Wanna hear a secret?
How to write a novel in 90 days...
Read carefully; I’m gonna reveal something big here.
But first, let me catch you up a little—it’s been a whirlwind since my last post, and my life has changed in some pretty dramatic ways.
Fiction Fellowship
Turns out I didn’t get the fellowship I applied for—😭😖💔—but I was actually rather relieved.
After my developmental editor shredded my first draft, I dropped 100k hard-won words to the cutting-room floor. It was delightful! Joyous, freeing, uplifting! (Other option: discouraged, jaded, frustrated, upended.)
More importantly it cleared the way for something far far better…
Bones Of A Bestseller
My new novel Zoocracy is about a DHS guard who accidentally bonds with a detainee he catches writing a memoir/animal-tale for his young daughter outside. Ultimately Officer Dexter must choose between the uniform that protects him and the new friend who needs him…or let one more truth disappear into the shadows.
Here’s a fun cover mockup (no, not the big Reveal, keep scrolling):
For Zoocracy to hit its moment, it’ll come out in early 2028…so I need to sell it to a publisher by early 2027…which means I need a complete manuscript by Aug/Sept—the annual window for pitching literary agents.
Doable? Yes. Difficult? Very yes. Damn near impossible actually…
That’s 8-10k words per week—i.e. fulltime writing for 3 months.
Raising The Stakes: The Big Reveal
There’s more to my deadline here than first meets the eye. Why no matter what, I need to finish the bulk manuscript now—while I still have big blocks of uninterrupted writing time.
In a few months, my schedule will change forever:
That’s right, I’m gonna be a new dad in December with Kelly Seibert! 🥳🤗
I know, right?! Good thing I didn’t get the fellowship after all…imagine uprooting to California right now for 2 years??
Thankfully, after this 3-month manuscript push, everything else can proceed within a fragmented schedule…while the wheels of publication turn.
Help Me Pull Off the Near-Impossible
Okay this is it. The thing I’m worst at. I’m asking for help.
Know a literary agent or publisher? Please put me in touch!
Otherwise let’s talk logistics…
To write fulltime for 3 months and give Zoocracy its best chance, I must pause new freelance work coming in until September. So I’m inviting family & friends to invest in this idea at ground-level…to help me pay the bills while I write.
GoFundMe forbids mentioning any incentives (even a simple signed copy), so here’s what you get as a sponsor:
Someone recently told me, Letting people help you is a little gift to them as well…
I’m trying to reckon with that wisdom—but it’s taken me ~2 months to finally launch this request. Now is the time. Yesterday was better. So far I’m on pace, with 25k words laid down in July. But the bills still come due…
So please sponsor what you can—an Uber ride or a month of internet or groceries for a week—and let’s make Zoocracy happen together!
Thank you, I remain humbly yours. 🙏