Writing a fantasy novel is hard work. The world is very different from a tech noir cyberpunk setting in the future of grydscaen. There are constraints to the world and some of the descriptions have to be different. You cannot say something is tall like a skyscraper unless you are writing urban fantasy set in the current world. The setting for “The Seer of Grace and Fire” includes magic and technology which will be closely related to alchemy so there will be mechanical tools that can be used in that pursuit and writings. Other than that, things are medieval style.
This means buildings made of wood and metal hinges and swords, rope lashing planks together, thatched roofs, and stone castles. I use marble for some things and mahogany wood. There is also stained glass, blacksmiths and sorcerers. The wood and metal working on the lyre harps with their magic is graceful and sturdy but also lightweight.
The constraints of the system make it a little harder. At this point I am done with world building and even though I have written an outline which is a rough guide I don’t know how closely I will stick to it.
The beta reader that I am working with has been helpful so far with chapter 1. I have never worked with a beta reader before so there is much learning on my part in this process. I see now that the reader does have an eye on the story and no matter how many times I read it the reader will see different things. So far this has been helpful. I look forward to this process for “The Seer of Grace and Fire” but I do not think I will use a beta reader for the grydscaen books.
We are currently also working on the production of grydscaen: dissonance. I have the galley actually which is good and will take the next three weeks to review it. This will be a longer process than normal because I will have a business trip in the middle of it and will most likely not be able to work too much on it unless I take my tablet on the plane which might be awkward.
Also some of the new grydscaen marketing material came in. I have “Mr. Stuart for Parliament” campaign buttons and Packrat Underground bracelets which I also have to get reprinted. The initial set will work but I want to change it up. We also have Packrat Underground stickers with the Mole System logo on them. I really like them since I designed them myself.
Even though my bank account hates me right now I am collecting the various pieces that I need for this journey into the marketing realm for grydscaen. This is a labour of love for me and I am learning as we go. With the beta reader now and the beginning of a mailing list underway I am moving forward with my writer platform. Some of the things I already had like the Website, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr but I needed the swag and some more exposure. We will be doing a GoodReads giveaway as well for grydscaen: insurrection, the last book published in the series. And there is some SEM work happening.
Like I have heard some other self published authors say, this is a small business the writer is running. You need the traffic to make the difference. I have a couple thousand likes on Facebook so that is some exposure but I need more. We are trying different things to see if we can create that buzz. It would be nice if I could get another of the grydscaen books in the Top 100 like we did for grydscaen: utopia twice.
This is my passion and as we work on “The Seer of Grace and Fire” we will continue our plan for reaching more readers. My foray into Fantasy is not so much to see if I can do it, to all extend my reach. The chapters I find for Fantasy are shorter than those in grydscaen and each one has to have itself contained in a scene. I am also reading more so that I know about how Fantasy works. This is also part of my learning.
Wish me luck as we continue this journey.
