Just a quick announcement for all of those holdouts wanting a cheap read. If you are one of these frugal shoppers with exquisite taste, then you are who I am aiming this post at.
My short story collection, An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories, has been reduced to 99¢. You can find links to Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords in the right-hand column of this blog. Please, help me out by telling your friends. And if you enjoy it can you leave a favorable rating? I'd appreciate it.
Stay tuned for my next novel--hopefully coming soon--called Majoring In Murder.
That is all.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Reality Check: The Truth About Writing
When I first began writing six years ago, I thought it would be a miracle to finish the novel I was working on at that time. I was surprised to discover that writing the first draft of a book was easier than I thought, for me at least. I had the main idea emblazoned in my mind and could see the events unfold as if I were watching the movie. I was excited. I thought I'd be the next Stephen King! I was naive.
Editing that first book was a lesson in perseverance. I'd never edited anything that big in my life and spent several weeks just trying to determine how to tackle the monumental task. I'd grown lazy. I would look at the stack of printed pages and wonder how I could possibly get through it all. Then I would walk away, turn on the TV, and leave my worries in the room with my manuscript.
I eventually finished editing the book. As of this post, it's still not 100% complete. I gave it to my wife to read and received a lot of constructive criticism. My wife is brutally honest about my writing, but she's also my biggest fan. Despite the flaws in my writing that make me sound mildly retarded, she still loves me and it makes me love her all the more.
Since that first book, I've written three more books--many still waiting for their first editorial pass--and loads of short stories. I always daydreamed of sending out my manuscripts to agents, publishers reading what I'd written, and receiving that elusive book deal that would set me on the path to join the ranks of famously successful authors. I was naive.
I followed blogs of literary agents, editors, publishers, and other established authors in hopes of gleaning all the knowledge about the industry as I could. I read books on the craft of writing and discussed the semantics of writing and grammar with my wife, an English professor. I read voraciously, both in my genre and more broadly. I read the classics that I had neglected to read in high school when I thought I had better things to do than read. I tried to be a sponge, soaking up as much knowledge about reading and writing and publishing as I could manage. After polishing my short stories--often running them though nine or more revision cycles following the input of my beta readers--I sent them off to print magazines who were looking for stories like mine. I was giddy and confident in the submission stage. I received my share of rejection. Too many, in fact. I was naive.
After subscribing to many different magazines and reading what they chose to publish, I began to grow callous and convinced that the editors wouldn't recognize good writing if their lives depended on it. I pushed those toxic thoughts aside still convinced that they were true. I tried to convince myself of the opposite. Writing is very subjective. Some people absolutely love heavy hitters like James Patterson and Stephen King as evidenced by their millions of dollars. I'm convinced either of them could publish their laundry list and it would land them on the best-sellers list. I've read books by famous authors that went counter to many things I'd learned about what not to do in your writing. How could that be? How could their book get published by disregarding some of these most basic rules? I learned that when you've built a loyal following and have a good track record under your belt, editors tend to be more lenient with your work. You have more creative say so. I was naive.
A couple of my stories managed to find homes in a few magazines. I continued to follow what was happening in the publishing industry, feeling that if I didn't hurry and create my masterpiece to get published I was going to miss the boat. A digital revolution was underway. Electronic books came on the scene and there was talk of how it would change the publishing landscape. Agents and Publishers scoffed. Physical books were still the dominant force. eBooks were just a fad. I scoffed right along with the big boys and turned up my nose at self-publishing. Self-publishing at the time was taboo, usually proof that an author had admitted defeat and sought to publish his/her book at a vanity press. I wasn't going to quit. I knew I had talent as a writer. But, still, I was naive.
Since the digital revolution, the publishing industry has changed dramatically. Digital media has taken hold in a big way, major book sellers have gone belly-up in its wake. The stigma of self-publishing has changed. Many talented authors--as well as those who are truly bad--have embraced self-publishing, opting to forego the traditional path, bypass the gatekeepers standing in their way, and reach an audience directly. I've watched this trend take hold and evolve. I've read extensively about self-publishers who have gone on to be successful. Many of them post their sales numbers and preach the gospel of doing it yourself. No longer was self-publishing a taboo thing. Although some still associate it with bad writing, self-publishing, like the publishing industry, has evolved. Now, I'm not as naive as I once was.
I still believe I'm a talented writer. I decided to try my hand at self-publishing. I experimented by taking one of my shorts and published it myself. This way, I thought, I could experience how the process works and determine if it was worth pursuing. If nothing else, I could get my name out there and possibly build a following. My first published work, the short story, Hush, Hush, My Love (available for free on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords) was more successful than I would have imagined. On Smashwords alone, it has been downloaded more than 300 times and received 4-star reviews. It was also reviewed by Red Adept Reviews, garnering three-and-a-half stars.
Following the success of Hush, I decided to release something larger. I put together a collection of short stories that magazines had rejected and sold it as An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories (Amazon, B&N, Smashwords). I've received accolades from many readers I know who have purchased the book. In my ability I am not naive, but I also know that my writing can always improve. Neither am I naive to think I will reach the writing pinnacle to stand with the likes of many of my favorite authors. I've learned much during the last 6 years and I'll continue learning, improving, and hopefully entertaining my readers.
In the beginning, I was intimidated by the task of editing something as large as a novel. Today, that's not daunting at all. Finishing a book--ending up with a polished gem--is just the beginning. There's still marketing to do, formatting, uploading, pricing, etc. I'm currently teaching myself how to edit videos in hopes of creating studio-quality book trailers as promotional tools for my future work. Maybe I'm still naive, but this is reality.
Editing that first book was a lesson in perseverance. I'd never edited anything that big in my life and spent several weeks just trying to determine how to tackle the monumental task. I'd grown lazy. I would look at the stack of printed pages and wonder how I could possibly get through it all. Then I would walk away, turn on the TV, and leave my worries in the room with my manuscript.
I eventually finished editing the book. As of this post, it's still not 100% complete. I gave it to my wife to read and received a lot of constructive criticism. My wife is brutally honest about my writing, but she's also my biggest fan. Despite the flaws in my writing that make me sound mildly retarded, she still loves me and it makes me love her all the more.
Since that first book, I've written three more books--many still waiting for their first editorial pass--and loads of short stories. I always daydreamed of sending out my manuscripts to agents, publishers reading what I'd written, and receiving that elusive book deal that would set me on the path to join the ranks of famously successful authors. I was naive.
I followed blogs of literary agents, editors, publishers, and other established authors in hopes of gleaning all the knowledge about the industry as I could. I read books on the craft of writing and discussed the semantics of writing and grammar with my wife, an English professor. I read voraciously, both in my genre and more broadly. I read the classics that I had neglected to read in high school when I thought I had better things to do than read. I tried to be a sponge, soaking up as much knowledge about reading and writing and publishing as I could manage. After polishing my short stories--often running them though nine or more revision cycles following the input of my beta readers--I sent them off to print magazines who were looking for stories like mine. I was giddy and confident in the submission stage. I received my share of rejection. Too many, in fact. I was naive.
After subscribing to many different magazines and reading what they chose to publish, I began to grow callous and convinced that the editors wouldn't recognize good writing if their lives depended on it. I pushed those toxic thoughts aside still convinced that they were true. I tried to convince myself of the opposite. Writing is very subjective. Some people absolutely love heavy hitters like James Patterson and Stephen King as evidenced by their millions of dollars. I'm convinced either of them could publish their laundry list and it would land them on the best-sellers list. I've read books by famous authors that went counter to many things I'd learned about what not to do in your writing. How could that be? How could their book get published by disregarding some of these most basic rules? I learned that when you've built a loyal following and have a good track record under your belt, editors tend to be more lenient with your work. You have more creative say so. I was naive.
A couple of my stories managed to find homes in a few magazines. I continued to follow what was happening in the publishing industry, feeling that if I didn't hurry and create my masterpiece to get published I was going to miss the boat. A digital revolution was underway. Electronic books came on the scene and there was talk of how it would change the publishing landscape. Agents and Publishers scoffed. Physical books were still the dominant force. eBooks were just a fad. I scoffed right along with the big boys and turned up my nose at self-publishing. Self-publishing at the time was taboo, usually proof that an author had admitted defeat and sought to publish his/her book at a vanity press. I wasn't going to quit. I knew I had talent as a writer. But, still, I was naive.
Since the digital revolution, the publishing industry has changed dramatically. Digital media has taken hold in a big way, major book sellers have gone belly-up in its wake. The stigma of self-publishing has changed. Many talented authors--as well as those who are truly bad--have embraced self-publishing, opting to forego the traditional path, bypass the gatekeepers standing in their way, and reach an audience directly. I've watched this trend take hold and evolve. I've read extensively about self-publishers who have gone on to be successful. Many of them post their sales numbers and preach the gospel of doing it yourself. No longer was self-publishing a taboo thing. Although some still associate it with bad writing, self-publishing, like the publishing industry, has evolved. Now, I'm not as naive as I once was.
I still believe I'm a talented writer. I decided to try my hand at self-publishing. I experimented by taking one of my shorts and published it myself. This way, I thought, I could experience how the process works and determine if it was worth pursuing. If nothing else, I could get my name out there and possibly build a following. My first published work, the short story, Hush, Hush, My Love (available for free on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords) was more successful than I would have imagined. On Smashwords alone, it has been downloaded more than 300 times and received 4-star reviews. It was also reviewed by Red Adept Reviews, garnering three-and-a-half stars.
Following the success of Hush, I decided to release something larger. I put together a collection of short stories that magazines had rejected and sold it as An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories (Amazon, B&N, Smashwords). I've received accolades from many readers I know who have purchased the book. In my ability I am not naive, but I also know that my writing can always improve. Neither am I naive to think I will reach the writing pinnacle to stand with the likes of many of my favorite authors. I've learned much during the last 6 years and I'll continue learning, improving, and hopefully entertaining my readers.
In the beginning, I was intimidated by the task of editing something as large as a novel. Today, that's not daunting at all. Finishing a book--ending up with a polished gem--is just the beginning. There's still marketing to do, formatting, uploading, pricing, etc. I'm currently teaching myself how to edit videos in hopes of creating studio-quality book trailers as promotional tools for my future work. Maybe I'm still naive, but this is reality.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Editing, editing, and little new writing
It's been a while since my last post because I've been busy. During the previous week, my family took a college touring trip up the east coast to Maine. There was a lot of driving involved--3,300 miles worth--but, it was worth it. That might sound like a huge drag, but since I'd never visited any states north of Virginia, it was rather fun. Even driving in Manhattan during lunch time was an exciting experience. Let me just say that driving on the roads with NY cab drivers was like the wild, wild west! We saw several ivy-league colleges, ate in some fine restaurants, and saw some beautiful parts of the country.
Now that I've returned, I worked on a novel that I had put aside while driving up the east coast. All was going well for a while and then I hit a brick wall. I didn't necessarily get writer's block because I can still write. I just ran out of logical ideas for the point I reached in the story line. I have the majority of the story outlined, but there is one part in the middle where the details are fuzzy. Well, that just so happens to be where everything petered out. I've put the story aside for now while I brainstorm to come up with more ideas to drag the story out of the mud it seems to be caught in.
I had a novel idea during the trip that I had to get out of bed to write down. I think it will make a great book and can't wait to get around to outlining the plot. Another cool aspect of this story is that I had the idea while I was in Maine. We were listening to The Green Mile in the car, too. My idea is a similar style to how Stephen King tells his story. Anyway, time will tell if I can pull off execution of that story.
My wife recently finished reading my hit man novel. She's the second beta reader to have finished it and now I'm excited to finally get back to revising any mistakes and plot holes. It's also a daunting task. Printed, the book is nearly 300 pages. Today, I managed to revise almost 50 pages. At this rate, it'll be a while before I'm ready to hand it to the next group of beta readers to get their input.
In other, non-writing, news, I'm on the Atkins diet. I started a week before our trip and lost nearly 11 pounds. During the trip, I cheated when we reached Newark, DE and ate at Catherine Rooney's, which is an Irish pub. I couldn't resist not having a Guinness there. Also, I wanted to have some delicious seafood in Maine. In all, I gained 2 pounds during the trip, so that's not too bad. Since returning home and resuming my diet, I've lost an additional 6 pounds. So far, so good.
That's all I've got to report for now. Hopefully, some idea will come to me for the current novel I'm writing. Until next time, I'll continue being good on my diet and editing the hit man novel.
Now that I've returned, I worked on a novel that I had put aside while driving up the east coast. All was going well for a while and then I hit a brick wall. I didn't necessarily get writer's block because I can still write. I just ran out of logical ideas for the point I reached in the story line. I have the majority of the story outlined, but there is one part in the middle where the details are fuzzy. Well, that just so happens to be where everything petered out. I've put the story aside for now while I brainstorm to come up with more ideas to drag the story out of the mud it seems to be caught in.
I had a novel idea during the trip that I had to get out of bed to write down. I think it will make a great book and can't wait to get around to outlining the plot. Another cool aspect of this story is that I had the idea while I was in Maine. We were listening to The Green Mile in the car, too. My idea is a similar style to how Stephen King tells his story. Anyway, time will tell if I can pull off execution of that story.
My wife recently finished reading my hit man novel. She's the second beta reader to have finished it and now I'm excited to finally get back to revising any mistakes and plot holes. It's also a daunting task. Printed, the book is nearly 300 pages. Today, I managed to revise almost 50 pages. At this rate, it'll be a while before I'm ready to hand it to the next group of beta readers to get their input.
In other, non-writing, news, I'm on the Atkins diet. I started a week before our trip and lost nearly 11 pounds. During the trip, I cheated when we reached Newark, DE and ate at Catherine Rooney's, which is an Irish pub. I couldn't resist not having a Guinness there. Also, I wanted to have some delicious seafood in Maine. In all, I gained 2 pounds during the trip, so that's not too bad. Since returning home and resuming my diet, I've lost an additional 6 pounds. So far, so good.
That's all I've got to report for now. Hopefully, some idea will come to me for the current novel I'm writing. Until next time, I'll continue being good on my diet and editing the hit man novel.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
A motivational moment
I've recently gone back and perused J.A. Konrath's older blog posts on his Newbie's Guide to Publishing. If you're an indie author and haven't read Konrath's blog, I highly recommend doing so, otherwise, you're missing out on some great information.
During my reading, I've come across several posts where he talks candidly about the emotions new authors experience when they first start out in this business. It's refreshing to know that I'm not alone in my self-doubt and frustration. Nor am I alone in my obsessive tendencies to Google my name and check my sales stats on my various distributors' websites repeatedly throughout the day. While these affirmations are nice, the most valuable insights are learning from his experiences with self-promotion.
While I'm ignorant about advertising and marketing, it's nice to know I can go somewhere to learn from someone else's mistakes and successes. Especially, someone who is succeeding in the field of writing. More often that not, when I feel depressed about my low sales, feel like I'm a voice quacking in the void, or that I'm just another face in crowd, I can read Joe's posts and begin to feel better about the things I am doing, gain a sense of motivation, and know I need to stay the course.
During my reading, I've come across several posts where he talks candidly about the emotions new authors experience when they first start out in this business. It's refreshing to know that I'm not alone in my self-doubt and frustration. Nor am I alone in my obsessive tendencies to Google my name and check my sales stats on my various distributors' websites repeatedly throughout the day. While these affirmations are nice, the most valuable insights are learning from his experiences with self-promotion.
While I'm ignorant about advertising and marketing, it's nice to know I can go somewhere to learn from someone else's mistakes and successes. Especially, someone who is succeeding in the field of writing. More often that not, when I feel depressed about my low sales, feel like I'm a voice quacking in the void, or that I'm just another face in crowd, I can read Joe's posts and begin to feel better about the things I am doing, gain a sense of motivation, and know I need to stay the course.
An update on what I've been doing
Forgive me. It's been a while since my last blog post. Why does this sound like a Catholic confession? Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It's been *insert time here* since my last confession. Maybe I feel guilty for not blogging more frequently.
Lately, I've been working on a new novel. The working title is called Pass the Buck and, of course, it takes place in Atlanta. I'm not delving into details at this point as the story is still in its infancy, but from the feedback I received when I pitched the idea to friends, I'm very excited about it. I hope I can do it justice and deliver a highly entertaining story my readers. Time will tell.
My college hit man novel, Majoring in Murder, is still in the editorial phase. I've gone through it several time and felt comfortable enough to give it to two of my beta readers (one of those being my wife, who is marking it up as if I was one of her students). Hopefully, she'll be finished with it soon so that I can make my revisions and give it to some different beta readers. This is always such a daunting process for me. I hate editing, as do most writers I know. Also, the honest feedback can sting sometimes and make any writer doubt themselves. But, it shouldn't be too long until I can offer up the book to the readers.
I pitched the idea to a fellow writer friend to co-author a book together. Since he writes science fiction and I enjoy writing crime fiction, we have to come up with an idea that will appeal to both of us. I've got one fairly solid idea and the seeds for another. He's supposed to be brainstorming about some ideas too, so we'll see where we are after July 4th when we reconvene to discuss whether we really want to go through with writing a book together. So, stay tuned for that.
As you may know, and in case you don't, I released my anthology, An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories ,earlier this month on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. If you haven't yet purchased a copy, you're missing out on some really entertaining stories. Also, I've lowered the price from $2.99 to $2.25, which is quite a bargain for 8 stories. Did I mention they were very entertaining? In addition, I've uploaded a more professionally formatted version for both Kindle and Nook on Amazon and B&N. Unfortunately, I have yet to try this Smashwords. This brings me to another point...
I recently came across a series of posts by another indie publisher, Guido Henkel, who gave quite a lot of insight into professionally formatting one's eBooks. His series is definitely worth a read if you want to make your eBooks look their best. The information he presents is priceless, in my opinion. I will warn you ahead of time that it gets fairly technical if you're not familiar with HTML.
In the past, when I uploaded my manuscript, I would simply submit a Word document that was complete and polished. The frustration came when I would upload it to Amazon, view it in the Kindle emulator, tweak it to make it look as I wanted, and then do the same at Barnes & Noble, only to discover that it needed more tweaking to look right for the Nook Color. Once it looked nice in the Nook Color, I would view it in the older Nook emulator and see that it looked hideous. Talk about wanting to pull my hair out! And then there's Smashwords "meatgrinder" where they highly advise you to upload a Word document and adhere to their style guide specifications. Guido's series will eliminate that frustration (at least for Amazon and B&N) and make your manuscript look like you want it to on any eReader device.
I've reformatted my anthology using his steps and tested it on my Nook for PC app, the Kindle app on my smart phone, and the Nook Color I own, and I must say, it looks stellar! I still need to test uploading an ePub version to Smashwords to learn how well their meatgrinder handles the format and I'll do a post to tell you what I learn. I plan to incorporate these techniques into every eBook I publish from this point forward.
Now that I've added another, professionally formatted, title to my repertoire and I'm struggling with self-promotion and experimenting with price points. I've sold several copies of my latest short story collection, but nothing like I was expecting. Of course, I don't have an extensive back list or anything, so I imagine what I'm experiencing is just par for the course. Hopefully, things will pick up as I build my oeuvre. Again, time will tell.
Lately, I've been working on a new novel. The working title is called Pass the Buck and, of course, it takes place in Atlanta. I'm not delving into details at this point as the story is still in its infancy, but from the feedback I received when I pitched the idea to friends, I'm very excited about it. I hope I can do it justice and deliver a highly entertaining story my readers. Time will tell.
My college hit man novel, Majoring in Murder, is still in the editorial phase. I've gone through it several time and felt comfortable enough to give it to two of my beta readers (one of those being my wife, who is marking it up as if I was one of her students). Hopefully, she'll be finished with it soon so that I can make my revisions and give it to some different beta readers. This is always such a daunting process for me. I hate editing, as do most writers I know. Also, the honest feedback can sting sometimes and make any writer doubt themselves. But, it shouldn't be too long until I can offer up the book to the readers.
I pitched the idea to a fellow writer friend to co-author a book together. Since he writes science fiction and I enjoy writing crime fiction, we have to come up with an idea that will appeal to both of us. I've got one fairly solid idea and the seeds for another. He's supposed to be brainstorming about some ideas too, so we'll see where we are after July 4th when we reconvene to discuss whether we really want to go through with writing a book together. So, stay tuned for that.
As you may know, and in case you don't, I released my anthology, An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories ,earlier this month on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. If you haven't yet purchased a copy, you're missing out on some really entertaining stories. Also, I've lowered the price from $2.99 to $2.25, which is quite a bargain for 8 stories. Did I mention they were very entertaining? In addition, I've uploaded a more professionally formatted version for both Kindle and Nook on Amazon and B&N. Unfortunately, I have yet to try this Smashwords. This brings me to another point...
I recently came across a series of posts by another indie publisher, Guido Henkel, who gave quite a lot of insight into professionally formatting one's eBooks. His series is definitely worth a read if you want to make your eBooks look their best. The information he presents is priceless, in my opinion. I will warn you ahead of time that it gets fairly technical if you're not familiar with HTML.
In the past, when I uploaded my manuscript, I would simply submit a Word document that was complete and polished. The frustration came when I would upload it to Amazon, view it in the Kindle emulator, tweak it to make it look as I wanted, and then do the same at Barnes & Noble, only to discover that it needed more tweaking to look right for the Nook Color. Once it looked nice in the Nook Color, I would view it in the older Nook emulator and see that it looked hideous. Talk about wanting to pull my hair out! And then there's Smashwords "meatgrinder" where they highly advise you to upload a Word document and adhere to their style guide specifications. Guido's series will eliminate that frustration (at least for Amazon and B&N) and make your manuscript look like you want it to on any eReader device.
I've reformatted my anthology using his steps and tested it on my Nook for PC app, the Kindle app on my smart phone, and the Nook Color I own, and I must say, it looks stellar! I still need to test uploading an ePub version to Smashwords to learn how well their meatgrinder handles the format and I'll do a post to tell you what I learn. I plan to incorporate these techniques into every eBook I publish from this point forward.
Now that I've added another, professionally formatted, title to my repertoire and I'm struggling with self-promotion and experimenting with price points. I've sold several copies of my latest short story collection, but nothing like I was expecting. Of course, I don't have an extensive back list or anything, so I imagine what I'm experiencing is just par for the course. Hopefully, things will pick up as I build my oeuvre. Again, time will tell.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Another title released!
I released a collection of short stories today that I've been working on polishing for quite some time. Well, I finally finished. This new book is called An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories, which you can see in the sidebar to the right. It contains 8 short stories that I hope will stir your imagination and emotions. Here is the jacket description:
At the time of this blog post, it is available on Smashwords here. I've uploaded it to Amazon and B&N, but it is still in the approval process by those distributors. When it is available there, I will update the links in the sidebar, on my website, and everywhere else I can think of.
So, if you've come by, stopped and read this blog, I do hope you'll get a copy of my book. I doubt you'll be sorry you did. Also, for $2.99, it's less than a single copy of most popular magazines.
Oh, one more thing, if you do happen to get a copy, please rate and/or write a review for it. It doesn't matter if you hate it, leaving a review makes my day. Thanks for stopping by.
"From the mind of J.R. McLemore come eight strange and disturbing short stories:
When the Dead Whisper - If the dead had a secret, would you want to hear it?
Jason's Last Wish - Can a cancer-stricken boy get a second chance at life?
Western Justice - Do the sins of our fathers come back to haunt us?
Hush, Hush, My Love - When a relationship sours, is it wise to look for love elsewhere?
Paranoia - Is a retired cop suffering from severe paranoia, or something else?
Sweet Charlotte - Can someone save Charlotte from her abductor before it's too late?
The Show Must Go On - Can a death-row inmate's nightmares give us a glimpse into the hereafter?
Footprints in the Snow - Can a young man learn a life-altering lesson on a rural stretch of road?"
At the time of this blog post, it is available on Smashwords here. I've uploaded it to Amazon and B&N, but it is still in the approval process by those distributors. When it is available there, I will update the links in the sidebar, on my website, and everywhere else I can think of.
So, if you've come by, stopped and read this blog, I do hope you'll get a copy of my book. I doubt you'll be sorry you did. Also, for $2.99, it's less than a single copy of most popular magazines.
Oh, one more thing, if you do happen to get a copy, please rate and/or write a review for it. It doesn't matter if you hate it, leaving a review makes my day. Thanks for stopping by.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Coming soon!
I've been busy assembling an anthology of my best short stories which I will self-publish very soon. I handed the stories over to my wife last week to proof for me (did I mention she's an English professor? No? Well, she is and the best editor and all-around-everything I know of). Well, she handed them back to me yesterday and I sat down to have a look at what she found. Wow! There was quite a bit of editorial marks on most of the pages. Keep in mind, many of these stories had already been through a rigorous editorial process (some of them went through nine iterations of extensive editing with feedback from several beta readers), yet she still made corrections.
This proves a couple of points:
1. You can't please all of the people all of the time. No matter how awesome you think your work is, there will always be someone who thinks it stinks or could be a little better. In addition to this, just know that reading/writing is very subjective. What appeals to one person isn't necessarily going to appeal to another.
2. If you want, you can practically edit a story forever in hopes that one day it will be perfect. While editing is extremely important, falling into the never-ending cycle of editing to perfection is something every writer should avoid like the plague. Falling into this trap will stop your productivity and most likely drive you mad. Besides, even the famous writers can read one of their own books after publication and find areas that they feel could be improved.
So, with that said, I am in the process of going through the story lineup and addressing the editorial remarks my wife made. It shouldn't take me long and I will, of course, post another blog when I am ready to release the book on Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords. By the way, in case I haven't told you what the name of the book is (my memory is getting worse in my later years), this is it: An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories.
I hope you'll buy a copy, but more importantly, I hope you'll enjoy it!
This proves a couple of points:
1. You can't please all of the people all of the time. No matter how awesome you think your work is, there will always be someone who thinks it stinks or could be a little better. In addition to this, just know that reading/writing is very subjective. What appeals to one person isn't necessarily going to appeal to another.
2. If you want, you can practically edit a story forever in hopes that one day it will be perfect. While editing is extremely important, falling into the never-ending cycle of editing to perfection is something every writer should avoid like the plague. Falling into this trap will stop your productivity and most likely drive you mad. Besides, even the famous writers can read one of their own books after publication and find areas that they feel could be improved.
So, with that said, I am in the process of going through the story lineup and addressing the editorial remarks my wife made. It shouldn't take me long and I will, of course, post another blog when I am ready to release the book on Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords. By the way, in case I haven't told you what the name of the book is (my memory is getting worse in my later years), this is it: An Adverse Anthology: Strange & Disturbing Short Stories.
I hope you'll buy a copy, but more importantly, I hope you'll enjoy it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)