(Being a student at Our Lady of the Lake University_ Dec. 16, 2015)
(My job as a zoo cashier_ Aug. 11, 2015)
But, as I was going to school and working different jobs over the years, I still made time to write, because that was what made me happy; and in some situations (which I won't get into), writing was what saved me.
Now, when talking about the Dolphin Princess series, scheduling had somewhat everything to do with the writing process.
With Book 1, that one took me a few years for the following reasons:
1. I was perfecting my craft (speaking of writing).
2. I was debating on whether or not to even make it a series (which ultimately, after thinking about it for a while, it became a series). AND
3. It took a while for me to find the right publisher for the book.
In hindsight, I was taking my time with Book 1. And I guess another reason was because of what was going on in my life at the time: I was juggling school and career choices. (Typical college student stuff, right?)
Now, with Dolphin Princess: The Crown of Valeria (Book 2), I think I did have a tight schedule for that one for the following reasons:
1. I had this one on the back-burner, when I was looking for a publisher for my book series. In other words, I was already working on Book 2, while I was searching for a publisher. And once I found a publisher, I immediately told myself, "Go ahead and get Book 2 out there!"
2. At this point in my life, I was out of school, I was working at home as an online tutor, and, like I said, I had plenty of time in the world for my writing. AND
3. I saw it as a way to promote Book 1. I was thinking that if people knew about there even being a Book 2, then that would get them to buy Book 1 before Book 2's release.
So, it was sometime in Fall of 2018 that I created a schedule for the manuscript for The Crown of Valeria. At first, I only had a rough draft of that manuscript; but pretty soon, I came up with a few more drafts, because, as I've said before, the rough draft is only the foundation to your story--it's NEVER the finished product. So, I was working tediously on Book 2 pretty much every single day (except on Thanksgiving week, Christmas week, and around New Years).
And as I was working on Book 2, I had this crazy goal in mind: to have a book (it didn't matter if it was Book 2, or any future book that I chose to write) released on my birthday, or at least on the week of my birthday. And fortunately, I had proven to not be crazy, because I managed to have Book 2 be released on my 26th birthday.
However, during that time that I was writing and finalizing Book 2, I had to make sure that there were no mistakes. I was going to make the same mistakes that I had made when I was publishing Book 1. I made sure that I had the same settings as Book 1: the right size of the book, the story being consistent with its predecessor, etc. And I had to make the cover art, just like I did for Book 1. So that time around, I was ready for anything.
Luckily, I was able to complete things ahead of schedule, which was very good, because I was putting my time and energy into the series.
So now, as I write Book 3, my schedule is more open than it was for Book 2. I've decided to take my time with Book 3, because this one is supposed to turn serious in the series (and that's all I'm saying about it... for now).
Therefore, my advice to you is this: It's okay to have a schedule when writing a story or book; but at the same time, be reasonable--be okay with being flexible, if something doesn't work out. And above all, HAVE PATIENCE.
Veronica Gonzalez
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