Feeling the Burn (Out) – September’s Writing Update

Happy Hump Day Bloglandia!

How did September treat you?

I have to say I’m a little jealous of those of you in the Southern Hemisphere who have just jumped into spring because I absolutely detest autumn.

Still, after the brutal heat waves and wildfires in the Pacific Northwest this summer, the mucky rain and cooler temperatures of fall don’t seem as unwanted as normal this year.

Well, they don’t right now. Give me a couple weeks of rain and I’ll be ready for summer again.

Okay, enough introductory blather, it’s time for….

September’s Writing News

September did not start out well for me as far as writing goes.

For the first time in quite a while I felt, not exactly burnt out, but pretty darn close. This was especially worrying because I’d just gotten it into my head that I’m aiming to get three books written in my new series and ready to publish in 2022, plus get an old manuscript ready for publication.

But I just couldn’t bear to plop myself down in front of the computer. Do the words “kicking and screaming” mean anything to you?

So I didn’t plop, sit, or perch. I avoided.

I had a couple garden and house projects I wanted to get to, so other than a few “business-y” kind of things that couldn’t be ignored, I ditched the writing work and whipped out the shovel and the paintbrush…not for the same project, of course : )

I also had some appointments that ended up taking far longer than they should have, and made a quick getaway with Mr Husband for our 15th wedding anniversary.

Making Up for Lost Time

But, despite “losing” a week of writing time, I somehow managed to get through my goal of writing the first draft of the second book in the new series.

And let me tell you that was painful.

Since I was making up for lost time, I needed to crank out 4000+ words a day to get the draft done in less than 15 working days (my first draft goal is 50,000 words).

It was on about Day 12 I realized I needed to invest in a full-size keyboard since the laptop keyboard wasn’t making my wrists happy one bit.

But hoorah! I did finish up the first draft — it actually ended up being closer to 60,000 words. And while, like any first draft, it does need some filing in and fleshing out, I’m pretty darn happy with how the story evolved.

Slogging Along

I also kept plugging away at the rewrite/edit of The Old Manuscript (from around 2015-ish). I worked through about one chapter a day (on my writing days) and I should finish it up in mid-October.

It’ll still need a read through and probably another quick round of edits, but I won’t have time for that until November, so it’ll get a little rest…unlike me…haha.

Planning for Releases!

And one final project I trundled through was sorting out some release dates for next year. My overall aim with my writing is to publish three books a year, but on a better spaced schedule compared to the rapid-fire Cassie Black releases from earlier this year.

I’m not committing to anything just yet, but once I see how the next drafts go in October, I should be able to slap up some pre-orders and share some tentative release dates (and hopefully a cover reveal or two) during next month’s update.

Unless of course I find it unbearable to look at another word, ditch the writing to do house projects, then launch my own home repair and remodel YouTube channel.

Kidding. My home projects usually end up far more I Love Lucy fiasco than HGTV flair. And no one wants to see that!

Numbers, Exciting Numbers!

Just a quickie bit of news about book sales numbers…2021 isn’t turning out too shabby in that regard. Last quarter, I sold thirty times (THIRTY TIMES!) the number of books I sold in the same quarter for 2020.

I don’t even know how to process that other than to run around excitedly shouting, “Squeee!” then pausing to offer a thanks to everyone who has bought and shared my silly stories this year!! THANK YOU!!!

Kobo again climbed into my top-selling retailer spot, with Amazon and Apple a close second and third. And big surprise, I’m still doing terribly on Google Play (my Payhip Bookstore gets more sales than GP).

Anyway, that’s it for me.

Have a great rest of your week! 

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