Writing
I am doing it.
Expect new chapters shortly. I’ve got Chapter 32 written and rewritten, and substantial progress on chapters 33 and 34. Settling into the groove of writing again, and it feels nice.
The Veil War
"and then I was like, 'Holy crap, goblins!'"
January 17, 2013
What would a Veil War Kickstarter look like
Fabulous feedback on the last post, thank you all.
In response to Ian and Allison, especially – my thought about Kickstarter was not that it would replace all the hard work and relentless progress you discuss (and exemplify) – but rather purely as an adjunct to it. As an additional means of advertising, rather than purely a means of making money off my writing directly. Between the hundreds of readers here on this site, plus facebook, twitter, boards, etc – it was my thought that I could, potentially, gain enough traction on a modest kickstarter campaign to achieve some success.
Also, looking at successful (and unsuccessful) kickstarter campaigns – it seems that Tobias Buckell has the right of it:
I think there are three things that make for a Kickstarter success:
1) An intriguing product
2) Created by an entity that has proven it can deliver it
3) Created by an entity that has a following (or publicity reach)
Any two of those create an atmosphere where I think success is more likely. Hit all three, you’re likely to see something interesting.
To which I would add that being able to create a compelling kickstarter campaign is a necessary fourth thing. A lot of the less successful campaigns have decidedly non-compelling awards. I would argue that I have #1 and as soon as I finish the novel, #2. I certainly do not have an internet-scale following, but it’s not exactly zero, either.
As for the campaign itself, here’s what I tentatively imagined as a Veil War kickstarter project:
$5 Mention in the credits (included in all bigger awards)
$10 eBook (included in all bigger rewards)
$25 Trade paperback
$35 Signed trade paper
$50 Limited edition signed hardcover
$75 Artwork – nicely matted and so on
$100 Red Shirt – you will be named, and then killed
$150 Red Shirt + Signed Hardcover + Artwork
$200 Minor Character – you appear, as yourself, in the story.
$250 Minor Character + Signed Hardcover + Artwork
$500 Bonus Story – 2000+ word story, all for yourself to do with as you choose
$750 Supremely grisly and/or heroic death
$1000 Super double-plus mega pack – all smaller rewards in one awesome package deal
I’d also thought that perhaps some other things could be worked in:
- various types of merch, the sort that is easily created on CafePress or similar sites and based on the artwork.
- access to background information and projected storylines.
- meet with the author personally or via internets
Don’t want to overload it, really – but it seems that there are a fair number of people who like being patrons, and will actually pull the trigger on the larger awards. The big question of course is whether any of those people read the Veil War.
My thinking is that if it works, fantastic! I get money, additional publicity, feedback, and a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart-cockles. After it’s over, I go on and put the book up for sale on Amazon and proceed as normal. If it doesn’t work, so what? I finish the editing and so on and put the book up for sale on Amazon anyway. It seems perfectly complementary, and wouldn’t in anyway interfere with what I would be doing regardless, and might actually help it along.
What say you?
January 16, 2013
In 10 Days…
Two weeks of vacation for the last week of January and the first of February. More Veil War!
When I found out that I wouldn’t be telecommuting anymore, it had been my hope that I might be able to squeeze out some writing. That has, sadly, turned out not to be the case. I need moderately big stretches of time to write, and those just don’t exist in the new dispensation. (Small silver lining – thinking, editing and planning are possible. Fer instance, I now know exactly how to fix chapters 9-17, and I’ve substantially improved 1-8 with some stellar feedback from a friend and former Marine.)
Seeing as we are so very close to the end, those two weeks will be enough to finish Lewis’ story arc at a bare minimum. I also hope to complete the other elements of the story – the ones that have not been posted here, but will make the story a complete novel. It is my sincere wish to be able to type “the end” sometime early next month. To be sure, that will not be the end of it. There is the editing to be done, the rewriting, the proofreading – but the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter at long last.
You may have some questions.
Does this mean the end of the Veil War? Not at all. Corny as it is, the Veil War will be a trilogy.
When will the excitingly titled Veil War II start? That depends on a number of things – most crucially, how quickly I can finish the clean up of Veil War I. My goal is end of Spring.
What’s VWII going to be about? Magic, ultraviolence, ‘splodey-splodey, dark forces, suffering and Coleman saying goofy shit. While VWI is set in the first couple weeks of the invasion, VWII will cover a broader range of time about a year in to the war.
Will you keep publishing online for free? Right now, that is in fact part of the plan.
Part of the plan? Once Veil War I is cleaned up, I want to sell it. Moving forward, I will continue to publish parts of the ongoing story for free.
Well, what’s the other part then dammit? That’s the big question. With a complete manuscript, I could submit to an agent/publisher and maybe two years from now you could by a book. Or I could throw it up on Amazon five seconds after I finish it. There are pros and cons with each method. Yet… I feel that traditional publishing is dying.
So what’s the other part then dammit? Right now I’m leaning toward the possibility of a kickstarter campaign, followed by sales on major online distributors.
***
Now, I have some questions for you:
- Would you be interested in a kickstarter campaign?
- What sort of bonuses would entice you to pony up your cash?
- How high, or how cautiously should I set the goal? (Things I’d want to cover with the cash would include copy-editing, regular editing, artwork…)
- Do you have other suggestions?
- What price point is most comfortable for you for an eBook? (aside from free) That is, where do you feel decent price for a good story meet?
Collectively, you all have been extraordinarily helpful in the writing of the Veil War. Without the slightest hint of exaggeration, I can say that I have been staggered by the level of support, advice, feedback and information that has been showered upon my head. I think that you will likewise be just as amazingly helpful in getting the finished product out there.
December 19, 2012
Tab clearing
My new, five-day a week commute is rather grueling. So I’m finding being home sick is rather refreshing.
Here’s some stuff I’ve been reading that you may find interesting:
- An OCD-afflicted individual investigates: How Strong is a Hobbit?
- John C. Wright offers a very fine post on Retrophobia.I read two posts recently that touched on the same topic, namely, the way writers handle female characters in historical fiction and heroic fantasy.
Both reinforced my opinion that Political Correctness is, at its root, undramatic and the enemy of the arts in the same way it is illogical and the enemy of science and reason, namely, because it is ahistorical and inhuman.
- Energy, Secession and Leverage: “If the South went out of the Union as a bloc, it would take most of the natural gas, nuclear power, over half the oil and refining capacity, and a third of the coal. The Yankees aren’t going to just gallop into the restored Confederacy on horseback like they did in the nineteenth century.”
- Home distillery.
- Author Tobias Buckell used kickstarter to get a book published. Detailed and fascinating analysis. Perhaps something I should consider?
- tvtropes is an evil, evil website. If you have a few free hours, start here and here and see what happens when you follow the links.
November 29, 2012
Delays
More serious, this time. My work is requiring me to be in the office, and as I will not be working from the comfort of my home office I will also be spending a ridiculous amount of time commuting to the main office. This traveling will significantly eat in to my available writing time.
But fear not! I hope to polish chapter 32 for publishing this weekend. And after that, there are only four (possibly five) more chapters before this installment of Lewis’ adventures are complete. Much of that has already been written, and I will endeavor to maintain my weekly publishing schedule as best I can.
Of silver linings, there is not much to say but this: I have been using my long commutes for a lot of thinking and planning. Veil War II is going to be a lot of fun to write.
November 19, 2012
Better late than never
That’s what I like to tell myself, anyway. I accept full responsibility; but not the blame. I’ve done a lot of rewriting of this and the next couple chapters, and I think you’ll like the way it goes.
So, go read Chapter 31. And your traditional teaser:
Father John strode toward the enemy; a nimbus of light, like a sapphire, formed around his head and fingers of subtle fire danced in his hands. His beard stood on end, a Byzantine John Brown ready to smite his foes. His face looked tired and worn, but determined; his jaw set and eyes sharp.
Remember to comment. Comments are your way to prove that someone is wrong on the internet – and we can’t have that, can we?
October 25, 2012
Mysterious advancing deadlines, point of view, and the Meat Planet
Breaking news: my work schedule got rearranged a bit this week, and some deadlines were moved up. This will necessitate a Veil War Friday post.
Now, admission time: I could have posted anyway. But as I wrote deeper into battle, I came to a sudden realization. My insistance on maintaining the point of view on Captain Lewis had gone too far. It was a convention, really; nothing more. And most of the story as I’ve related it to you worked fine enough within that constraint; so it was a helpful tool for a neophyte writer to keep me focused on the story and not get distracted. It has always been my intent that in the final novel version, that constraint would be relaxed. I have Lance Criminal Adventures starring Coleman, and small sections told from the point of view of Evans and Pethoukis already written. I had also planned to rewrite parts of some chapters to shift the point of view to another character for variety and dramatic purposes.
So, my realization was that most of the next chapter really can’t be told from where Lewis stands without serious contortions. And seeing how contorted it had become, I decided to relax my rules early and rewrite now. Much of the prose can be saved, of course; descriptions of ‘splosions, booms and chopping are the universal language of love after all. Still and all it requires some effort, and that’s what I’ll be doing tonight.
In the meantime, enjoy this lost episode of Carl Sagan’s justly famed science series, Cosmos:
October 18, 2012
Chapter XXX
Not that there’s any bewbs in it. Chapter 30 is up, in any event, you can read it here. Teaser:
Lewis laughed. “Siegfried might like it. I doubt the good fathers would.”
“I know, right? I can get my head around magical powered armor, and ginsu swords. I’ve seen enough CGI wizards in movies and shit that even that crazy pillar of fiery death didn’t even trip me up. Fucking cool, actually. But these priests, they’re as serious as Father Basil ever was back in Detroit. But Father Basil couldn’t blow shit up with his mind. Not that I ever saw, anyway.
A gentle reminder: use the comments to praise, vilify, correct and suggest. Your feedback is welcomed. Nay! Cherished!
October 11, 2012
Hold the line
It’s Veil War Thursday, and I’ve been so busy writing that I almost forgot to post the chapter. That would have been an enormous fail, seeing as it’s been written for a good while now. You can dive right in and read it here. Your traditional teaser:
“Are you fucking crazy? Lewis, your men are going to be ones with their dicks in the meat grinder.”
For the first time, some emotion leaked into his voice, “I know. You get mobile and make it worth our while.”
“Captain, I think I’ve got an idea.”
And as always, use the comments to point out the error of my mistake, or to lavish me with praise.
The Veil War 