Month: September 2015

Read-Through Editing Complete!

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

This week, we’ll be getting into October! It’s crazy how fast these last few months have flown by, and how quickly the autumn and winter seasons are approaching. I hope that with a new season upon us, you are able to have a renewed opportunity to work toward achieving your goals and seeking your ambitions. Let’s get into today’s material…

The Faces of the War Collection

I recently finished the read-through editing of my manuscript for Imminent! Upon completing the first draft, the manuscript was just shy of 43K words. After this first read-through, it is just over 45K. This is right where I originally wanted the story to be in terms of word count, so we’ll see what changes end up being made once I get the returned manuscript from my editor.

Also, as I’ve mentioned before, you can expect a cover and synopsis reveal probably around Halloween. I’ll give more details regarding the reveal as the next four weeks press on. I want to be sure that I have the manuscript back in my hands completely edited before moving forward with the reveal. The point is, you can surely be excited in the anticipation of it!

I alluded to something in my most recent vlog that has to do with my next project. It is going to be the next book in the WWII collection, the story of which is already planned out and ready to be written. I am excited to get Imminent off the ground, but I’m also excited to continue writing into the next project! More details about that will come in due time.

Indie Writing Advice

I have learned through writing my first two books, as well as during the writing of Imminent, that a good habit to have is to be conscious of the characters you write. When it comes to writing main characters, you must make them relative and understandable to the reader, for it is those characters that the reader experiences the story. The story line should differ from book to book, and so the character’s experiences should be unique to their circumstances.

In a series or collection, like what I’m writing, it’s okay to reintroduce familiar themes or motifs across different stories, because it helps the reader understand the world they’re reading about and the characters within that world. We draw on preconceptions of places or things if we come across them in reading multiple times, and so that can be used to help establish a better understanding of what’s actually going on in the story and where. However, you don’t want to fall into a habit of writing what is known as a flat character – someone in the story who lacks a dynamic personality or who doesn’t really change through the course of the story. In the same way, you don’t want to have a flat story line, either.

So if you are new to writing, don’t be afraid to explore your world and your characters, and on the same token don’t be afraid to revisit places or people in an effort to help keep a newly formed story familiar to the reader.

That’s about it for this post. There’ll be more in the coming weeks as Imminent progresses through the publishing process, so stay tuned! Follow my blog or join my mailing list (by emailing me at elikale.author@gmail.com) to stay as updated as possible on this project!

Until next time,

-Eli

Off to the Editor!

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

I don’t know what it is about the fall season, but for some reason it inspires productivity and motivation within me. I hope it does the same for you! I have some news for you this week, so let’s get to it…

The Faces of the War Collection

I sent the first portion of my manuscript off to my editor Saturday night, and will continue to work on self-editing the rest of the manuscript this week. I don’t believe I’ll have any major rewriting to do, so ideally I’ll be able to have everything done on my end by Friday. I’m excited to see my editor’s thoughts and comments on the story, and to see where it’ll take me from there!

As I near the stage of publishing this book, I am looking ahead to my next project to get things in order for it. I already have the story planned out section by section, and I’ve done some research already through reading and looking information up online. Now it just needs to be written! I’ll touch on that more as the release date for Imminent gets closer.

The Short Story Collection

I know it’s been a while since I’ve talked about this project, mainly because I haven’t been working on it. Considering that I do have three stories (in rough form) to publish a Volume 2, I may squeeze in some writing on that project over the Christmas season with the intent to finalize those three stories by New Year’s Day. It would be nice to get a short story volume released before really getting into my next book, but like I’ve always said: I won’t rush things if they don’t need to happen right now.

Indie Writing Advice

If you are new to the indie writing scene, or new to writing in general, here are some tips I have for you that have helped me:

1. Write for you, not for someone else. By this, I simply mean that you are writing because it’s something you enjoy, it’s something that brings out your inner self and makes you happy…so why try to write a book to please someone else. It’s a simple fact: not everyone will like every book that will ever be published, so why try to cater to that idea? Write what you want to write.

2. Don’t be afraid to seek help or learn more about the craft. This is especially true when it comes to things like formatting your books, marketing your brand, and developing your platform. If you ever have a question about something, just ask someone, or look it up. It will do you no good in the long run to guess at what you’re trying to do. If you learn about indie writing and have purpose in it, then you’ll be much better off.

Those are two things that I have found to be most prevalent in my experience, and so I want to pass them along to you!

That about does it for this post. Please join my mailing list if you haven’t done so already so that you can get all the juicy details about my projects. And be sure to keep an eye out for my cover release in the next month.

Until next time,

-Eli

Falling Into Autumn

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

Autumn is approaching! I love the smells that are in the air, the feel of the cool morning breezes on my skin, and the sense of impending change that defines the season. It’s one of my favorite times of year, and I’ve decided to use it as a tool to help revitalize my drive and ambition, with the hope of completing my current projects to the best of my ability! Let’s get down to this week’s details…

The Faces of the War Collection

Much progress has been made since last week. I have no more than 3,000 words left to write to reach my target word count (or close to it), and it is my intention to knock out those words in the coming week. I mentioned last week that I received the finished front cover of Imminent, and that I’ll reveal that properly as the release date of the book gets closer. It is still set for December 11, with the aim being that the book will be available for purchase before Christmas – in case you want to gift it to someone! I’ll continue to give updates on this project through this blog, so continue following to stay in the loop!

Inkitt Short Story

There is still time to read my latest short story on the website Inkitt, and to vote for it (if you like it) before the contest ends on September 24. I’ve said it before – I’m not looking to win the contest, but rather to get my content “out there.” If I were to win, great! But if not, I’ll just be glad to have been able to create something new for you, my readers, to enjoy. Let me know what you think!

YouTube

I am looking forward to continuing into the autumn and winter with my videos. I am making it a goal of mine to get into a better habit of recording more throughout the week rather than just one or two days. Videos will still be posted on Fridays, sometimes skipping weeks here and there if my personal schedule is particularly hectic. You can find my videos on my channel, and be sure to “Subscribe” so that you can see my latest videos in your home feed. And tell a friend – I’m always looking to connect with new viewers and followers of my work!

Indie Writing Advice

When writing your first draft, it’s wise not to worry about making it perfect. I’ve said this before – doing that will hinder the flow of creativity and ideas, and will draw out the writing process much longer than it should be. Save the fine-tuning for later. One thing to do as you write, though, is to take a mental note (or actually write it down on a pad of paper) of the words or phrases you often tend to resort to often.

For example, I tend to picture in my mind the scene I’m writing as it plays out. I sometimes have characters nod in agreement or understanding, and I find that I write it as such quite a bit. So what I do is simple: I’ll go into the finished first draft and run a search for the word “nod” and see how many results come up. I’ll then go through and try to replace it with a different action that will convey similar emotion, tension, etc. in that scene. This not only decreases repetitive wording, but it forces me to freshen up my vocabulary and by extension helps round out my characters and what they do. I include this in my editing read-throughs after I finish the first draft. This way, these repetitive actions and dialogue beats will be ironed out and made pretty before handing the story over to my editor, which cuts down on their work in the end.

That’s all I have for this week, but stay tuned as progress is made this week and next, and as the story nears its completion. The publishing process will begin to pick up speed as the autumn presses on, so join me for the ride in the coming months as we move closer to release!

Until next time,

-Eli

Book Cover Judgment

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

I am looking forward to the week ahead, and am grateful to have yet another opportunity to do my passion: writing. If you find yourself wanting to try something new or you haven’t made time to explore your passions, I encourage you to do so! I have a few developments I’d like to talk about today…

The Faces of the War Collection

I received the final draft of my book cover last week, and I am excited to show it to you when the time comes. It wasn’t exactly how I originally envisioned it, but it’s something different that I ended up liking a lot as the process went forward. I’ll reveal it to you down the road, when the manuscript is much closer to being the finished product.

Inkitt Short Story

There is still time to read and vote for my short story; of course, voting for it if you enjoyed reading it! You can find it on the Inkitt website under the historical fiction contest entitled “Reclaim Time” here. It was a fun story to write, and I hope it’s a great story to read!

Indie Writing Advice

In light of my book cover being completed, I’d like to touch on the misconception that you don’t need to have a professionally designed book cover. In my opinion (and this is a shared opinion by many big names in the industry, like David Gaughran), not giving your book cover the attention it deserves is tantamount to not seeing people buy your book. Even if it’s free, a badly designed cover will turn potential readers away. Think of it this way: your cover is the first view a potential reader gets of your book and the story within it. If the cover doesn’t at least keep their attention for ten seconds, then there’s very little hope.

I’ll compare this to something I experienced when I was studying abroad in Russia. When I was picked up by my host family and taken to their apartment building, I was caught off-guard by their building: it was somewhat run down, the landscaping wasn’t kept well, and the atmosphere just seemed a little “back alley.” However, when we got inside the building and into their flat, it was amazing! The style of their home was welcoming and eclectic, and it was quite a step up from my own home. My point is this: the outside of the building probably wouldn’t appeal to many, but once inside that perception would drastically change. The same can go for books with poorly made covers – the outside might not appeal, but the inside could be amazing.

That’s about it for this week. I thank you for your continued support, and if this is your first time reading my blog then I welcome you! Follow me for project updates and details regarding upcoming books. I look forward to interacting with you!

Until next time,

-Eli