The Best Thing about being a Writer...

This popped up on my Author Goodreads page...


I guess the best thing about being a Writer is...

Freedom.

I'm my own 'boss.' I don't have to answer to anyone else.

Having a bad day? Nope, not writing.

Plot not working for me? Okay, let's shelve it for a while; come back when the eyes (and mind) is fresh and I can think more clearly.

Writing about the things I like, and not what others think I need to write about? Sure can!

Deadlines? Only self-imposed, and I have the ability to move them as needed.

Sure, telling the stories are fun, and I love seeing the characters come alive with each keystroke...

But for me? The best part is the freedom to be able to write around MY schedule, whatever that may be!

November 2021 Update

So, with exactly 6 weeks left in 2021, (HOW is this even possible???) Let me give you a quick update.


Yes, I've answered this before, but I'm working on different things now.

So, What book are we talking about?

My Boyfriend's Best Friend was based on the love triangle between Matt Hardy, Amy Dumas, and Adam Copeland, all wrestlers for WWE at one point in their lives. While the plotline was based on that event, I just altered details and events to fit more into my vision and the WPWA universe.

As for currently, I'm writing another WPWA book, this time with Malcolm and Skyler. I've been working on this since September and I just hit 32K words over the weekend. I can easily see this hitting the 40-45K word mark.

I really want to finish this in November, so that I can work on other projects in December and give myself an easy month.

But, I actually have some good news... In last month's update, I wrote:
Sadly, I THINK this is the end of the WPWA universe, unless I am inspired by a storyline from the wrestling companies I watch and/or stay up to date with.

Well, I'm happy to say I may have found another WPWA book.

Last year, I started a Drew McIntyre fanfic, as a Thank you to my 'Beta Girls' for helping me when I get stuck and the like. It got shelved in May 2020 (after Camp NaNo) and never picked up again.

In October, I was setting up the writing binder to the page of notes I'm on, and I passed by my notes for the Drew fic I started last year...which got me wondering; Should I keep it as a fanfic for JUST my 'Beta Girls,' or change the names and publish it if/when it's done. It would give me a 5th WPWA book...

And I let it stew for a few days, just trying to think, How could I work it? It took me a few days to get an idea, but it's doable!! I think if I eliminate the 'Scottish accent' of Drew and make the character American born, the plot can still work!!

And so, the 5th WPWA is born!

So, How's the rest of 2021 looking, Daisy?

Like this...

NOVEMBER - Finish the Malcolm/Skyler book. I have 4 more printed pages of notes and 2 weeks to do this... which won't be too bad to do.

DECEMBER - Work a little on the 5th WPWA book and maybe plot another book or two.

Speaking of Malcolm & Skyler, I'm off to visit with them!

Daisy

October Update

So, I've been wanting to do this post for a few weeks, and I keep getting sucked into my book.

So, here's an 'Ask The Author' from Goodreads...

Currently, I'm writing another WPWA book, this time with Malcolm and Skyler. I've been working on this since September and I just hit 20K words over the weekend.

This book is pretty much writing itself. I wracked up nearly 6K of those words last week alone (which is HUGE for me, because I type slow)

Sadly, I THINK this is the end of the WPWA universe, unless I am inspired by a storyline from the wrestling companies I watch and/or stay up to date with.

Which is fine... I have *17* other ideas to write. Although, some may be tossed, because they were fanfic ideas, and I'm not sure I can convert them to not be fanfic, unless they also become WPWA books. I MAY be able to combine 2 ideas into one, if I play my cards right.

Even so, that leaves about 10 workable plots to use...

And that doesn't count the few that have flown into my head the past few days.

Even though the WPWA book is pretty much writing itself, I don't expect to publish it before 2022. It's still untitled, and I can't publish it without a title.

Kind of disappoints me, but C'est la vie.

But I do plan to keep writing.

Signing off to go do that,

Daisy

I'm still standing...

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah...

Daisy here. So, I've been busy since the last time we 'talked.'

I've published two books, Treat You Better and My Boyfriend's Best Friend.

I've plotted two more. One's being written right now, one I'm eyeing to start for NaNoWriMo, but I do not OFFICIALLY participate in NaNoWriMo.

I tried that one year and I was just so overly stressed that... it wasn't fun.

NaNoWriMo is supposed to be fun and enjoyable. But I was so stressed about trying to make the 1667 daily word count goal (and failing every day) that I SWORE I'd never try to do it again.

And I never have.

I still write in November, but I don't aim for the NaNoWriMo word goal.

So, what's going on for the rest of 2021?

I'm not 100% sure. I'd LOVE to get one more book published... and if the one I'm currently writing keeps working the way it is, That's totally doable.

But I do plan to keep writing.

Signing off to go do that,
Daisy

Change of Plans...

 No, I am not quitting.

When I set out on my journey, I had plans of keeping all my books free. I write for fun and I wasn't concerned with the income.

I knew Amazon and Barnes & Noble/Nook Press were going to be my biggest Marketplaces, So I started self-publishing through them.

What I really liked about Nook Press (Barnes & Noble's Self-publishing platform) was the ability to make my books permanently free, or 'perma-free.' However, KDP does NOT give that option. If I want my books to be free on Amazon, I need to email them, provide the URLs to my books on the B&N site, and HOPE Amazon would price-match.

And... for the MOST part, they did. I only had to email Amazon once and the price was set to $0.00. For the LONGEST time, Amazon wouldn't touch the price either.

And then... I decided to publish 'Savior.' This was the ONLY book I actually wanted to sell, with all proceeds going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Joe Anoa'i (WWE's Roman Reigns) was the muse for 'Markus' and I wanted to support him.

After that is when my pricing issues began.

It seemed like I had to contact Amazon much more often to 'reset' one (or more) of my books to $0.00. It got to the point where I was contacting them every other week.

While yes, they WOULD reset the price of the book, it became a pain to having to constantly contact them. And every reply they sent me would say the same thing... 'We retain discretion over determining our retail prices.'

Due to this, It seems I CANNOT have my books be 'perma-free' on Amazon. 

Right now, 4 of my 7 books sit at $0.99, even though I have asked them to keep all but 1 book at $0.00.

Therefore, as of MAY 1, 2021, all books on Amazon will be $0.99.

Also, as of MAY 31, 2021, all books will become Amazon-exclusive. My sales on Barnes & Noble do not justify leaving them on their platform. I'm not 100% sure if I will be putting them into Kindle Unlimited, but my books will ONLY be available on Amazon after that date.

Review - ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid Review

DISCLAIMER: Usually, I don’t do reviews on here, but this is a product I use quite a bit and love.

Being an Indie author with a nearly $0 editing budget, that leaves the editing part of the writing process up to me. Good thing I was an English buff. I have a decent to excellent sense of the English language and I know my way around a word processor. Over the past 30 years, I’ve used a LOT of word processors, ranging from ClarisWorks/AppleWorks in the early 1990s to Microsoft Works in the late 1990s to OpenOffice in the 2000s. I’ve even used Google Docs as my word processor when I was using a Chromebook.

But the one thing those word processors did NOT have built in was an actual grammar checker. As I said above, it’s a good thing I was an English buff in school. Anything to do with grammar, I excelled at. But, there are even some rules I’m not sure of… whether that be because I’m rusty at the rules (I’ve been out of school for 20+ years at this point) or my school’s curriculum decided my knowing Romeo’s soliloquy by heart was more important that grammar rules.

In the writing world, this is where an editor would step in and correct my grammar faux pas, and tightening up my writing. But, editors are pricey... Being an Indie author with a nearly $0 editing budget, that leaves the editing part of the writing process up to me.

Enter ProWritingAid.

What I like most about ProWritingAid is the plethora of options it has for usage. The company offers a standalone desktop app, which integrates with the Microsoft Office suite of apps, Google Docs, Scrivener, OpenOffice, and Final Draft. They also offer browser extensions (compatible with Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari browsers), so if you’re more of a Cloud-based author, you can still use their product.

Another feature I LOVE is the reports. ProWritingAid offers 20 original reports to help me see my errors and to also see my strengths.


My favorite report is the ‘Real Time’ report.


This shows me where my errors are, and I can fix them right on the go. That helps me so much because I’m usually editing right before I send the file to my ‘Beta Girls.’ I like my work to be as polished as possible.

Another report I’m fond of is the Readability Report. It tells me how easy my writing is. As a Romance author, I know my readers are looking for an escape from real life; a vacation from life, so to speak. So, I want to keep my writing easy to read and understand. The Readability Report helps me ensure that my readers won’t be left scratching their heads.


I’ve used other web-based grammar checkers in the past, and they worked fine. But between privacy issues and missing errors other checkers have picked up, I constantly go back to ProWritingAid for its ease of use and reliability. In fact, I ran this review through ProWritingAid before posting it.

But don’t take my word for it. Go check out some of their YouTube videos. Read some of their articles… there’s over 1000 articles to choose from. Take a free two-week trial of their software integrations.

Simply go to this link to register: https://prowritingaid.com/en/Account/Register2

Writing plans...

Hi guys, Daisy here... How are we all holding up with the lockdowns/quarantines?

Me personally? I self-quarantine most of the month anyway, so this is not really affecting me all that much. More time for writing! So there is a plus side to it.

It's also given me time to come up with my writing plans for the next 4 months.

So, These are my 'tentative' plans up until July...

April's Camp Nano - WWE Drew Fic (Will NOT be published except for friends). I'm over 9000 words in this file, so I'm making progress.
May - Edits of Treat You Better and My Brother's Enemy, plus Plotting for July's Camp Nano
JuNoWriMo - Finish whatever HASN'T been finished by then
July's Camp Nano - Another WPWA book, this time with Malcolm and Skyler

I'm still planning to publish Treat You Better and My Brother's Enemy this year. I'm going to be publishing a short story this week.

I'll be back when the story is published; in the meantime, stay home, stay safe, stay healthy.

Writing is not a race, nor a competition...

After losing 3K+ words on January's project, I took the remainder of January off and in February, I returned to the book I started in November. I was renewed in it, having given it a few months to 'simmer and stew,' so I could look at it with fresh eyes.

And then my muses had other plans.

They are fine with two of the names, Aubree and Logan. But, they wanted to free up Jarrett to use him in another book.

which isn't too much work. Just a lot of 'Find and Replace' commands in LibreOffice. But it's thinking of a new name that had me stumped. I wanted to keep 'true' to the muses, but something that won't get me into some serious hot water.

Considering who the Original Jarrett was based on, I toyed with the idea of just using a spelling variation of his on-screen name. But there is already another wrestler with a similarly spelled name, even with the variation I had planned.

And I surely don't need a Billionaire Owner and CEO coming after me for trying to steal his intellectual property. Nope, not on my to-do list.

Between one of my 'Beta Girls' and a fellow author in a group I'm in, I figured out how to keep that Billionaire Owner and CEO off my case AND honor one of my sisters on my Daddy's side.

Why I didn't think of this earlier is beyond me! My pen name is honoring my deceased BFF, so why didn't I think of honoring my deceased family?

I'm very grateful for their help. If it wasn't for those ladies, I'd still be stuck. We should be willing to help others when the opportunity arises.

In my 40 years on this earth, I have seen too many times when people have tried to hurt one another, just to get ahead. I understand, everyone wants to be 'Top Dog' in their chosen career, but not by being vindictive. Why? Why do this? It just reflects badly on the vindictive one, no one else.

Before I became an author, I dabbled in freelance graphic design (self-taught) on a journaling site and product review blogging. Both 'careers' had very selfish and conceited people in them. While doing the freelance graphic design, I asked a fellow designer (or 'maker,' as they were called on the site) how she did a certain technique. She never answered me. I don't know if she didn't want the competition or she didn't like me, but she could have at least said, 'I'd rather not answer.'

As a product reviewer, I met someone that had experience in PR work for 5+ years helping me, saying she knew 'what companies were looking for in reviews/influencer marketing.' Turns out she really didn't and my pitch acceptance rate dropped significantly after she had me rewrite my pitch letter. Again, I'm not sure if she did this intentionally or if I was just in the wrong niche.

But, the writing community is full of helpful people, willing to advise and guide you correctly.

This is why I say Writing is not a race, nor a competition... We're all heading in the same direction. There are so many different genres of books. Why not help fellow authors?

You may just make a friend in the end.

This is the story of a girl...

Who just did something REALLY stupid!

I run Linux Mint 19.1, and I had a kernel update today. Every time I have a kernel update, I usually back up my blogging folder and my book writing folder, just as a precautionary measure.

Well, as I'm prepping my backup, I'm talking with my 'Mama Melissa' about some things going on in the house and I deleted the WRONG copies of the files. And when I say 'deleted,' I don't mean just move to the trash. I mean 'Delete forever' deleted.

Everything I had written/done in the last 3 weeks... GONE.

I started getting upset and nervous... I wanted my files back!!

Ran a few programs... nope. Those files were GONE gone.

And then... I sat back, sighed HEAVILY and regrouped myself. This wasn't a big deal, truthfully speaking.

Technically, I lost about 3000+ words in my stepbrother story...which, honestly? Is fine. I wasn't really liking the way it was going, if I'm being completely real with myself. It was moving WAY too fast and away from the visions I had in my head. Kinda mad I lost an AWESOME 'oral' scene... probably one of the BEST I've ever written, but I'll live. I can probably re-write it, even BETTER (if that's possible), somewhere else.

I also lost an edited story that should have gone to my girls last weekend, but that's easily re-editable. Again, I'll live.

BUT the upswing? I still have the entirety of my 'NaNoWriMo' file and I'm pretty sure I have the entirety of the fanfic I was working on in December. So I can STILL pick up with Aubree, Jarrett and Logan again in February. ALL IS NOT LOST!!

So, What have I learned from all this?
a. Watch what you're doing when backing up.
b. Back up often
c. Back up to an online storage site, like Google Drive or OneDrive.

My 2020 Plan

Hi all, Daisy here.

So... The last time we talked, I mentioned I had a manuscript I wanted to publish in December, but I was thinking of doing major edits to the manuscript, because I'm leary of using song titles in the text.

I also needed to do the cover for this as well.

Sadly, neither of these happened in December, mainly because of the holidays and being busy with them. I plan to get everything done this week and publish it by the end of January.

Well, what about the rest of 2020, Daisy?

First and foremost, I'm planning to do the two Camp Nanowrimo sessions, In both April and July. These are when the bulk of my writing gets accomplished.

As far as what I'll be writing, I haven't even figured that out. I have plenty of ideas... I have a rockstar baby plot brewing, plus a Frat Boys/College romance series planned.

However, I want to finish the book I started in November 2019. I plan to pick this one up in February and it will more than likely carry me through March. It will be wrestling-based and probably be familiar to longtime wrestling fans.

Yay for writing, but what about what you're going to publish?

Oh! Well, I have two manuscripts completed, Treat You Better and My Brother's Enemy. They just need editing.

Treat You Better is a Wrestling/Country Star romance (trust me, it's not as confusing as it sounds), while My Brother's Enemy is set in the same universe as Savior. As of right now... I have 3 books set in the WPWA universe. I have to recheck my notes to see if there are any more that will be set in the WPWA universe.

I plan to publish those two books, along with 'stripperstory' and the book started in November 2019.

So, I'm looking to DEFINITELY publish 4 books in 2020. Any more than that will just be a bonus for me.

So, that's my 2020 plan. I thank you for coming along for the ride.