Wednesday, November 16, 2011

#ROW80 - Confetti Check-in

Few phrases are a joy-filled in an author's life as "rough draft complete!" Sure, the editing fairy is looming on the horizon with her black wings and red pen-wand, but for that moment - the briefest to be sure - we have earned a happy respite.  As much as I like to downplay the gift, stringing together ~150 thousand more or less coherent words on any one topic is most definitely an accomplishment.  One that it would be fair to say not everyone will reach in their lifetime.  Non-writers look at you with something between abject horror and rapt fascination.  Other writers know, though.  You know.

I've now reached that minor pinnacle in a writer's life that is another manuscript (first draft) completed.  What's more, this is the second time for me.  At least for novel-sized work.  So, it's officially a trend.  *Confetti.*

Let's look at the goals:
  • Lesson Learned - I touched on it late last week, but Amazon now offers Kindle subscription services for all blogs.  They set the monthly price based on a content, but I figure it's a nice option to offer, if only for convenience.  And, hey, it's another revenue stream (even if a small one).
  • WIP - Draft complete!  I think I wrote like 11 pages in the last week.  The ending always comes in a rush for me.  It becomes "wow only three scenes, left... then two... then... done!"  I've even gotten some initial feedback and gone back for a bit of cleanup.  We plan to order proofs tonight or tomorrow so I can personally deliver them to betas (and show them off) over Thanksgiving.  I'll get my editors going, and I'll start my own editing this week.  The goal here morphs to editing for an hour a day.
  • Blogging - Squeezed out 3/3 here.  Got 3/3 at the other blog, too.  Don't know how I squeezed those out, though several posts were a bit on the short side.  They still count!  I have a personal post still to do this month...
Truly a great week.  I've been super-busy and super-productive.  Not only in the writing world, but also in my volunteer position as a football coach.  I've taken on the task of being our team's "social networking" guy.  I suggested it'd be a great idea for us to have a facebook page, a twitter, a blog... places where we can share team news and announcements and stuff.  A lot of college programs have this, but not all high schools do.  It's something special for the kids.  (In case you're curious, the team is here on facebook, though I'm just getting started in the other realms).

Applying the things I've learned through blogging and running my own writing business to a completely different realm (high school sports) was a lot easier than you might think.  These days, social networking is social network... it's more about how you tag things and what content you put up.  The actual mechanisms for getting the word out and sharing information are really the same.  So, for me, it was a no-brainer to do all this.  Still, it's kept me busy.

I'm actually looking forward to digging into edits.  At first I was worried about my ending (as evidenced by my post Monday), but with the response I got and some minor changes... I'm really psyched about it now.  The book turned out well.  I'm simply anxious to get it out and then get to work on the next project.  

Have I mentioned before how much I love this indie writer lifestyle?  Yeah, you have to pick up a whole bunch of technical and business knowledge, but you don't have to deal with months/years of rejections and queries.  The actual work of writing and editing is pretty much the same (depending on your editor/agent/contract of course)... but the ability to do the best you can, and then move on to the next project is priceless.  I imagine it's how established authors feel in the traditional system.  Indie writing just allows you to get there right away and focus on your craft earlier instead of learning to navigate an archaic system.  

That's my soap box, though.  You can certainly get a benefit out of the traditional route.  I just think it's a lot harder to do at this point in time.  That should change, but for now... it's a great time to be an indie!

Anyway, here are the word counts:
  • Project Fiction: 3,992
  • Since last check in: 7,811
  • Grand Total for Round 4: 40,367

9 comments:

Juliana said...

Woot! Awesome week indeed!
Happy complete draft! lol
And I'm glad you like the self-pubbing route. I don't want to say I never will go through this path, but I don't think it's for me. Not now. I just don't like the business part of it ... I would rather leave that to others LOL
Awesome! Keep it up =)

Matt said...

Why thankee.

Like I said, there are definitely nice things on the other side of the publishing fence... they just need to make them more accessible. I cringe to think of all the talent that has been lost over the years because someone got stuck in the query cyclone.

Sonia G Medeiros said...

That's so exciting! I'm so, so happy for you. Congrats! I will definitely be tossing the digital confetti when I finish (finally!) my first draft. :D

Matt said...

Yes, you're getting pretty close, too, right?

Nadja Notariani said...

Yippie! (Sends images of Snoopy and Woodstock dancing happily together your way...)

That's great, Matt! Confetti! Champagne! Zevdeli!

I've got to get in gear and catch up from this week's malaise. I managed to knock out about 2K a day on my NaNo project, but life's been busy for me too. With the poor boys coughing and sniffling, my schlepping my broken self around while whimpering in the stiffness of 'Crossfit-Aftermath' - I have had to push to get things done. Here's to the weekend! It can't come quick enough for me this week.

Matt said...

Yes. Not having boys is probably exactly my saving grace. Had I gremlins, er, boys as well... welp, I was a boy once. I know what they do. :-)

"Here are two dozen firecrackers, some matches, a pellet gun, and some cans. You're going to gather it all anyway. Take it all out by the trees and go nuts. I'm not driving you to the hospital (lie)."

Also, this is why I shouldn't have kids yet.

Matt said...

Ironically, that's exactly how Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman came up with their show.

"Hey Jamie... let's do this forever!"

(I picture young, child-Jamie with an impressive mustache)

Tia Bach said...

Congrats on the finished manuscript and great writing week. I'm working on my second, and there's a special pleasure in your first work, but I feel the second one will solidify my writing career. I don't want to be just a one-hit wonder.

You've inspired me to really focus on my 2nd!

Matt said...

Thanks. Glad I could inspire and best of luck with your round 2.

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