Wednesdaily
Aug. 17th, 2011 11:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellenmillionPff. I can't figure out where this week is going, only that it's too quickly.
We've got the bedroom completely gutted and the framework cut for the closet walls, possibly to be assembled tonight, though that may not happen because I'm getting a massage and adjustment late this afternoon, and I also need to give Jake a haircut tonight and iron his shirt. I've got a load of laundry hanging to dry now.
Painted yesterday:
So close to finished! Just two more that I'm not quite happy with yet... I continue to add more of the painting scans to this post, and have been shuffling around what's available, and what's claimed. Remember that you can get prints of any of them for $1 apiece (plus $1 flat fee shipping, or free if you'd already sponsored.).
Sketch Fest is this weekend! :)
I took some time to sit down with the Upheaval novel this morning and poke at it a bit. The last 2/3 of this novel, which it needs a little polish editing and a few scenes filled in, are really, really good. I'm terrifically pleased with the action, the characterization, the pacing... it's good storytelling. The first third? Oh god, it's awful. It's plodding, a bunch of main characters were never introduced (they just show up halfway through as if they'd been there the whole time...) and a bunch of the later plotlines aren't supported by the first bit at all. I'm trying to decide what's worth keeping, and the answer is 'not much.' Which means writing a whole new beginning, and I'm not sure where that beginning should be.
Another big question I have is: what the heck am I going to do with this monster? Traditional publishing is sort of unreasonable to expect, I think, because it's a one-off novel, and that's not something they are looking for. This would break into a really nice serial - good bite-sized pieces. But I'm not sure I've got the audience/support to make that pay for itself, and I'm not convinced Smashwords would pay off. I could certainly print it myself (been there, done that), and it wouldn't even be that difficult or expensive - paint a cover and do batches of 25 through my current printer beside an ebook. But again - payoff? Sales of everything has been fairly sluggish lately.
I'd like to finish this for personal reasons - it's an important part of the Torn World structure, and it answers a LOT of questions about the setting. But I'm looking hard at my time in the upcoming months and further, and I want to do things with specific payback. Freelance work has been incredibly scarce the last few months, and I was really hoping to bank a whole lot of extra hours right now while I still able to work... instead I'm not even getting pittance hours; all my usual clients have me in holding patterns (with major potential projects in the wings...) and the new work I've been applying to like a fiend hasn't gotten me so much as a nibble. (Fairly depressing and quite nerve-wracking!) If I continue to have 'free' time, I'll work on the novel, but if anything paying comes along, I'll probably do that instead. In the meantime, brainstorming ways to monetize it.
Now? A few orders to print and ship. Off to do that!
We've got the bedroom completely gutted and the framework cut for the closet walls, possibly to be assembled tonight, though that may not happen because I'm getting a massage and adjustment late this afternoon, and I also need to give Jake a haircut tonight and iron his shirt. I've got a load of laundry hanging to dry now.
Painted yesterday:
So close to finished! Just two more that I'm not quite happy with yet... I continue to add more of the painting scans to this post, and have been shuffling around what's available, and what's claimed. Remember that you can get prints of any of them for $1 apiece (plus $1 flat fee shipping, or free if you'd already sponsored.).
Sketch Fest is this weekend! :)
I took some time to sit down with the Upheaval novel this morning and poke at it a bit. The last 2/3 of this novel, which it needs a little polish editing and a few scenes filled in, are really, really good. I'm terrifically pleased with the action, the characterization, the pacing... it's good storytelling. The first third? Oh god, it's awful. It's plodding, a bunch of main characters were never introduced (they just show up halfway through as if they'd been there the whole time...) and a bunch of the later plotlines aren't supported by the first bit at all. I'm trying to decide what's worth keeping, and the answer is 'not much.' Which means writing a whole new beginning, and I'm not sure where that beginning should be.
Another big question I have is: what the heck am I going to do with this monster? Traditional publishing is sort of unreasonable to expect, I think, because it's a one-off novel, and that's not something they are looking for. This would break into a really nice serial - good bite-sized pieces. But I'm not sure I've got the audience/support to make that pay for itself, and I'm not convinced Smashwords would pay off. I could certainly print it myself (been there, done that), and it wouldn't even be that difficult or expensive - paint a cover and do batches of 25 through my current printer beside an ebook. But again - payoff? Sales of everything has been fairly sluggish lately.
I'd like to finish this for personal reasons - it's an important part of the Torn World structure, and it answers a LOT of questions about the setting. But I'm looking hard at my time in the upcoming months and further, and I want to do things with specific payback. Freelance work has been incredibly scarce the last few months, and I was really hoping to bank a whole lot of extra hours right now while I still able to work... instead I'm not even getting pittance hours; all my usual clients have me in holding patterns (with major potential projects in the wings...) and the new work I've been applying to like a fiend hasn't gotten me so much as a nibble. (Fairly depressing and quite nerve-wracking!) If I continue to have 'free' time, I'll work on the novel, but if anything paying comes along, I'll probably do that instead. In the meantime, brainstorming ways to monetize it.
Now? A few orders to print and ship. Off to do that!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-08-17 08:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-17 09:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-17 09:46 pm (UTC)Work everywhere is scarce. The country is going down fast :(... better start stocking for doomsday... (if you believe in that kind of thing... )
J
no subject
Date: 2011-08-18 02:24 am (UTC)More and more, this is how I've been feeling too. I have several projects I've been toying with, but have put on hold because they just aren't likely to payoff anytime soon. Sometimes the "personal" (or learning) value is enough to see me through, but lately I want more than that. Unless I'm really having fun, or it's something I really want to learn, things just don't seem worthwhile.
Would a Kickstarter or Rockethub type thing work for your novel? Offer a book for some minimum donation, and other perks for larger donations (prints or something)?