Mid-week Check-In

Okay, so obviously, if you were watching last week's word count process bar, things kinda fell apart on the writing front :P But considering I was wrestling with copy edits, auditioning actors for a film class all weekend (literally), and then came down with some PLAGUE (it deserves to be in all-caps, trust me), I think it's understandable.

Will start keeping track of words again on Monday, and hopefully stay on track better :)

In the mean time, lookie what I found while looking through tumblr! Isn't it neat? I've always been a fan of Dakota Fanning (and Elle, too!)

PS Just saw a mock-up of the ONCE WE WERE cover...and it was awesome. Just so you know ;)

Week 2 of 10k per Week

So, Hooray!, I met (and exceeded by about 300 words), my 10,000 word goal last week. Today, Monday, starts another week. As before, I've got a progress bar below, which I'll be updating as my word count climbs from day to day.

If you'd like, you can post your own daily word counts in the comments, or tweet me @KatZhang. I tweet much more than I blog, anyhow ;) This is going to be a craaaazy hectic week, so hopefully, I can make my goal!

2413 / 10000

Some VERY. EXCITING. NEWS.

Okay, so Sarah Maas, Susan Dennard, Erin Bowman and I have been teasing this news at you guys all this morning and yesterday. Now we’re finally announcing what on earth our Super Exciting News is. I won’t drag it on any longer…

WE’RE GOING ON TOUR TOGETHER.

HOORAY.

This tour idea has been simmering for a long time, and I’m so happy that it’s finally come together. Because it’s not just any tour. Yes, we’re going to be doing the usual tour-y stuff like visiting libraries and signing at bookstores. But in addition to all that, we’re also going to be giving free workshops at every tour stop! 

Erin, Sarah, Susan, and I all started out as young writers, and we really wanted to do something to give back to the community of young writers out there today. So in every one of the 7 cities we’re hitting, we’ll be hosting a free workshop for writers aged 13-22, in addition to a normal signing.

I am SO looking forward to this, and I hope that some of you who live in the cities we’re going to be visiting are excited, too!

So, which cities are those? Our full schedule is still coming together, but right now, it looks like: 

New York, NY (5/29-6/1) -BEA! Woo!

Philadelphia, PA (6/2-6/4)

Baltimore, MD (6/4-6/6)

Pittsburgh, PA (6/6-6/7)

Cleveland, OH (6/8-6/9)

Grand Rapids, MI (6/9-6/11)

Chicago, IL (6/12-6/14)

Want more info on anything tour-related? Check out our new tumblr HERE, where we'll be posting everything from photos, to mini-blog posts, to videos from the road. You can also follow our brand new twitter account @YAGBTour.

In order to help spread the news about the tour, we’re hosting a big (international) giveaway for each of our books (WHAT’S LEFT OF ME, QUEEN OF GLASS, SOMETHING STRANGE & DEADLY, TAKEN).

To enter, you can:

-Reblog the tumblr post

-Tweet the following message exactly (don’t change/edit it or we won’t be able to track you): YA authors Erin Bowman, Susan Dennard, Sarah J. Maas, & Kat Zhang hit the road for the #YoungAuthorsGiveBackTour! http://youngauthorsgiveback.tumblr.com

-Share the news on Facebook! (But please visit one of our personal blogs and leave a comment that links to your Facebook share in our post announcing the tour so we can track your entry!)

-Pin the tour promo image above to Pinterest! (Again, please leave a link to your Pin in the comments on one of our sites!)

Once again, I am SO EXCITED for this and can’t wait to hopefully meet some of you on the road :D

Week 1 of 10k per week

10314 / 10000

Nothing like public scrutiny to keep one accountable, yes?

I'll be putting one of these up at the start of each week, then updating it day to day until Sunday. Feel free to use the comments below to "keep yourself accountable," as well :P

10,000 Words a Week

It’s weird to talk about Book 3 (also called As-Yet-Untitled-OMG-Needs-Title) when ONCE WE WERE is still 6 months from release, but such is the nature of the publishing game. The first draft of Book 3 is going to be due in a few months. I’m also graduating from college in a few months, and need to cast, co-direct, and help edit a short film in that time, as well. (Btw, if you live around Nashville and act and/or know anyone who does, you should totally come audition for our short film!).

So, if I’m going to get this first draft done in a timely manner, I’m definitely going to have to set word goals for myself. I get a lot of questions about how much time I actually spend writing every day, or how many pages/words I write per day. It’s really hard for me to say. 

As a student, especially in college, every week can be so different. One week, things might be relatively light schoolwork-wise. Another, I might have three midterms and a presentation, plus a friend’s surprise birthday party I need to go buy a cake and decorations for, and some club that’s putting on an annual show, or something. One day, I might only have 2 hours of class. Another day, I spend more than 5 hours in class. Etc. Etc.

And the schedule differs a lot just as a writer, too. It’s especially hard to estimate “words/pages written per day” when I’m revising. I might spend 5 hours in front of the computer, working away, but the net word-count only changes by 10 words.

Things are easiest to tally when I’m drafting. I try not to revise much (key word: try) when I’m drafting, so word counts are simpler to keep track of. 

For the next two months (so, starting tomorrow, March 4, and ending May 4) I’m going to be shooting for writing 10,000 words a week. Weekly goals tend to work better for me than daily ones, so I can be more flexible on a day-to-day basis...which is going to be essential, considering I have finals week figured in here, haha!

10,000 words a week for 2 months is, of course, 80,000 words total. Which is probably going to be more words than I need, but it’s a nice goal to shoot for. 

So, the big question is: Anyone want to do this with me? If you do want to look at it on a day-to-day basis, it’s about 1428 words a day, which hey, is lower than the 1667 words (I think?) you need for NaNoWriMo :P

I’ll be updating here weekly with my word count. Feel free to either set up something similar on your own blog, or just comment in the comments, if you’re interested! I can set up progress bars or whatever :P

If I can get this timed right, I’ll be finishing up on the first draft of Book 3 right before I walk for commencement!