One Week until Launch
3 months ago – Thu, Aug 29, 2024 at 06:52:03 PM

Hey all! Its been a wild ride!

Just wanted to let everyone know that the campaign launches in a week from today. Over the last month I have lowered the campaign's goal from $2000 to $1000 to $500. If the campaign fails, then those who have backed will not have their credit cards charged. If you make a pledge and the campaign succeeds, your cards wont be charged until after the campaign ends (Sept 26).

As an incentive for backing early, everyone who backs within the first 48 hours of the campaign will receive a random sticker along with their package.
Shipping is not included for the physical pledges and you will have to pay for it separately in the pledge manager after the campaign ends.

US: $4.63 USD
UK: £22.97 ($30.45 USD)
AUS: $44.82 AUD ($39.30 USD)

If you are curious about shipping in a different country, please email me at [email protected] and I will get back to you ASAP!

If you remember from my previous update I have finished the first draft of the Bright Spot and am planning on taking a month away from the book before I start revisions. This will allow me to have a clean, fresh perspective on it when I return. I'm already thinking that I may need to rewrite and rethink the first half. Character Arcs aren't lining up how I want them to be and I know it's going to be a grueling task. Even more grueling than the first draft.

In the meantime, I'm working on something else that I am very excited about. Keep your eyes and ears open for news on that project.

For an updated timeline, I'm giving myself a generous amount of time to focus on revisions, beta readers and editing. I'm sorry I teased a Christmas release in my previous update. That would take a miracle. I've never published a book before so getting timings correct isn't something I'm familiar with. I'd like to guess that all backers should have a copy of The Bright Spot in their hands Q1 of 2025, and will go up for retail on amazon in Q2 of 2025.

FAQ

Will there be a hardcover edition of The Bright Spot
Depends on how much we can raise. If we can raise $3000 or more, I will let everyone upgrade their editions to a hardcover edition in the pledge manager for a little extra.

Audiobook?
It will happen. Just not when the book launches in 2025. The audiobook is the most expensive piece to produce. However, if we can raise $4000, I will push the audiobook production up on the timeline.

What if I don't want my edition signed?
That's fine! I should have the ability to let you preorder an unsigned copy in the pledge manager. If not, email me at [email protected]

Can I be a beta reader?
I'll probably leave the beta reading process with just a few people I know and trust. But if you want to apply, send me an email at [email protected] and I will return a form you can fill out.

I have a different question.
Email me at [email protected] and I will answer it to the best of my abilities. When I do another FAQ, I'll likely add it on

Anyways, I'm excited for you all to meet Caelius, Oberon, and Hadrian soon!

The Bright Spot First Draft is Finished!
3 months ago – Tue, Aug 20, 2024 at 07:16:39 PM

First draft is finished!

Holy crap it has been a crazy two months. The Bright Spot has been a passion project of mine for quite some time. Almost a whole year ago in September of 2023, I came up with the idea of a faded world with a small section of life.

I finished the full first draft of this book at around 80,000 words. I will say, this story is not the same as it once was a year ago. Many things, ideas, and people were missing back then. But this epic journey brought those characters to life and the story is better for it.

As with everything, writing a novel is NOT easy, but with this crowdfunding campaign and a consistent writing schedule, I have been able to finally push it out. But not without help from over 54 people who've signed up for the prelaunch. Without you all and your support, this idea would have been scrapped long ago for being 'too hard.' But I have to thank each and every one of you for helping me stick it through.

I am going to take a break from this project for a couple of weeks before going through with revisions. I really don't know how long revising a novel takes, but I'll say revision two is going to take at most, 6 weeks. I will then have another six weeks for beta reading and revisions for the third draft. Then I will go and proofread everything to make sure that my prose is a-ok and The Bright Spot should be (hopefully) completely finished. I think it would be really really cool to have my book finished and fulfilled to my backers by Christmas time, but might take a miracle. I will keep you updated.

You may be wondering if I am planning on writing even more books in the future. To that you will have to wait and see!

Updated Blurb, ISBN, and Full Cover Design Revealed!

Of course during the book's development, the overall vision of the story changes slightly, so an updated blurb is appropriate. Let me know what you think of these changes!

So far I am only offering TBS as a paperback copy through Backerkit. However if you all collectively help raise $3000 USD I will offer The Bright Spot as a signed hardback copy that you can upgrade to in the pledge manager after the campaign is over.

Another update that isn't as fun is the availability of an audiobook. Audiobooks are hard to produce and take just as much effort as writing the book. The audiobook will no longer be included as a pledge. However, there is a bright side to this (pun intended). If we can raise $4000 USD, that should help fund the entirety of an audiobook narrator for you to be able to bless your earholes with.

Booktopia Cross Collab Event

As you may know, Belinda Crawford and I have partnered up in the Booktopia event. You can get both of our exclusive Oracle Cards by pledging for BOTH Crawford's campaign and my campaign. If you pledge for just one campaign, you will miss out on all six (6) cards.

Booktopia contains many creators who are also doing Oracle Cards as Cross-Collaboration rewards. More details to come. However if you pledge for five (5) or more projects in Booktopia, you will recieve an exclusive, premium, high-quality, STEEL Booktopia 2024 bookmark (Design pending) So keep an eye out for that.

That's it for now

As a writer I have to put on a lot of hats. It has me feeling like Wayne from Mistborn. I hope that if you are reading this, that you'll stick around and pledge for The Bright Spot on September 5.

One Month until Launch
4 months ago – Mon, Aug 05, 2024 at 08:55:42 AM

Hello all!

Today marks one month until the launch of The Bright Spot crowdfunding campaign. Today is also coincidentally my birthday. There are a few changes that need to be addressed:

The Audiobook and Hardcover Editions - These will be stretch goals instead of included as an option. Audiobook narrators are expensive and the production costs for the hardcover version is nearly double.
- If I do not reach the stretch goals, these editions will (hopefully) come out eventually. It will just be a while after the launch of the paperback edition
First Draft - I plan on my first draft of The Bright spot to be 75-85k words long. As I am writing this, TBS just hit 50k. If everything goes to plan, I should have the first draft finished by the time the crowdfunding campaign launches. Edits and revisions will take multiple months. For now, I have locked in a release date for May 1st. That may change though. The book may release a couple months earlier, or it may release a couple months later. It may even release on May 1st, but those who back the project, might get an early release! More information regarding that soon.
Exclusive Mini-Story 'Tales From The Bright Spot' - There is a specific stretch goal that if reached, I will add another ten thousand or so more words in an exclusive mini-story following a brand new character. If this stretch goal isn't reached, it's possible this character may never return in a future story.
Oracle Cards - Belinda Crawford and myself are collaborating together in the Booktopia 2024 event. We are providing those who back BOTH PROJECTS with a reward.
- If you back both projects you will receive 3 The Bright Spot oracle cards and 3 GAMER themed oracle cards.
- You must back a physical tier for both projects to be eligible and the cards will ship with your pledge.
- Heres a sneak peak.