Sneak Peek: Walker Cover Art

Just fantastic.  Amazing.

Walker is scheduled to be released in just over a month, so things are pretty hectic right now.  Art, editing, and formatting are all in various stages of completion, so there’s a lot of juggling going on to make sure that everything comes together at the same time.

That said, of all the moving parts, getting the final cover art is a huge milestone, and one that I wanted to share.

A couple of notes about how Vinny works:  He asks for detailed information about the book, covering both plot information and detailed descriptions of any relevant scenes, characters, or items.  This can amount to a hefty amount of information, including a full synopsis and lots of excerpts from the book.  He then asks me for any ideas that I might have for the cover.

Once he has all the information, he then turns around and sends me a sketch for something about a million times cooler than the stuff I suggested.  At which point I say, “Why yes, let’s use THAT, shall we?”

It’s one thing to be an accomplished and recognized graphic artist, but it’s another thing entirely to be skilled and experienced specifically in the creation of novel covers, which is very much its own discipline.

So, along with sharing this preview today, I wanted to say thanks.

Bad Radio in Print

There’s much rejoicing in the Langlois compound today.  Bad Radio is, at long last, available in print.

Behold!

Behind the scenes, it turned out to be no small feat to wind up with one book in two editions.  The paper version was actually available weeks ago, but because of the way the two editions were labeled in the system, they were separate entities, with the paper version being very difficult to find without a pretty explicit search.

It’s all good now, and many thanks to the folks representing electrons and paper at Amazon who helped get this squared away.

Cheers!

Proof at Last!

Huzzah!  Got the proof copy of Bad Radio today.  I have to say, it’s pretty cool having a version of the book that you can hit people with hold in your hand.

So far everything looks great.  I’m especially impressed at how crisp the chapter graphics came out.

I’ll review tonight, and barring any crazy errors, it should be available this week.  That’s nearly a month ahead of schedule, which ain’t too shabby.

On Editing

The number one question that I’ve been asked by other writers looking to self-publish is:

Do I really need an editor?

Usually this comes up just after they mention how they read Strunk & White every night before bed, how careful they are, and how their spouse/partner/roommate/dog is an amazing proofreader.  And all of that might be true.  But the reality is, unless you’re a pro that’s been in the business for years, you’re going to suck compared to an actual editor.

I think my Reddit AMA answer summed it up best when I was asked if I hired an editor or did it myself:

First I did it.

Then my wife (who is a grammar nerd) did a line-edit.

Then I was professionally edited by Scott Nicholson.

Guess what? The manuscript needed the pro editing. I’m fortunate in that I write very clean prose, from a technical perspective. Also, my wife has a keen eye and knows her stuff. Unfortunately, none of that can compare to being edited by a guy who has been in the business as a professional for many years.

Some of what a professional editor will find is technical. You will be so close to your manuscript, and have gone over it so many times, that you will be blind to some of the technical errors. This happens most often in a sentence or scene that you are very involved with from a story perspective. Your focus tends to move to a different place and you just can’t see that dropped apostrophe or whatever.

The bigger value is in what is called ‘developmental editing’. This is the part where your editor points out that something isn’t working from a story/character/pacing perspective. Listen to your editor when they talk about this stuff. Unless you’re a best-selling pro, they know better than you do.

If you can’t afford an editor, and they can run from $1 to $2 per page (250 words), then look for a proofreader that may be less expensive.  Failing that, join a well respected writing group, and have several people go over your manuscript.

It’s not ideal, but it’s better than trying to do it yourself.

Ask Me Anything on Reddit

I’m doing an AMA on Reddit right now.  Ask me anything!

Update: The AMA went far better than I had expected, with lots of great questions and comments.  Thanks, Reddit!