A Writer's Thanksgiving...

Okay, I know, blogs about why people are thankful are a dime a dozen.  So, just bear with me while I join the chorus.  Maybe, as you read through my ramblings here, you'll agree with what I'm saying.  Maybe you'll be moved to really evaluate what you have in your life.  And maybe, just maybe, you'll be renewed and refreshed, and have positive things to think about regarding writing, whether you are a seasoned writer or just starting out.  Regardless, I'm thankful right now that you are reading this blog post!

So, in reading other posts, I got to thinking about my own foray into the writing life.  It's been quite an adventure so far, and I would be completely remiss if I didn't acknowledge my profound thanks to my beautiful wife of nearly 17 years.  She's an amazing woman who allows me to partake of my dreams of writing, and she's extremely supportive of my efforts.  Once, for the first time I think, when we were in a restaurant with friends, she leaned over, grabbed my arm and leaned into me and stated proudly that "she's married to an author!", and smiled big.  It felt weird to me, and yet satisfying as well - this is where I've wanted to be!  So I'm very thankful for an amazing woman.

I'm also thankful for everyone who's purchased a copy of my novel or short story.  I'm continually amazed that I would be capable of writing something that someone else not only would want to read, but would PAY me as well!  I can't thank you enough for being willing to take a shot on me and my writing.  You've given me hope that I might be offering something that a lot more folks would be interested in as well.  Thank you!

What else?  Well, I'm thankful for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, Apple, and a host of other ebook retailers that have made it ridiculously easy for authors to get their books into the hands of readers.  Without their hard work, my hard work would have a much more difficult time even making it to the marketplace.  I'm also hopeful for what will be coming in the next few years as well.

Not only am I thankful for the ebook infrastructure that makes it possible to reach readers all over the world - stop to think about that for a moment: ALL OVER THE WORLD! - I'm also thankful for those outlets that allow the same ease to market for print versions as well.  Not only that, but I'm also thankful for the outlets that make it possible to also have an audiobook version of my work as well.  It's simply amazing that it's now so easy to put out a book in the 3 major consumable ways that readers have grown accustomed to.

Lastly, I'm thankful to God for my brain.  I've got a ton of ideas, and I'm not sure if I'll ever get the chance to explore them all and let others read them too.  But, I'm going to make a really good stab at doing so.

I'm pumped about the future and how I can get my novels and short stories out to readers all over the world.  New hurdles will appear, but they should all lead to ever-expanding opportunities.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Are You Risky?

If you're like most people, you like what you already know; you like what's familiar, what's comfortable.  It makes life easier just to keep going along with what you've always done.  Besides, what's wrong with what you are currently doing?  It's gotten you this far...

It's not always easy to take a risk, to do something new, something that's a little bit scary.  Sometimes it's downright difficult.  But so often is the case, once you've finished the "risky" thing you set out to do, you learn so much about yourself and what you are capable of.  You also gain a new perspective on your life, and you don't look at things the same way; you have a new appreciation for the people that do what you've tried, only they do it day in and day out.  That new perspective is important.

To that end, I've embarked on something that I've been longing to do for years, and that is to learn a new instrument.  The last time I played any instrument was when I was in high school, and I played the violin in orchestra.  That was nearly 20 years ago!  But yet here I am, taking up the cause of learning a new instrument:  the acoustic guitar.

What do I hope to gain from this?  Well, obviously, I'm hoping to learn to play it so that I can play some of my favorite songs.  Maybe, if I keep at it, I'll learn to make up my own music.  But what else do I think I'll learn?  Like I had mentioned earlier, I'll gain a better appreciation of the effort that musicians go through to make music with instruments, especially guitars.  Not only that, I'll be able to 'hear' music better, making out the different instruments used in my favorite songs.  It also affords me another topic of conversation with people that I meet, which is always nice when in need of 'small talk' topics.  It's also another life experience that I can draw on for my writing; I might have one of my next characters use their musical skill in an interesting way, maybe to uncover a clue or solve a murder.  Lastly, it affects new areas of my brain, or at least dormant areas, causing new connections to be made in the ol' grey matter.  This has the bonus of helping to stave off dementia, hopefully for my whole life.

As you can see, there are many benefits to this 'risky' behavior I'm embarking on.  And yet, it's not risky at all, at least in the term that most people think of.  I'm doing it on my schedule, making sure that I'm having fun with it, just like my writing.  If you're doing something that you don't enjoy, why are you still doing it?  Life is too short to be stuck at something you don't enjoy, likewise life is too short to continue to do the same thing, day after day, without a change in the routine.

So get out there, take some risks, and enjoy the rewards.  If you find you don't like it, you've still learned something, and that's a benefit in itself.  Push your limits, explore the world, and see what new things you find exciting.  Be risky!

Am I All Alone Here?

Often, I elect to do my own thing, especially when it comes to my writing.  Some could say I'm a risk taker, and artist, whatever.  I'm just doing what I like and think will work for me and my situation.  But sometimes, I wonder if what I'm doing isn't the right thing.  To wit:  my election to this point to not do a freebie promotion.

It seems like all around me, authors everywhere are running free promotions on their books and giving away tens of thousands of copies of them.  Afterword, it sounds like they are selling 4, 5, 10 times or more than they were before the free promotion.  When I read or hear about these, I feel like a fool because I'm not doing that.  What makes them so special that they can have success but not me?

Well, I suppose that I could also join the ranks of the free promoters, giving away thousands of copies of books and potentially getting reviews and new fans galore.  I think I had written about this before in a previous post, and my arguments haven't really changed.  Is the exchange of a lot of free books worth it to get some (hopefully) good reviews?  Will that mean that I end up with a long-term, higher rate of purchases?

I'm just wondering if I'm all alone with my position.  I don't intend to make one of my books exclusive to Amazon and do freebie promotions.  I'm looking to make sales of my book to those who actually want to read them, not just people looking to score something for nothing.  I value my work, my effort, my storytelling more than that.  Am I all by myself here?

Are You Serial?!

The idea of serial storytelling, that is, publishing a story in installments, is not a new idea.  Charles Dickens might be the most well-known author that has utilized the serial story idea, but the idea has never died out completely, but languished in niche areas.  That has been changing along with the publishing industry as a whole.

Why publish a story as a serial instead of all at once?  Well, for starters, it was a way for an up-and-coming author to make a name for him or herself.  It was much less expensive to offer the story in small parts in a weekly newspaper, and it had the added benefit for the newspaper that folks would continue to purchase their paper so they could continue to enjoy the story being told.  To publish a full book was very expensive, primarily because so much work went into laying out each page.  Mass production of books was not yet a part of the book publishing industry.

Then, as it became cheaper to produce books, and paperback versions came out, further reducing the costs, books were no longer relegated to only those who could command the largest reading audience.  Lesser known authors could see their works printed and bound in book form, and as such the serial form of writing, for the most part, went away.  It remained in various places and served it's purpose in those niche areas, but until recently had not come back to a place of prominence.

Today, thanks to the flexibility of ereaders like the Kindle and Nook, serial publishing has once again gained the favor of authors and readers alike.  It's very inexpensive to publish a serial story (very near to zero, if you know what you're doing) and you have the potential audience of millions around the world.  Dickens would be envious of such a lofty position!

So, what about you?  Have you thought about writing a story that is delivered in serial form?  Amazon actually has a special program dedicated just to serials.  You would pay one price, and you would then get all of the parts to the serial delivered to you as they get published.  And it doesn't matter when you purchase the serial - if you get it after the 3rd installment, you'd get all three installments right away and then all future installments after that.  You'll never miss an episode!

I think I'd like to try it, and it would be a great medium for ongoing detective-type characters and others.  It's worked great for TV shows, such as Lost, Mad Men, Fringe and others, why not for books?  What other sorts of story lines might work well for this serialization idea?  I'm excited to find out!

Is Writing Your Passion?

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?

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!

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.