Website: 4th anniversary

It’s this website’s fourth anniversary. That makes me look both back and forward. In the last year I published my first novel, Under Shōko’s Bed. I also wrote four new ones, turning The Time Well into a series. With all that productivity, though, I lost my way with this blog. But that inattention didn’t mean I gave up on it.

Now that the first novel is published, I am working on getting the second, Neyuki, ready to go. I am considering doing the book design myself. I need to become more facile with Adobe InDesign, and working through a novel will be a great way to do that. The path ahead is clear for Neyuki, but I wonder what will follow. I am thinking of writing one or two sequels to my third novel, The Man Terror Club, so that one probably won’t be next in line for publication. I may skip ahead to novel five, Vision More Glorious. I doubt, though, that I can prep two novels for publication in the next year. No matter what I opt for, it’s going to be busy.

One thing that will make this time bittersweet is that, unless something unexpected arises, this will be my last year in Japan. I suspect once I’m gone, my novels won’t end up with as much Japanese content, but that remains to be seen. I still have so many ideas for things I want to write.

Website: 3rd anniversary

I have written fewer blog posts this third year, only seventeen. But I have been writing. I wrote a new novel, my eighth, and got Under Shōko’s Bed ready for publication. With that, editing the other novels, and a full-time job, I have been plenty busy. But it’s difficult to stay current on the blog when I have no readers. I trust there will be readers eventually, though, so I will keep at it.

I hope that the next twelve months will see publication not only of Under Shōko’s Bed but also Neyuki, plus significant progress toward publication of The Man Terror Club.

Website: 1st anniversary

I opened this website and made my first blog post one year ago today. I have spent most of my “writing” time in the last year editing my first two novels, Under Shōko’s Bed and Neyuki. I had been working on both novels for a long time and thought they were in good shape. I never imagined it would be such a long and difficult process. They are much better novels today than they were a year ago. In fact, my editor persuaded me to try traditional publishing for Under Shōko’s Bed rather than self-publishing as I had planned.  The long editing process, though, has meant I have not sent it out yet. That should happen this month.

I did not spend all of my time editing, however. I wrote first drafts of two more novels. They both need major rewriting before I show them to anyone. I enjoyed the writing, but now that I see how involved editing is, I will approach future first drafts with much more deliberation. The project has to be something I am willing to sink years into, not just weeks or months. That is a sobering commitment.

The first year of the website also saw twenty-two blog posts. I slowed down late in the year as editing consumed more time. I didn’t feel I needed to document the editing with more posts.  The slowdown, however, may also have been because of my obsessive nature and how it impacts my work. It was difficult to concentrate on blog post topics when my mind was swimming in tightening a novel.

I hope the next year is even more productive, and I look forward to entering the publishing part of the authorship experience. I also hope to spend less time editing and more time reading.