There is a reason I don’t like to talk about what I’m working on that has nothing to do with my muse or losing focus on writing the story. It comes squarely from my career in IT. That is, promoting something that doesn’t exist or isn’t finished.
I have seen more than my fair share of software programs (as an example) that has been loudly and widely touted only to never, ever see it hit the shelves. There have been many reasons for the failures, but, at the end of the day, they were widely anticipated failures that cost the companies in question a great deal of credibility.
So, you can imagine my reluctance to talk about my projects when I don’t have a firm release date in mind. Invariably, something happens that delays the entire thing. In my case, the book was long finished, but the edits have taken more time than I expected.
My original hope was to make the book available in May. That’s a pretty ambiguous goal, right? There are thirty-one days in the month so I have time, don’t I?
Well, in my own mind, that date was meant to be May 20th for various personal reasons. Ambiguous goals rarely work, so I had a solid timeframe in mind. Unfortunately, I am quite confident that the book won’t be available May 20th. Chances are also good that it won’t be quite done by May 31st.
I may be completely wrong in that calculation, but, at this very moment, the line edits are not complete nor is the cover. It needs to be formatted for both paper and eDelivery, both of which take some time. Will it drop in May? Unlikely.
So, at the moment, it feels a lot like vapourware to me and probably some of the people who have been waiting for the story. Let me assure you (and myself to some extent) that it is not. I have put too much work into this story not to see it hit the shelves. The delays are so I can ensure that I’m putting as good a book out as I can. That is it. Full stop.
I’m going to have to spend some time reviewing where I went wrong on this one. I plan to release several more books and I need to be able to commit to timelines if I’m going to do so. Commit to them with the expectation that I will actually be successful. If I don’t, I’m letting myself and my readers down. That is something I do not want to do.
So, for those of you waiting, it is coming. Just not quite yet. I am disappointed in this, but I have no one to blame but myself. Please be patient just a little longer and it will be available.
Honest.
