Showing posts with label Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Listen to my radio interview with Patzi Gil on "Joy on Paper"
I had the wonderful opportunity to be a guest on Patzi Gil's "Joy on Paper" radio show yesterday. If you weren't in the Tampa area or didn't catch it online, you can listen to a recording HERE (posted on her website).
Friday, January 1, 2016
2015 Year in Review
You know, it's amazing how fast time slips by. I can't believe it's been 10 months since my last post on this page. The Gemini Effect came out on Kindle First in March of 2015, and it's been a steady wild ride since then! So what's happened since then? Well, let's see...
- The Gemini Effect has sold ~211,000 copies since March 1, 2015. Still blows my mind.
- The Phoenix Descent, my second novel through Amazon's 47North imprint, will be released in just a few months (March of 2016).
- After years of unsuccessfully trying to land an agent, and sending out so many query letters that I lost count, an agent reached out to me. After a fifteen minute phone conversation, that was that. I'm represented by Mark Gottlieb of Trident Media Group.
- I decided to remove all my stand-alone flash fiction & short stories from circulation and keep them as part of Scattered Bones. I was able to keep them free on Smashwords, B&N and Apple, but it was an effort to keep them free on Amazon in the US (and almost impossible in the UK). So, I figured $0.99 for a 34,000-word collection was the better way to go. Re-did the cover, too, which I like much more than the original.
- Wrote my first 19,000-word novella, Splits. That was fun...I might just have to write a few more of those. ;)
- Continued work on new other novels; a new work, which I'm calling Brody4, and a much-needed re-vamp of an existing manuscript, which I've re-titled The Chosen.
The Highlights
2015 was an amazing year, and the biggest highlight was watching The Gemini Effect launch on Kindle First. It was a magical feeling waking up on March 1 and seeing the reviews start to come in, and became even more magical when it reached #1 in the US Kindle store a few days later.
Before the book came out, Jason Kirk, my editor at47North, signed me for another novel, The Phoenix Descent. Writing what turned out to be a 112,000-word initial manuscript draft in 4-5 months was one of the toughest things I've ever done (to include a 14,600-word weekend as I pushed to the finish), but I enjoyed every minute. Then, working with Jason again, we trimmed it down below 90K words and--we think--produced a better book than The Gemini Effect. I guess we'll find out in a few more months if we're right! Speaking of Jason, working with him on two novels so far has been a simply amazing experience. I truly hope there's more chances to collaborate on more books in the future.
The reviews for The Gemini Effect have been both a highlight AND a lowlight of the past year...I'll get to that next.
The Reviews
Being first offered through Kindle First, The Gemini Effect was offered to a H-U-G-E pool of readers, some who would like it, and others who wouldn't. Seeing those first few 5-star reviews come in on March 1 was great...and then the bad ones started showing up. And showing up. And showing up. Ten months later, I can honestly say the bad reviews don't bother me as badly as they did those first couple of months, but holy cow, I wanted to crawl in a hole, stop writing, and never come out again. My experience with reviews as a self-published author was different--my reader pool was much, much smaller, and the reviews were almost all good. But now, I had a book out there in the BIG WORLD, being read by thousands of people, and the digital age of "anonymous" communication being what it is, some people had no problem whatsoever telling other readers what they thought. I had to give some of those 1-star reviewers an A for effort, because they even made me laugh! Now, some of those poor reviews opened my eyes to things I could do differently in my writing, and that's awesome. To those reviewers, I say thank you. But, there are others, those who feel the need to pen personal attacks, whom I view in an entirely different light. I think that aspect of swimming in the "big reviewer pool" was the most shocking part. Again, a person behind a keyboard feels anonymous enough to say whatever they want to, and some do. It's the world we live in now, and I get it. In the last ten months, I've been called every name in the book--I'm a gun nut. A bomb lover. A Crichton/Clancy wannabe. A woman hater. On, and on, and on. Very few, however, had the guts to attach their names to the reviews, always relying on "Amazon Customer" or "Anonymous" (in B&N's case). I know I'm not alone when I say writers crave constructive criticism--it helps us improve our craft. But those who spew vitriol without the common decency to attach their name to their words, well...
I did a blog interview at the end of March 2015 where one of the questions was what advice would I give to first-time writers. Regarding reviews specifically, this is what I said:
"...learn to have a thick skin. Be willing to accept constructive criticism, and shrug-off the vitriolic criticism that every writer eventually receives. Is this an easy thing to do? No. Not. At. All. Like everything else, it’s a learning process. To paraphrase Isaac Asimov, there are two types of writers: Those who bleed copiously and visibly at any bad review, and those who bleed copiously and secretly at any bad review. The first time you receive a bad review, it may feel as if you’ve just shown your newborn baby to a stranger—that baby is the most beautiful, precious thing you’ve ever seen—and the stranger says, 'Wow, that is one ugly baby! How dare you bring such a horrid creature into my world!' Then, after the stranger vomits a few times (on your shoes), a crowd gathers, they chase you back to your castle with torches and pitchforks, and everything goes up in flames, especially your confidence as a writer.
One thing to remember is that a review is a message from a reader to other readers—it’s not directed at you. Some authors I know never look at reviews, good or bad. But, if you do, don’t take it personally. Even though someone just called your precious baby ugly, don’t ever let it kill your desire to write, and don’t ever respond. Let me say that again: No matter how badly you want to, don’t respond. Once your story is out in the big bad reviewer world, it has to stand on its own two feet. It’ll get praised, and it’ll get bullied, and you have to stand back and let it happen.
If you do get a nasty one, and it’s bugging you, keep this quote from Teddy Roosevelt nearby (it helps):
Now, lets talk about the GOOD reviews! I can't tell you how any people have contacted me though my Facebook page and website to tell me how much they loved The Gemini Effect. It's messages like this one that really make my day:
"Hello. Your book The Gemini Effect is incredible! I started it wheels up upon takeoff in Dallas and when I landed in Miami was about halfway through. I then finished it in a second sitting in the hotel room that very night. Now I've read almost every possible apocalypse/mutant book out there from Tooth and Nail to The Passage and this is by far an incredible read. Thanks for writing it and I look forward to reading your other past and future works."
It's people like this for whom I write, and will continue to do so.
As 2015 passes into history, I will personally look back on it fondly as a year where my dream of becoming a published author finally came true. And I'm not done yet.
I wish everyone all the best for 2016, and keep on turning those pages!
- The Gemini Effect has sold ~211,000 copies since March 1, 2015. Still blows my mind.
- The Phoenix Descent, my second novel through Amazon's 47North imprint, will be released in just a few months (March of 2016).
- After years of unsuccessfully trying to land an agent, and sending out so many query letters that I lost count, an agent reached out to me. After a fifteen minute phone conversation, that was that. I'm represented by Mark Gottlieb of Trident Media Group.
- I decided to remove all my stand-alone flash fiction & short stories from circulation and keep them as part of Scattered Bones. I was able to keep them free on Smashwords, B&N and Apple, but it was an effort to keep them free on Amazon in the US (and almost impossible in the UK). So, I figured $0.99 for a 34,000-word collection was the better way to go. Re-did the cover, too, which I like much more than the original.
- Wrote my first 19,000-word novella, Splits. That was fun...I might just have to write a few more of those. ;)
- Continued work on new other novels; a new work, which I'm calling Brody4, and a much-needed re-vamp of an existing manuscript, which I've re-titled The Chosen.
The Highlights
2015 was an amazing year, and the biggest highlight was watching The Gemini Effect launch on Kindle First. It was a magical feeling waking up on March 1 and seeing the reviews start to come in, and became even more magical when it reached #1 in the US Kindle store a few days later.
Before the book came out, Jason Kirk, my editor at47North, signed me for another novel, The Phoenix Descent. Writing what turned out to be a 112,000-word initial manuscript draft in 4-5 months was one of the toughest things I've ever done (to include a 14,600-word weekend as I pushed to the finish), but I enjoyed every minute. Then, working with Jason again, we trimmed it down below 90K words and--we think--produced a better book than The Gemini Effect. I guess we'll find out in a few more months if we're right! Speaking of Jason, working with him on two novels so far has been a simply amazing experience. I truly hope there's more chances to collaborate on more books in the future.
The reviews for The Gemini Effect have been both a highlight AND a lowlight of the past year...I'll get to that next.
The Reviews
Being first offered through Kindle First, The Gemini Effect was offered to a H-U-G-E pool of readers, some who would like it, and others who wouldn't. Seeing those first few 5-star reviews come in on March 1 was great...and then the bad ones started showing up. And showing up. And showing up. Ten months later, I can honestly say the bad reviews don't bother me as badly as they did those first couple of months, but holy cow, I wanted to crawl in a hole, stop writing, and never come out again. My experience with reviews as a self-published author was different--my reader pool was much, much smaller, and the reviews were almost all good. But now, I had a book out there in the BIG WORLD, being read by thousands of people, and the digital age of "anonymous" communication being what it is, some people had no problem whatsoever telling other readers what they thought. I had to give some of those 1-star reviewers an A for effort, because they even made me laugh! Now, some of those poor reviews opened my eyes to things I could do differently in my writing, and that's awesome. To those reviewers, I say thank you. But, there are others, those who feel the need to pen personal attacks, whom I view in an entirely different light. I think that aspect of swimming in the "big reviewer pool" was the most shocking part. Again, a person behind a keyboard feels anonymous enough to say whatever they want to, and some do. It's the world we live in now, and I get it. In the last ten months, I've been called every name in the book--I'm a gun nut. A bomb lover. A Crichton/Clancy wannabe. A woman hater. On, and on, and on. Very few, however, had the guts to attach their names to the reviews, always relying on "Amazon Customer" or "Anonymous" (in B&N's case). I know I'm not alone when I say writers crave constructive criticism--it helps us improve our craft. But those who spew vitriol without the common decency to attach their name to their words, well...
I did a blog interview at the end of March 2015 where one of the questions was what advice would I give to first-time writers. Regarding reviews specifically, this is what I said:
"...learn to have a thick skin. Be willing to accept constructive criticism, and shrug-off the vitriolic criticism that every writer eventually receives. Is this an easy thing to do? No. Not. At. All. Like everything else, it’s a learning process. To paraphrase Isaac Asimov, there are two types of writers: Those who bleed copiously and visibly at any bad review, and those who bleed copiously and secretly at any bad review. The first time you receive a bad review, it may feel as if you’ve just shown your newborn baby to a stranger—that baby is the most beautiful, precious thing you’ve ever seen—and the stranger says, 'Wow, that is one ugly baby! How dare you bring such a horrid creature into my world!' Then, after the stranger vomits a few times (on your shoes), a crowd gathers, they chase you back to your castle with torches and pitchforks, and everything goes up in flames, especially your confidence as a writer.
One thing to remember is that a review is a message from a reader to other readers—it’s not directed at you. Some authors I know never look at reviews, good or bad. But, if you do, don’t take it personally. Even though someone just called your precious baby ugly, don’t ever let it kill your desire to write, and don’t ever respond. Let me say that again: No matter how badly you want to, don’t respond. Once your story is out in the big bad reviewer world, it has to stand on its own two feet. It’ll get praised, and it’ll get bullied, and you have to stand back and let it happen.
If you do get a nasty one, and it’s bugging you, keep this quote from Teddy Roosevelt nearby (it helps):
'It
is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong
man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face
is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs,
who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without
error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who
knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a
worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high
achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while
daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and
timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Now, lets talk about the GOOD reviews! I can't tell you how any people have contacted me though my Facebook page and website to tell me how much they loved The Gemini Effect. It's messages like this one that really make my day:
"Hello. Your book The Gemini Effect is incredible! I started it wheels up upon takeoff in Dallas and when I landed in Miami was about halfway through. I then finished it in a second sitting in the hotel room that very night. Now I've read almost every possible apocalypse/mutant book out there from Tooth and Nail to The Passage and this is by far an incredible read. Thanks for writing it and I look forward to reading your other past and future works."
It's people like this for whom I write, and will continue to do so.
As 2015 passes into history, I will personally look back on it fondly as a year where my dream of becoming a published author finally came true. And I'm not done yet.
I wish everyone all the best for 2016, and keep on turning those pages!
Sunday, March 1, 2015
THE GEMINI EFFECT - Kindle First for March!
This morning, I can finally share what I've known was coming for months ... THE GEMINI EFFECT is one of four books selected by Amazon Publishing editors to offer in their Kindle First program for March 2015!
It's an opportunity for Amazon customers to purchase/download a couple of books (a single book in the UK version of the program) at a reduced price, one month prior to the book's official publication date. When Jason Kirk, my editor at Amazon's 47North imprint, asked me if I'd like to participate in Kindle first, I found his offer quite difficult to refuse--although it would delay the official publication date by a few weeks, being part of Kindle First would place my silly story in front of potentially hundreds of thousands of readers in both the US and UK. Being included in Kindle First is a huge deal for an unknown debut author like myself, and to Jason I pass my heartfelt thanks for pushing THE GEMINI EFFECT out to so many potential readers. I also need to thank him for the words he added to the book's product page (which I saw on the UK page for the very first time when the book popped-up across the pond yesterday evening):
Wow. That's all I can say. Just, wow. Thanks, Jason.
So, how does Kindle First work? Simple. You can find THE GEMINI EFFECT HERE on the US site, and HERE on the UK site. By buying the book at the reduced price during the month of March, you join a free Kindle First email notification program, where each month you'll receive an email listing that month's selections. Below I've listed the rules for both the US and UK sites:
So ... if you're looking for something to read, click on over and take a look!
It's an opportunity for Amazon customers to purchase/download a couple of books (a single book in the UK version of the program) at a reduced price, one month prior to the book's official publication date. When Jason Kirk, my editor at Amazon's 47North imprint, asked me if I'd like to participate in Kindle first, I found his offer quite difficult to refuse--although it would delay the official publication date by a few weeks, being part of Kindle First would place my silly story in front of potentially hundreds of thousands of readers in both the US and UK. Being included in Kindle First is a huge deal for an unknown debut author like myself, and to Jason I pass my heartfelt thanks for pushing THE GEMINI EFFECT out to so many potential readers. I also need to thank him for the words he added to the book's product page (which I saw on the UK page for the very first time when the book popped-up across the pond yesterday evening):
So, how does Kindle First work? Simple. You can find THE GEMINI EFFECT HERE on the US site, and HERE on the UK site. By buying the book at the reduced price during the month of March, you join a free Kindle First email notification program, where each month you'll receive an email listing that month's selections. Below I've listed the rules for both the US and UK sites:
So ... if you're looking for something to read, click on over and take a look!
Sunday, February 22, 2015
THE PHOENIX DESCENT - Publication Date Finalized
Amazon & 47North have the pre-order page up and running for my next novel, THE PHOENIX DESCENT! The cover isn't finalized, and it doesn't have any blurb info yet, but the pub date is set at March 15, 2016. You can see it HERE. Expect the page to get fleshed-out as the April 1, 2015 launch date for THE GEMINI EFFECT approaches ...
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
2015 ABNA . . . not meant to be.
This morning I learned--as did a LOT of other people who'd been checking the ABNA page for an announcement regarding the start of the 2015 contest--that Amazon had decided to forgo the ABNAs this year in lieu of their new Kindle Scout program.
I'm a firm believer in the old adage that when one door closes, another opens. You just have to find it.
To all my fellow indie authors, I share this ( I don't remember where I got it from, but I saved it):
Don't ever give up. Don't ever stop writing. Don't ever lose the fire to share your words, and don't ever be afraid to do so.
Now, go find the damn door with your name on it, and kick that sucker down.
I'm a firm believer in the old adage that when one door closes, another opens. You just have to find it.
To all my fellow indie authors, I share this ( I don't remember where I got it from, but I saved it):
"When one door closes, another opens.
If it doesn't, try the window.
If the window's locked, break the glass.
If it's barred, claw a freaking hole through the wall."
Don't ever give up. Don't ever stop writing. Don't ever lose the fire to share your words, and don't ever be afraid to do so.
Now, go find the damn door with your name on it, and kick that sucker down.
- Chuck
Monday, January 12, 2015
2014 ABNA Finalist Covers are UP!
I noticed today that the cover for D. M. Pulley's The Dead Key is finally up on Amazon, so all five covers are out there now. They all look great! If you've read my post from Nov 22, 2014, you know how much time & effort went into the cover design for The Gemini Effect, and I'm sure the same can be said for the other covers as well.
If you're looking for a new author to try in romance, general fiction, mystery/thriller, young adult, or SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY / HORROR (hint-hint), click on over to the ABNA page & pre-order!
If you're looking for a new author to try in romance, general fiction, mystery/thriller, young adult, or SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY / HORROR (hint-hint), click on over to the ABNA page & pre-order!
Saturday, November 22, 2014
For All You Potential 2015 ABNA'ers: The Publishing Journey UPDATE!
(UPDATED, 20 Jan 15) This post has been receiving quite a few hits from Google searches regarding "2015 ABNA", and as such, I decided to add this. As announced on the ABNA page's comment board today, Amazon has decided to forgo the 2015 ABNA contest in lieu of their newer Kindle Scout program. You can read my earlier post from today HERE.
I hope the information below can still be of some use for those of you who decide to go the traditional publishing route--the basic steps I've gone through with The Gemini Effect are, I assume, much the same steps one would go through with any novel picked-up by a publisher. Best of luck, and keep writing!
Wow, has it really been four months since my last post? A lot has happened since July 21, and it's all been A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. For all of you out there who are considering entering the 2015 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, let me give you two words of advice: DO IT. I know there aren't any details on the 2015 contest out there yet (at least I haven't found any), but keep your eyes peeled. Come January/February 2015, the details should come out (probably here).
First, a little background on my personal history with the ABNAs: I submitted my first novel, The Coming, in the 2011 ABNA, and it made it to the quarter finals round. Hoping to improve the next year, I submitted my second novel, The Mengele Effect, which I personally thought was a better book. Didn't make it past the pitch stage. Bummer. In 2013, I submitted it again . . . same results. Bummer, Part Deux. Some say a sure sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again when the results aren't that good, so, call me insane, but I decided to submit it again for the 2014 contest (after significantly reworking the pitch). My hopes weren't that high, especially considering the results from the previous two years, but I figured (insanely), what the heck. And . . .
BAM! Made it to the second round. (Third time's a charm, I said.)
BAM-BAM! Made it to the quarter finals. (Hey that's cool, I said.)
BAM-BAM-BAM! Made it to the semi-finals. (Whoa . . . this is getting more cool, I said.)
BAM-DIDDY-BAM-O-RAMA! Made it to the finals! (Holy keeee-rap Batman!)
My little self-published novel was named the winner of the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror. And do you know what? If I hadn't entered, well . . . you know the rest.
So what's happened since my last post? This picture sums it up, and we'll go over each part:
On the day I was notified that The Mengele Effect had won (by email; we noticed the missed call from Seattle on the phone a few days later-HAH!), I was introduced to Mr. Jason Kirk, Senior Editor at Amazon Publishing's 47North imprint, which would be publishing The Mengele Effect. I had no idea what to expect, but immediately got the sense that this was going to be a collaborative process . . . and I was right. There was no "You must do this," or "You shall change that," not at all. Every change was discussed in depth, and my opinions & concerns were taken into account throughout the weeks that followed.
Before we dive in, though, let's jump back a bit for a little perspective. I finished The Coming back in 2003, and received over 100 rejections from various publishers & agents over the next few years. For The Mengele Effect, which I finished in 2005 or 2006 (I honestly don't remember), I received less than 20 or so rejections before I decided to take a break from writing for a couple of years. I'd send out an e-query every six months or so whenever the spirit moved me, but always had the same results: Sorry, not what we're looking for, good luck, yada yada yada. Bummer. My dream of being a writer, which I began pursuing in 2001, wasn't working out so well. Once I retired from the USAF in late 2008, I decided to pick it up again. One of the guys I worked with at STRATCOM told me of a local writers group his wife belonged to (Kim Stokely, author of Woman of Flames and Winter Trees), and I decided to give it a try. I attended the Nebraska Writers Workshop when I could, and always enjoyed listening to all the various genres represented, as well as the different skill levels. It was there that I first learned about the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, and I submitted The Coming. One of the NWW members had self-published one of their works on something called Smashwords, and I decided to try it out (it was either James M M Baldwin or Lisa Kovanda, I can't recall whom). On 1 Jan 2012, I self-published The Coming, followed a week or so later by The Mengele Effect. When someone actually bought one of my books, I almost fell out of my comfy recliner. Coolest feeling in the world, it was. Sales were miniscule, and later dropped-off to almost nothing, but it was still kinda neat. Later, I ran across something called flash fiction - and my writing world took on a whole new dimension. But that's a story for another post . . .
So, why did I just dump all that yak on you? Well, I have to pinch myself just about every day to make sure this whole publishing journey is, in fact, real. There was a time when I'd given up on being a published author, and now, it's happening. Sure, I didn't get published the traditional way--finding an agent, or a publisher, though querying, attending conferences, etc.--but here I am, one happy short fat bald man with a novel ready for release early next year. If it can happen to me, guess what . . . it can happen to you, too. Let me stress this again; if you're thinking about entering the 2015 ABNAs, don't let your fear of rejection or self-doubts about whether or not your book is good enough keep you from taking the chance. JUST DO IT.
Okay, let's dive into the details. After I learned The Mengele Effect had won its ABNA category on July 2, here's what happened:
July 10, 2014
I received an Amazon Publishing Questionnaire from Jason Kirk; in it, I had to provide the following details:
- Personal details about the short fat bald guy who wrote the book (that'd be me).
- A headshot photo (thanks to Ashley Crawford Photography, I had one).
- A listing of all previously published works.
- A brief personal bio.
- A 1-sentence pitch for the book.
- Who I thought my target audience was.
- A plot synopsis (yep, a synopsis . . . if you don't have one for your book, write one. Yes, they suck, but you'll probably need it at some point).
- Descriptions of all my main characters.
- A list of plot points that could be considered spoilers.
- Cover design ideas.
- Editing questions; what I thought the editor should look for (potential problems) and identify any stylistic choices I wished to retain.
After this, the 47North team provided a revised "book blurb" that I had the opportunity to cut on, and approve.
July 21, 2014: Developmental Edit Begins
Being a publishing rookie, I had no idea what a developmental edit was. I explained it somewhat in a previous post, but think of it as a broad-brush look at the story as a whole, and identifying major adjustments to help take the book where it needs to go. For me, it involved some character changes, a major sub-plot re-work, and re-ordering/combining chapters. Jason Kirk provided the feedback he'd received from his team, and we--yes, we--went to work. Again, this was an entirely collaborative process, made much easier due to the fact that every adjustment Jason suggested was something I'd thought of myself at one point or another (but never got around to fixing). I felt as if Jason had found the little steel lock box in my head labeled "All The Things I Hope Aren't Noticed With This Story" and broke into it. I should also point out that my personal writing style had changed somewhat since I first wrote the book, so this gave me the opportunity to go through it line-by-line and change things. The first pass through the manuscript took about three weeks or so, and after going back and making additional changes/adjustments, we moved on to the next phase in September.
During this time frame, I reached out to J. Lincoln Finn, winner of the 2013 (and first) ABNA for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror with her amazing novel, Poe. I asked if it had been all she'd expected, and she answered with a resounding YES. If you haven't read Poe, please do. When I say it's amazing, I'm not kidding. I believe she had a different editor than I, and also had a much quicker production timeline to work with based on the dates of the 2013 contest, but her feedback filled me with confidence about the whole process. One thing the 2013 finalists got to do that the 2014 finalists didn't, was to travel to Seattle for a Grand Prize Award ceremony (yes, even as a Denver Broncos fan, I would've enjoyed going to Seattle). I was a little disappointed they didn't do it for 2014, but who knows, maybe 2015 will be a different story.
September 14, 2014: Copyedit Begins
In this phase, Jason provided me a copy of the manuscript that had undergone a line-by-line review (more like a character-by-character review) by a professional copyeditor. As a self-published author, I've learned that one can look at a work hundreds of times, and fail to see some of the most glaring errors--your eyes will pass over them without noticing (I no there's a few mistaches in this pohst which I haven't noticed, ether). He found them. A lot of them. Apart from being just a spelling/grammar/punctuation review, he also had some suggestions to make the story better. Again, it was a collaborative process throughout. This phase lasted a little over a month with a few more passes through the manuscript.
September 16, 2014: Title Change
What? You want to change my title? How can that be! Well, once I understood the reasons why 47North wanted to change the title (mainly due to marketing concerns), and I put my faith in the publishing professionals who know what they're doing, we set out on yet another collaborative process to come up with a new title. Jason had ideas, his team had ideas, and I had ideas, and together we decided on The Gemini Effect. I love the title since it captures the story just as well, if not better, than the original, and it enabled the creation of one kick-arse cover design.
September 24, 2014: Cover Designs
Jason provided three different draft designs for The Gemini Effect, and I was blown away. The main effort was to produce a cover that captured the story, was marketable, and met presentation format guidelines (small or large, color or black and white). I really wish I could share the earlier designs, but due to copyright concerns, I can't (believe me, they were way, way cool). Based on feedback from Jason, his team, and me (short fat bald guy), the designer presented a few other designs, and eventually we settled on the one you see on The Gemini Effect's Amazon product page, and I have to say I absolutely love it. The full cover will look like this (finalized on November 11, 2014):
October 21, 2014: Audio Book Questions
On this date, I learned Phil Gigante would be narrating the audio book version of The Gemini Effect. Once I Googled him, I was more than pleased. His resume includes a number of big-name authors, some of whom are my favorites (like Dean Koontz). He wanted to make sure he was pronouncing some of the character's names correctly, and how to say my goofy last name (GRAH-cert, not gross-art). ;) I can't wait to hear it.
October 24, 2014: Proofread
Jason provided a pdf copy of the manuscript that had been through a proofread--a final check on the book's production-level formatting & wording. What made this so cool was I was finally able to see exactly what the book was going to look like. Those of you who have formatted books for Create Space know what I'm talking about . . . seeing your words as a real book is a neat experience, and seeing them as a professionally-done book is even MORE neat. Within this copy, there were numerous notes, some for my review, and others for the book designer. I was amazed by the level of detailed attention paid to every word; for example, some notes to the designer concerned moving one word in a sentence up a line, to improve how the lines looked on the page. Incredible. My review took only a few days . . . and with the approval of the proofread copy, and of the full cover on November 11, we were D-O-N-E.
So what's next? On my end, nothing. For me, it now becomes a waiting game for that April 1, 2015 release date. The marketing folks at Amazon Publishing and 47North have some amazing plans for this book's release (which I obviously can't disclose), and I'm incredibly excited for that date to roll around. All the previous versions of the original The Mengele Effect have been taken down from Smashwords (and their partner platforms, like Barnes & Noble, Apple, etc.) and Amazon (my decision, not Amazon's, in case you're wondering). The book that rolls out on April 1, 2015 (no foolin') is a much, much better book than the original, and I can't wait to see how it's received.
Finally, let's go back to the original purpose for writing this post: the 2015 ABNAs. I wanted to show those of you who are considering entering the contest that winning--even for a short fat bald guy who spends most of his off-time in a comfy recliner with a homebrew in his hand and a laptop on his lap--is a possibility. I can't speak for the four other 2014 ABNA finalists, but for me, this has been an incredible journey. Like J. Lincoln Finn told me, if you were to ask me if it's all I expected it would be (up to this point), I'd answer with an enthusiastic YES.
Best of luck to those who enter this year's ABNAs. It could be a dream come true for you, too. If you want to contact me directly, you can reach me through Twitter, on Facebook. or through my website. I'd love to hear from you.
DISCLAIMER: In case you're wondering, neither Amazon Publishing nor 47North asked me to write this post. I read a few things from previous winners who spoke about their experiences, but the whole publishing process was always a mystery to me--that's why I wrote this post. Scout's Honor. ;)
I hope the information below can still be of some use for those of you who decide to go the traditional publishing route--the basic steps I've gone through with The Gemini Effect are, I assume, much the same steps one would go through with any novel picked-up by a publisher. Best of luck, and keep writing!
- Chuck
***
Wow, has it really been four months since my last post? A lot has happened since July 21, and it's all been A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. For all of you out there who are considering entering the 2015 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, let me give you two words of advice: DO IT. I know there aren't any details on the 2015 contest out there yet (at least I haven't found any), but keep your eyes peeled. Come January/February 2015, the details should come out (probably here).
First, a little background on my personal history with the ABNAs: I submitted my first novel, The Coming, in the 2011 ABNA, and it made it to the quarter finals round. Hoping to improve the next year, I submitted my second novel, The Mengele Effect, which I personally thought was a better book. Didn't make it past the pitch stage. Bummer. In 2013, I submitted it again . . . same results. Bummer, Part Deux. Some say a sure sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again when the results aren't that good, so, call me insane, but I decided to submit it again for the 2014 contest (after significantly reworking the pitch). My hopes weren't that high, especially considering the results from the previous two years, but I figured (insanely), what the heck. And . . .
BAM! Made it to the second round. (Third time's a charm, I said.)
BAM-BAM! Made it to the quarter finals. (Hey that's cool, I said.)
BAM-BAM-BAM! Made it to the semi-finals. (Whoa . . . this is getting more cool, I said.)
BAM-DIDDY-BAM-O-RAMA! Made it to the finals! (Holy keeee-rap Batman!)
My little self-published novel was named the winner of the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror. And do you know what? If I hadn't entered, well . . . you know the rest.
So what's happened since my last post? This picture sums it up, and we'll go over each part:
On the day I was notified that The Mengele Effect had won (by email; we noticed the missed call from Seattle on the phone a few days later-HAH!), I was introduced to Mr. Jason Kirk, Senior Editor at Amazon Publishing's 47North imprint, which would be publishing The Mengele Effect. I had no idea what to expect, but immediately got the sense that this was going to be a collaborative process . . . and I was right. There was no "You must do this," or "You shall change that," not at all. Every change was discussed in depth, and my opinions & concerns were taken into account throughout the weeks that followed.
Before we dive in, though, let's jump back a bit for a little perspective. I finished The Coming back in 2003, and received over 100 rejections from various publishers & agents over the next few years. For The Mengele Effect, which I finished in 2005 or 2006 (I honestly don't remember), I received less than 20 or so rejections before I decided to take a break from writing for a couple of years. I'd send out an e-query every six months or so whenever the spirit moved me, but always had the same results: Sorry, not what we're looking for, good luck, yada yada yada. Bummer. My dream of being a writer, which I began pursuing in 2001, wasn't working out so well. Once I retired from the USAF in late 2008, I decided to pick it up again. One of the guys I worked with at STRATCOM told me of a local writers group his wife belonged to (Kim Stokely, author of Woman of Flames and Winter Trees), and I decided to give it a try. I attended the Nebraska Writers Workshop when I could, and always enjoyed listening to all the various genres represented, as well as the different skill levels. It was there that I first learned about the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, and I submitted The Coming. One of the NWW members had self-published one of their works on something called Smashwords, and I decided to try it out (it was either James M M Baldwin or Lisa Kovanda, I can't recall whom). On 1 Jan 2012, I self-published The Coming, followed a week or so later by The Mengele Effect. When someone actually bought one of my books, I almost fell out of my comfy recliner. Coolest feeling in the world, it was. Sales were miniscule, and later dropped-off to almost nothing, but it was still kinda neat. Later, I ran across something called flash fiction - and my writing world took on a whole new dimension. But that's a story for another post . . .
So, why did I just dump all that yak on you? Well, I have to pinch myself just about every day to make sure this whole publishing journey is, in fact, real. There was a time when I'd given up on being a published author, and now, it's happening. Sure, I didn't get published the traditional way--finding an agent, or a publisher, though querying, attending conferences, etc.--but here I am, one happy short fat bald man with a novel ready for release early next year. If it can happen to me, guess what . . . it can happen to you, too. Let me stress this again; if you're thinking about entering the 2015 ABNAs, don't let your fear of rejection or self-doubts about whether or not your book is good enough keep you from taking the chance. JUST DO IT.
Okay, let's dive into the details. After I learned The Mengele Effect had won its ABNA category on July 2, here's what happened:
July 10, 2014
I received an Amazon Publishing Questionnaire from Jason Kirk; in it, I had to provide the following details:
- Personal details about the short fat bald guy who wrote the book (that'd be me).
- A headshot photo (thanks to Ashley Crawford Photography, I had one).
- A listing of all previously published works.
- A brief personal bio.
- A 1-sentence pitch for the book.
- Who I thought my target audience was.
- A plot synopsis (yep, a synopsis . . . if you don't have one for your book, write one. Yes, they suck, but you'll probably need it at some point).
- Descriptions of all my main characters.
- A list of plot points that could be considered spoilers.
- Cover design ideas.
- Editing questions; what I thought the editor should look for (potential problems) and identify any stylistic choices I wished to retain.
After this, the 47North team provided a revised "book blurb" that I had the opportunity to cut on, and approve.
July 21, 2014: Developmental Edit Begins
Being a publishing rookie, I had no idea what a developmental edit was. I explained it somewhat in a previous post, but think of it as a broad-brush look at the story as a whole, and identifying major adjustments to help take the book where it needs to go. For me, it involved some character changes, a major sub-plot re-work, and re-ordering/combining chapters. Jason Kirk provided the feedback he'd received from his team, and we--yes, we--went to work. Again, this was an entirely collaborative process, made much easier due to the fact that every adjustment Jason suggested was something I'd thought of myself at one point or another (but never got around to fixing). I felt as if Jason had found the little steel lock box in my head labeled "All The Things I Hope Aren't Noticed With This Story" and broke into it. I should also point out that my personal writing style had changed somewhat since I first wrote the book, so this gave me the opportunity to go through it line-by-line and change things. The first pass through the manuscript took about three weeks or so, and after going back and making additional changes/adjustments, we moved on to the next phase in September.
During this time frame, I reached out to J. Lincoln Finn, winner of the 2013 (and first) ABNA for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror with her amazing novel, Poe. I asked if it had been all she'd expected, and she answered with a resounding YES. If you haven't read Poe, please do. When I say it's amazing, I'm not kidding. I believe she had a different editor than I, and also had a much quicker production timeline to work with based on the dates of the 2013 contest, but her feedback filled me with confidence about the whole process. One thing the 2013 finalists got to do that the 2014 finalists didn't, was to travel to Seattle for a Grand Prize Award ceremony (yes, even as a Denver Broncos fan, I would've enjoyed going to Seattle). I was a little disappointed they didn't do it for 2014, but who knows, maybe 2015 will be a different story.
September 14, 2014: Copyedit Begins
In this phase, Jason provided me a copy of the manuscript that had undergone a line-by-line review (more like a character-by-character review) by a professional copyeditor. As a self-published author, I've learned that one can look at a work hundreds of times, and fail to see some of the most glaring errors--your eyes will pass over them without noticing (I no there's a few mistaches in this pohst which I haven't noticed, ether). He found them. A lot of them. Apart from being just a spelling/grammar/punctuation review, he also had some suggestions to make the story better. Again, it was a collaborative process throughout. This phase lasted a little over a month with a few more passes through the manuscript.
September 16, 2014: Title Change
What? You want to change my title? How can that be! Well, once I understood the reasons why 47North wanted to change the title (mainly due to marketing concerns), and I put my faith in the publishing professionals who know what they're doing, we set out on yet another collaborative process to come up with a new title. Jason had ideas, his team had ideas, and I had ideas, and together we decided on The Gemini Effect. I love the title since it captures the story just as well, if not better, than the original, and it enabled the creation of one kick-arse cover design.
September 24, 2014: Cover Designs
Jason provided three different draft designs for The Gemini Effect, and I was blown away. The main effort was to produce a cover that captured the story, was marketable, and met presentation format guidelines (small or large, color or black and white). I really wish I could share the earlier designs, but due to copyright concerns, I can't (believe me, they were way, way cool). Based on feedback from Jason, his team, and me (short fat bald guy), the designer presented a few other designs, and eventually we settled on the one you see on The Gemini Effect's Amazon product page, and I have to say I absolutely love it. The full cover will look like this (finalized on November 11, 2014):
October 21, 2014: Audio Book Questions
On this date, I learned Phil Gigante would be narrating the audio book version of The Gemini Effect. Once I Googled him, I was more than pleased. His resume includes a number of big-name authors, some of whom are my favorites (like Dean Koontz). He wanted to make sure he was pronouncing some of the character's names correctly, and how to say my goofy last name (GRAH-cert, not gross-art). ;) I can't wait to hear it.
October 24, 2014: Proofread
Jason provided a pdf copy of the manuscript that had been through a proofread--a final check on the book's production-level formatting & wording. What made this so cool was I was finally able to see exactly what the book was going to look like. Those of you who have formatted books for Create Space know what I'm talking about . . . seeing your words as a real book is a neat experience, and seeing them as a professionally-done book is even MORE neat. Within this copy, there were numerous notes, some for my review, and others for the book designer. I was amazed by the level of detailed attention paid to every word; for example, some notes to the designer concerned moving one word in a sentence up a line, to improve how the lines looked on the page. Incredible. My review took only a few days . . . and with the approval of the proofread copy, and of the full cover on November 11, we were D-O-N-E.
So what's next? On my end, nothing. For me, it now becomes a waiting game for that April 1, 2015 release date. The marketing folks at Amazon Publishing and 47North have some amazing plans for this book's release (which I obviously can't disclose), and I'm incredibly excited for that date to roll around. All the previous versions of the original The Mengele Effect have been taken down from Smashwords (and their partner platforms, like Barnes & Noble, Apple, etc.) and Amazon (my decision, not Amazon's, in case you're wondering). The book that rolls out on April 1, 2015 (no foolin') is a much, much better book than the original, and I can't wait to see how it's received.
Finally, let's go back to the original purpose for writing this post: the 2015 ABNAs. I wanted to show those of you who are considering entering the contest that winning--even for a short fat bald guy who spends most of his off-time in a comfy recliner with a homebrew in his hand and a laptop on his lap--is a possibility. I can't speak for the four other 2014 ABNA finalists, but for me, this has been an incredible journey. Like J. Lincoln Finn told me, if you were to ask me if it's all I expected it would be (up to this point), I'd answer with an enthusiastic YES.
Best of luck to those who enter this year's ABNAs. It could be a dream come true for you, too. If you want to contact me directly, you can reach me through Twitter, on Facebook. or through my website. I'd love to hear from you.
DISCLAIMER: In case you're wondering, neither Amazon Publishing nor 47North asked me to write this post. I read a few things from previous winners who spoke about their experiences, but the whole publishing process was always a mystery to me--that's why I wrote this post. Scout's Honor. ;)
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