ATTC Update

Hi. Hey. I suck at updating this. I’m trying to be as transparent as I can with this writing process, but I get so enveloped in it that I just lose all focus on everything else.

So, here’s the deal. I went through about 4 drafts of the manuscript before finally passing it along to my editor for a developmental edit. I’m anticipating it coming back with a plethora of suggestions, critiques, comments, and so on. That’s par for the course when editing a novel. Putting out the best possible book you can is only possible by tearing the story apart and putting it back together. If it’s still the same after, great. But there’s a good chance you’ll have something quite different. The bones are still there. Maybe even the nervous system. But the skin might look different. The eyes, the ears, the brains. And the only way to do that is to have someone else do it for you. Don’t ever rely on your own eye. It’s called self-publishing, not self-editing.

I love the notes I get back on my developmental edits. I take zero offense, even if I choose not to change something (which happens often if I’m that passionate about something or someone in the story. But, as they say, kill your darlings if necessary). Once I get the manuscript back in a week or so, I’ll go ahead and put together another draft, which will be my sixth (I think) by then. Then, I’ll go over it again (a seventh time), and send it back off for line/copy editing and proofreading. That’s the eighth iteration. Finally, I correct the errors and put the ninth draft into book form. Then I send the book out to some beta reader friends who’ll scour it for anything either of us missed, and that makes my 10th and final draft.

Tedious. Nitpicky. Frustrating, at times. The art of writing a story. And coming from a person who is the antithesis of patient. But, somehow, it’s therapeutic, and I get better and better, patience-wise (and hopefully talent-wise), with every book I put out.

In the meantime, I’m working on my website a bit, working on a trailer for ATTC, and working on a follow up to a previous book – which is what I was doing before I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo last year.

Stay well, good people. Keep those minds open.

Justin

Home Stretch

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.

I'm Going Through Changes

Hi. It's ... been a while. The process of art is a mix of unpredictable, haphazard, and finicky. I changed careers a few years ago. I did it because I was miserable doing what I used to do, but also because I wanted to free up some time in my life for the important things. Family. Friends. And, of course, art. The last post made on this website was over 3 years ago, right before I made the move. Since then, my life has changed in many ways. My wife and I bought a house. My kids got older. Three years older, I think. And I tackled some health issues I had been dealing with for a very long time – mental, mostly.

I hadn't written much in those three years, contrary to the entire point of making a career change at 30. I read a lot. Scribbled some bullshit I pretended was writing. But it – the proverbial it – had left me for a bit. I knew it would come back to me and I to it, but no matter what I was up to, I couldn't force it no matter how much I wanted to.

So I waited. I waited for it to come naturally. I trusted my intuition. And it did.

In early summer I exploded in words all over a brand new Word document. But what I was writing wasn't necessarily for anyone else to read. It was an exercise in both scraping the rust off while also clearing my headspace for new work. A lot of it was filled with residual crap that my psychiatrist (or medications) couldn't shake loose. I needed an outlet and I found it in Old Faithful. I spewed tens of thousands of words at lightning speed, a cork popped and pressure released. So I took advantage – I grabbed a copy of The Committed, did my homework, and continued work on the sequel. I alternated between that and my journalistic, stream-of-consciousness document, working on whatever felt more important to me at the time.

As I wrote, a friend of mine pointed out that NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, was fast approaching. I had an idea that I'd been ruminating over for a little while and decided this would be the perfect way to execute it. I also think I'm in the perfect state of mind for this story. So I'm going to do this the opposite of how I would normally. Normally I write the manuscript, sit on it a little while then hire an editor who lets me know whether or not any of it makes sense or if it's a pile of shit (I wish I'd hired a real editor for my first book, but I digress). Then I go over it again. I re-write parts. I send it out again for a second round of edits. Again, I labor meticulously over every word in the manuscript. Finally, I have another editor go over it for grammar, syntax, typos, etc. The next step is formatting it for print/e-print, designing a cover, writing a synopsis, and then publishing.

I'm going to do it backwards this time. NaNoWriMo starts at 12:01 a.m. on November 1, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on November 30. The goal is 50,000 words or it's a failure. More is fine. So I have not written a single word yet. I've outlined in my head, as I usually do. Jotted down some notes. But there is nothing in existence as of 10:08 p.m. on October 31.

As I'm doing this backwards, I will announce the title and cover of the book first. As the month goes, I will update accordingly. I feel like it's a fun way to hold myself accountable and engage with anyone who reads my work. And, because I am announcing the book, I will be sure to follow through, regardless if I finish on time or not. I'd at least owe that to anyone looking forward to the work.

So, without further ado, the book.

attc_cover

That's it for now. No synopsis. No hints. Not yet. But soon. I won't wait until the end to give you a synopsis or a book trailer. You'll just have to be patient and take the ride with me. I'll update on here (actually, on a new website I'm working on) and on Instagram (www.instagram.com/justinmerm)

By the way, for anyone aspiring to write something, NaNoWriMo is fantastic. You can check it out by clicking the links I've inserted or by simply going to www.nanowrimo.org. Fiction, non-fiction, amateur, whatever. It doesn't matter. And it's fun.

Talk soon. Much sooner than last time.