Wednesday 2 February 2022

#IWSG FEBRUARY 2. A little bit of this and a little bit of that #amwriting ... and #amediting

Hello!

Here we are gathered around the campfire for the February 2 IWSG post. Hope everyone is doing well, staying safe, and getting into the writing year. 

I'm not going to answer the question this month, not really relevant, except to say I'm so sad at the loss of Anne Rice. A writer of unique vampire tales who heavily influenced my foray into the paranormal genre. Anne will be sorely missed by many.


My favorite Anne Rice novel.

Alex's awesome co-hosts for the February 2 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Jacqui Murray, Sandra Cox, and Lee Lowery!


Thanks to these generous souls who have given of their time. Please visit them if you can.

~*~

How's your writing year shaping up? Interesting? Hard work? Motivated? 

As a recent #IWSG post asked us about regrets, and I, like many others, regretted not getting started earlier, I'm intent on making up for lost time.

I've been working on a huge re-write on one of my published stories which has had over 30,000 impressions on Amazon ads, but these impressions have been slow to result in clicks/sales. The Page Reads on Kindle Unlimited show me where readers are stopping. So when that happens, the advice is a re-write, change the cover, rewrite the blurb, republish. I thought it'd be a quick job, but no, little ole perfectionist me is involved, so it's taking ages, but I believe in it and I think I've improved the story no end. Then to the editor ... Then to the cover... Just teasing ... this is not it ...


Which puts me behind on my second Paris novel, full of yummy recipes, which is to be shared with my awesome critique partners at the end of this month. There's a stack of work to do on it since I first shared it with my critters, so it's adding a fair bit of pressure to my writing schedule.

Then there is the #WEP challenges for which I write a #flashfiction to a prompt every two months, along with several other writers who continue to blow me away with their talent. We've just launched the Year of Music onto an unsuspecting world. We kick off with the Beatles. Read our post HERE and consider joining us if you want to improve your writing or offer feedback to other writers.



This writing gig is always exciting, isn't it?

How many projects are you working on? Or do you like to work on one project and see it through to completion? 

And I should mention ... not so much a project for me now that I've won a place in the anthology, but still there demanding attention ...



20 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

You have a lot going on! Rewrites are tough sometimes.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Oh! I'd love to know about how your Amazon Ads are going :)
Best wishes for your rewrites.

A Hundred Quills said...

Hi Denise. Wish you all the best for the rewrites. My writing journey this year hasn't kicked off as I was recovering from C. In fact I had to put back a lot of reading and other work as well. I'm back. Hoping to catch up with your book too.
-Sonia

Elephant's Child said...

Congratulations on your anthology placement.
Rewrites? Good luck. On the rare occasions I write I find it hard to know when/where to stop.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Denise - interesting how you're dealing with the rewrite: good for you ... the the next book with its recipes will be fascinating - all the best with completing that. Well done on the anthology acceptance ... all the best as 2022 takes us along with it. WEP - yes ... I hope I'll have something - cheers Hilary

Natalie Aguirre said...

Sounds like you've got lots of plans that you're excited about. That's when writing is the best.

Pat Garcia said...

Hi,
I think most writers have a long list of things that need to be taken care of when they have entered the publishing world. At least, I have discovered that.
Congratulations on being included in the IWSG Anthology for Romance.
All the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Sometimes it's small changes that get a book more attention.

Jemi Fraser said...

Busy lady!! Good luck with the edits with the book.
I've never tried ads - maybe one of these days - maybe not :)
I like having a few projects going at once, helps keep my bouncy brain in order!
Looking forward to the WEP posts, too!

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

I must be living in a sandbox. I had no idea Anne Rice passed. She was a huge influence on the writing community. Such a fascinating woman.

Melissa said...

I'm determined to get serious with my writing and advertising this year. I want to retire from my day job asap, and that is a big motivator.

cleemckenzie said...

Anne Rice was one writer who could pull me into horror and keep me there. She and her terrifying stories will be missed. Good luck with that rewrite, and I'm looking forward to Feb. WEP!

Olga Godim said...

What a great take on this month question - the author who influenced you the most.
Good luck with your re-write project.

Diane Burton said...

Writing can be a lot of fun and/or a lot of work. Congrats on being included in the IWSG Anthology.

J Lenni Dorner said...

That IWSG cover looks delicious!
😲 Oh no, I hope no one is watching where I stop reading on my Kindle app... It tends to mean a break is over or I have to do something else now. That's a lot of pressure...

Hope you had a good IWSG day! I was under the weather earlier this week (not the C👾vid, don't worry), but I'm much improved now.
I've been scheduling debut author interviews at Operation Awesome. If you know one, please tell them to reach out to me.
Over at the a-to-z challenge, plans are hatching for April 2022, including a big event this month (starts Feb 4).
Plus, WEP has the "All You Need is Love" flash fiction challenge on February 16 - 18. I'm hoping to come up with something for that.
Quote for February: “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” -John Bunyan

Fundy Blue said...

You have a lot going on, Denise! I wish you every success as you tackle it. And congratulations on being featured in the anthology! I can't wait to read your story!

H. R. Sinclair said...

I wish you the best with rewrites. I'm currently going (painfully slow) over a novel checking details.

I will miss Anne Rice too. She was a huge influence on me too.

chickangell said...

Anne Rice was a huge influence for me too. She will be missed. I'm also working on re-releases so I feel your frustration on how that impacts other new projects. We've got this!

Denise Covey said...

Looks like we're on the same page! Nice!

Denise Covey said...

Thanks JLenni. So much to do. So little time. I'm feeling the pressure for sure. Got my WEP story done thankfully.