R.W. Krpoun's Blog, page 25

Another thanks to my readers

Wastrel has been selling steadily, and I just checked and found not one, but two great reviews.

It is impossible to explain just how valuable that sort of encouragement is. The idea that people enjoy my work is the most valuable return for the effort I put into my books.

Thank you very much.

Organization

A significant key to writing is organization of ideas, and of events in-story. For the latter I create a separate document which I print and keep close to hand as I crank out rough draft, noting people’s names, names of places, notes on gear, and all the other details of a project. Few details are too small; you don’t want three passing encounters, all named Frank, for example.

For years I have used notes jotted on scrap paper for the ideas, thoughts, and factoids pertaining to the many projects I have in progress, stalled, and still formulating, but since my retirement and greater free time these have multiplied into piles that are constantly being scattered by cat forays into my office, and which have over-run my work areas even when in place.

I’ve tried using a Word document, but it doesn’t lend itself to my process, so I went old-school, using a journal I bought in DFW airport back in 2008. One page per project, and a couple pages for ideas that have not yet made it to project status, and suddenly my desk is more open (I still have a broad collection of items that apparently are essential taking up space). Sometimes all you need is a system.

The long wait

So after the tribulations of equipping a finished and (hopefully) edited  book with a cover and blurb as noted in my last missive, comes the dreaded two-fold wait: the first ice-breaking sale, and the first review.

I am fortunate to get quick ice-breaking sales these days, but I have experienced the soul-crippling days of a published first book which no one wants. That is an experience that ends more writing careers than carpal tunnel. Anyone can write a book, but not many can take that sort of rejection; fortunately I trained for this event by getting shot down by countless women in my early years, so I was able  to bear up under it and keep going forward.

Next is the wait for a review; reviews are the real motivation for many indie writers. The profits in writing are slender, and for purists like me the idea that someone read and enjoyed my work is the reward. Although I don’t tear up my royalty checks, I should note.

If you like a indie book, take the time to post a positive review; they are hard to come by (actual reviews) and mean a great deal to us small fry. Avoid negative reviews; if you don’t like something about a book, notify the author on his or her blog or Facebook page. We want to hear what was liked or disliked, but once posted a bad review will haunt an author for a long time. Tell him or her in a different format.

 

On a side note, as usual after publishing a book I made yet another search for marketing advice, and located a couple good leads. We’ll see how that plays out.

Writing is just the start

Having just published my seventeenth novel, I am again inclined to ponder the non-writing of the process. Editing is a tough gig, sometimes taking longer than the actual writing.  Professional editors price themselves out of the indie writer’s budget; fortunately most indie readers are forgiving, and using non-professionals will suffice. It helps that Amazon is easy to plug in updated versions of your manuscript.

The blurb is a stressful part of the package; how do you sell a book in a paragraph? I don’t feel comfortable claiming my books are all that special, although I have done quite well by indie standards. ‘Quite well’ is not, however, the sort of adjectives that you want to use in a blurb.

The cover is a major pain. I have poor visual creativity, and after some forays into hiring artists (never fun) I have settled on functional covers.

Where I am most lacking is marketing. Writer’s boards are full of what did not work, but the methods that do work are carefully guarded secrets. I keep an eye out for methods, but meanwhile I cherish my reviews and the slow but steady sales I do get, and keep writing. Sooner or later I’ll stumble upon a workable plan, and until then I’ll continue to crank out more books.

In the final accounting, it is the writing that I love.

A Wastrel’s Tale is published

Should be available on Saturday, Sunday by the latest, Amazon is a little irregular in how long of a delay between upload and being available for sale.

Tale stalled for months due to a plot failure at the end of Part II, and required an extensive re-write and lengthy review to get into shape.

This one was a struggle for me; the setting and concept stayed solid (necromancy in a pike & shot era), but the main character’s motivations and role resisted being defined for a long time. I tried to move a bit away from my usual character types, trying to expand my abilities and scope of a writer; in the end, I can’t say that I really accomplished that, but I tried.

Other projects await, and no later than Monday I’ll be crunching words on the next book. I hope everyone enjoys Tale, and leaves a good review.

Update X

I am long behind my schedule; thew last two months have been difficult ones filled with home and climate issues. I have continued to work on several projects while struggling with The Wastrel’s Tale; the book proved to be a tough edit and even tougher re-write.

However, the re-write is done and now I am putting the final changes and proofs to two chapters a day. I hope to have it published by the end of the month, although I’ve been wrong before.

The value of science

So I was reflected on my school days, and I realized I took science classes from 7th grade to 12th grade, and off the top of my head I remember the definition of inertia, how spontaneous combustion works, and a vague outline of the scientific process.

That’s it for five years of classes. I’m confident I never used any of my science classes or the advanced math I took (and I didn’t take much), and being retired I can say that with assurance.

If they had let me skip the classes that I had never used, I could have finished high school three semesters early.

Once again, if you thought I was going somewhere with this, you were wrong.

Stay strong, my friends, and ponder the roads not taken, and the needless ones they made us take.

The Con was great!

It was very small, but it was my first con so that was actually a good thing. I spoke at length with several other indie authors, checking out the possibilities of increasing my branding.

The high point was a panel discussion headed by Ken Hite, a prominent writer in the RPG field. While the topic was gamemastering, it was completely applicable to plot development, and I took copious notes on my phone. That alone was worth the drive and price of admission.

In all, a very worthwhile undertaking.

Going to ChupacabraCon V on Saturday

I have been bust trying to write a new book while finished the editing of The Wastrel’s Tale, and predictably this has not been efficient, but both projects are moving steadily along.

On the spur of the moment I have decided to attend ChupacabraCon V in Round Rock because I have never been to a gaming con before. It;s just a day trip so it won’t know a big hole in my writing schedule. I thought it might be interesting, and perhaps I might pick up some inspiration.

Update IX

Me latest book, A Wastrel’s Tale, is in final edit. I hope to have it in print before the end of the month.

Meanwhile I am struggling with a plot arc for a new project; I have a solid setting, the opening chapters setting the stage, and a vast gray void where the story arc should be.

But I will not give up. I will ponder it on the beaches, I will ponder it in the hills, I will never give up.

Unless another project breaks out and I go to work on that.