Bright Light at the End of the Tunnel!

I have finally made it to the Epilogue of my labor of love, the novel I've titled:  2018: An Uncivil War!  I started this story this past January.  And I have been more persistent than I have ever been before in any previous writing endeavor.

In the very beginning, I thought the task seemed quite daunting and would -- at the very least -- be extremely challenging.  And it has been.  But truth be known, when you -- as an artist or a writer -- come up with something that you truly feel so very strongly about, it gives you enough fuel to go the whole 10 yards.  In my case, I found many challenges and inconsistencies with the plot of my story, but I promptly addressed each one as I came to it.  And before long, the story started pretty much writing itself.  I'm not sure if this was God speaking through me or not, but I feel very satisfied with my story thus far, though I have made a list of extra things that need a tuneup.  And this is where revision and research come into play.  Of course, I have made numerous revisions and done plenty of research already, but -- being human -- I've found some flaws in my story that require me to do even more work in these areas.

As you read in one of my previous posts, I really wanted to publish the novel by the Fourth of July.  But I actually plan to pen the last chapter of my novel tonight.  But if I was to release 2018 in five days, I know in my own heart that I would not be releasing a finished product.

Would the story still be very engaging?  Perhaps.  Would it still pack a solid punch for action lovers?  Most definitely.  Does it have a definite beginning, middle, and end?  Of course.  So what is the problem?  The problem is that I have been influenced by several very popular and highly successful writers:  Ian Fleming, Stephen King, Tom Clancy, and Vince Flynn (just to name four!).  And none of these guys would have ever published an unpolished / unfinished product.  To me, if my story does not shine, then it is not finished.  So, I've decided to give myself a couple more months to add the much needed polish and fill in some of the remaining plot and research holes that need to be addressed before I upload my book to Amazon.

If a person sees my book on Amazon Kindle, I want them to know that if they pay the $2.99 asking price for it, this will be perhaps the best $2.99 they have ever spent.  Many people have asked me:  Why not charge more for your work?  Don't you feel that you have spent enough time writing it to do so?  The simple answer is that I am Phil Sanderson, not Tom Clancy or Stephen King.  The only people who have seen my name in print are Marines or Goldsboro, North Carolina residents, both who more than likely don't even remember it.  That is the cost of taking a super long hiatus from writing.  Therefore, I want to make my book even more attractive than it already is by making a very satisfying price that people will not even have to think twice about before shelling out their hard-earned money for my book.

So, in summary, I am very pleased to see very bright light at the end of the tunnel.  But I know that when I speed out of that tunnel on September 2, Labor Day 2013, I would rather do so in a shiny Aston Martin Vanquish, not a beat-up old Chevy Chevette.