Saying Good-bye to the Year

Cross-posted on my CoffeeQuill blog.

I usually try to come up with resolutions when the new year rolls around, but the more I think about it for 2014, the more it seems like a futile endeavor. My resolutions always end up the same: write more, read more, edit this or that, send out queries, focus on my health and try to lose some weight, build better habits and try to get closer to some of my life goals.

All very general in recent years, because the years would pass by without nothing achieved (or not enough) when I had more specific resolutions.

This year, I am not going to worry about resolutions, promises to myself to do X or Y.

This year end, I have spent New Year's Eve day spending time with my aunt, watching "Frozen" with my mother, crafting a gift, listening to music, talking with friends online, and shortly, a bit of writing on a story I began earlier in the year.

Tomorrow, I will spend more time with family, rest and relax, grade, and edit.

I want 2014 to reflect these two days, full of obligations and enjoyment, and balancing between the two. A year where I have time to rest, but also to have fun, and to get projects done that are just for me, as well as complete projects with and for others.

Happy New Year, and happy writing.

A Year in the Life

Up until this past year, I have edited numerous manuscripts. Some I have seen nearly from beginning to end, others only in fits and starts, some only a few pages. Such is the life of a writing group member.

Writing groups are a great way to gain experience as an editor, seeing how different people write, and different people to react to being edited. But it is a far cry from editing a manuscript from first read to final release.

Purple Haze took about a year from when I first received the manuscript until it was released into the wild. It's the first book I've edited with Savant Books and Publications, so in part, I wanted to take my time and see that I did it right. But I also needed to find the balance between writing my own work, teaching college-level English and Psychology, and editing nonfiction freelance (along with some weekly volunteer work, a vague semblance of a social life, and a year full of a number of health issues).

The first step, after an initial read-through, was to decide whether to edit a chunk of chapters and send those to the author, then do another chunk, and so on; or to edit the whole manuscript and send that. We opted for the former, running on enthusiasm and a desire to jump into it.

As I made edits and suggestions, I sent those out, and George edited them and sent them. I held off on my second round of edits, though, until I had gone through the whole manuscript. Then we started the process again.

At first, the focus was bigger ideas--content, plot, characterization. As those were edited, our focus narrowed to smaller issues, until it was line edits: grammar, punctuation, sentence structure.

It took about three or four rounds of "edit, send to author" before we felt comfortable passing it on to the proofreaders. At that point, we also starting working with the cover artist on the cover.



Now we are in the post-release marketing stage. So below is the press release of Purple Haze. Please read, and I hope you get the book, and pass along the description. Happy reading!

Savant Books Announces the Release of George Hudson's New Novel, "Purple Haze"

Savant Books and Publications LLC, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, announces the release of George Hudson's novel of past and present murder and intrigue, "Purple Haze."

Savant Books and Publications LLC, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, announces the release of George Hudson's novel of past and present murder and intrigue, "Purple Haze."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

George Hudson's "Purple Haze"

PRLog (Press Release) - Jul. 26, 2013 - HONOLULU --

A skull discovered in a lake leads FBI investigators Bryan Langston and Joe Mallory on a dangerous search for answers to a thirty-year-old unsolved murder. What they don't know is that there is someone still alive who will do whatever it takes to keep the truth buried, even if that

means killing again.

George Hudson was born in East Tennessee in 1947, into a family of seven other siblings. His life was deeply impacted by the Tennessee Valley Authority and by the lakes throughout the area in which he was raised. He has been a lifetime educator, teaching history in the public schools in Tennessee for thirty years. George also taught as an adjunct professor of history and is presently teaching at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. In his writing, he intersperses bits of history about the area to add local color and sentiment. He and his wife, Gail, live in Chattanooga.

"It's exciting to finally have this book available for all to read," says Hudson. "'It has been an untold story in my imagination for a long time."

"Purple Haze" by George Hudson - 274 pages - 6" x 9" Trade Book - Color Softcover. ISBN 9780988664050. Suggested retail price $16.95. Released in July 2013 by Savant Books and Publications, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

This book is available from the publisher, printer and Amazon.com at

http://www.savantbooksandpublications.com/9780988664050.php

from Savant Bookstore Honolulu at

http://www.savantbookstorehonolulu.com

and directly from Amazon.com at

http://www.amazon.com/Purple-Haze-George-Hudson/dp/0988664054/

Savant Books and Publications LLC is a publisher of enduring literature and media for the 21st Century. For more information visit www.savantbooksandpublications.com

First Book Release as Editor: Purple Haze by George Hudson

Cross-posted to CoffeeQuill:

I've mentioned a few times that I have been editing for a local publisher. It's been about a year since I first met with the senior editor and founder of Savant Books and Publications. I've gone through the interview, the training, the waiting for a manuscript, and the lengthy process of editing an unfamiliar story and working with a new author (in the midst of teaching, and for a time, editing someone else's psych dissertation).
Well, I am stoked to announce (though I am keeping the squeeing to a minimum), that today marks the release of my first edited work with Savant: Purple Haze by George Hudson. You'll be hearing more about it over the next few months, but I hope you'll take some time to check out the description. You can buy it directly from Savant, or through Amazon.
Purple Haze is about a murder investigation set in Tennessee. A skull is found in a lake, and a thirty-year-old mystery is brought to the surface...

Purple Haze by George Hudson

I'm not dead yet! I'm getting better!

Because a Monty Python reference can fix quite a lot.

So my life has been rather busy. How about yours?

I am still teaching English and Psychology--in fact a new quarter starts tomorrow and I have an 8 a.m. Psych 220 (I am enthused and exhausted at the thought of it)--and working on two committees at my university, soon to be advising student mentors.

I've been dealing with some irksome health issues, not the least of which is being out of shape. I went hiking on Tuesday morning and made it to the top, but was huffing and puffing most of the way (cue Big Bad Wolf joke here). It was a good workout, though. But I also found out I have thyroid issues, so I spent some being radioactive, you know, like you do, and will find out this Thursday if that did what it was supposed to.

This is the view from the top of the Makapu'u Lighthouse Hiking Trail. It actually ends above the lighthouse, so you can take a picture of it from above. (But the buildings in the distance of this photo, where the red roofs are, is Sea Life Park, on Oahu.)

I've also had some building/crafting/cleaning projects throughout the year, some of which are all-day affairs, others taking over weekends.

And I've been trying to write. I am finally making some headway with that, starting a new story just in these last few weeks.

Of course, all of this is in addition to my job as editor.

What you'll see coming up soon on this blog are: Updates and announcements for the first novel I'd edited, "Purple Haze" by George Hudson; those long-promised and hopefully long-awaited Sirens conference reports (women in fantasy/tales retold, my favorite!) and just in time to gear up for this year's; and writing prompts.

I know how hard it can be when you get stuck in a story or between stories and simply don't know where to go, so I will be sharing different writing prompts that can at least get you writing again, and maybe pull you out of the block.

For now, let me leave you with some inspiration, Neil Gaiman's Commencement speech on making good art. Regardless of the form your art takes, regardless of the circumstances life throws you, just keep making good art.

Neil Gaiman's Commencement Speech, Philadelphia University of the Arts, 2012

(The lighthouse on the Makapu'u Lighthouse Hiking Trail)

The Downfall of Blogs and Life

The latter gets busy.

Sometimes the busy-ness builds slowly, other times it hits you like a dump truck that just broke an axle. It stinks.


In the most unfortunate times, both methods happens at about the same time.


That's been my life since August.


Thus, here I am, letting you know I did not drop off the face of the earth, and that I am going to the sirens conference this week. My plan is to report back to you all with details and interesting tidbits.

Have a wonderful week, and I'll see you on the other side.

The Process

I'll say it for as long as I am a part of the publishing industry, and probably beyond: there is no one way for someone to get published. (Likewise, there is no one way to right a book, or come up with ideas, and so on.)

But there is a fairly general process that most people go through from getting an idea to getting published. Luckily for all of us, former literary agent and now author, Nathan Bransford has shared that process in gif form on his blog.

It is hilarious. Please, go read now.

The Beauty of Genre

You might think that Cracked.com is only all about the snarky, funny articles about how the earth wants to kill us or :::, and you'd be close to that.

But that doesn't mean the authors aren't doing their research, and it doesn't mean you can't learn something from a Cracked article (beyond the snark and tidbits of trivia).

I am currently reading (meaning I paused in my reading just to share this with you) an article titled, "4 Things Science Fiction Needs to Bring Back" and the author, Robert Brockway just mentioned something that struck a chord. he's discussing the current trend of genre, and how sci fi is seeing an increase lately. The article is what he thinks is leading to that, such as the optimism in sci fi (true, not all sci fi), and it's focus on the future of mankind rather than navel-gazing.

He says, "Great sci-fi isn't about a person; it's about people."

I would generalize that too, to say that "great genre isn't about a person; it's about people", or even "a great story isn't about a person; it's about people."

Telling a story, especially in genre writing, can't be about focusing on one person and their internal struggle to the exclusion of all other people. It can't be about every other character's actions, dialogue, thoughts and feelings revolving around the protagonist. There has to be interaction, and it strengthens the story when that interaction involves people with opposing goals and motivations, and not necessarily those people being the "good guy" and the "bad guy".

Think about the bigger implications of the story. Think about the plot beyond the protagonist's needs and wants. Think about the people of your story, not just the person.