(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
What is this? Another update? Yes, amazing.
So anyway, to give you a bigger story on my slow blogging it’s pretty much been one thing after another. Mostly work and some shuffling around duties, software releases, and more. It’s also been a bunch of other stuff going on from helping friends out to errands. I haven’t had life get this much on top of me in awhile, though the smoke appears to be clearing.
The funny thing is it all goes back to that two days of classes I had. I’m sort of wondering if losing two days was a catalyst. Plus side, I got a great certification out of it.
Now let’s get to a REAL update here.
- Bonnie and I were interviewed about our new Sailor Moon Book on The Crystal Chronicles. Go check it out!
- The Pizza Generator. Haven’t done a thing on it, plan to return. That was pretty low on my list, which is kind of tragic as I’ve got enough data to go with – and learned a few things about Pizza. Going to see about getting that sucker out.
- The Next Generator. Still gonna be food, but I’m still conflicted between coffee (which would be more funny considering pretentious names of coffee types) or a real serious one on candy bars based on my analysis of candy structure. The candy bar generator would literally make candy bar ideas that would be real and you or someone could make. Oh and in other news, I am anal-retentive enough to analyze candy bar structure – are you aware that there have been multiple forms of filled/chambered candy bars? I am now because I am weird.
- Way With Worlds Book 2. At the editor, and it’s the same person who did the Sailor Moon book. She rocks hard so this is gonna be a great edit. I miss my other editor, but life got busy and I can damn well relate. Still looking at Q1 in 2017.
- The Way With Worlds “extra” book(s) I keep dodging about are in the works. I’m debating if I should release “something” early as the other book is delayed. Still haven’t decided – but let’s just say you’re gonna keep seeing Way With Worlds stuff into 2107. What, you think I used ALL my material?
- As for other writing, I have a few small books in the works, some of which are creativity-based. These are going to be good but also act as more “fun” to write so have no deadline. One of my big projects in 2017 on (about 12-15 months) is to do a book on what I’ve learned about randomization and procedural generation and the psychology of creativity.
That’s it for me – what about you?
– Steve
Way With Worlds Book 1 is out. Go get it in print or kindle. Or both if you want.
If you’re new to the book, it’s a giant guide to worldbuilding, from philosophy of setting creation, to sex, to ecology, and more. There’s advice, exercises, several lame jokes, and some insights that should give you a different view on creating your settings. It’s designed to be a manual for the important points of making a setting.
After some sixteen years, this is the next stage in my efforts to bring this old work to life! First rewrites, now books. It’s fantastic to see this journey turn into something physical people can hold in their hands!
Certainly it’s not done yet – there’s one more book to drop in November/December (probably December). There’s some smaller followup work. But this marks that transition to the new formats.
My mind still goes back to, when in the midst of the rewrites, someone told me how they’d printed my old columns out when they were younger. It had mattered to them that much, and they remembered it that well. That turned my efforts into more of a mission.
Mission isn’t over yet. Book two drops in November/December (probably December honestly). There’s some followup works I want to do.
But today I can note the next stage of Way With Worlds has started, and it has printed pages and the smell of paper, highlighted with fond memories.
So go on, take a look. There’s thoughts on sex and religion, characters and ecology, and of course plenty of philosophy. In this age, where anyone can put out book or a comic, good worldbuilding is needed more than ever – and is where you can stand out.
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
Man, so much going on last week – ranging from work to all the terrible incidents in the world. Sorry for slow and weird updates. So where am I?
Way With Worlds Books:
Way With Worlds Book 1 is pretty much done. I just have to check the print copy one more time. The Kindle version is looking good, but a Kindle isn’t something requiring tricky page formatting and breaks. I’m really proud of it – which is good because there’s a few times during editing I got sick of it.
Way With Worlds Book 2 comes back from my editor really soon. As noted before my plan to edit this one is to experiment with a slower, but more detailed editing pace to see if that’s more efficient. Still planning to deliver in November, after Thanksgiving.
Oh and the project after those? Already halfway outlined. But I’ll keep teasing that . . .
Generators:
Sadly, not a lot of work on these as other things (work) ate into my free time. Still got my notes, still got my plans, just getting to the point of having time . . . though maybe having three freaking print books in the work in one year was a tad excessive.
And yes, the theme is still food.
Other Writing:
As you’ve seen I’m back to writing about No Man’s Sky – which makes sense as A) I like video games, and B) it involves procedural generation. I’m going to keep this up until the game comes out – which it looks like it will be doing on time in August!
I’m also queuing up some more items to blog about I think you’ll be interested in, so stay tuned as I always say . . .
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
So there’s a lot going here, but let’s get to the big new release . . . or small release. A new book!
I rewrote my old Skill Portability columns into a full guide on skill portability, complete with both hobbyist/fan and professional advice. You can get it here – and it’s only 99 cents!
This is part of a larger experiment of mine to see about revising, compiling, combining, and improving old columns into something more focused and applicable. I’ve got so much I’ve written I need to think about other formats to reach and help people. Also looking for reviewers if you want!
OK now on to my other projects!
Way With Worlds
Bopping along with this. I get what should be the final print copy this week, mostly to confirm the formatting. Then I’ll regenerate the kindle file and be ready for launch end of the month.
Book 2 is coming back from editor this week. Since I don’t intend to publish it until November (with so much else going on) I’m going to try some different editing techniques on it – mostly trying slower editing readthroughs as opposed to multiple readthroughs. Looking forward to it as it’s a completely different focus than the first book – more specific areas of advice with more depth.
New Generators
Sorry I haven’t started a new one yet – things have been incredibly busy, plus just a lot happening at the same time (classes, work schedule, social commitments, etc.). I hope to get back to the new one this month as I still want to focus on food.
The ones I’m considering are coffee, pizza, and chocolate bar recipes. I’ve got a few ideas on these on how to analyze the dada, and am looking forward to the insights I’ll get analyzing food . . . because I can apply it in various ways.
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
OK got plenty of updates, so what’s been up? I figure I’ll just put in everything here
Way With Worlds:
- The sample print copy of Book One worked pretty well – though there were some edits. I’ve got a second copy on the way now and if that works out . . . it’ll be good. So dropping in July looks quite likely!
- I did note the draft copies that I get are kinda lower quality than final prints. That has made cover formatting a tad harder.
- I’m hoping to do some blog promotions on the book – and to share my insights!
- Book Two is going to definitely be moved to November. The Sailor Moon book drops in September and the followup could be pretty busy. On top of that my editor is swamped so I’m giving her some breathing room.
- Yes, the followup plans are still in place. Stay tuned – though you may not see them until December 2016 or January 2017.
Skills Transfer Book:
- I’ve got a little minibook based on my previous column on skill portability. I’m rewriting and expanding the ideas to release a useful 99 cent guide. I mention it here as it may be relevant to Sanctumites.
Generators:
- Yep the theme is still food for 2016, though right now I’m juggling at least 3 generator possibilities. Stay tuned.
Whew, that’s a lot. How are you doing?
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
Whew! Guess who’s got a book about Worldbuilding, formatted for Print and Kindle? This guy.
Of course that doesn’t mean the book is ready, it’s ready-ish. I’d reached the point where I’d edited the hell out of the book and decided it was time to format it – formatting is a great way to find all your editing mistakes as you go through the book. Now I’ve got a Kindle version that looks good and a print version on the way so I can check it out.
Which of course means I’ll probably find plenty of mistakes – print copies are great for that. But at least now any changes will be made to the configured, checked, edited, and most importantly ready-to-go final copies.
(which I realize doesn’t make them exactly final, but you get he idea)
So what this means is that Way With Worlds Book 1 is in its final rounds. Barring any major accidents, it’ll definitely be out late July.
Of course the reason I’m not pushing it faster is:
- I have book 2 coming from the editor in less than a month, and I figure a go-over of that may help.
- I’ve got the Sailor Moon book coming back from that editor and really need to take a crack at that with my co-author, so we’ll probably blow a whole weekend editing.
Still, it’s closer all the time. I think you’ll find it’s worth the wait . . .
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
The update on my first book on Worldbuilding is . . . further along than expected.
After the long editing process, the formatting for print went well (probably as I had done a lot of the basics before sending it to the editor). I’m going to format the Kindle version next – not just to get it out of the way, but because doing so also acts as yet another read-through. I actually will do that this weekend.
Once that’s done, I’ll set up the cover and a sample doc and start running print copies. I still plan to release in July even if this goes well, just because I have so much else on my plate.
Besides, Book 2 comes back from the editor end of May or so . . . and I still have the Sailor Moon book.
Though the big worry there is, as noted elsewhere, the cover. Fan To Pro‘s cover was a total pain.
I’m pretty pleased with the book, but admit there’s times it comes off a bit artsy. I think that’s the intention, but it contrasts with my usual instructional style. It’s nice to see different voices in my writing – and I am hoping to broaden out even further. I think I need to develop more “voices.”
The content is definitely solid. There’s parts I’m seriously proud of, such as my exploration of worldbuidling sex, meditations on power, and my work on magic and technology. I think people can learn a lot from this – even if they disagree with me (and there are places I see folks will differ).
And book two, well, that’s when I dive into some serious details . . .
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
Been awhile since a Way With Worlds Update! So let’s find out where we are on my essays-rewritten-and-now-a-book on worldbuilding.
First, there’s a web page for the first book that gives you some idea of what I’m up to. You can also see the sample cover art – and you’re going to love the final cover!
I also got the book back from my editor. My editor is a “word of God type editor” – when it’s edited it’s done. So I spent an entire day going through her edits for the first book. After about ten hours of work, I have a book that is mostly ready for publication. One more read through and it’s ready for publishing (which itself is going to take a few months).
This brings up a really good lessons – there are several kinds of editors and you have to know how to work with them. Some are like a friendly guide with advice. Others are the Word Of God. Yet others are instructional. Each is different and you have to figure which works for you, your works, and your goals.
For instance, these books, though being creative and chatty are instructional. I needed a Word Of God editor on them.
On the other hand, some of my more intimate career books need a lighter touch as an editor. They’re chatty and friendly.
My upcoming Sailor Moon book has yet a different editor, a fansourced editor with an academic background and a fandom background, which seems perfect.
Now there’s also been a few schedule changes, so let’s recap!
- The First Book is out end of July as planned.
- The Second Book is out the end of October. It was originally August, but between the editor’s needs, my schedule, and the fact it’s damn stupid to put a sequel out a month later.
- After that is still a special surprise. Stay tuned.
I think you folks are going to love the books. It’s really my near-final word on Worldbuilding, and there’s a wealth of worldbuilding advice.
– Steve
This is it folks, the countdown to my first book on creativity, The Power Of Creative Paths!
The book is going to drop on Saturday the 30th. I’m lining up some reviewers right now (and there’s a chance to get in on it) to help give people an idea of what’s in it from a reader’s viewpoint. Only six more days!
So what’s in this book?
Basically, after years of working with Seventh Sanctum, I’d realized that creativity fit certain paths – ways we get to our “Big Ideas.” Most people had one or two default paths, and not everyone knew how to get along with people different than them. So I put all my findings into one book, a handy guide to help you get off of Creative Paths you’re a bit too stuck on and onto others, as well as how to work with people different than yourself creativity-wise.
A lot of this comes from my curious observation that the generators at Seventh Sanctum fit specific patterns, or certain little tweaks, trends, or sets of data seemed to inspire people surprisingly. In time I began to see that these general observations fit specific trends, and formed a useful theory around it.
I’m pretty pumped as this will be the first book based around my work here – to be followed this summer by the Way With Worlds books . . . and maybe a few more things over time. I figure after some 16 years of doing this, it’s time to put my ideas and findings and advice into a new format!
So hang in there, it’s almost arrived . . .
- Steve
OK great news, Way With Worlds is going to editor this week!
Yes, I put in all the pre-reader feedback, did a run through, and will ship it off shortly. I expect the editor to take about two months so it’ll be a welcome break.
I’ve also got the cover artist working on the draft of cover 1. Its looking interesting so far, though the holidays slowed things down a bit.
So hang tight, Sanctumeers, it’s coming . . . and there’s more to stay tuned for . . .
– Steve
