Lol, tricked you. My brain is a bit mush after trying to finish too many projects this week (for realz), so here is Taron Egerton as my spirit animal.
I’m in Amsterdam escaping the heat, eating some Michelin food, and looking forward to the U2 concert on Sunday. What are you up to this weekend?
Ah, the fun and random part of my marketing process. I kind of like to do a lot of things that make sense to me, but probably do little to nothing in the way of marketing (see, yesterday’s post). Basically, it’s a way to kind of warm up the creative side of my brain (as it relates to selling a book, or maybe I’m just procrastinating on editing book #2, you be the judge). Case in point, I plugged the first two chapters of the book into a word cloud generator, just to see what would come up.
Y’all, when I have nervous energy, I guess I make things like this. I’m not entirely sure what purpose this serves towards my greater marketing goals, but it was fun to do. Either way, I somehow managed to create a tag line I’m pretty happy with, so I guess, wins all around?
Would you watch this movie? Or read this book?
This infographic stuck out to me recently. For the longest time, I felt the responsibility (for lack of a better word) to finish any book I started (no matter how bad it was). And then, in the last year, with a few exceptions, I sort of changed my outlook. While I haven’t had the luxury of a library in close to ten years, I have been able to source free books through NetGalley, or daily Kindle deals. (I’ll also admit that I’m a bit of a moody reader, and sometimes need to be in the right frame of mind to start and connect with a book).
Now, I tend to follow a pattern of giving a book at least 20% and if I’m more or less ‘checking out,’ then I pop over to Goodreads to see what others think. I’m not sure why I seek out opinions, but for the most part, I usually find a reviewer who has the same impression I do (and then decide if I’m going to finish the book or skim it, or straight up ‘hate read’ — much like a ‘hate watch’).
So, are you a finisher? Do you complete any book you start? If not, what makes you put a book down? For me, my biggest turn off is a lack of connection with the main character. If I’m not engaged or straight up don’t care about their story, I just won’t read on. Similarly, if a trope is played too hard, I also find that fairly off-putting.
True story, I started this probably at some point in 2016, then scrapped it, then started it again. Hubs added some final touches today and I’m happy with the finished product. Feedback is always welcome (and feel free to share with anyone who you think might enjoy)!
First of all, the book is finished! Like, really and truly done. I’ve sent it off to be formatted, which means publishing is imminent (I’m thinking August 1st, as I’ll be away at the end of next week and believe that it’s rude to my book to press ‘publish’ and then dash off to Amsterdam to ignore it for 5 days).
As I read through the Queen, I realize I wanted to complete a bit of mindfulness/reflection. Throughout the process, I don’t think I’ve been as fair as I could’ve been to myself (or my book). So, I’ve been writing novels since roughly 2004 or so. And, let’s face it, my first efforts were a bit basic. When I started the Queen, I specifically wanted to take on certain specific challenges. Was I successful? I guess only time will tell.
So, as someone who literally just finished reading this manuscript, what’s good? What’s not-so-good?
Now, certainly no book is perfect, and here’s what I think still needs work (even though I am totes going to get this thing published because enough already).
Phew. Okay, I’ll take today off and get cracking on editing Book #2 tomorrow!
Look at me! Semi-regular posting!
It was a busy week and I’ve managed to accomplish quite a bit:
