Relief

Here’s to a moment of relief ~ Jill Badonsky

So…I’m back at some of my regular routines. This is the third full week of consistent blog posts, I am participating in my critique groups, life is better than it has been.

I feel a sense of relief to resume many of my normal activities in my writing life. There have been times in the past when I felt guilty and worried about not completing those activities. My comfort comes not only from returning to the activities that build my writer brand, but also from giving myself a break.

Would I have prefered/wanted/loved to have more titles available at this point in my publishing career? Absolutely.

For me, it just wasn’t in the cards, and I am fine with that. Everything comes in its due time and evidently there are more life lessons to learn before I can put out another new title. Maybe it was to keep all my titles with one publisher? Seems to be working out for me so far.

Wherever you are in your dream journey, I hope you have some relief as well. My wish for you is that your relief is in accomplishment. But if that’s not where you are, my desire is that your relief comes in giving yourself a break.

Where, how, why do you feel relief on your dream journey?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Kobo!

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from Kobo!

Muscular and Spiritual Energy

There’s a muscular energy in sunlight corresponding to the spiritual energy of the wind ~ Annie Dillard

Once you get your routines figured out, you might find them easy to adhere because they work so well for you.

My routines work for me because I truly am a morning person. I get up, ride my exercise bike, and then sit down at the computer for at least an hour before work each day. We are usually in bed by 9pm each night and I am up by 5 every day. This also helps me maintain a consistent sleep schedule.

Boundaries also work well for me, when it comes to writing. It’s hard for me to be creative after a full day of work, so I rarely work on creative, first draft writing in the evenings. I might work on editing if I have a novel coming out, but that is a bit different.

I’m not so good at setting boundaries with my NSEDJ, but I’m getting better at that as well.

I’d love to hear about how your routines and boundaries work well for your dream journey.

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Barnes and Noble!

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from Barnes and Noble!

Out for a Walk

I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in ~ John Muir

Have you ever “craved” the chance to sit down and work on your favorite activity? Whether that is reading a book, watching a new movie that is out, or just have the weekend to be off work?

Establishing routines and working them consistently can cause the same good feelings about working on your dream journey. There are times when I am ready for bed, just so I can get up and working on my writing in the morning. There have been jobs in the past where I literally hit the floor excited for Monday and to sell after the weekend.

We are about a third through the year. Now is a good time review your resolutions. Have you started on them? If so, good for you! Is it because you’ve developed routines that work for you in your life right now?

If you haven’t started, is it because you haven’t worked out your routines? I will admit sometimes it is tough and always a work in progress for me. But I’m getting back into it. Slowly, but surely, I am back to getting up early and working on writing, editing, and other tasks like writing blog posts.

I’d love to hear how you’re doing with your routines this year!

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from BookStrand!

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from BookStrand!

My $35K List

Good habits, once established, are just as hard to break as are bad habits ~ Robert Puller

I recently read in Mary Kay Ash’s 1994 autobiography Miracles Happen about her $35K list. This is a list of the top 6 things you’d like to accomplish each day. This comes from a story in the book where a consultant suggested executives of a company pay them what this idea was worth and that ended up being $35,000.

A couple of weeks ago, I created my $35K list for writing. Then I created a grid that I can print out each week and check off my list each day.

If you follow me, you might be ask, why my topic for today returns to the basic of establishing routines. I have fallen out of my routines for the last three months or so. In short, after being sick over the holidays and responsibilities at the NSEDJ (not so evil day job), I just needed the extra rest and have neglected progress on my writing.

That’s the thing about most dream journeys. In my case, I was able to take a break and it worked for me. Now, if I depended on royalties for my income, this break might have been a different story. At this point in my life, all is well.

The other interesting note for me on this exercise is that my $35K list isn’t anything I didn’t already know I needed to be doing. All six routines: writing, blogging, promo, obtaining reviews, obtaining guest post spots, and working with my critique groups are activities I always did anyway. I didn’t always do them every day.

Once again, the answers were inside of me. I needed to get back to the place where I could focus on my writing routines and the 35K helped me get going again.

Have you had a time when you restarted along your dream journey by going back to the basics? I’d love to hear!

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Barnes and Noble!

Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from Barnes and Noble!

Faith in Yourself

Faith gives you an inner strength and a sense of balance and perspective in life ~ Gregory Peck

So the last couple of weeks have a been reminder to have faith in myself. I write about having a vision, creating goals, developing routines and boundaries, and having friends along the journey. But sometimes I forget to mention having faith in yourself and remembering that lesson when it comes to my own work.

With Musa’s demise, both of my published titles have found homes with two new publishers. APTCTO only took twenty-four hours to submit the query and sign the contract. It helped I had had a Twitter conversation with JM about second editions, but still, I turned that deal around in 24 hours.  I signed a contract last week for DWM with Amber Quill Press.That deal took a bit longer, I had some insider information, but still, they accepted my work.

Can you believe it? Two different publishers accepted my work! But why shouldn’t I believe it? Those two novels received plenty of four and five star reviews when they were available. APTCTO was even mentioned as Best Historical in 2013 by The Novel Approach Reviews!  There was no reason I shouldn’t believe that my work would get picked up somewhere else fairly quick.

Do you ever feel that way along your dream journey? Do you ever have some of those same bouts of self-doubt that I do with my writing. The one thing to remember is that, believe it or not, you are doing a wonderful job at whatever you’re trying to accomplish. Remember, most people aren’t even working towards a goal that is extra curricular from earning a living. Even if your goal is a promotion at your job, very few people are working toward higher goals than making it through the day and the week. My facts aren’t based on anything but my own experience, but I promise.

Wherever you are on your dream journey, remember to have faith in yourself. I am sure, as in my case, your are doing great!

When was the last time you realized you weren’t giving yourself enough credit for what you were accomplishing?

Defiance

Here’s to defiance when it leads to creative freedom - Jill Badonsky

Next Tuesday, the first quarter of 2015 will already be behind us? How is your progress on this year’s goals going for you?

For me, it’s been a rocky year so far. I got off to a slow start in January, but returned to daily progress on goals in February. Then the big news came. I went immediately from two nearly completed manuscripts to four in the blink of an eye. After a brief mourning period, I reviewed my manuscripts and sent them off to new publishers. APTCTO got picked up by JMS Books and will be published in May. I am still waiting to hear on DWM.

One of the hidden benefits of rereading my published manuscripts was reacquainting myself with my early characters. I had planned to do so later in the year, but it was nice to do it now. I also gained a new appreciation and respect for APTCTO, and therefore my own writing. Another benefit of releasing second editions of my novels will be the fact that maybe I’ll have four or five new releases this year insted of just two or three.

I’ve revised my scheduled three or four times since January. Although one revision was just about fixing the dates, it made a big difference in the overall plan. There have still been days when I don’t get as much done as I want, but I seem to be able to get caught up. Part of that drive this year is a determination to set boundaries between my day job and my writing job/goals.

Overall, it hasn’t been a bad quarter. I have one contract signed and soon I will have two manuscripts in submission piles waiting for contracts. While I wait, I’ll plug away at fourth nearly complete manuscript and get it done before July.

How is your first quarter going?

Outside the Margins on the Prism Book Alliance

I talked about my process of rereading my first two novels on the Prism Book Alliance yesterday...stop by and take a look...

http://www.prismbookalliance.com/2015/03/rereading-great-books-l-dean-pace-frech-outside-the-margins/

Warm Car on a Cold Day

Here’s to the way a warm car feels on a cold day ~ Jill Badonsky

For me, achieving a warm car on a cold day mean preparation and planning. Most of the time, it means I need to be ready five or ten minutes before I really want to leave so the car can warm up. It’s very similar to preparing to achieve your dream goal.

Every year since 2012, I have made very specific plans to complete very specific writing goals. That takes some preparation and planning to get my head around what I would like to achieve in the upcoming year. Last year, I honestly didn’t get that plan together until about mid-January. This year, although I had my plan together after Christmas this year, I am now five or six weeks behind. I will regroup at some point in the year and either get caught up or revise my plan.

Planning and preparation can help with any daunting task. If finding the time to work on your dream goals is a challenge for you, plan to work on your dream goal during specific times. Make an appointment with yourself.

What plans and preparation have you made to achieve your goals in 2015?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Amazon US!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from Amazon US!

Or, check out my author page on Amazon UK.

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwith me to mention on social media!

Most Success Springs From Failure

Most success springs from an obstacle or failure. I became a cartoonist largely because I failed in my goal of becoming a successful executive ~ Scott Adams

In writing, this can be very true. I come up with a couple of great characters, a great plot, write a few chapters, and submit them to various people for their feedback. Most of the time, I think they are going to come back and tell me how wonderful and brilliant my writing is. Almost always, they help me find holes in my plot and inconsistencies in my characters. Then, what I revise usually turns out better than my original idea.

The awesome thing about perceived failure is the opportunity to rebound and make things even better than they were before, or go in another direction. Just because something doesn’t work out, doesn’t mean you can’t move on to other things. I thought I wanted to be a direct sales leader, now I know my calling is to be a writer.

How have you overcome perceived failure? I’d love to hear!

So excited to have Adrian Smith on the Book Reviews, Rants, & Raves blog today!

Book Reviews, Rants, & Raves!: For By Grace by Adrian J. Smith: Author Bio: Adrian J. Smith, or "AJ" as she is often called, is a part time writer with an epic imagination, sharp wit, a...

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from OmniLit !

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from OmniLit!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme to mention on social media!

Exactly Like You

Nobody can be exactly like me. Even I have trouble doing it ~ Tallulah Bankhead

No matter what your dream journey, there is almost always someone ahead of you to look up to. Nearly every profession has a prescribed set of success steps that one can follow to achieve success.

In the same respect, you also have to pick and choose the steps that feel right to you. For example, instead of writing the sequel to my first novel right away, I chose to move on to another time period and different characters to help build my writing skill. Now that I have almost five manuscripts under my belt, I feel like I can return to the first novels and do their sequels better justice.

What do you do that breaks the mold (and is successful for you) in your dream journey? I’d love to hear!

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from BookStrand!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from BookStrand!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation, use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme on social media!

Wisdom Within Ourselves

Here’s to the wise people that inspire us, here’s to the wisdom within ourselves ~ Jill Badonsky

Here’s to the wisdom within ourselves! Do you remember the moment when you decided that you were going to pursue your dream? Did you feel scared or overwhelmed? And at the same time, exited and energized?

Along your dream journey, do you understand the times when you can push yourself and yet understand the times when you do need to slow down and take a break? All of those scenarios are the beauty of wisdom within ourselves.

My writing, day job, church obligations, and personal life have just all exploded this summer. Two or three weeks ago, I had a fabulous brainstorm for both a story but also a new method to my writing madness. I’ve been trying to achieve an aggressive word count goal each day. If this approach is successful I will adapt it as my method going forward.

Day job and church obligations are absolutely out of control. Last week I had to take a break.

The wisdom within me said, “I know you want to finish that new manuscript, but it’s too much. Take a break, regroup, and get back to it this weekend.”

So I did.

I spent Saturday and Sunday going back through the beginning of the manuscript (which by the way, is the end of the story), and fixing things that had changed along the way. I didn’t get a lot of word count accomplished, but I did get editing and polishing done.

If you’re like me, your dream goal can’t come true soon enough. But there are times, like last week, when I just have to say, “I am only one person, and something else needs my attention this week.”

What do you do when you realize that you can only do so much? 

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from BookStrand!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from BookStrand!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation, use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme on social media!

Grattitude

Here’s to filling our souls with gratitude ~ Jill Badonsky

Yikes! It’s been another busy couple of weeks. I finished The Higher Law and it is in the hands of beta readers. I jumped right into writing my fourth novel, Sartin. Again, I am writing in the morning, working on promotion and research at night. It is only Wednesday this week and I am beat!

Above all, I am grateful for this problem. This is a modern day, first world writer’s problem. Work all day, write all other free time.

What are you grateful for today? I’d love to hear!

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from OmniLit !

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from OmniLit!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme to mention on social media!

Defiance

Here’s to defiance when it leads to creative freedom ~ Jill Badonsky

I’ve been very defiant lately. I didn’t write the whole week after the time change to allow me time to adjust. Last week, instead of writing blog posts, I did nothing but promote other people’s stuff on my book blog.

On top of all that, I have a new plot bunny that will not go away. This one is about a ten year old girl during the depression. It totally doesn’t fit with my m/m romance genre, but it’s going to be one hilarious novel. It’s not a matter of it, it’s a matter of when.

The break from working on my second draft and the break from blogging has really helped me focus. The break from writing is worked into my submission schedule for the rest of the year. Although I didn’t write my own content last, week I still had content to consistently provide. All in all, it’s been a win-win for me.

When have you been defiantly creative lately?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

Purchase A Place to Call Their Own through iTunes for your iPad, iPhone, or iPod today!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

Purchase Disappear With Me through iTunes for your iPad, iPhone, or iPod today!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Join the conversation, use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme on social media!

There are No Rules

The only rule is that there are no rules ~ Del Close

This is the week I break all my rules in my routine and let my body adjust to the time change.  The last two time changes, I have just had a horrible time with it. I know, I know, I am getting old. That's why I'm adjusting my schedule this week.

The weird thing about is that the exhaustion doesn't show up for a week or two after the time change. So this time, I am just sleeping in for the next few days, then backing my wake up time. By next weekend, I should be back to my regular time and hopefully it will be enough for me to adjust.

If you're just starting a dream journey or just having some early success, I understand how you might be shocked that I would even admit this. I was there one time, too. I just worked through the exhaustion to meet my goals. And there are times when you have to do that. If I were working on edits for release deadline, I'd have to work through it.

It's just a temporary adjustment so I can be more productive overall.

Have you made any temporary adjustments to your dream journey routines lately?

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from All Romance eBooks!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from All Romance eBooks!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme to mention on social media!

The Most Dangerous Thing

The most dangerous thing in the world is to try to leap a chasm in two jumps ~ David Lloyd George

How are your goals for 2014 going? I hope they are going well. Mine have been under constant revision. When I completed the first drafts of both A Place to Call Their Own and Disappear With Me, I was at a stand still as far as the editing was concerned.

First of all, it's hard for me to edit my own work. I know what it's supposed to say most of the time. I can't help it if my fingers don't type exactly what I meant or I was the victim of auto-correct in a typing session. But now, I have a new revision strategy that I employ.

I am retyping the entire ms from beginning to end. That helps me re-read the manuscript how it's written. It also helps me "hear" in my own head the awkward sentences. I amuse myself with the notes I wrote in the first draft to fix the second time around.

My challenge is wanting to do too much! I still work a full time job and promotion seems to be a full time job. So I have to adjust my boundaries and make sure I am taking time for me as well. But I think I finally got it figured out this week.

Have you had to readjust your boundaries or routines this year? I'd love to hear!

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from All Romance eBooks!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from All Romance eBooks!

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwithme to mention on social media!

What'd You Say Your Name Was?

Every time we start thinking we're the center of the universe, the universe turns around and says with a slightly distracted air, "I'm sorry. What'd you say your name was again?" ~ Margaret Maron

Talk about a kick in the pants! Last week I finished the first draft for my third manuscript, The Higher Law. I really thought I had a handle on my writing and editing routines and tried to write a little bit on Sartin, my fourth manuscript, and work on polishing The Higher Law.

It proved to be too much! Add to that Valentine's Blog Hops and giveaways and other promotions coming later this month, and it's been a crazy week for me. I had to revise my plan to meet my goals this year. The crazy thing is, everything gets done earlier this year by focusing on one manuscript at a time.

So the point is you might always have to revise your routines. Even if you have big goals, you might be able to revise your plan to reach those goals if the other parts of your life demand more time.

How are your routines for 2014 going?

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Amazon US!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from Amazon US!

Or, check out my author page on Amazon UK.

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwith me to mention on social media!

Much More Urgent

When Thomas Edison worked late into the night on the electric light, he had to do it by gas lamp or candle. I'm sure that made the work seem that much more urgent ~ George Carlin

How about being a published author without a WIP in the self-editing process? That makes my work seem much more urgent.

And maybe that's why writing is flowing so well right now. I have had my outline done for quite some time so I know exactly where the story needs to go. After figuring out some rough spots, I've been writing 1000 words per day consistently since January 16. At this rate, I should be done with the first draft in March sometime. Maybe sooner if it doesn't end up being the full 100k words I originally thought it would be.

The excitement of achieving this goal is actually helping me, not hindering me. Last Thursday, I only got 700 words written before it was time to go to work. After working all day and then doing the biweekly grocery shopping trip, it didn't happen Thursday night. But I got up on Friday and wrote 1300 words and got myself caught up. I'm in too good of a groove to slack off now.

When was the last time you were under some good pressure to reach a goal?

The Color Purple

I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it ~ Alice Walker

I think it pisses God off when we don't notice a lot of things. We live in such a fast paced world anymore, sometimes simple things can be missed.

But they don't have to be. It's up to me to stop and take time to enjoy life, even though I have some pretty aggressive goals for the year. I am in a groove where if I don't get my writing done, my day feels completely off. Sometimes that writing comes quickly and I'm done in forty five minutes and other times its take and hour or hour and a half.

I'm also involved in a new critique group, doing some additional guest posts and hosting people as well. Networking and social media are becoming more important to promote my two novels and I'm jumping in head first.

And I'm still taking time to relax and enjoy myself. I try not to spend too much time on social media, but work to post relative content and network just a little bit daily. I set a time for myself each evening during the week to be done and I set a time during the day on the weekends to be finished with writing and focus on relaxing and fun.

How are you doing this year with setting boundaries and enjoying your success in your dream journey?

_______________________________________________

Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Amazon US!

Love is greater than hope or faith, but can Reverend Leander Norris convince a jury that the love he shares with another man is natural? 

My latest novel, Disappear With Me is available from Amazon US!

Or, check out my author page on Amazon UK.

Then request an Authorgraph, an electronic inscription, from me.

Use #APTCTO and #disappearwith me to mention on social media!