Author's Log Stardate 04112011

_TWOE_ should arrive in Fran Lewis's (reviewer) hands tomorrow. Will be the first pro review of my novel. One should never worry about something that one can do nothing about, but I am excited. Meanwhile ...

When Sensei Dean Wesley Smith isn't driving the point home to write, write, write, his wife Kristine Rusch is ... and they're both point on! Kristine just published a very informative piece about promotion here (and the comments are also informative) which illustrates that the best way to sell more books is ... to WRITE more books!

So what have I done to write more ... let's see - little league, ad-hoc consulting, house falling apart around me, more little league, college (going after my 2nd and LAST degree) ... did I mention LITTLE LEAGUE aka BLACK HOLE OF SUCKING SECONDS OF MY LIFE AWAY!

But I digress ...

Writing is an art and as with all true art forms, there is a discipline that must be attached in order to turn out work. The way the discipline is carried out varies from artist to artist but without discipline there simply is no art.

So, after reading Dean's and Kristine's words of wisdom on the subject of writing as a profession - I'm constantly working on refining my discipline.

For me, the best approach is working from macro to micro, like this:

Goal: Become an accomplished writer within five years (Accomplished = 15-20 novels published)

Objective:
- Write and publish 3-4 novels every 12 months

Target Pace: 300,000 to 400,000 words per year = @30,000 words per month = 6,900 words per week = 1,200 words per day.

Current Pace: On average, an abysmal 400 words per day.

No excuses, I simply need to keep my focus on the macro. The fact is that I will never write uniform amounts, so I need to really turn words out on paper when I'm in my groove ... and I need to get in my groove more days per week.

Right now I have two novels in my head. One I'm writing, one on a pad in bullet points.

Today, writing will be like pulling teeth.

Did I mention I'm also trying to lose 30 pounds ...

End transmission

(Please feel free to leave comments – your comments can be as helpful as anything I write for others. I hope this series turns out to be less my talking at you and more – a group of like-minded storytellers that self-publish or intend to. Peace & God Bless!)