I’m heading down the final stretch of this first total re-write of my first book. Today was another 10k day. I think by next weekend this will be wrapped up.

So where do we go from here?

Well, first, you’ll stop getting these vile daily word counts. That was mostly an accountability thing and now that it is done. I got my rewrite done in far less time then I suspected.

Next, I’m going to take a few days off.

Third, after those few days I am going to reread the whole thing again and make line edits for character voice and motivation. This will hopefully bring some consistency to everything. One of the weakest points of the original run is it took over a year and my opinion and vision for the characters changed greatly during that period.

Fourth, I will have to figure out the map. The book needs a map, so I’ll have to design a B&W version for print. That’ll suck up a weekend easily.

Fifth, once the map is done and added to the manuscript it will go back out to two of my original first readers and then potentially a third fresh first reader. The point is that the two will see that I properly address their major concerns and the new one will make sure the surprises and such still work with this new (hopefully better) version.

Sixth. Copy editing.

Seventh, either get the book into the hands of publishers or move to self publishing. Still leaning toward self publishing, we’ll see how the con goes if I make any contacts who can sell me on traditional publishing.

Eighth, book 2 bitches! That has been sitting for a long time, and a lot of things have changed, so now it is time to get back to that. Probably start from scratch again, but full of all sorts of enthusiasm. Steps seven and eight will happen in parallel.

Ninth, get published one way or another and see all you guys at some cons and some signings. I cannot wait to get out there and sign books and talk to people. I’m looking forward to panels more than I can express.

So that’s that, motherfuckers! Not too many word count posts left, hope they didn’t ruin your lives too much. This has been very exciting for me if you couldn’t tell. Glad to have gotten this far.

Sláinte, bitches!