Hey who stole the last six weeks? I meant to blog again in Feb and March, but things kind of got away from me. I even started a blog, but never had time to finish it.
February was rather busy, being my husband’s birth month we had a great long weekend away in North Wales, just us, as an actual couple – bliss. Then there was all the editing, I was booked through from the 15th of Feb and I haven’t had a day off from it since. Well that’s not entirely true, had one day free of it because I needed a rest, and I needed to get a short written. So here’s a rundown of what I’ve been up to.
I’ve re-read a manuscript I wrote last year and have sent it to my editor – was not hopeful for what will come back, thought it was okay when I wrote it, but lost confidence in it. Figured I may end up having to scrap it and starting all over again, and that’s exactly where I am now. I kind of knew that there were some problems with it, but wasn’t sure which were the flaws and which weren’t. Turns out there were a lot of flaws – including the leading man being to ‘beige’. So complete re-write it is.
I’ve also been working to polish the steampunk story that’s been accepted for publication. Fingers cross that it’s better, but the problem with making changes is you’re (or at least I’m) never sure if they are improvements or not.
I’ve been busy writing reviews For Warped Factor, mostly comic reviews, but had one article I’m particularly proud of is Six Degrees of Separation to Lwaxana Troi. It was a fun piece that actually got enough hits to get on the sites top ten for a week or so. To be honest the comic reviews have kind of taken over a bit, there are some great new titles out and so I have been reading them. The biggest problem I’ve found is that I’ve started reading them with the excuse that I’m going to write about them and doing that instead of doing the things I should be getting on with, like writing another book.
Procrastination has been a problem, but I think it’s actually a symptom, a symptom that I may have to recognise the fact that I’m never going to get published – okay as above, I am getting published, but it’s all likely to also be a symptom of my depression, but I do have a reason for this one. In January I was very upbeat about some prospects, not least of which was a publisher requesting a full manuscript, which I sent back to them that very day. The email said they would get back to me in six weeks. It’s now been eleven weeks and I haven’t heard a thing. Okay people get behind and until I get the thanks-but-no-thanks there’s hope. But to be frank, if it they’d read it and thought it was worth picking up, they’d have done so by now. So yes, there’s hope, just not much of it.
I went with the family to Cardiff ComicCon. That was a good day out, spent far too much money on comics – but what else was I supposed to do? Got some good ones this time round. Lou Scannon and Moon, and Bearlands (Zombie Teddy Bears). Just have to get round to reading them instead of manuscripts at some point.
I even got round to booking tickets for London Film and Comic Con in July, in hopes of meeting another author who publishes through Xchyler Publishing, also by that time, the anthology I’ve got a story in should be out and I’ll have a product to push.
You might have picked up on the note of being depressed above, and that’s been a bit of an issue this last few weeks. I had zero concentration and was crying over absolutely nothing, really annoying, especially when I have so much to do. Seem to be coming out of it these last few days, not completely as I write this, but getting there. Did have a bit of good news today. I entered a short story competition last month in with the Swansea Writers Circle, and I got third place, so yeh me! Especially in a genre I don’t usually write, children’s fiction, rather happy with that.
The one thing I haven’t managed to keep up with is the MOOC on Forensic Psychology: Witness Investigation which I really want to do. Must get my butt in gear and catch up.
Anyway, I’ve got three edits to get done so I’d best get back to it. Thanks for listening.
The Write Route 