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Goals

I have plenty. In fact, of the 4 I decided on for 2018, I have yet to complete any of them. I’m not complaining about that. There’s still time and a plan in place to get there.

Today, however, I am one step closer to one of those goals and I HAD to share.

Goal #4: publish 8 books in 2018

First… why 8?

So at the end of 2017 when I sat down to make my publishing schedule for this year, I realized I had taken on A LOT. The Rumors series (6 books) and the Imperfect Love Duet (2 books) were both on my schedule and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t kick any of those books off. I wanted to rapid release the series so readers didn’t have to wait. A new book every 5 weeks. The entire series out in 6 months.

(Even reading that now makes me cringe.)

BUT… book 1 in the duet was already written and book 2 was speaking to me screaming at me to be written.

So I pulled up my big girl panties and made it work. Changes all my dates, more than once, set a schedule to write the books that still hadn’t been written, scheduled editing, etc.

I had a plan.

I put it in motion.

And I prayed A LOT that I didn’t fail.

That brings us to today. Only two of the eight books have been released. SIX of them are complete as of twenty minutes ago. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. I can almost see the end in sight.

I WILL MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

I WILL NOT FAIL.

Now, had I not gone full time as of last week I have a feeling I wouldn’t be as confident right now. In the last 11 days, since quitting my job, I’ve written over 25k words. 17k in the last 3 days.

Yep, I stepped up my game. I’m not about a week ahead of schedule when I was dangerously close to missing my deadline a few days ago. I pushed through. Failure was not an option.

I’ll be able to check Goal #4 off my list. The rest of my goals will fall into place after that (at least that’s the plan) and then 2019 will be even better.

Yes, I’ve already made plans. There’s a stand-alone trilogy coming your way. A FREE spin-off novella of the Rumors series for newsletter subscribers. And two other books that I’m keeping quiet about right now while I work out some plot details.

Today = WINNING!

It also means I need to edit and get ready for the release of Rumors 3 next week. So… until next time. XOXO

Happy Tuesday!!!

You know what that means for me? Husband day!!!

Yes, I’m a little excited. Partially because I think he’s getting used to the idea that I’m always here and is starting to understand that I need time to write more than just a blog post. There’s marketing to do and graphics that need to be made. Email that needs to be flushed. I have a format on my schedule for this week.

Next week is going to be even crazier when he’s home because 1.) Monday is a paid holiday for him, the kid has no school and he’s already coming up with ideas for what we can do as a family (which is fab) and 2.) Rumors 3 releases on Thursday!!! Which means all day Wednesday will be spent preparing for release.

So for husband time this week, I’m going to give him my full attention, knowing I’m going to ignore him for a portion of next week.

But… the last few days have been great for my progress. I’m 5k from finishing Rumors 4: Megan and Vinnie’s story. I had a book signing at Barnes & Noble on Sunday that went well. I was able to connect with a reader from the area by chance. AND, I nailed it as a housewife this weekend. My pot roast was delicious and for those of you that know me well, you know how much I loathe cooking because I suck at it. But I’m getting better.

Last night I made twice baked potatoes and they were yummy too. It may seem small to some people but when my food tastes edible it’s a win for me. I’ve been winning a lot lately. (Thank you internet for all your support in finding me easy to follow recipes.)

So, for all of you following my journey so far, it’s going great. I’m keeping busy, teaching myself how to cook, my house is cleaner than it’s ever been before AND I’m writing, which was the whole point of this. I’ve found my groove, a schedule that works for me, and I’m off and running.

To celebrate, here’s a sneak peak at Angela & Tyler’s story:

“The thought of you, in that dress, with your legs wrapped around me and your heels digging into my back has me rock hard. So when I try and feel you up under the table, I’d appreciate it if you gave me access. That is, unless you wanna crawl in the backseat and make my fantasies come true.”

I expect her to laugh at me. Maybe even smack my arm and call me crazy.

What I don’t expect is for her to crawl into the back seat, her dress riding up giving me a glimpse of the tiny black thong she’s wearing.

Hastily starting the car, I find another place for us to park. One where we’re more secluded. Where the fog on the windows won’t draw as much attention because we’re going to be late to dinner.

Very, very late.

Let me just say this… Angela & Tyler’s love for each other knows no bounds. From the way they met to their daily escapades, these two are crazy about each other which leads to some rather memorable moments.

Their story releases on May 31st. Mark your calendars or preorder now!

 

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Happy Saturday!!! I hope you all have the opportunity to spend the day with your loved ones.

Well, it’s been almost a full week of this whole full-time author thing. There are a few things I’ve noticed so today’s post is going to be a quick recap of the week.

1. My husband is distracting. Want to know more about this? Read the blog post from day 3.
2. Even with a deadline approaching SOON, I’m becoming a procrastinator. I have WAAAAAY to much time on my hands.
3. A clean house means I have no excuse not to write and THAT is when I get shit done.
4. Sitting in the rain even when it’s 60 degrees sucks. (more about that below)

Okay so… yesterday was by far my most productive day YET I still found myself taking more breaks than needed. My focus was that of a squirrel.

“Oh, it’s been an hour, better stretch.”

“End of a chapter, time for a snack, fresh coffee, an episode of Chicago PD.”

“I wonder what my bestie’s up to. I better give her a call.”

I validated every single one of those thoughts AND somehow managed to write over 6,000 words. So, not bad for a days work BUT what if I had kept my focus? Would I have been able to hit my real goal of 10K? Who knows, but let’s hope we find out next week.

After all the writing was done for the day, I managed to squeeze in a little time for personal growth. My focus is marketing so I’m reading up on how best to market my book. Every book I can find. My plan is to take all the advice, mash it together and come up with a kick-ass plan for next year. I’m halfway through the first book and my mind is swimming in a seas of do’s and don’ts.

THEN, after stressing my brain to the max, it was time for my son’s baseball game. I LOVE watching him play. Last night was no exception, his run in the final inning being the winning run. Still, sitting in the cold, getting rained on, is not my idea of a fun Friday night. I need to invest in a larger umbrella in case Mother Nature decides to torture me again.

So that brings us to today…

Saturday. Birthday party day for one of the most gorgeous little 3-year-olds I know. It’s going to be great. A normal Saturday for me would be filled with work, people complaining and a headache. This is a real treat for me.

Life’s been a little boring the last few days (especially if you compare it to the wild ride of Tuesday and Wednesday) but I haven’t freaked out. YET. I’m patiently waiting for it. I was close the other day when I looked at my Amazon sales. YIKES. But they bounced back. Hope was restored and as long as I keep writing… well, life will be what I make of it.

Have a great weekend!

XOXO, Rachael

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(This is the list I will be sending to beginning June 2018)

My husband is distracting.

Yep, I said it. If he reads this, which I doubt, he’ll admit my words are true.

Why is he so distracting? Many reasons, but the one sitting at the top of the list right now is this… we’ve NEVER had the same days off.

You see, with both of us working in the restaurant industry, the chances of us having a full day off together, no kid, no appointments and such, is very rare. He works Thursday through Monday and my days off were usually Sundays and Thursday.

So, yesterday was spent hanging out with him. Doing stupid shit around the house. Planning how we’re going to make this work (financially). All the little things.

Oh, and doing the one thing we can do anywhere in our house when no one else is home.

How did that turn out?

We both ended up with random leg cramps and it still feels like I have a charlie horse in my left calf today. IT WAS WORTH IT.

So, day three is here and I’ve written a total of two blog posts (including this one), 500 words in my current WIP (no I’m not missing a zero sadly), and promoted A Secret Life being on sale for 99 cents this week and the cover reveal for the Imperfect Love Duet.

Basically… I’m writing less than when I was working full time. Of course. Because this transition couldn’t be easy, could it? Which is fine. I like a good challenge. I’ll rewrite the schedule I thought I was going to be able to stick to. AGAIN. I’ll focus on the days where I’m home alone and able to crank out the words. I’ll use my Dragon software to maximize my effort and hit crazy goals every day.

When I’m alone.

With no distractions.

And my living room doesn’t smell like sex. (TMI? Sorry.)

I’m sure tomorrow will bring a new challenge. My muse will stop talking to me or my computer will decide to update for an unusual amount of time. Something will attempt to get in the way of hitting 5k or 7k. I’ll push through and make it happen somehow. Until then, I’m going to enjoy the time I have with my husband because it rare and precious and even though I know we’ll get to do this again next week, should the good Lord allow it, it’s still new and fun and I plan to take advantage of every second we have together.

Want to snag your copy of A Secret Life while it’s 99 pennies?

What to see the covers for the Imperfect Love Duet.

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ꜜꜜꜜ

My goal for today was to write tons and tons of words. I was going to wake up, do a little promotion and then jump in.

I’ve been up for 4.5 hours. It’s 10 am. Guess how many words I’ve written?

About 50.

The fifty you just read.

I reached out to my full-time author friends for advice last week, knowing that my productivity would suck today. They said to find a routine that worked for me and attempt to stick with it. On the days that I go off schedule, forgive myself. Every day is going to be unique, things are going to come up that will draw my focus away from my goals, but to push forward and accomplish as much as I can.

So that’s what I’m going to try and do. Today and every day.

I spoke with my ex-boss this morning. She was getting ready for work saying how weird it’s going to be today without me there. She asked how I was feeling and the only answer I could give her was “off”.

I got up like any other day. Brewed a huge cup of coffee (followed by three more). Put the kiddo on the bus for school and then looked around the house. This is where my routine changes.

Last week, I would have jumped in the shower and started getting ready for work. Today… work was here. There was no need to shower. (FYI – I totally took a shower AND I shaved my legs. I even took my time doing it so I didn’t miss a strip per usual.) Ran to the store. Came back and cleaned the kitchen, started a load of laundry… see where I’m going with this.

I immediately launched into my day-off routine. The “let’s see how fast I can clean the house so I can squeeze in a few hours of writing” routine.

So it’s 10 am and here I sit writing my first words of the day. This is not how I planned my day to go. I did have cleaning on my schedule, but as a break from working. It was slated between am promotion time and pm writing time. It gave me a reason to get up and move around. It was a break for my mind, for my eyes.

Moral of the story… I think I like this. I think this might be my routine. This gives me 6 hours of work – promotion, writing, formatting, graphics, etc – before I call it quits for the day. I can focus on what I love to do, write until I hear the bus pull up in front of the house and then it’s family time.

This will probably change. Maybe by tomorrow or next week. All I know right now is that as “off” as I feel this morning, I also feel happy and grateful that I get to do what I love to do as a career right now.

 

#AOAFTA #goals #careermove #romanceauthor #indieandproud

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