Monday, June 24, 2013

WHY DARKSTAR WASN'T PROFESSIONALLY EDITED

Hmmm...where to begin??

Guess I'll begin at the end and pedal backwards....

GREAT NEWS!!:) DarkStar has just been republished with a clean, professional edit! It is available on Amazon as an ebook for only $4.99 and at www.createspace.com/3538868 for the book.

 BUT...in celebration of finally having DarkStar finally professionally edited -- AND...to get you caught up on the story so you can be ready for Wizard, the 2nd book in the series, I will be selling the newly edited DarkStar on my website: www.mydarkstarworld.com for only $8.00! (plus shipping if that's ok:) I will even sign it and throw in an EverDream DarkStar necklace for free!

So, you're wondering ... Why wasn't DarkStar professionally edited in the first place??

Answer: Ignorance...and money.

Elaboration...

When I started writing DarkStar, I just sat down with a pen and paper and an idea in my head. I wrote and wrote and wrote. (I did stop to eat and sleep once in a while;)
 As my story began to take shape, I recruited, what I now know are, beta readers, people who read your story and offer advice, editing, etc. The friends who helped edit DarkStar are awesome and did a great job and did so to the best of their abilities. I was pleased with the outcome and was anxious to share my story. I just knew readers were waiting for the next awesome epic/paranormal/fantasy/romance novel! I carried my manuscript everywhere I went -- and wrote. I hiked to the Wind Caves, a site in my book...and wrote. I wrote in Thailand and finished my "Wind Caves" chapter on the beaches of Phuket. Pretty cool huh:)

During the writing process, it became evident that at some point I would hopefully be able to get, what was turning into a novel, published. I began researching how to do it and instantly became overwhelmed by the literary world. I learned the different ways to have a book published and searched for agents who were looking for my genre of book.  For months I sent queries to agents, having butterflies every time I dropped one in the mail, hoping this would be the agent who would be intrigued enough to request to see more. The process is grueling and disappointing...especially when you finally realize that you are one in three hundred million authors who are doing the same thing.

I did have some positive things happen and DarkStar was accepted by a couple publishing companies, but after reading their contract and realizing that in the end, I would do all the work and they would get most of the money, I didn't accept their offers.

At one point I was going to release DarkStar as an e-book, on a new website that was to help unpublished authors get their book noticed. The concept seemed good at first, but I soon realized it wasn't for me. I had checked out self publishing, but was determined to get my amazing story accepted by an agent --  so I queried more of them.

Even though I was new to the literary world, I soon realized that the industry was changing...and changing quickly. I found that agents were being much more picky about what they were accepting because of these changes and that if you wasn't an existing (successful) author, a celebrity or had a story with a totally new concept that caught their eye, chances of being accepted were very, very slim:(

That's the point I got serious about self publishing. Like most authors, I'm not an English major, but I write. I had gone over my manuscript a million times, had help editing to that point and felt quite certain DarkStar was ready. I was anxious to have a book in hand, so I did it...I published!

I hate to say that it was a mistake...but it was:( Not to publish DarkStar...just to publish at that point.
It didn't take long to realize that I should have had a professional edit. I was at a low point in my life, struggling with personal issues. I didn't have the money to have it edited and was ignorant to how important it was. BIG mistake!

For most, DarkStar was a great read even without a professional edit, but a few people couldn't get past the errors enough to enjoy the story, which is understandable. I apologize. I had the hope (as all authors do) that DarkStar would be a best seller, but in reality, I was just excited to share my story with friends and family.

 I guess I didn't expect it to actually happen -- for DarkStar to be where it is now. DarkStar is very popular and it has fans all over the world! It's fun tracking DS fans from so many different countries as well as the US! Even without a professional edit, readers have enjoyed and grasped my DarkStar world, the DarkStar EP that the talent Matt Lande produced and our DarkStar music video's, produced by the amazing Daniel Webster:):)

I finally got to a place where I could get a clean, professional edit done on DarkStar. I should have done it to begin with and I wish I could have. I hired Author/Editor Tristi Pinkston and she did an amazing job of polishing my words and making DarkStar a better story to read. The story is the same.. the errors just fixed by a pro:)

Moral of my story:  If you're going to put your heart and soul into something, unless you're an English scholar or a professional -- GET A PROFESSIONAL EDIT before you share it with the world! You never know how far it will go...so do it right the first time! Don't let ignorance and money cloud your dream. Know what you need to do and DO IT!

THANK YOU to all of my family, friends and DarkStar fans (wherever you are) for your continued love and support! Tristi is now PROFESSIONALLY ;) editing Wizard and it will soon be ready for publish. I'm excited for you to read it...I think you will like it:)

Remember to check out the novel, music, videos, market and more at www.mydarkstarworld.com
 I'm grateful that so many of you are part of my DarkStar world and hope more of you will want to be! :)

The epic continues....

Talk soon:)xo