Ian Dawson's Blog, page 27
April 15, 2020
Today’s the day! Vote for The Field by Ian Dawson on TaleFlick Discovery!
Please go to https://taleflick.com/pages/discovery and vote for The Field by Ian Dawson to be adapted into a film or TV series! Participation is 100% free.
I appreciate your support, and thank you, TaleFlick, for your consideration!
February 28, 2020
As a Writer, Has This Ever Happened to You?
At work this evening, a coworker of mine asked me what I was doing this weekend. I told them I was working on my second novel, to which they replied, “You’re still working on that? What’s taking so long?” I started to laugh, telling them that writing is a process that takes time. As I was talking, a classic scene from Family Guy flashed into my mind, which I promptly found on YouTube and showed to them:
https://youtu.be/d-BfjHbHj60
No matter where you are in the writing process, people often will be amazed that you’re still working on something. But the important thing is that YOU ARE STILL WORKING ON IT. In progress is better than no progress, and what matters most is that you know that work is being done and that you will finished with it when you know it’s ready.
So, that novel you’ve been working on? Keep writing, and never stop creating!
https://youtu.be/d-BfjHbHj60
No matter where you are in the writing process, people often will be amazed that you’re still working on something. But the important thing is that YOU ARE STILL WORKING ON IT. In progress is better than no progress, and what matters most is that you know that work is being done and that you will finished with it when you know it’s ready.
So, that novel you’ve been working on? Keep writing, and never stop creating!
October 31, 2019
Are You Holding Back in Your Writing Because of Social Media?
In a world where people seem to be offended by anything and everything, it can be a daunting task for a creative person to navigate the choppy waters of what will and won’t evoke controversy hour-by-hour. No matter the topic, it seems like someone can find a way to twist it into their own meaning pretzel with plenty of negative connotations. And when the world seems to be backfilling with these types of oftentimes innocuous offenses, many creative types may be afraid to truly express themselves.
The solution: Don’t allow hashtags and comments on social media to dictate what you want to express in your story. If you have an idea for something a character does or says, then you start to think about how Twitter or Facebook of Reddit will react, the trolls have won even before you’ve expressed yourself.
You can’t let that happen.
You have a story to tell. And you cannot let anonymous people online dictate what you want to say in your story. You just can’t allow that type of false pressure to squelch your creativity. Even before the internet there were people who hated and were offended by things they read or saw. Just because those people have a larger more vocal platform now doesn’t mean you should allow them to get into your head and beat down your ideas.
Maybe your story has controversial elements or themes. Maybe you explore domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, or other hot button topics. Maybe you have a character who is a racist or sexist; who uses language that you wouldn’t use but they do. As a creative person, you need to do what’s best for your project. If it evokes anger, offense, or hashtags against you and your work, so be it.
Hey, you can’t please everyone.
And that’s the main thing you have to remember. More people when they dislike something are likely to comment on it than those who like or enjoy something. And what is odd is that usually when reviews or comments are negative, people tend to want to find out the truth for themselves instead of just going off of what some person has posted online.
And example: Joker. Here’s a recent film that was maligned in the press, by many critics, by people online, and other groups for weeks prior to its release. The star and director were hounded with questions about the film’s violent content, the red carpet premiere did not allow the press to ask questions, and the fear of the film spawning violence led to the U.S. military issuing a warning, and some theaters adding extra security.
All pretty negative things against the movie, and yet it was the highest grossing film for an October release and is set to break other R-rated film box office records. There’s also Oscar buzz around Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as Joker.
The filmmakers didn’t hold back. They didn’t listen to the critics and edit the film down to a safe PG-13. They stuck to their vision of the film and released it as is. And the results were effective and the negative outcry probably had a positive outcome for the film overall.
Joker is the perfect example of how as creative individuals we need to do what’s best for our story. We need to tell the story we want to tell. Tell the story you want to tell without the fear of social media backlash churning in the back of your mind.
Tell your story. Not theirs.
Do you find yourself editing and toning elements of your story down due to fear of what may be said about you or your story on social media? Leave a comment and let me know.
The solution: Don’t allow hashtags and comments on social media to dictate what you want to express in your story. If you have an idea for something a character does or says, then you start to think about how Twitter or Facebook of Reddit will react, the trolls have won even before you’ve expressed yourself.
You can’t let that happen.
You have a story to tell. And you cannot let anonymous people online dictate what you want to say in your story. You just can’t allow that type of false pressure to squelch your creativity. Even before the internet there were people who hated and were offended by things they read or saw. Just because those people have a larger more vocal platform now doesn’t mean you should allow them to get into your head and beat down your ideas.
Maybe your story has controversial elements or themes. Maybe you explore domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, or other hot button topics. Maybe you have a character who is a racist or sexist; who uses language that you wouldn’t use but they do. As a creative person, you need to do what’s best for your project. If it evokes anger, offense, or hashtags against you and your work, so be it.
Hey, you can’t please everyone.
And that’s the main thing you have to remember. More people when they dislike something are likely to comment on it than those who like or enjoy something. And what is odd is that usually when reviews or comments are negative, people tend to want to find out the truth for themselves instead of just going off of what some person has posted online.
And example: Joker. Here’s a recent film that was maligned in the press, by many critics, by people online, and other groups for weeks prior to its release. The star and director were hounded with questions about the film’s violent content, the red carpet premiere did not allow the press to ask questions, and the fear of the film spawning violence led to the U.S. military issuing a warning, and some theaters adding extra security.
All pretty negative things against the movie, and yet it was the highest grossing film for an October release and is set to break other R-rated film box office records. There’s also Oscar buzz around Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as Joker.
The filmmakers didn’t hold back. They didn’t listen to the critics and edit the film down to a safe PG-13. They stuck to their vision of the film and released it as is. And the results were effective and the negative outcry probably had a positive outcome for the film overall.
Joker is the perfect example of how as creative individuals we need to do what’s best for our story. We need to tell the story we want to tell. Tell the story you want to tell without the fear of social media backlash churning in the back of your mind.
Tell your story. Not theirs.
Do you find yourself editing and toning elements of your story down due to fear of what may be said about you or your story on social media? Leave a comment and let me know.
October 30, 2019
Using Empathy & Sympathy in Your Writing
What’s the difference between Empathy and Sympathy? When it comes to writing, should we use one over the other? Should we use both? Do they even matter?
The short answer is yes. They do matter. And both can help your reader connect with the problems and conflicts faced by your main character over the course of the story. So, let’s define each word.
Empathy - the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner.
Source: Merriam-Webster
Empathy allows the reader to jump into your main characters shoes and experience what they are experiencing even if they never have. It helps create an emotional bond between the reader and character. A way to connect them on a deeper level that in turn keeps the reader caring about the main character and their situation.
Sympathy - an affinity, association, or relationship between persons or things wherein whatever affects one similarly affects the other.
Source: Merriam-Webster
Sympathy allows the reader to feel bad for the plight or situation of a character even if they can’t directly identify with the experience. This is much more surface level emotion, while empathy digs deeper into the feelings and emotions of the reader.
If you want your reader to have a full immersive experience in your story, ensuring that they can either empathize or sympathize with your main character is key. Whether the reader has gone through a similar situation as your main character or not, making them invest their emotions and feelings into the struggles and conflicts your main character is going through will keep the reader engaged and invested.
It all comes down to the concept of caring. Does the reader care about the characters? Do they have a level of compassion for them? Do they hope they succeed and want to be there with them when they achieve their goals?
If you as the author don’t care about your characters, the reader won’t either. Take the time to give your characters emotional weight and put them in situations that will create a sense of empathy or sympathy for them with the reader. Readers need someone to root for and identify with in a story, and adding these levels of emotional connectivity can ensure that your readers and characters will connect over the course of the story.
Do you utilize Empathy and Sympathy in your writing? Is one more important to you than the other? Is it important for the reader to empathize or sympathize with your main character? Leave a comment and let me know.
The short answer is yes. They do matter. And both can help your reader connect with the problems and conflicts faced by your main character over the course of the story. So, let’s define each word.
Empathy - the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner.
Source: Merriam-Webster
Empathy allows the reader to jump into your main characters shoes and experience what they are experiencing even if they never have. It helps create an emotional bond between the reader and character. A way to connect them on a deeper level that in turn keeps the reader caring about the main character and their situation.
Sympathy - an affinity, association, or relationship between persons or things wherein whatever affects one similarly affects the other.
Source: Merriam-Webster
Sympathy allows the reader to feel bad for the plight or situation of a character even if they can’t directly identify with the experience. This is much more surface level emotion, while empathy digs deeper into the feelings and emotions of the reader.
If you want your reader to have a full immersive experience in your story, ensuring that they can either empathize or sympathize with your main character is key. Whether the reader has gone through a similar situation as your main character or not, making them invest their emotions and feelings into the struggles and conflicts your main character is going through will keep the reader engaged and invested.
It all comes down to the concept of caring. Does the reader care about the characters? Do they have a level of compassion for them? Do they hope they succeed and want to be there with them when they achieve their goals?
If you as the author don’t care about your characters, the reader won’t either. Take the time to give your characters emotional weight and put them in situations that will create a sense of empathy or sympathy for them with the reader. Readers need someone to root for and identify with in a story, and adding these levels of emotional connectivity can ensure that your readers and characters will connect over the course of the story.
Do you utilize Empathy and Sympathy in your writing? Is one more important to you than the other? Is it important for the reader to empathize or sympathize with your main character? Leave a comment and let me know.
October 27, 2019
Keeping Your Characters Off-Balance
Should your main characters ever feel comfortable? Should they ever feel like everything is okay and their life is going just fine? Of course, the answer to these questions – especially when dealing with fictional characters – is an emphatic NO. Over the course of the story, it is your job as a writer to keep them as off-balance as possible.
In the real world, we often have a strong desire for balance and calm in our daily lives. Too much stress or anxiety can take its toll on the human mind, body, and spirit, so we often escape to places where we can refresh and recharge. With fictional characters, this sense of calm should be a constant struggle to obtain. It not only can make them more in-depth as characters, it can also make for a better story.
The old adage is that Conflict = Drama. And drama is what drives the story forward. Like most writers, I tend to want to protect my main characters from harm. But in doing so you do a great disservice to your characters and your readers. Putting your characters in harm’s way, giving them impossible situations to get out of, and relentlessly giving them obstacles to overcome makes for a better story and can help strengthen and add dimension to your characters.
This is where the concept of the Character Arc comes into play. Your characters should evolve and change over the course of the story, and keeping them off-balance and having to find ways to try and resolve their problems helps them grow as characters. Don’t forget that your main character should go through some sort of change or metamorphosis over the course of the story.
Granted, you want to give the reader a sense of what is a normal day for your characters before the inciting incident turns their world upside down. That’s fine. It’s what Joseph Campbell refers to as The Ordinary World. But once that Ordinary World is thrown off, it’s time to take your characters on a very bumpy ride.
Your main character’s primary goal – aside from the goals your set forth for them once the story gets underway – is to return to their normal as fast as possible. Don’t let them get there. And even once the goal of the story has been achieved and their world seems to be back to normal, the journey they have taken over the course of the story has forever changed them ion some significant way.
They can never return to the Old Normal they had before the story began. And that’s a good thing. They have grown as a character. They have overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. And they have come out the other side a stronger, more realized person because of their journey.
It is often during times of great stress or trauma that real people show their true colors. It is your job as a writer to create these types of situations for your characters to keep them off-balance. It doesn’t have to be a life-threatening event, but it should be something that will forever change them for the better…or worse.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let me know.
In the real world, we often have a strong desire for balance and calm in our daily lives. Too much stress or anxiety can take its toll on the human mind, body, and spirit, so we often escape to places where we can refresh and recharge. With fictional characters, this sense of calm should be a constant struggle to obtain. It not only can make them more in-depth as characters, it can also make for a better story.
The old adage is that Conflict = Drama. And drama is what drives the story forward. Like most writers, I tend to want to protect my main characters from harm. But in doing so you do a great disservice to your characters and your readers. Putting your characters in harm’s way, giving them impossible situations to get out of, and relentlessly giving them obstacles to overcome makes for a better story and can help strengthen and add dimension to your characters.
This is where the concept of the Character Arc comes into play. Your characters should evolve and change over the course of the story, and keeping them off-balance and having to find ways to try and resolve their problems helps them grow as characters. Don’t forget that your main character should go through some sort of change or metamorphosis over the course of the story.
Granted, you want to give the reader a sense of what is a normal day for your characters before the inciting incident turns their world upside down. That’s fine. It’s what Joseph Campbell refers to as The Ordinary World. But once that Ordinary World is thrown off, it’s time to take your characters on a very bumpy ride.
Your main character’s primary goal – aside from the goals your set forth for them once the story gets underway – is to return to their normal as fast as possible. Don’t let them get there. And even once the goal of the story has been achieved and their world seems to be back to normal, the journey they have taken over the course of the story has forever changed them ion some significant way.
They can never return to the Old Normal they had before the story began. And that’s a good thing. They have grown as a character. They have overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. And they have come out the other side a stronger, more realized person because of their journey.
It is often during times of great stress or trauma that real people show their true colors. It is your job as a writer to create these types of situations for your characters to keep them off-balance. It doesn’t have to be a life-threatening event, but it should be something that will forever change them for the better…or worse.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let me know.
When Writing a Novel, Don't Rush Your Story
We live in a society where the majority of people want things fast, and they want them now. From food to other products, people demand immediacy, and any time period above that can often result in one-star Yelp! reviews or complaints on social media.
Even with entertainment or news we’ve become accustomed to soundbites, YouTube clips, and quick hits on the News app on our phones, giving us the gist with no real depth or further information. And the majority of society is just fine with this.
So, what happens when you are planning out a novel or screenplay with that mindset of how the world is with its lack of attention and need to get things fast? It can make a writer think they have to deliver story, character, and more at a breakneck pace, which is contradictory to what the point of a novel is.
SLOW IT DOWN!
Your story can be fast-paced, but if you start to rush through chapters just to get to what you think is the “fun stuff” it can cheat your reader – and yourself, the writer – out of delving deeper into the world you are creating. Take your time and deliver chapters that have meaning to the story, develop character, and bolster the themes you want to communicate. Don’t be afraid to slow it down a bit.
As a writer, I often find myself doing this, especially if I know that something really fun, action-packed, or exciting is coming up soon. You get the feeling to just gloss over things in order to get to the fun stuff. But if you cheat the story, you cheat the reader, and that’s the last thing you want to do.
The big sequences should be earned, and the reader needs to feel that they have taken a journey with the characters where both get the big sequences when they are deserved in the story. Not because the author got impatient and wanted to jump ahead.
That being said, if you are a writer – like myself – who likes to write those sequences when they pop in your head, don’t be afraid to just write them. You can always write the connective tissue that comes before and joins the fun stuff to the rest of the story. This can also help you as you write the chapters prior to the scene create momentum that drives the story and the reader toward the big event.
It’s also key when you’re writing to give your reader as much information about what’s going on as possible. Utilize the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. And also the sixth: thought. As the author you can describe all of these things and use them to teleport your reader into the world you have created for them. Put the reader there with your characters, in their heads, and make them feel like they are part of the story.
Novels are meant to be long. They are meant to take their time to tell stories that have a lot of moving parts, the delve into the psyches and inner-workings of the characters, and give the reader an immersive experience. While we do live in a world where it seems like less is more and faster is better, don’t forget that novel readers don’t want to take a trip in a car going 150mph, they want to take the train with it slower pace and multiple stops.
Take your reader on a journey they don’t mind being on for a while. They’ll be happier when they get to the final destination, and as the writer you will be satisfied that you wrote them a quality that took its time a really delivered.
What do you think? Does taking your time and developing story, character, and description still matter? Or have readers become impatient with novels that take their time? Leave a comment and let me know.
Even with entertainment or news we’ve become accustomed to soundbites, YouTube clips, and quick hits on the News app on our phones, giving us the gist with no real depth or further information. And the majority of society is just fine with this.
So, what happens when you are planning out a novel or screenplay with that mindset of how the world is with its lack of attention and need to get things fast? It can make a writer think they have to deliver story, character, and more at a breakneck pace, which is contradictory to what the point of a novel is.
SLOW IT DOWN!
Your story can be fast-paced, but if you start to rush through chapters just to get to what you think is the “fun stuff” it can cheat your reader – and yourself, the writer – out of delving deeper into the world you are creating. Take your time and deliver chapters that have meaning to the story, develop character, and bolster the themes you want to communicate. Don’t be afraid to slow it down a bit.
As a writer, I often find myself doing this, especially if I know that something really fun, action-packed, or exciting is coming up soon. You get the feeling to just gloss over things in order to get to the fun stuff. But if you cheat the story, you cheat the reader, and that’s the last thing you want to do.
The big sequences should be earned, and the reader needs to feel that they have taken a journey with the characters where both get the big sequences when they are deserved in the story. Not because the author got impatient and wanted to jump ahead.
That being said, if you are a writer – like myself – who likes to write those sequences when they pop in your head, don’t be afraid to just write them. You can always write the connective tissue that comes before and joins the fun stuff to the rest of the story. This can also help you as you write the chapters prior to the scene create momentum that drives the story and the reader toward the big event.
It’s also key when you’re writing to give your reader as much information about what’s going on as possible. Utilize the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. And also the sixth: thought. As the author you can describe all of these things and use them to teleport your reader into the world you have created for them. Put the reader there with your characters, in their heads, and make them feel like they are part of the story.
Novels are meant to be long. They are meant to take their time to tell stories that have a lot of moving parts, the delve into the psyches and inner-workings of the characters, and give the reader an immersive experience. While we do live in a world where it seems like less is more and faster is better, don’t forget that novel readers don’t want to take a trip in a car going 150mph, they want to take the train with it slower pace and multiple stops.
Take your reader on a journey they don’t mind being on for a while. They’ll be happier when they get to the final destination, and as the writer you will be satisfied that you wrote them a quality that took its time a really delivered.
What do you think? Does taking your time and developing story, character, and description still matter? Or have readers become impatient with novels that take their time? Leave a comment and let me know.
September 1, 2019
THE FIELD RECEIVES BOOK AWARD FINALIST HONOR FROM READERS’ FAVORITE!
I’m excited to announce that The Field has received the Book Award Finalist honor from Readers’ Favorite in the category of Children – Coming of Age! I am very excited and happy to have taken part in the contest, and look forward to seeing what happens next with the book!
Thanks to everyone who has read and enjoyed The Field! I look forward to you reading the next adventure in the series coming early next year.
If you haven’t reead it yet, buy a copy of the paperback at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/The-F.... Use the Promo Code BIKE25 and save 25%!
Also available as an ebook at BookBaby, Amazon, and Barnes&Noble.
You can also check out the Readers’ Favorite page for The Field at https://readersfavorite.com/book-revi...
February 6, 2019
Join Me on Twitter Tomorrow!
Tomorrow, join me for my Twitter Takeover of @YoungEntmag Thursday, February 7 from 2p to 4p PST about my YA novel, The Field, writing, and other things!
Looking forward to your questions! #YAauthorTakeover
Looking forward to your questions! #YAauthorTakeover
October 6, 2018
The Field - From Word Doc to Paperback, Part Seven
Here are a few takeaways and final thoughts I have about self-publishing The Field:It’s important for your own creative sanity that once you make the leap from your novel being your baby to publishing it either as an eBook, a paperback, or both, it is now a viable, marketable product. This means that you have to put distance between you the author and you’re the person trying to market and sell what is a now a viable commodity.
This distancing will also help you in the event your get a negative review or criticism you don’t like. The person may not have liked your product, but they still bought the product and you reap the benefits either way. By taking this more objective and business-like approach to each work, you can then free up your mind to write the next book, and the next, and the next.
Distancing yourself emotionally from your completed project will also help you think more clearly when it comes to the marketing and sales aspects of your work. It’s not at all helpful if you get wrapped up in a minute detail that occurs during the publishing process and your obsess over something that in the end has an easy fix. Case in point: I talked in a previous post about the paperback being priced at $14.63 due to production costs. I agonized over this for half a week, sure that my book was now doomed for failure because it was too expensive. Then, a Book Baby rep suggested I create a promo code to decrease the price. Boom. Problem solved.
I had I been thinking like a salesperson and been more pragmatic than emotional, I could have solved the problem without the needless drama. Leave the drama for the page not the publishing.
Know that if you are self-publishing that you are going to have to do almost everything yourself. Yes, there are sites like Book Baby that will guide you, but when it comes to getting the word out to a wide swath of people, just know that you are the best marketing tool there is. So use social media, your own website, co-workers, family, and friends to get the initial word out. If you want to, you can enlist the aid of a marketing company – like I did with Smith Publicity – to spread the word farther. But again, while they will be assisting with press releases and other aspects, the project is still driven by me and my knowledge and passion for the project.
There are also dozens of videos on YouTube as well as blogs that can give you insights into how to market your book either inexpensively or for free.
Also, make sure that you have the means to afford all the aspects of doing this yourself. There are inexpensive and even free alternatives if you want to publish your eBook on Amazon or even on your own blog chapter by chapter. Don’t go into debt or sacrifice eating or bills to do this. And if you do, make sure you budget and keep track of all your expenses.
So, what would I do differently. Well, for the next book I will definitely publish the eBook and paperback as part of the same project. The reason: it’s cheaper. I could have paid 50% less if I had gone with one of the packages offered through Book Baby that allows you to do both. But I thought just an eBook was easy money. As of this post I have sold more paperbacks than eBooks, so that shows what I know!
I also learned that the best strategy is to budget your time in an efficient manner, especially if self-publishing is a side business and not your full-time occupation. I work six days a week at my main job, so everything involving the book is like having a second job. It’s important to give yourself some downtime and not burn yourself out with everything that now needs to be done on top of all your other responsibilities. Your novel won’t get published any faster if your agonizing over pricing at 4am. Trust me. It’s not worth losing sleep over.
And that’s my self-publishing journey. It was definitely worth all the time, effort, and expense, and I will definitely be doing it again soon. If you have any questions, comments, or further advice you’d like to share, please feel free to leave a comment. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks for reading!
The Field - From Word Doc to Paperback, Part Six
Here’s where things get a bit more complex when it comes to self-publishing. You’re no longer in the digital realm when it comes to a paperback, you are in the real world and that means there are many more variables at play. Let’s talk about them! For the eBook I did everything online with no assistance from anyone. If I ever had a question – and this has been true since day one of this experience – Book Baby responds to emails very, very fast. With the paperback, I set up a call with one of the Book Baby people to go through all the details that go into making a paperback a reality. We hashed through book size, page count, page color, would I need a cover or provide my own, and host of other questions.
After the call, I emailed Steven Novak and he got to work on the paperback’s cover. I think it turned out great!
I went through the familiar steps on Book Baby’s website, but the nice thing was since it was just a new version of the same book I didn’t have to deal with as much technical stuff. Then I had to decide on what price was best for the paperback. Since this is Print-on-Demand, the price was set at $14.63, which I initially was concerned was too high a price. I’m a new author, who’s gonna invest almost $15 for my first book? (I would soon learn that there are a lot of people who are willing to pay that price, which was quite a nice feeling)
A consultant at Book Baby advised me that I could create a promo code on their site to reduce the price, and I did just that. You can order your copy here and use the promo code FIELD20 at checkout to save 20%!
When I got the proofs for the paperback I jumped up and down even higher this time. They looked AMAZING! I had been a bit unsure of the whole process before I got the proofs, but the final product was definitely exciting!
All the pieces were in place. I had ordered 125 copies for myself (well, not only for me, that would be a tad odd and narcissistic), and was awaiting their arrival. I got the email from Book Baby that the four 22-pound boxes of books had been shipped. I was glad for the sake of not getting a hernia that they were in four separate boxes.
Then on Friday, September 7, 2018 at 9:30PM, I got an alert on my phone that UPS had delivered the books. And they were on my doorstep. And we have a package theft problem at my complex. And I live 40 minutes from where I work!
I clocked out and rushed home (as fast as one can in L.A. traffic on a Friday night). I arrived just in time to see the sprinklers turn off in front of my door. Where the boxes were. Now all wet. Yay.
I hefted the wet boxes into the apartment and dried them off. I opened the first box, planning to unload them all to ensure there was no water damage, and I froze. There, from inside the box, staring back at me was my novel: The Field by Ian Dawson. It was a profound moment. I took the top copy out and flipped through it. The new book smell hit my nose the smell after a new fallen rain (or it could have been the smell of wet cardboard box, who know?). I then pulled them all out of the boxes and luck was on my side: no water damage!
Now I had 125 books ready to go. Where were they going? Well, remember in my last post I talked about Smith Publicity? Well, I've teamed up with them for a three-week media blitz in late September, and I needed copies to send to potential reviewers and interviewers (more on that experience soon!). Plus, I knew that family, friends, co-workers, and those who helped me get the novel done and published wanted copies, too.
So, after all of this, from the push from the woman who cuts my hair to publish the damn book, to getting the paperbacks in wet boxes on my doorstep, what have I learned and what will I do differently with the second book (Coming Spring 2019!)?
Come back tomorrow for the final post in this series to find out!
