B.E. Sanderson's Blog, page 47
February 8, 2018
And Now, the Blurb
Coming soon to an Amazon near you, I give you the blurb for Blink of an I...
Raised by the Union to believe she’s worthless, declared incompetent by a system she doesn’t understand, Mary Jones wants nothing more than to run away and hide. When an underground society known as The Order chooses Mary for a mission to escape the city, she’ll discover she’s more than she was ever allowed to believe. Accompanied by a man she’s not sure she can trust, Mary travels through lands ravaged by a long-forgotten war, discovering a past the Union wants everyone to forget and an idea worth risking everything for. She never promised the Order she’d come home, but after experiencing a world without Union control, she’ll return to see them stopped, even if it means risking her life and her liberty in the process.
And if you missed the cover, here it is again...
Links and junk to come later. And even with the angst, I'm still on track for a release date on or before February 21st. I can't wait.
SQUEE!
Raised by the Union to believe she’s worthless, declared incompetent by a system she doesn’t understand, Mary Jones wants nothing more than to run away and hide. When an underground society known as The Order chooses Mary for a mission to escape the city, she’ll discover she’s more than she was ever allowed to believe. Accompanied by a man she’s not sure she can trust, Mary travels through lands ravaged by a long-forgotten war, discovering a past the Union wants everyone to forget and an idea worth risking everything for. She never promised the Order she’d come home, but after experiencing a world without Union control, she’ll return to see them stopped, even if it means risking her life and her liberty in the process.
And if you missed the cover, here it is again...
Links and junk to come later. And even with the angst, I'm still on track for a release date on or before February 21st. I can't wait.
SQUEE!
February 6, 2018
Cover Reveal
Good morning, Everyone! Since the release day for Blink of an I is fast approaching, I thought you might like to see the cover. Previously, I asked commenters to vote on several different mock-ups for this cover. And I appreciated all the comments, both on the blog and via email. However, the correct answer was E) None of the above. After the contest, I took the comments and suggestions and re-did the cover. I like it. Hubs likes it. I hope you do, too.
Now, without further ado...
I still don't have a blurb. I need to cobble that out soon, though. Look for it in the coming days.
(I did the cover myself using MS Image Composer. All images used to produce this cover came from either photos I took during my travels or from Morguefile.com. All rights for the finished cover reserved, of course.)
Now, without further ado...
I still don't have a blurb. I need to cobble that out soon, though. Look for it in the coming days.
(I did the cover myself using MS Image Composer. All images used to produce this cover came from either photos I took during my travels or from Morguefile.com. All rights for the finished cover reserved, of course.)
February 5, 2018
But First, Coffee
I was sitting here yesterday morning inputting the edits from AWE when I hit a mental roadblock. A crisis of confidence, if you will. Sort of a...
"I can't do this." "No one will like this." "OMG, this is so lame." "I'm going to need at least three more edits to make this anything anyone could even kinda want to read."
So, I walked away. Not a 'walk away dejected to never return', but a casual stroll to get out of that creepy headspace. I ate a sweet roll. I watched some TV.
Someone somewhere (I forget which blog) talked about the whole 'feeling like a fraud' thing the other day. This is it. And while I know in my heart that the little voice in my head saying all those things lies like a cheap rug, it still gets me from time to time.
But...
I can't let it stop me. I can't let it even slow me down. I have promises to keep. I have to shut this unproductive brain thing down and move on.
Thank goodness I built some extra time into the publication schedule, though. Because I do need a little time because it does slow me down. A little. And I've already used some of it up dragging my feet because I think my subconscious knew this was coming.
and*...
I think I hit on the crux of the problem, the seed - if you will - of my crisis. I want this book to be perfect. Perfect. Every sentence laid out so the reader has perfect clarity. Which is nigh on to impossible.
As I said before, this is a scary book - for me, as a writer. This is why. I don't think I've been this nervous about a book since I finished my first one and sent it off to be ground up by the query machine.
Today. Today I am committing myself to sitting my ass here for as many hours as it takes to accomplish some actual progress. Because I will hit my deadline.
But first, coffee.
*I actually wrote this post off and on throughout the day yesterday and some this morning. The first part up to the * was written in the morning. The next part was written around 2:30pm after several failed attempts to work on editing for more than ten minutes without succumbing to the crisis of confidence again. Realizing this, however, did not help. I only managed 21 pages edited yesterday.
"I can't do this." "No one will like this." "OMG, this is so lame." "I'm going to need at least three more edits to make this anything anyone could even kinda want to read."
So, I walked away. Not a 'walk away dejected to never return', but a casual stroll to get out of that creepy headspace. I ate a sweet roll. I watched some TV.
Someone somewhere (I forget which blog) talked about the whole 'feeling like a fraud' thing the other day. This is it. And while I know in my heart that the little voice in my head saying all those things lies like a cheap rug, it still gets me from time to time.
But...
I can't let it stop me. I can't let it even slow me down. I have promises to keep. I have to shut this unproductive brain thing down and move on.
Thank goodness I built some extra time into the publication schedule, though. Because I do need a little time because it does slow me down. A little. And I've already used some of it up dragging my feet because I think my subconscious knew this was coming.
and*...
I think I hit on the crux of the problem, the seed - if you will - of my crisis. I want this book to be perfect. Perfect. Every sentence laid out so the reader has perfect clarity. Which is nigh on to impossible.
As I said before, this is a scary book - for me, as a writer. This is why. I don't think I've been this nervous about a book since I finished my first one and sent it off to be ground up by the query machine.
Today. Today I am committing myself to sitting my ass here for as many hours as it takes to accomplish some actual progress. Because I will hit my deadline.
But first, coffee.
*I actually wrote this post off and on throughout the day yesterday and some this morning. The first part up to the * was written in the morning. The next part was written around 2:30pm after several failed attempts to work on editing for more than ten minutes without succumbing to the crisis of confidence again. Realizing this, however, did not help. I only managed 21 pages edited yesterday.
January 31, 2018
The Foolhardy Venture
Blink of an I is back from the editor and I've started on the final round of edits for that (well, final editor edits, then I'll do a final read-through for the little things). Early Grave went to the editor yesterday. I should be getting the bill for that today. And thanks to the spreadsheet work I do, I have the money to pay the bill.
I was thinking about that last night when my brain probably should've been tucking itself in and winding down to, you know, sleep. If you told me I would bust my ass everyday at my job and not get a regular check for it, I would laugh in your face. But that's exactly what I do.
Some... okay, most... would call it foolhardy. Hell, so would I. If my daughter came to me with this scheme, I would shudder in fear and wonder 'but how are you going to eat?'
I mean, I'm lucky. Hubs has always taken care of the paying for eating and housing and utilities. He's even funded the majority of my foolhardy venture. At some point, though, I had to get off the dole. I had hoped to get off of it by my books paying for themselves. Ummm... not yet. There's always hope, but not yet. I had this grand dream that by the third year of publishing, I would at least be funding myself. Ummm... I averaged about $30 a month last year. That won't even pay for the editing on one book. Forget covers and marketing.
So, I took up this spreadsheet thing. It's kind of like taking in other people's sewing. I get paid by the piece. Not much, but it's paying the publication bills. And it's enjoyable, in a teeth-gnashing kind of way sometimes. Plus, it leaves me time to do my job - which is writer.
Yesterday, I did spreadsheet work in the morning, edited from then until the afternoon (when I got it done - otherwise I would've been editing into the wee hours of the night) and then did more spreadsheet work. Today? I started editing about 6am, then took a break to write this. Whether I get any spreadsheet work to do today is anyone's guess. If I do, I'll get it done and go back to editing. So I can publish Blink on or around the 21st.
So, yeah, it's a foolhardy venture. I'm kind of loving it, though. And if I'm not making money at the writing thing yet, well, there's always hope. Although, right this moment, I'm reminded of Dad's old maxim (paraphrased, of course): Hope in one hand and spit in the other and see which gets full fastest.
LOL
I was thinking about that last night when my brain probably should've been tucking itself in and winding down to, you know, sleep. If you told me I would bust my ass everyday at my job and not get a regular check for it, I would laugh in your face. But that's exactly what I do.
Some... okay, most... would call it foolhardy. Hell, so would I. If my daughter came to me with this scheme, I would shudder in fear and wonder 'but how are you going to eat?'
I mean, I'm lucky. Hubs has always taken care of the paying for eating and housing and utilities. He's even funded the majority of my foolhardy venture. At some point, though, I had to get off the dole. I had hoped to get off of it by my books paying for themselves. Ummm... not yet. There's always hope, but not yet. I had this grand dream that by the third year of publishing, I would at least be funding myself. Ummm... I averaged about $30 a month last year. That won't even pay for the editing on one book. Forget covers and marketing.
So, I took up this spreadsheet thing. It's kind of like taking in other people's sewing. I get paid by the piece. Not much, but it's paying the publication bills. And it's enjoyable, in a teeth-gnashing kind of way sometimes. Plus, it leaves me time to do my job - which is writer.
Yesterday, I did spreadsheet work in the morning, edited from then until the afternoon (when I got it done - otherwise I would've been editing into the wee hours of the night) and then did more spreadsheet work. Today? I started editing about 6am, then took a break to write this. Whether I get any spreadsheet work to do today is anyone's guess. If I do, I'll get it done and go back to editing. So I can publish Blink on or around the 21st.
So, yeah, it's a foolhardy venture. I'm kind of loving it, though. And if I'm not making money at the writing thing yet, well, there's always hope. Although, right this moment, I'm reminded of Dad's old maxim (paraphrased, of course): Hope in one hand and spit in the other and see which gets full fastest.
LOL
January 29, 2018
Where I'm at Right Now
So, I got the edits for Blink of an I back from my editor yesterday evening. Yay! But I'm still not ready to send her Early Grave. Boo! I did a little mental panic dance at that moment. And then I told myself to chill out.
I can still finish Early Grave's edit pass and send it off to AWE tonight or tomorrow morning. I could even, if I had to, work on both of them at the same time. The skillset needed for each task is different enough I wouldn't be getting myself all confuzapated. (Confused + addlepated = confuzapated.)
Early Grave - reading it on the Kindle and making edit notes, then entering edit notes I made into the manuscript.
Blink of an I - Opening my working copy and her edited copy side by side and entering her edit notes as I go down the pages.
It could be done. If I had to. I guess. Right now, I'd prefer sitting down today and cranking through Early Grave until it's done, then tackling Blink after I send EG off to my editor. We'll see how much I can get done and whether I reach a point where EG is 'editor ready' by the time I want to do Blink.
And that's where I'm at right now. All editing, all the time. Except for when I need a break and wander out into the woods.
I can still finish Early Grave's edit pass and send it off to AWE tonight or tomorrow morning. I could even, if I had to, work on both of them at the same time. The skillset needed for each task is different enough I wouldn't be getting myself all confuzapated. (Confused + addlepated = confuzapated.)
Early Grave - reading it on the Kindle and making edit notes, then entering edit notes I made into the manuscript.
Blink of an I - Opening my working copy and her edited copy side by side and entering her edit notes as I go down the pages.
It could be done. If I had to. I guess. Right now, I'd prefer sitting down today and cranking through Early Grave until it's done, then tackling Blink after I send EG off to my editor. We'll see how much I can get done and whether I reach a point where EG is 'editor ready' by the time I want to do Blink.
And that's where I'm at right now. All editing, all the time. Except for when I need a break and wander out into the woods.
January 26, 2018
The Publishing Schedule... Or Part of It Anyway
An kind of serendipity occurred this week. My deadline got pushed back by a few days. And I felt bad celebrating. You see, Early Grave is almost ready to go to the editor, so when she told me she might have to delay getting the edits for Blink of an I to me today, I was happy dancing. Because if the edits had come in today, I would've felt bad putting them off until I was done with EG. But if I worked on them and not EG, I would've felt bad because I know me and I know it's hard to get back into a project after I set it down to work on something else.
Yeah, it gives me a headache, too.
No worries, though. She'll get the edits to me by Monday and I'll have EG ready for her by Monday. Win win. And I have space built into the schedule, so Blink won't actually be delayed. Then again, I never did quite give y'all a firm date for Blink. Sometime in February is a large enough target I'll have a hard time missing it.
So, here's how it'll go. She'll get me Blink on Monday (or I'll start working on it Monday if she gets it to me sooner). Two weeks for me to input all her edits and to read-through one last time. One week for formatting. That should put Blink of an I available for upload the week of the 19st... say the 20th or the 21st. Barring any major snafus or the Apocalypse, that is.
AND, having just worked stuff out in my datebook, if all goes according to plan, Early Grave could be out late April/early May instead of May or June. Still doesn't make Sleeping Ugly come out any sooner, though. I'm still looking at an August release for that. I won't get a chance to start beating the stuffings out of that first draft until sometime in March. And my editor usually takes a vacay sometime in there. And spring fishing. And... Well, you get the gist.
So, here's how the 2018 production schedule is looking right now:
Blink of an I - February 21st (at the latest)
Early Grave - Late April / EarlyMay
Sleeping Ugly - August
DH3 or Unequal - November
DH3 hasn't actually been written yet, so I would need to cobble out about 6 weeks to do that. If I get it done, then it'll be the one that goes live in November. If not, then Unequal goes. And if DH3 is the winner, Unequal will be published in 2019. Beyond that, I have no clue.
Whew. I'm tired just thinking about all that. Is it too early for naptime?
Yeah, it gives me a headache, too.
No worries, though. She'll get the edits to me by Monday and I'll have EG ready for her by Monday. Win win. And I have space built into the schedule, so Blink won't actually be delayed. Then again, I never did quite give y'all a firm date for Blink. Sometime in February is a large enough target I'll have a hard time missing it.
So, here's how it'll go. She'll get me Blink on Monday (or I'll start working on it Monday if she gets it to me sooner). Two weeks for me to input all her edits and to read-through one last time. One week for formatting. That should put Blink of an I available for upload the week of the 19st... say the 20th or the 21st. Barring any major snafus or the Apocalypse, that is.
AND, having just worked stuff out in my datebook, if all goes according to plan, Early Grave could be out late April/early May instead of May or June. Still doesn't make Sleeping Ugly come out any sooner, though. I'm still looking at an August release for that. I won't get a chance to start beating the stuffings out of that first draft until sometime in March. And my editor usually takes a vacay sometime in there. And spring fishing. And... Well, you get the gist.
So, here's how the 2018 production schedule is looking right now:
Blink of an I - February 21st (at the latest)
Early Grave - Late April / EarlyMay
Sleeping Ugly - August
DH3 or Unequal - November
DH3 hasn't actually been written yet, so I would need to cobble out about 6 weeks to do that. If I get it done, then it'll be the one that goes live in November. If not, then Unequal goes. And if DH3 is the winner, Unequal will be published in 2019. Beyond that, I have no clue.
Whew. I'm tired just thinking about all that. Is it too early for naptime?
January 24, 2018
Tax Time Approacheth
Okay, so how many of you read the subject of this post and ran screaming into the night? I admit, the thought of tax time makes my stomach curdle. Not because I think I might owe anything. I'm nowhere near making enough money to offset my deductions, Nope. I get queasy because I know I have a boatload of work to do before I can even start my taxes and the thought of approaching the BIG ENVELOPE OF RECEIPTS scares the crap out of me.
This, of course, is because I do not keep track of this stuff throughout the year. I have an entire year's worth of receipts and invoices and stuff to sort through. And then, once sorted, I have to enter it into a spreadsheet to come up with totals to put into the boxes in TurboTax. Oh, god, I still have to go through my email and print any receipts I forgot to print last year... :shudder:
Yes, folks, I do my own taxes. As with not making enough to offset deductions, I don't make enough to bother with a CPA (or enough to afford a CPA). Yet. There's always hope*, right?
Anyway, now is the time when I need to start thinking about doing this monumental task. As soon as all our other tax paperwork arrives, I need to get those taxes done and submitted. No waiting for April around here. Just get 'er done.
What about you? Are you thinking about taxes in January or are you a 'wait 'til April' kind of person?
*Yes, I am the insane one who wants to make enough money that I'll need to pay a CPA to do my taxes, because that means I'm selling beaucoup books.
This, of course, is because I do not keep track of this stuff throughout the year. I have an entire year's worth of receipts and invoices and stuff to sort through. And then, once sorted, I have to enter it into a spreadsheet to come up with totals to put into the boxes in TurboTax. Oh, god, I still have to go through my email and print any receipts I forgot to print last year... :shudder:
Yes, folks, I do my own taxes. As with not making enough to offset deductions, I don't make enough to bother with a CPA (or enough to afford a CPA). Yet. There's always hope*, right?
Anyway, now is the time when I need to start thinking about doing this monumental task. As soon as all our other tax paperwork arrives, I need to get those taxes done and submitted. No waiting for April around here. Just get 'er done.
What about you? Are you thinking about taxes in January or are you a 'wait 'til April' kind of person?
*Yes, I am the insane one who wants to make enough money that I'll need to pay a CPA to do my taxes, because that means I'm selling beaucoup books.
January 22, 2018
It's a Juggling Act
Right now, I have two books I'm working on. Blink of an I and Early Grave. Two totally different books - different tones, different genres, different ideas. Most likely, two totally different markets.
I've said it before - I'm an eclectic reader. At any given time, I'm as likely to pick up a suspense novel as a dystopian or a mystery or a... whatever... to read. And that reflects in my writing / publishing. Just as it would kill me to read one genre in succession, I think it would kill me to write one novel after another in one genre. I think I'd be bored to tears.
But it's not necessarily the best marketing plan. To be successful - i.e. to sell loads of books - I probably should've written and published one series all the way through before jumping to the next. Instead, Dying Embers came out in February of 2015, then Fertile Ground in May of 2016, and Early Grave will be out in May or June of 2018. Accidental Death came out in May of 2015, Natural Causes in February of 2017, and Untitled #3 might be out at the end of this year. I didn't do much better with my genie series: Wish in One Hand (August 2015), In Deep Wish (February 2016), Up Wish Creek (August 2016), and finally Wish Hits the Fan arrived in September of 2017. With other books in between each of the successive series title's drop.
There was no plan. Not even a best laid plan worthy of a mouse. It was more like 'this one looks good, let's do that', lather rinse repeat. Which is why readers are looking at getting a dystopian, a suspense, a paranormal, and perhaps a mystery from me this year. And why I'm currently driving myself nuts editing a suspense while I'm waiting for the dystopian to come back from my editor. (Who is a saint that can edit all those different things without going batshit crazy. I like to think I'm keeping her on her toes.) It's definitely a juggling act - the one where the guy is keeping a chainsaw, a bowling ball, and a carton of eggs in the air at the same time.
Anyway, call me crazy, but that's the way I have to do things. And on the bright side, I'm never bored. I hope my readers aren't either. And I hope my crazypantsness encourages readers to step outside their comfortable reading box.
Outside the Box... get it?
I've said it before - I'm an eclectic reader. At any given time, I'm as likely to pick up a suspense novel as a dystopian or a mystery or a... whatever... to read. And that reflects in my writing / publishing. Just as it would kill me to read one genre in succession, I think it would kill me to write one novel after another in one genre. I think I'd be bored to tears.
But it's not necessarily the best marketing plan. To be successful - i.e. to sell loads of books - I probably should've written and published one series all the way through before jumping to the next. Instead, Dying Embers came out in February of 2015, then Fertile Ground in May of 2016, and Early Grave will be out in May or June of 2018. Accidental Death came out in May of 2015, Natural Causes in February of 2017, and Untitled #3 might be out at the end of this year. I didn't do much better with my genie series: Wish in One Hand (August 2015), In Deep Wish (February 2016), Up Wish Creek (August 2016), and finally Wish Hits the Fan arrived in September of 2017. With other books in between each of the successive series title's drop.
There was no plan. Not even a best laid plan worthy of a mouse. It was more like 'this one looks good, let's do that', lather rinse repeat. Which is why readers are looking at getting a dystopian, a suspense, a paranormal, and perhaps a mystery from me this year. And why I'm currently driving myself nuts editing a suspense while I'm waiting for the dystopian to come back from my editor. (Who is a saint that can edit all those different things without going batshit crazy. I like to think I'm keeping her on her toes.) It's definitely a juggling act - the one where the guy is keeping a chainsaw, a bowling ball, and a carton of eggs in the air at the same time.
Anyway, call me crazy, but that's the way I have to do things. And on the bright side, I'm never bored. I hope my readers aren't either. And I hope my crazypantsness encourages readers to step outside their comfortable reading box.
Outside the Box... get it?
January 19, 2018
Jus' Sayin'
The other day I was talking to the assistant manager at the local dollar store. He was bemoaning the fact that they're short-handed. They've been short-handed for months. And it's not that people aren't applying for jobs. It's that none of them can pass the background checks.
Think about that for a second. Having fucked your life up so bad you're unable to pass the background check for a job at a dollar store. You may say 'but they didn't fuck their whole life up, they just made one mistake, maybe'. To which I'd say, 'the one mistake fucked their whole life up because now they can't even get a job at a dollar store.' Here's something I found at an online employment site (company name redacted) that tells what a background check would entail:
All employment offers at :dollar store: are contingent upon passing a background check. :dollar store: uses the background check to look for criminal convictions on your record. They also use it to verify the information that you’ve provided on your application. So don’t try to be sneaky and twist the facts — honesty is the best policy. Let's think about that for another second. None of the people in this rural area can pass a background check. Which means either 1) criminal convictions or 2) lying on their application.
Sure, the reasons could be people lying. But why would someone lie on a dollar store application? They're so shorthanded that you don't need any experience, so you don't have to lie about that. So, the only reason I can think of for lying on your application would be a criminal background. And we're back to #1 again. Crime. Oh, and you need to pass a drug test. Which, failing said test, would also mean a crime. Back to the one mistake thing. One mistake can fuck your whole life up. So, knowing that - and if you don't know that you're either in denial or you live in a hole - why WHY Whyyy would you do something that might potentially fuck up your life? Jus' askin'.
I follow the Bangor, Maine Police Department on FB. They end a lot of their posts with the same advice: "Keep your hands to yourself, leave other people's things alone, and be kind to one another." Seems pretty simple, eh? Not a hard set of rules to follow that would lead to you not being unable to work at a dollar store, right?
Apparently it is a hard set of rules. Around here anyway. And I would suspect we aren't the only area experiencing a dearth of background passing applicants.
Jus' sayin'.
On a side note, it's nice to know I would have a job to fall back on if I needed one. Bet I could walk in there today and have a job by the end of the month. I already have a huge leg up on the other applicants. Because I can pass a freakin' background check. And that's just sad.
Think about that for a second. Having fucked your life up so bad you're unable to pass the background check for a job at a dollar store. You may say 'but they didn't fuck their whole life up, they just made one mistake, maybe'. To which I'd say, 'the one mistake fucked their whole life up because now they can't even get a job at a dollar store.' Here's something I found at an online employment site (company name redacted) that tells what a background check would entail:
All employment offers at :dollar store: are contingent upon passing a background check. :dollar store: uses the background check to look for criminal convictions on your record. They also use it to verify the information that you’ve provided on your application. So don’t try to be sneaky and twist the facts — honesty is the best policy. Let's think about that for another second. None of the people in this rural area can pass a background check. Which means either 1) criminal convictions or 2) lying on their application.
Sure, the reasons could be people lying. But why would someone lie on a dollar store application? They're so shorthanded that you don't need any experience, so you don't have to lie about that. So, the only reason I can think of for lying on your application would be a criminal background. And we're back to #1 again. Crime. Oh, and you need to pass a drug test. Which, failing said test, would also mean a crime. Back to the one mistake thing. One mistake can fuck your whole life up. So, knowing that - and if you don't know that you're either in denial or you live in a hole - why WHY Whyyy would you do something that might potentially fuck up your life? Jus' askin'.
I follow the Bangor, Maine Police Department on FB. They end a lot of their posts with the same advice: "Keep your hands to yourself, leave other people's things alone, and be kind to one another." Seems pretty simple, eh? Not a hard set of rules to follow that would lead to you not being unable to work at a dollar store, right?
Apparently it is a hard set of rules. Around here anyway. And I would suspect we aren't the only area experiencing a dearth of background passing applicants.
Jus' sayin'.
On a side note, it's nice to know I would have a job to fall back on if I needed one. Bet I could walk in there today and have a job by the end of the month. I already have a huge leg up on the other applicants. Because I can pass a freakin' background check. And that's just sad.
January 16, 2018
The Story Behind the Story: Blink of an I
Years ago, I had this idea. I wanted to write something similar to Fahrenheit 451, Anthem, Brave New World, 1984, etc. So I got to thinking...
What would it take to get the world to a point where it becomes the world in Anthem or Fahrenheit 451?
That's where Blink of an I started. A pondering of what steps would lead to those dystopias. Now, obviously, I couldn't write a book about all the steps. Good lord, that would take forever and be thousands of pages long. Whatever book I wrote would have to be way smaller than that.
But where to begin...
I started with one character. One simple, unassuming person. So unassuming, in fact, she needed a totally bland and forgettable name - Mary Jones. And she needed to be nothing. Or rather, she needed to think of herself as nothing. Because she'd been taught to think of herself as nothing.
In Anthem, the main character doesn't even have a name because individuality has been wiped out. The blink of the 'I', so to speak. And there's where I got the title.
And so it began. As I said, I'm a sort of pantser. More so when I started this book initially back in 2006. I had no idea where I was going. I just started walking and waited to see where it would lead me. Thus, I had numerous starts - all of them wrong. I trashed them and started over. And over. And over. I can't even remember when I had a full, finished first draft of this. And even then, I worked it over too many times to mention.
I queried agents with this sucker. Erm, yah. Didn't go well. Then I put it away.
Last year, when I began a way to fund my publishing empire without having to wait on the book sales to do it, I dusted Blink off and sent it to my editor. Well, perhaps 'dusted off' isn't quite correct. I sent it to AWE dust intact. (And, man, if was WAY dustier than I thought.)
Anyway, it's in the process of being scrubbed and polished. It'll finally be available next month sometime. (Good lord willin' and the creek don't rise.) This one took me roughly 11.5 years to get out there. YEARS. And I hope y'all will enjoy it.
Any questions? Comments?
Speaking of Blink, I did promise to announce a winner in the Cover Contest thing. Since only two people commented, they can both win. Deb wanted a copy of this, I believe. (Email me whether you want a PDF ARC or a PDF of the finished version, Deb.) Stacy didn't say what she wanted. (Email me your preference, Stacy. Do you want a copy of this when it's finished or one of my other books (e-copy or paperback)?)
What would it take to get the world to a point where it becomes the world in Anthem or Fahrenheit 451?
That's where Blink of an I started. A pondering of what steps would lead to those dystopias. Now, obviously, I couldn't write a book about all the steps. Good lord, that would take forever and be thousands of pages long. Whatever book I wrote would have to be way smaller than that.
But where to begin...
I started with one character. One simple, unassuming person. So unassuming, in fact, she needed a totally bland and forgettable name - Mary Jones. And she needed to be nothing. Or rather, she needed to think of herself as nothing. Because she'd been taught to think of herself as nothing.
In Anthem, the main character doesn't even have a name because individuality has been wiped out. The blink of the 'I', so to speak. And there's where I got the title.
And so it began. As I said, I'm a sort of pantser. More so when I started this book initially back in 2006. I had no idea where I was going. I just started walking and waited to see where it would lead me. Thus, I had numerous starts - all of them wrong. I trashed them and started over. And over. And over. I can't even remember when I had a full, finished first draft of this. And even then, I worked it over too many times to mention.
I queried agents with this sucker. Erm, yah. Didn't go well. Then I put it away.
Last year, when I began a way to fund my publishing empire without having to wait on the book sales to do it, I dusted Blink off and sent it to my editor. Well, perhaps 'dusted off' isn't quite correct. I sent it to AWE dust intact. (And, man, if was WAY dustier than I thought.)
Anyway, it's in the process of being scrubbed and polished. It'll finally be available next month sometime. (Good lord willin' and the creek don't rise.) This one took me roughly 11.5 years to get out there. YEARS. And I hope y'all will enjoy it.
Any questions? Comments?
Speaking of Blink, I did promise to announce a winner in the Cover Contest thing. Since only two people commented, they can both win. Deb wanted a copy of this, I believe. (Email me whether you want a PDF ARC or a PDF of the finished version, Deb.) Stacy didn't say what she wanted. (Email me your preference, Stacy. Do you want a copy of this when it's finished or one of my other books (e-copy or paperback)?)
