You 'd figure with all this down time due to Covid-19, I would finally release a book or two. Maybe I'd have the time to write another novel. Well, none of that happened. I did manage to finish the first and second drafts of a short story, but that's about it.
Though there was more down time, I did continue to work, though it was at home. In fact, I've gotten pretty good at Zoom. Thinking back to more productive days, I remember being swamped and still finding time to write and edit. In retrospect, time is not the problem.
It's discipline.
During more productive times, I had every excuse to not write but did it anyway. Today, it's the opposite. I let every excuse to not write or edit govern my actions. I try to follow the rule of read a lot; write a lot.
As of late, I have been reading more. Last month, I finished reading The Dead Zone by Stephen King. Man, there sure were a lot of adverbs in that story. I moved on to read the first Jack Reacher book by Lee Child, Killing Floor. Now I'm on the second book, Die Trying.
On a positive note, my short story, The Note, got published in Calliope, a magazine by the University of Holy Cross, New Orleans. I submitted two stories and the second one, The Librarian, was a better story but didn't get published, but that's okay. Any victory is a good one.
In my day job, I went back to school for alternative certification (yes, I teach). Originally, I had planned on taking this summer off, but that didn't work out. Last month, at the last moment, I signed up for a required class. At least this should be my last ever summer school class.
I'm pondering the idea of opening a store on this website to sell my books. The time for each book to go from release to possible bestseller has long since passed. Why not open an online store? Maybe I could sell some of the flash fiction stories or other unreleased short stories I've written. Let me know your opinion, one way or another, if it's a good idea. I have another blog entry about that almost ready to go. I'll publish it soon.
A reason I haven't released a book in so long is the fact I need a professional editor who will work with my writing style, which is dialog driven with a bit of description. I prefer one from the Greater New Orleans Area, but I'm getting to the point where it might be better to be less picky. Recruiting alpha and beta readers is also an option.
I have also been exploring Wix and they are advertising the development of a logo. There are several I really like, so I'm not ready to make a choice.
Time to get to work. Have a great day!!
