Rami Ungar The Writer

Did you know that my first book, The Quiet Game: Five Tales to Chill Your Bones, is coming up on its ten-year publishing anniversary? And that it was around this time of year that I wrote the first drafts of the stories?

It kind of hit me a couple of weekends ago, while vending at ConFusion, that that anniversary was coming up. I was there in the Artists’ Alley, describing each of my books to an interested congoer, and as I mentioned it was my oldest book, I paused. “It’s about…wow, coming up on the ten-year anniversary.” And that really made me think about how much time has passed since that book first came out, as well as all that’s happened since then. Specifically, all the lessons and mistakes I’ve made along the way.

For example, if you look at the cover of The Quiet Game, you might notice there are two F’s in the word “Five.” It’s an error I’ve since become fond of, but it and others have been reminders to me about carefully proofreading my work for mistakes, even when I’m sure they’re perfect.

And marketing my books! I’m still learning how to do it effectively, which is probably why I still need a day job (that’s a joke). But over the years, I’ve learned that you need a lot more than a blog and a book out there to get readers. Nothing ever snowballs till you suddenly find yourself with hundreds of adoring fans. You have to work and try many different things just to get people to take notice, let alone get interested enough to read your book. I’ve learned just how ineffective Facebook ads are for anything except clicks, and I’ve learned that having some advanced readers who are willing to read your work before it comes out makes all the difference. Oh, and that you’ll get plenty more readers when you’re at conventions and you’re being your true self.

And on marketing, I’m still learning things. I think I always will.

You know, you can be reading and writing with an aim to be a professional author since the time you’re a child–like I was–but learning on how to get the work to people is a whole other ballgame. And after ten years, I think I may be in the minor leagues–or at least I’m at a point where I’m somewhat established and known thanks to all those trials and mistakes and revelations I’ve had through the past decade or so.

At least I know one thing for sure: well before The Quiet Game came out, making this blog was a good idea. I created it at a library near my house a couple of weeks before I was set to start my freshman year at Ohio State University. The goal was that I would already have some readers ready before my first book came out (always something I was sure would happen at some point). And you know what? Not only have I discovered readers, I’ve discovered friends and colleagues and interests and experiences that I never thought possible when I was just 18 and starting out in the world. Or when I was 20 and getting ready for that first collection to come out.

Makes me wonder what lessons I’ll learn in the next ten years (I’m not going to speculate on possible mistakes, because I would like to avoid those if possible). And it makes me wonder where I’ll be in the next ten years as well. I hope I’ll have learned enough to make sure that when I release a book, it’s worth the investment for not just me, but for anyone who may have helped me publish it. I hope I may even be writing full-time, or at least much closer to the point where that’s feasible.

And I hope that I have many more Followers of Fear, as well as keeping those who have stuck by me through the years.

Well, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ll be working on various projects between now and whenever I check in again. In the meantime, if you haven’t read The Quiet Game yet and want to before the tenth anniversary of its release (when I may have to do something special to mark it), you can find links to it and my other works on the Books page. And if you do end up reading some of my work, please leave a review telling me what you thought. Not only does it help me out as an author, but it helps other readers as well.

Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!