Hello, all! Just wanted to let you know that we are at 43 copies pre-ordered, which is a little over 17% of the goal - thanks for all the support, and for sharing and helping promote the project and these characters!  I hope you’re enjoying them as much as I am.

Chapter three should be up next week, but in the meantime, some preview words: hazards, quicksand, visions, and a dragon, which is not a very nice dragon at all...

Hi Everybody,

My apologies, as it’s been awhile since I’ve provided an update for the production timeline for The Battle Within. Part of that is by design as I haven’t wanted to flood any inboxes, but part of it is also a lack of discipline. On that note, please find below a quick update!

Timeline           

The manuscript for The Battle Within is currently with Girl Friday Productions as it goes through a line edit, which is punctuation, grammar, and other ‘in the weeds’ details. This edit will be done by the end of November, following which the manuscript goes into the proofread stage. Not to get into too much technicalities, but the proofread isn’t as easy as it sounds because it takes into account visual appeal based on how the chosen font breaks across the page sizes. Bottom line, the proofed manuscript is scheduled to be complete by 12 January 2017. On a separate note, the cover has been finalized, very happy with how it turned out! 

What does all that mean? It means that the book itself will be completed by mid-Jan 2017. Unfortunately for readers, the end of the production process is only the beginning of the marketing process.

From Jan 2017 to Jun 2017, Inkshares will be identifying prominent people who would be interested in reading and possibly endorsing the book. In addition, Inkshares will be laying the groundwork for the book launch, which could include interviews, reviews in national or local media, and getting the book into more bookstores. When all is said and done, The Battle Within will be released on 27 Jun 2017.

Opportunities to Help

Although The Battle Within production process is largely transparent to anyone not directly involved, that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities to help out, if you’re interested. As I mentioned earlier, once the manuscript is done, Inkshares will be looking for influential people (based either on their involvement in the book industry or through links to subject material) to read and (hopefully!) endorse the book by having a blurb on the jacket cover or as part of the marketing campaign. If you know someone who might fit that bill and would consider reading an advance copy, it would be a huge help.

Other Projects

As The Battle Within progresses, I’m keeping busy with some new projects that may be of interest. First and foremost, I’m halfway through a second draft of my second novel, tentatively named Jihadi Bride. I won’t give any more detail for the moment as I haven’t even engaged beta readers yet, but I think that it’s an exciting story that I hope to be able to share within 9 – 12 months.

I’m also running a blog at www.AlastairLuft.com, where I’ve been publishing articles on various challenges I’ve encountered so far as a writer, as well as interviews with other authors. Lastly, I’ve been playing around with writing poetry (mostly as a method to improve my writing) and I’m toying with the idea of perhaps releasing a short e-book later next year, although lots will depend on continued inspiration! Please find attached a short poem I wrote several weeks ago – would love your feedback if you have the time.

So that’s it, I hope this update was helpful and I’ll endeavour to provide more frequent updates. As an alternative, please consider liking my author page at www.facebook.com/AlastairLuft if you’d like updates via Facebook, or signing up to an e-mail list through my blog. As always, should you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch with me at any time.

 All the best,

 Alastair Luft

Good evening from Tasmania!

Tonight marks the end of day fourteen in The Launchpad Manuscript Competition (crowdfunding stream) and the funding campaign for Human Resources. As I’ve mentioned before, this is a short competition compared to others Inkshares runs, so there is now only seven days left!

Thank you everyone who has pre-ordered, written a review or recommendation, or shared the project on social media. Your support has been amazing — as a direct result, Human Resources is doing well in a competition packed with talent.

We have now entered the stage where most campaigns settle in for the long haul — a regular crowdfunding campaign on Inkshares is three months. However, with such a short competition window, we will be sprinting all the way to the finish. Keep up the great work — I still need your help!

For those of you who haven’t pre-ordered yet, but are considering it, I’d love the opportunity to convince you before the end of the competition. There are eight excerpts on the project page for you to read, and I’m happy to chat online!

This week, I wanted to reward you all for the hard work and support you have provided me. I’ve been scouring the available research, and can now pull back a little of the curtain shrouding the world of Human Resources. Below is your explainer on the vampires of HR.

Have a great night,

Robert

NB: I would like to acknowledge the above has been developed from the Wikipedia / MediaWiki template, who retain all rights to their intellectual property. Obviously all references are intended to be fictional. 

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

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

WE DID IT!

We hit 250 pre-orders! Actually, as I type this, we’re at 261. Not quite enough to win the Geek and Sundry contest, but enough to guarantee publication. No matter what else happens, SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS will be printed and available for sale on Amazon. How do I feel about this?

Seriously, I am overwhelmed by the support you’ve all shown me and this book in the last month. Some of you are family. Some of you I haven’t seen in over ten years. Some of you are complete strangers. But from now on, I consider all of you friends and rock stars. A thousand thank yous are not enough.

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

The contest may be over, but the crowd-funding period continues until January 1. If we can get to 750 pre-orders by then, Inkshares will put full marketing and distribution
support behind SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS. So keep mentioning it to friends and spreading the word, it helps us out a ton!

BUT WHEN WILL YOU GET YOUR BOOK?

Not until 2017, I’m afraid. When, I’m not exactly sure yet. One of the reasons I chose to publish with Inkshares is that SORCERY has a heavy design element. So we have to get notes from an editor, create around 30 illustrations, design a cover, and format every page to look like a "For Dummies" guide. I want to create something for you guys that looks really cool and different, but to do that will take a little time.

However -- if you’d like to read SORCERY earlier, simply let me know and I will send you a PDF of the full manuscript. I’ll probably make some edits myself before sending it to Inkshares, but I can send a PDF by Christmas for those who are interested.

Again, I’d like to take a moment to thank all of you for your support and friendship. Crowd-funding this book was one of the more scary things I’ve done, and your encouragement kept me going. Because of you, a book I wrote will be published and put into the world. Just knowing you have my back makes me want to be a better writer, and give you something you’ll really enjoy.

On top of that, you guys raised $570 for breast cancer prevention over the last three days! I know Jeannine and all the other cancer fighters out there will appreciate it. Thanks again, and I’ll be in touch soon --

mh

Friends, drag enthusiast and horror aficionados

We made it!!

(literally me at the end of the contest)

Bad Medicine: Slay it, Queen! Finished in the top 3 of the Crypt TV contest, and now it is on its way to becoming my second published novel. Just writing those words gives me chills.

Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

I don’t take your support for granted. I know that there are many ways in which you could spend your money; the fact that you chose to support my dreams is reassuring and humbling.

What’s next?

Well, three chapters and a detailed outlined of Bad Medicine are already done, so today I started participating in National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo) with the hopes of finishing the first draft in 30 days. It sounds crazy, but I’m confident it will be done. Also, I love a challenge, and this is certainly one.

This morning I wrote the first six hundred words. My editor Penny Lane was there to support me. Too bad she’s not really a morning person (yes, she is a person).

Again, thank you, my friends. I will keep updating you through the production of this crazy and fun book.

Best

Ricardo