Periscope Depth

Updates on writing:

I commissioned a cover from Ryan Sawyer. The back and forth on design elements took about a month. Coming from a job where I deal with imprecise client demands all day, I tried to be considerate and clear in my comments on each draft. Ryan says I was fine to work with – and he stuck with me long enough to take my money anyway – so I must have done something right. I did not use the words “pop” or “wow” or “slick,” at least not in their most annoying contexts.

I also solicited an editor on Guru. There’s something daunting about having over thirty strangers compete to offer you their services. It’s also exhilarating: I can see where clients get it from. After a week of bids, a winnowing to a final seven and a stab at a sample edit, I picked a winner. Guru is holding some money in escrow for us and the novel is in their hands.

(By the way, nothing will depress you more at the future of self-publishing than asking a freelance editor, “Show me something else you’ve been asked to edit.” Some of the hack jobs that people try to turn into novels … I admire the patience of anyone willing to edit it. I think my stuff is good – I know my stuff is better than that, anyway – but reading my future peers makes me feel uneasy. Then again, I had to get over my snobbery sometime. This is as good an age as any)

Now, of course, with the current project off with an editor, I have nothing to do at the moment. Except start writing another novel, obviously.