Just the Polish

[The Doomimals kids meet the Just Us Chickens.]

I'm down to just one step before I can bring you those books I've been talking to you about, the chapter books called Doomimals (about three kids and their animal companions protecting the world from the evil Dog of War), Just Us Chickens (about the kids' allies, a team of super chickens, trying to save the world if they can stop tripping over their own feathers), and Key Lime Python (about a world-traveling, swashbuckling snake who is the only one standing between the galaxy and certain destruction at the hands of the Radiance).  Those lovely illustrations my niece and I have been working on for months are ready and waiting to be added to my teenaged boy's books and mine.   I even have an animator working on short, silly videos we like to call "Chicken Shorts."  I'm getting closer to being ready to publish.  

The one thing standing in my way is kind of a doozy and one I've struggled with for a while, and that's finishing polishing them and getting them ready for the editor.  I've already had a freelance editor look at the first one.  My beta reader is just about done going through them and giving me all her reviews.  Another beta reader has time opening up to read the rest.  I have feedback and writing suggestions from various sources.  Now, I just have to finish applying it to these books.  This is the hardest for me because when something feels finished and clear to me, I'll have other readers go through and point out the flaws and holes.  I'll hear about this new and exciting approach to editing that your book is not and cannot be complete without, and there are many of those.  

[Designer Hen, who can draw anything, and it comes into reality.]

It comes down to when is your work actually ready, and when does it just feel ready to you?  I submitted one book I'd spent a long time perfecting to a publisher only to be told it was nowhere near ready.  At some point, with my hybrid publisher standing in the wings, I will just have to call it done and submit it.  I know that time is not yet, but I hope it will be soon.  Then, you can start venturing into this crazy intense reality my boy and I have been working on developing, down to a periodic table of new and invented elements and a list of new laws of our alternate universe that feels like our own but isn't.  You'll read about chickens who know they're in a book, even one who has her name on the book as illustrator because she's just that powerful, and about so much more.  And it's all in bite-sized, 5000-20,000-word chunks.  It's going to be fun.  If you want to get a sneak peak, feel free to read my free short story.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.  

Last Steps

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I really have two primary steps left before I can bring my material to print for you, the reader.  My primary beta reader is almost done with reading through the books and giving me feedback.  My illustrator and I are almost done putting the final touches on either initial illustrations or touch-ups.  I've entered the basics into Scrivener, though that will be an ongoing process, so we keep all characters, world-building, etc straight for future stories and so we can have plenty of information for the Wiki my boy wants to assemble.  We're all but done with the periphery work. 

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Most of what is left is finishing pulling feedback together and applying it to the stories.  I'll be applying specific feedback to the individual books but also turning that feedback into general ideas of things to improve on everything.  I have almost all the feedback I've been given ready to go and am just waiting for a bit more.  However, while I'm waiting for that to come in, I'll start organizing what I have and just launch in starting this weekend.  We're just that close and hoping to get these books published by early summer. 

Inching Closer to Publication

[Three main characters from Doomimals plus Dad, by Ghostelle.

I've now finished a read through my first ten Doomimals books, turning them from rough drafts to more polished drafts.  They're now in the hands of my beta reader, and she's finding them enthralling and fun.  She said once she gets into a book, she can scarcely put it down.  One day soon, you'll get the chance to read about the adventures of Davis, his twin, Kitt, and their younger cousin, Tessa, and their battles with the evil Dog of War.  You'll also meet their animal allies, Fluffy the blue tarantula, Snuggles the pastel python, Cookie and Ru the crazy cats, Zippy the tortoise, and several others.  You'll recognize events and themes from familiar stories like "Chicken Little," "Three Little Kittens," "Three Billy Goats Gruff," among others, but yet find these adventures reimagined with sci-fi, fantasy, and humor, geared for an audience of kids aged 7-12. 

[Just Us Chickens--officially illustrated by Designer Hen.]

Ax the Narrator, my teenaged boy, has finished his bonus books about the Just Us Chickens, a spin-off of my series.  He took the chicken from my Doomimals Book 1: Cockadoodle-DOOM, a sci-fi adaptation of "Chicken Little" and turned him into a cowardly hero, one of a league of super (silly) chickens.  He has written the first three books of the regular Just US Chickens books, the back story of his Superman spoof, Impeckable, and the first book of a separate spin-off series, Key Lime Python, a swashbuckling, galaxy-traveling heroic alien snake. 

[An illustration from book two, once again officially by Designer Hen.]

I'm right now touching up the color illustrations for Chickens (officially drawn by a character in the book).  I've illustrated (in black and white) 6 of my books, and my illustrator is finishing up the beautiful drawings for the last book I've asked her to illustrate.  Within a few days, we'll have a full set of illustrations for all books.  I hope you'll love these images. 

[Soon, you, like the Doomimals kids, will get to meet the Just Us Chickens.]

All I have left is to finish loading all stories, background, and feedback into Scrivener.  It's the final major revision before I get these books into your hands.  Once that's done, Ax the Narrator will set up a Doomimals extended wiki.  For future updates, watch here as well as my webpage, which will very soon feature a page all about Chickens.  We look forward to announcing the actual publication of our first collection of books. 

Where Am I Now?

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In some ways, shelter in place has made finding time to write easier.  I've lost a lot of work, so I have a lot more time on my hands.  On the other hand, I can't say I've used it as wisely as I could have.  I've been helping my boy work toward getting his first ten done.  He's now done with the first eight books in his series (plus his bonuses), and he's taking his spring break off to just enjoy his time.  He has a hard time focusing otherwise but doesn't enjoy anything quite so much as coming up with and writing stories down.

[An illustration of one of our crossover books, drawn by Ghostelle]

Meanwhile, I have just one more book waiting for its illustrations.  All others have been done, though some of them need a bit of polish I can give them now I've become better at digital art.  Also, I'm all but done with editing my book drafts for my beta reader, who is rapidly plowing through them and giving me feedback.  I'm hoping for some other feedback, but we'll see.

[source]

Also, I've been working on Scrivener skills.  Very shortly, I'll load all my world-building information into Scrivener as well as all books in my series and my boy's series.  We'll compare them back and forth and make sure the overall structure works.  We'll also be applying all editor, beta reader, and other feedback we've gotten.  That's the big thing that we need to do before we can proclaim ourselves done and get this first collection polished and into your hands.  We are shooting to do it before summer, but we'll see.  Stay tuned for further updates.

Progress Report

[One of my illustrations]

I'm now done with my part of the illustrations.  My illustrator is almost halfway done with the second-to-last of the sets of illustrations.  My later ones plus hers make me want to revisit my early ones with my improved skills. 

[Editing: Source]

I'm right now skimming through the last 3 books in the series, preparatory to sending them to my beta reader.  She's already gone through the first five and has sent feedback.  That was one major concern.  I now have her feedback, some feedback from a few other beta readers on early books, and an editor's feedback.  I'm still hoping for more. 

[Source]

As soon as that's done, I will enter everything I have into Scrivener and will look at them holistically, comparing them to the hero's journey, story grid, and other story formatting guidelines.  Once all of this is done, I'll be ready to submit it to my publisher.  I feel closer all the time.  I'm hoping to get it all published by early summer. 

Almost Done Illustrating

[My illustration from Arachnageddon, book 7]

I have finished the sketches for the last round of illustrations I'll be doing for my chapter book series, Doomimals.  Because my nephew's wife has illustrated the first two and has started work on book 3 then will finish up with book 4, I needed to do the rest.  I started at the other end and have illustrated them starting with the bonus book then moving on to 9, 8, 7, etc.  I'm now working on book 5, which means I'm almost done with my part of the illustrations.  They lack the sparkle hers have because I don't have near the experience that she does with digital art, but they have a certain charm.  I'm overall pleased with them. 

[Revision; source]

I have been assembling techniques from webinars I'll use to attack the revision step once I'm done with illustrations.  My nephew helped me figure out how to transfer all the background and world-building information plus all the drafts into Scrivener.  That will help me assess them and compare scenes.  I'm also researching the Story Grid, which will, paired with the traditional story structure, help me turn my rough drafts into polished drafts.  I also have feedback from an editor on the first book, feedback from experienced writers on first through third books, and a reader busily reading through those books and the rest in order to give me feedback.  I'm also hoping to get some help from my nephew whose specialty is structuring stories.  I'm shooting to be ready to publish by summer.  

[A scene from a Just Us Chickens bonus book.]

My boy is, meanwhile, busily churning out the rest of his first ten books plus some bonus books, so not long after my books have been published, the spin-off series of Just us Chickens (about a superheroic group of chickens) will be ready to go.  In the meantime, he'll tack a few chickens books onto Doomimals to introduce you, the reader, to his series.  Both series, plus the sneak peek at his other series about a globetrotting, superpowered snake, Key Lime Python, are hilarious and can be enjoyed by readers of all ages.  We're inching closer to introducing you into the Doomimals Extended Universe.  

Illustrations

[Illustration for book 2 by Ghostelle.]

Those two weeks came and went, and I have made some progress but not as much as I'd hope.  As an update for my Doomimals chapter book series, I've been working hard at illustrating the last several, while my illustrator is working at the first few.  I'm hoping to get done with my part of the illustrations within the next two weeks.  

 

[Illustration from the Just Us Chickens book]

I also have some readers and enough knowledge to get going with Scrivener.  As soon as I have finished my illustrations, I'm going full bore with writing. I'm almost done editing my boy's Just Us Chickens and Key Lime Python books.  I'm shooting to be done revising, editing, and just all around ready to get it published for you by late spring/early summer.