More Thoughts On My Plans

I've had quite a few days now to really think about my decision to print my books through Createspace instead of publish with someone, and I'm still very happy with the idea.  While I haven't completely ruled out sometime trying to get published with OakTara, I have decided I want to be an indie author.  I definitely feel it's the right thing for me.  I like doing this on my own, and I know I'm going to enjoy doing all the work that's required, the cover, interior formatting, etc. because I've always enjoyed doing that kind of stuff.  Also, being a completely independent author, I almost feel as if my books will be more in God's hands.  Not that they wouldn't have been if I'd been published with a traditional company, but since self-published/printed books don't seem as likely to succeed it will make it just that much more exciting and satisfying to see what He will do with them.  Even if I reach just one person, I'll still have reached my goal, because that one person will obviously have been the reason God gave me the inspiration to write my books.  My books will go wherever and become whatever He plans regardless of how I get them out to the world if it is the way He wants me to, and I have no doubt He led me to Createspace.

 

Now, for a little update on my actual writing process.  I've been trying to get back into Makilien the last couple of days.  It's been a little difficult after working so hard and researching everything I needed to for printing Every Tear, but I'm slowly getting back too it.  I also started thinking about what I should call each individual book since "Makilien" is really the name of the trilogy and I came up with three one word titles that I think are very fitting for each book.  Book one is Truth, book two is Courage, and book three is Trust.  They are each the central theme of that book.

 

Lastly, an update on Every Tear.  Mom is just about finished with the final edit, which leads me to address the fact that, no, I do not have a professional editor.  I by no means think my work is perfect, but I just can't afford that kind of service, and I think my mom is a really good editor.  We've spent hours going over my writing, and I'm very happy with what we've achieved between the two of us.  So that is nearly finished.  I finally bought the cover image the other day, the one of the crying eye that I wrote about in a post from last year.  I've been waiting to buy that picture for over a year, so it was very exciting.  I also found and purchased a very nice "piratey" font that I love for the title on the cover, so it's getting very close now.  I just need to create the cover and Mom will work on the back cover text as soon as she's done with the chapters.  As soon as I'm finished with the cover, I'm going to create the book trailer for Every Tear.  I already have the "first draft" made, and I will post it here as soon as it is finished.  So there's a lot to look forward to in the next few weeks, and I can't wait to keep updating on my progress.

Exciting Plan Changes

I've made some drastic and exciting changes in my publishing plans this week.  As I blogged about early in February, I planned to submit Every Tear to OakTara as soon as Mom and I finished with it.  Well, editing, since it's so important, has lasted longer than I originally thought it would, but it's turning out to be what I think is a really good thing.  I do still plan to submit my manuscripts to OakTara eventually, but I've decided to go about publishing my books in a different way.  I'm going to print them through Amazon's Createspace.  Createspace is not technically a publisher, just a printer so in other words, interior and cover design is all up to me.  I basically do all the work and don't have to pay anything for them to print my books.  The books will only be available through Amazon and myself, no distributors, but I think this is a good choice for me right now since I sell The Pirate Daughter's Promise mostly through Amazon and by hand anyway.  This also does not stop me from being able to submit my manuscript elsewhere since I keep all rights to my book.  I know self-published books aren't widely respected in the writing community, but I think this is the direction I should go.  What played a part in the decision is it's really been weighing on me lately how long it would take to get Every Tear published with a traditional publishing company if it was accepted.  At least a whole year.  I was praying about it, but didn't really see any alternative (I wished I could publish again with Pleasant Word, but I can't afford that).  Then, two days ago, I just happened across a book that was published with Createspace and started looking into it.  I was drawn to the fact that it's free unless you upgrade to the pro plan to get better royalties and discounts (which I will) for only $39.  As much as I would love to become a successful author like Lori Wick and others, right now I feel it's more important just to get my books and message out to the people who really want it and I can do it this way. 

 

So, good news for everyone who has been waiting for so long to read Every Tear.  Mom and I are nearly finished editing so I can soon start getting the book ready to print on Createspace.  The whole process there should take little time, so Every Tear will likely be available within the next month or two if everything goes smoothly.  I can hardly wait for everyone to read it.  And I also plan to have A Captain's Heart come out in a few months so you can be looking forward to that as well (and a sneak peak of its first chapter at the end of Every Tear ).

 

As an added bonus, here is a short synopsis of Every Tear.  It's only the first draft and I have some work to do on it, but it will give you a good idea of what the book will be about.

 

Who was he really? Who had his parents been? Why had they left him to grow up as an orphan with no one to call family? It didn’t seem as if anything could ever answer those questions for William James. Yet, aside from the nagging and sometimes troubling memories and questions of his unknown past, life for Will over the past year has been truly blessed. His relationship with Skye grows daily as he plans and prepares a future life for them. But all he envisioned is suddenly endangered by an unexpected stranger with a shocking identity. Will learns more than he ever thought he’d ever know about his past, but it comes at a steep price when he and everyone closest to him are thrown into the middle of a dangerous and mysterious plot that threatens all their lives.

 

Every Tear, the sequel to The Pirate Daughter’s Promise, is an example of how God never leaves our side, even in the midst of our most troubling and sorrowful moments, and takes every tear into account.

What I'm Working On

As I said in my Twitter update, I have three projects going on now.  For the last week or so I've been working steadily on Makilien and am anxious to finish it.  I'm really happy with it so far.  I think I may go back and add even more to it when I'm done though.  It might seem a little short for a fantasy novel so I want to add a little more depth to it.  Writing the spiritual aspect of it has been very challenging, but well worth it.  And today I figured out how to make it a trilogy.  I wasn't happy with it only being a two book series.  In all the other series I've written, I've ended each book nicely with no unanswered questions and more or less began from scratch in the next book, but the second book of Makilien will be different.  It will end with something big that will not be resolved until the third book.  I'm still working out the details of that last book, but I'm sure in a few days I'll have a pretty clear idea where I'll go with it . . . now I just need to finish the first and second books first.  This third book idea is extra incentive for me to keep working hard on them because I'm so anxious to write it.

 

As for the new project I started working on, I have decided to write a prequel to my pirate series.  For those who have read The Pirate Daughter's Promise, the prequel is going to be the story of Daniel and Grace.  I am very excited about writing their story, and in researching that time period I have found some very interesting historical events to incorporate into the book that will make it even more than I thought it would be.

Finding Faith

I believe I finally decided on a permanent title for the fourth and last book in my pirate series.  It will be called Finding Faith.  It really encompasses one of the books main themes so I think it is a good title for it.  Kind of like Every Tear, I thought of this title while listening to music which is where I go a lot for inspiration.  I was listening to one of Building 429's newest songs, End of Me, which is one of my all time favorite songs.  As I was sitting and really thinking about the lyrics I was jotting down my thoughts about it and about my book and "finding faith" was one of the first ideas I wrote down and the one that seemed to stick.  I've tried it out for a few days, and I really think it's the right title.  So, my finished pirate series altogether is: The Pirate Daughter's Promise, Every Tear, A Captain's Heart, and Finding Faith.  I'm just about finished now with my first edit of Finding Faith.  I only have a couple chapters left so after that it will really feel done to me even though I will end up editing it countless times before it's ever published.

The Pirate Daughter's Promise - Book Trailer

After a couple of days of work, including hours of searching through stock photos and music, I am very excited to share the book trailer for The Pirate Daughter's Promise.

 

Twitter

I just signed up for a Twitter account.  Now I will try to keep it updated even if I'm not regularly posting new blog entries so you can find out what is going on.

A New Look and A New Book

Wow, it's been a long time, and I have quite a bit to write about. I've been wanting to change the look of my blog for a long time, and this morning I finally found this new template. Mom just helped me change it, and I really love it.

 

Great news. Mom and I are just about finished with our final edit of Every Tear so probably within the next month I am going to be submitting the manuscript to a Christian publishing company called OakTara. I heard about it from a fellow author, and I feel like this is where God wants me to go with this book so I'm praying it will be accepted. If it is, I'm really looking forward to starting the publishing process again.

 

I have not finished Facing the Waves (I'm still working on a permanent title), but I've been working hard on it the last couple of weeks and am about 3 or 4 chapters away from finishing. I will be very glad to finish. The main character is so unlike myself that I've been finding it a difficult book to write, but one I really need to write in order to properly end my pirate series.

 

In the middle of all that, I started writing yet another book in mid November. It's my first contemporary novel! With my ever growing love for music, I started thinking how interesting and fun it would be to write a book centering on music. At first, I thought it would be impossible to think of a good modern day book plot so I started asking my family for ideas, and in around 30 seconds, my brother, Jake, came up with a great plot. I didn't like it at first, but when I started thinking about it and adding in all my own details, I quickly changed my mind. This new book is about a young woman named Kaitlin from North Carolina who plays in a Christian rock band with some of her friends who are working on trying to get signed with a record company. In the midst of that, a secular band who was just signed comes to record at a studio that Kaitlin's uncle owns. The bass player from the band likes Kaitlin the moment he sees her and asks her out, but since he doesn't share her faith, she won't even consider it. Not to give too much away, he ends up attending her church and the rest of the book is about how Kaitlin's faith begins to change his life. I've reached chapter 15 in the book (which has no title yet). There will probably be around 20-25 chapters, and I'm going to finish it as soon as I finish Facing the Waves.