Over the past several months, the issue of someone's passion in life has been the subject of many conversations. So many people are just "working", doing a job in order to make ends meet. I'm no different: I have a day job that I work over 40 hours at every week, and it pays the bills. But it's the things that I do with my remaining waking hours that really shows what I'm interested in, what I like to do, what I'm passionate about. And one of those things is writing.
I don't know how many times I've heard someone say that they would just LOVE to write a book. When I press them, they say that they have a really neat idea, and when they tell me I usually agree. So then I ask them why they don't do it, why they haven't started yet. The answer I usually goes something like this: "Yeah, when I find the time!". I've got a little secret for you: If you are passionate about something, you will find the time.
Do I feel bad for these people who dream of writing a novel, but never do? I little, yes, because they don't even give themselves the time to try it out. But, then I remember that if they really wanted to try it, they would find the time. However, there's another type of person, someone who actually did try writing a novel or two. They've succeeded where so many others don't even start. They've finished their book, and then they went on to self-publish it. And then they start to wonder why it isn't selling a hundred copies a day.
It's these folks that really need to evaluate if writing is their passion. If they really had the passion for writing, they would continue to write, to learn, to study, and to try to make their next writing project better. They would be able to identify areas in their last work that could be improved if they were to do it again. They wouldn't be frustrated with slow or even non-existent sales, they would be grateful for the sales that they did have and work to find more people that would also be interested in what they wrote. They wouldn't get discouraged by a bad review, because they had been expecting it. They would find time, even little bits of time, to keep writing or doing other things that advance their latest project or hone their writing and/or story telling skills. These people have passion.
Do you have the passion? Do you stay up late writing in order to finish something that's captured your attention? Do you keep looking for new opportunities because you never know when you'll come upon a really good way to reach your target audience? Do you keep learning about the industry, the latest changes, trends, and how to make it work for your goals? If you do any of these things, and look forward to it, then you probably have the passion. But what if you don't? What if you find it to be taxing? What if you find excuses to NOT write?
If you find yourself questioning what you're doing or finding ways to avoid writing or doing anything having to do with writing, you have to seriously question if you have the passion for writing. Okay, we'll all give you credit for finishing that novel, because that's a huge thing; not many people even get that far. But be honest with yourself and how much you like writing. It's not for everyone, just like being a surgeon isn't for everyone (I'd faint so fast in the operating room it wouldn't be funny). I've often said to people who complain over and over and over again about their job, if you don't like it, why are you still doing it? Life is too short to be stuck doing something that's drudgery.
So find out what your passion is. If it's writing, that's awesome! Keep at it, keep writing, researching, doing, learning. But if it's not, do yourself the biggest favor you can, and stop writing! Go find what your passion really is, and pursue it with gusto. You'll know what your passion is when you dream about it in your sleep, talk with people about it even when they could care less, and especially when you start to invest your hard-earned money on things dealing with your passion.
So go on, find your passion! Mine is to write. What's yours?
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
The Future of The Nook, Part 2
Back in April, 2012, I had blogged about the $300 million dollars that Microsoft had sunk into Barnes & Noble, specifically for the Nook ereader. At that time I had speculated that with that amount of financial infusion, changes were bound to happen. And it appears that one of the first very visual steps has been announced: Nook will be coming to the U.K.!
In the press release from this morning (August 20) Barnes & Noble announced that it would simultaneously launch both it's ereader line of Nooks (multiple versions) as well as a U.K. bookstore to accompany the ereaders (www.nook.co.uk). The launch has been pegged for "Autumn", which gives them a little leeway in the actual date since Autumn covers a few months. This is Barnes & Noble's first serious attempt to branch out of the United States, by it's own admission.
Barnes & Noble also claim that they have fostered "partnerships with leading retailers" in which they will sell their ereaders to the English public. These retailers will be selling physical Nooks in their brick & mortar stores as well as their online counterparts.
This announcement is perfectly timed so that Barnes & Noble will be able to take advantage of the holiday shopping season this year. I'm sure that they had watched for a number of years as Amazon ate their lunch at holiday time here in the States, and now is their chance to make in-roads.
So, what does this mean for us as indie authors? Simple: more opportunities. It's giving us another avenue to get our books into the hands of readers. This is a great first step with the new money Barnes & Noble has, but it's not enough. In order to keep the momentum going, they need to make their online store more customer-focused, making it easy for both returning customers and new ones to find what they are looking for, and then suggest things that they didn't know that they wanted. Amazon does this well, and has for years. If Barnes & Noble did this, they would provide some stiff competition for Amazon, at least here in the States, and in my book when that happens, everyone wins.
As I like to say, it's a great time to be an author!
In the press release from this morning (August 20) Barnes & Noble announced that it would simultaneously launch both it's ereader line of Nooks (multiple versions) as well as a U.K. bookstore to accompany the ereaders (www.nook.co.uk). The launch has been pegged for "Autumn", which gives them a little leeway in the actual date since Autumn covers a few months. This is Barnes & Noble's first serious attempt to branch out of the United States, by it's own admission.
Barnes & Noble also claim that they have fostered "partnerships with leading retailers" in which they will sell their ereaders to the English public. These retailers will be selling physical Nooks in their brick & mortar stores as well as their online counterparts.
This announcement is perfectly timed so that Barnes & Noble will be able to take advantage of the holiday shopping season this year. I'm sure that they had watched for a number of years as Amazon ate their lunch at holiday time here in the States, and now is their chance to make in-roads.
So, what does this mean for us as indie authors? Simple: more opportunities. It's giving us another avenue to get our books into the hands of readers. This is a great first step with the new money Barnes & Noble has, but it's not enough. In order to keep the momentum going, they need to make their online store more customer-focused, making it easy for both returning customers and new ones to find what they are looking for, and then suggest things that they didn't know that they wanted. Amazon does this well, and has for years. If Barnes & Noble did this, they would provide some stiff competition for Amazon, at least here in the States, and in my book when that happens, everyone wins.
As I like to say, it's a great time to be an author!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
And The Curtain Was Pulled Back...
Today, with the help of a fellow writer (who probably doesn't know that I exist), I had an epiphany. And as soon as I had it, I knew that I had to write a blog post about it. Because until today, I had been fooled for nearly my entire life. Because there are countless people out there who have also been fooled. And because I didn't want there to be any more people in the future who will be fooled.
And what was this epiphany, you ask? Simply this: writers do not have access to a magic closet. They are not special (I'll caveat this and explain later), they won't turn you to a pillar of salt if you look at them in the moonlight, they're just people like everyone else you've ever met. And you know what else? Anyone can be a writer. Let me say this again, because some of you don't believe me. ANYONE CAN BE A WRITER.
Now, this might not be a tremendously earthshaking revelation to some. But to me, and apparently to many, many others, it is. Being a writer involves work. Hard work. It involves giving up other pursuits to spend time working on an outline, or doing a re-write on a chapter, or just plain banging out the words on the keyboard or paper. Being a writer means you sacrifice time, energy, money, sleep and more in order to make it happen. Being a writer means that you treat writing as a job, and in any job you make it your business to understand everything that job entails, from finances to marketing to distribution and more.
What is a writer not? A writer is not lazy, does not "wait for the mood to strike", does not push away things that others (like agents or publishers) are assumed to do. A writer does not let others dictate where or how their efforts are to be used, nor does a writer let others dictate what they feel like paying for the efforts (in terms of one-sided contracts). A writer is not special, not a prince/princess, not anything except a person.
As Kristine Kathryn Rusch points out in her latest blog post (accessible HERE), there has been an institutionalized mystique that has permeated not just the publishing industry, but has even emanated out into the rest of society. Case in point: I was at an author event at a local library the other night, and afterward I had a very nice chat with a local business woman. Multiple times she reflected that authors are just "magical" and she wondered out loud how we could manage to write a book. And I was taken back to my childhood and how I used to think the exact same thing! I even mentioned it earlier that evening when I was talking about how I first got started writing. I'm a writer and I STILL BELIEVED IT WAS MAGIC! How's that for pervasive?
Reading Kristine's blog post, something finally clicked for me. It's not magic. It's hard work. She rattles off a few big name writers. Why are they big named writers? Because THEY WORKED AT IT. They didn't just have talent (though I'm sure some might say that they did not), they had a work ethic. They realized that in order for them to make writing a career, they had to put in the long hours learning what they didn't know and writing story after story after story. Earlier I mentioned that writers are not special. The exception to this statement is this: writers are special in that they do not give up. They keep on working towards their goal of being successful writers, whatever that means to them. They are special because they believe that their hard work will pay off, and it does.
For those of you who want to be writers, you can be. Don't give up, don't think you can't learn and become a better writer. Don't listen to people who say you can't do it. Just trust in the story and your ability to tell it in the right way. Anyone can be a writer. It's not magic.
And what was this epiphany, you ask? Simply this: writers do not have access to a magic closet. They are not special (I'll caveat this and explain later), they won't turn you to a pillar of salt if you look at them in the moonlight, they're just people like everyone else you've ever met. And you know what else? Anyone can be a writer. Let me say this again, because some of you don't believe me. ANYONE CAN BE A WRITER.
Now, this might not be a tremendously earthshaking revelation to some. But to me, and apparently to many, many others, it is. Being a writer involves work. Hard work. It involves giving up other pursuits to spend time working on an outline, or doing a re-write on a chapter, or just plain banging out the words on the keyboard or paper. Being a writer means you sacrifice time, energy, money, sleep and more in order to make it happen. Being a writer means that you treat writing as a job, and in any job you make it your business to understand everything that job entails, from finances to marketing to distribution and more.
What is a writer not? A writer is not lazy, does not "wait for the mood to strike", does not push away things that others (like agents or publishers) are assumed to do. A writer does not let others dictate where or how their efforts are to be used, nor does a writer let others dictate what they feel like paying for the efforts (in terms of one-sided contracts). A writer is not special, not a prince/princess, not anything except a person.
As Kristine Kathryn Rusch points out in her latest blog post (accessible HERE), there has been an institutionalized mystique that has permeated not just the publishing industry, but has even emanated out into the rest of society. Case in point: I was at an author event at a local library the other night, and afterward I had a very nice chat with a local business woman. Multiple times she reflected that authors are just "magical" and she wondered out loud how we could manage to write a book. And I was taken back to my childhood and how I used to think the exact same thing! I even mentioned it earlier that evening when I was talking about how I first got started writing. I'm a writer and I STILL BELIEVED IT WAS MAGIC! How's that for pervasive?
Reading Kristine's blog post, something finally clicked for me. It's not magic. It's hard work. She rattles off a few big name writers. Why are they big named writers? Because THEY WORKED AT IT. They didn't just have talent (though I'm sure some might say that they did not), they had a work ethic. They realized that in order for them to make writing a career, they had to put in the long hours learning what they didn't know and writing story after story after story. Earlier I mentioned that writers are not special. The exception to this statement is this: writers are special in that they do not give up. They keep on working towards their goal of being successful writers, whatever that means to them. They are special because they believe that their hard work will pay off, and it does.
For those of you who want to be writers, you can be. Don't give up, don't think you can't learn and become a better writer. Don't listen to people who say you can't do it. Just trust in the story and your ability to tell it in the right way. Anyone can be a writer. It's not magic.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Pardon The Mess...
As with everything in life, change is a constant, and that's no different here on "Northwoods Words of (Fiction) Wisdom". I'm in the middle of redesigning the website a little - nothing drastic, but it reflects the fact that my body of work is slowly expanding. As many of you know, I've already published my first novel, "Coordinate For Murder" (psst, go and buy a copy if you haven't, the links are over on the right) and I've also published my first short story, "Pins And Dolls" (pick that one up too, it's a good read. Trust me!).
But, I'm not just resting on my laurels here. I'm working on the sequel to "Coordinates For Murder", I'm slowly plucking away at an epic fantasy series, I've got a brand new short story, "The Ritual", that's just about done and ready for release (watch here for the announcement), and I'm working on my first non-fiction book, "Midwest Chubs", which centers around me and my current training regime that should get me into fighting shape for my first road race at the end of June: a 10K run.
Not only that, but I've picked up a small freelance writing gig with a regional magazine titled "Living & Playing" (www.livingandplayingmagazine.com). They cover events of all kinds happening in northwest Wisconsin and eastcentral Minnesota. I've got my first article in the new upcoming issue, coincidentally about my first novel. But I've already got my next article in the works, all about gangsters!
So, with all of these changes, plus a few select events that I'm participating in with some fellow writers, it's time for a little bit of changes to the layout of the website. Bear with me, and in short order I'll get things all figured out so that you, my beloved audience, can take in all there is to my writings. Thanks for your patience, and drop me a note if you can, I'd love to hear from you. Cheers!
But, I'm not just resting on my laurels here. I'm working on the sequel to "Coordinates For Murder", I'm slowly plucking away at an epic fantasy series, I've got a brand new short story, "The Ritual", that's just about done and ready for release (watch here for the announcement), and I'm working on my first non-fiction book, "Midwest Chubs", which centers around me and my current training regime that should get me into fighting shape for my first road race at the end of June: a 10K run.
Not only that, but I've picked up a small freelance writing gig with a regional magazine titled "Living & Playing" (www.livingandplayingmagazine.com). They cover events of all kinds happening in northwest Wisconsin and eastcentral Minnesota. I've got my first article in the new upcoming issue, coincidentally about my first novel. But I've already got my next article in the works, all about gangsters!
So, with all of these changes, plus a few select events that I'm participating in with some fellow writers, it's time for a little bit of changes to the layout of the website. Bear with me, and in short order I'll get things all figured out so that you, my beloved audience, can take in all there is to my writings. Thanks for your patience, and drop me a note if you can, I'd love to hear from you. Cheers!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Free Book Giveaway - Winner!
Congratulations go out to the GoodReads.com giveaway winner - Sonia Perry! I was amazed that I had nearly 800 entries in the giveaway for my book. It was fun to do it, and I hope that Sonia enjoys the book. Thank you for all of the entries!
Monday, May 7, 2012
Free Book Giveaway!
You've been waiting for just the right time to come along, and I'm here to tell you that that time is NOW! Starting today, and running through May 14th, you have the opportunity to win a SIGNED COPY of my debut novel, "Coordinates For Murder".
How? Glad you asked. Simply click this link:
Goodreads Book Giveaway
From there, click the "Enter to win" button to the right of the book cover. That's it! The winner will be chosen at random by the folks at Goodreads, and I'll ship it off to you post-haste. If you desire, I'll even personalize it for you. Don't wait, sign up now - you only have a week! Then tell all of your friends to sign up too. You want to be a good friend, right? Then tell them! But after you sign up.
Good luck!
How? Glad you asked. Simply click this link:
Goodreads Book Giveaway
From there, click the "Enter to win" button to the right of the book cover. That's it! The winner will be chosen at random by the folks at Goodreads, and I'll ship it off to you post-haste. If you desire, I'll even personalize it for you. Don't wait, sign up now - you only have a week! Then tell all of your friends to sign up too. You want to be a good friend, right? Then tell them! But after you sign up.
Good luck!
Monday, April 30, 2012
The Future of The Nook?
The latest news regarding Barnes and Noble's Nook platform is that Microsoft is infusing $300 million dollars into the ereader. What does this mean for the ereader market? What about for readers who own or might own a Nook? What about for authors?
In the recent past, there has been talk of Barnes and Noble spinning off the Nook division to a buyer. I've always thought that this would be the death of Barnes and Noble, because without the Nook they would just be like Borders, and we know what happened to them. Why would they ditch a part of their business that is doing well and keeping the afloat? I think part of the answer can be found in how they address Nook users, or more accurately, how they are NOT addressing Nook users. Let me explain.
If you've ever surfed the BN.com website, you know that the powers that be at Barnes and Noble have just not put much time or effort into making it easy to find things, and not just individual books, but best sellers, genre leaders, etc. By contrast, Amazon.com is doing a bang-up job of helping readers find the books that they want. And I'm not the only one that has noticed this, either. And yet, despite their lack of attention to making things easy for Nook buyers/readers, ebooks are helping to keep Barnes and Noble going.
It just doesn't seem like they have things figured out, or even the first clue about how to get things started. If I had to guess, it's not that they have no ideas, but that they don't have the atmosphere in their offices to have people go out on a limb and try something new. Even if they are imitating Amazon with some things, if they work, why wouldn't they do it? That's just smart business to do what works, even if its an incremental improvement; actually, ESPECIALLY if its an incremental improvement. Businesses don't have to do one thing incredibly well, they need to do dozens of things just a little bit better, and they'll be successful. Yet Barnes and Noble seems to just want to sit on what they have and not try to improve things at all, let alone incrementally.
So, back to the announcement that Microsoft is infusing Nook with millions of dollars. What does this mean to the ereader industry? Well, it means that a company with deep pockets is serious about making in-roads into a market that they feel is ripe for taking market share from the leader, i.e., Amazon. In truth, Amazon's share of the market in the U.S. has been slipping, but they are still the leader by a good margin, and they are fighting to keep what they have and continue to grow it. Microsoft is a software company, and that's what continues to evolve as we are moving from normal desktop software to mobile apps. If they can have a part of the growing tablet market that also happens to crossover to the ereader market, that's a pretty tempting piece of the pie.
What about the Nook users, what does it mean for them? Well, hopefully it will mean innovation. With that amount of money, it means that they will have the resources to devote to people who can start making changes to the platform, doing research and development, marketing and more. Hopefully it will mean that buying new books for the Nook becomes easier, more friendly, and that it generates positive word of mouth. It means that people who are thinking about buying a Nook will have more reasons to go with the Nook versus any other ereader.
And finally, what does it mean for authors? Hopefully, it means that the Nook folks will match the royalties that Amazon offers. They aren't much less right now, but they should have no problems equaling what Amazon throws out there. Also, it means that they have the resources, i.e., money to start innovating ways to make it attractive to authors to publish their ebooks on the Nook versus anywhere else. It also means that they can start looking outside the U.S. borders to international markets. Canada is a great place for them to cut their teeth, and they can move on from there to the easy English-speaking markets: England, Australia, New Zealand, and others.
All in all, I'm excited for what the Microsoft money infusion could mean for the Nook. It was only a matter of time before a new start-up company introduced the Kindle-killer, or for an established company with lots of money to try to enter the market. We're seeing the latter, but the former could still happen as well. And it all means good things for readers AND authors. Embrace the change!
In the recent past, there has been talk of Barnes and Noble spinning off the Nook division to a buyer. I've always thought that this would be the death of Barnes and Noble, because without the Nook they would just be like Borders, and we know what happened to them. Why would they ditch a part of their business that is doing well and keeping the afloat? I think part of the answer can be found in how they address Nook users, or more accurately, how they are NOT addressing Nook users. Let me explain.
If you've ever surfed the BN.com website, you know that the powers that be at Barnes and Noble have just not put much time or effort into making it easy to find things, and not just individual books, but best sellers, genre leaders, etc. By contrast, Amazon.com is doing a bang-up job of helping readers find the books that they want. And I'm not the only one that has noticed this, either. And yet, despite their lack of attention to making things easy for Nook buyers/readers, ebooks are helping to keep Barnes and Noble going.
It just doesn't seem like they have things figured out, or even the first clue about how to get things started. If I had to guess, it's not that they have no ideas, but that they don't have the atmosphere in their offices to have people go out on a limb and try something new. Even if they are imitating Amazon with some things, if they work, why wouldn't they do it? That's just smart business to do what works, even if its an incremental improvement; actually, ESPECIALLY if its an incremental improvement. Businesses don't have to do one thing incredibly well, they need to do dozens of things just a little bit better, and they'll be successful. Yet Barnes and Noble seems to just want to sit on what they have and not try to improve things at all, let alone incrementally.
So, back to the announcement that Microsoft is infusing Nook with millions of dollars. What does this mean to the ereader industry? Well, it means that a company with deep pockets is serious about making in-roads into a market that they feel is ripe for taking market share from the leader, i.e., Amazon. In truth, Amazon's share of the market in the U.S. has been slipping, but they are still the leader by a good margin, and they are fighting to keep what they have and continue to grow it. Microsoft is a software company, and that's what continues to evolve as we are moving from normal desktop software to mobile apps. If they can have a part of the growing tablet market that also happens to crossover to the ereader market, that's a pretty tempting piece of the pie.
What about the Nook users, what does it mean for them? Well, hopefully it will mean innovation. With that amount of money, it means that they will have the resources to devote to people who can start making changes to the platform, doing research and development, marketing and more. Hopefully it will mean that buying new books for the Nook becomes easier, more friendly, and that it generates positive word of mouth. It means that people who are thinking about buying a Nook will have more reasons to go with the Nook versus any other ereader.
And finally, what does it mean for authors? Hopefully, it means that the Nook folks will match the royalties that Amazon offers. They aren't much less right now, but they should have no problems equaling what Amazon throws out there. Also, it means that they have the resources, i.e., money to start innovating ways to make it attractive to authors to publish their ebooks on the Nook versus anywhere else. It also means that they can start looking outside the U.S. borders to international markets. Canada is a great place for them to cut their teeth, and they can move on from there to the easy English-speaking markets: England, Australia, New Zealand, and others.
All in all, I'm excited for what the Microsoft money infusion could mean for the Nook. It was only a matter of time before a new start-up company introduced the Kindle-killer, or for an established company with lots of money to try to enter the market. We're seeing the latter, but the former could still happen as well. And it all means good things for readers AND authors. Embrace the change!
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