Well, it certainly feels like it’s been a long time since I made a goal post.  So much happened this past week that my head is still spinning.  My son had several tests, homework, and appointments.  Work was crazy busy, but not so much that I couldn’t muster the energy to bike a few nights. Had to be a good and stalwart friend several times because I know those people would be there for me.  It was all a ton of little things that built up . . . I ordered the Lego Rivendell set, which arrives today.  Summer project for sure!

I’ve still got 3.5 weeks before Spring Break, which is going to be messy.  Hard to divide it this year because Passover, Easter, and my birthday are all grouped together.  Those last two are on the same day.  This means planning is a pain because my son is going to be bouncing around a bit.  That might be the time that I finish writing Darwin & the Demon Game though.  After that . . . What do I do next?

As people may have remembered, I got the cover and interior art for Do I Need To Use a Dragon? (Fantasy Writing Tips).  That means, I can publish it, but I really haven’t prepared anything.  It’s probably better to do it at the end of the school year around July 4th since I don’t have time to prepare it.  My blog posts have been prepped through May too, so this means I can set up June to have excerpts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  That might help ease into things.  Need to work on the blurb and maybe post it in a few weekends along with a full cover reveal.  We’ll see what I can muster because there are a lot of hurdles.

The biggest hurdle is my confidence since this isn’t a fantasy book.  It was a challenge to get me to write this book since it’s my opinions.  I have no characters to hide behind and doubt makes me wonder why anyone would listen to me.  Not like I’m rolling in royalties here.  This makes editing a challenge because I rethink everything to the point where I feel like a fraud.  It might not be necessary though since I edited it once before, used beta readers who gave me great advice, and currently have a trusted editor (my mom who has the experience) going over it now.  That is probably enough since I’ve been told my ideas and explanations were solid.  I’ve shored up the areas that weren’t clear.  Just means I have to sit on the cover and interior art for 3 months since I won’t be able to show all of them until June.  Man, that sucks.

I’ll have to attempt a paperback version too.  No idea how that will work considering there’s interior art here.  I’m sure that’s going to make it expensive and wonder if it’s worth the effort.  Would a book like this work as an 8 x 11 or should it be 6 x 9 too?  None of the other paperbacks sold, so I don’t know what the point would be.  Not sure how to get reviews or how to price it either.  Maybe 99 cents for a month and then jump it to $2.99?  Does that work if I’m not going to do promos?

As you can see, I don’t know what to really do here.  Part of me just wants to publish it and get it into the market.  Then, I’ll just go back to my comfort zone where no royalties are coming in.  It’s been so long since I last published something.  War of Nytefall: Eulogy was the last one on December 1st, 2021.  There was barely any movement there and I didn’t have much of a platform.  Now, I have even less and I’m going to attempt a ‘how to’ book.  I need to publish it since I have all of the parts, except for a paperback version and a blurb.

This is taking up the entire post, but nothing else happened this week.  I’m still watching ‘Sword Art Online’.  I didn’t get to do any writing because of my schedule.  Next week isn’t looking too good either.  I’m aiming to finish chapters 9 and 10 of Darwin & the Demon Game this weekend.  Doable since I’m feeling much better than I have in months.  No lethargy or brain fog.  The real test is going to be seeing how I handle writing fiction because that seemed to take a lot out of me.  Fingers crossed that it all works out. Maybe toes because I can’t type with crossed fingers.

The rest of the week is going to be rather busy.  I’m going to a school event on Monday and there are other appointments throughout the week.  I have my son next weekend, which means we’re going to relax.  Maybe see ‘Shazam 2’ if I can get tickets.  Already got tickets for ‘Super Mario’ on April 9th, which is my birthday.  Fun!

Goals of the week:

1. Finish 2 chapters of Darwin & the Demon Game this weekend.
2. Time with son that isn’t homework.
3. Meetings and appointments.
4. Write a blurb for Do I Need to Use a Dragon? that will be posted on a Sunday at some point.
5. Finish watching ‘Sword Art Online’.
6. Biking when possible.
7. Relax when possible.
8. Eat more vegetables.
9. Prepare the kielbasa to marinate for 3 days.
10. Set up some Spring Break plans.