The Gift Trilogy Archives - Page 5 of 8

Timing Woes

May 31, 2013 By JPMcLean 2 Comments

Timing Woes

This time around, I thought I’d be better at predicting the timing of certain events in the course of publishing a book.

Apparently not.

Today I thought I’d be revealing the cover for Book II, Revelation. And I would have, except I wasn’t happy with the way the title looked on the final proof. So I chose to have it re-done rather than settle, which is the cause of my timing woes and why I’m writing this post instead of the “ta-da” post I’d envisioned.

As disappointed as I am with the delay, I’m keeping it in perspective. The cover will be all the better for it and anticipation is a sweet seduction.

Keep your eyes peeled for that “ta-da” post next week (I think).

Meantime, this is what readers are saying about Book 1, Secret Sky:

Photo by Nathan Shively on Unsplash

After The End

March 14, 2013 By JPMcLean 2 Comments

I’d been writing for months before I told anyone. It would be many more months before I typed “The End” and found the courage to let someone read what I’d written. I say courage because it felt like exposing myself, as if I were admitting I’d developed an embarrassing fetish.

After my secret was out, I felt less guilt about choosing to plunk away at the computer rather than weed the gardens, but where was I going with my writing? When I finished writing Awakening, I went looking for the answer.

It thrilled me that I’d written a book, but what did I do with it?

Most publishers won’t accept unsolicited manuscripts. You have to submit through an agent. My research showed that getting an agent, let alone getting published, was a long shot. Nonetheless, this is how it was done. I researched potential agents, prepared the required submission material, and sent out a dozen query letters.

While I waited for their responses, I began to question the sanity of the process.

I’d already made a considerable investment in time and money: a manuscript evaluation, several manuscript printings, postage back and forth to cold readers, an editor, and cover art.

Did I want to invest more time on the minuscule chance I’d find an agent? And if I got an agent, did I want to wait again for them to sell it to a publisher? And if my agent had the good fortune to sell it, did I want to wait a year or more for them to publish it?

My research also showed that most new authors are paid a pittance, get no marketing support, and being untested, don’t have the negotiating clout to improve their contracts. Some of those contracts include language that makes it difficult to get rights back. Additionally, if the book doesn’t sell well in its first few months, it fades from bookstore shelves.

I don’t begrudge agents or publishers their right to whatever business model works for them.

But is their business model a good fit for me?

The answer is no.

After further research, I decided to indie publish. Because I don’t (yet) have the technical skills to navigate the process, I partnered with a local company. They handle the formatting for hardcover, trade paperback, and ebook editions, and make it available at multiple retailers.

It’s a compromise. I don’t have full control, but I haven’t signed away my rights. Indie publishing isn’t for everyone, but so far (for me at least) the pros outweigh the cons.

I’m investing in me and I’m not finished yet. The second book in the trilogy, Revelation is on the verge of publication, and I’m indie publishing again.

As it turns out, “The End” is just the beginning.

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

Amarone Celebration

January 8, 2013 By JPMcLean 9 Comments

JP McLean finishes third book of trilogy!

Just before Christmas I made a trip to the liquor store to pick up a few special gifts. While I stood in the fine wines section contemplating the choices, my attention drifted down to a bottle of Amarone.

I quickly averted my gaze.

This was the season of giving, I reminded myself, and I was pretty sure that didn’t mean giving to myself. I made my selections then moved to the single malts. Again, my gaze wandered to fine wines. Not today, I reminded myself, and continued my gift shopping.

When I arrived at the check out, I joined a long line. The entire time I waited, that damn bottle of Amarone called my name.

“You’re going to need me,” it taunted. I ignored it.

“Soon. You’ll see,” it chanted. I looked away.

“You’ll regret not having me on hand,” it said, humming Adele’s, Don’t you Remember.

I responded in kind, singing P!nk’s, Sober.

The Hairy Eyeball

The gentleman in front of me gave me the hairy eyeball (I really shouldn’t sing in public). His order filled a shopping cart. No one had that many friends, I thought, uncharitably. His bulk order gave me plenty of time to re-think my virtuous nature. Who was I trying to fool, I rationalized? And while he yanked out his credit card, I skeedattled back to fine wines, grabbed that bottle of Amarone and dragged it back to my cart.

It’s now a month since that fateful trip to the liquor store. The days have been filled with bouts of guilt knowing I’d hidden the Amarone in a closet just around the corner from the kitchen. Late in the evening when I’m plucking away at my computer, it taunts me from its cradle. Every morning for a month I’ve said, “not yet, Il mio amore. I’m not done,” and then another night of passionate typing ensues. I persevere at the computer, day after day, night after night, moving inexorably forward. It’s become a pilgrimage. JP McLean finishes third book of trilogy

But tonight is different.

Tonight something monumental happened. The clock struck six p.m. (nine p.m. Eastern Central Time) and I finally fessed up to my better half about the Amarone. He didn’t blink (he knows my nefarious nature well). He lassoed that plucky bottle of Amarone and uncorked it. “What’s the occasion?” he sang out, pulling two glasses from the cupboard.

“Soon,” I said.

He went back to the news. An hour later he returned, peering over my shoulder. “Ready?” he asked patiently. (I added patiently because he’s listening).

Another long fifteen minutes passed before I gave him the go ahead. “Pour,” I said, and he did.

And now, here we sit, enjoying a very fine glass of Amarone; a glass fine enough for a celebration. One the Amarone itself foretold before Christmas. “Congratulations,” it said, and we raised a glass in toast. Congratulations, indeed, I agreed, savouring the rich, thick notes of a perfect bottle of wine.

And that’s what it tastes like to type “the end,” at the bottom of the last page of the third book of a trilogy. What a ride!

Update: The Gift Legacy is now complete at seven books. You can read about all the book here.

Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash

Grinding to a Standstill

January 4, 2013 By JPMcLean Leave a Comment

Last week as I sat at my computer sipping yet another bladder-challenging-sized mug of tea, I puzzled over why my writing had ground to a standstill. I have an outline. I know how the story ends. I know the characters as well as my own family. So why the listlessness, the disconnect? Grinding to a standstill

Word Jam

Previously when I hit a writing snag, I’d write another scene or define a new character or setting. That almost always worked to loosen the writing log jam. But I’m near the end of the last book in the trilogy so there aren’t new characters or settings to dream up.

I took a break, and the drone of the vacuum helped me figure out what was going on. I didn’t have clear enough directions for getting from where I was in the telling of the story to the end I had in mind. My outline was too rough. It lacked the detail I needed.

(More experienced writers would likely have figured that out sooner.)

Back to the Outline

I went back to the outline, re-read and printed the last few pages. I flipped through the notepad I carry around with me like a security blanket and tumbled ideas around in my head for another day or two. It was the jump-start my imagination needed. As I began filling in the outline, ideas took shape and grew into even better scenes than I’d initially imagined. The outline is now bursting at the seams and I can hardly wait to dig in and write the rest of Emelynn’s story.

God I love writing – why’d it take me so long to discover that part of me?

Photo by Cassie Boca on Unsplash Grinding to a standstill