In my latest YouTube video I introduce a new series that will follow my journey of publishing two books by July 15. I’m far from starting the books from scratch, but still have a long way to go before I upload them!

The Books!

I am aiming to publish two books: Turning to Color, a full-length novel, and Welcome to Garden Valley, a shorter book that will be free to anyone who is signed up to my email list. (So, sign up…wink wink!).

Both books are part of my Garden Valley series that is based in a small (fictional) town in Oregon. I aim for my books to be light and easy to read while also touching on life issues that women and moms deal with on a daily basis.

Where I am now in the process

I have A LOT to get done by July 15!

Turning to Color

• This book has gone through a developmental edit, which was amazing! As I’ve talked about previously, I slashed paragraphs, changed characters, and added a few chapters.
• I received my copy back from a proofreader yesterday and am at the point of making these corrections. At first glance it seems like an amazing job was done and I can’t wait to polish up the story.
• I also received a copy back from my mom to make corrections. Thanks, mom!
• I still need to fill out the metadata for this book, which includes the long blurb, short blurg, key words, ISBN, etc. This is super handy when publishing on several platforms.
• I’m in the process of having a cover made. More on this below.

Welcome to Garden Valley

• This is what I’m calling the ‘freebie’ book that will be available to my email list. What was going to be a short story is now up to 40,000 words! 
• Currently I’m still sprucing the story in preparation for my editor.
• This book goes to my developmental editor on June 7 and is scheduled to be returned on June 14.
• After I get it back, of course I’ll have to make changes.
• Then, the book goes to a proofreader.
• Lastly, I’ll have the same steps above with the cover and filling out the metadata.

The Covers

Oh the joys of getting a cover made for a book. I struggled with getting a cover just as I wanted for Switching to Light, my debut novel, and this time has been no different. I hired someone on Reedsy and unfortunately it isn’t working out. Don’t get me wrong, she gave me some great ideas, but I’m after a unique to me cover, and that requires someone to be well-versed in Photoshop.

I met with a new cover artist last night and we are on our way with getting these made! Keep your fingers crossed for me that the process will go smoothly for both of us.

Going through this list is both helpful and scary. I have a lot to do in just six weeks! As always, I remain positive while inching toward this goal. I’ve been chipping away at this list with persistence and daily dedication. Stick around for my weekly updates to see how I do!