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:

Words Rewritten This Week: 15,746

Words Rewritten So Far: 25,418

Last Chapter of Second Draft Completed: 8

Chapters To Go (subject to change): 11

Days Until January 31st Goal Date: 21

Thoughts?

So, at the end of last week’s rewriting, I was feeling very overwhelmed. I had forgotten how intense rewriting an entire manuscript was and I was adjusting to going from having my free time being for sleeping and whatever I wanted, to being dedicated to writing again.

I’d originally intended to write Monday-Friday, Monday in the morning but whenever, and Tuesday-Friday before the day-job. And my body/sleep schedule vehemently disagreed with me. I originally did this so I wouldn’t have to write on Saturdays, which are my early shift days at the day job, or Sundays so I could have one day a week completely off from everything. What I failed to understand is that rewriting a 3,000-word chapter a day on days when I also have to work behind a computer screen for eight hours is exhausting.

After a couple of frustrating writing days, I decided to make my writing schedule Sunday-Thursday. Both of my days off from work are writing days, but on those, once the writing is done, I’m done for the day. This also means that I only have to write for three of my working days. Having done this for the past week, it seems to be the best option for me.

Scheduling aside, rewriting is going very well (see stats). Sonny and Abe came back with a vengeance once I figured out my writing routine. It’s been so nice to have them back.

One thing I do want to address is what I plan to do with my next book. Originally, I thought I might try to pitch this book and its sequels (I believe there will be three books in this series, total) to a publisher and take a shot at being traditionally published. But the more I think about it, the more I know me. I don’t want to give up any creative control. I want to decide what the cover art looks like. I want to have the final say for what does and doesn’t make it into the final version of the book. And in the event a publisher goes under, I want to retain all rights to my work. All that said and accounted for, I’m going to continue to self-publish for now.

Don’t forget to check out my first book, Credence! Releasing on March 1, 2019, it is currently available for digital preorder via Amazon, HERE.

Goals For The Coming Week

In the next week, I’d like to finish rewriting chapters 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. I’d also like to finish my current read, The Other Book by Roe Horvat.

Note to Self

Stick to your guns, Phia. You’ve seen the process for what it is and you know what works for you and your personality. Keep Sonny and Abe close and you won’t regret it.