I definitely had every intention to update a bit more than this (you know, damn near the end), but when you attempt NaNoWriMo, building a brand new website, reformatting some of your print and e-books, and all of the other things that come along with life (I’m reviewing K, L, M, N & O with my 4-year-old daughter right now), it gets a little tight for time. I miscalculated how long it would take me to get the website up, but here it is. Simple and clean and focused on what’s important – the writing.
As for NaNo, I’m a bit over 45,000 words in with 3 days left. I can say with a large amount of confidence that unless I get hit by a truck, I’ll hit my 50,000 word mark. I’m not sure whether or not that will be the full novel, though it will be close as I can feel the end coming.
When you’re a self-published author, a series of books is your bread and butter. You give the first book away for free and create a funnel for the rest of the books in the series to make you your income. Marketing 101. But, as much as it is a business and I like being rewarded for my work, it’s about the art first and foremost, which is why I keep a day job. What I’m trying to say is that, as of right now, this will be a one-off book. I feel like I have told the character’s stories and anything more would be an exploitation of the story. Now, I may very well become un-pretentious and continue because I simply miss writing the people I’ve conjured up and come to love, but, for now, I’ll be an arteest.
By the way, as promised (and fashionably late), the synopsis:
Seymour arrived at his Limbo camp just over two years ago. At first, he and the rest of the occupants didn’t truly believe they would spend any significant amount of time as prisoners. Internment camps weren’t realistic in 2025, and certainly not for US citizens. But the buildings were real and the years went by, and Seymour’s new reality was a stark contrast from the mundane life he had been used to. Disease, malnutrition, and mental degradation are enough to drive anyone to their knees. Through it all, Seymour decides to be a survivor, perhaps for the first time in his life. And what he learns about himself might help keep him alive long enough to get through the hell he has found himself in – or it might just make the inevitable that much worse.
Even the synopsis might change a bit over the next few months until publication, as second, third, fourth drafts happen, editors come into the picture, and so on. But, as I said from the beginning, I’m taking you along with me through the process of writing a book, for better or for worse.
Maybe I’ll even give you a chapter or two to check out in the next few weeks.
You can check me out on NaNo here: https://nanowrimo.org/participants/justinmermelstein.