Process

Yesterday was a good day for writing. A net difference of minus 2,955 words. Yeah me!

In actuality, I finished the draft for chapter 4 of “The Little Known Heroes of the Bible.” I had started it last year, then put it aside to work on “The Messengers: Decision” and “A New Home.”

Along the way, I had collected research for the chapter. At one point, the chapter was over 15,000 words long. Of course, once I condensed the manuscript, then deleted the dross, it had shrunk by a third. Now it’s the size it needs to be.

The draft of the book is some 40% finished. I have significant portions of two more chapters written. If I can write my goal of 500 words per day (2,500 per week), then the first draft should be done in about five months. Let’s see if I can bring it in sooner than that.

On another note, one of my author friends has just published her fifth book in her “War” series. If you have not read Diane Moody’s work, I highly recommend her. Search on Amazon.

Editing is an extremely important task when publishing a book, and it can be expensive. To pay a professional could cost $5,000 or more for a novel. While I appreciate there are people out there who do that, the price tag is way out of my league.

So, I have devised my own process. I use a software similar to Grammarly (which you’ve probably seen advertised) called ProWiritingAid. It finds all the grammar stuff I forgot in high school, plus analyzes the manuscript and gives me wonderful stats, like grade level readability and complex sentence percentage.

I have a couple of folks who review my first draft and highlight typos and areas that are confusing. I appreciate their help so much.

During editing, I have the computer read it to me a couple of times. This helps in a couple of ways. First, hearing a word read can point out words you thought were something else. You had one word in your head, but your fingers typed something else. Second, it helps identify phrases used more than once in close proximity. Writing the same word three times in consecutive sentences is quite amateurish (did you note the use of the word “couple” twice in back-to-back sentences?)

For “A New Home,” I was encouraged to do my own out-loud reading. Then, if I found something that was cumbersome, that didn’t roll off the tongue, or was flat out wrong, I could fix it before it went to press.

Well, the results are in. After rereading “A New Home,” I ended up with a net deletion of 74 words. For the math nerds out there, here’s the graph. Looks like Chapters 12 and 13 needed the most help.

It turned out to be a beneficial exercise, and I’m very glad I did it. I found a few small plot holes; girlfriend versus wife was one. Plus, who knows how many words were replaced with something gooder, I mean better!

Where is “A New Home” now? I’m still waiting to hear from a literary agent about the possibility of publishing it traditionally. Allowing up to a month for a decision, it could be self-published before the end of August.

I am very pleased with the book. It will make you laugh; it will make you cry. There will be stories you will wonder, “Can that be true?” and they probably are. For those who have experienced grief, you will identify with Dave. If you like quirky characters, you’ll appreciate Charlie, Nash, and especially Sylvia. Into hometown heroes? Tank will be your guy. If you have carried a sadness for a long time, Judith will be your girl. If you enjoy the small-town experience, you’ll want to move to Gunther. Pastors will nod their heads and say, “Yep, that’s right!” And if you are someone who has found the Lord, you’ll be blessed by a wholesome story of Christian life.

So, the winner of the “Guess the difference in words” contest is Myra Wheeler. How well she knows me!

That’s right! Just once more. But one more what?

During a recent writers’ conference, I was talking with a literary agent. She required her clients to read aloud their manuscript before submitting it. Having the computer read it for you wasn’t enough.

I’m taking her advice. Despite multiple edits, running the manuscript through grammar and writing software, and hearing it read to me twice, I’m going to read all 118,120 words.

Do you have any guesses how that total will change? More? Less? Let me know what you think.

It won’t be long before “A New Home” is in your hands and you can enter the world of Dave James, a pastor who accepts a position at Gunther Community Church. You will join him in the laughs, wonder, sadness, and rejoicing.

But first, let me share with you a secret. While writing a book is hard, marketing your book is just as hard. As a self-published author, it is difficult to get the message out that your next “masterpiece” is available, especially when it is estimated that over 7,000 new Kindle eBooks are published on Amazon every day. How can “A New Home” stand out in that sea of competition?

So, this weekend, I am attending a two-day writers’ conference at Taylor University. I will focus my time on learning all I can about marketing, developing a strategy to increase my readership and getting the wonderful stories the Lord has given me to more people.

I’m looking forward to the event and will let you know how it goes.

The proofs are in!

I have received the proofread copies of my 10th book “A New Hope.” Theresa and Mark did another fabulous job. I appreciate them so much as we share this journey together. And they don’t use red ink!

Now comes my final edits. It is a painstaking process of polishing the finished product. And just like everything in writing, it is subject to availability. It usually takes 1-3 hours to review each chapter, and in this case, there are 20 chapters! Reviewing each and every one of the 116,562 words can be a daunting task. Fortunately, I have tools that help in the process.

I don’t have a publishing date yet. I’m waiting for work on the cover to be completed. And with the Mountaineer Christian Ashram coming up July 31-August 3, and my need to write 2 sessions for it, there may be some delay.

I will let you know when you can get your own copy. I promise you: it will be worth it. You will laugh, cry, and, through it all, smile at the stories of Dave James and the people of fictional Gunther.

Wow! It’s amazing how you get bogged down when you realize the outline isn’t ready!

I was cruising along for the first 20-some days, writing above my daily goal of 500 words, making good progress on “The Messengers: Evolution.” Jacob is traveling to Wheeler Tavern, while Kathryn waits anxiously, with nothing but cold feet, anticipating their wedding day.

As the initial story progressed, I felt something wasn’t right, that the outline was lacking. It wasn’t compelling enough to be an interesting book. This, along with hours spent visiting hospitals, rehab centers, and hospice, all curtailed my writing. Even my dedicated writing day of Friday was being usurped.

Still, I spent hours trying to come up with additional storylines, with new characters, as well as one for a returning character, all to add a suspenseful conclusion.

I can say that it’s getting there, and that today has been a splendid day of writing.

That’s just the way it is as a part-time author. Just ask George R.R. Martin how that next “Game of Thrones” book is coming.

If you haven’t seen me for a while, or you only know me through my books and website, I have been holding back on you. In fact, I really need a new picture for my driver’s license. But not anymore. Here is the big reveal:

I’ve gone to a beard!

It all began on our family trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in October 2022. Typically, while on vacation, I don’t shave, remembering a quote I read years ago: “A scruffy husband is a happy husband.” After that, it “grew on me,” literally and otherwise. I came to like it, and you know Myra did as well, else it would most definitely be gone!

Still, I didn’t know if I would keep it, so I hadn’t changed my pictures on my site, but I think it’s time to recognize that the beard is part of who I am now.

As far as the writing, it has been going well. I’m a chapter and a half from finishing “A New Home,” maybe 20 days. Of course, that’s during a normal season of ministry. With Easter almost here, I have my doubts I can reach my 500 words a day goal. So, more realistically, it will be the end of April before the first draft is complete. Then, it goes to my editors. My best guess is that it will be the Fall before the book is published.

But I can assure you: it will be well worth the wait!

Well, it’s been slow progress since the first of the year. January and February have some extra responsibilities that keep me from writing as much as I want to. And with less sunlight, I tend to feel more tired when I get home.

Of course, I could head to Florida for a week, see more sun, and warm up a bit. (BTW, January’s Mean Temperature in Dayton was -23.2% colder than normal.) Wouldn’t that be great? But that’s just not realistic.

And it doesn’t help that I added another chapter to “A New Home” yesterday. That put the finishing of the first draft out in another two weeks!

So, instead, I write a little here and there, and just keep plugging away at the outline. I chuckle some, delete some, rewrite some, all progressing towards a mid-April date.