I've been proofing Book 1 one final time and in the process realizing Book 2 has a long way to go. It's the characters you see. I'm not sure their reactions are right ... or consistent ... or complete.
That may be my imagination. Or that fact that Book 2 is a different kind of story. Book 1 is an adventure start to finish. Book 2 starts as a mystery and transforms. In Book 1, you see the magic gem early and it is the centerpiece of the story. In Book 2 you don't see the gem until the very end. It is the centerpiece but you don't know that until the story is over.
So the tone of the novel is different. In Book 2 we see Evan conduct an investigate and confront necromancers with his men -- something that does not happen in Book 1. We learn more about him and the other main characters. And new main characters are introduced. All this makes Book 2 a complex thing while Book 1 is simple bill of fare. In short, Book 1 is like a hot dog and Book 2 a full course meal.
Given this I suppose, Book 2 should feel -- or taste -- differently. But something isn't right. I don't know what. Not yet. But I will before I'm done. Time to review the ten chapters I've just "finished" and see if anything pops out.
Keep writing everyone.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
One More Time
I received a PDF of the final draft of my novel from my publisher. So I'm reading it once more time. The physical galleys are coming by mail or UPS or whatever delivery service they use.
I'm about to order 10 copies of my short story collection, Men, Melee, & Magic, for my Chelmsford appearance. This will give Lulu time to get the copies to me. I'm now slated for an interview on a blogtalk radio site in June. I don't have the exact date, but it is coming.
Needless to say, I've had little time for writing. But that will pass. I just have to get through the next few months.
And since there are so many things vying for my attention just now, time to go back and attend to them.
Keep writing everyone.
I'm about to order 10 copies of my short story collection, Men, Melee, & Magic, for my Chelmsford appearance. This will give Lulu time to get the copies to me. I'm now slated for an interview on a blogtalk radio site in June. I don't have the exact date, but it is coming.
Needless to say, I've had little time for writing. But that will pass. I just have to get through the next few months.
And since there are so many things vying for my attention just now, time to go back and attend to them.
Keep writing everyone.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Interviews, Reviews, and Other Stuff
I received another set of interview questions courtesy of my publisher. That makes two sets so far. They seem slow to get me the physical proofs for the book but they seem to be working on promote well enough.
The other night, while waiting for my brother's plane to land at the airport, I discovered that someone had reviewed one of my stories. The Reaper is a fairy tale about how the perils of theft. The review gave the story four stars, which is great. It made my day.
Meanwhile I'm plodding along in my writing. Book 4 is closing in on 45000 words but progress is very slow. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll even finish it this year.
The good news is I'll have a long weekend coming and that should give me time to focus on it more.
In the meantime I'm just doing what I can and preparing for my visit to Chelmsford.
Keep writing everyone.
The other night, while waiting for my brother's plane to land at the airport, I discovered that someone had reviewed one of my stories. The Reaper is a fairy tale about how the perils of theft. The review gave the story four stars, which is great. It made my day.
Meanwhile I'm plodding along in my writing. Book 4 is closing in on 45000 words but progress is very slow. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll even finish it this year.
The good news is I'll have a long weekend coming and that should give me time to focus on it more.
In the meantime I'm just doing what I can and preparing for my visit to Chelmsford.
Keep writing everyone.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Not All Reviews are Equal
Feedback and reviews for a writer of fiction -- hell, for just about any writer -- is important because it allows you to gauge if your draft is on target. But not all reviews are equal. In most cases, a review or critique is subjective based on the bias of the reviewer. This is important to remember.
I had forgotten it until the other day. I know this because two stories I submitted to an anthology were rejected yet the stories continue to do well in Smashwords. So while the stories might fail to meet some literary benchmark, they resonate with my readers. Given that choice I'll gladly take the latter option.
And this fact reminded me that in an age of self-publishing, old literary standards mean little. People who insist on upholding them are clinging to a past that is evaporating. It is kind of like living in an closed religious community with strict rules of dress and behavior. You miss out on everything around you. They insist on the old ways out of fear.
I'm not saying down with the old ways; but I do think people need to be open to change and have to learn how to adapt. I'm not one to talk here; I really dislike change. But when I see the handwriting on the wall, then the time to change is at hand. In this case, how you judge a good story from a bad one depends on who you are.
I know that my two stories were rejected because they were not considered very original. I would argue that because originality is in the new of the beholder. Sure, an editor of an anthology who sees hundreds and thousands of stories could have that reaction, especially if he or she doesn't read the whole story. But for others, the story is unlike anything they've every seen.
And that's the point. As a writer I tend to think that all comments are equal and have equal weight, but that's not true because for the editor of the anthology my work is crap. And I know that's wrong. So my goal is to write the best story I can. Make the text as clean as possible and adhere to the rules of writing creative fiction, such as they are. Beyond that, what you think of a story is your business and rushing to judgement does not do you or me much good.
I had forgotten it until the other day. I know this because two stories I submitted to an anthology were rejected yet the stories continue to do well in Smashwords. So while the stories might fail to meet some literary benchmark, they resonate with my readers. Given that choice I'll gladly take the latter option.
And this fact reminded me that in an age of self-publishing, old literary standards mean little. People who insist on upholding them are clinging to a past that is evaporating. It is kind of like living in an closed religious community with strict rules of dress and behavior. You miss out on everything around you. They insist on the old ways out of fear.
I'm not saying down with the old ways; but I do think people need to be open to change and have to learn how to adapt. I'm not one to talk here; I really dislike change. But when I see the handwriting on the wall, then the time to change is at hand. In this case, how you judge a good story from a bad one depends on who you are.
I know that my two stories were rejected because they were not considered very original. I would argue that because originality is in the new of the beholder. Sure, an editor of an anthology who sees hundreds and thousands of stories could have that reaction, especially if he or she doesn't read the whole story. But for others, the story is unlike anything they've every seen.
And that's the point. As a writer I tend to think that all comments are equal and have equal weight, but that's not true because for the editor of the anthology my work is crap. And I know that's wrong. So my goal is to write the best story I can. Make the text as clean as possible and adhere to the rules of writing creative fiction, such as they are. Beyond that, what you think of a story is your business and rushing to judgement does not do you or me much good.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Coming Soon
Hard to believe that in a few short weeks, my novel will be available for pre-sale. I don't have the details for this yet, but I'm assuming my publisher's web site will let you pre-order the book and that my web site, feitelberg.net, will point you there. A link from this blog may also be available if I get really organized. So start saving those sheiks if you've been waiting for a paper version of the novel.
In the meantime, I'm preparing for my visit to the Chelmsford library and I've been re-reading Book 2 and have been making tweaks here and there. It will go to the editor I used on Book 1 so I can finalize the copy. I'm undecided if it will go my publisher after that. I'll have to see how they do with promoting Book 1. If there do a poor job, I may self-publish Book 2, at least to start.
It's really hard to say for sure since I have no crystal ball for the future. So my focus is just to get Book 2 to a point where the editor can do her job. I thought the novel was at that stage but I decided that was not the case a few weeks back. So I opened it up for one final read and edit. After that I'll see where I stand with Book 1.
All this will take months because I'm reading Book 2 very slowly, crafting each scene as I go. It takes longer that way, but the results are good and it is really the only way I can be sure the end result is what I want.
Keep writing, everyone.
In the meantime, I'm preparing for my visit to the Chelmsford library and I've been re-reading Book 2 and have been making tweaks here and there. It will go to the editor I used on Book 1 so I can finalize the copy. I'm undecided if it will go my publisher after that. I'll have to see how they do with promoting Book 1. If there do a poor job, I may self-publish Book 2, at least to start.
It's really hard to say for sure since I have no crystal ball for the future. So my focus is just to get Book 2 to a point where the editor can do her job. I thought the novel was at that stage but I decided that was not the case a few weeks back. So I opened it up for one final read and edit. After that I'll see where I stand with Book 1.
All this will take months because I'm reading Book 2 very slowly, crafting each scene as I go. It takes longer that way, but the results are good and it is really the only way I can be sure the end result is what I want.
Keep writing, everyone.
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