R.J. Blain's Blog, page 80

Random Rambles: I’m ‘fixing’ my website

The past few months, my site has been far laggier than I like. I’m hopeful that there will be a decent amount of traffic flowing here on Inquisitor’s official launch day.

As such, I’m trying to optimize my website. So, if you see anything funky going on with it, shout out! If the mood strikes you, leave me a comment to test the new commenting system. Click things. Play. If you break it, let me know! Hopefully it’s not the comments that are broken… hah! That’d be my sort of luck.

I killed WP Slimstats, which was the major culprit of the site lag. I’ve been trimming out other plugins and experimenting to see what works and what doesn’t.

Thanks for your patience as I fix things up.

Random Rambles: You get out of it what you put into it, and That Freaking Sucks

There are a lot of opinions and stances regarding what I’m about to talk about. I’ll be honest here: What you’re about to read is a whine. I normally try to keep my whines under some form of control, but you know what? Screw it. I’m going to give you all a very real glimpse of the crap that goes on through my head when I’m not being as up front about everything as you think I am.

Because there’s still a whole lot of stuff I experience, think, and feel that doesn’t make it online.

This is a whine about some of the consequences of my choices, work ethic, and decision to try to do a promotional extravaganza for my novel release.

I’ll start off with why I have made the choices I have made.

I want to succeed.

I want to someday be a bestselling author. (For my birthday would be so cool.)

I want to be an author people love reading.

I want my books to be loved.

Hell, let’s face it, I want to be loved. Love me! Love me all of the time!

I have motivation for putting up with the stuff I’m doing in spades. If I don’t succeed at some point soon–and by success, I mean make minimum wage–I’ll have to try to break back into the work force here, where I’m overqualified for things like flipping burgers at McDonald’s and under-qualified (and out of the work force for too long) for a lot of the things I actually have experience or training at doing. Did I mention I’d have better odds if I spoke French? I’ve tried to learn French multiple times, but I’m stupid. In one ear, out the other, and it never sticks.

That means I won’t be able to write. I’ll pick at it, of course, writing a little bit here, and a little bit there, but I’ll be down to one release every year or two.

I’ll have to abandon my novelist career. That’s reality.

Bills need paid, and I need to make minimum wage to do it.

Scary thoughts. Big Motivations.

Much Anxiety.

You know it’s bad when I make a half-assed effort at Doge poetry.

When I approached my release day extravaganza, I had a budget and my eye on the prize. (I overspent my budget by $39 dollars. Frankly, it’s miraculous I didn’t overspend by more.)

I didn’t think about the insane amount of work I would have to do to make my aspirations a reality.

This amount of promotional work is not easy. It’s hard. It’s work. It’s time consuming work. I spent the entirety of last week working on it. From the moment I soft-launched Inquisitor, until yesterday, my life was consumed by all of the background stuff needed to make this launch a success.

And there is no guarantee it will be.

That truth hurts, and I think it is why many authors just choose not to try this route. It’s expensive. Over $500 in promotional costs, with absolutely no guarantee of success, is a terrifying investment for a nobody self-published author. That’s over a month of editorial work and effort, tossed up in the air, in the frail hope it turns into something good.

Like me becoming a bestselling author for my birthday.

That’s the risk and the reward.

That’s my motivation, and the consequences. Do or die, although it’s more of a financial death than a literal one–and the death of my career, unless one of the other novels I release this year does really well.

Inquisitor was my best hope. It’s my first Urban Fantasy thriller, and has been compared to the Dresden Files. My other novels are more niche. There aren’t quite as many folks interested in it.

If I’m making a push, I need to make it with this book. I don’t think the others are as safe of a bet.

I don’t have the money to pay for this sort of promotional investment twice, not unless the books pay for their own promotional investments.

Do, or die.

Try flew out the window when I decided it was time to make this a reality.

And the only hope I have of making the risks I’m taking turn into that lusted-for reward is putting in effort and lots of it.

Thought One: My book needs to be good. Good enough isn’t enough. It needs to be good. It needs to be great. I’ve invested a great deal of time and effort on this novel. I’ve edited it, edited it some more, and when I wanted to cry and throw things at the wall, I edited it again.

Thought Two: But at the end of the day, all I’ve done with this promotional work is buy a slightly better chance at success.

Painful Reality One: No guarantees.

Painful Reality Two: No promises.

Worst of the Painful Realities: All I did was buy myself a slightly better percentage chance I’ll get in front of readers who want to buy books.

Whine of the Day: I have to compete with guys like Jim Butcher. Skin Games releases three or so days before Inquisitor’s official launch. I preordered.

I want to cry. I can’t compete with Skin Games. I just can’t. I know that. It’s the freaking Dresden Files.

Maybe one day my Witch & Wolf novels will compare, but today isn’t that day. I’ve yet to prove myself as an established author.

So here’s some more painful acknowledgements: I guess the simple truth is, I’m really like everyone else. I’m insecure. I’m prideful. I have enough ego to sink a battleship. And I think the fact I’m stubborn is the only reason I haven’t started crying and screaming while throwing random things at the walls.

I’m frustrated, I’m scared, and I’m worried. Anxious with a side dish of paranoia.

I’ve done the best I can with my promotional things. I still have to email a bunch of people with the buy links for my novel. I have a few guest posts left to write.

But I’m staring at the massive mountain of guest posts, interviews, and things I’ve already written for this release day extravaganza, only to discover that I haven’t even reached the peak yet.

There is so much more left to do.

I work hard because I want to succeed, and I’m terrified that all of my hard work will go to waste. I’ve invested not just money, but a massive amount of time.

I’m going to rattle some numbers off here, as rough guesses on how much time investment I’ve put into this. I’m doing this as a reminder to myself about how serious I am about trying to make my career worth something. I’m doing this as a way to make others aware of just how much work is involved.

These are just guesses of the main time sinks, so bear with me:

30 min to 1 hour of research on each blog group, reading their blogger’s sites, etc. (I’m working with what, 6 or 7 groups?) Min: 3 hours. Max 6 hours. Or 3-1/2 or 7 hours if 7 groups.
2 hours to throw together the shared media kit for groups and individual bloggers.
approximately 1 hour per guest blog post, of which there have been around 20.
Data gathering. 10 or so hours.
Answering interview questions: About 1 hour each. Think I did 5. Might be a blur now.
Approaching individual bloggers: 5-10 minutes per blogger. There are currently 20 of them. 1-1/2 to 3 hours, estimated.
Tracking what has been sent to who, project wide: Probably 5 hours.

There is a lot of little things, an hour here, and hour there things, which have eaten time. Like the tracking and reviews for author services. (Those are 2 hours a pop, for example.)

But using the maximum numbers, I’ve probably invested 52 hours on the promotional aspect of Inquisitor.

52 hours and over $500 on something that may not even work.

And after I did this math, I realized I didn’t include the time per group to talk about my needs and how I wanted the promotion to go, and asking questions of the operators, and so on. That takes time. Sometimes a great deal of time. Well, crap. So, plenty more than 52 hours after that.

Anyway, the point is this: I’ve stacked the cards in my favor.

I’ve done everything I can.

I have put in a lot of sweat, tears, more tears, more tears, and potentially some blood of my enemies in on this.

You get what you put into it, without guarantee of success, and that freaking sucks.

Insecure much? I sure am. I’m terrified, frankly, clinging onto hope like a drowning swimmer does to a life preserver.

Maybe if I didn’t have so much invested, I wouldn’t care quite so much that this novel does well. My first mistake may very well have been releasing it on my birthday. I’ve attached a good thing to another good thing, so I want it to become a great thing. Because how cool would it be to become a bestseller on my birthday?

But what if I don’t?

The reality is, I probably won’t. It takes a staggering number of sales to become a bestseller. And I want it. I want it so much it hurts.

And along with these worries are some other bothersome realizations:

The Eye of God was an okay book. That’s it. It was okay. I’m being honest here. I made a lot of newbie mistakes with it. As time permits, I’m going back and I’m fixing the book. (Seriously, I’ve finished a whole chapter of tweaking, adding tiny tidbits, and clarifying stuff.)

Storm Without End was a better book.

Inquisitor is an even better book.

That’s all good! Really good. I’m writing better books! I want to keep writing better books. I don’t want anyone–ever–to say my newest novels didn’t live up to my first books. I want people to think, “Wow, these just keep getting better. When’s the next one coming out?!”

But here are some facts, and when I got an honest answer from an agent or two about these facts, I was gobsmacked.

Agents want authors who sell. Their quantification for what a selling author is? This is someone who is established, releasing books, and is querying an agent with this in mind.

They want someone who sells books. This means they move 10,000 copies in a month, across all formats.

10,000 copies.

I’m about in tears if I sell ten in a day.

If I sold 10,000 in a single month, I would make minimum wage twice over.

For the record, I need to sell 135 copies of Inquisitor in the week of its official launch to make all I spent on promotion.

Here is where I’m at now: Less than 10 copies a day.

Here is where I want to go: 135 copies launch week of Inquisitor.

Here is where I really want to be: Making minimum wage.

Yes, I’m whining. Yes, I’m dreaming.

Yes, I want to do everything in my power to make this happen. This is my career. This is what I want to do.

And that is why I haven’t given up.

But on days like today, when I’m staring down the barrel of that gun, and realizing that my best might not be good enough, all I really want to do is go to a corner and cry for a while.

I’ve done everything I can to make my novel–to make me–a success.

The rest is in the hands of fate.

That’s scary.

/End Whine

Multi-Services Review, Part 3: Working with Promoters

This post follows up with the first and second posts of the multi-services review series. I’m going to be talking about several facets of my promotional efforts, including reviews of each group I’m working with–and some I’m not.

The focal point of this facet of the multi-services review is communication.

There has been one thing that I’ve learned about working with so many individual bloggers and blog tour groups: Communication is critical.  Your tour will only be as successful as your ability to work with the tour group. That means working with people who communicate with you. You have to work well with others, and they need to work well with you.

When I dived into the selection of my tour groups, I found people who recommended tour groups, and went with those first. I particularly focused on groups who were recommended for being communicative.

I went in with certain expectations. If these expectations weren’t met, the group likely wasn’t for me. The time it takes for them to communicate with me is really important.

There was one group I ultimately did not decide to work with because their auto response system informed me it could be up to two weeks before I could get a reply.

If I wanted that, I’d be trolling for an agent right now–not looking for a promotion firm.

Now, that said, there are two elements to communication that I think are important to cover before I start talking about the specific tour groups.

There is how you communicate with them, and how they communicate with you. It’s a two way street. If you do not communicate in an open, prompt fashion, you cannot expect the promotion firm to be open and prompt with you.

Treat others as you want to be treated. If you want fast response times, you yourself need to have fast response times.

If you say you’re going to do something, do it. If you can’t, for whatever reason, tell the person or group you’re working with immediately.

These are the basics of good business. There are a lot of etiquette things to remember and deal with. Common sense will do you a great deal of good though. Communication is a two-way street, and if you aren’t doing your part, the promotion firm can’t do theirs.

Working with Individuals

I’m going to get this out of the way first. Working with individuals is difficult. It’s a lot of work. There are a lot of things to remember. You need to make sure you have a promotional kit, and make sure that you’re ready to answer questions. Most of all, make sure you send everything they need, including buy links.

When you’re working with individuals, the primary burden falls on you to communicate with them.

Blog tour operators are paid to do all of this work for you–and believe me, it is a great deal of work keeping something like this organized. I’m working with around twenty individuals, and it’s a lot to keep track of.

A few of my tour operators are working with fourty for my promotional campaign–or more.

Communicating with Specific Tour Groups

What you’re about to read is a reflection of wise choices, recommendations, and making sure I’m communicating with the operators of my tour groups. If you want the too long; didn’t read version, here it is: All of the groups I’m about to talk about have been stellar in terms of communication.

I didn’t work with anyone who showed a single classic sign of non-communication. As a result, every operator has responded to me within a time frame I’m comfortable with. Some are astonishingly communicative, while others are closer to average, but not a single group has failed me in terms of being open with communications and quick to reply to questions and concerns.

A few side notes:

Note 1: Unlike the first few posts, this one has the complete list of the groups I’m working with.

Note 2: I’ve invested over $500 for this release day extravaganza. This is an extremely expensive experiment for me, and I hope it pays off… but it is a risk I was willing to take.

Note 3: Communicating with this many people, between tour groups and individual bloggers, is extremely stressful.

Blog Tour Group Reviews: On Communication

I’m going to rehash what I said above: There is not a single group I’ve worked with that has given less than an A effort in terms of communications. A few, however, have earned an A+, and that’s where the differences lie. I am extremely pleased with all of the groups I’m working with right now.

I can only hope that the actual promotion comes even close to all of the preparation work that has been invested.

My Addiction is Reading

This is not the first time I’ve worked with My Addiction is Reading. My original experience with them was for a single-day blast for Storm Without End, as well as a short book tour. The single-day blast worked better for me, with really good results. The shorter book tour still performed well, including some really great reviews, though I preferred the performance of the single-day blast.

My contact at My Addition is Reading is really great to work with. She’s super fast, and she has an excellent minion who helps with other facets of the tour business–who is also fantastic and super fast to reply to emails!

This is one of the A+ groups, because I never feel like I’m at a loss while working with these ladies. We have a really good working relationship. I feel like I can ask them questions at any times, and the same applies to them.

We respect each other, and we make sure everyone is responded to as quickly as possible.

And when I flaked out and was a day later than I wanted getting guest posts to one of the ladies, I emailed her when it was due and begged forgiveness.

All was well in the world. (And I had the posts to her the following morning.)

My Reading is Addiction uses a master sign up form for tours and single-day blasts so authors and publishers can watch activity without needing to communicate directly with the operators. This is a great feature. The page includes a list of participating bloggers for tracking purposes, making administration a snap.

Book Blast Blog Tours 

Of all of the tours I’ve worked with, this one has been the most interesting in terms of communication–or the expected business-like lack thereof.

Kathy is great. She’s one of those people who says she is going to do something and does it. She’s not one to chatter, and I’m okay with that. Communication wasn’t really a factor with her because I knew if I needed anything, I could go to her. I knew she was quiet and would remain quiet during the promotion, but I knew she would work on my stuff as promised. When she said something would happen, it did.

If you are a person who needs to be given confidence through constant lines of communication, you’ll find working with Kathy a little terrifying. She’s quiet, she does her job, and she doesn’t waste time with idle chit-chat. She won’t email unless she really needs something. If she needs something, she’s sending me an email, and I know it’s ultra important for me to reply quickly with everything she requires.

Personally, I found this a breath of fresh air. With so many tour groups going around, no news is good news with Kathy. I’ll probably email with her once–in a week or so to check in, though it isn’t really necessary to. I’ve watched the promotion site, know she’s been doing her work, and that’s exactly what I need and want.

Fire & Ice Book Tours

This is another A+ tour group. When I first contacted Fire & Ice, I wasn’t expecting such a quick reply. Of all of the groups I’ve worked with, Fire & Ice has been the only one where technical difficulties were an issue. My ipad hated their email address. She was really patient, and we sorted it out–so a shout out for that. When you’re working with so many people and things go wrong, it’s stressful, and she’s so laid back and easy to work with that even when our emails were exploding with technical glitches (who would have thought a .docx file could cause so much trouble…) everything was cool.

That calm approach, and super-friendly personality, makes working with Fire & Ice really pleasant.

Like My Reading is Addiction, Fire & Ice uses a signup page that shows all of the participating blogs, making it super easy to watch as the campaign proceeds.

Worldwind Book Tours

I’m convinced that Tia over at Worldwind is a ninja. When I first reached out to her, I was not expecting a response nearly as fast as I got it. Within hours of my initial communication, we were talking about the project. Her responses are quick as a general rule. She’s really easy to work with, and has a no-nonsense approach to the business, which I really like.

Each group has a different style of communication, and Tia is the type of lady who quietly does her work. We communicate as often as necessary, and we do our own things. She expects me to do what I need to do, and I know she’s working on her end in the background.

One thing I like about Tia is that when she has information–like the master reviewer list–she sends it over. I didn’t have to ask for it. When she had the information, it was sent to me.

I like efficiency, and that’s what I got with this group.

Bewitching Book Tours

Like Kathy with Worldwind, Roxanne is pretty quiet. She talks when she needs to, but as a general rule, you can expect her to be quietly doing her work in the background. When she needs something, she sends an email. I answer it right away. When I had information she needed, I sent it to her as soon as I got it.

When she said something would happen, it did. That’s the point of communication, especially with a tour group–getting things done.

So, when working with Roxanne, expect her to do her job quietly. It’s not for everyone, but even from the start, I got the feeling if I needed to talk to her about things, she’d respond–and fast.

But we haven’t needed the chit chat because I had everything she needed, and she went to work. That’s business.

Good communication does not mean your hand will be held every step of the way. (And as I mentioned before, I’m okay with that.)

Enchanted Book Tours

Majanka with Enchanted Book Tours is another A+ lady. We don’t do a lot of communication (once again, like Worldwind and Bewitched, it isn’t really needed) but Majanka is among the quickest to reply to things when it’s needed. I’ve had response times of within minutes, which is a real comfort for someone like me who wants action instead of waiting.

And I appreciate a quick reply when an answer is needed. When one isn’t? I don’t even care if I don’t get a reply back–wasting time for unnecessary reasons doesn’t really help anyone, in my opinion.

Orangeberry

Since I’ve already worked with Orangeberry in the past, I’m going to leave the links to the original reviews. In terms of communication, I’ve never been displeased with them! When Pandora and co aren’t in the office, they use an auto response system. I’ve never had a very long delay in communications after they’ve gotten back to work.

Orangeberry Services Review Part 1 | Part 2

Phew. There will be more to come…

… after Inquisitor’s official launch.

Random Rambles: My Love / Hate Relationship with Beginnings and Close Encounters of the Real-Life

Today has turned out to be topsy-turvy and super busy. I hated and I loved it. Sort of like my relationship with the beginnings of novels.

Today I started fussing with the second redrafting of Winter Wolf. I’m in search of the perfect opening, and I have four, five, maybe six options relating to two independent starting points.

Do I start the novel right in the thick of the thrills, ala Harry Dresden, or do I take my time and introduce the character as her life changes, leading into the thick of the thrills? (More like Harry Potter in that regard.)

Both techniques are equally valid. I’d enjoy writing both of them, because what Nicolina becomes is as interesting as what she does once she becomes it. It’s also interesting to think about how she would deal with the situations she has to for the sake of survival.

I’m going to give the before the thick of the thrills starting a few more chances before I throw my arms up in the air and just go for the thick of the thrills. (This is probably what is going to happen, but I’m going to play with the backstory bits for shits and giggles.)

Writing a beginning is hard. I find it is the most difficult part of every novel I have ever written. I will struggle for words each time I start a novel, going back to go through the whole sweat, tears, and blood thing to make it interesting. And even then, I’ll often be left feeling like the beginning is junk compared to everything else in the book.

Oh well. I’ll figure it out tomorrow. I’ve got some thoughts, I’ve tried some things, and I’m getting a better idea of who this character is. That’s really the whole point of all of these false starts: Discovering who Nicolina Desmond really is.

Skipping to the real-life stuff… ugh. Life is difficult.

My husband is really frustrated with his work. The ‘If things don’t get better sooner than later, I’m looking for a new job’ frustrated. I can’t blame him. He keeps mentioning that he sticks around because he has ten years of loyalty to this business, but they’ve been stepping on his toes lately, and he feels he’s majorly underpaid for what he brings to the table. Because of their mismanagement, his place of employment has been putting him in positions he absolutely hates.

Cue the fun.

So he’s stressed, frustrated, and annoyed, and I can’t really blame him. He likes his job–usually–but some weeks he just can’t cope with how they do things. This is definitely one of those weeks.

Today was really bad for him apparently.

So that stresses me out, because my work is definitely not sufficient to pay the rent. Our lifestyle relies on him and his work.

So anytime this goes into flux, my stress levels go through the roof. That was a part of today. I hate it, but I can’t blame him. He’s not exactly unjustified in his stance.

The business he works for isn’t exactly unjustified in their stance either, but they are unjustified in trying to force him to log so many unpaid hours over the weekends and evenings to make up for their mistakes. That has him really angry, because he already works seven days a week, monitoring the office systems and being on call to fix things. To add extra is an insult to injury, because we can’t do things as a family, out, on the weekends, without making major adjustments to everything.

I hate that we’re tied down because of this stuff, and he’s not even given the realistic option to say ‘no’ at this point.

I really hope it does cool down at his work, because they do give him some flexibility about starting hours. But if it doesn’t, he could get paid anywhere to a third to double more than what he is currently paid. And I don’t think his work would like swallowing that pill if he gets fed up.

I haven’t seen him this angry about work in a long time.

Ugh. I’ll just hope it settles down.

In the mean time, I’ll restart Winter Wolf again tomorrow–revisiting the starting place I think will probably work best for the book in general. We’ll see!

For now, I think I need to drag my husband to bed so we can read books.

Character versus Plot Driven Stories

Characterization is something I have to tackle all of the time with my editorial clients. It’s something many of my clients want help improving. Even clients who feel like they have a reasonable–or even good grasp–on their characters will look for more ways to make these people real.

I’m going to begin with a very simplified explanation of the difference between character-driven stories and plot-driven stories:

Plot-Driven Stories:

Because this happened, this character experienced that.

Character-driven Stories:

Because this character did this, that happened. And because that happened, this happened to this character.

Public Service Announcement: These are my opinions, and they come with no legitimate authority or references. This is my take on it, and my opinions, and I encourage you to use your head and come to your own conclusions.

Second Public Service Announcement: This post rambles, goes off topic, and somehow, once again, fixates on one of my favorite characters in modern literature.

Some of you may be nodding. Others may be confused. If you’re nodding, you probably understand everything I’m about to go into here. If not, keep reading. The rest of this post is going to focus on the specifics… and really, what is written above does cover everything.

This Character can be a villain or protagonist. So long as a character in the book is the one influencing the plot and creating the plot, you have a character-driven story. The first ‘this character’ doesn’t have to be the second ‘this character’. An antagonist can take the first action, thus impacting the protagonist.

That’s character-driven.

If stuff happens to the character because you’re bored with the story and nothing is happened… you probably have a plot-driven story.

Characters come first. And because characters come first, the novel is richer because they’re directly facing the consequences of their own actions. And others can face the consequences of a character’s actions. That’s perfectly fine.

On to the lengthy (and quite possibly unnecessary) explanation:

Green is characters. Blue is specific events. All red words are there to draw attention to the order things happen. This and that are the progress of events, experiences, and so on.

In plot-drive stories, events happen to characters. Characters come after and second to the event. Things happen to them.

While there will be times and plots where things happen to characters, it shouldn’t be often. There’s one time I can think of where this should happen–character versus environment plot lines. A volcano erupting is a good example of this. Unless a character caused the volcano to erupt, it is a situation-driven plot. Then the character-driven plot should take over as the character deals with the problem.

Storms, as well as other environmental factors outside of any character’s control, also fall into this category.

For now, though, we’ll pretend these don’t exist. Most plot lines should be character driven.

Even if that character happens to be the bad guy. 

Now, I’m going to dive into the most important part of this explanation, in my opinion:

Why are character-driven stories so important?

I don’t know about everyone else, but I read novels because I want to read about the people in the books. If I wanted to know just about the events in the books, I’d find a spoiler site, sorta like the ones they have for movies.

It’d save me a lot of reading time, that’s for certain.

Characters are what interest me, not necessarily plot. However, good characters create interesting plots. Good doesn’t mean ‘good’ in the sense of good and evil, but rather ‘strong and engaging.’

Not everyone is going to agree with this… and that’s where personal tastes come into play. Some people want plot-driven stories.

Many, however, want to read about the characters.

I’ve been talking about The Dresden Files quite a bit lately. Why? Because I love Harry. He’s such an engaging, interesting character. The plot is secondary to me finding out what Harry is up to and if he lives and oh my gosh did that really happen to Harry? Noooooooo, Harry! Don’t do that, stupid!

I care about Harry Dresden.

(I say as I fan myself off because oh boy is Harry a nice bad boy.)

I’m connected to Harry because he is a good character. A lot of the plot in the Dresden File is Harry paying the price for his stupidity. And that makes everything so much more engaging.

I know everything that Harry does is going to majorly impact Harry later.

But let’s face it, Harry Dresden is a jerk. He is a chauvinistic male pig. He’s sexy in a lot of ways, because while he’s a jerk, while he is a complete and total asshole at times, he cares about his friends. And whatever you do, don’t come between him and the people he cherishes.

He’ll destroy you.

And I can relate to that. He borrows trouble all of the time. Trouble often borrows him too, for use as heavy ammunition.

He may be a jerk, but he’s a fun jerk. He’s funny, he’s sweet and caring at all of the right times. And even when I want to slap him for making stupid decisions–like getting it on with that Mab wench instead of with m–err, nevermind. Moving on.

I’m invested in this character. He’s the type of character I’m thinking about long after I’ve finished reading the book.

Things don’t happen to him. He happens. That’s it. Other characters target Harry and their plots tangle him up in a bunch of things. Harry deals with the consequences of those actions.

Nothing happens because it just happen. Someone is always behind the events in the novel. Even if that someone is making a foolish error–like messing with Harry Dresden. (How dare you hurt so much of a hair on Dresden! I’ll destroy you!!)

Now, making a likable, sympathetic character is a totally different matter.

But my advice? Start with creating a story where people happen to each other, and the plot is actually the consequence of actions.

When I was learning characterization, this was the first step for me. Once I figured this out, something awesome happened:

I realized writing a story in this fashion was that much more fun.

And that’s why most of us read, isn’t it? To have fun, to experience things through characters…and to get away from the real world for a bit.

Even if that real world happens to be absolutely horrifying and full of intense moments.

Nooo, I haven’t been re-reading the Dresden Files again in anticipation of Skin Games… what gave you that idea?

Random Rambles: Why is it OK to Damsel Men but not Women?

(c) JordyR (Creative Commons – Flickr)

In fantasy, whether high fantasy, urban fantasy, or any sub-genre of this niche, there is a phenomena that really bothers me. I’m going to talk about my thoughts on this, in a rather haphazard and emotional sort of way.

Note: I’m a bit woozy from allergy medicine. Spelling and grammar and good tastes are optional. If I’m gonna go off the deep end, fall off my rocker, and otherwise implode, I’ll do so with a complete lack of style. Booooo-yah!

Here I go.

It is okay to damsel strong men, but it is not okay to damsel a strong woman.

Seriously? What the heck? Hell, insert the f word here. Loudly. In all caps. I absolutely freaking hate this mentality. Hate it. Loathe it. Strong characters, regardless of gender, always need something or someone more powerful than them. It’s a balance. It’s what keeps them strong, fighting, and interesting.

The good guys can’t always win, and for some reason, people think winning is strength. Especially when it is a woman doing the winning.

Screw that. Just screw it. Hard. With something long and sharp.

To take this a step further: Strong men who are damselled are viewed as forward motion in many fantasy novels. Why? They are treated as though they’re real people.

When strong women are damselled?

How dare the author compromise the strength of a woman! How dare they! The fabric of the entire universe is about to tear! Not even Dr. Who can save us now!

That’s essentially what it boils down to. A strong man needing rescued is a man who bit off more than he can chew. He needs help and he gets it.

That’s okay.

A strong woman, however, is a different story altogether. If she can’t do it by herself, she’s viewed as weak. She needs help or rescue?

She’s weak.

She fails to do what she needs to do?

She’s weak.

She doesn’t win? Screw that, she’s weak. Only winners can be strong, if you happen to have been born with breasts and a nice ass.

Men? They can lose. It’s viewed as adding character. Backbone. Earning strength.

A woman? Weak! Useless! Sooo stereotypical. Against the demand and criteria that women be strong under any and all circumstances! I’ve talked about this before.

I told you why I don’t set out to write ‘strong’ women. Inquisitor has a lady in it who I view as very strong. She’s got backbone. She’s quirky. She’s a hard worker. She’s a lot of things. She’s funny. She’s a human.

She wins.

She loses.

And when she loses, she’s considered weak! How dare I write a weak woman character who loses, thus ruining all of her hard-earned strength!

Losing is not a loss of strength. Losing means someone did better.

The villains of a novel have equal motivation to try to win. And they should have their fair chance. If the main character, man or woman, screws up…

… you better the hell believe it that they, strong or not, need rescued sometimes.

If a character deserves to be in a compromising situation requiring rescue, they need rescued.

And for their sake, I hope they earned the love and respect of other characters–or proved their worth–to get the rescue they need. If not, well, I hope they enjoy facing all of the consequences for their actions.

Strength isn’t about winning or losing. It isn’t about whether or not a character is ‘damselled’ and needs to be rescued.

We all need rescued sometimes.

There is always, always someone stronger than we are, whether it is in terms of pure physical strength, emotional stability, or something else intangible, including intellect and wit.

So, why is it a problem if a woman fails and needs to be rescued, but it is considered character development if a man fails and needs to be rescued?

Seriously, grow up. There is nothing wrong with a woman needing to be rescued in a novel, if she earned the position she is put in, and she earned the love, respect, and admiration of those who rescue her–man or woman.

If a character has earned love, it makes sense that those who love her will come running to save her, no matter what the cost.

Sometimes those who love this woman, this strong, beautiful, vibrant woman, will rush and hurry to the rescue before she needs it–all because they love her.

There is nothing wrong with that.

It’s beautiful. And it applies to men too. If there is someone who loves, admires, and cherishes a man enough, it makes sense for their loved ones to go rushing to their rescue at the first sign of trouble.

Because people who are perceived as strong are the very ones we worry the most about when they get in trouble!

As humans, we question how someone can be so strong, and if the next amazing feat they do will be their last. We worry, and because we cherish these strong individuals, when we see them in trouble, it is natural for us to go running to their rescue.

Because they are strong, we find the will and the courage to become strong ourselves.

Any woman or man who creates this glorious phenomena deserves to be rescued. That’s it, that’s all. Gender has absolutely nothing to do with it. If a strong woman has truly earned love, respect, and admiration, the people she has touched should come running to her rescue should she need it.

She’s not perfect.

If she were, she wouldn’t be strong. She’d be brittle, and she’d break apart at the first sign of trouble. That is the true damsel in distress, the true woman who breaks because someone dare challenge her–and win.

The same applies to a man. Strength isn’t in victory.

It’s in the losses. It’s in finding someone who is so treasured and valued because he or she does the right things for the right reasons–or even the wrong things for the right reasons…

Strength doesn’t mean you don’t need to be rescued sometimes. It’s a whole lot more than that. Needing to be rescued does not mean you’re a damsel in a distress. It doesn’t mean you’re weak.

It means you lost. Someone outsmarted you. Someone did better. Someone was stronger, more powerful, and wiser than you.

That doesn’t mean weak.

So, to all of you who view a damsel in distress as someone weak… screw that noise.

Everyone needs to be rescued sometimes.

The question isn’t about whether or not that’ll happen. It will. Jim Butcher had it right, I think. I’ll paraphrase something Michael said to Harry Dresden:

What comes around goes around. Sometimes you get what is coming around. Sometimes you are what’s coming around.

Being the loser doesn’t make you weak. Needing to be rescued doesn’t make you weak. It does not cheapen a strong character.

What it shows is whether or not that character, to others, was worth rescuing.

There is something to the dislike of a damsel in distress. I understand that. But don’t attach this phenomena to the cheapening of a strong woman or man. It’s not.

It’s a consequence, and if the character lost, they lost.

I think people hate the damsel in distress because of the too-often occurrence of the cliche being written for no other reason than to put them in a compromising position.

But when a character faces the consequences of their actions, male or female, rescue may be needed.

They can’t always be what comes around.

There is a big difference between a woman or man facing the consequences of their choices and action, requiring rescue as a result, and a woman or man being turned into a damsel in distress for the sake of a plot point.

And it doesn’t make them weak. Outmaneuvered, outwitted, outgunned, and compromised, yes.

But never weak.

Damsels in distress happen.

But I think it’s time to start recognizing why it happens, and stop thinking that it means a woman is weak and that it builds character for a man.

 

Random Rambles: What have I gotten myself into?!

If there was ever a recipe for disaster, I think I’ve found it. I really meant to take a day off today. I slept in till 1:30, and it was glorious. I mean, I slept. That’s the first thing of importance. I passed right out and was out like the circuit upstairs in my house that I haven’t had the time or money to fix.

Did I mention that the circuit in question controls the lighting in my main bathroom? Baths by candlelight due to necessity!!

It began with an email. I neglected it yesterday. It was a request for guest posts and interviews from the blog groups I’m working with. I’ve managed to finish one interview and one post. After I finish these random rambles, I’m going to finish the next post.

But this led to an evil rabbit hole. It’s a deep one, too. There was an email with the links of participating bloggers for the release launch and awesome extravaganza! So of course, me being me, I couldn’t let it go. I had to start the spreadsheet tracking all of the blogs and websites featuring my book.

(Want to be in this awesome spreadsheet? Click this link and check out all the tours and stuff you can join!)

Did I mention I was supposed to be not working today? I’m supposed to be drafting my fun project. (I’ll get there, but I must go down this rabbit hole just a little deeper, just a little deeper…)

Then… Along Came a Hot Dog.

(Have you seen Along Came a Spider? Seriously, I’m not into movies and stuff, but this movie floored me. I loved it. Anxiety attacks and all, but still loved it.)

In this version, the hot dogs have been waiting all week for their chance. I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner tonight, and he meekly replied, “Hot dogs?”

I was all over that like fruit flies on last week’s banana. Word to the Wise: Don’t leave a banana out for a week. Been there, done that once. Never again. Bananas are the Grand Master Summoner with a class specialization in fruit flies.

I don’t normally like hot dogs. Today, though? Hot dogs, get in my belly now!

What I didn’t mention up there earlier is that I didn’t sleep well last night. After tossing, turning, coughing, and generally feeling miserable, I drifted off around 5 in the morning. Was up, wide awake, in go go go go go mode at 6 AM or so. Finally got back to sleep around 7:00-7:30. Was up again at 8:22 AM when the alarm went off.

Got husband out the door to go to work and promptly passed out.

So this happened, sometime around Late O’Clock and Why. Can’t. I. Sleep!! O’Clock.

Her name is Princess, and she’s my cat. I think my husband wasn’t snoring and was quiet, so I reached over to check if he was still alive. Instead of reaching my spouse, a pair of paws snatched my arm and pulled me to her. A cute little kitty face nuzzled against my wrist. Purring increased in volume.

She wouldn’t let go. For ten minutes, I was trapped, hand against the softest kitty belly in existence. Her fur reminds me a lot of Cashmere, except better.

There was a moment where she went into these kitty convulsions. She pulled my arm as close to her as possible, snuggling and trying to merge her face with my arm. She curled around my hand, writhing in feline bliss.

I managed to snap this photograph with my iphone, one handed. It was quite the feat.

But this picture is now special to me. It’s an image of kitty love.

Now, back to work. The launch day shenanigans won’t prepare themselves… and I want to write later! The disaster part? The sheer number of hours I’m investing for the launch day. I never thought it would be so intensive, not for a moment.

Random Rambles: Late Night Musings

I’ve never really been a public person on my blog. I almost always talk about things writing or reading related. Well, screw it. It’s 3:30 in the morning, I’m wide awake, and I think it’s time to defenestrate that quirk of mine… at least for tonight.

My internet name is RJ Blain. But as of today, feel free to call me Rebecca, Becca, or Becna, if you wish. That’s my real name.

Rebecca.

Names matter. A long time ago, I learned why my mother and father named me as they did. My two given names, when converted to old Hebrew, means “Precious Gift.” Or, at least, that’s the story one of my parents fed me.

I always wondered about the irony of that name. Some people take the name they are given at their birth and make it their own. I’ve always been embarrassed by my name — especially the middle part of it. Me? A gift?

Nope, nope, nope, nope. Never bought into it. When I was being teased and bullied in school because I was, heaven forbid, different I definitely didn’t feel like a gift to anyone–or precious.

Sometimes I still flinch when someone calls me by my name. Maybe part of that stems from the fact there were more than a few in school who liked to call me Brussels Sprouts because of my name.

Now, granted, I like that delicious vegetable now, but once upon a time, offering me these on a plate was an instant way to cause tears and depression.

Speaking of tears, I cried a couple of times today, to be honest. Some were happy tears. Some weren’t.  One was due to reading about how one woman decided how to cope with her husband wanting a divorce.

Marriage for me hasn’t been sunshine and rainbows, cookies, or a lot of things nice. We have had good moments, but we have had our bitter ones too.

I came away with something important today–wisdom. Maybe even a little bit of courage. But most importantly, hope. If this woman could do it, so can I. Because what she did isn’t hard to do. That’s what moved me so much.

She suffered, but she did so with grace and hope.

And she saved a marriage most others would have abandoned because it was difficult. Because it wasn’t working easily.

I’ve been married for over ten years now. I’m looking forward to ten more.

I don’t have kids. More accurately, we don’t. It does take two for that sort of thing… I do have four cats, though. Two of them are getting quite old. One is horribly obese, but we are having nightmares trying to get him to lose weight.

Cutting his food intake and trying to force exercise isn’t working. He’s the first pet my husband and I acquired together. We don’t know how much longer we’ll have him.

We’ve already had the talk about what we’ll do when he gets sick and dies. It’s inevitable. We’ve been trying to help him lose weight for a while, but the cat is so stubborn and smart. And when a 30 lbs cat doesn’t want to do something… he doesn’t do it.

He should weight 20 lbs. He’s a huge cat even before the chubby cat syndrome. His head is so big my hand can’t cover it all.

Hopefully we can find some way to make him lose weight that actually works.

To switch topics again, I saw something on the internet that made me want to do something. I already contacted two charities about it. It’ll cost me some money, but it’s for a good cause.

There are programs where you can send books in so prisoners can read. I’ve known a sad, high number of men and women who have ended up in prison for little things. Things I strongly feel should be handled with community service instead of incarceration.

Prison ruins lives and changes people. Some deserve it. Some don’t.

But whether they deserve it or not, I do believe they should have access to books and reading material. I’ll put my money where my mouth is and send a copy or two of each book to the various prison book groups I’ve found from the American Library Association website. I was going to originally send these books to libraries, but…

Well, while it isn’t a wise career choice, I think it’s the right choice.

I just hope one or two people manage to find a little escape from reading my book. It’ll delay my plans of contacting various libraries and trying to get my book in the public library system, but I’m okay with that.

On my birthday, I’m going to leave the addresses of the prison book charity websites up so people who want to can send books over or donate.

It might even become a thing for me to gather titles for these charity groups and send a box every year. Not just my books, but books the prisoners are requesting too.

That sort of thing is important to me. They don’t have the chance to get books of their own. And that makes me so sad. Books should be available to everyone, even prisoners.

Perhaps especially prisoners. To some of these men and women, books are the gateway to their lives once outside of prison.

I won’t go into it more than that–I have opinions, and a lot of them.

Crap, I just talked about reading. Defenestration in progress! Of who or what, who knows though. Your guess is as good as mine.

Okay, new subject. Greed.

What? Greed? Now that’s an odd subject.

I pains me to admit this, but I’m greedy. I am. I see something I want, and I lust for it. I want things. I have ambitions. Ambition is just another word for progressive greed, really. I want to be a bestselling author. That, by default, makes me greedy for the money of readers. Ack. That sounds terrible. True, though.

I have two strange forms of greed I want to mention in particular: Writing journals and gemstones.

The journals are obvious to those who know me. I want an entire bookcase full of unique journals.

But the gemstones thing is different. Loose, cut stones, uncut stones, or stones in crystalline structure. Gemstone sculptures. You name it, I want it.

But there is one type of stone I truly love. (Accepting donations.) This is smoky quartz — charcoal to black in coloration, in natural structure.

It is a common stone. Nothing special, not really. But it’s still beautiful to me.

I also love citrine, which is the smokey quartz’s yellow cousin.

Quartz: Common, but beloved.

Okay, I’m also greedy in other ways, but that’s a secret.

On to a different subject. This might come across as controversial.

I don’t have ADD or ADHD, for all I have flitted from subject to subject in this post. I’ve taken an official IQ test which ranked me as just above threshold for genius IQ. I’ve mostly wasted that intelligence, at least in terms of what society deems acceptable. I’m an introverted extrovert. (In short, I need interactions with people and tend to be extremely outgoing once I’ve been forced outside of my bubble…. but after a few hours I must retreat back in my bubble to recharge or I get extremely upset and agitated. I’m sure there’s a term for this as a syndrome, although I have no idea what that means.

There was no real point to this blog post, and that’s okay. I just wanted to talk.

Good morning. How are you? I’m Rebecca–Becca or Becna, if you prefer. It’s nice to meet you.

You’re Invited!

On May 16, 2014, you are cordially invited to come celebrate my birthday with me–and join me for Inquisitor’s launch day extravaganza! 

There will be a shocking amount of things to see and do, including raffle giveaways, interviews, guest posts, and of course, the general celebration of the official release of my Urban Fantasy Thriller!

If you want to get in on the action, there are a lot of ways you can join in.

Readers and Book Lovers

Watch this space. On May 16, I will be releasing a master schedule of all of the sites participating in the release day extravaganza. There will be raffles (prizes!! Amazon gift certificates!!) and blog posts, interviews, and more!

If you’ve read and loved the book, come on over and tell other readers what you think about it. Everyone is welcome to come, and you’re encouraged to visit as many participating blogs as you can to meet up with other readers and fans!

Did I mention prizes?

No RSVP is necessary. Just come on over, show up, and maybe bring a few friends along with you! We’re going to party on the internet! Help spread the word about the novel’s release. If you are the type of person who wants to have read the book a little early, it’s already available for sale. But, shhh. That’s supposed to be a secret.

If you decide to host a feature about my novel on your blog, please contact me at blain . rj @ gmail.com (remove spaces) so I can include your site in the master list!

For Book Bloggers

If you’re a reader, writer, or just love books, there are lots of ways you can come and participate in the release day extravaganza!

If you want to participate in an official blitz, blast, or tour, signups are here:

My Addiction is Reading Blitz Signup – You can feature Inquisitor on your blog through this handy sign up page.

Book Blast Blog Tours Signup — This is another option for book bloggers to pursue! Features a $50 amazon card giveaway!

Fire & Ice Book Tour — If you want to participate in a full tour, Fire & Ice will be hosting me for the week of Inquisitor’s official launch.

Worldwind Book Tours — A $50 gift certificate giveaway is included with this tour group, which is a huge boost to traffic when used in conjunction with social media.

Bewitching Book Tours — A single day release party!

Alternatively, you can email me at blain . rj @ gmail . com (remove spaces) for a promotion kit for the novel.

Thanks so much for your interest in helping me take the internet by storm on May 16! (Happy birthday to me!)

For Book Reviewers

If you’re interested in reviewing Inquisitor and can have your review ready before May 22, 2014 (the end of the tour cycle) please email me at blain . rj @ gmail . com (remove spaces) for a copy of the novel. Please note that I’m interested in working with established book reviewers.

As always, thank you so much — I look forward to meeting with all of you on the 16th for a virtual party!

Supporting Authors: A Reader’s Guide on How to Help Your Favorite Authors Succeed

Most of the things I post on my blog are for writers. I’m flipping the coin to the other face today. Today, I’m a reader. I’m a reader who has, in the very recent past, started to try to find ways to help my favorite authors succeed.

To my surprise, it’s actually a lot easier to help an author than I thought. But for whatever reason, it never really occurred to me to do these things.

This is my quick and (surprisingly) easy guide on how you can help your favorite authors succeed. This may sound arrogant, but every reader matters when it comes to helping make your favorite authors succeed.

Buy their Books

This is the obvious way you can help: Buy their books.

Every sale is important. I know, this makes it sound like all an author cares for is your money… but book sales are what makes an author sink or swim.

If you know someone who enjoys reading, buy a copy of one of your favorite books for them. Not only do you earn brownie points with your reader friend, but you help your favorite author(s) at the same time.

The frugal reader in us loves going to used bookstores, but remember this: Used book sales don’t actually help your author succeed. If you find a great read at a used book store, consider buying the book at retail, even if you do so to give it as a gift to someone else. Those retail sales determine if an author’s publisher keeps them around.

Publishers don’t care about those used book sales. The issue of used book stores isn’t as dire for independent authors because most of them don’t have a presence in brick and mortar stores.

There’s nothing shameful about buying a book twice. (Says the reader who owns three or more copies each of her favorite books… one for the car, one for the tub… one she lost and couldn’t find… oh, crap, lost the second copy… better go buy a new one… and the e-book version.)

Participate in Author Giveaways

Whenever you see a giveaway featuring your favorite authors, participate! Participation is a quick, easy way to show your support for an author–and you get a chance for goodies!

Don’t Destroy, Donate

Used book stores are a great way to unload books so you can get more books. I think most of us with library collections have done this. If you need room for new books, or you’re going digital, consider donating your used books to charity. Some readers just can’t afford to buy books. Donation can get your favorite author’s book into the hands of people who love to read but can’t afford the luxury.

Buy a Book for your Library

Really love a title? If it is by an independent author, they may not be in the distribution system for your local library. Go to your library. Show them the book. Ask them if they are accepting donations of copies. If so, buy one or two for your local library.

Libraries are a great way for voracious readers to connect with great writers.

Some libraries will accept used books in really good condition, but your mileage may vary.

Review the Books you Love

This is the easiest way you can help your favorite author. Review their books. Be honest, including what you both love and thought could be better about the book. It doesn’t have to be a long review–a paragraph or two is truly enough–but making this sort of effort helps them a lot. When you review the book, cross post to Amazon and Goodreads. If you have a blog, post it there so people searching the internet can find your review!

Reviews help sell books. If you love a novel and it doesn’t have many reviews, adding your review can help the author connect with more readers.

And a good review makes an author feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Review all of the things!!

Review the books you don’t love, too. If you feel an author has a lot of potential but missed doing something to make you love the book… tell them in your review. Not all authors read their reviews, but quite a few do. Who knows? With your feedback, maybe their next novel will be better!

And if there is a book you view as just awful… review it and let other customers know.

Readers deserve good books, and there is nothing wrong with warning someone about a really bad book. (Bad is relevant, but in this case, I really do mean things like an unforgivable amount of typos, formatting errors, and so on.)

Remember, it doesn’t need to be a long review–just an honest one!

Talk about your Favorite Authors

If you use sites like Facebook, Google+, GoodReads, and Twitter, don’t be shy–talk about your favorite authors and their books.

Word of mouth is the most powerful form of support you can give your authors.

Post your Book Reviews on Social Networks

An author becomes popular because people talk about their books. You don’t have to write a long review. You can invest a couple of minutes, and plug the link to your networks. Within five to ten minutes, you will have spread word about these books. If your friends end up reading the book and loving it too, encourage them to write a review and spread the world.

One person–you–can make a huge difference an author’s career.

Talk a Friend into Reading

Word of mouth is a reader’s super power. If you talk a single friend into buying the book, and you convince them to talk a single friend into buying the book, it creates a very powerful chain of people talking about this book. If you talk two people into buying the book–and convincing them to tell their friends about it–you can make a huge difference.

Real life example: One of my friends knew I liked the Jack Ryan series. She told me about the Mitch Rapp novels.

I ended up buying all of them. Every last one of them. The whole kitten kaboodle. One person made a difference. I have since coerced quite a few people into buying Mitch Rapp novels, too.

And if you both read the same book, that’s a connection you now share with each other.

Read

That’s the most important thing you can do. Keep reading, and share your love of books.