Shroud Media

I'm pleased to (finally) announce Shroud Media, a digital publisher of creator-owned comics and graphic novels. I'm the media department :)

Cottonseeds will be published by Shroud on September 1st, with a shiny new ISSN. First stop will be Smashwords, then other retailers from there.

Here's the Shroud FB Page.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shroud-Media-LLC/736606119782980

Check it out, tell your friends, join the Shroud Forum on the Shroud website.

http://shroudmediallc.com/ 

And here's the first promo video. Enjoy!

P.S. Spread the word for me, okay? Thanks.

Reviews aren't Bank Cards

In the past 5 years or so since I've witnessed the exploding popularity of online publishing, I've also witnessed a lot of disturbing trends. All the usual suspects. Bullying, bashing, voting down, stealing, failure to pay royalties, all that crap and more.

But the trend that disturbs me the most is this completely false idea that reviews = sales. Wrong. Seriously. Just, wrong.

Even if reviews could work like bank cards, just insert review and get money from the slot, there has to be money in the back first before you can take any out.

Think about that for a moment. Let it sink in.

You want to publish your book? Great! First step, put money in the bank. Make an investment. Put yourself and your work out there. Take risks. Get informed. Gamble small and think big.

It really doesn't matter, you see. Self-publishing, indie, traditional, it's all the same. You will never ever be able to collect interest unless you make an investment first. Accept that right now.

Now... I'll talk about types of investments, because all of the above is just one big analogy. I know it's easier to think in terms of dollar amount, but put that aside for a moment. You have a cool professional book cover? Share the image everwhere. That's one type of investment. Writing samples to show the world? Another investment.

It's hard, I know. I often find I have to use a lot of imagination and hope for the best. That's all I can do, really. Yet, my hope is always based on years of research and hard work. Time is the biggest investment of them all.

And guess what? It doesn't cost a dime.

The Fine Print of Online Publishing

I go through phases every time I encounter yet another false statement on the internet about publishing. First, anger. How dare you say something so ignorant! Second, bargaining. Please, Look at these links of important articles that prove what you said is wrong! Last, sadness. I find it unfortunate you must insist on this false statement, I guess there isn't a choice.

I usually keep the first two phases in my head. After all, I'm not god. I'm not some kind of supreme expert on everything and don't have the right to verbally dump on anyone. More often than not, I grit my teeth while counting to five, then move on to the last phase. Of course, if you catch me at the wrong moment you will see my wrath.

I've thought about writing an article about the history of publishing many times, with the perspective of online publishing, in hopes of getting online authors to understand. Each time I thought about it, I would change my mind. What's the point? I would ask myself. Some people get it, and some just don't. Book spammers will spam, trolls will be trolls, haters will hate. Why bother?

Well, today, I've decided to post an article. I don't expect to revolutionize the world. At the very least, all facts are compiled in one article. It's the least I can do.

I realize this is a long article (three pages) but I hope you'll read everything.

History of Printing and Publishing Houses

The first movable type European printer was invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1439. Americans and the Brittish were the only ones who had any interest in profiting from printed books. Publishing houses popped up in the very early 20th century, after the industrial revolution changed the face of printing. Authors paid printers themselves for over 400 years before the first publishing house existed.

Self-publishing gave birth to publishing houses. Traditional publishing would not exist today if it weren't for 400 years' worth of self-published authors.

If an author who had paid a printer found they couldn't sell any copies, mainly because it was a bad book that no one wanted to read, then they didn't pay for another print-run, because they didn't make a profit. That bad book was forgotten and lost in history.

Traditional Publishing

Penguin Books was the first traditional publisher to do a print-run of paperback books in 1935 and revolutionized the concept of publishing for commercial profit. Traditional publishing, in the course of printing history, is brand-new. Some publishers are older, and many are very young. Either way, it's traditional publishing that's new.

Traditional publishing is based on a specific model, or formula if you will, that became commercial fiction. While I have read, and continue to read, many good commercial fiction books, I also see the disadvantage of using commercial fiction as a business model. It's been too long, using the same formulas over and over. Stuck in rut. Each book utterly predictable. Readers just aren't buying it anymore. Unable to change because they don't know how to make money using any other business model. Authors losing money and support.

In many ways, I feel sorry for those involved in traditional publishing. Things will have to change, but there's no way change can happen, at this point in time, without a massive financial loss. Of course, the ideal saving grace would be to start accepting totally different books that already have an established fanbase guaranteed to buy millions of copies.

Traditional publishing has been making the effort. Fifty Shades of Grey is traditionally published and it initially started with a massive fanbase. A brave attempt and a big gamble. The whole thing could have easily backfired and everyone involved would have been left with eggs on their faces. But that didn't happen. Instead, it worked and a lot of money was had.

It's not the first book. Traditional publishers have been “buying” fanfiction authors with an established fanbase for over five years now. I won't name anyone and I won't provide any links. That's up to the authors and it's none of my business. I'm only mentioning this fact in case anyone wondered where the influx of low quality traditional books came from. It's just marketing, designed to feed the fans. If the fans don't have standards, neither will the book. That influence has negatively affected many aspects of traditional publishing, and the readers see it.

I will, however, state for the record that just because an author starts out writing fanfiction does not automatically make them a bad writer.

To be honest, I don't believe for one second that accepting derivative fiction inspired by fanfiction will save traditional publishing. I honestly feel that some of the supposed success stories we're seeing now are nothing more than the dying end of an era. Too many people scrambling around and throwing all eggs in one basket. It's guaranteed to implode, if it hasn't already, but perhaps it will last just barely long enough for people to enjoy it within their lifetime. Like watching a dying sunset.

I know that traditional publishing will always exist. There will always be people who try to make money from fictional stories on a commercial level. It's not an either/or situation. The idea of choosing this side over that side is false. An illusion created by those who know nothing about the history of publishing. Traditional publishing just hasn't figured out a new model yet that would guarantee a specific long-lasting revenue in order to survive this century. Maybe 400 years from now things will be better.

Gatekeepers

A myth. There are no gatekeepers and there never were any gatekeepers. If your book doesn't fit that century old commercial fiction model, if you don't have connections or a fanbase, you will be rejected. Is this a bad thing? No. Traditional publishing has never been the only way to get a book out there and make money. It's just one way. It simply means the model isn't for your writing. Proceed to the next possible way of getting your book out there. There's always another way and always has been, ever since the first European printer was invented in 1439.

I cringe every time I see people moaning online about the mythical gatekeepers. I'm going to be brutally honest. The only gatekeepers I see are authors determined to sabotage themselves.

Print on Demand

Or POD, as many people call it. POD is the only thing that's new in publishing, for the first time in centuries. It's a good business model and it makes a lot of sense. Instead of paying a printer directly for a print-run of 5000 books, the cost of printing is deducted from the sale of each book. A fantastic business model. However...

Print on Demand is not self-publishing.

It's a tool, just like a printer is only a tool. How that tool is used is the sole responsibility of the author. Many vanity presses also use POD,  America Star Books formerly PublishAmerica being the prime example. Of course, that's a scam and no one deserves to be victimized by a vanity press. Regardless, POD will never do everything for an author. It's a tool to enable authors to share their work in a cost effective manner, in the exact same way a kitchen knife is a tool when preparing a dinner. But a kitchen knife will never cook a whole meal for you. POD is an aid, but it's by no means a substitute.

In early 2000, POD companies popped up online and authors started using these companies to publish their work. Lulu Press Inc. was one of the first. It was a difficult time. Uncommon and it wasn't taken seriously apart from authors' friends and family. Too new for school. Almost fifteen years later, it's not only become the norm, it's been completely misconstrued. I miss the time when authors would say, “I decided to publish my own book using this print on demand service.” Just like paying a printer. Self-publishing.

Contracts weren't involved back then. The author had full control over everything, ranging from cover design to prices. But they didn't have control over the online retailers. It was embarrassing for many and made it very obvious this is a self-published book. It made it look like it wasn't a real book. And of course, only friends and family would even consider buying a book that had nothing more than a grey background and a silhouette of a human head as a cover.

That problem doesn't seem to exist anymore. I couldn't even find an example. Things move really fast on the internet. It wasn't that long ago that google blogger didn't have a spellcheck.

The relationship between PODs and retailers remained tentative until Amazon and B&N started offering their own POD service. During this between time, those who had published with a POD company had to price their books very high to see any kind of royalty, after retail mark-up, taxes, cost of distribution, etc, etc. It wasn't until the Kindle was introduced in 2007, providing a means for retail distribution so the POD books could be read, that this relationship began to work. Not that long ago, all the things you can now get for free via CreateSpace, you had to pay for indiviually.

POD never saved publishing. It saved the online retailers.

Print on Demand is wonderful, but it has one fundamental flaw. There's no longer a deciding factor for bad books, indie or traditional, it doesn't matter, and they can't be forgotten anymore. The proof is in the pixel.

All Hope isn't Lost

Things are still changing. We all just have the unfortunate luck of existing right at that time, where we can watch the changes as it happen right this second.

Get informed. Learn the full history. Don't take anything for granted. Don't fall for online unsubstantiated rumors and misinformation. POD will continue to be a viable tool to publish a book and so will traditional publishing. Be smart. Get second opinions. Take full responsibility for yourself and your work, as an author.

Always read the fine print.

Spread the Love

This year has been insanely busy for me. Finished a novel, moved house, a lot of real life drama. Things are settling down now and I've been dying to post an update on my blog, so here I am.

2013 has been a major journey of self-discovery for me as a writer. It turns out, with novel writing, I'm better at character-driven than plot-driven. I've learned my writing vastly improves when I let a character narrate as opposed to playing narrator myself. My fictional characters have stronger voices, go figure. Also, I've crossed that bridge from having a well-crafted plot to expressing a well-crafted plot. They really are two different things. The former is strictly from a writer's perspective, and a bit amateur, as in, look at my plot, isn't it neat? The latter is from an author's perspective and more professional, as in, allow me to tell you a story, it begins like this...

Last but not least, and this deserves its own paragraph, I've learned the difference between creating suspense and building suspense. Like many writers, I could come up with a million plot points that start to create suspense, yet building suspense takes more than dropping all these little ideas and hoping at least one catches fire. I've learned to set the fire myself, take a big step back, and let it all happen. No need to force suspense, it'll will be there. It's like letting an infant walk for the first time. It takes a leap of faith, which is one of the hardest things to do.

So, I now have a completed manuscript of a psychological thriller and I'm exploring publishing opportunities. Because I don't have an agent, I've been hesitant to publicly talk about traditional publishing, especially on the internet where the disagreements are endless. I have a two tiered planed attack. 1, pursue agents, if that doesn't work out for whatever reason then, 2, independent presses. In regards to the process of traditional publishing I'm going to break everything down in simple terms and use myself as an example.

Literary agents do not publish your book for you. Ever.

Anyone who has seen the movie Jerry McGuire will know how an agent functions. They make deals and show you the money. You don't seek agents because you want to be published for the sake of being published. To be brutally honest, anyone anywhere at any age can upload a word doc and be published. That's the easy part. You seek agents only because you want to make money from being published. Publishing is just one step in a very long process.

Patience is always the key.

I don't begrudge anyone for self-publishing, that's a writer's personal choice. If that's what you want, go for it. However, I've noticed that the number one reason many will self-publish is time. They want it done now. When I worked as a graphic designer, I had a poster in my office that read, I provide service that's high quality, cheap, and on time. You can have any of the two. That's the real world in any kind of business, it takes time. If you aim to have everything right this second, you'll miss out on something. You want high quality and cheap? It won't be on time...

Writing is a job. Crafting fiction is a career.

Be prepared. A solid commitment is needed to pursue crafting fiction as a career. It will not matter how many online cheerleaders you have, though that can be a nice confidence boost to keep you going. It's like that old truism about the most popular girl in high school who never gets phone calls because all the boys assume she's busy every Saturday night, when in fact, she spends every Saturday night alone. It happens more often than not. Popularity and success are two different things, in the same way writing and crafting fiction are two different things. It will not many how many friends say, I loved it! It won't make the slightest difference if you have 2000+ friends on Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. It also won't matter if you only have 10 friends on social media. The difference lies in perserverence and consistency. I'm getting my psychological thriller published and pursue agents as a means to make money from the story, because I've long since made the commitment to my career. Popularity is nice and beng loved by many is validating, but unless a solid commitment is made, neither will ever mean a damn thing.

Query Letters, Outlines, Synopsis, oh my.

There is so much information available online at a click of a button. I've long since learned that 99% of it is dead wrong, and the other 1% is right but doesn't know how to phrase things in a way that an aspiring writer or a burgeoning author can understand and it can all get bloody confusing. Chances are the majority who so freely give advice online have no direct experience and don't know what they're talking about. Once, I had a woman, in a rather bully and bitchy way, dictate that “my terminogoy is confused.” Er, what? Well, according to the world of her, a real synopsis is always exactly four pages long. Geez, must be lonely in that perfect little world of hers. I've had aspiring writers try to bully me into writing one way only and following a specific formula, because otherwise zomg I'll never get publish. Let's see, getting the approval of a bunch of unpublished amateurs online or (!!!) publish original fiction. I'll publish original fiction, thanks.

I do have a point, online bullshit aside. The process is actually really simple. Here are the steps:

1. Write a one paragraph synopsis of your plot idea, or at least one sentence (see Hooks for more info).

2. Write a 1 – 2 page full synopsis of your story.

3. Write a full manuscript.

4. Write a query letter, this is where you can use the paragraph from number 1, and bits from number 2.

5. Find an agent, and this is the most important part, that share a common interest with you, whether it's golfing or the love of a fast-paced thriller, just, something. Remember, this is someone who could be working with you for the rest of your life, so you better have something in common and establish a good working relationship.

A few more pieces of advice from my own direct experience. The above process is completely unrelated to job applications, because this is not a job, it's a career. Queries are not some impossible monster to fight, it's just a brief description of your manuscript, and if you developed a solid plot first, then the rest will fall into place. Last, publishing is easy, anyone can do it. Building a career and producing stories that are meant to last, takes a lot of hard work and a lifetime commitment.

In conclusion, love yourself, love what you do, and love all the hard work involved, no matter how long it takes, and for pity's sake, stop trying to find a short cut in life because it doesn't exist anywhere.

Happy Holidays!

Word Count

Is meaningless.

Word count was initially created as a standard to make it easier to assess the printing cost for a manuscript. Divisible by four, printers print four pages at once. 64K was the standard word count for any manuscript in any genre, and for many, it's still the standard. Agents or publishers could see the word count, already know the printing cost then quickly move on to answering the question of, is this manuscript worth the printing cost?

When submitting to an agent, traditional publisher, or independent press, it's all about business. That's their job. Your work as an author is to write a manuscript that's worth the printing cost, not just word count, but also a marketable story. However, it's impossible to be objective when you are the one that created this baby. Let the business people do their job, and just be an author. In fact, there's no need to worry about any technical details such as word count. Always go by what the agent/publisher ask for. If it's not clear, then be responsible for your writing and ask a lot of questions. Establish working relationships.

Of course, online publishing has clouded the issue of word count. In many ways, online publishing is a risky business that hasn't been established yet. Time is the biggest factor. Is this manuscript worth the amount of time it would take to edit and create an ebook? When time is the biggest consideration and printing costs isn't, the rules change. But either way, a huge word count will never increase your chance of publication and more often than not, decrease your chance of acceptance.

A happy balance, with either printed books or ebooks is 64k – 70k words. If you have that much, you have a healthy start.

However, the most dependent factor of all is the story itself. Some stories need a high word count, some don't. When going by word count only, the chance of cheating the story is pretty high. Believe in the story above all else. If the word count ends up being 150k, and that means working a bit harder at getting one Yes from an agent or publisher, than that's the way it is.

If you believe in your story 100%, you will do the work that's needed, regardless of word count.

How to be a Professional

In recent months, I've confronted a number of authors who, well, I'm going to be brutally honest, reeks of an unprofessional. While I've noticed that since I first started to be an active author online, I chalked it up to the same reasons everyone says. Not hearing tone of voice, bad communication, inexperience, etc, etc. There are always unprofessional people just about anywhere, whether it's online or an office. But, on the internet, it's gotten out of hand.

This lack of professionalism isn't exclusive to genre. I've met just as many romance writers who are just as bad as horror writers. It's the internet culture itself that has taken on a whole new life and rearing it's ugly head, making a very bad name for the rest of us who actually have a clue.

For awhile, I shrugged it off. It's only a small handful of people behaving like trolls, right? But the numbers have increased. A lot. People aren't behaving like trolls only. Schoolyard bullies, self-appointed authorities when they have no authority, aggressive popularity games, threats and bashing, borderline fascism. It's getting downright scary in cyberspace.

I'm 34 years old. High school was a long time ago. I have zero interest in being involved with petty high school games. I know I'm not the only one who has confronted this... attitude. And I know for a fact it's not coming from kids. Full grown adults, behaving with less maturity than a daycare, in their 40's, 50's and 60's. It's quite sad.

I've thought about writing a guide to professionalism, using my ten years of working experience in publishing, advertising and marketing. I love helping to build and maintain a community, which I feel is sorely lacking in today's world. But you know what? It doesn't matter. Real professionals already know.

Professionals know there are no shortcuts in life and the internet isn't an exception. We already know that the rank system on online book retailers isn't reflective of sale numbers, it's reflective of the number of clicks because that's how computer language works. We know the real money isn't in book sales, it comes from selling rights for movies and TV shows, and for that, an agent is needed. We all know this and more, because professionals have common sense.

So as much as it frustrates me to see writers behaving badly when I'll think, if they just knew what I know about being professional... I've realized that at the end of the day, it makes no difference. I can only be myself, take full responsibility for myself, and devote my time to my own projects. Because that's being a professional.