Vampires Today: Smartphones

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books, digital technology, eBooks, evil vampires, filming, indie authors, Indie books, inspiration, Internet, self-published authors, self-published books, smartphones, technology, traditional vampires, vampire fiction, vampire trilogy, vampires

One of the inspirations behind the trilogy that I’m working on, The End of Eternity, was this question: how would vampires exist in secret with smartphones being in nearly everyone’s hands? It is hard for anything to be secret these days since someone could easily film anything shocking, funny or controversial by whipping out their smartphones (be it an iPhone, Android…) and start filming.

Image by Waldemar Merger via Flickr via Creative Commons

So let’s say you are someone who is aware that vampires might be real. You think so because you work in a city morgue, you are a crime scene investigator, or you’ve had personal experience with someone dying under mysterious circumstances, or you’ve seen enough evidence online to convince you. So you start to look for vampires, trying to find proof that they exist so you can share it with the world, thus exposing these hidden creatures of the night.

You are suspicious of some people because other hunters have pointed them out as possible vampires on social media sites or blogs or vampire hunter forums. You’ve seen their photos and now you see them in real life. They do look unusually pale, like they are very ill. So you follow them and see where they are headed. You are very careful not to be noticed, since you’ve heard the legends that these creatures have very strong senses.

And then it happens. Your possible vampire has found its prey. It has attacked the victim on a quiet, dark street with no one around (and assuming, no surveillance video cameras…more about that later) – except you. As the vampire stabs its fangs into the victim’s neck, you creep closer and start filming. There you go – all the proof in the world that vampires do exist and are killing people to feed on for their nourishment.

Sounds logical to some degree. Hopefully you get away in time or else the vampire would get you!

I think such a scenario is possible, and it makes me wonder how would vampires maintain their secrecy during these times of great technological advances? They could try to “come out” of the coffin as they did on True Blood, but that won’t be as easy as the TV series or the Sookie Stackhouse books portrayed it, in my opinion.

That was a question I had as I started this series, and it comes to light, so to speak, more so as I write the second book “Between Light and Dark”. Technology is working against vampires, so how would they cope? Their once great powers – heightened senses, mind reading and clearing, moving at super-fast speed, etc. – are now up against human technology which just keeps evolving. For the first time, it seems, humans are no longer at vampires’ mercy. Now it seems, the vampires and the humans are on equal level.

I would think the older the vampire is – as in, centuries or even millennia old – the more they struggle to cope. They had spent so many years confident in their powers that it is hard to believe that their prey is starting to outdo them. They might even be a bit clueless about the latest technology since they live separately from humans. They might even be in denial.

So, I explore this issue in “Between Light and Dark” as Claire copes with her new existence as a vampire. The title says it all – will Claire side with the vampires trying to cope with modern technology, or will she side with the human world she so longs for?

These blog entries would be like a series. I’ll be writing up about modern technology and how it inspired me to write about vampires. What kind of world would it be for them? Would they survive? How would they cope?

You’ll see…

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The Theme Song to The Dark Proposal’s Sequel

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authors, BlutEngel, book sequels, books, eBooks, goth, goth music, Gothic, indie authors, Indie books, songs, theme songs, vampire books, vampires, videos

I love creating playlists to all my story ideas; my iPod is full of such playlists. In the past, I have discussed what songs would play if “The Dark Proposal” had a soundtrack, and the song that inspired its sequel.

By the way, the title of the long-awaited sequel is “Between Light and Dark” 🙂

Anyway, I recently got into the music of BlutEngel – a German goth band that sings a lot about vampires, darkness and other goth topics. One of their most recent songs, “Welcome to Your New Life”, really seems to capture what Claire faces in “Between Light and Dark” as she is now a vampire, and is struggling to adjust as one.

Now, there doesn’t seem to be an official music video of the song, but I did find this on Daily Motion. I really like this song, especially as the music intensely builds and builds, and the singers tell about the new life – one that Claire now has.

Enjoy!

Does Social Media Help Sell Books?

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blogging, books, Facebook, indie authors, Indie books, indie writers, self-published authors, selling books, social media, Twitter, vlogging, YouTube

If you’re a newcomer author, you probably have heard that you need to establish a social media presence in order to sell your books. It may seem daunting if you are unfamiliar with how social media works when it comes to selling something, but it can be easily be learned. It also can be easily learned that some of what you hear about selling books via social media may not be true.

Image by Blogtrepreneur via Flickr

During the five years since I released my first book, I’ve learned a lot about how social media works, in terms of business. So, in this post, I am going to give my thoughts and opinions on the whole social media thing. Remember, this is based on my experience.

First things first: no, you are not going to sell books via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and all the others.

You might have heard people tell you to provide links to your books on these social media platforms, and constantly provide these links, in order to have success as an author. But that is not how it works. In my experience, very few people are going to click on a link on Twitter or Google+, and go to Amazon or Smashwords, let alone actually buy your book. Those social media posts may come across as spam for a lot of people.

In my opinion, the best time to ever provide links to your book(s) on social media is when you have a sale, a big promo going on, or something seasonal may attract people to that link. For example, it’s October, and my books is about vampires. Since it is the month of all things dark and spooky, I will tweet a few times a link to my book on Amazon or Goodreads. It may not work; it may come across as spam. But it doesn’t hurt. I just will only do it a handful of times.

In the meantime, I better do something else with my social media presence. I need to add more content to my feeds in order to draw attention to my authorship. And that is what social media is all about: drawing attention to something. Whether it is a person, a business, a promotion, whichever – social media announces, “I am here!” And that helps get word out about your books.

Remember, selling books is a business. Writing is a craft, an art. Selling the work is a business, and social media is a big part of how businesses sell their products.

It is a way to interact with followers that could lead to sales. It is also a way to meet other people in the same field. I’ve met quite a few other authors through social media. Eventually, word gets out about your book(s) and people may just pick them up and read them.

But no, social media does not sell books. Don’t count on it, don’t rely on it.

You are probably wondering if blogging – which is form of social media – sells books. Well, I’ve had a few sales that way, but not a lot. But that is not why I blog; I do not blog to sell books. I blog to get the word out about myself as an author. I blog because it is my way of talking to people. I blog to start conversations with other authors. I blog because it is fun.

That being said, I am going to start a new way of reaching people: starting next week, I am going to vlog – meaning video blog. I am going to set up a YouTube channel where I would be doing the same thing I do here, only I’ll be speaking rather than typing/writing. No, I won’t stop blogging altogether. I like this blog, and I want to keep it going. I’ll just be finding a new way to reach people as I continue on as an author. That will happen sometime around next week.

In the meantime, I will continue using social media to get the word about myself and my book(s). And you do the same. Fill your channels with content related to you and your work. Let others get to know you. That may help – just help! – sell your work.

 

You’re All Going to Think I’m Crazy…

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authors, Being an Author, books, eBooks, indie authors, Indie books, Kindle, novels, On Writing, sequel, vampire books, vampire fiction, vampire novels, vampire trilogy, vampires, writing

Seriously, you are.

And I’m pretty sure you know what I am talking about.

It had been on my mind for a little while, and took a good butt kicking to get the drive going again. But I am glad that engine is roaring once more, and I doubt I am going to look back.

I am once again working on the sequel to The Dark Proposal.

Yeah. I’m certain some of you are rolling your eyes now.

After stopping, restarting and stopping again, I am giving it another go. And this time I am going to go all the way with it.

The last time I stopped was, as I explained, mainly for financial reasons. As much as I wanted to keep working on the sequel, I was concerned about how expensive it is to self-publish. But after doing a little research, I found it is not that unusual for writers to do crowd-source funding for their work. And that is what I plan to do. By the time I am done with the first draft of this book, I will start a campaign to raise money to get my book edited, get the cover made, and a few other promotional things to get the word out about it. But that won’t be until the fall, perhaps.

Some of you might be thinking that I am struggling with the main character, Claire McCormick, because I portrayed her as insecure, naive and kind of foolish, which is not easy to follow-up to in the sequel. While my intention was never to make her a strong, kick-ass female, I am finding ways to develop her strengths as well as have her face her weaknesses. Claire’s story is about personal responsibility, which ties in with the vampires’ story.

Some of you may also be wondering about my other WIP, “The Cats”. That I am setting aside until I complete my vampire trilogy. I may work on it from time to time, but my priority is my vampire stories, so once I complete them, then I’ll continue on with “The Cats”.

Yeah, being an author can be a mindboggling thing. You have to weigh-in writing what you want versus what makes since business-wise. After all, writing books is a business, whether you self-publish or go the traditional route. Money talks, and you have consider how you’re going to spend your money, or obtain the funds, to get your work out to the world. But sometimes passion talks to, and if it’s in your gut to write something, or finish something, than there are times when you have to give in. Besides, going with your gut works all the time.

So, without any further ado – onward with the sequel to The Dark Proposal.

BTW, I’ve already given it a working title: “A Light in the Darkness”.

Choosing a Sequel’s Title…Plus an Excerpt!

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authors, blood, book excerpts, books, Indie books, novel, novels, On Writing, The Dark Proposal, The End of Eternity, vampire, vampire book, vampire books, vampire fiction, vampires, writing, writing a book, writing a novel, writing a story

Yesterday marked the four year anniversary that I self-published The Dark Proposal. Since then, I’ve been taking my sweet time writing its sequel. It’s been a long road working on it, with a lot of doubt mixed in. But I’m happy to say that I’m finally getting somewhere with it, and even have a title in mind!

Actually, I have two in mind. I am split between the two prospective titles, because they both represent the story.

One of them is, Blood Ties, which illustrates how torn Claire is between the vampire world and the human world. She now has vampire blood in her, yet she is trying to hold on to her humanity. As the vampire world becomes more and more troubled, where would her loyalties lie?

The other is Between Light and Dark, which also illustrates how torn Claire is. But in this case, she is also haunted by the mistakes she made that led her to become a vampire and is seeking some hope, hence the light. Furthermore, this title goes hand in hand with its predecessor – light, dark.

The more I write, the more I will figure out the title. Who knows, I might come up with something totally different.

In the meantime, check out this excerpt! Enjoy!

She grabbed her bathrobe, and went to the bathroom. She first started a shower, but switched to the bath once she realized Daniel would want to know why she was doing that. She was a vampire, no need to cleanse herself of anything, including him. So, her bubble baths would have to do. This was something she had begun doing since returning from Paris, and was one of the rare freedoms Daniel allowed for her. These baths weren’t just moments of indulgence for her. They made her feel clean, physically and mentally.

As she stripped off her bathrobe, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Did she recognize that person looking back at her? That person was a young woman with eyes that seemed as dead as the body she inhabited. Did she know she was staring back at herself?

Repulsion rose again and Claire had to calm down before she smashed the mirror. She let the tidal wave come, and it poured out in silent sobs. The blood tears came and flooded down her face onto the pristine sink. She didn’t care if the tears were really the blood of her victims or not. She just wanted a release.

After a few moments, she gathered herself enough to step into the tub. As she lied in the rosewood scented bubbles, the tears flowed more and she even choked a bit on her sobs. She made sure she did this quietly enough with the faucet running and the shower doors shut, so Daniel’s sharp hearing wouldn’t alert him. Luckily, he probably wasn’t even thinking about her right then.

Tilting her head back against the tub, Claire sighed and shook her head to herself. Her friends and family had no idea what she had become. She had rarely spoke to them since moving in with Daniel. The last time she spoke to her mother was on the phone two weeks ago. It was to wish her a happy birthday while explaining that she was too busy to visit. Her mother sounded frustrated, as she lately had been. But Claire also heard something else: helplessness. Her family had no clue on what was going on with her. It had to be agony for them to be lost like this. But if they ever found out, that agony would be replaced by outrage. She had put them in danger and she was now a monster. That would be it.

The same reaction would come from her two former best friends. Samantha would sound off obscenities while jabbing a finger at her, and Monica would storm off without saying a word. Claire would be left with only to turn to the vampire world she despised.

And she had to accept being a vampire.

She closed her eyes as a sob shook her. There was no way out of this. She had to be a vampire. She had to accept and live what she was now. No use in trying to maintain her humanity. Daniel was painfully right.

Claire’s body tightened. She could still feel him inside of her, using her like a masturbation device.

And she was attached to him for eternity. No matter what, he would be a big part of her life. The mere thought sickened her right to the bone, and she wanted to vomit.

A single blood tear rolled down her face, and she roughly brushed it away. Opening her eyes, she saw the bubbles and the water were tainted with blood. Blood from her tears.

Stunned, Claire stared at the bubbles and water around her. The blood was like ink, with its redness swirling around in the water, or relaxing to dye it faint red. Some of that inky crimson hue was caught in the bubbles. A large one rested near her left knee and it had that thick redness inside. It looked trapped, stuck in endless whirling, with no way of getting out, unless the bubble would burst.

Claire blinked a few times to rid herself of the shock. Even her cherished baths were blood stained. Her life was now bound by blood. Blood would be everywhere for her. Her very existence will be consumed by blood, and she will consume it, too. Blood and her were forever entwined. There was no more room for denial.

She gritted her teeth. There was no way she was going to live her life like that. She was so much better than this. She was not the sadistic killer Daniel wanted her to believe. She was not going to relish in human blood, no matter how much her new nature insisted. She was not going to embrace her vampire self.

Claire unplugged the drainer and stood to turn on the shower. Using her supernatural speed, she rinsed herself off of the ugly bubbles and water. Not only didn’t she want Daniel to hear the shower and get curious, but she also wanted to be rid of the redness as soon as she could. Claire’s anger began to crash down her regret and gain more steam. She was angry at Daniel and herself, and that anger was getting stronger with each rough stroke of her skin.

Once relieved of the bloody filth, she turned off the faucet. Glancing down at the floor of the tub, she saw the remaining bubbles and water were not fully rid of their redness. Worse, the tub’s porcelain now had a faint pink hue and might need some cleaning to be white again.

An ache suddenly came from her upper arms and torso. When she looked, she saw she had scratched herself while rubbing her skin in super-quick speed. Thin lines of blood had formed on her arms, stomach and chest.

Claire’s anger disappeared as quickly as the water going down the drain.

Letting out a sigh, she hung her head.

She was unsure of what to do that very minute, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year…

The only thing she was certain about was to lower herself onto the floor of the tub, pull her knees up, bury her forehead on them, and lose herself in her thoughts.

Blood had bound her to this world is more ways than one. She didn’t want either, but had no other choice. Only she didn’t want to follow through on that choice.

But what else could she do? There was no way out of this. It was permanent, and likely eternal, whatever that meant. She would never again be human, no matter how much she wished she still was.

All she could really do was get used to it.

But how?

 

 

 

If “The Dark Proposal” Had a Theme Song…

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anguish, books, dark themes, eBooks, Evanescence, evil vampires, indie, indie authors, Indie books, korn, music, NA, New Adult, paranormal books, self-published books, songs, soundtrack, theme song, thoughtless, thriller books, vampires

Yesterday marked the three year anniversary of when I published “The Dark Proposal” on Amazon Kindle. Since then, it has sold or been downloaded for free just under 800 times on either Amazon or Smashwords. Even I still can’t believe it.

As I work on its sequel, I am being inspired by some songs that I feel capture the essence of the follow-up, which are motivating my writing. While I won’t reveal which songs these are just yet 😉  I will reveal one song I feel really captures “The Dark Proposal”.

So basically, if my first book were to ever have a single theme song, I feel it would be Evanescence’s cover of the Korn song, “Thoughtless”. Not only do the lyrics and metal sound do TDP justice, but I feel Amy Lee’s anguished voice echoes Claire McCormick’s pain and terror.

Behold:

 

Well….Hey There!

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authors, books, eBooks, how to write a novel, Indie books, novelists, novels, paranormal, self-published authors, the writing process, urban fantasy, vampires, writers, writing

Hi everyone!

Gosh, its been such a long time. Maybe too long 🙂

It’s been a long while since I took a look at this blog, and its also been some time since I’ve been checking out my author platform elsewhere online.

Yikes, it feels so strange to see all of this now.

It used to feel like I was looking at a blog, or Twitter account or Facebook page that belonged to someone else. And to see my book on Goodreads was like seeing something from a past life.

But lately, seeing all this is like seeing an old friend. And maybe even like rediscovering an old part of myself that I’m excited to be in touch with again.

It’s been over a year since I announced that I was going to take a break from writing fiction. I had been having doubts about whether I wanted to continue with creative fiction, and I was feeling lost writing the sequel to “The Dark Proposal”. So I took a break, but I still flirted with the idea of writing fiction.

Starting last summer, the idea of writing “The Dark Proposal’s” sequel arose now and then. I was inspired by a couple of things, such as a song by Evanescence and a few personal experiences. In January this year, I realized what the sequel could really be about, and what kind of person Claire would be in her second story. At that point, the character of Claire McCormick began to finally slowly take shape, as well as the other characters.

I felt as if I could finally see Claire and get to know her as a person. I began taking notes on her upbringing and her family life to better explain the person she was during “The Dark Proposal”. I had felt I could’ve done better in her character development, but I feel those notes greatly helped me form and shape her.

The same goes for Hilde, The Black Roses, Casames and even Daniel to some degree. I became to know them more through my note taking, and they appeared to be flesh-out human beings (despite being vampires 😉 ) who were as complex and flawed like anyone else. It was a joy to see them as this.

Finally, this past March, I checked out my book’s page on Goodreads, and saw – to my surprise – there was a new review! It had been a long dry spell of any ebook purchases, let alone reviews. So I was thrilled to see my book was still being read, 18 months after I had published.

Seeing that review, which was positive and displayed excitement for the sequel, gave me the final boost to get started on the second book of my long dormant trilogy.

Yes, I am going to work on the sequel to “The Dark Proposal”. And I am as happy as many are 🙂

However, it won’t be an overnight thing. I can estimate it will take me 2 or 3 years to get the sequel published for the world to read. That is because I already have a busy life (you may recall that I wrote my first book while unemployed with plenty of time to write), and also, there may be a chance that I’ll self-publish this book. I don’t know. I have to wait and see. Maybe I can get a small publishing house to do so.

But even more so, I am going to take my time writing this book. Before, I was kind of rushing to write, while probably triggered my writers’ block. But I want to do this slowly so I can produce a novel that I will be pleased with.

I also will writing this book much differently as compared to its predecessor. I see this book as being darker in tone and in emotion. I also see it getting more into Claire’s mind and heart, and also capturing the essence of the vampire world and what is at stake.

I’m starting to read short stories that have a goth tone to them. I’ve read “The Raven” a few times to absorb its goth prose, and now I’m scouring for other goth literary pieces to get an idea on the tone I will be needing for this sequel.

I may even tweak a few things or mention somethings that should’ve been mentioned in the first book.

Basically, a lot in the sequel will reflect “The Dark Proposal”, but there will also be quite a few changes because of my new approach as a writer, writing this trilogy.

So, slowly but surely, I will be writing the sequel to “The Dark Proposal”. When I complete and what I’ll do with the final product is so far off that I am not really thinking about it. Just learning and growing as I write this. I have great ideas for this story, and some things to say about the human experience. I won’t say what they are now – that will come later.

So, good to see you all again! I will probably blog twice a month, just to keep everyone updated and to talk about my developments as a writer.

But until then, it is good to be back, and I look forward to taking you all on this journey with me, and I can’t wait to speak to everyone all over again!

Cheers! ~ Megan Cashman

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m Excited About Oyster and Scribd

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books, eBooks, indie authors, Indie books, Netflix, Oyster, Oyster.com, Scribd, self-publishers, self-publishing, Smashwords

Some of you may be aware that there’s a Netflix for eBooks in town. Or, on the Internet, actually 🙂

Last fall, Smashwords notified its authors that it was teaming up with Oyster and Scribd as a way to distribute its ebooks to readers. These two websites operate kind of like Netflix. Meaning, a subscriber pays a certain amount each month to have “borrowed” books sent to their eReader. There is also a “recommended for you” part on these sites, which Netflix has too. This will allow word of mouth to come into play for many authors, which is the best way to sell anything for anyone.

And yes, there is a financial pay-off, but that all depends how much of a book a reader actually reads. There is a compensation (not a lot, but its still money) when a book is actually read from cover-to-cover. There are other payments, albeit smaller, when half or two-thirds of the book is read. So all in all, Oyster and Scribd offer indie authors both a chance to find new readers and get some compensation for their investment.

But I have heard about some writers being uneasy with this. Some of them aren’t too optimistic because both Oyster and Scribd are new ventures, and there is a concern that they might fail. Others claimed to have used one of these sites before they teamed up with Smashwords, and they had to go to great lengths to get their royalties. And there are some who say Oyster and Scribd are going to cheapen the book industry because it is so cheap to get books, particularly eBooks.

Regarding the first concern, many business ventures start off slowly before taking off. Look at Twitter. Many laughed at that idea, and now the CEO is laughing his way to the bank. I am optimistic that Oyster and Scribd will succeed, because it was inevitable that an eBook loaning site will start with the advent of eBooks.

Now as for the shady side of those two sites, well, I don’t think Smashwords’ Mark Coker would want to do business with something that will hurt the authors who come to his site. Since authors like me are half the reason why Smashwords is a success (the other half is from the readers who buy their books there), why would he want to anger us? We’re like his bread and butter.

As for cheapening the book business, yes I admit it sounds a bit scary. The publishing industry keeps changing, thanks to the Internet and the ever-evolving digital technology. But the music industry was turned upside down by file sharing and iTunes, and it is still standing. Netflix’s only casualty were video store chains, like Blockbuster. But movies are still being made and still generating money. As technology changes, so must we.

But I don’t think these two sites, or any other route for authors to sell or spread the word about their books, will destroy the book business. Things are little shook up now, but I’m sure everything will work out in the end.

I’m excited for these ventures, and I don’t see why they would fail. Here in the U.S., Netflix and Redbox are a success, so why can’t those two book loaning sites be successful with readers? Plus, the idea of more people coming across my book sounds great to me! And if they only read half of it, well, anything towards what I invested in is fine by me.

By the way, if you are an author on Smashwords, the way to have your books included on Oyster and Scribd is to have them in the premium catalog.

The Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing

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books, eBooks, Indie books, indie writers, Kindle, NA, New Adult, self-published authors, self-published books, Smashwords, the writing process, vampires, writers

This week marks six months since I released my first book, The Dark Proposal. To celebrate, from March 12th to the 16th, my book will be 99 cents on both Amazon Kindle and Smashwords. So spread the word!

As I look back on those six months since I became a published author, I want to address self-publishing. I’ve been meaning to do so for a long while, and I think now would be a good time.

I don’t regret self-publishing my book. While I did go for the traditional route initially, I was too intrigued by self-publishing that I chose to do that. I liked the idea of being in control of my product and not compromising with someone else or having someone decide how to market my book. It was my work, my product, my baby. I wasn’t going to turn custody of my work to someone else.

I admit it did cost money to release my book on my own. The money I spent was almost entirely toward my editor. The cover design, getting the copyright, and paying for a blog tour was nickels and dimes compared to getting my story edited. It is overwhelming and it can make you wonder if you’re crazy to venture into self-publishing, but it was better than the alternative, at least for me.

Keep in mind, most indie authors do not have overnight success. Most have to publish several books in order to see major profit. So, it is a huge gamble and the investment is enormous, almost not worth the headache.

But is it better than querying agents or going to a small publishing house? Sure, if you don’t mind waiting for agents’ responses, waiting for at least to have interest in your novel, waiting for that agent to get back to you and then possibly shop your book around to the Big 6. If you get anywhere, you would then wait for your book to be published – after it is edited and you might have to accept major changes to your baby, such as character ages or names, certain scenes you feel are important are cut out, etc. You also get no say on what kind of cover you want (that was one of the big things that attracted me to self-publishing because I didn’t want anyone to decide how on the cover but me).

Then your book is published. It is on shelves at brick and mortar stores with the public more aware of it than an eBook. There is some buzz and your book sells – but how well? From what I understand, a traditional author has to wait a few months to learn how many copies they sold, instead of daily. Yes, they may see more money – but is it guaranteed?

One thing I keep hearing about the benefits of traditional publishing is that an author knows for sure their book is good and worthy enough when a major publisher accepts and releases it. They have the major stamp of approval and their hard work has paid off. While that is true, I don’t entirely agree. I do agree that can be elating to know that Penguin or Random House would want your book above so many others. I would’ve loved it if my book was picked up by one of the Big 6. But patience and I aren’t friends, and I did like the idea of being in control of my product.

I’m not judging anyone who chooses to go the traditional route, I just don’t agree that what works for one author will work for all others. I really believe all authors need to decide what works best for them. This is a great time for authors because we get a chance to choose how to get our work out to the world. We get to choose what works for us personally, and that’s imperative when you are serious about being a published writer.

So if you want to do traditional, go for it. If you want to go indie, go for it. Just do what you feel is right for your product. To hell with the opinion of others because no one knows what is best for you. Both options have their pros and cons, and both are risky and time consuming. But if you are serious about getting your story ready by others, you would do what it takes to get them into the hands of readers everywhere – and there’s a chance you’ll be glad you did what you did. I know I am!

Wednesday Interview: Irving Podolsky

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authors, eBooks, indie authors, Indie books, interviews, self-publishing

Imagine coming of age in the 1970s. Sounds like fun considering all the wild hedonism of that decade – the sex before the AIDS crisis, the drugs before cocaine was realized to be addictive. There was also no Internet, no cable and no cellphones.

Author Irving Podolsky takes a look of a young man in his early twenties trying to figure out life in such a time in Los Angeles in his New Adult trilogy – Irv’s Odyssey. Podolsky knows that era pretty well, and came up with an interesting reason to explore that time period.

Here he is:

MC: What inspired you to become a writer?

IP: What inspired me as a writer? To answer that question I should tell you want motivated me first. To be totally honest, if I write, I want to be read.

Why is it important to be read?

So I feel like I matter, that I’ve made a tiny positive ripple in the World.

I don’t know how, when and why I grabbed the idea that I need to justify my existence, but I’ve been pushing it since I was little – in fine art, playing music, working in the film business, and this time by writing a series of three novels.

So back to your question: What inspired me to become a writer?

When I started authoring extended prose, the reactions from readers showed me I had engaged them, and that they wanted more. Only then did I think to myself, ‘Yeah. I can do this!’

Before that, the challenge of organizing thousands of interesting words was intimidating. I got past that by chunking down my story into shorter sections so that I could give them out for criticism and advice. (This is the job of book editors in traditional publishing.)

By getting feedback along the way, I never veered that far off course and the enthusiasm I was feeling from readers encouraged me to keep writing and finish all three books. That’s how I became a novelist – I knew, out of the gate, that what I wrote wanted to be read, and just not by friends.

MC: You say the main character of your Irv’s Odyssey trilogy lives in your mind. Did the character come to you on it’s own, or did something in your mind lead to the creation of Irv?

IP: Who is Irving Podolsky? He’s that part of me that makes wiser, more mature decisions. He does that because he’s got a “coach” watching his moves and correcting them on the page. When I read what Irv does and says, I realize I could be more like my guy if only I let my Inner Advisor guide me like it shapes Irv.

Check out Irving’s Odyssey on Amazon!

Before I took on that massive job of scribing three novels, I had written a number of screenplays under my own name, one of which was bought and packaged but never went into production. All of those scripts were totally fabricated plots and characters.

But with the Irv’s Odyssey trilogy, I decided to tap a resource of story content I had never used before. That well of characters and plots was my own bazaar life from 1970 to 1975. But I didn’t want to write my memoir. I wanted to write a novel. Hence, the character Irving Podolskly was born who tells his story in the first person.

Okay, you’re doing the math. Unless Irv was five in 1970, and even if he WAS five in 1970, he’s OLD now.

Yep, the real ME is “old”. Sort of. But I’m young too. You don’t have to give up youth to gain years of maturity. Irv is that part of me that first discovered the secrets of life and was wowed by them. They don’t go away if you don’t stop looking and I still watch for magical jewels everyday.

And I’m still amazed.

That’s what I mean when I say that Irv lives in the mind of this writer. He’s the Peter Pan in us all; that spirit that doesn’t grow old unless we ignore it.

Also, “Irving Podolsky” is my writer persona and not the ME my wife asks to take out the garbage and refill her coffee cup.

MC: What made you decide to self-publish?

IP: As many writers and readers know, the publishing industry is drastically changing. Financing is tight and the price readers are willing to pay for content is dropping. The traditional publishing industry can no longer afford to take risks and the boutique publishers don’t have the cash for saturation marketing. That means every publisher is trying to sell what is already popular and every writer (except the super stars) are left with the responsibility of building his or her own platform – our fans, followers and book sales.

I am a debut novelist and I did not write within a trendy genre. Consequently, not a single agent would read my manuscript. After the first six rejections I saw the message on the wall. Sure, I knew that six passes weren’t many, but the reason always the same: I had not written what was currently producing mass sales.

I knew I could spend a year soliciting more agents or I could use that time getting published. I also knew that self publishing would probably be a better option, unless the Big Six took me on with a lot of promotion. Without an agent, and without a paranormal, YA romance, that was highly unlikely.

So I produced the books myself and here’s the upside of self publishing.

I own everything. I hired the cover design artist and guided his illustrations. I controlled all interior content and design. And best of all, I control distribution and royalties.

Within traditional publishing, if an author’s work doesn’t catch fire within six months, his/her book is pulled from distribution and bookstores. For a nominal fee I can keep my books in world wide circulation indefinitely. And that’s important because it gives me the time to build a following and draw reviewers.

Print-On-Demand publishing, print-as-needed instant distribution of content, changed the rules of book publishing forever, and to the benefit of we writers.

MC: Some believe NA/New Adult won’t go anywhere because it is not a real genre and only a marketing gimmick. What are your thoughts on that?

IP: I don’t think that “New Adult” is a marketing gimmick. I think it’s another marketing sub-category. Nothing wrong with that if it helps writers connect with readers.

I did not set out to write for any genre when I started my books. Once finished I called them coming-of-age, which is out of fashion. Actually the concept isn’t, but the genre name changed. It’s now called young adult or new adult.

In February of 2011, an agent asked me where she would find my novels in a bookstore. I told her they would be stacked on the shelf next to Poe, as in Edgar Allan – Podolsky…Poe…Potok…etc.

Putting my work amongst literary fiction wasn’t secure enough for her and she passed on my pages, again without reading them. Just eighteen months later, I can tell her now, “Irv’s Odyssey would go to the New Adult section.”

That’s how fast the book business changes. As I said, it’s currently working better for writers. If agents and publishers need another category in order to pitch a book, let’s give it to them. I’m happy about the New Adult Genre.

Learn more about Irving Podolsky at these sites:

Goodreads

Click here to learn more about Irv’s Odyssey – www.IrvingsJourney.com.