L. Joseph Shosty's Blog, page 2
March 18, 2015
Giving Back
I've had a few conversations over the past few days with writers who are new(ish) to the business, and I've been helping where I can.
First, let me say that, in case it's not obvious, I'm not much better off than any of you who have just finished his or her first book. But I've been around a while, and if I can offer advice on something for newbies, I feel obligated to do so. I've had the experience of working with some very talented people over the years. I've had a mentor take me under her wing and teach me quite a bit, give me encouragement, and help me navigate the sometimes brutal waters of publishing. It's a moral imperative that I give back what I've been so generously given, and then some.
I've heard horror stories recently of professional contracts. Much of these came from established writers, guy and gals who have been around since the 60s and 70s, even. I've heard things about veritable gods of science fiction that would curl your toes and blanch your hair, tales of woe and contractual obligations which rest firmly on the border of slavery. In hearing these stories I always ask, "How would you fix that?" There's a ton of theories, along with assurances that, for the most part, the internet community make for good watch dogs where bad contracts are concerned. Of course, that's not enough. We must always be vigilant. When I ask how such issues might be fixed, it's so that I can pass that hard-earned wisdom along.
Indie authors don't fare any better than their professionally-published brethren, despite having more control over their destinies. More of the business rests on their shoulders, and there is a strong idea among writers that you must disdain all notions of it being a business, which is pure garbage. So, there's not a lot of helpful advice out there. For example, what's a good price for editing services? When do you use a pre-made cover rather than shell out mucho dinero for a custom-made job? When do you call in a typesetter? Is it smart to do your own designs?
I try to help where I can. I do freelance editing on the side, and I have a few regular customers. One of them recently told me he was paying somewhere in the vicinity of $2500 to self-publish his book. This was in addition to the fees I charge him as his editor. When I woke up in the hospital six weeks later from the resultant stroke, I was able to tell him (via rudimentary sign language) that this was highway robbery. The thing is, this guy has great promotional machinery in place. He's got swag to go with his books, and he has a large following in his community. After his book was on the shelves for three years, he told me he finally earned out at $3/copy. Three years, and after hundreds of copies sold, dozens of buttons and t-shirts sold at conventions, and he had just recouped his losses. He was about to repeat the process with his second book when I showed him alternatives that, while they still cost, are but a fraction of that $2500 price tag. Maybe this time around, he'll actually see a little profit.
I wouldn't know to give that help if I hadn't been around a while, and if someone hadn't told me. My hope is that my advice helps more than it hurts, and that, when someone I've helped sees another young writer struggling, that he or she will do the same. They say writing is a lonely activity, but parts of it don't have to be. We can be a community, and we can help each other. We're not in competition, not really. Yes, there is a finite amount of money in the world to be spent on books, but publishing is still a very large table. We can all have a place there together without somebody getting elbowed out of the way when the biscuits get passed around.
First, let me say that, in case it's not obvious, I'm not much better off than any of you who have just finished his or her first book. But I've been around a while, and if I can offer advice on something for newbies, I feel obligated to do so. I've had the experience of working with some very talented people over the years. I've had a mentor take me under her wing and teach me quite a bit, give me encouragement, and help me navigate the sometimes brutal waters of publishing. It's a moral imperative that I give back what I've been so generously given, and then some.
I've heard horror stories recently of professional contracts. Much of these came from established writers, guy and gals who have been around since the 60s and 70s, even. I've heard things about veritable gods of science fiction that would curl your toes and blanch your hair, tales of woe and contractual obligations which rest firmly on the border of slavery. In hearing these stories I always ask, "How would you fix that?" There's a ton of theories, along with assurances that, for the most part, the internet community make for good watch dogs where bad contracts are concerned. Of course, that's not enough. We must always be vigilant. When I ask how such issues might be fixed, it's so that I can pass that hard-earned wisdom along.
Indie authors don't fare any better than their professionally-published brethren, despite having more control over their destinies. More of the business rests on their shoulders, and there is a strong idea among writers that you must disdain all notions of it being a business, which is pure garbage. So, there's not a lot of helpful advice out there. For example, what's a good price for editing services? When do you use a pre-made cover rather than shell out mucho dinero for a custom-made job? When do you call in a typesetter? Is it smart to do your own designs?
I try to help where I can. I do freelance editing on the side, and I have a few regular customers. One of them recently told me he was paying somewhere in the vicinity of $2500 to self-publish his book. This was in addition to the fees I charge him as his editor. When I woke up in the hospital six weeks later from the resultant stroke, I was able to tell him (via rudimentary sign language) that this was highway robbery. The thing is, this guy has great promotional machinery in place. He's got swag to go with his books, and he has a large following in his community. After his book was on the shelves for three years, he told me he finally earned out at $3/copy. Three years, and after hundreds of copies sold, dozens of buttons and t-shirts sold at conventions, and he had just recouped his losses. He was about to repeat the process with his second book when I showed him alternatives that, while they still cost, are but a fraction of that $2500 price tag. Maybe this time around, he'll actually see a little profit.
I wouldn't know to give that help if I hadn't been around a while, and if someone hadn't told me. My hope is that my advice helps more than it hurts, and that, when someone I've helped sees another young writer struggling, that he or she will do the same. They say writing is a lonely activity, but parts of it don't have to be. We can be a community, and we can help each other. We're not in competition, not really. Yes, there is a finite amount of money in the world to be spent on books, but publishing is still a very large table. We can all have a place there together without somebody getting elbowed out of the way when the biscuits get passed around.
November 3, 2014
The Bomb Shelter Moment
I have a new post up over at my blog, A Cellar Full of Midnight. This one concerns decisions on what to include in my newest short story collection, Trouble My Bones.
Give it a look.
http://themadaccount.blogspot.com/201...
Give it a look.
http://themadaccount.blogspot.com/201...
October 26, 2014
An Embarrassment of Riches
I'm currently trying to get my old blog, A Cellar Full of Midnight, back on its feet as I begin the massive undertaking of moving five of my books into print.
The first blog post concerns a description of the content of each of these books. It's a very exciting new move for me, and I hope you'll all check it out.
http://themadaccount.blogspot.com/201...
The first blog post concerns a description of the content of each of these books. It's a very exciting new move for me, and I hope you'll all check it out.
http://themadaccount.blogspot.com/201...
October 6, 2014
The Blue Plate Special at Herbie's Diner
For a limited time, Untreed Reads is offering a 25% discount on my novella, Herbie's Diner, and other UR titles.
http://store.untreedreads.com/index.p...
Herbie's Diner is the first in a series of stories about my actor-turned-detective, Johnny Hardwood. It's set in 1950 and follows Johnny's quest to bring a sleazy ex-Hollywood producer to justice, only to fall victim himself to a bizarre team of modern-day highwaymen. It's period crime noir at its best, soon to be followed by two new adventures, Hermanos sin Dios and The Koreatown Job.
http://store.untreedreads.com/index.p...
Herbie's Diner is the first in a series of stories about my actor-turned-detective, Johnny Hardwood. It's set in 1950 and follows Johnny's quest to bring a sleazy ex-Hollywood producer to justice, only to fall victim himself to a bizarre team of modern-day highwaymen. It's period crime noir at its best, soon to be followed by two new adventures, Hermanos sin Dios and The Koreatown Job.
July 30, 2014
Herbie's Diner - The Summer of Shosty Continues
It's another week, and another release. This time, we have my detective novella, Herbie's Diner, hitting the electronic shelves, published by Untreed Reads, LLC. Herbie is the first in a series featuring my hardboiled detective, Johnny Hardwood.
It's set in 1950. Johnny Hardwood is the alter ego of the enigmatic Bill Crisp (assuming Bill Crisp is our hero's real name). Before he was Johnny, Crisp was a lesser known actor in Hollywood's Golden Age. He made a career of playing bit parts on film, from bandits to heavies to the guy who inevitably dives onto the hand grenade in war films. Like another B-movie actor, Ronald Reagan, America's entry into WWII killed a lot of the momentum the young actor had going for him. Just before he was about to possibly make the jump to high profile work, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and, inadvertently, Crisp's career. With the war over, he returned to Hollywood to discover that he was now typecast, mostly as that of a detective (a role, ironically, he portrayed most often on the radio, not in films).
When he became adamant that he play more dramatic leading man roles, the phone stopped ringing. The final nail in his professional coffin came in the form of a private investigation firm called Hardwood, Smoller, and Tate. They called Crisp to pose for a billboard photo for their company, stating they had never anyone look so much like a detective. That billboard made him famous, but not the kind of fame he wanted. Hardwood, Smoller, and Tate turned out to be a high-end burglary crew who did a few jobs on the sly, then bugged out of town, leaving Crisp the face of a company which did not exist and with little or no prospects. Finally, someone gave him the phone call which could be better described as a mercy killing: Bill Crisp was no longer a good fit for roles in Hollywood.
A born opportunist and liar, Crisp decided that if the world could only see him as a detective, that's what they'd get. He got his license, took the name Johnny Hardwood, and used those popular billboards to drum up business for himself and his little outfit. Now a self-styled detective to the stars, Johnny spends his time doing the dirty work for famous people and movie studios alike.
Occasionally, that gets him into a lot of hot water.
The Johnny Hardwood series features a guy who might be an actor who has become a detective to keep food on the table. Or it might be the story of an actor pretending to be a detective until his next big break comes along. Or it, might be the ramblings of some drunk you meet in a bar, who is exceptionally good at telling lies about himself. Whatever the case, Herbie's Diner is chock-full of references to film, TV, and radio from the days of yesteryear. The dialogue is snappy, the coffee is hot, the women are sassy, and the guns are quick. It's detective noir, heavy on the noir, featuring an unreliable narrator who would cut his own mother's throat for a buck, but who also might well be the most moral guy in the room. This is Hollywood, after all.
Available in a variety of formats from any of these fine retailers.
http://goo.gl/1yHrKL (Untreed Reads Store)
http://mybook.to/herbiesdiner (Amazon)
http://goo.gl/rbwmSL (Apple Store, with all of my available titles, including my free ebook, Swallow the Evil)
http://goo.gl/IF4id3 (Barnes & Noble)
http://goo.gl/i5b3qh (DriveThruFiction)
Purchase through Untreed Reads directly not only sends more royalties my direction, but for Kindle and Nook users, purchase from UR's online store now sends your ebooks directly to your devices.
Also available in the all-powerful and popular PDF format, because, deep down, I really do like people.
It's set in 1950. Johnny Hardwood is the alter ego of the enigmatic Bill Crisp (assuming Bill Crisp is our hero's real name). Before he was Johnny, Crisp was a lesser known actor in Hollywood's Golden Age. He made a career of playing bit parts on film, from bandits to heavies to the guy who inevitably dives onto the hand grenade in war films. Like another B-movie actor, Ronald Reagan, America's entry into WWII killed a lot of the momentum the young actor had going for him. Just before he was about to possibly make the jump to high profile work, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and, inadvertently, Crisp's career. With the war over, he returned to Hollywood to discover that he was now typecast, mostly as that of a detective (a role, ironically, he portrayed most often on the radio, not in films).
When he became adamant that he play more dramatic leading man roles, the phone stopped ringing. The final nail in his professional coffin came in the form of a private investigation firm called Hardwood, Smoller, and Tate. They called Crisp to pose for a billboard photo for their company, stating they had never anyone look so much like a detective. That billboard made him famous, but not the kind of fame he wanted. Hardwood, Smoller, and Tate turned out to be a high-end burglary crew who did a few jobs on the sly, then bugged out of town, leaving Crisp the face of a company which did not exist and with little or no prospects. Finally, someone gave him the phone call which could be better described as a mercy killing: Bill Crisp was no longer a good fit for roles in Hollywood.
A born opportunist and liar, Crisp decided that if the world could only see him as a detective, that's what they'd get. He got his license, took the name Johnny Hardwood, and used those popular billboards to drum up business for himself and his little outfit. Now a self-styled detective to the stars, Johnny spends his time doing the dirty work for famous people and movie studios alike.
Occasionally, that gets him into a lot of hot water.
The Johnny Hardwood series features a guy who might be an actor who has become a detective to keep food on the table. Or it might be the story of an actor pretending to be a detective until his next big break comes along. Or it, might be the ramblings of some drunk you meet in a bar, who is exceptionally good at telling lies about himself. Whatever the case, Herbie's Diner is chock-full of references to film, TV, and radio from the days of yesteryear. The dialogue is snappy, the coffee is hot, the women are sassy, and the guns are quick. It's detective noir, heavy on the noir, featuring an unreliable narrator who would cut his own mother's throat for a buck, but who also might well be the most moral guy in the room. This is Hollywood, after all.
Available in a variety of formats from any of these fine retailers.
http://goo.gl/1yHrKL (Untreed Reads Store)
http://mybook.to/herbiesdiner (Amazon)
http://goo.gl/rbwmSL (Apple Store, with all of my available titles, including my free ebook, Swallow the Evil)
http://goo.gl/IF4id3 (Barnes & Noble)
http://goo.gl/i5b3qh (DriveThruFiction)
Purchase through Untreed Reads directly not only sends more royalties my direction, but for Kindle and Nook users, purchase from UR's online store now sends your ebooks directly to your devices.
Also available in the all-powerful and popular PDF format, because, deep down, I really do like people.
July 21, 2014
Swallow the Evil - Free Download!
Years ago, I wrote a story called "Deep Dark" for the creative writing class I was taking at a junior college. My two previous science fiction stories had bombed with my classmates. They were more of the artist type, and I was more of a mercenary who liked seeing my name in print and having checks to cash. They would congregate at some pretentious coffee house and moan about how no one got their art, and I would stay up until the wee hours of the morning cranking out story after story, trying to get better. They preferred dirges about drug addicts and people dying from AIDS, and I liked rocket ships, magic, and the undead. We weren't exactly a happy marriage. Nevertheless, I was an attention whore and wanted very much to impress them. I figured if I could tell one of my kinds of stories and still get them to applaud, I was doing something right.
"Deep Dark" was that story. It was my first real attempt at horror. I've never been a huge fan of the genre, and when I do read it, my tastes list toward the extreme. So, I tried to distill those tastes and put them into a story. It was a huge success. The big sticking point with them was that it was a slasher story set on a theatre stage. I remember someone even compared it to the play within a play scene in Hamlet, which I thought was laying it on a little thick, but I took the compliment because of the aforementioned whorishness. The story wound up winning 1st place in our yearly fiction competition and subsequently was published in our lit journal. I was also paid $25 in prize money for it, which was more pleasing to me than my classmates' adulation.
Since then, I've written more horror. Some of it is really good, like "An Incident in Cain's Mark", which appeared in an all-horror edition of Stupefying Stories, and others have been not-so-good. What frightens me tends to not frighten others, and vice versa. The scene in Monkey Shines when the paralyzed guy has the monkey with the straight razor in his lap terrifies the shit out of me. The girl coming out of the TV in The Ring left me with a feeling of, "Man, she really needs to use conditioner." Ask someone about Monkey Shines, and they'll stare at you with cow eyes. Mention the TV thing, and they'll become spontaneously incontinent. I don't get it.
Because I don't exactly have my finger on the pulse of what frightens people, I rarely write straight horror. Most of my fiction tends to be dark, however, falling into the category of "horrific without being scary". That's fine. Dark fiction is hot nowadays, anyway, and so why not gather my rosebuds while I may?
In a few weeks, my science fiction novella, Operational Costs, is going to hit the virtual shelves at Smashwords. It was to be my first foray into self-publishing. I haven't been too keen on the idea, but one can starve to death waiting for publishers to release one's work on their own. I'm prolific, and so self-pubbing the occasional novella or story collection is about making a few extra bucks and keeping the creative p.s.i. out of the red.
I didn't want to go through the experience cold, though, so I started looking around for something I could publish through Smashwords as a sort of dry run to see how things worked. It turns out I have about four collections worth of science fiction, fantasy, and horror to which I currently hold rights. I decided to take a few of those shorts and make a fiction sampler out of it to use as a sort of business card to hand out to people who haven't read my work, want to, but don't want to commit the cash. The result is Swallow the Evil. It's about 21,000 words and contains nine of my horror/dark fantasy shorts, including "Deep Dark", which last saw print over fifteen years ago. Swallow the Evil is currently available in a variety of formats, including .mobi and .epub, and it's free to download. If you like your stories dark, or if you just like the occasional bit of evil in your mouth, I'd appreciate it if you'd check it out.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
Oh, and if you read it, don't forget to review it on Goodreads. You're a daisy if you don't.
"Deep Dark" was that story. It was my first real attempt at horror. I've never been a huge fan of the genre, and when I do read it, my tastes list toward the extreme. So, I tried to distill those tastes and put them into a story. It was a huge success. The big sticking point with them was that it was a slasher story set on a theatre stage. I remember someone even compared it to the play within a play scene in Hamlet, which I thought was laying it on a little thick, but I took the compliment because of the aforementioned whorishness. The story wound up winning 1st place in our yearly fiction competition and subsequently was published in our lit journal. I was also paid $25 in prize money for it, which was more pleasing to me than my classmates' adulation.
Since then, I've written more horror. Some of it is really good, like "An Incident in Cain's Mark", which appeared in an all-horror edition of Stupefying Stories, and others have been not-so-good. What frightens me tends to not frighten others, and vice versa. The scene in Monkey Shines when the paralyzed guy has the monkey with the straight razor in his lap terrifies the shit out of me. The girl coming out of the TV in The Ring left me with a feeling of, "Man, she really needs to use conditioner." Ask someone about Monkey Shines, and they'll stare at you with cow eyes. Mention the TV thing, and they'll become spontaneously incontinent. I don't get it.
Because I don't exactly have my finger on the pulse of what frightens people, I rarely write straight horror. Most of my fiction tends to be dark, however, falling into the category of "horrific without being scary". That's fine. Dark fiction is hot nowadays, anyway, and so why not gather my rosebuds while I may?
In a few weeks, my science fiction novella, Operational Costs, is going to hit the virtual shelves at Smashwords. It was to be my first foray into self-publishing. I haven't been too keen on the idea, but one can starve to death waiting for publishers to release one's work on their own. I'm prolific, and so self-pubbing the occasional novella or story collection is about making a few extra bucks and keeping the creative p.s.i. out of the red.
I didn't want to go through the experience cold, though, so I started looking around for something I could publish through Smashwords as a sort of dry run to see how things worked. It turns out I have about four collections worth of science fiction, fantasy, and horror to which I currently hold rights. I decided to take a few of those shorts and make a fiction sampler out of it to use as a sort of business card to hand out to people who haven't read my work, want to, but don't want to commit the cash. The result is Swallow the Evil. It's about 21,000 words and contains nine of my horror/dark fantasy shorts, including "Deep Dark", which last saw print over fifteen years ago. Swallow the Evil is currently available in a variety of formats, including .mobi and .epub, and it's free to download. If you like your stories dark, or if you just like the occasional bit of evil in your mouth, I'd appreciate it if you'd check it out.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...
Oh, and if you read it, don't forget to review it on Goodreads. You're a daisy if you don't.
March 12, 2014
New Fiction @Perihelion SF
My short story, "Know O, Emperor" appears in the March 2014 issue of Perihelion SF. It's free to read, so give it a look!
--L
--L
September 19, 2012
Accurate Comics Online
For past year-and-a-half, I've been making moves toward creating and building a new comic book company, called Accurate Comics Online. We're within a few months of our launch date, and I've started a blog to introduce everyone to our collective universe, our publishing philosophy, characters, and the creators behind the comics, among other things. Do drop by and give it a look.
http://accuratecomicsonline.blogspot....
http://accuratecomicsonline.blogspot....
September 4, 2012
New Fiction @Aoife's Kiss
In 1999, Abby the Troll Publications published my short, "Of All Beautiful Things", as part of its fiction sampler, E-Books Byte!. Abby's gone, but I've always believed this story was one of the best I've ever written. I'm happy that Tyree Campbell and the others at Sam's Dot Publishing decided to pick up the reprint for the September 2012 issue. It's such a bittersweet, little tale. Also, its protagonist is one of the good guys. It seems so rare anymore to read about a good person. These days, the focus always seems to be on a "gray area" character and his flaws, not in the way a good person transcends his flaws by force of virtue, but how he overcomes them. I'm as guilty of buying into this trend as anyone else, and so it does my heart fine to be able to present this story. I hope you'll all purchase a copy and give it a read.
--Louis
http://sdpbookstore.com/aoifeskiss.htm
--Louis
http://sdpbookstore.com/aoifeskiss.htm
July 11, 2012
New Fiction @Title Goes Here
Title Goes Here has published my short story, "Worms", in Issue 2.7 of their web edition. Please give it a look.
http://titlegoeshereonline.com/files/...
http://titlegoeshereonline.com/files/...
