Finally Published #3

I'm a slacker with my writing and my blog.  The third episode is finally done and published, though, and I'm excited about that.  I'm already hard at work on the fourth episode.  There aren't enough ways for me to market this series...  I keep hoping something will magically help me out, but I might be publishing on Amazon.com and not getting sales for a while.  Once I open my store, though, I'll be able to sell the series in-store to customers.  Maybe that'll get things going!

I've gotten some great reviews on the first episode, which is really encouraging.  I know the stories are good and enjoyable.  I think I need to find the right person to say they like the series and then it'll take off.  Like, Ellen, or someone, lol.

Nose to the grindstone.  Being a self-published author is a lot of work.  And that's the only way I'll get this series published, so I just have to accept it.

New Computer and Other Stuff

So I had my computer, wallet and phone stolen out of my car a couple weeks ago.  It's been such a mess for me, but I've finally gotten a few things together and I have a new computer.  I hate that my old one is gone, since there's so much I can't get back.  I didn't have all of my files backed up.  Luckily, for some reason, I backed up most of my writing files onto cds, so I recovered more than I thought I would.

Now I'm going through and re-saving all of my MySpace blogs so I can eventually just shut that thing down.  I have no more use for it since the blogging platform totally sucks and I'm spending more and more time on my fiction, review blogs, and the bookshop.

I need to blog more over here, since I'm finding that I need an outlet again for some of my thoughts.  I have one more old blog that I haven't used in forever, but that's for some of my darker thoughts that no one else needs to read.  Ever.  But it's odd to look back at the MySpace blogs and know that there's history there.  Not just for myself alone, but for my other relationships that developed and exploded and imploded and made me miserable.

In some ways, I wish it never changed, but everything changes, right?

Lost Cause

For whatever reason, I'm starting to think of dragging one of my old stories out into the light. It's not like I don't have a billion (okay, not a billion) current projects to work on.  The one I'm thinking of is something of a dystopian, so I'm sure I'm thinking of it because I've read several dystopians recently.

Then I was thinking I should make a documentary, but I realized I have no idea how to do something like that.  It's probably a better idea to leave that to the pros.  Or that dipshit, Michael Moore.

I guess I should focus on whatever takes my focus at whatever time I'm focusing on.  I'm waiting on my EIN to come in the mail so I can switch my brain on to the bookshop again, even though I'm already sort of bugging out about it and realizing I have no idea what I'd be doing with a bookshop.  Ah, well.  I enjoy lost causes.

Now it's back to considering my dystopian novel.  I love the idea of it, so I'll let it simmer.

A little poetry

I recently went through all of my MySpace blogs and copied them to my computer (just in case), and I realized how much poetry I actually have.  It's kind of scary.  Most of them are... bleak.  Some of them are so odd that I can't figure out why I wrote them in the first place.  But I do like a lot of them, and because I haven't posted in a while (and because it's cold in Houston) here's one of my favorites:


Suicide Snowman

cold outside
frozen day
bundle up in mittens, hats, big furry boots
unless a snowman
who likes icy air
white flurries of snow
make him fatter
all friends and family drifting through wind
until the sun comes out
warm and shining
drip, drip
snow to water
snowman lonely
as his family changes
flows away
what next
but to go with them
with the sun looking on
jump
body on the street
going to water the grass

Halloween Spooky Swap

I participated in the Halloween Spooky Swap this year, hosted by Travis over at Inked Books and Jessica at A Fanatic's Book Blog.  I got my package today and wanted to share!  ^_^  I got a movie, a book called Daemon Hall, a cute pumpkin cookie cutter, some candy and some adorable stickers!

Thanks my Secret Spooky for my stuff!  I appreciate you!!!  You rock.  :)

~ Vilate ~

Promoting is Hard Work

I've heard other authors talk about how writing is hard, but promoting is harder.  I think I believe them now.  I'm not a naturally extroverted person, and selling myself has never been easy.  I'm just not the kind of person to force my way into someone's attention.  Unfortunately, I kind of have to alter my thinking on that in order to get any attention for Undead Crimefighters.

Since I've been doing the podcast and the blog, it's been getting easier for me to step out of my comfort zone and talk to people I normally wouldn't, but it's still a work in progress.  I really don't want to impose on anyone, so I'd rather just step back and avoid those situations.  But when you're a self-published author, you really don't have that kind of choice.  No one's going do to the work for you, which is really a shame, lol.

So as much as I love my story and I believe in it, it's still not easy to thrust it in someone's face.  Maybe, with time, I'll be able to get over my fear of being annoying.

Revisions to #2

I'm finally in the final stages of getting the second episode of UC ready to send out.  I had to toss it out to some critiquers, though I didn't get as much feedback as I usually like on my drafts.  That means that all the final revisions will have to come directly from my own head instead of being inspired by someone else's suggestions.  I guess I can just hope it doesn't reflect too poorly on the final result, heh.

I've started the third episode, which I hope to finish within the next couple of weeks.  I'd like to start getting the stories done faster so I can get them edited and revised sooner.  The series is about to enter some tricky territory, though, with the major story arch becoming more prominent.  In the third episode, we'll see more of the biggest baddie the Leaguers have to tumble with, and that's not going to be easy to write.

I also have to keep all of that in mind as I continue to revise the second episode, because there are certain foreshadowing details that need to come out as the story progresses.  And the second episode is longer than the first.  It's not easy to add in all the required elements while still keeping the story under 5,000 words.  I'm working on it, though...