Setting Yourself a Writing Deadline

Welcome to the Distress Signals Blogging Bonanza! What’s that, you’re wondering? Well, you can either go and read this post or read the next sentence. In a nutshell: Distress Signals is out in paperback in the UK and Ireland on January 5 and hits the U.S.A. on February 2, and every day in between I’m going to blog as per the schedule at the bottom of this post.

Before we get started, what did you think of yesterday’s video blog? I’m in two minds. On one hand, I think with a bit more effort and pre-planning, they could turn into something worth doing once or two a month in the long-term. But on the other hand, it irks me when things are a little bit crap (i.e. I just used my webcam, the room was kind of dark, etc. etc) and I really have my doubts that people who like to read blog posts are also people who like to watch videos. Thoughts? Let me know in the comments below. I’m definitely going to do it for the rest of this 28-day craziness, because I said I would, but we’ll have to see how it goes after that. If you haven’t watched it yet, you can do so here. To give you an idea of what went on, this screenshot sums it up (sorta):

Anyway, onto today. Saturdays, as per the schedule, are for pointing you in the direction of something I wrote elsewhere. Today, I’m pointing you to Writing.ie, where for the New Year I wrote about writing deadlines.

I don’t know in how many Januarys I opened a brand new notebook, smoothed down the first page and wrote ‘Goal #1: Get published’ at the top of it.

It was lots of them though. All of them, almost, up until the last one. (I’m writing this on the New Year’s Eve that your liver might still be getting over, the one in 2016.) Last year I didn’t have to write that, because it was already happening. I was going to get published in 2016 – on May 5, specifically. That’s the day Corvus published my thriller Distress Signals in trade paperback in Ireland and the UK. A goal reached and a dream come true. Plus, lots of bonus stuff: the TV rights have been sold, I was shortlisted for Crime Novel of the Year in the BGE Irish Book Awards and Blackstone are publishing Distress Signals in the U.S. in less than thirty days’ time.

What was it about 2016? (Or 2015 rather, which was the year I actually signed my book deal. Or 2014, the year I got the amazing agent who got me that deal.) Did I write ‘Get published’ in a special pen? Select a notebook that had secret special powers? Accidentally inhale some pixie dust that I’d unknowingly brought into my house via some contaminated but adorable Disney World merchandise?

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE POST.

Remember: there’s a super sexy hardcover edition of Distress Signals (the American one, out February 2) up for grabs, signed to you from me. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post or any post published here between January 5 and February 2. One entry per post, so comment on more than one and increase your chances. Open globally. Good luck!

A reminder in case you’ve forgotten since the last paragraph: Distress Signals is out in paperback in Ireland and the UK now! If you’ve read it already, hunt down someone you know who likes thrillers and tell them that my rent is very, very high. (Or that you liked it, if you did. You know, whatever works.) If you have no idea what I’m talking about and you’re not quite done with your procrastination yet today, you can find out more about Distress Signals here.