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Hell yeah! I'm pumped up. Time to get some writing done!

And it does happen. Write another book, write a better book - write that book that everyone wants to buy. You can.

Every little dead story I've left behind has made me better. Hell, I'm almost ready to be a writer, at this rate!

I really enjoyed this post, Aaron. I'm having my yearly bout of self-esteem issues. (I can repress pretty well, it's a thing of mine, but once a year they just EXPLODE OUT AND EAT MY FACE.) Good timing :D

That is a wonderful post, Aaron. I think it's that way for everything in life not only writing. But it's so true for writers and that is why the passion for it so much more.

"You are awesome."

Heck I tell my mirror that every day ;)

Great post.
I think the biggest thing bumming me right now is all the $%# waiting.

Godspeed, Tony.

Kate - Rinse and repeat. ;)

Glad of the timing, Katey.

Kara - You have to have the passion, don't you?

S. - You learn to forget about it after a while.

Cate - Well, you are.

There is blood on my hands from many a dead story.

Also, you should have started this like Stuart Smalley: "You're good enough, you're smart enough...and dog gone it....people like you."

After 2 rejections in 24 hours, this is just what I needed today. Thank you, sir. Write hard!

Great post, Aaron.

Have a fabulous weekend.

That's probably the most inspiring thing I've read in ages!

Gee thanks. I needed a pep talk today!

Great stuff Aaron - I'm feeling inspired now. Yeah

Hi Aaron have you been wandering around in my brain? God! you're a life saver, I needed that.... Yes, Master, I am awesome... I am awesome, no one writes like me, I am awesome........

I think that it is a double edge sword. If you charge $.99, then you will most likely sell more, possibly hit the Kindle top 100, and still make a decent paycheck.

However, I'm a bit inclined to follow Joe Konrath's advice, and sell it for $2.99. You might not sell quite as many, but the royalty rate is higher and you have the possibility to make more.

He also suggests experimenting with the price, going back and forth and see how your sales do.

Honestly, I have yet to pay more than $5 for an e-book. I've yet to see one of a quality that deservedly demands more.

Granted, as technology becomes better and e-books become more sophisticated, I can see paying $10 or more for an interactive and dynamic e-book. Until then, however, $5 is my limit.

I consider $2.99 a good deal. I am not swayed by that 99 cent stuff. I think it undervalues the writer's effort. I'd pay up to $5.00 for self-publishing, but admit that I've paid as high as $9.99 for e-books by established writers.

I'm with you 100%. Since dropping the price of Masks... to 0.99 from 2.99, the sales have satrted to trickle in more and more by the day. Of course, I don't believe I will LEAVE it there forever. We'll see how that goes...

I paid $12.99 for the e-book version of ROOM (it was basically half-off the hardcover price). I also just recently paid $9.99 for the e-book version of SWAMPLANDIA! (again, basically half-off the hardcover price). But as I rule i don't buy that many expensive hardcovers. As an author, the $2.99 price point is nice because it's low and earns you just over 2 dollars per unit sold. The problem is $2.99 seems to be too expensive for some people. My plan for when I release THE CALLING is to do an introductory price of 99 cents for the first month and then move the price up to $2.99 (maybe even go $1.99) first.

Gabe - there will be plenty of experimentation, be sure.

Gef - We shall be seeing hybrid book-things soon.

Belinda - Point taken. Maybe my kidlets eat too much of my funds, but I'm loath to drop $5 or more for anything e-reader, regardless of the author.

Barry - You're gaining some momentum. Good luck.

Robert - I'll be watching your experiment, too. Great post the other day, re: Frustration.

Er ... I meant to say "as I rule i don't buy that many expensive e-books," not hardcovers. All hardcovers are expensive!

2 to 5 dollars, depending on how much I want it.

I've paid up to $15.00 for e-books but in most cases I've known of (i.e., blogged with) the authors.

Depends on the author and the book. I'd say £2.99 is a nice number. Notice the £ sign - which means it would be about $3.49 in your money. To sway me to buy an ebook (despite loving my kindle) it needs to be cheaper than the paperback because I'll always choose paper first.

I've seen ebooks that are more expensive than the paper version. Madness.

I like the 3 to 5 smackers mark, too.

I'm just in the process of putting together a collection of my short stories and making the anthology available as an ebook. I'm going for the fee £2.99

Oh god I just left this massive comment and it got eaten!

The long and short of it was:

Up to $5 on someone new if there are good reviews. If it looks dodgy or I'm really unsure, up to $3.

Well established midlisters with popular series, a few bucks more.

Up to $13 if it's something I'm desperate for (like, I'll probably get the new GRRM on my iPad--just did it with Dolnick's "The Clockwork Universe", too) that's only out in hardback just now, because I effing hate reading hardbacks. I have tiny hands and no more room for bookshelves, dammit.

Thanks, everyone. The wild world of ebooks is a strange pricing land, indeed.

I also read Joe Konrath's post about e-book pricing, and I like that $2.99 starting price.

Yes, as an unknown, people will be more willing to pay lower prices, but I don't think too many people will begrudge a couple bucks.

Plus, here's the thing. If you start out at $2.99, you're at least giving yourself someplace to go if sales don't meet expectations. You can drop to $1.99, then .99, if sales aren't great at $2.99.

But if you *start* at .99, where do you go from there?

Pricing is the new battlefield. In October 2010, I searched Barnes & Noble for Special Projects in Calamity Physics by Marisha Plessl. This 2006 novel had been an immediate bestseller. Now, Amazon is discounting the trade paperback down from $15.00 to $10.50, while offering a Kindle download for $12.99. Barnes & Noble listed the trade paper at $10.80 and the e-book at $12.99.

Take a deep breath and think about it. It doesn’t take a wizard to know something’s wrong when the price of a digital product approaches or exceeds the cost of a formatted, typeset, printed, bound and shipped version that is subject to returns.

This is an eye-opening post for me. My publisher decides the prices---right now all e-boks are set at $4.99 and Kindle's something like $6.99. An issue some of our authors are having is readers uploading books to free sharing sites. I wonder if lowering the price would help that. Making something is better than nothing. Huh, perhaps I'll suggest an e-book sale & see if anyone listens.

Tony - A very good point. Having some "play" is nice.

Walt - I hear that loud and clear. Publishers are in the business to make money, and they'll search for that sweet spot.

Nicki - It might not hurt. Volume, volume, volume...and all that.

I've paid up to about $15 for an ebook I really wanted that wasn't available except in hardback. Mostly I prefer $5-6 for authors I know and love, $3-4 for authors I haven't tried but know the publisher's respectable, and $2 or less for everything else. You might release first at $1.99 and if sales aren't brisk enough after a few weeks or months, run a 99cent sale and see what happens.

I think around $10 is a fair price. Please don't undersell yourself just to get heaps of sales, I think you deserve much more than .99c for something you put your heart and soul into.

People seem to be willing to pay more for a beer than an eBook which kind of shits me.

I think 2.99 to 5.99 is ideal e-book pricing. Since there isn't the physical cost of the book to consider, I'm not willing to spend as much for an e-book as for a regular book, but I do love knowing that more of that $4.99 or whatever goes to the author than with a printed book!

I think pricing your book less than $2.99 only makes sense for a short work (like a novella or short story) OR if you have a series and do promotional pricing on the first book. Otherwise, 99 cents seems too little for your creative work to me.

K.C. - $15? I can't remember the last time I paid that much. (I'm in love with trade paperbacks, and get most discounted online).

Benjamin - I hear you on the beer front. Although a couple of BBQ joints around here have dollar night...

Guinevere - I, too, am happy to pay the author (more of the $$ going to the author's pocket).

Congrats on the excellent review!

Snow days, yay! I'm home today too.

Yes, congrats from me as well. Hey the world fading to white...where's the horror in THAT! Note to FX guys..."We need some blood spatter over here."

Congrats again on the review.

If only we could convince the book stores everyone writes horror and then maybe horror would get more than one shelf.

K.C. - Thanks, and congrats on a snow day in your neck o' the woods, too.

Alan - Thanks. Blood on snow. *shivers*

Thanks again, Cate. I demand the whole fiction section.

Very cool on the sweet review, man! Congrats!

And I think 'fear' is the overriding emotion in life for most people. Maybe not on a surface level, but down deep fear: they could hate their job fear quitting because they fear not finding another one; we can fear being alone and settle putting up with someone's shit who doesn't really care about or respect us; we can fear what our parents think of us, our kids, our friends, our minister, our friends friends; we fear not being accepted; we fear not making our bills on time; we fear never finding our purpose (or making the most of it); we fear snow and storm and accidents; we fear going bald or getting fat or looking like a fool... the shit goes on and on and never ends. Fear can be a good catalyst too though. Especially like you said, in fiction.

I am personally pissed at the Chiefs (though I really enjoyed watching them this year!), because now I have to suffer through another Steelers/Ravens throwdown. Those are great for the rest of the country, I'm sure, but they make me irrationally angry. As you might imagine.

I better remember to stock up on beer this weekend.

But that review IS well deserved, and I can't help but think the story itself belonged at a site called "linger fiction". I said what I thought of it there (when it gets out of comment moderation, anyhow), but yeah. Brilliant, man. You never cease to amaze.

Man, Lee. You nailed it on the fear front. (and thanks)

Katey - I love my Chiefs, even after an embarrassing ass-whooping like that. They're getting better; just not ready for the big boys, yet. Thanks for the kind words. And to think: I sat on "A Game of Lost Boys" for over a year.

Congrats on the great review and good luck with the Preditors & Editors Poll! I voted for ya.

Thanks, Andrea, on both counts. I didn't even know I was nominated! (two pleasant surprises in one day? No!)

Um, well maybe. Actually I thought every story was fantasy. Because it's, you know, made up.

At least your team made it to the playoffs. Go Giants! Er, next season ...

Simon - Made the playoffs, lost again. Seven in a row, now. If that isn't a horror story, I don't know what is...

I'm going to tell my mom this next time she tells me to write children's books ; )

Nice review! I've always known all life is horror. ;-)

Your blog hits close to home. This is something I've been wrestling with for awhile now.

Once you get past the the pressure to "sell," the work takes on new tones, the work of writing, that is. And as much as I want to sell, as much as I try to sell, I've walked away from opportunities on principle alone, especially in cases of artistic compromise. I compromise all the time, when the occasion warrants; but there are times when the market you aspire to sell to is not worthy of what you've created.

That's a hard pill to swallow. Harder still is the isolation I feel; I had hoped to find fellow writers who loved their writing more than they loved selling -- people who loved writing for the sake of its language; what it held the power to do when you are alone and holding the pages, time lost with all sense of self, and all because of what someone else took the time to create. For no other reason than that they loved it.

I have come to believe the success is not in the selling. Sales/Exposure are not requisites for success; artistic passion is the currency, and what one purchases with it can be, if a writer is good, hearts and minds and imaginations.

So you see, you do not sell at all. You market in the distribution of hopes and dreams. You buy. :}

I'm really interested to see how this write1sub1 works out for you all.

Martin - What I jaded, bitter man I am some times. :\

Cate - I'm curious too. Drop me a line and let me know when you find out, okay? ;)

I find it daunting a lot of the time but I'm slowly getting better as it. But I agree with you...I need to stop worrying about it so much and just write.

Hey, you have been tagged as a "writer extraordinaire"...now, how cool is that? Sale or no sell.

Danielle - "Just write" is my hope for Write 1/Sub 1.

Ricky - Very cool. I tend to think of myself as "writer AD/HD".

I've stopped worry about how others did it, or how many other writers are trying to become the next bestselling writer etc and just get on with the job.

Who can say what the reader wants to read next. If it was that easy the publishing world would tell its writers what to write.... No matter how many books are in the bookshop already the agents and publishers are looking for that next best thing so who's to say it won't be you or me.

I just love to write and if it's what they want then they will soon let me know.

Happy Christmas to you and yours

It's a scary thought to me because I was raised with a WASPy tendency not to talk about my own accomplishments--little though they may be. You do that in my family, and you're getting mocked heartlessly.

But there is a difference between "Hey, you might like this, it has this and this and this!" and "Hey I am sooooo awesome and my book is better than _insert awesome author here_". So I usually just think of that and my enthusiasm for telling tall tales carries me through.

Usually :D

Brutal, truthful and well said. When self-doubt creeps in, I like to keep Stephen King's definition of a "talented writer" in mind: If you have written something for which you've been paid, and that money has helped you pay the light bill, you are a talented writer. Of course, that opens up a huge art/commerce can of worms, but it at least qualifies me as "talented" on those terms. It's good enough for a warm, fuzzy feeling every now and then. That, and whiskey.

Mmmm...whiskey. King is a real inspiration.

Been there, done that, still wearing the t-shirt.

The internet and the honesty of writers further ahead in the game have helped open my eyes to the possible heartbreak ahead. Once upon a time, I thought agents akin to the fairy godmother poised to make all my dreams come true. Now I know, sometimes their wands get broken mid submission and we have to go searching for another one be it agent, editor or book.

And don't you dare ever give up. There's enough heartbreak in this little world without adding losing friends.

I have to remind myself almost daily that there is no endgame, that I write because I write and that's it. Depending on the day of the week, this can be either inspiring or depressing as hell.

I have to remind myself almost daily that there is no endgame, that I write because I write and that's it. Depending on the day of the week, this can be either inspiring or depressing as hell.

I should also try to remind myself not to click "Publish Your Comment" more than once.

Greta post and even greater links. Whipple's in particular has me etching another PRO in the self publishing column for the on-going debate within my head.

While I think I can safely say I would never quit writing, I do think there might come a day when I stop subbing to agents and large houses. It seems that with each passing year, there are more and more negative things to be said about these routes.

So much if it really has to do with expectations. I came in the game at 38, with a poorly defined goal of wanting to become a solid enough writer that I could get my stuff out there and make an impact on some readers. I think I'm close and will continue on even when I get there.

As for you, I get excited every time I see a story of yours in the submission pile and I'm honored to be in an anthology and magazine with you. You're good, really good and getting better.

I'm not going anywhere, Cate. Just taking the journey for all its ups and downs.

Brady - The beast is out there. It's hungry. Hope you have more inspiring days than bad.

Barry - I've noticed those negatives, too. The real hump in the way of self-publishing is obscurity. When I crack that little code, I'll let the world know. Then we'll all be obscure again.

Thanks, Mr. McCoy. You've made me blush. Glad to share the journey with you.

I have to agree with Cate--there was a time when I thought they could wave a magic wand and everything would be great. Of course I know better now. Thank you, Internets.

But I was about to make the final point you made about the journey. It's hard sometimes because we have to be goal-oriented. What do you want? I want to sell a book to a big publishing house and be a household name--or at least make enough to live on? I want to amass a little cult following who totally gets me and interact with them, thereby fulfilling my intellectual needs?

If we don't think in those terms, we lose direction. Yet those goals force us to miss what's going on at the time. And honestly, I f#@king love what I do. Every winter I get down on myself, I hate this game, I hate my writing, I hate the world. Every. Winter.

But I don't hate any of it.

Sometimes it's not about a story being good enough.
This is the pisser. God, I had no idea HOW accurate this was until it was me having to let go of a brilliant story just because the theme didn't fit.

It's so sad. But so true. And Jesus, RPP isn't even close to being a pro type market, it's just for fun. And it STILL hurts. :/

Katey - I kind of think I'm in it for the cult. And winter...sucks. We need a support group. Wait--we are a support group, aren't we?

Enjoy what you're writing? Check.
Your readers enjoy it? Check.
Nuff said.
"Never give up. Never surrender!" - Galaxy Quest
End of pep talk transmission.

Thanks Milo. I'm not planning on quitting. Only on the dark days. Only the darkest.

Over and out.

(and Galaxy Quest quotes, too?)

Morning Aaron,

Nice post. The doubts are always there, I think, regardless of where you are in the tail. I think even at the front of the line, writers find reasons to wonder about their art and their place and the rest of what any of that stuff means.

Human nature.

The healthiest thing I can do is write the kind of stories I want to read. I try to get to it every day, at least a little bit, but if I can't, it's not the end of the world. There's a be-careful-what-you-wish-for cautionary aspect to being at the front of the line, as well.

If you want to be up there in Anderson's fourth level, you need to really want it. That means less time for a catch in the park, less time to cook a good meal, less time to take a road trip whose only goal is to spend time with your family.

If one worryies, in the back of the mind, about his or her daily word count or press clippings or appearances, then writing the kinds of tales you want to read and hanging in the back of the line is pretty fine.

Take care...

I'm sure writers at the front of the line do wonder, Daniel. And I'm not sure about less time for a catch in the park or cooking a good meal. The fam is pretty important, after all. Thanks for stopping by.

You know, when you make me read the world "Tetons" it deletes anything intelligent I had to say.

I try not to think too much about the lack of markets. If I do, my head will explode. Of course, once the story is written and I'm on Duotrope one needs to be practical.

Ha! Tetons! Yeah, when you see the mountains, you know what the dirty old bastard who named them was thinking.

Don't lose the excitement that comes from telling only the stories you can tell, Aaron. There's gold in that.

I think there's a lot of 'luck' involved in publishing. And 'timing' that we have no control over. All we can do is our best and enjoy every success no matter how small.

Great links, too. That one ladies was really sad. Damn.

I won't lose the excitement, Lee. It's only a hiccup. They happen.

Really sad indeed. I can't understand the psychology, but I love the determination.

Aaron,

This post warmed my heart : I've been having a similar time of it of late : things not clicking, "sure-fire" hits missing. Sometimes it does just seems impossible to break through the wall of indifference. You're damn right about enjoying the journey though. And thanks for saying all that. It's no help to you but knowing others are going through it helps me!

As to letting your readers create on your site - it's tricky, but it is something I've had various thoughts about. Wikifiction, for instance, a system to allow people to edit the wording of a story. Not sure if that would actually work; might try some time.

Incidentally (see, I can ramble too), where I grew up a "long tail" is a rat. Just thought you would like to know that ...

Simon - Rats make wonderful (if short lived) pets, but the tails...ugh.

I've thought about wikifiction, too. It might be a fun exercise if nothing else.

It's all about finding the right home for the right story, so I don't blame you at all.

Totally agree. It's why I also pulled the plug on the whole Hell on Earth debacle before things got out of hand. I go back and read portions of that and just CRINGE.

Sounds like logical reasoning to me, and *mature* reasoning. It takes a lot of guts to be able to say something you wrote shouldn't be published yet, especially in the face of acceptance.

A lot of publishers are trying to snap up e-book rights because they're beginning to understand how valuable they are. Not too long ago I turned down a pretty well-known small press publisher who asked for a novella. For one I didn't have anything to send them at the time, and for two while they were offering a limited hardcover run, it was clear that what they were really after was the e-book rights. So ... thanks but no thanks.

Natalie - So right.

Barry - I'm not cringing as much as I expected during the re-read, but yes, this book has come a long (long) way.

Anthony - Occasionally, I manage to be both logical and mature. Occasionally.

Robert - I can't really see giving up e-rights at this point. If big publisher muscle showed up at my door, it would give me a little more to think about. But that's not happening/most likely will not happen in my lifetime.

Good for you for knowing what's best for your work and having the guts to follow your own path. I admire that.

As a self-pubbed author, I laughed about your comment regarding dinosaurs. Good for you!

Yeah, you know I agree. Straight up smart decision, sounds like.

maybe twenty rounds or more
And that's why. Sure, we all need a little help. But a year of distance? That's help in itself. Good on ya!

Sounds like you made the right decision and I'm sure however you move forward with 'Springdale Saints', it'll be a good move.

Angie - I'm just winging it.

Laura - Whatever do you mean? ;)

Katey - More help than I could have imagined.

Cate - I hope so.

That's a painful decision, but probably a smart one if that's what your gut (and brain) told you to do. I actually know how you feel; the second I got my acceptance for Weredeer, I was terrified, not elated. I've worked so hard on that book, round after round after round of edits and revisions, and now someone else comes along and wants to poke at it. I'm happy that I said yes (for one thing, I'm not a very good editor of my own work; Weredeer needs that pokin'), but I definitely considered saying no.

Self-publishing works best if you've already published other stuff through ordinary channels, I think. And you have!

Oh my goodness, I just stumbled upon this. And I have to say that I'm proud of you! Your decision sounds very wise and well thought out. I honestly don't know if I'd have a cool enough head on my shoulders.

-Mercedes

K.C. - I think we all have good work that "needs that pokin'" once in a while.

Mercedes - I love this book, but I've started to read it again and cut like mad. I think it *might* end up at about 50K when I'm through. Not sure what I'll do then...

Honestly, I recently made the decision to no longer sub to for the love markets. I had my own reasons, but I'm sure many other writers may disagree with them. And hey, I have a junk folder, too. It is just about a max capacity...

I made Barry's decision a while ago too, not gonna lie. Lots of reasons, but yeah, might as well confess.

I'm not in a place where I want to yield too much creative control for money.
This is what I keep telling people about going indie. If you have a real story to tell, then that's why indie makes so much more sense--no need to tailor yourself to fit the masses. There shouldn't be--there are plenty of people who will like what you like/get what you get. And indie can get it to them, because they don't need to make millions to keep afloat. It's so beautiful, really.

And supporting it is the best thing we can ever do, you're so right!

I think it's possible, however, to make a conscious decision to write something that will be mass-market acceptable. In an ideal world, I'd pull that off and use it to financially support my work with--well, I guess it'd be called integrity. Relatively speaking.

Easier said than done, but still.

I think I call my junk folder "retired." It makes me very nostalgic to look at some of those old (and not so old) stories, and wonder what the hell I was thinking.

Barry - I guess I've made that decision too. By default, really...although, if I were more "literary" minded, I'd sub to some FTL lit journals with high prestige.

Katey - I know some folks counter the "support" argument by falling back on "money flows to the writer". Not the same thing. Writers are a large part of the small fiction audience. And on the integrity front...it seems to work for Clooney.

Natalie - I'm to embarrassed to open mine.

Afternoon Aaron,

A couple of really interesting posts over the last two days. Because of the realities of the publishing world, in which a very few take the lion's share of the revenues (not complaining, but it's the reality), the reality is that it's not a lucrative deal.

I think most of us write to satisfy ourselves, those who like stories, and to leave some form of psychic legacy--whether that be an image or a moral or a narrative bruise.

In terms of the support, I sincerely agree. Writers need to tend the same garden they hope will bear their fruit. It just stands to reason. I have always tried to donate/subscribe/support the venues that have taken a chance on my writing because I want other writers to have the same experience. That, and I like reading stories.

Loved the discussions here. Keep up the good work...

I'm with Natalie, my junk folder is labelled 'retired' and I never open it. In fact, I need to lose the flash drive they're living on so I never mistakenly upload them.

Ditto Barry & Katey, I no longer sub to FTL markets - my reason, I want to improve, I want to fight every last word until they're good enough to appear in places like say 'Shimmer' :D

Ha! Plank (me, not you) - I got so involved in the comments, I forgot what I clicked on comment to say...

I agree 100% with supporting the small presses. The top shelf of my 'to read' bookcase are mass market books and they're gathering dust, the other 70-75% are small / independent presses.

Daniel - Those with deep pockets/power/what have you have always taken advantage of "content creators" (the modern "artists"). Artists are driven to create...but that's a topic for another post. Thanks for reading.

Cate - It's like we've all "grown up" (re: the FTL markets). Keep fighting for those words.

Supporting small presses is good. All you guys rock and someone will notice that soon enough. For all of us. ;-)

We should be paid for our work. Otherwise it becomes expected that content will become free and we'll ultimately never be paid. I work for a magazine that rarely pays anyone these days. It's disgusting.

If I feel a FTL market has staying power, looks great, feels great, I don't mind not getting paid.

For example: I've written MonsterBytes for Innsmouth Free Press a number of times for nothing because I just LOVE the site--so supportive of H.P. It's a great exercise for me, playing pretend journalist. (They do pay for fiction for their quarterly issues, though, a respectable $10)

Yay! now they pay $2 for MBs. Sweet. ( Shhhhhhh, I would've still done it for free)

Thanks, Tyhitia.

Cathy - You are right (about content becoming free), but haven't we already lost a bit of that battle? I fear we have.

Becca - Innsmouth's MonsterBytes is a good example of a (former) FTL market with good credentials. Many literary journals frequently don't pay, but they usually have history and garner a lot of respect.

I find I'm getting a little pickier about the markets I sub to. I'd rather be published in a low/no paying but highly prestigious magazine than in a higher-paying but unknown magazine. I just want people to read what I write. Typically, though, the more eyeballs on the page, the more money the author receives.

I've read a lot of small-press books this year and have been very impressed with many of them, too.

I agree it changes it. There is also more pressure on the paid stuff to be good. Whereas creating for fun or the love of it is a much more relaxing process.

It does change it, but I think it's a sliding scale more weighted toward Art than Commerce. You can, imho, make art for commercial markets and still call it art--as long as you follow a vision of disruption of some sort. Kincaid, as an example, disrupts my idea of reality because of how he interprets it with the black canvases and hazy lights...my feelings about an individual piece doesn't change based on that it hangs in thousands of middle-class dining rooms. Same with a Peter Lik calendar or a Lady GaGa song...created with heart, but sold with ruthless intent.

Art stops, in my pea-brain, anyway, when commercialism is the main goal--like the James Patterson Story Machine. Bully to him for keeping a publisher alive, but, by his own admission, his works are bland and generic and intended solely for mass-consumption, like flavorless, non-organic McDonalds hamburger "meat". The only thing he's trying to disrupt is the gap between his wallet and my wallet.

Sarah - I believe an artists greatest pressure comes from the drive to create.

Jeremy - Disruption, I'll give you. Kincaid...I'm not going there. It's not the fact that it hangs in thousands of middle-class dining rooms, but that, just like Patterson's books, it was made to be on those walls. I wouldn't separate the two by much. This isn't about the pursuit of money being evil, just that any creative product will change when intended for sale.

In some ways, though, I think creating a piece of art for sale will make the end result better. If I was writing my stories just for myself (and lordie, sometimes I feel I am), I wouldn't worry quite as much about clarity and description. I put that stuff in mostly so the people reading it can understand what I conceived of in my brain before I wrote down a word.

I'm a very amateur artist--art art, not writing art, I mean--and because I've never really tried to be an artist who sells her drawings, I've never felt the drive to become better than I am right now. My abilities as an artist haven't improved much since I was last working on my art in college. My writing has improved immeasurably in the same time, solely because I have the drive to sell what I write. Not that that's bad or good, necessarily. It all depends on what the artist wants from the art, ultimately.

KC - I feel a second post coming.

I totally agree (re: making the result better), but I don't start with "I'm going to write something to make money" in mind. What really drives me is the will to communicate and make the story as good as it can be--and yes, that usually (but not always) means a bigger payoff in the end. I'm not sure I've been clear. At all. (hence the impending second post)

DaVinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, et al, all worked for money or were otherwise paid for their work. If their patrons did not have food on the table for them when they returned from their studio, they would have moved on to the next patron.

And anyone who thinks writing isn't art is an idiot.

True, Brendan, just like I'm not going to teach for free. But I'm still writing, and from my count, making less than 25 cents an hour for it over the past four years.

Here's the rub: "art" means different things to different people. That's its strength...I think Dali is genius and Pollock is bollocks; I think Marilyn Manson is art (even--and maybe especially--when he wee-wees on his fans) but not a single one of these auto-toned tools on R&B radio quality. But I'm sure there are tons of people who see it exactly opposite. If we all agreed on what art was, it wouldn't be near as interesting.

@Aaron: Not sure how to respond. You're obviously feeling angtsy and conflicted about something, and if I had to guess, that something is: Would I still write if there were no hope of ever making money?

Not everyone would. As I've mentioned before, Stephen King has said he was about to throw in the towel just before "Carrie" hit.

Between you and me, I think you'd have to be a crazy person to continue to write without holding out at least some hope you could earn money, maybe even a living at it. It's just too hard.

So write that novel.

PS: Andy Warhol also mass-produced stuff that was most assuredly art. What Kincaid does is art too. Bad art, ya asked me. But art nonetheless.

You touched on a very relevant topic in your post. It's more than just selling something; marketing has become an activity that overshadows the effort of writing itself. I understand the necessity, to some degree, but I am loathe to engage in it. I often get "Novel-Lock" -- the fear of investing years of your life to something nobody will buy because it's not "marketable."

Or, you could turn the concept on its head: you're not selling. You're offering a unique artistic expression no one else can. If you do it for free, so much the better, but it still has inherent value far beyond the monetary. And I think that's something that doesn't get appreciated enough, something that has value for the intensive power it presents, not what it can fetch on an open market.

Not that you see anyone turning down money . . . but you don't see a whole lot of people in this industry who are doing it for money, anyway. It's the joy in action that spurs so many onward.

Good post.

Jeremy - And we can agree on that, at least.

Brendan - Not so much angsty--sorry if it came across as such--just wondering where the "honesty" is in any art. And there is a big difference between Warhol's "factory" and Kincaid: Warhol mass produced to make a statement about mass production.

Martin - You had me at: "marketing has become an activity that overshadows the effort of writing itself". Exactly.

@Aaron: Warhol mass-produced to make money and made a statement in the process (hangers-on are expensive).

Also got to thinking about this guy, who created his art solely for the love:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Darger

Don't be this guy.

(:>)

Brendan - Hey...at least he has a Wikipedia page (kidding...kidding). ;)

My WIP (which is kicking my ass) is for an intended market - an invite and already accepted even though the story isn't written. Well it is written now (mostly) and I swear, I have never worked so damn hard on a story. I want it to be perfect. I want it to be good enough. I think attempting to sell 'art' works for me. Without that goal, I end up with nonsense.

Who am I kidding, even with that goal, I end up with nonsense. :D

I think I get what you're saying, but I do want to point out that I LIKE mass-produced crap. I like catchy pop music and show tunes, I like quickly written Regency romances, I like TV shows that are little more than softcore porn (*cough*True Blood*cough*). You know how I feel about art, I am an art historian, for god's sake, but these mass produced crap piles give people something they need, too. People need an escape, to shut their brains off. It's why I watch football every Sunday and Monday, too. I want to be entertained. To cleanse my brain palate and prepare it for the next actual thought.

Guernica is one of my favorite paintings--Picasso was actually my first "favorite painter" when I was a kid. But if I stared at Picasso all day, I'd have offed myself a long time ago. That sounds extreme, but teenagers are, as you know too well!

So I do agree with you, and god knows I effing hate Kincaid, but I just needed to speak up in defense of mindless fun. It's a worthy pursuit for Charlaine Harris, Roger Goodell, Georgette Heyer, and yes, even the New Kids on the Block back in the day. Selling it may be whoring yourself, but if you don't have anything new or interesting to say, at least you're making people happy, you know?

And I know you agree with that because you love cheesy horror and pulp like I do. And those things can all BE art. But I don't think it damages someone's reputation as an artist if they produce both art and entertaining crap, is all I mean. I hope I can do it, some day. (RPP has bills to pay!)

But Cate, it's very readable nonsense.

Katey - You make too much sense, of course, as you usually do. And it is, truthfully, harder to entertain than folks might think on the surface.

It's a difficult and, honestly, a noble profession. We need it far more than we need depressing. We can do that on our own.

I'll drink to that . . .

Congratulations!

My blog suffers the most and I make two or three forum visits a week. I'm far more disciplined than I used to be, however.

Cheers!

Great post Aaron. Yes, those kiddo's are a blessing, they have an imagination that is unparalleled and I'm pleased that it helps you with your writing too!

Thanks for well wishes, I can't wait to get my life in order so I can get to do what I want! It's just around the bend :)

Oh and Congrats on the latest publishment!

Thanks, Bobbie. I just need more discipline, right?

Kara - Thanks--kiddos are a huge blessing, even in moments I want to curse them. ;)

Congrats on the sale!

Major congratulations on the sale, Aaron. And I wouldn't worry about how much time you spend on forums or twitter etc, as long as you're writing that's all that matters.

Thanks, Michael.

Cate - I always worry. In my heart, I know it's the writing.

Contrat-o-lations!

I can't get into NPR...don't know why. When I had an office downtown, I had Sirius and tried to listen to NPR several times. So many of the stories just dra-a-agged on forever, like there was a good story to tell there but they felt compelled to fill an hour with slappy-bass lines and purple-ness. My wife loves it, though.

Congrats on the Times of Trouble acceptance! I'm still awaiting the verdict on my sub for that one.

Congrats on the story!

I love NPR. One of the good things about my long commute is that I can listen to NPR that much longer every morning and most evenings.

Thanks, Jeremy. I signed up for the NPR "most emailed stories" digest via email. It's a nice cross section of the best stuff without the filler.

Good Luck, Jameson. Waiting is hard.

Thanks, K.C. I carpool now and don't listen as often, but it did make the drive go sooooo fast.

I don't think YOU need more discipline. I think I do!

Cheers!

Congratulations, that sounds wonderful!!

It's always a trade-off, with life. When I was at my most productive, writing-wise, I was holed up in my room avoiding everything. But it drives you crazy and you run dry, in a way--or at least start repeating yourself.

Also, I just read "Cargo" this morning. Fucking awesome, man. Felt like you punched me in the gut--er, figuratively speaking.

Time. It's amazing how it slips--especially when staring at a blank page.

Ah well, congrats on making the Times of Trouble anthology. Sounds intriguing.

Do you have anyone else reading your work and bouncing an idea off of? That sometimes helps a lot.

Otherwise I do not think #1 is probable.

Option #2 and option #3 are your problems.

Maybe go get a rubber chicken, chase kids around the park and have fun with your writing again?

I'll look up Kelly Link. Always looking for more to read.

Hi Aaron,

I can sympathize. I'm no great shakes for sales or exposure, but I'm starting to expect more of myself and I'm holding myself to different standards. The shrinking pool of venues means an overstuffed file folder on the desktop. That said, I think they'll all find a home at some point.

At least, I hope they do. Just keep writing, and keep working on those conclusions. I think the best stories stay with the reader because they end well...

I know the feeling...it's almost like all the other ideas I had just got lazy when I finished my novel earlier this month. Boo!

Shadow - Rubber chickens are good. I'll look into that option...

Daniel - I hope the best of 'em can find homes. Some of mine should probably stay in that desktop folder...

Barry - Boo, indeed.

#1 is not possible for you, so you can just strike it off your list. I suspect a bit of #2, and maybe some end-of-summer doldrums.

I'm feeling the same way lately. I started this year off real strong, writing (and editing) a story per month or so.

Now, not so much.

And I totally agree on your feelings about markets to send work to.

K.C. - I can usually count on the start of fall spookiness to chase the end of summer doldrums...but you're probably right.

Tony - We're finicky, aren't we?

I always seem to get this "eh" feeling around this time of the year. Maybe you're in the same boat?

My advice, whether you want it or not: Take a little break -- just for a bit. Do something entirely different, then return with a fresher outlook.

I get to that point sometimes, at least with short fiction. With novels I just shove through to the end, but short fiction, I'm a lot more--I don't know. Finicky? I'll give up easily if it doesn't come out in a day or two, and I'll recycle the idea later when I think of a way to keep myself interested.

Maybe it's one of those things. For me, I think it might be all three :/

Andrea - It's one of those boats which gets crowded, I'm sure.

Milo - Good advice, really. I'm taking the weekend off. ;)

Katey - Never.

Aaron, I think we all go through those little hills and valleys. Take heart and heed, it's only transitional. You are an amazing writer and there is no way you've lost "it" those bugs are harder to lose than a belly button, my friend. Keep plugging away (and I know you will anyway) set those other ones aside and come back to them in a few days, months, whenever the call snags ya! The endings will be there for you, waiting :)

kelly link is wonderful. shes one of those writers who i always forget just how many of the stories i read in the past that i liked were writen by her. if that statement makes any sense.

love the hortlak. don't reread it often bc of the whole animal shelter/dead dog beginning. also love some zombie contingency plans.

Kara - I know they will. Thanks for the encouragement.

Samantha - I have Magic for Beginners on order...I'm going straight for "The Hortlak". ;)

I think you're just starting to expect more from yourself which is good on the one hand and downright frustrating on the other. Taking it up to the next level is a good thing, right?

My vote is for 2 and 3. Its also my problem lately. I wrote a story that just...eh. A year ago, I would have sent it out. Now I'm going to shred it.

Hi Aaron. I'm definately in the same place at the minute. Got about 5 short stories I keep picking at but I never seem to finish them.
I posted my thoghts on option #3 on my blog the other day too! It must be a common problem. If and when I do finish a story, you just want the best possible home for it. It's like when your kid leaves home! hahaha

Hope you get the mojo back soon!

I echo one through three. Oh, and I need to check out Kelly Link's stories.

It's a brave man who reads horror stories in his basement. Sounds like a book worth checking out.

I really enjoy a good 1st person horror story. An eerie tale with just the right detail and the narrator waiting for something terrible at the end is the perfect cure for a sound sleep. (Though I also loathe stories where the narrator dies at the end.)

This sounds like a book worth reading.

The proper first person tale doesn't work unless it's in first person. To deny the usefulness of a certain point of view is a kneejerk reaction, like denying the usefulness of a genre.

That said, I get why it's discouraged, as first person in the wrong hands is one of the most catastrophic devices ever. But it still gets my back up when I see "do not send 1st person" these days. Weird, since some of my favorite places do it, but it makes me cringe every time :/

I'm sure I've cooed over "The Rats in the Walls" before. Man. So much love.

Cate - I spend most of my time in the basement; in its defense, it is a walk-out (half underground, half above as our house is built in the side of a hill).

Laurita - it is, so far. Like I said...a bit wordy at times, but worth it in the pay off.

The fact that erotica embraces first person POV shows how effective it is in creating intimacy between the story and the reader. Why should naked characters have all the fun?

All true literature is written in 2nd person, future perfect continuous tense. Everything else is commercial crap.

Katey - "...in the wrong hands is one of the most catastrophic devices ever." Sort of like me with a shotgun.

Natalie - True. True.

Brady - Right on.

Most of my short stories are written in the lst person...I find the writing flows easier. Having said that, because I know publishers of horror have an aversion to it, my novel is written in the 3rd person POV - I want my baby to have the best chance possible; sometimes you just have to pander to the ones who(supposedly)know.

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Any market that states "We don't want first/second/third person (delete as appropriate) stories" have their great fat head up their great fat arse, IMO. I can live with limitations regarding length, genre, subject matter etc. But POV? It's for the writer to decide what best serves his or her story and for the editor to decide if it works for them.

I'm with Michael.
I'm beginning to think that markets are like McDonald's, ordering up the same Big Mac from all writers everywhere.

Get published in Japanese. *crosses fingers*

Yeah, there's just way too much timing (as in, right place at the right time) involved to really say where anyone will be in terms of writing, isn't there? I can say that I don't like to imagine you won't be writing, though. *shudder*

I mean, is that even possible? No!

Guidance counselor--see, that'd be cool too. I always wanted one that didn't suck, as a kid!

Just imagine how many cool stories you'll have out there in 5 years. How many readers and writers you'll inspire. How many students you'll impact. 5 years? May we live long enough to enjoy every minute of them.

I think you'd make a fantastic guidance counsellor (as long as you wouldn't have to give up teaching to do it - you have to keep inspiring those kids to read).

In five years, why I'll be skinny, mega famous and have a swimming pool. That's how this business works, right?

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Sheesh, I'll just be happy to keep getting stuff published. And maybe, just maybe, Birdwatching from Mars will see the light of day by then...

I'll keep on writing for as long as I'm enjoying it. It'd be nice to have a published novel to my name in five years, but I'll not weep if I don't.

My writer's group and I were just having this discussion! We sat around and brainstormed our five year plan for ourselves as individuals and also a group. (Best group ever, for real.) It was daunting. And scary and a little bit humbling, but I also firmly believe that we'll all be better, smarter, more published and 10x sexier in five years. GO US!


-Mercedes

Natalie - It will happen. It must.

Katey - I have a hard time yielding to the time/place nature of this particular beast.

Milo - There are many ways to count success. Very true.

Cate - Exactly. Now where's my mansion?

Barry - I think longevity, just hanging in there, is admirable. It's harder than "outsiders" think.

Michael - As one who enjoys reading your work, I hope you continue to enjoy creating it for a long time to come.

Mercedes - I probably need 10X sexier...especially if anyone plans on having my ugly mug on a book jacket.

Five years? Ugh. I have always hated that question. Most likely because when I look back five years, I'm never in the place I thought I would be. Blerg.

Five years time? Mmmm....
I was looking through an old diary of mine from six years ago and one of the things I said was I hoped in five years time I would be a published author! Well, I've had a couple of short stories published....does that count? Still waiting for the Big Break though! :D

I suspect I will still be sitting here molding the chair into the shape of my butt...or is it the other way around? I'm happy to work on the writing skills for a few years and see wear fate takes me. I daresay it won't be long until there is an agent knocking at your door, Aaron.

I'm more of a short term goal kind of girl, but publication in novel length fiction is good for me.

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I don't think it qualifies as a pyramid scheme until you start asking us to sell your stuff for you.

I genuinely cannot stand talking about writing, and I'm not totally sure why. Plenty of people like to ask me about it ("How's it going?" "What're you working on?"), and I know they're just doing it to make polite conversation, which is why I feel pretty crummy that the only response I can manage is looking at my shoes and mumbling.

I've heard that books don't count in the pyramid scheme thing...

I can see where you're coming from with the self-promotion at outside of the house social events.

It's difficult, IMO, to pimp one's wares as a writer unless they are doing it full-time. My paying job is a draftsman and when someone asks what I do I tell them, "I'm a draftsman." (not a writer) I keep my writing business from my everyday friend/co-worker life as evident by my two Facebook pages. One for writers and writing, the other for family/friends/co-workers.

I don't talk about my writing to anyone in the "outside world" unless I'm asked. And even when someone does ask, I'm not apt to talk much about it. Terrible, I know.

I think your wife should take copies of your book and she can corner the jewellery lady.

The other girls on reception know I write (it's hard to hide when I'm typing away at stories while they're bemoaning boredom), but we don't talk about it because...they don't read!!!

I remain mum. Mum is good.

I'm with Rebecca, Keep the trap shut. At lest for now anyway. I would hate to hear my grandmother shriek about what I write.

Nah...it's a totally different game.

Pyramid schemes are built on mutual greed--I made a wish on the cursed monkey paw for a sack of gold coins, but now have to pass it on to another sucker to get rid of the curse (and keep the gold). You'll take the paw from me because you like gold, knowing that you can pass it on (hopefully) to the next sucker--I mean affiliate. I don't care about you, I just want to rid myself of the curse.

What we do is totally different. We make a product that we hope others will appreciate (with their wallets as well as their admiration). We (probably) care about our readers, and we care about the quality of our work. You're not trying to make a living on the backs of others--it's all Aaron, and goddammit, you deserve to sell your product. You worked hard on it. It's artisan bread, it's chainsaw-carved totem poles on the street corner made from old dock wood.

And people enjoy sharing good finds with others--because they want them to enjoy it.

Self-promotion sucks, but so does not selling books. Just remember: bread, not monkey paws.

It's a fine balance, Barry.

Brady - Aw...and I had a box of books ready to send you so you could sell them. *stares at shoes and mumbles*

Alan - My neighbors moved six months after I told them what I wrote. Coincidence?

Robert - Terribly common. You have much to talk about, though.

Cate - I'm going to pretend the last bit didn't frighten me as much as it did...ack.

I like my mum, too, Rebecca. ;)

Shadow - I'm afraid mine would saunter back from the grave just to give me a good whack.

Jeremy - Man, that was well-worded. I like bread. I even like "monkey bread"; but paws...never.

I have about 160 employees all in their twenties (cue headache commercial, aspirin, alcohol, and anything else that relieves the stress of managing 160 twenty-somethings - you think teenagers are bad!), and somehow I have kept it a secret for years. I'm surprised they haven't found me on the web. I don't even really talk about writing with family. I'm certainly living a double life. My stories, my reading, my interests, all of you people (even you Aaron) - you are all just a figment of my introverted imagination.

:-D

It's hard to talk to coworkers / neighbors about writing. I think there's this underlying belief that they won't understand. Inevitably they'll ask a question that plunges me into isolation--not the welcome kind I get while writing either. It's like becoming the elephant in the room.

(Where have you published?

Yeah, hmmmm never heard of it.

Does it pay well?

No, hmmm . . .

Say, have you ever written anything for that New Yorker?)

I always walk away feeling like a fraud for no reason at all.

I'm not saying that everyone is like the above, but when people find out I write, nine times out of ten those are the kinds of questions I get . . .

I get shy around my family. Mostly because, deep down, I don't think my parents REALLY want to know the kind of stuff I write about.

I hear you. I get shy about my writing but more with acquaintances than close friends or family.

For me writing is just a hobby and I talk about it like other people talk about their hobbies. I'm lucky, though, because I work in a writerly environment so pretty much everybody puts pen to paper and it's OK to talk about it.

I'm going to hold you to the cookie promise - I prefer chocolate chip or ginger.

I think you have to put a little effort into attempting to sell a book. If I did nothing at all, I'd feel I'd let the publisher down. Is marketing ever successful? Probably for some (cough - Patterson), but I imagine they're the rare few. But we have to try, right? Stuffing something down someone's throat though (unless it's cookies) is not the way to go.

I will most definitely be part of the 'word of mouth for your books crowd'. I just need to figure out a way to get people to listen to me.

Well said.

They issue I have with getting word of mouth is that it often involves contacting people for reviews or blurbs. And I hate that. Makes me feel like a whore, kinda.

Well said, Aaron, and indeed, exactly what I meant. Thanks.

I'd say my twitter list is about half and half: people who want to connect with other writers to stay sane, and people who want to spam us with links to their crappy fiction. And I think for the former, it's important to actually point out when you have new fiction available. I *do* think a genuine connection to readers helps with the trust issue.

But you're absolutely right, it doesn't make me want to buy it just because I see it. I click through if I know I can expect good things--if the last time you did it, I got past the second sentence. You CAN be technically successful and write crap, obviously. But you can't be indie, successful, and write crap.

Maybe I'm a snob, but that's one of the reasons I tend to think of indie as superior. I'm not saying I'd turn up my nose at bags of money, because I'd be all over that. I'm just saying I'm more willing to be a whore, as Barry rightly calls it, for something worthwhile.

Cate - Ginger might weather the flight a little better than chocolate chip. The later only seem to have a 2-3 day shelf life (maybe because the boys gobble them up).

Barry - I hear you on "whore". Guess it's something we must get over, huh?

Brendan - Thank you for making me think.

Katey - I think loving indie makes you awesome, not even close to snobbery. Honesty tends to thrive in the indie world. Well said.

I still remember that giant goldfish.

I started ordering lots more books once I found book blogs. If I read a good review on a blog whose taste I trust, and the book sounds like something I'd like, quite often I'll jump over to the B&N or Powell's site and add it to my wish list or cart. Sometimes I get burned, but I find more good stuff than ever that way.

Which is my longwinded way of saying I agree with you, especially about the word of mouth thing. What's especially important is having at least the first page (better yet, the first chapter) available to read online.

Great point, Aaron. Word of mouth is best done by people who are fans of your work. So you can count me in on telling folks about your work as well. ;-)

I have a friend who has sold over 1,000 copies of his work through word of mouth just through one venue after his agent was not able to sell it.

Your work will speak for itself. Oh, and interviews and giveaways help too. ;-)

Did someone say cookies? Got any white chocolate chip?

I've never been good with word of mouth. I'm ok with passing the word around for other people. Not so much for myself.

I'm just here for the cookies.
*looking around, wondering where they are. sighing*

KC - I'm glad to know the book blogs work. And samples (cookies or otherwise) are always welcome.

Tyhitia - Thanks. 1,000 copies is a very nice number for something not backed with by the "big houses". There will always be giveaways.

Andrea - With macadamia nuts. Yum.

Cathy - Sorry. The kids ate them. ;)

I like chocolate chips, soft and frugal on the chips.
Just sayin'.

I didn't read the same material in H.S. that I do now. All we can hope is that this generation grows up and starts to learn the difference between quality and muck and is drawn to the quality. The art of the story won't die, it may just take a slightly different form-- I hope.

Congratulations on your story being in the anthology.

I don't know if I would agree or not. I read, my mom reads, my sisters read, my kids read, and you know what, no one reads the same things or has the same interpretation of what they read.

Fiction may be cheap and easy, but not always. How long did you spend on your story? Hours? Days? Weeks? Those whose taste run to speculative fiction will appreciate all of your work. If they did not like it, they would not buy it. You know what your work is worth.

Something are always worth working for, even if you don't see monetary rewards immediately. That is why we keep writing. Or at least I do.

This seems to be a common theme around the internet these past few weeks. It's terrifying, in a way. Not just for the primary reasons either...it's scary because it makes me appreciate Twilight in an odd way...anything to keep kids reading, I suppose.

I blame corporatism. As soon as you have to make a return every quarter regardless of the business environment, you lose the option of cultivating talent or markets over a long-term, and you lose the ability to inject really cool artistic works into the world. That's the core ideal behind the Bruckheimer-ization of literature, and why none of us can sell stories outside of the small presses.

But, you're absolutely right: I'd rather my kids read Vampirates Book IX than never read or listen to music, full stop.

Also: congrats, and double rainbows \oo/

Congratulations-- it looks beautiful and is definitely on my list for the next spree.

I have a knee-jerk reaction to alarmist pronouncements, and that is always: "Bullshit." They get people talking, they sell newspapers, they get people to watch the news. But they're so rarely the truth.

Yeah, fiction is cheaper and easier to find, and it's easier to find crap than ever. But there has always been crap fiction that gained undue popularity, and always will be. And there have always been dark horses that pull out in front or niche fiction that finds its place and shines there. Just because it gets there in a way slightly different from the past 500 years doesn't mean it won't happen.

More information cannot be a bad thing. Hell, at this rate, we might even figure out democracy some day.

Woot on "End of the Rainbow" : )

Boo, on mediocre fiction. I try not to look too hard at the YA section when I go to the bookstore. Some of it scares me.

Also, congrats on your published story!

It's a matter of supply and demand. I think that's why POD is doing so well. No more books returned for non-sale. If we can just get people reading again . . . people demanding quality lit and genre.

I'm soooooo jealous that you already have your copy. Oh and I'm sure I'll tear up when I read your story again. It's my all time favourite (I may have said that before).

Jamie - Hope is the thing with wings, right?

Shadow - It's not about being paid, it's about the lack of mountain tops from which to shout. I'm sure that made no sense at all.

Barry - The times they are a'changing. To quote another musician, "these changes aren't permanant...but change is"

Jeremy - Our eyes are too focused on turning profit now instead of building a temple for the future.

Katey - I knew you'd talk me out of whatever gloom and/or doom I was feeling. Sometimes I'm too much in the panic of "now".

Natalie - The stuffed literary characters with fuzzy hair scare me.

Bobbie - And I think POD is the secret weapon of the small press. Now to conquer marketing. (easier said than done)

Cate - I'm pretty sure it's on my list of favorites, too. (and it's a semi-biographical piece, in a way...more than usual at least)

Congrats on the publication!

I certainly hope fiction writing isn't dying. I'm not ready to let go! In all seriousness, it'll be folks like us who keep it alive.

for me the kids are incentive, but they have to be asleep for me to get anything done. Or one of them needs to be out of the house for a couple of hours so they aren't fighting. :) Have fun with the going back to work thing.

Happy Belated Birthday, Owen :D

(And thank you for all your hard work, Aaron).

If nothing else, the kids are an automatic fan base!

Happy Belated Birthday, Owen!

I don't know about kids. I'll have to take your word on that.

Happy Birthday, Owen. : )

Bollocks is my favourite cussword. You're welcome to use it any time you like.

Jamie - Going back to school is always a mixed bag. I'm so much more focused, though. That's a given.

Cate - I'm not done yet. (with the work thing)

Natalie - I guess I should up their allowances so they can spend more money on books...wait a minute...

Andrea - He thanks you. And yeah. Kids.

Becca - ;)

Mike - It's great since Owen and Max have no idea what I'm saying. I could say "falafel" and it would be the same to them. Oh, for the innocence of youth.

Gotta fill up the tank-- and kids, well, they appreciate the important things. Always helpful :D

Bollocks IS a great word. I wish we'd adopt it over here.

Hope the birthday festivities went by smoothly. "Bollocks!" The Brits have all the cool words. I remember hearing the word "tollies" at a young age about the house (don't ask...)

Katey - True. True. No amount of fantastic fiction is worth trading for our summer adventures.

Alan - As smooth as they ever do. *sigh* (and you've stoked my curiosity)

As far as the kids go...it may seem greedy, but they have definitely helped me write MUCH better from the perspective of characters that just happen to be parents.

Also, now it's a little harder to make myself harm a kid in my fiction...

I hope the new school year goes well. Structure really helps me get more work done too. I write more on weekdays than on weekends.

Happy birthday, Owen!

Barry - I hear you on #1. Number 2...sometimes it's a little too easy to harm fictional kids...

Thanks, KC. Here's to a good year for all of us, eh?

Happy birthday, Owen!

Good luck for the new school year and hope you get in some good writing time :)

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I wonder what i would find in a yahoo search of my name? Only one way to find out.

That is... hilarious. I have google alerts on my name but nothing ever hits except my own twitter talking-- even when I KNOW someone's just posted my name somewhere/I had a story put up recently. Makes me feel really sad for even having it set up :D

And YES on the NZ/Italy game. How ridiculous were the Italians? Go, go Kiwiland! (Though Cote d'Ivoire did try to take the World Cup of Bad Acting at the end of their ass-kicking by Brazil. They sent Kaka off for it, too-- totally unfair! Suck it up, buttercups.)

I've got a google alert set up for my name too. Ain't no shame in it! (The shame comes from not getting very many hits per week, in my case.)

Kevin Smith references for the win! :-D

I'll admit to googling my name now and then. Though I've never found anything as cool as a review of one of my works!

I have a google alert set up too... It normally tells me when I've posted a blog post. :(

Apparently there is some other writer--this one of the religious variety--named Barry Napier in the UK. That guy is messing up my Google searches!

That reminds me...I haven't googled myself in a while!

I rarely google myself. Usually don't find anything new about myself.

Yep, who knows what you'll find out there about yourself. I supppose your name, and words, could have been used in waaayyy worse ways in Indonesia...

Hey! Look at you! You're big in Indonesia!

Wish I could say the same . . .

(:>)

Oh...Indonesia...I think you've been maligned. ;)

Oddly enough, I googled my name before I submitted anything. I wanted to be sure no one else was using it.

I set up a Google alerts thing for my name. Every day I was told of several other Michael Stones achieving success in their chosen field so I canceled it. A name change is in order, me thinks.

I've googled myself on the odd occasion. I set up Google alerts which brings up some odd stuff sometimes - usually about ferries and shipping terminals.

There is always a Mercedes for sale in Yardley, PA.

I'm terrified to Google myself. One day I'm going to come across something so harsh and scathing that I'll drop to the floor weeping, and then I'll go out for bloody, bloody revenge.

I do have Google alerts, though. It tells me that I spend too much time on Twitter. :P


-Mercedes

I thought that's a good idea and promptly went out to Google Sue London fiction. The first hit was my interview on this site.

That is so, so meta.

Nice script. Brief. To the point...I'd pay to go see it.

I love it and know that conversation well.

I fear I couldn't write crowd-pleasing fiction if I tried, my brain doesn't work that way.

Saying that though, I did declare to my mother last week that I was going to be the next JK Rowling and would settle for nothing less. I don't think she believes me. ;)

LOL! This is great Aaron, and more true to everyone out there than I realized. Thanks.

Alan - The best plays get to the point.

Jamie - I have it with myself all the time.

Cate - Mothers do understand our ambition, though.

Hinny - Some of us just can't stop...

That was depressing.

Seriously though, that could have been taken right out of my own life. i can't count the number of times I tell someone I just had a short story sold, and they ask how much I got... And yeah, $21 sounds about right.

I love a happy ending!!!

Excellent! That puts things into perspective.

Eventually you might have to write a sequel in which you get that cabin in the mountains, too. Just sayin. :)

Anthony - Depressing...oddly affirming. When the stories win, so do I.

Barry - Wait--I didn't get the cabin yet.

K.C. - Why stop there?

The Stephen King dollar signs are so cute : )

Now I'm caught on cabin in the mountains. Sigh.

Natalie - I want a big gold/diamond version hanging from a chain around my neck. Bling!

Danielle - I'd love one for even two months out of the year. Maybe I can be a volunteer park ranger during the summer months...

I've had that conversation... ;)

Cabin in the woods, huh? I'd love just one weekend at a cabin by a lake (with loons, must have loons) this summer.

If you sold five 2k/0.01 per word stories a day, every day, for a year: almost enough for a cabin up here. Almost.

Ha! Yeah, that's the script all right. But for every few who shuffle away, there's still one whose eyes light up.

Oh god, that sounded optimistic, didn't it? I need to go to bed.

My significant other has caught on, but my parents, sheesh.
"Hey Mum, I got an agent!"
"Oh, and that's good, is it?"
"Hell, yeah!"
"How much is he paying you?"
"Never mind. Hey, Dad, someone's publishing a 10 year retrospective of my short stories."
"Yeah?"
"There'll be pictures."
"Hmm. That's something, I suppose."

Jodi - I better get to work then...that's a sizable word count. ;)

Katey - That's what I love (the lit-up eyes). Optimism is contagious.

Michael - My kids "get it" more than my mom. (and they would totally be into pictures)

GREAT post! I agree 100% with everything you said. And for all the people who are ready to jump into digital age of reading headfirst, there are still plenty who aren't.

Beyond the logical arguments you've already made, there will also always be those who just prefer the feel and look and smell of a real book. Or those who can't justify having to spend a couple hundred dollars just so they can spend another $10 for each book, all for the convenience of being able to tote around a hundred books in one small package.

And don't know about you, but I can only read one or two books at a time anyway. ;-)

Very well put, Aaron. Print will never die in this house.

Seriously...yeah, about to get tired of Mr. Konrath's bragging and assumptions...

Anthony - I don't even own a cell phone. I'm only 35. I can't be the only one, right?

Cate - "Play the Man, Master Ridley..." er, sorry. Quoting Fahrenheit 451...

Barry - He's making money, and I can't fault that. Too bad a good chunk of the public happen to be lemmings.

Actually, I'm 30 and didn't own a cellphone until a couple months ago. I already regret having purchased it.

yeah, I would like to see the library at the Vatican go to all digital. it won't happen. They are still looking at books there that were made before Guttenberg invented the press for mass consumption.

I, weirdly enough, use my phone as a phone, nothing else.

Wait, so the current program used to run my eyeballs works with eBooks, too? That will save me time!

I think print will always be around in some form, but I love having an e-reader on my phone. Just the other night my wife wanted to go to the mall to look at clothes, and so there I was, following her through the store reading a chapter of LITTLE BROTHER right on my phone. Don't get me wrong, I still like book-books too, but in the end reading is reading. If I can download a book in a few seconds and start reading right away as opposed to driving to the bookstore or waiting for the book to be shipped to me, then why not? Of course, this will change on the book, depending on who the author is and so forth, but I will admit I've become to embrace e-books for what they are and what they can do.

Jamie - Imagine that: a phone which is just a phone...

Natalie - More time for Cheetos!

Robert - And I love the opportunity for content to reach readers in a new way. Nothing wrong with that. My main problem with the "print is dead" argument is that we are comparing different kinds of content. Maybe I'm a little slow, but it hit me while reading Konrath's Huffington Post piece, but books are not VHS tapes.

What would I put on my bookshelves if I didn't have printed books?

Ah man, no kidding. Thing is that there are simply more ways to consume information now. And people will continue to use them all.

There are different sorts of books too, honestly. Some books you need to have. Some you just want to read, either as a test run or because they're brain-candy. The latter are the best electronically.

Hey Aaron, I thought I got here on Friday, but apparently I didn't!

As for books/print being dead, I have to tell you that my stores sales are up for the first time in three years. I think that it's great publishers are starting to explore/expand their horizon's, but I still love having a book in my hand.

I don't know what the future holds for print bc I'm not savvy and while I try to keep informed, it never really happens, but either way I love my books.

Saying printed books are going away eventually is like saying people aren't going to go to live musical concerts now that they can listen to newfangled wireless radios.

My ereader is useful, but not in all situations. I'll always have paper books.

Jarmara - Um...you'd call them "Stuffshelves" and that would be silly?

Katey - Mmmmm...consume. Good point.

Hinny - Good for the sales--that heartens all writers, I think.

K.C. - I can get a radio without wires?

I agree too. Print will never die in my house either. It can't, there are too many books piled everywhere :)

Same here. I used to talk all the time on my blog but it's somehow become a mix of chat and 'what I have coming out real soon!' I'm going to get back to more chat if I can.

Duckie and Dobler *big sigh, hand on heart*

Just talk, huh? Very sage advice-- as long as I stop short of inane blather. : )

Michael - I feel so much more comfortable with chat. I don't mind mentioning my work--of course--it's just not the only song on the album, so to speak.

Becca - I have to give myself a word count limit or...well, it could get ugly.

My point . . . exactly.

Yeah, I'm still sacred of the dark, too. I think the sleep paralysis has something to do with that, though.

Also, the term "digital pulp" is awesome.

That is why I like my online friends. They don't brag, just fact and a lot of themselves thrown in for fun. keep up and keep writing that Fantastic Horror the way we like it.

I think you can obsess listening to advice on how we should or shouldn't build our blogs.

I like the Gaiman link, and I like to think that's what we all do - connect and not network. Networking sounds so calculated.

Brendan - I figured as much...I think.

Barry - I woke up blind one night. Only lasted five minutes, but it was scary as hell.

Jamie - I'll keep on keeping on.

Cate - You think...I've done it (obsessed) way too much. Gaiman is my hero for a whole slew of reasons.

Good advice, thanks for sharing Aaron.

The best blogs/twitter accounts/whatever are just regular folks sharing bits of their lives. If they happen to be writers too, that's cool.

Incidentally, I have the overwhelming desire to read a story about a dwarvish thief now.

I'm not much of a talker in real life. So, my blog kind of helps me with that. I just talk to talk. I doubt most people are listening, or reading in this case, but whatever. It's good advice.

Well said and from the heart. It don't get any better than that. The Wussy Boy Manifesto made me howl with laughter.

I came here today at Alan's urging and you know what? I don't come here often enough. Enjoyed your talk, Aaron. Very much.

And my arse has been officially laughed off by Wussy Boy.

Hinny - If Gaiman's giving the advice, I'm all ears.

K.C. - Too true. (I thought dwarves made lousy thieves...)

Andrea - People are listening. Sometimes they're just really quiet about it.

Alan - Makes it okay to be a Wussy boy. ;)

Cathy - I'm glad you did. (stop by, that is)

“Use your blog to connect. Use it as you. Don’t ‘network’ or ‘promote.’ Just talk." - Gaiman

"I want to be Neil Gaiman." - Polson

"I just want to be me." - Polson's split personality, who I strongly suspect is Natalie Sin.

"Just talk?" - me, wondering what that MEANS, because if Neil Gaiman, a public figure better known as Mr Amanda Palmer, wants to talk to me then I'll listen, but if Random Q. Nobody just wants to talk to me then I can't spare the time because I have to go wash my hair.

And what do you mean when you say you want to connect? You want to connect on an individual basis to every single person who reads your blog, but if they DARE to spread what you've said to them, personally, using some form of NETWORK, possibly an ONLINE COMPUTER NETWORK, then you will gut them with a rusty hook? Because if that is what you're saying Aaron then I have a new-found respect for you.

Anyway, if you're going to try this just talking thing I'm prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt. When do you intend starting? Because all of this:

"Me? I'm a Bella Lugosi/Boris Karloff/EC comics from the '50s/Twilight Zone hybrid who was scared shitless by the slasher horror of the '80s when I grew up. I'm thirty-five and still afraid of the dark. I choke up when I read a really kick ass poem aloud, even in front of my class full of students. Sometimes I'm too introspective for my own good, and self doubt starts to entrench in the darker corners of my brain. I believe words hold power, even when they're cobbled together in a piece of pulp-fiction horror. I'm not ashamed to admit any of that. It's me."

...sounds like a branding exercise to me.

Funny Anton, 'cause it was intended as a "this is me" statement.

Sometimes message sent (does not equal) message received, and there really isn't a damn thing I can do about that.