Blog entry number two. The birth of The Safekeeper.
I've lived in California most of my life. I wasn't born here, but my parents were (Dad in San Fran and Mom in San Jose), and they migrated homewards (with 5 kids in tow) when I was nine. I was quite happy with the move because it placed me in the grand company of the Redwoods. As a child, I was always —or nearly always— reading a book. Or thinking about the book I was reading. Or imagining the book I wanted to experience, or write. Meeting the Redwoods changed that tendency. Not changed as in the amount, but rather in the scope. Pre-Redwood, my bookish world was filled with horsey stuff (Misty, Black Beauty, The Black Stallion, National Velvet, etc.). Within-Redwood, my world became less categorizable, more fantastical (horse morph to griffin and pegasus and unicorn), and eventually realized into The Safekeeper.
What is The Safekeeper?
In short, as the word suggests, the Safekeeper is someone who keeps others (or other things) safe. As far as definitions go, that is vague and dissatisfying, isn't it? 15-year-old Macy Steward certainly thinks so. But she's got too much on her hands at the moment to worry over who or what a Safekeeper is... i.e., who or what she is. Such is life, right? A crazy juggle between growing up and understanding that you're growing up. We (humans) tend to do lots of growing without so much understanding. That's natural. Because understanding is difficult. Of course, in a story, writers like to give their characters challenges. Thus, pretty soon, Macy is going to crash right into what she doesn't know (about Safekeepers) and, cross your fingers, this lack of knowing doesn't cause her to drop any of the worlds she's already working so hard to keep orbiting in space. Yep, that's a plug for Book 3, The Safekeeper's Guard, coming out in December.
Put in Perspective
I'm going to take the question, "What is The Safekeeper?" from a different angle, the angle of my growing up as an author. The Safekeeper is my first attempt at self-publishing, and boy did I have some bumps along the way. First, figuring out Amazon. Kindle Direct is straightforward, but if you're an indie author about to launch, I'll give you this sympathetic warning: once you upload your print version, you can't hold off your publication date. I didn't understand this, so my "launch date" jumpstarted/back fired/sputtered lamely. If you want more info on what not to do for your first launch, send me a note. Email if you want it private.
The best thing about self-publishing on Amazon, however, is that you can go in and fix your mistakes. I've corrected formatting errors, spelling and grammar errors, and even changed characters' names. More on picking names down the road. More on formatting down the road. More on editing right here: use the Read Aloud review option in Word Doc, my fellow writer friends! Seriously, this saves time, effort, money, you name it. A freakin' fantastic tool.
Further Down the Road
Now that I have a little experience publishing on Amazon, I've decided to "go brave" and "go wide." I'll be making this transition over the next couple of months, and when I launch Book 3 in December, the entire Safekeeper Series will be available "wherever books are sold," as the saying goes.
I'll keep you abreast of the process along the way, and welcome your thoughts and advice.
Next Week's Blog Topics
Social Media. Amazon Ads. And a sneak peek into Jones's Journey. See you there. Thanks for tuning in.
What animal did you like reading about the most when you were a (little) kid?
- 0%dog
- 0%horse
- 0%wolf
- 0%cat