Yay! I feel so … awarded. And lovely! And unless parallel dimensions exist, I’ve got the “one” aspect pretty much covered as well. Huzzah!
Right. On to the next part of the award — seven things about myself. Although by this point you probably know more about me than I do …
1) The most delicious thing I have ever eaten was barbecued meat at my soccer team’s victory party about ten years ago. I don’t know what the meat was (possibly pork?), or what our coach did to make it so delicious (ritual sacrifice?), but I have been dreaming of that unidentified barbecued meat ever since.
2) I wear glasses, and they are a very high prescription. I enjoy giving my glasses to people who have perfect vision, and watching as they try on my glasses, reel backwards in shock, and say, “This is how you see?!!”
3) I am currently watching a Korean Drama entitled “Boys Before Flowers”. It revolves around four hot, rich guys at a private school who meet and (some of whom) fall in love with a common girl who teaches them about life, love, etc. It’s a soap opera in every sense of the phrase, but I enjoy it because it’s a fun insight into Korean culture. Click here to watch a fanmade trailer for it.
5) My brother recently fractured his wrist. While waiting for him to get his cast at the hospital, I composed an epic 3-act play for my mother’s birthday, entitled, “Mama’s Magical Madventure”.
6) I mispronounce the word “disciple”. I can say it correctly when talking about the disciples of Jesus (dis-eye-pull), but any other time, I pronounce it “dis-ih-pull”.
7) I am a recovered WoW addict. Now the Mists of Pandaria expansion is coming out, and I can already feel it trying to pull me back in. I must resist!
You probably gathered this from the title of this post, but I made a vlog! I set up my webcam, chose a nice background in my apartment, and just went nuts. Thus, without any further ado:
How’s my vlogging technique? Any tips? I used Windows Movie Maker to edit the video, so hopefully it isn’t too mind-bogglingly terrible.
Now, what silly picture from around the interwebs shall I share with you today? How about … this!
Photo courtesy of Nakai SZH. Source: engrish.com
Copyright law states that images can be used on your blog if you are using them to parody or review. Thus, a review of the picture above:
I find it very amusing. Mistranslations are an excellent source of comedy.
I don’t want to be sued for copyright infringement, so here is my photograph of turtles. Enjoy.
The big news in my little part of the cosmos is that I got my Editorial Evaluation back! To remind you, I’m self-publishing through iUniverse, and the first step of the publication process is they have an editor go through the book and do an evaluation. At the end of the evaluation they give you recommended edits to make–which basically means they tell you which of their editing services they want you to buy. But we’ll tackle that topic in another post. So, without further ado …
What the Evaluation said!
I actually got the email about my evaluation being complete right before I was about to head out to Stratford to go see Pirates of Penzance. The play was pretty good — I love the Tarantara soldiers. Since I really wanted to read the evaluation, I printed it out and brought it along for the ride. I shall now give you a summary of what I read.
So what they basically do is break down the evaluation into several categories. Then in each category they have a checklist, where the answer can be either “Yes” (as in, yes, you rock, this is good), or “Needs Work” (which is fairly self-evident). The first category deals with the marketing text (correct genre, is the work suitable for the target audience, etc.). I passed that one with flying colours. Next up: title. Apparently my title is appropriate for my book, so huzzah, I guess.
Now for the Opening. My first page grabs the reader’s attention — probably a good thing for a book to do. I began to notice at this point that aside from the checklist, the “evaluation” mostly consisted of the editor copying chunks of the book into the evaluation document and basically providing a summary of the plot. Which is fine. At least it shows they read the book, so they do have some idea of what they’re talking about.
I ran into trouble at the “Basic Premise and Tone” section. The plot and everything is fine — what tripped up the editor is the word count. The editor starts off saying:
“The author has wonderful writing skills and a vivid imagination … Relationships are fully developed. In fact, some of the humorous banter reminds one of the relationship between Princess Leia and Han Solo from Star Wars.”
COPYRIGHT NOTE: All quotes from the Editorial Evaluation in this post belong to iUniverse. Please don’t sue me. I’m harmless.
Woo! I love compliments. Especially when Star Wars references are involved. Kudos to my editor for being awesome. But remember how I mentioned the word count being an issue? Here’s the editor’s thoughts on that:
“Regarding the language level — at 121,307 words, this novel is too long. Especially in this tight economy (and even before it), traditional publishing houses normally do not take on books longer than 100,000 words, because of the cost of publication. In fact, most publishers of YA novels suggest that they should be around 45k-75k words long. It’s always best to adhere to required word length parameters. Not doing so is enough to prompt rejection from traditional publishing houses.
Besides that, practically every novel can benefit from pruning and tightening. There are places were cuts would improve the plot of this book. One place is where explanations of details about the fantasy world slow down the pace of scenes. Every little cut an author can make will tighten the plot and allow her to develop the most important characters and plot points.”
Phew! So basically, my book is too long. I’d suspected this was the case, but I guess it took the Editorial Evaluation to really drive that home. I’m sure my shortening woes will deserve a blog post of their own, so we’ll move on for now.
Next up was “Structure, Plot and Pace.” I got another “Needs Work” on “Does each incident or action propel the reader forward or provide needed but succinct background information?”. This ties into the word count thing. Once I cut unnecessary scenes, this should no longer be a problem.
Dum-de-dum, flipping through my pages … here we go! Here’s some random quotes:
“The last one-fourth of the book contains a rousing, all-out space war. Battles and clever one-liners are fun to read.
An Epilogue ends on a note of humor, with a hint of a sequel to come.”
Yup. So basically, I need to make it shorter. Le sigh.
Moving on to “Setting” — everything fine there. Characterization also received thumbs ups across the board, as did Dialogue. Now we’re really moving along! Then we hit … Basic Punctuation and Grammar.
Yes, you guessed it. I scored a “Needs Work” here. Noooooooes! Considering that I had approximately 15 well-educated individuals read over the manuscript before I submitted it, I’d really hoped I’d get a good score here. The errors they found actually weren’t that bad. I spell “all right” incorrectly (I spell it “alright”, which is sometimes correct, but definitely not for an American market). I didn’t capitalize “God” (for shame!). And there was a discrepancy in quotation punctuation that is entirely because I’m Canadian and didn’t know that Americans punctuate differently. Oh, and they didn’t like some of my commas. So yeah, that happened.
Final notes!
This post is getting long. I’ll try to type faster (that’s how you make posts shorter, right?). So at the end they give “General Comments about the Manuscript”, which is basically a reiteration of what was already said. Since quotes are fun, here’s a quote:
“This author has remarkable writing skills and a unique vision. She has also wisely accepted the help of a large group of helpers/editors (listed in the Acknowledgements at the end of the book). That makes this book a well-conceived, professionally-written, and enjoyable read.
The only weakness is the excessive length, but I feel the author has the skills to successfully do some cutting that would tighten the narrative and bring it into accepted word length parameters. Then the book will be absolutely awesome!
The author says her dream of becoming a published author has come true. I predict she can go far in her writing career, and I wish her all success in her future writing.”
As you can imagine, I’m pretty pleased with this evaluation. It sucks that I’ll have to do more editing (six years of editing and counting!), but I really do want this book to be the best it can. As my mother says, “This book is your introduction to the world. So you want it to be amazing.” I certainly do, mother, I certainly do.
And now for the “Editorial Rx Referral”
This is the part where they tell you what edits you have to do if you want to be in the “Editor’s Choice” program. More about this in a later post. But basically, this is a rewards program that gets you extra benefits, a nice “Editor’s Choice” logo on your book, and other assorted things from iUniverse. It absolutely does not translate into book sales, although it definitely doesn’t hurt potential sales.
The editor says:
“First the author is encouraged to do some pruning and tightening of the material. Then a Copyedit is recommended to fix errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Optional: A Developmental Edit would help the author cut and tighten.”
What this basically means is that if I want to be in their Editor’s Choice program, I need to get my book copyedited. I don’t have to do it through iUniverse, but if I get it done somewhere else, I have to pay a $249 resubmission fee, and then if it doesn’t pass the evaluation, I’ll be right back where I started (and considerably poorer).
iUniverse copyediting costs $0.022 per word. For a 100,000 word book, that works out to about $2,000. That’s a lot of money. At the same time, there are evidently punctuation/grammar errors I am making that I didn’t even know about. Because I’m a Canadian trying to write for an American market, there’s the added complication of our different grammar/spelling rules. And they also look at things like internal consistency, cross-checking facts, bringing the book up to standardized style guidelines, etc.
So what now?
Now I cut down the book by 21,307 words. Once I’m done that, I seriously consider whether or not I want to get a Copyedit done. Again, more on that in a later post. But if you have any opinions on any of this right now, please comment and let me know!
On a more musical note …
No Doubt has released a new song! Maybe they did this months ago, I don’t know, but I just found out about it now, so here you go!
Remember that blog tour I mentioned I was taking part in? Well, the day has finally arrived! Today we have with us Tania L Ramos, author of the adult romance/drama Be Still (click here for my review). She’s an extremely talented author who I met over WordPress, and she’s here to share some thoughts with us about how to set realistic, achievable goals.
So here’s what you need to do if you want to be awesome:
1. Read the guest post. I really enjoyed reading it, and I think you will too.
2. Enter the giveaway! Go to Tania’s Facebook pageand find the “Blog Tour with Michelle Proulx, Post Comments Here” post (should be easily spotted). Leave a comment saying that you read this blog post, as well as your email address. Then you will be entered for a chance to win a softcover copy of Be Still! For free! Woo!
3. If so inclined, you can also check out Tania’s website. There’s lots of information there about her, her book, etc. Do it!
And so, without any further ado, Tania’s guest post!
Tania L Ramos, author of Be Still
Hello friends of Michelle Proulx and thank you for following my blog tour. My name is Tania L Ramos, author of two books titled, “When I Thought I Was Tough,” and most currently, “Be Still.” By day I am a registered nurse in a recovery room. By night I punch away at my keyboard and put on my author hat. Currently, I am a marketer, publicist, and social media novice all for my most current book. Most importantly, I am an independent author and that has been the scariest part.
Like so many others, I dreamed of being published and getting paid for what I love to do. Then I discovered that was like saying I wanted to be an award winning actress in Hollywood. Well, I had my fifteen seconds of Hollywood fame when I played (in a non-speaking roll) a paramedic for several episodes of the television show E.R. I was never discovered and, so, I went on into my role of being a real medical professional then chose to start writing during a very bleak period in my life. That bleak period is a whole other story, one of those Hallmark television after-school specials.
With my time off I wrote my first novel. I thought I would have been happy at that, but all that did was spark a great fire for the desire to be an accomplished author. What is accomplished? I had a few goals in mind went I decided to independently publish, “Be Still.”
Goals:
1. Have a professional looking book (accomplished)
2. Have a book signing (accomplished)
3. Reach a rank of less than 1,000,000 on Amazon (accomplished…for a few hours)
4. Have a book party (accomplished)
5. Have a book trailer up (accomplished)
6. Have an author video interview up (accomplished)
7. Do a blog tour (in process of being accomplished)
8. Sell 250 book by August 31,2012 (short about half, but there’s still time)
My guest post today is about having goals and making them realistic. Sure, I would love to be a NY Times Best Seller and have a company pay me to write instead of investing my own money to write, but it takes baby steps. There are many authors out there who started out self-published and eventually won out the big publishing houses, but even those authors would say they had to first pay their dues. Never, or at least rarely, do things come without working at it first.
I have paid over $6,000 into being published. And I do not mind saying that. There are many authors who refuse to reveal numbers, but I’m here to state the truth, so other authors going this route know they aren’t alone. Over $6,000 in publishing and at least another $2,500 in marketing and publicity. I have tried it all. I made a commitment to put any money I make back into marketing or into publishing my next book. I didn’t expect to make a profit, but wouldn’t scoff at it should that happen. I am a relatively unknown author and have prepared myself to pay my dues.
I set goals first off, and placed them on a blackboard in bright shiny colors to see every morning. The list above are just some of my goals, there are many more: send out a press release, create a Facebook fan page, start using Twitter, etc. Every day I set out to complete one task and called it an accomplishment. I celebrated every minor milestone such as hugging the woman who had no clue who I was but bought my book at the mall anyways. What was all the hubbub? Someone who didn’t know me from Eve bought a book! To me that was a major ordeal. When I sold my first ten books I shouted for joy and posted it to every social media outlet I could. Again, it wasn’t the 250 by August, but it was a milestone on my way to the bigger picture. I celebrate everything so nothing too small can ever be a disappointment.
A few weeks ago I did a book signing at High Desert Oasis Used bookstore’s grand re-opening event. I sold one book. Just one. I called it a bonus day. You know why? The guy who bought my book met me at the mall the week before and promised he would show up to the bookstore for my signing event. And he did. That was one of the most special books I have sold yet. And still, I only sold one book that day. It wasn’t so much the sale as knowing he came back to see me because he was very curious about the book. Milestones.
This blog tour has been such a huge ordeal for me. I didn’t know many people before writing my book. In fact, I could name all my friends on one hand. I’m socially awkward and a great savant at being perpetually recluse. Thusly, I write. So creating a book tour took so much time and emotional energy. I had to start networking, start putting myself and my emotions out there, and start speaking up. Some of you may empathize.
I was turned down by five people whom I invited to join my blog tour. I was psychologically devastated and emotionally mortified. But in between all those rejections were acceptance replies. I told myself I would do the tour even if just one person accepted. Just one. I had five people accept. Instead of wallowing in devastation I celebrated my accomplishment. FIVE PEOPLE ACCEPTED.
Not only am I hitting milestones and accomplishing goals, but I’m changing who I am. I can talk to people about my book. And conversely people are asking me questions. I have joined clubs and volunteered to do speaking events. People are contacting me now. But everyday, I still create and reach for goals. Today I am coming to you from Las Vegas, Nevada where I am working on another goal: research, video and photos of the Extraterrestrial Highway for my next book (based on aliens for young adults). There is always a goal…
I feel like a superstar and so should you in every minor and major accomplishment. Hug the lady who buys your book and has no clue who you are. Let them know they are superstars in your world. Rejoice in the person who remembers who you are and comes back. Be delighted if only one person accepts your request to host a blog tour, but jump to the sky if you get five. Take a picture of the moment you sell ten books, twenty-five, fifty and finally hit your goal. Never, never, never look at a goal as missed but look at it as an extended journey. Books are forever. It may take twenty years to hit a goal, but don’t forget to shout out loud on the day you hit that mark. Never lose sight of your dream, because nobody else can dream it for you. And when you reach that goal, after the celebration, make a new one. And if you can’t be among the stars…write about them.
You may recall that post I wrote about the “Free Marketing Tips” eBook. Well, today’s post is about the same author, Mark Coker, who started Smashwords and has written yet another eBook about self-publishing that has some very useful information for anyone who has ever, is currently, or will ever self-publish.
The eBook is called “Secrets to eBook publishing success”.Here’s a link to the download page. And it’s totally free, so if that isn’t reason enough to read it, then I don’t know what is!
There’s lots of useful info in there. I’ll share some here so you get the idea (note: these are quotes directly copied from the eBook):
80% of your book’s success will be determined by the quality of your book. The other 20% is distribution, marketing, and luck.
A good author name is simple to remember, and simple to spell. Avoid cutesy spelling, because this can make it difficult for readers to find you.
Think of each book you release as a fish hook in the ocean. When you network them together with simple mentions and hyperlinks at the end, the fish hooks form a net. Each book becomes a subtle yet powerful advertisement for the others. Each gives you the opportunity to reach new readers.
(Giving your eBook away for) free works best if you have a deep backlist or if you write full-length series.
Ebooks are immortal. They never go out of print or lose distribution unless the author or publisher willingly decides to remove a book from distribution. Your sales can start off small then gradually build over time as readers start discovering and enjoying your books.
Your book is your most effective marketing tool. Write a book that touches the reader’s soul and the reader will market your book for you through online word-of-mouth and reviews.
Candace Knoebel was kind enough to nominate me for the Versatile Blogger award! Thanks so much! I like winning things. And I like blogging! So this is, quite literally, a win-win.
But before I get into the nitty and gritty of the award, I just wanted to shout out a THANK YOU to all my followers – I hit 100 today! Woo! That’s 100 people more than I knew three months ago when I first started blogging. You guys are awesome, and I’ve loved my time here on WordPress thus far, so thanks again for reading, following, and supporting 🙂
On to the Versatile Blogger award!
Step One: Share 7 things about yourself
Okee dokee. Here goes!
1) My head is super sensitive. By that I mean that if I put my hair up in a ponytail (even a low one), it starts to give me a headache within minutes. The only solutions I’ve found thus far are leaving it down, clipping it high up, or doing a french braid.
2) I keep a book of Sudoku puzzles in the bathroom. I bought it in South Korea, and I have stopped doing the puzzles because I don’t want to have to throw out the book. Sentimental value and whatnot.
3) I have recently developed a crush on Alex Pettyfer. My celebrity crushes usually last about three days or so–but man, it’s going to be a brutal three days.
4) My jedi teddy bear guardian has now been joined in his security detail by Tibbers, the five-foot tall bear I bought at Costco.
5) I really enjoy K-Pop, and I wish that English musicians would cover K-Pop artists’ songs, because A) K-Pop songs are awesome, and B) I want to be able to understand the lyrics!
6) Today I found my door unlocked, and became convinced that someone had broken into my apartment while I was in the bathroom. I proceeded to grab two knives from the knife block and stalk around the apartment yelling, “I’ve got two knives, intruder! I suggest you leave before I find you, because it won’t end well for anyone involved!” I never did find the intruder, so clearly my bluff worked.
7) People talking in movie theatres drive me absolutely insane. I usually just get up and move, but sometimes I will turn to my friend and do the passive-aggressive, “Do you think these people sitting behind us will EVER stop talking? It’s so annoying!” and hope the chatterboxes hear. It’s not hard! Just keep your mouth shut! Ack.
That took a turn for the dark. Let’s lighten things back up.
Now all y’all gotta do is accept the award, thank the person who gave it to you (me!), share 7 things about yourself, then pass the award along to as many people as you like (the official rules suggest 15).
Happy blogging!
Link of the day!
Erm, this one’s a bit racy, so I’ll provide a link instead of just showing you the image. It’s Game of Thrones related, btw.
Tania L. Ramos. This is her second novel, which is self-published through iUniverse. Check out her blog and her website for more information!
The Plot
Plastic surgeon Jack Silver thinks his life is perfect – until he loses his daughter and wife in a series of tragic events. A decade later, Jack discovers that he is dying. He desperately wants to reconnect with his estranged son Travis, but Travis wants nothing to do with his father. Enter Dr. Christina Amity, Jack’s protégé and dear friend, who strives to help father and son work out their issues before Jack’s disease claims him. But even as Christina and Travis grow closer, Jack finds himself inching towards death, drawn by what he thinks is the spirit of his dead wife. Will Jack make peace with his son before he rejoins his wife and daughter in the afterlife? Will the emotionally-damaged Travis ever find love? Read Be Still to find out!
The Review
Let me start by saying that, despite the genre of this book being the polar opposite of what I usually read, I really enjoyed Be Still. The plot was engaging and well thought out, the characters relatable and believable. It’s a tragic story that’s at the same time uplifting, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes the romance/drama genre.
I’m going to be honest, I wasn’t the hugest fan of Jack Silver. He basically gives up on living after his wife dies, withdrawing from the world and from his son, all of which really irked me. I have a hard time connecting with parent characters who emotionally abandon their children. At the same time, I totally understand why he did what he did because his plot arc was beautifully written, so even though I didn’t really like the character, Tania still got me to sympathize with him.
On the other hand, I loved Travis and Christina. Their romance is sweet, and realistic, and flawed, because when does love ever go smoothly? I actually found myself caring more about Jack because I was seeing him through Travis and Christina’s eyes, and it was bittersweet because their shared grief over his impending death is one of the things that brings them together.
I quite enjoyed Tania’s writing style. It flowed nicely, and it was very easy for me to lose myself in the story. One criticism I would make is that the description sometimes got a little flowery, but for all I know that’s the norm for this genre of writing. It certainly didn’t detract from the story, it just made me pause and think, “Goodness, that’s a lot of adverbs”.
The Rating
4 out of 5 stars, plus an “Awww!” factor of 8 puppies.
Remember that blog tour I mentioned?
If you have an excellent memory, you’ll remember that I’m participating in a blog tour next week – the blog tour of Tania L Ramos, to be specific, aka the author of Be Still! Whoa. Crazy coincidence, right? Anyway, here’s a reminder of the blog tour dates:
Tania is also holding a sweepstakes right now, which can be viewed on her Facebook page. Basically, for every 100 books she sells by August 30th, she will donate a copy of her book to a high school of the winner’s choice. It only works for U.S. schools (something about foreign policy), and she promises to donate a book even if she doesn’t hit the 100 books sold mark. And if you’re poor like me and don’t want to buy a copy, you can still go to the Sweepstakes tab on the Facebook page and enter anyway.
So come back next Monday for my leg of the blog tour!
Tania will be writing a guest post about … about … okay, we really don’t know yet. If you have any ideas, sound off in the comments! She’s a self-published author, so maybe you have some questions you’d like her to answer? Just relay them in the comments section here and I’ll forward them to her.
I actually got on this topic because of the following video:
Now, I would like to clarify that I am aware Phantom Menace is a prequel, not a sequel. I do understand the distinction. But it’s basically the same concept — you’re continuing a story that’s already been established.
So here’s my question to you — how do you write a good sequel?
I am currently reworking the sequel to Imminent Danger, that book I keep babbling about that I will be self-publishing sometime this century. And I’m racked with self-doubt (“wracked”?) because it has to be as good as the first book, but I’m not sure how to make it that way. As the fast-talking man in the Star Wars video says, sequels/prequels need to be new and original, but they also have to evoke a feeling of familiarity. So how do we achieve that delicate balance?
My current strategy is to write the story I want to write, then get someone else’s opinion on how it holds up as a sequel. I can’t be a good judge of that, because I wrote it. I’m too close to it to see it clearly for what it is. I think that’s where George Lucas went wrong – he was so confident in his own artistic brilliance that he disregarded other opinions, hence the mediocrity of Phantom Menace and, to a slightly lesser extent, the other two prequels. I’m not going to lie, I actually do quite like Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith (parts of them, anyway), but there’s no way I would ever call them better than the original trilogy.
Another thing I’ve tried doing is going back and reading the first book and writing down the things that I liked about it, the things that made me laugh, the things that made me “awww!”, etc. Then (hypothetically), I will take that list and apply it to the sequel.
I don’t know. What makes a good sequel? How can you ensure a sequel’s as good as the original? Can an author be trusted to reliably evaluate their own work?
Cool news for Chuck/Thor fans:
Zachary Levi (Chuck!) has been cast as Fandral in the upcoming Thor sequel. Fandral, to remind you, is Thor’s Asgardian friend, the skinny, blonde, mustachio-ed guy with the rapier. Or was it a legit longsword? I don’t remember. Anyway, I’m extremely excited because I love Chuck, and I love Thor, and it’s going to be awesome having them together! Click here to read the article and watch Zach’s interview with Leno.
This image has nothing to do with the post. I just like it because it’s awesome.
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s official. I have finalized the manuscript for Imminent Danger and How to Fly Straight into It. It is written, edited, revised, and submitted to iUniverse via their incredibly complex submission form.
So what does this mean?
Step One: Editorial Evaluation
To quote Rebekka, my iUniverse “Check-In Coordinator”:
Your project is now ready for its Editorial Evaluation. Your project will be assigned an Editorial Consultant and you should hear from them within 2 – 3 weeks (once your Editorial Evaluation is finished). It’s helpful for you to understand that the Editorial Evaluation is a general overview of your manuscript, which focuses on key industry-standard areas, based on your genre of book. Some of these might include: point of view, grammar, plot points, etc. At the end of the Editorial Evaluation, you will receive a 10-15 page form, which highlights areas of possible improvement in your manuscript and gives you pointers regarding how to make your manuscript more marketable.
Now, my hope *fingers crossed* is that there won’t be many suggested changes. I hope this because I have had approximately 15 people read the manuscript and made a zillion revisions based on their suggestions, so there really shouldn’t be all that much left in the book needing fixing.
Of course, these are professional editors reading the manuscript, so they’ll probably catch something or suggest something that my myriad proof readers missed. I’m cool with that. As long as they don’t tell me to “re-write the entire book” like one super-helpful reader did (*sarcasm*), I’m good.
While I wait for the Editorial Evaluation …
I bite my nails and hope it turns out well! No, seriously, I will probably get back to editing the sequel to Imminent Danger. When last I checked in on it, it was titled Interspecies Relationships and How to Make an Already Complicated Situation Worse. As that is somewhat of a mouthful, the title will be one of the first things I change.
My big thing with a sequel is making sure it’s as good (or nearly as good) as the first book. Because is there anything worse than reading a sub-par sequel to a book you love? Famine is worse, probably. Poverty. Child soldiers. Slavery. But you get my point!
And what is there in store for us, your loyal blog followers?
I just switched to “FAQ” mode. Whoops. Anyway, I really want to start posting excerpts from the book, which y’all may or may not read at your leisure. That won’t happen until the Editorial Evaluation gets back, however, so until then … expect pretty much the same. Random thoughts on writing, links to various photos/videos that probably no one but me enjoys, etc.
Woo!
Thanks, as always, for letting me ramble on. Speaking of Ramble On, that song has an entire verse about Lord of the Rings. Talk about awesome.
Right. So that’s my news, as well as my random link of the day. Happy Thursday!
PS: Can I even say PS in a blog? Right. Moving on. Does anyone have an opinion on vlogs? Good? Bad? Annoying? Would anyone watch an unknown author ramble about her publishing experience for 3-4 minutes? I won’t force you to watch any vlogs if you say yes.
You’ve been listening to me whine about how much I dislike editing for the past few weeks, but that’s all about to come to an end. Today I got my last proofread manuscript of Imminent Danger and How to Fly Straight into It back, which means that I officially have a final manuscript to submit to iUniverse! Woooo! Final, that is, until they have their editors look it over and give me a whole list of changes to make. But let’s not think about that right now.
So the manuscript is good to go. I have some preliminary cover art from a friend of mine, and I need to get him to sign over the rights to me so I can actually use his design. My author photo shoot was last week on the University of Western Ontario campus — I’ll post a pic when I get them from my friend — so that’s taken care of. As near as I can tell, all I need is the author photo and the cover art rights contract, and I’m officially set to publish!
Man, this feels good. At the same time it’s terrifying, because I’ve read very mixed reviews of iUniverse. I’m mainly publishing with them because they can get my book into an actual brick and mortar store, but I still want the process to go as smoothly as possible. I’ve liked my interactions with them so far, so hopefully it will continue. Fingers crossed!
I guess the next step is to submit everything, then wait for the editorial review to come back. That’s supposed to take a few weeks to a month, so I’ll have time to kick back and get some actual, paying work done. Then they format the book, inside and out, turn it into an ebook, etc. etc., and then it’s PUBLICATION TIME! That won’t happen until about September, of course. But considering that I’ve been editing Imminent Danger for six years now, 3 months isn’t a heckuva long time to wait.
Wooo!
Update on my website troubles
Remember that list of questions I posted about how Justhost works from this post? I tagged Justhost in that post. The next day, I got a phone call from a Justhost representative. It turns out they actually monitor posts that Justhost is tagged in. Which at first I thought was kind of creepy, until the Justhost rep (Joshua) sent me a super-detailed list of answers to all the questions I posted on my blog. No strings attached, just a “We noticed you had some questions, so here are your answers trololol”. How awesome is that? Talk about customer service! Anyway, I’m really thrilled with Justhost so far, so thank you to Joshua and Justhost!
Yay! I feel so … awarded. And lovely! And unless parallel dimensions exist, I’ve got the “one” aspect pretty much covered as well. Huzzah!
Michelle Proulx - Author 