When I finish writing a book, I set it aside and move to a new project. That way I am always fresh for revision and editing. I have completed first drafts in as little as forty days or as long as eighteen months. Either way, by the time the final scene flows across the page, I am excited, but drained. Stephen King suggested in his book, On Writing, to take a break at this stage and I have followed his advice.
I worked on several projects after publishing Dragon Badge, but spent a lot of time learning about the self-publishing industry, marketing and promoting, and social media. I already had a draft of the second book in the series. After reading what I had a couple of times, I decided to start from scratch, salvaging a few scenes I liked, but planning the second book to answer questions from the first and further develop the fantasy elements.
At the same time, I was eager to publish a second book, so once I finished the rewrite of what was called Machine Gun Knight and later The Darklord’s Boys, I put it away and edited a science-fiction book I wrote years ago called Wormbright and shared it with critique readers. In the end, I decided I liked Wormbright, but it did not blow me away. What can a writer do with such a revelation? The answer, as painful as it seems, is to start completely over. So I wrote an outline from scratch, changed the title and some names my critique readers did not care for, and went to work. The result became Enemy of Man: Book One in the Chronicles of Kin Roland.
Now I return to the sequel of Dragon Badge. Why am I changing the title? Feedback on the book title(s) was decidedly negative. I decided it was time to put my ego and preferences aside. So what is the name of the second Dragon Badge book? I am still working on it, but it will be revealed in the Dragon Badge Newsletter.
I worked on several projects after publishing Dragon Badge, but spent a lot of time learning about the self-publishing industry, marketing and promoting, and social media. I already had a draft of the second book in the series. After reading what I had a couple of times, I decided to start from scratch, salvaging a few scenes I liked, but planning the second book to answer questions from the first and further develop the fantasy elements.
At the same time, I was eager to publish a second book, so once I finished the rewrite of what was called Machine Gun Knight and later The Darklord’s Boys, I put it away and edited a science-fiction book I wrote years ago called Wormbright and shared it with critique readers. In the end, I decided I liked Wormbright, but it did not blow me away. What can a writer do with such a revelation? The answer, as painful as it seems, is to start completely over. So I wrote an outline from scratch, changed the title and some names my critique readers did not care for, and went to work. The result became Enemy of Man: Book One in the Chronicles of Kin Roland.
Now I return to the sequel of Dragon Badge. Why am I changing the title? Feedback on the book title(s) was decidedly negative. I decided it was time to put my ego and preferences aside. So what is the name of the second Dragon Badge book? I am still working on it, but it will be revealed in the Dragon Badge Newsletter.
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