To build buzz for a forthcoming book, publishers often release a number of Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) to book reviewers and booksellers. ARCs are trade sized paperbacks of the novel, usually containing a letter from the editor sharing their thoughts on the book. They also are often filled with grammatical errors that will be corrected for final release. For the most part, however, they are pretty close to what will be published and sold at bookstores.

ARCs serve a pretty important purpose—the more buzz that is generated pre-release the more sales the publisher and author could possibly get.

But I am using them for a far different purpose. Since I have not heard definitive word about my book from those I have sent it to professionally, I am still in that position of not knowing if my work is any good. I think it is, but what I like and what others like can be very different at times.

So I created these:





When I finished Song of the Fell Hammer, I created three of these—bound copies of my book with a title page. I gave one to my mother (who loves Terry Brooks), one to my brother (who still hasn't read it after 9 months), and one to one of my best friends (who is a former and recovering Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan reader).

My mother loved it and said it was like reading Terry Brooks (but she is biased), my brother still hasn't read it (jerk haha), and my friend is about to finish it and thinks it needs to be tightened up (spot on). Well, I shipped my book off to agents who eventually told me to rewrite different aspects of the book and once that rewriting was finished I produced seven more of these Advance ARCs—the new copies containing the map I drew.

So by my count, there are 10 copies of my book out there. I produced three more of the revised editions a few days ago, just in case someone asked for one. And I thought to myself, "I should take some pictures of these so people can see an Advance ARC." So here you go. It is a vanity to see my book in print, but it has served a good purpose as I have gotten great feedback from those who have read it. No matter if a publisher decides to buy my trilogy and produce real ARCs of their own for publicity purposes, these 10 copies I produced will always have a place in my heart.

They are, after all, copies I produced with my own blood, sweat, and tears.

This afternoon I wrapped up the third draft of my outline. I guess the "third" word in the previous sentence eludes to part of my insanity. I like to control my story from beginning to ending, and the only way to do that is to spend a significant amount of time thinking it through.

Many writers detest this. They believe sitting down at the computer and acting like a conduit to the story rather than the crafter is how a story should be written. These same people often believe Writers Block is a genuine problem for a writer.

I respect that. It takes a massive amount of courage to sit down and not know where the story is going to take you. But it also means there is a lot of editing, a lot of work thrown away, and a lot of grief. Some stories get 3/4 written only to self-destruct toward weak endings that often have deux ex machina stamped all over them. I am far too anal to work that way—too frightened of wasting my time.

So I dream. I dream for a long time. The story percolates and becomes real before I even put a word down. It comes to me like a movie plays out, and by the time I am ready to write I have done the creative, fun work already and I am merely the storyteller of what has become a very real story despite not being placed on a concrete page.

It begins with that dream time, but the outline of the story requires time and tweaking. In the first two books, when I've written my outline, I haven't been wholly done with my dreaming. It bleeds through between the black ink upon the white page. Therefore, I need sometimes multiple drafts of the outline to be finished before I can start writing.

And that's where The Winter Scion is at now. The third draft of the outline is complete. I like it. I think it works. It is one chapter smaller than the first book, has two more point of view characters, and it has action from start to finish. It builds nicely off the foundation of Song of the Fell Hammer and pushes the overall storyarc forward. The Winter Scion is a self-contained story, but has tendrils into the third book.

Now only if a publisher finds the same merit in it my dozen early readers have.

What does a first-time writer do while they wait on word from agents and editors about their manuscript?

This is the quandary I am in. There was a time that lasted ten months when I would wake up, check my email and websites, and then write for six to twelves hours a day. Those days made sense—to have a finished book, one must write after all.

Then came the days of editing. These days made sense too. To have a solid book, one must go through it with a discerning eye and improve what was created. An improved, tightened book will be looked at more favorably as professional by the professionals.

But after not being rejected by two top agents and making their revisions, what is there to do when a writer sends the revised manuscript back out into the ether and the waiting begins anew?

It has been about five months since I worked on The Winter Scion. It has been five months since I wrote a word, corrected a word, or edited a word. Although the dream stage continues to percolate and I am generating interesting ideas for the second book in the Battle's Perilous Edge trilogy, I am afraid of continuing. It's not writer's block—something I personally believe is a myth—but something worse.

What happens if an editor at a publishing house wants Song of the Fell Hammer, but they want some significant changes that alter The Winter Scion? In other words, do I dare write a book that is fully outlined even though an editor might destroy the book with a suggestion to the storyline that unravels it all? Would that not be writing time ultimately wasted? Shouldn't I wait for an editor to okay and authorize the second book's outline before writing it?

That is common practice for beginning writers in genre. For the most part, writers with only one or two books published are still discovering their craft and what to do and what not to do during the long process of writing a book. Therefore, the editor will ask to see the outline for a forthcoming book to catch any problems early on that prevent delays further down the line. To gain an audience, a first-time writer needs to gain momentum with each book release and delays of any kind in the writing of the next book can stymy—even destroy—what a writer and publisher are trying to accomplish.

So what to do?

Eldon Thompson—fantasy novelist, friend, and initial scriptwriter on The Elfstones of Shannara movie adaptation—has read Song of the Fell Hammer. He believes quite strongly I could continue writing The Winter Scion and it would not go for naught; he argues I approach the craft so analytically that my outline would be approved anyway. Eldon has gone through the process three times now and I hear what he is saying.

But I am still scared of putting in all that effort to have it crumble because my editor would like to make a change.

I made up my mind this morning though. I'm tired of sitting around and waiting on news. I've done all I can right now to make Song of the Fell Hammer the best it can be. I have created and redeveloped a well-designed website for marketing purposes. And I have met all the right people and entrusted my baby to them, hoping for the miracle that is a publishing contract. The writer in me wants release, and there is only one way to do that.

Tomorrow morning, when I wake up, I will go through my routine. Then I will go over the five-page outline for The Winter Scion and make any needed changes to it.

Then I will go back to writing. And hope an editor likes what I have in store for the readers.

As you've probably noticed, I have a new website design. It is still in the early stages of development, but with my book once again out in the ether I thought it wise to update it and show those with Song of the Fell Hammer that I can put together a better website than the one that previously existed.

So, for better or worse, here it is. The blog will now be on the front page as it will change more often than the rest of the website. And it will also facilitate the news. There are still some bugs in the machine, just so you know.