Z Minus 11 days

So it looks like that I am still on track for the timing of the release date of the novel. I know I said it was going to be early in September, but editing is just taking time. My research into various self editing techniques has led me to a great concept that I have been using.

Reading backwards.

No, not sdrawkcab gnidaeR literally.

By starting from the end of each chapter and reading the paragraphs in reverse order, I have found it stops me getting absorbed with the continuity of the story. It is enough to be able to then focus on the more technical aspects of the prose. And - it really works. That, and reading out aloud.

Of course, my wife still finds silly mistakes that only staggers the mind how I could have missed them. It is point in case why self-editing is never not enough for the indie writer who wants to stand out as professional. You have to have another pair of discerning eyes reviewing your work.

Anyway. Less than two weeks to go..... woo hoo.

Z minus 17 Days

Getting close now.

I just got through the final artwork and I must say that I'm impressed. It's the first piece of commissioned work that I have ever had done; it won't be the last. There is so much talent out there and if you want something in particular I would highly recommend finding an artist to do it for you. I'm even thinking of commissioning some illustrations of my children. Not only can you get a great artistic rendition done of your child, but you can put them in a surreal environment for a bit of fun. It's more than comparable to the cost of getting a photographer to take some shots in a studio. If you've ever gone through that process then you will know how heart clutching the experience is as soon as you hear how much they want to charge! Yeeeeouch. I can buy my own digital SLR for that. A really good digital SLR with all the bells and whistles. It might take a thousand shots, but one is going to be close enough to what the professional can give me. Plus I get to keep the camera.

My beautiful wife is slowly progressing through the editing. She has so much on her plate; tutoring at the Uni, marking essays, research assistant work, PhD to write... then there is the children ... and there is... me.

She is the voice of temperance. She says, I have to get it right. I don't want to have people complaining that there are errors and typos that should have been corrected. Quality is essential. I have to stand out from the masses that are throwing up $0.99 unedited drivel.

So, still a couple of weeks.

In case you were wondering, I've started on book two. Outlining the chapters and scenes. Working on the end first. Sounds strange doesn't it, but if you don't have the end worked out then how can you have a beginning? 

"Just start writing and see where it goes...."

Pfft - yeah right. That sounds like a perfect formula for wasting time. Mine and yours.

You see, I know what you want. You want a story. A good story with characters that you feel for and engage you throughout the time you spend with them. An escape that inspires you to think, dream ... and wonder.

I know this to be true, so that's what I am going to keep giving you.

109 views and counting

Here's something funny.

I started this blog as a bit of a journal to document how I went about writing my first novel. I have only told a handful of people, but I have now had over one hundred views.

An interesting social experiment, because more than half of my traffic comes from outside of Australia.

The U.S, U.K, Russia, Germany are the main points of origins although there are views from some other European countries and Asian ones too.

It is hard to know if you stumble here and immediately surf away or that you stop and actually read my words. Either way it's interesting that my blog is found among the masses.

The genre of my novel is defined by Amazon as - Contemporary Urban Fantasy.

When I publish in two weeks, my novel will be 1 of 36,000+ in that genre alone. That's a small needle in a big haystack to be sure. However, 109 views and counting tells me that even without advertising or publicity, I can still be found. Then, hopefully, when people begin reading my story I will get noticed and then the organic nature of the internet will take over.

We'll see I guess. I'll let you know how it goes.

Z minus 28 days

Final draft completed! At about five fifteen this morning I finished the novel. Word count - 139,308.

Fortunately I have been editing along the way so the final manuscript won't change much in length. Two weeks of fixing corrections that I am sure my wife will find, even though I have read it a dozen times and I anticipate a soft launch in September.

I have been communicating with my artist in Finland and have been sent the preliminary artwork. I am very happy with the result.  I'll post the sequence when I get closer to the launch date.

Not long now....

Z minus 41 days

I have just commissioned an artist to begin work on the cover of the novel. A very talented young man who's work I discovered on the Deviant Art website. It's a site where artist are able to showcase their abilities and pimp their considerable talents to those that can find them. Don't you love the international community that is the internet. I mean, who would have thought I would engage an artist from —Finland! Twenty years ago, improbable. Yesterday, a few clicks, some emails, a transfer of funds and its on.

You must be getting excited. I know I am. So close now.

My wife (doing a PhD in Literature) has commenced her final run through and I expect edits to continue over the coming few weeks. It's important that it is polished. As a debut novelist, publishing on the Amazon Kindle store and trying to be noticed among the thousands of others, I can't allow simple errors to get through. It has to be professional and free from any distractions.

Is their anythng more annoying then sloppy i editing?