vlogs

On to the Next Project!

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

First off, I’d like to say that on this day of celebration in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. I hope that we can keep in mind our past and the struggles that many faced to bring about change in our world. Things can get pretty dark at times, and the civil rights era was just one of those times. The fight against racial discrimination continues today, but in different ways than before. Whatever your stance is on politics or religion or simply the proper way to act toward others, I hope that you can push yourself toward being kind and considerate and (perhaps to some degree) tolerant of those different than you. Life is a precious thing; it would be a shame to waste it by hating others. It’s not important that Martin Luther King was black – it’s simply because he was human that made his struggle so great.

As 2016 continues to unravel and reveal what’s in store for us, I hope that you’re finding yourself striving toward achieving your goals and reaching for your dreams and aspirations, as well as being the best version of yourself that you can be. I have only a few items to talk about today, so let’s get down to it…

The Faces of the War Collection

With the release of Imminent in its second week, I am pleased to say that so far it has been received well. It was fun to research and write, and I’m glad that it went off virtually without any major hitch. The pre-order price of this book was $2.99 and I ended up deciding to leave it as such since the book went live. But that won’t last too much longer, so pick up your Kindle copy before the price goes up! The print price, of course, is still $8.99. Now that that story is behind me in terms of new writing, my focus now shifts to the next project.

I’ve mentioned in my YouTube vlogs before that I plan on writing the final two books in the collection simultaneously, testing my boundaries and experimenting with new things. And I think that doing it this way might lend to keeping the content I write fresh in my mind so I’m not sticking to the same project for such a long time. So today marks the beginning of the next stretch of my writing journey, but this time I’ll be tackling two books.

The tentative release details for Book Four include a date sometime in late 2017, with Book Five releasing sometime in 2018. This, again, is because I’d like to have some uniformity and a streamlined look to the books and their details. Here’s what it will look like when it’s all over:

Resistant (2014)
Unguarded (2015)
Imminent (2016)
Book Four (2017)
Book Five (2018)

You can see how my OCD and attention to detail really kick in here! So that’s where things currently sit with my WWII historical fiction work, and I hope that I can produce two more stories with the same feel yet explore new or unique perspectives and challenges for my characters. Most important of all – I hope that you will join me on this journey (or stay with me if you’ve been a part of it for a while) and we can see how it ends, together.

Writing Tip: When writing action tags for your characters, try to picture yourself in their shoes in order to get an idea of sensory details in any given moment, especially during an action sequence. 

The Short Story Collection

At the moment, I am working toward completing the next volume in the collection. The tentative release date is sometime this summer. I’ll have more details as winter turns to spring and progress is made on the stories.

As for my most recent volume (#2), there will be a free promotion all next week! You can find the Kindle ebook on Amazon and pick up your free copy if you don’t already have it. This volume was the follow-up volume to my first, which released in the fall of 2014. I hope you enjoy it, and would appreciate a review or direct feedback to me via email or social media. I like to know how I’m doing and where I can improve!

That’s about all the news for this week. I am very excited to get things rolling on these new WWII books, and I hope you’re excited to read them when the time comes. Thanks to all who have offered me encouragement and support, and to my readers – for without all of you, my work would be nearly impossible!

Until next time,

-Eli

Getting Closer to the End

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

A new week has arrived on the calendar, which means that we have yet another opportunity to seek and achieve great things – be it goals, ambitions, passion…whatever you set your heart to! I am in the process of working toward achieving my own goals, and I’ll share some news about those goals with you now…

The Faces of the War Collection

I’ve sent my second round of changes for the book cover for Imminent and am currently awaiting the designer’s next draft as I write this. This is a very exciting part of the publishing process because it’s the first tangible sign that your project is coming to life!

Just last night, I eclipsed the 10K word mark for Part II, and finally completed the writing of that part, with the first draft word count coming to just over 11K. With about 15K more words to go, I am in the home stretch of writing the first draft…and that is very exciting too! Hopefully in just a few weeks, I’ll have the first draft completed and can then move on to the next step: editing.

YouTube

If you haven’t yet subscribed to my channel, I encourage you to do so! You’ll be able to stay up-to-date on my writing projects as well as get a glimpse into my life behind the writing. In my vlogs, I share my thoughts about writing, indie publishing, and other topics, as well as give advice to newer writers based on my experiences in the industry so far. I also have done a series on my writing process, so if you’re new to the game then I encourage you to check it out. Keep in mind that all writers are different, so everything I say or do might not fit into your style of writing and working. But that’s the beauty of it: we can learn from each other. It’s a journey that I want to take with others interested in what I do or who like my work, so please join me and let’s connect!

Short Story

As you may be aware, I submitted a short story to a historical fiction contest on the website Inkitt. The contest ends in late September, but the time to read it is now! Why? Because in order to win the contest, I need votes from you, my readers. But it’s more than winning a contest; it’s about sharing new content with the world and providing good stories for others to be entertained by. I’ve been told my story is a good one, so if you have 15-20 minutes that you’d like to put toward reading a short story, please give mine a look. Don’t forget to vote for it by clicking the heart icon at the bottom of the screen!

Indie Writing Advice

When you write your first draft, it’s easy to get wrapped up into trying to perfect it as the words first fall onto the page. Though it’s a good habit to make – editing and reworking the words as you go – it’s not something that should be a make-or-break sort of thing. You should ground this thought into your head as you write your first draft of any project: it’s not going to be perfect.

I’ve published two books and am working on my third, and even now I can think of ways that I could’ve made my stories better. And that’s after I read through the manuscripts each a handful of times, had them edited by others, and gave myself time in between self-editing so as to approach the drafts with a refreshed eye (all of those things, by the way, are practices I advocate in my writing process videos)! So it’s wise to live by the idea that you can always improve a story, so there’s no sense in bothering with trying to make it perfect on the first go.

Just focus on getting the story in your mind onto the page in it’s rawest form, then go from there with a fine-tooth comb to make it better down the road. And if you’re in the same boat with me, you’ll want to write for the sake of writing because you lack the freedom of time, and you know that editing will come later. Take a deep breath. Relax. And write on.

That’s all I have for you right now. Keep an open eye for news of my book cover, whether it be in social media or in next week’s blog post. Either way, it’s coming, and it’s going to be great!

Until next time,

-Eli

Imminent Cover & Other News

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

It is a new week, and thus a new chance to accomplish your goals. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm,” so get out there and tackle your goals and dreams with purpose! I have a few things for you today, so let’s get down to business…

The Faces of the War Collection

I am just about ready to submit my cover ideas for Imminent (my third and upcoming book) to my cover designer, so you should expect a reveal sometime in the next month or so, barring any impediments along the way. I am debating whether or not to include the story description/synopsis with the cover. I didn’t do that with either of my first two books, but maybe I should change it up for this one. What do you think? As for the writing, I have today off from both jobs, so I intend on getting work done.

*cue thinking out loud (…or on the page…)

I have given some thought as to how the writing of this book has gone thus far, and that it has been drastically different than the previous two books. Part of that reason, I think, is because I’ve started another job. The time that I had free before to write is now mostly taken up by this second job, therefore leaving me with less time to write for extended periods of time. This change in circumstance is slowly forcing me to change my writing methodology, going from writing for a few hours on days off to writing in smaller increments every day. Only time will tell whether I can write effectively this way, or if I must search for a new writing method.

With that being said, I also think some of the issue of my lack of writing is the fact that in my mind I’m still trying to make the late summer deadline to release the book. In reality, though, I’m coming to realize that’s not possible. So, my plan is to rethink the book’s release and aim for that new deadline. I don’t know for sure what that is yet, but when I do I will inform you! After all, you are the reason I write, so it is right that you be the first to know.

If this is your first time reading my blog and you’d like to check out my first two WWII historical fiction books, you can find them here (Resistant) and here (Unguarded).

YouTube

I am continuing to improve my recording habits throughout the week so I can upload good videos to my channel every Friday. “Good” in the sense that they give you a nice look into my life, both the personal and writing aspects of it. I’m not out to impress anybody, nor to suggest that what I say about writing is definitive or “right.” I simply like to talk about reading and writing as I experience it and as I understand it, which is the most anyone can expect of a person in my position, I think.

For the time being, I record footage throughout the week and post a video on Friday. In the future, though, I see myself putting up 2 or even 3 videos a week. I’d like to think that I could gain a following that enjoys watching me and hearing what I have to say about the things I discuss in my vlogs, and that those people would support me in making more than one video a week. But I won’t rush things – it’ll happen when it happens!

Other News

In an effort to vary up the content I put out to my readers and followers, I am taking some time to unofficially poll my readers. What do you want to know about me? What would you like me to discuss on my blog, vlogs, or newsletters? Is there something different I can be doing to better interact with you?

I’d really like to connect with those who read and follow my work, because that’s the reason I write. Well, I also write because I enjoy doing it for me, but you know what I mean! So please, communicate with me your thoughts and questions. I’d really like to hear from you.

That’s all I have for you today, but I’m sure more will unfold as the coming weeks come and go. I’m really looking forward to getting the cover back from my designer and revealing it to you. I’m even more excited to finish writing Imminent and publishing it for your reading pleasure. Just bear with me and it’ll be here before we know it!

Until next time,

-Eli

New Project Title Reveal

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

It is a new week and a good one so far, at that! Why? Because I have some news for you, as well as some other things. So let’s get started…

The Faces of the War Collection

I am pleased to inform you that things have been moving along well enough with my current WIP (work in progress, if you didn’t know), that I am ready to officially reveal the project’s title. As you know, my current book is the third in my WWII historical fiction project, where the Second World War is viewed through the perspectives of different individuals. I have mentioned before that this third story will be told from the German perspective, and that the character is male. I’ll reveal now that the character is in the German army and that the story line revolving around that fact will be more condensed that the stories of the previous two books in the collection.

The title of this book is “Imminent”. This story has taken me on a different sort of path in terms of how it’s been written and what I’ve had to do to get the story onto the page. Like I’ve said in past blog posts and YouTube vlogs, I am excited to see where this story takes me, because every writing experience has been different for me thus far. It is very interesting to get to experience writing in different ways!

Even though this project title, along with the titles of the other books in the collection, is already revealed at the end of the book, I like to dedicate a post to new titles that I’m working toward publishing, because it gives attention to the fact that I’m producing another story. Getting to see how my creativity manifests itself in a tangible book is amazing, as well as encouraging, and it makes me want to continue writing and networking with fellow writers. It’s a wonderful circle of cause and effect!

Now, you may be wondering: Eli, you’ve done title reveals for your first two books, and usually you include the book cover with the title reveal…where is the cover for this one? Great question! I chose to do the title and cover reveals separately for this book because the writing process is a little more drawn out than with the previous two books. I didn’t want to wait to do both reveals later down the road, nor did I want to reveal them both too early and then force you to wait to get your hands on the book. So this is the middle road – I am hoping to get the manuscript finished and published in the autumn, so you can probably expect a cover reveal around mid-August to early-September. That is the hope, at least.

All in all, I think everything is going well with this book, despite not writing as often as I’d like on a weekly basis. But that’s the nature of writing, especially writing as a secondary or tertiary job: you can’t always write as much as you’d like. But you just have to try to make it work, and that’s what I’m going to do. Like I’ve said before – I’d rather not sacrifice potentially good writing in order to get a book on the shelf. That’s not what writing should be about. It’s about being creative and making it something you can enjoy!

Other News

That’s about it for right now, aside from the regular stuff: YouTube vlogs come out every Friday (you can find them on my channel) and I’m working on side projects behind the scenes, which will be discussed later. For anything else you’d like to know about me and my work, you can find it on my website. Most of all, I’d love to connect with you through my newsletter, which comes out every couple of weeks. Either way, I’d love to connect with my readers. So please, shoot me an email or tweet me!

Until next time,

-Eli

Summer Plans

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Friends,

It is another week – one that I hope is filled with goals and aspirations for you, both personally and professionally! Let’s get right down to business…

The Faces of the War Collection

First of all, I apologize for not informing you via the blog post last week that my first two books were discounted on Amazon. I had a lot on my mind and much was going on for me personally that day, but that’s no excuse. As a writer and self-promoter, I should have been more on top of that, and I wasn’t. So to compensate for it, I will plan to make these two books, Resistant and Unguarded, free for a time during the launch week of my third and upcoming book. I hope to release it in the late summer or early fall, depending on its publication progress.

As for those details, I had to switch some story details around, which put me back in my writing just a tad this week. But that’s part of the process – researching and getting the details done accurately. I’m closing in on the completion of Part I (there are usually three Parts to my books, if you’re new to my work), after which I plan to continue right along with Part II. My original plan was to switch projects and work a little on my short stories while Part I was being beta read, but priorities have changed for me at this point. I want to complete this book first before changing projects.

To help get feedback on my projects, I’m always open to working with people who enjoy reading, and who would like to be beta readers for me. We can discuss compensation if you’re interested, and if so, please contact me at the email found on my Contact page.

The Short Story Collection

As you just read above, I’ve decided to put this project on hold for the time being. I hope to get some more feedback on the story I’ve completed in order to really fine tune it. That will happen in time…just not right now.

YouTube

I am nearing the end of my series on my writing process. Since I’ll be on a brief anniversary trip at the end of the month, I figured I’d treat that as a dividing point between YouTube mini projects. With that being said, I’ll upload three more videos over the next two weeks, then take that Friday off while on vacation.

Upon my return, I’ll treat my weekly vlogs as simply that: video logs of what I do throughout the week without really having a scripted structure like for the writing process videos. I’d like to include footage of our time on vacation (location to be disclosed later), but we’ll see what happens.

If you haven’t yet seen my videos or subscribed to my channel, you can find my content here.

That’s all I have for today. As always, I thank you for your following, and for the support and encouragement you give me. It helps doing what I do go over so much better, believe me!

Until next time,

-Eli

Dayton Book Expo is Close!

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

A new week awaits, hopefully holding for you a slew of opportunities and experiences that will enrich your lives! Let’s get down to business…

The Faces of the War Collection

I am happy to say that writing for Part I is nearing its completion…only a few thousand more words to go! Though writing has been slow due to preparations for the Expo this coming weekend, I look forward to picking up the pace upon my return next week. Also on this front: ideas for the book cover are coming together and I’ll soon be getting things moving for that, so keep an eye out for details in the coming weeks and months for its reveal!

During the writing of this book, I have come to realize that I have a better understanding of creative writing, and my hope is that this trend will only continue so I can produce better writing. The storyline of this book is different from my previous two books in many ways, yet my aim is to intertwine familiar plot and structure attributes into it. I am excited for what this story will convey to readers and how the moral of it will be perceived. Time will tell!

If you would like to check out my first two books in this collection, you can find them under the tab above entitled “The Faces of the War Collection.”

The Short Story Collection

Not much has happened on this project, given that my main focus has been preparing for the Expo and writing in my third WWII book. I am still awaiting the return of a manuscript from a beta reader, so the project as a whole won’t be moving forward anyway. As I said before, my hope is to now have this project released by early summer, so keep an eye out for details to come!

If you would like to check out my first short story volume in this collection, you can find it under the tab above entitled “The Short Story Collection.”

Dayton Book Expo

With the Expo only days away, my excitement is ever increasing. I have just about everything ready to go for my table displays, which I hope will be sufficient. That’s all part of the process, I think–gauging what I should take with me and hoping it’ll be enough, and then comparing other tables when I get there. Then if I plan to go again in the future, I’ll have a better idea of what to do!

The Expo will be from 11am to 4pm this Saturday, April 25 at Sinclair Community College. I’ll be in the Great Hall (Building 12), but I’m not yet sure where exactly I’ll be set up. But the details for that will be in the reader’s event booklet, so you can find me in there. At my table, I’ll have paperback copies of my two books, which I can sign if you’d like, as well as an email signup list to receive a FREE ebook of your choice after the Expo. And of course, if you’d like to chat about WWII or my books, I’d love to entertain a conversation!

Remember: I’ll be in attendance under my real name (Mike Pratt) and will be listed accordingly; however, my table information and books will have my pen name on them (Eli Kale).

I hope to see you there, and if not, then I’ll let you know how it went in next week’s blog post!

YouTube

My writing process videos are coming along well, with my ninth one in production this week. Last week’s vlog touched on the topic of having another person (friend, colleague, professional, etc.) edit your manuscript and the importance of it. This week’s vlog will touch on what to do once you get the edited manuscript back. To catch up on (or start watching) my vlogs, you can find them on my channel here. Please consider subscribing!

GoFundMe Campaign

I am raising money to support the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. If you have it in your heart to help me support this organization, and to help maintain an important part of history, then please consider donating to my campaign. You can find the details on my campaign page here.

That’s about it for today, but more details and information will arrive in the coming weeks. Thank you for reading my posts, and for supporting and encouraging me as I pursue my passion. It truly means the world!

Until next time,

-Eli

Movin’ Right Along

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

A new week has arrived, bringing to us more opportunities to accomplish our goals! Let’s delve into today’s material…

The Short Story Collection

Last week, I mentioned that I was on pace to complete my next short story ebook, Volume 2, by the end of the month. I really wanted to reach that goal so that I could focus on my next WWII book for a few months. However, upon receiving feedback from my beta reader, it is clear to me that I should spend some extra time on one story in particular. This means that I won’t be releasing a new ebook in the spring, at least not by May 1. But that’s okay – I’m excited to see how the stories develop and where they take me this time around. And who knows…maybe putting in a little more time than usual might make the stories really good. Time will tell!

If you would like to check out my first short story ebook, Volume 1, you can find it here.

The Faces of the War Collection

Since the beginning of the month, writing has slowed a bit on Book Three. As is usually the case, life simply happens and thus pushes concentrated writing down the priority list, as well as decreases the amount of time in which to do it. However, I am convinced that the overall pace of this book is still very much on schedule for my intended release, but those details won’t be revealed yet for another few months.

If you’re interested in checking out my first two books set during the Second World War, you can find them here: Resistant and Unguarded.

YouTube

Videos about my writing process are slowly making progress on my channel. I currently have seven videos posted on the topic, with eight more to go! If you haven’t yet checked them out, I encourage you to do so. And while you’re at it, be sure to click those “Subscribe” and “Thumbs Up” buttons. It’ll really help me out!

Dayton Book Expo

The Expo is fast approaching, and I have most of my tabletop material together and ready. I am very excited to see how it goes and who I meet. This is a big step for me in my writing life, and I’m glad I have the opportunity to do it! Also, I plan on vlogging while I’m there, so keep an eye out for that video!

National WWII Museum

I am raising funds via GoFundMe to support the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. I am doing this because I want to take part in maintaining history, especially that of a time period of which I am so attached and by which I am so intrigued. If you have it in your heart to donate in support of this campaign, I implore you to check out the campaign website and consider donating. Every little bit helps!

Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement of my writing passion. Without you behind me, this would be a whole lot harder!

Until next time,

-Eli

Come On Over!

/ Eli Kale / Leave a comment

Friends,

Welcome to a new post and a new week! My hope is that you set out today to accomplish something on your To-Do list, and that you set out with a positive attitude. Now, let’s get down to business…

The Faces of the War Collection

I will resume writing on Book Three today, after this post goes live, and hope to get into another rhythm throughout the rest of this week. I am only about 5,000 words away from finishing Part I, so I’d really like to hit the writing hard this week to reach that mark. I am still very excited to see what this writing experience brings me and where this story will take me!

In other Faces news, Resistant and Unguarded are selling consistently…slow, but consistently. I have been told that Unguarded is a much better book in terms of writing improvement, so I encourage you to check it out! You can find the Amazon sales page here. You can also find the sales page for Resistant here, if you’re interested.

Dayton Book Expo

Speaking of my first two books, I will have hard copies (paperback format) available for sale at my Expo table. There will also be an email signup list for those interested in joining my mailing list, as well as for a FREE ebook copy of one of my books. There is a limited number of spaces to sign up, so once they’re filled, that’s it! So if you’re coming to the Expo on April 25th, be sure to stop by my table for a chance at a FREE book and to chat with me.

The Short Story Collection

I am currently in the process of awaiting feedback from beta readers on my upcoming release Volume 2. If all goes as planned, the ebook will release by the end of the month. However, sometimes things happen so it’s wise to take that into account. I will continue to update you with release details as the time nears.

If you want to check out my first ebook, Volume 1, you can do so here.

GoFundMe Campaign

I am really looking forward to the initial donation to my campaign! Money donated will support the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. I am looking to help make a difference in the world of history by helping to maintain a part of it, and your donations will help! So please, consider it and consider telling a friend about it. Every little bit helps!

YouTube

My videos are slowly but surely gaining more exposure in the YouTube world, and hopefully in the writing world as well! If you haven’t yet seen my videos, you can find all of them on my channel here. My most recent video on writing process can be found here. I will continue to produce these videos, because I have developed a passion for it and it also is something that I think can help expand my author platform.

That’s about it for news on all fronts, but things are always changing and improving. So I will keep you in the loop! BUT – I can do that way better if you join my mailing list, where I divulge more details and reveal more information than here in the blog posts. So come on over!

Until next time,

-Eli

News, Quotes, and Such

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Friends,

I’d like to start this week and this post off with one of my favorite quotes:

“We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.” Let’s get down to today’s material…

The Faces of the War Collection

This past week, I had one day off from my day job. I earmarked that day as a day of writing, and let me tell you–I wrote. I typed over 3,000 words in Book Three, bringing the size of the manuscript up to just over 12K words. That’s a little more than a quarter of the way done with the first draft! I was satisfied with the writing I accomplished, and am looking forward to yet another full day off this week. I only hope I can be just as productive, if not more!

Resistant and Unguarded, my first two books in this collection, are continuing to sell at a slow but steady rate. I hope to see that rate increase after I attend the Dayton Book Expo and as the following few months roll along.

Dayton Book Expo

I am looking forward to heading south to Dayton on April 25 for the Expo. This week, I’ll be putting together all my table supplies and book accessories for the event; I hope everything comes together all right! If you will be in attendance at the Expo, I hope to see you at my table. You’ll be able to find me in the Expo author directory; however, I’ll be under my real name of Mike Pratt because that’s how I signed up. Remember, Eli Kale is merely my pen name.

If I get things put together well enough over the next few weeks, I might slip you a sneak peek at my table materials, perhaps through Instagram. So keep an eye out!

The Short Story Collection

I will resume work on my next short story book, Volume 2, this week. I gave myself almost a week off from the project, mostly so I could rest my eyes and brain from those stories, but also to devote time to my WWII project as mentioned above. I also have one of the stories out to an editor friend who is looking over the story for me. Another set of eyes always helps with writing!

If all goes as planned (which it sometimes doesn’t) with this project, I’ll release the ebook by May 1. I’ll keep you posted on it. You can check out Volume 1 on the Kindle here.

YouTube

If you haven’t checked out my vlogs (video logs) on YouTube yet, I encourage you to do so! I am currently in the middle of a series on my writing process and my writing life in general. In each video, I include details about a specific step in my writing process, and how it can relate to you. I also give brief talking points on other writing-related topics, some of which go hand in hand with the day’s writing process step. Not only do you learn of how I write, but you get a glimpse into my life and what makes me the writer I am. Be sure to subscribe to my channel (by clicking the red Subscribe button below any video of mine that you watch) and to give my videos a Thumbs Up (by clicking the thumbs-up icon near the video’s title). It helps grow my presence on YouTube!

GoFundMe Campaign

I am still awaiting my first donation to my campaign to support the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. As an incentive, the first few donors will receive a Kindle ebook copy of one of my books, as a thank-you! So head on over to my campaign site and donate – even $5 will do!

As always, thank you all for the support and encouragement you’ve given me to do what I have a passion for doing. And if you’re new to me and my work, welcome aboard and I hope you can get something out of what it is that I do!

Until next time,

-Eli