T. K. Arispe

It's a quiet night, so I thought I'd put together a general update for those of you who like getting news through this blog.

I heard back from my content editor for Earthkeepers and I'm currently going through the manuscript, making revisions with her feedback. It doesn't look like the story requires any drastic changes, which is good because I really want to get it out. I know it's bad to rush things, but you know how sometimes you reach a point in a project where you're just so done with it? Not necessarily in a bad way, but in that you feel like you can either call it done now, or spend months tweaking minutiae, never feeling satisfied that it's absolutely 100% perfect. 

In college, working on long and laborious animation projects, my mantra was "it doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to work". Because really, only the harshest critics will even notice tiny imperfections. And something that the creator, as their own worst critic, thinks is a huge flaw may not even be an issue for most of their audience. I have a fan who absolutely loves Skydwellers and it's her personal favorite book of mine--despite the fact that I feel like it's old and terrible. Clearly the imperfections don't bother her enough to detract from how much she enjoys it as a whole.

There comes a time when you just have to pull the trigger and let your story fly, and feel satisfied that even though it may not be utter writing perfection, it's still the best you could have made it with your current time, skills, and energy. I am not the type of writer who would like to spend years on a single book, waiting to publish it until I'm absolutely certain there is nothing wrong with it. I have so many story ideas that it feels like my creativity is just bursting at the seams to get them all out in a timely manner. (I'm also kind of impatient.)

Plus, honestly the nice thing about self-publishing is that if I do put a book out there and it turns out to have some sort of critical error, I can always correct it and the changes will go live in a few days. It's not actually a big deal in this wonderful era of digital publishing. :)

Stuff was pretty quiet for the last couple of weeks because really, writing that first draft of Earthkeepers drained me so much (and I had some other work going on besides) that while the editor was looking at it, I just wanted to let myself rest and recuperate for as long as I needed. And I'm glad I did, because the editor surprised me (in a good way) with her swift job, so it was good that I didn't procrastinate relaxing.

That said, I am still very much interested in putting more Neopets fanfic up here when I get the chance, possibly while my proofreader is looking at the manuscript. That's assuming I finish the cover art before she finishes the manuscript, because let's be real, I am not going to be able to resist doing the cover while the book is getting its final proofreading. :) I already have the cover planned and I think it's going to look really cool! Vastly different from Skydwellers's cover, but still cool. Think more along the lines of Pixeldust's cover.

Speaking of Neopets fic, I got way too excited the other night when the idea popped in my head for another story featuring Terra's zany Neopian family. You know you have a problem when you keep writing fanfic for a game you don't even play anymore. :) What can I say, I just got way too emotionally invested in my cast. I was planning on writing it this week, but then Real Work happened, wah-waaaah. Oh well, it's all about getting Earthkeepers moving, so it's all cool!

Also, I am still suuuuuper excited for the Thunder Girl audiobook (recording should start next month!!!!!) and the Pixeldust blog tour (in March!!!!!). Good stuff is happening with my books and I love it. I think one of the cool parts about writing a book is that once it's out there, it's out there. You can keep milking it for all it's worth, because it's A Thing That Exists. I mean, just look at everything that has come out of just seven Harry Potter books. Incredible. (I may or may not be implying that I want to be the next J. K. Rowling.)

So yes, fun times ahead. I'm looking forward to all of it. I'm starting 2021 off with a bang and I hope to keep that momentum going. Happy trails, all!