Iscah's Blog, page 12
October 9, 2013
Kickstarter Widget and book sample
Amoeba Ink has set up Seventh Night for presale through Smashwords. There are a number of reasons for this, but the big benefit is it's an easy way for people to sample the story: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/365296
And if you like, please consider pre-ordering the novel (at a discount) through my Kickstarter campaign:
The ebook is $5.99 retail, but you can get it for a $5 Kickstarter pledge.
The hardback will be about $28 retail, but it's offered through the Kickstarter for $25 and that includes shipping.
If you're a Nashville local, you can come to the epic book release party. Tickets for the party and hardcopies are available at East Side Story...
And if you like, please consider pre-ordering the novel (at a discount) through my Kickstarter campaign:
The ebook is $5.99 retail, but you can get it for a $5 Kickstarter pledge.
The hardback will be about $28 retail, but it's offered through the Kickstarter for $25 and that includes shipping.
If you're a Nashville local, you can come to the epic book release party. Tickets for the party and hardcopies are available at East Side Story...
October 7, 2013
Please support the Seventh Night Kickstarter!
Link to Kickstarter Project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iscah/seventh-night-hardback
Every reward level involves getting a book. Some offer extra bonuses!
October 4, 2013
Horse Feathers Chapter 26
With literally a minute to spare, I got the new chapter of Horse Feathers done. The copyeditor finished with Seventh Night, so I've started formatting the ebook.
I'm trying to use glyphs this time. I've got one for chapter breaks, one for act breaks, and one for scene breaks. May use them in the hardback too...not quite illustrations, but hopefully they'll add a little extra visual appeal.
I've put together a Kickstarter campaign, so people can preorder the book. Finally got through Amazon payments, so now I'm waiting for approval from the Kickstarter website.
Cafepress has changed their royalty structure, and I'm not very thrilled by it...I may have to start working harder on the Zazzle shop.
I'm trying to use glyphs this time. I've got one for chapter breaks, one for act breaks, and one for scene breaks. May use them in the hardback too...not quite illustrations, but hopefully they'll add a little extra visual appeal.
I've put together a Kickstarter campaign, so people can preorder the book. Finally got through Amazon payments, so now I'm waiting for approval from the Kickstarter website.
Cafepress has changed their royalty structure, and I'm not very thrilled by it...I may have to start working harder on the Zazzle shop.
September 30, 2013
Trouble with Kickstarter and Cover progress
Still not finished but encouraging progress has been made on the Seventh Night cover:
Amazon is having issues processing my business credit card for Kickstarter payments. I have a video and my campaign mostly set up... just need to get the money thing to work. Not sure what the issue is. Gonna see if I can use my brother's computer/browser/internet tomorrow and see if it works better.
The copyeditor is almost done with the text! So hurray! Progress!
Amazon is having issues processing my business credit card for Kickstarter payments. I have a video and my campaign mostly set up... just need to get the money thing to work. Not sure what the issue is. Gonna see if I can use my brother's computer/browser/internet tomorrow and see if it works better.
The copyeditor is almost done with the text! So hurray! Progress!
September 27, 2013
Horse Feathers Chapter 25
Chapter 25 is now up! Phillip meets a girl...sort of.
My Creepy Stuff design was featured on the Cafepress homepage for three or fours days in a row this week. That was pretty cool.
I've got some work done on a Seventh Night website, a fair bit of editing done, and some but not enough on the cover...
I'm going to try to give up caffeine or at least soda in October...not looking forward to it, but I think it'll be good for me.
My Creepy Stuff design was featured on the Cafepress homepage for three or fours days in a row this week. That was pretty cool.
I've got some work done on a Seventh Night website, a fair bit of editing done, and some but not enough on the cover...
I'm going to try to give up caffeine or at least soda in October...not looking forward to it, but I think it'll be good for me.
September 20, 2013
Horse Feathers will be late...
Had/have a massive yardsale this weekend. Did day 1 today and day 2 is tomorrow. On top of that haven't been feeling too hot the last couple days, so my writing session yesterday was mainly a stare blankly at the screen while trying to stay awake for six hours session. Today I gave up, left my parents in charge of the sale around 1:30 and took a five hour nap this afternoon...feeling a bit better, gonna go hunt down some food and try to get a little done tonight. But Phillip is fighting me again...
Why do I have passive aggressive characters?
The result of all this is there's no chapter to post this week...I've got about 1,000 words into one, but I suspect I need to delete 300 of them...
If I can finish up tomorrow or Sunday, I'll post then. If not, I'll just apologize and have a chapter ready for next Friday.
I did get this done this week though:
I fixed the Gibbs' Girl design so it doesn't look awful, and
I made this courage design that I actually feel proud of. The characters are not my artwork, Cartoon Network provided those, but the design is mine... and it's first thing on deviantart that someone has asked to submit to a group, so that was pretty awesome. I had three people fav it this week. :)
Why do I have passive aggressive characters?
The result of all this is there's no chapter to post this week...I've got about 1,000 words into one, but I suspect I need to delete 300 of them...
If I can finish up tomorrow or Sunday, I'll post then. If not, I'll just apologize and have a chapter ready for next Friday.
I did get this done this week though:
I fixed the Gibbs' Girl design so it doesn't look awful, and
I made this courage design that I actually feel proud of. The characters are not my artwork, Cartoon Network provided those, but the design is mine... and it's first thing on deviantart that someone has asked to submit to a group, so that was pretty awesome. I had three people fav it this week. :)
September 13, 2013
Horse Feathers Chapter 24
Horse Feathers Chapter 24 is up. I think I've come to a "final" version of The Girl With No Name cover. Going to try uploading the files tonight.I've been editing Seventh Night... I'm trying to process all the feedback I got from the Blitzkrieg and decide if/what I need to spell things out any more. I don't want to spell out too much... particularly when the most obvious fate happens to a character, I don't think you need to spell it out in detail. (Think of how split fans were over Rowling's epilogue.) But there are a few metafiction jokes...and, erm... You don't want to make people crazy, but you do want to make them think a bit, right?
Oh, and I had forgotten that cafepress had an NCIS fanportal, so I made a Gibbs' Girl shirt, which may get some tweaking soon... I think the letters ended up a little too tall.
September 10, 2013
Help me pick a cover?
I'm redesigning the cover of
The Girl With No Name
for the Smashwords/epub release. I didn't want to make it too different, so I used the same painting for the cover. But I did clean up the logos a lot. I played with a couple different options. Please tell me which you find more appealing:
Small version:
Larger Image:
I'm happy to get other feedback too. One person didn't like the "font" (not actually a font...but it's clear what they meant). I don't have time for a total redesign, but I have many tweaking options if that feeling is universal.
...It's times like these when I start daydreaming about a studio where I could work together with other writers/artist/designers. I enjoy working quietly, but there's a great advantage to being able to just yell over your shoulder to get a second opinion.
Small version:
Larger Image:
I'm happy to get other feedback too. One person didn't like the "font" (not actually a font...but it's clear what they meant). I don't have time for a total redesign, but I have many tweaking options if that feeling is universal.
...It's times like these when I start daydreaming about a studio where I could work together with other writers/artist/designers. I enjoy working quietly, but there's a great advantage to being able to just yell over your shoulder to get a second opinion.
September 9, 2013
Blitzkreig Last Day
Seventh Night is available til Midnight, all 32 chapters.
Some (spoiler free feedback)...
I had at least one reader finish. This is what Jade Risley had to say:
"Overall, very impressed with the story, enjoyed everything about it, characters were very realistic and likeable, description was well written, each chapter had something interesting and a promise of more at the end, some good twists and unexpected moments...very well done."
GossamerSilverglow has only made it to chapter two but had these comments:
"The way you’re making each character react is extremely realistic and I’m really appreciating that aspect of your writing in this chapter. ... What a freaking twist and I totally love it!"
Sidekicks-anonymous is up to chapter 27 and says:
"The story becomes more riveting by the second."
Kodi R. says:
"I've enjoyed the world you've built here... An interesting read. I've always been a lover of fantasy, so it got me hooked in. ...It reminds me of a Tolkien or a George R.R. Martin book, really, the narrative. "
(the Tolkien comment was actually intended as a bit of a criticism...but I can handle that kind of criticism. As much as I gripe about Martin, I do appreciate his level of craftsmanship.)
I did invite the readers to nitpick and several had, they just tend to be more spoiler-ish, since they're more specific criticisms.
Some (spoiler free feedback)...
I had at least one reader finish. This is what Jade Risley had to say:
"Overall, very impressed with the story, enjoyed everything about it, characters were very realistic and likeable, description was well written, each chapter had something interesting and a promise of more at the end, some good twists and unexpected moments...very well done."
GossamerSilverglow has only made it to chapter two but had these comments:
"The way you’re making each character react is extremely realistic and I’m really appreciating that aspect of your writing in this chapter. ... What a freaking twist and I totally love it!"
Sidekicks-anonymous is up to chapter 27 and says:
"The story becomes more riveting by the second."
Kodi R. says:
"I've enjoyed the world you've built here... An interesting read. I've always been a lover of fantasy, so it got me hooked in. ...It reminds me of a Tolkien or a George R.R. Martin book, really, the narrative. "
(the Tolkien comment was actually intended as a bit of a criticism...but I can handle that kind of criticism. As much as I gripe about Martin, I do appreciate his level of craftsmanship.)
I did invite the readers to nitpick and several had, they just tend to be more spoiler-ish, since they're more specific criticisms.
September 8, 2013
Blitzkreig Day 10
So one of the reasons for the Blitzkrieg was to squeeze out lingering errors, like mislabeling chapter 32 as 31...heh, yeah, there are 32 chapters rather than 31. I'll post both around midnight to give everyone a full 24 hours to read the end of the story.
I'm getting more caught up in the idea of using glyphs for chapter and scene breaks, both in the ebook and in the hardback...though probably less so in the hardback, since line breaks are less obtrusive.
I've been reviewing my time line for getting the novel "ready" and realized I don't need to have all the Hardback graphics and layout done by the end of this month, though I do need the ebook done. This is a relief since it makes the timeline more realistic. Still got a lot to do...
Oh yeah, Seventh Night is up through Chapter 30! If you're a quick reader, there's still time....
I'm getting more caught up in the idea of using glyphs for chapter and scene breaks, both in the ebook and in the hardback...though probably less so in the hardback, since line breaks are less obtrusive.
I've been reviewing my time line for getting the novel "ready" and realized I don't need to have all the Hardback graphics and layout done by the end of this month, though I do need the ebook done. This is a relief since it makes the timeline more realistic. Still got a lot to do...
Oh yeah, Seventh Night is up through Chapter 30! If you're a quick reader, there's still time....
