Jennie.Terranova · Reader · added over 4 years ago
These things take time, Prescott! Looking forward to how everything comes together. 

Hey backers,

Been awhile. This mostly due to my embarrassment that IN BETA is still not out yet. Originally it was slated to go into production this previous winter, for a spring release. Then it was going to go into production this spring, for a Winter 2020 release. More recently I’ve been assured that it’s going into production in October, to come out Spring of 2020.

Trust me when I say no one is more ready than I am for this thing to reach completion. I had a brief convo with Inkshares this week, and they are in the process of selling audio rights to Audible, so it will be an audiobook, which is cool, and gives me hope that there is, in fact, an end game.

So come October, be ready for my signal. If publication date pushes again, let’s all bum rush the fence, k?

Much love,

P

Hey all,

Long-overdue update on IN BETA here. Inkshares and I just yesterday wrapped up a full year and a half of developmental edits. Developmental edits (for those who don’t know the nitty gritty of the editorial process) are working through all big picture story stuff. Making sure the chapters flow. Cutting characters. Fixing plot holes. Necessary but painfully large changes that (in my case) resulted in a near total rewrite.

I’m glad we’re done with that ;)

But there’s still a little more. We’re now moving into line edits, where we’ll make the language sing, punch up dialogue, add a joke here and there. This (I’ve heard) is a much more fun process. We’re also talking cover design, which is getting me stoked again.

The current publish date is June 11th, 2019: mark it on your calendars! And thanks again for the patience.

Ma readers:

It’s a year and a half later, and IN BETA is done. Not finished, mind you. It still has to go through production, editing, design, etc. But I turned in the manuscript to Inkshares today. So the ball is, for the moment, out of my court.

I’ll hit you up again when we get a production schedule laid out and I know when it’s gonna come out. But get excited. It’s a fun read.

Once again, thank you for your patience.

Patient, patient backers,

I’m in the final phase of writing IN BETA. This is the part where I connect rogue story threads, thumb through my Thesaurus, and cut the boring stuff.

Before I turn chapters over to be edited, I’d appreciate your eyes. If you have time, please be my ‘beta’ readers (heh). Take a look at what I’ve posted so far. It’s under the ‘read’ tab on my IN BETA page. Let me know what drags and what doesn’t make sense. Sneak a peek at the last 1.75 years of my life, before it turns into a paperback.

This last phase is moving swiftly, so I’ll be posting chapters as I finish them. Expect a new one every two days or so. Once everything is posted and I’ve received you notes, I’ll hand the manuscript over to Inkshares. The rest is in someone’spossibly God’shands.

Thank you again for your patience. I look forward to your thoughts and feedback. 

Prescott

UPDATE #XO

I completed the draft! Woo hoo!

I passed the actual milestone about two weeks ago. I celebrated, quietly, and am only now making the update. Oops! I’m bad at social media, forgive me. It makes me a dinosaur, and ill-suited to take full advantage of the Inkshares platform.

So what now? Well, now I consolidate characters, tighten story beats, discard dead plot threads, strengthen language, yadda, yadda, yadda. In sum: more work.

However!

However I will finally start posting chapters that are near completion. Starting today. I look forward to hearing your thoughts, and thanks again for sticking with me. It’s been a long haul, but the effort is paying off nicely (in my opinion). I hope you’ll agree. And if you don’t, I won’t quit my dayjob. 

Although given that my day job is copywriting, perhaps I should.

Best, Prescott

Luke and Yolanda · Reader · added almost 7 years ago
Keep up the good work, Prescott. We’re waiting patiently!

 Well sirs, 

I passed the 80,000 word mark, a major milestone. That was my goal for the total word count in the book, and I just squeaked past it. I’m working to wrap things up as quickly as possibly, without making the ending too abrupt. I figure I have maybe another 10,000 words or so to write, then I’m done.

The process hasn’t been harder than I anticipated, but it sure as hell has taken a lot longer. For that, I apologize. As I mentioned in my last update, I ended up tossing some 45,000 words, and though the story is much better for it, I can’t help feeling a little bad to keep everyone waiting so long. On the plus side, these newer ideas add excitement, fun characters, and a few WTF twists.

I’m going to finish this draft in the next 2 weeks (approximately), then spend a few more months smoothing out sections and tying it all together. As I complete sections, I will post them for you to finally start reading and (hopefully) enjoying. 

Thanks for the patience!

Prescott Harvey · Author · edited about 6 years ago

Yes, great question! I know it’s probably been longer than most of you anticipated, and I greatly appreciate your patience.


Shortly after my last post, I read back through my draft, and realized that, frankly, it sucked. The characters were hollow. The plot was contrived. I know first drafts are supposed to suck, but this one was just honestly total garbage. So I tossed the 40,000 words I had, and started from scratch. I don’t mean to make it sound like a trivial decision; it was extremely tough, and absolutely gut-wrenching to do it. But as excited as I am to share my first novel with the world, I also want to give everyone a quality story, and not feel like it was in any way rushed or half-baked. I’d rather do right, even if that means throwing out months of hard work.


And I feel much better about this new direction. I’m 30,000 words into what I guess is the second draft, working early every morning before I go to work (and then more on weekends). I love the characters, there’s great twists, the story goes off in weird directions, and it’s a lot more fun.


The core premise is still the same, except now it’s about three bullied high school kids who decide to escape their small, redneck town, and then discover their tiny bubble is the entirety of simulated universe. The kids start hacking, shit gets out of hand, and their world turns into a weird, twisted video game, as the simulation’s controller tries to keep things under control. This version has a wild, awesome backstory, which wasn’t there before.


I’m keeping at it every day, getting up at 6 am and working for an hour or two before work to hit my daily word count, which I’ve upped to make up for this reset. Currently, I’m on track to finish it by end of June. Thanks for checking in, Scott. I’m excited, too, and thank you all for your patience. I can say now, with true confidence, that you’re going to enjoy :)


Scott M Davis · Reader · edited about 7 years ago · 1 like
Hey dude, Getting excited for In Beta! What’s the latest news?
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