Thursday 1 February 2018

Plan for 2018

I'm a bit late with this kind of post on the 1st of February, I know, but I was away at the start of the year and then, as some of you may have seen on the IWSG blog, had some difficult news. I'm trying to keep busy at this time, though. I hadn't actually got far with my edits for part 2 of my trilogy for the past couple of months, having hit a snag with a part that I knew needed a big change (a majority of CP readers agreed on this). I jotted down some notes on it over the festive period, but continued to put it off, unsure whether I could make it work. If I didn't do anything, though, obviously I wasn't going to make any progress.

So yesterday and today I sat down with that problem chapter and hashed out a workaround to the issue. As well as being a patch, I'm hoping it's also something that's going to make the story stronger. I've got a lot of work ahead of me as this will have a knock-on effect on everything going forward - a trickledown effect that will probably turn into a waterfall. I just need to take the plunge.

So in terms of goals for this year, obviously the big one is to get this book out - I was hoping this may be in the spring but may be more like the summer or even autumn. Let's watch this space though. Hopefully I'm over the big stumbling block.

So for writing - go forward with editing a chapter every couple of days. I have also submitted some existing stories to publication markets this year, and I want to continue with that as well as hopefully writing some new stories - perhaps I can dedicate one day a week to this.

Marketing - continue exploring Twitter and Facebook, as well as building up my email newsletter list. I've been seeing some engagement on the social media, so it's something I need to do more consistently. I also want to get my books on some more promotion sites to see if that brings results.

Well, that's about it. I'll have monthly progress updates going ahead. How is 2018 treating you so far?

13 comments:

H. R. Sinclair said...

Best of luck and congrats on getting over the 'stump.' 2018 has been a blur so far!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Hopefully now that you're past that rough spot you'll be able to whiz through everything else.

Liz A. said...

It's funny how a "problem chapter" ends up making the whole book better when fixed. Because while the problems may only be in that one chapter, they are indicative of issues throughout the book that may only manifest in that one way. Good luck with editing/revisions.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Nick - getting over hiccups isn't easy ... but you're on your way and that is the main thing. Good luck with the book and preparations for its launch ... take care and I do hope 2018 brings you success with your goals - cheers Hilary

The Cynical Sailor said...

All the best for the revisions and getting to the finish line for the launch of the next installment. I'm looking forward to reading it. Keeping you in my thoughts as you work through your difficult news.

JeffO said...

I hope things are okay for you, Nick.

Sounds like a solid plan. For me, the big WiP is out with betas, and a finished manuscript is with my agent and due to go on submission. And I'm taking a look at something a little older as the market may be more accepting of it now. Pretty good start, I guess!

Romance Reader said...

All the best with writing-editing-revising!

Wishing you all the best for 2018!

Natalie Aguirre said...

Sounds like you've got a great plan to solve the problem that you were having with your story so that you can move forward. If you have to wait a bit to publish it to make it stronger, you're right to delay your publication date. Good luck!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I can send you a link to 100 promo sites if you need it.

Annalisa Crawford said...

The changes sound intriguing, I look forward to seeing how you've changed it. Sorry to hear January was so challenging.

Anonymous said...

It's been a very rough start to the year for me too. Here's hoping we get through it.

L.G. Keltner said...

I'm sorry to hear you've had some rough times, but I'm glad to hear you're making progress with revisions. Best of luck!

cleemckenzie said...

Steady and sure. Always the best plan, Nick. I'm in chaos and have been since the end of 2017. Surely, I'll fiind a clear path soon.