Courtesy Floating Robes
Weighing in at 39,574 words, the rewrite of Cold Iron is complete.
I’m going to be inviting test readers to take another crack at the work. Invites will go out over the next day or two. The goal is to only have some minor tweaks to make here and there throughout the story, provided it actually works and is not terrible. Once any edits that arise from the test reads are complete, it’s on to severely untested waters: preparing for publication.
I have some cover photography from the inimitable J.R. Blackwell, and a graphic designer interested in actually making the cover look presentable. I don’t trust my own rudimentary Photoshop skills and untrained eye to put together a cover that’s professional, appealing, and in line with the story’s mood and themes. If I’m going to do this e-publication thing, I’m not going to be a scrub about it.
I’m also going to ask some people I know (or kind of know at least) to do review reads. I’d like to get a couple snippets of impressions, hopefully good ones, which can then be used for promotional purposes. Thinking your story is great is one thing; having someone who actually knows what they’re doing say it’s worth reading is quite another.
This is uncharted territory for me. A part of me wants to just call the whole thing done and start up new and exciting projects, even if it’s just fan fiction or game character backstories or running around the house naked covered in marshmellow fluff. But I need to reign that shit in. The writing may be (mostly) done, but the project’s not near finished. Not yet. And by God, I will finish what I start.
Good wishes, offers to test/review read Cold Iron, and general shenanigans are quite welcome.
