The Big Black Quiet

After it all ends, what is left?

So, my first novel is published. Self-published that is and on Kindle at that. After years of plotting, drafting and (re-)writing my epic young adult fantasy novel is out there...

...among thousands of others. Lost among the white noise. Unnoticed by all, but family and friends. I sold exactly one copy and got perhaps a few hundred Likes on my promotional Facebook page (for which I paid $65). Where is the release party? The interviews? The press releases and the bestseller nod? One month after my ego manifested itself online and my creativity up for sale, there is only a big, black quiet.

Let's put things into perspective. It's not death. Death is the end of a living being - surely not comparable to the mere release of one's creative endeavor? It's not that bad, and in fact I don't experience it as such, either. I'm having fun advertising my book. But it's not easy...

Any author/(self-)publisher will tell you it takes a lot of time and effort to advertise your work once its finished, getting the word out, making some noise and knocking on doors. Admittedly there are a lot of supportive websites that will gladly promote your ebook for free (as long as your book is for free) or have amateur reviewers read your book and post their opinions in blogs and articles. Then there's Twitter and Facebook. Tweet about your book. Build connections with first adopters, who actively are looking for new authors and new stories. Reward new readers with free give-aways, quizzes and Likes on their pages. There is quite frankly a ton of venues to sell your story.

When you don't have a fan base, you need to make connections.

Connection

 by MistoAcrilico

And so that's what I've been doing. On Facebook and Twitter I've been showing off present artwork in the book as well as sneak previews of artwork yet to come. I've run a single Facebook Ad campaign to test the waters and it's quite frankly a lot of fun to do it at first. 

But I'm not committed to accessing all channels of advertisement just yet. After all, the trailer version of the book - now available at Amazon :) - still has its fair share of grammar errors and temporary artwork. I'm drawing the official artwork as we speak and one of my three editors is already finished with checking the manuscript. So when I'm confident that the edition I release is proofed and complete, I will throw myself fully at the advertisement machine and give it its best shot. 

And to keep me really happy in the meantime? Start writing the sequel. That after all is the best way of getting picked up by a publisher/agent: proof that your not just a one-book wonder.

Short and Simple, But Not Really

Day 6 of the Writing Marathon
Weekend, but that doesn't say much. Part of working from home means that I am the designated parent who then also takes care of the chores around the house. And now that Nancy is gone for the week, parenting as well. It's not as bad as it may sound, I mean, I do like it. But it does take away from the single-minded 'I gotta write like Stephen King, which means every day and every frakkin' minute' method.

So I didn't do too much today:

• 8:30 until 8:00 (yes, most of the day) Played Lego with Alex, watched TV with Alex, wrestled with Alex, drew cartoons with Alex (at least something publishable came out of that), made meals for Alex, put Alex to bed. That's a lot of lovin' invested in one little boy, but he's totally worth it. I love him to bits.
• 11:15 So I only wrote for 3 hours. Big deal. It was passionate, involved and hopefully it adds a whole lot of depth to the characters, who up until now have been pulled along by the plot. I figured out, some time ago (and before reading Vogler/McKenna's Memo From The Story Dept. I am proud to say), that a good story has three elements, which need to be balanced well. The better you balance those elements, the more satisfying it then becomes for a reader.
  
  Simon essentially gets to vent all of his anger, frustration and sorrow after having his father involved in an accident, his sister kidnapped and himself thrust into a magical world, which is taxing the very limit of his sanity and understanding. One of the complaints Nancy (my editor and lovely wife) had was that there was too much weird terminology being used and eventually it all felt like a summation of bullet points rather than a well flowing narrative. Even though I'm snipping away some of the terminology, there is still a lot that Simon (and thus the reader) gets hit with in the first 8 chapters. So I've used chapter 9 as not only a show of frustration by Simon  for the unknown (which the reader might also feel at this point), I also use that as a way of getting the assisting characters to explain a lot and get that out of the way, so we can move on with the story.
  
  To put it terms of my own Story Trifecta:
  
  
  Plot (events) pushes Character (actors) to emote, thus releasing Mythology (or place) facts.
  
   All three have been affecting and activating each other in a balancing act that hopefully satisfies and engages the audience. (By the way, you may notice my take on successful classics: Star Wars & Lord of the Rings are heavy on Mythology, ET was loaded with Plot or Event and Twilight is all Character. Harry Potter is in my opinion the one (and most successful) series that comes close to perfection, because although heavy on the Plot, it manages to convey enough Character and Mythology to grab a larger audience demographic. I hope to up the ante.)
• Midnight. I've outdone myself (if in persistence and time alone). I'm off to snooze land.

Goedenacht en tot morgen!