Happy 2020 - This year will surely be a big one for me. An update on the Log first - It used to be a bit of a changelog, but I’m changing the format somewhat— This will be longer summaries of exactly what I have been doing for the past x amount of time from the last Log post, hopefully with a ton more images and clips so it will show the inner workings a little more.
Hopefully you people don’t mind - I’ve had fun in this new format and it just seemed to be a better use of this space than just spazzing lines. So this explains the long absences. If you have to read, I better make it worth your while.
I’ll also make up section titles so you won’t get lost. Think of it as a textual transition card.
Strap in, because this first Log of the year 2020 will be a long one. Grab some hot cocoa, and ask TTS to read this for you maybe.
Rolling Off The Press
The paperback edition of Blue Days is rolling off the presses, and I couldn’t be happier to receive closure for something that I myself and my publisher have worked on for around three years. It really is a culmination of rewriting, rethinking, and redeveloping the story, the characters, and the setting itself. While I would be lying to you if I say that I absolutely did not procrastinate, the time off really gave headspace for these redrawn ideas where I couldn’t develop in a more rushed timeframe.
That extra time also gave rise to simply better ideas and results in general, like the new art style with Nenetl (click her name to get to her Twitter), wouldn’t have come to pass and be printed on the page if I had worked faster. And I think you’ll personally agree with me that this is more advanced, both in the craft and the dimension. Her art really gives depth, literally and more figuratively, to the world I’m trying to create.
It’s frankly exhilarating to see something full-color and replicated in a pixel-perfect setting be replicated with ink and paper and in a lesser color depth more suited to a book. And it works! I couldn’t be more than happy on how well it transitioned, beyond my wildest dreams.
Blue Days will be arriving in bookstores in like a day or two. Send me photos of you picking up your copy if you see one lying on a shelf somewhere.
The Red, White, and Blue, and Yellow
Some change of plans are in order. Forgive me for not delving into too much detail, but I read somewhere that disclose your goals produces a similar satisfaction in your head, so if I talk about it here, you’ll never see the finished product.
What essentially is the “change of plans” I have mentioned is that I’m developing a trilogy for both titles. I already know what the endings are to both trilogies, and of course, these books will take off in completely different directions. I just love the idea of new characters and settings while still featuring the core cast that goes off and on as the plot comes for every character. I just couldn’t say goodbye to Kayla and Alex after just a single title, so it’s probably better for me and for you, that they’ll still star in their series. New choices, new decisions, and a new interpretation to their personalities are in order. Can’t wait.
And since Yellow Optic is in the business of selling characters, they’ll have a longer shelf life. The crossover series like Mixed Nuts is right now will be like an All-Star Game with its own storyline so everything is terrible with quantum entanglement or something far and away like that
Finally, I’m stamping my logo on everything (see photo) so Blue Days is stuck onto this brand like honey. Should have done that for Fool Me Twice, but back in 2016 I didn’t have this intuition. Better late than never, I guess.
Optically Market Everything
I’m a Marketing student, and with what little resources I have, I managed to cobble some marketing together. So that’s alright. I won’t delude myself to claim in any degree that this is anywhere close to being sufficient for the scale of operation I’m aiming for, but this is a good start. There’s a stable amount of people reading and perusing the sites and social media, and I’m hoping to build on top of that.
I finally concocted the Union color - Union being a romantic union and its color is somewhere between Alex’s blue and Angel’s purple. Of course all three swatches will be in an internal reference guide, but since this brand is all about color, the marketing has to reflect that. It looks cool, and Jan 1 does need something to mark the occasion Futuristic-sounding year for a story years in the future.
Also I’ve been watching a LOT of baseball, and this is basically the only time I can do some wordplay on “two out”, so here it is. I don’t know exactly how much people will appreciate it, but it’s good to me. Two teams. Two out. The 1-2 is the date when the first books are off the press while also working in the baseball metaphor for “one ball, two strikes”. And the 12 and 9 are birthdays and two on and all the baseball.
I’ll stop inundating you with this now, but all I want is more stuff to work with.
An Idea
Finally we arrive at the Pitch part of the Log,
Ultimately I want Yellow Optic to be a business. I dream of a day where I’m able to feed myself and my family and my spending habits with something that I love. And of course, you can’t eat your dreams, so business it is.
Coming up in March will be five years of Optic, and I hope to expand on top of what I have right now. Honestly, I’m stymied by the resources right now, and I haven’t been able to realize my entire vision. Hopefully with a bit more capital, I could make it happen. And I’ve researched and now basically the budget, the return, and what I’ll be promoting and doing.
Of course, all of this will be under wraps because of the “saying your goals out loud” thing, but also because it’s a trade secret that I would rather not put out there right now. What you’re seeing is the title card of the pitch keynote file, and I’ll be working on that in parallel with the other Optic things in the pipeline.
All I could say with investors is that there will be more of what you love and if all goes well, more people too. I’ll finally be able to do what I wanted to do for the longest time, and in ways I have envisioned. It will be important to get this plan down right, so it will take a couple more weeks.
So yeah that’s basically all for the Optic Update in January 2019. Can’t believe it’s already twelve days into the new year when it really feels like much less. Maybe I’m getting old. Anyway, enjoy what you’re doing in the meantime, and I’ll see you soon.