⋆. ̊⟡ ࣪ ˖ Path to Publication Day 33: Still on Track ༄.
I took a few days off last week after finishing Chapter 3 of The Comeback Part One sooner than expected. Now, I could have pushed and finished two chapters last week which would have moved up my release date, but I wanted to attempt rest without punishment. Thanks to that, I’m glad that I had a few days where I could finally be calm and present for my family. I was also able to attend a community event after avoiding most everyone all summer as I trudged towards some resemblance of self security. Said choices left me curious to see if I’d stay on track of stumble, and I’m happy to say I’m here in the tail end of this week and currently still running.
This week we have had a new set of obstacles, but I’m facing each one and the path forward looks the same, if not a little better. I may be adding a new layer of commitments in the coming weeks though as I explore other facets of my academic and professional interests, which is Yoga. I did yoga with Rose Kress of Lifeforce Yoga every week throughout COVID and most of my college experience. I then abandoned it years ago along with my hope and greater wellness. I kept moving occasionally since it simply makes me feel better, but the study and commitment have been lacking substantially. I’m happy to say that today my greatest accomplishment is getting that hope back, and now I’m just grateful for every day that I haven’t yet fallen back into my personal pit of tar that got real wide there for many years.
On writing, I also discovered a speech function on Scrivener, which is where I’ve written all of my books save for the first few. Listening to the robot voice read out my story so far was both hilarious and exhilarating. That being said it also revealed to me a hiccup in the next chapter that I have to write which may add a couple more to my already 14 chapter draft. That’s not a lot, I understand, but when you’re desperately trying to finish and publish a book after 20+ years of trying to finish and publish a book it’s alarming. This chapter just seems like it has too much coming together too quickly, so we’ll see how it develops next week.
Currently, I’m moving into Chapter 4 of The Comeback Part One which was a pleasure to listen to already and just needs a little bit more girth. I’m realizing more and more every day that being an indie author literally just means I need to finish a project and release it into the world. Now that I have the time this fall and Winter, I need to do what I haven’t yet, which is commit to some kind of progress every day.
I’ve also been wrestling around with an idea of how to reclaim my iCloud storage and produce more digital content. Essentially going back to the beginning of my 100,000+ pictures and videos and hiring myself as an editor to consolidate my digital life. At least as far and media goes. My grandmother is going through a similar project right now with her physical media. Going one box at a time, touching each and every photo and deciding what WILL go into an album, and what has served its purpose. Perfect time for me to run out of my 1TB of storage, which I knew was a challenge I was signing up for when I subscribed. If I expand to 3TB for $30/month, then I’m basically saying all of the media that I have is as good as garbage anyway. It is far too intimidating to deal with already, let alone once I allow it to continue for another 10+ years only to reach the same roadblock thanks to my inability to review or take less than three pictures at a time of a single thing.
There are a few eras of media that are going to be major hurdles, which is why I’ve avoided said reviews. They will make me sick, scared, and dreadful, but I’d rather deal with them than have them keep coming up in the vicious cycle that living has been for me for most of my memorable life.
Anywho, that’s the end of my spiel for today. Sorry that I missed posting on my 30th day of trying to turn a profit, but I still see the finish line, even if the goal post keeps moving. Thank you for your support on the journey.
A lesson that sunk in this week:
You don’t always have to burn bridges to be who you’ve always been. Take Action. Easier said than done, for sure, but I found it again after abandoning it 5 years ago, so if you want it, keep looking, even if it’s just passively at first. Why not live while you’re alive, especially if we really do only get one time?
See how it goes.
Best Wishes,
-Melody LeeMarie ♡☆
