Waterstone Media

Stories Matter

The Humbling Experience of Becoming a New Author

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Hello everyone, Bryce again.

As I mentioned in the last post, I finished my first fiction novel last week. The rough draft came in at about 125,000 words. I’m incredibly proud at the moment, but I’m sure a harsh dose of editing will bring me back down shortly.

I just wanted to share a few things I experienced during the writing process. These were things that I didn’t anticipate at all. I have written 10,000 – 20,000 non-fiction books before, but the process is so different that they hardly compare.

By far, the most frustrating aspect was maintaining the story line throughout the entire book. It took me roughly seven months to complete, and in that time I had a baby and started a new job. I was a completely different person when I started the book! I managed, but it was a struggle to make sure I was writing the same story at the end as I was at the beginning.

Another interesting thing happened to my writing mindset. I no longer thought I was going to finish the book, but I wrote with every bit of passion and interest I started with. I literally thought that I would be writing the book forever. Oddly enough, I was OK with it. I was invested so much in the characters that I didn’t mind visiting them every day. I don’t view this as a bad thing, but I had to remind myself that there was indeed an end goal.

Lastly, as I reached about 80% completion, I began splitting my time looking in to publishing ideas. I researched cover art, launch strategies, Pokemon Go, key words, Amazon algorithms, and a the list goes on. At first, I didn’t think anything of it. Then I realized that my progress halted completely. I refocused my energy on finishing the book. I had to fight my urge to look too far ahead.

In the end I finished the thing. I enjoyed myself the entire way. There is nothing quite like finishing something you have written for so long. I hope everyone can experience it at some point!

I’m sure the editing will be a different story… With me luck!

Thanks,

Bryce

Welcome the Newest Member of Waterstone!

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Ryan’s Note:  Hi Everyone!  For those of you actually interested in the behind the scenes here at Waterstone, we have big news today!  Our company is growing.

When I started Waterstone last year, it was intended to be more than just my own books.  My goal was to create a home for the type of fiction that I enjoy, fiction that is exciting and moving.

I recently hired Bryce Allen, a fellow writer I met through my own experiences with martial arts.  He’s been working on a fantasy series that I think is really, really cool.  But as he’ll mention below, he’s a new father focused on raising a gorgeous little girl.  It provided an opportunity for him to join my one-person team.  Although he’ll be doing a number of odds and ends, in general he’s helping me with the administrative side of the business and keeping me on task.  This should allow me to spend more time doing what I love:  writing stories.  I’ve asked him to introduce himself.

 

Hey everyone, my name is Bryce Allen, and I have the honor of being Waterstone Media’s first employee! I will be helping with a variety of awesome projects that Ryan has in store for Waterstone Media’s future. I wanted to take a second and introduce myself to you all.

I enjoy long walks on moonlit beaches and working out every day…. Sorry, wrong blog!

Let’s get the basics out of the way. I am 27 years old and live in the Twin Cities with my beautiful girlfriend and our baby girl. I am new to the father thing, but I learn something new every day. Family life is definitely my priority right now.

I grew up in small-town Minnesota. I made all the mischief I could in High School, and somehow ended up in college. I made my way through college by arresting shoplifters for a major retailer. It provided its fair share of adrenaline rushes, but also exposed me to lifestyles I’d never experienced in my hometown.

I attended college for about six years. I was lucky enough to spend some time in France. We studied and documented Roman ruins, and it was amazing.  When I returned, I juggled different majors until I settled on political science. By some bizarre twist of fate, I actually earned a degree.

Armed with my shiny new piece of paper I set forth into the world, ready to earn millions of dollars… That didn’t immediately work, as you may have guessed.

These days, I have two primary interests: martial arts and writing.

I have been training in Shotokan Karate for roughly 15 years. It has been a major part of my life as far back as I can remember. The only thing I enjoy more than doing karate, is teaching karate. As soon as my instructor allowed it I began instructing. I currently hold a Nidan (2nd degree black belt) rank in Shotokan. Paired with my martial arts experience, fitness has been a priority in my life. I am constantly looking for new workouts to research and perfect.

Writing has also been an important part of my life. Throughout my childhood, my passion for telling stories grew. I would write for the joy of it, rarely showing anyone my work. However, as I entered college, that passion faded a little. Pressure from my peers to make money and avoid the arts contributed to my writing hiatus. I allowed myself to dismiss the art of storytelling altogether.

That is when Ryan came along. He helped to reignite my passion for writing awesome stories. Under his mentorship, I am currently working on a series of my own. This is also part of my work here at Waterstone Media.

In addition to writing books for Waterstone, I will be doing research for future projects, helping manage the administrative side of the business, and grooming Ryan’s cats. I consider myself a bit of a renaissance man.

I’ll be doing odds and ends around here, but if you have any questions, please let me know down in the comments!

Bryce

Behind the Scenes of The Wind and the Void

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I hope this finds you all doing well!

First of all, I wanted to apologize for my silence on the website as of late.  I think I’ve broken almost every resolution I made at the beginning of the year, and that’s entirely my fault.  I will be trying to get better!

Today I wanted to take a moment to talk about The Wind and the Void, the third and final book of the Nightblade Trilogy.  It’s been quite a while since World’s Edge was released, and everyone has been more than patient with me waiting for the third book.  But for those of you interested in how the series has developed, perhaps this will be interesting reading.  It will hopefully also explain why the book has been so late in coming.

The Nightblade Trilogy began back in 2011.  At the time I had written several novel-length stories (all of which were beyond horrible and will never see the light of day) and had an idea for a great story, a story about a boy who discovered he had the power to be an amazing swordsman.  From that single seed the story grew, and I wrote while holding down a full-time job, writing about a thousand words a day for about 150 days.

When I was finished, I was proud of what I had written, but at the time I was writing simply for the sake of writing.  I had no greater goal.  I set the first draft aside and moved on to other projects.

In 2014 I made the decision to attempt to publish my story as the first part of a trilogy.  My first step was to try to write the first draft of the second book.  Then I went back to Nightblade and worked a second draft.  In the summer of 2015 I wrote the first draft of the third book.  Then, knowing how the series would end, I went back for the final draft of Nightblade.  Don’t worry if that all sounds confusing.  It was for me too, and I’ll not do that again.

The important piece of all of this was that while I had the entire trilogy written, it wasn’t as close to done as I thought it was.  In my head, I thought I would have all three out by December of 2015, which now seems foolish.

In August of 2015 I published Nightblade and started editing World’s Edge.  But as I edited, the story changed, substantially.  I won’t put any spoilers on the page, but Moriko’s story was originally half as long and didn’t have her going into Azaria.  Needless to say, the final product is a far cry from the first draft.

I published World’s Edge in October of 2015, still thinking there would be a chance of finishing the trilogy by December.  But as I re-read the first draft of The Wind and the Void, I knew I was wrong.  The story had changed so much there was almost no connection between the second and third stories.  It took me a few days of deliberation, but I decided to scrap the entire book.  I saved a few sections I knew would still be good in the new book, but I figured it would be faster to just rewrite than try to edit what was there.  In the end, I threw away over 130,000 words.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t that disappointing.  I thought I’d be sad to lose so many words, but I knew I was doing the right thing.  I’ve lived and breathed the world for six months, and I knew I could do better.

And that’s the reason why The Wind and the Void has been so far behind the others.  I’ve written the entire book twice, but I’m very happy I did so.  It did mean I pushed myself pretty hard to get it done in a reasonable time, but I’m happy with the book right now.

The book has been with the editor for a while now, and if all goes according to plan, the book will release on March 25.  It’s not a promise yet, but it is my goal.  I can guarantee, and will promise, that at the very latest, the book will be published by the end of the first week of April, but I’m hoping it’s done sooner.

Moving forward, I’ll try to be in touch more!  Take care, and keep reading!

Ryan

Waterstone Media in 2016

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January has been an excellent month for me, and it’s hard to believe that it has already almost gone.  I’ve been diving deep into The Wind and the Void, and I’m excited to bring this story to its conclusion.
I wanted to both say thanks and to keep you updated on what is happening behind the scenes here at Waterstone Media.  First, I do need to say thanks, to all of you.  Your support and kind words have been welcome, and I’ve enjoyed the emails, tweets, and facebook questions and comments.  It means a lot to me to be able to tell stories for a living, and you make it all possible.
2016 is shaping up to be a pretty big year for me here.  I will definitely be switching over to writing fiction full time, and I’m excited to be able to put more stories out this year.  Here’s the short version:
1.  My first and most important job is to finish The Wind and the Void and get it into your hands.  Right now, it looks as though it will be sometime in the month of March, but I should be able to commit to a firm date within the next 2-3 weeks.
2.  The Audiobooks from the Nightblade series are also in production.  I expect World’s Edge to be released in the first half of February, and The Wind and the Void to be released a month or two after the digital release.  I will let you know when they are finished!
3.  I do plan on seeking a traditional publishing deal this year.  It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I’m hopeful that someday you’ll be able to see my work on your local bookstore shelves.
4.  Finally, I plan on writing and releasing at least three other stories this year, independently, in addition to wrapping up the Nightblade series.  I’m excited to write in some other worlds, and I hope you all will enjoy the stories!
Take care all, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re interested!
With gratitude,
Ryan

World’s Edge Update

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Happy Sunday Everyone!

I’ve been receiving a lot of questions about World’s Edge, and I’d like to take a moment to update everyone on what’s happening here behind the scenes.

First – we have a book cover!  I’m really excited about this cover, and while there still may be a few small changes to the design, this is more or less what it’s going to look like.  The homepage has been updated with the image as well.

World Edge

Second – as far as a release date goes, I want to be as honest as possible.  Right now I’m expecting to have the book out by the end of October.   Right now we are in the middle of the fourth round of edits.  The editing process has been harder than anticipated, but I’m excited to have the book out soon.  I’ve thought about putting the book up for pre-order on Amazon, but I’ve elected not to.  I want to make sure the book is in the best possible shape before it gets put up.

As always, thanks to all of you for all of your support the last few months – it’s been an incredible journey, and I hope to continue it with you all!

Keep Reading,

Ryan

What’s Next for Waterstone Media?

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Howdy Everybody!

I hope that everyone is having a fantastic week this week.  I thought that this week I would take a moment to let everybody know what’s happening here at Waterstone Media.

The first exciting news is that sales of Nightblade continue to exceed my expectations.  I’m so grateful to everyone who has purchased the book.  It’s currently (as of the time of this writing) sitting at a 4+ star rating on both Amazon and Goodreads, and I’m thankful to everyone who has left their feedback.  It’s a nerve-wracking experience to put your work out into the world, but it’s awesome to see people enjoy it.

Right now there’s a couple of exciting pieces of work happening here.  The first is that Nightblade is being readied for print distribution.  Right now the book is being formatted for print and will be submitted shortly.  Once I have a more solid release date, I’ll let everyone know if you’re interested in it.

The second exciting piece of news is that I’m in the process of editing the second book in the Nightblade series.  The book is still untitled, unfortunately, but I’m making my third pass through the book before it gets sent off to the editor.  I’m hoping to release the book in September of 2015, but we’ll see how long the process takes.  Once the process gets closer to completion I’ll put the book up for pre-order and announce it officially.  Keep looking for more information here on the blog and on twitter.

Finally, the last piece of news is that I’ve started working on a new book as well.  This book will be quite a departure from the Nightblade series.  It’s a sci-fi series that is going to be fast-paced.  I hope you’ll all enjoy it, even though it won’t come out into well into 2016.

To everyone, thanks again for reading, and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Ryan