Distractions – But the Right Distraction

It's been a while since I've posted to my marketing diary-blog, and while I have been focusing on marketing, fine-tuning what I all ready have online, and looking for new places to create profiles and mention my books, I have also been distracted.

Over two decades ago, I had the idea for a novel – a horror novel to be exact. I wanted to write about racism, but wanted to do it in a creative way. My mind took me to the undead zombies. I decided to write a novel in which the undead, who become reanimated, are not out to kill and eat the living, but are troubled souls who suddenly find themselves trapped in their old, inferior and decayed bodies. The living, having experienced movies about zombies, figures the undead are like they're depicted in them. Because nobody takes the time to communicate, but instead fear one another, or hate one another because of their differences, violence eventually breaks out between the two groups.

When I first started writing this, zombie novels and entertainment was limited; as I attempt to finish the novel, entitled Barkerton (named in tribute to horror writer Clive Barker), I'll look like I'm jumping on an all ready well worn bandwagon. That I don't mind so much. A good story is a good story and will either entertain or not. I'm willing to let it stand on its own.

Barkerton, with its vast scope was the novel that led me to believe I couldn't write novels. I soon turned to screenplays, and became an expert in that medium. Over the years, Barkerton has been my White Whale.

Having written, Tripping on Tears, The Merry Pranked and The Marquis Mark, three books I’m proud of, I finally decided Barkerton was due to be finished. I did all ready have 90,000 words written and was close to the finish after all, and over the years had re-written and polished what I had written, but just couldn't finish it nonetheless.

As I continue promoting my thriller, The Marquis Mark (pre-ordering on Amazon-Kindle and due out on June 7th) and the other books, inspiration for Barkerton has finally arrived; not because I sat down and waited, but because I just began writing, hoping that inspiration would find me; it has. Barkerton isn't finished just yet, but it's very close; and this time I will succeed. I've proven I can write books, and it's time to wipe away that 20-year-plus fear that has stayed my hand in the medium of novels thanks to Barkerton.

Barkerton is definitely a distraction, but one worth indulging, because even though I have written three novels, it is the fear I must finally conquer.

Buying Reviews...A Moral Dilemma

I'll admit I didn't get a lot done over the Easter Weekend, although I did do a bit of research. Through some Twitter contacts, I discovered there are a few companies on the Internet offering indie authors reviews...but for a fee.

The fee itself is not prohibitive, and reviews are definitely needed on Amazon to help promote your work, but I do have to admit that the payment for reviews structure bothers me; first, because for years I was an entertainment journalist and during that time I would have never accepted a fee for a good review for a movie, book or CD. I'm sure there were many opportunities, like that time a representative for one of the big movie studios handed me a straight-to-video copy of Slumber Party Massacre 3, knowing he was handing me a terrible movie, and a good review was probably next to impossible—it was, unless you're into those kinds of ‘B’ movies. As a reviewer, I felt I had an obligation to whomever read my stuff to at least be honest. I don't know how that honesty works in the pay-for-a-review marketplace.

I'm sure their intentions are honorable, but how do they handle a poorly written manuscript, or one that isn't up to professional standards? Part of being successful in this marketplace has to be proving that your work is worth purchasing; that's why I like the option of allowing potential readers to read the first three chapters. That should at least give them an idea as to whether or not you can write; it will not let them know whether your can plot and whether your plot holds up for a book length manuscript, but, then again, there's always a risk when purchasing a book or going to a movie we just can't love or like them all.

I'd be curious to know what others think. I've read stories about indie bands seeding an audience with people to shout and scream when they know a record company A&R person might be attending that performance, to help stack the deck in their favor. That's not exactly honest, but possibly sometimes we need to stack the deck in our favor if we can it's up to us to make sure that if we do, we provide those we deceived with quality work.

I'm going to attempt the other route looking for honest reviews. That may be naive, but I don't think it's completely impossible. I guess, in time I'll know. And while I'm at it, I'll provide anyone who reads this with a link to the first three chapters of my latest thriller, The Marquis Mark, pre-ordering on Amazon for June 7th, with the hope it might just entice - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25177334-the-marquis-mark

Procrastination

Okay, so it’s been a couple of days since I last posted and aside from having created a press release for my upcoming thriller, The Marquis Mark, I haven't done a lot of promotion. Although, I guess, writing and designing a press release, could be seen as a step forward in this department.

Unless you have the ability to dedicated one-hundred percent of your time to the task of promotion, there are always things that get in the way. Life is like that; and it doesn't have to be big things, so you have to be wary. In many cases it would seem that life is conspiring to keep you where you are; challenging you to overcome its obstacles while in search of your dreams. While that may seem the case, you have to also realize that in marketing your book, you need to bring along the same discipline you found to have completed it in the first place.

In writing my first two novels, Tripping on Tears and The Merry Pranked, I decided to use an approach I'd read in a magazine about writing. What it suggested was setting a word count per day. I did. I expected to sit down and write 1,000 words a day, no matter what, and I did. What I soon discovered was that I'd set a goal for myself that very quickly became rooted in stone. In Tripping on Tears, when I approached the chapter in which Safia had to die the book is about an honor killing, so it was necessary I found myself procrastinating, and for the first time those 1,000 words a day weren't happening. By that time, I'd adopted this approach so fully that I now felt guilty for not writing and promised myself I'd make up the days I'd lost. When it dawned on me that the reason for this was the fact I really didn't want to kill off Safia, I'd enjoyed writing her character so much, that psychologically I didn't want to write the words she was dead, I realized what was holding me back, and I set about writing again, and made up for three to four days of inactivity.

As a former journalist, my life was full of deadlines. To miss a deadline was a sin. As a writer of fiction, I'm left to my own devises, but found creating a daily goal or even deadline for myself encouraged me to move forward. How did this affect creativity and inspiration, well, I believe I'll address that in my next posting, as I don't want to go on too long here.

In marketing The Marquis Mark, I believe I have to create my own 1,000 words a day goal; possibly guaranteeing that I spend one-hour a day researching, reaching out and promoting in order to complete the task that we writers most loath the promoting of our books; sure, it'd be fun to use that hour writing, but probably unwise.