Some weeks I know I complain about not getting a lot accomplished, but this isn't one of those weeks. For some unknown reason, I feel like I got a lot done for a change and mostly with Familiar Stranger and Powers Squared.
But for a change of pace, let's start with Trophy Unlocked. No new reviews written, though we did publish two this weekend. First it was Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing Missouri for our Saturday Morning Review. Then on Sunday, one of the other writers published a review of the videogame God of War III Remastered for PS4.
Pageviews have been done most of the year, with our new reviews, like the ones we just published, being overlooked in favor of older reviews, especially Romeo and Juliet (1968) and Othello (1995). R&J is now our second most read review with nearly 1400 pageviews. I have a strong feeling that they're studying the play at some university and our review is being used to avoid actually reading the play. I've also noticed that Othello is getting a lot of pageviews recently as well, actually more this week than Romeo, so I'm thinking some college is now up to that play in their Shakespeare class. While I'm glad the reviews are being read and information is being shared, I would encourage people to read other reviews as well. End of blatant plug.
Made some real headway this week with Familiar Stranger. I'm up to nearly 80,000 words and on page 435, about 5000 words further along than last week (this is supposed to be a thousand words a day after all). I know there are some issues with this version, so I've got another rewrite to go before I show it to anyone. It's going to come in around 86,000 words, which is sort of short for me, but well within the guidelines for the genre which is 70,000-90,000. If things go well, I might be done this week, though I wouldn't be surprised if it's not the next.
I know there are still things I can tighten up. And since this has taken so long, I sort of need to refresh myself with some of the characters which I know might sound wierd. I'm what they call a seat-of-the- pants writer or pantser. I have a general idea of what is going to happen before I start, I might even have mapped out a scene or two along the way, but otherwise, I write from point A to point B and its not always pretty along the way.
I don't believe in endless rewrites either, but I know this needs at least one more from me. Once I'm done with this version I'll print it out (at home) and then read it with a pencil and edit it that way, rather than on screen, which is how I'm doing it now.
There seemed to be a lot of activity this week with Powers Squared, though we don't have anymore finished pages this week, a lot of things have been settled. I'm really impressed with how fast this issue is going as most of the work should be done this month. I'm very pleased with how everyone seems to be working together. As an example, our colorist asked if the artist could add a few details and she did and very quickly, like an overnight turnaround.
We're having a couple of meetings next week, both on Thursday to discuss marketing for Powers Squared. I believe I wrote about videos, etc., and that's what will be part of the discussion. I've also decided to look for other platforms to publish on, digital and print. So I'm hoping we can grow this brand a little in the next few months. I would still very much like to Kickstart an issue or two to help with the expense of producing but I think people have to have heard of you before they're going to give us money.
One of our meetings is with our contact at comiXology and this time we're going a more direct route of calling cell phones rather than going through the conference call BS we did the last time. It takes two to tango and I'd prefer to know we're not meeting right away rather than spend a half hour for someone to pick up. Hopefully, this time it will be a more productive half-hour.
In the coming week, besides the marketing meetings, I imagine there will be more to do with Powers Squared. We got updates, including questions and pages, practically every day this past week. We try to be as quick to turn things around as we can, but sometimes it takes us more than 24 hours.
I also updated the website this week as well. Some minor changes, but I did add some more images and started a page called Powers Using Powers, on which I hope to discuss the powers the boys have. So more to come on that page.
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| Marty using super speed from Issue # 2 |
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| Eli being invisibe in Issue # 3 |
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| Discovering time travel in issue # 5 |
See more at https://powerssquaredcomicbook.com/
And then there's Familiar Stranger, which is sort of coming in for a landing. Again, I'm hoping for this week but no promises to land this book. I'm anxious to move onto something new with the story and characters.
One thing that has to be factored in this week is Daylights Savings Time, which started this morning. In the past, as I've written, these time changes can get the better of me. Factor into that we're supposed to get rain in Los Angeles this week and my time on the road may increase as well. Time is always the elusive treasure when you're a writer with a day job, so bear with me.
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