Not Back, Just Visiting

[LE-X1]

Some of you may remember me. I posted here for a while last fall, was involved in a couple RP threads, then sort of dropped off the map. Part of the reason I disappeared was just how incredibly busy life got for me around that time--and now's not much better. My wife and I are expecting our first baby, we're in the process of buying a house, and between my day job and my attempts at a successful career as an author, I just don't have time anymore for roleplaying.

All that to say, I'm not back, but I'm am visiting for a little while.

For those of you who enjoyed (or made a mollifying show of enjoying) my writing, I did want to mention that I'll be releasing my first novel in the next few weeks. It's a high fantasy novel about a heroic journey to save the world, with tiny elements of science fiction, titled The Chimaera Regiment. You can read more about it here and here. If any of you are Goodreads members, there's going to be a giveaway for it this weekend (I can post the link when the good folks over at Goodreads approve the giveaway), so you could get an advance copy, if you're interested.

Anyway. Enough about me. How are you guys?

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="LE-X1"]
*waves*
Kid's two months old, grad school's a beast, that's about it I'll keep tabs on your book. Good for you, dude.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

@[member="LE-X1"]
Congrats on the publishing!

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

@[member="LE-X1"]

Wow, looks amazing! And yeah, post the Goodreads link if it gets approved.

 

[LE-X1]

Thanks, guys!

@[member="Ashin Varanin"], that's what I tend to hear about grad school. Always makes me glad I skipped that part of my educational career. And your kid looks pretty healthy on FB; hope mine does as well. (He should; he's been so active for the last two months that my wife thinks he wants an escape hatch installed.)

@[member="Tamara"], thanks! I mean, it'd be more impressive if I'd gotten an agent, a publisher, and an editor, and they all agreed it was great, but then I'd have to pay all those people, and then it'd seem like a job, which defeats the whole point of writing, as far as I'm concerned. But thanks!

@[member="Darth Malificete"], ask and ye shall receive: The Chimaera Regiment giveaway.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

@[member="LE-X1"]
How did you publish it then?

 

[LE-X1]

@[member="Tamara"], self-publishing / print on demand. It tends to get a pretty bad rap, but there are more than a few high-quality authors who avoid traditional publishing these days. (Not necessarily saying I'm one of them, but the point is, not all self-publishing consists of mediocre prose, obvious plot "twists," and the erroneous belief that selling something on Amazon legitimizes it.)

I prefer to self-publish because it means I don't have to limit my creativity to what sells, I don't have to alter my prose to avoid confusing people that normally read nothing but Buzzfeed, and I don't have to change the subtleties when someone higher up the food chain doesn't like the implications. In fact, there's no one higher up the food chain. This also means that I have to work a lot harder on marketing and salesmanship, especially considering that I'm not quitting my day job to do it, and if everything fails, I have no one to blame but myself.

For the sake of my sanity, I prefer the mindset that says, "I wasn't good enough; I have to be better," to the one that says, "Those simper-faced, hollow-headed dimwits at that publishing company just don't know what they're talking about." The one is productive; the other is destructive. I'd rather improve than blame someone else for my problems.

But now I'm on a soap box. The short answer to your question was CreateSpace.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

@[member="LE-X1"]
Very impressive. Best of luck.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

@[member="LE-X1"]

I love seeing another writer... Though I'm not a serious writer yet, I have finished a book which will be most likely never published, and I'm about to write another on which I'd like to publish.

Good luck with your book and author life in general!

 

[Garza]

I remember when you were here, I was just starting in my RP carrere here when you came. I think I may have done one thread with you, but it's been a while for me to remember all that much. :huh:

ANyways, the book looks very interesting! I read books all the time and seeing that someone on this site is writing one is absolutely Fantastic! I would love to read it sometime soon when it comes out. I hope the best for you and your kid, and that after everything settles down, maybe you could come back and RP again.

 

[LE-X1]

Thanks, all! @[member="Morna Imura"], yeah, it'd be nice for things to calm down a bit. We'll see. I miss the casual glee of RPing, but it's hard to find the time.

After all, once this comes out, there'll be a sequel to write. Then another one. And then there are the 8 other, unrelated novels rattling around my head.

Well, technically, one is a collection of thematically related short stories with a consistent message. So not a novel. But still!

 

[LE-X1]

There's now a trailer for the upcoming book!

Also, you get to hear my voice in it. Along with some awesome original music.

 

[Tefka]

@[member="LE-X1"]

Remind me here in a couple of days when it's not midnight (lol) and I'll promote your book on SWRP's front page.

Loved the video. Who did the artwork?

 

[LE-X1]

@[member="Akala"]
Awesome! That'd be great!
I made the map (2:00 mark; the full map resides in the first few pages of the novel), but the rest of the images were either licensed for free commercial use or I purchased an allowance for commercial use. The army that dominates much of the video is also what I use for the cover of the book. (Coincidentally, if I sell more than 500,000 copies of my book, I'll need to buy a more exclusive license, because of how the licensing works. But if I sell that many, I'll happily spend a hundred bucks on the cover image.)

 

[LE-X1]

The book is now for sale! You can get it on Kindle or in print.

@[member="Akala"] Even though it's currently midnight, consider this my reminder.