Edits and Licenses

Well, I got my first edit back for The Bone Rat, my new adventure novel.  I’m just having a quick scan over it now.  This might very well be my favorite book so far. I’m actually looking forward to having one last thorough read through it before handing it back.

Originally this novel was called Relics, but that’s rather bland and after discussing it with my brother I settled upon The Bone Rat, as a reference to an illegal treasure hunter (if an archaeologist is nicknamed a Bone Kicker, a Bone Rat seemed like an appropriate counterpart).

In other news, my application for a publishing/licensing arrangement with Frontier Developments for an Elite: Dangerous novel has cleared the next hurdle.  They are going to be reassessing their licensing model and it seems I’m one of a few authors who are going to be up for discussion when they do.

The upside of this is that there’s a decent chance I’m going to get an Elite novel published.  If so, this is a huge checkmark on my bucket list, because I’ve been in love with the game and world since the mid-80s.  To me, it’s almost on par with being allowed to write an official Star Wars novel.

But the downside is the harsh reality that was brought to my attention and why they are reassessing their model: novels aren’t profitable for them.  Elite might have a huge legacy and be immensely popular, but they’re not Mass Effect level popular (I mention them because that game also had a series of books come out). We’re basically talking a niche market within a niche market here.

Fortunately, I have a few writer friends who know the ins and outs of self-publishing and marketing.  I’ll be looking to them for help and advice when and iff the time comes.

Fingers crossed!