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Progress

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I mailed the galleys for Game of Cages back to Del Rey this morning. Done!

… until I get a call to go over the pages one more time. this time I was less dumb and I scanned the whole galley before I mailed it, so if when the call comes, I’ll be looking at the correct text. By the way, individually scanning every page on a flat bed scanner? Takes a while. Yeah, I realize they make home scanners with automatic document feeders, but I’m pinching pennies at the moment.

What that means is that I got to spend this morning working on Man Bites World again. At this point, all the easy stuff is fixed along with some of the not-so-easy stuff. The really hard stuff? A couple of those decisions still have to be made.

Oh! Just writing out this post made me realize how I can fix one of those broken plot points. I’m going to take some notes and then head home.

Regime Change in Iran?

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Things have been pretty busy lately. I’m finishing up the galleys for Game of Cages and itching to get back to Man Bites World. Not to mention coming up with a new title for the latter. (I came up with one I really, really liked, but it turns out to be the title of a pair of unrelated-to-each-other non-fiction books, one of which is forty years old and still in print. ::shrugs::)

So, busy. And that means I haven’t had time or mental energy to follow important news stories. I haven’t looked at a single image or video of the devastation in Haiti. I haven’t sat down and teased out the differing reasons Portugal, Spain and Greece are struggling with economic collapse. And I haven’t been following the renewed Green Movement protests in Iran.

I have had the emotional resources for more minor stories: The Amazon.com/Macmillan confrontation exploded all over my blog list, and I stuck with that story throughout the week. And yeah, it was important to the people involved, but not Haiti-important–the stakes in the conflict were not going to send me into a fit of misery. (And let’s not get started on the way Democrats, including Obama, have fucked up on health care reform.)

But still, we can’t shut our eyes to the rest of the world, which is why I wanted to post this: Marc Lynch on the latest Green Movement protests in Iran. It appears that regime change in Iran is a long, long shot at this point. The government has consolidated its hold on the country through force of arms and the shutdown of communications technology, and there’s not much we can do about it besides what we’re already doing.

Things that are annoying

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Let’s add something to the long list:

When I scan a document I have to lay it in portrait mode, even though the page is printed landscape. I scan it, rotate it appropriately and save it.

Sounds sensible, right?

Except this morning, after 80-some pages, I discovered that rotating it to landscape mode was cutting off the margins of the page. You know, where all my hand-written corrections were.

Dear software designers: wtf?

Whoa. Also: Sheesh.

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Things have been mighty busy this week. I’m way behind on my blog reading, and we all know how important it is for a writer past his deadline to read blogs, yes?

I’m making good progress on my latest revision to Man Bites World, though. Of course it’s taking me longer than I would like, but it’s also more straightforward that I’d originally thought. It’s amazing how different things look when you think them out, yeah?

Which means, naturally, that my galleys for Game of Cages arrived yesterday. Tomorrow will be galley day. Fun!

Also, (to expand on a comment I wrote yesterday) I’ve been seeing a lot of people treating the Macmillan/Amazon.com conflict as the first step in the collapse of “Big Publishers.” I’ve also seen a number of people say that writers will soon be able to break away from their publishers and Do It All For Themselves! Hire an editor, pay for cover art, pay for a copy edit, buy a program that lets people design their own books.

Interestingly, there are very very few established writers who are eager for this to happen. A couple, but very few. Most established, professional writers don’t want any part of this business model.

Take me, for example. Do you think I could do this kind of revision to commissioned cover art?. Hell, no. I don’t have the skills or the talent. I’d have to hire an expert, which I can’t afford.

Consider also: After my agent (a former editor at Penguin) gives me notes, I send my book to Betsy Mitchell, editor-in-chief at Del Rey. I get two rounds of fantastic notes before the copy chief and copy editor even gets near it.

If Betsy were freelance, do you think I could afford to hire her? Do you think she’d have a window in her schedule for me, Newbie McFace-PunchingBook? Hell no. She’d charge a fortune for her services, and the people who could afford to work with her would be the doctors, lawyers and stock brokers of the world–people with high-paying day jobs who could afford to shell out the bucks for their hobby.

Besides it seems to me that ebooks are not the poison pill that will kill Big Publishing. Not when BP does so much that “indie” authors–even indie authors with a pro track record–would never be able duplicate all the things a big-time publisher does.

Doesn’t anyone remember when POD publishing was going to be the death of traditional publishers? Did Stephen King jump ship and start his own press, with editors and publicity staff he paid out of his own pocket (to keep the profits for himself!). He could certainly afford it. James Patterson has three people at his publisher who work exclusively on him and his books–has he hired them away to Patterson Publishing to run his own shop? Has J.K. Rowling, who could afford to pay her staff in six figures, including the receptionist?

No, they haven’t. NY Publishers add value. Maybe people want books to be cheaper, and maybe they hate rejection letters, but that doesn’t mean the companies themselves are going to fail.

Back to work.

Five things make a post

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1) The changes my agent has asked me to do have turned out to be surprisingly simple. Not easy by any means, and certainly not quick, but not terribly complicated, either. What she’s asked me to pare away, unify and change are pretty self-contained as far as the overall plot goes. Except the ending. I’m still thinking about the change to the ending.

2) Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking was a revelation. Rupert Everett’s performance in the lead was startling and affecting. The murder plot–wealthy young girls kidnapped from their homes and strangled–wasn’t terrifically original, but the performances were wonderful.

3) Some weeks ago, I posted links on my main blog/website to let people pre-order Game of Cages if they wanted. I went to every site I’d listed for Child of Fire and dug up a link for all of them… except for Barnes & Noble, because the book wasn’t listed yet. It’s still not listed.

Sure, the publication date is seven months away, but it ought to be listed by now, yeah? If, that is, B&N plans to stock the book at all.

4) I really do not need to be distracted by the idea that B&N might not be carrying my book, along with everything that implies. Not when I have a novel to finish.

5) Isn’t “pre-order” kind of a ridiculous term? Some friends pointed this out to me a while ago, but the “pre-order” happens when I’m planning a purchase. Even if the product isn’t available yet, I’m still ordering it, right?

I think I’m going to spend my time thinking about #5 and #1 instead of #4

“Lurking with intent”

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I’m on page 123. Check that against the timestamp from my previous post to see how slow I am.

In my defense (you knew I’d make excuses, yeah?) I happened to hit one of the delicate parts of the book. Certain scenes with elevated action–very powerful emotions, very intense magic, monsters, whatever–require extremely careful handling or they turn maudlin or ridiculous.

I’m not finished for the day, though. I’m going to take my computer across the street to the diner and work through lunch, then it’ll be time to work at the library.

There *is* something I’d meant to mention in my previous post that I completely forgot: One nice thing about the Game of Cages cover art (I’m not shameless enough to link to it again, don’t worry) is that you can see the guy, and he isn’t standing at the shadowy entrance to an alley or something.

For a lot of years, urban fantasy with male protagonists have been these “lurking with intent” covers, where the protagonist looks like a guy you’d circle the block to avoid. Does he have nothing better to do than stand around in the dark? Get that guy a job or a hobby or something.

Anyway, it’s nice to see Ray standing in the light, with no hint of skulking about him.

Now: food! And more revisions.

I’m supposed to be working

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So of course I’m typing this instead. Here’s my life in convenient bullet-list form, which is how I experience it myself.

* I uploaded a larger jpg of the Game of Cages cover, so anyone who missed it the first time or thought it was too dark or small can really see it now. It’s practically actual size.

* I just put the signed contracts for Russian language editions of CoF and GoC in the mail. Yay! Last night I took a deep breath and sat down to read through them, only to discover they were a civilized two pages long, with one column in Russian and one in English. Easy-peazy.

* As evidence that I am still not caught up on my sleep, I just used the phrase “easy-peazy” for the first time in my life. No, I have not been transformed into an adorable urchin in a 1950’s sitcom. I’m just feeling odd and out of sorts.

* Yesterday I got back on the “read faster” bandwagon with my current library book. As I mentioned before, I read more slowly than any novelist I’ve ever heard of, and at this point it’s a real hindrance on my productivity. The polish of Man Bites World I’ve been working would have been finished long ago if I were someone else; as it is, I’m on page 115 of 381. After I finish this post and one or two other online duties, I’ll post how far I’ve gotten at the end of my work day. Shame is a great motivator.

* If anyone is curious about the book I’m reading, it’s Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, And Why by Laurence Gonzales. It’s a bit of a narrative wander, but the subject is fascinating. So far, I recommend it highly, especially if you’re interested in why people seem to do exactly the wrong thing in stressful situations.

* Someone on Justine Larbaletier’s blog recommended Mac Freedom, a free software download that turns off a Mac’s wireless for any length of time the user wants. My eyes bugged out of my head, because this was the thing I’d always wanted without knowing it. I headed to download.com to read their review of it first, and was startled to see the review say it was a silly program because a Mac’s wireless capability was trivially easy to turn off already.

It took me a moment to realize they meant clicking the little fan in the upper toolbar. Yeah, it’s trivially easy to turn off, but it’s also easy to turn back on when I’m stuck or frustrated. Do they expect me to have some sort of self-control? I’m not made of stone, people!

Okay. More coffee, then on to page 116.

GoC Cover Art!

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One of my LiveJournal commenters (thanks, geniusofevil!) mentioned that the cover art for Game of Cages is on the Amazon.com site, which I’m taking as explicit permission to post the art here:

Whoo-hoo!

Game of Cages

Mysterious house? Check. Red lightning? Check. Windbreaker and t-shirt in the dead of winter? Check. A facial expression that suggests someone needs some killin’? Check-check!

And, because this image is a little small, the text under my name says: “Author of Child of Fire, a Publishers Weekly best book of the year”

Thank you, generous PW peoples!

Side notes: the polish of Man Bites World continues–actually, it’s picking up pace as certain distracting domestic sleep issues have been resolving. Also, I received the contract for the Russian sale yesterday. I’ll read through them tonight and mail them back tomorrow. Then, more money!

I’ll call this a good day (so far).

UPDATE: I uploaded a larger image so it’s easier to see.

I just got home

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… and found the cover art for Game of Cages waiting in my inbox.

!!!

I don’t have permission to share it yet, so I will have to share my excitement instead.

:-D

New morning, new year

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This past year saw a lot of changes for me. Child of Fire (Amazon.com | Indiebound.org) came out, obviously, which is a goal I’ve been working toward for a long, long time.

But I also went through a round of major revisions on Game of Cages (Amazon.com | Indiebound.org) which was extremely challenging and made me question myself and my actual writing/career plans. I went to San Diego Comic Con and endured the press of a hundred thousand people. I did face-to-face interviews. I did a signing.

Basically, I came out of my shell (a little). I can’t say I liked it much, but I’m willing to do what I have to. Let’s call it a year of personal growth opportunities (translation: I was pushed into a lot of uncomfortable situations).

One thing I didn’t do, which I’d planned to do, was steal time from my schedule for exercise. I’m not any bigger than I was at the start of the year, but I’m holding steady at a point I don’t want to be in. More on that later.

One thing I learned that I didn’t expect was that I don’t read fast enough to be a writer. It’s not just that I take forever to do my research, I take forever to do my revisions, too. I only read 15 books a year.

It’s untenable and has to change. I’ve already started working on this, but I’ll have to put more effort into it this year.

And, since so many others are doing it: Ten years ago, I was working for Children’s Hospital in Seattle (temping, actually), while they stocked up on medical supplies in anticipation of Y2K. In the years since, I tried to move to Los Angeles to pursue screenwriting, ditched that idea. I tried my hand at low-budget filmmaking but found I wasn’t suited for it. I started writing novels and found success. My family came damn close to bankruptcy because of health care issues, but we came through it, stronger than ever.

And of course my son was born. I don’t talk about him too much here for his privacy’s sake, but he changed my whole life; I remember the time before he was born as though it had been lived by a different person.

New morning, new year. I’m going to start working on book 3 now.