I have to admit, it feels pretty good to be back in the saddle. I haven't written anything on here in a while. It's nice to be able to jot thoughts down without having to worry about plot, character development, and all the rest. Writing a real blog instead of something with a structure is a release I don't have a lot of time for. In other words: Hi there. You look nice. Been working out? I missed you terribly.
I've been doing some math lately, and I found out that I put out a LOT of words per year. Most authors, from what I understand, do about 200,000 annually. That's about two medium length novels or one really large book. That's an average, of course. Some authors, like Brandon Sanderson, do a hell of a lot more. Others, like Patrick Rothfuss, average less. It's all individual to the person doing the typing.
I do 200k a year with Living With the Dead alone. I didn't realize until I started looking over the word counts of the things I write that I put out so much volume. This year, the books I've written and compilations of the blog (including the WIP draft of the sequel to Beautiful) total over 300,000 words, and I've got three months left in the year.
In addition to that, I'm starting to write for Slacker Heroes, an excellent geek website that will surely one day dominate the interwebs. I've also started on a project I've been wanting to do for a long time, which is a political/personal view blog called A Modern Liberal. I'm happy for those of you who don't share my political viewpoints to read it. In fact, I hope for it. The site doesn't exist to argue with anyone, but more to explain my point of view through facts. I'd love to get a discussion going, so others can see that not all Liberals are alike. My viewpoints span the spectrum of the political world.
I've had a lot going on in my personal life as well, most of which is uninteresting to anyone but me. I will say that I'm eager to see some book sales this holiday season given some recent bad news at work. I'm hoping you, my fans, will help with that as much as you can.
I always intend on writing more blogs on here, but with working a full time job and writing way more than most full time authors do, I have little time for it. I want more than anything to write for a living. I've hardened myself over the last two years to write a lot in a short time. Imagine what I could do with those extra forty hours a week...
This post can serve as a helpful way to spread the word. Here are links to my books on the Kindle and the Nook:
Kindle:
Beautiful, a novel of love, sex, adventure, magic, vampires, and unicorn obsession.
Living With the Dead: With Spring Comes The Fall The first six months of my zombie epic.
Living With the Dead: The Bitter Seasons The second six months of LWtD
Living With the Dead: The Hungry Land The third installment of LWtD
Living With the Dead: Year One This is a collection that pulls together "With Spring Comes The Fall and The Bitter Seasons into one book. It also contains a ton of bonus material including five short stories set in the LWtD universe and a novella. Also, some background stuff on the series from me.
Nook:
Beautiful
LWtD: With Spring Comes The Fall
LWtD: The Bitter Seasons
LWtD: The Hungry Land (No Link yet, this one is taking a while to get through B&N's vetting process. Probably ready in a day or so)
LWtD: Year One
I've lost track of how many times I've said this over the last year (a lot), but I'm sorry my posts come so infrequently. When I get full-time, I'll have the freedom to do a lot more.
I am going to finally do a post about Amanda Hocking. I've had that idea on the backburner for a while for several reasons which I'll discuss in the post. I think I'll have it rolled out by Friday. It's going to be an interesting one, so make sure you check it out.
My best efforts from here on out not to take another hiatus. No promises, just strong intentions.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Living With the Dead: The Hungry Land (Volume Three)
Hey, all. Just wanted to throw a link out there for LWtD's latest eBook collection. For now it's just on Amazon, but I'll be updating the links on the right of the blog and on the top in the next few days when I get it up on the Nook as well. I'll be pushing my work pretty hard the next few months, so any help is, as always, welcome and appreciated. If you'd like to grab the new volume, here's the link:
I'll have a thumbnail added soon, and I'll keep pushing the book on here as well, and I'll be updating soon. More new content on here in the very near future. I promise.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Rothfuss VS Sanderson: Author Death Match
...Okay, not really.
I've waxed poetic about Patrick Rothfuss many times on here, which may or may not be a good thing for me as an indie writer. After all, maybe I should be tooting my own horn a little more to drum up sales (which are still very slow) but I just can't help myself. Rothfuss is amazing.
However, I've been lax in talking about my other favorite author, which is the talented and lovely Brandon Sanderson. I say lovely not because of his physical features, which are perfectly nice, but because he's a Mormon. Yes, that's my reason. Stereotypes can be positive ones, and I've yet to meet a member of his faith that isn't an absolutely wonderful person.
Fair warning:
Spoilers Ahead.
If you haven't read anything by either of these men, then I suggest closing out the browser page and crying soulfully in a corner for a few minutes. Then, get back online, go to Amazon, buy my newest book, Beautiful, then buy Patrick Rothfuss' first book, The Name of the Wind, THEN go buy Sanderson's first book (which is a standalone title), Elantris. Spend the next few days/weeks enjoying all of them. Thank me when you're done.
On to the meat of this post, then. I'll be talking about the works of both men, as well as my own, in the context of the Craft of writing, and the joys of reading.
So:
My wife introduced me to both of these guys. I read The Name of the Wind right after she did, and I was blown away. Rothfuss has a way of making the characters he writes seem real and vibrant in a way no author I've ever read before has managed. The story is a simple one in premise, a retired legendary hero telling the true story of his life. The execution is far more complex and powerful, and every word of the book and its sequel, The Wise Man's Fear, is laid purposefully with every other to create a tapestry of story. The books are simultaneously poetic and crafted with moving prose, yet down to earth and easy to relate to.
Pat has a way of making every scene and line count. It's engrossing to an embarrassing degree--I've read WMF at least four times since it came out in March, and TNOTW more times than I can count since it came out years ago. Pat's worldbuilding is solid and interesting, but Kvothe, the main character, overshadows the carefully designed cultures woven through the books. That's fine with me, since those cultures are viewed through the lens of Kvothe's own experience. These books are the best thing I've read in a long, long time, and not just in the Epic Fantasy category.
But let's not forget Mr. Sanderson, either. My wife bugged me forever to read his Mistborn trilogy, and ironically I started with the standalone Elantris. Which I read in two days. Then the entire Mistborn trilogy. Then The Way of Kings. Then Warbreaker.
All in about a week and a half. I read fast when I have good books in hand, and these are freaking amazing.
Here's a thing about reading in general (and which helped me gain perspective as a writer) that reading Brandon's works taught me: you don't have to like even a majority of a book to LOVE the book. That's why I'm posting about both of these authors here: they exemplify that truth to me.
I'll explain:
There is only one scene between both of Rothfuss' books I don't really care for. The rest, to me, is so consistently good and interesting that I hang on every word every time I read them. The same isn't true for Sanderson. That isn't to say I think he's an inferior writer to Pat, only that certain parts of his style just don't appeal to me as much.
Take Brandon's work on The Wheel of Time, for example. I've read both of his WOT books several times each, and like the volumes written by Robert Jordan before them, there are large chunks that just don't survive a second reading. I skip them. I think a lot of people do. You can only read about Rand wanting to feel human again, or how hard his emotions have become, or how sad he is, so many times before your brain rebels and threatens to go on strike if you keep at it. That may be a Jordan thing, though, and Brandon is doing his best to meet the expectations of the readers.
So...Elantris has some parts that I have to slog through on a re-read. Really dry stuff not directly related to the main story that's far more vivid and interesting. Sounds super-critical, I know, but it really isn't intended to be. See, Brandon is an amazing writer. He's got great technical skills, an imagination that's almost scary, and worldbuilding skills that are huge and follow a complex logic I can't even grasp.
Rothfuss and Sanderson are two amazing writers who, in my mind, are at an equal level of talent and skill. Patrick focuses on telling an epic story in a personal way, colored by the voice of the main character. Brandon paints huge, sweeping vistas of imagery, creates new systems of magic for every series, and builds cultures with practiced ease. More, he ties all of his main series of books together with an overarching cosmology that connects each world together into a universe-scale epic.
Think 'The Dark Tower' by Stephen King, but WAY bigger, and you're close.
The Way of Kings, Brandon's latest novel (not counting The Wheel of Time, which aren't *technically* his novels) is what has brought on this deluge of words from me. I've been re-reading it for the fifth or sixth time, and there are so many elements I love about it I could almost write a book of my own. The characters are interesting, and better than any others he's ever written. His prose is cleaner and more stylized than his other books. The magic systems aren't as pronounced (at least so far in the series) as with his other books, which I really like. (MAJOR SPOILER!) In fact, the thing I like best about TWOK is watching the main character, Kaladin, learn how to access and control his Surgebinding (which is a cool freaking name) powers even as he deals with the horrors of being a slave.
TWOK manages to tell a story on an epic scale previously untouched while making you care about and sympathize with the characters. One literary device that has always pissed me off (and insulted me as a reader) is the idea that the bad guy is just the bad guy and has no more than that one dimension. Sadeas, asshat that he is throughout the book, is believable, and the best sort of antagonist--one who acts for what he sees as good and moral reasons.
There are SO many small touches that make TWOK good, that make me feel something, that it's become one of my all-time favorite books. I love how the mythology of it helps connect all of Brandon's books together, and how perfectly balanced the realistic depictions of the characters' lives are against the universe-shaking struggle going on behind the scenes.
And to my point--there are sections of the book I skip when I re-read it. Some characters that only appear in the interlude sections aren't important or interesting to me now that I know what their purpose was or how their section went. On re-reads, they just don't resonate the way they did on the first go round. Even some portions of Shallan's story are skippable, and definitely some of the more purely political scenes involving Dalinar. I get why they're there (to advance the political elements of the plot, which are important but sometimes boring) but again, I don't need to read them a second time.
Boy, that sounds really critical. It is, I guess, but I LOVE this book despite all that. The vast majority of it is spectacular, and I learned by reading it several times that it's possible to treasure the whole thing without loving every part of it. Sanderson and Rothfuss don't need my approval, after all. They've got piles of acclaim, sales, and money that prove their talents.
I think, though, that what I'm saying is important for several reasons. One is that even while I dislike the dryer elements of Brandon's books, overall I adore his style and will buy everything he writes because of that. I think he's amazing, and I would never give him a bad review. That's because I (unlike many people who review books on Amazon) recognize the inherent truth of being a reader: he didn't write this book for me.
Part of what makes Patrick and Brandon SUCH good writers is that they have written the stories they want to tell. I read a review of Wise Man's Fear right after it came out that was 1/5 stars and highly negative. The entire thing was a rant about how pissed the reader was that the story didn't go in the direction she wanted. Nothing about the style or prose of the book. She pointed out how much she loved the first one, but could barely get through WMF because the story didn't unfold the way she expected it to.
That's the difference. I respect the hell out of both of these guys. Pat's books appeal to me in every way, Brandon's almost as much but not quite. That says nothing about him as an author, only that my preferences as a reader aren't quite in sync with him. And that's fine! Really!
As a writer, I'm thrilled to have made this realization. It's a bitch trying to overcome bad reviews and hearing people complain about parts of your work. Knowing that I won't and can't please everyone is tough, but now it's easier to deal with.
I can handle people who don't enjoy my work. I think Pat and Brandon are seasoned enough to have managed that years ago. If I can write something that appeals to many, who may not like some parts but love the whole, I will be satisfied. Because I, like my two author heroes, write what I want. What I enjoy. I tell a story that excites me and appeals to me, and that's the best way to create.
Ok. Done now. None of this came out precisely the way I wanted, but it's a quarter to six in the morning. For those of you that scrolled down here because this was too long to read, let me sum up:
Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson. Both are amazing authors, nice guys, and deserve all the praise they get and more. One appeals to me a bit more, because of ME, not them. Readers should be more aware before they post hateful shit about books that took years to write, gallons of sweat, and many sleepless nights trying to get it just right.
Now, go buy their books (and mine, if you wanna) and enjoy them.
I've waxed poetic about Patrick Rothfuss many times on here, which may or may not be a good thing for me as an indie writer. After all, maybe I should be tooting my own horn a little more to drum up sales (which are still very slow) but I just can't help myself. Rothfuss is amazing.
However, I've been lax in talking about my other favorite author, which is the talented and lovely Brandon Sanderson. I say lovely not because of his physical features, which are perfectly nice, but because he's a Mormon. Yes, that's my reason. Stereotypes can be positive ones, and I've yet to meet a member of his faith that isn't an absolutely wonderful person.
Fair warning:
Spoilers Ahead.
If you haven't read anything by either of these men, then I suggest closing out the browser page and crying soulfully in a corner for a few minutes. Then, get back online, go to Amazon, buy my newest book, Beautiful, then buy Patrick Rothfuss' first book, The Name of the Wind, THEN go buy Sanderson's first book (which is a standalone title), Elantris. Spend the next few days/weeks enjoying all of them. Thank me when you're done.
On to the meat of this post, then. I'll be talking about the works of both men, as well as my own, in the context of the Craft of writing, and the joys of reading.
So:
My wife introduced me to both of these guys. I read The Name of the Wind right after she did, and I was blown away. Rothfuss has a way of making the characters he writes seem real and vibrant in a way no author I've ever read before has managed. The story is a simple one in premise, a retired legendary hero telling the true story of his life. The execution is far more complex and powerful, and every word of the book and its sequel, The Wise Man's Fear, is laid purposefully with every other to create a tapestry of story. The books are simultaneously poetic and crafted with moving prose, yet down to earth and easy to relate to.
Pat has a way of making every scene and line count. It's engrossing to an embarrassing degree--I've read WMF at least four times since it came out in March, and TNOTW more times than I can count since it came out years ago. Pat's worldbuilding is solid and interesting, but Kvothe, the main character, overshadows the carefully designed cultures woven through the books. That's fine with me, since those cultures are viewed through the lens of Kvothe's own experience. These books are the best thing I've read in a long, long time, and not just in the Epic Fantasy category.
But let's not forget Mr. Sanderson, either. My wife bugged me forever to read his Mistborn trilogy, and ironically I started with the standalone Elantris. Which I read in two days. Then the entire Mistborn trilogy. Then The Way of Kings. Then Warbreaker.
All in about a week and a half. I read fast when I have good books in hand, and these are freaking amazing.
Here's a thing about reading in general (and which helped me gain perspective as a writer) that reading Brandon's works taught me: you don't have to like even a majority of a book to LOVE the book. That's why I'm posting about both of these authors here: they exemplify that truth to me.
I'll explain:
There is only one scene between both of Rothfuss' books I don't really care for. The rest, to me, is so consistently good and interesting that I hang on every word every time I read them. The same isn't true for Sanderson. That isn't to say I think he's an inferior writer to Pat, only that certain parts of his style just don't appeal to me as much.
Take Brandon's work on The Wheel of Time, for example. I've read both of his WOT books several times each, and like the volumes written by Robert Jordan before them, there are large chunks that just don't survive a second reading. I skip them. I think a lot of people do. You can only read about Rand wanting to feel human again, or how hard his emotions have become, or how sad he is, so many times before your brain rebels and threatens to go on strike if you keep at it. That may be a Jordan thing, though, and Brandon is doing his best to meet the expectations of the readers.
So...Elantris has some parts that I have to slog through on a re-read. Really dry stuff not directly related to the main story that's far more vivid and interesting. Sounds super-critical, I know, but it really isn't intended to be. See, Brandon is an amazing writer. He's got great technical skills, an imagination that's almost scary, and worldbuilding skills that are huge and follow a complex logic I can't even grasp.
Rothfuss and Sanderson are two amazing writers who, in my mind, are at an equal level of talent and skill. Patrick focuses on telling an epic story in a personal way, colored by the voice of the main character. Brandon paints huge, sweeping vistas of imagery, creates new systems of magic for every series, and builds cultures with practiced ease. More, he ties all of his main series of books together with an overarching cosmology that connects each world together into a universe-scale epic.
Think 'The Dark Tower' by Stephen King, but WAY bigger, and you're close.
The Way of Kings, Brandon's latest novel (not counting The Wheel of Time, which aren't *technically* his novels) is what has brought on this deluge of words from me. I've been re-reading it for the fifth or sixth time, and there are so many elements I love about it I could almost write a book of my own. The characters are interesting, and better than any others he's ever written. His prose is cleaner and more stylized than his other books. The magic systems aren't as pronounced (at least so far in the series) as with his other books, which I really like. (MAJOR SPOILER!) In fact, the thing I like best about TWOK is watching the main character, Kaladin, learn how to access and control his Surgebinding (which is a cool freaking name) powers even as he deals with the horrors of being a slave.
TWOK manages to tell a story on an epic scale previously untouched while making you care about and sympathize with the characters. One literary device that has always pissed me off (and insulted me as a reader) is the idea that the bad guy is just the bad guy and has no more than that one dimension. Sadeas, asshat that he is throughout the book, is believable, and the best sort of antagonist--one who acts for what he sees as good and moral reasons.
There are SO many small touches that make TWOK good, that make me feel something, that it's become one of my all-time favorite books. I love how the mythology of it helps connect all of Brandon's books together, and how perfectly balanced the realistic depictions of the characters' lives are against the universe-shaking struggle going on behind the scenes.
And to my point--there are sections of the book I skip when I re-read it. Some characters that only appear in the interlude sections aren't important or interesting to me now that I know what their purpose was or how their section went. On re-reads, they just don't resonate the way they did on the first go round. Even some portions of Shallan's story are skippable, and definitely some of the more purely political scenes involving Dalinar. I get why they're there (to advance the political elements of the plot, which are important but sometimes boring) but again, I don't need to read them a second time.
Boy, that sounds really critical. It is, I guess, but I LOVE this book despite all that. The vast majority of it is spectacular, and I learned by reading it several times that it's possible to treasure the whole thing without loving every part of it. Sanderson and Rothfuss don't need my approval, after all. They've got piles of acclaim, sales, and money that prove their talents.
I think, though, that what I'm saying is important for several reasons. One is that even while I dislike the dryer elements of Brandon's books, overall I adore his style and will buy everything he writes because of that. I think he's amazing, and I would never give him a bad review. That's because I (unlike many people who review books on Amazon) recognize the inherent truth of being a reader: he didn't write this book for me.
Part of what makes Patrick and Brandon SUCH good writers is that they have written the stories they want to tell. I read a review of Wise Man's Fear right after it came out that was 1/5 stars and highly negative. The entire thing was a rant about how pissed the reader was that the story didn't go in the direction she wanted. Nothing about the style or prose of the book. She pointed out how much she loved the first one, but could barely get through WMF because the story didn't unfold the way she expected it to.
That's the difference. I respect the hell out of both of these guys. Pat's books appeal to me in every way, Brandon's almost as much but not quite. That says nothing about him as an author, only that my preferences as a reader aren't quite in sync with him. And that's fine! Really!
As a writer, I'm thrilled to have made this realization. It's a bitch trying to overcome bad reviews and hearing people complain about parts of your work. Knowing that I won't and can't please everyone is tough, but now it's easier to deal with.
I can handle people who don't enjoy my work. I think Pat and Brandon are seasoned enough to have managed that years ago. If I can write something that appeals to many, who may not like some parts but love the whole, I will be satisfied. Because I, like my two author heroes, write what I want. What I enjoy. I tell a story that excites me and appeals to me, and that's the best way to create.
Ok. Done now. None of this came out precisely the way I wanted, but it's a quarter to six in the morning. For those of you that scrolled down here because this was too long to read, let me sum up:
Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson. Both are amazing authors, nice guys, and deserve all the praise they get and more. One appeals to me a bit more, because of ME, not them. Readers should be more aware before they post hateful shit about books that took years to write, gallons of sweat, and many sleepless nights trying to get it just right.
Now, go buy their books (and mine, if you wanna) and enjoy them.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
"Beautiful" Release Liveblog!
Ok, here's where I'll be tracking the stats for the release of "Beautiful"! I'll be updating for as long as I can stay awake as we try to rush the book up the charts on the Kindle store.
Release begins at 4, right now it's...
3:48 PM:
Beautiful is at 11 copies sold, though I think the reporting feature on my Author dashboard isn't catching up with reality just yet....
Sales: 11
Rank: 14, 842
Jess says the book is #3 on the paranormal fantasy/vampires list, but I can't find it....
4:09 PM:
Sales: 12
Rank: 16,198
Unless amazon has done some major overhauls on how things work, we won't see a rank change until sometime after 5. That might be different, actually, because it changed mid-hour today already, so I'll keep an eye on it. Anyone that finds my book in the top 100 of any list, please post a comment here or on my wall on facebook. I can't seem to find the one my wife told me about.
4:42 PM:
Just a quick update, as amazon is failing me in my hour of need: sales figures are NOT updating in real time. Confirmed by the fact that at least half a dozen people have bought it and told me they did, yet the sales haven't showed up yet.
5:12 PM
Sales: 16
Rank: 16,198 (no update yet)
Sales reports trickling in slowly, still not showing up in real time. On the upside, this link shows that right now, I'm #1 in recently popular books tagged with "Paranormal Fantasy--Vampires". Admittedly a small group, but I'll take what I can get. Much like winning arguments in a marriage...
5:23 PM
Amazon's system is really laggy, as my rank dropped just now to 17,452. I assume that it will update correctly next hour, and we'll see a huge jump in that number, probably under the 10,000 mark. Hopefully better. It WOULD be today that the system has to work so hard, right?
6:10 PM
Sales: 23 (Doubt this is accurate, though)
Rank: 17,452 (not updated)
Well, I was hoping for more functionality from Amazon, but Saturday is a big night sales-wise for them. Hopefully as the flurry of people buying eBooks dies down tonight we'll see some more accurate numbers. Will update as soon as the sales rank does.
6:35 PM
Sales: 23 (unchanged)
Rank: 15,109 (This is wrong)
The rank system isn't working properly. Sales aren't being registered there as they should be. I'll keep an eye out, but I doubt at this point that my rank and sales are accurate in the least.
7:17 PM
Sales: 24
Rank: 15,109 (unchanged. Again.)
Nothing really new to report. Watching to see when the rank changes. I don't expect it to go much lower unless the system recognizes more of my sales.
7:25 PM
Rank is now at 13,411. Anyone who hasn't grabbed the book yet, let's keep the momentum going!
8:13 PM
Sales: 26
Rank: 13,411 Looks like the rank is updating around half past the hour, so we'll see how it goes...
8:26 PM
Sales: 27
Rank: 4,827 !!!!!! AND I'm in the top 100 contemporary fantasy books! I know you're gonna say "pics or it didn't happen", so....
9:12 PM
Sales: 28
Rank: 4,827 in paid Kindle Store, 90 in contemporary fantasy
I'm anxious to see how the rankings look when they update. I'm thrilled to have gotten this far, and I hope the momentum lasts!
9:21 pm
No new sales, but I have one review (4/5 stars, YAY!) and....
Rank: 4,371 in paid store, 78 in contemporary fantasy
I'm realistic enough to know that without some new sales, this is likely the peak position Beautiful will reach tonight. Here's hoping the sales updates are even slower than I initially thought so more will show up.
10:10 PM
Sales: 29
Rank: 3,925 in paid kindle store. #71 kindle contemporary fantasy, #99 in contemporary fantasy for ALL BOOKS on amazon! WOOOOOHOOOOO (again)!
11:18 PM
Sales: 30
Rank: 4,340 in paid store, #78 contemporary fantasy on kindle.
I've seen one purchase that won't have gone into this, so unless more pop up between now and midnight I'm calling it a night. If some more people buy the book I'll try to keep on even if it means passing out on my laptop...
12:36 AM
Sales: 33
Rank: 4,480 in paid store, #82 in kindle contemporary fantasy
I'm going to go to the next update at least, since sales have happened in the last forty minutes. I'd like to see if we can hit a high point before I slump over unconscious.
1:14 AM
Sales: 34
Rank: 4,937 in paid store, #94 in kindle contemporary fiction
Not a bad night. I assume the numbers will jump a bit after two since they obviously didn't fall into this update, but I don't think I'll be awake to see it. I'll check back in when I wake up, but overall I'm pleased. We cracked the top 4000 and got on a top 100 list. Good times.
7:42 AM
Sales: 35
Rank: 5,382 in paid store
I'll be keeping an eye out off and on until 4 when the event ends, but I don't expect miracles. The metadata for the book isn't fully functional yet, which means it isn't showing up as a suggested sale anywhere at the moment. That will probably take a few days.
2:18 PM
Sales: 37
Rank: 7,040 in paid store
With just less than two hours to go for the event, I've got two sales that came as a bit of a surprise after a slow morning. I'll keep an eye on the numbers, and I'm already planning another one of these donation drive events not too far down the road. There are some interesting things going on behind the scenes that could be very fun...
3:14 PM
Sales: 37
Rank: 7,638
Looks like we're on the tail end of our rush efforts. I'll give another update after the 4:00ish numbers come out.
Ok, no more sales since the last update! That's it for this promotion for charity, and the release day for Beautiful is officially done! Thanks to all of you who followed the blog, bought the book, or just cheered me on. You all rock!
Release begins at 4, right now it's...
3:48 PM:
Beautiful is at 11 copies sold, though I think the reporting feature on my Author dashboard isn't catching up with reality just yet....
Sales: 11
Rank: 14, 842
Jess says the book is #3 on the paranormal fantasy/vampires list, but I can't find it....
4:09 PM:
Sales: 12
Rank: 16,198
Unless amazon has done some major overhauls on how things work, we won't see a rank change until sometime after 5. That might be different, actually, because it changed mid-hour today already, so I'll keep an eye on it. Anyone that finds my book in the top 100 of any list, please post a comment here or on my wall on facebook. I can't seem to find the one my wife told me about.
4:42 PM:
Just a quick update, as amazon is failing me in my hour of need: sales figures are NOT updating in real time. Confirmed by the fact that at least half a dozen people have bought it and told me they did, yet the sales haven't showed up yet.
5:12 PM
Sales: 16
Rank: 16,198 (no update yet)
Sales reports trickling in slowly, still not showing up in real time. On the upside, this link shows that right now, I'm #1 in recently popular books tagged with "Paranormal Fantasy--Vampires". Admittedly a small group, but I'll take what I can get. Much like winning arguments in a marriage...
5:23 PM
Amazon's system is really laggy, as my rank dropped just now to 17,452. I assume that it will update correctly next hour, and we'll see a huge jump in that number, probably under the 10,000 mark. Hopefully better. It WOULD be today that the system has to work so hard, right?
6:10 PM
Sales: 23 (Doubt this is accurate, though)
Rank: 17,452 (not updated)
Well, I was hoping for more functionality from Amazon, but Saturday is a big night sales-wise for them. Hopefully as the flurry of people buying eBooks dies down tonight we'll see some more accurate numbers. Will update as soon as the sales rank does.
6:35 PM
Sales: 23 (unchanged)
Rank: 15,109 (This is wrong)
The rank system isn't working properly. Sales aren't being registered there as they should be. I'll keep an eye out, but I doubt at this point that my rank and sales are accurate in the least.
7:17 PM
Sales: 24
Rank: 15,109 (unchanged. Again.)
Nothing really new to report. Watching to see when the rank changes. I don't expect it to go much lower unless the system recognizes more of my sales.
7:25 PM
Rank is now at 13,411. Anyone who hasn't grabbed the book yet, let's keep the momentum going!
8:13 PM
Sales: 26
Rank: 13,411 Looks like the rank is updating around half past the hour, so we'll see how it goes...
8:26 PM
Sales: 27
Rank: 4,827 !!!!!! AND I'm in the top 100 contemporary fantasy books! I know you're gonna say "pics or it didn't happen", so....
9:12 PM
Sales: 28
Rank: 4,827 in paid Kindle Store, 90 in contemporary fantasy
I'm anxious to see how the rankings look when they update. I'm thrilled to have gotten this far, and I hope the momentum lasts!
9:21 pm
No new sales, but I have one review (4/5 stars, YAY!) and....
Rank: 4,371 in paid store, 78 in contemporary fantasy
I'm realistic enough to know that without some new sales, this is likely the peak position Beautiful will reach tonight. Here's hoping the sales updates are even slower than I initially thought so more will show up.
10:10 PM
Sales: 29
Rank: 3,925 in paid kindle store. #71 kindle contemporary fantasy, #99 in contemporary fantasy for ALL BOOKS on amazon! WOOOOOHOOOOO (again)!
11:18 PM
Sales: 30
Rank: 4,340 in paid store, #78 contemporary fantasy on kindle.
I've seen one purchase that won't have gone into this, so unless more pop up between now and midnight I'm calling it a night. If some more people buy the book I'll try to keep on even if it means passing out on my laptop...
12:36 AM
Sales: 33
Rank: 4,480 in paid store, #82 in kindle contemporary fantasy
I'm going to go to the next update at least, since sales have happened in the last forty minutes. I'd like to see if we can hit a high point before I slump over unconscious.
1:14 AM
Sales: 34
Rank: 4,937 in paid store, #94 in kindle contemporary fiction
Not a bad night. I assume the numbers will jump a bit after two since they obviously didn't fall into this update, but I don't think I'll be awake to see it. I'll check back in when I wake up, but overall I'm pleased. We cracked the top 4000 and got on a top 100 list. Good times.
7:42 AM
Sales: 35
Rank: 5,382 in paid store
I'll be keeping an eye out off and on until 4 when the event ends, but I don't expect miracles. The metadata for the book isn't fully functional yet, which means it isn't showing up as a suggested sale anywhere at the moment. That will probably take a few days.
2:18 PM
Sales: 37
Rank: 7,040 in paid store
With just less than two hours to go for the event, I've got two sales that came as a bit of a surprise after a slow morning. I'll keep an eye on the numbers, and I'm already planning another one of these donation drive events not too far down the road. There are some interesting things going on behind the scenes that could be very fun...
3:14 PM
Sales: 37
Rank: 7,638
Looks like we're on the tail end of our rush efforts. I'll give another update after the 4:00ish numbers come out.
Ok, no more sales since the last update! That's it for this promotion for charity, and the release day for Beautiful is officially done! Thanks to all of you who followed the blog, bought the book, or just cheered me on. You all rock!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
July 23rd: "Beautiful" Release = Worldbuilders Fundraiser
Official release day and time is Saturday, July 23rd at 4:00PM EST. Our Kindle rush efforts are aimed to get as many people as possible to purchase at that time, so read the whole post for every bit of info!
I'll be liveblogging from JoshuaGuess.com from that point until I fall asleep from sheer exhaustion, and I'll be tweeting as often as I can. You can follow me @JoshuaGuess.
This is the official post for the release of my new novel, "Beautiful". If you haven't noticed by the URL, I'm Joshua Guess. Thanks for visiting my author blog!
Purchase Links:
Buy it on the Amazon Kindle
Or on the Barnes and Noble Nook
The Smashwords version, which gets distributed across a number of platforms, can be found right here.
Just so I don't bore you too much, I'll give the nitty gritty, and then you can read on if you like:
"Beautiful" will be released on the Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords on July 23rd. I'm organizing an event on Facebook and across Twitter for it, which can be found here.
For 24 hours, from 4 pm on Saturday July 23rd until 4 pm Sunday, July 24th, every single penny I make from the sale of this book will be donated to Patrick Rothfuss' charity drive for Heifer International, Worldbuilders. You may know who Mr. Rothfuss is: Fantasy superstar, literary genius, and beard aficionado.
So I'm going to be pushing my book as hard as I can for two reasons: to run my own little fundraiser for Worldbuilders, a cause I believe in enough to donate not just a day's worth of income, but 10% of what I make from writing year-round. The other is to hopefully build enough momentum that "Beautiful" will gain a larger presence on Amazon and the rest, enough to really get my career going.
That's the blurb. If you're interested, then I hope you clicked on the link to the Facebook event above. If you'd like some more info, please keep on reading.
What is "Beautiful"?
First and foremost, it'll be $2.99. That's important.
I've had a hard time coming up with a description that fits. If I say that it's a book about vampires, your mind will leap to other books of that type. You'll have a preconceived notion. If I say it's about love, magic, sex, violence, the sheer wonder of creation, or pissed-off unicorns, the same problem exists. So let me put it to you in the only way that makes sense to me, which is a short description.
Dan Harrod is an average guy, happily toiling to pay the bills. He's married and in love, and like most guys he'd like to sleep with his boss, Gabrielle. Life is safe and quiet for Dan until he's suddenly ripped away from the careful routine he'd wrapped around himself.
Suddenly thrust into a hidden world of magic, Dan finds himself in the middle of a war between vampires that's been raging longer than human civilization. In a desperate bid to safeguard the lives of his friends and family, Dan will make hard choices and take desperate actions.
This little blurb is sort of interesting, but it doesn't quite give the whole feel. "Beautiful" is written in Dan's own voice, which is snarky and sarcastic. This book is a modern fantasy, a paranormal tale told by a main character that knows the genre. Imagine if you were suddenly faced with the truth that magic was real, along with vampires, werewolves, faeries, dragons, and yes, even unicorns.
You'd be scared and filled with awe, but I bet you'd also make fun of it a little.
That's this book. That's this story. It's an action/adventure filled with constant humor, occasional sex, and dotted with happy little trees of introspection and reflection. It's a lot of things, much like life itself.
I think you'll like it.
Oh, and if it helps you can think of it sort of like the Dresden Files but with more sex and less angst.
Why the charity drive for Worldbuilders?
Well, for two reasons. One is that I genuinely love the work Mr. Rothfuss does for Heifer, which provides a variety of sustainable living options for people in need at home and abroad. So much so that I retain 10% of all my writing income to donate when the Worldbuilders drive comes up.
The other reason is that I hope that people on the fence about the book might be swayed toward purchasing it if they know that some of the money will go to charity. In the case of release day for "Beautiful", I'm choosing to give everything for the first day because I think this book is going to take off, and I think the readers who have supported me so far deserve to see a little extra. I can't give them gifts directly, so I will donate some extra in their names.
And obviously, if 10% causes some people to buy the book, 100% might make a larger number do so. I'm happy to help in any way I can, but this is also a career for me, one that I hope to work at full-time before the end of next year. A lot of folks buying this book on day one increases the chance that I'll get some long term sales going.
The end game
Ideally, I'd like to see this book as the stepping stone to writing full time. If I can do that, I will be able to dedicate so much more time to working on my books and stories. Not having to work a full-time job means that I'd be able to crank out a huge volume of material. More books from me=more works sold=more money donated. It's a win/win.
I love to tell stories. I love writing characters and doing things to them, terrible and kind in equal measure. I think "Beautiful" is a strong book and will help me realize that goal. With your help, I can be on my way.
I'll be liveblogging from JoshuaGuess.com from that point until I fall asleep from sheer exhaustion, and I'll be tweeting as often as I can. You can follow me @JoshuaGuess.
This is the official post for the release of my new novel, "Beautiful". If you haven't noticed by the URL, I'm Joshua Guess. Thanks for visiting my author blog!
Purchase Links:
Buy it on the Amazon Kindle
Or on the Barnes and Noble Nook
The Smashwords version, which gets distributed across a number of platforms, can be found right here.
Just so I don't bore you too much, I'll give the nitty gritty, and then you can read on if you like:
"Beautiful" will be released on the Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords on July 23rd. I'm organizing an event on Facebook and across Twitter for it, which can be found here.
For 24 hours, from 4 pm on Saturday July 23rd until 4 pm Sunday, July 24th, every single penny I make from the sale of this book will be donated to Patrick Rothfuss' charity drive for Heifer International, Worldbuilders. You may know who Mr. Rothfuss is: Fantasy superstar, literary genius, and beard aficionado.
So I'm going to be pushing my book as hard as I can for two reasons: to run my own little fundraiser for Worldbuilders, a cause I believe in enough to donate not just a day's worth of income, but 10% of what I make from writing year-round. The other is to hopefully build enough momentum that "Beautiful" will gain a larger presence on Amazon and the rest, enough to really get my career going.
That's the blurb. If you're interested, then I hope you clicked on the link to the Facebook event above. If you'd like some more info, please keep on reading.
What is "Beautiful"?
First and foremost, it'll be $2.99. That's important.
I've had a hard time coming up with a description that fits. If I say that it's a book about vampires, your mind will leap to other books of that type. You'll have a preconceived notion. If I say it's about love, magic, sex, violence, the sheer wonder of creation, or pissed-off unicorns, the same problem exists. So let me put it to you in the only way that makes sense to me, which is a short description.
Dan Harrod is an average guy, happily toiling to pay the bills. He's married and in love, and like most guys he'd like to sleep with his boss, Gabrielle. Life is safe and quiet for Dan until he's suddenly ripped away from the careful routine he'd wrapped around himself.
Suddenly thrust into a hidden world of magic, Dan finds himself in the middle of a war between vampires that's been raging longer than human civilization. In a desperate bid to safeguard the lives of his friends and family, Dan will make hard choices and take desperate actions.
This little blurb is sort of interesting, but it doesn't quite give the whole feel. "Beautiful" is written in Dan's own voice, which is snarky and sarcastic. This book is a modern fantasy, a paranormal tale told by a main character that knows the genre. Imagine if you were suddenly faced with the truth that magic was real, along with vampires, werewolves, faeries, dragons, and yes, even unicorns.
You'd be scared and filled with awe, but I bet you'd also make fun of it a little.
That's this book. That's this story. It's an action/adventure filled with constant humor, occasional sex, and dotted with happy little trees of introspection and reflection. It's a lot of things, much like life itself.
I think you'll like it.
Oh, and if it helps you can think of it sort of like the Dresden Files but with more sex and less angst.
Why the charity drive for Worldbuilders?
Well, for two reasons. One is that I genuinely love the work Mr. Rothfuss does for Heifer, which provides a variety of sustainable living options for people in need at home and abroad. So much so that I retain 10% of all my writing income to donate when the Worldbuilders drive comes up.
The other reason is that I hope that people on the fence about the book might be swayed toward purchasing it if they know that some of the money will go to charity. In the case of release day for "Beautiful", I'm choosing to give everything for the first day because I think this book is going to take off, and I think the readers who have supported me so far deserve to see a little extra. I can't give them gifts directly, so I will donate some extra in their names.
And obviously, if 10% causes some people to buy the book, 100% might make a larger number do so. I'm happy to help in any way I can, but this is also a career for me, one that I hope to work at full-time before the end of next year. A lot of folks buying this book on day one increases the chance that I'll get some long term sales going.
The end game
Ideally, I'd like to see this book as the stepping stone to writing full time. If I can do that, I will be able to dedicate so much more time to working on my books and stories. Not having to work a full-time job means that I'd be able to crank out a huge volume of material. More books from me=more works sold=more money donated. It's a win/win.
I love to tell stories. I love writing characters and doing things to them, terrible and kind in equal measure. I think "Beautiful" is a strong book and will help me realize that goal. With your help, I can be on my way.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
"Beautiful" News
I had intended this post to be the first in a series of analyses on Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss. I've been playing with the idea of comparing these guys, two of my favorite authors, for quite a while. I'm going to get to that soon, likely next week. There's a good reason for the delay, as well as delaying my post about Amanda Hocking.
That reason: I've finished "Beautiful", and I want to talk about it.
First, when I say I've finished it, I mean that I've gotten the body of the text done and I'm midway through an edit and revision. I know a lot of authors edit and edit and editediteditedit until their brains start to cook inside their own heads. I also know that other authors will do huge revisions that add this or that, and for them that works. Not me. I have a pretty clear idea of what I want the story to be, and tinkering with anything too large changes the tone of my work for the worse. I function and write best when I can streamline and make better what I have, and add or alter small things as I go.
That being said, "Beautiful" is essentially done. I've got to finish the edit I'm on and send it out to the Beta readers, after which I will spend a few days working on the issues they find, correcting and further smoothing as I go.
Part of why I don't think this book is going to take a lot more work is because of the strange metamorphosis it went through even as I was writing it. I want to talk about it, since I'm proud as a new father but lacking the requisite vomit stains all over me, so sit down, buckle up, and bask in the stupid happiness that was the six month process of writing "Beautiful".
ORIGIN (all caps makes it neat-o)
I started writing this book as a joke. My boss on the weekend shift where I work as a nurse aide found out I was a writer and pestered me to write something for her. Well, I say pestered but it was all in good fun, really. Gabrielle told me that I should write a story about her, and I (being the classy man that I am) told her that if I did, it would have to be erotica. She laughed and dared me to do it, so I started to write.
I didn't get very far, because I'm not an erotica reader. I had no idea where to go, so I put it to the side. At the same time, I'd been working on an idea for a vampire novel, or at least a modern fantasy that heavily featured them. Somewhere down the line, I combined the two ideas, dropped the genre "erotica" as it was too confining for what I wanted to do, and "Beautiful" was born.
A SLOW START
January was supposed to be when I buckled down and did the majority of the writing for this book. I thought I could do it, since I'd consistently put in 1,000 words or better a day on my first novel. Again, this didn't work out, since most of that month I was really, really sick. I got a little down and soured a little on the project. Gabrielle started asking me about it repeatedly, and slowly I began pecking away at my laptop. A hundred words here, five hundred there. Slow but steady.
THE BLOOM
I guess this part is the most important. Where "Beautiful" had begun as a simple idea, over the first few months of writing it I discovered that I had way too many ideas to fit into the 100,000 word novel I'd planned. As time wore on and I really got into writing the characters, I created more and more canon to eventually draw on. I don't want to give anything away, so I won't be specific here. I will only say that what began as an idea for a novel of 100k words bloomed into enough material for a series of six books. I've actually got ideas that can go past that, but I have solid outlines for the second and third books in the series, and rough outlines for books four through six.
I felt like a lot of pressure had been lifted from me when I decided to expand the series, so I cut a lot of the material I'd wanted to put at the end of book 1, taking it down to a respectable 80,000 words. That's where I am right now.
SO...WHAT IS IT ABOUT?!
"Beautiful" started out as erotica, then added vampire and other supernatural elements, then...I don't know how to explain this very well, because in some ways I don't really understand what happened. Somewhere along the way, as I was writing the main character, Dan, who is based very closely on me, his wife, Anna, who is basically my own wife, and Gabrielle, who is based on my boss, "Beautiful" became something else. Something different.
The original tone and direction of the novel changed. I didn't focus on sex or action as much as I thought I was going to, opting instead to take a more relaxed and informal tone. The story is told in Dan's voice, with his snarky remarks and observations about the world around him thrown in. Imagine if your best friend who was kind of a smartass suddenly found out that there was this whole amazing world of magic hidden just below the surface. Imagine he's telling you the story first hand.
The thing that I really enjoyed about writing this book was just letting go and writing for the sheer enjoyment of it. I didn't worry about sentence structure or timing, nor the other hundred little things I usually fret about. I wrote for fun and to tell a rousing tale of love, sex, violence and hope. Like life itself, this story has all of them, plus a HUGE dose of humor as the narrator alternately makes fun of and celebrates the magical world around him.
I don't know if this makes sense to you, but I hope so. This book was written from my heart in a way that I've never managed before. The style, very personal and honest, is something like my zombie blog, Living With the Dead. It's funnier, and faster paced, and....
I'll stop here. I don't know what the recipe for success as an author is. As time goes by, I think that the only sure way to succeed at first is just pure luck. I don't know that my love for this book means that I'm insanely egotistical, though I fully admit to the possibility.
I'm not saying it's a masterpiece of prose and technical skill. It isn't. It's good, really good, from what I can tell, but I don't love this book for that reason. Painters can have all the technical skill in the world and in the end without creativity and talent, they will never be famous or renowned. Certainly not loved.
No, the reason I love this book is very simple, and maybe only something that other writers might get. I love "Beautiful" so much because whether or not anyone else ever reads it, I enjoyed it immensely. I had fun writing it, and I had fun reading it. I don't know if one word of it will say anything profound or important to anyone else, but I'm satisfied with my creation because it speaks to me. It says many things that have long been in my heart.
"Beautiful" is fun. It's really funny. It's sweet in places, nerve-wracking in others. It has moments of sex and awkwardness, with everything in between. I tried so hard to put the little things in there, the hundred tiny bits that make life interesting and real to us. I wanted to honestly portray what I thought Dan, the main character, would be going through. I think I succeeded. For me, anyway, it works.
This book is lighthearted and fun, but hopefully with a bit more depth than this post leads you to believe. I'm really not an egomaniac, I swear. I'm just thrilled to be finished with the first leg of this journey, and excited to move on to the next step.
Hey, who knows: other people might like it too.
That reason: I've finished "Beautiful", and I want to talk about it.
First, when I say I've finished it, I mean that I've gotten the body of the text done and I'm midway through an edit and revision. I know a lot of authors edit and edit and editediteditedit until their brains start to cook inside their own heads. I also know that other authors will do huge revisions that add this or that, and for them that works. Not me. I have a pretty clear idea of what I want the story to be, and tinkering with anything too large changes the tone of my work for the worse. I function and write best when I can streamline and make better what I have, and add or alter small things as I go.
That being said, "Beautiful" is essentially done. I've got to finish the edit I'm on and send it out to the Beta readers, after which I will spend a few days working on the issues they find, correcting and further smoothing as I go.
Part of why I don't think this book is going to take a lot more work is because of the strange metamorphosis it went through even as I was writing it. I want to talk about it, since I'm proud as a new father but lacking the requisite vomit stains all over me, so sit down, buckle up, and bask in the stupid happiness that was the six month process of writing "Beautiful".
ORIGIN (all caps makes it neat-o)
I started writing this book as a joke. My boss on the weekend shift where I work as a nurse aide found out I was a writer and pestered me to write something for her. Well, I say pestered but it was all in good fun, really. Gabrielle told me that I should write a story about her, and I (being the classy man that I am) told her that if I did, it would have to be erotica. She laughed and dared me to do it, so I started to write.
I didn't get very far, because I'm not an erotica reader. I had no idea where to go, so I put it to the side. At the same time, I'd been working on an idea for a vampire novel, or at least a modern fantasy that heavily featured them. Somewhere down the line, I combined the two ideas, dropped the genre "erotica" as it was too confining for what I wanted to do, and "Beautiful" was born.
A SLOW START
January was supposed to be when I buckled down and did the majority of the writing for this book. I thought I could do it, since I'd consistently put in 1,000 words or better a day on my first novel. Again, this didn't work out, since most of that month I was really, really sick. I got a little down and soured a little on the project. Gabrielle started asking me about it repeatedly, and slowly I began pecking away at my laptop. A hundred words here, five hundred there. Slow but steady.
THE BLOOM
I guess this part is the most important. Where "Beautiful" had begun as a simple idea, over the first few months of writing it I discovered that I had way too many ideas to fit into the 100,000 word novel I'd planned. As time wore on and I really got into writing the characters, I created more and more canon to eventually draw on. I don't want to give anything away, so I won't be specific here. I will only say that what began as an idea for a novel of 100k words bloomed into enough material for a series of six books. I've actually got ideas that can go past that, but I have solid outlines for the second and third books in the series, and rough outlines for books four through six.
I felt like a lot of pressure had been lifted from me when I decided to expand the series, so I cut a lot of the material I'd wanted to put at the end of book 1, taking it down to a respectable 80,000 words. That's where I am right now.
SO...WHAT IS IT ABOUT?!
"Beautiful" started out as erotica, then added vampire and other supernatural elements, then...I don't know how to explain this very well, because in some ways I don't really understand what happened. Somewhere along the way, as I was writing the main character, Dan, who is based very closely on me, his wife, Anna, who is basically my own wife, and Gabrielle, who is based on my boss, "Beautiful" became something else. Something different.
The original tone and direction of the novel changed. I didn't focus on sex or action as much as I thought I was going to, opting instead to take a more relaxed and informal tone. The story is told in Dan's voice, with his snarky remarks and observations about the world around him thrown in. Imagine if your best friend who was kind of a smartass suddenly found out that there was this whole amazing world of magic hidden just below the surface. Imagine he's telling you the story first hand.
The thing that I really enjoyed about writing this book was just letting go and writing for the sheer enjoyment of it. I didn't worry about sentence structure or timing, nor the other hundred little things I usually fret about. I wrote for fun and to tell a rousing tale of love, sex, violence and hope. Like life itself, this story has all of them, plus a HUGE dose of humor as the narrator alternately makes fun of and celebrates the magical world around him.
I don't know if this makes sense to you, but I hope so. This book was written from my heart in a way that I've never managed before. The style, very personal and honest, is something like my zombie blog, Living With the Dead. It's funnier, and faster paced, and....
I'll stop here. I don't know what the recipe for success as an author is. As time goes by, I think that the only sure way to succeed at first is just pure luck. I don't know that my love for this book means that I'm insanely egotistical, though I fully admit to the possibility.
I'm not saying it's a masterpiece of prose and technical skill. It isn't. It's good, really good, from what I can tell, but I don't love this book for that reason. Painters can have all the technical skill in the world and in the end without creativity and talent, they will never be famous or renowned. Certainly not loved.
No, the reason I love this book is very simple, and maybe only something that other writers might get. I love "Beautiful" so much because whether or not anyone else ever reads it, I enjoyed it immensely. I had fun writing it, and I had fun reading it. I don't know if one word of it will say anything profound or important to anyone else, but I'm satisfied with my creation because it speaks to me. It says many things that have long been in my heart.
"Beautiful" is fun. It's really funny. It's sweet in places, nerve-wracking in others. It has moments of sex and awkwardness, with everything in between. I tried so hard to put the little things in there, the hundred tiny bits that make life interesting and real to us. I wanted to honestly portray what I thought Dan, the main character, would be going through. I think I succeeded. For me, anyway, it works.
This book is lighthearted and fun, but hopefully with a bit more depth than this post leads you to believe. I'm really not an egomaniac, I swear. I'm just thrilled to be finished with the first leg of this journey, and excited to move on to the next step.
Hey, who knows: other people might like it too.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Soon
I'm going to have news for you soon, as well as several new posts that are going to be done one after another concerning my thoughts and outlook on many things. I want to take a look at two of my favorite authors and what their contrasting and differing styles mean to me. I want to talk about the self-publishing wunderkid Amanda Hocking and how she's affecting the world of self-publishing and other sundries.
I want to do many things here, but honestly I've been working my ass off at finishing "Beautiful" as well as at my actual job. I'm hoping to finish the book before Wednesday night. So...looks like new blogs will be going up here very soon. Probably starting this coming weekend. It's gonna be fun, so stay tuned.
I want to do many things here, but honestly I've been working my ass off at finishing "Beautiful" as well as at my actual job. I'm hoping to finish the book before Wednesday night. So...looks like new blogs will be going up here very soon. Probably starting this coming weekend. It's gonna be fun, so stay tuned.
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