Irknote: This is old and I am only keeping it up for posterity. Please go to the new site here if you have questions!
Q: Who is this Irk chick? ...IS Irk even a chick?
A: I am indeed a chick. I'm 27 years old and I live in beautiful Portland, Oregon. I work as a graphic designer during the day and get my jollies writing this story in the evenings. You can check out my deviantArt site or LJ in the links if you'd like to get to know me better.
Q: Who's this Char chick I keep hearing about?
A: Char is my co-writer in the Peacock King universe. She handles other stories which aren't published yet, while I'm writing this one which is sort of the first in the series. We co-create characters and the whole world. She's pretty much the driving force behind the wiki, by the way. Also she is not to be trifled with, because she is is a ninja.
Q: What do you mean she's a ninja? That's just sillcdnksdnkl;help
A: See, I toldja.
Q: Can I contact you? And if so how may I commence my stalking procedures?
A: I am reachable via email [cuisinirk@blogger.com] and AIM [cuisinirk]. Comments are very welcome and I love being stalked as I am very experienced with that sort of thing from my fanfiction writing days! Char probably likes being stalked too. I bet she's into that kind of thing.
Q: I saw a plot hole! And a typo! OMG! What do I do!?
A: The comments are fine for that, or email. This is a first draft and I expect these sorts of things. The more you point out and help with, the better the finished draft will be, so please go ahead and let me know of anything you see.
Q: Why isn't every chapter illustrated?
A: Char and I are still drawing illustrations for all of them, since it was only after posting chapter 18 that I decided to illustrate it. By the way, for most illustrations, you can click on them and go to the larger version linked to it and hosted on deviantArt. This also tells you which artist drew it. If it doesn't go to a deviantart page and just links to a small remotely hosted version, I drew it, and hadn't been drawing them in large versions yet. Sorry!
Q: How long is this story?
A: The wordcount before any tweaks and such is 115,313 words. That's, uh, the longest goddamn thing I've ever written.
Q: When did you finish writing it?
A: The first novel was finished on January 21st, 2009. The second one will probably be started...hmm, today, January 24th. I'm feelin' up to it.
A: The first novel was finished on January 21st, 2009. The second one will probably be started...hmm, today, January 24th. I'm feelin' up to it.
Q: Wait, first novel? What kind of heat are you packing?
A: The Peacock King is a trilogy. After that there will likely be more novels as I have more stories to tell in this world. That's not even counting what Char might have in store for us.
Q: So you're gonna keep writing and start the second novel as soon as you finish the first, right?
A: I might, but I also might take a break and write something else for awhile. It's possible I might try a short in the PK world, or write a story that's set in another world entirely, or I could just plain take a break. I probably won't take a break, though, because not writing makes me cranky. Note after finishing the first novel: it turns out the cranky theory was correct. Back on the trail!
Q: Are you going to post the second novel here in this blog too?
A: I'd like to, but let's see how fast I can write it before I commit myself to an update schedule on a novel that doesn't exist yet.
Q: Are you going to stop posting chapters publically and start making us read via subscription?
A: The first novel, at the very least, will be free. The only thing that might stop that is if some publisher finds it and rolls a wheelbarrow full of cash through the door right here, and tells me to take the free version down in exchange for a slick publishing contract. Not only is that extremely unlikely, but where it to occur, I'm sure you'd eventually be able to buy the book for a reasonable price. I, personally, like that whole getting paid eough money to be a full-time writer thing, but I ain't holding my breath.
Q: So wait, will we have to pay for the second novel?
A: I'm not making any solid plans for the second or third novels since they don't exist yet in any form! :D I sure hope I can give them away for free as well while also making money.
Q: Wait, making money how?
A: You see those banner ads? They pay per impression and per click. If you clicked on a few, or told some other people about my page so I got more impressions, that would be real sweet. We'll also be selling merchandise eventually, like art prints and calendars and such.
Q: Do you have a PayPal tip jar where I can toss you a buck or two for your work?
A: Sure, right in the sidebar! Just try to make your minimum at least a dollar so PayPal doesn't take it all away in fees. I would really appreciate a tip or two - it'll make my life a little easier, and that means it will be easier to write. Thanks!
Q: Do you have any other stories I could read?
A: This is my first published work of original fiction. I have fanfiction floating around on the internet under the handle 'Irk', so if you like the anime Slayers, you're in luck! If that's not your thing, then I guess you'll just have to wait until I write more of this.
Q: Wait, is this the first original fiction you've ever written?
A: Not quite. I've tried my hand at it once or twice before, and I've done NaNoWriMo for three years in a row, so I have some attempts under my belt. Just nothing I could publish without weeping a little. Those stories aren't edited nearly enough yet for public exposure. I'm a nicer person than that. Well okay there's Damaged Girl up in the wiki if you look real hard, but dang, that's like almost an alpha copy there. :(
Q: Will you ever publish any of your novels as a book?
A: Yes! Once the draft for book one is finished, it will be edited and revised and I will pretty it up for an edition to be printed and sold via lulu. There will be added material, clarified scenes, and generally a smoother read guaranteed for all who purchase. What you're reading in the blog is basically my beta copy. Consider the extra material as an incentive to purchase the novel version. I will still keep the blog version of the novel up here in the archive for anyone to read for free, by the way, and I'll probably go back and edit it/add in some of the new material, at least.
Q: Will you link to my blog or webpage?
A: I'm making a point to link to any quality sites that are related in some way to this one. Any novel or webcomic sites are definitely fair game. If it feels like something that's along the same vibe as what I write, that also makes it a good candidate. I'm especially interested in people who are trying new, experimental ways to publish their work. So if you're an author then please hit me up for a link! Also, if you'd like to reciprocate, I'd be very much obliged.
If you want the most feedback, typo fixes, and comments on your chapters you might want to simply post your contact info. Some people don't have a Blogger account or interest in trying to track down scattered information that's apparently already public knowledge. "mailname at site" is a fairly spam-proof method of posting an email address.
ReplyDeleteAs you may have figured out by posting your comment, anonymous commenting is enabled, so anyone can just say what they want under the entry. I'll take the advice of putting up my email address, but I think you've made your own advice rather useless since you've left me no way of giving it to you besides posting it and assuming you'll come back and read it in the FAQ.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you can comment as about 5 different accounts on this thing, like livejournal and AIM, not just Blogger.