2017 NaNoWriMo NOVEMBER & DECEMBER Bi-monthly Goals! — Derek Barton – 2017

It’s been two very busy months already…  Hard to believe how fast time has been marching past me on the road this year!  Having these bi-monthly goals really has kept me productive, but at the same time, it has made the days feel like sand flowing through my fingers!

So quick recap of last month’s goals and outcome:

1. Outline first two books of Elude Series – Success! I have both developed and set up for NaNoWriMo!
2. Develop the character cast and their background of Elude Series — Success!  The list of my characters keep growing and I need to do more backstory on some, but I am prepped with the majority.
3. Create a NaNoWriMo Prep Folder in Scrivener and complete the list of development items – Success! A quick progress report on that: I am already hip-deep into the writing and have done already 15,700+ on Elude so far in November!
4. Write 1,000 words per day – blogging, outlining, writing – Partial credit. I wasn’t able to really do that much actual writing and it’s hard to account how much I did especially when writing up characters, working on outlines and newsletters, etc.
5. On October 1^st, start editing phase for The Bleeding Crown – Success! I completed the first round of editing on 10/29.  I will be picking up this manuscript again in December after my NaNoWriMo Challenge.
6. Design book cover for Rookie: Pitfalls of Year One – Not completed.  I have decided to shelve this idea for now.  I like the idea of working up a non-fiction reference book for new writers, but I do not want to stop my momentum right now with my Epic Fantasy and my two horror series.
7. Write new book blurbs for all my works and revamp all of the Amazon ads. – Not completed. I also changed my mind about this for now.  I will probably revisit this in the future.
8. Complete a newsletter for each month. – Success!
9. Find a part-time post or two – extra income to help with new bills and investment in writing projects/marketing. – Success! I am working my day job right now 6 days out of 7.  It is our busiest time of the year so it requires overtime anyway.  On the 7^th day I work a part-time food delivery job (just like… Vic Vargas in Elude! Ha!  Hope I have a better experience than he did.  LOL!)
10. Lose at least 15 pounds in the next two months through refined calorie counting/nightly walking/weight lifting. – FAIL! But to be fair, I have been working so much and have had a lot going on with my writing that I have just not had the energy or time.  I am going to certainly forward this goal on to the next round.
11. Read a writers craft book, listen to podcasts and youtube blogs weekly on marketing/writing – Partial credit. I have continued to make time for writing videos and reading blogs, but I didn’t read a writers craft book.
12. Start a new series of blog posts. – Success! Very happy with the new series I am doing.  My father and I are doing a collaboration called The Hidden which is an origin story of the werewolf ideology.  His original manuscript was written in the 90s so it is a throwback to that time (think Stranger Things, IT).  I am releasing excerpts every two weeks. The Hidden
13. Research and find alternative artists for projects (i.e. poker cards portraits, calendar and bio cards). – Fail. I put this also on the backburner and I really don’t know when or how I will get this accomplished.  If anyone has ideas or knows of an artist who would want to go into a partnership, please let me know!

Result – 8 out of 12 goals met so 67%… Not great, not bad.  But I will keep fighting the good fight!

November & December Goals:

1. Complete the NaNoWriMo Challenge – 50,000 Word Count for Book #1 and Book #2 of Elude
2. Start Round #2 of editing for The Bleeding Crown.
3. Start Round #1 of editing for Elude Series #1.
4. Decide on Cover Art for Elude Series.
5. Start a savings plan for professional editing of The Bleeding Crown.
6. Create marketing ads and decide on a marketing campaign for Consequences Within Chaos Audiobook.
7. Lose 15 pounds by end of year.
8. Research possible Phoenix and Arizona Book Festivals/Comic-cons to participate in.
9. Continue to send out monthly newsletters.
10. Keep up The Hidden horror series every two weeks.

Little fewer goals than the prior goal blogs, but being that I am working and writing daily, I think I can give myself a bit of pass on that.   

I do appreciate the support I get from you guys and family alike!  It is very much appreciated!!