A Decision (or: I Think I've Made Up My Mind)

Good Morning :)

So, one of my earlier posts talked about a few of the differences between traditional publishing and self publishing. Both sides have pros and cons, and neither side has any sort of guarantee of success. Although I can't say my mind was made up when I wrote that post, I was definitely leaning toward one side. Now, only days later, the decision has been made.

I have spent the last couple of weeks researching and researching and researching. I have leaned back and forth across the isle a few times, and I have not made my choice lightly (much coffee has been consumed in search of an answer!). I have decided to go forward and self publish.

This is kind of a big deal for me. Other than a quick and not-well-thought-out query drop a few months back, I have never taken any steps to find an agent or publisher. Obviously, I don't know how things are going to go from here. I have my hopes, and I am making persistent plans. The thing I like most about this option is that it is all basically up to me.

There are a lot of great tools out there to help self publishers, Lulu and Smashwords and GoodReads etc. I plan to make the most out of every opportunity, and "leave nothing in the ring." Wish me luck :)

Some exciting news: I have an amazing artist reading my horribly unedited book right now in the hopes that she will do my cover art. If she agrees, I'm hoping to get her to sign on for the remainder of the series as well.

Well, that's me blathering. I think that's it for now.
Thanks for reading,
buh bye then

Does this make me a twit or a tweeter?

Hey, did you know that training a puppy, especially house-training a puppy, is tantamount to self flagellation at least 40% of the time? Oh... sorry... What I mean to say is, good morning :)

Although it is a bit disappointing, I must admit that until very recently I had never read "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. I know, what the heck is wrong with me? Right? But I did now, so you can stop yelling. It is amazing, one of those rare classics that lives up to its place in literary history. So if you are a huge slacker like me, and you have not yet read this book, read it. Go ahead, I'll wait. It's not that long really.

For the last couple of days I have been trying to pick up my own slack on the social media front. I joined twitter, and may be, just a teensy bit, addicted already. It's so fun though! I also joined Tumblr, though I am not sure how to make the most of that yet. If anyone has any hints on how a writer can the most out of these social networking tools, please let me know :) You can find me on twitter- @KenLindsey1981

Even with the difficulty I found in walking away from twitter yesterday, I did get some writing done. I really do love this story, and it is already fleshing itself out so superbly... well, I can't wait to hit that last page. I have a long way to go, but I'm easily excited.

Well I guess that's it for today,
hope your morning is great,
buh bye then

Second Draft Finished!

Hey, it's Monday. Happy Monday!

So, the last week or so has been amazing. Not only has my mind been set to reeling by all the amazing stuff I continue to find out about the possibilities of self publishing, but I also finished up my second draft of "The City" (which is no longer the title, will update you with the new title soon). I'll post the updated word count and such at the bottom of this here bloggity.

Now it comes down to lots of editing. I snuck a peek of my gorgeous editor's notes page, and well, there are a lot of highlighted areas. Wow, but I think that's a good thing. I've been so attached to this book for a long (long long loonng looooonnnngg) time, and I believe a new set of eyes is going to really help me to button this thing down. (it doesn't hurt that those eyes are big, brown, and beautiful) Thanks for all your help, love. :)

Another exciting bit about all of this is that I get to dive back into Clockwork Charlie. This story has been pounding through my thoughts and dreams almost non-stop lately. I can't wait to get further into this one and see what comes out of it.

And now for updates:

First draft word count was 87,412
Second draft word count came to 86,727 (before editing)
Second draft finished! Clockwork Charlie is back into full time status :)

I think that's it.
Thanks for reading,
buh bye then

Laziest Blogger Ever

Hey folks that are kind enough to use a little bit of your free time to read my little blog here. Sorry I'm a huge slacker. I've decided to post today, and I hope to be more faithful about it in the future. Feel free to message me threateningly if I am away longer than I should be. :)

So wow, there is a lot (by a lot, I mean holy monkey buttloads) of talk about success in self publishing right now. I actually feel a little bad for some of the authors that are being used as examples out there. Amanda Hocking, for one, has been thrust to the forefront and used as banner carrier by a group of people that she doesn't necessarily agree with.

Yes, she is self published. Yes, she has become successful. No, she does not hate the traditional method, or the publishers that have for so long stood upon that method. I'm sure that she is very happy with her success, and I wish nothing but the best in her career (along with the others out there that have done well on their own). However, it is not fair for huge chunks of the writing world to use her story in a fight that she neither has nor wants any part of.

Now I'll admit, after hearing some of the stories out there self publishing has become a much more attractive option for me. It was always a fall-back, in case of emergencies idea, but honestly it seemed almost like admission of failure. However, after some studying and searching, it seems like it may be the right route to go... for some people.

Although anyone seeking that route should still edit and edit and edit, and get others to read your story before declaring it finished, it seems a quicker way to go from the finished point to the published point. And then, your career is in your hands alone. The amount of time you are willing to put into socializing your book, marketing it and getting others to know about it... well, it's all up to you.

It really is a new and exciting world we're in, but I have always been enthralled with the traditional process. Agents and publishers and deadlines and the rest that comes with it... it all seems so romantic, and if you succeed... well what a testimony you will have.

I suppose there are two points to today's blog: The first is that traditional publishers and the rest that comes with the traditional route are not evil. Yes, they may be big (or not so big in many cases), and they probably seem scary to someone that is waiting for them to critique what may be your life's work, but they are not evil. Just because things may change, and it may feel like a revolution, doesn't mean that things were wrong to start with.

Second... well, second I guess means that I have some thinking to do. There is a decision to be made here for me. Self publishing no longer seems like failure, as a matter of fact, there are a lot of benefits to that route that are attractive to me. I do still love the traditional story though, and a publisher takes a lot of the responsibility off of the author's hands.

I guess that's it for today,
thanks for reading and sticking with me even when I'm a slacker,
buh bye then

Wednesday... ummm yeah

Hey there... you :)

I don't have a lot to write today, I've actually been fairly busy with my WIPs. Woke up this morning with lots of thoughts for Clockwork Charlie, and got some work done on it. It's still a very exciting story for me, especially after reading through it for the first time in quite a while.

With C.C. being the second novel I've worked on, I've noticed that there are lots of folks out there that only write long form stories, or only write short stories. I really enjoy both formats, and was wondering if anyone has preferences when it comes to your WIPs or even what you read...

let me know!!

Never Enough Coffee Friday

Hey, good morning... What? Anymore coffee... No I'm afraid I drank it all. Sorry 'bout that.

Some mornings it just seems like there is not enough coffee to go around. But hey, it's Friday, and that means it's time for some updates.

As I mentioned before, I have been a pretty big slacker recently and not a lot has gotten done. However, I've been working steadily this week and things have been pretty smooth and awesome, so I do have some stuff to update you on.

Sadly, Clockwork Charlie still sits in the mixer, with no new word count or changes. Don't worry, she's patient and it's probably better that she have some extra time before I put her through the things she's about to go through. Oh yes, there will be a lot of rough times for young Charlie... MWAHAHAHAHA!! (that was my evil laugh)

Changes are abounding for "The City" though. First of all, the title is almost definitely changing, though I haven't quite found the right replacement yet. Also, the city that the story is about has been given a name. Yep, I listen when my crit partners speak, and naming the city was mentioned by more than one of them.

Next, the ladies that are featured in the story are going to be more rounded. I set them up for awesomeness, and then being lost in the story of my main character, kind of left them by the wayside. Therefore- more girl butt kicking to follow. :)

Other stuff is changing, but my coffee meter is running low, so I'll just kick you some stats:
1st draft, word count up to and including Chapter 8: 58,089
2nd draft, word count up to and including Chapter 8: 56,841

This isn't a huge number change, but aside from editing, I have also been adding and changing a lot. So, there ya are :)

hope your week was great,
buh bye then

Finding New Favorites or Everybody Loves Zelazny

Well good morning (or afternoon or night), nice to see you again.

I know a lot of hardcore readers. I really do. As a matter of fact, if you ask nearly anyone I am close to about their favorite book, the answer is sure to be a broken down list of genre, sub-genre, writing era, and possibly even potential for a zombie filled re-write. The point is this: when you read a lot, you are always finding new books and authors to love, love, love.

Today, I want to talk about an amazing fantasy author that I was very late in learning about. In fact, I had never even heard his name until my girlfriend loaned me a book, just after we started dating. The book was entitled, "Jack Of Shadows" and it was written by the amazing, Roger Zelazny. From the beginning of this fairly short novel, Zelazny had me hooked. His style and pace were very unique, and you can see that Neil Gaiman was influenced by his writing. Wow, what a book!

I was hooked and had to find more. Enter: The "Amber" series.

The Amber series is a collection of ten fantasy novels with a very rich story throughout. Although I have to admit that you can tell the first and second halves of the series were written with some time in between, it was still an awesome collection. Heck, I found out a few weeks ago that the series has an entire role playing system built after it.

Obviously, I missed the bus on this one. Or, I was at least late to catch the Roger Zelazny bus, but I'm glad I finally did. I recommend that everyone find a friend with a Zelazny book (there are lots) and ask to borrow it. Unfortunately, this great American fantasy writer passed away back in 1995, so there won't be any new titles to search for, but find everything you can, and give it a shot.

I recommend starting with Jack Of Shadows, it's still my favorite Zelazny book (though I still have lots of others to get through).

I think that's all for today.
Any thoughts? Ever read Roger Zelazny?
Ok then, buh bye now