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Hello everyone, and welcome back to my newsletter! Although we've completed "A Writing Journey: When Shadows Fall", I've taken the space this month to share some interesting statistics about the book. Previous newsletters and all segments of my writing journey can be found here at my website's exclusive email archive. Stick around until the end for bonus kitty pictures! |
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It's hard to believe that in just three more days, When Shadows Fall will be available for purchase. I'm so excited to share this book with you, and I know many of you are excited to read it! A few things to know:The release day prize draw will take place June 4th (the day before release) and the six winners will be notified by email. In case you need a refresher, the prizes are as follows:- One signed paperback copy of When Shadows Fall
- three eBook copies of When Shadows Fall
- two sets of four small stickers from my Redbubble store
Please check your junk mail folder to see if you've won, as I'd hate for any of the winners to miss out on their prize! If you have pre-ordered the eBook, make sure to check your email on the 4th (in the evening), as this should give you enough time to cancel your pre-order if you win one of the eBook prizes. The book will be available at a special discount for the first week of release, so don't delay if you plan on buying it! (Please note that eBooks will still be on a discount, however, it won't be as big of a discount as it is if you pre-order it!)Make sure to check your email on June 5th for the book's Amazon link and for more information!
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May has not been as productive as I might have hoped; I started the month with sinus/teeth pain, which made focusing difficult, and then after recovery, I spent a week at my sister's place. As such, I haven't had as much time as normal for my writing!
For the most part, I focused on preparing and promoting eBook pre-orders, in addition to general marketing for the book on Twitter. The biggest project was the creation of a quote countdown, in which I've shared a quote from each chapter of the book counting down to the book's release. It has not been as effective as I'd hoped, but I always knew I'd have to learn the best methods of promotion through trial and error!
I've included some of the quotes below to give you a sneak peek at the book...
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This quote from chapter to was received well by all of my readers, and it's a good glimpse at the story's world building! |
I feel this description really captures the unsettling feel of the nightworld forest Ara has to travel through! |
This mash-up of two quotes encapsulate the negative self-image Ara has as a result of her anxiety and trauma. More than any shadow creature, this is what Ara has to overcome!
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I love this line, as it really sums up a central theme in the book. Ara doesn't consider herself brave, but her love for her sister empowers her to overcome the obstacles she faces, both internal and external. |
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June is an important month, as the book's performance in the first weeks of release will play a big role in how well it does long term. As such, I'll be putting the majority of my energy into promoting When Shadows Fall, in hopes of having a successful book launch! Beyond that, I plan to continue working on the first draft of book three, as well as doing a beta read for an author friend of mine.
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Miss the previous segment? |
Part 10:Time for some statistics!
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After all that time we spent talking about my writing process, I thought you might be interested in some statistics on the creation of When Shadows Fall.
Below is a rough timeline of my early drafts, including the first two partial attempts. I found it interesting to see how the word count and number of chapters progressed with each iteration!
Original Idea: 2011
First attempt: 2017 - 3 chapters - 16,056 words
Second attempt: (?) - 11 chapters - 56,949 words
FIRST FULL DRAFT: 15 chapters - 91,211 words
(finished Sept. 2019)
SECOND DRAFT: 25 chapters - 92,796 words
(finished Feb. 2020)
THIRD DRAFT: 26 chapters + epilogue - 98,487 words
After the third draft, I moved into revisions and editing. My files got pretty complicated at this point, as I did some of my revisions/edits in Scrivener, some in Google Docs, and some in Microsoft Word. And while I thought I was being very organized during the process, I was surprised looking back at how chaotic my system actually was!
To give you an idea, the list below are all real files I created for this project, and yes, these are the ACTUAL names I used. It cab be difficult to differentiate between one edit and the next, which leads to some... interesting names. Quite frankly, even I don't know what they mean half the time! (My favourite is "Draft 3.5 (edit 2.5.5)"! 😆)
Draft 3.5 (edit): 104,604 words - (JAN 2021?)
Draft 3.5 (edit 1.5): 109,855 words - (JAN 2021)
Draft 3.5 (edit 2): 108,083 words - (APR 2021)
Draft 3.5 (edit 2.5): 99,702 words - (AUG 2021)
Draft 3.5 (edit 2.5.5): 102, 386 words - (SEPT 2021)
Draft 3 Edit 3: 98,224 words - (OCT 2021)
Draft 3 Edit 4 Dor Change: 97,164 words - (APR 2022)
Draft 3 Edit 4.5: 97,006 words - (JULY 2022)
Copy for editor: 97,010 words - (JULY 2022)
Final Edit: 95,685 words - (OCT 2022)
Final Edit for PR: 95, 685 words - (DEC 2022?)
FINAL COPY: 95,495 words - (MAR 2023)
Naturally, I wanted to know how long writing this book took me, but when I tried to calculate how much time I'd spent, I found that, once again, I was not nearly as organized as I'd thought! My writing log doesn't even start until after I was nearly done the first draft of the book, so I've had to guess at the time spent based on word count.
To make things more complicated, it appears that sometimes I recorded my word count but not the time spent, while other times I recorded the time spent but not the word count. I've had to make some educated guesses, so the numbers below are estimates. They also don't include any of the brainstorming or research I did prior to 2019, so I consider the numbers below to be conservative!
First attempt: 11 hours (Approx)
Second attempt: 48 hours (Approx)
Draft 1: 61 hours
Draft 2: 61 hours
Draft 3, Edits, and Revisions: 699 hours
Brainstorming: 225.5 hours
TOTAL: Over 1100 hours*
*This total does not take into account any of the time I spent on self-publishing the book, otherwise the number would be considerably higher!
As you can see, writing a book is a monumental task. While I hope to get faster at the writing process with each new project, I am also proud at myself for everything I've accomplished these past years.
I hope you've enjoyed these looks into my writing process. I've loved taking you on this journey, and I can't wait to see what the future holds!
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Unfortunately, I have not had much time for drawing this past month! I did finish my chibi comission for a coworker, but did not have time to add any new designs to my Redbubble store. The best I can do is show you pictures of my sister's water bottle, now fully decked out with Redbubble art!
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Reading: Thanks to a Chapters visit with my sister, I've been recently equipped with new books! I am currently reading "The Shadow of What Was Lost" by James Islington, the first in his epic fantasy trilogy.
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Thank you once again for being a part of my subscriber family! I always enjoy sending these emails, and I hope you enjoy them too. If nothing else, I'm sure you'll appreciate the kitty pictures, since they really are the best part of these newsletters! 😉
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Kaylee always misses me so much when I'm gone from home! She has to spend lots of time snuggling with me to make up for lost time. |
The cutest of wake-up calls. ❤
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#11 1305 23rd Avenue, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4S 3S4, Canada |
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