And then something awesome happened...

SO, I posted on on my previous entry that I had a goal publishing date of somewhere around the end of June or beginning of July so that I could have my book ready for Dragon*Con.

Good plan, right? it gave me some time to finish my final revision, and maybe a month or two to play with to make sure everything was ready for D*C.

But then this amazingly awesome thing happened – a couple days later Bryan and I were corresponding with our mutual friend Mike Stackpole, and he invited us to attend Origins as author guests, pending our books being ready by June 22nd.

My reaction to his email went kinda like this:

First:

Then:

To say that we were excited would be a HUGE understatement – I think I was unable to speak coherently for a bit there!

I immediately contacted my editor and my cover artist to see if this new timeline was even remotely doable. They both said we could do it… as long as we did NOT delay.

I’ll get into the new timeline, and the whipcracking from Kelli in my next post. But for just a bit I just want to enjoy this amazing opportunity – War of the Seasons: The Human, my first novel, is going to be released at Origins, where I will be among dear friends & mentors.

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Also, I have a totally big head now, and made myself a Facebook fanpage… But so far only like 5 people like me! *CRIES ALL THE TEARS* Help?

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Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
Henry David Thoreau

Time to get organized!

Originally posted at http://www.ailionora.com/  Please comment there

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I’ve decided to chronicle my adventure/journey through self-publishing my first novel – hopefully you’ll find this useful, or at the very least entertaining. 

So, with my decision made to self-publish War of the Seasons, Book 1: The Human , I realized I needed to get organized – and this, my friends, is where I really see the benefit of going through a publishing house.

While, with self-publishing, I have all the control I could ever ask for (cover, book size, paper, release date, price, etc), it also means I’m ultimately responsible for these thing/for my final product. (I am not a control freak – I am a control enthusiast).

I suppose I could do all these things on my own, but since I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, this was a project that I felt needed other people. Fortunately, I have many talented friends that were willing to help me get organized & to divide & conquer.

Let’s go over the current cast of characters:

Bryan Young, My partner-in-crime for this project. We met camping out for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace back in 1999 & have been friends ever since. We agree on almost nothing (Politics, Fandom, Movies) except for the fact that Star Wars & The Beatles are awesome & self-publishing is something we should try – so we’re doing it together.

R. Thomas Garner, my lawyer, and more importantly my handsome husband of over 10 years now. He’s pretty much awesome!

Rich Sigfrit, my mighty webmaster & one of my oldest friends. We met back in 2003 through the Star Wars FanForce (hmm… I’m sensing a reoccurring theme here) and we attended our first Sci-Fi/Fantasy convention together. Been friends ever since.

Kelli Neier, my editor/book put together-er/all around go-to gal & my friend now since 2008. She’s had the misfourtune of having to read every variation of The Human. Hopefully she approves of the current version now. 

Betsy Waddell, my cover artist, and dear friend since 2009. We met at Dragon*Con & bonded over a shared love of pretty fabrics & Harry Potter villains.

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On Friday, April 8th, Bryan & I decided we wanted to have our books ready in time for Dragon*Con this September to begin selling & promoting them. With both our books in the middle of their final revisions, we figured that a June 30th goal date for publishing, while aggressive, was something we could do. Heh, well, let’s just say that things have become a bit more aggressive, but I’ll post more on that later.

So, once I identified my team, and asked all of them if they’d be interested in working with me (they were, YAY!), I had to figure out what needed to be done & who needed to do it. This is what I came up with (after a LOT of their input):

Kelli- Copy editing, ePub formatting, hard copy book formatting, cover graphic design stuffs (I have no idea what the official term for “putting the title & stuff on the cover” is), flyer graphic design/editing, listing the book on all the appropriate websites.

Rich- Website, audio & visual book trailer, audio book

Betsy- Cover artist

Bryan- Help me navigate through this & promoting each other/manning booths/panels together at Cons.

R. Thomas- Draft contracts between the various parties as needed (because even though we’re friends, you should still have a legal contract whenever there’s money involved).

Me- Finish my final revision!

I’m certain I’ve forgotten so many things that need to be done – but that’s why lists are great, right? They can always be revised!

So, as my refrain from the last few days has been… SO EXCITED!

We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.
Ralph Waldo Emerson