Next Draft Zine - August 2022
Official book trailer, articles you might have missed, book update, and more!
I'm proud to announce the worldwide premiere of the Rock Gods & Messy Monsters official pre-release trailer! You're seeing it here first. Let me know what you think!
The video was created by the amazingly talented Kri Pelletier. She also designed the book cover, which I absolutely love. Connect with her if you're looking for alternative and creative design services.
Kri explained the trailer is from the point of view of Acht Records, the record company antagonist and enemy in the novel. We start with a dancing robot being awkwardly assimilated. An open human eye creates a feeling of dizziness, causing a brain explosion. The robot loses control and nosedives into a rabbit hole of corporate hell. This results in the creation of a non-human entity.
Exactly my life in corporate music. Watch it!
I’ve also created a mailing list just for the book - please sign up if you’re interested in learning more about the process, thematic elements, and subjects found within the pages. You can also subscribe to Next Draft.
Rock Gods is still scheduled for a September 7th official release. I'm currently maneuvering the ebook process - figuring out how to format the work for digital publishing, who to do it through, and all that stuff. It can be dizzying, but I hope to publish more ebooks down the road, not just my novels, so this is all good to know.
If you're wondering what the book is about, check out the book description from the media kit.
I've also started to reach out for reviews - I'll post some as they come in. And I'll let you know how you can buy the book in early September. I welcome reviews from any and all of you!
In case you missed any recent articles, below are pieces published earlier this month and a couple from June.
"Overwhelm and Self Care" - What I do when I feel overwhelmed with my writing or life. My three-step process is to stop, feel, and take action.
"The Dilemma of Publishing a Book in 2022" - The realities behind book publishing and why it's more challenging than ever to publish your book with a Big 5 traditional publisher.
"Small Press Publishing - Is it Right for You?" - This article outlines the pros and cons of publishing your book with a smaller press. Includes an explanation of imprints and chapbooks.
"Soft Launches, Street Teams, and Why Indie Books are Startup Businesses" - What is a soft launch for a book, and why is it important? The article answers these questions and explains street teams and why more and more authors are using them. There's also mention of my realization that indie publishing is no different from a business startup. Maybe, one day, writers will be treated the same.
"Hybrid Publishing" - This pay-to-play model involves paying a company to produce and publish your book. You pay them for their services, yet they still get a royalty. What? Vanity presses are similar, yet they are scams and have ripped off writers. The main takeaway is to know who you're publishing with.
I've been focused lately on the mechanics of publishing because I'm getting ready to launch Rock Gods. From here on out, I'll be trying to alternate between the writing process and themes in my writing, including self-empowerment, self-love, law of attraction, spirituality, and similar topics.
If you prefer one topic over the other, please scroll to the bottom here to learn how you can adjust your settings.
Next week, I'm putting out a piece on Higher Self. The week after, I'll finish the publishing series with an article (or two if it gets too long) on Indie Publishing.
For folks new to Next Draft with Diane Hatz, I'll also highlight a piece each month that was published earlier. This week is:
"Isolation: It's Not Just You" - This was written in April 2020 during covid lockdown. It's still relevant today as the latest strain of the virus is knocking some people out for two months or so. Please remember - you are not alone.
For everyone who lost their business and is trying to regain footing, you are not alone. I'm there with you. For all of you who lost a loved one, my deepest sympathy. We've all been through so much over the past two-plus years. It's important to remember to take care of yourself - and try to reach out to others. You'll be helping them also.
For any Bruce Springsteen fans, he'll be on tour in Europe later in 2022 and is doing a U.S. tour in 2023. So excited I have a ticket for Denver in March! Tickets went on sale last week. If you've never seen him and have the chance, GO! Even after all these years, he and the audience put on one of the best shows. (You have to go to one to understand that….)
It seems that there's an uproar over Ticketmaster's abhorrent pricing policy (it now fluctuates like prices on airlines and hotel rooms). Some tickets were going for up to $5,000 each! But it's still worth seeing him - just find a much less expensive ticket. I was able to - so I'm sure you can too.
And if you're a fan of The Who like I've been since 1979, they'll be back in the U.S. shortly for their fall tour. I'm trying to see if I can swing Denver in October or Las Vegas in November. I published a fanzine on them in the 1980s-90s and chased them around for many years - maybe I'll share some stories from those teenage angst days in future posts…. I never thought I'd see them - and enjoy their music so much - 40 plus years on.
You can take me out of music, but you can't take the music out of me!
What shows are you seeing or have you seen lately?
If you'd like to stay in touch, please do!
I've created a mailing list separate from Substack for all things book. Please join if you'd like to stay up-to-date on all the special events, contests, and goings on around the release and promotion of Rock Gods.
Please subscribe now if you aren't subscribed to Next Draft with Diane Hatz. (free and paid)
If you're Facebook-friendly, please follow and like my Facebook author page!
And there's the usual:
Some housekeeping. In case you only want these zines once a month, or one topic over the other, Next Draft with Diane Hatz is divided into various sections. They’re at the top of the main Next Draft page. You’ve been automatically subscribed to all sections, but you can pick and choose which topics you’d like to receive.
Should you wish to remove yourself from a section/topic, go to:
The main Next Draft site on Substack
Click on Dashboard
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Then simply uncheck anything in the email notifications box that you do not wish to receive. If you leave “Next Draft with Diane Hatz” as the only checked box, you’ll only get these full zines once a month and not individual pieces as they come out. You can also choose to only receive articles about the writing process, or only articles about themes in my writing. Leave them all checked, and you get everything. Thanks for being a supporter of Next Draft! And let me know if that’s confusing.
And you can always buy me a cup of tea….
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Hi all - To anyone who's tried to change settings on what you want to get, this might be more helpful - Seems my first instructions were a bit confusing. I'll update them shortly. But, for now, sections are:
Next Draft (this is monthly newsletter)
Fiction/Book (articles about my books and eventually some fiction expanding on books)
Business of Writing (I'm creating this in a second)
Self-care/Spirit (themes within my writing)
Podcast (still sorting this out)
Other/Misc (general things that don't fit elsewhere I was moved to write)
I'm still a work-in-progress so apologies for any confusion!!
Hi, first I’d love to know how you got an affordable Bruce ticket and what you consider affordable. I’m a lifelong fan and have heard nothing but horror stories in the online fan group I belong to.
Second, I followed your advice about adjusting my subscription but the categories you listed weren’t included as options. I switched to just get the monthly edition but also want articles about self-improvement and writing. Just not LOA or book publishing articles. Is there a way to do that?