news — Page 5

May 8, 2014 By Skyla Dawn Cameron

Resurrecting River Wolfe

Well, I’ve gone and done it, hitting the “go live” button on the crowdfunding campaign to re-release River.

Shawn and Gus dance, Psych

Fat Amy - No Backup Dancers?

Everything you could possibly want to know, about perks and donation levels and stretch goals is on the site. The campaign runs until Friday, June 13th, because I have a terrible sense of humor. I won’t be going overboard advertising this, so if y’all could spread the word, I’d greatly appreciate it.

As a friend pointed out, there is nothing really to worry about here despite my darkly spiraling thoughts. If the campaign is funded, the book comes out. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t, and it’s only cost me the time I’ve already spent on rewrites. (edited to clarify: it’s fixed funding rather than flexible because if it doesn’t fully fund, the cost of rewards and shipping will literally put me in the hole. So it had to be all or nothing.) The ball is officially out of my court and I can’t worry.

Still, if you’ll excuse me…

JohnnyDeppSadEating

April 21, 2014 By Skyla Dawn Cameron

“When’s That Book Coming?” Spring 2014 Update

I don’t want to alarm anyone but there is, in fact, actual news-ish stuff to report. Not firm dates yet, however, there is forward momentum in something.

First, did I write anything this past quarter?

Yes. Yes I did.

What I Wrote

I’d had a very, very rough draft of a book sitting here for a few months, and I finally went in and wrote the last 23K, bumping Frankenovel to 96K words. It’s been to the Beta of Awesome and I’m working on a coherent second draft now that hopefully disguises the fact that I am incompetent and terrible.

Angel Embarrassing Dance — I’m still not in THAT good of a mood, but if I was, I’d be doing this dance.

I dove, then, into the third book in that series, and that zero draft came in at 97K. Toward the end I realized I was actually going to need a book in between #2 and #3, so perhaps it’s more fair to say I finished the fourth in the series and still have to write the third. (I know, I know, my head hurts too.)

Of course, that concerns no one but me and my betas, as y’all aren’t familiar with those books. Overall, though, this progress is an excellent thing. I’m writing, I’m happy, and after getting roughly 150K on three projects so far this year, I am finally getting back in the game and this bodes well for the other irons I have in the fire (including, eventually, Oblivion).

What I’m Working On

Forward momentum has come, however, with my first published book River, which I am in the process of revising at last.

Snow White Flee — This is exactly how it feels rereading old work.

It was first written in 2003 and released in 2006. For those playing along at home, yes, I was barely twenty-one when I first wrote it. And this is why (in part) I asked for the contract to be terminated last year, I just was not comfortable with book out as-is.

There is something particularly horrific about rereading such an old work. Like I want to print it out and stab it repeatedly and then burn it and pretend it never existed. It’s much different from most of my work now–one hundred percent character driven (I mean, literally, there is no plot) and no explosions–but it does have voice, and the heroine’s utter hatred and contempt of humanity, yes, that is all me.

I’ve been through the first two chapters, and I struggle to balance the core of what the book used to be with something a little more updated. There are times, too, when I rewrite a few paragraphs, and then have to simplify the writing some to remain true to River’s abrupt, uncomplicated voice.

It’s a huge, huge undertaking. But the book still has its fans, so that is why I’ve committed to putting it out there again.

What To Expect

I am looking at re-releasing River in the summer. I won’t be able to do this on my own, not if I want a quality cover (I design them myself but stock isn’t cheap), a thorough copyedit by someone who isn’t the boss’s daughter, and a print edition through LSI (which has set-up fees but would guarantee better distribution), therefore I’ll be setting up an Indiegogo campaign to raise the extra funds to help get it released. I want to have the actual rewrite close to done before I launch it so, if the funding comes, I actually *can* release it in a timely manner, but look for details about that in another month or two.

The cost will be broken up into editing/proofing fees, stock costs, printer fees, campaign/PayPal fees, and the cost of rewards (advanced print copies for example), with stretch goals–one will cover the cost of an online book tour to promote it, and I’m toying with others (like a collector hardcover edition?).

The question for anyone who was a fan of the book is likely going to be, What about the sequel, Wolfe?

At this time, I’m not sure. *snips out whining about not liking the book* If River sells well and can justify the time spent on Wolfe, I will give rehauling the whole thing a shot next year. In the EXTREMELY unlikely chance that the Indiegogo campaign not only reaches the stretch goals but doubles, yes, I will absolutely commit to rewriting and re-releasing Wolfe.

It is also a bit of a test–if the campaign goes okay, I’ll feel a bit more secure about trying something similar for Oblivion.

If it doesn’t–and I am not sure I have a wide enough fanbase for it–it will definitely change how likely I am to release books myself in the future and delay some projects. I refuse to put out a subpar product and then charge money for it, but I absolutely cannot afford to self-publish regularly myself. Of course, I also strongly dislike the current trend of expecting readers to fund book production up front (and don’t get me started on promotion), but it’s this or nothing right now.

Yay, experiments!

Also On My Plate

I really, really have to focus on some for-pay writing projects right now because my god is my bank account hurting, but peripherally ahead of me is both Oblivion and Nairobi Spy Book (not the real title) after I’ve rewritten River. Hopefully there’ll be news about other projects next update in July.

Other Stuff

Soulless should conclude around the end of May. I’ll leave it up as-is for a couple of weeks, and then it’ll come down and be a pet-donation-exclusive book again for the foreseeable future. If you’ve read and enjoyed, and haven’t previously tossed pennies in the jar or purchased my other work, please consider doing so.

I am tossing around maybe serializing something in the summer–I still have Zara’s serial to finish, though if that’s not done, I have something else here I’m toying with–but there are a few factors behind the decision, and they all boil down to whether I think it’ll cost more time/money than will be worth it. I’ve always liked doing serials but even a completely finished story requires a lot of work to proof and post, along with added stress.

And I am not the least bit ashamed of my decisions being mercenary-based these days–a bitch has got to get paid.

January 26, 2014 By Skyla Dawn Cameron

“When’s That Book Coming?” Winter 2014 Update

So I can’t link to the old state-of-the-union posts because, as you can see, I have a new site/blog now and the old posts are gone. Last one was October and I was on a bit of a writing hiatus and had just lost/left/mostly-lost-but-semi-left my day job.

tumblr_mf1iyk7YaD1qi5njr For the job thing? I am sublimely happy.

I mean, I spend a fair amount of time wondering how I’m going to pay my rent. It’s not just the unsteady income but the difficultly when relying on royalties that come from several different sellers who are all on their own payment schedule–it would drive me to drink if, y’know, I had the money to spend on alcohol.

And yet there is so much less stress. I can actually make a living wage now on things like editing and I dictate my own terms (no more being required to do content and copyediting AND proofreading for what amounts to pennies an hour), I get down payments up front and full payments immediately after work is complete, and thus far have worked with utterly fantastic clients. Plus no one screams at me constantly for other people’s fuck-ups. WIN.

But that’s not why you’re here; you come for book stuff! Since the last post…

Relaunch

Bloodlines-ARe There was the week-long blog tour and relaunch of the Demons of Oblivion series late October, as I had my rights back and wanted to give the books a push. Thank you so, so much first and foremost to Melissa of My World…in words and pages for organizing the tour and taking care of everything for me. And thank you to everyone who allowed a guest post, interview, or reviewed the books.

The result was around a bunch of new people getting Bloodlines while it was free, and a handful sticking around and picking up the other books over November and December. If you’re a new reader who came from that–hello! Nice to meet you. Thank you for reading, and if you also posted a review and told your friends, I really appreciate it. You are sexy and awesome.

This has also increased illegal downloader traffic by tenfold. Folks, the series will not continue without reader support. The books are extremely affordable and made available everywhere. I am not a popular enough author to justify publishing books that are stolen more than they are bought, especially not now that this is how I make my living. Rent comes first. If you stumble across this blog post while looking for torrents, please stop. /rant

New Releases

All the Demons of Oblivion novels and stories have been re-released in ebook. I’m not sure about print yet–the print rights for Bloodlines still lie elsewhere, and if I’m going to do print, I’d like to release all of the books together. Incidentally, Bloodlines is also now in audiobook if that’s your thing.

HungryLiketheWendigo-ARE I also released a short story, Hungry Like the Wendigo, under the Tales from Alchemy Red banner. It’s a Ryann David short (well, a LONG short story at 9K words), includes Ellie and Nic, and takes place between Hunter and Lineage.

While it wasn’t exactly a “release”, I wrote a novella set way in the Demons of Oblivion ‘verse future called Dial V for Vampire and offered it as a Christmas gift to members of the Facebook fangroup. It’s Zara narrated, set after Solace (the theoretical sixth book).

I’m also serializing Soulless, which you’ll recall was a PWYC/fundraiser thank you gift for Sophie in 2012 when she was sick. Two chapters a week, and there’s a tip jar there–when donations reach $50, I post an additional chapter that Friday. Eight chapters are already live.

What I’m Working On

Uh…

ku-medium (20)

I tried to take January to just write something for me and failed at that because I hate everything I write right now. So I’m back to working on for-pay writing projects, which you (probably) don’t read, because I am officially a full time writer/freelance designer now and I need to be able to pay for heat during this -30C winter. Like a grownup. Which is my least favourite thing to be.

There are several projects on my radar, however.

Odin’s Spear (Livi #2) – the zero draft is such a damn mess that I decided to call it done despite the five or so missing chapters, and I’m now working on a decent first draft.
Amends – this is the old Zara serial. I’m not relaunching it until I have a draft done but it’s my intention to do that this year, hopefully after Soulless concludes.
Retrograde (Baptiste’s War #1) – formerly known as Nairobi Spy Book. Nothing I can say right now except that, though it’s been fighting me, I expect the zero draft to hit me like a freight train when it’s done simmering in my brain soon.
River (River Wolfe #1) – planning to work on the rewrites for this in the spring and eyeing a summer release if all goes well. This’ll require a Kickstarter/Indiegogo sort of thing, probably.
Oblivion – I’ll endeavor to get a zero draft done by the summer, with an eye on a possible fall release.

All of this is subject to change.

I hate being vague and not having firm dates for the books you’re waiting for, but to take the time to write projects with no guarantee of return on investment, I have to get a chunk of money saved up for rent and stuff first which requires focusing on paying work right now. I’d rather tell you that upfront than have to pick random release dates and then excuse away when they’re missed. With the lack of art patrons and sugar daddies nowadays, we do what we can.

I’ve also noticed a renewed interest in people hitting the old Children of the Apocalypse serial site. Book Three is still on hiatus; I pulled it out, I think, last year(?) with the idea to finish it at last and maybe start the fourth book, but there is so, so much I wanted to change with the whole thing, I realized that for me to revisit this series, I’m going to have to give it a total rehaul. Each book and short story, rewritten from scratch. And…you guessed it, that is just not in the cards right now for a freebie. I have hesitated even leaving the books up as-is because I dislike something out there that I don’t feel is my best work, but people still read it now and then and if they get some enjoyment out of it, I’d rather not take that from them, especially since I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to re-release it.

Other New Stuff

There is a new…sort of addition to the home.

This is Vincent.

Vincent

He was outside my apartment building in December, crying every time he saw me (he is NOT an outdoor/stray cat), and I live on a busy intersection in town where he was at risk of being hit by a car, if he didn’t starve or freeze to death first (as the temperature was dropping really fast).

Extremely generous friends kicked in $ around Christmas to help feed him (and boy, does he eat) and send him to the vet (he’s about five years old and healthy), so things are well right now. He was already neutered, not mircrochipped, and despite looking for his possible owners I’ve had no luck finding anyone. He’s now BFFs with Rodney Ballsnomore and he worships me, so we’re figuring things out as we go since there are no open foster homes here for him. At this point if his humans show up, I am probably going to bitchslap them for doing such a piss-poor job of looking for him.

Also, he’s ginger. We all know how I feel about ginger cats, considering 1/3 of my felines are of the redheaded persuasion.

So. Y’know. Tell your friends to buy my books so I can feed my cats? (Failed Marketing Slogan #147)

loki

If you missed it previously, I have a newsletter signup page here. You can either have a quarterly newsletter delivered to your inbox or be notified when there are new releases only. Or both. I’m not opposed to both.

Next update coming in April!

Resurrecting River Wolfe