A Declaration of Intent: The Edge Walker Release Date Schedule for 2014
In the not too distant past I found myself sitting on a comfortable leather sofa in California discussing my budding writing career with my mother.
“That’s what’s always worked for you before, right? Writing a little bit everyday – slow but steady progress?” she said, then laughed a little. “At least that’s what got your first book finished. Your second book was done in the frantic dash of NaNoWriMo.”
I laughed and agreed.
Both strategies (writing a little every day and writing like a crazy person for an extended, but limited, amount of time) have worked for me in the past. Each have their strengths and weaknesses, yet it’s hard to commit fully to either. Writing a little everyday, as I have been, is too slow and uncertain. It’s too easy to say, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Writing like I’m competing in NaNoWriMo is a little too intense for me to realistically sustain while still earning a living.
So, I thought, why not try to combine the best qualities of each?
One of the best things about NaNoWriMo is that it holds you accountable. There’s a word counter on their Website that you can (and should) update every day. When you do, it shows you how much progress you’ve made, how much you still have to go, and how many words per day you need to write to meet your goal.
The best things about writing every day are: it’s habit forming, soul nourishing, and I can make visible progress while still living a full life.
Therefore, I’ve decided to create (and publish) a timeline for my current writing projects – both so you, my readers, know what to expect, and to hold myself accountable.
Here are the schedules for:
The Grey Heir (Second Edition)
I’ve decided to have new character portraits commissioned for the second edition of The Grey Heir. I will have the character descriptions to my artist by March 31st, so she can have the sketches done by May 31st.
I am also thinking about having The Grey Heir professionally proofread (rather than read by friends, family, and myself over and over and over). I will decide on a proofreader and have the manuscript to them by April 15th so he or she can have it finished by May 15th.
I will have the cover done by May 15th.
If I decide to get (or make) a book release trailer, it will be done by May 21st.
The Grey Heir Second Edition will be available on June 1st.
The Exile
The second book in The Edge Walker Chronicles is called The Exile.
I will have the first draft of this book done by May 15th.
I will then do a very quick clean-up rewrite myself and give it to beta readers by June 15th. The beta readers will have one month to read the book and give me feedback.
I will make large revisions to The Exile and clean up the prose as much as I can by August 31st.
The Exile will then go to a professional editor. Most editors have a two to three week turn around time, but I’ll allot the entire month of September for the editing process.
On October 1st the cover art will be done completed and I will start working on the editor’s comments.
On November 15th the cover and manuscript will be complete.
On December 1st the book release trailer will be released.
The Exile will be available as an ebook and in print on December 15th.
These are my goals. One of the lessons I’ve learned in the last year is that quality is key. If I feel I’ll be releasing a substandard product on either of these released dates, I will push them back. However, I feel that I can meet these dates and look forward to sharing my work with all of you.
