Wow, I missed some great conversation. Not a big fan of the stories where the MC always wins. Unless there is a lot of humor involved. Still on track for November?
Glad to hear it! I think someone was asking about it in LitRPG Books or GameLit Society (I don't remember which). I'm actually impressed with the amount of lead time y'all have in your pipeline. I'm used to interacting with authors that are editing all the way up to when they upload on amazon.
Thanks. I imagine that people editing up till deadline aren't paying for copy editing and proof reading. Even a cheap copy edit is hundreds of dollars so hell if I am going to change or add anything once that's done. Doubly so after it's gone through proof reading.
FFO3, copy-edits, much wow! I'm really hoping for a November release. Other updates - I've learned how to do my own print layout for Ingrams, so saving money on that. Getting my cover art as full-spine instead of front-only has shortened the production process and woes on the print edition scores. If my proofs from Ingrams come back looking good, then I'm going to go on a rampage and redo all our other indie titles for IngramSpark as well. (Cause libraries and bookstores). And if that works, then I'm gonna go take a crack at hardback editions cause they look pretty cheap now that we can do all the layout and cover adjustments in-house. Edit: Ingramspark is the only POD I know of that offers 55% wholesaler discounting and which allows/processes returns. Two crucial requirements for getting into bookstores. Worth the trouble...I hope.
I'm so proud of the final battle of the series. No spoilers, don't worry. Just...does anyone know what I mean it if I claim that the last battle reaches "One Piece levels of hardcoreness"?
Oh man, that's a huge question. I had to really think about my reply for a while on this... IMHO - One Punch man's battles are brutal, but not hardcore since Saitama is so OP. He's never in danger. Compare that to Luffy's final battle with Crocodile, Zoro vs #1, or Luffy vs Enel. It's that giving 2000% of one's self to squeak out a victory made up of once-in-a-lifetime chances and hail mary plays that makes One Piece's action so amazing.
BTW - I love One Punch Man! Just for entirely different reasons than why I love One Piece. Speaking of which. Time to get pumped for the morning's writing!
FFO DLC is coming along nicely. I'm having a blast blending together the gamelit fantasy elements with isekai elements and the marriage of convenience set up. That said, I am getting a new appreciation for the difficulties of writing Romance as even though the love story is B-plot, it demands its own arc/act-structure which has to be weaved in with the main conflict plot. This should be a normal "strangers-to-teammates of coming together in the face of the central conflict" sort of deal (just with love/sex) but... wait... maybe there is no "but" here. I need to think about this. Pause!
I've definitely hit the wall on pantsing for this novel somewhere around the middle of Act 2 (of 3 in this case). That's farther than usual so I'm proud. Now that I have a real feel for what the story is and is about, I feel that I can stop to do some serious planning. (See spreadsheet). Time to fill out my own exercises, take my own advice, and so on in order to tighten up the book. I'll be doing things like, Applying a structure (probably the 3-act) Deciding on the central theme and adjusting characters to serve it Simplifying the central conflict (there are 2-3 contenders right now, that's no good.) Developing the main couple more as I don't think I know them well enough Re-plotting the OTP's relationship Plotting the rest of the book, in specific, with an outline. Why didn't I do all this before? Why did I write 50k words that I knew would have to be heavily edited? Well, that's just how I work. Long outlines and to-do lists fatigue me. The fastest way to kill my interest in a book is to plot the whole thing out before starting page 1. It's just an uninspired slog if I do that. The 50k words are in no way wasted as they are the pure exploration of the book's premise. They are the concentrated, authentic essence of the fun of the story. There are countless discoveries in the current text where I learned what really mattered, what was "the coolest thing that could happen", and also the most emotionally authentic dialogue. All of which are irreplaceable elements that I cannot drum upon command but must roam and find instead. Now I just need to knuckle down, be a professional, and put all that fun/joy into the framework of a real drama.
Hi Folks-who-follow-this-thread, FFO3: The Once King is coming out on November 12th and I'm looking for a few extra beta readers to help find errors in the final manuscript. (It's already been through copy and proof.) So, if you're interested in reading the book early, not having to buy it, and getting name-dropped in the back matter, please let me know over at my work email travis@rachelaaron.net The deadline for getting your name into the thank yous is Nov 6th though. Just FYI. After that, we're in the launch pipe and won't be changing the manuscript for several weeks at least. Thanks PS - Cover Drop! Woo!
I'm cool with that. We ditched the original cover because it wasn't edgy-looking enough. I bet that if it had been done in the same grim, painterly style as the new covers, it would have been fine.
