Year 2, Month 8, Day 27 of this Writing in Public challenge.
Kris read Calling Dead: A Cold Poker Gang, could not tell where I cut it in the slightest, and said it worked. A couple minor fixes which I have done already and added about 700 words.
Today was almost back to normal. I went to the WMG offices, then to the post office, then out to do some walking with a friend. I actually had more energy walking than I thought, so that’s good.
Then to a bank and back to WMG offices to work on Smith’s Monthly and putting together a new lecture.
Home to pick up Kris at 5:30 p.m. and we headed down the coast to Newport to get some supplies, have a nice dinner, and then go grocery shopping.
Home to watch some television around 9 p.m. and then I got in here and started working on a short story around 10 p.m.
I finished one story that I had started a long time ago, then worked on a new story. That session added about 1,600 words to the day with a slight break in the middle.
By then Kris had finished Calling Dead and we talked about it for a minute, then headed to watch some television.
I got back in here around 1:30 a.m. and by 2:30 a.m. had the corrections in and the novel ready to be included in Smith’s Monthly.
Then I worked on yet another short story for a short session, getting around 600 words done. Then worked on putting the contents of the new Smith’s Monthly together. This will be the second one the Patreon supporters will get. The first is almost formatted now and is the one I’m working on at the office. You will be getting it next week in electronic and paper supporters a week after that.
So a fun day, fun dinner, and 3,100 words on all sorts of stuff. Fun day.
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Note: Pitches and Blurbs workshop for April only has two spots left open in it. And Productivity has four spots left. Also both Strengths workshops are full. This is the first month all winter that some workshops have been nearing being full. Not sure what it is about April. (grin)
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Topic of the Night: Just Start!
In the summer of 2013, I had one novel that could be put up indie. Just one. A thriller called Dead Money.
A bunch of short stories, but those were not selling well, since they were only branded to the author name and across all genres.
One novel. Out of the hundred plus I had written. That’s all I had. (It was why during that period I would get so annoyed at beginning writers telling me how I had this huge head start on them. One novel head start is all.)
And what I discovered was that all the media novels were selling better than my short fiction, so when you searched my name, all you got was Trek and gaming novels and so on. What original work I had was buried by my own work, work that I was earning nothing much from.
So I had to get to work and get writing.
Yesterday, I just finished my 18th novel since that summer (less than 20 months) and I also wrote five nonfiction books. Plus I have two books done during that time that were serialized in Smith’s Monthly that are not out yet. So 20 novels and five nonfiction books in 20 months. (All while spending 40 plus hours per week at WMG and workshops.)
I have out 16 issues of Smith’s Monthly. And a ton of my work is in audio and I’ve been in a bunch of bundles and so on. In fact, last year was my best writing income, maybe ever. And 2015 is going great so far.
Yeah, I know, if you look at my novel rankings on one site, you won’t see how that could be. That’s why I keep shouting over and over and over to not have your work only in one spot. I made a good living by most people’s standards last year on just bundles alone.
And I would have not had anything in those bundles if I hadn’t just started writing in the summer of 2013.
In 2014 I put out 26 major titles. (No short fiction, no collections.)
And now when you search my name on a site, some media still comes up, but mostly my original books are outselling most of my Trek novels.
Those of you following along here have watched me do it. Right from August 2013.
And I’m still going onward. My hope this year is to have out over 50 new major titles. That will include issues of Smith’s Monthly, novels, nonfiction books, and finally some collections to get some of my short fiction finally earning again.
So what is the key? Just keep writing.
If you don’t have a lot of titles, if you find yourself in the position I was in that summer of 2013, just stop promoting your one book, put your head down and learn how to tell better stories and produce novels and other major titles.
In other words, stop complaining and get to work.
One last story.
A really annoying newer writer was pestering me about 20 years ago at a convention. This writer seemed to think, seemed to believe, that I had some secret to why I was selling so many books. And he decided he was going to make me tell him “the secret.” He had followed me around for most of the day.
So finally, on one panel, this guy asked a really annoying question from the audience and I just got fed up.
Now understand, I was on a panel with four book writers who thought they knew it all as well because they had sold a few books, and that was annoying me as well. Mostly in those instances, I just clam up and let the “experts” just yammer.
That year, I had written eleven major novels and had published thirteen through traditional publishers. And had book deadlines at that point for more novels than any writer on the panel had published in their entire career.
But this annoying young writer was determined to not let me clam up and let the “experts” talk. He asked me directly why I had sold so many books and lasted so long.
I looked at him and said simply, “I’m successful because I work harder than anyone in this room. In the last twelve months I wrote eleven novels. How many did you write?”
Shut him up.
And didn’t make me any friends on that panel. But all of the “experts” are now long gone into “whatever-happened-to” land.
So you want to make a great living at writing fiction in this new world? Do the following:
— Never stop learning craft and the business. Keep your focus on learning.
— Write a lot of books.
— Don’t stop or give up.
That really is the secret.
There, now I have given the keys to the mansion away.
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Totals For Year 2, Month 8, Day 27
— Daily Fiction: 3,100 original words. Fiction month-to-date: 32,900 words
— Nonfiction: 00 new words. Nonfiction month-to-date total: 00 words
— Blog Posts: 1,200 new words. Blog month-to-date word count: 16,050 words
— E-mail: 15 e-mails. Approx. 400 original words. E-mails month-to date: 574 e-mails. Approx. 18,600 words
— Covers Designed and Finished: 0. Covers finished month-to-date: 1 Covers
For projects finished in the first year and links to the posts, click on the Writing in Public tab above.
For projects finished this month and where you can read them, click continue reading below.
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Stories and Projects Finished This Month So Far
In order of production with the most recent at the top.
— Finished the novel Calling Dead: A Cold Poker Gang novel.