Thursday, May 26, 2011

Getting It Right the First Time

YA author/blogger Angela Scott has a great post on why it's so very vital to make the best first impression possible with your self-published novel. She says:
"I would think, with the prejudice that self-publishing experiences, that someone contemplating that route would do EVERYTHING, going above and beyond what is even necessary, to prove people wrong and produce a perfect, polished piece of work. But they’re not."
I couldn't agree more and probably err on the side of over-caution for fear of putting out something that looks amateurish.

Angela also offers a few tips on what to keep in mind before pushing the "publish" button. Check out the full post on her blog.

Personally, I'm a big fan of beta-readers (asking writerly/well-read types whose work I respect to take a look and gives notes - which I'm then smart and humble enough to follow). Even with all their help, I still recognize the importance of hiring someone who has the sole responsibility of catching all the dumb mistakes that I know still exist in my manuscript (even after some 10+ self-edits). That's why my first-to-be-self-published manuscript is currently with a professional editing/proofreading service.

Got any tips of your own? What kind of things do you try to take care of before putting your manuscript out there on the open market?

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Behold my Super-Awesome Backers!

A Few of My Backers
I am a very fortunate man. During my recent (and hopefully not too annoying) fundraising effort on Kickstarter, these folks stepped up to the plate and made a contribution to Leonard's cause. Because of them, the book went from "Gonna publish it someday." to "Gonna publish it this summer." Some are family, some are friends, and some are complete strangers -- all are SUPER-AWESOME!!!

Here they are in all their alphabetically-ordered, super-awesome glory...

Jim Allen
Ed Brown
Anne Chivetta
Chris Chivetta
Chris Cusack
Peggy Etra
Patricia Eschbacher
Roger Eschbacher, Sr.
Rick Fiedler
Coleen Forward
James Giannini
Toni Gilbert
Paul Gross
Cyndi Ruprecht Hunt
James Judd
Chris Landes
Traci Newman
Brian Palermo
Adam Pava
Keith Robinson
Japke Rosink
Lisa Tucker-Ruprecht
Stephen J. Ruprecht
Andrew Thomas
Jeff Zimmer

Look upon their names and feel awe because they are true giants and giantesses of SUPER-AWESOMENESS!!!

Monday, May 23, 2011

To the Editor!

Just a quick update to let you know I sent the manuscript for Leonard off to the editing service, yesterday. Hooray! I opted for their full-service treatment which not only includes a proofread (punctuation, grammar, etc.), but also a more detailed edit and overview. A professional edit is the main reason I launched the Kickstarter project so it's truly a thrill to finally get the ball rolling in that department.

My editor told me I could expect to get it back in around three weeks, possibly sooner. Once that happens, I'll make the suggested changes, then start cranking on getting Leonard the Great: Dragonfriend listed on Amazon, both in Kindle form and as a physical book.

In other news, steady progress is being made toward completion of the first draft of the sequel to this book. On Friday, Leonard was swallowed by a monster. Hope he survives. ;c)

Eater of the Dead: A Dragon Friend Excerpt

Just in time for Halloween! Check out a featured Dragon Friend excerpt on the BestSelling Reads blog: "The spooky season is upon us! H...