Matt Heppe's Blog, page 8
July 6, 2012
Book Review: Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn
One hundred years into the future nearly all human beings have gained the ability to read minds. Our first-person protagonist, Kira, is a “zero”, one of the few people who never gained this ability. Early on the novel is the story of Kira as a social outcast. As a high school teacher I feel the author did an outstanding job capturing the feel of the high school experience. The novel significantly changes gears once Kira discovers that she is not a zero but a mindjacker. We leave the world of high school relationships and enter an even more sinister world of crime, government conspiracy, and intrigue.
Characters: Kira is the first person POV character. She was well-written, likeable, and believable. It is her concern for others that drives the action of the novel. Simon, a manipulative high school classmate was significantly less likable, but a believable character given his abilities. I’ll admit to being less than wholeheartedly convinced of Kira’s feelings for him. Raf, the good-guy third corner in the love triangle is sympathetic character you can’t help but root for.
World building: The world building in Open Minds is terrific. I love the premise of the novel and felt the author did a great job thinking though the implications of a society in which people can read minds. The near-future technology was plausible and I loved the future slang used by the characters. I wasn’t crazy about the explanation for the global origins of mind-reading, but it certainly wasn’t a novel-breaker.
Engagement/Willing suspension of disbelief: As an adult male reader, I am the target audience for this novel. Kira’s high school challenges were well-written, but were not exactly my normal read. It was the very enjoyable process of discovery that kept me engaged for the first half of the novel. The second half of the novel was an entirely different matter. Fast-paced action and ever increasing stakes had me reading as fast as I could.
Writing/Mechanics: Open Minds is a professionally written novel. I have no criticism whatsoever with the author’s writing, style, or mechanics. I would have enjoyed seeing a longer process of discovery while Kira learned about her abilities. I also thought some of the relationship changes were a tad abrupt. Other than these two small complaints I give the author highest marks for writing.
Impact: I read the novel in two days and hated when I had to put it down. I’m still thinking about the implications of living in a society of mind readers and jackers. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. As an adult reader of sci-fi I give Open Minds four stars. As a YA novel I give Open Minds five stars. Highly recommended.
Characters: Kira is the first person POV character. She was well-written, likeable, and believable. It is her concern for others that drives the action of the novel. Simon, a manipulative high school classmate was significantly less likable, but a believable character given his abilities. I’ll admit to being less than wholeheartedly convinced of Kira’s feelings for him. Raf, the good-guy third corner in the love triangle is sympathetic character you can’t help but root for.
World building: The world building in Open Minds is terrific. I love the premise of the novel and felt the author did a great job thinking though the implications of a society in which people can read minds. The near-future technology was plausible and I loved the future slang used by the characters. I wasn’t crazy about the explanation for the global origins of mind-reading, but it certainly wasn’t a novel-breaker.
Engagement/Willing suspension of disbelief: As an adult male reader, I am the target audience for this novel. Kira’s high school challenges were well-written, but were not exactly my normal read. It was the very enjoyable process of discovery that kept me engaged for the first half of the novel. The second half of the novel was an entirely different matter. Fast-paced action and ever increasing stakes had me reading as fast as I could.
Writing/Mechanics: Open Minds is a professionally written novel. I have no criticism whatsoever with the author’s writing, style, or mechanics. I would have enjoyed seeing a longer process of discovery while Kira learned about her abilities. I also thought some of the relationship changes were a tad abrupt. Other than these two small complaints I give the author highest marks for writing.
Impact: I read the novel in two days and hated when I had to put it down. I’m still thinking about the implications of living in a society of mind readers and jackers. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. As an adult reader of sci-fi I give Open Minds four stars. As a YA novel I give Open Minds five stars. Highly recommended.
June 21, 2012
TV I've been watching
I never watch TV programs (or movies) during their regular broadcast time. I'm always catching up on Netflix, DVD, or DVR. Most of the shows I want to watch are on during my writing time, so I catch up on them later. HBO To Go and Netflix have made it really easy to watch programs wherever I happen to be.
So here's what I've been watching (in no particular order):
Dexter
A friend put me up to this one. Really, a protagonist serial killer who kills killers? It took me a while but I finally started streaming it on Netflix. How do I feel about it? Well, two of the things I most look for in fiction (movies, tv, books) are tension and the ability to sustain the willing suspension of disbelief. Dexter does a phenominal job at creating tension. However, I admit to feeling a little off about rooting for a serial killer. Sure, he's killing bad guys, but it's how he does it. Grisly business. Will he get caught? There's the tension generator for you. The willing suspension of disbelief gets stretched a bit, but doesn't break.
Speaking of breaking... Breaking Bad
A cancer stricken high school teacher turns to cooking meth to make certain his family is taken care of after he dies. Dark, dark, dark. Which is why I like it. I'm not a fan of horror, but I do like dark fiction where the protagonist gets beaten up. Again, I find myself wondering who I am rooting for. Instead of a "good guy" serial killer I have a morally questionable meth cooker. No, I don't like the protagonist, but I am very curious about what will happen to him.
Let's lighten things up with Avatar, the Last Airbender
Re-re-re-re watching the entire series with my daughter. This is the best animated program I have ever seen. What I most love about this show was that it was written with a definite beginning and end. The show was planned and written for three seasons, and that was it. Why am I applauding the fact that they only gave me three seasons of a wonderful show? Unlike most animated shows that are meant to run for indeterminate (interminable) amount of time, Avatar had a true story arc. There was genuine character development and growth over the three seasons. Action, humor, romance, drama, Avatar has it all. I cannot praise this show enough and will watch it over and over again.
The Big Bang Theory
I am a geek. It is possible to be a geek and not love The Big Bang Theory? It has to rank as one of the funniest programs that I have ever watched.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I didn't watch Buffy when it originally aired, but I caught a few episodes on rerun shortly after it ended. As a big Joss Whedon fan I thought I'd take a look at the series that made him famous. Buffy is very well written, including a lot of humor and drama. It certainly passes the tension test, as Whedon was certainly willing to hurt his protagonists. Willing suspension of disbelief is a little bit tougher to take. In the case of Buffy I've given the suspension of disbelief a bit of a pass because of the good writing.
Keeping on an undead thread... The Walking Dead
I love this show! Talk about tension! You can't crank it up any higher. Yes, it is a bit on the gory side, but that comes with the zombie genre. Great characters, great story, great writing. Willing suspension of disbelief? Not bad. Sometimes the characters are a little too relaxed about their situation (mostly in season two) and I would certainly arm myself with some better melee weapons (a spear or pollaxe would certainly be better than a knife or machete), but nothing I can't get over. I have some questions about how the disease spread so quickly. I also want to know why the military wasn't capable of taking down the zombie hordes. But I am willing to let the show develop and hopefully answer those questions in time.
Game of Thrones
Excellent! HBO has done a great job with the novels, in fact I think it is one of the best novel to screen adaptations I have ever seen. HBO has masterfully captured the feel of the novels. When I watch (the wonderful) Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings movies there are a few parts where my vision of Tolkien's world is different than Jacksons. Not bad, just different. This is not the case with Game of Thrones. What I see on the screen is exactly what I envisioned when I read the novels. Tension and willing suspension of disbelief? Aces on both!
So here's what I've been watching (in no particular order):
Dexter
A friend put me up to this one. Really, a protagonist serial killer who kills killers? It took me a while but I finally started streaming it on Netflix. How do I feel about it? Well, two of the things I most look for in fiction (movies, tv, books) are tension and the ability to sustain the willing suspension of disbelief. Dexter does a phenominal job at creating tension. However, I admit to feeling a little off about rooting for a serial killer. Sure, he's killing bad guys, but it's how he does it. Grisly business. Will he get caught? There's the tension generator for you. The willing suspension of disbelief gets stretched a bit, but doesn't break.
Speaking of breaking... Breaking Bad
A cancer stricken high school teacher turns to cooking meth to make certain his family is taken care of after he dies. Dark, dark, dark. Which is why I like it. I'm not a fan of horror, but I do like dark fiction where the protagonist gets beaten up. Again, I find myself wondering who I am rooting for. Instead of a "good guy" serial killer I have a morally questionable meth cooker. No, I don't like the protagonist, but I am very curious about what will happen to him.
Let's lighten things up with Avatar, the Last Airbender
Re-re-re-re watching the entire series with my daughter. This is the best animated program I have ever seen. What I most love about this show was that it was written with a definite beginning and end. The show was planned and written for three seasons, and that was it. Why am I applauding the fact that they only gave me three seasons of a wonderful show? Unlike most animated shows that are meant to run for indeterminate (interminable) amount of time, Avatar had a true story arc. There was genuine character development and growth over the three seasons. Action, humor, romance, drama, Avatar has it all. I cannot praise this show enough and will watch it over and over again.
The Big Bang Theory
I am a geek. It is possible to be a geek and not love The Big Bang Theory? It has to rank as one of the funniest programs that I have ever watched.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I didn't watch Buffy when it originally aired, but I caught a few episodes on rerun shortly after it ended. As a big Joss Whedon fan I thought I'd take a look at the series that made him famous. Buffy is very well written, including a lot of humor and drama. It certainly passes the tension test, as Whedon was certainly willing to hurt his protagonists. Willing suspension of disbelief is a little bit tougher to take. In the case of Buffy I've given the suspension of disbelief a bit of a pass because of the good writing.
Keeping on an undead thread... The Walking Dead
I love this show! Talk about tension! You can't crank it up any higher. Yes, it is a bit on the gory side, but that comes with the zombie genre. Great characters, great story, great writing. Willing suspension of disbelief? Not bad. Sometimes the characters are a little too relaxed about their situation (mostly in season two) and I would certainly arm myself with some better melee weapons (a spear or pollaxe would certainly be better than a knife or machete), but nothing I can't get over. I have some questions about how the disease spread so quickly. I also want to know why the military wasn't capable of taking down the zombie hordes. But I am willing to let the show develop and hopefully answer those questions in time.
Game of Thrones
Excellent! HBO has done a great job with the novels, in fact I think it is one of the best novel to screen adaptations I have ever seen. HBO has masterfully captured the feel of the novels. When I watch (the wonderful) Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings movies there are a few parts where my vision of Tolkien's world is different than Jacksons. Not bad, just different. This is not the case with Game of Thrones. What I see on the screen is exactly what I envisioned when I read the novels. Tension and willing suspension of disbelief? Aces on both!
April 26, 2012
ON A ROLL
A month ago I posted my Put Up or Shut Up blog entry. In it I basically said that I need to get writing, or shut up about being a writer.
Good news: I'm writing. Not only that, but I'm blowing away my minimum daily word count.
Here's something I'm using to keep myself motivated...
My trusty spreadsheet:
Every night I start writing between 8:30 and 9 PM. It is the one part of my day when I have no distractions. For the next two hours I write as much as I can. Child of the Knight is thoroughly outlined and I spend at least some time during the day mentally preparing myself for the scenes I want to write.
I write between 500 and 1,000 words per hour. It really depends on how thoroughly I have imagined the scenes ahead of time. 500 words per hour means that I am spending a lot of time working through a scene as I am writing it. It could also mean that I am tired. Around 10:15 to 10:30 productivity really slows down. On several occasions I have nodded off while writing a scene. And, no, it's not because it was a slow scene! It could happen with an arrow mid-flight.
I love the times when I hit 1000 words an hour. The thoughts fly right through my fingers and onto the screen. This most often happens during dramatic scenes (action or other). Tonight the words are going to fly. I am about to write a scene I've been anticipating for a long time. I can't wait!
The spreadsheet does some pretty easy calculations and wasn't hard to set up. All I have to do is enter my starting and ending word counts and it does the rest. Average is the average number of words I write a day, whether I write or not. You can see what a day of not writing does to my average. I hate zeros! Days until finished takes the total predicted length of the novel (100,000 words), subtracts the amount already written, and divides by my average words per day. The completion date simply adds the "days until finished" to today's date. I'd love to get it down to June 15th, but that's going to take some big writing days.
The big "guess" in the whole chart is that the book will come out to 100,000 words. Eternal Knight was 115,000 but I am predicting this one will be shorter. My one concern is that my story won't support a 100,000 word length. I am really hoping not to find myself short and digging to find more length. Too early to tell (but not to early to worry about).
And just because spreadsheets aren't fun enough... I turned the data into a graph!
And because someone asked, I'll mention the two August days. They were simply an abortive attempt to get myself going. My daughter and I were at the shore, and with her asleep and no distractions (tv or internet), I made a go at starting Child of the Knight. It didn't "stick". It doesn't mean I've done nothing since then. There's been a lot of outlining and plotting, but no writing.
Things are different now. I'm ON A ROLL!
Good news: I'm writing. Not only that, but I'm blowing away my minimum daily word count.
Here's something I'm using to keep myself motivated...
My trusty spreadsheet:
Every night I start writing between 8:30 and 9 PM. It is the one part of my day when I have no distractions. For the next two hours I write as much as I can. Child of the Knight is thoroughly outlined and I spend at least some time during the day mentally preparing myself for the scenes I want to write.
I write between 500 and 1,000 words per hour. It really depends on how thoroughly I have imagined the scenes ahead of time. 500 words per hour means that I am spending a lot of time working through a scene as I am writing it. It could also mean that I am tired. Around 10:15 to 10:30 productivity really slows down. On several occasions I have nodded off while writing a scene. And, no, it's not because it was a slow scene! It could happen with an arrow mid-flight.
I love the times when I hit 1000 words an hour. The thoughts fly right through my fingers and onto the screen. This most often happens during dramatic scenes (action or other). Tonight the words are going to fly. I am about to write a scene I've been anticipating for a long time. I can't wait!
The spreadsheet does some pretty easy calculations and wasn't hard to set up. All I have to do is enter my starting and ending word counts and it does the rest. Average is the average number of words I write a day, whether I write or not. You can see what a day of not writing does to my average. I hate zeros! Days until finished takes the total predicted length of the novel (100,000 words), subtracts the amount already written, and divides by my average words per day. The completion date simply adds the "days until finished" to today's date. I'd love to get it down to June 15th, but that's going to take some big writing days.
The big "guess" in the whole chart is that the book will come out to 100,000 words. Eternal Knight was 115,000 but I am predicting this one will be shorter. My one concern is that my story won't support a 100,000 word length. I am really hoping not to find myself short and digging to find more length. Too early to tell (but not to early to worry about).
And just because spreadsheets aren't fun enough... I turned the data into a graph!
And because someone asked, I'll mention the two August days. They were simply an abortive attempt to get myself going. My daughter and I were at the shore, and with her asleep and no distractions (tv or internet), I made a go at starting Child of the Knight. It didn't "stick". It doesn't mean I've done nothing since then. There's been a lot of outlining and plotting, but no writing.
Things are different now. I'm ON A ROLL!
March 28, 2012
Future Haters
Someday I hope Eternal Knight is famous enough to garner its own haters.
You know, the crazy people who just love to rant. I think you have to be pretty successful to reach enough idiots to have an appreciable band of haters.
What made me think of this? A great blog post by my blog-friend Adam Heine. In it he talks about the racists who are freaking out about the fact that Rue is depicted as black in The Hunger Games movie. The haters went nuts! It ruined the movie for some of them.
One problem. Rue is black. It says so right in the novel.
Read Adam's post, and then read the article on Jezebel he linked to.
I know one rant I'll get (in my imaginary world where Eternal Knight is big enough to be noticed):
Matt Heppe copied Katniss when he created Hadde.
How close are they? Petite, black hair in a long braid, gray eyes, archer/hunter in a dying (Eternal Knight) / dystopian future (The Hunger Games) world.
Wow! What a ripoff! That Heppe is a @#$%^&* copycat.
Differences? Katniss has olive skin. Hadde's race isn't explicitly described, I attempted to hint at mixed white/Asian appearance. (I may have failed as one reader told me she thought Hadde was blonde.) And Hadde has tattoos on her cheeks.
Guilty? Nope. I wrote Eternal Knight long before I'd ever heard of The Hunger Games. I came up with Hadde more than ten years ago.
What I am more interested in is what led Suzanne Collins and I to create female heroines who could be twin sisters.
What inspired Hadde's appearance?
I imagined an older version of my daughter.
Simple as that.
You know, the crazy people who just love to rant. I think you have to be pretty successful to reach enough idiots to have an appreciable band of haters.
What made me think of this? A great blog post by my blog-friend Adam Heine. In it he talks about the racists who are freaking out about the fact that Rue is depicted as black in The Hunger Games movie. The haters went nuts! It ruined the movie for some of them.
One problem. Rue is black. It says so right in the novel.
Read Adam's post, and then read the article on Jezebel he linked to.
I know one rant I'll get (in my imaginary world where Eternal Knight is big enough to be noticed):
Matt Heppe copied Katniss when he created Hadde.
How close are they? Petite, black hair in a long braid, gray eyes, archer/hunter in a dying (Eternal Knight) / dystopian future (The Hunger Games) world.
Wow! What a ripoff! That Heppe is a @#$%^&* copycat.
Differences? Katniss has olive skin. Hadde's race isn't explicitly described, I attempted to hint at mixed white/Asian appearance. (I may have failed as one reader told me she thought Hadde was blonde.) And Hadde has tattoos on her cheeks.
Guilty? Nope. I wrote Eternal Knight long before I'd ever heard of The Hunger Games. I came up with Hadde more than ten years ago.
What I am more interested in is what led Suzanne Collins and I to create female heroines who could be twin sisters.
What inspired Hadde's appearance?
I imagined an older version of my daughter.
Simple as that.
March 25, 2012
Put Up or Shut Up
Bah, I've been fibbing lately.
When people ask me how book two is coming along I've been telling them that I'm hard at work on it.
Not exactly true.
More like I've been hard at thinking about it. Thinking about it while playing computer games. Thinking about it while reading other books. Not actually writing. Eternally optimistic, I've been hoping for Eternal Knight to have a big breakthough. Something that would fire me up to work on book two.
But the big breakthrough hasn't occurred (yet). Good reviews, good feedback, 500+ sales, but not the BIG EVENT. Got bounced from the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. Bah. I would have won if only blah, blah, blah....
I need to make my own breakthrough.
So time to stop fibbing. I'm either writing, or I'm not.
Here's the deal:
500 words per day, five days per week (Mon-Fri). If I miss a day I have to make it up on Saturday.
If I hit my daily goal I get to read for pleasure or play a computer game.
If I fall off the wagon I stop telling people that I'm writing. I tell them the truth.
What would that truth be?
I'm taking a break.
How long?
I don't know.
I'm not a writer if I'm not writing.
When people ask me how book two is coming along I've been telling them that I'm hard at work on it.
Not exactly true.
More like I've been hard at thinking about it. Thinking about it while playing computer games. Thinking about it while reading other books. Not actually writing. Eternally optimistic, I've been hoping for Eternal Knight to have a big breakthough. Something that would fire me up to work on book two.
But the big breakthrough hasn't occurred (yet). Good reviews, good feedback, 500+ sales, but not the BIG EVENT. Got bounced from the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. Bah. I would have won if only blah, blah, blah....
I need to make my own breakthrough.
So time to stop fibbing. I'm either writing, or I'm not.
Here's the deal:
500 words per day, five days per week (Mon-Fri). If I miss a day I have to make it up on Saturday.
If I hit my daily goal I get to read for pleasure or play a computer game.
If I fall off the wagon I stop telling people that I'm writing. I tell them the truth.
What would that truth be?
I'm taking a break.
How long?
I don't know.
I'm not a writer if I'm not writing.
February 24, 2012
Good News
I just found out that Eternal Knight made it to round two of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards! There were 5,000 books entered in the contest. 1,000 made it to round two. Round one judging was based on a 300 word "pitch" letter.
Round two results will be posted on March 20th. 250 authors will make it to round three. Judging for round two is based on the first 5,000 words of your novel (the first two chapters of EK).
The full manuscripts aren't evaluated until they get to the third and fourth rounds. This is also when you start to get some public attention. In the final round the last three contestants are flown out to Seattle for the presentation of the grand prize winner. The prize? A publishing contract with Penguin and a $15,000 advance on your first novel.
Very exciting! Not that I'm counting chickens or anything...
Round two results will be posted on March 20th. 250 authors will make it to round three. Judging for round two is based on the first 5,000 words of your novel (the first two chapters of EK).
The full manuscripts aren't evaluated until they get to the third and fourth rounds. This is also when you start to get some public attention. In the final round the last three contestants are flown out to Seattle for the presentation of the grand prize winner. The prize? A publishing contract with Penguin and a $15,000 advance on your first novel.
Very exciting! Not that I'm counting chickens or anything...
February 12, 2012
The Good, The Bad, and the Exciting
The Good:
One of the best things about being a writer is hearing positive feedback from readers. A couple of readers have gone above and beyond and have really worked to promote Eternal Knight. One of these readers is Jahin Ahmed. He recently contacted me to let me know that he wrote a blog review of Eternal Knight. He's a young book reviewer and I think he deserves a lot of credit it for his efforts. And I appreciate the great review!
The Bad:
I've received my first bad (two star) review on Amazon. It had to happen at some point in time. The urge, of course, is to defend your work. You want to point out how wrong the reviewer was and to explain to readers of the review just how good your work is. This, of course, is the last thing in the world you should do. It does not end well for the author. What do you do? You just have to accept it. It is part of writing. No book survives unscathed. Take pleasure in the good reviews and drive on.
The Exciting:
I have entered the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Five thousand writers entered the contest. The first round consists of a 300 word pitch. This is actually the round I most dread. Taking a 115,000 word novel and turning it into a 300 word pitch is a brutal task. The one thousand survivors of round one will then be judged on the first 5,000 words of their novels. After that, the following two rounds are judged on the complete manuscript. Odds of winning are long, but even surviving a few round and bring your novel a lot of attention. And if you win, first prize is a publishing contract with Penguin.
Winners of the first round are announced on February 24th. I'll give you a shout if I made it.
One of the best things about being a writer is hearing positive feedback from readers. A couple of readers have gone above and beyond and have really worked to promote Eternal Knight. One of these readers is Jahin Ahmed. He recently contacted me to let me know that he wrote a blog review of Eternal Knight. He's a young book reviewer and I think he deserves a lot of credit it for his efforts. And I appreciate the great review!
The Bad:
I've received my first bad (two star) review on Amazon. It had to happen at some point in time. The urge, of course, is to defend your work. You want to point out how wrong the reviewer was and to explain to readers of the review just how good your work is. This, of course, is the last thing in the world you should do. It does not end well for the author. What do you do? You just have to accept it. It is part of writing. No book survives unscathed. Take pleasure in the good reviews and drive on.
The Exciting:
I have entered the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Five thousand writers entered the contest. The first round consists of a 300 word pitch. This is actually the round I most dread. Taking a 115,000 word novel and turning it into a 300 word pitch is a brutal task. The one thousand survivors of round one will then be judged on the first 5,000 words of their novels. After that, the following two rounds are judged on the complete manuscript. Odds of winning are long, but even surviving a few round and bring your novel a lot of attention. And if you win, first prize is a publishing contract with Penguin.
Winners of the first round are announced on February 24th. I'll give you a shout if I made it.
January 12, 2012
500!
Eternal Knight hit the big 5-0-0!
My last sales update (October) had EK at 415 books sold. I knew 500 was in striking distance. November saw 41 more sales, pushing the total up to 456. December added 43, bringing EK to 499.
Happy New Year! Number 500 sold just a couple of days after the hangovers wore off.
No, I'm not quitting my job to write full time. 500 (mostly $.99) books won't take me that far. What does it mean? In practical terms, not much. However, it is a really cool milestone. Sure, I'm thousands of sales away from publishers or agents taking any notice of me. But each sale brings me closer to those readers who are the super-promoters. The readers, who when they like something, really go out of their way to tell EVERYONE they know about it. I've had a few of them so far and they are wonderful. Maybe I'll hit that critical mass of super-promoters and Eternal Knight will take off. Fingers crossed.
Reviews are still strong, ratings are still good, and everyone I know (and some who I don't) keep offering encouragement. A thank you to everyone who has supported my efforts so far. I haven't made much money so far, but all of the positive feedback has made the entire effort more than worth it.
Thank you !
Matt
My last sales update (October) had EK at 415 books sold. I knew 500 was in striking distance. November saw 41 more sales, pushing the total up to 456. December added 43, bringing EK to 499.
Happy New Year! Number 500 sold just a couple of days after the hangovers wore off.
No, I'm not quitting my job to write full time. 500 (mostly $.99) books won't take me that far. What does it mean? In practical terms, not much. However, it is a really cool milestone. Sure, I'm thousands of sales away from publishers or agents taking any notice of me. But each sale brings me closer to those readers who are the super-promoters. The readers, who when they like something, really go out of their way to tell EVERYONE they know about it. I've had a few of them so far and they are wonderful. Maybe I'll hit that critical mass of super-promoters and Eternal Knight will take off. Fingers crossed.
Reviews are still strong, ratings are still good, and everyone I know (and some who I don't) keep offering encouragement. A thank you to everyone who has supported my efforts so far. I haven't made much money so far, but all of the positive feedback has made the entire effort more than worth it.
Thank you !
Matt
December 19, 2011
EK: Workaday Reads' Best Self-Published Novel of the Year
WOW! I just found out that Sarah at Workaday Reads named Eternal Knight as best self-published novel of the year! I've said it before, but nothing beats hearing nice things said about something you created. I'd like to thank Sarah for the honor. Workaday Reads is a wonderful blog. Go take a look!
I know I've been a bad blogger lately. The real world, work, life, family, etc... I have plenty of excuses. I'll just let you know that things are going well and I'll try to be a better blogger in the new year. More importantly, I'll be a better writer in the new year.
I'm so psyched about Sarah's selection that I'm going to give away a free, signed copy of Eternal Knight. Due to postage costs, I'm only making it available to residents of the USA. However, if you are international, I'll give you an ebook copy if you would still like to enter.
All you have to do to enter is to make a comment on this blog post. I'll choose the winner on December 26th.
All my best,
Matt
I know I've been a bad blogger lately. The real world, work, life, family, etc... I have plenty of excuses. I'll just let you know that things are going well and I'll try to be a better blogger in the new year. More importantly, I'll be a better writer in the new year.
I'm so psyched about Sarah's selection that I'm going to give away a free, signed copy of Eternal Knight. Due to postage costs, I'm only making it available to residents of the USA. However, if you are international, I'll give you an ebook copy if you would still like to enter.
All you have to do to enter is to make a comment on this blog post. I'll choose the winner on December 26th.
All my best,
Matt
November 30, 2011
Argh! The guilt!
Not writing. Not a word in weeks. It is not writer's block. It is just not writing.
A good friend of mine is an author. When I spoke with him about how I longed for solid periods of writing time he laughed. "You have to make time to write. And you have to write every spare chance you get. Even if it is just twenty minutes."
I know he is right, but it is so hard to do. A spare twenty minutes is so easily filled with some (any) other activity than writing.
Writing a novel means climbing a mountain of 100,000 words. When I wrote Eternal Knight I climbed that mountain at a pace of several thousand words per day. In fact, I climbed up and down every crag of that mountain multiple times and ended up with 250,000 words. Too much climbing!
A while back I wrote a post about writing 1,000 words a day. The mountain of my next novel would be climbed in 100 writing days (plus editing and revising time, of course). That didn't seem so bad. But I couldn't hit 1,000 words. I couldn't hit 500. And the mountain kept getting taller.
It isn't that the book is getting longer... I still have it planned for 100,000 words. It is just that the fewer the words I write per day, the longer it will take to hit 100,000. And the longer the final goal is from being achieved, the harder it is to motivate myself to write.
I must break this cycle. The book will not get done at all if I don't put pen on paper. My life is different from when I wrote Eternal Knight. I need to accept that fact, adjust, and get to work.
A good friend of mine is an author. When I spoke with him about how I longed for solid periods of writing time he laughed. "You have to make time to write. And you have to write every spare chance you get. Even if it is just twenty minutes."
I know he is right, but it is so hard to do. A spare twenty minutes is so easily filled with some (any) other activity than writing.
Writing a novel means climbing a mountain of 100,000 words. When I wrote Eternal Knight I climbed that mountain at a pace of several thousand words per day. In fact, I climbed up and down every crag of that mountain multiple times and ended up with 250,000 words. Too much climbing!
A while back I wrote a post about writing 1,000 words a day. The mountain of my next novel would be climbed in 100 writing days (plus editing and revising time, of course). That didn't seem so bad. But I couldn't hit 1,000 words. I couldn't hit 500. And the mountain kept getting taller.
It isn't that the book is getting longer... I still have it planned for 100,000 words. It is just that the fewer the words I write per day, the longer it will take to hit 100,000. And the longer the final goal is from being achieved, the harder it is to motivate myself to write.
I must break this cycle. The book will not get done at all if I don't put pen on paper. My life is different from when I wrote Eternal Knight. I need to accept that fact, adjust, and get to work.
