Busy week this week. Still recovering a bit from that nasty cold, but I did make progress in every area except writing new words. And reading.
--Received 2 pages of excellent comments from Alberta Ross (thank you, again!) for beta read of Years of Stone. Goal this week: finish those 75 last pages and start final revisions before formatting for publication in April/May.
--Wrote review of Morgan Dragonwillow's recently released Wild Woman Waking on my Writing Blog.
--Wrote interview for Deb McKnight's Self-Published Sunday (see above).
--Kept my commitment to ROW80 by posting twice and reading assigned persons.
--And I have twittered, commented on GoodReads' posts, and blogged.
--Made good progress on wedding quilt due to be quilted by March 22. Why does every wedding quilt have to be king-sized? But I love the fabric and will post a picture as soon as the rows are connected. Rather like writing. I work on blocks and then assemble, never quite sure if the whole quilt works.
Now, a few words about Marketing. It's a tough journey, but here's more progress:--Received my promo bookmarks for Standing Stones to carry with me at all times. Now I realize that I should have put my blog address on them. And notice that red line. That's the bleed line. Text must be inside the bleed line, or I risk having important stuff cut off. So I'm trimming 250 bookmarks that have text slightly off center.
--Sent out promo e-mails, what I'm calling an e-mail blast. Here, I worry about that line between letting people know what's going on and spamming. I have about 300 names, now organized in an Excel file into 5 categories. Each blast involves sending out a generic but 'personal' e-mail to about 30 people at a time. It's encouraging to hear from former colleagues, friends, and family that they are excited for me about Standing Stones. Some have actually purchased the book. But now I'm going to e-mail writers who have written me personally. Big step. I'm already wondering what the reaction will be. I'd love to have a few more reviews, and it's wonderful to find out what other folks are doing. This is definitely difficult.
About the GOALS FOR ROUND ONE. Oh, dear. Kait Nolan was quite correct that the purpose of ROW80 is to set ATTAINABLE goals. Mine were not. So my goal for the coming week is to bear down on those goals I can achieve:
--Complete read-through and begin final revising of Years of Stone.
--Finish the wedding quilt by March 22.
--Send two rounds of the e-mail blast.
--Post in blogs: ROW80x2, Travel x1, and Writing x1.
 |
| Aunt Liz and her dog Connie (c. 1950) |
Dubbed "the leftovers" by her parents, told by her then-husband she should take pleasure from an orderly kitchen, she struggled to paint and sculpt in the 1940's and 1950's -- and made art her entire life.
A book lover, she made it possible for me to go to college when all seemed lost.
Liz was uncompromising. She pushed me to look beyond what was expected. She lived into her 80s, but she lost her memories, ending her days close to the ocean she loved. A few of her paintings are with me. I think of her every day.
Attainable goals...sometimes we need to really think about this. We can get caught up in all we WANT to do and forget we need to figure out what we CAN do. ROW80 lets us change those goals if we realize we set them too high. I've only attained my word count goal a couple of times lately, and I think I need to change it. I set it higher than normal this round and probably shouldn't have. Good luck to you this week!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lauralynn. I'm rethinking my goals for the next round. Part of me realizes that sometimes I accomplish more because my goals are just out of reach. But we persevere!
DeleteYour Aunt Liz sounds like she was a true original--a strong, pioneering woman who pushed back against the norm. I could tell that even before I read your words--just by looking at her picture.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with setting attainable goals, too. I like to aim high, but sometimes I risk flying too close to the sun and crashing. It's a bad habit that I'm working on.
Good luck marketing your latest release.
Thank you, Denise. On top of all else, she painted abstracts. Love that reference to Icarus, a favorite story, for we do risk the sun, but what a terrific journey.
Delete