Production Update
Now that the Containment Unit is completed (more on that in a future post!), I have a pile of projects that have been neglected to one degree or another since March.
THE BANTAM
I have a printout of the latest version and I will be going over it one last time, trying out some tips I received from Cat Rambo in a recent coaching session. I want to push and pull the language to make it the best story it can be. I am slightly terrified this will result in a longer revision process, but if it makes a significant improvement, I think it will be worth it.
The simple fact is, the book is already out in the world and when I decide to re-release it is inconsequential. I will be releasing it as a new edition, and want it to have as powerful a start as possible.
To that end, I am heavily weighing the value of also releasing an audiobook. I'm conflicted about that, partially because it would require holding back on production even once my final revisions are done (because only at that point could recording begin), but for such a short book (less than two hours) I don't anticipate a lot of sales. It would be almost purely a vanity / legitimacy sunk cost. That's true of most audiobooks, though, I suppose. Either way, I am very undecided. If you have an opinion on short audiobooks, please do let me know in the comments!
I have purchased and assigned the ISBNs for this title, and began setting up the print layouts, though didn't want to get ahead of myself since I anticipate the revisions will be significant.
Also under this heading, the cover reveal went out to my newsletter subscribers today! I'll post that here when I have decided on the release date.
SALVAGE
I have cleared the deck of a lot of projects this week and am going to re-read the latest draft of SALVAGE ahead of receiving feedback from Parvus Press for the next revision. The plan is to do that by Sunday. For 125K words and my pre-vacation workload, that's pretty optimistic, but I hope it is doable.
I have a new editor at Parvus and this will be the first time receiving feedback from him on a working piece (we've discussed FLOTSAM, but Colin forbade him from giving me any comments I might desire to act upon), so as I process his feedback, I may sit on this revision longer than I currently plan to.
Then again, maybe not. I know myself well enough to know that any poking of an area of the plot will result in immediate brain storms, so even though I will head to Disney World next week, I have a feeling I will be trying to squeeze in some work on that.
Involving less work on my part, Parvus has begun working with Julie Dillon on a cover. I got a tiny peek at it last week, and I can tell you it is going to be awesome! I will be doing the typesetting again, and we've played around a bit with the visual style for the series in terms of constants and variables, but haven't settled on anything quite yet.
Gods-Rotted Escort Mission
This week, I made a first pass at an outline for this (hopefully) short story, which I plan to distribute as a newsletter giveaway and eventually package into a planned "Facets of Peridot" short story anthology.
A few surprising things happened as I planned out the plot, and I want to go back to it and give it one more pass before I begin drafting. Right now I have a feeling it will be difficult to keep it short with the number of elements the outline suggests will be in play. I think I want to tone down some concepts from plot into backstory to keep it manageable.
Having said that, if I'm not ready to tackle SALVAGE next week, I may give this a first draft attempt.
[INSERT TITLE]
My intent is to write book three of The Peridot Shift series, as I did with SALVAGE, as my NaNoWriMo project. This means I will be attempting to complete the SALVAGE revision pass and the outline for book three during October. Again, could be a bit aggressive of a timeline, but for [reasons] it may also be more possible than in previous months.
I am frustrated at having no name for this book, but the naming convention has been set by FLOTSAM and SALVAGE (and I refuse to call it JETSAM, pls do not suggest). So I'm looking for roughly seven letters, two syllables, and legible in all caps. I'm sure it will come to me as I outline it (as SALVAGE did).
Phantom Traveler Season One
Season one of Phantom Traveler has been completely drafted and after revising THE BANTAM as described above, I will apply the same techniques and passes to this before it is released as a novella.
In November, Galen Dara will create the cover art for that novella, which will get its own title after the revisions are complete.
It was written an episode at a time, aimed for serialization, so I wouldn't be surprised if some things get shifted around as I take a look at it as a whole.
My supporters on Patreon are reading this draft "as it happens" and are up to Episode 18 as of this week. There's a chance the final released novella could be quite different, following revisions, so they'll get to be a part of the whole process. All Patrons who support a full season's run will receive the final ebook upon its release.
Anything Else?
I have a ton of story ideas I want to play around with, and my Hybrid Author Podcast cohost Brian and I have brainstormed and semi-drafted a collaboration which is currently on the backburner, but these are the active projects on my list and those I hope to move to their next phases, at least, before the end of the calendar year.