IWSG: Writer's Updates

 It's the first Wednesday of the month, and time for another IWSG post!

 

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting!

 

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

 

The awesome co-hosts for the June 5 posting of the IWSG are Liza at Middle Passages, Shannon Lawrence, Melissa Maygrove, and Olga Godim!

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

June 5 optional question - In this constantly evolving industry, what kind of offering/service do you think the IWSG should consider offering to members?

 

I honestly have no answer to this question. I'm kind of an old fogey and not the best person to ask about how to keep up with an evolving industry. So I'm just going to talk about writing and this month's insecurities.

Writing Report:

Here's where the insecurities come in. I had hoped by now to have a book ready to release to the world. Instead, I don't even have a cover. I've completely rewritten the ending, thanks to the brilliant idea I got a few weeks ago, and have begun polishing the writing, tightening the POV and striking out the stuff that never should have been there in the first place. My confidence in the re-write is moderate, and I could wish it were higher.

On the bright side, I have a blurb:

Seffi Wardwell is loving her first Maine autumn, complete with beautiful weather, bountiful baked goods, and… bodies on the beach?!

 

Seffi’s pleasure in her long walks among the fall colors is more than a little marred when she encounters cantankerous fisherman Bob Hughes washed up on the shore—sodden, entangled in a net, and very definitely dead. Did the man drink too much and fall overboard in an unfortunate accident? Or was his death something more sinister? With an estranged wife, enemies in the fishing fleet, and ticked-off deckhands, there are plenty of people around Smelt Point who aren’t sorry he’s dead. But did any of them actually kill him? The scuttlebutt at the bakery raises more questions than it answers, and to top it off the fishermen gathering there have eaten Seffi’s favorite treats.

 

Once again Seffi needs all her reasoning and gossip-gathering talents to help village policeman Miah Cox get to the bottom of the mystery. But will Miah’s own secret tear the village apart?

More importantly, will Seffi ever get to finish her walk and enjoy her pastries in peace?

 

If all goes well, I'll very soon have a cover to put that on and can start collecting preorders. An August release might be doable, but I expect to be away half the month, and in and out through the fall (prime hiking season, in my opinion). Do I wait until Xmas to do the release? It's been forever since Book 1 came out, and I have no reason to think my readers will remember about me or Seffi!

 

Edits have been pretty much the whole story this month on the writing front. No flash fiction, no new short stories.

 

Submissions Report:

3 stories submitted

1 rejection

2 still under consideration

 

Marketing Report:

Not doing so well. I keep forgetting to highlight the backlist on the blog, and haven't pursued other venues. 

 

Travel and photos Report:
I have actually pretty much caught up on the photo edits, though I'm still polishing the slide shows. I've been sharing Africa photos on this blog. Sample below.

That's pretty much it for me. Between rainstorms I'm abandoning the computer to work on refinishing my deck. Leave it to me to start a project like that during an unusually wet May!

Let me know how your work is going, or what you think the IWSG ought to do, besides provide this wonderful opportunity to connect with other writers.

 ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2024
 As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated.
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