It’s all in the bag

Well, I’ve done it. For better or for worse, I’ve sent in the first round of revisions on my sequel novel.

Is it better? I think so–but then I’m a tad biased. Some scenes that I spent hours writing are gone, and new scenes are in their places. Some scenes are just plain new. But it flows, it reads well, it’s done…for now.

Now I wait on the edits.

Not sure which is worse: knowing that the book is in someone else’s hands, or the wait to see what they say. I’m not so cocky as to think that I learned all the lessons I needed to from the feedback and edits on Abnormal, but I know I learned a lot, and I’m hoping that means there’s less work for the poor publishers to do. Fingers crossed for a clean, tidy draft that they only have to make minor suggestions and adjustments to.

I’ve been working on SCA garb this weekend as well. I feel better having told my husband that I need to slow down on the activities, and this weekend has actually been quite nice. Would I rather have spent it at home? Yeah, but I’m making do. I got my Persian coat almost finished (my eyes went wonky with the button sewing, so I am taking a break from that until the dizziness passes), and it’s looking pretty sharp. Here it is (pre-buttons):

Screenshot taken from a video my husband took as I modeled the pirihan and coat. No, that fabric isn’t stamped; it was purchased from JoAnn’s just like that. On clearance. The last they had. It was barely enough for me to make the coat. Lol I was originally going to make longer coat sleeves, but I had to shorten them to make all the pattern pieces fit on the fabric I had.

I still need to make the pants, which will be a nice golden-yellow linen, my husband’s entire outfit to make, and, if there’s linen left over when I’m done with those, a sash or two for cinching the waist(s). I’m really, really hoping that our friend who has been helping us with patterning got the time to cut pattern pieces out for my husband’s garb. I don’t think I can do it on my own; when she made my pattern pieces she went so fast I didn’t retain everything she said. If push comes to shove, I can try to fudge it, but time is rapidly passing me by. I probably shouldn’t be typing this post right now, actually.

Once I have my coat finished (after finishing this post, of course), I’ll start on Book 3, I think. I know I kindasorta started it already, but I’m dissatisfied with the timing on the opening scenes. I need to start it closer to the end of Book 2, but not too close. So yeah, today is: coat, rest eyes (if need be), Book 3 opening scenes, and another party at the end of the day…probably a more crowded party than last night, but at least I know there’s an end to the partying in sight.

Book-blocked

Damnit, just when I get into a groove–and get into writing some groovy action–the empty room I had parked myself in gets some more occupants.

I’m at a meeting for our prospective SCA household. Normally having other people in the room doesn’t distract me from my writing, but when I’m writing, er, “sensitive material,” I can’t concentrate.

Oh well. I’ll get back to it when we’re headed home. I should make myself useful to the household by helping string event tokens or something…But damnit, the book is calling me. I’m in The Zone, and I don’t know if The Zone will still be around later tonight. If it’s not it’s not, but I guess I’ll have to tell the Muse to slow her roll and give me some “me time.”

I’m hopeful that Book 2 will be ready for submission in the next couple of weeks. I have until the beginning of November, so I only have a few weeks anyway, but I’d rather be done early than late. That, and I want to get the wheels moving on Book 2. So far, from the feedback I’ve received, people are wanting to know what happens next. I’m wanting to tell them what happens next–so to submissions I will go.

Aww, crap. That reminds me: I have to write the outline. And synopsis. And the dreaded query letter. Better dust off the ones for Abnormal to refresh my memory on how to do all that. Lol

Book 3 is on standby for now. I got a little bit of a start, but it was a rocky one. Better to let Book 2 take control until it’s done; that way, when I dive back into Book 3 I have fewer changes to make.

It’s 26 days until Tucson Comic Con. Twenty-six days until I’m in the spotlight–or at least as in-the-spotlight as I’ll get tucked away in Artist’s Alley. Booth AA147, in case you were wondering. November 2-4. Be there!

Excelling…or am I?

So I thought I was doing pretty well with contacting authors, podcasts, and book bloggers about Abnormal. I mean, I’ve been following along with the Marketing 101 assignments that my publisher has been putting out in the Facebook group, I’ve been researching places to contact, I’ve been documenting my contacts…so why is it that, when I input the contacts I’ve done into an Excel sheet, I’ve only contacted about twenty people/businesses??

I guess reality is not the same as perception sometimes. I’ve got a list of five more book bloggers to contact today, but I’m a little discouraged at how dismal my personal efforts have been. I want Abnormal to succeed, so why am I slacking?

Well, part of it is just life. I get busy (or I get too sleepy in the mornings), and I forget. Or I say I’ll do it after work. Or something. Regardless of the reason for the slackiness, I need to step it up. Get cracking.

My efforts look so much more impressive when they’re scrawled in a composition book or date planner. I guess I write much bigger than I realized. Lol

I just have to tell myself that I can do this. I’ve got a form email saved for sending to places, I’ve got a list started of places to contact, and I am looking every so often for more places. I’m less overwhelmed than I was previously when it comes to finding places to send requests for reviews/interviews to, but I still don’t feel like I’m doing enough.

On the plus side, I got my author copies in this past weekend, and they look great. I mean, I’ve seen the paperbacks when I did my signing at the local bookstore, but it’s cool to have a copy to carry around, and the hardcover looks great, too. 

Ain’t they a beaut? 

I guess I should get off the blog and get to the blogs. Er, book review blogs.

Working off the clock

As I am rapidly discovering, publishing a book is a lot of hard work–even after the book is published.

You don’t just release the book like a dove at a wedding and expect it to fly. You’ve got to keep promoting, keep looking for influential people to read and (hopefully) review it, keep seeking opportunities to speak publicly about the book, keep going, going, going.

I’m am eternally grateful for the time and attention that RhetAskew Publishing gives to its authors. I’d be floundering without a clue if they weren’t willing to listen to my frustrations and explain things to me, and even on occasion provide a bit of help. Don’t get me wrong: they don’t do all the work for me. I’ve got to take responsibility in getting this ship off the ground.

So far I’ve contacted probably ten or twelve different authors, bloggers, podcasts, and others to offer them copies of the book to read or offer an interview about the book or what have you. Not many bites, but that’s okay. I’m a no-name author at the moment; my fifteen minutes hasn’t come up yet. That’s okay, though. As the meme says,

Yep, that’s my master plan. Sell the books, become famous, and live a life of luxury.

Ha! Just kidding. I just want my story read. The fame and (ideally) fortune are just pleasant side effects of that story being read.

One five-star review on Amazon so far, with another one pending (Amazon takes a couple days to approve reviews, but this person sought me out to tell me they posted a review). Not too terribly shabby.

Yeah, the bad reviews will inevitably come as well. It happens. But I will just hold my head high, chalk it up to differences in taste, and keep on truckin’.

And keep on searching for influencers, and keep on contacting them, and keep on offering copies, and keep on suggesting interviews, and….

Well, back to work!

Off the cuff

A little break from writing lately as I dive into an embroidery commission for Their Royal Majesties of Atenveldt.

Yeah, I know. It’s annoying when people do that. But what can I say? It’s the highest-profile embroidery I’ve done yet, and even more so because they’ll be wearing the garments at an out-of-kingdom event. So no pressure, right?

Actually, I’m not feeling too bad on the pressure front this time around. It’s all straightforward designs that I picked out (that Their Majesties approved, of course), and I’m not actually assembling the garb–just embroidering the pre-cut pieces I was given.

His Majesty saw one of the cuffs I was working on the other day and really liked what I had done. Her Majesty saw me working on it as well, but she was preoccupied with other things and I didn’t want to be “that guy” who’s sticking their latest project in her face for praise. (His Majesty sought me out specifically for seeing what I was doing, so that’s different. Lol)

I should be done by the end of the weekend, then it’s back to the writing board. 🙂

The books come marching, one by one

It’s begun! People have started posting pictures of their copies of Abnormal online!

Okay. One person has. Still… That means shipping is in effect, books are arriving at mailboxes and doorsteps, and people are going to start reading.

There’s one person in particular who I admit I am more anxious to hear their opinion than others (though everyone’s opinion on the book matters)…

A NYT bestselling author told me that she bought my book.

That’s right. Darynda-fucking-Jones. Yeah, she might not get to it for a wile, but she bought my book. Didn’t ask for a free copy, she bought it. I was fangirling for half a day over this.

It’s pretty cool to know that people are buying my book, that they’re starting to get it in their homes, that they’re starting to read it.

This has been one amazing journey, and it’s only going to get better. 🙂

Livin' for the deadline

Yep, it’s another early morning for me, and now that I’ve been social on most of the medias, it’s time to get cracking on Book 2’s revisions. I’ve got a good idea of where I’m going with them, but it’s a matter of actually sitting down and getting from A to B. Then, once I’ve gotten the manuscript where it needs to be, it’s edit, edit, edit before I send it off for submission. RhetAskew Publishing has given me an early November deadline for submission, so I have some time but not, like, oodles. There’s a lot of life going on in those months…Abnormal‘s release, SCA events about every other weekend or more, book signing, work, more work, new certification for work…Yeah. All that and a bag of chips. Or something. I have no one to blame but myself, really….I asked my Editor-in-Chief when she’d like the manuscript, and she gave me a time frame.
The other day I had a mini major meltdown about Abnormal‘s release. That was fun (not). You see, as I’m revving up and getting ready for the release, I’m also taking a marketing workshop led by my Editor-in-Chief at RhetAskew. This workshop is pretty intense, and it’s left me feeling overwhelmed. There are things I’ve been doing that I guess are no-nos when it comes to marketing, and there are other things I haven’t done yet that are very, very important. I know that since Abnormal is the first in a series I have time to build my audience, but I was feeling an immense sense of urgency and anxiety that I’d never get all the things done before the release. Some part of my bipolar brain decided that I had to do every single workshop assignment ASAP to be ready for release date, and when I realized I was in overload I lost it. I’m talking red-faced, puffy-eyed, snot-nosed ugly crying. I was a hot mess.
I’m better about it now. I think I just needed to get it out of my system. Reached my boiling point, spilled over, and now I’m all good. Mostly…I still feel some anxiety, but nothing like the other day.
Well, guess it’s time to put the blog down and pick up my mind mapping. Gotta stay cool, calm, and collected as the countdown to Abnormal ticks down….9 days now. Single digits.

Battle royale

It’s been a while since I’ve had a legitimate bipolar breakdown, so I guess yesterday’s little panic attack was overdue. Still, it would be nice not to have to go through that at all.
2gbz61
Yeah….
So the marketing process for Abnormal combined with the marketing workshop that my publisher is running on Facebook combined with general anxiety about the projected success or failure of said book all are working together to create that perfect environment for a bipolar freak-out. Last night was the first of what I hope is a minimal number of said freak-outs.
It all started with the sudden realization that the workshop assignments were leading up to us authors identifying and contacting our top genre influencers about our works.
Wait…I have to find out who the top sci-fi/dystopian/LGBTQ bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, journalists, etc, are, then I have to write out emails asking them to read and review my book or do an interview with me, then I have to send out those same emails? Like, actually send them? To people who have thousands and thousands of followers, who probably already lead busy lives and already get gobs of junk emails with the same type of requests? But–but–but…what if I’m bothering them?
Ah, yeah, there’s that irrationality. There’s the anxiety rearing its ugly head.
Fuck you, anxiety. You ruined my evening yesterday.
Fighting with this type of anxiety is a tough one. I can always go to friends or family or to my husband or my publishers with my unfounded concerns, but I can’t always take their logical, rational advice and apply it to the very much illogical and irrational fear I’m experiencing. The irrational fear eats logic for breakfast, chews it up, and spits it out in a sloppy wet wad on the carpet. I always end up stepping square in that wad. I hate stepping on anything wet, literally or metaphorically.
Why is it so horrifying to have to send out some nice, polite emails requesting consideration for myself and my book? I don’t know. Again, it’s an irrational fear. And no, it’s not the fear of them ignoring my emails or sending rejections–it’s the fear of being a bother. A nuisance. An annoyance.
It was difficult to send email requests to some of my favorite authors asking if they’d be interested in having an Advanced Reader Copy of Abnormal to peruse and maybe write a blurb on. I was terrified of annoying them. Of being viewed as spam–even if it was potentially some random assistant who was handling that day’s particular emails. That is what had me paralyzed yesterday. It’s still got me shaken up a bit, but so far this morning no fountains of tears. So that’s progress, right?
Another stressor to add onto these imaginary stressors is the feeling that I have to get all my marketing done before the September 1 release date–which is now ten days away. Ten. Short. Days. My publisher assures me that’s not the case, that I have the entirety of the series to build upon and market to my fanbase, but the timing of the marketing workshop is not helping. Don’t get me wrong–I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to have such a workshop. It’s just giving me a minor heart attack thinking about all the assignments that are being given with “just ten days” in which to complete the assignments.
Ten days…I’m almost in the single digits.
I had my freak-out. I talked with close friends, with my publisher, with my husband. I whined and moaned and misunderstood the assignments and cried and sobbed and overreacted. I did all the things except stay calm and look at it from a logical standpoint. Logically, the bloggers and vloggers and podcasters and journalists are there to build on their own fanbase, and they (theoretically) welcome the opportunity to read and review something that their fanbase might enjoy. Illogically, they’re going to view me as an overeager spammer nobody who needs to leave them alone.
I’m going to get past this. I’m going to finish this post, search for my genre’s “influencers,” and get started on a template to share in the workshop to eventually turn into emails to said influencers.
It may not be within the next ten days. But I have a whole series to get this done in.
Still, better now than never.
Off I go.
Kicking and screaming, but off I go.

Advanced notice

It’s getting closer and closer to Release Day, and in the hopes of getting some blurbs for the cover of Abnormal I’ve started sending out emails to other authors to see if they’d be interested in and Advanced Reader Copy to read and comment on. It’ll be interesting to see who bites and reads it.
I’m also doing an advanced read on another Askew author’s book (in exchange for her AR of mine), so of course I’m piling more work on top of the work I already have to do. Glutton for punishment, anyone? ‘Cause that’s me.
I had my interview for the promotion yesterday, but since there’s at least one other applicant that I know of (who is as qualified as I am, if not more so), it’s going to be the waiting game for a while. The owner of the practice has to review our resumes and questionnaires with my supervisor before making a determination. Good thing I clip my nails, because otherwise I’d be biting them in anticipation. As it is, my lip is chewed to pieces almost. Lol
SCA life is quiet for a couple of weeks, which means I get to game with friends this Saturday (better brush up on the system, because I’ve played all of one game way back in the fall) and the following Saturday is my birthday. The big 3-9, the beginning of the last year in my thirties. I’m not as freaked out about forty as I was about thirty, which seems weird, but I guess you get to a point in your life where you’re like “Whatever.” Some of my friends are taking me out for a dinner/cider tasting, which sounds like a lot of fun.
Other than that, my time is kinda my own for a couple of weeks. Yeah, I have the AR to do. Yeah, I have embroidery/sewing to work on. Yeah, I have work-work to do. Yeah, I have to finish remaking my Dark Phoenix corset for Tucson Comic Con. Yeah, I have marketing footwork to do. Still, it’s nice to not be running around crazy trying to catch up for a little bit.
(And yeah, all that and then some is me “relaxing” for a couple of weeks. 😉 )

Arts and Sciences revisited

So… I haven’t really gone into extensive detail on my experience last week at our local Baronial Arts and Sciences competition. I won’t. It’s done, and I’m done. Not with Arts and Sciences in general, but with the subject of last week. That’s done. This week, however, went well, and even though I didn’t win anything personally (the household I entered with won for Household Champion) I learned a lot from the experience.
I got stern but helpful critique, and I had a much better time than last week. I think I might have made one judge feel bad about herself when I told her I have only been embroidering since December. I got the Look of Death from her, as if she was thinking “I spent X amount of time learning this shit and this bitch has been doing it for like 8 months and she’s sitting here all smug with her A&S entry….” Oops. Good thing I didn’t mention anything about being self taught from Pinterest tutorials.
My research paper got picked the fuck apart… which I have to admit, I deserved. I kinda crammed for that one for the most part. I mean, I did some of the reading ahead of time… and most of it as I was writing the paper. Oops again. But hey, now I know how to improve on my cramming, and I will have a much improved paper for Kingdom.
I’ll also have a better embroidery project. I have to get some more materials for it (and find the original piece I started), but it’s going to be more refined and more period in style than my little cup cover sampler. I might have another piece to judge if I can come up with documentation for both the embroidery and the item that will be embroidered. I think I can do that, but I’ll have to check.
Arts and Sciences will continue to be in my future in the SCA. I won’t let one bad experience ruin the arts for me.