Daynote - Fri 5 Dec
A very excellent Friday to you.
I stayed up late reading my mate's book (whoops) but it was worth it (see below) and I woke up to a beautiful sunrise and the news that my Kindle Daily Deal has helped A RELUCTANT SPY get to Number 14 in the entire UK Kindle store (which is absolutely wild) as well as hitting Number 1 in a bunch of different categories, including Espionage, Political Thrillers and Legal Thrillers (never been sure why it's in that category, but I'll take the win).
ON DECK: Honestly got a bit distracted with screenshotting the above this morning (and ancillary tasks) but I still managed a bit of outlining. The first third or so of the Scrivener file is now in reasonable shape so I've got the runway to start drafting fairly soon I think.
LISTENING: I really enjoyed this interview with agent/editor/writer Kesia Lupo on the Page One Podcast. In general, this most recent season of industry expert interviews has been fantastic and this one is no exception.
WATCHING: I was reading most of yesterday evening, so no real telly-watching. I did, however, greatly enjoy this video on YouTube from Productive Peter about how to read a book a week.
There's a lot of YouTube advice videos on this topic that basically boil down to 'idk, just read more?' but I enjoyed this one because it had concrete steps to take if you're dealing with an attention span and environment smashed to bits by the internet. And as someone who has both a personal and now professional interest in rebuilding a consistent reading habit, I found it very useful.
READING: Speaking of reading I finished Marco Rinaldi's DARK WATERS last night and it absolutely stuck the landing. As this was a beta read, I need to put together a (long) email of thoughts for Marco, but that will be a pleasure to do because this book absolutely slapped.
LINK: I've just discovered the Past Due Podcast (thanks to an Instagram reel featuring Mary Robinette Kowal talking about her extremely varied portfolio career as a writer, podcaster and Patreon-er) and I think it's going to be a new fave - lots and lots of interviews with creatives in a range of fields about how they make the money side work.
UP NEXT: I'm awaiting several things at the moment (that I can't talk about) and today may be the day. We shall see...
We're off to get our Christmas tree this weekend, then I'll be packing for a work trip to London in the first half of next week. Lots of time on trains and in hotels means writing might be super productive or really spotty. We'll see how it goes!
Onwards!