Bit of Bella

I must be getting old, because time is flying at an unbelievable pace. Well, another week of writing done and a few steps closer to achieving at least some of my goals! 

Blogs: F

Sad but true. Only one blog post this week (last Sunday’s accountability post). What the heck is going on?

I’ve been focusing and freaking out about grad school stuff – trying to get everything in order to send stuff out to Beta Readers and references. That’s the true reason. All my little creative juices are soaking into my writing samples and not into the internet.

7 posts a week may  also have been an overly ambitious goal. BUT: I’m going to try to make 5 (just 5!) posts next week, including some simple articles that I’ve been working on for a few weeks (so I guess they’re not that simple). The pressure cooker of grad stuff will just get more intense, but I’m hoping that I’ve done enough research and prep work to pop those articles out pretty early.

Freelance: A

Finished premium training this week for the freelance SEO company I work for. Solid, unimpressive week. I did just set a monthly goal last night to submit narrative essay to VOX media this month. So that’s a good little bit of freelance possibility. Also: I am currently not receiving my paychecks from the SEO company. They’re supposed to go through Paypal…but…my little monies are not making their way to me. So I have to deal with that mess tomorrow or Tuesday, once I’m sure my paycheck isn’t just being slow. Ugh.

Podcast: A

Morgan and I have veered into the realms of Facebook Live and are planning a possible YouTube series. Downloads have been a little low for the past three episodes, so we’re going to work harder on our branding, advertising and marketing. Really all I’ve committed to for that is sharing each episode on Facebook (I fell outta practice for a bit and you can see the difference!).

Otherwise, we planned episodes through January or so of next year and are excited to have a bunch of guests over the next few episodes!

Novel: A+

Well that’s nice to see. Finished the first three chapters of Alex yesterday. Looking goooood. Need to finish up the next three chapters this week and then edit and proofread what I have before sending out to Beta Readers in mid-September.

Actually, will be researching ways to disperse documents and calling online for more readers this coming week, as well.

Novel is really (finally) coming together! Am terrified and excited to let it out of the nest and see if it can fly…

Audio Book Narration: B

I uploaded my three narrator samples this week but didn’t do anything else. I’m going to give a month or so more to the SEO company I work for, while also sending in five or so auditions for audio book narration. If I’m still not making any money from SEO at the end of September, I’m going to quit that job and focus solely on audio book narration.

The whole point is to find something that I can do from home while also allowing time to write. SEO is easy and doesn’t take too long (and is technically writing, which is good), but it pays so little that I’m beginning to think I’m wasting my time (and a lot of time) writing articles for random assholes online. Buuuut if I could get just a bit faster…maybe I could do both? There are multiple income streams hidden in these goals: that’s the point.

Grad School: A+

The big news in grad school goal-setting is that I have decided what I’ll be sending to schools (“Given Away” – very short story; “Night Market” – short story; novel excerpt –  first half(ish) of book.

I also have confirmed 2/3 grad school recommendations and spent about 10 hours writing “Night Market” short story. Really cool origin story: “Night Market” is a cut chapter from my book that I struggled and struggled to write before finally giving up on it. Thankfully, I kept all the notes/quotes/bits/outline/etc., and now that the story, protagonist and antagonist are different (the place is the same and in the same universe as Alex), the story is significantly easier to write. I guess it just wasn’t right for the novel. But whatever! That’s fine, especially since I’m getting to use all the (hours of) research!

Cumulative: B-

All my novel and short story work saved my cumulative this week. Next week I’m focusing in again on blog (ugh I said this last week and somehow those seven days just flewwww by) without lessening my writing time and work. Gonna cool off SEO writing for a minute (at least until I get my paycheck!) and spend that time on audio book narration, instead.

In Other News: I made a fruit salad, smoked almost a whole carton of cigarettes and called my sister.

I’m Reading: Alright I’m officially embarrassed. Have been spending all my time on TV binge-watching and writing and etc. and have sadly not been reading v. much. Still working on Cold Iron (which is okay) and The Language of the Night (which is okay). Perhaps these aren’t the books for me right now, since I can’t seem to get through them, but I  really think it’s more me than the books. SORRY EXCUSE FOR LITERATURE FAN. Imagine me screaming that at myself in the mirror and sobbing!

-M