June 30th, 2018

Overview:

• What's New: Launching an AuthorTube channel, website, and starting a business
• Novel Update: Transitioning to the editing phase and summer goals
• June Reads
• In Case You Missed It
• And you?

1. AuthorTube Newbie. Launching a channel on YouTube has been a whirlwind experience. There is so much equipment to research and purchase (camera, lights, tripod, good video-editing software, photoshop or an equivalent, etc.), and so much time that goes into every upload. For example, my debut video is about 8 minutes long. It took me 45 minutes to film it. An entire day to edit it (granted I was still learning how to use the software), another day to add “extras” to the edits, like captions and background music, and an hours-long photoshop tutorial with my very patient husband, Nick, who taught me how to make my own thumbnails and end slides.
2. Author Website. Thanks to discovering Wix.com as a host platform (again, after much research), this wasn’t so difficult, but it was detail-oriented and time-consuming. Especially when the GDPR bomb dropped and I needed to create my own privacy policy and add double-consent to my newsletter forms and...it wasn’t pretty. BUT I am proud to say I did all of it by myself, despite Nick being a kick-ass software engineer.
3. Publishing Company. Fun fact, I only intended to RESEARCH starting my own business this month. But lo and behold, Nick and I are now co-owners of our very own publishing LLC! We still have a few more legal things to take care of, and bureaucracy to appease, before I make any official announcements, but we’re in the New York State business directory already, so that’s awesome. There is SO MUCH to discuss on this front, like, why did you even form a publishing company? What are the benefits? What are your plans for it? How the hell did you go about doing it? But honestly, that could be an entire newsletter (or YouTube video) on its own, so I’m not going to get into it now. However, if it is something you’d like to hear more about, please reply to this email and let me know!

Novel Update

I am supposed to already be editing my manuscript. I am not. Here is a brief look at why:

Google Docs: Hey, I know you wrote your entire book on me, but you had to make each chapter a separate document because I will die if you give me more than 50 pages at once. This won’t fly for a master document of 700+ pages that you need to edit all at once. So it’s been nice knowing you!

Microsoft Word: Lol I’m expensive as f*ck. Haven’t you spent enough money on your vlogging camera?

Libre Office: I’m free but a bit unintuitive to use. I like long walks on the beach and crashing every now and then.

Scrivener: All the fancy authors looooove me. I’m shiny and creative and a little abstract but YOU SHOULD CHOOSE ME BECAUSE I’M HIP AND DIFFERENT.

Office Desktop: Uh, I know I don’t exist yet, but, in order for you to even use actual writing software, you have to build me, because lol your laptop is a Chromebook that can only use internet apps.

Author Platform: MAMA, MAMA, PAY ATTENTION TO MEEEEEE!!!

Me:

I think that just about sums it up.
 

I have to say, after spending the beginning of 2018 on a strict, finish-the-book writing schedule, it feels incredibly weird to suddenly NOT write every day. Even though there were days during the process I cursed the Sumerians for having invented the written word, I do miss it terribly. It can be super helpful to take a step back from your work before revising so that when you do come back to it, you can literally re-vise (re-see) your words with fresh and less biased eyes (helps with killing those darlings, too). Now that I’ve had a little over 2 months of a break, I am more than ready to do this.

There will be a video summarizing my spring quarterly goals up next month on my YouTube channel, but I won’t get into my summer quarterly goals there. Since you and I are a bit closer, I’ll let you in on some of them a season early. :)

By far my biggest end-of-summer goal is to have sent off my manuscript to beta readers. It’s ambitious because I have not even started my self-edits yet, or incorporated my critique partner feedback, but while spring quarter was all about establishing my author platform, this summer my novel is going to have to re-take the reins. I have been far too steeped in reality as of late, and I need my fantasy world back lest I go insane.

June Reads

I have to be honest. I had big plans for tackling my TBR this month…this whole quarter, really. And I failed. Miserably. There was so much going on in all other aspects of my life that of course the most relaxing of my goals is what took the hit.

But just because reading is relaxing, it is no less important--not by a long shot. Good reading habits are crucial to forming good writing ones. So another summer goal of mine is to be more strict about my reading time.

In Case You Missed It

Et Vous?

Whew! Still with me? Feel free to reply to this email and tell me how your month--in writing, reading, chasing your lifelong dream of joining the circus--went. Do you have a July TBR you’re ready to dive into? Can you remember the last time you read a nonfiction book?

And of course, if you have any questions or comments related to this email, feel free to reach out! I’m always happy to clarify or chat. :D

<3 Always,
Danielle