The Next Step

I am so excited that The Sentient has embarked out into the world! A bit nervous too, anxious to see how it's received, but mostly just pee-my-pants excited.

(Excuse me for a moment while I go change my pants.)

Okay, I'm back. So the next step in this adventure is SPREADING THE WORD! An indie author has to wear many hats, including the one that comes with marketing duties. How will people read my book if they don't know about it? Of course there are family and friends who can be counted on to read your work (thanks, guys!). It's much appreciated, but remember that if you like the book, the best thing you can do is to tell others about it. Posting a rating, and maybe even a review, on Amazon or Goodreads will tremendously help direct internet traffic to the The Sentient.

So if you read it and you love it, shout it from the rooftops! I'll be up there shouting with you!

And P.S., if you hate it, just stay inside and keep quiet; we'll be up on that roof for a while.

I kid, I kid! Every honest review has merit.

So read up, folks. I hope you enjoy the book, and if so, I'll see you on the rooftops.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

I am pleased to announce that The Sentient is now available through Amazon.com!

It is currently available as a paperback and as an ebook for the kindle. For at least the next 90 days it will be a kindle exclusive, but may be extended to other eReaders in the future. In the meantime, depending on which version of your eReader you have, you may be able to download the kindle app.

So tell your kids, tell your wife, and tell your husband, cuz we need everybody to be readin' up here!

Get the ebook from Amazon!

Get the paperback from Amazon!

The Benefits of Proofreading

Of course proofreading is essential, but to highlight just how important it is, I'd like to share something one of my betareaders found and pointed out to me. In THE SENTIENT, Anna is trying to gain access to a building through one of its windows, and when she tugs the screen out she is supposed hear a satisfying popping noise. However, what it actually said she heard was a satisfying pooping noise.

As tempting as it is to leave the wording the way it is (what's more satisfying than a good poo, really?), I'm not sure it would be doing the book any favors. And so, popping it is.

Heh heh. Poop.

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest

So, there's this thing called the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. And it's pretty awesome. I have submitted a manuscript, and am reallllly super excited! Even if your manuscript doesn't place in one of the categories that wins publication and a cash prize, if it gets far enough in the contest it could still get reviewed by professional editors and such. More people giving an honest critique can only help you improve your work.

Or you can just go ahead and get the professional reviews, the publication, and the cash. Giggity.

Status Update

Okay, I have finished this set of revisions on THE SENTIENT. I am pretty happy with how it has turned out. It is just over 60,000 words now. If I decide to go the traditional publishing route, a book for adult readers really should be more like 80,000 words. The other option would be to self-publish, which allows more leeway. I am going to set this one aside for a while. When I come back to it I can view it again through fresh eyes, and get a more objective picture of what it is I've got. Then I can decide if there is more I want to add, how else I might want to tweak it. In the meantime, I have it out to two more beta readers who can give me their input.

Many thanks, again, to M. R. Pritchard for her helpful suggestions from another writer's perspective! And for showing me some of the ropes behind the publishing industry.

So what will I do while THE SENTIENT is "ripening"? I don't want to write any more of THE PROPHECY just yet, because any other changes and additions I might decide to make to THE SENTIENT could potentially affect the second part of the story. So that project is on hold for now.

Instead, I have started a new, unrelated book. I have only just begun writing it, but I am super excited! For the time being I have given it the working title of REFLECTIONS OF TREACHERY. Not sure if that will stick or not, but I mainly just wanted to have something to write up in the tab for its blog page :)

For right now it's more hurry up and wait, but I do hope to have real, solid results soon, so that I can actually share these books with people instead of just telling you all about them! Eek!

Revision is the name of the game

Author M. R. Pritchard was kind enough to look over my manuscript for me. She believes that there are several areas of the story that need fleshing out, and that once that is all done THE SENTIENT may be an entire novel by itself, as I originally planned. In that case, THE PROPHECY would once again be the sequel, separate.

Pritchard's suggestions have been very helpful, and so in response I have given her a token of my goodwill and affection ((insert maniacal laughter)). 

I am very excited to keep working on the revisions now. If only pesky work and family life wouldn't keep getting in the way!

Progress!

THE PROPHECY is up to over 18,000 words, which means the manuscript in its entirety (THE SENTIENT plus THE PROPHECY) is at 64,000. I am loving it, and am super excited to keep writing.

P.S. Um, is it possible to love some of your characters a little too much? To wish they weren't just figments of your imagination? Some of these people are so much fun to write...