I just made progress on Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Rites! So far I’m 92% complete on the Writing phase. 8 Weeks remain until the deadline.
Kind of a “small” update, because this was a second pass on a 65-page section for a writer’s group. Took me longer than it should have to craft this, largely because both an action sequence and a deliberately awkward love scene were giving me difficulties.
At the moment, I’m looking into advertising, as I’ve about exhausted the free avenues. Particularly, I’m considering paid reviews—not paid Amazon reviews, which are a no-no, but paid reviews from services like Kirkus. I’m gathering my info before I open my wallet; there’s an active debate on the internet over whether paid reviews are legit, or worth it, or whether the formerly respected Kirkus still deserves its reputation.
Publisher’s Weekly, which nobody reads except librarians, reviews indie titles; they formerly had a paid service, but now do it for free, but also reject around 90% of submissions. I think it’s worth it to go for it (considering it costs nothing but time), but the ironic thing is that I may be ineligible because I actually have a publisher, whereas their indie reviews are apparently focused on self-published titles. At least as far as they are concerned, I’m in a sort of no-man’s land between the Big Three and the self-pubbed.
If nothing else, Twitter and Facebook ads are likely to make enough of a return to pay for themselves. I’ll probably prepare something on that front, at least.
I’ve not been too active here lately, I realize. I’m trying to figure out some things on the book promotion front. I’m new to this, and arguably behind, as there were probably more things I should have done before the publication, but this isn’t something I’ve done before.
Anyway, author John C. Wright was nice enough to give Jake and the Dynamo a plug. You can see it here. He also showcases some of the art by Roffles Lowell.
Speaking of Lowell, he informs me that he just finished the book himself, which he didn’t have the chance to read in its final form before publication. He writes:
I’m really blown away, man. I’ve been itching to see what you did in terms of revision, and while I’m only halfway through as of the time of this writing, I want to commend you. The improvement I’m seeing blows me away.
It’s funny, reading it the first time around I never said to myself, oh, this is a problem, or this seems amateurish, etc. But you really brought this to the next level. The pacing is tighter, the characterizations are sharper, the banter flows more naturally. I like how organically you integrated the exposition into each scene, so that all the intricacies of the setting fill themselves in gradually, never making you feel like you’re pausing for a history lesson. I especially like the way you worked up the relationship between Jake and Ralph. Ralph’s family being fleshed out further really gives a good feel for what normality in this world must be like. It gives you a better sense of what goes through Jake’s head when he sets himself up like a surrogate brother to Dana, despite her behavior towards him. …
… I really like how you brought out the Faust elements more explicitly here than in the serialized version. The ambiguity wasn’t fruitful, I think, and now things are much punchier. It’s like you confront postmodern magical girl nihilism head on, and then move right along into subverting it.
So there you have it. If you do read the book, be so kind as to leave an Amazon review. I don’t ask for a good review, of course, but do leave a remark. It helps us newbs get noticed.
