Website! I finally took the time and started researching hosting and packages this morning. It looks like I'll be getting the groundwork laid in this weekend. I had a friend of mine offer to look into it for me, but after I did some digging I found some rather nice Wordpress tutorials + hosting packages through the LIP website, and it's only about 80 bucks for a year's worth of hosting, and I'm figuring it'll take me the weekend to get the actual website up and running. So...that's another thing that's about to get knocked off the list.
Next item on the agenda is the e-book. I have the general outline done, and I have the "meat" text there. I've already started doing research for the actual numbers I'll be providing in the book, based upon tax figures and worldwide income statistics, and otherwise. I am pretty sure I'll have it done by the end of October. At which point I need to start looking for a publisher.
Now, I could self publish, but if you remember my post from earlier in the year...I don't really think self publishing gives people any credentials. Anyone can self publish. Which means a bunch of absolute crap gets put on the market because there are a lot of people out there who have no business calling themselves writers, but because they can self publish a book and stick their name on it they can call themselves an author. Nevermind the fact that it's never been put past a professional editor before...in their heads, they are writers. I'm not that kind of guy. I whole-heartedly believe that until an editor has taken a look at your work and approved it, then it isn't really credible. Not everyone agrees with me. That's fine. But that's my feelings on it. So if you know any good e-book or even regular book publishers who you think would be a good fit for publishing a book on global freelancing, let me know. Otherwise I'll be starting to shop for an agent in November, and see if I can't get this thing sold in one format or another.
Evy told me I have way too many ideas, far too many passions, and not enough time. I've been stressing out lately about which projects to focus on, because I have dozens of them I want to work on, and I'm spreading myself too thin. So I made a decision on Sunday. For the rest of 2009 these are my goals:
- Get the freelance book finished
- Find a publisher for the book
- Get a website up and running
- See where I can get on the fiction novel
I really hope to cross the 100k word mark on the fiction novel by the end of the year. Maybe. I've been hovering around 80k words since June, so if I can manage to write chapters 13, 14, and 15, I can push past the 100k mark.
A big issue with fantasy novels these days is that publishers are becoming more and more unwilling to publish novels over 150k even from big-name authors like Brandon Sanderson, George R. R. Martin, and otherwise. Sanderson was discussing his issue with hist latest Mistborn novel on his website, and how the book stores were the ones throwing a fit about the size of the novel, not the publishers themselves. They were worried that a 200k novel was going to "take up too much shelf space" and cut into their profits. Now, while I don't think I'm going to be at 200k words...my outline is for 25 chapters. If I'm at 100k words with 15 chapters...well, that's at least another 60-80k worth of words to finish the outline, which will put it at around 160-180k words. For a first-time author. I have a feeling I'm going to have a hell of a time getting an agent to sell that, but it's not going to keep me from trying. I can't break it down any smaller than that, because the outline calls for 4 books and that's the best natural breaking point. I could probably shave it down to 150k, but...well, we'll just have to see when it actually gets done.
In any case, here's to success, and here's to good health. Hope you head into the holiday seasons with good cheer and good luck.
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