November 17, 2015 · 9:22 am

“What Do You Write?”, or The Genre Prison

I just recently read one of those articles about how the “new wave” of self-publishers “must” act, and it left me rolling my eyes. It said, instead of just writing, editing, and publishing something, and then working on a social media platform/blog, you should do it the other way around: blog first, become popular (literally, that was the whole step–oh, ok!), hope you still have time for the book you originally wanted to write.

I’ve seen that advice before, but today it just made me eyeroll particularly hard (because of course it’s as easy as “get popular.” Gag me). The advice was further to pick what you were going to write about–presumably the same thing that is your future book topic–and then write extensively on that narrow subject.

Now, don’t get me wrong, that totally works for some people. I met a woman at a conference who started her blog about kids’ photography, and it led to a book deal and stuff. Great. But guess what? She didn’t start the blog so she could eventually write a book; she started the blog because she wanted to be a blogger.

Anyway, back to the “write about one topic a lot” thing: most broadly, that means writing about a specific genre. But I think that’s locking yourself into a prison for no good reason: so your first book ends up being a steampunk romance, great, but what if you want to do a sci-fi horror for the second one? Do you have to spin off a totally different blog? Start all over again? Insanity!

Besides, sometimes the genre is stupidly hard to define. That’s one of the biggest problems with Undead Rising. What genre is it? It’s got zombies, so that’s sometimes horror, even though it’s maybe PG-13 level scary. Zombies are also supernatural, so it kinda fits in that arena. But it’s also funny, so does that make it humor? Except it turns out, weirdly, that most humor books are nonfiction, so that isn’t exactly a good fit. It’s a gamebook, which is awesome, except it’s a genre completely dominated by children’s books from the 1970s and that’s not exactly a section most people are familiar with… so what, exactly, would my one-genre blog be about?

I guarantee you if I had to talk exclusively about zombies, this blog would have died a long time ago.

The conventional publishing wisdom is contradictory here, too. Officially, you pick a genre and you just write in that genre until your hands fall off. It used to be if you wanted to write in a different genre, your publisher would frown on that and your new stuff wouldn’t be published; you were only “known” in one arena. Except… if you got famous, then it was back to whatever you wanted, apparently. All my favorite authors right now may be best known for a certain thing, but they cross genres at will, following whatever they are interested in: Neil Gaiman (comics, children’s books, YA, adult novels); Brad Meltzer (historical fiction, superhero comics, children’s picture books); Margaret Atwood (dystopian fiction that she likes to call literary fiction, short stories, fantasy); and Jim Butcher (urban fantasy, role playing games, comic books, steampunk).

So I say….write what you want. Following your passion is far more interesting and more likely to keep you motivated. Who cares what the box is supposed to be? Just go for it. Make the box fit you, not the other way around.

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November 12, 2015 · 8:59 am

Truth Behind the Writing Life

The writing life is really hard to get a sense of: it’s way more opaque than most careers, with a lot more glamour associated with it that makes the reality way more confusing. But this article is great, giving a peek behind the writing room curtain. Here are some of my favorites.

Lisa Gardner: What surprises me is that it doesn’t get easier. With thirty books written, you would think I’d feel proficient, but each book is painful in its own way. I’m always just feeling my way to that other side–the completed novel. I feel I’m forever gnashing my teeth and banging my head against a blank computer screen.

Dennis Lehane: What surprises me is that it’s as cool as I had hoped it would be. Even twenty years down the line, it still seems surreal. I mean, there was a time when I was a complete nobody, and in my fantasy life thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if somebody actually wanted me to sign one of my books?’ I still live in that place–where it all seems like a fantasy.

Clive Cussler: I would have to say, the only real surprise has been the success. That’s really been quite unexpected. I get up in the morning, get to the office and write until about six o’clock in the evening. Then I share a bottle of wine with my wife. Everything else is the same.

David Morrell: What surprises me most of all is how things have changed in the writing world. When I started, there were no book signings. Novelists didn’t go on tour or do publicity. None of the chain bookstores existed. There was a time when ten or fifteen book warehouses existed in each state; they serviced mom-and-pop grocery stores and stationery stores. Those warehouses disappeared. The chain bookstores appeared, and now, most of them are gone. And of course, we now have the e-book revolution. I’ve seen a great deal that’s changed in the writing world.

 

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November 10, 2015 · 9:58 am

Review: The Aeronaut’s Windlass

The Aeronaut's Windlass (The Cinder Spires, #1)The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’ve found your next read, that is, if you like captivating, unique, funny, and intense stories, and also talking cats. And if you don’t like those things, I recommend “Hop on Pop” as an alternative, because seriously, who doesn’t like talking cats?

Seriously, this book might be the best fantasy/steampunk/pirate story since Firefly went off the air. And it’s definitely better than sliced bread.

Let me back up: what’s it about? The Aeronaut’s Windlass takes place in a world in which all of humanity lives in giant, heaven-scraping Spires, and where the earth below is dangerous and possibly toxic (sort of an inverse of the Wool Omnibus). As such, commerce takes place in the sky, via huge airships. Our story follows Captain Grimm, of the slightly piratanical Predator, as well as the aristocratic Gwen, the “warriorborn” Benedict, the addled and mystical Folly and Master Ferus, and the hardy Bridget and her prince-of-cats companion Rowl. Basically, this odd collection of characters is pressed into service to protect the Spire from an unknown Enemy and try to prevent all-out war.

Because Captain Grimm is the one on the cover, most people may want to see this as his story–and believe me, he is wonderful, even if nearly a straight-up transference of Firefly‘s Captain Mal–but each character truly has an arc of their own, and no one is much of a supporting character. Yes, even the cat, who is both different from every literary depiction of a cat I’ve ever read and exactly like my own beasties.

Author Jim Butcher is already known for his writing skill and his vibrant characters, but I don’t know that he’s ever had so much fun. You can feel his grin through the book, and I occasionally wanted to nudge him in the ribs–“I see what you did there!” He’s just having a blast, and it’s infectious.

But that’s not to say the book is all happiness. Though I often had to stop to read a line aloud to my husband to share the laugh, I also told him that if a certain character died–or if all of them died–I wasn’t going to forgive him. It’s that intense and the stakes are that impossibly high.

What I really liked, though, was that no one was unnecessary. Even characters lacking in obviously beneficial skills discovered in themselves the ability to do something that proved critical to the mission as a whole. And I just wanted to give each of them a hug afterward.

I can’t wait for more of this series, and odds are pretty solid that I’ll reread it again soon just to get back into this fantastic fantastical world.

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November 5, 2015 · 9:39 am

What is NaNoWriMo and Why Should I Care?

NaNoWriMo

What: NaNoWriMo is a crazy mnemonic for National Novel Writing Month. The challenge: Write 50,000 words (about a novella or a short novel) in 30 days.

Why: Because why not? Because a lot of people say they want to write a book but never actually sit down and do it. Because it’s fun? Because it’s a great way to motivate yourself when you know a lot of other people are all striving for the same goal. Because it’s exciting to challenge yourself to stretch beyond your everyday expectations to see if you can rise above the dreck and do something amazing. Because sometimes NaNoWriMo authors go on to become published, or even wildly successful.

Who: Anyone who wants to. Maybe YOU!

When: THIS MONTH! RIGHT NOW, get on it!

How: A) Sign up at http://nanowrimo.org/dashboard. Or don’t, it’s up to you. Then, sit down and write a novel in the method of your choosing. It really is that easy (and that hard).

My personal NaNo experiences have all be wonderful. Largely exhausting, but wonderful. My first novel, Alt.World, grew out of my time in NaNoWriMo, first as the 30-day writing challenge (which I then finished over the next few months), then the next year I used NaNo as motivation to sit down and actually edit the whole thing and refine it, in a little personal NaNo challenge. Then I wrote my book Undead Rising: Decide Your Destiny, which was a lot of fun and now can be bought as an actual, real book (or ebook). I don’t know that I would have committed to it without something like NaNo pushing me to reach the challenge. So for three years running I met my goals and “won” the challenge. I took last year off because of a death in the family, but I’ve been waiting for this all year. I’m pretty pumped. It’s the one month of the year that I really protect my writing time above all else, saying, “Ok, world, I’ll be back in a month, but this? This is my time.” A

It really does just come down to that: I make a promise, and I do it. I hope you will, too.

Wanna swap NaNo stories? How’re you staying focused this year?

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November 3, 2015 · 9:04 am

Amazing Halloween Book Signing

Well, my weekend was incredible. The weather was bleary and I didn’t get a single trick-or-treater, nor did I have a costume, but it may have been the BEST HALLOWEEN EVER.

Why? Because I got to meet so many people who were so incredibly pumped to discover that adults are “allowed” to read gamebooks, too!

This was my first-ever book signing (huge shout-out to the folks at Madness Games and Comics who thought it was a good idea! Buy all their cool stuff!), and my expectations were pretty low: smile at people, sit behind a stack of books all day, use caffeine to keep my spirits up. But y’all blew away my expectations! Instead of being the shy author I feel like, I was able to chat with so many people who were like, “wait a minute? Did you say zombies?! This is very pertinent to my interests!”

Undead Rising book signing at Madness Games

Writing–and self-publishing–can be really isolating; you do most of it alone, at your desk. I did not at all expect the high I got from meeting so many of my people, the folks who say “yeah, I probably wouldn’t survive a zombie apocalypse, let’s be real…but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t try!” The people who think it’s ok to be a “grownup” and still have fun like an 8-year-old. The people who say, “heck yes I want to support a local author!”

I just wish I could go give you all a big hug–you made my year!

If we met this weekend and you’ve had a chance to read some of Undead Rising, let me know what you think! And I would be so grateful if you’d review the book on Goodreads, or tell a friend, or leave a copy conspicuously on a park bench for an unassuming stranger to discover (ok, maybe not the last one!).

Also, big announcement: because of the success of the signing on Halloween, Undead Rising: Decide Your Destiny will now be available for purchase at Madness Games and Comics!

Y’all are awesome. And remember: Choose wisely.

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October 29, 2015 · 9:48 am

Wil Wheaton and Working For Free

Wil Wheaton is awesome

This guy knows what’s up.HuffPost has gone and stepped in it, big time: they asked Hollywood star and geek icon Wil Wheaton if they could repost a blog he wrote, with the total payment being zilch, nothing, nada.

And he got mad. And he got mad to his 3 million Twitter followers, plus a bunch of folks who’ve now seen it second-hand. (Here’s the full post.) And now HuffPost has its pants around its ankles.

Here’s some of what Wil said:

“…it’s the principle of the thing. Huffington Post is valued at well over fifty million dollars, and the company can absolutely afford to pay contributors. The fact that it doesn’t, and can get away with it, is distressing to me.”

What’s pathetic is not just that HuffPost thought “extend your reach” was going to sound remotely appealing to someone like Wil Wheaton, which is just laughable, but that the company, as a policy, does not EVER pay its contributors. You know, the people without whom there would be no HuffingtonPost.

This isn’t the first time, by far, artists have been asked to work for free. I bet you could find a request in your city right now on Craigslist to submit work gratis for some “worthy” project or another. And it’s sad; it deeply undervalues creators of all kinds. I tell high school and college students to never do unpaid internships for the same reason: if you’re not being paid, you’re not being appreciated, and you’re not being treated as an equal. It’s just not worth it, most of the time.

That said, there are times when it makes some sense to work for free, or at least to offer free submissions. My article on APracticalWedding (reposted to Refinery29) was something I wrote on my own and submitted as a free article. But I knew from the outset that APracticalWedding.com did not pay for articles (which means Refinery29 did get a bargain, but I was grateful for the boost). I knew that post was free work, but it was something I really wanted to talk about, because I had a genuine interest in helping other people who may be in a similar situation, and because I read APracticalWedding so often that I felt, in a way, that I needed to give back somehow. So I’m completely at peace with that decision.

But the situation with Huffington Post is different. What do you think? Would you write for them for free?

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October 27, 2015 · 9:27 am

How’s Your Side Hustle?

I found this little article fascinating: 2015 Side Hustle Earnings Report.

When you pick up a side gig–whatever your reasons–it’s so hard to know what success will look like. If you’re picking up extra work for money, it can be easy to feel like you’re failing if you’re not the next Steve Jobs. But this report brings us right back down to earth. Success can look like a whole lot of things.

I mean, sure, this list includes a motivational speaker/CEO who makes a slick $89,000 in her “side gig” (gag me a bit here)… but there is also a blogger who made only $450. That’s a huge range.

Did you know the average part-time job brings in $8,000 a year? That’s so small potatoes (forgive me, I read it in another article and can no longer remember the source). But if a traditional side job like waitressing or working at a shop or whatever brings in only $8,000 a year, maybe it’s worth it to try to make your personal hobby into a side gig instead.

Personally I feel that the benefits of running your own small business are completely worth the challenges. You learn so much, about relating to others, managing your time, what your goals really are…

How’s your side hustle? And if you need any editing, just let me know. 😉

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October 22, 2015 · 9:25 am

Support Kickass Rachel Caine’s Kickstarter!

  I’m so late to the game that I nearly missed it, but one of my very favorite authors, Rachel Caine, has a Kickstarter active now for a new book in her fascinating, wonderful, brilliantly creative Weather Wardens series.

Go back it now (only one day left!!!) and then come back here to read more about why this is amazing. I’ll wait…

This Kickstarter amazes me, not only because backing it means I’ll have more personal(ish) contact with one of my writing idols, but that it exists at all.

She says in her video that publishers have told her that the Weather Warden genre, urban fantasy, won’t sell right now, and that’s at least part of why she has decided to self-publish this book. But that amazes me–mostly for sad reasons. Ms. Caine is an established, highly respected author who has written at least three immensely popular series. She’s a known brand. And the story she wants to write is part of an existing universe that has already spawned a fun three-book mini-series. And yet…a publisher wouldn’t back her?

It’s hard to know if there may be more to the story, but I fear there isn’t. Perhaps Caine just leapt at the opportunity to self-publish and thought this would be a good way to try–and considering her Kickstarter has already far exceeded its goal, it’s a worthy cause.

But it does worry me about the industry as a whole. Has there ever been any inherent stability, or is it all an illusion?

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October 20, 2015 · 9:35 am

Review: Cibola Burn

Cibola Burn (Expanse, #4)Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This fourth book is different from the rest. Then again, that has been true of all the books in this series so far, but this one might be a little more distinctive. The first, Leviathan Wakes is a murder mystery on a grand scale; Caliban’s War is about grappling with an unknowable alien enemy; Abaddon’s Gate is largely a political intrigue; and then there’s Cibola Burn…which is alternatively a man vs. man and a man vs. nature story. So it’s a little bit different.
Yet again we’re brought along with Captain Holden and his crew as he tries to not screw things up, and we’re again introduced to a new cast of characters to guide us: the well-intentioned but misguided colonist Basia; the clinical and laser-focused scientist Elvi; and the security chief, Havelock, who is most definitely a reflection of our pal Miller from book one.
The writing duo that make up Jame S.A. Corey remain outstanding, as this series knows how to ramp up the problem like none I’ve ever seen. Just when you think you’ve got one disaster big enough to ruin everything, they throw another bomb into the mix. It makes this a harrowing, exciting read, as you try to imagine how anyone could survive that.
My issue with this book is the antagonist. He’s just too mustache-twirling evil, and though he has motivations, I find it hard to believe that anyone would be so staunch in that kind of view. He ends up just being a bigger-than-realistic baddie who I hoped got put out of his misery early on–but of course, he didn’t, and I had to keep suffering through his appearances. Maybe I’m naive to think no one would be like that guy, but I really didn’t want to read about him all the time. I’m seriously disappointed he wasn’t killed by a death-slug (oh yeah, death-slugs are a thing).
The ending feels a little too pat, but then they fix that by adding a short coda from our political hero and war heroes from the prior books. Now we’re talking.
Then again, the character exposition I got for some of the crew of the Rocinante was so fabulous it might have made the whole book worthwhile…
Yet again, this book is a lot of fun and an incredible journey, even if this one wasn’t my favorite.

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October 15, 2015 · 9:30 am

Zombie-Riffic Halloween

Undead Rising zombie bookGreat news! You’ll be able to meet me at Madness Games and Comics in Plano from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for a real-life book signing!

Madness is for real my favorite comic book/game shop ever, and I’m so honored that they’ve asked me to do a signing on nothing less than the coolest, most zombie-tastic day of the year!

I’ll be set up and eager to see you, and in addition to books I promise to have some creepy/tasty treats to share…if you dare!

So pop over to Madness Games and Comics to get your copy of Undead Rising: Decide Your Destiny, and you’ll be able to challenge your friends: who can really survive the zombie uprising?

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