Sabbatical From Blogging

July Herbaceous Border

Goodbye for July
Battery recharge required
See you in August
Brain about to short-circuit
Writer in need of fresh air

I have had to make a tough call this month as there is so much going on. Apart from the annual three-week local Arts and Culture Festival taking place in my town, life is ultra-busy down the allotment, there are gardens to visit, people to see, a family to keep happy, and a book to finish editing.

My aim is to have my 60s urban fantasy novel ready to go on sale in eBook and paperback form by the end of the year. Yes, I’ve succumbed to persuasion by my writing buddies and my family to self-publish. Will tell you more about this on my return.

Lots of love to you all, my fabulous fellow bloggers. Sarah xxxx

Author: Sarah Potter Writes

Sarah is a British eccentric who writes offbeat fiction, haiku and tanka poetry. When stuck for words, she sketches or paints instead. She's into nature conservation, sustainability, gardening, dogs, natural health, and reading. Her sociability is something that happens in short bursts with long breathing spaces in between.

32 thoughts on “Sabbatical From Blogging”

    1. Thank you, Naomi 🙂
      Now it’s August, I’m not sure if it was a relaxing month, but definitely productive. I had to fight with the laziness bug on occasions. It was knowing that I had announced my intention to complete the edit in one month that kept me going. Didn’t want egg on my face. Am so glad that you can’t wait to read my novel. Love, S xxxx

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    1. Thank you, David 🙂 I really enjoyed reading your novel and am glad that you found my feedback useful. Am looking forward to buying and reading your short story collection. It is on my list.
      I did have fun in the sun, when it deigned to shine. Am sporting a bit of a tan, as much as my pale skin will allow, but am not into lying around in the sun doing nothing. I get very bored, very quickly.

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    1. I’m back, blondeusk. And, yes, Mister has taken me out in his convertible with the top down (spot the ambiguity here — by top, I mean the roof of the sports car, not my top!). Of course, I wore my big sun glasses and a hat with a huge brim, so I could pretend I was a film star.

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  7. Happy July Sarah, love seeing your regular posts though I don’t usually comment. Look forward to the book though it wouldn’t be my choice of genre I’m sure you’ll do a fab job.

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    1. Thank you, Roy:-) As an experiment, I’m intending to test the novel out on one of my mega-analytical friends who hardly ever reads fiction and hadn’t heard of urban fantasy until I told her about it. If the story and its characters grab her interest, then I’ll be dancing in celebration.

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    1. Funnily enough, I’m still excited to read my urban fantasy, all those years after first writing it and leaving it to marinade. When I’ve done the out-loud read-through, I’ll let you know. Would love some editorial feedback from the other side of the Pond, if you have the time and the offer is still open.

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      2. Excellent, Leigh 🙂 Will you want it in standard Arial or Times New Roman 12pt, double-spaced non-justified right-hand margin format? At the moment, I’m experimenting with Garamond 12pt, line spacing 16, both margins justified, as a preliminary to getting the book ready for publication. I’d quite like your opinion on my chosen font and layout, but if you’d prefer to have it in standard submission formatting, for ease of reading and inserting your editorial comments, I can convert it back to its original. The technicalities of working out how to set the document up are making me go square-eyed.

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      3. To be honest, layout and page-design were never my forte in journalism (or in book, journal, or e-publishing). I like the way Garamond looks, though. My default is Calibri 10 point, but that’s much too small for my eyes, so I usually blow it up to 140% when I’m reading. I use Microsoft Word and the track changes and comment functions, but my version of Word is older. I believe it’s 2007. Does your publisher (have you chosen one) have specs or any suggestions for you to follow on this? Whatever form you have it in now–when you’re ready to send it–is fine for me. Just e-mail me any specifics.

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      4. This is my experiment in self-publishing. Am trying to get the document as ready as I can on Word 2010, before uploading to CreateSpace for the POD paperback version. From there, will convert to eBook format for Kindle. Not sure about using their free conversion service though, as not everyone seems too impressed with the results, looking at what’s being said on forums. Like you, I enlarge the print on screen to somewhere between 120%-150% depending on the font. I like to sit a long way from the PC, with the screen tilted back so I’m looking down on it, otherwise I can’t see anything through my varifocals.

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    1. Thank you, Andrea 🙂 I have enjoyed my July break, although it was rather hard work. I did have time to enjoy the outdoors, too. Plenty of gardening done as well. Also attended a few concerts in the local festival, but not as many as I would have liked, having imposed an editing deadline on myself.

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