I’m not gonna lie, the last half of September was tough.

The writer’s conference was OK. I’m not sure I’ll try hard to attend that one again. It was a decent experience and I could see some value, but it’s really focused on non-fiction authors using books largely as part of a greater platform. As someone more interested in a fiction career long-term it didn’t line up completely with my goals.

I did start getting some alright freelance work. It pays well enough for what it is. More importantly, it’s a chance to get experience working with editors and build a better portfolio. I may try to get on the list of editors there in a couple of months depending on how things go.

I didn’t finish the non-fiction. I also made slower than planned progress on the novel. Very slow. The good part is I think I know why the progress was slow and I finally made it past that last week. I increased my total word count by 50% in one week versus the whole month of Sept. I anticipate in a couple of days when I can get back into it I’ll be writing much faster and get through it. I’d love to use NaNoWriMo as a time to write book 2 and I can fathom it happening. Once I’m starting on the 2nd book I need to plan more short stories and book 3. The increased speed will also encourage me to finish the non-fiction so I can start the follow-up for that one.

We had a short trip in our new to us pop-up camper to start the month. We got an amazing deal on the pop-up and I think it’ll be good for us come next year. (It’s at a storage lot right now and likely will be for the next 5 months or so.) The kids are excited about it and I hope the house we manage to find and afford next spring has a garage that can hold it.

The kids break is in the final week. Thanks to the help of Heather’s family in the area I’ve managed to get time to work during it. This is great as I have no good way to try out dictation, especially away from the computer, at this time.

Before I go I guess there is one thing I’d love to get input on. Does anyone have a suggestion for a tax person? Last year’s taxes were a bit of a mess, and this year’s looking to be worse. We made it through last year and everything worked out fine. This year we’ve got a new business started with more put into the start-up than I imagine it’ll earn this year. I could be wrong, and I’d love to be, but I’m not planning it that way. If I am wrong I’d rather it be a happy surprise than plan for it to make more and be disappointed.

Are you all ready for the holidays? We aren’t!