F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction (New Weird) Author

Smashwords

Going Indie—What I’ve Learned (So Far)

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How to Be Indie
How to Be Indie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In diving head first into this New Indie World, here’s what I’ve learned, so far:

  1. Writer a killer story. But, you knew that.
  2. Get your work proofed by another! Doesn’t matter how many times it’s been done before, do it AGAIN before going live. I’ve been working on The Uninvited for 12 years…lost track of how many sets of eyes have read it, and I’ve still found issues!
  3. Formatting is king. If you don’t want to do this yourself, hire someone, for Pete’s sake. Lynda Hilburn referred me to A Thirsty Mind’s Pam Headrick. She’s quite reasonable in her rates, and oh-so-easy to work with! I’m a newbie to The New Indie, and she was so danged gracious and helpful. I know she probably aged 5 years dealing with me that past two weeks….
  4. There is a growing list of digital distributors out there! I’m going with Smashwords as my lead, but may also going to go with B&N (which has a weird statement in their contract, about how authors are responsible for all the laws in all the countries in which their works are published—really, B&N, for real?)…unless I go through another, like, Digital2Digital.
  5. There’s never enough time in the day. You can’t do it all. Just do what you can. Find out what you’re best at and focus your efforts there.

Well, that’s all I got for now.

Related articles

Going Indie—What I've Learned (So Far)

by

How to Be Indie
How to Be Indie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In diving head first into this New Indie World, here’s what I’ve learned, so far:

  1. Writer a killer story. But, you knew that.
  2. Get your work proofed by another! Doesn’t matter how many times it’s been done before, do it AGAIN before going live. I’ve been working on The Uninvited for 12 years…lost track of how many sets of eyes have read it, and I’ve still found issues!
  3. Formatting is king. If you don’t want to do this yourself, hire someone, for Pete’s sake. Lynda Hilburn referred me to A Thirsty Mind’s Pam Headrick. She’s quite reasonable in her rates, and oh-so-easy to work with! I’m a newbie to The New Indie, and she was so danged gracious and helpful. I know she probably aged 5 years dealing with me that past two weeks….
  4. There is a growing list of digital distributors out there! I’m going with Smashwords as my lead, but may also going to go with B&N (which has a weird statement in their contract, about how authors are responsible for all the laws in all the countries in which their works are published—really, B&N, for real?)…unless I go through another, like, Digital2Digital.
  5. There’s never enough time in the day. You can’t do it all. Just do what you can. Find out what you’re best at and focus your efforts there.

Well, that’s all I got for now.

Related articles

I’m Not Spending a Lot For This Muffler!

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The past couple of weeks, I’ve been going back through my supernatural murder mystery manuscript. I’d started it back in 2001, “finished” it three years later, given to a part-time writing schedule, basically about 2 hours a day, five days a week, and whatever I can do on the weekends. But since then, I’ve been trying to sell the damned thing (there’s actually a pun in there…) and tweaking it. Nine years worth of that unrelenting activity. Belief in my manuscript. Anywho, as I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve decided I’m going to e-publish it, so I’ve gotten a graphics artist fellow writer friend of mine to work the cover. She’s been a true trooper!  Karen Duvall (here’s her graphics art page) has hung in there trying her best to find the images I’m asking for for my cover design, sometimes spending hours searching for just the right thing (and I spent a couple of hours one morning, myself, also trying to find the right graphics). But in the world of free art, sometimes you just can’t find what you’re looking for—finding free stuff is haaard! And since I’m e-pubing, I’m trying to keep expenses down. Way down. I already went the AuthorHouse route 12 years ago, when there wasn’t much game in town, but now there is, and I’m not spending a lot for this muffler!

So, Karen came up with a really cool image, after multiple go-arounds and attempts and efforts on her part, yesterday (hope she’s still talking with me…), but I think we’ve finally come up with a great image! I’m looking forward to the Big Reveal, when I finally get everything in place. I love the feel of the cover.

Another interesting development during all this was the Jodi Arias trial. My wife and I have been watching it (me, off and on), and it is amazing to me on many levels, but I bring this up because I have a court scene in my novel that goes in a weird direction, much like Juan Martinez and the Seven Dwarfs goes off in a weird direction (and yes, I included that phrase into my manuscript). Now my court scene isn’t as belligerent as this real-life one, but it amazes me at how utterly combative the Law can get when trying to prove their side of the story. Trying (IMHO) to force witnesses to only give a “Yes” or “No,” when the answer might not really be a case of yes or no, but the “Yes” or “No” can make the witness look bad in the presentation of the case, therefore racking up points for whoever such a thing benefits. It was nice to see someone remain utterly composed (whether or not you agree with LaViolette’s side of the story). And I do mean she is utterly unflappable, not intimidated in any way by Martinez’s constant, unrelenting battering—though he, himself, no matter what HLN commentators say (most of whom I find extremely annoying), is not so (he frequently shows his anger, his frustration, and gives nasty “tone” and body language in his deliveries). I’ve never seen such composure in my life, as I have in LaViolette. I’m not going into if LaViolette is biased…just look at her composure. Incredible. Perhaps comes from dealing with lots of rage in her 36-year-or-so career. She also knows all the psychological tactics Martinez is employing—and calls him on them—and doesn’t fall for them. But I digress. I just wanted to mention this trial because of the weird Seven Dwarfs turn it took, and the trial in my novel also takes a weird turn. I have also had two actual (now retired, I believe) judges read the court-room scenes to make sure it remains true in structure and presentation.

Okay, so after I make all my manuscript redlines, get my Tax ID number, and do the rest of the logistical end of things, I will get this story out there. So, in the meantime, sorry haven’t been keeping up on everyone’s blogs, tweets, e-mails, and what-have-you, but there’s only so much time in the day!

I'm Not Spending a Lot For This Muffler!

by

The past couple of weeks, I’ve been going back through my supernatural murder mystery manuscript. I’d started it back in 2001, “finished” it three years later, given to a part-time writing schedule, basically about 2 hours a day, five days a week, and whatever I can do on the weekends. But since then, I’ve been trying to sell the damned thing (there’s actually a pun in there…) and tweaking it. Nine years worth of that unrelenting activity. Belief in my manuscript. Anywho, as I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve decided I’m going to e-publish it, so I’ve gotten a graphics artist fellow writer friend of mine to work the cover. She’s been a true trooper!  Karen Duvall (here’s her graphics art page) has hung in there trying her best to find the images I’m asking for for my cover design, sometimes spending hours searching for just the right thing (and I spent a couple of hours one morning, myself, also trying to find the right graphics). But in the world of free art, sometimes you just can’t find what you’re looking for—finding free stuff is haaard! And since I’m e-pubing, I’m trying to keep expenses down. Way down. I already went the AuthorHouse route 12 years ago, when there wasn’t much game in town, but now there is, and I’m not spending a lot for this muffler!

So, Karen came up with a really cool image, after multiple go-arounds and attempts and efforts on her part, yesterday (hope she’s still talking with me…), but I think we’ve finally come up with a great image! I’m looking forward to the Big Reveal, when I finally get everything in place. I love the feel of the cover.

Another interesting development during all this was the Jodi Arias trial. My wife and I have been watching it (me, off and on), and it is amazing to me on many levels, but I bring this up because I have a court scene in my novel that goes in a weird direction, much like Juan Martinez and the Seven Dwarfs goes off in a weird direction (and yes, I included that phrase into my manuscript). Now my court scene isn’t as belligerent as this real-life one, but it amazes me at how utterly combative the Law can get when trying to prove their side of the story. Trying (IMHO) to force witnesses to only give a “Yes” or “No,” when the answer might not really be a case of yes or no, but the “Yes” or “No” can make the witness look bad in the presentation of the case, therefore racking up points for whoever such a thing benefits. It was nice to see someone remain utterly composed (whether or not you agree with LaViolette’s side of the story). And I do mean she is utterly unflappable, not intimidated in any way by Martinez’s constant, unrelenting battering—though he, himself, no matter what HLN commentators say (most of whom I find extremely annoying), is not so (he frequently shows his anger, his frustration, and gives nasty “tone” and body language in his deliveries). I’ve never seen such composure in my life, as I have in LaViolette. I’m not going into if LaViolette is biased…just look at her composure. Incredible. Perhaps comes from dealing with lots of rage in her 36-year-or-so career. She also knows all the psychological tactics Martinez is employing—and calls him on them—and doesn’t fall for them. But I digress. I just wanted to mention this trial because of the weird Seven Dwarfs turn it took, and the trial in my novel also takes a weird turn. I have also had two actual (now retired, I believe) judges read the court-room scenes to make sure it remains true in structure and presentation.

Okay, so after I make all my manuscript redlines, get my Tax ID number, and do the rest of the logistical end of things, I will get this story out there. So, in the meantime, sorry haven’t been keeping up on everyone’s blogs, tweets, e-mails, and what-have-you, but there’s only so much time in the day!

We Talk Story, Yeah?

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English: Interesting Story
An Interesting Story (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Story.

Isn’t that what we’re really doing—writing stories, fictional or otherwise?

I read this article the other day, by Bob Mayer, and it really made me look at things differently! Bob’s got a lot to say in the post, but one of the things I came away with was that books are not the be-all, end-all. They’re a method to this madness, is all—and not the only method. Bob broke it down into three great lines (quoting from his post):

“Authors create stories and ideas.

Readers consume stories and ideas.

Everyone in between the two has to add value to that.”

What great insight!

What this means to me: I’ve been trying to get my work published through my agent by the traditionally published route. It hasn’t gone well. Over 4 years and not one sale. I never claim to be a Stephen King, Bob Mayer, James Patterson, or anyone else. I’m just little ol’ me, scribblin’ down my stories. But the point is, the traditional route isn’t working, and the traditional route is all about selling books. It’s not so much about selling stories. There’s an ever-so fine distinction there. It’s about the story and about picking different platforms, and all that goes with that. Mr. Mayer does a great job of it in his post, so I suggest reading it, but my point is that I’ve been resistant to trying the e-book only platform, having to admit to loving books, in and of themselves. I do, yes. As a reader. But as a writer, I’ve never been against any of the other platforms, like e-books. Just personally didn’t deal with them. My view has always been, if readers want to read on computer screens, smartphones, or tablets, more power to them!

So, I’m going to give this a shot. I’m going back over, for the umpteenth time in 12 years (I’ll post more about the long road in this novel’s journey once I get it out there), to my supernatural murder mystery, set in Gulf Cost Florida, and I’m going to publish it as an e-book. And I’m pretty dang sure I’m going to do it through Smashwords, but I’m still open to other ideas (I met Mark Coker last year, at the PPWC, and heard him speak; I was quite impressed with him and how he stood up to “Traditional Publisher Think,” or TPT—okay, I just made that up, on the spot, here, but feel free to use it!). And I’m pretty danged excited about it! This is a story that has been near and dear to me, on many levels, but, most importantly, it’s a story that’s important to me (or I’d never have stuck with it this far; I have given up on other manuscripts)…and one I think will entertain others, not to mention “get readers to thinking.”

So, let’s talk story, folks, and think differently about what it is we’re doing and how we’re doing it!

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Pikes Peak Writers Conference (PPWC) 2012

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Agents, and editors, and publisher, oh my!

How was your weekend?

Great, well, lemme tell you a little about mine.

This past weekend I attended the PPWC 2012 conference, which was celebrating its 20th year. I’ve been to 17 of them. hadn’t been to the last two, but it was fun attending this year, and seeing friends I haven’t seen in two years. Putting faces to those I’ve only harrasses and taunted in blog posts, comments, and e-mails (like Betsy [wishing you all the best on your knee surgery today!], Mario, Bree, and Gusto Dave!).

But I nearly missed it.

You see, I thought it was the next week, and by “next week,” I mean April 27th – 29th.  Literally, I had my jacket on and was leaving the house, when something (I won’t go into what, but plenty of you out there know what that “what” is…) prompted me to check the PPWC website.

April 20 – 22.

What did I have on my calendar (I even took a picture and showed others this, just in case no one believed me)? What did I take off from my day job?

April 27th, etc.

Yeah.

Can you say “unprepared?”

Head not in the game?

Embarrassed (I had volunteer duties that, uh, got modified, because of this…)?

Needless to say, I said “sorry” a lot this past weekend.

I’ve never (fully, and of my own actions) blown anything out of the water so beautifully and completely as I had this weekend.

Man.

Anywho, I wasn’t alone! Apparently, others had too. At least three of us. Some friends (who periodically checked my sanity throughout the weekend–thank you!–and made sure I was on the right day and time for things, like pitches; many thanks to Laura and Janet and Margaret and Karen for keeping me sane–and for the PPWC staff for your concern and understanding in the matter, especially Chris Myers, who was my volunteer boss) brought a couple of us together to hang our collective heads in amused embarrassment and laugh at ourselves. As one of the people mentioned, just think if we had made flight and hotel reservations….

But, all things considered, it was great getting “back in the game,” as it were. Sometimes life gets so bizzy (case in point), we get so immersed in just living. But as writers, where we are always in our little caves, we do sometimes really need to get out into the “sunlight.”  Get out amongst our peeps. Our peers. Conferences are great places for that.

And you get to meet and pitch to editors, agents, and publishers. Get to know them on a personal basis. Yeah, they really are just like you and me. Get headaches, laugh, converse. Walk (not float inches above) the earth.

Surprise–they even put on their pants one leg at a time.

For the full list of the faculty, click HERE, but we had the likes of Robert Crais and Jeffrey Deaver, Susan Wiggs, and Donald Maass as Keynote Speakers. I am a fan of Bob’s writing (the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike mystery series)–in fact I grew up watching some of the show he’d screenplayed. Bob is truly such a cool guy, extremely personable and accessible. There is an energy about him that has him stand out head-and-shoulders above the rest. I remember meeting and talking with him in the very beginning, way back in 1993 (pardon me if I’m off a year, but I’ve been somewhat time warped this month, as many can attest to…), and every time since, I make it a point to talk with him. Like he said in his Keynote delivery, it’s like he’d grown up with the PPWC. Other samplings include Steve Saffel, of Titan books (another I always make a point of talking with), Lou Anders, of Pyr (that’s “Pie-er”) Books, Mario Acevedo, Kevin J. Anderson, Carol Berg, Mark Coker (Founder and CEO of Smashwords), and  Joe R. Lansdale–another really cool, down-to-earth guy.

And Jimmie Butler, the founder of all things Pikes Peak Writer. He founded the conference 20 years ago and was the driving force for many of its years, before stepping down (the job can be quite taxing, not to mention impact one’s writing life). I’d even attended his critique group for a period of time. It was great seeing and spending time catching up with Jimmie. He’s a great guy, and I hope many attendees had a chance to at least introduce themselves and thank him for all he’d wrought with this conference!

Of course there were others, but I eventually have to post this and return to the real world, so checking my watch, I do see it’s time to go.

And I think it’s Tuesday, no?

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