Status -- October 18, 2009

The skinny:
- Finish ending (2-3 days).
- Clean up known problems (3-7 days).
- Print reader copies (2 weeks)
- ‘life’ delays (1 week)
= 1st reader copies distributed around thanksgiving

Ecstasy and Agony
So close to being done I can taste it. But life has conspired to make sure I have as little time as possible to write, and as much stress as possible to distract. Every time I sit down, I think “Wow, just a few more hours and it is ready to go!” Then a couple days slip by and I still have not reached the end of those ‘few more hours,’ even though I am working on it at least 1 hour/day. So it’s a yo-yo ride at the moment.

Still tuning up the ending. I have written down everything that needs to be there, but much of it reads poorly--expositional dialogue that is obviously the author talking. I’ve moved some of it to a comedic / touching final scene in which we learn that the youngest main character is the most adept con artist in the city, along with some menacing imagery that promises future zombie-adventure. However the scene before that is a BOGSAT -- bunch of goofballs sitting around talking.

That second to last scene that needs to sing before this book goes out the door. You see why I am excited? One more scene!

I should (and likely will) go back and fix a few problems I flagged in the last editing pass...mostly places where the continuity is unclear or the writing not up to par.

Temptation: I have spent some time with hardcopy doing thorough line edits. Two lessons from this: 1) I can cut 15 words from almost every page. 2) A number of errors (typos/wrong word/missing punctuation) jump out on the printed page, while I simply cannot find them reading on the screen. Odd. As a result, I am tempted to do another editing pass in hardcopy. Problem is, this would add another 2-4 weeks, pushing the end out toward the end of the year (yikes). I will probably skip this step for now.

POD Services
Reader copies: All the proofs are in. Unexpectedly, I am leaning toward the CreateSpace version. It has a nicer overall look (cover, paper quality, heft). However, it is about 15% more expensive and I have to scrutinize the user agreement--they pre-assign an ISBN and do some other odd things that might ‘publish’ the book without my consent. This could complicate a later sale of the book. Lulu does not have this problem. CreateSpace also charges $2 extra for $0 royalty books...reason unexplained. My proof copy was at the non-markup price, but if the reader copies are at the marked-up price, that makes them WAY more expensive than Lulu (on the order of +$4/copy), which would also make CreateSpace a non-starter.

The Lulu version is good -- decent cover, crisp paper, clean printing. It’s just not quite as ... finished looking as the CreateSpace version.

That's it for now. Writer's group in an hour--my query & synopsis are up for review. Kind of nervous, but it will do me good.

Another view of ZPF

Writing Advice: Blending

Here is a tip for all you part-time writers:

As a part time writer, I have to write in fits and starts: An hour here, a half hour there. To be productive, I seldom review old material or outlines during these shorter sessions. Instead I just pop open a file, pick a spot and start writing (sometimes reviewing a scene or two to remind me where I am).

This works well if I have thought about a particular scene, image, character or idea that goes in that area. Often, I will jot down a page or half-page of notes throughout the day, and use these as an outline for that session.

However, these fits and starts lead to a lot of disparate groups of words, sometimes repeating things, sometimes not connecting well to each other.

So, when I have longer sessions, 3+ hours, I will often use them to blend things I have already written. Starting at the beginning of a chapter or section and weaving all the random bits together. This works out kinks and holes in the plot, removes redundant bits, gives language and dialogue coherent feel to the dialogue and wording and sets up a rhythm in that section. I don’t count this as a separate draft, it’s just part of the process I use for each draft.

Status -- October 8, 2009

Tires deflated, starting to pump them back up. Still working through rewrites of the lab sequence. Proofed up to Chapter 49, but 41/42 and 45/46 need significant work--as in tear it apart and reconstruct. This is the kind of work I need a solid block of 5-6 hours to get through, and between family, visitors, and the day job, that simply has not been available. Also lost heart when I saw what a mess this section was. I had expected to find it in good shape, and thought this draft would be done by now. Sigh.

The good news, part 1: Estimating ~20 hours of work left. That is not a lot. The finish line is right there!!! I could get there in two days if I had two days to myself (haven’t had that since 2001 when I was unemployed and single).

The good news, part 2: When I hit chapter 47, it was hard to stop going. The story is fast and gripping (to me at least) and the writing is clean. Also figured out the ending scenes! Though about 5 of those 20 hours are writing and integrating those.

The good news, part 3: Reader copies
Did a test run on a couple print services. The first arrived today, and it looks GREAT!!!! Seeing my book as, well, a book is such a thrill. It’s a long way from being published, but just holding a review copy in my hand is exhilarating--makes it all feel real.

Will post more details on the experience, but I tried both Lulu and Amazon CreateSpace. Set up both versions Sunday. Today is Thursday and the first one arrived...the CreateSpace version (which is odd because they had told me it would be two weeks before it arrived). I am fighting the compulsion to sit down and read it tonight-->have to finish writing it first, right?

From these tests, I will pick one and use it to print copies for my first readers...a collectible for them to keep, and a more lifelike reading experience for them. This route is also far less expensive than photocopying the MS for everyone. Once we get through this process, I will blog about that too to let you know how the readers liked it (or not).

Here is the CreateSpace version:

Status -- September 30, 2009

Going well. 40 of 57 chapters are proofread, tuned up and formatted for printing (that’s 70% for you math majors). This has gone relatively fast as much of the novel has been in better shape than I thought, and for me at least the story is quite engaging (which sometimes makes proofreading difficult). Fixed many inconsistencies along the way, and locked down some key plot and character points. So it has been good.

At least it had been. This week I hit chapter 41 and found 1) an important scene skipped, and 2) major inconsistencies with some earlier chapters. So I’ve had to stop and rewrite this section. Slows me down, but it’s making the book stronger.

I have also decided it needs an antagonist-conspiracy draft just looking at interactions with the antagonist and how both her character and her scheme are revealed. A few things are given away too early, and a few things that make her motivations believable don’t come out until the very end. I figure these two problems are going to cost me a week.

So here are the current stats:

Days Writing ZPF: 399
Hours Writing ZPF: 812

Novel word counts:
- Rough Draft 0 words
- 1st Draft 6506 words
- 2nd Draft 100,690 words

Total Words: 107,196 words

What this means: In this rev I have cut 8,000 words, much if it at the sentence level just by finding better words and removing fluff. The remaining 1st draft portion is the last section which still needs a final chapter.

My original estimate was 70K words and about 6 months of effort. I guess what this tells us is that my estimating procedure needs a bit of work.

Anyway, the goal is in sight. I expect to have 1st reader copies made in October (likely late October). With their feedback, there will probably be another draft in January / February timeframe.

The next big question -- do I start some marketing (agent / publisher contacts) in parallel with the first readers? Or do I want until next year? More on that later.

Status -- September 21, 2009

Because it has been a while:

Through 2nd Draft. Yay. The ending is still broken. The plot ends in a satisfying way, but I have not decided on the most satisfying denouement for the primary characters. They both need a little more to wrap up their emotional arcs. The second draft finished up at 57 chapters, and 114K words. Note the symmetry there.

Started a front to back proof-read. This is mostly for consistency, clarity and grammar. Are they wearing the same shoes as they were earlier? Does a comma really go there? That kind of stuff. In this pass, I am also trying to cut fluff, exposition and ‘pause’ words to get the total length to about 100K words, but it is not compressing at the rate I had hoped.

Have a few places where I did major surgery and need to do a more careful edit (maybe 50 pages total).

Then I will pick an ending, probably drafting 1 or 2 new chapters (I will need at least 2 scenes for the denouement).

After that, I plan to produce 1st reader copies through Lulu or Create Space. Still working out which is most economical, will look best, and will be easiest to use. My current analysis is pointing to Create Space, but there are some features I have not played with, and the final page count is a variable that swings the cost quite a bit.

The .pdf formatting (layout for the reader copies) and final edits are done through Chapter 12. Expect to get draft out to readers in October. Probably late October. Thinking about a round of Agent queries at the same time, but I have not fully thought that through.

Vital Statistics

Since I have not updated these in a while, here are the counts:

Days Writing: 374
Hours Writing: 745.6

Novel word counts:
- Rough Draft 0 words
- 1st Draft 12,760 words
- 2nd Draft 102,259 words

Total: 115019 words

Support files, including outline, dictionary, brainstorming and cut material: 150957 words.
(the amount of supporting material stuns me).