Aaron Polson's Blog, page 37
January 14, 2011
Something Sassy for Friday
(have a great weekend)
January 13, 2011
Can You Help with The Big Experiment?
Anyone who has followed JA Konrath's A Newbie's Guide to Publishing knows he's been talking up the power of e-book sales for a new generation of "indie published" authors--indie being the new term for self-published.
For years, the power-brokers in publishing have made the phrase "self-published" a big no-no, one of the few bad words we still have left. You were dirty if you were self-published. A hack. Stupid, too. You couldn't cut it with the big boys.
Now, Konrath says you're stupid not to.
I've waffled on this topic for a long time. I've stutter-stepped into Indie/self/whatever publishing with The Bottom Feeders, which surprisingly, has sold three copies this week to people I don't know. I've put Rock Gods and Scary Monsters out there. I've taken it down, fixed a few issues, and put it back out there (should be up again in a day or so).
I have two more books I'm planning to upload before the school year is out: The Last Days of the Springdale Saints and Borrowed Saints. All set in Springdale, my fictional home town. I had an offer from a small press for The Last Days of the Springdale Saints and I said no. I still plan to offer Borrowed Saints for free (because I made a promise), but it will be available to purchase, possibly with extras, on Kindle. All will be available through Smashwords. There might even be another self-released story collection next year or so. I'm going to release then in paperback, too, because I can and it's stupid, just plain stupid not to offer what I can to a potential audience.
I'm going to post monthly updates of my earnings and progress for the world to see. Because a) I have no shame and b) I'm sure plenty of people are curious about the experiment, too.
But I need help to make the big experiment work.
I noticed the strange uptick in sales of The Bottom Feeders after receiving a couple of reviews. Do reviews sell books? My results are inconclusive, but seeing stars under a title in Amazon.com does draw the eye. Besides, reviews, good or bad, gives an author something to talk about. If people are going to spend their money on your work, especially as an unknown, they need to hear your name a number of times before they give in. An author simply must talk about his/her book for readers to find it, and they have to find it before they buy it. I spent way too long feeling some weird shame spiral when I talked about writing. Whether this is my nature or a side-effect of the submission/rejection machine, I don't know.
But I think I can tell a good story, on occasion.
I'm looking for some brave souls to write reviews for my soon to be indie/self-pubbed books and post those reviews on Amazon when the titles are available. I know some of my dear readers don't feel all that great about self-publishing. I understand. Trust me. But I have to make my decisions based on what is right for me, right now. The future is the future, and no one knows how that will play out.
If you're interested, email me: aaron.polson(at)gmail.com. Sign up before the end of the month, and you'll be entered in the contest drawing.
Thanks. And good luck.
For years, the power-brokers in publishing have made the phrase "self-published" a big no-no, one of the few bad words we still have left. You were dirty if you were self-published. A hack. Stupid, too. You couldn't cut it with the big boys.
Now, Konrath says you're stupid not to.
I've waffled on this topic for a long time. I've stutter-stepped into Indie/self/whatever publishing with The Bottom Feeders, which surprisingly, has sold three copies this week to people I don't know. I've put Rock Gods and Scary Monsters out there. I've taken it down, fixed a few issues, and put it back out there (should be up again in a day or so).
I have two more books I'm planning to upload before the school year is out: The Last Days of the Springdale Saints and Borrowed Saints. All set in Springdale, my fictional home town. I had an offer from a small press for The Last Days of the Springdale Saints and I said no. I still plan to offer Borrowed Saints for free (because I made a promise), but it will be available to purchase, possibly with extras, on Kindle. All will be available through Smashwords. There might even be another self-released story collection next year or so. I'm going to release then in paperback, too, because I can and it's stupid, just plain stupid not to offer what I can to a potential audience.
I'm going to post monthly updates of my earnings and progress for the world to see. Because a) I have no shame and b) I'm sure plenty of people are curious about the experiment, too.
But I need help to make the big experiment work.
I noticed the strange uptick in sales of The Bottom Feeders after receiving a couple of reviews. Do reviews sell books? My results are inconclusive, but seeing stars under a title in Amazon.com does draw the eye. Besides, reviews, good or bad, gives an author something to talk about. If people are going to spend their money on your work, especially as an unknown, they need to hear your name a number of times before they give in. An author simply must talk about his/her book for readers to find it, and they have to find it before they buy it. I spent way too long feeling some weird shame spiral when I talked about writing. Whether this is my nature or a side-effect of the submission/rejection machine, I don't know.
But I think I can tell a good story, on occasion.
I'm looking for some brave souls to write reviews for my soon to be indie/self-pubbed books and post those reviews on Amazon when the titles are available. I know some of my dear readers don't feel all that great about self-publishing. I understand. Trust me. But I have to make my decisions based on what is right for me, right now. The future is the future, and no one knows how that will play out.
If you're interested, email me: aaron.polson(at)gmail.com. Sign up before the end of the month, and you'll be entered in the contest drawing.
Thanks. And good luck.
January 12, 2011
WIP Wednesday Digs Itself Out
I'm "enjoying" my third consecutive snow day. I know, silly to complain--who wouldn't like a little time off, right?
Right.
One day is great. Two days can be fun. On the third day, especially when the temps are well below freezing and it hasn't snowed since Monday, I begin to ask: "When does my life return to normal?" I teach in a rural district, and snow tends to drift. Sure, county maintenance plows roads where possible, but then the wind comes through overnight, and...you get the idea.
To my gift horse: I'm trying not to look you in the mouth, 'kay?
I'm just about ready to send my second submission for Write 1/Sub 1. Just about. I'm working on my fourth story (allowing a little time for editing lag). I call this one, "Through the Tunnel":
"Can you tell me what happened before the spell?"
Dr. Ellingham always called trips into the Tunnel spells. Spell sounded like something from a children's movie. Something a cartoon witch might do, or Harry Potter, or Merlin in Camelot. Joel frowned at the word. "I was just walking. I was walking and then I was in the tunnel."
"Mmm-humm." Dr. Ellingham scribbled on his yellow legal pad
.
"I'd just dumped my tray. I was walking. Then…then I was on the ground." Joel's eyes shifted down, away from the yellow legal pad. Dr. Ellingham was always scribbling, scribbling. Pages filled with doodles, probably. Doodles of crazy me, Joel, with witches casting spells as they fly around mounted on cartoon broomsticks and conjuring black things from their cauldrons. Black things from the tunnel.
"Joel? What are you thinking about?"
"What?"
"You shuddered just now. Shivered, like you were cold."
How's the writing going in your world?
Right.
One day is great. Two days can be fun. On the third day, especially when the temps are well below freezing and it hasn't snowed since Monday, I begin to ask: "When does my life return to normal?" I teach in a rural district, and snow tends to drift. Sure, county maintenance plows roads where possible, but then the wind comes through overnight, and...you get the idea.
To my gift horse: I'm trying not to look you in the mouth, 'kay?
I'm just about ready to send my second submission for Write 1/Sub 1. Just about. I'm working on my fourth story (allowing a little time for editing lag). I call this one, "Through the Tunnel":
"Can you tell me what happened before the spell?"
Dr. Ellingham always called trips into the Tunnel spells. Spell sounded like something from a children's movie. Something a cartoon witch might do, or Harry Potter, or Merlin in Camelot. Joel frowned at the word. "I was just walking. I was walking and then I was in the tunnel."
"Mmm-humm." Dr. Ellingham scribbled on his yellow legal pad
.
"I'd just dumped my tray. I was walking. Then…then I was on the ground." Joel's eyes shifted down, away from the yellow legal pad. Dr. Ellingham was always scribbling, scribbling. Pages filled with doodles, probably. Doodles of crazy me, Joel, with witches casting spells as they fly around mounted on cartoon broomsticks and conjuring black things from their cauldrons. Black things from the tunnel.
"Joel? What are you thinking about?"
"What?"
"You shuddered just now. Shivered, like you were cold."
How's the writing going in your world?
January 10, 2011
Every Story a Horror Story & Fantastic Reviews
Aaron Hughes of Fantastic Review Blog liked my short story, "A Game of Lost Boys" (from Linger Fiction) so much, it's his story recommendation of the week. That's pretty cool. Fantastic, in fact.
So I've been thinking...and maybe because of the horrific outing my Chiefs had in yesterday's playoff game...
I don't care what "genre" you read/write: you are engaged in horror fiction. Don't deny it--I know horror writers often receive a bad rap, but the truth is, quite simply, every story is a horror story.
Since today is a snow day (yay!) which means I have to wrangle my kids (er, yay?), I'll keep this quick:
For a story to work, there must be conflict. Internal or external, implied or explicit, I don't care. Conflict has to happen. A story simply isn't a story without conflict.
Conflict creates suspense (will the conflict resolve favorably for our dear protagonist). Suspense is driven by fear. Fear is the central emotion of horror.
Need I say more?
Okay, Aaron, you might say, what about the Formula Romance? Well, the story revolves around the central will they/won't they conflict. The fear might not be Horror (capital H), but it is suspenseful, at least a little, or otherwise no one would read it. Suspense drives the reader to the end of a story. The best stories have loads of it, even where the big threat (death) doesn't exist. But I'd say every good story carries elements of the big threat...at least derivatives of it. If my seven-year-old is asking questions about whether Harry Potter ever dies after book 1, well, the big threat is there. Derivatives? Think lost love, lost family member, lost job, lost respect...all those "losses" are surrogates for death.
Something to think about while I sit in my nice, warm house, hoping the heater keeps doing its job as the world slowly fades to white.
So I've been thinking...and maybe because of the horrific outing my Chiefs had in yesterday's playoff game...
I don't care what "genre" you read/write: you are engaged in horror fiction. Don't deny it--I know horror writers often receive a bad rap, but the truth is, quite simply, every story is a horror story.
Since today is a snow day (yay!) which means I have to wrangle my kids (er, yay?), I'll keep this quick:
For a story to work, there must be conflict. Internal or external, implied or explicit, I don't care. Conflict has to happen. A story simply isn't a story without conflict.
Conflict creates suspense (will the conflict resolve favorably for our dear protagonist). Suspense is driven by fear. Fear is the central emotion of horror.
Need I say more?
Okay, Aaron, you might say, what about the Formula Romance? Well, the story revolves around the central will they/won't they conflict. The fear might not be Horror (capital H), but it is suspenseful, at least a little, or otherwise no one would read it. Suspense drives the reader to the end of a story. The best stories have loads of it, even where the big threat (death) doesn't exist. But I'd say every good story carries elements of the big threat...at least derivatives of it. If my seven-year-old is asking questions about whether Harry Potter ever dies after book 1, well, the big threat is there. Derivatives? Think lost love, lost family member, lost job, lost respect...all those "losses" are surrogates for death.
Something to think about while I sit in my nice, warm house, hoping the heater keeps doing its job as the world slowly fades to white.
January 6, 2011
The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly
The good:
An acceptance from Innsmouth Free Press. "Ngiri's Catch" will be in their forthcoming Historical Lovecraft anthology. The cover art is special. I hereby eat all my rejection-whine from earlier this week. Have patience, Aaron. Have patience.
The bad:
The song, "Crazy Bitch", from Buckcherry. Who can take this filth seriously? Oh yeah, I forgot...horny fifteen-year-olds. Silly me. And people wonder why this country is in trouble. I'm not all that worried about offending Buckcherry fans because, well, they evidently like to wallow in offensive shit. At least try to make it interesting and original offensive shit next time, 'kay?
The ugly:
The state of the publishing industry. No, this isn't sour grapes. I'll never be a publishing industry darling. I don't travel on that vibe. But does anyone wonder why book sales suffer when Snooki's A Shore Thing (Oh...it's a pun. Ha.) sells so well? What about NewSouth revision of Huckleberry Finn? I might just have to take my paintbrush to the Mona Lisa and give that coy sister a real smile.
Sometimes I can't stop the rant. Sure, Snooki and crew are just other kids on the playground. But so am I. So are we all. But every playground has bullies. I'm tired of having all this water poured down the spout and them telling us it's wine when it's not. And I have Ray Bradbury to thank for that beautiful image. You da man, Mr. Bradbury.
Hell, it's not even water most of the time. Haters just gotta hate, I guess.
An acceptance from Innsmouth Free Press. "Ngiri's Catch" will be in their forthcoming Historical Lovecraft anthology. The cover art is special. I hereby eat all my rejection-whine from earlier this week. Have patience, Aaron. Have patience.
The bad:
The song, "Crazy Bitch", from Buckcherry. Who can take this filth seriously? Oh yeah, I forgot...horny fifteen-year-olds. Silly me. And people wonder why this country is in trouble. I'm not all that worried about offending Buckcherry fans because, well, they evidently like to wallow in offensive shit. At least try to make it interesting and original offensive shit next time, 'kay?
The ugly:
The state of the publishing industry. No, this isn't sour grapes. I'll never be a publishing industry darling. I don't travel on that vibe. But does anyone wonder why book sales suffer when Snooki's A Shore Thing (Oh...it's a pun. Ha.) sells so well? What about NewSouth revision of Huckleberry Finn? I might just have to take my paintbrush to the Mona Lisa and give that coy sister a real smile.
Sometimes I can't stop the rant. Sure, Snooki and crew are just other kids on the playground. But so am I. So are we all. But every playground has bullies. I'm tired of having all this water poured down the spout and them telling us it's wine when it's not. And I have Ray Bradbury to thank for that beautiful image. You da man, Mr. Bradbury.
Hell, it's not even water most of the time. Haters just gotta hate, I guess.
January 5, 2011
WIP Wednesday Gets Socked in the Mouth
I punched the whiny me in the head. He's lying on the bedroom floor, blubbering about life being fair. What a loser.
The rest of me is here, today, trying to teach teenagers about context clues and word analysis (stop snoring...I can hear you). I'm also squeezing a few words into my WIP, entry #2 for Write 1/Sub 1: "Delbert Kibbey's Mail Order Bride". Delbert's coworkers tell most of the story as they gossip in the break room at their office:
"There was another man in the house. Delbert 's neighbor," Martin said.
"And a video camera," Randy said.
Nona punched Randy's shoulder. "Rude. That's not fair."
"I didn't make it up," Randy said, rubbing his arm. "There were pills, too. Garth down in shipping knows a guy who knows a guy who used to sell to Delbert's neighbor."
"Pills?"
"Uppers. Downers. Reds and blues. The whole mess." Randy offered a knowing nod. "I bet they'd been having a private party. Just the two of them and the camera."
"So she was…they were..."
Randy nodded. "Seems like it."
And Olesya the mail-order-bride seemed like such a nice...er...young lady.
The rest of me is here, today, trying to teach teenagers about context clues and word analysis (stop snoring...I can hear you). I'm also squeezing a few words into my WIP, entry #2 for Write 1/Sub 1: "Delbert Kibbey's Mail Order Bride". Delbert's coworkers tell most of the story as they gossip in the break room at their office:
"There was another man in the house. Delbert 's neighbor," Martin said.
"And a video camera," Randy said.
Nona punched Randy's shoulder. "Rude. That's not fair."
"I didn't make it up," Randy said, rubbing his arm. "There were pills, too. Garth down in shipping knows a guy who knows a guy who used to sell to Delbert's neighbor."
"Pills?"
"Uppers. Downers. Reds and blues. The whole mess." Randy offered a knowing nod. "I bet they'd been having a private party. Just the two of them and the camera."
"So she was…they were..."
Randy nodded. "Seems like it."
And Olesya the mail-order-bride seemed like such a nice...er...young lady.
January 4, 2011
Attack of the Killer Blahs
I deleted the bitchy post. Sorry if you hunted for it...
I subbed my first write 1 / sub 1 entry: "The Good Daughter" (which, technically, is a piece of sci fi). Only 51 more to go...
I've received several rejections in the past few days and am growing tired of them.
A reader on Goodreads called The Bottom Feeders "mediocre horror stories" and gave it two stars. I wish the slam was more interesting.
How is your day?
I subbed my first write 1 / sub 1 entry: "The Good Daughter" (which, technically, is a piece of sci fi). Only 51 more to go...
I've received several rejections in the past few days and am growing tired of them.
A reader on Goodreads called The Bottom Feeders "mediocre horror stories" and gave it two stars. I wish the slam was more interesting.
How is your day?
January 3, 2011
2011: A Writing Odyssey
Don't forget the review contest...entries aren't due until the end of the month, but plan ahead, 'kay? Right now, the entrants have a 1 in 3 chance of winning. Make it harder for them.
Okay...on to my goals for 2011...
What I can do:
1. Always have at least one story in front of a pro paying market. Right now, I have two. I plan on adding another by the end of the week.
2. Sub one new story each week (Write 1/Sub 1). I plan to submit "The Good Daughter" this week.
3. Finish Borrowed Saints. I aborted the weekly updates last fall because I needed more time to edit. Will this happen? I don't know. But it is a goal.
4. Finish How We Die in a Hungry Town. I need to edit, edit, edit. I have a self-imposed deadline for this.
5. Write one review each month for Skull Salad. Minimum.
What I'd like to happen in 2011:
1. Sell at least one more story to a pro paying market. I need one more sale of 1,800 words or more to make "active" level for the HWA. I'd like that.
2. I'd like to sell a book. Right now, I have How We Die in a Hungry Town...hmmm...
Okay...on to my goals for 2011...
What I can do:
1. Always have at least one story in front of a pro paying market. Right now, I have two. I plan on adding another by the end of the week.
2. Sub one new story each week (Write 1/Sub 1). I plan to submit "The Good Daughter" this week.
3. Finish Borrowed Saints. I aborted the weekly updates last fall because I needed more time to edit. Will this happen? I don't know. But it is a goal.
4. Finish How We Die in a Hungry Town. I need to edit, edit, edit. I have a self-imposed deadline for this.
5. Write one review each month for Skull Salad. Minimum.
What I'd like to happen in 2011:
1. Sell at least one more story to a pro paying market. I need one more sale of 1,800 words or more to make "active" level for the HWA. I'd like that.
2. I'd like to sell a book. Right now, I have How We Die in a Hungry Town...hmmm...
2011: A Writing Odyssey
Don't forget the review contest...entries aren't due until the end of the month, but plan ahead, 'kay? Right now, the entrants have a 1 in 3 chance of winning. Make it harder for them.
Okay...on to my goals for 2011...
What I can do:
1. Always have at least one story in front of a pro paying market. Right now, I have two. I plan on adding another by the end of the week.
2. Sub one new story each week (Write 1/Sub 1). I plan to submit "The Good Daughter" this week.
3. Finish Borrowed Saints. I aborted the weekly updates last fall because I needed more time to edit. Will this happen? I don't know. But it is a goal.
4. Finish How We Die in a Hungry Town. I need to edit, edit, edit. I have a self-imposed deadline for this.
5. Write one review each month for Skull Salad. Minimum.
What I'd like to happen in 2011:
1. Sell at least one more story to a pro paying market. I need one more sale of 1,800 words or more to make "active" level for the HWA. I'd like that.
2. I'd like to sell a book. Right now, I have How We Die in a Hungry Town...hmmm...
Okay...on to my goals for 2011...
What I can do:
1. Always have at least one story in front of a pro paying market. Right now, I have two. I plan on adding another by the end of the week.
2. Sub one new story each week (Write 1/Sub 1). I plan to submit "The Good Daughter" this week.
3. Finish Borrowed Saints. I aborted the weekly updates last fall because I needed more time to edit. Will this happen? I don't know. But it is a goal.
4. Finish How We Die in a Hungry Town. I need to edit, edit, edit. I have a self-imposed deadline for this.
5. Write one review each month for Skull Salad. Minimum.
What I'd like to happen in 2011:
1. Sell at least one more story to a pro paying market. I need one more sale of 1,800 words or more to make "active" level for the HWA. I'd like that.
2. I'd like to sell a book. Right now, I have How We Die in a Hungry Town...hmmm...
December 31, 2010
2010 In Review
Hey, before you read all this goal-setting ramble, hop over to Linger Fiction for a peek at their first issue and my short story (editor's choice, even), "A Game of Lost Boys".
Last year, I started with the following "What I can do" goals (along with how I did in bold):
1. Always have at least one story in front of a pro paying market. Mostly a success. Of course I've had a story on "hold" at a pro market for about five months...does that count?
2. Finish my final pass of Loathsome, Dark, and Deep and have it ready to query/submit in February. (Get on this one, eh?) Um, so I win here, right?
3. Write my fifth novel*--a ghost/suspense/YA thing with no title but one hell of a first line:
When I was younger, I imagined numerous ways to kill my sister just to see if she'd come back and haunt me. Written. Sitting unfinished (and unedited in large part). Doing Write 1/Sub 1 this year, I probably won't have time to write another novel, but I can finish this one, right?
4. Write at least one high quality story a month (or 12/year). I've gotten better at letting my stories "age" before editing. I'll do even better this year. I win. "The House was Never a Castle" sat for three months before final edits and revision, eventually selling to Shimmer. Yay!
5. Buy something from the small press every month. And read it. And review it for Skull Salad. More than one would be sweet. Fail. I bought at least twelve small press items (including subscriptions to three mags), but haven't managed to do the reviews. Thank goodness some other good peeps are helping out at Skull Salad.
I would like the following to happen as well, but these items require outside "assistance":
1. Land an agent/sell a book. I sold two books and sent out two query letters to agents. I'm kind of sour on the agenting front, to tell the truth.
2. Sell another story to a pro paying market. Huzzah! I technically sold two: "Wanting It" (forthcoming in Shock Totem) and "Different Strings" which won the Whidbey Writers Workshop Students' Choice Award for October...of course I never received the prize money...hmmmmm.
So where do I go from here? Tune in next week to find out. ;)
And HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Last year, I started with the following "What I can do" goals (along with how I did in bold):
1. Always have at least one story in front of a pro paying market. Mostly a success. Of course I've had a story on "hold" at a pro market for about five months...does that count?
2. Finish my final pass of Loathsome, Dark, and Deep and have it ready to query/submit in February. (Get on this one, eh?) Um, so I win here, right?
3. Write my fifth novel*--a ghost/suspense/YA thing with no title but one hell of a first line:
When I was younger, I imagined numerous ways to kill my sister just to see if she'd come back and haunt me. Written. Sitting unfinished (and unedited in large part). Doing Write 1/Sub 1 this year, I probably won't have time to write another novel, but I can finish this one, right?
4. Write at least one high quality story a month (or 12/year). I've gotten better at letting my stories "age" before editing. I'll do even better this year. I win. "The House was Never a Castle" sat for three months before final edits and revision, eventually selling to Shimmer. Yay!
5. Buy something from the small press every month. And read it. And review it for Skull Salad. More than one would be sweet. Fail. I bought at least twelve small press items (including subscriptions to three mags), but haven't managed to do the reviews. Thank goodness some other good peeps are helping out at Skull Salad.
I would like the following to happen as well, but these items require outside "assistance":
1. Land an agent/sell a book. I sold two books and sent out two query letters to agents. I'm kind of sour on the agenting front, to tell the truth.
2. Sell another story to a pro paying market. Huzzah! I technically sold two: "Wanting It" (forthcoming in Shock Totem) and "Different Strings" which won the Whidbey Writers Workshop Students' Choice Award for October...of course I never received the prize money...hmmmmm.
So where do I go from here? Tune in next week to find out. ;)
And HAPPY NEW YEAR!
