Schedule - What to Expect from the Blog and Radio Show

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful 4th yesterday. I know I did! If you were here two weeks ago, you know that I spent last week thinking about what I was going to do with the blog and a re-launch of my radio show, A Daily Cup of Jo. Tomorrow will be my Utopia 2016 recap, but I'll get into the following next week. Well, no more rambling! Here's the new schedule!

• Mondays: On the radio! Highlights from the show will be posted here on the blog. Expect a book reading and discussion or review.
• Tuesdays: New author lessons. You wouldn't believe how many people don't know the basics. Devoting time to teaching all the things I assumed people knew and didn't. You old hats can probably skip these and be okay.
• Wednesdays: A new release, blitz, or other something like a guest post.
• Thursdays: On the radio! Highlights posted here. Expect news on new releases (with blurb readings) or stuff happening around the Indie author world.
• Fridays: Whatever I feel like talking about. Could be a new book from ME, or it could be random discussion. Tips and tricks for established authors will happen now and again, but it's mostly for me and my big mouth. I'll also post any book reviews I may have written on this day if I didn't do them on the air earlier in the week.

So, there you have it! Pretty exciting, eh? Yeah, it's also back to the basics of what I've been doing here since I started. Tips and books. *grin*

What do you think? Sound like we're gonna have some fun?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Organizing Life

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm just talking. It's probably a topic you're all too familiar with, so I do hope you'll read along. Ready? Let's get going!

So, as you all probably know, I reorganize my everything once a year in January. I look back over the previous year and measure what's working, what isn't, and add new things to my schedule I'd like to try.

This year killed me! I just tried to do too much. I'm not afraid to admit failure. After all, I'm only one person; I can't do everything all the time.

So, what to do about it (because I refuse to take it lying down)?

Drop back and re-group. That's all I can do. I have to nail down a schedule and stick to it like superglue.

Things I want to look at:

• My blog--Formulating a plan and a posting schedule
• My book publication schedule--I want to amp this up
• Takeovers in events--I'm looking to pair this down to one a month (they take a lot of my time and $$)
• My radio show--Figuring out content that doesn't require me to rely on other people--that KILLED me
• IBGW--Finding new avenues to promote my amazeballs team
• My downtime--Scheduling in time for me outside work
• Time, period--finding out where all mine is going, and why I can't seem to get a grip on managing it right now
• Reviews--I have a ton of books on my list to read still--gotta carve out time for those

So, there's my to-do for the week after Utopia this year. I like to set goals. *grin* Like you didn't already know that about me. haha!

Thank goodness I have a planning app! Deadlines are things I need, and clear direction is something I thrive on.

Do any of you have suggestions on how I can tackle all that (like desired content for a bookish radio show)? What about your schedule? Tell me in the comments!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Newly Updated Blog Schedule

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today, I'm dazzling you all with a new blog schedule. This is more so you know what to expect from the blog in the upcoming months. Which days you may want to mark to pay my little corner of the blogosphere a visit will be easier to determine. What? You love all the posts? Well, you rock! But for those others, who come here for something specific, I'm giving you a new map to help you navigate. I'm also planning a huge re-org of the information here so you don't have to wade through things you don't need to find what you're looking for. Grab a cup of coffee, get comfy, and let's get going!

First, let's hit that new schedule!

Monday - Every other Monday, you'll get an author interview. For those off weeks in between, I'm gonna start listing the highlighted author's books. So, that's something to look forward to!

Tuesday - Digital stuff. Whether this is news, a new app to make your life easier, or something cool I found while perusing the web, I'll share that on Tuesdays.

Wednesday - Book Review Wednesday! Every Wednesday, I'll post a new book review.

Thursday - This will be a day for a writing tip. Whether a grammar lesson, editing tip, writing tip, or a nifty book you should check out about writing, you can plan to get awesome information on Thursdays.

Friday - Viva la weekend! Seriously, the first Friday of the month will have an official utopYA Con post. For the remaining Fridays, I'll be giving you a snippet and link to the other official bloggers' posts. This will be re-worked after the 2015 con.

Now, on to the re-org of information.

I'm sure you're all familiar with my categorized link list. Well, because of the volume of tips and tricks posts I do, it's becoming an unwieldy beast. No one wants to hunt through tons of endless links (even if they are defined) to find what tip they're looking for. So, I'm endeavoring to split that page into a couple more, sorting the posts so they're easier for you to find. Those informational hubs will be updated as I write posts instead of twice a year (like it's done now). You'll also find a new book reviews page so you can see those with the click of a mouse.

Keep your eyes open for those changes. I'll announce them when they happen. All this goes hand-in-hand with my plans for the blog over the coming year. You'll see things streamlined, simplified, and clutter (I hate clutter) removed. I'm trying for something more like the photo above, with everything in a neat little box. *grin*

As I change things around, let me know how you like the new layout. I hope it works better for you, and makes this beast of a blog easier to navigate.

Here's to a new year and simplification!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

A Guest Post by Felicia Tatum

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm treating you all to a wonderful guest post by my featured author, Felicia Tatum! You're gonna love this one. In case this is your first visit to my blog, I'll remind you that Felicia is one of the authors attending UtopYA Con 2014 and these posts are a way to get to know some of the ladies before the event. Tickets are on sale now! Click here to get yours. Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

The Whiteboard, Computer, Pink Highlighter, and Notebook Way

by Felicia Tatum

What do a whiteboard, a computer, a pink highlighter, and a Hunger Games themed notebook all have in common?

They keep me sane.

Writing a book is a lot of work…but what happens when your brain decides to throw a bunch of different stories at you?

What do you do when you have all of these characters vying for your attention, begging you to let their story out, but you don’t know how to handle it all?

The above list has saved my life, helped me become more organized, and improved how quickly and efficiently I write

The Whiteboard: I have the next 4 projects on the board…word count goals, current word count, deadline date, and tentative release date. Maybe it’s just me, but seeing this thing looming over my head every morning makes me go, “Oh, I need to get a better number,” “That needs to be higher,” or “I need to finish that one.”

A computer: Duh. If you don’t know what this is for, please email me NOW.

A pink highlighter: I use it to mark off scenes as I write them…where are the scenes, you ask? Read on…

A Hunger Games themed notebook: I have all things book in this notebook my brother bought me a year ago for $2. I have started outlining books, so I have chapter ideas, and sometimes whole chapters outlined in it. I also have detailed pages of dreams I have for later books. This helps me to keep it all together. And yes, I have another for when this one is full.

So, I’m curious.
How do you keep organized? What do you do?

I’ve noticed I write much faster and have met deadlines much easier since I started all of this.

~ Felicia

Whether you have a moment or not, you gotta check out Felicia's featured book for this week and enter her Rafflecopter giveaway to win a copy!

Title: Devlin's Decendant
Author: Felicia Tatum
Genre: YA Paranormal
Length:  234 Printed Pages
Amazon Links: Kindle $2.99 Paperback $8.55
B&N Link: NOOK $2.99

Description:
The curse is drawing closer and closer to an end, the only solution, kill Devlin Hart’s descendant. Scott is dealing with the aftermath of his discovery while Olivia desperately tries to stop Aiden’s recapture. What will happen when Scott reveals the identity of the descendant?

Follow along as Olivia, Scott, Juniper, Sadie, Aiden, and Mark continue their adventure. Discover secrets, new loves, celebrate a birthday, take a trip to the mysterious Sorcery Council, and more in Devlin’s Descendant.


Give Felicia a follow!
On the Web
On Goodreads


And, the Rafflecopter Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo