Since I have lost touch with my original cover artist, I’ve had to go elsewhere for the next book. Today I’m introducing the cover for the seventh book in the Doc Vandal series: The Skyscraper Thief. In order to keep it in the family, this piece is by my daughter, Kyrie Howlett.
Now that you’ve got the cover, you won’t have to wait long for the book. Book seven should be out very shortly, so keep an eye out for it!
Well, I did it, I bit the bullet and started up a Patreon.
It was a big decision, but it was also something I felt I had to do. Basically, I’ve been operating on a very minimal budget ever since I started self-publishing. I do my own cover design, much of the editing, layout, and a whole bunch more. The problem I’m facing is that the entire self-publishing ecosystem has been changing as it moves further into the mainstream.
That’s a good thing, but one of the repercussions of that move isn’t. Put simply, a lot of resources that used to be either free or low-cost are becoming more and more expensive as time goes on. Meanwhile, my sales aren’t going well at all. It’s a bad combination, in fact it’s getting close to a death spiral.
Patreon is my attempt to get off the ride before it goes over the cliff. It’s a cushion for the lean times, and hopefully a way to fund things like advertising to make more people aware of Doc Vandal and build more sales.
But enough about me: What about you?
For those of you who read this and decide to join my Patreon, I’ve already built up some content and set up a structure for the benefit tiers. My underlying philosophy here, is Access, Insight, and Input.
The first tier provides Access to the private channels on my Doc Vandal Discord, as well as a PDF of the completed first draft of The Skyscraper Thief–yes, you can read that today if you sign up on any tier.
The second tier is Insight, and it gives you a look into my writing process. I have started uploading full versions of the cover art, including one that’s never been published anywhere, and also some of my Scapple Boards so you can see how my mind works when writing a story–and even how the story evolves.
The third tier is Input. This tier gives you access to each chapter of a novel as it’s completed, as well as the option of naming a character. I’m also going to let this tier help me decide which story to do next once I finish the War Between Worlds.
I’ve already uploaded content for all three tiers and will be adding more soon.
I know, I know, I really shouldn’t use the same photo two posts running–but I also shouldn’t spend as long between posts as I have.
Anyway, here’s the latter half of July, all of August, and first half of September update. First, the obvious one: progress has been slow on The War Between Worlds, and I’m struggling with the words. I know it will pick up, but for now I just have to work through the write and rewrite battle. That’s not fun, but I’ve been here before on every book and know it’s just a matter of working through it.
Second, the Skyscraper Thief, which is still sitting on various hard drives. On the positive side, I just got confirmation from my beta reader that she should have feedback for me by the time I turn sixty. For those about to freak out, don’t: that’s less than three weeks away. On the negative side, I haven’t heard anything from my cover artist since July, so I’m currently looking into other options as I need both edits and a cover before I can publish.
So, where does that leave me–other than plugging away?
Well, the library in town is having a local author spotlight on October 20th, and I’m planning on attending that. Ideally I can both get my name out in the community and see about selling some books.
I’m also looking in to starting up a Doc Vandal Patreon account… some of my ideas include giving early access to first drafts, Tuckerization, access to some of my behind the scenes notes, and of course the ability to vote on things and even potentially help choose Doc and the team’s next adventure….
So, for right now all I can say is follow this space!
I frequent a lot of writing groups on the web, on Facebook, even on Reddit. I’m a writer, so that’s pretty normal. Some people in these groups are wildly successful, others are just working on their first attempt at a novel. Many of them have questions. Lots of these questions are really good, and the answers will often help more people than just the original poster.
But then there’s this question: The question of death.
“I’m writing a novel and I want to do X. Can I do X in this kind of novel?”
It’s a terrible question, it’s asking for permission from people who cannot give it, and more importantly, the answer is always the same: Yes; but with a caveat.
A writer can do anything in a novel. Sure, there are a couple of apparent limits. Many people will tell you you can’t write a category romance without a Happily Ever After (known in the trade as HEA) ending. The thing is, they aren’t actually saying you can’t write it that way; they are really saying that if you write it that way you can’t sell it as a category romance.
The truth is, you can do anything you want so long as you can make it work. That’s the catch: you have to do it well enough that it works. That’s what matters, the execution.
Don’t ask whether you can do it. Ask whether you should do it, and whether you can do it justice.
Just about three hours ago, I reached the end of The Skyscraper Thief. As I’ve said before, there’s still a process to go through before I’m ready to publish, but that story has been told and now I’m able to move onto the next one.
As regular readers of this blog know, that next book is tentatively entitled The War Between Worlds, and reflects Doc and the team’s experiences during the Great Martian Invasion of 1938. Anyone who could see my Mac’s screens would notice my Scapple notes on one monitor and the the beginning of the first scene in Scrivener on the other.
With any luck, and a dint of hard work, both books should be out later this year.
Before I close, a quick question for any writers who may be reading this: How long do you wait before starting your next book? Share your answer in the comments below and don’t forget to leave a review of all your favorite books.
Quick heads up as today is my daughter’s 21st birthday so there are multiple things going on.
Last night I hit my minimum length target of 55,000 words on The Skyscraper Thief. That does not mean it’s finished, though I am very close. As of this writing, I am working on the penultimate scene in the book–which is the climactic showdown with the aforementioned “Skyscraper Thief” himself.
After this, I have to write what I’m calling the epilogue, which ties up some plot threads from the first couple of scenes which a reader might have thought I had forgotten.
Then I let it sit for a bit, export to Word for a revision pass and feed off to my lead beta before she goes on an international trip. Meanwhile, I still have to get the cover, and take into account any feedback from beta reading.
Meanwhile, as of next week at the latest, I should be working on The War Between Worlds, the next Doc Vandal book.
As always, please read, share, and review my books. Let’s introduce the world to Yesterday’s Tomorrow!
The picture at the head of this post, both is and is not the Chrysler Building. In our world, it most definitely is the Chrysler Building; in Doc Vandal’s world, it is the DeSoto Building. In the grand scheme of things it’s not a huge change, just another automobile marque used by the same carmaker. It’s much like the fact Doc’s world has a Republic State Building; it’s a small way to make it clear we’re talking about somewhere else.
I chose this picture because the DeSoto Building is an important location in The Skyscraper Thief, and I’m getting very near to the end of that book. As of this writing, I’m just over five thousand words short of my target length, and should be done in about a week–though my daughter’s upcoming 21st birthday and three new potential RPG contracts may push it closer to the end of the month.
Sadly, that doesn’t mean it will be out next month. Once it’s done, I need to do at least one revision pass and then send it out for beta-reading. It also needs a cover, and while I have the idea and the artist lined up, that will still take time. My current plan is to have it out towards the end of summer, around back-to-school.
Dates for the next one are more nebulous, so forgive me for not providing any beyond the fact that I should be starting it this month.
In the meantime, The Ziggurat of Doom and Against the Eldest Flame have both been featured on the SFF Book Bonanza website this month the former in the new releases, the latter in the 99cent specials page. It features lots of awesome books every month so check it out.
My next newsletter, hopefully due out later this week, will have a review of the first Doc Brazen book, so take keep an eye out for that.
That’s about it for today’s Welcome to Yesterday’s Tomorrow. Keep reading, review what you read, and if you can, sign up for the newsletter!
It’s funny to think that an average human has power over a pulp superhero, but it’s absolutely true.
Nothing is more important to writers and their characters than readers. We write because we read. You are the people who really bring our words to life. Reading is the closest thing we have to telepathy, thoughts flowing from one mind to another through the medium of the printed page.
The biggest foe any writer can face is obscurity. If people don’t know your work exists, they will never be able to read and enjoy it. My love of science fiction grew out of finding a used copy of E.E. “Doc” Smith’s Second Stage Lensmen in a general store on the side of the road many years ago. It was sheer random chance that I found. Something about the cover picture spoke to me.
I hope Doc Vandal can do that for some future me.
Now you know why I’m coming to you, the readers. Today we have more tools for discovery than ever before, but none of them help if the content isn’t being shared.
That’s what I need you, my readers, to do: share Doc Vandal. Not just for me, not just for Doc Vandal, but for all the people who would love to read Doc Vandal if they only knew the books existed.
So, what can you do? It’s easy.
The more people talk about Doc Vandal, the better the series is going to do and the more I will be able to do with the series. When it comes right down to it, all I can do is write the books and source the best cover art I can. Doc’s success depends on you.
Please help Doc Vandal; it really is all up to you.
Last time, I showed off the comparison between the first cover I commissioned for Against the Eldest Flame, and the final cover I published. Today I’m going to talk about how the final cover came to be.
At the top of the page, you’ll see my original sketch that became the cover for Against the Eldest Flame, and really set the stage for my vision of the series’ visual identity. It’s not the same as the final cover by any means, but all the elements are there. Unlike the previous airship cover, this one really was my idea from the start.
The biggest design change was moving the Zeppelin above the volcano instead of right in front of it. That worked, but it was a matter of detail more than anything else.
On the whole though, I was happy with my original design. First, it had action; something was happening in the picture. Second, and more importantly for the overall vision, it was reminiscent of pulp magazine covers. They were paintings, they weren’t photorealistic. Artists like Alex Schomburg, Margaret Brundage, and H.W. Wesso had a very distinctive look, one that was completely different from modern self-published paperbacks.
Of course, it doesn’t help that many premade covers are assembled from photographic elements and the shadows don’t always match. It may be a personal thing, but I find it looks terrible.
As a creator, though, this cover was hugely important to me. While it’s not my art you see on the page, it is my design. As a self-published author, this matters a lot. By creating the original design I made sure that the cover reflected my vision, not someone else’s.
Take control of your vision: it’s worth it.
Welcome to Yesterday's Tomorrow 