The Bulleted Version of this Progress Report

  • Unlikely Victims is already at 33,000 words and 32 chapters, and I still have six to eight chapters left to write.
  • I should be able to finish the writing part by the end of the week.
  • There will be another month’s worth of reviewing and doing a few final details before I can call it finished.
  • As soon as I finish the chapters I need to write, I will start the review process on Declared Dead in Dallas County. (I added the word “County” to the title.)
  • The full article is below the image.
  • Read the first chapter here. 
Book cover with a black background, a yellow sports car, and line drawing photos of two girls.

Not the REAL Cover – This is a cover I made to go in my planner as a visual reminder so I’d be motivated to finish the book..

The Longer Version

Today, Unlikely Victims is 80% finished at 33,000 words and 32 chapters. I expected a shorter book. I was at 17,000 words when I made myself accountable to my friends with a Facebook post telling the world, “Hey, I’m doing this!”

Thanks to jury duty and not being picked, I might finish by next Monday. I had blocked out the entire week to do my civic duty, and even though I was Juror Candidate Number One, I wasn’t the right girl for the job. One side, maybe both of them, passed me over. 

No regrets! I was back at my desk and writing by 2 p.m. yesterday. And, YAY, I have the rest of the week with few commitments.

As soon as I finish the first draft of Unlikely Victims, I will ask a few people to read it and give me feedback. Next, a review to catch grammar and  punctuation problems. I’ll need to figure out what I want on the cover and get someone to do that for me.

I have finished the other book, except for the final review process. The title of that one is “Declared Dead in Dallas County.” I changed it from “Declared Dead in Dallas.” The updated title is more accurate since the court that eventually declared the victims were dead was a Dallas County court.

Today, on my list is ordering a ten-pack of ISBNs.  As you probably know, an ISBN is a unique number for an e-book, book, or an audiobook. It specifies the book’s format, edition, and publisher. So if the book is published in a Kindle format, printed format, and in audio format, you’ll need three ISBNs.

Alternatively, if a writer wants to only list the book on Amazon, Amazon provides a free ISBN, but if you want to list it elsewhere, you have to bring your own.

Thanks for keeping up with me!

BK Smith