Marc Johnson's Blog, page 11

What’s in a Name?

Now, if there’s one common complaint/critique of my series, The Passage of Hellsfire, is that some people don’t like Hellsfire’s name. I don’t quite know why, but they just don’t like it. My thirteen year-old self who came up with the name, would be very sad. There are reasons as to why I named him Hellsfire aside from thinking it’s a cool name at that time.

I had read a few fantasy books before and from what I read, the wizard to be usually had a simple name but eventually were given/earned a name. As cliched as Catalyst is, I didn’t want to go this route and do something different. In fact, I wanted to reverse it. I wanted the wizard name to be given first because that’s who and what he is. It’s really as simple as that.

Now, I did come up with perfectly good story reasons as for Hellsfire’s name that I’ve revealed bit by bit in the two books I’ve released so far, and more detailed explanations will be given as the series progresses. Without giving too much away, his name basically has to deal with his powers and his destiny.

Whatever your original reasons for choosing a name for a main protagonist, I believe you should like it. Whether you’re going for something subtle or overt, as a metaphor or to stand for something, it’s a name that you’re going to have to live with way more than your readers.

So what’s in a name? A lot.

Marc Johnson

The Next Big Thing

I was tagged in The Next Big Thing interview series by my wonderful editor, Lauren Sweet. Aside from being my editor, she’s also the author of Aladdin’s Samovar.

Over the past year, I’ve been trying to land a job, working on my second and third books, writing a short story or two, and finding someone to settle down with because I’m getting old. While I now have a job, it has sadly taken me away from writing. I miss my one-year sabbatical. I hope to get my third book out by year’s end, but that probably won’t happen. So let’s talk about the second book!

WHAT IS THE TITLE OF THE BOOK?

It’s called What Once Was One. It will be the longest title in the series. I couldn’t think of anything else smaller because all my titles apply to two things in the book, and I like the way this sounds.

WHERE DID THE IDEA COME FROM FOR THE BOOK?

It’s a sequel from my young adult, fantasy series, The Passage of Hellsire. That idea originally came from a dream. I dreamt of fire that night and that morphed into a short story with dragons, wizards, and princesses. Somehow that became a planned six book series. While I remember 90% of my dreams, I’m still not sure what they mean, if anything.

I thought about writing a sequel to Catalyst one day, and What One Was One was the result.

WHAT GENRE DOES YOUR BOOK FALL UNDER?

Sword and sorcery and high fantasy. I also classify it as young adult, but I’m not sure if that’s a genre per se.

WHAT ACTORS WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO PLAY THE PART OF YOUR CHARACTERS IN A MOVIE RENDITION?

This is a tough one. I always thought Anne Hathaway would make an excellent Krystal Cambridge. She’s tall, beautiful, and can act. The problem is she’s my age, which is too old. And while there are young actresses, they’re not that tall or are too scrawny.

Who would play Hellsfire is a tricky one. Maybe Andrew Garfield? He’s young and mixed, although he’d have to gain some muscle mass and his hair borderlines on Super Saiyan. It’s a shame that there aren’t any unknown actors anymore that appear from nowhere with breakout hits.

WHAT IS THE ONE SENTENCE SYNOPSIS OF YOUR BOOK?

Hellsfire must choose: will he sacrifice that which he holds dear to protect the land and fulfill his destiny or will he choose love instead?

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE MANUSCRIPT?

Two or three months. I think I banged it out one summer after I got tired of constantly revising Catalyst. I still had no idea if I would actually write a series at that point. If the sequel sucked, I thought that might be it. My first draft of WOWO did, in fact, suck, but the idea and plots were sound enough for me to keep working on it.

WHO OR WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS BOOK?

Like I said, the first book came to me in a dream. But What Once Was One is much better than Catalyst. I’m not shackled by setting up the world or bringing the characters together. It’s already done. While CAT may have been predictable, WOWO is not. Even I’m interested in seeing where Hellsfire’s journey goes.

WHAT ELSE ABOUT YOUR BOOK MIGHT PIQUE THE READER’S INTEREST?

I’m a child of the 80s. As cynical, bitter, and selfish as I’ve and the world have become today, when it comes to my writing, the younger, more hopeful part of me is in it. If you want to read something that hearkens back to that decade where there was hope and the hero fought for the right things and didn’t give up, then you may like The Passage of Hellsfire.

That’s not to say that things won’t get dark and gritty. They just won’t start that way with a reluctant hero who doesn’t appear til halfway through the story. Sorry The Dark Knight Rises and Skyfall (not really, those movies sucked, but weren’t as bad as The Hobbit).

IS YOUR BOOK SELF-PUBLISHED OR REPRESENTED BY AN AGENCY?

Self-published.

My tagged writer for next Wednesday, February 20th is:

Karen Beilharz

Why I Decided to Release a Print Book

It has taken me almost two years, but I finally made the decision to release The Passage of Hellsfire in print. While I believe that one day print books will be rendered obsolete in the same way VHS or cassette tapes were, that day has not come yet.

Here are my reasons for why I finally caved in and published a print book (in no particular order):

For My Family

My family’s getting older and dying. Even though it would be advantageous for them to get a Kindle, it’s still hard for those in their 50, 60, 70+ to learn a new technology. Since they’re my family, they would like to support me by buying my book. Why not help them help me? It’d be nice if they could have a copy of my book before I die especially since they don’t see me that often.

A Discounted Price

When you see my book on Amazon, it’s going to show you the prices for both the print book and ebook. People will see the print price and (probably) buy the ebook. Not that it matters to me which version they buy, but in their minds, it’d be like it’s on sale.

Print Books Make Up a Huge Portion of the Market

I’m a bit unsure of the numbers, but from what I’ve heard and read, print sales make up anywhere from between 50-85% of the market. If I just have an ebook, that’s a huge portion of readers to ignore. I think more than video, movie, TV, or music, books will be the hardest for people to let go and make the change for the new technology. Until that change happens, I should pay attention to those people.

A Different Cover

As much as I love the cover of my first book, sometimes, people don’t get it. It might be too subtle for people. Those hands are actually Krystal’s hands and the flame represents Hellsfire.

Also, I don’t think people get the feeling that it’s a traditional, high-fantasy YA book. By slapping on a different cover, I’m able to draw in more people that would like high-fantasy. I was even able to put a dragon on the cover, but unlike the first cover of Wizard’s First Rule, the dragon in my book does play a part. (Side note, that dragon on WFR, did in fact, get me to buy the book. Go figure).

I’m going to release What Once Was One in print soon. Mostly likely in April. I have no idea if having a print book will increase sales (I can only hope), but it is nice to see my name on the bookshelf…even if it is my own.

Marc Johnson

Catalyst is Now Available in Print!

Catalyst (The Passage of Hellsfire, Book 1) is now available as a print book. It’s on Amazon with more to eventually follow.

Marc Johnson

Where’d All the Book Bloggers Go?

When I recently released What Once Was One, to promote the book, the major thing I did was contacting book bloggers. I’ve always believed that that’s the most cost-effective way to promote your book. It’s also more grass roots and you feel more of a connection with them and they may even end up being fans.

But as I started to contact those that had reviewed my book or that should have reviewed Catalyst but hadn’t yet, I noticed some of those bloggers were no longer there.

For whatever reason, those book bloggers stopped reviewing books. While some of it had to do with indie authors having multiple meltdowns and others had to do with school and life, I think there was another reason to it. It stopped being fun.

Like most things, you start out doing something because you have fun doing it. I think a lot of book bloggers had fun reading books at their own pace and with no expectations. They set up a website and signed up for sites like Goodreads or on forums then started to share their thoughts. Because they were going to read anyway, they decided to accept reviews. Free books! Why not, right? That’s probably when it all started to turn.

People tend to start things because it’s interesting to them. It can be book blogging, video games, sports betting, stamp collecting, whatever. You do it because you enjoy it but then you start to get requests, you have to wake up early and travel for tournaments, keep up with expansions or equipment, spend your kid’s tuition on tickets, and/or write reviews out a lot faster then you normally would.

However, the biggest problem is that instead of reviewing books that look interesting to you and doing it at your own pace, it starts to become a chore and feels like homework. It takes you a little longer to review books, respond to reviews, or update your blog. One day, you either stop doing it or just fade out.

It’s a little sad when it happens, but I understand completely. Sometimes, people will come back re-energized and more focused, remembering why they did it in the first place. They’ll be more strict in their guidelines or not accept requests. We all love books and stories and the places they can take us, and I think it’s important to remember that when making the decision to become a book blogger.

Marc Johnson

Your First Book

A writer’s first book is a very precious thing. You’re excited, nervous, fearful, and you have no idea how it’s going to perform or if people will even care. I see a lot of writers then go into marketing their first book with full force often ignoring to continue writing or being down on themselves when their first book doesn’t do that well. I think that’s a mistake as there’s too much luck involved for your first and only book to be successful.

A lot of writers seem to think that they must push their first book and that it must be successful. A lot of people say, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” but they’re constantly trying to sprint by always marketing their first book. The odds of making a huge splash your first time out are very slim.

I’ve cut back on the advertising and marketing for my second book, What Once Was One. I don’t believe all the things I did for Catalyst were very cost effective, not that I expected to make the money back and sell Y amount of books in a day covering X costs. That’s just not how advertising works. But I have noticed a trend since I released a sequel.

Now that I’m not really pushing CAT, it’s become like passive income. And passive income is how the rich get rich. Since I released a second book in The Passage of Hellsfire series, sales of my first book have started coming in again and I’ve done much to promote CAT.

I think it’s because people see the beautiful cover of WOWO and go back and look at the first book on Amazon. At least for Smashwords, I know people wait to buy them both at once. When it comes to fantasy, I have heard that some people won’t pick up a book until the series is over, which I don’t blame them. I’m more curious as to what will happen when I publish my third book. Will the series start to take off by then?

While there is a lot more competition in the book market because of the whole indie publishing movement, you shouldn’t worry about things you can’t control. As long as you write what you want and make sure it’s as good as it can be, you’ll be all right.

Marc Johnson

Flashbacks

Most TV shows and movies today are terrible. One of the main reasons they are is that they don’t allow the natural buildup of any characters or story arcs. A lot of classic shows had a rough season or two, but became great shows. And even those were tittering on the verge of cancellation back then. These days, the main symptom of lazy and bad writing is flashbacks. Flashbacks are more prevalent today than they were at any point in Hollywood. I don’t exactly know why they do this. All I know is that they’re terrible.

Flashbacks used to be good. For example, one of my favorite shows, Supernatural, used to occasionally use flashbacks. When used well, flashbacks give you more information about a character you love or shine more light on a plot. Supernatural used it to great effect to give info on the Yellow-Eyed Demon and what his plan was. When it’s done that like, you find those bits engrossing. However, flashbacks these days are used more like they’re used in Supernatural S8.

In this current and hopefully last season, Sam has a girlfriend while Dean’s in purgatory. You never care about Sam’s girlfriend because you never get to know her. Instead of introducing her and having her be on episodes in the present time, there are flashbacks with those pair in them. You never care about them and wish they wouldn’t even show them. Revolution also does the same thing. Instead of showing how Miles and Monroe formed the militia, the chaos that happened when the power went out, why those buddies now hate each other, we only get tiny flashbacks of that information. That information is vital as it builds characterization, defines motives and goals, and makes us care about them as we see them at their lowest.

Flashbacks never progress the story. In fact, they halt it. Most shows these days are based on having some kind of ongoing plot or mystery, but the flashbacks don’t go into that. They show you things that should be done in the present. The characterization they show you in a flashback means absolutely nothing. Since it’s a flashback, you’re never worried about the character’s safety. There’s very little tension as you already know what’s going to happen. It has nothing to do with what’s going on recently because it already happened. Instead of seeing a character’s journey of how they got from point A to B, you see a memory.

I wish Hollywood would stop with the flashbacks until later when you knew and cared about the characters. Instead of letting them evolve naturally, they rush everything and pigeonhole them. It’s a shame really. Because while a few of those shows are good, they’ll never be great. Marc Johnson

One Year Sabbatical

Last year, I got laid off. For almost the past year, I got a huge taste of what it’d be like to be a full time writer.

Surprisingly, it was oddly boring. When you don’t spend 9-10 hours of your day getting ready for work, commuting for work, and actually working, you’ll have a lot more time in the day. But no one ever spends 8 hours a day writing, responding to emails, editing, jotting down ideas, reading, and so on. I would say a good day would be no more than 4-5 hours a day max.

Yet as boring as it was, it was a great experience.

There was a lot of time to kill, and I couldn’t go hang out with my friends because they were at work. I’m not a teenager anymore so playing a video game for more than two hours is hard.

To get out of the house, I started to take daily walks and go hiking, both to get some exercise and think about my story and other ideas. Those were the highlights of my day and I loved them. I got a lot of thinking done and I believe it helped my writing. While What Once Was One was being edited, I also worked on a couple of short stories. Hopefully, one will be released soon. I got into my new hobby, board gaming, and went to the local store and to Meetup.com to play with people. I traveled more and visited family and also went to Vegas, baby!

I felt like I lived a more fulfilling, more peaceful, more relaxed life in my year off. But it wasn’t all good.

As my savings dwindled, I felt the noose around my neck tighten. I also had to pay for the last bit of editing to get done, and wondered whether to do any advertising. There were times when I wondered if writing was worth it. I knew I had enough money to release What Once Was One, but would anyone care? Would the sequel make a big enough splash since I couldn’t afford any advertising dollars? Would I have to move home if I couldn’t find a job soon enough? And through all that, a small part of me hoped that I would be a bestselling author when it dropped.

For all the ups and downs, I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. It was a great experience and a taste of what one day I hope to achieve. Of course, I also envision it without the help of unemployment and with me living in my dream home. Will I ever reach that point? I don’t know. But I do feel that with each word typed, every book sold, and every interview done, that I’m one step closer to it.

Marc Johnson

Writing Young Adult Books from a Guy’s Perspective

Young Adult (YA) is hot right now. You have things like The Hunger Games and Divergent tearing up the charts. While I enjoy reading YA, they have a lot of things in common. I’m not talking about how they all star teenagers as the main protagonists, how they deal with adult themes, or even how most of them are written in first person. I’m talking about how the majority of them have female protagonists as a lead.

I have no problem with females as the main character, but I do wonder why that is? There has been very few YA books with males in that role. I want to say it’s because there’s more of an emotional connection with girls than with boys. Having a love triangle amplifies that. Is it the way that female characters are written or is it because girls and guys are different? Probably all of the above.

I haven’t read every YA book, but I can only think of one recent series that features a guy as the main character–Patrick Ness’s excellent Chaos Walking Trilogy. I know there’s got to be others, but my mind is drawing a blank.

Since YA is still a relatively new term, a lot of fantasy and sci-fiction could now be and have been classified under it. Classics like The Hobbit, Alice in Wonderland, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe will now be found under that section. If books become popular enough and turn into classics, they may start to re-brand books as YA even if they originally weren’t.

I could mention the most famous title that kickstarted the contemporary YA genre–Harry Potter. While it may have popularized the category, it’s not really like most of the YA today. I think the reason for this is that you never feel connected with Harry Potter. At least, I haven’t reading the first book or watching all eight movies. It’s not because it’s written in third person instead of first, but more to do with the fact that the narrator has more of a voice and emotions than Harry ever does. Is it because Harry Potter stars a male even though it’s written by a female?

There is one fantasy series I can think of that could probably be considered YA–Robin Hobb’s The Farseer Trilogy. I believe Hobb succeeded where Rowling failed as people connected with Fitz a lot more than they ever did Harry. However, I didn’t like the series myself. My main reason was that Fitz was a bit too emotional. He was supposed to be an assassin, but felt like more of a wimp or crybaby.

I guess it’s a very delicate balancing act between the two. Have too many emotions and you will be seen as weak. Have to little and you will be seen as a robot or emotionally unavailable. That is in essence, what it’s like to be a guy.

Is it because males are inherently different than women, and we are, is it because readers have a harder time connecting with a male protagonist, or is it because New York won’t buy books with male stars?

What do you think the question is? And please let me know what YA series I’m missing that star a male protagonist, I’d love to read it.

Marc Johnson

How DC’s New 52 Is Successful

A little over a year ago, DC reset their universe and compiled it into 52 new books. In the most important way, it was a huge success as they increased their market share over long time rival, Marvel Comics. A year later things seem to be trending downhill with a lot of long time readers disenchanted with it and talking about how it failed or is failing. You can Google those posts if you want. I’m here to talk about how it’s successful, and not in the way you might think.

I believe DC’s New 52 is successful for one important reason–they tried new things. I grew up a Marvel zombie, but read more DC than Marvel now.

Here were the launch titles:

Action Comics

All-Star Western

Animal Man

Aquaman

Batgirl

Batman

Batman and Robin

Batman: The Dark Knight

Batwing

Batwoman

Birds of Prey

Blackhawks

Blue Beetle

Captain Atom

Catwoman

DC Universe Presents

Deathstroke

Demon Knights

Detective Comics

The Flash

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E.

The Fury of Firestorm

Green Arrow

Green Lantern

Green Lantern Corps

Green Lantern: New Guardians

Grifter

Hawk and Dove

I, Vampire

Justice League

Justice League Dark

Justice League International

Legion Lost

Legion of Super-Heroes

Men of War

Mister Terrific

Nightwing

O.M.A.C.

Red Hood and the Outlaws

Red Lanterns

Resurrection Man

The Savage Hawkman

Static Shock

Stormwatch

Suicide Squad

Superboy

Supergirl

Superman

Swamp Thing

Teen Titans

Voodoo

Wonder Woman

Now that’s a lot of titles–52 to be exact. The ones I bolded were ones of note. With the exception of a handful of them that might fall under DC’s Vertigo imprint, they might never have gotten made. Not only that, but they might not have had as big a push as they did with as wide an audience. A lot of places were offering discounts if you bought all 52 titles, and number ones sell.

Yes, a lot of titles were canceled. Yet the majority of them lasted a year, which is actually pretty good in today’s comics. They were given a decent enough run and push and a few of them had pretty good creative teams.

In some cases, DC didn’t help by making bad editorial decisions, weird artist and writer pairings, and the like, but the fact remains that they still gave these books a shot. A few of them such as Animal Man, Swamp Thing, and Demon Knights probably could have been published under DC’s Vertigo imprint, but I doubt they would have sold as well.

I’m a Marvel Zombie, but enjoy the handful of DC titles I regularly read. Their rebooting got me to try a lot more titles than I normally would have and I’ve stuck with a few. I am sad that a couple of them like Voodoo got canceled, but for the most part, the ones I read are still around, and I don’t read the standard, popular superhero ones that would have been around new-52 or not.

If you’re an old DC fanboy, who’s read comic books forever, you won’t like what DC did. However, if you’re only a casual DC reader who likes the titles that aren’t Batman, Green Lantern, or Superman or don’t want to be bog down with continuity and crises then DC’s new-52, may be for you.

Marc Johnson