Ambitious Publishing Project Nears Completion

ATHENS, Ga. - Oct. 31, 2016 - PRLog -- The Year of the Red Door, a fantasy tale comprised of five volumes, nears completion with the upcoming release of To Touch a Dream, the fifth and final volume of The Year of the Red Door. In an unusual (and some might say audacious) move, author William Timothy Murray is attempting to publish all five full-length volumes within a 12-month time-frame that started December 2015 and will finish December 2016.

His rationale for the ambitious schedule is that The Year of the Red Door is a single tale rather than a true series, and each volume is part of a continuous narrative. "It seems only fair to get the entire story into readers' hands as soon as possible," says Murray, "rather than to string people out over several years as is normally done with multi-volume works."

The publishing schedule that Murray is seeking to adhere to is as follows:

Volume 1, The Bellringer – published December 2015
Volume 2, The Nature of a Curse – published March 2016
Volume 3, A Distant Light – published June 2016
Volume 4, The Dreamwalker – published September 2016
Volume 5, To Touch a Dream – to be published on December 1, 2016

It should be noted that each volume is lengthy. At an average of 219,000 words, each is twice the length of many books. And since each is divided into two parts, readers get what amounts to two books' worth of story per volume.

But will he succeed? Time is running out.

With one more volume to go, Murray thinks that he has a fair shot at making it all happen.

"The pace of work is rather frantic," says Murray, "with cover work, interior layout, and final edits all taking place simultaneously." That means he must push aside certain aspects of publishing, and that he runs the risk of making costly errors that might delay things. "It is a constant worry that I might miss something embarrassing or do something that would cause delays," he goes on. "Certain tasks, such as marketing, must take a back seat to production work. So I'm hopeful that all will fall into place."

Indeed, marketing is a lower priority, although he continues to sponsor modest promotions, such as giveaways and freebies related to The Year of the Red Door. "This is a race, and I simply do not have the time for a full-scale marketing blitz. But I'm in it for the long-run. So, I hope that once the entire story is available to readers, a few of them will enjoy the tale enough to encourage others to read it. And, after all, that's the best marketing there is."

Preorders for electronic versions of To Touch a Dream are already available at Smashwords, Amazon, and other online retailers.

You can keep up with Mr. Murray's progress, and can learn more about The Year of the Red Door by going to the website. You can also subscribe to the Newsletter and get updates, discounts, and freebies.