Jake and the Dynamo Archives - Page 6 of 16

‘Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Rites’ Progress Update

Featured image: “The Magical Girls!” by Smeoow.

According to my arbitrarily set goal, I am not “finished” with the writing phase of Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Writes, which is to say that the draft stands at 90,000 words. The story is not finished, however, so I think the final draft will be considerably longer.

I hope to have a review post up by tomorrow night. I was thinking of working on it today, but ended up working on my novel instead, which isn’t exactly a bad thing.

Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Rites

Phase:Writing

Due:5 years ago

100%

Over Here Promoting Myself like a Narcissist

So Jake and the Dynamo just appeared in the pages of the October 22 issue of Publisher’s Weekly. Before you tell me that’s awesome, just know that I payed to be there.

Some of the venerable old book-related publications have pay-to-play schemes for indie authors, and there’s still an active debate over whether they’re quite ethical, or worth the money. There’s also the question of whether any actual readers pay attention to Publisher’s Weekly. But so it goes.

‘Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Rites’ Progress Update

I just made progress on Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Rites! So far, I’m 98% complete on the Writing phase, based on a projected 90,000 words. I’m at 88,393 words and I can easily see that the book will actually extend well past 90,000, which means this volume will be considerably longer than the first one.

Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Rites

Phase:Writing

Due:5 years ago

98.2%

Wanton Violence, Public Nudity, and Sapphism: ‘Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Rites’ Progress Update

I’m in the same position I was in while drafting the first book: I thought I’d get my protagonists into a restaurant by chapter five, but that ended up becoming the climax of the whole novel around chapter twenty. I’ve been trying to build to a certain scene I thought would happen around chapter four of book two, and I’m just getting to it in chapter sixteen.

Seven Weeks remain until the (arbitrary) deadline.

Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Rites

Phase:Writing

Due:5 years ago

93.7%

Ben Wheeler Reviews ‘Jake and the Dynamo’

Davidson balances that sweet, sweet line between humor, loli grimdark, and character drama to make for an enjoyable and gripping story. It has all the best parts of the light novel genres without any of the bad … namely, isekai.

Ben Wheeler, in the guise of the Reading Rainbow Emperor, has got his hands on Jake and the Dynamo. He has given it a glowing review, as you can see in the video above, but does not shy away from some pointed criticism.

I think the best part is where he quotes from the book and trips over his tongue as he attempts to read Sukeban Tsubasa’s dialogue. He also admits that Tsubasa is his waifu … so I wonder what he’ll think of the reveal of her identity in the next book?

Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Rites Progress Update

I just made progress on Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Rites! So far I’m 92% complete on the Writing phase. 8 Weeks remain until the deadline.

Jake and the Dynamo: Dead to Rites

Phase:Writing

Due:5 years ago

91.9%

Kind of a “small” update, because this was a second pass on a 65-page section for a writer’s group. Took me longer than it should have to craft this, largely because both an action sequence and a deliberately awkward love scene were giving me difficulties.

Marketing, Marketing …

At the moment, I’m looking into advertising, as I’ve about exhausted the free avenues. Particularly, I’m considering paid reviews—not paid Amazon reviews, which are a no-no, but paid reviews from services like Kirkus. I’m gathering my info before I open my wallet; there’s an active debate on the internet over whether paid reviews are legit, or worth it, or whether the formerly respected Kirkus still deserves its reputation.

Publisher’s Weekly, which nobody reads except librarians, reviews indie titles; they formerly had a paid service, but now do it for free, but also reject around 90% of submissions. I think it’s worth it to go for it (considering it costs nothing but time), but the ironic thing is that I may be ineligible because I actually have a publisher, whereas their indie reviews are apparently focused on self-published titles. At least as far as they are concerned, I’m in a sort of no-man’s land between the Big Three and the self-pubbed.

If nothing else, Twitter and Facebook ads are likely to make enough of a return to pay for themselves. I’ll probably prepare something on that front, at least.

News on ‘Jake and the Dynamo’

I’ve not been too active here lately, I realize. I’m trying to figure out some things on the book promotion front. I’m new to this, and arguably behind, as there were probably more things I should have done before the publication, but this isn’t something I’ve done before.

Anyway, author John C. Wright was nice enough to give Jake and the Dynamo a plug. You can see it here. He also showcases some of the art by Roffles Lowell.

Speaking of Lowell, he informs me that he just finished the book himself, which he didn’t have the chance to read in its final form before publication. He writes:

I’m really blown away, man. I’ve been itching to see what you did in terms of revision, and while I’m only halfway through as of the time of this writing, I want to commend you. The improvement I’m seeing blows me away.

It’s funny, reading it the first time around I never said to myself, oh, this is a problem, or this seems amateurish, etc. But you really brought this to the next level. The pacing is tighter, the characterizations are sharper, the banter flows more naturally. I like how organically you integrated the exposition into each scene, so that all the intricacies of the setting fill themselves in gradually, never making you feel like you’re pausing for a history lesson. I especially like the way you worked up the relationship between Jake and Ralph. Ralph’s family being fleshed out further really gives a good feel for what normality in this world must be like. It gives you a better sense of what goes through Jake’s head when he sets himself up like a surrogate brother to Dana, despite her behavior towards him. …

… I really like how you brought out the Faust elements more explicitly here than in the serialized version. The ambiguity wasn’t fruitful, I think, and now things are much punchier. It’s like you confront postmodern magical girl nihilism head on, and then move right along into subverting it.

So there you have it. If you do read the book, be so kind as to leave an Amazon review. I don’t ask for a good review, of course, but do leave a remark. It helps us newbs get noticed.

Meet the ‘Jake and the Dynamo’ Paperback

Large, luxurious, very readable, and suitable for coffee tables.

I am really pleased and impressed by the paperback release of Jake and the Dynamo. As you can see here, Lee Madison’s cover art transferred beautifully.

Getting the physical copy in my hand, I was able to appreciate some of the art I’d not been able to get a good look at before, such as the spine:

I had assumed the spine would probably be unadorned, so I was pleased to see the title logo accompanied by Pretty Dynamo’s insignia and a lightning bolt. The back is also great: