In the south that’s not a thing you hear often. But then again cold is 50 to AJ’s kids. But it’s cold outside right now. Lows in the thirties. It’s even cold for AJ.
But we seek the comfort of the weighted blanket and 1000 thread count sheets. Too bad AJ isn’t working from home. That would be the perfect place to work from today. Though AJ has both a 1000 thread count sheet and weighted blanket for the couch in the living room too. She’s a creature of comfort.
When it’s cold and it smells like snow but never snows is very disappointing for both of us. Not that AJ wants to drive in the snow or do anything in it, but snow is pretty. And it’s a sign of Christmas. Christmas is less than a month away and AJ doesn’t feel all that Christmasy. Though the house is partially decorated and they are just waiting on a tree.
Living in New York City we don’t get as cold as say Upstate New York where AJ went to highschool. But we still get cold, we still get snow. AJ needs to write a winter story. Maybe we’ll get a real Christmas story soon. AJ’s got to write the Shadowlands yet. And I hope it sticks around. AJ’s goal for the next year is to publish book 1 — The Call of the Dragon. We should all rejoice. Well maybe not. But AJ is lol.
AJ’s allowing me to make some accountability for us for the next year. A bunch of deadlines. The dates are tentative, and as AJ edits and does things they will likely change. And if AJ can throw together the funds to hire an editor then that will change the schedule too.
| Start Date | End Date | Task |
| Today | Dec 31, 2020 | aj-hunter.com website |
| Jan 1, 2021 | Jan 31, 2021 | Round 1 edits (plot holes/timeline and first edit pass through) |
| Feb 1, 2021 | April 30, 2021 | Round 2 edits (details/passive voice/filter words etc) |
| May 1, 2021 | June 15, 2021 | Send out to Beta Readers |
| May 1, 2021 | June 15, 2021 | Work on Marketing Material & Cover |
| June 16, 2021 | Aug 31, 2021 | Final Rounds of edits |
| Sept 1, 2021 | Nov 30, ,2021 | Finalize Covers and Formatting |
| June 16, 2021 | Nov 30, 2021 | Social Marketing |
| Sept 1, 2021 | Nov 30, 2021 | Pre-Orders if Possible |
| Dec 1, 2021 | Launch Release of Book |
Here’s to hoping AJ’s plan works.
The Mind of Nox 
That calendar makes me feel ill looking at it. I tried to do most of it and failed miserably. I hope you get through it and get beautiful books out there. I know now I never shall.
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Aj is happy just publishing here but she wants to give me to the bigger world.
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I wanted to give Holly to the bigger world too. It didnt want her instead it almost destroyed me for trying.
I hope AJ can do you proud.
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I’m sorry to hear that. I do hope you share her in more smaller settings. We love to be seen and heard :)
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I put out a short story book for her but nobody bought it. Unfortunately only the rich can sell books.
Holly’s mysteries are only to be read by me now sadly. The world had its chance and fate stole it.
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It’s a lot harder to get readers and even harder to buy an unknown author. That’s why AJ has this blog for me. It’s the first step in gaining readers. It started out as a way for AJ to share her writing with the world. And then after she gained confidence she shared my first story. And now she has the confidence to share the whole thing on a larger platform. We can only hope to do better. Maybe you should let Holly give it a go on WordPress in short story format? It really helped AJ (and me).
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I’m glad AJ found her confidence and from what I read about you, Nox. You deserve to be a world wide star.
😥I actually did put out a collection of stories telling of how Holly grew into the sleuthy waitress she became. I put them on here first and then a lady put them on kindle for me. Because I have no money they never sold.
I went into publishing with a lot of confidence over Holly. I knew and know she’s special but that doesn’t matter. I’m a penniless worthless individual and so I’ll never be able to do her justice. All I’m capable of is getting screwed over and stolen from and humiliated as happened over the years I tried to share Holly with the world. They destroyed me and my confidence, instead of helping me. Now, they’ll never read Holly’s mysteries.
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I’m sorry to hear that. All of it from the no sales to the destroyed confidence. But I’ll say you are not worthless. No one is worthless. Look at it this way. You gave it a shot. The world wasn’t ready for Holly. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t share her. The old saying Build it and they will come only holds true for those who put in the work. It’s all about the networking. And networking can be free. It is here. It is on WattPad. It’s free on public shares of your work on facebook and twitter. ALL of my readers have come from WordPress.com and the abilitiy to ping and share works acorss it. The Daily Post back a few years ago is a god send. And there are five sites now that are trying to pick up where they left off. And just that alone I’ve seen my readership grow on the blog almost double in a month of posting from their prompts. Give me a Holly story on your blog and I’ll help you push it out there. My following isn’t huge, but that’s what writer friends do for each other!
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That’s so sweet of you thanks, Nox and AJ.
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