# 3-month writing challenge (UPDATE: BOOK 3 complete; hey, only took a year!)



## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

As I mentioned in the other threads where Chris Fox and Kevin McLaughlin are discussing their 21-day novel challenges, I wanted to join in as well but was about a week off their schedules in terms of outlining and preparing. So I thought I'd start my challenge on March 1. Which is today.

So here it is; I'll use this thread to discuss the challenge, the writing on a day to day basis, and any challenges or successes that come along. The goal is to write the first three full-length books of a new urban fantasy series. Book 1 I'll write in March; book 2 in April; book 3 in May. I'm targeting 75-90k words for each one, and my daily goal is to hit 3000 words a day spread over at least three 30-minute writing sprints (more if I can fit them in amongst my day).

Like Kevin, I work a full-time job in addition to writing and family and other commitments, so I'm doing this challenge partly to illustrate how it's possible to write and be productive even when it seems like there just aren't enough hours in the day. I don't think I'll bore you with my daily blow-by-blow, but I'll try to show how it's possible to make choices to do what's important (for me writing is the most important part of my life next to my family and my health).

Anyway. I'll be doing assorted videos from time to time, and actually spent part of today recording and releasing two videos, mostly about Scrivener but also about my writing process and how I outline. You'll find those videos on the Scrivener Tutorials thread I started, but you can also find them here.

I did a lot of prep work today putting my Scrivener file together and pulling most of my outline together. The outline isn't finished to my satisfaction yet, and at 1130 PM when I was thinking I'd just head to bed, I grabbed my Alphasmart Neo and sat down and pulled together a 30 minute sprint and wrote the first 1098 words of the first novel. It's not 3000 words, but it's a start, and I know I can make up the deficit in short order. I know I've started, and that's good enough for today. *Sometimes it's enough to just show up and write.*

So, feel free to follow along. I hope this challenge inspires some to join in on their own challenge, and I hope you ask questions or at least cheer me on as I go on down this crazy road. I've loved following Chris and Kevin's journeys and hope you'll join me in this one. I plan to release the first book on June 1, and it'll be very interesting to look back on this thread once the books are out.

Time to have some fun.

--tl;dr updates April 22:

Refining the goal a bit and adding in some scheduling to keep me focused and folks updated if I don't remember to include it in the videos:
Book 1: Written March; to editor May 6; to be published early June
Book 2: Write in April (possibly part of May); to editor mid-May; to be published early July (ideally out before July 15 so that I can take copies to a con)
Book 3: Write in May (possibly part of June); to editor early June; to be published early August

Cover artist booked, editor booked, print layout designer booked. Will DIY ebook formatting via Scrivener compiling; anticipating simultaneous print and ebook releases.

TL; DR part 2: Latest update right here

TD; DR Part the Third: Latest update right here


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## 57280 (Feb 20, 2012)

Good luck Jim! Rooting for you!


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## andreadrew (Dec 11, 2014)

Jim
I was waiting for something like this that seemed a bit more reasonable (a horrible word) and here it is.
I'm cheering you on from the sidelines, and thinking about joining you on the court......  Averaging around 1000 words per day at present but I'm loving the process.

Showing up and writing is the best part of my day...


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## jaehaerys (Feb 18, 2016)

Very interesting, Jim - I'll definitely be following along. Loving all of these "challenge" threads. Inspiring stuff.


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## Matthew Stott (Oct 22, 2014)

Good luck! I had vague plans to blast through three first draft's for the first three books in an urban fantasy series later this year, too! Whether I actually will or not, I don't know...I've started outlining the first book anyway, but I have a miniseries to get out of the way first.

Did you decide to stick with third person? I've been swayed into trying first person; or at least giving it a shot for a while and seeing how I take to it. Doing a bit of extra research has definitely had an affect so far, in the tone I'm considering. It seems like a strong seem of humour is often expected, mixed in with the monsters and horror.


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## The 13th Doctor (May 31, 2012)

Good luck, Jim! I'll be watching this thread with interest!

While not doing the 21 day challenge, myself, I've organised a draft > publish schedule, where I'm going to spend each month writing 50+k books, spend the next month getting it edited, and then publish it the month after that (ie, first draft in March, edit in April, Publish in March). I have a full-time job, too, but if I write 2,500-3000 a day I should be okay.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks for the support and inspiration, everyone! Should be a fun ride whether this thing soars or crashes and burns. It's all practice anyway.



Matthew Stott said:


> Did you decide to stick with third person? I've been swayed into trying first person; or at least giving it a shot for a while and seeing how I take to it. Doing a bit of extra research has definitely had an affect so far, in the tone I'm considering. It seems like a strong seem of humour is often expected, mixed in with the monsters and horror.


I'm planning to go with 1st person for the MC's scenes and 3rd person limited for the supporting characters' scenes. If that doesn't work I'll try adjusting the focus to just the MC's 1st person POV. I think it'll work as it, but I won't know till I dig deeper into it.


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## thenicknick (Mar 1, 2016)

So excited for you! Wishing you words.  Enjoy the process. And...how do you like Scrivener? I'm toying with a move that direction. The fear of change is real.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

thenicknick said:


> So excited for you! Wishing you words. Enjoy the process. And...how do you like Scrivener? I'm toying with a move that direction. The fear of change is real.


I love Scrivener. In one of the two videos I posted yesterday, I mentioned that it's become my most important writing tool after my Alphasmart Neo and my digital voice recorder. I can brainstorm, structure, write, revise, and compile with this one program; to borrow a term from a friend of mine, it's amazeballs. It really is. Even if Scrivener was only good for its ability to help me structure a series and project file, it'd be worth the cost and the time investment. Hopefully my appreciation for the program is coming through in the videos, but if not, I'll keep at it.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

RobCornell said:


> I'd wish you luck, but I have a feeling you've got this just fine without Luck's help. Have fun!


Yeah, it doesn't take luck to show up at the keyboard every day and write--that's just discipline. Where we all need Lady Luck's help is after the book is published and it's out there in front of the world.


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## JVRudnick (Sep 12, 2014)

best wishes on this challenge, Jim! 
Know you'll do fine too...remember, all we writers gotta do is to sit and write, eh!


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## shellabee (Aug 4, 2015)

Will be watching!


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## Felix R. Savage (Mar 3, 2011)

Cheering you on, Jim! Your positive yet common-sensical outlook is always an inspiration. I'm in the same boat (full time job + family + writing) and I don't think I could do this. Mainly because of all the post-production stuff between completing the book and getting it onto shelves, which always takes a few weeks. How are you figuring that into the 3-month, 3-book time frame?


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Felix R. Savage said:


> Mainly because of all the post-production stuff between completing the book and getting it onto shelves, which always takes a few weeks. How are you figuring that into the 3-month, 3-book time frame?


It'll be ongoing along with the drafting; largely included in the timeframe. Assuming I finish the first book by March 31, I'll be running it through editing and print formatting in April while I'm writing book 2. I'll be commissioning a cover artist in the next week or two, so that'll be in place. Scrivener does the ebook formatting for me (though I have my eyes on trying out Vellum at some point). Scrivener formatting for ebook doesn't take all that long, though I'll have to deal with the learning curve going from PC to Mac.

I suspect what'll help me is that the books will end up on the shorter end of the 75-90k range, which means I'll finish writing in less than 30 days. Those 'extra' days can be used for post-production type work and research and whatnot.

I'll have all of April and May to finalize book 1 (June release), which should be plenty of time to get all the formatting and such done. Book 2 (July release) will have May and June, and book 3 (August release) will have June and July. The overlap in writing and finalizing should help me make the three books a strong, cohesive series.


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## Denise Lewis (Dec 31, 2015)

(Screams Woo Hoo, while digging through the closet looking for the faded and out-of-date cheerleading uniform. Squeezes into it, not remembering it ever being this tight, and hears a few of the seams groan and rip. Hobbles back out for the big cheer.)

"Ready?"

"Okay!"

"Jim, Jim, he's our man, if he can't do it, nobody can!"

(Slowly crawls back to the bedroom through the mess of faded pom pom strands, hoping to change out of the now tattered uniform while waiting for the ambulance. **Later...feeling better with the muscles relaxers on board, listening to the doctor say - after hearing him and the other doctors laughing out in the hallway - don't you think you are a little to old to be doing a herkie and splits? Next time, cheer someone on from the stands.)


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## RBK (Nov 28, 2014)

Good luck, Jim. Not that you'll need it! I'm sure you'll absolutely nail this challenge.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks, Denise! There's something to be said for sitting in the bleachers, waving pennants. 










...yaaay....


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## Sara C (Apr 30, 2014)

Following along, good luck! I had recently decided to do the sprints method after reading Chris' post, with a goal of 3K per day (hopefully to increase to 5K), so I'll be joining you!


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## RN_Wright (Jan 7, 2014)

Sounds like a great adventure! Good luck, Jim.


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## going going gone (Jun 4, 2013)

Go, Jim!

I just finished my second in less than two months and will write a third in March. I hope to do one a month until....whatever happens. My head explodes? Probably nothing that bad!  It helps that I'm keeping them to 60K. a 90K novels takes more than twice as long as a 60K for me.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

I'm rooting for you, Jim. You've so got this =)


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Chris Fox said:


> I'm rooting for you, Jim. You've so got this =)


Thanks, Chris! You and Domino and Kevin are all huge inspirations. Thanks for blazing the trail and posting your challenge!


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## Writer&#039;s Block (Oct 29, 2014)

Good luck, will be following along.


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

Yay! More inspiration! Looking forward to seeing your progress, Jim. Best of luck!


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## BeachB (Sep 3, 2013)

Another great learning and inspirational thread!  Cheering you all on from Texas.  I'm about ready to jump in also.


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## Weirdling (Jun 25, 2011)

Good luck!  I'm rooting for you, but I doubt you need it.  You have a lot of experience under your belt.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks for the good words, everyone. This is fun. Terrifying, but fun. Had a moment on the drive in to work this morning while I was dictating notes; I was all like "What madness is this, trying to write three novels in three months??" and then I saw a flash of Gerard Butler's face in my windshield crying out "Madness? THIS. IS. WRITING!" and then he kicked the self-doubt down a well and I got to work and was okay after that.

Still. Seeing this first thing in the AM will wake anyone up.


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## Dom (Mar 15, 2014)

Man, you guys are all making me feel like a slacker! 

This is great, Jim. I love you putting this all out there from the beginning. Can't wait to see your production and launch in a few months.


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## J.A. Cipriano (May 27, 2014)

Jim, I suspect you'll do awesome. I can't wait to follow along and live vicariously through you.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Domino Finn said:


> Man, you guys are all making me feel like a slacker!
> 
> This is great, Jim. I love you putting this all out there from the beginning. Can't wait to see your production and launch in a few months.


Thanks, Domino. I have you and Chris and others as inspiration. You've all put yourselves out there for all to see, and that's inspiring. I'm nowhere near your guys's levels of sales and figured it might be worth it to someone to follow a prawn's path to whatever may come. I'm a lifelong learner, and I learn by studying others and sharing what I've learned. If someone comes along and reads this and is inspired to put their own words on paper and join in this indie publishing thing, so much the better. I'll welcome them to the party and continue to learn and to teach and have fun in the meantime.


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## Fishbowl Helmet (Jan 12, 2014)

Best of, sir.


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## Tommy Donbavand (Jan 23, 2015)

Jim Johnson said:


> Thanks, Domino. I have you and Chris and others as inspiration.


And now you too, Jim! Good luck. I'll be following closely. Once my writing schedule is a little less cluttered, I want to get a crime trilogy out as quickly as I can - and this seems to be the perfect way to do it. _(Spies the summer with eager eyes...)_

One question: do you have all three books plotted out, or will you be plotting two and three as you go?


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## KevinMcLaughlin (Nov 11, 2010)

Awesome, Jim. This is a really good challenge. I have to say - it's NOT enough to just do one book in 21 days, even if that is a cool target. I'm already shooting for an April 17th-ish release of book 3 in the series I am working on - five weeks, should be plenty of time. What matters most is sustained effort, not bursts. Your challenge is excellent for that!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Tommy Donbavand said:


> And now you too, Jim! Good luck. I'll be following closely. Once my writing schedule is a little less cluttered, I want to get a crime trilogy out as quickly as I can - and this seems to be the perfect way to do it. _(Spies the summer with eager eyes...)_
> 
> One question: do you have all three books plotted out, or will you be plotting two and three as you go?


I read your question before recording today's video, so I added it to my video and responded to it.  If you don't want to watch the video, essentially, I have the skeleton for books 2 and 3 already, but plotting is ongoing as I write book 1 and come up with ideas for subplots that will carry through all three books and which I need to plant in book 1 in order for them to grow by book 3. So lots of interweaving of plots and elements across all three books. Scrivener makes it super easy to flip between books and chapters so that I can structure those three outlines together on the fly.

Day 2 video: (too long; didn't watch--good writing day; three 30 minute writing sprints, wrote a total of 3908 words)








KevinMcLaughlin said:


> Awesome, Jim. This is a really good challenge. I have to say - it's NOT enough to just do one book in 21 days, even if that is a cool target. I'm already shooting for an April 17th-ish release of book 3 in the series I am working on - five weeks, should be plenty of time. What matters most is sustained effort, not bursts. Your challenge is excellent for that!


A novel in 21 days is a fabulous goal and target, much as writing a 50k word novel in November is a great goal and target. And you're right--the more I've studied and learned about best practices in this new world of publishing, for a writer who wants the best shot at good income over the long haul, many regular releases (possibly in multiple genres) is the way to go. Consistent writing over a sustained period of time is the key.

Sorta...do a 21 day novel goal, then do another one, and another one, and so on...


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## Nancy Warren (May 5, 2014)

Best of luck to you, Jim. It's great to be accountable to a public forum. I suspect that will help goose you when you don't feel like writing. I'm going to watch your Scrivener vids, too.

I'm cheering you on.

Nancy


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## jaehaerys (Feb 18, 2016)

Matthew Stott said:


> It seems like a strong seem of humour is often expected, mixed in with the monsters and horror.


Well, I certainly hope that's true having done little market research myself. My WIP is exactly that, a humorous (hopefully to anyone who is not me) first-person monsters/horror. Glad to hear I'm not fighting against reader expectations.

ETA -- Apologies, don't want to threadjack. Jim, I'm certain you're going to rock this challenge. Definitely cheering you on!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Day 3 video is now available. Quick summary--three 30-minute sprints, added 4,358 words to the project for a running total of 9,364 words and just over my 3k a day average. Rock!


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## Veronica Sicoe (Jun 21, 2015)

Jim Johnson said:


> Day 3 video is now available. Quick summary--three 30-minute sprints, added 4,358 words to the project for a running total of 9,364 words and just over my 3k a day average. Rock!


Woohoo!! That's great, Jim! Keep up the awesome work. You can DO it!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Veronica Sicoe said:


> Woohoo!! That's great, Jim! Keep up the awesome work. You can DO it!


Thanks! I'm having fun with it.


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## dragontucker (Jul 18, 2014)

Congrats on your challenge. You are so right when you say "Sometimes it's enough to just show up and write." That is totally true. Get past your first 500 words or so and you are off to the races  Writing 3k words a day is what I am doing right now too. The hardest part by far is just getting started. In fact, I gotta get started now lol. Good luck.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

dragontucker said:


> Congrats on your challenge. You are so right when you say "Sometimes it's enough to just show up and write." That is totally true. Get past your first 500 words or so and you are off to the races  Writing 3k words a day is what I am doing right now too. The hardest part by far is just getting started. In fact, I gotta get started now lol. Good luck.


Thanks, dragontucker! Good luck on hitting your word goal for the day. Happy writing!


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## Mari Oliver (Feb 12, 2016)

@ Jim, I wish you an endless spring of ideas and happy writing! May it all go well. You and Chris and Kevin are inspiring and it's nice to see how possible writing this way is. All it takes it just a bit of training. I'm working on increasing my word count and love reading about all the progress you gentlemen are making.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Vintage Mari said:


> @ Jim, I wish you an endless spring of ideas and happy writing! May it all go well. You and Chris and Kevin are inspiring and it's nice to see how possible writing this way is. All it takes it just a bit of training. I'm working on increasing my word count and love reading about all the progress you gentlemen are making.


Training and practice is really where it's at.  Happy to hear you're getting something out of it. Thanks for the comment!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Day four of the challenge is done; added another 4,216 words to the effort. Great day. Here's the video if you're following along. I got all introspective and inspire-y on this one; must be tired.  Happy writing, all.


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## jaehaerys (Feb 18, 2016)

Jim Johnson said:


> Day four of the challenge is done; added another 4,216 words to the effort. Great day. Here's the video if you're following along. I got all introspective and inspire-y on this one; must be tired.  Happy writing, all.


4216! 

Congrats!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

T76 said:


> Thanks for doing this Jim. It really is inspiring and I am starting to believe I can increase my word count
> 
> I don't write on weekends (kid time), but I am going to go for it on Monday and see if I can double my output (from 1,500 a day to 3,000).


Power to you for glorious word counts!

I wrote four sprints today in between taking care of the sick baby and mommy and cooking and cleaning and all the fun life stuff that pops up. Total of 5885 words for the day. Details in the video.


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## going going gone (Jun 4, 2013)

you're killin' the word counts! WTG, Jim!


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## Craig Martelle (Feb 6, 2016)

Good luck Jim - what a great way to challenge yourself. I look forward to seeing your success.


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## TheLemontree (Sep 12, 2015)

Well done, Jim. And get well vibes to your family. I've spent the day with a feverish one year old on my lap so I can sympathise.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks for the support, folks! It inspires me to keep cranking out the videos to know someone's paying attention. Otherwise the videos would totally fail my WIBBOW test. 

Here's day 6 down the hatch. A busy day with a lot of church stuff and meetings and so forth, but got three sprints in and another 4,169 words.


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## Bbates024 (Nov 3, 2014)

Does it help you to do the thread, in a kind of makes you accountable for your words kind fo way.

Awesome job so far!

I follow Lindsay Buroker on Twitter. She just finished a novel in 8 days.  Now that is just crazy talk. To be fair she did say it was her fastest work ever.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Belated video for Day 7. Three sprints, 4,451 new words.


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## Donna White Glaser (Jan 12, 2011)

This is just amazing, Jim!    Keep on it!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks, Donna! 

Here's the video covering day 8's worth of writing. Another 3742 words, now well past a third of the way through the first book. Onward!


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## TheLemontree (Sep 12, 2015)

I've got your videos on my "to watch next" list. 

Inspiring stuff, Jim. Thanks for sharing.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

TheLemontree said:


> I've got your videos on my "to watch next" list.
> 
> Inspiring stuff, Jim. Thanks for sharing.


Awesome! I'd love to hear what you think once you've watched them. I'm doing them for my accountability as much as to be a useful tool, so if there's something I can do better or differently or something specific you'd like to see discussed or focused on via either Scrivener or outlining and writing, let me know.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Day 9 in hand. Three more sprints, 4178 more words, and lots of outlining talk. Have fun!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Day 10 in the bag. Just another day in the life of a writer who aspires toward the full-time writing life. Three more sprints, 4556 words, three more chapters in the books. Closing in on halfway, way ahead of schedule. Might get this draft done by the 21st, which gives me much more time to edit and finalize the text before heading into post-production.


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## jaehaerys (Feb 18, 2016)

Jim Johnson said:


> Day 10 in the bag. Just another day in the life of a writer who aspires toward the full-time writing life. Three more sprints, 4556 words, three more chapters in the books. Closing in on halfway, way ahead of schedule. Might get this draft done by the 21st, which gives me much more time to edit and finalize the text before heading into post-production.


4500+ words in three 30 minute sprints!  That's amazing! Congrats, at that rate you'll be done in no time. Having fun following your progress - thank you for sharing!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Ken Ward said:


> 4500+ words in three 30 minute sprints!  That's amazing! Congrats, at that rate you'll be done in no time. Having fun following your progress - thank you for sharing!


Thanks for following along! I hope the transparency is useful for folks to know that you *can* write full-time even around a family and baby and a day job and all the other stuff that life entails.


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## Bbates024 (Nov 3, 2014)

Awesome job Jim. just keep plugging away. You got this book in the bag!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Bbates024 said:


> Awesome job Jim. just keep plugging away. You got this book in the bag!


Thanks! I just hope I can sustain the momentum going into books 2 and 3.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Day 11 is done! Three more sprints as usual, another 4,067 word. Just shy of halfway to 90,000 for this manuscript. On we go.






Also, the good folks over at Literary Outlaws interviewed me and posted the results today. If you want to listen to some goofy fun, check it out.


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## jaehaerys (Feb 18, 2016)

Jim Johnson said:


> Thanks for following along! I hope the transparency is useful for folks to know that you *can* write full-time even around a family and baby and a day job and all the other stuff that life entails.


That's definitely inspiring and of course, good to know...thanks again.


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## pdworkman (Jan 17, 2015)

November 1-March 10 - wrote first draft of four novels, coming in at about 400,000 words.

Now planning for Camp Nano...


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Awesome work, congrats! 

I wrote three more sprints today, added another 4326 words to the effort. Well over half-way now! Video will come tomorrow. Baby's sleeping here and I don't want to wake him.


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## Craig Martelle (Feb 6, 2016)

Jim Johnson said:


> I wrote three more sprints today, added another 4326 words to the effort. Well over half-way now! Video will come tomorrow. Baby's sleeping here and I don't want to wake him.


Congratulations on your sustained superior performance! The best I can manage is 1000/words per hour. I justify this to myself by saying that I get to write full time. Since October 4th, I've put nearly 300,000 words down over four books. And thanks to your feedback, I've contacted Tom Edwards and will hopefully be working with him to re-cover my Free Trader series. You are the man, Jim.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Craig Martelle said:


> Congratulations on your sustained superior performance! The best I can manage is 1000/words per hour. I justify this to myself by saying that I get to write full time. Since October 4th, I've put nearly 300,000 words down over four books. And thanks to your feedback, I've contacted Tom Edwards and will hopefully be working with him to re-cover my Free Trader series. You are the man, Jim.


Awesome to hear, Craig! Great job on the writing and I hope the covers come out great!

Also, here's the video for Day 12. Got the sprints done last night but lagged on the video. Gotta stay accountable. Today's video will go up later tonight, once I've written the sprints and put the kiddo down to sleep.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Quick video for day 13. Three more sprints, 3,760 more word. Well past the nano target of 50,000 and closing in on the 2/3rds mark. Good night, all!


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

Awesome Jim, watching closely, keep up the good work.


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## C. A. Mitchell (Aug 6, 2015)

I've just committed to 3k a day/novel a month, so will be using your videos as inspiration  Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.


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## Adair Hart (Jun 12, 2015)

Great stuff, Jim! I've watched a few of your videos so far, and plan to watch the rest in sequence this time.  You've inspired me to up my words per day count. Thanks for documenting your journey and process, it's been enjoyable to watch.

On a side note, video #11, around the ten minute mark, you wondered if Scrivener does the auto correct for words if clicked on PC. I can verify, for me, that it does offer that on right click.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Salvador Mercer said:


> Awesome Jim, watching closely, keep up the good work.


Thanks so much, Salvador!



C. A. Mitchell said:


> I've just committed to 3k a day/novel a month, so will be using your videos as inspiration  Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.


Awesome! Good luck with your challenge! Would love to hear how it goes for you.



Adair Hart said:


> Great stuff, Jim! I've watched a few of your videos so far, and plan to watch the rest in sequence this time.  You've inspired me to up my words per day count. Thanks for documenting your journey and process, it's been enjoyable to watch.
> 
> On a side note, video #11, around the ten minute mark, you wondered if Scrivener does the auto correct for words if clicked on PC. I can verify, for me, that it does offer that on right click.


Adair, great to hear the videos have been useful for you. And thanks for the confirmation about the auto-correct on the PC version. I haven't touched the PC version of Scrivener in over a month, and the more I work with the Mac version, the harder it is to remember the differences...


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Day 14 video and update. Three more sprints, 4093 words. Onward to today's effort.


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## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

Nice, Jim. Way to stay consistent. Keep it up, man =D


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks, Chris! Steady as it goes.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

The Ides of March had nothing on me. I stabbed three sprints and gutted out 4429 words. Onward to tomorrow.


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## ShariLTapscott (Sep 18, 2015)

I love the idea of writing sprints! Love to see your progress!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

ShariLTapscott said:


> I love the idea of writing sprints! Love to see your progress!


I think I mentioned somewhere in one of the videos (and if I didn't I should have) that using an Alphasmart Neo and learning how to write in 30-minute sprints are the two biggest pieces that contributed to my word rate. I joined the Codex writer's group some 10 years ago and a bunch of folks there get together for word wars online, where someone says go and everyone writes for 30 minutes, non-stop, and then chats about the results.

I joined in a few times and was flat stunned at my progress. Kept doing it, kept practicing, and now it's pretty much second nature. If I have some sort of outline and a block of open time, I know I can sit down, hit the timer, and flip the internal switch to writing. Very useful tool.

If you haven't tried writing in sprints before, I'd say try it out a couple times. Might work, might not, but it's fun to experiment and stretch.


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## abonje (Jan 12, 2013)

Excited about your challenge, Jim!

You're doing a great job!

Why has the Alphasmart Neo been a big help to your writing?
Is it because it lacks a web browser (no distraction)?
Also, are you currently part of a writer's group?

And curious as to why you decided to opt for your standalone challenge vs joining the thousand words a day club, for example.

Keep it going - loving your progress!



Jim Johnson said:


> I think I mentioned somewhere in one of the videos (and if I didn't I should have) that using an Alphasmart Neo and learning how to write in 30-minute sprints are the two biggest pieces that contributed to my word rate. I joined the Codex writer's group some 10 years ago and a bunch of folks there get together for word wars online, where someone says go and everyone writes for 30 minutes, non-stop, and then chats about the results.
> 
> I joined in a few times and was flat stunned at my progress. Kept doing it, kept practicing, and now it's pretty much second nature. If I have some sort of outline and a block of open time, I know I can sit down, hit the timer, and flip the internal switch to writing. Very useful tool.
> 
> If you haven't tried writing in sprints before, I'd say try it out a couple times. Might work, might not, but it's fun to experiment and stretch.


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## abonje (Jan 12, 2013)

Love this, Jim!



Jim Johnson said:


> Yeah, it doesn't take luck to show up at the keyboard every day and write--that's just discipline. Where we all need Lady Luck's help is after the book is published and it's out there in front of the world.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

abonje, I'll take them in order:

*Why has the Alphasmart Neo been a big help to your writing?*

1) It has no internet, no games, no distractions, no nothin' other than the ability to collect words.
2) It's about the same weight as a regular computer keyboard so it's super-portable
3) Battery life is off the wall--I've had this thing for over 11 years and it has never run out of juice mid-writing session. I don't think I've ever seen the battery level go below 40% (it charges when it's plugged into the USB when I'm transferring files, which largely 'tops off' the battery. Just super duper battery life which ties into 2) above--no power cord contributes to the portability.
4) It's a full size keyboard and I have big hands. Many of the little writing keyboard accessories for other portable devices are too small and hard to use.

So all that pretty much contributes to how awesome the Neo is.

*Also, are you currently part of a writer's group?*

You mean, like an in-person group? No, no time for one. I'm on a couple online discussion forums, (SFWA, Codex, here) and that's about it. There are a couple writers' groups I've been part of in the past, but I've pretty much outgrown the need for incremental feedback and just don't have the time to crit other folks' work if I want to have any hope of writing and publishing my own work. It's a sacrifice I had to make, along with most television and most video games. Making the choices that will give me more time to do what I really want to do, and that's writing and publishing.

*And curious as to why you decided to opt for your standalone challenge vs joining the thousand words a day club, for example.*

I'm contributing to the 1000 a day club, mostly cause this 3 month challenge doubles up that effort.  I spent Jan and Feb this year not writing new prose but doing a lot of writing-related business stuff and outlining and figuring out my direction. I'll probably try to do the 1,000 word a day challenge from now to the rest of the year, but I need to make sure I have more projects lined up so that when these three books are out, I have something in place to jump to next to keep the words going. Should be doable--I have five P&P novellas outlined and ready to go, and I'm writing and publishing those mostly for the love now.


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## G. G. Rebimik (Sep 4, 2015)

Jim, slow down!  What is the rush?  


g.g.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

G. G. Rebimik said:


> Jim, slow down! What is the rush?


Simple math, really. More books written = more books available = larger backlist = more potential entry points for readers = more potential sales and dollars.

Also, every day I wake up I'm somehow a day older. I feel plenty young at 46, esp with a newborn, but time waits for no writer. 

tl;dr C.R.E.A.M., dolla dolla bill y'all.


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

Jim Johnson said:


> Simple math, really. More books written = more books available = larger backlist = more potential entry points for readers = more potential sales and dollars.
> 
> Also, every day I wake up I'm somehow a day older. I feel plenty young at 46, esp with a newborn, but time waits for no writer.
> 
> tl;dr C.R.E.A.M., dolla dolla bill y'all.


Haha!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Day 16 in the can. Three more sprints, 4522 words, chugging right along toward the end of the book, less than a week away. *white guy dance*


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

And Day 17 is complete. Three more sprints, another 3811 words, close to 70,000 words in 17 days. In the home stretch now; the draft should be done on Tuesday. Whee!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Day 18 done, 4210 more words. Also some random musings as we close in on the end of the draft. Have a good weekend, everyone!


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## Craig Martelle (Feb 6, 2016)

Jim Johnson said:


> Day 18 done, 4210 more words. Also some random musings as we close in on the end of the draft. Have a good weekend, everyone!


Another great run - well done, Jim! I hope you find your first draft easy to edit and when you publish it, a winner with your readers You have a great weekend, too.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Long day of non-writing stuff, but still showed up and got one writing sprint in for 1,657 words. Good progress.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Baby's having a meltdown in the other room, so I'll save the video for another night. In the meantime, two more sprints tonight, 2455 words, closing in on the end. Seven chapters left to write, so I'm looking at being done with the draft on Wednesday. Fun times!

Hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was crazy busy, but I still managed to show up and write for a little while. Incremental progress is still progress.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Will update videos tomorrow. One more sprint today, one more chapter done, 1571 words in. Closer and closer....


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## geronl (May 7, 2015)

3 novels in 3 months would be an insane goal for most of us.


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## TheLemontree (Sep 12, 2015)

Well done on the progress. 

And snuggly hugs for baby, too.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

TheLemontree said:


> Well done on the progress.
> 
> And snuggly hugs for baby, too.


Thanks. He's six months old today and is either starting to enjoy the mysteries of night terrors, or (more likely) starting to cut in some teeth. Oh the joys of parenting that none of the pre-natal baby classes told us about.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Belated video for day 20 to keep me honest. Day 21 on the way presently.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

And Day 21 in the books. Another sprint yesterday for 1571 words. Almost at 80,000 words, and just a few more chapters to write. Onward!


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## Andrew Broderick (Aug 6, 2014)

I'm late to this party but my reactions are: good grief! And good luck! in that order. I admire anyone who can pump out quality work that fast. I can't.


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## TheLemontree (Sep 12, 2015)

Jim Johnson said:


> Thanks. He's six months old today and is either starting to enjoy the mysteries of night terrors, or (more likely) starting to cut in some teeth. Oh the joys of parenting that none of the pre-natal baby classes told us about.


Oh teeth. Teeth suck. My sympathies to you guys and for him, too, poor baby.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Andrew Broderick said:


> I'm late to this party but my reactions are: good grief! And good luck! in that order. I admire anyone who can pump out quality work that fast. I can't.


Hah, I can't speak to the quality of the words; just that there are a bunch of them. If, once the books are published, I get some sales, I'll let the readers tell me if they're any good or not.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Day 22. Another sprint, another chapter written, another 1632 words. Long day, so I'll cut it short here. Not the best day ever, but hey, I showed up and got some good writing in. I call that a success.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Jeff Tanyard said:


> It's a first draft. It's permitted to suck.
> 
> I wrote a first draft last month. 58k words in 24 days. By the time I reached the end, I was laughing out loud because of how bad it was. But I'm cool with that. The whole purpose of the first draft, for me, is just to get a skeleton of a story down on the page. The revision cycles are where the magic happens.
> 
> Anyway, thanks again for this thread, Jim, and good luck managing the baby. I'm sure it's a challenge.


Between Holly Lisle encouraging me in her workshops to write suckitudinously and Dean and Kris telling me in their workshops to dare to be bad, I got the permission to suck pretty well hammered in to me. The stuff I wrote as a raw newbie sucked to high heaven. The more I wrote and the more I practiced, the less sucky the words got. Or something. I still write fearlessly forward and try real hard to not worry about sucking too much. I tell myself I'm a writer, not a critic, and leave the judgements to others.

I do love editing. That's where I can stare at the writing with a fresh eye and wonder how I managed to write in that flow-fugue state and wonder where my brain was at. Because it goes into some dark places when I'm in that weird twilight place and the words are just flowing.

You don't know half of the challenge, but I really do appreciate the good words. Maybe once the draft is done I'll do a summary video and explanation of some of the life stuff going on in the background while I'm banging away at the keyboard. Nothing bad, just life, but I have to admit that I look at this list of videos and look at the last three weeks of life stuff and wonder how the hell I managed to get so much done. Wanting a thing badly enough to fight for the time is a big piece of it, I'm sure.


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## Bbates024 (Nov 3, 2014)

I totally believe the re-write is where books start to shine!

Here is a fun quote from one of the masters Michael Crichton

“Books aren't written - they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't quite done it.”

Every re-write tends to make it better for me. I've had to tell myself to stop doing it and just get the dang thing out already!


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## Book Cat (Jan 3, 2016)

Glad to see you are still going strong!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Day 23 complete. Got another sprint in for 1525 words. Also finally updated my chapter descriptions, so the end is very much in sight with a clear path forward.


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## Craig Martelle (Feb 6, 2016)

Jim Johnson said:


> Between Holly Lisle encouraging me in her workshops to write suckitudinously and Dean and Kris telling me in their workshops to dare to be bad, I got the permission to suck pretty well hammered in to me. The stuff I wrote as a raw newbie sucked to high heaven. The more I wrote and the more I practiced, the less sucky the words got. Or something. I still write fearlessly forward and try real hard to not worry about sucking too much. I tell myself I'm a writer, not a critic, and leave the judgements to others.
> 
> Wanting a thing badly enough to fight for the time is a big piece of it, I'm sure.


I can't imagine a first draft that doesn't suck. It's okay - that's not the one that defines you. It's your last draft, when you say that's good enough, that shows who you are.

You are published. You've achieved what many people say they are going to do, but can never get to. And you've limited your time away from your family. Writing 1500 words in a half hour is an incredible production rate. What do you expect for your editing speed? In any case, you've allocated the greatest portion of your time to your family and they will always be there, regardless if your book gets pushed back to next week or next month before it goes live.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Craig Martelle said:


> I can't imagine a first draft that doesn't suck. It's okay - that's not the one that defines you. It's your last draft, when you say that's good enough, that shows who you are.
> 
> You are published. You've achieved what many people say they are going to do, but can never get to. And you've limited your time away from your family. Writing 1500 words in a half hour is an incredible production rate. What do you expect for your editing speed? In any case, you've allocated the greatest portion of your time to your family and they will always be there, regardless if your book gets pushed back to next week or next month before it goes live.


Great stuff, thanks! As for editing speed, not sure. I've never actually tracked it. I just sit down and start editing and revising. I may try applying the sprint idea to editing on this book and see how that goes. Thanks for the spark!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Day 24 done; another sprint for 1568 words, and talked about outlining and using a timeline to help outline.


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## pdworkman (Jan 17, 2015)

First drafts don't have to suck. That doesn't mean that there is something wrong with your first draft if it does suck, at least you have something to start with. But a first draft can be pretty clean and awesome too!


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## C. A. Mitchell (Aug 6, 2015)

pdworkman said:


> First drafts don't have to suck. That doesn't mean that there is something wrong with your first draft if it does suck, at least you have something to start with. But a first draft can be pretty clean and awesome too!


Sucky first drafts stress me out! And I cannot stand rewriting - drafting and polishing are great fun, but that horrible middle stage drains the life out of me. That's why I now try to write as clean as poss on the first round.

Congrats on making it to 80k, Jim! I've been watching your videos and am in awe of your sprint speeds


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## batmansero (Oct 10, 2014)

The more you write and proofread later and learn from your mistakes the better your next first draft will be. Right?


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

batmansero said:


> The more you write and proofread later and learn from your mistakes the better your next first draft will be. Right?


Absolutely. Consistent writing practice and willingness to continue learning make basic errors go away. You'll make all-new mistakes, granted, as you level up as a writer, but those too get smoothed out over time and practice. There's always something new to learn or some technique that can be honed.

And yes, definitely, the more I write the cleaner my first drafts get. There's still some sucky elements in them, but nothing that can't be fixed with a little editing polish and revision.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

C. A. Mitchell said:


> Sucky first drafts stress me out! And I cannot stand rewriting - drafting and polishing are great fun, but that horrible middle stage drains the life out of me. That's why I now try to write as clean as poss on the first round.
> 
> Congrats on making it to 80k, Jim! I've been watching your videos and am in awe of your sprint speeds


Thanks so much for the support! Glad to hear folks are watching. 

I agree about the lack of love for rewriting--I used to do several drafts of novels and hated every moment of the process--I had written the thing already and knew the story, why would I want to write it *again*? So I've worked hard to make the draft the 90% solution and bring the remaining 10% home on the revision process. One draft + revisions is much better for how I work.


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## Matthew Stott (Oct 22, 2014)

Jim Johnson said:


> I agree about the lack of love for rewriting--I used to do several drafts of novels and hated every moment of the process--I had written the thing already and knew the story, why would I want to write it *again*? So I've worked hard to make the draft the 90% solution and bring the remaining 10% home on the revision process. One draft + revisions is much better for how I work.


Oh, I like the rewriting process, for me it's where you can really develop and explore what you have. I plan and beat out the story, but things always develop and change much more once I have the initial words down.


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## Craig Martelle (Feb 6, 2016)

Jim Johnson said:


> I agree about the lack of love for rewriting--I used to do several drafts of novels and hated every moment of the process--I had written the thing already and knew the story, why would I want to write it *again*? So I've worked hard to make the draft the 90% solution and bring the remaining 10% home on the revision process. One draft + revisions is much better for how I work.


I like reading the clean final version, but found that my first draft is at least a 90% solution. Even if it were 98%, it would still annoy me to find typos or missing words or lack of verb agreement. I feel like I'm narrating to myself and typing better than that. My backspace key is overused, unfortunately. That's probably the greatest impact to my typing speed...


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## Mari Oliver (Feb 12, 2016)

Jim Johnson said:


> Thanks so much for the support! Glad to hear folks are watching.
> 
> I agree about the lack of love for rewriting--I used to do several drafts of novels and hated every moment of the process--I had written the thing already and knew the story, why would I want to write it *again*? So I've worked hard to make the draft the 90% solution and bring the remaining 10% home on the revision process. One draft + revisions is much better for how I work.


Same here. I refuse to rewrite and also try to get things right the first go around. Sometimes this means cutting out entire chapters (just took out 4 chapters in my WIP but redrafting those is going much smoother). It's possible to train yourself to write one draft cleanly. And it all begins with doing what you're doing, Jim, which is sticking with it day after day. Good work.


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## Matthew Stott (Oct 22, 2014)

Vintage Mari said:


> Same here. I refuse to rewrite and also try to get things right the first go around. Sometimes this means cutting out entire chapters (just took out 4 chapters in my WIP but redrafting those is going much smoother). It's possible to train yourself to write one draft cleanly. And it all begins with doing what you're doing, Jim, which is sticking with it day after day. Good work.


So you do rewrite in a way, it's just you rewrite whilst you're doing the first draft, it sounds like. So by the time you get to the end, you've kind of dealt with any need to go back and fiddle.

I think if you put in a heck of a lot of work in the beats process, I mean really develop you're ideas, change them, develop better ones, before you start the draft, then you COULD lessen the need for rewrites. If you don't, then the draft could be 'clean', but it might also mean a lot of the ideas are, more or less, the first thing you thought of, and having too many 'first thing you thought of' ideas, in my case at least, could lead to a lesser finished piece.

PLEASE NOTE THE 'in my case at least' in that last sentence.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Day 25, a HUGE day for me. Got in one long writing sprint of 45 minutes, 1941 words, and finished the last chapter of the draft. I went through and cleaned up the other chapters, and so I'm calling this first draft COMPLETE. 84k words and change in 25 days, just over 30 hours of actual writing time, 25 videos. I feel super accomplished.

Tomorrow starts the editing process with the first read-through, and then onward to the nuts and bolts of editing and revision. I'll video-document that just as I did the writing of the draft, as I work toward the 3 novels in 3 months challenge.

(Also, to keep the writing flow going, I'm going to dust off the outline for P&P #4 and start writing it tomorrow, maybe just 1-2 sprints a day so that I'm both writing and editing in the same day).

Also, today was the last day at my current employer. I'll have a week off, then I start a new job on April 4. I've been job searching for about six months and accepted an offer a few weeks ago, so I knew this day was coming (though I didn't expect to finish the draft on the same day). Two major milestones to celebrate today. Happy happy.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Thanks for following along on this crazy journey.


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## CM Raymond (Jun 28, 2015)

Jim Johnson said:


> Day 25, a HUGE day for me. Got in one long writing sprint of 45 minutes, 1941 words, and finished the last chapter of the draft. I went through and cleaned up the other chapters, and so I'm calling this first draft COMPLETE. 84k words and change in 25 days, just over 30 hours of actual writing time, 25 videos. I feel super accomplished.
> 
> Tomorrow starts the editing process with the first read-through, and then onward to the nuts and bolts of editing and revision. I'll video-document that just as I did the writing of the draft, as I work toward the 3 novels in 3 months challenge.
> 
> ...


Amazing work, Jim. It's been amazing to watch and check out some if the Vida along the way!

Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk


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## Craig Martelle (Feb 6, 2016)

Jim Johnson said:


> Tomorrow starts the editing process with the first read-through, and then onward to the nuts and bolts of editing and revision. I'll video-document that just as I did the writing of the draft, as I work toward the 3 novels in 3 months challenge.
> 
> (Also, to keep the writing flow going, I'm going to dust off the outline for P&P #4 and start writing it tomorrow, maybe just 1-2 sprints a day so that I'm both writing and editing in the same day).
> 
> Also, today was the last day at my current employer. I'll have a week off, then I start a new job on April 4. I've been job searching for about six months and accepted an offer a few weeks ago, so I knew this day was coming (though I didn't expect to finish the draft on the same day). Two major milestones to celebrate today. Happy happy.


Congratulations Jim on your accomplishments. Good luck at the new job. Make them happy that they hired you.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks, folks! Craig--I'll endeavor to do so. 

No video tonight--I'll do it tomorrow AM or afternoon and catch up. For now, I wrote 1334 words on a short story that I'll use as a reader magnet or freebie to mailing list peoples once the series is released, and read the first five chapters of the manuscript and jotted down a few notes. Reading will continue tomorrow, and then editing begins in earnest on Monday.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Quick video to cover Saturday's progress. Nothing huge, but steps forward. Hope you're having a great weekend and Happy Easter! Video for today coming later tonight.


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## juliatheswede (Mar 26, 2014)

Hey Jim!

I tried to watch your video, but I can barely hear you!. I checked the sound on my computer, and it doesn't seem the problem is that. Any one else have problems hearing the video?


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

juliatheswede said:


> Hey Jim!
> 
> I tried to watch your video, but I can barely hear you!. I checked the sound on my computer, and it doesn't seem the problem is that. Any one else have problems hearing the video?


I had to jack the volume up on my speakers to hear it. I need to get a microphone it seems. I'll keep working on the tech end--it's been WIBBOW so far. But, I got invited to a podcast for later in the week so I better get on top of that, lol.

Can you hear me if you turn up the volume a lot? Sorry about that--I'll endeavor to do better!


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## mach 5 (Dec 5, 2015)

Jim, 

I think you also need to be aware, when you are recording, what your speaker level is set as. Seems odd - but if you have your sound off (something I frequently do so I don't disturb others in my household since I go to bed later), your built in microphone will pick up next to nothing on some computers.


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## juliatheswede (Mar 26, 2014)

Jim Johnson said:


> I had to jack the volume up on my speakers to hear it. I need to get a microphone it seems. I'll keep working on the tech end--it's been WIBBOW so far. But, I got invited to a podcast for later in the week so I better get on top of that, lol.
> 
> Can you hear me if you turn up the volume a lot? Sorry about that--I'll endeavor to do better!


I just tried a youtube video using the same settings on my computer as when I tried to watch your video. The sound is loud and clear on the youtube video, so it does seem to be an issue with your video (the way it's recorded, I presume).


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

juliatheswede said:


> I just tried a youtube video using the same settings on my computer as when I tried to watch your video. The sound is loud and clear on the youtube video, so it does seem to be an issue with your video (the way it's recorded, I presume).


Gotcha. Probably a problem on my end, then. My 6-month old sleeps in the room just down the tiny hall from me, and I didn't want to talk too loud and risk waking him. I'll see if I can talk louder next time, or maybe just change my video schedule to do it during the day rather than at night. 

Thanks for the feedback! Off to Amazon to buy a set of headphones and a mike.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Ok, did a little experimenting with a headset and my volume control. I think I fixed the volume issue, so give the quick Day 27 update a listen and let me know if I still need to tweak it.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

And here's the update for Day 28. Lots of talk on cover art and the backstage stuff, and also the outlining coming along. Happy Tuesday, folks!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Can't get to the video until tomorrow, but great progress today. Finished the read-through and figured out how to fix a few continuity issues, and have to write four chapters to fill in some blanks that cropped up during the read.

Also finalized my cover art request for the three books and sent that off to the cover artist. I'll post the final version of the cover art request at some point, probably once I have the final art in hand and use that as a new thread topic starter to discuss how a book cover (series covers) come together from concept to final product.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Vid for Day 29. Engine is chugging along. Onward to today's work!


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## Benjamin Douglas (Aug 1, 2015)

JIM, you're killing it! Way to keep your nose to the grind, man. I'm really looking forward to hearing you on the SP Roundtable tomorrow:

http://selfpublishingroundtable.com/this-weeks-show/



C. A. Mitchell said:


> I've just committed to 3k a day/novel a month, so will be using your videos as inspiration  Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.


C.A., I'm pretty sure we're March-April 30-day challenge buddies  We should start a club. Wait, wait. Is there already a club? Did you guys not invite me?

... are there t-shirts?


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Benjamin Douglas said:


> JIM, you're killing it! Way to keep your nose to the grind, man. I'm really looking forward to hearing you on the SP Roundtable tomorrow:
> 
> http://selfpublishingroundtable.com/this-weeks-show/
> 
> ...


I'm looking forward to the Roundtable tomorrow; should be fun!

Here's a t-shirt worth wearing: https://teechip.com/literaryoutlaws I'll have mine on tomorrow for the roundtable.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Video for day 30; nearing the end of one month. I'm surprised I've kept at it but having fun. Moving toward starting book 2 and editing book 1 at the same time. Things are rolling right along. Just another day in the life of a full-time-focused writer.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Video update for day 31 is up. First month down; two to go! One novel drafted, so now beings the real work of writing one while also editing a second. Fun times ahead.


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## batmansero (Oct 10, 2014)

Thanks again for being on the podcast, Jim.

For those who want to see the show notes or get the audio download, click here: http://selfpublishingroundtable.com/sprt-137-pulp-speed-how-to-write-it-maintain-it-and-achieve-warp-10-with-jim-johnson-and-ivy-sinclair/


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks for having me! I had a great time and I think you did a great job pairing me up with Ivy. She's like a craft sister I didn't know I had.


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## juliatheswede (Mar 26, 2014)

Just wanted to chime in and say good job, Jim, staying on schedule! I can hear you loud and clear now


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

juliatheswede said:


> Just wanted to chime in and say good job, Jim, staying on schedule! I can hear you loud and clear now


Awesome, I'm so glad. I figured out that I had knocked the volume way down when recording cause I'd get this weird reverb because my voice would come through the speakers, so the microphone was picking up my voice twice and there was like a tiny delay between the two. Anyway. Glad the fix worked and that you can hear me. One more thing I can cross off the list.


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## Cege Smith (Dec 11, 2011)

Jim Johnson said:


> Thanks for having me! I had a great time and I think you did a great job pairing me up with Ivy. She's like a craft sister I didn't know I had.


I have been called many things, but this will definitely go down as one of my favorites. 
Keep rockin' it, Jim!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Rodeo Host said:


> I have been called many things, but this will definitely go down as one of my favorites.
> Keep rockin' it, Jim!


Hey, I didn't know you were here! Awesome. You keep rocking it too. I sat through that whole podcast thinking 'this is awesome, I've got levels to climb yet before I'm at her level'. Keeps me motivated.


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## Benjamin Douglas (Aug 1, 2015)

Jim Johnson said:


> Hey, I didn't know you were here! Awesome. You keep rocking it too. I sat through that whole podcast thinking 'this is awesome, I've got levels to climb yet before I'm at her level'. Keeps me motivated.


I was motivated by both of you! Good show. Also, Jim, I picked up my secret (whisper whisper whisper) free promo. Looking forward to enjoying it--


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## Mari Oliver (Feb 12, 2016)

Congratulations, Jim! Wow you're really doing it! AND with a baby. Btw your podcast with Rodeo Host et al was great. Thank you all for being such an inspiration and showing us how possible it is to really do this writing thing even with life to take care of.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Benjamin Douglas said:


> I was motivated by both of you! Good show. Also, Jim, I picked up my secret (whisper whisper whisper) free promo. Looking forward to enjoying it--


Cool! Hope you enjoy the read!



Vintage Mari said:


> Congratulations, Jim! Wow you're really doing it! AND with a baby. Btw your podcast with Rodeo Host et al was great. Thank you all for being such an inspiration and showing us how possible it is to really do this writing thing even with life to take care of.


Thanks for the kind words! It really is possible--I have to emphasize that I know I'm fortunate to have a supportive spouse. We do good sharing the baby-raising duties, and I'm also super-fortunate that his bed time is early enough that I can still get my writing in during the evening between his bed time and my bed time.  Whatever works to get to the keyboard.

Anyway, here's the day 32 video. First day in the challenge so far that I felt pretty unproductive, but little progress is better than no progress. And Weight Watchers told me I lost 3.2 pounds this week at my weigh-in, so that doesn't suck. Onward to a new day. Happy writing, everyone!


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## Bbates024 (Nov 3, 2014)

It's so exciting that the first one is done. Great job Jim. Keep it up man.

I'm going to try something crazy thing nextish month maybe later this month depending on how my next Legacy novel goes. I'm going to start a new SyFy series and I'm going to try and get 2 books done in May, and a third in June maybe a fourth if I'm blessed. Then I'm going to try and Launch like Michael Anderle, and get 3-5 books in a 3 month period, from the first launch.

For book one I'm going to do a 2-month preorder at .99 and try the Hungry Authors thing. So hopefully it wil launch with some reviews and a tiny bit of hype. Then I'm planning on a three-week schedule for each additional book through at least three and then a month between after that.

Haha ambitious yes, possible yes. I guess we will see how it goes.

I can't wait for your first book to come out buddy it's going to be awesome.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks for the vote of confidence! It'll be interesting to see how it goes.

And good luck on your new projects! Sounds like a lot of fun.


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## Bbates024 (Nov 3, 2014)

I just watched your interview as well. Pretty good stuff.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks so much! I had a blast.

And going back to what you said about being awesome, even if it's not and I fall flat on my face with the UF trilogy, I'll use it as a learning experience, discuss it in the videos, and then apply that learning to the next series I write.


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## Cege Smith (Dec 11, 2011)

Congrats on the weight-loss, Jim! That's progress for the day, even if it's not as much as you want on the writing front. I haven't written a new word in two days. Have to plug back into it tomorrow. I feel ornery about it as well, so I totally feel you.

Good luck with the editing on Book 1. I'll be interested to hear your progress through the month as you start balancing both sides of the equation.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Rodeo Host said:


> Congrats on the weight-loss, Jim! That's progress for the day, even if it's not as much as you want on the writing front. I haven't written a new word in two days. Have to plug back into it tomorrow. I feel ornery about it as well, so I totally feel you.
> 
> Good luck with the editing on Book 1. I'll be interested to hear your progress through the month as you start balancing both sides of the equation.


Thanks, it'll be interesting to see if I can reliably edit while also writing. I think I'll try experimenting with 30-minute editing sprints. They work so well for writing, why not try sprint editing? I wonder if I've programmed my brain to be hyper-productive in that 30 minute block that I'd be better served to use sprints for editing. Have to experiment...

Good luck getting back to the keyboard. It's surprising how anxious I feel to get back to it. It's a weird addiction.


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## geronl (May 7, 2015)

awesome

but I am way too slow to join that club


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Floyd, I'd say many of the members aren't writing at pulp speed. Some want to and are working toward it, and others are members to learn and to be inspired. We take pretty much anyone interested.


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## geronl (May 7, 2015)

My WIP is at about 34.5k right now. I hope to reach 50k before I end it. I think there is definitely a second book in the story too.

I would like to finish the first rough draft in a couple weeks at most. That is about my speed, when I can apply myself.


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## Craig Martelle (Feb 6, 2016)

Jim Johnson said:


> Floyd, I'd say many of the members aren't writing at pulp speed. Some want to and are working toward it, and others are members to learn and to be inspired. We take pretty much anyone interested.


I average about 3k words a day, but I write full time (what? You don't have a real job?) The group has a speed element to it, but I see it as more about focus - focus your efforts to maximize those things that will deliver for you, like avoiding major rewrites, an eye-popping first page, and those kinds of things. If you invest three months of your life writing a book, you don't want a miscue on the first page to kill sales and your dream of being a writer. Beta readers, marketing advice, targeted markets, keywords, et al. The forum discusses the things that are important, whether you're a production monster like Jim Johnson or an average joe like me.

Quality work done in decent quantity will get you loyal readership where your sales will grow with each new work.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Fear not, true believers! Double video's up for this weekend, covering Day 33 and 34 of the challenge. Crazy weekend and I cover it all in the video. A good reminder that even if you have one of 'those' weekends, you can still get some progress and move forward. Just another day in the life. Hope you had a good weekend. Catch you next time.


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## Goulburn (May 21, 2014)

I've just watched your weekend video. Excellent. You have a great speaking voice and give clear information. 
Happy April and writing to you too.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks, Ryn! Really appreciate the good words.

May not get to a video til tomorrow. Started the new job today and it went well. During dinner between work and hanging at my friend's place for games I got the first writing sprint done for book 2, 1202 words. Onward!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Video for Monday, day 35. First sprint for book 2 done. Onward!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Haven't gotten a chance to do a video yet, but a sprint yesterday for 1427 words and another one today at 1482. Slow progress, but progress. Book 2 starts to take shape. Hope to have time to do a video update tomorrow. In the meantime, the little engine chugs away.


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## Bbates024 (Nov 3, 2014)

Dang Jim you keep chugging along. I have 3k words done today, and might be able to add another thousand or two before bed, maybe. I gotta try and get this story down quick, so I can start work on my new series. Had a real off week so far, my wife's grandma died and well things haven't been normal around the house. She is feeling better now and I can probably squeeze in some writing this weekend. (ok I'll be doing a lot this weekend)

Seeing you continue writing every day and having one book done already is just awesome.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Bbates024 said:


> Dang Jim you keep chugging along. I have 3k words done today, and might be able to add another thousand or two before bed, maybe. I gotta try and get this story down quick, so I can start work on my new series. Had a real off week so far, my wife's grandma died and well things haven't been normal around the house. She is feeling better now and I can probably squeeze in some writing this weekend. (ok I'll be doing a lot this weekend)
> 
> Seeing you continue writing every day and having one book done already is just awesome.


Thanks for the good words! I'm a little frustrated that I'm not getting more done, but I have to remind myself that any progress is progress. 

Sorry to hear about your family's loss. Peace and blessings to you and yours.


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## anotherpage (Apr 4, 2012)

I do 3 novels a month. Lots of words. It requires serious attention. But good on you for going at it.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Video update for days 36 and 37. Working toward getting today's sprints in. Onward!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Day 38 update, got another sprint in and did the dreaded math, and saw how far behind I am. Uh oh! Time to step it up.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Haven't had a chance to do a video yet, crazy days, but two sprints on Friday, and two more yesterday. Moving toward full speed again. Should get three sprints in today. Video when I get a chance. Have a great Sunday, all!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Quick video for days 39 and 40. Four total sprints over those two days, nearly 6,000 words. Onward to today and the sprints. I feel like I'm nickel and diming the novel, but the word count is slowly increasing.


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## Craig Martelle (Feb 6, 2016)

Jim Johnson said:


> Quick video for days 39 and 40. Four total sprints over those two days, nearly 6,000 words. Onward to today and the sprints. I feel like I'm nickel and diming the novel, but the word count is slowly increasing.


Nickels and dimes add up to dollars. Way to keep moving forward Jim!


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## schweinsty (Jul 14, 2014)

Jim Johnson said:


> Quick video for days 39 and 40. Four total sprints over those two days, nearly 6,000 words. Onward to today and the sprints. I feel like I'm nickel and diming the novel, but the word count is slowly increasing.


Watching your sprints add up to all these words is really inspiring. You're doing a great job!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Craig Martelle said:


> Nickels and dimes add up to dollars.


Great quote. That's going up on my screen. 



schweinsty said:


> Watching your sprints add up to all these words is really inspiring. You're doing a great job!


Thanks! Really appreciate the support.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

For now, back on track with the writing and the videos. Day 41 in the bag. Three sprints today, over 4000 words. Feels good!


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## Andrew Broderick (Aug 6, 2014)

Jim,

Forgive me if you've answered this somewhere else, like one of your videos. If so, just point me to it. 

My question is: how detailed is your outline in order to crank out words at that speed? If it's highly detailed, a) how long do you spend on creating it, and b) what happens when your work has a life of its own and wants to deviate from the outline? Do you then have to re-outline to propagate the changes from that point until the end?

Thanks


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Andrew Broderick said:


> Jim,
> 
> Forgive me if you've answered this somewhere else, like one of your videos. If so, just point me to it.
> 
> ...


Hi Andrew, I think I talked about it in one of my 



 (yeeesh, it was like an hour long, oops) and I also talk about my outlining process here.

tl; dr--I try to create an outline that consists of a sentence or two per scene/chapter. Specific enough so that I know what has to happen in that scene but general enough that I can discover stuff along the way. I don't spend as much time as I'd like on outlining before I start writing the draft, which means I usually end up going back and revising the scene/chapter summary after I've written the draft. The second link up there goes into that, if you look at the sample outline graphic near the end.

My work tends not to deviate so far that I have to restructure the outline; it's usually little tweaks here and there, or maybe something cool will come up in a scene that I didn't expect and I'll build on that in later chapters. My outlines are more guideposts to keep me on track than a rigid railroad, I guess.

Hope that helps!

As for yesterday, video to come tonight sometime, but added another sprint for 1500+ words. Had intended to get more done, but got caught up in other business planning and work and lost track of the time.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Video for yesterday, Day 42 of the writing challenge. Closing in on the halfway point of the challenge. Book 2 is coming along though I know I'm a bit behind. Moving forward fearlessly.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Video for Tuesday, Day 43 of the challenge. Almost halfway! One sprint and some outlining and reorg of chapters. This might be the last video for the week as I'll be on travel, but I'll keep updating this thread and blog as I'm able. Have a great week, all.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Finally able to update this thread. No video since I didn't have the means to record one while out of town. I managed another five sprints over the trip, not as much as I'd wanted, but progress all the same. Added another ~7600 words to the manuscript. This brings me to about 1/3 of the way through book 2, so I'm still a little behind schedule to get this book done by 4/30.

1683 on Thurs, 4733 on Fri, and 1254 on Saturday. Weds and Sun were both washes--no work done other than mental reps on outlining and planning (which is in itself useful time spent).

Probably resume videos tomorrow, but in the meantime, this trip was a reminder that it's still possible to put words in with discipline and dedication.


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## Denise Lewis (Dec 31, 2015)

You are truly kickin' it!! What an inspiration you are!

I tried to get back into using Scrivener, after watching your video's, but it still just doesn't trip my trigger. I want it to, but... Maybe some day. 

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I am still cheering you on - minus the tattered cheer uniform. That was a lesson learned! My poor back is still sore.

Once May 13th gets here (the last day of school), I plan on doing a challenge of my own. Right now, I watch my granddaughter every day while my daughter is teaching at school. I swear my brain has reverted back to toddler stage. I sit down each night and try to get some writing done, but "the itsy, bitsy spider" usually shows up somewhere in it and I have to scrap the whole thing. (sigh)


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks, Denise! I appreciate the support.

I hope your own challenge goes well and that you tell us all about it. 

Anything in particular about Scrivener that isn't clicking for you? Anything you'd like to see that might help sway you one way or the other?


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## Denise Lewis (Dec 31, 2015)

You know, I just can't put my finger on what it is that I have an issue with. I think mostly, it's just the fact that I need to stick with it. I'll get my novel and notes moved over to it, and really fall in love with how I can store my notes separately in their own little area's. And then I will forget where I put a specific note I'm looking for. So, I'm guessing it's kind of like moving to a new home and forgetting where you unpacked and put most of your stuff.    (btw, your video's are the only reason I went back and tried it out again a few weeks ago. They taught me so much more about Scrivener, than I had learned from any other video's I had watched before)

I also think that the compiling feature has me a little nervous. I haven't looked, but have you done a video on that yet?

I know that I will love it, if I can just make myself stick with it. I will probably finish up my current WIP in Word, and then try a new project in Scrivener. Maybe then, I will be able to remember where I stuffed all of my notes!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

I hear you. Before I started using Scrivener, my note system consisted of tons of Word documents, loose-leaf paper scribblings, post-it notes, whatever. Getting Scrivener going helped me to start creating buckets to dump that info so that I had one place to find it, and then gradually started to categorize stuff better once it was all contained in Scrivener.



Denise Lewis said:


> I also think that the compiling feature has me a little nervous. I haven't looked, but have you done a video on that yet?


Not yet, but I plan to do so, soon. I have to compile book 1 into a word doc so that I can send it to some beta readers, and I think I'll run a tutorial video when I do so so that I can walk through the process with the Mac and see how it goes.

Glad to hear that my scattershot Scrivener videos inspired you to try the software out again.


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## Denise Lewis (Dec 31, 2015)

Jim Johnson said:


> Not yet, but I plan to do so, soon. I have to compile book 1 into a word doc so that I can send it to some beta readers, and I think I'll run a tutorial video when I do so so that I can walk through the process with the Mac and see how it goes.


Ohhh, I can't wait for this! Hopefully, it will help calm my nerves about the whole process. You are the best!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Days 44 through 50, finally had a chance to do an update! Didn't have video capability while traveling, so here we go. More progress; not as much as I'd like but rolling forward with the new day job, writing, baby, life, etc. Onward!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Day 51, knocked out two more sprints for a total of 3043 words. May not get to a video for it, but hey, some progress.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Day 52, another two sprints down for another 2998 words. Well over a third of the way through book two. Went to a concert last night, so no video again. Also heading out of town tonight and won't have access to video until Monday night. I should be able to post here, though.

Also added an update to the first post detailing writing, editing, and release schedule as I see it now. Summer's closing in!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Quick update. Clearly I didn't have reliable internets while out of town again.

4/22, Day 53, nada due to travel.
4/23, Day 54, 1639 words.
4/24, Day 55, 4833 words.
4/25, Day 56, 3267 words.

Busy weekend with travel and a lot of watching the baby while my wife was at her alumni meetings. And kidlet's starting to crawl! Fun times.

Managed to write close to 10,000 words in among the craziness. I'm a little over halfway through the draft of book 2. Onward!


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## Bbates024 (Nov 3, 2014)

Keep it going Jim you'll get there soon!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks! I know I'll get there, just working through the days that feel like a crawl rather than a sprint. As long as it's all forward progress, though.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Fell off the wagon as far as updating this and still haven't had a chance to synch my schedule (and my son's schedule) up to get to a video, but writing rolls on:

4/26: Day 57, 1,502 words
4/27: Day 58, 1,620 words
4/28: Day 59, 1,493 words

Close to 50k words complete on book 2, so I'm behind schedule as far as getting it done in April, but weirdly, things are still on track to get three books out in three months (June, July, August). And that's pretty exciting.

I've written around 150,000 words in about 9 weeks, with two long trips tucked in there, a growing and now mobile baby, a change in day jobs, two weeks of fighting a cold and allergies, and all the other fun stuff life throws at you. Basically the life of a full-time writer who happens to have a day job. If there's just one thing I want to teach people through this challenge it's that--you CAN write every day or nearly so even with a full life, if you make the writing a priority over other interests.

Anyway, hope to do a video today or tonight. Have a great weekend, everyone!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Brief update as the challenge moves on into month three:

4/29: Day 60, 1,415 words
4/30: Day 61, zippo
5/1: Day 62: 1,509 words

After the great month I had in March and getting book 1 done, month 2 feels like a failure--wrote about 53,000 words toward book 2 but didn't finish book 2. Still have about 21 scenes/chapters to write, and that'll take about 2 weeks at my current daily rate. I also know I need to take some time this week to do an edit pass on book 1 so that I can send it to the editor this weekend, so that'll eat into the writing time.

Writing three novels in three months probably won't happen. Not sure I can write 130,000 words in May, all things considered. But, releasing three novels in three months? That's still definitely doable. I've got early June targeted for book 1, early July for book 2, and early August for book 3.

Anyway, will get around to a video update eventually, but for now, the train here is still chugging forward, uphill maybe, given the steady but slow production.


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## Bbates024 (Nov 3, 2014)

Keep it going, Jim. The best part is when you have all three done you've built yourself in a nice three-month window to get some new stuff together. That's the best part of having a few books finished at once you can set em up and move onto the next project.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

```

```



Bbates024 said:


> Keep it going, Jim. The best part is when you have all three done you've built yourself in a nice three-month window to get some new stuff together. That's the best part of having a few books finished at once you can set em up and move onto the next project.


Thanks for that! Really appreciate it. Yeah, when I started the challenge I didn't really think far enough ahead and then once April rolled around I got a better look at the timeline and schedule and realized I had more time to write than I thought. Writing of book 2 and 3 can continue even as book 1 is released, as needed, so I think my thought processes started to gravitate more toward the 'release three in three months' than try to 'write three in three months'.

Lots of good experience in the meantime. Plus another 150,000 words under my fingertips. I think once this trilogy is out in the world, I'll try experimenting with shorter, more frequent releases on something and keep experimenting and growing the backlist.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Hey look! A video!  Updating up to yesterday, Day 64 of the challenge. Doesn't include today's sprint, of 1539 words. Onward!


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

I'm liking your perseverance Jim!  Keep it going!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Salvador Mercer said:


> I'm liking your perseverance Jim! Keep it going!


Thanks, Salvador! I'm plugging away. Looking forward to getting these books done and out there into the world. I'm starting to research for the next trilogy I'll write in a different genre. No rest for lifelong writers!


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## IndieP (Oct 23, 2015)

Jim -- Great stuff here.  I abandoned doing sprints and look at my daily goal from a pure word count standpoint.  I try to write 1,000 words/day.  Sometimes it takes 20 minutes and sometimes it takes 2 hours and sometimes it takes several mini sessions that add up.  The point is, I totally agree with your line about being able to get it done with a day job and family.  Keep it up.


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## BeMyBookBaby (Apr 18, 2016)

Fishbowl Helmet said:


> Best of, sir.


Best of WHAT, Fishbowl, BEST OF WHAT?!?!?!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

IndieP said:


> Jim -- Great stuff here. I abandoned doing sprints and look at my daily goal from a pure word count standpoint. I try to write 1,000 words/day. Sometimes it takes 20 minutes and sometimes it takes 2 hours and sometimes it takes several mini sessions that add up. The point is, I totally agree with your line about being able to get it done with a day job and family. Keep it up.


Thanks for the encouragement, Indie! Whatever it takes to get words on the page. (Well, maybe not everything--there was one day I had 20 min of unallocated time opened up to me, but I didn't have my Neo, a computer, or writing implements handy. I briefly considered opening a vein and jotting down some notes in blood, but decided that I don't _quite_ need to add self-mutilation to my writing toolkit. Priorities, right?


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Hey, look, an update! May has absolutely kicked me in the nads and gone for seconds. In summary, here's what's going on:

--Baby. Oh my gosh, so much fun to have a now-8 month old son, but wow is he a handful. He's super well behaved and fun to play with and hang out with, but...he's 8 months old. He's teething. He's independently mobile. He's eating solid foods and learning the joys of being gassy and unable to push it out on demand.

So taking care of him has been a huge timesink and a lifestyle adjustment. Also, the second bedroom in our small townhouse that had been serving as an office is now office/crib room and when he goes to sleep at 7ish, he's asleep til midnight or so, and I don't work in there during that time because a sleeping baby is a QUIET baby and quiet babies are good for sleeping and getting all that other life stuff done. So my ability to continue with my videos has been significantly impacted.

As for the writing, book 2 ambles along. I have a complete outline in hand and am about 70k into the manuscript, and have about 14 chapters left to write in it, but I put writing on hold early last week because I knew I'd be getting edits back on book 1 and I knew from regular updates from my editor that there'd be some changes that'd have to be made; changes that would impact books 2 and 3 (in good ways--writing the three books together before releasing means they'll be stronger together).

I got the edited manuscript on Saturday and started going through the comments last night. I also have a handful of beta reader comments to work through. I'll start editing book 1 today and plan to have a revision in hand by the end of the month. Then it'll go back to the editor for a pass-through and I'll give it one more read. Then on to production.

As I revise book 1, I'll also review my complete outline for book 2, make the handful of changes based on the book 1 revision, and then finish the book 2 draft in mid-June. While THAT'S happening, and even now, I'm pulling together the book 3 outline, and I'll start writing that in mid-June, just as soon as I deliver the book 2 draft to the editor.

So, a lot of stuff going on. What this means is that the 'writing three novels in three months' goal is dead and buried. No can go. I made a good effort and had a great opening six weeks starting in March, but then the wheels came off as my son and life in general moved forward.

BUT. I can morph the goal into 'releasing three novels in three months' without issue. I'm still on track to release book 1 in June, book 2 in July, and book 3 in August. So I'm sticking with that goal.

And in the meantime, I've also finalized the interior art and print proof for the second book in my weird western series and got the proofs and a batch of approved copies in the mail, and am working with my artist on interior art for book 3 and the cover for the omnibus. Both book 3 print version and omnibus ebook and print version should be out in June/July as well.

So come August, I should have seven books out there, which is pretty cool given that a year ago I had zip.

So, long update and I hope the handful of you who've been following along appreciate the update. Bonus for reading this far (or scrolling ahead): Draft version of the cover for the first book, created by the awesome Lou Harper (back cover text to be finalized):










Thanks for reading and for your support!


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## Joe M (May 23, 2015)

That's great Jim, truly inspiring. Quick question, what is the number one thing you would do exactly the same/differently?


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Joe M said:


> That's great Jim, truly inspiring. Quick question, what is the number one thing you would do exactly the same/differently?


Good questions--The one thing I'd do the same is set hard-to-reach goals. When I set the goal back in Feb, I knew my word per hour rate and was confident I could write a lot fast, and set a goal that would really stretch my abilities at both writing and time management. Ended up being a little out of reach, but it's given me better understanding of what I'm capable of even when having a full life in the meantime.

What I'd do differently--start writing with a complete outline in hand, even if the outline is just a sentence or two per chapter. Book 1 had a partial outline at the start, and ended up being a jigsaw puzzle of scenes by the end, and the edits show it. I'd go in with a stronger structure in hand--that'll result in less revision work (and theoretically faster time-to-market).

Constant learning is the key.


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## mkucera (May 18, 2016)

Jim, thanks a lot for the update and maily for the videos you put so far on youtube. They are inspiring. I fully understand balancing the time between 8th month boy and writing. I have three kids, one 5 yrs old and 3yrs old twins. I wake up early to have some time for writing before I go to daily job. Looking foreward for the next update


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## Mari Oliver (Feb 12, 2016)

You're kicking ass, Jim! Way to go!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

mkucera said:


> Jim, thanks a lot for the update and maily for the videos you put so far on youtube. They are inspiring. I fully understand balancing the time between 8th month boy and writing. I have three kids, one 5 yrs old and 3yrs old twins. I wake up early to have some time for writing before I go to daily job. Looking foreward for the next update


A five year old AND twins? My hat's off to you. I have no room to complain any more. One kid must be simple compared to juggling three.



Vintage Mari said:


> You're kicking ass, Jim! Way to go!


Thank you!


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## Matthew Stott (Oct 22, 2014)

Hey! I was just wondering how this was going, and here you are with a fresh update.

Sounds like you're still doing well, even if there's been a slight stumble.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Matthew Stott said:


> Hey! I was just wondering how this was going, and here you are with a fresh update.
> 
> Sounds like you're still doing well, even if there's been a slight stumble.


Yeah, ain't no thing. If I can get three full length novels written, edited, and released over the course of 6 months, I'll call that a heck of a success. And if not, I know they'll be out within the year. Goals for the next project will be a little more modest.


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## Jennifer Joy (Sep 23, 2014)

Way to readjust your sails, Jim! Your realistic attitude is inspiring.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Jennifer Joy said:


> Way to readjust your sails, Jim! Your realistic attitude is inspiring.


Thanks for the support, Jennifer. Much appreciated. Great analogy--just like a sailing ship, adjusting sails and getting onto a new tack may take time, but it'll still get you to where you're going.

Unless you hit a squall (ing baby) or something.


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## ChickenWrangler (Sep 23, 2015)

The fact that you're doing this while juggling a job and a baby is hugely inspiring. August is going to be an amazing month for you! HUGE thanks for all the inspiration.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

ChickenWrangler said:


> The fact that you're doing this while juggling a job and a baby is hugely inspiring. August is going to be an amazing month for you! HUGE thanks for all the inspiration.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk


Thank YOU for the support! We don't know what's possible till we try.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

And here we are, early July. Happy to report that I just finished the revision on book 1. Raise a glass!










I'll format it into mobi, sideload it to my Kindle, and have the Kindle read it to me as I make final edits. Then I'll be posting this for pre-order on Sunday and then continuing work on #2 and #3. Never a dull moment.

Happy day!


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## Matthew Stott (Oct 22, 2014)

Well done! I'm still developing my UF series, should be able to actually start properly on the thing in around two months time, as soon as I get this current thing off my plate. I've booked the cover already though, as the designer is super popular and busy right now, so had to get that locked in early.


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## angela65 (Oct 8, 2014)

Congrats! I'll be toasting you today.


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## TheLemontree (Sep 12, 2015)

Congrats, Jim!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

I'm pleased to report that Amazon got my pre-order up less than 4 hours after I hit the submit button.  One of three down. Revision and completion of book 2 in progress. Whee!


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## ......~...... (Jul 4, 2015)

Congrats! I love your cover. I might be releasing a UF series later in the year as well. Do you have any promo lined up for this release?


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

NeedWant said:


> Congrats! I love your cover. I might be releasing a UF series later in the year as well. Do you have any promo lined up for this release?


Yep; still finalizing the details.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Print proof for book 1 arrived today; yay!






Book 2 in progress, should be out in October. Book 3 maybe in December. The writing life!


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## Hope (Nov 28, 2014)

You are doing an awesome job!  Thanks for the update.  The book looks really good!


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

Yeah, I like the covers, very nice.


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## BookwormT (Dec 4, 2015)

Jim Johnson said:


> Print proof for book 1 arrived today; yay!
> 
> Book 2 in progress, should be out in October. Book 3 maybe in December. The writing life!


Gorgeous paperback. Good luck finishing up book 2!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

For the handful of you following, thought I'd mention that I uploaded the final file for Beacon's Hope today. This book was a bear to complete. I had written about 42k worth of content back in April, then got caught up with baby care, new job, revising and releasing Book 1, and then vacation and business travel.

I started revising on Sept 29, with that 42k in hand, and in the ensuing 10 days, wrote another 40k of content (12k today) and edited the thing from the top down. I just compiled and side-loaded it onto my Kindle, so I'm gonna take a break, then give it one read-through, finalize the file, and then upload it to Amazon tonight.

Pre-order deadlines are a mixed blessing. I liked having the deadline looming over my head, but know I could have done more had I been more focused earlier on. Ah well. 12k words today is a huge achievement, second best ever for me, but not something I want to repeat any time soon.

Onward. Tomorrow I celebrate by binge-watching Luke Cage, then Monday I start writing some related short stories to be reader magnets, mailing list freebies, and cheap sales, and then start outlining book 3. Never a dull moment.


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## TheLemontree (Sep 12, 2015)

12k in one day? Book all done on time? You, sir, have done well. 

Enjoy your day off!


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## Salvador Mercer (Jan 1, 2015)

OMG! The dreaded deadline!  

Just faced one eight days sooner than yours, and my last day was only a mere 7k, 

Great job btw. Hope your launch does well, Jim.


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## Hope (Nov 28, 2014)

Wow!  Congratulations and good work!  I hope you sell thousands of copies.


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## Arches (Jan 3, 2016)

Congratulations on finishing in time to meet the pre-order deadline. I love the cover and the blurb. 

Do you look at the manuscript again before the actual publishing date? If so, and if you find a typo (I always seem to in my manuscripts), can you fix it before it publishes?


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Arches said:


> Congratulations on finishing in time to meet the pre-order deadline. I love the cover and the blurb.
> 
> Do you look at the manuscript again before the actual publishing date? If so, and if you find a typo (I always seem to in my manuscripts), can you fix it before it publishes?


Yeah, looks like the upload button is still available, so I'll give it one more sanity read and upload the uber final later this week. I think KDP locks off the file 3 days before publishing, so there's a little wiggle room, but I wouldn't chance it too much. The file I uploaded in time for the deadline won't embarrass me if it's the one delivered to readers and pre-orders.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Challenges don't die. They just amble on if 'failed'. This one is a successful failure in that I didn't do what I set out to do in the timeframe I wanted, but it is getting done and will be done soon.

Make sense? Hahaha.

Print proof of book 2 arrived today (along with a bonus other print proof I'll be also approving soon), and I'll approve Beacon's Hope this weekend so it can go live. Pre-order for book 3 should be up once Amazon finishes grinding on the details.










Moral of the story: Setting challenges are awesome incentive to get work done. If you fail, keep digging anyway. You'll reach the milestones you want to reach if you keep working at it. Onward!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Yay for patience. Amazon finally updated the series page for my series. Nice to see all three books there together.

So my three books in three months challenge turned into three books in a year. lol Keep learning, keep practicing, but keep writing and publishing, folks.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

RobCornell said:


> Good job, Jim! Considering you had a brand new little one when you started this challenge, you should be damn proud of what you've accomplished.
> 
> I flubbed up my release plan, essentially wasting book one's great release by not getting the next book out there until five months afterward. But I'm learning that in this biz, there's always room for a second (third?) chance to make a splash.


Indeed. Countless opportunities to launch new books all the time. I'll get this third UF book out the door in July, and then have another UF series out in late summer. Always be writing.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

And here we are. Nearly a year after I started this challenge to write and publish a trilogy in three months. It's been a long road, a mostly fun journey, and now the challenge has been completed. It was a significant challenge I thought I was up to, but I totally underestimated the impact of a wonderful infant growing into toddlerhood would have on me and my life, plus a positive job change and a lot of volunteer work on the side.

But, writers are a persistent lot, and so I kept at it. I may have finished the challenge nine months later than intended, but I finished the challenge. That in itself is pretty significant, if I had one lesson to impart. Always finish what you start. That's something I've done almost all my life and I think it's a big piece of what gives me confidence in writing and publishing.

Boring stats--book 3 (73k words) was written in 57 30-minute sprints over the course of 23 days, then edited and posted for sale. Preorders over the course of a month garnered 58 sales; almost all due to pinging my mailing list and working with a couple authors on newsletter swaps. I have a couple small ads running this weekend and a Kindle Countdown on book 1 to boost the series.

Looking back, I'm not sure I'd have done anything differently. It was a heck of a learning experience, a fun challenge, and I'm looking forward to pushing myself harder on the next challenge, where I dust off a SF series idea and try out something similar to the Liliana Nirvana technique and see what happens. Will likely hit publish this fall on that madness.

For the handful of you who've followed along, thanks for joining me on the ride. Onward to the next challenge. Always be writing.


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## TheLemontree (Sep 12, 2015)

Well done Jim!

Your persistence is inspiring. Good luck for the next series.


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## AnnaBF (Aug 25, 2014)

Jim Johnson said:


> But, writers are a persistent lot, and so I kept at it. I may have finished the challenge nine months later than intended, but I finished the challenge. That in itself is pretty significant, if I had one lesson to impart. Always finish what you start. That's something I've done almost all my life and I think it's a big piece of what gives me confidence in writing and publishing.
> 
> For the handful of you who've followed along, thanks for joining me on the ride. Onward to the next challenge. Always be writing.


Congratulations Jim!

Stellar advice.


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## Hope (Nov 28, 2014)

I was just thinking about your challenge the other day. As they say, better late than never. I can't count the number of times I thought something would take X number of days and it turned out to be xyz number of days. Congratulations!


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## EllieDee (May 28, 2017)

So you wrote three books in a year?  And completed your trilogy?  That's awesome!  You'd better bail out the kiddie pool so you'll have somewhere to put the flood of $ coming in.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks, everyone! Much appreciated.



EllieDee said:


> So you wrote three books in a year? And completed your trilogy? That's awesome! You'd better bail out the kiddie pool so you'll have somewhere to put the flood of $ coming in.


Hah! Wouldn't that be nice. 

I guess one person's flood is another person's trickle or water drop. I can say that my UF trilogy has outsold my weird western series by a margin of 4:1. Even then, I don't think I would have done anything differently when I started publishing 21 months ago. There's something to be said for learning as you go. Each book release does better than the one before, and so we slowly climb the ladder. I've learned a ton working on this series, and I'll apply all that learning to the next project.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

RobCornell said:


> Well done, Jim. After having gone through the infant to toddler stage three times, I know it ain't an easy trick to get that writing in. It's still a challenge with those three monkeys swinging from the ceiling fans.


Craziness! My hat's off to you for going it three times. We're thinking we're one and done. For as great as the good days are, the hard days have us thinking "Why would we do this again?"


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## Benjamin Douglas (Aug 1, 2015)

Jim Johnson said:


> I can say that my UF trilogy has outsold my weird western series by a margin of 4:1. Even then, I don't think I would have done anything differently when I started publishing 21 months ago. There's something to be said for learning as you go. Each book release does better than the one before, and so we slowly climb the ladder. I've learned a ton working on this series, and I'll apply all that learning to the next project.


Really glad to hear about the uptick, Jim, even if it's gradual. Keep at it!


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## Kessie Carroll (Jan 15, 2014)

Haha, I tried to do this, too. I was going to release three books in a year. Then I got pregnant. Two years later, book 3 is finally in line for the editor. Darn you, life!


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

Benjamin Douglas said:


> Really glad to hear about the uptick, Jim, even if it's gradual. Keep at it!


Keeping at it, thanks Benjamin! Got my next series covers in hand and working out the story details now. Should have them out by the end of the year. Ever forward and ever upward with the income.



Kessie Carroll said:


> Haha, I tried to do this, too. I was going to release three books in a year. Then I got pregnant. Two years later, book 3 is finally in line for the editor. Darn you, life!


Congrats on the baby and on the new book! Those kidlets sure do have a way of adjusting a publication schedule.


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## LeonardDHilleyII (May 23, 2011)

Congrats! You cannot rush perfection!   Keep up the great work!


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## EverynKildare (Jun 8, 2014)

Three in a year is still amazing!  My first series was supposed to be an "appetizer" while I worked on my longer books. Planned four in a year, seemed totally manageable. Three years later and I finally got book four out with a fifth added in the future. Funny how they sometimes seem to have a mind of their own. At this point I'm just looking forward to working on other projects - especially since come september all my kiddos will be school-aged. More writing time for moi!:/


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

everynkildare said:


> Three in a year is still amazing! My first series was supposed to be an "appetizer" while I worked on my longer books. Planned four in a year, seemed totally manageable. Three years later and I finally got book four out with a fifth added in the future. Funny how they sometimes seem to have a mind of their own. At this point I'm just looking forward to working on other projects - especially since come september all my kiddos will be school-aged. More writing time for moi!:/


Congrats on your persistence! That's one way for us writers to keep moving forward. Never give up, keep plugging away.

Thanks bbates, and Leonard.  Keep on keepin' on.


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