One is simply that, because I decided to expand my art horizons, as it were, I've been working on things that aren't ready to post. Also, I've been doing behind the scenes stuff on Camille's Cover Art. I added a preliminary banner, for one thing.I'm also very slowly adding things. Like this cover is a "branded match" with one of the first covers I put up (Maid of the Sea). I hope to do things like branded templates, and full covers "premade" print covers.
But there is also something else....
Writing.
As expected, I found that, now that I'm officially supposed to be doing art, writing is giving me an itch. This is the way of muses. However, the muses got a boost from a fortune cookie I got last night, which told me that this is a good time to finish some old project.
Okay, but which old project. I've got lots of them.
I've decided on one of the oldest and biggest: a YA-ish fantasy that I wrote back in the early 1990s. It was well received by editors, except that they didn't like two things about it. One -- that they couldn't tell if it was YA or for adults. And Two -- they thought it should be the first of a trilogy, which is not how I saw it at all.
It's kind of the story before the first book -- and in a sense outside the series altogether. I have this love/hate relationship with fantasy. I tend to find the quest and magic, and world building parts boring, but, mystery writer that I am, I find all the backstory stuff that gets left out to be utterly fascinating. So this is kind of "the mystery of the back story" of a classic child-savior heroic fantasy.
Every one who has read it asks me when I'm going to self-publish it. But since I don't plan to write a sequel, and I don't write that much fantasy any more, it has been on the back burner.
Well, I guess it's time to bring it out.
And I'm going to put it on Wattpad.
Which means I have to process through the 40 chapters and 130k words to figure out where the best serialization breaks are. (Some chapters will be just fine as they are, others may have to be broken up or combined.) And then I need to figure out how often to post.
And also whether I want to do some illustration. I think I probably won't, because I think it requires the type of drawing I am not quick at.
In the meantime, I've decided to start saving up covers until Sunday, when I will decide to post them either at Self-Pub Book Covers or on my own site. The advantage of this is that I can be less hodge podge aobut what I post where. The disadvantage is that a daily deadline is much more compelling. I may have to go back to it after a bit.
As usual, here is the ROW80 mid-week progress linky, where you can follow others who are in the challenge.
See you in the funny papers.
5 comments:
I don't know what WattPad is -- some sort of serialization site, I'm guessing from context -- but the novel sounds like something I'd love to look up when you get it going!
Wattpad is a reading and social networking site for Kids These Days to read off their phones and then talk about what they're reading. Some writers I know have found a new, young audience there by serializing the first novel in a series. Others post excerpts and shorter stuff -- but I think the serial is the big deal there.
I just like the idea of free. I think sites like that do great things for the development of reading and culture altogether.
What a generous thing to do: offer your story on Wattpad!
All the best with your writing and your art work.
Have a great week.
I too love the backstories of fantasy novels! My first novel was all about what happens in the immediate aftermath of the hero saving the world (his social, family, and non-magical-professional life basically collapses, because he has been focused on the imminent end-of-the-world to the exclusion of everything else.)
I keep writing things where I can see where the 'front' story would be ... but continuing to work on the long-term bureaucrat uncle, rather than the up-and-coming nephew with his sidekick friends who would probably be the normal heroes.
Anyway, I'll want to read yours!
Thanks Steph -- I do think that free is actually the secret to the future. In the past, access to free books was always how publishers developed a new audience. Without that, we lose the audience.
Victoria: Yeah, I know! The most interesting parts in fantasy are often the non-fantasy! Thanks for commenting, because it reminded me to get back on this.
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