Jeremy Szal's Blog, page 5

STORMBLOOD Review Round Up

STORMBLOOD has been out for just over three months (!) and has collected quite the ensemble of reviews and blurbs from authors and professional outlets alike. It sits at a healthy 3.87/5 average on Goodreads, which is hard to not be pleased with. Presented without comment, here’s what some people have been saying:   The... Continue Reading →

BLINDSPACE, and the state of things

It’s been nearly two months since I posted my last blog, and nearly two months since STORMBLOOD hit the shelves.With all the reviews, bloggers, blog posts, video reviews, guest posts, Goodreads rating, signings, launches, and general tomfoolery, it’s been one whirlwind of a time. Barely had the chance to catch my breath. Reviews so far... Continue Reading →

Signing Events (and getting signed stuff)

I’m going to be doing two signings for STORMBLOOD later this month! Both are on the 12th of June. The first is in Kinokunyia Sydney at around 2pm, and the second will be in Galaxy Bookshop shortly afterwards. I’ll be signing all their stock, as well as doing personalization signings (I’m told there are some... Continue Reading →

STORMBLOOD is published!

I am officially a published novelist. My debut STORMBLOOD is out in the world. Can’t even begin to say how good it feels to type those words. STORMBLOOD wasn’t the first book I wrote. Or the second. Or the third. I’ve been scribbling down stories since I was eleven years old. But it wasn’t until... Continue Reading →

Interviews galore

I recently did two interviews with two different podcasts. Both of which I discuss STORMBLOOD, as well as my inspiration for writing the book, where I grew up, what books I read when I was young, and how they influenced me over the years. The first is with David Walters, on his excellent and aptly... Continue Reading →

My first virtual con, for the pandemic age

As you might as noticed, COVID-19 has been screwing with the worlds plans. Including, of course, conventions and festivals. But thankfully, the internet still exists. And podcaster/blogger David Walters has organized MayDay Con, a virtual convention to take place on May 16th from 7:00AM-9:00PM CST. Ill be in attendance on a panel, as well as... Continue Reading →

STORMBLOOD and the Art of the Deal

Publishing a book is a curious thing. Theres years of work involved, much of which is behind the scenes. But what remains baroque and notoriously vague is how a book gets picked up by a publisher. And its baroque and vague because every book and every publisher is different. In order to shed a little light on the process, heres the current timeline of how STORMBLOOD went from being in my head to being bought by a Big Five publisher.

 

Early January 2018: I finalize my edits and send...

STORMBLOOD available on NetGalley UK!

After nearly four years of writing, editing, polishing, STORMBLOOD is finally available! Sort of.

Right now, its up on NetGalley UK. Which means, for a limited time, its available for free. The target audience are critics, bloggers, reviewers, and the like, but anyone with a NetGalley UK account can request a copy from Gollancz in exchange for an honest review.

So, if nabbing a free book is your thing, you can head over on this link to NetGalley UK and request a copy.

Keep in mind I am not...

All Good Things Must End: A statement from Jeremy Szal

As of today, 20th of January 2020, I am stepping down from being the fiction editor-in-chief and producer of StarShipSofa.

I delayed stepping down this as long as I could. For almost two years, in fact, but it’s come to this inevitable write-up.

I joined StarShipSofa’s ranks as an assistant editor back in 2014, when I was a 19 year-old scribbler still traipsing around university with a handful of short fiction pieces that only dated a few months back. My gateway into editing was being second...

On Editing: or playing word jenga.

We’re six months out from STORMBLOOD’s wide release (181 days, to be exact, and is up for pre-order!) and I’m up to my neck in edits. I wanted to give a quick update about how the process of editing is going, what its like to be edited by a Big Five publisher, and how I’m going about tackling it.

I believe it’s very underestimated how extensive the editing process is when it comes to traditional publishing. We’re not talking about cleaning up typos, chopping away gratuitous sentences and...