I wanted to give a quick update on Tales of the Macabre West. Not surprisingly, I’m getting a lot of questions asking when this book is going to be done. First, I’m happy that so many people are interested in reading what I’ve written. That’s just awesome. Second, I’m working my butt off, trying to finish it.

So why isn’t it done yet?

Let me explain.

This is my first novel

I’m in uncharted territory (at least personally). I’ve written a lot of comic book scripts, screen plays, and short stories. But putting together a 70,000+ word novel is a whole new challenge. I learned a lot as I wrote the first draft in 2013 and now revising is a whole new challenge. I think I’ve finally got a process that is working well but it has been a lot of trial and error to get to this point.

Quality matters

Once it’s printed, it’s set in stone (well… paper actually). The only deadlines I have are self-imposed. That doesn’t mean I’m ignoring the deadlines, it just means I’m not rushing things. Quality matters. This will be many people’s first experience with my writing and I want it to be the best I can possibly make it.

It’s a learning process

Figuring out how to write this many words, how to keep track of multiple plot lines, make believable characters, finish a first draft, then go back and revise for story structure, sentence structure, punctuation, and finally to compile and format it as a book, learn how to get it out in paper and eBook form, and build a platform to market it on – well, it’s a lot to learn. I couldn’t be more excited about where I’m at but it does take time to do things right.

Where I’m at right now

I have about 25% of the book completed. That means, 25% is totally revised, edited, and I’m pretty happy with how it reads and it came out. But that still leaves 75% that is in process. The first and second drafts of that part are done. It’s all there. It just needs a lot of revising and love before it will be ready. I make progress every day and build on that percentage.

So when is all of it going to be done and ready to print?

I’ve been saying the first part of 2014. Now I’m going to get more specific. My goal is to have it ready by the end of April. There’s still a lot of work to do but I based on the progress I’m making and my current process, it is an achievable goal.

So there you have, only a few more months to go before you’ll be able to read Tales of the Macabre West. Now the hard part begins, making sure I hit this date I just told you all about.