of the above aside, the modern demon romance series I ended up pushing it to three books instead of the one... (Whoops!)
The final stages of editing for Para-Psych will begin in July sometime after I finish writing book 2 of the demon romance... (One-track brain remember?)
Once Para-Psych is done, I'll be searching for ARC readers for input and any last-minute mistakes.
(⊙﹏⊙✿)
Then, I'll work on book three of the demon romance, and then start the editing phases for the vampire romance series with twins.
o(〃＾▽＾〃)o
Speaking of... time to get back to that writing thing!
Here's my website link for all the things and media links!
RNA Website Click Here
Until next time!
-R.N.A. ♥
So, that means beach bum time, or lounging by the pool/lake/body-of-water, right?
Eh, maybe.
How about cranking the air conditioning on and getting writing done? (Or editing...)
During the Summer, I have time off from school, so I find writing happens most for me during the spring and summer months. Which is fine, don't get me wrong, but what I have trouble with is prioritizing.
I can't write and edit two separate projects at the same time. Maybe it's a mental thing? One task at a time. I can either hash out a book or work on edits for another one.
Before the publishing part, I simply wrote. The writing is my favorite part of all of this, to be honest.
The editing, I don't mind either.
It's the publishing bit that gets complicated.
1. It's the formatting (which I still hate). I don't know what it is about formatting. It shouldn't be so hard, but I get frustrated most during it. The book needs to look presentable to anyone reading, right? That perfectionist kicks into overdrive when things just don't align.
2. Perhaps proofreading/editing should've gone to number 1. I edit as I go, then take a break and do a full read-through of edits.
However, the nerve-wracking part is the paying-for-someone-trustworthy to do editing/proofreading. When you're on a budget though, you're limited, aka me.
I do most of everything, minus the final stages of editing, I send it off to a proofreader I trust.
At this point, once I receive those edits back, I have to have a talk with myself at this stage in the game.
Perfection versus making sure it's "OK enough" (by my standards for my work), and simply being kinder to that inner harsh critic that I've battled with all my life. (She's a mean bully and needs a time-out, that cranky and traumatized lady. )
(ノ)ʘ﹃ʘ(ヾ)
I have to ask myself, "Are you happy with what you've written? Do you like it? If not, what can you do to change things, and how can you grow as a writer moving forward with each book?"
If I'm happy with those answers, then I know I'm doing okay.
The main thing is that someone enjoys what you've written, whether it be the story or characters, love scenes, etc...
If I can have someone escape for a few hours, then I'm happy. Whether it's a shitshow or not. *awkwardly hides when a reader throws the book*
3. (That was a long explanation for number 2, sorry about that!)
But alas, paying for cover designs (And deciding on being selfish/creative or joining your genre bandwagon).
Me, personally, I love "artwork/illustration" covers, and as an artist myself, that's what I want to look at on my covers, and I hope others appreciate that. Maybe that makes me marketable or maybe not... The point is I got into self-publishing to do what I want. No one can tell me take out a sex(y) scene if I don't want to!
I didn't ever care for playing by the rules anyways!
4. Marketing as a new author... is an experience. (Especially when you aren't full-timing it), but hey, I do what I can.
That's what matters, right?
I'm having fun for the most part, and it's all a learning process and finding what does and doesn't work. Everyone operates differently on what works, and I'm still figuring it out too.
5. The bookish people are always fun. So many like-minded people, and I love supporting others in my same boat (genre doesn't matter), having a supportive community of both readers and other indie authors, is always a good thing! I embrace it and I love cheering others on.
Regardless if a book is for someone or not, I think all of us could use a kind word or encouragement with how hectic life gets.
Anyway, WRITING is number 1 for me, and I get super engrossed and obsessive!
(Is it weird to fangirl over characters you create? No? Just me? Okay... )
All of the above aside, the modern demon romance series I ended up pushing it to three books instead of the one... (Whoops!)
The final stages of editing for Para-Psych will begin in July sometime after I finish writing book 2 of the demon romance... (One-track brain remember?)
Once Para-Psych is done, I'll be searching for ARC readers for input and any last-minute mistakes.
(⊙﹏⊙✿)
Then, I'll work on book three of the demon romance, and then start the editing phases for the vampire romance series with twins.
o(〃＾▽＾〃)o
Speaking of... time to get back to that writing thing!
Here's my website link for all the things and media links!
RNA Website Click Here
Until next time!
-R.N.A. ♥
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