Elan Samuel
Hello dear readers,
A lot has been going on and that’s kind of why I’ve been rather discreet in my communications. Also, I bet with three contests currently vying for attention, you get enough emails already. So what could possibly have taken up so much of my time?
Let’s start with how I had to do revisions to the manuscript for A God in the Shed. I had already handed it in but after a meeting at WeedRoad Pictures in L.A. a few weeks ago, several ideas to further improve the story demanded to be put to the page.
WeedRoad Pictures? What the hell is that? Well, that’s the second bit of paralyzing news. A God in the Shed has been optioned by Skydance Productions through the help of Akiva Goldsman from WeedRoad (props to Greg Lessans and Alexandra Neil for their part. Amazing people). I can’t do this news justice but you can read the article by The Tracking Board if you want to know more.
So what does this mean? The short answer? I don’t know! It doesn’t mean that A God in the Shed is going to be a television show but rather that there are efforts behind making that happen. Needless to say that the book is in the hands of some incredibly talented and hard working people. I’m still reeling from the news and gathering the details myself, but as far as excuses for my silence, I think that’s the best I can do right now.
What’s next?
Let me finish this with a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to Adam Gomolin and Brooklyn Weaver who worked like tireless maniacs to make this happen, along with the rest of the Inkshares crew for their support and of course, you guys, the readers, without whom none of this would be possible.
On to the next step!
JF
We are now into the last month of the contest and the funding campaign. Thank you so much for being along with me on this. I’ve got another sample up. Chapter 2-6, which is about the 2/3 mark of the book, has our characters ending their time in Sophia. In this excerpt, the characters are facing the consequences of their scheming, and starting to take the measure of what kind of threat their enemies in the platoon might pose. I hope you all enjoy the read!
The Animal in Man is done. I can hardly believe it. No one doubted that this day would ever actually arrive more than me, I assure you. After months of what I called Radio Silence, I’m back - fingers trembling - to send out this reader update.
So what happens now? Well, I’ve sent all 350+ pages to Inkshares just an hour ago, and from there they’ll put together my production timeline and all the other wonderful things they provide. I’ll collaborate with them to nail down some ideas for the final cover design. In the months that follow there will be edits… load upon load of edits. The more meticulous work, you see, is really just starting.
I’ve never finished a project this massive in all my life, and yet, it’s not entirely finished. Still, I can’t contain my excitement. This is a turning point for me, and I couldn’t have done it without all the follows, all the interest (all the pre-orders!) for The Animal in Man. I just wanted to thank you all for your continued support. You’ll be hearing from me on the reg from now on!
(“Natural Collapse” - Design by Diogo Hornburg via threadless.com)
Meh Update:
Those of you who follow these updates regularly (and I genuinely have no idea how many of you do) may have noticed that I haven’t had much to say over the past two-ish weeks. You may also have noticed that my pre-orders have barely moved at all. So what’s the deal with that?
I’ll be honest. I’m exhausted.
I’ve been working this campaign since March now. This has taken up the majority of my year. We’ve come an incredible distance in that time, but the distance to our goal is still vast. We’ve sold six pre-orders in the past ten days, and only eleven days remain to get the remaining 158 we need, which is virtually impossible barring a miracle. I’ve been told I can get another extension if I need one, (and if I need one I will get one) but...good lord am I ever tired....
I’ve poured my life, heart, and soul into this campaign, and right now there’s just not much of me left. My brain is fried and I’m having a hard time thinking of new interesting story-based content to update with that won’t spoil anything I want to keep secret, or lore-related content that isn’t completely disconnected from this story. I have a few ideas left, but I haven’t had the energy to put them together cohesively yet (expect some soon though).
I miss having a life outside of campaigning. I’ve had to put a lot of the things I love on hold for the duration, and I miss those things. I miss being able to hang out with friends regularly on my days off. I miss going to see movies in the theatre. I miss acting in plays. I miss DMing my custom Star Wars tabletop campaign on Friday nights. I miss...just life in general.
I probably sound whiny in this update, but honestly, I’m saying this more for my own benefit than anyone else’s. I’m still confident this is all going to be worth it. I have a literal lifelong dream within reach, and I’m not about to let it slip out of my reach. If I can get my campaign finished within the next eleven days and get back to having a real life, that’s fantastic. If I need to ask for another month or so, I will do so, and probably die young of old age shortly thereafter, but I’ll die happy.
Obviously I’m not giving up. I’m too stubborn, this is too important, and Tantalus Depths is too freaking good. But man am I ever tired.
P.S. I have something else really cool that I am working on, but it’s nowhere near ready, so I’m just going to be really obnoxiously vague about it for now. But stay tuned.
Hello, fine readers and followers. How are all of you on this dreary, gray, New York day? I hope you’re somewhere sunnier than I.
Okay, ladies and gentle men, time for an update on all things Ghost-y.
You may have noticed last time I said a thing about having the book done and submitted by the end of July. Well, that didn’t happen, but there are reasons, some good, some less so. Let’s begin.
I was talking to Inkshares around the time of the last update and mentioned my intention to submit at the end of July. Inkshares have a lot on their plate at the moment with a bunch of books in production and some behind the scenes changes, and they felt it would be in the best interests for my book if I took a bit more time to work on things, and not rush it so that when it came time to submit they could give it the appropriate attention.
So what this essentially means is the book is about 95% certain to not be coming out in 2016 which, while disappointing, is best for the books future. Rest assured though, it will be coming as soon as humanly possible in 2017.
One side effect of this "take your time" directive was that my brain went into "oh you can put this off for a while" mode (among many other unhelpful modes)...and here we are: three months later and no finished draft.
This is a problem. For me. For you. For Inkshares.
It is not, however, a problem without a solution and that solutions name is accountability. It’s all well and good to give myself deadlines, but if I’m the only one I’m beholden to, then I tend to fall between the cracks. So I figure having near on 400 people on my case should be a good motivator.
So, starting next Friday I’ll be sending out weekly updates that will include the daily word totals for the previous week. They’ll continue until the first draft is done (which is close mind you) and then I’ll reassess the schedule as things head into beta reading and revisions and such.
Current Stats
Word Count: 94,203
Chapters Finished: 27 of 32
What’s Left: 23, 26 & 30 need to be finished and I have yet to start on 31 & 32 (though they are fully outlined)
Estimated Final Word Count: somewhere around 110,000
I’ll see you all next week.
Also, to me it seems like some part of the funding process is meant to demonstrate to Inkshares that the authors are genuinely serious about their book and dedicated to getting it published. Isn’t there some risk that blink might select a project where the author, for whatever reason, really isn’t ready for, or ultimately even fully interested in, bringing a polished and complete book to the publishing table?