Lily Neon Vagabond's Blog, page 17

Vagabond Shop Has Closed

I'm sad to report I've had to close Vagabond Shop. I operated the online shop through the print on demand company, CafePress. However, I've recently learned that Cafepress has now become what we call in the publishing industry, a vanity press. I've removed all links and associations with the company who attempted to convince me to fill out tax forms for the IRS in order to justify stealing 30% of royalties. I refuse to comply, and with a little help from friends, I was able to determine the truth behind CafePress' so-called new tax withholding rules. It's a scam, simple as that. As a freelance artist and Canadian citizen, under no cicumstances would I ever need to file with the IRS.

Please be aware, if any online print on demand or self-publishing company attempts to convince you to fork over a percentage of your royalties for American tax reasons if you are not an American citizen, it's a scam. I hope everyone will spread the word and help keep our fellow independent artists informed.

I will be adding some designs I had in my shop to the Art Gallery page and providing means to place an individual order using PayPal. I'm not sure exactly when I'll have this set up or if I could provide more products besides T-shirts only, but I'll work as fast as I can and keep everyone posted.

For the meantime, everything on my website is still intact. Please enjoy all writings and artwork available for your browsing pleasure.

Why I Don't Support Amazon

I will often talk shit about Amazon, but then, these days, who doesn't? However, I felt the need to explain in an article my reasons for not supporting Amazon.

I remember way back when Amazon was a joke. For those who were internet savvy back in the dark ages, Amazon was the last place you ever considered buying from online. Why? Amazon is not a retailer. It's a online warehouse shipping company. They sell whatever they have in their warehouse. Of course, with the introduction of ebooks, the line is severely blurred. It's digital material, it can't be stored in any kind of warehouse, so how can a warehouse shipping company sell digital material?
In my honest opinion, if Amazon hadn't invented Kindle, they probably would have gone out of business by now. The people behind Amazon are smart, I'll give them that much. They damn well know what they're doing. By inventing the Kindle they've bridged that gap between physical material and digital material. Good for them. And there's the problems.
First and foremost, Amazon does not care how they make money or why. Keep that in mind. Second, Amazon does not screen reviews. While it's not instant, it is automated. Even if fake reviewing accounts are flagged, it's not removed. If someone posts a rant that's completely unrelated to the product and flagged, it's not removed. If someone bashes an author of a book directly in a review, making it obvious bullying, it's not removed. If a rival posts lies as a review, it's not removed. The review policy states that a person doesn't have to experience a product in order to post a review. All anyone needs to do to leave a review is to buy one product. It could be earrings or a box of diapers, it doesn't make a difference. While many reviews are legit, this policy makes all reviews that doesn't say “verified purchase” fake by default.
There's been a lot talk about bullying on Amazon lately, though for any active internet user who's been around for a while, we know this has been going on since day one and removing anonymity won't make any difference. Amazon sees the hate. Amazon sees the sale number skyrocket. Amazon does not care, never has, and I doubt they ever will. It's making money from hate, and that's what their “no-censorship” policy is really about. It always comes down to money.

Last but not least, there are so many scams online it's hard to keep track. In online publishing, there's vanity presses. Upload your work, kiss your copyright goodbye, you'll never see a cent of royalty. At the same time, despite the fact these vanity presses are scams and blatantly selling copyrighted material without the copyright owner's permission, they're also connected with Amazon. It's called the “out of print” scam. Ebooks or books published with a self-publisher that's a vanity press in disguise, when an author realizes it's a scam and attempts to cancel, the book is then marked as “out of print” and sold on Amazon for however much money they want. Go to Amazon. Dig around. Find books that were published with an internet company. If it's a paperback that has a price of more that 20$ (American), I guarantee that book was stolen and Amazon is selling illegal copyrighted material. I have personally seen books published with American Star Books formerly Publishers America, a well-known vanity press (the name change doesn't matter, everyone still knows it's a scam), with a price on Amazon for up to 999$. In other words, selling illegal copyrighted material for almost a thousand dollars.

This makes Amazon the worse pirating website on the entire internet.
See my article about Internet Piracy for more information.
Therefore, I don't support Amazon. Thanks for reading.

Writing What You Know

I've been asked more than once, how can you write what you know when it's all fictional?

It's a fair question. I usually answer that I do vast amounts of research. Geography, weather patterns, local history, etymology of dialects. I've researched kitchen tables, the exact material used to make a bullet, hair color, facial features, psychological profiles, direct conversations with people exchanging information, the list goes on. So when I say I research everything, I do mean everything. It goes with what I often tell people. Careful what you tell an author, it just might show up in the nex book.
Sharing all the nitty-gritty preparation work I do for my writing doesn't seem to really answer the question, and seems to bore people more than anything else. No one really cares and the question is left unanswered. I suspect it's because the construction of the question is inaccurate and would be better phrased as, how to you use what you know in fiction writing?
The answer? A combination of imagination and common sense. I realize that may sound snobby to some, annoyingly vague to others, but it's a true statement.
Let's say I want to write about a sunset in Cuba. I've never been to Cuba. I have experienced a beautiful sunset countless of times in various places all over North America. With the aid of research tools such as libraries, wikipedia, Google images, travel blogs, etc, I compare the learned knowledge with my own experiences, and describe a sunset. A sunset is universal. A sunset in Cuba requires specifics. Imagination and common sense.
Although the settings for many stories I write tend to be locations that are foreign or exotic to me, only because I enjoy a creative challenge, I stretch my imagination and familiarize myself with the location until I can visualize myself there. After all, it's my own fictional universe.
I admit, this doesn't always work. There are times that whatever I'm attempting is simply too far outside the realm of my personal experiences, that I just can't stretch my imagination that far. But that never stops me from trying. When or if it works, it's completely worth the effort.

I'll be further honest. Talent is inherent, skill is learned. Writing what you know takes a combination of both. The question is not, do I have talent? Of course you do. We all have talent, in one form or another.
The question is, why aren't you usingthe talent you already have?

Internet Piracy

I admit it took me a little time to understand all the issues involved once the news broke about SOPA. I also avoided making any big statements for a while other than of course I don't support censoring the internet. I don't support any form of censorship. But I've seen too many things get way out of hand online. I've noticed self-appointed internet police without any authority claiming they are fighting to clean up the internet when in fact, they're just bullies who need to shut up more than anything else. Online retailers are posting warnings and strict rules about not selling to certain people of a certain age or residing in a certain country, claiming it's for “legal” reasons, when it's just censorship, plain and simple.

On the surface, internet piracy appears to be complicated issue with everyone arguing numerous sides. Allow me to demystify the issue for you.
First and foremost, sharing is not illegal. It's been going on since the dawn of time. A bunch of people sitting around a campfire and sharing ideas, there's certainly nothing illegal about that. It's called freedom of speech. If a group of friends share music with each other, it's not illegal. But when someone shares a torrent file online with millions of complete strangers, this is where the line blurs.
From a business perspective, companies work on a model that's been used for a very long time. This model is based on demographics, age, race, gender, location, everything, in order to determine a targeted audience and launch a campaign. It's an effective model that's almost flawless. Then the internet came along, and all of a sudden people can share, as is our legal right, material online anonymously, thus eliminating any data collection on demographics. It's the anonymous part that has everyone freaked out. And so, the infamous Anonymous Group stepped up.
If anonymity is eliminated in order to continue with an old, tried, tested and true, marketing model, where to draw the line? Would corporations then claim the right to install hidden cameras in your bathrooms just to find out which brand of toilet paper we use and create demographics? Sounds funny, but it's actually scary. Eliminating anonymity means eliminating everyone's right to privacy. There would be no lines to draw, because all rights would cease to exist. I certainly don't want to live in that world.
The simple fact is, the old ways are not compatible with the 21stcentury and all businesses, in order to survive, are just going to have to adapt and learn something new, whether they like it or not.
On the other hand, and I've seen this argument many times, people can spend the money instead of downloading for free. I would love to say it's that simple, but I would be lying. Not every town or city has a Walmart. And even if there is a Walmart, at least 90% of all products are manufactured in China. So if someone has the money and wants to buy a book or a music album produced by a citizen of their own country, they can't, because Walmart doesn't stock it, and no one else is distributing. So many libraries are failing to get the support they need. End result, they can't afford to shelve more books and music. Many online retailers have restrictions if a customer doesn't have a credit card or a mailing address that's not in the same country as the retailer, making it impossible to shop online. It's simply not available, except by downloading a torrent. And don't get me started on the absurd retail mark-up that's slapped on products, making it so difficult for so many holding down two or three jobs just to enjoy a book.
Oh, sure, there are lazy people too cheap to spend the money and think they have to have something just because it's free. Yet, I would bet anyone a lot of money that the number one reason people download copyrighted material online is because they can't buy it anywhere. The harder it is to buy something, the less money anyone makes.
The issue isn't about money. It's about control.
We're living in very interesting times. Things are changing. Welcome to the future. Though it will be a while yet before any change is stabilized, it's fascinating to watch it happen. It's also heartbreaking.
I once received an email from an aspiring writer who wanted to know if bookstores provide warnings because her YA book involves characters who swear as a natural part of their speech. I was shocked. That would never occur to me. I replied with assurance that bookstores don't put warnings on books and as long as she's true to her characters, she has nothing to worry about. All fiction is fully protected by freedom of speech.
So, while everyone argues about internet piracy, corporatism, money, government conspiracy, censorship, trendy causes, and senseless bullying, here's this young aspiring writer with hopes and dreams who's scared of her own right to freedom of speech and despairs she'll never be able to share her story because everyone keeps bickering about who should be in control of the internet.
Shame on you.

The Wrong Reasons to Become a Writer

1. Show me the money! (Don't hold your breath) 2. Fame, baby! (See number 1)3. Everybody is doing it! (See that cliff? Everybody's jumping...)4. I can write better than you! (Yeah, you and everyone else. Good luck with that).5. World domination! (Hitler beat you to that years ago and it didn't work out).6. Prestige. (Er, since when?)7. I memorized every technical book on writing theory. (So, you know nothing about fiction?)8. I want to sell books and get a ghostwriter to do everything for me. (smacks forehead)9. I will look like the coolest kid on the block! (See number 3)10. So I can sue everyone for copyright violation! (You'll have to come up with an original idea first...)

Spread the Love

This year has been insanely busy for me. Finished a novel, moved house, a lot of real life drama. Things are settling down now and I've been dying to post an update on my blog, so here I am.

2013 has been a major journey of self-discovery for me as a writer. It turns out, with novel writing, I'm better at character-driven than plot-driven. I've learned my writing vastly improves when I let a character narrate as opposed to playing narrator myself. My fictional characters have stronger voices, go figure. Also, I've crossed that bridge from having a well-crafted plot to expressing a well-crafted plot. They really are two different things. The former is strictly from a writer's perspective, and a bit amateur, as in, look at my plot, isn't it neat? The latter is from an author's perspective and more professional, as in, allow me to tell you a story, it begins like this...
Last but not least, and this deserves its own paragraph, I've learned the difference between creating suspense and building suspense. Like many writers, I could come up with a million plot points that start to create suspense, yet building suspense takes more than dropping all these little ideas and hoping at least one catches fire. I've learned to set the fire myself, take a big step back, and let it all happen. No need to force suspense, it'll will be there. It's like letting an infant walk for the first time. It takes a leap of faith, which is one of the hardest things to do.
So, I now have a completed manuscript of a psychological thriller and I'm exploring publishing opportunities. Because I don't have an agent, I've been hesitant to publicly talk about traditional publishing, especially on the internet where the disagreements are endless. I have a two tiered planed attack. 1, pursue agents, if that doesn't work out for whatever reason then, 2, independent presses. In regards to the process of traditional publishing I'm going to break everything down in simple terms and use myself as an example.
Literary agents do not publish your book for you. Ever.
Anyone who has seen the movie Jerry McGuire will know how an agent functions. They make deals and show you the money. You don't seek agents because you want to be published for the sake of being published. To be brutally honest, anyone anywhere at any age can upload a word doc and be published. That's the easy part. You seek agents only because you want to make money from being published. Publishing is just one step in a very long process.
Patience is always the key.
I don't begrudge anyone for self-publishing, that's a writer's personal choice. If that's what you want, go for it. However, I've noticed that the number one reason many will self-publish is time. They want it done now. When I worked as a graphic designer, I had a poster in my office that read, I provide service that's high quality, cheap, and on time. You can have any of the two. That's the real world in any kind of business, it takes time. If you aim to have everything right this second, you'll miss out on something. You want high quality and cheap? It won't be on time...
Writing is a job. Crafting fiction is a career.
Be prepared. A solid commitment is needed to pursue crafting fiction as a career. It will not matter how many online cheerleaders you have, though that can be a nice confidence boost to keep you going. It's like that old truism about the most popular girl in high school who never gets phone calls because all the boys assume she's busy every Saturday night, when in fact, she spends every Saturday night alone. It happens more often than not. Popularity and success are two different things, in the same way writing and crafting fiction are two different things. It will not many how many friends say, I loved it! It won't make the slightest difference if you have 2000+ friends on Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. It also won't matter if you only have 10 friends on social media. The difference lies in perserverence and consistency. I'm getting my psychological thriller published and pursue agents as a means to make money from the story, because I've long since made the commitment to my career. Popularity is nice and beng loved by many is validating, but unless a solid commitment is made, neither will ever mean a damn thing.
Query Letters, Outlines, Synopsis, oh my.
There is so much information available online at a click of a button. I've long since learned that 99% of it is dead wrong, and the other 1% is right but doesn't know how to phrase things in a way that an aspiring writer or a burgeoning author can understand and it can all get bloody confusing. Chances are the majority who so freely give advice online have no direct experience and don't know what they're talking about. Once, I had a woman, in a rather bully and bitchy way, dictate that “my terminogoy is confused.” Er, what? Well, according to the world of her, a real synopsis is always exactly four pages long. Geez, must be lonely in that perfect little world of hers. I've had aspiring writers try to bully me into writing one way only and following a specific formula, because otherwise zomg I'll never get publish. Let's see, getting the approval of a bunch of unpublished amateurs online or (!!!) publish original fiction. I'll publish original fiction, thanks.
I do have a point, online bullshit aside. The process is actually really simple. Here are the steps:
1. Write a one paragraph synopsis of your plot idea, or at least one sentence (see Hooks for more info).2. Write a 1 – 2 page full synopsis of your story.2. Write a full manuscript.4. Write a query letter, this is where you can use the paragraph from number 1, and bits from number 2.5. Find an agent, and this is the most important part, that share a common interest with you, whether it's golfing or the love of a fast-paced thriller, just, something. Remember, this is someone who could be working with you for the rest of your life, so you better have something in common and establish a good working relationship.
A few more pieces of advice from my own direct experience. The above process is completely unrelated to job applications, because this is not a job, it's a career. Queries are not some impossible monster to fight, it's just a brief description of your manuscript, and if you developed a solid plot first, then the rest will fall into place. Last, publishing is easy, anyone can do it. Building a career and producing stories that are meant to last, takes a lot of hard work and a lifetime commitment.
In conclusion, love yourself, love what you do, and love all the hard work involved, no matter how long it takes, and for pity's sake, stop trying to find a short cut in life because it doesn't exist anywhere.
Happy Holidays!

Fanfiction Confusion

I received a message through my Facebook author's page, asking me to participate in a university study with the goal of proving it's okay to make a profit from selling fanfiction. I declined and wished them the best of luck.
I'm disturbed by this message for several reasons. One, it's a highly unscientific study, more of a “popular opinion” poll. Might as well poll a bunch of high school cheerleaders for all the difference it would make. Two, seeking a profit from fanfiction is illegal. It's called plagiarism and copyright infringement for a very good reasons.
There's been a huge growing trend to publish fanction, especially online “self-publishing,” which are nothing more than vanity presses. Mainly because legit publisher won't touch fanfiction with a ten foot pole. So, I'm dedicating this article to clearing up confusion and defining terms, both legally and from the perspective of an author of original fiction.
Fanfiction – Fiction that's based on favorite characters/stories, because the writer is a fan. Hence, Fan Fiction. Once anyone attempts to put a price tag on fanfiction, it becomes plagiarism and copyright infringement. However, sharing is not illegal. If a writer seeks to simply share their fanction and breaks even only, it's not illegal. The second a writer seeks to make a profit from fanfiction, it's illegal.
Original Fiction – Fiction that's inspired by books/movies/music/life itself, or just imagination, in which the writer created their own original fiction based on their own talent and skill. 100% legal, no matter where the writer got their inspiration.
Derivative Fiction – A legal gray area, fiction that's inspired by favorite characters/stories but still has the writer's own original perspective. Borderline legal. The difference is inspiration versus fan.
Now, looking at these common sense definitions, it can be easily seen what legit publishers see. Fanfiction will never make you a published author of original fiction. EVER. And that is why publishers refuse to touch fanfiction. It could be the most brilliant, stellar fanfiction written in all of writing history, but it still isn't originalfiction. It's not discrimination. Publishers/agents are not rejecting fanfiction because they're stupid, etc. They're rejecting because it's not original or legal. And that's the bottom line.
Yeah, I'm well aware there are plenty on the internet who get away with it. But so what? It means nothing, and certainly doesn't mean the rest of us who actually know what we're doing have to become criminals in order to get published. Ignore them and be true to your own writing. Those who get away with it, never achieve success.
From strictly an author's perspective, in terms of a writer's development, attempting to use fanfiction as a stepping stone towards publication and profit, is cheating. That's something I personally find rather sad. There are so many talented and skilled authors out there, especially all over the internet, who are directly denying themselves the opportunity to bring out and use their own talent. I can see how writing fanfiction, or even derivative fiction, could be a beneficial exercise for anyone, but that's the most of it – a writing exercise, nothing more. Time and again, I've found the real underlying cause of the whole problem with publishing fanfiction is lack of confidence.
Believe me, it took me years to develop that confidence in my own writing abilities. I still second-guess myself on a regular basis. It's taken a lot of constant practice. You can look through this blog and see a major difference with the early posts. I honestly didn't know what I was doing back then.
The internet is fast and easy. So much can be attained by just a click of a button online. But the internet is only a communication tool, not a substitute for anything. Don't cheat yourself, believe in your talent, and allow it to take as long as it takes. Being an author of original fiction is a lifetime commitment. It will never be fast, easy, or make you millions overnight. I don't know about you, but I'm in this for the long-haul.
"It took me 20 years to achieve this overnight success." - Old saying in business.

Word Count

Is meaningless.
Word count was initially created as a standard to make it easier to assess the printing cost for a manuscript. Divisible by four, printers print four pages at once. 64K was the standard word count for any manuscript in any genre, and for many, it's still the standard. Agents or publishers could see the word count, already know the printing cost then quickly move on to answering the question of, is this manuscript worth the printing cost?
When submitting to an agent, traditional publisher, or independent press, it's all about business. That's their job. Your work as an author is to write a manuscript that's worth the printing cost, not just word count, but also a marketable story. However, it's impossible to be objective when you are the one that created this baby. Let the business people do their job, and just be an author. In fact, there's no need to worry about any technical details such as word count. Always go by what the agent/publisher ask for. If it's not clear, then be responsible for your writing and ask a lot of questions. Establish working relationships.
Of course, online publishing has clouded the issue of word count. In many ways, online publishing is a risky business that hasn't been established yet. Time is the biggest factor. Is this manuscript worth the amount of time it would take to edit and create an ebook? When time is the biggest consideration and printing costs isn't, the rules change. But either way, a huge word count will never increase your chance of publication and more often than not, decrease your chance of acceptance.
A happy balance, with either printed books or ebooks is 64k – 70k words. If you have that much, you have a healthy start.
However, the most dependent factor of all is the story itself. Some stories need a high word count, some don't. When going by word count only, the chance of cheating the story is pretty high. Believe in the story above all else. If the word count ends up being 150k, and that means working a bit harder at getting one Yes from an agent or publisher, than that's the way it is.
If you believe in your story 100%, you will do the work that's needed, regardless of word count.

Genre Confusion

Genre Confusion
Having years of experience in marketing, I know for a fact that marketing is a lie. That's just the name of the game.

Many people, especially newbie writers, define genres by how the book is marketed, as opposed to how the book reads. This lends a lot of confusion. The truth is, behind the scenes, a product will often be marketed based on how the product will sell the best, while ignoring what the product actually is, especially common in North American marketing. This has been going on for years. It's called banking on the public's ignorance and a marekting scheme. The saddest part is, it works.

American publishing in recent years, has enlargened that divide marketing produces between how the product is sold and what the product is. I'll give two examples from two very different genres.
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer is marketed to death as YA Romance. Nothing in all four books even hints at YA or Romance. And I do mean nothing. Sure, it's been edited to use romantic language, but that's as far as it goes (I saw a few pages of the ARC once, trust me when I say the romantic language and fluff was added). When I read Twilight, and at the time I honestly didn't know it had a huge following, I picked it up at the library, so I wasn't influenced by any marketing. I truly thought it's a badly written vampire thriller dumbed down and marketed as YA, just because. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the book, I'm indifferent and I can also be objective enough to say I do see the appeal. It's mindless entertainment if you enjoy that sort of thing. Regardless, how the book reads is vastly different from how it's marketed.

Example two. Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. I had seen and enjoyed the movie, it's very much a psychoogical thriller, no doubt about it. Perhaps with a Hollywood layer of cop drama, I thought, but still a psychological thriller. So I decided to read the book. I was disappointed. The book isn't a psychological thriller, it's crime fiction, through and through. And to be honest, it's not the best crime fiction I've ever read, though it's still pretty good. However, this is another case where the book is marketed differently than how it reads.

For the sake of comparison, I'll give an example where the marketing and the book is the same. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. Both the book and the movie are excellent and certainly a psychological thriller. No cops, no FBI agents, but still thrilling.

So yes, any book can be marketed successfully any which way, even if it's based on a big, fat lie. Sometimes authors go with their publisher/agent/PR/whatever, to make the most money. Sometimes they don't, yet they're used shamelessly by everyone working behind the scenes. It just depend.
Genre confusion doesn't come from how a book is written, is comes from marketing schemes. Throw the schemes out the window, and write the book you want to write.

"Read, read, read. Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it.
Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window.” - William Faulkner

Three Act Structure

I strongly disagree with the Three Act Structure approach to writing fiction. I honestly don't know how the Three Act Structure became a popular trend. When I first heard of this formula, I immediately threw out, because right away, I could see it's useless and it's not something I can ever apply to my writing.
Here's why I disagree,
The Three Act Structure dictates that each Act is representative of the Beginning, Middle and End of a story.
In reality, this structure is completely a reader's perception of a story.
From an author's perspective, there is no middle. No bridge. No Act Two. An author will have a clear idea of a story, from beginning to end. The fun part of creative writing is figuring out all the little ways the story travels from the beginning to the end. It's about the journey.
Act Two sucks the creativity right out me. If I were to approach every story idea from the Three Act Structure, I'd never finish a damn thing.
On a personal note, based on conversations I've had with aspiring writers, those who regard the Three Act Structure as some kind of Writing Bible, will be those who lack motivation.
I realize that sounds harsh, but I feel honesty is best, especially since this is my personal blog.
No structure will ever be a substitute. There's no short-cut. No secret. Put faith in yourself and trust your own story ideas. Keep putting one word after the other, from the beginning, until the story is complete.
I think it comes down to confidence. Know that no one needs any sort of structure or formula to tell a good story. And tell yourself, you have it in you, to tell a good story.
Three Act Structure be damned.
P.S. Happy Holidays :)