I’m out of the office this week, as my workplace continues to maintain 50/50 staffing in order to allow social distancing guidelines to be adhered to. I made the most of the opportunity this morning, taking the first draft of my third full length novel past the 100,000 word mark. I’m planning the finished product to weigh in at around 125,000 words so I’ve well and truly broken the back of it and am on my way to the finish line.
100,000 words doesn’t happen overnight. It’s been a three month slog, where I’ve dragged myself to the keyboard every day to chip away at the story as it has been revealed to me. Diligence and work ethic have been just as important as creativity and spontaneity, if not more so. It’s a grind but when I get the bit between my teeth, I can be a stubborn old so-and-so. I’d planned to be finished by the end of the year but at the minute I’m ahead of schedule.
The reviews and kind words still continue to filter in for the first two books in the Kirkwood Scott series. These reviews and words keep me going, especially on days when the word well is dry and I feel like I’m banging my head against a brick wall. Reviews and such support are so important to indie authors and I truly appreciate those who do so on a daily basis, both in the real world and via the various social media platforms I live on.
Those on the other side of the fence also drive me on. The people whose support I expected, only to find it never materialised. Those who promised to buy the book but then didn’t, those quietly sitting on the sidelines waiting for me to fail. It’s all fuel to the fire, a fire I hope to keep burning brightly until the conclusion of the Kirkwood Scott series and beyond. I won’t give up, I can’t give up. I owe that to myself and those who do believe in me.
Black Thoughts 
Keep on writing.
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I will if people keep reading. Thank you 😊
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We must believe in our self first. The encouragement or lack of from others are merely the building blocks helping support an already strong foundation. Keep writing.
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Thank you for the encouragement, Rebecca 🙂
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I think the secret is in the why. As long as you’re doing it from the heart for the right reasons, abundance will come.
That’s quite an impressive milestone! I hope to write a book of my own one day. Thanks for the inspiration. Wishing you continued peace and success!
-Jaymie
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Thank you very much 🙂
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You’re welcome!
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Whatever those ‘others’ may think, I’d say you’re already a HUGE success having published 2 books and a novella, (not to mention a very popular blog). A 3rd would be just the cherry on the icing on the cake. 😊
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Thank you very much 🙂
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Hello Stephen,
Yes, hands up, I’m one of the ones who said they’d buy the book but haven’t. I’ve been having medical investigations over the past few months relating to lymphoma and I’m afraid your book got pushed to the back of my mind. My apologies.
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No need to apologise. Hope you are feeling better soon.
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Keep going. Keep writing. 🙂
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Thank you. I will.
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I finally got the book on my actual kindle, so hopefully I will be able to read pain free! 🙂
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Hurray. Keep me updated on your progress 🙂
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Yes, we should always believe in ourselves. Keep being you.
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Thank you 😊
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Your welcome 😊
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I do believe in myself because every human are not the same. I have so many things in my mind to write but never put in down. And the end i end up with blogging. I want to write my own biograph but how do i start. I believe that someone may benefit.
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Blogging was how I started. Then I progressed to writing books. Maybe you can follow that path as well.
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You are a great success: a wife, family, well-reviewed books, and over 13,000 followers; some may have hundreds of thousands, but most I follow on here have many fewer than you. I get depressed that in years of blogging, I have only a small fraction of your number following, but I’m proud and blessed to have those few kind folks checking in now and then. Best for book number three, and stay with it, man.
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Thank you very much Brendan for your continued support. I hope you enjoy ‘A New Jerusalem’ as much as ‘Skelly’s Square.’
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You’re brilliant. You have a loving family, a job, books published and thousands of followers … you’re living the dream! And yet I sense a little melancholy? Everything ok?
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Yes. Get the Colonel to buy you my new book for Christmas and I’ll be happy again 😂
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Easily done! Will do!
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Thank you. Please let me know what you think of it. Any update on your book?
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I will do that today. An early Christmas present from the husband!
I received some very useful advice from an old friend Clare Pooley who has written the very successful The Authenticity Project and The Sober Diaries. We had a good chat the other day about query letters, the book proposal, which agents to approach, which not to go to etc etc and I think I had been just rather naive about the whole system. Even though as a memoir you don’t actually have to have written the entire book (I didn’t even know that!), you do need detailed chapter descriptions (so you need to have sort of written it!) who you’re currently competing with (on the shelves so to speak) etc etc and I had been slightly living into cloud cuckoo land! So it’s been a bit of a wake up call. I’ve been sorting out the structure which was wobbly at best, and reading like a demon (you were so right about Bryony Gordon!) to see where it actually sits in the marketplace. I think for a while I was trying to make it into something it wasn’t in the hope of making it more marketable. Now, I’m just sticking to what it actually is … and feel much better about it. I’m getting there—it’s quite a process isn’t it!
I can’t remember what you did in the end … which publisher etc … Anyway how’s it all going, and I hope retirement from the day job and a life of being an author is imminent? X
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Excellent advice from Clare indeed. My publisher for the new book is Potters Grove Press, based India Arizona. Not quite at retirement age yet. Maybe one day. Sighs. Thank you. I hear the Colonel’s pockets are exceedingly deep 😂
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I have faith in you! You’re doing great, keep it up 🙂
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Thank you very much. Feel free to check out the new book 🙂
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Never give up! 💚 🔥 you inspire me!
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You inspire me as well 🙂
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Wow! That humbles me and thank you so much 😊
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You’re welcome 😊
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💚
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I think I blinked after your second book was released and you’re almost done writing the first draft of your third? Well done!
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Thank you. I’m afraid to stop now 😬
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I’m about 90% of the way through book one. The way you write your characters makes each of them distinct and recognisable. The way they speak, their mannerisms and behaviour; it’s clear and understandable who is present and doing what at any given time.
I struggle with perfection, trying to get every section just right before moving on. We can edit a finished manuscript, no matter how much work we think it needs. It’s high on impossible to edit a manuscript of all blank pages!
Keep on going, you’re almost there! 😁
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Thank you very much for the kind words, Hamish. Would appreciate if you could leave a review on Amazon when you’re finished 😉
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Will absolutely be doing just that. 😁
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Thank you very much. Much appreciated 🙂
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