May 21, 2026 • 4 mins
Episode 05 of Calling Out the Shadows: A Clarity Over Comfort Podcast. Neal Winsomer marks the ten-month point in the journey from blank page to release. The first paperback proof landed in his hand and the case for tracking the process gets made.
The other day Amazon showed up with the first paperback proof of the book. Neal started this journey on July 15th of last year. The proof landed in his hands on May 15th. Ten months in. One month and a day to go.
There are many people right now that talk about using the abuse of AI or using AI to an abusive standpoint. And then there are others out there saying, no, I do not use it that way. Well, how? Prove it.
One of the things Neal wanted to do, and did from the first day, was track his writing time. He can show on a calendar the last 10 months and the writing time, the editing time, the audiobook recording time, the layout work, all of it. As mentioned at the top of the book: 999 hours and 9 minutes. Not a vanity number. There is a point to it. Not trying to be perfect, but being human, and wanting to stop at a certain point. Those last 9 minutes mattered.
This brief episode covers:
- Ten months in, one month out, and what the proof in hand felt like
- Tracking writing time, editing time, audiobook recording time, layout time as proof of concept
- 999 hours and 9 minutes, not as a vanity number, but as the record of the work
- 51 hours of recording for a 14-hour audiobook, not in the greatest of health, but it was all him
- The proof of concept the tracked log gives, versus the people who say "I put in hundreds of hours" with no way to know
- Why tracing the journey and blueprinting it brings something different to the validity and authenticity of the work
- An invitation for anyone writing, recording, creating: consider tracking it
Consider marking that journey and laying out that journey. Other people might be intrigued or engaged with the journey, with the time, with the experience as a whole.
Available on Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.
Calling Out the Shadows with Neal Winsomer.
A Clarity Over Comfort Podcast.
Consider following the show for new episodes.
NealWinsomer.com
NealWinsomerPublishing.com
info@nealwinsomer.com
This episode includes AI-generated content.
The other day Amazon showed up with the first paperback proof of the book. Neal started this journey on July 15th of last year. The proof landed in his hands on May 15th. Ten months in. One month and a day to go.
There are many people right now that talk about using the abuse of AI or using AI to an abusive standpoint. And then there are others out there saying, no, I do not use it that way. Well, how? Prove it.
One of the things Neal wanted to do, and did from the first day, was track his writing time. He can show on a calendar the last 10 months and the writing time, the editing time, the audiobook recording time, the layout work, all of it. As mentioned at the top of the book: 999 hours and 9 minutes. Not a vanity number. There is a point to it. Not trying to be perfect, but being human, and wanting to stop at a certain point. Those last 9 minutes mattered.
This brief episode covers:
- Ten months in, one month out, and what the proof in hand felt like
- Tracking writing time, editing time, audiobook recording time, layout time as proof of concept
- 999 hours and 9 minutes, not as a vanity number, but as the record of the work
- 51 hours of recording for a 14-hour audiobook, not in the greatest of health, but it was all him
- The proof of concept the tracked log gives, versus the people who say "I put in hundreds of hours" with no way to know
- Why tracing the journey and blueprinting it brings something different to the validity and authenticity of the work
- An invitation for anyone writing, recording, creating: consider tracking it
Consider marking that journey and laying out that journey. Other people might be intrigued or engaged with the journey, with the time, with the experience as a whole.
Available on Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.
Calling Out the Shadows with Neal Winsomer.
A Clarity Over Comfort Podcast.
Consider following the show for new episodes.
NealWinsomer.com
NealWinsomerPublishing.com
info@nealwinsomer.com
This episode includes AI-generated content.
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