Category: Editing

Good News about Exposure

August 22, 2021

Good News about Exposure

Good morning, my readers; I have good news on Exposure, the next book in the Consortium series.

That’s right. I have good news about Exposure, Consortium book 5. No doubt, there are lots of things in need of fixing, but I’m up for the challenge. No doubt, there are lots of things in need of fixing.

Why may you ask? 

I don’t know what other writers, novelists, and authors do. For me, it’s more important to get the story written before diving into making everything grammatically correct, maintain continuity, and clean up unnecessary or superfluous writing.

That means, write…write…write.

Writing

As much as I enjoy the creative aspects of writing, it is strenuous. Not stressful, but demanding. If I write too fast, I might get lots of words down but is it a load of crap? Sometimes. If I take too long, spending a year or more on a book, I lose continuity and the flow of the action. Plus, you, my readers, are all over me begging me to finish it. It’s a delicate balance.

So, please forgive me. There’s one thing about me, if I start a project, I finish it. I’ve known people who decide to redecorate a room, strip the wallpaper, and touch up the holes and dings, and yet, never finish painting and putting everything back together. I’ve been to their houses, where the room remains unfinished for years. I’m not one of those. Make no bones about it. I finish what I start. 

More Good News about Exposure

Good News on Exposure

That said, I am proud to have finished the story, but it’s not done yet. By the time you read it, it will have gone through multiple people editing, questioning me about the story, rewriting several parts of the book. Then there’s the book cover design and production, formatting for ebook and paper, and a host of other details that I must do before it gets published. Finally, I have to adhere to the rules and procedures to get it published. I do a lot of this work, but not all. I depend upon editors, beta readers, and others to get it out.

Do you know what’s great? It is when I get that message from my distributor that it’s been accepted and is available for my readers to download and enjoy.

Soon, my friends and readers. Exposure is coming soon.

If you haven’t read the first four books, you can find them here.Amazon Kindle logo.

Enjoy them and send me a note about what you think. I’m always interested in what my readers think of my stories.

Torico Ice Cream double scoop

There’s such a thing as too much

April 29, 2017

There’s such a thing as too much.

That’s right, too much of a good thing is often too much.

Torico Ice Cream double scoopIf you love ice cream, eating a cone every so often is a savory treat that coats your tongue with exploding flavors as its cooling succulence slips down your throat. Even eating it once a day, in small portions, is manageable. Force fed it continuously, hour after hour, every day, well I know that I will soon hate the stuff.

That’s how I feel about some bloggers I follow. Many I eagerly look forward to, soaking in their insights on the world around them. I enjoy reading about their inner struggles and their ways in coping with life.

What I don’t like are posts done six to ten times a day, touting this or that, or promoting their wares. I want to support them. I really do. However, I am finding that I simply delete the unread post from my inbox. I am treating the posts as junk mail. Yes, I know it’s not fair. However, is it fair to be inundated with a dozen posts or more every day? Nope. Perhaps you feel the same way?

Just over a year ago, I was working with a publicist that wanted me to post something of 300 to 600 words at least daily, more if I could manage it. The idea was that the more I post, the more people would find me, and follow. At the time, I knew nothing. I trusted what I thought of as an expert. So, I tried. Six months later, we parted ways, but I still decided to follow the recommendations.

What did it get me? I started hating the idea of posting an article, especially daily articles. It took a lot of time away from my novels, stories, and painting. I also started to feel like it was too much ice cream.Fallen ice cream cone

Fortunately, I suffered a severe concussion last summer that I am still dealing with the aftereffects today. What it did for me in posting articles was first, a well-needed break. Then, I had a whole new topic to write about and share.

In the writings, I knew that I had to give you, my readers, something they wished to read. I did not want to fill them with fluff about marketing my books. I wanted to give you want you liked. I also had trouble with cognitive and creative thought, so I landed upon the idea of posting the ‘Word of the Day.’ Using M-W, I used them to add my personal two cents to their daily word.

Easy I thought. The trouble was, I was really getting into researching the word, finding images to support the word and then adding my two cents. Towards the end of last year, I was spending upwards of two hours a day, fascinated by the word, and digging deeper into it. As the holidays rolled around, I found that I was, once again, getting tired of the daily grind of blogging.

The Trafficking ConsortiumAs you may have noticed, I have since cut down my posts to once or twice a week. I can manage that, I think. Since my cognitive and creative streams of thought are slowly returning, I am writing once again, focusing on the final tweaks to my new book, ‘The Trafficking Consortium.’ I’m even thinking about a sequel to the story, but that’s down the road.

Limiting my posts gives me the time to work on why you follow me. Many of you are looking forward to my next release, and have written me asking when, et.all. How cool is that? Anyway, with summer approaching, I must decide between blogging and writing. I think writing is going to win every time.

Keep plugging

February 10, 2017

Keep plugging

Her Client Trilogy

It’s Friday afternoon, and I am sitting in my home office for the first time in a week. I’m a bit surprised by that as I ordinarily come in here every day, whether I am working at my full-time job or not. The past several days have once again, been an eye-opener for me. I’ve learned a few things, and I’ve needed to deal with doctors, medication interactions, and my job. But what might I write about that will interest you, my fans and fellow readers out there?

I could write about how well sales of my books are going. I’m very pleased with that, especially with the ‘Her Client’ series of books. It seems they are taking off. I’m a bit surprised with that revelation but what do I know? I write what comes to me, whether it is a nice, vanilla topic or not. But do you honestly care what my sales figures are? No, I wouldn’t think so. However, thank you to everyone who has bought my books.

The Trafficking ConsortiumI do have a new book, ‘The Trafficking Consortium,’ on the cusp of being released. An Advance Reader Copy (ARC) available for purchase right now on my website right now. My beta readers, (those readers who I make the book available for free with the understanding that they will write an honest critique as well point out problems in the book) have suggested a couple of revisions. After chatting with them and thinking about it, I decided to implement the changes. They were right. The changes will help with the flow of the book, and rectify a timeline issue that I had not considered before. In the end, it will be a better book.

If you want to be one of my beta readers, send me a request and I will be happy to send you a link to the free copy of the ARC.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be implementing the changes and once again offer the revised edition for free with the promise of an honest critique of the book. So, if you’re eagerly awaiting the delivery of the first edition of the book to the general market, please be patient. I promise you. It’s coming. I love this story too much to let it die.

possible, able, real, persevere, persistCircling back to what to write about in this post. I finally decided that, despite the issues I’ve experienced and suppressed from most people, I learned a valuable lesson which I would like to share with you.

 

Persevere & Persist

Keep plugging. Don’t try to analyze and problem-solve that which you have no control over. Instead, deal with the here and now, work out a way to do what you love, and ways of coping to allow you to do exactly that. You know who you are. Be who you are. Fuck the rest. That’s my message to you.

Until next time, this is Richard Verry, with a cup of coffee, writing to you from my home office with windows that look out on a snow covered landscape and glad to be indoors.

Woodstock edits Snoopy novel

My New Novel is Progressing Nicely

December 8, 2016

My New Novel is Progressing Nicely

Woodstock edits Snoopy novel
Source: unknown

As the holidays fast approach, I find that it is becoming harder and harder to work with my editor and get my new book ready for publication. Demands upon our respective times are impacting on the ability to coordinate the effort. My editor suggests changes and while in most cases, I agree, getting them into the final draft does take time. I’m determined to ready it for publication by the end of the month, but I can’t say the same for those around me.

The good news is that I found the perfect cover photo for the book. I’ve learned a lot about cover design and formatting in this past year. With the tools and skills I have, I will be designing the book cover for this novel.

Now, all I have to do is format the final draft for publication, create the book cover itself, and publish it. Under normal circumstances, this should be easy for me.

But wait?

What will I title the book? OMG, I need to settle on a title. Time to research again. After all, I want the book to show up on the first page of search engines. That’s harder than one might think. Wish me luck.

In the meantime, have a great day and a better tomorrow.
Happy Holidays everyone!

Creative Stream Working

Hello Fans

November 15, 2016

Hello Fans

I know lately, all you have heard from me are my ‘Word of the Day’ posts. I didn’t mean for this to go on so long, my not sharing with you what is going on.

Concussion bannerThese last many months have been very strange for me. As you may recall, or not and that’s okay too, I suffered a severe concussion at work. That was in mid-July, and I’ve been out of work since then, as I’m still dealing with the after-effects. Now, mostly it’s the headaches and occasional short-term memory issue.

Then, in mid-August, my website began running into problems, which are still going today. It’s mid-November, and the vendor involved still hasn’t fixed it.

Every Way We've Tried To Fix Email (And Why It's Not Working)
Source: lifehacker.com.au

Apparently, I’m not alone with this problem, but I still had to involve my web hosting company and spend hundreds of hours on triaging the problem. Eventually, the company relented and reported that their email administrators had discovered a ‘race’ condition between their mail servers which affected me. I think that the servers are either overloaded or undersized. My tests seem to support that my posts that go out late in the day have a better chance of being delivered to my email subscribers than those that go out earlier in the day. That’s right. Not everyone is getting their mail sent to them. I received this note from them early this morning.

“I’ve let our developers know about this so they can investigate further.”

It’s the same problem that surfaced back in August, and they’re still dicking around with investigating the problem?

Another consequence of my concussion was that for a long time, I was unable to use my computers. Looking at the screen gave me severe headaches. While the headaches remain, I can now look at computer screens without making them worse.

I also suffered from cognitive thinking and short-term memory issues. What really disturbed me was that my continuous stream of creative thinking that was a part of my entire life … disappeared. For months, the imagery that was so much a part of me was gone. I felt like I lost a lover, a friend, a companion, and … well … me.

Broken SteeleI tried to encourage its return by editing my first draft of ‘Lucky Bitch’, the third book in my Mona Bendarova Series. That went okay for a while until I discovered that I had to rewrite the ending. I noticed that I had written much of the material included in the last couple of chapters in the first third of the book. What the fuck? I reached out to my beta readers asking for some help, which they graciously gave. However, without a creative stream of thoughts, I couldn’t rewrite the ending, so I put it aside for the time being. Shit. It’s going to be a full year since I published the second book in the series, ‘Broken Steele’. Shit, but I know that there is nothing I can do about it.

So, I kept working on restarting my creative stream. I’m happy to say, about three weeks ago, the creative stream suddenly flared back with a passion. In an instant, a fully formed idea for a new novel, from start to finish, flashed into my mind, demanding release.

The power of creative streamingSince then, I have been writing up a storm. I’m consumed with trying to get the novel out of my soul and down in print. Every day since late October, I write. Sometimes, only a few thousands of words get written down but often, I get ten thousand or more out. I’ve haven’t checked recently, but I think I’m over 100k words right now and still going.

It’s wonderful to have the stream back. My live-in girlfriend is at times upset with me as I bury myself in my office and write. In the afternoons and evenings, I’ll sit with her. She controls the TV remote while I pick up my laptop and write. She understands but still feels ignored. It’s a delicate balance but the consuming need to express myself outweighs the need to help her feel comfortable. Later that evening, I will put the laptop down and fully dedicate my time to her.

Creative Stream WorkingSo, I hope to have this new novel out by the end of the year, but we’ll see. It will need severe editing, as I don’t trust my mind right now to keep all of the characters and timings straight. Automatic spell and grammar checking are fantastic, but there are many things they cannot catch.

One thing I have noticed as I write, sometimes I’ll think of a word I intend to write only to look up at the screen and see an entirely different word. Huh? How did I think ‘dog’ and write ‘dolphin’ or ‘plane?’ Yes, it happens, and I can’t seem to correct it. Perhaps my physical therapy which starts next week will help with that. Frankly, I think just writing will ultimately solve that. I just hope that I don’t pass on an incongruous thought to you in my writing. And if I do, I trust that you’ll forgive me.

I had fun looking for images related to my issues. I hope you like the ones I chose, as well as the sexy bonus pic you will get if you share this post via Twitter.

Right now, I need to get back to my novel. Parts of it are still up there in that noggin of mine, demanding a release from its captivity inside my skull. You’ll forgive me if I stop now and return to my novel.

This is Richard Verry, writing to you from my home office. Thanks for caring. I appreciate all of the kind words people have sent to me over these past several months.

Concussion photo

I’m trying, I really am (repost)

September 30, 2016

I’m trying, I really am (repost)

It’s been awhile since I wrote. I trust you don’t mind. I do hope you missed me. I originally posted this earlier in the week only to discover that while it publicized to my social media sites, my blog subscribers did not receive it. Here’s hoping it’s been resolved.

The after effects of my concussion limit my screen time, and what’s worse, my creative thinking is at an all time low. Frankly, it sucks. I worry that it won’t return soon.

Concussion-photo
Will this headache ever go away?

In looking at my notes for story lines etc., I know that I had a good fix on the story line for each of my notes. Now, when I review them, it’s not so clear. It’s scary; that’s what it is.

Instead, I decided to focus my energies on editing the first draft of my latest book, ‘Lucky Bitch.’ Easy enough. I am managing to get through maybe two chapters a day before I have to stop and rest for several hours. That equates to one hour of screen time for every five or so hours of rest. It’s barely enough to get through the day. Even so, I have to take frequent breaks during my screen time to get anything done. Nerve racking, to say the least.

Back to editing. I use the tools I have available to me, read the book, chapter by chapter, fix the grammar, pay attention to the plot lines, verify the continuity of the story and so forth. All well and good. Right?

Okay, so I get to the second to last chapter, and I realize that I have to rewrite the entire section. WTF? The subject outline of the chapter is all wrong. I covered that plot line in Chapter 19, one-third of the way into the book. Oh, shit! What the hell am I going to do now? My creative thought processes are worthless at the moment. I have no doubt that they will return but honestly, when?

Concussion bannerDoc told me on Monday that I may be suffering the after effects of this concussion for the next two years. TWO YEARS? Oh, my fricking lord. That, after getting a pair of nerve block injections in the back of my neck in an attempt to stop the headache. So far, I’m on my third day and the headache, while diminished, remains constant.

As I review what I am going to do, I’ve decided this much. I will print out the two chapters and hand them out to my beta readers. I’m going to let them tell me which version they like better. Once done, I’ll incorporate the winner into Chapter 19.

In the meantime, what to do with Chapter 43, the second to last chapter of the book. Chapter 43 is intended as a vehicle to get the main character, Mona, away from home for the day, and acts as a setup for the closing chapter, crucial to the book.

So, that’s where I am. I’m jotting down notes as they come to me. Frankly, they’re not worth much at this point. Maybe I’ll stumble onto something. Either way, it may help in the recovery of my creative thought processes. Damn, I never thought I would miss not having them.

So, until next time, this is Richard Verry, Writer signing off and crossing my fingers to get back to where I need to be. Fans, I love you all. Thanks for your patience.

Concussion headache

Trying, I really am

September 28, 2016

Trying, I really am

It’s been awhile since I wrote. I trust you don’t mind. I do hope you missed me.

The after effects of my concussion limit my screen time, and what’s worse, my creative thinking is at an all time low. Frankly, it sucks. I worry that it won’t return soon.

Concussion-photo
Will this headache ever go away?

In looking at my notes for story lines etc., I know that I had a good fix on the story line for each of my notes. Now, when I review them, it’s not so clear. It’s scary; that’s what it is.

Instead, I decided to focus my energies on editing the first draft of my latest book, ‘Lucky Bitch.’ Easy enough. I am managing to get through maybe two chapters a day before I have to stop and rest for several hours. That equates to one hour of screen time for every five or so hours of rest. It’s barely enough to get through the day. Even so, I have to take frequent breaks during my screen time to get anything done. Nerve racking, to say the least.

Back to editing. I use the tools I have available to me, read the book, chapter by chapter, fix the grammar, pay attention to the plot lines, verify the continuity of the story and so forth. All well and good. Right?

Okay, so I get to the second to last chapter, and I realize that I have to rewrite the entire section. WTF? The subject outline of the chapter is all wrong. I covered that plot line in Chapter 19, one-third of the way into the book. Oh, shit! What the hell am I going to do now? My creative thought processes are worthless at the moment. I have no doubt that they will return but honestly, when?

Concussion bannerDoc told me on Monday that I may be suffering the after effects of this concussion for the next two years. TWO YEARS? Oh, my fricking lord. That, after getting a pair of nerve block injections in the back of my neck in an attempt to stop the headache. So far, I’m on my third day and the headache, while diminished, remains constant.

As I review what I am going to do, I’ve decided this much. I will print out the two chapters and hand them out to my beta readers. I’m going to let them tell me which version they like better. Once done, I’ll incorporate the winner into Chapter 19.

In the meantime, what to do with Chapter 43, the second to last chapter of the book. Chapter 43 is intended as a vehicle to get the main character, Mona, away from home for the day, and acts as a setup for the closing chapter, crucial to the book.

So, that’s where I am. I’m jotting down notes as they come to me. Frankly, they’re not worth much at this point. Maybe I’ll stumble onto something. Either way, it may help in the recovery of my creative thought processes. Damn, I never thought I would miss not having them.

So, until next time, this is Richard Verry, Writer signing off and crossing my fingers to get back to where I need to be. Fans, I love you all. Thanks for your patience.

The Road Less Traveled

What Inspires You

March 2, 2016

In the wee hours of the early morning, I laid in bed, my mind racing with non-contiguous thoughts. Trying as I might to fall back asleep, my thoughts kept coming back to the word ‘Inspiration’.

First, I kept thinking what inspires me. I also thought about the definition of the word. Jumping around, I landed on thoughts of topics in everyday life that might inspire me, inspire you or just inspire anybody. At times, I thought about those posters that companies put up to inspire and motivate their workforce.

As the night slowly moved to morning, I decided to write a blog on the subject. But what specific might I write about that would be of interest to you, the reader? As a result, I put off writing this blog until I could answer that question. Since I don’t know you, let me tell you about what inspires me and try to integrate that into what your inspirations might be. I don’t know any other way to say it. Therefore, here we go.

So, what does inspire me? Everyday life, events in the news, porn, family, friends, work, my career and everyday conversations with my people of all types and relationships. It can be an ad on television or a memory from my childhood.

I’ve written in the past that my mind is constantly filled with thousands of images that flies through my noggin, bounces around a bit before being replaced another. This happens on a daily basis. The ones I find interesting, I try to capture for later followup. Many of those never see the light of day. But those that do, become inspiration for follow-up study and potential implementation into a story or painting.

The problem is, with so many sources to draw from, I have to be careful to use that latest image is inspiration for something unique and creative. In other words, I have to very careful not to plagiarise the idea and duplicate someone else’s creative work. It’s hard but I strive hard to make it happen.

I’m also a perfectionist with my craft. In my paintings, I like realism. I like to make my compositions look as real as possible, even if the subjects are magical and mystical creatures or devices that could not exist in real life. In my stories, I spend a lot of time researching my idea and searching for other works to see if it has already been done. As I write, I keep careful notes to ensure that physical characteristics and experiences of my characters remain consistent. I don’t want to write that a character is tall in one chapter only to be short in a later chapter.

Then, be it a painting or a story, once the work is done, I review and scan and check to make sure that every detail is accounted for, every word is the right word to use in intended context. Is it the right color, perspective or composition. Do I need to rewrite this segment, repaint that corner or what have you.

Be it paintings or stories, it is this editing that important to me. I hate putting out inferior products. Even in my work, I write programs etc. The actual coding is only 30% of the software coding. The rest is planning and testing. The same goes for my painting or writing. I plan about 30% of the composition, I write or paint for another 30% or so and the rest is in the polishing.

In researching this blog, I came across the following quote by Johannes Brahms.

"Without craftsmanship, inspiration is a mere reed shaken in the wind."

I like that because I lean towards the craftsmanship. Every stroke of the brush, every letter of every word, is meticulously placed to achieve my desired goal. At some point, the project must end, mistakes and all otherwise nothing would ever be finished. I strive hard to be better at my craft. I strive to make a new work be better than the last. Most importantly, I’m not afraid to make a mistake. It is my mistakes that allow me to grow and improve.

So, how does all this relate to you, my reader. I honestly don’t know. I’m only trying to understand you through what is important to me. If what inspires you also inspires me, then we can make a connection. I feel that we already have something in common, else you wouldn’t be reading this. So, tell me, what inspires you? I really want to know.

Till next time, this is Richard Verry, spewing out thoughts that will hopefully help me understand what makes you tick. As I travel this road of inspiration, I hope I meet you and together, share ideas. Till next time, have a great day.

Her Client Trilogy front cover

It’s been a weekend, for sure.

February 16, 2016
Janet, my maggical, with love
Janet, my maggical, with love 11″ x 14″ charcoal on 80# matte paper

This being Valentine’s weekend, I made plans to spend it with my wonderful, delicious lady. She’s fantastic and to me, very beautiful. With Sunday being Valentines Day, I spent the entire day with her. Even though we live together and share time, meals, drinks and shopping together, Sunday we spent it hanging out and enjoying each other’s company.

Saturday, we also spent lots of time together, though not the full day. There is work to be done, shopping (done together) booze to buy (also done together) and other stuff (done together and separately).

Monday, I had the day off and she had to work. Bummer. We missed each other constantly and texted back and forth. We can’t wait for the day when we retire and share time together 24×7.

Now, to be honest, when we retire, I don’t know how I’ll deal with being with her 24×7. I’m sure she will struggle too but I trust we will figure it out. Each of us had years of alone time to do whatever we wanted, without kids, pets, etc. Mind you, some days being along sucked, big time. Now, I worry that I won’t have the private time my psyche requires. I’m sure I will figure it out. But I digress.

Her Client Trilogy book cover 3D
Her Client Trilogy

The real reason I am writing this is that I discovered something last Friday and I am working hard to correct it. Apparently, editing of my Trilogy missed a lot of problems with my writing. My editor explained it to me that she had a hard time editing this series. Apparently, the story rang too close to home. Since it deals with brutal, sexual assault and an eventual entry into the world of human trafficking, I am not surprised. I wrote it to be horrendous and disturbing.

Be that as it may, I’ve spent every working hour since Friday, working with a new editor to fix the problems. I hope it will be much better as a result.

In the meantime, I will be pulling all original versions of the books from the marketplace until I can get them revised. When re-released, I will make them free for anyone who has already purchased the books. I apologize to anyone who had to suffer with an inferior product. I only have to wait until Amazon releases these books from ‘review’ so I can do this. (See below as to why I am delayed.) It was not my intention to release an inferior product and I accept the responsibility.

The following is not as an excuse but as explanation of another issue that recently surfaced.

Recently I’ve lived with Amazon changing my product pages without authorization. This includes pricing and product descriptions. Pricing I have since figured out. It’s the inexplicit changing product descriptions which is most frustrating. It seems that I will fix the description, verify that it appears as I want hours later, only to find that the next day, the description has changed to something I did not authorize. ‘Arrggghhhhh’. They even mixed descriptions from one book to another. Double ‘Arrggghhhhh’.

Something is going on that I don’t pretend to understand. I am working daily on figuring it out and I have working theory. I will admit. I am frustrated but I am working it through. My Amazon customer support requests seem to fix the description. Yet, a day or two later, the issue returns. I apologize again and all I can do is ask for your patience.

This really has been a challenge for someone who also works a full-time job, maintains a household and handles other day-to-day needs. I can’t dedicate a full day, every day, on this shit! So, please, I ask, can you be patient?

However, one piece of feedback has me confused. One commentator mentioned that I misspelled the word ‘Prolog’. According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, this is a viable alternative spelling to ‘Prologue’ from which it is based. I chose ‘Prolog’ and ‘Epilog’ and will probably continue to do so as it has a special meaning to me after watching all those 70’s shows that prominently played a ‘Prolog’ and ‘Epilog’ with them. To me, ‘Prologue’ and ‘Epilogue’ are way too formal and not appropriate to my books. If I ever write a historical drama, textbook or other such book, I will be sure to use the spelling ‘Prologue’. In the meantime, I hope this person will learn to deal with it.

Enough for today and this weekend. I hope you will check out my other books, ‘The Taste of Honey’ and ‘Broken Steele’. Be sure to look for my third book in the series, ‘Lucky Bitch’, due out in the months to come.

Have a great day and a better tomorrow.