The Nothing

I'm just going to assume anyone reading my blog has read the one from the month before. The good news is that I have selected an editor to help polish my book. The bad news is that it'll probably have to wait until after I sell the house. I haven't reached out for a quote just yet, but it'll probably cost me three to four thousand dollars. As long as my budget is stretched across two houses, I haven't been able to save any real amount of money. So if anyone wants to drop the money in my lap, feel free to do so.

I'm still slowly going through the edit of Colony Earth. The changes I'm making are minor, but it's letting me get familiar once again with my characters. There's an upcoming chapter that will require larger changes, but I haven't crossed that bridge just yet.

I know no one reads my book reviews, but I did finish the Witcher series. The review for the final book and overall thoughts are coming soon.

That's pretty much it. I keep meaning to schedule some time for my bad poetry, but something keeps coming up. Like video games.

Until next time, and at all times, be kind.

Do It Like Montresor

I've made a decision. It seems pretty insignificant considering everything that's been going on. You know, the world coming to an end. But, I feel it has to be done. And there's no talking me out of it either. It is like I've walked through a door, closed it behind me, and then bricked it up like Montresor. And, for the love of God, I don't even care if it blows up in my face.

I'm going to self-publish. I could go into a rant about the publishing industry but I would just sound like a jaded neckbeard. I've just come to my last breaking point with not being a published author. I know there's a good chance that only a hand full of people will read my book if I self-publish. And most of them will be my friends and family. But, fuck it, I have to try.

That's all I really have to say this month. I've been a daze for the last couple of months as Earth spirals down the uncaring universal drain. Just hoping there's a flipside of this. Humans, for all our faults, are crafty little shits. We'll probably be alright. 

All cynicism punctuated with vague optimism aside, the daze is why I've been silent the last couple of months. Still doing book reviews as I'm still reading. But it feels mostly out of habit and self-therapy than anything else. Step one to getting self-published is finding myself an editor to work with. It'll cost money and might take a few tries to find someone. Time and money always find a way to include themselves in any equation.

On the actual writing side of things, I've picked up my Colony Earth project again as I slowly comb over the tome. Just something to do as I wait for responses from the leads I'm chasing down. Once I finish editing and familiarizing myself with what I've already written, it'll finally be time to start new work. I've been trying to sell Variant War for so long hopefully I'll remember how it's done. Either way, it's been a long time coming.

 Until next time, and at all times, be kind.

Be Kind

Warning: Don't read the first two paragraphs. There is no news/information here. It is simply me getting something off my chest.

I was originally going to start this entry off with a rant. Then, as my anger cooled, it turned into more of a well-worded, but hostile, examination. Being more of an observer of humanity than a member, I started to notice something. The thing I was going to rant against has mostly good people involved. Like a charity that spends too much money on donuts. You don't want to call them out for wasting money because you'll look like an ass for criticizing a good charity. Even though that money could be put to better use. Even though I'm right. I saw people defending the good while shooting down any idea of the fact the system is flawed and requires reform. They were being nice. Which led me to something even worse than a rant: A lecture.

I highly value kindness. It's a rare resource or at least rarer than it should be, and it genuinely makes the world a better place. The thing is, I also highly value honesty. And, when you value honesty, you learn the difference between being kind and being nice. Imagine, if you will, that you have a good friend that's currently in a toxic relationship. Being kind is telling your friend to dump that loser. Even though it will hurt. Even though speaking up might jeopardize your friendship. You still need to do it. Because they're your friend and they deserve better. On the other hand, being nice is pretending you like your friend's loser partner despite everything. Sure, you'll be there for your friend when the relationship comes crashing down, but you probably should have spoken up earlier. Being kind requires honesty. Courage. Being nice just requires your presence. Don't be nice. Be better. Be kind.

Now that I've gotten the toxin out of my system, on to the news.

The biggest news, that doesn't involve moving, is that I finally finished the latest round of edits on my novel. I'm expecting to start querying it again in the next week and even entered it into the Pitch Wars contest. I don't expect it get very far since I'm a cynical asshole because I no self-esteem. Or I have no self-esteem because I'm a cynical asshole, depending on who you ask. Still, I march on. Let's hope I can sell this book before I'm dead.

I already mentioned that I'm the ML for my region when NaNoWriMo begins next month. Though, I haven't done too much about it. I've been holding off on planning the writing event because I've been too damn busy. Even as I type this, I'm waiting on the final task so I can complete the fiscal year-end at work. Step one will be to formulate a calendar/attack plan for the event and establish meetups with anyone will to listen to me talk about failing at writing for an hour or so. NaNoWriMo: spring break for writers.

Last bit for now. I finally got the results for the third quarter of the Writer of the Future contest. Another honorable mention. It's better than an outright rejection, but I still won't see my work published in any form. It's a so close, and yet, so far kind of feeling. The damnest thing is that I had a great idea for a short story in the middle of the night just last night. I didn't bother to write it down and now it's lost to the void. Just like my novel.

Until next time, and at all times, be kind.