John R. Phythyon Jr.'s Blog, page 40

Planning for Success: Independent Writers Need a Business Plan

I was reading a blog the other day, and the author mentioned his business plan.

Business plan? You should have one of those for a writing career?

The answer, of course, is, yes, you should. If you're planning on writing for a living, you're planning on making a career of it. That means you've decided to go into business for yourself, and, as a business, you should have a business plan.

I'm not very good at this sort of thing, which is ironic, since I've spent a lot of time in my professional career in planning and development. But I majored in English, not Business, so I never got taught how to write one of these critical documents. Everything I know, I learned on the job.

Moreover, it seems a little weird to try to concoct one for a creative-writing business. After all, my product is fiction. But the fact is I'm intending to sell it and make a living at it, so I'd better know how I'm going to accomplish that.

Goals

The first thing I did was set some goals for the business. I have three, two of which are practical, the other more philosophical.

Earn enough money writing to get out of debt in one year: I won't divulge how much money this needs to be, but, I would like to believe I can earn enough to make this happen. All of my other personal financial goals require me to recover from the financial mistakes I've made in the past few years. Thus, I want my writing career to lay a foundation of success for my future.
Create a sustainable career as a writer: Once I'm out of debt, I'd like for the royalties to start paying the bills. You hear about people like Amanda Hocking or Joe Konrath making hundreds of thousands of dollars from e-publishing. I'd love to be in that club too, but I'll settle for something more reasonable. If I can earn enough that this is what I do for a living, that would make me happy.
Establish my name as a reliable brand for high-quality literature: Ultimatey, I want to be read (just like any writer). That means I have to write books people enjoy reading and will tell their friends about. I want people to see "John R. Phythyon, Jr." at Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, and elsewhere and know there is a good book attached to that download. It will be well written, entertaining, and satisfying.

The Plan

So, with those goals in mind, I need a plan to get there. It seems to me there are two things I need to do to make the first two goals a reality. (The third can only be accomplished by writing good stories and making sure they are carefully edited before publishing.) The two-part plan is simple: publish and hustle.

Publish: The nice thing about being middle-aged as a new author is I've got quite a bit of "backlist." It's not really backlist, since most of it hasn't been published, but I've got a number of short stories I've never done anything with, and e-publishing has made short stories a viable product. Thus, while I'm writing the sequel to State of Grace, I can get those short stories edited and published. The more products I have available for sale, the more possibilities there are for someone to find my brand and buy it. In particular, if someone likes State of Grace, they may want to read more by me. I can get the short stories up quickly, so readers have some options until the next novel is ready. If I hit my plan, I'll publish two short stories and the next Wolf Dasher novel between now and March.
Hustle: Once I get State of Grace out there, I can't just sit back on my laurels and wait for it to sell. I've got to get out there and hustle it. I need to request reviews, put up new material on the series on my website, offer some free samples, and then tell the world about them on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. The only person invested in my success as an author is me, so I've got to call on those sales and marketing skills I learned in my professional career to sell me.

If I execute this plan the way I hope to, I'll have three novels, three short stories, and a play available for sale; I'll be out of debt; and I'll be writing for myself full-time all by Thanksgiving next year. It's an ambitious plan, but I'm an ambitious guy.

So, what's your business plan? Do you have one? If not, how do you plan to accomplish your goals?

If you want to write for a living, if you want self-publishing to be your primary or even sole source of income, you need a business plan. Sit down today, define your goals, and then come up with a plan to get there.

You owe it to your dreams to give them the best shot at coming true.

Creativity is a Habit

The thought that scares every writer more than anything else is running out of ideas. What if I just dry up? What if my creativity well runs out of water?

In the last couple weeks, I've had the opposite issue. Ideas keep jumping me like jaguars waiting in trees for prey to walk underneath.

My first novel, penned back in 2004, is in serious need of a rewrite not only to fix the amateurish writing, but also to make it more marketable. I wrote it as an adult novel, but the story would probably do better as a YA book. To make that fix, though, I'd have to make some changes to eliminate some of the more mature themes. I haven't been able to figure out how to do that.

Until a few days ago, when the solution suddenly popped into my head with no warning. I wasn't even thinking about the book when the solution arrived.

This morning, I got a great idea to expand Wolf Dasher's world in the coming books in the series, adding places that would allow me to tell future stories I'd wanted to but not been sure how.

The play I've been stuck on started rattling around my head on my drive home the other night. Voila! The means to overcome technical issues that had stopped me suddenly presented themselves.

I even have ideas for blogs assaulting me like thugs in a darkened alley waiting for me to come their way.

Of course, I'm still stuck on the plot for the Wolf Dasher short story I'm planning to give away free as a promo item to help sell State of Grace. It would be nice if the things I'm working on right now could participate in the same type of spontaneous idea creation. Funny how things work that way.

What I've discovered, though, is creativity is a habit. The more you work at it, the more the ideas just come.

I've been working pretty hard on State of Grace. Most of my work has been on the technical issues of getting it published, but I've gone through a lengthy editing process that has me thinking about the plot, the world, the characters, and everything else that goes into developing a solid, entertaining read. And, as my brain has gotten into the habit of developing and refining creative ideas for one book, it has started working on other ideas, if only subconsciously. When it gets something good, it lets me know.

If you want to build a career as a creative writer, you have to spend time being creative. Train your brain to think about possibilities, to consider characters, to think about plots. When you are doing that every day, the magic happens. Ideas spawn in the back of your mind and demand to come out.

Right now, I'm focused on getting everything done to launch State of Grace next week. But everytime I get an idea that isn't part of that project, I write it down in my notebook, so I can come back to it later. I do my best to keep my creative well full and replenished.

Creativity is a habit, and, for a writer, it's a good one to get into.

Sample!

It's taken a long time. I know editing is a critical part of the publishing process, but it can be frustrating sometimes with how long it takes.

But the rewards are a better book, and I've got enough done that I can now offer a sample of the first three chapters of State of Grace. Click on the cover image below to download a .pdf copy. 

Inside, you'll meet two of the novel's villains and the hero, experience a deadly chase through a dying forest and a sword duel, and get the setup for the principal plotlines. There's a lot of action and story in these first three chapters, and it's only 16 pages!

So give it a read and let me know what you think!

Voicing Issues: Why You Should Read your Writing Aloud before Publishing

When I hired my editor for State of Grace, she told me the last part of the process would be us reading the book aloud together. I was skeptical. It seemed silly to me, but I figured I was hiring someone for her expertise, and I should therefore listen.

So Sunday night we both opened up our computers, each with the most recent draft of the manuscript, got some coffee, and took turns reading chapters.

What happened was amazing. We both heard things we didn't see.

"You're missing a comma there."

"That's the third time you used the word, 'elves,' in two sentences."

"Wouldn't Wolf know that already?"

"What does this mean?"

In theory, all these questions and observations come up when you are reading the manuscript silently and making notes with a pen. But, somehow, hearing them (and following along silently while listening) brings them into sharper focus.

Monday night, I was reading dialogue, and, actor that I am, I inserted an "ah," that wasn't there on the page. "Why did you do that?" came the question immediately. When I replied that I was just performing, I was asked, "Well, should that 'ah' be in there?" After thinking about it, I decided it should. It sounded more like how the character talked.

We've added a few things to make sure there aren't minor plot holes and taken away things that don't add enough to be there. We've also found awkward phrases that we've rewritten or cut.

And we talk about it. We talk about what I'm trying to accomplish with a particular turn of phrase or characterization or plot device. We examine them carefully to see if they work or not.

It's not that I don't do all this myself when I'm reading my work and evaluating what I need to change or strengthen. But working with someone else and hearing it read aloud has a way of calling attention to things that slow the book down, that rupture suspension of disbelief, that intrude on verisimillitude.

I've written on this blog before that you need an editor, but I am convinced now you also need to be able to read your work aloud with someone who can help you criticize it. If your editor is local like mine is, it's easy to set this up. If not, do it over the phone or grab some beta readers you trust. Have them read it with you when you've got the piece in what you think is publishable shape. You'll learn things you didn't know about your writing, and it'll be stronger as a result.

Home Stretch

For the past month or so, I've been working diligently at e-publishing my novel, State of Grace. The goal has been to have it up and available for sale by Thanksgiving. I'm scheduled to drive to the family Thanksgiving celebration in Wisconsin on Wednesday, which means I need to be finished with everything Tuesday, November 22 to make my deadline. That's a week from today.

And there's so much to do yet.

The book itself is going through its last editorial stage. My editor and I are reading it aloud, which is an incredibly helpful editorial tool. More on that tomorrow.

But there is still all this platform-building stuff I need to do. I've signed up for Goodreads and have an author account. I've started interacting with readers there and intend to use it to solicit reviews. I also found a link to numerous book blogs today and started following their principals on Twitter.

I've got to get my internet presence built up more too. Today, I'll be constructing my Facebook fan page and then working on the website, which I hope to relaunch by this weekend.

I've got the cover done and the marketing copy for State of Grace finished, but there is more to do on the interior. I still need to write my author's bio, front matter, and other things.

And, of course, then I've got to get the manuscript converted to ePub, KZW, and the other formats that allow me to actually publish it. And then it has to be uploaded to Smashwords, Amazon, B&N, and other places I can sell it.

And I've got a week to get all this accomplished. I can feel things coming together, but the deadline is looming. I'm coming down the home stretch.

Then, of course, the real work begins. Once it's out there, I've got to sell it. It's going to be a busy holiday season.

Second Crack at Promo Copy

After listening to criticism on my first shot at promo copy of State of Grace, I sat down and took another crack at it. The first attempt gave too much information on the villain but didn't really talk enough about the plot. So I focused a lot more on the challenges Wolf must overcome to successfully complete his mission. I tried to build tension and use more dynamic words to create reader excitment.

Once again, I've written two descriptions — a short one (159 words) and a longer one (365 words). Here's the short one:

Wolf Dasher's mission is simple: find out who murdered his friend and colleague in Urland's Shadow Service while she was on assignment in the elf nation of Alfar. But Wolf soon learns that, in the magical land of elves, nothing is easy. The once-lush country is now decaying, torn apart by a religious schism that spawned a civil war and daily acts of terrorism. A simple murder investigation leads Wolf into an intricate web of assassination, betrayal, and zealotry. He'll need all of his skill and Shadow magic to defeat a psychotic killer, a bloodthirsty general, and an arrogant ambassador with visions of grandeur. Failure means a devastating act of terrorism that will kill thousands of elves, topple Alfar's government, and change the balance of power in the world forever.

State of Grace is the first book in a series of fantasy-thriller mash-up novels that blends magic, super spies, and politics in an electrifying brew of action and adventure.

And the longer one:

When his friend and colleague in Urland's Shadow Service, Sara Wensley-James, is murdered in the elf nation of Alfar, Wolf Dasher's mission seems simple: track down her killer and bring him to justice. But nothing is going to be easy about this case.

Sara named Sagaius Silverleaf, Alfar's ambassador to Urland, as the culprit, but he couldn't have done it. He was in Urland at the time of the murder.

Sent to Alfar undercover as Urland's new ambassador, Wolf begins the most difficult and dangerous mission of his career. The once-lush and magical land of the elves is decaying. Its once-verdant countryside is putrefying before its citizens' eyes. Some blame the presence of human occupiers – Urlish military units present to keep order and support Alfar's shaky coalition government. Some blame losing the message of the great prophet, Frey, and turning away from God's plan. But many think it is simply the schism in elfin religion that spawned a civil war and daily acts of terrorism by fundamentalist martyrs.

Wolf must navigate this nightmarish environment to find Sara's killer. Could Silverleaf have been responsible? If so, why? His investigation leads him into an intricate web of assassination, betrayal, and zealotry. With the help of Aflar's Elite Guard captain, May Honeyflower, Wolf uncovers piece after piece of a sinister puzzle: a psychotic killer, a mad general bent on conquest, an ancient, evil artifact, and a terrorist organization planning a grand act of devastation. But how do they all fit together? What did Sara discover that got her killed?

As the Feast of the Revelation, the holiest day on the elfin calendar, approaches, Wolf and Honeyflower find themselves in a race against time to unravel a plot that could topple Alfar's government, plunge it into war, and change the balance of power in the world forever.

State of Grace is the first in a series of fantasy-thriller mashup novels, blending magic, super spies, and politics in an exciting brew of action and adventure. From the chilling opening scene to the pulse-pounding climax, State of Grace takes the best elements of an espionage thriller and a court intrigue and weaves them into a world both familiar and fantastic.

So what do you think? Do they make you want to read the book? Do they build excitement and create an emotional connection? What would you change?

Leave a comment and let me know!

First Crack at Promo Copy

As I get closer to publishing State of Grace, I find there are still so many things to do. I've been working on getting the book edited and building my platform. I've been trying to get my website rebuilt (a project that has proven more difficult than it seems it should be).

But there's a lot to do if I want this book to sell well. One of them is to come up with enticing promo copy — the words that will make potential readers want to know more, want to read the first couple chapters, want to buy.

There are two schools of thought on how to do this well. The first is that you should be able to write a description in 150 words. That's not a lot of space to create compelling copy, but the thinking is the average reader is only going to give you that much time to pitch them.

The second is to write a longer description. Amazon gives you up to 4000 words; take the opportunity to make the best sell you can.

I've decided to do both. A short description hopefully hooks the reader enough to want to read the longer one or, better, the sample chapters. So I'm presenting them both here for feedback. I'm a firm believer in soliciting opinions. Just because I like it doesn't mean it will work.

Here's the short description. It's 160 words (yeah, I cheated a bit):

When his friend and colleague is brutally murdered, Wolf Dasher is sent to the elf nation of Alfar to discover who did it and why. She left a single-word clue: "Silverleaf." But Sagaius Silverleaf is Alfar's ambassador to Wolf's homeland of Urland, and he was in Urland at the time of the crime. He couldn't be the killer.

Or could he? Wolf quickly discovers there is more to this elf than anyone suspects – a mysterious past, a loathing of Urland, and alliances with a mad general, a terrorist, and a psychopathic killer. Forced to navigate a culture he barely understands, Wolf finds himself in a race against time to prevent a devastating act of terror that will kill thousands of elves and change the balance of power in the world forever.

State of Grace is the first book in a series of fantasy-thriller mash-up novels that blends magic, super spies, and politics in an electrifying brew of action and adventure.

It's short, hits the high points of the plot, and describes the high stakes of Wolf's mission.

Here's the long description. This one's 439 words, so there is room for expansion if I want:

Sara Wensely-James is good at her job. One of Urland's best Shadows, she's been operating in the elf nation of Alfar, tracking down the sinister terrorist organization, the Sons of Frey.

So when she is brutally murdered, her superiors want to know by whom and why. They assign Wolf Dasher, another of their best Shadows, to track down Sara's killer and put a stop to whatever he's up to.

Sara left a one-word clue to the identity of her murderer: "Silverleaf." But Sagaius Silverleaf is Alfar's ambassador to Urland, and he was in Urland on diplomatic business when she was killed. It couldn't be him.

Or could he? Wolf meets him at a ritzy club in Urland and quickly discovers three things: the elf is arrogant, hates Urland, and cheats at cards to fleece them. When Wolf sharks him at cards, he makes a mortal enemy.

Silverleaf returns to Alfar shortly thereafter, and Wolf is sent after him. But there's a major complication: Wolf's cover is as the new ambassador to Alfar. He knows little about Elfin culture and even less about diplomacy, but, in addition to investigating Silverleaf, he'll have to try to sort out of one of the stickiest political situations in the world. Alfar's shaky coalition government wants Urland to withdraw its military forces, sent four years ago to help prevent a coup. But Urland has numerous trade agreements with Alfar it can't afford to lose, and the Sons of Frey commit daily acts of terrorism to try to destabilize the government, leaving it ripe for takeover by the anti-human, fundamentalist theocracy of neighboring Jifan.

Now Wolf must balance the needs of Her Majesty's Government against his mission. As the evidence against Silverleaf mounts – an alliance with a mad general, a psychopathic killer as a servant, and a potential link to the Sons of Frey – Wolf finds himself in a race against time to prevent a devastating act of terrorism that will kill thousands of elves and change the balance of power in the world forever. He'll get help from Silverleaf's estranged girlfriend and the captain of Alfar's Elite Guard, but he'll need all that and his mysterious Shadow powers to overcome a foe this dangerous, and it still might not be enough.

State of Grace is the first in a series of fantasy-thriller mashup novels, blending magic, super spies, and politics in an exciting brew of action and adventure. From the chilling opening scene to the pulse-pounding climax, State of Grace takes the best elements of a classic espionage thriller and a good court intrigue and projects them into a world both familiar and fantastic.

This one gives a little more of the plot away and gives the reader more background on the nature of the world Wolf must navigate.

But do either of them make you want to buy the book? Do you read them and think, "This sounds pretty cool"? Perhaps most importantly, do either (or both) of them generate an emotional response?

A book blurb needs to create a connection between the reader and the story. Otherwise, they move onto another book.

So let me know what you think. Leave a comment and tell me if you think they work, or if they need improvement. Let me know what you would change.

Because for State of Grace to satisfy readers, they have to want to read it first.

Hating the Steelers

Of course it's the Steelers.

The Cincinnati Bengals are 6-2 and have the best record in the AFC. If the season ended today, they'd have the top seed in the conference playoffs.

But they still aren't taken too seriously. "They haven't beaten anyone," comes the claim from their critics. NBC analyst Tony Dungy completely dismissed the Bengals Sunday night, despite them having the same record as the Baltimore Ravens, the team he was praising.

So now here come the Steelers.

Cincinnati starts a month-long run through its division Sunday. They host Pittsburgh, travel to Baltimore, host Cleveland, and then have to visit Pittsburgh. "Now," say the critics, "we'll find out if they're really any good."

And that's a fair claim. In any sport, how good you are is determined by what you do on the field. If you don't think you're getting enough respect, go out and prove you deserve it.

So, of course, it's the Steelers. Pittsburgh is the only division foe Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis doesn't have a winning record against. The Steelers are 8-1 at Paul Brown Stadium in the Marvin Lewis era. It was Pittsburgh who eliminated the Bengals from playoffs contention on the last play of 2006. It was Pittsburgh that blew out Carson Palmer's knee on the second play of their playoffs game in 2005. Both those games, like Sunday's will be, were in Cincinnati.

God, I hate the Steelers.

The Steelers come in and break dreams. They ruin your hopes, and then they laugh at you. After blowing out Palmer's knee in 2005, they crowed about how they were and always would be the superior team. Yeah. Even though they got to face Jon Kitna instead of Palmer. In 2009, Steelers WR Hines Ward was named the NFL's dirtiest player by his fellow players. Yet Pittsburgh and the media continue to trumpet him as a blue-collar hero. LBs James Harrison and Lamarr Woodley are repeatedly fined for illegal hits, but the media celebrates their tenacity.

Let me make one thing clear: I HATE the Steelers.

So this is it, Bengals. This is the big chance. Prove to me and to the world that you are for real. Leave hollow any argument that you haven't played anyone or that your record is somehow inflated. Demonstrate that there is a new order rising in the AFC North, and that Pittsburgh is yesterday's team.

Because I hate them, and I love you, and I want Sunday to be a happy, happy day.

Missouri Belongs in the SEC

So after weeks of frittering around and not announcing what everyone knew was going to happen, Missouri finally made it official today. They'll be departing the Big XII, which they've been a part of since it was the Big 6, for the Southeast Conference.

It's easy to understand what lured Missouri away from a rivalry with Kansas that dates back to the Civil War. The smell of money is powerful, and Mizzou thinks it can make more from the television contracts in the SEC than in the Big XII.

But understanding what tempted the Tigers is different from it making sense. MU will make more money, but how much of it will be reinvested in traveling? Prior to Colorado leaving for the PAC-12 this season, Boulder was the farthest trip from Columbia MO they had to make for games as part of their regular schedule. Now, they'll be traveling to Athens GA, Gainesville FL, Columbia SC, and other locations that are not the short bus trips to Lawrence, Manhattan, Ames, and Norman.

Arkansas left the Southwest Conference in 1991 for the SEC. They have yet to develop a rivalry of any stature close to the one they had with Texas. Maybe they and Mizzou can put one together. But can it equal the intensity and history of MU-KU? Of course not.

And then there's this little tidbit: since the Big XII was formed in 1996, Missouri has fewer conference chanmpionships across all sports than any other school in the league. Now they'll be joining the toughest conference in the nation. What's that going to do to their won-lost percentage? An expanded Big XII would have put MU back in the weaker North Division, which would have increased their opportunities for national rankings and a good bowl bid in football. In the SEC, they'll be lucky to be bowl-eligible from year to year.

But despite all this, it makes sense for Missouri to join the SEC on one critical front. Missouri was part of the Confederate States of America. Now they can rejoin their brother states from the Civil War. Perhaps now the South can rise again.

So congrats, Missouri. You're back in the South, where you belong. Good luck to you.

You're gonna need it.

Princess Leia's Influence on my Female Characters

When I first saw Star Wars at the age of nine, it captivated my imagination in many ways.  Here was an electrifying adventure story that spanned a galaxy and was populated with tons of interesting characters.

Not all characters are created equally, though. While I certainly understand as an adult the importance of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker as archetypal figures in the fantasy model George Lucas was emulating, neither of them appealed to my young mind. I was much more interested in intergalactic badass Darth Vader, the wizened Obi-Wan Kenobi, and feisty Princess Leia.

To be sure, a large part of my attraction to Leia is Carrie Fisher's beauty. I hadn't hit adolescence yet, but I understood the power of a pretty girl. And Carrie Fisher is more than pretty.

But if her beauty caused me to pay extra attention to her, it is Leia Organa's character that really got my attention. She's smart, she's witty, and she's very capable. She has the will to resist torture by the Empire, refusing to give up the location of the secret rebel base. She upbraids Han Solo with, "This is some rescue! When you came in here, didn't you have a plan for getting out?" It is she who finds a way out of the detention block; she who thinks to hide the Death Star plans in R2-D2, so they can't be recovered by the Empire; she who stole the plans in the first place!

Princess Leia is a strong, powerful, capable woman. She spits in the face of danger, stands up for what's right, and gets things done. She may have to be rescued, but as soon as she is sprung she takes charge.

When I was nine years old, I didn't understand all this. I just liked her. I was drawn to her. But Leia's character left an impression on me as a writer. Princess Leia proved beyond any shadow of doubt that female characters are not there solely for rescuing. They are as important and as capable as their male counterpoints.

When I started writing my own fantasy 30+ years later, I didn't forget that lesson. I could have chosen to make my female characters "the weaker sex," as they were viewed in the medieval cultures upon which fantasy literature is based. But my fantasy milieu — despite having magic and swords instead of computers and guns — is based on the modern world. Alfar and Jifan are reflective of the Middle East, and Urland's presence there is a fusion of British and American foreign policy.

But even if this wasn't the case, even if I was writing a more traditional fantasy, I still see no reason to condemn women to lesser roles in society and plot. This is a fantasy afterall. If we're making up worlds where magic and dragons exist and cultures are different (perhaps even idealized) from our own, why can't we have a world where women have the same opportunities for adventure, heroism, and villainy men have?

My lead character, Wolf Dasher, is a man. But his supervisor is a woman. The president of Alfar is a woman. The captain of Alfar's Elite Guard and Wolf's chief ally in the story is a woman. (In fact, she rescues him from certain doom at one point.)  The agent whose murder leads Wolf into the investigation (and who gives the vital first clue) is a woman. So is a minor character who also helps Wolf discover key information.

None of these women resembles Princess Leia (with the minor exception of Wolf's controller, Kenderbrick, who exhibits Leia's brash command style). But all of them are strong and capable. They have come by their individual positions by skill, and they are all talented. In their unique ways, they are each Wolf's equal.

I don't care for the old-style stories where a woman in danger cries out for a man to help. I'd much rather see her pick up a sword or a magic wand or some other weapon and fight along the man's side to vanquish the foe.

Afterall, that's what Princess Leia did.