So I managed to finish that nightmare Find-Replace I was doing yesterday (you can read yesterday's Chatter Post all about it if you want!), and my book is finally ready to go!
Almost!
I still need to slap a cover on it (I have the cover, as you probably know, having seen part of it on the front page of this very website!), and then copy in the back cover copy (which is written, which you also know) and then come up with a final page that links to here, my Patreon, and my Twitter.
That's the last step! Should be possible (I hope). But I am on track to release on Monday, and that's a very good feeling.
Find, Find, Replace
Find, Find, Replace.
Find, Find, Replace.
You know the funny thing about writing is that it's a remarkably expensive barrier to entry if you want to do it right. I mean, most writing software is pretty expensive, especially if you buy specialized programs.
Find, Find, Replace.
But even if you use inexpensive software (or buy it on discount, like I did!), there are always hidden costs. Editing is a big one. A good editor is worth their weight in gold. I'm particularly partial to Dee Hopkins (contact info at the bottom) and she has great rates, but it's still not free (nor should it be: they're worth their weight in gold and therefore deserve at least their weight in silver!).
Find, Find, Replace.
But even after all that, there are little things. For example, I found a free How To guide online for turning my manuscript into an eBook for Amazon (or any other electronic publisher). It's all about turning your words into HTML so that they show up properly. The free guide, however, requires you to have a copy of Word.
MS Word, as I'm sure many of you are aware, is currently a yearly subscription for $70CAD, or a one-time expense of $150. Both painful. So I tried Open Office (an unmitigated disaster), I tried Google Docs (my manuscript is too large and constantly causes Google Docs to crash), and eventually turned to my consort to borrow her computer, which has Word on it.
Find, Find, Replace.
The OTHER thing the free How To guide recommends is another paid program for swapping out all the "special characters" in your manuscript for HTML code. For example, left curly quotes are '“ (I have no idea if that will show up). Right curly quotes are '”, and so on. This paid program automagically changes all of those.
Find, Find, Replace.
If you, like me, don't have the budget for another paid program, you can use a free program called jEdit. It does NOT, however, have the ability to replace special characters automatically. What you can do, though, is a standard "Find and Replace". Type " in the Find area, type the HTML code in the Replace area, and then hit Find and Replace once.
Just once! Because you can't replace ALL the quotes with the code for LEFT curly quotes. No, no. You have to do it for JUST the left quotes. And once you've done ALL those, you can do a Find and Replace All for the remaining ones which should all be right curly quotes at that point.
But after you hit "Find, Replace" once, how do you make sure you get the next set of Left Curly quotation marks to replace?
Find, Find, Replace.
Find, Find, Replace.
Dee's contact information:
Website: editorialeyes.net/services
email: Dee@EditorialEyes.Net
Twitter: @_editorialeyes_
More HTML
You ever get the feeling you're making your own life more difficult than it strictly speaking needs to be? I mean, yes, I am choosing to be a writer, a "career" almost universally accepted to be one that will never, ever, ever make any money. I get that, but that's not what I'm talking about.
In this case, it's the HTML coding I have to do in order to self-publsih Tintian. The step by step process I'm following is lovely, but unfortunately I don't have access to many of the (extremely expensive) tools that the gentleman keeps referring to. Word is the big one... I use Scivener to write on my Mac (I bought it on heavy, heavy discount), and I have Open Office for use in a pinch, but neither really have the functionality that the HTML procedure needs. Or they do, but it's buried behind really weird logic that I'm sure makes sense to others, but doesn't to me.
Oh well! I did choose this life, and that means accepting these kinds of struggles when they come up.
Plus side: I slept in until 11am this morning (mostly because I'm still recovering from being sick) and there was coffee when I crawled out of bed. So it's not all bad!
Hope everyone is enjoying their early Autumn weather! It's been lovely 'round here.
Finally Feeling Better!
So it's taken a few days (and, as mentioned before, a metric tonne of tea), but I'm finally feeling better. Throat is still a bit sore, still coughing occasionally, but overall I'm firing on all cylinders and no longer huddled under a blanket all day.
Tonight I'm attending a local writer's group for feedback on my most recent short story, currently titled "Black Box" about a bridge-crew isolated and in complete darkness. It was an interesting challenge to write without any visual cues whatsoever, but I'm feeling pretty confident with how it's turning out so far.
I'm also supposed to get the edited version of Tintian back from Anna this week, which means it can go up for sale next week! Looking forward to that!
Anyway, until then, I'm going to have a bit more tea. Just to make sure. Hope all of you are having great days!
A Little Sick Today
Nothing serious: a bit of a cold/flu thing going around. Lots of coughing, a bit of sneezing, and buckets of tea as a result.
Like, so much tea. I haven't had a coffee in four days, but I've probably had 7 or 8 liters of tea. Oh, and one large mug of "chicken noodle soup". I do love yellow noodles way more than I should.
Anyway! Today I'm doing other tasks associated with writing that are not writing (my life is full of those recently), but with a bit less stress. I got paid a bit of money from a job I did back in 2014, and that'll keep my head above water for a few months.
Christmas is going to be rough. But whatever.
So here's hoping any of you who aren't feeling well are staying warm and hydrated, and that I can get back to work tomorrow!
Quick note (0001)
I suspect this will be the first of MANY "quick notes" I jot down here. But I'm still working on the ebook formatting of Tintian. Downloading free software (thank heavens for open source!) and carefully and slowly working through the process.
I'm really curious to see if I'll notice any differences between Scrivener's "auto-eBook" format options and those I do myself. We'll see, I suppose!
Anyway, that's it for today. Bit of a sore throat, so I'm only working 10 hours today and going to bed early. Luxury!
HTML, Here I Come
I'm constantly amazed by how much not-writing this writing gig requires. On the one hand, it's kinda frustrating. I want to write! I already feel like i have dozens of stories all clawing their way through my brain, demanding to be released. As it stands, my work is a slow valve-release of pressure, a constant hum of brain-steam that ends up (through copious refinement) as a finished story. But in order to do that, I have to do all this other stuff (website creation, crafting my Patreon, learning how to self-publish, and so on) such that I can actually spend the time I need to transfer brain-steam to paper.
But, by the same token, I really do love to write. So if I have to jump through a few more hoops to let me be better at it, to let a wider audience become familiar with my work, then so be it. I dabbled in HTML back in the early '00s, so what the hey. Apparently it's the key to making sure my ebooks look as professional as possible, and that's really the goal at this stage.
We'll get there, dear readers (and future readers!). We'll get there.
In other news: I'm working on a neat little short story called "Black Box" (for now). It's a story about a small bridge crew on a crippled starship in complete and total darkness. I like how it's coming long thus far (about half done the first draft). Hope to get that finished up tomorrow, and then start the painful process of refinement and polish before sending 'er off to Asimov's.
Self Publish 101 - The Learning Curve
So I've taken the first steps towards self-publishing my first novel. "Tintian and the King's Claw" has so far gathered the requisite number of rejections from agents and big publishers (around 30), and while I got some incredible feedback and three requests for the full manuscript, no takers yet.
That's okay. I love the story, and I think it deserves to be released onto the world... so time to do that myself. The trouble is of course, that I have no idea how to do that! Thankfully I have a lot of friends in publishing and editing, and they've been an enormous help.
The first step was to nail down a cover. There are a tonne of good cover artists, but I found one I like* and you can see some of the results of his work already on my "Books" page. He also did a full set of 5 "Episode" covers for the serialization of the work, which was awesome, and the banner I used for Patreon!
Next step was to hire a professional editor. I've already done this and sent the book off to her. The incredible Anna Albo** has my novel in her hands already, and I feel a huge weight lifted as a result.
In the meantime, I've been researching the publishing process itself. I really want to get this as "right" as I can for my first effort. Which means a tonne of research, but (as a scientist) I'm used to that.
Anyway, thanks for reading! I'll keep everyone appraised of the process as it continues. I suspect next will be writing the "Last time on Tintian..." and "Next time you can expect..." at the start and end of each serialized portion. Self-publishing isn't easy, but it is pretty damn interesting!
*My cover artist's website is http://www.goonwrite.com/
**Anna Albo can be reached on Twitter (@AnnamariaAlbo), or through her website (http://www.annaalbo.com/)
Chatter Spot!
So are you following me on Twitter? Have you subscribed to my Patreon? Are you doing all these things, listening and reading all the stuff I post... and want YET MORE?
That's why this place exists. I will post thoughts! I will post progress of the novels I am working on. I may rant occasionally, but I will try to keep the rants to a minimum. Because life is depressing enough without us being mean to each other.
So check back here frequently for a glimpse into my process, my work, and my mind (dun dun dun!).