Tag: editing

Still alive. Plus: editing

Yes, I dropped off the radar again. At DayJob, the IV Room assignment has become a punishment detail, what with all the drips for the vent patients we’re killing (avoid hospitals, everyone). At home, much better but just as busy: That short story I wrote in October, which was growing into a novella in November, has metastasized into its own novel, meaning over the last three weeks I’ve put down about 15,000 words.

Which all ground to a halt yesterday evening. I’d a few pages for the opening of part 2, but the main character, Allen, is presented with a nigh-well insolvable problem. Until I think of how he can solve it, nothing to type.

In the meantime, here’s an ad and a link to my copyeditor. The man is efficient and reasonably priced. I have relied on Mr. Zimmer for, what, five of my novels, now? And hope to continue to in the future.

Morse Code Radio Waves

Wednesday night was the weekly podcast of the Star Chamber Show, where I had been a guest back in early February. This week’s show was an “Open Lines” format. Not one to miss a chance to promote my stories, I show up around the 34:45 mark and finally shut up and leave about 1:19:00.

If you’re interested in Ricardo Montalban, the proper way to serve river otters and squirrels, as well as book formatting and what might be ahead in Machine Civilization, I invite you to pour a drink and have a listen. Cheers!

“Friend and Ally”: audio raws complete

Twenty chapters plus prologue and epilogue… that’s about 650 minutes. At least when I’m editing all that I don’t have to be in my Fortress of Quietude in the 45F basement. Step one will be removing my screw-ups; those are the spikes on the image below the fold, from a typical file. When I flubbed something, I would cough or yell “pop!” into the mic to give me a visual cue of where I need to fix something. Still, I’ll have to listen to everything in its entirety to make sure.

Once that is complete, then I can turn to the technical bits of Noise Removal, Normalization, Equalization, and so on. My target for commercial release is Easter, so I’ve less than forty days to go. The steepest learning curve will be getting things into a format that will satisfy ACX… I recall problems when I experimented last July. So long as my liver holds out, I’ll make it.

Continue reading ““Friend and Ally”: audio raws complete” →

“Empress’ Crusade” MS Complete

Sorry for the silence; been busy.  After my Hey, hey! incident, I tried to work within the new confines of that to find a way to wrap up EC.  I found a way out via Faustina’s fast ride from Vicksburg to Birmingham and onto Huntsville.  We’ve seen from way back that she is attracted to the 32-year-old mayor of that town, so I decided to have her push her feelings to see what happens.  While not completely happy with the end, it is at least an end.  I’ll  be able to think about it better as a make my editing pass before farming it out to a copyeditor.  I’m leaning toward re-using Stephen Zimmer, as he copyedited “Princess’ Crusade” and has knowledge of the characters and plot.

With that being checked, I have spent some money, read, and watched many videos on how to narrate audiobooks.  Once my wife gets the basement un-wrecked from her current project, I’ll carve out a space, hang some blankets, and see what I can do.  However, if that gets delayed, I will have to at least start notes and plans for the final book of this trilogy, “Goddess’ Crusade.”

Below the fold, rather than the entirety of Part IV of EC, is just a snippet from toward the end, showcasing Faustina and Mayor Robert Wade.

Continue reading ““Empress’ Crusade” MS Complete” →

Little Details

Submitted WWE for my US Copyright this morning, making it my seventh.  Also did the basics to set things up on KDP.  The outstanding issue remains my copyeditor:  I gave her this project in early June.  She told me it would be in my hands 1 September… then nothing… I write her… snarky note back…

I’ve been very pleased to work with Monica for three years now without a single complaint.  We all have RealLife issues, but after three months I get ghosted?  After three years?  WTF?  In the meantime I re-ran WWE through Grammarly and farmed it out to a couple of proofreaders; that’s what I uploaded to KDP to order a physical proof.  This time it will be a two-step process rather than one to catch most of the mistakes.

Having done all that, I am still faced with the time discrepancy of my novella, “Crosses & Doublecrosses.”  As you can see, I did some basic work to find out where I stand:  an error of what I am calling six months.  Sylvia and Roberta Fernandez land at Dallas/Ft Worth Airport from Manila just as the Breakup is unfolding in the US.  But they can’t; there is  no way.  For the rest of the 32k-word story to work they have to land six months later.  But if they do, the opening, as written, makes no sense.  Okay, I can re-write the opening.  To what?  If they were back in Manila watching the US tear itself to pieces, with easily over a million dead in those first six months, why in the hell would they come back?  Sure, their family lives in Manhattan but just how long do you think that place will last with no food coming in and the lights going out for good after two weeks?

Why did they come back?  I can swing the flight into Texas:  they have two of maybe four functioning airports in the former US.  Sylvia is a brilliant lawyer; does she think she’s going to drive to New York from there?  Is she that stupid?

Questions, questions.  I’m going to ask the wine bottle for answers.

Continue reading “Little Details” →

Getting Graphic

With my copyeditor seeming to have some issues right now, I’m falling back on Grammarly and some proofreaders for the first edit of “Worlds Without End.”  We’ll see how that pans out once I’ve a physical proof copy in my hands.  Shame, really; Monica has been a source of strength to my works for four years now.

In the mean time, here’s the penultimate cover, from Jacoby Alley Designs.  Professional, nimble, responsive.  If any of my readers are self-publishing, please reach out to them for a talk and/or a quote.  I’ve much to do:  my deadline of 30 September is upon me.

 

WWE FOR REVIEW - STANDARD 8 SEPT VERS 3

Turning and turning

Took Daughter #1 off to college yesterday.  A mere two hours away.  Still:  someone who has been in my home everyday (yes, yes… field trips, sleep-overs…) for the past seventeen years suddenly… isn’t.

It’s a hollow silence; a fake peace.  Much of her stuff is still in her room and bathroom.  Her dog – who is now de facto our dog – goes from window to window with sighs.  This, coming on the heels of the raw close of “Crosses & Doublecrosses” was enough to make a special trip to the liquor store for some summer gin.  I drink a little to write; I drink a lot to make this world go away.

As I always quote:  “you can get used to hanging if you hang long enough,” so too will the ache of her relocation pass.  Time, after all, wounds all heals.  In the interim, unable to write, I took some assessment of my collexion of short stories from MachCiv.  Of those I can use (not in someone else’s sandbox), there are six, totaling 20.6k words.  One of them, the story of how Arpad and Lily meet, fell in love, get married, is currently 11k but I need to add at least 8k to complete it.  Emma’s story will need to be doubled or cut.  And, there is at least one if not two more in mind:  when sergeant John Brunelli from both of Nichole 5’s books comes to Japan as an old man to fulfill his promise to see her again; that, and a short about the machine Ninon, who you will meet in “C&DC”… who loves to fly to the stars.

That gives me one book that’s – hopefully! – less than a month from publication.  Another raw manuscript complete that should be out by Thanksgiving or Christmas.  And a collexion of Machine Civilization shorts (with commentary before each!) sometime mid to late winter 2020.

“Doin’s better than thinkin’.”

Euphoria

I wrote much of this last night on bottle #2.  After Mass this morning and a few household chores I returned to it.  It stank.  Deleted and re-wrote the second half of the dream sequence then was surprised that it was Dorina on the phone and not Thaad.  These machines are like kudzu:  cropping up everywhere you least expect them.

The next day Sylvia has her first full day at her office job.  I know you guys CANNOT WAIT for that dramatic installment…  And for the person who sent me the question:  no, she and Jones do not have a relationship.  I think.

Continue reading “Euphoria” →

“Friend and Ally”

Sorry, again, for going dark:  much DayJob and work on my books.  In fact, I am very pleased to announce that Friend and Ally is now officially available!

I’ve the physical proof copy of its sequel, “Foes and Rivals,” as you can see below the fold, already in hand and about half re-edited.  The usual minor mistakes and 1-2 formatting errors.  The big part is that the ending is sub-optimal, so I’ll add a few paragraphs to the last chapter and about 100 words to the epilogue.  Nonetheless, it will be out by Christmas!

What an amazing ride:  in four years… five books, four of which are novels.  What was I waiting for all these years?  Thanks for everyone’s support!

Continue reading ““Friend and Ally”” →