Hart Johnson's Blog, page 37

Cover Lovin' and Progress

Writing News





First I just need to tell you what a wild trip this is. Anybody who has never contemplated a serial really should think about it. Maybe it is because it reminds me a little of my fan fiction writing days, where I posted regularly to meet the demand of my readers. It was fast paced and pushed me to keep at it.



And while my books haven't been actually PUBLISHED yet on this, I have a schedule that will definitely keep me cranking. Got my first case of feedback on Friday—at least one person thinks I am 90% on track—there was a character in need of a bit more dimension, but one of five PoV characters isn't a bad record. I can do it!



I finished the first draft of book two yesterday, so will spend the week trying to knock THAT into shape while I also hammer out what it is I want to include in Book 3.



So the NEWS is this:



First four books, all titled:



Ill Omens  (with first readers)

In Short Supply (currently editing--the pre-reader version)

So This is War (currently plotting and a wee bit of writing)

Fight or Flight



These four make a 'set' if you will that is the equivalent to the first in a trilogy, except that each also has a sub-story/theme that gets mostly tied up so the reader can move to the next theme.



NEXT (this is where we all get to squee a bit)





I have my 2nd cover!!!!!





My cover designer is my buddy Joris—I know you've all heard me talk about him. He's very talented, has worked with me on each of these—I generally have SOME idea for the broad idea... I think on the SET one, the SHOT was me and Joris added that very cool country below with the people falling off the United States.





The first for the serial, I requested a dead seagull—it is representative of the 'omens' if you will, and is what the reader gets the very first chapter.



And now you can see the second... that poor sad tomato plant with the fruit just dying on the vine... don't you wonder why? Huh? Don't ya?



So if you need a cover done, you definitely want to head over and look at his portfolio.



And he blogged yesterday about how he went about all these!



And while we're at it... I started a Facebook Author page this week for me as Hart Johnson... if any of you are at Facebook...



Please like me!

One Thing At A Time

As I struggle to re-acclimate at work, it ha occurred to me it isn't going to happen. I learned this in grad school 20 years ago and I'm not sure why I can't remember it. When my person spends a 'full time job worth' engaged in a high brain activity, the REST of the day needs to be brainless.



And right now I AM WRITING BOOKS!!!  At a frantic pace, mind you. And I'm making good progress.





Ill Omens is with first readers and I have 9 of probably 12 chapters written of Short Supply--the 2nd, though I will need to edit it by July 29 to get THAT to first readers.



SPEAKING of first readers... It is my opinion and nature that in a marathon, some people might poop out, so I was thinking I maybe needed SEVERAL early readers early on.  HOPEFULLY I can hook all of them, but life happen anallat.  So if ANYBODY is interested in jumping on as an early reader--giving feedback on these as I go, I'd be forever grateful. My only request is  2 week turnaround time.



Email me, if you are interested:  hartjohnson23@gmail.com





Any of the rest of you struggle with day job/writing brain wars?

Time Wibble Wobble

So know how I was gone for a few weeks? In that time, the cafeteria in my building changed management. I knew it was happening. It wasn’t GOOD news when I heard, but for my one bagel a week, one serving of milk (for my Joe’s Os in the morning)… maybe twice through the salad bar to supplement the boring lettuce and dressing I bring from home… I mean how big a deal is it when I spend less than five bucks a week there?



The one cashier thought the new people would hire her… The cook I knew, too…



It’s all good. Aramark screwed up and we are getting new management. But there were no terrible repercussions for anybody I knew...





So I get back and it is like somebody has gone back in time and tweaked this LITTLE thing… and it has had all these ripple effects that in SMALL ways makes the whole scene just slightly OFF.





Poor sad cashier...

The shirts were gray instead of blue.



The cashier had glasses instead of contacts (and more importantly, seems very down, when she’s always been cheerful)



The bagels migrated to a new place.



The silverware moved and the condiment tower with 6ish choices is now just a ketchup and a mustard squirter.



And the prices have gone UP… my bagel with cream cheese used to be $1.16. Now it’s $1.40. That’s 20%, gringos. I mean $1.40 won’t break me. $.32 more a week won’t… though the milk is seven cents more, too, which has scared me, so I haven’t even tested the salad bar prices.







Changing history for the better, doesn't

It is just all a little OFF.



And that really was exactly what it reminded me of—the Pendragon books where Pendragon has gone back and saved the Hindenburg and comes back to the present and it's really nearly unnoticeably different (well, other than those hell dogs, but never mind)... but this new technology that SEEMS very cool at first is turning out to be very dangerous… you with me?



So now I’m afraid of the cafeteria.



Any of you ever experience that? Something that made you feel like you were in a Sci-Fi story?

Why Do I Do This?

So remember how I said I was going to release A Shot in the Light serially? I proceeded to make myself a CALENDAR and some DEADLINES... and I started to research everything I need to do.



Man, this is HUGE!



But I will do it.





My first deadline is TODAY. I need to have the first book first draft READY. And by first draft, this is not really typical... this is the first draft of the BIGGER thing, but the original thing had a first draft last summer. So SOME chapters, this is a first draft... for 7 of 12 chapters, this is NEW (as of the road trip). For 2, I have changed PoV and added some, but taken from the original. And for three, I have just changed from first to third person.



It's invigorating to do.



The overwhelming part was looking into the TOTAL timeline. Because not only do I need to plot MY deadlines, I needed to build in appropriate time for the myriad fantasticos who are helping me. First readers, second readers, and my editor.



So each book has not ONE but SIX deadlines I marked on a calendar, and SOMETIMES, one deadline for one book is the same as a different deadline for a different book... BUT when I broke it into 4 calendars for the different tasks, it isn't quite so much to think about. Everyone but ME really only needs to be on top of their own tasks, after all.









SUSAN KAYE QUINN is a GODDESS



That just needed to be said. Because the OTHER thing I did last week was immerse myself in her very helpful and amazingly organized list of blogs to help self-publishers. Man, she has laid it ALL out there. I am currently in AWE. Though I still feel overwhelmed, I ALSO feel like I have a very good set of guidelines there. Anybody considering self-publishing should GO HERE and you can learn everything you need to know.



I spent MUCH of the day Friday there and I'm only through about half of what I am trying to learn.

Wait... Now How Do I Blog Again?

Halo, fine friends!!! Back from a three week break—the first of that length in my four years of blogging. And I've realized I don't feel like I know what I'm doing anymore. Erm... not that I claim to have ever had full competence...



My trip was GREAT and I will have pictures to share...

I had some experiences, and I have some wisdom to share (stop laughing)...



And I have rejuvenated a project like you would not believe and I am UBER excited about it. So maybe THAT is where I'll start.







A Shot in the Light was mostly written last summer—two months of PACKED writing and my final count was some 127,000 words.



So Ima make it longer...



*cough*



You think I'm kidding? Lemme e'splain... no. Is too much. Lemme sum up...





See, I had a young freelance reporter from Portland, Oregon (Sidney Knight) whose brother works at the CDC... She notices all these dead birds when she is at the beach trying to get a few projects done (Ew, right?) and calls him...



He warns her not to get a flu shot... she gets HOME and realizes this flu thing is much worse than she thought... within days she's lost a friend and lost contact with her brother so she decides she needs to go to Atlanta to figure out what's what...



THAT was the original story...





Working Title is Ill Omens, details in progress

Now I am ADDING:



*  Her nurse friend who flees to avoid the (work required)  flu shot

*  A public health PhD student who is planning the Zombie Apocalypse (seriously... well, sort of)

*  A mercenary who suddenly finds all his buddies are dead...

*  And a senator's daughter/law student who hears some things that make her really uncomfortable.





All these people are 20-somethings... Some of them will have sex. *cough* (is that TMI?) Is it better or worse if I disclose whether it is with each other or not?  These things are so confusing!



Does this make it new adult? I don't know the answer to that... not worrying about it. They are interesting young professionals, mostly... I will call it good.



What I DO know, and what I am SUPER excited about is this serial release thing.



To my original first three chapters I've added seven (and will tease out an 8th—pulling from Sidney, my original MC and giving some of the meat to Sarah, my nurse--for balance mostly--there is an important scene they are both in)--what WAS 46 pages is now 100ish.



I know Susan Kaye Quinn, who I've admitted to stalking, likes each to have a conclusion, and I WILL... but maybe not as solid a conclusion as she does. I am really doing these in the spirit of serials... there is a conclusion--or rather a large theme tied up--but there is ALSO a 'the story continues'. And most of my PoVs will continue into each next segment... except when people die... erm... It IS an epidemic! And WAR!





So do you want to know my PLAN? *BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA*



Come on. You have to cackle with me if you want to know...



*BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA*



I need to do a couple things this summer:





1) OUTLINE to the end... you know I can't abide pants... But seriously. If I am going to start publishing this, I need to know it is really manageable and I am not going to end up written into a corner. What I mean by outlining is a sentence or two about what each section that the ENTIRE FREAKING THING will have.



2) Have a clean draft of the first six sections written by the end of August. My feedback loop requires I work this far ahead.



3) Through book three peer reviewed and formally edited. (I am actually going to finally PAY Leanne for copy editing and Joris for covers!!! Both have been amazing all this time, helping me for free, but I am going to be asking them to drop everything and help out, and both deserve to finally get the professional recognition they deserve.)



4) I will work up a formal calendar with all my deadlines, as I dig that stuff.



5) I will get an author profile up at Facebook and Goodreads



6) I will do a crash course in self-published formatting and stuff (and stuff to include all the STUFF I need to know--any experts in stuff, give a shout, I need you)



7) I will push PUBLISH for the first of these the first week in September—isn't there a day of the week for new releases? THAT day...



8) The first FOUR will be two weeks apart.



9) The pacing of the rest will be either a month gap, then two weeks apart for three more, month off, two weeks apart (you see what I'm getting at) or three weeks for all...I sort of like the 3X2 with a month break but I can't really explain it to you logically expect I plan to make PoD available for these in a clustered way (first 4, then 3 at a time) and at least for HALF there are thematic splits at these breaks. I am not in enough detail yet in the second half to know if that is still true.





I also need to look at Christmas and stuff... see what paces best if it is 10, they could ALL be ready by then and I could sett sets, but I have my doubts 10 is enough.



I really want to be done at least a month before the release of Keeping Mum so I can concentrate on that in February. I'm not sure right now whether I want 10 total or 13... I'd like ONE freebie, then clusters of three, but I get that it may not work out that way. THIS is part of what the outlining is about.



It's been a while since I was this jacked up about revising... Maybe because part of this process is writing. And MAYBE, just MAYBE part of it is that I wrote all those extra chapters longhand in the car... I need to get my notebook back to the bathtub... I was typing last night and made myself CRY when I'd WRITTEN the bloody thing I was typing. It should NOT have been new information, but it was a heartstring-tugger.







Gratuitous llama kiss because that's how I roll

So now that I am back, I am going to make a better effort as a blog READER... I try to get to people who comment first... and it seems like for AGES that is all I've managed (and that not well)... But work is picking up the pace (on top of having been gone 2.5 weeks)... hopefully it really will be better. Kick me if you feel neglected. I totally don't mean to do that. If you comment, I swear I mean to get to you within the week...



HEY: Question for you savvy folks... especially self-publishers: Are you incorporated? Or have you formed a separate entity for your writing endeavors? That is something I'm considering. I'm thinking if I plan to pay people, it will make this all smoother. Can someone give me a primer on the advantages? Or point to a blog that does it for them?

Find a Mentor!!!

Halo fine friends! I’m on the road and not blogging, but I HAVE been revising… big revising… and hit a theme that I thought addressed the Insecure Writer’s Theme well, and so I thought I’d share and hit that first Wednesday with it.



First: don’t forget to visit all the OTHER insecure writers!!!







So know how this writing stuff is HARD? And you just think you master one task and suddenly there is another giant task in front of you? You write the book, then you need to edit the book, then you need to write a query or a synopsis or a book blurb or cover copy or you need to market yourself… There is ALWAYS SOMETHING!!!



Well I’ve found the KEY!!! There is always a selection of people who have ALREADY done what you want to do next!!! And you can follow them around and emulate them and learn from them and it makes it SO MUCH EASIER! Which is not to say easy, but there is a sort of manual, if you will.



Right now I am editing what was written as a BOOK (A Shot in the Light), but I’ve decided to release it SERIALLY. So I am following Susan Kaye Quinn around shamelessly, and reading both her Debt Collector series and Hugh Howey’s Wool series.





So whatever you are doing, find someone you think is doing it right, and settle down to learn from the pro! I think that is the beauty of writing… people WANT to help others. It is one of the few fields where the more great books there are, the more readers there will be, so it helps us ALL to help each other out and in every case I’ve encountered, people love being told you admire what they are doing, so are HAPPY to help out!

My Summer Vacation...

So who wants to help plan it?



I should begin by noting this is my LAST POST until mid-July (probably July 10 or so). I have a thousand things going on in the next few weeks, including work HUGENESS, a 5000 mile road trip, a memorial that I am meant to be planning, and a BuNoWriMo project to finish.



I will MISS all of you, but really need the time I normally devote to blogging for this week before my trip so I can PLAN...



But see, that's where you come in.







I'm aware of THIS.

My family is DRIVING to IDAHO for my aunt's memorial, then to PORTLAND to see my husband's family (his father passed away this spring). Then we are driving BACK...



What I am looking for from YOU is help breaking the monotony.





Any great sites we can't POSSIBLY miss on Highway 90 going out there?



We also plan on spending a day at Yellowstone—what are the things there we CAN'T MISS?





Not my style of curio...

What are the coolest things on Highway 80 for our drive back?



Anyone have any excellent 4th of July Fireworks recommendations circa Salt Lake City, or maybe Twin Falls (or anywhere in between?)





This will be an interesting family adventure. My daughter travels well (as do I) but the son gets bored and HWMNBMOTI has a history of being a whiny baby. We'll have to see how it goes.



Wish me luck and I'll see you on the other side!!!

Epic Sex

So I don’t write sex scenes very often, and I’ve never written a YA sex scene before, but I find myself facing my first of these. Now nobody panic, I am not jumping into kiddy porn… I will focus on the first-person emotion of it because that is what matters to my story. Still, it is intimidating.



I mean I want to get across…



Hot.

Scared (a little).

Wonder.

Insecurity.

The sort of out-of-body experience it can be when you don't know what you're doing...



That’s a lot.



This book has been fun to write so far. I’m about half done with my BuNoWri goal, but probably only a third or less done with the overall story.



So wish me luck! Or orgasms… wait, no… first timers don’t get those… at least the girls… poor things.





On the TOPIC of Epic Sex…



A friend of mine who shall remain nameless sent me a note last week… “uh, erm… I’ve written this book…”



I knew she was a writer—we’ve been friends for years and it was always one of our common interests—but I DIDN’T know she was writing fiction. She’s not online a ton and is not the attention whore I am. But she asked for a little guidance and help getting her book out there. I am thrilled to give her some introductions, but that ‘must remain nameless’ thing makes it a little tricky. You see… she has a job and a child… and has written erotica…



So FIRST, I want to introduce her book, but then ask you guys some advice…







High Stakes Chattel

by Andie Blue

When Lord Nico Chattel tackles an intruder on his property he is surprised to discover the captive beneath him is a voluptuous wild-eyed beauty seeking his help. Samantha is determined to win the grand prize at the Chattel game tournament that will save her family farm. Now all she needs to do is dress like a man and convince the game’s creator, Lord Chattel to mentor her. The dark and handsome Lord Chattel wants nothing to do with the silly game that once defined him or the woman pursuing him. He agrees to play but only if the victor can claim a sensual prize he is sure will scare her away. The stakes of their game get higher until Samantha is left standing naked before him and Nico must call her bluff.

This erotic romance mixes Downton Abbey with a touch of Fifty Shades of Grey.



If you are an erotica reader, I’d love it if you’d check her out.





Next—any of you have experience with this incognito stuff? How would you go about starting from scratch? I mean I have a separate online persona, but it is more about branding than secrecy—My real friends know both and I don’t mind my professional colleagues learning. I just wanted a clear line between my fiction and my science. (thus dropping my first name for my fiction).



I’d just love to pass on some advice about balancing privacy and/or secrecy with promotion.

Pondering Helicopters

So I was awakened yesterday morning to helicopters... Helicopters do something to my imagination that I can only attribute to my writing obsession...



Once upon a time I lived in Portland, and every news station in town had a helicopter. I mean... I still noticed the helicopters, but they were up there every day checking out the traffic, so it just wasn't that big a deal.



Here in Michigan it is a different story.





The local helicopters are the UM Life Flight helicopters... they are navy with the maize M on the side and always meaning they are trying to save someone's life... these cause me awe... I am moved when I see them.



Any OTHER helicopter (other than game days—game day we get the news ones from Detroit) but any OTHER day and any OTHER helicopter puts me in an apocalypse frame of mind. Oh, I know... you're all saying, that chick sees apocalypses (apocalypsi?) everywhere... and you'd be right. I also see apocalypses with power outages and when I meet those nutty super-planners with basements full of survival supplies. Or when I hear about epidemics. Or chemical warfare... pretty much that is just where my brain goes.





Of course it isn't the ONLY place my brain goes... I see murder set-ups everywhere, too. I saw a father's day ad last week in my Groupon mailing that included a Father's Day DNA kit... um... yeahno... THAT is going to result in MURDER. How can it not? The options as I see it for that gift are:





“See you bastard, you ARE my father. Pay up.”



and



“See you bastard, you're not my father. Get out of my life.”



Maybe I'm a cynic, but I just don't see that gift going well...





So I was wondering how the things all of YOU write about influence where YOUR brain goes? Do you see strange things you didn't used to see? Jump to conclusions no sane person would?

A Cure for Insecurity!

Sorry for posting latish... but I have a new GRADUATE at my house! Pictures pending...



Having recently come off a book release—one of those writerly moments that can bring out insecurity in its most extreme form, it occurred to me how full of gratitude I was. You know what for?





YOU!



All my writing and blogging friends... my friends from home... readers I've never met... When I sort of step back and let myself look instead of fretting in my own head about what might go wrong...



YOU GUYS ARE TEH AWESOME!



So go forth, fine friends... go cheer up the insecure people and know you are loved and appreciated!!!