Vincent Zandri's Blog, page 12
November 28, 2011
Video Games
The following blog is "now appearing" at The Vincent Zandri Vox: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
My sons play video games.
Ok, that's an understatement. Not only do my sons (Jack 21 and Bear 17) play video games, they own literally thousands of them. They also own every gaming system available, both TV adaptable and hand-held, and they collect retro systems from the '00s, 90's 80's and even an Atari "Pong" system from the 1970s. The games they purchase and play often arrive to our home in strange packages wrapped in brown butcher paper, postmarked Japan or South Korea and even China. These games will be designed and presented entirely in an Asian language that somehow my sons understand.
The games they play range from G-rated to Mature to Violent with names that have become entirely familiar in and around video gaming circles: Final Fantasy, Mario, Tekken, Street Fighter, and lots more,
The gaming doesn't stop there.
As many gamers do, my sons are also into the tangental aspects of gaming like graphic novels, video anime, feature length straight-to-video movies, and more. They also maintain a special allure for Bruce Lee, who's early Kung Foo movies curiously follow a video-game-like plot-line of "level's" of battle or fighting, despite their predating practical video game development by a decade or more.
Lately my boys have been designing their own video games starting with humble miniature games in order to educate themselves to the complications and nuances of the art. One day they hope to make their mark on the industry with big games that will be distributed throughout the world.
I grew up with video games which back then in my early teens, were mostly located in video game parlors. Back when you could find records in record stores and books in bookstores. Nowadays it's getting harder and harder to find a video game parlor since just about every household owns some kind of video game system like a Uii or a PlayStation. Certainly just about everyone has access to the Internet. But I never really got into them since I more or less knew that once I was hooked, I would forever be dedicating half my life to sitting in front of a whole bunch of computer generated pixels.
But video games still fascinate me. Especially the ones gamers refer to as "Kill Games."
These first person kill games put you the player in the position of the chaser while you hunt down a series of victims which more often than not assume the form of Zombies (that way they can't ever really be killed). But there are other kill games in which you hunt enemy soldiers or bandits or rednecks driving fast cars. I was curious about what goes into the design of these games and designers who might become so obsessed with making them so realistic and life-like they might go to extraordinary lengths to create them. Like murder for instance. So fascinated in fact, that I decided to wrap a stand-alone thriller around the idea.
The plot I had in mind was not just a simple murder. But an elaborate hunt and chase which would culminate in a murder upon which the chaser would record the victim's screams prior to perishing. The screams would then be used in the design of a Violent First Person video game that would closely resemble the actual hunt and chase that inspired it. That in mind I created a video game designer who is a master of disguise and a serial killer. A man who never stays in the same city for very long and who operates under as many different aliases as he's had facial reconstruction and voice enhancement surgeries. He is a man who will stop at nothing to observe how another human being reacts to a hunt and chase, and he's determined to translate the experience for the video game as accurately as possible.
Even though my sons were able to provide me with almost all the research material I needed for the novel (minus the murder part!) it still took me almost three full years to write the psychological/suspense/horror thriller, SCREAM CATCHER. It's now coming at you in e-Book, trade paper and in a matter of a few weeks, audio, screams and all. It's my contribution to an entertainment genre that has not only fascinated me for a long time, but become an art form unto itself and a way of life for my sons. And even, a living.
Scream Catcher
My sons play video games.
Ok, that's an understatement. Not only do my sons (Jack 21 and Bear 17) play video games, they own literally thousands of them. They also own every gaming system available, both TV adaptable and hand-held, and they collect retro systems from the '00s, 90's 80's and even an Atari "Pong" system from the 1970s. The games they purchase and play often arrive to our home in strange packages wrapped in brown butcher paper, postmarked Japan or South Korea and even China. These games will be designed and presented entirely in an Asian language that somehow my sons understand.
The games they play range from G-rated to Mature to Violent with names that have become entirely familiar in and around video gaming circles: Final Fantasy, Mario, Tekken, Street Fighter, and lots more,
The gaming doesn't stop there.
As many gamers do, my sons are also into the tangental aspects of gaming like graphic novels, video anime, feature length straight-to-video movies, and more. They also maintain a special allure for Bruce Lee, who's early Kung Foo movies curiously follow a video-game-like plot-line of "level's" of battle or fighting, despite their predating practical video game development by a decade or more.
Lately my boys have been designing their own video games starting with humble miniature games in order to educate themselves to the complications and nuances of the art. One day they hope to make their mark on the industry with big games that will be distributed throughout the world.
I grew up with video games which back then in my early teens, were mostly located in video game parlors. Back when you could find records in record stores and books in bookstores. Nowadays it's getting harder and harder to find a video game parlor since just about every household owns some kind of video game system like a Uii or a PlayStation. Certainly just about everyone has access to the Internet. But I never really got into them since I more or less knew that once I was hooked, I would forever be dedicating half my life to sitting in front of a whole bunch of computer generated pixels.
But video games still fascinate me. Especially the ones gamers refer to as "Kill Games."
These first person kill games put you the player in the position of the chaser while you hunt down a series of victims which more often than not assume the form of Zombies (that way they can't ever really be killed). But there are other kill games in which you hunt enemy soldiers or bandits or rednecks driving fast cars. I was curious about what goes into the design of these games and designers who might become so obsessed with making them so realistic and life-like they might go to extraordinary lengths to create them. Like murder for instance. So fascinated in fact, that I decided to wrap a stand-alone thriller around the idea.
The plot I had in mind was not just a simple murder. But an elaborate hunt and chase which would culminate in a murder upon which the chaser would record the victim's screams prior to perishing. The screams would then be used in the design of a Violent First Person video game that would closely resemble the actual hunt and chase that inspired it. That in mind I created a video game designer who is a master of disguise and a serial killer. A man who never stays in the same city for very long and who operates under as many different aliases as he's had facial reconstruction and voice enhancement surgeries. He is a man who will stop at nothing to observe how another human being reacts to a hunt and chase, and he's determined to translate the experience for the video game as accurately as possible.
Even though my sons were able to provide me with almost all the research material I needed for the novel (minus the murder part!) it still took me almost three full years to write the psychological/suspense/horror thriller, SCREAM CATCHER. It's now coming at you in e-Book, trade paper and in a matter of a few weeks, audio, screams and all. It's my contribution to an entertainment genre that has not only fascinated me for a long time, but become an art form unto itself and a way of life for my sons. And even, a living.
Scream Catcher
November 17, 2011
Your Modern Marketing Plan
The following blog is now appearing at The Vincent Zandri Vox: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
My agent just sent over some pretty detailed information for us, his authors in his stable, on how we might go about marketing ourselves in this the ever changing era of digital publishing. What's impressive about the marketing package samples he included with the email is that it's social media heavy. In particular is a bullet about tracking down the top 100 sites that are relevant to your book (be it a hard-boiled mystery, a true crime novel, or a non-fiction narrative about St. Peter and Paul), and then finding ways to either guest blog on them, be interviewed or if none of these, perhaps paying for an advertisement. The point is this: getting your book cover in front of YOUR AUDIENCE!
I like this way of thinking because....:
1. It allows you to focus in on a specific reading group. The old adage applies here. If you shotgun your promotion efforts all across the social media board without a rudder, it's possible no one will see it. But if you focus in on specific peeps who might belong to your tribe, then it's possible everyone sees it.
2. You only have to go as far as your computer to make this work. Whether you're sitting in your bedroom or in a gondola in Venice, Italy, you can become an effective marketer so long as you have an internet signal.
3. Cost. It's potentially free, that is you decide not to pay for advertising.
4. Your audience will grow exponentially so long as you have written a good book. In other words, if it's a good read, the people who frequent these sites will chat it up, and your next book....again if it's good...will probably do even better and so on, and so forth.
So, I applaud my agent here.
But here's where I'm a little sticky with the marketing thing. Much of the sample plan is rooted in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. It talks about driving/flying all over kingdom come and doing books signings. It talks about spending hundreds if not thousands on Bling. Yes, that's right. Bling. You know, T-shirts, pins, key-chains, pocket protectors for that nerdy engineer in your life. It talks about driving all over the place to do readings.
Here's my take on this, let's call it old fashioned approach: Unless you are already Stephen King, it doesn't work for shit. Not only will it not work for shit, it will end up costing you money. Book stores are dying while, at the same time, on-line purchases are on the rapid increase. However, if you can find a book store that will grant you a signing as a virtual unknown, it's likely you will sell only a few copies, if you are lucky. In the end, you will have put out gas money, dough for a hotel, plus incidentals like food, and booze...and believe me, if the signing is a total no-show-whiff, you'll want to have a couple of drinks later. You will wake up the next morning with a mustard on your new book cover T-shirt, hungover, and entirely in the red before the tour has even gotten off the ground.
But wait, can't you land a series of readings????
I'm sure you can try with the help of a publicist who might run you anywhere from $500 to $1,000 per month. But beware, unless you are the hot lingerie model pictured above or Tony Bourdaine with a highly popular cable television show that focuses on exotic locales you can only dream of seeing, you are not only going to be invited to speak without pay, it's very likely no one will show up. Again, it'll be another red letter day.
Hey listen, I love my agent. He just scored me a major deal and we have a lot going for us right now. All I'm saying is, folks, forget the old ways of marketing. They might work to a slight extent, but then I could probably pull out the old 8-track player and pop in that Casey and the Sunshine Band tape and let the good times roll. But it doesn't beat my Pandora account or my I-pod. Now there's progress.
What you need to do as authors, is focus on internet, on social marketing opportunities, your blog, your Twitter posts, your Good Reads, You Tube, and Google+ accounts and more.Seek out those 100 prime sites that will help you focus in on your audience. If you hire a publicist, make sure she or he focuses almost entirely on online promotion and virtual tours for each one of your titles. Only when this solid foundation of internet marketing has firmly been established, and your e-book editions are selling in or around the 10,000 and less range consistently, should you begin to spend time on book signings and readings. What was once a primary marketing consideration is now of secondary importance.
Why?
Because e-Books are becoming the dominant form in which we read.
Scream Catcher
My agent just sent over some pretty detailed information for us, his authors in his stable, on how we might go about marketing ourselves in this the ever changing era of digital publishing. What's impressive about the marketing package samples he included with the email is that it's social media heavy. In particular is a bullet about tracking down the top 100 sites that are relevant to your book (be it a hard-boiled mystery, a true crime novel, or a non-fiction narrative about St. Peter and Paul), and then finding ways to either guest blog on them, be interviewed or if none of these, perhaps paying for an advertisement. The point is this: getting your book cover in front of YOUR AUDIENCE!
I like this way of thinking because....:
1. It allows you to focus in on a specific reading group. The old adage applies here. If you shotgun your promotion efforts all across the social media board without a rudder, it's possible no one will see it. But if you focus in on specific peeps who might belong to your tribe, then it's possible everyone sees it.
2. You only have to go as far as your computer to make this work. Whether you're sitting in your bedroom or in a gondola in Venice, Italy, you can become an effective marketer so long as you have an internet signal.
3. Cost. It's potentially free, that is you decide not to pay for advertising.
4. Your audience will grow exponentially so long as you have written a good book. In other words, if it's a good read, the people who frequent these sites will chat it up, and your next book....again if it's good...will probably do even better and so on, and so forth.
So, I applaud my agent here.
But here's where I'm a little sticky with the marketing thing. Much of the sample plan is rooted in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. It talks about driving/flying all over kingdom come and doing books signings. It talks about spending hundreds if not thousands on Bling. Yes, that's right. Bling. You know, T-shirts, pins, key-chains, pocket protectors for that nerdy engineer in your life. It talks about driving all over the place to do readings.
Here's my take on this, let's call it old fashioned approach: Unless you are already Stephen King, it doesn't work for shit. Not only will it not work for shit, it will end up costing you money. Book stores are dying while, at the same time, on-line purchases are on the rapid increase. However, if you can find a book store that will grant you a signing as a virtual unknown, it's likely you will sell only a few copies, if you are lucky. In the end, you will have put out gas money, dough for a hotel, plus incidentals like food, and booze...and believe me, if the signing is a total no-show-whiff, you'll want to have a couple of drinks later. You will wake up the next morning with a mustard on your new book cover T-shirt, hungover, and entirely in the red before the tour has even gotten off the ground.
But wait, can't you land a series of readings????
I'm sure you can try with the help of a publicist who might run you anywhere from $500 to $1,000 per month. But beware, unless you are the hot lingerie model pictured above or Tony Bourdaine with a highly popular cable television show that focuses on exotic locales you can only dream of seeing, you are not only going to be invited to speak without pay, it's very likely no one will show up. Again, it'll be another red letter day.
Hey listen, I love my agent. He just scored me a major deal and we have a lot going for us right now. All I'm saying is, folks, forget the old ways of marketing. They might work to a slight extent, but then I could probably pull out the old 8-track player and pop in that Casey and the Sunshine Band tape and let the good times roll. But it doesn't beat my Pandora account or my I-pod. Now there's progress.
What you need to do as authors, is focus on internet, on social marketing opportunities, your blog, your Twitter posts, your Good Reads, You Tube, and Google+ accounts and more.Seek out those 100 prime sites that will help you focus in on your audience. If you hire a publicist, make sure she or he focuses almost entirely on online promotion and virtual tours for each one of your titles. Only when this solid foundation of internet marketing has firmly been established, and your e-book editions are selling in or around the 10,000 and less range consistently, should you begin to spend time on book signings and readings. What was once a primary marketing consideration is now of secondary importance.
Why?
Because e-Books are becoming the dominant form in which we read.
Scream Catcher
November 11, 2011
No Rest for the Weary
The following blog is now appearing at the Vincent Zandri Vox: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
I'm tired.
Beat.
Ripped to shreds.
Tossing in the towel.
Asleep on the feet....
I can't believe I just wrote all that. But it's true. I think by now you know me as this unstoppable writer guy who can't sit still for more than the few hours it takes everyday to write his five pages. Invincible Vince, as it were. But since I got back from Europe a couple of months ago I've been undergoing some tremendous life changes, the least of which is signing the new deal for two new books and five backlist books with Thomas & Mercer/Amazon and also not the least of which is my oldest son's 21st birthday.
Life is different for me now in that I'm contemplating a change of living venue...a new heaven on earth. And even though I haven't quite figured out where I will call home over the next six months (whether it will be the US or Europe or both), I can tell that I'm now completing a life phase that includes the completion of four books, four short stories, and articles/blogs too numerous to count in the past five years. It also includes travels....travels encompassing Africa to Moscow and L.A. to Italy, sometimes for a weeks at a time.
These are just the things I can tell you. Because there are also things happening in my life that I can't quite reveal yet, although I will one day when it's right (It could be months from now!). I know, I know, ... I know what you're thinking. Don't be keeping secrets from inquiring minds. But let's put it this way. I haven't actually been "in love" (I mean real, gut wrenching love) in quite some time and it's possible that where ever I do decide to lay my head, she will be there with me...Enough said on that subject.
Back to business...
But now that I've signed my contracts, I've felt a wave of exhaustion and emotion pour over me like a waterfall. This isn't an unusual experience. Often when I complete a novel (only days ago I completed BLUE MOONLIGHT), I find myself sleeping more than I do spending awake time. It's not an unusual reaction to a job well done.
So what's my point?
I'm always preaching to my peeps to get those pages done, put ass cheeks to the chair cushion, ignore the world and write your pages. But, and this is a big BUT, when your body begins to send you signs that you need to take some time off and relax, don't ignore them. For me, the signs are attention deficit, trembling hands, lack of appetite, upset stomach, inability to enjoy the foods I normally enjoy, night terrors, melancholy, bi-polar like mood swings, and just desperate a need to get some serious sleep.
Or...wait a minute...Hold the freakin' phone...Maybe I'm fooling myself here.
Maybe there's nothing wrong with my writing or work/travel schedule. Maybe all these "signs" as it were have nothing to do with too much on my work plate. After all, writing isn't just a job for me. It's a passion and a hobby and a religion all mixed up together. Maybe they have everything to do with something else. Maybe, just maybe, I've fallen in love....
for ec...;)
xox
Scream Catcher
I'm tired.
Beat.
Ripped to shreds.
Tossing in the towel.
Asleep on the feet....
I can't believe I just wrote all that. But it's true. I think by now you know me as this unstoppable writer guy who can't sit still for more than the few hours it takes everyday to write his five pages. Invincible Vince, as it were. But since I got back from Europe a couple of months ago I've been undergoing some tremendous life changes, the least of which is signing the new deal for two new books and five backlist books with Thomas & Mercer/Amazon and also not the least of which is my oldest son's 21st birthday.
Life is different for me now in that I'm contemplating a change of living venue...a new heaven on earth. And even though I haven't quite figured out where I will call home over the next six months (whether it will be the US or Europe or both), I can tell that I'm now completing a life phase that includes the completion of four books, four short stories, and articles/blogs too numerous to count in the past five years. It also includes travels....travels encompassing Africa to Moscow and L.A. to Italy, sometimes for a weeks at a time.
These are just the things I can tell you. Because there are also things happening in my life that I can't quite reveal yet, although I will one day when it's right (It could be months from now!). I know, I know, ... I know what you're thinking. Don't be keeping secrets from inquiring minds. But let's put it this way. I haven't actually been "in love" (I mean real, gut wrenching love) in quite some time and it's possible that where ever I do decide to lay my head, she will be there with me...Enough said on that subject.
Back to business...
But now that I've signed my contracts, I've felt a wave of exhaustion and emotion pour over me like a waterfall. This isn't an unusual experience. Often when I complete a novel (only days ago I completed BLUE MOONLIGHT), I find myself sleeping more than I do spending awake time. It's not an unusual reaction to a job well done.
So what's my point?
I'm always preaching to my peeps to get those pages done, put ass cheeks to the chair cushion, ignore the world and write your pages. But, and this is a big BUT, when your body begins to send you signs that you need to take some time off and relax, don't ignore them. For me, the signs are attention deficit, trembling hands, lack of appetite, upset stomach, inability to enjoy the foods I normally enjoy, night terrors, melancholy, bi-polar like mood swings, and just desperate a need to get some serious sleep.
Or...wait a minute...Hold the freakin' phone...Maybe I'm fooling myself here.
Maybe there's nothing wrong with my writing or work/travel schedule. Maybe all these "signs" as it were have nothing to do with too much on my work plate. After all, writing isn't just a job for me. It's a passion and a hobby and a religion all mixed up together. Maybe they have everything to do with something else. Maybe, just maybe, I've fallen in love....
for ec...;)
xox
Scream Catcher
November 6, 2011
A Few More Minutes With Andy Rooney
The following blog is Now Appearing in The Vincent Zandri Vox: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
I'm having a trouble imagining a world without Andy Rooney. It's kind of like trying to imagine Star Wars without Yoda. How else are we supposed to move on with our lives while having to put up with its everyday absurdities, banalities, and garden variety foolery? Did I just write the word "foolery"?
Andy worked almost right up until the end. As writers we never retire. But he did give up the TV gig with 60 Minutes only a month ago, which should serve as a sort of be a warning to those seniors who insist on working well into their golden years. Don't give up the day job!
I can just picture this week's A Few Minutes With Andy Rooney if only we were to be graced with one more. He'd appear in the crumpled up suit he pulled out from under his bed, even though God would probably offer him a nicer choice of threads. He might look a little younger, maybe because he wouldn't be in pain. Old age is often accompanied by aches and pains. He might bear a little more of a smile. His eyebrows might be trimmed. But I think otherwise, he'd be the same old crotchety Andy. The subject of his spot would be "Retiring."
"It's not retiring that's hard," he'd write. "It's the dying part of retirement that is."
He might say that had he known he was gonna cash it all in within a month of retirement, he would have negotiated a better end-of-career bonus with the network. He would have coined this as a "Sure to Perish Immediately Upon Retirement" clause or something like that. Then he might have mentioned other famous men and women who have "retired" and died soon after. Since I can't think of anyone famous who has died very soon after quitting their job, I can tell you that I've had a couple of uncles who retired from the construction business and died within a year or so. It's a warning for my dad who at 76 is still putting in a full week. Keep working!!!
Andy was an everyman's writer in that he didn't believe in writer's block anymore than a plumber believes in plumber's block. He once wrote: "Writers are repeatedly asked to explain where they get their ideas. People want their secret. The truth is there is no secret and writers don't have many new ideas. At least, they don't have many ideas that a comic strip artist would illustrate with a light bulb over their heads."
Andy's ideas came from the everyday. Like procrastinating before getting to work. Or having to deal with pulling out all that cotton filling in your plastic bottle of Advil. Once he wrote about how the French had expelled something like 47 then Soviet spies that year from France. "That's a lot of spies," he wrote.
I mean, how can you not smile and laugh a little on the inside when you read that?
I've met Andy on a few occasions, most of them having to do with a private high school we both attended up in Albany called The Albany Academy. I attended the place in the 80s and Andy in the 30s. The place has changed a lot in the many years since I moped around its marble halls. But back in the early 80s it wasn't much different than the school that Andy attended. It was a military country day prep school that prided itself on discipline as much as it did sports and the arts. We wore military uniforms and ate not in a cafeteria, but a "buttery." Also, Andy played left guard for the football team and so did I. We played the same position and we were both under five feet, eight inches. We took a lot of pounding in those four years, but we gave a lot out too. Maybe that's why we became writers. All that head banging will prevent you from looking at the world in a conventional way.
I guess I've known Andy my whole life, having first taken notice of him when 60 Minutes would pop on the TV after the New York Giants football games. Even if we were bummed out about the Giants losing a barn burner to the rival Dallas Cowboys in the last minute of the last quarter, and even if we were in a black mood over having to go to school or work in the morning, we could always count on Andy gracing the screen in his wrinkled suit. You'd wait for the topic of his "few minutes" with baited breath. When finally he'd come out with something like, "It costs us almost a quarter for every mile we drive a car," we knew we were in for something special about something not so special. And that getting up in the morning and putting on your socks one at a time, wasn't all that different from the life he was living. Andy was just a regular guy in possession of an extraordinary talent.
I'm going to miss Andy Rooney and his words and his unconventional wisdom about the conventional. I'm going to miss running into him and having to remind him of my name and what I do for a living. That stuff never bothered me because I was such a fan with a little hero worship sprinkled in. Did you know that during World War II Andy spent about an hour hiding in a ditch alongside a road that had been strafed by German planes along with Ernest Hemingway? How many people can brag about something like that? But Andy would be the last guy on earth to talk about Papa. He'd be more apt to comment on how every buffet you dine at no matter how nice the facility always offers you Sweedish meatballs. He'd write about how you couldn't resist the Sweedish meatballs even after some of the gravy got on your tie and stained it. He'd show up on TV the next week with the same tie and the same stain. It would become a heated topic of discussion. A philosophy. A reason to carry on in the everyday.
Enjoy the afterlife Andy.
Keep writing.
Keep being you.
Scream Catcher
I'm having a trouble imagining a world without Andy Rooney. It's kind of like trying to imagine Star Wars without Yoda. How else are we supposed to move on with our lives while having to put up with its everyday absurdities, banalities, and garden variety foolery? Did I just write the word "foolery"?
Andy worked almost right up until the end. As writers we never retire. But he did give up the TV gig with 60 Minutes only a month ago, which should serve as a sort of be a warning to those seniors who insist on working well into their golden years. Don't give up the day job!
I can just picture this week's A Few Minutes With Andy Rooney if only we were to be graced with one more. He'd appear in the crumpled up suit he pulled out from under his bed, even though God would probably offer him a nicer choice of threads. He might look a little younger, maybe because he wouldn't be in pain. Old age is often accompanied by aches and pains. He might bear a little more of a smile. His eyebrows might be trimmed. But I think otherwise, he'd be the same old crotchety Andy. The subject of his spot would be "Retiring."
"It's not retiring that's hard," he'd write. "It's the dying part of retirement that is."
He might say that had he known he was gonna cash it all in within a month of retirement, he would have negotiated a better end-of-career bonus with the network. He would have coined this as a "Sure to Perish Immediately Upon Retirement" clause or something like that. Then he might have mentioned other famous men and women who have "retired" and died soon after. Since I can't think of anyone famous who has died very soon after quitting their job, I can tell you that I've had a couple of uncles who retired from the construction business and died within a year or so. It's a warning for my dad who at 76 is still putting in a full week. Keep working!!!
Andy was an everyman's writer in that he didn't believe in writer's block anymore than a plumber believes in plumber's block. He once wrote: "Writers are repeatedly asked to explain where they get their ideas. People want their secret. The truth is there is no secret and writers don't have many new ideas. At least, they don't have many ideas that a comic strip artist would illustrate with a light bulb over their heads."
Andy's ideas came from the everyday. Like procrastinating before getting to work. Or having to deal with pulling out all that cotton filling in your plastic bottle of Advil. Once he wrote about how the French had expelled something like 47 then Soviet spies that year from France. "That's a lot of spies," he wrote.
I mean, how can you not smile and laugh a little on the inside when you read that?
I've met Andy on a few occasions, most of them having to do with a private high school we both attended up in Albany called The Albany Academy. I attended the place in the 80s and Andy in the 30s. The place has changed a lot in the many years since I moped around its marble halls. But back in the early 80s it wasn't much different than the school that Andy attended. It was a military country day prep school that prided itself on discipline as much as it did sports and the arts. We wore military uniforms and ate not in a cafeteria, but a "buttery." Also, Andy played left guard for the football team and so did I. We played the same position and we were both under five feet, eight inches. We took a lot of pounding in those four years, but we gave a lot out too. Maybe that's why we became writers. All that head banging will prevent you from looking at the world in a conventional way.
I guess I've known Andy my whole life, having first taken notice of him when 60 Minutes would pop on the TV after the New York Giants football games. Even if we were bummed out about the Giants losing a barn burner to the rival Dallas Cowboys in the last minute of the last quarter, and even if we were in a black mood over having to go to school or work in the morning, we could always count on Andy gracing the screen in his wrinkled suit. You'd wait for the topic of his "few minutes" with baited breath. When finally he'd come out with something like, "It costs us almost a quarter for every mile we drive a car," we knew we were in for something special about something not so special. And that getting up in the morning and putting on your socks one at a time, wasn't all that different from the life he was living. Andy was just a regular guy in possession of an extraordinary talent.
I'm going to miss Andy Rooney and his words and his unconventional wisdom about the conventional. I'm going to miss running into him and having to remind him of my name and what I do for a living. That stuff never bothered me because I was such a fan with a little hero worship sprinkled in. Did you know that during World War II Andy spent about an hour hiding in a ditch alongside a road that had been strafed by German planes along with Ernest Hemingway? How many people can brag about something like that? But Andy would be the last guy on earth to talk about Papa. He'd be more apt to comment on how every buffet you dine at no matter how nice the facility always offers you Sweedish meatballs. He'd write about how you couldn't resist the Sweedish meatballs even after some of the gravy got on your tie and stained it. He'd show up on TV the next week with the same tie and the same stain. It would become a heated topic of discussion. A philosophy. A reason to carry on in the everyday.
Enjoy the afterlife Andy.
Keep writing.
Keep being you.
Scream Catcher
October 25, 2011
The Cards You Have Been Dealt
The following blog is now appearing at The Vincent Zandri Vox: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
Five years ago I thought my novelist days were over.
My two-book contract with Random House had not been renewed after I didn't earn out a mid-six-figure advance. I had no prospect of publishing with a new major publisher since leaving six-figures on the table was tantamount to career suicide. I could no longer afford my house, or my Jeep. My wife, who married me when things were going great in the literary life, no longer felt so eager to be married to a man who couldn't get his third book published, even after we'd just had a child together. In her defense, we were hitting financial rock bottom.
While her family was screaming at me (sometimes literally) to "get a job" and "write on the side," they had also begun to initiate the process over which my wife would eventually cave in. Her family made her a deal she couldn't refuse: leave the bum and we'll take care of you. Buy you a new house, pay for your living expenses, help you raise your daughter.
My wife was left with a difficult choice to make. Stick with her husband and soul mate, and work through this very hard period, or choose to side with her family. She chose the latter. In doing so she played her hand, cashed in her chips, and removed herself from the gaming table. But at least she became financially stable again and wasn't even required to get a job in order to maintain her bank account.
I too chose not to get a job, but to stay the course of the writer. However, the hand I'd been dealt didn't look too sweet. It consisted of a whole lot of low cards with a couple of jokers tossed in. But there was nothing left for me but to stay the course no matter how bleak the future. I'd lost my wife, my child, my house, my money, and possibly, my career. You'd think I'd lose my sanity at the same time? But writing was my sanity, and it was my solace and my art, and no amount of outside pressure was going to extinguish the fire that burned from within. Call it stubbornness in the face of absolute calamity. Call it stupidity. Call it what you will. But like the bulldog that gets its arm stuck in the trap, I'd rather chew it off then die on someone else's terms.
So what did I do?
I downsized. I rented a 900 sq.ft. apartment with my two sons, and decided to start all over again. In other words, I didn't fold my cards, but instead, decided to persist at the gaming table and play them no matter how much bluffing and game-facing it was going to take. Curiously, in the immediate wake of my marital demise, doors started opening for me. I went back to freelance journalism, and began to build up a cache of published articles, professional blogs, global assignments and a new reputation as a foreign correspondent and photo-journalist. Within a year of splitting with my wife, I found myself on assignment in Africa, Moscow, Italy, Spain and other exotic locals. I was living and working in places like Florence, Italy for up to a month at a time, and making money at it. I became happy, but I also became a bit perplexed. Why wasn't I able to take advantage of these working opportunities when I was married? What was it about the marriage that made it impossible for me to succeed? Were the two related, or was my new found success in the absence of marriage entirely a coincidence?
While my non-fictional life regained momentum, I also went back to serious fiction writing. I wrote MOONLIGHT FALLS, THE REMAINS, CONCRETE PEARL, and PATHOLOGICAL, all within a 36 month period. I found a new agent who loved my previously published work and the new work even more, and who committed herself to finding me a new home, even if that new home were a smaller press than I was used to. In terms of playing my hand, it wasn't a matter of walking away with the entire the pot at this point, it was a matter of getting back into the game and staying there, improving my hand the entire time with each and every ante.
Things happened. Good things.
I contracted with a small press for MOONLIGHT FALLS. Despite all expectations, and a new-found appreciation for social media marketing and virtual tours, it hit the hard-boiled bestseller list on Amazon and stayed there. It was my first experience ever being a bestseller of any kind. That one experience led to a new contract for THE REMAINS. One which caught me off guard. Up until a few years ago, I really had no idea what an E-Book was. But my agent was so excited about the new opportunities in this medium that she could hardly express herself without hyperventilating. She informed me that she was about to strike up a new deal with a new publisher out of Boise of all places. A new young, maverick publisher who was making waves in the industry by publishing mid and back-listers like me, who although previously published by major houses, had found themselves treading water in a purgatorial sea of uncertainty, disbelief and utter terror at what the future might hold.
The publisher, StoneHouse Ink, would publish THE REMAINS in E-Book first and then paper. Which at the time, I thought was bass-ackwards. Paper always comes out first, followed by the e-book and audio. My agent persevered and asked me to give it a try. There'd be no advance, but I would be offered instead a 50% royalty rate on all E-Books sold. What's more, the book would be released within two months from contract execution. Something unheard of in traditional legacy publishing realms. Believing the whole endeavor would crash and burn, I nonetheless trusted my agent, and said to myself, "What the hell!" I anted up, and stayed in the game deciding to keep on playing the new cards I'd been dealt.
Then something wonderful happened.
I not only hit the bestseller list in Hard-Boiled Mystery. But I hit the Romantic Suspense and Psychological Thriller lists as well. The numbers kept improving. Encouraged, StoneHouse Ink started a new imprint for hard-boiled writers like myself and called it StoneGate Ink. They published my former Random House books, THE INNOCENT and GODCHILD, now that the publishing rights had been released. These books would go on within six months of E-Book publication to not only make their respective bestseller lists, but to hit the overall Amazon Kindle Bestseller Lists, not just in North America, but in several European countries as well. In fact, THE INNOCENT would go on to grace the Kindle Top Ten Overall Bestseller's list for 7 weeks, and the Top 100 for almost 20 weeks. At one point I was selling 3,000 E-Books per day and moving more units than Stephen King. In the end, "Innocent" sold over 100,000 copies during the Spring rush. Within five years of contemplating cashing it all in and folding my cards, I'd become an International Bestseller. Poor Random House. If only they'd had faith that my books had the potential not only to earn out my six-figure advance but also to make a nice tidy profit, they might have kept on publishing me instead of remaindering all of my work and holding the rights hostage for ten years.
That was five months ago. Things haven't been the same since.
The most dramatic change has been the new cards I've been dealt. I've now signed a new lucrative contract with the renegade Amazon powerhouse publisher, Thomas & Mercer, the major player who is publishing not only my new novel, Murder By Moonlight, but nearly my entire back-list. But that doesn't mean I can't maintain my relationship with the StoneInks and continue to publish as an independent. It also means I will continue my work as a journalist and an explorer. Because in the end, I've learned, it's not the cards you have in your hand, it's how you play them. It's also a matter perseverance, a steadfast belief in one's self and one's talents, and an ability to keep on working even during some of the most tumultuous, depressing, and indeed, angering times you will ever experience in a single lifetime. It means developing the skills never to be defeated and to grow stronger in the broken places.
This past weekend, my ex-wife and I took our six year old daughter for a ride out in the country to pick out pumpkins and apples. It was a bright sunny Fall afternoon on the Upstate New York/New England border with the leaves on the trees having turned all shades of brilliant red, orange and yellow. One of those days where you can get away with either a sweater or a light jacket. We spent the day as if we were a tight knit family. And in a way are tightly knit and certainly even closer than some marriages that exist in a state of siege. My ex and I were able to look into one another's eyes and realize that all the anger over what happened when my career temporarily tanked is past. There remains now only our child and bringing her up knowing that she has two parents who love her and who will be there for her thick or thin. No amount of literary success or sales can ever replace that.
But I recognize a distinct sadness in my ex-wife's eyes now when I peer into them. I believe the sadness is wrought over something that could never be changed or reversed once it was put in place by the very same people who were once responsible for her well being as a child and adolescent. Her adult life decisions and the effect it has had on her now as a middle aged woman ring out and reverberate with an irony so intense, it is both deafening and bone shattering.
But my ex-wife and I, we are no better than anyone else. Life isn't exactly fair. You win some and you lose some. But one thing however is for certain: we, as writers, are all victims of our desires, slaves to love, and powerless in the face of blind passion. We are artists and we are as much blessed by God as we are doomed by the fallen angels.
My ex-wife and I still love one another. We often remind each other of it. Many times I don't get off the phone with her without saying, "Love you." But we cannot have one another any longer. Perhaps it's too late to rekindle embers that have not only grown cold, but have disintegrated and seeped into the earth over the course of the many seasons. But if we are the least bit intelligent, we have both learned a vital lesson five years in the making. When you're dealt a hand of cards and you are forced to make the final decision on whether to stay in the game no matter the quality of the hand, or to fold them and walk away from the table, the decision better be the right one. Because when the time comes for the great dealer in the sky to make His call, and all bets are suddenly off, you will be left alone with your choice, right or wrong.
That choice had better come straight from the heart, because it will be something you must live with for the rest of your life.
Scream Catcher
Five years ago I thought my novelist days were over.
My two-book contract with Random House had not been renewed after I didn't earn out a mid-six-figure advance. I had no prospect of publishing with a new major publisher since leaving six-figures on the table was tantamount to career suicide. I could no longer afford my house, or my Jeep. My wife, who married me when things were going great in the literary life, no longer felt so eager to be married to a man who couldn't get his third book published, even after we'd just had a child together. In her defense, we were hitting financial rock bottom.
While her family was screaming at me (sometimes literally) to "get a job" and "write on the side," they had also begun to initiate the process over which my wife would eventually cave in. Her family made her a deal she couldn't refuse: leave the bum and we'll take care of you. Buy you a new house, pay for your living expenses, help you raise your daughter.
My wife was left with a difficult choice to make. Stick with her husband and soul mate, and work through this very hard period, or choose to side with her family. She chose the latter. In doing so she played her hand, cashed in her chips, and removed herself from the gaming table. But at least she became financially stable again and wasn't even required to get a job in order to maintain her bank account.
I too chose not to get a job, but to stay the course of the writer. However, the hand I'd been dealt didn't look too sweet. It consisted of a whole lot of low cards with a couple of jokers tossed in. But there was nothing left for me but to stay the course no matter how bleak the future. I'd lost my wife, my child, my house, my money, and possibly, my career. You'd think I'd lose my sanity at the same time? But writing was my sanity, and it was my solace and my art, and no amount of outside pressure was going to extinguish the fire that burned from within. Call it stubbornness in the face of absolute calamity. Call it stupidity. Call it what you will. But like the bulldog that gets its arm stuck in the trap, I'd rather chew it off then die on someone else's terms.
So what did I do?
I downsized. I rented a 900 sq.ft. apartment with my two sons, and decided to start all over again. In other words, I didn't fold my cards, but instead, decided to persist at the gaming table and play them no matter how much bluffing and game-facing it was going to take. Curiously, in the immediate wake of my marital demise, doors started opening for me. I went back to freelance journalism, and began to build up a cache of published articles, professional blogs, global assignments and a new reputation as a foreign correspondent and photo-journalist. Within a year of splitting with my wife, I found myself on assignment in Africa, Moscow, Italy, Spain and other exotic locals. I was living and working in places like Florence, Italy for up to a month at a time, and making money at it. I became happy, but I also became a bit perplexed. Why wasn't I able to take advantage of these working opportunities when I was married? What was it about the marriage that made it impossible for me to succeed? Were the two related, or was my new found success in the absence of marriage entirely a coincidence?
While my non-fictional life regained momentum, I also went back to serious fiction writing. I wrote MOONLIGHT FALLS, THE REMAINS, CONCRETE PEARL, and PATHOLOGICAL, all within a 36 month period. I found a new agent who loved my previously published work and the new work even more, and who committed herself to finding me a new home, even if that new home were a smaller press than I was used to. In terms of playing my hand, it wasn't a matter of walking away with the entire the pot at this point, it was a matter of getting back into the game and staying there, improving my hand the entire time with each and every ante.
Things happened. Good things.
I contracted with a small press for MOONLIGHT FALLS. Despite all expectations, and a new-found appreciation for social media marketing and virtual tours, it hit the hard-boiled bestseller list on Amazon and stayed there. It was my first experience ever being a bestseller of any kind. That one experience led to a new contract for THE REMAINS. One which caught me off guard. Up until a few years ago, I really had no idea what an E-Book was. But my agent was so excited about the new opportunities in this medium that she could hardly express herself without hyperventilating. She informed me that she was about to strike up a new deal with a new publisher out of Boise of all places. A new young, maverick publisher who was making waves in the industry by publishing mid and back-listers like me, who although previously published by major houses, had found themselves treading water in a purgatorial sea of uncertainty, disbelief and utter terror at what the future might hold.
The publisher, StoneHouse Ink, would publish THE REMAINS in E-Book first and then paper. Which at the time, I thought was bass-ackwards. Paper always comes out first, followed by the e-book and audio. My agent persevered and asked me to give it a try. There'd be no advance, but I would be offered instead a 50% royalty rate on all E-Books sold. What's more, the book would be released within two months from contract execution. Something unheard of in traditional legacy publishing realms. Believing the whole endeavor would crash and burn, I nonetheless trusted my agent, and said to myself, "What the hell!" I anted up, and stayed in the game deciding to keep on playing the new cards I'd been dealt.
Then something wonderful happened.
I not only hit the bestseller list in Hard-Boiled Mystery. But I hit the Romantic Suspense and Psychological Thriller lists as well. The numbers kept improving. Encouraged, StoneHouse Ink started a new imprint for hard-boiled writers like myself and called it StoneGate Ink. They published my former Random House books, THE INNOCENT and GODCHILD, now that the publishing rights had been released. These books would go on within six months of E-Book publication to not only make their respective bestseller lists, but to hit the overall Amazon Kindle Bestseller Lists, not just in North America, but in several European countries as well. In fact, THE INNOCENT would go on to grace the Kindle Top Ten Overall Bestseller's list for 7 weeks, and the Top 100 for almost 20 weeks. At one point I was selling 3,000 E-Books per day and moving more units than Stephen King. In the end, "Innocent" sold over 100,000 copies during the Spring rush. Within five years of contemplating cashing it all in and folding my cards, I'd become an International Bestseller. Poor Random House. If only they'd had faith that my books had the potential not only to earn out my six-figure advance but also to make a nice tidy profit, they might have kept on publishing me instead of remaindering all of my work and holding the rights hostage for ten years.
That was five months ago. Things haven't been the same since.
The most dramatic change has been the new cards I've been dealt. I've now signed a new lucrative contract with the renegade Amazon powerhouse publisher, Thomas & Mercer, the major player who is publishing not only my new novel, Murder By Moonlight, but nearly my entire back-list. But that doesn't mean I can't maintain my relationship with the StoneInks and continue to publish as an independent. It also means I will continue my work as a journalist and an explorer. Because in the end, I've learned, it's not the cards you have in your hand, it's how you play them. It's also a matter perseverance, a steadfast belief in one's self and one's talents, and an ability to keep on working even during some of the most tumultuous, depressing, and indeed, angering times you will ever experience in a single lifetime. It means developing the skills never to be defeated and to grow stronger in the broken places.
This past weekend, my ex-wife and I took our six year old daughter for a ride out in the country to pick out pumpkins and apples. It was a bright sunny Fall afternoon on the Upstate New York/New England border with the leaves on the trees having turned all shades of brilliant red, orange and yellow. One of those days where you can get away with either a sweater or a light jacket. We spent the day as if we were a tight knit family. And in a way are tightly knit and certainly even closer than some marriages that exist in a state of siege. My ex and I were able to look into one another's eyes and realize that all the anger over what happened when my career temporarily tanked is past. There remains now only our child and bringing her up knowing that she has two parents who love her and who will be there for her thick or thin. No amount of literary success or sales can ever replace that.
But I recognize a distinct sadness in my ex-wife's eyes now when I peer into them. I believe the sadness is wrought over something that could never be changed or reversed once it was put in place by the very same people who were once responsible for her well being as a child and adolescent. Her adult life decisions and the effect it has had on her now as a middle aged woman ring out and reverberate with an irony so intense, it is both deafening and bone shattering.
But my ex-wife and I, we are no better than anyone else. Life isn't exactly fair. You win some and you lose some. But one thing however is for certain: we, as writers, are all victims of our desires, slaves to love, and powerless in the face of blind passion. We are artists and we are as much blessed by God as we are doomed by the fallen angels.
My ex-wife and I still love one another. We often remind each other of it. Many times I don't get off the phone with her without saying, "Love you." But we cannot have one another any longer. Perhaps it's too late to rekindle embers that have not only grown cold, but have disintegrated and seeped into the earth over the course of the many seasons. But if we are the least bit intelligent, we have both learned a vital lesson five years in the making. When you're dealt a hand of cards and you are forced to make the final decision on whether to stay in the game no matter the quality of the hand, or to fold them and walk away from the table, the decision better be the right one. Because when the time comes for the great dealer in the sky to make His call, and all bets are suddenly off, you will be left alone with your choice, right or wrong.
That choice had better come straight from the heart, because it will be something you must live with for the rest of your life.
Scream Catcher
October 19, 2011
In The Fall of The Year. Or, The Path Not Chosen...
The following blog is "Now Appearing" at The Vincent Zandri Vox: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
My brief ten day hiatus from the blogosphere is now officially over. My thanks to the guest bloggers who more than took up the slack. You enabled me to get through the new draft of BLUE MOONLIGHT (the sequel to the newly released MOONLIGHT RISES) while offering some sage advice on writing, marketing, and just living the literary life in this the digital age.
I'm calling this "In the Fall of Year..." because even though Fall is my favorite season by far, it seems always to accompany serious change in my life and in some cases, downright turmoil. Maybe the Fall is actually no different from any other season, but that it just seems more intense since this is the time when I am at my most creative. What did Hemingway once say about the Fall: That's the time when real writers put pen to paper. But I also think it has something to do with the proximity of death in that whole the Fall-leads-to-Winter notion of the idea.
Since my return from Europe in September I've realized several ends and even more beginnings. As for the former, my relationship with my girlfriend came to an final end, and as for the former, my son Harrison was able to take his GED exam (he assumes he passed). Now he can begin his work as a writer and video game designer in earnest. Such are his plans. His brother Jack will turn 21 in two weeks, and it will certainly be interesting, to say the least, to view my son as an adult, rather than a kid. While my brief foray into the world of independent publishing comes not to a full closure, but rather that of a transition back into traditional publishing, I find myself at a cross-roads.
Do I remain in Albany, and continue to forge ahead with a life here? Or, at 47, do I look for a new place to begin again? Even if it's only thirty miles away. Final destination possibilities abound inside my skull like those steel ball-bearings that bounce against the insides of a spray paint can. At one minute I'm thinking New York City while the very next, I'm thinking Florence, Italy, full-time. Both are expensive these days, so I'm also thinking somewhere out west like Boise, but then I'll look at a small Hudson River town not far south from where I live now and I think, Yah, that's the ticket...Small town living while remaining in the general proximity of Manhattan and just 6 hours to Europe.
Whether I move or not, the point is not location, but transition. We all need to recognize when our entire being requires a tune-up and the best time for that is during these transitional phases. Who wants to be that fat guy sitting on the couch watching reality TV with a beer in hand chanting, "Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda...?"
Well, first of all I don't watch reality TV and second of all, I don't even own a TV any longer. But as we age, life becomes a slippery slope, and next thing you know, you've just spent the airline ticket money on a new LCD and a satellite hookup. Welcome to soft middle age.
This has been one of the best years of my life in terms of career, creativity, travel, and attempting to piece together this life that I have stubbornly built for myself. The transition isn't over yet by a long shot. But sooner than later, I will be forced to make a few hard decisions and once their made, I'm going to have to stick to them.
Now that's the scary part about life. Sticking to your decisions once you've made them.
To be continued...
Scream Catcher
My brief ten day hiatus from the blogosphere is now officially over. My thanks to the guest bloggers who more than took up the slack. You enabled me to get through the new draft of BLUE MOONLIGHT (the sequel to the newly released MOONLIGHT RISES) while offering some sage advice on writing, marketing, and just living the literary life in this the digital age.
I'm calling this "In the Fall of Year..." because even though Fall is my favorite season by far, it seems always to accompany serious change in my life and in some cases, downright turmoil. Maybe the Fall is actually no different from any other season, but that it just seems more intense since this is the time when I am at my most creative. What did Hemingway once say about the Fall: That's the time when real writers put pen to paper. But I also think it has something to do with the proximity of death in that whole the Fall-leads-to-Winter notion of the idea.
Since my return from Europe in September I've realized several ends and even more beginnings. As for the former, my relationship with my girlfriend came to an final end, and as for the former, my son Harrison was able to take his GED exam (he assumes he passed). Now he can begin his work as a writer and video game designer in earnest. Such are his plans. His brother Jack will turn 21 in two weeks, and it will certainly be interesting, to say the least, to view my son as an adult, rather than a kid. While my brief foray into the world of independent publishing comes not to a full closure, but rather that of a transition back into traditional publishing, I find myself at a cross-roads.
Do I remain in Albany, and continue to forge ahead with a life here? Or, at 47, do I look for a new place to begin again? Even if it's only thirty miles away. Final destination possibilities abound inside my skull like those steel ball-bearings that bounce against the insides of a spray paint can. At one minute I'm thinking New York City while the very next, I'm thinking Florence, Italy, full-time. Both are expensive these days, so I'm also thinking somewhere out west like Boise, but then I'll look at a small Hudson River town not far south from where I live now and I think, Yah, that's the ticket...Small town living while remaining in the general proximity of Manhattan and just 6 hours to Europe.
Whether I move or not, the point is not location, but transition. We all need to recognize when our entire being requires a tune-up and the best time for that is during these transitional phases. Who wants to be that fat guy sitting on the couch watching reality TV with a beer in hand chanting, "Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda...?"
Well, first of all I don't watch reality TV and second of all, I don't even own a TV any longer. But as we age, life becomes a slippery slope, and next thing you know, you've just spent the airline ticket money on a new LCD and a satellite hookup. Welcome to soft middle age.
This has been one of the best years of my life in terms of career, creativity, travel, and attempting to piece together this life that I have stubbornly built for myself. The transition isn't over yet by a long shot. But sooner than later, I will be forced to make a few hard decisions and once their made, I'm going to have to stick to them.
Now that's the scary part about life. Sticking to your decisions once you've made them.
To be continued...
Scream Catcher
October 17, 2011
How to Build an Author's Platform by Bri Clark
The following blog is Now Appearing at The Vincent Zandri Vox: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
I've known Bri Clark for a while now, and she has become one of the most savvy marketing pros around. She's also a hell of a writer, her new novels climbing the charts each day...She's packed in quite a bit of experience in her short 26 or 27 years and she's earned her stripes both as a author marketing consultant and fiction author...
I'm always proud to have her guest post for me...and here she is:
Author Platform: Keyword being Author
By Bri Clark
Let’s talk author platform, first by defining what exactly it means.
Author Platform: The marketing base on which an author builds, contributes to, and draws from throughout their career.
In my opinion author platform is not defined by your genre or publisher, but by you the author. Can you use the fact you are a Christian Fiction Thriller Author to build you blog, social media accounts, speaking engagements around. Go right ahead. However, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Do you know how many Christian Fiction Thriller Writers there are? A lot….huh? Same thing goes for paranormal romance writers. (that’s one of my hats) A freaking lot.
The point is you want to stand out and be noticed. Then retain those that have found you.
Now I’ll give you two examples of authors who did not limit themselves by their genre or genres.
First, my gracious host. Vincent Zandri. Take the title of his blog for example.
The Vincent Zandri Vox.
Two Points
· His name is included in the title and the url. This is a must for SEO optimization.
· Vox in itself tells you he’s a guy who isn’t typical. In fact, it almost acts as a warning in saying. Hey you are definitely going to learn in a way that is outside the box.
Second, myself.
Bri Clark the Belle of Boise
Two Points
· My name is included in the title and url. This is a must for SEO optimization.
· The Belle of Boise. I am a southern belle to the core. And I recently moved to Bosie ID. People here love hearing how I speak, my sayings and my heritage.
I believe I can speak for myself as well as Vincent that by keeping our core personalities of who we are as people, as authors the principle of the platform it’s much easier to build upon. My posts on my blogs are as varied from balancing a career and my daughter’s birthday parties, to how to write a proper blog post. Vincent’s range from general debauchery to his recent contract with a traditional publishing house.
The point is fair writers and authors if it’s you that’s your foundation you won’t find yourself floundering in this maze of a publishing world.
What’s your platform? What’s your opinion? I’d love to hear it.
Belle Consulting
Bri Clark the Belle of Boise
Scream Catcher
I've known Bri Clark for a while now, and she has become one of the most savvy marketing pros around. She's also a hell of a writer, her new novels climbing the charts each day...She's packed in quite a bit of experience in her short 26 or 27 years and she's earned her stripes both as a author marketing consultant and fiction author...
I'm always proud to have her guest post for me...and here she is:
Author Platform: Keyword being Author
By Bri Clark
Let’s talk author platform, first by defining what exactly it means.
Author Platform: The marketing base on which an author builds, contributes to, and draws from throughout their career.
In my opinion author platform is not defined by your genre or publisher, but by you the author. Can you use the fact you are a Christian Fiction Thriller Author to build you blog, social media accounts, speaking engagements around. Go right ahead. However, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Do you know how many Christian Fiction Thriller Writers there are? A lot….huh? Same thing goes for paranormal romance writers. (that’s one of my hats) A freaking lot.
The point is you want to stand out and be noticed. Then retain those that have found you.
Now I’ll give you two examples of authors who did not limit themselves by their genre or genres.
First, my gracious host. Vincent Zandri. Take the title of his blog for example.
The Vincent Zandri Vox.
Two Points
· His name is included in the title and the url. This is a must for SEO optimization.
· Vox in itself tells you he’s a guy who isn’t typical. In fact, it almost acts as a warning in saying. Hey you are definitely going to learn in a way that is outside the box.
Second, myself.
Bri Clark the Belle of Boise
Two Points
· My name is included in the title and url. This is a must for SEO optimization.
· The Belle of Boise. I am a southern belle to the core. And I recently moved to Bosie ID. People here love hearing how I speak, my sayings and my heritage.
I believe I can speak for myself as well as Vincent that by keeping our core personalities of who we are as people, as authors the principle of the platform it’s much easier to build upon. My posts on my blogs are as varied from balancing a career and my daughter’s birthday parties, to how to write a proper blog post. Vincent’s range from general debauchery to his recent contract with a traditional publishing house.
The point is fair writers and authors if it’s you that’s your foundation you won’t find yourself floundering in this maze of a publishing world.
What’s your platform? What’s your opinion? I’d love to hear it.
Belle Consulting
Bri Clark the Belle of Boise
Scream Catcher
October 6, 2011
Winners Never Quit!
The following blog is "now appearing" at The Vincent Zandri Vox: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
You've heard the old saying so many times you probably wanna hurl when you see it: Winners never quit and quitters never win.
It was true back when I was playing high school football and it's still true today. Never more so than in the independent writing world. I read recently that many of the authors (up to 98% of them) who are now now turning their backs on rejection for the freedom and ease of independent publishing via Amazon and other similar digital e-Book DIY programs, will eventually quit. And I mean, quit within a year of their entry into independent publishing.
Why?
Because they won't sell. Or, wait, scratch that. It's not that they won't sell, it's that they will perceive themselves as not selling. It's no surprise that many of these would-be authors took one look at the John Locke's of the indie publishing world and said to themselves, "Well, hell, I can do that." They logged onto Amazon KDP, downloaded their book, slapped a cover onto it, priced it at $.99 and watched it crash in the rankings like the Hindenburg over New Jersey.
"Oh the humanity..."
What happened here?
The instant success that these authors feel was warranted in the face of constant rejection, in the face of having to get up for a job they hate, in the face of writing friends who are becoming a success, in the face of that awful dark thing that fills your head at night when you lay it down on your pillow, just didn't arrive. At least not right away.
But what these quitters do not see is the light at the end of the publishing tunnel. Instead of writing more books and publishing those, they will give up on indie publishing and go back to seeking out a traditional deal, which in this day and age is becoming a near impossibility, unless you are already showing some great success in the indie publishing world. See how that works now????
For those of you committed to indie publishing no matter your sales; for those of you thinking long term; for those of you who understand that success at this thing takes time, and hitting your stride in the marketplace takes even more time and persistence, never fear. Most of the authors whom you are competing against in the indie marketplace won't be here next year. It will be the good authors who never quit who will eventually become the successes and the full-time writers.
The quitters will get up on a bone cold, dark, unforgiving morning, fire up a cigarette, and head out to work.
GET MORE ZANDRI BOOKS: WWW.VINCENTZANDI.COM
Scream Catcher
You've heard the old saying so many times you probably wanna hurl when you see it: Winners never quit and quitters never win.
It was true back when I was playing high school football and it's still true today. Never more so than in the independent writing world. I read recently that many of the authors (up to 98% of them) who are now now turning their backs on rejection for the freedom and ease of independent publishing via Amazon and other similar digital e-Book DIY programs, will eventually quit. And I mean, quit within a year of their entry into independent publishing.
Why?
Because they won't sell. Or, wait, scratch that. It's not that they won't sell, it's that they will perceive themselves as not selling. It's no surprise that many of these would-be authors took one look at the John Locke's of the indie publishing world and said to themselves, "Well, hell, I can do that." They logged onto Amazon KDP, downloaded their book, slapped a cover onto it, priced it at $.99 and watched it crash in the rankings like the Hindenburg over New Jersey.
"Oh the humanity..."
What happened here?
The instant success that these authors feel was warranted in the face of constant rejection, in the face of having to get up for a job they hate, in the face of writing friends who are becoming a success, in the face of that awful dark thing that fills your head at night when you lay it down on your pillow, just didn't arrive. At least not right away.
But what these quitters do not see is the light at the end of the publishing tunnel. Instead of writing more books and publishing those, they will give up on indie publishing and go back to seeking out a traditional deal, which in this day and age is becoming a near impossibility, unless you are already showing some great success in the indie publishing world. See how that works now????
For those of you committed to indie publishing no matter your sales; for those of you thinking long term; for those of you who understand that success at this thing takes time, and hitting your stride in the marketplace takes even more time and persistence, never fear. Most of the authors whom you are competing against in the indie marketplace won't be here next year. It will be the good authors who never quit who will eventually become the successes and the full-time writers.
The quitters will get up on a bone cold, dark, unforgiving morning, fire up a cigarette, and head out to work.
GET MORE ZANDRI BOOKS: WWW.VINCENTZANDI.COM
Scream Catcher
October 2, 2011
"Dear Vincent, How do you do it?"
The following blog is now appearing at The Vincent Zandri Vox: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
This past week my agent, Chip MacGregor, made a business trip to the offices of Thomas & Mercer, Amazon's new powerhouse crime imprint to go over the final details of my deal. While he was there, one of the Amazon execs asked him, "What's Vincent's secret to his marketing success?" In reply Chip said, "I always thought it was that you were telling a good story."
But after thinking about this for a while Chip then got on the horn with me and asked, "Well what are the two or three key elements to your marketing success?"
Here's my response to him:
>
> Hey Chip....basically, and I've blogged at length about this, there's no exact science to the marketing thing or we all wouldn't always be asking one another, "How'd you do that??? Ha!:)....But in a nutshell, you have to start out with a great product...GREAT writing, good story, great cover, and product description and a price that sells.
> Ok, that said, I believe social media is key. Not direct selling of a book, although you can do a little of that. But selling yourself the author. If people like you, they will buy you. Part of the social media thing is to maintain consistent blog posts by selling your particular brand. In my case, people can come to The Vincent Zandri Vox and know that they will be getting a very personal essay about my writing experience. If they go to Konrath's blog, they get something about how to pursue self-publishing through e-books. Bob Mayer's blog will inevitably be about publishing industry shifts, upheavals, author marketing approaches, etc. All of us are bestsellers and making a nice living off of our books.
> Virtual tours are also key. They help sell books because you want the Mommy bloggers on your side probably more than The New York Times Review of Books, even though the latter looks really good on a resume if you plan on teaching college one day.
> Another key: In the begining years, you gotta plan work 7 days a week and you have to stay ahead of the indie curve. In other words, changes are always taking place on the bookseller level, especially at Amazon, where most of us sell the majority of our e-Books. In the past six months alone there is evidence of algorithm shifts in the titles that are promoted through direct marketing. New indie titles like my SCREAM CATCHER are no longer allowed to hang out on the Hot New Bestselling lists for more than thirty days now, as opposed to what had been ninety days. And pricing your books at $.99 doesn't guarantee massive sales anymore like it might have a few months ago, which I believe is due to the fact that so many readers have gotten burned by poorly written books that just plain suck. Which means $.99 can actually be viewed as a red flag for many readers, unless the author is already trusted.
> The second part to all this, is more of a technical nature. You want to tag authors who are also bestsellers and who sell in your genre. This helps get your name out there especially in Amazon land and just might increase your chances of landing in their algorithm-inspired direct marketing campaigns, of which I've been included a couple of times, both times helping me land spots for two of my novels, THE INNOCENT and THE REMAINS, in the top 20 and even top 10 over all kindles.
> IMPORTANT: Extended two to four week stays in the Amazon Top 100 can make the entire financial year for an author. Two similar stays is gravy!!! That's what an author must initially shoot for for...one or two rises to the top. What authors have to understand however, you can't look at being an immediate success. I've only been at this new publishing thing for 14 months, and despite selling around 200-250K e-books, my numbers still fluctuate a lot. That's because I have yet to hit my stride. That's perfectly normal. Whereas hitting a stride in the old traditional method could have taken up to ten years or more (Mega Bestseller Bob Mayer has written extensively on this and I invite you to check out his blog, Write It Forward), hitting the stride in these the days of digital media, can be shortened considerably to 2 or 3 years even (naturally every year we see a breakout bestseller who suddenly takes the world by storm and who is like 19 years old or whatever, but I'm talking the average "very good" and prolific mid-list author here like me...)
> I'm also fortunate to have one of the best agents in the industry right now who isn't panicking to pay the bills by becoming a publisher (aka Trident), because number one, authors trust him and two, he's good at what he does meaning he's staying ahead of the trends and working with them. My deal with Amazon is evidence of staying ahead of that trend and will perhaps shorten the time it will take me to hit my stride by as much as a full year, so long as I continue to market consistently.
> Anyway, sorry to write so much, and perhaps I'll edit this into a blog, but this should give you an idea of the life I'm living as a writer. Just remember this: In the end, the best publicity a writer can provide him or herself is to write more good books. Once you have a certain amount of titles out there and your "brand" is more and more trusted, your audience will begin to expand exponentially.
> Cheers Chip
> Vin
> www.vincentzandri.com
>
>
Scream Catcher
This past week my agent, Chip MacGregor, made a business trip to the offices of Thomas & Mercer, Amazon's new powerhouse crime imprint to go over the final details of my deal. While he was there, one of the Amazon execs asked him, "What's Vincent's secret to his marketing success?" In reply Chip said, "I always thought it was that you were telling a good story."
But after thinking about this for a while Chip then got on the horn with me and asked, "Well what are the two or three key elements to your marketing success?"
Here's my response to him:
>
> Hey Chip....basically, and I've blogged at length about this, there's no exact science to the marketing thing or we all wouldn't always be asking one another, "How'd you do that??? Ha!:)....But in a nutshell, you have to start out with a great product...GREAT writing, good story, great cover, and product description and a price that sells.
> Ok, that said, I believe social media is key. Not direct selling of a book, although you can do a little of that. But selling yourself the author. If people like you, they will buy you. Part of the social media thing is to maintain consistent blog posts by selling your particular brand. In my case, people can come to The Vincent Zandri Vox and know that they will be getting a very personal essay about my writing experience. If they go to Konrath's blog, they get something about how to pursue self-publishing through e-books. Bob Mayer's blog will inevitably be about publishing industry shifts, upheavals, author marketing approaches, etc. All of us are bestsellers and making a nice living off of our books.
> Virtual tours are also key. They help sell books because you want the Mommy bloggers on your side probably more than The New York Times Review of Books, even though the latter looks really good on a resume if you plan on teaching college one day.
> Another key: In the begining years, you gotta plan work 7 days a week and you have to stay ahead of the indie curve. In other words, changes are always taking place on the bookseller level, especially at Amazon, where most of us sell the majority of our e-Books. In the past six months alone there is evidence of algorithm shifts in the titles that are promoted through direct marketing. New indie titles like my SCREAM CATCHER are no longer allowed to hang out on the Hot New Bestselling lists for more than thirty days now, as opposed to what had been ninety days. And pricing your books at $.99 doesn't guarantee massive sales anymore like it might have a few months ago, which I believe is due to the fact that so many readers have gotten burned by poorly written books that just plain suck. Which means $.99 can actually be viewed as a red flag for many readers, unless the author is already trusted.
> The second part to all this, is more of a technical nature. You want to tag authors who are also bestsellers and who sell in your genre. This helps get your name out there especially in Amazon land and just might increase your chances of landing in their algorithm-inspired direct marketing campaigns, of which I've been included a couple of times, both times helping me land spots for two of my novels, THE INNOCENT and THE REMAINS, in the top 20 and even top 10 over all kindles.
> IMPORTANT: Extended two to four week stays in the Amazon Top 100 can make the entire financial year for an author. Two similar stays is gravy!!! That's what an author must initially shoot for for...one or two rises to the top. What authors have to understand however, you can't look at being an immediate success. I've only been at this new publishing thing for 14 months, and despite selling around 200-250K e-books, my numbers still fluctuate a lot. That's because I have yet to hit my stride. That's perfectly normal. Whereas hitting a stride in the old traditional method could have taken up to ten years or more (Mega Bestseller Bob Mayer has written extensively on this and I invite you to check out his blog, Write It Forward), hitting the stride in these the days of digital media, can be shortened considerably to 2 or 3 years even (naturally every year we see a breakout bestseller who suddenly takes the world by storm and who is like 19 years old or whatever, but I'm talking the average "very good" and prolific mid-list author here like me...)
> I'm also fortunate to have one of the best agents in the industry right now who isn't panicking to pay the bills by becoming a publisher (aka Trident), because number one, authors trust him and two, he's good at what he does meaning he's staying ahead of the trends and working with them. My deal with Amazon is evidence of staying ahead of that trend and will perhaps shorten the time it will take me to hit my stride by as much as a full year, so long as I continue to market consistently.
> Anyway, sorry to write so much, and perhaps I'll edit this into a blog, but this should give you an idea of the life I'm living as a writer. Just remember this: In the end, the best publicity a writer can provide him or herself is to write more good books. Once you have a certain amount of titles out there and your "brand" is more and more trusted, your audience will begin to expand exponentially.
> Cheers Chip
> Vin
> www.vincentzandri.com
>
>
Scream Catcher
September 28, 2011
The Most Selfish Occupation There Is
The following blog is "now appearing" at the Vincent Zandri Vox: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
My ex-wife (the second one) used to call me selfish. She claimed my work came before my family. That all the hours I put into my writing was taking away from the quality time I might otherwise share with she and the kids. Which I never quite understood since I usually never work nights and was often the Johnny-on-the-spot when it came to making dinners, feeding the crew and helping out with the homework. You know, domestic stuff like that. My ex was pretty good at making reservations. That was about it. Ok, I'm joking. In her defense she worked and took care of quite a few household chores that might have otherwise never gotten done. Like the laundry for instance.
But in terms of work, I was not only diligent, I often worked seven days a week writing and marketing my novels. I recall a time when guests of hers were over and she simply introduced me as her husband. When the topic of writers and books came up, it struck me as odd and frankly, kind of sad, that she never once uttered a word about my being a published novelist. Later on, the when the guests were gone, I asked her why she did that. Her response was, 'You already have enough of an ego.' Can you just see the steam pouring out of my ears??????
I guess by then the marriage was over (all 36 months of it) and by that time, she'd had enough of the importance I placed on my writing and the sacrifices we all had to make in order to see a novel become a success. I can't say I blame her. However, I will say that she knew what she was getting into, since when I met her I was a novelist and when we married I remained a novelist (despite her family insisting I get a "real job in the real world.")
There's a reason why many successful authors tend to marry and divorce several times over. The reason is simple: Our work is indeed the most important thing in our lives. Doesn't mean we don't love our kids and spoil them and dote over them. Doesn't mean I didn't love my wife. I loved her to death. But the fact is, when it came to my work schedule, nothing was going to get in the way of it. Not chores, not social engagements, not sickness, not even Christmas. Work isn't even the word for writing. It's more of a calling, a devotion to a religion. Or, maybe this will make more sense to you in a down-to-earth-way: A farmer has to get up and milk the cows and feed the chickens on Christmas morning just like any other day. The animals don't know the difference. The farmer isn't working. He's living a lifestyle and adhering to a calling that is far different from the usual 9-5, sleep, TV, bed that most people are used to. That's the precise allure of the job, no matter how hard and grueling it can be.
I guess when people get married, they see themselves changing their partner's ways and habits to a certain extent. They envision a spouse who will be more sensitive to their needs and wants, and this can include time set aside for them. Nothing wrong with this so long as a fine balance is maintained and said spouse doesn't go overboard with the changes she intends to pursue in her man (and vice/versa naturally). But what she should realize prior to walking down that aisle is that she is marrying a writer. An artist. She is marrying someone who is indeed selfish and self-centered and full of ego. Because that's precisely what it takes to make it as a writer. It is a selfish occupation that will often cause you to lose not only marriages, but relationships and friendships of all kinds, and you, as an aspiring published author, must be prepared for that.
Hemingway went through four wives, and many friends. But his writing was his constant. So long as he could write, his reason for living was intact. Nothing could interfere with it, and nothing would ever stand in its way. And when the words would no longer come to him, he enacted the most selfish act of all. His fourth wife Mary woke up and found his slumped over body in the vestibule of their Ketchum, Idaho home, and what was left of his brains spattered against the walls. Norman Mailer married eight times, Michael Chrichton eight times, Stephen Crane eight times, and the list goes on and on.
I'm not trying to portray a dismal picture here. I'm trying to be honest. As full-time writers who wish to work alone for hours at a time but who also wish to engage in meaningful relationships, there will come a time sooner than later that we will be accused of being selfish and full of ego. We will be accused of placing more importance on our work than we do on our children and our spouses. Even when we have become successful we will still crave attention and affirmation like a spoiled child screaming out behind a locked bedroom door. And we will want to continue to work harder than ever before.
But if you can somehow strike a balance between the work and the ego, and your loved one's needs and wants while still achieving great success, you will be the luckiest person alive. I've yet to find a way to strike that balance and it's cost me dearly. But I'm thankful for what I've achieved and I'm always hopeful that one day, that delicate balance will come before it's too late. For now anyway, I'd better get back to work.
GET MORE ZANDRI THRILLERS: WWW.VINCENTZANDRI.COM
Scream Catcher
My ex-wife (the second one) used to call me selfish. She claimed my work came before my family. That all the hours I put into my writing was taking away from the quality time I might otherwise share with she and the kids. Which I never quite understood since I usually never work nights and was often the Johnny-on-the-spot when it came to making dinners, feeding the crew and helping out with the homework. You know, domestic stuff like that. My ex was pretty good at making reservations. That was about it. Ok, I'm joking. In her defense she worked and took care of quite a few household chores that might have otherwise never gotten done. Like the laundry for instance.
But in terms of work, I was not only diligent, I often worked seven days a week writing and marketing my novels. I recall a time when guests of hers were over and she simply introduced me as her husband. When the topic of writers and books came up, it struck me as odd and frankly, kind of sad, that she never once uttered a word about my being a published novelist. Later on, the when the guests were gone, I asked her why she did that. Her response was, 'You already have enough of an ego.' Can you just see the steam pouring out of my ears??????
I guess by then the marriage was over (all 36 months of it) and by that time, she'd had enough of the importance I placed on my writing and the sacrifices we all had to make in order to see a novel become a success. I can't say I blame her. However, I will say that she knew what she was getting into, since when I met her I was a novelist and when we married I remained a novelist (despite her family insisting I get a "real job in the real world.")
There's a reason why many successful authors tend to marry and divorce several times over. The reason is simple: Our work is indeed the most important thing in our lives. Doesn't mean we don't love our kids and spoil them and dote over them. Doesn't mean I didn't love my wife. I loved her to death. But the fact is, when it came to my work schedule, nothing was going to get in the way of it. Not chores, not social engagements, not sickness, not even Christmas. Work isn't even the word for writing. It's more of a calling, a devotion to a religion. Or, maybe this will make more sense to you in a down-to-earth-way: A farmer has to get up and milk the cows and feed the chickens on Christmas morning just like any other day. The animals don't know the difference. The farmer isn't working. He's living a lifestyle and adhering to a calling that is far different from the usual 9-5, sleep, TV, bed that most people are used to. That's the precise allure of the job, no matter how hard and grueling it can be.
I guess when people get married, they see themselves changing their partner's ways and habits to a certain extent. They envision a spouse who will be more sensitive to their needs and wants, and this can include time set aside for them. Nothing wrong with this so long as a fine balance is maintained and said spouse doesn't go overboard with the changes she intends to pursue in her man (and vice/versa naturally). But what she should realize prior to walking down that aisle is that she is marrying a writer. An artist. She is marrying someone who is indeed selfish and self-centered and full of ego. Because that's precisely what it takes to make it as a writer. It is a selfish occupation that will often cause you to lose not only marriages, but relationships and friendships of all kinds, and you, as an aspiring published author, must be prepared for that.
Hemingway went through four wives, and many friends. But his writing was his constant. So long as he could write, his reason for living was intact. Nothing could interfere with it, and nothing would ever stand in its way. And when the words would no longer come to him, he enacted the most selfish act of all. His fourth wife Mary woke up and found his slumped over body in the vestibule of their Ketchum, Idaho home, and what was left of his brains spattered against the walls. Norman Mailer married eight times, Michael Chrichton eight times, Stephen Crane eight times, and the list goes on and on.
I'm not trying to portray a dismal picture here. I'm trying to be honest. As full-time writers who wish to work alone for hours at a time but who also wish to engage in meaningful relationships, there will come a time sooner than later that we will be accused of being selfish and full of ego. We will be accused of placing more importance on our work than we do on our children and our spouses. Even when we have become successful we will still crave attention and affirmation like a spoiled child screaming out behind a locked bedroom door. And we will want to continue to work harder than ever before.
But if you can somehow strike a balance between the work and the ego, and your loved one's needs and wants while still achieving great success, you will be the luckiest person alive. I've yet to find a way to strike that balance and it's cost me dearly. But I'm thankful for what I've achieved and I'm always hopeful that one day, that delicate balance will come before it's too late. For now anyway, I'd better get back to work.
GET MORE ZANDRI THRILLERS: WWW.VINCENTZANDRI.COM
Scream Catcher
