Currently, I am in the middle of writing my next book. I started it back when I joined NaNoWriMo, but haven’t had a chance to really dive into it this year. Until today, that is. Can I still publish Kingmaker on Amazon and Barnes & Noble by May 1st?

Actually, that depends on how committed I can get to work on the book from now until the beginning of April.

My Plan to Publish Kingmaker

In the grand scheme of things, I am my own worst enemy when it comes to working on my book. I tend to overload myself with various tasks and projects to the point where I don’t get much quality time with my novel.

Though, a lot of that has to do with trying to get all of my other brands to succeed. This isn’t to mention the work I do every day for GreenGeeks.

Prioritizing Kingmaker in Asana

Starting tomorrow morning (February 23rd), I am setting a two-hour block in Asana to take priority over the blogs and YouTube channels. This is to ensure that I have adequate time throughout the day to write.

I’ve tried writing late at night after my normal work routine. Unfortunately, I’ve been having a hard time staying coherent after 6:00 pm. This has a lot to do with sleeping on a crappy bed and then spending all day in front of the computer screen.

By the time I’m done with dinner, my brain is virtually mush. You can see quite a bit of that during the live streams on WriterSanctuary’s YouTube channel.

Now, I’m sure I’ll have days when I can actually get some good writing in. Take tonight, for example. I just wrote more than 1,500 words in just over an hour and plan to write more after this blog post.

But if I schedule writing time throughout my work routines in Asana, I can guarantee myself that I have adequate time to write and publish Kingmaker.

Pushing to Write 1,302 Words Per Day

If I stick with an average of writing 90,000 words, I only need about 48,159 to reach my goal. That means I need to write at least 1,302 words per day for the book.

Of course, I might go below or over that 90,000-word mark. I write until the story is told. But I am still using the averages that experts believe to be the best length for a book of Kingmaker’s genre.

In reality, I often write more than 2,000 words before lunch. Between the Vocal Media challenge, blogs, YouTube scripts, and tutorials I write for GreenGeeks, I often crank out a lot of words per day.

Reaching for 1,300 immediately after my GreenGeeks work is done should be pretty easy.

However, I often type slower when I am writing a fictional piece. I am constantly scrutinizing every line to make sure it follows the story and is easy to comprehend.

Still, I should be able to reach the word count goal without too much effort. As I said, I wrote more than 1500 words within 78 minutes earlier tonight.

Using April for Edits and Cover Design

The reason why I am pushing to finish writing the book is so that I can use the entire month of April for edits and cover design. I kind of have an idea of what I want the cover to look like but still need to find someone to create the graphic.

In the worst-case scenario, I am confident I can do it myself. After all, I went to college for graphic design and am not totally inept when it comes to imagery.

Perhaps the biggest pain in the ass comes down to editing the book. This is a much longer story than A Freelancer’s Tale, and it’s going to take Sam and me quite a bit to go through the entire manuscript.

Again, I’m purposely trying to see how much I can do for free to publish Kingmaker. Well, at least until the marketing aspect. But I want to understand if publishing a book without spending a dime has a real chance of succeeding.

I can’t use A Freelancer’s Tale as that book is very niche-specific. Unless you know who I am or care about how I succeeded on Textbroker while battling depression, you’re not going to buy the book.

So, I’m going to publish Kingmaker without spending any money on the normal expenses that come with publishing. And since there is a larger market for fantasy/horror than an autobiography, it should do much better overall.

In any case, editing is going to be a real time-suck.

May 1st Should Be a Special Day for Me

May 1st isn’t all about publishing my book. If I stick with my 12-week fitness challenge, it’ll also be the day that I should hit my goal weight. I am hoping that getting my book up on Amazon and Barnes & Noble can be part of a celebration.

I’ve been trying to lose the last 30 pounds for several years, now. It wasn’t until recently that I decided that I’m done playing around. Actually, it happened shortly after publishing A Freelancer’s Tale.

Ever since the printed copy of my book arrived, I’ve been instilled with a sense of purpose. It was like someone flipped the switch to turn on my alter ego of “Captain Kickass.”

I was on an almost unstoppable roll…until the death of my brother. I’m still having issues periodically after losing him, but I still feel that 2022 is my year to shine.

I just wish he was around to see it.

Anyway, there is a lot planned for May 1st, and I am excited to see it to fruition. We even have a plan to wax me as soon as I lose the rest of my weight.

It’s a long story, but essentially I told my friend she could wax my chest, abs, and back as soon as I hit 200 pounds. And yes, it’ll be live on CrossingColorado’s YouTube channel.

It’ll be fun. For everyone else.

I Feel Confident I Can Publish Kingmaker by May 1st

I still have a lot to do. The more I can write today is more time I can spend editing the final draft. And I know, a writer should never edit his or her own work. But when you don’t have $4,000 laying around, you gotta make do with what you have.

Besides, I found a few easy ways to help me edit my own work without it coming out like crap. I’ll write a post about it for WriterSanctuary in the near future.

Wish me luck, and let’s see if I can meet my publish date for Kingmaker without a hitch.