Ally Aldridge Author Tube, Blogging, Book Genre, Book Tube, Contemporary, Diary, Fantasy, Fiction, Mermaid or Siren, My Books, Publishing, Romance, Shifters, Sky Heart, Super Powers, The Soul Heart Series, Urban, Writing, Young Adult, YouTube

My Self Publishing Diary

I thought it might be interesting to keep a diary on how I published my 2nd book in the Soul Heart Series. Many people are not aware of the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes.

During December, I was liaising with my Formatter and Cover Designer to get the final files for Sky Heart. To complete the paperback cover, my Cover Designer needs to know how many pages are in the final formatted copy of the book as this affects the spine size. My Formatter was keen to get this done before Christmas which she did, but I missed her email. By the time I saw it, it was after Christmas. My Cover Designer got the final paperback cover finished and back to me on 30th Dec, but I’d forgotten to send her the blurb – whoops. I sent that over to her on 31st Dec and she got the final copy back to me the same day.

Now, I have all the files to publish Sky Heart that should be it – right?

Wednesday, 1st Jan 

It’s the first day of 2025 and I’m up and straight on the PC uploading the files to the book aggregators. Basically, a book aggregator is a company that will print (or host the digital ebook file) and distribute your book to retailers. As I publish wide I have chosen to use a few aggregators. The aggregators I use are Amazon KDP, Apple Books, Book Vault, Google Play, Ingram Sparks, and Smashwords.

Ingram Sparks (print and ebook)

I started with Ingram Sparks because that would put both mediums of Sky Heart out in the world in one hit. Also, their website is not the easiest to use, and they take the longest to do anything. In addition, my Cover Designer had to make a cover file just for Ingram Sparks because they like to be a little more complicated than the rest.

Uploading the files went well – I’m pretty sure I did all right. Fingers crossed…

Book Vault (print only)

First, I uploaded it to Book Vault and came across an issue. This was my fault. Whilst I’d been waiting for the files from my Formatter and Cover Designer, I practiced uploading Sky Heart to Book Vault. When I went back to do it for real, I deleted the dummy version and then they wouldn’t let me create a new version as that ISBN had already been used. Eek! I sent a message to their Customer Services but as it is New Years Day, I’m not expecting a response.

Smashwords (ebook only)

Next, I tried Smashwords. This appeared to upload without a problem, and it was exciting to see it already listed for preorder.

Google Play (ebook only)

Google wanted me to update my pay information. This then caused an issue as I had to wait three days for the updated details to be verified.

Apple Books (ebook only)

I’ve been meaning to log into my Apple account for a few weeks as they emailed to say they are changing their terms and I have to accept them by some date in January. However, they would not let me log in. It kept saying my password was wrong. They’d send a link, let me change it, and still wouldn’t work. There are probably some mischievous cookies in the background, but I didn’t have time to investigate further, so I moved on.

Amazon KDP (print only)

Amazon has made self-publishing very easy for authors. Once logged I was logged in, it is very straightforward to add Sky Heart for preorder. I also got to order my first-ever physical proof!

A proof copy is the one that says ‘NOT FOR RESALE’ on the cover. I never got one of these for Ocean Heart as I didn’t know I could include the title in KDP until after it was already out in the world. I thought all books published via Amazon had to be exclusive to them, but it turns out the exclusive part is for the Kindle KDP ebooks. As Ocean Heart was already out in the world when I joined, I couldn’t get the proof copy. I always felt like I missed out on a self-publishing rite of passage but now I will have one with Sky Heart.

Update my website

With the release date set, I needed to update my website, so it doesn’t say Sky Heart is coming soon.

Set up Book Funnel

To distribute the ARC copies of Sky Heart I wanted to use Book Funnel. I used it for Ocean Heart and it worked well. My account had to be reactivated, and then I needed to create a landing page for Sky Heart to be downloaded by my ARC readers.

Send out ARC

First, I downloaded the details of the people who had signed up via my Jot Form. Some people had signed up a long time ago, and there were some other who’d applied more than once and I had to remove duplicates. Then I drafted an email to send out the Book Funnel link to them all.

Write & send newsletter 

Next, I wanted all my newsletter subscribers to know that Sky Heart finally has a release date and invite them to read the ARC by sharing the Book Funnel link with them.

Post on Social Media

Then in Canva, I worked on a few posts to spread the word that Sky Heart is releasing on 7th Feb. I posted two to Instagram and scheduled one for tomorrow.

Can you read Sky Heart before Ocean Heart.

Thursday, 2nd Jan 

Book Vault

I’m very impressed. Yesterday was New Year’s Day, but Book Vault has already got back to me with a solution to my dummy issue. They reinstated the dummy book and advised me to edit it with the actual book details. Book Vault is a straightforward site to use.

I tweaked my cover slightly in Canva as I needed to add a barcode to the back, as Book Vault doesn’t do this. I’m a huge fan of Canva, find it easy to use, and love the inbuilt apps. Yes, there’s even an app to create a barcode using your ISBN in Canva. I love this because I can add my logo to the barcode.

All the files uploaded without any issues. I checked the eCopy of the book. It looked good, so I approved it. Then I ordered a print copy to double check everything is correct.

Smashwords – Premium catalogue issue 

Smashwords had emailed to say my ePub had failed their checks to be included with the Premium Catalogue. This is how I get my ebook included in Kobo+ and Apple Books, etc.

Deep breathes…

The jargon reasons don’t make sense to me, so, I send the details over to my Formatter. She is a wizard at fixing files.

Update PayHip with Sky Heart

One of the features of using Book Vault is they have an app where you can include your books on your own website. Most websites hosts will charge you for having a shop on your site which doesn’t make it cost effective for me.

However, Pay Hip don’t charge me for having a shop. Towards the end of 2024, I created a Pay Hip store to sell Ocean Heart direct to my customers. This means I make more money as I don’t need to give a portion of my money to a retailer, plus Book Vault handle the distribution. Now, Sky Heart is approved on Book Vault, I can add it to my Pay Hip site.

…

Add Sky Heart to my Ko-Fi store

People often want a signed copy and can’t always attend the events I am at. For this reason, I created a Ko-Fi store as it includes a shop. Ko-Fi takes a small commission, but it’s been so useful I feel it is well worth it and has been one of the main sources or sales of Ocean Heart. And, now Sky Heart has been added to the shop.

ko-fi/redfae shop

Closed my Sum Up shop

At events, I use Sum Up to take payments. Sum Up comes with a free website shop where you can sell directly to customers. Late last year I decided to set it up. It lists the same products as my Ko-Fi store. I worry it confuses consumers by having two places you can buy a signed book from me. So for now, I have decided to close this shop.

Update Book Funnel for Ocean Heart 

Today, I decided to revisit the old Ocean Heart page on Book Funnel. This is a page that lists where you can buy Ocean Heart. I found out you can list where the paperback can be bought, so I added these links.

Ocean heart on book funnel

Update Books2Read pages

Working on this reminded me, I used to have an Ocean Heart Books2Read page. Checking this I discovered that you can now add paperback links here too. So, I worked on updating this.

Then, I created a Book2Read page for Sky Heart. It was cool to see that it is already available to pre-order from a few places already!

I’d not realised I have an author page, so I made sure the details on here were correct too.  

Ally aldridge author page
ocean heart page
sky heart page

Update website

I decided to update my website with the Books2Read link as a button, then deleted all the other buttons linking to places to buy Ocean Heart that were already covered on the Books2Read Ocean Heart landing page. This reduced the number of buttons on my book’s page and made it look much cleaner.

Then I updated Sky Heart’s page the same. As the ARC copies had now been sent out, I removed the button to the Jot Form allowing ARC sign ups.

Friday, 3rd Jan 

Ingram Sparks

I received an email from Ingram Sparks to let me know the ecopy proof was ready for me to check and approve. Everything looks fine, so I placed an an order to check it over. I paid extra to get it here faster because Ingram Sparks is the slowest.

Smashwords confirm payment 

Smashwords emailed to request that I check my payment details are correct, so I logged in to confirm they are still the same.

Amend “But” button on website to “Buy”

Last night, I was checking the changes on my website had updated correctly and discovered I’d made a typo. I had created ‘But Ocean Heart’ button instead of a ‘Buy Ocean Heart’ button. It was quick and easy to fix. Phew!

Update LinkTree

Billie Eilish offers this cool underwater background for LinkTree if you subscribe to her newsletter. I’ve wanted it for ages and decided to do it. Now my LinkTree has the cool Billie Eilish background.

My LinkTree includes a shop that has links to buy Ocean Heart and merch. So I updated the shop to include links to where to buy (preorder) Sky Heart.

linktree/redfae

Update my Facebook shop

I only recently found out that I can have a Facebook Shop, and I have been slowly adding my TeeMill merch. All the Ocean Heart clothing is already on there and I can tag these in my Instagram posts. I decided to add my Sky Heart merch.

Whilst logged into my TeeMill store I spotted that it is a FREE Shipping weekend. I quickly created a post to share this on Instagram. I decided to do a post with Sky Heart merch so I further promote the upcoming release and link the merch in my Facebook shop.

It’s not user-friendly and although I can tag products on Instagram, I don’t know how to find the link to my shop to share with people.

Saturday, 4th Jan 

Google Play

Got bored of Google Play waiting to update my payment preference and reverted back to my old payment method (this is for them to pay me). Uploading my book to Google Play is Free. I made sure that the two books are linked as being part of the same series.

Canva – Preparing Marketing

Most of today, I worked on creating reels and posts for marketing. This mainly consisted of looking at old content and repurposing it. There are lots of drafts that have never been posted, so I looked at whether they could be updated and used.

Sunday, 5th Jan 

Wrote a press release 

When I did the pop-up stall at Dunelm in Bury St Edmunds, someone said we should use local press more to promote our books. They are right. So, today I worked on writing a press release. I’ve never done one before so I did ask AI what I should include and I hate it say it, AI was very helpful.

Updated media page

I have a media page that I have attached to emails with all the information about Ocean Heart. I used this as a template to create a media page all about Sky Heart.

DIY Bookcovers – create 3D renders 

This is a brilliant site that creates 3D images of your book that you can use to create marketing posts. My Cover Designer includes a paperback and ebook 3D render as part of her package. I used this website to create some alternative 3D renders and uploaded them to my brand images on Canva.

Buy Teemill Merch

I took advantage of the Free Shipping deal and ordered some of the Sky Heart merch. I have a jumper and a T-shirt on its way to me.

Sky Heart Teemill Products
Teemill/redfae

Mon, 6th Jan

Book Vault confirms the dispatch

Today I went back to work so it was lovely to start the day with an email from Book Vault to let me know that Sky Heart had been printed and dispatched. It was on its way to me.

Research Local Presses

When I got home I researched local presses contact details. I’m not sure when to send the press release. Should I wait until I have a copy of Sky Heart and take a picture of me holding it?

Tues 7th Jan 

Book Vault Paperback Arrives

I had to wait until I got home from work to see it, and then wait until the kids were in bed so they didn’t get their grubby fingers on it. It was worth the wait. Oh my gosh, it’s beautiful. I made sure I recorded an unboxing video.

Unboxing Video

Then I edited the footage and created a reel for Instagram. For YouTube I did it in landscape and added it to my Ko-Fi shop listing of Sky Heart so people can see how the paperback looks before ordering their signed copy.

Weds 8th Jan

Amazon confirms the dispatch 

Started today with a notification that Amazon has dispatched Sky Heart.

Amazon Paperback Arrives

I got home from work and my proof copy has arrived. I’m tired and need a break so I didn’t take any pictures and didn’t post anything online.

Thurs 8th Jan

Bought a new Wrapz for my phone

To celebrate Sky Heart coming out I decided to create a new Wrapz for my phone. It was easy to create with the tool on the Wrapz website. All I had to do was upload one of the files my Cover Designer created for me as part of the package to use for marketing. Designed a new wrapz for my mobile phone to promote Sky Heart.

I need to get a new case too as mine has a slight crack but I’m waiting until pay day. The crack has been there for a while and I’m not too bothered as I know my phone is okay underneath. However, I want my new wrapz to look good so its motivated me to replace my broken case.

Designing a new bookmark

I decided to order some more bookmarks but when I went to order them I decided that I’d like to re-design. Then I ended up on Canva creating different variations using the pdf size guide template from Vista Print. I couldn’t decide on which one I liked so I’ve left the designs to think about and will finish the order another day.

Fri 9th Jan

Received Revised ePub File

My Formatter emailed me today to say she had fixed the ePub file to meet the requirements set by Draft to Digital (Smashwords). However, I was busy with my children after work and once they went to bed I didn’t have the time or energy to try it out.

Sat, 10th Jan

Uploaded Revised ePub to Smashwords

It was super easy to update the ePub file in Smashwords, and then the green PASS notification lit up.

Smashwords then asked if I wanted to include Sky Heart as part of a series. So, I created the Soul Heart series and made sure the book order was clear. This will help when it is sold at retailers to know the two books are linked and which order to recommend reading.

Now my books are in the premium catalogue, I don’t need to worry about uploading Sky Heart to Apple Books as Smashwords will do it for me.

Update blurb

I then decided I wanted to tweak the wording for the blurb. The change won’t affect the blurb on the paperback as I will leave that as it is. I have amended the last sentence in the blurb on Amazon, Book Vault, Google Play, Ingram, and Smashwords as these are my major distributors.

Order copies of Sky Heart

I wanted to visit bookshops today and see if any would like to some signed copies of Sky Heart ready for the release. But, today my husband has plans so I have the kids with me. My kids are amazing but they are not the sort of child that will be calm and quiet while I am talking to someone. Approaching bookshops always makes me nervous even those I’ve worked with before so having my kids tag along just adds to the anxiety. Instead, I decided to place an order for Sky Heart from Book Vault ready for any pre-orders.

Facebook shop

This morning I decided to write this very long blog post about the first 11 days of publishing Sky Heart. When I was adding images and buttons to the post I thought I’d see how to get the link for my Facebook shop. I ended up spending hours on it. Uploaded some Redfae products, and added the Sky Heart paperback and ebook (although the books won’t show as they are from a different site). I still don’t think I have got it right but it can be a project for another day as I have things I need to get done.

Perhaps, I will allow myself a day off tomorrow to rest and enjoy a good book…

Ally Aldridge Diary, Personal, Writing

Yes! I’ve moved my website.

Wow! September has not been my best month.

It started with the kids going back to school and myself back to work full time. I was exited for normalcy and routine and was feeling great as we’d made some great memories over the summer.

But, my son managed to split his lip open and had to be rushed to A&E. after having sutures he needed a week off school due to the pain and swelling. So, his attendance is already looking bad – eek!

Then my husband and I got really ill with colds. The kids thankfully (fingers crossed) dodged that one. I managed to get through work but when I got home I had to do everything as he was really poorly. Needless to say I was too shattered to work on Sky Heart.

Then, I get the notification that my website hosting is about to expire and they want to charge me £168 to stay with them. So on Tuesday, I worked on moving my website to another host for £35. Everything was going great but my domain (with another provider) needed to point to my new website and this can take anywhere between 48h and 72h to know if it worked. 😱. I figured out how to put a maintenance page up whilst it moved, but after several days it was still showing the maintenance page. I started to panic. It turns out, the magic happened in the background and this morning I turned the staging page off. Every year, I learn a little more.

I discovered a new printer for my books. I ordered one copy and was impressed with the quality so I ordered 10 for my next event, WAM Fest. But, the books were delivered on Friday bashed and wet. I’ve emailed the printer to try to resolve this but they don’t work weekends so I have to wait until next week to fix this. I doubt I will be able to get more stock in time, and currently only have five books left.

The low stock is due to the highlight of this month, which was the fabulous YA Lit Fest at Stowmarket Library, part of @forewordfestivaluk . 🥰

My website is back, my son’s lip is healing nicely, and I’m feeling much better. Things are on the up, so I’ll get back to finishing Sky Heart.

#authorlife #authorwebsite #authorproblems #authorupdate #oceanheart #skyheart #yafiction

Ally Aldridge Blogging, Diary, Writing

Catch up with a cuppa Ko-Fi (Mar 2022)

Here is the low down on what I posted on Ko-Fi this month, so you don’t miss out!

Waterstones Bookshop

I spilled the beans on some exciting news in the works with Ipswich’s largest bookshop.

Behind the scenes for World Book Day

I shared what I got up to on Ko-Fi first but for my followers there I got more personal about what happened leading up to the event, and how it went.

Michelle Raab Marketing Post (Part 3):

I linn to the final instalment of Michelle’s marketing series featuring me.

WIP Cover Reveal for Forest Heart

After updating my website I realised I needed a WIP cover for my next project, Forest Heart. I really enjoyed making it and revealing it on Ko-Fi.

Follow me on Ko-Fi

It’s free to follow me on Ko-Fi and be sure you don’t miss out on my latest news, or any freebies. You can buy me a virtual cuppa or merchandise from my shop, including a signed copy of my book.

Follow me on Ko-Fi

[Kofi]

Ally Aldridge Book Genre, Contemporary, Diary, Fantasy, Fiction, Goal setting, Goals, Historical, My Books, NaNoWriMo, New Moon, Romance, The Soul Heart Series, Writing, Young Adult

NaNoWriMo Project

My NaNoWriMo Project

New Moon (working title)

This project is set in the same low fantasy world of The Soul Heart Series. In fact, for readers of Ocean Heart they may recognise the main character, Denny.

This story is a prequel. It’s set in the 90s, back when Denny was a teen herself. It will cover how she became friends with Gwyn, started her Sparkle Cake business, and the highs and lows as a new mum.

Preparation

I feel more prepared now I have created a title, cover, and blurb. Of course these are all just a work in progress, so could change but it helps me feel more focused.

I’ve started writing an outline. I intended for this to be a novella but I already have a sneaky suspicion this could become a full length novel.

I’ve also made a spreadsheet to help me track my word count. If this works successfully, I will look at making a version available to my followers on Ko-Fi.

The Goal

I’m going to aim for the big Five-O (50,000 words). If I don’t make it, I will still have made progress, but if I do, it’d make me so happy.

I’ve been struggling with motivation because Sky Heart is on hold until I can afford the professional services I need to move it forward. I’ve also been bummed out with all the germs (sick kids) ruining September, and fracturing my ankle ruining October.

I really want to get back into the habit of writing again. My ultimate goal for November is this: To write!

Are you doing NaNoWriMo? What’s your project, goal, and how do you prepare?

[kofi]

If you enjoyed this, you will like:

About Ocean Heart

About Sky Heart

About Work In Progress

About Ko-Fi

Ally Aldridge Diary, My Books, Ocean Heart, Sky Heart, The Soul Heart Series, Writing

Camp NaNo April 2021 – Outcome

Here’s my Camp NaNo writers diary for the second half of Camp NaNo.

Thursday, 15 April

I wrote the scene I have been struggling with – the big fight scene. It was 1,422 words. It’s not The End yet as I’ve realised there is one more scene needed to join this to the end that I wrote. But, The End is in sight.

Friday, 16 April

This morning, I had a one-to-one chat with Pagan it was an Author Breakthrough Session. I had no idea what to expect but afterwards I felt more focussed and empowered. I’ll be writing a full blog post on the experience.

My 2y old was in a creative mood today. We did painting, we did slime, and puzzles. My mum popped over and I showed her what I’d done with her Cricut Maker I borrowed. Later, my son helped me at the vets and food shopping.

Tonight, I wrote 812 words and finished my first draft of Sky Heart. The End

The final word count is 76,763 words. Usually during my first self edit this number increases as I discover where I need to add more detail.

Saturday, 17 April

I managed to escape the kids for a writing sprint on Facebook. As Sky Heart is finished, I worked on a novel I may offer as a readers magnet or sell as a prequel.

I also attempted to make a book trailer for Ocean Heart. As it’s my first attempt at this, I’m still not sure.

Sunday, 18 April

Today we went into town to get sandwiches and cake. We then went for a walk in the woodlands and had a picnic. We were so full we saved the cake for home.

I fiddled a little more with the trailer, especially with tweaking the sound affects. It’s very tricky trying to achieve precision on a mobile phone. I’m happy with the outcome. I guess I ought to make Sky Heart one.

Monday, 19 April

Today was meant to be my marketing Monday but Pagan would not been impressed because I didn’t do it. I was really into my secret project and wanted to work on it. I’ll do Marketing tomorrow…

Tuesday, 20 April

I lied. I didn’t do Marketing today either. I had a little anxiety about tomorrow so had an early night with my husband.

Wednesday, 21 April

Tonight was my Live with World Indie Warriors. We had so much fun chatting we were on for 2hs.

Thursday, 22 April

Today was my long work day. After work I chilled out and had some me time. I ran a bath and read The Rookery.

Friday, 23 April

I published Ocean Heart using Ingram Spark for both the paperback and eBook. It never went live on Google Play, or Apple Books. I was busy with my launch so left it. Once Christmas was out the way I queried what happened with IS.

IS confirmed it should be on Apple and would look into what happened. It turned out my files were too big. But, things got busy at work so I left it.

Today has been a busy day working on how to resolve it. I uploaded it to Google Play – this was pretty straight forward and I now have to wait to be approved. But Apple has been a complete nightmare with their iTunes Connect page displaying an error 401.

Saturday, 24 April

I had a busy morning clearing out the garden. It actually looks worse now but it is because I am preparing rubbish that needs to go to the tip.

I played with my kids and didn’t get to write or read. They were excited by treasures I found in the shed like a remote control car & keyboard. I think they ended up there because they are noisy.

iTunes Connect replied to apologise for the current issues and they are working on resolving this as quickly as possible, but there was no indication of how long it’ll take.

In the evening my hubby & I finished watching a film and started the new Shadow & Bone series on Netflix.

Sunday, 25 April

Today, is the day I work on my social media. I write blog posts and prepare my Instagram posts. As the end of the month draws near, I also worked on my newsletter.

I uploaded a free digital download to Ko-Fi for people to use to track their books.

I’d like to do a MerMay Giveaway to celebrate Ocean Heart being 6 months old but my ideas keep getting ruined.

I wanted to create a personalised National Book Token but that’s temporarily unavailable. I wanted to offer Ocean Heart for Free to celebrate it now being on Google Play but it takes 12 days to get approved, and Apples website isn’t loading the page for new authors to join so I’m waiting for tech support to resolve it.

I also thought it’d be nice to donate to an Ocean type charity but don’t have a ton of money and worry people will judge me for it not being enough.

I’m still figuring out what to do for MerMay and time is running out as I want to announce it in my newsletter going out on 30 April!

Monday, 26 April

Today, I read Rookery. Ideally I want to finish it before the end of the month because of the MerMay readathon.

I posted a few pics to Litsy, talking about my writing resource books.

I sold my first signed copy of Ocean Heart from my Ko-Fi shop. ?

Once the kids were in bed, I still didn’t do any Marketing. Eek – my check in with Pagan will be embarrassing. Instead I had a bath and watched Shadow & Bone.

Tuesday, 27 April

Today was my long day working.

In my lunch break I organised the P&P for my Ko-Fi customer and researched KDP. Apple emailed to encourage me to contact their development team about the issue as the technical team can’t resolve it.

After work, and once the kids were in bed, I signed a copy of Ocean Heart, packaged it up, and set it off to my first Ko-Fi customer.

Wednesday, 28 April

I booked a day off work – yay!

Today, I went into town to get the parcel delivered but I misheard the girl at the desk and paid way more for p&p than I wanted. I was cross, but she’d printed the labels so I just paid it. :(

I tried to confirm the amount Google Play paid into my account to verify and prove its my bank account but Google said I’m wrong and to guess again. I’m going to wait and see if they pay another amount in and try again in a few days.

I also looked at creating my Amazon affiliate account for UK/US. And, started developing a webpage disclosing my affiliate accounts.

I also did a lot of work on my newsletter. I add to it throughout the month but it needs pics and tidying up. I only have the related social media posts left to do now.

In the evening, I caught the WIW Live with guest Julia Scott. She’s author of Mirror Souls and a formatter. In fact, she was my formatter.

Thursday, 29 April

Today was my long day at work, and I didn’t sleep well last night. I think I need an early night. That’s if Aria lets me – she’s playing up tonight and refusing to go to bed. Which is odd because she was crying and begging to go to bed before her milk was ready.

I did the finishing touches to my newsletter ready to send tomorrow. Relaxed by reading the Rookery, and then watched some Shadow & Bone.

Friday, 30 April

Today, I sent my newsletter. I hope I’ve made the right choice with my Giveaway.

As you can see I’ve taken a break from writing now Sky Heart is written. But, after this weekend I will start the self editing process.

Discover more about Sky Heart by visiting my Sky Heart page. Sky Heart is book 2 in the Soul Heart series.

Discover more about Ocean Heart by visiting my Ocean Heart page. Ocean Heart is book 1 in the Soul Heart series.

If you enjoyed this you will like:

12 Tips for Self Editing

The Benefits of Having a Formatter

The Process of Publishing: Step 1 – Drafting

My Authorship Breakthrough Session

[kofi]

Ally Aldridge Diary, Novel, Personal, Writing

Camp NaNo April 2021 – Midway Check In

Here’s my Camp NaNo writers diary for the first half of Camp NaNo.

This post contains a few bookshop.org affiliate links.

Weds, 31 March

Camp NaNo Eve I attended the first of World Indie Warriors IG Lives. J D Groom & Cassidy Reyne are the hosts and introduced their own Camp NaNo projects.

WIW are also doing snippet challenge on IG to give people an excuse to share her the projects they are writing.

Each week there is a prompt, and you post a snippet from your WIP on that theme. I’m a rebel and posting on different days. But, I’m determined to do them all within April.

Thurs, 1 April

I caught a Writing Sprint on Facebook hosted by @unstoppableauthors . It helped me make a good start on my goals, achieving 1k words. I’m going to look out for this sprint next week.

The sprint was hosted by Urban Fantasy author H B Lyne and dystopian author Angeline Trevena. Both also have published writing resource books.

Friday, 2 April

Busy day today. I took my son to play in the garden of a friends house. It was really cold and we couldn’t go inside due to the pandemic rules.

My husband found my long lost Kindle. It needs charging but I’m so happy to have it back.

I managed to write 500 words today. I am so close to the end now but took a break as I’m struggling to picture the big fight scene.

I finished reading A Heart of Salt & Silver. Look out for my full review next week. A short version is already on Goodreads, Litsy, and Amazon.

Saturday, 3 April

Spent the evening going through the list of people I follow but don’t follow me back to decide if I want to unfollow them.

#WIWSaturdaySnippet

Sunday, 4 April

I went to Homebase to get paint for some redecorating we’ve been talking about for ages.

Didn’t feel well so I went to bed early. Good news was my Kindle is charged, so I watched The Wilds on Prime.

Monday, 5 April

I cleared out my son’s bedroom and did masking tape. His room was the first we decorated when we moved in. At age 5, he peeled off the animal stickers as he said they were to babyish, and we promoted to redecorate… 2y later, we are doing it.

My son is a bit nervous about not sleeping in his room. He doesn’t like change. But, he’s excited to see his new grown up room tomorrow.

Still not feeling great, so had another early night. I didn’t write but I did a lot of research and practicing a new skill, that I’m hoping to sell one day. I was creative, but not with Sky Heart.

Tuesday, 6 April

Noah loves his new room. #Win

I had work all day today but managed to write 500 words for Sky Heart. I have roughly three major scenes to go but these are big ones and pretty tough. I’ll admit I feel intimidated.

I’ve done some brain storming for the big battle but still can’t see it clear in my head. I can however see the ending, so I may jump ahead to that.

Wednesday, 7 April

I worked more on my secret project. I also worked on prepping images for my IG feed.

This evening I watched the WIW Live with guest author Kara S Weaver. They chatted about editing, the different types, and why it’s important.

Thursday, 8 April

Today has been pretty chilled out other than my phone screen cracking.

I won a free call with Pagan Malcolm, who coaches authors to take their careers to the next level. I’m booked in next week, early Friday morning (although for her, I think it’s late). I’m not sure what to expect – should I get her to help with my battle, public speaking, or my secret project. Whatever we get up to, I’ll probably blog my experience.

I watched the replay of a masterclass I recently attended on how to write a 5 star ending. Then I watched a live author chat from the fantasy writers festival, QuaranCon2021.

Once the kids were in bed, I used an app to animate my characters created in Art Breeder, to sing. Author procrastination at its finest.

Mariah from Ocean Heart on Wombai.ai

Then, I attended a writing chat and Sprint by Unstoppable Authors hosted by H B Lyne and Angelina Trevena, and wrote 478 words.

Friday, 9 April

This was a bad day. First, my 2 year old threw my mobile phone and the screen cracked. I use my mobile for everything but can’t afford to fix it, so I’ll have to carry on and hope it doesn’t get worse.

Then, I received news that my daughter isn’t getting a place at our chosen nursery. She was on a waiting list for morning sessions which fit around my work & childcare availability but they only have afternoon sessions. To accommodate that, I’d have to cut my working hours in half and not only is my employer unlikely to agree to that as it’d make travelling to my appointments within the time very challenging, but I also can’t afford to reduce my hours. I now need to find another nursery or quit my job. There aren’t many nursery’s nearby as most closed permanently during the pandemic for various reasons.

When I’m stressing about a problem I can’t write. I opened my manuscript and stared at the blank page before closing it and trying something creative. I worked on my secret project.

Saturday, 10 April

We decided that I’m no stressed enough, so we painted part if the front room. Every chance my 2y old got, she was “help painting”. It was exhausting keeping her away all day, and the house was freezing as we kept the windows open.

I did not write. My head is not in the right place.

#WIWSnippetSaturday

Sunday, 11 April

So, my 2y old didn’t sleep. She was up at 3am. By 5am I gave up and she attempted to “Help painting.” I’m pretty sure I’m running on empty.

I did make progress on some blog posts and have drafted two Behind the Book posts that I now just need to proofread and schedule. I probably won’t get to this until next weekend.

I also helped my 7y old son to create a cute Woodland scene for school. We borrowed my mum’s Cricut Maker and he created his die cuts in Canva, and I helped him add them to Cricut. I then helped with sticking them down where he told me, while he painted. We spent over two hours on it.

I’m so frustrated. I want to write the fight scene for Sky Heart but it’s not coming to me. I didn’t want to waste my time, so I worked on my secret project.

Monday, 12 April

I’ve found two nurseries that might be able to take Aria. Fingers crossed I can sort this out so I can feel more settled.

I spent most my day playing with Aria, and tidying up. I also completed most of the application form for one of the nurseries.

I accidentally forgot to charge my laptop so it was taking ages to come on even with the charger in. I decided to watch some TV with my hubby.

Tuesday, 13 April

I worked all day today.

Then, in the evening I wrote 192 words. It doesn’t sound like much but I finally had a breakthrough with the difficult scene and can see it now!

Wednesday, 14 April

I worked today, and by the time the kids were in bed, it was already 9pm. I attended the World Indie Warriors IG Live. Today the guest speaker was Michelle Raab, chatting marketing, writing dystopia, and psychology.

Keily from Sky Heart on Wombo.ai

[kofi]

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