According to the Camp Nanowrimo website, I “won” last night, which means I completed my goal of writing 15,000 words in a month. At 11:30 last night when I reached my goal, I was beyond thrilled. I literally doubled the length of my manuscript in less than a month. I know for some writers 15,000 words is a small word count total for a month, but for me, it had taken nearly four months to reach 15,000 words the first time (my classwork and lack of mojo are what I blame for this weird writing slump). The writing slump and lack of creative productivity drove me crazy, and when I started Camp Nanowrimo, I was expecting to once again ditch my goals like I did in April.
What surprised me about this experience was how seeing the bar grow and my daily word count goal be met day after day made it that much easier to write. Before this month, I tended to be a feast or famine writer. I would sit down at the keyboard and either write half a chapter or write nothing at all. During July, I found myself writing each night without fail at about the same time. I think this consistency is what led to my “success” with this experiment. They say it takes about two weeks to a month to form a habit, and I can say that by about the third week, my brain seemed to automatically engage around 10 PM to tell me, “Okay, let’s get this writing show on the road.” It happened whether I was tired or wide-awake, and from 10 PM to midnight (sometimes later if the words were flowing), I would type away. To start, I would edit what I wrote the previous night, but after one or two passes, I would get cracking. This seemed to work because by doing some minor editing/adding, I became reacquainted with my work and satisfied my need to edit at the same time. Next month, I hope to hit 45,000 words (aka write 15,000 words).
Why is there a random picture of a cover of The Earl of Brass you may ask? Because I am doing a giveaway of two paperbacks on Goodreads. You can find it here.
May the odds be in your favor. If you’re willing, I hope you will share my Goodreads giveaway with any friends you think may be interested.
Kara Jorgensen 
Congratulations friend! And I pray the giveaway is fun for you. Keep writing and living!
Thank you =)
Shared your giveaway! Good luck.
Thanks, Chris =) I greatly appreciate the share!
Shared the giveaway on Twitter. I’m thinking of doing a giveaway with my first novel on the launch of my second – any advice? Have you paid for any promotion?
Thanks, Kate =) It’s really hard to get on email list based promotions, like Ereader News Today (which I’ve used successfully in the past), when you publish your first book. They wants quite a few reviews first. If you can get reviews early on, then I would definitely suggest applying for ENT or running a promotion with them a month or so after launch.
Just realized I misread your question. Yes, I used Ereader News Today with good success. I have seen others use Bookbub, but I don’t think I’m up to the level they want in order for them to say yes.
Thanks Kara, will check it out.