I realised I hadn’t done a dedicated progress report in quite some time, so seeing as I don’t have particularly much to comment on this week in the way of writing/marketing experience and advice, there’s no time like the present, right?
The last few weeks have been busy indeed. I’ve entered the final stage of my university career, so the pressure really has flicked up a notch. Therefore, I haven’t been able to spend quite as much time on my writing and other commitments recently. It’s all about balance!
However, I have still been grafting away at the rewrites of my upcoming second novel, currently working-titled Killing Freedom. I finished the first draft back in December ’12, so it’s kind of cool to go back to it and remind myself of things I’d completely forgotten about. Time away from a draft really can help you view it from a fresh perspective, so I’ll go on record once again and recommend it.
I’m currently about 45,000 words through the first stage of the rewriting, which for me, consists of tidying up as much as I possibly can. I do go through again a couple of times to check everything is tight and consistent, but if the first draft is like a skeleton of ideas, my first rewriting stage consists of lumping the flesh on the thing. Then, I go through again and wrap the skin around it all. Excuse the incredibly graphic analogy there.
I imagine I’ll have the thing ready to send to my editor by the end of the month, so I’m still confident in targeting a summer release. I really can’t wait for you to read it — it’s quite a change in tone to What We Saw, which is one of the key bonuses of independently publishing. The early stage of the career allows for much experimentation before being tied into a specific genre/approach of choice. That said, much like What We Saw, it’s pretty damn dark in places. I imagine it will be similarly baffling in its narrative approach, which is exactly what I’m going for.
Exciting news…
Good news – graphic designer Lloyd Lelina, who created the beautiful artwork for What We Saw, is back on board for this book! I’m consistently amazed by his great work, so I can’t wait to see what he comes up with this time. Definitely one of the most exciting parts of the entire process!
I’ll share the full book description soon, as well as maybe a sneak-peek or two, but until then, feel free to sign up to my new release notifications to be emailed the second the book is on sale.
What We Saw – A Retrospective
What We Saw has been on sale for four months now, which is plenty of time to reflect on things. I’ll just get this out of the way first — I’m very proud of What We Saw, and am humbled and flattered by the general response it has received. However, I also think my second book is an improvement on it. That’s just natural, right? If you feel like you’re regressing with each release, especially right after your debut, then something is wrong.
You might agree, or you might not. What We Saw might be my masterpiece. Who knows? But I think a feeling and sense of progression is important to the author. Anyway, enough rambling — thanks for the kind words. I’m really pleased it has connected with so many of you in one way or another. I was well aware when writing that the innocent approach to narration would be potentially confusing to readers, as would the descent from a dreamlike exposition to nightmare territory, but it seems the vast, vast majority caught on to the approach I was going for, so I’m very grateful for that!
As for sales — sometimes they’re great, sometimes they’re slow. They are generally great during and following promotions, so that’s something I try to focus on every once in a few months. Keep your eyes peeled for a certain BookBub post over the next couple of weeks…
And the rest…
Of course, I’ve got another first draft to rewrite in the locker (the crime novel I told you about) so as soon as I’ve finished with novel 2, I’ll get straight to that. There’s also a novella that could potentially grow into a trilogy I want to write, so that’s something else to work on. 2013 is set to be a busy but rewarding year!
Cheers,
Ryan.