I am not a planner. If you have done NaNoWriMo then you know the term pantster and I should be the poster child for that term.
If something is going to be a lot of effort, is very important or will require the help of others I try so hard to plan ahead. But I usually find myself running around at the last minute saying, "I meant to do this two weeks ago. Where did that time go?"
But not this year, oh no. I was all prepared and ready to go for Blogging A to Z. I had my theme and all my work and research done. I just had to start writing the blog posts this weekend and then...
I had the most amazing, uplifting, exciting phone conversation with David Henry Sterry of the Book Doctors the other day and all my planning- which I never do and was feeling so accomplished and responsible adult about- has been shot to hell. Please realize that I am not, I repeat, not complaining. David gave me some very favorable feedback- which I am tempering with a lot of realism as he has not actually read my manuscript - but this feedback has re-energized my interest in my first book, which I hadn't touched since November because I wrote another book during NaNoWriMo. I also set a deadline for myself and it may not have been realistic but I told him it would be done in a month; right in the middle of blogging A to Z. Do you see my problem here?
So my theme will go away- and I was really excited about it so I will make it part of my normal blog instead- and blogging A-Z will follow the challenges of getting my manuscript ready to go.
The Book Doctors are available for consultation and I recommend reaching out to them through their website if you need professional advice. I love my writing groups but none of us have ever been published and one of my groups couldn't find a bad thing to say about a tornado if it had recently torn through their homes and left them homeless and destitute. Super wonderful group, God bless their hearts, who I love dearly but my book and everything I write cannot be as fabulous as they say.
Working with the Book Doctors through seminars and personal consultations has given me a lot of very helpful and useful as well as realistic information about writing and publishing my book.
http://www.thebookdoctors.com/
I can't wait for Blogging A-Z and a chance to have some of you cheer me on as I work tirelessly to shore up my manuscript and get it out into the world. I am sure I will be needing some encouragement.
I look forward to all the new blogs I will discover and some new friends along the way.
Happy blogging everyone.
"...one of my groups couldn't find a bad thing to say about a tornado if it had recently torn through their homes and left them homeless and destitute." Not into gratuitous ego-stroking, are you? :)
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother used to say, "A lady is someone who wouldn't say sh** if she had a mouthful of it." We should collect more of these colorful expressions for "overly nice." (It's "whom I love dearly," by the way - just so you don't mistake me for one of them. :P )
Found you through the "theme reveal" thingy-whichit. Should be an interesting April, don't you think? Good luck with your book - that's exciting, and ought to be of interest to lots of the bloggers who are participating, including me. (Although you do realize we'd now have to visit about 50 blogs a day, just to say hi to everyone on that list? Egads.)
Holly- what a great expression your grandmother had. Thanks for sharing. I visited about 5 blogs a day last year and found a lot of really great ones but by the time May rolled around only a few of the ones I started following were still going.
DeleteGood luck this April.
A worthy challenge for the A-Z. Good luck meeting your goal. Making a book presentable (and publishable) is hard work....my goal precisely!!
ReplyDeleteEditing is the hardest part. I look forward to both of us reaching the goal together.
DeleteSounds like it's great timing for A-Z! And you can always use your plans for next year, unless you get another book published then ;) Nice to meet you, and good luck!
ReplyDeleteAlex Hurst, fantasy author in Kyoto, participating in Blogging A-Z April Challenge.
I hope to have this book published by next year! You hear how excruciatingly slow the big publishing houses are.
DeleteWhat is your goal for this April- I cannot find a blog for you but you do have a great website and gmail page.
Yay!! This sounds awesome. I am ultra prepared this year, even though I blog nearly every day as it is, for once this sounds like it will work for me.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE how you are using A to Z to reach your goals. Fantastically inspiring!
I'm impressed you find time to blog every day. Which of your blogs are you participating in A to Z with?
DeleteThis will be a great theme! I am working on getting my first book published right now and I've been amazed by all the tremendous support from this blogging community! Good luck on getting your manuscript ready--sounds like you will have a busy April!! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's great. What is your book about? (Ah the dreaded, inevitable question.) Are you looking to get an agent, go with a large or small publishing house or self publish?
DeleteI'd of course love any advice you have :)
Cool! Good luck with your revisions, and with your challenge! I look forward to reading your process. :)
ReplyDeleteN J Magas, speculative fiction author, participating in Blogging A-Z April Challenge.
Happy writing. I'm excited about the A to Z challenge as well. I guess yours is a good problem to have. Enjoyed reading.
ReplyDelete