I hope this post finds you making the most of every day in regards to your personal goals. Sometimes, it may take a little remapping before your direction is crystal clear, but keeping your destination in mind does help!
When I first started writing this blog, I was so eager to put my foot in the social media water (A teeny-tiny-little virtual foot) that I wasn’t sure what to do first.
About the only thing I did know was that I needed it to be personal and wanted it to be about my journey as a writer.
Oh My!
My last post was some time ago and if you were sweet enough to read it, way back then, I explained that I had strayed from this blog with my other blog, BayouWritersClub.blogspot.com and with my Writing group at MeetUp.com, The Bayou Writer’s Club.
Well, clearly they kept my attention as I haven’t posted here since! (Worthwhile, I promise!)
Actually, the BWC still has my complete devotion, but I’ve had a hard time finding my way with two blogs, a website, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn! Not to mention my busy family life that became a Time-Monster on its own!
Sidetracked
I hope that you actually did check out the Bayou Writer’s Blog and Meet-Up site so you could see just how busy things could get in the writing world! The growth has been phenomenal with our numbers around a whopping 175 members and growing. In addition to our meetings every two weeks, I’ve added “Reading Events” quarterly, at a local English Tea Room which has the perfect setting for our evening event. Our meetings have taken on an air of advanced writing class lessons and in addition to our extremely talented members, we have guests that have included traditionally published authors, indie authors, and a founding editor of a publishing company.
It’s been incredible.
I would say this little side trek of mine has been successful in so many ways and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. However, I had a destination and I’m going to get there!
Tools for the Assignment
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been busy, but I still wrote all the time, because I don’t know how to not write! I shared some of this work with the Bayou Writers but mostly, there just seemed to be this huge file of work that never went anywhere but my own virtual writing folder. There was certainly a time when that would have been okay with me because I’d always written for myself. Some people journal, I write fiction. But that was then and this is now… Now, I have goals for those stories!
The funny thing is, you can’t have a goal without the means. That is, you can’t share your writing with the world if you don’t write! I did, I have, and it’s there! Lots of it!
On top of having a large writing portfolio, I have learned to be a better self-editor. I have more beta-readers, I’ve met writer friends that are graphic designers, know professional line editors, taken fiction writing classes, attended writing workshops and conferences. (Finding a writing group or starting one is incredibly helpful!)
I’ve learned a lot!
Back on the Path (with a little redirecting)
I’ve learned that I respect the traditional publishing world but am more of an Indie Author. I appreciate all the incredible books that I have read my entire life that traditional publishers helped spit and polish until they were shiny and ready for market. I’ve been right there in line with many of my saved dollars waiting to purchase book three in a series that I couldn’t wait another minute to read. After all, I am not only a writer but a word nerd and lover of stories, a reader in the true sense of the word.
However, in the age of on-demand and e-books, I like the idea of controlling each piece of the business. In other words, I want readers to experience my writing under the cover that I choose, with whatever changes or edits that I agree to make, and in the format that they want at the prices I set. Look at me, the control freak. Who knew? (No need to answer that last question!)
X- Marks the Spot (Or in this case, X equals the publishing date of my first novel!)
I am excited to announce that I am closing in on my destination! Depending on my final edits, it could be as soon as May 2016!!!! Whoo-Hoo. I will have a free book available via my website sooner and can’t wait to finally share with everyone what I have been working on. (I was going to say what has been going on inside my head but that just sounded weird!)
I’ve heard THE JOURNEY is more important than the DESTINATION and I can’t say that it wasn’t worth every step that I took to get here. After all, I do love to travel. My husband teases that “it doesn’t matter where the car is going, if it’s backing out of the driveway, Lisa wants to be in it!” I dare challenge that I simply want to see everything!
You too?
Then set your itinerary, map it out, leave a little wiggle room so you can wander, and get moving!
Thanks for popping in to see me—I’ll be back really soon with dates and links to my Books!
Until then-
Happy Writing,
-L