Second Goal: Met

Wow.

So, okay, I didn’t really see this coming but…

I finished another book. Again, it wasn’t the project I’d intended. In fact, it wasn’t even on my radar.

Book 2 in the Endure series is now complete.

That’s right. Book 2. I’ve finally finished a sequel to something.

This one was all around a surprise. When I finished Maven (I retitled book 1 and stole Nemesis for book 2, btw), I had no intention of starting on book 2 until one of my other works in progress were complete. I actually attempted to work on Master of Machines for about a week, but my brain kept going back to Lydia and Daniel and what was up next for them. So, I listened to my brain.

Seven weeks later, Nemesis is officially complete in first draft form at 86,110 words (a full 1,110 above my projected goal).

Wait. What? Over EIGHTY-SIX THOUSAND WORDS in seven weeks? AND I moved out of one house and into another in another state? Seriously?

YOU GUYS. I am SO excited about this series. It’s grown in its complexity so much from how I first imagined it. If Maven was my A New Hope, Nemesis is most definitely my The Empire Strikes Back. That’s all I’m going to say about it for now. Also, I can’t even give you the blurb since book 1 isn’t out anywhere yet and any blurbage I give you would definitely contain spoilers. And so, you must wait.

So what’s next? Well, I’m thinking it over. I have book 1 submitted a few places still, so I’m waiting to see what comes of that. There’s a maybe chance there, but I might be way off my rocker in what I’m hoping for. In case that doesn’t work out, I’m lining up my next steps for self-publishing. Yep. After a single round of queries this time, I’m out. My impatience to share my stories has found its limit. (Still waiting on that TOR reply *le sigh*)

The plan, as I envision it (though “plan” is one of those nasty 4-letter words), goes like this:

• Edit passes on Nemesis
• Beta passes on Nemesis
• Another round of edit passes to implement beta comments
• Start book 3
• Finish book 3
• Edit/beta/edit
• Release book 1

That’s right. ALL THREE books will be complete in at least first draft form before Maven drops. I’m not even going to THINK about releasing the first one until I’ve finished book 3. Even in writing book 2, I’ve had to go back and make a few tiny changes (little details here and there) as the plot has firmed up in my head and all those bits with sharp, jagged edges have been filed away. I am going to make damn sure this series is seamless, because that’s what readers deserve. If I expect anyone to pay for my stories, I am going to give them their money’s worth. If I go this route, I’m looking at a six-week wait in between books. That’s right. For like four months straight I will be peddling my little heart out.

I’m doing all of the above, and I haven’t even touched on the promotion aspect of this. That’s a whole other ball of wax right there. During the times I’m not writing or plotting or Minion-chasing or scheming to burn the horrible hydrangea wallpaper in my dining room, the marketing of this series is what I’m thinking about. I’ve been dipping my toes into the waters of book bloggers and other indie writers within this particular genre to see if I can get a feel for what works, what doesn’t, and what hasn’t been tried yet. It’s overwhelming and exhilarating at the same time. Where do you even start? I’m lucky in that I’ve made a few friends recently that are giving me some much needed guidance on the subject and pointing me in the general direction of where to find things and people. Those friends (and they know who they are) will have my undying gratitude for all the support they’ve so freely given. I can only hope my books are worthy of their time and patience with my endless questions. Even if I totally fail at this, I hope they know that I’ll only get back up because I know they’re there to kiss my boo-boos and give me cookies. LOL (Not literally, people.) (I think.)(They are awesome enough they might, though.)

Now I have to decide: do I jump right in to book 3 or do I let it fester a bit? Theoretically, if I push on I could be done with all three come Balticon time. How awesome would it be to do a launch/release party with a huge chunk of my favorite people in the world? BEST CON EVAR is what that would be right there.

But, that’s getting ahead of myself. First, I have work to do.

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