What People I’ve Paid to be Nice to Me Think of My New Book

All kidding aside, lately I’ve been working with some really cool editors on Waypoint: Eclipse, my new book that I’m self-publishing on Amazon.

For those playing at home, I recently decided to go the self-publishing route after querying the book with literary agents for over a year.

Since then, the path forward has been pretty clear - get a content and development editor, get the thing formatted, get the cover made, and send that sucker out! So far I’ve done the first two, and I went out on a limb to send the novel to one of my favorite sci fi authors to see if he’d offer a quote for the back cover blurb - much to my surprise, he agreed!

Y’all, it’s been the absolute coolest having professionals read my stuff. Granted, I’m paying them to be nice to me, but they had some really amazing things to say about Waypoint: Eclipse.

“I gotta tell you, this has to be one of the BEST books I've read. It was creepy, interesting, and scary!

I would definitely recommend this to be read by people who like that style of book. There are some definite Stephen King vibes for sure, which I love.”

Now that’s an ego boost.

“I think your understanding of human psychology is advanced and will allow you to create very real characters for your readers! The biggest wow moment for me was when you flipped the script, if you will, by *CENSORED*. It's moments like that that are so valuable for the reader.”

“I made it to the end of this incredible story. And then I had to sit with my feelings for several minutes because there was so much that happened! That is a great accomplishment for you as a writer!”

I’ll be honest - hearing that kind of positive reinforcement really helped me see the book in a new light. I’ve thought it’s a competent book with good characters, and given agents’ feedback I’ve thought it was probably pretty mid-tier, to use what the fellow children are saying these days.

It feels really good. Also, it’s amazing to see the book in format. At one point it clocked in precisely at 666 pages, which was just delicious, but then additional edits knocked it back to 665. Close enough.

We’re getting there! Just need to find a new cover artist, as I can’t seem to find the person who did my last two covers. That tends to be my favorite part of the process, so I can’t wait to see the early drafts! I’ll keep you all posted.