Catching up (again)

I have not been on here for a while so I figured I'd better show up.

After coping with writer's block for over a month I have been hard at it getting caught up with my book research.  At this point I have well over 100 pages (you read that right) of notes, plus oodles of pubdom images to use.  Lots of raw material, but at least I'm working again.  Plus, two or three articles to write!

In the meantime I am job hunting and having a tough time of it, like a lot of people.  Things are looking up a bit, so I have my toes crossed while I write.  I should know more either later today or by Monday.

Update

I did manage to get the photos for my ebook reformatted so they are ready to put into the ms once that is reformated as well.  I expect to have it done and uploaded Sunday afternoon.  I also have begun a rough draft on my Tarot card article for PWC.  I feel productive again.  Yay!

News

I got an email back from Weiser; they declined my query, stating it did not meet their publishing needs at this time.  The good news is, it leaves the door open for other work.

Turtle Days

Wow, not a good week for writing. I did get a short article turned in to PWC, and posted a couple of excerpts on my website, but that's all, at least for now. My new job wears me out more than I expected. Looks like I have to bite the bullet and get a few pages done after dinner on a regular basis in order to get going again. Writing when I'm half-asleep seems pointless but at least I have something on the page and can always revise. (I love revision. really.)

Back Again

After a solid week of prepping materials for my very first Reiki student, I am back on track with writing. I will be turning in an article this weekend and getting even more done on the book. And, I think I will collect my published articles plus other essays I've written to see if I can get the collection published. That would be a nice prelude to this other work. Busy, busy! I like it.

Smashwords

I have explored the Smashwords site and like it a lot, so I fished out my how-to-make-your-own-Tarot-cards eBook that's been languishing for 2 years and will reformat it for upload. Then it will be available at a reasonable rate for download onto electronic devices! Woo, I am stoked for it!

Marathon

Saturday I got 22 pages written. Sunday I felt like my brain had turned into a rock so I didn't get that much done. I wrote over 6 pages but I did work on my book proposal--the marketing part. I had to revamp a section so I dug out a tape on self-promotion, listened and took notes, and got that part done in the proposal. At least it was a productive evening, just not the day I had planned. So: my writing goal this week is to finish writing Chapters 1 and 7, flesh out the others even more as the library books come in, and start revising my proposal.

I have finally created a new website for myself! I figured it was time to get something going and now it's done. Nothing of import on it as yet so no link. Sorry.

Revving Up

I just fired off a query letter to an Acquisitions Editor at a well-established publishing house to see if she would like to see my book proposal. Now I have a distinct goal/deadline to work with which gets me galvanized. :)

I am finding more and more good info for the book, which brought a sigh of relief from me. The drawback? It's like having found a buried, full-sized pyramid. First the tip--no bit deal, easy enough--but as I go along it keeps getting bigger and bigger. I have to keep my focus on smaller goals so I don't get overwhelmed. lol

Book Stuff

I moved two chapters around so the ms makes more sense. While I was doing that I realized the book is beginning to look like a *book*. I finally have a sense of progress. It's a pretty good feeling and gives me the energy to keep going on this thing. I'm going to add another chapter as well to prevent information from being muddled. A writer's work is rarely done lol.

I might make a mockup of a book cover for this project, to see if that gives a deeper sense of reality to it.

Crossing my fingers!

So I emailed Circle Magazine yesterday re the lack of any new issues since Fall (I had submitted an article for their Spring issue) and today I received their answer. It seems they suspended publication, i.e., skipped the Winter issue. The Urban Pagan themed issue is pushed out for a couple months and they wanted to know if my article was for that one. I have answered saying yes, it was, giving the title and my pen name, so I am hoping it gets accepted!

I did get the rough draft for the book proposal done. At least that's out of the way and I can spend more time on the ms. :)

Another Day

Another five pages of notes done. Still need to type them in but I have a Pagan Student Alliance meeting to attend so the ms work will get done after that. Everything else is stalled for the time being, which is irritating to say the least but sometimes life does that to a person. I am looking forward to Ostara and have an idea for an article. Keeping busy in a productive manner is always good!

Well, it's evident that I did not complete my NaNoWriMo project. >.< I am, however, making good progress on my non-fiction work, though it's taking a good deal more research than I anticipated. Last night I got eight pages of notes written and six pages of ms pages types. A good night for me.
I am also a freelance writer for Pagan Writers Community! I was so excited when I got the email confirming it. It's a paid gig, and that is hard to come by these days. I'm on their 2013 Writers Conference Steering Committee as well. :)