FROM ONE WRITER TO ANOTHER--PLEASE HELP ME!

SEE THIS LITTLE 13 POUND BALL OF FLUFF & LOVE?

WELL...HE NEEDED SURGERY TODAY TO REPAIR A LARGE TEAR IN HIS HINDQUARTERS.

THE BILL CAME TO $236.92--WHICH WIPED ME OUT FOR THE MONTH; LEAVING ME WITH NOTHING AT ALL TO GET BASIC ESSENTIALS LIKE TOILET PAPER, TOOTH PASTE, MOUTHWASH, KITCHEN SCRUBBIES...?

AND WE NEED DOG FOOD AND CAT FOOD AS WELL.

I *RARELY* DO THIS--ASKING THE CYBER COMMUNITY FOR HELP. BUT AFTER I LOST ASHLEY IN 2004, I VOWED TO MYSELF THAT I WOULD NOT LOSE ANOTHER PET.

EVEN THOUGH I AM POOR AS A CHURCHMOUSE AND LIVING ON ONLY $537 A MONTH (UNTIL 2010), I SOMEHOW MANAGE TO MAKE ENDS MEET--EVEN FOR OUR FURRY CHILDREN.

BECAUSE NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCE--OUR ANIMALS ARE JUST AS PART OF OUR EXTENDED FAMILY AS OUR CHILDREN ARE.

SO I AM BESEECHING THE INTERNET COMMUNITY, MY WRITER GROUPS--EVERYONE I KNOW TO PLEASE!--FIND IT WITHIN YOUR HEART TO CHIP IN AND HELP BOTH MYSELF AND MY WIFE, APRIL, FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL.

HELP US GET THROUGH THE MONTH--SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO...WELL...SUFFER--I SUPPOSE IS THE WORD.

CASH DONATIONS (IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MUCH) CAN BE SENT TO THE ADDRESS BELOW. PAYPAL DONATIONS CAN BE MADE BY CLICKING THE "DONATE" BUTTON AT THE TOP LEFT-HAND PORTION OF THE PAGE. (NEXT TO THE PICTURE OF KIVATA GIGANTE.)

EVERY LITTLE BIT GOES A LONG WAY WITH US.

BUT IF YOU CAN FIND ANYTHING WE REQUEST FROM THE LIST THAT YOU DON'T NEED--SEND IT!

PLEASE. WE ARE REALLY HURTING RIGHT NOW. WE ARE USUALLY SELF-SUFFICIENT TO SOME DEGREE--LIVING ON WHAT'S GIVEN...BUT THIS WAS SOMETHING COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED AND SERIOUSLY URGENT.

$232 MAY NOT SEEM TO BE A LOT TO YOU, BUT TO PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF--? IT'S ALL I HAD LEFT FOR THIS MONTH. AND I WAS PLANNING ON PICKING UP MY LISTED ESSENTIALS AND PAYING PARTS OF MY BILLS AND A COUPLE OTHER THINGS. (IF I HAD THE MONEY FOR IT.)

BUT THIS HAPPENED...AND IT THREW OUT MY BUDGET FOR THE MONTH. I AM SO DOA THIS MONTH, AND WHAT I HAVE LEFT FOR ESSENTIALS ISN'T GOING TO LAST MORE THAN WEEK AT MOST. THE 2 DOGS WE HAVE (A COCKERSPANIEL AND A CHI-POM) HAVE 2 WEEKS OF DOG FOOD LEFT. (GIVEN HOW 1 BAG GOES A LONG WAY...? IT'S NOT SURPRISING THAT 3 MONTHS GO BY AND WE ONLY NEED ONE MORE BAG TO START THE CYCLE OVER.)

BUT THIS ISN'T A SCAM. EVERYONE KNOWS WHO I AM. I'VE BEEN AN ACTIVE PART OF THE INTERNET FOR 6 YEARS NOW--A WRITER AND UNPUBLISHED AUTHOR; TRYING TO MAKE HIS MARK HOWEVER HE CAN. AND PEOPLE I'VE MET, ASSOCIATED WITH, MADE FRIENDS WITH...? KNOW THAT I AM A REAL PERSON--NOT A 'BOT OR ANY NIGERIAN PHISHING SCAM ARTIST THAT CURRENTLY PREYS ON THE INTERNET.

ALL MY WIFE AND I ARE ASKING IS FOR HELP AND ASSISTANCE. AS A REWARD FOR YOUR GENEROSITY, I'LL POST A BIG "THANK YOU!" ENTRY ON THIS BLOG SITE--SO THOSE WHOM HELPED OUT GET THE RECOGNITION THEY DESERVE.

I KNOW IT'S NOT MUCH, BUT WE HONESTLY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO GIVE IN RETURN FOR YOUR HELP AND ASSISTANCE.


THANKS FOR READING THIS AND DOING WHAT YOU CAN.

Schuyler and April Thorpe


LIST OF NEEDS

TOILET PAPER; GENERIC ROLLS ARE FINE. WE DON'T REALLY HINGE ON THE EXPENSIVE NAME BRANDS. WAL-MART HAS SOME PACKS FOR $1.21 FOR SIX ROLLS. THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN BUYING FOR OVER A YEAR NOW. WE GET ABOUT 10 PACKAGES A MONTH. SOMETIMES? 12. (IT DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH GAK IS ON THE FLOOR.)

KITCHEN SCRUBBIES; GREEN SCRUB PADS, OR THE ONES THAT ARE A SPONGE WITH THE SCRUB PAD ON BACK. (1 OR 2 PACKAGES WILL SUFFICE. JUST NEED SOMETHING TO SCRUB THE OVEN AND COUNTERS WITH! ELBOW GREASE ONLY GOES SO FAR--THE I'M READY TO BREAK OUT THE CUTTING TORCH AT THIS POINT. ;0) )

DOG FOOD (DRY); GENERIC OR BRAND TYPE; PREFERABLY SOMETHING THAT BOTH A COCKERSPANIEL AND A CHI-POM CAN EAT TOGETHER.
SMALL BITES-TYPE DOGFOOD WOULD BE BEST. NOTHING HUGE-MONGUS. OUR DOGS ARE *SMALL*--NOT CUJO-SIZED. :0)

LOOK FOR THE $10 22-LB BAG OR LESS. IF SAMPLE PACKS ARE YOUR OTHER OPTION, SNAG THOSE.

CAT FOOD (DRY); PURINA ONE INDOOR FORMULA FOR CATS. (THE GREEN BAG; 18-LBS)

CANNED CAT FOOD (FOR ONE ANOREXIC CAT); FANCY FEAST; 10-PACK-12-PACK. I ALWAYS GO TO WAL-MART FOR DOG AND CAT STUFF. ($5.42 FOR A SMALL CASE.)

DEODORANT (MEN AND WOMEN'S); 24-7 SPEED STICK; LADY SPEED STICK--NO MATTER WHAT THIS STUFF AIN'T CHEAP. $4 A STICK. (I'M TEMPTED TO RUB A SKUNK UNDER BOTH OUR ARMPITS. LOL)

LIQUID DISH SOAP (NOT HAND SOAP! LOL); JOY OR A STORE BRAND FROM WAL-GREENS IS OKAY. NO ANTI-BACTERIAL! WE DON'T NEED TO HAVE BACTERIA THAT'S RESISTANT TO DRUGS! SAY NO TO MRSA!

$2 A BOTTLE.

LAUNDRY DETERGENT; SUN BRAND OR SOMETHING SIMILAR LIKE CUDDLE SOFT. $5 FOR A GOOD-SIZED BOTTLE. CAN BE FOUND AT WALGREENS.

SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER; WHITE RAIN (THIS BRAND CAN BE FOUND AT WALGREENS; AND COST ABOUT $1 PER BOTTLE. THIS IS WHY I AM SUCH A FAN OF WHITE RAIN.)

I HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY T-GEL IN OVER 8 MONTHS BECAUSE OF THE PRICE HIKES, SO MY PSORIASIS HAS BEEN PLAYING EVIL GAMES WITH ME OFF AND ON FOR THE LAST YEAR.

MOUTHWASH; LISTERINE TOOTH DEFENSE (IT'S THE PURPLE STUFF! LOL)

ALSO CAN BE FOUND AT WALGREENS (THEY ALWAYS HAVE $2/5 SALES WITH THIS STUFF.)

TOOTHPASTE? ANYTHING COLGATE RELATED. SMALL TUBES ARE $1, THE LARGE FULL-SIZED ONES ARE $3-$4

MONEY NEEDS

PHONE BILL ($132); WHICH OUR SERVICE MIGHT BE CUT OFF BY THE END OF THE MONTH--ACCORDING TO THE LATEST VERIZON "LOVE LETTERS". (TELLING THEM I'M WORKING ON GETTING SOME MONEY TOGETHER--IS LIKE PULLING TEETH WITHOUT THE NUMBSIT IN PLACE.)

INTERNET ($26); THIS IS LESS CRITICAL--SINCE I'VE BEEN PRETTY GOOD ABOUT THIS . SO...IT'S YOUR CALL.

LAUNDRY ($40 IN QUARTERS)--WE'VE BEEN WITHOUT CLEAN CLOTHES FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS NOW; STRETCHING WHAT WE CAN OF OUR CLEAN CLOTHES SUPPLY. BUT IT'S GETTING PRETTY BAD OVER HERE.

AT LAST CHECK, WE HAVE 13 LOADS OF LAUNDRY TO DO--AT $1.50 A LOAD. (THEY INCREASED THE PRICES AGAIN.) $20 FOR DRY, $20 FOR WASH. (I USED TO REMEMBER THE GOOD OL-DAYS WHERE THIS MUCH COULD DO SO MUCH MORE. WHEN THE COST OF A LOAD WAS EITHER $.75 OR $1.)

$115 FOR MY EDITING FEES. (I'M DOING THE STARCHILD--AND I'VE GOT $2400 LEFT ON THE PROJECT--THROUGH A PROFESSIONAL EDITOR. BUT IT'S TAKING AWHILE--HENCE THE EXTENDED RELEASE DATE OF 2011 OR 2012.)

ANYONE CAN TAKE A CRACK AT THIS. BUT MY EDITOR WOULD LOVE YOU FOR THIS--AS WOULD I. THE FASTER I CAN GET THIS DONE AND OVER WITH-? THE BETTER.

MY GROWING FAN CLUB IS GETTING ANXIOUS TO READ WHAT ISIS MCGOWAN IS GOING TO DO AS THE LEGENDARY STARCHILD OF ANCIENT LORE.

$100 FOR 2 CONVERTOR BOXES (SO WE CAN GO DIGITAL NEXT YEAR)

THE DIGITAL TV I PAID $140 FOR I HAS THE WRONG APG-DOO-HICKEY THINGY THAT PROPERLY RECIEVES/CONVERTS DIGITAL SIGNALS. IT CAN RECEIVE *SOME* SIGNALS, BUT OVERALL, I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT IT STILL WOULD NEED A BOX--FROM THE GUYS WHOM SOLD IT TO ME 3 MONTHS AGO--IF I'M GOING TO BE ABLE TO RECIEVE ANYMORE CHANNELS; OTHER THAN OFF, ON, AND: "Give a me gun, ma! I'm going to teach this thing a lesson!"

MY WIFE'S STAND ALONE ANALOG TV DEFINITELY NEEDS A BOX. ONLY BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHEN I WILL BE ABLE TO GET HER A DECENT REPLACEMENT. IT TOOK ME 12 YEARS ALONE JUST TO GO TO A 20" FROM MY NOW DEAD 10" ANALOG. (WHEN YOU LIVE ON LIMITED INCOME, YOU DON'T HAVE THE LUXURY TO SPEND ON ANYTHING LUXURIOUS. REASON WHY--AFTER 10 YEARS--I'M STILL DREAMING OF OWNING MY VERY OWN LAPTOP; SO I CAN TAKE IT WITH ME WHEN I GO INTO THE EMERGENCY ROOM GETTING TREATED FOR MY DVT CLOTS. THAT AND A FLAT-SCREEN TV THAT YOU HANG ON THE WALL. I FOUND ONE FOR $462 OVER IN WAL-MART LAST YEAR; A 26" WITH A DVD-PLAYER BUILT IN--AND THIS LEFT BOTH ME AND MY WIFE DROOLING. :0) )

JUST SO YOU KNOW? WE HAVEN'T HAD CABLE SINCE 2002. ALL WE ARE GETTING IS THE LOCAL STUFF AND PBS OFF THE RABBIT EARS AND A STRONGER ATTENAE GAIN HOOKUP.

$70 FOR COMICS (THIS IS A HOBBY OF MINE). THIS AND THE MUSIC CDS--LIKE ORBITAL FOR EXAMPLE AND ICON OF COIL'S NEW "SKYSHAPER" ALBUM--ARE THE FEW THINGS THAT MAKES MY LIFE ALL THE MORE HAPPIER. (I USED TO COLLECT ROCKS WHEN I WAS A KID. I STILL DO NOW AND THEN.)


$80 FOR A FEW MUSIC CDS AND MAYBE AN ANIME MOVIE (TEEN TITANS SEASON 1 OR MAYBE SEASON 1 OF THE NEW WITCHBLADE ANIME SERIES).

THE MUSIC ALONE IS WHAT DRIVES MY WRITING--AND PLUS I GET TO JAM ON IT ON THE SIDE. :0) (AND BLAST OUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD WITH MY 3-YEAR-OLD THEATER/SURROUND SOUND SYSTEM. (IT WAS A GREAT INVESTMENT AT $200. 500-WATT SPEAKERS AND I'M SHAKING AND BAKING!))

$20 FOR A NEW KEYBOARD. (THIS OLD THING'S PISSING ME OFF! I KEEP HITTING THE SAME KEYS OVER AND OVER JUST TO S-P-E-L-L OUT WHAT I NEED HERE. WHAT WOULD YOU EXPECT FROM SOMETHING 4-5 YEARS OLD AND USED HEAVILY BY A PROLIFIC WRITER SUCH AS MYSELF?)

$100 FOR A NEW NEROS BURN ESSENTIALS PROGRAM. I HAVE ONLY THE CD-ROM DRIVE TO BACK UP MY DATA, BUT IT'S LIMITED TO 740MB. THE DVD-ROM DRIVE IS OUT OF COMMISSION AND LINKED TO THE NEROS BURN ESSENTIALS 7--WHICH IS OUT OF DATE.

THIS I WAS PLANNING ON GETTING ANYWAYS--IN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS. I WAS PLANNING ON HOW TO MAKE THIS EASIER ON MYSELF--BY SPLITTING THE COST ONE MONTH AND THEN GETTING IT THE NEXT MONTH.

$40 FOR GROCERIES UNTIL THE 9TH--WHEN WE GET OUR FOODSTAMPS. (THIS FOR JUST SOME THINGS WE CAN TIDE OURSELVES OVER WITH UNTIL THEN. SOY MILK, SOME CHICKEN BREASTS, AND A COUPLE OTHER THINGS. NOTHING SPECIAL. WE HAVE A REALLY SPARTAN DIET. WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO AFFORD FRUITS OR VEGGIES FOR QUITE SOME TIME NOW.)

$40 FOR 2 NEW PAIR OF SHOES. (8 AND A HALF WOMEN'S; 10 AND A HALF MEN'S SNEAKERS. THESE CAN BE FOUND AT WAL-MART FOR BETWEEN $14 AND $20. I JUST DISCOVERED THAT MINE ARE TRADITIONALLY WORN OUT AND I WAS GOING TO GO TO WAL-MART TO GRAB ME AND APRIL SOME NEW SHOES. IT'S BEEN A YEAR SINCE WE LAST WENT AND BOUGHT OURSELVES A NIFTY PAIR OF SHOES.)

***

SO IF YOU CAN HELP OUT HERE IN ANY WAY, MY WIFE AND I WOULD BE VERY GRATEFUL.

CASH/CHECK, OR ANY OTHER DONATIONS CAN BE SENT TO:

SCHUYLER THORPE
1020 112TH STREET SW#A205
EVERETT, WA 98204

E-mail contact: starchildalpha1@yahoo.com

I have a Paypal Donation button up at the top of the page--so those of you who wish to can donate whatever you feel is appropriate. (Note to new Paypal users: The settings on my account are default. So the amount listed ($10,000) is the amount that can be contributed. You can donate anywhere between $5-$10 to whatever amount you feel is the limit, up to $10,000--and the transaction will still go through regardless. I've already contacted Paypal to see if they set the amount down to $500.)

ONCE AGAIN...THANK YOU FOR HELPING OUT AND WE GREATLY APPRECIATE ANY AND ALL ASSISTANCE YOU COULD GIVE TO ONE STRUGGLING WRITER AND HIS WIFE. (AND PLEASE PARDON ANY TYPOS YOU MAY FIND. IT'S DUE TO ANXIETY AND BEING SO STRESSED OUT OVER THIS.)

FELLOW WRITER HITS THE NAIL ON THE HEAD

Status: Writing Chapter 27 to Stories of the Dead Earth-Book 3: Jasper

Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out

Watching: Nothing at the moment. (It's 2AM...what'd you expect?)

Listening to: "Prisoner" by Kevorkian Deathcycle; "Six Feet Underground" by Division

Reading: Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey (Page 173)

TOPIC: CAN OF WHOOP-ASS ANYONE?

Whether you like him or hate him, this guy (Christopher Rivan) is starting to become one of my personal fan favorites. (And I don't even know him! lol)

But what he said in a group I belong to had me in stitches. :0)

Please note: The group e-mail posted is the same; only the name of the respondee has been changed for privacy reasons.

***

The problem, *****, is that publishers don't DO that.

A publisher is going to accept and print what he thinks he can get someone to buy. You're right about that. What you're missing is what it MEANS.

We've all read, or even written, the dystopian drama about the future society where only the "right" sort of news makes it to press. Basically, that's precisely what publishers today do. If your book doesn't fit into some narrow little mold they think they know about the consumer, then they kick it back to you.We're all getting the pablum writing that the big publishing houses think we want to read. I'll bet Baen rejected ten books TODAY that would make it on your "read until it falls apart" list. You will NEVER see them.

I find that a lot more saddening than personally getting a rejection letter, because I really don't CARE if someone likes or hates my writing. (You pump out 75,000 words a month and you soon stop getting overly attached to your stuff.)

I point out JK Rowling's "paltry" nine rejection letters because I think we can agree that Harry Potter was the most groundbreaking and effective piece of fantasy fiction published in the last decade. Certainly it was a commercial success; Rowling is the first billionaire in HISTORY made purely through book sales. Yet some dumb-ass editors thought THEY knew better than anyone else. Some utter buffoons sat there on their high horses and rejected her.

A few of them even took the time to write scathing letters of rejection to her. I hope they get a paper cut in a really unfortunate location every day for the rest of their damn careers for that. You lose credibility when you complain about not having the time to read all the manuscripts you're sent every day, but then you take an hour and a half to write a letter whose only purpose is to make someone feel bad.I think you missed my point about Dan Brown and Kevin Anderson.

My point was simply this: it irks me to be told by someone that I don't pay the proper attention to details in my query letter, when the same industry allows such colossal blundering from their "established" writers simply because they are established. Writing a bad book is one thing, screwing up major details and releasing press notices that are complete fabrications is something else, something the publishing industry as a whole refuses to accept responsibility for.They make YOU, the person that spent most of your life working on this piece, jump through hoops, beg, plead, and cry, and when they finally deign to accept your work they pay you PENNIES on the dollar. Why?

Two reasons: 1) The publishing industry is NOTORIOUS for being inefficient. Books are destroyed at EVERY bookseller in the THOUSANDS every week. Talk to the employees at the local Barnes and Noble sometimes. At least one day per week they destroy books. What's worse is that on the next shipment there will be another case of the same damn titles!The publishing industry has massive overhead in storage and copyediting. These things cost money, and like any industry, the publisher passes the costs in two directions: to the reader and two the writer.

(When paperbacks were first printed, by the way, they had an estimated lifetime of twenty-three years. Now, with all our advanced technology, new glues, and fibers, that lifetime has been cut to FIVE years. Think about WHY the publisher might want to sell you a book that falls apart in months. Hardcover books published in 1650 are still in libraries, yet my frickin' copy of Terry Pratchett's "The Wintersmith" is already showing cracks in the binding and I got it for CHRISTMAS.)

and 2) It's always been done that way. Some shmucks are so happy to see their name in print that they'll tolerate being paid like they work at McDonalds. I'm not terribly mercenary, BUT, if I write it, then I need to get paid for it. No editor will EVER spend more time working on my writing than I have.The problems with self-publishing are NOT in the costs; you'll easily make more money per book through a vanity publisher than through the most generous traditional house. The problems lie in DISTRIBUTION and MARKETING.

Because you're self-publishing, YOU have to get on the phone and talk to the agents at the commercial buying houses and booksellers. YOU have to talk people into SELLING your book.Do the math, if you spend six months collecting rejection slips, you still haven't gotten paid-- and no one has read your book. If you self-published and spent the same six months marketing your fiction and just TWO booksellers picked it up, you're going to get a check.

Probably not a very large one, but at least you're making SOMETHING besides heartbreak.Now, I'll freely admit that most of my experience and opinion comes from non-fiction. I had a publisher seek me out for my NF. I was considering a vanity publisher at the time, and had the contract in front of me when I opened the email from the "traditional" publisher. Let's see. THEY were going to take copyright and distribution rights away from me.

They were going to pay me a whopping 7% (NF is about twice what Fiction royalties are.) per book, and they were going to lock me into a contract so even if I hated their guts, the rest of the four-book series had to be published through them until 2012. The book would be released in 18 months at an estimated 1% buyback (meaning I'd lose 1% of my royalties to buybacks.) THEY were going to assume all editing-by-proxy- - meaning that once I sent the book in, any changes they made were up to them, and I had no rights or legal say in the matter. (See Piers Anthony and "But What of Earth?" for an example of editor-by-proxy gone completely berserk.)Vanity publisher: I paid them $550 for the initial printing of a 420 page book. POD, so no buybacks and no warehousing. The book was released eight weeks after I sent it in.I market my book myself. I don't even BOTHER talking to booksellers or I could probably triple my royalties, but I don't need to.

I sell primarily through my website, which links to the publisher's ordering form. In the first quarter I made $1700 profit after repaying myself the initial $550 outlay. I also make 50% on books sold through them, and 10% on books sold through other retailers. I also retain all copyrights and publication rights. I can call my publisher right now and tell them I've found a better deal somewhere else.

That's MY book, and I get to decide what happens with it and where it goes. If you're willing to do the legwork yourself then self-publishing is the way to go. If you're not, or you can't get your head round the idea, then go the traditional route. There's no shame in it, in fact there's a lot of pride, but you WILL be part of a process that flatly doesn't give a rat's ass about you or your work. There isn't a single person in a major publishing house that would piss on your manuscript if it were on fire. There are thousands piled up at the door. Yours is just one more, and frankly, if they can get out of reading it somehow, then they certainly will.

Brace yourself, I'm going to get political here.

Traditional publishing reminds me of the media. A lot of people sit there in front of the boob tube and believe what the idjits on CNN tell them. They ignore spins and specific verbiage designed to get them to think a certain way (Ever wonder why our president is RARELY called anything but "Bush" while Hillary Clinton is ALWAYS referred to by title and her husband is ALWAYS called "Former President?" Why are the terrorists and murderers in Iraq placing IEDs in schoolyards called "insurgents? "

Why is it that the Council on American-Islamic Relations released a statement to the press in 2002 demanding that major media outlets stop linking the words "Muslim" "Islamic" and "Terrorism" together in articles and stories?) However, if you're willing to do the work yourself, to seek out first or even second source materials, you're connected right now to the largest repository of knowledge and information in mankind's HISTORY.

In three minutes I can tell you whether the main headline on Yahoo! news is accurate or inaccurate, just by running some basic search routines and cross checking my sources. Most people don't do it. They don't take the time to be informed. I don't care whether you're left or right as long as you make the choice for YOURSELF. Most people don't bother, and the media makes it for them.

Which brings me back to the publishing houses. Once you're in, its easy. After you finally scale the wall, the publisher does EVERYTHING for you: marketing, scheduling, printing, release, distribution, promotion, intermedia discussion, etc. You just sit there and collect your (paltry) checks.

You have to do all the work up front. Write the novel, proof the novel, and then submit, submit, submit. It may take years of heartbreak and rejection, but eventually you might break through to the promised land. How about doing that work over a sustained period of time instead of up front? Put the same amount of effort into promoting a book you self-published that you would put into trying to get some jackass from Laser Media to read it.

Work as hard at marketing your writing to the booksellers as you were willing to work to market it to an agent.

I'll bet you make more in the long run.

GARFIELD TRUISMS IN LIFE

Status: Writing Chapter 25 to Stories of the Dead Earth-Book 3: Jasper

Doing: Writing this blog; surfing the net; answering e-mails; working out

Watching: Nothing at the moment.

Listening to: Taped music from C-89.5FM (Seattle)

Reading: Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey (Page 173)

TOPIC: FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Somehow...this explains my journey to being a successful writer; no matter what form it takes:

Just hide the food!

EARLY MORNING INTERVIEW RUN (Part 1)

Status: On vacation

Doing: Writing this blog; finished shopping; taking the dogs out; fed the animals

Watching: Tavis Smiley

Listening to: Ian Van Dahl; Icon of Coil; INXS


TOPIC: AUTHOR MARKETING AND ADVERTISING THROUGH INTERVIEWS


Yeah, yeah...

We've heard this one before many of times:

"How do you advertise and market your book?"

>hits the snooze alarm<

Here's a simpler approach to doing it: Take all the guesswork there is to advertising and marketing and pitch what you want about the book and yourself as its author, and creator.

Keep it simple, neat, and clean. You don't want anything more complex than that.

So let's role play an interview on the following book and see how well things turn out, okay?

***

What is the name of your book?

It is called The Starchild.

What is the book about?

The novel is about a 14-year-old girl given the mantle of the legendary Starchild of Ancient Lore.

How many pages is it?

Roughly 1,273 pages. (1,250 after editing--maybe. It depends on what Linda decides.)

What audience are you targeting?

Anyone who likes a good science-fiction and fantasy read. I'm not all that interested in the usual play-by-play demographics. If you like this kind of genre, then the book may interest you. If not, that's fine. I'm not looking to play favorites here.

I'm just the book's author, not a referee.

When will the book be available? And what format?

Hopefully by the middle of 2009. I'm still waiting on the editing process. But it's a slow go, which is okay with me.

Format? E-book first for $7.50. But I am tinkering with a 2 for 1 special idea. I'm most interested to see how many people would be receptive to that marketing pitch.

Until I can get better established, I'm holding off the limited print edition for a couple of years. But for those who are interested, I am planning on breaking the novel into a serial.

Hopefully, that will happen within the first six months after the book's initial release date.

However, a lot what I am planning now depends on how well the e-book sells. So it's important that I keep getting the word out--whichever way possible.

Are you afraid of failing?

If I wasn't afraid, I wouldn't be here--tempting something mighty risqué. (laughs)

Failure for me is something that I am quite used to. I would be more worried about succeeding 90% of the time and having little in the ways of setbacks and of course--failures.

And if your book were to fail? What then?

If my book were to fail, it's only because I didn't put a whole lot of effort into it. That's the only reason why it would fail outright.

When you put out a product, you're expected to put out your best work. Not something that's half-assed done and skating on thin ice. People are simply not going to give you a second glance at what you have to offer--if you choose the quick and easy path.

Despite all my obstacles and opposition to this novel, I didn't buckle under the pressure. I simply changed the rules.

Changed the rules? What do you mean by that?

Changing the rules by doing things differently. We all learn by doing. But many people are still stuck on the old ways of accomplishing their goals. That's sooo 20th century! (chuckling)

You don't get much done by following everyone else and doing what they do. Believe me, I speak from experience. Once I found a better way, I went and did it--contrary to what others told me not to do.

Yes, it irritated them. Pissed them off even. But I did it because I felt it was the right thing to do.

So with writing my books, I adopted a similar stance. My position garnered a lot of flak--but only because I was still dealing with an obsolete mechanism which had yet to catch up with the rest of the everchanging world.

For example: I had people tell me that first-time writers shouldn't be writing large tomes like The Starchild. But I did it anyways because I couldn't be held back.

My imagination couldn't be held back.

Then I got people telling me that I won't be published because of it.

My response? "It won't stop me from writing them."

Then--as a last ditch attempt--some people suggested that my novel would bankrupt the book industry. (shakes head)

I ask them, "When was the last time an e-book bankrupted a $20B+/year enterprise?"

Seriously, I would like to see that happen! If it does? I'm going to take a bow as being the only author on record to accomplish such a feat!

What would you like to see come out of people reading The Starchild?

I would like people to see the possibilities that exist in their own world--by opening up their minds to ideas and dreams that once existed in the realm of science-fiction and fantasy.

By embracing change, we have less to fear from our fellow man. The Starchild has a lot of what I call 'reality anchors'--which ties the world we live in to the one that my heroine--Isis McGowan--lives in 10,000 years down the road.

Much of it has a lot of bearing on how we have treated ourselves in the past--only to be faced with such a bleak and uncaring future. Is it an omen of things to come?

I don't know. But by giving Isis the power to either save the world or destroy it--as she sees fit--it says a lot about the human equation for unlimited potential.

Why 10,000 years in the future? Why not in the present?

The Starchild was a culmination of 13 years of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears. In all that time, I had to juggle many different draft prototypes. Many of which landed me in the middle of a theological nightmare.

I'm not religious. Not by a long shot. I stopped believing in God and religion because the answers contained in either--didn't hold water in the face of reality. In other words, I was lied to.

Once I saw how fake many of our religions were--based more so on politics and power--than faith and beliefs--I started to ask myself more questions about the origins of our own universe and existance. Putting forth science and hard evidence--rather than attaching some spiritual connotation to the problem at hand.

I think so many people miss out on the awe and wonder of our own world--that they forget one important thing: If god were to truly exist, we wouldn't be such a poor and decrepit society in the first place.

We would be everlasting and in perfect harmony with one another.

But past histories have shown that man was always at war with one another. And where was God--I ask you?

Nowhere to be seen, felt, or heard.

The ugly truth is that god never existed--except in the minds of man. That in turn allowed him to use religion as a weapon against his fellow man--to get what he wants.

But never used for the good of the many.

I stopped using theology heavily in The Starchild's final draft because I wanted to show that both God and religion were the works of men and women who wanted nothing more than to covet power and greed; while using religion as a crutch.

By showing the reader what a future without a base religion looked like--maybe people in the here and now could understand that our own religions are nothing but smoke and mirrors.

Our faiths are born out of something which has been proven time and again to be non-existent.

And while this may seem like an attack on people's individual faiths, it's simply how I've viewed the world's source of religion. And presently, it's being used to wage countless wars against other people and their countries.

That's why I can't subscribe to it. It would put me right in the middle of one big hypocritical quagmire. I do respect people's right to having their own beliefs and religions, but that doesn't mean I have to participate in them.

The timeline choice was a concience one. I didn't want to have to deal with the vulgarities of the present and have to have a superhero mixed up in today's world--especially when she's not ready for it.

So I shunted everything forward about 10,000 years, added a ruined society, and the rest--as they say--is history.

So there is no God or Christianity in The Starchild?

No. Not in the religious sense. And my characters don't seem to miss that fact. They live their lives how they see fit--which does disturb Keron Sogi'kiagta. She can't understand how people can live without a source of faith or religion.

Bayen Yelou remarked on how it almost destroyed the planet in the past. Once the God of Insanity came, religion and God basically had no basis in their reality.

Are you afraid that people will call you out on your beliefs?

The way I see it, we can either be afraid of something that has no basis in our reality, or we can be afraid of ourselves, and each other.

People can call me what they will, but it won't change me or my own beliefs in life.

So you aren't a religious person by choice. But what about spiritually?

Spiritually, I have a higher sense of awareness. Of the world around me and the universe in general. That's what I use to guide me. It doesn't have a name, it doesn't have a religion, it doesn't have anything which mankind has pinned itself down with.

And I am comfortable with that.

What about your book do you think readers will like the most?

How much the storyline ties in with their own lives growing up.

Like what?

Being a teenager. Growing up without one parent or both. But in Isis's case, it was her father. Kelin was jailed for something which wasn't entirely his fault.

Other things which cropped up was Isis's fierce streak of independence and cavalier attitude towards things. It reminded me of the days when I acted out in such a fashion.

And of course, Isis's perchance for not being a morning person. This tied in nicely with me--because I never liked getting up earlier either.

I'm sure that most of my readers will agree with that.

If you could, what book would The Starchild be comparable to?

Unfortunately, my exhaustive research over the last decade has pointed to the fact that there is not one single book out there upon which my book could be related to.

I realize that this is critical to good book placement with the mainstream--but if your book (like mine) doesn't have a home, what chance will it have being sold successfully at the chain stores?

So are you saying that you're hosting a lost cause then?

No.

The problem with the mainstream is that they are too rigid and inflexible with their views of what a book should be and what it shouldn't. It used to be that a lot of new books popped up which defied description--and many found homes within the industry itself.

The problem is that even though The Starchild is primarily science-fiction/fantasy, the novel itself is completely alien to the mainstream. It does not fit anything that is--or was--on the market today.

So in other words, this book is so far outside the mainstream, the chances of it being picked up is extremely remote.

Have you tried to write other novels?

(chuckling)

Yes. I've written my fair share of books. But the majority still fall outside the mainstream.

Why is that? Is following the crowd not important? How else are you expecting to become successful?

To answer your first question: I don't write mainstream. I read it. To me, mainstream novels are my source of personal escape. But that's all. I have no desire to copy or emulate them.

The only thing I did was study some earlier published novels for pointers--grammar, spelling, punctuation. But I did not actively seek to follow in their footsteps.

It just wasn't my style.

Second question: Following the crowd is like seeking others' approval for what you are about to do in life. You need their permission before embarking on a new venture.

What's wrong with going at it alone? Find out what works best for you? I certainly found more joy in my writings, then I did if I were to try and emulate someone else by doing it their way.

And--as I found out--doing it their way didn't spell immediate success or instant gratification.

And that left me quite stymied. I was like, Why isn't this working?

Then I realized, "Because agents and publishers have been expecting this."

It's easy to copy and emulate something else without having a full understanding of it. But these agents and publishers are professionals. They are going to see right through your charade like it were nothing.

So I went back to what worked best for me. Does it matter if it will bring me a ton of money and such?

Not anymore. I've looked past the innate desire for money, wealth, and name recognition. It's not important.

As for your third question, success can't be measured by how much money you make or how well known you are. It's primarily by how much of an impact you have on people's lives--both directly and indirectly.

If you like helping people out like I do--than you're a success. If you can write and finish a book, then you are a success.

But writers will be writers. And they will always tie their books to how successful they will eventually become.

Sadly, not many make it. A lot of them burn out trying to be so successful--that they become more of a liability than anything else.

Success for me is measured by the fruits of my labor. Not by how much money I plan on making, how many people I can get to buy my books and so forth.

I've lived an impoverished lifestyle growing up. I still do--despite my best efforts to change it. But everything I've done points to the varying degrees of success I've tallied up.

Despite all the disabilities I have, I was known to never quit--no matter what the circumstances. The mainstream may have shut me out of a promising career as a published author, but it doesn't mean I have to give up my career as a promising writer.

That's success in my book. That's what success means to me.