Daniel R. Vertrees's Blog, page 2

November Saga – Good, Bad, and Ugly

November has been a saga all unto itself. In fact, the saga has carried over into December with a probability of limping into the new year.

The good part of the saga is that I complete and published the second book of the “John” series. It appeared first in paperback format and then the Kindle version later. The story of why the releases were not simultaneous comes under the Bad heading.

A friend of mine has been trying to sell her house and some of the repairs that needed to be done were, of course, going to cost her several thousand dollars. Now those repairs were in my own experience and so after much cajoling, she agreed with my proposition of doing the labor and saving her those dollars.

Now comes the Bad.

During the demolition of an old shed, I dropped the roof on myself. Dislocated hip, broken sternum later, I ended up in trauma center and then a physical rehab center.

The hip is fine, recovery is slowed because it is difficult to use upper body with a walker when the sternum is in a couple of pieces. However, I have had the hips replaced years ago and the rehab protocol is old hat.

Now for the Ugly. 

In the process of being folded up under the roof, the ankle of the dislocated leg was wrenched around and the nerve damaged. The result is right foot is dead to the world. I can’t feel when it is on the ground – sort of like walking on an eggplant.

Back to Good.

I finished the formatting of the Kindle files and uploaded them from a bed in the rehab center. I have plenty of time to start the next John novel. And, I have a series of shorter novels planned with a spin off character who showed up in the second book.

Available now on Amazon – the first two book of the Man of Kentucky Series.

John: The Making of a Long Hunter  Kindle Edition  Paperback Edition

John: A Man of the Frontier                 Kindle Edition  Paperback Edition

Each available in paperback and Kindle formats.

LAUNCH – John: A Man of the Frontier

I have uploaded the Kindle Edition of John: A Man of the Frontier.  It should be available within 12 hours on Amazon.com.

Paperback version is already available.  This launch is a bit scattered since I just uploaded files from a bed in a physical rehabilitation establishment.  Be at least 6 more weeks before I can travel or drive, given the return of the use of a wayward foot.

Meanwhile – Have Computer Will Write….. Starting John 3 and some other exciting writing projects tomorrow.

I will give the link when it is live, or you can visit my listings  or Author Page on Amazon.  Hope those of you who choose to get the book will enjoy it.

Back to PT…..

Is it Time to Catch Up?

John: A Man of the Frontier, the second book of the Man of Kentucky series, is poised for release. No longer known by the nondescript John 2, the interior files and cover are in place, and all that remains is to see the physical proof copy of the paperback. Since this is a continuation of the first book, John: The Making of a Long Hunter, perhaps you would like to read it first, if you have not already done so.

John: The Making of a Long Hunter is available in Kindle Edition, and as paperback. If you are a member of Kindle Unlimited it is one of the offerings available for you to read at no charge. So now you have about ten days to immerse yourself in John’s world so you can continue unfettered in the continuing saga of colonial America.

Access Amazon for options:  John: The Making of a Long Hunter

 

John 2 a Heartbeat Away From Being Live

Today the interior files and cover are in the might hands of Createspace. With a small smile from the Photoshop Gods, it should be ready to order proof in a couple of days. Kindle version will be hot soon.

Nice end to a year..

John 2 – Going past the draft

Draft for John 2 is finished. Callooh, Callay!  Wait. Now what?

With John 1 this is the point where I turned the rough 100,000 word thing over to my editor. However, this time I am in a better place than last time.  I paid attention to what she told me. I worked to incorporate the points she made during the dissection of John 1 into the writing of this draft. This 117,852 rough thing is in better shape than John 1 was at this point so it is revision time.

I found I did not have a feeling for some important issues: Did it flow? Was it true to a timeline? Were all the characters accounted for (fleshed out or killed off)? I remembered a technique from reading Roz Morris’s Nail Your Novel that seemed like it would be a useful tool – the Beat Sheet. When I first read about the Beat Sheet I thought I would never be able to do such a thing.  I thought it would take me months, and I wouldn’t be able to read it when I was done anyway – wretched handwriting when going fast. But since I have found many of Roz’s insights useful, I thought I would, as Roz would say, have a go. Nope, did not use paper, pencils, markers, stickynotes, because I know me and I would just make a mess and then lose it.  Instead I decided to take the Beat Sheet concept and find a way to set something up in Scrivener – my writing organizing, storage, and saving program.

Ta Da – I went through all the chapters, answered questions like “What is the purpose of the chapter” and found that there was more to it than filling the space between the chapter before and after. Then the timeline! I now can see what day, date, month, and year of every chapter and event. If I am jumping a month I can let the reader know to pack their hiking boots.

I found a character that evaporated after being part of the conversation for a hundred pages — ooops, must have lost interest in that guy. Another character was fighting again while still laid up from another wound. And I found a character I had great hopes for that will either have to be taken out or fleshed out. I prefer that latter. Seasons? Who needs ’em. And then there are the parts that just don’t make sense because  someone obviously snuck in and changed what I wrote.

After I made all the notes and observations, I could compile it into a printout and NOW make notes with colored pencils, draw arrows and exclamation points and have the whole thing in a binder that has become a revision bible . . . no not a revisionist bible, that is another topic for another day, given Jefferson and all.

Now I am going to take a break from 1700s for a bit, write sci-fi short story(s), or some such, and then hit the revision.  I am still shooting for December 1 release date, but I might get caught in a quantum vortex and be off by a century or two….

Book Promotion

I am participating in a book promotion From June 28 – August 30.  This is my first promotion attempt and am interested in seeing what the results might be.  Offered by Little Book Corner it is a Summer Book Sale Boost Event on Facebook.  There are even prizes!  For every 10 verified Amazon purchases, there will be a drawing for a $10 gift card.  I hope I get to give a way 10 of them!

Follow the results with me at Summer Sales Boost Event.  Author friends – follow the link and join the party….

Reviews

I am not one who goes out and hustles reviews.  I know there are places where I can buy reviews, but that seems like cheating to me.  Amazon looks for books with 25 or more reviews but not everyone who reads a book takes the time to review it.

I do have seven, legitimate, bona fide Amazon purchasers who have written about John: The Making of a Long Hunter.  It is very gratifying that all seven have been 5 star.  I know the streak can not last forever, but it is a great feeling when readers find the work enjoyable.

The result is I am inspired to get John2 done. I just hope that readers will find it as enjoyable.  Thanks to any and all who have taken the time to share their opinion.

Author Solutions and Friends: The Inside Story

Daniel R. Vertrees:

This is interesting since they have the veneer of respectability

Originally posted on David Gaughran:

Author Solutions has forged partnerships with a long list of famous names in publishing – from Simon & Schuster and Hay House to Barnes & Noble and Reader’s Digest.

Recent disclosures in various lawsuits, along with information sent to me by a Penguin Random House source, detail for the very first time exactly how these partnerships work and the damage they are causing.

Since a second suit was filed at the end of March, Author Solutions is now facing two class actions, with the new complaint alleging unjust enrichment and exploitation of seniors on top of the usual claims of fraud and deceptive practices. It also has a wonderfully precise summary of Author Solutions’ operations:

Author Solutions operates more like a telemarketing company whose customer base is the Authors themselves. In other words, unlike a traditional publisher, Author Solutions makes money from its Authors, not for them. It does so…

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How to keep writing when time is scarce – 6 tips and video chat at #IndieReCon15

Daniel R. Vertrees:

I am an admitted fan of Roz Morris. I seem to find some kind of useful information in every post. This entry hit me in that I have days when I feel they are wasted because of things in life. Her suggestions triggered several ideas for mini-sessions on those days I cannot do 4-6 hours for 5000 word goal. Even doing a few minutes of research on a single point or event is progress, and I will not have to do that again when I do have an extended period.

Thanks once again Roz.

If you have not read any of Roz’s Nail Your Novel series, I suggest you choose one and give her a try. Choose the one that hits on your current struggle, dialog, characters, organization. You can find her books on Kindle or print at Amazon.

http://rozmorris.wordpress.com/my-books/

Originally posted on Nail Your Novel:

We all have periods when our creative time is nuked. Day jobs, family responsibilities or out-of the-blue crises can make our writing goals streak away into the impossible distance. Even if writing is our chief occupation, there are platforms to build, decisions to mull. And if we self-publish we can add more exacting tasks to the list.

This year I’ve become more aware than ever how scarce my writing time has become. As well as editing work, I’ve got invitations to speak and run courses. I’m thrilled, and happily surprised as I never expected it. I consider myself fantastically lucky to be able to build a career on this art I’ve practised quietly for decades. But if my own novels take a back seat, my soul will shrivel. So this is how I stay on track.

Micro-sessions

You don’t always need big chunks of writing time. Instead, schedule micro-sessions. Can…

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Draft progress for John2

I finished the draft of Part One of the second John book.  The long hunts are over and ended in a different manner than John expected.  I have started Part Two, which follows John’s transition from Long Hunter to Long Knife.  I will not include any spoilers,  but look for the renewal of old acquaintances and discovery of new.  The independence movement has escalated causing rifts between friends and foe.   Perhaps there will be some new and unexpected alliances and, of course, residual conflicts from earlier years.  Does John escape unscathed?  I have my ideas, but the characters are running the show!

I have pounded out 70,000 words for the first half and expect Part Two to be of equal volume.  Of course that is the butter, eggs, flour, and milk for the cake. I will use those ingredients, add salt and spices, mix and shape before the actual cake is ready.  It will be off to the master chef for editing followed by another session of tweaking the flavoring and perhaps changing the mold.  Finally the line editor will comb through the batter for eggs shells, nut hulls, and rocks. Final baking will produce the latest slice in the life of John –  A Man of Kentucky.