Ah, my friends, it has been a while since I posted. Why? Well, let me just say there’s no better affirmation for my decision to take it easy this month than the sickness that hit this house like a speeding train. It has been more than a week since and I’m still not feeling fully human. While the initial symptoms faded as would be expected, I’ve been overly drained and easily tired. I’ve mostly only accomplished going to work and the bare minimum housework required for every day functionality. We slid on out of Mercury Retrograde, but I don’t feel like the pressure has eased just yet. Good thing there’s nothing I have to do, right?
That means it’s time to reassess the horizon. I think it’s a good practice to pause and do so every once in a while. Or for me lately, as often as needed. Probably the next big mark on the calendar is Christmas. It’s a holiday that doesn’t mean much to me personally, but there are still obligations that come with it regardless of how I feel. Mainly, if you have a kid, you kind of have to participate in some regard. So here come all the things associated–tree decorating, shopping, etc. Also a random Thursday off to throw the work week out of whack. Yay?
The only book-related thing I wanted to possibly, hopefully accomplish during this time was to get Order of Crows book three formatted. I have doubts that’s going to happen by the new year, however, I did learn that I will have a little extra time off from work because New Year’s day falls in the middle of the week. So I’m eyeing that time for said formatting. It should be about a day’s worth of dedication to get it done. Having already formatted six books has its perks, no? The only reason I’m pushing to have it done by then is because I need that finished page count for cover purposes.
Once the book is formatted and I’m waiting on the cover magic, I’ll work my way through the manuscript one (maybe two) final time for fine tuning in an actual proof copy. From there, I figure out release logistics. I’m kind of leaning toward less hoopla and buildup for said release. I’m not sure yet. But it’s the third book in a series and that means there are a limited number of people who would be excited for it. The other hand thought there is that it might catch interest of readers who were previously unaware of the series. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about all of that just yet, and I don’t have to make any decisions for now. We shall see.
Bottom line is this: If I do manage to launch this book at the top of next year, I will have published two books in less than a year. Does that really mean that much in the overall picture? No. Not really. But it would mean something to me. There was a long time in which I didn’t think the Order of Crows story would be published at all, and now I have a finished third book. It feels good, y’all.
I think that’s all for now. I might need a nap after this. But I’ll be back soon.
Aj Elmore, Author 