A letter to my “devout” relatives and friends– THERE IS NO WAR ON CHRISTMAS!

To all my devout relatives and others who believe in building a society of fear: I’m sick of this War on Christmas crap, I am seriously about to unfriend/unfollow people. Sorry, but I can’t take another Christmas of this. Yes, I am about to censor my relatives, here is why:

In the Unites States, Christmas became a Federal Holiday in 1870 since then it has won and continues to eat holidays in December, November. We barely care about Thanksgiving, except that it opens our way to Black Friday and Christmas Shopping. Though the US has citizens from every major religion, no other religious holiday is a US federal holiday. Winter Solstice, Chanukah, and Ramadan are NOT Federal Holidays so let’s show generosity of spirit and be good winners.

Just so everyone’s knows the US Federal Holidays are
New Year’s Day
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Washington’s Birthday (Sometimes referred to as President’s Day)
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Columbus Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day

Want more proof on the fake war on Christmas? Look around you.

Santa is in EVERY mall in the United States. Red and Green Bunting is everywhere. f you want to see a Nativity Scene, find a Christian church. While, yes, towns no longer sponsor Nativity Scenes–and I’d say that’s a good thing since we are supposed to have Freedom of Religion–plenty of churches have Nativity Scenes for the season.

Last weekend on the FoodNetwork, I watched Outrageous Christmas, not Outrageous Ramadan. (And I might not celebrate Ramadan, but I’d love a show about the traditions and food of their celebration) Last night, during RAW (WWE Professional Wrestling) Santa and elves showed up. During the breaks, I saw plenty of Christmas commercials, but no Chanukah commercials.

So if your biggest problem is that in certain instances you say to a general group of people “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas,” you have no real problem!

Internet memes ignore the fact the USA is only 238 years old. Our traditions have changed with access to technology and mass media. Don’t believe that in Puritan New England that you could be fined for celebrating. Check out this link for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_in_Puritan_New_England

Christmas hasn’t always even been celebrated on December 25th.

I could go on and on about how the holiday has changed in 200 years, but it is more important to explain what I think of The War on Christmas Memes”  However, here is a link to the history of Christmas in the US, please check it out! http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/ch/in_america.htm

This meme is three years old, but was on my Facebook Feed today:

This is the WORST kind of meme. It tell people of other faiths to LEAVE. That’s is pretty damn un-Christian and un-Americam since our country was founded on Freedom of Religion. Jewish, Muslim, Wiccan, Hindi and Atheist citizens also live (and are *gasp* born) in this country. They have traditions too–some a lot older than America’s version of Christmas.

Please stop filling my Facebook and Twitter feed with this War on Christmas crap, instead show Christmas Goodness such as more pictures of your Christmas trees and cookie recipes and family togetherness…and you can say it’s a Christmas tree on your Facebook posts.
To get this started, I am reposting a picture of Rosie sleeping under my Christmas Tree which was originally posted on Twitter when I explained why I wasn’t #amwriting. 

Long Road to Publication is more like a Dark Cave filled with Giant Boulders…and monsters don’t forget the monsters.

I’m walking down the path towards publishing my second novel, The Light Side of the Moon. I thought it was going to be easier this time–I was wrong.

Disclaimer: I am not trying to scare you. I did not publish this post during November, because I didn’t want to sound like I am attacking Nanowrimo, speed-writing, or anything that helps authors follow their dreams. However, after four self-published comics and a published novel and short story, I realized that the main attribute that makes or breaks an author is patience.

Here’s why:

Your first draft sucks. Now don’t feel bad, my first draft sucks. When he was alive, Ernest Hemingway’s first drafts sucked. 

For me, its the first few drafts that are shit. I’m not going to talk about my process today, but its a boulder that’s so big, it has false summits. Other Systems had seven distinct drafts, The Light Side of the Moon had five. My current project entitled The Grove has had two so far, but I know there is at least one more on its way. BTW This is all before professional editing.

Writing the novel is the easiest boulder. It’s big, rocky but with steady work eventually I get over it. So will you. Because whether you write the book or not, is completely within your control.

None of the next steps are within your control.

After I finish the book, I send it out into the world hoping it gets accepted somewhere. 48Fourteen has had manuscripts of mine from anywhere to two months to nine months. Other small publishers have been similar. Large publishers are even longer. I had a manuscript at Angry Robot for nine months before getting a rejection. I had sample chapters at Tor for seven also rejected. I get so many more rejections than acceptances. They don’t hurt anymore. I just list it on the manuscripts spreadsheet, if there is personalized feedback, I try to glean what I can from it–but that’s time.

Skylight in Ape CavEven short story markets sometimes take months to hear back.

So if you want to be published, authors need to wait, learn patience.

After a traditionally published book is accepted, there is waiting–alot of time in the dark, not knowing what’s going on. I am happy people ask me about the book, but they really have no idea how long each part of publishing takes.

First of all, there is calendar issues. Every publisher has a calendar to get out their yearly catalog. So the publisher has to decide what makes sense for the title and put it in between other titles.

There’s also the cover art. This one isn’t as bad for me, since I do my artwork with 48Fourteen, however, I do need to wait for my cover lettering to be finalized.

One of the abandoned tunnels at Iron Goat

Next boulder is editing. Right now, The Light Side of the Moon is getting edited. My publisher told me. This is a huge boulder that I have to climb over, cutting my hands in the rough crevices. Not because every word I write is gold, (that last sentence certainly wasn’t) but because I am curious what the editor will suggest. I want to get to work on making it a better book, I don’t know how long the editor will take. Every week I freak out a little more. I have to remind myself that the editor is a person with a life, she will finish it when she finishes it. And I need to stay chill, so she can do a great job.

Seeing your manuscript marked up the first time is pretty shocking. When I was going through Other Systems, I joked that it looked like a smurf died with all the comments. That being said, going through the process is the best thing for your writing.

People often ask, “Does it hurt when they touch your baby?”

Answer: “Not as much as you’d think.”

Truthfully, it doesn’t hurt at all. I don’t argue with my editor. I read their comments and unless I feel they are way off, or I don’t understand them, I get to work on the corrections or rewriting the passages. Only if the editor is way off, I argue. While editing does not hurt, WAITING does. The not knowing. I tend to start thinking weird thoughts. Computers exploding, stuff like that. The Boulder morphs into a monster. Maybe a stone golem or something.

Other Systems had two editorial passes, will The Light Side of the Moon? Who knows.

Then a book goes to formatting and actually become an ebook and a paperback.

Then the book gets released….and its still not over. We stumble around trying to sell it while we write our next book. We need to go slow and steady. We want to write with passion, while everyone tells us to get out our next book: now, now, now. Whether self-published or traditionally-published books sell is up to the whim of the readers. Will they like it? Will they find it compelling?

I can send out review copies, do interviews and go to conferences, but I can’t make people buy my book. I can’t make people read it. That is not in my control. What I can control is how I react to it. My goal is to respond with patience and persistence and to remember the long game. It boils down to the publishing of The Light Side of the Moon or any book is just another step in a career.

Who do you think you are? Well, I am Elizabeth Guizzetti.

I might be a nobody, but wait…that’s me selling my books at Barnes&Noble

When someone says “Who do you think you are?”

They are actually implying that you are unimportant and your work is unimportant.

And when someone points out, “Well, you’re not [Enter name of best-selling author here]”

They are implying you can’t break the rules because you are a nobody.

There is only one answer to both of those questions:  I am author [insert your name here].

During the rewrite of The Light Side of the Moon, one of the comments that my editor made was that she rarely sees books over 40 chapters.  I admit I came close to mentioning that Other Systems had 46 chapters, but I didn’t want to be argumentative.

Later, I realized this year alone, almost every book I read was over 40 chapters. In fact most of them were over 100 chapters, but when I pointed this out to a friend:  I was reminded that I am not Dan Brown, Stephen King, or Joe Hill.

Tell me I’m unimportant. Well I’ll go Kaiju. FYI I didn’t destroy Seattle, because I live here and can’t afford the drop in property values, but I’m coming for Bellevue.

 

It happened again when writing my back cover copy for The Light Side of the Moon, I showed some people in my writing group.  I had originally written it from Ellie’s point of view but that really didn’t show the expansiveness of the story.  I was reminded that the rules state that I should name a single main character.

I pointed out that Game of Thrones’s back cover copy that doesn’t name a single character. I was told I am not George RR Martin.

They’re right–I am none of those people. And if I ever forget,  my quarterly royalty checks brings me back to reality.

But tiny royalty checks doesn’t change who I am and how I identify myself in this world.

I am author and illustrator Elizabeth Guizzetti and Ha Ha! As if there are rules on the job that we do– at best, they are only loose guidelines

I write what I want to write just like the authors I mentioned above.  I don’t know how they became best-selling authors. Yes, they write great books. And yes, because they are best-sellers, their publishing houses spend more money on their marketing efforts.  And yes, that by selling movie options they became even better-selling best-selling author.

Besides that? I don’t know if they rubbed on a genie’s bottle or have a lucky rabbits foot and don’t write on Friday the 13th.

It doesn’t matter, their sales do not make me less of an author…and their sales don’t make you less or more of an author either.

I love my job.  Most weeks, I put in over 50 hours which means I made less than a penny an hour last year as an author, but I’m not the only author that makes pennies per hour.  It is estimated that an average’s salary for an author in America is less than $30,000 a year. Yes, there are the authors who win the author lottery,  but there’s a lot more of us who love writing and do it for very little money. Guess what? I’m still an author. I have one book published, and another under contract.

Here is me and my author buddies Zachary Bonelli and Aubry K. Andersen at the Federal Way Library. We worked hard for this appearance and did awesome!

Writing advice for #NaNoWriMo folks and anyone else who ever wanted to write a book!

Since it is NaNoWriMo month, this is my best advice for anyone who wants to write a novel.

1) Write what you love.

There are two basic problems with writing for the market is that you limit yourself as a writer AND writing a saleable book and getting it published takes time. By the time you get your opus to market, the market has probably moved on.

 

2) Hard work trumps inspiration.

Inspiration is fickle. Hard work matters. I’m telling you, if you want to be an author only one thing matters: butt in chair and words on a page. Enough said.

 

3) Focus on the present.

Stop thinking about seeing your book on TV. Don’t look at previous triumphs and failures. They don’t matter anymore to your current project than your jerk of a sophomore English Teacher who said you can’t string two sentences together. Focus on the ‘right-now’ and the right now it is your job to put words on a page.

And once that novel is completed…

4) Face rejection/critiques like an ADULT.

We all face it. We all have ways to deal with it. Be sad, that’s natural, but realize after every rejection there is a next step. Take that step. And if you get rejection with personal feedback, read it closely. Is there something to be gleaned from this?

 

5) Face success like an ADULT.

Don’t shove your successes into other people’s face. Be humble, because another failure is just around the corner.  Marketing takes work–almost as much work as writing the damn thing. Anyone who says its easy is generally trying to sell you a book on how to market your book.

There is the myth of “If I just get my foot in the door…” It’s a myth. My second book The Martlet was rejected over 30 times. I thought once I was published the first time the next time it would be easier. Nope.

So good luck, and get writing, everyone!

And please feel free to add your own writing advice in the comments if you wish!

 

Life of an author: 7 Ways to Keep the Creeping Bitterness at Bay

Yesterday I read this article: http://www.marcandangel.com/2014/09/28/20-things-to-remember-when-you-think-youre-not-good-enough/  I loved it enough to put on my Facebook Page and then I decided to write my own list, specifically for authors.

Every author has days they just want to hide under the blankets.

Every author has felt the creep of bitterness when they watch another author do well publicly. We want to be supportive to one another, but deep inside, is a little voice asking “Why isn’t that me?”

Right now, there are the fall releases. Most authors have author friends. And a lot of them are putting out new books. A friend and I went to a reading for two authors in our acquaintance. We stayed for the reading, but during mingle time, the friend was anxious to leave and overwhelmed. Why? Because she was jealous. Her first book just had another rejection and here two of our friends  seemed to have all the success in the world.

Guess what? I know the inner workings of these two authors well enough to know that they don’t have it all. Yet, even I, feel that creeping anger that overtakes my being and stops me from moving forward. You see, I talk a good game and I hide it well. But it’s always there threatening to break out. This is how I control it.

1) Remember EVERY BOOK has a sales arc from release date to current time.

Every book’s sales drop off after the release blitz. Every Book. Some will hit the top 100 lists and some won’t. Not every book from the same best-selling author will hit the best seller lists.  But every book goes up after its release and then comes down.

2) Remember EVERY BOOK has good and bad reviews.

I’ve had epic reviews where the reader said I’m their new favorite author and I’ve had reviews that said Other Systems was boring. Who is right? They both are. A review is an opinion. And everyone is entitled to their opinion especially since I asked them for it!

3) Remember EVERY AUTHOR has a budget for PR.

Some budgets are bigger than mine. I can’t control that. I can control how I spend my own money and remember that just because this book didn’t do as well as I like, doesn’t mean that the next book won’t.

Now here’s where it gets personal….

If I had been afraid to go through this gate, I would have missed one of the most beautiful and interesting gardens in all of Ireland! So Be FEARLESS!

4) Don’t be afraid to write what you want to write

I write what I want to write and have basically told people to fuck off if they tell me to write something else. (Depending on the relationship with the person, this will be a gentle or harsh.)

No, I don’t write about YA vampires nor do I write spanking fantasies about women being dominated by billionaires.To be clear, I am not dissing any author who writes about such things as long as they are writing about these subjects because they want to. 

I am saying If I wrote such a story, it would be shit. Know why? Because I don’t care about that. I don’t even care about the Hunger Games wannabe dystopia stories though they are closer to what I write. Not because these subjects are better or worse than what I write, but because I would be a poser and no one likes a poser.

I write serious hard science and hard social science fiction. My inspirations are Margret Atwood, Vernor Vinge, and David Brin

Sometimes I also write horror or epic fantasy. My inspirations are Stephen King, Joe Hill, and Tanya Huff.

These are the authors I read for pleasure. Notice something about the authors I listed, they have two things in common. They are authors who write for adults. and no matter what the setting deal with real life issues in their writing.

No one makes me write this. It’s a tough road, but a road that I put myself on willingly.  I really don’t care what other people think I should write. I’m living the dream–and so can you–just remember every great dream has a bit of a nightmare.

5) Go your own pace.

It will feel that everyone is moving faster than you. They are releasing ten books a year while you’re struggling with writer’s block. I once let a publishing contract pass me by. It hurts when I think about it sometime, but I know I did the right thing for me. I nor my project would have been what the press wanted from me.

6) When it gets too hard, reach out for help. 

I think most authors want to help. I love helping. Hell, even if I can only give you a hug (real or metaphorical) and pass you along to some one more qualified, I will do that. And if you  happen to run into jerks, write them off, and come over to my side of the inter-webs.

7) Five Words: I am a fucking author. (And if you need them add another seven…Nothing can take that away from me.)

I wrote a hard science fiction novel and it was published. I wrote, created artwork and self published 4 graphic novels and a comic book series. I have had a few short stories published. This is where I am in my career. It has taken me eight years to get this far and I’m not stopping.

No one can take that away from me…not even death. I might not be remembered, I can’t control that, but I used the time I have in a way that I feel is worthwhile.

Here is me at Norwescon’s Writer’s Row last year.

If you wrote a book or a short story or a blog post you are an author. You created something out of nothing. Be proud of that.

Plus one extra tip for no charge: Figure out what  gets your hackles up, and do your best to ignore it.

America loves an instant Success story and a get rich quick scheme. Right now, that’s publishing an e-book on Kindle.

Being an author is work. No one just poops out novels or trips over a publishing contract. My pet peeve is every bio from a best-selling author that starts with “I never thought I’d be an author…. ” I’m calling out bullshit on that. Then I stop reading and go about my merry way.

So Authors Friends, what helps you?

The Light Side of the Moon Rewrite is finished!

So I finished the rewrite of The Light Side of the Moon!!! Huzahh!!! 

Rosie thinks I over use the words: “picked up” so she’s checking out the Thesaurus.

I send it back to 48Fourteen  today, I hope they like it.

While I was worried about word count, but ended getting it at 118,000 words which is in the high end of 48Fourteen publishable zone–but at least its in it! Also I’ve seven deleted scenes once we find out The Light Side of the Moon’s final fate.

Since many authors might wonder doing a full rewrite is like: here is everything that changed.

One of the issues was the work was too episodic, so after reading my feedback emails, I basically decided I needed to write out a “mission” sentence.

Note this is not an elevator pitch, but it tells me what the book is about: Five people of different castes will journey to the moon and work to build a utopian society out of a prison colony.

In every scene, I asked myself: does it fit with the story?

The original book was over 80 chapters, I got it down to 47.

While some chapters were unneeded, I also ended up combining chapters. I had too many “dialogue chapters” when I could just added important dialogue to chapters when more action was going on.  I also need to add to five chapters in order to make them transition to the next part of the novel.

I rewrote the first five chapters from the beginning. While Ellie and Ian’s stories didn’t change too much in overall plot, I made sure that the other important character’s motivation was much more clear, added richer description. The other thing I did was double check everything. Placement of the colony, German and French swearing, etc.

I’m conflicted about writing this next part, but it was amazing how many people wanted to help–and didn’t.  I made a decision after I got my feedback from my publisher that I needed another POV. Everyone basically told me I was wrong. They told me to cut Mr. Johnson and Theodore Kessler POV’s though I knew I needed them. I got to the point where I asked a few friends if I could talk out some of my questionable chapters. The POV was not my question! Instead of listening–they kept talking. Worse, they were telling me things that were opposite to what my publisher said. If someone has a problem they ask to talk out: shut up and listen!

Authors, you need to do to reach your readers and explore your world’s themes–do it! That doesn’t mean all your words and ideas are gold, but it does mean sticking to your guns.

Finally, one of my worse writing habits is “fixing the sentence” but forgetting to take out the problem word, so I used Grammarly  chapter by chapter.  Then I re-read the entire manuscript aloud.

I got my feedback letter on March 28th, the entire rewrite took me nearly four months. Of course, who knows? My book still might not be what 48Fourteen is looking for, but it is the story I want to tell.

Why does an author end a series….

Today the final page of Faminelands: Book 3 Mareton’s Curse went up on the webcomic. I am proud of what I accomplished with the series and this is a bittersweet moment for me. Though I am not saying I will never go venture to Talamh with pen in hand, I also believe in being honest with the fans. At this time: it is unlikely.

Our reasons are simply practical.

Though I enjoyed the creation of Faminelands Book 3, post production did not go well. Its Kickstarter failed, but I produced the book anyway. We did a minimal run, but a full-color, perfect bound project we were never able to get our costs down. Though there were avid fans of the series for whom I am truly thankful, and we sold out of our first run of The Carp’s Eye, Faminelands #3 did not sell well in 2103, and our sales have dropped to 0 in 2014.

Faminelands has always been a project of love. I knew going into it that some people would hear the words ” mercanary elf” and started running in the other direction. However I have also spent thousands of dollars and hours. I need to pull the plug.

As some of you know Faminelands Vol 1: The Carp’s Eye was not only my first book, but it was how I taught myself how to create comics after years of painting landscapes and baby room murals. This act of creation defined who I wanted to be as an artist and author as well as set up the kind of books I wanted to write. So Faminelands has a special place in my heart. It always will. At the same time, there are other projects that I want to work on. A 100 page graphic novel takes me approximately 800 hours in production, post production. And forever to sell.

Ultimately, my heart is no longer on this project and its bleeding me dry. 

Maria had to scale back the hours, she is able to give to the projects. Though it was a bit dicey for awhile, I think we figured out what is going to work for both of us.

All that being said, if you want to know about Lark and Orin the webcomic is still up (in fact at least for the time being the store still has the Faminelands Banner since I need to send in the ZB Template) And we will keep a small amount of stock if you want to order the books. To be clear, though this series has ended, as a company, Maria and I are not going anywhere. In fact though 2014 is a year to regroup and end a few dangling projects. Out for Souls&Cookies #5 is being released starting March 27, 2015.

At Emerald City Comic Con, we will be having a huge raffle of both Faminelands and Out for Souls&Cookies swag, books, and sketches. 

We have some exciting news about 2015 that I look forward to announcing later this year.

Writing experiment, pattern recognition, and more about why I don’t write for an audience!

Interesting looking flower that grows on a wall surrounding the bar next to the coffee house where my writing group meets.

As some people know while I’m waiting to hear back from my publisher about The Light Side of the Moon, I’ve been doing a series of writing experiments.

I’ve been rereading some of my favorite books from different authors to quantitate how much description, dialogue, action, etc there is, then looking at my own writing in ways I can improve.

It started with reading Stephen King’s The Shining and Dr. Sleep. I like Stephen King’s style. It’s fast and fun. I began thinking why was The Shining scarier. One word: Isolation

Now the way this experiment works is, I read the book for fun, not looking for anything and then go back to analyze what works and what doesn’t.

I also reread in whole or in part

• Pride and Prejudice and Emma by Jane Austen
• Breed by Chaze Novak (which is fun because most of it is in present tense)
• The Hounds of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
• Homeland by RA Salvatore

A few weeks ago, one of my friends talked about how if you write for an audience, one gets readers in that audience and eventually can transcend that audience as more people read the book. People who follow my blog know that is not how I write, but I was willing to get more information on the topic. So then I looked at genre tropes.

***** 

So this is what I learned:
As a reader, if I don’t have an emotional connection with the characters, the author has failed me.

As an author, if I cannot build an emotional connections with the characters for the reader, I have failed the reader.

On to the quantitative:
I tend to be description light and dialogue heavy, but I’ve my own voice and even though it changed drastically between Other Systems and The Light Side of the Moon, it is MY style of writing. What is really interesting about this experiment is I tend to enjoy books that are description light and dialogue heavy with lots of surprises. Yes, I use either consciously or subconsciously genre tropes. (For example:I glossed over HOW Harden figured out the stabilization issue with FTL travel.)

I don’t care about romantic subplots. I like real romance of a faithful husband and wife team, (or husband/husband team, wife/wife team)  rather than people so lost in lust that they forget their duty to everything else in life or worse the two people are in danger and are so wrapped up in being in lust with the other person, they ignore the danger.  Is this why I have problems writing romantic subplots?

I admit when I nervously think of the fate of The Light Side of the Moon, I have two worries

1) The length. It’s pretty epic at 130,000 words

2) Is the romantic subplot what people like when they read romantic subplots? Especially because it isn’t two people who are wildly in love with each other from the first moment that they meet. Nor do they hate each other.

Now the question becomes: why I write that way? Did reading too much Stephen King as a kid, propel my writing in a specific direction? I don’t have an answer. I only have the data.

Never Give up, Never Surrender–my opinion of how to behave at a book event

Never give up, Never surrender is a line from the film Galaxy Quest,  That is how I look at how to behave at an author event.

The truth is being an author is hard. Anyone who tells you different is lying or selling you a book about how to be a best-selling author.

For myself, events are a great way to make contacts and sales. If you have any chance to sell your book at a event– no matter how small– you need to have a “never give up” attitude.

If you want to make sales, you can’t give up. You can’t complain. Too often, I see people editing, playing on their phones, reading or a variety of other activities. When at an author event, your job is to inform people about your book and network. Hopefully, with a maniacal smile plastered on your face.

I was at an event recently that a good number of folks gave up, you could tell, they didn’t get up on their feet. They were focused on their laptops and phones–not the customers. They read within their booth. The reason that doesn’t work is the moment one gives up, bitterness creeps in. They start slouching, frowning. They seem unapproachable.

Here is my advice:

1) Act excited. Remember what I said about smiling above? Do that. . Some people say, just be yourself, be genuine. However, many authors are introverts. Many authors get nervous with public speaking. Even if you don’t feel it, even if you are scared, you should act friendly. Eventually it will feel more natural.

Here is me dressed as an elf at ECCC 2010 (debut of Faminelands #2) Our booth babe, Matt, is in the background.

1.a) If like me you get a nervous tummy, know where the bathroom is, in regards to your booth/table. Never wait. Just put a sign up on your table and go.

1.b) Drink lots of water and eat fruit or what will ever make you have a happy tummy.

2) Don’t be late and don’t leave early. Empty tables look bad.

3) Be kind to all.  Not becauce they bought your book. I don’t care if they buy my books or not.  Be kind to children. Be kind to their parents.  Thank the sponsors/organizers of the event.

4) If your budget allows, purchase a few books that interest you. Remember, it’s a hard world out there.

4a) Don’t go over budget for any event, no matter how much you want to be supportive to your new friends. You will see them again.

4b) Never assume that just because you bought someone’s book that they have the budget for your book–even if they are making sales. You don’t know what they are going through. Sometimes, my budget is focused on purchasing Christmas or Birthday Presents, sometimes I’m scrapping money together for my next run of comics and need every dollar. If I am interested in your book, I will buy your book. As I said, I will see you again.

5) Set Goals, make it a game. Challenge yourself.

Good Luck, my friends!

Write with passion

I never know if you should follow my advice, but here’s some advice about writing which I am pretty sure you should not follow. Make your lives easy.

Most successful authors generally talk about knowing one’s market. I have a problem, I never know about markets. Though I talk about it, the truth is I don’t know who my market is.  I write the story, I want to write.

For me, that means writing stories that I believe needs telling. When I see injustices, I mirror it in my longer works. The world is not simple. In many books, there is a problem and when the problem is fixed the story is over. That isn’t how I write.

There are problems we may fix in our lifetimes, and problems we might not. So it is within the story. There are problems, some which will be solved and problems for the main characters to overcome, but not everything will be overcome. Part of the problem is that I write angry. I see a news article about an injustice, and I shove it directly into my writing.
The entirety of the Other Systems Series deals with poverty, fear of an other, ignorance. Each book has different issues. The Light Side of the Moon will deal with economic slavery, homelessness, antibiotic resistance,  the loss of pollinators, the acidification of the ocean, power struggles within the prison system.

Finally, I write about people with morals that may or may not be yours. They aren’t even always my own morals.  Some are religious. Some of them are idealists on a crusade.  Some are just people just trying to get by in an immoral world. 

Mostly, the series revolves around characters who must challenge the system in which they are born and become more. I write these stories, because I am passionate about these types of stories.