End of #ROW80 Round 3

Well let’s recap.

My goal for Round 3 was to:

  • Finish and release my debut YA, Red
  • Finish and prepare for release the next Mirus novella, Riven
  • Draft a working outline of the next full length WIP

How’d I do?

Well, Red was finished, edited, and released by August 14th.  It was eight months in the writing.  Once it was out the door, my time was sucked up with blog posts and interviews for my two week blog tour at the beginning of September.

During that time, I reviewed what I had of Riven (I had about 20k from a previous draft) and concluded that it was going to need more work than I was prepared to give at the moment and I really wasn’t feeling the characters.  So that project got tabled entirely.

I did begin my outline for Devil’s Snare, the next full-length Mirus novel.  Not what I thought would be next (had been planning on Revelation, which is the follow up to Blindsight), but I realized that I had to finish telling Mick and Sophie’s story after Devil’s Eye first from a logistics standpoint.  So that’s what I’ve been doing.  The outline isn’t nearly as clear as I would like, but I’ve got enough to get started soon, so I’m pleased with that.

I have a bad tendency of looking only at what I didn’t accomplish.  I often think of myself as a machine who should be able to jump from one project to the next with little down time.  And I’m learning that…I’m so not.  Which frustrates me because I feel like I’m behind on where I want to be.  I’m only going to have one release this year–probably.  And depending on what happens with traditional publishers, that one may wind up selling and going away for a while.  So, I’m not exactly thrilled with that.

But I did write an 86k novel in a new genre, launch it, and have earned some lovely reviews.  I pushed my personal envelope when I wrote that book, and I think it’s my best work to date.  That’s not something to sneeze at.

18 thoughts on “End of #ROW80 Round 3

  1. Nothing to sneeze at at all, Kait! Granted, I’m new to a lot of this stuff, but from where I sit, you’ve really been an inspiration and reading about your progress with Red has been a real driving force for my own work. I know it’s going to be the first thing I download once I manage to get myself an ereader. One release a year isn’t bad at all, either, though this is coming from someone who hasn’t exactly released anything.

    So I say well done and congrats on a great round. : ) I look forward to seeing what you come up with for the next one. You’ve been a big inspiration for me this round, too, so thank you for that, as well!

  2. I’m glad you’re proud. You should be. We’re always hardest on ourselves, though, aren’t we? And as far as those goals you “failed” at, you’re a lot further along having worked the issues and realized the problems with the wips that you would’ve been if you hadn’t set those goals.

    May you have a profitable week with “Red”!

  3. I also tend to look at what I haven’t done. This round of ROW80 really helped me start looking at what I have accomplished. And it’s helped me figure out how to set more reasonable goals so I’m more likely to succeed.

    Congrats on all you’ve done. I loved Red!

  4. Red is definitely your best work. That doesn’t mean there was a thing wrong with any of the Mirus stories, because there wasn’t. But Red was exceptional. I usually have trouble reading a lot at the airport because there’s so much going on around me. But I got totally sucked into the story and couldn’t stop reading Red.

    I’m glad you’re going back to Mick and Sophie’s story. I think a lot of people want more after reading Devil’s Eye. Good luck with that project! See you in Round 4!

  5. I think you should applaud yourself and enjoy for a bit what you did get done.

    I know it’s hard to do sometimes because I’m the same way – tend to focus only on what I didn’t do. And not be happy with what did get done.

    Mark

  6. Congrats on what you’ve accomplished Kait! And truly I want to say thank you so much for providing this amazing experience. I’m so glad to have joined in when I did and look forward to round 4.

    Congrats again on the release of Red! All of those glowing reviews are well deserved!

    Marie

  7. Red is an amazing book. You knocked it out of the park with that one. I’ve been recommending it to anyone I know who reads YA.

    Pat yourself on the back. Another book released this round, and all that goes with that. Can’t wait to see what you’re up to in Round 4.

  8. Great work, Kait! Red is truly an accomplishment, and I’m thrilled to hear we’ll be seeing more of Mick and Sophie. Oh, and don’t forget to add “ROW80 Sponsor of Awesome” to the accomplished column, either!

  9. Okay, not to join the chorus or anything, but you did great on goals, Kait. I enjoyed Blind Sight and Devil’s Eye, and look forward to more of the Mirus stories, but Red was over the wall and out of the park. I stayed up to read Red, and I do not stay up for earthquakes, hurricanes, or the apocalypse.

    If you pour so much into your work, it takes a while to fill up the well. Don’t be so hard on yourself!
    Thank you for creating this incredible community, and like Vicki said, that is no small thing to keep going.

  10. You did a great job Kait (and I have heard great things about your book – which I am definately going to buy the next time I am on Amazon). Congrats and I can’t wait to get into Round 4. See you at the party on Oct 5!

  11. I think it’s a tendency most of us share. To look at what we haven’t done, accomplished, aren’t etc. It’s human nature. So it’s wonderful to take time to look at what you HAVE done. Because honestly, that’s all that counts. None of us can go back and change things so looking back is rather pointless. You have tons to be proud of. Red Rocks! It’s better to get one kick-ass release a year that’s your best work rather than two releases that maybe aren’t your best. And you are an inspiration to everyone who comes and reads your blog. I only wish I accomplished half of what you have. Take a breather, pat yourself on the back, and celebrate! You’ve earned it!

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