Blog Post 111

Tessera Trilogy blog post 111

Sooley Base word count stands finally at 93 K and page count at 194.

I have been blessed by the constructive criticisms of the Riverside Writers Group for Sooley Base. Additionally several supportive folks have helped with the cover of the novel, and with critical suggestions on helicopters, submarines, and medical protocols. These folks have been extremely helpful, but there have been some other no shows. This relates to the whinery, as a bit of whining is appropriate in all writing.

Several others were approached to review and comment on segments dealing with military maneuver tactics. One even agreed. Neither, however, provided any comments. Writers need to be realistic and realize that sycophants exist and will disappoint you, smiling and suggesting or promising support … but failing in the final analysis. Sad but true!

Another note of interest. DP Tolan had to resize and reshoot the cover several time to achieve the correct file size, vertical/horizontal proportions, and file format before BookBaby.com would finally accept all the bits and pieces. It all came together on Christmas day.

Characters can make or break a novel, but that’s at the main character level. Ancillary, drop in characters can add humor, provoke thought, or just be forgettables. A few characters in Sooley Base were chosen for comic relief, though readers would have to be (I guess) looking for that angle.  Qwen Chiu, Hu Faht,  and several other character names were chosen with tongue in cheek. An author has to have a sense of humor, and see what he/she can sneak by the readers.

Costs of putting together a novel. It helps that both sides of just about every sheet are used; it’s a green thing. I tried to be Green in another way, reusing words that had been used before. Printer cartridges – I refilled one many times. The average number of sheets per cartridge had averaged about 175, but I managed to get to over 800 copies by refilling that one cartridge before it gave up the ghost. And let’s not forget the blog updates; they take time and energy.

As a new marketing concept, patterned after a successful RWG novelist’s approach, a signature block will be designed and included in future emails. It will include links to RWG website (as member), and links to the Golden Gate sales points and Tessera Trilogy blog. It can’t hurt to advertise.

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Joyuex Noel, Bon Natale, Chuc Mung Yang Sing, Mele Kaliki Maka, Kala Chrisuyena ( my apologies for trying this phonetically).

Blog Post 110

Even as I read I noted some necessary changes, and have incorporated those. The effort goes onward, if slowly. Word count now stands at 93.5 K and page count at 190, but these will vary as the draft moves towards final form.

The Riverside Writers Group just held their end of the year meeting, accompanied by a choral group from Spotsylvania High School, and a member singing in Hebrew. Awesome holiday delicacies were shared by members … then the library abruptly closed due to inclement weather.

The glossary that were planned have been eclipsed, with all terms defined within the text.  Narrative segments are swiftly being transformed into dialogue.

Sooley Base will be available for eBook readers through Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com by the end of the year. The publisher, BookBaby.com, unfortunately is not set up to market two novels in one package. So the new novel will be on sale for $3.99.

The dedication and acknowledgements for the novel have been finalized. Let me share the list of those who have contributed to Sooley Base, and again say THANK YOU!

LCOL Tom Kovach, USMC, attack helo pilot

LCDR John Vilcheck, USN, submarine officer

Robin Bohnen, RN, medical terminology and protocols

Rob Ryan, friend, shared views on life

Alex, recent GMU graduate, book cover, and insights into flow, dialogue

Meriem Hadji, book cover artwork.

Sinjin Nedland, book cover artwork. 

BLOG POST 109

Editorial critiques from review of draft segments from Sooley Base

1)       Editorial suggestions – agree; in process

2)      Eliminate use of viewgraphs, slides – disagree, part of genre

3)      Minimize use of BOLDING for emphasis – partially agree, part of  technical genre

4)      Minimize exclamation points as emphasis – agree, in process

5)      Set the scene better – agree, in process

6)      Reduce technical narrative – agree in part

7)      Incorporate character reactions – agree, in process

8)      Increase tension in segments – agree, in process

9)       Use less poetic language – agree; in process

10)   Improve flow – agree, in process

11)   Accentuate character personalities – agree, in process

12)   Identify speakers – agree, in process

13)   Read dialogue for effect before finalizing – agree, in process

These suggestions come at a point where the majority of the novel is in final draft, yet they expose segments which need help before going to market.