“What do you want?”
Last week my WFWA mentor asked this simple question. And my first response was “Huh?”
It’s easy to lose sight of your priorities when you’re busy trying to do all the things you “should” do. I should be writing thousands of words a day. I should be robustly platforming and marketing and reading. I should be making healthier, more varied meals (Chicken and potatoes are so easy, though!). I should touch up the paint in almost every room of the house.
But what do I want? I’ve thought about it, and now I know.
I want to keep making progress but not at the expense of this time with my family. I want to keep up with the smaller daily word counts and not beat myself up over the slow accumulation of pages.
I want to read great books - June 8th is WFWA day, so I’ll be reading books by WFWA writers - see my June TBR below. My goal is to read 2 books a week,hopefully by the pool.
And finally, what I want - what I need right now- is to take a break for a few weeks, while we travel to baseball tournaments, visit family, and start the college campus tour process. To that end, I’ll be taking a break from these updates until August 1st. I have loved sharing these first steps on a new journey and I will see you all again soon!
May Wrap-up/Successes:
Writing: Added 4,000 new words to WELCOME TO BLOOMS
Accountability: Met weekly with my WFWA mentor and resumed monthly meetings with my writing coach
Querying: This was a big month for me, and took up quite a bit of my focus. I sent out 19 queries, received 6 rejections (including one with such thorough, thoughtful feedback that it actually felt like a win), and 2 requests for my full manuscript
Marketing: Social account followers: 590 IG /433 Twitter/ 63 Goodreads
Participated in the Instagram #wipsoundtrack2021 challenge
Took a webinar on Goodreads and am working to grow my presence there. You can follow/friend me here.
Books read: 2021 total: Eeep, I have no idea, I lost count somewhere. 35ish?/60
June/July Goals:
Writing: Continue to write 300 words daily on WELCOME TO BLOOMS
Querying: Continue to research, write, and send out 8 queries every 3 weeks (for up to 6 months)
Accountability/Education: Monthly meeting with writing coach on current WIP
Participate in the summer-long Every D*** Day Writing Challenge #EDDW100days
Marketing: Promote Women’s Fiction Day on June 8, highlight books by WFWA writers all month.
Books to read:
THROUGH THE LENS Jeannée Sacken
NOWHERE NEAR GOODBYE Barbara Conrey
WILD WOMEN AND THE BLUES Denny S. Bryce
TRUTH OF THE MATTER Jamie Beck
THE COMPANION Kim Taylor Blakemore
HER PERFECT LIFE Rebecca Taylor
FACE DOWN IN THE RISING SUN K.D. Albaugh
QUEEN OF THE OWLS Barbara Lyn Probst
SILVER HEIGHTS J.L. Cole
The DOOR TO DOOR SERIES (Books 1 & 2) T.L. Brown
CAYMAN ISLAND Jennifer Brasington-Crowley
SWEET LIKE SUGAR D.P. Haka
The LUCAS RATHBONE MYSTERIES (Books 1-5) Saffron Amatti
Drop me a line and let me know what you’re up to this summer. I hope your days are full of “wants” and not “shoulds!” Xoxo, y’all!