November was busy, busy, busy. I put my YA dystopia on hold to take part in NaNoWriMo for the first time. I wanted to do it right, write 50k words on a new novel, though there are plenty of rebels who continue existing projects. For the first time I actually wrote down my outline, since I couldn’t start writing until the 1st of November. Usually I keep it in my head. I like the written outline. It was loosely written, with plenty of wiggle room, but it kept me pushing through on the word count.

Shiny!

I did it! 50K in one month. The book isn’t finished yet, I think it will take at least another 20k, but 50k in one month was great for keeping me focused. I also think the outline helped keep me from getting burnt out. When I did the July WriMo camp, at the end I felt like I never wanted to write again. I don’t feel that way this time.

The book is Nick of Time, and I’m really liking it. It’s a bit of a mystery with some speculative fiction thrown in. I think it’s going to be cool. My next plan is to finish it up, and then head back to working on Crucible Station while I give Nick some breathing room before the first re-write.

In the middle of NaNaWriMo, because I’m insane, I started a Kindle Scout Campaign. (Details below.) I don’t know what I was thinking. I didn’t know about Kindle Scout, and I got excited to try it, I guess. I’m enjoying the experience, but it requires nominations, and I am not the best self promoter. The campaign started great guns, but has hit some doldrums. I still have big hopes for it. A smaller campaign does not mean you won’t be selected, and a big booming one doesn’t mean you will be, but I do wish I was better at self promoting. Nope. That’s not really it. I wish I was more interested in it. It doesn’t come naturally to me and I’m simply not sure I want to take the time it would take away from writing my books to spend the sort of time it would take me to be good at it.

And I have to have time to do things like this before the leaf-eating dragon makes the rounds.

That’s what it all comes down to, isn’t it? How much effort it would take you specifically to get good at something, and how much it will take you away from what you really want to do. My opinion at the moment is that yes, I am willing to spend time building a social presence because it’s important and it can be fun. But only so much time. The time it would take me specifically to become a social media guru is not efficient. I’ve got two books to finish.

I’ve got my fingers and toes crossed for my KS campaign, and I spend some time on it every day. That’s where I am right now, and for now at least, that’s all right.

It’s time to vote!  I submitted my book, Descending, to Kindle Scout.  Descending has to get nominated to be noticed by the Kindle editors.

What to do:  If you have an Amazon account and you want to help, go to this link  https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/1GSTCATCKN5TS   and nominate Descending.  Each Amazon account holder gets 3 votes for books they’d like to see published.

What’s in it for you: If Descending is chosen for publication, every person who votes for it gets a FREE advance copy of the e-book, and an opportunity to review, if you wish, before anyone else.

How you can help: Vote, if you can.  Share this post with friends if you are willing.  Vote now!  Get a free e-book!