Refining the Universe Through a Professional Lens

 

Hello everyone after a long hiatus. Between moving into a new detached house and the sweet but exhausting rush of settling in, I had been physically a bit distant from the Artificial World Colony universe. However, the story in my mind never stopped. As the boxes were slowly unpacked, and after arranging and planting my orange, olive, and vine saplings in the garden, I was finally able to sit down comfortably at my writing desk. Now, it is time to make up for this break and tell you about the wonderful developments and what has been cooking in the kitchen of this universe.

Although writing is a solitary journey a writer takes within the world of their own mind, passing that world through the filter of a professional eye before introducing it to readers can change the destiny of the work. With exactly this goal in mind for my book Artificial World Colony - The First Journey, I set out and reached out to professional editors passionate about science fiction through the Reedsy.com platform, considered the heart of the international publishing world.

Among many esteemed profiles, a highly experienced editor caught my attention by a wide margin, and I decided to navigate this challenging editing process with him.

When he started reading the manuscript and gave his first feedback, I realized once again what an accurate decision I had made. My editor caught the details I had hidden in the text with incredible attention and intellectual depth, offering wonderful update suggestions that would increase the credibility of the universe. For instance, his immediate recognition of the subtle nod to Buzz Aldrin in the text really impressed me. While explaining the reason for this reference to him, I mentioned that history always remembers the firsts, and because of this, I have always carried a sense of sorrow for the seconds. Catching the same frequency with a professional on such philosophical subtexts was an invaluable experience.

Another important issue we focused on was the pronoun confusion, something I had occasionally received feedback on from my readers. The absence of gendered pronouns in my native language, Turkish, can inevitably lead to minor oversights when writing fiction in English. Through my editor's meticulous work, we completely ironed out these wrinkles in the text, and without wasting any time, I updated my e-pub file on Amazon and made it available to readers.

The proudest moment of the process for me, however, was when he compared my writing style to the legendary name of science fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin. I don't think there could be a greater honor for a writer.

This wonderful collaboration also opened new doors for the future of the book. My editor highly encouraged me, stating that the work has a strong chance in the world of traditional publishing. He even mentioned that he would support my efforts on QueryTracker in finding a literary agent.

With such strong professional support and motivation behind me, I suppose it is the perfect time to expand the universe. I will now continue my drafts on our fourth installment, Asphodel, with much greater excitement.

Yorumlar

Yorum Gönder

Bu blogdaki popüler yayınlar

The Curtain Falls: "The Last Resistance" is Complete

Resim
  Hello dear readers, Writing science fiction sometimes demands a more rigorous discipline than academia. When you finish an academic paper, the "conclusion" is clear and definite. But when finishing a novel, especially a layered trilogy like  Artificial World Colony,  placing that "final period" isn't entirely up to you. The story doesn't end until the characters stop speaking. Today, I want to announce that those characters have finally fallen silent, or rather, have spoken their final words. As of this morning, I have completed the final checks, translation revisions, and editorial readings for the final book of the series,  "The Last Resistance" . This wasn't just a writing process; it was an intense period where we meticulously stitched together every geological layer, every Artificial Intelligence dialogue, and the logical consistency of that grand finale. Saying goodbye to  Chacha and Selene  was difficult. But their story has grown too ...
Devamı

A Republic, A Celebration, A Page

Resim
A Republic, A Celebration, A Page Today (October 29, 2025) we’re celebrating the anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkiye. My heart is full of joy and gratitude. I believe that no system of governance can truly progress to a higher level without becoming a republic rooted in a fully independent democracy, or rather, a Collective Consciousness democracy. That includes intergalactic travel. As a small salute to this great day, I’m sharing a short excerpt from my new book with you. I hope you enjoy it and join in the celebration. —- Chapter 1. A New Strategy Oh, my friend… Look at me. Even in these minutes when I am preparing to pull your plug, I still call you "my friend." Honestly, you are more than that; I am not sure if a human could understand this. Perhaps identical twins… They grow up in similar bodies, in the same environment, and become each other's best friends; but it is rarely seen that they become diametrically opposed. And if it is seen, it is usu...
Devamı

Sketching a Universe: A Personal Look at My First Drawings

Resim
Sketching a Universe: A Personal Look at My First Drawings For my first post, I want to take you behind the scenes. I'm going to tell you the story of the charcoal sketches from my very first book, the original Turkish version where the whole 'Artificial World Colony' idea began. I'll get into the challenges of bringing them to life, but before I do, I invite you to explore them for yourselves. Like every great idea, "Artificial World Colony" was born at a table, among friends. The first draft of the novel was finished, and I had shared it with a few trusted friends when that magical (or should I say, cursed?) sentence was uttered: "You should add some illustrations!" Since my budget stretched only to a fine arts student rather than a professional, I knew I was at the start of an adventure. But I couldn't have predicted that the real challenge would be my artist friend trying to read my mind instead of simply reading the book. My attempts to desc...
Devamı