Bondsword’s War is … drumroll please … FINISHED! Jim Dixon has the document and will begin prep for audiobook recording! That alone is huge. Elenya’s Saga marks my most intentional, effort at a truly professional finished book. It went through several revision phases and is in such a great place. Beyond that, it’s the first time I’ve worked with a paid editor for final edits. Thus, when I say it is FINISHED!, it represents the biggest push for polish and professionalism I’ve ever done.

There is another exciting milestone to share as well. Summoner’s Song has been sent to my final editor. That means that the writing is done, and I just need the final fixes for commas, capitalization etc. Thus book 2 is getting really close.

Here’s a status update for all nine books.

1. Bondsword’s War: FINISHED!
2. Summoner’s Song: Sent to my final editor
3. Guardian’s Peril: In final beta read
4. Chosen’s Ascension: Ready for final beta read
5. Fugitive’s Flight: Ready for final beta read
6. Emissaries’ Return: In revision to prep for final beta read
7. Queen’s Craft: Late draft
8. Successor’s Burden: Late draft
9. Protector’s Mandate: Late draft.
   

So, when will I start publishing?

Two factors determine when I will publish:

1. I need to build an audience. I don’t want to publish into the void with only my mom and neighbor excited about it. I am running book funnel promotions, and I have a few other ideas in the works. I also need to recruit an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) group. They receive a free copy of the book in advance, in exchange for an honest review on Amazon and Goodreads. Right now, I have 16 people in my mailing list. I’m hoping to grow that to around 500. I hope to have a 50 or so ARC readers.
2. Once I publish, I plan on publishing on 6–8-week intervals to keep the series building on itself. I am working feverishly to advance the novels through the different stages. My last beta reader does an incredible job and has given me tremendously awesome feedback on books one and 2. I need to give her time, and I’ll need a couple of weeks to apply her work. My pipeline is going to be bottlenecked on either the beta read, or the final editor stage. I think that once I get book four or five finished, I’ll be lined up well enough to start publishing.

The hardest thing in all of this for me is resisting the urge to publish Bondsword’s War next week. I’m so excited, and pleased with how the series is shaping up. I have to stay focused on the goal to do everything I can to try and give this series the best chance I can to get an audience. I want to share it now, but I know that doing so would likely mean only my son, mom and next door neighbor ever read the series. Elenya’s Saga deserves better than that.