October update…
I can now answer the question: Will I be ready to publish The Spinner’s Game quint at Christmas? No.
So what’s left to do?
copyright: Lauren Willmore
Editing (a deep-down word-by-word polish)
copyright: Lauren Willmore
Books One and Two – The Spinner’s Child and Lake of Dreams – are done. Yay! I am now working on Book Three – The Pole That Threads; I’m about a quarter way through.
I performed the deep-down editing on Book Four – Lady of First Making – while attending revisions and rewrites, but I’ll give it another read-through to be sure.
All of which will deliver me to the end of November.
Book Five (Asaric Sins, working title)
I hope by the end of November to have the last of the betas and critiques back for Book Five, so I can do the rewrites and revisions, and that final edit. This will take me into the New Year.
Twiddly Bits
In the meantime – in those micro-minutes between one thing and another – I hope to write the legal bits for the Front Matter and the acknowledgements for the End Matter. Regards that, I’ll be in touch with you, my hardworking and loyal betas to ask what form you’d like your mention: simple first name, full name, name with website, occupation etc. You’ve all done me proud, and I’m more than happy to take this opportunity to promote your own work. Kindle e-books allow links to website… so let’s go for it.
Graphics
Book Two – Lake of Dreams – needs two graphic inserts. So that’s to be done. And Books One and Three – The Spinner’s Child and The Pole That Threads require maps. As does Book Five – Asaric Sins, working title. So, to venture into map-making apps… can you hear my toes curling and me softly squealing? I love maps.
The Supplement Giveaway
I’ve pondered long on this: whether to include it, and if so when? At the moment, my idea is to offer it with Pre-Orders, which I’m thinking will cover the period from Christmas to the Press-the-Button date.
This will include updated and repackaged supplementary material from the far-off days of posting The Spinner’s Game on my Feast Fables blog (no longer available). These were more by way of outpourings from the writer’s mind than anything you might expect from the oft-found Glossary and/or Appendix in High Fantasy books, though a few definitions might be included, and readers’ questions anticipated.
Q: What is a copi?
Q: The Spinner’s Game is Low Fantasy, so where in this world is it set?
I might also include some of the fables that didn’t make the final cut. It’s still in the planning stage, still in my head.
So, as you can see, there’s still much to be done. But it’s good practice to set a Press-the-Button date, even if it has to be changed. And if changed, I hope that’s to an earlier date.
The Press-the-Button Date
In The Spinner’s Child, Kerrid is kicked into the story-world the day before she and her clan are due to journey upriver for the annual gathering of clans. And so too I’m using that date to publish the story. March 21st, the Vernal Equinox. That allows me another six months. Phew! I have space to breathe. And to request and gather those essential reviews… 🙂
Note: I’m hoping to open for Pre-Orders from Christmas onwards.
And again, my thanks go to those wonderful beta readers who have stayed with me throughout this period who, I’m sure, must be wondering if these books will every be published. Yes, they will. But five books isn’t one book.
And that’s all for now folks. The next e-book update will be… Sunday 3rd November.
