This week I learned that Brittany Pressley will be narrating the audiobook of COLD WELCOME. She emailed me about characters, pronunciation of names, etc. , and I may have drowned her with information (writer of long novels. Not really good at the elevator pitch.) I also heard from Audible’s Author Care, which has suggestions about how to publicize the audiobook…something I’d never really thought of other than saying on the website that a book had an Audiobook version from whichever company was doing that book. Audible can help authors embed an excerpt audio file on their website, so that’s something new for me (and will be new to the Universes website.) I’ll post about it when it’s here.
You’ve probably noticed (or maybe not) that the countdown to publication date is up on both the main website and the Universes website. And it is BIG and BOLD. Karen didn’t have the file for the smaller, less bold one Ruta used, and really…this makes sure everyone can sure see it.
Just when I was sure INTO THE FIRE was ready to be shipped off, and was doing the word by word, nose-to-the-trail read through, the one that discovers things like “stop of the stack” instead of TOP of the stack, there it was….another time-kink. Character A had gone through (for example only–not exact; true of all example numbers) 36 hours. Character B actually went through the first 18 with Character A, but then their tracks diverged. On B’s track, another 24 hours inserted themselves (needed to) but then B was calling A at the end of 36 in B’s next contact with A….only in B’s own (earlier) POV section, it was clear that B was having that other 24 hours of Interesting Times and could not have called at the end of 36. Oopsie.
This meant (with prayers of gratefulness for cut/paste block moves, and the ability to store chunks of files in another file for later) removing that phone call, correcting the bit where the A’s phone rang again (no it didn’t), making a hole in A’s timeline 24 hours later for that phone call (with wiggle room to make it a few hours later if necessary), splitting what had been A’s second phone call into two parts, one of which comes after B’s phone call 24 hours later, and checking all the raggedy edges of the cut and the paste to make sure all the edges exactly matched the surrounding patches. (As a matter of technique, trimming and smoothing to make the parts are two different processes, done at slightly different times.)
And that’s where I was last night and am still this morning. Realized brain was going fuzzy after 10 pm, so quit, saved *everything* in all related files. After a rather rocky night I’m up, and about to make the final two transfers from partial files to the main file. Writing this proves the brain is alert and coherent, right? I hope?
All square brackets cleared. All twists and turns untangled and back in place, edges feathered in. Probably some typos that happened to be real words, but I’m now completely blurred out as far as editing goes. It’s in a clean file with its correct title (not “Vatta-07-start” as the working file had) and a corrected header, and the errors in Chapter numbers straightened out. WHOOSH. I’m going outside now, at least after I put a load of laundry in.
And it’s now in the hands of Agent. Should be off to Editor Monday morning early.
Hi – it really does not matter if there are time inconsistencies – its rather how the book reads. If the text is interesting and well written then the bloopers can be ignored. And finding them is always half the fun.
Glad the book is off and running – relax, we won’t pester you for the next book for at least one day.
Jonathan up in NH
I just finished what I thought was last book in vatta’s war series. Was sad to see it at an end. Then big surprise “Cold Welcome” shows up. Now I’m starting Cold Welcome and wondering how long will I have to wait for 2nd book in new series. Best series I have listened to in awhile (Audible.com). I love to read but at 72 my eyes are not what they used to be so Audible really works for me. So are you rested yet? When do you start on 3rd book in new series?
Keep checking back. INTO THE FIRE is on the schedule but it may need to be moved if Editor wants more work. No, I’m not rested up yet. It’s going to take months, because the rest of life (the non-writing side) goes right on. And I need eye surgery, probably this fall. I don’t know when another book will start–I only know that I can’t work to a deadline again, if ever, until my health is back up and I know how much I can work in a week without falling back.