Hey reader peeps!
This one has a few work details below, and it’s kind of boring, so to get the important stuff out of the way:
- Currently working on Tempest AND (kinda sorta) the follow up book for Scarab Beetle (The last two in the series)
- Doing good so far *two thumbs up*
- I don’t have a release date (I calculate this when I’m actually done with drafts and I’ve got schedules down for editors.)
- Books that will release after Tempest is done: Meeting Sang – Nathan, Ghost Bird – Unsung Requiem
And a small update on the merch store, it’s getting an overhaul, so there is a close out sale going on. It should close sometime in August and then re-open in September. I’ll have more information on the re-open later. At first it might just have books as we’re reorganizing things but hang in there and we’ll get new items and old favorites out to you all soon.
That’s it I think? Probably the most asked questions there. IF you care to dive into details, read below. If not, look for updates via the newsletter. 🙂
Current work systems
Work systems for individuals, especially those who work alone, often evolve, and I keep evolving my own systems. I listen to a lot of work-ish type podcasts (Cortex lately, among others) . Obviously what works for me doesn’t really work for everyone, and other author’s systems of writing doesn’t really work for myself. You just learn over time what does work, and hope to find some middle ground of being productive and not suffering from a burnout from over-working.
(By the way, if you’re noticing some authors pumping out books every other month, and you care about them, ask them how they are doing, okay? Make sure they’re taking time out for themselves and family. Writers get a lot of pressure to produce very, very quickly and get compared to each other far too often if they aren’t “keeping up”. Don’t let them feel like they’re just a book factory. Let them know you appreciate the work no matter the pace of production. 🙂 )
I’m in the middle of a process of going back through all of the Scarab Beetle books to take full notes. It’s a process that feels so slow when I’m used to getting at least a couple thousand words down at a time when in writing mode. I’m in ‘writing mode’ but I’ve found that I really just need to sit down and read and make notes and finish that part of the work before getting too much further into writing the book.
So I’m in a process of going through the Scarab Beetle series, reading, taking notes of things readers probably missed that I want to bring attention back to, loose threads that need to be closed, noting people and references I want to bring into light again, stuff people have asked about the characters and what they want to know that I can also throw in and show, etc. It’s all the needed stuff when you’re trying to wrap up a series.
But once this process is done, I’ve got the information in notes and in my head, my goal is to go ahead and finish up the last two books really close to one another. So bam and bam, they’re done. Monday – Friday during my normal writing hours in the morning, I’m working on the notes and prep work to finish up, and that will get replaced in a few weeks with diving back into the writing. (I’ve got to dig some info out of Ghost Bird, too, since they go to the camp during these two books, so gotta get those timeline notes together.)
Because I’m wanting to do it this way, and it’s taking time, I’ve gone ahead and taken some time to schedule extra writing time into my weekends. (When do I eat and sleep? Is this why I can never finish Breath of the Wild or Far Cry 5?!?!)
Saturdays: For a couple of hours in the morning, I’m working on the next Meeting Sang.
Sundays: Again for just a couple of hours, getting whatever words I can for Unsung Requiem.
I’m not writing every single weekend, it’s just most weekends when I’m not out of town or need to do something with family. Or I just need a break for the day because everyone needs a day off now and again. But I feel like, the way I’ve got it set up, it’s a reasonable pace to keep me a tiny bit more productive while basically trying to complete four books at the same time. Sort of.
But when I marked off an approximate schedule when the rough drafts will be done, it looks like the bigger books will get completed about the same time. (So like besides Meeting Sang stories, which will obviously get done a bit sooner.) Basically I think it’ll look to most readers like I’m in quiet mode for five months and then suddenly a slew of books released at the same time. Which is exciting but I know readers will be asking what I’m up to. So if you see someone commenting and asking about it, do me a favor and point to this blog post, ok? I mean if they really want to know. 🙂
Anyway, for those who do read this post, keeping you updated on the workload. I’m also working on a new site which includes the additional stories from As I Write plus some other bonus material for people who like the Academy series as well. It’s going a bit slow as I *thought* I’d do it in WordPress, but I discovered Wix had a better system for what I was going for. It’s just a bit slow going. I’m one of those people who has to think and test and think and test a lot before releasing a new project thing. But I hope to add unique things to it, like dossiers of characters and cool surprises. Interactive. Audio. Video. Pictures. Like the notes I’m taking now for Scarab Beetle, I hope to duplicate to this so you all get to see them after the books are out. I think that would be interesting to readers.
Thanks for letting me ramble a bit about work and processes. If you have thoughts or comments or questions, as always, email me at clstone@arcatopublishing.com and I’ll get back to you when I can.