I posted a little “100 word story” on LinkedIn last week on celebrating small wins. It reminded me how as writers, we almost never know how our short posts or observations will resonate with readers. Sometimes a surprising thing will get a lot of likes. On the other hand, something we wrote that we “felt” as profound is met with crickets…
This is why blogging can be such a great practice for testing new material as we keep writing on longer topics. For one, we don’t know the algorithms that social media uses. In fact, these algorithms are always changing. So it’s possible (and likely) our people didn’t even see the post. Another reason is that time of day and time of week determines when our readers are most available. How would we even know that if we didn’t try different posting schedules? I love it that WordPress has taken my 750+ posts in the last 4 years and has a dashboard for when people are most likely to read. How fascinating!
As we work on larger projects like books, more complex than blog posts, we will inevitably run into roadblocks. I hit a big one this past week as I thought I would get to the “close to final” version ready for proofreading. At first I got very frustrated because it meant I would miss an “internal” deadline I had set for sending it to my advance reader group and my editor. Then I felt grateful as I realized how writing (and particularly editing) can clarify our thinking.
I don’t want to send out a book with a section that isn’t working for me. If it doesn’t work for me, it certainly won’t work for my readers. So while the self-imposed timeline was not met, the more important thing is that I feel the writing is in integrity with what I think and believe (especially for nonfiction).
This will not be my only book. I’m starting to see this one as the cork on the champagne bottle. There’s bubbling stuff in there that I want to serve up, both fiction and non-fiction. This is not my magnum opus, but rather a place marker along the writing journey.
Care to share your small wins for the day or week with us? Drop a comment below!
Be well,
Cristy
mexi minnesotana 
After giving it a lot of thought, I recently started a new kids’ chapter book. I’m enjoying the process!
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I also don’t understand what motivates readers to like or comment. Sometimes the reactions come several days later after the post first appeared, so I think different readers come across the same post at different times. But, it is always a pleasant surprise whenever someone acknowledges your work. My win this week is I’ve start my second novel, but I don’t work by setting deadlines, so it’s hard to tell how long this one will take. Best wishes on your book.
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Yes, for sure! Congrats on starting the second novel!
My deadline was artificial, somewhat. Mostly it’s because I keep using the book as the excuse to my husband why I haven’t secured full time work… Truly I would love a job that’s 30 hours a week. But it seems like most employers are full time or nothing in my field. Oh well, a 5-month contract might allow me to work hard for a while and then to take a couple weeks off, who knows.
I had thought I might aim for the planetary gateway of eclipse season, Nov 19-Dec 4. But I don’t get have the cover designer secured yet, and some other details are yet to be resolved. So I am exercising great patience, which seems to be the lesson I’m supposed to learn in this lifetime, not an easy one for me. 🙂
Thanks for your comment.
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Once the writing begins, it can be all consuming. I am retired and couldn’t imagine writing while having a regular job as well!
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