I may be speeding through the rewrites a little too much, but I really need to get this out to Beta readers… I’m thinking tomorrow… July 1 is such a nice, tidy, memorable date. Been messing around with some concept cover art, and my latest plan is to release the beta copies in 5-chapter (or 10?) sets, each with a different cover mockup, as PDF and ebook editions. Starting tomorrow. To all, like, three beta readers I have pinned down so far… That’s assuming that I get anything done tomorrow; it’s kind of a holiday and all, and there’s been a fraction more freelance work lately, as well as some job stuff that I should seriously consider, so there’s that… Forecasting-wise, I’m starting Chapter 26 of ~50 today, so at a rate of about 5 chapters a day, which I’ve been mostly managing, I should be able to finish that part by the end of next week at the latest, and start to get feedback from beta readers before I leave. It’s not where I’d hoped to be at this stage in the game, but it’s at least a decent point to pause at.
Realizing more and more that I really need to track down a better network to build up a following; so far I can count on a couple family members, and maybe a couple friends to care, which is nice and all, but won’t cut it. However, I also don’t have a lot of ‘content’ or shareable, appealing/valuable material to attract attention with. 10 barely-edited chapters, some weak cover mockups, and a few totally unreviewed, embarrassing old stories. Oh, and trivia from my life, which makes for neither stunning photos, nor fascinating reading. At (near) 30, I’m already starting to feel like I’m aging out of being a social-media native; after seeing kids’ amazing Tumblr and Instagram book blogs, I’m pretty horrified at my own capacity. Of course, some would say that makes a stronger case for making the most amazing story ever, since it’s the only way anyone will care about what you’re doing. Which is fair; but I can’t quite bring myself to take that leap and drop the marketing/self-promotion angle…
Anyways, got a ton to do today, and managed to waste most of the day already, so I’ll get right down to it before the caffeine pill kicks in! Thursday
Start time: 2:00 am
Location: bedroom
Drinking: Colonial drinking chocolate… of course, with whiskey. Who would want to drink plain chocolate? That’s just gross…
Soundtrack: Thrice’s new album