Something to look forward to.

I leave for my vacation on March 30th. I'm hoping France will be inspirational.
I haven't been anywhere in over a year. But travel, has always been one of my
favorite things to do.

I paid for another editor to look over the first 20,000 words of my third novel.
I'm not sure how to judge edits. How am I suppose to know when my beta readers
and critique partners start contradicting each other?
For some of the edits it almost seems like they aren't paying attention to what they're
reading.
I love my story. I love the way I wrote it. I'm not making anymore changes.. It would
have to be something significant.
I don't expect to get a literary agent. I will self-publish Q.M.E. and try with
the next book. 

Sleep Deprived and lots of pain

I haven't made a post in a while. That's because my freakin day job is requiring me to work
58 hours a week, six days a week. I'm exhausted. I haven't had a good, 8-hour night sleep in weeks. Now, I'm getting sick. Headaches abound. 

I'm still trying to write my novels. It's slow going. I have no choice. I'm on the third chapter of book six. I love writing. I wish I had more time for it.  It seems like fate is against me finishing another novel. I have very little time to myself. Rough estimate, about 3.5 hours a day and I've been trading in those hours for sleep. There's nothing I can do but endure. It sucks.

Self Published Research

I think I'm heading back into the self-publishing trenches.
I know I need to build my author's platform. I have to figure out how to do that.
I have a blog. I have a website. I have Twitter. I need more I guess.
I have three novels in progress. I got a lot to do.
I don't think I can rely on catching the eye of a literary agent. That's too big
of a lottery. I'm not a lucky person but I am talented. Talent only seems to take you
so far. You need some luck.

I think  self-publishing is my only real option. I know that doesn't go anywhere if you
can't make stuff happen. I don't know how to make stuff happen.
More YouTube videos and more Twitter rants. I'll read up on everything.

What else can I do? 

Vacations and Inspirations...

I'm planning my vacation for next year. I wanted to go to Bavaria this year (October 2018) but that 5 day trip is too expensive. I'm going alone, which I look forward to.
I can write. No rush from a travel mate. I can take my time, do what I want and that's a lot of museums and castle tours. I can write. 
I'm going on a 10-day tour of the Rhone in March 2019. It's cheaper and longer. I can't wait. 

My job had me on 10-hour shifts for the past three weeks, but now I'm back to 8-hours, starting Monday. To celebrate, I'm starting a new novel outline this week. It's a 2 year old idea that I think I can revamp into something cool. I love all my ideas. They work for me. They're fun...for me. 

5th Novel...in the trenches

I got a partial request for my 3rd manuscript. Super. It's something. Moving forward. The agent requested it from a DVpit submission. I looked her up, she doesn't exactly represent what my manuscript is. I sent the query anyway. I don't expect anything. 

I don't have much in the way of expectations right now.  I have assembled another beta reader. I should get their opinion back next week.  I love it. 

Query Positive...again...

Am I getting sick of sending stout Queries? You betcha! It sucks ass!
I've been sending out Queries for my third novel since 2016. I'm working on other projects, yes, but really? 

I do the beta readers and critique partners regularlly.They've been very helpful. Why can't I get some agent to say "YES" to this book?
The readers and CPs are very positive about my manuscript. I don't know these people, so they have no reason to lie to me. 

My shit is good. I know it. 

I have a long list of agents to send my novel to. I'm nowhere near done. It's exhausting though. There's so much contradictory information out there. 
I think I've done everything I'm suppose to do. I have to keep hustling and I know that, but I need a plan "B". I need an alternative that doesn't involve literary agents.

New Author's Page

I needed a new one. The website I created with GoDaddy became too expensive.
The new one (I used WIX) is looking much better. So much more professional, and it's free.
I'm not going to register the site with it's own domain until I create more to put on it.
I don't think there's a point to paying good money for a website until I'm actually earning something
for it.

 https://seasghost.wixsite.com/seasmith