I have just made the official announcement on the Galley Table podcast, which will be up on Youtube later, but I should mention it here also.
Effective a week ago, I stepped down as managing editor of FlagShip and Flying Island Press. Reasons are many, and I won’t go into them here. As for anyone looking to submit new stories, FlagShip is on hiatus for now while the team determines how to proceed. They are in discussions now.
The less said about 2012, the better. It’s been one of the hardest, most difficult, most disappointing, frustrating, miserable years I have had the misfortune to suffer through. On both a professional and a personal level, 2012 has been challenging.
That’s not to say it’s been without bright spots. Most notably as far as anyone reading this is concerned, this is the year I finally let one of my novels out into the wild, and everyone who’s heard it / read it seems to like it and seems to want more. So there’s that.
Are you a podcaster and a fan of NaNoWriMo? Would you like to help with this year’s annual GSG NaNo Gaiden Podcast?
The doors are open for volunteers. Here’s what I need.
First, I need to know that you’re interested. You can do that by leaving me a comment here or by e-mailing me directly at zach at the web address above – madpoetfiles.com. I’m putting up a schedule to let people know what days are taken and what are still available. I’m reserving the right to put up two episodes per week, but if you REALLY want a Monday or a Saturday for some reason, let me know and we’ll work it out.
Will be this year’s NaNoWriMo project.
If you don’t know from NaNo, here’s the basic idea. You. Your word processor. Maybe a bunch of other crazy people in your area. You have 30 days to write a complete novel of at least 50,000 words. You do that? You win. What do you win? Ummm… self respect? Maybe? Bragging rights for another year?
So, tonight I was talking with Maurice Broaddus, Ryan Stevenson, and Dave Robison on the Round Table Podcast. The episode will be out some time in October, and you’ll get to hear me pitch and hear us talk about Norris Tilney’s next adventure, which will be a full length novel. (If you haven’t discovered Norris yet, may I refer you to “The Battle of Wildspitze”, available at Amazon, BN.com, Smashwords…)
And now I have a dilemma. Because in 50 days, it’s once again time for NaNoWriMo.
Back to the start… almost
So, first, the good news.
Crown of Exiles: Battlehymn is done. Audio and text versions are both available at exiles.madpoetfiles.com. 14 episodes, about 60,000 words of giant robots, princesses in disguise, forbidden love, and the power of rock ‘n roll. And some time around the middle of next year, I should have book two: Crown of Exiles: Lamentations ready to go. That’s the good news.
The bad news.
I have a hard time with goals. I get stuck in a trap of “well, what SHOULD my goal be?” instead of “what do I want to accomplish?”
But not today.
Today, I’m announcing a base goal of writing at least 1000 words per day, six days a week. And I’m holding myself accountable. If you’ll look at the top of the website, there’s a new page. A writing tracker. Which ties into a Google spreadsheet where I’m putting in my daily word count. So far, I’m averaging 998 words per day, so I do need to step it up.
So, tonight I am recording the first episode of my “first” book – Battlehymn.
It’s a story about two young people trying to find their place in the world. Of course, one is a wanna-be rock star. And the other is a princess. And the world includes civil war, mecha, crazy psychic powers, space habitats, intrigue, betrayal, and cats. Well, one cat.
My main goal with this is to a) show that I can produce a longer novel, and b) have fun with it as I go. I’ll be releasing episodes in both text and audio at the website – exiles.madpoetfiles.com. Sign up there to join the mailing list and get notifications as new episodes and side-stories become available.
So, it’s December 1st, and another 30 days of crazy writing is behind us.
What now?
That’s a fantastic question. I have a couple of suggestions, and a couple of announcements. The short answer is this: keep your eyes on this web site. Because GSG is coming back. And because by the end of December, you’ll start seeing longer fiction here. And because there will also be regular short stories now that the craziness of NaNoWriMo is behind us.
If you need help getting your text to Amazon / BN / Smashwords / etc: Flying Island Press
I’m posting the original Mad Poet Files stories up at Amazon, for those who are interested.
Frosty’s Deposit
Because someone is looking for them. Maybe.
And then one day he walks into his bank in the middle of a robbery. It’s available from Amazon (link above) and bn.com for $0.99 US.
If you missed it, and you can search the site, I’m pretty sure it’s stil available here. But I think it’s worth at least one dollar.