| Trad vs Indy, and the temptations of Icelandic Magic |
| Hello! It’s 4am, and I’m lying in bed in a Zurich hotel, unable to sleep (Zurich is nice, very clean). I suddenly remembered that I’ve yet to create my Feb newsletter, so now seems as good a time any any. Progress on the Cambrian Trilogy continues, and while this re-drafting and editing stage is definitely not my favourite part, I’m excited to be getting closer to the end and to finally be able to say it’s done. It’s been slow but steady, I’m around 60% of the way through editing the third and final book. This one needs a lot of work, partly because of the changes I’ve made during the re-drafting of Books 1 and 2, and partly because its bloody enormous. As its the last in the series, I had to get everything in to complete the story. It ended up at 155,000 words, which is waaay too long. Most novels are 70-90k, with sci-fi and fantasy series generally longer, maybe 80-120k. So, I’ve been doing the work of editing and polishing, but also figuring out how to lose at least 35k words without killing the story. |
| Trad vs Indy Whilst doing that, I’ve spent a bit more time researching publishing, or at least which route to take. Traditional publishing is the older, standard method (you find an agent, they find a publisher, you do a deal), but Independent (or self) publishing is now a huge part of the overall book market. There are pro’s and con’s to both routes. Traditional publishing comes with the scrutiny and kudos of established professionals who will help you get your work into the best shape possible, and much of the work is done by them rather than you, leaving you free to write more stuff. The downside is a much lower cut of the book sales (maybe 5-8%), and virtually no control over the creative, title, and marketing strategy. Self publishing gives you all the profits after costs, and complete control, but its much more work. You are running a small business, and need to be prepared to put the time and hours into to promoting your work and bringing it to market if you want to get any type of success. Like so many things now, there is a ton of resources online to learn from, but it is a much bigger commitment. I figured I’d explore both, so I’ve sent my Book 1 manuscript off to a bunch of prospective agents, while at the same time immersing myself in the world of self-publishing. I quite like the idea of using a publishing company for my first work, just to leverage their experience more than anything else, but I’m also drawn to the idea of doing it all myself. We shall see. Icelandic Magic ‘Beware the dangers of Icelandic Magic’ is not a sentence I ever thought I’d write, but here we are. Staring at MS Word for hours, making tiny edits, then re-reading again, is no fun at all. Important, but super boring. So as a way to inject some creativity into things I’ve started to think about what I’d write next after the Cambrian trilogy is done. I’ve always loved both Sci-Fi and Fantasy as genres, and I want to write a fantasy series next. That thought took me down various rabbit holes, which then led me to starting the world-building for the next project. I haven’t written a word yet, and I wont until the first trilogy is complete, but as a way to relieve the boredom and do something more fun, I’ve starting to map out a fantasy world. It’s purely brainstorming at this stage, but I’m excited about it already. I have an alternate history, one where the Celts discover and settle Iceland, rather than the Vikings, and the story takes place there. I have Iceland carved up into different territories, each controlled by a powerful, noble house, and a repressive religious system to add tension and bite. I then spent many late nights thinking about “realistic” magic systems, which, I think, is time very well spent. Like my current work, I want the story to be character driven, and have the plot propelled by human nature, politics and society, even though its a fantasy book. Trying to balance gritty realism and moral ambiguity in a world where magic exists isn’t easy, but it is cool. I’m trying not to be lured into spending too much time on this stuff, I need to finish the other job, but it’s fun and entertaining, and sometimes I can’t help it. Reader Magnet Prequel I have yet to send out the prequel story I talked about last month, my apologies. I’ll definitely do it this month! Definitely. Maybe. Hopefully.Once you see the link, please have a look and let me know what you think. Its only a short story, but it puts you into the world of Cambria and sets up the trilogy nicely. |