Wednesday, November 3, 2021

IWSG - In the Throes of NaNo

 It's time for the November Insecure Writer's Support Group!


The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and exists to help writers support each other through their insecurities. Anyone can join. Simply, click on Alex's name above and sign up on the linky list.

The co-hosts this month are:

Kim Lajevardi, Victoria Marie Lees, Joylene Nowell Butler, Erika Beebe, and Lee Lowery!

The optional question for this month is: 

What's harder to do, coming up with your book title or writing the blurb?

Honestly, both are harder than writing the actual content for me, but I'd say the blurb is harder than the title. I'm not great at either.

My insecurity this month has to do with the business plan I'd made for the next year. I had intended to take the year to completely get off a medication I'm slow tapering off from (it will take me until July of 2022) in order to avoid the more brutal aspects of withdrawal, but also to put the business degree to full use and fulfill a hefty one year business plan I'd put together. But life happens, and with medical bills racking up, plus unexpected expenses of home and vehicle ownership, I'm having to search for a job and rethink everything I'd planned for the year. It sucks, but it's life. And most of the medical bills are mine, and completely uncovered by insurance. It also means the time I was hoping to also recover from my last fibromyalgia flareup is null and void. And round and round we go. 

I haven't sat down to redo my business plan yet, because I need to have the job first and to know what type of hours I'll be working. And the fibro's still not great, which means I'll have some heavy fatigue after I start the new job. So I'm giving myself about a month after I get the job to sit down and redo the business plan.

I'm a little down in the dumps, but I was already lucky my husband could support us while I returned to school over the last year. I'll suck it up, and I'll still make things happen. Just probably not all the things.

Speaking of which, I passed 30,000 words on my craft book, and I'm feeling good about where it's going. Of course, at around 27,000 words, I suddenly had the "this book sucks and nobody will be interested" calamity. Still working through that.

Okay, time to go over my submission stats for the last month. In October, my stats were:

12 submissions

9 rejections

1 acceptance

1 story assumed rejected or lost (no response, and no response to query)

23 stories currently on submission

Also, I was interviewed on a podcast, Living the Dream with Curveball. His show's about people who inspire, and there are all kinds of great episodes to check out. They're pretty short.

Are you NaNoing? Have you been submitting? Any news to share? What are your insecurities? How are you dealing with them?

May you find your Muse.

26 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Sorry your plan was derailed. Hopefully the day job doesn't suck the life out of you.

Jemi Fraser said...

That stinks. I really wish you guys had a better healthcare system in the US!
Hope you find a job you enjoy and that works for you.
I'm doing NaNo as well - it's always fun
Take care of you!

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Don't think about the time it'll take, Shannon. Life goes by too fast anyway. Just remember you're doing great. Happy IWSG day.

Helen said...

Sorry about the 'derailed' plans, but you do have a PLAN and you seem really committed to it, which is much more than I (and probably many) have. Kudos for sticking with it!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

You need rest but you need money - that's no fair. Adulting sucks.

cleemckenzie said...

It's hard when you have a monkey wrench like that thrown into a very busy life. Been there, so I appreciate the challenge. Here's to working through the rough patch and finding that smooth road again.

Anonymous said...

Life gives you a detour, then the damned side road is flooded out. Dig out the high waders. Like fibro pain, there's no way around it, only through it. Hang in there.

Loni Townsend said...

Oh, ugh. That sucks about the medical issues. I hope a new opportunity comes up to help with the hammer of medical bills.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Medical care is so expensive even with insurance. Good luck with the job hunt. I hope you find something that doesn't exhaust you. And kudos for keeping up with all the submissions of your work.

Olga Godim said...

Medical bills suck. I'm so grateful to be living in Canada. Our medical system is much better.

kimlajevardi.com said...

Sorry for the sideways plans. Medical bills suck. Go luck on your Nano project!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Shannon - there's always a reason for things happening - life will sort itself out and now you have a little time to reflect. All the best - Hilary

Shannon Lawrence said...

I'm approaching work differently than I have in the past, and setting expectations on my part. It should be better.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Good luck with NaNo! Yes, our healthcare system definitely needs a massive overhaul.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Thank you, Joylene!

Shannon Lawrence said...

I like how you put that. I'm getting ready to throw the wrench back.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Thank you! That's a great way to look at it. Helen, I couldn't get to your blog from your profile. If you get notified of this comment, can you shoot me the link?

Shannon Lawrence said...

Adulting does suck!

Shannon Lawrence said...

Thank you! I love seeing your walk updates.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Thank you, Lee. I hope you're hanging in there, too.

Diane Burton said...

Sorry your plan didn't go as planned. Life happens. Sending virtual hugs to help you through the difficult times.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Thank you!

Shannon Lawrence said...

Thanks! Still looking.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Your system is definitely much better. Our attempt at improving things actually made things worse for many.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Thanks!

Shannon Lawrence said...

That does seem to be true, so here's hoping what comes about instead is good.