Benjamin M. Weilert's Blog: BMW the Blog, page 7

2020, Looking Forward

It’s always nice to see everything I accomplished, and December was a good time for that. However, with resolutions hot in my mind, here’s what I have planned for 2020. There are plenty of projects that I want to see coming to fruition, so this post is to help keep me accountable this year.

Buried Colony

Despite no agents having an interest in the hard science fiction manuscript I wrote for 2017’s NaNoWriMo, I still plan to self-publish this book in the coming months. As I see the advancements in technology happening right now, I know I need to get this book out as soon as possible. I need to show how viable it can be to get humans out of our solar system with current technology (and slightly refined advanced technology) in the next 15 years or so. Since there are some final edits that need to take place, I haven’t picked a release date quite yet. Just know that it will come out this year, and be sure to subscribe to my newsletter to receive updates for when that will happen.

This is Not a Drill

Even if I didn’t receive any agent interest in Buried Colony, I’m still not deterred from trying the traditional publishing route again. This time, I’ll be querying my children’s picture book, This is Not a Drill. This book details how to make a birdhouse and includes tips on tool safety that any child can understand. Much like Buried Colony before it, if it doesn’t receive any traction with agents, I plan on self-publishing this book next year so that all you lovely people will still get a chance to read it.

Welcome to the Alpacalypse (Be Fruitful…)

Some of you might be wondering what happened to my short story, Be Fruitful…, which I wrote some time ago. After a few delays and progress in fits and starts, the Welcome to the Alpacalypse anthology that it will appear in is coming closer to being completed. The Midnight Writers plan to publish this anthology sometime this year, and hopefully within the next few months. Keep an eye out in my newsletter to see when this book will be available.

The Ascent of the Writer

In November, I wrote about how I realized I had been writing well before I even started my first novel in 2010. Over the years, I have had a lot of short stories and poems published in newspapers and anthologies. Some of these stories have even placed in (or won) writing contests. Other stories have evolved into larger pieces like novels. As a reflection of my growth as a writer, I will be collecting these pieces together and publishing them in The Ascent of the Writer. Look for this book around the end of September. As an additional bonus, if you’re signed up for my newsletter (final plug, I promise), you’ll receive a FREE eBook version of The Ascent of the Writer as my thank you gift to you.

Your regularly scheduled content . . .

National Novel Writing Month for 2020 will see me writing the conclusion of the trilogy of books known as The Slumberealm Saga. Nightmare’s Endgame will finish out the story I started back in 2018. I’ll also be posting regular blog posts here, including a few tutorials that some other authors have asked I make in regards to creating promotional materials with a program you might already have installed on your computer (there might even be a video involved, so subscribe to my YouTube channel to see it there first).

There’s a lot planned for 2020, and hopefully, you’re as excited about it as I am!

 

2019 Year in Review

At the beginning of 2019, I set forth all the goals I had for this year, so now it’s time to reflect and see if I did everything I wanted to. If you’re following any of the posts I’ve made over the year, this might look familiar. If you’ve missed some of these announcements, this post is a handy recap of the content I released in 2019. So, without further ado, here’s the . . .

2019 YEAR IN REVIEW
Cinema Connections

Having re-released my first trilogy in 2017 and my memoir in 2018, I kept the streak alive this year by publishing my fifth book, Cinema Connections: a never-ending “6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon” at the end of September. Here’s an unboxing video for the paperback and hardcover versions:

A passion project of mine that’s lasted almost seven whole years, Cinema Connections is the collection of the 400 posts I wrote for my blog of the same name that finished at the end of August this year. I added in other notes and an index of the ~2,000 movies referenced in the blog’s lifespan to make the book version a comprehensive cross-reference. I’ve found my knowledge of connections between movies to be handy in recommending them to friends and family, so maybe you might find your next favorite film via this book. It’s available in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle eBook.

Crossing Borders (From c² Shining c)

In late August, I was surprised to learn that my short story, From c² Shining c, made the shortlist for Lulu’s “$5k for 5K” contest. While I didn’t win the cash prize, my story was included with 19 others in Lulu’s Crossing Borders anthology. My take on the theme was to explore what it would be like to be the first person to break the “speed of light” barrier. The Crossing Borders anthology released at the end of August and is available in paperback and ePub eBook formats.

This is Not a Drill

What was once a “secret project” born out of a Facebook post I made in 2017, I wrote and illustrated This is Not a Drill this summer during July’s Camp NaNoWriMo. I plan on querying some agents early next year to see if I can get it traditionally published. If not, expect me to self-publish by the end of 2021.

Dreamer’s Promotion

It’s weird to think that I’ve written ten books via National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). This year, I wrote the sequel to last year’s The Slumberealm Gambit. Dreamer’s Promotion reached the 50,000-word goal in nine days (much like last year’s project), and I finished the story a few days later. This trilogy is currently quite a few years out from being published, so be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you’ll know when it comes out.

Writer Rant

A shorter Season 3 of my vlog, Writer Rant, wrapped up the series at 100 episodes in May. The full series is available on YouTube, with links to each of the three seasons here: Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3.

If you want to watch all 100 episodes, you can check out the playlist below:

Buried Colony

After a solid few months of querying this book, I received no interest from any of the agents I contacted. It seems that Hard Science Fiction is perhaps a little more difficult of a niche to publish, even with the success of The Martian. Still, I remain undeterred. After dropping the “The” from the title and working on a new cover, I plan on hiring an editor and undergoing some final polish before self-publishing next year.

Blog Posts

Much like my Writer Rants, I have written several blog posts on this website intending to help any authors who might be starting out. Here’s a listing of this year’s topics:

January: 2019 and Beyond

Looking back at accomplishments is nice, but without looking forward to the future, it’s mostly just navel-gazing.


February: Why a book is more than just words

A well-written book is great, but one that looks great with page design is even better.


March: How much should you write?

Even if you don’t plan to publish, you should still enjoy writing enough to fill out your portfolio.


April: When is a manuscript “good enough”?

Perfectionism has killed more manuscripts than rejection letters.


May: What video games can teach us about writing (1/3)

Breath of the Wild is a great game, but it can teach a lot about world-building, travel, and “show, don’t tell” to writers.


June: What video games can teach us about writing (2/3)

Shovel Knight hearkens back to my nostalgia playing NES games, but it has also given me some insight into Motif and Theme, POV, and Diversity.


July: What video games can teach us about writing (3/3)

Hollow Knight is a masterclass on key elements of writing, such as foreshadowing, ambiance, and character growth.


August: “Stranger Things 3” and Chekov’s Gun

This summer’s binge-worthy show had fantastic use of the literary technique known as “Chekov’s Gun.”


September: What refills your creative tank?

Burnout is a real thing, so what can a writer (or other creative people) do to refuel when they are empty on creative energy?


October: My Love/Hate Relationship with Amazon

Amazon is great for distribution, but quite limited if your book doesn’t conform to particular print on demand standards.


November: You may already be a writer

It turns out I was writing and being published a whole three years before even writing my first novel.

Thanks to everyone who has enjoyed my content this year. Just like in 2018, I promise that next year will have quite a few exciting things planned, even if they’re somewhat limited due to my new responsibilities as a father. Come back in January, and I’ll explain the details of what’s to come!

2019 Year in Review

At the beginning of 2019, I set forth all the goals I had for this year, so now it’s time to reflect and see if I did everything I wanted to. If you’re following any of the posts I’ve made over the year, this might look familiar. If you’ve missed some of these announcements, this post is a handy recap of the content I released in 2019. So, without further ado, here’s the . . .

2019 YEAR IN REVIEW

Cinema Connections

Having re-released my first trilogy in 2017 and my memoir in 2018, I kept the streak alive this year by publishing my fifth book, Cinema Connections: a never-ending “6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon” at the end of September. Here’s an unboxing video for the paperback and hardcover versions:

A passion project of mine that’s lasted almost seven whole years, Cinema Connections is the collection of the 400 posts I wrote for my blog of the same name that finished at the end of August this year. I added in other notes and an index of the ~2,000 movies referenced in the blog’s lifespan to make the book version a comprehensive cross-reference. I’ve found my knowledge of connections between movies to be handy in recommending them to friends and family, so maybe you might find your next favorite film via this book. It’s available in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle eBook.

Crossing Borders (From c² Shining c)

In late August, I was surprised to learn that my short story, From c² Shining c, made the shortlist for Lulu’s “$5k for 5K” contest. While I didn’t win the cash prize, my story was included with 19 others in Lulu’s Crossing Borders anthology. My take on the theme was to explore what it would be like to be the first person to break the “speed of light” barrier. The Crossing Borders anthology released at the end of August and is available in paperback and ePub eBook formats.

This is Not a Drill

What was once a “secret project” born out of a Facebook post I made in 2017, I wrote and illustrated This is Not a Drill this summer during July’s Camp NaNoWriMo. I plan on querying some agents early next year to see if I can get it traditionally published. If not, expect me to self-publish by the end of 2021.

Dreamer’s Promotion

It’s weird to think that I’ve written ten books via National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). This year, I wrote the sequel to last year’s The Slumberealm Gambit. Dreamer’s Promotion reached the 50,000-word goal in nine days (much like last year’s project), and I finished the story a few days later. This trilogy is currently quite a few years out from being published, so be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you’ll know when it comes out.

Writer Rant

A shorter Season 3 of my vlog, Writer Rant, wrapped up the series at 100 episodes in May. The full series is available on YouTube, with links to each of the three seasons here: Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3.

If you want to watch all 100 episodes, you can check out the playlist below:

Buried Colony

After a solid few months of querying this book, I received no interest from any of the agents I contacted. It seems that Hard Science Fiction is perhaps a little more difficult of a niche to publish, even with the success of The Martian. Still, I remain undeterred. After dropping the “The” from the title and working on a new cover, I plan on hiring an editor and undergoing some final polish before self-publishing next year.

Blog Posts

Much like my Writer Rants, I have written several blog posts on this website intending to help any authors who might be starting out. Here’s a listing of this year’s topics:

January: 2019 and Beyond

Looking back at accomplishments is nice, but without looking forward to the future, it’s mostly just navel-gazing.
February: Why a book is more than just words

A well-written book is great, but one that looks great with page design is even better.
March: How much should you write?

Even if you don’t plan to publish, you should still enjoy writing enough to fill out your portfolio.
April: When is a manuscript “good enough”?

Perfectionism has killed more manuscripts than rejection letters.
May: What video games can teach us about writing (1/3)

Breath of the Wild is a great game, but it can teach a lot about world-building, travel, and “show, don’t tell” to writers.
June: What video games can teach us about writing (2/3)

Shovel Knight hearkens back to my nostalgia playing NES games, but it has also given me some insight into Motif and Theme, POV, and Diversity.
July: What video games can teach us about writing (3/3)

Hollow Knight is a masterclass on key elements of writing, such as foreshadowing, ambiance, and character growth.
August: “Stranger Things 3” and Chekov’s Gun

This summer’s binge-worthy show had fantastic use of the literary technique known as “Chekov’s Gun.”
September: What refills your creative tank?

Burnout is a real thing, so what can a writer (or other creative people) do to refuel when they are empty on creative energy?
October: My Love/Hate Relationship with Amazon

Amazon is great for distribution, but quite limited if your book doesn’t conform to particular print on demand standards.
November: You may already be a writer

It turns out I was writing and being published a whole three years before even writing my first novel.

Thanks to everyone who has enjoyed my content this year. Just like in 2018, I promise that next year will have quite a few exciting things planned, even if they’re somewhat limited due to my new responsibilities as a father. Come back in January, and I’ll explain the details of what’s to come!

You may already be a writer

About three years ago, I decided that I wanted to take my writing seriously. In 2016, I had a bit of a gap in my self-publishing schedule, having published the Fluxion Trilogy omnibus two years prior. I learned a lot in publishing my first three novels, so this was part of the reason I was taking some time to ensure the future products I published would be of the necessary quality. I was still writing drafts of the books I wanted to write; I just realized it would take longer to get them into polished shape for publication.

The original publishing schedule.

Since I still wanted to publish the stories I had backlogged, I needed to figure out a schedule where I would release one book a year for the foreseeable future—much like I had done with my first trilogy. This was my definition of taking my writing seriously. Expanding my bibliography of published works every year seemed like an achievable goal, so I started in 2017 with publishing second editions of my first trilogy. Most of the content of these books was the same; they just had some updated proofreading and covers that weren’t just created with simple online tools.

Best laid plans . . .

When I was initially planning out my release schedule, I was going under the impression that I would publish the most recent book I had written only after all the books that I wrote before it were released. Pretty quickly, I realized that I didn’t like that schedule. In 2018, I published my memoir, Fourteener Father, which was the seventh book I had written, and not the fourth. I did this because I had finished climbing all of Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountains with my dad the summer before and wanted to publish the book while it was still fresh and relevant to my life.

The next wrench in my plans was when I wrote Buried Colony as my eighth book. Considering the current technological advancements and my predictions for their use in the next 20 years, I needed to get this book published as soon as possible. While I felt it was a commercially-viable book, the hard science fiction genre seemed a little too niche for any agents to pick up. Regardless, I knew I wanted to get Buried Colony out before my predictions became a reality. However, because I decided to try the traditional publishing route with this book, I knew I wouldn’t have enough time for final professional edits to get this book out by the end of 2019 and keep with my yearly release goal.

Holding to a schedule is hard.

Fortunately, I had decided to wrap up my movie blog, Cinema Connections, in 2019. Since all the content was mostly written, I figured it would be an easy thing to compile together and publish this year. While it ended up taking a lot more time than I had anticipated, I was able to fill this small gap with a project I had already written. After all, it would look weird if I went ahead and polished up a trilogy and didn’t publish each subsequent book in three subsequent years.

It turns out, I’ve had a published work once a year since 2007 (on average).

With my plan to release Buried Colony next year, I decided to pull out my old schedule from 2016 and give it an update. While most of the books I planned to write were still in the correct order, I have since added in a few other book ideas that I want to get to sooner rather than later. Even with a slightly jumbled schedule, I could still meet that yearly release schedule. However, 2019 taught me that having a book that I can slide into a gap year is another useful way to reach my goals. I started searching for other content I had created that I could use for another book (like I wrote about in a previous blog post).

Short stories also count as publication.

While I didn’t start my “serious” release schedule until 2017, I did manage to release a book in 2016. My short story, Jurassic Manor, was included in the Domesticated Velociraptors anthology that I helped to put together. In 2018, not only did I publish Fourteener Father, but I had yet another short story (Soul Photographer) included in the Last Shot Fired anthology. By 2019, I published Cinema Connections, and also had my From c² Shining c short story published in the Crossing Borders anthology put on by Lulu press. It was at this point that I started realizing I had started being a serious writer many years before I even wrote my first novel.

I became a writer back in 2007 if I’m going off my first published work.

In my head, when I self-published my very first novel, I felt like a real writer. However, I had written quite a bit during college, crafting at least a few short stories and pieces of poetry that were published in the annual creative journal at my school. I had also written articles for the school newspaper, racking up an impressive 57 published articles in my year of graduate school. Looking back, I was first published in 2007, at least three years before I even had the idea to write a novel.

When I updated my publishing schedule this year, I also took the opportunity to look backward and start counting some of my earlier accomplishments as a writer. Everyone has a different definition of what makes them feel like a “writer,” and I’d encourage those of you who don’t think they’re there yet to take another look at the writer’s journey you’ve been on so far and to consider that perhaps you’ve already become a writer. It was encouraging to learn I had been in a published work (either an anthology or my own book) once a year since 2007. Granted, I have a lot more drafts waiting to be published, but at least I know I can release one a year without worry.

The new publishing schedule. It’s already out of date.

What about you? How do you define being a “writer?”

What are your plans for your writing?

Can you pinpoint when you first started writing?

You may already be a writer

About three years ago, I decided that I wanted to take my writing seriously. In 2016, I had a bit of a gap in my self-publishing schedule, having published the Fluxion Trilogy omnibus two years prior. I learned a lot in publishing my first three novels, so this was part of the reason I was taking some time to ensure the future products I published would be of the necessary quality. I was still writing drafts of the books I wanted to write; I just realized it would take longer to get them into polished shape for publication.

The original publishing schedule.

Since I still wanted to publish the stories I had backlogged, I needed to figure out a schedule where I would release one book a year for the foreseeable future—much like I had done with my first trilogy. This was my definition of taking my writing seriously. Expanding my bibliography of published works every year seemed like an achievable goal, so I started in 2017 with publishing second editions of my first trilogy. Most of the content of these books was the same; they just had some updated proofreading and covers that weren’t just created with simple online tools.

Best laid plans . . .

When I was initially planning out my release schedule, I was going under the impression that I would publish the most recent book I had written only after all the books that I wrote before it were released. Pretty quickly, I realized that I didn’t like that schedule. In 2018, I published my memoir, Fourteener Father, which was the seventh book I had written, and not the fourth. I did this because I had finished climbing all of Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountains with my dad the summer before and wanted to publish the book while it was still fresh and relevant to my life.

The next wrench in my plans was when I wrote Buried Colony as my eighth book. Considering the current technological advancements and my predictions for their use in the next 20 years, I needed to get this book published as soon as possible. While I felt it was a commercially-viable book, the hard science fiction genre seemed a little too niche for any agents to pick up. Regardless, I knew I wanted to get Buried Colony out before my predictions became a reality. However, because I decided to try the traditional publishing route with this book, I knew I wouldn’t have enough time for final professional edits to get this book out by the end of 2019 and keep with my yearly release goal.

Holding to a schedule is hard.

Fortunately, I had decided to wrap up my movie blog, Cinema Connections, in 2019. Since all the content was mostly written, I figured it would be an easy thing to compile together and publish this year. While it ended up taking a lot more time than I had anticipated, I was able to fill this small gap with a project I had already written. After all, it would look weird if I went ahead and polished up a trilogy and didn’t publish each subsequent book in three subsequent years.

It turns out, I’ve had a published work once a year since 2007 (on average).

With my plan to release Buried Colony next year, I decided to pull out my old schedule from 2016 and give it an update. While most of the books I planned to write were still in the correct order, I have since added in a few other book ideas that I want to get to sooner rather than later. Even with a slightly jumbled schedule, I could still meet that yearly release schedule. However, 2019 taught me that having a book that I can slide into a gap year is another useful way to reach my goals. I started searching for other content I had created that I could use for another book (like I wrote about in a previous blog post).

Short stories also count as publication.

While I didn’t start my “serious” release schedule until 2017, I did manage to release a book in 2016. My short story, Jurassic Manor, was included in the Domesticated Velociraptors anthology that I helped to put together. In 2018, not only did I publish Fourteener Father, but I had yet another short story (Soul Photographer) included in the Last Shot Fired anthology. By 2019, I published Cinema Connections, and also had my From c² Shining c short story published in the Crossing Borders anthology put on by Lulu press. It was at this point that I started realizing I had started being a serious writer many years before I even wrote my first novel.

I became a writer back in 2007 if I’m going off my first published work.

In my head, when I self-published my very first novel, I felt like a real writer. However, I had written quite a bit during college, crafting at least a few short stories and pieces of poetry that were published in the annual creative journal at my school. I had also written articles for the school newspaper, racking up an impressive 57 published articles in my year of graduate school. Looking back, I was first published in 2007, at least three years before I even had the idea to write a novel.

When I updated my publishing schedule this year, I also took the opportunity to look backward and start counting some of my earlier accomplishments as a writer. Everyone has a different definition of what makes them feel like a “writer,” and I’d encourage those of you who don’t think they’re there yet to take another look at the writer’s journey you’ve been on so far and to consider that perhaps you’ve already become a writer. It was encouraging to learn I had been in a published work (either an anthology or my own book) once a year since 2007. Granted, I have a lot more drafts waiting to be published, but at least I know I can release one a year without worry.

The new publishing schedule. It’s already out of date.

What about you? How do you define being a “writer?”

What are your plans for your writing?

Can you pinpoint when you first started writing?

My Love/Hate Relationship with Amazon

As a self-published author, one of the most frequent questions I get is, “Are your books on Amazon?” While some other questions like, “Is it an audiobook?” or, “Can I buy it at my local Barnes and Noble?” are increasing in frequency, the basic fact of the matter is that Amazon rules the online retail platform. Look, I get that people want to get free shipping on a copy of my book and I can’t offer that via any other sales avenue. I understand there’s an amount of trust that goes into buying books on Amazon. After all, that’s how they got their start: selling books.

Unfortunately, because Amazon is the ubiquitous place to buy practically everything, some people won’t bother to head to other retailers or online sites to buy a book by a self-published author. For those independent authors who only want to do print-on-demand (POD) paperbacks and/or Kindle eBooks, this is great! I’ll admit that I can purchase relatively cheap author copies of my books from Amazon when I need to maintain my stock for conventions. Heck, even the eBook royalties are a nice perk to my end-of-month finances since they offer 70% royalties for every eBook I sell. Once I decoded their customer support section, they were also quite helpful in dealing with troll reviews as well.

Amazon is the ubiquitous place to buy practically everything.

Now, if readers only wanted paperback and Kindle eBooks of my books, then Amazon is the only retailer I would need to use (as an aside, I’ll ignore the “algorithm” they use to promote these books for another blog post). The trick is that some readers have different preferences. Some might prefer reading eBooks on a Nook instead of a Kindle. Others might want a hardcover version. In the end, I decided to try and give my readers as much choice as possible when it comes to my books. While my first trilogy is available in many other eBook formats via Smashwords, I never found the sales from anything other than Kindle sales on Amazon to be significant. As a result, all my recent books have been exclusively available on Kindle (the KDP Select is a nice perk as well). Despite hedging my bets that the Kindle will win the e-Reader wars, it does take a lot of work for me to get the other eBook formats out there for readers to buy.

In my mind, a legitimate author has hardcover copies of their books. I know many of my books are vanity projects; I also like having the option of a hardcover version of these books. About five years ago, I was introduced to Lulu, which allowed me to expand into the world of POD hardcover books. In recent months, I’ve read how other POD services like Ingram Spark have reduced their hardcover services. Lulu has continued with fairly consistent hardcovers, but it comes at a price…literally. It costs a lot more for me to have hardcovers printed, which means my POD royalties are a lot thinner than their paperback counterparts. In the end, I chose to continue making hardcover copies of my books to provide options for my readers.

Books that are available everywhere limit the author.

Just like Amazon offers distribution to a variety of locales, one of the options that Lulu offers is “Global Distribution,” which essentially makes the books I publish through them available in other storefronts…like Amazon. The trick with this expanded distribution is that I don’t get nearly as much in royalties. As an example, my first hardcover, The Fluxion Trilogy, sells for $45, of which I’d see just over $1 in sales if it was bought via Amazon. Similarly, while I want to keep prices reasonable for my readers (I try to make the hardcover only $10 more expensive than the paperback), my second hardcover, Fourteener Father, had to be priced $15 more than its paperback counterpart because of the minimum price needed for global distribution. While I still want people to buy the hardcover books, I wished that they’d go through Lulu directly instead of through Amazon.

This is the reason why I cut my global distribution.

With my most recent project, Cinema Connections, I ran across a different issue: I couldn’t enroll it in global distribution. Because the page size was 8.5″ x 11″, this non-standard format limited its distribution (this was also the case for the paperback as well). It was at this point where I wondered, “Is global distribution even worth it?” Financially: no. Artistically: no. If I wanted to do things my way, I had to come to grips with the fact that the average consumer wouldn’t be able to buy my hardcovers via Amazon. Considering how frequently I post via social media to inform my followers of sales on Lulu to buy directly from them, I didn’t worry that my fans wouldn’t know where to find my hardcover books. Consequently, I decided to pull my hardcover books from global distribution.

Buying direct is a curated experience.

Recently, you might have noticed that my hardcovers aren’t available on Amazon (they’re still there, because Amazon allows re-selling). Additionally, you’ll notice that the hardcover for Fourteener Father is now $5 less than it used to be. Weirdly enough, I actually make more on these hardcovers now that they’re sold exclusively through Lulu’s store. I also found that getting rid of the global distribution option allowed me to change a few things about my hardcovers that I had to live with until now. For instance, I can now have matching matte covers for Fourteener Father‘s hardcover and paperback editions. Also, I can use a different color for the hardcover itself (without the dust cover). This means I can customize my hardcovers to be the experience I want the reader to have instead of the one I have to settle for just to have the books sold on Amazon.

Ultimately, what I want to get across here is that potential readers should ask the author how they’d like to be supported. It means a lot to me when someone I’ve just met wants to buy my book but asks if I’d prefer they get it via Amazon, purchasing from another site, or buying from me directly. If you genuinely want to support a self-published author, try to think which way will help them the most. If there’s a minimal cost difference to the customer between buying on Amazon or on Lulu, then asking which method would help the author more is a great way to support those writers who are trying to make their passion a viable income stream. Convenience may mean a lot to you, but supporting the arts can reap numerous benefits for the community as a whole.

 

What about you? Have you ever bought a book from somewhere other than Amazon?

What other options do authors have to purchase their books?

When prices are the same, what do you care about: convenience or supporting the author?

My Love/Hate Relationship with Amazon

As a self-published author, one of the most frequent questions I get is, “Are your books on Amazon?” While some other questions like, “Is it an audiobook?” or, “Can I buy it at my local Barnes and Noble?” are increasing in frequency, the basic fact of the matter is that Amazon rules the online retail platform. Look, I get that people want to get free shipping on a copy of my book and I can’t offer that via any other sales avenue. I understand there’s an amount of trust that goes into buying books on Amazon. After all, that’s how they got their start: selling books.

Unfortunately, because Amazon is the ubiquitous place to buy practically everything, some people won’t bother to head to other retailers or online sites to buy a book by a self-published author. For those independent authors who only want to do print-on-demand (POD) paperbacks and/or Kindle eBooks, this is great! I’ll admit that I can purchase relatively cheap author copies of my books from Amazon when I need to maintain my stock for conventions. Heck, even the eBook royalties are a nice perk to my end-of-month finances since they offer 70% royalties for every eBook I sell. Once I decoded their customer support section, they were also quite helpful in dealing with troll reviews as well.

Amazon is the ubiquitous place to buy practically everything.

Now, if readers only wanted paperback and Kindle eBooks of my books, then Amazon is the only retailer I would need to use (as an aside, I’ll ignore the “algorithm” they use to promote these books for another blog post). The trick is that some readers have different preferences. Some might prefer reading eBooks on a Nook instead of a Kindle. Others might want a hardcover version. In the end, I decided to try and give my readers as much choice as possible when it comes to my books. While my first trilogy is available in many other eBook formats via Smashwords, I never found the sales from anything other than Kindle sales on Amazon to be significant. As a result, all my recent books have been exclusively available on Kindle (the KDP Select is a nice perk as well). Despite hedging my bets that the Kindle will win the e-Reader wars, it does take a lot of work for me to get the other eBook formats out there for readers to buy.

In my mind, a legitimate author has hardcover copies of their books. I know many of my books are vanity projects; I also like having the option of a hardcover version of these books. About five years ago, I was introduced to Lulu, which allowed me to expand into the world of POD hardcover books. In recent months, I’ve read how other POD services like Ingram Spark have reduced their hardcover services. Lulu has continued with fairly consistent hardcovers, but it comes at a price…literally. It costs a lot more for me to have hardcovers printed, which means my POD royalties are a lot thinner than their paperback counterparts. In the end, I chose to continue making hardcover copies of my books to provide options for my readers.

Books that are available everywhere limit the author.

Just like Amazon offers distribution to a variety of locales, one of the options that Lulu offers is “Global Distribution,” which essentially makes the books I publish through them available in other storefronts…like Amazon. The trick with this expanded distribution is that I don’t get nearly as much in royalties. As an example, my first hardcover, The Fluxion Trilogy, sells for $45, of which I’d see just over $1 in sales if it was bought via Amazon. Similarly, while I want to keep prices reasonable for my readers (I try to make the hardcover only $10 more expensive than the paperback), my second hardcover, Fourteener Father, had to be priced $15 more than its paperback counterpart because of the minimum price needed for global distribution. While I still want people to buy the hardcover books, I wished that they’d go through Lulu directly instead of through Amazon.

This is the reason why I cut my global distribution.

With my most recent project, Cinema Connections, I ran across a different issue: I couldn’t enroll it in global distribution. Because the page size was 8.5″ x 11″, this non-standard format limited its distribution (this was also the case for the paperback as well). It was at this point where I wondered, “Is global distribution even worth it?” Financially: no. Artistically: no. If I wanted to do things my way, I had to come to grips with the fact that the average consumer wouldn’t be able to buy my hardcovers via Amazon. Considering how frequently I post via social media to inform my followers of sales on Lulu to buy directly from them, I didn’t worry that my fans wouldn’t know where to find my hardcover books. Consequently, I decided to pull my hardcover books from global distribution.

Buying direct is a curated experience.

Recently, you might have noticed that my hardcovers aren’t available on Amazon (they’re still there, because Amazon allows re-selling). Additionally, you’ll notice that the hardcover for Fourteener Father is now $5 less than it used to be. Weirdly enough, I actually make more on these hardcovers now that they’re sold exclusively through Lulu’s store. I also found that getting rid of the global distribution option allowed me to change a few things about my hardcovers that I had to live with until now. For instance, I can now have matching matte covers for Fourteener Father‘s hardcover and paperback editions. Also, I can use a different color for the hardcover itself (without the dust cover). This means I can customize my hardcovers to be the experience I want the reader to have instead of the one I have to settle for just to have the books sold on Amazon.

Ultimately, what I want to get across here is that potential readers should ask the author how they’d like to be supported. It means a lot to me when someone I’ve just met wants to buy my book but asks if I’d prefer they get it via Amazon, purchasing from another site, or buying from me directly. If you genuinely want to support a self-published author, try to think which way will help them the most. If there’s a minimal cost difference to the customer between buying on Amazon or on Lulu, then asking which method would help the author more is a great way to support those writers who are trying to make their passion a viable income stream. Convenience may mean a lot to you, but supporting the arts can reap numerous benefits for the community as a whole.

What about you?

Have you ever bought a book from somewhere other than Amazon?

What other options do authors have to purchase their books?

When prices are the same, what do you care about: convenience or supporting the author?

What refills your creative tank?

In Gary Chapman’s The 5 Love Languages, the concept of a “love tank” is explored in relation to these languages. Each of us has a tank that can be filled or emptied, depending on if we’re receiving or giving love. If people use the right love language with us, then our tank could fill to overflowing. However, if we don’t receive the right love language, there’s a possibility we might feel “empty” in our love tanks.

While the idea of a love tank makes sense, I think there are other tanks in our lives that serve different purposes. Specifically, I’d like to explore the idea of a “creative tank.” This can go by many names, but “muse” is perhaps the most common. When the muse hits a creative person, it’s all they can do to channel it into their art as fast as possible before it disappears. However, when the creative tank is empty, artists can find themselves with writer’s block or similar ailments of the creative juices.

What empties a creative tank?

This then begs the question, “How is a creative tank filled?” Before we get to this, let’s look at three of the ways a creative tank might become empty . . .

Imposter Syndrome: Comparing your creative work to someone else is a recipe for disaster. Maybe they have slightly more natural talent where you have to work hard to keep up. Maybe they’ve been at it longer and thus have more experience. Maybe they’re just lucky and were “discovered” or “went viral.” Whatever the case, comparing yourself to another artist is a recipe for an empty creative tank.
Depression: This can sometimes come from imposter syndrome, but there are also two types to be aware of. The first is existential depression. This depression usually manifests in the “I’m not good enough” and “Why do I even bother?” varieties and is generally linked to an artist’s creative persona. The second is chemical depression. This is usually the standard definition of the ailment, and can often connect to existential depression (and vice versa). When an artist feels there’s no point to their art, their creative tank is usually empty.
Unhelpful Feedback: Every artist wants someone to experience their art and immediately love and rave about it. However, while some critics will try to give constructive criticism, most don’t have the tact or ability to share their opinion without affecting the artist in some way. The internet has made it easy to share our opinions of art and artists anonymously, so there are plenty of opportunities for an artist to become discouraged and drain their creative tank.

This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means. Sure, they might be the hardest hitting when it comes to an empty creative tank. However, sometimes a piece of art just isn’t working. Despite plans made for it or grand ideas that the artist wants to explore, the art is just resisting the process and making it difficult to be exposed. It’s in these instances when it’s best to stop and take a break. Stepping away from a project like this can be guilt-inducing since the artist will always have that nagging voice in the back of their head that says, “You should be working on that.” In the end, the art will suffer if it is forced. Time away allows for self-care, which is one of the best ways to fill the creative tank. It might take a while to get back to the project (years, even) but in that time, it could evolve into something better.

Art does not exist in a vacuum.

There are many influences on what we paint, draw, or write. Personally, I find an engaging movie churns up my creative juices and fills my creative tank. Not only do I think, “I could write something like that,” but I also gain other ideas that I can use for a variety of different projects. There’s no better feeling than coming out of the theater and being excited and ready to write! I’ve also had some similar experiences going to a live concert, art gallery, or just exploring the beauty of the outdoors.

There are times I consider my artistic pursuits my “second job.” After I come home from work, I can end up spending the rest of the evening before going to bed wrist-deep in my art. This can be exhausting by any means, so it’s essential to know when to take a vacation from this second job. Just like how I’ll be refreshed coming back to my day job after a week of vacation, sometimes I just need to set a project down and give it a few days to rest and relax. I can work on other projects during that time, and have in the past, but it’s better to work in a few breaks and continue working instead of working so hard on a project that you’ll end up hating it and burnout, likely to never pick it up again. The trick is not to feel guilty for taking a break. I know this is hard to do, but your art will always be right where you left it. Just make sure you’re not working up against a deadline, though.

Taking a break isn’t a bad thing.

Some artists can get revved up an seem to have unlimited energy for their projects. If their creative tanks are always full, that’s great! However, there is a point where every artist needs to examine a project that isn’t working and identify if the root cause is an empty creative tank. It’s much easier to take a walk, read a book, or watch a movie instead of spending the same amount of time banging your head against a creative wall. Inspiration can come from the most peculiar places, so it’s important to let your brain take a rest every once in a while so it can approach your art from a different angle. After all, the health (both mental and physical) of the artist should be their number one priority.

 

What about you? When is your creative tank empty?

What have you done to fill your creative tank?

Do you know an artist with an empty tank? What can you do to help them?

“Stranger Things 3” and Chekhov’s Gun

Television shows have come a long way since the late-1940s. Sitcoms and serials didn’t necessarily have the amount of world-building that we see today. Each week, the audience would get a single story that would resolve itself by the end of the episode. On rare occasions, there would be a two-part episode covering a larger plot, but it would always return to the status quo. In the early-2000s, TV shows started to become more movie-like. Shows like Alias and LOST would use the full run-time of each episode to advance the larger narrative of the story while also exploring smaller arcs to develop the characters.

The trick with viewing a show released an episode at a time over a couple of months is that much of the details had to be memorized so the thread connecting them together would be understandable. This is why you’d usually see a “previously on [BLANK]” section at the start of these episodes to remind you of the salient elements that would be covered in the following episode.

Streaming has changed the television landscape.

Fast forward a good decade later, and streaming has changed the television landscape. Now audiences can take in as much of the plot as they want in a single sitting. They don’t have to wait for next week’s episode to learn what happens next. If anything, the only barrier to the audience continuing the plot of the story is the end of the season. Consequently, TV shows have had to adapt into something akin to chapters in a book (even if authors like Charles Dickens used to release their stories a chapter at a time via magazines and other periodicals).

With television now looking more like a long movie with several intermissions every 30 or 60 minutes, there are key elements of story structure that have become critical to engaging the audience. Sure, there’s more time to explore a story in a TV show versus the limited time movies usually have. However, it’s still important to recognize that each element of a TV show shouldn’t go to waste. If a trunk full of weapons and random garage equipment is shown in episode 1, it should come into play by (at least) the last episode. The final season Breaking Bad did this to great effect, and now I’ve seen similar excellence in season 3 of Stranger Things.

What is Chekhov’s Gun?

One of the elements of excellent story structure that I saw in Stranger Things 3 was that of foreshadowing and “Chekhov’s Gun.” Basically, Anton Chekov’s writing advice says, “If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired.” Therefore, if something is shown or mentioned at any point during the season, it should come into play to advance the plot before the end of it. Sure, some of these things can carry over into other seasons, but to give a single season the right amount of “oomph,” it needs to stay within the bookends of the first and last episodes for that season.

The beauty of Chekhov’s Gun is the “Aha” moment it provides the audience. Those who were paying attention are likely to gain the most enjoyment as they see little details become essential plot points. Sometimes, this can backfire and make the plot somewhat too predictable, though. There is a fine line between subtle foreshadowing and straight-up “spoiler alerts.” Speaking of which, there will be spoilers for Stranger Things 3 below this point, so skip ahead if you don’t want to learn what happens.

STRANGER THINGS SPOILERS BEGIN

In season 3 of Stranger Things, we see the kids enjoying their summer. From attending summer camp (and gaining a girlfriend in the process) to obtaining summer jobs at the local mall, the gang takes a breather from all the supernatural events that have happened in Hawkins. The first Chekhov Gun we see in this season is that of Dustin’s girlfriend, Suzie. He just happened to meet her at summer camp, but she also lives halfway across the country in Utah. From this first episode, the radio tower that comes into play later on is set up, but Suzie is strangely absent (making the audience wonder if she’s even real). However, in a clutch situation in the last episode, Suzie comes online and saves the day with a critical piece of information the team needs to stop the destruction of Hawkins.

Similarly, knowledge of the previous season of Stranger Things helped to shape how the final battle would play out. While the audience initially learned that the Mind Flayer doesn’t like the heat in season 2, this point was reiterated throughout season 3. Since Independence Day plays a part in the timeframe of season 3, it was inevitable that the inclusion of fireworks would become a part of the plot. As Lucas goes into great detail about the destructive force of the fireworks they stole from a local store, it soon becomes evident that the heat and damage these fireworks can produce will come into play to defeat the Mind Flayer. Sure enough, that’s how the final battle goes down. And while this “Chekhov Gun” was a little more obvious, it still obeyed the rule of setting up an important item before it was needed.

END OF SPOILERS

So, what does this have to do with writing? Well, a good writer will use the Chekhov Gun by adding in seemingly innocuous items early into their story that will play a part in unraveling the later plot. There is still room for twists (as Stranger Things 3 proved), but providing a payoff to the audience is a hugely satisfying achievement.

 

What examples of Chekhov’s Gun have you seen?

Do you think modern television uses Chekov’s Gun more frequently than other media?

What’s the difference between Chekhov’s Gun and a McGuffin?

What video games can teach us about writing (3/3)

Over the last two months, I’ve written posts about how Breath of the Wild is an excellent example of how to do settings and how Shovel Knight reveals the depths of its characters through gameplay. While I’m sure the Breath of the Wild sequel will continue to advance its worldbuilding technique, and the final Shovel Knight DLC will give more insight into one of its boss characters, I’d like to spend this month discussing how Hollow Knight can provide writers with some clues on how to write effective foreshadowing, integrate ambiance into their settings, and provide steady and discernible character growth in their protagonists.

Before we get into it, though, I feel a short explanation of the “Metroidvania” genre is in order. Hollow Knight is a platformer that abides by some of the basic tenets of games like Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (hence the genre of “Metroidvania”). There are two main aspects to a good Metroidvania: exploration and upgrades. A player can only get so far with the first one without advancing the plot of the game through the second one. There’s certainly been a bit of a resurgence of these kinds of games over the last few years, but I think Hollow Knight is one of the best Metroidvania games out there. So, without further ado, let’s learn what it can teach us about writing . . .

Hollow Knight

1. Foreshadowing

Sure, the “Show, don’t tell” techniques of Breath of the Wild are also used in Hollow Knight‘s gameplay by the little prophecies and ruins scattered throughout the world. Moreover, the Metroidvania genre as a whole has a knack at showing the player a later part of the game that they can’t necessarily access at the time. This might be an unreachable ledge or a boulder that’s blocking a path, but each time a character gains the skills to reach these new areas, then the story can progress. There is a small amount of backtracking that might occur in a story to revisit these areas, but it can be easier to fully develop a location that becomes more important later in the story once the protagonist is ready for it. For Hollow Knight, the most significant foreshadowing is right at the beginning of the game: a large, locked “egg” is a curious feature of the landscape until it eventually becomes the spot of the final boss fight. That’s some significant foreshadowing.

2. Ambiance

Other Metroidvanias have a fairly consistent theme throughout their worlds. Whether it’s exploring the underground areas of Super Metroid or the eponymous “castle” of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, there isn’t much variation between the different regions. True, there may be a “hot” area or an “underwater” area that require special skills to explore, but they all have relatively similar feels, comparatively. Conversely, Hollow Knight manages to uniquely present its different areas, both visually and audibly. The first level, Forgotten Crossroads, has some creatures scuttling about but is reasonably desolate. Contrast this area to the next one, Greenpath, which is teeming with life and overgrown with greenery. I could go on about areas like Crystal Peak’s echoing sound effects, the creepy sounds of the creatures in the Royal Waterways, or the downright eerie silence of The Abyss. The main thing to take away here for your writing is to include all the senses when describing a setting. What do you hear? What smells or tastes might occupy this space? What sets it apart visually from other areas your protagonist has visited?

Look at all these varied areas!
3. Character Growth

As mentioned in the “Foreshadowing” section above, most Metroidvanias will block off part of the map from the player until they’ve obtained a specific upgrade. Whether this is a double jump, a wall kick, or a more powerful weapon, it’s always entertaining to see a character gain a new ability and be able to use it to advance their story. Many shounen anime series use this formula as well: the protagonist will learn some new technique that will increase their power so they can finally defeat a more powerful enemy. In Hollow Knight, I was also impressed by how the world of Hallownest evolved to match the main character’s progression as well, introducing stronger, “infected” enemies near the end of the game to rachet up the difficulty. If there’s no way to show that your protagonist is growing, perhaps consider what barriers they need to overcome to advance the plot.

 

While Hollow Knight is an impressive game, I’m certainly looking forward to its sequel, Silksong, to advance the story introduced in the first game. I’m sure it will follow many of the same rules of Metroidvanias, but it already looks like some of its game mechanics have changed enough to give controlling the “Hornet” character a much different feel than controlling the “Knight.” At any rate, I have high hopes for this sequel, as I’m always looking for quality Metroidvanias to play.

Have you played Hollow Knight?

Is revisiting old areas/settings from your story a good idea?

What have other Metroidvanias taught you about writing?