A Maelstrom of DIY courses

Since my budget for taking courses to learn the new world of self-publishing is exactly $0, I have leapt at all sorts of free offers (Free e-books) in return for my email and filling up my mailbox with tips and offers for courses I can't afford.

It amazes me that everyone and their fellow authors seem to have courses, videos, books, seminars, and methods that they offer for those starting out in this new field. Now, I have no idea if what they are offering is actually worth the money, and I can't point to anyone and say that their program is good or their's is a rip-off. After all, I can't pay for any of them. But there is a maelstrom of offers on courses for all aspects of the new world of self-publishing that is mind-boggling.

(I am not including companies in this group --- they are a different beast. This is about individual authors who are offering these lessons.)

Some of these authors are well-known and have a track record that goes backs years; others are newcomers themselves but have some success. Others I have never heard of; that doesn't mean they aren't good people with quality stuff. It all comes down to who is trustworthy in your view. Because when it boils down to it, Author A might be a great writer, but their course might be a clear as Mississippi mud, while author B's course is more relatable, even if their writing isn't as strong.

But here's the thing; if you don't sit down and write the story, all the courses in the universe will not make you a writer. Unless you produce something, taking courses will not help. Some courses will teach useful things, but unless you put them into practice, they are useless. In my view, don't waste your money unless there's something already done on the page.

Now, if you're like me, with no money, you have to get a bit creative with learning the new field of self publishing. I have a mess of self-published authors, writing groups, and company blogs I read on a regular basis. If I read something I thing I can use, I save off the webpage, then later on, copy/paste the information into a text file and save it off for my own use. (I always make sure to keep the author's name on the article, if I ever need to quote from it in a public forum, like this blog. Otherwise, everything I write here are my own words.)

I am in the middle of organize these text files into useful folders. Now, while I'm not getting in-depth detail that I would by taking a course, I am getting an understanding of subjects, and from more than one source. It may not be as deep, but it should be wider. And from all these different sources, I shall form my own method.

And that's what it all boils down to: DIY --- Do It Yourself. You have to do what works for you. What these course do is show you how these authors did it. It doesn't mean that their method will work for you 100% of the time, or even 50%  of the time. You can learn to avoid pitfalls, and be given a method where you may not have had one before. But it doesn't mean it's the only way. No course will replace the act of sitting there, pecking away at the keyboard, or writing it in longhand. Writing is an art, a craft, and no teacher can infuse you the willingness to write. Like any craft, it must be worked at constantly and regularly. Teachers will show the way, but unless to take the steps, the path will never be started upon, let alone completed.

And if you do decide to plunk down the money for a author/teacher's course, make sure of who the teacher is. Google them, read their blog, read their books, research them and make sure you will get something from them you can use.

Am I going to become one of those people I spent most of the blog discussing? Hawking courses and how-to books? I don't know. At the moment, I wouldn't have a clue where to start. And if I decided to go that route, there are so many questions I would have to answer, as well as trying to figure out how to distinguish myself from everyone else. Do I really want to do that? I have limited teaching experience, and and an undertaking like that would involve sitting down and breaking my experiences, thoughts, and methods down to a level that most people could understand. Hell, I'm not sure I understand what I do well enough to teach someone else to do it.

And I would have to have one hell of a track record as an author to even consider that. If I'm not a best-selling author, why bother? Who is going to buy a how-to from someone who can't sell to enough people to be considered popular? So, the short answer is no, the long answer is. . . .maybe, but not anytime soon.

So that's it....until next week (Hopefully)

*****

Both Outcast Ops novels I co-authored are on Amazon and are both part of the Kindle Direct program. African Firestorm is here: Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon! For those in the United Kingdom, Outcast Ops: African Firestorm on Amazon UK!! Red Ice is here: Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon!. and for those in the UK, Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon UK!

Craig

A Writer's Observations: What to write?

First, if you don't read  Kristine Kathryn Rusch's Business Musings blog post she does every Thursdays, do so, Go here: http://kriswrites.com/ click on the "Business Resources" tab, and the Business Musing link is right at the top. She back to writing about the business of writing, and like her previous series, under the "Business Rusch" banner, I believe they are important topics from someone who knows the publishing business like few do. (Don't forget her husband, Dean Wesley Smith, who's website can be found here: http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/ He's just posted the first two chapters of his work in progress, HEINLEIN’S RULES: Five Simple Business Rules for Writing.)

Anyhow, the last couple of weeks, Kris has been discussing what a writer should write; Do you try and chase public opinion and write what is hot, or do you maintain your cool and write what you want to write?

My own view on the question is simple: Write what you want to write.

The problem with chasing what is hot is that trends will cool off, and what was big last month isn't this month. You can't chase after that's hot --- it's like a dog trying to track a rabbit, but being distracted by other smells, and running from one scent to another, only to be distracted by a stronger scent. All that's going to happen is the dog is going to get tired running to and fro and won't find the rabbit.

To chase after what is hot simply because it's hot is a fool's errand. Unless you like the sub-genre in question (Say, for example Vampire Romance), writing is going to be a pain. You have to waste time reading novels from the genre, to get a feel for it, work out the plot so it fits the genre, write in a style that fits the genre, then publish it, all the while hoping the fan-base hasn't moved onto Werewolf Romance in the meantime. Of course, if Vampire Romance is a genre you like, it because easier to write that sort of story, just don't expect to beat Twilight novels in sales.

Which leads me to the following statement --- "The best-selling writers don't follow trends: they set them."

Simply put, those writers set the trends, while others follow along, trying to grab onto the coat-tails of those trend-setters. For every unique novel setting a trend, you have half a dozen, a dozen, a score of authors putting out their own version of that original novel. The Harry Potter novels are a prime example, as are the Twlight novels. Look into each genre, and you'll see others trying to capture the same magic (and money) as those big-name novels. Some succeed, most fail.

But unless you like writing that genre, it's more chore than craft. Writing something you don't like to read is a chore. A woodworker who doesn't like working with wood will produce crappy wood items -- the parts will be uneven, the legs won't be the same length, and the pieces put together poorly. Same thing with any other craft work -- unless you like it, the product produce will always be inferior to someone who loves what they do.

The same thing applies to writing -- unless you love reading the genre, writing in that genre will be a waste of time. The product will be inferior, and time, money and energy spent working on it will be wasted. It also starts to burn out the creative juices as you try to force yourself to write without enthusiasm. Do it enough times and you become an ex-writer or a failed writer.

If I can't generate any enthusiasm for a story, I won't write it, simple as that. The two Outcast Ops novels I co-wrote were a task, but if I had not enjoyed the genre, I wouldn't have been able to hold up my end of the partnership. That's why anything I write and publish is something I loved to do, be it genre or universe. No sparkling vampires, no bodice-rippers, and no profound slice of life novels for me. That isn't me.

Well enough trying to sound profound --- Kris does it much better, so go read what she has to say.....

Short update on The Assassin Prince; Nothing new on the outline, but some thoughts about the background has been percolating. The fun thing about fantasy novels is that you can take bits and pieces from different times and places, mix them together and produce a unique civilization for your story. I'm already considering parts of the Roman Empire, 15th-17th Century Europe, and 15th Century China, with sprinkling from other eras. Nothing firm yet, needs to brew a bit more. In the meantime, I'm working on Battlecorps stories to sooth my writing urges.

If you want to read the novels I co-authored, African Firestorm is on Amazon and is part of the Kindle Direct program. African Firestorm on Amazon! For those over the pond in the UK, click here! If you want to read Red Ice, it's also part of Kindle Direct program: Outcast Ops: Red Ice on Amazon!. and for those in the UK, Go here!

Later,

Craig

African Firestorm is a Go!

I apologize for ignoring this blog for so long, but the main reason is right above --- Outcast Ops: African Firestorm is now published!

You can find it here: Outcast Ops: African Firestorm And there are two other books in the series -- they can be found here: Outcast Ops series.

I must thank Rick Chesler for this opportunity. When I responded to his Facebook post asking for co-authors for this new series of his, I had no idea where this road would take me. He guided me, but let me take the story where it wanted to go, and it went in a couple of unexpected places. Thanks again, Rick.

It has been an eye-opening experience in writing this novel. I spent a lot of time pouring over Google maps, calculating speeds and locations, learning about khat, container ships, Somalia and missiles. I also learned something about writing, outlining, and how no writing plan survives contact with reality. This is my first novel and I am damn proud of it!

I'll be getting back to blogging regularly again and maybe give you a glimpse at the next Outcasts Ops novel I'm working on --- Outcast Ops: Red Ice. It's in the outline stage, but it's already looking like an action-packed story!

That's all for now!

Craig

The Business Rusch Comes to a End

One of the blogs I always visited each week is Kristine Kathryn Rusch's Business Rusch. Every Thursday, for five years straight, Kris blogged about the new world of publishing, and how it's changing. For a neotype like me, I learned a lot from these postings every week, even to the point of saving them off onto thumb drives for rereading later on. For most of the last two years, I learned from this blog.

But sadly, it has come to an end. Kris posted her last Business Rusch last week. The post is here: http://kriswrites.com/2014/04/23/the-business-rusch-all-good-things/. And while I'm sadden by the ending of such a valuable resource, I can understand her reasons for doing so. I struggle coming up with topics that I can write about without sounding like a complete idiot, but for five years, without missing a week, she wrote about the new world of publishing.

But, as she says in this last post, She's finding hard to find new topics to talk about. The publishing industry of five years ago is not the one of today. The explosion of self-publishing, the appearance of the Nook, Kindle and other E-readers, the collapse of Borders, and the traditional publishing houses (TPHs) reaction had changed the industry so much in those five years.

No longer is the writer force to go to one of the TPHs if they want their book to be seen in bookstores. No longer are they subjected to payment systems that make the IRS system look sane and reasonable. The write, if they chose to be, are the master of their own destiny. They get to chose who to hire as an editor, how the book cover looks, and how to promote it, and at what price. It is the writer who reaps the lion's share of the profits, as they should, without having to get their money from a third party who takes 15% of the revenue. A writer can write what they want, when they want. If they want to write six books a year, they are free to do so. If they want to write short stories or novellas, they are not restricted to a few publishers that handle those sort of stories.

In short, the writer is free, no longer caged by TPH contracts that are stacked against them, or by agents who think they are entitled to their 15%, even though they did nothing to earn it. The writer is free to screw up, learn from their mistakes and move on. It's a learning curve, to understand this new world and avoid the pitfalls that are everywhere these days.

And one of those people who knew the shifting landscape was Kris (Her husband Dean too, and he still blogs about the business side of things --- for now). I learned about the new TPH contracts that are legal obscenity, agents taking their clients' backlists and becoming publishers themselves. I learn what to look for in book services, to realize that writing the story isn't the end of the writer's job, it's the beginning.

Am I an expert? No. I'm still struggling to write a full-length novel, and I may change that thinking down the road. I can write short stories just fine, and I'm thinking about working on a story for one of the Kindle Worlds properties. but I have at least an understand of what this new world is, for which I'm thanking Kris for right now.

Kris wants to go back to her story writing, for which I can only say, may your pen never run dry of inspiration. As for me, I'll kludge along and see if I can follow her path.

Craig

Politics and Science Fiction Writing -- a Toxic Mix

(1991 Hugo award, From wikipedia.com)

I said in a previous entry that I would not discuss politics on this blog. There's enough nastiness out there as it is, on many levels, and this isn't a place for a rehash of my own or anyone else's politics.

But apparently, like everywhere else these days, there's politics in the science fiction field. I stumbled across this blog post (http://monsterhunternation.com/2014/04/24/an-explanation-about-the-hugo-awards-controversy/) from Larry Correia. I've read a couple of his novels, found them pretty good, but haven't been able to pick up any more of them because of finances. So, I was surprised about the content of the blog post.

The Hugos are the top award in Science Fiction. To win one is a career enhancement that never goes away. They've voted on at World Science Fiction Convention every year. And like other awards, people pitch for their favorites, either their own work, or someone else' they really like. And that seems to be a problem for some people.

Before I continue, I do not chose the authors I read for their politics. I chose to read them because I enjoy the stories they tell and allow me to escape the real world and all it's politics. It's the same thing with the music I listen to. I care about the song or the music. I don't give a damn about their politics. Actors and actresses, the same thing. I'm sure that my politics and some of theirs are 180 degrees different from each other. But I don't care about politics with these people --- I listen/read/watch them to get away from the politic

Yet there's some people who are more concerned about politics then the quality of the writing. Mister Correia's recommendations for the Hugo have raised the hackles of some people, not because of his recommendations, but because of Mister Correia's politics.

The point of the post is not to excoriate one side or the other. The point of this post it ask why do politics rear its ugly head in what should be a wide open, free-wheeling genre. I am probably being naive in believing that those stories that win the Hugos deserve to win them, regardless of the author's politics. But, apparently if you don't follow the party line, you become a danger to the establishment. In his blog post, Mr. Correia writes the following:

I’ve said for a long time that the awards are biased against authors because of their personal beliefs. Authors can either cheer lead for left wing causes, or they can keep their mouth shut. Open disagreement is not tolerated and will result in being sabotaged and slandered. Message or identity politics has become far more important than entertainment or quality. I was attacked for saying this. I knew that when an admitted right winger got in they would be maligned and politicked against, not for the quality of their art but rather for their unacceptable beliefs.

Mr. Correia states that he has been accused of "fraud, vote buying, log rolling, and making up fake accounts." and being called "a racist, a homophobe, a misogynist, a rape apologist, an angry white man, a religious fanatic, and how I wanted to drag homosexuals to death behind my pickup truck."

And this hatred all because he recommended some stories to be considered for an award......

I didn't take his word for it -- I went looking to find the bias Mr. Corriea was talking about. I found this: http://www.scifiwright.com/2014/04/an-open-letter-to-the-science-fiction-writers-of-america/ 

This page has a lot of links: http://farbeyondreality.com/2014/04/19/2014-hugo-nominations-the-reactions/ There are a few blog posts about the politics included in that list of links, on both sides.

Science Fiction, unlike a lot of other generations, is an exploration of the future --- All futures, not ones that you, the reader, agree with. I'm not a fan of post-apocalyptic novels or Hunger Game-type stories, or tales in which the writer hits you over the head with their ideas on how humanity should live. But there is room for all sorts of stories, and if someone whats to wear his politics on the sleeve, or hang it around their main character's necks, they have every right. But the important thing is the story, not the author's politics. 

Apparently, one nominee has political views that a few find offensive; as I have never read or even heard of this author before, I have no idea how offensive his views are. Has this man committed a crime? Not to my knowledge. What one person might find offensive, other people will shrug off. People are flacking for both sides, painting this author as either a wingnut or a man with strong views that others don't agree with.

As I'm not involved in the award voting, I feel no strong urge to find out anything more. There are going to be people who are going to vote against this man because of their view of his views, rightly or wrongly. They won't be voting because they like or dislike the story in question --- the story may be brilliant or be the worse piece of drek ever to be nominated. Their vote will be because they like or dislike the author, or their perception of him, no matter what the truth is. And that lowers the prestige of the Hugo.

So, I don't care about real-life politics in my sci-fi. So stop trying to impose it on me, the reader, either through the novel or through the awards.

Craig

Why Self-publish? A newbie's view.....

As I look at the number of posts I've made since the start of the year, I realize that I've blogged more this year than the other two years. In fact, by the end of the month, I'll have blogged more this year than the other two years combined. Guess I'm still trying to step up my game....

Okay, first the update on the novel. It's fully outlined through Chapter 24, and rough outlined for Chapters 25-30. It looks like the novels going to run 40-45 chapters by the time I've finished the outlining. I sent what I've done so far to my proposed co-author/originator of the series, and he likes it so far. But the proof will be in the writing itself.

And that brings me to the post's subject: why self-publish? The reason are many, and I will outline my thoughts here.

Why Self-Publish?

There is no one main reason to self-publish. It's a number of factors, all have their own influence on my thinking. I have read many blogs from many different people who are farther along on their journey, and I am seeing things that enforces what I'm seeing with my own eyes.

Control of My Intellectual Property (IP) Rights --- This has a big influence on my thinking. Any original story I write (That isn't linked to someone's else's IP) is mine. I own everything in that story, and I should have the right to decide who gets what from those rights. The problem is these days, the Traditional Publishing Companies (TPCs) are demanding more and more rights from the writer. E-book rights, audio rights, foreign rights, and even movie and TV rights have become part of a lot of publishing contracts these days. Combined with contracts that are twisted and rigged to give the TPCs everything and the writer very little, it's not worth giving up those rights for the thrill of seeing my book in print.

Distrust of the TPCs --- I have read blogs in which authors explained how the TPCs basically raked them over the coals, and earning nothing because the TPC screwed them over, either through incompetence or willful neglect. Things like "No-compete" clauses, reduced advances, accounting practices that make DC bureaucrats look like amateurs, and demanding every right they can think of are compounded by indifferent editing, little publicity, and a willingness to drop the author at the slightest reason. All that leads me to believe that if a novel I write fails, it should fail because of me, not because TPC screwed me over.

Amount of Work --- Most publishers don't put out more than a book a year for an author. There are exceptions to this -- James Patterson and Clive Cussler come to mind -- but most authors have only one novel out at a time. (A main reason who some authors use Pen names). Well and great if I have only one novel ready to go, but what if I have three novels ready, or several novellas? Do I want to wait three years to publish all three novels, or figure out how to get novellas published? By self-publishing, all three novels can be out in a year, finding readers and hopefully earning money. If I want to publish under my own name, a pen name of ten pen names, I decide when and how I release my work and in what form. That still means I have to write quality stories, but I don't have to sit there with a stack of finished material, dribbling out a novel at a time.

Freedom --- That leads in from Amount of Work. I decide when and how I release my novel/novella/ novelette/short story. I decide if I want to have an audio version, what the price of my work should be. I decide what cover my stories should have. I'm on my own time table, not a TPC's. I think that would have a better handle on what my story needs in the way of a cover, and how much PR I can put out and in what format.

Money --- Yes, it's that low on the list. As a self-publisher (or independent author), I receive no advance (Which are shrinking rapidly). I do however, receive a larger percentage of royalties per book. And because e-books or Print on Demand (POD) never go out of print, I could earn money on a novel I wrote five or ten years ago. While I wouldn't earn a lot per sale, say $2.50 per book, once I have enough stories published, I wouldn't need that many sales per book. If my books each sells only ten copies a month ($25.00), and I have ten stories published, I'm looking at $250.00/month. Not a huge amount, but it would be constant, and grow each time I published a story. With the right PR, I could boost sales for a series, or offer special editions. I don't need runaway bestsellers (Though I would not complain if one of my stories did hit it big) to make a living,

And those are my thoughts as I see it right now. Can my thoughts change? Yes. I expect that I will be altering my thoughts a lot over the next few years, as I start digging into the new soil of being an Independent Author.

Craig