Writing update and signing up to NaNoWriMo 2023

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

It hasn’t been that long since my last update back in July (see the post here), but I thought October was a good point in the year for another brief writing update.

I’ve been making some decisions over the last few days and feel positive about the future of my Mermaid Hotel series. Book 1 is currently with beta readers and I am embarking on a re-read myself. Once I’ve had some feedback, and made any changes, I hope to send off the whole book to a few publishers on the short list I’m currently compiling.

I do have some sad news for my fantasy readers. Starlight Prophecy is still on hold. I feel the whole series needs more time dedicated to it but my head and heart are too much into the romance books at the moment. I hope to look at it again towards Christmas time, it depends how my other plans go. Which leads me to…

I’m signing up to do NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year with not one, but two books!

I originally signed up to force myself to type of the draft I have of book 3. Because it is already partly written it felt like cheating, so I decided I would also try to increase the word count of book 2 – from 24k to 44k. Obviously it will still need a lot of work to reach the 90k mark I’m looking for, but I can’t set my sights too high for one month! Or can I?

Considering I’m working part time now, it may be a bit much of an ask to write 70k in a month, but I seem to work better to a deadline. After all, I did write and prepare to publish ‘A Christmas Wish’ in just 6 weeks last year. I guess I like a challenge.

On the reading side, I still have three books from netgalley / publishers to read and review by December so look out for some more reviews coming your way soon.

I’ve also played around with the colours and background on my website. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Now, I best get back to work planning for Nano and reading book 1. I’ll be back with another update before the end of the year.

***

Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories

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Happy New Year and welcome 2023!

Posted on January 1, 2023 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

Happy New Year Everyone!

Let’s hope it is a less dramatic year for world events and closer to home that the cost of living crisis eases for those struggling households.

I’m hoping for a mild new year as I hate the cold weather, though I do love the look of a frosty morning and walking through freshly fallen snow as long as it melts by the next day.

I’m not really one for making new year’s resolutions, though I did briefly consider trying for a dry January. My husband wasn’t so keen on that idea, maybe next year.

I’m looking forward to making some big progress with my writing in 2023 and shared my plan in a previous post here. I hope you will join me for the ride.

Do you make new year’s resolutions? And more importantly, do you stick to them? Wat are your hopes for the new year?

Welcome 2023!

Writing plans for 2023 #amwriting #indieauthor

Posted on December 30, 2022 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

As this year draws to a close, I’m planning my writing aspirations for 2023.

This year has been very much focused on short fiction, but I’m determined to make 2023 the year I work on my longer fiction projects = the fantasy trilogy and my contemporary women’s fiction series set in Cornwall.

I have a few housekeeping issues that need addressing too, so I’ll list them first in the hopes of getting those tasks out of the way asap.

To Do List 2023

Publish all three short story collections as Large Print Editions – this is an experiment to hopefully make the books more appealing to libraries.

Consider whether it is worth producing all books in hardback format. They look beautiful but it costs more. Will libraries be more willing to stock hardback versions?

Approach libraries to stock my books.

Get the audiobook of Fantasy Short Stories produced.

Update all books with details of my new releases in 2022. This will involve updating the format of the books with the new style table of contents Amazon now requires.

Ensure all ARC copies I have to offer reviewers are updated versions as per above.

Contact more reviewers for both ebooks and audiobooks.

Attempt to join the RNA when the New Writers Scheme opens in January.

Writing Plans 2023

The Mermaid Hotel Series

Book 1 is pretty much complete and a much stronger book than it was this time last year. I’ve decided to approach agents and publishers direct to see what the feedback is like before deciding on the self publishing route. Once I make my decision it will be full steam ahead!

I need to develop the drafts of books 2 and 3 and hope to publish them in 2023 if that is the path I choose.

Work on the series bible, complete a series timeline, work out the arc of the series and draft the other novels asap.

Starlight Prophecy Trilogy

If I could just get over the block in my planning I could finish the first two books in 2023 and start planning book 3. I would also love to start publishing this series in 2023.

To achieve my goal, I need to strip the idea back to its basic premise and work out the series arc as well as for each individual novel. I also need to brainstorm the books with my husband as that usually helps me figure out plot issues.

Other writing

Short fantasy series – I have a couple of characters that arrived on the paper some years ago and I really want to get their story written. It feels like a strong contender for a short series, perhaps around 50k per book.

Silent Sea Chronicles – I’d love to revisit this world in 2023. Whether that is with short stories or longer works, I won’t know until I write them. I do know that I want to finish the prequel and I have ideas for future stories that need exploring.

Later in the year I may decide to write some more short stories for publication too. Another Christmas themed one, or paranormal stories maybe. I have a few romance ideas that need developing as well, though what length they’ll turn out to be I’m not sure yet.

For the start of the year I want to focus on just the two series, but everything else can still simmer at the back of my mind until I’m ready to get on with them.

Other Plans

Get a part time job. The cost of living crisis is taking its toll so at some point it looks like I’ll have to take the plunge into the workplace again. It’s a big decision for me as it will take away from my writing time. Somehow, I’ll have to be more organised. That, or we need to win the lottery!

That about sums up my plans for 2023, though no doubt something else will come along and distract me.

Whatever the new year brings, let’s start positive and have fun!

See you again soon for some of my favourite reads of 2022.

***

Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories

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