Summary:

Things are moving on apace on the paid editing front, which is exciting – and it’s also proving very enjoyable. It took some planning, but I also managed to make a lot of progress on my other projects this week, too.

 

Monday:

I completed three new projects from my repeat Upwork client and submitted them.

 

Tuesday:

I started proofreading the second novel – A Spectrum of Heroes – for final submission to the publisher. It turned out to be a faster exercise than I had anticipated, and also much more enjoyable. I’m really glad I like my own writing!

 

Wednesday:

I picked up another project on Upwork (and the possibility of a couple more) so I did some extensive planning and scheduling, to make sure I have enough time to work on all the fiction projects I also want to complete this month..

Later, I edited the first short story submission for the upcoming TL;DR anthology.

 

Thursday:

I started out with some Upwork negotiations, providing an editing sample for a prospective client.

Then I moved on to the next Safeguarding scene. I had hoped to jump straight in without the usual faff and procrastination, but it was not to be. I really need to work on getting started more promptly, especially when working on the novel.

I did manage to get the scene done, and also get 25% through my latest Upwork project before my focus session with Claire from CP’s Day Off. So, then I switched to proofing Spectrum for a bit, before helping Bear with a post about our recent visit to Cheltenham.

I went out for lunch (novel!) and stayed in the cafe a bit to write some more notes for my own story for the TL;DR anthology.

Once back home, I completed some more of the Upwork project, then I researched some more companies that might offer proofreading work.

 

Friday:

I was assigned another submission for the TL;DR anthology, this time with no requested feedback, so I read through the story and provided my score to the curator.

 

Saturday:

After another morning where I spent two hours using domestic chores, life admin, Twitter and general faffing around to delay starting on writing projects, I clarified my list of tasks, prioritised them and finally got going (I really need to work on this problem…).

I started simple with a review of the film I watched the night before.

Then I went back to Safeguarding but didn’t continue with the next scene. I’d been thinking about why I was experiencing such resistance to getting on with it, and realised the next three scenes involve a battle I’m really not sure how to write. I know the general shape and where I need to get to by the end, but the details in the middle (particularly decisions about potential deaths and physical harm to characters) are very foggy. So, I decided instead to go back over a recent scene that was too short and add in some extra depth to that, which was an easy way to feel like I’d made progress on the novel, without having to tackle the tricky battle scenes.

Then I completed and submitted my current Upwork editing job and applied for several more.

Next was adding some more text to the Editing Services page of my website, based on advice from the Freelance Bootcamp, after which I completed the week three sessions on that course.

While I was making tea, ready for my afternoon session, the subconscious crew turned up unexpectedly with a plan for the next three Safeguarding scenes (taking me through to the end of the battle) so I wrote some notes to make sure I didn’t lose the ideas.

Then I finally started my first draft of the story I have planned to submit to the TL;DR anthology, and finished off the day by proofing some more of Spectrum.

In between, I had an interview for a potentially long-term Upwork project and won a year-long contract! It will only be very small amounts of work per month, but it’s my first regular, ongoing client so I’m very happy!

Wow – what a day!

 

Sunday:

I completed another Upwork project for my most loyal client to date.

Later, I proofed some more of Spectrum.