Quarterly wrap: April – June 2023
And just like that, half the year has gone! I’ve been a busy bee over the last three months, writing a massive 103k words, reading some great books, and planning an overseas trip. Come take a closer look at what I’ve been up to in my second quarterly wrap of 2023!! →
What’s new in my life
And just like that, half the year has gone! I’ve been a busy bee over the last three months, but between my writing, work, and new exercise routine, life in general has been a lot of fun. In this second quarterly update of 2023, there’s a bit to catch you up on, and I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to! But first, let’s take a look at some of my highlights from April, May and June:
Enjoying a few long weekends. There have been a couple of long weekends in this quarter, and I think I used them well! I spent some time in the country over Easter, went on a great hike on the Anzac Day weekend, and spent the King’s Birthday weekend writing and planning my upcoming holiday.
Booking my overseas trip. The wheels are in motion, people! Flights and accommodation are now booked, and I’m off to Europe and the UK for a whopping SEVEN WEEKS between early September and late October. I haven’t been on a trip in five years so I’m very excited to get away and live a little!!
Marketing Holding Up the Sky. There’s been a bit going on with Holding Up the Sky, my contemporary YA novel I published last year. I’ve donated a few copies to my high school for their library, and recently the book when on a promo tour with MTMC Tours. Check out #HoldingUpTheSkyMTMC for some great pics!
Platform updates
This quarter I finally started posting some content/resources about the indie publishing journey, and as a result, I’ve published 3x new blog posts (plus this update) since the last quarterly wrap. You can read these posts by clicking on the tiles below, or head on over to @southscriptpress on Instagram to see them broken down into smaller, bite-sized pieces!
At the start of June, I also celebrated the first anniversary of my newsletter. That’s right—my author newsletter is now one year old! To commemorate the occasion, I’ve created a newsletter archive that my subscribers have exclusive access to. So there’s never been a better time to sign up and read all the special excerpts I’ve previously shared!
Writing progress
Blood of Old (Graceborn #1)
Status: Writing 3rd draft
Word count: 169,485 (84.7%)
What’s new:
Things have been full steam ahead on writing the third draft of Blood of Old, book 1 in the Graceborn series! In the last three months I’ve written about 103k words across 23 chapters, averaging about 2 chapters a week, which is massive for me. But it’s tracking well to be finished the draft in mid-July. Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for an opportunity to get involved with the next round of beta reading for this baby!!
Books I’ve read
With so much of my energy going towards writing, things have been quite up and down when it comes to reading. However, I’m quite pleased that I’ve managed to read and finish 4 books this quarter. I’m still behind on my Goodreads challenge goal for the year, but I’m hopeful I’ll have more time and energy to read in the second half of 2023. Anyway, the books I’ve enjoyed recently are…
What have you been up to over the last three months? Did you progress your writing projects or read any good books? Are you planning anything exciting for the second half of 2023?
Rebecca Alasdair
I'm an Australian indie author who hoards books, loves dogs and coffee, and has a tendency of staying up all night!
6 Comments
Alex
Hey, Rebccaaaaaa!
How are you? Glad you had some longer weekends and holidays! Cool that you went on a hike as well.
I’m so excited for your trip! It sounds wonderful! Have a blast!
The pictures of Holding Up The Sky are beautiful. 🙂 Go Rebecca!
Your blog posts are great!!
Happy anniversary for your newsletter!! It’s awesome!
You’re doing wonderful with Graceborn! Kudos! You got this! I’m happy for you!
I’ve seen your Goodreads posts and reviews. They’re awesome. You got this and I believe in you (and am rooting for you as you strive to reach your Goodreads goal)!
I’ve been drawing a lot. Also reading both fiction and nonfiction. For fiction, I’m mostly reading graphic novels. For nonfiction, I’m largely reading about science, especially physics. No plans yet for 2023 (the next few months). I do hope to finish at least one of my stories though.
Rebecca Alasdair
Thanks so much Alex! It’s great you’ve been drawing recently. What have you been drawing? And physics is such a fascinating subject to learn about, isn’t it?
Alex
Hi Rebecca! Sorry for the late reply. I didn’t get a notification.
I’ve been drawing my characters mostly 🙂 (especially Matt, Naeema, and Steph). Want to see the drawings?
Agreed! Physics is intriguing :).
Take care.
Rebecca Alasdair
I’m always up for some drawings!! 😀
Andrew McDowell
Hi Rebecca. I’ve been reading some good books, and I’ve been trying to get back into a steady writing routine where I not only aim for around a couple hundred words a day, but also accepting that my initial words can be rough as long as I get them down.
I’ve kept to one post a month, and this month my blog got a facelift (theme change). I’ve also left Twitter, Tumblr, and some other sites and am trying to cut back on time on social media.
Rebecca Alasdair
Hey Andrew! Accepting a rough first go at writing can definitely be tough but it really does help you move forwards. It’s much easier to edit something than it is to work with a blank page. And cutting back on social media is a great idea. I’m still technically on Twitter but don’t post there very much anymore. Just updates and stuff. 😊