Mixed news this week. You can interpret that to mean I missed at least one — and possibly more! — of the goals I set last week. Did I finish even one of them? If not, what’s my excuse this week? I’ll confess after I share the week’s numbers with you!
Progress Report 2022 Week 21 By the Numbers
1,452 words for the week? Isn’t that less than the usual output of a single day? What gives?
I’d say mistakes were made, but that would be misleading. I only made a single mistake: I forgot that I needed to re-read the 51,000+ words I’d already written. It’s been about two months since I was heads-down writing Evolution’s Hand Book 3: Primary Target. I’d forgotten all the little hooks I’d put in place to prepare for later chapters. Plus, I swapped out one POV character entirely! I needed to refresh my memory.
Instead of trying to hit the three goals I set last week, I re-read and edited the first twenty-five chapters. Two bits of good news come from that:
- I am now ready to resume writing this week (this time for sure!)
- I confirmed that this is how I wanted to start the third book
I fret about the beginning. I also fret about the ending, but if I have doubts about the foundation, it bothers me until I get it right. That means confirming I have the right starting place is a big deal for me!
Almost Time to Publish!
In my post last week, I mentioned that I intended to publish Evolution’s Hand Book 1: Executive Action on June 1, 2022. That’s still the plan! I intend to announce it to my e-mail list tonight/tomorrow morning.
Back in late December 2020, I announced that I’d found the last pieces I needed to push forward on Executive Action, which had a working title of A Ghast in the Shell. Now, in June of 2022, unless a bus or act of nature strikes, you’ll be able to buy it from Amazon and several other retailers.
I love the work that Jesh Art Studio did on the cover!
I hope to publish two books a year, and if the Facebook group 20 Books to 50K is right, it’ll take me about a decade to see if I’m successful or not. I think that’s an important metric. I vow in front of witnesses (that means you!) that I will not declare myself a failure until I publish at least 20 books or pass the first decade of publishing, whichever comes first.
Of course, if I sell five million copies of Executive Action, I might have to reevaluate my plans! Talk about a good problem to have!
Goals for the Week in Progress Report 2022 Week 21
- Revise Jack Booth’s Plot Turn 1: I expanded his arc based on the notes I took while working on Dying Breath’s second draft.
- Finish Jack Conrad’s Pinch 1: I think I still need to refine Conrad’s arc. I had the same problem with the first two books, so this is pretty much par for the course!
- Stretch objective: Start Matsushita’s Pinch 1.
What Do You Think?
Have you ever managed the launch of a self-published book? Do you have any experience you’d like to share? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!