Juggling Writing Book 2, Editing Book 1, Developing Relationships, and a new BMP!

Dear Gentle Reader (and yes, I said that in the Elizabethan Bridgerton voice),

I apologize for my hiatus. Things have been churning here in the World of Liren, and I'm glad to say that you should be seeing much more of me moving forward.

Since our last interaction, I have developed quite a few wonderful relationships with critique partners across various states and even countries, have rewritten the first half of Book One many times, have somehow erased an extra 20,000 words from the first six chapters without losing anything pertinent to the plot (thus makes about 90,000 words eliminated from the original 220k draft), and have perfected it as well as I can without a professional editor.

Throughout all this, I have also been making significant progress on Book Two, have drafted the rest of the Book Two's plot, have gone through a serious depression and spiral when I realized I jacked up said plot, fixed said plot (with the amazing help of one of my newer critique partners), gotten back on track, AND have designed what I'm joyfully calling a BMP (Book Marketing Plan) that I will be implementing religiously as I finish Book Two and gear up for its editing while marketing and publishing Book One.

*deep inhale* Can you hear the breathlessness in that?

It's been a bit nuts, to say the least. Additionally, work in the fitness studio is beginning to gear back up from the summer lull, which is exciting, but also requires the other half of what's left of my mental capacity.

That leaves my poor husband dealing with a spazzed out wife who demands she actually wants to start a fall/winter garden this year and not postpone AGAIN. All of this, and to top it off, most of my cats have decided to take turns needing vet visits. (Everyone is good; the sick ones are mending, and my blind and toothless one seems to have the least problems!)


Moving forward, you can expect less info-dump style posts, and more structured information about weekly updates regarding the progress of Book One and the development of Book Two, as I juggle life's demands while still prioritizing the joy that is creating, the pain involved with it, and everything in-between.

I'll also be inviting folks to join my up-and-coming newsletter, which will cover more official news in the world of edits, publishing, cover design, etc., and any life updates you might find interesting.

I look forward to bringing you along in this journey with me.

Until next week!

All my love,

Jess



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