Writers Regret.

Sixteen Years!

I've often wondered, usually late at night as I toss and turn while sleep eludes me, exactly where would I be today if I had spent the last sixteen years as focused on my writing as I am today.


I began writing earnestly in 1991, and over the course of the first five years of my writing life I amassed drawers of rejections as I followed the time honored route of submitting then moving on to the next story. In that time I managed to create about fifty short stories all in various stages of completion. I had about twenty that were making the rounds at any one time. If one were to have gone through the steadily growing pile of rejections they would have discovered a writer slowly honing his craft as form rejection letters gave way to personal notes from editors.

By 97 I had one novel ready for submission, with four others in draft stage, and began the long drawn out process of finding a publisher for my manuscript. I sparked the interest of a junior editor at Del-Rey books, a  division of Random House, who requested the first three chapters that I happily sent out the following day.

After a year and a half, that's right, eighteen months later I received a rejection along with my first three chapters.

By then I was closing in on my fortieth birthday. I lost my father when he was forty seven, I was eighteen when he died, and from that point on a countdown was initiated in my sub-conscious. While growing up I was always told that I looked and acted just like my Dad. So was it any wonder that on occasion I would be struck by the realization that I might never see fifty.

Looking back now, after having reached fifty seven and still counting, I can laugh at myself, but at the time it was serious business. Based on how long it took Random House to respond to my submission, and with an understanding of how the process worked, I might never see my work in print.

I believe it was this fear that drove me to be more open to self publishing when in 1999 I discovered a small start up called iUniverse. Get your book published for only $99.00. Before then the only way to see a print copy of your book was to have a publisher, or purchase an entire print run. With little time to spare, remember I'm now over forty, and without enough savings or room to store a print run I signed up.

It was a learning experience, and let's leave it at that. I will say I believe I made every mistake possible while publishing that book.

 A year later, in 2001, it was all gone. Everything was lost in a computer malfunction that fried my hard drive. Seven novels in various stages of completion, eight screenplays, and an untold number of short stories. Ten years of blood sweat and tears gone in the twinkling of an eye.

I gave up, yes I surrendered!

I got a better job, bought a house, and tried to live like a normal person. But late at night, as I tried to sleep while the world was quiet around me, I'd often wonder if I had given up too easily.

In 2008 I hit the big 50, I had outlived that sub-conscious countdown. The housing bubble burst and suddenly I found myself in the unemployment line. I've always lived in an area with high unemployment, by choice, it's where my roots are, so it's really my fault I was unable to find permanent work for nearly two years.

In the time I was off I began writing again, building upon the foundation that had been laid in the early nineties. By the end of 2011 I had rewritten my first book and released it through Amazon. At the present time I have5 novels, 2 novellas, and a short story collection available with a whole lot more to come.

The two biggest regrets that haunt me to this day are.

#1: Not getting the schooling I needed when I first started out. I believe a creative writing course would have helped me solidify the path I'd chosen, and built a strong foundation upon which to build my writing career

#2: Not getting right back into it after I lost all of my work. Yes it would have been hard at first, but I would have gotten through it. This is also my biggest regret. Where would I be now if I'd been as focused on my writing as I am now?

So when you get that rejection from the publisher you'd hoped would fall in love with your work, always remember, you're not alone. All of us are following the same path you're on.

What are your regrets?

What bad writing decisions keep you up at night?

And how did you overcome them?

Monday Motivational: 25 Ways to be a Happy Writer

Nearly every writer reaches a point in their career where they wonder if anybody out there is even listening to them. Especially now that self publishing is easier than ever before, and the market has become flooded with material. Sales become nonexistent and they begin to believe that maybe they should have listened to their Uncle Morty and gotten involved in Real Estate instead.

It is at this point that the wheat is separated from the chaff. The real writer finds motivation from within and can answer the following question only one way.

If I wasn't a writer I'd __________!

If your desire to write is an integral part of who you are, not writing would be akin to removing a limb. It can be tough but in every career there are ups and downs, sometimes the downs can seem like they will never end, but they will. Many times that change comes not from a sudden increase in sales, but from a change in the writer's attitude.

We've all seen the meme floating around out there, 25 ways to be a happy writer.

1. Write!
2. Care less!
3. Write what you want to write!
4. Bring yourself to the page!
5. Stop comparing yourself to others!
6. Open yourself!
7. Set realistic goals!
8. Recognize the lengths of your control!
9. Gaze not into publishing's demon eye!
10. Don't give haters real estate in your brain
11. Stop looking at your Amazon ranking!
12. Give yourself permission to suck!
13. Deal with your problems!
14. When something isn't working, change it!
15. Take care of your body!
16. Don't worry about money! (Hard to do at times)
17. Recognize the limits of shame!
18. Treat your audience well!
19. Nurture other writers!
20. See failure as a learning experience! 
21. Make no excuses!
22. Look for long-term satisfaction over short-term happiness!
23. Let your voice find you!
24. Love some part of what you do!
25. Finish your work!

 I would add make writing a part of your life, not your whole life!

Is there anything you'd add?

Real Writers Don't Self Publish, by Kristen Lamb

One of the things I love about doing what I do is that I have the ability to connect so closely with you guys and speak on the topics that matter to you. Yesterday, a fellow writer shared an article from The Guardian, For me traditional publishing means poverty. But self-publish? No way. She wanted my take on what the author had to say.

All right.

For those who’ve been following this blog for any amount of time, I hope I’ve been really clear that I support all paths of publishing (vanity press doesn’t count).

All forms of publishing hold advantages and disadvantages and, as a business, we are wise to consider what form of publishing is best for our writing, our work, our goals, our personality, etc. But my goal has always been to educate writers so they are making wise decisions based off data, not just personal preferences.

We don’t self-publish because all our friends are doing it and we think we can make a million dollars fast cash. But, at the same time, we shouldn’t hold out for traditional out of some misguided idea that self-publishing/indie isn’t for “real” authors and that traditional publishers are somehow going to handhold us.

The author of this article has the right to publish as she sees fit. I am all for empowering authors and trust me, I know that self-publishing gets a bad rap for good reasons. I am not blind to all the book spam and authors who write ONE book and camp on top of it for the next five years selling to anyone who looks at them.

But there were some egregious errors in many of the article’s assertions that I’d like to address so that your decision is based of reality not an opinion piece. I won’t address them all today for the sake of brevity, but here were the major ones that jumped out at me.

Myth #1—Serious Novelists Don’t Self-Publish

Tell that to Hugh Howey, Bob Mayer, Barry Eisler, Joel Eisenberg, Vicki Hinze, Theresa Ragan and y’all get the point.

Read the rest at WarriorWriters

Just good enough, is not good enough anymore.

A recent post by Kristine Kathryn Rusch served as a real eye opener for me. You can read the full post here if you would like: http://kriswrites.com/2015/04/02/business-musings-the-hard-part/#sthash.AQhcuMq2.dpbs

She talks about a lot of things that directly affect the success and or failure of a writer in these somewhat turbulent times. Turbulent at least for indie writers who have seen their sales drop over the past year. Some of the problems are the result of outside influences that are beyond the control of the average writer. Such as Kindle Unlimited, and the reduced royalties of those writers who chose to participate. That’s an Amazon decision and as much as we may want to complain about it, it is one of those things that are totally out of our control as writers.

What we can control though is what we, as Indie Writers, put out there.

When I first came into kindle and indie publishing around the beginning of 2012, the Amazon gold rush was going strong. There was this sense of get it out there now or lose out for good. I envisioned selling hundreds of thousands of copies of my work thereby allowing my wife and I to get away from the craziness of working for other people who honestly didn’t give a rat’s ass about you.

I got caught up in the rush to just get it out there.

The tides have turned, now just getting it out there is not good enough. All the tricks and gimmicks many had used in the past were just that. For me personally I lost sight of the most important thing to me as a writer, that connection with the reader.

In my rush to catch a wave of my own I allowed myself to accept just good enough when something even better was waiting in the wings had I slowed down to let the story mature in my mind.

But I’ve learned, as I always do, the hard way, that tricks and gimmicks are just that. Nothing will ever replace good writing. I also learned, for me at least, that writing is not a means to an end, but a lifestyle choice. It is not a hobby. Not something I merely dabble in when there is nothing else to do.

It is an integral part of who I am.

Iain Rob Wright on Making Your Own Dreams

There was a time when self-publishing meant that you were silly enough to pay some company of crooks a load of money to print several dozen poorly constructed copies of your naively written novel and then try to sell them from the boot of your car.  It used to be called Vanity Publishing, and for good reason: the only thing it was good for was stroking a wannabe writer’s ego.  What it did not do was put food on their table or allow them to quit their day job.  Self-publishing used to suck.

Read the rest at Iain's Blog.

Caveat emptor

Many of us are familiar with the meaning of the title of this post. Let the buyer beware. Those two simple words couched in an ancient language have always been a part of our lexicon. For today’s writer who has already, or is considering following the self publishing route, they are words of wisdom.

Let the buyer beware.

What was once the final option for those unable to secure the interest of an editor, or agent, has now become a first choice. Every day the stigma associated with self publishing diminishes as more of the mainstream learns to accept the existence of self published material as a viable route.

Of course any industry that experiences the growth self publishing has seen over the past few years is bound to attract its share of those unscrupulous enough to prey on the dreams of others.

Their ads are everywhere.

If you have ever performed a search for self publishing you may have noticed that practically anywhere you go online there are an increasing number of ads calling for you to self publish today. While writing this post I checked and counted 11 sponsored ads all directed at those thinking about self publishing.

Most of the ads you see will take you to a form to fill out so the company can get more information to you. Personally I've always felt that if they can't be upfront about their pricing structure, they're hiding something.

Some companies will charge the aspiring author thousands of dollars for an end product that has little chance of selling. These companies are in business for one reason, and one reason only, to sell a dream. You too can be a bestselling author, they shout out while presenting examples of bestselling authors you have probably never even heard of.

Other companies are small start ups that were born with the dream of creating opportunity for writers, usually opened on a shoe string budget that leave little room for mistakes. While most end up failing, there are some that make it through their first trials to emerge with a better grasp of the business.

These are the companies you want to search out. Sadly I don't have a list as I'm a do it yourselfer, the only outsourcing I do is editing to an English teacher I've known for over twenty years who is herself a well regarded writer of speculative fiction. She understands my particular style of writing and works to help me improve those areas that need the most help.

If you know of any of these companies let me know in the comments and I'd be glad to feature their services in a future post.

Buyer beware. If you're new to self publishing take your time and research each company you approach. Find their recently published titles on Amazon and Barnes & Nobles websites.

Ask yourself the following questions.

1. Do the covers look professional?
1A. Do they look like the end result of cookie cutter templates?

2. Is the pricing in line with similar books of the same page count?

3. Open several samples and read a portion of the book.

Are there editorial problems such as misspelled words, clunky grammar, bad punctuation?

Any mistakes should be minimal. I'm a perfectionist but even I understand no one is absolutely perfect

Are they any layout problems such as indents changing from paragraph to paragraph?

And remember. Take your time. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Get it done right the first time so you can move on to other projects without the last one hanging over your head.

Don't be afraid the cut your losses and run.

And when you do find that perfect match. Take care of them and they will take care of you in return.

One Star Reviews

It was bound to happen eventually. It happens to every writer who puts themselves out there.  No one is immune.  Not even F. Scott Fitzgerald whose novel, The Great Gatsby, has received a total of 116 one star reviews. Stephen King is known the world over as a writer worth reading. Yet his novel, The Stand, considered by some to be one of the best post apocalyptic stories ever written, has gotten 53 one star reviews.

By the numbers: Authorhouse vs Createspace

I was recently engaged in a conversation with an opponent of self publishing who possessed an obvious hatred of Amazon, and had little understanding of self publishing in general. I thought I'd post my final response here as it contains some interesting comparisons for anyone considering the self publishing route.

Names have been deleted to protect the innocent.

Thank you for your responses to my inquires., I engaged you in this conversation to get a little insight from the other side of the aisle. To understand why, aside from the obvious factors of sub par execution, many people are so down on self publishing.

The biggest thing that jumps out at me while reading your two articles and your responses is that you really don’t know as much about self publishing as you believe you do. Your views are also shaded by your obvious hatred of Amazon.

As one who has first hand experience with self publishing in the present, and the past, I can tell you from experience that your beliefs are misguided. For starters you confuse self publishing with Vanity publishing. They are two entirely different animals. You lump Amazon in with S and S and Vanguard as those publishers who rip off aspiring writers.

Let me give you an example of this. With S and S to have your book published in print and as an e-book there is an upfront fee for everyone that starts at $749.00. For that you get a custom color cover, interior design, ISBN assignment, a complimentary copy, author support via a free subscription to their self publishing learning center. as well as digital formatting and distribution.

http://www.authorsolutions.com/authorservices.aspx
Take your pick of any of the vanity publishers listed, the packages will be similar.

While you’re there check out the list prices of books already published in their bookstore. For a 332 page book prices start at 19.99 for perfect bound soft cover. A royalty of $2.53 is paid to the author for each copy sold. Authors can purchase up to 24 copies for a discount of  30%, with the discount increasing to 60% for orders in excess of 1000 copies. Let’s see that’s 19.99 minus 30% ($5.99) equals  14.00. Shipping charges are not included. All of this info is available via the FAQ’s

Doing it myself through Amazon via Kindle Direct Publishing and Create space, their print on demand division, I can get a similar package for $10.00 if I want a custom isbn that lists the imprint of my choice as the publisher, $0.00 if I opt to list Create space as the print publisher. Granted I will have to do the formatting so my book files print properly, and design a cover, but they have a community of freelance professionals who can format a book for print for as low as $50.00. I can get a professional cover design for a couple of hundred bucks. Using these option I’m  $260.00 into the project, with $10.00 of it going to Amazon, if I choose that. The finished print product will be listed at all major online retailers, not just Amazon, imagine that, Amazon sharing with Barnes & Noble.

Another point to consider is pricing. A 332 page perfect bound soft cover can be listed for as low as 9.99 with the author still making  2.29 on each copy sold through Amazon, and $4.29 on each copy sold through the Create Space book store. This same 332 page book can be purchased by the author for $3.40 each,  plus shipping and handling.

Everything I just showed you can be found here.
https://www.createspace.com/

If you honestly compare the two, who is ripping off the writer?