Happy IWSG Day! It’s the second IWSG bloghop of the year. And here we are again on the first Wednesday of every month. Thanks for bringing us together to share our writing ups and down. Our concerns and breakthroughs, goes to ninja extraordinaire Alex Cavanaugh.
The co-hosts for the February 1st posting of the IWSG are: Jacqui Murray, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Gwen Gardner!
Interested in joining us? Click on the badge above. Our Twitter hashtag and handle are #IWSG and @TheIWSG.
So what’s going on with me this month?
Well, I’ve completed my first monthly random wheel WIP challenge. As you know I was a NaNoWriMo rebel last year. I used a random wheel to work on 12 WIPs and it led me to a 30 day writing streak. I figured since it worked so well then why not keep on doing it.
So I brought the random writing wheel back. And scaled it down to a mixture of short stories and novellas, totaling nine WIPs. And for three days each WIP will have my undivided focus. That’s 27 days for each month with a 3-4 day mini break before I start all over again the next month.
How did I do for January? Let’s see:
| WIP | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Total Words |
 | January 3 – 204 words | January 4 – 213 words | January 5 – 219 words | 636 words |
 | January 6 – 215 words | January 7 – 425 words | January 8 – 216 words | 856 words |
 | January 9 – 259 words | January 10 – 196 words | January 11 – 210 words | 665 words |
 | January 12 – 0 words | January 13 – 0 words | January 14 – 0 words January 15 – 320 words | 320 words |
 | January 15 – 364 words | January 16 – 190 words | January 17 – 0 words | 554 words |
 | January 18 – 237 words | January 19 – 0 words | January 20 – 269 words | 506 words |
 | January 21 – 204 words | January 22 – 355 words | January 23 – 152 words | 711 words |
 | January 24 – 388 words | January 25 – 208 words | January 26 – 281 words | 877 words |
 | January 27 – 0 words | January 28 – 139 words | January 29 – 260 words | 399 words |
Although I missed 6 days, I managed to write 5,524 words last month. Been on a mini-break since January 30th. And will spin the random wheel again tomorrow as February is a short month.
February 1 question – If you are an Indie author, do you make your own covers or purchase them? If you publish trad, how much input do you have about what goes on your cover?
My first published book I did the cover myself. I found a free photo to use for the ebook cover.
For the book anniversary I updated the cover, this time using a book designer I found on Fiverr. I described what I wanted, and he gave me two versions. Satisfied with the second version, I paid promptly.
Of course I still do make my own covers myself using photos found on Pixabay and Canva.com. But they’re only temporary covers. Whether I self or trad, I’ll use a professional designer and give as many specs to what I’m looking for. And hopefully a beautiful cover that’ll make both sides happy will be created.
What’s going on with you this month? Did you participate in #IWSGPit? How did it go? If you are an Indie author, do you make your own covers or purchase them? If you publish trad, how much input do you have about what goes on your cover?
Happy birthday month! Happy Black History Month! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Paving My Author's Road 
What a difference in the covers. I’ve heard a lot of reference to Fiverr. I may check it out.
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Right? You should. I don’t know if the person who designed them is still on Fiverr. But if they are, I would definitely try to contact them again for future book covers.
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Second design was definitely better.
That’s cool the WIP wheel is still working for you.
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Yes it was. Even tested it out by printing a paperback proof of both.
The first chosen WIP from the random wheel is once again “Love Lines.”
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I loved the second version too. Beautiful colours. And you did some good writing in Jan!
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Thank you. I think I remember asking for a flow of different colors.
Hoping February will be a continuation of January.
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Love the idea of a Work in Progress Wheel, especially with multiple titles in play. I tend to work on one thing at a time, although I will set it aside if something else comes up that takes priority. In January, I managed to finish one book and I’m 2/3 through a second. I average 5000 words a day and try to put in 6 hours a day. Unfortunately, life often gets in the way! As others have said, second cover was impressive.
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I do the same. I suffer from new-story-idea-itis. That’s why I have so many unfinished WIPs. But with the wheel I can tackle them, plus it also helps me with something else I sometimes suffer from. Fall-out-of-love-with-my-story-itis.
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Thanks for the reminder. I think I read that making a cover for any work keeps a writer motivated. It work for me in NaNo. I’ll have to make a few more. hehehe
Anna from elements of emaginette
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I suggest using Canva.com. Love that tool. Although I often use stock photos from other places like Pixabay to create my covers on Canva.
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Congrats on your words this month! I like your system and it’s cool you’ve found something that works for you. Best of luck for continued progress in Feb.
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Thanks Meka! With any luck by summer I’d possibly have two finished and polished stories by summer.
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I love the idea of a WiP wheel. You’d never be at a loss as to what you’re working on next.
I’m Gwen, co-hosting the IWSG this month – https://gwengardner.blogspot.com/2023/01/iwsg-how-are-you-book-covered.html#comment-form
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That’s the best thing about it. It takes the hemming and hawing of what to work on next away. And before the chance to lose interest sets in, I’m working on another WIP. Giving time for the previous one to stew in my head until I go back to it again.
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The WIP Wheel is an interesting way to motivate yourself, Lidy! I’m a big believer in whatever works. I liked your second cover best. It’s easier to see in a smaller format. Loved the Mark Twain quote. Have a great February.
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I should’ve started using the WIP wheel long ago. Wasn’t sure it’d work at first actually. Never been happy to be wrong.
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