Caleb Fast's Blog, page 7

How Much Should I Research Before I Start Writing My Book?

I’ll just out and say it right now, there is a happy medium for researching when it comes to writing.

This holds true for both fiction and non-fiction. If you write non-fiction and you don’t research, then no one will want your book. And even in fiction, research is super important. Research gives you the basis for a realistic story and world, and that’s very important.

If you don’t do your research, people will be able to tell. If you’ve done your share of reading then I’m sure you’ve stumbled across a few books where you do a little fact-checking of yourself. Some of you may have even flinched a bit at some of the missed points.

If you research too much then you’ll never get around to writing your book!

The happy middle that you should aim for should mean your facts are all correct while you don’t waste all of your writing time on needless research. Don’t waste your time as you go down a rabbit hole!

My Take on Researching

I’m just going to say it from the get-go. I’m a bit of a nerd!

I spend countless hours researching topics like history especially. I probably spend just as much time looking up all sorts of scientific developments.

Why? Well, a lot of that is just joy reading for me. I’m a learner at heart, so I really like looking up all sorts of cool things. If I don’t have a book on the subject of my interest then I’ll do a little online research. If that doesn’t appease me then I may go and buy a new book. I’m a researcher.

But I don’t let my joy-learning cut into my writing time.

If I have to look anything up for a book I’m working on, I get in, get the facts, and I get out! It’s the getting out that is important, especially if you manage to find something that piques your interest.

Getting out is so important that I would go as far as to recommend that you set a timer for a few minutes whenever you start researching a subject during your writing time. Gauge how long you think researching your subject might take and maybe add a minute or two when you set your timer. Your writing time is sacred (not really, but treat it like it is)!

Do I Need to Research My Novel?

Yes, yes, and yes.

As I said earlier, wrong facts can stick out like a sore thumb to readers. In fact, some readers will put down your book because of it. Others will vow to never read another one of your books.

And if you’re writing a fantasy book, you’ll want to know at least a few things about history before you dive into it. You will have to know a thing or two about inventions before you go for it because people will be able to pick things out that are in your story and aren’t from the era you’re writing about.

For example, you can’t give your characters aluminum ripped arrows in a fantasy novel because aluminum can’t be refined with medieval means (except when your story actually tells the reader that someone made a breakthrough). Why? Well, did you know that it was so hard to refine aluminum that the Washington Monument in Washington DC has some aluminum on top of it because it used to be considered a precious metal!

Facts are the backbone of any story. Nothing beats actual experience, but researching a subject will grant you at least some credibility. Don’t fall into the trap of not researching anything and telling yourself that you can do whatever you want to because you’re an author. …at least if you’re writing a book in a universe that’s at least sort of like ours.

Should I Research History?

I do because there’s a lot you can learn from history. There are a lot of stories you can reference, base your story off of, and/or adapt.

And if you’re really fond of a certain era, you can even go as far as to write your book in that time. Or, you can write an alternate timeline to our own history. That’s the joy of writing, you can do whatever you please–for the most part.

I personally use a lot of historical events for my books, and the ones that I don’t reference historical happenings I later find out that something like it has already occurred!

No, I don’t follow events directly, although I probably could if I were using a more obscure story. Instead, I look at, say, a war from the 1800 and I think, “What if such and such happened here instead of this?” From there, I deconstruct the story a bit, add in my own characters, and then I “flesh out” the story.

Basing at least some parts from your story can really help you and make your tale all the more convincing!

But, don’t take my word for it. Next time you watch a movie, go ahead and look it up on the internet and see if there were any stories from the past that were referenced! You’ll be surprised how often it happens!

Thanks for the read, and write on, fellow authors!

Current Works In Progress (28.05.2020)

Writer Update

Hello fans!

I’ve been burning countless hours on several different projects lately, and I thought I’d shed a little light on why it’s taking me SO long to get The Battle for Allegra VI out.

What are these projects?

Well, I’m glad you asked!

The Battle for Allegra Book Six Update!

Writer Update!



Current Progress

Book Six is well underway, and I’m really liking where things are going here.

I am over 20% in, but I have the rest of the book already brainstormed (for the most part). If all goes well, this book will end up being around 12,000 words long and will (hopefully) give Matthew a bit of a breather at the end! After all, one can only see so much action before some serious fatigue sets in.

Difficulties I’m Having

To be honest, this whole series has been a tad difficult for me to write. Because I strive to be as scientifically accurate as I can, I have to put a lot of thought into stuff that isn’t directly story!

One of the biggest hangups I’ve had with this series is the effects of having five moons. For starters, they can’t all be out at the same time, as this would likely end up ripping them apart due to all the gravity that would cause. I’ve got other issues too, but all I can say is that I’m basically making myself a textbook about Allegra so I can keep everything straight!

…Actually that’s one of the reasons why this book is taking so long to get out!

My other issue is dealing with writing about a planet that has such long days and nights! 22 hour nights and then 35 hours of daylight makes quite the long day. And with the longer days, I find myself running into some strange roadblocks. For starters, I have to answer the questions, “What does everyone do during the day?” “Why doesn’t anyone else do anything during the nights? Why don’t the Toaz force everyone else to join their hunts?”

Of course, these questions have already been addressed at least a little bit, but there’s a lot more detail that I think I need to go into. In the short story format, this is rather difficult. I’ll probably end up doing a few prequel and spinoff series because of all of these questions. However, I won’t be doing that until you, my readers, start to ask the questions! (Hint, hint!)

Takeaway/Parting Thought

Well, I can say that book six will still take a while before I release it. I’ve got several other projects in the works right now, and I’m also waiting to see how much more love this series is going to get. I haven’t shelved it, nor will I, but for the time being, I can’t focus on it like I have been.

I’ll have more updates available as I go, so stay tuned!

Review: How to Write Copy That Sells

How to Write Copy That Sells



By Ray Edwards



My Rating 10/10

This book was super helpful for me when I was writing all of the content for the various blogs I write, and for the copywriting that I have needed to do for my author career too.

Before I go on, let me explain what “copy” and “copywriting” is. Quite simply, “copy” is what a marketer writes to try to sell something. For self-published authors like me, you are a marketer and an author. You’re several other things too, but I find authoring and marketing take up the bulk of my time. “Copywriting” is the act, or more accurately, the art of writing copy. It isn’t the same thing as “Copyrighting” which I delve into in another post.

Now, back to the book.

This book is filled with great tips, tricks, and ideas for those of us who have to write copy. And writing copy is important, even if you aren’t advertising your book yet. Why? Well, your book description is copy. The test on the back of your book is copy. If you’re clever, you’re dating profile can be copy too! Ad copy permeates everything we do, and it can be very valuable if you know how to do it.

If you end up buying this book, which I highly recommend, then you may want to get a paperback version. For those of you who like writing in the margins of your book and underlining, I am sure you’ll be doing a whole lot of that in this book! It’s just so full of great stuff!

My Store Review: (5 Stars)

This book comes highly recommended by quite a few online marketers. After reading it, I know why. It is second to none, and can propel you ahead in your journey as a professional or hobbyist marketer. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

Caleb Fast’s Store Review

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Copyrighting Your Work

Copyrighting Your Work



Copyrighting your book is a lot easier than you might think!







A lot of authors get hung up on the same questions.

How do I protect my work?

Should I get a copyright?

How do I get a copyright?

Copyrights are a very nice hallmark of modern society. The mere presence of a copyright can deter many a pirate who would steal the exact piece of work that you spent years creating. However, they are not foolproof, and they don’t make your book un-pirate-able. People can always steal something if they really put their mind to it.

How Do I Protect My Work?

A copyright is one of the best things you can have if you have a book you don’t want stolen. Copyrights give you the legal precedence that allow you to sue those that infringe on your rights for damages (i.e. they steal your book and distribute it).

In many countries, authors are considered the copyright owner of their work the moment it is written. And if that isn’t enough, some authors do things the old fashioned way and send themselves a copy of their manuscript through the mail so it gets stamped as extra verification of that they, in fact, wrote what they did. This isn’t really necessary, and it isn’t your best bet if you really want your book to be fully protected.

If you want your book to be fully protected, then you should file for a copyright for your book with the copyright office! A copyright through the federal government provides protection, and rights, that are not otherwise available to authors and creatives. For those in the United States, the US Patent Office can be reached via https://www.copyright.gov and here you can file for your copyright. Copyright rules vary from one country to another, so be sure to check out what the current rules are where you live.

In the US, your copyright actually extends pretty far. In fact, it serves as an assurance that people don’t go and write their own books to hijack your series. These rules change from time to time, so be sure to check this out!

But, as I said earlier, you might be able to deter a pirate with a copyright but they’re rather hard to get rid of entirely. I know of several authors who got victimized more when they tried to take legal action. That being said, I know even more who were just ignored.

The issue is that many pirates pirate your book from other countries. Worse yet, not every country respects copyrights, so you might find yourself up a creek without a paddle.

But, the silver lining that I have often heard mentioned is that those who get pirated books seldom purchase them to begin with. I know of several authors who reason that their book’s getting pirated doesn’t lose them anything. I don’t know if I’d go that far personally, but it’s an interesting thought.

Should I Get a Copyright?

I know I love copyrighting my work. There are several reasons why I do it. For starters, I really like getting super official letters from the government. It makes me feel like a secret agent. …Or just really important at the very least.

Once I got my super official letter from the patent office I felt super excited. I was on cloud nine thanks to how cool the copyright paperwork looked, and how great it felt to have something copyrighted.

As I said before, your work is automatically copyrighted once you write it in quite a few countries. That being said, this section is for those who want to file a copyright with the government (and what I say only applies for those in the US and is accurate up to the writing of this article).

What may be even more important for some authors is that filing a copyright can help you get noticed by publishers.

Yes, you read that right.

How? Well, some publishing houses actually check in with the patent office from time to time to see what’s getting written. As they see it, if they keep up to date on the newest books getting copyrighted they might be able to swoop you up before anyone else!

The moment I got my first book copyrighted I found myself receiving emails from several different publishing houses. Some were large, some were small, some were shady. I checked out all the various publishers and, after thinking about it for a while, I decided to self publish. You may find that these publishers are your best option, but for me, they were not.

Additionally, if you want to write more books, especially more books in the same series/universe, you may benefit from copyrighting your work. As I said before, this is just an added level of precaution, but it can be a rewarding one. You may want to get a law expert involved and bounce some questions off of them too.

How Do I Get a Copyright?

Getting a copyright is pretty easy, especially for those who are tech-adept. If you are computer-illiterate then you may want to either hire this out, or conscript your kids/grandkids/someone you trust that knows technology.

You’ll need some paperwork on hand before you file for your copyright.

For starters, you’ll need your finished work! I found that it was very easy to submit a copyright to https://www.copyright.gov with just an electronic file of my book, but they also allow for paper versions of your work. If you want to send in a paper manuscript you will have to mail it to the copyright office yourself.

Regardless of how you send in your work to be copyrighted, ensure that you follow the rules on the government site. Also, don’t accidentally send your work to the wrong people! You want to send a book to the US government’s patent office!

I can’t guide you step-by-step on submitting your copyright info, but I can say that I also needed my social security number (so they knew I was me when I filed). I also needed my address so they knew who to send the copyright paperwork to.

The government site for copyrighting is rather straightforward, so you should be able to follow along, but, as with all government sites, it’s easy to get lost. If you get totally lost, you may want to just hire an expert to file for you. However, experts may charge you a lot, so just a heads up!

Parting Thoughts

I hope I was able to answer all of your questions with this post! If not, please drop a comment below with your question, and if it isn’t too specific, I may be able to help! That being said, a lot of this is legal advice that I can’t actually answer for you, so you may have to consult a copyright professional.

FAQs



How much does it cost to get a copyright?

I paid $55 for my copyright, but the price may go up in the coming years (it should only be a marginal increase though). The copyright fee I paid was the minimum you pay, and it’s what the government charges for them to process your request. You may find people charging a little bit more, or a lot more to help you file, and this is your choice!

How long does a copyright last?

My copyrights extend over the rest of my life, plus an additional 70 years after I kick the bucket. Since I’m only 21 right now, that means I’ll have my copyright for a few more years!

Review: Published.

Published.



By Chandler Bolt



My Rating 10/10

This is a fantastic book for anyone who wants to publish a book. It gives you a fantastic step-by-step guide, and it has a free audiobook download link inside of it too!

Up until reading this book, I never dog eared a page in a book. I didn’t underline or write notes in a book either. This book was so good and so informative that I found myself doing both! And trust me, I never, like, never never mark up a book like this. That’s how good it was.

I didn’t stumble across this book, or the rest of Chandler Bolt’s offerings until I already had several books out. Within a matter of a few weeks, I had his book and a membership with his super helpful school. And trust me, once you finish this book, you’ll be at least a little interested in his Self Publishing School.

And if you are interested in Self Publishing School, please check them out! If you are interested in Self Publishing School (SPS) please send me an email at calebfast@calebfast.com so I can set things up for you. If you buy one of their awesome coaching programs I will also send you some free bonus content I wish I had when I started writing. Please note, I will receive compensation if you choose to sign up with SPS.

And if you don’t want to wait for an email, then check out this link to the Self Publishing School website! Please be sure to say that I (Caleb Fast) referred you because it will get you a sweet little discount! (I will also receive compensation) If you go this route and sign up with them, then I would still love for you to send me an email at calebfast@calebfast.com so I can send you some great bonus content!

Now, with my shameless plus aside, back to my review. (You really should check Self Publishing School out though, I mean it! I don’t care if you don’t mention me, they’ve got some really great stuff!)

This book includes several different launch strategies that can make your career as an author if done right. These launch strategies can help you get more sales as soon as you publish your book and make you an Amazon Bestseller.

And if you aren’t at the publishing stage yet, then this book still is for you! The first section (7 whole chapters) is committed to helping you write your book! If you have yet to write a book, then you’ve got an amazing journey ahead of you, and (another shameless plug) Self Publishing School can help you there too!

My Store Review: (5 Stars)

This is a must-read for everyone who wants to be a published author. If you are writing fiction or non-fiction, this book can really help in your publishing and promoting! You can even benefit if you’ve already published a few books, as I found out.

Review: That Hideous Strength

That Hideous Strength



By C.S. Lewis



My Rating 10/10

This book did feel a little clunky when I first started it. To me, it felt like C.S. Lewis was trying to force a third book into his Space Trilogy. But, after a short while, this feeling passed and I was once again fully in the story.

Despite my initial withholdings, this book turned out to be really good. Something about C.S. Lewis’s writing just draws you back in.

Despite this book taking place within the Space Trilogy, it ended up taking more of a fantastical route, like Narnia. If it were published today, I would say this would fall into the realm of Urban Fantasy meets Science Fiction. All in all, I think I ended up enjoying it even more than I liked the first two books. I’m a sucker for the Arthurian legend. (Yes, that’s a spoiler, enjoy it!)

My Store Review: (5 Stars)

I liked That Hideous Strength more than book two. I think this is because C.S. Lewis reverted back to his strong suit of medieval literature. He just has such a knack for it! That being said, it is still sci-fi and awesome. I really liked both this book, and the series as a whole.

Caleb Fast’s Store Review

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Review: Perelandra

Perelandra



By C.S. Lewis



My Rating 9.5/10

I was very happy when I learned that there was a second (and later a third) book in C.S. Lewis’s venture into science fiction.

On the one hand, I really liked the story and wanted some more. On the other, I did have some unanswered questions that needed answering. This book did a great job at answering them, and I felt satisfied.

…And yet there was still a third book in the series! Everything seemed to be tied up nicely, so I was curious. We had already visited our two neighboring planets, so my curiosity seemed well-founded.

My Store Review: (4.7 Stars)

Great book that really put the C.S. Lewis flare into this series. I liked how Venus was depicted as a very livable world in this book.

Caleb Fast’s Store Review

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Review: Out of the Silent Planet

Out of the Silent Planet



By C.S. Lewis



My Rating 10/10

This book is great at face value, and then when you start thinking about it, it gets even better.

C.S. Lewis describes space travel before man had ever been to space. In fact, he does it pretty well too! For me, a science guy, I found this very interesting.

Once I finally got past the nifty-ness of the science, I found myself just as interested in the story. I really enjoyed how C.S. Lewis painted a picture of an inhabited Mars. The tastefulness that he is known for was carried over into this book which made it all the more enjoyable.

Ransom, the hero of the story, is someone I can really relate to at times. However, at the same time, his character is also just not relatable enough that I found myself all the more drawn in. His strange differences piqued my interest in a way I didn’t think it could.

This book made me think of two different stories. One, of course, is C.S. Lewis’s Narnia. In some ways, this felt like Narnia in space. That being said, it also made me think about Edgar Rice Burroughs’s John Carter. Of course, there are quite a few differences, but it just felt like a cool crossover.

My Store Review: (5 Stars)

I’m a sci-fi fan and a C.S. Lewis fan. I didn’t find out about this book until a few years ago, and I quickly picked up a copy and burned through it. It was amazing, and I loved how C.S. Lewis had such great insight into space travel. I highly recommend it!

Caleb Fast’s Store Review

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Review: Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor



By A.J. Barker



My Rating 10/10

This book opened my eyes to so much stuff I never knew about WWII. A.J. Barker took so much time to research countless facts that are commonly overlooked.

I’m a history buff and a huge fan of straight facts, so I loved this book. The fact that A.J. Barker is a veteran adds to his credibility as well.

Something I loved in particular about this book was all the content Mr. Barker had on why Japan bombed Pearl Harbor (spoiler alert, they had a very good reason!). So often, people gloss over the “why” and they paint a horrible image of Imperial Japan. Yes, Japan did commit quite a few atrocities, Pearl Harbor included, but they weren’t raving madmen.

This book also takes time to go over the shortcomings of the United States who had intelligence reports that Pearl Harbor was going to be bombed long before it happened. In fact, Japan warned the US that they would be forced to go to war if their oil was cut off. Of course, the book goes a lot more into the interesting details, and I shouldn’t spoil too much, so I’ll stop there.

This book boasts quite a few photographs from WWII all of which are placed right where they ought to be for the book. I loved them. The images illustrate the war very well, and I found myself enthralled by several of them.

I got a second-hand copy of the paperback at a garage sale, and I must admit that it did not survive the test of time. Several pages were loose, which was a bummer for a tactile book lover like me. Regardless, there are a lot of these books in better condition, so you may want to get one of those!

My Store Review: (5 Stars)

I am a major student of history. World War Two is a particular point of interest for me, so I decided to pick up this book on a whim. I quickly fell in love with it as I learned so many new facts about the War in the Pacific during the Second World War. There was so much new insight into what happened at Pearl Harbor, why it happened, and how it happened. I know I’m far from being an expert, but this book was a huge step in the right direction!

Caleb Fast’s Store Review

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