Greetings readers and supporters. It’s been a while and I’ve got lots of news for you.
First, Rise has been through its developmental edit. I just got the manuscript back and, wow! It’s going to be a lot of work but I am liking what I see so far. I like the approach the editor took and the tools he gave me as I re-attack the manuscript. I think it’s going to make some very subtle but very good changes to the narrative.
Second, I got the first round of cover designs back. I saw some I liked, some I didn’t, and came to the conclusion that I couldn’t do this alone. So, I’m reaching out to you. Below, you’ll see three options (two really, but one has a difference in font). This isn’t a voting call. This is a request for qualitative feedback. What do you like? Why? What don’t you like? Please send me your feedback to colberra@gmail.com before Dec 5 to let me know what you think.
Third, in case you didn’t notice, the tentative release has been moved to September, 2016. Specifically, we’re aiming for an early September release. For those of you that know me, that happens to coincide with a certain convention I regularly volunteer at involving dragons. We’re still discussing the idea, but a release party at said convention is a possibility. Stay tuned for updates on that.
Lastly, an update on Fall, Rise’s sequel. I’m almost done writing it and am starting to consider what to do with it. Owing from the experiences of fellow authors that tried and did not succeed, I’m wary to attempt another Inkshares campaign for a new book before the previous one has released. I’m certain I could get to the new light publishing level but getting to the top of another contest. That’s another task. So, I’m curious what your thoughts are. Would you, the supporters of Rise, be willing to back and support the sequel before you’ve even received the first book? Let me know at the email I listed above.
Here are the tentative cover possibilities:
Cover 1
Cover 2
Cover 3
Till next time.
Brian
I had planned on a news heavy update on Rise and its production schedule. Then my phone exploded with tweets and texts and Facebook updates. Now, it all seems just a bit...unimportant.
#prayforparis
For those of you who didn’t know, The Nerdist Contest ended and Rise finished #2 on the list. That means Rise is now on its way to being published and not just the digital version. An actual physical paperback. That’s happening because of you! So thanks.
Unfortunately, the Nerdist did not select Rise to be in their Collection (congratulations to the winners; knock ‘em dead and lift the tide for all of us lol), but that was always a secondary goal. Winning the contract was the primary and we achieved that.
I’ll limit my updates from this point forward to Fridays unless there isn’t anything to share. On those occasions, I’ll most likely share what’s been catching my eye book wise on Inkshares as well as the serial site I read a lot of books in progress: Jukepop Serials.
So, here’s your update for this week: I finished editing Rise last night. I should have been done much sooner. Don’t ask me why I wasn’t; I already feel fairly stupid already. Anyway, I submitted it along with the intake documentation sent to me by Inkshares and Girl Friday Productions. Sometime soon, I’m supposed to hear from my production editor and this ball starts rolling. To keep you informed on what is actually happening, Iet’s talk about those intake documents.
The questionnaires were mostly simple stuff. I’d say the hardest part was the signpost major points of the story breakdown. I mean, I know it all. But simplifying it all down to a series of single sentence major signposts proved a lot more complicated than I originally thought it would be. The next hardest part was writing my concept for a back of the book blurb. I’ve had the Future World series part of that done for a while, but Rise and its sequels will need another part to it that focuses on each book. That proved a bit harder than the series one. We shall see how close I got to the final version later, I suppose.
Because some of you have been asking, the sequel, Fall, is about three quarters of the way done. I slowed down on writing it once Dragoncon and the Inkshares contest hit, but I’ve maintained a minimum of 100 words a days for well over 90 days now. The story line is racing toward the climactic ending and I hope to have it done before November hits so my NANOWRIMO novel can be Shatter, Future Worlds book three.
As I promised, I’ve uploaded a PDF version of the complete first draft at this link. I hope you take advantage of the opportunity to read it and enjoy the extra content on the end. The most important thing for you to keep in consideration is a review. We are several months away from publication (March 20, 2016 is the current projection) but when we get close to that date, Rise will start appearing for pre-order on those sites. Having a review ready to post when that happens is such an important part to the success of a new release. Did you know you can post reviews on the Inkshares page, too? It’s a handy place to keep a review where you can easily find it for posting on another vendor’s website, like Amazon or BN.com, later.
Thanks again for your support. I wasn’t ignoring you all post the contest. I intended on posting an update last Friday, but my inbox exploded with everyone else’s announcements and updates of what they were all doing post contest. I decided to wait a few days to add my own update to the cacophony.
Until next time!
WE DID IT!!!! Congratulations to the other four winners as well. Great race to the finish. Stay tuned tomorrow for the Nerdist announcement.
Normally, I limit these to Fridays, or the notable milestone. I presume what I'm about to link you to counts as the latter. Enjoy.
Contest ends tomorrow at noon PDT! Thanks again for all your support.
Personally, I decided to put both of the novels I plan to publish this year up on Inkshares. No, I wasn't fortunate enough to get published with Shadow of the Owl, but I know at least I'll get some eyes on the writing in ways I never would otherwise. Granted, this is coming from the "please oh please publish my book" side of the spectrum, so take that for what it's worth.