Friday, March 4, 2011

Framework Update - Because So Many People Are Asking

Five emails, a Facebook message, three private Twitter messages, several replies scattered across blog posts and now the pizza guy. That's how many (and how) people asked me when Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7: Framework will be finished since yesterday evening. At least the pizza guy didn't ask me to sign my receipt then run off with it this time. That was a good laugh.

Don't get me wrong, it's great that interest in the series has gone up, and I'm glad people want to know how this story ends (until it starts again in Broadcast 8). I just thought I'd answer the burning question in one place so I could refer everyone to this post.

Here's how long I expect things to take and why:

I'm hoping to finish writing my last draft of Broadcast 7: Framework by the end of March.

After a week or three of looking it over and making sure everything is as I'd like. I'll be collaborating with a second and third pair of eyes who will make sure I'm saying what I mean and really mean what I say. Also, they'll smack me upside the head if I've done something completely unrealistic or stupid. Tweaks will be made, the telling of the tale will be tightened.

When that's finished I'll be sending it off to a company that takes care of line editing for indie authors as well as larger publishing houses. I've seen their work and trust the author who recommended them. I also read what they did to his manuscript - top work.  It'll take about a month to get the work back from them, and another week or two for me and a couple other people to look over the final manuscript. Why add another six or more weeks to the wait? Editing has been the achilles heel of the series because I haven't been able to afford professional line editors until recently. Also, I've been impatient and rushed in the past. I'm told I have to stop that.

The final manuscript will go to a formatting house, where they'll make magically perfect versions of the book ready for Kindle, and all the EPub readers on the planet. That'll take one to two weeks.

So, that's how long it'll take and why - if everything goes as predicted. There's always a chance that the book will be longer than expected and I'll need a couple extra weeks, or a group of ninja assassins will seek out and kill everyone I'm planning to work with. The good news is that I haven't been working on any other writing project, I've barely been thinking about anything else, to be honest. The dishes and laundry are piling up!

I love writing this series, and in all honesty I'd write this book if there was no one waiting for it. I am doing my last draft very differently as well. It is taking longer, but the results are much more to my liking. I've learned my lesson from rushing previous Broadcasts and will continue to pay the price (literally and figuratively), for the foreseeable future when I take another pass on Broadcasts 0-6 then pay for an editing team to give them a final polish. That comes after Broadcast 7 is on the digital shelves.

I thank you for your patience, am really happy you've enjoyed the ride so far, and hope you stick around.

Addendum: I'm reminded by another author (who has a lot more experience than I), that most books aren't released for between 6-18 months after they've been written. To be honest, that makes me feel much better about the time frame I'm working on. Thanks Kim!

RL

[Anyone have any paper plates?]

20 comments:

JamieT said...

Ive managed to read 0-6 in a week, and i cannot wait for the 7th to come out! There so addicting! Well done so far, and i look forward to any of your future books :)

John said...

So in about 4months the book will be out? But I am already looking to broadcast8!!!!

Randolph Lalonde said...

I'm really hoping that it can be out sooner than that, but the time frames I'm giving are what I can promise right now. But hey, if I cut out most of the editing, it could happen in about half the time. Sadly, I'm not willing to do that anymore. I'd rather invest the extra time and money to have professional editors work with me than release another book that inspires 5-10 emails a week addressing the topic of editing.

On the brighter side, after the book is out of my hands - which will be most of the time after March - I'll be free to work on something else. It's just getting the whole professional editing and formatting chain started that's going to visibly take a long time. Other books should seem to come out faster after this.

RL

Unknown said...

While I am chomping at the bit, I prize quality over haste and completely support your efforts to polish your work.

Looking forward to it when its done.

Matt H. said...

Have to agree with your decision. I came across the first book in the free kindle section, ended up reading the entire series in the week following. A great series that's been plagued by small but glaring errors. Can't wait to see what a broadcast looks like after receiving a bit of professional polish! Thanks for the great story so far.

~MH

Anonymous said...

Agree with previous comments. I need Broadcast 7 ASAP. If you want us to be patient, please write books that are more boring.

Seriously though, thanks for taking the time for some additional tweaks. I'm willing to wait for a final product of higher quality. Just don't pull a Robert Jordan.

Joe Houghton said...

Great series, looking forward to 7. Any way to be on a list to be notified when it is ready and future books too?
Joe.Houghton@Learningtalk.ie

Randolph Lalonde said...

Thanks for checking in everyone!

Joe:

I'm looking into adding a mailing list tool so people can sign up to be notified about new books and major occurrences. I'd most likely only send out 3-5 emails a year, but I think it's time.

Thanks for reading, and welcome to the crew!

RL

Scheherizade said...

I'm with the rest of the band. Have devoured the previous Broadcasts but look forward to that extra polish. Your work deserves it. Again, if you wrote boring stories we wouldn't be harping on you. :) We love your world.

Unknown said...

As for a mailing list, how 'bout creating a Yahoo or Google Group with notices only?

Mike Sjostrom said...

Just finished Broadcast 0-6 and look forward to 7. Your work is very entertaining and I look forward to all the installments in the future.

Kathy W. said...

This is the best series I've read in years. Love the characters. Hope this goes on a long, long time. Or at least the rest of MY lifetime. I'm over 60, after all.

Dan Robinson said...

Rock On Mr. Lalonde... the end or march can't come soon enough...

Jonny5 said...

It cant come soon enough. Ive been reading a broadcast every couple days for the last week, and now I have no more. One of the most engaging series Ive read in years. I only wish the books were 10x longer :).

john said...

Randolph what is with "Birdhouses in your soul"?

Randolph Lalonde said...

There's a reference to "Birdhouse In Your Soul" in a couple of the books. I can say no more.

RL

jonas said...

looking forward for the next series! you'd be happy to know you're being read in as far as from the philippines! thanks for keeping me up till the wee hours of the morn.

~jonas
*no kidding..that's my real name :))

DCDimon said...

I got hooked on this series through the free Origins:O book for my Kindle. When I finished that one I went out and bought all the rest and have read them on after the other; I just finished Broadcast 6 and can't wait for #7. I've been reading science fiction since the early 70's - I picked up a Tom Swift book and never looked back - and I have to say that these books are some of the best I've read.

Having just read the entire series I have to say that where we end up at the end of #6 is nothing close to where I thought the series would go from reading #0. I've read a lot of series and have often found my interest waning as the series progressed - because it seemed the farther into the author got, the more filler started appearing in the books (Wheel of Time by Jordan). Or they went completely off their bean and started getting way to crazy for even me to suspend my disbelief (Mission Earth by Hubbard). You invest a lot of time, and money, when you decide to jump into a series. And I expect to be entertained throughout and have story lines make sense, but not seem so contrived that plot resolutions seem too convenient.

I am very happy that I took that first free hit and that I've become addicted to this series. I can't wait for the next hit.

Anonymous said...

Love the series. Best thing I'll read in a long time. I only have one request.....can they keep a damn ship!! :)

Fangirl Extraordinaire said...

Loving the series at the moment, although I seem to have discovered them at the wrong time (I'm just about to sit my finals at Edinburgh University). I love the books and I'm glad to hear about the editing. The series offers characters and a world that is completely believable. It fills in some of the areas that tend to get left out of science fiction meaning the world is boundless but easy to relate to at the same time. I can see why you'd want to see the books as a TV series or film but I think they work well as they are and I don't want them to change! Time and again I'm disappointed by TV and film adaptations of books and I think it would break my heart if it wasn't done perfectly! Keep up the good work, I can't wait for the next broadcast.