Hey everyone,

It’s been a minute since my last update so I hope you all are well and getting in some good reading time as we head into summer. I’m finishing up Suzanne Collins’s The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (a Hunger Games prequel that is way better and more engrossing than I was expecting) before moving on to John Grisham’s Camino Winds. With everything closed, what else can you do but read (and eat)? But there are worse things to spend time on, right?

I wanted to drop in and say that I had a great phone conversation with Adam (Inkshares CEO) this week. Despite the brutal beating that COVID is putting on indie authors, bookstores, and the publishing industry in general, Inkshares remains in good shape, which means that Showtime will continue to remain in development until its eventual publication.

“But when?” you’re no doubt saying, crossing your arms as you furrow your brow and twist your lips into a pout. “I ordered that book months ago!”

Okay, okay. Cool it, Patrice. You know your blood pressure gets high when you get excited. Let’s chat.

Up until now I’ve worked with Sarah on the developmental edits stage. Now, after two rounds of feedback and drafts, Showtime will be turned over to Adam to read the most recent draft. (For all you kids keeping count at home, this is the 3rd.) He’s got a couple manuscripts in the queue ahead of mine, but his goal is to get back to me with notes and feedback in 4-6 weeks. You can wait that long until another update, right? By then you’ll have prepared for the beginning of summer, eaten your Fourth of July hotdogs, and wished me a Happy Birthday (June 17th *cough, cough*).

A big source of my concern has been Showtime’s word count. Since Inkshares greenlit Showtime for publication, it ballooned from 109,000 to 127,000 before settling down to a more reasonable 118,000. It’s not a ridiculously high number for a suspense/thriller, but the general publishing world guideline is around 100-110k. The cause of the growing word count came from deepening the layers of my characters, so you can imagine my relief when Adam assuaged my concern by saying that he’s not worried about word count if the character work necessitates it. After all, if you care about a character and become invested in their story, you’re going to want to spend as much time with them as possible. Adam seemed to share my belief that characters dictate the word count, not the other way around.

So that’s where we stand with Showtime for now.

In related writing news (when do I have any other kind?), I recently finished the second draft of my third book, Monsters, which is currently in the hands of nine of the best beta readers in town. It’s lean, mean, and hopefully will scar a few people for life. With any luck, you’ll be seeing it in the future as well.

Thanks again for your continued support. I’ll be back with a new update when I have more news to share.

Ricky

Hey everyone,

I ate the cookies.

I finished the Doritos.

I am running low on chocolate.

How is it possible that two weeks of quarantine snacks only lasted a few days?

While you ponder that, I wanted to drop in with a quick note to let you all know that I recently completed and turned in re-writes for the most recent draft of Showtime. With everything (including my job) shut down due to Coronavirus concerns, I’ve been able to devote all the time I would’ve been spending at work on doing re-writes. Between having two solid weeks to work on it, as well as having less to do with it in general this time around, this draft took about half the time as the last one.

From here I’ll wait for Sarah to get back to me with another editorial letter and we’ll see what else—if anything—we need to work on to make sure the characters, plot, and the book in general is as perfect as possible when it plops out of the sky and into your gloved, sanitized hands (you know, since we’re social distancing).

Thanks again for your patience, support, and enthusiasm. Stock up on snacks and wash your hands!

Ricky

Hi friends, family and loved ones!

 I truly hope you are all in good health both physically and emotionally. These are unprecedented times and I don’t even know how to write this without sounding like the CEO of a company. “We here at Jake’s apartment just want you know we are taking every precaution and the safety and well-being being of our readers is of the utmost importance.” I mean that’s all true and I actually enjoy reading those weird emails, but they just feel impersonal and the last thing I want is to come off impersonal right now. Because this book, the campaign and your support is as personal as it gets for me. I’m thankful I have the opportunity to write and the investment of others to fuel my writing and persistence to complete this project. So here’s the update.

After working and revising based on the last round of notes, I just sent off my fourth draft to my wonderful, talented, and endlessly patient editor,  Sarah. Fingers crossed this will be the last round of big edits and we’ll enter the next stage of design and HOLY SHIT CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, PUBLI-FUCKIN-CATION!

And while I would love to say that the book will arrive in time to keep you company in quarantine, let’s hope we all get out of our houses first and the book can sit on your shelf, or be deposited in one of those free library boxes affluent neighborhoods have. 

If you’re antsy and think you can’t possibly wait another day, let me know.  Maybe I can send you a little sampler of an unapproved selection.

THANK YOU ALL for your kindness and support. I am indebted to you and if you want to get a face time coffee, please hit me up. Wishing you the very best during these difficult times,

Jake

“Where’s my book?”

I still hear the question frequently, though less than last year, which was less than the year before. Will own the fact that I held a mistaken belief that my earlier drafts had more potential for publishing than they did. Also, I can write copious amounts but figuring that minimum 75% of that is drivel, it’s going to take a lot more copious drivel to get the job done. The good news is as an amateur writer, I can see my writing muscle getting…wait for it…stronger. Ha! what did you think I was going to say?

Saw a comment on FB from a friend, another writer, which I found interesting. We seem to have the opposite challenge about writing. I need to write everyday, obsessively, even just a little if possible, but have a demanding day job and other obligations that get in my way. I’ve been writing and rewriting this one project for close to 20 years now (along with a few others) and believe I’m finally learning how to tell the story. We’ll see how that works out for me—and for you my patient supporters—but I don’t think I’ll stop writing until I’m dead. It’s my drug.

I admit the quiet isolation of sheltering in place and social distancing is heavenly for an introverted extrovert who’s re-writing a novel for the umpteenth time. Good news is a solid draft for the 1st Act has been written and compiled. Now engaged in outlining Act 2. The end is a moving target which makes it fun. The process feels like yoga. Surrender, breath and wherever you are is where you are. I promise there will be a book at the end of this process, death be damned.

Here’s some more good news: Ozark Season 3 starts next Friday, March 27th. Stay safe and mind your manners. Coronageddon is upon us. If you’re a writer, make the most of it. Just effing write. And remember to always cough into your elbow. *hack, hack*

Hey everyone,

I fully expect all of you to be reading this from your throne of toilet paper and canned goods, scrolling through this update with fingers slick with Purell.

While the world is losing its mind, I wanted to share that I recently received Round 2 of editorial feedback much quicker than expected. In short, things are moving in the right direction! It seems that Sarah, my editor, was overall pleased with the new draft. Her annotated copy of this draft had 196 margin notes, feedback, and comments, while the first one had 545. It’s a decrease that I’m incredibly pleased with. It means that while there is still work to be done, there’s considerably less of it.

Some of the “big picture” things I’ll be working on in this next draft are further strengthening characters and the relationships between them, as well as strengthening the dramatic tension in the novel’s climax (since more excitement is never a bad thing). Some of the smaller, easier stuff this time around includes fixing logical and continuity errors, eliminating run-on sentences, fixing confusing/”odd” sentences and phrasing, and improving the pace by removing repetitive narration and unnecessary scenes.

My work announced that it’ll be closed for the next two weeks, so receiving this most recent round of editorial feedback couldn’t have been timed more perfectly, as I’ll have a nice chunk of time to work on (and maybe even finish) the new draft. The last one took about a month to complete, so I’m anticipating to finish this one a little earlier. When it’s done and submitted, I’ll be sure to let you know. Hopefully the world will still be standing by then—you know, no rivers of blood or swarms of locusts like the media seems to think is on the horizon. Until then, try not to lick any doorknobs. 

Thanks again for your continued support! 

Ricky