Hello! If you're paying close attention, you'll notice that the dates on posts mean that I am not very present. There are a few reasons for that, but mostly it just boils down to my personality. If you've made it this far and are wondering what I'm all about (considering I have no books currently published), I'll take the opportunity to share some details. Bottom Line Up Front: Don't expect any published work from me soon, but expect me to keep working. Q: Why are you unpublished?
A: Great question. If you're not heavily involved in the writing world, you might not be aware that getting published traditionally (typically meaning through a larger publishing company) is an incredibly tedious, time-consuming process that is both humbling and frustrating in equal measures. I have watched many authors quit writing altogether after being rejected constantly for years. Why am I unpublished? Because I have not yet self-published the work I have. I do have some smaller (indie) presses in mind that I plan to reach out to, but I am not currently at a point in my life where I can do that. Q: What's stopping you from self-publishing now? A: My life is rather chaotic and I want to devote a reasonable amount of time to ensuring I can produce the best quality stories I can deliver. My day job, which I won't discuss, involves traveling (often on short notice) and consumes quite a bit of my time and mental energy. The next reason is that despite having several books "completed," I have not yet found an editor I jibe with. I'm a weird person, I need a compatibly weird person to collaborate with. Once I find one, I have quite a bit of work for them to go through. About five books worth, all unrelated projects, which will take time and patience to refine. This is if I'm able to find an editor at all. After that comes other important things, like cover art. For someone without a publishing company, this will be several thousand dollars in expenses, which will take time to budget out. Especially since, as an unknown author, I don't really expect to recoup those losses for a long time, if ever. Q: What have you written? A: I've got a few different projects I've been working on. Some are finished, some are still in progress, so I'll list the ideas below. We'll see how they go in development.
Q: What are you currently working on? A: Currently, I'm working on Book 2 of the LitRPG series. These are some of the longest books I've ever done. Book 1's final draft (before professional editing) is sitting at 150k. Book 2 is projected out to be around 160-180k. In pages (a much less accurate count because formatting changes it drastically) that's about 600 pages for Book 1 and 650-750 for Book 2. Q: When do you hope to publish? A: Another excellent question. Short answer: I don't know. I've got a lot of life plans ahead. I'd say three years from now would be the absolute fastest, but not likely. Most likely it will be five to seven years from now, with a possibility of it being longer. But the good news is that I'll have a lot more material to publish by that point. The main reason for the large delay is that I have plans to return to school for a doctorate in English, and it's very possible that after obtaining that education, I'll revisit my work with the hopes I can improve upon it further. Again, the entire goal is to produce the highest quality product I can. Q: If you're not going to publish for years, won't you get discouraged and never publish at all? A: No. I started writing stories over twenty years ago. I've been honing my craft, learning, and growing all that time. I want to share my stories, even if no one reads them. As long as there continue to be avenues for self-publishing, my stories will one day be accessible. Q: You've mentioned not expecting to make money from this, are you unconfident in your books? A: On the contrary. I'm very confident in the quality of my work. Everything I do is about making that work better but I'm also a realist. There are more people making books now than ever before in history. I am not a loud person, nor am I famous. I don't have a cult following or a mainstream presence. I love my books and I hope those that find them love them too, but I don't expect to become a household name. Q: What can I do to support you? A: You could follow me on social media, but that's entirely up to you. I don't have a Patreon or Ko-fi or any other fan-based payment platform. That may change at some point in the future, but at the moment I'm financially sound enough that I feel it would be dishonest to take donations without just cause. I would recommend searching out other indie/self published authors and buying their books. If you fall in love with any of those stories, leave them a positive review. It means the world and it helps the almighty algorithms of whatever platforms recommend those books to others. When my books are out, you can support me by buying them, reviewing them, and telling friends about them if you like them. Q: Are you going to do anything between now and publishing? A: Yes! I am still brainstorming creative ideas I can do to start growing my online presence. Currently I'm fixated on YouTube, though my video making/editing skills are poor. I've been toying with the idea of doing narration of public domain and personal work. If that's something that interests you, check out my YouTube channel and leave me a comment. Thank you for sticking with me. I can't wait to share my stories with the world and your support means a lot.
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Drops of DarknessThis blog is for Erebus to share musings about writings, philosophy, and other miscellaneous things.
AuthorErebus Esprit is a fantasy writer from the United States. He primarily writes Sword & Sorcery, Progression Fantasy, and LitRPG. Archives
January 2025
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