Writing Update - Feb 22, 2021 (Patreon)

Been a while since I did a writing update.

Let's see...

Writing and Life

So, January was a great month. Using my new word tracker, I did a total of 71160 words. That includes a bunch on the short story, some business posts and the various major projects (see below).

February has not gone as well. I've been fighting off a cold/flu for the last few weeks, and it keeps coming back (or I'm getting multiple of the same type). Anyway, I've been ill more often than not and I'm currently at just under 41k. With only another 6 days to finish, I'll probably be under 20k compared to last month unless I speed up significantly which is unlikely since I'm still ill.

On top of that, my tendinitis has flared up again. Which means I'm on dictation for the work, which is good and bad. Good that I can continue, bad because a bunch of chapters are currently REALLY raw and off.

I'm still hoping to finish up A Thousand Li on time, but it might not be possible. We'll see.

A Thousand Li: The Second Sect

As of today, I'm currently at 89624 words. I'll try to write a little more but the last 4 or so chapters (since chapter 13) are dictated. I haven't had time to get them fixed, so I'll want you all (Patrons) to chime in if you'd like to see a delay while I fix it or just get the raw, unedited product.

You've seen my dictation types before (most of you) with a bunch of weird sentences and words that don't make sense depending on how the thing picks up my voice. So... something to keep in mind.

I'm also not sure how much more there is to write. I (consistently) misguess the size and speed of my endings, so while I want to say there's like another 30-40k, I'm thinking it's probably closer to 20k from past experience. It'll still be a bigger book than before, but we shall see.

I currently have an editing deadline of March 24. If I am still under the weather, I might have to push it but it should be fine to hit. If we hit the March 24 deadline, with 110-130k worth of words, that means 3-4 weeks of editing. Then another 13-15 days for proofing on top of that. Which sets us quite firmly as a June 1 release date.

February Short Story: Clifftop Makeover Edition

That's done. I finished it last Friday. I'm having a quick proofread done on it, at which point everyone will get a chance to read over the work while I get it professionally proofed on top of that. 

Then, I'll get Travis to record an audio version for patrons again and in another 6 months or so I'll publish the short wide like with the rest of the patron shorts.

Adventures on Brad: Guild's Demands 

This has not seen much work this month. I've added another 5k which isn't much since I try to work on it on the weekends (and most weekends I've just been ill), so... no real completion yet. It's close though, I figure another 4-6k and then it'll be done, ready for editing.

After which I'll get on book 8, and keep writing that. As mentioned, I'm going to do a rapid release for the series since it's been so long since book 6.  So patrons will get the books MUCH earlier than anyone else. If I'm lucky, I'll be done with all 3 books by the end of this year, which means I'll do rapid release next year.

We shall see.

System Apocalypse: Australia

KT Hanna is currently working on that. She's up to chapter 12 or so on her alpha write on this. I'm really excited by what I've seen so far. Expect a May / June release for this. I'll get covers/etc once we decide on a title or so...

We should have 3 months in-between releases so the entire trilogy we're planning will be done by the end of this year.

And then we'll see what happens. We've already booked Andrea Parsneau for the audio too so I'm excited to see the world extend in a very different way.

Next Projects

Obviously, after A Thousand Li, we'll be back to System Apocalypse 11. I'm uncertain but I might go straight into 12. It'll depend on how my little brain works, since I sometimes need a little bit of a break between books. but in some ways, I've been thinking of the last book for 3 years so I might be able to chunk it out immediately. No guarantees one way or the other.

On top of that, I'll be done with SA once book 12 is finished. So I've begun to consider what else I should do. Obviously, there are some small projects I want to keep going on with (more Eternal Night novelletes, more Powers, Masks & Capes novelletes) but those are side projects in a way that can be burnt through in a few days. 

I'm debating what to do with my next big project. I've got an idea for an epic fantasy I'd love to do, but I'm not sure it's ready yet since I don't have a plot, just a protagonist and a setting. 

I've also got a few ideas for a new LitRPG too, but I'm not sure which one to tackle right now. I make open up a vote for patrons to see what you all think, though that will be much later down the road.

First to get through SA!