WIP Progress and a Haiku

I wrote a zombie apocalyptic sci-fi book and it’s in the hands of beta readers. So far, I’ve gotten one person to finish and I’ve lost a few along the way. That’s okay, I was warned this would happen. It all takes time and I can’t afford a professional editor so I will wait until my talented friends and acquaintances are ready to get back to me. In the meantime, I’ve begun writing haiku passages for the start of each chapter. I think this is my favorite to date:

The world torn apart
Love lost into the unknown
Empty is my heart

Four chapters in one of my main characters, Drew, heads back to his house after having disappeared for a few days. He’s not sure where his wife but hopes she’s at home. Spoiler, she’s not. He’s in crisis mode he tries to figure out what’s next for him. I think it’s a pivotal moment early the book where he determines he must move forward or he will die. I’m excited to get this book published but here are some of my hang ups.

1. I am on the fence about the title. Titling your book is like naming your baby. This will define the books entire life! Choosing how others will identify to the thousands of words beyond the front cover is critical. This is a series, so I also want it to be themed with other books. Originally I called it Baltimore Zombies, it was more of a joke than a real name. Later I moved to calling it Kiss of Lazarus but now I consider this to feminine and doesn’t portray my story well. I’m currently on Lazarus City because it takes place in a city and the virus is called Lazarus (for now).
2. Book cover. Literally all over the place. This is the world of indie authors, we have to figure it all out for ourselves and then find someone to bring our vision to life. First, I need a vision.
3. Final edits. I want the beta process to be over soon so I can get to work on filling in the gaps. Then it’s off to my proofreader. This will probably take another month, at least! I need to find ways of getting faster at this process or it will take too long to turn over books.
4. But, do I really want to be an indie author? I think so. The query process alone is intimidating and lengthy.

There are still many steps to complete but the haiku creating is super fun and I’m gearing up to finish book two of this series as soon as I’m done editing another book I wrote in November. How do these authors spit out multiple books a year? I’m so in awe over them. Surely they have more time than me and are better skilled at the craft.

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