End of 2019 Report.

On the first of every new month, I have posted a small report on how I did during the previous month. The point of it is to show that I’m still putting my money where my mouth is. This tradition will continue, except for this report shall be for all of 2019 and not just December. I will talk about my accomplishments for December first, then move into 2019 as a whole.

DECEMBER ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. I wrote 43,627 words.
2. I have written for 365 days in a row.
3. I have finished the first draft of my story with the temp title: Werewolf.
4. I have passed the 500k mark in total yearly words at 526k.
5. I am working on re-editing my Felix books
6. I wrote my weekly blog posts.

EXAMINATION OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. The entire intention of December was to take it easy as I wrote just over 63k words in November. I managed to write just over 43k words. I was worried about burn-out, and I decided that it was a bad idea to do too much over the holidays. I needed to work on my editing.
2. This is still the longest number of days in a row I have written by far. I have written 365 days in a row. My min to count as a daily goal was 150 words. I intend to keep this going. As I have no intention of stopping that streek any time soon.
3. My Werewolf story started out as a short story for a class I took. It needed to become a novel and will eventually be a trilogy. I have finished the first draft of the first book.
4. I have passed the 500k mark. In my word counts. As part of it, I have started working on some projects I can’t talk about. It will be counted in my daily word count, but you won’t hear much about it. I apologize for that. I wish to be more transparent with you all, but I can’t in this case.
5. I’m editing my Phantom Sorcerer story, and that is progressing. I should get the first of it done by the end of January. For those that have already bought it, once the new edition is published, then you can update it manually in your kindle app.
6. My blog posts are still happening.

RECAP OF THE UPDATED 2019 GOALS

1. Write 500,000 words in personal, non-school related projects.
2. Complete and publish Felix #2, Felix #3, Des O’Neal #1, Des O’Neal #2, Des O’Neal #3, Jovian Marines #1, Jovian Marines #2, Jovian Marines #3, Mech Warrior #1, Mech Warrior #2, Mech Warrior #3.
   1. Complete and Publish VRMMORPG
3. Correct cover for Felix #1.
4. Write four blog posts per month
5. Give Felix #1 and Tokyo Tempest #1 a proofread.
6. Complete and submit to market Terran Marine Raider short #1, Terran Marine Raider short #2, and RPG Death short.
   1. Added goal: complete and submit to market, JSS Leda (New title: From Planet Everdark), secret short #2 (New Title: Rise of the Ghids), and secret short #3 (New Title: Sailing Vessel Wanderlust: the Delivery).
7. Earn $1000.00 a month from novels.
8. Relaunch publishing company with a new, stronger name.
9. Get 1 client for editing services.
10. NEW GOAL: Write for 365 Days in a row of at least 100 words per day.

2019 GOALS DEBRIEF

This year has been a mix of ups and downs. I’ve had a mix of good days and bad days and ups and downs. I have burned-out once during with the stress of it all, but I recovered. The biggest thing about the year was that it has taught me discipline over motivation. I have talked about it multiple times in my blogs and will talk about it numerous times in the future.

1. 500k Words. I will be going over the details of my experiences of the first goal in a future post. But, in 2019, the primary goal is the one I was hoping would set up the rest. It is one of the few 2019 goals I have accomplished.
2. I had written a plan of what projects I was going to accomplish. But as things got added on and things changed, those went out the window. I have updated the plan multiple times throughout the year, and I have a new 2020 plan on what projects I want to write.
3. I have a new cover for Felix #1, but with the re-edit, that is not something I count as being done. It will be considered done.
4. I have managed to get a blog post each month about different subjects. Some of it about being creative, some of it writing. I tend to keep away from talking about writing.
5. This goal is a work in progress. I should have it done in 2020.
6. The two short stories I was hoping to be submitted to market didn’t happen. I have a publisher interested in one of them. But he isn’t doing another Mil Sci-Fi anthology in the near future. They are on the block of projects to work on during 2020 if I get time.
   1. The short stories From Planet Everdark, Rise of the Ghids have been published in anthologies. Click on the links to check them out. News about Sailing Vessel Wanderlust: the Delivery is forthcoming.
7. Earn $1000 per month. The naivety in that goal is thick. There was no way I was going to make that goal. Perhaps if I managed to get all the books published that I wanted to.
8. The publishing imprint has been relaunched with a better name. I am more happy with the name Atomic Slingshot Press.
9. Another goal that is thick with naivety. I do want to launch editing services, but that will have to happen in the future.
10. This goal is the second goal I’m most happy with. I have written 365 days in a row. And I know. Most people aren’t going to believe me. I have a kept records and here is an image of the chart.:

I will be posting about my 2020 goals. A friend of mine has told me that I need to post 20 goals for 2020.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavors, please sign up for my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

End of November 2019 Report

As is now tradition, this is the post of the end of November. I’m still putting my money where my mouth is.

RECAP OF THE UPDATED 2019 GOALS

1. Write 500,000 words in personal, non-school related projects.
2. Complete and publish Felix #2, Felix #3, Des O’Neal #1, Des O’Neal #2, Des O’Neal #3, Jovian Marines #1, Jovian Marines #2, Jovian Marines #3, Mech Warrior #1, Mech Warrior #2, Mech Warrior #3.
   1. Complete and Publish VRMMORPG
3. Correct cover for Felix #1.
4. Write four blog posts per month
5. Give Felix #1 and Tokyo Tempest #1 a proofread.
6. Complete and submit to market Terran Marine Raider short #1, Terran Marine Raider short #2, and RPG Death short.
   1. Added goal: complete and submit to market, JSS Leda (New title: From Planet Everdark), secret short #2 (New Title: Rise of the Ghids) and secret short #3 (New Title: Sailing Vessel Wanderlust: the Delivery).
7. Earn $1000.00 a month from novels.
8. Relaunch publishing company with a new, stronger name.
9. Get 1 client for editing services.
10. NEW GOAL: Write for 365 Days in a row of at least 100 words per day.

NOVEMBER ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. I wrote 63,026 words.
2. I have written for 335 days in a row.
3. I have finished and published a short story called Respawned Glory.
4. I have also started working on an unplanned werewolf story. More details on it below.
5. I have passed the 475k mark in total yearly words at 483k.
6. Working with a local cover artist for a bunch of covers for books.
7. I finished editing my VRMMORPG story, and I am now working on editing my Felix Series.
8. Wrote 4 blog posts during June.

EXAMINATION OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. I wrote just over 63k words in November. This was the best month I have ever had this year. I don’t know if any others could have been better, as I never kept track of them. This makes up for October and some of my other miserable months. It also means that I can drop my daily word goal down to 1k words and concentrate more on getting my editing done.
2. This is still the longest days in a row I have written by far as well as the longest yearly word count. I count that as a win. My goal is to write 365 days in a row. Honestly, this is one of the big reasons why I write every day. 335 days in a row. I have no intention of stopping that streek any time soon.
3. I have news about the short Sailing Vessel Wanderlust: the Delivery, but I still have nothing that I talk about yet. I expect that I should be able to release information on it soon. 
4. I completed the edits for my VRMMORPG story. This was quicker to edit than the Mechwarrior story. Now I need to figure out a cover.
5. I discovered that during writing Phantom Sorcerer and Felix #2, I didn’t write down many notes. I also found that I have grown as a writer, and Phantom Sorcerer no longer meets my standards. I have pulled it down from my store, and I will be doing a new edition of it with a new cover. For those that have already bought it, once the new edition is published, then you can update it manually in your kindle app.
6. I’m working on using some of the short stories I have written for school as filler projects. A part of the problem is trying to pick up an old project. So I’m going to work on something small as a pallet cleanser. Perhaps use them as Patreon awards, or publish them on Amazon. Not sure yet.
7. A local cover artist, not my wife, is working on what I am calling “art assets.” These are so my wife can turn them into beautiful covers. They will be works of art on there own but will have no titling, which is why I need my wife.
8. My blog posts are still happening.

PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

This month was the best one ever. The plan for next month is to work on my werewolf story and get my Felix stories edited. I need to get to the third in the trilogy, and I want to be working on it early next year. This means that I must have my edits done by the end of December. This might not happen as things take time. With the semester winding down, I should have more time to get some more things done.

Publishing wise, the significant roadblock is editing, which I’m working on, and covers. Once I get those figured out, things will drop fast. It’s what got me to work faster and harder at this.

There are still problems in my methods, and I have come to realize that I can’t do all of this by myself. With my editing, I need others to help with a final pass. That despite give my books time to rest, I am still too close to them. With covers, I don’t have the time to learn the skills to take what’s in my head and put it on paper. I need help from people to do just that. Publishing is not a single person enterprise, and it will take a team of people to do this.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavours, please sign up for my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

End of March 2019 Report

As like the post for the end of January, this is the post of the end of March. I am still putting my money where my mouth is.

RECAP OF 2019 GOALS

1. Write 500,000 words in personal, non-school related projects.
2. Complete and publish Felix #2, Felix #3, Des O’Neal #1, Des O’Neal #2, Des O’Neal #3, Jovian Marines #1, Jovian Marines #2, Jovian Marines #3, Mech Warrior #1, Mech Warrior #2, Mech Warrior #3.
3. Correct cover for Felix #1.
4. Write four blog posts per month
5. Give Felix #1 and Tokyo Tempest #1 a proofread.
6. Complete and submit to market Terran Marine Raider short #1, Terran Marine Raider short #2, and RPG Death short.
   1. Added goal: complete and submit to market, JSS Leda, secret short #2 and secret short #3.
7. Earn $1000.00 a month from novels.
8. Relaunch publishing company with a new, stronger name.
9. Get 1 client for editing services.

MARCH ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. I wrote 42,240 words.
2. I have reached my 90 day-in-a-row point, which is also at the approx one-quarter mark in the days of the year.
3. I have passed the one-quarter mark in total yearly words at 127k.
4. I hit the publish button on Des O’Neal #1, retitled as The O’Neal Saboteur. For those that haven’t, the book can be found here.
5. Wrote a short story with a working title called the JSS Leda.
6. Working with a local cover artist for a bunch of covers for books.
7. Edited Terran Marine Raider #1.
8. Still worked on editing Jovian Marines #1.
9. Wrote 5 blog posts during March (Extra week.)

EXAMINATION OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. I wrote just over 42k words in March. While it is larger than my monthly total for February, there are more days in March and, as such, my daily count has taken a beating. I wrote 100 words a day on average in February than in March. Being on track for total words is good, especially with my semester ending and a bit of free time to write more words and gain a bit of a buffer for the next summer semester.
2. No books have been first drafted this month. However, I finally hit the button on The O’Neal Saboteur. It is out now.
3. I have a secret. It involves my short story JSS Leda (working title), and once I can announce more information, then I shall announce.
4. A local cover artist, not my wife is working on what I am calling “art assets.” These are so my wife can turn them into beautiful covers. They will be works of art on there own but will have no titling, which is why I need my wife.
5. The edits of Jovian Marines #1 are ongoing. The title of which will be The Missed Drop Zone. It will be in the Odinite Campaign Saga. It was put on hold while I worked on the super secret project. I expect to pick it up soon.
6. As you can see from my previous posts, I have written five blog posts with them going live on Sundays. This month I wrote about my mishmash ideas and concepts stemming from the stress of going to school full time and doing something crazy like writing 500k words and publishing the work.

PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

This by far was the hardest month for me. Despite publishing one work, it has been hard to keep going. The changing of projects make things hard as well. I suffer from a slowdown of words as I change and start up the next project.

I’m currently working on the second O’Neal book, it is going to have the title, The O’Neal Kidnapped. I am 30k into it, not including the words in my first go that I did last year. This is another of my incompletes. However, it has the issue of me having to weave new words with old instead of only taking words onto the end like the previous books.

I will get Missed Drop Zone finished edited this month. It has become a joke of being put off. It will happen and soon. I hope to have it published by the end of April. However, I am not setting a date on it until it is ready. It’s not ready.

As you may have noticed, I have added a subgoal of some short stories that I need to write. They are secret, and I will talk about them soon. I have also crossed off the RPG Death Short. It is being used in a school project, and as such, I can’t write that story. Maybe later I will post the story.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavours, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

Procrastination: The Devil Within

Procrastination

[proh-kras-tuh–ney-shuh] noun. the act or habit of procrastinating, or putting off or delaying, especially something requiring immediate action.  

Procrastination is a plague that hampers the vast majority of people in their daily lives. People tend to wait until the last minute to do anything. How many college students go through their school lives doing their assignments the night before? Even those who work for a living; how often do they wait until right before the report is due to work on it.

The question is rhetorical–we all know the answer. You wouldn’t be reading this blog if you didn’t have a problem with procrastination to some extent. Procrastination affects most people in all walks of life. From the very old to the very young and everyone in between.  Some say that without the very last minute, nothing gets done.

How it affects me?

To me, procrastination is the epitome of a bad day. When I fall into the procrastination trap, it turns a bad morning into a worse day that is near impossible to correct. To keep the evil devil away, many things  have to happen or else I don’t have the productive day that I desire.

As I have stated in past blogs, I write a daily list of things I want to get done the night before. This reinforces what I need to get done and keeps me motivated to stay on track with what I need to do.

I must also make sure  I get to sleep at a decent time. Staying up all night doesn’t help the next day at all. Getting to sleep and having a restful sleep is important. I do suffer from bouts of insomnia; however, it is stress related. My stress, at the moment, is on the low side. If it rises, I will suffer from days on end of it, but I do have remedies for that. It is not as good as going to sleep properly, but it is better than nothing.

The next thing is getting up at a decent time. I know there are many people that say that when you get up doesn’t matter. That as long as you are sleeping for the necessary amount of hours and are able to make it to other events like work or school, then who cares. Unless you work graveyards, in my opinion, then getting up at a decent time sets up the day. For me, having kids, they have school early, and that means that I have to be functional during that time. It is a given. So, by getting up at a decent time and fully rested, then I have a solid foundation to work.

The third thing is food. For me when I am working on a project, I get sidetracked, and I forget to eat. The day disappears, and it is soon getting dark, and all I’ve had is the four cups of coffee. The term ‘hangry’ comes to mind. It’s not good for getting things done. All it takes is one distraction on an empty stomach then the hangry takes over, and then I put things off. Once I put it off, I end up going down a rabbit hole that never ends up well.

What does this all mean?

Some think that all you have to do is simply do the work. Putting things off until the last minute is a lazy thing to do. Usually, most people come to realize and remorse that they have procrastinated. However, this is not always the case. For some, they are lazy, and they procrastinate because of it. However, there is usually an underlining issue that affects them. Bad habits, and mental blocks.

Bad Habits

Habits, both good and bad take time to set in place. Like good concrete, or good wine. It all takes time. The 21 days habit myth has been floating around the internet for ages, but it isn’t necessarily the case. Studies have shown that habits take between 18 and 256 days to form with the average being 66 days. This is significant, cause for one person it might take only a few weeks to break the procrastination bug, while others it will take longer.

However, a person with the bad habit of procrastinating must set himself up with methods and tricks to get him to move him to action. To break the pattern, it must be done daily for a few months. It is like learning how to drive. When I learned how to drive, I had to say the actions that I did before I did them. Cause I was afraid that I would forget to do them. I did that for weeks, to the horror of my mother I am sure. Then one day I stopped saying the words as the actions had become second nature to me. That is what needs to happen. To stop procrastinating and make the goals that I have set happen, I need to break the procrastinating habit using all of the tricks listed above.

Mental Blocks

Please note, that this is not writer’s block. It doesn’t exist. I have written about it in the past, and I may revisit it at some point in the future. This is a mental block to do the task that needs to get done. It is when the thought of it stops someone from doing it. Me, it is large crowds and long lineups. I hate them. As such, I hate the mall and going to government buildings to get things done. Unless I absolutely need to, I won’t do it. I will procrastinate going as much as I can for as long as I can.

Now, going to the mall or sitting in a long line up has nothing to do with my goal. But it may be necessary for other goals that I make. At that point, I am going to have to deal with it and do it. It is a given. But for writing, as it is my goal, sometimes the issue comes from not knowing where the story is going. This creates a block that sometimes makes it hard to push forward and get the work done. This easily leads to distraction and the issues of sleep and food become a big issue. If I am struggling with where the story is going, and I haven’t eaten or didn’t sleep, then the issue compounds. I end up procrastinating.

The Strategy

For those that want to end the plague of procrastination that has engulfed your life, you need to figure out what sets off the dreaded procrastination. Once you figure out the problem, then it is easier to develop a strategy to overcome those issues. My list above is what works for me. It may not be what works for you.

If you enjoyed this and wish to support me and my efforts, please feel free to buy one of my books available on Amazon.com. Or you can buy me a coffee. Until next time.

Stay shiny.

2018: Recap. Next up 2019.

It is 2019 and where has the time gone? Time is the most tremendous and greatest asset that each of us acquires in our lifetime. Every day we get deposited 1,400 minutes into our daily account, and we spend them throughout the day. By the end of the year each of us we will spend 525,600 minutes. That is a half million minutes per day, every day for a full year.

The question is, did I spend my allocated 2018 half million minutes wisely, effectively and did I make my 2018 goals.

The short answer is no.

The long answer is I handicapped myself. I allowed my anxiety, paranoia, and life got in the way of my goals.

I published four manuscripts in 2018, but my goal was for twelve manuscripts. I wrote between 200k to 350k words, but I didn’t keep track of my daily writing, and I am kicking myself in that regard. I have many books that are partially completed, but not published yet. It only matters when the button is pushed, and in order to push the button, I need to have the work in a publishable quality.

I have made mistakes along the way. I had published a book before it was ready, then removing it and scrapping it. I have published bad covers, lousy market copy, and other errors that I may not realize until it smacks me in the face.

Now, what is up for 2019? Am I going to limit my goals to something that I can get done?

This is me you are listening to. Remember one of my mantras?

If you don’t risk failure, then you don’t deserve success.

My goals for 2019.

1. Write 500,000 words in personal, non-school related projects.
2. Complete and publish Felix #2, Felix #3, Des O’Neal #1, Des O’Neal #2, Des O’Neal #3, Jovian Marines #1, Jovian Marines #2, Jovian Marines #3, Mech Warrior #1, Mech Warrior #2, Mech Warrior #3.
3. Correct cover for Felix #1.
4. Write four blog posts per month
5. Give Felix #1 and Tokyo Tempest #1 a proofread.
6. Complete and submit to market Terran Marine Raider short #1, Terran Marine Raider short #2, and RPG Death short.
7. Earn $1000.00 a month from novels.
8. Relaunch publishing company with a new, stronger name.
9. Get 1 client for editing services.

I have posted my goals on my cork board above my desk. They are staring me in the face every time I sit down at my desk, and I sit down at my desk a lot.

The break down of the goals.

Most of my goals will be completed by writing every day and completing and publishing the projects. The 500,000 words will finish the 11 books listed under number 2. Some of the books I have started, but not completed. I have started 7 of them. Again, in 2018, mistakes were made.

One of the mistakes was the cover for Felix the Swift: Phantom Sorcerer #1. The book is my strongest work published, and I feel that if I spend a bit of money I can get a stronger cover. The aim will be to rework the cover when I publish book 2.

I have dropped writing blog posts due to reasons, and it is a regret that I will correct.

I have noticed a few spelling errors in some of my books as well as a few misplaced commas. I will give the noted books a proofread and republish.

Some of the projects that I have been writing on is some short stories set in my science fiction world. I need to complete the stories and get them out on the market. There are a lot of indies publishing anthologies that I may be able to get them into.

Earning a monthly income from writing is a lofty goal, but if I can publish the books listed, there is a good chance that I can make that goal.

In regards to my publishing house name, I have never been happy with it. It is something that I need to think long and hard on, and a rebranding of it may be in the future. It may not be. We shall see what happens.

The last goal that I have deserves a blog post on its own, as well as a page with additional information. It is something that I strive towards, and I will go into it in the future.

Now the honest truth. Am I going to make my goals? They are very tall and very lofty. Plus I have a wife, two kids, and life to live. So am I going to make my goal?

At this moment, yes. I will make my goals. It is going to happen.

If you enjoy what I do and would like to help support me and my novels, feel free to buy me a coffee.