Projects on my Plate
Posted 26 Dec 2017
drafting
I'm in a very to-do listy mood today. Sometimes all the joy I get comes from planning and deciding on directions and next steps. Thankfully this doesn't happen every day, because plans never engaged don't go far.
I spent yesterday afternoon playing Skyrim. I figure listy moods probably come from the deep, painful, lingering guilt over having done absolutely nothing of redeemable good for hours. Never mind that I'm on *airquotes* va-ca-shun */airquotes* and it is my job to rest, relax, and recover... Around all these glorious bullet points, naturally!
- Layout and Design a Wellness and Nutrition Book:
- I'm doing interior layout and design, with supplemental writing/segues as needed
- Need to finish before the weekend (so the other authors can review and comment)
- Needs a Cover Layout
- Plan is to work on this on the laptop during the day, while hanging out with family
- SALVAGE:
- Plan is still to submit to Parvus by this weekend
- ~45,000 words to go on the revision pass
- How in the HELL is it already 12/28?!
- THE BANTAM:
- I've run the files through Vellum and they're in Bookfunnel awaiting cover and a launch plan.
- Design a Cover - I have a concept but need to see it through in higher quality than the current rough
- Decide on my launch strategy (will I go wide or try out KU?)
- Decide on my distribution strategy (if I go wide)
- Announce to my Mailing List
- All this is terrifying because this will be my 'first published book' and it's gone through a drastically different process than FLOTSAM.
- THE PHANTOM TRAVELER:
- This needs to be ready to go when The Bantam publishes, and oh YEAH, we mention it on the podcast episode airing on 1/11/18, so that pretty much sets the schedule.
- Final revs on at least the first chapter
- Set up subscription area of this website to receive interested parties
- Decide on a format for Vellum files
- BAD APPLE: 40K-word novella
- I am participating in a 5-hour write-in at a library on Jan 5 to write a story based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
- I saved this project (which was originally a NaNoWriMo project) just for the event, though it's going to be longer, for sure, than a 5-hour write-in will allow.
- revisit my outline
- develop my characters
- Marketing projects for FLOTSAM
- Flotsam launches in three months, and I have a bunch of guest post writing assignments in various stages of drafting which need to start getting attention
- Love & Pickpockets needs finishing (and a cover), ideally by launch day.
I think part of my problem is I'm mentally approaching these by the size of the project, rather than by their deadlines. Having said that, I rearranged the list above and see I'm focusing my energies in the wrong order. First order of business, now that the-sky-is-awake-and-the-house-is-awake-and-we-have-to-play, is to get to work on that book layout.
Additionally, though I rerouted Mondays and Tuesdays to working on The Bantam and its subscription series, I realize the purpose of that decision was to get things in order to review with my editor, and we had our session last week. But since Wed-Sun of this week was already slotted for Salvage, which is scheduled to be done by NYE, not having to work on The Phantom Traveler stuff doesn't change much. For some reason I feel better about it, anyway.