Book is ready

It is done!

After a year and a half I've finished That Warrior Spirit Book I. It's now available on Lulu.

I'm taking a deep breath here. Is it relief or anticipation? Have I really done the best I could or have I allowed my impatience to get the best of me?

Whatever. It is now out there.

Manuscript sent to proof-reader

I've sent my manuscript to my proof-reader. So, I'm getting closer to the completion of this stage of the book.

In the grand scheme of things, her quote for proof-reading it is not that big, but it's still an out-of-pocket cost that I will incur up front. Do I really, really need to have it proof-read? There can't be that many mistakes in it, can there?

Of course, when I sell my millionth copy the amount will be negligible.

On a different but related topic, I'm realizing that I miss my Palm TX. The Palm m515 that I bought to cover for it works but won't run applications I use such as NoteStudio, DayNotez, and Bonsai. I am missing having NoteStudio on a device that fits in my pocket. I used NoteStudio when I developed the outline for That Warrior Spirit and I found it great for capturing those ideas that occur in the moment and for organizing them.

I've heard about a guy named Chris Short who fixes Palm devices and he has a good reputation so I'm getting in touch with him to find out if he will fix my Palm TX and how much it will cost me to do so. Ouch. Another out of pocket expense?

Re-calibrating my writing plans

I miss writing for my novel, That Warrior Spirit. I worked at it diligently in August and in September and made lots of progress. By the end of September I felt like I needed to re-calibrate my priorities though, and put more focus on my business Pictures That Move. Consequently I didn't reach the target I had hoped to reach in October.

I haven't given up though. I've re-calibrated again. I'm so close to getting that first edition out the door that I can't just leave it hanging where it is and not do something about it. My new target is end of November. I've completed all the manuscript changes that I'm going to make, and I'm going to send it out to my proof-reader this week. All that's left for me to do is write the afterword, design the back cover and get it out to lulu.

My plan is to resume my writing schedule in January to start writing what would have been Chapter 5 in my original outline. Meanwhile I've felt some ideas floating around in my head for another book series to start. I guess it can't hurt to start an outline for that series.

Updated book cover

As I get closer to my publishing target I have updated the book cover and I've launched a new web site to promote the book. Visit www.thatwarriorspirit.com and let me know what you think.

For a limited time I am offering this book at a reduced price through my online store at www.orest-online.com.

Finished Chapter 4!

Four weeks ago I committed myself to a writing schedule consisting of two sessions of two hours each. (See Feeding My Spirit). My plan at the time was to alternate sessions between Mission: Dawn and That Warrior Spirit.

After holding to that schedule for a couple of weeks, I realized I was about four sessions away from finishing Chapter 4 of That Warrior Spirit. At the pace I was holding to, it would take four weeks to finish.

So I decided to accelerate my plan. I decided to put Mission: Dawn on the back burner yet again, and focus just on That Warrior Spirit. I also decided to finish it in one week by putting four writing sessions into my schedule instead of just two.

That was last week and I had some challenges holding to my self-imposed schedule but I did my best to adapt and by the end of the week I was just one scene away from finishing Chapter 4.

Or so I thought. I had forgotten that there was another partially developed scene that I still needed to finish. That meant that I was really two scenes away from finishing the chapter.

I am happy to say that as of today I have completed those scenes, and Chapter 4 is now done. Finally!

I'm planning to publish those four chapters as Book 1 of a series, so I will next be focusing my writing energies towards completing the second draft, and getting ready to publish and market the book.

Dancing with life

Almost one month has gone by since I committed myself to putting in two writing sessions a week into my schedule. For the first few weeks I was alternating my two sessions a week between writing Mission: Dawn (Tuesday evening session) and That Warrior Spirit (Saturday morning session). I've been working on Chapter 4 for both books.

This week I rebalanced my focus. I estimated that I was four sessions away from finishing Chapter 4 of That Warrior Spirit. At my previous pace that would have taken me four weeks to finish it. Rebalancing meant I decided to focus solely on That Warrior Spirit. That would cut down my time to finish Chapter 4 from four weeks to two weeks. I decided to be even more aggressive than that and target to complete Chapter 4 this week. That meant having four sessions all in one week.

I scheduled in all four writing sessions and put them into my Palm Pilot. As is often the case, life intruded and started messing with my self-imposed schedule. Well life did a pretty darn good job of intruding. Nevertheless, I danced with life and still managed to squeeze in my writing when I could. The result is that I am now one scene away from finishing Chapter 4.

There is still one day left in the week so I still have a shot at meeting my target.