Writing Update: Thoughts, Plans, and Process

Posted 14 Mar 2017 editing science fiction

• Snow day today! Work closed and there's a state-wide travel ban. We are expecting up to two feet of snow before it's done, so I have extra time to write. I plan to treat it like a weekend and do at least an hour of revising Salvage, then switch to implementing my paperback proof edits.
• I finished my final pass of the paperback proof of Flotsam last Wednesday night. Working on applying the changes to my InDesign layout and my Scrivener master file simultaneously. Edited to add: BOOM. 45% through after today's Asimov Hour(s).
• Have received two rounds of concept images from my cover illustrator, and she says we are still on target for March 31 completion. It occurred to me yesterday that I'll be able to say I have cover art created for me by a two-time Hugo Award-winning artist! <3 And she's a total dream to work with. I can't wait to have her start the cover for book two and see what other amazing visuals she imagines!
• Work continues on the revision of Salvage. I'm about 24% of the way through the story (assuming a word-count goal of 115K). Edited to add: 27% after today's Asimov Hour(s). This is my main focus during my writing sessions. On weekends I spend any extra writing time on the proof edits.
• Local Writing Group meets this Saturday. Will focus on Salvage while I'm there because my laptop monitor isn't conducive to 2-up editing.
• Received my Patreon header image from my illustrator/husband on Saturday, and you can view that on my Patreon page, here!
• Will tighten up Phantom Traveler Episodes (removing/re-wording excess science and reordering when some of the pieces are introduced) and decide whether to use the first as a funnel on Amazon or make all stories exclusive to Patreon. It has a prefab temporary cover so it's ready whenever I am.
• Planning an InstaFreebie subscriber campaign in late April, the goal being to build my VIP list by early summer. Then ARC copies will go out mid-summer, and reviewers can begin posting in early August when I soft launch with the paperback only.
• I have a short list of subscribers from a very early incarnation of this story, and I plan to invite those people to the new list. I was going to wait until I'm very close to releasing (I don't want to bother them before there's something to look at, though the first chapter of Flotsam will be available), but I feel like I have enough content planned for the VIP list that if they join that, there won't be a huge stretch of silence.
• After they've read the ARC copy, I plan to let my VIP subscribers suggest backstories they'd like me to expound on in a prequel novelette that I will use as my book funnel free download later on. I may also submit it to Fireside Press magazine, as they've just announced they are now a qualified publication for SFWA, acceptance to which I've put as a tiny non-critical life goal. And if I have more than one good idea (with a fully structured plot!) I may do a collected book at some point.
• I also plan to spend some time organizing my marketing campaigns in MailerLite today. I want to draft a couple of emails for later and be ready for that InstaFreebie push I plan for next month.
• Buying a year's subscription to Grammarly today, before the special pricing they've offered expires. I'll use this to go over the final copy of Flotsam and see how useful it is. Then I can compare it to ProWritingAid, which I invested in last week.