Writing Update: May 2022

Wow, guys. It's time for another writing update. I'm happy to say that I have GOOD NEWS this time! If you receive my newsletter, you probably already know that my draft for Oath of Flame was supposed to be done May 1st... and I didn't meet my deadline.

But! All is not lost. It actually worked out for the better, because my editor's schedule was full and she had another client cancel, which opened up a spot for my book a few weeks after my original request date. I had to push my release date back by 3 weeks, but that's small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. (At least that's what I'm telling myself.)

ANYWAY. The great news is that I finally finished my draft yesterday!!

[WOOT WOOT]

I won't lie, guys... it's a ROUGH draft. But I've always been more efficient at the editing process rather than the writing process, so with my editor's help, I'm confident we can really make this book shine before its release date in August!

CURRENT WORD COUNT

Current word count: 42,673

Target word count: 65,000

I'm such an underwriter, it's hilarious. I was in almost an identical position with Sparks and Shadow's first draft. I ended up adding almost 15,000 words to the final version of that book, and I'm confident I can do the same with this one.

WRITING THOUGHTS

I talk about this on my Instagram and in my newsletter all the time, but work/life balance is a constant work-in-progress for me. Before I became a mom, we were busy, but if I wanted to spend time writing, I just did it. Now I'm pulled in a million different directions. If I have 30 free minutes during the day, should I write? Do dishes or laundry? Play with my daughter? Spend quality time with my husband? Work on my editing business? Tinker with book marketing? The options are endless!

Right now, I work two full days a week and then several evenings. I've tried to restrict my weekends to family time only, and so far that's working pretty well for me. The good news is, in a couple weeks my daughter is switching to preschool 3 days per week, which means 3 full workdays and hopefully no more evenings! *fingers crossed*

This will leave me more time to write with fewer distractions. Because let's be honest, even when I'm working at home in the evenings, it's not my most productive work time. I get a lot of "visits" from my soon-to-be three-year-old.

If you have any tips about work/life balance or increasing productivity, feel free to drop them in the comments below. I'd love to hear them!

Chat with you next week!

Ceara