Category Archives: ROW80

October 15, 2014

WIPpet Wednesday: Mrowl

Hey look, it’s WIPpet Wednesday again! Which means it’s also garbage day… hang on.

*crashing noises*

*door slams*

*monster in the garbage can yodels with joy*

Sorry, I keep forgetting.

Anyway, for anyone who’s not familiar with WIPpet Wednesdays, this is the day when a fantabulistical group of writers shares a small snippet from a work in progress that relates somehow to the date, and we all link up here so we can share the fun. Today I have another piece from the third book of the Bound trilogy*. I wrote this last week, but it was too adorable not to share today. First draft, edited for spoilers. Rowan’s POV.

WIPpet math: 15 sentences for the 15th

We searched the house for clothes to wear while ours dried. All I could find was a soft cotton nightgown which covered me from neck to ankles in the least-flattering shape possible. I’d hoped to sneak back to my room without being seen, but Aren waited for me in the hall, arms crossed, leaning one shoulder against the wall.

He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. “Damn.”

“Don’t even talk about it.”

“No, really. It’s good. Leaves a lot to the imagination.”

I mustered what dignity I could and held my head high as I passed him. “Goodnight, Aren. Have fun with your imagination.”

“Goodnight, Rowan. I promise I will.”

He’d been joking about the attractiveness of the nightgown, but that didn’t stop him watching me as I walked away. I smiled to myself as I closed the door behind me.

So there we go. Much sweeter than some of the moments I’ve been getting from characters lately.

If you’d like more WIPpet fun, click here to see what the rest of the crew is up to this week, and be sure to say hi on their blogs. If you’d like to join in, please do! You know the rules. Thanks again to our host KL Schwengel, to whom I say, “See, I was nicer to Aren this week! Please don’t hurt the guy I love in your books. Or the other one.”

Writer friendships are kind of screwed up. O.o

ROW80

Word counts are on track. Last Wednesday: 5,000 words. Thursday: 2,500 (this was my day to go to town, so I wasn’t expecting any). Friday: 5,000 words. Saturday: 4,600 Sunday: 0, but did some planning. Monday: 4,898 Tuesday: almost 3000 TOUGH words. Why do words get embarrassed and hide from me when things get romantic?

Things are getting tricky in the story now that I’m starting to pull together all the loose threads, play the wild cards, bring out things that have been in the shadows… pick your metaphor. It’s exciting, but it’s getting to be delicate work. I have a plan, anyway.

I have started beta reading (yay!) and am aiming for 2 chapters a day.

Listened to one podcast, not two, because my phone’s being a jerk about listening to them when I’m walking right now. But that’s something, anyway.

So there you have it. I hope you’re all having a good week and accomplishing ALL THE THINGS.

——

*I’m totally going to give up the name soon, because I’m really sick of typing that.

38 Comments | tags: fantasy, romance, sample, snippet, writing, YA | posted in ROW80, WIPpet Wednesday

October 8, 2014

WIPpet Wednesday–Déjà Vu

By Kate Sparkes

I’m writing this post on Tuesday. I just finished up working for the day, and I am not happy.

It’s not that things aren’t going well. In fact, yesterday and today were AMAZING. It’s killing me that I can’t tell you guys what’s happening in book 3 right now. One of the characters surprised me on Monday, and… and I really wish that fictional people would stop making me love them. It hurts.

So I’m just mad that I have to stop working for the day. There’s a house that needs cleaning, and the ~~distractions~~ kids are home from school, my ~~other distraction~~ beloved husband will be home in less than 2 hours, I need to get supper on. You know. Real life.

And so it goes. I just hope my excitement about what’s happening lasts until tomorrow, when I’ll dive head-first back into this thing.

For WIPpet Wednesday I’ll give you the last eight lines (in the WordPress editor pane, anyway) that I wrote before I quit for the day. Rowan’s POV, very rough, but at least fairly spoiler-free.

Unless you haven’t read Bound, in which case I make no promises, and you should go do that. 🙂

Mountains, yo.

A cliff loomed to my right. As I passed into its shadows an eagle shrieked. I ran toward the noise. Aren, still in his familiar avian form, lay chest-down on the rocks. A few paces away the gryphon crouched on the ground, head held at an awkward angle, gaze fixed on Aren.

“Hey!” I yelled. The beast didn’t change its position. I threw one of the rocks. It bounced off of the gryphon’s skull with a cracking noise, but still the creature wouldn’t move.

I stepped closer. The whites of its eyes showed beneath heavy feathers, and the massive talons curved uselessly beneath it. The animal I’d so heroically attacked was already dead.

Aren let out a softer noise, calling for my attention. His left wing stretched out over the rocks, oozing blood onto the ground.

“Well, this looks familiar,” I observed.

He snapped his beak at me.

The um… the gryphon was a lot more impressive when it was airborne and attacking and didn’t already have a broken neck. You’re just going to have to trust me on that for now, because sharing that would just be BOOK TWO SPOILERS.

For more WIPpet fun, here’s the link to everyone’s posts. It’s updated throughout the day, so shop early and shop often. Say hi to the nice folks, and join in on your own blog if you’d like! The only rules are that you have to post from a current work-in-progress (WIP), and the passage has to have something to do with the day’s date (so I did 8 lines, but you could do a wee slice of chapter 8, show us a planet with eight rings, something about spiders, eighteen lines for 10+8… et cetera). Big thanks to our host KL Schwengel, who’s not allowed to get mad at me for hurting Aren. It was the gryphon’s fault, not mine.

Seriously, he came out of NOWHERE.

*innocent face*

ROW80 Update (goals post link)

Hey, here we are already. So far, so good. 3,000 words on Monday, 3,000 words on Tuesday, and I’m hoping for another 3,000 today. Guess we’ll see… this is what I get for posting from the past.

I’ve got a whole lot of scenes turning up that I didn’t plan on, so the book keeps getting longer. It’s also getting deeper, and the story is filling in nicely. All of the planning I did is (so far) leading draft one to have the depth of a draft 2, if not the polish. There have been a few more detours than I expected, but they’re all still leading to the right place, and it’s a fun ride.

So that’s it for today’s report. How’s your week going so far, writing, reading, or otherwise?

21 Comments | tags: book three, bound trilogy, fantasy, snippet | posted in ROW80

October 6, 2014

Half-Assing #ROW80 (on purpose, this time)

By Kate Sparkes

Okay, that was a strange title, so let me explain.

I sort of dropped out of ROW80 (A Round of Words in 80 Days) on the last round because I was worried about boring people with my posts, especially those of you who subscribe by e-mail. You don’t want your phone to go BRRRRRRMP or BING! or whatever on a Sunday just to be notified that OMG KATE SPARKES WROTE ANOTHER 5000 WORDS YAY.

I know. And I don’t want to put you through that.

But I do miss the accountability and the community. So what to do?

I think I’m going to just check in once a week, on Wednesdays (see? Half-assing the reporting bit). That way these posts will be combined with WIPpet Wednesdays, which will be the candy I offer you to go with the vegetables that are my goals updates. If you’re interested in how things are progressing with my goals, by all means read through. I live to serve, and if watching my numbers is at all inspiring, encouraging, or exciting, I hope you’ll follow along.

Just don’t feel like you have to.

Round 4 of ROW80 for 2014 runs from October 6 to December 25. That means it’s GOAL-SETTIN’ TIME.

*rolls up sleeves, spits in conveniently-placed spittoon*

GOALS:

BOUND TRILOGY BOOK #3 – I’m currently at about 36,500 words out of a projected 120,000. I want to have this done by mid-November, if possible, to leave time for my other book-related goal (see below). This won’t be a problem if I can focus and stick to my schedule… so it’ll probably be a problem. But here’s what I’m aiming for:

3000 words a day, 4 days a week. This leaves one day for me to go to town and get groceries, because my children continue to insist on me putting food in their faces. COOKED food, even. So demanding. If I can get more words than that in, I will. If I can squeeze in writing time on the weekends, I’ll do that, too. But based on what I’ve been able to accomplish over the past month, this seems like a reasonable base goal, if a challenging one.
So doing the math… That would get me done with this messy first draft thing in 28 working days, or on November 20. Hmm. I’ll have to try to get extra words in there, maybe aim for 14,000 words a week somehow. Because my other goal is…

TORN – barring some miraculous cancellation on the part of one of his other clients, my editor will be taking this one on at the beginning of December. I’ve already worked in most of my beta readers’ notes (many thanks to those of you who got through it so quickly, you’re the best!), but there are a few more things that need fixing up. So as soon as Book 3 is drafted, or sooner if need be, I need to get those last few things cleaned up. This is really important, but I don’t want to interrupt this whole first draft thing while I’m on a roll, so I’m putting it off.

Oooooh, dramatic tension, if only in my own mind!

SHORT STORY – It’s a thing I’m working on, which I’d like to have released by Christmas, but it’ll have to get squished in between other BIG, IMPORTANT STUFF. No promises.

OTHER GOALS –

listen to two writing podcasts a week. I can do this while I’m cooking or out walking the dog, so this should be an easy one to cross off. Right now I like Hide and Create and The Self-Publishing Podcast.
Beta reading. I’m doing this for a fellow WIPpeteer this month. I haven’t started yet, but I’m going to get on it soon. There will be notes. SUCH NOTES THERE WILL BE.
Other reading – one or two novels a month seems to be all I have time for these days. Reading just feels like homework right now (heartbreaking, I know), but it’s important. Right now I’m reading Behind the Scenes by Dahlia Adler (so adorable–and I usually don’t like contemporary YA romance) and The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. We’ll see what comes after that. And I’d like to get through at least one writing-related book this round, too.
Organize something fun for the Bound audiobook release in November.
Also, I’m using the Duolingo app to learn French. Because why not?* I have no concrete goal for this, except to use it for 10 minutes a day.

I guess that’s enough.

Are you participating this round? Link back to your goals post in the comments so I can stop by and say hello!

October. Oooooh, aaaaah!

–

*Weird story: I’m pretty sure it had me say, “Je mange les femmes” yesterday, meaning “I eat women.” I’m not entirely sure what they’re implying… this could go in a few directions. Of course, they also think “Je suis un homme,” so you know. Whatever.

15 Comments | tags: #ROW80, editing, fantasy, first draft, goals, revisions, trilogy, writing | posted in ROW80, writing

July 20, 2014

ROW80 Update- Falling off the Cliff Edition

By Kate Sparkes

Not literally. It’s just my first book‘s last few days of eligibility for Hot New Release lists on Amazon.com. My poor baby is going to feel the sting of being replaced by newer and younger books.

Le sigh.

But what the hell, right? It’s been an awesome run. I didn’t expect to see it on this list. Or here.

Fullscreen capture 2014-07-20 84034 AM.bmp

Or here. I am keeping this screenshot FOREVER.

Maybe its spot in a couple of sub-category best-seller lists will keep it afloat for a while. I actually have no idea how that usually works out, long-term. I’m torn between sharing EVERYTHING here in the interest of getting potentially helpful information out there for other writers, and just staying all shut-up because someone’s going to come along and say, “PFFT. IT’S JUST A COUPLE OF SUB-CATEGORIES, GET A LIFE, ROOKIE.”

It’s major for me. These little victories don’t take away the crippling self-doubt that most writers seem to struggle with, but they’re really nice.

Thanks again to everyone who’s read, reviewed, shared the book with friends, and offered support and encouragement in the past month. I hope I’ll see you all at the next release party. 🙂

–

Okay, update.

Goals were here, and right now mainly focus on getting Torn whipped into shape for readers and then my editor. Good news: I’m 1/3 of the way through. Bad news: Subtracting family vacation time (I’m going to go nuts if I can’t work, I swear), that leaves about 4 weeks to get through the other 70K+ words, which includes two new scenes and full re-writes of others, plus heavy revisions.

I can do this. I just hope my dear husband finds it in his heart to accept my frequent absences when I disappear to my office*. I also hope I can figure out how to not be distracted by social media, etc., which is my writing Kryptonite. The distraction, I mean, not social media specifically. If I didn’t have that, it would be something else. I don’t have ADD, but I definitely have CFF (Can’t F%$*ing Focus… not the Canadian Fencing Federation).

Once I get working, I’m fine for a good 20 minutes or so. It’s just settling into it that’s hard. That, and the kids hanging off of me, the Barbie doll chatting in my ear about how she’s the Salt Queen now, the rest of the “Are you done yet? Now? How about now?”

I feel like this is the main benefit of an office job. And I still don’t particularly want to work with a publisher, but I think my deadlines might carry more weight with people if I could say they came from somewhere other than me and the promise I made to readers. It’s a little frustrating.

Anyway. I’m pretty well on schedule, and that’s the important thing.

For anyone who doesn’t know, ROW80 is a writing challenge that lets you set your own flexible goals for each round. More information here. And if you’d like to check out some other people’s posts, click here! Join in any time at your own blog space if you feel so inclined.

In other news, I’m considering dropping out of this challenge. I’m not sure these posts are anything but boring for you guys, and they take time away from actual writing (my perfectionist tendencies and paranoia about how much to say about things have made this post take an hour and a half to write). Maybe I’ll just leave Sundays open for something fun and keep Wednesdays strictly WIPpetish. We’ll see.

Now. Back to work.

Wait, no. The kids are up. Later…

–

*It’s easy enough to find me. Down to basement, hang a left past the litter box ghetto. It’s the spot with the desk and the dragons and the crazy person.

15 Comments | tags: a round of words in 80 days, amazon, best seller, fantasy, hot new release, indie publishing, self-publishing, writing challenge, YA | posted in Bound, publishing, ROW80, Torn

July 16, 2014

Wednesday Shenanigans

By Kate Sparkes

It looks like it’s Wednesday again! For anyone just joining us (hello, there!), this means two things: a ROW80 update, and WIPpet Wednesday. Both are blog events that are open to all. One’s a great help for procuctivity/accountability (both of which I’m in desperate need of at the moment), and one is just buckets of fun.

Let’s start with the fun, shall we?

WIPpet Wednesday

Let’s see… math. WIPpet Wednesday is when we share a snippet of a work in progress that relates somehow to the day’s date. I have to be careful about what I share right now (spoilers!), but I think I’ve got something that will work, if I can make it fit…

I’m taking the 16th and chopping it in half… because this is from book 2 of the Bound Trilogy, and because I said so. I’ve been teasing a little with short WIPpets lately, so here’s something a little longer. Eight paragraphs.

This character was abducted (well… more like conscripted) by a group of soldiers, and while she was trying to figure out how to escape, someone set off a dragon flare in the woods that attracted a big, flying fire-breather. It helped her escape, but she’s none too pleased with the methods these strangers used to rescue her…

“That was incredibly stupid,” I said to the three of them, who had just caught up with me. The woman led them, a stunning creature with clear skin the color of my morning’s tea with just a drop or two of cream in it. She didn’t speak, but kept her gray-green eyes trained on me without fear or concern for propriety. A huntress, and certainly not from the northern provinces.

I slowed my horse to a walk and patted his neck. He was beautiful, a fine traveling companion and better quality than any nag we’d had when I was growing up. The woman rode ahead of me, the men behind. “Did you not know what that stick was before you lit it?” I asked. “Or was it your mission to kill us all?”

My voice remained smooth and level, though inwardly I trembled with apprehension. The soldiers had been bad, but at least I knew what they wanted.

One of the men rode up beside me. He appeared healthy, in spite of his pale complexion, and was handsome enough in a pampered sort of way. Not someone who spent his life toiling outdoors, then. But he appeared strong, if lean, and rode with the same proper form as the soldiers. He could have been one of them, had he the right weapons and uniform. “We knew what it was,” he said. “We needed a distraction.”

“I’d say you got what you wanted, then.” I let out a little laugh, as though the whole situation amused me. Best to not show fear, or how frustrated I was becoming with the whole damned day.

He glared at me. “It worked. I don’t see any ropes binding your wrists or soldiers chasing you.”

He seemed to expect some show of gratitude. I wasn’t going to show anything until I found out what he and his friends wanted with me. People don’t try to help unless they want something. “I would have been fine without you. I’m quite capable of handling myself.”

The muscles in his firm jaw clenched as he gritted his teeth. May a windwyvern piss on my head if you ever find me a joy to converse with, I thought. His very presence irritated me for reasons that seemed just beyond my mind’s reach.

Ho-ho.

*cracks knuckles*

Check out what the rest of the WIPpeteers are up to here, and if you have a blog and a work in progress, join in! Super special thanks to KL Schwengel for hosting.

–

ROW80 Update

A Round of Words in 80 Days is a writing challenge that lets you set your own goals. I set mine here. Time to check in.

I stalled for a few days, but I think I’ve figured out what the problem was. Sometimes a scene is intimidating because it has to do so much, and it has to make it all look effortless. I’m working on one of those scenes right now. Planning is what I needed, and it’s what I’m doing.

It’s gonna be goooood. There were a few hiccups in the last draft, a few things that fell flat or might have disappointed people, but I’m SO ON IT NOW.

So the goals have not changed. Third draft revisions on Torn continue. Time is the biggest challenge right now. I need to average two scenes a day if I’m going to have this thing ready to go to beta readers in September, and right now that’s just not happening. Most scenes need partial or full rewrites, and between the kids being home and… well, the kids being home, I’m not getting the time I need.

Still working on the whole “getting up early” thing. I slept right through my alarm this morning because the fan drowned it out. Note to self: turn up the ringer volume on the my phone tonight.

Going to try for a few hours this afternoon if I can find something to keep the boys occupied, and I AM going to get up and work tomorrow.

Just need to get that momentum going again.

(And guys? This one’s going to be so good…)

20 Comments | tags: fantasy, snippet, WIP, work in progress, YA | posted in ROW80, WIPpet Wednesday

July 13, 2014

ROW80 Update: Party Closet Edition

By Kate Sparkes

We went on a family adventure to Fogo Island yesterday. I’ll have more pictures and stuff tomorrow, but for now I just have to share one thing.

I found the party closet.

Tell me that doesn’t sound like a good time right there. It’s on the ferry between Farewell and Change Islands/Fogo. If this is everything you’ve ever wanted out of life, YOU’RE WELCOME.

(And guys? It’s not flame-resistant apparel. It’s a FIREMAN’S OUTFIT.)

Anyway.

Things are going well with my little schedule plan. Sort of. I’m doing really well with the whole “get up early” part. It’s just the “get right to work” thing that’s making me stumble.

I keep getting distracted by the “checking sales and rankings” thing and the “should I be doing some kind of promotion” thing and the “I wonder what my friends are up to on Facebook OMG THAT’S SO WACKY” thing.

I’ll get there. I will.

I’m making progress on Torn, and it’s SO much more epic than the last draft was. I kind of dropped the ball on a romance sub-plot in drafts one and two, and that’s really blossoming now. I’ve figured out a few things that smooth out rough patches in the plot, I’m taking characters to places they’re not too happy about, and I’ve got a whole lot of surprises for anyone who loved Bound.

I’m so excited!

Speaking of Bound, the book in the #1 position had the decency to run out of time for new release eligibility*, so Bound is (at the time of this posting) the #1 Hot New Release in Amazon’s YA Fantasy > Sword & Sorcery category! It’s on the charts in a few others, but that’s my big, happy excitement for the day. I also woke up to a beautifully written review, so that was WICKED GOOD.

Mini-goals for this week: Finish up this one character’s scenes, move on to Aren’s (which should be my biggest challenge, because DUDE. Ugh. I love him, but this is a tough story to balance in terms of not letting him get too emo). Contact a few book reviewers if I can get my nerve up. Get on that blog post for tomorrow. Maybe do a few more promo pics, though I’m not sure how much good they actually do. Finish reading last week’s WIPpet Wednesday posts. Read other blogs.

But the priority is writing.

And also housework.

Ick.

–

*I’m pretty sure it was out-selling my book by 10 to 1, so this really was the only way I was going to get there.

8 Comments | tags: #ROW80, amazon, fantasy, ferry, publishing, schedules, updates, writing, YA | posted in Newfoundland, promotion, ROW80, Torn

July 7, 2014

ROW80 Goals Post (Round Three)

By Kate Sparkes

Guys… this has been a weird week.

Good. Amazing. But slightly overwhelming, confusing, and strange-dream inducing.

Things are going better than I expected a week and a half after Bound’s launch. I know it won’t last. I’m taking screenshots. But I’m also celebrating little victories like this, which will probably be less impressive by the time you click on that link.

I have a habit of keeping my expectations low and not getting too excited when things go well, because I’m scared of crashing. I know that the good times will end, and then what will I have? Will I feel stupid for celebrating something so temporary? Better to just stay low and even, ride it out...

The official challenge for this round of A Round of Words in 80 Days is to OWN YOUR DREAM.

I’m going to modify it a little, and say that one of my goals is to enjoy my dream. Publishing a book and having at least some people love it has been my dream for a long time. I’m not going to shout it from the rooftops every time a copy sells, but I’m going to let myself get excited when things go right.

It’s a big shift for me.

But it’s time to move on. You can’t coast on one book, no matter how fun the launch party was. Momentum is key.

My goals for this round (which lasts until September 24-ish) have to do with Torn, the sequel to Bound. I’ve already written two drafts, but what I’ve got in the works for this one is a huge improvement over the last one. This is one reason I don’t release early drafts. I need time to stew and let things develop.

It’s a huge job, involving the addition of around 13,000 words and major re-writes to existing scenes. We have a family vacation in there, which makes writing difficult, but I’ll work it out.

AJ: You just released a book. Couldn’t you take a day off?”

Me: I don’t understand the question.

Round Three Goals:

finish revisions on Torn by the end of August. Accomplish this by getting up early to write before the kids wake up.
Send Torn to beta readers at the beginning of September, ask for feedback by the end of the month.
While Torn is with readers, finish outlining book three.
contact editor and cover designer in September.
keep up on Twitter and Facebook involvement. No big promos until Torn is ready to go.
Stop looking at sales rankings. Seriously. It’s unbecoming of a professional.
read two novels and two craft/business books per month.

That last one will be hard. I’m still struggling with reading for pleasure, and finding it hard to get into books. When I do have to take that week off from writing, we’ll see if that helps.

So there we go. No more commentary. No promo.

The future is bright, and it is terrifying.

*rides off into sunset*

20 Comments | posted in publishing, Revision, ROW80, Torn

June 25, 2014

Final ROW80 Check-In

By Kate Sparkes

Whew. We made it!

“We” being those participating in round 2 of A Round of Words in 80 Days, and also those of you who have been patiently listening to my ramblings all these many long weeks.

How have I done for goals?

Well, there’s a book in the world that wasn’t there before. So I guess we’ll call that a victory.

All of the e-book sales channels I’m currently using are live (click here for links). The paperback is on Amazon.com, and should be available for Matchbook and on other Amazon sites in a few days.

Looks like I hit almost all of the small goals, too.

Facebook author page is up and running (and check out the t-shirt an ARC reader made for me– Team Arrow. I COULD JUST DIE)
Sparrowcat Press site is a work in progress, but is up and has sales links
AuthorCentral profile is up on Amazon.com
Bound is on Goodreads
I didn’t get a word count in for the next book during JuNoWriMo, but I have everything re-outlined, and I have a game plan
Still need to make that phone call about getting an EIN so Amazon won’t withhold 30% of any sales money. This would totally not be a big deal if I wasn’t afraid of making phone calls. UGH. I’ll do it. I swear.
Ditto for the Goodreads giveaway. This will happen when I have my lovely books in-hand.

One thing I still need is REVIEWERS. If you are or know of anyone who reviews YA Fantasy (or Fantasy in general, unless they’re the “wimmins and their romantic notions are ruining SF/F breed) and accepts e-books, please let me know in the comments! I’d be happy to send you a copy.

So I’m calling this a successful round.

I have a few other things to say about the publishing process, but that will keep for another day. For now… just thank you all.

21 Comments | tags: Bound, fantasy, indie, publishing, YA | posted in Bound, promotion, publishing, ROW80

June 15, 2014

PARTY TIME!

By Kate Sparkes

Wait… it’s almost party time.

Yessir (or yes ma’am, or yes creature-of-the-night or yes oak tree if that’s how we’re feeling today), we’re going to have a party. It’s a Facebook party, but dangit, it’s a REAL party.

And we’re celebrating a book release.

You’ve all been so patient and supportive, encouraging me through the tough parts of this project, celebrating the small victories, offering advice or a loving kick in the pants when I needed it. I think we all deserve to have some fun, don’t you?

The Bound release party is happening June 26, 2014 from 12:30 to 8:30 PM EDT (Eastern). It’s a long party, and obviously I’m going to have to step out for bathroom and coffee breaks and to do silly little things like feeding my family, but this seemed like a good way to make sure that everyone who wants to can stop by, sign in, and participate in a few activities for a chance to win prizes. You’re under no obligation to stay for the whole thing.

Prizes? Indeed. I’ll be giving out a few e-book copies of Bound over the course of the party (drawn for from participants in specific activities), and a grand prize of a signed paperback copy plus a bag of the magical tea I drink while I’m writing and an Amazon gift card. I might throw some more prizes in there if enough people show up.

Like so.

If you’re an author and would like to give away a copy of your e-book in an activity to get the word out, I’d be happy to help out. Just e-mail me (kate.sparkes @ live.ca). I’d like to make this about you guys, too. I couldn’t have done this without you.

So here’s what you do: follow this link to the party page. Click up top (under the banner) to indicate you’re coming. Then on the 26th, look for the sign-in post so I know I’ve got your name for the grand prize, which will be chosen randomly from everyone who shows up. Invite friends, if you’d like. Look around, have some fun, join in discussions or activities if you’d like. Ask a question, if you have one. This is my first Facebook party, but I think it’ll be small enough that I’ll be able to keep up with everything. Mingle. Make some mew friends. Or be the weird dude who sits in the corner and talks to the dragonlings. That’s cool, too.

ROW80 Update:

It feels like we just did this. Um… everything approved with formatting. Should have that proof paperback in my hands Tuesday (or Wednesday, what with the mail being slow here). I’m about half way through my read-through of book two, and I’m getting some fantastic ideas about how to improve it. I’ve also had a most delightful realization about Aren’s grandmother. Nothing I could ever write into a YA series, but no one ever said that everything set in a world had to be for the same age group… you never know. I keep finding these characters who want to have their stories told, so even when this trilogy is over, I don’t think I’ll be done my work there.

Frustrating, infuriating, difficult and just plain hard as this work is at times, I really wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Release date still set for June 26, though I’m hoping to have e-book links available sooner, just to cover for retailers who are slower about putting things up. I may be queen of the procrastinators, but I think I’m actually going to be ahead of schedule for this one.

I just jinxed it, didn’t I?

9 Comments | tags: book, Bound, fantasy, indie, launch, party, publishing, release, YA, young adult | posted in Bound, promotion, ROW80, Torn

June 11, 2014

ROW80 Update: I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie Edition

By Kate Sparkes

*pulls spider webs out of hair*

Please pardon my appearance. I’m in the depths of uploading a book to various thingies, and I’m afraid I haven’t had time to clean up.

*shakes off rat that’s gnawing on boot*

It’s been an interesting day, but it looks like things are working out. Yes, I broke down and paid someone to format for me. I know, time investment, yadda yadda. But the truth is that the book looks better than I ever could have managed on my own with my current skill set, and considering the troubleshooting my guy had to do today, I think my sanity is worth what I paid.

Actually, it was kind of amusing. I’m Canadian and he’s a Brit, so the e-mail replies read like a merry-go-round of apologies and thank-yous.

One of the problems stemmed from the high-ish page count of the book, which requires a deeper gutter (space between the spine and the text). Not a big deal once we identified the problem, but it took a few tries to get it. And then this came in the mail this afternoon…

button by beanforest (etsy)

I thought it was kind of funny. 🙂

Bottom line is: I have delicious, beautiful, formatted files that I’m sending to ARC readers tonight. Everyone on my list as it stands, that is. Remember that thing where the basement flooded and I lost information on who was helping with the cover reveal? There’s a small chance that a name or two could have been lost from this list, as well. If you signed up and did’t get an e-mail today, just send me a message at kate.sparkes (at) live.ca and we’ll get you fixed up. It’s not personal, I promise!

And yes, I’m getting excited again. The cover art for the paperback nearly blew my mind. If all goes well I should have a copy of the book in my hands next week.

This frustrating, infuriating, beautiful book. I may cry.

If you haven’t added it to Goodreads yet, here’s the link. One ARC reader has rated, and is going to put a review up soon.

I think I should take a screenshot while this rating lasts.

–

So looking back on my goals for this round of ROW80…

editing FINISHED
proofreading FINISHED
formatting FINISHED
send out ARCs FINISHED
set up Facebook page (here) FINISHED
submit to KDP, D2D READY TO ROLL
submit to Createspace FINISHED
order proof copy PENDING
Revise Book 2 for JuNoWriMo… NOT GOING SO WELL

…but I’m letting myself off the hook as far as word count goes. I’m reading and making notes right now.

Side note: Holy crap, tax stuff is complicated and intimidating and annoying. I still have to call for my EIN and get that off to Amazon. Anyone who knows me knows that this is NOT my idea of a good time. Phone calls make me anxious.

But I have to do it if I don’t want them to withhold 30% of my money.

So I’ll do it.

Tomorrow.

So, how are things in your neck of the woods?

8 Comments | tags: amazon, createspace, draft2digital, indie publishing, self-publishing | posted in Bound, publishing, ROW80

disregard the prologue

Category Archives: ROW80

WIPpet Wednesday: Mrowl

WIPpet Wednesday–Déjà Vu

Half-Assing #ROW80 (on purpose, this time)

ROW80 Update- Falling off the Cliff Edition

Wednesday Shenanigans

ROW80 Update: Party Closet Edition

ROW80 Goals Post (Round Three)

Final ROW80 Check-In

PARTY TIME!

ROW80 Update: I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie Edition

Vines and Vices (All the Queen’s Knaves book one)

Urban Fantasy (writing as Tanith Frost)

Bound (Bound Trilogy Book One)

Torn (Bound Trilogy Book Two)

Into Elurien

At Any Cost (Bound Trilogy prequel novella)

The Binding (Short Story)

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disregard the prologue

Category Archives: ROW80

Vines and Vices (All the Queen’s Knaves book one)

Urban Fantasy (writing as Tanith Frost)

Bound (Bound Trilogy Book One)

Torn (Bound Trilogy Book Two)

Into Elurien

At Any Cost (Bound Trilogy prequel novella)

The Binding (Short Story)

Follow via Email

Kate Sparkes

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