So, I submitted Far Flung to the BookLife Prize.

Oct24

This post is an update to getting Far Flung, my sci-fi book long-in-progress, finally published. It should also help writers know more about the BookLife Prize, and what you’ll get for the entry fee (89 USD for me, after using a coupon). The draft I submitted stands at 50,000 words – my editing will extend that somewhat, but it will still be in that uncomfortable territory between “novella” and “novel” that is difficult to get published under the best conditions. I want to move ahead anyway, and I’m eyeing indie publishers in Canada and the US who don’t mind dealing with shorter books. Professional editing is too expensive for me to handle alone, so for now, I really don’t want to self-publish it. I also want somebody to help me with marketing, and I definitely won’t have that help if I publish it myself!

Anyway, on to what I actually got out of that entry fee. Far Flung did not place in the quarter or semi-finals of the contest, so the result is only a critics report (and a short one at that). Here is the report they gave:

Plot/Idea: 8 out of 10

Originality: 8 out of 10

Prose: 8 out of 10

Character/Execution: 8 out of 10

Overall: 8.00 out of 10

Assessment:

Plot: This exciting and well-developed sci-fi adventure sees a space vessel and crew stranded in an unknown galaxy.

Prose/Style: While this narrative occasionally becomes overly technical, which tends to somewhat slow the plot, the author ultimately crafts a believable world in an easy flowing manner.

Originality: With appealing alien characters and a vividly realized world, this futuristic story has some surprises in store for readers.

Character Development/Execution: The characters display change and growth through the novel and readers will be invested in their outcomes.

What am I to take away from this? Well, for the longest prose I’ve written so far, and for what will be my very first book, I think that it can be edited into something very good. If I try BookLife again with an updated draft next year (an option that is available), I might boost that score. But honestly, I’ve already put money into this particular book idea (just look back at my Inkshares experience), and I really shouldn’t take any more out of my own pocket if I can help it. I’m not expecting any great sum of money out of it once it’s published, but there’s got to be some traditional or indie publisher who’ll take it on.

I’ll do some editing I’ve thought up since submission, and I’ll continue the search for a publisher.

#IWSG – Therapy and Writing

Jan4

I’ve talked a bit recently about how I’m not sure how to use my website now, and where I want to go.

Here’s what I know so far:

I can’t do reviews or previews too often. Good reviews take time away from writing, and I need to write.
Far Flung, flawed as it may be, will get finished. I will get it edited and prepared professionally, despite money issues – I’ve seen too many crappy ebooks with garbage covers, and I will not let my story be among them. If I have to get it edited chapter by chapter, so be it.
Work on Far Flung will be followed immediately by work on its sequel, which I will submit to the Launchpad Competition. If I understand correctly, I get a free submission this year thanks to my placement in the list last year.
I need therapy and I can’t afford it. Betterhelp.com is an option I’ve tried, and I don’t have money for it now. There’s also 7 cups, which has a premium version I can’t afford, but there seems to be some amount of free help I can get, so I’ll look into that. Face-to-face options near me are very limited, but perhaps 1 or 2 sessions a month will be manageable.
I need to somehow improve myself despite being completely shut out by my wife. We can’t afford a separation. We can’t afford couples counseling. I can’t see my friends very often. So I’m stuck doing this myself until I make some change that she can recognize.
I need to write every day, and my online presence will suffer for it. I wish I could do more reviews, guests posts, and other things, but I write too slowly for all that. My fiction takes priority.

I can give some idea of a timeline, though. Far Flung can get to the professional editing stage this year. I think having a draft ready for publication is an attainable goal for the end of this year. Actual publication is more likely to be in 2019.

As for my self-improvement? I’m exercising, and I’ve cut soda out entirely. No weight loss I can report yet. I still have to figure out which therapy is good for me that I can actually afford, but I think it will be focused on general anxiety and various issues with my family.

This blog, when I’m confident I can write for it AND keep up my fiction writing, will look at the ways my therapy for anxiety ties in with writing fiction. Maybe this blog can help other anxious writers. I think mental health issues and being good at writing overlap far more often than any of us like to admit, and it would be worthwhile to explore that correlation.