WIP Seventh Talon

I can try some gradients and see, I was even thinking about doing a texture fade out too. However, I'm just a fledgling at art, mostly learning as I go. I'll see what I can do.

 

Ok, getting close to my final copy. I changed the glow to purple, eyes purple too. Also put some scale textures in the background. Changed the book title to Dragonrider's Fury, changed the odditek blurb to An Odditek Online Series (so we know its a virtual thing). What do you all think?

 

I think that works the purple give it a good edge.

 

I'm in an early beta stage finally. I'm still hopeful for an early December release.

If anyone wants to beta read, just let me know, and if not look for it coming up on preorder soon.

 

I'll beta read it. I haven't done one in a while.

 

Gave it an in depth red pen treatment plus beta feedback combo. Man I wish I could do this as a job, heh.

 

If you ever do I will definitely consider paying you. I can probably talk a few others into it too

 

Let me make some more changes based on cheshires feedback and ill send it over. Im out of town but shoot me your email in private or email me at jamesgpatton@outlook.com

 

Sweet. What would be a reasonable price? I have no idea what editors and proofreaders charge.

 

It varies a lot. Your editing factories (my word for it) generally charge $2 a page or a penny a word for just basic proofreading. Some go higher or lower. Then it scales from there if you do copy editing or content editing. Independents are usually cheaper if they are relatively unknown, at least until the demand grows haha.

Then you have people that just charge a flat rate. I've seen some say they'll do it for $500 for 100k words with a minimum of $200 for anything 40k words and below. I talked to an author that said she found someone that did for a flat $30, haha. It might need some market research, but nothing seems like it is set in stone. It just seems like most editors charge what they think is reasonable for time and effort put in. They also charge extra for a fast turn around.

 

Jesus I could make a KILLING then. I was thinking something like $5 per 10k words, minimum $50 and that’s with my usual fast turnaround. It only takes me a couple of hours to read a book - I think my red pen pass on Seventh Talon took something like a total of 7 hours start to finish? I’m not sure I caught 100% of the things, but I’m pretty sure I caught about 95%+.

But then, I’m thinking in terms of “luxury grocery money” or “hey I get to go to a snazzy steakhouse” money rather than “OMG THIS IS MY SOLE INCOME AND I NEED RAMEN AND BOX MAC N CHEESE OR ELSE I’LL STARVE” so I guess that’s why I was thinking in the lowball neighborhood.

I guess if I’m getting paid though, I’d actually have to read all of the things and couldn’t just abandon a book and tell the author it needs to be taken out back and shot because it’s a crime against the written word, and the alphabet is now considering suicide as a viable alternative to being trapped in the terrible novel they wrote.

So tradeoffs, hmm...

 

Damn! I'm glad you didn't hate my book haha, or at least I don't think you did. And yes, you would have to read the extremely bad with the good, but while they may pay you for the red pen, nothing is stopping you from telling them the story is crap. You might not get a repeat customer, haha, but that might not be a bad thing either.

But yea, your red pen is good stuff so far, I'm still adding content into the beginning and have ideas for slowing down the pace in the middle. So I haven't gone through all the actual grammar edits yet, but at a quick glance you caught a ton of stuff haha. Right now what I am doing is breaking the Trial out of the tower, so she is in a beginner area, and the last part of the trial she is teleported to the spire. That way its more gameplay action to break up that exposition. Then I'm taking the magic description and moving that to Aila in the forest walk scenes. I think that will thin the exposition up a lot, and help speed it up in the beginning and slow it town in the middle to end. This way I don't have to change a ton of stuff, just add things. (I.E. the banner room scene stays as is, but she gets to it by going through a guardian and then chooses, so the preface to it changes, but not the content I have in there already). If that makes sense.

 

Man I've been strangely silent on this, but I've been working hard. Now I have a blurb question for you guys. Little bit of background, my chapters have a small journal or log entry at the beginning. So I though of doing my blurb in the same vein, what do you think:

-Boh’s Journal, March 13th, N167
It started with a card in a cafe. An invitation that only asked one question before I agreed. Do you want to be a Dragonrider?
It said nothing about guns, magic, or heavy metal, those were just added incentives. It also said nothing about the secrets, betrayals, and politics of a dragon run society. Giant beasts that can eat me before I could even make an argument otherwise.
Nor did it tell me that the biggest enemy I would have to face was myself.

 

Doesn't it say too much rather than market the book?

I don't know, I bought a gay semi-porno book at full price and all the blurb said was something like this:-

With my friends, Gary the most beautiful hornless gay unicorn. Something something Troll that will always at his side. I set out to assest my dream.

He's not only a dream, but the dreamiest dream that was ever dreamt dream.

But alas, he is already engaged. To a prince no less.

Now true the prince was kidnapped by a sexually frustrated dragon but he was still his fiance.

 

For the blurb, I'd personally prefer a little more information regarding the world (e.g. is it more fantasy or sci-fi or cyberpunk, etc. because sometimes I'm just in the mood for a certain kind of world) I also look for information about the tone and plot, like how you can get a vague sense of whether it's a zero-to-hero story or if it reads like a mystery novel, you know, stuff like that.

I think the journal entry is a nice idea, but maybe do a journal entry bit as the hook and then a more traditional section after that?

But to be honest, what I do when it comes to books is check cover, check reviews, and check the 'Look Inside' to see if I like the tone of the writing.

Very nice and classy cover, BTW.

 

I’ve been burned by blurbs (blurned?) often enough that I hardly even bother with them anymore. I just check if it’s on KU and glance at reviews.

Never really did pay much attention to covers, either.

 

That's where it gets difficult to explain too deeply, because of plot elements later. It is roughly a World War I era, but like an alternate history, so a lot of fantasy elements crossed over. I could add another line to the journal, like. They did not tell me World War I and Tokien had a baby. I'll think on it some more, stay tuned.

I am the same way, but I am told they are important haha. I am just attempting to do something concise and not very wordy. I can probably shift Boh's journal entry to add a little bit more about the world and call it done. I will have a few paragraphs after it, but mostly talking about how it exists alongside Office Wars and to read that if you want more information on the hub world (as its not important to this story) and then a blurb about MS and donating to their foundation. Since the book is based on a real person with MS.

 

Eh, I’d add the link to the afterword, along with the bit about the MC being based on a real person. A blurb isn’t the place for it, really. It’d either seem like you’re pandering or shilling there - better to let the book stand on its own merits.