Asteroid Made of Dragons re-writes /developmental edits are due back to my editor on Friday.
Artwork - Hieronymus Bosch / My adrenal glands.
Asteroid Made of Dragons re-writes /developmental edits are due back to my editor on Friday.
Artwork - Hieronymus Bosch / My adrenal glands.
Asteroid Made of Dragons switching from Hardcover to Paperback.
After several conversations with Inkshares and receiving a lot input from their sales and marketing experience, I have decided to change the physical version of the book from hardcover to paperback.
Why This Stinks
I've self-published two novels before this, both in paperback and e-book. This was my first chance to see my work in hardcover and I was filled with a childlike glee. As a life-long lover of books and reading - the smell, the heft of a hardback, it's magic. For an author, it's the brass ring - it's legitimacy, it's solid paper and pride. I also kind of loved the innate 'joke' of a preposterous title like AMOD being presented in the most respectable of formats.
Why This is a Good Thing
Quite frankly, it means Inkshares will be able to market and sell my book in a LOT more independent bookstores around the country. For a debut author - it's a lot harder to get small bookstores to take a chance on the cost and shelf-space of a hardback. More stores, more shelves, more eyes, more readers - that's always the goal. Until I am a SUPER BIG DEAL*, it just didn't make sense to increase the risk for smaller bookstores. That's where I want to be! A lower cost in general also helps me win over casual readers - lowering the risk of entry is important all the way through.
*November 10th, 2017, if you're curious.
This also means that AMOD will be almost the same trim size as my previous works, so they'll all look nice together on the shelf.
What this Means for You
Complaint Box
I feel more than a little dodgy about this for those of you that funded me during the campaign. I promised you one thing, now I'm delivering something slightly different. I do want to make clear that this was 100% my decision -- Inkshares was ready to print hardcovers if that's what I truly wanted, even if it meant going against their clear advice to the contrary. I know that it's the best decision for the book, but I can empathize quite easily with those of you who were very excited to get those gleaming new hardcovers.
So! Questions or complaints - please direct them my way. Either here, or my email - gderekadams AT gmail DAWT com, or just come yell at me on Twitter: @gderekadams.
THIS EMAIL CONTAINS A FREE COLORING BOOK. CLEAR YOUR MOTHER-LOVING SCHEDULE.
And now, something exciting and strange - a present for you on this gray Friday. Something that we all secretly crave, gazing at it longingly in the supermarket, but feel ourselves too proper, too adult to just purchase and face the wrinkled nose and skeptical questions of the checkout clerk. Yes, my friends. A coloring book.
I would like to take credit and say that I created this for you all by myself with my secret art abilities, but that is not remotely the truth. Inkshares is becoming a wonderful eco-system of amazing, talented people - and I was fortunate enough to be invited to participate in this project, the Inkshares Authors Showcase Coloring Book and Activity Pages, Nerdist Contest Edition. This book features art and activities to draw you into the worlds of:
Blood Dawn, by John Robin.
Prophecy of the Stars, by Melissa Berg (also an illustrator for the book, and the creator of our cover)
Asteroid Made of Dragons, by some dude.
A Beast Requires, by Jay Lockwood
Witches Undercover, by Rochelle Germano
Tournament of the Stars: Arbitration, by Victor Powell
Ageless (also winner of the Swords and Lasers contest) andMotor City Chronicles: Transgressions, by Paul Inman [This campaign is running a CONTEST around the book, check it!]
Rune of the Apprentice, by Jamison Stone
Shadow of the Owl, by Amanda Orneck
The Seventh Age, by Rick Heinz,
She Is the End, by A.C. Weston [[This campaign is running a CONTEST around the book, check it!]
You'll get to travel through mazes, challenge yourself withcrosswords and word searches, search and find hidden things,create a tournament patch that might be used in Victor's book, and color characters whose adventures you'll definitely want to read. So, if you haven't already, go pre-order these books!
Now - Serious Time.
This is a plea for all of you that have been sitting quietly on the sidelines of the Nerdist Contest to get in the game. I've had two conference calls this week - one with my editor from Girl Friday, another with the entire marketing team from Inkshares, my production editor from Girl Friday and a dedicated designer for the cover of AMOD. As someone who's self-published two previous novels, this experience has been beyond astonishing, beyond important, beyond meaningful. It's the opportunity of a lifetime.
There are so many deserving campaigns in this contest - take some time today, between bouts of coloring, and really look at the field, really consider the contestants. This contest ends on the 30th, but I know dozens and dozens of writers that are settling in for the long haul - they need your support, they need your attention, they need your MONEY.
This is a very unique place - a very unique confluence of events and people. You can directly influence art, you can directly promote the type of books you want to see more of out there in the world. It's kind of amazing - but it only works with more readers, more backers, more people and more eyeballs. Get in here and click some buttons and throw down some cabfare. The risk is low, but the reward - ah. Being able to reach into the belly of the beast and pull out the kind of stories you want. No focus group, no demographic research, no publishing house in your way -- just reach in and give a new writer the opportunity to amaze you.
I'll have more updates about AMOD over the next few days - but I want you to keep your focus on the campaigns still funding right now. You've given me a shot - that means you like the weird, the strange, the other. I'm telling you now - there's a whole lot more of that stuff waiting for you right now to click on it.
Here's something cool for your Monday. A surprise recording of an unreleased chapter of Asteroid Made of Dragons !
This is a Chapter 7 - a Sideways chapter, a glimpse into the activities of the nefarious Hunt.
This was recorded by fellow Inkshares author, Paul Inman. I will now direct you to his two projects so that you may purchase them with your human money.
Ageless - No matter what our differences are, race, religion, nationality, gender, sexuality, we all have one thing in common; we die. But if you could live forever, would it be worth it?
This project has already funded, so you are guaranteed a copy if you pre-order. This is for fans of non-linear narratives, sickening government experiments, and the ramifications of immortality.
His new shiny project that is still trying to get funded is Motor City Chronicles - Part One. And here's his book trailer for that project!
Motor City Chronicles - Book Trailer
Ch-ch-check it out! I should have another (!) secret cool thing to share with you tomorrow.
Sorry for the paucity of updates from Asteroid Made of Dragons - I assume that most of you are wading through a small blizzard of Inkshares emails like I am every morning. The Nerdist Contest is HEATING. UP. Partly I wanted to stay out of the way of all the contestants and keep all your eyeballs focused on the new shiny books vying for your attention - but also things were just a hair quiet over here. I submitted my beta draft of AMOD to beta readers, Inkshares, and most supremely Girl Friday for developmental editing - - then I IMMEDIATELY started slacking off. I played a bunch of Witcher 3, I started planning a D&D campaign, I cut my grass, said hello to the living people that apparently exist in my immediate vicinity. It was nice. I also found some time to let my writer brain devote some cycles to Other Projects - nothing serious yet, just some ideas I want to explore when AMOD goes to bed.
But now. Oh now. There is some legitimate news and events and happenstance and furor to report. So, strap in!
Asteroid Made of Dragons - Tentative Release: April 2016
I had a long kickoff conference call with the Inkshares and Girl Friday team, and if all goes according to plan, that's the bulls-eye. As someone who's navigated the self-publishing process alone twice before - it was pure joy to have skilled, professional people go over a very rigorous schedule with me and precisely detail every part of the production, marketing, cover design, and how I CANNOT SCREW IT ALL UP BY BEING A BABY. I'm glad that I was on the phone and not Skype so they couldn't see the one dramatic anime tear making its way down my cheek. Next week I have more conference calls! Calls to discuss the cover and marketing, calls with my editor to discuss My Authorial Vision, etc. My developmental edits are due back on 10/2 -- then I have two weeks to respond and implement the suggested changes and re-writes - so expect my presence here and on Twitter to either be non-existent or pure non-stop whining during that period. I'm very proud of the draft I turned in - but I am beyond excited to watch it become the strongest thing I've ever written with the proper editorial care and absolutely the most visible and well-marketed of my books by a GIGANTIC margin.
For my day job, I work in sales - and I know how difficult and icky it can be to feel like you are SELLING your BOOK to strangers. Rachel let me ruminate on the ethos of sales and how you can be a salesman in general - but specifically of your own work and not feel like a weasel. These principles are what helped me ultimately win the Sword & Laser Contest on Inkshares and I think they're perfectly applicable to anyone trying to crowdfund or promote their own work. A huge thank you to her for giving me the opportunity to be weird on her carefully cultivated internet platform.
SURPRISE BONUS
I've fallen in with a rowdy crowd of reprobates and undesirables. Yes, other writers on Inkshares. And a few of them have collaborated on an absolutely fantastic idea - the Inkshares Authors Showcase Coloring Book and Activity Pages, Nerdist Contest Edition. It's going to be amazing! My page is going to feature Xenon the goblin archaeologist on her rocket cycle and I CANNOT WAIT for you guys to see it and try your hand at coloring it. We'll be sending it out on Monday and then you can print out the pages for REAL LIFE Coloring and activities, or just dump the files into your computer art program of choice and go to town. This is to showcase the worlds of strange wonder and fierce beauty that these authors have in their heads - and now you can color them all the wrong colors. Here's the worlds/books that are going to be included:
She Is the End, by A.C. Weston (illustrator of the AMOD page and you are officially a moron if you don't go back her book immediately)
Blood Dawn, by John Robin.
Prophecy of the Stars, by Melissa Berg (also an illustrator for the book, and the creator of our cover)
Asteroid Made of Dragons, by some guy.
A Beast Requires, by Jay Lockwood
Witches Undercover, by Rochelle Germano
Tournament of the Stars: Arbitration, by Victor Powell
Ageless (also winner of the Swords and Lasers contest) and Motor City Chronicles: Transgressions, by Paul Inman
Rune of the Apprentice, by Jamison Stone
Shadow of the Owl, by Amanda Orneck
The Seventh Age, by Rick Heinz,
We'll be sending out the coloring book to all you people on Monday - no charge, just free, right there in your inbox. I think it would behoove you to give these nice author's campaign pages a look. DO YOU FEEL BEHOOVENED?
As always, come find me on Twitter - @gderekadams for internet interaction. I should also have a special audio presentation of a Sideways chapter from AMOD for you in the very near future, recorded by busybody Paul Inman.
Finally I leave you with this:
Two weeks ago I received my Developmental Edits from my fantabulous editor Lindsay from Girl Friday Productions -- a day or so before I was beside myself with anxiety and anticipation, so I posted this on Twitter: