New Onyx Sun Web Site

Well, I have finished the second of my three weekly goals for my working-vacation: publish a new and complete Onyx Sun web site.

Check it out at: www.onyxsun.com

Overall, I am pretty happy with the site. I have plans to add a lot more features, but since finishing my book has to be my priority right now, this site will do. I'll have more time later to update it while I wait for my typesetter and printer to finish their respective jobs (about two months of work when I can be doing other things). This site is a marked step up from the last site, which I never had time to finish and had more dead links than Larry King has guests.

Of course, the feature of the site I am most excited to develop is the "Create Your Own Onyx Sun Story" section. I've gotten a lot of great feedback from teachers, parents, and kids that this is the section they are most looking forward to. So, for my readers checking my site to find out when that feature is coming, please know I'll be working on it right after my final edits are done (hopefully this week) and should have more to report soon!

Kalamazoo!





Christopher

My First Work Vacation

I am doing today something I never thought I'd do:

I am working on vacation.

True enough. I am. I'm sitting at a San Francisco cafe down the street from my house, working on the Never-ending Book Edits. I'm sixty pages into the twelfth revision of my manuscript. Only 120 more Word pages to go.

Usually I am the guy who shuns people who work on vacation. My friends who bring Blackberries on our trip Greece..."A plague upon their white-washed house!" in the form of bad reception, I say. If you want to work, work. If you want to play, play. You accomplish neither by trying to do both. I once read that people who run with their cell phones generate fewer endorphins than those who don't. See. There's proof your body wants you to soak up your time off.

So, why am I working on vacation? Actually, I am on vacation SO I can work. This dual-life thing of putting 50-60 hours in at Second Life then working on my manuscript nights and weekends has been taking its toll. So, I took some time I've accrued (I've only taken one vacation in the last three years) and put it toward a week to myself and my book.

And I gotta tell ya, although it's no Santorini, sitting here with my coffee, my words, and the early morning mist is relaxing in its own right. The only way I can justify this time off though, when I could be visiting lands unknown, is if I deliver the goods at the end. So, this week, I have three goals:

1. Finish the Never-ending Book Edits so I can send my manuscript and the interior artwork off to my typesetter.
2. Finish building the marketing (non-database driven) pages of the Onyx Sun web site.
3. (If I have time) Do all the miscellaneous tasks I've been putting off, like mailing out more of my books, contacting more potential reviewers, and updating the Pariah Publishing email newsletter list.
   

So, off I go!

Kalamazoo!





Christopher

Round Three: Letters to Editors and Agents

Well, it is with conflicting emotions I have decided to embark on a third round of submitting my manuscript to agents and editors. I'm conflicted because on one hand I have really enjoyed the self-publishing process, as arduous as it has been. On the other hand, having an agent or editor could really take my book to the next level.

I have learned a ton from the process of getting my own ISBN, registering my book on Amazon, promoting it with children, networking with teachers, hiring and managing a designer, working with a typesetter, etc. In many ways, I am looking forward to seeing the fruits of my own labor when the hardcover is produced. I imagine it has to be rewarding to see people react to my book, exactly as I want it to be, knowing I was engaged in every stage of the process.

Still, if there is one thing I have learned from self-publishing, it is that it's a lonely, expensive, up-hill battle to get people's attention. I think the Onyx Sun has had a positive response so far. Heck, just the GoodReads page alone makes me proud. But there's no denying an established agent or editor could scale my efforts to a level I may never be able to. That's the benefit of working within the industry, even if you have to give up a decent amount of control.

I'm probably getting a little ahead of myself. Just because I am submitting my manuscript to a new battery of people doesn't mean it will be accepted. I can always evaluate taking on an editor/agent if the opportunity presents itself. And honestly, if it doesn't, self-publishing has had enough of its own rewards to keep me pushing.

Kalamazoo!




Christopher

Happy Birthday Aiden!

Five years old! I can't believe it.

Revised Hardcover Launch Date

The launch date of my book is moving back a little from May 2, 2008 to August 2, 2008 for some exciting reasons:

My illustrator, Rudy Hall, has agreed to include 35 more illustrations inside the final version of The Incredible Origins of the Onyx Sun. I can't tell you how excited I am to include more of Rudy's amazing artwork inside my book! Rudy will create one thumbnail sketch for the beginning of each chapter and one cover page for the inside of the book, all depicting more of Zack's adventures with his friends. I have included a sneak preview of his latest work here. I hope you enjoy! The wait will be worth it!

I am also adding an epilogue to the story that will only appear in the debut publication of the hardcover. For the first time readers will have the chance to learn more about what happens at the end of the story, and get a preview of what's to come in the sequel, The Wicked Adversaries of the Onyx Sun!

You can pre-order the book during the wait on Amazon. Also, for anyone who can't wait, I have a few advance review paperbacks I am happy to send people for free in exchange for a review on Amazon or GoodReads! The review copies don't have the epilogue or the interior illustrations and do have a few grammatical errors like typical pre-publication review copies. However, the story is almost exactly the same for anyone excited about getting into the world of the Onyx Sun right away. So far, in fact, I've had over 300 people read and review the book! Just contact me if you'd like me to send you, your child, student, or friend a complimentary copy!

And look for my book on retailer shelves and on Amazon Wednesday, August 2!

Kalamazoo!



Christopher

300 Review Copies Shipped!

Today, I crossed the 300 review copies shipped mark. There are now officially over 300 reviewers, friends, family, teachers, students, retirees, and industry press people with copies of my book in their hands.

I've already started to see some buzz growing on the Onyx Sun Goodreads page, where I am encouraging people to go until Amazon unlocks the review feature for my book. Since the copy of my book that is out is "pre-publication" (i.e. designed for reviewers, not general consumption...yet), Amazon will wait until my final, hardcover book comes out before they allow people to review my book on their site.

Thanks to everyone who had contributed so far! It is exciting to see so many positive comments on Goodreads! It's great to know you're all enjoying the book. It encourages me to send more review copies out!

Kalamazoo!



Christopher

The Advance Review Copies Are Here!

My preview books have finally arrived! I am so excited! It is an amazing thing going through the three-year process of writing a story, editing it, setting the type, working with an illustrator, registering the copyright, getting an ISBN and barcode, and then finally seeing it all in tangible form! It is a surreal experience holding the advance review paperbacks, seeing my character's names on paper, and turning back Rudy's incredible cover to read the story.

I printed about 1,000 advance review copies. This is far more than most publishers print for a book, but I wanted to spread my book far and wide to gain the maximum amount of review attention possible before the final hardcover comes out. I'll be giving these books away for free to anyone who is honestly interested in reading and reviewing them. So, feel free to contact me through my blog with your mailing address if you'd like one.

While I am sending these books out for review, I'll be simultaneously working on the finalized book and the book web site. The final book, text-wise, will be very similar to these advance review copies, except that it will be free of grammatical mistakes. Advance review copies like these paperbacks (also called galleys) commonly do have mistakes in them as they are "pre-publication" books rushed to advance reviewers to generate buzz ahead of a complete editorial review. So, I'll be re-reading the book for a twelfth time this month to see what horrifying errors I missed on my eleventh review. It's a good thing I enjoy the story! :)

I'll also be working on the web site which has some cutting-edge functionality to be announced soon. I plan to include games, more of Rudy's drawings from the story, and a special "members only" section of the site for people who own the book.

In the meantime, I'm just reveling in having a tangible copy of my book in my hands!

Kalamazoo!



Christopher