Val Tobin's Blog, page 21
December 19, 2016
The Hard Truth About Publishing—What Writers & Readers NEED to Know
Excellent post on the publishing industry and why most writers aren’t millionaires. Should be read by readers as well as writers. Favourite quote: “Instead of sending me an e-mail about how much my book changed your life? Put it on Amazon and change MINE!”
As we careen toward the New Year, many emerging writers have a goal to finally publish that novel and I hope you do! But the arts are kind of strange. We often get fixated on the creative side, without really understanding the business side of our business.
The publishing world is still in massive upheaval and it is a Digital Wild West. Old rules are falling away and new ones are emerging, but still? Knowledge is power.
In my book Rise of the Machines—Human Authors in a Digital World, I go into a LOT more detail and I highly recommend you get a copy if you don’t have one. I spend the first chapters of the book explaining how the various forms of publishing work so you can make an educated decision as you are building your brand.
All types of publishing have corresponding strengths and weaknesses and this is…
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November 17, 2016
Jury Duty Selection and One More Reason to Avoid Public Washrooms
On November 14, 2016, I had to report to the Newmarket Courthouse for jury duty selection. I spent the day sitting on a metal chair waiting for them to call my number.
Watching jurors get selected was both tedious, interesting, and nerve-wracking: tedious, because each selection can grind on interminably; interesting, because I’ve never participated in this before and it made for great research; and nerve wracking, because what if they call me?
The selections were for civil trials, so only six jurors would be selected for each trial, but dear God, selecting an entire panel at times felt like watching a snail move fifty metres.
A prospective juror’s number and occupation would be called, and the person would take his/her place on the reserved seat or speak to the judge about why jury duty at this time would cause hardship. Most people elected to speak to the judge, who would then either excuse the juror, defer jury duty to another time, or insist the person take a seat on the panel.
If the juror was excused or their duty was deferred, another number was called and the debate for exclusion began anew. It was a relief when the potential juror simply took his/her designated spot without raising any issues.
Once the six jurors had been selected, each lawyer had four opportunities to veto any of the prospective jurors. When this happened — and the lawyers all jumped on at least two opportunities to nix jurors — then the vetoed juror had to be replaced.
The most excitement I had that day happened in the hallway as I waited in line to use the washroom.
To open the door to the washroom you could press a large button next to the door, and it would unlock the door and open it wide. This would happen even if the person inside the washroom had pressed the red button that had a sign on it saying “Press to lock door.” Or something like that.
How do I know this, you ask? No, I didn’t spend any time investigating the mechanics of courthouse bathroom doors. I happened to be waiting to use the facilities when a woman I can only think of as an asshole blew past and hit the button to unlock and open the door.
The hall was crowded. She was there and gone before I could register what she looked like. I caught the back of her head and the flash of her arm as it shot out and hit the button.
As soon as she did, the door swung wide, and the two of us waiting for the bathroom to free up launched ourselves at the open door to get it closed again. The poor woman sitting on the toilet was too far away to do anything, and the hallway was packed with, mostly, men.
Since then, I’ve wondered what motivated that woman to do what she did. Did she know the button opened the bathroom door and she’d be exposing and humiliating someone by pressing it and thought it would be a hilarious practical joke? If so, she didn’t stick around to laugh it up with the victim.
Perhaps she has the mentality of a child and always pushes these buttons when she sees them? Or, maybe she had a seizure and her flailing arm hit the button by accident? It couldn’t have been anything personal. She wouldn’t have known who was in there at the time.
I can’t think of any logical reason for her actions, but I was steamed enough on behalf of the poor woman who was exposed to a crowded hallway with her pants around her knees to blog about it. When the woman ahead of me went in, I stood in front of the button. Anyone wanting to push that button would have had to go through me to do it, and when the woman ahead of me came out, she did the same for me while I used the bathroom.
Seriously, has it really come to this, that even in the courthouse you have to put a sentry on a locked bathroom door?
November 13, 2016
![Amazing Facts on Writing and How it Affects Our Brain [Infographic] - An Infographic from BestInfographics.co](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1479271165i/21167277._SY540_.jpg)
November 1, 2016
Having Written
Thanks to Frank Parker for nominating me for the “Three Quotes for Three Days” challenge.
The rules of the challenge are:
Three quotes for three days.
Three nominees each day (no repetition).
Thank the person who nominated you.
Inform the nominees.
Quote for day three, and, again, it’s a two fer:
“Writing is the only thing that when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.” — Gloria Steinem
“I do not like to write — I like to have written.” — Gloria Steinem
When I write, I’m in my little bubble, and I love it. But it’s still work, and nothing beats that feeling I get when I’ve completed the work — when it’s been written, revised, edited, polished, proofed, and ready to go out into the world.
I get enormous satisfaction from writing, every part of the process, but the most satisfying part is when the project has been completed. That time between projects is like the pause between breaths. I can’t linger in that pause; I have to take the next one.
I nominate:
October 31, 2016
What You Take by Force
Thanks to Frank Parker for nominating me for the “Three Quotes for Three Days” challenge.
The rules of the challenge are:
Three quotes for three days.
Three nominees each day (no repetition).
Thank the person who nominated you.
Inform the nominees.
Day two’s quote:
“Oh you crazy fools, don’t you know you had it made
You were living in paradise” — Five Man Electrical Band, I’m a Stranger Here
The above song says it all, and it’s appropriate for the day after Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary Before the Flood was released. It’s available to view for a limited time, so I’m not sure how long this link will work. Worth seeing.
I nominate:
October 30, 2016
Seen Dancing
Thanks to Frank Parker for nominating me for the “Three Quotes for Three Days” challenge.
The rules of the challenge are:
Three quotes for three days.
Three nominees each day (no repetition).
Thank the person who nominated you.
Inform the nominees.
I’m doing a two fer today:
“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
“You know, they say when you talk to God it’s prayer, but when God talks to you, it’s schizophrenia.” — Fox Mulder, X-Files
Those quotes suit writers perfectly. We hear and see things that don’t exist and then write about them.
Most of my stories began with my imagination getting away with me.
My short story, Storm Lake, is a perfect example of that. The more I looked at the misshapen trees around our cottage, the more I saw monsters waiting to be born. When we went canoeing to the south end of the lake, a dead ringer for The Dead Marshes in The Lord of the Rings, I all but saw the grey, skeletal arm rising out of the water to grip the back of our boat.
Fun times.
Add in some psychic ability, which has at various times had me not just sensing but seeing spirits, and you could say I’m dancing to my own tune.
Good thing I love it.
I nominate:
Featured #SciFan Author: Christie M. Stenzel is #YourNextFavoriteAuthor
Just bought this novel. It’s on special for .99 even in Canada.
The Sin of Indifference
Moving discussion about indifference. I’d never heard of the Aberfan Disaster prior to this. And thanks, Frank, for the nomination. What an inspiring challenge.
Thanks to Stevie over at https://steviet3.wordpress.com/ for nominating me for the ‘Three Quotes for Three Days’ challenge.
The rules of the challenge are:
Three quotes for three days.
Three nominees each day (no repetition).
Thank the person who nominated you.
Inform the nominees.
For my first quote I am going to take one from George Bernard Shaw:
The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that’s the essence of inhumanity. From “The Devil’s Disciple” (1901), act II
I heard it recently during a television programme commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan Disaster. For those who missed the publicity surrounding the anniversary and too young to remember the actual event, mine waste stored on a mountainside slid onto the village school burying it and many of its occupants. 116 children and 28 adults were killed.
At the subsequent enquiry
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October 25, 2016
How to post a book review on Amazon
Great guide on how to write an Amazon review for a book.
How to post a book review on Amazon
If you’ve never posted a book review on Amazon before, here are the simple steps to follow (and make an indie writer’s day):
First, go to Amazon.com, because that’s where all of the readers are.
See the search field at the top of the Amazon page and use the pull-down menu on the left to select “Books.” Type in the author’s name, and this will take you to the author’s books.
Click on the book you want to review. This takes you to another page, with a description of the book and some information about the author. Scroll down to the review section, where you’ll see a graph showing reviews with 1-5 star ratings. Click on the “Write a customer review” button to the right.
That takes you to the book’s review page. If it’s a novel, you’ll see questions. (If…
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