"Before publication..."

In spite of bursts of optimism when I feel like the first image, I have a suspicion that reality will take the shape of the second... And yes, you can take it as a hint! You would not want me to make that sad face... Then you know what to do... 

One week to publication

In 8 days, As Winter Came and Went will be published!

 

At this stage, there is nothing left for me to do anymore, except wait. I couple of weeks ago, I ordered a proof-copy of the paperback. Once I'd received it, I was able to check all the formatting, and to do some additional proof-reading, which allowed me to find a few real (and embarrassing mistakes) and some commas that I was not wholly satisfied with. Once that was done, I made the corrections on the digital files (paperback and ebook) and uploaded them once again on Kindle Direct Publishing.

 

So now, they are ready for publication. The ebook, which is already available for preorder, will be automatically published on the 4th of December. I will have to publish the paperback manually, however (in the sense that I'll have to go on the website and press the button "submit for publication"). Because it has to be approved and such, and because the process can take up to three days, the paperback might not be available on the 4th, but on the 5th, or even the 6th (if you were desperate to order it on the 4th, you might have to wait a bit longer...).

 

At the last moment, I decided to add an extra illustration at the end of the novel. The book now has a total of 15, one for the prologue, one for each chapter, one for the title page and one for the last page.

 

I have to say, it feels a bit strange to just wait, like that, after all the work that went into the book, the editing and revising and formatting and such. And I'm still worried that there might be some typos left. I mean, it's certain that there'll be typos left, since you can find some even in traditionnally published books that went through professional editing and proofreading. So a self-published book...

 

Anyway, the wait is almost over and soon I will be able to call myself a published author!

"Two months before publication..."

I know it's not two days before publication yet, but this is so typical of me whenever I have a deadline... Right now I'm thinking that I've done everything that I should, that the book is ready to be published, and so on, but I'm sure I'll soon realise that there's actually things I forgot to do, or overlooked, or didn't know I was meant to do...

Prologue or not prologue?

 

I have an issue with the first chapter of my novel As Winter Came and Went. Or rather readers, seem to have an issue with the first chapter of my novel. Too difficult, too strange, odd style, etc. Which is how it was meant to be (my excuse being that I write literary fiction - aka fiction in which the English language is tortured and mutilated). But though I intended to write something literary, I also wanted to write something that would actually be read. Not something that the reader would want to close and throw away after a few pages, making me feel very misunderstood and mistreated.

The trouble is that this first chapter is especially important to the novel (you can find several extracts of it on this blog). It announces the style. It presents the main character. It raises several issues that will haunt the said character throughout the rest of the novel. And, I'll admit it, I'm fond (proud) of this chapter. So there was no question of deleting it from the book. Was there, however, a way of making it more attractive to the reader, without sacrifising the style or the intent? 

Since the style was what bothered readers, I realised that there was not much I could do... So I decided to ask for advice, in the real and the virtual world. The virtual world? Yes, on social media. 

For the 21st century writer is a connected writer. I discovered that when I was beginning to look into ways of marketing my book. Being present on social media was one of the pieces of advice Google gave me. So I created on Instagram and Facebook accounts dedicated to my writing. And I “met”, on both media, lovely writing communities where both would-be writers and established authors are able to discuss and share their difficulties, their progress, their journey to publication, whether they are traditionally or self-published.

So I asked all those people for advice by posting my question on a Facebook group dedicated to writing. Some said I should be ruthless and delete my chapter (*gasp!*), some said I should ignore my readers, and some said I should add a prologue that would, hopefully, make readers want to go on reading, because they would be desperate to know what happened.

The third option seemed like a good compromise. The problem was that…I actually really, really dislike prologues. Maybe because I always fall for it: I open a book, I read the prologue, the suspense is too much and I cannot rest until I know what happened, what lead to the situation described in the prologue and so on. I find prologues annoying. I think that prologues are nothing more than a trick to lure the reader into the book. But…they tend to work, don’t they? 

So should I add a prologue? The structure of my novel had been the subject of much thought. A prologue would unbalance it. My novel is not a thriller, or crime story, or commercial fiction. It’s literary. It’s already very long. Why make it longer? 

I also had arguments in favour of a prologue. One was that I want my book to be read, and if a prologue could give it one chance to convince one more reader to stick with it….well, I should add a prologue. The other was that when I first started to think about the story that would become As Winter Came and Went (too many years ago…), it didn’t start where it does now. Now, the first chapter shows the main character on a ship bound for England where he goes back after two years spent in Africa. But the initial story (before the first draft was written) was meant to start in Africa, a few weeks before this first chapter.

I pondered on this as I was trying to decide whether or not to include that prologue. And this last argument swayed me in favour of it. I would add a short scene, in Africa, where the story was at first meant to start. Because it would, hopefully, make what follows more understandable. And make the readers ask themselves questions the answers to which they would seek in the rest of the novel. And, because the style is a bit easier than in the chapter that follows, with a bit of luck, it will draw the readers in. At least, that’s what I hope!

"The writing part of the would-be novelist's brain"

As Winter Came and Went - Extract 8

And *drum roll* it is the last extract before the publication of As Winter Came And Went! I hope you've enjoyed those little tasters of my novel, and that maybe it made you want to read the whole of it.

This one is situated at the very end of chapter 1, which, according to beta readers is the strangest, hardest to read chapter of the book. Which is making me a bit worried: what if people decide not to go past it? What makes it all very difficult, is that I believe this chapter is, for many reasons, the most important in the whole novel.

Anyway, this odd chapter 1 does have an end, and apparently it gets easier after that (or maybe readers just get used to my odd style of writing?)... And here it is...

End of chapter 1

Land! A rugged misty coastline…if these grey clouds would lift we would see Land’s End… far off…but nearing…nearing… Black-headed gulls fly between the masts and the ropes, screeching that the harbour is ahead.
“When I left, my wife was with child and I had no news since,” the captain is telling the General.
“There might be a fine, hearty boy waiting for you.”
“I would like a girl, to give my son a little sister. He may be there too, on leave.”
Dennys peers at the horizon, at that land he left two years ago. Will anyone have come for him, will they even be aware that he hasn’t died? And how will he face them? And Victoria, who must’ve thought all that time Oliver was alive… Who will they expect to come off the boat? All of ‘em, the sailors, the captain, the crew, the General even, they have wives, children, sweethearts waiting for them on the shore. Homes, a family that cares for them and friends who’ll drink to their health. Ma could have come. She always said she loved him, in spite of everything. She always said she saw him as her flesh and blood. But she must be in Ireland still, having just heard about him being alive.          I’ll have to pick up my life again… To start from the beginning… How could I? Nothing can ever be the same. I’m branded. By their words, by what I lived, by what I did. They drove me to the brink of insanity. They flung in my face all the foulness of human nature. Their greed, their wickedness… Thirst for power, thirst for gold. The worse is that I spiralled down…to fall…as low, almost as low as ‘em… Loneliness, fear, disgust, hatred…
Did I lose my humanity? I wouldn’t be regretting if I had, would I? I’d be thinking I’d been right all the time. I’d have followed them. I didn’t, ‘cause I rebelled. One day, one day stained for ever by the blood that was spilt, I rebelled. I fought for my humanity. I fought against ‘em, like I fought against the desert. I chose the hardest path.
The loneliness was the worse. To be alone with no one to talk to. That’s what almost drove me mad. I ended up talking alone. To hear a human voice. I talked to the stars. I talked to them ‘cause they looked alive and were a link to home. Not the same, but still better than nothing. Better than talking to the rocks. I talked to the camel but it wouldn’t listen. And how could I tell anyone what I had to live through? Would they understand? They’ll say, why did you answer what you did in the first place, for what reason, explain, you brought it on yourself. Yes I brought it on myself. If I’d known... Blood calls for blood. I wish I’d never gone. I wish I could remember more clearly what happened and what I did… Or I should forget everything. As the ragged cliffs advance to engulf the ship. The mist’ll clear, but not for me.

"When someone makes a nasty remark on my novel..."

Let this be a warning to reviewers! No, I'm just joking. I wouldn't do such a thing! And, anyway, I don't own a book entitled "Spells and Witchcraft"...

One month to publication

One month until the publication of As Winter Came and Went!

 

I find it hard to believe, at times, that what started as me, writing as a hobby, a story that, at first, I did not imagine anyone but me reading led to this. Me. Publishing. A. Book.

 

It feels like the beginning of a new adventure and I'm both excited and not a little nervous. I've been a bit behind schedule these last few weeks, but the manuscript is now uploaded on Amazon, I've ordered a proof copy. And... the Kindle edition is available for preorder!!!!!!!

 

You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Came-Went-May-Bermont-ebook/dp/B07K618J3M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541408214&sr=8-1&keywords=as+winter+came+and+went (or, if you do not live in the US, you can type "As Winter Came and Went" on www.amazon.uk or www.amazone.fr or wherever your local marketplace is, and it should be the first book to appear).

 

The publishing process is far from being finished, though. I will still have to check the proof copy for formatting issues and lingering typos (will it never end?). And I now have to gather reviews (hint, hint...) and market my book, like my life depends on it. Because it's all very well to publish a book. The point is getting people to read that book. And because I'm self-published, I have to do all the marketing myself...

 

I also have to finish setting up my website (I'm still behind schedule for this...). And I've still got to put an author bio on Amazon. And there's still this and that... Anyway, with As Winter... available for preorder now, it feels like the publication has already begun. And there is no going back. Which is what's both exciting and stressful!  

"The scene I had in mind..."

This is, alas, a true story... That particular scene was meant to be intense and romantic... And it was ruined by a single typo...

What surprises me is that only one beta reader actually noticed it (thank you so much for having pointed it out, by the way!). I hope that the others did not see it because they were entranced by the plot and the emotions and such, not because they were so fed up that they just skipped this scene!

Still, I'm still feeling quite ashamed of myself, especially since I sent out ARC copies to reviewers containing this typo (*gasp*)! I noticed it yesterday, so it was just in time for Halloween (and I was duly horrified)...