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Hell it's about time! I self published it, don't care for traditional publishing and this book took me far longer to finish then I though it would have.
It feels so good though to finally have this done. I think I have re-read this book hundreds of times, looking for any small error/inconsistency (and god I guarantee I still missed some) that I am glad I don't have to read it again, well at least for a long time  .
I learned a lot though and now I realize why people write outlines before starting their books. I think if I had done an outline first, the book would have been done a year earlier at least.
Now I have to say that the previous two blogs on this progress have been tremendous help in different ways.
My first blog on this (http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/501143-1-year-2-months-and-11-days) is where I found the person who would do my cover. He's a fellow teamliquider and his name is Coagulation, he did a fantastic job and I really like the cover. I still feel like I underpaid him, but I couldn't afford much at the time this was done, which was over a year ago now.
The second blog (http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/506511-beta-readers) helped me realize that I was trying to rush my book. That was _fool. He provided me with some really good feedback that helped the book become a lot more polished and honestly, the story is a thousand times better then what I sent him back in 2016.
I found a great editor when asking for an editor on reddit, was expensive, but so worth it. He also provided great feedback and of course the editing itself he did I think he went over it 3 or so times.
I have started advertising hard core, researching places and have a few ads I am going to run. Looking for reviewers as well. It's a lot of work doing the marketing side of things, but I am enjoying it and have been working on it almost all day yesterday and after work during the week.
Regardless of how this book sells I am already working on the second one and the outline is nearly done, so I think the second book will come out mid/late next year, but I won't be surprised if I am wrong.
Thanks all for reading, hope this wasn't too boring and hope all is good for everyone.
Not sure if I am allowed to put the link, if not I will remove it, if so here is the link for anyone curious. There are 4 chapters that can be read for free.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZXVWLTY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492377994&sr=8-1&keywords=Galactic Conflicts: First Contact
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Books! Heck yeah!
And ooh, it's sci-fi...
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Canada16217 Posts
Very cool! I might have to check it out.
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Is it a physical book? I would be interested in it but i don' t read books on a screen
I read the first chapter and a half: its very exiting from the beginning! aldo i would have prefered the aliens killing everyone else and taking Davis as a prisoner; i can feel there is a real good story coming along do;
One thing that doesn' t work for me, iis the names. They don' t feel like they truly portrait the characters, and i would suggest you take some time into reseraching some etymology for your next book; that really helps in understanding where names come from and why people are called with them. A name is a legacy, and at the same time it portraits themain individual aspect. Thank you for sharing
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United States1869 Posts
I've written four novels over the past three years and actually decided early on against self-publishing. I guess it suits my disposition to grind it out and submit to agents, but after two failed attempts, I've decided to revise my approach and work on my technique through shorter projects like the ones I've been posting on TL.
It's just interesting to see another person's thought process on this subject. Publishing is a complete crapshoot and it seems like we have very different approaches to it.
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lol pardon me for not reading more yet. books are extremely exciting. i will surely buy yours to support TL.
i too am on the book-writing quest. but at only a year or invested i am still noooob.
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On April 17 2017 18:22 pebble444 wrote:
Is it a physical book? I would be interested in it but i don' t read books on a screen
I read the first chapter and a half: its very exiting from the beginning! aldo i would have prefered the aliens killing everyone else and taking Davis as a prisoner; i can feel there is a real good story coming along do;
One thing that doesn' t work for me, iis the names. They don' t feel like they truly portrait the characters, and i would suggest you take some time into reseraching some etymology for your next book; that really helps in understanding where names come from and why people are called with them. A name is a legacy, and at the same time it portraits themain individual aspect. Thank you for sharing
The physical copy doesn't come out until later this week/next week. It was supposed to come out at the same time, but something had to be changed. I am with you on the physical copy, that's how I prefer to read as well.
Thanks for the feedback, names have and will always be my greatest struggle. I spent so many hours on trying to do names and will have many more!
On April 17 2017 19:09 mizenhauer wrote:
I've written four novels over the past three years and actually decided early on against self-publishing. I guess it suits my disposition to grind it out and submit to agents, but after two failed attempts, I've decided to revise my approach and work on my technique through shorter projects like the ones I've been posting on TL.
It's just interesting to see another person's thought process on this subject. Publishing is a complete crapshoot and it seems like we have very different approaches to it.
I was off and on for quiet a long time. I kept switching my mind for at least the first year or so. After doing research I realized I would rather just self publish and deal with the marketing myself.
But the other reason is, I don't have the patience to query agents/publishers for potentially years before either giving up or end up self publishing anyway.
Also I am jealous you were able to do 4 books in 3 years. That's awesome, I really hope I can get that efficient as I write more. I think I can cut my time in half for the next book I do, but maybe not and I will find out!
On April 17 2017 19:10 FiveHundred wrote:
lol pardon me for not reading more yet. books are extremely exciting. i will surely buy yours to support TL.
i too am on the book-writing quest. but at only a year or invested i am still noooob.
Will I would still classify myself as a noob . It was a lot of work and I think the part that helps the best is setting a schedule. That was always my problem in the past is I only wrote when I felt like it. Have to keep us updated when you finish or get close  .
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Glad I could be of help, and proud that you followed through!
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I bought it and am gonna read it. Congrats on all your hard work paying off.
You made a baby. A book baby.
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United States1869 Posts
On April 17 2017 23:02 blade55555 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 17 2017 18:22 pebble444 wrote:
Is it a physical book? I would be interested in it but i don' t read books on a screen
I read the first chapter and a half: its very exiting from the beginning! aldo i would have prefered the aliens killing everyone else and taking Davis as a prisoner; i can feel there is a real good story coming along do;
One thing that doesn' t work for me, iis the names. They don' t feel like they truly portrait the characters, and i would suggest you take some time into reseraching some etymology for your next book; that really helps in understanding where names come from and why people are called with them. A name is a legacy, and at the same time it portraits themain individual aspect. Thank you for sharing The physical copy doesn't come out until later this week/next week. It was supposed to come out at the same time, but something had to be changed. I am with you on the physical copy, that's how I prefer to read as well. Thanks for the feedback, names have and will always be my greatest struggle. I spent so many hours on trying to do names and will have many more! Show nested quote +On April 17 2017 19:09 mizenhauer wrote:
I've written four novels over the past three years and actually decided early on against self-publishing. I guess it suits my disposition to grind it out and submit to agents, but after two failed attempts, I've decided to revise my approach and work on my technique through shorter projects like the ones I've been posting on TL.
It's just interesting to see another person's thought process on this subject. Publishing is a complete crapshoot and it seems like we have very different approaches to it. I was off and on for quiet a long time. I kept switching my mind for at least the first year or so. After doing research I realized I would rather just self publish and deal with the marketing myself. But the other reason is, I don't have the patience to query agents/publishers for potentially years before either giving up or end up self publishing anyway. Also I am jealous you were able to do 4 books in 3 years. That's awesome, I really hope I can get that efficient as I write more. I think I can cut my time in half for the next book I do, but maybe not and I will find out! Show nested quote +On April 17 2017 19:10 FiveHundred wrote:
lol pardon me for not reading more yet. books are extremely exciting. i will surely buy yours to support TL.
i too am on the book-writing quest. but at only a year or invested i am still noooob. Will I would still classify myself as a noob . It was a lot of work and I think the part that helps the best is setting a schedule. That was always my problem in the past is I only wrote when I felt like it. Have to keep us updated when you finish or get close .
I wrote my fourth book over the course of 66 days (working every day), averaging just over 2k words per day. That was my shortest book since my first one, though. The longest (the second) was 240k words. Overall I wrote about 600k words (and edited) during the three year period. For me that's the easiest part. I'm a very emotional writer and I get invested in my characters/setting/story and I want to see it through to completion. I simply can't take days off once I've started.
I probably spent over 1k hours on each of my books, but the process is different for everyone. I can write a 1k word preview in an astonishingly low amount of time, just like I can put 2k semi coherent words together in 3-4 hours. I also get really anxious when I'm not working and can't really step away from projects for more than a few days. Like right now I have a very fledgling novel, a short story and a feature for TL all in the works (plus whatever comes up on a daily basis).
Glad you found something that works for you, though, because it really is up to the individual to find their style/process.
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You are on your way, Blade  . Glad to see you stuck with it and did not give up. Have a copy purchased and a review .
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On April 17 2017 23:43 _fool wrote:
Glad I could be of help, and proud that you followed through!
I honestly believe you helped a lot in me releasing a pile of shit haha. I mean this could still be one, but if this is one the one I sent you is beyond that .
On April 18 2017 00:52 SCC-Faust wrote:
I bought it and am gonna read it. Congrats on all your hard work paying off.
You made a baby. A book baby.
Thanks for the support! It is true that it is my book baby, one that I am glad to finally move on from! If you do end up reading it I hope you enjoy it at least a little .
On April 18 2017 03:20 mizenhauer wrote:Show nested quote +On April 17 2017 23:02 blade55555 wrote:On April 17 2017 18:22 pebble444 wrote:
Is it a physical book? I would be interested in it but i don' t read books on a screen
I read the first chapter and a half: its very exiting from the beginning! aldo i would have prefered the aliens killing everyone else and taking Davis as a prisoner; i can feel there is a real good story coming along do;
One thing that doesn' t work for me, iis the names. They don' t feel like they truly portrait the characters, and i would suggest you take some time into reseraching some etymology for your next book; that really helps in understanding where names come from and why people are called with them. A name is a legacy, and at the same time it portraits themain individual aspect. Thank you for sharing The physical copy doesn't come out until later this week/next week. It was supposed to come out at the same time, but something had to be changed. I am with you on the physical copy, that's how I prefer to read as well. Thanks for the feedback, names have and will always be my greatest struggle. I spent so many hours on trying to do names and will have many more! On April 17 2017 19:09 mizenhauer wrote:
I've written four novels over the past three years and actually decided early on against self-publishing. I guess it suits my disposition to grind it out and submit to agents, but after two failed attempts, I've decided to revise my approach and work on my technique through shorter projects like the ones I've been posting on TL.
It's just interesting to see another person's thought process on this subject. Publishing is a complete crapshoot and it seems like we have very different approaches to it. I was off and on for quiet a long time. I kept switching my mind for at least the first year or so. After doing research I realized I would rather just self publish and deal with the marketing myself. But the other reason is, I don't have the patience to query agents/publishers for potentially years before either giving up or end up self publishing anyway. Also I am jealous you were able to do 4 books in 3 years. That's awesome, I really hope I can get that efficient as I write more. I think I can cut my time in half for the next book I do, but maybe not and I will find out! On April 17 2017 19:10 FiveHundred wrote:
lol pardon me for not reading more yet. books are extremely exciting. i will surely buy yours to support TL.
i too am on the book-writing quest. but at only a year or invested i am still noooob. Will I would still classify myself as a noob . It was a lot of work and I think the part that helps the best is setting a schedule. That was always my problem in the past is I only wrote when I felt like it. Have to keep us updated when you finish or get close . I wrote my fourth book over the course of 66 days (working every day), averaging just over 2k words per day. That was my shortest book since my first one, though. The longest (the second) was 240k words. Overall I wrote about 600k words (and edited) during the three year period. For me that's the easiest part. I'm a very emotional writer and I get invested in my characters/setting/story and I want to see it through to completion. I simply can't take days off once I've started. I probably spent over 1k hours on each of my books, but the process is different for everyone. I can write a 1k word preview in an astonishingly low amount of time, just like I can put 2k semi coherent words together in 3-4 hours. I also get really anxious when I'm not working and can't really step away from projects for more than a few days. Like right now I have a very fledgling novel, a short story and a feature for TL all in the works (plus whatever comes up on a daily basis). Glad you found something that works for you, though, because it really is up to the individual to find their style/process.
Wow 66 days is amazing. I don't think i will ever get that fast, but maybe I do with a proper outline. A lot of the times I would stop writing were after I did my minimum 500 words a day was because I didn't want to think of a name or something like that.
I can write 1k words pretty fast as well and I will be curious how many more words I do a day with the outline. Not going to start my next book for another week or so as I still have other stuff to do on this that I am going to focus on for a little bit longer.
Good luck on getting published, hope you get it! From all my reading on it it's a pain in the ass but if you get one it'll be an amazing feeling!
On April 18 2017 09:29 Qwyn wrote:You are on your way, Blade . Glad to see you stuck with it and did not give up. Have a copy purchased and a review .
Thanks, I wasn't sure you still visited TL!
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Is this hard scifi or what kind of sub category does it belong?
Anyway congratulations! This takes a lot of creativity and drive to pull off!
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United States313 Posts
Congrats =) Quite an achievement to finish a book, I'll order a copy tonight.
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Sounds interesting. I bought a copy, will definitely give it a read. Congratulations on finishing something that not a lot of people can do.
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On April 19 2017 13:17 lestye wrote:
Is this hard scifi or what kind of sub category does it belong?
Anyway congratulations! This takes a lot of creativity and drive to pull off!
Science Fantasy I believe is the classification. I picked the closest sub categories (Under Science Fiction, I think I choose military or something that resembled that).
Thanks, for me the creativity part wasn't hard just because I have so many book ideas in my head that I know how they begin, middle and end. Trying to write it so it was interesting and entertaining is the hard part for me because the scenes in my head never quiet come out the way I want it to on paper...
On April 19 2017 13:48 TrueRedemption wrote:
Congrats =) Quite an achievement to finish a book, I'll order a copy tonight.
True! You still post here! I hope you are doing well my old friend. Thanks!
On April 19 2017 20:56 WarChimp wrote:
Sounds interesting. I bought a copy, will definitely give it a read. Congratulations on finishing something that not a lot of people can do.
Warchimp! I remember you my old friend! I didn't realize you still posted here either . Thanks, I was very happy to finish this even if it turns out everyone thinks the book is garbage.
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On April 20 2017 00:36 blade55555 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 19 2017 20:56 WarChimp wrote:
Sounds interesting. I bought a copy, will definitely give it a read. Congratulations on finishing something that not a lot of people can do. Warchimp! I remember you my old friend! I didn't realize you still posted here either . Thanks, I was very happy to finish this even if it turns out everyone thinks the book is garbage.
I don't really post that frequently but I still come here on occasion and I just happened to see this blog when I came back. I'm already a fair way into the book and just thought I'd let you know I am enjoying it
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Very nice and congrats, am in the middle of writing the first in my very ambitious 4 book political fantasy/sci fi series myself, is tough to get a good rhythm between writing and editing down. I got about 300 pages of the first novel done and mostly edited, and the next 2 books fleshed out. Is quite an undertaking, as there is so much planning involved, making it very easy to get sidetracked.
Mad props for completing yours, will definitely give it a read when I have more time.
I'm hoping an agent will find mine interesting when all is said and done (got a few positive responses surprisingly), but self publishing is a brave way to go, might have to do it myself. Hope it does well, I read the first few pages, is definitely up my alley. Good luck ^_^
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EPT
