Mid August and I find myself at my writing desk once more. It’s SD1 stage (Shitty Draft 1).
Many authors will agree with me that this is the most time-consuming part of the whole process, the most involved and most absorbing moment. This is when the writer goes into hibernation, lives in pyjamas, drinks coffee by day and wine by night and all the while, scenes of the book are playing and replaying in their head. This is all I have been doing for the last two weeks.
Dawn of a Legend is being created, rearing from the strange recesses of my obsessed mind and I must say, it is slowly beginning to take shape. Meng Yeen, my Beta Reader, is proving as precious to me this time as she was for the first two books in the series; in fact I sometimes think she knows the story better than I do, knows the mind of my main character more than I do. It is unnerving and it keeps me on my toes. Thank God for Meng Yeen!
So SD1 will be ongoing until October, when book coaching will begin with an overall evaluation of the book – no specifics. I am really looking forward to Andrea Lundgren’s Big Picture Coaching, because once I know I have a good, solid base, a story that is well-paced, has all the elements it needs, is coherent and interesting enough to read, then everything will click and the ball will start to roll faster down the path towards publication.
And then comes the line-by-line coaching, editing and proof reading and if everything goes to plan (ha ha), the books should be ready to launch some time in May 2019. I am wondering about the possibility of adding some simple sketches of the characters. I’ve never done that before.
I am immensely optimistic about book three, especially after the great success of book 2, Road of a Warrior. Reviews are slowly but surely rolling in for both episodes, both on Amazon and Goodreads and for book three, I would dearly like to have more Advanced Readers before publication, so please let me know if you are interested.
So back to writing. You probably won’t hear from me in a while but I will still be reading you guys and keeping up with your stuff.
Thanks for reading.
R.K.’s audiobooks are also available at all major retailers.
I’m right there with you in SD1 stage, RK. Drafting is probably my least favorite part of writing, and Ernest couldn’t have said it any better.
So we’re SD1 draft buddies, yay!! Hopefully we’ll make it out alive and enjoy successful books 😁🥂
Just hit me up whenever you are ready.
I will do. You’re a star!!
Happy to beta-read too if you need the extra eyes
That would be interesting. When I get to shitty draft three I may well take you up on that!!
Ruth, happy to help in any way.😁
I have you down as an AR so when the time comes, I will certainly be calling on you to read. Thanks for all your support, Gordon.
Good luck, RK! I’m with you too, in the middle of writing Book 3 of my trilogy.
Oh! Looking forward to conferring on a few things. Do you have an estimated launch date?
Sounds good. I’m hoping to release this October if all goes according to plan.
Wow, you’re way ahead of me. I won’t be ready till April. Let me know if you come across any promo opportunities!
Maybe it’s just wishful thinking lol but I’m trying to speed up my writing. It’s a bit easier in some ways with the third book because I’ve come to know my characters so well by now.
I’m experimenting with Amazon Ads… will let you know how it goes. And I’ll use the strategy you suggested of putting the new release on sale. Fingers crossed!
I’ve been reading up on AMS too. I have an add active right now. Learning the ropes.
I had no clicks at all until I raised the bid to 50 cents and higher, and now it’s actually producing some sales. I think you inevitably lose money on the ads, but maybe gain in the long run if more people read the rest of the series.
I don’t think the ads inevitably lose. You just have to tweet. Your bids sounds really high. I would up the bid if I got no impressions. Were you getting impressions but no clicks?
I was getting very few impressions, like under 10, and no clicks. Now I’m getting thousands of impressions. I think I still need to play around with it to reach a happy medium.
How many keywords are you using?
I started out with a couple of hundred. Now it’s down to about 20. How about you? By the way, do you really find Twitter effective? Sometimes I’m not sure if does anything…
I have about four hundred, and haven’t paused any right now. I figure that if you get loads of impressions and no clicks, it doesn’t really matter. Impressions don’t cost you. Its the relationship between clicks and sales that’s key.
Twitter? I hate it but I suppose I have to be there. I don’t find it effective at all.
I’ve just finished my second read of book 1 working on second read of book 2 I cant wait to see where book 3 takes me it’s a great series I finished both books in 3 days.
That’s amazing, Jake. I wish I could write faster!! So I hope you’ll stay tuned to the blog or via my mail list. i’ll be updating at least once a month.
Just finished book 2. It was so good I could’t put it down. I have recommended it to 3 family members for reading and can’t wait for book 3. The cover art is amazing and what drew me to the book in the first place, but the story really captured me. We need a book 4 and 5 and….LOL
Wow, thank you Micah! i’ll tell Anastasia (the artist) how much you liked her cover. So book three should start to emerge around April 2019. There is a fourth and final book in the series, and after that, a series of one book adventures for Fel and The Company. i hope you’ll stay posted and join the conversations.
Really appreciate you stopping by and telling me how much you are enjoying the story.
I’m an incredibly avid and picky reader. A few years ago I quit reading YA books, they just weren’t keeping me inthralled in their worlds. With that being said, I just finished your first book and am starting the second. I am loving it! I didn’t want to put the book down, I even read in the car, which I never do! I don’t believe I’ve ever read a book where the POV changes the way you wrote it and I really enjoyed it. The characters are well developed. The world building is solid so far. Your writing style is so fluid and easy to read, it makes you feel like you are right there in the story. The only negative thing I could say is that there are a few grammatical errors in the kindle edition of the book. To me though, it’s not a big deal. I just read over them. I am highly anticipating your next release!
-Paige
Hello Paige. i’m thrilled you are enjoying the series. At the end of the day, I have never been sure that this series should be considered YA and I will certainly be thinking more about whether to use that label for book three.
I would be very interested in those errors you mention. If it’s at all possible, I would really appreciate it if you would point them out.
So I hope you will stick aro7nd and read the updates I will be post8ng from time to time.
, and once again, thank you for taking the time to tell me how much you are enjoying The Silvan.
Hey Paige. I’m wondering. Did I ever answer your comment? It looks like I didn’t which is so strange. And if I didn’t, shame on me.
I would have asked you to point out those typos but that is going to be difficult now!
Please let me know if WordPress is having me on!
I just finished the second book and am patiently awaiting the third. I am an avid reader and my professors said I showed promise in Eng Lit I and II in college. I would love to help in any way I can. Being an avid reader I have to say, your writing style draws the reader in, holds their attention, and makes it difficult to put the book down. I was disappointed when I reached the end of book 2 and there was no more to read. I have found this to be true of only a few Authors. I will be waiting for everything you turn out. 🙂
Hi Joe. It’s brilliant that you stopped by to tell me how much you enjoyed the book. I hope you’ll stay posted either by following my blog, or perhaps signing up to my email. You get a freebie short story if you do, just some background reading on the original members of The Company when they were kids.
It’s great to hear that you’re doing so well with Eng Lit. Do you write?
If you would like to take a more hands on roll, please visit the R.K.Lander Advanced Reader group and apply. I’d love to see you there.
I just wanted to take the time to say thank you. I love your series and it has really inspired me. I write and the way you made the Company come to life was simply awe inspiring. They feel like real people that I can sit next to and have a conversation. When I am writing now, I use you as my guide to how I need o make my characters and bring my readers into the story. I would love to become an advanced reader or beta if you are still in need. Thanks again and I can’t wait for Dawn of a Legend.
I woke up to this wonderful message and am now inspired to write on this, one of the last days towards completion of Shitty Draft One! Well thank YOU for such wonderful words and I would love to see you in the Advanced Readers group. The link is on the “extras” page of my site so please click on that. I will be waiting for you there!