Tag: revising

Fiction Blog, Writing Updates

Month-End Update: December 2015

Kate M. Colby

Much like November, I do not have too much to report from December. Most of the month was spent getting through busy season at work and enjoying time with friends and family (though the latter through phone calls). Therefore, I’ll keep this short and sweet so we can finish off 2015 and focus on 2016!

As those of you who are reading this on the website will notice, I’ve already started on my 2016 resolutions by giving the website a fresh face. I’d love to know your thoughts (as well as if you notice any broken links!).

Writing/Drafting

  • Blog Posts Written — 6 (plus one reblog)
  • Fiction Words Written — 9,776
  • # of Days I Wrote Fiction — 9
  • # of Days I Wrote Non-Fiction — 6
  • Outlines Written — 0

Editing/Revising

  • Drafts Revised — 0
  • # of Days I Revised — 0
  • Misc. Editing — N/A

Reading

  • Books Begun/In-Progress
    • N/A

Author Business Activities

  • Worked with a graphic designer friend on covers for my non-fiction project(s)
  • Emailed a feedback survey to my newsletter and analyzed the results
  • Shipped signed copies of The Cogsmith’s Daughter to generous readers!

Goals for January

  • Redesign website (done!)
  • Continue working on Desertera #2
  • Finish (and, pending cover designs, publish) my first non-fiction booklet

How did your December go? Did you accomplish all you wanted to in 2015? What are you looking forward to in 2016? Share your progress in the comments!

 

Fiction Blog, Writing Updates

Month-End Update: November 2015

Kate M. Colby

Unfortunately (though, fortunately, for the late hour at which I’m writing), I don’t have much to report for November. Mostly, this is because I had an extended holiday to attend an academic conference with my husband and also go home to visit my friends and family after a long, arduous four months in Connecticut. Therefore, in the spirit of not having much to say, I’ll keep this one short and sweet.

Writing/Drafting

  • Blog Posts Written — 4 (plus one guest post and one reblog)
  • Fiction Words Written — 25,690
  • # of Days I Wrote Fiction — 13
  • Outlines Written — 0

Editing/Revising

  • Drafts Revised — 0
  • # of Days I Revised — 0
  • Misc. Editing — N/A

Reading

Author Business Activities

  • Free video series on growing a mailing list
  • Free video training on finding an audience
  • Shipping signed copies of The Cogsmith’s Daughter to generous readers!

Goals for December

  • Get back to a regular blogging schedule
  • Implement my new social media marketing schedule
  • Craft a marketing plan for 2016
  • Resume work on Desertera #2
  • Write 2016 resolutions (business and personal)

What have you accomplished this month? What are your goals for December? For *gasp* 2016? Share in the comments!

 

Fiction Blog, Writing Updates

Month-End Update: October 2015

Kate M. Colby

As most of you know, October revolved around the launch of my first novel. If it weren’t for my commute, which allows me ample reading time, I probably wouldn’t have accomplished much else! But, overall, I think October was a successful month. My first book is out in the world, and so far, it’s been relatively well-received. Now, it’s time for transition. It’s time to get focused on writing again and steer my website in a direction that is more reader-friendly (Don’t worry, I’ll still write about writing from time to time, too!).

But, for now, here’s what I accomplished this month:

Writing/Drafting

  • Blog Posts Written — 17
  • Fiction Words Written — 0
  • # of Days I Wrote Fiction — 0
  • Outlines Written — None, but I did write out my production schedule for 2016!

Editing/Revising

Reading

Author Business Activities

  • Successfully published The Cogsmith’s Daughter (Desertera #1)
  • Had a fantastic book launch blog tour – you can see all the posts here
  • Hosted a successful Goodreads giveaway
  • Did a few website tweaks, including PayPal links for readers to buy paperback copies
  • Downloaded Scrivener for my laptop (finally!)
  • Organized my production schedule for 2016 (and roughly for 2017 and 2018, too)

Goals for November

  • Win NaNoWriMo. That’s right, I am going down that rabbit hole again…even though I am fully aware that I do not have the time. I definitely will not be blogging every day like I did last year, but I’ll check in a few times to let you all know how I’m doing. You can also add me as a writing buddy, if you like. My username is KateMColby.

What have you accomplished this month? What are your goals for November? For the rest of the year?

 

Fiction Blog, Writing Updates

Month-End Update: September 2015

Kate M. Colby

Personally and professionally, this September was wonderful. Daniel and I celebrated our one-year anniversary as well as the three year anniversary of the convention at which we met. Also, I began the month with two blissful weeks of “you have a job…but you don’t have to start it yet.” This meant I got a lot done without the distractions of financial worries and job searching. To that end, I am officially a professional writer — in both my “day job” as a copywriter and in my “second job” as an independent author. I can’t even begin to describe how gratifying it is to finally see my hard work paying off in my reality. If only the two would learn to get along better. Being employed again sure takes a lot of time!

But, okay, enough feelings. Let’s look at the facts of what I accomplished this September:

Writing/Drafting

  • Blog Posts Written — 13
  • Fiction Words Written — 10,501
  • # of Days I Wrote Fiction — 5
  • Outlines Written — 1 (dabbling with a nonfiction idea)

Editing/Revising

Books 

Author Business Activities

  • Added another vlog to my YouTube channel, this one on line editing
  • Took new, brand-appropriate author photographs
  • Revealed the cover for The Cogsmith’s Daughter (Desertera #1)
  • Had business cards designed
  • Made The Cogsmith’s Daughter (Desertera #1) available for preorder!
  • Distributed advance review copies to my newsletter subscribers
  • Began working with my print-on-demand distributor to create the paperback version
  • Organized a blog tour to support my book launch (more information to come)

Goals for October

  • Officially release TCD in both ebook and paperback formats
  • Have a fun and successful blog tour
  • Finally finish my book review queue and transition my author platform away from it
  • Continue writing Desertera #2
  • Continue working on this nonfiction idea
  • Decide whether or not I’m doing NaNoWriMo again

What have you accomplished this month? What are your goals for October? For the rest of the year?

The Desertera Series, Vlog/Video, Writing & Publishing Articles, Writing Updates

Vlog: My First Line Edit Experience

Kate M. Colby

In this vlog, I discuss my first line edit experience with The Cogsmith’s Daughter (Desertera #1), including: a brief overview of the process, the kinds of comments I received, and how I feel about the experience in retrospect.

For those who dislike vlogs or who are hearing impaired, here is a summary of this video. 

My line editor took approximately two weeks with my manuscript. When she was finished, she called me to discuss her notes and comments, her mindset being that A) if she just sent over the worksheet, I’d make my own assumptions about her comments and B) it would yield a more productive conversation than email. I really appreciated the phone call, and it was incredibly helpful for me to discuss everything with her. After we talked, she sent me her notes page as well as the comments within the manuscript. I spent about a month doing my revisions based on her comments, then she spent another two weeks doing more revisions, then I spent 10-12 days with my final revisions. She did one final search for a few grammar rules, then passed it along to the proofreader.

Thus far, line editing has been my favorite part of the editing process. It is not as extensive (nor does it feel as artistically painful) as content editing, and it is really fun as a writer to see your work go from just a story to a beautiful, fluid story. I learned so much from this experience, and I already know my writing craft has improved because of it.

Red Adept Editing

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How have your editing experiences been? What advice would you give to authors preparing for their first round of edits?