"Reporting Lives" - A Book Review


'Reporting Lives' is Debra Picket's fiction debut. She is a long-time writer and award-winning reporter/columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. In 2004-5 she made a series of trips to East Africa to cover the response of the Chicago philanthropic community to the AIDS pandemic and subsequent orphan crisis there. While there, she began developing the idea for this book, which is largely based on her experiences.

'Reporting Lives' tells the story of Sara Simone, a twenty-something single woman and reporter for a local Chicago television channel. She is tall, attractive, and emotionally crippled. As a reporter she's intelligent, intuitive, and extremely confident to the point of narcissism. We never learn if her emotional unavailability is due to a tragic family accident which occurred during her college years. She does mention feeling some guilt for choosing not to accompany her parents on their tragic journey, though the author never ties that into Sara's inability to commit to a relationship or open up honestly to friends or co-workers. Perhaps her behavior is a result of parental unavailability, as she was raised by two highly successful and driven professional parents.

Regardless, it is this lack of human connectivity which sets her up for a fall on an assignment which has lead her to the slums outside Nairobi, Kenya.

After a bus load of Kenyan exchange students die in a fiery crash on a Chicago freeway, Sara is sent to Nairobi to get video of the families' reactions to the loss of their children and brothers. Sara has the unique ability to draw out this type of story. Things don't go as planned and she spends two months traveling the countryside--not quite breaking through her own emotional walls to find meaning to the abject poverty all around Kenya, and the root of her uncharacteristic response to it.

While Sara seems to wander through the story, passively bouncing from point to point--even her crisis in the Mathare slums seemed randomly inexplicable, out of character, and lacking remarkable impact--the strength of the author's prose and African experiences come forward to win the day. 

Descriptions of Nairobi and later at a hotel near a game preserve came alive for me. I had spent a few years in South Africa during its financially independent and economically robust period during apartheid, working in the townships of Soweto, Chatsworth, and others of the Bantu Tribes and mixed races. Then, returning decades later to find a struggling economy with many of the opulent hotels and businesses in disrepair, or boarded up, many of the scenes described in this novel were particularly poignant. There, in the hotels and restaurants, is where we meet the many characters which make this story grandly diverse.

Though Sara Simone never came alive to me as an empathetic and active character, many of the secondary characters did. Trisha, Simon, Vince, even Mr. Handleburg, and many more all came to life with depth and personality. Finally, Ms. Picket's skill with word craft brought the scenes to life--from a horrific accident on a rain-slick Chicago freeway to the desolation of the Nairobi slums, and the marginal existence of post colonial, and post embassy bombing, Kenyan tourism.

pec

The Grape City Con in Lodi, CA.

I attended my first Comic Con this last weekend. It was the Grape City Con in Lodi, California. (About 45 miles from my home.) I've been to Baycon and World Con, which are both science fiction and fantasy genre based. (Much more writing than visual. Though each had a strong role playing, cosplay, component.)

But, this was my first time as an author with a table of my own, trying to sell books. I sold three books. For the price I paid I certainly didn't get my money back. But making connections and learning how the whole system works was worth it.

Here's what I learned and how I would do it differently next time. Stockton Comic Con is in August and I plan on being there.

1) Wear a t-shirt. I was wearing my standard long-sleeved, button-down, plaid type, shirt. If the shirt has a super hero on it, that's even better. Maybe I can get a "Flypaper Boy" t-shirt made. It would have the caption, "A teenage superhero with tenacity". Or any other t-shirt with something clever to say would help a guy like me blend in. I was certainly not the oldest coot in the building, but definitely the uncoolest.

2) Take my daughter with me. She would have fit right in with a lot of kids her age and she loves to draw. I think the inspiration alone would have been good for her. Plus, I could walk around a bit without wondering if someone would have stopped at my table if someone was there.

3) Make eye contact, smile, and talk. Like I said, I sold three books. No one walked up and asked for a book. Well, one lady did, but she was one who bought one before and said she needed another for her sister. For the most part, people walked past me without looking. Those who looked for a split second and I smiled at them, they smiled back and looked at what was on the table, before they walked away. Those who smiled back and I asked how they were, replied and spoke with me. I was able to tell them about my podcast, my books and what I had coming in the future. It was also those people who bought books, or vowed to buy one for their Kindle.

In summary. I had fun and will do this again.

pec

My Dad has a Barn--Let's Put on a Book Tour.

To all my imaginary "regular followers": You know I am experimenting with different ways of developing my "platform" and establishing myself as a successful and productive author. 

My latest attempt has been to join a book tour. I've seen ads to have books promoted through such a tour, but haven't had the courage to put up the cash yet--considering the lack of success I got from the money paid to "Free And Discount Books" for my launch of "Shooting Stars". For the $60 is shelled out, I can't see that I got a "Red Cent" worth of promotion from it.

So, this time I saw a tweet about reading a book and reviewing it on my blog for a book tour organized by www.elitebookpromotions.com. The book is, "Reporting Lives". I read the book, wrote my review and will have it posted next week. (Right here for your nonexistent eyes to peruse.)

pec

The Pariah Podcast, Episode 2

Alright. Episode 2 is up for my young adult fantasy podcast. If you want to download it or other episodes, just click on the words in the top right corner, "The Pariah Podcast", or you can go to iTunes and subscribe. You could also become a patron at www.patreon.com/Norvaljoe and help me get more episodes out, and faster, while earning some rewards.

Scott Roche gave me a bit of a reality check when I was complaining that no one had given me an iTunes review yet. He told me to just be patient and get a few more episodes up... No kidding. I'm just too impatient.

Episode 3 will be up on the patreon site in a few days, and will come live on my blog and at iTunes about a week later.

pec

Imposter Syndrome

I read a post on Twitter this morning where an author was describing how much of her was consumed various thoughts and actions. She mentioned something called, "Imposter Syndrome".

That's one of those things which keeps authors from finishing their books, or if they finish it, it keeps them from seeking out agents or publishers. I think the idea runs along the idea that, "I'm not really an author. I'm just faking it. I'm an imposter. So I don't deserve to finish the novel, or get published, because then, everyone would see what an imposter I really am."

I feel that myself. On the one hand, I believe that anyone has the right to write the requisite number of words as long as they meet the criteria of following a story arc which logically proceeds from beginning to end. They can then call themselves an author, writer, novelist, etc. A real one, too. 

I tell myself that all the time.

And still, I look for validation all the time. Sales and reviews of my books help me validate it. Though, if you know me personally, books sales have not been phenomenal. I somehow think that if sales had rocketed through the ceiling, I would feel much more validated. 

I work full time as an orthotist. I'm a good one. I'm creative and talented and many of my patients even like me.  But then, I feel like, if I'm an orthotist full time, then I'm only trying to be an author, writer, novelist part time, faking along the best I can until... 

I was running the projects through my mind that I currently have going, mentally trying to get a grip on what I should work on next. Here was the list I came up with:

The Pariah Podcast:
    The Intro and Episode 1 are recorded and in the can.
    Episodes 3 - 7 have been edited once.
    Episode 2 has been read out loud, re edited, and ready to record.
    I want the first 4 Eps in the can by the launch date of February 6th.
    I've decided to broaden the plot of The Pariah and will probably bring another 25K words into it. So I need to outline that and write those five episodes.

I need to make bookmarks of my books and podcast to hand out at a Comic Convention I'm going to and get them printed.

I committed to a website trying to serialize digital writing for a monthly subscription. I said I will serialize a Galactic Battle Base Novel and will need to have my first episode ready by March 31. Again, I would rather have the first four episodes ready, about 2500 words each to be release every two weeks.

The Galactic Battle Base is with the editor. I would like to release that in May. I need to do another edit, at least, and get cover art for the book.

I want to release "Shooting Stars 2" in the summer. So I need to do at least two full edits of that before sending it to the editor.

In the fall I want to release "The Price of Friendship 3" on Podiobooks.com. So that needs to be written, edited twice and recorded.

So, the realization which I had was that, while I may not believe the rest of the world should take me seriously as a writer, if I am to get all of this done on time, I need to take myself seriously as a writer.

What's Going On...

What's Happening Now.

So. In trying to find out if writing a blog every day was something that would help me sell books, I found out that it has no short term effect. I found I would only get new people reading my blog if I advertised it on twitter. The only person who came to my website and read my posts consistently was my daughter. Thanks, Lisa. Maybe longterm blogging will have an effect. Trying to come up with an idea every day was too hard. Maybe once a week.

In the last week I have finished editing the text of six episodes for the podcast novel, "The Pariah". I've recorded the first episode and I'm edeting it right now. I want to have at least three episodes completely done and ready to play at the end of the month (January). I want to post my first episode on Feb 6th.

I've signed up for the Grape Con, in Lodi, California for the 8th of Feb. It's a pretty small comic con, but it's a place for me to get used to taking to people about my books.

I got 25 copies of "Shooting Stars" to add to the 23 copies of "Flypaper Boy" to have at the con and I'll sell them for $9.99 instead of the regular $12.99. I ordered a iPhone credit card reader for Paypal, that I will have there so I can take credit card payments. I'll also have flyers about the Pariah Podcast and  the Patreon.com compain for it.

"Shooting Stars" launches on January 26th. It's really already on Amazon, but I'd like to have people buy it on that day if at all possible. I have a Kindle Countdown starting on that day for "Flypaper Boy" so it will be selling for 99 cents. It will be 99 cents until Wednesday, when it will change to $1.99 and then back to $2.99 on Friday. 

I paid for an advetisement for the first three days. I also paid for an ad for "Shooting Stars" whichi will be 99 cents for those first two days as well. I'm hoping the two books cross pollinate each other and boost sales over all. I'm also doing a book giveaway for Shooting Stars at good reads from now through launch day.

Finally, I'm giving away a Kindle Fire HD7 through a website that will administer the drawing and collect email addresses for me from an opt-in form they fill out while entering the give away and generating likes for my author's page on Facebook.

I added an author page on Amazon.com.

Trigger Warnings is still will the editor. The picture book idea sounded too risky for a publisher I talk with about it. I may try doing it for the Kindle with an application they have developed for picture books on the kindle.

pec

Discouragement

Another block for a writer's motivation is discouragement. 

And there are a lot of ways a writer can become discouraged. If you are a novelist in a boat similar to mine, you have a few books out, which don't seem to be going anywhere.

Things which discourage me:

Rejection by a publisher. I know. You have to expect this. You receive far more rejections than you do acceptances. So, if rejection is debilitating, success as a writer will be impossible. However, a little rejection, or a lot of it, can stall you and give you the opportunity to evaluate where you are and what you need to do to move forward. It can also be renewing.

Another thing that discourages me, and this may sound absurd, but when my editor cuts things I like. Or if she is less impressed with my work than I am. I realize that cutting up my manuscript is what I pay her for and that if I don't agree with her, I can keep what I want. But, her purpose is to my my manuscript better, and while it sometimes hurts, taking her advice is, well, good advice.

This last week has been discouraging with my book cover for, "Shooting Stars". It had nothing to do with the manuscript I have been editing, but every time I got the notice from Create Space that my book cover didn't fit their template and that parts would be cut off, I got more discouraged and ended up ruminating on what was going wrong, more than what I could be doing right.

However, after the fifth submission of my book cover, I got the notice that it was accepted. Hooray! Now, I can move ahead with a book launch later this month. Suddenly everything is bright and encouraging.

Writer's Block. Is there such a thing?

Is there really such a thing?

I touched on writer's block yesterday. I was in kind of a hurry and blathered out what I did without a lot of thought. I'm trying to stay ahead of this blog thing and have most of my thoughts written down before I actually have to post them. Yesterday was a non-motivated day and I didn't have it in me to write a post for today. So, I'm actually writing this one for tomorrow. (My editor would cut that last sentence saying it wasn't really necessary to the plot and was slowing it down, but this is a blog post, and I'm supposed to find "my voice" in writing a blog, and since it was my thought, I'm leaving it in.) (She would cut that one, too.)

I think lack of motivation is one of the sources of writer's block. If we say "I can't write," because I just don't feel like it. There is something underlying why we're not writing, not a block. I feel like a true "Writer's Block" is something indefinable preventing us from writing. So, if we can define what is making us not want to write, we, conceivably, should be able to address it, remove that block and move ahead.

For me, yesterday, what was preventing my motivation was mild depression, probably from tiredness. And I wasn't really tired, I was more or less 'out of it' because of my poor sleep and actually oversleeping that morning. I found once I was out in the sunshine, driving to Toys R Us, I was much happier and my thoughts turned immediately to one of the problems I was working on, or didn't want to work on earlier in the day.

Depression is a real ailment that a lot of people currently are dealing with. And it seems like creative people are much more afflicted by it than others. Maybe I should say, as much as others, because we are more aware of people like Robin Williams, who succumbed to overwhelming this last year.

It's hard to write when you're sad, unless you're writing something really dark. If you are writing something dark and it's getting you down, you might want to switch it up once in a while to keep an happier outlook. When I was editing "Flypaper Boy" there is a section toward the end where things are really going wrong for my protagonist, and every time I came to it I found I was really depressed by it. And I even knew how it would turn out.

If sadness is what is keeping you from writing, look for a way to cheer up. A lot of people find exercise makes them feel happier. Some people find certain songs make it easier to be happy. Just going outside for a walk, filling your lungs with fresh air, might do it. I like to play the piano and choosing which song I play can really change my mood for the better, or the worse if I want.

If you are consistently sad and not able to break out of it, you may need more than thinking positive thoughts. There are councilors and therapist who might be able to help you by talking things out, or you may need some medical help to overcome the darkness. Talk to you physician. If she or he doesn't seem like they are taking you seriously, blowing you off, get a second opinion. Your mental health is worth it.

Physical comfort is important to productive writing. If you have a toothache, you're not going to be able to write. If you are overly tired, your mental capacities are strained. So good sleeping patterns, eating habits, exercise and a comfortable place to type are all important to open our minds and let the words flow out.

Writer's Block or Just Tired?

I don't know if I need motivation or if I need to take a day off.

Yesterday I really didn't want to write. It was Saturday, I'd slept in late to catch up on lost sleep, and felt nagged by my son. He does that when I'm trying to sleep in. He never sleeps in... (grrrr)

They, whoever they are... well, I guess they are all those people who are making a living at writing, or making a living at telling people how to be writers... Sorry. They say that to be a writer you need to write everyday, even if it's just something you'll throw away. But, does that mean we never take breaks?

I'm trying to try out everything 'they' say, so, I guess I should write something everyday.

My son finally nagged me into taking him to Toys R Us. On the way, which is all the way across town, I thought about "The Pariah" podcast. Episode two was really lagging without any real conflict. I figured out how to improve it.

I also wrote my 100 word story for the 100 Word Weekly Challenge at www.oneadayuntilthedayidie.com. The prompt was "Value". I recorded it and posted it.

In the end, there were two things I wrote.

So, is the way to sell my books "to write everyday"? We'll see.

Biosgraphy.com

I got this tweet on Twitter the other day:

@PhilipCarroll Check out Biosgraphy.."Instagram for Writers" and be part of the evolution of social media: http://Biosgraphy.com 

I've never been on Instagram. With all the social media choices these days, I usually divide my time between Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. But, what I think Instagram is, is, you take a picture, add a little text and send it from your phone to Instagram. This does something, like, autoposting to Facebook, because I often see pictures of my grandkids on Facebook and it says it was posted to Instagram.

So, I'm going to think laterally at this. Or semi-laterally. If Instagram lets you post pictures to social media "as you take them", then Biosgraphy.com lets you post your writing as you write it. Maybe?

At Biosgraphy the encourage you to get "Your Story" out there. And after two days of spending very little time there, it looks like you tell your story in several different areas which affect out lives. That's wrong. I just went back and looked at the site. When you start a new blog, you start it in one of seven areas, "My Story", "Creations", "Ideas", "Yum", "Travel", "Fab", and "Shout Out".

I've only blogged in one area, so far. I figured I would start with "My Story" and titled my blog, "Who Cares?" It's about me. I mean, there is no one I like to talk about me than myself, but I can't imagine it will be very entertaining or inspiring. But. It will have a very different tone than what I write here, on my, "I'm figuring out how to sell my books" blog. I guess I could put this blog in the "Creations" or "Ideas" blog. But, I would figure that "Creations" would have blogs about wood carving, or actual stories I've written. Idea's then. Maybe I'll see if I cross blog some of my thoughts from this blog there and see if it leads to sales of my books.

Okay. I've decided.

I'm going to blog the "expletive" out of my Biosgraphy site and see if it leads to any book sales. I'll let you know in a couple of weeks. Take a look at it yourself and see what you think. Let me know you're there, and I can follow you. We'll make it look like we're real people. Otherwise, I need to get back to working on my Podcast to give my Patreon followers something to support.

pec

Is this the way to be found?

Is this the way to be found?

I'm a big Peter Hollens fan. If you don't know who he is, he is a Youtube Acapella singer. He makes all of the sounds and music himself, and mixes them together. Kind of like what Bobby McFerrin does. (If you're old enough to remember him--"Don't Worry, Be Happy")

I've followed Peter Hollens for a few years after my daughter showed me one of his videos. He's incredibly talented and sings with all kinds of other Youtube stars, and occasionally his wife. 

I was watching one of his videos and he mentioned his Patreon account and requested people check it out. On that site, people can make standing donations per new video he puts out. There are rewards for donating larger amounts, like getting karaoki tracks of his songs, etc. I was convinced enough that I donate a few dollars per video, not to excede $10 per month.

He gets about $5000 per video he puts out now and this had made it possible to spend all of his time making videos, instead of as a hobby or on a limited basis. I feel 'special' that I'm one of the people who makes it possible to improve the quality of his videos.

As I surfed around his site I began to wonder if it would be possible for a writer to benefit from Patreon.

So, I'm giving it a shot. I set up my page, campaign, or whatever it is, for the podcast story I am working on right now. This is my site: http://www.patreon.com/Norvaljoe

I won't tell you everything about it--I want you to go look at it. I'll tell you this much, the podcast will still be free through iTunes or direct from my site, but there will be extras for those who donate. Things like "Story Only" versions of the podcast, Chapter Books, and the whole novel when it has been fully edited and a new cover designed.

As you know, I'm trying to make my way in this field. If this works, you'll hear about it right here.

pec

He has not the patience.

Luke Skywalker first met Yoda on the planet Degobah. After a short while with him, Yoda says something like, "I cannot teach this one. He has not the patience."

I think this is something I have learned about myself this last year as well. I have not the patience. That's why having a professional edit my novels makes a lot of sense. I would have published "Flypaper Boy" and "Shooting Stars" before they were ready.

I just got Shooting Stars back from my editor yesterday, and it looks done. I've read her remarks about the changes I made based on her previous suggestions, and we're in agreement, it could work now. She killed a lot of my darlings for me. Things I thought were pretty clever or touching were actually slowing down the pace of the story. 

Knowing the text is ready, I want to publish it today. "Have patience, young padawan... "

I had tentatively set the release date for this novel as January 31, 2015 when I sent it back to Jen for another review. But, now that I have it back in my hot little hands, I want to rush and get it on the market. I tried to rush Flypaper Boy and felt really stressed trying to get it published a week after I finished the edits and got my book cover done. The things I still need to do before I can publish this one, is:

Finish the blurb on the back side of the book cover.
Format the front pages and back pages of the book.
Upload the cover and finalize the text with Create Space.
Get the proof copy made by Create Space and check for formatting errors, make changes.
Set up a Kindle Countdown of "Flypaper Boy" to co-inside with the release of "Shooting Stars"

I think that's all. 

I have a special deal for all of you non-existent followers of my blog. The Kindle version will only be 99 cents for the first two days of the release, so get it while it's cheap.

pec

Finding time to write when you're busy.

I know you think you're busy. I often think that I am, too.

On the most recent episode of Writing Excuses Podcast one of the things Brandon Sanderson said he learned was to be able to write in different environments. I think the thing I am most envious of full time writers is they get to write full time. (No kidding, huh?)

How would it be to get four hours at a time to write? That would allow you to complete a major scene from a novel. And if you could come back to it two or three days in a row, rested, focused and properly fed? You could write the next Great American Novel with that kind of time and freedom. Of course, when you are expected to produce like Brandon Sanderson, you would need all that time and more.

Two things I learned this year, (Well, one I built on this year, and one that I learned) were using a detailed outline and writing in the evening.

In 2013, when I wrote, The Pariah for Nanowrimo, I used a detailed outline. Knowing exactly what I needed to write when I sat down made it possible to produce a lot in a little time. Granted, I took Thursday and Friday off from the day job to get a head start and completed nearly 20K words that first weekend. Normally, I only get about 2 hours a day to write, and that's 45 minutes in the morning before work, about the same at lunch time, and then maybe an half hour of conscious and cognizant thought in the evening. 

If you haven't heard me whine about it before, I have a 10 and a 12 year old, both with their special needs, and a wife who is now mostly disabled. My days are often frantic and busy. But, using the time I had, I was able to get 100k words written in 28 days. If I had my days wholly devoted to writing I could compete with Brandon in quantity, if not quality.

This year, my oldest daughter, her husband and three children were coming to visit on the 18th of November. I knew if I was going to get my 50K words done, I would have to hit it hard at the beginning. Again, using a detailed outline, I was able to use my time most effectively and hit 50K on day #18. I finished the story at around 65K a week later.

The other thing I learned to do, and that was only recently, was to write in the evening. It's not my most creative work when I'm that tired, but it works to get the plot and dialog mostly laid out and I can spruce it up in the next few edits. The two things that distract me most in the evenings are tiredness and family. 

My wife expects me to spend some time with her, usually watching cooking shows or something else on TV. What I found was, if she drifted off, I would continue to watch what was on the tube. If I tried to turn the show off, it would wake her, and she would turn it back on, believing she would stay awake this time.

I found a 'White Noise' app for my phone. So instead of turning the TV off, I put on the head phones and listen to "Just Rain". I think that's the name of the app. It's a rainstorm and it goes on for ever. You can set the intensity of the storm, with or without thunder, or you can have it vary in intensity. I find it adequately blocks out the distracting sound of the television while letting me focus on my writing.

pec

What I Learned Last Year

Today on the 'Writing Excuses Podcast' they each talked about what they had learned in the last year. The writing prompt this week was to come up with the same thing for ourselves, what we learned, and then carry it forward and determine what we want to learn next year. (Then put it some place where you can find it at the end or 2015 and review it.)

If you are trying to be a writer and you haven't listened to this podcast, you're missing out. I've picked up and dropped a lot of podcasts, gown out of them, I guess, but this one always stays fresh and useful. The four normal participants have varied and valuable experience. Of course, just hearing what Brandon Sanderson is working on, or releasing, would make it worth it to me all by it self.

I won't go into what they said; you can listen to that yourself. I want to take the writing prompt and run with it for a little bit. I've already stated that this is the purpose of my blog; try and share what I learned this last year, and what I want to learn in the coming year.

One thing I learned in 2014 about writing.

Just setting a goal doesn't mean it's going to happen. They, whoever they are, say you need to make your goals realistic and achievable, but also make you stretch. I've always had a problem aligning these two concepts. If I'm going to be realistic I figure I need to set it within my current capabilities, and if I've set it there, I'm not going to do much stretching. 

So I guess and alternate way of setting goals is to commit to completing them and adjusting expectations as you work toward that goal. 

Last March I set a goal to publish three novels by the end of the summer. That really didn't happen. I learned  that it just takes more time to do some things than I had counted on.

"Shooting Stars" was the novel I thought I would publish first. I had made the unfounded assumption that a friend whom I valued very much for her writing and editing skills would read what I had done with my vampire love story and say, "Yup. Here you are. It's ready to publish." It turns out it wasn't as perfect as I thought it was. I learned to lower my expectations of what I have given over to others to do and that I use the words 'was' and 'felt' way too much.

In the mean time, I finished an edit of "Flypaper Boy" and sent it to an editor I met at LDStory Makers  in April of 2014. She got  that one back to me and I fine tuned it and was able to make it my one published novel of the year. (September 29, 2014. A week after summer ended.)

In the meaner time, I rewrote my 2011 Nanowrimo story, "The Galactic Battle Base: Family Ties", during the summer and renamed it "TGGB: Trigger Warnings". I let that rest while I finished up Flypaper Boy, and did my rework of Shooting Stars, based on my friend's recommendations.

I got both of those done just in time for Nanowrimo 2014 and wrote my first draft of Shooting Stars 2: Drawn into the Mist. 

With family visiting at Thanksgiving, I didn't get as much time to write/edit as I thought I would, so only sent the final draft of Trigger Warnings to Winston Crutchfield on the 15th of December and then reworked Shooting Stars, based on my editor's input, (Of the story that I thought was done, again.)

So, at this point, both my 'completed' novels are in the hands of editors, and I have learned that if I am going to make a career of writing it has to be Nanowrimo every month--no days off to breath after one project is complete/passed to the next player.

So, that's what I learned about setting goals. I've learned about other things, but those will have to come later. You know what I want to learn next year. You're going to be the first to hear what I learn, as I learn it, because I'm going to learn how to sell novels.

pec

The Pariah Podcast

The Pariah Podcast

Last year, 2013, for Nanowrimo, (National Novel Writing Month) I wanted to expand on a short story I wrote over the summer. It was in a fantasy world and featured a boy who believes he is destined to get a Tiger-Hawk on his King's Service selection day. Every third child in the kingdom is given into the King's Service. There are roughly 13,000 who enter every year. Each is tested to see if they have an empathic ability to connect with a fighting creature. About one half of one percent are able to do this, so there are roughly 500 who go into the creature handler corps ever year.

Keo, my hero is the ninth child of his family, which is extremely rare. Both his older sister and older brother were chosen for the creature handlers and both raised a Tiger-Hawk.

2013 was the first year that I used a detailed outline to write the story. However, it was so detailed that it turned into three books. I wrote the first of the three that year with 100K words written in 28 days.

So, what I've decided to do is break that into twenty episodes of about 5k words each and podcast the story, two episodes every month until it is done. If it goes well, I will work on continuing the remaining two stories as soon as the first ends. I need four episodes done to launch. I've edited the first two and hope to have this rolling by the first of February.

I'm looking at doing something with Patreon.com to generate a little monetary motivation for me to stay focused on this project. If you're not familiar with Patreon.com, there are a lot of wonderful artists, musicians, etc, there whom you can support and help them produce more content. (Specifically Peter Hollens. I support him.)

pec

Does KDP Select Still Work?

Kindle Direct Publishing Select - Didn't work for me.

In a nutshell, this is how KDP Select works. You promise to publish your eBook exclusively through Amazon and they promise to make it worth your while. Specifically, you can have five promotional days each ninety day contract period. This may be in the form of Advertised Free days or a Countdown promotion. You can only do one of these during your contract period, so I can't speak to the Countdown promotion, since I chose the other.

The idea with the Free Promotion days is that so many people will download your book for free that you will top the Kindle Free charts and be able to brag about having a "Best Seller". By reaching that level, Kindle takes notice of you and starts promoting you book at other times, and you suddenly become famous. Well, that's how it has worked for others, and in the past. There are sites that say they will promote your book for free on the days you are running your promotion, though most won't guarantee they will run it unless you pay them $5 to $25 to push it.

The first time I ran this free promotion was just over a month after I released, "Flypaper Boy: Coming of Age". I used the two days after Thanksgiving. I had 180 people download it the first day and about 65 the second day. The highest I got on any list was Kindle/.../Adventure/Romance and I got to #5. On Kindle/..../Superhero I only got to #10. After that initial promotion I got three people downloading the book from the Kindle Online Lending Library. Initially you get nothing, but if they read more than 10% of the book, you get your regular royalty payment. I had one person buy at the regular price as well. All this within the week following the promotion.

The second time I ran the promotion was for three days. I got 40, 41 and 5 downloads for those three days, respectively. I had no followup sales. I ran this promotion the three days before Christmas.

I don't know if the days or time of year was bad to run these promotions. Since I only had ninety days to choose from, I went with what I thought would work for me.

So, as far as I can tell, every member of my extended family and the few friends I have have purchased my book, either as an eBook or Print on Demand (POD) through Create Space, and not a lot of others.

I will run one more KDP Select period and try the Kindle Countdown promotion as I'm releasing my next novel, "Shooting Stars: A Teenage Vampire Love Story from a Boy's Perspective". (Hopefully by the end of January.) We'll see how that works. Hopefully there will be carryover from the free promotion to generate awareness for the new book.

pec

My new blog: I Want To Retire, Someday.

I'd like to retire, someday.

The facts are, I'm getting older and I don't have enough to retire on and live a somewhat comfortable life. I originally figured I would work until I was about 70 and by that point I would have so few people depending on my for anything that I could just go live in a cardboard box somewhere in Los Angeles where it doesn't get to cold in the winter.

It doesn't look like things will work out the way I'd like. Both of my younger children, age 12 and 10, are likely to need guidance and support for the better part of their lives; especially my boy with autism. In about ten years, when he ages out of the school system, I will need to be available assist him during the day. Working a full time job will not accomodate the time I'll need to spend with him. 

Wait. Let me rephrase that... The time I would like to spend with him.

I may have mentioned previously that my plan is to turn my writing into my retirement. There are ONLY two things I need to make that a reality:

1) Publish three novels per year, preferably in ongoing series's. (I'm not happy with that apostrophe.)
2) Get people to buy them.

I think I can do number 1. It's number 2 I'm kind of lost at.

My first novel was published at the end of September. I should have my second published in January of 2015. (That's next month. I just sent it back to my editor for a second look.) And my third novel is with another editor and should publish in March to April of 2015. I have three more manuscripts, three more stories outlined, and at least three more stories (in concept form) to go with the serieseseses that I have begun. I'm pretty sure I can knock out three novels a year.

It's the getting people to buy them that is my problem, and that is going to be the basis for my blog. One of the ways I have heard other people gained notoriety for their novels is by writing a blog. So, here's my blog. I will try to relate on a daily to weekly basis what I discover about getting my books notice and how I am able to get them sold.

pec

 

"What it is like to go to war"

I crossed the 50K line on my Nanowrimo a few days ago. I still haven't verified my win yet. I'd like to see if I can get it all written before I do that. I think I have another 10K left to write.

They are currently embroiled in climactic battle of the story.

A week or so ago I started listening to Episode #199 or the "Mental Illness Happy Hour" podcast. Paul Gilmartin mentioned a book at the beginning of the podcast called, "What it is Like to Go to War", written by Karl Marlantes who was a marine officer in Viet Nam.

After the first three hours I had to turn it off. It was too intense in the description of combat and killing. I came back to it a few days later and have since finished it off. It was extremely moving and touched a lot on the psychology of war and killing.

I went back to my Nanowrimo manuscript and rewrote two scenes which I had written based on my limited knowledge about battle. I've ramped up those scenes with some of the psychology Marlantes discussed in his book and I think it gives a better idea of Chuck's personality and feeling as he is drawn into mortal  combat with evil.

"What it is like to go to war" is available through Audible and I'm sure it's available on Amazon.

 

Nanowrimo Starts Tomorrow

I was working on my Character Motivations this morning. I finished my outline yesterday and ended up with over 7K words.

David Farland's Daily Kick in the Pants yesterday talked a bit about writer's block for him was usually that he hadn't fleshed out his characters and their motivations. I figured since I had another day before the madness would begin, I would do just that.

My story this year is called, "Shooting Stars 2: Drawn into the Mist".  "Shooting Stars 1: A Teenage Vampire Love Story from a Boy's Perspective", will be released in early to mid-December. I thought it would be good to get started on the second in that "Trilogy", in the odd chance that someone, other than family and friends, actually buys in and looks forward to the next in the series. I will admit, up front, that the first book ends, but it is obvious that a second must follow. And I'll clue you in now, it will take a third to resolve. I will probably write that book in the summer, just as soon as I get #2 published.

So. Back to the Character Motivations. I know my primary characters well and am pretty clued in on what they are after. It's the secondary characters that they interact with in this book that I wanted a better clue about. While I was working on the motivation of these background people, and what brings them into contact with my primaries, I fell upon the plot for the fourth novel, (in this trilogy). (I know that jokes been used, but I like it to much to not apply it to my own story.

Look for Shooting Stars on Amazon in early December. This has been a favorite story of mine since I began it and all the feedback I've gotten from beta readers has been equally as positive.

Check out "Flypaper Boy: Coming of Age" available for Kindle and Print-On-Demand at Amazon. And get on my mailing list by sending an email to norvaljoe@gmail.com.

Thanks.