NERVES

Hallo there all.  I just wanted to take a moment to talk about submissions.  Of the writing kind.

Today I submitted a story to Writer's of the Future.  Now, when I was deciding I wanted to put my writing out in the great big world, the query-go-round was the first huge obstacle.  It didn't take me very long to decide that wasn't the type of career I wanted to have.  I wanted something that would seriously reward me as an author, not just my pride in being "in print".

Then along came these fancy e-reader things, and I knew I wanted one the day they were announced.  I lived in Japan and I begged and begged and begged my parents, "If you get me anything for Christmas - just get me this, and I will be THRILLED."  And, that's all I got that Christmas, and I was THRILLED.  (See how that works?)  The best part was that I could get English-language books to read while in Japan.  I have to say, there is a shortage of English texts in the land of the rising sun ;)

But somehow it didn't occur to me that I could get MY works on that fancy digital book.  And then, one day, like magic, it did.  I was busy working on another story that sits forlornly in the "Whoops, I abandoned you!" pile and I came across KDP.  Incidentally, I came across it on the internet because sometimes while writing, I go on brief research spurts to make sure I'm not talking out of my hat, and that I actually know what I am saying is true.

So anyway, then I started doing lots of investigating into KDP.  But the problem was - I hadn't written a novel.  I had come close a couple of times, lengthy, sometimes rambling manuscripts, but never anything concrete.

I moved home.  Stuff happened, and then I wrote a novel.  A complete one, my first one, "Shackled".  And let me tell you, by the end of it, I was thinking, "Why would anyone ever want to write one of these?"  Because I was brutal on myself and I forced my arse into the computer chair to write and write and write the freaking story until I was done.  It took me about three months total and looking back more effort was spent getting over myself than actually writing.  That's not to say it's not good - I think it's an awesome story - but I was quite melodramatic about it, to myself.

I got it all ready, and I put it up on Kindle and crossed my fingers and toes and eyes and... well, not much happened.  I sold a few copies and I got a couple 5 star reviews.  Luckily, that's more than some (so I've heard.)

Well now I've turned this into kind of a rambly backstory, sorry.  But the short of it is, I don't have a lot of experience with submissions.  I haven't received a hobojillion rejections like Konrath or others.  I actually haven't even received one.

Mostly because I haven't submitted anything :P

But I mean to be serious about this writing thing.  Remember the whole 52 Shades of Short Stories I want to participate in?  Well, I seem to do short stories well, and if I'm not writing novels, then they need to be submitted somewhere.  Today started my submissions journey - a 1,250 word short entitled "Moebied" and cast to the great dark waters of Writer's of the Future.  May they treat it gently.

And again, sorry for the rambly but... NERVES.

Coming Soon: Heirloom!

So, my February release is almost ready to go! Just need to finish up some formatting and I will post and thus make my February goal post! That will make me 2 for 2 in one-a-month releases!

Behold, Heirloom...

Lazebot, Slouching In

So I haven't blogged much. Or, if you're following my 500k writing challenge, written much. I could give lots of excuses or even valid reasons why I've been slacking off.

But.

K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid)

Mostly I'm demotivated. Unenthusiastic. Dragging. Lazy.

My writing inactivity has gotten so bad that to reach my goal, I need to write an additional 158 words a day, minimum, on top of the regularly scheduled writing, to keep on track/catch up. Not impossible, but definitely climbing in the wrong direction.

I had a spurt of writing today. A little gritty, short-lived. Finished a short story I've been mulling over for awhile at just under 3k. My writing total today (over 2k) actually brought my writing target per day down by 1.8 words. Fantastic! A step in the right (write? HO HO HO, shameless puns!) direction.

It's tentatively titled "Image". Probably will change. It's a bit spooky, about a 3-span generational gap. And a little twist. Based largely off my own childhood recollection of staying with my great-grandmother and being terrified. Hopefully I'll have a nice cover soon, and can release it in my February slot and maintain my 1-a-month-release-goal for this year :)

Lazebot, Slouching Out

Incompatible, Live!

Wonderful, fantastic news :)

THE THUNDERSTORM (Krakakow!), release 3 is now LIVE! "Incompatible" (formerly known as "Roadtrap") is ready on Amazon and soon B&N.



Loving someone means accepting them as they are... and all the crazy they carry with them.

When lovestruck Matt springs himself as Valerie's second in a visit to her parents, he realizes he may never have known her, after all...

This is a short story, approximately 3,500 words.

THE THUNDERSTORM, Reveal #3!

Well, if you missed it, I've already revealed and released Disappear and Hooded.

They can also be found on Nook: Disappear and Hooded.

Maybe you want to check them out? Maybe you're not into shorts. Hopefully that's not the case because this next is also a short, though quite the creepy one... It will be releasing next week :)

Brace yourselves, for Incompatible...

So... Many... Ideas...

I have so many things lined up to write, they are practically begging me to let them free. I know I should sit down and work through them one at a time and get them done, like they deserve.

So of course I did the most irresponsible thing today and spent my writing time working on a short story I just thought of today :P

With the horrible title of "Futurescope" it clocked in at 1,305 words. Now I have to decide what to do with it, haha. It feels a little too short to publish alone, and quite cliff-hangery in that there should be more to the story. I'm done with it as far as today goes, maybe I will go back to it and fill it out more, but I wrote it almost straight through and it feels like that was where it needed to end.

It's definitely the beginning of... something. I feel like if I publish it, I should do so with a disclaimer that I intend to go back and write more.

Anyone interested in a read?

Ah well, how's everyone else's writing going?

THE THUNDERSTORM, Reveal #2!

Well would you look at that? Just look at it!

Very, very cool cover for one of my favorite shorts! I'm really proud of this piece ("Hooded"). We're going to upload it today so it should be available soon :)

In the meantime, THE THUNDERSTORM (Krakakow!) Release #1, Disappear is available :) Check it out? (Link in the sidebar as well!)

THE THUNDERSTORM, Reveal #1!

I know I've been quiet on the blog front recently - trust me, my fingers are tiny nubs from all the tapping on my keyboard I've been doing.

But you know what's coming? If you guessed THE THUNDERSTORM (Krakakow!)... you're right! You can pick up your collapsible flannel bicycle at the front desk. But before you attempt to ride it home, feast your eyes on the first cover reveal...

All thanks and praise to my indefatigable, insatiable, independent cover artist, Jeroen ten Berge!

A Bad Run Gone Positive (This is a Long One, I Hope You Like Reading)

A few weeks ago I got stuck in the driveway because of the snow. Last Friday, I got stuck in the street - again, snow. (Last Wednesday, going 10 miles an hour, I slid at a 65 degree angle off the road, downhill, and got three nice gentlemen to push my car back up onto the street.)

Last night, my fiance bribed me with Taco Bell (who can resist?!?) We had to switch our cars in the driveway because he was leaving first this morning. I tossed my keys in the cup holder of his car. (Can you see where this is going?) We took the dog. When we got home, I had the dog, and the food.

This morning, he drove away with my keys. Sigh.

He's the assistant manager. His lunch doesn't come until 3... about the time I'd get off work, anyway. When I called work, asking if I got keys if I should come in, they said no. Sigh again.

My work is going to think I fell off the planet, soon. However, my creditors will keep searching for me :P

I moped for a minute, then lifted my head high - I'm going to make the most of my unplanned free day! My goal is to finish 3k words on "Cheater's Pass". Writing it, I've already formulated a few ideas for later episodes. I'm really excited about the project, in general!

I'll share my idea with the lot of you, since you're here :)

I want to write each episode in 3 weeks (if a team of writers can write a half-hour show every week, I think I can manage 20k words in 3!). That's about 2 weeks per manuscript (@1,500k words/day) with a week for editing/revisions/cover finalization. I want to release each new episode a month apart. That gives me about an extra week between episodes to:

A: rest
B: work on a different project
OR
C: start the next episode to get ahead/form a buffer

I have a lot of confidence in my ability, and I know with 100% certainty - I work better on a schedule. If I say, write 1.5k words/day, finish by this date, publish on this date, ect... then I feel I can really buckle down, focus my ability and build up a backlist. Backlists seem to be a big part of "making it" in self-publishing... which of course makes sense! (You have to have product, for product to be bought.) Plus, I'm a firm believer in the more you write, the better you get! Story-crafting is a skill that gets better with constant use.

I know there will be nay-sayers (You can't produce something of quality in 3 weeks!) But I will disagree with them. Yes, some authors take 6 months to write a chapter. I do not. I can write a chapter and heavily edit it 3 times in 4 days. But, as I write, I edit. I read the previous chapter, edit, write the next chapter. The next day, I read what came before, edit, write the next and so forth. I'm a rolling editor. Plus, I take what my beta readers say into consideration as I move forward. By the time I finish the story, only the last part needs severe editing - the rest has been looked over by at least 4 pairs of eyes (my own, at least 10 times). Also, when I write, I don't generally "go with it"... the ideas usually ferment in my brain and when I sit down with it, I know where it's going. I learned a long time ago that "letting characters write the story for me..." was a bad idea. My stories took weird turns, and I felt I couldn't get them back on track. It's better if I follow the pattern in my head, then flesh it out after.

And if I may make a nod at people who have already made some success - I think many people would be surprised how quickly some stories were written. I believe I read on Hocking's blog that she wrote Hollowland in about a week... and that's considerably longer than what I'm writing. I don't know her editing schedule, but I believe if you have the story, it's there, and you'll write it. I don't find writing a struggle, I find it a release. I don't get writer's block because there's always SOMETHING in there to write about! (I may get something I call writer's pause, on occasion, as I sift about for that perfect phrase.)

I'm trying to turn around my situation, one chapter at a time ;) So, let's take this unplanned free day and turn it a better life down the road!

Fifteen Forty-Eights (15/48)

I'm working on the rewrites of my chapters, getting them really as clean and polished as I can, for release next week.

When I write my first draft, I write The Story. It's sort of like I'm making a person. See, everyone needs bones (we'd look REALLY funny without them), so when I write, I'm making the bones of the story.

The problem with that is - it's the bones of the story. There isn't any meat or muscle, not much there to sink your teeth into. There is some, but it's more a shadow of what's to come. Now, I'm fleshing things out and really putting those lean muscles over the bones. My story is starting to look a little more... human?

This analogy is weird.

So far today, I've rewritten through Chapter 15. I'm behind schedule, but I'm not panicking (yet). The thing is, I was REALLY excited about my rewrites today. Rewrites are potentially not an exciting thing for me. It's basically the time where I say, "Yeah, I kinda screwed up, so let's fix it. SIIIIGH."

Today I felt like the rewrites I did were really powerful, like the story is getting cranked back against some springs and waiting to explode into the face of my readers. (Boom) The scenes that had pizazz have really perked up and I think have impact. I felt exhilarated on the re-read! So, good for me.

On another note, thanks everyone who was worried about my hand. I'm doing fine, everything is healing up very nicely and I'm taking good care of it. Only average light infection, nothing at all to worry about. It's starting to itch, which drives me nuts, but I'm staying away from it. (As much as one CAN stay away from one's own HAND.)

I got the amazingly intelligent (incredibly stupid) idea today that, since I want to exercise and slim down a bit before my wedding (remember the fiance I mention all the time?) I would go for a jog.

And I would take the dog with me.

My sweet and loving puppy is about 5 months old. I'm pretty sure this qualifies him to be identified as 100% perpetual motion. In an effort to wear my dog out, I have played fetch with him (long-distance fetch!) for so long he has coughed up mucus (and I thought my arm would fall off). Regardless, he coughed, then brought the slobbery, mucus-y ball directly back to my feet. (I think it's the border collie in him.)

Jogging with Perpetual-Motion-With-Fur is not the most genius idea I have ever had. I went all the way around the block to the left (down the hill), passed my street and went around the block to the right (fairly level), passed my street street again and went around the first block in the opposite direction (UP the hill, dumb-da-dumb-dumb), then down my street and home. He merely trotted along in front of me like, "Hey? Why are you going so Sloooooooooow?!?" I collapsed on the couch, legs frozen through and lungs totally collapsed. (Okay, maybe not totally.) Luckily for me, the dog jumped directly in my lap and gave me concerned puppy eyes. A balm for the soul, that. (Too bad it couldn't do anything for my lungs.) Also, at 40+ lbs, he's not exactly the lightest thing to have in your lap...

I didn't realize how out of shape I was! How embarrassing. My fiance tried to assuage my feelings by assuring me, "It's because of the cold!" Regardless that it is friggin' cold outside (11 degrees Fahrenheit), I still feel like a wuss. I really need to take better care of myself! Now where did I leave that Pepsi cube...

Tomorrow is my last day of work before my nine-day vacation! I am extremely excited about this. As soon as my lungs re-inflate, I'll be sure to let out a cheer!

Heartburn... of JOY (Plus: Twelve Worlds)

I am almost entirely unable to sit still today!

Sometime this year (definite date not yet set), I will have some work released in an anthology called "Twelve Worlds". Derek J. Canyon of Dead Dwarves Don't Dance and Dead Dwarves, Dirty Deeds decided to put the idea together. We are looking to donate the proceeds to charity, probably one focused around writing or literacy.

I wrote a piece called Insomnomancer, my word ticker up there says Sleepeater because I changed the name right before editing submissions. I also handed off a copy to my buddy G to the Niz of E-publisher's Manifesto fame.

Our round-robin submissions mean that 3 of the other 12 authors will review our story, edit and provide feedback/suggestions. One of my editors, plus Aaron got back to me today and I think both critiques were very positive! Both enjoyed the story and had a little to say about my adjective use. (What can I say? My world is just more emo than yours, ha-ha... but I'm not dying my hair, growing it over my eyes and walking around depressed so don't ask.)

It is such a thrill to me to have others enjoy my writing. For anyone who has never been locked in a shell of their own making, you don't know what it's like when the sunlight finally comes pouring in. Self-imposed writing abstinence did me NO good and it feels good to be stringing the lines of a story together. It is also very cathartic in that - the ideas won't leave me alone UNTIL I empty them from my head. I have more "room to breathe" as it comes to thinking, when I write! I hope you understand what I mean.

I have that warm fuzzy feeling in my chest and big dorky grin plastered on my face. Hello, Heartburn of Joy! Days like this re-fill my write-o-meter and make me want to push myself even further :)

I Can Hear the Bandwagon, but I Can't Jump On

The indie community is really a thrilling place right now. It seems like everyday I find a new author out there - a living, breathing, pulsing, thinking organism who is jumping with both feet into indie publishing.

They say they've posted X number of books and are seeing between 1-15 sales a day, just on what they have up for sale. To me, even the idea of selling ONE book a day irrationally excites me. My work for consumption - what a dream!

I consider Aaron over at E-Publisher's Manifesto to be a good friend. I've followed his journey from Ground Zero as his sales have clawed their way up from 1/day to now 14/day! I see his success and cheer him... and also want it for myself.

I've touched a little before on how I gave up writing. I haven't finished that story for the readers yet, but I shall... I shall.

The point I want to make: I don't have a backlist of books to explode the face of the InTaRwEbS with my obvious genius. "Chains of Memory" is the first work I've finished...

In Ten Years.

It will be the only thing I have on Kindle, as I labor through my next piece.

Well, that's not entirely true. Along with Derek J. Canyon and 10 other authors (plus a few in the bonus section), we're putting together an indie anthology of which the proceeds will go to a (as yet unnamed) charity. THE ANTHOLOGY IS CALLED TWELVE WORLDS. (/end shameless plug)

But, we're looking at that around March. CoM will be up in the next ten to seventeen days. Even reading that terrifies me.

I do think finishing CoM has given me some serious momentum though. I jumped into the anthology and wrote my bit. It wasn't terribly long, but the idea burned pretty brightly in my mind. Even though it was only a short story, it was the second!... work I'd finished...

In Ten Years.

I feel like I'm far behind the curve, with only one submission for the indie world. I don't have this huge backlist I can wave around and say, "These are my rejections! These are my almosts! This was not quite traditionally published! Kindle hooooooooooi!" It's just my one novel that I've put a lot into (and about a month later, my one short story that I also put a lot into.)

I kind of wonder where I'll be...

In Ten Years?