May 2018 Progress Report: So Not the Drama

Oh, May. What a month you were. So much Day Hobby drama, culminating in me quitting early! Drama used up way too much of my mental cycles. *sad headshake* Well, at least that situation won’t obtain for much longer! So let’s talk about what I managed last month, despite craziness.

Writing Progress

First, and happily, the draft of Coracle is done! And it’s right where I expected it, too, just over 60K. It needs editing, and a lot of art, so I’m going to sit with it and sort out how I want to handle it. Coracle was my area of sharpest focus in May, so I’m glad to have gotten it done. I did not, however, ignore Sediryl, since I wanted a good launch point once I switched focus to it. That gives me about 40K worth of new words this month… on novels. But I didn’t just write novels! Strangely, I also spent some time on short fiction, because I’m planning some incentives. The story of how Ensign Alysha Forrest went to Phoenix-Nest will be a newsletter/Patreon exclusive, and I also started a Princes’ Game incentive short, “Air-Dancing,” which I’m hoping will become part of a larger collection of vignettes for that series. That’s a total of another 10K or so there.

I also worked on other stuff throughout May. One was taking first-reader feedback on Sword and incorporating it into a second editorial pass of my own. I also want to finish up the Princes’ Game Synopsis Project, which is missing the From Ruins section, so I started on that as well. And I outlined a Three Jaguars article on philanthropy, which I’d like to finish in June.

Phew, that’s a lot. LET ME SUM UP.

Finished Drafts, Now in Editorial Stages

• Coracle 1
• Sword of the Alliance

Novel Drafts, Now Incrementing

• Sediryl
• Kherishdar 4 (to be launched in mid-July as a serial)

Short Story Drafts, Incrementing

• Alysha on Phoenix-Nest
• “Air-Dancing”

Miscellaneous Projects, Incrementing

• PG Summary Completion
• New Three Jaguars, Philanthropy
• NINC newsletter article on Patreon

So my goals for next month: To plan how I want to handle Coracle (probably with an end-of-summer Kickstarter), to get the finished draft of Sword ready by the end of June, and to work on Sediryl. I also have the audiobook contract out for Some Things Transcend, so I’ll have that ready to queue up on Patreon once Bloom is done.

I kind of want to mix things up in summer next year, but that’s more a business-analysis-post thing so I’ll save my rationale for that. Reminder, the business posts are for coffee-cup subscribers!

Other Progress

• Dreamhealers Kickstarter:Books are going out! I only have 30 prizes left to ship. I should be done by the end of June. If you missed the Kickstarter and want to buy the books, they are available now at retailers: Book 3 (https://books2read.com/u/31gEAa), Book 4 (https://books2read.com/dreamstorm), and Book 5 (https://books2read.com/u/mvZlzm)!
• Art: Most of my sketches go up on Discord as I draw them, but I am gearing up now to play with the style of the Collectible Card Game images. I’ve also got a Pelted Virtue project I’m poking at, but not very hard yet. I’d like to pay more attention to art but I need to figure out my schedule first, and June’s going to be a bit of a riot with family visits and prepping for summer camp and stuff. But it’s on my mind. >.>
• Patreon: I can’t complain! People come and people go, but the monetary total is holding fairly steady. I’d love to attract more people, but organic growth can’t be rushed. Tell people about this Patreon if you enjoy it!
• Etsy and Zazzle:I’d like to do more with Etsy, and I say that every month. I did add a coloring sheet and a couple of tiny originals, which already sold, so that’s a thing! I just need to put some more time into how I want to handle this aspect of my business. (Suggestions, as always, are welcome!) Also, I constantly forget I have a Zazzle (https://www.zazzle.com/mcahogarth). Here are some coupons for that: https://www.zazzle.com/coupons
• Discord Events: We have more stuff going on at scheduled times on Discord, which should make it easier for people who want to show up for something specific. Here’s what’s coming up if you want to plan:

o Bazaar – The last day of the month is Bazaar Day! That’s when everyone’s welcome to come by and talk up the things they make and where you can buy/get them. That happens in #studio.

o Maker’s Day – The first day of the month is Maker’s Day! We had it early this month, on Wednesday, to coincide with me leaving Day Hobby. But usually it’s the first of the month. On this day, in #studio, we all make things on a theme!

o Weekly Stuff – We have weekly events now, which you can check out by logging into discord and checking the #audiencehall. I’d particularly like to mention Thursday, which is ‘Chat With Jaguar’ day, if you want to make sure you catch me.

o All Fan Chat Day – Our next All Fan Chat day is Thursday, June 14th! Come by, say hello! I will be drawing, and there will be Q&A and silliness. Join us, we'd love to see you! 

And as always, a link for all the freebies. These freebies were made available before I moved free stuff to the $5 tier, but I don’t believe in taking away stuff I’ve already given! So go grab these if you haven’t already! Freebies link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/link-to-all-14489113

Basically, May was a mess but I kept going anyway. June should be better… I look forward to accomplishing things with less mess. As always, questions and observations welcome. Y'all are the bestest. <3