Project Progress - July 2020

Well, this is an author blog. Let me give an author update.

1. The Qinali Virus has a new cover. Again. I'm very happy with this one. I think my cover making skills are improving. (I also found some amazing base art, so I can't take all the credit.) I'm currently collecting reviewers. Check here if you are interested in getting a review copy:
https://storyoriginapp.com/reviewcopies/a03f2dff-b011-4e71-8377-e57f9a5d9051

2. The Disappeared is going on sale in August. It'll be $0.99 for a week. This is the first sale with this new cover. I'm currently lining up some advertisements in assorted newsletters.
Check here August 10-16 if you still need your copy:
https://www.amazon.com/Disappeared-New-Dawn-Book-ebook/dp/B074JMSFZ7/

If you've already read it and would like to help me out with a review, go here:
http://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=B074JMSFZ7

3. I also revised the cover of Alien Encounters 2020. It's now available for download to all the newsletter subscribers. I've created a paperback version and I'm getting a proof of that soon. That's going to be really cute. Join the newsletter and then go here to get your copy. :)
https://storyoriginapp.com/directdownloads/84f0f135-e252-4baa-a078-c884bb4d6d3d

4. Premonition (Book 7) has just been through a major revision based on the editor's comments. It has come out so much stronger. I'm in that break period where I need to just not look at it for a while so my eyes can be fresher on the next pass. It heads back for its next edit in August, and Advanced Review Copies (ARCs) should be out before the end of the year! Ping me if you want to be a reviewer.

5. Late last year, I wrote a short story and submitted it to an anthology. I had trouble staying in the word count. The story clearly wants to be a novella, or possibly a novel. I thought the revisions would be easy. Two days and 10,000 words later, I realize that there is a lot more to do to make this story what it wants to be. So while Premonition is in the holding tank, I'm working on Interpreter. This one takes place on a space station with actual aliens (and no psychics, which is weird).

6. Lost in Transit - the first draft of this novel is complete, but I have come to some very tough realizations about representation vs appropriation, and I'm trying to decide if I can really represent what I want here. I have the great seeds of a story, but I'm not rushing it. So this, too, is on hold for the moment.

And those are my current writing projects.

On the Road Again (ukulele cover)

Sometimes, I make music.

The Many Hats of a Self-Published Author

There are many hats, and they all say something about you

A lot of us, when we start the road to self-publishing, know a lot about the craft of writing, but we don't realize just how many different hats we'll have to wear (or how many different types of experts we'll need to hire) to realize our dream. Below is a list of some of the jobs involved.

I made this because a lot of us, when we're working on a single step in the process, get frustrated that it's not straight forward and we can't learn it in a weekend. For example, I recently re-did the book covers for my series. I thought I could do it in a weekend or a few days. For six books. I eventually realized that when I originally hired my cover artist, I gave him a single stock photo and asked for text/color work around it. He probably spent an hour or three, and we had some back and forth over the days to get in all the tweaks. I was trying to create art from multiple stock photos (something my artist would have charged four times as much to do). I was learning how to place text, do color corrections, make light and shadow elements... I was learning a whole new trade.

A lot of the tasks a self-publisher takes on are new trades, and completely different from their primary skill, which is writing books. These jobs on their own might require a degree or certification, and many years of experience to get good at. There's a reason books about self-publishing can go on for volumes. Let's give ourselves permission to learn, to ask for help, and to take no shame in outsourcing to an expert.

THE MANY HATS OF A SELF-PUBLISHED AUTHOR

Management

1. Project manager (responsible for overall schedule and budget)
2. Book keeper (responsible for tracking expenses, sales, royalties, and inventory)
3. Human resources (responsible for finding services, interviewing and hiring editors, artists, or any outsourced task)
4. Office manager (responsible for finding best computer, software, ink, etc)

Writing Phase

1. Author

Editing Phase

1. Beta-reader 
2. Editor 
1. Developmental
2. Line/ Content
3. Copy
3. Proofreader 

Publishing Phase

1. Blurb / copywriter
2. Front/back matter content writer
3. Layout and formatting expert
4. Cover Artist
5. Web Designer/ webpage master
6. Market researcher (responsible for researching keywords, categories, price points, and potential markets)
7. Distribution guru (responsible for uploading books, covers, blurbs, to various distribution sites, and applying market research)

Marketing Phase

1. Ad copywriter
2. Graphic artist (for online ads, physical media like bookmarks, and other swag design)
3. Video editor (optional)
4. Market researcher (responsible for finding new outlets)
5. Ads & promotions manager
6. Social media/blog content writer
7. Sales and market analyst (to figure out if your current marketing efforts are profitable)

Events (for those who do live events)

1. Travel coordinator
2. Event planner/coordinator
3. Publicist
4. Bio writer
5. Photographer (headshots)

Alien Invasion 2020 - Planet Janet

Janet had always been told she was nothing but a pretty face with nice legs. But she had a brain, too! She proved it the day she stole a spaceship and set out to explore the universe.

When she first landed on Earth, she found herself in a patch of butternut squash. They seemed friendly, but they lacked legs, and … well, brains. They taught her the ways of the greens, most of which were meditative. It was fun for a few months, but Janet’s legs started to hurt from all that sitting around.

The mammals nearby had more legs than brains, but they seemed to use their brains for building things like spaceships. Their ships weren’t as cool as Janet’s, but it was important that they tried.

“Hello!” Janet said, mimicking the language they’d used.

“Oh, cool! A robot!” a little boy exclaimed, squatting on the floor, getting his little face closer to hers. He poked at her cheeks and Janet was tempted to bite his fingers. Seeing her agitation, the little boy scampered back. “What are you?”

“I’m an explorer. The life forms in the green area do not have legs. Where have your long legs taken you?” Janet asked.

“Um…” he stammered, looking down at his legs. “We’re going to Disney World tomorrow. But we’re driving. Mom says we’ll be on our feet all day.”

“Is your brain required for the activity?” Janet checked.

“Yeah. That’s how I tell my legs to move,” the boy said. “Want to come?”

Janet agreed to be the boy’s toy robot so that he could take her to the park, but his parents insisted he leave her in the car. So once they were out of sight, she broke the window and snuck into the park on her own. A sign indicated this was the happiest place on Earth, but between the laughter and squeals of joy, there were tantrums and wailing. 

Janet set out to improve the park.

She tried coordinated with the local engineers, but like the little boy and the people on her home planet, all they saw were legs and a pretty face! So she got back into her spaceship and took her ideas off of Earth and back to her own planet. Landing on her moon, she developed the perfect Earth-themed park. There were rides and games, all beginning with a super-fun space shuttle ride to the moon! Taking her cue from Mr. Disney, she placed a statue of herself front and center in the main square.

“Pretty face,” she heard some guests comment when they looked at the statue. “Hard to believe she created all this.”

Then they’d look at their pretty children, and a light would come on in their brains, because they realized those pretty faces were so much more. 

It all started at the happiest place on Earth. Now she’d created the happiest Earth in space!

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This is the last of the June 2020 Alien Invasion series. I hope you have enjoyed these stories. Be on the lookout for the alien anthology. Please subscribe to my newsletter to be a part of future fan collaborations. http://www.valeriejmikles.com/contact.html

Alien Invasion 2020 - The Eco Occupation

The war between the swamps had lasted for ages, but the war wasn’t in Tiolli’s swamp, so xie mostly ignored it. Xie thought the war was pretty stupid. So did most people, but they liked to watch the robots fight.

Swamp robots were an interesting breed. Tiolli started as a robot xirself, but had most of xir parts replaced with biologic ones by the time xie was two. It was strange how that privilege lifted the Ecos into a higher class. It started decades ago, when a damaged bot used a tree branch to replace a broken limb. Trees provided prevalent and practical replacement part for early eco-friendly consumers. “Go Green!” they cried.

Their search for a better tree source had led them to a bluish planet, formerly occupied by humans. Soon to be occupied solely by Ecos. Tiolli blended well with the natives at first. Xie’d been adopted into a human home, but one day, xir mother caught xir trying to lengthen xir arm. (Eco bodies didn’t grow once the parts were severed from their biological sources.) So Tiolli quickly disassembled xir human parents, upgraded xir parts, and sold the rest.

Not to swamp-bots, though. They were violent and lacked intelligence. Xie knew the latter was true, because if they had a shred of intelligence, they’d integrate gator parts into their systems. Tiolli had a little gator in xir feet, but stopped the transition because it made shoes uncomfortable. Xie didn’t live among the Earth natives anymore, because as much as xie tried to look like them, xie didn’t fit in.

The dead, wooden door to xir mud hut opened, and xir acquaintance Grassly slammed the door closed behind, laughing and panting. Grassly had xir father’s face… literally. Tiolli was strangely relieved that a part of her father was still alive, but xie hadn’t seen Grassly in months.

“What’s going on out there?” Tiolli asked. “I do not want those bots leveling my house. It took a long time to coax these pieces together.”

“You could just move to the city and live in a proper house,” Grassly suggested.

“I don’t like their shoes,” Tiolli complained, holding up xir gator-foot. “Besides. They all stare at me. They think I look weird.”

“What do you mean? Two arms. Two legs. Sallow look of death on your face. How much more human could you get?” Grassly joked. “It is a pain, not being able to tell them what we really are.”

“I have too much pride to revert,” Tiolli said.

“You don’t have to do it all at once,” Grassly said. “Take it slow. Grab a damaged bot. Pick a limb. You could be the first mecha-gator!”

“You just want to see me fight,” Tiolli teased, swiping Grassly with xir claws. Xie jumped in surprise when Grassly’s leg fell off! “What happened to you! That was a perfectly good leg!”

“It was at first,” Grassly said. “There’s something else living in it now. We’re supposed to be the ones occupying the planet, but lately, do you get the sense that the planet is occupying us? Not in a big way. In little things.”

“Of course there are little things occupying us. I warned you when I installed your stomach. The green digestive track is its own little eco system. That’s what going green means! It’s filled with—”

“Bacteria, I know. It’s hungry all the time. I just thought… I’d get to eat it.”

Tiolli slapped xir face with xir palm, appalled. Xie needed to build new friends.

~FIN~

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