Now On Sale! Onyx Sun Book 1

Finally!

After several years of writing, editing, searching for agents, not getting agents, looking for publishers, getting rejected by publishers, deciding to self-publish, designing the artwork with Rudy, editing the manuscript, publishing advance review copies, getting a great review from the #1 reviewer on Amazon, reading in classes, having kids tell me how much they love the book, editing the book again, working with typesetters, corresponding with young fans of the book, sending the book to the printer, and then waiting...

...my book, The Incredible Origins of the Onyx Sun, is finally done and available for sale to the general public!

If you've ever been a fan, read one of the advance review copies, like helping struggling authors, or are dying to get your hands on what one reader called his "favorite book after Lord of the Rings" (true quote), please head on over to www.onyxsun.com where you can securely use PayPal to purchase a copy! You can also order it on Amazon, but people who order directly from onyxsun.com get 10% off a copy personally signed by yours truly. Plus, I only get $1 per book from Amazon, while I make a good deal more from orders direct from my site.

The final hardcover is very exciting because it has:

• 36 original illustrations - one at the top of every chapter!
  
• Printed endpages with schematics of the Onyx Pioneer on the front and the Citadel Spire on the back
• An exclusive epilogue, not available on the Advance Review Copies
• A completely new first chapter
• A unique launch code to give readers access to an online copy of the text where they can edit the entire book and share edits with friends!
  

Thanks to everyone who has helped make this a reality!

Kalamazoo!



Christopher

P.S. - Happy birthday Aiden! You inspired this book many years ago buddy!

53 New Fan Letters

On February 9th, I did my first school reading at Redding Elementary in San Francisco. It was funny going into it, because I was a little nervous. I've done dozens of speaking engagements in seven different countries for my real job, some in front of hundreds of people, but the prospect of speaking to twenty kids in my own town about my book somehow got me more jumpy. I guess when speaking to adults, I generally know what to expect, but it's been about twenty years since I've been in a classroom speaking to Fifth Graders.

After all the build-up though, the day seemed to go really well. I spoke with three classes, and each really seemed to enjoy my talk. I described what inspired me to write my book, how long it took, what skills I learned in school that helped, and finished with a reading of the Prologue. Throughout the process, I showed the students pictures of my book as it evolved from manuscript, to 2,500 edits, to advance review copy, to final book. I also showed them how the artwork in the book evolved from drafts to finished material. The students at Redding were very engaging and asked great questions.

My favorite part was at the end of the second and third classes. At the end of the second, right when I finished my reading, one of the girls in the back of the class pushed her chair back, threw her arms in the air, and exclaimed, "THAT WAS SO SWEET!" It made me laugh because her reaction was so genuine. At the end of the third class, one boy raised his hand and waved it in the air frantically until I called on him. Then he said, "Mr. Mahoney, that is the BEST book I have ever read!" Hahaha. What great kids. They kept me smiling and helped stoke the excitement I feel finally being on the "speaking circuit".

A couple of weeks later, I returned home to find a package stuffed in my mailbox from one of the classes. In it was a wire-bound book of 53 letters from the kids. This gesture was so touching and while I'd love to display all of the wonderful letters, I had to select just a few that I could fit here.

To Mr. Toy's class: thank you! You are a wonderful, insightful, and genuinely intelligent class. I appreciate your letters!

Kalamazoo!



Christopher

Great Review from Amazon's #1 Reviewer!

More good news on advance reviews of my book. Harriet Klausner, the #1 Reviewer on Amazon (using the former ranking system, which has recently changed) has given The Incredible Origins of the Onyx Sun a glowing review!

An excellent middle school science fiction thriller starring an intriguing hero! The story line is action-packed and filled with twists. Zack is a terrific role model as he and his grandfather encourage children to see each day as a fun, puzzle-filled adventure. Young adults will enjoy flying to the Moon, controlling giant robots, and saving the Earth alongside Zack and his exciting friends.

- Harriet Klausner

It's exciting to see she enjoyed it, as well as other recent early reviewers.

On the final book publication date front: I have narrowed it down to two publishers and am negotiating between them. The company I want to go with is about $1,000 more expensive. So, I am exploring my options with the second company while trying to get the first to give me a more competitive quote. Should not be long now until I can commit to a final launch date!

Kalamazoo!



Christopher

Book Launch Update

Just a quick update: I have gotten bids from three printers on how much it will cost and how long it will take to print the final version of The Incredible Origins of the Onyx Sun. I am going to review them this week, negotiate in a few points, then select a final printer.

Once that is done, I will - finally - have a firm date for my book launch! Will post more information as soon as I have it.

Kalamazoo!



Christopher

More News from Young Onyx Sun Fans

I thought this would be fun to share: the 4th grade class that wrote to me about how much they liked my book continues to share their thoughts with their community.

You can read more here: http://www.rhnet.org/popup_info.cfm?story=2730

Thanks again Mr. Titus and class for letting people know how much you enjoyed my book!

Kalamazoo!



Christopher

DONE!

As of right now, I have finished all the edits on my book. I have forwarded the comments to my typesetter who has already updated the proof and sent a draft back to me. This draft had a couple of errors, but the typesetter seems to be able to turn things pretty quickly.

Soooooo...

...I am almost at the point where I can announce and lock-down a firm book launch date.

Steps I need to take to finalize a date:

1. Finalize the proof - Today
2. Receive final, print-quality proof - 12/16/2008
3. Get quotes & time estimates from printers - 12/19/2008
4. Negotiate print job with one printer - 12/22/2008
5. Get final print schedule - 12/30/2008
6. Announce book launch date - 12/30/2008
7. Print the book on time!
   

Exciting!

Of course, this is far from all I have to do to produce the final book. Beyond those tasks, I have to:

• Get reviews for the jacket art
  
• Edit the jacket art, including adding copy about me, the price, SKU, barcode, new artwork dimensions, and teaser copy
• Make decisions about the paper stock, cover stock, and hardcover binding
• Find a system for hidden randomly generated barcodes to work for the "Like this section?"
• Develop the Create Your Own Story section on the Onyx Sun site (HUGE...at least two months work)
• Update Amazon, Goodreads, and personal web site information with correct book data including final launch date.
  

Still, having this amount of work to finish doesn't dissuade me so much as excite me. Feels good to be making real progress at last.

Kalamazoo!



Christopher

What's Taking So Long???

A few people have asked me when my book is coming out, and what the heck is taking so long. While I have been pushing very hard to get my final book out quickly, I have been extremely picky the last few months with my edits. As noted previously, I made 2,500 edits before I sent the "final" manuscript to the typesetter. Then, when I got the proof back, I felt compelled to re-read the book again and I am glad I did. I found twenty more grammatical errors.

Yikes! :)

Anyway, I know even professionally produced books have errors, but since I am self-publishing the Onyx Sun, and self-published books are generally frowned upon as "low-quality", I am being a *tad* obsessive about finding and eliminating any element of my book that makes it anything less than top notch.

The good news, is I am VERY close. I have proofread 200 of the 314 pages and am able to do about 50 pages a day lately. Which means hopefully by the end of the week, I'll have this done.

I don't want to commit to a date yet for the final book launch, because I have before, and I ended up breaking those promises. So, at this point, please know I am working as fast as possible, and I remain committed to developing a quality piece of fiction first and foremost, even if that means it takes a little longer.

Thank you all for your patience! In the meantime, please check out some of the exciting new feedback I have been getting from early reviewers by mail and on Goodreads.com. The word is spreading!

Kalamazoo!



Christopher