Michael C. Bailey's Blog, page 88

Arisia 2016 and the Lessons Learned

This past weekend, J.M. Aucoin and I shared a table in the artist/author alley section of Arisia 2016, a long-running fantasy and sci-fi convention in Boston. This was our first time pimping ourselves out at a major convention, so we had no idea what to expect, on pretty much any level beyond what sort of people would be attending — which is why we took a chance on doing the show, because we figured if nothing else, we’d be surrounded by avid readers with a taste for non-mainstream fiction.

Justin and I by the third day of the show. Sleep was the enemy. Caffeine was our friend.

It was a long four days, and while neither of us made enough money to allow us to run around our homes pumping fists full of cash in the air while chanting “USA! USA!” we did well enough to warrant making plans to go back next year, armed with some valuable lessons that’ll hopefully lead to greater financial success. Sorry to sound so mercenary, but realistically, money is and always shall be a factor here.

Some of the things I know I learned…

Stay for the whole show. Stay for the whole show. For the love of Cthulhu, STAY FOR THE WHOLE SHOW.

Our area was supposed to have eight or so tables for other writers and small artisans. We had that many tables, but few of them remained full throughout the weekend. One artist stayed for two and a half hours on Friday and then left, never to return (bear in mind that Friday is NOT a great business day here, as the con is only open for a few hours in the evening and most folks use that time to check in, get a lay of the land, and scout out where the good parties are). Another showed up very late Saturday and didn’t bother to come back Sunday or Monday. People running a bake sale didn’t stick around for more than three hours either Saturday or Sunday, and never showed up Monday. Even those who did show up for all days tended to close up shop well before closing.

I understand the frustration of sitting there, watching people go by, sometimes without ever even glancing at your table, but you can’t sell your stuff if you aren’t there to sell it. Justin and I both made sales within the last ten minutes of the last day, as did our author neighbor Calandra Usher (who, along with Jim McDonald, completed our happy little literary corner). Leaving early shows poor business sense.

It’s also inconsiderate to the neighbors. When con-goers see too much empty space, they go the other way, which doesn’t help those who stick it out — and those of us who did stick it out already had challenges to overcome…

Location, Location, Location

The artist/author alley area was, for reasons too complicated to go into here, moved out of the vendor area proper and into an escalator landing — which, to be fair, wasn’t an awful space. Anyone entering or leaving the vendor area had to use those escalators or the nearby elevator, so everyone saw us. However, we were back against the wall, which gave people more than enough space to skirt by us and never get within pitch range.

And I admit this is probably a matter of personal perception, it often felt like the traffic was never as heavy as it was in the vendor area proper, where my wife was set up (Storied Threads, plug plug). Justin and I already spoke to the area manager, who was very receptive, so perhaps next year we’ll get a table in the vendor area proper.

And Here’s the Pitch…

Once we caught someone’s eye, we had a precious second or two to draw them in. Justin was much better at this than I was because he’s more outgoing than I am, so I know I have to raise my game here. Once they got to the table, we had to pitch our books in a manner that enticed the potential customer into buying but wasn’t pushy. I hate hard sell tactics. They always turn me off, especially when there’s a whiff of guilt-tripping involved (“If you don’t buy my stuff, I can’t pay my mortgage!” — and yes, I have in fact heard that exact pitch before).

We had our “elevator pitches” down pretty well, but they could use some improvement. I know mine could stand to be more informational and less generic.

Justin gets interviewed for the TyroTV YouTube channel.

Network!

While I had no idea what to expect at the show, I definitely did not expect to be interviewed twice, or approached by someone in the early planning stages of a convention focusing on non-mainstream fiction, or meet a freelance editor looking to make connections within the indie author community. Thank god we had a ton of business cards to hand out.

However, I can’t help but feel we missed out on some other networking opportunities, opportunities we initiated rather than received. Something to think about.

Price Matters?

One of our big hurdles was the fact we were selling print editions of our books, which cost more and our less likely to inspire impulse purchases…or so we thought. People were surprisingly willing to cough up $12 or so for a full-length novel, more so than they were to pay $5 for Justin’s Jake Hawking short story collection; he moved more copies of Honor Among Thieves than the Hawking omnibus.

Nevertheless, I have a project in the works to create my own low-cost book to serve as an introduction to my two series, for the benefit of those who are intrigued enough to look into my work but might not feel like making a serious investment.

I also plan to take a page from Calandra and Jim’s metaphorical books and look into selling e-book editions of my work directly at cons.

“It’s you!”

The high point of the weekend came when a man came wandering toward our table, his eyes fixed on my display banner, and asked me, excitedly, “Are you Michael Bailey?” He was a fan of the Action Figures series — and, as it turns out, knew my cover artist Tricia back in high school. I’ve never been fanboyed over before. It was both extremely flattering and incredibly surreal.

The Recognition Factor

Justin and I got a hint of how powerful a social media presence can be. Perfect strangers recognized Justin from his Tumblr account, while my book covers got an ongoing response of, “Wow, those look really familiar!” In both cases, it helped attract people to our table who might otherwise keep on walking. Now we have to find ways to increase that recognition factor so we can parlay it into sales.

Dis, Dat, and de Udder Ting

One hundred geek points if you get the reference.

Just here today to make a series of quick announcements, starting with a reminder that I’ll be appearing at Arisia this weekend (Friday through Monday) to sell and sign copies of my books alongside J.M. Aucoin. We’ll both be somewhat close to Storied Threads, so come say hello to us all.

And now, a series of rapid-fire updates on various projects:

Action Figures – Issue Five: Team-Ups: My cover artist Tricia has begun sending me shots of the cover work in progress, so hang tight, fans — book five is imminent!
Action Figures – Issue Six: Power Play: Draft two is done and is with my test-readers. I expect to wrap up work on the manuscript by the spring.
Action Figures – untitled short story: I finished up draft one of a short that takes place near the end of book six and fills in some missing events. That won’t appear for some time, however, not until after the release of…
Action Figures – Issue Seven: The Black End War: First draft is underway, but I’ve put it aside for a little while to do a little more plotting work before I get back into the actual writing. In the meantime…
The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot: Work on book two has begun! Over the weekend I punched out 16 pages on draft one, and I’m thrilled to return to Asaches and tell the next Strongarm and Lightfoot story.

Sharing The Love: The Random List Edition

I haven’t been as good about keeping up on this as I should have been, so in the interest of getting the new year off to a good start, I’m going to throw out a quick list of cool things I’ve discovered recently.

I’m going to start with the Worcester Writers Collaborative, a group I recently found and joined for its New Year’s Day group dinner. Long story short, I’m usually not comfortable around strangers so attending this gathering was a big step outside my comfort zone, but I met some cool people and I’m looking forward to joining future get-togethers.
Star Wars – The Force Awakens . What’s left to say? It was a Star Wars movie in the classic sense.
Castle Panic . One of the many games my wife and I got for Christmas. It’s quick and easy to learn, light, fun, and surprisingly challenging. Veronica and I have played this several times since we got it, and we’ve had some real nail-biter sessions.
Descent – Journeys in the Dark . Another game, this one a board game-style dungeon crawler. It took me a while to digest the rule book and our first game was definitely a fumble-through, but once I got used to it I found the quests move along quite smoothly. Veronica and I are in the middle of a campaign-style game, which takes about 20 hours to complete and, thanks to the branching storyline, can be replayed several times with different individual quests.
Macallan. Single-malt Scotch. I like it. Scotchy Scotch Scotch.
Ms. Marvel . Still my favorite Marvel title.
Skyrim . I know, I’m very late to the Skyrim party, but I’m enjoying it…not as much as I could, but I have books to write.

A Note To All The Aspiring Writers Out There

Happy New Year’s Eve, everyone! Hope you all have something cool lined up for the last night of 2015. My big plans involve gaming with my wife and going to bed at a reasonable hour, because I’ve done the whole “stay up all night partying” thing before and it long ago lost all its charm for me.

Anyway, I want to go out on a positive and hopefully encouraging note and offer a few borrowed words of advice for all the artists out there. Yes, I use the word “writers” in the title of this post, but really, what I’m about to say applies to any artist who’s been dragging his or her feet about taking the next step with their art and putting it out there for the masses.

Stop dragging. Start doing.

At this point, some of you are whipping out your mental list of Reasons Why I Can’t Make Art so you can tell me that you have a job that takes up all your time, or you’re not that good at what you do, or making a living (even a partial living) as an artist is impractical because you have bills to pay, etc.

Did you just recite your reasons? Guess what? I can’t hear you.

You didn’t tell me why you can’t make art; you told yourself. You shut yourself down.

Why would you do that?

For a lot of would-be artists, the answer is: because I fear failing. I am afraid of putting my art out there only to be rejected and criticized. I’m afraid no one will like what I create.

You’re not wrong. All those things are possible outcomes — and in the Internet age, we’ve elevated criticism to a perverse art form of its own. Some people (too many) delight in tearing others down as if it’s their personal mission in life to find artists they deem unworthy of recognition and kick their legs out from under them.

Shitty people saying shitty things for the mere sake of their own entertainment is not a good reason to deny yourself.

In David Wong’s essay Six Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person, he touches on the motivation-crushing fear of criticism:

It’s incredibly comforting to know that as long as you don’t create anything in your life, then nobody can attack the thing you created.

It’s so much easier to just sit back and criticize other people’s creations. This movie is stupid. That couple’s kids are brats. That other couple’s relationship is a mess. That rich guy is shallow. This restaurant sucks. This Internet writer is an asshole. I’d better leave a mean comment demanding that the website fire him. See, I created something.

Oh, wait, did I forget to mention that part? Yeah, whatever you try to build or create — be it a poem, or a new skill, or a new relationship — you will find yourself immediately surrounded by non-creators who trash it. Maybe not to your face, but they’ll do it. Your drunk friends do not want you to get sober. Your fat friends do not want you to start a fitness regimen. Your jobless friends do not want to see you embark on a career.

Just remember, they’re only expressing their own fear, since trashing other people’s work is another excuse to do nothing. “Why should I create anything when the things other people create suck? I would totally have written a novel by now, but I’m going to wait for something good, I don’t want to write the next Twilight!” As long as they never produce anything, their work will forever be perfect and beyond reproach. Or if they do produce something, they’ll make sure they do it with detached irony. They’ll make it intentionally bad to make it clear to everyone else that this isn’t their real effort. Their real effort would have been amazing. Not like the shit you made.

Personally, I believe that’s what it all comes down to: people who can’t get themselves in gear well enough to create and muster the courage to put their art out there project their own frustration, fear, and self-loathing outward at all those who are brave enough to expose themselves to the world.

Story time: Many years ago, when I was still jockeying a convenience store cash register, I was chatting with a co-worker about my dream of becoming a professional writer. A customer, an older man, overheard this conversation and told me, “It’ll never happen.” He told me that I would never become a working writer and I should give up on that dream now and be content having a “regular” job rather than live a life of constant disappointment. He should know, because he too once dreamed of becoming a writer and it never happened, and it would never happen for me either.

Think about that for a minute. A man who failed to realize his own dream invested time and energy to tell a perfect stranger to give up on pursuing his dream. Why would anyone do that?

They’re only expressing their own fear, since trashing other people’s work is another excuse to do nothing.

Don’t do nothing. Don’t give in to your fear. Fuck the haters. Create. Make your art. Make 2016 the year you let the world discover you.

Podcasts And Pimpery

A quick post today, and probably my last at least through Christmas — and the giving spirit is the sort-of theme of this entry, which focuses on a couple of things tangentially related to me.

First is a new podcast series The Writer’s Blueprint by Jonathan Krieger, a friend of a friend, and the debut episode features an interview with me. The series is about the challenges of becoming a full-time working author and will feature, along with author interviews, tricks and tips for getting your writing out there. Go give it a listen!

The interview name-drops J.M. Aucoin; my wife Veronica’s business, Storied Threads; and my cover artist Tricia Lupien — who is the subject of my next plug. She recently added several new designs to her RedBubble shop, including some of her Action Figures art. Of particular amusement to me: the cover for Action Figures – Issue Three: Pasts Imperfect (which you can get on many products sans the text) is behind a “mature content” filter, presumably due to the presence of blood.

Go support both of these independent creators!

The First No(el)

While scrolling through Tumblr the other day, I came across the image at right on Brian Michael Bendis’s account.

This is artwork by the late, great Dick Giordano, and it appeared on official DC Comics stationery. Take a close look and you’ll notice that the characters’ insignia are backwards. That’s because the image was printed on the back of the paper, so when you read the front, the characters would show through and would appear to be holding the DC logo in the letterhead.

I know this for a fact because my first ever rejection letter was printed on DC Comics stationery (the art on the back at the time was, I believe, by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, another DC legend).

The backstory: I was at the time a student at the Joe Kubert School. I enrolled with the intent of becoming a comic book artist, but as I realized I was very limited as an artist and didn’t have a future there, I started transitioning to the writing end of things. Many of my other classmates were already submitting their artwork to DC and Marvel, as well as coming up with creator-owned projects to pitch to the smaller publishers.

I followed suit in my own way. DC’s then brand-new Vertigo line was gaining momentum, and I found an old and mostly forgotten character in Dr. Occult that felt ripe for a rebirth under the Vertigo banner. I wrote a spec script, put together a submission package, and sent it all to editors Karen Berger and Jonathan Peterson. They passed it on to Tom Peyer, who rejected it, which he absolutely should have; I don’t remember the specifics of my proposal, but I’m certain that it was terrible.

I wasn’t surprised by the rejection, nor was I disappointed. I was actually quite thrilled that I had been acknowledged by DC Comics, one of the “Big Two,” and bonus, I had a really cool piece of official DC stationery to show off to everyone — and here it is:

As you can see, I still have that rejection letter, along with every other rejection letter I’ve received since then, primarily to serve as motivation to keep going and succeed at my craft. I wanted to one day be able to take all those rejection letters — all seventy of them — and symbolically laugh at everyone who turned me down before trashing them, thus putting that phase of my writing career behind me for good.

Seventy rejection letters spanning more than two decades — and this doesn’t count the e-mails or those publishers and agents who never bothered to respond at all.

Beatrix helps me take out the trash.

Well, it’s time to do just that.

Bye-bye, failure phase. We had a good run, but I’m sure not going to miss you.

The Making Of A Novel

As you may know, Action Figures – Issue Five: Team-Ups got delayed until January. I hated to make that call, but as I remarked to one disappointed reader, real life came calling and pushed the process back. It’s one of the unfortunate and sometimes unavoidable pitfalls of being an independent author.

When I talk to people about my work, they’re often surprised at what goes into creating a novel. The process is much more complex than they realized, and fraught with potential hurdles than can easily screw up a release schedule, so I thought I’d chat about the process of creating a book start to finish — or, more specifically, my process. There is no one single “right way” to write a novel, despite what some might claim.

For me, the process starts with what I call the “rough plotting” phase. This is when I hash out the story from beginning to end. I lay out the plot and character arcs, set up key scenes, etc. All this happens in my head; I am not the kind of writer who takes extensive notes or meticulously lays out a story in advance. I like an organic process that surprises me with where the story and characters go. It keeps my creative energy up.

Next, the actual writing begins. This part of the process can take a few months, and my day-to-day page output depends on several factors, such whether I’m having a high or low creative energy day, how confident I’m feeling about a given section of the story, and if I actually have time to write. Four days out of the week, I work for my wife’s company Storied Threads, which leaves me with Friday through Sunday to write.

…Unless she’s vending at a show, which occurs a dozen or so times each year; or if I’m involved with the Connecticut Renaissance Faire as a performer/assistant fight director, in which case I can kiss my weekends goodbye for two months; or if life stuff happens (social gatherings, holidays, emergencies, etc.).

And of course, there are days when I’m supposed to write but can’t, because my brain hates me and won’t let me do anything. This condition is often called ‘writer’s block” but is also known simply as “the dumb.” On days like that I usually spend a couple hours trying to power through it, but when I write the same paragraph over and over again and it still feels like a big bag of suck, I usually give up for the day and try again tomorrow.

During the writing phase, I often come up with an idea for the cover art, which I throw over to my artist, Tricia, so she can start doing her thing. This is one part of the process that is completely out of my hands. I can request a deadline for the completed artwork, but all it will be is a request. Tricia has a family, a day job, other art projects (her own and for other clients), a life of her own — all things that just might take priority over whatever work I have for her. It’s in my overall best interests to be flexible and understanding when stuff comes up. She does great work for me and I don’t want to lose her!

This is not how you get results from your cover artist.

After I finish writing the novel, I begin the revision process. Depending on how confident I am with the first draft — and on how much time I have, and how much the creative juices are flowing — I can do a second draft in as little as one three-day weekend. More often it takes me at least two weekends of work. Measured in hours, that’s 30 to 60 hours to revise a full manuscript. Tack on another 30 to 60 hours if I decide a third draft is in order.

Once I’m pleased with the manuscript, I send it off to my test readers, which is another point in the process that I can’t control. They’re doing me a favor by reading and critiquing my book, so I have no right to put them on a deadline or rush them. Fortunately, they tend to be fast readers and I normally receive my feedback within two to three weeks.

Once all my test readers have reported in, it’s time to work on the next draft, wherein I correct any problems with the story, strengthen the parts that work well, and fine-tune the prose (I have a bad habit of over-writing, so I’m always on the lookout for superfluous material to cut for the sake of length and pacing). This takes another weekend or two.

Next step is to send the manuscript off to my editor, Julie. She is wonderfully thorough, insightful, and always offers meaty feedback. That level of diligence requires time on her part, and depending on how her schedule is — again, she has commitments above and beyond my needs — it could take her up to two months to finish editing a manuscript.

When she’s finished, guess what? That’s right: I do another round of revisions! Usually by this point all the major parts are set and all I have to do is make final corrections.

My relationship with formatting.

And then it’s on to the boring part of the job: formatting everything. I have to format the base MS Word file, which includes scintillating tasks like making sure all the page breaks and paragraph indentations are where they should be; and then I have to format the whole thing for the print edition (which doesn’t take too long if I did that first part right); and then I have to format it again for the e-book edition.

That part finished, I then go into CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing to set up the books — which is quite a bit more than simply uploading my various files. I have to choose book categories and keywords for search engines, get my ISBN and AISN numbers, select my pricing and royalty options, and after my files are uploaded, I have to review the books cover to cover to ensure they formatted properly. And if they don’t? I have to go back into my master files to make the corrections, re-upload the new files, and start the review process all over again.

Throughout this entire ordeal, I’m doing things like maintaining my online presence, promoting the next release, setting up book signings and public appearances, and looking for new ways to spread the word about my work — and sometimes, during the “hurry up and wait” points in the timeline, I’m starting work on the next book.

All told, the process of creating a novel from the time I start writing to the day it sees publication is six months if everything goes smoothly — which it almost never does. More often it takes around eight months, start to finish, before readers get to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

And that, boys and girls, is how a novel gets made.

Event Announcement: Arisia 2016

It’s Monday, attention spans are short, so I’ll keep this brief.

If you’re going to be in the Boston area around January — January 15 – 18 to be precise — I’ll be appearing at Arisia 2016 at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel along with J.M. Aucoin. We’ll be selling and signing copies of all our books, so stop by, say hello, and then check out Boston’s longest-running sci-fi/fantasy convention.

Oh, and a fellow by the name of John Scalzi is this year’s guest of honor. You definitely want to say hello to him.

See You At The OtherWhere Market!

Just a quick reminder that in a little over a week — on Saturday, December 12, to be precise — my friend and fellow author J.M. Aucoin and I will be at The OtherWhere Market in Lowell, MA selling and signing copies of our books. My wife, Veronica of Storied Threads, will also be there selling embroidered patches, bags, scarves, ties, and other fun goodies.

If you’ve never been before, the OtherWhere Market is an alternative crafters’ market, where you’ll find all kinds of offbeat handmade items for holiday gift-giving. Stop by Mill No. 5 and check it out — and come say hello to Justin and I!

Cyber Monday Deals, Announcements, and Updates!

Happy Cyber Monday, shoppers! Hope everyone had a good holiday and none of you had to work on Black Friday.

First up in my self-promotion-filled post for today is a reminder that the Kindle edition of The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot: Scratching a Lich is on sale today only for 99 cents! Get it for yourself or as a gift for someone who enjoys their fantasy tales with a healthy dose of humor.

If swashbuckling fiction is more your speed, fellow author J.M. Aucoin’s books Honor Among Thieves (Hope & Steel Book 1) and Jake Hawking & the Bounty Hunters (A Jake Hawking Adventure Collection Book 1) are also on sale today for 99 cents.

Now, back to me, with some updates on upcoming books.

First, Action Figures – Issue Five: Team-Ups has, unfortunately, been pushed back again. I apologize for the delays, but this is an unavoidable pitfall of life as an indie author. The book itself is done, but the cover art is in-process as time permits. My awesome artist, Tricia Lupien, has other professional and personal responsibilities that sometime take precedence over my needs, and in the art world, there’s a saying: “Do you want in now, or do you want it good?” I’d always prefer quality over speed, so I’m happy to give Tricia the time she needs to live up to her own high standards.

Team-Ups is now slated for an early January release, so you’ll have something nice to spend your Amazon gift cards on (hint). I’ll be posting preview chapters in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Next, I’m happy to report that over the holiday weekend, I wrapped up the first draft of Action Figures – Issue Six: Power Play, and began work on what I’m calling, for now, Issue Six-Point-Five, which will be released as a short story on this website. Be advised, it’ll be a while before it sees the light of day. Specifically, it will be released after Action Figures – Issue Seven: The Black End War, which is tentatively set for a spring 2017 release.

I know, I’m a miserable tease.