Richard S. Wheeler's Blog, page 17
December 18, 2013
A Greeting to My Readers
Season's greetings to my readers. Over the years you have bought my novels and have often sent me a kind word about them.
Your support has sustained me and made it possible for me to make my primary living from writing fiction ever since the 1970s.
It's time to wish you and yours a blessed new year, and to thank you all.
Best wishes,
Richard Wheeler
Your support has sustained me and made it possible for me to make my primary living from writing fiction ever since the 1970s.
It's time to wish you and yours a blessed new year, and to thank you all.
Best wishes,
Richard Wheeler
December 16, 2013
The Swampland
The New York Times reports that sales of electronic books and readers are flat, and brick and mortar retailers are doing better. The Washington Post reports surprising and often substantive growth of independent booksellers.
The Times ascribes the flat sales to a mature market, or saturation. Those who want an electronic reader by now have bought one; those who have loaded the readers with books have more than they'll ever read.
I would like to add another reason. The world of $2.99 books is a swampland. They may be cheap, but they waste readers' time and money. There are plenty of people who enjoy evaluating a book in a bookstore.
Of course there are good $2.99 books in the electronic swamps; all you have to do is pick them out and run them onto your reader. And feel lucky because you found one, after a lot of hunting.
The Times ascribes the flat sales to a mature market, or saturation. Those who want an electronic reader by now have bought one; those who have loaded the readers with books have more than they'll ever read.
I would like to add another reason. The world of $2.99 books is a swampland. They may be cheap, but they waste readers' time and money. There are plenty of people who enjoy evaluating a book in a bookstore.
Of course there are good $2.99 books in the electronic swamps; all you have to do is pick them out and run them onto your reader. And feel lucky because you found one, after a lot of hunting.
December 11, 2013
Advertisements for Myself
I have put review comment for many of my more substantive novels on a little-used blog site I've had for years.
At first I hesitated, thinking that I would only embarrass myself, but then I realized I'm near the end of my writing life, and a summing up is desirable.
You can reach the site here:
http://wheelertitles.blogspot.com/
At first I hesitated, thinking that I would only embarrass myself, but then I realized I'm near the end of my writing life, and a summing up is desirable.
You can reach the site here:
http://wheelertitles.blogspot.com/
December 9, 2013
The Novel That Changed Everything
When I first joined Western Writers of America in the early 80s, the conventions were doom and gloom. New York editors arrived, told us that the field was dying, publishers were cutting lines, and we should switch to science fiction-- wasn't Star Wars a western?
Then along came Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer winning masterpiece, Lonesome Dove, and everything changed. It was about a trail drive, and even more, about friendship. Solid, granitic, loyal friendship. Friendship so great that when Gus McCrea is dying in Montana, his friend Captain Call agrees to bury him in Lonesome Dove, on the Rio Grande, and Call takes the body in a wagon three thousand miles to the place where it all started.
Basil Poledouris, who brilliantly composed the Lonesome Dove theme, recognized the true nature of the story, and wrought some of the most tender themes ever to appear in a western. The miniseries so faithfully adhered to McMurtry's story that I can conflate them here. This was a story of the West, not a story about gunfights.
It changed western publishing; lines revived, and for a while, publishers allowed us to write genuine western stories, which sold to eager readerships.
Here is a clip of the ending, which ranks among the most moving endings ever put on film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLFDZx...
Then along came Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer winning masterpiece, Lonesome Dove, and everything changed. It was about a trail drive, and even more, about friendship. Solid, granitic, loyal friendship. Friendship so great that when Gus McCrea is dying in Montana, his friend Captain Call agrees to bury him in Lonesome Dove, on the Rio Grande, and Call takes the body in a wagon three thousand miles to the place where it all started.
Basil Poledouris, who brilliantly composed the Lonesome Dove theme, recognized the true nature of the story, and wrought some of the most tender themes ever to appear in a western. The miniseries so faithfully adhered to McMurtry's story that I can conflate them here. This was a story of the West, not a story about gunfights.
It changed western publishing; lines revived, and for a while, publishers allowed us to write genuine western stories, which sold to eager readerships.
Here is a clip of the ending, which ranks among the most moving endings ever put on film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLFDZx...
My Least Successful Novel
My historical novel, Aftershocks, never really got off the ground. And the reviews were decidedly mixed, if not negative.
It began with the San Francisco earthquake of 1909, and followed several characters through the chaos that followed. I thought it was a fine novel at the time, but its reception has enlightened me.
It did include cameos of various people enmeshed in the quake, including John Barrymore, Enrico Caruso, and Jack London. But most of it involves the struggles of various characters who had reason to live in San Francisco.
The Forge print edition had a great cover: a period photo of Market Street, with a terrible quake-induced rupture zigzagging through the street.
I put it into e-book form, but reader comment has been as mixed or negative as print comments.
I was on tour with another novel shortly after publication of Aftershocks, and that tour took me through San Francisco. My publishers and their publicists tried hard to get me a signing gig or reading in San Francisco, but couldn't. When I got there, I sallied out to the bookstores, looking for copies to sign, and found none. The novel never did appear in San Francisco.
I have a tender feeling about it. My rejected child has a special place in my bookshelf.
It began with the San Francisco earthquake of 1909, and followed several characters through the chaos that followed. I thought it was a fine novel at the time, but its reception has enlightened me.
It did include cameos of various people enmeshed in the quake, including John Barrymore, Enrico Caruso, and Jack London. But most of it involves the struggles of various characters who had reason to live in San Francisco.
The Forge print edition had a great cover: a period photo of Market Street, with a terrible quake-induced rupture zigzagging through the street.
I put it into e-book form, but reader comment has been as mixed or negative as print comments.
I was on tour with another novel shortly after publication of Aftershocks, and that tour took me through San Francisco. My publishers and their publicists tried hard to get me a signing gig or reading in San Francisco, but couldn't. When I got there, I sallied out to the bookstores, looking for copies to sign, and found none. The novel never did appear in San Francisco.
I have a tender feeling about it. My rejected child has a special place in my bookshelf.
December 8, 2013
The Elusive Right Cover
Years ago I wrote an historical novel called Cashbox. It was about the rise and fall of a Montana silver mining town, and it featured a woman, rather like Baby Doe Tabor, who lives on in the town long after it has fallen to ruins, alone with her memories.
It sold fairly well, got pleasant reviews, and eventually the rights came back to me and I put it into e-book form. And it didn't sell. I was a book editor for years, and well know how mysterious and humbling cover design is. What looks to be a fine cover may somehow not work. I had a fine designer who does wonders for my titles, such as Masterson and The Fields of Eden, but the Cashbox cover simply didn't sell books. I tried revamping the book description, but that didn't help.
Recently I discovered that Amazon offers authors the chance to design their own covers for Kindle books, so I set to work. My first effort failed. It sold one copy over time. But the wonder of electronic publishing is that I can keep on fiddling. Recently I completed my second effort, and I hope it does better. If you're interested, you can look up the Kindle edition of Cashbox and let me know.
It sold fairly well, got pleasant reviews, and eventually the rights came back to me and I put it into e-book form. And it didn't sell. I was a book editor for years, and well know how mysterious and humbling cover design is. What looks to be a fine cover may somehow not work. I had a fine designer who does wonders for my titles, such as Masterson and The Fields of Eden, but the Cashbox cover simply didn't sell books. I tried revamping the book description, but that didn't help.
Recently I discovered that Amazon offers authors the chance to design their own covers for Kindle books, so I set to work. My first effort failed. It sold one copy over time. But the wonder of electronic publishing is that I can keep on fiddling. Recently I completed my second effort, and I hope it does better. If you're interested, you can look up the Kindle edition of Cashbox and let me know.
December 5, 2013
The Training Ground
Western fiction has always been the training ground for New York editors who had higher aspirations. Editing a western line was the lowest rung on the publishing ladder.
For years and years, my editors were all young people, mostly college grads in their early twenties, wanting to break into publishing.
They were talented young people, little interested in the West, but very interested in buying good stories, with compelling storylines. This was exactly what their superiors wanted. Westerns were major sellers, and their success was directly the result of strong story.
These young people didn't care about elegance of language, literary conventions, or anything of that sort. They just wanted stories that would hook a male reader and hold him.
The senior editing staff also believed that it would be difficult to harm a western; bad editing wouldn't damage a throwaway product. So there was little risk in loosing novices wielding the blue pencil on manuscripts. I experienced plenty of dubious editing, and looking back, wish I had resisted more of it. But the whole idea of writing pulp western stories was to get on with it and not fret about mauled stories; just write the next, and don't complain. That would lead to more contracts.
Not many of those youngsters ascended the ranks; they have mostly vanished from the publishing world. In retrospect, I think publishers should have kept skilled editors for their western lines and apprenticed novices to senior editors in a variety of genres and fields.
For years and years, my editors were all young people, mostly college grads in their early twenties, wanting to break into publishing.
They were talented young people, little interested in the West, but very interested in buying good stories, with compelling storylines. This was exactly what their superiors wanted. Westerns were major sellers, and their success was directly the result of strong story.
These young people didn't care about elegance of language, literary conventions, or anything of that sort. They just wanted stories that would hook a male reader and hold him.
The senior editing staff also believed that it would be difficult to harm a western; bad editing wouldn't damage a throwaway product. So there was little risk in loosing novices wielding the blue pencil on manuscripts. I experienced plenty of dubious editing, and looking back, wish I had resisted more of it. But the whole idea of writing pulp western stories was to get on with it and not fret about mauled stories; just write the next, and don't complain. That would lead to more contracts.
Not many of those youngsters ascended the ranks; they have mostly vanished from the publishing world. In retrospect, I think publishers should have kept skilled editors for their western lines and apprenticed novices to senior editors in a variety of genres and fields.
December 1, 2013
Cheap Books
Most of the titles available at Amazon and BN for $2.99 or less are junk. Many are self-published works that are badly written and beg for editing. They range from dull to stupefying.
They exist in a vast swamp of bottom-quality literature. Most commercial publishers avoid selling titles at that price because it signals low quality, the sort of book that is likely to be pitched aside after one has read a few pages. To be sure, at that low price a buyer hardly feels loss if he or she scuttles the book. One can buy fifty cheaply, and maybe find a couple worth reading, and toss the rest.
But better books are offered at a higher price, except for occasional sales. I have various publishers, and none of them sells my full novels for $2.99 or less. The higher price sends a message: you get what you pay for. You are likely to buy a good, readable book at $5.99 or more. In the end, that saves both time and money, and you don't have to soak up junk to find something entertaining or worthwhile.
I have put around thirty of my reverted titles into electronic form. After experimenting some, I set the price at $5.99 and they sell steadily there. They are all books with a proven history, so there is no point in slipping them into the swamplands at the bottom of electronic publishing.
Reviews of many of these books can be seen on their hardcover sales pages, and I will let those sell my $5.99 titles for me.
They exist in a vast swamp of bottom-quality literature. Most commercial publishers avoid selling titles at that price because it signals low quality, the sort of book that is likely to be pitched aside after one has read a few pages. To be sure, at that low price a buyer hardly feels loss if he or she scuttles the book. One can buy fifty cheaply, and maybe find a couple worth reading, and toss the rest.
But better books are offered at a higher price, except for occasional sales. I have various publishers, and none of them sells my full novels for $2.99 or less. The higher price sends a message: you get what you pay for. You are likely to buy a good, readable book at $5.99 or more. In the end, that saves both time and money, and you don't have to soak up junk to find something entertaining or worthwhile.
I have put around thirty of my reverted titles into electronic form. After experimenting some, I set the price at $5.99 and they sell steadily there. They are all books with a proven history, so there is no point in slipping them into the swamplands at the bottom of electronic publishing.
Reviews of many of these books can be seen on their hardcover sales pages, and I will let those sell my $5.99 titles for me.
November 30, 2013
Top Western Author
I found this on Amazon, and reproduce verbatim a portion of the material except that I have blanked out the names and titles.
Amazon TOP 100 Western Fiction Author X. X. XXXXX has previously authored nine books, fiction, non-fiction and Southern Humor. X. X. XXXXX has previously authored books of fiction, non-fiction and Southern humor. Such notable authors as, Matt Braun, Stephen Lodge, Don Bendell, and many others have endorsed his work. His survival book, "---" is a 2005 Silver Award Winner from the Military Writers Society of American. Additionally, this book added to the prestigious Estes Park Library in Colorado. James Drury, "The Virginian," endorsed his latest two Western books, "---" and "----."
His book, "---" has been selected and the contract signed for a movie to be made. The movie is currently in the pre-production stage.
Amazon TOP 100 Western Fiction Author X. X. XXXXX has previously authored nine books, fiction, non-fiction and Southern Humor. X. X. XXXXX has previously authored books of fiction, non-fiction and Southern humor. Such notable authors as, Matt Braun, Stephen Lodge, Don Bendell, and many others have endorsed his work. His survival book, "---" is a 2005 Silver Award Winner from the Military Writers Society of American. Additionally, this book added to the prestigious Estes Park Library in Colorado. James Drury, "The Virginian," endorsed his latest two Western books, "---" and "----."
His book, "---" has been selected and the contract signed for a movie to be made. The movie is currently in the pre-production stage.
November 29, 2013
Violence
I've become fascinated and appalled at the amount of violence in popular fiction, especially westerns. Perhaps it's my old age. I grew up in different times.
Typically, the violence is fraudulently depicted, choreographed to conceal the terrible nature of the effects of violence. If violence wrought by gunfights and brawls and knifings were honestly depicted, the novels would be unbearable.
So it's all pretend. It's a species of porn, in which readers can experience the violence without dealing with realities. In fiction, a person who's been shot slumps over, dead. In real life, a person who's had a bullet tear through him is likely to scream, sob, cough, feel searing pain, wretch up whatever's in him, writhe, beg for mercy, watch blood pool as he gasps for breath, plead, and gasp.
In fiction, a knife plunges in, a person dies, no muss, no fuss. That's the last we hear about it. In fiction, the hero takes a minor wound, ignores it, feels no pain, and doesn't worry about the blood rivering from him.
In fiction, you don't feel your heart giving out, or acid scorch your eyes and burn your face away.
I've come to detest western gunfight stories because they are utterly dishonest and cater to the basest and most prurient qualities of readers.
I deplore them all the more because the violence is reiterated over and over, until thirty or forty human beings are dead, but of course not the heroes, and not one sentence describes the pain and suffering entailed by all this mayhem.
Typically, the violence is fraudulently depicted, choreographed to conceal the terrible nature of the effects of violence. If violence wrought by gunfights and brawls and knifings were honestly depicted, the novels would be unbearable.
So it's all pretend. It's a species of porn, in which readers can experience the violence without dealing with realities. In fiction, a person who's been shot slumps over, dead. In real life, a person who's had a bullet tear through him is likely to scream, sob, cough, feel searing pain, wretch up whatever's in him, writhe, beg for mercy, watch blood pool as he gasps for breath, plead, and gasp.
In fiction, a knife plunges in, a person dies, no muss, no fuss. That's the last we hear about it. In fiction, the hero takes a minor wound, ignores it, feels no pain, and doesn't worry about the blood rivering from him.
In fiction, you don't feel your heart giving out, or acid scorch your eyes and burn your face away.
I've come to detest western gunfight stories because they are utterly dishonest and cater to the basest and most prurient qualities of readers.
I deplore them all the more because the violence is reiterated over and over, until thirty or forty human beings are dead, but of course not the heroes, and not one sentence describes the pain and suffering entailed by all this mayhem.
