M.J. Oelkers's Blog, page 6

Pretty Colors

Seems like the last stretch of work on cover art for Shikaree was done at a sprint. A mockup for the design was delivered the day after my last post, and just a couple days ago I was treated to the finished product. I must say that I am absolutely ecstatic at how well the cover turned out. Especially when compared to the relative dud that got churned out for Spellseeker. This alone makes me feel leagues better about the decision to self-publish. Can't wait to share the finished design once I receive the necessary bundle of files.

Also in regards to Shikaree, I finally got around to setting my audio equipment up. Took a while for me to remember exactly how the whole thing works. It's been two or three years since I last muddled with the gear. The only thing I'm waiting on before starting the recordings for Shikaree is a mic boom. With that scheduled to arrive by the end of the week, I should up and recording soon.

Seems like an odd process to get an audiobook stapled to an ebook on Amazon. I was hoping I'd be able to do it all in one fell swoop. Load the ebook and audiobook through the same interface and be done with it. Turns out I have to go through ACX (basically the audible job board) even though I'm recording the audio myself. Stranger still is that I have to wait until the book is listed on Amazon, then go and grab through ACX to make the listing. Seems a little bass ackwards to me. Regardless, I've researched the process and am equipped with the knowledge needed to succeed. Onward and upward!

Toodles.

Ticking Boxes

It's been a pretty good month or two from a motivation perspective. 'To Do' lists are becoming a daily habit that helps me dial-in on tasks outside the daily routine of write, exercise, and read. That expanded bandwidth often accounts for small things like remembering to visit the grocery more frequently or tidying the kitchen or bathroom. Little things that help me feel like a properly functioning adult, which in turn helps me keep my nose to the writing grindstone. Positive feedback loops are not something I'm particularly accustomed to, but it's a change I can grow to like.

The longer term list is helping me take care of things that get indefinitely pushed to tomorrow. My entertainment room has been reorganized into a more inviting space. I've signed with a contractor to have my brittle roof replaced (which is a bill I'm still not pleased about). There's a sense of gratification that comes with all these things. Most recent among them is that I moved my recording equipment into a better room. It's the first step to recording an audiobook for 'Shikaree', and I plan to get that started at last on Monday.

Granted, I am human. Distractions are a part of everyone's life. I'd be lying if I said Shadow of the Erdtree is not about to throttle my attention with gleeful abandon. Pretty sure it won't get in the way of any of my more basic routine tasks, but we'll just have to wait and see what the next few days provide.

Toodles, tarnished.

Momentum

All sorts of projects moving forward as of late, both book related and otherwise. An example of the 'other' would be related to my roof. I mentioned doing patchwork a week or two ago. Well, now I'm taking bids to have the sucker replaced. Not a dollar amount I'm excited to see, but it's something that needs to be done if I want this old house to remain more or less intact. Such it life.

As for book stuff, collaboration for the cover art is underway. I've had some initial conversation with the artist. Nothing particularly formal. Just discussions about the survey they use to collect pertinent information. I'm expecting a progress early next week, so hopefully I'll have something more tangible to talk about next time.

Got to doing pricing research. Not for any services, but for how much Shikaree should cost. Trolled around various sites to get an idea for the price range of YA fantasy. As far as print goes, the number seems to range from about 12 to 20 USD. I plan on going for 12 or 13. Basically just enough to ensure I don't owe the printer for each book sold.

The ebook space was a little different. YA fantasy eBooks seem to go for anywhere from 8 to 15 USD. That range would make for a delightful profit margin, but I would also like to actually sell some of the suckers. I've settled on listing the book for 2 USD. The price of a bottled soda or candy bar from the gas station. A low low low bar of entry to encourage people to investigate this world I'm building.

Further divergence from initial plans comes in the form of Kindle Unlimited. I had planned from the start for Shikaree to available on that services, making the bar of entry for people enrolled quite literally zero. Turns out that Kindle Unlimited is only available for ebooks published solely through KDP (Amazon's publishing branch). This didn't change my plans so much as force me to take a new approach. Had to delete everything I had put together on IngramSpark so I could relist the project as Print-on-Demand only. I'll go through KDP for the ebook in order to access that broad base of users. It'll alienate customers that use other platforms, but it's really hard to argue with free. I can consider abandoning the Kindle Unlimited plan for broader reach when I actually have people's attention.

Toodles.

Ow

Friendly advice: If you can avoid ever having to do roof work, see that you do. It feels like I've been bareknuckle boxing a block of sandpaper for ten rounds. There was not even a whole lot to be done. Mostly just patchwork while I start shopping around for a full replacement (which is a whole story). I tip my hat to folks who do this for a living, because I could not.

That aside, book stuff progresses as normal. Collaboration on the cover for Shikaree starts in just a couple days. Stoked to have that underway. Once I have the cover squared away I'll be able to do some promoting. Tough to market your book when have neither a reputable name nor a cover, isn't it? Should be fun to share that when the time comes.

Speaking of marketing, that's likely going to be the next thing I have to research. Yet another sore subject where I placed trust in my previous publisher and got burned. My word of mouth and lackluster attempts from folks who don't care aren't enough to see that Shikaree gets a chance to reach people. I imagine I'll actually have to wrangle some folks like for editing and the cover. Something to chew on while I wait for the cover collaboration to finish.

Toodles.

Selection

Managed to keep my word from a post or two ago. Took a break from admin after completing edits for the Shikaree manuscript and typesetting for about a day or day. After that, got my but back onto the web and sent out queries for cover artists. It ended up being a bit more expensive than I had anticipated (more on par with what I paid for copyedits) but such is the way of things. Read a little deeper into the process and managed to realign my expectations rather than grow disappointed or bitter. Timeline on that dictates I should have a finished product by June 30th.

I've also begun to tackle some other administrative tasks. Can't remember the last time I read through a EULA line by line. Not before yesterday, at least. Spent a significant amount of time scanning IngramSpark's terms and all the others terms that branched off of those terms. A messy web they have right there. Also a necessary evil. The book has to get into your hands somehow, and I understand Ingram to be one of the biggest players. I just have to knuckle-down and make sure to mind my p's and q's.

Outside of that, book six is turning into the final stretch. A breakneck sprint through torment and violence. Come just on the heels of some growth and revelations, too. Sparks of joy and hope that are immediately snuffed by the iron fist of circumstance. This one is gonna be a bit of a doozy to get through. I'm equal parts excited and terrified. Let's go!

Toodles.

Like Lightning

So I got to talking with my doctor a couple weeks ago. When my friend from up north was down to visit, I said, we got to talking about how strikingly similar our hodgepodge of conditions is. Similar treatments and medications, too. One thing to another and I started reading up on ADHD and how it's diagnosed. I'd been suspicious since I start with therapy. We've got a touch of it in the family and I was borderline from what I could tell. That got swept under the rug until just these few weeks ago.

This is a roundabout way of saying I'm on ADHD medication now. My GOD is this wild. The first chemical transformation I underwent in my mental health journey was getting my sleep in order. Going from getting a few hours a night to sleeping nearly the whole way through. Now I'm undergoing another stark "this is how brains are supposed to work" realization. I'm taking care of tasks, both minor and major, as they come to mind rather than pushing them off. I find myself able to focus on tasks for more than half an hour without becoming mentally exhausted. No longer do I feel compelled to look at my phone every five to ten minutes.

There's a part of me that's bitter about this realization. Thoughts along the lines of how I've spent upward of thirty years with what felt like lead weights tied to my brain. A sort of "why couldn't this have been noticed sooner" vibe. So many years wasted on a level of functioning that I would barely describe as such.

Overwhelmingly, however, I feel uplifted. There's nothing that can be done about the time that has already passed. All I can do is look forward and plan what to do with this newfound strength I've been given. The key my brain so desperately needed has finally been slipped into the lock that kept it chained for so many years. My writing pace has more than doubled. I worked through the entire set of revision notes on Shikaree and am ready to typeset it. It would be wrong to say that I'm a new man (still the same old me ticking at heart), but it feels right to say that I'm the best me I've ever been.

Toodles.

Next Steps

A lot of wheels turned over the course of the last couple weeks. First, though decidedly the least exciting, was that I've gotten all of the business aspects of self-publishing squared away. That includes business names, permits, tax information, as well as accounts. All the nitty-gritty stuff that I should only have to deal with once. Apart from renewing things, but I'll take those as they come.

Much more exciting is that my editor finished their work a week early. I got their notes back just the other day, along a style sheet. The plan is to tuck into that right after I post this. This is the last step between me and having a completed manuscript for Shikaree. I am absolutely ecstatic!

After I get the manuscript squared away, I'll run the document through a typesetting program to get it in a professional layout. Appropriate page counts and size and all that jazz. After that comes the hunt for a cover artist. I've done a little cursory scour of Reedsy to see what kind of professionals are out there, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. No sense contacting an artist if they won't know the size of their canvas.

Other than that, book six continues to plug along. Finished a chapter just the other day and will start another tomorrow. I'm into the beginnings of act three, so things are going to get dicey soon. Action has already kicked off in a big way and there's plenty more to come. Excited to see exactly where this one ends up going.

Toodles.

Whirlwind

Let last week get away from me. Ooops. At least it was not related to low spirits this time around. I genuinely had a lot going on and the date just blew by. Thankfully more good than bad, as well.

Getting the bad out of the way, I found a delightfully awful gap in the shingles on my roof. Only found that because water stains and mold spots started to show in my bathroom ceiling. Hooray for that, amirite? There's an inspector coming to take a look at the damage today, who will then inform insurance. Hoping there's enough of a payout to justify replacing my roof. Gods know how old the thing is, and it won't be getting more resilient to storms anytime soon.

As for the good side of events, had a friend from Canada visit last week. They were down here for the better part of a week and encouraged a group of us to get up to all manner of shenanigans. I struggle to get myself out and about sometimes, so excuses like that tend to go a long way in keeping my mood afloat.

It's a load of chaotic good for book stuff, too. The editor I chose to work with on Shikaree has begun their process. There were a few informative questions about style up front that already opened my eyes to a couple new writing techniques. I'm excited to see what the finished edit look. In preparation, I've gotten all of my business ducks in a row. Last thing I can do before the edit is complete is get a bank account setup to start organizing transactions. Make life easier when it comes to tax time.

Apart from that, current book is chugging along at a respectable pace. A few more things have fallen into place in the sense of filling out detail. A couple chapters are going to get nixed to help move the story along at a more brisk pace. Other than that, it's business as usual. Hoping to have the first draft completed before my birthday rolls around. Should be looking at releasing Shikaree around then.

Toodles.

Into the Weeds

Been having a pretty good week when it comes to the current story (number six). Not so much in terms of forward progress. That continues to chug along at the typical rate. Where I've been making big gains is in plans for upcoming scenes. Moments that were somewhat vague in my head or in the storyboard are taking more definite and powerful shape. Ideas evolved into substantial events.

Times like these, 'aha' moments while I'm in process of writing a story, always make me very excited to go back and do revisions. I make the change to the plan while actively writing the story, pop a review note into places in the manuscript that will need to updated, then carry on as if the story had always been written this way. It lets me go back and flesh earlier parts of the story out after having settled on the concrete ending.

Tinkering can be quite laborious, of course. I've always made little changes here and there in previous books, but the last one (story five) was the first time I had ever removed whole chapters. Significant changes made to plot and pacing. There are a few similar spots that will require surgery in story number seven. One of those scenes where its need for change becomes more and more apparent every time I run it back in my head. The spirit will remain, but it needs new form to have a chance at being believable. Should also make the section more active and exciting as a whole.

Toodles.

Trigger

The search for assistance editing Shikaree went supremely well. All of my queries were replied. Questions I asked were promptly answered. I was even offered the chance to review sample edits based on the text I provided in the post. Given all that, and from the fact that I said 'went' supremely well, I'd say it's obvious that I have picked a professional and decided to press forward.

Start date from the editor is April 8th, and the project is slated to last for roughly a month. In that time I plan to start pulling several other levers related to the self-publication process. I've already setup an account in order to purchase ISBNs, listed an imprint name within my local county, and received some financial documentation. Next on the list is to acquire a business license. All of this is beyond surreal. The fact that it's moving at lightspeed when compared to the glacial pace of the last six months is also wild.

Once I have the edit in hand, the next part of the process will be finding an artist to design the cover. I'll have ISBNs and barcodes ready to go so they can be slotted into the design. I am beyond ecstatic at the prospect of getting to commission a proper piece for a cover. If I've never made it clear, I still feel quite burned by what got slapped on the first book. For all the terror that comes with this sense of control, it feels twice as liberating.

Here's to hoping everything continues to progress smoothly. If it does, I'm hoping to have Shikaree ready to kick out the door sometime later this summer.

Toodles.