THE JOYS OF EDITING

People who know me occasionally call me a "writer".  I am uncomfortable with this label for several reasons.  Chiefly among them is that I only have two books currently in circulation.  Secondly there is the fact that I do not write as my chosen career.  Writing, at this time, is more of a hobby and enjoyable escape from the day-to-day headaches that invariably assault us all.  While the term "writer" bothers me, I do feel quite comfortable in telling people that, "I am not a writer.  But, I do enjoy the art of writing."

Note the side column,
Peg (my editor) is pretty thorough
and there's never one page without
a note or correction or comment.

My goal is to complete and publish ten books in my lifetime.  I am currently at 20%, but within two months I'll be at 30%.  Last week my third book HORROR 101 returned from the editor.  I have all of my work handled by Kristy and Peg over at www.ebookeditingpro.com .  Their prices are decent, their turn around time is quick, and they offer a variety of levels from editing to polishing to critiquing.  Working with them has certainly improved my writing skills and allowed me to sleep comfortably knowing that whenever I publish a book, the buyers won't be short-changed by the quality of the purchase.

Still, the biggest issue I have with editing is that it is a reminder that there's still a large amount of work to do on a book before it can be sent to the formatters.  There are few things more rewarding than to finish writing a book and send it to the editor with the thought of, "This book is finished!  And it's perfect!"  Then a few weeks go by and the work in question returns and pretty much every page contains comments and edits from something as simple as a misspelled or incorrect word to a more thorough critique of "You need to do a better job fleshing out this character's motivation".  So, just when the writer thinks they are finished the editor...pulls them back in.

Right now, I'd love to be sitting at my desk working on my fourth book (the sequel to There Goes Tokyo!) or even my fifth book (an actual full length novel) but instead I return to the horror tales and drabbles that populate a book I worked feverishly on through 2012 and 2013.  It's a nice reflection returning to these tales, but it's also very much work.  And this is not the "joy of creation" and "fun of discovery" kind of work either!  This is the "cross the Ts and dot the Is" arduous detailing that turns an amateur book into a professional novel.

I go old school and print up a paper copy from the editor.
Usually it's easier and faster to add my own
marks and notes alongside hers as I work on the final version.

If you have ever considered writing a book, and I truly hope you do because it is an incredibly rewarding experience, then you should know that the ebook marketplace is filled with author's who make the mistake of rushing out a product before it can truly shine from the touch of a professional editor.  It's always frustrating to read someone's great story only to be pulled out every other page by a mistake from lack of editing or erroneous ebook formatting.  Never let that happen to you and your work!  You only have one chance to make a great impression with a reader who has turned over their money to find entertainment through your words.  Find an editor and even though it's a guarantee that you are paying someone to hand you back more work...trust me, at the end of the journey you'll be thankful for those extra weeks of toiling away on your book when the complete product looks so much superior to all of your earlier efforts.

Godzilla 2014 & TGT2




My wife and I are fans!  We were there at the first advance showing
IMAX 3-D was incredible!  When Godzilla roared - WOW!

The summer of 2013 was a Kaiju filled three months in my house.  That’s when I was inspired to collect my thoughts on twenty-three films from the Kaiju Eiga library and see if it would work as a book.  The finished product has worked better than I could have expected.  In fact, the fun of watching movies with giant monsters was so engrossing that it pushed several of my other writing projects (including this blog) to the background.

 



The Sequel!  Prototype cover image!

And, this summer will be more of the same.  Besides booking my tickets for G-Fest XXI in Chicago this July, I have also been hard at work on the second volume of Kaiju Eiga goodness which I am calling There Goes Tokyo 2: Kaiju Boogaloo.  I’ve been talking with my cover artist on various designs and am attaching our first pass (plenty of changes coming).  We want it close enough to the original to invoke a sequel without being too much of a copy.  I'll hold off on any reveals until it's closer to sales time.  At this point in the writing I have completed the Heisei Series and will be shortly entering into the Millennium Series.  All told, this volume will contain thirty different Kaiju movies (so considering both of those series are totaling thirteen movies there’s plenty of room for some surprises - and boy did I watch a couple stinkers!).  The biggest shock was when I compiled my list of possible choices I discovered there's enough Kaiju Eiga films remaining for a third and even a fourth book in the future.  Most likely I'll wait for a Pacific Rim 2 or Godzilla 2 to have at least a couple main films to tie into all these obscure titles. 

I also have an actual novel to finish first.  I'm currently 65 pages into what looks to be a 300+ page book.  I have all the notes and plotting worked out.  There's only one character so that makes much of the writing fairly easy.  Oh and there's...monsters too...but more to human scale.  Besides works in progress I also have a long finished collection which I will be releasing shortly - the completed HORROR 101 - look for it sometime in October.  I have at least managed to get to my computer and write every single day on one project or another (a first for me as a writer).

 


My notes, never looked at the page - too dark.

Obviously the big release for Kaiju fans this summer is Legendary’s new Godzilla movie.  This was a first for me, not only seeing a great movie on the big screen multiple times, but also attempting to take notes of the movie at the same time.  It’s an interesting experience writing in a dark movie theatre, there’s no point in trying to look at what you are writing, you simply write and hope at the conclusion of the movie there is something legible and straight on the paper.  Luckily my wife has become a diehard Godzilla fan and was able to assist with the highs and lows of the movie as I furiously wrote.  Did I mention AMC provided us with a private screening?  Well, they didn’t but through fate we were all alone in the theatre.  When the lights came up I had four pages of thorough notes and a surprised look from an usher wondering, “What the hell is this guy doing?”

Here’s a picture of my movie snack leftovers along with my notes, taken as the credits rolled.  Interesting that four pages of notes translated to a nineteen page chapter in the book.  For the diehard fans, look for this to be on sale in December 2014.

eBook Goals from 2011-2012

My first ebook went on sale yesterday.  It was a process that began in February 2011.  While reading some horror stories that I had downloaded on my Kindle during a snow storm, I began to get the urge to write again.  Now, from 1988-1994 I really wanted to have a novel published.  File cabinet drawers were overflowing with ideas, notes, and drafts.  Then, life and my career (which is not in writing) interfered.

In 1995 my love for movies took over and I spent the next five or six years toiling away on several screenplays.  My proto-type script for BATMAN TRIUMPHANT (which could have been the fourth Batman movie) still reads like a blockbuster…but alas the studio went with Batman & Robin…and we know how that turned out for them.  Breaking into Hollywood as a writer is pretty damn tough when you live in the Midwest.  Eventually I felt like I was writing more for my own enjoyment, and as less spec scripts were being purchased I shelved my work and pretty much gave up on writing (unless it was checks to pay bills).

As I said, 2011 hits and thanks to the ever expanding ebook market I was exposed to writers like Michael Crane and J.A. Konrath who both showed that the days of needing a publisher were over.  Thanks to technology writers could seemingly get a good idea uploaded onto the infinite space of the Internet where it would be available forever.  Well, that sounded easy so I returned to the keyboard.  During those first three months I toiled away on numerous horror short stories that would make up a collection I planned to call SIMPLE EVIL.  I was pleased that for the most part my speed in taking ideas and putting them to word hadn’t diminished too much.  My characterization and dialogue were also strong.  Grammar and use of commas…lacking.

The plan was to write a collection of 25 horror short stories.  Then the plan changed.

While writing, I came up with a flash-fiction (or flash fright as I prefer) tale called IN 5OO WORDS which dealt with a pretty foul-tempered piece of white trash who meets the Devil.  The tale would unfold in exactly 500 words.  The first problem was that 500 words wasn’t enough so eventually it expanded to 666 words…seeming to be a natural fit.

Creativity is a tricky thing.  For me inspiration is 99% of the battle.  If I’m inspired then I work to achieve my goal.  SIMPLE EVIL eventually morphed into the much better sounding LATE NIGHT HORRORS.  And with 15 stories complete and over 200 pages written I did what any maniac would do…I set it all aside to tackle a new project.

My inspiration drew me to the story IN 500 WORDS…now titled IN 666 WORDS.  In August 2011 I decided that an entire novella could be devoted to horror short stories that each neatly fit into exactly 666 words.

One year later and my goal was complete.  IN 666 WORDS is now available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smash Words.  And before I return to my original project of LATE NIGHT HORRORS, there’s probably a lesson to teach regarding the important steps for anyone who wants to publish an ebook and thinks (as I did) that it will be an easy process.

That will be our next entry but until then...if you're interested in reading my first offering...links below...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0077DR4PM

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1108785364

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/131218