The Latest News From Madeline Dyer: Newsletter #2
Please note: this is an old newsletter, but I’ve decided to post it here, in case it contains any information you might be looking for. To make sure you receive the latest newsletter, sign up here. The latest (December 2015) newsletter has just been sent out, but will also be posted here on the blog when the January 2016 newsletter heads off to readers’ inboxes. (The blog is always a newsletter behind). Thank you.
Hey everyone!
What a busy month September has been–and, with so many scheduled author/book events, the coming month looks pretty impressive too!
Among other things going on last month, UNTAMED received several new editorial reviews, and made multiple appearances on bestseller lists. I also reached 50,000 words (this is about the halfway point) with my new project–a standalone YA dystopian novel–so I’m very happy with this progress, especially when the plot for this new manuscript is very challenging and completely different to anything that I’ve ever written before. But without further delay, I’ll share with you the following:
Dr Jessie Voigts, over at Wandering Educators, wrote a fantastic editorial review of UNTAMED. Here’s a little teaser: Every so often, a book comes along that beautifully, powerfully reminds you of humanity. One such book is the first in a series (YAY!), entitled Untamed. Written by Madeline Dyer, this YA novel takes a look at a world that is changed – and who the changemakers are. From the start of Untamed, you’re pulled into the arc of the story […] Then (and make note of this, so you plan for it) you won’t be able to put the book down. Meals? Who needs them! Sleep? Ditto! This is one book you will fall into and emerge, changed.
Jessie also asked me a few questions about my writing processes. You can find the interview and her full review here.
Now we’re talking about the editorial reviews that UNTAMED has received, now is a good time to share this info: Amazon US now displays five editorial reviews of my dystopian novel under the aptly named “Editorial Reviews” section. These can all be read here, or in the image below.
But, what is an editorial review?
Well, editorial reviews differ from reader reviews in that they’re usually written by professional reviewers, often for publications, and so these reviews are objective and designed to give readers an unbiased account of what a book is about, without giving away any major spoilers. Therefore, as you can imagine, these reviews are hugely important.
But reader reviews are important too, as these are from the perspective of the intended audience, and make a huge difference to sales. So thank you to everyone who’s already reviewed my book!
So, that was September–and October is looking like it will be equally as busy.
First thing this morning, I noticed that UNTAMED had made the Amazon UK bestseller list for its category, coming in at #77 for YA dystopian novels, as the below picture shows:
And, there’s some pretty awesome stuff lined up for this month already, because UNTAMED will be making appearances at both VCON 2015 and YA Fest 2015!
The info is as follows:
VCON 2015 (2-4 Oct, with the Book Launch Reception on Oct 1st)
VCON 40 is Oct. 2-4 2015, Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel, 7551 Westminster Hwy, Richmond, BC
This is the last of the fan-based and fan-run cons in North America, and UNTAMED will be making an appearance. I believe that the lovely author Alyx J Shaw (a fellow Prizm/Torquere author) will be reading a short extract from UNTAMED on Oct 1st (tonight!).
Info from the VCON website:
VCON’s annual multi-author Book Launch reception will be held the evening of Friday October 1, starting at 7pm.
Attendees will be able to mingle and chat with a variety of science fiction and fantasy authors, editors and publishers from throughout BC, Canada and the US who have released new publications since the previous year’s VCON or who will be releasing new publications before the end of the calendar year. In addition to the opportunity to schmooze with these authors and publishers there will be a period of readings from some of the attending authors.
VCON’s Book Launch reception is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! So please feel free to bring out your convention-shy friends and give them a brief taste of what we’re about.
Presenting Authors:
Linda DeMeulemeester
Donald Duncan
Danika Dinsmore
Rhea Rose
Alyx J Shaw
Morwen Navarre
Missy Wilkinson
Tanqueray Strange
Madeline Dyer
Anthony Stark
Virginia Stark
Shira Glassman
Eric Choi
Joe Haldeman
YA FEST (Oct 10th)
A signed paperback copy of UNTAMED will be a raffle prize at YA FEST this year.
From the YA Fest website:
Our mission is to give middle grade and teen readers a chance to connect with authors about books, writing, and publishing. As a library event, we want to encourage young readers to continue reading.
YA Fest 2015 will take place at Easton Area Public Library, Palmer Branch on Saturday, October 10, 2015 from 1:00pm – 4:00pm. Palmer Branch is located at 1 Weller Place, Easton PA 18045. Contact us at 610-258-7492.
If you see UNTAMED at either of these cons, please take a photo and tag me over on twitter (@MadelineDyerUK) or Facebook! I’d love to see your photos.
And from Oct 12-18th the Fantastic Flying Book Club will be running a blog tour for UNTAMED.
This virtual tour will include daily new blog posts of reviews, promo posts, and bloggers’ ideas on the dream cast for UNTAMED. More info and the tour schedule can be found here, so please do check it out! And, they’ll be a giveaway too–prize to be announced!
Before I end this newsletter, I’ll share the latest with you on the current status of the next book in the Untamed Series: FRAGMENTED.
I’ll be beginning the final pre-sub edits for FRAGMENTED in a few weeks’ time, once I’ve heard back from all of my beta-readers and critique partners. Beta-readers and CPs are professional writers and readers who evaluate a completed manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses, prior to sending to the publisher. They typically give an overall ‘picture’ for the author of how successful a book is, and detailed feedback on what they loved and what they hated, or any parts that they think need further development.
As I mentioned in my last newsletter, writing FRAGMENTED (all 21 drafts!) was something that I found especially challenging due to just how different this book is from UNTAMED. There’s a lot of new stuff in this book, and it does get very dark in places. So, I was kind of nervous to hear what others thought about this manuscript.
Well, I’ve now heard back from exactly half of my beta-readers, and the feedback has been amazing. I don’t want to give too many details away at this stage, so it’s kind of hard to write about their feedback–but, in short, so far all my beta-readers have agreed that FRAGMENTED is “even better” than UNTAMED.
So, I’ll be working on these final pre-sub edits (in accordance with my beta-readers’ feedback) very soon, and I hope to have submitted a final draft to my publisher by Christmas. Of course, this final draft won’t actually be the published draft, as even when a book’s contracted and scheduled for release, it still goes through multiple editing rounds with in-house editors.
So, I can’t wait for FRAGMENTED to be out in the world–and as soon as I have a release date, I’ll let you know.
If you haven’t already read the provisional back cover copy for FRAGMENTED, then you can find it here. (And Chapter One can be found at the end of most editions of UNTAMED!)
And if you haven’t yet read UNTAMED, you can learn more about my debut dystopian novel here, or find it at your favourite retailer: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones | The Book Depository | Books a Million | Kobo | Prizm Books | Torquere Press | Nook Book | Indigo Books | iBooks | Smashwords | Hastings Books | All Romance ebooks | Omnilit | Goodreads
Thanks,
Madeline
