Well, I haven’t been idle. I have been writing…then trying to write…then living. For a while there I was doing pretty good on my newest effort, which is now over 52,000 words. I’m shooting for 80,000, hoping to stay away from 100k. I’m wanting this book to be a quicker read. A lighter read. It’s my second science-fiction novel. Still not gonna say much about it, yet, but I like where it’s going.
Then, somewhere along the way, more…things…got in the way, and the writing hasn’t been as consistent. I’m finding that I seem to be slowing down…at least in the early morning. It seems to take me longer to get going! I don’t know if my remaining injuries are just taxing my body enough to monkey-wrench me, but to be honest, I no longer (or very rarely!) leap out of bed to hit the keyboard!
Not liking that.
Now, mind you, once I do get going, I ramp back up and am fine, but the getting-up part has been a problem for me, lately. I hope once I get my knee scoped and my hip replaced, my body won’t have anything to tax it so. Getting my knee scoped next month, and my hip replaced in October. I’ve dealt with both long frigging enough…about seven years for the hip.
I’ve also subscribed to some better industry reads, like The Hot Sheet. On my first set of articles sent, for the “Trends in Adult Fiction,” back on June 29th, one paragraph really stood out to me. It talked about how high concept was once the all-important thing to sell books (right, like every other “all-important thing”…pick one…). But what an agent pushed was that that is not the case “anymore.” That it’s actually…WORD OF MOUTH.
Wow, had an industry professional actually said that? You mean it isn’t the author doing everything?
Of course, the standard “…and that it is driven by writing that is ‘really, really good’….”
You know, I heard the lyrics in some heavy industrial rock today that basically yelled—said—that I’m so tired of being right.
Obviously and author can’t just do “word-of-mouth” it doesn’t make sense. That’s the starting point. Word of mouth requires other mouths. And it’s getting those other mouths to mouth off that is the point of contention, I suppose. That’s why publishing houses keep saying it’s the authors themselves who are the best marketing tool (yeah, used that purposely) to getting the word out, but then not giving them any backing to do so. Instead they give all their backing to the BIG NAMES. Yeah, Those people. The ones already making it. Have their own revenue to put into their own promotion and marketing—but wait, don’t have to! Why? Cause the Big Houses are doing it for them.
On another front, I submitted my anthology, Do The Dead Dream? to TaleFlick. It’s being reviewed right now, but once it’s approved, will go live on their to-Hollywood site. I already have ERO on there. TaleFlick helps us Little People get our works exposed to industry professional in Hollywood.
I have applied to MILEHICON51, submitted a possible “thing” to do, and offered to moderate and be on panels. Since they now have me up on their website, it looks like I’ll [most likely] be going. I love that Con! Always looking forward to attending.
Not going to be able to go to Colorado Gold again. Have other things planned for that time frame.
Other socials?
Yeah, meh. Sometimes. Not so much others.
One last thing…I’m feeling pretty “wrapped in physical time” these days. Sometimes I get that way. I just feel really controlled…moved along…enmeshed within…Time and Being Physical. It’s weird, hard to explain, and I’m currently swimming in it. I usually feel slightly outside of it…events feel lengthened…I usually get much more done in a certain capsule of time than physically allowed, that kind of thing. But lately, I feel like I’m in a Swamp of Time and the more I push, the more resistence I encounter.
Welcome to the Real World!, you all say. Join the Club! I hear.
Okay, I get it. I guess I deserve it. For the most part I’m trying to just go with the flow, like I usually do, but this flow is different. Thicker in Time. I feel more encapsulated in physicality. Yeah, for me—that’s a thing.
Other than all this interior shit, I’ve been really enjoying the summer, successfully reseeded some dead patches of lawn…watching some baseball (Colorado Rockies), enjoying where I am in Life, you name it. My gym workouts have been utterly fantastic, given my “new shoulder” from last year’s surgery (and, no, no longer going gonzo like I used to with the intensity and heavy weight). Getting out and doing my hikes, which are so needed, the getting outside part and “airing out.” Even sometimes just sitting out on our deck…at all hours. It’s just beautiful.
And now and then, I throw some more words down on paper….
