Yeah! Yeah! Editing Phase.

Hello all,

I’ve got great news. I just put the next book I hope to release into editing phase. Which means I will be announcing a release date before long. I’m excited. It’s the first book in what looks to be a seven book series. And that’s all the information you are getting from me about it for right now.

Just because one book is closer to getting released, don’t mean I’ve put creativity on the back burner. I’ve not. If anything, I’ve accomplished way more than I hoped to the past few weeks. Like . . . mmmm . . . not sure if I want to share this or not. Guess it can’t hurt and it might interest you guys. I’m also working on creating an e-book with all 4 Journey Series books as well as the short story about Miss Donna. (I might have mentioned this is an earlier post, but if I did then I think it was a in theory plan, well it’s not any longer.) My goal with this is to teach me a few new tricks among creating e-books, as much as provide a collaboration for the story. Have no idea how long it will take me to get this ready, but I’ll keep you guys updated.

Hope you all have an amazing week. Remember

Let your imagination soar when reading,

Julia Matthews

*** After Thought **

I still hate editing phase, but it's nice for a story to make it that far for me as well as my readers.

Writing to Reading

As a self-publisher who rarely out sources any aspect of a book preparation I thought it’d be nice for my readers to know how I view writing and reading. To me, there are two kinds of reading. Work Reading and Fun Reading. There are also two kinds of writing. Writing and Journaling.

As a self-publisher, I have to find away to keep these two separate or I begin to feel overwhelmed and they cease to be helpful for me. So how do I do it?

Good question, but not one easily explained. I’d like to say I write two different times and the journaling never crossing into my story writing. It’d be a big lie. Sometimes what gets put in my journaling gets used as parts of my story, but I think that’s what makes me the writer I am. I, like most writers, will tell you that we don’t and can’t pick and chose the things that expires us. If some event ends up in my journal that stands out and makes me laugh, or feel a certain way that pertains to a story then I use it as my muse. In some cases, what I’ve written for a story had hit home in some way in my personal life and it leaks it way into my journaling. Those are the moments I like best. Because if I can write something that sets me to thinking about my own life, then I believe I’m reaching others in some way, which is what I inspire to do with my writing. Rather it’s an entertaining story, a dead serious moment in a story that hits the deepest part of someone or if my writing creates that ah moment for someone.

As for the two types of reading, well that gets a bit dicey for me, because I read about 3-5 books a week. Less when I’m in editing mode. There’s just something about being in full-blown edit mode that destroys my ability to read for enjoyment. It’s like my brain won’t shut down from hunting down those pesky errors and that distracts me from the story I’m attempting to enjoy. So, when I’m editing I read less.

Work reading is both fun and aggravating. Depends on if it’s research related, or trying to gain a better perspective on a certain style of writing. Researching can be boring to me and I tend to get distractive very easily. It’s why I strive to avoid this kind of reading, but at times it is a must and I bite the proverbial bullet and get it done. Perspective gaining reading most of time turns into enjoyment, if I’ve chosen a very good book to read then I get both new information on a style of writing and enjoy an amazing book. Noting wrong with accomplishing both in one task, not when you are a writer.

Hope this week’s post enlightens you a bit more about me, and gives you a bit more insight into how some self-publisher do things. Have an amazing week and remember,

Let your imagination soar when your read or write.

Julia

Writing Compares To . . .

Hope all had an amazing week. I did. But with good and bad weeks there comes good and bad stress. For me that equal productivity, which last week was no exception.  I got loads of work done and creativity was through the roof. Guess that’s why this post came about. Hope you guys enjoy my comparison of writing.

Writing is like a moonlit ocean. Peaceful. Angelic. Happy. Relaxing. Soothing. I could go on and on. There’s no need. You guys get the point. For me writing is a safe heaven. We each have a task, or something in our life that we go to when we are stressed beyond belief or simply need a way to escape the day-to-day grind of life.

It’s a logical fact. Each of us ends up coming to breaking point and have to have an escape route, even if only temporarily. Mine just happens to be letting my imagination soar free and creating something that I feel will entertain or interest others. It gives me the sense of peace that renews the energy I’ve lost to those daily life stressors.

Hope all has an amazing upcoming week.

Remember let your imagination soar when your read,

Julia Matthews

Ideas! Ideas! Ideas!

Hope all had an amazing July 4^th. I sure did. Got loads of work done, and it’s a good thing with so many ideas floating around in my head. Who knew one small brain could hold so much. Wait, it doesn’t always. It gets overloaded and refuses to work at time. More like it go berserkers when it shorts out. But when the ideas hits you’ve got to find someway to avoid all the craziness that comes with so many zooming in on you faster than a closing wall.

As I stated in last week’s post, I found my self in a tight pickle while writing Journey Revealed and Witch & Wolf. Four different series ideas developed within days of each other. Wouldn’t have been so bad if one had taken route and slowly began to develop. But unfortunately, my brain didn’t take pity on my all ready stressed out body.

I attempted to get them out of my head, temporarily at least, by jotting them down and putting them aside, while I finished up the other two books, or tried to. But when something grips you tighter than a wrench around a stubborn bolt you find yourself at the end of a losing battle of sorts.

It’s why I found myself and still find myself working on a different future book each day. Sometimes, even multiple books in one day. It quickly got me to my breaking point, which is why I finally chose two books to work on and sat the rest aside. Didn’t work out well.

Let me telling you, forcing your brain to shut down doesn’t work. At least, in my case it didn’t this time. There was small good point about the entire situation. Since, I always tend to write my series in order, I only found myself struggling over the first four books in four series, and a second book in a series all ready out and a non-series book. Way better than the total of books each series would at one point and time hopefully provide. Still working on that many at one time is stressful. I fear I will slip up and cross the names up. Worse than that it slows your writing process down.

Now, I’m not saying having so many ideas is a bad thing, because it’s not. I’m excited to know that I have so much creativity running amuck. But it’s a challenge. One I’m more than ready to face head. Chapter by chapter they are coming together, and before long I will have more books for you guys.

All of you have a great week and remember:

Readers let that imagination soar with each book you read.

Writers, let that imagination fly while writing.

Julia