You can have your cake and eat it too. Just don’t make it weird.

Editing Tip #6

The point is the point is the point. With every word, sentence, and paragraph of your article/short story/novel chapter/what-have-you comes an important question: “Does this make sense here?”

Fiction writing (or any long-form writing, but I’ll stick to what I know) blends narration, dialogue, and action into a homogenous medium with layers of flavor baked in. Those flavors—emotion, subtext, B-plots, parentheticals, etc.—glue the story together as would chocolate frosting for an otherwise-pointless plain vanilla cake.

Don’t ramble for the sake of rambling. Eloquent crap is still crap. Maple-glazed honey ham doesn’t belong in a chocolate cake.

Save your delicious metaphors for when they matter. Otherwise…

Publication Puzzlers

With beta reads and cover design well underway, I’m facing a new-old conundrum: self-publish or query?

Self-publishing is the path I’ve pursued all year. I’ve founded a publishing imprint, prepared a Kickstarter, and edited extensively. Despite the exhaustive work, I like having control over the final product and distribution.

But.

If I get an agent and/or a publishing deal…I’m tempted to sign that sucker immediately.

The support of a dedicated organization takes weight off my shoulders. It takes profit, too, in the form of an advance that may represent every penny I ever receive for Codename SPOOKY.

I’ve read endless articles and debated myself silly over this choice. Being an indie author is typically a labor of love, but rarely a labor of profit.

If all goes well, I’ll have Codename SPOOKY edited and ready for proofs by the end of June. Then what? Do I start the unstoppable countdown to a Kickstarter campaign and release date? Do I spend a few months querying, hoping to strike gold instead of striking out?

It’s a doozy. Let me know what you think.

Writing Updates

Codename SPOOKY: Beta reading is going well! I’m grateful for those of you who signed up, and for those who jumped on the newsletter train without receiving a golden ticket. Whatever happens with publication, you’ll get the inside scoop, because this book IS getting published.

My cover designer is sending me the first draft this week. After a disappointing experience with another company, I’m excited to have a talented artist whose work I love involved with this project.

Speaking of art, this is Nightlight. You’re gonna love him.

Codename SPOOKY SEQUEL: While I’m technically not past the halfway point, I am over 50,000 words in. My target word count is 100,000, and I’m guessing I’ll end up around 110,000 in the first draft.

I’m back in the drafting groove: after spending a month and a half NOT writing anything new, I’ve written 13,000 words so far this month. If I can keep a brisk pace, I’ll finish the first draft in August or sooner.

I used to worry about writing enough. That’s no longer the case. I love my writing time, and I’m somewhat patient enough to let the story come out in its own time.

I am SO excited, though. Stakes are being raised. I almost want to spoil the first book for you so I can spoil the second one. Here’s a[n edited] snippet:

Keep An Eye Out…

I think I’ve mentioned it before, but Amanda Auler’s new fantasy book is coming out in the fall. I’m rereading it now (yay, author friend perks!) and it slaps. Preorders and other goodies are available to the public now, so get them while they’re available (hint: they may not be available for long).

I’m also beta reading Emma Hill’s upcoming book, an excellent modern-rom-com-meets-light-fantasy. Rom-coms aren’t usually my thing, but characters worth caring about are DEFINITELY my thing. You can check her out here.