You know those old, corny movies where a character wraps up some monumental task or other, then sits back with their hands folded behind their heads flashing a smile that rivals Jack Nicholson’s? Maybe digs out an old whisky bottle from a desk drawer & lifts a glass?

Well, that’s sure as hell not me.

I mean, I’m happy that my companion novel Core Haven launched on schedule, got over 20 pre-orders, & collected some positive ratings & reviews.

But there are still so many loose ends to tie up, promotions to organize, prep work to pull off, & on & on.

And then there’s dealing with all the emails I’ve gotten over the last couple weeks. I’ve honestly lost count. Some were so poorly written they were laughable, especially those that still had the ChatGPT prompts in them:

I can’t tell you have impactful [enter title] was for me. The plight of [enter character] tore at my heart as…

Most were mundane pitches, but gradually a few hilarious ones started popping up with the POV changing to a cool cat, then a bro, and so on. I even replied to one guy that either he himself was hysterical or he did a great job training his AI to be.

The most impressive emails though came from a handful of wonderful souls who honestly offered suggestions. I might sound like a dupe rationalizing why I trust some people by looking them in the eye & all that. But I do consider myself a bit of an expert witness when it comes to dialogue, especially subtext & tone in writing. After all, I’ve spent hours differentiating characters by just that kind of attention to detail.

Two people in particular have offered their help—yes, as part of their job—but have gone further than most would to make suggestions about directions to consider going down the road.

In all fairness, if an independent author such as myself bucks the traditional system of querying literary agents & publishing houses, why shouldn’t some independent book promoters do likewise?

Keep you posted.

Drew

BookFunnel Promo LINK

I invite you to check out Lee Hall’s excellent video review, especially the first book he includes on his short list of memorable indie reads—uh-huh, that would be Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown.