On the 1st December I started the editing and I intend on having that finished by the 16th January. I love the editing bit so I’m getting stuck into that. I’m also looking forward to sending it off to my editor and distributing it among my beta-readers.

I also spent some time the other evening setting out my writing plan for the next year. It is ambitious 😀 well, it would probably be doable if I didn’t also have the day job, but hey, you have to push yourself in life, don’t you!

The narrator has finished the recording of the audio version of Parallel Lies and I shall be uploading that very soon. I have listened to the whole book now and I’m delighted with it. I shall do a post about it once it is available and introduce you to the narrator, Henri Merriam. She has done an amazing job 😀

There is also a new paperback giveaway starting today so if you fancy winning a copy of one of my paperbacks you can do so here.

I’m sure there is more but I can’t remember that now and as you know I should be editing! So, thank you for all your support as I’ve made myself accountable to you over the last few months. I shall give this blog post series a rest for a while now, or perhaps forever, we shall see how it goes.

Project B – Hill of Beans – previously 5532 words – still 5532 words.

Project C – Parallel Lies sequel – previously 66,146 words – now 72,025 words.

I will be starting Project B on the 1st January 2019 😀 That’s in the next year’s writing plan 😉

The post Accountability Post #25 ~ To Reach that Goal ~ #amwriting #selfpublishing appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

I therefore refocused and simply worked on what actually needed to be added. I anticipate I will be over the 70K mark by the 22nd and that will be the first draft complete. It will be a little lighter on words than I was anticipating. I was originally aiming for 80K but I know that there are some bits that need adding earlier in the story, now that I have got to the end. In the editing process I usually cut about 10% and I think here I will be adding 20%, possibly even 25% – there are some serious rewrites… boo hiss (and that’s before it’s even gone to my editor!) – so I think I shall end up nearer to the 80K.

I’m looking forward to the editing phase, or enrichment, as I like to call it. It’s my favourite part of writing. 😀 I’ve decided I don’t like first drafts, not at all, but I love having something to craft into shape. I’ve had to be very strict with myself not to start the edits already actually.

In other news, I watched an excellent webinar from Joanna Penn and Mark Dawson this week on Amazon Advertising and got into a right pickle when trying to open up an Amazon Advertising account. And I’ve started doing some Facebook Ads, which I’m incredibly nervous about.

Also, and the biggest news of all, my narrator is recording the audio version of Parallel Lies right now! Again, cue anxiety, and another huge learning curve ahead with trying to launch that, but it should be fun 😀 I’ll let you know when it’s available!

I haven’t managed to fit anything else into the week, that’s the thing with writing, but I shall be in touch next weekend for the last in this series of accountability posts as my first draft will be done… and I’ll give you all a break.

Project B – Hill of Beans – previously 5532 words – still 5532 words.

Project C – Parallel Lies sequel – previously 55,037 words – now 66,146 words.

The post Accountability Post #24 ~ To Reach that Goal ~ #amwriting #selfpublishing appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

Part of this came about from listening to a podcast on the fabulous Creative Penn. I have mentioned this fantastic resource of a podcast before here but the specific episode that helped me this week was Self-Publishing 3.0 And How To Build Success As An Indie Author With Orna Ross.

Just going to find this episode, so I could link it for you today, has reminded me that I should really listen to it again. This link above will take you to the transcript of the episode as well so you can read it if you prefer to, or if you don’t listen to podcasts.

Needless to say I haven’t followed any of the advice given in it thoroughly or properly, yet. However, I have felt a little lost in this writing world recently. I’ve questioned what I’m doing, and why, for example, and this episode made me jot down a few things about what I want as a writer and I have to say it has really helped clarify my thinking in several aspects.

When you know what you want out of something it helps in the decisions you make from then on in getting to that goal.

So to give you an idea here goes:

I don’t want to be an author who is turning out several books a year (which is just as well given my poor performance in that area so far!) If I could produce one book a year that would do me fine.

I don’t want to be famous. Nope, absolutely no interest in that.

I don’t want to be a speaker. Ditto.

I want to write what I want to write rather than what is required of me by someone else. Which rather confirms the next point.

I want to be indie! It suits my character and I like the control.

There is also something in my list about how much I’d like to earn a month from my writing, but I’ll keep the actual figure private, for fear you might injure yourself falling off your chair laughing. It might not be possible of course, and given all the things I don’t want to do it makes the likelihood of success in that area all the more remote, but the goal is there and now at least I’m clear on what I do, or don’t, want to do to get to it.

However, this sudden self-awareness doesn’t stop me getting a little frustrated at times. I got feedback from a reader this week. She is reading Parallel Lies  and told me she is loving it. It is so interesting, she added, a thousand times better than a book she’d just read by an author everybody knows. Gahhh, the frustration of struggling to get your work out to a wider audience!!

The other part of finding out about myself came from my actual writing because I have really put the pressure on this week. And I have loved it, mostly…

I have realised that, much like my heroine, Emma Grayson, I am an all or nothing kinda girl. I had tried to fit in doing my writing in dribs and drabs around my day job, with poor results, as long time followers of this blog can attest to. I had to spend so much time simply remembering where I was in the story (or even what story I was telling!) each time I came to it the process was painful.

No, for me, I now know I have to set a deadline, a daily word count and I have to stick to it. Bum on seat, fingers on keyboard – there is nothing else. That is the only way I can fully absorb myself into what I’m writing. This has therefore been something of a ragged week in all other aspects of my life. However, just look at the numbers 😀

Project B – Hill of Beans – previously 5532 words – still 5532 words.

Project C – Parallel Lies sequel – previously 40,537 words – now 55,037 words.

Getting there guys! Another mammoth week ahead though… wish me luck!

The post Accountability Post #23 ~ To Reach that Goal ~ #amwriting #selfpublishing appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

Still, it’s coming on. I have one bit that I haven’t quite worked out how, or perhaps why, it has to happen and I’m hoping that will resolve itself as I write around it.

In other news I shall be keeping A Single Step at 99p/99c everywhere for a while as encouragement to try the series so you can get that here if you’d like to. I shall be putting the price back up on Parallel Lies in a day or so (when I have a few minutes) it’s done very well with the little promotion I done and I’ve been really heartened by how many copies have been sold at Kobo – top stuff! So if you would still like a copy at it’s reduced price of 99p/99c you can get it here.

I’ve also launched another paperback giveaway today. This time, in readiness for Christmas, it’s for the whole of the Grayson Trilogy. I’ve signed and wrapped up the series so the winner can either keep it for themselves or give it as a gift. You can click on the image below if you fancy entering.

I have asked my designer, Simon Emery, to come up with the cover already though so I’m looking forward to seeing what he puts together. And, I already have a date in mind for publication… there’s nothing like jumping the gun is there 😀

Project B – Hill of Beans – previously 5532 words – still 5532 words.

Project C – Parallel Lies sequel – previously 36,639 words – now 40,537 words.

It’s going to be a lot of bum on seat, fingers on keyboard this week… gulp!

The post Accountability Post #22 ~ To Reach that Goal ~ #amwriting #selfpublishing appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

However, in the meantime I have set a deadline for my first draft, of the sequel to Parallel Lies, to be completed  – it is the 22nd November 2018 – and I’m going to be up against it to meet the deadline, seeing as I’m not yet half way to my rough goal of 80,000 words – a guess as to the likely length of this next novel. More on that in a bit.

In other news, I’m delighted to say that Parallel Lies has been accepted for a BookBub Featured Deal promotion – hurrah! Unfortunately it is not for one in the US and will cover the UK, Australia, Canada and India only, but hey, that’s better than a slap in the face with a wet fish, isn’t it!

I have therefore spent sometime today reducing the price of Parallel Lies on all the platforms, well in advance of the promotion day on Tuesday, and I’m hoping to get a few downloads before BookBub kicks in.

I’ve also still discounted it in all the markets…

So, Parallel Lies is only 99p/99c for the next few days and if you’re interested you can get it here.

Also, I’ve decided to reduce the price on A Single Step to 99p/99c for the next little while too. I’ll post this favourite photo (only because I wish they were my legs!) to show the cover…

And you can get your copy here, should you wish!

Plus, I’m taking part in a BookSweeps promotion at the moment. You can win an ereader (yay!) plus 40+ romantic suspense novels by entering and it ends on 31st October so you will need to get your skates on! Please click on the image below, or here, to go to the promotion.

The other news, which may interest the writers among you out there, is that I am now using Scrivener to write in. I am a bit of a control freak and I do find it difficult to find my way around my manuscript in Word (at the moment it’s 80 pages long, and I’m not yet half way through!)

After watching an excellent webinar last night I’ve downloaded the software, which is very reasonably priced, and imported my current MS into it. So far, so good. It all seems to have happened without a hitch. Chapters 1 to 11 have been completed to first draft level and being able to mark them as that really does make you feel like you are getting somewhere. The others are partly completed or consisting only of one line at present, it varies, but the word count will be increasing rapidly from now on, of that I have no doubt as I am enthused!

Project B – Hill of Beans – previously 5532 words – still 5532 words.

Project C – Parallel Lies sequel – previously 30,128 words – now 36,639 words.

Have a fabulous week everyone and now back on my schedule I will be accountable to you next week as well!

The post Accountability Post #21 ~ To Reach that Goal ~ #amwriting #selfpublishing appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

I do seem to have spent much of my week managing Giveaway stuff. That’s probably not even close to the truth, it just feels like it. I am delighted with the entry level though and I shall just drop this casual reminder in here that it finishes next Friday the 21st September 2018, so if you’ve been meaning to enter but haven’t managed it yet, this is where you go:

Mega-Giveaway Page

Parallel Lies has also made it through to the third (and I think final?) round of the ALLAuthor Cover Competition. It is also dropping down the rankings so could really use your vote…

Therefore, if you like this cover:

Would you be a star and go and give it your vote please?

Click Here!

Thank you x 🙂

I’ve decided that in order for me to get on with this next book I need to keep all the notes and paperwork out for it all the time. I need the constant reminders and for it to always be on my mind. That feels like quite a challenge at the moment but how else am I going to solve these plot issues? So my desk is a mess and I may have to involve the pin board again to vaguely organise it all. A job for tomorrow methinks! Anyway, I’m very late finishing this so I am heading off to bed and I wish you all a very peaceful Sunday.

Project B – Hill of Beans – previously 5532 words – still 5532 words.

Project C – Parallel Lies sequel – previously 27,046 words – now 30,128 words.

Have a great week everyone xx

The post Accountability Post #20 ~ To Reach that Goal ~ #amwriting #selfpublishing appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

I don’t know about you but I am absolutely rubbish at remembering the storylines of books – unless they are in my ‘exceptional’ category of books – and don’t even get me started on characters! This week though I reached an all time low. Having to fill in some information about one of my own books (admittedly quite detailed stuff, but that’s still no excuse) I actually had to go and get a copy of it, to find out what happened in it (yup, reread that, because this is for one that I had written myself and spent hundreds of hours on). Am I going mad? Is something I ask myself on a daily basis. I’m hoping all this nonsense is just a by-product of the menopause and not early onset dementia but I guess time will tell on that one.

Image credit Funnyjunk.com

For now though… onward…

I have at long last managed to set up, and run, a successful Facebook Ad! Hurrah!! Admittedly it is for my giveaway so it’s a pretty easy sell but I did manage to do it all myself (with the help of Mark Dawson’s free SPF videos – thank you!) and I am getting results so that’s a big step forward.

If you still want to enter there’s a fabulous prize (even though I do say so myself) to win and you can find out more here.

Following Bryan Cohen’s webinar I listened to a couple of weeks ago I have invested in getting my book descriptions rewritten. They are the hardest thing to write and mine were, well, no one actually said it, but more than a bit lame. Bryan and his team know what they are doing, I am reliably informed, so without further ado I introduce you to the new blurb for A Single Step:

A woman wracked with grief. A man with a troubled past. Will trust build a bridge between them or will it be destroyed by dark secrets?

Shattered by her daughter’s death and tormented by her husband’s infidelity, Emma Grayson seeks refuge in solitude. As she slowly re-enters the real world, she takes on work at the sprawling Melton Estate’s stables. Initially distracted by her painful healing process, she realizes that the property’s handsome manager carries his own sadness…

When Emma is thrown from her horse and badly injured, Trent provides tender, selfless care. She doesn’t want to appear ungrateful for the lonely ex-RAF man’s support, but her anxiety keeps her silent. After his secretive past surfaces and events take a dramatic turn at the estate, she can’t help but feel violently unsaddled all over again.

Will Emma ever find inner peace and love again, or is she destined to live with only heartache and pain?

A Single Step is the first book in the Grayson Trilogy, a dark romantic suspense series. If you like wounded characters, slow-building romance, and page-turning twists, then you’ll love Georgia Rose’s powerful novel.

Buy A Single Step to uncover a heartbreaking English tale today!

A little more punchy, don’t you think? Let’s hope so. The others will be following on.

There is a little news on the audiobook front too. Parallel Lies will be the first one done, and hopefully fairly soon too. It’s a bit of an experiment for us all and I thought I’d start with that one so at least if there’s no ROI then I can leave it there. I shall be letting you know more on the progress of this in due course.

You know the more I think about it the more I think I did write a post last week. I’m thinking I simply forgot to save and then post it. Is that worse or better than just forgetting to do it at all?

Anyway It’s been a distracting week on the family life front, and you know, some things are just so much more important than word counts and other such nonsense so I’ve done a bit, but not much.

Project B – Hill of Beans – previously 5532 words – still 5532 words.

Project C – Parallel Lies sequel – previously 25,500 words – now 27,046 words.

Have a terrific week everyone xx

The post Accountability Post #19 ~ To Reach that Goal ~ #amwriting #selfpublishing appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

I have however been on two highly informative webinars this week so I do feel I’m adding to my background knowledge if not to my word count which has remained stubbornly static for another week. However, I did have the tiniest tickle of enthusiasm earlier today to get those creative fingers on the keyboard again (even if it was for something new!) so there may be better news next week.

I have spent quite a bit of time putting together what I’m calling my Mega-Giveaway which will start next Saturday. I’ve still got to finish putting the page together but I’m really looking forward to revealing the prizes to you – there’s a teaser photo below. The giveaway, timed for September, is to celebrate the anniversary of the release of Parallel Lies (and, as it happens, Before the Dawn and Thicker than Water as well!)

I do hope you’ll take part, there are many different options for you to do so. 😀

Anyway I shall keep this short and sweet as I need to head off to do some reading. I have three books on the go and yet nothing ready to review on Tuesday so I’d best get my skates on.

Have a fabulous week everyone! xx

Project B – Hill of Beans –  previously 5532 words – still 5532 words.

Project C – Parallel Lies sequel – previously 25,500 words – now 25,500 words.

The post Accountability Post #18 ~ To Reach that Goal ~ #amwriting #selfpublishing appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

There’s also another special someone who sent me a wonderful gift in the shape of a self-care package filled with treats and love. I’m not sure what I ever did to deserve you in my life but I count my blessings every day that you are.

Okay, enough of all of that… onward.

I haven’t written a word, at least not on either of my projects, but I’ve still found plenty to do.

One of the causes of me becoming overwhelmed is that I get in a vast number of emails and keep flagging them because I want to look into them further, or, in fact, actually read them at all, and it’s impossible to catch up. So this week I put aside some time to do a bit of that.

It’s astonishing when I get to look at what I’ve done, and then completely forgotten all about. I have signed up for sites I’ve never looked at again, and some of these sites can do amazing things to help your author business. I’ve signed up, and paid for, one training session I’ve never found time to go on. I won’t even go into the number of emails I have in my inbox but I did have 37 tabs open on the internet, all of which needed me to take some action. I’m sure I’m not alone in this.

So, I have been sorting some of this out. I’ve answered the questions on an interview I was asked to do ages ago, and started scheduling doing all the things I’ve flagged etc to spread them all out a bit and I feel much better for it, particularly as most of them are set in the future. 😀

I have learned how to do this…

…and set up a Facebook Ad using it. Go me!!

I have also taken the photos that I’m going to use on my upcoming Giveaway. I’m not much of a photographer but I think they’ll do the job. I am delighted with the prizes I have put together for it and can’t wait to share them with you. I now have to tackle setting it up on Rafflecopter. Gulp.

No change on the word count this week but mentally I am feeling so much better already.

Project B – Hill of Beans –  previously 5532 words – still 5532 words.

Project C – Parallel Lies sequel – previously 25,004 words – now 25,500 words.

Have a fabulous week everyone! xx

The post Accountability Post #17 ~ To Reach that Goal ~ #amwriting #selfpublishing appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.

You know how it is, one minute riding the crest of a wave buoyed by your success…

The next wiped out by the very same wave and finding yourself face-planted in the sand…

I have been unwell and it has been all I can do to manage my day job tasks, which must take precedence, without having the addition of my writing on top. I won’t go into what’s wrong with me but I know what it is and that it is likely to last for a while (I also know it isn’t serious).

Anyway, I’ve had to reassess my capacity for work and sadly that means putting my writing onto the back-burner, unless I find I’m having a good day. The pressure I was putting myself under was becoming overwhelming so this decision, whilst hard, makes sense. Hopefully I will be back up to full speed again very soon. 😀

Because of my state of mind I haven’t been particularly focused on any writing things and even if I have done anything I can’t now remember what it was so bear with me and I shall get my trusty pad out for the week to come and write things down.

I hope you have all had a much better week than me and for what they are worth I shall leave you with the numbers… xx

Project B – Hill of Beans –  previously 5532 words – still 5532 words.

Project C – Parallel Lies sequel – previously 25,004 words – now 25,500 words.

The post Accountability Post #16 ~ To Reach that Goal ~ #amwriting #selfpublishing appeared first on Georgia Rose Books.