I just finished the first draft of my new novel “The Hidden Institute”. It’s a little bit Harry Potter, and a little bit Henry Higgins, and weighs in at about 66,000 words.
Cliffy is a child born on the streets of a Neo-Victorian world. When he witnesses a murder, the nobleman presumed to be guilty offers him a very unique bribe. If Cliffy will keep his silence, the nobleman will introduce him to the Malcolm Rutherford Holden Institute of Regentrification. There, Cliffy will learn to walk, talk, and act like a nobleman, so that he may infiltrate high society. But that type of fraud is punishable by death, and when Cliffy uncovers a plot to assassinate a head of state, he’s hunted by more than just the aristocracy.
Now that the first draft is finished, I will spend the next few weeks editing it, and then I’ll put it on CreateSpace, for publication in both e-book and p-book format. If all goes well, “the Hidden Institute” should be available in Amazon by March.
As soon as the book is submitted for publication, I will begin podcasting the story, hopefully at a rate of two chapters per week.
It’s an ambitious plan, but well worth it, I think. And hey! I finished my third novel! Woot!
Congrats Brand! I’m extremely jealous of your two week editing goal, but am glad for your sake. So is your goal to sell well enough not to need a major publishing house or that sales will lead to a publishing deal?
Tim, that’s a complicated question. When I published Tumbler, I accepted that it was a test to see how I could do publishing on my own. From what I’ve found out, I make more money self-publishing than some published authors I know. At the same time, things like having professional editors and print distribution are tempting. Also, it gets rid of the stigma associated with self-publishing.
For the moment, I need money, and can’t afford to wait 18-24 months to find an agent and publisher, then to publish the book. At the same, a successful self-published novel can only help to build an audience, which would improve my chances on future works with an agent/publisher.
So, I suppose the answer is . . . yes?
Hmm. Do I detect a bit of Count of Monte Cristo?
Jim, certainly not intentionally. 🙂 I’ve never actually read it.
Congrats! That’s really cool you’ve now finished your third novel. I can’t wait to read it. I’m impressed with your timeline for editing. I’ve also written three novels, but have yet to edit one of them 🙂 That’s my goal for 2011, to get them all edited and on podiobooks. I hope that this book brings you great success, improves your Tumbler sales, (which I will now buy with my birthday money) and gives you lots of great inspiration with the success to get the next one out there. Way to go man.
The Hidden Institute is one of the best pod cast books I have ever had the pleasure to hear! what are your other novels called? I have listened to tons of pod cast books from independent authors, (I have a1.5 hour commute) and I must say this is the first time I’ve been compelled to contact the author for any reason. I look forward to reading or listening to more of your work, well done! Oh, and great choice of music for the production as well, it was very fitting.
Thanks very much! My only other published novel is “Tumbler” which you can also find at Podiobooks.com
And yes, the music is really good. I was lucky enough to work with the Brothers Burn, who made that piece especially for the Hidden Institute.
Well, I will certainly give tumbler a listen, and for what its worth, I hope to see your works filling the best seller shelves at the retail book stores; I would happily pay $$ for your works. Thank YOU for making my commute most entertaining!
Honestly, you should pitch this as a film, or if you want to keep it in chapter form, maybe get it loaned out to a Japanese animation company – I feel like if it were done right this could be a brilliant anime. I just finished listening to the story and if possible, I would love to know more about what happens to Cliffy – in other words would love to see a sequel if you have it in you!
Thanks very much! Of course, I’d love to see this made into a film, but I don’t have the contacts to pitch it myself. Maybe when I hit it big and have a million readers. 🙂
I am planning on writing a sequel, although I don’t know if I would follow Cliffy. To be honest, I’m more interested in Dizzy’s life. I’m working on a short story which involves the mafia’s stake in bear polo, and how Dizzy gets roped into helping them uncover a bear doping scandal.
Sequel revolving around Dizzy!?!? That’s awesome. I still think though, in the sense that Tom Sawyer became a supporting character of sorts to Huck Finn, you should keep Cliffy in the background, namely because there are plot points I think are yet to be fully explored. I’d like to think the “secret” he shares with the powerful person in the end (no spoilers, hah) is something that could end up causing him problems down the road if it ever gets out. And bear in mind that Cynthia did mention to him how much she disliked the way he was doing things earlier on. I wonder if those concerns and desires to “earn things with ones’ own hard work” still exist. Thanks!
Oh, yes. There’s much to be done with Cliffy. Consider his father. The situation may be stable, but could be . . . exploited. Consider the other noblemen who might question what happened on the night of the royal ball. Consider people who might want to besmirch or even take down the “powerful person” you mentioned. Cynthia’s parents, Cliffy’s reluctance to being “master” of anyone . . . there are many avenues that could be explored.
As a matter of fact, some people said that they wished they had seen more of Cliffy’s story that came between his schooling and his employment.
Sadly, these are things which must be explored in time, and I have many projects.