As always, I’d like to begin this week’s progress report by thanking all of you awesome people who’ve followed, liked and/or commented on my blog!

Here are this week’s stats:

Word Count for Chapters Edited Since Last PR: 19,567

Last Chapter of Third Draft Completed: 22

Chapters To Go (subject to change): 3

Days Until April 18th Goal Date: 13

Thoughts?

First, I apologize for dropping off of the face of the earth for last week’s progress report. A few things happened in my personal life and though I still kept up with my self-editing schedule, there wasn’t much time for anything else.

That said, I have continued to self-edit in adherence to my self-imposed editing schedule. Because of this, I will likely complete my third draft within the next week. Once I’ve completed it and looked over my beta-reader questionnaire once more, I will be sending it off to my beta readers.

As if the prospect of letting new eyes see my book isn’t nerve-wracking enough, I received my professional headshots yesterday. They turned out amazing and I will be sharing them in another blog post shortly. If you’d like to take a look at them now, I’ve uploaded them to my personal Facebook.

So now, ISBN numbers have been purchased, headshots are done and received, and I’ve nearly completed the draft that will go to beta readers. A year ago, this project had stagnated and I nearly let it die on me (like so many other would-be short stories, novellas and/or novels). Two years ago, this idea didn’t even exist. A year from now? If everything goes according to my plans, both my professional website and the pre-order for my book will both have been live for over a month. Don’t think for a minute that my stomach didn’t drop as I wrote that.

Goals For The Coming Week

I’d like to self-edit Chapters 23, 24 and 25, thereby completing the third draft of my book. Once it’s completed and I’ve double-checked my beta reader questionnaire, I will send everything off to my beta readers…and promptly begin pacing.

I’m not going to name a reading goal for the coming week because finishing the third draft of my book and sending it off to beta readers is more than enough on my plate for the next week.

Note to Self

The more real it all becomes, the scarier it feels sometimes. I know the anxiety, stress, self-doubt, etc., are all coming. I know. Just remember why you started, and look at all you’ve achieved so far with respect to this project. Be gentle with yourself and never forget you’re a fucking badass.