Like Glass Editing – Round 1 Finished
Almost finished running through the first edits for Like Glass, and I’m stoked. Very few changes – not counting ‘translating’ from US to British English (most of which seemed to be replacing ‘z’ with ’s’, as in ‘realizing’ to ‘realising’). Very exciting to get it back from a ‘real’ editor and not have to rewrite the whole book…
Now, if only the same could be said for Shattered. Don’t get me wrong – they gave me a lot of great feedback and ideas, but there’s a ton of work that needs to be done to it and not a lot of time to do it in. I think I’m up for vacation at work here in a couple of months; I’ll have to see whether or not it’d be a good idea to spend that on editing or save it in case the wife and I try to take a ‘real’ vacation of some kind.
Anyways, I need to get back to finishing up the edits. Catch you on the flip side.
–Matt
Like Glass and Shattered To Be Published
Well, I haven’t written a whole lot on what’s going on with Like Glass in a while, and that’s mainly because I’m trying to learn from the mistake I made last year when I first thought I might have a publisher lined up. Namely, I started talking about the book getting published, then the deal fell through and I felt a bit like a jackass for getting so excited about it.
This time around, I’d promised myself I’d wait until everything was signed, sealed, and delivered before I made any kind of a fuss about it.
That said, I love setting myself up to look like an idiot, so I’m going to break that promise to myself 
Here’s what’s happening (keep in mind that this is still preliminary, though most of the details have been worked out as far as I’m aware):
1) Like Glass will be published by H and E Publishers in the U.K. with a release date set for November 25th, 2010. (In an earlier post, I’d said it was going to be 2011; they were able to fit it into next year though.) A U.S. release date is pending, but it will probably be about a year after the U.K. release.
2) Shattered will be published by H and E Publishers, though no details regarding the release have been set. Odds are (and this is just a guess — this hasn’t been discussed at all) it’ll probably be released in the U.K. a year after Like Glass, and in the U.S. a year after Like Glass is released in the U.S.
3) If I can ever get around to working on Broken Peaces, the third book in the series, H and E will probably handle that one too. Since this book hasn’t even been written yet, don’t expect any release details any time soon.
I don’t have any other details worth giving at the moment, but I will post what I can whenever there’s something worth posting.
Need to get back to having a lazy Saturday, so I’ll catch you on the flip side.
–Matt
Another Day In Paradise
Okay, got up way too early this morning for a Monday, but it’s all good: one of the downsides of trying to work with someone in the UK is the ~7 hour time difference, but over the years I’ve become more of a morning person than I used to be. Coffee is my friend, and it’s a friend I cherish deeply.
Nothing really to report on the publishing deal yet, except for the fact I’ve discovered how different mailing addresses are in the US vs. those in the UK. The publisher wants a hard copy of Like Glass, and the other day I tried to start an order from Amazon to get an idea of how much it cost. Fifteen minutes later, I think I might have gotten it to accept their address, but I’m a little leary of sending it out. For roughly $50 total (w/ S&H), I’d really rather not take a chance on it coming back and having to send it again.
Also, I’m wanting to discuss the options we might have available for working on Shattered and Broken Peaces together — those are the other two books in the Like Glass series. We’ll see what happens with that. Not really getting my hopes up, but hey: stranger things have happened, right? At least Shattered is technically finished. It’s a mess at the moment, but mainly because I haven’t had any need to work on it (and I’ve had more pressing issues to deal with, like “real” life). If there were interest in it, I could probably have it polished up to a pleasant shine in a couple of months. Broken Peaces, now… that would take a little time. But hey, even if we signed the contract today, Like Glass wouldn’t come out for another couple of years, then Shattered would have to make it’s rounds, probably a year or so after Like Glass, and then we’d have to worry about where the final book in the trilogy is.
Aside from that though, things are trucking along. Work’s getting … interesting, to say the least, and quite hectic as project deadlines loom.
The missus and I are moving — did I mention that? Nothing major, just moving across town. Cheaper rent, and I’ll be a little closer to my old stomping grounds. Longer drive to and from work, but you can’t have everything, can you? Gonna get that taken care of this weekend — thankfully we’ve got some movers lined up, and that’ll make things a lot nicer.
Other than that, just another day in paradise. Need to start getting ready to get back into the grind, so I’ll catch you on the flip side.
–Matt
Like Glass Update
Okay, don’t have much time so I’ll try to make this quick.
It’s been a while since I really said anything about Like Glass (that’s my novel, if you don’t know). I’ve been trying to move on, focus on work and “real life” for a while. Things have been moving a little bit in the background though, and I thought I’d share some of the details as to where it’s going right now.
Actually, “where it’s going” is interesting enough in it’s own right. It’s “going” across the Atlantic to England, where a British publishing company has decided to pick it up. Right now, they’re currently looking at a UK release of 2011, with a US release of 2012. That gives me the warm fuzzies — I’m going to be an internationally published author before much longer
It’s still really early in the game though — nothing’s been signed or anything, just “verbal” (well, email) discussion about it — so I can’t really say much of anything else. But trust me, I’ll keep you posted as things happen (either on here or on Facebook — look me up if you’re on there, and if you want to “friend” me, add a personal message to let me know you came from my blog or else I might not accept if I don’t already know you).
Alright, need to run to work. Catch you on the flip side.
–Matt
Ross Perot Would Be Proud
I’ve done way too much thinking today, but here goes some more.
FWIW, I am not (again) quitting on anything. I might take a bit of a break — I’m emotionally drained, as it’s been a rather trying couple of months (personal reasons, mostly). But I am going to write as much as I’m able to write, and I’m not going to pull the plug on anything. Well, unless you really piss me off…
Anyways…
If you’ll direct your attention to this site, you’ll notice that I have lowered the price of Like Glass, from $15.95 (USD) to $9.95 (USD). Like Glass is now available for less than $10. Okay, it might as well be ten bucks, I know, but still, that nickle you save can find lots of uses, like throwing at your co-worker’s head when they’re not looking.
I would like to apologize to everyone who’s recently (i.e. the past couple of days) bought a copy of the novel at the previous price. If I had a way to reimburse you, believe me, I would. Unfortunately, for whatever else CreateSpace has going for them, refunds and the like are not an option.
I do have a list though, and those people who bought a copy of Like Glass within the past week will receive a free copy of Shattered when it comes out.
I am planning on revamping Like Glass in the near future, to make it a little easier on the eyes (not the content, just the typesetting). I’m also going to be working on some new promo materials too, for both it and Shattered, so keep your eyes peeled.
I’d like to thank everyone who puts up with me — I’m a damned difficult person to keep up with, and each one of you who doesn’t just bail out on me deserves to be canonized. Well, after they canonize my wife — she’s got you all beat hands down on that front
–Matt
After A Little Thinking….
I’m sure that, if my wife knew I was writing this post, she’d be a little upset with me. She prefers that I keep my “public persona” as clean as possible, and I admire her for that. But, at the moment, I’m a little upset and I’m going to shoot myself in the marketing foot.
Now that I’ve had a little time to think about what happened this morning, I’ll be flat honest: I’m pissed. I wasted an entire month of my life thinking that this would play out to be a fair start to a career, time I could have spent marketing Like Glass on my own, time I could’ve spent looking for another publisher. Hell, I was actually going to give up when I got the email from VHP, and I could’ve been working on my software development skills in this time, instead of worrying about building up an audience.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not going back on what I said earlier — I’m still very grateful to both Ms. Williams and Ms. Quast for what they’ve done for me. I’m mad at myself. Instead of making sure that everything was signed, sealed, and delivered, I kicked my feet up and trusted that things would take care of themselves.
It was my own stupidity/naivete, and it bit me in the ass. Now I know better.
I don’t think I’ll be spending any more of my time pursuing agents or publishers. I’m satisfied with the job that CreateSpace does for production, and I’ll be a little arrogant: I like to think that I can do a fine job in creating the promotional materials myself. I won’t turn down a reasonable offer if whatever Gods there may be decide to send me one, but I’m not going to waste my time to pursue it further.
I also think that I’m going to leave the series with Shattered. I had originally intended there to be a third, final book in the series, but as much as I hate to leave it at two books, I feel my time is better served looking elsewhere for financial support (i.e. actually trying to do well at my day job, instead of just putting up with it until I get that “big break”).
Note that I reserve the right to change my mind at any time, and I probably will once I get over this. But that’s where I stand at the moment.
So, here’s the current plan: Like Glass is still available at CreateSpace; you can find info on getting a discount if you go to the Like Glass page (click the link at the top to get there). Shattered is undergoing review by some friends of mine, and further information will be forthcoming once I’ve received their opinions.
I may pull the plug on Like Glass at the first of the year, and I may not release Shattered to the public. I haven’t completely decided yet. But, as of this moment in time, what I just wrote is the closest thing there is to a plan, for better or worse. Just don’t take it as the gospel, at least not until you have a copy of Shattered in your hands and you see Like Glass still for sale in Febuary.
I need to get back to pretending to work. Again, thanks to Kimberlee and Mary — it was fun while it lasted.
–Matt
Like Glass No Longer a VHP Title
The title pretty much says it all; officially, as of today, Like Glass will not be published by Vanilla Heart Publishing. I will continue to distribute it via the current channels (i.e. Amazon and CreateSpace) at least until the first of the year, though I’m unsure whether I will continue to pursue it after that.
I’m at work right now, so I can’t really discuss the subject too much; suffice to say that it’s better for all parties involved that the novel finds a different home.
I would like to sincerely offer my thanks and gratitude to Kimberlee Williams, the editor at VHP, for the time and effort she and her staff put into what work had already been done on the novel, and for putting up with a rather tedious client. I’d also like to once again thank Mary Quast, the author who introduced me to VHP in the first place; even though it didn’t work out, it was still a wonderful experience that I wouldn’t have had without your assistance.
Okay, back to the rat race.
–Matt
Yes, I’m Still Alive
Been a while since I’ve posted, figured I’d drop a quick line and let everyone know what’s going on.
Right now, I’m basically just taking a short break from writing. After finishing Shattered — which was a great experience, but pretty damned rough too — I had to go back to the day job (ugh). It’s taken a lot of getting used to, as I was off for a couple of months, but hopefully I’ll be back in the swing of things.
Also, after going all-out on writing Shattered for a while, I’m a little worn out. There’s a lot of stuff in Shattered that was quite draining for me to write about — lot’s of personal stuff, lot’s of things that were more than a little hard to write about.
No worries though; I’m stil planning on working more on the Vanishing Point series, and still have a book or two in mind for it as well eventually.
I’ve also been giving consideration to looking for an agent, but that’s a really tough call for me. I almost feel like I’d be bailing out on Vanilla Heart Publishing even before things get started. But, at the same time, I think that’d be the only way I’d be able to get a good enough deal to where I’d be able to quit the day job and write full time — and that’s something I’ve learned I need to do, after taking my little break. There’s a lot of people out there who can work full time and still manage to write; I’m not that great at multitasking.
Anyways, it’s a tough call for me. I know an agent could probably hook me up with a good deal, and I know I have a lot to offer a publishing company that’d be willing to give me a decent advance — there’s the Vanishing Point books I have in mind, and the Like Glass/Shattered universe is going to bring one more book from Rob’s perspective, and probably several more from the POV of other characters in the series. I mean, pick a number and I’ll give you that many books (well, within reason, at least).
Then there’s writing that damned query letter. I hate that. You want to know a secret? That’s one of the main reasons I started getting involved in the social networks like Facebook and Twitter — I was hoping I’d get in with an agent who’d be willing to let a bad query letter slide, because I was a “friend”. Seriously, I can’t query to save my life. If I had to choose between getting dental surgery without anesthesia, or working on a query letter, I’d … well, it’d be a tough choice. I’d probably go with the query letter, but I’d be wondering if the surgery would’ve been that bad while I was writing it.
Anyways, I need to start getting ready for another lap in the rat race. If you happen to have an agent tucked away some where though, and you think they’d be interested in dealing with the Like Glass series, send them my way. Or, at least, see if they’d be willing to overlook a bad query letter
Catch you on the flip side.
–Matt
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