Well, here I am. Yesterday and today have been very productive, and also good monetarily. I have been working hard on finalizing ChartedCourse's system manual, and it is one step away from finished. Just waiting on some final material from the CEO fellow.
I also have finalized my first draft of Mars Betrayal for Heinle Graded Readers. Woohoo! I will be sending it off tomorrow morning. I sent an invoice for the first $1000 of my advance this evening.
So it has been good. I haven't done any writing for www.helium.com recently, but I hope to tomorrow.
Therefore, tomorrow I will:
1. Send off Mars Betrayal
2. Finalize the system manual for ChartedCourse
3. Write at least two articles for www.helium.com
4. Work on an outline for another graded reader. I have the idea, I just have to work out the plot and characters.
Anyway, I have been putting in about eight hour days these days, and it has been feeling good. I need to keep it up.
I also have been exercising this week, having stopped last week. I need to get it in gear! I am down a couple pounds from the new year, but I need to work harder at it. I am so used to having a late-night snack at around 9 or 10 PM, and there is no doubt that is making it harder for me to lose this poundage. So I am now, having gone on a sugar fast for the last while, eliminating my late-night snack. I really want to lose this stuff.
The writing career is for real. I never really expected to see this kind of success in five months of this, but it is a good thing it has happened. I feel like I am working the way I want to now. I am a little concerned that I won't have enough steady income by the time our cash runs out to support us. But we will keep at it and hope for the best. I think getting The Cabin done and sent out will help with that. I really feel it will sell.
Here is a link to something really neat having to do with www.helium.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TsCTWc1d0I
Yes, that's me in there.
I had an article featured on the front page of Helium today, that was nice. It is a review of an album that I did a while back. The review, not the album. I don't do albums.
So that's it for now. Exciting eh?
Showing posts with label graded reader. Show all posts
Showing posts with label graded reader. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Just had to stop by...
Well, here I am. I am posting in the middle of the day on Friday. Why?
Because I just finished the Mars Betrayal! Wahoo! That's my second book finished, if you don't count Neighborhood Thief. Mars Betrayal is longer than any of the Spiderwick books individually, so it counts!
Hooray! Now I will get some people to read it and do some polishing and such. Then I will send it on Wednesday, the 30th. One day early. Hooray!
And that's it. I will probably work on ChartedCourse stuff today. No, I definitely will. That way I can get going on my next graded reader on Monday at the latest.
I think I will be able to get into The Cabin soon. I am excited and nervous.
That's it for now.
Because I just finished the Mars Betrayal! Wahoo! That's my second book finished, if you don't count Neighborhood Thief. Mars Betrayal is longer than any of the Spiderwick books individually, so it counts!
Hooray! Now I will get some people to read it and do some polishing and such. Then I will send it on Wednesday, the 30th. One day early. Hooray!
And that's it. I will probably work on ChartedCourse stuff today. No, I definitely will. That way I can get going on my next graded reader on Monday at the latest.
I think I will be able to get into The Cabin soon. I am excited and nervous.
That's it for now.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
I love this job
Today was good, as was yesterday.
Yesterday I wrote several articles for www.helium.com. I wrote two more today. So in the last two days I wrote three articles for the Marketplace. The ones I wrote are for a Names website which, I think, is called www.name.com. Here are the three I wrote:
http://www.helium.com/tm/815570/something-keeps-cadence-originate
http://www.helium.com/tm/815348/modern-trend-taking-names
http://www.helium.com/tm/813905/logan-coolest-planet-because
I enjoyed writing them. The research was fun as well. You might notice some numerology stuff in there. I don't actually give it much credence, but it's fun to fiddle around with. But I did check my names on the numerology website I provided in two of the articles.
I checked the name that is on my birth certificate (which is not the one I have now) and the one that I have now. The two names are polar opposites! It's hilarious. I must be schizo. But what is actually interesting is that I can see quite a lot of both descriptions in me.
Anyway, I also wrote an article for the Pultizer Center contest that Helium is involved in. Here's the article: http://www.helium.com/tm/813765/remember-about-edwin-starr
Here's the overview of the contest:
http://www.helium.com/pulitzer-contest-overview/?ad=613&placement=forums&iw=45690
In short, participants in the contest write their best researched and composed articles to the titles the Pulitzer Center has given Helium. The top ten articles (when the contest ends) are passed on to the Pulitzer Center. Then the Pulitzer Center chooses one article from each title. The author of the chosen title is then a Pulitzer Center Citizen Journalist. Isn't that pretty nifty?
Also, today I worked on The Mars Betrayal and have one chapter to go. Probably. I don't see the rests of the action needing to be broken into two chapters. Plus, I think I am getting close to the length limit. It is going well and I am getting used to keeping the language simple.
It is nice to be close to finishing my second legitimate book. I mean, I know I wrote a book for my students in Taiwan, but it's pretty short. But it's not bad. I sent an electronic copy of it to a good friend, who is an ex-student of mine. She worked for a publishing company in Taipei, Taiwan. She suggested that she might be able to see if her company would want to publish the novella I wrote in Taiwan. It is called Neighborhood Thief.
Anyway, I also got a copy of the contract back today. I expected there to be a check with it, since part of the advance should be payable on signing, according to the contract. If it doesn't come this week, I will contact them.
Tomorrow I am going in to Charted Course's new offices to meet with the CEO/Founder. I imagine they will have a lot they need me to do. I should be pretty busy for the next few weeks.
I still hope to get back to The Cabin, though. Still want to have it written by the end of February, and then ready to be sent out by the end of March. Impatient, I know, but eager and ambitious.
I also need to finish the outline for the next graded reader I want to do. This one will be lower level.
And that's pretty much it. I am getting into the right kind of groove now. I just need to get started earlier in the day. I love this job.
Yesterday I wrote several articles for www.helium.com. I wrote two more today. So in the last two days I wrote three articles for the Marketplace. The ones I wrote are for a Names website which, I think, is called www.name.com. Here are the three I wrote:
http://www.helium.com/tm/815570/something-keeps-cadence-originate
http://www.helium.com/tm/815348/modern-trend-taking-names
http://www.helium.com/tm/813905/logan-coolest-planet-because
I enjoyed writing them. The research was fun as well. You might notice some numerology stuff in there. I don't actually give it much credence, but it's fun to fiddle around with. But I did check my names on the numerology website I provided in two of the articles.
I checked the name that is on my birth certificate (which is not the one I have now) and the one that I have now. The two names are polar opposites! It's hilarious. I must be schizo. But what is actually interesting is that I can see quite a lot of both descriptions in me.
Anyway, I also wrote an article for the Pultizer Center contest that Helium is involved in. Here's the article: http://www.helium.com/tm/813765/remember-about-edwin-starr
Here's the overview of the contest:
http://www.helium.com/pulitzer-contest-overview/?ad=613&placement=forums&iw=45690
In short, participants in the contest write their best researched and composed articles to the titles the Pulitzer Center has given Helium. The top ten articles (when the contest ends) are passed on to the Pulitzer Center. Then the Pulitzer Center chooses one article from each title. The author of the chosen title is then a Pulitzer Center Citizen Journalist. Isn't that pretty nifty?
Also, today I worked on The Mars Betrayal and have one chapter to go. Probably. I don't see the rests of the action needing to be broken into two chapters. Plus, I think I am getting close to the length limit. It is going well and I am getting used to keeping the language simple.
It is nice to be close to finishing my second legitimate book. I mean, I know I wrote a book for my students in Taiwan, but it's pretty short. But it's not bad. I sent an electronic copy of it to a good friend, who is an ex-student of mine. She worked for a publishing company in Taipei, Taiwan. She suggested that she might be able to see if her company would want to publish the novella I wrote in Taiwan. It is called Neighborhood Thief.
Anyway, I also got a copy of the contract back today. I expected there to be a check with it, since part of the advance should be payable on signing, according to the contract. If it doesn't come this week, I will contact them.
Tomorrow I am going in to Charted Course's new offices to meet with the CEO/Founder. I imagine they will have a lot they need me to do. I should be pretty busy for the next few weeks.
I still hope to get back to The Cabin, though. Still want to have it written by the end of February, and then ready to be sent out by the end of March. Impatient, I know, but eager and ambitious.
I also need to finish the outline for the next graded reader I want to do. This one will be lower level.
And that's pretty much it. I am getting into the right kind of groove now. I just need to get started earlier in the day. I love this job.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Thursday, November 29: Meh..
Well, I really should have gotten more done today. Tuesday went by the numbers, I did what I was supposed to and am looking on track to win $15 from Helium contests. Not silly money, but it's a start.
Today I ended up finishing an important article and submitting it to FamilyFun Magazine. I really hope it does well.
http://www.helium.com/tm/722626/comes-family-seven-girls
I also got word that an online publisher is picking up this article: http://www.helium.com/tm/243206/bluffing-maybe-youve-house
And that is just fine, seeing as how I never expected to make much off of it except for some small ad revenue and a boost in a contest. It's a good article though.
Also, I have been in contact with the Thomson Heinle (really Cengage) fellow who is running the contract show for The Mars Betrayal. It looks good. The total advance, given in three stages of the writing and submission process, is $5000. That is, in my opinion, wonderful for a first book. What is more, royalties are surprising: ranging from 5% to 8% in different cases.
So, I am excited, but did not get stuff done today. I ended up doing a lot around the house and then writing some articles for Helium. This is the last week for the College Writing Contest, and I really need to make a good showing in it. I really hope to get to serious work tomorrow, but it might need to be in the morning, as I have some errands I have to do in the afternoon. Unless I do the errands in the morning... We'll see.
I am reading Garth Nix's book Sabriel right now. Took about fifty pages to really get cooking, but is now moving along very very well. It is a fully realized, remarkably original world with all the good archetypes done refreshingly well.
That's all. Wahoo! I can hardly believe that in my first four months at this writing thing I have had this kind of success. What am I doing sitting and not on my knees?
Today I ended up finishing an important article and submitting it to FamilyFun Magazine. I really hope it does well.
http://www.helium.com/tm/722626/comes-family-seven-girls
I also got word that an online publisher is picking up this article: http://www.helium.com/tm/243206/bluffing-maybe-youve-house
And that is just fine, seeing as how I never expected to make much off of it except for some small ad revenue and a boost in a contest. It's a good article though.
Also, I have been in contact with the Thomson Heinle (really Cengage) fellow who is running the contract show for The Mars Betrayal. It looks good. The total advance, given in three stages of the writing and submission process, is $5000. That is, in my opinion, wonderful for a first book. What is more, royalties are surprising: ranging from 5% to 8% in different cases.
So, I am excited, but did not get stuff done today. I ended up doing a lot around the house and then writing some articles for Helium. This is the last week for the College Writing Contest, and I really need to make a good showing in it. I really hope to get to serious work tomorrow, but it might need to be in the morning, as I have some errands I have to do in the afternoon. Unless I do the errands in the morning... We'll see.
I am reading Garth Nix's book Sabriel right now. Took about fifty pages to really get cooking, but is now moving along very very well. It is a fully realized, remarkably original world with all the good archetypes done refreshingly well.
That's all. Wahoo! I can hardly believe that in my first four months at this writing thing I have had this kind of success. What am I doing sitting and not on my knees?
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