It’s the fifth day of the fifth month. How’s it going in your corner of the interwebs? When life hands you lemons, make chocolate chip cookies, because why not? April ended and May began with some moderate setbacks. But I’m hoping to get back on track this week.
I’ve got a whole new list of submissions to work out, some critique partner work coming up, as well as a beta read, and I plan on continuing to revise my MG Fantasy manuscript. Then I’ll do some genre reading on the side, so, you know, I’ll have a steady flow of words coming at me, at all times.
I haven’t considered doing simultaneous submissions, as yet. I wonder if I should submit it, as is, or see if I can tweak it, in case something came to me after the other submission? Have you ever done that before? Which story outcome would you prefer to use, in such a case? Or would you submit identical pieces to multiple publications and see who bites?
Other submissions seem like they’re not my jam, but I’ve noted the theme and filed them away in a story prompt folder. Who knows, incorporating multiple ideas might work for a different submission and you’ll have a masterpiece on your hands. I stand by the practice of never deleting previous drafts. You never know if you can repurpose something discarded from an earlier draft into a greater story.
Besides all this, because of elevated stress levels affecting my health, I’ve taken more active measures at self-care, this month, even if it means, I step away from the keyboard to recharge, refuel, and reassess the situation to see how best to proceed before I burn out. I’m walking more, thanks to the nicer weather. Masks (yes, double layer), and socially distant. I will continue this once I get vaccinated, as well. We all have to do our part. Reading for leisure is also high on my list of relaxation methods, as well as streaming shows I’ve fallen behind on, or discovering new ones that will thrill, inspire, and awe.
Life’s been overwhelming, both health and work wise, but I’m chugging along, rolling with the punches, adjusting where necessary, and everything is five by five.
Stay creative, stay weird, be kind to yourself and others.
I pulled the trigger and submitted a short story at the top of the week with a couple more to go (hopefully) before the weekend’s over. With the submission calls, deadlines, agents open for querying, and all other writerly endeavours out there, I realized I needed to get organized before all the details piled up.
A lil’ spreadsheet goes a long way.
I created a handy-dandy file in Google Sheets and currently have three sheets in the works.
The first sheet is for Submission Call Outs that include paid gigs or contests. Currently, because of financial constraints, I’m focusing my attention primarily on no-fee to submit calls. I’m reserving the submission fees for projects that really speak to me or that come with feedback from the publication or event. That way, I’m getting more bang for my buck. Once I have locked in a steady income from these or other writing jobs, I’ll branch out further to the places that have submission fees, because I know that there are reputable places out there that I shouldn’t ignore. Speaking of, I’m also keeping track of scam contests and publications. It would do me little good bragging in a query letter about being published in ABC literary mag or winning a top prize with XYZ, if they aren’t on the up and up in the literary world. The fields I created are the submission window (open and close dates), URL, details (theme, word count, etc.), fee, and the link or email address of where to submit. I currently have it sorted in order of deadline, but I like to organize it based on word count, as well.
The next sheet is for literary agents. I’ve organized it with their name, whether they’re open for queries, their wishlist (what stories/genres they’re seeking), their website, social media links, and where to submit (Query Tracker, email address, etc.). This sheet is easily organized by the agent’s wishlist and reading windows.
And, of course, we have the Submission Tracker. This sheet includes date of submission, submission link/email link, if they received it (via form email or confirmation email), and current status. I can also add details such as date to follow-up on, or whether the piece had been simultaneously submitted elsewhere.
This has kept me more organized, and it’s helped me take a step further into the business mindset of my writing journey. Sure, writing is my passion, but as I’ve learned recently through various websites, webinars, and dialogue with fellow writers, agents, and editors on social media, it’s important to treat my writing like a business.
The word authorpreneur has also come up a lot. It makes sense. This is a scary, but exciting time transitioning from writing because it’s your passion to writing for your future because it’s your legacy. You become your own boss and you’re solely responsible to ensure if your business thrives or not.
How do you keep track of your submissions? Do you prefer high tech with apps and software programs, or do you like to keep things old school, as many still do, with planners and notebooks? There are also those who do a bit of both. Everyone has their own approach. These are definitely scary and exciting times, but I’m looking forward to a new month with plenty of opportunities, now all neatly organized for my perusal and reference.
Scared.
Excited.
Motivated.
Let’s go.
Stay creative, stay weird, be kind to yourself and others.
Last week, my flexible Camp NaNoWriMo plans were flexed almost immediately upon discovery of new opportunities. To recap, this was my original Camp schedule:
Week 1: Submission Call out entry, due April 30. Getting it done sooner will afford me more time for revisions.
Week 2: Read through/revision of a MG Fantasy WIP
Week 3: Read through/revision of a Grounded Sci-Fi Thriller WIP
Week 4: Buffer week for any of the projects.
Rather than words, my Camp efforts this month are time-based and the goal is to work on my writing projects for a minimum of six hours a day. I laid the out the plans, posted them here, and sure enough, as we neared midnight last Wednesday, I already found reason to play Musical Chairs with my weekly itinerary.
I submitted my application for the internship and I’ll update on how that goes. As for the MG Fantasy that I intend to query, I’m approaching this realistically.
Given the importance of this and the time required before the April 17 query submission, I’m going to aim for it, but not put pressure on myself to send it off to that particular literary agent because, really, that’s just ten days from now. This would be my first query submission, my first synopsis. It’s a big deal. It’s Lucy first stepping into Narnia big. So much for no pressure.
They say it’s good to leave a project for a while to come back to it with fresh eyes. When I’d shelved this first revision seven years back, it clocked in at 67,000 words. It’s been long enough that I can dust off the digital cobwebs on the thing and bring it back to life. If I were to leave the characters and plot line as is, I’d need to read through the entire manuscript again to gauge the flow of the story before paring down the excess. Since I’m currently in writer/editor mode, I’ve already caught some technical errors that I glossed over during that revision. Plus side, I’ve developed my skills since then and now see where the story can be improved.
However, as mentioned in my last post, I’d been tinkering with the essence of the story and wanted to infuse my Asian heritage into the narrative. That meant an overhaul of characters, culture, and the necessary research to incorporate folklore into the existing plot. I want this to be a strong story through and through, so it would be such a disservice to myself and my intention of showcasing diversity and inclusivity in this debut release, by trying to rush a deadline.
The opportunities are out there, but I need to make sure I put in solid work before I take that next step. I know that seems like such a common sense approach, yet I think that’s why I’d always semi-ignored those social media hashtags such as #mswl, #querytip, #amquerying, and #literaryagent before now. I’d always assumed that the publication stage was so far away that I didn’t want to think about it. Now, it’s all I’m thinking about, so much so that I’d only slept two hours this morning. The stress, anxiety, and excitement of all the possibilities had my insomnia take over.
So, as we head into Week 2, I’m going to focus on 3Rs for this WIP: review, research, and revamp. It’s safe to say I can push my Week 3 plans to May. If I don’t make the April 17 deadline, that’s okay. I’ll pause and use the rest of the month to work on the Submission Call out entry that’s due April 30. Whatever happens, I’m excited at the direction this WIP is going and it’s the farthest along I’ve been on any of my novel-length WIPs before, so I have to keep going.
How was your first week at Camp? Everything go smoothly or are you also facing some plot twists of your own? First week down. Came out of the gate at full force. Let’s keep going. We got this.
Stay creative, stay weird, be kind to yourself and others.
Welcome to the inaugural Friday FX post. Considering I’m writing this amidst a fan-freakin’-tastic ocular migraine, SPOILER ALERT, these posts share the good, bad, and ridonkulous aspects of my writing journey. It’s cathartic for me. Maybe you’ve had similar incidents happen and can relate to the struggle. It’s a reminder that while writing can be an isolating endeavour, we, as writers, are never alone.
For instance, the voices in our heads keep us company, whether we want them to or not.
In my last Writerly Wednesday post, I talked about my strategy for Camp NaNoWriMo this month and emphasized the importance of flexibility when making writing plans. Some wouldn’t dare admit this, but there is life outside of writing, even if it’s currently socially distant and somewhat monotonous.
I haven’t been this excited to be writing in a long time. We’re talking years. Years of my life when I just stopped writing altogether. Of course, there were many things going on, at the time, but I never thought I would push writing so far out of reach. I tried to get past a major illness by diving into work. I didn’t give myself the time to process what had happened. My life had gone sideways and it took a physical, mental, and emotional toll on me. Sure enough, that’s when I decided it was okay to compartmentalize. Oof. The whole hindsight thing is a kick in the teeth sometimes, no?
The last five years or so have been a broken roller coaster ride. The haphazard twists and turns, the sudden stops with me teetering over the edge, just waiting for the world to drop from under me. I’m finally on the meandering road to recovery, but I’ve taken active steps at proper self-care this time around.
I can write about galaxies far, far away, create brand new places where my characters live, yet the “anywhere but here” stories that I write are what anchor me to this world. Writing is as fundamental to me as nutrition and breathing, yet I deprived myself of it for so long.
I thought it would be great to be back in the saddle again. I went in all hyped up, determined to take on anything that came my way.
But, it’s been more like this:
And with far less flourish.
It’s one thing to take note of an intriguing idea as soon as it comes to you. However, when an idea pops into your noggin right before regularly scheduled bedtime, as a bonafide insomniac, I advise against indulging the sudden motivation to do a deep dive on the internet at 3am. You know how that goes, one click turns into several and you’ve gone so far down the rabbit hole, not even the rabbit can keep up.
Saw a couple opportunities that looked intriguing. A submission to a literary agent and a potential internship. Click here, scroll there. Then I found myself on Twitter sifting through hashtags like #mswl, #querytip, #amquerying, and #literaryagent. Click here, link to submission guidelines, link to submission deadlines.
Okay, I got this. Just switch around my Week 1 and Week 2 plans to give myself more time. Oh, I gotta do this thing, too? No problem. First 20 pages? Sure. Query letter? Got it. Synopsis? Yup.
Hang on, didn’t I want to rework my characters, infuse more of my heritage and folklore into the narrative? The base is pretty straightforward. That’s good. But with these revisions, there are those aforementioned flourishes that have yet to be expanded upon, nuanced, to dress up the now naked tree. Research. Gotta do more research. Yeah, it’s fiction, I have leeway to write what I want, but I’d like some ties to the familiar, so the folklore needs to be the right fit, but which ones? Which concepts work best with my plot line? So, it’s pretty much a complete overhaul and I’ve got two weeks. Less, if we’re considering the other thing. Right. That deadline’s sooner. And there’s a writing sample that involves evaluating a book. So I need to read a book in the next couple of days. And the resume. That’s gonna be fun given the last five plus years of absolute chaos.
And…
Yikes.
So, here we are, two days into a new month of crippling anxiety–I mean, the continuing adventures of this writing life. I had a nice talk with a trusted confidante and they reminded me that just the act of making these goals and taking those steps forward is already a win. I overwhelmed myself, overloaded and fried my circuitry, as it were, coming up with all sorts of scenarios and I shut down. It’s probably what led to my only getting a couple hours of sleep lately and most likely the precursor to the migraine, among other things.
I need to remember to breathe, then write. Maybe include some food and water, every now and then. I need to point out that a year ago today, I was slowly adjusting to a new normal–my recovery process that coincided with a global pandemic. Two years ago today, I was still suffering from agoraphobia. If I take the time to appreciate the progress I’ve made since fully committing myself to live my passion and return to writing, I’ll be okay. I can overcome the self-sabotage, one word at a time.
Stay creative, stay weird, be kind to yourself and others.
After some self-reflection (read: tumultuous debate with myself, dry erase markers, and my mirrored closet doors that ended up looking like a scene from A Beautiful Mind), I’ve come up with a strategy for April.
Since Camp NaNo doesn’t have the strict 50,000 minimum word count to stick to, I’ve decided to track time versus words. They’re still working on the tech behind the tracker variations now that they’ve merged the Camp NaNo site with the original NaNo site, so in the meantime, I’m using their math to convert the word counter to represent time spent working on the project(s).
Reminding myself that this is a flexible plan, that wiggle room is allowed, accounting for wind chill, and carrying the one, I’ve set my sights on a minimum of six hours a day devoted to my writing projects which by conversion standards comes out to a 10,800 word (or minute of time) goal. I certainly intend exceed this goal, but I wanted to give myself something realistic to work with.
So, how am I divvying up the time? There’s a submission call out that interests me with a deadline for April 30. It’s a 5,000 word max short story submission, no fee (yay!), and I have the option of submitting up to two stories. I will begin with one, for now, see how that feels and go from there.
Here’s my tentative working schedule for Camp NaNo:
Week 1: Submission Call out entry, due April 30. Getting it done sooner will afford me more time for revisions.
Week 2: Read through/revision of a MG Fantasy WIP
Week 3: Read through/revision of a Grounded Sci-Fi Thriller WIP
Week 4: Buffer week for any of the projects.
Experience has shown me that taking time away from the drafting to the re-reading of my work can offer more insight than barrelling through each stage without pause. I’ve seen the evolution in my writing. I have the opportunity to adapt new techniques I’ve learned and improve the overall flow of the story. There are a lot of considerations now that involve current global events that might effect how my story is received, especially since some of them were first drafted more than a decade ago.
I still have my awesome writing groups that are always buzzing with daily activity, as well as some upcoming writing craft webinars I’m excited for, so those will be interspersed in the schedule.
If April goes according to plan, I intend to continue this method throughout the year in hopes that I’ll have a handful of polished manuscripts ready for the next stage of review, edits, beta reads, and *gasp* the foray into querying for a literary agent, mayhaps?
A lot of great apps and services are available to Camp NaNo participants at a discounted price. Winners often get an even bigger discount. What’s great about these offers is that some companies extend their usual free-trials so you can explore the product in depth during Camp, a few extend a couple weeks beyond, as well. This is the best time to try these products and it’s unlikely you’d get a better deal outside of this. Many NaNos ago, I bought Scrivener at 50% off it’s already reasonable price. It’s a robust writing software program that seems to be the go-to one stop shop for writers these days. I still haven’t explored its full potential. There’s a bit of a learning curve, but what it does, it does well.
But don’t wait too long, or even wait until the next NaNo comes along. I could’ve gotten a lifetime license of Campfire Pro with the World Building module free at a lower price point. I heard they were working on something called Campfire Blaze and it purported to be better than its predecessors. I took the gamble and held off on the purchase only to discover that Blaze was subscription based and they no longer offered the version I wanted at the price point I could’ve gotten it beforehand. They do have some discounts available during Camp, however, and I’ll do more research before forking over the dollars.
Last NaNo, I took advantage of their discount offer and finally joined Sisters in Crime. There was a discount for ProWritingAid and World Anvil, but I held off on those, at the time. I’m looking to explore these programs further. YouTube vids are helpful, too, both with reviews and tutorials. I’m tempted to get ProWritingAid. I’ve never seen a lower price than this. And let me tell ya, these prices are in American dollars and when you convert that to Canadian… I American’t sometimes, you feel me? It’s important to grab these opportunities before the prices go back up. For us struggling artists in the world, every penny counts.
Here’s a quick reference with links to NaNo Offers I recommend and that I’m also interested in (These are non-affiliate links and taken from the NaNo site itself.):
Scrivener – 20% off for all Camp NaNo Participants; 50% off for all Winners. CODE: HAPPYCAMPER (EXP: 05/07)
Sisters in Crime – 20% off the first annual membership (for new members). CODE: SINCCAMP21 (EXP: 08/01)
ProWritingAid – Save $200 on a Premium lifetime licence (pay $199 instead of $399). (EXP: 04/30)
World Anvil – 30% off 12-month memberships of Master Tier and above. CODE: CAMPNANO2021 (EXP: 06/01)
Campfire Blaze – 30% off lifetime purchases of modules (Pro excluded). CODE: CAMPNANO2021 (EXP: 08/01)
There are other offers available and they may still add more before Camp is through. When I first checked a few weeks ago, World Anvil had not yet been included in the offers, so be sure to have a look around and see what might interest you.
Whatever your plans for April, I hope it’s filled with writerly goodness. I’ll be checking in each week with the highs, lows, lefts, and rights, that I’ll be trekking through in hopes that this will be my best Camp NaNo experience yet.
Stay creative, stay weird, be kind to yourself and others.
Textploits of the Writerly Persuasion 