I’m told the proofreader has been delayed so I don’t have the The Modest Proposal Institute: Rival Institutes in my hand yet. But it is that close — I hope. Then I do a quick review, add some author stuff at the start and finish, and send it off to the Formatter. These last steps are the worst part of being an author — well, except for the actual writing part, of course.

Today, however, instead of waiting impatiently for the book to arrive back, I took part in a 10k charity run. It’s a brilliant autumn day here in Canada and perfect for running, not too hot, not too cold, and not too wet. Between the book and my traveling, I haven’t done a lot of running this year so I was pleased with my time. It’s all part of that work-life balance we hear so much about.

If you’re new here, Rival institutes is the third book in The Modest Proposal Institute series. If you want to catch up before the new book arrives, you can buy it on Amazon right here.

 

Rival Institutes, Book 3 of The Modest Proposal Institute, is being proofread right now and should be back soon.

For those who aren’t writing a book right now (and who isn’t these days?) proofreading is the final editing before the book goes to the Formatter. Formatting is what is done to turn the manuscript into a file that can be read on an electronic reader (Kindle, Kobo, etc), a computer (laptop, tablet, etc), and by way of a paperback/hardback book.

Everything is still on track for a third week of September release so readers and fans be ready. Meanwhile, here’s a reminder about Book 1.

 

 

Book 3 of The Modest Proposal Institute is back from the Content Editor with lots of suggestions. I’ve started working on them, even as I write this. With luck, it should go back for proofreading and final review early this coming week and be ready to publish in the third week of September.

Book 3’s cover is also almost complete. I’ve sent back my final comments to the talented illustrator, Rebeca, so I should have the finished files in the next few days.

When these two pieces come together, the Formatter will add the final touches. I think all this gets easier with every new book.

In other news, I’ve reduced the ebook edition of Book 1: A New Path to an Old Future to $0.99, so if  you haven’t yet bought your copy now’s the time to do it.

Book 3, Rival Institutes, of The Modest Proposal Institute is now with an editor.

Hallelujah!!!

By which I mean, I’m ecstatic that it’s no longer with me and therefore, for about 2 – 3 weeks, I can think of something else. Like the title, which I’ve now done (I think), and the cover, which is being developed even as I write this, and the blurb (ugh), which I have yet to start. I think a really strong cup of tea may help with that.

Today I will finish the as yet untitled book 3 of The Modest Proposal Institute and send it to the editor. Today I will finish…

If I say it often enough, it will happen — I think, I hope.

For this author, all books are a struggle. I’m definitely a better reader of books than a writer of them. By the time I’ve gotten the book into something that looks and reads like a book, I’ve lost the plot entirely, if you know what I mean. By the time it’s done, I can’t remember why I even thought this was a story worth telling. I’m assured all book writers feel this way and maybe they do, I just know I feel it worse:-) Anyhow, today I will finish…  Maybe I need a nice cup of tea.

 

I don’t like editing! I write for months, adding a thousand words per day to my ‘masterpiece’ and then edit for weeks, removing a thousand words per day from my first draft, which it turns out isn’t a masterpiece. I’m lucky if, at the end of the process, I have any words left to tell the story.

Anyhow, The Modest Proposal Institute, book 3, still without a title is fast taking shape, though what shape it will be in when it’s finished I can’t tell at this moment. If any of you want to read book 2, No More Empires, however, you can find it here.

There’s a feeling of letdown when you finish a vacation, even when you don’t have to go back to work. And even when you’ve been thinking it was time to end the vacation and get back home!

I did work on Book 3 of The Modest Proposal Institute when I was vacationing so progress wasn’t entirely slowed. And I have a date for it to go to the editor, which is always scary. Scary because I’m never happy with the book as it is when it goes out. I find books are best left just for the author, me, to read. That way I can change them every time a new idea pops into my head.

However, the having a date scheduled with an editor does concentrate the mind and place some necessary decision-making on the author. Ideas from this point on have to be saved for Books 4 and 5. All this is a long-winded way of saying, I have to get back to writing — right now!

One of the difficulties of travel, the kind we prefer anyhow, is not always having an Internet connection. This week, I have.

On my last post, I said I was closing in on done for book 3 of The Modest Proposal Institute. Well, I’m still doing that. I have way more words then I need (as usual, at this stage) and I’m still figuring out the best way of telling the story.

This is always the hardest part for me, how to describe the events in such a way as to make them dramatic. It’s easier said than done and for me anyhow it requires lots of re-writing and then cutting. I particularly dislike cutting out words I’ve slaved over only a week or so before. Still, the end is in sight. I can see it. And so will you soon:-)

I’m late again on my schedule of a Saturday post here. I like to think it’s because I’m working hard on Book 3 of The Modest Proposal Institute and not because I’m becoming forgetful. It’s too soon for Old Timer’s Disease.

I am working to finish the book and get it to an editor and I’m closing in on my word count. Unfortunately, with me, that doesn’t mean the story is done; it just means I’ve written a lot of words:-)

The next stage is clipping away the undergrowth so the story can be seen. It’s like our garden really — we let everything grow until nothing can be seen because we don’t have the heart to choose which are flowers and which are weeds. Next week will see some serious word pruning and then it’ll be perfect — I hope!

 

I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a fast writer, by which I mean I procrastinate a lot. I saw a meme somewhere that showed the life of a writer as 75% surfing the web, 20% doing anything else but writing, and 5% writing. I ‘liked’ that meme because that’s exactly me as a writer.

Knowing that, you’d think I would find it easy to smarten up. It isn’t. If I was locked in an Internet-free room with nothing but the tools of writing, I’d dream for 95% of the time and write for 5%. And I wouldn’t be dreaming of the story! How do I know this? Last night (and other nights lately) I lay awake for long periods of time just ‘day dreaming’. But could I force those night time ‘daydreams’ into a focused story that would complete book 3 of The Modest Proposal Institute? No I could not. I woke this morning with a general sense that I should finish the book as quickly as possible, which is where I was when I went to bed and the reason I lay awake ‘daydreaming’.  Today, however, will be the start of a new regime — possibly.