Original Post on Syne Stories: 2022 Update - Sunday, 26 Jun 2022
Gonna be kind of a short update since I left all my spoons in 2020.
Galebound is still a thing! After thirty-one agent rejections, I had to recollect my self-esteem and buckle up for editing in preparation for self-publishing. I finished my editing passes and sent out queries looking for a line editor. Instead, I found an absolutely amazing developmental editor and an opportunity I would be a fool to pass up.
I don't know what the future will be for Galebound's publishing after this, except that it will happen one way or another. I think this experience will reopen the door to traditional publishing. I plan on re-querying some choice agents after the developmental editing process, or maybe I'll try for the Author Mentor Match again. In either case, I hope to have a much stronger idea of where GB fits into the market.
I also disabled my Patreon creator page. I had pledges on pause for a long time and, at this point, I don't foresee continuing posts on Patreon as I had been. I'll likely still share future projects with the patrons who had been active on Discord, as many of them have grown to be dear friends. The Discord server itself will change once the book is actually published to support discussion and fan content.
Anyway, be kind to each other in these tumultuous times. Fight for change with love in your hearts.
Original Post on Syne Stories: Road to Publishing Update - Saturday, 30 Jan 2021
Hey guys, just wanted to keep you posted on how things are progressing on the "Get Galebound Published" front!
As as now, I've queried seven agents and got two rejections back, and I'm moving forward with querying more. I had paused for most of this month since I applied for Author Mentor Match, but at this point I doubt I've been selected for it. I might get some minor feedback from the mentors I submitted to, but they're not required to provide any to non-selections (and a part of me hopes any feedback is "you're ready to query! Good luck!").
Speaking of, I also went through a consultation with an agent at the Manuscript Academy. I paid for an appointment with Em Lysaght and it was really good! I already had an idea of a small change that would help strengthen the prologue and her feedback confirmed my suspicions. She also gave me feedback on strengthening my query letter (which she said was already decent :D), which I've implemented and now I'm just letting it sit before one last proofread.
She also said that, as a debut author, the length of the novel is a little intimidating and I might consider splitting it up. I'm stewing on that thought. My resistance is because that would make for two very short books and I'm generally averse to adding anything to pad them out. What might happen is, if traditional publishing doesn't work out for Galebound, it might for Daemonborne since I'm anticipating that one being shorter. We'll see �\_(?)_/�
So, I'm still on the fence about traditional vs self pub and the response I get from agents going forward is likely what's going to dictate which I go with. I'm still leaning ever so slightly in the self-pub direction because I have an itch to control most of the process.
Either way, I'm aiming to have the decision made on that front in late summer at the absolute latest. In the meantime, I'm working on fleshing out my outline for Daemonborne. Hoping to have something to share with y'all on that soon!
Thank you again for your support <3
Original Post on Syne Stories: State of the Gale 2021 - Monday, 28 Dec 2020
2021 is on the horizon guys. We're so close to leaving this year in the dust. At last. Here's to hoping 2021 is a much better year for all of us!
To update y'all on what next year looks like, I need to drop the bad(?) news that's been looming for a bit. The webcomic is, officially, on indefinite hiatus. I don't want to say cancelled because there is a greater-than-zero percent chance I revive it, but as it stands now, I don't have the spoons for it.
I learned a lot and my art improved dramatically over the course of creating the webcomic, but my mental and physical health suffered as a result. Drawing is not an easy task for me. Of course, art isn't easy for anyone, but it's more anxiety-inducing than relaxing to do it as what is effectively a second job.
If I did pick the comic back up, it would probably be in a different format (hybrid prose+webtoon format?) and/or I would prefer to hire an artist as the primary illustrator. With the significant pay cut I took this year, that's not viable for me right now.
As for the good news, as I mentioned in the last Patron post, I'm very close to being able to send Galebound the novel to an agent. It took me longer than I would have liked (because 2020 is a gift that keeps on giving), but I'm currently aiming to send a query to at least one agent starting the first week of January. I'm writing this before Christmas, but I'm hoping to be touching up the final line edits by the time this post is published.
Once GB is sent off to agents, I'll be starting Daemonborne, which Patrons will have access to. And, although I don't have the stamina to continue working on the comic, I do have some illustrations planned to accompany various scenes in Galebound, which Patrons will have early access to (unless the illustration is spoilery in which case it'll be Patron-exclusive until the book is out).
Thank you for sticking around through the relative silence. I'm excited to have Galebound finished soon and for this story to, finally, be out!
Original Post on Syne Stories: Developmental Edits - Tuesday, 29 Sep 2020
Belated update!
It's been a bit since I last posted an update. Developmental updates have been slow due to a mix of hitting a particularly hard chapter to rewrite and getting entirely hyperfixated on other things for a bit. But anyway, posting an update to let y'all know I'm still here and still working on it!
Chapter five and six edits will be going up on Patreon this evening. My current goal is to have things finished by December, which...well, we'll see how that goes. On the plus side, I'm about to hit several chapters in a row that don't need major editing (just an added scene between Conan and a relative). On the other hand, the final stretch (the last five chapters) is going to take moderate edits; basically, the Shadowlord "arc" needs to calm the heck down.
That's all for today. Thanks for checking in and for your patience!
Original Post on Syne Stories: Galebound Update - Friday, 15 May 2020
Probably gonna be a little short on this one because I made the grand mistake of mucking around with a notoriously complicated WordPress plugin for the author site today (Hint: check out the store page on Syne Stories). But it is May 15th, and that means y'all are due an update.
So, for those of you who remember me dropping the comic to work on the novel, the question is, "How is the novel coming?"
And the answer is: it's coming great.
In a way, it's sorta finished!
The goal was to get what I'm currently calling the Main Quest of the story complete, and that finished shortly before Easter (which, I'm told, was very appropriate timing for how the story ends). The full Main Quest is currently available for Patron beta readers over on Patreon.
If you know me you know I'm not a fan of plugging the financial support sites, but I am keeping the draft paywall'd for now because I intend to publish the novel, and hopefully very soon.
On that note, the novel isn't finished. As the chapters went up, I got some feedback regarding pacing in some scenes and some characters who were missing crucial character-building time. My developmental editor and I agree that those scenes are needed, so I'm currently working on adding those in (Main Quest, meet Side Quests). With that, I'm adding an estimated 15k words onto the novel, giving myself an extended deadline of June 4th.
(Why June 4th? PitMad!)
So that's where we're at. On top of writing the extra scenes, I'm also working with a developmental editor and trying very hard to not distract myself with rewrites based on her recommendations before I'm done writing the Side Quests (Hear, Obey, Defy is going to go through the grinder).
After that, I'm planning on pitching to agents. I'm on the fence about traditional vs self-publishing, and leaning towards self-publishing at the moment due to the amount of input I want on the process, but I'm going to try pitching to a agents first to not shut that door entirely.
What happens after that depends on whether I send Galebound to a traditional publishing house or self-publish. So we'll find out.
That's where we're at! Thank you for your patience and for your support as I get this book out!
