Hi, guys!
I have a lot of blogging-related tasks today, so I’ll likely have to dedicate the entire first half of the day to filming. I really don’t feel like doing anything, but I’ve fallen behind on my filming commitments, so I’ll have to push myself and just get started. There’s no power this morning—and I’m pretty sure it won’t be back until this evening—so I’ll have to find a way to work around it. I’ll try to film at least one book review and one toy unboxing; I also need to shoot an ad for the anniversary of a publishing house I collaborate with. None of this is particularly difficult, but given my complete lack of motivation, it’s going to take some extra effort. After that, I need to spend at least an hour reading a book so I’ll have material for future reviews. Once that’s done, I can get back to editing my own book. I’m really eager for this process to move along as quickly as possible, but at the same time, I need to stay fully focused to ensure the editing is high-quality from the very first pass. Sometimes I manage that, but other times I end up skipping over things, which means I have to go back and revisit them later.
It drives me absolutely crazy when my beta readers don’t look at the text right after I post it—it’s been nearly two weeks now, which makes it twice as frustrating. I really crave as much feedback as possible, and as soon as possible, because it’s a huge motivator for me to keep going. That said, I’m actually doing quite well on my own momentum right now; just yesterday, I came up with another cool plot twist—I’m dying to get to that part! I’m also really looking forward to seeing my beta readers’ reactions to it, especially since they’ve encountered this character before but won’t recognize her now—she’s arriving at the camp undercover. It’s a fantastic move! I’m also so glad I wrote a bunch of sketches early on—both for the prologue and for various side threads branching off the main story—because they’re really fleshing out the main plot, making it feel so rich and substantial. There are so many "Chekhov’s guns" planted throughout that will eventually go off—things I never even imagined I’d be able to set up when I first started!
I now realize how poorly written my first book was, and I’m so glad that no publisher picked it up. If they had, I would have been forced to continue the series, all the while knowing that the first installment was incredibly weak—and that’s the book I would have been known for as an author. Now, however, I have the chance to make my debut with a truly strong literary work, which makes all the difference. I intend to finish the book—in fact, I plan to complete the first three parts before approaching a publisher. I know this will take at least a year, if not longer, once you factor in all the editing, but it is absolutely worth it. I expect that by the time I finally approach a publisher, I’ll be around 40 years old—but it’s definitely worth it, because I’ll be presenting them with a high-quality product.
So, for now—even though I don’t really feel like it—I’m pushing through to focus on the content I need to film, and right after that, I’m getting straight back to editing my book. It’s clear that I still need to work on my daily routine, as quite a few things keep falling by the wayside, but I’m hopeful that I’ll get the hang of it over time. Anyway, as always, have a great day, everyone!