Power Tower Book Update #2

It has been two months since I first announced the Power Tower book, and a month since my last update. Since then I have written at a furious pace, and I am excited to share the second update on my progress today. I am still on track for a September release, and I have already reached a personal goal for the book that I will share below. The writing has been a pleasure and while laborious at times, it has been so in a good way. I think back to my high school and college days and recall friends complaining about having to write papers...if only they could experience writing when the topic is one of intense passion; it is certainly a much different experience! 

A few updates: 

• I am up to 31,500 words and 105 pages, adding some 60 pages since my last update. My original goal for the book was 100 pages of text, and I have hit that goal with another 3.5 chapters to go. I will also include illustrations that may put the final page count in the 150-200 range. Who knew that a simple (or not so simple) Power Tower could inspire that much writing! 
• For the English gurus in the crowd, some of the actual text stats include an average sentence length of 31 words per sentence, and a Gunning Fog Index of 16. This may not be an easy read for some; consider the Delcaration of Independence averages 37 words per sentence with a Gunning Fog of 22. I studied history in college and to this day I still write as though working on a history paper. As those who know me can attest, brevity in writing and in speech has never been a great strength of mine, and even more so when the topic is one of great passion such as Power Towers for swim training. I am sure a publisher will want the text shorter and more concise, and already I am preparing for this to be a deal breaker and cause me to go the route of self-publishing. 
• Thus far I have completed the following: 

1. Foreword by Sam VanCura, the President and co-founder of Total Performance, Inc., manufacturer of the Power Tower and Power Rack, among other swim training devices. Sam was kind enough to write a foreword which outlines the history of the Power Tower, and as mentioned the historical aspects of this training device are quite dear to me indeed! 
2. Author's preface  
3. Chapter 1: Introduction 
4. Chapter 2: Power Tower or Power Rack? 
5. Chapter 3: Pure Power 
6. Chapter 4: Power Endurance 
7. Chapter 5: Drilling  
8. Chapter 6: Kicking  

• The current chapter in progress is chapter 7 on Neuro Stimulation / PostActivation Potentiation 
• I have three more chapters planned: 

1. Chapter 8: Other Power / Resistance Tools  
2. Chapter 9: Critiques of the Tower / Opposition Literature  
3. Chapter 10: Conclusion / Dreams of the Tower / Overall Thoughts  

Again the original goal was 100 pages, with 10 chapters and 10 pages per chapter. Looking back that was certainly wishful thinking, for example I already have more than enough notes in my Chapter 8 outline for 15-20 pages...just on weight belts alone. As mentioned I am still on track for a September release, and plan to have the first draft of text done by the end of April. That will leave me with May, June, July and August for finding a publisher and editing the subsequent drafts. Human Kinetics will be the first stop, and on their Author's Page they recommend three months for the editing process; I am hoping that four months will be enough time to have the book ready for a September 1 launch. I have 207 days until then so the clock is ticking! 

Also as mentioned the book will contain quite a few illustrations. This was something for which I had not originally planned, but 105 pages in I realize that text alone is not enough to bring out the full understanding of the work, and illustrations will be needed to accurately portray the many, sometimes abstract thoughts contained throughout the various chapters. A picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words, and my goal is for the reader to be able to read the book cover to cover and implement immediately the various ideas contained therein, with no questions asked. 

As always, thank you for reading, and be sure to spread the word; I believe this book is an idea whose time has come, and I believe the swimming community will find great value in this work!

Of note: In regards to the aforementioned English gurus, consider that this article averages 27 words per sentence with a Gunning Fog index of 14 for an idea of how the book will read.