The Perils of Self-Editing

It came to my attention that a rather major series of edits for the first half of Hunter of Legends had never been completed prior to publication. After the first draft of each book I write, I get feedback from multiple reviewers, then make a long (LONG) list of changes to make...sometimes numbering in the hundreds. And with each sequential draft, literally thousands of individual edits are made (between 1,000-2,000 per run).

After publishing Hunter of Legends, I discovered that I had not made some of the most important changes I'd listed, most of them to do with Hunter's character arc. I've since fixed the issue and republished the book as of today, although the paperback version is still pending.

I apologize for any inconvenience, but am relieved that I discovered the error within the first week after publishing!

Runic Revelation Audiobook Available!

The audiobook version of Runic Revelation is now available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes! In addition, the audiobook for Runic Vengeance is well under way. It should be available in August!

I'm also well on my way toward finishing the final draft of my new novel, Hunter of Legends. I'll be getting the first draft of the book cover tomorrow, and will post the finished cover as soon as it is finalized.

Hunter of Legends 80% complete!

I'm almost done with the first draft of my new book!

Percentage complete is based on an estimated end book length of 450 pages. I think the first draft of the book will be a bit shorter than that, as I've only got 5 or so scenes left to write.

I've found it quite fun writing a new book, although a bit challenging. Writing sequels in the Runic series was relatively easy, since I had a full cast of characters and settings already created. Kalibar, Erasmus, Kyle, and the other characters practically write themselves now, as I've noticed writing the first draft of the fourth book.

 Starting over from scratch with a whole new cast of characters, and describing a completely new setting, is much harder. It takes time for the characters' personalities to materialize, for them to come to life for me. The more I write about them, the more I get to know them...and the more forceful they are in directing their stories. For it doesn't seem that I'm the one writing about them...they write themselves, and correct me when I get it wrong. I am merely a transcriptionist, doing as I am told.

I'll keep you posted on my progress, both here in my blog and on the graphs on the home page of my web site!

Hunter of Legends 70% complete!

The first draft of Hunter of Legends, the first book in my new fantasy series, is over 70% complete! I should have the first draft done before June, and it will probably take 2-4 months to edit before it's ready for publishing.

It will be an epic fantasy series, darker and with more adult themes than the Runic series. I'll post a sample chapter on my website before publishing.

Hunter of Legends Update!

Well, I've been working hard on Hunter of Legends, the first book in my new fantasy series. I'm 170 pages in, and going strong. I've got the week off from work, so I'm excited to really dig in and blast out a boatload of the first draft.

So far I'm content with the story, but I'm less concerned with perfecting the first draft than I was in the Runic series. Now that I've got a trilogy under my belt, I've learned that I don't necessarily need to get it right the first time. As long as I set up some good bones for the story, I can flesh it out at my leisure in the future.

My hope is to have the book published before the end of the year...and then I'll be finishing up the fourth book in the Runic series!

Runic Revelation Audiobook Update

The audiobook for Runic Revelation is nearly halfway complete! I'm busy going through the first six hours or so, and I'm pretty excited about what Nick Cracknell, the narrator, has accomplished. I suspect it'll be finished within a month or so, accounting for the 10-14 business days it takes for ACX (Amazon's audiobook creation exchange) to do QA testing and publishing of the audiobook after I submit it. I'll keep you posted on how it's going!

The audiobook for Runic Awakening has been live for about two weeks, and a little over a hundred people have downloaded it so far. I'm happy to say that people seem to be enjoying Nick's performance so far. Of the sixty or so narrators that auditioned for the series, his voice was the perfect fit. Not only that, but he was highly professional and delivered his product on time. I'd highly recommend him to other authors who are looking for a narrator for their audiobook!

Updates Galore!

The process of removing Runic Awakening from Smashwords and its affiliates is complete. Runic Awakening is now free again on Kindle Unlimited!

In other news, I'm over a quarter done with the first draft for Hunter of Legends, the first book in a new fantasy series. I've already got Bookfly Design tapped to work on the book cover in November. I've put the fourth book in the Runic series on hold for a short time to focus on Hunter of Legends, and will be back to working on the Runic series in a few months.

The Audiobook for Runic Awakening has passed QA testing and is headed to retail. My guess is it should be available on iTunes, Audible, and Amazon within the next few days. I'll post a blog entry when it is, and a Facebook post as well. Nick Cracknell, the narrator for Runic Awakening, is already working on Runic Revelation.

As always, I'll keep you up to date!

Smashwords results...

Well, Runic Awakening has been on Smashwords for two weeks, and in marked contrast to Amazon, there have been no sales whatsoever. Not even with promotions, coupons, Facebook and Google ads, and so forth. As a result, I've decided to go back to having it on Amazon KDP.

It'll take a few days for the book to be removed from Smashwords' vendors, so Runic Awakening should be available back on Kindle Unlimited within that timeframe.

 

Runic Awakening now available on Kobo and Nook!

I just published Runic Awakening on Smashwords, which will make it available on Kobo, Nook, Apple, and many other vendors! I'm interested to see how these other vendors compare to Amazon, who I've been with exclusively for the last 6 months.

Ending my exclusivity with Amazon means, unfortunately, that it won't be available on Kindle Unlimited. I consider this an experiment of sorts, to see if I can reach a significantly wider audience by publishing through Smashwords. If not, I'll go through Amazon KDP Select again, making it available on Kindle Unlimited.

As usual, I'll let you know about my progress, and I'll keep you posted on how well things are going with Smashwords!