Ode to my backpack.

You know how people are attached to their old shoes?

Well, I'm attached to my old backpack.  It goes everywhere with me.  I finally unloaded the crap in my wallet to the backpack, and now just carry a bill or two and my driver's license and a credit card in a thin sleeve in my pocket.

I have an old notebook in my old backpack, in which I keep my business information, as well as lots and lots of scribbled notes.  I have my little tranquilizer pills in case I need them.  (Which is almost never anymore, but I still like having them there.)  I carry bottles of lemonade and ham sandwiches wherever I go --  I'm like Howard Hughes, I can drink and eat the same stuff day after day.

I've got pens and pencils and batteries and a slot for my phone.  When needs be, I can carry my new laptop computer.  On hikes, I sit on my backpack if nothing else is around. 

I love my old backpack -- my security blanket.

The poor dear thing is falling apart from my loving.

After going through a couple of cheap backpacks, I finally bought a good one.  A "Coleman" brand, and it's held up really well.  But it's starting to get holes in the corner.

I'm tempted to patch them.  Keep my old backpack.  Or just not put anything in there small enough to fall out. 

I don't want to give it up.

"Never tell me the odds!"

I started doing some research about the best-seller lists on Amazon and Smashwords, which led to other articles about the whole digital change and how it is affecting publishers and authors and so on...

Oh, boy.

I'm not sure I wanted to know all that.  I'm not sure that when it comes to being a writer, ignorance isn't bliss.  I mean, you want to be realistic and all, but I had a pretty good sense of the odds -- I'm just not sure I needed the odds to be explicated.

I don't know if I can get across how different actual writing is -- from everything that comes after.  And yet, without everything that comes after, dare I say "promotion",  whatever you wrote won't see the light of day. 

I decided to work at getting this first book, at least, in a many hands as I beg borrow plead command insinuate and dazzle.

But it isn't writing.

Writing is something I do alone in my room, with little or no outside input.

I really want to get back to that, but things keep popping up.  I'm figuring another month of interruptions, and then -- even if other things are happening, I'm going to let them take a back seat to writing.

Best-selling author?

I might actually be a best-selling author!

I'm #4 on Smashwords best-seller list for Horror books! There are one hell of a lot of books on that list, so I'm pretty excited.  I think that might be a pretty big deal and, well, completely unexpected.  I'm also much higher up some of the other lists than I could ever have hoped for!

 So I have to thank you all for the reviews and all the help. 

A 'Western Horror' or a "Horror Western?'

Led to the Slaughter never felt like a Western to me.

But the sequel is shaping up to have many more the elements of a western -- cowboys, boomtowns, gold rushes, miners, Indians and Indian Wars, saloon girls, etc. etc.

But I want to keep the focus on Horror, not on Western.

I like the historical underpinnings, and I figure if I keep trying to be accurate, it won't come off as a Western.  (My model for this would be the great books by Don Berry about Oregon -- which are set in the west and in western times, but yet feels real and authentic.)

I think I can pull that off, but I do need to be cognizant of the possibility. 

"The Mind of a Writer."

This quote from the Oscars last night made me laugh.

I resemble, oh, about 90% of this remark:

 “The mind of a writer can be a truly terrifying thing. Isolated, neurotic, caffeine-addled, crippled by procrastination, consumed by feelings of panic, self-loathing in soul crushing inadequacy— And that’s on a good day.”
—Robert de Niro

"Read an ebook Week."

The following is a press release from Books of the Dead Press, announcing that they are joining in Read an ebook Week.  I'm not sure if my book is one of them, but if so -- now's the time to buy it!

Please.

Smashwords makes the book available in all digital formats, except Kindle (easily corrected by downloading the Kindle app.)

Smashwords are running a "Read an ebook Week" event, and Books of the Dead Press submitted a bunch of titles to it.

This means you can grab many of our titles for nothing, or next to nothing, over the next few days.

Enjoy.

Follow this link and scroll down.

Like what you see? Please support Books of the Dead by purchasing one of our books. Thank you

House of Cards -- Spoilers.

This show got under my skin.  I could barely watch the last 5 episodes.

SPOILERS:




Every single decent or even half-way decent character in this show is crushed.  At first you think the dynamic sociopathic duo might have a soft spot for the 'little people' but no, in the end they too are used and tossed away without a backward glance.

In this world, the more ethics you have, the more you are crushed.  Obliterated.  The less conscience you have, the higher you rise.  The slightest weakness, the tiniest humanity is used against you.

Apparently the Chinese are watching this show in great fascination, convinced this is the way we really are.

I watched the original British House of Cards, and I remember the main character as being more of a charming rogue, a devious schemer.  I can't remember if he actually kills anyone, but somehow he wasn't quite as repellent.

Every time one of the Underwoods looks as though he or she are weakening, it's a ruse.  Except for one moment at the last.  Claire Underwood starts to weep, and I'm thinking -- oh, no, here it goes.  But no -- she weeps for all of Ten Fricken Seconds.  Then she's back to being cold-blooded murderous bitch Lady MacBeth.  Somehow that measly ten seconds made it even worse.

All through the show the Underwoods express love for each other in the most formal, distant way -- as if they have a pane of glass between them even when they are hugging.  Again, at the last -- all is revealed, though it's hinted at all the way through.

At one point, I turned to Linda and said, "I think Claire is going to seduce the young Secret Service agent."  The very next episode, I said,  "I think Frank is going to seduce the young Secret Service agent."

Well -- I was right.

I almost didn't want to watch the last five episodes.  I hated this show -- all 25 episodes.  Every time we'd finish one, I would turn to Linda and say, "I HATE these people."

Linda, "Yeah, me too."

"Um...ready for another one?"

"Absolutely."

Books of the Dead Press's new logo.

Digital versus print.

Based on the number of people who have said to me and Linda, "I'll be interested in that when it comes in," the print version of Led to the Slaughter should sell better than the digital.  At least, among the people we ask.

But of course, the people we ask are only those people who walk into our stores -- maybe 100 to 200 people a day.  Digital is available to the whole world.  Sheer numbers, and percentages. 

And of course many of those people who say they are going to buy the book are just saying it.  Confronted with actually pulling out their wallets, the answer may be different.

I'll need to be careful not to put people on the spot, and yet at the same time try to close the deal.  I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable.

Handing out postcards.

Spent a full day handing out postcards at the store.  I just decided to approach everyone, in a very soft way, just hand them the card -- which looks nifty by the way.  It has the cover of the book, which everyone seems to like, and then the information on the back.  Looks very professional.

Anyway, about halfway through the day, it occurred to me that I could take the edge off the request -- make it less pushy -- if I mentioned that there was a "free sample" at Amazon that they could read, and if they liked it, then they could buy the book.

I've printed up enough of the postcards that I'm going to instruct Matt and Cameron to give them to everyone who comes in the door -- but they are to do it very softly.  No hard sell.  Mention the "free sample."

It probably is about as effective as "cold calls" -- maybe more, because it is a personal approach -- but I'm not concerned.  If one in 50 check out the book, so be it.

I'm taking the attitude that every little bit helps.

Letting a hobby become greed.

So Mt. Gox evolved (devolved?) from a Magic the Gathering tradesite?

First of all, this kind of thing is almost a sure indicator of a bubble.  I don't know anything about bitcoins, just saying.




See, I still have nightmares of my sports card days -- it showed me how fast people can veer into questionable territory.  So I just opted out of MTG trading and such.  I sell them, buy them wholesale, sell them retail: that's it.  All on the up and up.  I refuse to do collector pricing on most anything.

But once you go into that "trading" thing, the "collecting" thing, it turns into speculation, and the seamy and the dishonest prey on the naive and the weak.  Yuck.

Such is life, you might say, but that doesn't mean I can't try my best to avoid these traps as much as possible.

It usually comes down to short term greed.  People will throw away their ethics over small advantages.  I've had people lie to me to save fifty cents.  Like that's all their reputation is worth.

When the money really starts to flow, then all sense of proportion is lost.  And the dishonest drag you down, because you're in their game, even if you are playing the game differently.

You have to forgo short term profits sometimes, you have to remember that whatever you gain at this moment could all be lost in the future, and even if it isn't, you acted badly.

I tried to maneuver my way through the ethical minefields of collecting during bubbles, but no matter how honest and forthright I tried to be, I still got smeared by the slimy behavior of the psycho's.

In the end, the only thing you can do -- if you want to keep your self-respect -- is to opt out, no matter how much money you might miss.

Going to press.

I was told by my publisher that Led to the Slaughter is going to the printer today.

So not long now.  I'll be able to hold the book in my hands --which to me will be exciting.


Went out to the Badlands with my new writing dedicated laptop and wrote the first 1000 words of the sequel.  With Virginia Reed as the protagonist.

It was freezing outside, but I just had to get out of the house.  With my new laptop, I intend to write in places other than my little room.  What happens is that a short walk will bring a scene to mind, and I'll mull it over while I walk back to the car.  I'll write it down, and keep going until I run out of ideas.  Then I get out of the car and go for a walk and do it again.

So any tracker who found my footsteps would be very confused.  I keep tramping the same 100 yards and back.   Getting the car muddy. 

Doesn't matter.  Whatever works.

Expectations.

Read yet another article about a writer who got a big advance and thought they were set, only to find that when the book didn't sell well they were dropped by their publisher.

It's a little hard to feel sympathy for people who get six figure advances and blow it.

But anyway, a little research should have warned them.  And maybe a little more humility.  And caution.

Ignorance is bliss.  If you know what you're up against, you may not even start.  But high expectations are dangerous.

When anyone talks "Hollywood" I just roll my eyes.  I'd be better served going and buying 10.00 worth of lottery tickets. 

I want my books to do well, of course.  But there are a ton of books out there.  Tons and tons.

As a bookstore owner, maybe I know this more than most people.  Just checking the book liquidations lists every week is enough to give you a chill.  These are good books, folks.  Some of them I've even read.  But they are being dumped.

My own expectations are -- to get published and to be paid something for the effort.  More as a marker that someone thinks the effort is worthy enough to gamble their own money on -- than any expectations of monetary rewards.  My second expectation is to have a print book in my hands.  A physical object.

I've already attained those two goals -- anything beyond this is pure gravy.

I'm being unbelievably promotional minded right now, very chatty.  I'm proud of the book -- I'd like people to read it.  So I'm willing to go out of my comfort zone for awhile in order to tell other people about it.

I understand that no one is going to know or care unless I make this effort.

But I know it won't last.  It can't last.  I couldn't live with myself nor could others live with me.  Besides, it takes away from the actual writing.

Writing and promotion are two completely different things.  The more you do of one, the less you do of the other.

At least for me.

Of course, like any writer, I can see a hazy alternate universe where my book is hugely successful and I never have time to write.  Because that would be enormously distracting, you know?

But I'd be willing to risk it...

What is needed.

Took my rewritten first chapter of Deeptower to writer's group last night.   (Deeptower is a sequel to a book I wrote 30 years ago which I still think has possibilities...)

The group quite rightly tore it apart.

The motivations of the main character weren't clear, in fact I didn't give the reader much reason to care about him.

But even as they were critiquing, I was getting a sense of how to fix it.

More and more I'm realizing what is needed in a book.  Especially the beginning.  I just have to keep doing it until it works.

Meanwhile, despite every intention of waiting until Friday before I started my sequel to Led to the Slaughter.  (Working title, Gold Fever -- which isn't unique enough, but need something...)  out squeezed the first couple of paragraphs.  Kind of weird.  Couldn't help it.

Amazon and me -- I love it, I hate it, I love it, I hate it.

Jack has a bit of a call-out on his blog, saying this:

"I was about to write to Duncan McGeary and ask him whether he's read the article about Amazon in the New Yorker, but I see that he already read it."
 

 I have a tawdry relationship with Amazon.  Like an abused spouse. 

My publisher believes that 'mid-list' print books don't do well in bookstores -- and I think he's right.  So he sells only on Amazon.  (He sells the e-books on all digital platforms).

He sells the print book at conventions, and he sells on Amazon, and he gets more of the slice.  As the author, I get a discount, but not as big a one as I would get from a wholesaler.  Just enough to make it worthwhile for me.  (Like I wouldn't carry my own book!)

So, as a writer I'm completely dependent on Amazon.

As a bookstore owner, the opposite.  

But I have always said, the big box stores are way more damaging to my business.  Because going online takes what I call "The extra click."  Online customers are already lost to me, so I'm competing for the customers who buy from stores, and that's where the big boxes hurt.

Either way, I have to make my peace with it.

The print version of Led to the Slaughter is gorgeous.

I saw the design -- the mockup --  of the print version and it looks gorgeous.

Reading it the way it will appear on the page -- makes it seem like all that much more of a book.  Like this is the story the way it was meant to be.  Like the bindings and the design and flow legitimize it somehow.

I can see the appeal of ebooks.  The price of the digital version is 3.99, the price of print version will probably be between 12.99 and 14.99.

But the digital still seems somehow hypothetical, somehow.   I mean, I know it exists -- I know it's the content that counts, but still.  Having the book exist in material form -- that means it is real to me.

It reads really well.

Like -- I wrote that?  Wow.  I wrote that...

I wanted to prove I could do it, and so I have. 

A few more days of talking about my book, then back to writing.

I'm watching the social media sites for another couple of days -- I want to be responsive to anyone who mentions me or contacts me.  I'll probably remind everyone who bought Led to the Slaughter to post a review in a few days.

Then I'm moving on.  I need to start writing again.

I scrolled through the list of best-selling horror books yesterday.  The first 4000 or so.  There are some big names and big titles all the way through that list.  Books of the Dead has an impressive showing.  A good number of books at the at the higher end of the list.  This publisher is the real deal.  Which I knew, but still a pretty good result.

So I'm hoping he has some mojo to boost my book.  I've tried to do my part, getting reviews.  But I could have every friend I know buy the book and it wouldn't be a big enough number to push the needle much.  Not that I don't utterly appreciate it.  If that's all that happens, I'll still be happy.

My biggest goals were to find a paying publisher, and to have physical copies in my store, and it looks like both of those goals are fulfilled.

Still...I wouldn't mind more than that...

You do get the sense that every effort to get people to notice your book only pushes the needle slightly. 

That there are bigger forces at play.

It's been all of three days.

I was pretty aggressive yesterday.  Contacting people and asking them point-blank to buy my book.  Not a comfortable thing to do -- and I'm not sure how I would respond if it happened to me.

I tried to make it clear that I had no expectations.  And apologized if I was out of bounds.

One person did tell me I was "out of bounds."  I told her, "Thank you for telling me."  I actually am glad she told me, on the basis of the old rule of thumb that if one person complains outloud a bunch of other people are thinking. 

I was hoping I had a little goodwill to expend...

I think, actually, most people are nicer than me.  Most people took in the spirit in which it was offered.  But yeah, not my usual style.

I've been mulling over the book.  It feels "real" to me.  A complete book.  Done.

Which I don't always feel.

Meanwhile, I had sent my friend Paul the third book of the Vampire trilogy since he had liked the first two books.   He got back to me and told me that Blood of Gold was the "best yet."  And that I was a "GOOD" writer.  He said that twice, capitalized.  "GOOD."

That felt good, too.

So I swore I wasn't going to hover, and I've done nothing BUT hover.  I have to remind myself that it's been all of 3 days.   Patience.  Understanding.  Peace.

Reviews are the biggest factor.

I"m being told by my publisher that the biggest single factor for sales on Amazon is a review.  So I'm asking everyone to please buy Led to the Slaughter and give it a positive review.

Please?

I'm hoping to get a push behind this.  Hey, wouldn't you like to know a best-selling author?

If you have to order from Smashwords, I need reviews there too.

I think this is the moment when I get some momentum...or I don't.  So I'm asking.  It would be a huge favor.

So this is the big push, people.  This is when it counts.  Over the next ten days I could really make an impact, if I can just get some reviews in there.  Some sales.  Just get the momentum going, and who knows where it will lead?

So if you have been reading this blog for years, I humbly ask that you do me the favor of buying my book and posting a good review.  Does that sound fair?

There aren't publisher-s; only Publisher.

A problem in a nutshell.

Remember -- these were once all separate publishers.  Publishers with their own editorial crew, that many more chances to try to catch on.

Now -- under the rubric of Penguin Random House.  Some big names.  One company.

Alfred A. Knopf
Ballantine
Bantam
Broadway
Dial
Pantheon
Random House
Razorbill.
Ace
Berkley Books
Crown
Del Rey
Doubleday
Dutton
Gotham Books
Grossett & Dunlap
Hudson Street
InkLit
New American Library
Penguin
Philomel
Plume
Price Stern Sloan
Puffin
Putnam
Riverhead
Schocken
Three Rivers
Viking.

Anti-trust would appear to be dead.