Write a Novella in—30 days?! (or, I Must Be mad, I Tell Ya— Mad!!)

Write a Novella in—30 days?! (or, I  Must Be Mad, I Tell Ya—Mad!!)

So—

Can I write a novella in 30 days? Well, we’re about to find out, people!

I’m both excited and of course, terrified over putting this kind of declaration out in a blog post. Knowing it can be seen and that perhaps others might hold me to accomplishing this goal, that I might fail—well, is pretty darn scary.  But—I’ll do my best!

A goal!

Does writing happen for most writers without making some kind of targeted mission plan? Isuspect not. Goals do hold us accountable don’t they? I’m thinking what better way of closing in on this writing objective than making a public pronouncement of the one I’m expecting to accomplish in the next 30 days.

I’m going to finish the first draft of my novella DEACON’S GARDEN, the second volume in the LOVE BLOOMS SERIES, by —

It’s funny, I was thinking of using March 15th as my starting date, and April 15th as my crossing the finish line one.  I was waffling a bit on the dates until I went looking for a picture of a calendar to dress up this post and found the one above highlighting April 15^th! You know I just had to take that as my beyond coincidence confirmation that the universe was giving me the go ahead for me to follow through on the impulse of doing this 30 day challenge. Sign from God? Yes, to me it definitely felt that way. And it will take some divine intervention for me to fit this in to my life’s schedule that’s full of busy and stress-filled work days, and most every night spent hanging out with my dad at the nursing home he’s in for eight weeks of rehab. Most days I’m getting home at 10 or 10:30, spent and more than loopy.

I know I said a while back I was going to switch my attention to indie-pubbing my WIP novel, I SEE YOU coincidentally I churned that one out during another 30 days challenge come to think of it! So yes, I do have firsthand experience –this 30 day turnaround is a realistic target!  Just FYI–the last time I did this y’all I was in the middle of a total bathroom and kitchen remodel.

I’ve slowly been revising my novel,  got through about 13 chapters on a first round of revisions and  I expect I SEE YOU will hit about 28-30 chapters– a pretty hefty-size novel once I’m done with it.

But this guy-

Yep, Chase!

‘Member him? The character I told you about who insisted his name was Chase, not Wes, not Luke, or any other cowboy-sounding name I could come up with. He’s the male lead (hero) from my novella DEACON’S GARDEN and the dude just won’t leave me alone! I’ve got to get this story out of me, or I’ll always find him pulling me back to it, and leaving me to feel flustered and unfocused.

The other thing is—

I’ve been blessed with a round of five star reviews and some other positive feedback over the last months for my short story BLACKOUT IN THE GARDEN OF LOVE.

Comments like these:

This short story is a refreshing change from the usual IR fare.

The characterizations and dialogue (internal and external) was spot on! I look forward to reading more of this author!!!

Keep up the excellent work and please keep writing!

Not only have these kinds of lovely comments made me grin and dance around like a fool—they’ve also triggered a logical conclusion in my head. Made me grasp the concept that the wise marketing thing for me to do as a new IR writer on the scene it to ride this tide of positivity by bringing something else to the market sometime sooner rather than later.

Anybody up for a challenge? Wanna get the writing juices flowing through you like wildfire, or go ahead and try that no-carb detox you’ve been thinking about, got a junked up room in your house you’d like to give all your extra time and attention for 30 days and turn it into a room of splendor? Let’s do it! Join me and put something on your calendar for the next 30 days. You don’t have to make a world wide proclamation, you know–just a quiet ‘tween you and nobody else challenge is cool, too.

Oh, and I’m going to lose five pounds, too!

I don’t know if this burst of energy is spring fever or winter madness—either one, I’m pumped!

~venice

236 and counting! Did I Tell Ya I Hate Math? (Indie Writer Ramblings)

Here we go, as promised– my sales numbers! Finally. I don’t really hate math. I’m just not a huge fan of doing anything that constantly raises a pointer to the limits of my intellectual capacity…sigh. Anyway, what I’m saying is — ya see any blatant errors, just kindly whip me out a private email and let a girl know if she’s got something obviously screwed up that most any elementary kid might have caught. Okay? Thanks!

I indie published BLACKOUT IN THE GARDEN OF LOVE on October 8th in 2012.  I honestly didn’t do much marketing. But I did hook up with a few Interracial Romance forums, and I think that helped me out a lot.  As a reader, I’ve discovered the IR genre is a small enough world that the news of new releases travels in a pretty natural flow, through word of mouth. It’s a great advantage when you’re writing to a niche audience if you know where to go to just get your face or words out there, fellowship– and make friends. I wish I had more time to do more of that kind of stuff, as I thoroughly enjoy chatting with other lovers of IRs! I especially love running into other readers and writers who are diggin’ and searchin’ for sweet IR reads.

Anyhoo—here’s what I sold:

On Amazon/KDP

October  – 68

November – 66

December — 28

January — 30

February — 15

207 sold @ .45 cents royalty per ebook = $93.15.

***

Barnes & Noble/Nook Sales:

5 sold @ .52 cents royalty per ebook  = $2.60.

All Romance Ebooks: (60% royalty)

(just started selling Blackout on that site on 1/8/13)

24 sold @.77 cents royalty per unit = $18.58

Total sales/profit for Blackout = $113.81

236 ebooks sold.

Now, have I gotten any of this money yet? Nope. I suspect a check from Amazon should be showing up someday soon here (I believe there’s some mention of 90 days turnaround). I’ll follow up on the payment part of this indie pubbing experience in another post one day soon. If anyone has any info about Amazon’s payment turnaround, I’d love to hear from you!

The money I’ve made covers the cost of cover art, proofreading and formatting for Blackout– and the lil bit leftover might put a few bucks in my pocket.  The experience is worth gold and so is all that I’ve learned. I’ve had the joy of finishing a story and sending  it out into the world, and mostly getting  very nice reviews (except for the single star one I got, which I want to talk about ‘processing’ that  bad rating  I received in a post here, too.  Probably it will be sporting a title like– “I Indie- Published and the Worst Possible Thing Happened and– How I Survived It” or “Oh Lawd– Whyyyyy???” Something like that.

So other newbies– like me, it’s possible your first publication may not stuff your bank accounts with the 50k or 100k you’ve heard others proclaim as their return on the hours spent writing a story. Yes, I know Blackout was a short story, I’m happy to have sold as many as I did, but my heart and writing spirit isn’t put off.  I’m ready for the next adventure and challenge of putting what I’ve learned about writing and publishing to work on my next project. Make it the best read possible, and okay, I might let myself fantasize – just a little bit– about making tens of thousands of dollars and moving up the ranks on Amazon– I’ve got that kind of imagination, ya see.

But–I’m not discouraged, and I hope that anyone that has a mind and soul to give their words to the world won’t be turned away from their dreams because their first book(s) didn’t sell in huge numbers. The thing is, I am finding quite a bit of comfort & satisfaction in the journey so far.  I made a move, put some  real action behind it, and made something happen! Very satisfying feeling, and now since I’ve honed my skills—hey, anything is possible for me. And—anything is possible for you, too! Let’s just keep it going, right?

Somewhere over the rainbow and all that good stuff!

(Next time around- What Is My Next Project, Again?)

A Little Encouragement … via a little original poem (My first ‘blog hug’)

So yeah, I’ve written a few poems, a few songs, too. I’m guessing many fiction writers have done the same. Of course, while I dabbled around with writing poetry, I never really bothered to brush up on what makes a poem a properly crafted piece of work– and I’m sure some that I’ve shared with others were quite a mess. But, I’m really not caught up in worrying if this one I’m sharing with you guys today is done just right, as I think the sentiment is strong enough to cover its faults.

I wrote this some time ago, but I find that it fits me even better today. We all keep searching for, waiting on, dreaming about, believing in, and some of us have been blessed enough to have found– ‘that place’. Wherever it is, for each one of us– great and wondrous things are there. While many of those wondrous things will be a hand’s reach away, some of that great wave of wonder has to be about what is happening within us.

My wish, my prayer today, is that we all keep moving toward ‘that place’.

If this poem is any bit of encouragement to you today as you make your way there, that would make me very happy.

Oh—and I’ve left a fill in the blank spot, you’ll see it. Feel free to call out one, or a few, of those BS judgments you’re slinging off your spirit!

My first ‘blog hug’.

©2004

Write Something, damn it! (Newbie Indie Writer Ramblings)

Write something, damn it!

O…K…

Her breath hitched, then fluttered like butterfly wings against his neck where her lips grazed his skin.

Maybe that sentence is wonderful, maybe not.

The point is—the writing must NOT stop!

All that I truly know and want is rooted in the words, sentences, paragraphs, chapters and stories I put on a page.

So, why haven’t I been writing?

Stepping into 2013 has been an extended arm-flailing slide on the longest, unexpected banana peel ride ever!

The weekend after Christmas my dad had to go to the ER. Since then, he’s been in the hospital, had a brief, but horrible for his health, stay in a nursing home for short term rehab, then back to ER,  then ICU, and still is in the hospital.  That’s where I’ve been. While my dad’s 83, this turn in his health was totally unexpected. It’s been a whirlwind of crazy—specialists, test after test, sepsis, fevers, colds, catheters, dementia, allergic reactions, a weird bout of him not swallowing anything by mouth…sigh. But my dad is much loved, and me and my sibs are his advocates, which means lots of hours each day spent holding his hand, encouraging him, and wrangling docs and nurses for him to get the best care possible.  It’s been very hard to type or write while doing this.

But, I can’t be the first writer to have some unexpected real life stuff happen to them to mess with their writing.

I wish I could offer up in this post a list of 10 Ways to Keep Writing When the Unexpected Happens.

The thing is–I don’t know five ways, or three or two.

I guess I can only recognize a personal truth. All of my days of living, my personal truth and make up—my dreams, my journey– is connected to writing.

I can’t opt out of writing, no matter how challenging my days get. Writing should be like eating, and sleeping, because it’s as much food to the part of me I’m just now discovering, as a meal is to the part of me I’m used to paying attention to, and caring for.

There is a shift going on, and a call to me that I need to answer. Am I a writer? is the question it’s forcing upon me.

 How can I hope to grow, reach my potential, if I let everything, anything–big or small get in between me and the words on the page?

I believe I know my path, and putting in my best effort to write daily is the best way for me to stay on course. If I can’t get both hands on the keyboard of my laptop or my new ASUS Transformer tablet (my Christmas gift to me!), I’ll start carrying one of the many beautiful writing journals I’ve got in my collection and write with one hand if I have to. If I can’t move forward in a WIP that’s giving me trouble, I’ll sketch out some notes or scene work on another story I’ve got on the to-be-written list.

I must keep it movin’!!!

I’d love to hear the stories of how other people have gone through the unexpected and discovered that putting their writing on the shelf wasn’t the proper response to trouble.  So many of you probably already know what I’ve just discovered—writing is the release, the answer, the healing balm in times of trouble, not just another ‘task’ that can be put off until another day.

In life, I have to conclude– you may have stumbles or falls, but you don’t have to be thrown off your path.

And, I’ve missed blogging! Glad to be back

Brilliance…of Love and the Season (a gift from me)

This is just a little piece, though I’ve been told it carries a big punch, a strong message. One of love, which was my intention. Not the romantic kind, but I can’t think of a better time to spread some love. It’s a sad time for many. For the families of Newtown, Connecticut and all those who mourn with them. There are so many others out there in our world suffering due to senseless cruelty.

I have tinkered around with the thought of perhaps one day having this little story professionally edited, then shopping it around – try and sell it.  This being a season of giving, I felt compelled to give it to all of you

I wish you all a happy holiday, a Merry Christmas — may you spend it with the ones (or the one) you love.

**

Brilliance was written for a writing site, my take on a prompt of the same word ‘Brilliance’. I have to say, it’s probably the piece I’m most proud so far in my writing journey. I had no idea something like this could come out of me. BRILLIANCE made me realize that being a writer, was truly a path I could walk down with more confidence and wonder.

BRILLIANCE

If they were giving out awards for being clever, the boy had decided, he wouldn’t go to a ceremony to collect it.

His grandfather had told him that they were after the brilliance in him. That there weren’t many smart people around anymore—and that he, Elias Whitford L. Cranberry, was the smartest little boy in the world. Now when he was younger, it tickled him to death to hear that kind of praise. He used to throw his head back with laughter and clap his hands gleefully, when his granddad told him such things. Now it was also a fact, the old man told him there were folks who lived just over the horizon–who wore coats of many colors, and made prayers to the Sun, and ate flesh, and drink from a vine.

None of it ever made any sense to Elias but his father’s father was the only family he had and that, was reason enough for him to want to believe whatever the 88-year-old would tell him.

And the old man had been right about one thing…

He was smart.

Which is why he lived inside the compound, not outside—where the survivors of the Last War were left to their own instincts and the grace of Nature to find food, shelter, fellowship, and safety.

Tribes of like-minded people settled down together, gathering whatever limited resources they could find. Food, water…utilities were out there, but so much of the mind power to locate, facilitate and operate life-sustaining systems to harvest them was locked up in the gated compounds that were scattered across the country’s landscape.

Well, that’s what They had told him. Maybe there wasn’t anyone living on the other side of the barbed wire. And since he was—intelligent, Elias had enough wisdom not to take everything They said as being true.

After all, weren’t They the ones that thought it was okay to keep him shut up like a specimen in a jar?

The Scientists—

who poked and prodded him for his ‘brilliance’ and scurried off with the daily journals They insisted he keep. Apparently, scouring them for a miracle to fix the mess that civilization was in.

And Elias had started to believe that, yes, just maybe he was smarter than them, because day after day the only thing he wrote in those stupid journals, which they all seemed to worship so much, was the most nonsensical theories, and speculations, whose design was rooted in complete and utter– fantasy. And, They, the so-called men of science never questioned any of it.

Elias spent hours spinning out long and totally outrageously contrived supposition of how the world should work.

All of it, every word – his grandfather’s stories. Tales the old man had been told when he was a boy.

Snippets—

About small creatures that used to fly and sing songs, and large super-sized buildings with shelves piled high with shiny tin cans of food, and villages rising up out of black tar and rows and rows of dwellings where inside, a man and a woman covered trees with radiant glass balls as gifts for their children– and white coldness that fell from the sky and made mountains on the ground…and…

Sometimes, when it was too hard for him to write about it,

Elias would draw pictures of the things in his head, images left there from the stories he’d heard while curled up in his grandfather’s bunk.

Cones– with creamy sweet scoops of color on them, trees with great arms of palm growing in the sand–big enough to climb up to watch a sea of blue rolling in and out, great hunks of metal on wheels traveling over land and some navigated to touch the moon.

Such silliness made him smile. It reminded him of the only good thing he had known in this world.

If he sat really still and closed his eyes he could feel the prickly bristle of his grandfather’s beard on his cheek.

He had been the oldest man in the compound, nearly 90. Dead now, for many calendar months.

All Elias, the last of his seed, had inherited–were the fantastical tales. And so, if the Scientists wanted to know what made him so smart, if They would ever bother to ask, Elias Cranberry would tell them all– his pearls of wisdom were his legacy.

Nothing more than fairy tales a loving grandfather had spun so that a child could dream when he fell to sleep at night.

Every night, back in the barracks, after all the lights were out, Elias had rested his head on the old man’s chest, eyes wide in the dark, listening to the stories and the steady beat of his grandfather’s heart keeping time with the rhythm of the spoken words.

And then, the elder would whisper in his ear, Sleep, Elias. Always remember your dreams. No one can take them from you.

And it was the truth.

It was at nighttime, in– his dreams, Elias would find the only love he’d ever known.

His grandfather’s opened arms to greet him and lift him up over his shoulders…

To take him over the horizon.

And there was rejoicing–a resplendent celebration, tubes of meat cooked on fires in the ground…sparkling stars of color shot into the universe…creatures in the sky and on the earth, and…and laughter, and joy-filled people dancing together.

And They couldn’t touch him…

No more journals. No more locked doors, and eyes staring at him through bars of steel.

The most beautiful place ever.

And no one cared if he was smart,

—they only cared that he was a boy.

(fini)

Changing Horses (Um…why didn’t I think of this earlier!)

Changing Horses

or…

Why didn’t I think of this earlier!

I want to indie publish something else— and soon! I’m not a marketing wizard, but I do know it would work to my advantage to keep my name out there with IR fans.  While my short story BLACKOUT IN THE GARDEN OF LOVE  doesn’t appear to be taking the interracial romance world by storm, I’m sure I’ve got some eyes on me. People wondering — hmm, what’s up with this Venice chick?  Is this short story all she got? I’ve come to understand many readers aren’t interested in shorts, and some folks who do buy them, like them hot, hot and hotter!

I’ve told you guys about TENDING DEACON’S GARDEN, and explained to you all how my hero wanted me to give him his chosen name of Chase. I said, I’d probably let him have his way, and I said I’d be writing Chase and Lani’s story next.  I’ve got a strong outline and a few scattered scenes done for this novella, it seemed like a good idea to give the project the green light. Honestly, I’m not one of those speedy writers, and yes—building up my productivity is something I definitely need to work on. Deacon’s Garden, which I’m still planning to publish in 2013, is going to take me a while to whip into shape. The thing is, I realized that potential readers are going to see another short story coming from me if I roll out a novella.  I’m wondering–Is this my best move at marketing myself?

I’m glad I got BLACKOUT IN THE GARDEN OF LOVE out in 2012. Indie-publishing in 2012 was my goal, and I made it. I learned the ropes (okay, I’m still learning the ropes!), and I sold something that I wrote, with very little marketing. (I’ll get those November sales numbers up later this week.)

Here’s where I’m taking this–

Lately, I’ve been reading that IR fans are not happy that there are some many IR authors not putting out what the fans are craving—novels! They want a long read, they want a stories they can get lost in, and they want characters that aren’t cookie-cutter, but who have depth and layers.

Hmm, they want novels?

I have a novel that I’m currently revising. I’ve got a good story they could get lost in and my hero and heroine have tons of depth and lots, and lots of layers

See where I’m heading here?

There’s an old Tower of Power song that says “Don’t Change Horses in the Middle of Stream”—but I’m gonna do it–

I’m changing horses!

A few weeks ago, I was happily revising the 10th chapter of my WIP novel I SEE YOU —and it hit me.

I SEE YOU should be my next published work.

I wrote the draft for I SEE YOU during a month long Novel-writing boot camp given by the folks over at Savvyauthors.com—a great place for new writers to take very inexpensive courses/workshops, and hang out with new and established writers. I had no idea that the deal was for people who signed up for the boot camp to commit to churn out 2000 words A DAY, mind you. I have to say, this was the ‘there’s no turning back now’ moment for me. I had failed several NaNoWriMO efforts in the past, and I was in the middle of remodeling my kitchen and bathroom. In my heart, I knew I had it in me to not go running for the hills when it came to this writing challenge. I had to stand up for what I wanted, and I was ready, house remodeling insanity be damned.  At the end of thirty days, I had a story I LOVED — and still do.  Now, for about a year after writing that first draft, I just couldn’t kick start getting to work on revising the twenty-four very drafty chapters I ended up with. I was happy with my story, but didn’t have confidence in my writing to complete it.

Well, that’s how things were going until June– when I took another leap of faith.  I started revising chapters and sharing them with a small group of folks who not only encourage me to keep it moving, but who give me great insight into reader POV of my novel.  (thanks, TST ladies!)

I’ve already revised ten chapters of I SEE YOU, and as soon as the holidays are over, I’m going to push myself to revise one chapter every week. That kind of schedule should get me through the remaining ones pretty quickly. I know I’ll have to work on a 2nd, 3^rd, and … well, more run throughs to get I SEE YOU ready to send off for editing, but– this makes sense.  I can put all my work and energy, and focus on ONE project. This switching up on projects works out for me on lots of different levels! I guess, being able to switch direction like this just might be one of those great perks of being an indie-writer.

With life pulling me in so many different directions, it’s nice to know when I come back to the writing table; I’ve got one project to make happen. This is absolutely the right move for me. I feel like I’ve got a tight hold on the reins and I’m ready to take this ride!

Taking Leaps, facing challenges, oh, and not running for the hills, apparently, are all a part of this writing gig.

I SEE YOU, another contemporary, sweet IR from me, has tons of drama, and some LOL moments, too. Just like life!

EEK FLASH! Now I have to come up with a clever and kick-butt synopsis. Ouch!

Feeling good.

~venice

It’s December? Really?

Oh my, where did November go?

What happened?

Well, there was the big storm Sandy and all the extra work hours I had to put in due to the technical problems our systems suffered. Then—there was all the cleaning house, shopping, and preparing for Thanksgiving. Okay, there was also that little bitty trip I took out of town at the end there. Now it’s – December? Really? 

Over the month of November, I made lots of choices, right?  And while I got a lot accomplished, I got very little writing done. Since I’ve set out to be an indie writer, that truth– the complete lack of attending to my dream, is a very bad thing. And I need to do some serious time management revamping. Did I really need to spend every free hour devoted to hunting down every dust bunny I could find? Washing and scrubbing, spic & spanning floors, walls, curtains, windows with such determination that all I could do by end of day was shower and flop down on the bed, unable to even put together a sentence or a lucid thought? How did that work for me, huh?

Choices.

I want to write. Why don’t I? It all comes down to the ‘choices’ I make, doesn’t it? Not more complex or complicated than that. I have to acknowledge that being a responsible ‘choice-maker’ on my part has to come down to factoring in what is important to me. To start putting what I want to do toward the top of the list and doing less of those dust bunny hunts, and running around doing things I’m hoping will make life better for others.  Especially when a good amount of my work-like-a-dog effort didn’t make much of a difference in ratcheting up my family’s enjoyment of the Thanksgiving holiday.  Being together, being thankful for our health and wealth (as modest as it might be), having a few laughs and sharing a good meal is what they were looking for. Not the fact that the kitchen and bathroom curtains had been washed and ironed. So, I won’t be taking my Christmas holiday prep down the same road. No way!

Time to get back on track with my dreams; put some goals into place and time for me to focus on making the kinds of choices that will make everyday a bit of a holiday for me. Lesson learned!

So here’s what’s going to be comin’ from me:

-My sales stats for November

- I’ll get another freebie posted

- And, I’ll share with you all the changes I’m making to get my next story indie-published sooner in 2013 rather than later!

Though it’s a little late—I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

~venice