Blasted printers

My husband printed out my novel for the editor. Would you believe we went through an entire new black cartridge, and then had to switch to blue? Eighteen bucks, and it wouldn't even print 350 pages! Highway robbery!

Little by little

Well, I've priced local editing services - yikes! Luckily I've got a network of local writers who also do editing, and one will give my stuff a look-see for free. I'll take advantage of that while I can. Phoenix Hatching is now in her hands. I've polished it to my best ability. Basically I just wanted a fresh pair of eyes to go over it and catch anything I missed. You can't proof your own work, you think it says what you wanted it to say. She can also check for any plot inconsistencies and other problems. While she's doing that, I'm checking into options for cover art. Here's an advantage over traditional publishing: you get to pick your cover art. You don't have to have Generic Chick in short top, tramp stamp, and sword. You can actually have someone who looks like the character.

After my editor's done, and I have the cover art chosen, then Phoenix Hatching will come out on Kindle. It's science fiction, set on Earth about 1000 years after the human race has become extinct. From underground labs, a race of beings called Mutas are beginning their own civilization. One of these is a 17-year old girl named Hallia. Abused by her own people, she exiles herself and is rescued by a scouting party from another group. As they travel across the deserted country, Hallia develops from a waif into a warrior. And she'll be needed once the group returns to its home.

Here goes nothing

Actually, I hope that it all comes to a lot more than nothing. I've had enough of form rejection slips, query packets that come back unread because I used didn't use the font the editor prefers or put two spaces after a period, or had a 5-page synopsis instead of a 4-page. I am going to self-publish through Amazon.com, first in Kindle editions and then in print-on-demand, if possible.

To make a success of self-publishing, one has to put out a good product, and has to promote the bejeezus out of it, because no one else will. You can't just let it sit.

To that end, I'm going to be logging the process on my blog (poor neglected blog) and getting some cards printed up with the cover of this novel, once it's selected. I'm going to have it edited, so a fresh pair of eyes can maybe catch what I've missed. I want to work with an artist to design the cover. This will be one thing better than traditional publishing. Those authors have zero say over what the cover looks like.

So, watch this space. I'm going to blog the entire process. That will either inspire other writers, or serve as valuable lesson to other fools, whichever. The book in question is Phoenix Hatching, a science-fiction novel. I wrote the original version a very long time ago.