In the bygone days of ocean liners, when a new “hull” was launched it would literally slip, or slide, down its slipway until it floated out by itself. The launch of any new ocean liner was generally quite a local event. Once launched the ship would then be fitted out for the installation of various mechanical equipment and, of course, the interior spaces.  With a draft of the novelization of SOS United States complete, the manuscript is now with a few readers for their comments. Thus, the start of “fitting out” the book as it nears completion or in this case publication.

As a writer I believe it’s important to have your work reviewed by others before you start the formal submission process. In the case of SOS United States each of these individuals comes from a different real-world experience, thus I’ll receive a variety of viewpoints. Once they have their comments to me, I’ll review accordingly for changes, explanations, etc. etc.

Although I have completed the synopsis, the one critical component I’ll be working on for the next several days is the query letter. In my view, while all components of the project are important, it’s the query letter that will get a foot in the door with a literary agent. It’s this one-page sales tool that will either prompt an agent to inquire further about the project or to decline.  My feeling is to take my time to get my query letter as solid as possible, while others review the manuscript. While I could start pitching SOS United States within the next several days, I know it’s best to wait until I have some comments back from my readers.

While SOS United States is with some readers, there is the ongoing marketing of current projects. This past weekend, I started a new marketing campaign for First Signal. Instead of a still with title and VOD logos, I’ll be posting, on a weekly basis, :15 to :60 videos that highlight certain areas of the film. This campaign will start at the beginning and will build to the end of the story. Thus, when completed, an abridged version of First Signal will be available. For the first installment, please click here.

In my last post, I found myself using artificial intelligence to create images that were reflective of certain scenes in the story. While I still believe for more reasons than I could publish here, the importance of original human creativity (particularly in writing), I do believe in some cases this new technology can organize and create projects for development.  Case in point, the book/film teaser trailer. As I start to assemble video excerpts and other elements, it’s probably going to make sense that, in order to control costs at this early stage, I build it out using this technology. If the teaser results in the publication of the book and production of the film, that means, particularly for the latter, paid human work.

Finally, while SOS United States is being read by others, it’s time to revisit First Report for development.

Planning.