Doug Farren's Blog, page 19
September 7, 2014
PK2 - Almost done!
I almost forgot to write this post. I've been adding new and exciting stuff to the book and almost forgot today was Sunday . Right now, I'm at 87% complete with my final editing pass. I am adding one more large chapter and also a prologue that will add to the final word count. That currently stands at 88,665. My editing will be done next week. My wife is making good progress on her proofing even though she does not like scifi. My biggest concern right now is having a cover for the book.
I've also decided to send the book to my dad's wife. She has been quite good at catching small mistakes that seem to slip by everyone else. It helps to have several people look at the manuscript before calling it complete. I am now a firm believer in having access to a good copy editor as well as a proofreader or two. While my oatmeal is cooking, I will give you a very quick run-down on my new and improved writing process:
The project starts with Scrivener. The first draft is done in Scrivener because of it's ability to display all the information I need to track in a single location. It can also move chapters around with ease. After the first draft is complete - roughly 6 months - it gets moved into an ODT file so I can finish it with LibreOffice. I could use Word but I'm running a 2003 version which does not remember where I left off. I don't see the need to pay for a new word processor when I can use a free one that works just as good.
Next, I make a full editing pass, making changes to get the story to fit together into a coherent whole and doing general editing. Then its off to my beta readers and copy editor. When I get all the feedback, I make a final major editing pass to create the finished manuscript. As I finish each chapter, I print it out and hand it to my wife who does her grammatical magic. I enter these changes last. for PK2, I'm printing it out again and sending it to my dad. He and his wife will have a final chance to fix any mistakes that were missed. Then, it's time to publish.
My oatmeal is done and that means it's time to eat. I must set the book aside for now to mow the lawn which I have neglected for far too long. The next time you hear from he, my editing will be done and I hope so will my wife's.
I've also decided to send the book to my dad's wife. She has been quite good at catching small mistakes that seem to slip by everyone else. It helps to have several people look at the manuscript before calling it complete. I am now a firm believer in having access to a good copy editor as well as a proofreader or two. While my oatmeal is cooking, I will give you a very quick run-down on my new and improved writing process:
The project starts with Scrivener. The first draft is done in Scrivener because of it's ability to display all the information I need to track in a single location. It can also move chapters around with ease. After the first draft is complete - roughly 6 months - it gets moved into an ODT file so I can finish it with LibreOffice. I could use Word but I'm running a 2003 version which does not remember where I left off. I don't see the need to pay for a new word processor when I can use a free one that works just as good.
Next, I make a full editing pass, making changes to get the story to fit together into a coherent whole and doing general editing. Then its off to my beta readers and copy editor. When I get all the feedback, I make a final major editing pass to create the finished manuscript. As I finish each chapter, I print it out and hand it to my wife who does her grammatical magic. I enter these changes last. for PK2, I'm printing it out again and sending it to my dad. He and his wife will have a final chance to fix any mistakes that were missed. Then, it's time to publish.
My oatmeal is done and that means it's time to eat. I must set the book aside for now to mow the lawn which I have neglected for far too long. The next time you hear from he, my editing will be done and I hope so will my wife's.
August 31, 2014
Time Management
Most writers have day jobs and that means a writer must struggle to find time to write. Time management is a primary requisite for being a successful writer. I get up for work at 0500 and I typically begin my workday at just before 0600. I sit in front of a computer and write code, attend meetings, read programming books, and sometimes just sit and think about how I'm going to solve a particular problem. I have no time for writing while at work. I am home anywhere between 1500 (that's 3:00 PM for you non-military time fans) and 1600. If my wife is not home, I write until she arrives. Often, she is over visiting her mom or out of town seeing a movie or spending time with a friend. If she's home, I spend time with her. My wife is usually home in the evening and that's family time - the writing computer remains closed.
Weekends and vacations are when I get most of my writing done. I always get up before my wife and the 2 to 3 hours in the morning before she get's up is when I do the majority of my writing - this blog included. I continue to write while she goes through her morning routine. Most Saturdays, we drive to the Barnes & Noble store (about a 30 minute drive) where I get more writing done. I usually go with her to visit her mom (she's in a nursing home across the street) and sometimes I will walk back to the house to either write or do household chores (mowing, cleaning, fixing, etc).
If I'm working on a new project, I think about the upcoming scenes pretty much any time I have a free moment. I think while driving to work, showering, mowing the lawn, and almost any time I have a few free moments. Putting those words into the computer happens whenever I can find the time. I have a laptop that is synchronized to my desktop via Dropbox. If I happen to find myself with 15 minutes of free time I pull out the laptop and start writing.
When you add up all the little times available throughout the week I probably manage to log about 10 to 15 hours of writing each week. This has allowed me to write one book every 8 to 11 months. So, when you hear an aspiring writer say "I just don't have the time to write", tell them they're wrong. I do not watch hardly any television other than in the evenings with my wife. I do watch Falling Skys. My computer records this show and I watch it when I am eating or 10 to 15 minutes at a time while my wife is out doing something else. She is not a fan of science fiction. Reading is often done in the bathroom (isn't that the favorite secondary activity that takes place in that room?). The books I read are on my cell phone and I read when I have a few minutes (waiting in line, bathroom, etc.).
The bottom line in all this is that there is time available to do things -- you just need to know how to properly manage your time. I am rarely idle. Even when someone might think I'm just sitting around my brain is working on the next scene of my current book. I don't spend hours on the internet, I get my news on the way to and from work. I read my Twitter while eating breakfast and then catch up in bits and pieces during 2 and 3 minute breaks throughout the day. I don't check my Facebook page and Google+ is pretty much for outgoing stuff only.
I will be out of town in a couple of weeks for work-related training. Instead of joining the rest of the group at the bar in the evening I will be spending my time in my hotel room working on my writing. You have to set your priorities. If you want to be a writer, you're going to have to give up something to make that dream come true. Find the time to write. Find the time to read (because reading helps a writer become better). Manage your time.
And now I'm going to manage mine by closing out this entry and getting back to editing Peacekeeper 2. I have about 100 pages of 1.5 spaced type left. My wife is making a dent in her portion of our editing process. The book is nearing completion. I'm still waiting on a decent cover from the person who does my artwork. I will keep you all informed of the progress.
Weekends and vacations are when I get most of my writing done. I always get up before my wife and the 2 to 3 hours in the morning before she get's up is when I do the majority of my writing - this blog included. I continue to write while she goes through her morning routine. Most Saturdays, we drive to the Barnes & Noble store (about a 30 minute drive) where I get more writing done. I usually go with her to visit her mom (she's in a nursing home across the street) and sometimes I will walk back to the house to either write or do household chores (mowing, cleaning, fixing, etc).
If I'm working on a new project, I think about the upcoming scenes pretty much any time I have a free moment. I think while driving to work, showering, mowing the lawn, and almost any time I have a few free moments. Putting those words into the computer happens whenever I can find the time. I have a laptop that is synchronized to my desktop via Dropbox. If I happen to find myself with 15 minutes of free time I pull out the laptop and start writing.
When you add up all the little times available throughout the week I probably manage to log about 10 to 15 hours of writing each week. This has allowed me to write one book every 8 to 11 months. So, when you hear an aspiring writer say "I just don't have the time to write", tell them they're wrong. I do not watch hardly any television other than in the evenings with my wife. I do watch Falling Skys. My computer records this show and I watch it when I am eating or 10 to 15 minutes at a time while my wife is out doing something else. She is not a fan of science fiction. Reading is often done in the bathroom (isn't that the favorite secondary activity that takes place in that room?). The books I read are on my cell phone and I read when I have a few minutes (waiting in line, bathroom, etc.).
The bottom line in all this is that there is time available to do things -- you just need to know how to properly manage your time. I am rarely idle. Even when someone might think I'm just sitting around my brain is working on the next scene of my current book. I don't spend hours on the internet, I get my news on the way to and from work. I read my Twitter while eating breakfast and then catch up in bits and pieces during 2 and 3 minute breaks throughout the day. I don't check my Facebook page and Google+ is pretty much for outgoing stuff only.
I will be out of town in a couple of weeks for work-related training. Instead of joining the rest of the group at the bar in the evening I will be spending my time in my hotel room working on my writing. You have to set your priorities. If you want to be a writer, you're going to have to give up something to make that dream come true. Find the time to write. Find the time to read (because reading helps a writer become better). Manage your time.
And now I'm going to manage mine by closing out this entry and getting back to editing Peacekeeper 2. I have about 100 pages of 1.5 spaced type left. My wife is making a dent in her portion of our editing process. The book is nearing completion. I'm still waiting on a decent cover from the person who does my artwork. I will keep you all informed of the progress.
August 24, 2014
Peacekeeper 2 - 50% mark
Final editing of Peacekeeper 2 has passed the 50% point. My wife is trying to move through the proofing as fast as she can but family events are interfering. This is the point in all my novels she hates the most because I am so focused on finishing the book I tend to exclude everything else. Her time has also been limited due to her mother's health issues (in and out of the hospital in recent days). But good progress is being made.
Last week, I received an email from an 11th grade student in Australia asking if I would mind being interviewed for a school project she was doing. Of course I agreed. The questions were about science fiction and how it relates to religious beliefs. I found them to be very eye-opening and many of them I had to pause and think before I answered. She seemed pleased with the answers. I hope she receives a good grade.
I also received the highest compliment possible from one of my readers yesterday. He compared me to E.E. 'Doc' Smith, an author from my youth who wrote stories back in the 50s. I consider him the master of the space opera and I periodically reread his Lensman series. Although I have a style of my own, it is heavily influenced by Smith. I could not have been happier.
I attended a different writer's group yesterday. This one has a much longer format running about 5 hours. I enjoyed the feedback they provided to the others in the group (I did not bring anything this first time) and I will go at least one more time. It's farther away and it does take up another Saturday so I may not continue to attend. If, for some reason, I miss my normal meeting, attending this one would be a good option.
I said last post that I had wanted to write something about my programming activities. My new job entails writing a lot of code in Microsoft's Access database program. I'm a heavy user of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and quite good at building complex solutions. I would prefer to build my programs in a better language such as C# but there would be nobody around who could maintain the code after I leave. At least by using VBA there is a chance someone else can take over. My company does not support non-IT people writing code and installing a C# compiler would require so much paperwork as to be nearly impossible.
What I really wanted to mention is being efficient. There is a project I will have to tackle in the next few months that boggles my mind. Our work is divided up into weeks with 13 weeks to a period and 4 periods to a year. We have a website where people can go to look at past or future work for almost an entire year. Each of these weekly reporting periods has 6 types of reports. The current way of generating this data involves 6 x 13 x 4 = 312 separate reports. Maintaining this collection is a nightmare. If a change is needed to one report a minimum of 52 reports have to be changed. My plan is to use programming code to reduce the number of reports down to 6. The reports don't change, just the data they work with. Proper coding can simplify generating this grid of reports making maintenance far easier. This is what computer are for and this is how they should be used.
I did a similar thing on a project I just finished. This one generates charts - 8 to be exact. But the charts all look the same - just with different data. I created a single function that can feed the correct data to a single Excel spreadsheet which generates the chart and then exports that chart as an image (JPG). It is those images that become part of the final report. One routine and some code to feed it the correct data was all that was required. These charts used to be done manually taking 3 to 4 hours a day. The program spits out the report in about 30 seconds.
That's efficiency.
Now it's time to get back to editing.
Last week, I received an email from an 11th grade student in Australia asking if I would mind being interviewed for a school project she was doing. Of course I agreed. The questions were about science fiction and how it relates to religious beliefs. I found them to be very eye-opening and many of them I had to pause and think before I answered. She seemed pleased with the answers. I hope she receives a good grade.
I also received the highest compliment possible from one of my readers yesterday. He compared me to E.E. 'Doc' Smith, an author from my youth who wrote stories back in the 50s. I consider him the master of the space opera and I periodically reread his Lensman series. Although I have a style of my own, it is heavily influenced by Smith. I could not have been happier.
I attended a different writer's group yesterday. This one has a much longer format running about 5 hours. I enjoyed the feedback they provided to the others in the group (I did not bring anything this first time) and I will go at least one more time. It's farther away and it does take up another Saturday so I may not continue to attend. If, for some reason, I miss my normal meeting, attending this one would be a good option.
I said last post that I had wanted to write something about my programming activities. My new job entails writing a lot of code in Microsoft's Access database program. I'm a heavy user of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and quite good at building complex solutions. I would prefer to build my programs in a better language such as C# but there would be nobody around who could maintain the code after I leave. At least by using VBA there is a chance someone else can take over. My company does not support non-IT people writing code and installing a C# compiler would require so much paperwork as to be nearly impossible.
What I really wanted to mention is being efficient. There is a project I will have to tackle in the next few months that boggles my mind. Our work is divided up into weeks with 13 weeks to a period and 4 periods to a year. We have a website where people can go to look at past or future work for almost an entire year. Each of these weekly reporting periods has 6 types of reports. The current way of generating this data involves 6 x 13 x 4 = 312 separate reports. Maintaining this collection is a nightmare. If a change is needed to one report a minimum of 52 reports have to be changed. My plan is to use programming code to reduce the number of reports down to 6. The reports don't change, just the data they work with. Proper coding can simplify generating this grid of reports making maintenance far easier. This is what computer are for and this is how they should be used.
I did a similar thing on a project I just finished. This one generates charts - 8 to be exact. But the charts all look the same - just with different data. I created a single function that can feed the correct data to a single Excel spreadsheet which generates the chart and then exports that chart as an image (JPG). It is those images that become part of the final report. One routine and some code to feed it the correct data was all that was required. These charts used to be done manually taking 3 to 4 hours a day. The program spits out the report in about 30 seconds.
That's efficiency.
Now it's time to get back to editing.
August 17, 2014
PK2 - Editing continues
I was so focused on continuing to edit Peacekeeper 2 this morning that I nearly forgot it was time to put out a new post. This one will be relatively short as I'm anxious to get back to editing.
The initial draft used a large number of scene separators within chapters, especially to indicate a switch to another location. The switches were so dramatic I decided to make them into chapters instead. So, my chapter count is changing. Instead of removing material (which is common during editing) I've been adding large chunks of stuff. Word count is now over 82,000 and climbing. Feedback from my fan turned copy-editor is that the book is greatly improved following editing. My proof reader (my wife and grammarian) also agrees. I'm getting a very good feeling about the quality of this book.
I will not rush getting this out for publication. If it takes another 2 months then so be it. I'm a self-published author and I don't have to rush to meet a deadline. But I know people are waiting for this book so I am going to continue editing as often as I can. I am over 1/4 of the way through and moving along at a good pace.
I received a question from a reader in Germany the other day (yes I'm talking about you Ekkehard). He's an engineer and asked a very relevant question. I mention that Tom's new cybernetic limbs are significantly heavier than his original biological limbs. This leads to a question of whether or not the limbs would pose a problem at the connection site until the full cybernetic conversion process is complete. He suggested cybernetic 'training limbs' made of lighter components. That's the level of detail that science fiction readers are capable of and known for. This is also the kind of feedback I love! He's right too - if I ever go back and make some changes to Peacekeeper I will address this problem. Thanks and great job Ekkehard!
Oh, that wasn't the only question he had either. We had a nice back and forth discussion concerning his other questions as well. If you feel inclined to write me about something in one of my books, I will write you back. I will keep this practice as long as I can. Some authors have had to stop doing personal feedbacks because their inbox becomes too overwhelming. I'm not even close to that yet.
I did sort of want to talk about my programming job (another passion of mine) but I will leave that for a later day. Now - it's back to editing.
The initial draft used a large number of scene separators within chapters, especially to indicate a switch to another location. The switches were so dramatic I decided to make them into chapters instead. So, my chapter count is changing. Instead of removing material (which is common during editing) I've been adding large chunks of stuff. Word count is now over 82,000 and climbing. Feedback from my fan turned copy-editor is that the book is greatly improved following editing. My proof reader (my wife and grammarian) also agrees. I'm getting a very good feeling about the quality of this book.
I will not rush getting this out for publication. If it takes another 2 months then so be it. I'm a self-published author and I don't have to rush to meet a deadline. But I know people are waiting for this book so I am going to continue editing as often as I can. I am over 1/4 of the way through and moving along at a good pace.
I received a question from a reader in Germany the other day (yes I'm talking about you Ekkehard). He's an engineer and asked a very relevant question. I mention that Tom's new cybernetic limbs are significantly heavier than his original biological limbs. This leads to a question of whether or not the limbs would pose a problem at the connection site until the full cybernetic conversion process is complete. He suggested cybernetic 'training limbs' made of lighter components. That's the level of detail that science fiction readers are capable of and known for. This is also the kind of feedback I love! He's right too - if I ever go back and make some changes to Peacekeeper I will address this problem. Thanks and great job Ekkehard!
Oh, that wasn't the only question he had either. We had a nice back and forth discussion concerning his other questions as well. If you feel inclined to write me about something in one of my books, I will write you back. I will keep this practice as long as I can. Some authors have had to stop doing personal feedbacks because their inbox becomes too overwhelming. I'm not even close to that yet.
I did sort of want to talk about my programming job (another passion of mine) but I will leave that for a later day. Now - it's back to editing.
August 10, 2014
PK 2 - Editing
After receiving some very good feedback from my new copy-editor as well as some from my writers group, I've decided to go back to chapter 1 and revise. This will mean another delay but I think you will be pleased with the results once the book is released. I will be working hard at finding at least an hour each day for editing to speed the process up.
My big problem with the Galactic Alliance series - especially PK2 - is my familiarity with the GA universe. I've been living with GA technology (in my head of course) since the early '70s. It's so familiar with me that I just let some things pass in the books without describing them. Now, many writer books say that in science fiction the tech should just be there. The books should show the tech without having to explain it. The reason they say is because explaining the technology detracts from the story you're trying to tell. This might be okay for some things and for some types of science fiction, but I have to disagree when it comes to the GA series.
There are some things that will never be explained, like how a shield works. But other things need some explanation or at least some further details added. For instance, the Peacekeeper's biolink is a marvel of engineering but it has its limitations. It cannot allow a PK to control his entire ship by his mind alone. The biolink can sense thoughts and it can--on a simple level--send them, as well. But it cannot immerse the PK into a virtual reality world. If you've read Peacekeeper then you know I've used a total virtual reality world before. This is easy for a PK because the ship's AI simply has to take over control of the PKs cybernetic systems and use the existing connections from these devices to trick the PK into thinking he's in a virtual world. Did I explain this in sufficient detail in Peacekeeper? I'm not sure.
The point is - PK2 is going to be delayed by a few weeks and it's going to be a far better product for it. I will be sending my wife individual chapters to proof as I finish them so the re-write/editing/proofing process will continue in parallel.
Thank you for your patience. I'll let you know how I'm doing with this blog.
My big problem with the Galactic Alliance series - especially PK2 - is my familiarity with the GA universe. I've been living with GA technology (in my head of course) since the early '70s. It's so familiar with me that I just let some things pass in the books without describing them. Now, many writer books say that in science fiction the tech should just be there. The books should show the tech without having to explain it. The reason they say is because explaining the technology detracts from the story you're trying to tell. This might be okay for some things and for some types of science fiction, but I have to disagree when it comes to the GA series.
There are some things that will never be explained, like how a shield works. But other things need some explanation or at least some further details added. For instance, the Peacekeeper's biolink is a marvel of engineering but it has its limitations. It cannot allow a PK to control his entire ship by his mind alone. The biolink can sense thoughts and it can--on a simple level--send them, as well. But it cannot immerse the PK into a virtual reality world. If you've read Peacekeeper then you know I've used a total virtual reality world before. This is easy for a PK because the ship's AI simply has to take over control of the PKs cybernetic systems and use the existing connections from these devices to trick the PK into thinking he's in a virtual world. Did I explain this in sufficient detail in Peacekeeper? I'm not sure.
The point is - PK2 is going to be delayed by a few weeks and it's going to be a far better product for it. I will be sending my wife individual chapters to proof as I finish them so the re-write/editing/proofing process will continue in parallel.
Thank you for your patience. I'll let you know how I'm doing with this blog.
August 3, 2014
Peacekeeper 2 editing
The editing of Peacekeeper 2 is continuing and will move even further along as soon as I post this blog entry. Right now, I am on page 59 of 151 pages. Lee Dilkie (fan turned copy-editor) suggests I write a prologue. After talking around with others, I've decided he's right. That means I will need to write a short introduction to Peacekeeper 2. The ebook version will include a hyperlink to skip the prologue if the reader is familiar with the series.
I've usually had a couple of people read my novels before publication and in recent years I've had my wife check out the book for grammatical mistakes. Most of the comments I get back are similar to: "good book", "I liked it", and "great job". These are 'feel good' comments and are not what I'm looking for from a beta reader. The reviews I get on Amazon and other sites also fall short. If someone reads one of my books I like to hear suggestions for improvement. When I collect enough of these I will even go back and revise previously published works.
What Lee is doing for me is far different and it's the sort of feedback I've needed for some time. A copy-editor does much more than read a manuscript and generate a short review. A copy-editor looks for inconsistencies, identifies sections where improvements can be made, and ensures the overall story structure is intact and holds the reader's interest. A copy-editor is usually not concerned with grammar although there's no reason why that level of detail can't be done at the same time. I told Lee he was working off a second draft and not to worry about grammar - that's my wife's territory.
The result was a document with helpful comments and suggestions. I began Peacekeeper 2 with one goal in mind - to write a novel that allowed a reader to learn about an alien culture. I've found that's not such an easy task. It is very difficult to create an alien culture because we humans know only our own and it's a very narrow slice of what exists elsewhere on our own planet. There are cultural differences between different areas of the United States as well as different countries. Many people are completely unaware of these differences and even subtle nuances can create friction between two people. If we have this sort of problem among humans, imagine what it's going to be like when we encounter an alien species.
I would like to add a polite reminder. If you know of anyone who would be interested in reading this blog please ask them to sign up for my mailing list. The sign-up form can be accessed by clicking here.
I hope to have Peacekeeper 2 ready for publication in about a month. A lot of it rests on finding the time to do my final editing as well as my wife's grammatical checks. Her mom is currently in the hospital and time to proof my book will be hard to find. I will keep you informed through this blog.
I've usually had a couple of people read my novels before publication and in recent years I've had my wife check out the book for grammatical mistakes. Most of the comments I get back are similar to: "good book", "I liked it", and "great job". These are 'feel good' comments and are not what I'm looking for from a beta reader. The reviews I get on Amazon and other sites also fall short. If someone reads one of my books I like to hear suggestions for improvement. When I collect enough of these I will even go back and revise previously published works.
What Lee is doing for me is far different and it's the sort of feedback I've needed for some time. A copy-editor does much more than read a manuscript and generate a short review. A copy-editor looks for inconsistencies, identifies sections where improvements can be made, and ensures the overall story structure is intact and holds the reader's interest. A copy-editor is usually not concerned with grammar although there's no reason why that level of detail can't be done at the same time. I told Lee he was working off a second draft and not to worry about grammar - that's my wife's territory.
The result was a document with helpful comments and suggestions. I began Peacekeeper 2 with one goal in mind - to write a novel that allowed a reader to learn about an alien culture. I've found that's not such an easy task. It is very difficult to create an alien culture because we humans know only our own and it's a very narrow slice of what exists elsewhere on our own planet. There are cultural differences between different areas of the United States as well as different countries. Many people are completely unaware of these differences and even subtle nuances can create friction between two people. If we have this sort of problem among humans, imagine what it's going to be like when we encounter an alien species.
I would like to add a polite reminder. If you know of anyone who would be interested in reading this blog please ask them to sign up for my mailing list. The sign-up form can be accessed by clicking here.
I hope to have Peacekeeper 2 ready for publication in about a month. A lot of it rests on finding the time to do my final editing as well as my wife's grammatical checks. Her mom is currently in the hospital and time to proof my book will be hard to find. I will keep you informed through this blog.
July 27, 2014
Launch Pad 2014
It has been two weeks since my last post. The delay was caused by my attending Launch Pad 2014. Last year, I increased my blog schedule to post on the activities at Launch Pad nearly every day. I did not do this this time because most of it would have been a duplication of the events of a year ago. If you're interested in reading what happened day by day you can start here. If you are interested in reading the blogs of some of the other attendees, you can click here, here, and (especially if you want to see some of the presentations) here. I'm sure I missed some but those will give you a flavor for how well received this program has been.
I was accepted to my first Launch Pad event in 2012. I enjoyed it so much and met such a wonderful group of people that I practically begged Mike Brotherton (the program's founder) to return. He eventually said yes. Now, I help out by renting one of the vans and providing transportation from Denver to Laramie every year. I'm also hoping (once I learn how to do website maintenance) to help them out by becoming the web master for the Launch Pad site.
Pictures and videos of this year's as well as previous year's Launch Pad adventure can be found on my Flickr account.
Editing for Peacekeeper 2 is moving along at a slow but good pace. One of my more outspoken and helpful fans -- Lee Dilkie -- is doing a very good job of copy-editing for me. His comments have caused me to stop and think as well as to alter and improve the novel. Peacekeeper 2 might be slow in being released but it's going to be a much better book because of the help I'm getting. As soon as I'm done with my final editing pass I hand it off to my wife who looks for grammatical errors. Even after all these passes and multiple people looking at it, some errors are bound to creep in. That's why I ask my readers to give me feedback. I prefer constructive feedback so please just don't say "I didn't like it". If that's your opinion then at least tell me why so I can improve.
In other news - my new job at the nuke plant has been keeping me busy. I'm enjoying myself at this new job and I count myself to be among one of the lucky few who actually enjoy going into work every day. Writing database applications is fun -- I could do it 12 hours a day, 6 days a week if need be. But of course, that would cut into my writing time so that's not going to happen!
Time to get back to editing!
I was accepted to my first Launch Pad event in 2012. I enjoyed it so much and met such a wonderful group of people that I practically begged Mike Brotherton (the program's founder) to return. He eventually said yes. Now, I help out by renting one of the vans and providing transportation from Denver to Laramie every year. I'm also hoping (once I learn how to do website maintenance) to help them out by becoming the web master for the Launch Pad site.
Pictures and videos of this year's as well as previous year's Launch Pad adventure can be found on my Flickr account.
Editing for Peacekeeper 2 is moving along at a slow but good pace. One of my more outspoken and helpful fans -- Lee Dilkie -- is doing a very good job of copy-editing for me. His comments have caused me to stop and think as well as to alter and improve the novel. Peacekeeper 2 might be slow in being released but it's going to be a much better book because of the help I'm getting. As soon as I'm done with my final editing pass I hand it off to my wife who looks for grammatical errors. Even after all these passes and multiple people looking at it, some errors are bound to creep in. That's why I ask my readers to give me feedback. I prefer constructive feedback so please just don't say "I didn't like it". If that's your opinion then at least tell me why so I can improve.
In other news - my new job at the nuke plant has been keeping me busy. I'm enjoying myself at this new job and I count myself to be among one of the lucky few who actually enjoy going into work every day. Writing database applications is fun -- I could do it 12 hours a day, 6 days a week if need be. But of course, that would cut into my writing time so that's not going to happen!
Time to get back to editing!
July 6, 2014
By The Numbers
Possible Delay of Next Week's PostI leave for Laramie, Wyoming next Sunday to attend the 2014 Launch Pad Workshop. This means I may not generate a blog post next week. I'll be meeting another wonderful group of authors, editors, game developers, and others in the entertainment industry. In case you're curious, here's a list of who's coming:
Ann Leckie Ann Toole Lisa Yee Malinda Lo Jenn Reese Meg Howrey WilliamLedbetter Amy SterlingCasil Eugene Myers Marc Halsey Geetanjali Dighe James L. Sutter SarahMcCarry AndrewLiptak Susan Forest Gabriella Harbowry
My apologies for the two missing links. I have not yet mastered the zen of Google. I also hope I got all the links right.
By The NumbersAs an indie author, I like to know where I stand in relationship to other authors – especially other indies. Writing is NOT a competition (which is why I'm not a big fan of awards), but knowing how well you're doing in comparison to other authors is very useful. If my sales figures are low then I need to work harder. Based on reviews it may be better writing or it must might mean I need to spend some time on the internet talking about my book. But, unless other indie authors share these results with the community there's no way to make a comparison. Everyone seems to know how much actors make – especially well-known actors. Why not indie authors?
I've discussed this topic in the past and I mentioned that I've compared my sales (not monetary income but units sold) with another author who is far more well known than myself. I've learned that I'm doing quite well. The daily sales numbers I'm about to present might seem low but they are steady and that's what an author wants – a steady flow of sales.
I'm going to share my sales numbers with you on a regular basis and, if I can find the time, I plan on posting them to my website. I hope that other authors may share their sales figures publicly so other indie authors can learn how well they're doing in comparison. Indiesshould stick together, share our numbers, share how we promote our books, and talk among ourselves.
I don't collect the data every month but usually do it about 3 or 4 times a year. There's a tremendous spike in sales beginning in October of 2011 and peeking in March of 2012. Sales then dropped and have been fairly steady for some time. Smaller spikes occur when I release a new book. Why the giant spike in sales? I wish I could tell you. I suspect Amazon may have featured Translight in their daily deals but I really don't know.
There's a lesson in the sales numbers – just because you have a good month – or several months – don't quit your day job. Sales can fall just as fast as they can rise.
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2009
7 12 6 4 3 9 4 13 2010 31 16 29 6 11 16 12 28 51 53 38 51 2011 51 60 51 64 52 69 89 138 216 676 913 1,197 2012 1,608 8,614 10,752 7,838 5,568 3,693 2,766 2,119 1,429 951 586 455 2013 435 262 280 232 252 189 185 165 133 400 820 526 2014 330 202 149 73 98
If anyone else cares to share their numbers, I would be happy to receive them. If you do, please let me know if I can make them public otherwise I'll keep them private.
Peacekeeper is still being analyzed by my beta readers. If I get comments back before I head to Laramie I'll begin the final editing pass while I'm there. Then it's off to my wife for her proofing.
Ann Leckie Ann Toole Lisa Yee Malinda Lo Jenn Reese Meg Howrey WilliamLedbetter Amy SterlingCasil Eugene Myers Marc Halsey Geetanjali Dighe James L. Sutter SarahMcCarry AndrewLiptak Susan Forest Gabriella Harbowry
My apologies for the two missing links. I have not yet mastered the zen of Google. I also hope I got all the links right.
By The NumbersAs an indie author, I like to know where I stand in relationship to other authors – especially other indies. Writing is NOT a competition (which is why I'm not a big fan of awards), but knowing how well you're doing in comparison to other authors is very useful. If my sales figures are low then I need to work harder. Based on reviews it may be better writing or it must might mean I need to spend some time on the internet talking about my book. But, unless other indie authors share these results with the community there's no way to make a comparison. Everyone seems to know how much actors make – especially well-known actors. Why not indie authors?
I've discussed this topic in the past and I mentioned that I've compared my sales (not monetary income but units sold) with another author who is far more well known than myself. I've learned that I'm doing quite well. The daily sales numbers I'm about to present might seem low but they are steady and that's what an author wants – a steady flow of sales.
I'm going to share my sales numbers with you on a regular basis and, if I can find the time, I plan on posting them to my website. I hope that other authors may share their sales figures publicly so other indie authors can learn how well they're doing in comparison. Indiesshould stick together, share our numbers, share how we promote our books, and talk among ourselves.
I don't collect the data every month but usually do it about 3 or 4 times a year. There's a tremendous spike in sales beginning in October of 2011 and peeking in March of 2012. Sales then dropped and have been fairly steady for some time. Smaller spikes occur when I release a new book. Why the giant spike in sales? I wish I could tell you. I suspect Amazon may have featured Translight in their daily deals but I really don't know.
There's a lesson in the sales numbers – just because you have a good month – or several months – don't quit your day job. Sales can fall just as fast as they can rise.
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2009
7 12 6 4 3 9 4 13 2010 31 16 29 6 11 16 12 28 51 53 38 51 2011 51 60 51 64 52 69 89 138 216 676 913 1,197 2012 1,608 8,614 10,752 7,838 5,568 3,693 2,766 2,119 1,429 951 586 455 2013 435 262 280 232 252 189 185 165 133 400 820 526 2014 330 202 149 73 98
If anyone else cares to share their numbers, I would be happy to receive them. If you do, please let me know if I can make them public otherwise I'll keep them private.
Peacekeeper is still being analyzed by my beta readers. If I get comments back before I head to Laramie I'll begin the final editing pass while I'm there. Then it's off to my wife for her proofing.
June 30, 2014
PK2 is Off to the Beta Readers
Congratulations!I would like to congratulate everyone on their Locus awards. I met Ellen Datlow at Launch Pad 2012 - she won best editor - congratulations.
A Day Late But Not a Dollar ShortI'm a day late in getting my blog out but for a good reason. We've been having some remodeling done and things have been very hectic around here. My wife has been up early and then out of the house while the contractor has been removing our old bathtub and installing a walk-in shower. I've had nearly 2 days of uninterrupted time to edit and that's what I've been concentrating on. The end result is that the first editing pass of Peacekeeper 2 is complete and the novel is now off to the beta readers. I don't expect to be getting the results back until I return from Laramie in three weeks where I will be attending Launch Pad 2014.
With the editing done, I find myself in a rather strange position. I'm heading off to a place where I normally expect to get a ton of writing done but I don't actually have anything I'm working on at the moment. What to do? The solution - I'm going to start fixing The Galactic Alliance Technical Reference Manual. It's a free publication that's available on my website and it's in dire need of a major upgrade. I don't write short stories or I would be working on one right now so fixing the GATRM is a good choice.
EditingThere is an art to editing and I'm still learning how to be a good editor of my own work. When you read books on editing you hear things like: "Each sentence must resonate with the reader"; "Every word, every sentence, every paragraph must be dissected, the useless parts discarded, and the remaining pieces stitched back together again to form a more coherent whole". Okay - I made those up, but you get the idea. Editing is hard work! My problem is I tend to rush through the editing process. I read the words as if I were the reader, listening to how they sound and looking for improvement ideas. I will occasionally stop and delete something or go back and add in something. But I tend to rush the process.
With PK 2, I hope to have a final product that everyone can enjoy. I'm going to try to take a single chapter at a time and read it, slowly, patiently, keeping myself detached from the story but engaged enough to spot errors. After each chapter is done, I'll take a break. It might take me another month to finish the editing but I think it's worth it.
I just finished replying to a fan who has found a few errors in Translight. Over the years since being written, I've gone over this book at least a dozen times and yet there are still problems in some of the words I chose. "Road" vs "rode", "sighting" vs "citing", and one sentence that had a word that should have been removed. It's embarrassing but I want my readers to point these out. That's how people learn. Just because you've done something wrong all your life does not mean it's the right thing to do.
The contractor should be finishing up today and our bathroom (except for painting which I will take care of) will be complete. We'll have a new walk-in shower and a new toilet. My wife wanted to widen the door but because of how the frame is built and the flooring around it, we'll have to wait until when we decide to replace the flooring in the living room and hallway. We plan on retiring here and making little improvements like this now is called 'planning for the future'.
One final note: Today marks the first official day of my new job at the power plant. I can now tell everyone I am a DataBase Administrator (DBA). Like my wife likes to say - "You're not AN I&C technician, you're not A planner, you are THE Database Administrator." I like the sound of that.
A Day Late But Not a Dollar ShortI'm a day late in getting my blog out but for a good reason. We've been having some remodeling done and things have been very hectic around here. My wife has been up early and then out of the house while the contractor has been removing our old bathtub and installing a walk-in shower. I've had nearly 2 days of uninterrupted time to edit and that's what I've been concentrating on. The end result is that the first editing pass of Peacekeeper 2 is complete and the novel is now off to the beta readers. I don't expect to be getting the results back until I return from Laramie in three weeks where I will be attending Launch Pad 2014.
With the editing done, I find myself in a rather strange position. I'm heading off to a place where I normally expect to get a ton of writing done but I don't actually have anything I'm working on at the moment. What to do? The solution - I'm going to start fixing The Galactic Alliance Technical Reference Manual. It's a free publication that's available on my website and it's in dire need of a major upgrade. I don't write short stories or I would be working on one right now so fixing the GATRM is a good choice.
EditingThere is an art to editing and I'm still learning how to be a good editor of my own work. When you read books on editing you hear things like: "Each sentence must resonate with the reader"; "Every word, every sentence, every paragraph must be dissected, the useless parts discarded, and the remaining pieces stitched back together again to form a more coherent whole". Okay - I made those up, but you get the idea. Editing is hard work! My problem is I tend to rush through the editing process. I read the words as if I were the reader, listening to how they sound and looking for improvement ideas. I will occasionally stop and delete something or go back and add in something. But I tend to rush the process.
With PK 2, I hope to have a final product that everyone can enjoy. I'm going to try to take a single chapter at a time and read it, slowly, patiently, keeping myself detached from the story but engaged enough to spot errors. After each chapter is done, I'll take a break. It might take me another month to finish the editing but I think it's worth it.
I just finished replying to a fan who has found a few errors in Translight. Over the years since being written, I've gone over this book at least a dozen times and yet there are still problems in some of the words I chose. "Road" vs "rode", "sighting" vs "citing", and one sentence that had a word that should have been removed. It's embarrassing but I want my readers to point these out. That's how people learn. Just because you've done something wrong all your life does not mean it's the right thing to do.
The contractor should be finishing up today and our bathroom (except for painting which I will take care of) will be complete. We'll have a new walk-in shower and a new toilet. My wife wanted to widen the door but because of how the frame is built and the flooring around it, we'll have to wait until when we decide to replace the flooring in the living room and hallway. We plan on retiring here and making little improvements like this now is called 'planning for the future'.
One final note: Today marks the first official day of my new job at the power plant. I can now tell everyone I am a DataBase Administrator (DBA). Like my wife likes to say - "You're not AN I&C technician, you're not A planner, you are THE Database Administrator." I like the sound of that.
June 22, 2014
Job Status
First Up - Congratulations!
I would like to congratulate an author I've never met. John Joseph Adams is the husband of an author I met at Launch Pad. His anthology The End is Nigh was featured on Amazon and has risen in the ranking until as of this morning it stands at #11 of all paid Kindle books. I suspect this is what happened to my Translight book back in 2012. I'm always glad to see someone's book doing well. Again - congratulations!
Peacekeeper Update Editing is moving along at a good pace. I'm about 1/3 of the way done. I've added about 2,000 words to the manuscript as well. My goal is to have the book ready for my beta readers by the time I leave for Launch Pad next month.
Job Update There is some exciting news (well, to me anyway) regarding my job at the nuclear plant. If you've been reading this blog you may remember I recently took a new position as a maintenance planner. During the interview process another manager learned about my computer programming skills. He's been trying to get me into his department ever since. I'm used to working a lot of overtime making my annual income considerably higher than my base pay. The job he was trying to get me to accept would involve little overtime and it was a salary position as well. But, a lot of people thought I would be a good choice for the position and so the bargaining began.
Last Friday, I was handed an offer that came with a considerable pay raise. Even though the number that will appear on my income tax form from now on will be slightly lower, I accepted the job. There were many factors involved in my decision. The position becomes official on Monday and it is everything I've always wanted in a dream job.
I am the maintenance department's DBA (DataBase Administrator). Basically, I will be doing Access database programming as well as maintaining a number of database applications and interfaces. I love programming – more than writing I admit. It's a strictly 8-hour a day job with semi-flexible hours. I will no longer ever have to put on a hard hat, work in high heat or high radiation areas, and never work nights. This get's me home early enough for me to not only spend some quality time with my wife, but to have quite a bit more time to write nearly every day.
I am a happy camper!
Next Project Looking into the future, I think I've decided what I will be doing after Peacekeeper is finished or perhaps while I'm waiting for some feedback from my beta readers. First up – the Galactic Alliance Technical Reference Manual is in dire need of a major upgrade. I'm determined to turn it into something everyone will enjoy and it's going to remain freely available. Once that's done, and Peacekeeper 2 is behind me, I'll be doing a minor rewrite of the Dragonverse books. This is in preparation for a third book in the series that will be about the children of the series' main character. After that, I'm seriously thinking about writing a sequel to Off Course – something several people have asked me to do.
Finally I hope my use of email to remind everyone of this blog post is being well received. The way I look at it, if I were on the receiving end and I didn't feel like reading the post I would just click delete. Simple. I've been using MailChimp to send these emails which has worked out quite well for me. I did however, screw up the last one when I forgot to change the link. Nobody seemed to notice that it pointed to an older post. I hope not to repeat this error in the future.
I would like to remind everyone to share your good books with your friends. If you enjoyed reading a book, tell your friends. 85% of all book sales are done through word of mouth. Feel free to forward my email reminder to your friends as well. If they're interested, they can sign up to receive my updates themselves.
That's it for now. Have a great day!
Peacekeeper Update Editing is moving along at a good pace. I'm about 1/3 of the way done. I've added about 2,000 words to the manuscript as well. My goal is to have the book ready for my beta readers by the time I leave for Launch Pad next month.
Job Update There is some exciting news (well, to me anyway) regarding my job at the nuclear plant. If you've been reading this blog you may remember I recently took a new position as a maintenance planner. During the interview process another manager learned about my computer programming skills. He's been trying to get me into his department ever since. I'm used to working a lot of overtime making my annual income considerably higher than my base pay. The job he was trying to get me to accept would involve little overtime and it was a salary position as well. But, a lot of people thought I would be a good choice for the position and so the bargaining began.
Last Friday, I was handed an offer that came with a considerable pay raise. Even though the number that will appear on my income tax form from now on will be slightly lower, I accepted the job. There were many factors involved in my decision. The position becomes official on Monday and it is everything I've always wanted in a dream job.
I am the maintenance department's DBA (DataBase Administrator). Basically, I will be doing Access database programming as well as maintaining a number of database applications and interfaces. I love programming – more than writing I admit. It's a strictly 8-hour a day job with semi-flexible hours. I will no longer ever have to put on a hard hat, work in high heat or high radiation areas, and never work nights. This get's me home early enough for me to not only spend some quality time with my wife, but to have quite a bit more time to write nearly every day.
I am a happy camper!
Next Project Looking into the future, I think I've decided what I will be doing after Peacekeeper is finished or perhaps while I'm waiting for some feedback from my beta readers. First up – the Galactic Alliance Technical Reference Manual is in dire need of a major upgrade. I'm determined to turn it into something everyone will enjoy and it's going to remain freely available. Once that's done, and Peacekeeper 2 is behind me, I'll be doing a minor rewrite of the Dragonverse books. This is in preparation for a third book in the series that will be about the children of the series' main character. After that, I'm seriously thinking about writing a sequel to Off Course – something several people have asked me to do.
Finally I hope my use of email to remind everyone of this blog post is being well received. The way I look at it, if I were on the receiving end and I didn't feel like reading the post I would just click delete. Simple. I've been using MailChimp to send these emails which has worked out quite well for me. I did however, screw up the last one when I forgot to change the link. Nobody seemed to notice that it pointed to an older post. I hope not to repeat this error in the future.
I would like to remind everyone to share your good books with your friends. If you enjoyed reading a book, tell your friends. 85% of all book sales are done through word of mouth. Feel free to forward my email reminder to your friends as well. If they're interested, they can sign up to receive my updates themselves.
That's it for now. Have a great day!
