Another average month has passed, one where things didn't go all the way how I'd have liked, but looking at what was accomplished is a victory in itself.
RAGE HARD is coming along nicely. I'm getting little windows here and there to get stuff down, mostly rewriting older chapters. It's feeling a lot more detailed now and the characters are becoming richer. I'm hoping they are far from two-dimensional by the time the book is released.
I've also figured out the problem with my other project, UTOPIA FOR PEARS, so that looks like it will jump up to become my next project. It was really bugging me when I wrote an awesome draft for NaNo 2016 and then two months later I found a plot hole the size of Texas. I'd really wanted that one to be my first, but no matter how hard I wracked my brains, I couldn't tie up the issue. The story was broken with no hope of being a project I was happy with.
I'd even changed the title a million times, realising that UTOPIA FOR PEARS didn't even make sense. I'd wanted to mimic those classic sci-fi novels of yesteryear where the titles sounded absurd after you read the blurb, but made sense once you'd finished the story.
But then I took that title by the throat and wrestled the story around it. But changing two little things (I won't mention them until after the book is out) everything fell into place. It was like almost giving up on a Rubik's cube after working on it ten days straight, chucking across the room, and then seeing that you were one move away from completing it!
There was a little trimming to do, and a reworked ending, but it fixed itself. Just by sticking with the pears.
So this year is still looking good. I passing the horrible early drafts and stories are shaping into something I can't wait to get out there. Yet, despite this, I'm embracing patience. Before, I never released anything because I never finished things. Now, I won't rel;ease things because I want to make sure that when, not if, they are done, that they are done right.
I want you to read a good indie book.
And talking of indie books, my reading this year so far has shown that while there may sometimes be a difference between indie and trad pub when it comes to quality, at the end of the day, the number one priority is story.
Case in point:
I recently finished LEVEL UP, by Craig Anderson, and NIGHTBLADE by Garrett Robinson. These are both technically indie books, and it shows a little with the occasional spelling error. But the formatting and the covers are way ahead of what used to be classed indie four or five years ago.
I also read two books that were traditionally published (with one soon to have it's own movie adaptation) where spelling wasn't an issue. Brought them off the book shelf. They'd had well designed covers and were no doubt edited by paid professionals.
And while cover, formatting, grammar are all important to give the reader the best final product, the story is the important thing.
With this in mind, I was surprised to find that the two trad-pub books contained some of the worst writing I'd every had the displeasure of reading, while I thoroughly enjoyed both indie books. And while I will spend more on a trad-pub book, I'm happier to promote the indie works because they were enjoyed and should be shared.
Now I can only hope that my books receive the same positive response when they come out.
And before I go, just a quick reminder to review any book you read, trad or indie. If you loved a book, don't keep it to yourself; share it with friends and family. Spread the word. Authors will love you for it.
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