In case you haven’t caught on yet, I am definitely not publishing The Warden of Everfeld: Memento this year. Now it’s time to officially own it and look forward to next year.

This became clearer and clearer as I entered the summer and still hadn’t finished writing my second draft. I thought that if I finished my draft by September, had it edited, and churned through the third and (hopefulyl) final draft that maybe, just maybe I could publish by the end of the year.

I’m not at all surprised that didn’t work. It’s also a relief in some ways.

Why It’s Better for Me to Publish in 2018

1. I do not have to feel rushed to finish my final draft. Rushing will inevitably lead to mistakes, and we all know how readers feel about mistake-heavy books.
2. I have time to work my way through the publishing process. This will be my first time publishing a novel, and self-publishing means I need to control the entire workflow. Working with my illustrator on a cover design has been a truly enjoyable experience, but I am not stressed about the timing because there are so many other pieces for me to figure out before I can publish. The cover art is just one of those pieces.
3. I have time to develop my marketing plan. Not that I haven’t had time, considering I laid out my marketing plan at the beginning of this year. But now that I know what my cover will look like, I know what types of marketing materials to produce. I’ve also had more time to save up and budget for my marketing plan. I’m funding this myself, after all.
4. I have more time to flesh out WoEL. I’ve known the basics of my second novel for some time, but as NaNo showed, I still need to write the damn thing.
5. I will still be able to reach my secret goal. Back when I was 22 or so, I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish before I turned 30. Publishing a book was on that list. To be honest, I thought my first book would have been academic in nature, but that’s not the course my life took. I turn 30 next September, so that’s my officially unofficial deadline to publish WoEM.

In reality, I’m aiming to publish The Warden of Everfeld: Memento in the spring. That’s about all I’m comfortable saying for right now, but I’m okay with that.

I want to publish my novel the right way, and if that means putting a little more time in, then so be it.

Steve D