Time for a monthly update on how I’m doing with my WIP, Against All Odds, Book 3 of the Crossroads trilogy. I settled on a tagline because I had to order the cover. I think it sums up what is the end of the trilogy:
Based on a true story, the extraordinary saga continues, filled with hardship, family, courage, truth, and survival.
Here’s a quick summary:
A million years of evolution made Xhosa tough but was it enough? She and her People finally reach their destination—a glorious land of tall grasses, few predators, and an abundance that seems limitless, but an enemy greater than any they have met so far threatens to end their dreams. If Xhosa can’t stop this one, she and her People must again flee.
The Crossroads trilogy is set 850,000 years ago, a time in prehistory when man populated most of Eurasia. He was a violent species, fully capable of addressing the many hardships that threatened his survival except for one: future man, a smarter version of himself, one destined to obliterate all those who came before.
From prehistoric fiction author Jacqui Murray comes the unforgettable saga of a courageous woman who questions assumptions, searches for truth, and does what she must despite daunting opposition. Read the final chapter of the People’s long search for freedom, safety, and a new home.
A perfect book for fans of Jean Auel and the Gears!
How’d I do last month
After fighting through distraction, lack of focus, and malaise, here’s what I did this past month:
- finished a rough draft (the fourth) of the book. This was a deep dive into pacing, character development, consistency, and flow. I feel really good that’s done.
- began another round of wordsmithing in AutoCrit–one I aborted over a month ago from boredom. I found a new tool: Crossword dictionaries. These address weak verbs that authors augment with an adverb when they instead should replace them with one strong verb. For example:
Moved cautiously
My brain quit on me and I could come up with nothing (remember I mentioned distraction and malaise?). Nada. Zilch. Zip. A fortuitous search of a crossword helper came up with:
I then decided which verb fit my story and moved on. This will be a big help until my brain turns back on!
- I ordered my cover! I like my fake cover…
…but it needs the professional’s touch. I’m pretty excited about getting that started. Now I have to wait. I’ve become good at that this past month…
- I did some work on marketing pieces for Against All Odds and the trilogy, Crossroads. I’m doing some work on the trailer (using the slideshow method Diana Peach recommended). I’m collecting ideas and will soon start arranging them sequentially.
- All three of my books in the Man vs. Nature saga were on sale for three days this month. It went good but not great. I tried to market it but I’m definitely not aggressive enough in that area. Still, one of the days was the biggest sales I’ve ever had so that was fun…. I don’t do many sales and the next will probably be when Against All Odds is published. I’m thinking of putting Book 1 in the trilogy, Survival of the Fittest, on sale then, to encourage interest in the trilogy. Anyone with experience in that sort of promotion? Does it work?
- I’ve begun thinking about the next book I’ll write in the Man vs. Nature saga. That will probably be in the Dawn of Humanity trilogy which started with Born in a Treacherous Time. I am curious what has happened to Lucy since she lost her tribe and was driven away by the band of Homo erectus who invaded their territory.
That’s it! How are you doing on your latest WIP? I’d love to hear!
More on How I’m Doing
How I’m Doing on Against All Odds–5
How I’m Doing on Against All Odds–4
How I’m Doing on Against All Odds–4
How I’m Doing on Against All Odds–3
How I’m Doing on Against All Odds–2
How I’m doing on Book 3 of my trilogy
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy, the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers, and the Man vs. Nature saga. She is also the author/editor of over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, blog webmaster, an Amazon Vine Voice, a columnist for NEA Today, and a freelance journalist. Look for her next prehistoric fiction, Against All Odds, Summer 2020.
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Hi Jacqui – sorry to be so behind the line – I’m sort of doing my own thing … taking my brain out for some space, clearing lots of things out – so all in all putting (new) stuff back into the brain.
I do admire how much you’ve taken on here with your books … history is challenging, but history pre-time is really monumental. Presumably you have a great timeline of characters, ideas, notes etc … so it’s all held together for you to refer to – I imagine that’s well organised.
Take care and all the best as the finishing line is appearing. I like the cover idea – and I’m sure will be totally appropriate once it’s been polished up a little … stay safe too – Hilary
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I have a lot of fun writing so I don’t mind how long it takes. In this upcoming book, I have woven the bird language you helped me with throughout. I loved that entire process.
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I can’t wait to read this one! Smart idea with the crossword solver 🙂
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Desperate times, Jacquie.
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Wow, you are really powering along, Jacqui. Looking forward to reading the next book 🙂 Never thought of using Crossword helper as tool for phrases and words. Nice tip.
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It is going better than I expected. I’m almost done with the wordsmithing, getting ready for the penultimate (or ultimate) final read. We’ll see if it stalls there! Glad you like the crossword helper. It’s pretty cool!
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Good for you, Jacqui. You are an inspiration to those of us who have stalled.
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I’m a slave to TODO lists and in its own way, this is just one more of those. It does help me keep track of what I’ve accomplished.
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You got quite a bit done this month, Jacqui. It’s impressive.
When you do your rewrites, do you base each one on the type of editing you want to accomplish? And do you write each rewrite in its entirety or do you copy and paste?
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Actually, I read through mostly for flow at this point. If I stall in my reading, I know something’s wrong!
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You’ve been really productive, and kudos to you!!
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It came together faster and better than I expected. Other books, not so much!
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So good to hear you’ve made progress on your WIP. Jacqui. Really like how you did those screenshots – it’s like we’re there with you in the process. Sorry about the lukewarm sales. Marketing and publicity can be a tricky one, and there are so many other books out there. The good thing about fiction books and series is that you can always promote then again and again – timeless classics which anyone can pick up anything, and always be relevant. Good look on that front.
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And mine are timeless–because they’re so far in the past, not much will change about their times! My thrillers were current and will become dated. Sigh. Thanks for visiting, Mabel. Nice to chat.
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Your thrillers might be current, and they also capture what’s going on right now – capturing a piece of history. So they are never exactly dated. Always lovely chatting.
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You’re never not busy. I’ve never used Auto Crit but might take a look at it.
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I am easily bored! I love Autocrit. Mostly for where it points out my redundancies. Who knew I used ‘there’ 3,000 times on one story!
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Good for you Jacqui, lots of juggling keeps you busy. I love the word crosspuzzle. Is that an app? I’d never heard of it. Sure would come in handy for those ‘meno moments’ when we blank out looking for the perfect word. 🙂
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The crossword helpers I found were all online–and easy to find. As the world starts to slowly open (not California, though–we’re still shut tight) so too does my brain so I may be able soon to come up with these strong verbs on my own!
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Lol Jacqui 🙂
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A crossword helper to come up with synonyms! Brilliant! Never would’ve thought of that!
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I confess, I didn’t find it myself. I was searching ‘moved cautiously’ out of desperation and found these. How lovely.
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Nice!
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You’ve given me good ideas about future marketing, Jacqui! I think you’ve done quite well in spite of malaise and other distractions…I feel the same way. That cover is going to look great! Detail-oriented folks like us don’t do well with uncertainty and it wears me out. My fitness book is being edited now but I am thinking about setting up a blog tour this summer. In fact I was going to PM you about how yours went…
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I love my blog tours. They seem to kick things off nicely and then a book a year publication keeps things going. I change them up a bit each year which I’d be happy to share with you. A bit long for a comment!
Do count me in your blog tour! I loved your photo book and I need your fitness book!
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Thanks, Jacqui, that is good to know!! I message you!
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I’d say you’re doing better than most, Jacqui. Keep up the good work!
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If I didn’t write, not sure what I’d do. I don’t cook, garden, or anything else I hear others doing.
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You’re doing very well. I’m impressed. I’m working on Amanda in France but it is going very slowly as I’m just not that inspired. Keep calm and write on!!
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I know what you mean. Luckily, where I am is wordsmithing so it’s a little easier on the creativity. I’ve also struggled with that.
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Sounds like you’re staying pretty productive. That’s awesome how much you are moving forward in your projects.
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If I keep writing, I don’t worry so much about the world!
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Despite the challenging times, it seems to me that you are doing pretty well! Keep it up. 🙂
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Writing is my great escape. I love it. Someday, I might lose my drive but so far, I’m good!
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You are doing good, Jacquie! I’m still trying to get my brain into gear again.
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That is definitely a struggle. It helps that I’ve been working at him for years and am comfortable with a fairly isolated personal world.
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Not bad at all!
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No quit in me!
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Doing well – keep it goin.
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I’ve had about the same amount of free time but been inordinately distracted. And allowed it. Sometimes, the brain just has to work its way through trauma.
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Thanks for the crossword dictionaries tool. I’m going to give it a try. 🙂 As usual, you’ve been busy! I’m looking forward to the book(s), the new cover, and the trailer. Keep up the good progress, Jacqui. You’re a marvel. 🙂
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Lots of work ahead of me but i’m pretty much enjoying the cerebral exercise and visiting long-gone friends.
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Using a crossword dictionary – now that’s clever!
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I have a weird brain, Alex. Sigh.
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Good job, Jacqui. Keep following your vision. Crossword checker looks interesting. I am using Pro Writing Aid for writing and editing. I like it because there is a checker of ten items including a thesaurus.
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Very nice. I’ll have to look into that one.
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You are well ahead Jacqui. The crossword tip is not something I would have thought of for writing, but I have used it for crosswords. I have been doing a 0.99 promo, using my usual book promotion sites, but sales are down on previous promotions.
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That’s interesting. Even though the $.99 sale day was huge (comparatively), the other days were no bigger than my normal days so I’d say it didn’t really work that well. Maybe it’s just the times, though.
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Probably. I think everyone here is baking, painting, gardening, sewing…
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A mysterious and interesting cover, Jacqui. I am also editing and only managed three pages this morning in over an hour. Some bits need more attention and change than others. Yesterday I managed over twenty pages in 2.5 hours. I see no reason to rush as book sales are slow right now. I think there is so much free stuff available on Amazon, it is making marketing very tough for us.
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It is how I feel about Xhosa’s new home but it needs a professional’s touch. My folks at Damonza will fix things for me!
A few people have commented on slow book sales. I guess it’s all over. That’s the opposite of what we’d expect but I guess people turned to binging videos rather than reading. Sigh.
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You seem to be doing great Jacqui – against all odds 🙂 And let’s face it, it’s been a pretty odd and strange past few months. Sorry that your generous marketing offer didn’t go that great (although having a day of greatest number of sales is surely the cherry on the cake). I wish I could offer tips but I know nothing. But your idea of putting the first on for sale at a special price as part of the marketing for the new book sounds like a great idea..
All best, keep well and safe … and may you beat the odds and get your brains back into gear. Though it seems to be firing pretty well 🙂
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I had a good editing day yesterday and my son called from Okinawa. That always energizes me! I know you understand that.
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😀
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Is the Crossword helper something available on line? I’ve never seen it, but it looks like a great tool. Great progress, Jacqui!
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Yes–and free. I used this one–https://www.wordplays.com/crossword-solver/ — but there were a lot to choose from. If nothing else, it got me out of my rut!
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Great…thanks, Jacqui!
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Thanks for this it’s great to hear how other writers write 😊
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And I do things a little different than most. For example, I use a spreadsheet to outline–up to about 1000 rows. Crazy but it works for me.
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I’m on the ‘final’ draft of my first novel – but I’ve re-drafted this several times!
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You are incredibly organized, Jacqui! Kudos to you.
Many thanks for the link to Diana’s tutorial of ‘Make a Book Trailer with PowerPoint’ 🙂
Have a wonderful week further. Stay safe.
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I can’t wait to try that. With the updates to PowerPoint, a lot of people are using it for specialized videos.
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Crossword helper!! Oh my gosh, Jacqui, that is a brilliant tip. I’m shamelessly stealing that one from you 🙂
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There are a bunch of them online. This link goes to the one in the picture: https://www.wordplays.com/crossword-solver/
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Thanks, Jacqui 🙂
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