Tag Archives: Learning Curve

Don’t be a afraid to scrap it!

1857waste_paper_basketDear Sexies:  

The problem with telling anyone what you are working on is that when you are ME, and like to change your mind often or are your own worse critic, you are prone to starting over. In this particular case I have scrapped three potential works in progress because, well, I don’t like em! *blinks* 

You heard it from Mimi first, I hated what I had already written. Oh and no, I wasn’t a thousand words into it or even ten at this stage, I’m talking close to thirty thousand hard fought words per EACH PROJECT that are now sitting in a file entitled: Meh maybe.  Round that to 90,000 words and I had a novel written already. Ah the joys of being Mimi…

I’m not a fast writer so you can equate this as lost man hours. Hours that are very hard to come by, let me toss that tidbit in there for yah. I’m a wife and mother, with one of my children a child that has special needs, so when I get the home front primed so I can sit down and do my thang—to scrap these works is somewhat heart rending.

However it’s not the end of the world. Just maybe the world I was trying to build but hey…

I figured if I don’t love the world I’m trying to write about, or cannot connect to the characters and breathe that breath of life into them that makes others care, then what’s the point? 

Three attempts at one theme and getting no place very fast was enough wasted head space, effort and time. Now that those attempts are gone—I never really say gone—I usually recycle and dissect and reanimate characters (hmmm maybe I do need to write a zombie story) well now that I’ve set those attempts to the side, it’s left me with re-planning and rethinking what I want to convey within the theme I have in mind. Is it a series or is it a stand alone book? What type of setting and what can I do without? Do I even want to try this yet again? 

To answer that last question, I have a few things to sort out and I am still determined *cue party horns and confetti* to keep working on my premise.

Mackenzie Dominants Three is looking very promising and the words are flowing in that regard so yay me,  goal one of two seems to be on track.  However it never fails that the minute I update you on my progress well you know what happens, I get stalled.  *lips pursed* Still it’s happening, so no shortage of ideas in that world! 😛  

Well this check in was just a chat and drop by for now. Sooner or later I’ll have some really good goods for you. 

Until next letter, 

Simply,

Mimi

Wow really? Self Publishing and how I got more gray hair!

frustrationOk for all the self pubbed vets out there you will probably laugh but man let me tell you that trying to figure out how to upload my story was nothing short of a Who’s on First Adventure! 

My first mistake was not understanding that my story had to be formatted in a specific manner that makes it easier to read on an E reader.  I’m so use to the instant gratification of click and drag that I assumed the prompts would tell me that part. Erm depends on which platform you use is to how easy/difficult the interface is. 

And if you’re Me…none of it comes easy. Not even close. *chuckles* So I spent a horrified sleepless night worrying over the botched job I did uploading my story to Amazon Direct. Then after crying to a friend— who has major street cred in this department— I was able to find the STEP BY STEP instructions AND the previewing app (???) in order to effectively upload, edit and preview the product before it goes live. 

‘Cept there was one small problem. MY STORY WAS ALREADY LIVE!!! @_@ You should have seen me scrambling to revise it. Then all the nifty things your publisher knows how to do, such as formatting, adding “front matter” (title page, dedication and table of contents) I REMEMBERED the second go around! 

Who ever coined live and learn was real genius…

But Meems is no worse for wear. I was able to get my story uploaded and revised, priced correctly and with a snazzy cover I did all by myself! *big girl voice* 

I can say without a doubt that for shorts,  you know those on the bus (or on the toilet) reads you reach for (you know when you need to pass the time…) this is a perfect platform…not that I’m knocking full fledged novels and all that— but I know my behind would not have the patience to try to format a novel for self pubbing!! Uh uh. 

My hat is forever off to those that did, cause ya’ll gotz some crazy-mad, tech savvy, ingenuity! For realz! 😀