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.

Flash Fiction Web Site Sampling!

Been a decent month for writing.  Two projects are moving along nicely and I have hopes that both will see availability before 2012 is over.

Where the character from Adjusted begins his bad journey.

First up, I am 80% finished with another 100+-page collection of horror short stories and flash fiction.  Straying away from merely locking myself in to 666-words...but I found a new number that works well.  Currently 30 flash fiction stories finished and I am working on the final two full length shorts that are part of a fun little vampire-werewolf-mummy trilogy that I've always wanted to nod my head in appreciation to.  The cover design for this collection of scary yarns is already finished, so if I can knock out these last twenty pages or so before August is done, I'll be able to move things along to the editing and formatting stages (both of which thankfully take the book out of my hands).

Give Teddy a hug!

At the same time I needed to branch away from sole horror stories for a bit.  It's hard to focus on death and grim tidings when it's 90 degrees and sunny outside.  So, I have managed 200-pages and counting on a unique novel (in presentation) in a genre that is much beloved to me - Superheroes.  This book is a real labor of love for me and based on my initial outlines and notes, and based on the percentage of the story that has been told so far, I'm projecting it to come in around 500 pages when complete.  The "bible" alone was 40-pages.  Something I really needed in order to keep all the various masked crimefighters, and their stories, sorted as I wrote.  No cover yet for this project, but I'm pricing out offers and will hopefully have a visual idea handed to me in a month or two.

In the meantime, a few of my stories have been published on a couple of great horror fiction websites.  If you enjoy reading some short tales while browsing the web, both sites are well worth your time.

First up, THRILLERS, KILLERS, N' CHILLERS just placed my story ADJUSTED up at their site.  It's one of my favorites from my first collection IN 666 WORDS.

You can read my story ADJUSTED by clicking here, and stick around on their site and check out some other great spooky contributions from a wide assortment of authors.

The great flash-fiction website MICROHORROR has also accepted a number of my stories.  TEDDY is one from my future project that I think gets the job done in a short amount of space.  It was obviously inspired by the movie TED...although there probably won't be any laughing Thunder Buddies for the characters in my Teddy's world.  Go check out Teddy and some of my other short offerings by clicking here.

BOO!

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