#black slender

[morhawven]

Hey there, lovelies. Just wanted to let you all know: Black Slender on Kindle is currently free to download for a few days right now. Enjoy this spooky story if you dare!

Here!

[morhawven]

Release Date!

Black Slender is going to be out on April 8th, 2016!

[morhawven]

On Editing

Black Slender has been sent off to an editor to get it polished and greatly reduce the error count. Annoying little grammatical and word errors were the biggest thing that held Warp World back when I published it a little over two years ago. They’re still a minor issue and they’re something I’d much desire to get polished too, but the catch is (surprise, surprise) money.

Editing is really expensive. The only reason I really was able to slip editing in for Black Slender is because it is half as long as Warp World, so half as much money to edit. A basic, single round editing process is around $0.02 a word, and it only goes up from there to get more extensive editing or additional rounds of editing.

In many ways I would say this is the biggest drawback to self-publishing: the editing.

In traditional publishing, the book goes through many, many rounds of editing. I’ve read that it’s usually at least four rounds, but even then a handful of errors can still make it to print.

Now, for self-publishing, editing is a bit of a catch-22. If you send the extra grand or two to get your book edited, it should theoretically sell more copies because it is a higher quality product. But editing requires more money upfront and puts you further in the negatives such that your book sales will have to climb even higher before you start turning a profit. On the other hand, if you forego professional editing, it is likely that errors will be in the book that make it look very unprofessional and hurt your reviews. Even though your initial cost lower, there might not be as many sales to make up for it anyways.

And that’s not even talking about promoting your book.

That’s all I really have to say on this topic right now. No answers, just things to consider. Also just thinking out-loud, so-to-say. I have a few other “pre-release musings” that I plan to write about in the following days as well.

[morhawven]

Current status of Black Slender: Being read by beta readers + getting a beta paperback copy to check a few things.

[morhawven]

Shit, if you thought Warp World was contemporary, just wait until you see Black Slender.

(So far as I am able to self-diagnose.)

[morhawven]

Good news everyone! I’ve finished the first draft of Black Slender! What does that mean? The book is on track! I’m still going stuff! And, Warp World is free this weekend!

That’s right, starting June 5th and going through the weekend (and some), the e-book version of Warp World will be free to download on Amazon.com!

Isn’t that always exciting? More updates to come.

[morhawven]

2/3/15

Pages Written: 2

Other Things: I have finished Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and, well, it was kinda eh. I don't think it's really stood the test of time. A fair amount of it is rather archaic now. Lots of weird choices in the writing style and way things are described, especially in the characterization department. I thought the ending was anticlimactic as well. But now I know, and that is good.

In other news, I have now set a plan to finish the first draft of Black Slender by the end of the month. That will keep me very comfortably in the projected date of a 2016 release. If all goes well, early 2016.

[morhawven]

Starting a new book is weird. A book that is already written (even just a first draft) is obvious. It knows where it's going. Thing A happens, then B happens, then C happens, and everything is in order and everything knows where it is going.

But a new story. A new story has no direction. No dots to connect. Not even a first dot of beginning. It could be anything. It is no thing currently. It's so weird. I have forgotten what it was like: it's been over two years since I started work on Warp World. This new book is, as of yet, formless.