March 2017 Goals

written by Betsy Flak on 2017-02-27

First, here's an update on February's goals:

Growing a little wiser every day

written by Betsy Flak on 2017-02-17

I was told a million times
Of all the troubles in my way
Mind you grow a little wiser
Little better every day
Queen, "Keep Yourself Alive"

As you know, I've been working diligently on the draft of An Uncertain Death (see February's goals). One suggestion that was consistent among my beta readers was to quicken the pace at the beginning. I listened to them, and, last year, I updated the draft with the goal to speed up the start. I also updated the draft to include more vampires, more supernatural teens, and more magic (another suggestion common among my beta readers). Including during the beginning.

A Buffy for Every Mood

written by Betsy Flak on 2017-02-13

For those of you who don't know, I'm a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan. I've seen every episode at least three times (I think...I've lost count on how many times I've watched the series from start to finish). I've even read a bunch of the comic book 'seasons', although not all. Perhaps I should add this to my 2017 goals? Anyway, it's pretty much the best.

Like all the best tv shows, it has certain episodes that I return to again and again depending on my mood. Without further ado, here's my list of Buffy episodes by mood (or is it mood by Buffy episode?).

February 2017 Goals

written by Betsy Flak on 2017-01-30

First, here's an update on January's goals:

Behind the Scenes Special: Overview of My Writing and Editing Process

written by Betsy Flak on 2017-01-16

One of the things I'm constantly working on is how to produce books that are up to my high standards of quality--after all, one of the reasons I left my career as an engineer was because I wasn't allowed to spend the time to produce my best work--in the most efficient way possible. In short, I want to publish the best books in the quickest amount of time. That said, I refuse to sacrifice quality in order to churn out more books. That's not who I am nor what I want my books to be. (Side note: This absolutely does not mean those who are able to publish tons of books every year publish rubbish. It does mean that, for me and for where I am right now in my writing journey, I have to choose between publishing speed and quality.)

That said, I am a slooooooow writer. I started An Uncertain Death (Book One of The Clan-Vampire Clash) way back in 2014, and I don't anticipate publishing it until late 2017. Of course, there are a bunch of mitigating factors (I wasn't working full-time on it, I wrote two other books in the interim, I hadn't written anything more than a few pages in 15 years, I needed to give beta readers to time to read it, etc, etc, etc.). The fact remains: I am not a prolific writer (yet).

January 2017 Goals

written by Betsy Flak on 2017-01-06

First, check out my 2017 goals to see where I'm going and my December goals to see where I've been.

2017 Goals

written by Betsy Flak on 2017-01-04

First, if you didn't see it already, check out my post about my 2016 ("the year of preparation") accomplishments.

And now I'm super excited to share my 2017 goals (and man do I hope I can meet all these!). As usual, we split up into writing and business:

2016 "The Year of Preparation" Accomplishments

written by Betsy Flak on 2017-01-02

In the spirit of the new year, I thought I would look back on 2016 before writing my goals for January and beyond. Back in December 2015, I decided to focus on writing as my sole career (as compared to pursuing writing + various start-up interests + data analysis). Essentially, I took the words of Ron Swanson to heart: "Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing." Thus, 2016 was my first year "whole-ass"-ing writing.

In retrospect, 2016 involved a whole lot of preparation and not a whole lot of tangible results. That said, I now plan to publish two books in 2017, something that I could not have done without all this preparation. Without further ado, here are my top three accomplishments in terms of writing (the "author" side of "authorpreneur", the mash-up of author and entrepreneur) and business (the "preneur").

What I'm Watching Now: Jumbo Holiday Edition

written by Betsy Flak on 2016-12-28

Ok, so this is the time of year where I watch a lot of tv. First, there's all those movies that Hollywood was saving for the holidays. Secondly, I typically take the full two weeks around Christmas and New Years off, leaving me with an abundance of free time. And finally, I make my annual pilgrimage to Michigan, also known as the "please distract me from noticing I'm trapped on a plane for the next five hours" trip. So, yes, the three of these result in me watching a ton of tv, which results in a ton of reviews to share with you!

Without further ado, here's what I've been watching:

It turns out it's not as terrifying as I thought...

written by Betsy Flak on 2016-12-07

Guess what everyone? Today I hired a real, honest-to-goodness editor! And it wasn't nearly as terrifying as I thought it would be. (Don't get me wrong, my heartbeat is still elevated...just not raging like it was.)