D. Lee Jackson

Words and Music

In The Meantime

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bookduke1While we await the impending release of the Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour with some of my new music in it, a few other things have been going on. For example:

  • I have sent out several queries to agents, seeking representation for Tapper. Not all of them have come back with a “no thank you” e-mail, so my hopes are still intact for the moment.
  • I have resumed work on the second book in the Tapper series while the queries are still out. It’s going to be more of an adult sci-fi thriller than book one, if I’ve got my genres correct.
  • I’ve learned that one of my biggest influences, Thomas Dolby, has written a memoir. I’ve already got a copy on pre-order. This is definitely going to be more than just a coffee table book.
  • I’ve been toying with the idea of releasing some of the outtakes/unused tracks from my work on the new Duke Nukem release. If anyone has a good reference on how to independently get something up on iTunes and Amazon, I would appreciate it very much if you would use the Contact page to let me know about it.

As always, thank you for reading!

Synopsis Somewhat Success

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My plea for good luck wishes appears to have worked. I managed to get my synopsis down to 689 words! That’s the lowest word count I’ve managed, thanks to lots of help from Scribophile members’ critiques. I think things are at long last clicking into their final places when it comes to Tapper. The query letter is the right length and has the right info (I hope), the synopsis is shorter and better, and the book itself is just about as polished as I can get it (it’ll never be absolutely perfect, but that’s the nature of the beast).

Time to start sending out queries, I do believe!

Rewrites, Queries, and Synopsis Tweaking

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In case I haven’t mentioned this previously, I’m a member of a Scribophile group called “The Ubergroup.” It is a group of teams, each having around five members, and each having approximately the same genres. The idea behind this is critique swapping: generally, everyone in a team critiques everyone else’s works and receives critiques on their own works. It runs in cycles of six weeks working and one week resting (ha!).

I added that “ha!” in above because this week (supposedly an off week between cycles) has been anything but a week of rest for me. I have spent it by going through Tapper with a fine-toothed comb, trimming bits and rewriting other parts of what is now a 98,000 word long, 33 chapter novel. On top of that, I’ve rewritten my agent query letter and tweaked it based on out-of-team critiques. I’ve also tackled one of the most dreaded parts of the book writing process—the synopsis.

An ideal synopsis is supposedly close to 650 words in length. Insert another “ha!” here. I’ve never been able to get mine down below 750 words and still have it make sense. I’ve received out-of-team critiques on it and brought it down from its previous approximately 850 word length. Still, I’d like to at least get it to a length that won’t chase a potential agent away. As a result, I’m still soliciting critiques from Ubergroup members on it. Wish me luck, please.

The next critique cycle begins on Labor Day. I’ve been assigned to a team of mostly sci-fi writers who I hope will have some great insights to share on how to get Tapper as polished as possible. Again, wish me luck, please.

Comments? Questions? Please feel free to use the Contact page. Thank you for reading!

A Writing Job Awaits Thee, O New Laptop

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New LaptopMonday (May 2nd) marks the day when I anticipate seeing progress on my laptop build. The company, XOTIC PC, already has my money after processing my order. I expect to see them put it to use during the upcoming week.

In the meanwhile, I have already lined up a new job for the incoming Gigabyte P55Wv5-SL1 Windows 10 system, complete with its 16GB of DDR4 RAM and its 512GB Samsung 950 Pro M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD.

I’m going to launch into draft number eight of Tapper, the sci-fi novel I have been writing since God Knows When.

“Wait a minute,” you might say. “Didn’t you say you were submitting query letters on your last draft to agents for possible representation?” The answer is yes, and their answer was no. I only sent out three queries, mind you, but none of them panned out. I’m not disappointed—Lord knows how many times now-famous authors have received an “it’s not for me” response in their early days. I got two of them. (The third was a form letter with a “Dear Author:” salutation.)

Tapper has always been built around an event that happens in chapter one which changes how scientists see the human mind. Chapter two starts fifty-one years after the events in chapter one. I’ve been told by some critiquers on Scribophile that this time skip presents a problem. I’m only now coming around to their side, and my reason is linked to the query process.

Many agents want to see the first ten pages of a novel as part of a query. I’ve decided that my first ten pages (and entire first chapter, for that matter) do not do Tapper justice. However, there is one portion of chapter one that stands on its own, sets up a good bit of suspense, and links the past to the present without going into the whole backstory. That portion will now become page one of Tapper. It will be followed immediately by the introduction of my protagonist. The rest of chapter one’s events will be incorporated into a later chapter, where their impact should be stronger.

This is not the only tweak I intend to make. I’m going to go over the entire text—again—with the proverbial fine-toothed comb. I intend to make Tapper the strongest novel that I can possibly write. If that means cutting scenes, so be it. The same goes for rewriting and adding scenes, although I feel I’ll be doing more rewriting than adding.

So, brace yourself, my incoming laptop. You’re going to get a workout from the moment you arrive. I hope you’re up to it.

Questions? Comments? Please feel free to use the Contact page. Thank you for reading!