I am now offering proofreading and content editing services. Please check this page for more details:
http://www.embklitzke.com/?page_id=1052
Drop a message if you’ve got questions!
Goals update – March
It’s been a busy year so far, both for me as a writer and at my day job! January and February brought a major project which resulted in thirteen hour days at the office.
Sufficient to say, I did little beyond working and sleeping on weekdays (and keeping up with Awakenings and Legacies of the Lost Earth). Things are starting to change now, slowly but surely, but a new month means a reassessment of goals.
Let’s start with the old goals:
- When All’s Said and Done completed by mid-year, published by end of year
- Legacies of the Lost Earth: The Last Colony edited and published by end of February
- Epsilon: Redeemer completed by mid-year, published by end of year
- UNSETIC Files: In the Beginning – at least two collection stories completed by end of January and published as ebooks by end of March.
- Awakenings: War Drums available as ebook and in print by end of June.
A few of these things happened. A few totally aren’t going to, and a few are still goals within reach.
Fulfilled goals:
UNSETIC Files: In the Beginning – at least two collection stories completed by end of January and published as ebooks by end of March.
Goals within reach: **
When All’s Said and Done completed by mid-year, published by end of year.
Awakenings: War Drums available as ebook and in print by end of June.
Epsilon: Redeemer completed by mid-year, published by end of year.
** I probably will only be able to do two of the three if I manage all three. Awakenings: War Drums is actually going to be only about half as many posts from the serial as I thought it was going to be…but that’s because the thing is already monstrous at this point and I’m still not done yet. So what I thought was Book Two is actually going to be Book Two and Book Three.
…yeah, no:
Legacies of the Lost Earth: The Last Colony edited and published by end of February.
- I just ran out of time on this one, in part thanks to the thirteen days of thirteen hour days over the course of three weeks at the office. I’ll probably be able to get this together sometime in the near future, though.
And now for some neat indie author news…
So last week (March 3-9), Smashwords ran a promotion where authors could offer their books with site-wide coupons for 25, 50, 75% off and free. I listed What Angels Fear and Bering Songs and Silence each for free and Epsilon: Broken Stars, Awakenings: Book One, and Between Fang and Claw at 50% off. While I only sold one copy of the 50% off ebooks (Awakenings: Book One), I did sell nine copies of What Angels Fear and sixteen of Bering Songs and Silence.
Why is this so cool?
Both are series openers in the same universe. That’s why it’s wicked cool.
We’ll see if the giveaway of those stories leads to future sales down the road. We can only hope.
Stay tuned next week to learn from my experiences as an indie author. New snippet on Sunday!
Doc’s big purchase…
I have a confession to make.
I turned thirty this past November, but in all of my years, I had never purchased my own computer. Part of this is a byproduct of the field my father works in (yes, he’s in the tech industry) and part of it is a byproduct of not having a job that would allow me to afford to purchase my own PC. An e-reader or a bicycle with my tax refund money, yes, but a computer? Not a chance. The closest I ever got prior to this was last year, while I was still working at the store and had quietly been putting away money here and there because I needed to replace my slowly dying laptop (it was nearly six years old at the time and had been through quite a bit–replaced screen, upgraded RAM, and I was looking down the barrel of trying to find a way to replace the fan). I mentioned off-handedly to my father that I was looking at netbooks because at the time I was really starting to get out of the gaming scene and all I really needed was a machine that would let me surf the internet and write. He looked at me and said “Well, do you want one for your birthday?” I just stared at him.
Then I asked in this little, small voice, “Can I get a purple one?”
He laughed.
That was how I ended up with my cute little purple HP Mini, which I’ve been using reliably as my primary PC since November of 2011. It came on Black Friday, a very happy surprise for me after a very, very long day at the store. The extra money I’d saved went to student loans and Christmas gifts for the family.
I started to realize that maybe I needed a new desktop (my first since 2000) in May 2012, when I started to play around with doing my own print book layout with Adobe InDesign and doing more intensive graphics work for my book covers. My Mini, unfortunately, has two major failings–processing power and screen real estate. I feel the pain of the latter more than I feel the pain of the former, but the lack of processing power was enough to convince me that instead of just getting a monitor, I should think about getting a full PC. Unfortunately, desk space for me is at a premium and I don’t like the idea of putting my tower on a carpeted floor–especially when I have cats cavorting around in my bedroom at all times of day and don’t get to vacuum as often as I should. That meant that I needed an all-in-one, which would save me desk space and give me the desktop screen size and computing power I need.
Why didn’t I get a second laptop? Well, the answer to that is pretty simple–I don’t need another laptop. My Mini is perfect when it comes to being out and about–it’s small enough (even in its case) to slip into my purse with my notebook, wallet, e-reader, a hardcover and a few magazines–even with its charger and mouse (and my iPhone with its charging cord and the cord for my e-reader–believe me, I did this more than once while flying to and from Texas and then to and from Pennsylvania in November and December!) and doesn’t take up much space on desks, tray tables, or cafe tables at my local Starbucks or Panera Bread. It’s ideal for a lot, save the failings I mentioned above.
In between working on the next chapter of Ashes to Ashes and starting the edits on Between Fang and Claw, I started browsing for a new all-in-one computer and discovered that HP had a couple of quick-ship options that would meet my needs. After a consultation with a few friends who are slightly more tech-savvy than I (I’m dangerous when it comes to making computers do tricks, but when it comes to the actual composition of them, I start to get a little shaky), I purchased a new Pavillion all-in-one.
My first computer that I bought by myself with no help from my family.
Kind of exciting, don’t you think?
No schedules, but goals
I learned my lesson with this past year–setting a schedule for myself when it comes to projects doesn’t work, in large part because I get too ambitious.
A lot has changed for me in 2012, especially my employment situation. I went from a part-time retail position to a full-time office/customer service position that’s also had me traveling in the past couple of months. It’s been an amazing experience for me so far and I’ve already learned a lot in the eight months I’ve been with the company. However, the 8-5 (sometimes 10-7) position hasn’t afforded me the same opportunities to write that I used to have. I’m still adjusting my sleeping schedule and sorting out exactly how much sleep I need versus how alert I will be in the morning. It’s getting better, but it’s not quite there yet.
This being said, I’ve got some goals for 2013.
- When All’s Said and Done completed by mid-year, published by end of year
- Legacies of the Lost Earth: The Last Colony edited and published by end of February
- Epsilon: Redeemer completed by mid-year, published by end of year
- UNSETIC Files: In the Beginning – at least two collection stories completed by end of January and published as ebooks by end of March
- Awakenings: War Drums available as ebook and in print by end of June.
I’m not willing to get any more ambitious than that–and even that’s probably more ambitious than I should be, considering that I will be starting up Legacies of the Lost Earth again shortly with Ashes to Ashes and continuing to keep up a schedule on Awakenings.
It’s important to have goals–but it’s also important to have goals that are achievable. Otherwise, they mean nothing at all.
General update on current projects
Still fighting to strike a balance between the new (though not so new at this point, since I’ll have been there for six months next week) 40-hour a week job and my writing life, but I’m still scraping time together to work. The webfiction (Awakenings: War Drums and The Last Colony) eats up a lot of time because I ran through my backlog about six months ago, but I enjoy working on it. The Last Colony will be ending soon and then I’ll be taking a break for a little while to work up a backlog for the sequel, Ashes to Ashes, before I start posting it.
It took me longer than usual this year to come up with what I’ll be working on for NaNoWriMo this year. I know there are quite a few pros out there who scream and holler not to bother with it, but I’ve been doing it for enough years that I know it helps me at least get something done.
This year’s project is a collection of shorter works in the same universe of Lost Angel Chronicles and UNSETIC Files. It’s called UNSETIC: In the Beginning, and is a braided thread of tales wending its way through the early years of UNSETIC on through to later years, when Angels such as Ridley Thys join the organization. It’s ambitious, but I’m getting good feelings about it and I’m excited.
The nice thing about November, for as crazy as it is, is that there’s a chunk of time where I will be able to write (or read, which happens about as often) on a five hour drive between home and extended family in another state. That period of time usually makes or breaks any project I happen to be working on.
Still working on Epsilon: Redeemer and the updated draft of When All’s Said and Done and they’re progressing, though perhaps not as quickly as I’d like. I blame Phelan, Cameron, J.T., Marin, Neve, and Thom for chewing on my synapses and when they’re not, it’s all about Brigid O’Connell and Tim McConaway.
I am, indeed, still alive…
What few normal visitors I have to this site will be gratified to learn that I am, in fact, still alive despite rumors to the contrary. It’s been a busy summer so far and it’s not over yet.
Just to recap what’s been going on lately…
- In April, I quit my job of six years at a major retailer of womens’ clothing sizes 14-28. It was more than time for a change.
- At the end of April/beginning of May, I started a new job, one with normal 8-5 hours (or 10-7 hours, but more on that later), an hour for lunch, and good stuff like that. One of the best parts about this job? I don’t work weekends. One of the worst parts about this job? I generally get up at 6:30 to be at my desk by ten minutes to eight every morning. Because I’m getting to be an old fart (stop laughing) it’s become increasingly difficult for me to function on anything less than six (or eight…) hours sleep, but I’m working on it.
- I ate through my backlogs of both Awakenings and The Last Colony, so that eats up a chunk of writing time four days a week.
- I’m working on the edits for print editions of Epsilon: Broken Stars and Awakenings Book One. The unfortunate part of converting the files from Word to InDesign and then attempting to fix all of the errors in stylesheets (have I mentioned that I hate those styles sometimes?) was that I lost massive chunks of italics, so the process is taking longer than it should be.
- I’ve discovered that I actually like to read again. In order to wind down at night before I try to sleep, I end up reading for a couple hours. This understandably cuts into writing time but is probably good for my sanity.
- None of what I said above is helped by the fact that many of the series that I was waiting on the next books of have been released since May. There’s one more coming in August (Caitlin Kittredge’s Soul Trade) that I’m eagerly awaiting, then it looks like things might settle down a little bit…unless I discover that the next Lightbringer book is out, or the next Graveyard Queen book. I think I’m safe on Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices…for now.
- Got rolling on a second draft of Epsilon: Redeemer. It will be interesting. Of course, then I got distracted because….
- I had to get back to working on the sequel to What Angels Fear. Especially because my aunt said her “friend” read it and is now demanding that I write a sequel (and wants to know when it’s coming out). Coincidentally, this is the aunt that said she wasn’t going to read anything before I wrote my memoirs (she’s an English teacher). So as I got to working on the immediate sequel to What Angels Fear, other things began to rear their fair heads and demand to at least in part be committed to paper. These include:
- A currently untitled Lost Angels/UNSETIC crossover involving Hadrian Bridger (Ky Thatcher’s main squeeze and Ridley’s former roommate at the Institute), Ridley, and Commander Brigid O’Connell (UNSETIC universe).
- A currently untitled stand-alone piece about a girl named Caitlin and a boy named Thaddeus using virtual reality tech developed for an MMO to predict threats to life, limb, and national security. This is also set in the Lost Angels/UNSETIC universe, like many of my works in the modern/near future.
- Also continued some work on what may or may not be the first UNSETIC piece released (Girl from a Brigadoon is becoming more complex than I anticipated, but what do you expect from one’s first psuedo-mystery?), which is the story of Brigid O’Connell and Timothy McConaway’s first mission together with UNSETIC.
So, in a word, I’ve been busy. I am hoping to be less busy at some point, but the date of that remains to be seen. I’m attempting WebSeWriMo again this year, and I’ve set a somewhat ambtious goal for myself in hoping I can get twenty installments for Awakenings written in the month of August (which is just about one a day, with ten days off to work on other stuff) with secondary goals to finish the edits to Awakenings Book One for print and a tertiary goal of finishing Awakenings Book Two.
It strikes me that Book Two should have an actual title, but titles are hard. I’ll have to think about that.
Writing Space
Everyone has a different process for writing, but at the end of the day, we all need a place to write. I can’t tell you how many books on writing have told me that you should have a dedicated space to work–a spot that will put you undoubtedly in the mindset for writing from the moment you sit down to work.
Pardon my language, but it’s a load of bull.
Yeah, it’s wonderful to have a spot that you can retreat to when everything else in your life is going insane, but it’s not something that’s strictly necessary for the writing process. I’m not even sure it’s something that would be helpful for most writers. Most of us, however, don’t have the luxury of that kind of space. Everything in our lives has to be multifunctional in today’s world–one trick wonders don’t cut it anymore.
Besides, in the days of laptops, netbooks, and tablet PCs, you can go and write anywhere. The folks who follow me on Twitter know that Starbucks and Panera Bread are two of my favorite places to go work–in part because of the change in scenery and in part because I’m not at home. Of course there’s the slight inconvinence of possibly not having all the notes or drafts you need at hand to work through particularly sticky spots, but for writing hard and writing fast, throwing caution to the wind, a public place with a caffinated beverage and an iPod stuffed full of tunes can’t be beat. I wrote many an Awakenings update at Panera or at Starbucks.
Of course, I’ve written an equal amount at my kitchen table and at my desk at home.
Yes, I have a desk–a semi-dedicated workspace. Of course, occasionally that desk serves as a catch-all when I come home from work, or as my craft table, or as a dozen other things. Is it my workspace? Of course it is.
It’s a wonderful desk, custom-built for me by my father, a cut-down version of a library table with shelves on either side and a drawer beneath. When he was first getting ready to build it, he couldn’t imagine me needing a desk as large as what his original blueprints, the original plans called for. In hindsight, I think we both realize that perhaps I could have used the extra tablespace–if only to catch more stacks of paper.
But it’s a wonderful, beautiful desk and I love it.
But I didn’t use it very much until January 2011, when I began the frentic tail end of my master’s program and had exactly six weeks to write, revise, and complete my Master’s thesis.
Since then, I’m constantly finding myself retreating to my desk on Saturday afternoons and weekday evenings–any time there is too much noise going on elsewhere in the house and I don’t feel like actually relocating. The main attraction of havin the desk to work at is the fact that I can stick post-its on the wall in front of me, rifle through file folders of articles and old drafts or my back isses of Writer’s Digest, The Writer, and other writing mags, and get snuggled by my cat (the cat, however, can also be a disadvantage because she has an annoying habit of walking on my desk, especially when I’m trying to handwrite anything).
Everything I need is in one spot, except for maybe a microwave and a coffeemaker, but those are within easy reach just down a flight of stairs. My desk, you see, is in my bedroom, sandwiched between the closet and the door. Two beds, two dressers, my sister’s desk and some bookshelves sit behind me when I’m at my desk. I’ve got additional file storage boxes tucked beneath the desk, along with binders.
But I don’t always work there.
Maybe I’m abnormal because I can write anywhere–or maybe I’ve just learned to do it out of necessity. When you steal moments from everyday life to write, you learn to do it where you can. Not everyone’s got the luxury of a dedicated space.
But sometimes, it’s nice to have one.