Posts Tagged ‘blogging’

New Ideas At Work

Posted: March 12, 2014 in ideas, Reflections, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

Today at work, I had a mostly usual day. Went through a ton of files, ate lunch, went through another ton of files, and had conversations with some of my coworkers about life, the weather, and the job. Pretty average. Oh, except for the fact that I came up with several different ideas for short stories and articles today. About 16 new ideas total, if I remember correctly.

And this is not unusual for me: just yesterday I had an idea for a psychological horror novel. The day before that, I came up with a science-fiction/horror novel, all while sitting calmly at my desk and going through file after file after file. So while coming up with so many ideas in a single day is somewhat unusual for me, coming up with ideas while working or going to classes is a pretty regular occurrence for me.

Why am I making a blog post out of this? Because there are some writers–not many, but some–who are under the mistaken impression that holding any sort of job will stifle creative juices and ruin them as an artist. For example, I used to be on friendly terms with a writer and blogger over in Europe. He wrote a lot of poetry, took plenty of photos, and was working on a novel. For reasons that I never found out, he and his wife separated and he ended up living on the streets. Because he didn’t want to get a job that would most likely force him to be a slave to a corporation or a government (at least based on his political views I assume that’s why he didn’t get a job), along with his views that a job would ruin his artistic power, he asked his readers to donate money to him through PayPal so that he could buy airline tickets to America where his parents were. Nobody donated, which he felt was a personal insult and he got really nasty afterwards. When I tried to be nice and encouraging to him, he swore at me, leading me to stop following him. Last I checked he’s still in Europe and living on the streets billing himself as a starving artist.

Now, I’m not saying that all artists who refuse to get jobs are like this. Many are the kindest, sweetest people you’ll ever meet. They’re sincere about wanting to do well in their chosen fields. But I do want to let artists of all kinds know that a job won’t necessarily ruin your career and your skills, whether you’re selling only a few books or several thousand books. In fact, sometimes a job can help you. Several of the people in my office read my work when it comes out; I wouldn’t have made some of the money I’ve made without their help. Not only that, but I’ve made a few connections through my job, including with a screenwriter I met today who’s working on a screenplay while helping students out with financial aid and other questions during the day. Tomorrow I’d like to give him the name of a professor at school who also has connections to Hollywood. I figure that’d help him.

So don’t worry about losing your creative streak if you get a 9 to 5 or even just a part-time job. It may actually make you more creative, or give you the drive to produce better work just so you can get out of that job. I’ve certainly benefitted from working. I’ve come up with so many ideas over the years while working in the financial aid office. I don’t think I would’ve come up with those ideas if I was in a different setting.

Not to mention the fact that I would’ve had to move back in with my parents or become homeless long ago if I hadn’t gotten a job. Trust me, I’m very grateful for that. Especially since I’m sheltered from the cold. Do you know how bad the weather can be in Ohio in winter?

If you’re still not sure, just go ahead and try it. Give it a month or two. If a job does kill you creatively, then I’m sorry that you can’t write while holding a job. And if you don’t find any change or instead find yourself becoming more creative, then I’m glad things are working out for you and I wish you luck in whatever occupation you’re currently working in.

How has holding a job affected your creativity? What advice do you have for authors who are concerned about how a job might affect their writing?

Conversations With Becket

Posted: March 7, 2014 in Author Interciew, Journalism, Living and Life, Novel, Reflections, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

becket

Today’s interview is with indie author Becket, whose books include The Blood Vivicanti series and the Key The Steampunk Vampire Girl books, including the recently released The Tower Tomb of Time. When not writing, Becket works for author Anne Rice and is supplementing his education with a degree in psychology.

I had the chance to email Becket and learn a little bit about him, his books, and what it’s like to work for Anne Rice. It was definitely an enjoyable correspondence.

RU: So Becket, you’ve had quite the interesting life, working as an author, working for an author, and at one point you were a Benedictine monk. Makes me curious about what else you’ve done, so could you give us a brief history of yourself?

Becket: I entered the seminary when I was 21 because I wanted to deepen my relationship with God as well as be a minister of hope, faith, and love. I spent three years in the seminary, during which time I also finished my BA in music composition. Then in the summer of 2000, I entered a Benedictine monastery, St. Joseph Abbey in Covington, LA. The spiritual charisma of the monastic life appealed to my personality type. The monks lived a very silent life, guided by two principals of work and prayer. During my first year in the monastery, Anne Rice requested a harpsichord for a book signing in New Orleans. We monks had a very nice one; and the abbot asked me to deliver it because of my musical background – I had studied the instrument in college, along with several others. That was when Anne and I first met. We developed an email rapport over the next few years while I was earning my MA in theology. When I completed my degree in 2005, I decided that it was time for me to re-enter lay life and, needing a job, I emailed Anne, asking her fi she had a job on her staff for a former monk with a few degrees. She replied with a job offer. I’ve been with Anne ever since, studying the craft of writing under her guidance while also earning an MS in psychology.

RU: What is it like, working for Anne Rice? Besides the amount of jealousy you must receive from fans including myself, I mean.

Becket: What is it like, working for Anne Rice?

Working for Anne Rice is like working for a childhood hero. I first read Anne’s books when I was a teen. Being a lonely adolescent, an outsider, Anne’s words spoke to me powerfully – because her words have a wonderful way of showing empathy for the outsider/reader. Many days she and I talk about literature and the book publishing business. It is a continual learning experience. Every day I learn something helpful and significant about my writing, about the publishing of my own books, about my own capacity for problem-solving, about many things. But every day is a new experience because every day I’m presented with a new challenge. Before I started working for Anne, I had never used Photoshop. So to assist her as best as I could, I learned many new skills, such as photography, shooting video, proper lighting, sound engineering, etc. I also learned several programs in the Adobe Creative Suite, namely Photoshop, Illustrator, and even Premier Pro and After Effects. Most of those programs I use every day, whether it is creating an app for Anne, or posting an image, or editing a video for Youtube. And today all those programs have helped me greatly in my own work; they are invaluable book publishing tools. A successful indie author cannot live on Word alone.

RU: Tell me about it. iMovie and Photoshop have been great tools in the past for me. Now, you’re new book is the latest adventure for your character Key the Steampunk Vampire Girl. Tell us about her and the new book.

Becket: Key’s new adventure picks up where the last book left off: Key has just escaped from the Dungeon of Despair. Yet unlike the last book, which takes place over the course of 250 years, the course of this book happens in a single night. Key gets to do what she has not done in over two centuries: She gets to explore the City of the Dead. She rides a Hobbeetle, she meets the Worm King, she visits the Grave of the Grim Goblin, whose not as grim or dead as some people might think, and she does so much more! Ultimately she finds herself at the Tower Tomb of Time, which allows her to visit the moment when she was first made a vampire. She discovers the mystery behind her mom and dad’s disappearance, as well as the reason she was taken to the City of the Dead in the first place. In other words, The Tower Tomb of Time explores questions that were raised in The Dungeon of Despair.

RU: Some people would hesitate to write a vampire novel these days when most people associate vampires with Twilight. What made you decide to write about vampires?

Becket: Before there was Twilight, there was Anne Rice. She was ground breaking (and indeed she still is) in the sense that she made the vampire a Byronic hero – someone whom we could easily identify with. Moreover, being a vampire isn’t the story of Key the Steampunk Vampire Girl – which is fundamentally the case with Bella, the heroine of Twilight. Bella actively seeks to become a blood drinker. Key, on the other fang, like Anne’s Louis or Lestat, never wanted to be a vampire at all. Becoming what she is happened to her, and then lots more terrible things happened to her, and so she has to make the best of her situation. That kind of narrative ambience is what I strove to create when I wrote Key. I hope readers will associate with her story and say to himself or herself, “I know how she feels being in the Dungeon of Despair, or confronting the Worm King, or revisiting a past that was hitherto forsaken.” Additionally, I hope readers would also feel inspired by Key’s successes and victories over personal demons. Key’s story is a coming of age story.

RU: What is your writing process like for you?

Becket: Generally my process begins with an idea, which usually comes to me while I’m writing another book. I write down that idea, and if it stays with me for some time, I will jot down notes about potential plot development, prose style, themes, and so on. When I finish one novel, I immediately begin another; there is no waiting for me. I write every day. It is a routine. And the routine for starting new novels is grounded in two goals: (1) the long-term goal of my book, and (2) the short-term goal of my daily writing. My long-term goal is the size of the book that I want to write, and I generally determine that by comparing it with other books. For instance, I know that Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is about 25,000 words. So if I am seeking to create a children’s story, such as Key the Steampunk Vampire Girl, I will make the long-term goal of my first draft comparable to 25,000 words. My short-term goal is the amount of words that I will write in a day. On average my goal is at least 1000 words a day; usually I write more, often twice as much; and some times I write fewer words. The point isn’t perfection: It’s progress. As long as I am writing, I am coming closer to the completion of a book.

RU: I admire your tenacity. Now what are some tips you might have for other self-published authors, such as myself, on writing and getting your work out there?

Becket: The beauty of indie-publishing is in the word “indie” – independent. This is a quintessential word to keep in mind because, if a writer gets embroiled in the industry of professional book publishing, that writer would lose some degree of control. The writer would usually not be able to control, for instance, interior or exterior formatting. In other words, you would probably have little to say in the creation of your book jacket. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard professionally published authors complain about their book jacket, how it does not look like the story they told. Other authors have complained about the struggle they have with their editor or copy editor, how important words will be edited out, or how sometimes sentences or pages completely rewritten. There are some authors who want to be controlled like that. And that is good! Great books have been written with the help of excellent editors. But finding such an editor is like finding love in your life: It usually happens when you least expect it. Being an indie-author means controlling every element of your work. I like this, not micro-managing, but being purposeful and meaningful with every element that I produce.

RU: I love that independence too. It’s gone well for me. So what’s next for you, Becket?

Becket: The Blood Vivicanti Parts 5 and 6 will come in March and April. And after that, I will be publishing a book titled, The Door to Heaven, which is about a boy whose life is changed forever when he encounters an old man’s face on the doorknob to the Door to Heaven.

RU: That “Door To Heaven” sounds very Stephen King-ish. Last question: If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take three books with you, which books would you take?

Becket: Well, I am a man of faith and prayer, so I would probably take the ESV Bible (because I like that translation), The Imitation of Christ, and a book of blank pages, so that my mind could fill it up with my own stories.

RU: I love it when authors say they want to bring a blank notebook with them. Shows their true writing spirit, in some ways. Well, thanks for joining us, Becket, and best of luck to you.

If you’d like to find out more about Becket or check out some of his books, you can check out his website, his Facebook page, Twitter feed, and get personally autographed copies from the Changing Hands Bookstore.

Our next scheduled interview is March 31st with author and dear friend Angela Misri, who will be talking about her debut novel Jewel of the Thames. So get excited for that!

Creating That Dread Feeling

Posted: March 4, 2014 in Reflections, Scary Stuff, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

b2da2-9ddeee92a3dd2120ed55e789959dfff5

Recently a fellow horror author and blogger I admire brought up a good point about horror, one that I’ve made in countless other posts. The point that he made was that a lot of horror out there is actually pretty terrible because of an over-reliance of gore and gross-out elements (blood, knives, etc.). Real horror is made not by grossing people out continuously over the course of a horror story, but by creating a feeling of dread, that feeling that something bad is going to happen and that it is going to get worse. That feeling builds and builds, until (hopefully) the reader is scared stiff by ensuing events.

Creating that dread feeling is difficult, to say the least. Like I’ve said in previous posts about terror (and I’m not yet convinced that they can’t be the same thing, depending on the circumstances), it’s one of the hardest parts of creating a good horror story. Creating that feeling takes time, precision, keen insight, and skill, cultivated over years and years of practice. It’s why plenty of would-be horror writers and filmmakers just opt out of trying to use terror in favor of just plain old blood and guts and gore as a so-so substitute. And when that doesn’t work so well, they add in sex as well (don’t believe me? Watch the Friday the 13th remake in all its crummy filmmaking and see how much dread there isn’t and how much sex and blood and gore there is. And no, I’ll never stop harping on how bad that film was).

Here’s an exercise that can help authors of all kinds visualize creating that dread feeling for your story: close your eyes and imagine yourself in a dark, dank, eerie hallway. This hallway goes on for some length, so far that you may not be able to see the very end. And it also takes many twists and turns, so that doesn’t help. As you walk down this hallway, you get the strange feeling that something horrible is going to happen just around the next corner or right behind that table or from that ceiling lamp with the crackling bulb. And as you get farther along, this feeling that something bad will happen grows and grows. Sometimes the places you think something will happen prove to be harmless, but other times you are correct and you’re only just able to get away with your head still on. Even so, you continue on, even though the feeling of ill-boding keeps growing, and you wish you could turn back or even just stop and stay where you are but you can’t, those aren’t options. The only option left is to continue on, reach the end with hopefully all your body parts still attached, and find a safe room located at the end of the hallway.

That hallway is your horror story. And it can be as long as it needs to be, have as much furniture under which monsters can hide as needs be, and have as many twists and turns as needs be. You just got to find a way to create that feeling of ill-boding, which is the feeling of dread that all the best horror stories are able to create. The exercise above is meant to help give people an idea of how creating that terror and dread can happen and to give them something to work with if they need help or practice creating that dread.

I hope that helps in some ways. Also, if you want to check out some books, TV shows, or movies that do a great job creating that feeling of dread, I highly recommend Stephen King’s IT, The Amityville Horror, and the first two seasons of American Horror Story. They do a very great job with creating dread in the reader/viewer. Trust me, I was afraid to go to sleep after I encountered one or two of these titles. They’re that scary.

All for now. I’m going to try to get some of my own fiction written and full of that dread feeling. Goodnight, Followers of Fear.

WordPress Tag!

Posted: March 3, 2014 in Living and Life, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
4

I’m tagged! And yes, that’s a good thing. author Lorna Dounaeva just tagged me in a game of WordPress tag, which means I answer some questions and then I tag at least three other writers to answer the same set of questions. So excited! So let’s get started:

What are you currently working on?

At the moment, I’m just working on a bunch of short stories, though I plan by at least the fifteenth to get back to my WIP Laura Horn. I’m also working on getting my novel Snake published on June 10th (assuming the copyright office doesn’t screw with me in any way, shape or form. As a government office, they’re likely to do so, I’m afraid). I’m also trying to publish some short stories, so we’ll see what magazines accept them. Fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

How does your work differ from other authors in the genre?

Well, that’s really kind of a loaded question. Every author is different in terms of style and content, no matter what genre. However if I have to say, it’s that I try to make crazy concepts seem believable. At least, in theory I do. Ask my critics on how I’m doing in that department.

Why do you write what you do?

I’ve always loved scaring people, ever since a somewhat traumatic event in my past. And I love writing, so it’s fun to combine the two together.

How does your writing process work?

I work best in my room on the bed, so I try to write there mostly. When I work on novels, I usually write an outline of what happens in the story, and then set about writing the story out. It’s a torturous process, especially in the beginning. Tackling a whole novel gets easier as the story moves forward, but at the beginning it’s almost like rolling a boulder up a very big hill. Eventually I finish the story, and after several edits and feedback from a beta reader or two, I try to publish it. For short stories, the process is similar, except without the outline phase.

And now I tag three writers:

Matthew Williams, author of the recently released Papa Zulu.

Raymond Esposito, author of You and Me Against the World.

Pat Bertram, author of Grief: The Great Yearning.

Self-Pub Authors: Stuck For An Idea?

Posted: March 2, 2014 in ideas, Journalism, Reflections, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

I just published my latest post on the blog Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors. Today’s article is called Stuck For An Idea?, which explores osme of the methods and techniques I use when I can’t think of anything to write about. It’s based on a lot of personal experience, but I think a lot of authors might get something out of it. If you’re interested, please go check it out.

And if you’re an author who’s already self-published or considering self-publishing, please check out the rest of Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors. It’s written by a variety of authors, myself included, who are dedicated to writing articles to help other authors out in writing and publishing in the indie market. I certainly find it helpful, and I recommend it every time I get the chance. And if you find the blog helpful, please subscribe to posts. You’ll learn tons, and what you learn may help catapult your writing and your career to new levels.

Good luck and enjoy!

Dear Alice: Finished

Posted: March 2, 2014 in Living and Life, short story, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , ,
2

It’s rare that I begin a short story and that I finish it within a day. It’s even rarer when I finish it a few hours after starting it. But that’s what happened tonight. And my God, was it amazing.

You remember in my last post I said I was trying to rewrite the science-fiction story I’d started on Sunday. Well, I’m still trying to figure out where it should go from here and how to make it exciting. So while I’m working on that little problem, I decided to devote my time to a different short story. What resulted was Dear Alice, a story of a woman in England who writes letters to her childhood friend (Alice, obviously) about how as children they were kidnapped by a farmer who used them as slave labor. It’s a very interesting story, and I rather liked how it turned out, especially the twists near the middle-end portion of it.

The whole story is about 3,600 words (give or take a few), and I somehow wrote it in only a couple of hours. That’s a personal record for short story writing. It also shows what happens when I really get into a story and I eschew most distractions that I can really amaze myself. I think I’ll send this to a friend or family member within the next couple of weeks to get some feedback on it. I seriously hope that they like it, and that they can offer some good suggestions on it.

In the meantime though, I’m going to head to bed and get some rest. Tomorrow may be Sunday, but that doesn’t mean I get to rest (being Jewish, Saturday is the day I rest, and sometimes not even then). I may even start another short story if I’m unable to figure out what to do with my short-story-in-progress by then. Wish me luck.

Goodnight, my Followers of Fear. Or good morning, depending on what time you’re reading this. I’m sure some people are a few time zones behind me, some are just having their morning coffee while they read this, and maybe one or two are insomniacs or staying up late. If I think about this more than I have, it’s going to get weird. Anyway, goodnight (because it is for me at this point).

Spring Semester 2014: Half-Time Report

Posted: February 26, 2014 in Living and Life
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
0

O-H!

It’s Week 8 of the semester, which means it’s time for me to check in and let you all know how I’m doing this semester at Ohio State. And I’m very happy to say, I’m doing extremely well. My classes are all going well, I’m on track for my study abroad trip, I may have a thesis advisor for next year, and work is going very well. Things are great!

First, starting with classes. As I said at the beginning of the semester, I’m taking five courses, four of which are related to my study-abroad trip. Those four courses are a course in American history centering around the period between 1921-1963, a class to learn some basic French, a seminar specializing in World War II-related topics, and a class on French-American relations through the years. I’ve been getting good grades in all of those classes, though the French language class has a lot of words I sometimes have trouble remembering (go figure, and I’m still better at German), and the research seminar requires a lot of reading. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but I need five primary sources and at least five secondary sources for my final paper, which is to be about the Nazi obsession on the occult. I have three secondary and one primary so far. Oy vey.

As for the fifth class, I’m taking a class on Deaf Literature. I thought that would be the class that would be difficult for me (there’s always at least one), but it’s been a delight. The teacher is someone I’ve had before (though she was a TA then), and she even bought a copy of The Quiet Game, definitely a plus. I also got the chance to write a short story for class, which I blogged about in a previous post, and I’ve been really enjoying the material. Heck, I’m learning so much more about Deaf culture than I thought possible. It’s pretty mind-blowing.

As for the study abroad trip, it’s coming along great. I’ve received the itinerary, and this weekend (if I have the chance) I’ll stop by my cellular company’s local store to see whether if it’s better to bring my phone abroad or get a prepaid. It’ll probably be the latter, from the advice I’ve been hearing. Now if only I can win some scholarships, I’ll be in heaven.

For the thesis, I’ve got a novel I want to write, one that’s pure horror and that’s got some great potential. I just need someone to advise me. I’ve got two teachers who may be able to help me. One of them is a teacher I’ve taken a class with before who may be willing to be my advisor, provided he can find the time in his schedule. The other is a teacher whose class I might be taking in the fall (provided she likes the pieces I sent her). She seemed open to working with me, so hopefully she’ll be willing to work with me.

And finally, for work I got my first raise. It’s not much, about twenty-five cents more per hour, but it’ll help a little with expenses. And I hope in the future I’ll be able to get some more raises in the future.

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll be doing another semester update after I get my final grades back. And now if you’ll need me, I’ll be working on a short story. Goodnight, Followers of Fear.

500 Followers!!!

Posted: February 24, 2014 in Living and Life, Progress Report
Tags: , , , , ,
0

It’s happened! One of those milestones that every blogger waits and hopes for. I have just gotten my five-hundredth follower, making me feel like I’m on top of the world.

I’d like to thank everybody who’s been signing on to follow in the past couple of weeks, including dyslexiasuccesscoach, biggirlbigpanties, nandaputrari2014, and other bloggers. I’d also like to thank longtime followers and friends for all the support and love you’ve been giving me for over two-and-a-half years, including Angela Misri of a Portia Adams adventure, Matt Williams of Stories by Williams, and so many others. It means a lot to me that you’d listen to the thoughts and struggles of a college student trying to become a great horror writer. And when somebody from the blog buys one of my books, boy does it make my day.

That reminds me, I want to get to know my followers a bit more. I can’t follow everyone who follows me, so I’d like to know a bit more about you, the reader. Who are you? What do you blog about? Why do you follow my blog? Please let me know. I’m always happy to hear from people who are reading my work.

Well, that’s all for now. I’ve got work and classes in the morning, so I’m going to get ready for bed. You have a good night, my Followers of Fear. And I hope you’re having warmer temperatures than I am at this moment. Central Ohio is supposed to have temperatures that are below freezing during the next week or two. It’s too scary for even me to write in detail at the moment!

Conversations With CC Finlay

Posted: February 4, 2014 in Author Interciew, Review, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2

Today I finally get the chance to post my interview with science fiction author Charles Coleman Finlay, or CC Finlay for short. A graduate of Ohio State, his first story Footnotes was published in 2001 in Fantasy and Science Fiction, where several of his short stories have been published since. He’s also published four novels, including the Traitor to the Crown series (which one of my favorite shows, Sleepy Hollow, strangely resembles) and a collection of short stories, The Wild Things.

I sat down with him to talk about writing, fiction, and how delicious the food from the Wexner Café was (comments about that last subject are not in this interview). It was a great way to have lunch on a Friday afternoon.

RU: I guess the first question I want to ask you is, how did you get into science fiction?

CCF: I’m not sure there’s a short answer. When I was a kid, I felt overwhelmed by the world just because of personal events in my life. So I was looking, unconsciously,  for larger than life characters, people who faced world-sized problems and overcame them. So I started with cartoons and comic books. I loved superheroes–Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, the Flash, the X-Men. When I started reading a lot of books, science fiction and fantasy fulfilled the same needs but in a more complex way. Take Lord of the Rings, for example. Here’s Frodo with this burden he didn’t want, and he’s not a wizard or a superhero, and still he finds some way to triumph. That really resonated with me. Edgar Rice Burroughs was also a really important writer for me. All of his characters face big overwhelming problems, whether it’s Tarzan orphaned in the jungle or John Carter transported to another planet. Science fiction and fantasy are  full of those kinds of stories, and I loved them. I still do.

RU: I like comic books too, though they’re usually the Japanese kind, and I still read them a lot. When you write, what is your process?

CCF: Every writer is different. For me, it’s an iterative process. I have to have the whole story in my head, the shape of it like a picture, and then write it down. My first drafts can be pretty rough, but then I revise it and rewrite it many times. My wife’s also a writer, but she’s the exact opposite of me. She needs the scene perfect each time. So she writes more slowly, but she does less editing than I do. But if you ask this question of a hundred different writers, you’re going to get a hundred different answers. Everyone is different.

RU: A lot of the readers on my blog are a strange grouping of traditionally-published and self-published authors. How do you feel about the changing dynamics of the publishing industry these days?

CCF: There’s not a period of time where you can point to traditional publishing–however you define traditional publishing–as stable. It’s always changing, always evolving. If you’re thinking of it from a professional point of view, the most important question is this: how do authors get paid. A lot of technologies are allowing authors to get paid and published in new ways. That can be good for authors. But there are also a lot of authors who publish their books too soon, before they’re ready. I know one writer who, when he was young, self-published his first novel and was so discouraged by the reaction to it that he gave up writing for a decade. That was a shame, because he was incredibly talented. Had he stuck with traditional publishing there would have been more people around him to keep him going and to help make his books better, so that when they did come out, people would have loved them. On the other hand, I have friends who, after being traditionally published, have started to self-publish. T.A. Pratt and Henry Connolly, for example, both had series that got cancelled by their publishers, but they had a hardcore group of dedicated readers. They self-published more books in the series and had huge success with it. So it’s a lot like the question about the writing process. There’s no single right answer, and every writer has to find the right path for them. Everyone will make mistakes along the way. So it’s up to authors to educate themselves about potential opportunities, but also potential problems.

RU: What advice would you have for an author who isn’t having much success right now?

CCF: Keep working at it. I was writing seriously and submitting fiction for over six years before I sold my first story professionally. That’s pretty common. I’ve heard it described as the Million Words of Crap theory–that every writer has to write a million words of crap before they start producing something good. Other people I know quote Malcolm Gladwell and point out that you need to put in 10,000 hours of practice to get good at any skill.

Also, surround yourself with other writers who are as serious about it as you are. Pick them up when they get discouraged, and let them do the same for you. Learn from them and share your own mistakes to shorten the learning curve for everyone. Writing can be lonely enough, but don’t let it isolate you.

RU: Do you think as less people are reading, the novel will die out?

CCF: More people are reading than ever before, not just in the US but throughout the world and ebooks are making that easier. So I don’t see the novel dying out soon. The problem is there are more writers, more novels, than ever before. So it’s harder to find a big readership for any single book.

(Editor’s note: Mr. Finlay recommends going to this website for more information on the subject.)

RU: What do you look for in the stories you read?

CCF: That is a great question. I am a guest editor for the July/August issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction. In the month of January, over 750 stories were submitted to me to read for this issue. From that I had to narrow it down to about 12 stories that I will get to publish. So I’ve been thinking about this a lot.

I like to be surprised, which is hard when you’re a writer. The surprise can be plot, language, format, character, knowledge. But it has to be something. The more I read, the more it’s something else besides plot–you see every plot twist, every angle in a story before it happens. So when a plot surprises me, I really value it. And then I look for stories that make me feel. It’s not just putting characters through terrible things, there has to be some emotional resonance as well. Fear, excitement, sadness are all good emotions, but I really look for and enjoy stories that can make me feel delight, wonder, joy. Those are a lot harder to write, and I appreciate stories that can evoke those emotions. And then I love to laugh. Not every story is funny, or should try to be funny, but when a writer can make me laugh consistently, I really appreciate that.

RU: So much science fiction has become reality: communicators become cell phones, all-matter materialization devices are 3D printers, and we have information literally at the tips of our fingers. Where do you think science fiction will go from here now that a lot of it is becoming science reality?

CCF: I don’t think it’s something new. Thomas Disch wrote a great nonfiction book called The Stuff Our Dreams Are Made Of about this phenomenon. But I also don’t think that science fiction is a laboratory for new technology. Science fiction is about the present, not the future. If people envision something and make it a reality, then that’s something different from science fiction.

RU: Final question: If you were stuck on a desert island and could only bring three books with you, what would you bring?

CCF: I think you have to take Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe with you for all the obvious reasons. Defoe invented the novel and Robinson was one of the first he invented. I would also take a collection of Lois McMaster Bujold. I think she’s an amazing writer, and I reread her Vorkosigan series in particular every year or so. And then I’m a writer. So the last one would be a book full of blank pages, so I could write the book I wanted to read. That’s what we do as writers, right?

 

If you’re interested in learning more about CC Finlay, you can check out his website at www.ccfinlay.com.

Sales In Self-Publishing

Posted: January 20, 2014 in Reflections, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
12

Some people think that anyone who’s published a book must be very talented  and rolling in money. I’m going to leave the question of talent to the side for another post, and focus on sales, particularly sales in the world of self-publishing.

I published my first book in July last year and my first novel in November. As a self-published author, a college student, and a guy working at Ohio State’s Student Financial Aid office part-time for nine bucks an hour, I couldn’t exactly afford an advertising team to help me spread the word about my books. I’m completely reliant on my blog, every social media platform I can get my hands on and learn to use, and the spoken word, along with any contacts I can make in the writing industry.

Truth is, most writers don’t make that much money out of their craft, especially if they’re self-published and doing a lot of the work on their own. Most writers usually have teaching jobs or something else to help pay the bills. Stephen King didn’t stop teaching until Carrie went paperback. Anne Rice and JK Rowling had small sales until their careers started taking off, and then they began writing full time. There are numerous other examples I could mention, but the point is that writing and publishing books is not guaranteed income. In fact, several authors I know, most of them self-published but a few of them having gone the traditional route, have described their book sales as getting a big boost whenever a book is published, followed by a steady decline to the usual amount of sales after a month or so. I’m still working to get to that level of popularity!

But then again, most authors don’t care about the amount of sales, at least not like an executive in a toy company might worry about how a toy is not selling as it should among kids 8-12. Most of the time, we’re more worried about how people are liking our books, if they enjoy what they’re reading and if they’re connecting with the characters. In short, every writer wants to know is if people are appreciating the stories they create. And the authors that are more concerned with sales in the other sense? Well, I don’t think that they got into writing for the right reasons.

So most authors don’t make big sales like some people tend to think. We certainly wouldn’t mind having more sales but it’s not as big a factor for us as one might think. In fact, I’m very happy with my current fanbase, though it’s pretty small at this point. The people who read my work tend to enjoy it very much, and they let me know in reviews and emails and in conversations. And for now, that’s all I can ask for. When I get the big sales and the larger fanbase, it’ll be because I’ve earned it.

All for now. I’ve got a short story to work on. Wish me luck!

Older Entries
Newer Entries