Before I start, a disclaimer (aka excuses):

• June is ALWAYS less productive for me than usual. I am choosing to blame the teenager being home from school and the HEAT for these problems. Also, this year, I have the added stress of that massive 2025 reading goal (more on that in a bit) hanging over my head. 

Anyway, I went INTO June knowing it would be a rough month. Time to see if I was right.

First up, let’s all remember the goals from January 1 for this year. 

You already know I have to have micro focuses for the month if I have any hope of making these big goals happen, right? Well, in June those were:

• Finalize formatting of Darkest Fears
• Proof read the sample print copy of Darkest Fears
• Finish the 2nd round of edits on the YA Contemporary
• FAN FUSION (this already feels like SO long ago)
• Blog about the super secret project
• Outline a new story idea

So, how did I do?

The short answer is better than I expected!

The longer answer is:

1. Formatting of Darkest Fears was FINALIZED. What that essentially means is the spacing, chapter headers, margins, page numbers, and all that other fun stuff was figured out and moved around as I like it. This stuff was already done WAY back in the project. I actually formatted the paperback AND the ebook early. But I made a few changes to things which meant reformatting BOTH of those. Plus Kindle is being … irritating. They are doing better at getting accurate page reads when you use THEIR formatting vs an epub. So I had to also format a Kindle version. Basically, while this is only one little check mark on a page that should have been easy because it was already basically done, it was a LOT of work. But it’s done. 
2. The FINAL proof read is always one I do from an actual physical paperback copy. It’s done. I did have a few typographical errors (I don’t know how those always make it through all the editor’s passes and my own passes … but we killed a few more this time). 

Darkest Fears also went off to the printer without a hitch and the files were all approved, which was the last step I could really do before preorders open in a few weeks. VERY exciting! 

3. Onto the YA Contemporary. That, as you know, is with betas. Feedback has started to roll in. I had planned to tackle my second round of edits in June. I didn’t finish that. Apparently my new process (this changes all the time, which is annoying of my brain) is to complete a round of edits AND the proof read at the same time. It’s like I second round edit chapter 1 and then go right back and proof read chapter 1. I don’t like it. I’m not sure why my brain insists on me doing it this way right now. But that’s what’s happening. So, I’m not done with either of those … but I’m working on it. 

The YA Contemporary did also have a reformat on the ebook, which I formatted before sending to betas. But I know I’ll have to do that again so I didn’t bother to check the box. Like I said, as I make changes to the paperback, I have to go back and redo the ebook. I’ll basically end up throwing it all out and making a new one. We should still be on track for a DECEMBER release of this one.

4. Fan Fusion was listed as a goal this month. Basically, I knew I’d get little to no writing done on that entire week so I wanted to remind myself how important that was. We had a GREAT time at Fan Fusion, as always. We made our table fees back plus a little more. It wasn’t our BEST Fan Fusion on record (that was 2024, in case you’re curious) but it wasn’t terrible. I mean, anytime you make your table fees back (especially on an event with fees as high as this one) it’s a good weekend.

4. I did finally reveal what the super secret project was in a blog post: https://tabathashipleybooks.com/2025/06/19/super-secret-project-revealed/ I’d recommend that post if you missed it! 
5. Lastly, I had a goal to outline a brand new project. Well, I didn’t outline it. I DID, however, brainstorm a lot on the project and really get some good notes done. I started an outline but I won’t call it done yet. I’m actually really into this project idea. I even started a new project page for it! Now, that doesn’t really mean anything yet. If you’ve been following this blog for awhile you’ll remember how long the Apocalypse Project kicked around before it was anything worth talking about! But, I’m lovingly calling this one the Superhero Project. That’s all I’m willing to say right now. 

Here’s what that 2025 Progress looks like at the end of June.

I’m really happy with how much of this is marked off at this halfway point of the year. There’s a lot left to do, sure, but it’s coming along so nicely!

Here’s some fun stats for you related to writing and my projects:

• 7,237 words written across all projects and platforms
  • 3,538 of those were book reviews
  • 2,480 were blog posts
  • 1,219 were put in the idea journal brainstorming on this new idea. That’s not even accurate, but it’s close enough. Some of my brainstorming was on paper and I’m NOT counting all of those!
• 33 Chapters Edited
  • That makes sense. Most of those were probably the YA Contemporary. Actually, I think all of them were. I don’t count the final proofread from the author copy as editing, since it’s mostly reading at that stage.

It’s also the end of the second quarter. So I took a look at the final QUARTER totals. 

• 24,268 words written across all projects in second quarter
  • That’s DOWN from first quarters 36,711 words
  • 9,728 of those were book reviews
  • 8,221 were blog posts
  • 4,733 were added to the YA Contemporary 
  • 1,586 were in the idea journal 
• 79 chapters edited in second quarter
  • Also down from first quarters 126 chapter edited
  • This is both Darkest Fears and the YA Contemporary

Now, Reading. 

Remember, if you’re looking for the actual reviews those can be found over on alltherightreads.com where I’m a part of the review team. But, here’s the stats for you. 

The Graphic:

I read 13 books in June but only 9 of those were on the official TBR. 

This is going to happen a lot for the rest of the year, causing me an insane amount of inner turmoil if I’m honest. But, let me pause to explain what the heck I mean by “official TBR”. 

• My goal this year was to read all 119 of the books that were on my TBR on January 1. So not just 119 books … those specific 119 books. I am still part of the review team at All the Right Reads. That means I’m taking on 2-3 books per month that I didn’t know anything about on January 1. Basically, this makes things a lot more complicated for me. 
• As of the end of June there are 53 of those original TBR books remaining.
• There are also 43 new books on the TBR that do not count toward the challenge.
• 16 of those are books I have to read/review as part of the All the Right Reads team. That means I have to read 16 books NOT on the official TBR as well as the ones that are before the end of the year.

I have only myself to blame on this one. 

Anyway, back to the regularly scheduled information.

In June I read 13 books or 3,704 pages (about 123 pages per day). 61% of those were independently published. 

The Reading Journal:

The Stats:

Where did I get them all?

• 2 Borrowed from a person or the library (1 from my husband 1 from the library)
• 3 ARC or Review copies provided by authors or publishers (those are the ones listed at the top of the first page)
• 6 purchased
  • 3 purchased on Kindle
  • 1 purchased from my favorite local used bookstore
  • 1 purchased directly from the authors at events
  • 1 purchased at Barnes and Noble
• 2 giveaway win or gift (1 of each, I think)

What formats were they:

• 7 ebooks (I’m really trying to get through the ones I purchased on my Kindle)
• 0 audiobooks (There’s a serious lack of available “official TBR” books available on audio, in case you’re wondering why this keeps happening)
• 3 paperbacks
• 3 hardcovers

Star Ratings:

• 0 1-star books. That makes sense because this is RARE for me. At alltherightreads we say a book has to be one we cannot recommend to get this rating. 
• 3 2-star books. These are books that were problematic, for some reason. The full reviews would lay out why. Safe to say that something about them rubbed me the wrong way. 
• 5 3-star books. This is probably my most common rating. For me, these books are GOOD but they’re NICHE for some reason. I’d have to find out if you were in that particular niche before I’d recommend them to you. Sometimes it’s because of content warnings, sometimes it’s because they’re just for a really specific reader. If you happen to be in this niche, however, these could be your absolute favorite books!
• 5 4-star books. These are books that I’d recommend just based on the fact that you say you read this genre. They’re just GREAT examples of their genre. For this month those were:
  • All Better Now is a dystopian sort of science fiction. If you like dystopian, you may like how this one plays with the genre a little. It’s unique and fun!
  • You’d Look Better as a Ghost is a mystery/thriller that follows a serial killer as the main character. If you like dark stories packed with dark humor, this is a great one. 
  • Ghosts of the Forbidden is a paranormal story with great gothic vibes. It follows a young woman who believes she’s been reincarnated as she discovers the mystery of her past life. 
  • On the Hook is a YA contemporary story with a great cast. This one follows a young boy who makes a terrible choice and has to live with the consequences. It’s real and raw and recommended for fans of the genre.
  • Fangs and Frenemis is another paranormal story but this one is more cozy mystery combined with fantasy. Great cast, fun magic use, and mystery. 

Here are some stats for the second quarter wrap up. 

• 6.5 borrowed from the library or someone in second quarter (down from 13 borrowed in first quarter)
• 8 ARC or review copies (down from 9)
• 16.5 purchased (up from 13.5)
• 5 gift or giveaway wins (up from 3.5)
• 20.5 ebooks (WAY up from 12)
• 0 audiobooks (WAY down from 13)
• 9.5 paperbacks (up from 8.5)
• 6 hardcovers (basically the same as 5.5)

So, that’s June. 

TLDR: Hit most of the goals, had a great time at Fan Fusion, and still on track for year long goals and publication dates!

See you again soon!