Coming into Fcous

As promised, here's a peek at Matt Erkhart's work on the promo art. I asked him to base Richard's look on a photo of Robert Cornelius (specifically, the first photographic self-portrait, circa 1839) I'd come across in a magazine roughly 20 years ago. I'd been struck at the time by how much this man looked the way I pictured Richard in my head (the shared initials are a coincidence, by the way...I originally had no idea what the man's name was), so it became my go-to reference if I ever wanted show a picture of the "real" Richard Corrigan.

As you've probably noticed, own art skills lean towards cartoony: whenever I draw Richard, I can never reproduce exactly what I want, I just get as close as my skills will allow. In fact, aside from one quick doodle by my husband, Matt is the first person other than myself to draw Richard, and he knocked it out of the park. This character is finally leaving the confines of all my little scribbles and becoming something more substantial.

Once we get the cards all printed up, I'll show off the full piece. I think you're gonna like it. And remember to check out http://erkhart.deviantart.com/ for more of Matt's work.

Self-Pub Progress Report #2

I am registered with CreateSpace now! Signing up was pretty quick and painless, but their terms of service took quite a while to read (two most important points: I will own all rights to my work, and I cannot refer to Amazon/CreateSpace as my publisher...they are just the printer). The only downside to CreateSpace I've found so far is that the big chain bookstores like Barnes & Noble probably won't stock my book in-store, since Amazon doesn't have the same kind of bulk return policy as a big publisher. However, the B&N employee I spoke with said they will order individual copies for any customer that requests one. Also, some of the smaller independent bookstores in my area operate on a consignment basis, with me getting 70% of the sale, so I can get my books stocked with them.

I'm also happy to report that the art for the promo flyer is done! Matt Erkhart did a fantastic job, and he'll be designing the backside with all the book info once I figure out what exactly we're putting there. Check outhttp://erkhart.deviantart.com/ for some samples of his work, and come back tomorrow to get a look at his Swords & Sixguns work.

Self-Pub Progress Report #1

Been a busy week prepping the business side of this whole self-publishing gig.  I had a sit-down with the folks who handle our taxes and asked what exactly I needed to do to keep this venture on the up-and-up with the IRS.  Turns out that one bit I thought was necessary isn't so much: since there's no real liability involved, it's just me hawking a book to folks, I don't need a small-business license, and I can let that one I signed up for a few years ago expire (no biggie, it only cost me ten bucks and a few minutes of filling out paperwork).  All I have to do is keep track of my expenses and earnings -- which I'll have to claim quarterly -- and we're good with the government.  *Whew!*

I've also been looking into doing some advance promotion, as Motor City Nightmares -- one of the conventions we go to -- is having a show on September 16th-18th.  Seeing as how that's only a little more than a month away, I doubt we'll be ready to launch by then (I'm figuring it'll be more like October), but I am working on having some promotional postcards for the book printed up that we can lay on the swag table and pass around in general, as well as doing like everyone else does at this show and tucking said cards into every wall crack and picture frame we can find (the bathrooms are usually plastered with flyers!).  I'll give y'all a sneak-peek at the promo art when it starts rolling in.

That's it for now...gotta get back to work!

Good News, Bad News, Better News

The Good News: I posted some new fanfic a while back, but I've been so busy, I forgot to mention it here.  Jonah Hex: Shades of Gray #15 hit DC2's main site in late June, and Weird Western Quarterly #25 actually went up back in February.  Both stories were roughly three years overdue, and I apologize for keeping y'all waiting for so long.  It's damn tough to find a balance between getting this novel of mine published and keeping up with freebie stuff like fan fiction.  And on that note...

The Bad News: I got let go from Fear Front over the weekend.  The publisher and I had been having some disagreements, and though I'd thought we had worked them out, he decided it was better for both of us to cancel my contract.  Having this happen once with Permuted was bad enough, and frankly, it sent me into a months-long funk.  Having it happen a second time -- when I was mere months away from actually getting published -- makes me feel like I did back in school, when it seemed like I was being assaulted from all sides with no way to stop it.  I'm trying to keep myself from sinking as low as I did back then, however, because...

The Better News: I'm going to do my darnedest to get Swords & Sixguns self-published by the end of 2016.  I'd already decided earlier in this year that I'd go with that option if I didn't land a publisher by the time the calendar ran out, so I'm just stepping up the timetable a bit.  No more slamming by head against a brick wall papered with rejection letters (had about 25 at last count), no more getting my hopes up with a publisher just so I can get them shattered on a whim (I ain't gonna let this happen to me a third time).  I'd already done some legwork a few years ago, prior to my brief dalliance with Permuted (a sudden cash-flow problem stalled that attempt), so I've got an idea of what I'm getting into.  Heck, I've still got the small-business license I applied for...it's good until next year, and it'll only cost about 10 bucks to renew.  I've spent the past four days enlisting folks to help me get this done, and I've still got a few other things to check up on, so I'm not just talking about doing this, I AM DOING THIS.  Like the sign says: "No Manure Here".  If I hit a snag, I'll tell you folks right away.  If I blast through a major barrier between myself and final publication, I'll tell you that too.  And if any of you have any advice on how to pull off this crazy scheme, feel free to offer it, I'm all ears.

Watch this space for further developments...