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Wednesday Weekly Roundup


So last week was the second and last non-writing week of the year, although I did write a prologue for the current project – longhand, so it will be counted with this week’s wordcount. I visited Vienna and Budapest, and I’m still recovering, so you’ll forgive me if I keep this short.

Monday was spent catching up on everything, and only yesterday could I get back to re-writing and throw away most of what I had before I left, LOL! Seems like I’m taking a lot of wrong turns this year, but it doesn’t matter, as long as the story come out in the end.

Again I have loads of notes and pictures to check and order, so I might be slower this week… but I will catch up! Now I better go back to writing… last note: there’s a Kobo promo for people in Canada, United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand! Check this out to see the promotion: https://kobo.com/p/june-vip!

My collection “Lands of Wonder” is included… Have a great week!

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by Barb on 07/06/2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 07/06/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/06/07/wednesday-weekly-roundup-191/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote over 12K, a short story for an anthology and then I started on the novel I’m doing the traveling for. Since this week I won’t be writing at all to research some more, I thought I’d write down the part set in Romania before I move on to some other place.

Yes, I have plenty of notes, but I might start to confuse them, so I decided to have a headstart! Next week I should be able to continue and finish by the end of the month. Wordcount rises when I write longer works, so I can catch up on the two lost weeks! 😉

Well, they weren’t completely lost. They were research trips. And I’m practically done for now. I may do another one in October, but I haven’t decided where or how yet. Although I’m thinking train, like, a Europass ticket, although I may also improvise. We’ll see.

The newsletter goes out tomorrow and has some reading recommendations! You can still subscribe on the publisher’s page!

As soon as I put on the publisher’s hat again, I will do a cover reveal. Yes, I’m having some Silvery Earth covers redone once again, since the awesome artist who made the Quests covers is available again. So when I’ll update the prices on the paperbacks, I hope to upload also the new covers for these 10 books.

And that’s all for today! Have a great week!

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by Barb on 31/05/2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 31/05/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/05/31/wednesday-weekly-roundup-190/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week, after a kick in the pants from the workshop I’m taking, I managed over 12K and finished whatever I was working on, despite not writing every day. This week I’ll try for a short story and then we’ll see. Maybe two short stories if I manage to keep the wordcount high! I mean, I do want to reach pulp speed (i.e.1million words per year), so I better start worning on it! 😉

I got the email from KDP that they’re raising the paperback prices. With hundreds of books to update, I will take advantage of their bulk update, but not until mid-June, so if you’re a paperback lover, go grab ’em now! Other authors who have already sent the bulk update mentioned it takes time, but just to be safe, order now.

I ordered some paperbacks myself for future comic con, since they will cost more for me as well! They’re mostly in Italian, since I don’t plan on going anywhere this year. Worldcon is in China, and since I didn’t make it to Chicago, which I love, imagine if I want to embark on a trip to China! 😉 Next year it’s in Glasgow, so we’ll see…

Speaking of Worldcons, I finally read a paperback that I got from the author at Loncon 2014… yeah, I’m ashamed to admit that’s how much it took me to get to reading it. And since he’s not on Bookbub, but he’s a Goodreads friend, here’s the link to his book (although I have a different cover).

Do I recommend it? Yes, if you like historical time travel! I read the short story back then, so I don’t remember it at all (it’s still on K.K. though), therefore it was totally new and rather interesting. I mean, historical time travel and alternate history, what’s not to love? Check it out!

I see he has written other books since, although we haven’t been in touch… but my TBR pile is still quite high, so I’ll have to postpone checking them! I might go back to reading on Kindle soon, still plenty of Kickstarter books to read, sigh!

Above it’s Peter&Barb at Loncon 2014, and yes, he’s holding the book he gave me (and I’m holding my copy of Star Minds the Trilogy)… While looking for that picture in the dashboard, I cleaned up the old posts – mostly of my own drawings, all the guest posts still have images – to get more space in the media library… And that’s all for today! Have a great week!

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by Barb on 24/05/2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 24/05/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/05/24/wednesday-weekly-roundup-189/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote less than 7K, but I had a busy weekend, so I couldn’t catch up on writing. Also, I realized I had to rewrite a good portion of the current project, and that, too, took time. Hopefully this week I’ll be able to write full speed and finish this by the weekend. If not, I have another week before moving on.

On Saturday I went to the ARF!Festival, a comic con for professionals, more than readers. There are no cosplayers hanging out, and I didn’t see any publisher selling their books, although they did have tables where their authors signed copies. There were a few collectible booths as well, but mostly it was artists and indie authors showing off their works. I didn’t see their call for the self-area on time, so I’m aiming for next year. This will give me time to prepare a couple more things to put on the table!

On Sunday we celebrated my sister’s birthday, so I didn’t have much time to write. But I got some time to spend with Dear Nephew who is now 18 and taller than me. Sigh.

I gave up on that non-fiction, so I may get back to fiction soon. For now I’ll watch movies instead, since I have plenty of DVDs to keep me inspired! Stay tuned for more reading recommendations…

As you can see from the badge in the sidebar, I’m a IASFA member. You can sign up for the readers’ newsletter that will let you know of free or 99c books by members, but they’re also having a Kindle Fire HD10 – US Only Giveaway – enter it if you’re in the right country! 🙂

I will probably enter some book in the promo after the summer. I haven’t chosen which and when yet, since I haven’t put the publisher’s hat on – and won’t until the last week of June. Trust me, it’s heaven! 😀 But then I’ll be off Day Job and I’ll decide what to do with the rest of the year, no new titles before the fall, but I may start considering promos for the old titles.

Meanwhile I shall go back to writing! Have a great week!

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by Barb on 17/05/2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 17/05/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/05/17/wednesday-weekly-roundup-188/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote almost 10K, and two stories. This week I shall start by checking Mighty Editor’s proofreading and send out a couple of stories on submission, then I can dive in a longer project that I started last year, but couldn’t bring myself to finish. I will, now, and hopefully you’ll see it before the end of the year.

After reading Kris Rusch’s post on Amazon, I decided not to renew the three titles I currently have in KU, especially since they never brought in any revenue. I won’t upload them everywhere, since they’re already available in other forms, but if you’re a KU reader, check them now.

The short story Lisa’s Odyssey will be in KU until the end of the month. It’s available everywhere in the collection Future Earth Chronicles Shorts. The other two are the collections of novellas, one from the Star Minds Universe, the other is Going Into the Future, because of the paperback. Those will both expire in June.

The ebooks will stay on Amazon, but not elsewhere, since they’re “duplicates” – an experiment that didn’t work any time I tried it, so I’m sorry, but I won’t put my books in KDP Select anymore. The collections of novellas include titles that are sold separately everywhere, I combined them only to make thicker paperbacks.

Now, my new favorite author (sort of!) doesn’t seem to be on Bookbub, so to recommend her books I shall put the Goodreads link, but I’m not going to bother writing a review on that site. Through her Kickstarter, I got Hero De Facto, a fun romp of breathtaking adventures that both makes fun and follows the superhero trope. Check out the whole series, the first book is really a page turner! 🙂

Now I’m going to take a break from ebooks and fiction, and go through some of the books I bought in England last year! And that’s all for today… have a great week! 🙂

by Barb on 10/05/2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 10/05/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/05/10/wednesday-weekly-roundup-187/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote zero words of fiction, but it was expected, since I was traveling. I took loads of notes, though, and got ideas for at least two short stories besides the novel that was the reason for this research trip. I did a tour of Romania, through Transylvania, Bucovina and Moldova, three very different regions – and took a thousand pics with both my phone and my camera (although at some point it took weird pictures, I don’t know what I touched, but a monastery has a few weird pics… pity, because it looked like a castle, and I could have used it on some cover, LOL!).

As I came back on Monday, I needed a couple of days to sort those notes and edit a novella I plan to submit, so I’ll hopefully resume writing today, one of those stories, probably. And some notes for the novel that I won’t start until the summer, but it’s slowly taking shape in my head.

Traveling again felt nice, it was a small group of 15, and the guide was really nice. We visited towns, painted (outside) monasteries, and went across the Carpathians, like, four times – including Borgo Pass of Bram Stoker’s book. Which is fiction, of course. There’s no “count” in Romania, only “vovoid”, and there’s no castle beyond Borgo Pass (besides, Bucovina starts shortly after, so it’s no longer Transylvania!).

I did like Castle Bran, a.k.a. Dracula’s castle, because it’s medieval, originally built by the Teutonic Knights, and I don’t care much about all the fuss they did about it after the above novel came out. Well, at least they repaired it! And it still belongs to the last descendant of the Romanian royal family – such an interesting history I was totally oblivious to because it’s too recent… oh, well, now I know more about it! 🙂

This week I’m still off day job, so I should be able to catch up on some writing. Meanwhile wishing you a wonderful week!

by Barb on 03/05/2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 03/05/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/05/03/wednesday-weekly-roundup-186/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Slow and steady, I added another almost-8K words to the novel. I should finish Draft 0 by Sunday so I can go through it next week and send it off the Mighty Editor the following week. Meanwhile she has the short stories from the challenge to keep her busy, LOL!

But now I should have written my first 100K for the year. But this is a marathon, so if I don’t reach my goal, I won’t cry. Also, on the first week of May I’ll try to figure out if I want to publish something this year of leave everything for next year. A sabbatical would be good, I guess!

The sabbatical is only from publishing, of course. I need to have fun writing again, with no deadlines or projected “marketing” campaigns (yeah, me and Mr. Marketing still don’t get along). I’m still a prolific writer who finishes what she starts, I’m just less in a hurry to share those stories with the world, that’s all!

And that’s all in this fairly cold spring… Have a great week!

by Barb on 19/04/2023  •  Permalink
Posted in indie publishing, the Human being, writing projects
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Posted by Barb on 19/04/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/04/19/wednesday-weekly-roundup-184/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote almost 11K, then yesterday I took a break to go through the manuscript from the beginning, to make sure I tied up all the lose ends. No, it’s not done, but I needed to remind myself what I’d done. Also, it’s part of a series but standalone, and I haven’t decided yet if I should re-read the other books of the series or not.

Considering that I’m making some kind of progress on my TBR list (although I keep adding to it by backing Kickstarters, sigh!), I’m not too keen on going back to older stories, mostly because every time I do, I find typos and groan. Maybe I should just grab those paperbacks, go throught them and re-upload the corrected version.

I used to go through the paperbacks (when I could order proofs through Createspace) since on paper typos jump out better than on Kindle, but I haven’t done it since I was forcefully moved to KDPpring. I’m a slow reader, and I’m trying to take down my TBR pile (especially on Kindle, it’s invisible, but it’s still a two-column A4 sheet of titles, and then some), so if I use some of that limited reading time to re-read my old books, I’ll never get the reading done!

Anyhow, I’m still writing and still tinkering with cover art, even though I might end up not using them. They’re good for inspiration, though, so I’ll keep doing those mock covers until I get a new laptop and have to learn to use the new one with the digital pen and tablet!

That’s all for today! Have a great week!

by Barb on 12/04/2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 12/04/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/04/12/wednesday-weekly-roundup-183/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote a little over 8K new words but the whole manuscript is already at 14.6K, since I integrated a short story I wrote back in November into it. And like I mentioned to Tori in the comments, I’m having fun again writing a longer work.

Publishing burnout is really a thing. I read of another friend who wrote two books but can’t bring himself to publish them just yet. Another friend has revamped his website, so he should be back on track soon. I’m sure Tori will get back to writing soon as well, and it’s fine if we both take a year off from publishing. It will give time to things to settle in publishing and elsewhere. And eventually we shall find our readers! 🙂

Today marks the 20th anniversary of a writing workshop I did in Northern Italy, where I met my Jedi twin (and challenge partner) Fulvio Gatti. Boy oh boy, so many things happened in the past twenty years! I might have been more prolific, but he earned more accolades and awards – and sold more short stories, but then, I don’t submit that many, LOL!

What can I say… sometimes a theme of an anthology inspires me enough to write something, but sometimes I just take the prompt and write it months or years later, so I end up not submitting it anywhere. Maybe it’s the start of a new series, or a prequel to an old one, or just another story in a universe I already created.

Even the stories I wrote for the challenge, only a few will be submitted to anthologies as soon as Mighty Editor goes through them. Others work as prequels of books I still have to write, or are corollary of series I have already wrapped. And since I plan on doing a volume of original stories, I’m not sending them out at all, so you’ll be able to have the exclusivity whenever I publish them.

So there, these are my news… Have a great week, and (if you celebrate it) Happy Easter! I’ll probably spend the two days off writing my next novel! 😀

by Barb on 05/04/2023  •  Permalink
Posted in indie publishing, the Human being, writing projects
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Posted by Barb on 05/04/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/04/05/wednesday-weekly-roundup-182/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week after writing 4500words (for a yearly total of almost 72K) I decided I had enough of short stories and wanted to send a longer work to Mighty Editor by the end of April. So the short story I was writing was set aside and I decided what to write next.

Again, I have no idea of when these stories will be published. I need time to have Mighty Editor go through them and proofread them. Of course I already have the covers, because it’s a form of brainstorming for me, though! 😀 But I doubt I’ll put anything out anytime soon.

Maybe I’ll start in the summer, maybe in September. I don’t know, and I don’t want to think about it at this time. I want to enjoy writing and experiment while I try to catch up with my reading – and my TBR pile never goes down because I keep backing Kickstarters and getting new books, but I shall overcome!

Anyhow, in September I’ll definitely try to make publishing plans for 2024 and, hopefully, beyond. Meanwhile I shall dive back into writing longer works, possibly using a couple of those shorts as starting points. That’s all for today! Have a great week!

by Barb on 29/03/2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 29/03/2023

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2023/03/29/wednesday-weekly-roundup-181/

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