Updates on What I’m Doing

I made an attempt to do a video to go with this (twice), but both attempts sucked. Long story short, I either forgot stuff or rambled on way too much about stuff that didn’t even have anything to do with this post. So I’m skipping the video portion this time. Maybe I’ll do better in the future.

I’m finally done with the initial edits on this one:

This is Book 2 in the Love Under Desert Skies Series. (Book 1 is Tagalong Bride.)

It was SLOW going on those edits. Ever since my burnout, I find that I can’t edit as fast as I used to. I am also writing slower. But I have my enthusiasm back for this stuff… Okay, well, just the writing part. I have never enjoyed editing. But the writing part I absolutely love and am very pleased with how these books are turning out. Despite how slow I’m editing, I am enjoying the story a lot.

I just finished with my round of edits and handed it off to three people to go over for me. I give them a month to work on it because I want to make sure they have sufficient time to work on the book. Ever since burnout, I’ve realized that it’s just not worth rushing to get a book out. It’s best to relax and enjoy the process. (With edits, I can’t enjoy all of it, but at least going slower allows me to NOT go crazy.)

I am at Chapter 20 in this one.

This is Book 1 in the Marriage by Chemistry Series.

This puts me at the 50,000-word mark. In the past, I used to be done when a book was between 50,000 to 60,000 words. But these last couple of books have been longer, and I still have a ways to go in this one before it’s time to wrap things up. The longer it takes to finish the first draft, the longer it takes to edit. The longer it takes to edit, the longer it takes to get the book out into the world. So I am thinking I might have to set my goal at getting four books out a year instead of six. This sucks in some ways because I have so many story ideas I want to write. But I have learned my lesson from burnout: do not rush the process. (This is not easy for a Type A personality, and I’m definitely Type A.)

Anyway…

We’re at the point where the hero is about to make a second attempt at getting the heroine to drink the love potion these guys have been working on in this series. (Hint: This is Book 1, and the entire series is about getting the love potion to work. So you can guess how things will go, right?)

I also wrote a scene last week where I show “why” the hero could not accept the heroine’s play at the very beginning of the story. Sometimes it takes a while before we get some questions answered that pop up early on in a story.

I’m at Chapter 4 (almost 5) in this one.

This is Book 1 in the Marriage by Holiday Series.

The heroine is now in her “new” life. I decided to just plop her into a situation where she already has friends and men vying to court her because it would take too long (and bore me) to establish this angle. It’s quicker (and more fun) to just throw her into the action.

One thing I will say is that I didn’t know WHO the hero of this book was going to be when I started it. The hero could have been the one she was arranged to marry in the beginning OR someone she meets in her new life. I really didn’t know. I had to start writing the book to figure it out. I’m happy to say that I have now figured it out, and (as a bonus), I know how I’m going to convince her he’s “the one”. So that’s good. Maybe this one will flow easily for me.

I actually wrote a scene in this one last this week.

This is Book 2 in the Oregon Series.

I put this one on hold because of that fan fiction idea that wouldn’t leave me alone. It’s for the best, really, because I’m a bit blocked in this one. I know where to want to go. I just don’t know HOW to get there. This is coming to me slowly. I guess I’m working things out in the back of my mind. I probably just need the time to develop this more in my head. (I could try plotting, but that method has rarely ever worked for me. So I’ll let it just sit for the most part while I work on other stuff.)

However, that all being said, I had a wonderful breakthrough in the scene I did write earlier this week. It was during a dinner where the hero and heroine are visiting the family of the woman who will be featured in the next book in this series. I had originally assumed that this woman was a strict, uptight kind of person who made it difficult for men to like. After writing this scene, I realized she isn’t that way at all. It’s her parents who are controlling that is preventing her from the marriage and kids she most wanted. You know how Mary left Maine in Eye of the Beholder to seek out a new life despite her parents (specifically her mom)? Well, this woman didn’t choose to answer a mail-order bride ad to leave her home. She stayed put. So this is the “what if Mary hadn’t left Maine?” scenario, and it’s one I’m excited to write about.

Oh, also, Book 3 in this series will finally have the older than average hero and heroine that someone requested I write last year. So she’s in her 40s, and the hero will be either in his late 40s or 50. Yes, it is taking me this long to get to writing something that a person requested a year ago. I really wish I could write faster. I miss the days when I could get six books out in a year, but this is what I’m dealing with, so I just have to accept it.

Update on the YouTube and Rumble audiobook Stuff

I just finished narrating the last chapter of Eye of the Beholder. I believe it’s set to go out May 12. (I just uploaded the last chapter on Wednesday.) This week, I hope to start narrating Loving Eliza. Someone asked for Loving Eliza, so I’m doing that one next.

After I’m done with Loving Eliza, I’ve already decided I’ll narrate The Hero Least Likely.

I’m now getting audiobooks made through KDP

Amazon’s publishing arm for Indies (KDP) has opened the option for me to make audiobooks now with their digital narration option. I am slowly making my way through my backlist. I have a total of 101 romances now, so it’s taking some time. I have just finished with the Regencies and am working my way through the historical westerns.

I’m already on Google Play, and I have a few books on Apple (thanks to Draft2Digital’s arrangement to convert ebook to audio over there). I do have some on Kobo, but Kobo’s system is still clunky and slow, so I had to just leave it alone. Someday, I think they’ll come around to offering to convert ebooks to digital files like Google Play, Amazon, and Apple are doing.

I have someone helping me with the BookFunnel Promos now

I am telling you that time just flies, and I am struggling to keep up with BookFunnel promotions. Thankfully, I have a wonderful assistant who knows how to handle this for me. This stuff isn’t hard to do, but it’s time consuming, and it’s easy to forget about when I’m trying to narrate my books, work on videos, and write my books. (The writing is the most important part, of course.) But basically, I am learning that I need to start letting someone else do some of the stuff for me because I am just overwhelmed by all the stuff there is to do. I know some of you enjoy the BookFunnel promos, so I will continue running them. I’m just having help doing it.

I’m also going to have her help in cleaning up my email list. A lot of people sign up for author lists but then never open the emails. I think people just get busy. Who knows if the emails go to their spam folders? I have no way of knowing, but I do want to have her help me delete people who aren’t opening my emails because there’s no point in sending out emails to people who aren’t opening them. Earlier this year, I sent out emails to help figure out what type of books people are most interested in so I could help to segment in the list. That way people who want to read only the Regencies don’t have to see stuff about my historical westerns, and vice versa. I know not everyone wants both of those genres to read. I realize that some authors send out emails once a week, and that probably works great for them, but I don’t have that kind of time.

I write these emails myself. (I write emails directly to people, too, and I do struggle with how to respond to people, even if it’s to thank them. I feel so awkward because, unless I’m in a character’s point of view in a book, my mind often goes blank.) Anyway, I know I could automate emails in advance and come up with a list of topics to write about, but honestly, I don’t find that much exciting stuff to talk about outside of my books. My life is boring, and if we were sitting in person, I’d probably end up listening to you talk about your life instead of talking about mine. I don’t know if I’m “shy” per se, but I struggle with knowing what to say unless we’re dealing with topics like my books, writing, publishing, and marketing. If we’re talking books and the writing business stuff, I can talk your ear off.

Alright, that’s more than anyone ever wanted to know about me. Let me wrap things up.