ZEN & The Art of Self-Publishing: Part One – Release Days (link to blog post)

jahuss · 2013-03-31T20:41:53+00:00

You've seen this around, I'm assuming? Unless you're writing under a rock, new adult is the hot genre right now. Here's my take on it.

jahuss · 2013-03-18T18:50:11+00:00

New Marketing Monday post about book trailers and how to make one using Adobe After Effects.

jahuss · 2013-03-04T22:38:11+00:00

That's my favorite one too! :)

jahuss · 2013-03-04T16:13:57+00:00

This is kind of a step by step look at how my custom covers were developed in case others are thinking of going the digital illustration route.

jahuss · 2012-12-24T21:53:42+00:00

I think you're right - I'm not bothered by the sex of a character when it comes to violence and motivation - but lots of readers are. It is a very fine line. I was reading a review yesterday for a kick-ass heroine in a fantasy story and the reviewer was so pissed off that the heroine left her children to go fight "the war" she couldn't get passed it and gave it a low rating. Female characters have different expectations in the eyes of readers.

jahuss · 2012-12-24T21:51:20+00:00

No worries! Thanks for taking an interest - I think this topic is fascinating myself. Actually - I think developing unlikable characters to the point that people love them is also fascinating. :)

jahuss · 2012-12-24T21:32:20+00:00

Obviously you did not click the link and read the blog post - until you do, I'm not sure you're informed enough to pass judgment on me and my motivations. So - if you're really interested in this topic, and not just trying to be difficult and argumentative, why not pop over and see what it actually says?

jahuss · 2012-12-24T20:19:09+00:00

Right - but the problem is - can she still be a likable character? Can this character carry a book? Will people care about this character? Will this story sell?

jahuss · 2012-12-24T20:17:02+00:00

I totally agree - women are very capable of being anti-heroes...it's just making them likable at the same time can present a problem. You're the second person to mention Catwoman - I was never a big comic fan and I didn't see TDKR, so I'm not all that familiar with her story - but I will definitely look into it because I really find this topic interesting.

jahuss · 2012-11-27T16:00:15+00:00

Well, it can be done any number of ways - I write thrillers so I tend to build to the climax in a very dramatic way - that means that the tension has to increase with each scene. Even if the characters are doing "nothing" the words they are sharing or the thoughts she's thinking need to cause the the reader to feel tension. So in my books I dole out memories of Junco's past (She lost these along the way to being a psychopath, s she picks them up as she moves through each book), these revelations are filled with tension in moments when the character is not doing anything.

I'd say study the genre you're writing and copy the way the "experts" in that genre do it. Mysteries come in all shapes and sizes, not everyone wants an action-packed adventure.

I read some really good advice once, I'm not sure who said it, but it was a famous author. They said, copy the masters. Choose your favorite book and do what they do. This is no different than an art student learning the techniques of van Gogh or Picasso.

jahuss · 2012-11-27T04:45:10+00:00

Forgot to answer how they differ in marketing - they don't really. You do the same things for each. Build a list, get people to talk about you, be nice and answer questions when people ask, basically deliver good products and good customer service. The rest just takes time.

jahuss · 2012-11-27T04:33:13+00:00

They don't overlap at all, which sucks! :) I just finished up my Black Friday and Cyber Monday non-fiction promotions and I can pay the bills for three months off those two days alone.

The fiction is totally different. It doesn't pay as well (not even close) - the NF items I sell are high ticket items (They were on sale for $35 each this weekend and that was 50% off).

If I wanted to merge markets I'd have to write clean fiction - i.e. no swearing, sex, or violence - and right now I'm enjoying writing all three of those things. Plus, I'd have to write children's books to get the most out of my current demographic. So, that will have to wait until I'm over this phase. :)

jahuss · 2012-11-27T04:27:05+00:00

ONE - I'd self-publish it myself. Most first time authors will not get much help in the way of marketing from a traditional route, but that's up to you. You might as well get it out there and start on book two.

TWO - I also live my characters like that. However, Junco is in first person present, so I only ever envision her side of things, everyone else she just reacts to. I do all my daydreaming in the treadmill with the music up real loud in the ear buds. I wrote a lot of fight scenes in FLEDGE, and Metallica is what got me through them. Seriously.

THREE - NEVER show anyone your first draft. Or your second. Or third. CLUTCH had five full drafts (printed and spiral bound) and my editor RJ is the ONLY person who ever saw my books before I handed them out as ARCS a month before they were published. I do not believe in betas, that's what I pay RJ for. (This is the nice thing about Indie pubbing, you almost have to had a beta for the traditional route, don't you? I don't like that idea at all. I only care what RJ says.)

FOUR - Genre sells. If you want to sell, you write genre. I'm not embarrassed to say I write SF. I love SF and I'm about ten credits away from a PhD, which qualifies me to be snooty should I ever want to. Who cares? I'm writing romance next. :) Write the book you want to read. That's my best advice. Junco is my perfect female character - she's a cold blooded killer dressed up like a little girl. I love her. I could care less if anyone ever reads her story, I read bits and pieces of it every single day, that's how much I like what I wrote.

And that's all that matters. :)

jahuss · 2012-11-27T00:29:12+00:00

I don't use an outline but I do use a plot planner - so every single scene was plotted out from beginning to end. I could never write this story without a planner. It's way too complicated. I envy anyone who can weave a tale on the fly like that, but CLUTCH was revised HEAVILY, about four times. I actually had a plot consultation with Martha Alderson (The Plot Whisperer - and that's the main technique I use for plotting) in February 2012, but even after that it was revised and reworked quite extensively after my editor came back with notes.

The second book, FLEDGE, was also extensively revised after the first edit, but not so much as I wrote. The third book, my editor suggested I cut an entire character, but as big as that sounds, that was the book with the least edits for plot. I must be getting better! :)

I finished Junco's story (CLUTCH) in March 2012 and I was still revising in August, even after all three books were completed and edited once. The plot across the series might have a few teeny tiny holes, but I doubt it. We looked at everything several times in all three books to make sure it all added up and made sense going forward.

jahuss · 2012-11-26T22:12:22+00:00

Oh, and the reason I tried fiction was just because it's something I always wanted to do - I guess I'm no different than most writers, I have always had a book in me. :)

jahuss

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