Guys… this has been a weird week.
Good. Amazing. But slightly overwhelming, confusing, and strange-dream inducing.
Things are going better than I expected a week and a half after Bound’s launch. I know it won’t last. I’m taking screenshots. But I’m also celebrating little victories like this, which will probably be less impressive by the time you click on that link.
I have a habit of keeping my expectations low and not getting too excited when things go well, because I’m scared of crashing. I know that the good times will end, and then what will I have? Will I feel stupid for celebrating something so temporary? Better to just stay low and even, ride it out...
The official challenge for this round of A Round of Words in 80 Days is to OWN YOUR DREAM.
I’m going to modify it a little, and say that one of my goals is to enjoy my dream. Publishing a book and having at least some people love it has been my dream for a long time. I’m not going to shout it from the rooftops every time a copy sells, but I’m going to let myself get excited when things go right.
It’s a big shift for me.
But it’s time to move on. You can’t coast on one book, no matter how fun the launch party was. Momentum is key.
My goals for this round (which lasts until September 24-ish) have to do with Torn, the sequel to Bound. I’ve already written two drafts, but what I’ve got in the works for this one is a huge improvement over the last one. This is one reason I don’t release early drafts. I need time to stew and let things develop.
It’s a huge job, involving the addition of around 13,000 words and major re-writes to existing scenes. We have a family vacation in there, which makes writing difficult, but I’ll work it out.
AJ: You just released a book. Couldn’t you take a day off?”
Me: I don’t understand the question.
Round Three Goals:
- finish revisions on Torn by the end of August. Accomplish this by getting up early to write before the kids wake up.
- Send Torn to beta readers at the beginning of September, ask for feedback by the end of the month.
- While Torn is with readers, finish outlining book three.
- contact editor and cover designer in September.
- keep up on Twitter and Facebook involvement. No big promos until Torn is ready to go.
- Stop looking at sales rankings. Seriously. It’s unbecoming of a professional.
- read two novels and two craft/business books per month.
That last one will be hard. I’m still struggling with reading for pleasure, and finding it hard to get into books. When I do have to take that week off from writing, we’ll see if that helps.
So there we go. No more commentary. No promo.
The future is bright, and it is terrifying.
*rides off into sunset*
disregard the prologue 
July 7th, 2014 at 8:39 am
Congrats on the success. Rankings looked amazing when I clicked on the link.
July 7th, 2014 at 8:41 am
Congratulations on being high up on the list! How exciting!
July 7th, 2014 at 8:53 am
Congrats on Bound’s early success!! The flying monkeys are having a celebration in your honor. 🙂
July 7th, 2014 at 8:58 am
Does that involve throwing poop?
July 7th, 2014 at 9:01 am
Flaming, colored poop, yes. Is that a problem? Because it’s very festive, you know. And they truly do try not to hit anyone.
July 7th, 2014 at 10:52 am
Great ranks for debut! You go girl! And six reviews already!
July 7th, 2014 at 10:53 am
Yep! Still waiting for the reviews to even out a little, but that will come. I’m waiting on a few ARC readers to post, and a few people who offered to read for honest review. It’s hard to be patient! 🙂
July 7th, 2014 at 1:37 pm
All the best with it Kate. Hope you’re able to get Torn ready for when you want to release it. And I was checking the sales page on KDP all the time when I published my novel last year. It can be a hard habit to break. But I managed it. Eventually. 🙂
July 7th, 2014 at 3:40 pm
How exciting! Being on the “hot new releases” list is very impressive. 🙂
July 7th, 2014 at 4:29 pm
Wow top 10 when I looked, Number Four in fact. Congratulations on doing so well. Good luck with your goals for this Round of RoW80 and I hope that you do as well with Torn as you have with Bound.
July 8th, 2014 at 12:12 am
Best of luck with all your goals 🙂 I think it’s important to remember to enjoy the process because sometimes it can be very overwhelming.
July 8th, 2014 at 7:05 am
Enjoy it when you can, right? 🙂
July 8th, 2014 at 10:35 am
Oh Kate!!!! I hope you framed that. I’m so happy for you and proud of you!!!
July 8th, 2014 at 2:22 pm
Thanks! For that comment, and for everything you did to make this possible.
July 9th, 2014 at 7:38 am
Congrats on the successful launch, Kate! That’s excellent news! 🙂 Good luck on your goals for the round.
July 9th, 2014 at 9:40 pm
Congrats, Kate! What a great ranking for you! Awesome news. 🙂
July 10th, 2014 at 4:54 am
Congrats Kate! 2nd is amazing! :O (well, second when I clicked it anyway). Good luck with all your goals this month!
July 11th, 2014 at 4:21 pm
Just clicked the link and it still looks impressive. Congrats! Wishing you all the best with this round. Just added Bound to my TBR pile.
July 16th, 2014 at 9:22 am
[…] Round of Words in 80 Days is a writing challenge that lets you set your own goals. I set mine here. Time to check […]
July 20th, 2014 at 9:04 am
[…] were here, and right now mainly focus on getting Torn whipped into shape for readers and then my editor. Good […]