#goals | J.D. Groom

Tag: #goals
- New Year, New…. ah, who am I kidding?
  
  Posted at 9:45 am by Jodie, on January 11, 2020
  
  Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
  
  Here we are in 2020 already —it only feels like a few years ago when we were seeing in the millennium— and we are almost reaching the mid point of January!
  
  I’ve decided not to set resolutions this year. I don’t want to blow my own trumpet or anything but, besides being podgy around the middle and having difficulty saying no at times, I’m fairly happy with who I am at the moment.
  
  How about you? Have you set any resolutions? Do you ever stick to them?
  
  For 2020 I’ve created a list of tasks I want to work through instead, and I thought you might like to have a gander. Plus, in the spirit of accountability, if they’re out there I have to do them, right?
  
  Sorceress Of Flame
  * Complete the first draft.
  * First round edits.
  * Arrange m/s review.
  * Second round edits.
  * Beta readers.
  * Third round edits.
  * Proof read.
  * Arrange cover.
  * Arrange formatting.
  * Arc readers.
  * Publish (Hopefully Nov).
  
  Other Tasks
  * Read 20 books throughout the year.
  * Finish batching up the murder mystery for testers.
  * Attend 3 events as an author.
  * Organise some swag.
  * Take part in CampNaNo (April).
  * Take part in NaNoWriMo (November).
  * Enter DofA into competition (by Feb).
  
  Website
  * Monthly book review.
  * Monthly Author Q&A.
  * Monthly writing tip.
  * Post regular updates.
  * Redo my ‘Releases’ page.
  * Bring all of the pages up to date.
  * Add an events page.
  
  Social Media
  * Spend more time interacting with the #writingcommunity on Twitter.
  * Talk to more reviewers/book bloggers on IG.
  * Create new aesthetics for IG.
  * Get back into having a pretty and organised grid.
  *Post more SofT snippets etc.
  * Try to organise my Pinterest board.
  * Add F1 story to Wattpad.
  
  Don’t add any more books to my TBR pile!
  
  On top of all of this, I will also try to make sure I don’t lose my daughter under a mountain of washing, that everyone remains fed and watered, and the walls don’t crumble under the weight of dust and clutter.
  
  I wish you all a successful 2020. Now, what shall I tick off first?
  
  Speak soon, Jodie xxx
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged #blog, #catchup, #divineprophecy, #goals, #January2020, #newyear, #novel, #SofT, #sorceress, #update, #writing
- Hello October
  
  Posted at 3:41 pm by Jodie, on October 3, 2019
  
  The time of longer nights, pumpkin spice everything and smoke lingering in the air is upon us. I absolutely love this time of year. The transition between Autumn and Winter, where the weather isn’t too bad but the heat of summer is a distant memory, is my favourite.
  
  Anyway, I’m here to talk to you about my goals for the month. I know I’m a few days late, as is tradition for me now, but I started with a bang. On the 1st October I revealed the cover for my upcoming release, Sorceress of Truth, and here it is in all its glory.
  
  Sorceress of Truth cover by Original Book Cover Design
  
  I can’t stop looking at it! Natalie, from Original Book Cover Design, did an amazing job. I really hope you like it as much as me. The release date is scheduled for 10th November, then you can get a copy of your own, and maybe find all of the hidden gems.
  
  So, that leads me nicely onto my plans for the rest of the month.
  
  Much of my list is a continuation of September’s, which is fine by me as a lot of the tasks are quite big and not something I can do in a day.
  
  The biggest change is that I’m shifting away from some of my editing as I focus on getting Sorceress of Truth loaded and the Advanced Reader Copies sent out.
  
  It’s quite nerve wracking knowing that other people out of my close circle are going to be reading it. Though, I’m going to have to get over those feelings pretty quickly once it’s launched fully.
  
  I hope you’ve been enjoying my Character Series. So far we have been introduced to Tory, Kylan and Pepper, and I’m thinking of doing one more, Lucas. All I will say is, if you’re looking for a new book boyfriend then you are too late. He’s already been claimed by a member of my indie group (I needed to add that as she would kill me if I didn’t!). He’s certainly an interesting character to get to know.
  
  Now that I’ve done my (almost) weekly ramble, I hope you enjoy the rest of your week. Please feel free to follow me on Instagram and Twitter. If you have any questions or comments, I’d love for you to get in touch.
  
  So long, for now! Jodie xx
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged #blog, #booklaunch, #catchup, #cover, #divineprophecy, #goals, #novel, #october2019, #sorceress, #SorceressofTruth, #update, #writing
- How is your September?
  
  Posted at 10:31 am by Jodie, on September 12, 2019
  
  Image by James Wheeler from Pixabay
  
  We are already well into September, and it occurred to me that I haven’t spoken about my goals for the month, or let you know what’s happening in my life away from the keyboard.
  
  I posted on Instagram at the start of the month with what I was hoping to achieve.
  
  So far I’m doing well. The Sorceress of Truth edits are well under way, and we may actually be ahead of schedule.
  
  On an evening I have been re-reading Sorceress of Flame, editing, and adding bits where I feel it’s needed.
  
  Once I’ve gone through everything, only then will I know if what I already have is in line with where I want the story to go, and plot accordingly.
  
  I’m putting off the plotting of Don of Avery 2, partly because I don’t need to know until National Novel Writing Month in November. But, while I know the ending, I came to the realisation that I need to know Rafael’s story before I can finish Avery’s.
  
  Rafael is one of the main male characters, and a typical hot blooded, mafia/gang leader of Italian decent. It’s quite interesting writing from his point of view, and I’ve had to channel my inner rage, which has come surprisingly easily due to one of the obstacles I am facing in my home life.
  
  We are in the process of having a new bathroom fitted, which looks amazing, but comes with a whole host of problems.
  
  Let’s just say, three weeks without a working shower does not a happy Jodie make.
  
  I won’t bore you with the details, I’m sure my writing buddies are sick of hearing about them, but confrontation is not my thing. In fact, I ended up losing a whole weekend due to a migraine, which I’m sure was brought on due to stress.
  
  In happier news, I’ve managed to go through half a chapter of ‘Jewel of the Sea’ for Alison Aldridge. This doesn’t sound a lot but, I’m hoping to get loads more done on my trip next week.
  
  I’m going to meet some of my fellow World Indie Warriors at Ingram Sparks offices in Milton Keynes and go on a tour. I’m super excited, obviously to be meeting them in person, but also to see where Sorceress of Truth will be coming from in just a few short weeks!
  
  You can follow my adventures on Instagram, though I’m sure I will write up a blog post once I get home.
  
  Thank you for taking the time to listen to my ramblings today and, at some point in the next week, I intend to release another post in my Character Series, where you will get to know Pepper in all her glory.
  
  Speak soon, Jodie xx
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged #blog, #booklaunch, #catchup, #divineprophecy, #donofavery, #goals, #ingramspark, #nanowrimo, #novel, #September2019, #sorceress, #SorceressofTruth, #update, #worldindiewarriors, #writing
- It’s Been a Long Journey
  
  Posted at 7:55 pm by Jodie, on August 26, 2019
  
  Like many people, it has always been a dream of mine to write a book and see it on the shelves of my favourite Waterstones.
  
  When I got the idea for the Sorceress of Truth, and the whole Divine Prophecy world, and realised it had legs, I felt a buzz of excitement. This was my chance.
  
  After several years of on again/off again writing I finally wrote `the end’. But, as most writers will tell you, the end is just the beginning.
  
  I read through my draft, made a few changes, and exuberantly sent it off to publishers who would accept unsolicited manuscripts in my genre. I’d already decided that I didn’t want an agent.
  
  I waited and I waited. I received a few holding emails and waited some more. Eventually responses began trickling in: thanks, but no thanks. The only positive response ended up coming from a vanity publisher.
  
  Saying I was disappointed would be an understatement. All my hours of research, late night writing sessions and gallons of coffee, and all I had to show for it was a stack of rejections.
  
  With my confidence at an all time low I had two options, give up on the story all together or ask for the opinions of others, which obviously meant sending it back out into the big wide world.
  
  A few friends and family members read the raw version of Sorceress of Truth and seemed to like it but, were they being impartial?
  
  A competition in a magazine caught my eye at just the right time, the Northern Writers Awards 2017.
  
  Initially I had to submit a 6000 word sample which would be read by a panel and then decided on whether it went to the next round. I had only a few days before the deadline but managed it with a day or two to spare.
  
  Out of 3112 entries, my work had been chosen as one of the top 250 titles progressing to the next stage! Unfortunately it didn’t get any further, but still, being in the top 8% was a huge confidence boost.
  
  It wasn’t just a fluke, people did seem to like the Sorceress of Truth, but how could I make it better?
  
  First I employed an editor who, while they did tidy up my manuscript, didn’t feel like quite the right fit. Then I sat on it for a year while I took a break and concentrated on other projects.
  
  Eventually I became more active on Instagram and made some great writing friends. It turned out one of them was an editor and she posted about manuscript reviews. I’d never heard of a manuscript review before but it sounded perfect.
  
  I knew I had a great story, I just felt it was lacking in a few areas and needed more character development. I needed someone to say, `I loved that scene but maybe you could explore their reaction a little more’, or `you could do with some extra details here’, or `the end of this scene is too sudden’.
  
  Well, after nervously handing over my manuscript for three weeks, I received my novel back with lots of notes and a detailed report, and I can honestly say it was the best decision I ever made.
  
  I agreed with pretty much everything that was said and my novel was a lot better for it. I could have quite literally thrown in the towel and hit the release button months ago, but it wouldn’t have been my best work.
  
  You will never achieve perfect. There will always be a sentence to tweak here or a paragraph to rewrite there, but, you owe it to your characters, your readers and yourself to release your best work in that moment. Your style and craft will forever be changing and adapting.
  
  Now, I’m proud and exhilarated at the thought of unleashing Tory and her story. It’s just a few short months away to my scheduled release date, something that I never thought would happen.
  
  Self publishing was never something that was on my radar, and I’ll speak more about that in another post, but now I’ve taken the plunge I know it’s the right choice for me. I just hope the Sorceress of Truth is as successful as I know it can be, even if it’s just to prove the publishers and their rejection letters wrong.
  
  So long for now,
  
  Jodie xx
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Tagged #August2019, #blog, #divineprophecy, #goals, #inspiration, #novel, #sorceress, #SorceressofTruth, #UKNovelWritingCompetition, #writing
- May The Fourth Be With You
  
  Posted at 10:00 am by Jodie, on May 4, 2019
  I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself!
  
  So, I’m here for a little check in and discuss my goals for this month. We are a few days into May already, how has it been treating you so far? Do you have any goals set? Feel free to leave comments at the bottom of the page as I love to see what you are all up to.
  
  I will be bringing a few goals over from April and adding in a few new one’s.
  
  MICDS Photographer – Flickr
  
  Edit The Sorceress This is a big one for me as I really want to try and release it later in the year. Depending on how I go with the edit I may even start to look for a cover artist.
  
  Read two works from fellow Indie authors I’ve been reading a lot of stories on Wattpad recently so I think it’s only fair to include those in this category, plus I will be reading on Episode too.
  
  Update Wattpad I really want to edit and upload the last part of Friends Will be Friends and hopefully release To Dream of Racing.
  
  Blog once a week I’m getting much better at this. In fact, this week you’ve had two posts from me!
  
  NYROrganic I need to start posting more on my business page and maybe looking to do a few events over the summer.
  
  Finish decorating the porch This has ended up being a bigger job than expected, and it’s really annoying as it is one of the smallest rooms in the house. All I will say is, do not EVER use stick on borders!
  
  Continue to tidy the gardens and plant some veggies I really hate gardening, but I do enjoy the finished product. It’s looking much less wild than it was and we already have some seedlings poking through.
  
  Personal Wellbeing
  - Continue reading oracle cards regularly.
  - Meditate at least once a week.
  - Go to the gym 3x a week.
  - Plan meals better.
  - Enjoy some family time at the 1940’s weekend.
  I think that’s enough to keep me going for now as I’m sure we have another school holiday in there somewhere and I don’t want to end up a frazzled mess like last time!
  
  To everyone who has a long weekend please enjoy yourselves and stay safe.
  
  If you can’t wait for my next post, don’t forget to check out my Instagram for regular updates.
  
  Jodie xx
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged #blog, #goals, #may2019, #writing
← Older posts

Tag: #goals

New Year, New…. ah, who am I kidding?

Posted at 9:45 am by Jodie, on January 11, 2020

Hello October

Posted at 3:41 pm by Jodie, on October 3, 2019

How is your September?

Posted at 10:31 am by Jodie, on September 12, 2019

It’s Been a Long Journey

Posted at 7:55 pm by Jodie, on August 26, 2019

May The Fourth Be With You

Posted at 10:00 am by Jodie, on May 4, 2019

J.D. Groom

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