Hotspur Spaceship

Hotspur Spaceship

The work on Smuggler’s Dilemma is coming to a close and release can’t be far behind. I’ve yet to set a date for release, primarily because I have a contingent promotion I’ll be doing with Rookie Privateer. The business of independent book writing is tricky and I have to admit to not knowing the impact of many of the different decisions I make. My goal, of course, is to get my books into the hands of as many people as possible. I enjoy story telling and the success of the Privateer Tales series just spurs me on to write more.

The general steps to release are writing, developmental editing, more writing, copy editing, beta reading, and finally proofreading. For me, the process changes dramatically when we release to beta readers. We’re basically making the statement to the readers that we’re done with the story and we need them to tell us where they stumble when experiencing the story. There’s nothing worse than reading a great book and getting to a section or paragraph that you just can’t understand, sometimes it simply ruins the experience. I love my beta readers because they don’t hesitate to point this out and they have high expectations for the story.

Going through beta reader comments and corrections is very much like sitting down and having a conversation with the reader. They add comments directly to the manuscript and just chat with me as they experience the story. It’s a very rewarding experience for me as unlike other readers, I get to hear what they’re feeling as they work through the story.

What’s next? We’re off to proofreading, back jacket synopsis, title work for the cover, and formatting. Before you know it Smuggler’s Dilemma will be available on Amazon.

What’s next next? I’m pushing hard on three stories right now. I’ve already started on Buccaneers, Privateer Tales #6, sitting at just over 10,000 of 85,000 words. I’m working on the first of a new science fiction series that features a young private detective/bounty hunter by the name of Henry Biggston. And finally I’m working on a short story called Cutpurse, also in the Privateer Tales universe. 2015 is going to be an exciting year.

Happy Reading!