Book 3, audio draft. And a deadline.


Can I get book 1 published, AND the Audible version recorded and also published, by July? I hope so, because, for financial reasons, that’s my deadline.

You’d think I’d be focusing on doing just that, but no. What I’m actually doing is recording the draft audio version of book 3.

Why? Because of how my brain works. I have a low tolerance for tedium and, although my books aren’t, I don’t think, tedious, they would be if I had to read them more than once in quick succession. And editing involves a lot of reading, and rereading. And more rereading. (And yes, some rewriting.)

Not gonna happen, with my brain, which is why I wrote the trilogy. By the time I’ve finished book 3, I’ve forgotten so much of book 1, it’s almost like a new book that I didn’t write. So I can read it critically, stay interested, and stand some chance of remaining engaged with the process of good editing.

I’ve been through two editing processes like this and I need one more, so next time, I will go through all three books with my headset on, listening to my own voice reading them out loud, to give a different perspective for the final edit. The hope is that the books will not only read well on the screen or on paper, but also sound well in the ears.

It’s a touch of novelty that will make the last edit phase doable for me. But I’m running out of time now, so it has to happen fast. Because I have quite a few other things to do, before July. I have to…

  • Get a sound hood, a professional microphone and recording software, and record the Audible version for History Maps Book 1: User Interface. (If I have time, I might record books 2 and 3 straight after that.)
  • Plan and schedule my marketing campaign, and…
  • Run through the legal position, the Kindle and Audible contracts and perform a final check of everything.

It might not sound like much, but that is a LOT of work. Especially as I’m still trying to facillitate my family and slowly renovate my house and land, and perpetuate some kind of social life.

I can do it though, right? If you’re reading this, I did.


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