Day Twenty

DAY TWENTY

Okay, I hope you had an awesome break and today is going great.

So far I have been able to finish four chapters. This is great news as it means I might actually be able to complete the book by Friday. 

If I do that, I'll move it straight into proofreading.

Hopefully that goes well. If it does, then I'm onto copyrighting. 

While I'm waiting for the reading to complete, I'll get my website up and lock in the sales copy.

All of this means that I'll hopefully be able to begin the countdown sooner. Once I start that I should have a "hard date" when the novel will become available, which I think I'll be able to let you know at that point.

In any case, it's going really well and I look forward to talking to you tomorrow.

Mark

Big Announcement Today!

DAYS SIXTEEN, SEVENTEEN, EIGHTEEN AND NINETEEN

I'm getting right into it today...

I am pretty sure at this point I am looking for a late summer release.

First of all I will be having the next three days off to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend. I'll be back on Tuesday. 

Now onto my progress:

I am completely done with the basic editing! Whew! Finally...

What I am working through right now is grammatical checks and final formatting.

I wanted to at least have a look at the grammar to get a feel of how much work I would have to do here.

Turns out that there are only very minor changes to take place from here on out.

So, I have the first chapter complete. It is my intention that I will do the checks and formatting to two sections each day, beginning Tuesday.

This puts me done with the book by about mid-week the first full week of June.

At that point I will print it up and allow my editor to proofread it. (She's my proofreader too. :) )

If that checks out and all is well, I will move to copyrighting at the Library of Congress and begin work on the website.

I will also finalize the sales copy that will go on the back of the book cover.

It's at that point I will make contact with Amazon and begin the process of putting it in the system.

Remember though, there is a ten week countdown that will take place.

I will know the exact date once I begin that process.

Here it comes!

I hope your day is going great and I look forward to talking to you some more on Tuesday.

Mark

Day Fifteen

DAY FIFTEEN

(For My New Readers:)

I have faith that as you read this blog, reading the "behind-the-scenes" as it were, you not only enjoy the ride but maybe, just maybe become inspired to develop your own dreams. Bringing them to life.

You don't "guess" at the future - You create it!

(Today's Post:)

So I have finished chapter eight. This was always a question on my mind from last week because I felt that if I could do that today, I would stand the best chance of reaching the end of the book by Friday.

What made you think that way?

Actually, that's a good question.

Simply put, that was the last section which had the most work to do. Now I do know that in the next chapter I will be adding my last note from my editor. (I have reached the point in the story to be able to make sense of it when you read it.)

However, beyond that, all of the major changes will be in replacing the "said's".

That's the easy part.

At that point I expect to be able to correct two sections a day, even if it takes me all of tomorrow to move through the next one, I believe the pace from the rest of them will be a whole lot quicker.

What comes next?

As of next week, after the three day break, I will move into the grammatical checks and final formatting.

Once that is done, I will have it proofread to verify that the novel flows as it should.

If that passes, I will be finally done with the writing process and able to move to the next step - copyrighting.

I'm closing in on the finish line and I'm growing more and more excited as I reach it.

I hope your day is going great and I look forward to talking to you tomorrow.

Mark

Day Fourteen

DAY FOURTEEN

(For My New Readers:)

I have faith that as you read this blog, reading the "behind-the-scenes" as it were, you not only enjoy the ride but maybe, just maybe become inspired to develop your own dreams. Bringing them to life.

You don't "guess" at the future - You create it!

(Today's Post:)

Wow! All I have to say is wow. 

I have completed chapter seven which lines me up perfectly for the eighth one beginning next week.

If I can move through that in one day I believe that I reach the end of the book by Friday.

This would set me up after Memorial Day weekend to just work the grammatical check and final formatting.

Wow!

I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel become brighter and brighter.

Can you achieve the goal that you're setting out for next week?

I really think I can. Especially since I'm working through each chapter quicker than I thought I ever could.

I know time will tell. For sure but I just can't help think that I stand a great shot of reaching it.

Why is that important?

Because the faster I can begin the countdown, the faster the book will be launched and ultimately put in your hands if you so choose.

I think the novel is good and I hope you are able to enjoy it.

Reaching my readers is most important because I love the fact that telling a story where you might like it is pretty cool.

Anyway, I hope you have an awesome Friday and great weekend.

Talk to you next week.

Mark

Day Thirteen

DAY THIRTEEN

(For My New Readers:)

I have faith that as you read this blog, reading the "behind-the-scenes" as it were, you not only enjoy the ride but maybe, just maybe become inspired to develop your own dreams. Bringing them to life.

You don't "guess" at the future - You create it!

(Today's Post:)

Wow! Well I surprised myself and completed the sixth chapter!

This means that my goal that I set out on Monday to reach the seventh by Friday has been achieved. 

This is really good news as the quicker I can get done with everything the faster I can begin the countdown.

Having said that, I still have two more sections that may really slow me down. I won't know until I begin work on them as to how fast I can push through the material.

The good news is, I have just one more noted addition to make within the story - which is minor. I can then just continue with the rest of the novel correcting the last of it before I move to the final grammatical check and formatting.

I couldn't ask for a better day!

So I may not have much to say today but what I am talking about is very significant. (I think. :) )

As a final point of discussion I believe my marketing plan is coming together nicely. I have great confidence that the way to do this is what everyone does. (For example getting "reviews" for your product before you begin advertising.)

For an author, reviews on their work are everything. It can make or break the story.

Besides that, moving into the "best-seller's" list is also huge. Reaching those milestones help sell more books.

It's a proven fact that best-seller lists tell people that there must be something good about this work for it to be there. So it helps their buying decision.

My hope is that this work of fiction can be read by as many people as possible.

Time will tell. :)

I hope your day is going great and I look forward to talking to you some more tomorrow.

Mark

Day Twelve

DAY TWELVE

(For My New Readers:)

I have faith that as you read this blog, reading the "behind-the-scenes" as it were, you not only enjoy the ride but maybe just maybe become inspired to develop your own dreams. Bringing them to life.

You don't "guess" at the future - You create it!

(Today's Post:)

Well, yesterday I had to be somewhere which I completely forgot about. So here I am today. Sorry about that.

I have finished the fifth chapter and am now ready to work on the next one.

I realize that the next three (six, seven and eight) maybe a little slow going as I rework the dialogue.

However, once I get past that it should go pretty quick.

I'm looking forward to having the grammar and final formatting complete too. Big moments in the life of this novel.

I actually almost didn't finish this section because there was so much of it to do.

That's the nature of writing. It's all about rewriting. :)

One step at a time as I move closer and closer to being able to get it in your hands.

I hope your day is going great and I look forward to talking to you tomorrow.

Mark

Day Eleven

DAY ELEVEN

(For My New Readers:)

I have Faith that as you read this blog, reading the "behind-the-scenes" as it were, you not only enjoy the ride but maybe, just maybe become inspired to develop your own dreams.

You don't "guess" at the future - You create it!

(Today's Post:)

Well, this has been a very productive day. I'm caught up to chapter five and almost halfway through it!

I should be done with it tomorrow. 

This puts me ahead of the schedule that I set myself for this week by a huge amount.

Now I can look at possibly being in chapter seven by Friday.

This is very significant because sections nine through thirteen are already formatted with the dialogue which makes a huge difference.

That ultimately translates into a faster process once I get there. Meaning I'll be able to move into grammatical check and final formatting quicker.

That's when the last of the "polish" will take place and I can move to the proofreading, plus copyrighting phase.

It's during that time I'll be able to get my website made and published. I'm looking forward to that.

I think I'll be able to expand on my marketing plan possibly too. Making sure that I begin sending out "feelers" to the appropriate groups etc.

Anyway, I hope your day is going great and I look forward to talking to you tomorrow.

Mark

Day Ten

DAY TEN

(For My New Readers:)

I have faith that as you read this blog, reading the "behind-the-scenes" as it were, you not only enjoy the ride but maybe, just maybe become inspired to develop your own dreams.

You don't "guess" at the future - you create it!

(Today's Post:)

So I'm now at chapter three removing the "said's" from the dialogue. It's looking good and I'm very happy with my current progress.

My wife finished the editing of the second draft. I have to say I'm very encouraged. She is really good at watching a movie and within the first ten minutes tell you who did it, etc.

Much to my annoyance sometimes. Lol. I often try and prove her wrong but I end up being the one that was off the mark. :)

So I felt that when I embarked on this project that I wanted to create a story where she couldn't get ahead of it. I knew that if I could do that, I would have the novel that I was looking for.

And I think I have.

She told me that she loved it and she couldn't guess at the ending.

I'M ECSTATIC!

Now all I need to do is finish this draft and prepare for countdown. It's going to be a fun one as I move closer to launch.

Realizing what she said to me yesterday put me on cloud nine. I can really see this coming together and it's thrilling!

WOW!

Almost there. Whew...

I hope your day is going really well and I look forward to talking to you some more on Monday.

Mark

Day Nine

DAY NINE

(For My New Readers:)

It is my hope that as you read this blog, reading the "behind-the-scenes" as it were, you not only enjoy the ride but maybe, just maybe become inspired to follow your own dreams.

(Today's Post:)

So as I began working on chapter five, it dawned on me that I needed to create a list of words that were similar to "said". Once I realized that, I highlighted them in the entire manuscript and went to work.

Now I'm removing all of those words from dialogue and replacing them with content that describes it much better. I'm not worried about when it appears in description.

What I'm finding right away is that the storytelling is being elevated to the levels that are now surpassing  where it's been and I think my editor is going to be very happy. Lol.

It's coming together now in a huge way.

That tiny four letter word has been vexing me this whole time. There was no way I was going to publish the book with this challenge in it. No way.

Now, if I look at how the story has really developed I can see a novel that I'm very proud of. It is worthy of your readership.

However, I am going to say that because I am writing it. :)

I am confident that time will show that it favors the book reviewers. (Some of them might end up being you too. Lol.)

Once I catch up to where I left off in chapter five, I'll continue those changes in that section. Then it should go much easier. 

Wow, what an awesome day.

I hope you are having a great time too and I look forward to talking to you tomorrow.

Mark

Day Eight

DAY EIGHT

(For My New Readers:)

It is my hope that as you read this blog, reading the "behind-the-scenes" as it were, you not only enjoy the ride but maybe, just maybe become inspired to follow your own dreams.

(Today's Post:)

So the fourth chapter is done. Woohoo! Onto the fifth. That was quite the challenge but so worth it. 

I find now that I'm loving the structure of the story, when changes occur it becomes interesting to make those necessary transitions because the book no longer supports it. 

I'm halfway through making those "said" changes. Whew...

I'm sure I will have a few to look out for in the remainder but all in all, it is a good thing.

Anyway, today was very productive. I feel I went through a massive amount and have reached another "chapter" milestone.

It should only take a couple of days to go through the fifth section before moving to the next one. 

That is the hope. That I'm able to shift through this stuff quickly.

I hope today finds you well and I look forward to talking to you tomorrow.

Mark

Day Seven

DAY SEVEN

(For My New Readers:)

It is my hope that as you read this blog, reader the "behind-the-scenes" as it were, you not only enjoy the ride but maybe, just maybe become inspired to follow your own dreams.

(Today's Post:)

The changes that I needed to make are done. Now all that's left is to finish with the dialogue, which I should be able to complete that by tomorrow. 

It's looking much better I think. :)

Moving through this part of the novel was critical to correct. It's a small section but still needs the care and attention that everything deserves within the story.

Right now, the rest of it is looking really good. The changes are small in comparison to the last edit. 

I hope to be in the next section by Thursday. 

Remember of course I'm scrubbing grammar last, when all of this is done. At that stage I'll make sure the formatting is looking good too.

Anyway, I hope your day is going great. 

Talk with you some more tomorrow.

Mark

Day Six

DAY SIX

(For My New Readers:)

It is my hope that as you read this blog, reading the "behind-the-scenes" as it were, you not only enjoy the ride but maybe, just maybe become inspired to follow your own dreams.

(Today's Post:)

Well, I've begun the fourth chapter. It's actually going really well as I work through the changes that I need to do in this section. I should be completed with that by tomorrow and working to have the dialogue flow better.

Once that happens I should be ready to move to the next one. 

My wife has the last five chapters. I'm hoping she likes these and there is minimum changes to do so I can move through that with lightning speed. (We'll see. Lol.)

I want to take a moment to write about my feelings too.

Because this process is a lengthy one. Getting the book ready for publication is both exciting and frustrating. I know I want it in your hands but I don't want you to be disappointed either. This causes me to make sure that what I'm writing is the best I can (which I think I am) and it also take time.

It is thrilling to be becoming so near-at-hand to countdown. The light at the end of the tunnel edging ever closer. At this point I'm just wanting to get that going but I know I can't. I realize that if I do that I won't be serving the book in the best way. So it becomes frustrating. 

I just can't wait to be able to say "here it is! I hope you enjoy."

Anyway, I hope you have an incredible day and I look forward to talking to you some more tomorrow.

Mark

Day Five

DAY FIVE

(For My New Readers:)

It is my hope that as you read this blog, reading the "behind-the-scenes" as it were, you not only enjoy the ride but maybe, just maybe become inspired to follow your own dreams.

(Today's Post:)

Well, I couldn't get to submitting an entry yesterday because I found we were having some technical difficulties. (They aren't completely resolved yet but I am able to get this out.)

Anyway, I have moved through chapter three as far as I can for right now and I'm in the next section.

Feels great to be shifting through this stuff so quickly. The fourth one though is going to take some thought as I need to change the mood of a character. However, I know it's not going to be a major overhaul. I just want to take care as I go through this one. :)

I'm also learning more and more about marketing. It's amazing what that really can do, if done correctly.

Time will tell if I have it right.

I hope you have an incredible weekend and I'll talk to you some more on Monday. :)

Mark 

Day Four

DAY FOUR

(For My New Readers:)

It is my hope that as you read this blog, reading the "behind-the-scenes" as it were, you not only enjoy the ride but maybe, just maybe become inspired to follow your own dreams.

(Today's Post:)

Instead of having the title and the logline at the top, I'm going to do it a little different...

I like the message at the beginning, because it hopefully sets the tone of this whole blog into the perspective but I think I'm just repeating myself on the title and logline. :)

So, today I can report that I'm into chapter three. Good news of course and will be moving forward on Wednesday. 

I won't be able to post anything until Thursday because I have somethings to do for the next couple of days.

However, I will be able to do some work on Wednesday on the chapter. Editor's notes for sure. I will be also looking for duplicate words that I missed. I think I'll be able to get those done too.

Anyway, for right now I'm very happy to be moving forward. Once I get past chapter eight, the "said's" portion I won't need to change anymore, because I already did. This will help to speed things up a little.

I am going to change the countdown. From thirteen weeks to ten. Plus, instead of the first two pages of every chapter, I'm going to post the entire section of the first one, broken down in ten weeks.

Basically this will mean you should be able to see two pages a week of chapter one until the tenth and final week when I will post the last two.

I've been thinking about making this change because you'll be able to see the first section for free and I think it'll make more sense to read an entire part. It'll be choppy otherwise and it might just get on your nerves. Lol.

Just before I'm going to do it I will show the breakdown in a post here.

I hope you like it.

So, I look forward to talking with you on Thursday.

Mark