Ta-dah! Today will be the final installment of my “Back in the Saddle Again” blog posts. Missed the first two posts? Here ya go: Saddle Part One and Saddle Part Two. In this third post, I’ll talk about what I’m currently doing, and what I plan to do in the future, to get back in the writing, blogging, marketing, and exercising saddles.
What I’m Currently Doing
- Working on My Author Newsletter
It has been a long process, but now I’m moments away from being done and will send out the newsletter this week. I’ve saved a template now too, so the next newsletter should be a breeze to fill in new text and replace photos. And look-e here… a link for you to subscribe to my newsletter, and feel free to copy and paste the link to share with all your family and friends. http://bit.ly/NewsletterSignUpMelindaFreeland
- Taking My Brilliant Writing Year Course at Novel Academy To Fill Out Planner
I’m about half-way done with these courses, and filling out the beginning portions of my planner – of my 2019 planner. I know you’re probably thinking, “Not much of the year left to plan.” First, I still think four months is a lot of the year left – that’s a whole quarter of a year to do brilliant writing! Second, I will use what I learn in these courses to fill out the remaining of the 2019 planner, then I will apply that info to filling out the 2020 planner.
- Going Over Novel 2 Notes & using SEQ formula from The Story Equation Book
I’ve been typing up notes on plot and characters, and filling out Word documents and Excel spreadsheets for a while now for my second book in The Mesquite River, Texas series. There is no title for this book yet, other than “Novel 2.” After I read Susan May Warren’s above writing craft book, I decided I’d try using the SEQ formula for Novel 2. Currently, I’m reading through all my past notes and rough draft book proposal and possible chapters, and so on, and then applying that info to use in the SEQ formula.
- Reading Novels Similar to Mine & By Authors/Agencies/Publishers That Will Be At Conference
One thing agents and publishers want to know when you query them is what are some other novels out there that are similar to your novel – and then how is your novel unique.
In order to have some comparative novels to throw out to agents and editors I meet at the upcoming ACFW Conference, I’ve been reading a lot of novels lately that from the back cover and reviews seem like they might have something in common with my current work in progress (WIP). I’ve also been trying to read novels that may not be similar to mine, but that have been written by authors who are represented by agents I’m interested in querying, or books published by houses that I would be proud to call my own publisher.
- Writing Featured Author Interviews for ACFW Website
This keeps my former reporter skills intact, including research, creativity, communication, and meeting deadlines. It also gives me the opportunity to meet new Christian writer friends and network with them as well as agents, publishers, and others in the Christian writing industry. The most recent interview was about a month ago – with a fellow Southerner, yay! – and the deadline to finish the next interview is October 21. You can go to the ACFW website every Monday to read a new Featured Author Interview, and Fiction Finder will give you a list of all the archived interviews.
For your convenience and reading pleasure, here are links to the interviews I’ve done:
August 12, 2019 Jennifer Hallmark
May 20, 2019 Sherrinda Ketchersid
January 14, 2019 Lynette Eason
November 19, 2018 Tessa Afshar
August 20, 2018 Regina Rudd Merrick
- Revising Excel Worksheet for Blog Topics
Long ago, in a land far away … I created an Excel spreadsheet titled, “Blog Topics and Social Media Blurbs and Dates to Post Them.” Well, if you read my Saddle Part One and Saddle Part Two posts, you’ll find out I fell off the blogging bandwagon awhile back. This whole Saddle series though is about getting back on all those “saddles” I fell off over the last two years or so. Recently, I started revising my Excel worksheet, and I’ll continue updating it, to add topics and possible dates for items I want to blog about in the future.
- Losin’ It!
My parents went on the Keto Diet about a year ago. They both lost a lot of weight, look and feel better, and my Dad doesn’t have to take his diabetes medications any more! My folks encouraged my husband and me to go on this diet, but we were pretty hesitant because we both LOVE bread, tortilla, pasta, and potatoes. My son, Jacob, then read all about Keto and he convinced his dad (and me) to “just do it!” I lost five pounds in my first week, and my goal is to lose 20 pounds by January 1. Let’s hope it works out as well for the hubby and me as it did (still is doing) for my mom and dad!
What I Plan to Do
- Write Very Rough First Draft of Novel 2 By End of Year
Call me crazy – it’s okay! I know it took me 17 years! to complete my first novel (read about that here), and that usually even “seasoned” writers rarely write a long novel (my word count goal: 85-90k) in that short amount of time, but that’s my current goal and I’m sticking to it!
My future goals beyond this include writing at least one novel per year. I’d like to write more than that, but until I no longer have my “day job” of medical coding, and / or until my 12-year-old, very busy dancer daughter gets her driver’s license and I’m no longer Uber Driver Deluxe … then writing more than one novel a year won’t be happening.
- Attend ACFW Conference September 26-28
I pray, pray, pray that God’s timing is in sync with mine in the area of meeting an agent at this conference that will be interested in taking me on as a client, and / or meeting an editor who shows great interest in my book proposal. I had already researched several agents I was interested in, so I was thrilled when I found out all of my Top Five would be at this conference! You get an opportunity to meet for 15 minutes with one, and sometimes two agents, so you know I immediately signed up for two appointments! Not only am I excited to meet with those two agents, but also to be around so many fantastic agents and editors – just look at this spectacular agent attendee list!
Tamela Hancock Murray, Jessica Kirkland, Rachelle Gardner, Linda Glaz
Bob Hostetler, Steve Laube, Jim Hart, Ali Herring, Sarah Freese
- Continue Writing Newsletters
I plan to write “full” newsletters once a month, and will add “mini” newsletters when needed for brief info notices about such things as book giveaways, sales, releases, interviews about me and done by me, and so on.
- Become a Social (Media) Butterfly
Starting in October, I’m going to try to pop in to all my social media channels for 30 minutes to one hour a day to answer replies or add new posts. Right now, it’s very hit and miss, but starting next month I’ve scheduled that time into My Brilliant Writing Planner. I’d love to interact with you on any or all of these channels!
- Connect With Readers More Via Facebook Group
Part of becoming a Social Media Butterfly includes two sub-categories, one of which is creating and maintaining an active Facebook group (different than my Author Facebook page that already exists). Groups by authors, for readers, contain a variety of perks for the readers – it just depends on what each author would like to offer when she creates her group.
I haven’t worked out the details of what all would be in my Facebook Group, but some examples of the benefits a reader might get by being a member would be: free copies of contemporary romance and women’s fiction books; live interaction with this author and guest authors through Live Facebook Video chats; interaction via posts and replies and contests with other readers who have similar book tastes as yourself; the opportunity to win all sorts of bookish gifts via group participation, such as answering polls, commenting on certain posts, or asking another reader friend or family member to join the group.
- Invite Readers to my Street Team
This is the second sub-category of the “Butterfly Movement.” Ha! Again, all specifics aren’t worked out yet – I just know I will create a Street Team in the near future. If you’ve never heard of a “Street Team” or “Influencers” or something similar, basically, it’s a group of readers who have enjoyed your writing (and personality!), and those readers agree to help promote your current and future writing endeavors. They get ARCS (advanced reader copies) of your upcoming books to read a couple months or more before the estimated publication date, and they agree to post positive reviews on places such as Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes and Noble—that is if they liked that particular novel. If they didn’t like it, then they just wouldn’t post anything that time around. The Street Team would also help spread the word about you, your books, or any upcoming events by posting comments and timely information on all of their own social media sites, websites, and just by walking next door and telling their friends and family!
- Blog More, Including Possible Interview Swap & Blog Hop
The longer, “Musing Melinda” posts like this one, or “Scripture Sunday” and “Final Friday Book Review” posts will probably remain as just a once a month posts, but eventually I will add back in again the shorter, once a week posts, like “Fun Friday” or “Word Wednesday” posts.
Another monthly (or bi-monthly maybe) blog task I might start doing is an Interview Swap & Blog Hop. I’d interview another author and post that on my blog, and then I’d “hop” over to their blog and either write a guest post or have them interview me.
- Move It! Move It! (I Like To … Move It!)
Exercise was definitely something I’d planned to incorporate into my daily routine, but that’s not happening yet! It started off well with walking a mile around the neighborhood every other day with my mother-in-law, Jane, who lives across the street. Then my schedule got busy, and then I decided to do acrobatics on the Fourth of July going down the steps of my friend’s swimming pool, and blew out my knee. My injury is healed, but my schedule is even more crazy with the start of school, so exercise is still on hold. But I DO plan on getting back into the swing of things soon.
- Study Craft More
I earned a BA in Journalism, then used that degree to land a job as a reporter and photographer for a small-town, daily newspaper, The Taylor Daily Press. I covered almost every beat except sports and education, and I wrote several, several, several lengthy feature articles that were published about once a week.
The experience and education I received from holding this degree and this reporter background have helped me enormously in the whole process of my fiction writing undertakings, both the craft part and the business side of things. I have to admit though, after attending several writing conferences, and after I completed writing my debut novel, I was quite shocked to come to a major conclusion.
A journalist does not equal a novelist!
Although there are a lot of similarities, there are so, so, so many differences! The first simple difference that I’m still struggling to adapt to, is the use of different stylebooks. Most journalists use The Associated Press Stylebook, whereas most novelists use The Chicago Manual of Style. These books give the “rules” on English grammar and usage, and the technical styles to be used in writing, like use a serial comma or not, or use just an apostrophe or add an s for possessive, plural nouns, like Charles’ dog or Charles’s dog.
One of the major differences is the whole, “Just the Facts, Ma’am” usage for your front page story, opposed to having all sorts of items for your novel, like goals, motivation, external and internal conflict, character arc, and so forth.
Since I’m no longer a reporter, and plan to be a multi-published novelist, studying the craft of fictional writing more is definitely on my agenda!
This concludes the three-part series of my Back in the Saddle Again posts. I had only planned to write one post about this, but I wound up having a lot more information to share than originally planned – plus I’ve been told I am quite “long-winded.” Ha! For October’s “long” post, I’m sure it will evolve around the ACFW Conference, which is less than two weeks away! Eek! Nervousness and excitement all wrapped up into one!