Heyoooo! I’m BACK, and I’m ready to tackle December with what I call “finishing energy”, i.e. taking projects that are mostly completed and bringing them to their final states! So I’ve been working on wrapping certain projects up in the past week, and I’ll be doing even more of that in December.
To boot, I’m also in a space of *extreme* gratitude re: my experiences in graduate school. By taking a perspective of “experience itemization” (trying to look at every single experience I’ve had in my MFA program and figuring out what skills I gained and what portfolio pieces I’ve developed), I’ve actually really discovered the deep value of my MFA. Furthermore, I’m understanding how far I’ve come personally, and how much I’ve developed as an artist and a person.
Anyways! Let’s get into it. There are quite a few projects on my plate to finish, so check out the podcast to find out!
So it’s been forever and a day since I’ve been on here! Six weeks to be exact, and a lot of things have unfolded in my life since then. Mainly, I’ve been focusing on finishing up this semester of graduate school, and that (alongside a few select creative projects) will continue over the next five weeks as well.
Still, there’s plenty of novel writing, screenwriting, and learning about filmmaking and musical theatre that’s been going on. Mainly, I’m aiming for a December 20th release for “Hollow Point, Part I: Fraternity”, the next novel in my dystopian-urban fantasy series, The Books of Ezekiel. So let’s get into it!
The second quadrimester (meaning from May 1 – Aug 31) of the year is over, and I’ve gotten a BUNCH done. Again! I know this update is late, and we’re already 30% into the last quadrimester, but better late than never, right? Lol!
Anyways, here’s a comprehensive round up of everything I’ve gotten done! I’m *STILL* having a lot more fun (and “success”) this year, and I just hope I can keep up the momentum!
(Don’t want to listen to the podcast? As much as my voice sounds like honey on a hard-on, I totally get it. 😉 Just check out the bulleted list of milestones below!
QUADRIMESTER #2 CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS
(MAY 1 – AUG 31)!
Grad School & Teaching:
finished my second year of grad school out of three
finished my second year of teaching out of three
finished my new play dramaturgy protocol
wrote an artist’s manifesto
successfully pitched my Masters thesis on Shakespeare’s Roman history tetralogy
job prep by brainstorming all my skills and experiences and trying to figure out how to monetize those skills
dramaturg’d Claire’s, Dominique’s, and Adia’s plays (minimally)
taught a full lecture, on Aristotelian tragedy
NOVEL WRITING
wrote and finished my novella, “The Camille”
ASYLUM Worldbuilding: developed a pre-quel trilogy plot line for ASYLUM series; worked on the plot grid and character arcs for the entire series
RAPTURE Worldbuilding: started brainstorming on the RAPTURE 7-book series, added it to the project slate, and started working out a loose book-by-book plot
BOOKS OF EZEKIEL Worldbuilding: continued developing plots, world, and character arcs
Novel Writing WORD COUNT: 14,572
mostly worked on The Books of Ezekiel, the ASYLUM series, and the Hitmen of Happily Ever After series
started development on the Morien serialized novel series
started development on the Immortal serialized novel series
started development on The Camille serialized novel series
started development on Surrogate serialized novel series
TV WRITING
learned a LOT about TV series development and TV writing with my summer study
designed a TON of TV writing worksheets, templates, and courses for my personal use & for The Bohemian Badass
started development on the Morien TV series
started development on the Ezekiel TV series
started development on the Immortal TV series
started development on The Camille TV series
started development on Surrogate TV series
DIRECTING
reformatted and resubmitted my two 10-minute plays
worked on my first directing plan
sat a bunch of pre-production meetings
created a series of rehearsal plans
wrote up and sent along the casting notice for ERASED
attended two 5-hour rehearsals and made some final decisions on casting
PUBLISHING
published a novella (The Camille) and a new start to a brand new series
planned and co-launched the 2054 cyberpunk anthology: blurb writing, ARC team recruitment, NL swap organization, giveaway set up, email automations for three lists (ARC list, general list, and giveaway list)
planned and completely set up most of the UPRISING box set launch: ARC team recruitment, NL swap organization, giveaway set up, email automations for three lists (ARC list, general list, and giveaway list)
became an Amazon bestselling author on 6 lists
got ranked at #54 in Horror (somehow)!
updated project and development slate for Rebel Ragdoll
applied and GOT LLC status for Rebel Ragdoll Press
MARKETING
learned a LOT about marketing through mostly hands-on experience
invested in and collected a bunch of industry research materials for science fiction and fantasy markets at Amazon.com
created marketing plan for the 2054 anthology
recorded and uploaded 15 new podcast episodes
finished designing full marketing model for my Colby R. Rice brand
finished designing full marketing model for my Rebel Ragdoll Press brand
removed all cold subscribers and add back active subs
engaged in many individual author promos and NL swaps
got a new Patron on Patreon!
THE BOHEMIAN BADASS
Infrastructure
set up accounting and financial management software for The Bohemian Badass
applied and GOT LLC status for The Bohemian Badass
filled out the majority of my business plan for The Bohemian Badass
set up SEO for The Bohemian Badass through Google Analytics
finished the REST of the legal pages for The Bohemian Badass: Badass Privacy & Comments Policy, Badass Copyright Policy, Badass Terms & Conditions Policy, Badass Cookie Policy, Badass Return & Refund Policy, Badass Affiliate Links Policy, and added them to the website
renewed domain name
Branding & Building
chose branding, colors, fonts, and graphics templates for business
designed the full website for The Bohemian Badass, including deciding on the content, categories, webpages, and general layout for the brand
optimized website for mobile
learned how to use the Divi website development software
developed adope Affiliate Marketing strategy and opened accounts at select Affiliate sites
installed WooCommerce online store
Content Creation
finished the script breakdown for “A Quiet Place”
generated over 600 of blog post ideas, over 200 different info products, and organized them into MASSIVE spreadsheet
planned out monthly blog content theme for the next 6 months (Sept ‘18 – Feb ‘19); worked hard on filling in editorial calendar for 2018
finished creating a rough draft of the Badass TV Course, Part I: The Anatomy of a TV Series, including the Study Notes and TV Series breakdown templates, TV Series Development checklist
finished creating a rough draft of the Badass TV Course, Part II: Developing Your Badass TV Series, including the TV Bible template and development workbook, created a TV Series Plot Development worksheet
finished creating a rough draft of the Badass TV Course Part III: Developing the Pilot, including the Perfect Pilot worksheets, TV Dev Act Planner
finished creating a rough draft of the Badass TV Course, Part IV: Writing the Pilot, including
designed an awesome coaching program for The Bohemian Badass
wrote a “best practices” sample guide for ARC recruitment
wrote a “best practices” sample guide for List Engagement
CREATIVE UNI
updated summer goals; checked on and updated 3-year creative plan; updated portfolio with more achievements
FINISHED the script breakdown for “A Quiet Place”
FINISHED 17 courses and am in the middle of 4 more courses
sat and finished “How to Create a Proper Marketing Plan for Your Next Book” masterclass (Reedsy & Draft2Digital) masterclass
sat and finished the Creating a Binge Worthy TV Show, MODULE #1
sat and finished The Perfect Story (JA Huss) masterclass
sat and finished the Shonda Rhimes Teaches TV Writing masterclass
sat and finished the Publish Your Thing: Audience Magnet Arsenal 2.0 course
sat and finished 5 Shifts to Turn Your Expertise Into a Profitable Business That Transforms Lives
sat and finished How To Master Amazon Data To Sell More Books
sat and finished Publish Your Thing: Create Your Own Service & Coaching Business Already (byRegina.com)
sat and finished The Business of Fashion Course (Business of Fashion)
sat and finished Marc Jacob’s Fashion Design Masterclass (Masterclass)
sat and finished Diane Von Furstenberg’s Building a Fashion Brand Masterclass (Masterclass)
sat and finished YouTube Jumpstart Course (Jesse & Kong)
sat and finished Author Success Method course (J Thorn)
sat and finished “5 Shifts to Turn Your Expertise Into a Profitable Business That Transforms Lives” masterclass (Rosetta Thurman)
sat and finished “Mastering Amazon Data To Sell More Books” masterclass (K-lytics)
sat and finished “Your Lifestyle Service Business Course” classes
sat and finished the “From Prospect to Paid Client” Masterclass
sat the Publish Your Thing: Make Your Site Remarkable course
sat the Publish Your Thing: Visual Arsenal 2.0 course
sat the Publish Your Thing: Launch Your Engaged Group Already course
sat the Publish Your Thing: Create Your Profitable Funnels Already course
BOOKS/SCRIPTS/TV SERIES FINISHED:
Writing the Pilot by Will Rabkin
Writing the Pilot: Creating the Series by Will Rabkin
30-Day Challenge Meal Plan, Week #1 by Betty Rocker
Developing a Series with Series Bibles: A Production Guide for Writing Series Bibles for TV, Film, and Fiction! by Wade Pena & Phil Zizza
Hi boos! So, my podcast is short, but I have some awesome news: we have officially OPENED and CLOSED our black box production, ERASED, and it’s gone super well! I have some quick closing thoughts on my experience as a dramaturg and director on this show, so tune in!
It’s been two more weeks from the last podcast, and honestly? Things are going GREAT! I’ve been pretty busy with my directing stuff, but because that’s the main project I’m focusing on right now, I don’t have much news to report on in other aspects of my life.
Still, I managed to help wrap up our launch of UPRISING, get some writing done on The Books of Ezekiel series, and do some reflection on where I’d like the rest of this year to go.
So tune in! Today’s a short podcast, but an upbeat one. 🙂
OKAY, guys! So it’s been two whole weeks since I’ve been back to give you details on my journey, and boy do I have an earful for you! Some of the more major accomplishments, though, include:
learning a whole lot through this directing experience,
co-launching a 12-book dystopian box set, and,
getting admission into a USA Today aimed box set for urban fantasy and paranormal romance!
But, of course, victory has its vices, and the past two weeks have also been shadowed by some unfortunate political and bureaucratic rainclouds as we try to get the production we’re directing on its feet. And of course, I’ve got something to say about it.
These past three weeks have been really fruitful, but also really cray cray, and I’m literally just trying to keep the ship on course right now. Lots of great stuff happening (TV writing, the upcoming release of a new box set, directing a brand new studio show, and a developing master thesis), but also lots of diva attitudes popping up that are dampening my vibe a bit.
I’m spilling a little tea here, but I’m keeping it classy and anonymous as I guide you guys through my creative journey as an artist and as a director. So stay tuned!
Grad school’s starting up again in 2 weeks, but I am committed to staying as unbothered as possible. Keywords being: AS POSSIBLE. Lol. Strangely, though, the inevitable beginning of the school year has encouraged me to slow my life down even MORE and enjoy the calm, the chill before the grad school storm.
As a result, I can slowly feel myself shifting back to my philosophy of deep focus (sort of automatically), and I also feel myself staying FIRMLY in the realm of self-care. So tune in to hear more!
Check out (and buy) THE CAMILLE, episode 1 of 50 at Amazon:amzn.to/TheCamille
So last time I came to you guys, I was at a loss. I felt as though my love for writing and creativity was slipping away. But today? I’m feeling AWESOME!!
After realizing that I focused too much on product vs process, I took a well-needed hiatus from writing to explore different creative channels. Specifically… I’m exploring the world of fashion design!
Fashion design is just a hobby at the moment, but by focusing on the playful exploration of doing something new, I’ve REALLY been able to explore the idea of process-oriented learning (as opposed to results-oriented learning). At the end of my hiatus, I was even craving a writing session, and I was able to actually sit down, write more of Hollow Point, and ENJOY it!
There’s more to tell, obviously, but you’ll have to listen to this podcast to find out the tea. 😉
