David Pandolfe's Blog, page 3

A Boxed Set and a Snow Day (Life is Good)

Jump When Ready Boxed Set

I guess it could be argued that putting together a boxed set isn’t much of an achievement. After all, you already wrote the books and all that’s involved is some formatting and bit of legwork on Amazon or whatever platform you choose. So, what is there to be excited about? Well…

It’s only been about a year and a half since I first decided to jump into indie publishing (pun not intended but, okay, I’ll leave it) when I decided to put Jump When Ready out there. I’m sure I won’t be the only one to report that it was a little scary putting that first book out there and waiting to see how it went over. But things went well, as it turned out. Jump When Ready got great reviews from bloggers and customers while selling pretty nicely. Still, all I had was the one book and it seemed like it would be a very long time before I’d see my blog and Amazon author page featuring multiple books, not to mention a boxed set.

The great thing about indie publishing is that there’s nothing to stop you from writing and putting out three more books within a year. I honestly had no idea I could produce that much but somehow I managed to do it (I know there are quite a few out there who produce much more rapidly but, for me, that was a definite achievement). Consequently, I’m feeling quite excited and proud at putting the Jump When Ready Boxed Set out there into the world. It’s one of those author milestones I can now tick off my list, one I didn’t see coming so soon. And, as I mentioned before, there’s another milestone achievement coming along too (one I didn’t even really think about a year ago) with the audio book of Streetlights Like Fireworks coming out next month.

The day started with checking for snow accumulation on the dog.

Onto some totally unrelated stuff here (I hope no one minds) since I can’t help report being in a fantastic mood. I know so many people are utterly beyond sick of winter but, here in Richmond, we’re just now getting our first significant snowfall and resulting snow day tomorrow (schools have already cancelled). We get winter late here, quite often not seeing snow until January or February (occasionally March). So, tonight we have a fire going while we all watch a movie. Tomorrow, I’m sure we’ll break out the sleds. Then, tomorrow afternoon, I’m anticipating enjoying some perfect winter writing weather while I work on the follow-up to Streetlights Like Fireworks. So, who knows? Maybe there’s another boxed set coming along in the future. If so, great. But right now I’m celebrating things as they are at the moment.

Hey, why not celebrate the moment too by grabbing a copy of the Jump When Ready Boxed Set? Great reading for your next snow day!

One of our neighbors did a Christmas reboot because of the snow. You have to take it when you can get it in Richmond.

Snow day! The first time we’ve used our fireplace this winter.

A Bit of Exciting News

It’s been a busy few weeks but it’s high time I checked in here for a quick update:

I received an extremely pleasant surprise earlier in the month with an email from ACX (Amazon’s Audio Creation Exchange) informing me that they’d offered a stipend to narrators interested in producing an audio book version of Streetlights Like Fireworks. I had been wondering about creating an audio book and, just for the heck of it, put Streetlights in the running on ACX a few days beforehand to see if I would hear from prospective producers. I was thrilled when, in the hours and days following that email, I started hearing from a wide range of talented narrators interested in the project. It was really exciting to hear words I’d written in the narration samples as I listened and tried to decide who should narrate the book (it was a bit strange, actually, to find myself in that position of wearing the producer hat). One narrator, Adam Verner, totally nailed it with the way he read Jack, the main character of the novel. He just sounded so much like how I imagined Jack’s voice. So, here we are just a few weeks later and things are coming along really nicely.

At this point, I’m in the review phase of the project, listening to how the entire book works as an audio experience. This is totally new to me, actually, since I’m much more of a reader and have probably only listened to a handful of audio books in the past. To be honest, it’s kind of mind-blowing to drive along (that’s how I’ve found it best to listen) as I hear a book that I actually wrote being narrated. I guess in some ways, it must be what it’s like for a writer whose book becomes a movie (well, sort of) to see how the characters and story are interpreted.

By the way, the timing of this couldn’t be better since I’m writing a follow-up to Streetlights Like Fireworks right now and it’s a great way of getting back into that world after switching to the Jump When Ready world for the past couple of months while I wrote the third book, Stepping into the Sky (that one came out at the beginning of the month too, by the way).

So, January was a really exciting month (couldn’t think of a better way to kick off a new year, actually). I’d love to know how others feel about audio books. Do you think a book must be read to be truly experienced? Or, do you enjoy audio books just as much, but in a different way? It seems to me, they are something of a different animal. Anyway, I’ll post here when the audio book for Streetlights Like Fireworks comes out. I suspect it will happen next month. Early March at the latest.

How To Win Sales And Influence Algorithms

David Pandolfe:

I kind of doubt there are any indie writers not already subscribed to David Gaughran’s blog, but here’s another great post, just in case. This one features Nick Stephenson and Matt Iden offering advice about writers cross-promoting each other’s work to mutual benefit. Great stuff, as always.

Originally posted on David Gaughran:

I’m hosting a discussion today between two authors who are using creative ways to share audiences, something which has the happy side-effect of increasing their respective sales.

As I said on Thursday, I think creative forms of collaboration – especially in terms of marketing strategies – are going to be big this year.

Traditionally published authors may have to compete with each other ways that may not be relevant/important to self-publishers – like agents, deals, grants, prizes, or co-op. But self-publishers have nothing to fear from cooperating with authors they are nominally competing with, and everything to gain.

The market is so large that no writer will ever reach all the readers out there, and the odds of getting noticed can improve greatly with the right kind of cooperation – as many authors with box sets saw last year.

If you are still skeptical, consider this: Amazon’s recommendation engine can drive sales like nothing else. The Also…

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Honored

I just saw this tonight (okay, a little slow on the uptake but you know how the holidays are). I feel very honored that one of my books was included!

Bound by Words blog “Favourite Reads of 2014.” Yes, “favourite,” which somehow just makes it seem that much more elegant. So cool…

Embrace the Seized Diem

In the spirit of carpe diem, seize the day (okay, that’s the same thing), embrace the moment (well, that’s kind of the same thing too but who cares), and other inspiring synonymous aphorisms, I guess I should mention that Stepping into the Sky (Jump When Ready, Book 3) has been featured for two days as an Amazon “Hot New Release” in one of its categories. Will the new book be in that spotlight tomorrow? I hope so but, since that might not be the case, it seems like another good reason to mention it here tonight. After all, life is short, time is fleeting and…never mind. Got a screenshot. Shared it. Day officially seized!

Embrace the seized diem

In the spirit of carpe diem, seize the day (okay, that’s the same thing), embrace the moment (well, that’s kind of the same thing too but who cares), and other inspiring synonymous aphorisms, I guess I should mention that Stepping into the Sky (Jump When Ready, Book 3) has been featured for two days as an Amazon “Hot New Release” in one of its categories. Will the new book be in that spotlight tomorrow? I hope so but, since that might not be the case, it seems like another good reason to mention it here tonight. After all, life is short, time is fleeting and…never mind. Got a screenshot. Shared it. Day officially seized!

Stepping into the Sky

What better way to start a new year than to publish a new book? Stepping into the Sky (Jump When Ready, Book 3) is now out!

Thanks for making last year such a good one! Here’s to 2015. I hope you’re all off to a great start too!

 

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays (and, yes, I really created this book banner – my apologies)!

Well, we’re closing in on the end of the year and it really has been a good one. It’s been exciting to have three books out and Jump When Ready, Book 3 will be published next month (working on the follow-up to Streetlights Like Fireworks too, as well as other ideas). But, more importantly, I wanted to thank all of you who’ve read my books this year, those who’ve left reviews (really, thank you so much!) as well as you guys who’ve subscribed to my newsletter (I’ve really enjoyed talking to you and I look forward to receiving emails from you in the future). Thank you for making it such a great year! I thought I’d pay you back by creating possibly the dorkiest book banner ever (notice the fine details on this masterpiece, once again suggesting that a little Photoshop knowledge can be a dangerous thing). Anyway, before I get totally distracted by family, friends, food, presents, food (and more food), I just wanted to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope all of you have fantastic holiday season! See you soon and thanks again very much!

NaNoEdMo (that wasn’t a typo)

Now that it’s December, I can finally stop feeling like a loser for not joining the NaNoWriMo party last month. Again, don’t get me wrong. I think it’s a fantastic idea and I totally admire and support those who undertook that challenge, whether they met their goal or just kicked off a draft to keep working on. Either way, it’s all about motivation and how could there be anything wrong with that?

As I mentioned in my last post, my goal for November was to finish edits on my new book, Jump When Ready # 3 (actual title forthcoming). Did I make my goal? Well, sort of. I mean, I did finish a first round of editing. Then, a second. Both of those were done last month. Now, I’m on my third (the plan is to finish this weekend). Anyways, it seems to me that it’s only fitting to talk a little about editing. What else could possibly follow NaNoWriMo? Please don’t tell me you guys can both write and edit a novel in 30 days.

As it stands right now, I don’t pay someone to edit my books. Partly, because I can’t afford to and partly because I’m not sure how someone else could straighten out the mess I create for myself every time I draft a novel (even though these days I do use “story beats” to keep me from veering too far off course). I mean, sure, an editor could catch those typos and repeating phrases, all that, but I suspect there would be some serious head-scratching going on, at least following the first draft and maybe even the second. It’s in those drafts that I turn what I thought I was saying into what I actually meant to say. By the time I get that far, I figure I might as well take it the rest of the way as far as line-editing is concerned. I may very well change my mind about this in the future, so don’t hold me to this.

I think we can all agree that there’s really nothing very exciting about editing. When I started writing this post, I totally assumed there was no such thing as NaNoEdMo. As it turns out, I was wrong but those folks are on hiatus for this year. Either way, it’s kind of hard to imagine NaNoEdMo creating anything similar to the buzz of NaNoWriMo. Hey, everybody, let’s all get together and celebrate squinting in puzzlement! Let’s delete, move, move again, rewrite, recast, revise, clarify and further develop! Let’s all admit that, at times, we think we’re totally shitty writers who can’t possibly get it right the first time! Or the second, or even third. Woot, woot! Maybe I’m wrong and it’s just me. Maybe, I’m just ridiculous about things like shuffling pronouns around and cutting dialogue tags (for which, I’m once again grateful that I chose to write a series of novels where, at times, as many as five or more people all join in on a conversation). For me, editing seems like it takes forever, and I write fairly short novels.

I don’t mention it often because I know how it can go over. People can really get the wrong idea. But, yes, I went through an MFA program. There, I said it. But, hang on. Everyone thinks you’re supposed to emerge as some sort of literary genius if you get an MFA. Looking back, I think that may actually be one of the biggest problems with MFA programs—that those in them start to think that they should either produce gorgeous gems of literary fiction or bail on writing entirely. As for me, I just wanted to get better at crafting stories (plus, I didn’t have to pay since I was a GTA). Why do I bring up the MFA thing? Not to impress anyone since I’m not producing gems of literary fiction (hopefully, though, I am producing well-crafted stories). I mention it only because I think those workshops—those sometimes sadistic, torturous dissections of our own manuscripts at the hands of others—were really helpful in teaching me how to distance myself from my own work enough to do a decent job of editing, especially when it came to cutting stuff that wasn’t serving any real purpose or advancing the story. Which, come to think of it, might be why I write fairly short novels. Every time I draft one, it ends up shedding a few thousand words by the time I finish revising.

Anyway, all of this is to say that editing is a big part of the process. It’s when the fun stops and the work begins. At least, I bet it feels that way for a lot of people. At the same time, that’s not to say editing isn’t gratifying. For me, it’s a really great feeling when I read the book for the fourth (or tenth) time and realize I finally got it where it needed to go, that it’s ready to be published. Then again, I’d also be lying to say that I’d rather be editing than drafting that next book. I mean, come on, let’s be honest. Editing is a pain in the ass.

How’s NaNoEdMo going for you? We’re at the same party now, right? Guys? Are you with me?

 

Image via Creative Commons (adapted):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/roland/with/11165885236/

NaNoWriMo Guilt

So, yeah. First of all, I think NaNoWriMo is a fantastic idea. I’ve heard the criticisms from those who feel differently but I don’t agree with that point of view. How can something not be great if it motivates people to do what they’ve been meaning to, in some cases, for a very long time? Why would you want to rain on that parade? But there’s another side to NaNoWriMo—the dark side. Yep, guilt. It’s like that diet that never quite happens or that promise to hit the gym more that doesn’t pan out (notice passive voice there). It makes you feel like a loser. That’s me and NaNoWriMo. Every year, I really want to participate. Honestly, I totally do. I want to have that nifty word count gauge proudly displayed on my blog. I want to show the world that I’m creating a new novel in less time that it takes most people to rake their lawn. So, what’s stopping me?

That’s exactly what I keep asking myself. This year I told myself I’d plunge in and join the fun. Okay, I did just finish a new novel last week. But it took me two and a half months to write it. I know. I probably shouldn’t admit that publicly. That’s considered ridiculously slow these days. But, for me, that’s pretty darned good and I can thank people like Johnny, Sean and Dave (fellow indies, you know who I’m talking about) for enlightening me to the effectiveness of “story beats.” Damn, who knew outlines actually worked. I always thought they were for the weak. For the record, I will never pants my way through anything again. The result (for me, at least) is that I basically I’ve had to rewrite the whole damned thing and that’s just a total waste of time. But you might notice here that I’ve digressed. Am I maybe avoiding the NaNoWriMo question? I kind of get the feeling I am. So, what’s my excuse?

Is it fear of failure? Well, no. I don’t think so. I can deal with failure. I fail at many things. Sports, for example. Yeah, I’m pretty bad at most of those (although I’m a decent swimmer and an active person—just for the record). Maybe it’s fear of public failure? That actually might be closer to the truth since I totally know there’s no way I’m going to produce even a decent draft in 30 days. There, I said it. That’s the truth. Okay, maybe if I quit my job and totally ignore my family. Then, I think I might be able to pull it off. Otherwise, I’m pretty sure I’d fall far short of the goal. Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure there are lots of people who can produce quality work in that timeframe, even as they balance other demanding aspects of their life. I’m just not one of those people.

That’s my problem, not yours. I’ll just have to deal with it. So, I guess this is my way of saying to all of you who’ve committed to the NaNoWriMo endeavor that I admire you. I support you. I envy you a little. Most of all, though, I wish you all the luck in the world and can’t wait to read your novels! Meanwhile, I’m hoping to finish editing my new book by the end of the month. Should I admit that it takes me that long? I realize that’s not very impressive but it’s just the truth. I’ll be lucky if I finish my edits that quickly (probably, I won’t). You can see here why I can’t possibly feed Amazon sufficiently as so many seem to be attempting by publishing a new book every month or so in response to the “30 Day Cliff.” I honestly have no idea how that’s even possible but I do know it’s not possible for me.

So, I guess I won’t be going to the party again this year. I’ll be staying home, struggling with guilt and the sense of being a social media outcast who can’t rightfully employ #NaNoWriMo in any of my Twitter posts (but I can retweet to show support, right?). I’ll be slowly slogging my way through the new novel one paragraph at a time, hoping to polish it up and make it worthy of publishing. I guess that too is something of an admirable goal but I fully realize it’s not nearly as cool or exciting. Still, please wish this slowpoke good luck and I will do the same to all of you. Good luck, guys! Maybe next year. Maybe…