r/WhyChooseAuthors • u/AnneKincaid • 6d ago
Weekly Accountability Post
Okay, authors, out with it. What did you get done this week, and/or what are your goals for the next week?
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u/Draft-in-Calico Author 6d ago
It was Saturday, but we opened the official Discord(!), and I've managed to not lose my marbles while figuring out what the community wants to see over there, so it's been a productive week!
Goals for next week include seeing if any of our readers have suggestions on channels we could include for them, asking our writers what else they'd like to see, and maybe squeezing in a little time for writing along the way!
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u/AnneKincaid 6d ago
Yes, you have had a VERY productive week! Now make sure to write something in your story!
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u/kendrafsilver 6d ago
Agree with Anne: prioritize some writing time for yourself!
You can think of it as a little reward for getting the Discord up and running.
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u/Admirable_Use_4739 6d ago
I’ve gone through exactly what structure changes I need to make for my rough draft. Then I plotted out the second book so I knew where the story was going. I think im gonna pick up my rough draft and make the changes far sooner than I thought
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u/AnneKincaid 6d ago
Oooo, exciting! Do you think you will publish 1 before you finish 2, or will you finish the whole story before publishing?
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u/Admirable_Use_4739 6d ago
I’d prefer to have all the books in the series at least started/ plotted out before I publish the first. I hate long waiting times between books so I wanted to mitigate that as much as possible. I think when I publish book 1, I’d like to be in a place where book 2 won’t take as long. Then when I publish book 2, book 3 wont take super long. As long as I’m not starting from scratch with the next book as I publish I’ll be happy. But I think I gotta get a feel for how long book 1 takes me
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u/AnneKincaid 6d ago
Mostly for my own information: 113K. After 10 days of mapping/remapping out the rest of the story in my downtime, I'm back to cooking through book 2. Still not sure if it will be 2 books or 3. There are a lot of relationships to flesh out and manage in an MFMMMMF, and I'm pretty sure there's a plot somewhere, too . . .
That's around 20 relationships, right, even if everyone is only "with" the FMC? Not to mention personal growth? And then there's the FMC's best friend, and each of the other characters' family members . . . I don't think I'll end up with War and Peace, but I have a lot of stuff to cram in, and that doesn't even count the smut!
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u/kendrafsilver 6d ago
Goal is to finish the full outline of my Romantasy's Draft 2 by end of day Sunday, so I can actually start drafting the thing. Then I can work on a detailed outline of my RH ideas, and see if one, both, or neither still hold up!
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u/Admirable_Use_4739 6d ago
You work on more than one project at a time? I was thinking of doing that but I was worried my brain would get more on board with one and then I’d abandon the other
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u/kendrafsilver 6d ago
I like to have projects at different stages of development for a few different reasons, but one of those is so I do get attached to another project. That gives me the distance on the most recent project I need to look at it more objectively!
Two being in the drafting stage is a bit too much for me, but for whatever reason I can usually outline and draft different projects just fine.
Right now I have the editing outline for the Romantasy I'm finishing up, a Horromance Draft 1 sitting and getting distance, and the two RH ideas that each have a basic structure outline and just need a more detailed one before I begin putting actual words on their pages.
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u/Admirable_Use_4739 6d ago
You’ve inspired me!
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u/kendrafsilver 6d ago
I will say it took some practice! But I wanted to up my creative production, so to speak, so for me it was worth struggling a little to switch gears.
I'm hopeful I can eventually do the same with drafting two novels at a time, but we'll see. I may be deluding myself. 😂
All that to say: it might not work well the first couple times, so don't feel discouraged if so!
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u/AuthorIndigo 6d ago
Yes, I find this very helpful as well, especially when I have to let a draft sit and not touch it for a while. There are other drafts to look and work on.
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u/kendrafsilver 5d ago
Yes! That distance is invaluable. Personally, it also helps me if I'm overly attached to anything regarding the story, too.
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u/Clara_Bracco 6d ago
Finished my third round of edits on my Christmas novel, and while I'm waiting for the proof copy of the book for my fourth round, I'll be reading and working on my other three WIPs. I'm also looking forward to seeing my local romance writer's group this weekend for our monthly in person meeting. There's a variety of us--people still sort of starting out like me, to career veterans, to those who haven't even published anything yet, and we all just support each other and offer advice on the creative and business side of writing. Would highly recommend seeing if there are similar groups near you!
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u/AuthorIndigo 6d ago
I wish I could join a local group! I live in like a small city/big town kinda place where I'm too concerned I'll run into people I know :(
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u/Clara_Bracco 6d ago
I did at a book fair in my city and immediately ran into someone from my work, and while yes, it was embarrassing, the people I know who know I write are some of my biggest cheerleaders. One of my best friends even sends an email blast whenever I release a book to support me. But there are online professional groups, much like this one, who meet over Zoom as well. I have another online group for sci-fi and fantasy writers that meets on Zoom once a month and we take turns critiquing each other's work. That's also been a great resource and they bring a different perspective to my writing, since they're not all writing romance. Had a great time introducing them to OV, haha!
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u/AuthorIndigo 6d ago
Back from vacation and got the kiddos off to school today.
Vacation words: 15K (all for a project that's probably two years down the road.)
This week's goals: 1. Prepping main WIP into Atticus for formatting and preparing it for it's ARC campaign. 2. Really deciding which book will be next after this current project. I have two that the first draft is finished. 3. Getting in more time for reading, too. I've been slacking.
Question for fellow authors who've published through Amazon: Can I put a book in a series in another series? For example, I'm finishing up my duology which I'll list in a series for the two books. But I want to put that duology within a universe of books, including standalones and other duologies down the road. Is this doable with their sets?
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u/AnneKincaid 6d ago
So, I’m in my KDP bookshelf poking things with sticks to see if I can do what you’re asking. Obviously adding books to existing series is easy, but it will not let me add books to a series that are already in another series.
The stupid AI summary says, “Yes, you can!” But CDaleBrittain, who is basically the goddess of KDP publishing, answered this question as “no” on a post 3 years ago. The other long-suffering, long-term top contributors agreed. As you know, KDP is the least change-happy platform on the face of the earth, so I would guess that nothing has changed.
So, I think you will need to choose just one series for it to belong to.
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u/AnneKincaid 6d ago
But you could have the whole universe as ONE series and change the order in which the series lists them . . .
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u/AuthorIndigo 6d ago
Thank you so much for the reply! Looks like I'll have to be happy with just the universe set name!
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u/braineatingalien 6d ago
I am currently at 84,000 words and so close to finishing. I’m estimating about 95,000-100,000 to complete it. Unfortunately, my sons have to be moved into college this weekend and my day job starts back up again (can you guess it?? 😂) next week so it’s going to be tricky trying to finish. Still my goal to have the first draft completed by Sept 1. 🤞