I am now exactly three months away from Persona’s publication date.
What does this mean for me?
Well, it means a lot of work, actually. I have a list of things that need to be done like … hunt for virtual space (AKA – look for people online who wouldn’t mind me commandeering their blog/site for a day) and prepping advertising spots and getting reminder letters ready for all the wonderful people who agreed to advance review the book and … so much more.
SO. Much. More.
Side Note: Thank you so much to all of my advanced readers. I’ve heard from most of you already and I really, really appreciate the time it takes to sit down and read a book these days. You’re all awesomesauce on toast and I uber love you.
What happened to the Kindle Scout Campaign?
As predicted, this was not the right fit for me. Kindle Scout is made for people who really don’t mind shouting over and over and over again that their book is up and needs votes. I am not that sort of person.
Granted, if I were that sort of person it is entirely possible that I would sell a lot more books. The tactic seems to work very well for a lot of people. For my part, I cannot justify being that much of a pest. And if I spend all my time promoting, I get no writing done. (I am a single parent. My time is limited.)
Having re-read the manuscript hunting for any last-minute errors and the like, I have to say that Persona is a favorite of mine. While I may have bemoaned all the research I had to do writing a historical fiction, it is still one of my favorite stories. Megan is a gentle hero, which I believe to be one of the more common and less noticed heroes in the world today.
In any case … the countdown has begun! Three months and two days and this novel will finally be out for sale. It’s been a long but very satisfying road to see it get to this point and I’m excited for the next step.
AJMaguire 
AJ, This leaves me a little humbled as I do not have to rise at 5am because my day is my own, and still do not get anything like the amount onto anything, paper, pc, into a hidey-hole, that you are achieving. so, well done and may you make enough sales soon to avoid that 5am rise… anne Stenhouse
5 AM — I’m impressed. My alarm is set for 6 AM, and it’s set this early (!!) only because I need to get up and feed my dogs.
I usually type everything right into the computer; I hate writing by hand. My handwriting is lousy — sometimes even I can’t read it — and I’m a very fast typist. The only exceptions to this are when I’m stuck on something. Then I write whatever it is out by hand, which somehow gets me unstuck. I read somewhere that writing by hand and typing engage different parts of the brain, so perhaps this is why.
Fellow sufferer, Margaret! I think the part of my brain that has to do with handwriting has withered away!
I am impressed that you can function at 5 am, coffee or not. Years ago, I experimented to fit a swim schedule into my busy day and while I’m NOT a morning person, decided to try getting up at 6, heading over the Y, swim a quarter mile or a half, depending on the day, back home, get the kids up and out to school and my self to work. Problem was, by 10 am I was falling asleep. I gave it a good college try and kept the routine up for 3 months but my body just never acclimated. I had to give it up and head back out after the kids were in bed to swim at 9 pm. Turns out my best writing time is later in the day too.
What self-discipline! I couldn’t stay alive for half a year without creating new stuff. And editing is something I do, like it or not, because people pay me to do it.