Jumping on the bandwagon

[COSenior]

Not flying, per se, but moving along at a decent clip. Must remember to bring lots of water to my desk! Dictating 6000 words is thirsty work.

 

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[COSenior]

Hard to believe I haven't had anything to say here in a week, lol. At that time, I was still struggling to make Dragon Naturally Speaking feel comfortable, but producing fewer words per hour than I could by typing. Persistence has paid off, though. I have a couple of issues that make it most efficient to type about half the time and use DNS the other half, though I have plans to fix some of them so that I can use DNS more as typing still fatigues my right arm significantly.

So, I have about three hours a day to write for myself, as I'm still spending up to five a day as a ghostwriter. This week, I've managed to average about 4800 words per day for me, mixing dictation and typing. I don't have a similar estimate for the ghostwriting, as one full day and about an hour of another was spent in editing a previously-finished book, and quite a bit doing online research in aid of the new one we recently started. I can say that in the five work-days we're talking about, despite the day I spent editing, I've written over 23,000 words for that book. I'm satisfied that I've regained an adequate production rate with just partial use of DNS, which tells me it will get even better when I solve the issues I can solve.

DNS is very resource-intensive, and I've been stuck with an increasingly unstable operating system, XP, which I refused to give up for Vista. This causes DNS to be unstable if I don't remember to tell it to go to sleep before I look at internet pages or my spreadsheets. We're ready to transition me to Windows 7 now, but I need more RAM and a hard drive that accepts data faster. I've also broken my husband's heart by coming up with a real need for a dual monitor system before he did. He's the electronics geek, but I need a way to look back and forth at internet and spreadsheets without DNS breaking my system and causing me to have to reboot. So far, that's happened every day with my one monitor.

The last problem may be more difficult to solve. Speaking over ten thousand words a day fatigues my throat almost as much as typing them fatigues my arm, hence the mixed use. When I started this experiment, my intention was to develop the ability to speak fast enough to utilize the 150+ words per minute that DNS specs claim it will handle. I've gotten better with the fits and starts, but many of the words I speak are punctuation and correction directions to DNS, which is why I say 'over' 10k.

I can't just say a bit of dialog without also saying 'open quote, close quote' and all the commas, periods, etc. that go in both dialog and narrative summary. I've never been so conscious of how many commas I use as when I say 'delete comma' and the software pops numbers onto 35 of them in a 300-word selection to determine which one I want to delete. Sheesh. Furthermore, when I speak quickly, my Southern accent sometimes creates some interesting errors that require several commands to fix. Today I said NBA and got 'in be ail'. Speaking more slowly helps some, but not always. Supposedly, as I correct and keep working, DNS will eventually learn to understand me better. Already it's substituting 'going to' for my 'gonna' and 'got to' for my 'gotta', so I think it will get better.

So, I'm not sure how to solve the final issue, going back to the fatigued throat. If anyone has any ideas about better speaking stamina, I'd love to hear them.

Meanwhile, I have to report the sad news that Bookbub didn't accept Wrangled for this submission. If anyone wants to help me by posting a few more 5-star reviews, I won't complain. My publisher thinks the problem was that either we've only got eleven reviews or that they were already booked solid. He intends to submit it again once we have more reviews. I'll be finished with my next book by next week, so we'll definitely have time to get links in the back of Wrangled for a hoped-for repeat of Rustled's success. Both are unfortunately sinking in rank, so I need a new book out asap.

 

[Erock87]

Do you have any plans to stop ghost writing and dedicate your time to yourself, 100%? As you know my position, I'm interested on your stance as a successful author to continue to write for other people.

Funny - I remember before you had tennis elbow...and now it's the throat! This is the behind the scenes grind that people enjoying your books don't see!

 

[COSenior]

I have made promises for a couple more books to my client, without whose encouragement and introduction to this forum I would never have even attempted fiction. We have discussed what happens when it no longer makes sense for me to write under our current arrangement, and what happens will depend on how well the books do that I've written for him. The plots and characters were his, the responsibility for marketing, starting with getting a great cover, lies with him. Only the words to convey his story are mine. So, if we make a good team that can write successful books, the arrangement will evolve. If not, we'll remain friends and I'll spend more time writing my own books. We expect to have an idea of how it will turn out by the beginning of summer. Until then, I can't really dwell on it.

It would be helpful to increase my production rate by 1/3 using DNS; then I could make everyone happy, including myself and the people who are encouraging me to break away from both my publisher and my client. And you're right, this is the grind that even forum readers don't understand. They see 10k words a day and think I'm a particularly fast writer, when in fact I write as much long as fast. I'm typically at my computer from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with about a half-hour break for lunch. I'll keep that up as long as I have to, but before too many years, I'd like to drop back to half pf that, just so I can clean my house, get some exercise, and maybe keep groceries in the house and actually take time to cook.

 

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[Held for Ransom]

Do you have any plans to stop ghost writing and dedicate your time to yourself, 100%?

*Cough, cough*...

That is all.

 

[Held for Ransom]

I could make everyone happy, including myself and the people who are encouraging me to break away from both my publisher and my client.

Not that I'm one to pick at nits...

BUT after examining this thread a bit further , I counted 730 words on the update post and another 284 words on the follow-up.

Seems to me those 1,014 keystrokes might have gone to your first solo project instead, yes? Who knows twenty "updates" and you've got your first solo novella.

Just sayin'... Math is your friend.

Still love you though.

 

[ChickenHawk]

I counted 730 words on the update post and another 284 words on the follow-up.

Funny! Normally, I agree with everything you say. You're the trail-blazer, after all. I'm FOREVER grateful for that, btw!

But alas, with this, we're not on the same page. I can't speak for COSenior, but for me, the fiction-words and participation here come from a totally different place in my brain. I can whip out a comment or posting here in almost no time at all. But 1,000 words of fiction, man, that takes me FOREVER.

Not to hijack the thread, but speaking just for myself, I don't do Facebook (other than my sorry job of maintaining my author page), I don't watch TV, and heck, I barely wash my hair these days. (Aren't you all so glad I shared that?). So other than the time I give my family, my participation on this forum is all I do for "fun", at least until my next book is done. With our talented, and prolific friend, I'm wondering if it's the same way. It might provide an outlet to help her recharge, resulting in more/better words, when all is said and done. Hard to say for sure though!

That being said, I'll second the encouragement for her to strike out on her own. Talent plus word count = a definite winner, if you ask me.

 

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[Held for Ransom]

Tongue in cheek of course... You of all folks should know that!

Good points though. Every writer is different.

 

[COSenior]

You're both right...but CH is more right for me. 1000 fiction words takes me an hour. Those posts, maybe half that time, and I love to hear myself talk. Feet of clay.

Nevertheless, I shall take your suggestion to heart, HfR. Going underground until next week to see if I can get started. P.S. How long did it take you to count my words? Just sayin'.

 

[ChickenHawk]

1000 fiction words takes me an hour

I still say you're a speed-demon!

 

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[Held for Ransom]

But alas, with this, we're not on the same page. I can't speak for COSenior, but for me, the fiction-words and participation here come from a totally different place in my brain. I can whip out a comment or posting here in almost no time at all. But 1,000 words of fiction, man, that takes me FOREVER.

You're both right...but CH is more right for me. 1000 fiction words takes me an hour. Those posts, maybe half that time, and I love to hear myself talk. Feet of clay.

Fair enough guys... No harm meant.

BTW, it also takes me an hour to write 1,000 words of fiction. But, the next time you post or even login to browse FLF, flip on Toggl and check how long the whole process takes. The time really adds up over the course of a week.

And that was point I was trying to make, albeit not very well, is that there's a significant *time* component to logging in, browsing threads, commenting and the like.

That's time which could go to the pursuit of your own writing Fastlane. And speaking for myself, if it means you're able to achieve your dreams, then I can handle it if you don't post for a while. I love your posts, of course, but I'd love it even more if you could make your dreams happen and then come back and tell us all about it.

Anyway, I sensed in the update that you were feeling thin when it came to your available time and energy. Most people who read the posts here and try writing will quit, they absolutely will give up. But some, like you, have the drive and talent to do it and make it a reality.

Yet it's the time that you need, more than anything, and so if you can carve out fifteen minutes here, thirty there... Next thing you know you have a book done, then another and another and that was really what I am driving at.

Otherwise, if it's manageable time or in like CH's case, therapeutic time for you to be on the forum, then that's totally cool. I honestly never even considered the benefit she mentioned. It's just not how I think about forums.

P.S. How long did it take you to count my words? Just sayin'.

About 30 seconds with a copy and paste into Scrivener.

 

[COSenior]

About 30 seconds with a copy and paste into Scrivener.

Of course. (See, I just can't shut up.)

 

[ChickenHawk]

there's a significant *time* component to logging in, browsing threads, commenting and the like.

This is absolutely true. Even as much as I tell myself that my time here is a good way to recharge, probably a better way would be to go for a walk, something that would also rest my eyes and help reverse some of the writing weight-gain. I don't write nearly 1,000 words an hour, but man, I'd love to get up there. Yesterday, I wrote 730 words in one hour, but it was a super-easy scene.

But regardless, HFR, you really are my role model! And I'd definitely be wise to listen to your wisdom, even if it wasn't officially directed my way. BTW, my sister texted me yesterday. And when I actually responded, she teased me that I "wasted" 17 words on her. Hah!

 

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[COSenior]

I got on a roll this morning and completed my next book for Natasha Stories two days early. Plan to have it in my publisher's hands, proofread and edited for all the errors that DNS has introduced, by Monday. When I checked my word count and discovered I'd written over 8500 words in four hours, I nearly kissed my microphone. My hope when I started using Dragon Naturally Speaking was to break my speed barrier, and for the past two days, I've done it. At this rate, I'll have all three streams going with traction by the end of the summer, and then I can see about cutting back a little. Just a little, though.

 

[Rainy_TX]

This is absolutely true. Even as much as I tell myself that my time here is a good way to recharge, probably a better way would be to go for a walk, something that would also rest my eyes and help reverse some of the writing weight-gain.

Gah, you're not the only one thinking this! Such true words!

 

[COSenior]

Sent my latest Natasha Stories book to the publisher today. He's proofreading it, and if he finds it up to our standards, it will be out later tonight or early tomorrow. One advantage of having an Australian publisher...I can work half a day on it and it's still early in the morning there when I'm done.

If anyone who reads my threads doesn't read @joanna's, first, go right now and subscribe. She doesn't post often, but when she does it's always valuable. If you're trying to make your own covers, check out the offer she has for you here. It's an amazing value for the price...no more guesswork in your design. Click the * Starter Cover Template * link.

 

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[joanna]

Aww, thanks for the plug

I know what you mean with the time zone differences. It can be an advantage And woo hoo for another book done. You're on fire!

 

[DA_]

DNS is very resource-intensive, and I've been stuck with an increasingly unstable operating system, XP, which I refused to give up for Vista. This causes DNS to be unstable if I don't remember to tell it to go to sleep before I look at internet pages or my spreadsheets. We're ready to transition me to Windows 7 now, but I need more RAM and a hard drive that accepts data faster. I've also broken my husband's heart by coming up with a real need for a dual monitor system before he did. He's the electronics geek, but I need a way to look back and forth at internet and spreadsheets without DNS breaking my system and causing me to have to reboot. So far, that's happened every day with my one monitor.

Have enjoyed reading your thread and while I don't have any experience self-publishing I do fix/upgrade computers for a living and wanted to offer a few points;
Microsoft support for Windows XP and Office 2003 officially ends on April 8th. After that date XP is going to be more vulnerable to viruses and other malicious software.

To support DNS look for a new computer with an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor and the ability to run 16GB or more of RAM. For a hard drive most systems are still coming with the traditional mechanical hard drives and they are the slowest component in the system. Replacing it with a Solid State Drive (SSD) will significantly improve system speed. Have found the Samsung 840 series to be quite good.

To support dual monitors you'll want a system with a discrete (separate) graphics card as this will provide better performance over on-board video.

Lastly every desktop computer needs a battery backup/UPS. Power bumps and brownouts are really hard on computers.

If you have a Micro Center store near you they offer a great selection and decent prices.

Regards,
DA_

 

[COSenior]

Thanks for the tips! My husband is an IT specialist, so I'm a little like the cobbler's children who go without shoes. I'm used to it, though. My dad was in auto body repair, and he was always cannibalizing our cars for things like window cranks. (Dates me, I know.)

My husband complains that he can't very well upgrade my computer unless I give him access, which is difficult to do because I'm always working. He says my processor is fine, but I need the OS that supports 64-bit processing, which my processor will but XP 32-bit won't. I have all the RAM XP will support, but we'll be able to put in more when the rest of this happens. I've been using XP for so long that I'm apprehensive about migrating, but we've known this day was coming for a couple of years now.

 

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[COSenior]

In re the post from @DA two posts above, saw a news brief that many ATMs run on XP, if you can believe that. Don't know why the banks weren't on top of this, it's long been known, but your ATM may be subject to malware that can clean out your account now that XP is open to attack. Take precautionary measures.

Now for the real update. It seems I've missed the mark with my latest Natasha Stories book. After batting around some alternatives, my publishing partner is going to put it up on Amazon anyway, and let the market decide. He doesn't want me to waste time trying to fix a story that may not be fixable. I have mixed feelings about that. If it's really that bad, I'd rather it not see the light of day, although it represents a month's worth of work. On the other hand, I hate wasting that month and all those words. So, I won't be announcing that it's live with bells and whistles here.

He has decided to help me hit the target he's looking for by supplying the next plot. I've looked it over, and it's a good one. I can have fun with it. So, back into head down, nose to the grindstone, writing mode. (I had a more colorful reference, but since I don't actually have the anatomical structure to accomplish it, decided to change that.) See you guys in a week or so with an update.

 

[Dave C]

@COSenior I read you're issues with black hole word loss between Scrivener and DNS. This scared me because, well, it's a completely fixable issue.

Ever heard of clipboard buffering? It's something you can get with free software that means your computer will remember an arbitrary number of copies. That means if you need something x copy commands ago you can find it and paste it.

Magic, huh?

I use JumpCut but that's Mac only.

Google found these Windows alternatives

Now you can avoid that issue hopefully!

 

[COSenior]

@COSenior I read you're issues with black hole word loss between Scrivener and DNS. This scared me because, well, it's a completely fixable issue.

Ever heard of clipboard buffering? It's something you can get with free software that means your computer will remember an arbitrary number of copies. That means if you need something x copy commands ago you can find it and paste it.

Magic, huh?

I use JumpCut but that's Mac only.

Google found these Windows alternatives

Now you can avoid that issue hopefully!

Magic indeed. No, I'd never heard of that. I'll be downloading one of them as soon as I get my upgrade. My husband's recovery from surgery has delayed it. I've got so many Start load things going on now that it takes half an hour to reboot my computer, so I don't think I'll add another one until the upgrade. However, since I switched my options in DNS, I haven't had the issue, so fingers crossed. I definitely appreciate the info, and will be using it as a backup soon.

 

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[COSenior]

My husband says I exaggerate the time to start up my computer, it only takes 3 minutes. That's 3 minutes too long IMHO.

Now for the update:
Ghostwriting: finished the first draft of the book I've been working on since the beginning of March. The dictation software introduced some errors and my week off may have introduced continuity errors, so editing is required. You can call me old or you can call me blonde, but if I take off too much time while writing a book, I have to re-read it to know what I've written so far.

Natasha: The third book is up and on the last day of a free promo. As of last night, 16000 downloads mostly driven by a few blog mentions. It's boosted the first two back up a bit, too, but not to the top 10,000. I think I've learned my lesson about making them too regional in appeal, especially if that region is dominated by a religion that would discourage its members from reading this type of book.

That said, publisher gave me the bare bones of a completely different plot, more of a theme, and I've started that book. I hope I'm still improving with touches that make books get good reviews and maybe even sell more.

The usefulness of updating this thread may be coming to a close, as from now on it's just rinse and repeat, while striving always to improve. So if I don't update frequently, please forgive me. I should be writing my books instead of tooting my own horn with 'finished a book, started another.' I'll be hanging around, reading other threads and contributing what I can, though...you can't get rid of me that easily.

 

[seamles]

I'm beginning to feel like a weathervane, blowing back and forth in the wind over pricing. After listening to a podcast interview of Dean Wesley Smith and his wife (can't recall her name off-hand), I'm back to thinking I should price higher. Her position was that free and 99 cent pricing gives the reader the impression that the writer doesn't value her own work, unless it is a temporary sale price. Both of them were quite passionate about this point. I think Mr. Smith said something along the lines of $2.99 being way under-priced for a 20k word book. His wife cited having purchased a Lee Child short story of 15 pages for $2.99 without even thinking about it. I guess there are cheapskates like myself, who wouldn't pay $4 for a cup of coffee except on a very special occasion, and the majority, who do that a couple of times a day and will buy books that cost about the same, again, without even thinking about cost.

The link is in Breaking Free's Road to Becoming a FastLane Author thread, and it's very interesting, but if you watch, start the video and do something else for fifteen minutes or so to avoid wasting time before the interview starts. The podcast starts with some silliness that has no value that I can recall.

Before listening to the podcast, I had raised the price of the last book in my first series, 20k words, to $2.99. Almost immediately, it made a sale. Now, this is embarrassing, because the other authors in this community are reporting tens or dozens of sales, while my total for September is 15. Yet, I'm encouraged because a) two of those have come in the last two days after a couple of weeks of nothing, and b) that one was in the 70% royalty range. In addition, the covers suck, so I have no right to expect any sales. I'm considering raising the price to $3.99 and the next-shorter one from 99 cents to 2.99, just to see what happens. It isn't as if playing with the prices is going to disrupt a buying frenzy. Maybe I'll purchase better covers first. We'll see. I do know to change only one thing at a time in the interest of testing what is making the difference.

After my stumble over a too-long writing hiatus while on vacation, I got busy again this weekend and have completed either a third novelette for my second series, or Part 3 of the novella that the three together create. I need to edit and then decide whether to break them up again and publish separately, or publish together. It won't be hard either way, only the decision will be tough. In the interest of boosting the number of books in my catalog, maybe publishing as three 10,000 word novelettes is the better idea. Any thoughts?

As a side note, and without the slightest intention of tooting my own horn, I'm always surprised when I've put something aside for a couple of weeks and then come back to it to find it is much better than I remembered. Not that I can't tweak a sentence or two every time I read; but I digress.

I have been offered the opportunity to collaborate on a novel with my mentor and a friend of his who has supplied plot outline and characters. I'm very excited about the plot and the project. It will be completely outside the genre I chose for this FastLane experiment, and much longer than anything I've attempted before. I think it will be interesting to learn if I can keep the different styles from bleeding into each other as I work half a day on the novel and the other half of the day on my own writing. Wish me luck! For those who would question why I would interrupt my writing with such a project, it will be like getting a part-time job, on salary. The steady cash will come in very handy to invest in editing and covers to improve my own chances at finding an audience. Yes, I'll be slower for my goals, but I'll still be able to write my stuff quickly I think. If I stick with the 10k to 30k length, I should be able to publish 2-4 titles a month anyway. In addition, it will give me a chance to write in a genre I wouldn't necessarily have chosen for myself, and give me virtually no-risk feedback on whether I can adjust my writing style for a more main-stream audience. Win-win as far as I'm concerned.

For my special friends in the community, those who take the time to comment or PM me with encouragement, support and advice, thank you so much for sharing this journey with me. It has been immensely gratifying to find community, and such constructive support. :thankyousign:

I'm actually curious how many fastlaners collaborate, do coauthor, or work with other fastlaners. It's something I would really like to do.

 

[COSenior]

I'm actually curious how many fastlaners collaborate, do coauthor, or work with other fastlaners. It's something I would really like to do.

I'm a relative newcomer to the forum, though it's been nearly a year, amazingly. So I don't know for sure, but I'm under the impression that business deals among fastlaners aren't uncommon. As far as writing collaboration goes, I don't know of any other than mine with my client/mentor. I'm hoping he is going to open a progress thread soon, as our first book has been out for a couple of days and is being received very well. It's not my secret to tell, though, so he'll have to do it if he wants it known.

 

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[COSenior]

Since this thread has just about played out, I decided to see if I could contribute something of value that has little to do with my progress as a writer. I can see that a handful have found it already, so I'm perhaps a little late in announcing it. If you decide to take a look, be prepared to meet one of my alternate personalities; the snarky one. I actually hoped it would be funny, but since it's a little late to rethink the approach, I have to explain that it isn't aimed at anyone in particular, and that I hope you'll all take it as it's intended, a slightly off-the-wall way to point out some mechanical issues to be aware of as a writer. You can find it here. I don't want to be the only one having fun, so feel free to contribute your own pet peeves, with or without sarcasm.

While I'm announcing new threads, I have to give a shout out to my good friend, mentor and erstwhile client, @mossie, who has decided to come out of the closet and reveal our collaboration. Find his new thread, New Kid on the Block, here Welcome, good buddy! I'll be over to comment soon.

 

[seamles]

Finally got through the whole thread! Sorry to ask questions and take time away from your writing all while you are hurt!

Just a few things from the exercise physiology/pt world.

Have you considered standing desk? Ergonomic keyboards? Wrist/hand/elbow exercises?

Could even splurge for exercise desk with all your success! Heh. Hope you feel better though!

 

[COSenior]

Thanks for taking an interest. I did receive that suggestion, from @Held for Ransom, who had to go to a standing exercise desk last year. I'm resisting, for a number of reasons, none of which have anything to do with the fact that I hate treadmills, lol. What I did instead was invest in Dragon Naturally Speaking, which gives my hands a break and actually allows me to get the words down even faster. I'm unable to use it right now because my husband is working from home after total hip replacement and his desk is in the same room as mine. But as soon as I get him out of here and back at work where he belongs, I'll go back to it. At the moment, the strain seems to be in the back of my upper right arm. No idea why.

 

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[seamles]

Yea, I saw your experience with DNS, which I hope is great. But just wanted to add to your efforts for pain free. I do a lot of rehab research, and seen the discomfort THA can cause.. so good luck to your husband!

I found this, not sure if any good, I'm not a PT by any means, but this is generally the stuff that they do.

. Different stretches and exercises for strengthening and relieving nerve pain.

I hope the DNS works out or that you can stretch and get rid of the issue or at least minimize it. Also, I know it sounds cheesy but sometimes the best thing is exercise, so swimming, or tai chi or anything that can increase range of motion and movement without causing too much weight bearing.

As you know for the THA too, it's good for him to try to keep maintaining some exercise to keep his muscles firing.

Good luck to you both!

 

[COSenior]

Thanks for that video. I'm not sure the nerve he's talking about there is the one that tends to get irritated for me, but just knowing that type of information is available is helpful. I did the stretch he's demonstrating there, and it did feel good. Can't hurt, right? I'll definitely go back to DNS, which was working out fine for me, as soon as I have my office to myself again.

As for my husband, he is exercising under the direction of a PT following his surgery. We're both amazed at his progress. He's three weeks post surgery, and he hasn't used an assistive device to walk for about a week. The hip itself gives him no pain unless he accidentally violates one of the rules he's been given about how NOT to move it. That said, both of us would benefit from a daily walk, and the weather is finally getting nice enough that we don't hate the thought of it.