Michael Procopio's Blog, page 10

Free Books and Paid Advertising

So, I’ve been experimenting with various paid advertising newsletters and sites since I released “Forgotten Monsters” in September. Some of them have gone above and beyond what I imagined. Others…not so much. Ultimately, I think they’ve all been useful in their own ways.

One thing I found, which might be of no surprise to you, is that people like free things! When I listed my book as free and promoted it to sites like Freebooksy, BookDoggy, and Free Kindle Books and Tips, I had a huge number ...

A Week of Deals

So, I’ve taken a little bit of a break from marketing my book, “Forgotten Monsters”, though I’ve still managed to garner a couple sales. It always surprises me when random people stumble upon my book. How did they find it? What made them buy it? I’m so appreciative, though.

In mid-October, I ran a few ads and I thought they did quite well. I have a few more ads coming up next week so I’ll be discounting my book again and I’ll share more on that in a second. Next week after the ads have run, ...

Things I Liked in October 2021

Happy Halloween! October was a really busy month for me so I didn’t get to explore all the pop culture stuff I wanted to. But, I did get to some stuff and I even liked some of it.

I Love TV

I’ve written before about how I like “The Bachelor” franchise – not because I think it’s some beautiful, romantic show. No, I like it because it makes me laugh and has more drama than most shows I’ve seen. I genuinely like it, though, and it made me want to check out “Unreal”. I’d heard of the s...

How about a little background?

Not that anyone asked, but I’d like to talk about what inspired me to write “Forgotten Monsters” and how the story changed over the years. I don’t think it’s what people would expect.

I knew I wanted the story to be superhero-ish, but I didn’t want a typical origin story where our hero first gets her powers. No, Marissa has had her powers all her life; she just doesn’t really do much with them before the story starts (except for when she’s too lazy to get up from the couch to get a snack from...

Things I Liked In September 2021

There were lots of things to be excited about this month, so let’s dive on in!

So much TV

September can be the start of Spooky Season, right? I mean, it is officially autumn and Halloween is sort of right around the corner. Either way, Midnight Mass on Netflix definitely got me in the mood. I became a huge fan of Mike Flanagan after he did The Haunting of Hill House so I had to check this out too. I was not disappointed. It’s not super scary, so don’t expect it to be, though it has its...

One Week Later

So here I am, a week after “Forgotten Monsters” was released. First, I want to thank everyone who reached out and supported me – it really, really meant a lot. It was overwhelming, actually, and I’m very grateful for it.

And I couldn’t be more pleased with the way the launch went. It was my fear that no one would buy the book. I never expected to sell loads given that I am new to this and I don’t have a following, but I was very pleasantly surprised by w...

“Forgotten Monsters” is now available for purchase!!

Wow. Wow wow wow. It’s hard to believe that this day is finally here, but “Forgotten Monsters” is officially available for purchase.

Today really snuck up on me. Everything has been so crazy lately and it didn’t help that I’ve been sick this past week. (According to a PCR test, it’s not Covid, which is good, but I’m still sick. Also, if you’re not vaccinated yet, get vaccinated.) So even though things have been less than ideal recently, I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally release my...

The Writing Process

There is a lot of work that goes into writing a book. Like, what the heck? Who knew?? When I was just starting out, I did a lot of googling before I officially wrote my first word. I wanted to find out what other’s writing process was to see if it might help me form mine. What I found was that there is so much advice out there and it can be extremely overwhelming. At the end of the day, everyone is going to come up with their own way of doing things. While the advice I read sometimes seemed ridiculous or unfitting, it did help me develop my own process and I thought I’d share it with you.

Planner, Pantser, or Plantser?

Planner – Someone who plans out pretty much every aspect of the book. The story will be outlined, character arcs will be written, and you’ll know your story front to back before you even start writing.

Pantser – Someone who makes everything up on the fly. That’s not to say that you don’t have an idea where the story is going, but there’s no outline. You basically go where the story takes you.

Plantser – A combination of the two above.

So, which one are you? I started out as a planner. I’m a planner by nature, so it made sense to write the book this way. With “Forgotten Monsters” I first wrote a few paragraphs to outline the story. Then, I assigned certain plot points for each chapter, which helped me figure out the pacing. As someone just starting out, I found this to be helpful. It kept me on track and it kept me from feeling overwhelmed with the process. I knew where I was going and I could rest assured that the plot would tie neatly together by the end.

Nowadays, however, I’m more of a plantser. I still like to have a general idea of where I’m going and I still do the chapter-by-chapter breakdown. But one of the fun things about writing, for me, is when your story takes you in an unexpected direction. Sometimes I’ll reach a point in the story where I find I need something exciting to happen, which I hadn’t accounted for in my original outline. So, I’ll think of something, add it in, and realize it changes the way the rest of the story plays out. It’s more fun than it sounds, trust me. I’ll then revise my outline. I do this several times as I write a book. So, I still know where I’m going, but there are usually several divergences.

Good luck to all you pantsers out there. I don’t know how you survive.

Keeping track

I like to think of myself, for better or worse, as a very organized person. So, I’ve got my writing spreadsheet! Each day after I finish writing, I log how many words I wrote. Generally, I set it up with a total word count goal for the book (usually 77,000 words) and I get to see every day how much closer I am to that goal.

Different book genres have a general word count you should aim for. If you’re self-publishing, it’s more flexible, but I try to keep my stories’ word counts in line with what’s popular. So, by keeping track of what I write, I ensure that I’m aiming for the correct word count. It’s also motivating to me to see how much closer I get to my goal.

Bless the heart of anyone who can write thousands of words a day. Me? I aim for 500 words per day and I’m generally pretty good at hitting that mark. It’s not too much that I get overwhelmed, but it’s not too little that I feel like I’m going nowhere.

Discipline is very important. When I first started writing, I’d do it only when I felt like it and it took me forever to complete anything. Now, I generally write every day and I can finish a first draft in about five months. There are writers who can write and publish five books in the same amount of time, but that’s not me and I’m sticking to what works for me.

Second, third, and so forth drafts

Editing can be fun. It can also be a chore. Sometimes, after I do my writing for the day, I’ll edit what I just wrote right then and there. It helps me keep things consistent and it saves me time at the end. All the big, book-spanning edits come after I’ve finished the first draft, though.

When I do complete a first draft, I’ll do a read through of the whole thing to make sure it’s not a total disaster. I’ll leave comments in the margins for anything that is terribly written, doesn’t make sense, is inconsistent, could be improved upon…you name it. I focus on pacing and characterization and make note of where it needs fixing. Sometimes if I’m feeling kind to myself, I’ll even comment on things I liked!

After that, I’ll read through the book again paying special attention to all the comments I left. This edit is a bit more laborious. It usually consists of me deleting huge chunks and rewriting them. Sometimes I need to add in a whole chapter, or separate a chapter into two and fill them in to completion. It’s a lot! But, it’s really helpful.

I’ll do a few more read throughs, but they’re usually less intense (unless I did a really bad job!). It’s all a matter of getting things to a satisfactory point.

We’re still not done

Beta readers. We love them, don’t we? Beta readers are who we share our stories with and ask for their feedback. For me, I’m less concerned with grammar and spelling, and more concerned with how the story works as a whole. I want to hear about which characters people liked, how the pacing was, if the story is consistent and makes sense – all things I worked hard to get just right during my edits.

Your beta readers will find things. And that’s great! Depending on how many people you have beta read your work, you could have a whole variety of opinions. If there is a lot of agreement from your readers on what needs fixing, then it’s usually a pretty easy decision that it needs to be fixed. Some readers’ opinions might clash with each other, in which case it’s up to the writer to decide what suggestions to incorporate. It’s always helpful to see how different people read your story.

So you do another round of edits, which hopefully can help make your story better.

And then?

After you’ve got your story in a good place, it’s really up to you. Me? I’m self-publishing this trilogy. You may decide to query agents. You may want to keep the book for yourself. Whatever you do, pat yourself on the back. Not everybody can write a book, but you did. And that’s pretty awesome.

Things I Liked in August 2021

So, I’m still trying to figure out how I want to handle this blog, but I think one thing I’d like to do is highlight some things that I enjoy each month. I love pop culture and I’m always trying to discover new music, shows, and books. I’d love it if you commented with some of your favorites from the last month too.

Let’s talk about TV

I started and finished Mare of Easttown last week. I don’t know why I put off watching this for so long. It was so incredibly good. The show follows Mare Sheehan, a police detective, as she tries to solve a murder case. I’m generally not someone who enjoys gritty police procedural type shows, but this was so much more than that. There are so many hooks and twists and it gripped me from the first episode. Kate Winslet is incredible in the role just like she is in every role. And Jean Smart? Can she please be in every show from here on out? I was late to this show, so you’ve probably already seen it, but watch it if you haven’t.

In somewhat less murder-y territory, I’ve been watching The Great British Bake Off. Honestly, I can never get enough of it. The new season hasn’t started yet, so I’ve been rewatching past seasons, specifically series 4 (or, Collection 2 on US Netflix). It’s a calming show to watch since everyone is so kind but I also think it’s really hysterical. Whether it’s Mel and Sue cracking jokes or one of the contestants referring to pesto as being “exotic”, I just can’t get enough. Basically, it’s always a good time to pop in an episode of this show.

So I pretty much love everything Marvel. The movies, the shows (even the ones that aren’t technically canon…which, by the way, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is too good to not be considered canon but I’ll rant about that later) – all of it. Marvel’s What If…? is the latest show released on Disney+ and it’s a really fun look at how different things in the MCU could be if something else had happened (i.e. what if…Peggy Carter had taken the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rodgers). So, if you’re like me and are still not comfortable heading to the movies to see Black Widow or Shang-Chi but you’re still craving more from the MCU, watch this.

And, yes, I will PROUDLY admit to watching Bachelor in Paradise. I’m sorry (I’m not) but it’s kind of the perfect summer show. Where else can you watch a bunch of deeply insecure and narcissistic people pretend they’re looking for love and not more Instagram followers? I mean, hey, I’m not knocking it – I watch, after all! I just want some brainless entertainment every now and then and, wow, does this provide. Of course I watched The Bachelorette too. It was kind of the Most Dramatic Season ever. I thought Katie was a great lead, even if I didn’t really understand what she saw in her choice at the end or why she remained so angry at one of the other contestants. Maybe he wasn’t there for The Right Reasons, but their Journey proved to be entertaining nonetheless.

We love books

It took me a little while to really get into The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. I ended up loving the book but I almost felt detached from it for the first half. Addie LaRue made a deal with a god in 1714 France, which ended up having dire consequences for her. She’d live forever, but no one would remember her. The book follows her for centuries but mostly sticks to her time in present-day NYC. Like I said, I didn’t feel super connected to Addie for the first half. If no one could remember her, maybe that disconnect to the character was intentional, a way to mimic how Addie felt. Maybe not. But the story became a little more interesting as some romance started to creep into it. I won’t give anything away, but I liked the book and I think you should read it.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig was really great and got me thinking about life (somehow more than I already do). Nora Seed is living a life she doesn’t love and she often thinks about how if only she’d done certain things differently, she might be happier. Well, one day, after she attempts suicide, she’s given that chance. She finds herself in the Midnight Library where she’s surrounded by endless amounts of books – each book contains a life where she made a different decision and explores how differently her life played out as a result. She gets the opportunity to visit any of these alternate lives and decide if she wants to stay there. It was a thought-provoking story for me. I always think about “what ifs” but I don’t really ever follow it up with, “would my life really be better?” If you like a quick read that will also make you reconsider your potential in life, this book might be for you.

And then there’s music

My recommendations for the month:

Bastille: “Distorted Light Beam” and “Thelma + Louise“Billie Eilish: “Happier Than Ever“, “Oxytocin“, and “I Didn’t Change My Number“Halsey: “Ya’burnee” and “I am not a woman, I’m a god“Kacey Musgraves: “justified” and “star-crossed“Lorde: “Stoned at the Nail Salon“Yebba: “Boomerang“

A List of Things About Publishing That Excite Me

So, in my last post I shared a list of my fears when it comes to releasing “Forgotten Monsters“. Now I want to share what excites me about releasing the book (because a lot of things excite me!).

I’m releasing a book. Wow. I’m actually doing something that I only dreamed of doing before. Now, I’m nervous about it all, but I’m definitely more excited. I spent years working on this and I’m finally sharing it with others. I’ve always loved to write but I wouldn’t say I got serious with it until about ten years ago. And I’m very passionate about it. At a time when life can be really tough (hello, pandemic!), working on something that I’m passionate about is the salve I needed.As overwhelming as all the work can be when it comes to self-publishing, I’m also thrilled to be doing it. I had so much fun with my book cover. I’m interested to see how ads work and how my book might benefit. I’m curious to see who reads my book and how they stumble across it.How cool is it that I’m going to have Amazon and Goodreads author pages? I mean, that’s pretty cool.People I don’t know are gonna read my book! I think about what I might feel when I get that first good review from someone who picked up my book because it interested them.I can’t wait to hear what people think! I want to know people’s favorite characters and favorite scenes. I want to know what worked and what didn’t. While I already have the two other books in this trilogy written (though, in various stages of edits), I’m curious to see how people envision this story turning out.

The other day I received the author proof in the mail. Honestly, seeing a copy of my book in person, holding it, feeling the pages flip – it was one of the coolest feelings.

I wrote about my fears because I had to get them out. It’s a huge deal to release a book. But, truthfully, there is so much more I’m excited about. So, bring on September 21 so I can finally share this book with the world!