Another NaNoWriMo is in the books.

See what I did there?

According to the very singular, somewhat myopic, yet completely measurable goal 50,000 words in 30 days, I didn’t finish. However, based on what I accomplished toward my writing business over the month of November, I’ve decided that to call this a loss is akin to telling the 4.0 student she’s failed her grade because of low standardized test scores.

Over the month of November, I…

• Got to 38,000 words on my manuscript for Release: Book Two of The Adept Cycle.
• Put down rough notes and about 2,500 words on the first of the Coven Thirteen Missions.
• Attended my critique and publishing group meetups, where I both gain and give valuable feedback and nuggets of wisdom, expertise and experience, and where we all continue to grow our network.
• Did some on-site research for book two up in Gig Harbor, WA.
• Redesigned this blog, adding a landing page and a page where you can buy my books.
• Got my first 5-star review on Amazon for Rising.
• Created a video trailer for Rising: Book One of The Adept Cycle.
• Updated the Rising website with a complete revamp.
• Published 17 blog posts on my blog and one over at the Phoenix Publishing and Book Promotion blog.
• Updated all my media and press information on my website, created bookmarks to hand out at signings and events, got myself on the list for table space at Phoenix ComiCon, signed myself up for the Holiday Author Event, and even made a CafePress store!

Oh, and! There’s a Goodreads Giveaway going on, too!!

NaNoWriMo claims I didn’t win. I beg to differ.

The thing to keep in mind, my fellow authors, is that your book is a business. There’s a lot more to writing than, well, writing! If you don’t do all that other stuff… the marketing; the editing; the tinkering; the brand-building; the networking… then what’s the point?

So NaNo, I won’t be buying your “I won” t-shirt this year. But I’m okay with that. You sent me the wrong size last year anyway.

I won’t be getting the free Scrivener license, but that’s fine. I’ve tried it and I’m really not that into it.

I’m not eligible for all those other little trinkets and handouts, but no worries… I’ll be just fine without them.

And what’s best? I’ve committed myself to a December goal that fits better than a word count… I’m setting myself a number of hours to work on writing, and another set of hours to work on “all that other stuff.”

I’ll be grading myself based on effort and output rather than word count. At this point, it just seems to make a whole lot more sense!