Weekly Writerly Witterings ~ Planning Ahead (with margin for real life)

witter (ˈwɪtə)
vb – (often foll by: on) to chatter or babble pointlessly or at unnecessary length
n – pointless chat; chatter

COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY – COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED, 12TH EDITION 2014 © HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

planning ahead

(with margin for real life…)

There’s a saying that goes something like “man makes plans and God laughs.” In the 12 years since I started publishing (WAW 😱) almost nothing I planned went the way I expected it to.

• I wrote and published standalones in multiple subgenres, to keep from limiting myself from just one.
• In the same vein, when all my friends wrote sequels to their bestsellers, I waited another decade before following through with The Borderlands Saga (currently writing Book 4 of 6).
• I thought newsletters were dumb, so I focused on blogging instead.
• I created a Facebook group with my fellow fantasy authors with grand aspirations of guiding newer authors.
• I published under KU and wide, flip flopping between the two to test out the best bang to get my book out there.
• I took two separate 1-2 year breaks to work through the trauma that comes with multiple miscarriages + caring for my mother’s post op and chemo through two separate cancer battles.

In case you were unaware, these might as well be a list of things NOT to do. Sure, the real life struggles I had no control over. Real life doesn’t pause for your author business after all. But as things have gotten better over the past year, I’ve worked hard to put my publishing cap back on. I’ve logged more writing time on my phone than a laptop and I still haven’t figured how to make ads work for me. But I’m writing and publishing, and I’m devoting as much of myself as I can manage to keep growing.

the takeaway

I think you’ll find that the best thing for you isn’t always what’s best for others. Some marketing methods work perfectly while other folks lose their manuscripts at the bottom of a pile. I’ve always believed this business is 100% passion, 50% hard work, and 50% pure luck. Keep trying new things and old things and don’t give up, and you just might fall into your own “perfect storm.”

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what’s coming next for wylder tales?

1. Halloween Event with Bewitching Book Tours 🎃
2. Signed Hardcover Editions with The Signed Book Shop 💃
3. New Scarred Beauty teasers for subscribers only 🤫

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Goals for this week

1. Finish setting up online store 😎
2. Make tracks with both Annwyn Park and Scarred Beauty!
3. Find peace in small moments and make time to journal again.

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