Stats, Dates, and Such – Playgrounds and Black Markers Day Three

Hi Treasures. Welcome to day three of the release tour for Playgrounds and Black Markers. Today is all about the numbers. Some people love math and some people don’t, but don’t worry, you won’t have to do any math here. XD

Stats

So depending on how long you’ve been following me, you’ll know that Playgrounds and Black Markers was NOT part of my plan. As I started the editing process of Dewdrops and Butterflies, I met a young boy named Jake. And by the time National Novel Writing Month, November of 2018, rolled around, I had already gotten 24,000 words down on paper. By the end of November, I was at 75,000 words and nowhere near done!

I took a small break in December, but I continued to write steadily until the end of April Camp Nano, took a break in May and June, and then I finished writing it in Camp Nano in July. And then I started focusing on publishing Dewdrops and Butterflies. The process of publishing is a lot of work! So I was glad I was done writing this one. But I didn’t write the epilogue.

After the Epilogue, Playgrounds and Black Markers totaled at 185,000 words. That’s WAY longer than any story should be XD. But I put it aside until I was ready to sit down and do the worst part of publishing a book. Editing.

Dates

I wrote the first words for this story October 15th of 2018. I then wrote for thirty days straight in November. I finished writing the manuscript July of 2019. And I wrote the epilogue September of 2019.
I typed up the eight massive handwritten journals through December and the rest of the beginning of 2020. But I was also working! Editing that spring and summer was SO MUCH WORK. I sent the huge long manuscript to three alpha readers. It was insane. I had so much to cut. And I did.

The current length of Playgrounds and Black Markers, the publishing manuscript is 105,000 words. I can’t believe how much I was able to cut, but I can NOT believe how LONG it still is! XD. What can I say? This story took a lot of words. Every single one is important.

Such

There were some scenes and chapters that I had to cut out, and it was so sad. Some scenes meant a lot to me, but for length sake I took the meaning and combined it with more necessary and concise chapters. I’m pretty pleased with the final product, and with the help of Victoria from Victoria Lynn Designs, and an English teacher friend, I was able to smooth out and perfect the plot. I can’t even put into words how excited, but mostly how very NERVOUS I am to have you all read this story. I hope you fall in love with it as much as I did. And I hope it holds up to the standard that Dewdrops and Butteflies has set. I hope that all of you that read my first book are just as extatic about the story and redemption of my friend Jake Jett.

You Can Still Win!

There’s a giveaway and there will be two (2) winners! Here’s what you win:

• Signed Paperback of Playgrounds and Black Markers
• Custom Character card of Jake Jett designed by @calf_artist on Instagram
• *A genuine set of dog tags from Jake’s dad Captain Robert Jett, (small tag printing shop online)
• Corner Bookmarks (handmade by yours truly)
• 2 pairs of Crazy Socks (from a local thrift store that supports youth in foster care! Don’t worry, the socks are new.)
• A Signed card and stickers
• Assorted handmade soap (from a small online shop)
• A sealed glitter jar. (also handmade by yours truly)

* There are only ONE set of dog tags. “First Place” gets the dog tags. Second place matches all other items.

How you win:

To enter to win this giveaway, answer the question at the bottom of each of my posts this week for 1 entry each (1 entry per day).
Share this on your blog and link back to mine for 2 entries (2 entries per day, please comment below with a link for me to see!)
Share this on your Instagram and tag me @elizabethmay117 for 1 Entry (1 entry per day).
Add to your Goodreads TBR here for 1 entry (1 entry total).
Pin the cover onto a board on Pinterest for 1 entry (1 entry total).
Tell a friend! For every person who mentions you as a referral, you each get 2 entires (no limit, please use honesty).
There are additional ways to earn entries on my Instagram!

Tomorrow PREORDERS OPEN! There’s preorder goodies, and… Well I’m not gonna spoil anything more. Be sure to check back for all the awesome details.

Question of the day: Do you ever find yourself tempted to put a time limit on something in your life? How do you remind yourself to trust God and His time?

If you missed yesterday’s post about How the Story Grew, you can read it here!