Hello,
As you all know the contest has come to an end and today my campaign ends. Although I didn’t get a lot of orders the support and encouragement that I got was amazing. Those of you who actually did order a copy I cant express what that means even though I didn’t make it. This contest was full of amazing stories and I was glad to be a part of it. Admittedly, I wasn’t ready for it but it was certainly a learning experience I will use in the future. So what does this mean for me and my book? Only that my dream will take a little longer. I’m going to keep writing this story and when I believe I’m ready I’ll try again. Shadow demons aren’t the only thing that can return with a vengeance. Sorry....lame joke :P
So whats next then? I’m going to focus on finishing the book. Occasionally, I’ll still post here and give you all an update of what I’m doing (next week I’m thinking about making a post of the Qivar hierarchy). What a great month to make some progress too right? I didn’t know about NaNoWriMo but I’m doing my best to catch up for my late start. Also as my small social circle didn’t yield anything and my attempts of advertising outside of it didn’t do much, i’ll be trying to figure out a plan on how to spread the word better. If anyone has any options or advice on that they’d like to share please let me know.
Once again thank you everyone. I hope you’ll all continue to stay with me and we can rally again to make some magic happen in the future.
-jacob
Well, friends, it was an epic campaign, and you all were fantastic for your support. The book came in about 15th out of more than 400 entries, which I think is pretty good for a first time out: 103 readers willing to offer money for a book they could only get a glance at is encouraging.
Greetings, Faoii! Are you all ready to hear which of our brothers and sisters get to name/design the seven characters in our contest? Yes? Great!
But first you have to wait and listen to me talk about something else for a second.
Today is November 1st. For many writers, this is the beginning of NaNoWriMo-- a month where we all set a writing goal and dedicate ourselves to bettering our craft. A lot of people spend this first day feeling bad about how little they wrote, promising to do better. But guess what! Even if you didn’t write a single word today, you’re still doing better than me! My word count for the first day of November: -3,000 words. That’s right. No matter how bad-off you are, you’re NOT in the negatives. So go you!
haha. I am still going through my final edit of The Last Faoii. When I first finished it and started querying it to agents 3 years ago, it was at an atrocious 117,346 words spread over 19 chapters. I, of course, had no idea that it needed so much help and sent it out to 200 agents without a care in the world. Thank god someone told me that it was too long and inspired me to truly look at it and see what was to be done. It has been through 15 or so edits since then, each one bringing it closer to perfection than the last.
I still have about 40 pages to get through, but as of now The Last Faoii is 97,096 words spread out over 41 easier-to-digest chapters. My fantoii cut through all that was unnecessary to the ultimate goals of our army, its blade dripping with superfluous description and bulky exposition. Nearly 20,000 words have met their end in the name of greatness.
Looking back now, the worst thing I could have heard at the time (It’s too long. It’ll never be published) turned out to be a blessing. Because it forced me to make something better. Something amazing. I read over the first 30 pages of both versions today to see the difference-- and I could not be more pleased with the changes that have come. 97k words is still probably too long for most publishers, but not with inkshares. Not with all of you backing me up. So thank you. And good luck with your own writing for NaNo!
Okay. On to the contest:
1. Current Name: Mollie-Faoii
Now in the hands of Zack Jordan
2. Current Name: Faoii-Leigh
Now in the hands of K.E. Madsen
3. Current Name: Ray Goodman
Now in the hands of Joshua Griffith
4. Current Name: Linda Goodman
Now in the hands of Megan Galindo
5. Current Name: Samuel Harkins
Now in the hands of Amanda Garner
6. Current Name: Faoii-Joanna
Now in the hands of Jesse Moore
7. Current Name: Faoii-Elizabeth
Now in the hands of Scott R. Mcinnes
Congratulations to all the winners! I’ve contacted you with a direct message either on inkshares or on facebook! I really look forward to seeing what you all come up with!
That’s it for today, Faoii! Dismissed and happy writing!
Good afternoon, Sailors!
Well... we did it! It feels surreal right now, but it’s official! Storm Song is listed as the #2 finish of the Geek & Sundry fantasy contest.y The last 3 ’months have been incredibly intense and stressful, but so so so worth it.
I’ll be keeping you guys updated on what’s what as this progresses.
Thank you again. I’ll update again when I can be more coherent and not just a bundle of overwhelming emotions
Until then!
- Allison
Hey, Faoii! Here’s some information to get you all ready for the NAME A CHARACTER contest I’m drawing for tomorrow.
Updates, Faoii!
I promised you all you’d get an audio version of Chapter 3 if we got 275 pre-orders. One day later and BOOM! We’re there. So, here you go, as promised:
Chapter 3 (Audio) On Youtube
Now, if you’ve been paying attention to The Last Faoii for a long time, then you probably know that those first 3 chapters were all written in one night after a muse whispered to me in my sleep and inspired me to create something amazing. They’ve been edited more times than I can count, now, but the core of the story and the world are still in those first three chapters. They were the beginning,the spark that ignited The Last Faoii and I always wanted them to be available to anyone who might be interested. I’m glad to finally be able to provide you with audio versions of those first three chapters, as well.
Now that the beginning of the story is available in different formats, you’ll have to work a little bit harder to get new material. If you want to see Chapter 4, I need 10 new pre-orders. 10. Get us to 185 and I’ll put it up. Not difficult, right? Well, not for faoii anyway.
I’ll see you when we have more warriors on the field.
-Faoii-Tahani
Updates, Faoii! Listen up!
I promised you all that I would do an audio version of Chapter 2 if we made it to 270 pre-orders. We’ve done that, so I’m upholding my end of the bargain. You can listen to it on youtube by clicking HERE.
Other than the audio chapter, I’ve been doing everything in my power to bring you perfection. I want us to take that hill-- I want us to stand at its summit with our war cries on our tongues and our victory in our hearts and for everyone to know that all of this finally came to fruition. That there’s some sort of karmic justice in the universe that repays hard work and determination. That at the end of next week we’ll know that The Last Faoii had finally earned mass publication and that maybe my health would finally improve and my heart wouldn’t be so tired all the time. Because dreams keep us going when other things don’t.
But we’re warriors. We need contingency plans. Realism. I don’t know how to produce miracles-- I don’t know how to inspire you all any more than I’ve already tried to. I was never able to get us featured in the Inkshares blog like many of the other authors we’ve fought (and in some cases, overcome). I was never quite able to get us to 4th place in this contest, much less to the top 3. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying. You’d think after submitting The Last Faoii to 200 agents during its initial run 18 edits ago, I would be used to rejection-- to falling short. But I don’t, because it’s just not something I do.
I don’t know how to get us to the top of that hill. But I do know how to give you the best I can, no matter the outcome of the contest. Even if we fail at parts of the war, the victories we have will be perfect. There are no half measures here.
So I’m editing again. I’m going through The Last Faoii a 19th and final time since its completion--looking for any errors, any sentence, any word that doesn’t add to the story. That doesn’t prove to be absolutely worthy of your attention. I’ve sent it out to two more beta readers (numbers 13 and 14 if that matters to you) with instructions to make it perfect.
If those that are following this army now are the only ones who are ever going to know how hard we fought to win this war-- if we will be the only ones to see the forces that Kaiya overcame just to exist, then I will make sure the reward at the end is worthy of the battle fought.
Shield up, Faoii. The end is coming and we will not meet it lying down.
-Faoii-Tahani