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Howdy, Folks. It’s been six weeks since I announced the success of the campaign for Bane of All Things and I finally have an update to share. 

The next step in the process is the Editorial Letter. This will be an exhaustive evaluation of the manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses in all dimensions – character, plot, pacing, tone and all that subtle stuff that most readers probably don’t want to know too much about because it’s kind of like pulling back the curtain on the Wizard in Oz. But damn, doesn’t a story sing when the author gets it right. 

I found out yesterday that my Editorial Letter will be coming in mid-August. Once I have this in hand, the revision process will begin in earnest.

Not that I have been sitting on my hands in the meantime. On the suggestion of Inkshares CEO Adam Gomolin, I have been digesting two classic works on the craft of writing that I hadn’t yet added to my reference library, John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction and Madison Smartt Bell’s Narrative Design. Taking the time to reflect on the current draft of BoAT will reading through these has given me some ideas for tweaks and refinements. I have until mid-July to make those changes and resubmit the manuscript to Inkshares so that only the latest best version goes under scrutiny for that Editorial Letter. This will certainly keep my nose to the grindstone!

Those giveaways and prizes I promised

Now I must apologize for being slow with those campaign mementos and prizes I had promised – the signed posters and canvas prints. I have started getting those out, so if you were a prize winner for a canvas, or a supporter who qualifies for a signed poster(s) for having pre-ordered multiple copies of BoAT, rest assured they will soon be on their way. If you live in the Ottawa area and I haven’t asked for your home mailing address, it’s because I plan to either mail to your workplace or drop by and deliver in person.

Other great Inkshares projects you may want to check out

Lastly, I want to give a shout out to a few fellow Inkshares authors currently in funding:

Ricky Ruzin has only nine days left on the campaign for Showtime! and is hoping that getting past the 400-pre-order mark will be enough to earn a publication offer from Inkshares as I did. Showtime! Is a spooky tale about the boob tube described as “America’s Got Talent meets Timeless with a dash of Carrie.”

Jacqui Castle is already a published Inkshares author and has launched her campaign for the second book in her series, The Seclusion. This is one of those cautionary tales about a dystopian future under a total surveillance state that’s looking all too likely these days.

And then there is Allison Basile’s The Little Book of Bad Intentions, described as Jane Austen meets The War of the Roses, in which an aging playboy races against the clock to murder his ruthless trophy wife—before Alzheimer’s sets in, and he can’t remember where he’s stashed the body.

And, again, thanks much!

Once again, my deepest thanks to each and every one of you for making all this possible. 

Cheers

Leo

Howdy! I just got off the phone an hour ago with Adam Gomolin, CEO of Inkshares. 

He didn’t call to talk about the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Inkshares will publish Bane of All Things.

I can’t say when yet. There is still much work to do. The Inkshares team and I are in wholehearted agreement that BoAT be the best version of itself that it can be before hitting bookstores. Debut novels face a tough battle to get noticed these days, what with Netflix, HBO and everything else on a 55-inch flat screen competing for people’s attention.

We don’t want to just publish a novel, but a novel with the best chance of success.

So, it will be back to school for me and BoAT for the next several months. I will get the paperwork tomorrow that will begin my “enrolment” in Inkshares’ Incubator Program. Consider it the literary version of the incubator that a tech startup would go into, with the nose-to-the-grindstone revising and editing that I expected would follow a successful campaign. 

I will keep you up to date as this moves along. Hopefully before too long, I can give you news about an actual publication date and when you can expect the copies you have pre-ordered.

For now, let me say once again, “Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!”

It is not an exaggeration to say that this could not and would not have happened without the patience and support of each and everyone one of you. My deepest and sincerest thanks. I will be reaching out to everyone who ordered two or more copies individually for your mailing addresses to send those signed souvenir posters.

The reality of this might finally be starting to sink in :).

Cheers 

Leo

Good evening. Well, this coming week may be the one we have been waiting for -- I might hear from Inkshares with their assessment of Bane of All Things and whether it has made the grade for publication. Stay tuned with fingers crossed!

Whatever the outcome, know that each and every one of you have my deepest thanks and appreciation for all that you have done and the patience and support you have so graciously provided.

Bane of All Things is of course not the only title in funding on Inkshares. Another is Steve Hermanos’s baseball/time travel mash up Going, Going Gone!, in which a trio of over-pampered, modern-day baseball players are thrust back in time to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Today, Steve hit the 750 pre-order funding goal, which immediately put GGG! into the production pipeline for publication! It’s a huge accomplishment and a testament to his hard work. Steve is a baseball guy and well tapped into that community. He’s done an excellent job of mustering support from baseball fans and the results speak for themselves.

As I have said before, many titles are selected for publication by Inkshares without hitting that 750 pre-order target and I am hoping BoAT will be the next one.

Until the very last minute before I get that fateful email from an Inkshares editor, every additional pre-order does count to help swing the vote in my favour. So, if you have any inclination at all to order another copy (or your first copy) of BoAT, now is the time! Right now, before you go to sleep tonight!

Happy reading.

Cheers

Leo

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Howdy, folks. Only a day remains in that 72-Hour Challenge I announced on Saturday afternoon. So far, the response has been rather light. Please help me nudge that pre-order total a little higher. It will influence the editors’ decision whether or not to publish Bane of All Things.

Consider this:

“If half the people in the world who are trying to publish a novel disappeared tomorrow, publishers and agents probably wouldn’t notice.”

No, that’s not a twist on Thanos and his finger snap in Avengers. This is the hard truth spoken by a friend of mine in one of his writer workshops. As someone who is a published author and also works in the industry, he knows what he’s talking about.

His point is that publishers are overwhelmed by hopeful authors in waiting. There are more great manuscripts on their doorstep than they have the capacity to publish. Making the hard choice between this great manuscript or that one often comes down to the author – are they reliable, professional and not an a-hole?

If this sounds like an interview for that dream job everyone wants, you’re right.

Inkshares is different than a traditional publisher. Here, it is the potential of the manuscript, the character of the author AND that pre-order total. A strong pre-order total shows there is a community willing to support the author and their work. This grass-roots validation influences the Inkshares editors’ opinion about the potential of the manuscript to do well.

It’s fair to say that 400+ is a strong pre-order total, but we have the opportunity to make it even stronger as we wait for the editors to complete their review of BoAT.

So, I am asking you, hat humbly in hand, to help me nudge that pre-order total just a little higher by placing another pre-order or recruiting a friend/family member to the cause.

Cheers

Leo

Hey, folks. I have news!

It’s NOT bad news. On the other hand, it’s not quite the “Grace Above, that’s awesome!” news we have been hoping for.

But you could say I have unlocked the next level. Getting past 400 pre-orders has earned Bane of All Things a full read by Inkshares editors. The manuscript is now in their hands. I expect a decision before the end of the month.

As I have said before, earning publication with Inkshares is dependent now on the “combined score” of three different things:

·     Pre-orders to date

·     The state of the manuscript

·     Those other non-pre-order metrics Inkshares is tracking behind the scenes

Of these three, pre-orders is the only one we can obviously influence. I said over the weekend that I wouldn’t extend this campaign unless some new development justified it. Well, I’d say we got justified this afternoon. 

Inkshares editors are still watching that pre-order total. They do want to see it continue to rise. So long as the jury is out on the manuscript itself, it only makes sense to keep the campaign active with an extension.

You will see a 30-day extension appear on the campaign clock this evening. It’s not time to take the foot of the gas quite yet – helping push up that pre-order total still matters. Maybe now more than ever.

I thank you all for your patience and your support and humbly ask that you stick with me just a little while longer.

As promised, I will send the note out this coming Friday about the prize draws and winners.

Cheers

Leo

Hey, folks, some fantastic news to share! The clue is in the screen capture above from my campaign page -- that sticker that reads "Syndicate Pick."

What does this mean? BoAT has been selected as the Staff Syndicate pick for February. It is a huge endorsement for which I am immensely grateful. A sincere thanks to fellow author Chip Colquhoun for putting BoAT forward for consideration. Check out his novel, Ripe for Execution. 

For those of you who don’t know what an Inkshares Syndicate is, this is a group of people who contribute $10 or $20 a month to a pool and then use that to back a title in funding each month with a gift basket of pre-orders. There are and have been many syndicates over the years, for fantasy, science fiction, stories with strong female characters and other themes. The Syndicate that has chosen BoAT as its February pick is the Staff Syndicate. This is, as the name suggests, led by Inkshares staff. Anyone can opt in, including other Inkshares authors. (I am part of this Syndicate myself and cast the deciding vote on the January Syndicate pick.)

What does earning this distinction mean for BoAT and this campaign? Frankly, I don’t know yet, but with only two days left, the answer to that question is going to come soon. So, as I said on Monday, help me finish strong -- keep those pre-orders coming by ordering another copy for a friend or family member, or even better, by prodding those friends or family members to pre-order their own.

And if you have followed BoAT but haven’t pre-ordered yet, please, take the plunge!

Cheers

Leo