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Book 4 due out May 12

26 Apr
The Dwarf's Legacy

“The Dwarf’s Legacy” is due out May 12.

I anticipate The Dwarf’s Legacy – the fourth of five books in the series The Day Magic Died – will be available in paperback and Kindle format on May 12.

Really!

Let’s start with the cover, since that’s right here on this blog.

I should not have offered you five cover mockups to vote on. My mistake. None received a majority of the votes. The plainest one received the most votes – six – but the two with the series logo, name and number at the top received a total of seven votes. That’s not clear direction. If I had offered you two or three choices, you would have been equipped to provide solid feedback. I apologize.

So I talked with a marketing consultant. I chatted with my designer. I conferred with my wife.

What I wanted to do was get the logo, series name and book number on the cover. I want to at least hint that this is not so much five stories in one series, as one story in five books.

But the primary purpose of the cover is to grab attention and get people to read the title. (The only exception is for a famous author, whose name is the biggest thing on the cover. I’m not there yet. Let’s not dwell on how far away from that I am, OK?)

In the mockups, the number and logo were so large they distracted from the title. So I made them much smaller. I tried putting them above the title, below the title, and below my name. Each time, the design looked unbalanced, and the series bar seemed to distract from the title.

But a funny thing happened as I moved the series bar. I stopped in the middle. And I smiled.

I think this placement – which I have been able to replicate with each of the titles – draws the reader’s attention to the title first and foremost. So I am happy with the cover, and with the new covers for the other books. I hope you like them too.

Now then, what about the insides? The book itself?

Last Sunday I finished correcting all the mistakes found in proofreading. Monday I sent the manuscript to an avid follower of the series who has not been involved in editing until this point.

Friday she sent me a list of about a dozen areas that needed more attention. None were major, but each was enough to “throw” a reader, so it’s good to have those brought to my attention.

First thing this morning, I went through the book and addressed all those issues. Now my wife will proofread those sections again. I anticipate making the final corrections today.

Then what?

1. Format for paperback: I have to copy and paste the book into a template, then adjust it. This should not be very difficult or take long.

2. Format for Kindle: This is a bit more complex. It’s easy to make an ebook. It takes some effort to make a properly formatted ebook. I write in Word, and if I go straight from Word to Kindle … yuck! I have to convert the Word file to HTML, edit the HTML, convert the HTML file to Mobipocket .prc format, then upload that.

3. Checking and proofing: Amazon’s Createspace division has to check and approve the paperback. Amazon’s Kindle division has to check and approve the ebook. And I need to order a paperback proof, go through it, and approve it for sale.

How long will all that take? I anticipate two weeks, and thus, I expect The Dwarf’s Legacy to be available May 12.

Permit me to again apologize for the delay. I have endeavored to make this a book worth your wait.

In the meantime, watch for updates … and a promotion or two!

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It worked

27 Mar
Detail of beading on the collar of the dress I made

Detail of beading on the collar of the dress I made

My last post begged a question.

If I made a dress to refresh myself so I could get Book 4 rewritten again, how well did that work?
Pretty well, actually.

I’ve gone through the entire manuscript of The Dwarf’s Legacy at least twice. In addition, I’ve looked at particular sections and reworked them. I’ve addressed everything that all five of my critical readers spotted, and spotted a few more things myself. I’d say the writing and editing is 95 percent done at this point.

What’s left?

  • There are three specific “scenes” I think need more work, so I will go back and adjust those.
  • I have given the manuscript to two of my critical readers for another check, so I am sure I’ll hear back from them soon. Another set of eyes always helps.
  • After all of that is taken care of, I want to let the book “rest” for a few days, then come back and read through the entire book. I need to be sure the story flows properly and the characters are consistent. In fact, I may use part of that time to sketch out how I see a few of the key characters developing in this book, and check what I’ve written against that.

I am hoping that will result, by the end of April, in the release of Book 4, The Dwarf’s Legacy. I know, that’s two months later than expected, but the book is a whole lot better than it was in February. I’m trying to make it worth the wait.

Let me put it this way. I spent hours and hours — about 50 in all — hand-beading the dress I made. It would have been a really nice dress even without all that work; that work put it over the top, and made it truly special. That’s what I’m trying to do with The Dwarf’s Legacy.

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So I made a dress …

24 Mar

Yes, I made a dress ...You’re still waiting for a book, and I went and made a dress.

Permit me to first clarify, it was for my wife, not me. In case you were wondering. Oh, you weren’t wondering, were you? And now you are. Wonderful. Let’s move on …

I made a dress so you can get a book.

Really.

For about a month and a half, I poured every spare hour into rewriting Book 4, The Dwarf’s Legacy. I completed that at the end of January, and passed it off to my critical readers.

And then my “day job” got hectic. I serve as a writer and editor for New Tribes Mission, and through most of February I was pouring myself into getting out the next issue of our magazine.

Then I heard back from all of my critical readers, and there was a lot of work to do. So I tried to do it. I really did. I wanted to get the fourth book to you in February, and then I was sure I could get it out in March. But nothing was working.

So I started making a dress.

You see, when I just can’t write, when I’ve “spent” all my creative writing energy, I need to recharge it. One thing I’ve found works very well is engaging in some creative endeavor totally unrelated to writing.

Like making an Elizabethan gown for my wife.

I completed the dress earlier this month, so I have now begun attacking Book 4 again with vigor, instead of slogging through it. You deserve my best writing. The series deserves my best writing. And now I’ve put myself in a position to deliver that.

It’s taking longer than I wanted it to, but, hey, I’ve still put out four books between two of George RR Martin’s books. (And that’s about all the comparison I’ll do with other authors, especially with other authors who have sold a whole stinking huge lot more books than I have. Which is actually most authors, come to think of it.)

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Off to the critical readers …

26 Jan

The Dwarf's LegacyThe initial proofreading of Book 4, The Dwarf’s Legacy, was completed in record time, which I hope is an indication I am getting better at spotting my own tendencies, and not an indication that my wife is getting sick of my stupid mistakes.

Either way, it’s off now to my four critical readers, so we’ll see what they say. Plenty more opportunities to catch typos and the like.

I know there are plenty of questions that readers have from The House in the Old Wood, Karia’s Path and The Hall of the Prophetess. Too many to fit all the answers into Book 5, The White Silver House. So you’ll see some answers in The Dwarf’s Legacy.

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Book 4 is in its first proofreading

24 Jan

The Day Magic DiedI completed my revisions of Book 4, The Dwarf’s Legacy, and read through the whole thing.

Wow, it’s a far different book now. I think it’s a lot better. Since you’ll never see the initial draft, let’s just pretend I’m right, OK?

Now my wife, Julie, it giving the book its initial proofreading. She tends to spot not only grammar and punctuation and spelling issues, but awkward sentences and difficulties with the storyline. She’ll taking her time, reading only when she feels like her eyes are “fresh.” But trust me, that’s a good thing.This is the best time to catch this kind of thing.

Updates to come …

 

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