C. M. Harald

Writing about writing

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May Review 2020

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I’m writing this May Review at the start of June. In the UK, we’re sending in the tiny kids first, and their staff, to see if it’s safe for the rest of us.  Yes, I’m a teacher, and so are others in my family.  The Government has regularly played upon the myth of the Blitz spirit, when I think the myths of trench warfare may be more appropriate.  We’ve still got very high infection rates and death rates, alongside one of the highest death rates in the world (which now exceed the number of deaths caused in the Blitz). I’m very much hoping to be proved wrong, but I’ve studied the history of medicine in too much detail to be comfortable with ending the lockdown in the UK because other countries (with lower infection and death rates) are reopening.  Nor do I find any reassurance in global perceptions of British political competence at the moment.

Even while I’m still teaching from home, not commuting and other efficiencies, mean I’ve been able to get on with more writing (and gardening) than is usually the case. I’ve even lost a bit of weight with all the extra exercise opportunities.

May Review – Word Counts

May was much better than April for word counts.  I’ve got back into the full swing of writing and punched out 11,459 words in May.  This total gives an average of 370 words per day, just below my intended monthly target when I planned the year out.  Having missed several monthly writing targets this year, I’m now aiming to write just short of 15,000 words in June.

Editing has been continuing. I’m finding my improved computer-aided checks time consuming, so it’s not going as quickly as I wanted.  I had wished to have ‘Dead Handler’ ready for proof-reading, but I’ve still got the last chapter to edit.  The process is more effective at spotting mistakes, so the extra delay should be worth it.

May Review – writing projects underway

· ‘Dead Handler’, Book 6 of the Royal Zombie Corps series, is now 80% edited.  I had hoped to have this finished by now.  

· ‘Butcher’s Fire’, Book 2 of the Butcher’s Funeral is 2nd in the editing queue.

· The third story in the Butcher’s Funeral series is now 10,500 words into the first draft, and I’m working on the fourth chapter at the moment.  I suspect this book will come in at just over 50,000 words.

· The future historical project has made slow progress, although I’m watching the new series of ‘A House Through Time’ on the BBC, as this show led to the original inspiration for this story project.

June Review – other projects

Marketing is continuing at more sustainable levels.  Sales have also picked up.  They have not yet returned to pre-Coronavirus levels, but they are much higher than at the first weeks of the global lockdown.  I have also spent more time studying techniques for advertising on Amazon.

Publishing schedule

· Summer 2020 – ‘Dead Handler’, book 6 of the Royal Zombie Corps series.

· Summer 2020 – Butcher’s Funeral new cover and 2nd edition.

· Summer 2020 – ‘The Sands of War’, book 7 of the Royal Zombie Corps series.  This is the last book in the WWI sequence.

· Autumn 2020 – Butcher’s Funeral book two titled ‘Butcher’s Fire’. 

June plans

· Finish editing and proof-reading ‘Dead Handler’. 

· Release ‘Dead Handler’ to the ARC readers for final checking.

· Continue writing the first draft of Butcher’s third book.

· Continue to research the new historical series I’m working on.

· Continue to learn about publishing and writing.

· Upload a brief story to the blog.

April Review 2020

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As the global experience has progressed, things are still rather unreal. It makes for rather interesting contemplation while writing this April Review.  In the UK we are lagging behind other countries in our response to the virus. Although the media would have us believe we are eager to be out of lockdown we trail many other countries in response and data.  As an historian, it will be interesting, and sobering, picking this crisis apart in the future.  Whether that be the actions of the political actors, the influence of the media, or the work of those people in the frontline, let alone the individual stories of those lost.

For my writing experience, my focus has been all over the place.  I have worked hard for several days, while slacking off on an equal number.  I am also balancing the home-working needs of my principal job, but these are not challenging at the moment.  As an introvert, I am not finding the isolation much of a challenge; it is even refreshing.  I am not wandering around the house craving interaction with others.  Often I am looking for things to do, but there are so many things I can engage with, it is the paralysis of too many interesting things to do.  I am not raring to go back into the workplace, because working with lots of people is always the bigger challenge for me.  I pull it off very well, but to be that social always has a cost.

April Review – Word Counts

April was marginally better than March for word counts.  Unlike March, I was nowhere near as distracted by the 24-hour media cycle, but it is still a time-sink.  However, the word count has stayed low as I have spent greater time on editing.

During April the total of new words into writing was 5,345.  A daily average of 178 words.  This compared to April’s 4,837, with a daily average of 156, is an improvement.  Yes, I am aiming to write 12,000 new words each month, but I’ll pick up the slack later in the year.  

The good news is editing has been proceeding at a far higher pace.  The proof-reading of Tigers on the Western Front was completed.  In early April I uploaded the new edition for sale.  I have also invested some time working on grammar and setting up better computer-aided checks.  I have applied this fresh approach to the editing process for ‘Dead Handler’, which is half-way through editing.  The new approach is thorough and picking up many more issues before proof-reading. Hopefully, it will provide a far better final product.

April Review – writing projects underway

· ‘Dead Handler’, Book 6 of the Royal Zombie Corps series is 50% edited.  It is a slower process than originally intended, especially as I have expanded the detail and depth of the checks. Fortunately, I have also increased the time spent checking.  I would be very surprised if I did not have the editing and proof-reading completed by the end of May.  After that, it will be off to the ARC readers.

· Tigers on the Western Front – released in 2nd ebook format following the completion of  proof-reading.

· ‘Butcher’s Fire’, Book 2 of the Butcher’s Funeral has moved up to 2nd in the editing queue.

· Book 7 of the Royal Zombie Corps series now has a name.  It will be called ‘The Sands of War’.  The artist cover brief has been submitted, and the book is now at the top of the editing queue.

· I have started a fresh story in the Butcher’s Funeral series.  This will be the third book.  The book outline is now in place.  It’s not thorough, but I know where I’m going with it.  I’m not much of a pantser with writing, more a plotter.  I completed the first draft of the first chapter three days ago and am quite pleased with it.  There is plenty of action, and a couple of clear hooks.

· I have made little progress on the future historical fiction project.  I am slowly completing background reading, which will help support the character and plot development.  I am hoping to plan out some locational research over the next few weeks.

April Review – other projects

I took part in a marketing challenge in April.  This took more effort but has had the benefit of cutting my AMS marketing costs.  Marketing is improving again as purchasing and reading patterns move closer to normality.  There is still some way to go until the patterns return to normal in the genre I am publishing in.

Publishing schedule

· April 2020 2nd ebook edition of Tigers on the Western Front, with the old cover, was released.

· Before the summer 2020 – ‘Dead Handler’, book 6 of the Royal Zombie Corps series.

· Summer 2020 – Butcher’s Funeral new cover and 2nd edition.

· Summer 2020 – ‘The Sands of War’, book 7 of the Royal Zombie Corps series.  This is the last book in the WWI sequence.

· Autumn 2020 – Butcher’s Funeral book two titled ‘Butcher’s Fire’. 

May plans

· Finish editing and proof-reading ‘Dead Handler’. 

· Release ‘Dead Handler’ to the ARC readers for final checking.

· Continue writing the first draft of Butcher’s third book.

· Continue focus on editing as I have two books queued.

· Continue to research the new historical series I’m working on.

· Continue to learn about publishing and writing.

· Write a brief for another book cover.

March Review 2020

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So, March was like living through the pages of a thriller or science-fiction novel. Possibly it is similar to a historical memoir, such as Defoe’s experiences of the Plague.  March will be one of those shared human experiences which will be remembered and discussed in the future.  For now, the impacts are wide-ranging and are no-where clear as I write this March Review at the start of April.

Writing has obviously taken a back seat for me during March.  Living on the edge of London and working in an inner-city school, has seen the typical routine of Spring smashed to pieces.  The last two weeks of term, the school was closed, and remote learning was provided to the pupils.  This has been a very interesting experience, which was far more time-consuming than I expected.  At the same time, I also had the misfortune, or maybe the fortune, of having to self-isolate in line with Government requirements. This lasted a total of fourteen days.  Due to the evolving identification of coronavirus symptoms, we couldn’t take any risks, even though the illness was likely a heavy cold and had been lingering around the house for several weeks.

Of course, the experience of self-isolation and social distancing is significantly different from the fortnight before the schools were closed in England.  While still travelling to work with a heavy cold, I was less than popular on the emptying commuter trains.  At the time, the advice was vast quantities of mucus and a chesty cough, were not symptoms of coronavirus.  Around us, everything was closing down, with people encouraged to work from home.  There was also the steep reduction of pupils present at school as parents decided to keep their children at home, either unprepared to risk their health or suspicious of the positive messages from the Government.  The more vulnerable pupils and staff were rightly concerned about the risks of exposure, especially as the Government seemed to be pursuing a ‘herd immunity’ theory.  More than one pupil drew parallels to the Spanish Flu and waves of the Plague, especially as the history of medicine is one of the examination units we teach. Several also questioned the Government policies, making good reference to historical approaches to infectious illness.  It is unfortunate, but wise given the circumstances, the eldest of these pupils will not be able to test their skills through the examination process. Fortunately, Government advice for the UK changed and the lessons of the past have had a greater influence on policy.

Therefore, since we have all been living through a variation of an old Dean Koontz or Stephen King novel, or blockbuster movies starring Dustin Hoffman or Jude Law attempting an Australian accent, I’ve been really unfocused with my writing.  I know I’m in the same situation as many other writers, with this a frequent focus of online conversations.  I suspect I’m much the same as most other people in countries operating some degree of lockdown.  Watching and reading the news now consumes an even more significant amount of my time than it used to.

March Review – word counts

The word count during March has been meagre.  The main reason has been the disruption of the regular routine and spectating of world events.  Writing fiction, while fiction happens around you, is not really easy. It’s hard to focus.

So March only totalled 4,837 words, a daily average of 156.  This is low as my primary target for the month was 12,000.  There were twenty days on which I wrote no new fiction, many of them in the first half of the month when still commuting and drained by the constant news.

To avoid completely losing the time, I have refocused on some editing tasks which had been slipping.  However, these do not create new word counts, even though they are necessary, so not every non-writing day was lost to the creative process.

Will I make up my writing total by the end of the year?  Highly likely.  There are always ebbs and flows with writing.  While I can get hung up with daily totals, I know during holidays, I write at a far higher pace than other times. I’ll therefore quickly make up any shortfall in the summer holidays.  Also, while the schools remain closed, I may be able to find a replacement routine for working during my daily commute.

March Review – writing projects underway

· I completed two short stories.  One was the genie story I nearly finished in February.  The other was writing the central part of a short story I started while covering an English lesson. I had started this to help model a task for some pupils, putting it aside to finish at a later time as I liked the idea.  This second story featured a deceptive old lady.  I may well upload both stories to the blog at some point, but will sit on them for a while before editing.

· ‘Dead Handler’, Book 6 of the Royal Zombie Corps series is now at the top of the proof-reading list, and I’ve already scheduled it in for checking over the next month.

· The paperback version of Blood, Mud and Corpses was successfully released. I’m pleased with how it looks and have a couple of copies myself.

· Book 2 of the Butcher’s Funeral is still awaiting editing and is third in the editing queue.

· Book 7 of the Royal Zombie Corps series, is now second in the editing queue.

· Tigers on the Western Front – the final-proof reading was nearly finished in time to be included in the March Review, with just one more chapter to check before uploading the ebook 2nd edition.

· I have started plotting the third book in the Butcher’s Funeral series.  This is likely to be my new writing focus.

March Review – other projects

I have made little effort with marketing during March.  In the first few days I put in quite a bit of work on AMS, as the new cover for Blood, Mud and Corpses was finally usable.  However, as the month progressed, it became clear the usual advertising channels were proving unstable. Purchasing and reading patterns are being greatly affected by the news.  Who needs to read fiction when you’re living through it?  However, at some point, reading patterns will return to normal.

I have continued research on a new historical series I am planning.  This background reading has the goal of searching for historical and locational information to lend the story greater depth.  It has been fascinating and a welcome distraction from the news.

Publishing schedule

· March 2020 – the new paperback for Blood, Mud and Corpses was released.

· Before the summer 2020 – ‘Dead Handler’, book 6 of the Royal Zombie Corps series. Yes, I have moved the date again. I’ve simply looked at how unfocused I am at the moment.  All of the dates have been adjusted in light of this.

· April 2020 2nd ebook edition of Tigers on the Western Front, with the old cover for now

· Summer 2020 – Butcher’s Funeral new cover and 2nd edition

· Summer 2020 – book 7 of the Royal Zombie Corps series

· Late Summer 2020 – Butcher’s Funeral book two titled ‘Butcher’s Fire’. 

April plans

· Finish editing and upload 2nd edition of Tigers on the Western Front

· Continue outlining Butcher’s third book

· Not worry about word counts and instead focus on editing, with headway on ‘Dead Handler’.

· Continue to research the new series I’m working on

· Continue to learn about publishing and writing

· Write briefs for the next set of covers to be created

February Review 2020

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The last month has been tough, hence the February Review is not as positive as usual. I have struggled to achieve the volume of writing I would like, mainly as I have been distracted from new work. The main distraction was my blog getting hacked in the middle of the month with even the online backups getting wiped. This problem has been fixed. While I have recovered all of my original content, I have not yet restored it all. I also lost the social media content. As a result, I’ve not been as focused on new words as intended, nor have I got enough editing done. 

On the positive side, the process of reviewing February reminds me I had an important success at the start of the month. I now have new artwork for the first Royal Zombie Corps book, Blood, Mud and Corpses. Stuart Bache and his excellent team made this cover. He is currently working on the paperback version so I can finally bring the book out in paperback. The e-book cover is now available on new purchases via Amazon and is much better looking. Stuart also delivered the e-book cover for the next Royal Zombie Corps book to be released, Dead Handler.

It was also interesting to visit the Vaudeville Theatre, a location I used in Outbreak London. Although I’ve visited quite a few London theatres, I do not recall having been in this one before, despite passing it many times in the street. The building received an extensive redesign in the 1920s, so much of my original setting was no longer present. However, the show, Magic Goes Wrong, was excellent.

February Review - A visit to the Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre in London. Much changed since 1918, and without zombies in real life.
February Review - Adelphi Theatre in 2020
The Adelphi Theatre in London. A setting for zombie chaos in Outbreak London, set in 1918.

February Review – word counts

Averaging 309 words a day in February, I still exceeded my target levels for last year but fell short of my targets for this year. This month brought in a total of 8,952 words when I was targeting just short of 12,000. The main reason for the shortfall was the extra work on the blog. However, I also wrote less as I finished the first draft of book 7 of the Royal Zombie Corps series and then spent some time tinkering with new ideas. The primary focus of this tinkering has been a 5,000 word short story, which I’m currently finishing.

Unfortunately, there were nine days during which I wrote nothing new. This is more than the eight in January. I also did not make effective use of the one week holiday I had, mainly due to being exhausted from the day job and needing a good break.

I did manage to get some editing done, but this stalled under the increased needs to recover the material from the blog.

February Review – writing projects underway

· ‘Dead Handler’, Book 6 of the Royal Zombie Corps series still needs editing and proof-reading. I have the cover from the cover artist, and I’m very happy with it.

· The paperback cover for Blood, Mud and Corpses is being worked on.

· Book 2 of the Butcher’s Funeral is still awaiting editing

· Book 7 of the Royal Zombie Corps series, is now complete and I’m sitting on it for a while to get some distance between the first draft and the next trawl through it.

·      Tigers on the Western Front – work on the final proof-reading has crept on. I had intended to get this finished in February, but the blog got in the way.

· A new short story, along with another unpublished short story, is being written. There are already over 5,000 words in the first draft, which was the total I was aiming for. More on this at another time, but there are no zombies. Instead, there is a genie.

February Review – other projects

I sent a message to the Readers’ Club at the start of February announcing the new cover for Blood, Mud and Corpses. Again, I’ve not focused on adding to the Readers’ Club. Instead, my marketing efforts have been focused on AMS and the use of the new cover to the first Royal Zombie Corps book.

Sales were comparable to January, which are much better than has previously been the case.

I have also started research on a new series I’m planning to write. It’s been exciting, and I’m mainly engaged in background reading. There are no zombies, but there are plenty of corpses and some bleak industrial history. Fortunately, I’m well versed in industrial history. Still, I need to fine-tune my knowledge of the location the story will be set in along with improving my understanding of a few more specific details related to the main character.

Publishing schedule

· March/April 2020 – the new paperback for Blood, Mud and Corpses will be released. This hard copy uses the same original artwork as the online version.

· March/April 2020 – ‘Dead Handler’, book 6 of the Royal Zombie Corps series. The date is provisional as I may want to give the ARC team a little more time to get through this book

· Spring 2020 2nd edition of Tigers on the Western Front, with the old cover for now

· April/May/June 2020 – Butcher’s Funeral book two titled ‘Butcher’s Fire’. 

· May/June 2020 – Butcher’s Funeral new cover and 2nd edition

· May/June 2020 – book 7 of the Royal Zombie Corps series

Plans for March

· Return to the daily writing average of at least 410 words

· Release the paperback version of Blood, Mud and Corpses

· Continue to research the new series I’m working on

· Write another short story, probably in the same sequence as the one I’ve been working on in February

· Continue to refocus my efforts on the non-creative side of the business, especially editing and proof-reading. With minimal time available, this is one aspect that is holding me back

· Recruit more people to the ARC team

· Continue to learn about publishing and writing 

· Relaunch my AMS marketing campaign as a result of my new book cover

· Manage the major clash in the second half of the month when I will have just under 300 exam papers to mark

Recovering from a hack

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So all the old data has gone – well, I know where it is stored on certain distributor websites and how to access much of the information via Google’s cache. I may even recreate most of it.

So what happened? The page template I used for the blog allowed someone to hack the whole blog. To be fair, this happened to 200,000 other blogs, so it was not personal, just the kind of mindless vandalism found both on the internet and off it. However, the hack didn’t just trash the website, but also all the online backups. Needless to say, a certain company which provided the template will not have my business in future. They could have easily communicated there was a problem and knew about it in advance, but did not bother to communicate it.

So, the next steps are to start rebuilding and restructuring the blog. It’s going to take a few weeks to make it all shipshape again. The first stage will be to recover the content. Later, I’ll experiment with different templates and find one I’m happy with.

Overall, it’s irritating but not a complete disaster. I’ll also be returning to my old practice of storing backups offline.

January Review 2020

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The January review has shown me this month has been my most successful month ever for sales.   I have to credit Mark Dawson and his ideas for this improvement, which has meant I’ve been a lot more focused on marketing. This improved approach is quite exciting as more of my books are getting out in front of a greater number of people.

With the new higher targets or the New Year, I’ve been able to increase the amount I’m writing every day. I ambitiously increased my daily writing goal from 300 to 410 words per day. In total, I’m aiming for 150,000 words this year. In any one train journey, this daily total is all I can manage on the journey into work in the morning. Of course, some mornings, the average is a bit higher, especially when I get stuck into a scene. I only nearly missed my station once in January, looking up at the last minute, to see the sign on the platform outside the window. Most of my writing is done during this time as I rarely have the energy in the evening. This heavy workload is one of the side-effects of being a teacher at this time of year.  Yes, there’s the holidays, but the term time workload more than balances out that advantage. At this time of year, there’s a lot of focus on underperforming pupils, data and reporting.  So, unfortunately, the writing suffers.

So how did I get on with the word counts?

January Review – word counts

I averaged 411 words a day across January with a total of 12,742. There were eight days in the month I failed to write anything. I’m surprised I made the target. Over February I’ll try to write more consistently, as eight days off is quite a few more than I intended. However, to hit such a reasonable total, outside of my holidays, is satisfying.

Editing during January utterly stalled. It’s another thing I need to prioritise as I’ve got some releases queued up and I don’t want them delaying due to this.

January Review – writing projects underway

  • ‘Dead Handler’, Book 6 of the Royal Zombie Corps series still needs editing and proof-reading. I have the initial cover concepts from the cover artist, and they are good
  • The relaunch of the cover for Blood, Mud and Corpses is imminent. The initial concepts are in, and with a few minor changes, the new cover should be ready very soon. I have also been delighted with the progress of the book since it has taken off permafree. It appears it is being read much more often, even if fewer people are downloading it
  • Book 2 of the Butcher’s Funeral is still awaiting editing
  • Book 7 of the Royal Zombie Corps series, is almost complete. I had hoped to finish it early in January, but have about 1,000 words left to write. The first draft will be in the region of 43,000 words. I’m not quite sure what to call this story, but ‘War’s End’ is an idea I’m playing with
  • Tigers on the Western Front work on the final proof-reading has stalled this month, but it’s still the top one to get done. I’d love to get this finished by the end of February

January Review – other projects

I’ve not messaged the Readers’ Club in January. I’ve been holding off so I can announce the new cover to Blood, Mud and Corpses. I’ve also not engaged in any significant campaign to add to the Readers’ Club in January. I had initially intended to, but this got swept away with all the other non-creative work.

I’ve spent a little of my limited non-creative time on marketing via Amazon. This marketing has been quite effective and is something I want to move forward with over the next few weeks. The effort has had a noticeable impact on my sales figures, and I nearly achieved my aspirational monthly sales level, for 2020, in the first month.

Due to the success of the new covers, Stuart Bache has been making for me, I’ve booked another few slots. I will probably use one of them for a new cover for an older book and then two more for new books.

Publishing schedule

  • February 2020 – the new cover for Blood, Mud and Corpses will be released. I’ll also be releasing a paperback version of this book for the first time
  • March 2020 – ‘Dead Handler’, book 6 of the Royal Zombie Corps series. The date is provisional as I may want to give the ARC team a little more time to get through this book
  • Spring 2020 2nd edition of Tigers on the Western Front, with the old cover for now
  • March/April/May 2020 – Butcher’s Funeral book two titled ‘Butcher’s Fire’. Again, I may roll this date back as I start working with the ARC team
  • May/June 2020 – Butcher’s Funeral new cover and 2nd edition
  • May/June 2020 – book 7 of the Royal Zombie Corps series, also rolled back to ensure the ARC team get a good look

Plans for February

  • Continue to maintain the daily writing average of at least 410 words
  • Release the new cover for Blood, Mud and Corpses 
  • Develop research for the new series I’m hoping to write
  • Write a couple of short stories to refresh me before moving on to a third Butcher’s Funeral book
  • Try to spend more time on the non-creative side of the business, especially editing and proof-reading
  • Set up an ARC team
  • Continue to learn about publishing and writing, specifically working through one of the Mark Dawson SPF courses
  • Continue to develop the AMS marketing campaign