Category: Publication

From legit complaint to exaggeration to fiction

I enjoy working as an independent author.

I mean that.

By choosing this path, I don’t have to wait for overworked, underpaid, over-the-transom acquisitions assistants to recognize the value of my writing and convince his superior to at least look at it. Or wait for that process to repeat up the editorial chain of command until someone finally says, “Maybe we should tell the writer this thing doesn’t completely stink. It’s postmarked 2005, so he’s probably wondering.”

Instead, I can come directly to the reading public and present something for their consumption. They might like it; they might not. But it’s out there.

When I first came into the world of eBooks, the most common bit of advice being tossed around was, “Give your story two years to be published the traditional way. If it’s not picked up by that point, then go ahead and ePublish it.”

Less than two years later, the advice given has almost reversed itself. “Put it out there as an eBook. It might draw the attention of an agent or publisher if it does okay.”

Regardless, the publishing world has seen a seismic shift in the past couple years, and not all the rules are the same. Good authors who struggled to get anything in print are now able to draw an audience and make at least a meager income. Better writers can even achieve a semblance of earning a living from their writing.

And is there a lot of junk out there, too? Yes, but that’s what innovations like Look Inside and downloadable previews are for. The bad stuff sticks out like a sore thumb.

I strive to be a writer of quality fiction.

It’s a popular misconception that all independent writers are publishing substandard stuff. In fact, some of the best writers in history were self-published. For example, who do you think told Benjamin Franklin that Poor Richard’s Almanac was “ready for an audience,” hmm? Gentle Ben himself, that’s who.

And what about one of the best-loved stories of all time, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol? Yup, Sir Charles did that one on his own, too.

It’s not so uncommon as people think, going the indie route. Even in recent times, folks like John Grisham got their start by hawking their own wares, only to get their books in front of the eyes of the right people and catch on with a traditional publisher.

To step outside of pure book analogies, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of the long-running Comedy Central animated hit, South Park, got their start by self-producing and self-distributing an animated short entitled The Spirit of Christmas, which eventually evolved and morphed into the cartoon we know today.

The point is, going the independent route has a bad reputation lately, but it is by no means a guarantee of subpar material, nor is it an indicator of a lazy creator willing to put out bad content for a pure ego rush. There may be dross out there, but there are nuggets of gold as well.

Whenever I prepare a book I’ve written for release, I do all I can to ensure my readers are buying a professional-level product. I have professionals handle my book covers and edit my books. I’m just as thorough on revisions and using the tools of the trade to make sure I have a properly-written and developed story, as I would be if I were submitting it to a traditional publisher. More, even. Prior to release, I run my fiction past the eyes of test readers and revise based on their feedback.

What it comes down to is this: Are some independent authors putting out subpar stuff and being lazy? Sure. But that’s true of traditionally-published stuff as well, and the line of demarcation often comes down to personal drive, the desire to create something of quality.

A writer either wants to make a quick buck, or they want to create a lasting and worthwhile piece of entertainment that will attract to them a more sustainable level of success. I count myself among the latter. Whether I should be will ultimately be up to readers to decide.

A few laughs and a shiver

My latest effort at achieving these goals as been unleashed. Under Contract: A Tale of Horror and Satire will offer up some biting satire, a few giggles, and hopefully a shiver or two.

The most common question authors are asked, aside from “Who are you, again?” is, “Where do you get your ideas?”

In this case, my inspiration came from my fellow indie authors as a whole. When this whole subculture developed, some who chose the independent route had never been published before, while others had been. Understandably, some of them had tales to tell about their experiences being published by traditional book publishers.

At first, there were the legit complaints, such as writers whose books were scuttled off shelves without a big push when they failed to sell well immediately; or whose second or third books were not accepted after first breaking through as a published author. Gripes about poor copy-editing, improper covers, and editorial changes became commonplace.

But somewhere along the line, former trad-pubbed authors became a little, shall we say, bitter? Their tales grew alongside their dissatisfaction with their prior experiences being traditionally published.

Some of their complaints grew to the point of exaggerations, such as conspiratorially suggesting that their publisher worked to impede, rather than encourage, their books’ sales figures. Even to outright kill their books off and ruin their career.

Claims that, as they grew in paranoia, became harder and harder to believe.

The point has now been reached where a formerly trad-pubbed author can make their previous experience sound like a country song; as their story progresses, they lose more and more, from their authorial rights to their house to their car to their wife to their dog, until they have nothing left but the blues.

And even though the exaggerations become increasingly transparent, some folks take such claims seriously and offer condolences.

Such is the fodder of good fiction

Being a creative type, and with a mind that sometimes explores the dark side of imagination, the proverbial light bulb went off inside my head. All these stories amounted to an admission of fear; fear of being published by a traditional publisher, fear of one’s work being mishandled, fear of losing one’s career due to machinations beyond their personal control.

We read in the popular news media all the time about the evils of Big Tobacco or Big Fast Food or Big Banking. Basically, if it’s big, it’s bad. Evil. Corrupt.

And so, the idea of Big Publishing as a source of malevolence began to grow in my mind.

What if the evils of Big Publishing were far bigger than even the most paranoid author had ever imagined?

What if all of publishing was a lie, a front, a PR machine that ate talented young writers up and spit them out?

What if most of the writers we know today as “brands” were actually just front-men, while underpaid and maltreated nobodies were actually tasked with the real work of producing the next big blockbusters?

What if?

That very question is the genesis of most good story ideas. Those two words are “where we get our stories.” Ask any author, and if they’ve thought about it at all, “What if?” is the actual source of all creative storytelling.

So, out of the complaints and exaggerations of real writers, my latest tale was born. I have a few others like it percolating in the back of my brain, too, wherein I could further explore this theme.

For now, however, start with Under Contract: A Tale of Horror and Satire. It’s not a long read. You can probably finish it in a half hour or so; a nice little escape that will whet your appetite for something more.

Besides, what’s $0.99 between friends?

A Paranormal Confession

Those of you who are not authors may or may not know this, but one of the most common questions writers get asked is, “Where did you get the idea for this story?” Considering I’ve just launched my newest book, SHADA, the first book in the EMBER COLE series, I expect to hear this question a lot.

Well, let me share with you a secret. At least one of the core episodes in SHADA is based on a personal experience. A paranormal one.

That might shock some people who know me. After all, I’m the author of a Christian fiction book, MOST LIKELY. And furthermore, those who’ve bothered to do any digging know I’m a Messianic Rabbi In Training (MRIT). (Though it’s more like In Waiting these days.) People who read this might say to me, “Hold on! Aren’t you kind of a religious guy? Are you really saying the paranormal is real? You, a guy who believes in God?”

Well, let me tell you my own personal tale. My brush with the paranormal, as it were.

You see, I haven’t always been an MRIT. A few decades ago, I was a kid, like anyone else. Bright for my age, perhaps, but not always wise. We’ve all been there, right?

Now, I loved to read from the my earliest years. And once a topic caught my attention, I’d devour stacks of books until they became repetitive and had nothing new to teach me. That’s how I became almost an expert on old films, TV shows, and radio dramas and comedies that had gone off the air long before I was even born. I studied dinosaurs, the planets, archeology.

And, of course, like most young boys, eventually my fancy turned to monsters and ghosts and the like. Whether it was Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, vampires, werewolves, UFOs or haunted houses, once my attention gravitated there, I had to read everything I possibly could on the topic.

For a period of time, séances fascinated me. Why? Just the very idea of being able to talk to people who lived before you did was tempting. What entranced me about séances was the same tantalizing question that Jeni Taylor poses to her friends at the opening of SHADA:

“If you could talk to a dead person, anyone at all, who would it be?”

Eventually, I became so excited by the possibility that I shared the idea with my sister. We sat down and made up a list of everyone we might possibly want to talk to. My sister was three years younger than me, so she couldn’t think of many people. That’s okay. I’d soon filled up two sides of a sheet of paper with different folks.

I had dead musicians, dead politicians, military leaders and other historical figures. I know Abe Lincoln was on my list. So was Elvis Presley. The problem for an imaginative kid like me wasn’t coming up with names, it was narrowing the list down.

I didn’t prepare as well as Jeni, Ember, Willow and Shada. When it became clear we were going to attempt a séance of our own, we simply waited for a time when our parents were going to be out of the house for a while. My sister wanted to invite two of her friends over, because she knew Elvis was on my list and her friends would want to talk to him, too, if we actually made contact.

This was the late 1970s, mind you. Elvis had died only a couple years prior to my little séance brainstorm. He was still quite popular, and some kids still remembered him and missed him.

I was maybe twelve at the time. It’s hard to remember for sure. That would have put my sister at around age nine. Her friends were ten and seven. I think I agreed to let them come just so we could have a group of four for the séance.

Now, as much as I’d read about séances, I’d never been to one, nor did I have a clue how to properly conduct one. I knew it would be good to have a candle or two lit. I knew the room had to be dark. And I knew, or thought I did, that we needed at least four people. How did one conjure forth a deceased spirit? As far as I knew, you just called them forth.

I figured the worst that could happen was … nothing. I was wrong.

Anyway, one day my parents announced they were going into town to get some groceries. That guaranteed us at least an hour to ourselves. Paulette asked if she could call her friends and have them come over. Mom and Dad agreed, and left before they arrived. We were just beyond the age when we needed a baby sitter for short trips like this; or, at least, I was.

Once my sister’s friends arrived, we gathered the candle and matches and went up to my sister’s room, where we’d decided to hold the grand event. I had my list of names with me. It took some time to calm my sister’s friends down. They were all excited. We argued a bit about who to call forth first, but finally settled on Elvis.

Never once did it enter our minds that those who are dead, even if they could hear us, might have better things to do than come and chat with a bunch of pre-teen kids. Sure, they might have been too busy in life to have time for us, but now? They had eternity, right? It also never entered our minds that there might be, at any given time, dozens of other groups of kids, and maybe even some adults, attempting to call forth the same exact folks at the same exact time.

I think we assumed the omnipresence of God somehow extended to anyone who was dead. Or something. Maybe we were just too young to know any better.

Anyway, after a lot of hassles, we got settled, got the candle lit, and began our little séance. I hadn’t kept track of time very well, but I knew we need to “get the show on the road,” as my parents might say.

So, there in the candle-lit dark of my sister’s bedroom, the four of us joined hands. I began, for some reason, by reciting the Lord’s prayer. Not sure why. Then I cleared my throat and said the following:

“We call to the spirit of Elvis Presley. Elvis, if you are here, please give us a sign. Let us know you’re with us.”

What happened next scared all of us. But to understand it, you have to appreciate a few facts first.

First of all, my parents were not much into rock and roll. They loved country, polkas, ragtime, big band music, gospel, and jazz … but mostly, country. They had never before owned anything by Elvis Presley.

Second, you must understand that we lived in a small enough house that we ought to have heard my parents pull up and come in the house, returning early from their grocery run. But none of us did.

Third, you need to realize that what happened next took place perfectly on cue. As in, within a couple seconds from the moment I finished saying, “Let us know you’re with us.”

Here’s what we heard: The sound of Elvis Presley singing “Blue Hawaii.” And it was coming from downstairs!

We all screamed. My sister’s two friends turned five shade paler than pure white, jumped up, and ran down the stairs, past my confused parents and out the door and all three blocks home. Their mother and father didn’t let them come over for another visit for a month.

My sister screamed, too. I screamed a bit less, but I did scream at first. In the confusion, though, the candle got knocked over onto an old blanket we’d spread out and I had to put out the flame before it really caught on fire. As I was doing that, my sister high-tailed it out of the room and down the stairs.

The next thing I heard was my mother’s stern voice: “Craig Allen Hansen! Get down here right now!”

Being only twelve, and with all the commotion that had been caused, I had no choice but to confess to the whole thing to my parents. Fibbing about what we were up to didn’t even occur to me. I told them all about our séance plans and how, right when I asked Elvis to let us know he was with us, the music had started.

My mom told me their side of the story as my dad silently sipped coffee, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

When they went in to get groceries, there had been a stack of records on sale, most of them only a couple bucks, which was really cheap for album-length music, even back then. So, out of the blue, Mom decided to grab some Elvis records, even though she hadn’t listened to him much when he was alive, except for his gospel stuff.

When they pulled in the drive and carried the groceries in, Mom wanted to hear “how the record sounded,” and the first thing she did, even before hollering, “We’re home,” was put the Elvis record on.

Right as I was asking for a sign of his presence.

It was freaky, weird timing. Pure coincidence.

And it scared both my sister and me enough to know that séances are nothing to mess around with.

There are echos of that personal paranormal experience in SHADA. Whether the girls in my novel learn the same lesson I did, well … that would be telling, wouldn’t it?

But now you know, as Paul Harvey often said, the rest of the story.

My CreateSpace proof-copy of MOST LIKELY has arrived!

Today was a red-letter day.

First, my wife and I secured a lease at our first-choice apartment complex in Oregon, meaning we now have an address, a move-in date, and everything that has been just a tad uncertain is now, sort of, set up. That’s a relief when it comes to my pending move.

However, and more importantly to this blog, my CreateSpace proof copy of MOST LIKELY arrived today. You can see how happy it made me:

That’s a rather sharp-looking image … and the book looks good, too! Heh.

Anyway, I’m sure you want a close-up of the real star of the show, so here goes:

In person, it feels like any other trade paperback. It has high-quality cover stock and a nice shiny finish.

And my cover artist, Glendon Haddix of Streetlight Graphics, did a great job on the spine, and even on the back cover, making the whole affair look professional and sharp.

Now, the flash kind of hurt my shot of the back cover, but here it is for your edification:

And finally, I wanted you to see the interior, to get a feel for that. I designed the interior myself.

Hopefully most people will also think it looks sharp and professional.

Now that it’s all here, I have some final corrections to make and upload to CreateSpace. They’ll love that, I’m sure. And then I’ll go about finalizing it in CreateSpace and, I guess, it takes a few days for the trade paperback to show up on Amazon and elsewhere. But it is coming, folks! If you’re not an eReader fan, the paper version is, at most, maybe a week away!

So be sure to order your copy as soon as it’s out!

Special discount on MOST LIKELY at Smashwords

Hello, all.

To celebrate my MOST LIKELY blog tour this week, I’m announcing a special coupon discount available at Smashwords, redeemable now through June 30, 2011.

If you’ve been on the fence about buying MOST LIKELY, now’s your time to act because this is just a short-term, Smashwords-only sale. All you need to do is go here to find my book on Smashwords.

Put it in your shopping cart. At checkout, enter this coupon code: DU75B

That will discount your copy of MOST LIKELY to only $0.99, a 67% savings off its normal price! But don’t delay! Once June’s over, so is this limited-time special price.

Smashwords is a great outlet because they’ll give you your choice of file format, so it’ll work for you no matter what kind of eReader you use!

And if you have strong feelings on MOST LIKELY, one way or another, feel free to give it a rating and a review at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Shelfari, LibraryThing, Goodreads or wherever you tend to hang out.

Thanks, and enjoy your change to save big on your copy of MOST LIKELY!

On to the next!

It’s been a busy second half of the week. I’ve been contacting book bloggers to solicit reviews of MOST LIKELY, and I’ve been organizing a 12-book giveaway to spread the word (and maybe earn a few reviews). In fact, the giveaway is still going on until just before midnight tonight, Central Daylight Time.

I’m happy to say that I have three confirmed sales on Amazon, as well as one confirmed sale on Barnes and Noble, so far. That’s a total of four books, which isn’t bad. Unfortunately, the first 72 hours the book was up, I got emails and messages from an additional four or five people saying they’d just bought the book on Amazon, but those sales never showed up.

I have KDP looking into whether their system messed up since I was a new author and it was my first book published. Other authors, some with several books, said that KDP was having trouble tracking sales during that three-day period, so it’s possible I’ve sold a few more than four. But at most, it’s probably only like eight or nine. Time will tell.

Anyway, I’m about to jump into two projects at once.

My next fiction project will be my prequel to EMBER, a short novel that takes place during the summer before the novel picks up. It’s becoming a fun concept in my mind, because it’s like a female version of THE BODY in some ways. Also, I’m going to start work on my theological-inspirational Messianic book, DATING THE MESSIAH. It’s a different type of writing so I’m confident I can juggle both projects without too much hassle.

And that’s where I’m at as of today!

MOST LIKELY eBook Giveaway!

To celebrate the release of MOST LIKELY, I am running a contest in which I will give away a dozen copies of my new novel to a dozen people! The twelve (12) copies will be given out in the form of a Smashwords coupon, meaning if you win a copy, you’ll be able to redeem the coupon in the eFormat of your choice!

So how do you enter? How do you qualify? What must you do to earn a copy?

It’s a simple, three-step process.

1) Leave a comment on this blog entry.

2) Go to my Twitter account (@craigahansen), follow me, and send me one “hello” tweet. Or it can be more interesting, if you wish.

3) Go to my Facebook fan page, Like me, and send me a PM saying you’ve completed all three steps and giving me an email address where I can contact you to send your free copy of MOST LIKELY!

That’s it! It’s that simple!

On Sunday, May 29, I’ll check to make sure there are at least twelve winners. If there are, the giveaway will be over. If there are more than 12 entrants, I’ll put all the names on slips of paper, put them in a bowl, and do a blind drawing … the first 12 names I draw will win the free copies.

Enjoy the contest! Have fun with it! And if you enjoy the book, let me know! If you have time, feel free to review it! That’s not a requirement, but it’s certainly welcome if you feel moved to do so.

Enjoy the weekend!

MOST LIKELY available at an eTailer near you!

Hey all… ready for a great Wednesday update? MOST LIKELY is finished and available on Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com and Smashwords!

For now, it’s only available in various eBook formats. I am planning a print version through CreateSpace, but I’m not there yet. Maybe in June sometime. Now that the book is out there, though, my focus for a while is going to be in stirring up some publicity to generate interest. But I’ll also now be free to start writing my next project, so its back to some of my core ROW80 goals.

Speaking of those, just as a review, here are the goals I’ve completed so far:

DONE 01) Complete revisions of MOST LIKELY….

DONE 02) Send MOST LIKELY… to my group of beta-readers and request a one-week turnaround.

DONE 03) Revise MOST LIKELY… based on beta-readers’ feedback.

DONE 04) Send MOST LIKELY… to editor.

DONE 05) Final preparations on MOST LIKELY…

DONE 06) Publish MOST LIKELY… to Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Smashwords.

Six goals complete! That’s a great feeling! I’ve revised some of my remaining goals mildly, but here’s my roadmap for the road ahead:

07) Write next project … a short novel.

08) Revise short novel and send to betas.

09) Write second short novel or my theological book project.

10) On writing days (as opposed to revision days) average 4,000 new words per day.

At this point, with a more realistic view of writing timelines, I’m not sure I’ll get back to my main EMBER novel during Session 2 of ROW 80. I’m fine with that, because one of my short novels is an EMBER prequel that will introduce the character and her world at a nice, tidy, commercially-appealing $0.99 price point. So it’s a step along the path.

Anyway, it’s celebration time for a while… but it’s always writing time. As they say on Ghosthunters on SyFy… “On to the next!”

MOST LIKELY is submitted, almost published

In my “wee hours” work shift Monday night going into Tuesday, I completed the final corrections to MOST LIKELY, did the final file-prep work, and uploaded my novel to Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com and even Smashwords.com.

Amazon is the place I’m most nervous about because about seventy percent of all eBook sales take place there. This is my first novel, so Amazon may take a bit longer approving this one. But hopefully it’ll go up for sale late this evening, May 24. If not, hopefully by the 25th sometime.

Next came BarnesandNoble.com. The Nook/Nook Color community is huge! Not as big as Amazon, but probably the second-biggest outlet in the eBook market, easily. So it looks like it could be closer to 2-3 days with them. That’s fine; I’m patient.

Then I rounded out my efforts by uploading MOST LIKELY to Smashwords; this one went the fastest, for sure, but it’s the one that has a reputation for being a bit harder to generate sales with. But hey, Mark Coker seems like a good fellow, so I’ll give it a try. And hey, while it’ll take a few weeks to get in the Smashwords Premium Distribution catalog, I do have a nice-looking page where MOST LIKELY can be purchased in the format of your choice already, located here.

The only thing that remains is to prep MOST LIKELY for CreateSpace and get the print version rolling out, as well. That’ll take some time, but it’s coming. In a nice, sharp-looking 7×10 trade paperback format, too!

So expect me to update my MOST LIKELY page soon, with all the “how to order” details as they become available. Wooo!

Final revisions are kicking my keister

Well, I have the full novel back from my editor now, and have for the past 24 hours.

I really thought this might go fast and be a one-day thing, but nope, there’s a lot of surgery that was still necessary and revisions, changes and such are kicking me in the keister once again. But right now, the date of release is entirely up to me. The sooner I get this stuff done, the sooner I can get it out.

Challenges lay ahead, though. My wife goes in for some major dental work tomorrow evening and I have to take my Dad in for some tests in the afternoon. I have contract work I need to keep making progress one, also, since that’s bringing in some much-needed funds. And blogging assignments need to be completed before the expire, naturally.

Still and all, I’m about half-done with final revisions and changes, and while I’d like to think I’ll get it done sometime Thursday, the truth is I’ll be fortunate to get it done before Shabbat starts and I go on a 24-hour break from it all. We’ll see.

Maybe I’ll get a huge burst of energy and finish tomorrow, but that’s looking like a tall order right about now.

Final revision/corrections begin

Well, my very skilled but overworked editor has sent me the first half of my novel, MOST LIKELY, back from editing. Time to start entering the final changes. I’m expecting the second half of MOST LIKELY back in the next 24-48 hours or so, and then its all on me to enter the changes, do final checklists, and begin the process of uploading and therefore publishing MOST LIKELY.

With a little good fortune, it could be available by midweek. At worst, hopefully by Friday it’ll be up in at least one location.

That’ll check some more items off my ROW80 to-do list, that’s for sure.

Of course, that’s only the beginning. Marketing the book is a huge task, as is getting to work on the next. Plus I have that sermon and commentary that are due this week. And blogging. And my subcontracting work.

So all this really is, is a benchmark, not a finish line. Which is fine. Yet it’s also a huge accomplishment and a very nervous time for me. One of my biggest projects to date is going to be out there in the world soon, taking on scrutiny from all comers. Of course, even that would be better than having it just sit there, lifeless, not selling. Right? Right.

Big week ahead!

Slower progress, but still going strong…

Well, last weekend wasn’t great for progress; the activities of Passover week took priority, which is part of why I didn’t post an update or check-in on Sunday. However, when I wasn’t caught up in all that, I have been busy. Let’s review the goals I’ve completed or am in the process of completing:

*DONE* 01) Complete revisions of MOST LIKELY….

*DONE* 02) Send MOST LIKELY… to my group of beta-readers and request a one-week turnaround.

There were complete a while ago. Nothing new to see here.

*IN PROGRESS* 03) Revise MOST LIKELY… based on beta-readers’ feedback.

Yup, I have all my beta-readers feedback in hand … I’ve had it for a week now and I’m still revising. I’ve incorporated the changes of three out of four beta readers, but have one remaining by someone kind enough to be quite thorough; what a blessing!

04) Send MOST LIKELY… to editor.

I am hoping to reach this goal soon; perhaps by the weekend. I want the manuscript out to my editor by then, if at all possible. It will be a challenge because the work I’m doing is deeper and more extensive. But that’s fine because MOST LIKELY will be a better novel for it.

*REVISED* 05) During the time MOST LIKELY is with MY EDITOR, begin and try to complete a short novel. Either the EMBER prequel or the IDEA WAREHOUSE (working title) concept. Doesn’t matter which, just need something to write in the meantime.

I was unable to act on this goal while my novel was out to my beta-readers, because I was beta-reading for a colleague myself, and I wanted to be as thorough as others had been toward me. I also have a second pending beta-reading project on my desk, so I may or may not get to my next project quite as soon as expected. But I’m putting this task here as a goal to aspire to.

*IN PROGRESS* 06) Final preparations on MOST LIKELY…

I do have some of these tasks completed already. I commissioned a cover from someone other than myself, because sometimes it’s better to have a cover built by someone with a fresh set of eyes. As you can see in the previous post below this one, Glendon Haddix of Streetlight Graphics did an excellent job!

There will be more to do once I get the edited manuscript back; but at least some of this is in the works.

The remaining goals are still a bit further off:

07) Publish MOST LIKELY… to Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Nobel Nook, Smashwords and CreateSpace for the print version.
08) Finish draft on first short novel project.
09) Do other short novel.
10) Revise both short novels and send to betas.
11) Return, at last, to EMBER and push to finish first draft before ROW80 Round 2 expires.
12) On writing days (as opposed to revision days) average 4,000 new words per day.

I should note that I have had some time taken up by other professional pursuits; since I have no day job to keep money flowing in, I’ve been looking for ways to improve that situation.

My eBook cover design service is averaging about one new client per week, which is quite encouraging. And I’ve signed up as a subcontractor to another company, where I’ll be offering some eBook and print layout/design services to their clients.

Sure, these tasks take some time away from my writing; but nowhere near as much time as a traditional day-job. And a person has to have some money coming in somehow, right? And this is stuff I enjoy.

So that’s where things stand for me; I’m hoping to get MOST LIKELY published in early May, but stay tuned for the exact timeframe.