Manic Monday

411, the first episode of The Where are our Children Serial Novel is done.


Well, kind of.


The second draft clocked in at over 34,000 words for 10 chapters.  That's nearly 350,000 word total, epic fantasy like numbers for a completed novel. Again, I don't see the finished product finishing nearly that high, but I'm not going try to condense it. The words are flowing as I had intended them to. This is what I want. And I'm having a ball doing it. That's something that I NEVER thought I would say about writing again. 


Anyone, Monday is going to be CRAZY. I'm going into polish mode, waxing this draft until I can make it shine, then try and format it and then make it fit through Smashword's meatgrinder tomorrow night.


Wish me luck...I'm going to need it.


In the meantime, I  designed the covers for the first 10 stories that I like to bill as Short Tales of Fiction, with a 5 volume cover and a 10 volume cover. 12 releases all together in this first wave. Each short tale will appear as a stand alone story, then it will appear again in within a 5 story volume, and one final time in a 10 story volume. I'll explain more about all of this series as we get closer to it's release. This series begins immediately after A House of Chains is completed.

Telling Secrets

Another early posting, after a marathon 4 hour writing session that netted me over 4000 words in Xavier's first chapter. I can't tell you that it is my best chapter, ultimately that is up to you, the reader to decide, but it flowed out of me easier than anything I've rewritten so far. One reason, I gather is that I could tell that I had reached a certain comfort level by this time around the first time I wrote the first draft.






Anyway, after I complete this blog and some other publishing things, I'm probably putting the computer down for the rest of the day and kick my feet up and watch so college football during the day and some hockey tonight. I think I've earned the break.






I've redone my interview on Smashwords for anyone who would like to venture over there for a peek. I talk a lot about this novel. I even give some insights about some of the characters.




I'm gonna try and upload a picture of the cover for 411, the first episode in the Where are our Children Serial so you guys can get a look see. I tried it yesterday but the computer kept freezing up. I don't know whether it was my computer or blogger. So no promises...




But get a look at the interview. I tell a little bit about the process over there.






And I share a few secrets...

Keep on Moving on

I posting a bit early today, with a day off from work, I'm doing some things a little different than my last few working days.




Anyway, I noticed I didn't post my word count the other day and I'm going to stop that for a bit. Again, the first draft of this novel is already completed. I'm adding new prose in spots, and taking it away in others. It is running long right now, though Chris' first chapter is the first one I've done a second draft on that felt close to a 'normal' chapter size.



Word count is going to be important to me moving forward, but I will post the WHY to that later on. It's a doozy. One project at a time, though. After hitting a rough patch in Seth's first chapter, I really felt back on track writing Chris POV.



Oh Yea, I guess its time to explain this Chris chapter...Angel chapter stuff...


George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy book series is the best prose I've ever read. Period.  One of the things that causes of very complex story to flow easier is how Martin titles his chapters after is Point of View (POV) characters. He says he adapted the template from one of his favorite writers Jack Vance as I adopted it from Martin.



I'm not trying to be Martin. I will NEVER be that good. But the POV approach to storytelling works well for me in telling Where are our Children. I hope it works well for readers as well.




Barring some unforeseen setback I can see the first episode of this 9 part arc published  to Smashwords late Monday. I haven't put anything through their meatgrinder in a while so I can't honestly speak to how long after that it starts to appear at retailers.  



I feel good today.




I keep on moving on...

The Price of Success

The Where are our Children Serial Novel will be priced this way: Episodes 1,2,4,5,7 and 8 will be available for free, while the remaining parts 3,6, and the finale number 9 will be priced at $.99 a piece. That's $2.99 (if I'm figuring my math correctly-- and that is a big if) for the entire story which I think more than fair.


I've given my first three works: Waiting ( A Twelve Worlds Novelette), Fumblerooski, and The Gospel According to John for free on over outlet except Amazon, which doesn't allow it, all for over a year now. It's old news that I never thought I would write again. So it didn't bother me to leave these titles that way. I wanted to be read and I have. I want to have compensation for being read. So these titles will remain at their current pricing for the foreseeable future. But it is time to grow this thing. So all titles published will be priced at least at  $.99. I hope to have a lot to offer over the next few weeks, months and years.


In speaking of those older titles: All three are available in paperback editions through Amazon and Createspace and are priced at $5.99 each. Waiting and Fumblerooski should be for sale as audiobooks any day now. And I leaning towards having The Gospel According to John produced as well, even though I'm sure it won't have even an hour's running time.


Here's my current scheduled pricing template:


Short Tales of Fiction $.99
A bundle of five stories $2.99
A bundle of ten stories $3.99
Where are our Children (Novel Version) $2.99
Createpace Editons of a bundle of ten stories: TBD
Audiobook Editions of a bundle of ten stories: TBD
Where are our Children (Createspace) TBD
Where are our Children (Audiobook) TBD


I'll announce each and every release and reminder of price here, on twitter, and my Facebook page.


There is a price to pay for success.


I'm reaching for it.

Createspace and Audiobook

Before I get to the third and final part of my "Big" announcement about what happened to me last night. I got in around 800 words which puts me over 20000 for the rewrite so far. But for the first time since I restarted my writing (remember my blog entry on the 11th) I really hit what I've come to call my Wall of Criticism. Anyone who has done anything creative knows what I mean: This is stupid, do you know how many people try and fail at his, know one is ever going to buy what you are selling.


Well, I fought through it. I still have the last have of Seth's first chapter to finish then it will be Chris' first chapter. I'm going to do some more errands, finalize some covers for the Smashwords serial edition, and hit the sack. I'll get up before work and do actual writing in the morning, with some luck in that regards.


As for the final part of the announcement, I will publish what I'm going to title:  the Where are our Children Complete and Uncut on Createspace (print on demand for anybody who doesn't know) and the audiobook version which will be available through Amazon, Audible. com, and ITunes.


This final version will feature the Smashwords entry plus the epigraphs that I've created throughout the book. With the project split up during the serial they felt like they were causing a disconnect and in the Amazon version they don't fir either because that entry will reader fast the first version. The final version will present this novel as I've always intended it to be presented.


By the way, if you don't know what an epigraph is look up authors like Karen Traviss or Frank Hebertts' Dune series. Nobody in the business uses these fascinating way of sneaking information, plot and suspense in better than these two.


Fiction Words: 800
Covers Designed: 11

Amazon

Part 2of my announcement is that in an addition to the Serial Smashwords  version, there will be an Amazon Exclusive Addition. This version will be a single, leaner version than the previous edition. I know for sure that it will start in a different place but will conclude in the same spot.


Again, it is important to ME to tell this tale initially as it came to me four years ago. There is nothing wrong with this tale told this way. The serial offers me a chance to expand it without worrying about pace. It also allows a meaty enough download for a reader to feel that he got enough for his time.   The amazon version will drive the same plot in a more streamlined manner. Some of the back stories will be omitted, for the sake of pace.    


One more part to this announcement tomorrow.


Fiction Words: 2400 est
Covers Made: 0

Serial novel

After I thought about it overnight, I decided the big announcement should be broken up into 3parts over three days.


BIG ANNOUCEMENT #1 I is that Where are our Children will be a Serial Novel for Smashwords and their family of retailers. It will be told in 9 parts with the first episode being published early next week.


Why you may ask?


Well, when I wrote the original first draft it clocked in at over 144,000 words. Whoa, I said.  5 chapters into the 2nd draft of this puppy and I logged over 16500 words already. If I'm doing my math right, I'm at 3300 a chapter meaning my 90 chapter book will finish somewhere underneath 300000 words.


Again, Whoa.


First, I know that won't happen because I knew these initial had a lot of set up in them. The more I look back at this thing, the more I realize it's a pretty dense plot. Yet, straight forward enough. There are no more chapters in the novel bigger than those I've already rewritten. I know this. So this average per chapter will start to fall somewhere soon.


Anyway, I promised myself that I would finish this thing. The second promise I made to myself is that I would let go. And letting it go means writing this thing as its coming to me.  And I have let go...to a point.


Tune in tomorrow for the 2nd part of this big announcement. I've got more to say on this...


Rewritten Fiction: Approx 3600 words.
Covers Designed: 1