C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 223

Progress Report Week 3 October 2012

This week, I really got my tail into gear and worked solidly towards the goals I have set.Current ProjectsWhile no writing was done on current projects, DarkFantasy2A—Fisherpriest entered and completed the publishing stage, and RomanceNovel1Aentered the publishing stage.Publishing TasksThe following publishing tasks were completed this week:Wrote and scheduled 3 blog updates;Edited DarkFantasy2A—Fisherpriest, and formatted and uploaded it to Smashwords (ebook formats), AmazonKindle, AmazonCreateSpace (large and small print), DriveThruFiction (pdf);Created new cover art for DarkFantasy2A—Fisherpriest;
Finalised cover art for RomanceNovel1A —Secondhand Sweetheart with HelzKat Designs; Released Anthology3—An Anthology of Those Who Walk Among Us in small and large print paperback on CreateSpace and Amazon;Released Anthology4—An Anthology of Worldsin small and large print paperback on CreateSpace and Amazon;Released Anthology2—An Anthology of Battlein small and large print paperback on CreateSpace and Amazon;Reformat and re-edit Anthology1—An Anthology of Dragons in small and large print paperback on CreateSpace and Amazon;Created Tales of Tzamesch blog page and let it go live;Created blog page for PenName2—Madeleine Torr.
         Craft Development TasksThe only task I undertook towards developing my craft was the terribleminds blog flash fiction challenge. I missed both the Wednesday meeting of the Canberra Speculative Fiction Writers’Guild AND Friday’s fiction writers’ workshop at Gorman House.New ArrivalsThe following new ideas arrived during the week:Nonfiction1A: to do with writers;Nonfiction1B: to do with politicians;RPGAdventure9A: for an October 31 deadline;DarkFantasy6A-C: to do with trolls;CreativeEssay6-7: trolls and dragons;And this idea is one that’s been sitting on the backburner but not added to the list:RPGAdventure10A: Tzamesch jungle adventure.

Blogs that made me stop: 8 October 2012—Part 4:

And here are the last of the blog entries that made me stop on my catch up day earlier this month:
Lindsay Buroker on leaving an agent and choosing to self-publish with Kendra Highley: http://www.lindsayburoker.com/interviews-success-stories/leaving-an-agent-and-choosing-to-self-publis-kendra-highley/Lindsay Buroker on her self-publishing thoughts after selling 50,000 works: http://www.lindsayburoker.com/amazon-kindle-sales/my-self-publishing-thoughts-after-50000-ebook-sales/Lindsay Buroker on marketing opportunities on Wattpad: http://www.lindsayburoker.com/book-marketing/can-posting-stories-on-wattpad-help-you-sell-books/JA Marlow on Smashwords distribution and formats: http://jamarlow.com/2012/09/clarifying-smashwords-file-formats-and-distribution-channels/JA Marlow on finding inspiration in blob spam: http://jamarlow.com/2012/10/plot-bunny-spam-comments/How to Successfully Self-Publish on reaching readers without self-promotion by Orna Ross: http://selfpublishingadvice.org/blog/how-writers-can-reach-readers-without-self-promotion/How to Successfully Self-Publish on the importance of resizing images by the Alliance of Independent Authors Admin: http://selfpublishingadvice.org/blog/resize-your-images/The Creative Penn on self-publishing and marketing by Joanna Penn and Catherine Ryan Howard: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/09/28/self-printed-self-publishing/The Creative Penn on creating memorable characters by Joanna Penn: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/10/01/charactersThe Creative Penn on dialogue mistakes by Joanna Penn: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/10/04/dialogue-mistakesThe Zombie Bible on Strangers in the Land by Stant Litore: http://zombiebible.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/coming-october-16.htmlThe Zombie Bible on Stant Litore by Stant Litore: http://zombiebible.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/stant-litore.htmlThe Zombie Bible on why Stant wrote about zombies using the bible as a reference point by Stant Litore: http://zombiebible.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/why-zombie-bible.htmlNicola Morgan on mistaken identity: http://www.nicolamorgan.com/heartsong-blog/deja-vu/Writers in the Storm on using clichés effectively by Margie Lawson: http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/ax-your-cliches-why-and-how/Writers in the Storm on writing motivations—love or money by Shannon Donnelly: http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/do-you-write-for-love-or-money-or-both/Writers in the Storm on incorporating the history in your story without turning it into a lecture by Lyn Horner: http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/writerstrong-writing-historical-romance-not-history-lessons/Writer Unboxed on pitches by Jael McHenry: http://writerunboxed.com/2012/10/01/show-me-the-baby/Writer Unboxed on defining 21st-century literature with Donald Maas: http://writerunboxed.com/2012/10/03/take-5-donald-maass-on-his-new-book-writing-21st-century-fiction-high-impact-techniques-for-exceptional-storytelling/

First Paragraphs: Palmyra Ridge

Palmyra Ridge looks at  how someone from two cultures can make her own place in a changing world. It begins like this:


Chani woke screaming. The Ridge was gone. The shaman stood over her, the rippled blade of his wooden knife gleaming softly in the starlight.


 
 can be found in  



















An Anthology of Worlds was released mid-September 2012 and can be found at Amazon (in e-book and print) and Smashwords.

Response to this week’s Terribleminds flash fiction ‘scary story in three sentences’ challenge

I nearly missed Chuck Wendig’s terriblemindsflash fiction challenge this week, but just scraped the entry in… going by Australian time. The rules for this one were:
Write a scary story in three sentences.It must have a beginning, middle and end.It cannot be a vignette.It must be no longer than 100 words in length.Do not post it in your on-line space.Post it in the comments space for the FlashFiction Challenge: Scary Story in Three Sentences terribleminds blog entry.I don’t think I quite pulled it off, but you can find it near the bottom of the page, at the terribleminds site.

Fisherpriest available

Fisherpriest, my fourth novel is complete and available. Novels 1-3 are a different series and will go up over the next couple of months.

Fisherpriest is a 96,000-word tale of dark fantasy, and the first in a new series set on the world of Tzamesch. It is a story from Vicarey-Esselwood, the founding kingdom of the Five Kingdoms alliance. Please bid welcome to the first of many Tales from the Five Kingdoms.

Overview: When the two halves of her soul rejoin, Linna finds herself in a city she does not recognize on a world she thought existed only in her imagination. To make matters worse, she is captured and sold to four princes from a distant land, who require a priest of the sea, and the god she serves has rejected her. What starts out as a journey to regain her deity’s approval, soon becomes a flight for her life. With one prince at her side, and unspeakable evil at her back, Linna embarks on a journey where she must survive pursuit by the purist Silver Mountains tribeselves, and captivity by the cave spider clan in order to find her place in the world.

Fisherpriest is currently available from Smashwords, but will also become available at Amazon and DriveThruFiction.

Blogs that made me stop: 8 October 2012—Part 3:

These blogs have plenty of advice for those looking to self-publish, undertake NaNoWriMo, market their work (indie or traditional). The third twenty blog entries that made me stop on my catch-up day:
The Book Designer on useful blog articles about self publishing by Joel Friedlander: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2012/09/self-publishing-carnival-of-the-indies-issue-24/The Book Designer on blog spam by Joel Friedlander: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2012/10/author-bloggingg-101-the-evolution-of-spam/The Book Designer on converting an old book to an e-book by Joel Friedlander: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2012/10/is-it-worth-converting-an-old-book-into-an-ebook/The Book Designer on a professional editor’s view and advice on self editing by Joel Friedlander with guest Linda Jay Geldens: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2012/10/self-editing/Storyfix on NaNoWriMo by Larry Brooks: http://storyfix.com/another-nanowrimo-will-this-year-be-differentShannon Donnelly’s FreshInk on shutting down to recuperate: http://shannondonnelly.com/2012/09/25/shutting-the-world-off/The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood on Triberr by JB Ray Webber: http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com/triberr-a-quick-guide/The Raging Swan on using basilisks in roleplaying games: http://raging-swan.livejournal.com/177784.htmlA Writer’s Life on the sorts of mail a writer can get by Lee Goldberg: http://leegoldberg.typepad.com/a_writers_life/2012/10/the-mail-i-get.htmlWriting Teen Novels on getting a second set of eyes to go over your work before you publish or submit by Nansi Kunze: http://writingteennovels.com/2012/10/04/a-different-set-of-eyes-getting-feedback-on-your-writing-by-nansi-kunze/Nick Mamatas on Tom Piccirilli: http://nihilistic-kid.livejournal.com/1795336.htmlNail your Novel with a writing prompt by Roz Morris: http://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2012/09/30/strangers-in-my-photos-writing-prompt-and-tip-for-developing-a-storys-world/Nail your Novel on NaNoWriMo by Roz Morris: http://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2012/10/06/nail-nanowrimo-start-now-3-old-hands-share-their-tips/Nail your Novel on outlining your NaNoWriMo novel by Roz Morris: http://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/how-to-outline-your-story-for-national-novel-writing-month-checklist/Genreality on writing prompts by Charlene Teglia: http://www.genreality.net/writing-promptsGenreality compares world building with party planning by Diana Peterfreund: http://www.genreality.net/how-party-planning-is-like-worldbuildingFuturebook on e-book publishing platforms by Boldur Byarnason: http://futurebook.net/content/ebook-publishing-platforms-are-jokeFuturebook on traditional publishers in the new market by Timo Boezeman: http://futurebook.net/content/story-nobody-tellsWomen on Writing on self-publishing by Elizabeth King Humphrey: http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2012/10/taking-plunge-self-publishing-or-not.htmlWomen on Writing on a writing retreat by Margo Dill: http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2012/10/writing-retreat-lessons-part-two.html

First Lines: Two Worlds Collide

Two Worlds Collide is a non-rhyming poem exploring the idea that perhaps the things we catch out of the corner of our eyes are real. It starts like this:



Have you ever seen two worlds at once,one that's there, and one that's not?It’s a window to another realm,a gatewaywhere potentials mix,and where some may cross while others merelywatch.
can be found in  
















An Anthology of Worlds was released mid-September 2012 and can be found on Amazon (in e-book and paperback) and Smashwords.

Progress Report: Week 2 October 2012

Here’s the progress made this week:Current Projects:The following tasks were completed on my current projects:DarkFantasyNovel2A: edit complete; 1,000 words added; current total = 95k.Fantasy World Notes: added excerpts from DarkFantasyNovel2A and personal notes; 25,000 wordsPublishing Tasks:The following publishing tasks were completed this week:
Wrote and scheduled 17 blog entries;Redesigned covers for Anthology2 and Anthology3;Redesigned covers for all individual short stories and poems in anthologies;Reformatted and re-edited all individual short stories and poems in anthologies;Reformatted and re-edited Anthologies1-4;Re-uploaded all individual titles to Smashwords and Kindle;Re-uploaded Anthologies1-4 to Smashwords, Amazon Kindle, Amazon CreateSpace, and DriveThruFiction;Updated The Simpson Anthologies page on blog;Updated the Flash Fiction page on the blog.Professional Development Tasks:The following craft tasks were completed this week:Wrote and completed ShortStory44—Bright Stars gone toBlack , for the terribleminds flash fiction challenge.Read through the subscribed-to blogs and learned.New Arrivals:Newly arrived ideas for this week include:
CrimeNovel5: about human smuggling;Novella7B: to do with hunters;ShortStory44—Bright Stars gone to Black: in response to the terribleminds blog flash fiction challenge.ShortStory45 : while doing background and outline notes for Steampunk6A-C.Steampunk6A-C: same setting as Steampunk5A. 

Blogs that made me stop 11 October 2012

So, only 151 entries on my subscribed pages today. I've divided the ones that made me stop into subject areas; I hope this helps:Business of Publishing:Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood on marketing insights learned at the Digital Book World Discoverability and Marketing Conference by Sara Ramsey: http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com/digital-book-world-recap/Publishing Perspectives on the link between phones and e-readers by Alex Mutter: http://publishingperspectives.com/2012/10/are-phones-a-gateway-to-larger-format-e-readers/Publishing Perspectives on the future of children’s publishing by Olivia Snaije: http://publishingperspectives.com/2012/10/childrens-publishing-to-pioneer-new-forms-of-reading/Paberback Writer on what not to put on the cover copy of your next title: http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/copy-no-nos.htmlGalleyCat on new Kobo self-publishing tools by Dianna Dilworth: http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/kobo-expands-self-publishing-tools_b58883Dean Wesley Smith on promotion for independent and self-publishers: http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=7938Kristen Lamb on social media and promotion: http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/selling-our-books-on-social-media-dont-be-a-personal-space-invader/Craft Entries:The Blood Red Pencil on place and setting by Elspeth Antonelli: http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/octobers-visit-to-writing-sheep.htmlDavid Farland on using cultural guilt to build character and story depth: http://www.davidfarland.net/writing_tips/?a=143Crime Fiction Collective on using multiple plot lines by Jennifer Hilborne: http://crimefictioncollective.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/have-you-lost-plot.htmlThe Other Side on keeping the plot going by guest Tamara Ireland Stone: http://blog.janicehardy.com/2012/10/guest-author-tamara-ireland-stone.htmlRoleplaying Industry:The Raging Swan on Wizards of the Coasts latest release: http://raging-swan.livejournal.com/179558.htmlPelgrane Press on monster damage in 13thAge by Jonathan Tweet: http://www.pelgranepress.com/?p=927018+ ONLY sitePlaying D&D with Porn Stars on DMing for a university game design class by Zak: http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/dming-for-game-design-class.htmlThe Writing Life:Jim C. Hines on being a writer: http://www.jimchines.com/2012/10/when-the-writing-isnt-fun/The Creative Penn with productivity tips for writers by Ben Ellis: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/10/10/10-productivity-tips-for-writers/

Why I read so many blogs and what I’ve learned so far

It all started because I couldn’t get a broad enough view from inside Australia, either by reading what was available from the Australian industry or talking to those in it. I grew frustrated because all I heard was the same views again and again, but I was working for e-pubs based in the U.S. I was freelancing as an editor, administrator and writer; selling novellas (six before I stopped submitting them); and reading the mainly U.S.-based e-pub market news, as well as blogs and articles by traditionally published and e-published authors based world-wide. I started having trouble believing what I had heard over fifteen years of listening to advice at every Australian workshop, bookshop, convention or book launch I attended, which was:

To get novels published, you first have to have short stories published;To be considered by an Australian publisher, you had to have a recommendation from a reader, whose opinion the publisher recognized; this from at least two editors I had phone conversations with. (When I looked up those readers, they were authors doing assessments on the side, and you had to pay for your assessments.)You were not a ‘real’ writer unless you had a publishing contract from a bricks-and-mortar publishing house.To get an editor to look at your work (without above recommendation) you should attend conferences and workshops and talk to them so they had a face to match with the name in the slush pile.

And then there were the attitudes, which used to be:
Writing adventures for roleplaying companies wasn’t ‘real’ writing;Neither was writing romance;If it’s not literary or deeply meaningful, it doesn’t have value;If you didn’t publish Australian-first (or only) you were betraying ‘your’ industry.

Maybe that was how it used to be, but things are changing fast. It was interesting to hear a traditionally published, author recently say that traditional publishers in the U.S. were about a year behind the curve and starting to catch up, but that Australian publishers were two years behind. Was she right? Who knows?
Nowadays, the publishing industry everywhere is making moves to adapt. Markets that seemed firmly locked shut are opening up to non-agented, unsolicited, and non-recommended submissions from new authors, but there is still the idea that ‘the best advertising for your novel is a book on the shelf’ (in a bookstore). I don’t understand this, when the advice I’m finding from dozens of successful authors blogging about their revitalised career as an independent publisher is that ‘the best advertising for your novel, is your next novel [so get writing]’. Change is in the air, and everyone is trying to keep up —regardless of if they are an author, agent, editor or a publisher.
Reading these blogs are a result of me wanting to get a bigger picture than I could get by asking the established ‘experts’ in Australia, I research as broadly as I can and try to understand this ever-shifting world. Along the way, I have found a number of traditionally published, independently publishing and ‘hybrid’ authors who talked about their recent, current and on-going experiences. All of them say one thing everyone needs to remember:
THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY TO GO ABOUT BEING PUBLISHED, ONLY THE WAY THAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU.
So, what I have taken away from all the blogs I’ve been fortunate enough to read and industry experts I’ve had the privilege of listening to is this:
While I might not be considering traditional avenues right now, or perhaps being very sceptical of how beneficial they are for me, those avenues will be perfect for others.I might not yet be seeking an agent, but an agent might be the best way to go for another writer—and I know of more than one who have wonderful agents working with them.Some authors will prefer to go purely traditional, others purely indie, and more than a few will combine the two avenues to their benefit. No one is right or wrong in the method they choose.The world of publishing is changing and everyone in it will need to adapt;The reader is king and therefore content is king;If you independently publish, get an editor or at least have another set of eyes go over your work, have professional artwork, constantly hone your writing skills using every method available to you, regularly produce new work for public consumption;If you traditionally publish, get at least another set of eyes to go over your work, constantly hone your writing skills using every method available to you, regularly produce new work for whatever markets you care to target;Create, or become part of, a writing community—or several, if that suits you;Take the risk (be it submitting to an agent, publisher or editor, or independently publishing); andBelieve in yourself.

Now, stop procrastinating, turn off your internet and go finish your book, short story, poem, play, game script, adventure, whatever. How can anyone get to read it, if you don’t finish it and get it out there?