writing updates collage

So last week held its shares of victories and disappointments, but I soldier on!

The main bummer last week, honestly, was that I did NOT make the semi-finalist list for the Book Pipeline contest. I’d entered with my Ghosts of Koa novel, but it didn’t quite make the cut. It hurt for like a second, lol, mostly because it’s my DREAM to realize The Books of Ezekiel series as a TV series. BUT, the rejection is still great, and for two reasons:

  1. I can still make the series myself!, and,
  2. I’m going to get feedback from the contest on how to make my series more adaptable to television or film… which is AWESOME and #winning.

So look forward to THAT post, k? I’ve also updated my anti-resume to reflect the news! Either way, lots of other things got done, and lots of words were written (for The Iron Maiden), so I’m happy. Here’s a round up of everything else that went down!

LAST WEEK’S HAUL

What I wrote: more of The Iron Maiden, of course! And I set the manuscript complete date for April 18. Super excited to FINALLY get this book out! And remember, don’t forget to grab the pre-order at your preferred retailers, ok? 😉 Pre-order The Iron Maiden TODAY! (Pre-order it at AmazonKobo, Nook / B&N, iBooks).

What I edited: I dove back into my Creative Action Plan for the next 3 years and did a bit of tweaking and updating. Things are moving right along and on schedule so far, so hopefully, I’ll hit all my author milestones for this year!

What I read / watched / listened to: I read a bit of Mockingjay last week, but not much. I’m trying to get through it as well as another novel, The Descendants, by the end of this month (which isn’t that far away)! I also tapped into some more inspirational podcasts, along with my usual podcast fare!

What I researched / developed: More plotweaving for The Iron Maiden.

What I learned: I finished Bryan Cohen’s Selling for Authors course, and it rocked so hard. My book description game is already showing significant improvement! I loved it from beginning to end! I’m also nearly 75% of the way through Patrice Washington’s I Can Earn More Challenge course, and while it’s great in many ways, I think my ultimate conclusion about this course is that it was a hit or miss, but for those of us who are at an intermediate level ONLY. I think folks who are more on a beginner level, i.e. just started considering entrepreneurship and an independent creative career, would GREATLY benefit from this challenge. I’m aiming to finish up the I Can Earn Challenge this week so that I can focus on other things!

In other news, I’ve also finished up a course called #GoIndependent by Regina Anaejionu, and OMG, it’s so fucking epic. And it’s FREE! I started this course earlier in the year and got distracted, so I decided to finish it up before the first quarter was over. This course is AMAZING for those of you who literally want to “go indie” and own your own business as a coach, info-preneur, publisher, freelancer, or as an online product store owner. I was taking this course as training for the work I’m doing at The Bohemian Badass, but in case any of you aspiring authors out there want to up your entrepreneur game, I definitely recommend you check out Regina’s course and eat it alive. And again, it’s FREEEE!

THIS WEEK’S HUSTLE

What I’m writing this week: More of The Iron Maiden! Gunning towards that April 18th deadline!

What I’m editing this week: Getting my mailing list pathways fixed… for the SECOND time. (OMG, COLBY, JUST DO IT, DAMN YOU). I’m also going to write some back posts for my blog. I want to turn my weekly hustle series into a blog series as well as document my progress here. I’m ALSO going to start working on my Author Copywriting Package for The Iron Maiden this Thursday! It’s slated to be polished and finished by March 31st, the latest.

What I’m reading / watching / listening this week: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, and The Descendants by Ally Capraro.

What I’m researching / developing: The entire next five-volumes of The Books of Ezekiel, because that’s what’s flowing right now. Also, plotweaving like a madwoman. (Just like last week.)

What I’m learning for this week: We’re getting down to the wire here, and I’ve just got one last course left: The I Can Earn More Challenge by Patrice Washington, which I’m now aiming to finish by this Friday.

Just 10 days until my end-of-the-quarter round up… Stay tuned!

Writing on, rocking on, and forever journeying towards creative badassery,
<3 Colby