Every month I share an update about what I'm writing in my Monthly Writing Update!
Here's the latest for the month of May.
At the end of April, I finished writing the third book in my upcoming Risqué Series. This completed the set of three I had planned out. Starting at the beginning of May, the plan was to revise all three books.
Have I accomplished this?
Not quite... Desiring the Dancer, the first book in the series, has been revised. Right now I am currently revising Enticing the Escort, book two of the series. That leaves the third book, Seducing the Star, still at the first draft stage. As of right now, I am about halfway through the second book, which means I'm halfway through revisions on all three.
You'd think I would be disappointed that I couldn't reach my goal of revising all three in May, but I'm actually quite pleased with my progress. I haven't revised anything longer than a short story (under 5k) in a long time. To be completely honest, I was dreading revisions at the beginning of the month. Getting started on them took me a few days. Once I really dove into it and began not only taking away huge chunks of nonsense but also adding in more words. I would take away 100, then add 300, making it a gain of about 200 words for a chapter.
The more I tightened up the story, the more I wanted to revise.
This didn't necessarily mean I went out of my way to revise. I still had my moments of frustration, especially with certain scenes that needed more work than others. I spent a lot of time working on the last two chapters of the first book because there were several sections that needed completely rewritten. Those parts usually ended up with me staring at the screen with several new paragraphs started, all reworded over and over until I got it right.
Once I finished Desiring the Dancer, I felt a huge sense of relief. I was one-third of the way finished! Plus, finishing the one made me want to start the second right away... but I didn't.
To clarify, it made me want to, not that I actually put forth the effort to dive in. Once I did, the good feelings from the first one returned and gave me the motivation to keep going. I'm hoping that once I finish revising Enticing the Escort that I won't delay too long before starting revisions on Seducing the Star.
Am I on track?
Surprisingly, yes. If I can stay on schedule with these revisions (I set new achievable deadlines), I will still be able to publish within the timeframe of my estimated release dates. What are those dates? Hmm, can't say just yet. I need to make sure the rest of the revisions go off without a hitch. If I miss the deadline or something comes up, I may have to push those release dates back by a week or two. As of right now, though, I am doing very well. Wish me luck that it continues down that path!
Goals for June
Finish revisions of Enticing the Escort and Seducing the Star of course! Once these initial revisions are complete, I'm going to read through all three books once more and then send off to my editor. While I wait for her edits, I'll be outlining the book I want to publish before the end of the year. I don't have much to say about this project just yet, but I will say that it is requiring me to do some research and I'm really enjoying that research. If I get edits back before the end of the month, I'll be working on implementing them right away.
In the meantime, take care, everyone! Stay safe! Love you!