Ask the Author: Joseph R. Lallo
Answered Questions (47)
Joseph R. Lallo
This is a tricky one for me, and if I'm honest I'm not always the best at it. For me, the title of the book is usually one of the last things I determine about it. A few decent rules for picking a good title:
-Unique: You want it to be, if not the only book with this title, the only book of its TYPE with this title.
-Easy: You want something someone will be able to remember, and ideally something someone will be able to spell so they can look it up later.
-Intriguing: You want something that gives a hint of an idea of what's in the book, but is mysterious enough to make the reader want to learn more.
- Important: It's often a good idea to pick something that's key to the story, either something about the hero, something about the villain, something about the setting, or something about the problem the hero is trying to solve.
So for Free-Wrench (not a great title, search for it and you get a lot of free wrenches) it's the job of the hero. For Bypass Gemini, it's the name of a project the hero uncovers. For The Bygone Dagger, it is an artifact the hero is searching for. For The D'Karon Apprentice, it's the nature of the eventual villain.
Stuff like that.
-Unique: You want it to be, if not the only book with this title, the only book of its TYPE with this title.
-Easy: You want something someone will be able to remember, and ideally something someone will be able to spell so they can look it up later.
-Intriguing: You want something that gives a hint of an idea of what's in the book, but is mysterious enough to make the reader want to learn more.
- Important: It's often a good idea to pick something that's key to the story, either something about the hero, something about the villain, something about the setting, or something about the problem the hero is trying to solve.
So for Free-Wrench (not a great title, search for it and you get a lot of free wrenches) it's the job of the hero. For Bypass Gemini, it's the name of a project the hero uncovers. For The Bygone Dagger, it is an artifact the hero is searching for. For The D'Karon Apprentice, it's the nature of the eventual villain.
Stuff like that.
Joseph R. Lallo
Hi! I did indeed hire an editor for my first book, though not until AFTER I'd published it and earned some money. If I had it to do over again, I would have hired an editor before release, as I took a pretty big review hit due to the mass of errors in that first release. An edit and a good cover are the two things worth investing in for your first book.
As for how to get your first book selling when you are a completely unknown, that's a big question. As a quick answer, if you have only one book out, paying for advertising isn't a great idea because getting ads to pay off on a single book is tricky. I'd focus, instead, on pricing your first book low, possibly making it amazon exclusive to make use of the free promo days (and being in Kindle Unlimited) and try for newsletter swaps with other up and coming authors. Writing a short "reader magnet" story to release wide for free and lead people into your other book is another way. Honestly, I have done hundreds of hours of podcasts on this subject. Here's an episode about starting from scratch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng6BT...
As for how to get your first book selling when you are a completely unknown, that's a big question. As a quick answer, if you have only one book out, paying for advertising isn't a great idea because getting ads to pay off on a single book is tricky. I'd focus, instead, on pricing your first book low, possibly making it amazon exclusive to make use of the free promo days (and being in Kindle Unlimited) and try for newsletter swaps with other up and coming authors. Writing a short "reader magnet" story to release wide for free and lead people into your other book is another way. Honestly, I have done hundreds of hours of podcasts on this subject. Here's an episode about starting from scratch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng6BT...
Joseph R. Lallo
Thanks! And I'll certainly announce when the new Deacon stuff is on the way!
Joseph R. Lallo
I should be able to fix that. Let me poke around.
Joseph R. Lallo
Thanks! There will absolutely be more Bygone stories. The series is called The Greater Lands Saga, and I'm actually starting the outline process today for book 4. It'll probably release March or April of 2022. As for Deacon. There are two big incomplete books, The Chronicles of the Red Shadow and ... another book. They'll eventually come out, but I don't have a release date for them.
Joseph R. Lallo
There's at least one more pending story that would include a big chunk showcasing the early period of Desmeres having ventured out into the world to find the Red Shadow.
Joseph R. Lallo
If it's a single movie, I think either Bypass Gemini or Free-Wrench would be great fun to see done. Book of Deacon is an awful lot, so I'd prefer that as a miniseries.
Joseph R. Lallo
Blot is fairly heavily influenced by Midna from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess in terms of her base appearance, connection to shadows, and the top layer of her personality. The rest sort of built from circumstances. I wanted her to put up a tough front, because deep down she knows she's very vulnerable (at least in the beginning). Steadily the clashes between what she'd learned as she was growing up and actual reality start to uncover a bit more depth and her true character.
Joseph R. Lallo
There's certainly another Big Sigma book in the future. It's not immediately, though. I've got an Urban Fantasy in the works. It's likely the next Big Sigma is going to be a big one, however. I'll certainly keep folks posted.
Joseph R. Lallo
Ma's altruism was entirely by design. An earlier AI assistant, B-SOD, had his behavior governed by the three laws of robotics and, given Karter's dubious relationship with morals and ethics, had troubles reconciling the opposing needs to serve him and do no harm. He created Ma with the intent to create an AI assistant that would be able to make value judgments and make comparatively beneficial decisions without locking up when being asked to commit the occasional destructive action. That she became kinder, warmer, more moral, and basically more human than him over the years was an unintended side effect.
Joseph R. Lallo
I actually JUST released it! Indra Station came out a few weeks ago.
Joseph R. Lallo
As I answer this, it is NaNoWriMo, and I've just finished the rough draft of an Urban Fantasy story about sentient shadows. It might be the start of a series. I've also got nearly 100,000 words of a sequel to The Rise of the Red Shadow (Book of Deacon prequel) written, but it keeps getting shelved for other projects.
Joseph R. Lallo
I somehow missed this question! Yes, there will be a Book 5! It's called Indra Station and it's being edited right now. I've got the cover and everything. It'll probably be out early next year.
Joseph R. Lallo
I was alone on the beach one chilly autumn morning, basking in the solitude and the salt air. When I turned aside, I saw my shadow stretching across the sand... beside another shadow, not two steps behind.
Joseph R. Lallo
That I've had any level of success at all in my writing is a pretty big mystery. I like to imagine there's this team of people working behind the scenes to make me successful because my literary output has some Bill and Ted-style crucial impact on the future.
Joseph R. Lallo
Okie doke, fixed! Though it might not update here, just on the main site. Incidentally, if you want to comment in some other way, I'm on twitter (@jrlallo), and you can email me at jrlallo@bookofdeacon.com
Joseph R. Lallo
I read in spurts. Shamefully, once I went full time with writing my reading slowed to a crawl, as I'm perpetually nervous I'll accidentally plagiarize. But when I read, I like things in the sci-fi and fantasy realms, ideally something with a good sense of humor. Jim Butcher writes good stuff. I've got the last few Terry Pratchett books lined up for my next reading spree, and I usually pick up the latest Neil Gaiman.
I also read a lot of non-fiction, because I like to learn and no one yells at you if you accidentally plagiarize reality. That's just called research.
I also read a lot of non-fiction, because I like to learn and no one yells at you if you accidentally plagiarize reality. That's just called research.
Joseph R. Lallo
Of my own stories, probably Silo and Garotte are the most fun, because banter is like catnip for authors, and those two live and breathe the stuff. Of stories I've read and watched, probably Han and Leia.
Joseph R. Lallo
Entwell Origins: Ayna is a bit too short to post separately, but there's a few ways you can get it. It is a part of the Book of Deacon Anthology, or you can email me directly, as it was a free newsletter perk at one point. I MAY group it with the other shorter stories present in the anthology to give people a shot at buying it separate from the anthology in the future, but that's a more long-term project.
Joseph R. Lallo
I got a lot of interesting suggestions.
"A prequel talking about the D'Karon influence on the early war."
"A few chronicles of the Red Shadow's greatest missions."
"A crossover of Book of Deacon and The Other Eight (haha)"
"Anything set in Entwell."
The order of popularity for the options was:
The Rise of the Red Shadow 2/Deacon Book 5
Jade 2
Redemption of Desmeres 2
Sorrel and the Twins.
And I'll definitely be putting out a Big Sigma collection next year. It'll include the first three novels, two new short stories, and a new novella. I'll also try to get something new written in that series as well, but things are getting tight.
"A prequel talking about the D'Karon influence on the early war."
"A few chronicles of the Red Shadow's greatest missions."
"A crossover of Book of Deacon and The Other Eight (haha)"
"Anything set in Entwell."
The order of popularity for the options was:
The Rise of the Red Shadow 2/Deacon Book 5
Jade 2
Redemption of Desmeres 2
Sorrel and the Twins.
And I'll definitely be putting out a Big Sigma collection next year. It'll include the first three novels, two new short stories, and a new novella. I'll also try to get something new written in that series as well, but things are getting tight.
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