Adventures in Book Promotion

My writing life is one grand experiment, and like an good science project, complete and utter failure is always an option. You all know Belfire Press recently released my first novel: Loathsome, Dark and Deep.

I have to tell the truth: it's pretty exciting to receive a box of books with my name on them. Exciting and frightening. I've come to realize with any creative endeavor there comes a time to promote (unless said endeavor is strictly for personal enjoyment). Promotion doesn't come naturally to many writers, especially those of us who hide in dark places and punch out stories about even darker places. But if I don't talk about my book and do my damnedest to promote it, it might as well stay in the box and go under the bed in the Man Cave.

Well shit. I guess I have to come out of the dark then. Again, I see writing as an experiment. Some of the things I do, whether in a story or in "promotion," will fail. Hopefully, I can learn from failure, just as I can learn when a story "fails" (and doesn't sell).

So along with the grand experiment of writing a book and seeing it published, I'm stuffing envelopes with letters and bookmarks bound for independent bookstores which specialize in dark fiction and libraries. I'm gearing up to shake some hands with area booksellers. In addition, I'm running a second contest to promote Loathsome. Will the cash I've sunk into these endeavors pay off? I don't know, but not doing anything is the quickest path to failure.

So enough about failure. What would success look like, realistically? I'm not sure I have a clear picture, but I want people to read my book (and maybe even enjoy it). I want as many people to read and enjoy it as possible.

Some of you know I've taken a leap into another experiment. I'm offering Rock Gods and Scary Monsters on Kindle. (I have been for over a month, but you know how things are if you don't promote them at all.) It's a YA book (some of you "veterans" might remember my rambles about it a few years ago). It's not perfect. It's an experiment. But I'll tell you something--if I don't talk about it no one else will. Self-promotion is a necessary evil. Hell, I don't even know that I'd call it evil. It just is. Jeremy D. Brooks (author of Amity--read it) calls this thing we do "literary buskering". Yeah. That feels about right.


Writing a good story is important. It's the most important thing. But promotion--buskering--needs to happen, too. My comfort and skill telling stories has outpaced my comfort and skill in promotion. I feel it's such a fine line to walk between hubris/self-aggrandizing and genuine love for storytelling.

It's an experiment.

I'll fail. I'll learn from my failures (I hope).

And I'll tell you all about it when it happens. There are no secrets among inmates.

WIP Wednesday. I Slack.

Before I start, check out "Everything in its Place" at 10Flash--a new online magazine of flash fiction. (It will soften the blow when I reveal the pathetic nature of my WIP...)

Okay, I'm joining the WIP Wednesday club.

My WIP? Um...

I did put together a site dedicated to all the freebies I've posted. Free is something I can really support. Free is the new cheap. Check out Dark Flotsam for audio, video, and free fiction. I've posted a new story, "Empty", that had originally appeared in Candlelight, #1 last year.

But that isn't a WIP, is it?

I wrote a synopsis for Rock Gods and Scary Monsters last night. I've been avoiding certain markets/agents because of the synopsis requirement, but alas...it would eventually come to this.

But that isn't a WIP, is it?

I resurrected a short story (an early, lame attempt at horror). It is now flash-length (500 words), not scary at all, and off to some literary-type markets in submission land.

But...well, you get the picture.

So my WIP? Tentatively titled The Neither, it stands at 300 words. I'm shooting for 80K. Guess I have some work to do, huh?

(Oh...and Cate won the guessing game. It was a bit from the cover art for Fifty-Two Stitches. I promise to post more later.)

Remember the Sample Lady?

I worked at a grocery store in high school, and we had two nice older women who would hand out samples to customers. Of course, we (the employees) helped ourselves to plenty of little smokies, snack crackers, and cheese, too.

I've posted the first chapters of my current projects on their own pages: Rock Gods and Scary Monsters and The House Eaters.

Try not to eat too much.

Goals...What Goals?

Here's a blast from four months in the past:

1. Always have at least one story in front of a pro paying market. Right now I have four.
2. Finish revisions of Rock Gods and Scary Monsters and query that sucker by the end of the school year.
3. Write my third "novel"--a dark thing I'm tentatively calling The House Eaters.
4. Write at least one high quality story a month. Quality may require that I set the story aside for at least a week before revising--a challenge for this submission junkie.
5. Give myself some breaks. I nearly chucked the whole writing idea last summer because of unreal expectations.

(My "New Year's Writing Resolutions")

Some of the Blogs I Read^TM have discussed eliminated the end of month post. I'm keeping mine simple.

How am I doing based on those goals?

1. I have exactly one story in front of a pro paying market right now. Have you seen how many are "on hiatus" or shut down lately? This goal might go the way of the dodo.
2. Done and querying. I've sent six queries. No hits, no runs, no errors, not even a form rejection yet.
3. Done and querying. Thanks to everyone who read and commented. I've sprayed on a fresh coat of paint, guided by the voices that haunt me and other clichés.
4. I did write three stories this month: one flash and two longer pieces.
5. I'm not tired of writing, but I'm tired of trying to sell my writing. I used to pour over Duotrope with a certain fire, trying to find "the market" for everything I wrote. Not anymore.

To elaborate on #5: I like to write (I think). Sometimes it is very hard. Sometimes it seems to come easily, only to look back at the work and realize what a load of shite it is. The sense of "wow" is still there, though. That sense of "gee, I wrote that?" Selling the work...isn't fun. Never really was. The rejections? Are they bringing me down? Not really. Not anymore. I just don't enjoy the mental energy spent researching a market/agent, preparing a submission, launching it out into the world, and waiting. Maybe I'm far too impatient for this writing thing.

Maybe I just need some tranquilizers.

Having a Couple of Poles in the Water

Here's where the ol' Kansas boy shines through; I'm using a fishing metaphor for the querying process.

I've slapped on a new coat of spit and polish to Rock Gods and Scary Monsters and sent a few queries. Yes, I'm still querying The House Eaters. I see this as having two different poles in the water (each sporting different bait). I'm not sure who/what is going to be in the pond, so I might as well bring the whole arsenal. The agent field is much more open for Rock Gods because it is more mainstream.

Here's the baited hook:

"Before his uncle comes home from the war in Iraq, high school senior Elliot Harris is poised to conquer the world as the next big Rock God. But Uncle Eli, Elliot’s guitar hero, returns with deep physical and mental scars, shattering Elliot’s narrow vision of the future in Rock Gods and Scary Monsters..."

Now let's hope someone bites.

(man...I sound like a hick today)

The Character that Killed Three Markets

Yes...you steal from me, I steal from you. Danielle Ferries took the "favorite stories" post and made something different. Now I steal her something different and present my five favorite characters (in no particular order).

Spider - a vampire, but not one of those modern day/emo/sexy vampires. No, Spider is a monster, a creature that loves blood and will drain a pet dog or a small girl in one meal. He has no eyelids but a mouth full of jagged, broken teeth. His surrogate son, a homeless boy named Jack, has to make a tough decision in the end of "Spider and I" (The Devil's Food, TBR).

Gerald Karnowski - AKA "The Surgeon of An Khe". I've killed three markets with this story. (Subbed to one, didn't hear back=market dead; subbed to another, shortlisted=market dead; subbed to a third, accepted, project scrapped...hurm).

Pete Archer - Featured in two tales, "Catalog Sales" (Necrotic Tissue, October 2008) and "Lullaby, Little Monster" (Champagne Shivers, TBR). Pete is a traveling book salesman from the '30s. His books are...magical. Pete isn't exactly evil; he's just misunderstood. Everybody has to eat, right?

Gary Sump - an angry god and strange neighbor. I pity the little people that look up to Gary. All hail Gary Sump. Two Gary Sump stories have been published by Everyday Weirdness.

Tic Toc - a wind-up gorilla who ends up inside a man's skull, pulling the strings. I wrote his story--"The Brass Menagerie" (Theaker's Quarterly Fiction, August 2008)--as a weird riff on The Glass Menagerie. This time, the "gentleman caller" doesn't leave Laura in the end...

My favorite character from a novel is probably iPorn (Shane Willits) from Rock Gods and Scary Monsters. I'll let my dear readers sort out how he earned his nickname.

Because I Need Some Direction...

I've made some goals for April.

Rock Gods and Scary Monsters needs some work. I felt like it was finished, but it isn't nearly as tight as The House Eaters. Different kind of book, sure, but The House Eaters moves along. It has mass and momentum. I want to rework the beginning of Rock Gods and give it a "grabs the reader by the throat and doesn't let go" opening. I'm also toying with the idea of listing a song from Elliot's playlist with each chapter. His ex-girlfriend is going to show up, too, acting as a bit of a siren. The book is definitely high concept (effects of war on the family, bildungsroman, all that), and I want it to be as sparkly as possible.

So I want the book finished by the end of the month. I'd like to start querying in May.

On the short story front, I have one flash that needs to be edited and sent and one short story I'd like to release to the wild in the next few weeks. According to my resolutions, I need one solid short story written this month. I think I can handle that. If I have time, I may start tinkering with a new work of longer fiction. This one is straight horror.

The bottom line: I want to refocus on longer fiction. I will see a book in print someday, but only if I do the work to make it happen.

March in Review

March began fairly lamb-like and it looks to end the same.

I wrote three short stories this month: "The Watchful Eyes of Los Abuelos", "Fed by Other Than the Sun", and "Heroes Can Live Forever". The first two are solid efforts. The last needs a good deal of work. I also penned a piece of flash entitled "Inked" which needs another quick edit before it heads out to submission land. A few stories left home for the first time in March, and I hope they don't find themselves too lost out in the wide world.

During March I put the final edits to The House Eaters. Yep, the "s" is back just 'cause I like the way it sounds better than "Eater". The title works either way. Currently, I'm querying for that one. I also tinkered with Rock Gods and Scary Monsters some. More work is needed. One of those 3 AM epiphanies struck me about Rock Gods...a "now playing" list is going to accompany each chapter to help set the tone.

I sold a few shorts, most notably to Triangulation: Dark Glass and Return of the Raven. Some long standing subs came home alone (i.e., were rejected), including a 137 wait from Murky Depths. Try, try again.

Ruthless People's Magazine was kind enough to publish my dirty little "Man Bites Man" and The Black Garden was released in March.

Oh, and I tried to anger some Morlocks, but they wouldn't bite. Do you realize they have a Wikipedia page for Birkin Bags but not Permuted Press? True.

(stupid Morlocks)

Slave to the Grind

Ah. Monday morning after spring break. It's nice to be back at work? (that's a rhetorical question, of course)

Brenton Tomlinson has posted a rather nice review of Tainted on his blog. If you haven't read the book yet, we've lowered the price (nudge, nudge). Tainted can be purchased at Amazon.com or from the Strange bookstore.

I'd be remiss not to mention Jamie Eyberg's "Nine" up now at Fifty-Two Stitches. Here kitty, kitty, kitty...

As for my writing, I hammered out a flash story last night tentatively titled "Inked". Yep, it's about a tattoo...on a prosthetic leg...that bleeds. I'll give it a few edits and then send it out to submission land.

I'm also working on query letters for both The House Eater(s) and Rock Gods and Scary Monsters this week. Stay tuned for a related contest and free book giveaway later in the week. (I have spare copies of The Black Garden and Monstrous I'm dying to give away.)

In the meantime, I've realized that I have zero red dirt photos from Oklahoma. How could I be so stupid...so here's a rather mean looking cactus close-up from the botanical gardens in OKC:

(ouch)

The Roar of the Man Cave

Well, Jameson kicked up the Man Cave ante. Impressive spread.

My personal writing space is currently under full roar. The reason: it rained all night last night, the first genuine thunderstorm of the spring. I love those thunderstorms, but it makes the sump pump in the basement work overtime. The poor thing has been pushing water all day. And roaring.

So I'll make it quick. Check out Fifty-Two Stitches this week for a dark piece from Barry Napier. The last line is one of those that lingers.

I'm juggling three manuscripts right now: the gutting of Springdale Saints and first passes on Rock Gods and Scary Monsters and The House Eater...and, I'm actually enjoying myself. Saints is really getting carved to bits. The prose is so much leaner, meaner, and ready for action.

Cheers, all.

What to do with a "Normal" Monday

Last week was nuts. Aimee's surgery, two forensics meets in four days (forensics: speech and drama competition--meets last about 8 hours+travel time=10-12 hour day), my mom stayed with us for the week, Aimee's folks stayed the weekend.

Whew.

I'm spent.

I managed 1,000 words a day on The House Eaters most of the week, eeking out a modest 500 on Saturday. I've crested the 24K mark, with about 10-12K left before I feel like the first draft is done. A respectable amount for a YA book, especially if I add another 2-3K in rewrites (which I am apt to do).

Short story burnout has taken over. The last time I worked on something longer (Rock Gods), I was itching to return to short stories. I don't have that feeling right now. I haven't felt this way for over a year, so it sort of scares me. Short stories used to be my oxygen.

What if all my ideas are gone, poof, into the ether?

A Love Letter to January

Actually, I'm pretty glad January is over. It's been cold, so cold. The kids at school are about ready to explode with cabin fever. I'm tired of dry skin and cracked hands.

Bring on the sun! Bring on spring!

But first, let me pause to reflect:

I wrote three new short stories ("Tommy of the Flood", "Empty Vessels", and "The Distillery") plus one flash piece ("Fuzzy") inspired by one of Owen's books and another flash that will remain nameless for the time being. I edited a couple other bits and launched them in to the ether.

I placed a drabble with Drabblecast, a weird flash piece with Everyday Weirdness, and a magical realism short with A cappella Zoo.

A few things were published on the web, but my favorite appearances for January landed in Monstrous from Permuted Press and Northern Haunts from Shroud.

I tinkered with Rock Gods and Scary Monsters a bit and wrote about 3.5K on The House Eaters.

In support of the small press, I took out a subscription to Murky Depths and purchased the latest edition of Black Ink Horror (#5).

Whew.

January was a good month for personal reflection, too. Thanks for all the great discussions.

I'm going to go play with my kids.

Editing: Rock Gods; Brainstorming: The House Eaters

I started tinkering (read: editing) Rock Gods and Scary Monsters yesterday, but the project I really want to start is something inspired by this place:

Yeah, it looks just a little scary in the picture. In real life, the place latched on to the back of my neck with icy tendrils. I was really knocked over with a sense of dread. See, I was lost when I drove past, and didn't notice the building the first time. Once I had to turn around, there it was, waiting, tucked away in the side of a small hill, surrounded by gnarly trees. On first glance, I thought: ruined house. Creepy. But it was much bigger than most run-down buildings around here. I sped away with a sense of awe: anything people build can just be devoured...

My sick little brain started working. As I drove away, I thought: man, something ate the front of that house. Fred (my muse) kicked into overdrive. New novel idea? The House Eaters (or something like that...)? What could eat a house? Why would it? Why were the Native American tribes in the plains mostly nomadic? (I know, to follow the herd animals--but work with my imagination here...I'm speculating.)

So, I'm editing Rock Gods and plotting/brainstorming for what I'm tentatively calling The House Eaters. Until the next short story inspiration comes along, that is. ;)

Weird? Who Me?

I landed one acceptance this weekend from Every Day Weirdness to go along with the five rejections from other publishers. Yeah, "Gary Sump's Hidden City" softened the blow a bit.

Thanks, Gary.

Wait...Gary's not real, is he? Thanks, muse. I was a little confused.

I've been trying to stop the short story train, and have one more piece I want to finish before rolling up the ol' sleeves and tackling revisions on Rock Gods and Scary Monsters.

Really...I'll stop after one more short story. I promise.

It's Alive!

It being me.

The drive to St. Louis was rainy and cold. Traffic slowed to a stand still in three separate places on I-70, and we saw at least fifteen vehicles in the ditch.

Owen developed pneumonia after a rather intense Christmas day.

We bailed on St. Louis two days early so Owen could recover at home. The drive to Lawrence was rainy and cold. Traffic slowed to a stand still twice within ten miles of our exit. An overturned Chevy Tahoe, lying in a pile of snow ten yards from the road, is a frightening sight.

But we are home safe, and Owen is recovering. I managed to bang out a 3,400 worder, "Grim Adaptations", for the Dead Bait anthology. Fins crossed. I wasn't planning on writing something for that one, but the muse clamped her spines around my throat. My story was inspired by listening to "The Sons of Carbon County" by Amanda Spikol on my iPod (courtesy of Pseudopod) on the drive to Grandma and Grandpa's. Great imagery in that one. If you haven't checked out Pseudopod, you're in for an audio-treat.

I'm spending the rest of my writing time over break (I go back to work on January 2nd) on revisions. I might even crack open Rock Gods and Scary Monsters.

Don't hold your breath. I won't be holding mine.

Nearing the End and A Request

This morning finds me nearing the end of the YA portion of my NaNoWriMo journey. I'm at 32K for Rock Gods and Scary Monsters, and need to pen the final chapter and add some bits at the beginning. How did I manage 32K already...? (um, sleep, right? I've been skipping sleep...)

Soooooo very tempted to started editing, but I know that needs to wait.

The novella that I'm going to start is tentatively called Stash. A couple of boys find some old glass jars in which they can hide things to retreive later. One of those "power corrupts" kind of stories--not to mention what else they find inside the jars. Um, the father of one of the boys has been missing for ten years? Oh, yeah...

Finally, I've received a full manuscript request for The Last Days of the Springdale Saints. Fingers crossed but I'm not holding my breath anymore. We shall see...

Nanotastic Monday

After waking to a three-rejection Sunday, I feel like I have my feet again. (midnight rejections are no fun, people)

My NaNo book is rolling along at 25K. Here's the catch: the first draft will probably only wind up around 35K. I'm totally okay with that--it's a YA book, after all. I've surveyed some of my students' current reads, and most clock in between 30-37K, so I feel as though I'm on track. I'd rather write a useful 35K than blather on to inflate it to 50.

What to do with that remaining 15K? I have some lovely (read: ghastly) ideas for a collection of horror novellas set in my fictional little hamlet of Springdale. Maybe I'll take a stab at one...no pun intended.

So what have I done to poor little Elliot in Rock Gods...well, dear reader, you already know about his uncle...

Elliot's girlfriend has an eating disorder. He's too self-absorbed to notice until she collapses one night and has to be taken to the hospital.

His best friend, Ben, quits the band--Ben was the only real member along with Elliot.

He watches helplessly as another long time friend is pummeled by the high school linebacking corps.

His favorite teacher gets busted for looking at porn at school and lets Elliot take the blame.

Oh, there's more...slashed tires, arrests for possession of marijuana, confrontations with police...tsk, tsk.

In other news, I received an acceptance for my entry to the Silly Westerns Anthology over at Residential Aliens. "Gunplay and Haiku in Belching Gulch" is a goofy little story--one hint: wind-up sidekick.

Have a nanotastic week.

My Submission is Dead

I just received word from Kim Paffenroth that I didn't make the second round cuts for The World is Dead. Oh well. Really, it was pretty thrilling to make it out of the slush pile, with around 270 total subs.

Time to find a market for a zombie story that isn't really about zombies...

I'm at just under 15K for Rock Gods and Scary Monsters. I guess that's good. Keep on plugging away.

A Precious Yes

I received word today that "Precious Metal", a 2k word science fantasy, will appear in Albedo One some time in the future. Very stoked. "Precious Metal" was a bit of a content departure for me, and I'm glad she found a home--and Albedo One is a cool mag, to boot.

I'm still trucking with Rock Gods...crested 7K total today. I'm not sure I can keep up the pace, but I want to write while the fingers are hot. I think the ol' boys have another five hundred words in 'em.

Happy NaNo!

NaNoWriMo Day Two: Still Swinging

I've knocked out 5K words thus far on Rock Gods and Scary Monsters, but I don't plan on keeping that pace for long. For anybody interested, the story revolves around a high school senior, Elliot, who thinks he's going to be a rock star someday. Right.

When his uncle, Eli, comes home from Iraq with one arm, Elliot's world implodes. Eli was Elliot's guitar hero, the guy who taught him to play. A legend. Scary Monster #1: once Eli starts living with Elliot's family, Elliot begins to lose his guitar chops. His arm shakes and goes numb.

More Scary Monsters to come.

So the novel isn't horror or dark fantasy, although it has some bleak moments. More of young adult title with some magical realism. I've carved up some of my short stories for ideas. I hope they won't mind. (heh)

I think I like writing a longer work--I can pin back my ears and just write without worrying so much about every detail.