August flew by in a flash, and I feel like I blinked and lost a whole month! That being said, I accomplish a lot, and I’m feeling really excited about next steps. Also, it’s finally fall which is my favorite time of year! If only Texas got the message that things are supposed to be cooling down…

What I Read

GRAND TOTAL: 3

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

Take A Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn 

What I Wrote

After taking so much time, it wasn’t easy to jump right back into revisions, but I forced it to happen. And like usual, once I got started, I got on a good roll.

I ended up being able to knock out the big items of this revision – adding more scenes, developing the characters more, tightening the pacing, and straightening out the progression of the relationship – in one month which I am really proud of! All of that is thanks to the strong outline I put together at the end of July. I was also able to get some immediate feedback from my CPs that told me I was headed in the right direction – always a good sign and feeling that you aren’t totally ruining your book (and yes, this is a common concern). I ended the month of revisions with a nice, relaxing weekend with my mom coming to visit so that I could feel recharged and ready for the next round.

Coming Up

The one not-so-great consequence of August revisions is that now my book is a touch too long… Actually, it’s about 15,000 words too long which shows you how much I added and strengthened. That number causes a little bit of anxiety, but I am not too worried about because I still need to do a read-through for grammar, wordiness, flow and consistency. Considering I was able to cut 30K doing just that for a different project last year, I am confident I can get this book where it needs to be! And then its off to some amazing beta readers who are waiting in the wings!

Because of my extended timeline, I have decided not to submit to Pitch Wars. There’s a small chance I could get a wild hair and change my mind at the last minute, but that’s looking slim. I want to make sure this book is ready and right before I send it out into the world. But I will definitely be keeping you all updated on my progress and plan as I go!