Save One is out and available on Smashwords or Amazon. It’s a YA sci-fi dystopian, set in an indeterminate future where, 16-year-old soon-to-be codebreaker, Sauska is coming of age.
Tag: novella
Save One Edit 9
I did an edit sprinkle of my draft if that’s what you can call it. I put my book through the free version of Grammarly. I picked up quite a few things that caused me embarrassment. I spelt the word border wrong so many times and often missed out single words that needed to be added for improvement.
I’m going to have to do a few more drafts, but I’ve pretty much completed all of the structure, so it’ll just be line edits from now on.
What value do you bring?
I’m re-reading ‘The Mental Game of Writing’ by Bell and there is a section about uniqueness. More specifically your uniqueness. He asks you three questions about what you bring with your work. They are:
- What do I do well?
- What can I do better?
- What are my unique ‘add ons’?
With me and my self-evaluation and comments from my close ones, I can say that the things I do well are worldbuilding and characterisation. I’m hoping that my plot and storyline are pretty competent as well. Things I can do better in regards to my writing is re-establish my writing routine, finish first drafts and start more marketing.
But what about my unique ‘add ons’?
What makes me different from other writers? I know that there is not another Stephanie out there, but no one can see that because I don’t market myself. I write a lot of novellas because I don’t pad my stories out, but my style is not like that of McCarthy’s The Road. I’m slowly making my way up to larger books because I’m training my brain to deal with larger projects. Maybe despite writing seriously for the last seven years I still have to refine my ability.
Another Jumpstart draft
I’ve just started another draft of Jumpstart. I’m not that productive with it either. I think I should have done a few pages a day because the last time I touched it was over a week ago. I could have completed it by now if I had done it that way. I’m doing more edits than I thought I would have too. I don’t know if I’m levelling up or my previous attempts were sub-par. I’m hoping to have this thing out by mid-year, but no date is set.
Rejected, but it’s not the end.
I don’t feel that bad that I didn’t get in, but at least I seemed to have made it quite far 🙂 That means it’s got something there. I’m going to self-publish it soon (I don’t know when). It mostly just needs another light edit and it’ll be ready 🙂
It’s getting closer!
General update for my other books
I’ve gone and gotten shiny new idea syndrome and have begun a new book, but what about my other ones?
Save One is mostly completed. Need a few more light drafts and it should be ready. I’ve just grown tired of it atm so I’m giving it some space.
The Things We Do has been submitted to Tor.com as part of a sci-fi novella submission. Practically ready for release, but will have to wait to see if accepted by these guys.
Jumpstart is also mostly done. I’m also fatigued by it and have started and stalled on the sequel Tune In. I want that story done before thinking of releasing this as part of the marketing strategy for the series.
Beyond Calico has stalled. The first draft is not completed, but I have a rough outline of the story and need to write it up sometime.
The Chloris and the Electra has not been touched in over six months and I’m not sure when I’ll go back to it. I enjoyed writing what I have and will finish it. But I think it’s only 60% through the first draft. I think I have an idea of how it ends, but that’s flexible.
Overall I intend for the book I’m writing now to be done by the end of June. Then I might move onto another of the others I haven’t finished and try to maximise my time. I’m still heading towards my goal of 10 self-published stories by my 30th birthday, so I’m not slowing down. I’m hoping to have some stories out by the end of the year so I have that to look forward to.
Gonna find out in about a month’s time :)
Tor.com and other things
It’s getting closer! I’ve had serious writer’s block since returning to Australia 😦 It’s been almost two weeks and I think I’m just over my jet lag 🙂 Finally. I’ve been constantly checking the Tor.com submission page to see where my book is at and the speed at which this is going is having me a bit concerned. Either they have a lot of people going through the stories or they had a lot of submissions that didn’t meet the criteria and are culling through them like a hot knife in butter.
I wonder what they are going to say about my story. Is it shit and needs to be tossed into a dumpster and set on fire? Or is the best thing they had ever read? There is no in-between! That being said, if it gets rejected I’ll do a few more drafts and then self-publish it.
Tomorrow I’m going back to Queensland to my parent’s place and they don’t have regular internet – by choice! They say they have no use it. Like what are you!? Anyway, maybe that can be a benefit for me seeing as though I haven’t written anything since returning. Maybe I can finish all those half done first drafts.
Submitted The Things We Do to Tor.com
I was planning on self-publishing The Things We Do sometime soon, but instead, I came across the Sci-fi Novella submission from Tor.com. I decided to give it a shot and send it in. I read somewhere on the site that it would take 6 months for a response, but when I sent it in, it listed the response time as just under a year!
Maybe I should have sent it in the moment the program opened. I found writing the cover letter a challenge, I hadn’t done that for years. But I did it 🙂
Stephanie Haggarty 