How I Learned Humility...the Power of Friends

My forty-first birthday is later this week, and I realized that I had still done nothing courageous.  Sure, I had been writing, and I got a few short stories sold/published, and I had written more articles than I care to recall, but I had not done anything BIG.  I felt like I was running out of time.  So, on a whim (yeah, whims do tend to spur me to action), I went ahead and did something scary; I took one of my short stories, "The Collector," and I put it up on Amazon. 

It takes about twelve hours for a story to show up in the Amazon store, so I couldn't immediately chicken out.  I was in limbo.  So, I waited.  The next morning, after a fitful night's sleep with nightmares involving typos and missing text, I woke up around 4 a.m. and headed to the computer. 

There it was.

 

I resisted the urge to take it down before anyone saw it.  (Um...yeah.  That would kinda defeat the purpose!)

I went to work as usual, but I didn't mention this act of insanity right away.  By lunch time, however, I started to let people in on what I had done.  The reaction was immediate...fierce...and humbling. 

Within a few hours, the Facebook share-fest had begun.  Friends, and friends of friends, and then people I didn't even know where sharing links to my story.  Soon, a review had been posted on Amazon.  Some friends pinned my book cover on their Pinterest page.  Others tweeted about the story.  Every repost, retweet, and email was appreciated.  All the messages and calls meant so much!

More than once I thought about Amanda Palmer.  I thought about how vulnerable it makes you feel to put a piece of yourself out into the world, about how hard it is to ask for help, but how vital it is that we DO share, and we DO ask. 

So, I am asking.  If you have not read "The Collector," please take a minute to download it.  It is a short read (less than 6,000 words) that combines Southern Gothic and Horror.  It is part Firestarter and part Fried Green Tomatoes, or at least that is what it feels like to me.  Read it for yourself, and let me know what you think.  Leave a comment, send me an email, write a review on Amazon, or on your blog.  Share the story with others. 

"The Collector" is the first in a collection of stories.  When ten year old Junie Rae Campbell wakes up in the parking lot of a seedy motel, and her mother is found dead inside, she has no choice but to go with the social worker who comes to collect her and take her to the tiny, sun-baked Oklahoma town of Crankston’s Landing to live with Granny Enid. But when lies and lechery threaten Junie and the people she has latched onto, secrets are exposed, untapped abilities reemerge…and a weapon for vengeance is born.

If you want to find out more about Junie Rae, you can buy the story here.  If you don't have a Kindle, you can still download the story to your computer, or read it on your phone with the free Kindle Reader App for phones and tablets.  If your budget is strained but you have Amazon Prime, feel free to borrow the story from the Amazon's Kindle Owner's Lending Library. 

Well, (gulp!) I did it...

I uploaded my short story "The Collector" to Amazon.  It should be available in about 12 hours.  Until then, I plan on alternating between feelings of exhilaration and nausea.  I will let you know which one finally wins...

The Evolution of Dreams...and the Art of Asking

Things don’t always happen the way we expect or in the order we anticipate.  Plans get derailed, dreams get sidelined, but sometimes—if we are lucky—the reality turns out to be even better than what we originally hoped for. 

My novel is still in the works, but it is really difficult for me to work on a piece that relies so heavily on continuity when I can only carve out small blocks of time.  Between work, and family, cleaning, and carpooling, and writing articles for extra income—well, it can be nearly impossible to sit down, reorient myself, remember where I left off and where I was going, find my voice, and get down a reasonable number of words before I doze off at my keyboard. 

However, I have been writing several short stories.  Some I wrote for contests, some to submit to magazines or journals, and others I wrote because they would not shut up until I did.  Last week, I glanced over the files of short stories that cluttered my computer.  I didn’t realize how many I had amassed or the spectrum they covered:  Southern Gothic, science fiction, horror, mystery….

About that same time, I read that Amazon had a new imprint.  I read a little further and realized that it was geared toward short stories.  Apparently, short stories are enjoying a renaissance!   Whether it is due to time constraints or decreased attention spans, I have no idea—but the timing couldn’t be better!

Now, I am not always the most observant person in the world (a hardship for a writer, I know), but I don’t need a pile of books to fall on my head for me to wonder if perhaps—just perhaps—this is a sign.  

Even if it isn’t a sign, I am going to pretend it is. 

I am going to release some single short stories as well as a collection on Amazon.  As things get closer, I will need your help—help choosing a book cover and possibly the title.  I will need help getting word out.  If you decide to purchase a story, or the collection, perhaps you will also consider helping out by writing an honest review sharing your thoughts and impressions.  You can help by spreading the word (once there is more word to spread).  And you can help with your presence, your encouragement, and your well-wishes--they really do keep me going.

I feel a bit like Amanda Palmer (but with eyebrows and pathetic singing voice) humbly asking that you share in this dream with me.  If you have not seen her TED Talk, you should. 

 

Asking for help is scary and risky and…liberating.

 I will let you know as things get closer, because I when I jump…I’m going to need someone to catch me! 

Because You Asked

Since my rewriting is not particularly exciting to blog about repeatedly, I thought I would shake things up and tackle a question that more than a few of you have asked:  Why are you going the e-pub route?

Oh, there are SO many reasons that I decided to take the plunge, so I will set forth some of my reasons, ponderings, and conclusions here:

1. We are all friends here, so I will be honest about this:  I am impatient.  Seriously impatient.  The idea of querying, and waiting is exhausting.  Also, so many wonderful writers have a PILE of rejections slips.  There are tons of stories of now famous authors who could have wallpapered their living room with their collection of rejection slips.  It did not mean that their writing was bad; it simply meant that the person who read it did not "get" it.  Rather than waiting to find a publisher who "gets" me, I want to get my book directly to my readers. 
2. Another issue is longevity.  The bottom line is that when a book is out of print, it isn't making the author any money.  And the book just sits there...in some kind of torturous Book Limbo.  However, if I make my book available as an e-book, it is available to readers for as long as it is available to purchase on a blog, a website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, etc. 
3. Also, I have control issues.  I want to have a say in my books cover, in the release date, in the price....  Maybe it is a "first book" thing.  Perhaps when I have several books under my belt I won't feel as emotionally invested in the font, or the spacing, or the formatting.  (Ok, maybe I am not quite that obsessive...) 
4. I will also be blunt.  As an "unknown" writer, there is the potential to make more income from e-books.  (And, believe me, I would love to be able to eventually make enough to write full time, so if e-pub looks like it will get me there quicker, then I am all for it!)  Sure, it takes time to "find" your audience no matter which route you go, but if you have a good book, and you make it available for people to find (creative, no-hassle marketing), then by going a route that allows the writer to retain a greater percentage of their profits, the author has the potential to earn more than he/she might in other forms of publishing.

I want to write.  Bottom line.  And I want to get my books into the hands of readers as quickly as possible.  So, for now, at least, I believe e-books to be the logical choice for me. 

Just so everyone can get a brief overview of the arguments surrounding e-publishing, I am including links to a very concise (if tongue in cheek) list of arguments decribing the problems with TRADITIONAL and ELECTRONIC publishing.  Feel free to add your two cents to the debate!

And, just so no one misunderstands that I really, truly ADORE print books, I thought I would show my idea of Heaven on Earth:

Book Lover's Paradise