Here We Go (Publishing the Verdan Chronicles Part 4)

Baby steps, I guess that's been my approach.  Although by the time this series becomes the set of literary masterpieces that its intended to be, I'll probably run out of time.  So let's take a couple of steps.

First, good news on Council's End. volume 6 in the series.  It has passed content evaluation and is now in production design.  I've seen that process take as little as a week and as long as a month.  Once that's done I need to do one final pass which takes a week or two and then I approve it for publication.  So, my best guess is two to five weeks until you can get your hands on it.

Second, I plan to initiate the publishing process on Out of Time, volume 7 in the series as soon as I give final approval on Council's End; even before it is published.  I'm certain Council's End will be out before the holidays.  Out of Time is more likely to be right after the holidays.

Third, I'm dipping my toes again into marketing.  Anyone ever hear of Goodreads?  It was recommended to me by a friend and the Lulu marketing people had nice things to say about it.  So for those willing to try the series, check out Goodreads and have a chance to score The Fourth Age, volume 1 for free.  Well, maybe not absolutely free.  My understanding is that if you pick it up for free, you're supposed to review it.  I find that both exciting and horrifying.

All of my reviews to date have come from friends and they've generally been positive.  I've gotten some constructive feedback in areas I could improve, usually in the form of sentence structure or punctuation.  I usually take that feedback and try to improve going forward.  I used to try and go back and make corrections, but then I've found when I fix one thing I break something else.  And once I pay for publishing, I'm not exactly in a position to go back and pay again to do it over.

In terms of the actual story, the feedback has usually been very positive.  A couple of people found the story a little confusing, what with the large cast of characters.  But others have liked that aspect of overall story complexity.  Sometimes I don't get any feedback.  Trust me, I almost always assume that non-feeback is negative and the person just didn't have the heart to tell me how much they hated the book.  I think once the books get out into the hands of a larger audience it will find its way to someone who could care less about my feelings and won't hesitate to express their disdain.  

I guess we'll see, but all too often I do that to myself.  I convince myself that the feedback will be exceptionally bad, so that when it is, I can just say it's what I expected.  What do I really, actually expect.  I expect a mixture.  I expect some people will applaud the effort, but point out some deficiencies.  Some people will nicely make suggestions and what I should do to correct those deficiencies.  Some people will express aspects they really liked before dropping the negative bombs of what they didn't like.  Some will just dismiss it as a waste of their time.  A few might blast it for wasting their time.  A few might say they really liked it.  I think that's what I expect, a variety of opinions that will overall end up somewhere in the middle of the road.

But here's the thing.  The only opinion that really matters at the moment is my own.  The Fourth Age could receive some of the worst reviews ever written, and that won't stop me from publishing the rest of the story and it won't stop me from continuing to write.  I still feel this is one of the best stories ever read...EVER.  I have a grandson.  He just turned 4 and this is not story for little children.  But I hope his father lets him read it when he gets older (my opinion is that 12 or 13 is old enough) and then I hope I'm still alive to discuss it with him.  I think there are some very important lessons in life buried in what I hope is a fun read.

So, worst case, I crawl back to my computer, I continue to write and I continue to publish, but I quietly realize that marketing a book the rest of the world doesn't care about is a waste of time and money.  I'd rather write than market anyways.  I'll be fine.  In a best case scenario there are people who actually like the book, maybe more than a few.  Maybe I can even make enough money to retire early and focus on my writing.  I would start feel I owe my reader base the best product possible and work harder to smooth out rough edges.  Hopefully, I would have the means to help other aspiring creative people and help them realize their dream.  I would love to do that.  So here we go.  I'll tell you about Goodreads when I know more about it.  It should be soon.  Take care.

Dave