I'm not going to lie to you. This week did not go well. It started with my youngest off school ill, then had my eldest off school ill, and to top it off my husband was on holiday from work (a good thing don't get me wrong), which meant time I would usually have spent writing got used for other things. Here's a quick run down of how things went this week:
NaNoWriMo
I started off on a high, hitting 25K. To celebrate I went and cut my hair off for charity. Yep, no more long hair. It's now on its way to The Little Princess Trust to make wigs for kiddos with cancer. A good cause I think you'll all agree. Here's some pics:
Una foto pubblicata da Jo Linsdell (@jolinsdell) in data:
Unfortunately for my word count, that was the only high of the week. In fact, I had several days of 0 words after that. I did get an idea for another book though whilst we visited Civita di Bagnoreggio... maybe next year I'll try my hand at some young adult?
Here's a few pics from Civita di Bagnoreggio so you can see what a beautiful place it is, and why it was hard to feel bad for not writing whilst we were there:
Una foto pubblicata da Jo Linsdell (@jolinsdell) in data:
Hoping for a better week ahead.
WNFIN
A slow week on this too, but I did do some little bits in and here. I had hoped to have this finished by now, but at least I'm not far off now.
PiBoIdMo
This is the only challenge where I'm actually ahead of myself. I really like some of the ideas I've added to my list too.
Are you taking part in a challenge this month? How's it going so far? In case you missed it you can check out last weeks progress report here :)
I've decided to put together a limited time, special offer for you all. Partly because you're all being awesome showing your support this month as I work on my challenges (you guys really do rock!), partly because Christmas is just round the corner (I know, scary huh? So not ready!!!), and partly because the end of year is fast approaching too. This means now is the perfect time to give yourself a last minute boost and/or great ready to start the new year with a bang.
So what's the deal?
I'm discounting How to be Twittertastic down from it's normal price of $2,99 to just $0,99! That's 2 whole dollars off! Pretty cool huh?
The good news doesn't stop there though....
I'm running the discount for a whole 5 days, from 16th - 20th November 2015.
What people are saying about How to be Twittertastic:
"Jo Linsdell's How To Be Twittertastic is awesome for newbies and not so newbies to the twittersphere. She walks you through step by step how to set your twitter profile up and how to get it running off to a great start. Chock full of hints, tips, tricks; this is a must have guide to any author or writer that wants to know how to use twitter to reach out to their fans and engage new readers. This lady knows her stuff guys! I've also had a chance to read her series on Virtual Book Tours... I see a great series in the making!" - Virginia Lori Jennings
"Good ideas about how to market yourself and book on twitter. Did gain some valuable information. Worth my time to read and take notes." - C - Mama Likes To Read Book Blog
And because it's always nice to have a graphic to share to Pinterest....
Now you've got your copy I want to tell you about a special project I want to do. I'm looking for a few people to take part in a challenge. All you need to do is take some screenshots of your Twitter profile showing your number of followers, and make a few notes about the amount of engagement your tweets get.
You then take your copy of How to be Twittertastic and put the tips into practice. As you go through the book I need you to do some more screenshots and make a couple of notes about changes you notice.
The great thing is that anyone can take part. You can even do it if you don't have a Twitter account yet, as the book takes you through how to get started and set up your profile.
If you're interested in taking part in the challenge, please leave a comment below with your Twitter handle, or drop me a tweet at @JoLinsdell.
Here's a quick run down of how things went this week:
NaNoWriMo
This week had its highs and its lows. Mainly lows... This week did not go brilliantly. Starting with a weekend of birthday parties, my youngest getting ill in the middle, a visit from a friend from the US, a night out at WWE.... I'm amazed I actually found any time to write! I did though, and my word count is still looking pretty good all things considered, although I am slightly behind with my word count at the moment, just not so much behind that I can't catch up again. In fact, I did have one really good day where I boosted my word count nicely, making up for some of the slow (or just plain nothing) days of the week. My characters have continued to take over the story, and I've added in several scenes, and some new characters, that weren't in my original plot outline. This means I've also had to add in a few extra scenes to my plot outline to be written over the next few days to fill in some gaps. One of my characters who was just an extra kind of role before has now been promoted to a more involved role. I'm also now not sure about the ending I had planned. The story may not stop there anymore.
WNFIN
I had hoped to have finished this by now, but I've neglected this project badly this week, and done next to nothing on it. *Slaps wrists* Must do better.
PiBoIdMo
Still bang on track. Finally added some fiction ideas to my list too. Doing one, or more, of these challenges? How are you doing so far?
Welcome to another Library Reads update!
Discovering children's books with my kids.
This week the boys picked:
- The Red Rock - Tell Me a Dragon - Lost and Found
Watch the video to find out what we thought of them:
Did you go to the library this week? Got a suggestion for a book we should try? Leave a comment below and tell me about it.
Miss some of the past Library Reads updates? Check them out here:
Does your library have my books in stock? If not, ask them to order them ;)
Quick Tips: Bringing you tips, tricks, and strategies in bite-sized format to help you build your author brand, and market your books.
This weeks "Quick Tip" is to add a photo to your business card.
Think about it, you give out your business card during events. Hopefully you'll have had the chance to exchange a few words with the person you're giving it to. This has probably happened to them a hundred times over throughout the event with others giving them their business cards too.
Now fast forward to day, week, or month, later. What are the chances of them remembering your name? Chances are slim. They go through the pile of business cards they collected and find yours. They remember you because your photo is on the card. That's right, they remember your face. Much more likely than just your name. Do you have your photo on your business card? For more Quick Tips, and other video content subscribe to my channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/jolinsdell
As you probably know by now, I'm doing 3 writing challenges this month. Here's a quick run down of how things went this week:
NaNoWriMo
This first week went well. I'm on track with my word count, despite falling slightly behind on the 5th. My characters have taken over a couple of times and made some changes to my original plot outline. Nothing that can't be solved, but it's messed with my timeline a bit. Will just have to see further down the road, just what it means for the story. At the moment I'm feeling optimistic about picking up my winner certificate at the end of the month.
WNFIN
This week has been good. The book is starting to take shape, and coming on quite quickly. At one point, I had even hoped to finish it in the first week. That didn't happen. I am at a good point though and if I can get in some good sessions over the next few days, I should be able to write THE END.
PiBoIdMo
This challenge is going well too. So far I'm bang on track with an idea for each day.
One thing that has surprised me this year is the amount of non fiction ideas I've added to my list. I've always been mainly fiction in the past so this is new ground for me. I like the ideas I've had though and will definitely be developing some of them further. Will be interesting to see if I carry on with this non fiction streak or whether the fiction ideas start rolling in too.
Over all I'm really pleased with how the first week went :)
Are you doing a challenge this month? How's it going so far?
Discovering Children's Books
Library Reads: What the Kids Picked this Week 1st-8th Nov 2015
Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon.Read the fulldisclosure about all the legal stuff here.
Quick Tips: Bringing you tips, tricks, and strategies in bite-sized format to help you build your author brand, and market your books.
This weeks "Quick Tip" is to take part in a challenge.
Challenges are great for motivation, but have other benefits too. They can be a great way to build our network and make new connections, and can lead you to new opportunities too. e.g. being interviewed, featured on a website, or invited to take part in an event.
Are you doing a challenge this month?
November is going to be a busy month. For the next 30 days I'll be taking part in 3 creative challenges. Yep 3! I know I probably seem completely crazy but I'm pretty sure that at the end of the month I'm going to feel awesome. Tired, but awesome!
In just 30 days time I'll have the first draft of a 50K novel, the first draft of a non fiction book, and 30 ideas for children's picture books. Not bad for one months work.
I know I've raised the bar on myself and made this month super hard by doing all 3 challenges at the same time. That said, I did all 3 back in 2013 and collecting my winner certificate for both NaNoWriMo, and PiBoIdMo. I didn't quite finish my WNFIN project but I did get over half way with it. That's a lot closer than I was at the start of the month.
If you're taking part in any of these challenges this month please reach out so we can support each other as we go along. Post your profile links below or just comment with the challenges you're doing.
I'll be doing word sprints over on Twitter throughout the month, so feel free to join me there too.
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