It's Always so Busy

We've hit back-to-school season where I'm from. K-12 students started back in the first week of the month. Working at the collegiate level gave me a few more weeks away, but my summer (such as it was--I taught a course over the break, so I didn't do much summering) ends Thursday. I've been trying to make use of the free time I've got left, and I think I've done a decent job. I've divided my time between making industry connections and gaining insight, author appearances and sales, and starting a new project.

Saturday, I spent the day at an Author-Preneur workshop hosted by the Corvisiero Literary agency (more on their workshops here, if you're interested). I went to a similar event in February, which I wrote about here. The crowd for this event was somewhat smaller--about 30 people as opposed to 100. But that worked for me. There was more opportunity for interaction and questions. It's always useful to hear about the publishing industry from people on the inside (even if there is a very enthusiastic church service in the next room that keeps getting loud--nothing like publishing advice peppered with a few "hallelujahs"). I can't stress enough how much writers can benefit from events like this one. In a lot of ways, publishing can seem like an impersonal, faceless industry. These workshops let you see some of the people involved and get some face time. They offer a glimpse into what the people evaluating your work are thinking.

This Saturday, I'll be focusing my efforts on selling some books. I'm participating in the Southern Authors Expo at the Huntsville Public Library. I've ordered books already.

This is what I'm taking to the Expo! The books, not the cat. Rascal is not for sale.

I haven't had much opportunity to pound the pavement with EVIN, so I'm excited to get out there and put my book in people's hands. I'm also looking forward to networking with other local authors and sitting in on a few panels, if I get the chance. My book has been to a few events like this, but this is the first time I'll get to sell copies in person. That potential for connection with a reader is probably what I'm most looking forward to.

Also, there will be food trucks--which is not relevant to writing, but still exciting.

The other thing I've been devoting my time to in the waning weeks of summer is a new project. Project 2016 is about as polished as I can get it without some outside help, and I've been researching where to find that help. But I want to keep working in the meantime. The obvious thing would be to work on the second book of the series--I actually have an older draft of it that I could start sprucing up. Instead, I'm starting something new. I want to take a bit of a break from the Delphinus universe so that I can come back to it with fresh eyes.

And this new idea is begging me to spend some time with it.

I spent last week getting down what is, for a lack of better words, a long, shitty synopsis. I've done a few character sketches and some world building. This week, I wrote the first few hundred words. They're wonderful and terrible, as starts of first drafts always are. My goal is to have an alpha draft done by the end of the year, which might be difficult with my work schedule, but should be doable.

I'm a little sad to have to go back to devoting most of my time to my day job rather than my writing, but maybe the shift will be good for me. I've been productive this summer, but I've not done so well with sticking to a schedule (as the updates on this blog suggest). Here's hoping the busy time will help me get back on track.