Life and Beta Reads and Edits, Oh My! #TuesdayswithTaryn #writerly #life #dreams

So, edits and beta reads are coming along, even with Life's little obstacles just littering the pathway. Between several automotive issues and a bunch of personal life problems, I'm run half ragged and zapped- mentally, emotionally and physically.

Just as with novels, life is one big work-in-progress and I constantly find myself working and reworking my thoughts, my routine, my goals.

I'm also quick to remind myself that I'm glad I'm at "this place" with my writing- I actually feel older and wiser and I'm making progress, slow but sure progress, that will help me win the race. I'm glad I'm not still that stubborn 20 something who couldn't take constructive criticism or see the good in creative suggestions.

From the editor I'm working with to the beta readers and fellow authors who've taken a gander at LOVE BY DESIGN, I'm finding so much VALUE in the grammar and typo catches, the clarity in character and plot points that need adjustment. Tighten a bolt here, loosen a screw there, it will be well oiled and as good as we can get it before I put it out there for your reading pleasure...Much as I'm eager to "deliver the goods"- I want to make sure I give you MY best- and Jasmine and Derrek's best, too.

And Jasmine- much as I love her- has some character flaws that are starting to stick out like nasty little brambles, catching on my clothing and I know I need to weed them out- snip out the ugly and replace it with something that doesn't leave the reader wanting to grab her and shake the snot out of her. I'm thankful for all the help I'm receiving- the kindness of strangers, indeed! And I'm hoping that I'm building relationships with people who will become my pre-readers, my cheering section and my friends.

Even with everything else going on in my life, I am thankful for these new acquaintances as well as my wonderful writers' group- the Kentucky Independent Writers are a grounding force, yet also inspire me to lift myself up and reach higher, farther and even jump just a little, to grasp at those dreams I have, to pluck them down and make them REAL.

Taryn's Writerly Ramblings- #revisions & #rewrites & #edits, Oh My!

Things around here have been uber busy as of late. I've been deep in revisions and rewrites on LOVE BY DESIGN since earlier this month. Between revisions and rewrites I was working on, I was also doing edits based on the suggestions and feedback of a fellow KY author who was beta/editing for me.

I finished up this past Monday, just after my weekend away for my Kentucky Independent Writers meeting on the 22nd. I came back refueled and focused and whipped the last three chapters' rewrite out in no time. Tuesday I sent out to the one author who betaread the entire manuscript pre-rewrite, but who I'd shared my rewrite notes with. While she read, she kept that in mind.

Then it was off to 3 betas and an editor I had lined up. Last night I mailed it off to 2 more betas, so it's out to 5 betas + the editor.

My fellow author, sent back the 3 rewritten chapters with only minor "pickies" as she called them, a few things of which were just flubs on my part, where I pounded the story out so fast that I missed a typo or two here and there, or a added/missing word and a few other suggestions. She said that the added conflict upped the expectation at the end of the story, so I'm pleased with that feedback, for sure.

This has me thinking too about how soon I'll have a RELEASE DATE to share, and that's just making me crazy excited! I'm hoping it will be sooner rather than later. We're getting so close, I can taste it. Yippee! And that means that soon, I'll be putting out a call to bloggers who might like to interview me or have me guest on their blogs, so keep an eye peeled for a blog about that or if you sign up for my NEWSLETTER (link listed below), you can find out about it that way as well.

All while doing this, I've also been having car troubles again. Last month after I went to my first writers meeting, my check engine light came on. A diagnostic check said the thermostat was going out, but after mechanic and husband checked and didn't seem to find a problem, we basically just "reset" it and it went off without any more trouble.

This time my brakes have been squeaking and I thought maybe it was just cold weather, but then it pulled a "squealing" on me- Sounded like a big fat pig crawled up under my hood. And it wasn't the squeaking brakes, but a sound it emitted while I was accelerating, when my foot was no where near the brake pedal. It only happened on Sunday while I was in my hometown before I headed back and only for a short time. Called my husband to ask him what he thought it might be but considering he was here and I was there and he couldn't look at it or listen to it, he didn't know. Said it could be the rotors, or maybe the fan belt. When I took it over to my parents to have my dad ride with me to see if he could figure out what it was doing, it quit and has behaved ever since. Not really sure what the deal is....

But, poor Jasper is in the shop now and won't get him back till Tuesday or Wednesday right now. He's had a time of it since I got my license...maybe I'm running too hard? Or maybe it's just the wear and tear of having almost 100k miles under his belt. I know he'll need an oil change before I travel very far again, but for right now, the mechanic is going to change the fan belt, the spark plugs and lines, and some other things they seemed knowledgeable about that I don't.

I'm also re-immersing myself in Triberr (and hopefully going to find time to start posting blogs myself more consistently), joining groups on FB like Kentuckiana Authors and Kentucky Romance Writers (not the RWA Chapter I once belonged to, as it disbanded a while back.) Been doing the "social media" thing, bouncing around here and there, trying to cover some bases and make connections.

I got a new cell phone and have been having a time with the learning curve of going from my dinosaur Motorola Cadbury that I could only call and text on, to an Android phone and though I like it, I'm still a bit perturbed and displeased with some of the specs of the one I got. Why? Because the internal memory is not large enough to handle the workload of the calling plan it goes with. That just doesn't make sense to me. Don't offer a phone with a tiny internal storage if it's meant to handle a LOT of data, like the Google Play store and all the apps that are out there, especially if none of the ones pre-built in can be saved to the SD card and any tiny update to anything causes "Low Storage Space" notifications CONSTANTLY! And it tries to update all those apps as soon as I turn on my data. That's just stupid (or a genius marketing ploy to screw over the customer.)

The phone and plan should complement each other and be compatible...this DOES NOT. I can't update apps and I have a lot of "low storage space" issues to contend with if I try to, which sucks big toes, but it was the "only" phone they sell with the specific "unlimited talk, text & data" plan I went with. It'll do for now though, I suppose, as long as I don't hassle with it too much or slam it against the wall... (Yes, I was tempted within the first DAY of having it...but I'm restraining myself... Lord am I restraining myself!!!!)

I did sign up for Instagram though and found I can use it without it causing a lot of headache- it saved to my SD card! Whoo Hoo! So, you are more than welcome to come follow me there, where I'll just post random pictures of whatever suits my fancy or tickles my funny bone. Or inspires me, etc. I kinda like it.

Also been updating my website, and my FB Page - I have a few new tabs on my page. Besides Photos and Likes, I have my Twitter, Goodreads, and my Newsletter Sign-Up tied to it (If you haven't signed up I urge you to so you can stay in the know- I haven't sent out my first yet, but will soon!), and I JUST added a "My Books" Tab and the "Authorgraph" Tab and a "Pinterest" Tab, so you can easily access those things through there. I was going to do the Instagram one but it just doesn't work for some reason and I found a FAQ on their site that said it couldn't be connected to a FB Page currently through an Android, so that may be why.

I'm looking into added a Tab linked to my Website or maybe a few other of my Social Media connections, but that requires doing a FB Developers thing- I'm not sure or confident enough yet to try that, being I'm no computer whiz or graphic/web designer who's knowledgeable about HTML codes and things of that nature. I see that it implies it's simple to do, but still makes my stomach churn with anxiety that I might screw up my entire FB Page if I attempt it, so for now I'm leaving well enough alone.

It leaves me wondering, what other things readers like to find on Authors' FB Pages, so I'll leave you with a few questions today- feel free to leave me some ideas that might make my FB Page more interesting, that might draw attention and help my page gain more "Likes" and more visibility.

Do you keep up with what's going on via "Pages" you like? Are there Tabs or links or widgets that readers find helpful or that make them follow an author more closely? What are things that make you deeply invested in an author's Page enough to visit it regularly?

It's crossed my mind to look into finding a way to "Tab" link my blog there as well. Or Google+.

Let me know what you think. Would love the input!

Lil' T Stepped Outta Her Box- 1st #Writers Meeting #TuesdayswithTaryn #birdsofafeather

Hallee Bridgeman & Heather Sunseri

Yep, my world is expanding. And YES, I called myself Lil' T.

Taryn stepped outside her box on February 15th and attended her very 1st writers meeting. I belong to the Kentucky Independent Writers. I once belonged to the RWA Kentucky Romance Writers Chapter (KYRW), but I never attended any meetings because I live 2 1/2-3 hours drive from there and even though the meetings were every OTHER month, I didn't drive or have my own transportation at the time, and I didn't want to feel I was putting my spouse out to drive me up there, so far out of the way. Plus I was certainly scared spitless (yes, I'm minding my mouth, but not sure how long that will last. Haha!)

Donna McDonald & J.M. Madden

I missed out on a LOT and I'm aware of it in a way that's almost physically painful now when I look back on all the years I spent hunkered down in my self-inflicted isolation.

I  missed out on a lot of craft lessons, networking, and interaction that is so important to an author. This may be a solitary career choice, but when you have a group of like-minded authors, striving toward similar goals and dreams, it makes this journey that much easier. I hate to say it, but I regret all that wasted time, keeping to myself except via the internet. I could seriously kick my own ass for being so foolish as to think I could still get the same strengths out of it, just by being in touch.

Me and Kallypso Masters (and her assistant Charlotte)

And now that's going to change. When I started writing in 2006- or I should say, when I picked my writing back up in 2006 and began writing prolifically and in earnest because I HAD to get the stories out, I thought I was stepping outside that box and becoming bolder in who I am.

It wasn't until this past year though, that I feel I've really begun to find my courage, my bravery, to be who I am, to write what I want and to start thinking about ME for a change. Sure I was writing, but I was still hiding myself away and sure, there are authors who do not socialize or interact out there and there are stereotypes of authors like that, but I enjoy the company of my kind. We are birds of a feather and I find myself now flocking toward them, needing this more than I ever thought possible.

Katherine L Logan

Getting my driver's license has helped me in more ways than I can begin to fathom and now that I've attended my first meeting, I see that I need more than the isolation that I have subjected myself to for all these years.

I need the energy that comes from being in a group, talking, brainstorming, discussing all the things that are pertinent to us authors who, though we're taking "independent" routes to fulfill our dreams, still gain so much from the friendships and interactions with others who are also taking this same road.

Debi Warford, Laurel McKinley Keller,
Sharon Ray, Jesse V Coffey
Seraphina Donavan & Bruce McDonald II

I came away from the first meeting feeling rejuvenated, excited, proud of my small accomplishment of shaking off the fears that have held me back, stunted my growth and found myself inspired to move forward that much more.

I've been working on Love By Design. Edits are done, yet again. I need Beta Readers, but need to find those who are unbiased but trustworthy.

I'm also trying to throw myself back into the world of the living. That means blogging, sharing posts through Triberr, and I'm trying out using Google+ more often than I have been, especially as hard as Facebook makes it to share from my author page. What you can't find on Facebook, I'm hoping to making easily available to view (free) on Google+.

So.... in the meantime... I really need to get to work reading through and editing on Love By Change (Book 2 in the Love By Series and I still need to finish writing Heart of the Surf- the 4th and final book in the Pryce of Love Series. You can find out more about each of the books I'm currently working on via my Works In Progress page on my website and if you go exploring on my website, you can also find out how to sign up for my Newsletter of Love, which I will send out when I have new and exciting things to tell you about my upcoming releases.

Me & my Scrabble Buddy & fellow writer Robyn Peterman