This happens every time. I get to the end of the final draft of the book in progress, then think, “Yay! I can drop this in a month! How exciting!”

No, Krys. Just… No.

There are AT LEAST two re-reads after I do the final draft. I always tell myself I can easily reread it in two weeks, but then I get to editing, and…

It takes FOR. EH. VER.

I do have a goal for 5 (Villainous Vengeance), though. I won’t tell you, since I’ve already pushed it back three times, but I am aiming for a release date before spring.

Hopefully.

It doesn’t help that editing is my least favorite step. Which I forget when I’m actually doing it, but remember every time I tell myself I need to put in some time.

If only I could afford to hire an editor.

I’m working on it as much as I can, though. I’m editing a few hours a day, which feels like it should be a lot, but somehow, isn’t.

Le Sigh.

The problem is, my final drafts are never as good as I think they are. I read through the final draft, find a bunch of nonsense in every paragraph that needs to be adjusted, and it takes weeks to make the adjustments (if I’m working full time, which never happens as often as I’d like). The edited final draft I end up with then needs to be read once more, because I still somehow miss lots of silly things. Even after that, when I read through the final draft I’ve edited twice, I STILL find mistakes.

Eventually, I’ll do a read through and only find a couple mistakes per chapter, which is when I finally drop it for the readers, knowing full well I didn’t catch all of them, but also beyond sick of my own story by that point.

It makes predicting a timeframe very difficult. No idea how many re-reads needed. No clue how awful my grammar and phrasing was.

But everyone loves to know release dates early! Which I totally understand, because, as a reader, I DO TOO!! I just never seem to be capable of accurately estimating.

Perhaps I should create my release date after I have the completely edited work, but then y’all would have to wait all that time on a book that was already done!

And in the words of Inigo Montoya, “I hate waiting.”

All this to say, you might get Villainous Vengeance before the end of March!

Also…

You might not.