I’ve reached the point in my RoW80 journey where my first goal is basically complete. Soulless has been shipped off to beta readers and the Kickstarter has launched. There’s little to do with it now except continue to plan for my cover design (which image do you like best?) and promoting aforementioned Kickstarter (without getting too annoying). If anyone would like to help, please spread the word and mention it to your friends, because we all know that word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful tools out there. In a little while, I’ll be hitting that campaign trail pretty hard, but, for now, I’m keeping things pretty soft and light.
So where do I focus my energies now? The rough draft of Serpent in a Cage is nearly finished, so I’d like to give it the same treatment I gave Soulless at the start of this Round: type up a chapter a day. In no time (i.e. by the end of the round), it should be entirely transcribed and ready for editing. Ready being the key word, because I’m going to leave it for a while before I get back to it and delve into picking it apart. There will be absolutely no editing started on it until Soulless is out and published.
Even once Soulless is out and published, SiaC might still be on the back burner simmering for a little bit, because I’ll have to focus on getting the second book, Heartless, ready by next August. So I’m going to work out a goal with Heartless‘s rough draft, though I’m not sure yet if I’m going to aim for a chapter a day or just a more manageable page a day quite yet. Either way, if I get started on it now, then I can easily have it ready for editing and readers this time next year, putting it on the same schedule. Then it’s on to Fearless!
The last goal I need to figure out is my short stories. Right now, I’m tentatively trying to submit a short story every day, which is what I set for myself often, but never quite seem to manage. Still, pushing myself toward that goal is the best way to get myself to actually produce stories, and I have three fantasy-esque tales in my grasp right now, only one of which has been sent out. There’s promise there, so I just have to keep on it and spend more time focusing on producing these works and efficiently getting them typed and sent. And, when they’re rejected, send them through the revision machine and send them out again. Lather, rinse, repeat. The more you put out there, the more chances you have of getting something. That’s definitely going to be a focus, too.
When I set my goals at the beginning of this round, I knew the main one would finish in the middle of it and I’d have to establish something else, but I didn’t think I’d be so unfocused about it all. When you tackle such a big project, you’re left a little stunned once it’s finished (for the time being). Has anyone else finished a goal in the middle of a round? What did you do to help yourself get back on track?
Don’t forget to check out my fellow RoWers here! Happy writing!
L.S. Engler 
Having spent all your time on one thing, it is kind of a shock to finish and have nothing more to do on it š
Guess it’s about choosing what you want to spend your energies on now š
I know! It’s so weird!
For all the scattered direction, though, I do feel like I’m getting a little bit done on a lot of things again. I’ve already sent out two stories; I’ll really have to focus on writing up some more, I think.
Well done on completing what is a hefty goal! It must feel exciting at the same time to be able to focus your time on whatever you want now š
Excited, but also a little nerve-wracking. I miss the poor little guy. But it’ll be back to me soon, and hopefully then off to the publishers!
I found I can’t really work on more than one major project at a time. And you’ve identified the real problem: Knowing when the biggie is really done! I’ve let my “draft” (wip?) simmer then gone through for that final, final edit and am now simmering myself, wondering if I need to check the character arcs just one more time before pubbing. Right now (yes, mid round), I’m ready to start the next one — research, draft scenes, outline, etc, but first, gotta finish this one. Maybe that old French saying will be useful: Sometimes the quest for perfection is the enemy of the good. So all the best in your writing and crowdsourcing. I’d give feedback on your images — but the link didn’t work for me. š