{"id":116,"date":"2014-02-03T17:31:25","date_gmt":"2014-02-03T22:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ellismorning.com\/blog\/?p=116"},"modified":"2014-02-03T17:47:35","modified_gmt":"2014-02-03T22:47:35","slug":"the-manuscript-that-didnt-kill-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ellismorning.com\/blog\/2014\/02\/the-manuscript-that-didnt-kill-me\/","title":{"rendered":"The Manuscript That Didn’t Kill Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"EllisMorningCover_rev043-CROPPED\"<\/a>(Artwork by \u00fcber-talented Chris Howard<\/a>)<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n

…but it was a near thing!<\/p>\n

I’ve been talking nebulously about this novel I’ve been working on for years, but guess what?\u00a0 I finally have a completed first draft.<\/strong>\u00a0 It’s a thing!\u00a0 You can read it straight through (sort of)!\u00a0 It’s really rough in some places, but won’t be for long!<\/p>\n

Time to introduce it to the world.\u00a0 The book is called Blood’s Force<\/em>,<\/strong> and will be the first of a series of books I’m calling Sword and Starship<\/strong>, because I’m all about bludgeoning you in the face with the concept.<\/p>\n

It started as an innocent doodle I threw down at work in 2005 or so, about a knight and her squire who traversed the galaxy in a junker of a spaceship, looking for quests.\u00a0 A few years later, I dusted it off to see if I could make a proper story out of it- and it exploded<\/em>. The characters and plot have changed drastically. Four or five times, I had 75-90% of a first draft done, only to come up with a better idea and have to scrap everything.\u00a0 I spent idiotic amounts of time editing before I was finished, only to lose several polished scenes.\u00a0 At many points, I considered giving up. Something didn’t let me.<\/p>\n

In the end, only the core conceit remains unchanged: a knight traveling by spaceship, seeking quests.\u00a0 Here’s a more mature blurb:<\/p>\n

Dame Jessamine is a knight errant with a spaceship for a steed, one of the few educated in the scientific and technological “magic” of the ancient past.\u00a0 Her latest quest pits her against a strange phenomenon that threatens to cripple a prominent trade guild.\u00a0 In a galaxy where superstition is law, she must protect two innocents and uncover the truth that will prevent the destruction of an entire planet.<\/em><\/p>\n

My intention is to self-publish, but not until it’s as shiny as I can make it.\u00a0 I’m super-excited to be working with Chris Howard<\/a> and RJ Blain<\/a> on cover art and developmental editing, respectively.\u00a0 Above is a crop from the rough cover Chris has put together, which thrills me to no end.\u00a0 This is actually happening.<\/em><\/p>\n

For the next few months, I have two big tasks:<\/p>\n

(1) Edit the hell out of the manuscript to my own best ability. RJ, I’m the type of person who hires a maid, then runs around frantically cleaning the night before s\/he comes over.<\/p>\n

(2) Put together a short story to introduce the universe and principal characters.\u00a0 It’ll be a standalone prelude to events in Blood’s Force<\/em>.\u00a0 I’ll make it available for free in hopes that it attracts people to the series.<\/p>\n

My timeline looks like this, but is subject to change:<\/p>\n

February 2014<\/strong> – Self-edit Blood’s Force, <\/em>outline and <\/em>draft the intro short story.<\/p>\n

March\/April 2014<\/strong> – Slated to work with Chris on cover art (he’s gotten an early start, though).<\/p>\n

June 2014<\/strong> – Leave my full-time job. (Super-secret quit date, don’t tell anyone!)\u00a0 I’ll be able to devote a lot more time to editing and writing.\u00a0 If I finish my editing before September, I’ll start drafting the next Sword and Starship<\/em> book.<\/p>\n

[?] 2014<\/strong> – Finish and distribute the short story.\u00a0 I want to do it ahead of the book, but not so ahead that people lose interest during the intervening wait.<\/p>\n

September 2014<\/strong> – Developmental editing with RJ.<\/p>\n

January 2015<\/strong> – Done with editing?\u00a0 No idea if this is a good estimate, but it’s what I’ll aim for.<\/p>\n

[Sometime early 2015]<\/strong> – Compile and soft-release Blood’s Force<\/em> for free to mailing list subscribers, and\/or anyone interested in leaving an honest review on Amazon.<\/p>\n

[Sometime early 2015++]<\/strong> – Hard release.\u00a0 I’ll immediately start outlining\/drafting the next Sword and Starship<\/em> book, if I haven’t already.<\/p>\n

I’ll post occasional updates here, and lessons learned, as this my first self-publishing experience. If you have advice or encouragement, by all means shout out in the comments.\u00a0 However, I won’t be turning this blog into a wall-to-wall book countdown.\u00a0 If you’d like more granular updates, and would like to be part of the soft release of Blood’s Force<\/em>, sign up for my mailing list!<\/a><\/p>\n


\n