Editing is a soul-sucking endeavor.
The Wizard's Stone
As of this writing, I have two more chapters to review before I send the manuscript off to the editor. At this point, I'm changing minor things, plugging tiny holes, and tweaking prose. I'm pretty satisfied with the results thus far, and I'm not seeing a lot of cringe-worthy writing anymore.
After the proofread gets back, it takes me a couple of days to apply the edits. Then another re-read, and it's off to the formatter AND the copyright office. Hopefully, I'll have a copy of the book in my hands sometime in December.
The editor cited a bunch of stuff that I eventually needed to fix. A couple of chapters went through some significant changes. I've rewritten the last half of the last chapter three times now. I even paid to have a second round of editing done on the last chapter alone. By all indicators, the last rewrite was the best. I sort of felt that as I rewrote the chapter one last time. There were a number of "bullet points" I wanted to hit: stuff that I've been building up to the entire length of the book. I hit each one and feel I have done so convincingly (hopefully).
I feel like I'm being very particular about my writing. If a book goes out, I want to make sure that the reader gets the best story I can write. It's been bothering me that I seem to take an exceptionally long time to finish one book, when other writers bash out 2 or 3 books per year. They are either much better writers than me, or they do not obsess as much as I do over story and language. This is not meant to knock other authors. I just wonder if my writing can stand up to theirs.
Also, I have posted a teaser trailer on my YouTube channel. You can find that here.
The teaser trailer has been a modest success. I made a YouTube short and a standard video. The short racked up 145 views in a relatively short time. The regular video got 47 (as of the writing of this post), and continues to get more views.
Yeah, those numbers are pretty pathetic when contrasted with other YouTube celebrities. But, for me right now, it's not bad.
I think I'm going to do something special with the release of this book. I'm contemplating a couple of ideas, but I've got nothing solid planned for right now.
Audiobook production starts the first week in January, 2023. It'll be great to work with the Incomparable Steve Fortune again.
Needless to say, I've been busy, busy, busy.
The Revenant and the Tomb
October wasn't a great month for sales, but it wasn't terrible either. Right now I'm sitting at 10 eBooks sold and five paperbacks. I have no idea if I sold any audiobooks or not.
I actually have a few ads being placed in comics, and I am working on ad placements elsewhere.
All in all, not much activity on this front.
Bookmarks & Stuff
I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I've decided that with each release, I am going to have a promotional bookmark made as a giveaway at conventions and such. Right now, for THE REVENANT AND THE TOMB, I use one made by Gary Shipman of Pakkins Land fame:
For THE WIZARD'S STONE, I enlisted the skills of Eric Hawkins, who created the Zombieful World of Oz world of comics:
I'm not quite sure how I'm going to distribute these things outside of conventions and special giveaways. I intend to set up a store on my website at some point, so perhaps through there.
I think I may have mentioned this in a previous update, but I've also secured some author signature plates. These are essentially peel-and-stick labels (about 2" x 4") that I can sign, and you can apply to your book. My thought is that, when I do set up a store, I may sell signed "plates" for - say - $5.00 (USD). This way, you don't have to meet me at a convention to sign your book, or send it to me in the mail.
I gave one to Gary Shipman when he visited me not too long ago (his wife bought my book but forgot to bring it with her). It worked out pretty good. So I'm going to move forward with this concept.
I'm looking for ideas for swag and promo stuff. I intend on hitting the convention scene soon, so I need to have more for sale than just books and signatures.
Did Someone Say Promotion?
Why...why yes I did (kinda).
I'm working on a promotion for the next book that will hopefully drive subscriptions to my website. Keep a sharp eye out for details.
And that's it for now.
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