Writing In 2015 - Understanding Control

Down to the last couple of days in this year and I am getting ready to gear up for something different. This writer is writing again and, with some effort, I won't stop again. I've been thinking about goals. Here's a quote from writer, James Scott Bell:

"Why set goals? Because you can either control your own destiny or hand it over to circumstance. I'd much rather be acting than reacting. I'd rather have a plan than have time and tide devour me."

I really like this. Bell's quote cuts to the heart of matter for me. It's a succinct way to express the concept of control. As with everyone else, writers have dreams. We want accolades or to hit bestsellers' lists, or maybe get a big publishing contract with traditional publishers. Or maybe we want to hit a home run with a book or series, selling hundreds of thousands of copies, getting our stories optioned by Hollywood, and so on. The thing with dreams though is that we basically have zero control over them. 

I have dreams too. But, I can't make big sales happen. I can't control that. However, I can control how much I write. I can control how many books and short stories I get published via my publishing company. These are things that can be controlled. So what does this have to do with goals?

Goals are things that you can control. They can be used to build the road to your dreams. Goals are acting on plans with an end purpose or dream in mind. The work of setting and accomplishing goals doesn't guarantee you achieve your dreams, but they can get you on the right path to do so, given time, patience, and perseverance. That's what I'm learning anyways.

Dean Wesley Smith is talking about this same subject on his blog. The latest post, New World of Publishing: Control, unpacks these same ideas with Smith's trademark wisdom and wit. He gives you some important steps to help you plan and set goals for your writing in the new year. I find that I need to revisit some of the steps relate to setting production goals. 

There are issues of strategy too when it comes to what I do with my finished stories and novels. I think mixing it up and sending stories to outside markets and publishing books and collections through Founders House Publishing still makes sense. I have to work out the details. But I have steps I can take so that's really more than half the battle for me. 

Finally! The Day Has Arrived

The day has finally come, folks. A day that has been over a decade in the making for me. It's a milestone for me as a writer that I am happy to share with all of you. Nearly fifteen years ago I finally acted on the impulse to write a novel. I had never tried such a thing and I launched into the process fueled by the books of the late Robert Jordan, Tad Williams, and David Eddings. I was inspired to write epic fantasy. The scope and the drama of it was what called me and the ability to create a world wholly from my imagination.

I am announcing that my first novel Cries Of The Faithless  is finally available in paperback. A couple of years ago I did manage to get it published as an ebook but there is just something about holding that book in my hands that makes it more real for me. It is a tangible accomplishment and serves as an impetus to write more books and see them in print as well. 

At present, I've followed through with that and have written several other novels and novellas as well as numerous short stories. 

It all started with this book. 

So check it out. Buy a copy. Tell a friend. There are exciting times ahead.

OTHER NEWS!

My novel, The Darkness Of The Deep, is available now as an ebook. You can get it for KINDLE, NOOK, and OTHER FORMATS via Smashwords. 

Coming Soon: The Darkness Of The Deep and Other Realms, Volume One

With this year nearing its close, I wanted to come back here and give you some previews of what is coming in 2014. I've been trying to establish a bit of a plan for how I would work on different books and coordinate those projects with a publication schedule through my publishing company. When you try to balance the tightrope that is writing and publishing, you learn that not having a plan can lead to difficulties over the long-term.

I'm hoping to change that. I have two books coming out in the near future with a couple more on the way. At this time, I thought it would be nice to give you a taste of what's to come by showing you the covers to The Darkness Of The Deep, my first published fantasy novel since A Kingdom Of Shadows back in 2012.

In the same way, I have a collection of short stories, the first volume in what I'm planning as an ongoing series of collections titled Other Realms. This inaugural issue, Volume One, contains ten original, never-before-published short stories by me. Doing short stories helps keep me balanced between writing novels and novellas so I hope to keep up that work throughout 2014.

Another point I'd like to mention is that a few of my books currently available as ebooks will also make their way into print. (Finally!) I'm excited about those developments too and I will, of course, post about those updates as soon as possible.

2013 was a strange year and a difficult one in many ways. I was able to produce works of fiction despite the changes that were wrought and I'm glad for that. I hope that I'm getting better at this fiction writing thing. Only time will tell. I'm still having fun with all of this. Maybe I'll be able to make a living too.

Catch you later. I'll be updating about publication dates and other information as soon as those are available to me. Happy New Year. Make it a good one.

Update: Killer Of Dragons, Future Books, and Publishing Aims

Well, I wrote a few posts here about my involvement in NaNoWriMo and how I made good progress on a book but ended up not crossing that finish line again. I am here again to report that as of today I finished Killer Of Dragons. The book ended up as a novella, albeit a longer one. I'm happy with the ending and I am now looking at what to write next. The next phases are proofreading and editing. I have work piling up in that category and hope to get everything in line for a series of 2014 releases. My publishing company has sat idle this year and I am more than ready to end that trend for good.

Although I've started looking at possible plans for future writing, I don't know what book will come next. I have a few sequels in mind for books that I have out. This doesn't mean I'll start them right away only that I will have one or more of them done this year. Whatever plans I have must be fluid enough to work with my process as a storyteller.

I've put titles I have for books in a tentative writing/publishing list. That is a good first step for me, an outline for going forward. I've thought about doing it for the next couple of years or so just so I can have a bit of forward thinking without over-committing.

As far as completed projects are concerned, I have several waiting in the wings as well as some WIPs that I may or may not complete. All of these efforts are done in the name of organization. I'm pretty bad about organization. I want to get better but, well, you know, it takes time.

I'll be updating here with some of the projects developments and hopefully coming back with some other writings as well. I haven't done a "Dear Writer" column in a while.

Thanks for checking in folks.

A Newbie's Perspective On Indie Publishing

In his most recent blog article, entitled "Exploited Writers in an Unfair Industry," the champion of indie publishing, author J.A. Konrath did a tremendous job summarizing the state of the traditional publishing industry in terms of its precedents for the treatment of writers and how it has been straining and struggling since the rise of the modern ebook markets. He paints a broad but also telling portrait of a world in serious flux and uses his insights and understanding of the industry to shed much needed light on some of the basic principals at work.

Another thing, J.A. or Joe Konrath's post did was remind me how very new I am to this whole long and laborious dynamic that has spanned more than a century in this country alone. His description of traditional publishing was stark and meant to illuminate how the relationships between authors, literary agents, and publishers have varied over the years. In the six or so years I've been paying attention to the developments in this new era of publishing and finding a place for myself in the midst of it. It's been challenging and ever-evolving.

Thinking Back

My own understanding was catapulted forward when I decided to establish a publishing company with my wife back in late 2009. Up to that point, I dabbled and dreamed about publishing, played with some of the new tools of self-publishing that were coming online such as Lulu. That was about 2006. Before then, was a long period of pining over the old ideals of getting a book into traditional publishing--a fact difficult to grasp since I was still laboring over a single novel I had started long before I became a part-time freelance writer. I had always had the dream of publishing and designing my own books. The establishment of Founders House Publishing was the first genuine step.

The next big jump came after I'd published two books. I hadn't considered what of role the Kindle would play in ushering in all of these changes in publishing. I was woefully ill-informed of the sea changes that were just bubbling at that point. The Kindle seemed like a novelty to me even in last 2010. I just wasn't aware of what had already been going on. Hadn't even heard of Joe Konrath.

Then in April of 2011, Founders House published its first ebook for the Kindle. I've was trying to get a grasp of my role as the publisher while looking for more book projects. A few months later, I stumbled on to Kristine Kathryn Rusch's post "The Business Rusch: Writing Like It's 1999" on Kevin J. Anderson's blog, which was followed swiftly by the discovery of Dean Wesley Smith's blog. The information I gained from their blogs has been revolutionary. It has changed my thinking and given me the biggest boost to date. They've helped me think more like a publisher than anybody else.

Since Then

The more I've studied publishing the more I've learned about its past, its present, and its future. I've consciously sought knowledge from those who've been in the business throughout its various phases, the authors, editors, agents, and publishers that have formed the fabric of the industry. The present state of publishing is most clearly on display since so much is happening to upset the balance and new visions of publishing's future are birthed every day. New complications arising from the digital era are reverberating in every quarter. Voices like Konrath's are loud and unyielding in their insights as well as their criticisms about the status quo and how the tides of change are consuming those players who aren't nimble enough to react.

Joe's latest post was just the latest warning shot to traditional/legacy publishing. It was also a warning for writers who have been sold on the myths that established old guard publishers perpetuate to protect themselves in such turbulent times.

There are a few things I've been trying to keep in my mind as I go forward with my own publishing endeavors. Certainly a good knowledge of the current battlegrounds and flash points in the industry can only help me if I heed that knowledge. I can't afford to be stupid. Publishing is a business. And so is writing. In fact, this new era merges the two in an amazing synthesis but one that should be taken very seriously. Joe is right. Writers have been exploited for a long time. Even with my experience in freelance web writing, I've faced that truth. If a business can get away with paying a writers pennies, they often will. It takes a certain type of business owner to recognize the value of a writer and compensate them accordingly.

Writer And Publisher

I'm still working on this mix of professions. It's the only one I want to be in and I truly want to be good at it. So I persist, and take some chances, I never stop learning, and I must never be afraid to ask for help from those further down the road. I want to thank Joe for being an advocate for writer empowerment. And he's not the only one. Thanks to Dean, Kris, Jeff, and many others.

The path of indie publishing is not one set in stone right now. There are too many things happening in technology to be certain of much. Ebooks are here and they hold out so much potential right now. Yet despite the forecasts of some, I have a small diamond-hard faith in paper. As much as I am striving to play in the electronic markets I will not abandon paper. As a publisher, I'm playing both fields since it makes good sense.

As a writer, I have the freedom to write whatever kind of story that I want without answering to the sales departments and current trends of a publisher that will ultimately cost me much grief and loss of income and the rights to my work. I'm an indie writer as much as I'm an indie publisher. I've taken my place among the ranks of thousands doing the same thing. Those other writers are not my competitors. They're my compatriots.

Being A Bestseller: Is That What It's About?

Let me tell you, there have just been a lot of great posts lately about the new world of publishing. Just the other day I included a link to J.A. Konrath's blog. Today, Joe hit another one out of the part, discussing bestsellers and the myth that has grown up around the lists.

In Konrath's post The Myth Of The Bestseller he discusses the viewpoint of both legacy publishing and indie publishing regarding the importance of bestsellers lists. Unfortunately the economic considerations and allure associated with one's book hitting a bestseller list is entrenched. When you see a book that says, #1 New York Times Bestseller, you attach greater importance or clout to that book (and often the author too).

While in legacy publishing this had an economic dimension since the lists work on the velocity of sales during a set period in most cases, the bigger more established publishers (especially those in NYC) have a greater interest in those titles that turn over the most sales as fast as possible. The perspective, you would think, would be different with indie publishers, but there is still a lot of thinking that puts greater value on a "bestselling" title. In that way, the indies look to their legacy counterparts.

But that isn't what indie publishing is about. The myths surrounding "the bestseller" often stand in the way of indie authors getting out more books and stories and slowing down to tweak sales and bury themselves in promotion just to reach some illusive and transitory benchmark. Becoming a bestseller is not the only way to rate yourself a success in this new world--if it ever was in the old one in the first place.

Success

How do you rate success as an author? Honestly, for me and many other career writers, it is about making money from their work, even to the point of making a viable living with writing alone. That is a far better gauge of success than becoming a bestseller.

"Bestsellers have always been an anomaly. The real story is about the midlist, and how many writers can get paid. And right now, more writers are getting paid for their writing than at any other point in history. That's freaking amazing. And it's a much more important story than one about 11 authors who made the NYT List. Don't get me wrong. I'm thrilled for those 11 authors who made the NYT list. I'm also thrilled for my own success. But I'm especially thrilled for the thousands and thousands of authors who are making ends meet because they achieved their goals and self-pubbed their ebooks. Any writer who puts food on the table with their writing is successful. It doesn't matter if it is a box of mac and cheese, or caviar and champagne. Taking your career into your own hands, giving it your best shot, striving to do better... that's the American Dream, baby."

More About Bestsellers

Just prior to reading Konrath's post, I went over to the Kris Rusch's site and read her weekly business blog,  The Business Rusch. She had a great article about bestsellers lists herself. Kris really goes into the details and talks a lot about the lists themselves and how they were established and what they're all about today.

The post, entitled Bestsellers Lists And Other Thoughts, is definitely worth the read as well if you want to get more information on the topic. Things have changed in the publishing industry regarding the status of the bestsellers list. The expectations are lower and the terms have changed. I found the post a fascinating overview. If you're a writer and/or an indie publisher, you ought to check both Konrath's article and Rusch's too.

Perspective

I feel more motivated to focus on storytelling and selling those stories than in receiving accolades such as becoming a bestseller. Would it be cool if it happened? Maybe so. I'm not immune to the fantasy. However, I'm more interested in getting a message from readers who happen to like what I write. Even better, I sell the stories I write and make some sort of living in this business.  That's some perspective for you.