Tag: 2017 A to Z Blog Challenge

Speedbumps!

My last blog post of each month is usually a progress report on the novel I’m writing. The Spanish Coin is its working title. A month or so ago a writing coach evaluated the first 2,000 words of my manuscript. I set about to take her recommendations and edit the remaining 94,000 words.

Speedbump

img091

Due to one thing and another, I’ve made very little progress on that project. Life got in the way. I’ve come to call such things speedbumps.

Another speedbump?

Then, I read an online article by a literary agent. Her comments were directed toward writers and their blogs.

The article was quite helpful until

I got to the part where she said a writer needs to have 50,000 engaged blog followers in order to get a book published. Whoa! I guess that’s what I get for getting all puffed up about having 1,000 blog followers just a week ago. This literary agent really knows how to burst someone’s bubble!

I would like to think that all 1,008 of my current followers are engaged (meaning they are truly interested in my writing and didn’t just hit the “follow” button out of curiosity or a sense of obligation) and that every one of them would purchase a novel I wrote. I know that’s not necessarily the case, though.

Looking forward to better (and healthier) days ahead,

I hope to report to you sometime in April that I’ve completed that work and have turned at least half of the manuscript over to the writing coach. I look forward to taking that next step toward publication and making my novel better and better. I realize that you might be growing weary of my progress reports that don’t reflect any progress.

A reminder

I plan to embark upon the 2017 A to Z Blog Challenge on April 1. The first day is “A.” I will write about the authors and books I read in March. I think you’ll enjoy that post. I read some very good books this month! (I hope my April 1 blog post will make up for this one because this is definitely not my best work.)

2017 A to Z Challenge Badge
Blogging from A to Z Challenge Badge 2017

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read. (I’m reading The Heavens May Fall, by Allen Eskens.) If you’re a writer, I hope you have productive writing time.

Janet

Save

Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2017 Theme Reveal

What is the Blogging from A to Z Challenge?

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge is an annual challenge open to all bloggers during the month of April. The first challenge was issued in 2010 and has steadily grown in participants each year. It is open to bloggers who write about any topic. I just learned about the challenge a couple of week ago.

Theme Reveal Day: March 20, 2017

My Blogging from A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal

Each participating blogger selects a theme for the challenge. My theme is Janet’s Writing Journey. That’s the theme of my blog already, but this challenge will force me to delve into some aspects of reading and writing that I maybe wouldn’t have written about otherwise.

How does the Challenge Work?

The challenge is to blog 26 days during April. This is based on the fact that there are 26 letters in the English alphabet. Each blog post must have a connection to a letter in the alphabet in chronological order. Posts are made on Saturday, April 1, then Monday through Saturday of each week through the end of the month plus a post on Sunday, April 30.

Blogging from A to Z Challenge Badge 2017

My Thoughts about the Challenge

This will be a challenge for me in more than one way. As you know, I usually only blog on Tuesdays and Fridays, so blogging 26 times in April will be a stretch for me. Add to that the requirement to connect with a specific letter each day, and it will definitely be a challenge!

In case you don’t want to receive a blog post from me every day, I ask you to please bear with me in April. I plan to go back to my usual blogging routine in May.

Until my next blog tomorrow

I hope you have a good book to read. (I’m reading Right Behind You, by Lisa Gardner.) If you’re a writer, I hope you have quality writing time. If you’re a blogger, I invite you to consider committing to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2017. Information about the challenge can be found at http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/what-is-blogging-from-to-z.html.

Janet

Save