So there’s what January looked like. After a rather disappointing start, yesterday was the first day off since the 7th.
Half Share is ready for format and upload. I should be able to do that today. I’ve already got the galley for Full Share sitting here on the table beside me and I’ve got a red pen all ready to go. I suspect there will be less markup on that book, meaning I’ll get through it that much faster. The goal is to get Full Share done by the end of February. Sooner is better.
I’ve still got audio work owed. You’ll see that I managed to get some out in the middle of the month but mostly I worked on paperbacks.
The 21st was “surgery day.” I lost that day to the hospital – family member, not me. She’s recuperating and all is well.
I had a lot of nice green circles (around the date numbers) – those were podcast days. I had one blue circle day when I walked but the recording failed. It happens.
I know many of you are disappointed that I’ve not even started any new work this month. It’ll come. I’m still in the “million words” club — a group of us who have set a million word goal for this year. That’s only 100 days of 10k words and there are 330 or so left in the year. That’s more than enough for six new novels.
Editors, that’s another question, but I’m working with three right now and have a couple more in the drawer for future work. Let me get the old stuff cleared up so I can move forward into a new workflow and I think all of us are going to be happier.
Keep flying.
Great news, Skipper! Clear skies!
Looks good! Question. What is the difference between the red, green, and blue entries for “Ppr HS?”
By the end of the month, I think I’ve settled on these meanings:
Green is “milestone met” .. generally i reached some goal that day.
Blue is “made progress” .. generally I chopped up a good chunk of work.
Red is “yeah. Half assed day but I made an attempt”
Today’s milestone is a green “HS repubbed” because I got all the ebooks reissued and I’ve started the conversion from ebook to paper. I should finish that tomorrow … if I do it’ll be green “PPR HS”. If I make good progress but don’t actually finish for whatever reason, it’ll be blue. If I hack at it but make little progress (unlikely) it’ll be red. I think these make some sense. I want the calendar to be as green as possible but I want to acknowledge there will be days that I work hard but don’t get there. Red will always mean, “Not as good as it might have been” for one reason or another.
Early in the month I started with red meaning “not writing” .. the “HLW Edit” were the days I spent reviewing the edit changes on Hermit of Lammas Wood. That didn’t seem fair because that was hard work and I was doing it pretty diligently. The blue audio days were for “work done that wasn’t writing but was still production.”
It’s still a work in progress as I figure out how to use the colors and notes to keep prodding myself to do more and better quality work.
Good luck, you have set a hard road for yourself, but remember to take the time needed to keep well.
Just finished “Hermit”, once agin you made me cry. Thanks I need it, sometimes being caught up in emotions is what makes the differance between a good day and a great one.
Looks like a productive month. Also looks like you set high goals – keep striving. Any update on the Owners Share editing?
None that I’m willing to share, Mike. I’ve been burned by it before.
The next news you hear about Owner’s Share is that the book is available. I get beaten up too much when things don’t go well and I’m trying to minimize the distractions.
OK, honest answer, I can appreciate that. Good luck
I’m really excited to read “Tanyth 3.” My wife and I take turns reading it aloud at night. (We have to finish reading “The Hobbit” first because it’s getting so intense!) Keep it up Captain, you’re doing great.
Audio works? Is Zypheria’s Call in audio format? I did find Episode One, and loved it. Is the rest coming?
I have listened to all 6 books in the ‘Share’ series at least 3 times, and your other fantastic audio books at least twice. Maybe I just can’t find any of your new books on audio. Do you have a timetable you could share?
Thank you for sharing your stories with us.
Tom
I’m working on Zypheria’s Call and will follow up with Hermit of Lammas Wood.
Paper first, then I’ll fill in the audio.
Then I’ll write something new.
I do not have a timetable because every time I announce a schedule, it gets shredded by reality.
And then I get nasty emails about promises not kept.
There is a list of all the places that are using my voice on the multimedia tab. 🙂
Nathan,
Your stories are a calming cup of tea in a chaotic violent world I live in (Marine Corps/Police)! Unsolicited advice sucks to be frank, so I wont offer any. I would have nothing to offer regarding your amazing story telling but my hope would be this.
That you would swear off the paper publishing and all the busy work of the different mediums regarding publishing. You seem to be able to crank out amazing tales rapidly and would like to see you do just that for as long as the muse strikes. I loved, love your narration so I guess I would like that as a focus but only if it was released at the same time as a new tale so I have the option.
I want as much of your work as you can crank out and don’t fear that rapidity or haste would even slightly diminish a single tale of yours. I’ve told several friends of your work and I compare your crafting to that of Thoreau writing a yarn in a good and peaceful mood.
Thank you for what you do!
Thanks for the kind words of support, Francis.
The problem is that I need to clear away all these distractions so that I *can* hammer out new tales.
They’ll be here … as long as I can wheel myself up to the keyboard, they’ll be here. 🙂
Hi Nathan
From someone at 27 N latitude the winter up there is looking rough.
So here’s hoping that you & yours are well. Best Wishes
Nathan,
I have to let you know I have just finished reading all of the published sloar clipper books for the 5th time. I have also gone through Owner’s Share 2 time on audio. I do have one question, about a couple of chacters and their heights. Ish was if I remember between 1.5 and 1.75 m, would put him near and Brill was around 2.25, I cannot seem to find how tall Greta was. It seems as if you describe her as being a little shorter than Ish but no real reference to how much shorter.
For some reason I seem to envision her as around 3-5 inches shorter than him.
PS looking forward to getting Owner’s Share and the new Ish books when they come out for Kindle.
Probably only a centimeter or so.
Wow, I just finished listening to Owner’s share. Fine story Mr. Lowell and I can’t wait to buy it on Kindle. 🙂
Any forecast as to when owner’s share will hit kindle?
Nope.
Find myself checking in ‘just’ to read your blog – used to just check for OS updates. Cap, you just keep writing whatever, and I’ll keep reading. You are an inspiration in my life, from coffemaking to calendarmarkings 😛