It’s February!
I want to give a quick update on how the book publishing process has been going! It’s been exciting to realize that we are getting close to the date when Book One comes out, but there’s some other stuff going on as well.
Over the last year, my health has been undergoing some major renovations. Unfortunately, I’m still in the midst of the health renos so I’m struggling to find my way through all the debris.
As a result of all the stuff (yes, that’s descriptive), I’ve had to take an extended sick leave from work. I’ve been pretty limited on what I can do, but I’m grateful that writing has been a good form of therapy for me. It’s been a means of rest and relaxation while I try to get back on my feet.
So in the midst of looking forward to the books coming out, I’m taking an enormous amount of naps and spending a lot of effort trying to focus on rest and figuring out how to get back to “normal.”
Here’s a quick update on the book situation:
Book Launch Teams
This has been a fun outlet in the midst of trying to rest. I get to meet up with some young readers and chat about the book (they have a pre-release copy) and get some great feedback. It’s been fun and encouraging!
After the Launch Teams are all done, I’ll blog about the process and how I set it all up (and what I might change).
The Book Launch teams are really a great way to spend some time with other readers. Since my book is geared at the 10-14 age range, it’s a way to invest in them and encourage them to consider writing. Last week, one of the young ladies came in and told me that after our first Book Launch meeting, she started writing a novel. I was pretty pumped about that!
I have two book launch teams running right now with a third starting up this week.
Book One (Subtitled: The Key Quest)
The first book in the series is just waiting to go on sale (coming out April 2, 2018… it’s already up for pre-sale now). It’s been a fun process!
Book Two (Subtitled: The Defense Quest)
The second book in the series is in the Beta Reader stage. I’ve had a little bit of feedback from one Beta Reader, but I’ll be getting some more in the coming while. It’s been a lot of fun getting back to it. I hadn’t actually touched it for months while I was working on books one and three. Just recently I had the chance to finally pick it up again and I’m looking forward to hearing what the Beta Readers have to say!
Book Two is set to come out on June 5, 2018. I think I will probably try to do some book launch teams with it as well. They’ve been fun.
Book Three (Subtitles: The Harry Quest)
The third book in the series is just going to sit for a while. I may clean it up a little bit soon and pass it along to some Alpha Readers, but it’s pretty rough right now. They would need to have a pretty solid constitution to get through it. It’s not set to come out till November 5, 2018, so there’s lots of time.
At the moment, I continue to write (blogs, short stories and more). The people overseeing my recovery (therapists, nurse practitioner) tell me that writing is good therapy to help get me back up and going. That works well since I love to write. I also find the Book Launch Teams to be a fun outlet and way to just get out there and interact with people. I tend to take a nap before and maybe one after, but it’s all good. 🙂
I’m really looking forward to sharing these books with those of you who have a silly, whimsical and odd sense of humor. I suspect that if you happen to be laughtose intolerant, these books may not be the best choice for you. I was, however, told by one of my readers at a book launch team that those who are, sadly, born without a sense of humor would still love the book as it is an adventure book. So, if you like adventure, but find the laughing experience to be distasteful, then perhaps it will also appeal to you. 🙂
There you have it! A February update!
Shawn
UPDATE: To check out Shawn’s books, head to My Books page!
3 responses to “February Book Update”
Shawn, I see Beta Readers, which is great, but didn’t notice an edit and proofread. Even child’s books need to be edited. I feel, ESPECIALLY children’s books because kids will be learning editorial rules by what they read. Hope you’ve taken care of that. If not, contact me. Will work you in immediately and make it affordable. Best wishes! Can’t wait to see it. Deborah A. Bowman
Deborah! That reminds me that I owe you an email! 🙂 I also wanted to send you an excerpt from my book!
Thanks for the editing comment. There definitely is more editing and proofreading to do on book two (and a tad more on book one). I should have put that in my book update. 🙂
I’m glad you’re “ticking” all the boxes and doing all the steps. It makes all the difference in the world. I got another book from England, a poetry book, that had been edited and formatted incorrectly. So I just fixed it over the weekend for eBook and print book today. I’m now known in my authors/bloggers groups as the “fixer”. I like that name! Blessings to you and your family.