Behold.
The proof has been shipped. When that arrives, we’ll review it to make sure everything looks good, and then it’s release time.
The artwork is proceeding along for RAVELER as well. The target for that is mid August. As soon as it’s finished, we’ll be ready to release that book as well.
Just for kicks, here’s the SERVANT spread.
Because a number of folks have emailed or posted asking this question, I figured I should address it in a post.
This edit of SERVANT was signficant, but it involved mostly line edits, copy edits, resequencing, and one important adjustment and addition.
Line edits are things that make individual sentences or paragraphs read more clearly. I made line edits to almost every page. I think most readers won’t notice these. But then that’s the point.
Copy edits catch small things like typos and misspellings. There were a number of maddening copy issues that were introduced into the manuscript in the publisher’s version and others that weren’t flagged. I fixed a number of these and then had two copy editors read over the manuscript to find more. No book is perfect. I’m sure there are still some gremlins lurking in the text. But we caught a lot of the little buggers.
Resequencing is moving chapters or sections around and does affect the experience. The biggest resequence was switching the first eight chapters back to the original order I intended. This is an important change and will have a large effect on the reader for the first quarter of the book. Then there were three other smaller sections inside the story that needed to be moved around to make the chronology clearer and improve the suspense.
The line, copy, and resequencing edits make up the bulk of the edits. But I did adjust and add a short section to the ending immediately after the climax to clarify a few things that should have been revealed in the first version and that lead into book two.
What does this all mean?
It means that while this is a superior version of the tale, the base story remains the same. I care about the stories of Sugar, Talen, Argoth, Hunger, and the dilemmas they face. So I did not change their tales. However, I did significantly change the experience of those tales for the reader.
If you have already read SERVANT, you know everything that happens. However, you will want to get a hold of a copy of the new version to review the updated ending for the new information it includes. To avoid spoilers and confusion, I will not be releasing the ending in a separate document. But if you sign up for my release notification, I’ll let you know when I have my release sale so you can get it cheap.
One final note. Because I feel this is a superior version of the story, and because I do not want readers to be confused about which version to read, I’m releasing it with a different title and different cover art. It will be called “Servant” and include the series label “The Dark God Book 1.”
I think readers are going to be very pleased with this version. I know I am. And then we can move on to “Curse,” the next in the series, followed by “Glory.”
Here’s the link to Audible, and as soon as I get the link to iTunes, I’ll post it here. I think Naramore’s performance is going to please a lot of listeners.
Far-Fetched Fables has released the audio version of “Loose in the Wires.” The narrator, Eric Luke, did a great job. This story was so fun to write. If you haven’t read it yet, go give it a listen. It’s free. You’ll also be able to hear the flash fiction piece, “Older, Wiser, Time Traveler” by M. Bennardo, narrated by Rish Outfield. The podcast is the perfect size of a commute.
Just a reminder. The CONduit convention begins on Friday. I’ll be holding a 2-hour workshop on Saturday titled “The 3 Things You Must Learn to Write Killer Stories” from 2 PM – 4 PM.
The rest of the day on Saturday is loaded with a number of great panels featuring authors such as:
If you look at the schedule, you’ll see sessions on
You authors, remember there’s a writers/publishers/editors social Friday night at 10 PM at the hotel bar.
Hope to see you there!
Boom, baby! Today is thriller day.
Frank’s an ex-con, trying to go straight. Then an old cell mate shows up and . . . let’s just say things go downhill from there. Throw in a Mormon, some drug lords, and a good helping of guns, and, man, was this book a blast to write!
You might be interested to know that this story was inspired by a fine old brother in my church in Ohio who was one of those salt-of-the-earth folks who also happened to have been at one time a bank robber.
When he got out of prison, he determined his life would change. He married a good Methodist girl he met at a church dance, went into the laundry business, and never looked back.
It was my privilege to record his life history. Not a single event or detail in the book is about him. But I can tell you that his story deserves a book. Hopefully, my character Frank ends up doing as well in life as he did.
The new release sale will run this week only. Same great prices as the last time. Get ’em now while they’re hot.
Bad Penny – Trade Paper (Amazon)
I’ve been working the last two weeks like a freaking elf from the North Pole trying to get these distribution channels set up, but the holidays seem to have stretched out the channel lead times.
So here’s what you do: email me right now (click on my face in the sidebar) and tell me which platform you’re interested in. When the book goes live on that platform (and that should be soon), I will set it at the new release price and email you with the news. It’s that easy.
See how good I am to you? (grin)
If you’re lying around on the 24th and don’t know what to do get the holiday spirit, please watch Merry Madagascar. It’s short, you’ll have a good time, and if you’re not already a King Julien fan, you will be.
Have an awesome Christmas!
Sincerely,
John
Comments are closed.
Are you holding the ebook back because you want to simultaneously release it with the print book?
If so, why?
If not, why is the ebook required to wait for shipped paper?
Yes, I want to release them at the same time.
One of the reasons is to so that when I do my smoking hot new release sale for newsletter readers, they will all have an option. Some of my readers don’t read ebooks 🙂
The second is that my process is to complete the POD version and then format the interior for the ebook. I do this because I find errors in the paper proof that I don’t see on the screen. Doing it this way helps me not rush things to market and then have to do rework.
Surely the best way to proofread an ebook is on an ebook reader. You do have an ebook reader (like a Kindle or whatever), don’t you?
I don’t see why you cannot have a new release sale on the ebook and on the print book, even if they have different release dates.
John,
I do view them on multiple ereaders as well. But you can ask any copy editor around–reviewing a manuscript in paper version is incredibly helpful. And I could have two separate promos, but part of the promo includes allowing those who want the paper version to get the ebook on Amazon for free. Furthermore, I am not keen on sending out multiple emails to my newsletter subscribers when I don’t need to.
I appreciate your eagerness for the book. Curse will be available very soon.