Well, OK, it’s not completely done, but my first novel, The Returners, is written, edited, formatted, and on sale in all (some) good eBook retail outlets, as well as in print. I say “not completely” because there is still promotion and [potentially] an audiobook to record… though I have a suspicion that I will start recording the audio and be put off by my voice by the end of the first chapter.
Still, this is detracting from the point. It’s done!
It is the writing of this novel that is the reason I have been relatively quiet on the internets of late, especially on here. My last post told of the early stages of The Returners, and I haven’t posted since. You can find links to places where the book can be bought (as well as the free versions) here. I encourage you all to read it, even if you only download the free version, and give me feedback. Nobody get’s better at anything in an echo chamber.
So, what now?
Well, I tend to outline my future plans in public, as I’m about to do, because it allows certain people (you know who you are) to hold me accountable if I don’t follow through… which I often don’t. It may not change my habits, but I get flak for being lazy, which is probably a good thing.
The immediate future will probably contain a good deal of vocal recording. Other books of a similar length tend to run to about ten hours in audio, so, if I’m lucky, it’ll only take me twenty or so to record! Aside from that, I have some writing commitments on other websites, including resuming my almost-regular writing for GeekTime, who have made some big changes since my last piece. I’m also going to try and put something up on here regularly, by which I mean an article or opinion piece, rather than a rambling blog post like this one.
Looking beyond that, I’m deciding between two possibilities. Either attempting to write and sell a few short stories, or writing a new novella that would be an eBook only affair. Either way, it would be something short and fun to act as a kind of break after the constant slog of writing a novel, even if I did write it in a relatively short time.
After that? Well, the next novel, of course. There are no definite decisions as to what that novel will be as yet, or indeed how it will be put out. I may yet decide to throw it to the rejection happy publishers of old. At present, the novel looks likely to be one of two projects I’ve started; a children’s fantasy novel, or a science fiction that was my successful National Novel Writing Month 2010 entry.
And that’s that. In the meantime, I have a piece to write for amwriting.org.
Having deadlines makes me feel all professional.