Book Update

It’s been a bit since my last update, so I wanted to give you all a quick update.

I’m waiting on final revisions of the artwork now, which is the last step holding me up from putting up the pre-sale on my site.

I’m also about 40% done with recording the first draft of the audiobook. That’s been far more time consuming than I imagined it would be. I’ve been doing roughly one hour of recording every morning, before work, before my voice gives out. It’s also frustrating that I can’t sometimes even read the words I wrote out loud without flubbing. Thankfully, it’s easy to delete and do another take!

One note that I’ve decided on is that the audiobook, narrated by me, will be an exclusive on my site. There’s a number of reasons for it, but the strict guidelines for Audible might be too much for me to comply with. I may have a professional narrator record it for Audible. But if you want to hear me tell the story, you’ll need to buy that version of the audiobook directly from me.

Stay tuned, details about the book, and pre-sale links will come shortly!

Off to Beta Readers!

If you haven’t been following along on social media, the book is now done. Last Friday, I put the finishing touches on it and read it one final time.

My editor gave me (literally) hundreds of great suggestions throughout, and gave me a big vote of confidence on parts I was unsure about, which I loved.

As of now, the book’s in the hands of about half a dozen beta readers. What’s a beta reader? Glad you asked.

Beta readers are people who volunteer to read a book before it’s published. They usually are presented with a questionnaire the author prepares, asking questions such as:

  • Did you relate to the main character?
  • Did the ending provide you with satisfaction?
  • How did you feel about <part the author is unsure of>

The author often, takes that feedback and incorporates it into the final draft that gets sent off to be published.

All of this is excellent news. And, while it’s happening, the artwork for the book will be completed. As soon as the artwork is done, I’ll put up a pre-order on the site. When will I share details about the book? I knew you’d ask. Soon. I promise. Why am I keeping it such a secret? I don’t know. I’m a weirdo.

Thank you for your patience. I know it’s been a while since you got something in your hands of mine, and I appreciate your patience and support while this one’s been cooking.

Another update is coming soon!

First Draft of Book Three is Complete and Off to The Editor!

I know what you’re thinking; “about time!” or “you’re still working on that?” or “you, again?”. Trust me, I know. It feels like it’s been eons since I started working on this book. My next book should be about how to come up with excuses and avoid things that bring you joy, which is what I’ve been doing for quite some time now.

I’ve said it before (and will say it again every time I write a new book). Writing the draft is the simple part. That first bunch of hours where you just sit at a computer and blather your heart (and fingers) out until you get everything you want on paper. Those countless hours of typing, deleting, typing something else, deleting it, then going back to the first thing you typed. It’s so easy. It’s easy to just go, just type. Knock out five, six, seven thousand words in a day. I could write what I call “pre-first drafts” all day, every day. They’re more or less just barely structured nonsense, loosely resembling what your final draft will eventually become.

It’s the editing that kills you. Hacking and butchering and murdering everything you’ve written to that point. Rearranging entire chapters, complete sections. Changing your main character’s personality, changing plot points, changing outcomes, even changing the point of view you write in. The editing is the part takes a lot of time, a ton of will power, motivation, and dedication. It’s also the part that almost every author struggles with.

It’s where I make excuses. It’s where I put off, dreading how much work it actually is. It’s the least fun part about writing anything, especially a full-length novel. It’s hard, demanding, and mentally exhausting to have to reevaluate what you’ve written, and, sometimes, start fresh from chapter one, rethinking how you’ve done everything. It’s my least favorite part of the process, by far.

But it’s also the most important. You want to make sure you not only get the story out how you want it to be told, but you want to make sure your grammar is correct, any facts you’ve used are factual, your spelling is right, whether you needed an em dash or an ellipsis. There’s so many things you need to get done, where if you didn’t, you’d get ripped apart in the reviews for your book. Which would, guess what, hurt your sales. A lot.

Without editing, most books would be terrible. Especially with how most authors get out their first iteration of their work.

That said, I’m happy to report that my third book — which I’ll reveal more about once the rest of the editing process is complete — is complete and fully self-edited. Well, the completed first draft, anyway. It clocks in at 83,219 words, which is slightly shorter than My Last Days (91,783 words) , but slightly longer than A Sour Chord (78,151 words).

What’s next? It’s off to the editor I’ve hired. She’ll go through everything, check my grammar (which, as you know, is pretty good), find any plot points, tell me whether my main character is a horrid monster who should be re-written, and a hundred other checks. Then, I’ll get it back, incorporate her suggestions into the next iteration (my second draft), then send it out to some test readers. Those “beta readers” will give me their feedback and, based on the outcome there, I’ll either go to press, or do a third draft. The third draft is usually only if the beta readers collectively dislike something across the board, or they hate a character or something. It’s unusual, but not unlikely, to happen.

And while that editing is happening, artwork will be done, blurbs will be written, my author bio will be updated, marketing materials will be prepped, and I’ll decide on if I’ll record an audiobook version.

There’s still a way to go, but this is a huge milestone and one I’m thrilled to have crossed off my list. Checking my recurring task titled “Edit” off my to do list last night felt incredible.

And once everything’s done and you’ve got this new book in your tiny, loving, appreciative, review writing, hands, I’ll get to work on book four. Which I already have a list of ideas to pick from.

Thanks, as always, for coming along on this journey with me. I hope you like this next book. It’s very different from my first two, but I hope in a good way.

First Draft complete!

Hey there!

I know it’s been a while. You may have thought I’ve given up, but I’m still here, chugging away in my free time.

I’m happy to report that the first draft of my third novel is finally complete! It feels like it took forever, but it’s finally done.

It’s just over 80,000 words in its current form, though I think it’ll end up closer to 85k once I’m done editing and adding more to parts  

I’ve moved onto the editing phase now and have been working on sprucing things up as I go along. Adding a chapter here and there, punching up some dialog, adding in some additional color on things.

It’s been so long since I edited, I forgot what a chore it can be. But I’m moving through it.

What’s next?

I’ll finish up the first edit, then do another one. Once that’s complete, I’ll have some beta readers (readers who go into it knowing it’s not done and are willing to offer up their honest feedback). After that, another round of edits. Then a professional editor will have their way with things.

Once the final draft is complete, I’ll get the book jacket designed, write up the blurb for the back, write up the online description, and then get it up for sale.

I’m hoping to have that all done by the end of 2022, or early 2023.

Thanks for coming along on this journey with me. It’s been fun!

P.S. don’t ask what the new book is about or what it’s called. I’ll reveal that all in due time.

All I’ll say for now is that it’s nothing like my first two books. A completely different (hopefully not alienating to my audience) genre.

 

Happy to report, I’m halfway done!

It’s been a hectic last couple of weeks. Between work, having a nearly three-year-old at home, and my wife’s schedule for school, it’s been tough to find time to write. Finding time to write that also coincides with having the mental creativity to write. It’s a tough window to find.

As of this morning’s writing session, I’ve crossed the 40,000 word mark in the next book’s first draft. Which signals approximately the halfway point in the book.

I’m hoping to find more time to write over the next month or two, so I can finish up the first draft before diving into doing my first round of edits.

Someone once said that you should find something to do that you love, so I’m going to try to devote more time to write this first draft and get it finished! I’m very excited to finish it up and get some feedback on it.

If you’re interested in being an early reader to offer your feedback, drop me a line!

Progress Update: 30k words!

I’ve been chugging along the last few weeks, some here, some there, working my way through the first draft of title-yet-to-be-announced book number 3.

Today, I crossed the 30,000 word mark. Though I didn’t write as much as I wanted to today, on account of construction equipment being loud right outside my office (we’re putting in a stamped concrete patio). Even with headphones in, I could feel the vibrations from the machinery, which made it hard for me to focus.

But I still got around 2500 words in today. I’ve been trying to write 3000 on days I do write, which isn’t every single day. But I’m inching closer and closer to where I want to finish the draft at, before I go back and punch up some spots I recognize need some work. I’ll leave that for editing, though.

Thanks to those of you who’ve left reviews for My Last Days and also those of you who’ve reached out to show support for the next book. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the messages I’ve been getting from you!

I’ve started my next book!

If you’re not following me on social media, you missed an important tidbit from last week. I’ve started my first draft of my next book.

In fact, I’m over 10,000 words into it after just three writing sessions (totaling a little shy of five hours.) For comparison, My Last Days is around 92,000 words. So I’m chipping away at it pretty quickly.

As is typical of how I write, I’m just going and going and going. I don’t like to spend a lot of time outlining and creating character personas. Particularly since most of my characters are rooted in reality. They may not be exact clones of actual people in the finished product, but they are as I’m writing. For me, that makes drafting much easier and quicker. Does it make a better end product? Probably not. But it’s how I enjoy writing and I fear when this feels more like a job than a passion, I’ll not want to do it anymore.

So far, I’ve exposed two hints about the book. In case you missed them, I’ll share them here, too:

  1. In takes place in 1996 – so much nostalgia coming your way!
  2. It takes place in Billerica, Massachusetts.

I don’t have any goals around when the draft will be done. I didn’t want to impose any additional self-apposed stress on myself until life gets back to a closer semblance of normal (namely, daycare re-opening.)

For now, the goal is to write a few chapters a day until I feel comfortable with the first draft. Then work on tightening up the main plot points, the characters, and the entire premise before shipping it off to beta readers. If you want to be a part of the beta reading process (you read an early draft and provide your honest input), sign up for my mailing list. It’s the best way to get the inside scoop on the new book, as well as exclusive discount coupon codes for future books!