Progress Report

Just stopping by for a quick progress report.

Things have been going great on the writing front lately. I have written 25,000 words in the past 20 days, which is really terrific progress for me. By the way, 1,000 words is approximately 1% of a 300 page novel. I fit my writing in from 8:30 to 10:00 PM, as well as a little late afternoon writing if Amelia is involved in an after-school activity.

Here is a (probably overly hopeful) timeline of what is coming up:

28 days: Finish this draft of Child of the Knight as well as my revisions.
28 days: Time for my critique partners to read and comment on the manuscript.
21 days: Make revisions based on critique partners' comments.
21 days: Beta readers read and comment on the manuscript.
14 days: Make revisions and format the manuscript. Order proof copies.
14 days: Proofreaders read and make corrections on proof copies.
7 days: Correct proofs.
14 days: Final proofreader reads proof and tells me that everything is perfect! Right...
1 day: Launch Child of the Knight.

I have no idea how accurate the above timeline is. I just want to give you an idea of what steps I see in the process ahead. In my next blog post I'll write about the roles of my critique partners, beta readers, and proofreaders.

By the way, the free ebook giveaway has been terrific. I'm glad so many people have downloaded and read Eternal Knight. If you've read it, please tell someone about it! Nothing helps a book like word of mouth. And if you want to keep your author super-motivated, I love hearing from readers. Every nice note I get motivates me to go just a little bit further. 

Best,

Matt

Guest Review - The Lightning Thief

Today we have a guest review from my daughter, Amelia...

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My name is Amelia and I am nine years old. My favorite subjects are history and science. I also LOVE reading! Before this school year I never really read much at all. My classmate Robert said that he loved reading The Lightning Thief. It looked very interesting so I checked it out at my school library. Which brings me to this review…

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1:
The Lightning Thief

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is on the most dangerous quest of his life. With the help of a satyr and a daughter of Athena, Percy must journey across the United States to catch a thief who has stolen the original weapon of mass destruction – Zeus’ master bolt. Along the way, he must face a host of mythological enemies determined to stop him. Most of all, he must come to terms with a father he has never known, and an Oracle that has warned him of betrayal by a friend.

-From the back cover

Characters: Percy Jackson is a twelve year old who goes to a reform school. He has ADHD and dyslexia and always seemed to get in trouble. I loved the way he solved problems. He was very clever ands smart. Annabeth is Percy’s friend. Her mom is Athena (goddess of wisdom). Annabeth is very smart. Her weapon is a special knife that can kill monsters. Percy’s protector is a satyr (half man, half goat); satyrs help protect soon to be demigods from monsters.

Setting: I love the setting! It is mordern day New York City and it’s mixed with Ancient Greece. Some of the places are mordern day tourist attractions but they have a Greek secret hidden in them!

Genre: It is a mixture of fantsy and Greek mytholgy. It has lots of adventure and magic.

I would give this book 10/10 or 5 stars! It is a young adult novel, but I think anybody can enjoy it!