Hello there, blogosphere!
It has been a while since blogging. Mostly, that's because I'm pretty bogged down with projects and I am in the freakout zone. It's a good kind of freakout. Maybe bogged down is not the right phrase for me in terms of having lots of creative projects. I'm freaking out because I actually took some time to do the math regarding what I'm about to do. Basically, for the next two years, I'm looking at producing the first draft of a novel every three months.
I know it can be done. I'm thrilled to be doing this. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't intimidating. While I never have trouble coming up with ideas, or a word count, the way that I approach writing means a ton of work on the back end. Edits are everything when it comes to getting my work into a readable state. While I like to have a sense of where I'm going with a piece, I have a tendency to throw everything at the page and see what sticks. The way I finish things is with a "fix it later" attitude. Some of my other writer friends are envious of my bloated word counts, while I am often envious of first drafts that are a lot more polished than my own. The cleaner a draft is, the easier it is to spot problems and edit. Me, I spend huge chunks of time in editing. But for me, it works. We all have different ways of doing this. Every approach has its pros and cons. It's come up in a lot of conversations recently which is why I'm rambling about it here. I guess my point is not to let the way another writer approaches this work make you feel like there's something wrong with the way you approach the work. Try new things, sure. Learn from what other folks do if you can. Ultimately, though, we find our own process, the way that is unique to us, the way that leads to a finished manuscript. However you get there is valid. Celebrate and embrace that.
In other words, worry about yourself.
Lately, my process and the number of projects means neglecting stuff like this blog and the shameless self-promotion that comes with the territory of doing art in the modern era. Seanan McGuire has some great thoughts about that here.
That said, until January 3, I have holiday pricing at $2.99 for the kindle version of Haunted.
Speaking of Kindle, I had Haunted enrolled in KDP Select. That enrollment will end on December 30. So, here's a little self-publishing biz stuff. From what I understand about KDP Select, it used to be a great tool for indie and self-publishers. This has not been my experience. Haunted was selling pretty steadily right up until I enrolled in the program. I should note here, that this was months after the Kindle Unlimited program was introduced. The idea there was that Amazon Prime users can borrow a title, and read up to ten percent for free, and that authors would benefit by reaching new potential audience. As with all developments in publishing, people seem to be divided on this. I only offer my anecdotal experience here as a drop in the data bucket for anyone considering self-publishing. I suspect that exclusivity with Amazon is more beneficial during your book's release and the subsequent months than it is after you've released it, which is how I handled it. Live and learn, ya'll. We'll see what happens with the next one.
( I will say that I cannot wait to have Haunted available through Smashwords again. I didn't make a huge number of sales through that distribution platform, but it's early days yet, and over time that method suggests a lot of promise. )
Okay, back to the more fun stuff. I was just talking about the next book, wasn't I?
I am thrilled to announce that my short story collection Aliens In the Soda Machine and Other Strange Tales is coming Spring 2015. Cover art by the ineffable Miss Alice Teeple, an introduction from the phenomenal Dario Ciriello.
I mentioned that I have a whole lot of projects on my plate these days a bit earlier in this post. One, or rather, three of these projects are a collaboration on a post-apocalyptic dystopian fantasy trilogy with Devon Miller. (She is currently knee deep in drafts on a short story collection of her own, but more on that another time.) The first draft of the first book is complete and awaiting the next round of rewrites.
Another collaboration is in the works with Che Gilson. I can't talk about that one too much yet, because it is SUPER-SEKRET!
At the moment, I am working on the first draft of the sequel to Haunted, tentatively titled Getting On With It. The McTutcheon family is back, and in Gwen's absence, they have to suck it up and face their own crap. Bethany's daughter, Sue, returns home from boarding school in ignomy, she's been expelled.
Initially, I was not going to do a sequel, but readers asked what happened to the family next, and it got my brain going to the point where I couldn't let the story go. I'm in the throes of the final act of the book, with a third in this series percolating in my brain.
Also in the works, though I'm taking my time, is a hard sci-fi novel about a world trying to resolve its overpopulation problem. Of course, the proposed "solution" is no solution at all...
And I can't say more because there are currently only three chapters.
For now, plays and screenplay projects are resting. Road to Nowhere has, so far turned out to be an unfortunately prophetic title! It's just taking more time than Paul Winarski and I anticipated, with both of us swimming in the ocean of multiple projects. If you want to see what he is up to, find him on facebook or go here, then buy some tickets and check out a show.
In other news, Paul Shapera is working on The Slenderman Opera. Here's a peak at the Overture in progress. Finished work from him can be found here. You should check it out, and if you are a theater person, and you like what he's done, put on one of his shows, and when you do, let me know so I can come see it...
I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting to note, here... but that's okay. I can always fix it later...
It has been a while since blogging. Mostly, that's because I'm pretty bogged down with projects and I am in the freakout zone. It's a good kind of freakout. Maybe bogged down is not the right phrase for me in terms of having lots of creative projects. I'm freaking out because I actually took some time to do the math regarding what I'm about to do. Basically, for the next two years, I'm looking at producing the first draft of a novel every three months.
I know it can be done. I'm thrilled to be doing this. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't intimidating. While I never have trouble coming up with ideas, or a word count, the way that I approach writing means a ton of work on the back end. Edits are everything when it comes to getting my work into a readable state. While I like to have a sense of where I'm going with a piece, I have a tendency to throw everything at the page and see what sticks. The way I finish things is with a "fix it later" attitude. Some of my other writer friends are envious of my bloated word counts, while I am often envious of first drafts that are a lot more polished than my own. The cleaner a draft is, the easier it is to spot problems and edit. Me, I spend huge chunks of time in editing. But for me, it works. We all have different ways of doing this. Every approach has its pros and cons. It's come up in a lot of conversations recently which is why I'm rambling about it here. I guess my point is not to let the way another writer approaches this work make you feel like there's something wrong with the way you approach the work. Try new things, sure. Learn from what other folks do if you can. Ultimately, though, we find our own process, the way that is unique to us, the way that leads to a finished manuscript. However you get there is valid. Celebrate and embrace that.
In other words, worry about yourself.
Lately, my process and the number of projects means neglecting stuff like this blog and the shameless self-promotion that comes with the territory of doing art in the modern era. Seanan McGuire has some great thoughts about that here.
That said, until January 3, I have holiday pricing at $2.99 for the kindle version of Haunted.
Speaking of Kindle, I had Haunted enrolled in KDP Select. That enrollment will end on December 30. So, here's a little self-publishing biz stuff. From what I understand about KDP Select, it used to be a great tool for indie and self-publishers. This has not been my experience. Haunted was selling pretty steadily right up until I enrolled in the program. I should note here, that this was months after the Kindle Unlimited program was introduced. The idea there was that Amazon Prime users can borrow a title, and read up to ten percent for free, and that authors would benefit by reaching new potential audience. As with all developments in publishing, people seem to be divided on this. I only offer my anecdotal experience here as a drop in the data bucket for anyone considering self-publishing. I suspect that exclusivity with Amazon is more beneficial during your book's release and the subsequent months than it is after you've released it, which is how I handled it. Live and learn, ya'll. We'll see what happens with the next one.
( I will say that I cannot wait to have Haunted available through Smashwords again. I didn't make a huge number of sales through that distribution platform, but it's early days yet, and over time that method suggests a lot of promise. )
Okay, back to the more fun stuff. I was just talking about the next book, wasn't I?
I am thrilled to announce that my short story collection Aliens In the Soda Machine and Other Strange Tales is coming Spring 2015. Cover art by the ineffable Miss Alice Teeple, an introduction from the phenomenal Dario Ciriello.
I mentioned that I have a whole lot of projects on my plate these days a bit earlier in this post. One, or rather, three of these projects are a collaboration on a post-apocalyptic dystopian fantasy trilogy with Devon Miller. (She is currently knee deep in drafts on a short story collection of her own, but more on that another time.) The first draft of the first book is complete and awaiting the next round of rewrites.
Another collaboration is in the works with Che Gilson. I can't talk about that one too much yet, because it is SUPER-SEKRET!
At the moment, I am working on the first draft of the sequel to Haunted, tentatively titled Getting On With It. The McTutcheon family is back, and in Gwen's absence, they have to suck it up and face their own crap. Bethany's daughter, Sue, returns home from boarding school in ignomy, she's been expelled.
Initially, I was not going to do a sequel, but readers asked what happened to the family next, and it got my brain going to the point where I couldn't let the story go. I'm in the throes of the final act of the book, with a third in this series percolating in my brain.
Also in the works, though I'm taking my time, is a hard sci-fi novel about a world trying to resolve its overpopulation problem. Of course, the proposed "solution" is no solution at all...
And I can't say more because there are currently only three chapters.
For now, plays and screenplay projects are resting. Road to Nowhere has, so far turned out to be an unfortunately prophetic title! It's just taking more time than Paul Winarski and I anticipated, with both of us swimming in the ocean of multiple projects. If you want to see what he is up to, find him on facebook or go here, then buy some tickets and check out a show.
In other news, Paul Shapera is working on The Slenderman Opera. Here's a peak at the Overture in progress. Finished work from him can be found here. You should check it out, and if you are a theater person, and you like what he's done, put on one of his shows, and when you do, let me know so I can come see it...
I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting to note, here... but that's okay. I can always fix it later...