Progress Check: September

Hi friends, welcome back! We’ve made it through another month and another quarter of 2024. We are rapidly approaching the time when I will need to think about goals for 2025 … but I’m not there yet. Instead, join me for a quick overview of how September went. I’ll likely also take a look at how the third quarter looked overall and maybe even compare that to first and second quarters. 

Here we go …

Section 1: Individual Projects

I had 5 projects I was tracking when 2024 started. Let’s take a look at their progress. 

YA Contemporary

When 2024 started I had already fully drafted this one. Actually, it had already had a full edit. When someone asked about it I told them “something is wrong with it, I’ll figure it out”. It sat and sat and sat. So I decided in 2024 I would take a look at it and see if I could find the “something” that was wrong with it. 

During the first quarter of 2024 I committed to another editing round to see if I could find the problems. I also had PAGES of notes from the first edit that needed to be input. 

After second quarter I had a little more to report. The edits were done. The changes were put in. I could confirm there was a scene missing but I couldn’t seem to bring myself to write it. I just hadn’t figured out yet how to make it the best it could be. 

Then, honestly, I didn’t touch this one again at all in third quarter. Sigh.

Slasher WIP and the Romance have had NO changes in 2024.

I feel mildly guilty about that, but only when I focus on it … so let’s move on.

Apocalypse Project

Third quarter is when this one really started coming together. As you’re likely aware, I went back to the outline (ahem:again) with this one. I started from square one. The good news: I was able to get the outline FINISHED without issue. I’ve gone back into drafting this one, following the outline. As of writing this, the draft sits at around 28,000 words. That’s further than I was ever able to get on any of my previous attempts at drafting. I did note that one scene felt like it was missing something, but I’m refusing to let myself go back and tackle that right now. Forward momentum is a must! I’m still on track with the outline and have encountered no major issues. 

Short Story Collection AKA In Trust We Fall

This one, obviously, saw the most growth in 2024. 

The official release date is October 8th but this one is done, for all intents and purposes. Preorders have been rolling in and my copies are on the way. I’m really proud of this one and ecstatic with how quickly it came together. 

If you’re a fan of short stories or just like my short fiction, I highly recommend this one. In fact, I ordered a few extra copies so if you act fast, yours will still ship on release day!

Section 2: Monthly Progress

Before I dig into the third quarter overall stats, let’s take a peek at my September progress.

I managed to get the proof read of In Trust We Fall done, which was one thing I absolutely had to finish. I also got the book off to the printer and opened preorders on track. Really, that’s the smooth part!

I did continue working on the Apocalypse Project, adding almost 9,300 words. Grand total, including book reviews and all other forms of writing, saw just under 13,500 words for the month (about 435 per day). Not my worst month … but not my best either. 

How about those third quarter stats?

Words Written:

Ok, this sort of caught me off guard. Not completely, I knew I didn’t use the idea journal in the third quarter, I knew In Trust We Fall had no words added after it was finished in the first quarter, and I knew the Apocalypse Project dominated the third quarter. The part that surprised me was to see that I wrote more words on Apocalypse in 3rd than I did on In Trust We Fall in 1st. That’s WILD. 

Words aren’t all I track, though. 

Yeah, wow. I guess I had a better third quarter than I thought. Color me surprised. 

Could I still do more? Obviously, yes. If I were to go back to old blog posts and compare 2024 to previous years, I’d probably want to cry. But I’m unstuck on TWO projects and one of those is coming out this month. I’m happy with it. 

Section 3: Reading

My 2024 reading goal is to read and review 104 books. It’s been that same way for a few years now, despite often meeting that goal ridiculously early in the year. 2 books per week is perfectly acceptable, even for a big reader like me. I set that goal and then I do the best I can. 

September looked like this. 

11 total books (about 143 pages read per day). Everything I intended to read, one I’d purchased a long time ago and was excited to finally read, and a whole lot of impulse reads from the library.

Prefer covers? Cool, here they are. 

Another month full of reads I’d recommend. If you’re a romance or contemporary fiction fan, I can’t recommend Just For the Summer enough. The romance was cute but the mental health rep was AMAZING. If you prefer horror, The Last House on Needless Street was unpredictable and shocking, which is what you want! If you like detective fiction but want something that surprises you and doesn’t fall to cliches, I’d recommend The Boy. 

For fun, here are some third quarter reading stats for you. 

• 38 Books Read/Reviewed
• 13,996 Total Pages Read
• 21% of the reads were independently published

Borrowed/Library	24.5
ARC/Review	8
Purchased	5.5
Gift/Giveaway	0

eBook	9
Audiobook	20.5
Paperback	6
Hardover	2

Classic	1
Contemporary	2
Fantasy	5
Historical Fiction	4
Horror	2
Mystery/Thriller	17
Nonfiction	1
Romance	2
Science Fiction	3
Short Story Collection	1

MG	2
YA	5
Adult	31

So, that was my September … which brought an end to the third quarter of 2024. So far this year I’ve managed to finish and publish (well, 7 days from now) the short story collection. I’ve put the Apocalypse Project BACK on track and managed 28,000 words of it. I’ve read and reviewed a total of 115 books.

I guess that means, even if I’m not perfect, I certainly can’t complain. 

Here’s hoping I finish the year on a high note!