Theos Rising Update #7

I’m lacking the eloquence and creativity that I usually put into these updates, so I apologize for a rather dry post. But, it’s past time to update everyone on Theos Rising because we are thiiiiissss close to having a published book!

Here we go.

Expectations are sneaky things. I’ve learned to hold them loosely, as more often than not, what I expect and what actually happens are two very different things. In this case, I expected that, within a few weeks after moving, I’d be back to my regular writing schedule and I’d have this year planned out.

I can hear your chuckle now. Usually, the year plan is done by the end of January. But…I still don’t have a completed plan for 2024 and it’s…well, ummm…April.

Because of this, I’ve run into a few hiccups for Theos Rising. Despite the hiccups, however, the book’s coming along nicely and I’m thrilled to be so close to sharing it with readers. I’m just having to punt on some of the details.

Editing

The editing is almost 100% done! I’m running through the manuscript for pesky writer crutches. These are the phrases and words I use too often. Every story seems to breed its own crutches. In this case, the word “still” has become my nemesis. The fun part about combing through for these is that, at this point, the story really starts to shine. It’s altering a word here and there just to make things that tiny bit better. The difference a single word can make speaks to my writerly heart. Anyway, the editing is about finished. Yay!!

Internal Illustrations

This is my current hiccup. The illustrator I’d hoped to have draw my chapter headings isn’t available. That’s entirely my bad. I did not give her enough lead time to schedule it. This is part of why the publishing process takes so incredibly long. There are dozens of moving parts and many of them have to be planned well in advance for them to run smoothly.

Since Esther can’t do the chapter headings, I’m playing around with Photoshop and pencil sketches… I’ll update you on how that’s going in the near future.

Cover Art and Design

I almost ran into the same issue with the cover designer as I did with the internal illustrator but after hearing about the project, Justin decided to take on the work anyway. This is one of my favorite parts of the publishing process. I love, love, love seeing the artwork from the various artists I get to work with. And Justin always exceeds my expectations. I should have a cover to reveal in the next month =)

Formatting

Has begun!

Anymore, I start formatting as soon as I start a new book. So a good chunk of the page layout and chapter breaks are already formatted. Once I figure out chapter headings and perspective breaks, these will go in next. This entire next week is blocked out for those two things.

So, that’s where Theos Rising is at. Once I have the formatting done and the cover in hand, I’ll be set to start uploading to the printer and then it’s on to ordering a proof. From there I’ll check the physical proof and we’ll be just this side of having a published book!

Thanks for joining me in this writing journey and sticking around for my rather dry update =)

Blessings,

Jennifer