Book 2 - Pre-marketing Options

Here it is, a mere month before book 2, Reztap and The Quest for the Insane Moth, would have gone on sale and I'm still mulling over my pre-marketing options. I've learned that I've already accomplished some things, I'm right on track with others, and hopelessly behind the eight ball about to get sunk in a corner pocket with the other things.

The rudest note was checking out this link (http://allindiewriters.com/book-marketing-timeline-from-pre-launch-to-post-launch/) outlining what I should do to pre-market my book and when. The timeline starts nine months before book launch! Yeah, that's so not happening. Still, glancing through the list, I did see that I'd gotten some things done already, although that was primarily because they were done for the first book.

Get a MailChimp account - check. Send emails out bi-weekly or once a month - damn. Already missed on that one, mostly because I don't want to fill my the inboxes of my minuscule mailing list with pointless chatter. So, guess I'll be getting a pre-launch email out to them so they know what's going on at least. Putting that on my To Do List, honestly.

Then I'm down to building lists of things, most of which I'm not sure exist or I can reasonably find. Finally, get an author head shot. Thank goodness that's already done. I'm going to be a searching maniac the next couple of months trying to catch up on the other lists...and some of it won't matter because it's already way too late...but not for book 3!

However, with all this insane pre-marketing activity supposedly going into place, I've had to slow roll the entire machine. The "would have gone on sale" is the key note here. Book two is done and in the bag (writing, editing, cover art, book formatting, etc.), but I had to slow everything down for two reasons - one, I want to do things right and there are some prerequisites that still have to be put in place for that to happen. The bigger reason is: I'm simply out of cash.

Starting over professionally and financially since moving here has put us on the edge. It will pass, but it pushes off the publishing date of book two to an as yet undetermined date. I've been advised by a marketing contractor to get "professional" reviews of both the prequel (Mishaps and Mayhem) and book one (The Adventures of Reztap) before I forward book two for the same treatment. All of that will be a three to four month process. I hope to get it started within the month of November, but I can't make any guarantees.

Which puts this whole matter into perspective. What have I learned from this extensive process that perhaps you too, the reader, may be able to apply to your own book marketing adventures?

1. Book marketing is key to a successful book launch.
2. Continuing book marketing has some value but falls off after time.
3. If you're doing a series, get the first books reviewed first; don't start in the middle.
4. There is a LOT to book marketing - see the list above and plan well ahead of time.
5. Marketing is an uncomfortable requirement for someone who just wants to write - but if you want to sell your books as well as write them, it is a necessary evil.

This just relates to marketing. I saw an article that bemoaned the amount of book marketing going on in social media and the article author said "Just write a good book and it will sell itself." Honestly, my jaw dropped open when I read this. It was from a book author who had already written several books and had an audience already. I wondered what he did when he "first" started out? Not advertise or try to market his book at all and it magically sold well? I think not. Even a well written book has to be pushed onto the market with some kind of publicity or, quite simply, NO ONE will know it exists!

So, write your book, get it edited professionally, and start the marketing process. It's a long one, but don't be discouraged. It won't happen fast or overnight - it takes pre-planning and discipline.

Regards,
Artemus

The Bump and Grind!

Admit it - it was an enticing title! I'm becoming a click bait master. Seriously, though, it's really all about the grind. Not any bump explored in this article, though that in itself would be interesting but a bit off mark for my blog. The grind comes from breaking into a new job field which takes a lot of time, energy and concentration. I'd be whining and moaning about how this cuts into my writing time if it wasn't for the fact that A) the marketing of my second book is still crawling to a start and B) I need the funds to get the marketing started, which requires becoming good at my new career. It's quite the cart before the horse argument. None of this brings my writing to the fore - in fact, it's really depressed my writing time and production to, well, basically nothing. But, let's be honest, no matter how much I write, it's going to take a long time for my writing to pay the bills, if it ever does. Luckily, that isn't what drives my writing in the first place, so you can look forward to me completing this series within the next couple of years - I'm simply driven to do so!

Launching into a new career is exciting and frightening all at the same time. You see the fruits of the labors of the veterans around you, realize it will take some time to get to that level and, oh my, how am I going to put food on the table? I've embraced the new job and put all my time and energy into making it work. I've been lucky to have such great team members sharing their expertise and showing me the ropes. They've really built an incredible teaching culture here. Even so, it's been a bit of touch and go with the finances. My checking account has dropped below zero more than once in the last three months, and that's not something I've seen happen since the I was laid off ten years ago. This career is all sales and commission. There is no salary. You take a break, you starve (unless you've been so successful, you've built up a hefty nest egg to take time off). I have no nest egg. It's actually going to be a sprint for the next year or two just to keep the creditors at bay. It's frightening that I can't just show up to work, "dial it in," put my butt in a chair and coast for the day if I need to. There's no such luxury in sales. On the other hand, there's thrill in the hunt, adrenaline in the chase and the promise of a reward if you've done your job well and right.

Now, if I could just time travel to where I'll be in six months or a year from now, I'll be walking in and closing like a champion (a possible exaggeration). As it is, I'm still a newbie. I'm hoping I can last to the finish line of the first year, when most new agents have given up and dropped out. Can I hold it together without breaking from the pack and running for the hills? I will say I have one thing going for me - I'm as stubborn as a mule when it comes to sticking it out and giving my all towards success. I've risen to the top tier of pretty much every job I've held by just staying in there and doing a good job, working my hardest and not losing sight of the goal. I can do this if I can just hold out and get there.

Let's drop into the energy side of the equation. I'm middle aged, so I'm not quite as energetic as the spring chickens around me. That may seem to put me on the fast track to failure, but while I'm not the fastest or most energetic, that isn't what actually wins this game. The young look for the quick reward nowadays. If they try it for a few weeks or even just days and don't see immediate reward, some of them are out the door onto another job that looks more promising. I know the value of the slow and steady progression to not just sales but also expertise in the field. Getting to know your products, the sales cycle and your customers takes a while to discover and absorb until you feel like a sales call is second nature, overcoming an objection is child's play and riding the wave to success seems like it was always destined to be. There's a real value to seeing the veterans in the office and knowing they were in the same boat as you when they started. They overcame their inexperience and blossomed into successful professionals. I'm banking on my persistence and tenacity to get me there as well.

I'm fortunate that I'm middle-aged and not a little more advanced in age. It hasn't affected my memory; I'm still able to do the repetitious study and practice that begets expertise. Were I to try starting this career in my later years, I'm not sure my mind and focus would be up to the task. In truth, the only thing I do wish is that I'd started a little earlier in life. Then, I'd be enjoying the fruits of my labors instead of just starting up the hill. Unfortunately, there's only so much focus to go around -  my concentration has to be centered on my job and that definitely affects my writing.

I started book three shortly before I left Texas. It had a promising start, but the stress and activities surrounding the move (and marketing book one) simply drove my concentration from the writing that needed to be done to progress on book three. Truth be told, it doesn't matter in the short term. Book two is months away from being published, although it has been completed. It's now moving at the typical glacial pace of a major publisher, although it's a smaller press involved. There's really no rush to complete book three. Hence, I get to concentrate on becoming better at insurance sales in the mean time.

In all honestly, the transition has been refreshing. Writing led to my time in the acting profession, which increased my improvisational skills and, really, that's at the core of making cold calls on a telephone. The split second reactions you make are at the core of making the first step in a sale - the appointment. My time in IT led to both looking for solutions and handling customer issues which is really at the heart of the sales cycle of finding out what the client needs and then presenting them suitable options.I love helping people and this job actually gets to the core of that desire - I help people transfer the risks they sometimes don't even realize they have to the insurance company. They get protection and piece of mind.

And in the end, doesn't that make it worth the grind?

Regards,
Artemus

P.S. You may have noticed me having a bit of fun with the links in the blog. Some are spot on and others take a bit of thinking to connect what I mean with the link. Just wanted to show you I'm still thinking and trying marketing all at the same time!

Pants Around My Ankles!

If there's one thing I've learned in this world, there are fewer things that make you feel like an imbecile than starting a new job. With the remote possibility of getting got dropping trow to take engage in an emergency bowel evacuation (thank you, maximum punch homemade burritos), nothing makes you feel as exposed and ignorant as trying to accomplish something in a brand new occupation. I've had the profound pleasure of sticking my foot in my mouth, looking like I know what I'm doing and fooling myself into thinking I'm gonna nail this sucker!

I'm rebooting my professional life as an insurance salesman. I can hear the collective sucking in of the internet's breath now. Stop it! As I've been deep in the bowels of the humor and entertainment industry, I've heard the jokes, complaints and bemused guffaws at my chosen profession. Honestly, I've heard them for every profession, so in reality, I'm a bit immune to any off-hand criticisms, especially from armchair non-employees. Unfortunately, I did manage to step my foot in it recently on an all-day bender on the phones. I was calling leads, trying to make appointments to come out and see folks when I got the daughter of a deceased woman answering the phone. It was the fourth or fifth phone number I'd dialed where the unfortunate target of my calls had passed away. Unfortunately, I was a bit unfocused by this point. The first thing that came to my mind was "Fantastic, another lead that has me calling people who've passed on!" I think that is actually a reasonable thing to run through someone's mind. Brace yourself - this is where it gets awful. The first thing out of my mouth? "Fantastic."

Have you picked yourself up off the floor yet? I just told a still grieving daughter (or granddaughter, I'm not sure which) that it was "Fantastic" that her relative had passed away four months ago. Not surprisingly, she didn't think so. I spent the next thirty seconds apologizing profusely and getting my body as deep under the nearest rock as possible. After getting of the phone with this young lady, I turned the phone off and sat thinking about my idiocy. I found my idiocy to be palpable and engorged. I considering a brief visit to a medical clinic or possible dousing myself with industrial hemorrhoid shrinkage formula. That's all well and good, but what did I learn from my experience?

I'm actually an incredibly nice and caring person. How could I make such an astounding mistake in manners and sensibility? Fatigue, mostly. I had been on the phone dialing like crazy for hours and hadn't taken a break. I learned my lesson and now I take a break every hour, get up, walk around and stretch. Sometimes, I even partake of a refreshing beverage. I learned later that this is a necessary practice for everyone, not just something my addled brain must utilize to prevent tossing emotional daggers to the hearts of those who've lost loved ones.

I've chatted with folks about insurance, although I'm far from an expert. I have a long way to go to be able to handily riff through the complexities of insurance and annuities without pausing to look through a manual to get the full story across. However, even with the limited (although very intense) knowledge I've attained in the past few weeks, I'm head and shoulders above the level of understanding most people have about their own insurance and needs. It's not just the truth about insurance but pretty much any industry. While I was in IT, I knew plenty of others in the IT industry who were more knowledgeable than I about many computer-based subjects. However, I was head and shoulders above most normal people. The more you study, the more you immerse yourself, the better an expert you can be in whatever you choose to do professionally. Honestly, anyone can do this with most any profession. There aren't a lot who have the patience or perseverance, which is why so many quit before they reach the point where they're good enough to make a living and even excel at it.

After two weeks of studying and testing to get a license, and another two weeks of on-the-job training with what I consider some of the top experts in my field, I'm feeling fairly confident that I can do this. I'm about to enter three intensive days of training, but I'm already chomping at the bit to go out there on my own and make some solo sales. Of course, I realize I'm not really quite ready, but I'm fooling myself into thinking I am. I need to take a breath, put my nose into the books (in this case forms and instructions), and continue to partner with the best agents around to complete my internship. I won't lie. It's hard to hold back. I'm a natural at talking to people and finding out what they need. But I need to be more than a natural. I need to be an expert so I can guide them there with the best knowledge and offer them the best options. They're my clients and I care about them. So, I need to do my best to study and excel so I can offer them the best service and products.

When you think about it, isn't this a mirror of what the best in all professional fields do? Don't just give it a passing effort. Really dig in and study up on your job, Become an expert in your field so you can do the best job possible. That's the best way to succeed and the best way to be a fully contributing member of society. IMHO.

I truly believe I've done this with my novel writing. I think my scripts are up to snuff as well, but I've learned that all the hard work in writing can't equal success. You have to become an expert in so many different professions to truly excel at being an author. I'm still getting the hang of marketing. The hardest thing about it is, there are a lot of theories and suggestions, but no one has a textbook or solid list of instructions telling you how to get your book out there. It's tough. I hope all the aspiring writers out there realize that the first part of being a successful author is excelling at the craft of writing. The second piece is excelling at marketing and promotion. I'm not giving up on that target, but I find it interesting that it's been easier to become an insurance agent than it has to be a successful author. I'll be at it for a year or two before I feel I've really nailed it down, but I've been writing for over a decade and success is still just out of reach.

It's been a sobering realization about how tough some professions can be when they don't seem to be that complicated on the surface. I hope some of you can get some inspiration from both my flawed execution and my perseverance in the face of professional adversity. Keep trying and stick with it folks! Oh, and try to keep your pants on while you're thinking about dragons.

All the best,
Artemus

Old Endings, New Beginnings

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. It's a phrase used to represent the beginning of a new marriage. However, in my case, I'd like to use it to address my upcoming geographical relocation from the Houston metro area to the Seattle metro area.

Something old - I've lived in Houston longer than I've lived in any town my entire life. My wife and I have dreamed on moving to the northwest for nearly as long as we've been married, but we chose this phase of our life to be in Houston where our kids could go to the same schools all the way through high school graduation. Sure, job opportunities brought us here originally, but the desire for stability for our daughters kept us here. We desired something we didn't have - the chance to start and finish in the same high school. Was it worth it? In the end, I Don't know. My children have grown up to be stable and responsible, so that seems to have paid off, but then so are their parents and we had crazy instability growing up in different ways. I like to think it will help our kids lead better lives which is all we really want for them.

But the time has come to say goodbye to the old house, goodbye to friends and goodbye to old experiences. I think Houston was good to us in the long run and there are things I'll miss about it, but ultimately, it wasn't where we wanted to start the next chapter in our lives. So before I start a new job hunt, I want to be in a new area with new opportunities and new challenges.

Something new - the Seattle area is incredibly beautiful. We'll be living near Mt. Rainier which is a spectacular sight as you drive by from our new home just south of Tacoma into Seattle proper. The trees are abundant, the geography mountainous/hilly and the weather is nowhere near the hot and humid we experience every spring and summer in Houston. I will get to experience relatively allergy free symptoms - something I haven't experienced since the last time I was in the Seattle area some twenty plus years ago. We have some family and friends we'll be connecting with in the area, so that will be a refreshing change from when we originally came to Houston and knew no one. Hopefully that insight will make the job hunt a little easier - last time I went jobless in the IT industry in Houston, that lasted three years. I noticed it wouldn't be much easier this time around, so I wanted to go where the prospects might be a little richer. Getting laid off from IT jobs three times in Houston was enough to send me packing.

I'm also a newly professionally published author. Not quite ready to kick off the training wheels yet, but I'm ready to get back to writing book three after my relocation. It will be a new book in new surroundings. I will also get to participate in the Hugo Awards which is something I'd never even dreamed of. The Worldcon (World Science Fiction Convention) aka Sasquan is being held in Spokane, WA this year and I'm already signed up. I will briefly return to Houston for Space City Comic Con in July, even though I probably won't make back the travel expense.

Something borrowed - I'm on borrowed time financially speaking. While we've successfully sold our house in Houston, we've really only got funds for the first couple months' living expenses once we get to Seattle. It is an incredible leap of faith that we'll find enough money from jobs fast enough to keep our head above water. I'm sure there are safety nets I might pull on from family and friends, but that's never been something I've been comfortable doing. I do have some remote work possibilities setup already before I leave Houston, but you never know if those will bear fruit in a timely manner, so I'm not depending on them to come through. I'm hitting the ground running in Seattle and searching as soon as I get there.

Something blue - this is definitely a sad parting. I had hopes things would look up financially to stay here for a few more years, but the winds of fate have proven otherwise. There were projects I wanted to start and see through with friends here. I dreamed of completing the six planned books for The Chronicles of Reztap while I was physically in Houston as well. The old house just wouldn't have it and crapped out at just the right moment to have us searching for a solution. That solution turned out to be selling it to a rehab business and taking our modest gains and starting anew somewhere else. In a way, it seems fate led us to our final landing spot - the northwest of the USA. I've dreamed of returning to a prosperous wooded community on the West Coast for a long time. I'm sad to leave friends behind, but hopeful the new neighborhood will be welcoming and fruitful.

If you ever find yourself journeying up Seattle way, drop me a line. We love to have visitors and already plan on seeing old friends from across the country again before we even have everything unpacked.

Keep Dreaming!

Artemus

P.S. EDIT: This post was changed to reflect I will be going to Space City Comic Con after all.

Beaten and Broken!

So dramatic. I do admit to being beaten and broken (nearly) when it comes to getting reviews. I haven't given up entirely, but the tradition routes have offered little in the way of fruit. My request for reviews have, in a sense, been almost completely fruitless!

FAIR WARNING: This blog post gets a bit analytical...you've been warned...in triplicate!

Try as I might, the simple request for reviews from family, friends, old co-workers, fellow writers and even the mailman have come up practically empty. I did manage to get one friend, who I haven't ever met in person, to write a review for Mishaps after he downloaded a copy of it and read it during the free Amazon giveaway period. He rated it a 4, which I value highly as a well reasoned review accompanying the rating.

Is Mishaps and Mayhem any good? I've actually gotten raves about it in person - one enthusiastic reader laughed out loud while reading it during a convention as I chatted with someone else. They liked it so much, they bought Adventures as well! This was a fellow author. If I can make a fellow author laugh, it must be at least passably decent writing. Of the other comments I've had about that book, they've loved it. To be fair, I actually wrote the prequel AFTER writing book one and two, so I had a really good handle on my characters, writing style and insight from the editing process on Adventures - it was, in short, the third book I'd written, so it should be pretty good, right?

Onto Adventures of Reztap! Is it any good? My editor, publisher and another friend (who read the first edition) thought it was a great laugh and good fun! I'll have to find out if my author friend liked it as much, hopefully at the upcoming Comicpalooza here in Houston. I will be attending the convention and displaying and selling my wares at a booth rented by Triscelle Publishing - they were so impressed with the books they offered to give me shelf space to sell Mishaps and Mayhem and Adventures alongside their own books. I feel incredibly honored that they have shared that space and their time and effort to help me get a leg up. I wasn't able to get a booth at Comicpalooza this year, so that's my only way of getting exposure. Very nice people at Triscelle Publishing! (They offered after several hours of interaction and upon a reading of one of my books - I did NOT ask. This was a gracious gift, not a negotiation after I requested anything - so please don't pester them, but do buy their books!)

But, what does that have to do with reviews? The author who loves my book hasn't written a review, and I know she loves it! What's a writer to do? I've met the system halfway. Amazon does allow for free copies to be given away in exchange for an honest review (provided the reviewer include the following disclaimer "I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review" in their review.) Easy as pie, right?

Consider Mishaps and Mayhem was free for five days, downloaded countless times (I really don't know how many times - only my publisher does and they haven't told me yet - but it was in the top 7,000 free Kindle downloads by the end), and I personally requested a group of friends to download it (for FREE) and please review it - and I got ONE review! So, no, not easy at all. Luckily (I hope), I found a service that will post my free offer to prospective reviewers with the implied agreement they will post an honest review in exchange for the free eBook. Enter Choosy Bookworm! Don't applaud just yet, the service to post my book offer isn't free, but I'm at a desperate point for some reviews. You can't pay for reviews (according to Amazon's term of service), which this does not do. I'm paying an advertising fee to get my "book offer" in front of "mostly" reliable reviewers. The reviewers themselves get no money - they only get a free eBook.

Interested in a free eBook of The Adventures of Reztap? Check out the page at Choosy Bookworm and sign up!

So, I still haven't gone down the "disreputable road" of paying for reviews. Are other authors paying to get reviews? I checked out the top twenty or so best selling Amazon science fiction eBooks. The range of reviews rank from 2 to literally over 10,000! None have "zero" reviews. The ones with few reviews appear to have a built-in audience - these are writers who have already gathered a large number of fans/readers, so the reviews may not mean that much in relation to sales. The only correlation I saw for sales was no one had "no" reviews. Did anyone pay for them, though? Not that I could tell. I'm also not an expert at culling through reams of data looking for patterns. I'd give you a detailed analysis of my research methods, but that would be painfully boring. Suffice it to say, I see some value in having a few reviews. I don't necessarily need 10,000!

With no built-in fan base, I'm starting from scratch. I didn't see any debut authors in the top twenty list. That may be something to hope for a few books down the line or maybe even with another series after I've built up a solid foundation of readers and fans. I'm SOOOO jumping the gun that I'll actually build a foundation of fans, but I'm trying to be optimistic here! I'm hoping I see good sales after another book or two comes out. I have to prime the pump beforehand with advance copies to get reviews on Amazon as SOON as book two comes out.

I think that's about all the analytics you're going to get from me tonight. Happy reviewing!

Regards,
Artemus

Reztap and the Quest for the Insane Moth - Book 2 News

We're flying to the next book in the Chronicles of Reztap series - Reztap and the Quest for the Insane Moth! See what I did there - flying? OK, bad joke. The Quest manuscript and cover are completed while the editing has just started. It feels like I did this just a few months ago with Book One - oh, that's because I did just do this a few months ago!

The manuscript for Quest was done faster than the manuscript for Book One (Adventures), which technically had it's infancy in the 1980s. Given that time frame, Adventures took roughly 30 years to complete! Really, though, I was maturing as a writer during that time, with countless revisions, writing group critiques and some writing workshops thrown in there the last ten years. The previous twenty was more of a life happens delay, with sporadic writing occurring here and there including two Star Trek: The Next Generation scripts - which sadly never saw or had a chance at production.

Book Two took about eight months. The lightning round began in June when I figured full time writing would be a fine career transition, and that's when I really put the steam and brought the final manuscript to my soon to be publisher, Chart House Press, in August. That included a great deal of part-time writing, but it really paled in comparison to writing the prequel, Mishaps and Mayhem - A Primer to The Adventures of Reztap. I wrote that 100-page set of three short stories in three weeks (the bulk of which was roughly 80 - pages in the last six days before I sent it in.) That was a real eye opener to my writing abilities - I clocked over 5,000 words one day. To put it bluntly, that's insane, but it worked. I was in the groove so to speak.

If you managed to get out to see me at the Houston's Authors Bash 2015, AggieCon 46 or the MenilFest last weekend, you would have seen the cover art for Quest. I know I have many fans who are not able to make it in person out to see me, but I'm not quite at liberty to the cover at this time. Quest is a darker book by far than Adventures and that is reflected in the cover art. It's dark and populated with zombies! It does play a bit on the zombie tropes out there - I hope my Adventures blurb writer, Joe McKinney, continues to have a healthy sense of humor as I'm traipsing a bit on his territory being one of the foremost in the zombie field (see his Dead City book series for some great, fast-paced zombie action!)

Jerrica Law did a fantastic job on the art of the Quest book cover. She's really nailed the vision I had for the covers and delivered great cover art. Book Zero (Mishaps) was actually a quick revision of a sketch she originally did for the Adventures book cover which I rejected since Adventures didn't involve a shipwreck. Mishaps did and that helped her get the cover out quick for the quick to write, quick to press prequel. She's currently hard at work on the book cover for the third book in the series. I won't reveal the name just yet for a few reasons - I like suspense and I'm not under contract with my publisher for it yet, so the delivery date and publication are nowhere close to set in stone. I've only just barely begun to write it as well. Marketing and coordination for the first two books (and the prequel) have kept my attention away from the important task of writing the book. After Quest comes out, we'll see where we are with Chart House Press and find out if they're ready for the next set of books or not.

Then we have editing! This was my down with the first edition - not getting a professional editor. Second edition of Adventures is fully edited and is so immeasurably better than first edition that I shudder to open the fist edition to take a peek. The manuscript transition from third person to first person introduced so many writing mistakes that I overlooked on three personal editing passes that I knew it had to have the keen eye of a top notch editor to give it any hope of survival. Happily, Chart House Press connected me with Erika Wisdom, a fine editor and fan of science fiction. It's good to get an editor who is not only sharp, but also "gets it" when a humorous novel poking fun at science fiction tropes comes across her desk.

Erika will also be editing Quest! I'm very excited to continue what I consider a successful partnership with such a fine editor. She quite properly dissected Adventures, providing a bevy of corrections and suggestions, putting the manuscript in excellent shape. After I completed my run-through of incorporating everything she had exhaustively done, I then had to go back and look at my own changes with a fine tooth comb to make sure I hadn't introduced further errors with my own revisions. I think I nailed it, although a last minute grammar check revealed a few things I'd overlooked. Still, it was a much better experience than I thought it would be - I'm very happy with the final product and look forward to the same experience with Quest.

Stay tuned for a revelation of the book cover for Quest - coming soon!

Regards,
Artemus

I've Had It!

I reached the breaking point a few days ago. I don't want this to come as a shock to anyone, so I'm going to lay it out there. I've had it with my computer. We're done. It will be retired soon.

I've had an extensive career in the computer industry working on the first IBM PC with a 10Mb hard drive while I was in the Air Force. that, I played around with a Commodore 128 even going so far as to digitize the opening credits of a home movie based on The Adventures of Reztap. Yes, the book has been around in various stages for a very long time. I'll count it a blessing that VHS is nearly extinct and the likelihood of me appearing as Chuck in a pink shirt on some You Tube channel is incredibly remote. The film exists but I'm fairly certain it has been lost to the sands of time. Ask me at ApolloCon or Sasquan why I appear as Chuck and not someone else. It's an interesting story.

I used a Xerox Star computer, what could arguably be called the forerunner to Windows. I was at the forefront of networking technology and the internet in the military when Novell 2 came out and actually became a network engineer using Novell 3.12. I've seen my share of PCs in that space from the Zenith Z-100 the way thru the different PCs that came out on a bevy of government contracts sporting Windows 3.11. In later years I watched PC technology on the Microsoft version grow and expend, at times being infuriating in it's complexity or bugginess, but also nodding my head at some good engineering or, at the very least, some savvy use of monopoly muscle to absorb and defeat competitors.

All the while I wished I could afford the other personal computer branch of technology that seemed more interesting and better engineered. It could not use monopolistic muscle because it didn't have it. This was, of course, the Apple computers of the day. I remember using Apple IICs in school when I was younger. I had a friend had an early Macintosh computer in the late 80s and it seemed it could do so any more wonderful things than the plain PC I owned. But, I was in the military, attending college and raising three daughter(with the invaluable aid of my lovely wife...okay, I really aided her.) There was no way I'd be able to afford the Cadillac of computers for the day.

Jump forward to my current PC. It's not current, but it used to be stable. A Windows 7 operating system on a modest PC. Nothing fancy, but powerful enough to do some graphic manipulation and, more importantly, easily able to allow me to write on. At least, it was until a few months ago. The computer is completely updated, has virus software installed and doesn't appear to be bogged down by and spyware. It is, however, making it nigh impossible to write on. Every few seconds or minutes, it varies, the application I'm working on will "lose focus". If I'm writing something, it will simply stop capturing my keystrokes and words and move focus to another application or just to nothing at all. Sometimes it comes back and continues to take my words, while missing a large (or small) chunk of what I've written. It drove me crazy editing book two, Reztap and the Quest for the Insane Moth. I had to correct my corrections,and then go back and correct those. I've tried writing book three, but I'm simply getting mad at the computer. Not healthy for combating writer's block caused by the problems in the first place.

As I need to a computer capable of doing professional level voice over work as well as allow me to simply write, I finally made the switch. My Apple iMac should be arriving this week. I'll be learning a new operating system somewhat. I have used Apples before but, other than my iPhone and iPad, I've never owned one besides an eMac a friend of mine gifted to me years ago. I used it to edit video back then and was suitably impressed. It isn't functional for what I need it for and was outdated years ago. Now, with at least a temporary ability to afford the somewhat high end computer, I've finally taken the leap.

Did I try to fix my Windows 7 PC? Absolutely. It just became a hassle to search for solutions, implement them and have them not work. In a business setting, I would simply reimage the computer - set it up from scratch and reinstall the necessary drivers and programs. I can envision doing that with my current computer and losing touch for days as I try to get it up and running again. That is too much time and way more trouble than I want to go through. I will probably still utilize it for a while as I transition over to the Mac, but other than this blog post (which has been interrupted multiple times by that infuriating focus loss), I will likely never write on it again. I know, Windows fans will ask why I didn't get a Windows 8 computer. The answer is simple. I didn't like it. I've done some consulting work on the side and I just didn't care for the metro interface. Doing the voice over work I want to do (audio books for Reztap on the immediate horizon) is simple on the Mac and always a bit more of a work-around on the PC. I get the gut impression the work will be substandard from the PC. It has been that way in the past. I'm simply jumping ship now while I've got the chance.

Don't get me wrong - I'm certain I'll still be doing consulting work (or more) with PCs in the future. This is the first time a Mac will be my primary personal computer, though. Wish me luck. Now I have to figure out how to get some ancient Windows programs to work on it to support my tele-RPG game with my friends in Illinois and Colorado.

Regards,
Artemus

The Rollercoaster! Marketing Round 1...

Ups, downs and all arounds! I've been so busy with book launch duties, I haven't had a moment to my blogging. With Facebook parties, blog tours and guest blogs, my busy cup runneth over!

First Facebook party was a success! Well, it was fun and the attendees enjoyed themselves. It took some time to come up with the trivia and fun facts elements, but I was assisted in the actual party by none other than Maggie Mae Gallagher who ran all the behind the scenes stuff while the party progressed. I just responded to what people posted. Was it widely attended? I'd say no, but this is my first and you have to start building a base In all honestly, I started building that base with this party! I developed some nice friendships with some attendees, everyone got a free eBook while attending and a few people promised to read the books and follow along with the sequels just because the party was so entertaining and the book previews were too. Definitely gained a few readers and, really, what more can you ask from a book launch party? I'm sold on doing the same for all my other books.

Blog tours = a fairly significant prep time. Well, fairly significant for some people. I had to write unique guest blogs for each blog and some requested a unique book synopsis as well. Had to provide author bios and a few pics. So, that was several thousand words I donated to the cause that weren't spent on books. But, you know what? I was quite pleased to do it! Here I have an opportunity to write brand new material and get new readers to view it! Asking a writer to write something is asking them to do the easiest thing they have on their plate! The only damper on the whole thing was actually other events going on in life - unfortunately, book marketing doesn't happen in a vacuum. Life happens. So, while it was easy to write, it was stressful due to my real life being busy and complicated at the moment they needed the copy.

The uniqueness of guest blogs (not blog tours) is they happen relatively quietly. The built-in readership of the blog is primarily your audience, but there isn't a lot of interaction. I do provide purchase links and social media contacts, but really no telling how many people look at the blog, click on the links or follow me via social media. While this may seem a waste of time, you would be dead wrong! Here is yet another opportunity to reach a reader I otherwise may not have touched. The writing f the blog itself should be the selling point. OK, to a degree, I don't have as much opportunity to tell what kind of impact the efforts of a guest have for my marketing efforts. However, I'm convinced it cannot hurt. Any new reader could be the word of mouth my book(s) need to get the ball rolling and expand that readership.

Looking at all these simple writing exercises, it doesn't really appear much time was spent at all in the marketing effort. This is where the behind the scenes marketing comes into play to suck up your free time like a sneaky black hole. Promoting these events on Facebook and Twitter (primarily Twitter) is the big time suckage. While I'm promoting the events, I'm also promoting books. If I added up all the text from these activities, I have several thousand words a day under my belt. Unfortunately, none of that is in book form. In fact, when your book launches, you can forget about writing for a while. It will absorb and consume your attention! I haven't managed to pull my focus off the marketing and sales to get any writing done. This takes some supreme time management skills, especially as life (family and part-time consulting work) invade the precious few hours you have to devote to your writing business.

Did I mention booking time at conventions? Yeah, that takes a bit of research as well which is more time not writing. The bag here is mixed as well. Some events you can apply as a guest fairly easily. Others require more lead time than I had - must be published before you can apply and that application date has already passed. Still, I've managed to either apply as a guest or get a table for book signing/book selling at a convention every month through September. What that also means is a significant outlay of cash. Not for each event, but cumulatively, it's quite a chunk including accommodations, travel and food. I've been fortunate enough to get additional consulting work to draw out my savings longer. I simply hope the tail of the sales from the books is sufficient and quick enough to support my efforts in the short run as well as the long run. Ah well, you can't plan for everything. The universe reveals itself at its own pace.

I write this blog not to complain but to give others writers a perspective of what to expect when and if they become published. It's not a write a book and forget it kind of lifestyle except for the quaint few celebrities who actually can do that. For the rest of us, the work has just begun when the ink is dry.

Keep writing!

Artemus

Terry Pratchett Dies - Another Source of Inspiration Vanishes Overnight

Another author I admire just passed away. Terry Pratchett, author of the Discworld series has left us at the age of 66 after battling Alzheimer's disease for 8 years. Tough to soldier on after this blow, but I'll keep plugging away.

I was just leafing through his series of books the other day thinking "Oh, he's relatively young yet. I might even get to meet him!" I had no idea he'd been battling nasty, debilitating illness. Alzheimer's is one nasty bugger too. He really faced it with resilience though, writing through it all and releasing his final book this last summer.

I'm going to miss the humor. The finely crafting sentences and laugh out loud moments kept me entertained for a long time. the very least, there is a large volume of work to review and enjoy. Just tears me up that it's ended, all too soon in my opinion. But then, we really don't have a Use By date stamped on our forehead. Every moment we have on this world is precious and should be used to the fullest. Our expiration date is a mystery to most of us.

So, will I let this devastating blow to my personal little world of inspiration get me down? Maybe a little, but it's not going to keep me down. Where Terry Pratchett inspired millions of readers, I too shall endeavor to do the same! OK, my goal may be a few thousand; I'd be awfully lucky to pass the million mark. I'd still like to believe his legacy will live on in what I can write and in how I can entertain my readers. There's a little bit of Terry Pratchett in all of us. I hope we can all strive to pass it on and make the world a better place.

I wish the best for Terry's family in this time of loss. My heart goes out to you all.

Regards,
Artemus

Runup to Reztap #1

What a crazy week! With the upcoming launch (March 9th) of book one in The Chronicles of Reztap series - The Adventures of Reztap, I've been busily engaged with proof reviews, web site construction, and setting up blog tours, convention appearances and book signings. It's all a lot of activity - more so with the missus taking off this weekend and leaving me to handle the daily activities of the household including care and feeding of two dogs and a grandson. While those activities have actually been a pleasure, they didn't leave much time for the other stuff I needed to accomplish!

This was actually my second proof review, but twice the length of the last one. I have realized even an editor couldn't catch everything especially with the mess the initial manuscript was in from the point of view rewrite that screwed it up in the first place. Add to that strange names, spellings and punctuation of alien names and you've got a mixed bag of trouble waiting to explode. Well, I exploded that bag on my publisher this week a mere three days before it was going to print with no less than two revision documents marked up. I've resolved to be a bit more meticulous with book two before it reaches an editor for their first pass. I'm reviewing it now with the grammar review and catching all the strange names that need to be consistent. The biggest takes I have from this exercise is to reduce the number of apostrophes in race and individual character's names. Hopefully, I caught everything in book one - I look forward to your letters/emails/comments telling me what I missed!

Web site build has been going at a frenzied pace this week. The initial splash page has been up for a few weeks, so upcoming events have been posted, but the meet of the web site is still to be revealed. I will tell you the newsletter signup works and everyone who signs up for the newsletter will get an eBook of Mishaps and Mayhem: A Reztap Primer, a short story book not available for sale. The only ways to get it are via the newsletter signup (get a free eBook) or when you visit me at a book signing or convention appearance (get a hard copy with purchase of book one). I reserve the right to give it away for other events, but it won't be for sale online or at a brick and mortar store.

I think the other web site content is humorous and entertaining - it's likely we won't take the full web site live until March 9th when you can actually purchase book one (right now the link goes nowhere since the book hasn't been published yet.)

I'm making my very first blog tour appearance at Bitten by Books on March 19th. It will be an interesting experience. There is a contest for a $50 Amazon gift card and a chance to ask whatever questions you might have of me in a semi-live format over the space of 24 hours. The length of the tour gives people in all time zones across the globe a chance to participate.

I've been hard at work setting up convention appearances over the next couple of months. Here are the planned events (subject to change depending on booking confirmations/available funds for traveling to/from said convention):

AggieCon (March 27-29, 2015 College Station, TX) - attending only - too close to try and setup anything else.
CyPhaCon (April 17-19, 2015 Lake Charles, LA) - dealer table
ComicPalooza (May 22-25, 2015 Houston) - applied to be a Guest, panel appearances
ApolloCon (June 19-21, 2015 Houston) - Artist's Alley table
ArmadilloCon (July 24-26, 2015 Austin) - dealer table
Sasquan (August 19-23, 2015 Spokane, WA) - this is the World Sci Fi con aka WorldCon. Will go if can afford it - they may allow a book signing.
DragonCon (September 4-7, 2015 Atlanta, GA) - applied to be a Guest, panel appearances with table.
TusCon (October 30 - Nov 1, 2015 Tucson, AZ) - will try to get a table and/or get on panels.

I know there are some book signings "in the works". I'll be honest, I'm not sure when they are, but I will keep everyone updated. I will be contacting Houston area Barnes and Noble stores and independent booksellers myself soon to set these up (or join a group event already planned).

With all of that done and some still to go, I'm finally at a point to engage in a little more writing! To all of my fellow authors out there, I hope your writing and marketing efforts are incredibly successful. To all you readers out there, get out to Amazon (or my web site) and buy a book on March 9th! Amazon reviews gratefully appreciated as well.

Regards,
Artemus

Just saw Kingsman (No Spoilers - Honest!)

I know - I'm weeks behind the curve. That really is how most movies fall in my watching. I see them a few weeks late or miss them entirely and wind up catching them on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc. Some I just never see at all. I really have to pick and choose what I'm going to devote my time and dollars to. It ultimately comes down to - do I think this is worth seeing in a movie theater or can I catch it later, or not at all?

Without giving any plot details away, I can tell you why I liked Kingsman - the movie, not the comic book, which I haven't read.. It had smart dialogue, didn't take itself too seriously and, I felt, was a great homage to the James Bond films with a touch of the Avengers (British spy TV series). It was a good film and I highly recommend it...when it comes out on DVD or your choice of digital movie provider, since by the time you realistically read this, it will probably not be in theaters anymore. It's still bringing in a few million at the box office and, taking worldwide box office into account, it's a hit. Compared to 50 Shades of Grey and American Sniper, it hasn't blown away the box office, but it has some staying power. But I digress - it's a fun spy movie - rated R, so don't expect there to be no gore or language.

But my movie watching (and even book reading) have recently been taken hostage by the book writer. Writing takes a lot of time and energy - getting in the zone sometimes takes a while. In actuality, I look to movies or books to jump start my imagination - get me back on track mentally to write what I need to write. If I'm writing Reztap, I sometimes indulge myself with YouTube recordings of the Dungeons & Dragons games at the PAX conferences, absorb a little Archer (TV series), or read a little - my last indulgence was Terry Pratchett's first book in the Discworld series - The Color of Magic . The initial book...OK, I actually watched the movie first. It was rough, but entertaining in it's own way. I felt the book was much better, but I thought they did a fairly good job with the movie as well.

I have other writing targets as well - a fantasy series that is still in its early formation stages, for instance. I'll go into some inspirational music for my writing in another blog. This blog is primarily focused on getting back on the horse, restarting the creative gears and, essentially, getting past writer's block. OK, and a little griping about not having enough time to see all the movies (or TV) that I'd like to. I hope to watch everything I've missed when I'm 80.

Keep writing - no matter what you have to miss!

Regards,
Artemus

P.S. You may have noticed a bunch of links in this blog - I'm trying to make it easier to find and obtain the referenced works for those who are curious and too lazy to look for it on their own.

Remembering Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy was an icon not just in science fiction, but in literature and the arts as well. He was a well-balanced individual, inspiring others to heights of greatness.

It was with a small amount of trepidation that I sat behind my first Author's table at the Houston Authors Bash 2015 and dwelled upon the loss of this man. I was celebrating a goal of sorts by becoming a professionally published author. At the same time, I realized that, at half Leonard Nimoy's age (okay, maybe a little more than half), I hadn't accomplished a fraction of what he had in life.

Leonard and the whole cast of Star Trek the original series were my first introduction to the world of science fiction. I watched them before I read my first scifi novel, The Wilk Are Among Us by Isadore Haiblum. A strange book to be sure (at least when I read it at the tender age of 9), and I'm sure there are many others I 'd rather claim as my first, but truth be told, that was it. As good as it was, that book did not inspire me to write. Star Trek did.

In the entertainment world, I got to see Leonard in other TV series, Mission Impossible and In Search Of being the most memorable. Mission Impossible had a cast of top notch actors, Leonard not the least among them. Some of them, Martin Landau and Barbara Bain went on to Space: 1999 to entertain my childhood further. Leonard's work on In Search Of exposed me to more than just science fiction, but real world mysteries. My mind was expanded to other possibilities than just real life and scifi. Mysteries of all kinds were in the world. There was so much to explore.

IMHO, Start Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was one of the best science fiction movies, and definitely the best of the classic stars of the original series movies. The first time I ever cried at a movie was seeing Spock pass on - so powerful and moving. I thought it was an incredibly brave decision to have the character you're most known for put to death in such a public manner. The emotion I felt confirmed my decision to be in arts and entertainment in some capacity that I might entertain and effect fans in a similar way.

I felt similarly after seeing Three Men and a Baby (and Star Trek IV), knowing he had directed them. Leonard was just as skilled as a director as he was an actor. Okay, I will forgive him for Star Trek III. They had to bring Spock back somehow, I suppose.

More recently, Leonard revealed his fight with COPD even though he had given up smoking a long time ago. Obviously, the damage had already been done. Rather than simply give in and crawl into a corner to die, Leonard stayed in the public light, warning impressionable fans on the dangers of smoking, and dispensing other wise words via Twitter (and other media). So, even in his last days, Leonard Nimoy tried to make the world a better place.

In short, I hope to emulate him in many ways. I will miss his wisdom, but relish the memories and legacy he left behind which I can revisit again and again. Live Long And Prosper in the great beyond, Mister Nimoy. Thank you for visiting Earth for a little while.