*** Happy Independence Day! ***
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| 4th of July selfie with my son's American Flag sunglasses! |
For this month's IWSG post, I've been trying not to worry about my lowly writer status in the big writing world picture. Fortunately, I've had a few breadcrumbs of hope from strangers that's boosted me since I've taken the summer off from book events, painful as that's been. So, I keep pushing myself to write more and venture into more media... The only thing that will stop me from succeeding is if I give up. And I hope you all are making positive progress, no matter which phase of writing you're in.Good luck and keep writing!
I also continue to be encouraged by more people taking my Writer's Life surveys each month - and I love the results! Here's the latest---
The red and blue seem appropriate for July. And this month, I will give my amateur statistical analysis...
- With the majority, I consider myself a multi-tasker, though I'm not sure that's a good thing. Spreading ourselves thinner over a bunch of separate projects means the projects get done at a slower rate. Hmm.
- I like the 50/50 splits - plotter v. panster, slow v. fast reader, morning v. not! - we writers can't be pigeon-holed!
- I'm one of the few who likes to write my outline/first draft in a notebook - I love scribbling and doodling and using multiple colors - and especially making maps. I feel it's easier to look back and forth... plus, I can do it anywhere. Recently, I typed a first draft on my ipad for WINDY HOLLOW. I liked knowing my word count, but I still used a notebook for the rough draft.
- Not surprised by these majorities - pen over pencil, college-ruled over wide-ruled, more righties than lefties, and coffee is awesome!
- Was surprised by paper book over ebook - I thought everyone was going digital. Nice to see we're not!
- Lastly, the social media. I will have to do a separate survey just for that. I didn't have blogging on my original form, but a friend pointed out it's a widely used social media, especially by us writers. I guess my intent was to see which other social medias float a writer's boat? And in that field, by my small survey, Twitter beat out Facebook. So is less more? Or is Twitter more of a meeting strangers in a night club and therefore more exciting, while Facebook is more of a family and friends barbecue where you go to catch up? Yes, definitely a whole set of questions needs to be asked!
And so, I hope you will look for my next survey toward the middle of the month.
Finally, I self-published the second novella in my Unconventional Princesses series...
TWO PRINCESSES!
Deja was a happy, trouble-making troll, until she was exiled from her home under the mountains for her perilous pranks. Now she must serve a frilly human, Princess Calleah who's locked in a tall tower to keep suitors away. The Two Princesses from opposite sides of the Valley become unlikely friends in their seclusion, but when the time comes for Calleah to fulfill her duty, their bond is put to the test by propriety, princes, and parents. Deja doesn't take any gruff and will give it right back to protect Calleah, no matter the cost.
JOLISSA - An Anti-Princess Story is UnPrincess #1
Finally, I self-published the second novella in my Unconventional Princesses series...TWO PRINCESSES!
Deja was a happy, trouble-making troll, until she was exiled from her home under the mountains for her perilous pranks. Now she must serve a frilly human, Princess Calleah who's locked in a tall tower to keep suitors away. The Two Princesses from opposite sides of the Valley become unlikely friends in their seclusion, but when the time comes for Calleah to fulfill her duty, their bond is put to the test by propriety, princes, and parents. Deja doesn't take any gruff and will give it right back to protect Calleah, no matter the cost.
JOLISSA - An Anti-Princess Story is UnPrincess #1
I'm planning a release party at a local children's consignment shop in August. Should be cute! Plus a Facebook party... never done one, so we'll see how that goes - you're all invited!
I'll send a free e-copy of either novella to anyone who asks in the comments. Reviews are gold coins to authors!
The self-pub process continues to evolve and I continue to learn. And Amazon continues to grow, extending it's tentacles into every aspect of life! They're making movies and shows for goodness sake! I hope to take advantage of their new ventures...
My publisher likes her authors to have Facebook parties. I've had 6 of them so far. With the first one I was a nervous wreck, but by the sixth it got easier. Send over your promo's and I'll put them on my blog, Tara. I've been wondering about self-publishing for myself...hmmm...Good Luck.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on Two Princesses!
ReplyDeleteBlogging tied for the top. Awesome. My two social sites are the most favorite.
That is really weird about paper over eBooks.
Congrats on the novella!
ReplyDeleteLove this line - "The only thing that will stop me from succeeding is if I give up." :)
Oh, I'm so excited that the next Unconventional Princesses story is out! Woo Hoo! If you have promotional stuff you want to send me, I'd be thrilled to do a post for you.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have to stop taking time off from blogging—I keep missing your surveys. Always love seeing the results, though.
Congrats again!!!
Congrats on your novella.
ReplyDeleteI like to write my first drafts in notebooks, too. My husband got me a Rocketbook Wave (the one you can nuke in the microwave to erase it all when you are done and the pages can be uploaded) and I can't wait to fill it and nuke it.
Interesting results from your polls. I'm taking the slow road this summer and trying to recharge without taking a break. Hope it works. Congrats on your next book and consignment shop party sounds like fun. I'll be glad to help spread the word about Two Princesses and will post on fb and twitter if you'd like.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised by any of those results except how many writers are pantsers. Thought most would plot. I used to consider myself a multi-tasker until I read some research about it. Science says we can't really multi task. Our brain will only do one thing at a time. So I guess I'm not really watching TV while I'm writing this.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on releasing Two Princesses! It's a wonderful story. And thank you for sharing these results. I love seeing what a varied group we writers are.
ReplyDeleteIt was neat to see those few almost being 50/50.
ReplyDeleteMost of your respondents "agreed" with my answers, except (as expected) that I'm left-handed, and few of them were. Plus, I didn't expect many to be totally divorced from social media, as I am (unless you count blogging).
ReplyDeleteI used to handwrite all my first drafts, back before I had my own computer and needed to get permission to go into my parents' room to use theirs, or to use the computer in a common room. I still am handwriting my magnum opus, almost 24 years on, and have yet to start transcribing and editing what I've written so far! I love knowing what Part is in each notebook, what events and years are covered, and the dates I worked on each. I've also bought some beautiful notebooks for the Parts and Sagas yet to come. It's one book in 12 volumes, and each decade is termed a Saga. The individual notebooks represent Parts.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy your surveys.
ReplyDeleteJuneta @ Writer's Gambit
Congrats on the new Princess book! It sounds like a fun read.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Tara, on your new releases. I can read for you, but it might take me some time. I have another book in front of you. All the luck with your release party.
ReplyDeleteHi Tara - love the glasses ... and it must have been fun having the family around. Well done on the new novella ... then social media - I'm always interested to see the results of the survey ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThis was a bit of fun. Love the glasses. I have always preferred paper, but I tend to read ebooks anyway, as they are easier if I am on the go. Congrats on your new ebook.
ReplyDeleteTwo Princesses sounds like such a fun story! Many congrats on the release! ^_^
ReplyDeleteAs for writing, I've always preferred doing that in a notebook, too. Glad I'm not the only one, even if we are in the minority, LOL!
Yippee for the new book!
ReplyDeleteI'm a water drinker and eBook reader, but pretty much fit in on all the other categories. Print books take much longer to read. I mean, flipping all those pages? It really does take time. Plus, bookmarks...
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