Jonathan Gould, Writer » Mid year update

August 11, 2016 in Dag

Mid year update – just a little delayed

I can’t believe it. We’re well past the halfway mark for the year and I completely forgot my mid year progress report. How could that happen? How could I have missed such an important milestone? I guess it’s just another sign of how many competing pressures I’ve had to deal with over the first six months of this year.

Given that I’m the sort of anal person who likes to follow the same routines and traditions, I’m not going to abandon this update. And I figure that August is close enough to the middle of the year to ensure a mid year report still has some validity. So here it is, better late than never. My slightly delayed mid year update.

1. New novel (tentative title still Through the Flame). First round edits took a lot longer than I originally hoped, but I finally completed them a few months ago. But then the editor was busy, so it took a while for her to be able to look at it again. I should be getting the second round of edits later this week. Release date before the end of year is still possible but looking less likely.

2. New picture book – Bella and the Blue Genie. Unfortunately Daiki was too busy to be able to complete the illustrations so we’re currently “auditioning” for a new artist. Again, there is a slim chance for a 2016 release.

3. Another picture book. I was hoping to have two picture books released this year. Hopefully, I can have the next picture book out by the middle of next year. Next stage is to pick the best candidate from my list of stories.

4. More picture books. I was hoping to have two new stories written. So far, none have been forthcoming. The ideas are just starting to seep in so hoping I can get at least one new story written.

5. Another novel. Ideas are starting to crystalise in my head and I’ve started jotting down notes. I’m thinking of doing something a bit different – maybe a romantic comedy/fantasy adventure/political satire.

So, as you can see, it’s been a bit of a frustrating half-year where I haven’t made anywhere near as much progress as I would have liked. Hopefully, the next five months can be much more productive.