Kyle Michel Sullivan's Blog: https://www.myirishnovel.com/, page 168
November 5, 2017
Inputting first corrections...
I got a corrected version of A65 back and have been going through it to see where my mistakes are...and so far not so many. The editor and I differ on a few aspects of my style, but she noted a few things that would help make the action clearer and found spots where I input the wrong word -- like "that" instead of "they". (I think in that instance I had "that they" and deleted the wrong word during a bout of editing.)
This is why I ask for input and extra eyes to check me. I need them and even they will not always find everything that needs correcting. And like I mentioned, sometimes they make suggestions that just do not work for my goals. But at least I have to think about them and verify I want to keep things as they are.
I worked up another version of the dust jacket art and it's closer...but still not right. And my buddy, Brad, pointed out an error in the artwork Zan did -- Casey's left arm has a right hand on it. Something was bugging me about it and the second he mentioned it, I could see it plain as day. Which spooked me, because I used to be able to notice things like that on my own.
I'm finding more and more I just don't see things until they're pointed out to me. Like notes I'm handed that have information on them that I don't notice until I ask the person about that info...and it gets pointed out to me. I don't know if this is an issue of age or just too damn much going on in my brain, but I'd like it to stop, already.
I'm hearing other people don't like the MacBook Pro's thin keyboard, and that makes me feel good. The damned thing drives me nuts. There is always at least one instance in each sentence I write where I will hit just enough of the key I'm aiming for and its neighbor to get both of them input into the word and have to go back to correct it. I could do that on my old MacBook, but nowhere near to this extent.
I also hate how difficult the new trackpad is. If I touch it wrong or click on it in the incorrect spot, suddenly I'm in another window or something's been highlighted and vanished and I have to Control-Z to get it back...if I notice it...or it's ignoring me. Like when I want to do a click-and-drag -- I have to click on a certain part of the image or file, because if I don't, it pops up a window asking if I want a definition, or it just opens the file.
I'm seriously thinking of taking the keyboard from my old Mac Mini and attaching it to my laptop, along with the mouse. Which would add 75% more weight to my rucksack, but at least I'd be back to normal...sort of.
So much for making my load lighter.
This is why I ask for input and extra eyes to check me. I need them and even they will not always find everything that needs correcting. And like I mentioned, sometimes they make suggestions that just do not work for my goals. But at least I have to think about them and verify I want to keep things as they are.
I worked up another version of the dust jacket art and it's closer...but still not right. And my buddy, Brad, pointed out an error in the artwork Zan did -- Casey's left arm has a right hand on it. Something was bugging me about it and the second he mentioned it, I could see it plain as day. Which spooked me, because I used to be able to notice things like that on my own.
I'm finding more and more I just don't see things until they're pointed out to me. Like notes I'm handed that have information on them that I don't notice until I ask the person about that info...and it gets pointed out to me. I don't know if this is an issue of age or just too damn much going on in my brain, but I'd like it to stop, already.
I'm hearing other people don't like the MacBook Pro's thin keyboard, and that makes me feel good. The damned thing drives me nuts. There is always at least one instance in each sentence I write where I will hit just enough of the key I'm aiming for and its neighbor to get both of them input into the word and have to go back to correct it. I could do that on my old MacBook, but nowhere near to this extent.
I also hate how difficult the new trackpad is. If I touch it wrong or click on it in the incorrect spot, suddenly I'm in another window or something's been highlighted and vanished and I have to Control-Z to get it back...if I notice it...or it's ignoring me. Like when I want to do a click-and-drag -- I have to click on a certain part of the image or file, because if I don't, it pops up a window asking if I want a definition, or it just opens the file.
I'm seriously thinking of taking the keyboard from my old Mac Mini and attaching it to my laptop, along with the mouse. Which would add 75% more weight to my rucksack, but at least I'd be back to normal...sort of.
So much for making my load lighter.
November 4, 2017
Searching...
I spent the day trying to work up a decent image for A65's dust jacket and have nothing even remotely close to being right, yet. The closest I came to finding one is this --
But the colors are bland and safe, and I don't think it really reveals much about the story. Or draws you in. Or anything. It's just...there.
A friend of mine came up with another idea for cover art, and while I like the look of it I'm still not sure, which means I still haven't seen what's right, yet.
Maybe it's because this is a lighter story than I usually do, and very straight. It's boy-meets-girl and told in third person and, despite the blackness of a part of Adam's life, is pretty much like cotton candy as opposed to the dark chocolate style of stories I tell.
I may need to back away from this project, for a while. I'm not going to make my Thanksgiving deadline -- self-imposed but still... I think I need to polis the book more to make it sparkle. That will give me space enough to consider other options for the cover.
Zan's art does a better job of catching the whimsy of A65. Maybe I should try a hybrid of that and my work...
But not now; I've worked myself into a headache.
But the colors are bland and safe, and I don't think it really reveals much about the story. Or draws you in. Or anything. It's just...there.A friend of mine came up with another idea for cover art, and while I like the look of it I'm still not sure, which means I still haven't seen what's right, yet.
Maybe it's because this is a lighter story than I usually do, and very straight. It's boy-meets-girl and told in third person and, despite the blackness of a part of Adam's life, is pretty much like cotton candy as opposed to the dark chocolate style of stories I tell.
I may need to back away from this project, for a while. I'm not going to make my Thanksgiving deadline -- self-imposed but still... I think I need to polis the book more to make it sparkle. That will give me space enough to consider other options for the cover.
Zan's art does a better job of catching the whimsy of A65. Maybe I should try a hybrid of that and my work...
But not now; I've worked myself into a headache.
November 3, 2017
Not quite...
I've been playing with sketches of the cover layout for A65, and it's not quite coming together. It's nice enough...but could be better. I'm missing an element that will make it sit well with the story. What that is, I have yet to figure out. I've got it for OT and LD. Same for PM and RIHC6. But...I only did adequate covers for BC and HTRASG, while the one for DM suits it but doesn't excite, and the one I did for French Connection Blues was too busy.
I'm not going to worry about it. The cover will come to me, and when it does, I'll do everything I can to make it look right. It's probably not smart to start on the jacket now, anyway, because I am doing another draft of the story. The bits I've reread are in need of smoothing over and maybe a bit of expansion, so even though I'm around 65K it may wind up a bit larger than that and I want to get the right size of everything.
I also want the story to hold together, all the way through. I want everything to connect and be real while not being obvious, and I think I got a bit carried away with being careful about covering all possible questions to the point the story becomes awkward, at times.
I'm also cutting a bit more -- specifically lines that I like but are just too Hollywood cute. Vincent has one near the end that worked well in the screenplay but is intrusive in the book, so it's going out.
Also, some of my sentence construction could be better, as could my paragraphs. I'm only adequate when it comes to English grammar, relying a lot on how good it feels and not nearly enough on if it gets across its meaning correctly. I'm going to work on that, as well. Clean clarity is what I want, and I'm still too prone to fussy.
So...maybe I'll get the book done by the end of the year.
I'm not going to worry about it. The cover will come to me, and when it does, I'll do everything I can to make it look right. It's probably not smart to start on the jacket now, anyway, because I am doing another draft of the story. The bits I've reread are in need of smoothing over and maybe a bit of expansion, so even though I'm around 65K it may wind up a bit larger than that and I want to get the right size of everything.
I also want the story to hold together, all the way through. I want everything to connect and be real while not being obvious, and I think I got a bit carried away with being careful about covering all possible questions to the point the story becomes awkward, at times.
I'm also cutting a bit more -- specifically lines that I like but are just too Hollywood cute. Vincent has one near the end that worked well in the screenplay but is intrusive in the book, so it's going out.
Also, some of my sentence construction could be better, as could my paragraphs. I'm only adequate when it comes to English grammar, relying a lot on how good it feels and not nearly enough on if it gets across its meaning correctly. I'm going to work on that, as well. Clean clarity is what I want, and I'm still too prone to fussy.
So...maybe I'll get the book done by the end of the year.
November 2, 2017
Home, again...
I arrived late this afternoon feeling weird and now I think I'm coming down with a cold. The housekeeper at the place where I picked up the books was sniffling and coughing, so I tried to avoid her...but apparently not enough. Dammit. I do not need a cold, right now. No time for it.
Of course, it could be a touch of food poisoning. I had a second rate meal at Sticky Lips, a decent BBQ place in Rochester. The brisket was so fatty, I had to hunt for the meat. The coleslaw wasn't shredded but just sort of chopped and had chunks of cabbage in it. The server was all but pushing me out the door as I ate. Not a pleasant experience. I guess I won't need to travel 60 miles down a toll road for BBQ, anymore. I can get that kind of crap from Dinosaur, here in Buffalo.
Of course, all of this puts me in a foul mood. I've been pumping in the fluids and feel better, but ti's still a pain in the ass. And it keeps from doing anything creative because I'll just do crap and hate it later and berate myself and yap, yap, yap...shit, don't take much to get me to whining, does it?
I did manage to rerun most of A65 in my head, testing it for defects or inconsistencies, and found another note to add to it, for clarity. And as I added it...I started making more changes. So, that's that.
New rewrite once I get comments back...because, as I predicted, I hated what I've written, right now.
Dammit, I'm never gonna be done with this book...
Of course, it could be a touch of food poisoning. I had a second rate meal at Sticky Lips, a decent BBQ place in Rochester. The brisket was so fatty, I had to hunt for the meat. The coleslaw wasn't shredded but just sort of chopped and had chunks of cabbage in it. The server was all but pushing me out the door as I ate. Not a pleasant experience. I guess I won't need to travel 60 miles down a toll road for BBQ, anymore. I can get that kind of crap from Dinosaur, here in Buffalo.
Of course, all of this puts me in a foul mood. I've been pumping in the fluids and feel better, but ti's still a pain in the ass. And it keeps from doing anything creative because I'll just do crap and hate it later and berate myself and yap, yap, yap...shit, don't take much to get me to whining, does it?
I did manage to rerun most of A65 in my head, testing it for defects or inconsistencies, and found another note to add to it, for clarity. And as I added it...I started making more changes. So, that's that.
New rewrite once I get comments back...because, as I predicted, I hated what I've written, right now.
Dammit, I'm never gonna be done with this book...
November 1, 2017
Adam is alive to me, now...
As I was packing the books for this latest job, I was horrified at how poor their condition was and thought Adam would have a fit. These are books in German and Latin, two of his specialties, and are from the 15th to 16th Century, bound in vellum...and falling apart. OMG, bugs and rats have eaten away a hideous number of pages and chewed into the binding; there's foxing like crazy; and there's mold on many of them. NOT cared for.
I had to remind myself Adam's a character in my book...but that didn't really matter. I could hear him tsk-tsk'ing over them, non-stop. Anyhow, the books are now wrapped in tissue and bubble, separated from each other to minimize contamination...which is probably silly, at this point, considering they were all in the same bookcase. But it made me feel better.
As I was working, I realized a minor issue hadn't been addressed in A65 so made a note about it to input later. And the more I think about it, the more like like the simple approach to the cover so will start prepping that, this weekend.
I'm popping down to NYC a week from Friday and then the following week is Hong Kong. No time to do any writing for NaNoWriMo so I'm blowing it off, this year. A65 is more important.
I'm currently at a second-rate Best Western in Albany. Driving back to Buffalo in the morning after a bit of sleeping in. I'm feeling the need of some decent barbecue, but the best place in the area is in Rochester and that's about a 4 hour drive from here. I'm not big about having late lunches...but I'll think about that tomorrow.
Now it's time for a hot bath.
I had to remind myself Adam's a character in my book...but that didn't really matter. I could hear him tsk-tsk'ing over them, non-stop. Anyhow, the books are now wrapped in tissue and bubble, separated from each other to minimize contamination...which is probably silly, at this point, considering they were all in the same bookcase. But it made me feel better.
As I was working, I realized a minor issue hadn't been addressed in A65 so made a note about it to input later. And the more I think about it, the more like like the simple approach to the cover so will start prepping that, this weekend.
I'm popping down to NYC a week from Friday and then the following week is Hong Kong. No time to do any writing for NaNoWriMo so I'm blowing it off, this year. A65 is more important.
I'm currently at a second-rate Best Western in Albany. Driving back to Buffalo in the morning after a bit of sleeping in. I'm feeling the need of some decent barbecue, but the best place in the area is in Rochester and that's about a 4 hour drive from here. I'm not big about having late lunches...but I'll think about that tomorrow.
Now it's time for a hot bath.
October 31, 2017
Long drive...
It's just over 400 miles from Buffalo to my hotel in Stamford, but it took me a solid 8 hours to drive it. Seems like there's construction all along the 81 and the 86, which slammed traffic down to one lane. That part I didn't mind as much because it was mostly through nice country -- hills and streams and trees at the end of their colors. There was a lot of orange and gold and yellow around, but there were also a lot of naked trees mixed in, muting their beauty.
No, it's dealing with the 95 at rush hour, headed away from NYC. It took me an hour to go 6 miles. It's like the 101 headed to downtown LA in the morning. How people can do that every day is beyond me.
But...I did get closer to possible artwork for the dust jacket on A65. I tested the idea of a photo of the book done in poster graphics with a broke pair of glasses lying before them. I've also jumped back and forth on whether to include Gertrude's face in the background...but that makes it seem busy, so I don't think I will.
I've also been playing with the tag line -- now thinking She was always more than a book is a better line, because it plays in with something Adam says once Casey gives him the Alice '65 -- "Books are my life. They're so much more than just the binding and pages and words within. Ideas and histories accompany them, as do all the people who've touched them or been touched by them. An antiquarian book is a universe unto herself if you're willing to let her become one with you."
I may put that on the back of the dust jacket.
No, it's dealing with the 95 at rush hour, headed away from NYC. It took me an hour to go 6 miles. It's like the 101 headed to downtown LA in the morning. How people can do that every day is beyond me.
But...I did get closer to possible artwork for the dust jacket on A65. I tested the idea of a photo of the book done in poster graphics with a broke pair of glasses lying before them. I've also jumped back and forth on whether to include Gertrude's face in the background...but that makes it seem busy, so I don't think I will.
I've also been playing with the tag line -- now thinking She was always more than a book is a better line, because it plays in with something Adam says once Casey gives him the Alice '65 -- "Books are my life. They're so much more than just the binding and pages and words within. Ideas and histories accompany them, as do all the people who've touched them or been touched by them. An antiquarian book is a universe unto herself if you're willing to let her become one with you."
I may put that on the back of the dust jacket.
October 30, 2017
Focus shifting to graphics...
Okay...I now have A65 printed up and ready for my (hopefully) last pass. I've sent out a few PDFs and requests to ask for feedback and mentioned I'm still aiming for a Thanksgiving roll-out. So I now need to figure out the cover for the hardback. I'm pretty much clueless, right now.
I came up with an interesting tag line -- She was never just a book -- which might work if I'm using a photo of the 1865 edition. I like the simplicity of that...and I can play around with the image in Photoshop when I get back from this job in Connecticut. Right now I'm slated to return on Thursday, so that'd give me the weekend.
Before I did the printout, I made a couple more changes -- clarifying what happened to Adam's father and replacing my dashes with em-dashes. I also changed one character's name because it's too much like the Connecticut client's name. We want no confusion here.
Right now, I'm kind of brain dead. I hope the drive, tomorrow, helps me recharge. I'm not happy about the minivan I have -- a Toyota Sienna, I think it's called. The middle seats have to go up against the back of the front seats, no stow-and-go here. That makes for a nasty blind spot over my right shoulder. I'll be driving a bit more careful than usual.
I keep forgetting I'm not heading for Hong Kong till the 14th. For some reason I'd convinced myself that trip was next week. Duhh.
Okay...I'm zoning...
I came up with an interesting tag line -- She was never just a book -- which might work if I'm using a photo of the 1865 edition. I like the simplicity of that...and I can play around with the image in Photoshop when I get back from this job in Connecticut. Right now I'm slated to return on Thursday, so that'd give me the weekend.
Before I did the printout, I made a couple more changes -- clarifying what happened to Adam's father and replacing my dashes with em-dashes. I also changed one character's name because it's too much like the Connecticut client's name. We want no confusion here.
Right now, I'm kind of brain dead. I hope the drive, tomorrow, helps me recharge. I'm not happy about the minivan I have -- a Toyota Sienna, I think it's called. The middle seats have to go up against the back of the front seats, no stow-and-go here. That makes for a nasty blind spot over my right shoulder. I'll be driving a bit more careful than usual.
I keep forgetting I'm not heading for Hong Kong till the 14th. For some reason I'd convinced myself that trip was next week. Duhh.
Okay...I'm zoning...
October 29, 2017
302 pages, 64,900 words...
Again, I am done. Lots of changing and rearranging, clarifying and simplifying, but the latest incarnation of The Alice '65 is complete. I'm going to do a quick spell check to make sure I haven't messed up, there, then I'm sending it off, again, for feedback.
I want to do just one more polish, if the response is positive, enough. Make sure everything is in order and nothing is out of line when it comes to the antiquarian world. And the characters. There are a couple of spots where I just tell the back story rather than work it out, but I think that works within the framework.
I think the story's solid enough, now, for me to start planning the hardcover. I'm still casting around for ideas for the dust jacket. I want something eye-catching and nice that's reflective of both the chaos and drama of the story. Looking at other hardbacks and their jackets hasn't been of much use. Most seem to rely on either the author's name of the just the title being provocative enough to catch a reader's notice. So I don't know how that's going to turn out.
Tomorrow is preparation for the job in Connecticut, so I won't have a real chance to do my check till I'm at the hotel...and that could be late. We'll see how it goes...but at least I'm back to normal.
Next week is Hong Kong and China in Print. My 8th trip to the country. I have no idea what to do to keep myself occupied between move-in and move-out of the fair. I guess I'll check into some of the museums. Maybe take another trip to Macau and see the old village. I'll look into that later.
Guess I'm into a haven't got a clue stage, right now.
I want to do just one more polish, if the response is positive, enough. Make sure everything is in order and nothing is out of line when it comes to the antiquarian world. And the characters. There are a couple of spots where I just tell the back story rather than work it out, but I think that works within the framework.
I think the story's solid enough, now, for me to start planning the hardcover. I'm still casting around for ideas for the dust jacket. I want something eye-catching and nice that's reflective of both the chaos and drama of the story. Looking at other hardbacks and their jackets hasn't been of much use. Most seem to rely on either the author's name of the just the title being provocative enough to catch a reader's notice. So I don't know how that's going to turn out.
Tomorrow is preparation for the job in Connecticut, so I won't have a real chance to do my check till I'm at the hotel...and that could be late. We'll see how it goes...but at least I'm back to normal.
Next week is Hong Kong and China in Print. My 8th trip to the country. I have no idea what to do to keep myself occupied between move-in and move-out of the fair. I guess I'll check into some of the museums. Maybe take another trip to Macau and see the old village. I'll look into that later.
Guess I'm into a haven't got a clue stage, right now.
October 28, 2017
Back to bustin' it...
I worked on A65 all day and got through 136 pages of inputs. If I remember right, the biggest changes were in this part, so it's possible I'll be done, tomorrow. I've dropped about five-hundred words, to where it's hovering around 64,500. I think I'm adding some in the next part, but I won't know the final count till I'm done. I just know it's getting there.
I'm still thinking about the cover for the hardback and not coming up with anything that slays me. I'm sort of leaning towards a black and white of Gertrude lounging atop a big photo of the book, Adam's glasses in hand. The rest of the cover would be a complimentary color but nothing too vivid. I'll keep thinking and digging through Shutterstock to see if I can find a good shot for Adam and use that, instead.
It wasn't easy to get going, today. I'm still a bit uncertain about what good it's going to do me to publish another book under my own banner. I wonder if I should try to get an agent and see about submitting to a mainstream publisher. I don't know. That would take a lot longer to get the book out, and I don't think I have the patience to wait like that, anymore.
God, it's just too much to think about...to consider. And when you're not exactly gifted when it comes to things like graphic arts, that only makes it harder. I got lucky with OT's cover; that fell together without much thought, just a few tests and then seeing Jordan's photo and getting the okay to use it made it all happen. And I'm pleased with it.
I'll keep at it. Think about it while driving to Connecticut on Tuesday and home on Thursday. Maybe something will come to me that kicks everything else out the door.
Damn, that would be so nice.
I'm still thinking about the cover for the hardback and not coming up with anything that slays me. I'm sort of leaning towards a black and white of Gertrude lounging atop a big photo of the book, Adam's glasses in hand. The rest of the cover would be a complimentary color but nothing too vivid. I'll keep thinking and digging through Shutterstock to see if I can find a good shot for Adam and use that, instead.
It wasn't easy to get going, today. I'm still a bit uncertain about what good it's going to do me to publish another book under my own banner. I wonder if I should try to get an agent and see about submitting to a mainstream publisher. I don't know. That would take a lot longer to get the book out, and I don't think I have the patience to wait like that, anymore.
God, it's just too much to think about...to consider. And when you're not exactly gifted when it comes to things like graphic arts, that only makes it harder. I got lucky with OT's cover; that fell together without much thought, just a few tests and then seeing Jordan's photo and getting the okay to use it made it all happen. And I'm pleased with it.
I'll keep at it. Think about it while driving to Connecticut on Tuesday and home on Thursday. Maybe something will come to me that kicks everything else out the door.
Damn, that would be so nice.
October 27, 2017
I don't like having a helper...
When I do a packing or pickup job, I'm finding I don't like having someone to help me. It tends to mess me up, and things don't get done the way I want. Like this job in Key West. For the first part I had someone to assist in picking up the Judy Blume archives (which are now safely ensconced at Yale), mainly because she's a huge fan and, fortunately, got to meet Judy.
But she's also one of the owners of the company, and has her own way of doing things...which don't work for me...but it has to go her way or the situation gets tense. So that issue we had with Office Depot not filling my order for packing supplies got more complicated than need be.
If I'd been the only one handling it, I'd have just taken the substitute boxes and headed on. But assistant got into the middle of it and wanted a credit for the difference in the boxes' cost -- a whole $5 -- so there were credits to be done and recharging the boxes and some went on my credit card while some went on hers, and I have no idea what finally got paid or charged or credited, in the end. I think I wound up taking a hit of about $9...but I can't be sure; I might not have. So I'm swallowing it and figure I'll deal with it once I get all my expenses reimbursed.
I never have worked well with others. I do things differently and approach situations from odd angles, and it can cause friction very quickly. Like today, I was asked to prep a last-minute addition to the Boston Book Fair and I was working along and suddenly found half the work I did had already been done by someone else, and me doing it was messing them up. So they got pissed off at me for not figuring out they only wanted this half done and not the other half...and I felt like dirt because I thought I'd screwed up in some way.
Of course, the same went for my screenwriting. When I did try to put aside my concerns and just follow the lead of two people I thought were on my side, all I did was get angry and hurt and ruined a script I'd been proud of, not to mention permanently damaged my friendship with them. Because while they were doing what they thought was right, it was wrong for me...and for the story, really. Completely. And achieved nothing. The script is now dead, and I helped kill it by agreeing to do what they wanted until things went too far.
So now I write my books and get feedback and use what I like and ignore what I don't, and while I get freaky and angsty and irritable and euphoric, it's all on me...and that make me feel at least a bit better about what I'm doing.
I guess that's something.
But she's also one of the owners of the company, and has her own way of doing things...which don't work for me...but it has to go her way or the situation gets tense. So that issue we had with Office Depot not filling my order for packing supplies got more complicated than need be.
If I'd been the only one handling it, I'd have just taken the substitute boxes and headed on. But assistant got into the middle of it and wanted a credit for the difference in the boxes' cost -- a whole $5 -- so there were credits to be done and recharging the boxes and some went on my credit card while some went on hers, and I have no idea what finally got paid or charged or credited, in the end. I think I wound up taking a hit of about $9...but I can't be sure; I might not have. So I'm swallowing it and figure I'll deal with it once I get all my expenses reimbursed.
I never have worked well with others. I do things differently and approach situations from odd angles, and it can cause friction very quickly. Like today, I was asked to prep a last-minute addition to the Boston Book Fair and I was working along and suddenly found half the work I did had already been done by someone else, and me doing it was messing them up. So they got pissed off at me for not figuring out they only wanted this half done and not the other half...and I felt like dirt because I thought I'd screwed up in some way.
Of course, the same went for my screenwriting. When I did try to put aside my concerns and just follow the lead of two people I thought were on my side, all I did was get angry and hurt and ruined a script I'd been proud of, not to mention permanently damaged my friendship with them. Because while they were doing what they thought was right, it was wrong for me...and for the story, really. Completely. And achieved nothing. The script is now dead, and I helped kill it by agreeing to do what they wanted until things went too far.
So now I write my books and get feedback and use what I like and ignore what I don't, and while I get freaky and angsty and irritable and euphoric, it's all on me...and that make me feel at least a bit better about what I'm doing.
I guess that's something.
