36 Hours Left on Goodreads!

You still have approximately 36 hours to sign up for the Ninth Avatar giveaway on Goodreads.com! Sign up for the sign, sign up for the giveaway, and you might win one of the 3 copies!

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/600-the-ninth-avatar

BlogTalkRadio/Podioracket "Appearance" Today

Hey everyone, catch me live on BlogTalkRadio today. Podioracket.com's 6th Episode broadcast will feature me as a guest to field questions and comments.

Details here:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/PodioRacket/2009/05/28/Podioracketcom-Episode-6

Memorial Day Weekend

We did a lot this weekend, and no real writing to speak of.

On the holiday I successfully ran the 2009 Bolder Boulder, a 10-kilometer (6.2 mile) trek through the heart of Boulder, CO culminating at Folsom Field (where the Buffs play). It was exciting, fun, and not a little difficult (due to all the walkers haphazardly lollygagging through the motions). I did it in just under 68 minutes (1:07:39, to be exact). Later, we went to celebrate and check out the new house of our friends Laura and Rick.

I actually spent most of the weekend in Boulder, as on Sunday we went to the Boulder Creek Festival and got rained on. Micah got some Henna art done on her wrist, as did Megan, and we generally tooled around checking out artwork and jewelry.

On Saturday, after Writer's Group (in Boulder), we went to Kelly's house and watched Breakfast at Tiffany's and ate breakfast food for a movie-dinner-theme-night. Karla's breakfast casserole was the big winner, eclipsing our bagels with cream cheese and jelly offering, and pulling barely ahead of the french toast english muffins (which were also delicious). A good time was had by all.

I'm still a bit sore and exhaused from yesterday, but it was totally worth it. Being able to run six miles is a big accomplishment for me, a 10-year cigarette smoker, and it was one of Micah's "Five Things to do in 2009" which she can now officially mark off.

Today it's back to the Day Job, and next weekend it's camping. We'll see if I can get some writing done in the in-between.

This Week's Progress

Thomas Redpool Goes To Hell
Find "Thomas Redpool Goes To Hell" here on Authonomy.


I could have (would have, should have) posted this blog entry earlier, but I'm afraid Authonomy continues to monopolize my time. The site has no shortage of work to check out, people to meet, and, in many cases, praises to respond to. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, and can't quite remember now why it's taken me so long to sign up. I guess I got a bad impression of it from some folks, as if it were the American Idol of the pre-published world.

Maybe I have a favorable opinion of it now because my project is doing well. Many have liked it so far, leaving comments like:

• Very different. I found myself liking Thomas, although wasn't sure whether I really should. Your descriptions are excellent as are the flashback conversations.
• Reads like a comic book and that can only be good, unless it's a rubbish comic which this isn't. Cracked, warped and a great thrill ride.
• Your writing is dark and thought provoking and yet there is humour running through here too. I'm thinking that I'm not really supposed to like Thomas, but I do, there is something about him. You have a great imagination, the way you portray hell, it's like nothing else I have ever read. This is a story on many levels, I feel, I like that, it has me pondering.
• You've taken a very heavy subject and injected it with bubbles of funny. What's scary to me is that this feels close to the bone. You are smacking me up the side of the head with a demolition ball, but tickling me at the same time. Sex in hell, well naturally! fetching prints, of nudes, well naturally. What I find weird is this juxtaposition you have going on. I want to smile, and laugh, and agree, but am terrified it's the "wrong" reaction. Cleavage! (what a pun right?)

And others. Tons of positive feedback, and a few constructive items for thought.

So, I have gone from a brand new person on Authonomy to having Thomas ranked at the 3-digit level in less than a week. Currently, the book is sitting at 810 (which is amazing, considering how short it's been on the site).


Scions of the Shade
I'm sitting at about 23,000 words on SOTS. I'm working on chapter 5, have 4 more chapters planned after that and know how I'm going to end the story. I just need to set aside more time to write, finish the first draft, and circle back to give it depth and ambiance. Things are looking very interesting at the moment.


The Ninth Avatar
Still waiting on further sales and reviews of Avatar. I have a few contacts for local bookstores but haven't jumped in that area yet. It's not that I'm particularly afraid to, I think I've just been focusing on other things too much lately. Personal, life-type things.

On the Podiobook front, I hit a big of a snag yesterday when I tried to record my weekly more-than-one episode. Since I got a new work laptop (for my day job), and it has a tighter security policy, I was unable to "install" my microphone and get it to work. I tried to use Micah's computer, but either the microphone didn't agree with it or her sound card is vastly different. The audio I attempted on her machine sounded like I was across the room... and inside a bottle. So, no go there. I am trying to have the microphone issue corrected on this machine today, and will hopefully be recording & posting tomorrow (so as to not upset my followers waiting for the second half of the book).


Else
I ran 6.2 miles in 70 minutes last night. Pretty proud of that, but I think I could have done better. The Podrunner mix I was listening to ramped up a bit too much for the latter half, and I just ran out of gas about 75% into the run. Running the Bolder Boulder on Monday, pretty excited about that.

TRGTH now listed on Authonomy

Hey everyone, in an effort to get a bit more feedback (particularly on the opening portions of the story), I have listed the first 3 Chapters & Interludes of Thomas Redpool Goes To Hell on HC's Authonomy site.

If you're in the mood for a laugh, or just feel like promoting/commenting, check it out!

As always, all comments are welcome (either here or there).

Todd Newton to be a guest on BlogTalkRadio.com

Hot on the heels of my interview, I've been offered a "guest" appearance on the Podioracket broadcast of BlogTalkRadio.com. I'm still figuring out the details of the site, but the air date will be 5/28/2009 - I'll be calling in live to field questions and discuss The Ninth Avatar and other things.

It should appear on this link as Episode 6 closer to the date.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/podioracket

If you'd like to ask me a question LIVE, mark it on your calendar!

Getting an Agent, Getting an Offer: The Publishing Catch-22

Recently I read that the phrase Catch-22 had no original meaning other than what the novel (of the same name) attributed to it. While I find this fascinating, the phrase has become quite the colloquialism around the Initial Draft office these days (which, really, is just the area coinciding with my personal space).

As you probably know, I went the self-publishing route with The Ninth Avatar (as well as the Podiobooks route) because as a debut author with a fairly hefty volume and no sales-credits to my name (of short fiction or otherwise), it was a stroll down Rejection Avenue to find an agent for that particular project. Don't hold up a finger and "but" me; I tried. It could be argued that I didn't try hard enough, and that self-publishing has possibly damaged my career irreparably... but it could also be argued that I've done a terrific thing by opening myself up to a learning experience and exploring alternative marketing channels. Either way, the point is moot now because I can't really de-self-publish (or un-self-publish). Not that I'd want to, anyway.

Even so, it has always been my goal to continue the "traditional" publishing route for later projects -- case in point Thomas Redpool Goes To Hell. Despite the tragic, or rather, "steadfast" refusal from Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award, I was and am undeterred in my goal of selling Thomas and watching it flourish as a literary success. It is to that end that I have resumed the minefield/obstacle course/Alladin-esque-Cave-of-Wonders that is the process of querying agents.

(Cave of Wonders image = fair use)

Thanks, in part, to my blissful ignorance of The Publishing Industry At Large, as well as my intricate writing talents, I have become a bit confused about how best to "sell" Thomas. Originally, I wrote the novel as "commercial fiction" -- a description that I've been told encompasses plot-driven stories of an indistinct (or irrelevant) genre-type-category. Since, I have been told it would be best to sell the novel as Fantasy, since the majority of the story takes place in Hell (which most would consider, at best, an Alternate Reality). While I didn't wholly agree with this, most of what I write is Fantasy so it sounded somewhat plausible.

Having accrued a handful of rejections from querying the same agents that I sent Avatar to, though, I began to doubt this classification. Ultimately I came to the conclusion that I needed to try selling it as humor/satire, since there's no genre-type-category for Religious Satire (which is the only place Thomas firmly falls). It is with that in mind that I tried to seek out agents leaning in that direction.

From a recommendation, I figured I'd try finding out the agents of like-minded authors. Not to query them directly, of course, but to see what their interests were and do some comparisons. I sought out Neil Gaiman's Agent, but actually stumbled upon a response she wrote that he posted on his blog, wherein the following excerpt lives:

1. If you're writing fiction, the True Secret Answer is "get an offer." If you've got an offer, you can get an agent. If you don't have an offer, you don't want the kind of agent you're likely to get. [emphasis mine]

See also:

b. Some ways you might get an agent without getting an offer: Be obviously and extraordinarily good. Sell a lot of short stories. Have some other seriously hot credentials.

2. Don't start by looking for an agent. Do your research first. Start by learning about agents, submissions, publishing houses, the industry, et cetera. Note: This is a huge subject.

Good advice? Perhaps. But, with many of the publishing houses (particularly the larger/largest ones like Random House) refusing to sell unsolicited submissions (that is, submissions not from Agents), an offer doesn't seem an incredibly easy thing to come by. Hence the Catch-22: can't get an Agent unless you have an Offer, but can't submit for an Offer without an Agent.

Maybe I'm wrong. Heck, maybe I'm crazy for trying to get into this business. Wouldn't someone have to be a little bit daft to even try jumping through so many, as Nathan Bransford puts it, "hoops"? Perhaps I need to take Teresa Nielsen Hayden's advice, to learn about the industry, but I thought the entire purpose of securing an Agent was for them to seek the Offer. Am I incorrect in my assumption that those Offers are what pay their paychecks, and they actually don't "earn" anything by sorting through the dreaded Slush Pile (other than, perhaps, the potential of a new client who they can then solicit Offers for)?

I wrote a book, and I believe it's a fun, attention-grabbing story. Check box #1 filled. To fill in check box #2 and, therefore, achieve the success I earnestly work toward, said book must be published and enjoyed/reviled by an audience.

Maybe I'm querying the wrong agents. Maybe I don't know enough about the industry. Perhaps all of this is purposefully complicated, not to mention frustrating, to deter people less tenacious than I am and save them all the brutal slaving hours and criticism that, inevitably, come with even the slightest amount of fame.

I'm ready, world. Just waiting on you.

Todd Newton interviewed on Podioracket.com

Hey, readers! My first official interview, regarding The Ninth Avatar in Podiobook form, is now available as part of Podioracket's podcast!

Click here to listen!
http://www.podioracket.com/main/?p=966

Social Netmarking - Part 2

When dealing with marketing, or any kind of business venture, one term that seems to come up a lot is "scope." Scope is the breadth of something, how far or how long or how in-depth it goes, which is doubly confusing since it is also the name of a brand of mouthwash.

Regarding social netmarking, specifically, scope comes into play with how close your target audiences are. The way I see it, there are three-and-a-half scopes with a project like mine:

Phase 1 - Local - This includes, but is not limited to, your immediate network of friends, associates, and acquaintances. Treat this as your easiest task, because it usually is. These people are usually not strangers and they (again, usually) like you. Most of them want to support what you're doing. It helps to have these folks on Facebook, Twitter, etc. because they know people you don't, even in your own community.

Phase 2 - Regional - This also includes a portion of your local network, as you may know people who are semi-local but don't actually live in the same city as you. Maybe you were friends in high school but you/they moved away, or some other circumstance. Regional folks tend to be less familiar with you, if at all, and this target should include "local" bookstores (even if they're chains). Win these over and you will have gained some serious momentum for . . .

Phase 3 - National - It is possible for your work to gain national attention, and don't let anyone ever tell you something different. Having grown up in a small town myself, I've had to overcome some serious mental/psychological obstacles of recognizing that the bigger world is out there and accessible. This phase is especially where the Internet plays a big part, since the vast majority of people on a national level have probably never heard of you (this goes triple if you're a first-time author), and this is where the momentum from Phase 2 helps so much. If what you have is good, book store managers might tell their other stores. Your friend might know someone who knows someone in New York that gets interested in what you're doing.

Phase 3.5 - International - The reason why I don't give this "phase" a full designation is because it is merely an extension of the National phase. If you're garnering attention at a national level, it's hard to avoid international attention. People are always looking for things they might like, regardless of which country they're from. As such, I won't spend more time talking about this particular half-phase.

Note that I live in the USA so this is purely my experience from that perspective.

What makes Social Netmarking so great, and so important, is that at any time you might just bypass these phases entirely. This is a more traditional approach to marketing, where you gain in size proportional to what phase you're in. With immediate access to Regional, National, and International readers, however, the level of attention you receive is more dependent on how much work you're putting in and who is seeing it.

Recently I sent copies of my book to France and Canada. These are people I know, yes, but it still potentially expands my reach. If even one person sees my book and becomes curious about it, that is a success beyond sitting on my couch and watching another episode of Battles BC.

I use Twitter, have a fan page for The Ninth Avatar on Facebook, and I run this blog where I try very hard to post 2 times per week, scheduled, whether it is about writing or life (these are interchangable, almost, since the book has come out). I am also working to finish the free serial (podcast) version on Podiobooks.com. All of these reach a larger audience than I could by standing on a street corner.

While I don't scream from every rooftop with a bullhorn that I'm selling a book, and I don't tell every single person I meet that I'm a published author and guarantee them my writing will supplant their #1 favorite novel of all time, I do have a marketing strategy. It includes using any and all tools available so that people can discover me, check things out at their own pace, and (hopefully) respond to what I'm putting forth.

Again, how well it works revolves around how much work I'm putting into it. While I'm sticking to the comfortable portions of the Local phase still, I have plans to expand more to the Regional in the next couple of months.

Who wants to help me take on the rest?

Social Netmarking - Part 1

You heard it here first, lest someone try to claim my corny rephrasing for themselves.

What is social netmarking? It is using social networking for marketing purposes.

How do you do it? Well, first let's examine what certain types of social networking "things" are good for. (This is actually the entire purpose for this particular post, not some grandstanding based on an invented phrase).

Twitter - Many people are confused about the purpose of Twitter. The way I explain it is that it is just a website that mimics the "Facebook Status" functionality (though that functionality is actually different, now). It's a site for what are called "microblog" posts: posts that have a strict character limit. These brief broadcasts are best used for mass updates or sharing information that people don't have to spend minutes perusing (since they're short). It's useful to let people know both what you're doing at the moment as well as what you're finding interesting, and since you can update it using a mobile phone and regular SMS/text messages, Twitter is very accessible. The biggest reason I use it, other than complaining, is when I load more episodes to Podiobooks.com for The Ninth Avatar and I want to confirm to everyone that they're up.

Facebook - What is Facebook not good for? Seriously, Facebook is the more adult version of Myspace (in my opinion) though there are other major differences as well. Facebook is a lot like the iPhone of social networking sites... because there are "applications" for just about everything. You don't need to know HTML to use Facebook because there's no profile customization required, plus it is (by default) more private than Myspace. I'll go into the advantage of Myspace below, but I still haven't talked about the purpose of Facebook. Frankly, about 70% of the friends I have on Facebook are people I see on a semi-regular basis. Sometimes I go months without seeing them, but rather than calling or emailing them I can passively communicate by saying "here's what I'm up to" on my Facebook. I can also upload pictures, share videos, links, and all kinds of other things. Facebook is just basically a gigantic way to keep up with what your friends (or kids) are doing.

Myspace - Many people wonder what the difference is between Myspace and Facebook. Well, there used to be quite a few, but that has changed since Myspace saw the popularity of Facebook and started trying to mimic their interface. Myspace offers a lot of the same functionality as Facebook, a way to keep up with your friends and post pictures/videos, but it has one main difference. Originally, Myspace was also a way for fans to connect with bands. I believe it still is (I haven't used my Myspace account in probably 18 months), allowing a band to upload songs that people can then listen to (but not download). This speaks to just about any "business," but mostly to bands. Whether a band has a record deal or not, you can be certain they have a Myspace page.

A blog - Tell us a story! Share your knowledge, expertise, and experiences. A blog does quite a bit that a simple page-with-pictures could do, particularly if you have mainly family reading it and not the general public (believe me, it's far easier to stay under the radar than you think). While I do feel sometimes that everyone who has children and blogs about them could basically copy-and-paste each others' "check-out-what-weird-thing-my-kid-said-today" posts, a personal or "cheerios" blog is a good way to keep people caught up on what you're doing. If you're humorous, like most of the blogs I read, then all the better.

There you have it, ways to "expose yourself" to potential fans (no pun intended).

What am I missing?

Self-Publishing Shedding Skin?

There's a very interesting article in United's "Hemispheres" magazine posted 5/1/2009.

Good comparisons, plus encouragement.

Have a look-see, and make sure to check out the comments for responses from Yours Truly and Evo from Podiobooks.

Thumbs-up to @SharonRosa on Twitter for the link!

Reading On Writing

Stephen King's part-memoir, part-guide titled On Writing is a book I have subconsciously avoided for some time. Not intentionally, of course, since King is quite the master of modern fiction. More to the point, I avoided it specifically because his "style" (for lack of a better word) was not something I wanted to emulate.

A while ago, as part of one of the many recommendations I read/heard for On Writing, it was suggested that a writer must write every single day. Being the disorganized, mentally disheveled, Type B personality that I am, I immediately reeled from this "advice." Write EVERY SINGLE DAY? There are very few things I do every single day, and most of them are bodily functions that I would not survive if I missed out on.

After reading the true rationale for that advice in On Writing, it now makes perfect sense (particularly with my example). To King, the act or process of writing is a vital bodily function. More than that, it's a ritual that requires a higher priority than the one I was attributing.

See, for some reason, I thought writing every day would somehow dilute the reservoir of ideas and "talent" because I'd eventually run out of things to say. While this might be irrational, to an extent, it's about the only thing I can think of to explain the fear that has become a major obstacle for me. I can only write under perfect conditions is no longer good enough. More than that, it makes me sound pretentious and frivolous -- like I couldn't take writing seriously enough to want to do it instead of wasting time under the guise of "mindless unwinding."

Quoting here, "...when you find something at which you are talented, you do it (whatever it is) until your fingers bleed or your eyes are ready to fall out of your head. Even when no one is listening (or reading, or watching), every outing is a bravura performance, because you as the creator are happy. Perhaps even ecstatic. That goes for reading and writing as well as for playing a musical instrument, hitting a baseball, or running the four-forty. The sort of strenuous reading and writing program I advocate---four to six hours a day, every day---will not seem strenuous if you really enjoy doing these things and have an aptitude for them..."

Ultimately, writing every day should not seem like a chore if you really want to write. Finding my own meaning in this advice is causing a lot of reaction, mentally, and a forced introspection the likes of which I haven't had for months. I'm reeling all over again, but this time for different reasons.

This is either the calm before the storm, or the breathing-in before diving back under the water. I'm not sure which just yet, but since they are fairly similar (separate only in my mind), let's just all be excited and get to work.

Writing daily? We'll see.

Avatar Giveaway on Goodreads

Three copies are up for grabs over at Goodreads!

If you're not a member, sign up and Enter to Win!


Open to USA residents only. Sorry!