Greetings, readers! This is the first post I've had to write in a few weeks, since the previous handful were written in advance. It's good to be back at the keyboard! I figured it might be a good time to give an update on where I stand in the publishing process, especially since there is actual news. The manuscript, as you may have heard by now, is with an editor. I know there is a little more work to be done, but the general shape of it has solidified. I just have a handful of small changes to make, and only a few chapters that I know I need to actively rewrite. Once that's done, I'll be moving onto the very exciting parts of the process like getting cover art and finding a publisher to partner with. I've already got a couple leads on that front, but I still don't know exactly what direction I want to go in. Since I've already made the decision to pay for an editor before querying, it may be wiser to pay the extra few thousand dollars to get all of the other parts of the process done independently, and publish indie. If you're not familiar with the two options, basically, you can publish traditionally, which is through a publishing agency, and they will pay you an advance based on their appraisal, and only when that advance is paid out through sales will you get royalties. It's not as much money into the author's pocket, but they take care of a lot of things that have to do with marketing, so it's friendly to first-timers who are willing to sacrifice the extra pay. Alternatively, you can publish independently, which means you make 100% of the profits, but you are also 100% responsible for all of the finances of publishing, and need to market everything yourself. My plan is now and has always been to publish traditionally for my first few projects, and independently once I have established a foothold in the industry. I have no problem being a hybrid author and switching back and forth depending on the level of marketing I want to delegate, either. Since I have a bunch of spin-off projects I'd like to publish, I wager I'll publish them indie, and let readers discover them through the grapevine rather than having it put into their field of view like the more main-series books I'll be putting out. I have a lot of time to figure that much out, so I'm not worried about it right now. What I'm concerned with at this time is the fact that editing costed just shy of $3000, and I have other payments I need to make on top of that. It was a hefty investment, but it's very important I get my first book published as quickly as I can, so it was a leap I was eager to make... Even if I'm starving right now!
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To be honest, I don't think there's much more to cover at this time. I'll have further updates pretty soon, so you can expect another post like this in about a month when the edit is done and I'll be working on my final touches. Of course, the edit could dictate I need more work than I anticipated, but I'll cover that if it happens in an update too. I'll break off here and let you guys go. I hope you guys are having a great Thursday, and I look forward to seeing you next time!
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Here's our question of the day for you guys: who is your favorite character (from any media) of all time and why?
See you guys next Thursday!