Day 142: Facebook

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After my cross-post on Facebook yesterday got so much engagement, I'm kind of anxious about how today's post will do. It'll probably be crickets, Camy, so don't get your hopes up.

I'm still working on blocking The Gentleman Thief and I only have a few more scenes to go, one long scene and three or four short scenes. If I apply myself really hard today, I might get them all done!

I'm feeling better than I did yesterday, although still a bit stuffy-headed and achey.

***

Yay! I finished blocking all the scenes! I also discovered something I hadn't realized before, that one of the great things about blocking before I write the scene is that I can do research and decide on names at this stage, so I don't have to do research or use placeholder names when I write the manuscript.

Also, for one short scene that I blocked, I ended up writing it instead, so that's one less scene to write! However, I'd been in the "researching and looking up words" mode with the blocking, so I ended up taking time to look up words and do a little research while I write the scene, so my words per hour rate is a little low.

I had some house chores to do, which I ended up doing during my breaks in between blocking sessions. So the amount of time I actually wrote was kind of small. It's a bit disappointing.

I also decided to participate in another promotional event. This one is a multiple author blog event in December with a big giveaway. It might hopefully get people to sign up for my newsletter and maybe even buy my book since it'll be on a preorder discount at the time.  I even finished writing the blog post for the promo event already, so it'll be hardly any work for me when the event starts!

I've realized that since I got back on Facebook and found a really nice group of Christian indie authors to hang with, I've also been able to find more promotional opportunities. Yesterday, a writer friend invited me to two box sets, and today I happened upon the post about this promotional event that I just signed up for. I've been selective about what promo events I do, but there happened to be these three that will either help me promote my Regency series or increase my newsletter list.

So while I had been avoiding Facebook for a long time, it's been really good for me lately. Not just the promotional stuff, either--I've read some good articles on writing and marketing, and gotten good advice from indie authors who've been doing this for many years.

Facebook and my other social media do take up more time during the day, but I've at least gotten a good return on my time investment, unlike other things I've filled my time with.

I have a few more hours today that I could use to work, but I'm fading a bit and also getting a little bit of IBS discomfort, so I think I'll call it a day, even though my total number of hours worked is only about 5.

Blocking: Time spent: 3 hours, 22 minutes
Editing: Time spent: 0 minutes
Writing: Time spent: 22 minutes
Writing: Total number of words: 384 words
Writing: Average speed: 1047  words per hour
Time spent doing other writing-related business: 1 hour, 20 minutes

My takeaway for today: Despite my reluctance in getting back on Facebook, it's been good for my writing career.

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