This week I started working on my timeline. My editor had made a significant number of comments, in fact over 500 of them. But try as I might, the online document that we shared was not budging. The documents and its suggestions were far too large.
We are currently sitting on 95 185 words and the sheer size of it, with all the editing software runs, was slowing us down. Some of my readers may know that last year our home was broken into and our laptops were stolen. I got a generous gift of a second hand laptop and I have created all my content on that. Without that generosity, the fourth book wouldn’t have been possible. But it is still a slow process.
My editor went in and accepted all the minor adjustments herself, which transformed the speed of the document. I went from staring at a screen for ten minutes waiting for a single change to load to being able to check important storyline issues. This week I started sifting through each chapter and looked for flow issues from one chapter to the next, and I am happy with the progress. I worked for over three hours yesterday morning and added in two new chapters which resolve key concepts that the book was lacking. One chapter deals with something that I had to face in my teens, but I will not reveal what that is until after I launch. Which is probably what most people are asking right now… Kim, when are you launching book 4?
I am struggling with three aspects of the launch. The first is a title. In South Africa, we get our ISBNs from the department of libraries and my last ISBNs took about one month to get. But to get an ISBN, I need a title. I have to confess; I am stuck. The last word in my title has to be around 4 to 5 letters and, of course, not just any word, one that is relevant to my medieval fantasy genre. Why four to five letters? Well, it is the size of the word that makes the design of the covers flow. We have come up with five titles so far and none of them “stick” in our hearts.
The second aspect is the cover design. This is not a major issue, but a budget one. All these aspects of publishing require a budget and that is taking longer than I had hoped. But we have the main illustration approved. I believe that at the end of the month, my Patreon supporter’s funds will allow me to send the cover through to design. My Patreon supporters are the ones who help me cover some of the minor costs are related to publishing and I am very grateful; for the accumulative support that they give.
Finally, I have to deal with some final rewrite issues and then I have to print out the manuscript to read the final physical copy before I send it for typesetting.
So there you have my progress to date. My plan is to make sure this book is out on time before my 50th birthday,which is on 04 March. So wish me luck and there is a lot to do before then.
Extract of Book 4
The rats grew larger each year, but as Zargo’s diet had changed since he had buried himself in this self-contained grave, they left the underground cave more frequently. Some part of the Dragon knew that the forest was dying and that his self-indulgence had contributed to the decay above him, but he no longer cared. Somnus Virdus, had a fungus on its leaves that Zargo unknowingly inhaled as he breathed his fire onto the herb. He could hear his breath moving through his lungs as if through a broken instrument. He struggled to draw in a full breath, but it no longer mattered to him. The wheezing and spasm in his lungs would pass and then he would lie his head down again and let the sleep take him. But it never did and his sleep was in fitful bouts, always interrupted by Ciomennds silent screams as the egg tore through her. For a while, after he had completed his mission, he felt the urge to return to the egg, but he never found the courage. He knew that he would have to look at Ciommend’s body and face his grief. Had it not been for the egg, she may have lived, but it had ripped through her, stealing the life force from her and he had been powerless to stop it. If he had not taken those eggs, perhaps he could have saved her, protected her from her pursuer, so that she could have passed the egg in safety. He had failed her and now not even this herb could silence the regret that raged against him in endless waves. By now, Zargo’s muscles had shrunk to a fraction of their former size. He hoped that his time on earth would pass quickly. For a while, he had opened his mind to the Crystal Water Dragon, but too much about her manner reminded him of Ciommend.
