I’m learning a lot about audio book production, which includes new, exciting knowledge about how things can go wrong! Also, I made progress on Wayland’s Hammer Book 2: Resistance Movement — but how much? I’m also struggling with the title of Wayland’s Hammer Book 1. My original vision for Conventional Forces didn’t pan out, which is fine. I like the story better as it is! But the title has to change. We’ll get into those topics after we review the key performance indicators.
Last Week’s Progress By the Numbers
My output fell short of 10,000 words again. But in this case, it’s okay!
Let’s get this out of the way because it’s good news: I finished the second draft of Wayland’s Hammer Book 2: Resistance Movement. It currently sits at 88,860 words. I started working on it on May 12, 2025. I wrote the first words on May 31, 2025. Given the struggles this and the first book hit me with, I’m going to call finishing it in about 60 days to be a win.
For post-production, I’m going to go back to the process I used for The Sword of Sirius. In other words, I’ve now turned my attention to conducting the ProWritingAid grammar checking pass of Wayland’s Hammer Book 1. When that’s done (I’m about a third of the way through), I’ll send it to the alpha readers.
My goal is for there to be as short a period of time as possible between me writing Wayland’s Hammer Book 3: Lines of Operation and the trilogy’s publication.
As I was running the ProWritingAid pass for book 1, I caught a detail that I wanted to carry forward into Resistance Movement. I also recalled a detail or two I’d need for Lines of Operation, so I updated Resistance Movement with both sections. The changes added 267 words to the manuscript.
That made me all philosophical. Without those 267 words, the story worked. But with the callback to the first book and the stage-setting prose for the third, Resistance Movement became a lot more robust. It felt a lot more coherent. It’s amazing what about 300 words can do in the context of an 88,000 word manuscript.
The chapter squares are only outlined in color until I mark them complete by filling them in. It’s a great feeling to fill in the last square!
Audio Book Update: The Sword of Sirius Book 1: Red Flag Warning
I’m learning the ins-and-outs of Adobe Audition. I’m not even scratching the surface, but I can tell it’s a solid piece of software. I’ve learned enough to splice recordings together or take them apart. I’ve also learned to use a feature critical for audiobooks: marking a chapter.
So, I’m going through and marking chapters. I’m also clipping out long pauses or breaths. I’ve edited enough of my own material to be used to that kind of thing. What I forgot to account for, in this whole process, is the need to occasionally re-recording a sentence here and there. Sometimes a level isn’t high enough, or there’s some random noise in the background. Anything, really, the takes the listener out of the moment. So now I’m waiting for the voice actor to get back with me!
While I’m waiting, I might push forward with the Amazon Voice version of Dreams of Deucalion Book 1: Special Recon. I’ve had a couple readers say they’d love to experience the book, but they don’t have time to sit down and read. But they do have a ton of time in their car! Special Recon is priority two.
As I said before, I think the audiobook version of Evolution’s Hand Book 1: Executive Action will have to remain unfinished for the foreseeable future. There’re just too many other things for me to get done!
New Title for Wayland’s Hammer Book 1
The title Conventional Forces just isn’t doing it for me anymore. The book went in a different direction, and the title doesn’t fit. So, I’m looking for another.
So far, I’ve come up with these options:
- Militarized Zone
- Force Rejection
- Zone of Action
- Too Good an Offer
- Extraction Point
- Point of Extraction
- Terms of Extraction
Obviously, some are better than others! I have a couple I’m leaning toward, though I might still come up with other options. I’ll let you know what I pick next week!
Progress against Last Week’s Goals
Here’s how I did against last week’s goals:
- Finish Gerhard Wimmer’s plot turn 2: Done!
- Finish Moritz Lehner’s plot turn 2: Done!
- Finish Wimmer’s resolution: Done!
- Finish Lehner’s resolution: Done!
- Finish Owen Payne’s resolution: Done!
- Begin marking individual chapters within the WAV file for The Sword of Sirius Book 1: Red Flag Warning. The goal is to get 25% of the way through the file. Partially done! I got to chapter 7 out of 45.
Goals for the Week in Progress Report 2025 Week 31
Here’s what I hope to accomplish this week:
- Finish ProWritingAid pass for Wayland’s Hammer Book 1: <Whatever the new title is>
- Create the Scrivener project stub for Wayland’s Hammer Book 3: Lines of Operation.
- Begin pre-production work for Wayland’s Hammer Book 3: Lines of Operation. I have some ideas I want to play with, and I want to come up with a new featured set/location. I find I’ve enjoyed creating a new one, or visiting new aspects of an old set, for each book. Keeps it fresh for me and the readers!
- Continue working on the audiobook for The Sword of Sirius Book 1: Red Flag Warning OR Dreams of Deucalion Book 1: Special Recon. Or maybe “and.”
What Do You Think?
How do you choose titles? Do you have a routine you go through? Do you rely on random inspiration? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!
