My Crazy Writing Life - Day 11: It's the Novel, Stupid!

When I first got serious about writing, the first thing I did was write a 77,000-word draft of my fantasy novel The Key of Neverhence, which still has yet to be published. Afterwards, I made a strong push to write my vampire thriller Enura, but got sick of it after 45,000 words and never returned to it (to be fair, I overdid it with the editing). Then, by a combination of curiosity and circumstance, I began writing shorter works, which were profitable for a brief period of time, but ultimately sank to the current levels today. These days, my children’s books and short stories don’t pull in much—certainly not enough to live on even though I have 118 titles to my credit.

If I continue this way, I might be able to reverse my fortunes, but I suspect that sales will eventually slide back to where they currently are. Without a true novel, sales will falter and never reach the level that I hope to achieve.

For some time I’ve heard that novels are the way to go. Joe Konrath has mentioned this numerous times, and backed it up with sales data. I’m also seeing this bear out with my friends’ numbers, so perhaps it’s time to reevaluate. With shorter works comes short-term success. Perhaps it’s time for the main course. (Besides, when is the last time you’ve heard someone rave about a short story? For novels, this happens all the time.)

That’s not to say that I’m abandoning children’s books or my other short stories. I just won’t expect to make money off of them anymore. The fact that I’ve put all of my effort into short works and none into novels is troublesome. The smartest thing to do (yes, I’m challenged in that area) is to finish one of my incomplete novels or flesh out an idea in my head.

One such idea that I accidentally stumbled across yesterday is a science fiction action adventure called Dunderwhlep. Essentially it’s a comedy, featuring a reluctant superhero that can’t be killed (at least, not easily) and bumbles through life, getting himself into heaps of trouble, and perhaps, the girl in the end. It’s the very definition of pulp fiction and will be written under my new pen name Rockenweiler Gulch.

Why am I reluctant to start such a project? First off, I don’t have a cover and can’t think of a piece of stock imagery that would be suitable for it. I may need to find an artist, and that will cost money. Second, the pen name isn’t established. I don’t have any other works associated with it or a backlist to fall back on. And even though it will be filled to the brim with action, it very comic book-oriented in nature. It’s going to require a huge leap of faith on my part.

There’s no telling who will take it seriously. It’s not a detective novel per se, and although it is set in the future, it could turn off many diehard science fiction fans. What it does have is personality, foul language (which got me in trouble with Netherstream) and humorous situations. “Take a chance on me!” it screams. Would I be a fool not to take a chance?

Remember what I said about just writing and not worrying about the money? If I see it working in my head, I should just write it, right? Eventually I’ll need to establish the Rockenweiler Gulch brand name. It may as well be now.

But it’s different with novels. Unlike short stories, there’s a large investment of time and energy, and I don’t want to choose the wrong project and only earn one sale per month versus 50-100 per day. Some thought has to go into it.

I know, I know. Stop thinking about money!

Let’s take a step back for a moment. How long is your writing career? From today till the day you die, right? So what are you worried about? Regardless if it’s a failure or a success, as long as you give your best effort, you’ll do fine. Have some faith in yourself! If you like what you’re writing, keep going. In the end, there’s no guarantee that any of it will sell, and projects that I thought would sell in the past were total busts. You may as well choose something enjoyable.

And what if it’s successful? Wouldn’t it be fun to write a sequel to Dunderwhelp? There are worse things that you could get stuck writing. Like a cookbook. Or a basket weaving guide. Or a basket weaving cookbook. Don’t get stuck writing something you hate. Are you willing to tell your readership that there won’t be another book in the series if it succeeds? Worse yet, will you have a choice?

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed everything that I’ve written thus far and would be honored to follow up a successful work. For me, that’s not a problem. On the other hand, I have an acquaintance who writes what’s popular at the moment. He’s willing to write anything and everything, from children’s books to erotica, scruples me damned! There are things he’s written that I wouldn’t dare write in a million years.

Unless it were a comedy.

That’s the one exception I will make. With humor, you can get away with anything and the work is always more enjoyable because of it. Comedic works also tend to be written faster and readers are more forgiving when it comes to mistakes and logical errors.

That doesn’t mean that you can write bad. No, I’m afraid the angry mob of the literary elite will have your head for it. But it does illustrate a point: First, you must entertain. Although your story may be putrid with cardboard characters and clichés galore, if you entertain, you might just convince them that you did it on purpose, further elevating your legendary status. It’s a strange irony that also carries over into other art forms. Entertain them with something that is uniquely you and that they can’t get anywhere else and they will look for you next time they’re in Amazon.

This also takes me back to a previous discussion about editing. If you want to produce something that’s authentic, is it in your best interest to polish it mercilessly? Would it be better if your writing remained rough so that it didn’t sound like everything else out there? I’m not suggesting that you ignore mistakes and write poorly. I’m just wondering if it’s beneficial to scale back the editing a bit.

For this, I’m afraid I don’t have the answer. I’ve always been the type who writes something over and over again until I get it right. I wish I would be one of those writers who writes something once, does a few minor edits, and gets it out the door. I guess I write in a perpetual state of writer’s remorse, so scared that the reader will find an error that I pour over it in an apologetic eye until I convince myself that everything is as it should be. Of course, what I could be doing is making my work more cliché (i.e., it has the same ring to it as something I’ve previously read).

Novel writing is something that should be taken seriously. The majority of an author’s income is generated from it (just not mine yet). While it’s good to be productive, it’s better to produce something that pays the bills. If you’re struggling, try something new. You have no choice!

Also consider the reader’s expectations for a moment. If you were the reader, wouldn’t you prefer a novel to a 2,000-word short story? Sure, there’s nothing wrong with short stories, but it’s hard to justify when you can purchase an entire novel for the same price. Readers want novels, not one of the millions of short stories available today. Focus on novels exclusively and write a short story whenever you need a break.

Of course, if I had all of my free time back, I’d seriously consider writing more than one novel at a time. It’s kind of like writing multiple columns in a newspaper. When your motivation languishes in one, jump to the other. I’m sure if you told yourself to write a thousand words for Novel A and then another thousand for Novel B each day, you could do it. Juggling multiple projects keeps the writing fresh and makes it feel like less of a burden.

Many prolific writers recommend this approach for maximum productivity (oh no, here I go again). If your goal is to write as much as humanly possible, then this technique could be the goose that lays the golden egg. But it isn’t for everybody—just erratic authors who like to take on far more than is wise.

Ok, that’s all fine and dandy. Is there a point to this long-winded post?

Oh yes, it’s all about the novel, stupid!

Write one, then another. Mix in a few short stories to keep readers interested, but make novel-writing your primary focus.

This does not change my focus on children’s books. It just means that I must expand upon my original plans. So why not make Secret Agent Disco Dancer and My Little Pet Dragon full-fledged novels? For once, I might find success that sticks.

Day 1: 1,035 words
Day 2: 1,045 words
Day 3: 1,035 words
Day 4: 1,560 words
Day 5: 1,193 words
Day 6: 1,157 words
Day 7: 1,102 words
Day 8: 1,643 words
Day 9: 2,057 words
Day 10: 1,038 words
Day 11: 1,560 words
Total: 14,425 words

My Crazy Writing Life - Day 10: The First Seeds of Doubt

Ten days. That’s all it took before the doubt began to set in. Should I really be doing this? Am I wasting my time? Look at all of the things that I could be working on right now! Perhaps I should be investing my time in a real project.

I’ve been here before and know better than to listen to these passing thoughts. Yesterday, it took me three hours to edit my 2,000-word entry. When you add that to the hour that I spent on the initial draft, it’s far too much time for a simple journal entry.

Still, it’s no big deal. Life goes on. I’m not stopping, not until I’ve finished out the month. I’ve already written over 12,000 words (including this entry). I don’t want all of that effort to be for nothing. Yes, I should probably limit my posts to a maximum of 1,500 words, but once I get going, it’s hard to stop. There’s so much that I need to get out that an abbreviated version doesn’t always suffice. To my detriment, I must allow these journals to exceed 2,000 words when necessary. The process is cathartic, and helps me get down additional thoughts brewing in my head.

Large amounts of editing always makes an author question themselves. It’s evidence that real projects take work; hard work, unlike text messages that can be typed up and shared in a few minutes, if not seconds.

Should I be more careful with my words? Probably. Should I nail down all of my points beforehand so that I don’t go too far off topic? Perhaps. Let’s not forget this is a journal. Anything goes.

Whenever I doubt myself, I’ll come back to this page. Just because something requires hours of editing doesn’t mean it’s time to abandon ship. It means the stakes are higher and now you have to get serious if you want to see it through.

This happens with most projects, even journals. I remember being overwhelmed by the editing task before me when I wrote the first draft of The Key of Neverhence. It was 77,000 words long and needed major surgery. I only rewrote ten percent of it before I decided that I really should be writing new content instead. When I had the chance, I’d get back to Neverhence. Seven years later, the draft still languishes. If I had done a little bit each day for a year, the novel would be published and earning money.

But that’s what a smart person would do. Please don’t confuse me with one of them.

Don’t allow yourself to get discouraged with the editing process. Break it down and tackle a little bit at a time. Even a couple thousand words can feel daunting, which is how I felt last night. But 500? You can do that in your sleep.

That’s what I started with and then quickly took a break. There, 25% done! I kept chipping away, little by little until it finally got done. Even though it only took three hours to whip it into shape, it felt far longer than that. (Authors are masters at playing mind games, which frequently backfire.)

The reality is that only a few sentences present real problems. Once I broke through those, I was able to go for a while before getting tripped up again. Perhaps I should have skipped over them? That doesn’t work for me. Often the sentence that needs work alters the chemistry of a paragraph and the ones around it. (I’m still getting a handle on the editing process, but eventually I’ll get it.) So if you’re stuck or your enthusiasm has evaporated, just remember that if you can get past one sentence, you’ll be good for a while.

Part of the problem stems from editing at the sentence level. What’s the point of making every sentence pretty if you lose sight of the story? Dean Wesley Smith pointed this out in one of his blog posts (I can’t remember which one but the sentiment is also buried here) and it really got me thinking. Would writers be better off editing at the story level and allowing their work to be rough? Besides, how we write is often how we speak. Are we polishing our voice right out of it by doing extensive edits? In fact, is that what I did last night?

If a writer allows their work to be more in line with how they naturally speak, they’ll produce a lot more. Boatloads more, actually. Editing deters prolific writing; the more perfect an author wants it to be, the less gets published.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. We all want to sound good and show off our knowledge of the craft. But simple sentences can be just as effective as meticulously crafted prose. You’ve got to hit the right balance, and it’s not always obvious until you’ve written a few books and read many more.

Sometimes turning off the mind is exactly what the doctor ordered. Can you imagine how much Guinness World Record holder Ryoki Inoue would have produced if he had indulged his self-doubt for a nanosecond? Would he have finished a fraction of the 1,100 novels that he wrote in his prime? Or would he have gotten discouraged and thrown in the towel before getting started?

Just to give you an idea of how prolific this guy is, here’s an article by Matt Moffett (The Wall Street Journal, May 2nd, 1996). In it, Mr. Moffett describes how Ryoki started “around 10” and wrote straight through the evening, finishing his 195-page manuscript “at 5:30 a.m., having consumed most of a packet of pipe tobacco and half a pot of coffee.” Assuming 250 words per page, that’s the equivalent of a 48,000-word manuscript in a little less than eight hours.

But that’s nothing. Apparently Mr. Inoue has a system for writing three books in one day. It just boggles the mind!

So why am I complaining about editing 2,000 words? Really, I have much to learn about the writing process.

When in doubt, just keep going. Turn off the negative voices in your head and don’t let anything stand in the way of success, least of all, you.

Day 1: 1,035 words
Day 2: 1,045 words
Day 3: 1,035 words
Day 4: 1,560 words
Day 5: 1,193 words
Day 6: 1,157 words
Day 7: 1,102 words
Day 8: 1,643 words
Day 9: 2,057 words
Day 10: 1,038 words
Total: 12,865 words

My Crazy Writing Life - Day 9: Just Your Ordinary Chaos

So there I was, my day all planned out and motivation in check. I even knew what I was going to be working on. Surely I could finish a draft of The Forgetful Alien after a few hours of hard work, right?

Once I’d read over what I’d written and fixed some errors along the way, I went off track, pushing the story forward only a few hundred words. And after that? Nothing. Ugh!

It wasn’t exactly writer’s block that I was experiencing, and by and large, I knew what I wanted to say. So why was I struggling?

Oddly enough, my mind just needed a break. It wasn’t as if I didn’t want to write. Far from it! I just couldn’t get my mind into the task at hand.

But shouldn’t I keep moving forward, regardless? Isn’t that the right thing to do? Is a forceful approach necessary to get the project off my plate?

In the end, I realized that I wasn’t being productive, and decided to work on something else. I looked over my other half-finished projects and worked a little on each until I decided to transcribe the first page of Emberlake Hollow that I’d written by hand while watching the 49ers game (yes, I write by hand on occasion).

I didn’t transcribe much—less than 200 words—when I felt this sudden urge to write something new; not something half-finished or that had been brewing in my head, but something genuine. I didn’t care what I wrote about. I just needed something fresh and unexplored to keep my fingers moving.

“Here we going again,” I thought to myself. “What’s that ahead? Could that be another half-finished project?”

Remember what I said about starting new projects in lieu of finishing old ones? Now I couldn’t even follow my own advice. I was playing with fire, but what the heck? I hadn’t finished anything to speak off despite working all day. What harm could there be in deviating from my plan?

So I put on my Donald Rump hat (the pen name that I use whenever I want to write adult toilet humor) and went to work. Before I knew it, the first 500 words flew out of me. I had no idea where it was going; it just felt good. As I kept typing, the farts kept coming, and I knew that I was onto something.

After an hour, I had amassed 1,000 words. Then another went by and I had 1,750. Suddenly it was time to tie things up. Because of how this mysterious process works, the solution had been hinted at throughout the story and was now staring me in the face. I put down the last 300 words in a mad dash and finally my latest piece of fart fiction was born.

But what would I call it? Unlike other stories where the title became clear midway through, I still couldn’t decide on a name. While I pondered over the title, I sifted through stock art that I’d set aside for future Donald Rump books and picked out a pair of ridiculous images. Perfect!

Once I began the cover, my hand was forced. “What’s the title? That’s the $500 question!” I said aloud. Surprisingly it stuck. Sure, the title was just as corny as the cover, but this wasn’t Pulitzer Prize-winning material. It was just a series of fart jokes. Besides, it was the only title I could think of that unified all of the ridiculous elements of the story.

After finishing the cover, I added it to the Word document (I use Microsoft Word for everything) and began the slow, painful process of editing.

But this was a different type of “slow and painful.” I was only moving slow because I was tired. Really, really tired. By grinding forward, I knew I’d have something to publish later that evening.

Also, I’d written The $500 Question in a different manner than my other works, blog posts included. I moved from sentence-to-sentence, making sure each was of publishable quality before proceeding on. When I reached the end, I felt that I had something that could be submitted. Sure, there were still holes that needed to be filled and sentences that needed retooling, but for the most part, it looked good.

So for the next couple of hours, I tinkered with The $500 Question, strengthening nouns and verbs, trimming adjectives and adverbs and replacing or omitting sections that weren’t worth saving. Certainly I could have wrapped things up earlier, but I enjoyed the slow, methodical pace.

Eventually the entire book got done and put up on Smashwords. In the past, I used to create the Kindle version first and didn’t worry about the Smashwords version until much, much later. Since Smashwords wasn’t a major source of income, I never was in a rush to publish there.

But that was before I started my new job and was exposed to a different (better) way of doing things. Ironically, the Kindle version is now the last thing I work on.

My publishing process is this: Once I finish the manuscript, I go to Bowker’s website, assign an ISBN to it (unless I want to use a free one from Smashwords), add it to my book, and create the PDF. After a quick check of the PDF, I create a .DOC version for Smashwords, upload it, and jump over to Teachers Pay Teachers (if it’s a children’s book) or my author store (note: Donald Rump has his own store). Since Smashwords has to convert the Word document (and sometimes it’s buried in the queue), this gives me the opportunity to put up my work in a few more venues before creating the EPUB.

Once Smashwords is taken care of, I create the EPUB from one of the templates that I’ve used in the past. This part can be monotonous work at times, especially if I have lots of images. If I do, I create a quick HTML version and open it with Sigil, giving me all of the metadata I need for the OPF, and to a lesser extent, the NCX file.

After filling in the template with my content, I zip it up with a command line tool (I’m on a Mac) and validate it with IDPF’s free service. Once I’ve debugged all of the errors (I always seem to forget something), I open the EPUB with Adobe Digital Editions or Sony’s e-reader app (I forget the name). If everything’s good, I submit it directly to Kobo and then Barnes & Noble.

As you can see, there are a lot of steps before I even arrive at the Kindle version, and that’s where I stopped last night. After I get home from work today, I’ll create the MOBI version (I use MOBI Pocket Creator on my PC) and upload it to Amazon.

Once I have all three versions, I’ll add them to my author store and OmniLit/All Romance eBooks (if appropriate). And if I still want to keep going, I can submit my content to Lulu (I’ve had a few sales there over the years), Tradebit (still waiting for my first sale) or directly to Apple (they’re a pain and sometimes it’s worth giving Smashwords 10% so that I don’t have to deal with them).

The only venue that I will not use is Scribd. I don’t know what it is with these people, but I do not trust them. They’ve proven time and again that they are poor caretakers of my work and enough is enough.

It’s easy to forget the importance of trust in a relationship. A venue needs to earn your trust before being given your entire backlist. In my case, I’d just be asking for it if I continued dealing with them.

Several months ago, many of my settings were reset when Scribd performed a major update. This left several of my books visible in their entirety even though they were listed for sale. To make matters worse, many now had creative commons licenses associated with them, allowing readers to make alternate versions of my copyrighted work. What the heck?

Needless to say, I jumped all over it and fixed everything as quickly as I could. I have no idea how many copies were viewed/downloaded or how long it had been like this, but it really turned my stomach.

Even though I was angry with them, I decided to give them another chance. I hadn’t sold anything there yet, but it appeared that a fair amount of people had been exposed to my content and may have made purchases in other venues. Perhaps. But since Scribd is more of a document-sharing community, most users expect the content to be free. Most likely, my backlist was being advertised to the wrong audience.

Once I fixed everything, I played around with some of the settings and came across a subscription-based model that wasn’t being heavily advertised yet. Out of curiosity, I opted in a few of my books and waited for the results.

Then in December 2013, Smashwords announced a partnership with Scribd and automatically opted in its entire catalog. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted my backlist in their subscription-based plan, so I dragged my feet for a couple of weeks.

It was then I received a nasty, little e-mail from Scribd’s IT department telling me that my book Aveline had been pulled due to plagiarism. What?! There was no advance warning or inquiry to see if I was indeed the copyright owner. The title had been yanked and I was the villain!

Needless to say, this made me very angry, and I suspected it had to do with the content being migrated from Smashwords. But why would they pull an already-established title? Aveline had been on their site for over a year. Didn’t it make more sense to block the content that was coming over from Smashwords? It didn’t make any sense.

Disgusted with how I had been treated, I promptly deleted all of my uploaded documents on Scribd, opted out every single one of them on Smashwords, and wrote a scathing e-mail. The reply back was apologetic, assured me that it wouldn’t happen again, and—get this—they promptly restored my document.

But how could that be? I already deleted my account by the time the e-mail had arrived. When I checked Scribd’s site, sure enough Aveline was available for sale. But by whom? There was no longer an account associated with this product.

Argh!!!

It was obvious that Scribd hadn’t put together a basic migration plan for all of the content that was coming over from Smashwords, and they had absolutely no answer for content that existed in both places. No doubt they ticked off a lot more authors!

Even worse, I discovered that they had opted in all of my content into their subscription plan by default. Remember the old setting that enabled you to opt in each title individually? That was superseded by a new global setting.

If there’s a theme to Scribd’s operations it’s this: Even if you’ve done due diligence, anything can and will happen to your content when they upgrade their system. You need to keep a close eye on their website; otherwise, you may find yourself in an undesirable position.

Since I’ve experienced this first hand, it would my own fault if I allowed it to happen again. Sure, I could opt in my titles individually on Smashwords, but I don’t want to worry about them once they’re in Scribd’s system.

Peace of mind and security mean something to me, and if I lose a few bucks because my work isn’t in all of the venues, so be it. It’s not as if Scribd is a major player in the e-book industry, anyways (famous last words).

In spite of this, I’ve had nothing but good experiences with a little known site named Teachers Pay Teachers. Everything has been professional and I never have these types of issues there. If there’s a problem, it’s of my own doing.

I already make enough mistakes as it is, and I don’t need someone (or something) to create work for me. When you’re managing 118 titles, you’ll understand. Even small errors can take hours to correct.

And I’d rather spend that time writing. Wouldn’t you?

Day 1: 1,035 words
Day 2: 1,045 words
Day 3: 1,035 words
Day 4: 1,560 words
Day 5: 1,193 words
Day 6: 1,157 words
Day 7: 1,102 words
Day 8: 1,643 words
Day 9: 2,057 words
Total: 11,827 words

My Crazy Writing Life - Day 6: What I Really Want

Never am I at a loss for setting ridiculous, unobtainable goals:

I want to be the most prolific author in the world.

Heck, I want to be the most prolific author in literary history!

That was my goal, at least initially. As I put in the long hours, my love of writing began to wane. Something was wrong; I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

It’s taken awhile, due to my stubborn personality and incredibly hard head, to realize what’s truly important:

• Enjoy what you are doing.
• Be consistent.
• And have the freedom to write whatever you want.

If I have all of these things—personal satisfaction, productivity and freedom—does the rest really matter? As long as I can pay my bills, I’ll be fine.

Still, I would like to be more proficient at my craft.

In July 2012, I produced 21 children’s picture books in a single month. Although these books were simple in nature, the experience gave me the feeling of being a prolific writer. But there was very little writing involved. I found myself writing more for the available artwork than the actual story, and soon began questioning my purpose. Months later, when people started posting positive reviews of Aveline and Taming Your Pet Monster: An Operational Guide, I decided to revisit everything that I had produced previously. To my surprise, the quality was good, and several titles would find success just a few months later.

Though I had begun to tire of writing children’s books, I was satisfied with each and every one of them. The effort was good, even though many had been produced in a short period of time, often a single day.

In hindsight, I shouldn’t have slowed down or stopped at all. I should have trusted my instincts and not doubted myself just because I was having difficulty selling. By being fixated on sales, I produced significantly less than I could have.

This time around, I won’t make the same mistake. I’ll ignore sales numbers and focus on productivity. As long as I create the best books that I am capable of, the sales will come. It’s inevitable.

And although I’ve said that I’ll take a break from children’s books to focus on my more “serious” works, I’ve had a change of heart. These books are helping children, notably my autistic seven-year-old son. All I needed was a time out, and now that I’ve had it, I’m ready to tackle the new challenges before me.

Eventually, I would like to get back to producing an original children’s book each week in addition to my normal writing. Although this appears to be a no-brainer, it’s actually a lot more difficult than it sounds. Tons of effort goes into producing children’s books, and as I get closer to the finishing one, I find that I can do little else. Sleep eludes me, and the need to finish pushes me through fatigue and exhaustion. This time, I’ll pace myself better so that I don’t burn out.

I would also like to make a significant change to my children’s books. While my picture books are typically a few hundred words (due to limited attention spans), instead I will produce stories at least 3,000 words in length. This shift from flash fiction to short stories increases the age range slightly from children 2-5 to children 3-6. A subtle, but significant difference.

Aside from publishing children’s books on a consistent basis, I’d also like to finish all of the languishing projects on my plate. For each new story I finish, I’ll alternate and wrap up a partially completed one. These all need to get out the door eventually, so now is the time to get them done.

I also need to follow up my successful works, distribute my books to all of the proper channels, and fix any errors that I come across. I would also like to focus on my website and sell directly to the reader.

But first things first. Let’s get some consistency in the writing process, starting with this journal. I will use it to chart my progress and keep myself writing every day. Even if I fall short of my goals, I will maintain this journal nonetheless.

I also need to be careful not to over commit myself while juggling friends, family and a full time job. That’s why I’m going to stagger these goals initially, and tackle them once I’m ready.

Here is an early list of my goals for 2014:

1. Write consistently every day in your journal (minimum 1,000 words).
2. Write one new children’s book per week starting in February (minimum 3,000 words).
3. Finish all of your incomplete projects, alternating between old and new.
4. Distribute all of your books to as many legitimate vendors as possible (Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, Omnilit, Teachers Pay Teachers, Lulu).
5. Enjoy what you do. (That’s a must!)
6. Strive to become a better writer by learning something new each day.
7. Fix all problems that you encounter.
8. Focus on productivity rather than sales or reviews.
9. Invest time in your author store and develop original content for it.
10. And most of all, have fun!

Although this isn’t a complete list by any means, it’s enough to get started. I also added an item or two that needs to be discussed in detail (more on that later). Of all of these, the most important is the last one.

Have fun with it, even if you never make millions of dollars off your craft. Nothing’s guaranteed, especially in this industry, so why not? Get personal fulfillment from your writing today. Money can’t be the only motivating factor, and if one truly genuinely enjoys their work, they’ll produce more content with fewer breaks.

Although I decided several years ago what I wanted to do with my life, I still need to remind myself to have fun every once in a while. Yes, it’s a business. I get that. And yes, it’s how I feed my family. But it’s more than that. My work affects people, causes positive change in the world, amuses some, helps others, and may ultimately lead to success. Don’t write aimlessly just to capitalize on a buck; otherwise, you may not want to do it anymore.

Last, I’d like to break 200 total products this year. Currently, I’m sitting at 117. It’s going to take quite a bit of effort to publish another 73 titles this year while working a full time job. And if this was my only job? Heck, I’d knock it out in three months. (Grr…)

I must step up to the plate and produce. There are no excuses. It’s now or never.

This is your path.

This is your calling.

This is what you will do every day until you die.

So get busy. There’s nothing that can stand in your way except yourself.

Day 1: 1,035 words
Day 2: 1,045 words
Day 3: 1,035 words
Day 4: 1,560 words
Day 5: 1,193 words
Day 6: 1,157 words
Total: 7,025 words

My Crazy Writing Life - Day 5: My Flawed Writing Process

When I first started writing seven years ago, I wasn’t sure which approach I’d take. Should I use an outline? Or should I write off-the-cuff (i.e., whatever came to mind)? Typically, I’m a slow writer, and wanted to find something that would speed me up. With the outline approach, I’d seen the joy of writing evaporate as every major decision was decided beforehand, the process marginalized by pouring a lifeless story into a ready-made cast. Besides, the best stories are designed, not thrown onto the page, right?

A short time later, I read Stephen King’s Author Note in The Green Mile, which made me realize that quite a few successful novels had been written serially. What captivated me about this process was that the writer lived for the moment, writing down what they knew at the time, and moving forward without knowledge of where the story would lead next. The process sounded exciting, and made every day a unique adventure.

Afterwards, I started practicing stream-of-consciousness exercises, where I wrote down thoughts as they came to me, focusing solely on the next few words. By taking it one sentence at a time, I found that I could put down several thousand words without difficulty, and the quality wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it was quite good. With a little practice, my writing improved along with my speed.

Quickly I fell in love with panstering, or writing by the seat of your pants, but it’s far from a perfect process. At first I did it wrong, worrying about quality and rewriting everything that I’d written over and over until I was sick of it. Ultimately, editing is the where an author earns their keep, and readers are only willing to pay high prices for well-edited manuscripts.

But what exactly qualifies as “well-edited”? Is there a barometer one has to pass to meet this criteria? A certain number of rewrites? Or a certain number of times that you must reread your work until you can no longer find any errors? Surely you can’t write something of quality that comes off the top of your head!

And what if I veer off track? That happens time-to-time with panstering. More importantly, what if you don’t know that you’ve veered off track? No one wants to discover after the fact that dozens of pages, or in some cases an entire manuscript, must be tossed.

But the risk comes with the territory. If you discover that you’ve made a wrong turn somewhere, back up, throw out the offending text, and try again. It’s not worth your time to try to fix a passage that is deeply flawed or simply stinks. Try, try again! You’re creating so much content anyways that you can afford to throw out some every now and then. It’s the nature of the beast.

There does come a time when you realize that a light framework is beneficial. Think about the point that you’re trying to reach and move towards it. This simple structure should be flexible enough to throw out if you come up with a better idea along the way. Mistakes can be expensive, especially when time is used as currency. You can write more effectively and faster if you hash out a few details beforehand and it doesn’t seem to hinder the panstering process.

If all this feels unnatural, toss out your notes and write what’s in your head. There’s no right way to do this.

Personally, I’m a sucker for the freewheeling nature of panstering. It’s a system of discovery, and relies on listening more than thinking. It’s the closest thing to freedom that I’ve ever felt, and once you’ve tasted it, you’ll be hooked.

Plenty of arguments can be made for the efficiency of outlining, but I’ve seen writers plan out their books extensively beforehand only to find a very different story when they finally enter it. Sometimes the two are not conductive and new characters appear out of thin air, bringing a fresh round of analysis and doubt. Slowly the story ekes out of them, and frequently they grind to a halt, pondering over a single sentence or paragraph.

Yes, I’ve heard of writers obsessing over a sentence or paragraph for months, and I am no less the sucker for wanting my words to sound good the first time they come out of me. But writing flowery prose that dazzle and sing is fool’s gold. You’re better off aiming for clarity instead.

For argument’s sake, let’s assume that the aforementioned process from outline to final draft takes six months for a 100,000-word novel, and that you will not get stuck for an appreciable amount of time. If one were to write 2,500 words per day, every day, they’d finish a draft in six weeks. Every one and a half months, the author could churn out a new draft even if they didn’t know what the story was about.

“But what if I have to throw out large sections of my manuscript?” you say.

Good. It means that you’ve discovered what you want to say. Make a few notes, keep what’s working, and tell the story better, the writing process becoming a redrafting process. Notice I didn’t use the word “rewriting.” More and more I’m discovering about the ineffectiveness of rewriting chapters over and over again and instead trusting the creative side of my brain.

Writing “off-the-cuff,” can help a manuscript evolve through a series of drafts, or you can (gasp) move on to something else. Alternatively, the outlining approach produces a more mature draft from the outset, and the story is more likely to stay on a predefined course. In the end, it’s possible that a combination of both can yield effective results; what one lacks in complex structure, the other makes up for with spontaneity, energy and excitement.

As an added benefit, panstering is easy to plan out on a calendar. Every day you know exactly where you’ll be, because you have to produce or else. All you need to do is hit your word count goal for the day, and you never think too far ahead, instead focusing on the excitement of the moment.

Outlining can also produce a manuscript in a short amount of time if you’re comfortable with it. Neither process is necessarily better, and the benefits are entirely debatable. It’s up to you.

But here’s where I have a problem with the structured approach: outlining tends to insert editing into the process too soon, that’s why initial drafts take longer. Also, it seems (to me, at least) that all of the excitement is sucked right out of the project when you plan to the last detail. Something must be unaccounted for that sparks your imagination, otherwise the process is cumbersome and secretarial and the writing suffers.

Although I respect the structured approach, it’s not for me. I love watching a story materialize out of thin air and discovering fantastic gems buried deep inside of me. Since writing entails a huge investment of time and hard work, the joy of discovery is the one thing that keeps me going each day.

And enjoyment is a necessity.

Day 1: 1,035 words
Day 2: 1,045 words
Day 3: 1,035 words
Day 4: 1,560 words
Day 5: 1,193 words
Total: 5,868 words

Going Indie - Day 15: Double Duty

Coming Soon!

This month is going to be totally insane! I've already determined that my vampire thriller Enura must be done at all costs. Now I’ve realized that I can’t just turn off my production of children's books, either. Ugh!

The solution? Continue publishing my children's books at a high rate while also editing my manuscript. And to torture myself even more, throw in this blog for good measure.

I think I need an aspirin.

Everything feels daunting at the moment, and slowly I'm pulling myself together. That's why I haven't published anything in the last couple days. My process is changing, and now I must invest every waking moment into either editing Enura or writing a new children's book. Yay!

Puppy Power

At the end of last month, I took a week and published five children's picture books about dogs (all right, four if you exclude the compilation). I'm not sure what possessed me to do them in the first place, but once I got started, I couldn't stop. Before I knew it, I'd written four of them, and was able to package them up in a compilation on the last day of July.

I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of sales. I didn't do a heavy amount of market research beforehand, I just told myself, "Hey, that's cute. I think that will sell," and dove right in.

To my surprise, Adorable Dogs: Beagles has sold well this month. In two days, it's sold seven copies (six in the U.S. and one in the U.K.). These aren't big numbers by any means, but I wasn't expecting any more than a couple sales, even though I gave away about 2,000 copies the month before.

But the real surprise is Adorable Dogs: Labradors. This is a project that I wrote for my friend Lucinda and the Lab Rescue of the LRCP. She suggested that I put together a book that illustrates what abandoned dogs go through while in captivity and the role her organization plays in finding new homes for them. The result is a moderately long picture book (about 50 pages) that took nearly as long to write as the other three combined. Apparently she likes it, because she told all her friends and I saw nine quick sales today. Again, not mind-blowing numbers, but this is how it starts.

It's also possible that her organization will get behind the book and help promote it. Wouldn't that be exciting?

Magic Butterfly

Another day, another new project, right? I stumbled across the artwork for Magic Butterfly today and couldn't believe my eyes. I knew that I had to make time for this one because it has real potential. Even better, this will my fourth children's book targeted towards girls. Finally I can put together Four Fantastic Stories for Girls, which will include Bubblegum Princess, Aveline, The Most Beautiful Flower and Magic Butterfly.

In addition, I will be putting together another collection called Four Fantastic Stories for Boys and Girls, which will include Magic Butterfly, Ninja Robot Repairmen, Aveline and Taming Your Pet Monster: An Operational Guide.

Suddenly one release turns into three new products. This is the cornerstone of building your backlist. Once these three products are released, there will be three new ways for customers to find me, not to mention the free promotional days that I get when I enroll them into KDP Select.

Final Thoughts

July was a decent month overall. I sold 1,657 e-books and had 379 borrows. August needs to be a lot better, and I suspect sales will improve at the end of the month since children are headed back to school. I would love to sell at least 2,000 e-books this month, but I might have to be content with holding my ground. If I stay focused and keep publishing great content in a timely manner, things will dramatically improve. It also helps that I'm choosing my projects more carefully this time.

I also plan to go back and overhaul two titles that I'm not entirely pleased with: Bubblegum Princess and Count Those Critters: Deep Sea Edition. Expect new versions of each this month along with follow-up content in the future.

As for my S.E. Gordon pen name, I plan to publish the first of my three short stories in The Sweetest Stalk series. Originally, I intended to sell the collection only, but since the project has stalled, it's time to get something out the door. The first short story will go on sale in early August for 99 cents (the story is written, it just needs a new cover and bonus content).

Things are piling up already and I still have Enura to contend with. I must stay focused and productive if I hope to achieve all my goals this month. I know what I must do. I have no idea how I'm going to get there (besides hard work), but I'll figure out a way.

More than anything, wish me good health. Luck will follow. ;D

Scott Gordon

Happily Insane Indie Author

Going Indie - Day 14: Enura

Coming Soon!

I need a hit. A big one, actually. Do I have any blockbusters in my arsenal? Perhaps. While writing children's books has been fun, I know there is something that I must do. I must finish Enura.

It's hard to believe, but almost two years have gone by since I started writing my vampire thriller. I was working on my 79th chapter when I stopped (each chapter is about 500 words). If I had stuck to my game plan, I would have finished by now. I really have no excuses.

Fortunately, I edited extensively as I went along (Enura was written serially), so it's a very good draft. In some areas, I wouldn't change a thing. It just needs an ending, the ending I have in my head.

I must get it out. Now. No more excuses or delays. The time has come.

Going Indie - Day 13: Awards

July has come and gone, and now it's time to assess my performance. Once I got my act together, I published 22 titles from June 29th - July 31st . (I’m including the last two days of June since this was the turning point.)

Here is the list, in order of publication:

            1.            Alphabet All-Stars (English)

            2.            Alphabet All-Stars: Trivia Time (English)

            3.            Alphabet All-Stars Flashcards (English)

            4.            Alphabet All-Stars: Animal Edition (English)

            5.            Alphabet All-Stars Academy Volume 1 (English)

            6.            Taming Your Pet Monster: An Operational Guide (English)

            7.            Aveline (English)

            8.            Alphabet All-Stars: Clever Cards (English)

            9.            Mein Kleiner Lieblingsdrache (My Little Pet Dragon) (German)

            10.            Dos Cuentos Antes de Dormir (Spanish)

            11.            Deux Histoires au Coucher (French)

            12.            Mein Verrückter Lieblingsfrosch (My Crazy Pet Frog) (German)

            13.            The Most Beautiful Flower (English)

            14.            Adorable Dogs: Beagles! (English)

            15.            Adorable Dogs: Pugs! (English)

            16.            Adorable Dogs: Labradors! (English)

            17.            Zwei Geschichten für Kinder (German)

            18.            Due Storie per Bambini (Italian)

            19.            Alphabet All Stars: Funny Flashcards (English)

            20.            Duas Histórias para Crianças (Portuguese)

            21.            Adorable Dogs: Bulldogs! (English)

            22.            Adorable Dogs Collection Volume 1 (English)

So am I entirely pleased with my performance? No. Even though I had my most productive month ever, I could have done more.

As I mentioned before, I made a few mistakes. I should have written Secret Agent Disco Dancer and tied it to the promotion of My Crazy Pet Frog. I also should have tackled the sequel to My Little Pet Dragon at some point in July. I will not make that mistake again.

Still, 22 titles is an impressive feat, even though these are children's books and 8 of them are collections and/or translations. I managed to grow my library 56%, and even though I didn't experience a 56% increase in sales, I did lay down the groundwork for substantial future sales. I suspect that the alphabet books will sell better once kids go back to school.

But don’t get me wrong, I'm proud of my achievement. So while I’m in a good mood, let me hand out awards for my new releases:

Best New Cover

I did a decent job with cover design this month, producing 24 covers in all (22 were used in new releases). Although I'm pleased with most of them, the one that stands out the most is The Most Beautiful Flower. It was trickier than it looks, and surprised me by its overall simplicity. Easily the best cover that I put together this month.

Buy it now for your Kindle!

Best New Series

Since I put together two new series, Adorable Dogs and Alphabet All-Stars, why not choose the best one? While Adorable Dogs was fun, Alphabet All-Stars was a great entry into the children's alphabet book market. Each volume is different, and provides its own unique take on the alphabet. And while I could have taken the easy route, I forced myself to make each as entertaining as possible, while also being educational.

Clever Cards was the most innovative, incorporating American Sign Language on each card, while Trivia Time was the best overall release. So which one sold the best? The Animal Edition, of course. Kids love their animal alphabets!

Buy it now for your Kindle!

Most Satisfying New Release

Most of my friends would be surprised to hear me say that a book about fairies was my most satisfying new release, but it’s the truth. I enjoyed writing Aveline. It came together effortlessly, and pulled me away from the traditional picture books that I’ve been writing.

Buy it now for your Kindle!

At the request of a fan, there will be more books about the adventures of Aveline. Here's a cover I put together for an eventual novelization:

Best Sales for a New Release

Honestly, sales weren't great for any of my new releases, but Taming Your Pet Monster: An Operational Guide easily outsold the rest.

Biggest Surprise of July

Without a doubt, the German language version of My Little Pet Dragon was the biggest surprise of the month. I gave away over 2,000 free copies during its promotional run, and sold over 40 copies. Sure, these aren't big numbers, but I didn't make a single sale in Germany the month before.

The lesson learned? Ignore the German market at your own peril.

Buy it now for your Kindle!

Best New Release Overall

Taming Your Pet Monster: An Operational Guide takes the grand prize as the best new release for July. At 55 pages, the book is fairly long for a children's picture book. It's also quirky, full of wacky humor and has memorable one-liners. Readers seem to be excited about it too, giving it glowing reviews. All in all, a very satisfying release. At $2.99, the higher royalty also helps.

Buy it now for your Kindle!

Final Thoughts

So there you have it. The hard work paid off, and I was able to turn my sales around. I'm really excited about August, and despite what I've said, I'd like to put out even more titles next month. I will tackle everything that I've been avoiding, and fit it into my schedule.

But I won't be turning off my creative mind anytime soon. Smaller titles help tremendously with free promotions, and sell well when they are bundled in collections. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone; publishers have been selling collections of short stories for centuries. Why would this suddenly change?

So expect to see a healthy dose of yours truly this August, along with plenty more blogging. Eventually I'd like to get back to making $6,000 per month, and then later, $10,000. Throwaway_Writer averaged over $30,000 per month last January and February, so if he can do it, I most certainly can.

And you can, too!

Scott Gordon

Part of the Indie Revolution

Going Indie - Day 12: Bonus Content

Now Available!

Perhaps I’m a bit of a nut when it comes to content creation, but I love it when authors take the time to add bonus content to their works, whether it’s an author’s note, an interview or additional stories. I love getting a glimpse of their inner world, sort of like when you visit a friend’s house for the first time.

Back when I was an avid gamer, I would buy tons of videogames from a company called Working Designs. Every time I purchased a game from them, I looked forward to reading the Translation Notes located in the back of the instruction manual. There they talked about the various challenges that they had to overcome, and how they improved upon the original Japanese release. When they closed their doors, I was very sad, but tradition of adding bonus content stuck with me.

Only recently have I gotten away from doing this. I had done this with my first few releases (somewhat religiously, in fact). I made the call today to slow down a bit and add bonus content to my latest collection, The Dog Pound, Volume 1: Beagles, Bulldogs, Pugs and Labradors, before I publish it. Although the interview that I wrote is a bit odd (I use one of my previous pets as the interviewer), it’s all in good fun and loaded with great information about self-publishing.

So sit back, relax and enjoy the wacky space that I inhabit.

***

An Interview with Scott Gordon

SCOTT GORDON (SG) and his dog COCO stare at each other. Suddenly Coco begins to bark, over and over again.

SG: What’s the problem, Coco?

Coco continues barking. Scott’s other dog SNOOPY strolls into the room and stops dead in his tracks.

SNOOPY: Well, aren’t you going to answer him?

SG (rubs his eyes): You can talk?

SNOOPY: Oh, it’s nothing special. I dug up this universal translator from the backyard the other day.

Snoopy paws at a silver device attached to his collar.

SNOOPY: I guess aliens have visited us in the past. How exciting! Hopefully those slimy creatures won’t come back to get it.

SG: What?

SNOOPY: I’ve used it to talk to squirrels, birds and even fleas. It’s really quite handy-

Coco snatches the device from Snoopy, and attaches it to his own collar.  Snoopy’s perfect English turns into a series of barks.

COCO: Ah…much better….

Snoopy continues barking and bares his teeth at Coco.

COCO: Calm down, my friend. I’m just borrowing it for a while so that I can interview our master about his new release, The Dog Pound, Volume 1: Beagles, Bulldogs, Pugs and Labradors. I’ll return it to you as soon as I’m done.

Snoopy growls, and then leaves the room.

COCO: All right, then. Let’s get down to business, shall we?

SG: This is crazy. Is that an English accent I’m detecting?

COCO: Oh, that must be the device. I’ve never set foot in England, but I wouldn’t be against taking in a game of football or visiting the Tower of London. Perhaps I could even give a speech at Parliament.

SG (scratches his head): Yeah, well…I don’t know about that. Maybe if you’re a good dog I guess I could-

COCO: And maybe if I bit you, you’d take me on more trips.

SG: You wouldn’t dare!

COCO: Try me.

Coco growls.

SG: Ok, so what do you want to know?

COCO: First off, where are you hiding the Beggin’ Strips?

SG: In the cabinet above the stove.

COCO: I knew it! Excuse me for a moment…

Coco runs off.

Scott cringes as pots and pans clang off the kitchen floor. After a few barks and growls, Coco returns with a shiny bag of Beggin’ Strips dangling from his mouth. He jumps on the couch, and sets down the bag.

COCO (to Snoopy): Don’t worry, chap. I’ll save you a scrap or two.

He rips open the bag with his teeth.

COCO: Now then, where were we?

SG: You were going to ask me a few questions about my book…

COCO: Oh yes, the interview. That’s right!

Coco sticks his nose in the bag and inhales a mouthful of Beggin’ Strips.

COCO (burps): Excuse me. It’s been a whole hour since I last ate. You may not know this, but deep down inside, I’ve always wanted to be a writer. Since I’m a dog, no publisher will ever take me seriously. There will never be any seven-figure contracts or hob-nobbing with publishers and agents. I have no choice but to go indie, and I was wondering if you could share some of your personal experiences with me.

SG: You want to write a book? I thought you were content sniffing other people’s butts.

COCO: That was totally uncalled for! I was young then, I didn’t know what I was doing. I’m far more sophisticated now.

He inhales another mouthful of Beggin’ Strips.

COCO: Now come on, old man. Spit it out or I’ll pee on your prized iMac.

SG: Who are you calling ‘old man?’

COCO: And why are you laughing at me for wanting to write a book? Imagine if I did the same to you.

SG: Fine, let’s get this over with so that I can get back to work. What do you want to know?

COCO: How long ago did you start writing? Seriously writing, that is.

SG: About six years ago.

COCO: And when did you finally publish your first e-book?

SG: Last October. It’s been about a year.

COCO: So that’s a gap of five years before you were finally published. What were you doing during this time?

SG: Working. Going to school. More work. That sort of thing…

At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go the traditional route or not. I’ve read horror stories about authors never getting their royalties, print runs being slashed, the sales numbers being wrong, etc. Deep down inside I knew that I wanted to self-publish, but the infrastructure wasn’t in place yet. E-books weren’t big like they are today. So I wrote for awhile, learning my craft but never finishing anything.

COCO: Did you eventually wind up submitting your manuscript for consideration?

SG: Never. I guess I was just biding my time until e-books finally took off. Boy did they ever!

COCO: So what was the turning point? What helped you break through?

SG: The first thing that happened was I discovered J.A. Konrath’s blog, A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing. Konrath is a traditionally published author who was treated like garbage and decided to break out of the vicious cycle and publish his own work. This was the first time that I actually saw any sales numbers.

When I found out that he was making hundreds of thousand of dollars a year off e-book sales, I realized that e-books had finally arrived, and it would be only a matter of time before I jumped in.

But I still had the same dilemma: I hadn’t finished anything yet.

COCO: So did you bolt yourself to your chair and finish one of your novels?

SG: No. I kept grinding away until one day I got this weird idea for a science fiction story. It’s very strange, so I won’t even mention the title. But the book taught me how to finish. In 10 days, while also working a full time job, I wrote, edited and published it.

Finally I had finished something!

It was around this time that I discovered a thread on Reddit about some guy named THROWAWAY_WRITER (TW) who claimed to have made $1,000 in one day off e-book sales. I read the entire thread several times, and integrated his ideas into my process.

Plenty of brilliant insights are hidden throughout the thread. First off, even though TW hadn’t published a novel, he was still making $1,000/day. That floored me. So I guess there really is a market for short fiction.

Next, TW had written over 80 different titles at the time (he now has over 200), which had been published in a span of 8 months. He got a lot of criticism for this, and many doubted his claims. But remember, he was writing short fiction, and as it turns out, he’s a fairly quick writer.

So what kinds of e-books did he write? Detective novelettes, contemporary thrillers, children’s books, business primers, science fiction and some naughty works that I best not mention. Of all the various genres that he described, it was the children’s books that caught my attention. I told myself that if I found the right artwork, I would consider writing one.

COCO: So did you?

SG: No, not immediately. I took one of the best short stories I had and overhauled it. I extended it from 1,200 to 3,000 words (the minimum length that TW suggested), and added some inspirational posts from my blog as bonus content. After working on it part time for five days, Literary Dynamite was born.

COCO: And how did it do?

SG: Awful. It’s sold about a dozen copies thus far, but I’m proud of each sale. It was a great effort, and I feel like it provides excellent value for 99 cents. It’s also a source of inspiration for aspiring authors.

What I found strange about Literary Dynamite is that I had been giving it away for free on my website for over a year, and people didn’t bother reading it all. I was more than willing to give away all of my content for free if I could make decent ad revenue, but it didn’t pan out.

So I went to Plan B: I packaged the content into an e-book, put it up on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and even with its paltry sales, made more money off it than I had before.

There’s a valuable lesson to be learned here. If you have content sitting on your hard drive that could be making money, you need to get it up. Consider these works as your employees. Put them to work so that you can bring you money while you’re working on your next masterpiece. You have no idea how much money you’re missing out on by not having your work published.

Get it up! You’ll be glad you did.

COCO: So is this when you decided to experiment with children’s books?

SG: Yes! I came across some outstanding dragon artwork and immediately knew that it would work well as a children’s picture book. But I’d never written a picture book before, so this was going to be a new experience.

But my real motivation was my son. He has a development delay, and while his speech is improving, he’s far behind other children his age. At the time, he couldn’t say the word dragon, so I was determined to use this children’s book to expand his vocabulary.

I wound up publishing it on Thanksgiving, and to my surprise, My Little Pet Dragon performed better than anything else I’d published to date. On top of that, it was fun, and my son really liked it. So I wrote another. And another. And another. Soon he was saying words like “frog,” “cat,” “monster,” “pig” and so on.

In the back of my mind, I remembered TW’s advice. Keep moving forward and focus on the shorter works. Once you have enough of the smaller works, package them into a collection. Go back and finish your novels once you can afford to.

COCO: So have you finally published a novel?

SG: Not yet. But it will be happening really soon.

COCO: Ok, and how many works do you have up now?

SG: Sixty. I published twenty in July.

COCO (nearly falls out of his chair): Excuse me? You can’t be serious.

SG: Dead serious.  At the end of March, I decided to quit my full time job as a Front End Web Developer for Fannie Mae to focus exclusively on writing. I’d just made more money the month before on e-book sales, so I knew it was time to make the leap.

But instead of jumping into my new occupation, I took some time off and relaxed. Too much time, in fact. And when my sales crashed in June, I realized that I wasn’t doing the things that I had promised to do. So I got my act together, and put out twenty new works.

COCO: No kidding!

SG: A lot of people doubted TW’s output, but if you’re motivated, focus on shorter titles and have all day to write, why can’t you? In time, you get better at everything that goes into the creative process.

For me, the ideal turnaround for a short story or children’s book is 2-3 days, but I’ve done several projects in a single day. It just depends on what you’re writing and how fast it comes together.

COCO: Wow, I’d be happy to write one book. How did you break through and finish something?

SG: There are a few factors that went into this. First, scaling back my expectations and choosing shorter works. Second, by disregarding the editor in my head and letting myself write the story in its entirety. Typically my first drafts are terrible, but get better with each successive draft. Get it all out first, and then go back and correct it. You can do it, but you have to believe in yourself first.

Once you put it all down, it’s just a matter of finding the right words to describe what you’re trying to say. Each new draft may feel like raising the Titanic, but you’ll be proud when you finally arrive at your intended destination.

Believe that you can succeed, and then do it.

COCO: I noticed that your collection contains pictures of Beagles, Bulldogs, Pugs and Labradors. Is there any reason why you didn’t write about Jack Russell Terriers? I mean, you and I are family. You could at least write one about us.

SG: Well, I haven’t acquired the assets yet.

COCO: Sure. Don’t be surprised if your computer smells a little funny tomorrow.

SG: No, seriously. I’m telling the truth. As a matter of fact, I just located some great photographs today.

COCO: So when can we expect Adorable Dogs: Jack Russell Terriers?

SG: In the next few weeks or so.

COCO (shakes his head): Your iMac isn’t going to be happy with me.

SG: All right, the next few days.

COCO: And I want you to do multiple editions.

SG: You got it!

COCO: And I want a collection exclusively for us.

SG: Done.

COCO: It’s nice doing business with you, master.

Coco searches the bag of Beggin’ Strips, and realizes that it’s empty.

COCO: Oops. So…uh…what else can we expect from you in the coming weeks?

SG: Fewer dog books, that’s for sure. Except for Jack Russell Terriers, of course. A few more volumes of my Alphabet All-Stars series are also on the way. I thought I had written my last alphabet book, but I keep coming up with more ideas. I’ve decided that I’m going to write three more, and put out one large collection, similar to what I’ve done with Mega Collection #1.

But that’s not the focus. I’ll be zeroing in on my two most successful franchises: My Little Pet Dragon and My Crazy Pet Frog. Expect novelizations of each as well as sequels. Readers should expect My Little Pet Dragon Ness and Secret Agent Disco Dancer shortly.

I’ll also be finishing off a few projects that have hung around for a while. Although Braedyn Bunny and the Missing Eggs was an Easter project, it’s a solid title despite the holiday theme. I expect it to do well once it’s finally released. It’s a very special title; you’ll see. And of course, I’ve always got a top-secret project or two in the works.

COCO: Great! Well, I guess that’s all the questions I have for you.

SG: Good, because I have one for you.

COCO: Ok, let’s hear it.

SG: How do you plan on typing up your book? I don’t think your paws can operate a human keyboard. And if you use your nose to type the letters one at a time, it will take forever.

COCO: That’s why I have you, oh master.

SG: What?!

COCO: You’re going to type it up for me. And do the cover. And create the e-book. You already feed me and take me for long walks, so it shouldn’t be a big deal.

SG: But I’ve got my own books to write.

COCO: Consider it an investment into the longevity of your iMac. Any last words you’d like to say?

SG: Yes. I’d like to thank to every single reader out there who has ever bought my work. Every sale means something to me. Knowing that I’ve created something of value that someone is willing to pay for is meaningful.

Thank you. Thank you for taking a chance on me.

I’ll be following up all of my successful titles in the coming months. And if there’s something you’d like me to write, let me know on my blog. Since I publish directly, there’s no middleman. No agent to go through, no representative to tell me that it’s a bad idea or that it will never sell.

I take risks. That’s what successful people do. And the day that I shy away from this is the day that I should stop writing. I don’t believe in taking the well-worn path. I prefer to strike out on my own.

So if you like my work now, you’ll love what I have in store for you in the coming months. It will truly be my best work to date.

COCO: Is there a point when you’ll eventually stop writing children’s books?

SG: Perhaps when I’ve written 1,000 of them. Yeah, that’s probably when I should move onto something else. Perhaps…

COCO: Well, we better get cracking on my book. It’s already getting dark. Quick, hide the empty bag. I hear Snoopy just around the corner.

SG: He’s going to find out, anyways.

COCO: Then tell him you ate the last of the Beggin’ Strips. Oh no, here he comes. Hide!

SG: Yeah, right. It’s not a big deal, is it Snoopy? Uh, Snoopy?

Snoopy barks, and then charges Scott.

SG: No, it’s not my fault. He did it. Ahhh!!!

And they lived happily ever after.

THE END.