Monday 27 March 2017

Edit-a-thon after I've had me lunch today!

Gonna do it in date order, just need to remember to check if I've already edited one so that I don't overwrite or re-do the changes I've already made!  It'll be an early reader first, called "Adam at school" 'cos I haven't edited that or any other MS after that.

Gonna have me lunch first though!  lol

Sunday 26 March 2017

How much I'm paid as an author

Just read this blog post and decided to add my tuppenny worth to it.

I published my first book in 2013.  No royalties or anything like that and I invested literally thousands of pounds to get it published.

My return on it?

Not even £13 yet.

£13 a second?  A minute?  An hour?

Nope.

£13 in the entire 3.5 years it's been published.

Not even the unemployed earn as little in a day than I have done in the last 3.5 years!

Am I rich?

I've got a wonderful husband, two wonderful best friends, a mum and a whole family of in-laws, I've got a roof over my head and food on the table along with chocolate whenever I buy it, so yes, I'm very rich, just not in monetary terms!

Saturday 25 March 2017

Just had my publisher on the phone

I was promised at the end of last year that they wouldn't be asking me to pay for anything else.

They called not once, not twice, but three times this afternoon pressuring me to take a free trial and wouldn't take no for an answer.  They kept asking for my credit card number even though they said it was a free trial.

"Why do you need my credit card number if it's free?" says I.

"To ensure seemless access after the trial period.  I'll email and call you before the end of your free trial to see if you'd like to continue with it"

"Why can't you ask for my credit card number at the end of the trial?"

"Because we need to put it in to the system to create your own personal webpage"

"Why can't you do that before I give you my card number?"

"To ensure seemless access after the trial period"

Spotting a script here?

The third time they called, Steve answered the phone and told them to stop pressuring me into buying things I'd already told them I didn't want - that shut them up!  lol

Friday 24 March 2017

And it's finished!

Just under 20 days (including a couple of day-long breaks) after starting it and I've just finished writing the MG MS so I can have the rest of the day and all weekend off then start editing the first drafts that have built up since my last editathon, then when they're all edited, I'll plan out my next MG/YA novel ready to write in May then repeat it all until November's NaNoWriMo!

Thursday 23 March 2017

Last chapter tomorrow

Wrote chapters 28 and 29 this afternoon and evening.

Made a start on chapter 30 as well, but that's definitely a job for tomorrow.

Already taken me prescriptions so I'm having an earlyish night tonight ready for finishing it tomorrow, then I'll have a break and start editing again.

Nite nite orl!

Wednesday 22 March 2017

2 down, 3 to go

Just finished chapter 27 so I've only got another 3 chapters to go.

Andrew and Helen are about to go and get patted down, then they'll ask where the seats are, watch the support act, go nuts when Take Five come on and fall asleep in the car on the way home.

The end is in sight!

Tuesday 21 March 2017

5 chapters to go now!

Not bad going, considering I only had a rough idea of the story at the beginning of March and now I've only got five more chapters to write!  I'm hoping to have it finished on Friday, then I'll have my big bottle of J2O in celebration, have the weekend off and start editing one of my other MSs on Monday.

I is so ace!  I is so ace!  I is so ace!  lol

Monday 20 March 2017

Equalled my record today

I've written 5k words since 8.30 this morning.  That's equal to my previous record.

Started with chapter 19 this morning and put the final full stop in chapter 23 about 10 minutes ago!

Just need to do that plus one more chapter tomorrow and I'll have beaten my record for one day of writing.

The Finch family plus Helen are stuck on the motorway on the way to the Take Five concert right now.  Tomorrow they'll get to the concert venue, then Wednesday and Thursday they will watch the concert and on Friday they'll go home.

Yaay!

4 chapters and counting!

I'm just gonna write one more chapter then that'll be it for the day.

The fifth chapter will equal my record for how many words I write in one day (5k words)... I'm so proud of myself right now - I clearly need to write until 11pm every night and wake up nine hours later!  lol

3 chapters written so far today!

Written chapters 19, 20 and 21 so far today... I'm right on track for doing at least four chapters today, maybe even five!

I is ace!  I is ace!  I is ace!  😌 🙌

I'm now, officially...

I'm now, officially, over ⅔ of the way to finishing the novel I started on the 6th.

Just gotta get Helen, Andrew and the parents to the concert, listen to it then back home again and it'll be finished!

10 chapters to go and it's finished!  In less than a month!  Including breaks!

I've written 2 chapters already and haven't had me lunch or supplements yet!

Gonna take me supplements, write as much of chapter 21 as I can before I eat then try and write another couple of chapters before I head to bed.  I've already written two, so any additional chapters today are a bonus, I reckon!

One chapter away from...

One chapter away from writing two thirds of the novel in less than 2 weeks, that means I'll definitely finish before the end of the month, even if I only write one chapter a day!

Sunday 19 March 2017

This evening was impressive writing by me!

Just finished my third chapter of the day, which isn't bad considering I only wrote 250-500 words before lunch!

I'm wiped out now though, so I'm off to bed.

Nite nite orl!

Taken 4.5 hours to write a single chapter this afternoon

I'm far from a medical bod, but I reckon it's my blood sugar that encourages me to write 'cos I've only been writing since I finished my lunch, even though I took my supplements and spray and felt creative this morning.

I've ordered some Belvita breakfast biscuits with tomorrow's shopping, so I'll walk, feed and water the pup Tuesday morning, have the biscuits and see what happens.

If I write anything in my MS Tuesday morning, I'll know it's a blood sugar thing and I'll know that I need to have breakfast before I start writing.  When I've got going, it's all fine and dandy, it's just the getting started that I have the problems with!

Saturday 18 March 2017

Haven't done any writing today, because...

Haven't written anything today 'cos I've been waiting for the back-up to finish!  I'm not meeting up with C tomorrow so I'll spend all day writing and hoping to get a couple of chapters written before lunch and another couple after.

Friday 17 March 2017

Just worked it out...

15k words in 9 days.  That means, hopefully, I'll be finished on 26th March!

Yay!

I am now, officially...

I'm now, officially, half way through the novel.

I've written more in the last two hours than I have all day combined!

I'm definitely more creative late afternoon/early evening!

Going to have a celebratory J2O, do a few surveys and then check my email I reckon!

It's taken all day, but...

I've only written one chapter so far today  😔

One more chapter to go and I'll have written half of the novel in 11 days, including breaks!  👍  Yay!  👩

Thursday 16 March 2017

13k written in 10 days

I started on the 6th with no words.

It's the 16th today and I've written exactly 13k words.

I've even had several days off during the last 10 days so I'm really proud of myself.  I'm hoping tomorrow I'll hit the half way mark at 15k words and be on track to finish by the end of March... wish me luck!

I've writtendid 3k today, so...

Just celebrated the last full stop in the third chapter of the day by having a can of J2O.  Gonna take me prescriptions now and have a really early night... not bad going for almost 5.5 hours!

Steve's going to the nurse tomorrow so I won't be able to have a day of pure writing like today, but I'm hoping to get another couple of chapters written by bed time tomorrow.

2 chapters written since I had me lunch

Aiming for three chapters by bed time... took 2.5 hours to write 2 chapters so it's about an hour and fifteen minutes per chapter, which means I'll have finished the third chapter by 5.45pm today, so I'll have a really early night for a change and celebrate with a can of J2O if I really do finish the third chapter!

Wish me luck!

I'm already over a third of the way through it so hopefully it'll be finished by the end of March, then I'll work on editing and planning out my next novel.

Feeling so creative this year!  Yay!

Wednesday 15 March 2017

Does your blood sugar affect your creativity please?

I swear this is the truth for me, but I don't feel at all creative until I've had me lunch, but I can write two or more chapters between lunchtime and bed time!

Is it the same for you please?

Monday 13 March 2017

3 chapters written today

Not bad considering I didn't start until lunchtime!  lol

Sunday 12 March 2017

Happy birthday, Melanie!

Just got Melanie's belated birthday pressie for her... SCBWI membership for a year!  Not cheap, but so worth it!

Saturday 11 March 2017

That was easier than I was expecting!

For the last year I've had public liability insurance with AXA because I was hoping to be published and have an agent but I haven't so I've just phoned and cancelled it from my April renewal which saves me £9 a month and because I'm doing it from the renewal the lady I spoke to saved me an extra £55 cancellation fee too!

Usually cancelling policies and insurance and stuff sends you all around the houses, but this was sorted in 7 minutes!

When I'm published and I've got an agent, I'll definitely go back to them!

Thursday 9 March 2017

That's 3 chapters written today, so...

Just put the final full stop in chapter 5, so I'm going to take my pills and head to bed now.

Nite nite!

2 chapters written this afternoon

Written two chapters since lunchtime... gonna try and write a third now, but it's no big deal if I don't finish it off before I go to bed!

Wednesday 8 March 2017

Oh! Only 1 day without writing!

Just seen that I started on the novel on the 6th so it was only yesterday that I didn't write... I was thinking it was at least a week that I hadn't written for... feel a lot better and more relieved that I haven't got so much to catch up on!  Yay!

When I'm back on track, I'm hoping to write 2k words a day starting tomorrow, which will hopefully mean I'm finished by the end of the month... wish me luck!  👍

Written 1.5 chapters today

Back into feeling creative, just got to keep the inspiration flowing every day now and will hopefully have a good chunk of the first draft finished by the start of next week.

Took a little while, but I'm back into the creative mindset again now... just gotta keep writing every day now that I've picked it up again!

Monday 6 March 2017

Literally just started writing Andrew's first concert

It'll be a realistic MG fiction novel at 30k words and it wasn't as hard to start as I was dreading!

Yaaay!