600 Words

I set a goal last week to begin writing 600 words a night. This was to break the dry spell of not writing for a few weeks.   It doesn't seem like that many words at all. I imagine the reaction to that goal going something like this.

"Six hundred? Why not a thousand? Two thousand?  Surely if you're planning on writing novels, short stories, and keeping people entertained you can put together more words than that?"

When I think like that I can understand why authors like George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss get annoyed at their fans at times.  I'm not saying that I am in any way comparable to those men, but I happen to enjoy their works.  I love Kvothe, and I think the television series is going to ruin the books for George R. R. Martin.  What I'm saying is that writing is more difficult than most people give them credit for.

Putting together one thousand words and making sure they work takes time.  Making sure your plots that you establish early in the book deliver on the foreshadowing is a pain. If that wasn't bad enough there are days where something is wrong in the story, but when you're up to your elbows in plots it's hard to see what is wrong.  If you've never tried to write long stories, then here is your challenge.

I challenge the casual readers, the people who are out there looking for something more exciting to do than waiting on their favorite authors next book to drop, to write a 600 word story.  It doesn't seem so bad does it?  It's not like I'm asking you to write an eighty thousand word book like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone. In fact there are children's books which have less than one hundred words.  An example is I'll teach my Dog a lot of words by Micheal K. Firth.  The book is one hundred words, and it tells a story.

The reason I'm recommending this is because I gained a new appreciation for the books that I read once I started writing.  Seeing the way they used their words, weaving plot, killing characters, twisting and turning details to keep me guessing, became more satisfying. I looked at the works of other authors as study guides to improve my own writing.  Questions came to my mind: How does R.A. Salvatore plot a fight scene? How does Stephen King plan one of his "Powder Keg" books like Needful Things or Under the Dome? How much research did Orson Scott Card do before he wrote Ender's Game or did he research?  Does Brandon Sanderson plot a single book or an entire series at  one time?

If you don't want to try the challenge, that's okay.  I'm going to keep chipping away at the projects that I have.  I am working on two short stories for different anthologies that I'm hoping to get a spot in. I have a novel I'm rewriting because after two years I've finally realized what is causing the problems in the story.  Then I have the serial update, each of which take 4-5 days at 600 words a day.

Also, if you're counting words this post is 550 words. Seems like I need a few more for tonight.

The importance of reviews.

I have been wanting to write this blog for a while now, probably since I started the blog.  I had just published a collection of short stories and came to the realization that reviews are important.  They're not important in a way that you can pay some guy to read your book and quickly crank out a review, it is something that needs to be heart felt.  

I realize that I am probably as guilty as everyone else in this.  I read a book, get to the end, talk about how good the book is and move on with my day.  Yet in today's market with the self-publishing options that are available to us a good review is the difference between someone buying your book or passing.  

We've all been eyeing products online, or even at the store when we ask someone what they think of it. We already have a good idea of what we'll like, but we have that little nagging voice in the back of our head of self-doubt.  What if the television's picture isn't as sharp as I think it is?  What if there is a newer model of the phone out in two weeks that'll make anyone who owns this one look like a chump?  What if we're not the educated consumer that we all pretend to be at the stores?  

Suddenly, our decision is placed on Jon Doe #476 who just happened to be in Best Buy to see if they had the new Call of Duty game in stock. But what kind of feedback does he give?  

"Eh, that TV's okay, but I went with the sixty inch because I have nothing better to spend my money on."  he says and we're suddenly amazed that we hadn't thought of that astounding option.  That decision which was almost formed is now cast back into the nebulous thought cloud to reform as something with a sixty inch TV in mind.  

That's why I want to address the guidelines I use when I review books on Goodreads.  This basically will tell you what you're getting if you look at my ratings.  I never usually take the time to write a review as I'm usually busy writing all sorts of other stuff, but we'll do etiquette after.  

1.  5 Star Review- This is the most coveted review and should, in my humble opinion, be reserved for those books which changed your life.  The one that suddenly made you want to go seek out the author and kiss them just for bringing those characters into your life.  This is not just some flimsy review, this is enshrining the book in a museum for all the world to see. Example:  Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
2. 4 Star Review - This is the kind of book I'll recommend to a friend if they've already read my five star's.  The book is good, no it's awesome, but it didn't make me want to suddenly go live in that world.  This review means I really enjoyed the book and can't think of anything bad to say, but it just didn't pass that threshold into amazing.  Example: The Crimson Shadow by R.A. Salvatore 
3. 3 Star Review - The three star review for me is a sign that I've read and enjoyed the book.  The book was satisfying and didn't come across as so boring that I couldn't finish it. Now, I wouldn't necessarily go out and read it again right away, but at least its on the list of books I've read.  Example: A Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein.   
4. 2 Star Review - This is the kind of book that I would designate as assigned high school reading. They are books that someone told you to read, but really you find yourself almost making excuses to not read anymore of it.  You know that there is supposed to be a lesson, but really, you don't know what it is supposed to be and don't really care.  Ex: For Whom The Bell Tolls by Hemmingway
5. 1 Star Review - This is the one that I reserve only for the worst kind of book I've ever read.  The book that went nowhere and I derived no satisfaction from it what-so-ever.  Above I've mentioned Hemmingway as a two star option, but as I finished For Whom The Bell Tolls I felt satisfaction at knowing that at least something had happened.  At some points the characters acted on their plans and so with some conflict being resolved I was able to accept it as done.  The one star books don't even give you the satisfaction of that, they are the ones that should you find yourself in hell you'll probably be reading it for all eternity.  I can only think of one book that has fallen so low that I felt it deserved one star... Catcher in the Rye.  

I know that gives you my feelings on some books as well as how they should be rated and I understand that you might not agree with me.  That's okay, the last thing I want to bring up is etiquette in your review.  It is sad that some of these things need to be said but the biggest no-no is don't give spoilers.  Another thing, if you're going to pan the book and give it a one star review give a reason.  

These are my two biggest pet peeves when it comes to reviews, the spoilers because it destroys the joy I might have at a well crafted ending or plot turn.  The lack of a good reason because I've read books that people found horrible and loved them.  Perhaps you don't like a book because of the language or the gore described inside.  Please tell us that so that we can understand your rating.  If you rated a book one star because it had lesbian vampires that sparkled and took tea in the sunlight every afternoon while discussing the politics of the court, tell us! I know people that would be intrigued by a Vampire version of Little Women or Pride and Prejudice, though the lesbian aspect would be entirely new.  But this means that you give the author/artist/musician the best chance to succeed.  

The plight of Friday...

It seems my Friday update schedule might be something that done for a time.  That being said perhaps I should just confirm there will always be a Tuesday update and from there I may add additional ones as I see fit.  It seems like a good enough idea to give it a try and see where it turns out.

So, this weekend Amazon announced the KDP Select Global Fund breakdown along with letting authors know what they'll be paid for their copies which were enrolled and checked out through the program.  I had enrolled the short story collection "Escaping Sanity" in the program to try it out.  As with many people, I firmly believe that we should be willing to try everything once.  This seemed like a great opportunity to so.

The fund started out at $3 million dollars and due to the success of the program they have added an additional $5.5 million dollars.  $8.5 million dollars for authors who were willing to allow their books to be checked out through the program.  Of course, this only breaks down to about $1.37 per borrow, that is if I did my rounding correctly.

Now, I know what you're thinking, to take that enormous amount of money and have it degrade down to $1.37 that is a lot of books. So this means the eager readers of Amazon E-books  downloaded and read over 6.2 million books this last month.   Each time the book is downloaded and read past the fifteen percent mark, (I could be wrong on the exact amount) the book gets a point.  All the points are tabulated and divided to break it down into that number.

I know I probably should be disheartened to find out that my share of it came down to around ten dollars.  But I then realized that if my book had been bought my local library and was checked out seven or eight times I would have received a total of one books royalties.  This way adds up to be more generous towards the authors than a lot of people would like to make it seem.

I've read articles in recent months which talk about Amazon fighting with publishers and groups to try to control their E-book market, pricing, etc. Now, having not been published or represented by an agent I had no dog in the fight, but a lot of their ideas seemed to make sense.  This is the way that I've perceived it and I'm sure that I could have missed some important stuff, but let me share how I see it.

First, a print book sells for more than the E-book, this to me makes sense.  If you want paper, you should be willing to pay for paper.  If you want E-ink then you already did pay for it and will continue to make the most of it.

Second, an E-book should give greater royalties to the Author. I understand there are logistics with agents, publishers, cover artists and the rest but let's keep this simple.  Being that I'm not paying Jon Doe to run his factories and to print a book I think it should be fair that I'm taking that cut.   The only costs that I shouldn't be getting as an author are the digital storage and distribution costs which are handled by Amazon.  If I have an agent for publicity and publishing then they get their cut too.

Third, this is something that I feel is important.  This gave me an opportunity to put together a collection of short works to start getting my name out there.  A friend of mine had a tentative contract with a large publisher pulled because they didn't know if she could move books.  She was an unknown and so the traditional publisher didn't feel right about extending a contract at that time.  So in a way this is a good way to try to open additional doors.  Perhaps not for the first book I put on here, but for others in the future.

Now, to finish up, I don't see myself as either a self-published author or someone seeking to be published traditionally.  I won't typecast myself as only seeking one path to publication.  I would love nothing more than to be able to find my books in a Barnes & Noble. To be able to be like Brandon Sanderson and do stealth signings of my books at airport book shops.  But all those types of considerations are a ways off still.  The old sayings ring as true now as they have in the past.  "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." and "You have to try everything at least once."