I cannot believe how quickly time goes by. When I think back on my last couple of months, I can honestly say that I didn’t ‘waste’ any of the days as far as writing goes. Even though I’m not done, I’ve made a LOT of progress with my two books.

So, to answer the question about whether or not I’ll publish my two books by the end of July, eh, probably not. But, I’m far from giving up and I’m not all that disappointed. I’ve made it a priority to sneak writing in to every single day and I’m getting very close.

Here’s what I need to do before I can publish TWO books:

• Finish adding Wedding at Sunset to Switching to Light (Yes, I’m still working on my first book! In hindsight, I should have made this after story a part of the book and had a free book to offer to my email list, but it’s all okay!).
  • The reason I need to do this is because I am no longer going to be offering Wedding at Sunset to people who sign up for my email list. This is currently my little ‘cookie’ at the end of Switching to Light. Instead, people will get a whole free book: Welcome to Garden Valley.
• Add Sunset at Midnight to my webpage
• One readthrough of Turning to Color before giving to my editor for her final readthrough (I just got this done!)
• Finish formatting Turning to Color (This is bitter-sweet. Formatting is fun except when Word isn’t doing what you want.)
• Finalize the cover for Turning to Color (It’s almost there!)
• Edit Welcome to Garden Valley (I just received this back from my editor)
• Get a proofread for Welcome to Garden Valley
• Design cover for Welcome to Garden Valley
• Upload!

I’m not completely stuck on uploading in July as long as I’m making progress. As you can see from the list above, I’m making my final edits and read-throughs. I’m not just letting the books sit there. I’m making time for editing, I’m reaching out to my team to let them know my timeline. And, I’m realizing that I’m doing the best that I can. 

One question I had when I got to this stage for my first book is: how do I know when I’m done? My mom had a good suggestion for this. When I let her know that I was just switching this word and that word, she said “That means you’re done.” It’s true! There’s an infinite possibility of combinations when it comes to writing just a paragraph. Imagine how many a 90,000 book has!

So, the answer about if I’ll get done is ‘no’ with a follow-up ‘They will be published soon!” This process has been stressful at times, but ultimately very rewarding. Every word written and plot crafted has stoked my love for writing even more. I’m working hard to get you two fun and enjoyable books to read!