Worlds of FabianSpace, July 2024

Last Paychecks, New Adventures, and Lessons from the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders

TL:DR

• Contemplating my new “life” post-work and how to develop that “Always On” attitude. Also—should I take up comedy professionally?

• Update on Gapman.

• July and August classes (Scene fixes, promotion packages, loading books onto Amazon)

Last Paychecks, New Adventures, and Lessons from the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders

Today, I got my last paycheck from my (former) big client, whom I quit in April. Rob’s now the sole breadwinner. It’s a bittersweet feeling. I have a lot of thoughts rumbling about in my brain. I’m glad not to be stressing about deadlines, but at the same time, I’ve lost a purpose. The rhythms of my day are changed, and while the time has rapidly been filled with helping friends and family, and my work with the Guild, I feel like I’m sprinkled among little tasks with no overarching goal. I look at my ginormous To-Do list and feel no urgency for any particular task.

Ah, the To-Do list! It’s now up to reprinting four books, publishing Gapman, writing Zach Augustine, and Space Traipse, which has been on the backburner for a year now. You’d think I’d be glued to my computer!

And then there’s comedy. The routine I did at CWCL in May was so rewarding. Is this my new adventure? I’ve been invited to apply for religious conferences, so I spent hours making a demo reel to discover it’s not good enough for an audition. So now, I’m looking at finding a venue to host a show and tape it professionally. While it sounds fun, I wonder, “Is this just another vanity project? Don’t I have enough of those?”

Ron (aka Gapman) recently told me that he plans on marrying a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader. (Yes, this is how my characters work.) So, even though I have no story, I decided to do a little research and watched a documentary on Netflix. These women impressed me with their dedication. No matter what was going on in their lives, they were “on".” Practices and performances, they went in with a smile and gave it their all. What could I accomplish if I approached my writing like that, every day?

Is it possible? The DCC have coaches and mentors, structure, and their peers right there to push them on. I have grammarly, online friends that may or may not be around, and dogs that are inevitably on the wrong side of the door when I’m deep in a scene.

I want to have more of that spirit. I really do. I just need to find a way to make that happen—without spending money. In the meantime, I’ll simply do my best!

Gapman updates

Random pages from the Gapman novel. With each book, I have less red, but there’s always room for improvement.

I’m continuing the edits of Gapman. At this stage, I’m going through the entire manuscript in print, backward, from last sentence to first. It helps me see errors because I’m not following the storyline, with my brain skipping over typos or filling in blanks because I’m swept up in the story. The last three chapters are in crit group as well.

Once that’s done, I’ll start up the paid subscription! Stay tuned!

Writing Classes for July and August

Building a Promotions Package (July 22)

Having a complete publicity package makes it easy to promote your book and yourself. It's an investment of time up-front that can save you hours of work, even years down the road. We'll cover the basics for your promotion package, talk about some shortcuts for making one, and go over how to use it.

Loading Your Book on Amazon (class and demo ) (July 29)

Sometimes, the most intimidating part of self-publishing is simply dealing with the nuts and bolts of getting your book into Amazon. When I first started, I'd have loved to have had someone walk me through the process, in real-time, and while publishing a book.

That's what this webinar is all about. I'll take you step by step through the how-to of working with KDP, from what to prepare ahead of time to how to adjust prices before publication. We'll be using an actual book of mine that will go live immediately following the webinar (as soon as Amazon approves, at any rate.:) )

The focus is purely practical--it's like the lab class for self-publishing! I'll provide everyone with a worksheet so you can have your own books ready as well.

Torture Your Characters for Fun and Plotfit (August 26)

Join this very lighthearted and tongue-in-cheek approach to plotting and creating conflict in a story. We'll discuss the types of conflict and the many devious ways to create hard times for your characters so that your readers get invested in your stories. Lots of dungeon metaphors make it easy to remember.