I now have a draft of Tales of the Macabre West that is ready for Beta Readers to read and provide feedback on. I’m about a month behind where I had originally set my goal to have the book in the hands of early readers but that’s alright because during the process of revising and editing, I was able to rework some parts of the stories with new plot twists and ideas that I like even more than the earlier drafts.
How the book is shaping up
The book is clocking in at about 88,000 words (roughly 240 pages). Originally, I had planned to include seven stories but once I dug in on editing, some of the stories were combined while others ended up not being as strong. In the end, I decided to go with these five stories because they are my favorites from this round. Depending on how the book is received, I’m already thinking about a sequel: More Tales of the Macabre West because I have about 8 more great story ideas that I would love to work on for a follow-up.
Interested in Beta Reading?
I have a good-sized list of Beta Readers already digging in but if you’re interested in being an early Beta Reader as well, there’s still time. I need to have your feedback by the deadline of July 1st. You can either comment below that you are interested along with an email address I can contact you at or you can use my Contact Form here. If you aren’t sure what a Beta Reader is, check out this post: 8 Tips on Being an Effective Beta Reader.
But when will it be published?
The deadline for Beta Reader feedback is July 1st. Depending on the feedback I receive from these early readers, the length of time to incorporate their suggestions and fix the issues they point at can vary but the goal right now is to have a printable version, ready to publish sometime in August so it’s in the home stretch!