The Struggle is Real

I thought it might be time to update you all as to the progress of my book.

Just as a quick review, the last time I posted about this, back in February, I told you I hoped to have my revisions and edits done by mid-May. Seeing as I have hit that milestone, I thought I would report back as to how it’s going.

Well, I’m not done, but I’m not far off. I had a goal of revising 10,000 words a week. I wasn’t sure if I could hit that target, but you never know until you try, right? It’s been a challenging goal but in all honesty, it’s helped to have that target. It’s pushed me to keep going and to stick to my writing schedule, which has been hugely helpful.

Right now, I have about 22,000 words left to edit. I should be able to get those done in the remaining couple weeks of May. So, I figure I will be done my edits by the end of the month. Which is only a couple weeks off of my stated goal, so I am going to give myself a pat on the back for that!

Another thing I have checked off my list of things to accomplish this spring was to start an author newsletter. To do this, I signed up to MailChimp and began to learn all about it, both in terms of the mechanics of how to do it as well as tips on what makes a good newsletter. This all takes so much more time than one thinks it might!

I found it hard to figure out some of the mechanics of MailChimp, especially how to link the sign-up form to the blog and to individual blog-posts, but I think I have it figured out now. If any of you have tried to sign up and have run into difficulty, please let me know by commenting below, or email me at lasnews@telus.net.

My next task after the edits are done is to sit down with the whole MS, read it over, and see what I have. One book? (pretty sure that won’t be the case). Two? Three? And then I have to figure out where to divide it up if I have more than one. And finally, I have to see if my editor’s advice to stick to one POV only is working.

It’s been interesting. I have had to cut out a lot to keep the book to one POV. I can see where that advice has been good, for it has enabled me to focus more clearly on my main character’s story. But I do think that the book will likely have more than just that POV in it, once I make my final decisions. Some of that will depend on feedback from my beta readers, and some from my own instincts as to what I think works best. Stay tuned!

Assuming my edits are done by the end of the month, I will take the month of June to do my re-read and my final tweaks and decisions about how to structure the book, and then send it off to my beta readers. Once I get Book One, Wilding, nailed down, I will focus on it from now until launch in October. The rest of the MS I can set aside until after its launch, when I will immediately start the count-down to launch of Book 2.

The other task I have from now until the end of June is to get a book launch plan nailed down. I need to set a budget, and figure out all the steps I need to take along the way, and when to take them. I’ll probably also start the book cover design process, or at least researching options for that. I have made the decision that I will get a professional design done, as the cover is too important to scrimp on. Besides, I just couldn’t handle a cheesy design.

As I’ve been doing the edits and delving into the latter parts of my MS that I haven’t actually looked at for quite some time, I have felt a mixture of emotions.

First of all, I’m continually surprised at how much I have learned as a writer. What I wrote a few years ago, that I thought was pretty good at the time, actually was pretty bad. Which makes me nervous. Is what I’m writing now, the changes I am making, also going to look equally as bad to me a few more years down the road? It tends to erode your self-confidence, let me tell you!

Conversely, I’m also surprised at how engaged I got in the story. After all, I know exactly what is going to happen! But I still got a great deal of pleasure in the story as I read it. There were even a few things I forgot, that I was excited to read again. I think it all works. I hope so, at any rate.

Don’t forget, if you want to keep up with my book’s journey to publication, please subscribe to my author newsletter. You’ll get first hand info there on my progress, plus a lot of other fun stuff that I think you will enjoy. Sign up at the link at the bottom of this post!

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