Neither writing nor editing but still "at it"? Log your status here!

[VisitasKeat]

Okay, as it is obvious from the title, we all have days where we neither write or edit but tweak covers, metadata, or, spend our Writing Editing Publishing (WEP) session on marketing activities such as blogging, attending conferences and webinars. These days are equally precious to our writing career, but, many times, we overlook their importance. We end up carrying the burden of guilt which is usually the result of deficiency of word count for our WIP. This is really ridiculous and unwanted. This thread attempts to overcome these little niggles.

Okay, to get things started, I spent my previous three WEP sessions tweaking covers. I'm not done yet. I think so.

[Anarchist]

AMS ads.

Every morning.

[Authoress]

Currently stalling, procrastinating, not sure when my WIP will be ready, it's close but 365 quatrains turned out to be a tad more ambitious than I'd anticipated.
(For a perpetual calendar book).

It would've been ready a while ago but all this KDP print sh*t has knocked my enthusiasm sideways.
Even if it was completely ready, dare I try to publish it with everything that's going on with this dreaded merger?

Oh, the dilemma, seeing in other forums how some people are seeing the loady wheel turning forever & never actually completing, order/delivery times ranging from several days to a month or more & goodness knows what other problems there might be with KDP print.
Come back Createspace, I loved you & never wanted to see you leave.
All of my papertbacks are still with CS but for obvious reasons my new book will need to be with KDP & I'm frightened of it all going pear-shaped.

I'm hoping to have it ready soon (in time for Christmas orders, I want to give some out as presents) but I need a kick up the 'arris to get motivated again.
Hopefully, this thread will do it, especially if I read of anyone, anywhere who manages to publish a print book with KDP with no issues.

Update...
I did it, now the wait to see if it passes the manual review.

[munboy]

My current procrastination excuse is I'm planning out next year. (Events, releases, budgets, etc)

Oh, and I also built a new spreadsheet to keep track of sales by distributor, money spent on ads, time spent, etc. It's not finished yet, but when I'm done, I'll be able to compare sales, analyze  what marketing works and what doesn't, keep track of time spent in the different areas of self publishing, and more using nice,  clean pivot tables. In other words, something I should have done 3 years ago when I started publishing.

[Shoe]

Writing and editing (a continuous loop, really) is a creative process that needs fuel, that fuel being living my life. In my case, it means reading a lot and usually challenging stuff. Also, thinking and observing, which others tend to view as blank stares into space. When I'm not writing/editing, I'm usually rewriting in my head, even in my sleep. The only time I'm not "in the creative process" is when dealing with the business/social side of indie publishing, which I justify as taking breaks or to clear the mind.

[SCapsuto]

Organizing and filing research materials for the updated edition of a nonfiction book (in between doing paid gigs for my "day job" clients).

[She-la-te-da]

Thinking off and on about quitting, actually. I'm in a slump that seems like it isn't going to end any time soon, so I might as well be doing something else and taking the strain off. My blood pressure is so high, I've had my medications doubled, and then a cholesterol pill on top. Not happy. The stress makes me want to eat, which is bad for my blood sugar. Probably going to get put on another med for that, or get that dosage doubled. Urgh.

[Michelle Louring]

Designing a brand new website (and doing nice new business cards to go with it) 

I'm doing this as part of a major rebranding where my books will also be getting new covers and reformatted print files, all of it leading up to the release of my next book.
Basically, I'm doing all of the stuff I should have done over the last 7 years - all at once!

[VisitasKeat]

Spent my WEP session browsing covers.

[dgcasey]

Spent my WEP session browsing covers.

I'm looking at covers, too. I think I might just go to deviantart and see if there are any starving artists that would like to sell me a piece of art for my next novel cover.

[VisitasKeat]

Spent my previous two WEP sessions on updating covers.

[VisitasKeat]

Spent my previous two WEP sessions browsing covers, tweaking metadata, and doing some spreadsheet. I have set the first episode in my series to permafree. I'm waiting for Amazon to price match. Kobo and  iTunes have listed the episode at $0.00. Apple didn't want my author central link in the backmatter. So, got that removed. BN still...

Overall, the sessions have been filling and fulfilling.

[sandree]

I sent my first novel off for editing. Going to use this time to learn the Gimp so I can finalize my cover. Want to play with Vellum too and see if I want to use it for formatting. Then it will be back to another round of editing.

[VisitasKeat]

Spent my WEP session reading through my WIP.

I also noticed that my first episode in my fantasy series has been price-matched to zero within a space of four days or so, this inspite of me not posting on the long thread at the parent forum.  Not that I didn't want to, but I used the contact button and the option to tell a different price at the bottom of the product page.

Now time to get back to the X words per day threads!

Writing and editing (a continuous loop, really) is a creative process that needs fuel, that fuel being living my life. In my case, it means reading a lot and usually challenging stuff. Also, thinking and observing, which others tend to view as blank stares into space. When I'm not writing/editing, I'm usually rewriting in my head, even in my sleep. The only time I'm not "in the creative process" is when dealing with the business/social side of indie publishing, which I justify as taking breaks or to clear the mind.

I very much value thinking and observing. In one of my work place, I was scolded by my immediate boss for simply sitting with a blank expression inside the cubicle. Later, we all had to do presentations. I came up with original ideas that pumped up everyone in the office! My immediate boss since then kept a safe distance from me! So, I empathize with you. This act of sitting and observing needs to be protected by every writer. So: Don't just do something, simply sit!

[PaulJWhite]

I hate the guilt! But I love outlining and worldbuilding, so I try and just get 250-500 words added to what I'm writing so that I don't feel too bad with myself.

[Maggie Ann]

I'm thinking about a whole lot of authorly stuff.

[LilyBLily]

Commissioned and paid for a print cover, wrote the back cover copy, started the print edition on KDP, got universal links for my new wide release, added both new books to my website with links, wrote posts about each, posted about a book on a new-to-me Facebook group, made a regular FB post and commented on others, asked the hive mind in a FB author group about something (I could have asked here, too), created an AMS ad for next week, downloaded keyword lists from AMS with data, scheduled a Kindle Countdown for a third book, commissioned and paid for a beta read, reviewed two courses for tips on AMS ads, and kept up with all the publishing news plus commented at length here. Plus lengthy phone calls with relatives. I'm exhausted. Writing is easier, even when I fear I have nothing to say.     

[munboy]

I guess this is technically considered writing/editing, but I'm currently working on paid work revising a manuscript for a publisher that I didn't write.


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