Here I Go Again · 7:30pm Jun 4th, 2015
See what I could afford when I still had a job?
What you see above is the final cover art for the TvE/TwI prequel, Order of Shadows, which is now officially launching on Saturday. Despite my calm demeanor, I assure you I am stoked. My thanks go out to SorenPixels for helping me brainstorm, and also to him, FabulouslyCynical and Foals Errand for their pre-reading and editing assistance in this endeavor. I'm gunning for weekly updates, which will be a necessity if I'm to finish this story in any reasonable span of time.
My only regret is that I'm pretty sure this story is going to have a lot of difficulty gaining traction, especially in the beginning. The first chapter is designed to wipe away all illusions about what the TvE version of Equestria is, which means bad things happen right out the gate, things that will make the uninitiated very unhappy. In fact, I think that at first only the people who know the events of TvE and TwI will look at this in a positive light... at first. Make no mistake, understanding the history of the universe will actually be necessary this time. That means a smaller initial reader base, but I think I'll live.
So long as this, the longest project ever undertaken by yours truly, isn't a total flop, I'll be satisfied.
In the meantime, kudos to The Camera Man, who is now my 600th follower! Slowly trucking along to that 1,000 mark. Now someone's going to read this and unfollow, jut because. 
In other news, new stat! I'm now recording how many words I'm reading each week to meet my review schedule. You probably don't care, but I like my stats. Mmmm... numbery.
Last but not least, I have been gradually compiling the stories I have read and rated into my Schedule Spreadsheet, sorting them by rankings and applying scores for their authors. My goal is to have a database of every story I read, linked directly to my review for it (if there is one), then rank authors by a point system based on where their stories fall in my bookshelves. If your story was read by me and you're interested in seeing how you're doing, feel free to take a look, but know that I'm not even close to having all of the stories entered into the database yet.
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Sometimes I think I'm too organized.
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Nah.
Order of Shadows Book I – Chapter 1: Saturday, June 6
Shadow Pony: TBA
Stats
Total Word Count: 1,256,000 over 27 stories
Average Words Written Per Week: 9,300
Total Words Read This Week: 214,898
Follower Rank: 326th (+10)
Overall Ratings Average: 94.82% (-0.46%)
Highest-Rated Story (Not Counting Stories at 100%): The Gentle Nights @ 98.46% (7 Weeks)
Story with the Most Votes: Tyrant @ 1971/54 (26 Weeks)
Story with the Fewest Votes: Becoming Them (10/2)
Longest Story: Trixie vs. Equestria @ 144,000
Funny thing: after reading this post i checked most of the stories you mention. Adding some to my to-read list. Then i wonder: who is this guy? How i met him and why i have not read all this fine looking stories. Then i see Frequency, and i though: " oh buck no, no no! I am not ready to get my heart shattered again "
Just a thought I found valid to share
I wonder if this story will finally knock TvE off that Longest Story pedestal it's enjoyed for so long.
So I guess this means it's time to reread TvE in preparation! (I'd reread Twilight's Inferno as well but I really don't want to put myself through that again)
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Well I can assure you that Trixie vs. Equestria won't rip your heart to shreds. In fact you'll probably feel pretty good about things at the end, all things considered. Twilight's Inferno, on the other hand, will make you wanna crawl under your bed and cry for mommy.Frequency's got nothing on it.
I expect Order of Shadows to fall in the middle ground. Yes, bad things will happen, but the overall story is planned to be more bittersweet than tragic.
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Considering my initial estimations for Order of Shadows is 300,000 words minimum, yes, it probably will.
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In that moment I nearly threw the cellphone away 
But after some hours I calmed down and was able to write a proper comment
Yeah, the Trixie's one is already in the bag.
Well, what did shake me with frequency, is that I got so immersed in the story, that the end was heart breaking
SOO!! yeah! 144K word of Trixie! it looks adequate for my next fly to CA!
Can't wait for this! Currently reading Frequency!
Wow, it really is Prequel Palooza this week. Order of Shadows I'm probably going to read chapter to chapter. 300k is a bit much to go through all at once. That being said, I am excited for it.
And sorry to hear that you remain amongst the ranks of the unemployed.
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Well I hope you enjoy it! Both of them.
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Maybe not for long. I signed up on Monster.com last night and have been getting phone calls and emails from recruiters all day long.
The 300k was a rough estimate made early on. I'm already reasonably sure my first book will fall below my length estimation, and by reasonably I mean 80%.
You're welcome. Now, get 66 more followers and we can summon the healing church.
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I'll see what I can do. I wonder if someone would bake a reverse pentagram-shaped cake in honor of the occasion?
OK, I recognize Fleur, Vinyl, Filthy Rich, Octavia, and Surprise, but who are the other ponies?
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The guy with Octavia is Fine Crime and the foal between them is Gulfstream, both OCs.
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And that's not Filthy Rich, is Caballeron from Daring Don't.
Guess I gotta get my ass in gear and read the last few chapters of TvE.
Goodbye world.
How much did you pay for that amazing picture? How'd you convey the personalities of the OCs to the artist?
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1) $140.
2) For the regular character I only had to explain one or two different elements from the show, whereas for the OCs I had to dig a little deeper. As long as I explained the 'look and intent' of a character, Eosphorite pretty much had it. Plus Eosphorite periodically sends images of progress done to ask if I approve of the work so far and can suggest any changes. He's really customer friendly in that regard. For example, his first sketch had Fine and Octavia much closer together, but that felt too 'lovey dovey' so I suggested some corrections. He got it right on the second try.
Eosphorite is a great artist and really easy to work with. If you can afford his price tag, I highly recommend him.
That's it, join the cult of the spreadsheet. Join us.
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Dude, I joined that cult over a decade ago. I have a spreadsheet for every video game I ever played (and that's hundreds), just as an example. Excel is my best friend, comparable only to Word.
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Piff, that's the old cult. We're signing you up for the new modern spreadsheet cult.
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Do I get a cloak and hood of printed out spreadsheets?
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From what I recall, and based on the detail quality... I could see it, and my benchmark for that is a good 1.5 yrs out of date as it is.