Doug Farren's Blog, page 16
May 3, 2015
Writing Income
Before I get into the material linked to the title of this post, I want to give you an update on Dragonverse Origins. Yesterday, I went back to the beginning and I'm re-editing what I've written so far. I added about 200 words and the total now stands at 29,887 words. I'm doing this at this point for two reasons:
1) My re-edit notes have gotten too large and I need to make changes to what's there before I move on.
2) I want to send the partial manuscript to my content editor--Lee Dilkie--for his review. I want his take now on what I've written so far because getting it later will mean another heavy rewrite. I prefer to have my manuscripts nearly ready by the time the first draft is complete.
I'm about 1/3 of the way done. If I can get this post written and out in a timely manner this morning, I will have time to make even more progress. I am back to normal working hours and weekends are once again free for me to write in the morning. There will also be some evenings where writing gets done (as long as I don't have an episode of Agents of Shield to watch).
I went to see Ultron yesterday. Marvel has--once again--created an action-packed movie that holds my interest. Of course, there are a number of major science errors throughout the movie, but this takes place in the world of comic books. I loved it.
Okay--time for the meat of this post. I've promised for several weeks to do this and now I'm following through on the promise. I was initially inspired by Jim C. Hines when he posted his own writing income. After seeing his post, I posted my book sales numbers but have withheld my business income figures. Others have posted their actual income: Kameron Hurley and D. Moonfire to name two.
I published my first novel on Amazon in 2009. I made a grand total of $66.00 that year. 2010 is the first full year of sales. If I recall, I had 2 books available early that year and I released a third toward the end of the year. My total sales that year amounted to $302.00. I had not yet declared the writing business as a business and so this income was just added to my normal income. 2011 marks the start of when I filed my writing income as a business. I had a gross income of $2,929.00. After expenses I had a net profit of $2,333.00.
The next year was the year of my amazing sales. I have never been able to say for sure what happened but I believe it was due to a one week promotion by Amazon. I have never been able to confirm this though. Sales of the Galactic Alliance trilogy skyrocketed putting me at #1 in several science fiction categories and getting me to at least #173 of all books sold on Amazon. That number could be better but 173 was the last I actually saw with my own eyes. Total sales that year amounted to $92,772.00. After business expenses this yielded an income of $87,819.00. I used the extra income to put a new roof on the house since I'm planning on retiring here.
Since then, sales have declined but have remained remarkably steady. Sales for 2013 as well as 2014 are included in the below table. In 2013, we took a trip to DragonCon which accounts for the high deductions. Here are the complete income numbers:
Year Gross Net 2009 $66.00 2010 $302.00 2011 $2,929.00 $2,333.00 2012 $92,772.00 $87,819.00 2013 $9,753.00 $3,223.00 2014 $8,528.00 $4,269.00
I've posted a comment on an SFWA forum asking other authors to be more willing to share their income from writing numbers. This could be done on an anonymous basis if someone is willing to set up a website where this type of information could be collected. It would be a great benefit to other writers.
One thing I want to point out before I close. Many writers might have been tempted to quit their day job if they'd had a banner year as I did in 2012. Don't do this! As you can see, my writing income did not stay in the clouds. This happens, and it happens more often than you might think. Just because you have a good run for a few months does not mean you've become a world-famous author and you can tell your day-job boss that you're quitting.
What the above numbers for 2012 don't show is how much extra I had to pay in taxes. The net income shows only what was added to my income after normal business expenses are deducted. Take that $87,819.00 and figure I paid about 33% of it in taxes. Actual, in-pocket take-home is significantly less. Don't forget--Uncle Sam will want his cut of your profits as well. Had I spent all that money on a fancy car or a frivolous luxury item I would have had to come up with the taxes at the end of the year. Plan ahead so you don't have to struggle to pay your taxes.
Time to get back to writing.
1) My re-edit notes have gotten too large and I need to make changes to what's there before I move on.
2) I want to send the partial manuscript to my content editor--Lee Dilkie--for his review. I want his take now on what I've written so far because getting it later will mean another heavy rewrite. I prefer to have my manuscripts nearly ready by the time the first draft is complete.
I'm about 1/3 of the way done. If I can get this post written and out in a timely manner this morning, I will have time to make even more progress. I am back to normal working hours and weekends are once again free for me to write in the morning. There will also be some evenings where writing gets done (as long as I don't have an episode of Agents of Shield to watch).
I went to see Ultron yesterday. Marvel has--once again--created an action-packed movie that holds my interest. Of course, there are a number of major science errors throughout the movie, but this takes place in the world of comic books. I loved it.
Okay--time for the meat of this post. I've promised for several weeks to do this and now I'm following through on the promise. I was initially inspired by Jim C. Hines when he posted his own writing income. After seeing his post, I posted my book sales numbers but have withheld my business income figures. Others have posted their actual income: Kameron Hurley and D. Moonfire to name two.
I published my first novel on Amazon in 2009. I made a grand total of $66.00 that year. 2010 is the first full year of sales. If I recall, I had 2 books available early that year and I released a third toward the end of the year. My total sales that year amounted to $302.00. I had not yet declared the writing business as a business and so this income was just added to my normal income. 2011 marks the start of when I filed my writing income as a business. I had a gross income of $2,929.00. After expenses I had a net profit of $2,333.00.
The next year was the year of my amazing sales. I have never been able to say for sure what happened but I believe it was due to a one week promotion by Amazon. I have never been able to confirm this though. Sales of the Galactic Alliance trilogy skyrocketed putting me at #1 in several science fiction categories and getting me to at least #173 of all books sold on Amazon. That number could be better but 173 was the last I actually saw with my own eyes. Total sales that year amounted to $92,772.00. After business expenses this yielded an income of $87,819.00. I used the extra income to put a new roof on the house since I'm planning on retiring here.
Since then, sales have declined but have remained remarkably steady. Sales for 2013 as well as 2014 are included in the below table. In 2013, we took a trip to DragonCon which accounts for the high deductions. Here are the complete income numbers:
Year Gross Net 2009 $66.00 2010 $302.00 2011 $2,929.00 $2,333.00 2012 $92,772.00 $87,819.00 2013 $9,753.00 $3,223.00 2014 $8,528.00 $4,269.00
I've posted a comment on an SFWA forum asking other authors to be more willing to share their income from writing numbers. This could be done on an anonymous basis if someone is willing to set up a website where this type of information could be collected. It would be a great benefit to other writers.
One thing I want to point out before I close. Many writers might have been tempted to quit their day job if they'd had a banner year as I did in 2012. Don't do this! As you can see, my writing income did not stay in the clouds. This happens, and it happens more often than you might think. Just because you have a good run for a few months does not mean you've become a world-famous author and you can tell your day-job boss that you're quitting.
What the above numbers for 2012 don't show is how much extra I had to pay in taxes. The net income shows only what was added to my income after normal business expenses are deducted. Take that $87,819.00 and figure I paid about 33% of it in taxes. Actual, in-pocket take-home is significantly less. Don't forget--Uncle Sam will want his cut of your profits as well. Had I spent all that money on a fancy car or a frivolous luxury item I would have had to come up with the taxes at the end of the year. Plan ahead so you don't have to struggle to pay your taxes.
Time to get back to writing.
April 26, 2015
Self-Publishing
It is Sunday morning (0500 if you’re curious) and I’m writing my blog post from work as I wait for a test program to finish running. I've been working from 0300 – 1200 the past couple of days and that’s why this post is a little late. I’ve been working these hours because of the refueling outage going on at the nuclear plant where I work. The outage is officially over but I will remain on early hours for the first part of the week. Lucky for me, I’m a morning person and I don’t mind these hours at all.
I received a huge surprise in the mail on Friday. My content-editor Lee Dilkie sent me a picture his artist wife created. Here’s a picture of it as well as where it now hangs:
Incredible! Lee was one of my more outspoken fans and a little over a year ago I asked him if he would be interested in taking a look at Peacekeeper 2 before I published it. He agreed. But instead of just providing limited feedback, he gave me some very good advice on specific elements of the story. In other words, he became my content-editor. He will be helping out with Dragonverse Origins as soon as I have something I can send him.
I was going to fire off what I've written so far but the other day I found myself going back and making some changes to early chapters. That means things are still in a state of flux and I would rather send Lee something that won’t be drastically changing after he reviews it. He’s not my copy-editor or proof-reader; that’s my wife’s job. Lee’s part in all this is to take what I've written and tell me where I've gone wrong. Having another person review your writing can be scary because it is YOUR work. But, if you are open to suggestions (as you should be) and you get the right person involved, having a second opinion concerning the plot is a huge help.
I once thought that I could go it alone as a self-published writer. Please do not make this mistake! Writers, especially new ones, need to have someone else who is willing to tell you where you are wrong look at your work. Thinking you can go it alone is a huge mistake and it’s where most self-published writers fail. Releasing a book to the public that has a poor plot, is filled with grammatical errors, and is generally poorly written is what has given self-publishing such a bad rap. The “self” in self-published does not mean you are going it alone. Taking the time to properly edit your novel will earn you some respect from traditionally published authors. Do it!
Traditionally published authors have their books reviewed by an editor hired by the publisher. I friend of mine was traditionally published and then put out a fully edited self-published novel. That novel went on to be nominated for an award which caused her former agent to give her a call. The book was picked up by a publisher and re-edited. There were changes made – some of them significant. And this is a book that was written by a well-respected author and already edited.
Self-published authors have a duty to their readers to make sure their novel is as polished as one put out by a traditional publisher. At a minimum, you should have your novel looked at by a good editor. Listen to what they have to tell you. In my case, I have a content-editor who looks at the story from a high-level and steers me in the right direction. I have a copy-editor who corrects my spelling and use of grammar. I pay someone to produce a reasonably good book cover. These are up-front expenses for most self-published authors. But, if you’re serious about your novel and you want to be respected by traditional authors, it’s something you have to do.
Origins now stands at just shy of 30,000 words. This is going to be a fairly large book. If you enjoy dragons with a bit of science fiction thrown in to take the edge off the fantasy aspect then this book is for you. I’m not sure how I’m going to position it though. It’s part of the Dragonverse series but it takes place far before the first book of the series. I don’t want to make it a prequel because it provides a link between Dragonverse and one of my stand-alone novels (I’ll let the reader figure out which one). Still noodling on this one.
I received a huge surprise in the mail on Friday. My content-editor Lee Dilkie sent me a picture his artist wife created. Here’s a picture of it as well as where it now hangs:
Incredible! Lee was one of my more outspoken fans and a little over a year ago I asked him if he would be interested in taking a look at Peacekeeper 2 before I published it. He agreed. But instead of just providing limited feedback, he gave me some very good advice on specific elements of the story. In other words, he became my content-editor. He will be helping out with Dragonverse Origins as soon as I have something I can send him.
I was going to fire off what I've written so far but the other day I found myself going back and making some changes to early chapters. That means things are still in a state of flux and I would rather send Lee something that won’t be drastically changing after he reviews it. He’s not my copy-editor or proof-reader; that’s my wife’s job. Lee’s part in all this is to take what I've written and tell me where I've gone wrong. Having another person review your writing can be scary because it is YOUR work. But, if you are open to suggestions (as you should be) and you get the right person involved, having a second opinion concerning the plot is a huge help.
I once thought that I could go it alone as a self-published writer. Please do not make this mistake! Writers, especially new ones, need to have someone else who is willing to tell you where you are wrong look at your work. Thinking you can go it alone is a huge mistake and it’s where most self-published writers fail. Releasing a book to the public that has a poor plot, is filled with grammatical errors, and is generally poorly written is what has given self-publishing such a bad rap. The “self” in self-published does not mean you are going it alone. Taking the time to properly edit your novel will earn you some respect from traditionally published authors. Do it!
Traditionally published authors have their books reviewed by an editor hired by the publisher. I friend of mine was traditionally published and then put out a fully edited self-published novel. That novel went on to be nominated for an award which caused her former agent to give her a call. The book was picked up by a publisher and re-edited. There were changes made – some of them significant. And this is a book that was written by a well-respected author and already edited.
Self-published authors have a duty to their readers to make sure their novel is as polished as one put out by a traditional publisher. At a minimum, you should have your novel looked at by a good editor. Listen to what they have to tell you. In my case, I have a content-editor who looks at the story from a high-level and steers me in the right direction. I have a copy-editor who corrects my spelling and use of grammar. I pay someone to produce a reasonably good book cover. These are up-front expenses for most self-published authors. But, if you’re serious about your novel and you want to be respected by traditional authors, it’s something you have to do.
Origins now stands at just shy of 30,000 words. This is going to be a fairly large book. If you enjoy dragons with a bit of science fiction thrown in to take the edge off the fantasy aspect then this book is for you. I’m not sure how I’m going to position it though. It’s part of the Dragonverse series but it takes place far before the first book of the series. I don’t want to make it a prequel because it provides a link between Dragonverse and one of my stand-alone novels (I’ll let the reader figure out which one). Still noodling on this one.
April 19, 2015
Thoughts on Awards
Dragonverse Originsupdate: The first draft now stands at 26,030 words. I’ve actually some pretty good progress over the past couple of days. Yesterday, I worked from 0400 until about noon. I met my wife at the car dealer so she could drop her car off and then we went to Barnes & Noble for a few hours. I wrote over 1,100 words. After B&N, we went out to dinner and then home. I had just enough time to say hello to the cats before heading to bed. I started work today at 0430 and once again met my wife at B&N right after noon. After writing another 400 words it suddenly occurred to me that today is blog day.
Origins is coming along quite nicely. The manuscript is working its way through a slow spot and I’m trying to figure out a way to give it a little more of an interesting twist. There is a lot of information and setting up that needs to be done before the main story can kick in. Milus (my protagonist) is a young boy with some problems that need to be dealt with before he can grow. I know quite a bit about how things are going to progress but I’m not exactly quite sure how I’m going to get there. A major breakthrough is about to occur – if I can figure out how to set up for it.
I read a very interesting article that was posted on Twitter concerning the perceived benefits of winning an award. There once was a time when I thought that being nominated for a Hugo, Nebula, Clark, or other award would be the ultimate achievement. In the past, this might have been true. But these days, with self-publishing on the rise, I’m not so sure. Of course, being nominated would still be a tremendous ego-booster, but would it affect sales? My answer is no – the same thing the article said. Try this with your science-fiction reading friends. Ask them if they know what the Hugo, Nebula, or Clark award is. If they say they’ve heard of it, ask them who one recently.
Books are nominated for awards by other writers – not readers. Yes, writers are also readers, but I think you know what I mean. Most readers these days have no clue that the book they are looking at to buy has been nominated for an award unless it says so prominently on the cover. And even so, they most likely don’t care. As a writer, being nominated for an award would make me happy beyond belief because, to me, it means other writers have found my books to be equal to their own. But, in the end, I’m also happy to watch my books continue to sell on Amazon and Smashwords.
I have seen two writers publish their income from writing numbers on the internet. While some might think this is a ridiculously stupid thing to do, I applaud their willingness to share this information. How else can other writers know how well they are doing? I’ve published my book counts which comes close to telling how much I’ve made from writing. I’m considering publishing my actual income as well. Traditional publishers do not like to hear that self-published authors are doing well. Perhaps more of us should share our numbers. If you run across other authors who are sharing their income numbers with the public please send me a link to the article.
I will be back to working 8-hour days next week. That means more time for writing. I will keep you posted.
Origins is coming along quite nicely. The manuscript is working its way through a slow spot and I’m trying to figure out a way to give it a little more of an interesting twist. There is a lot of information and setting up that needs to be done before the main story can kick in. Milus (my protagonist) is a young boy with some problems that need to be dealt with before he can grow. I know quite a bit about how things are going to progress but I’m not exactly quite sure how I’m going to get there. A major breakthrough is about to occur – if I can figure out how to set up for it.
I read a very interesting article that was posted on Twitter concerning the perceived benefits of winning an award. There once was a time when I thought that being nominated for a Hugo, Nebula, Clark, or other award would be the ultimate achievement. In the past, this might have been true. But these days, with self-publishing on the rise, I’m not so sure. Of course, being nominated would still be a tremendous ego-booster, but would it affect sales? My answer is no – the same thing the article said. Try this with your science-fiction reading friends. Ask them if they know what the Hugo, Nebula, or Clark award is. If they say they’ve heard of it, ask them who one recently.
Books are nominated for awards by other writers – not readers. Yes, writers are also readers, but I think you know what I mean. Most readers these days have no clue that the book they are looking at to buy has been nominated for an award unless it says so prominently on the cover. And even so, they most likely don’t care. As a writer, being nominated for an award would make me happy beyond belief because, to me, it means other writers have found my books to be equal to their own. But, in the end, I’m also happy to watch my books continue to sell on Amazon and Smashwords.
I have seen two writers publish their income from writing numbers on the internet. While some might think this is a ridiculously stupid thing to do, I applaud their willingness to share this information. How else can other writers know how well they are doing? I’ve published my book counts which comes close to telling how much I’ve made from writing. I’m considering publishing my actual income as well. Traditional publishers do not like to hear that self-published authors are doing well. Perhaps more of us should share our numbers. If you run across other authors who are sharing their income numbers with the public please send me a link to the article.
I will be back to working 8-hour days next week. That means more time for writing. I will keep you posted.
April 12, 2015
Not enough hours in a day
Dragonverse Originsupdate: The first draft now stands at 23,611 words. That’s not as much as I would have hoped to have by now, but the book is coming along nicely. I don’t want to rush things because rushing is how you end up with a plot that’s such a mess you have to rebuild it by throwing half of it away.
I did read one of the chapters from Origins during this last weekend's writers group meeting. When I was finished, people were saying all sorts of things I didn't expect to hear like "Wow!" and "I could see everything - it was like I was there." And this is just a rough draft! Not that I'm bragging (well, maybe a little) but comments like those sure make a writer feel good.
Speaking of plots, It's strange how some things hit you when you're least expecting it. I wrote Off Course about 2 years ago and since publishing it, I haven’t looked at the novel at all. Yesterday, out of nowhere, a plot snafu in the book set off a small nuclear explosion inside my cerebral cortex. After I calmed down, I realized that nobody out there has caught it. I'm glad too, because fixing it would have changed the entire course of the book! Unfortunately, now that I know it's there, it's going to bother me. I don’t think it's something your normal reader will pick up. Only someone versed in political intrigue and subterfuge would wonder—why didn't they…? I have no intention of trying to fix it either.
With the crazy hours I've been working these past few weeks, I haven't had time to get on my SFWA account and update it. When I have a few hours to myself, I prefer to spend it writing. I get like that when I'm working on a project (which is most of the time). I will delay watching television programs (except Agents of Shield), skip the internet, and put all sorts of things aside to have time to write. If I'm stuck, then I can indulge myself.
From the looks of things, there's going to be a large number of Launch Pad alumni attending this year's WorldCon. I’m hoping we can find a time to get together and have a bit of a reunion. I've been going since 2012 and I've met many people I would love to connect with again in the flesh.
That’s about it from the writing end of things. If you’re interested in what I've been doing at my day job, keep reading. I’ll keep it short.
I am an Access database programmer—one of only a very few at the plant. Actually, to my knowledge, there isn't anyone else who actually writes VBA code using Microsoft Access. I work in a group called Work Management and my primary job is to maintain the Primavera database as well as build applications to make my department more efficient. They were without a DBA (Database Administrator) for almost 4 years and the old applications my predecessor had developed no longer worked. I scrapped all of them and started from scratch building my own set of applications. So far, I've taken a report that used to take 4 days to complete and automated it so it can be finished in under 3 hours. I've automated a lot of what people used to do manually.
My expertise in database applications has come in handy while the plant has been in a refueling outage. I have a program that displays the status of each job, whether or not it is working to schedule and if the schedule is in jeopardy or not. I have another one that helps the Outage Control Center track emergent work and I produce daily reports for most of the managers and directors. The bottom line here is that I love to code and I couldn't be happier. From the feedback I've been getting, the people that are using my programs are just as happy which makes me even happier. Life is good.
Time to start writing again. Until next time.
I did read one of the chapters from Origins during this last weekend's writers group meeting. When I was finished, people were saying all sorts of things I didn't expect to hear like "Wow!" and "I could see everything - it was like I was there." And this is just a rough draft! Not that I'm bragging (well, maybe a little) but comments like those sure make a writer feel good.
Speaking of plots, It's strange how some things hit you when you're least expecting it. I wrote Off Course about 2 years ago and since publishing it, I haven’t looked at the novel at all. Yesterday, out of nowhere, a plot snafu in the book set off a small nuclear explosion inside my cerebral cortex. After I calmed down, I realized that nobody out there has caught it. I'm glad too, because fixing it would have changed the entire course of the book! Unfortunately, now that I know it's there, it's going to bother me. I don’t think it's something your normal reader will pick up. Only someone versed in political intrigue and subterfuge would wonder—why didn't they…? I have no intention of trying to fix it either.
With the crazy hours I've been working these past few weeks, I haven't had time to get on my SFWA account and update it. When I have a few hours to myself, I prefer to spend it writing. I get like that when I'm working on a project (which is most of the time). I will delay watching television programs (except Agents of Shield), skip the internet, and put all sorts of things aside to have time to write. If I'm stuck, then I can indulge myself.
From the looks of things, there's going to be a large number of Launch Pad alumni attending this year's WorldCon. I’m hoping we can find a time to get together and have a bit of a reunion. I've been going since 2012 and I've met many people I would love to connect with again in the flesh.
That’s about it from the writing end of things. If you’re interested in what I've been doing at my day job, keep reading. I’ll keep it short.
I am an Access database programmer—one of only a very few at the plant. Actually, to my knowledge, there isn't anyone else who actually writes VBA code using Microsoft Access. I work in a group called Work Management and my primary job is to maintain the Primavera database as well as build applications to make my department more efficient. They were without a DBA (Database Administrator) for almost 4 years and the old applications my predecessor had developed no longer worked. I scrapped all of them and started from scratch building my own set of applications. So far, I've taken a report that used to take 4 days to complete and automated it so it can be finished in under 3 hours. I've automated a lot of what people used to do manually.
My expertise in database applications has come in handy while the plant has been in a refueling outage. I have a program that displays the status of each job, whether or not it is working to schedule and if the schedule is in jeopardy or not. I have another one that helps the Outage Control Center track emergent work and I produce daily reports for most of the managers and directors. The bottom line here is that I love to code and I couldn't be happier. From the feedback I've been getting, the people that are using my programs are just as happy which makes me even happier. Life is good.
Time to start writing again. Until next time.
April 5, 2015
SFWA (active) membership approved!
I am now an official member of SFWA! As an indie author, this is a big deal for me. It’s like an artist having one of their paintings chosen to be displayed in an art gallery. When I put my first book on Amazon, I had a realistic view of the future. Making a small income from book sales was all I expected. Of course, humans love to dream and I had a dream that one day I would be making a decent income from writing and be a member of SFWA. When my book sales began to take off, I actually thought my dream could become a reality. I went to the SFWA website and read the requirements to become a member. I was disappointed.
To become a member of SFWA prior to March 1st 2015, you had to have published a novel or two short stories with a select listing of approved publishers. Self-published authors were therefore forbidden access. Even though I made a lot of money in sales, joining SFWA was to remain only a dream. And then a miracle happened.
Stories that use a line like that are a sure sign of a poor writer, but in this instance the miracle was a vote by the SFWA members to allow self-published authors to join their ranks. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of doing so. If you follow my blog, you know the story from that point on. The email confirming my membership made me a very happy man. The way I see it, it’s not all about how much you make but rather what sort of recognition you receive that makes it all worthwhile.
In other news: I'm now using a new keyboard at work. Some time ago, E. C. Myers (a fellow Launch Pad attendee) posted a picture of his new writing area. I spotted an ancient IBM model M keyboard on his desk – you know, the kind with the clickity-clack sound and tactile feedback. I asked him about it and he told me about a company that sells them; not old or refurbished ones—brand new ones! I ordered one the other day and now I’m clacking away at work and loving it. My nearby cubical attendants haven’t said a word about the racket so I’m happy. If you’re interested, you can purchase one here.
The list of 2015 Launch Pad attendees has been released by founder Professor Mike Brotherton. I have not received the final word concerning if anyone wants their name withheld from the public so I won’t be posting the list here. If you applied and were not accepted this year, there’s always next year. As always, I’m looking forward to participating in this year’s event and getting to meet another group of fine people. I've already sent out my greeting email and have started building my information document on the attendees. I do this because I am terrible at remembering names and faces. There have been times when I can't quickly recall the name of people I've worked with for 20 years. Embarrassing.
Work on Dragonverse Origins stalled last week due to my working hours and other events which I won't go into here. But that doesn't mean I haven’t been thinking about how to proceed. The soon-to-be wizard is about to begin his learning. The issue here is how detailed should I get? I don’t want to skip over too much because the reader will wonder what happened in the intervening time. I don’t want to go into the day-by-day details because the reader will become bored and set the book aside. I have to find a happy middle where the reader can stay engaged and interested as things move along. This part of the book is a challenge for me because I’m not exactly sure how to proceed. There are a lot of little details I need the reader to have before the real meat of the story begins.
As of right now, the novel stands at 21,159 words. I did manage to get in some writing time yesterday as well as this morning. With the nuke plant shut down for refueling, I've been working from 0400 (and occasionally 0200) until 1200 or later. When I have a day off, I get up way before my wife does and that gives me the time to write.
To become a member of SFWA prior to March 1st 2015, you had to have published a novel or two short stories with a select listing of approved publishers. Self-published authors were therefore forbidden access. Even though I made a lot of money in sales, joining SFWA was to remain only a dream. And then a miracle happened.
Stories that use a line like that are a sure sign of a poor writer, but in this instance the miracle was a vote by the SFWA members to allow self-published authors to join their ranks. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of doing so. If you follow my blog, you know the story from that point on. The email confirming my membership made me a very happy man. The way I see it, it’s not all about how much you make but rather what sort of recognition you receive that makes it all worthwhile.
In other news: I'm now using a new keyboard at work. Some time ago, E. C. Myers (a fellow Launch Pad attendee) posted a picture of his new writing area. I spotted an ancient IBM model M keyboard on his desk – you know, the kind with the clickity-clack sound and tactile feedback. I asked him about it and he told me about a company that sells them; not old or refurbished ones—brand new ones! I ordered one the other day and now I’m clacking away at work and loving it. My nearby cubical attendants haven’t said a word about the racket so I’m happy. If you’re interested, you can purchase one here.
The list of 2015 Launch Pad attendees has been released by founder Professor Mike Brotherton. I have not received the final word concerning if anyone wants their name withheld from the public so I won’t be posting the list here. If you applied and were not accepted this year, there’s always next year. As always, I’m looking forward to participating in this year’s event and getting to meet another group of fine people. I've already sent out my greeting email and have started building my information document on the attendees. I do this because I am terrible at remembering names and faces. There have been times when I can't quickly recall the name of people I've worked with for 20 years. Embarrassing.
Work on Dragonverse Origins stalled last week due to my working hours and other events which I won't go into here. But that doesn't mean I haven’t been thinking about how to proceed. The soon-to-be wizard is about to begin his learning. The issue here is how detailed should I get? I don’t want to skip over too much because the reader will wonder what happened in the intervening time. I don’t want to go into the day-by-day details because the reader will become bored and set the book aside. I have to find a happy middle where the reader can stay engaged and interested as things move along. This part of the book is a challenge for me because I’m not exactly sure how to proceed. There are a lot of little details I need the reader to have before the real meat of the story begins.
As of right now, the novel stands at 21,159 words. I did manage to get in some writing time yesterday as well as this morning. With the nuke plant shut down for refueling, I've been working from 0400 (and occasionally 0200) until 1200 or later. When I have a day off, I get up way before my wife does and that gives me the time to write.
March 29, 2015
Updates
My last post was 3 weeks ago. The day after I posted that last blog entry the nuclear plant I work at shut down to begin its 15th refueling outage. This is a time of intense activity at the plant. Systems are disassembled, inspected, and repaired. The fuel is removed from the core and the reactor vessel is inspected and cleaned. New fuel is loaded and the plant is put back together so it can run non-stop (hopefully) for another 18 months.
In past outages, I was in the I&C (Instrumentation & Controls) shop. I would be dressing out (our term for getting into anti-contamination clothing) and going out to work in undesirable places like containment and drywell. These places are cramped and hot. But this outage is different for me. Today, I sit at a desk and write Microsoft Access programs. I would prefer to use a better platform like C# but these applications need to be quickly and easily maintained by people who would most likely not know how to program in another language. Getting C# loaded on my PC would be a long and involved process. Access comes pre-installed and has the power to do anything I need.
Today is my first day off since March 9th. I've written thousands of lines of code and three of my applications are in use helping keep the outage on track. I've been working from 0400 in the morning until noon or later. A couple of days I went in at 0200 to relieve a person from the home office so he could have a day off. He's up here to help us get our scheduling reports out on time and to keep the scheduling software running smoothly. I love my job and not having a day off was not a problem for me.
But, just because I've been working strange hours at the plant does not mean I've not been able to get any writing done. Dragonverse Origins now stands at over 20,000 words and is coming along nicely. I'm getting the feeling that this book is going to end up being roughly 95,000 words.
In case you're wondering, I'm still patiently waiting for my membership to the SFWA to be approved. I sent them copies of my 1099s from 2012--the year I did very well in book sales. I received an email saying that the board wanted proof of continuing income. So, I sent them copies of my next two years 1099s--not all of them, just the larger ones. That was over a week ago and I have still heard nothing. I am, if nothing else, a very patient person and so I'm waiting. If I am denied membership I will find a way to appeal because I am more than sure I meet their requirements. I should have some final information by the time I write my next post.
Right now, it's very early in the morning, my wife will be sleeping until 0930, and I have time to write.
In past outages, I was in the I&C (Instrumentation & Controls) shop. I would be dressing out (our term for getting into anti-contamination clothing) and going out to work in undesirable places like containment and drywell. These places are cramped and hot. But this outage is different for me. Today, I sit at a desk and write Microsoft Access programs. I would prefer to use a better platform like C# but these applications need to be quickly and easily maintained by people who would most likely not know how to program in another language. Getting C# loaded on my PC would be a long and involved process. Access comes pre-installed and has the power to do anything I need.
Today is my first day off since March 9th. I've written thousands of lines of code and three of my applications are in use helping keep the outage on track. I've been working from 0400 in the morning until noon or later. A couple of days I went in at 0200 to relieve a person from the home office so he could have a day off. He's up here to help us get our scheduling reports out on time and to keep the scheduling software running smoothly. I love my job and not having a day off was not a problem for me.
But, just because I've been working strange hours at the plant does not mean I've not been able to get any writing done. Dragonverse Origins now stands at over 20,000 words and is coming along nicely. I'm getting the feeling that this book is going to end up being roughly 95,000 words.
In case you're wondering, I'm still patiently waiting for my membership to the SFWA to be approved. I sent them copies of my 1099s from 2012--the year I did very well in book sales. I received an email saying that the board wanted proof of continuing income. So, I sent them copies of my next two years 1099s--not all of them, just the larger ones. That was over a week ago and I have still heard nothing. I am, if nothing else, a very patient person and so I'm waiting. If I am denied membership I will find a way to appeal because I am more than sure I meet their requirements. I should have some final information by the time I write my next post.
Right now, it's very early in the morning, my wife will be sleeping until 0930, and I have time to write.
March 8, 2015
SFWA Membership
On February 3rd, 2015, the SFWA posted one of the best pieces of news I've heard in a long time--they would begin admitting self-published authors. You can read the announcement here. On March 1st, I went to their website to sign in and...nothing...no updated membership requirements. I continued to check the website throughout the day. I also tweeted my frustration. Cat Rambo replied and apologized. On March 2nd, I noticed the new requirements (vague as they were) were up and I applied for membership.
There are issues with the online application form as far as an indie author is concerned. The SFWA is well aware of this and are working to come up with a more indie-favorable form. The existing form assumes you're an author that has a signed contract with a large publisher and you've received an advance on your royalties. You are allowed to upload only 3 items. The biggest omission is a box where the applicant can explain things. I believe I have sent them sufficient information to process my application and grant me membership.
I have written to Cat Rambo and discussed my concerns with her. I also provided some suggestions concerning how they should deal with indie authors. I don't know if my suggestions will be accepted, but here they are:
Since there is no publishing contract, a self-published author should be asked to provide proof of authorship of the work being used to qualify for membership. A copyright notice from the US copyright office would be perfectly acceptable.Since the vast majority of self-published authors receive royalty payments from Amazon, proof of royalties received for a specific novel is problematic. Yes, Amazon does provide a downloadable Excel spreadsheet showing sales in each region for each novel, but Excel spreadsheets can be altered. To back up the data shown on the spreadsheet, I recommended requesting copies of the 1099s authors receive from Amazon and Smashwords.The online application form will also require modification by providing the applicant an opportunity to explain how they meet the admission requirements.Self-published authors do not receive an advance when they upload their book to Amazon or Smashwords. They collect their royalties each month. There are many authors who have signed contracts, received their advance, and then never see another payment again yet they are admitted to the SFWA. There are self-published authors who, over the course of a year, collect more in royalties than many signed authors receive in an advance. Proving this to the SFWA is a problem but it is not a problem that can't be solved.
I look forward to becoming a member of the SFWA. The membership will help identify me as a legitimate author. My feedback and sales have already done that for me, but membership status in the SFWA will send that doubt to the bottom of the deepest ocean once and for all.
On the writing front: I've made good progress on Dragonverse Origins. I have been working myself into a new shift schedule in which I have to be up at 3:00am. This new shift starts this Monday. For the past few days, I've been getting up earlier and earlier and I've had the mornings to myself. This has given me plenty of time to write. Origins now stands at just over 14,000 words.
I took some time this morning to buy my plane tickets for Launch Pad 2015. I am looking forward to meeting another wonder group of authors.
There is also another Launch Pad-like educational adventure you can apply for. If you are interested in quantum physics, you can apply to attend the newly created Schrodinger Sessions. Chad Orzel modeled this course after Launch Pad. For further information you can read about it here. A more detailed description including some background can be found here. I signed up this morning.
There are issues with the online application form as far as an indie author is concerned. The SFWA is well aware of this and are working to come up with a more indie-favorable form. The existing form assumes you're an author that has a signed contract with a large publisher and you've received an advance on your royalties. You are allowed to upload only 3 items. The biggest omission is a box where the applicant can explain things. I believe I have sent them sufficient information to process my application and grant me membership.
I have written to Cat Rambo and discussed my concerns with her. I also provided some suggestions concerning how they should deal with indie authors. I don't know if my suggestions will be accepted, but here they are:
Since there is no publishing contract, a self-published author should be asked to provide proof of authorship of the work being used to qualify for membership. A copyright notice from the US copyright office would be perfectly acceptable.Since the vast majority of self-published authors receive royalty payments from Amazon, proof of royalties received for a specific novel is problematic. Yes, Amazon does provide a downloadable Excel spreadsheet showing sales in each region for each novel, but Excel spreadsheets can be altered. To back up the data shown on the spreadsheet, I recommended requesting copies of the 1099s authors receive from Amazon and Smashwords.The online application form will also require modification by providing the applicant an opportunity to explain how they meet the admission requirements.Self-published authors do not receive an advance when they upload their book to Amazon or Smashwords. They collect their royalties each month. There are many authors who have signed contracts, received their advance, and then never see another payment again yet they are admitted to the SFWA. There are self-published authors who, over the course of a year, collect more in royalties than many signed authors receive in an advance. Proving this to the SFWA is a problem but it is not a problem that can't be solved.
I look forward to becoming a member of the SFWA. The membership will help identify me as a legitimate author. My feedback and sales have already done that for me, but membership status in the SFWA will send that doubt to the bottom of the deepest ocean once and for all.
On the writing front: I've made good progress on Dragonverse Origins. I have been working myself into a new shift schedule in which I have to be up at 3:00am. This new shift starts this Monday. For the past few days, I've been getting up earlier and earlier and I've had the mornings to myself. This has given me plenty of time to write. Origins now stands at just over 14,000 words.
I took some time this morning to buy my plane tickets for Launch Pad 2015. I am looking forward to meeting another wonder group of authors.
There is also another Launch Pad-like educational adventure you can apply for. If you are interested in quantum physics, you can apply to attend the newly created Schrodinger Sessions. Chad Orzel modeled this course after Launch Pad. For further information you can read about it here. A more detailed description including some background can be found here. I signed up this morning.
March 1, 2015
Details - LLAP Mr. Nimoy
I was very saddened to learn of the passing of one of my roll models. For years I dreamed of running into Leonard Nimoy and being able to talk to him as if he were just another person. He was a great actor and an outstanding individual. As a kid, I took Spock to be my roll model. Logical, controlled, and possessing a mind that applied reasoning to solve problems instead of using an emotional response. He will be missed.
My first thought was to title this entry "Disappointed" because I tried to sign up to become a member of the SFWA and their website still has the old rules associated with it (SFWA membership requirements). But, I have a considerable amount of patience and I will continue to monitor their website to see if the new eligibility requirements are posted. As soon as that happens, I will be joining at the associate level. I don't have the time to read all the nominations for awards and I certainly am not interested in attending SFWA business meetings. Hopefully, the SFWA website will be updated as promised and I will become a member by the end of the day.
Today's post deals with the editing of a novel. I'm not talking about the normal editing that a writer goes through in the process of creating the story. I'm talking about the final editing pass that all writers should have done - copy editing. This is usually performed by a separate individual after the writer declares his or her work to be finished. In my case, this is done by my wife. She will typically find grammatical mistakes such as words that sound the same but are spelled differently, tense errors, repeating a word too many times too close together, use of words such as 'that', 'which', etc, and comma usage. It is this last one that we tend to have the most discussion about.
I find this interesting because I've been reading Twitter posts from Linda Nagata (an acquaintance of mine and an award-winning author) about the number of comma-usage changes her copy editor has suggested. Apparently, there are a large number of them. What's even more interesting is that the particular book that she is talking about has already been copy edited and published. This tells me that even copy editors cannot agree on how to use the lowly comma.
There are, of course, times when the use of a comma is mandated and those rules should not be broken. But there are other uses that have sparked widespread debate. One in particular is the use of the Oxford comma. This is the placement of a comma before the final "and" or "or" in a sentence with a list. (i.e. Do you want an apple, a pear, or an orange?) My wife will edit out the comma before the "or". I prefer to leave it in place. This final comma is called the Oxford comma and entire institutions are divided in whether or not it should exist.
If you take a step back and think about this for a moment, it brings up another point. Writing is, and always will be, a very subjective art. Sometimes, it's okay to break the rules. A single-word sentence, even though it is not technically a sentence, can add to the tension to a scene. I highly recommend that every writer have their work looked at by a good copy editor. You don't have to always agree on what they suggest--you are, after all, the creator of the story--but you should at least listen to what the editor has suggested and give the changes serious consideration.
I am making slow progress on Dragonverse Origins. I handed out my first chapter to my writer's group for feedback. As usual, everyone had something different to say. But, every time I go to a meeting, I learn something. This last meeting's lesson told me I need to pay more attention to active vs passive writing. The distinction is often subtle, but writing in the active voice can make a big impact on the reader's view of the story. I will be looking to learn more about this subject in the future.
My first thought was to title this entry "Disappointed" because I tried to sign up to become a member of the SFWA and their website still has the old rules associated with it (SFWA membership requirements). But, I have a considerable amount of patience and I will continue to monitor their website to see if the new eligibility requirements are posted. As soon as that happens, I will be joining at the associate level. I don't have the time to read all the nominations for awards and I certainly am not interested in attending SFWA business meetings. Hopefully, the SFWA website will be updated as promised and I will become a member by the end of the day.
Today's post deals with the editing of a novel. I'm not talking about the normal editing that a writer goes through in the process of creating the story. I'm talking about the final editing pass that all writers should have done - copy editing. This is usually performed by a separate individual after the writer declares his or her work to be finished. In my case, this is done by my wife. She will typically find grammatical mistakes such as words that sound the same but are spelled differently, tense errors, repeating a word too many times too close together, use of words such as 'that', 'which', etc, and comma usage. It is this last one that we tend to have the most discussion about.
I find this interesting because I've been reading Twitter posts from Linda Nagata (an acquaintance of mine and an award-winning author) about the number of comma-usage changes her copy editor has suggested. Apparently, there are a large number of them. What's even more interesting is that the particular book that she is talking about has already been copy edited and published. This tells me that even copy editors cannot agree on how to use the lowly comma.
There are, of course, times when the use of a comma is mandated and those rules should not be broken. But there are other uses that have sparked widespread debate. One in particular is the use of the Oxford comma. This is the placement of a comma before the final "and" or "or" in a sentence with a list. (i.e. Do you want an apple, a pear, or an orange?) My wife will edit out the comma before the "or". I prefer to leave it in place. This final comma is called the Oxford comma and entire institutions are divided in whether or not it should exist.
If you take a step back and think about this for a moment, it brings up another point. Writing is, and always will be, a very subjective art. Sometimes, it's okay to break the rules. A single-word sentence, even though it is not technically a sentence, can add to the tension to a scene. I highly recommend that every writer have their work looked at by a good copy editor. You don't have to always agree on what they suggest--you are, after all, the creator of the story--but you should at least listen to what the editor has suggested and give the changes serious consideration.
I am making slow progress on Dragonverse Origins. I handed out my first chapter to my writer's group for feedback. As usual, everyone had something different to say. But, every time I go to a meeting, I learn something. This last meeting's lesson told me I need to pay more attention to active vs passive writing. The distinction is often subtle, but writing in the active voice can make a big impact on the reader's view of the story. I will be looking to learn more about this subject in the future.
February 22, 2015
Time
Dragonverse Originsnow has a bit over 9,000 words in the story. I have not been writing as much as I would prefer and that’s reflected in the current word count. I’m going to take a good look at finding a way to get at least a little bit more writing done each week. There have been several things that have gotten in the way that I have no control over.
I typically write in the morning. My mind is usually uncluttered with leftover code from my day-job and I write my best stuff during this time. This also means that I normally write only on weekends. Back when I was working a 10-hour shift, this translated into 3 days a week of writing. My new job is an 8 hour a day, 5 day a week gig which cuts the writing down to 2 days a week. Over a long period of time, that’s a lot of writing. I also maintain a computer program that runs automatically every day. If it fails to run, I must drive into work to fix it. Usually, the fix is simple like logging in again because IT rebooted my computer for me or the antivirus update caused Outlook to question if my program had the authority to send emails. But each time this happens I lose at least 1.5 hours.
I work at a nuclear power plant and we periodically shut the unit down for refueling. This takes place every 2 years at my plant and this refueling outage begins on March 9th. I will most likely be working some strange hours (still undefined) so this may impact or help me find time for writing. If my work schedule allows, there’s a chance I could be getting some writing done while at work. I could go in early, come home later, or extend my lunch and work longer. I’m salaried and that means I have a little flexibility in the hours I work.
Having these big gaps between my writing has had a small positive effect though. When I’m not actively putting words into the computer, I’m thinking about what I have already written and what I’m about to write. Sometimes, after a few days, I come up with things I need to go back and change. If I was writing every day, this may not happen. Most writing experts say a writer should write every day. The reason behind this is to keep yourself focused on the story and it helps complete the story in a reasonable amount of time. I typically write one book a year. If I wrote every day, I think I could easily put out 2 or 3 books a year. But, I have a day job and I’m married, so certain things must come before writing.
For another view of finding time to write I will point you to an article by a friend of mine who is a prolific writer. Take a look at this article from Jamie Todd Rubin.
I have embarked on a quest to read at least one book written by each of the authors I’ve met at Launch Pad. I will read them if I have a signed copy in my possession. I recently finished Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett. This book is written in a very different style and it took some getting used to. In the end though, I really enjoyed the book. You can read my GoodReads review here. I am currently reading Fair Coin by E. C. Myers.
I typically write in the morning. My mind is usually uncluttered with leftover code from my day-job and I write my best stuff during this time. This also means that I normally write only on weekends. Back when I was working a 10-hour shift, this translated into 3 days a week of writing. My new job is an 8 hour a day, 5 day a week gig which cuts the writing down to 2 days a week. Over a long period of time, that’s a lot of writing. I also maintain a computer program that runs automatically every day. If it fails to run, I must drive into work to fix it. Usually, the fix is simple like logging in again because IT rebooted my computer for me or the antivirus update caused Outlook to question if my program had the authority to send emails. But each time this happens I lose at least 1.5 hours.
I work at a nuclear power plant and we periodically shut the unit down for refueling. This takes place every 2 years at my plant and this refueling outage begins on March 9th. I will most likely be working some strange hours (still undefined) so this may impact or help me find time for writing. If my work schedule allows, there’s a chance I could be getting some writing done while at work. I could go in early, come home later, or extend my lunch and work longer. I’m salaried and that means I have a little flexibility in the hours I work.
Having these big gaps between my writing has had a small positive effect though. When I’m not actively putting words into the computer, I’m thinking about what I have already written and what I’m about to write. Sometimes, after a few days, I come up with things I need to go back and change. If I was writing every day, this may not happen. Most writing experts say a writer should write every day. The reason behind this is to keep yourself focused on the story and it helps complete the story in a reasonable amount of time. I typically write one book a year. If I wrote every day, I think I could easily put out 2 or 3 books a year. But, I have a day job and I’m married, so certain things must come before writing.
For another view of finding time to write I will point you to an article by a friend of mine who is a prolific writer. Take a look at this article from Jamie Todd Rubin.
I have embarked on a quest to read at least one book written by each of the authors I’ve met at Launch Pad. I will read them if I have a signed copy in my possession. I recently finished Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett. This book is written in a very different style and it took some getting used to. In the end though, I really enjoyed the book. You can read my GoodReads review here. I am currently reading Fair Coin by E. C. Myers.
February 15, 2015
Sluggish start
Dragonverse Origins is off to a sluggish start (from a word-count perspective anyway). But progress is slowly being made. I'm having to stop and do research on what life was like in the Medieval period. Since Origins is fantasy/scifi, I don't have to be 100% accurate, but I do want to be as close as I reasonably can. To me, getting something wrong about the period I'm writing in is a problem that can, and should, be avoided. It's the same with modern and futuristic prose. If I'm writing a science fiction novel set in the far future, I'm forced to think about what life will be like in 50, 100, or even 200 years. That's not an easy task by any means.
Consider what has happened in the span of my own life. I was born in 1958. I can remember the simple dial telephone. Computers have gone from huge machines filling entire rooms to something small enough to put in your pocket. I watched the first man step foot on the moon. I saw the advent of the internet. I can easily remember saying, "I'll never need to learn about this internet thing". Wrong. My very first computer was a TRS-80 (trash 80 for those who remember). My dad gave me a Leading Edge model D a few years later. My first "real" computer was built at a local computer store. I had the technician install a whopping 130 Meg hard disk in it. He asked what I was going to do with such a huge drive. Today, our phones listen to us and talk back. They recognize our faces. If current predictions hold true, computers will be self aware in 25 years. Technology is moving so fast it's is virtually impossible to keep up with it. I love it, and I'm a bit concerned at the same time.
The science part is fairly easy to get right. The known laws of nature should not change in the foreseeable future. If you accelerate at a certain rate for a given time, you will find yourself traveling at a known speed. Mass moving at any speed carries kinetic energy. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. The amount of energy you can possibly get from a given mass is not boundless--it's limited by the famous E=MC^2 equation. But science fiction authors are forced to stretch the limits of known science. We build stardrives; weapons of inconceivable power; create alien races; and talk about these things as if they not only already exist, but are common-place. Fantasy writers live in a slightly altered universe where magic may be possible, bizarre creatures exist, and the laws of nature are not quite exactly how we know them now.
Being a writer is fun because we get to live is these universes and we get to share our vision of such places with those who read our books. My wife made a good point the other day. She said that although it is important to get the grammar right, it's not necessary to always get it perfect. As long as the minor grammatical errors don't detract from the story, the reader will generally forgive the author and publisher. Throw in too many such mistakes though and the reader becomes distracted and the story fragmented. It's not possible to publish a grammatically perfect book. Especially in this day and age when a book can be read by anyone from anywhere on the planet. American English is not the same as British English. Writers do the best they can--and that's all that can be asked of them.
Time to get back to writing.
Consider what has happened in the span of my own life. I was born in 1958. I can remember the simple dial telephone. Computers have gone from huge machines filling entire rooms to something small enough to put in your pocket. I watched the first man step foot on the moon. I saw the advent of the internet. I can easily remember saying, "I'll never need to learn about this internet thing". Wrong. My very first computer was a TRS-80 (trash 80 for those who remember). My dad gave me a Leading Edge model D a few years later. My first "real" computer was built at a local computer store. I had the technician install a whopping 130 Meg hard disk in it. He asked what I was going to do with such a huge drive. Today, our phones listen to us and talk back. They recognize our faces. If current predictions hold true, computers will be self aware in 25 years. Technology is moving so fast it's is virtually impossible to keep up with it. I love it, and I'm a bit concerned at the same time.
The science part is fairly easy to get right. The known laws of nature should not change in the foreseeable future. If you accelerate at a certain rate for a given time, you will find yourself traveling at a known speed. Mass moving at any speed carries kinetic energy. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. The amount of energy you can possibly get from a given mass is not boundless--it's limited by the famous E=MC^2 equation. But science fiction authors are forced to stretch the limits of known science. We build stardrives; weapons of inconceivable power; create alien races; and talk about these things as if they not only already exist, but are common-place. Fantasy writers live in a slightly altered universe where magic may be possible, bizarre creatures exist, and the laws of nature are not quite exactly how we know them now.
Being a writer is fun because we get to live is these universes and we get to share our vision of such places with those who read our books. My wife made a good point the other day. She said that although it is important to get the grammar right, it's not necessary to always get it perfect. As long as the minor grammatical errors don't detract from the story, the reader will generally forgive the author and publisher. Throw in too many such mistakes though and the reader becomes distracted and the story fragmented. It's not possible to publish a grammatically perfect book. Especially in this day and age when a book can be read by anyone from anywhere on the planet. American English is not the same as British English. Writers do the best they can--and that's all that can be asked of them.
Time to get back to writing.
