In today’s Journal
▪ Update on PWW
▪ Thanks in spades
▪ The Hovel, Part 2
▪ My special offer stands
▪ Daily diary (and pictures!)
▪ Of Interest
▪ The numbers
I received notice this morning that we have our first new subscriber who isn’t also a contributor at Professional Writers Writing. Woohoo!
If you haven’t subscribed yet, I hope you will. And I hope you’ll tell all your writer friends. I think PWW is really going to be a big deal, a go-to source for writing information, advice and inspiration.
***
Thanks for all the comments recently on this Journal and on the big blog over at HarveyStanbrough.com. Warms my heart to know some of you are getting something out of all this blather. (grin)
Thanks too for the kind comments re my (StoneThread Publishing) Pinterest page. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can find it at https://www.pinterest.com/harveywriting/pins/. And thanks to my bride for using her weekend to set it all up.
***
So I posted an interior shot of the Hovel yesterday (blush) and a few folks commented. In a day or two, by popular demand, I’ll include a couple of external pics.
***
The special offer from yesterday stands no matter when you read this.
To get a free e-copy of Punctuation for Writers (normally $10) email me or ask in a comment. You can learn to USE punctuation to direct the reading of your work. Specify Kindle, Nook/Apple or PDF. Otherwise I’ll email you a printable PDF copy.
***
Rolled out on time at 3, and used the first two hours to finish creating the covers for Blackwell Ops 2 and 3.
I’ve posted images down the left and right sides here. This is an advance look at Blackwell Ops 2 & 3 covers. They aren’t even up on the big site yet. You should be able to see a slightly larger image if you click any cover (at least on the website). But don’t hold me to that.
Did I say I’m very pleased with the branding? (grin) See the 2 and the 3 on the images?
Later today, I hope to create the cover for 4 (the WIP). Then I’ll be caught up. Even ahead a little bit.
I don’t even have all the first-reader input back yet for 3, but I’ll upload a revised copy of the document after that happens. In the meantime, it’s up and garnering advance orders.
I also emailed BO2, BO3 and Stern Talbot: The Case of the Mourning Widow to my donors. If you’d like to get in on that deal, take a look at https://harveystanbrough.com/be-a-patron/.
It costs a lot less than you think.
And I’m confident enough in BO4 (the WIP) that as soon as I’ve created the cover I’ll make that one available for pre-order too. It will be scheduled for release on April 15, so I think I’m safe. (grin)
Then I spent the next hour poking around the internet for “Of Interest” and writing the stuff above.
Finally to the novel at 6. Wrote a thousand words or so, then took an extended break up to the house.
Back to the novel at 9:30. Back and forth. I’m a yoyo.
Well, I honestly thought I’d get more done today, but I didn’t. Back at it tomorrow.
Talk with you again then.
Of Interest
Via Linda Maye Adams, see Ruby Dixon’s Facebook post “Let’s Talk About Writing Speed” at https://www.facebook.com/RubyDixonBooks/posts/2349163511782349. Despite the (necessary) language, this is a great post. Even DWS commented.
See “Blowback” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/blowback/. I post this partly out of respect for my friend, ghostwriter Dan Baldwin. (TPG invited comments, Dan.) As a writer who “turns out multiple novels per month,” I take exception to the OP listed at Fall Into the Story. I commented on that one myself, though when I posted this my dissenting comment hadn’t been approved.
Via Phillip McCollum, see “The Carnival of the Indies Issue #101” at https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2019/02/self-publishing-the-carnival-of-the-indies-issue-101/. Note: This mention of “The Carnival of Indies” does not indicate my endorsement of all the articles listed. But congratulations to Phillip.
See “Exercise and Writing” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/exercise-and-writing/.
See “Wounded Writer Syndrome” at https://killzoneblog.com/2019/02/wounded-writer-syndrome.html. I needed this. Check it out in case you do too. And while you’re there, check out my comment. (grin)
See “Free Fiction Monday: An Incursion of Mice” at https://kriswrites.com/2019/02/25/free-fiction-monday-an-incursion-of-mice-2/.
Fiction Words: 3345
Nonfiction Words: 650 (Journal)
So total words for the day: 3995
Writing of Blackwell Ops 4: Melanie Sloan (novel)
Day 1…… 2363 words. Total words to date…… 2363
Day 2…… 2233 words. Total words to date…… 4596
Day 3…… 3353 words. Total words to date…… 7949
Day 4…… 1330 words. Total words to date…… 9279
Day 5…… 2263 words. Total words to date…… 11542
Day 6…… 3345 words. Total words to date…… 14887
Total fiction words for the month……… 65097
Total fiction words for the year………… 148500
Total nonfiction words for the month… 22680
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 48090
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 196590
Calendar Year 2019 Novels to Date………………………… 3
Calendar Year 2019 Novellas to Date…………………… X
Calendar Year 2019 Short Stories to Date……… X
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)………………………………………… 40
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)……………………………………… 7
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……………………… 193
Short story collections…………………………………………………… 31
I think I paid full price back in the day for Punctuation for Writers. And I’m telling you, it was a heck of a bargain then. You’d be crazy not to take advantage of Harvey’s generosity (temporary insanity) of giving it away. And I can’t wait to read some of the Of Interests today! Thank you Harvey for ferreting these out for us.
Thanks, Karen.
Nice covers, Harvey
Thanks, Tony.
Cool covers!
I have too much fun making covers. I’m starting a new pen name in a new niche and I spent the last two days producing covers (I write to cover). I’ve narrowed the original 30(!) down to 20 keepers. I just pick the one that speaks to me the most and start writing toward the image, or away from the image, or what have you.
Nora’s post was interesting. I don’t think your comment has been posted. Perhaps you can post it here, so at least we could read it?
No, from what I can tell, they didn’t let my comment through. Major shock there, eh?
I only wrote what I wrote in my post, that as a writer who “turns out multiple novels per month” (in my case, usually two) I take exception to the implication that I “must” be using a ghostwriter or otherwise scamming people. Her contentions got my hackles up. More on a similar hackle-raising subject in today’s Journal.
Those covers are phenomenal, Harvey. The branding is truly top notch. Something I’ll be taking notes on… And much kudos to your better half for putting together the Pinterest page! It looks fantastic as well. It really shows just how prolific you’ve been (and continue to be).
Thanks, Phillip. We don’t have all the books up there yet. And she pulled them off Amazon. Later we’ll start pulling them off Draft2Digital so they’ll show the universal link.