Rich Samuels's Blog, page 5

Experiments in Storytelling: Wattpad's "Tap"

I recently engaged in a bit of experimental storytelling using a new app called Tap . Created by the people at Wattpad, the creative writing site (and available for both Android and iOS), it also allows authors to freely create and share their work with a wider audience. What sets Tap apart, however, is that it's all about telling stories "chat" style—in other words, through the back and forth texting that dominates so much of our lives.

The opening lines of Played.The story is told entirely through dialogue. There's no description or third person observation. The scene must be set and the story told entirely through text. Character names can be indicated as one might find in a group chat, and a background image for the chat screen can help set the scene. Also, if the story occurs in more than one setting, that background image can change to indicate a change in venue.

Finally, the author can add a book cover (in this case, a simple representative image), and add a short description and category (or multiple categories)—for example,  romantic, scary, magical or suspenseful.

My story, Played, is the tale of two young gamers planning to meet IRL (In Real Life) for the first time. Will the meeting happen—or is this all a game?

The story selection screen looks nice, but
so far, it's not possible to search anything but
  category. I haven't yet found my story. Played is told in a total of 177 messages. The reader will either Tap the screen (if in the App, or tap the "Tap" bar, if on a desktop) to move on to the next text.

Here's my story. You'll be guided to the desktop reader if that's where you're clicking.

I encourage you to follow the link, Tap through the story, and tell me what you think here on the blog or through my social media channels. As the App is in its early days (feature improvements are promised), I'd also appreciate if you would share it as well. Reader feedback isn't built in (yet), so

I had great fun creating this story, and I'll likely create a few more Tap experiences. It's a great stream-of-consciousness exercise and brainstorming tool, too. I'm very curious to see what readers think.

And who knows, it just might inspire my next book...

Is Alexander Right for my Kid?

All Three Books Add Lexile Text Scores
I've taken an important step in making my books student friendly by obtaining Lexile® Scores for all three books. 

Recognized as the standard for matching readers with texts, tens of millions of students worldwide receive a Lexile measure that helps them find targeted readings from the more than 100 million articles, books and websites that have been measured.

My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain has a score of 690L, Own the Scrawny is 740L, and My Epic Life is 640L.

So, what does this actually mean? For comparison's sake, popular books in the same Lexile range include The Maze Runner, The Book Thief, The Giver, Wonder, Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Holes. 

Please forward this to educators and parents that might find this useful , and check out RichSamuelsAuthor.com for a list of challenging words for each book, according to the Lexile Framework. Just select Parents/Teachers  on the menu and choose "Lexile Measures."

My Epic Life is now available as a $2.99 e-book on all popular platforms. 

I've also started recording an Epic audiobook. Remember, My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain and Own the Scrawny are already available as audiobooks. You can find them on Amazon. By this summer, the entire series will be road trip ready!


I made an appearance at Barnes and Noble recently at a fundraiser for Bridgeport Elementary School, and once again attended the Santa Clarita Local Author Celebration at the Newhall Public Library.

Check out Greg Baldwin's fun behind-the-scenes video of my time at the Local Author Celebration.

Finally, here's an in-depth interview I gave on the new YouTube channel, Writing Fun.  Michelle Dunton covered everything from the origin of the Alexander books, to my evolution as a writer. She's also the latest in a line of homeschool moms who have found my books especially appealing. Watch the interview to find out why!

If you feel inspired, both of these YouTube channels would appreciate your subscription.

That's all for now! Remember, if you want these updates (about 4 a year) delivered straight to your mailbox, you can sign up here.

Rich  

Random Questions and Rich

Quora, the question and answer social website that I've taken a liking to recently, is continuing to fascinate me.

As of this writing, my all-time views stand at 11,100. I'm a "Most Viewed Writer" in the categories of Bullying, School Bullying and Cyberbullying, but I answer questions in other categories as well, including Overcoming Fear, Understanding Human Behavior, Writing Advice, and History.

Here are links to some of my most popular answers. Please make sure you "upvote" on Quora if you like what you see—that's Quora's equivalent of a "like." Comments are also encouraged.

My all time most popular answer was in response to What are some cases of Extreme Bullying? Hint: Elon Musk!

I cheated on my fiance with a coworker and oddly I don't regret it. Does that make me a bad person? What should I do next? 

Why are middle school kids bullied the most (including me)?

Can a 7 year old read and understand Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn? Is the content in both the books appropriate for a 7 year old?

I'm 15, Do I have any possibility of living on Mars?

I answer at least a few questions every day. If you would like to read along, you can follow me on Quora or Twitter.

Middle School and Bullying: A Look at Google Trends

Lately, as I look for opportunities to bring my Alexander Adventure books into the hands of more readers, I've been using the Google Trends tool for some insights into some of the key search terms associated with my stories. If you're not familiar with it, Google Trends allows you to track the search history for given terms, and look at historical trends for that search term going back over ten years.

By studying these trends, I'm hoping to develop a strategy and a timetable for my future Alexander efforts.

I've found some interesting results

Every September, as kids go back to school, there's a spike in searches for the phrase "middle school" as new incoming students attempt to allay their fears.
 
Every October, as school culture develops,  there's a spike in searches for the phrase "bullying." It's clear that some kids are maneuvering for advantage—and some are losing out.

Cyberbullying (which you will notice has little history as a search term before 2009) has a slightly different result. As with bullying, there's a spike in October, but there's also a second spike in April. We could speculate that spring vacation offered a fresh opportunity to engage in harassment. Curiously, there's no similar spike during winter vacation. Perhaps the "battle lines" aren't as clearly drawn. Or maybe everyone's just enjoying the holiday.


As I develop my plans for the fall, I'll be keeping in mind this timeline. I'll look for opportunities to talk and write about these issues during the critical months of August through October. Alexander is all about facing, overcoming and triumphing over fear. I want him to be there when kids (and their parents) are looking for answers.

Marketing to Make a Difference

If there's one thing I've learned since I've launched my Alexander series,  it's that marketing as an indie author is a long-term game. To a great extent, it's about building up my Brand. I've come to better understand the difference between a Brand and a Product. The books are my Products. Rich Samuels, the author, is the Brand. More precisely, Rich Samuels, an author who has written three books about facing, overcoming and triumphing over fear (or to be more precise exact) bullying is the brand.
Quora Logo
Bringing this a step further, because of my experience in writing about the subject, I can speak with some expertise about subjects involving fear and bullying. Drill down even further, and one could say that as a fiction writer (someone who by trade interprets human interaction) I can provide a unique perspective on the subject that is separate and distinct from (but complimentary to) counselors/therapists/psychologists who approach the issue from a more analytical perspective.

Alexander's journey is all about perception. His response to the world around him changes as his understanding of that world evolves. Fearing the worst brings out the worst in him. With growing confidence, he not only becomes a better person, but helps someone else face his own fear.

One of the steps I've taken to develop my Brand is to contribute to Quora.com, "a question-and-answer website where questions are asked, answered, edited and organized by its community of users." In a few weeks time, I've become a "Most Viewed Writer on School Bullying" answering numerous questions about the nature of bullying. You can check it out here. Some questions were simple expressions of curiosity. Others, it seemed, express a real crisis.

My experience with Quora, and my evolving opportunities to publicly talk about fear and bullying has become more than simply a marketing game. It's an opportunity to reach out and make a difference.

Backstory Icebergs

Backstories, for those unfamiliar with the term, are the histories of individual characters - the life stories that made them who they are "today," but aren't necessarily included in the finished novel. A number of the supporting characters in my Alexander books have fairly dark backstories.

Backstories exist so that the writer can  understand and develop believable character motivation. Hemingway called it the Iceberg Theory: The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. If the writer does his job well enough, he said, the reader will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. 

Even though my books are humorous in nature, the stories behind certain characters are serious.

I've hinted at some: Colin, introduced in Own the Scrawny, is a new student at Alexander's school; though we never quite learn the details, we know that bullying at his old school created the troubled boy Alexander meets in the school library, and in fact drove him to switch schools. We (and Alexander) learn a bit more of his past in My Epic Life, but only enough to gain a hint of the gravity of the situation, and motivate important action in the novel.

Alexander's good friend, Darrell, is in a wheelchair. The reader learns only the most general outline of the accident that put him there: Darrell was struck by a drunk driver. Of all the backstories, his is probably one of the most developed. I know, fairly extensively, how the accident happened, what became of the driver, and Darrell's struggle to survive in the months after. I'm also familiar with his lingering anger about the accident.

In the novels, Darrell is Alexander's voice of reason. While Alexander's other friends tolerate his eccentricities, Darrell confronts him. He's a loyal friend, but he directly challenges Alexander when his behavior seems immature. Darrell's more adult view of the world isn't surprising, given the trauma he's experienced.

If all of this seems pretty heavy for these books, remember that there's a close relationship between comedy and tragedy. Tending to that relationship, and thinking of characters as real people with histories, is the difference between a story that just makes people laugh, and one that also makes them care.

Follow me on Twitter @rickflix

Fear Can Make You Smile

Every book festival I've attended is a learning experience. This year, with a trilogy of "Alexander" books in the offing, I've made a point of attending as many public events as I can. With the exception of a few very local events, it's not something I've done before, so I'm still learning the ropes: I'm looking for the right physical and verbal presentation.
Last weekend, at the Palmdale Book Festival, I tried a new pitch: I asked visitors to recall their anxiety at starting a new school, joining a new group or, really stepping into unknown territory for the very first time. Usually, that initial anxiety disappears as the unknown becomes the familiar. 
In My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain  Alexander holds on to that initial fear. Even though he has friends, and his world around him seems generally non-threatening, he still believes that the Unknown is still out there, right around the next corner, and he'd better live his life accordingly.
Whether I was describing the story to a teenager or adult, the idea of Alexander's unfounded fears produced the same reaction: a broad smile of recognition. 
We've all been there. At one time or another, we've all spent precious energy dreading and fearing what lies just ahead, only to discover that it wasn't so bad after all. 

I think that's part of the reason Alexander's fun to root for - the reader can see what Alexander can't: everything's going to be okay.

Fear, Bullying and My Books

Local radio here in the Santa Clarita Valley has proved to be a nice jumping-off point as I launch the third of my "Alexander Adventure" books. Coach Ron Tunick has had me on twice on his Business of Life program. On the first program, we discussed my book series, but on the second, we talked about bullying, one of the critical themes across all three books.

For the most part, Alexander isn't a bullied kid; but he is a kid who lives his life in constant fear that he'll be humiliated, pranked or otherwise assaulted by his classmates. His fears control his life, providing the basis for a great deal of the humor in his story, but also underlining the reality that fear alone can control your life. In My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain, Alexander discovers–almost too late–that in his suspicion and mistrust of his classmates, he's become a bully.

Coach Tunick and I discussed my thoughts on bullying and the idea that Alexander's skewed perception of the world around him is his greatest challenge.  I hope these three books show how Alexander meets that challenge and becomes a better person for it.  At the beginning of the first book,  Alexander is a scared, self-centered little boy. By the end of the third book, he's more confident and compassionate. I've tried to craft a relatable story about growing up.

Using Alexander's story as a platform to talk about bullying issues has been one of my objectives for quite a long time. My special thanks to Coach Ron Tunick for helping me launch this effort. 


You can listen to my discussion with Coach Ron Tunick here. 

Media inquiries: press@rlsventures.com

"My Epic Life" Launches; Anxiety Follows

As of today, My Epic Life is available to the public (just paperback, initially). I'm offering it for purchase on Amazon sites around the world. For the first time, I'm also offering it for sale on Etsy.com, a site which will allow me to offer signed copies, the purchase of the three books as a set and, soon, other special packages.


So, everything is in place.

I have now completed what I've recently taken to calling the Alexander Adventures Trilogy. The overall concept, that of a boy's journey from fearful kid to being a self-assured teen, seems to have appeal.

I've also achieved my objective of writing a professional, well-edited work that touches readers emotionally. The books have received positive reviews - for which I'm happy and grateful.

Now I'm facing the next challenge: more effectively bringing Alexander to his intended audience. Putting aside advertising for the moment, I'm hoping to distinguish this marketing effort from those of my previous books by focusing on several areas. These are the ones on my mind right now:

Coverage across social media platforms, including YouTube, blogs, and podcasts. I had some success in this area with my first book, but not so much with my second. I'm hoping to increase my online presence this time around. I'll also be returning to more frequent blog updates. I need to encourage more reviews than those I have currently. As a relatively unknown indie author, reviews are a great tool, both in number and my ability to quote readers in my marketing efforts.Personal appearances at book fairs, events and other venues. These appearances offer two opportunities: I can bring my books directly to potential audiences, and I can share these efforts with my social media followers, which in turn helps further develop further awareness of the trilogy.This is a period of great excitement mixed with great anxiety—in many ways, this is an important chapter in a process I began with the publication of My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain in 2013.
I like to think of my book-related efforts as akin to kicking off a tech start-up. Right now, I need to capture the imagination of my potential readers. 
I welcome your suggestions and feedback!

COVER REVEAL: "My Epic Life"

Here it is! The cover of the third book in my Alexander series, about one boy's bumpy transition from kid to teenager.



I wanted to reveal the cover for "My Epic Life" side by side with my first two books - I LOVE how they tell Alexander's story. In "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain," Alexander was scared of the world around him. In "Own the Scrawny," he was searching for an identity. In "My Epic Life," our quirky hero discovers that his greatest strength is in being himself.

"My Epic Life" is the first story in the series told in Alexander's own words—because only he can tell this story. His entire world is shifting.  Suddenly, friendships old and new have become complicated, something very puzzling is going on in his relationship with Ellen, and he's forced to accept that his clothes aren't randomly shrinking—he's the one that's changing...

...and if you've read the first two books, you know one thing: Alexander doesn't deal well with change!

I'll be announcing the early 2016 release date soon. Like the first two books, it will be available in ebook and paperback - and later as an audiobook.

Special thanks to cover designer Steven Novak, photographer FUR and Alexander himself, Drew Dudetv .

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