Author María J. Estrada
  • Home
  • Mi BiografĂ­a
  • Un Blog de Writing Musings
  • Author Interviews
    • Eric Allen Yankee
    • Mehreen Ahmed
    • Steve Carr
    • Martin Eastland
    • P.S. Malcolm
    • P.C. Darkcliff
  • The Harvested Draft
  • Books
  • Poetry
  • My Patreon Page
  • Useful Bits
  • Contact

Un Blog de Writing Musings

My Second Kindle Book Is So Pretty, Pretty, Pretty!

18/6/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Besides putting up with my writing musings and writing adventures, which are really more about the writing process, now, you are going to have to put up with my end-product ravings. As many of you know, my first Amazon book came out for Father's Day Weekend, The Long Walk, and I made some pretty noob mistakes. I have learned a great deal.  So, fast forward.  This week, I'm publishing another short "La Bruja in the Orchard," and does it ever look gorgeous!  I hope to have it done by this Wednesday for a Thursday or Friday release.  Woo hoo hoo hoo!

There are still some challenges, though, and that is designing the print cover.  I do love having that control, but Amazon is pretty proprietary. The templates are limited, so I will have to hire a professional for my next two pubs, ideally a designer that knows how to publish covers to Amazon.  I have two designers in mind, but will most likely go with the first one because he is my friend's son. Send prayers my way that hire works out.

So, this morning, I worked on revising "La Bruja in the Orchard" and tweaked the description. I also worked on my novel draft The Harvest. I will have to hustle and hit it hard every day, if I am to finish by the end of June.  My writing goal this week, is to write The Harvest a minimum of two hours a day.  Fingers crossed!

Ideally, I want to have it done and revised by November, so I can start pitching it to publishers. I really do believe there should be a balance of print and digital publications. Besides, they take the same amount of work and work ethic. Self-publishing could be argued is more rigorous because it requires more work on your end to market and go beyond the writing process. I could see the case to have someone else handle all that. However, self-publishing is fun, hard, but fun, a kind of sick, misogynist fun. 

Still, forget about all this publishing business. The real love, the passion is the actual act of writing and improving your writing. Everything else is icing. Write because you love it and because the stories you want to tell wake you up at ungodly hours, but don't forget to enjoy life and be present. These days, I am becoming more of space cadet, zoning off into my worlds more than usual, but writing emerges from life, from what is real.  From relationships and being with others.

That is my other writing challenge, to be present in real life to the max.

Cross the finish line on your writing goals! I know you will. #Resist!

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Become a Patron!
    Picture

    Jesú Estrada
    Pen Name: 
    María J. Estrada
    Chicago, IL

    You follow me everywhere @drmariajestrada, except Twitter.
    Subscribe to my YouTube channel, Radical Books and Activists.

    *********************
    MARIA J. ESTRADA is an English college professor of Composition, Literature, and her favorite, Creative Writing. She grew up in the desert outside of Yuma, Arizona in the real Barrio de Los Locos, a barrio comprised of new Mexican immigrants and first-generation Chicanos. Drawing from this setting and experiences, she writes like a loca every minute she can—all while magically balancing her work and family obligations. She lives in Chicago’s south side with her wonderfully supportive husband, two remarkable children, and a menagerie of animals.

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    November 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Categories

    All

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from shixart1985, Phuketian.S, yourbestdigs, yourbestdigs, Brett Jordan
  • Home
  • Mi BiografĂ­a
  • Un Blog de Writing Musings
  • Author Interviews
    • Eric Allen Yankee
    • Mehreen Ahmed
    • Steve Carr
    • Martin Eastland
    • P.S. Malcolm
    • P.C. Darkcliff
  • The Harvested Draft
  • Books
  • Poetry
  • My Patreon Page
  • Useful Bits
  • Contact