Finished but Not Really

It’s a glorious thing when one finishes a book. Be it the first time, the third time, or the tenth. Now don’t give me that look—I’m only at #3—and it’s not even the third book in the series. But I’m pleased that it didn’t take me that long to finish this time. Girl in the Globe is 68,000 words, unedited. I expect that number to change by five or so thousand words, up or down. Maybe more. It’s impossible to tell.

I can’t wait to start editing. I’m so excited to start working on the third book in the 3^rd Dragons of Witchcraft series. If you asked me, I couldn’t rightly tell you if it’s going to be the last book. I’ve tried to make it only three books, but we’ll see. For a trilogy they’re not very long books, roughly 70,000 words each. The second one is way longer than the first, but that’s only because more happens and there’s more back story.

In the third book I’m going to try to develop Andre a bit more. I don’t think we see enough of him. Paige even made a comment in the second book about how much more time she spent with Bishop despite being more like Andre. That could either be true or not true. I leave it up to the reader to decide.

I wonder what I’ll do after the next book in the series? I’m really trying to shoot for five books. I’d love to have five books out. Don’t give me the stink eye when I say this, but I’d loooove to write a vampire novel. I don’t think they’re a ruined species yet. Vampires are still the most romantic supernatural creatures to ever exist besides angels. I don’t know if I want to do an angel book. I have reservations about using them (that are in no way religious, mind you, but more literary).

What's Happenin'

As an indie writer sometimes I just have those days where I'm typing something and think "What the f*ck am I doing this for?" I won't say today was one of those days, but trust me when I say I've had plenty of em. But then I think back to everything I've written and done and think, "Wow. It's only been 4 months."

 4 months and three books. Not bad. Like I said before in one of my previous posts, it feels like it's been years. I think that's really great. The second I graduated it just seemed as if time was flying by, that one day I would wake up and be 30. Then 40, then 50, then writing a will. Writing makes time go by slower. Whether or not my writing becomes popular or recognized, it leaves evidence of all those months left behind. Wait, what am I saying? I'm too young to be talking like that. I'm only in my 20's.

Anyway, KDP Select sales are finally dwindling. I put my second book out for free for a couple of days last week and got more returns from the first book then when I made it free. I'm not disappointed. Hell, it's only been two books. Why am I so impatient? Probably because I'm young and I feel like I've put so much time and energy into those two books. Which I have. Writing is hard work. But! It's hard work I enjoy.

I finally got my first 5 star review on Amazon some time ago for my first book. That made me incredibly happy and inspired me to write faster. I'm sooo looking forward to finally working on the third book again. Several people have said they look forward to reading it, and I'd love to have them read it! I've missed the trio quite dearly.

One thing I aspire to do with the third book is include more characters. I don't think I have enough characters in my series. Ben became a new addition in the second book--kind of an asshole--but at least he was there for the party. I try to keep count with my fingers sometimes. Paige, Andre, Bishop, Phillip, Ben, and Ellis, which are mostly all my plot characters, and then my other characters which serve as support beams for Paige's life, like her parents, Arthur, and even her brother Daniel.

Third Book, New Book, More of KDP Select

Alright, I’m 27,000 words into this new book (Girl in the Globe), and still about 30,000 words into the third book in the Dragon’s of Witchcraft series. I’m not working on both books simultaneously, because that would just cause too much confusion, not to mention that both books are in different tenses. 

I’m having fun, albeit some trouble finding out where I want to go with this new book, but I’m writing more and more every day. The book is about Sunny, a fairy in a snow globe with a conscious mind who wishes to become human. Drew, the mean and spoiled girl who owns Sunny’s snow globe, unconsciously makes a wish that they could switch places after having a fight with her boyfriend.

It happens, and Sunny finds herself living Drew’s life, except a few people in school realize that’s he’s not really Drew. One of them being Drew’s boyfriend, Julian. Sunny’s character is meant to be bubbly, fanciful, and caring, but with a tendency to worry and over think things. I don’t have a cover page for the book yet, but I’m eager to get working on it.

The last free promo for Dragons of Witchcraft is going on now and tomorrow, for Easter weekend. I’m still thinking about entering the second book in the KDP Select, which I haven’t even done yet, even though I should since I’m not and can’t sell it anywhere else, according to KDP Select guidelines. In fact, I’m going to do it right now, this very second.

…

There we go. It’s done. Only took two seconds. I’m going to work harder so that the next couple of books come out sometime within the following few months. With editing and everything it might take longer than expected, but it’ll get done by the time Summer is over, I promise you that.

First Free Promo Results

I just did my first free promo for Dragons of Witchcraft. It lasted two days, from Friday to Saturday. I would like to say that the results were spectacular, but all I could do was shrug my shoulders and go “Eh.” Nearly 600 downloads, so it’s not awful, and in fact I’m quite pleased with it, but it just isn’t as good as I wanted it to be. Only a small percentage of those that download free books actually read them, and probably even fewer who go on to buy the next book, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. The next free promo I do will be on Easter weekend in April, so look out for that. I don’t know when or if I’ll enter Cinder Halo in the KDP Select.

What I’m really working on now is getting more books out. That’s just it. I really want more books out on the market, so I’m writing all the time. I seriously don’t like taking days off. In fact, the second I upload a new book I get right to working on the next one. It’s crazy. And still, despite all that, I’m not prolific.

Girl in the Globe is about 5000 words in. I have a whole guideline laid out, and I’m very anxious to see how it plays out. I haven’t even looked at the third book in the DOW series, but that’s only because I desperately need a break from it. When my next book is done, hopefully sometime within the next two months, I’ll go back to it and start working on it again because I do so love my characters.

Finally Did It

I'm looking at my clock right now and it reads 5:39am (oh yeah) so forgive me if I make mistakes.

Anyway I finally entered into the KDP Select. I know I've been talking about doing it for a week now, but yesterday I finally clicked the button. I'm going to have my book free for two days, starting this Friday. I'm kind of excited. Since I don't have a lot of books out I'm not expecting a LOT, but it never hurts to cross your fingers. I'm desperately trying to get the editing done for the second book so I can put it out before the free promo launches for my first book. I'll also have my first review out so, that'll be something for me to look forward to. I really forget that it's only been two months since my book's been out, if even that, but it feels like it's been years. Maybe because I'm working so hard.

I really want an editor for my second book. As soon as I can afford it, I'm getting one. I'm also working on a novella. Only recently have I thought about putting up shorter stories, and I'm quite excited to do it! It'll be so nice to take a break from first person POV. I really should have stuck with that POV in the first place, but it's too late now. Just as well, I'm already used to Paige's sarcastic voice and I've grown quite attached to it.

The third book I'm working on for the Dragons of Witchcraft Series won't be out for months, but I'm almost 30,000 words into it. It's like running a never ending marathon. You get water breaks, but ultimately it never stops. The novella I'm working on (and it's the first time I'm mentioning it anywhere) is called Girl In The Globe. Pretty straight forward title. I'm a lover of fantasy and I see potential there.

Now Uploading

I've worked harder on this book than I ever have on anything in my entire life. For the past week all I've done is read, write, and edit. I only ate once a day, hardly went to the bathroom, never went outside, didn't exercise, didn't play games, didn't talk to ANYONE, and my sleeping schedule's an absolute train-wreck. Now don't take these as complaints, because they're not. Despite the craziness, I actually enjoyed doing it.

I went to createspace.com, ordered a proofing copy, sat for two days reading the whole thing and marking the pages with red ink, fixed my word doc., re-formatted for kindle, and then uploaded it. This is ALL after changing the entire POV of my book.

Paige was entirely too uptight and mature, and I struggled in making her sound more her age. She's sarcastic, independent, and cares for her family and friends a great deal. This is the personality I hoped to get across with my writing, and only time will tell if I succeeded.

I just uploaded my new cover:

Background provided by awesome Brenda Starr on http://www.flickr.com/photos/brenda-starr/

and the edited document, and am currently waiting for publication. I changed the price to $2.99 to see how it goes, at least until the second book, Cinder Halo, has been edited and released too. I already made the new cover for that one:

 

and hope to get this thing done anywhere between this week and next week. I don't know when I'll enroll in KDP Select. I was hoping to get the second book out when I did that, but who knows, that could change in the next few days, depending on how frustrated I get by lack of sales.

Unpublished

I unpublished both my books from the Amazon Kindle market two days ago. This is because I'm editing. I know it's unnecessary to take the books down while I do this, but I just didn't feel right leaving them up. With every mistake I found I would think "Oh lord, and it's up there right now, live. People are actually seeing this . . ."

I'm having several people look at my work now, and I don't know when I'll be back up. I'm also looking for a new cover artist. Proud as I may have been for the measly one I created, I'm sensible enough to know that it's just not good enough. It's not the kind of cover that draws in readers. Pretty? I guess, but also a little . . . cheap?

Once everything is taken care of, I plan to enroll in the KDP Select. Now there has been a lot of religious talk going around about the KDP Select, but with a little research I found that enrolling would be best for me personally. That’s because KDP Select offers an exponential amount of exposure that is crucial for a nobody like me. Having my book up there for 90 days is no big deal, especially when I can choose any days out of those 90 to promote my book free. That’s really something, and authors have seen a lot of success with that.

Before that happens, I have to make sure that my books are as clean and perfect as I can make them. When people actually read the content, I want them to think that my books are more than just pretty covers.