1/5/2024 Weekly Update – Part Two

1/4/2024 → Thursday Skype & Write: Monthly Meeting

Last night was our first meeting of 2024 and had a full agenda.

First order of business was – of course – the business  of Graeae Publishing; reviewing the December income statement and the 2023 P&L statement for the upcoming corporate renewal.

Then we discussed our series bible and the fact that we are not keeping it up as we should. So we settled that we need to dedicate some time that and also that we need to know ahead of time what we’ll be working on, be it updating character profiles, timelines, etc. But we go in with a plan before we begin the updating. So that’s a new thing to incorporate into our plans in 2024. But a necessary change as our world grows.

We have worked out the Graeae Publishing schedule for 2024; it’s loose at the moment, and the plan is to review and update it every quarter. The current schedule is now live at the Graeae website here.

We began discussing goals and what we’re going to concentrate on writing in 2024 – the main series and the cozied, with side projects as time allows. We need to concentrate on the main series as querying has come up again. We decided that we’d really like to query again, but we haven’t decided where and when as we’re still waiting on a completed manuscript for Charlie’s Web (which, not-so-coincidentally, is Mickie’s concentration for the first quarter of 2024).

Our main goal for 2024 is working out a publication schedule that works for all of us, then sticking to it and keeping it functional as we grow Graeae.

In line with publication schedules, we laid out new deadlines for Faded Legacy, which will keep Sid busy for a bit longer.

Finally, we had a discussion of our social media and how to use them. Sid is getting better at it, while Mickie is still working the Graeae Insta and trying to get a Threads account linked.

Sid is thinking about trying her hand at creating a book trailer, probably an animated one as none of us are particularly keen to appear on camera. So a question – do book trailers catch your attention? Have you watched a book trailer and ever been motivated to at least go look up the book to see what it’s about or if it might appeal to you?

That’s where we left off last night. Next meeting is a writing meeting, so there will be word metrics next post. See you then!

3/31/2023 Weekly Update

3/30/2023 → Thursday Skype &  Write

We met, we skyped, we wrote. 

Technically, we were supposed to do our quarterly series bible updates, but Sid’s keyboard needed charging, and there were other technical difficulties, so we’ll be doing that week after next.

So – the writing.

James wrote 405 words on Homegrown Murder.

Mickie revised four pages of Charlie’s Web.

Sid worked on a special project, which you’ll be seeing later.

And that’s where we ended the night. Next week is our monthly meeting, so come on back to see what we discuss!

12/23/2022 Weekly Update(s)

12/15/2022 → Thursday Skype & Write

So, apparently I didn’t do an update for this session? Interesting…the end of the year has my brain scrambled.

For this week, James and Sid met their goals. Mickie was dealing with her renovation and moving, so she had extenuating circumstances.

I think we did a writing session, but I don’t appear to have noted what we accomplished. I’m going with we did the things and all was well. Now, on to the current week.

12/22/2022 → Thursday Skype & Write

First off, this week has been an absolute miss in goals. Mickie is still dealing with last minute renovation details and moving back into her house, James and Sid have both had packed and hectic work weeks. Finding writing time simply did not happen…and that’s life sometimes. We are going to set new goals and try it again next week.

That said, we did meet and do some writing, but not on any of our works in progress. Instead, we worked on a project we’ve been discussing for a bit, and got a good deal of it hammered out. Now Sid needs to do a bit of tweaking, let the others look it over, and then it’ll be put out in the world.

We hope you like it.

And that is where we left things. We do plan on a writing session next week, so tune in to see what we accomplish!

7/28/2022 Weekly Update

7/27/2022 → Wednesday Skype & Write

Last night we met and did the writing thing.

But first, goals; James and Mickie both met their weekly goals. Sid did not. New goals were set and we press onward.

As for the writing, we did get some things accomplished and that means – ta dah! – word metrics!

Mickie wrote 461 words on her secret side project outline. Sid made more notes and edits on the first chapters of Siren’s Secret; she needs to nail down what she wants to do with this book and it’s giving her some issues. James added 296 words to Homegrown Murder, and edited down a couple of scenes to make them flow better.

And that’s where we left it for the evening. Next week is our monthly discussion meeting, so tune in then to see what we talk about!

3/17/2022 Weekly Update

3/16/2022 → Wednesday Skype & Write

In spite of Daylight Savings and overwork and exhaustion, we did manage a meeting last night. However, due to the aforementioned, we opted for a quick 15-minute sprint, not really expecting to accomplish much.

However….

• James wrote 331 words on Homegrown Murder, the next Gentleman Farmer Investigation.
• Sid wrote 352 words on Marigold Mayhem, her cozy mystery prequel novella.
• Mickie wrote 148 words on her current Secret Project.

For a group that really was not feeling it, we did well, and decided to take the win and call it a night. So that’s it for this week. We’ll be back next week, so see you then!

3/10/2022 Weekly Update

3/9/2022 → Wednesday Skype & Write

So, I promised writing metrics this week and wow, did we come through!

Last night was a heads-down, fingers-on-keyboards meeting, and we definitely did the thing.

Mickie and James both got their “sez” bits to Sid for the February blog (yes, it’s finally finished!), so that should be going up in the next day or so.

Then, we wrote.

Mickie wrote 270 words on her current WIP, plus she made notes for another project idea that has popped into her head, that James and Sid are quite interested in seeing her develop.

James wrote 224 words on Homegrown Murder, the second Gentleman Farmer cozy mystery set in PCEarth.

Sid wrote ummmm…1,033 words on Marigold Mayhem, the first Grey Feather Investigation cozy. Whoa. She only thought she wrote about 500 words. Wow. It’s getting close to done, though, so she’s really pushing to complete it so she can send it over to James and Mickie for critique and edit. Gotta keep to those publication schedules!

And that’s it for this week’s installment. We’ll be back next week, so tune in for another exciting update!

3/3/2022 Weekly Update

3/2/2022 → Wednesday Skype & Write: Monthly Meeting

Short meeting last night; everyone is tired and we’ve all been very focused on our writing projects and the query (now out! Wow! It’s still a shock to me!) so that we’ve really not had a lot to discuss, except for statuses.

So – James is juggling four projects at the moment. The Perfect Coven ones are on track so far. The others are secrets and he’s not sharing. So unfair! Looking forward to reading them, though, when he finally spills.

Sid is juggling two writing projects and is working out her ideas for a 2022 serial (yes, the one she said she wouldn’t do due to writing obligations, but ummm…yeah). The writing has been a struggle the last couple of weeks, but this week is going better, getting her back on track.

Mickie has set up a writing schedule that seems to be working for her. She’s concentration on her Perfect Coven works right now, but there is another project in her mind, so she’s been making notes and bouncing ideas off James and Sid. They’re looking forward to both her next PC novel and this super-secret surprise project as well. Should be fun.

We did have a discussion about where to send the next query, and have decided to target another agent. Mickie has a list she’s sending over so we can choose one and send the next. Wow. We’re really doing this!

And that’s really it. We spent some time catching up on real-life stuff, which is good to do sometimes. We are friends as well as writing and business partners, after all.

And that is it until next week, when we’ll be back in the word mines! See you then.

5/6/2021 Weekly Update

5/5/2021 → Wednesday Skype & Write: Monthly Meeting

Last night was our regular monthly meeting. First thing we did was review our second quarter goals. Here is the current status:

1. Group – get a query out – Mickie will have final CW for editing by 5/17 and we can move forward
2. Group – set up Graeae Publishing – Operating Agreement is drafted; final review and approval and Mickie will reserve the name and begin EIN process; Mickie will research business accounts/online banks.
3. James – publish Homegrown Trouble; write two chapters of Cat’s Cradle – James made good progress!  1 & ½ chapters on  Cat’s Cradle and is formatting Homegrown Trouble.
4. Sid – finish editing projects; go back to cozy mystery, revisit Siren’s Secret – Sid is half way through editing projects.  
5. Mickie – get CW final out; 3 chapters of cozy – see above!

Next, we discussed some writing business. As you know, we have a book of Perfect Coven short stories out, so we discussed setting up an author page on Amazon, as we will soon have the first cozy mystery set in PCEarth out as well. Sid has been a bit overwhelmed with work, but will begin work on that ASAP.

We also discussed some website updates that we need to do and will have more on that later.  Sid and Mickie have both found some webinars to attend on the business of writing and publishing, so that will hopefully happen when any of us have some extra time.

Finally, we got to the fun part and did a bit more worldbuilding, always a good way to wrap up a meeting.

And that’s the story for this week. Tune in next week for another exciting update that will most likely include some writing metrics as we’ll be back to our normal writing schedule.

4/15/2021 Weekly Update

4/14/2021 → Wednesday Skype & Write

Very short meeting last night as James is still feeling under the weather and  Sid wasn’t feeling all that great, either. We mostly discussed how Witch’s Tales is doing (have you read it yet? You can find it here, and we’d really love it if you left us a review) and blog post ideas. We created a master document to list any ideas that might float by so that if someone (Hi, I mean me) is having issues coming up with a topic, we have a standby list.

And then James started feeling tired, so we wrapped it up. Next meeting, we’ll be doing some writing, so tune in for word metrics!

4/8/2021 Weekly Update

4/7/2021 → Wednesday Skype & Write: Monthly Meeting

Last night was our monthly meeting. We had a hefty agenda, but worked through it.

First thing was a review of our first quarter goals. We had mixed results, but leaning a bit more toward the positive, I think. We didn’t make a few goals, but we came very close, and will be finishing them out this month, we hope. The big thing we did, of course, was publish the anthology of Perfect Coven short stories, and that counts for a lot.

• Group: Begin querying – didn’t make this one; still need chapter 13 of Charlie’s Web
• Group: Publish anthology – WE DID IT!!!!!!
• James: Publish first PCEarth cozy – didn’t make this one; in formatting stage
• Sid: begin writing 2nd PCEarth cozy – didn’t make it; in heavy editing mode
• Mickie: get us stuff that is (mostly) completed; begin 3rd PCEarth cozy – got us Movie Night, but not Charlie’s Web yet; has begun outlining her cozy

We set our second quarter goals. The big goal is to get our query out.

• Group – begin querying
• Group – set up Graeae Publishing
• James – publish Homegrown Trouble; write two chapters of Cat’s Cradle
• Sid – finish editing projects; go back to cozy mystery and complete outline, revisit Siren’s Secret
• Mickie – get Charlie’s Web final out; write 3 chapters of cozy

Sid didn’t get to revising the business plan, but Mickie is going to discuss it with her law firm over the next couple of weeks to get some advice on starting that project. We also discussed our website, and the fact that it is now time to reserve our domain name. Sid has taken on this task.

We reviewed our introduction to PCEarth for the anthology so that James can tweak it for Homegrown Trouble. We need to have one intro that we use for all publications in our world so we can be consistent.

Sid walked Mickie and James through the Kindle Direct Publishing account for Perfect Coven, and we had a discussion about an Amazon Author Page, but have decided to leave that until the next monthly meeting.

We did a tiny bit of world-building, and discussed cover art, interior art, and began compiling a list of artist friends we could possibly hire to help us out with those things…and then Mickie disappeared. It seems that Shadow chewed through her power cord and that was the end of our meeting. Let’s hope she can acquire a new one (power cord, not cat) by next week’s meeting!

The Shadow Incident effectively ended the meeting, though we were wrapping up when it happened. Next week – if Mickie has a power cord – we’ll be back, doing the writing. See you then!