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Steve’s Update 12/2/2018

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

Hey gang, hope you’re well.  So let’s see where we are!

So what have I done the last week(s)?

  • A Bridge To The Quiet Planet: EDITING IS DONE!  So next up is formatting and publishing, which should happen in about a week!  Hang in there, it’s coming!
  • Way With Worlds: I’ve gone through some of the edits on the Organization book, and there’s actually not a lot of problems (I think working on the novel helped).
  • Seventh Sanctum: I started a new generator!  It’s very topical.  Hang in there . . .
  • Other: Mostly catching up with stuff.

What’s next?

  • A Bridge To The Quiet Planet: Publishing!  It’s all ready to go, so it’s just a matter of converting, loading, a bit of social media, and then  . . . well, then it’s print formatting.
  • Way With Worlds: Not sure here, depending on how things go I can run some edits, but I want the novel and new generator out.  But it looks quite promising this’ll drop in December.
  • Seventh Sanctum: I’ll be dropping the new generator!  Stay tuned as I get back into the swing!  I may even update the resources!
  • General Stuff: Right now focusing on the above.  I want to clear my plate for the holidays!

Steven Savage

How To Support An Author You Like

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

Things That Cost Money:

  • Buy the author’s books.
  • Buy ALL the author’s books.
  • By the author’s related merchandise
  • Buy the author’s books and give them as gifts.
  • Buy the author’s books and donate them to libraries.
  • Support the author’s Patreon, Kofi, etc.

Reviews:

  • Review the author’s book on publishing sites
  • Review the author’s book on goodreads.
  • Blog a review on your blog/tumblr/etc.
  • Give a book review on Twitter.
  • Give a book review on Facebook.
  • Give a book review on Tumblr.

Conventions:

  • Suggest the author speak at a convention.
  • If you host a panel at a convention, ask the author to be a guest.
  • If the author can’t attend, put out flyers for their book at a convention.
  • Have a dealer or artist’s table? Carry the author’s book as well!

Promotions:

  • Put out flyers for the author at libraries, bookstores, etc.
  • Mention the author in your own newsletter.
  • If the author has a sale, let people know.
  • If the author does a promotion, ask how you can help.
  • Give the author’s stuff away as part of your own promotions (“Get this book, get a free copy of this other one”).
  • Start a promotion with the author at www.prolificworks.com

Bookstores:

  • See if a local bookstore will carry the author’s book
  • See if a local bookstore will invite the author to speak.
  • Put out flyers at these bookstores.

Book Clubs:

  • Suggest the author’s book or books for your book club.
  • Have the author speak at your book club.

Blogs:

  • Ask to cross-blog with the author.
  • Help the author blog on other pages.
  • Do a blog tour with the author.

Podcasts:

  • Suggest the author to podcasts you follow.
  • Invite the author to your own podcast.

Social Media:

  • Follow the author on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc.
  • Promote the author on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc.
  • Join the author’s newsletter to keep up on them.
  • Get OTHER people to join the author’s newsletter.
  • If the author has a LinkedIn page and “Author” as a job, give them a rec!
  • Invite the author to your slack/discord.

Art:

  • Do fanart of the author’s work if you’re into it – author’s love feedback.
  • Offer your services (at a price, of course) to the author.

Support:

  • Be a beta reader (and hey, free book)
  • Help A/B test book covers.
  • Refer artists and editors and the like to the author.
  • Refer the author’s editors and artists to other people.

Services (that you SHOULD charge for, of course, but maybe at a discount)

Offer to do cover art for a book.

  • Offer to edit.
  • Offer to translate.

Collaborate:

  • Do a multi-author work with the author (and others).
  • Refer any multi-author works, zines, etc. to an author.

Steven Savage

The Editing Challenge Of Forever

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

I’ve been busy editing A Bridge To The Quiet Planet lately.  And it struck me that editing is a strange thing as it’s never truly done.

First, you have mistakes you may want to catch.  Those are easy to find with modern tools, but finding all of them takes a great deal of effort.  You can worry over and over you may have missed something.

Secondly, you have those non-mistakes but choices you question.  This word or that?  This style or that?  Is this take a bit archaic?  These aren’t mistakes, but are questions of best choices.

Third, you just have all those things you could tweak.  Cut this scene?  Different opening? Is this still timely?

Editing is never done.  Ever, because you can always find new ways to do things, find new problems, miss something and look for it.  Worse, if you make some edits, you might have made new mistakes to worry about!

It’s a lot like coding, only your book runs in the brains of your readers, and each reader is different.

At some point you just have to stop editing.  At some point you have to declare done.  At some point you have to move on, or you’ll go crazy.  You have to stop editing.

I found the best way to do this is to set a standard for yourself.  Do X readthroughs.  Run a grammar/spell check at particular times.  Then, go on.

Go on, edit, but give yourself a break.

BONUS: An idea I got from Serdar is that, when you’re done, do a bounty on mistakes in your book.  Not only is that a great idea to get people to participate, it gives you a way to relax a bit . . .

 

Steven Savage