The Ninth Avatar, Trapdoor style

The new "edition" is up on Amazon and already I have a few reviews! The "purchase" option will be active soon, I promise, but for now you can just check out how it's coming together.

So... have a look, read the reviews, maybe post one of your own if you've already read the book!

The Ninth Avatar, growing pains of a novel

Managing an intellectual property in the age of the Internet is so complicated, it's a wonder we do it at all. Take my recent struggles with Goodreads & Amazon, for example.

As most of you know, I self-published The Ninth Avatar in 2009 through CreateSpace, a POD owned by Amazon. The process was fairly straightforward and, though I can't say I was completely satisfied with their customer support process, I got what I wanted out of the transaction.

An entry for the book was also posted on Goodreads, a great place to discuss books and show your reader clout (if you're organized enough to post all your books and update it often with your status). Three ratings were posted there, and one review, and many people added the book to their "to read" lists. Some of this was thanks to the Giveaway I posted, where I offered up three copies of the book to random drawing winners. This was a good experience, and one I will probably try to repeat.

Flashforward a few months. The Ninth Avatar was acquired by Trapdoor Books, and around that time the CreateSpace version became, for lack of a better word, obsolete. I've said this before, but just for clarification, the "new" version of the book retains the story while having an improved structure and a few small additions to better flesh things out. The chapter order was rearranged, and if you haven't heard about the new cover by now -- go here immediately.

In an effort to push forward, I created a new Goodreads entry and contacted both Amazon and CreateSpace to have the self-published version (now out of print) de-listed. This is something Amazon pointed me to CreateSpace for, which produced a response from the latter saying it was impossible. Amazon retains all listings indefinitely, even of out of print books, for people to re-sell used copies and (I assume) to discuss them. So, in an effort to somehow mark it as "out of print," I took their suggestion and accessed Amazon's AuthorCentral to edit the details of the book.

So far, this has not worked. They allowed me to set the number of pages to 1 (rather than 490, or whatever it was), but they did not accept the change to append the words "Out of Print" to the title or format fields. Add to that, I can't "remove" the original entry from Goodreads because "it has too many reviews."

So, it looks like The Ninth Avatar has a battle to fight to overcome any confusion people might run into about its versions. This annoys me, to no end, because even though I have explained it clearly to multiple customer service departments and tried the recommended channels to correct this confusion, I have been rebuffed at every turn. I'm not quite ready to throw up my hands and despair, nor am I losing sleep over this yet, but it is perplexing. How can a retail giant like Amazon deal so loosely with their products and those who provide them?

To quote a character from my favorite sitcom, "The mind wobbles."


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Three Months to Perfection?

I was cruising around the Barnes & Noble this morning with Micah, as she needed to pick up one of their new "mole-skin" products. After browsing the "general" Fiction section and taking a few glances at the SFF section, I made my way over to the "Books on Books" section.

It may gratify you to know that, yes, even though I'm working on my third novel I still peruse, purchase, and percolate on "how to write" literature. Today, I picked up a volume specific to writing SF & F, and flipped to the Table of Contents to see exactly what kind of reader/writer it was targeted toward.

One of the first sections, past the introduction, was the description of a "scenario" to set expectations on how long it took to produce and publish a debut novel. The premise of the scenario was that a newcomer, committed to writing 1000 "finished" words per day, could finish a 90k word manuscript in 3 months. Then, after a week of editing, they could send it off to a publisher (who then reads the first page, loves it, wants to publish it, and all involved live happily ever after). I'm not exaggerating. The book goes into a tiny bit more detail, but these are the basics.

I was appalled. Frankly, I'm still appalled.

First and foremost, this sets an incredibly poor expectation. A person working on their first novel would probably be freaked out by this scenario; I know I would have when I was just starting out. 1000 words a day is a fine goal, but 1000 "finished" words a day? That means you not only write 1000 words, but you edit them, and the rest of the manuscript to make sure it all fits together. This scenario basically says your first draft is your only draft, and the publisher will be the one caring about the edits.

Second, three months is an incredibly short amount of time to write a 90,000 word novel. I can't stress this enough, but I struggle to think about how much shorter it is for a person whose never written a novel before. NaNoWriMo is a content to write a 50,000 word novel in a month, but anyone who's completed that will tell you it is incredibly difficult and the book needs a ton of work before it can be let outside the house.

So, is it fair to portray that a debut novel can be written, edited, and ready to submit in a 3-month period? Absolutely not. It's unreasonable, and my guess is those budding writers who pickup said book will read that scenario and feel like a failure for having put a year (or more's) worth of work into their first opus. Either that, or they will rush through the writing and editing, submit it to everyone they can think of, and get shot down because the manuscript has a ton of problems that could have been fixed with the proper amount of time. They'll get just as discouraged, feel just as much of a failure as someone who didn't meet the 3-month "deadline."

I had to bring this up because it's frustrating, to me, that people are being told things like this. How dare they make writers feel like failures when they can't churn out a 90,000 word book in 3 months? There is no proper benchmark for how long a book should take, despite what Stephen King says, because every project is different and every writer will approach it differently. King may be able to finish a manuscript first draft at 150k words (or more) within 3 months, but that's not his first book. He knows what he's doing.

It took 4 years of on and off work to write and edit what became The Ninth Avatar. The book ended up at right around 150k words in its final-final version, and each "half" took about a year to write, then it took over a year to edit and rewrite it all. Numerous drafts, copies pages of printed copies with highlights and noted margins/crossed out words, and rejection after rejection from agents and publishers alike.

Completing your first novel takes two things: time and work. Whether or not it takes an "equal" amount of each, it definitely takes a lot of both. Don't let anyone tell you how long your first book should be, or how long it should take you to write it. Just write your story, finish a first draft, then edit it to make it the best it can be. Hopefully this is true for everyone, but for my first novel I didn't feel like I was "on the clock." I gave myself deadlines and milestones, but I know I would finish it when I finished it.

So, if you read something like I did in a discouraging book, don't let it play with your expectation. Finishing a novel is an accomplishment, whether it takes 3 months or 3 years, and you are the only one who can decide when it's "done." That's the thing about being your own boss -- you get to make the decisions.


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With a little help from my friends

While writing is, and always will be, quite a solitary act, that doesn't mean that the author is the sole contributor to the work. Many of our friends and colleagues contribute without even knowing it. Their stories and personality traits may make it onto the page, in some form or another, but it's their overall support that really matters the most.

I truly believe that good literature is not the product of a hermit, a writer who locks himself up in a mountaintop cabin with no phone or email. That may be where manifestos come from, but good literature needs the support and input of people close to the author while it's being shaped.

Of course, this isn't news, but it helps to be reminded of it every so often. This weekend I had coffee with a good friend of mine who, quite literally, helped me figure out a good ending for my WIP, Scions of the Shade. My wife is also a big contributor to my writing, and even came up with a great idea for a scene in The Ninth Avatar which turned out to be a huge motivator for a character.

We writers can be a solitary, abrasive, and altogether odd bunch. We know this, and we are infinitely grateful for those of you who put up with our shenanigans on a regular basis. This post is just to say thanks, again, because we couldn't possibly say it enough on our own.


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Running: I want it to get easier

Micah and I watch The Biggest Loser every week. Okay, we DVR it, but still, it's one of our favorite shows to watch together. Despite all the dramatization of the events, we find it to be interesting and inspiring.

Some of you know that one of my more recent exercise directions is running. I ran the Bolder Boulder, a local yearly 10k race, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I (semi)frequently tweet that I ran 6 miles and am still alive, though it's been much harder to do so during these last winter-y months. Since I've started running outside, I've been loath to jump back onto a treadmill.

But running hasn't always been a passion. I was a cigarette smoker from the age of about 13 until right around the time I turned 21. After that, I was about 60 pounds overweight. In late 2004, I changed my diet and began a daily exercise regimen on a stationary bike. Between July and November, I went from 245 pounds to about 190 (and currently I hover between 180 and 183).

Still, when I began going to the Colorado Athletic Club in 2005 (and then the Apex in 06-07, and the 24-Hour Fitness in 08), running was incredibly difficult for me. Torturous, in fact. For a long time, just running a single mile was torture, and I had to halt after those grueling 11 or 12 minutes.

This was a big shock for me, considering I played football in High School and used to lift weights with my brother on a regular basis. I was not one of those weak kids in gym class who could only "bench the bar" (a paltry 45 pounds). Not to sound condescending, of course, since even then my smoking habit made every set of after-practice sprints absolute death on a stick. I was even frequently made fun of for my tendency to wheeze during long runs. Not a good time.

But, eventually, I was able to overcome that milestone of running a single mile on a treadmill without dying. I still had an intense fear of running "outside," since the high elevation of even Salt Lake City when I lived there had done some seriously unfriendly things to my breathing capacity. So the treadmill it was, for a very long time.

After months and months, I realized that running a single mile had become (for lack of a better word) easy. I really could do it. So I started running two miles at a time, then three miles at a time. Soon, it became less about distance and more about time, and I celebrated running for 30 minutes straight. When the opportunity came up to run the Bolder Boulder in 2009, I decided I was going to do it.

Training for a 6 mile run still sounded impossible, though. It was a hill I was not eager to climb. Having the benefit of hindsight, I can see that it was really just my fear holding me back. Micah was kind enough to plot a few courses around the neighborhood, though my knees still shook at the thought of running 6 miles at once. Over uneven ground, to make matters worse; Arvada is full of hills and valleys, and my preference was 0 incline on the treadmill.

My first "training" run that used the entire 6 mile course, we did together. I wasn't completely pleased with my performance, as it contained quite a bit of walking (any walking is more than I'd like), but I survived it. I did the same course twice more before the BB event, and ran the entire 10k without walking at all.

Aside from needing new shoes because of the pain in my soles when I run that far, I still use our 6 mile running course as a good benchmark. I've found that running is one of the best ways to challenge myself to do better, to go farther. Now that I've done it close to a dozen times, though, it's starting to become ...easy.

And that's exactly what I want. When what used to be a milestone becomes easy, it means you've achieved something great. Not only have you accomplished your goal, you've made your goal look like child's play. It's a great feeling, but along with that pride comes a renewal of hunger. You want to set a bigger goal, a harder goal, and make that look easy, too.

I don't think I ever would have qualified for a season of The Biggest Loser, but I feel like I've been in their shoes during certain points of my life. I've improved quite a bit, using every mile I run as a notch against the person I used to be, showing him what a healthy and happy life really means. Not only showing him what I can do, but showing him what I can make look easy.


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In Medias Res

I've noticed a tendency of mine, and others, to start a story too late. I've pondered the cause of this, and traced it back to the rule/guideline of in medias res or "in the middle of affairs." You can also think of it as "amidst action," or "among events."

If you're unfamiliar with the concept, it means beginning your story while something is happening rather than starting at the "true beginning" of your hero's life. It's used as a suggestion to avoid starting with the backstory. After all, we wouldn't want to hear about the birth of your hero unless something integral to the story was happening.

So where do you start? Modern fiction requires you grab the interest of your reader from page one, paragraph one, sentence one. If you are explaining something rather than showing a scene, you'd better have a damn good reason for it. Show us why we picked up this book in the first place. We want to be intrigued, spurred on to read further, because there are so many other things vying for our time and attention.

For this, I've found The Writer's Journey invaluable as a reference and guideline. It goes as follows:
1. The Ordinary World
2. The Call to Adventure
3. Refusal of the Call
4. Meeting with the Mentor
5. Crossing the Threshold
6. Tests, Allies and Enemies
7. Approach
8. The Ordeal
9. The Reward
10. The Road Back
11. The Resurrection
12. Return with the Elixir
(visit the link for an explanation of each, but if you're familiar with fiction, fantasy or mythology they should be fairly self-explanatory)

Specifically, today, I just want to talk about the first two because these are the beginning of nearly every story.

I believe people misunderstand in medias res, then misuse it by beginning their story at the second stage rather than the first. The Call to Adventure, also referred to as the Inciting Incident, must come after we see what the character's "regular life" is like. But wait, you might say, does that mean we need to show them doing their laundry and having breakfast?

Only when those actions are integral to the story.

Take Orson Scott Card's classic, Ender's Game. The first real scene, past the Military officers' discussion, is Ender having his "monitor" removed. We don't yet know what a monitor is, but that is explained along the way through the scene -- as is his day-to-day life. We get a very intimate glimpse into what Ender feels. His brother is jealous, a bully, and the removal of Ender's monitor is something he hopes will make everything okay.

You might argue that the removal of the monitor is the Inciting Incident to this story, but that is inaccurate. Removal of the monitor leads to something, yes, but it is actually the altercation with Stilson the School Bully that truly sets the story events in motion. It was a call to action, a call that Ender responds to by maiming the other boy and proving to the Military that he is exactly what they're looking for.

Threaded throughout the first two chapters (where the events happen and their consequences are played out) are incredibly effective portrayals of Ender's day to day life. His relationship with Peter, his brother, and Valentine, his sister, are well-defined and Ender's cultural role as a Third (a third-born child) is revealed. The story unfolds from there.

I use Ender's Game as an example for a few reasons. One, I am reading it (via audiobook) right now. Two, because many of the people I know have read it. And three, because if you haven't read it, you absolutely should.

If something is integral to the story, don't keep it a secret. Use a scene to show it to us, please. The reader needs to understand why the events they're about to read are important -- not just to the story, but to the character(s) involved in them. It's imperative that the reader goes on the journey with the character, rather than having the story dictated to them by the narrator.

Remember this about in medias res, even if you don't read Ender's Game. Starting amidst the action is great, but if you aren't also introducing the character to us then you need to start earlier.


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On Swearing and being "Unforgivably Anti-Censorship"

I know this topic has been discussed ad nauseum and I'm certain no proper conclusion will ever be reached. Even so, I'd like to broach it again to shake the tree and see what falls out.

Upon reading today's post from fellow writer and friend, Giles, I was inspired to discourse on the same topic: swearing. Also referred to as profanity, cursing, coarse language, dirty words, et al. I'll just assume you know what I mean.

If you know me at all, then you know I swear on a pretty regular basis. My goal isn't to offend anyone with it, but swearing is part of my vernacular. Many people accuse me (and others) of having a limited vocabulary because of this. Perhaps that's true for some but, as a writer, I find it difficult to believe as my own motivation. I have a healthy vocabulary and I'm fairly well-spoken. Not nearly as well-spoken as Micah, but I successfully get my point across nonetheless.

Swearing, I think, is a lot like smoking. In fact, I'm almost certain it will join smoking by being banned in all public places like bars and restaurants, so that if you want to swear you'll have to do it outside in the cold. But why? Words are just words, aren't they?


I remarked in a comment on Giles' blog that I am "unforgivably anti-censorship" but without a context that phrase doesn't really convey much. The prime example of this is listening to music on the radio. Not much bugs me more [about listening to music on the radio] than when they censor a swear word in a song by "blanking" it out or using noise to cover it up. Music is art, isn't it? Shouldn't it have the same protections that art does?

Recently, Micah and I went to the Denver Art Museum on the special day when Colorado residents get in free. This "free" opportunity is not without cost, however, as we're prone to see an astonishing number of children running helter-skelter across the pathways and exhibits. Most are shushed and reined in by their parental units, which we appreciate, but the volume and energy of children belongs more in a Walmart than an art museum.

That being said, I was shocked at how many children were allowed to see any and all of the posted exhibits in spite of how many "boobies," "butts," and "penises" were on vivid display. Call me crazy, but I think an anatomically correct naked man or woman might bear more explanation (not to mention have more potential for traumatization) than "the eff word" in a song. Also, if we're going to censor the songs our children have the opportunity to listen to, shouldn't we cover the "boobies" and "winky-doos" that they might see at the art museum?

Perhaps they're incomparable, but it does make me wonder. What about books and other forms of entertainment? Magazines like Vanity Fair sure aren't shy about swearing, especially when quoting someone, but maybe it's because they're aimed at an older audience. Should we start using permanent marker to censor "bad" words in literature?

Comedians like Lenny Bruce and George Carlin went to jail for using "profanity" during a performance -- surely a victimless crime if one ever existed. In the "old" days (when television was in black & white), they weren't allowed to use the word "pregnant" on I Love Lucy. Pregnant! Such an innocuous word by today's standards, especially when they use "damn," "bitch," and "ass" on almost every episode of whatever Law & Order spin-off is currently in season.

And why? Why do we, why should we punish the use of profanity? How is it that profanity is not covered by the First Amendment? Religion-based anti-gay hate speech is covered by the First Amendment, according to some courts (but not others), so why not profanity? Consider it: you can hold up a sign saying "Thank God for IED's" at a military funeral, where those who fought for your right to do that are being laid to rest, but you can't next to them and hold up a sign that says "Fuck These Guys ==>" and be protected under the same instance of the United States Constitution. Not only does it seem unfair, it seems absolutely wrong.

So yes, I am anti-censorship. Aside from personal respect for those with whom I converse, I refuse to be censored, and I don't need to be forgiven for that. Speech is an unalienable human right, not just an American one, and I will exercise it how I choose. You should, too.

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The Ninth Avatar Cover Unveiled!

In case you're not following me on Twitter, Facebook (via "me" or the Fan page), or through the Trapdoor Books blog, The Ninth Avatar is a mere hairsbreadth away from completion.

The new cover was unveiled yesterday, a collaborative effort to be sure, and I couldn't be more excited. I definitely feel the artwork sets the proper tone for the book, not to mention the fact that it's an evocative and eye-catching image. Have a look and let us know what you think (either here, or at the original Trapdoor blog post on it):

Fantasy Covers

Nothing has really been on my mind lately more than the cover of The Ninth Avatar. If you follow this blog, you know that it's receiving a new treatment upon being release by Trapdoor Books. Well, the editing and proofreading is all finished, and only the visual design (including interior and exterior) remains.

Fantasy covers are a special kind of book cover, requiring a little bit of extra attention, in my opinion. I've talked about them before, even shared the evolution of my own cover, but they remain a fascinating thing to me. While it's very difficult to find some kind of "rating" system for good fantasy covers, it's fairly easy to find lists and showcases of bad fantasy covers.

We've all seen them. Bad artwork, derivative elements, or just a complete lack of specificity to indicate what the book is about. Sometimes our only indication that a book is Fantasy is that it sits on that particular shelf (or has that particular categorization, when we're talking about websites). But how should we be able to identify fantasy covers?

Recently, I tweeted this link showing a chart of the most-to-least common elements found on fantasy covers.

While I'm not going to get that granular, I am going to break it down into three parts:
1) The Title
2) The Image

3) The Design
And, luckily for you, I have created some fair-use-based examples to illustrate my points. Starting with...

Figure 1-1

Overly specific, perhaps?

Now, obviously item #1 of the 3 parts is going to be already set. Whatever title you'd use for your manuscript should end up on the book cover -- not some random pairing of words that sounds cool (see figure 1-1). The title and the art work well together, yes, but to what end? This might get people's attention, since everyone who reads Fantasy knows what a "sword" is, but it is also going to drive away any and all readers who have taste.

Figure 1-2

Could be Fantasy, could be a Dan Brown knock-off

The image/art should work in concert with the title to illustrate something important, especially if the title is sort of ambiguous (figure 1-2). What the image should not do is imply something that the title does not (figure 1-3). In both of these cases, what you have is a mediocre outcome. One or the other of the examples may catch a reader's interest, but a closer inspection may not capture the type of reader you're looking for.

Figure 1-3

It sort of fits... I think...

I mentioned the title first because it is (usually) what you have first. With the image, you can search this out any number of ways. Stock photography, licensing an existing image, or having a custom image created based on your specifications. Each direction has it's own pros and cons, and it always helps if you know a good cover designer.

With Fantasy, I prefer the artwork route. Aside from scouring the internet for LARPers to pose and photograph yourself, the repository of stock photography (at least from what I've searched, for hours on end) can be incredibly limiting. That's not to say that photography and Fantasy don't mix; Photoshop works great in making "real" images look "unreal," and Urban Fantasy uses it quite extensively to great effectiveness. I, myself, used stock photographs to create the cover for The Ninth Avatar you are probably more familiar with at this date.

 Figure 1-4

 There IS such a thing as too specific

I know, I'm a writer not a cover designer, so what do I know? While this is true, I'm also an avid reader of Fantasy. I see trends because I shop books, and the cover truly is one of the greatest drivers of appeal for readers. Some books will sell no matter how bad the artwork is simply because of the name on the cover; just look at any of the Wheel of Time books. Eye of the World isn't that bad, but they immediately go downhill after that, and the most recent one is simply unbelievable.

Recently, as James has pointed out, a trend has developed of using a mysterious "hooded figure" on the cover. He's not kidding, just look at this post with some debuts & their covers. In figure 1-4, I illustrated this trend in purely farcical fashion, but I believe we're not too far away from that.

My final example is a great way of using the title and the artwork together. Selecting an image that not only "goes well" with your title, but also implies what your title implies, is what I believe to be the quickest path to a winning cover. I may not want to read this particular book (figure 1-5), but at least I know what it's about.

Figure 1-5

But the reason I wouldn't read it is because it's probably too happy, not because of the cover

What are your picks for the best Fantasy covers you've seen? Have any convinced you to purchase a book right off the shelf? Do you have a different way of judging books than by their covers?

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The aptly-named Fight For Air Climb

Micah and I did the Fight For Air Climb in downtown Denver this weekend. Formerly called the "Run the Republic," it is a 1098-stair climb up 56 floors. I can only think of one word, with one inflection, to accurately describe this.

YouTube, unfortunately, doesn't allow an "end" parameter, so just pause the video.

If we choose to do it again next year, I will do things a bit differently. First, I absolutely WILL NOT RUN UP THE FIRST 10 FLIGHTS. That destroyed me. Seriously. Second, I will train my lungs better because, as I heard a lot that day, it isn't your legs that really hurt. They aren't kidding when they call it the "Fight for Air" climb --- it's not just a Lung Disease charity, it is also really hard to breathe when you climb hundreds of stairs at once.

Yes, I did finish, but no, not with a very decent time. All in all, though, the event was a good time. The "shwag bag" and t-shirt were worth the entry fee/donation collection. When they post our group picture, I'll make sure to add it to the blog!