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Post by bill on Aug 6, 2018 0:18:54 GMT
I'm so glad we got time to visit yesterday! So encouraging and inspiring - wish we could do it more often!
A World Amongst - I got about half the section written (rough draft). My goal is to finish this week, which could be a stretch with Old Settler's Days next weekend. I also want to get the rough drafts written for the synopsis and query letter. It may be too ambitious, but I'll try.
Eating Crow Comics - I reviewed the digital file today and sent in a few minor adjustments. I would think it will be available this week.
Marketing - We have a summer intern at our church who put together a slide show for our church. I asked him if he wanted to do one for my business and he agreed, so I'm going to try to pull together all the pictures I can (they are NOT organized) and have him do it. I may do one for Bill Bush Author and one for Snader Publishing, if he'll agree. I'm not sure what all I'll use it for, but he did a good job and surely I can find a use on Facebook and/of my website.
I'll have a vendor booth set up next weekend here in Halstead for Old Settler's Days. I'm sharing the booth with another local author and my new comic strip author. If nothing else, it will be fun to see his excitement as his book will be available for the first time in public.
Zentron - I should receive my final proofread manuscript and the new picture of Blake and I this week. If they both come through I will have everything needed to Cat by this time next week. I cannot tell you how excited I am to have the new covers coming (although I know I tried yesterday), and for Zentron to release. I'm going to try everything I can to drum up excitement about it.
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Post by Admin on Aug 6, 2018 10:29:01 GMT
My goal today is to get safely home. Tomorrow morning I'll pick up Dixie and get life back to normal.
Knock Knock I will find time this week to finish the typing in. Once its in one ms. I need to read through it to smooth it out and get it clean enough to send to the editor. If I know what my word count is I can go ahead and contact to editor so I can get in line. Once I know when it needs to go in the deadline will push me to get it done. I don't miss deadlines.
I handed off Kay's book to Sharon. She feels called to work on it so, right now, its off my plate.
While Knock Knock is at the editor, I'll write out the scene cards for Cosmic Justice. I need to get a rough draft written for it asap.
I want to start putting Journals for Luciana on to Patreon along with appropriate incentives. I'll do a bit more research on pricing from other patreon users so I'm competitive and not pricing myself too high, or too low.
Joshua needs to get back on a regular writing schedule and he wants to start painting again. I'll work with him to get a schedule that pleases him.
I have an appointment with the orthopedic doctor on Wednesday. I don't anticipate any surprises there. I just want to know how much I'm going to have to adjust how I do things.
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Post by Admin on Aug 13, 2018 12:07:16 GMT
I started typing on Knock Knock again. Had a printer glitch but got it straightened out. I will continue typing in the ms. I'm 2/3 of the way through. As soon as I have one complete ms. then I'll print out a new copy and proof read it to clean it up. As soon as I know what my final word count is I'll get in touch with the editor so I can have a submission date.
I handed Kay's story off to Sharon. She feels called to work on it and I'll let her. It gets it off my plate. I might still have to write it but at least she's working on it in the meantime.
I have Patreon live. Got my first follower. Facebook offered me a $30 ad credit so I took it. I figure Patreon is the place to use it. The ad was to run for 24 hours. I'll see how it goes. I did pick up one new like for the page so I'm up to 334. Considering I have over 3000 on my personal page, I have a long way to go. But its a start.
I will add an original coloring page to the benefits. This is easy enough to do since I use detailed drawings when I'm pulling together my painting compositions. I can re-purpose those drawings as coloring pages. I also want to start sharing my comic strip journey. And I will begin to expand on my Walk with Me blog to begin creating a place for Joshua's Journey. Those are all things that people have asked for so I'm offering it as part of my benefits package.
As soon as Knock Knock leaves my hands, I'm going to write out the scene cards for Cosmic Justice. I want that third book written and to the editor by Dec. I'd love to have it out before Jan. 1st but its hard to maintain focus. I know what the story is about. I just need to get it written.
It feels good to be working again. Tutor comes this morning. So I have to clean house. Josh needs shaved and cleaned up. The bath nurse didn't come last week. I need to get help that is more reliable. But I don't know how to get that done.
Hope to hear how your weekend went.
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Post by bill on Aug 14, 2018 2:36:03 GMT
It's good to see you focused and working again. I especially love the idea of sharing your Walk with Me blog - such great stuff!
I'll get my activities caught up in a day or two and share about the weekend. It went really well, but I've been almost non-stop since last week.
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Post by bill on Aug 20, 2018 2:45:48 GMT
Zentron - I have the manuscript finished and sent to Cat. Hopefully later this week I'll have the files to upload. So close!
A World Amongst - I have the rough draft for the third section written. I have the query letter almost final, rewrote the first two chapters (still need to review them), and have the synopsis written, though it needs some work. I want to finalize these items for the Zebulon contest this week.
Mystery - I need to pare down my synopsis for Zebulon. It can't be more than 500 words. Yikes!
Millionaire - I hope to start on the contest package this week. I need to write all three - query letter, synopsis, and first 2,500 words. I know the story and have much of it written, so this is doable.
Marketing - Nothing planned until mid September. I need the break, plus want to get the new book out before my next event. Good timing!
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Post by Admin on Aug 20, 2018 12:14:10 GMT
This week I'm going to schedule more content to Patreon. So far, only 3 followers and I think you're one of them so thank you. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm doing Patreon so I don't have to filter my work and I find myself always thinking about what the reader will want instead of thinking about what I need to write.
I've been looking for a particular piece of writing that I did years ago. I liked it but had no idea what to do with it. It occurred to me its exactly what I need for Luciana's journals. It is a key element in helping her regain her sanity. I can't find it in my documents. But I remembered that I have a lot of flash drives that I put stuff on when I was moving from computer to computer. I'm going to go through them this morning and see what I can find. At the very least, I should find articles and poetry from my newspaper gig. I'm thinking of adding a $1 dollar tier that gives the reader access to the articles/blog. I might also go in and drop the coloring page to a $1 tier.
I'm playing around with the idea of having something free. I put the intro to the journals on public. and I put the first chapter on a three days private then go public. I thought giving readers a glimpse of what the voice sounds like might tempt them to follow. I don't know if that will work, or not, but it can't hurt.
I was offered a $30 credit from Facebook to try their advertising. It got me seen by 3000 when my normal reach is only two digit. I added two new likes so I'm up to 335 when it had been 332 forever. I tried a $5 ad but it didn't do nearly as well. A couple of hundred reach and no new likes but it still did better than no ad at all. I think my ad was too wordy so next time I'll be really careful about what I'm saying. I'll use fewer words and see if that does. I'm thinking about budgeting $5.00 a month for Facebook ads. Used wisely, it might garner me some momentum.
I did get a few linked in requests and they looked to be industry people. Most likely, I'll get hit up for services that I might need but that's okay. I might need them at some point. But it does show me that somehow, I'm getting seen on Linked in more than I was. I got some activity from Goodreads. I think that came from my posting a new blog. Goodreads has a widget you can put on your website and it automatically puts your blog on goodreads. I do the same thing with Amazon so my Amazon author page has activity from the blog. The more active we are on the Amazon author page the more Amazon realizes we're an active author looking to promote. The more motivated we are, the more help we get from that area. That's how it used to work anyway.
I continue to get Knock Knock typed in. I don't give it enough hours. I need to prioritize it higher. Once it's done I can dive right into Cosmic Justice.
That's it from, I think. I need to get more artwork started. Joshua didn't get to paint. He was out of his chair all weekend. He had an abscess I didn't know about and it blew open. It was draining pretty good and I didn't want him sitting on it. So he was bored, bored, bored, but until we get a new chair I need to limit his time in it. I'm sure the abscess was from pressure. I might see if I can get an antibiotic from the doctor today. There was a lot of pus and where it's at worries me.
I'm not getting done as much as I'd like but I'm getting something done and that's better than nothing.
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Post by Admin on Aug 22, 2018 21:50:51 GMT
I got signed up with Stripe. I still don't know how to use it but I seem to have it connected to Medium. I'll pull up one of my articles, clean it up, freshen it up, and post it to Medium to see if I can get in on their paid program. I don't know if I have to pass an inspection or what, but I'll give it a product and see how it works. If I can get one published, I'll post one a week over there, and see if it begins to generate income.
My goal this year was to open of streams of income, no matter how small. I'm feeling pretty good so far. I have fineartamerica. Patreon, Medium, and Knock Knock will come out soon. I need to raise it higher on my priority list.
I'm creating the backstory for Luciana and when its done, I can pull it together for either a novella, or an anthology, depending on how the storyline moves.
I'm working on pulling together information for JOshua's coffee table book of art. I'm generating a lot more information than I planned on but some of it I may be able to recycle on Medium.
Same with Dahlink and Dumplink. A lot of information coming that I didn't plan on but its relevant to the journey and I might be able to pull pieces of it for articles. And the cartoon strip, as it develops will also become either a syndicated strip, or a graphic book.
I feel good about where things are moving. Joshua is still working on his picture books. I'm still pushing my artwork to new levels.
I'm thinking of letting Josh's bath nurse go. At least through the winter months. His speech therapist goes on maternity leave the first part of November. So speech will be done soon. The tutor won't last past December. I'm looking forward to a winter without outside distractions. I want time to work. And Joshua needs time to concentrate on his goals.
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Post by bill on Aug 23, 2018 2:25:21 GMT
I hadn't heard of Medium until I read your forum today. I still need to learn more, but it's intriguing and I think I would try it before Patreon.
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Post by Admin on Aug 23, 2018 3:12:52 GMT
I'd never heard of it before today either. I'm on it. I've had a lot of activity today on the website but I can't tell what generated it. In a matter of about 4 hours I had 8 views and 3 reads on Medium. No money generated yet but I think I'll put an article a day up for 5 days just to give myself a bit of a backlist. Then I'll slow down to one a week, for a month, and then taper off to one a month. I'll adjust once I analyze how it goes.
I like Patreon only because it gives me the playground I would have paid money to build. It suits my purposes for right now and I'll use it to create at least 4 books/comic strip out of it. I'm creating future books so it feels like useful writing.
I was thinking about your newspaper articles and your short stories. Medium might be a good fit for you. I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to get paid. I had to get a Stripe (?) account first then connect Medium to Stripe. And both of them had to be connected to my business account. I have a separate account, OurHomeStudio so that isn't a problem. I connect all my business to that account. It never carries much in it but it would sure be nice to see the business running in the black for a change.
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Post by Admin on Aug 26, 2018 3:43:20 GMT
I posted stats on Holly's boards so I won't repeat them here. I'm tired tonight. i feel like I got a lot done this week. I'm set up on Medium. Continuing to put content on Patreon. I'm excited about that because it will give me 3 potential publishable things. so I feel like the work I do there will pay off in the long run. The work I put on Medium is already written. It just needs updated, freshened up, and I think my writing is better than it was when I originally wrote them. I won't know if anything earned money until Wed. They post on Wed. It looks like, according to Juneta, that Medium is a more immediate market, and fluctuates a lot. I put 3 different kinds of posts up trying to get a feel for what people like to read. The one that did best was the intro to Joshua's Journey so I'm thinking personal interest stories resonate. But the one that received the fewest views still had a 50% read ratio. So I don't think its too bad.
getting patrons seems to be the hardest thing. I think as more content gets put up the site will look more attractive. I still can't figure out the jump from 20 viewers on my website jumping to 205 in 24 hours. The only thing I can think of is the activity on Medium and Patreon. Or maybe just the new blog that showed up on Amazon and Goodreads. I'll have to make sure I get a new blog up more often. I also need to update Joshua's website. The analytics aren't working over there so I have to figure out why.
I need to move Knock Knock higher on my priority list. Joshua needs to work more on his tobii and his projects. I need to call NuMotion and find out about an appointment to pull the mold for the new chair. I need to order his food. And I need to set up six more sessions with the speech therapist.
I have appointments every day this week so I'm not looking forward to the added stress. I'm tired right now and think I'll head for bed. Maybe I'll actually sleep well tonight. I could use it.
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Post by bill on Aug 27, 2018 3:51:32 GMT
I followed as much as I could your progress on Holly's site. You've had a busy week and I'm excited for you. As soon as I get some time I want to research Medium. It sounds like a possible income stream that could produce quickly. And I have a backlog of writings I could potentially use, though as you said, I don't know what type of writing does best there.
Zentron - My printed files are loaded and my proof is ordered. I'm seriously close to having it out!
Vetrix series - I have changed the covers of the other three books and ordered their proofs. If all looks right I'll upload the electronic versions and order a few books to sell. Hopefully the covers will help drive sales
Ghosts in the Quarry - I also uploaded these files this week and ordered the proof from Createspace. I also can't wait to get this out. I love the cover and am most excited because I don't think anyone (not many, anyway) has read this story of Mom's.
Marketing - I have events on Sep 8 and 15, but nothing afterwards until November. Oct will be hard because two weekends are taken with cross country. I'd still like to find at least one event to do.
Zebulon Contest - I almost have my documents ready for two of my submissions. I don't know if I'll get the third one entered or not. I've started, but with so much story yet to write I don't know if I can write a beginning I'll be happy with. We'll see how it works out in the next few weeks.
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Post by bill on Sept 4, 2018 3:03:39 GMT
Zentron - I've read the proof and Cat is making a handful of changes to the file. I should have it tomorrow, will upload it and order books.
Vetrix series - I've uploaded the files and ordered books today.
Ghosts in the Quarry - I've uploaded the files and ordered books.
Marketing - I signed up for Medium and put my first article out. I don't have a plan yet, but will try to figure it out as I go. I have a LOT to learn!
Zebulon Contest - I sent the files to my dad for the mystery so he could proof read. I think I still want to do some work on the first chapter of my ghost story. I'm struggling to get it right.
A World Amongst - I'm working my way through section 3. I hope to finish a decent draft in the next couple of weeks.
I've been discouraged lately and I know a lot of it has to do with my job. I made myself pause this weekend and reflect. It's hard to believe that only 16 months ago I published my first novel. Now my third novel and sixth book is coming out. It seems like so much longer ago. Remembering that helped put things in perspective. I've really just started and can't expect more than I have. I need to keep working hard, pushing forward, and remain patient. I have a long journey ahead of me because I won't stop until, well, never actually. There is no stop on this journey.
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Post by Admin on Sept 4, 2018 3:45:49 GMT
You got that right. Every time I think of quitting that little voice in my head tells me, "I haven't tried everything yet." And if I did stop, I'd be bored. I will say this, even though I've only got a couple of weeks on Medium and just short of a month on Patreon, I can see potential income. I've made more money in one month that I've made all year with the novels. I think finding opportunities for passive income, which simply means, posting work, and letting it ride while we go do other stuff, is the way to establish a base income. Quality articles will draw followers. I have an idea for putting something on youtube that may start an income stream. I'd like to do some short video clips on how I do some of my projects. In particular, what I call my version of adult coloring. It's how I create the colored pencil portraits. I'll do some research to see if anybody has the same thing out. If they do, I'll come up with another idea. If they don't, I'll run with it.
I think you'll enjoy the newspaper job. And you'll find a way to pad your income. I liked the first article you put up a lot. I think your style of writing will do well on Medium.
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Post by bill on Sept 5, 2018 3:18:55 GMT
Thank you. Hopefully I can find a niche on Medium and create an income. Hopefully we both can! As soon as I get settled I'll give Patreon some consideration. I'm hesitant to commit to a monthly production without a plan.
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Post by Admin on Sept 5, 2018 3:50:44 GMT
And Patreon might not be for everybody. In my case, I have stories I want to write and I've sort of given up on ever publishing traditionally. I want a playground and Patreon doesn't cost me anything to set up. I don't feel like its wasted time because most of what I develop on Patreon can be indie published down the road. If I can just wean myself off pleasing the reader, I'll have it made.
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