Book Tours, Beta Readers and Reviews oh my

As I continue the tedious process of printing and physically reading and editing each chapter, I've also been doing more research as well as reading and socializing on the front of promotion more. I didn't know there was such an art form and taboo a subject as it relates to reviews.
I didn't know there were different rankings of reviews, verified vs non on Amazon, then you have Goodreads and there own criteria as well as bloggers who will review if you send a free copy, or in some instances pay for the review. Then there's Kindle free days and a whole algorithm to try and figure that out to your benefit.

And what exactly is a book blog tour? I'm not all together sure yet. I know what a regular book tour is, but I find the blog kind really fascinating and quite fun. You can cover alot more ground and get so much exposure on an electronic level that perhaps a limited physical tour would get you if im correct in my assumption, but i could be wrong...on to chapter 3

Okay

Ya know the slang term "Pimpin' ain't easy"? Same goes for the self publishing process. I was lucky to stumble upon a fellow Goodreads member's review of a book on self publishing: "Navigating Indieworld: A Beginners Guide to Self Publishing and Marketing Your Book" by J.A Gerber, and Carol P. Roman (Say that four times back to back) and got it last night.

 I whizzed through the first 4 chapters before I realized i still had my polishing to finish up so I printed the first chapter, read it, FOUND MISTAKES my computer eyes apparently missed, fixed those, read it out loud, rewrote some sentence structure, and will edit the first chapter according to what is on this physical page. That took two days roughly because I re-read what I did last night, made a few more tweaks and am satisfied with the new chapter flow now. If I can knock out 2 or three chapters a day, I may be able to keep my schedule but who knows... I'm honestly flabbergasted at the difference between reading your material on paper versus the computer and the things you catch... On to chapter two!

Book Cover done

Now that I've FINALLY decided on a Book Cover and title, I'm well into attacking my edits. In a perfect world, I'd love to have this thing released before Christmas or Valentines day the latest, but really in 15 days, I would like to try and make it happen. I've spent so long fretting over every detail, afraid to take the plunge, that I just want to pull the bandaid off already and join the Indie Author Club.....but I still want to make sure I put my best foot forward. If anyone knows good editors, beta readers etc, please share!

Polishing. One. Last. Time

I can't help it. I'm going to jump into editing chapter by chapter  for the final time before i send it off to the editor, and say a prayer. I'm still having trouble with the book cover too. Found some options, some pricey but BEAUTIFUL work, some OK, and then there's what I can do with my own computer. The important thing is that the actual novel is stellar, but as I mentioned in a previous post, people are drawn to the outside first. If that doesn't happen, it wouldn't matter what the pages say. Off to obsess a little more, until next time!

Final Draft?

So it's done. Done enough that I would feel comfortable handing it to an editor, or beta reader for input, before submitting to Kindle or Draft 2 Digital. I have created a checklist for things I still want to go over though:

* A better book blurb
*Scene descriptions
*Am I sold on the new title, or should I keep searching (I know sounds weird, but the story is complex and I want to be subtle, yet have it personify as much as possible)
*Book Cover: Do I just pay to have it done again, or use what I have?

I'm ready to get it out into the world, I am, but I don't want it to be a flop. I guess by now you can tell I have no mentors or other author friends to help guide me on this anxiety train, but I have to push on either way, right?
Hoping to have this list checked of by end of day so I can copyright, and start contacting beta readers and book blogs for possible reviews. Wish me luck and send me Tums!

Where has the time gone? Well, to put it quite simply, I put my book down for the most part to focus on a different business venture that eventually wasn't the business for me. Lot's of time and energy went into something that I should have been dedicating to my craft, HOWEVER, I have learned a GREAT deal and can apply what I've learned, moving forward.
I didn't completely just put my book down, I have gone over it from the beginning and done edits and re-writes over time, which thankfully, has improved the overall story, and for that I'm happy. I find that after taking a hiatus, I catch things all the time that I can make better so in that respect I'm happy I didn't run to to hit the "Publish" button. It wouldn't have served me well if I want to be taken seriously.

All that said, once I "finish" (lol) this last draft, I'm off to find an editor, or someone who can help me improve it even more, as I'm SURE, there are things that will need improving. I have other titles swimming around in my head, some I've started, others I'm playing out in my mind first, before I jump head first into another project. I will be keeping up with this blog on a daily or semi-daily basis, until this is complete. I also changed the name of the book as well as the book cover. I'm still undecided.
I've been told the last, book over gave too much away, then I created a new one, which just looked plain boring to me, then another that would grab someones attention, but I feel may give the wrong impression about what it's about. Ugh, being a creator is tough business. I'll post the pictures below for feedback if anyone ever finds this, lol. Until next time....

1. Boring: When you read the story, the graphic makes all the sense in the world, but does it say "You HAVE to pick me up and read me?" Not in my opinion.

2. This next one catches the eye, BUT, the story is much more than just what he represents. Or am I overthinking? 

UPDATE 12/6/16: I took the time and recreated the cover myself as well as changed the title and its going to stay this way. Hopefully others will like it as well.

Chapter One revision number 7

So I'm learning that nothing in writing is never finished. My genre is mainly screenwriting and its become the norm to need to revise a script for any number of reasons making it never really finished, no matter how much you pour your heart into it. I'm learning the same is true for fiction writing. As a matter of fact, I think fiction writing is much harder. For the screen you cant bog a script down with too much detail or no one will want to read it. In novels if your lacking in description no one will want to read it. For me being neurotic and my worst critic, no matter how good a chapter may be to someone else, i have to find a better way to do it. So i updated the Wattpad again, and updated the first few paragraphs on the blog under the tab The Haven to reflect the changes I've made. Granted no one reads this blog, and if they do, they certainly don't comment, but its OK. I will chalk it up to one day when the books ARE being read and people MIGHT be interested on the beginnings, they will have a detailed road map to my insanity and get to know me better on their own time. In the meantime though, its time to obsess about chapter 2 and 3.