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Final Row80 Check In: End of the Road

It’s hard to believe it’s the end of another round and the second official day of spring. This round didn’t quite go as I expected, but I can’t complain.

2012 Round 1 Goals:

Write 2000/week on The Prophet
Continue to query Into The Dark
Implement Dark’s theme of stalking into Thriller Thursdays **
Exercise minimum of 20 minutes/day
Comment on at least two new blogs/week.

First off, the good news: I finished querying INTO THE DARK because I signed a contract with MuseItUp Publishing, as you all know. I’m thrilled to be a part of such a supportive and talented group. Cyrus Keith, author of Becoming Nadia, just won an EPIC award for best suspense thriller, and cover artist Delilah Stephans won for two of her covers. Muse authors Heather Haven (A Wedding to Die For) and Rhobin Courtright (Crewkin) were finalists in their categories as well. I’m honored to be working with the same publishing house as these talented writers.

Blog Commenting: I did pretty well with that and commented on several new blogs over the past few months. I think Triberr has been a big help in providing new blogs and helping my own gain exposure. I’m also honored to have been the first stop on Donna Galanti’s blog tour for her debut novel, A Human Element.

I did do one post on stalking for Thriller Thursday, but decided to hold back on doing any more until closer to INTO THE DARK’S release date. Stay tuned!

The Prophet: I did write about 8000 new words, but ran into several plotting issues. This was frustrating to me because I spent a fair amount of time plotting and outlining before starting to write. My goal was to get the first act completely set so I could solidly write the rest of the book. After sorting out a few back story issues, I think my critique partner and I have finally ironed things out. Reading K.M. Weiland’s book helped quite a bit, and I do suggest it to anyone with plotting questions. My goal for this week is to finish getting all my index cards for the entire book done in Scrivener (a feature I love) and do a (new) rough synopsis. I want to start seriously writing next week.

Exercise: Meh. My own personal demon. I’m still struggling with the ten pounds I desperately want to lose. I lose five, gain five. For some reason, I’m having a hard time finding the willpower I once had. I thinks it’s because it royally pisses me off I have to watch everything I eat. It’s one thing to be healthy, but another to have to worry about every carb, etc. I do think I can get past this once I lose those 10 lbs, but it’s hard. Somehow I’ve got to get into the right mindset.

So all in all, I’m calling this round an altered success. Since signing with Muse, I’m feeling some pressure (not from them). I’m just beginning to realize ALL the work that goes into promotion, and figuring out where to focus my energy is an all day job. I know I’ve got to get a good draft of The Prophet written before the marketing kicks into high gear, so I’m going to buckle down soon.

News and Links:
Major congrats to Row80 founder Kait Nolan for her performance in DABWAHA. She was the only indie-pubbed writer in the bunch and held her own against Veronica Roth.

The lovely Amy Shojai just announced her thriller, LOST AND FOUND, will be published this fall from Who Dares Win Publishing. Congrats, Amy!

Roz Morris is one of my favorite bloggers, and she wrote an AMAZING post defending indie publishers and the quality of their work.

How did Row80 go for you? Did you accomplish your goals or have to readjust? Are you planning for round 2?

 

24 comments on… “Final Row80 Check In: End of the Road”

    • Thanks. I definitely can’t complain. It didn’t go as I expected, but not much in life does. Looking forward to round 2!


  1. beverlydiehl


    You’ve got a pretty impressive list going there, and a whole bunch of accomplishments done there. Pat yourself on the back; we never get everything we would like to, done, no matter how much time we have. You rock, IMO.

    Cute ducky picture, too. 🙂

    • Thanks. I would have liked to have gotten more writing done on the new book, but I’ve learned a lot more about preparation and plotting, so I certainly can’t call that a failure. And I will:) LOL on the picture. Baby ducks always make me think of spring.

  2. sounds like you did really great on this round. And congrats again on signing with a publisher. I wouldn’t definitely call that a success!


  3. authormarieandrews


    You’ve done fantastic this round Stacy! WOO HOO! And super congrats on that contract 🙂 I can’t wait to read Into the Dark! Looking forward to cheering you on in round 2 – have a wonderful rest of your week!

  4. Congratulations on your accomplishments and on signing with MuseItUp! That is awesome and amazing and just YAY!!!!! *cheers and throws glitter!* See you next round!

  5. Congratulations on your contract Stacy and on all you’ve accomplished! Good luck in the next round. And also, thanks for the recommendation of the Weiland book; I will check it out.

    • Thank you so much, Lisa. I’m really hoping to nail down a draft of the next book in round 2. And hope you like K.M.’s book!

  6. wow – congrats on the contract! what stellar news 🙂
    exercising can be so tricky – and no one likes plotting problems. but you had a productive round, and can still forge ahead on what didn’t work out.
    cheers!
    gc

  7. Ahhhmazing round Stacy. I think you KILLED it!! I know you ran into some plotting issues that might have slowed you down but I also think you’ve probably learned some valuable things that will only come to serve you in the future. I can’t WAIT for the release of your book. Take a deep breath and try to enjoy each moment!
    Here’s to your ROW80 ROCKING round! Woot woot!

    • Thanks, Natalie. I think the frustrating thing with the plotting was that I did quite a bit beforehand, but it still wasn’t enough. Oh well. I’m still learning! Thanks so much for the encouragement! I’m sure it will be a while, but I’m really looking forward to sharing the cover!

  8. Congrats! Exercise is one of those things that is so hard to start, but then you love it and hate missing it!

  9. Sounds like a good round to me! Oftentimes, I find myself having to tweak my goals during the round as things change (like they did for you with THE PROPHET). Of course, that’s one of the beautiful things about ROW80. You made a lot of progress, focused on your goals, and your INTO THE DARK news is fabulous! See you in Round 2, Stacy.

    • Thanks, Julie. I definitely had to do a lot of tweaking, and that’s okay. The writing process is always evolving, and I agree, that’s one of the best things about Row80.

      Thanks!

  10. Stacy, I’m still over the moon over your contract with Muse. I definitely understand your frustrations with plotting, however. I *thought* I had things down with my WIP, but spent most of this round tweaking things that I didn’t have done. I’m still rearranging those Scrivener cards (one of my favorite functions), but I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. 😀

    Great round!

    • Thank you, so am I. They are a great group of people, and the other authors have been very supportive. They all work really hard to promote one another. You sound similar to me with my current WIP. As important as plotting and outlining are – and I’m learning how to do them better – I still have to write and get into the book to see those problems. And YES, love the Scrivener cards. Glad you’re seeing that light:)

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