Category / General

by Matthew

Writus Interruptus

An Alaskan fjord filled with small icebergs and smooth blue-green water, approaching the South Sawyer Glacier.

Well, the distractions of summer have come and gone, so time for an update from yours truly as we barrel headfirst into fall. In DFW, that means football, the Texas State Fair (corndogs!), lingering summer temps (actually has been a pleasant September so far), and kids back in school.

Travel is one of humanity’s great pleasures. My family took three trips this summer: a week in New York City, fifteen days all over Alaska, and five days at the Atlantis resort in The Bahamas. Wonderful experiences, all. The photo above is from the approach to South Sawyer glacier, about a 2-hour boat ride north of Juneau. That scene was totally epic, frigid, and one of the pinnacles of summer for me. I am a cold weather critter.

This summer wasn’t a particularly productive one for me as far as writing goes. I got to experience my first bout of COVID-19, which was relatively mild, but also exactly zero fun for a few days. My kiddo’s been busy with camps from one end of Dallas to the other. And we tend to be last-minute planners on trips, so much of my limited writing time at night got redirected to trip planning/booking. Between trips was recovery, laundry, unpacking, and more packing, and driving my kiddo all over town to playdates or managing sleepovers. I made some headway with Steelwing 2 (title forthcoming!), but progressed far more once school started. I watched from afar as Dangers to Society languished on Amazon’s Kindle Vella platform with few readers. Once the 30-day the exclusivity period with Vella had lapsed (after the final episode was released), I could get going on the physical copies of D2S, so here’s that announcement:

Dangers to Society on sale October 1st, 2024!!

Here’s my store link if you’d like to preorder a signed copy directly from me. The eBook is available for preorder now on Amazon. On (or around) October 1st, the title will be available to purchase in paperback and hardcover

One of the earlier pieces of advice aspiring authors will receive is to write the story they want to read. Dangers to Society is that story for me. I greatly enjoy Steelwing, the forthcoming sequel, and the other stories I’m working on. But D2S strikes a special chord, because it is a whole bunch of things at once: fun, silly, stupid, and smart. It possesses a modicum of social commentary, but doesn’t take the message that seriously. It inspires the imagination. It makes you say – I know that place (if you’ve been to Dallas at least). It plays out on the movie screen in your mind. I have a wonderful, engaging premise to follow for the follow-up, but probably won’t open that can of worms until at least Steelwing 3 is wrapped up. Hopefully good sales will make that a harder decision – so help a brother out!

When you’re an indie author and going on your own steam, there is a lot to do. Polish the heck out of the manuscript. Have it edited. Do interior design (not terribly hard, just time consuming), cover design (or artist searching/hiring), cover templates for Amazon and Ingram Spark, project setup at both (neither of which are similar or smooth processes). The cover templates are annoyingly different and exact, and any slight deviation from their expectations can mean days of delays. There are reasons publishers take years to publish a book after they acquire it from an author.

The cover of the novel Dangers to Society by Matthew Rollins

I totally dig the cover. So orange.

And then there’s all the marketing. So much promoting, social media, the research between those, it can make your head spin. You can do as little as zero, but expect commensurate results with your marketing efforts. I’ve been patient after launching Steelwing to rely on word of mouth and do very limited social media advertising, but will work a little harder on marketing with each title released. Another recent piece of advice I’ve received is that the best advertising of your back catalogue is your newest book, so I’ve taken that to heart and attempted to keep my funnel of new projects ahead of stagnation. I expect sales of Steelwing to tick upward once Steelwing 2 comes out, and both will rise further when the third book is released in 2025. Marketing remains a challenge to me, but it’s something I’m aware I need to work on and will hit that subject harder in the months to come. Maybe I’ll even get my awkward self on TikTok (gulp).

So, with all of these “other” things to do during my limited writing time, it’s hard to keep putting out fresh word count consistently. I started writing in earnest mid 2017, and I am definitely feeling the years that have lapsed since then. Some lingering injuries (back), some new ones (tailbone), some genetic susceptibilities (neck), and a gripful of new medications have all put downward pressure on my late-night stamina. Back when I was writing the first draft Dangers to Society in 2019 and 2020, I could stay up until 2-3AM when the words were flying. Now, midnight is usually my limit. But I keep at it. My interest in writing and my stories remains keen, so I know I’m spending what free time I have doing something I love.

Building Worlds is not only the name of my blog, but my publishing company, with which I am to help authors like me get their books out into the world. At the moment it’s just my own books, but I hope to use the work I’ve done on my own as an example for what can be done with some passion and just a little bit of care and artistic gravitas. If you happen to be coming to DFWCon this year, look for me and let’s strike up a conversation!

That’s all for now. Keep writing (when you can)!

by Matthew

Dangers to Society: Out Now!

The big news train for 2024 keeps rolling on!

As of May 20, Episodes of my second story, Dangers to Society, have begun to appear on Amazon’s serial platform Kindle Vella. A new episode will come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday through summer 2024. Episodes will typically consist of 1-2 chapters, depending on length. The first episode has the prologue and first three chapters because they’re a little shorter. The first 10 episodes are free to read (that gets you through chapter 18!), so you totally have no reason not to give it a try! Episode 2 comes out May 22nd.

If you’ve not heard of it, Kindle Vella is part of Amazon’s Kindle platform and offers readers the chance to “pay as you go” if you will, purchasing tokens to spend on serial story episodes as they become available, and the reader wants to read them. Episodes 11-on cost 10 tokens each. With Amazon’s best deal, a token costs less than a penny, so Vella is actually less expensive than buying the whole eBook. But what if you start a Vella story and don’t finish? Get a quarter of the way in lose interest? Done. No more books on your DNF pile you paid 100% for. It’s also an avenue for authors who crave more interaction and a potentially far shorter runway to get their latest work to their audience. Vella also gives authors the option to add notes and polls to each episode to help further connect readers to their favorite authors. To use Vella, you’ll need an Amazon account and a Kindle device, Kindle app on your phone, or via the Kindle website on your preferred web browser. Experienced Kindle eBook readers will already have everything they need.

Now let’s talk Dangers to Society!

Dangers to Society is an adult contemporary superpowers (but not superheroes) fantasy. It features a lot of swearing, a little bit of spice (1.5-2), and just a smidge of sudden, graphic violence. It’s light-hearted, a little smart, a lot stupid, and crazy fun.

I love, love, love this story – it’s right up my alley. I really hope it does well, either on Vella, or as a published novel after the episodes are done releasing, because I truly want a reason to return to this world (other than my own interest). There’s already a primary outline for Dangers to Society Vol. 2 floating around in my head, and it’d be great to get to work on that soon.

Game of Thrones was still en vogue when I began writing Dangers to Society and I had begun to read the massive Stormlight Archives books by Brandon Sanderson, so I was interested in attempting a story with multiple main characters and points of view. It features five viewpoints (well, really six, but that guy gets the Ned Stark treatment early).

Dangers to Society is my answer to the question “What would happen if our society right now (or very near in the future) began to develop superpowers, most of which were silly?” Well, for one, we’d get a new government agency. And some compelling agents to follow. And some politicians who want to control things. Natch. Because the abilities can be silly, we end up with some particularly goofy ones, which I think is great fun. But there are some dangerous ones out there too (hence the title). We follow four agents based in Dallas, TX as they navigate their own abilities, catalog others, and try to uncover a mysterious plot that unfolds when facts in the president’s press conferences prove to be wrong. But don’t just take my word for it, here’s a few quotes from readers:

Tight pacing, great characters, relevant modern setting, and an entertaining humorous turn of phrase

A rare pleasure

Evident technical skill and a keen intelligence

Beautifully Written

Emotional, tactile, immediate

Impressed the f**k out of me

Gotta say, when people drop those kinds of compliments on your work, it’s pretty humbling. Yet despite how awesome D2S is, I had no luck with finding an interested agent for the manuscript. I will admit, the story is a little off-the-wall, the word count is higher than agents like, and because it’s far more character-driven than plot-driven, it’s a slower ride. It also entered the query trenches on the heels of Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame movie and the beginning of Marvel fatigue, the emergence of The Boys on Prime Video, and the continued struggles of the DC cinematic universe to connect with audiences as effectively as Marvel usually does. So, I’m not surprised an agent didn’t bite. If they don’t have an acquisitions editor asking for something (“Hey, I need a wacky superpowers story for adults!”), the agent will simply pass because they’re too busy to work on anything but stuff they know will have better odds with the publishers. But everyone who’s read Dangers has loved it, so it didn’t feel right to just let it languish in the drawer, never to see the light of day.

Since I cracked open the self-publishing seal last fall with Steelwing, I felt that I needed to get Dangers to Society out there. And I’m curious about Kindle Vella, because of the immediacy of publication, and it kinda fits with the modern TikTok vibe of short attention spans. Read a chapter on the toilet, anyone? Plus, D2S is also a fairly long story (by modern publishing standards) at 130k words (necessary because of all the viewpoints), so I have room to publish somewhere around 40 episodes which I think would be a nice test to see how Vella works.

A wonderful (and very patient) artist created this cover last year for a potential self-published D2S novel before my focus went to releasing Steelwing. I think it’s pretty fun, but it’s proven kind of divisive. Some really like the meteors and butterfly motif (done by yours truly), others really like the graphic novel panels style. I also made the following prototype, following design trends of recent thrillers:

I think they all have good qualities, though perhaps none of them are a perfect representation of everything that goes on in the book – certainly not the humor, which is subtle, but always around the corner. Drop a comment below as to which you prefer!

Releasing a story on Vella is an exclusive gig. It can only be there while the story is ongoing. Once the final episode of the story has been out for 30 days, I can release a full eBook and physical versions, so look for those this fall to add to your collection as well. More news on that here later this summer.

A Call to Action:

There’s a handy QR code to use to go straight to the Vella Dangers to Society page (or click on it). Get to reading! Since the first episode is free, tell your friends! More than that, I hope you love it and want to keep reading. I tend to do most of my social media stuff on Instagram these days, so look for me there and drop some comments, questions, or mention your favorite silly superpower.

As always, thanks for reading. M

(Update note: This post was updated on June 2nd with fresh info on the cost of Tokens and the number of free episodes)

by Matthew

The Long Road of Authorship

Buckle up, writers, you’re about to go for a ride.

That’s a picture of Foss Flats Road near North Sandwich, New Hampshire. Talk about your worldbuilding!

I took this picture in October of 2012, so it’s well over a decade old. But it’s still one of my favorite photos, because while encapsulating the simple beauty of fall foliage, it is also packed full of metaphors for life. And as I stare at it, metaphors for writing and writers.

Stories are beautiful. Writing undergoes a constant state of renewal. The road is long. The road is imperfect and potentially very long. There’s a lot of debris along the way. The path is lonely and a little off-center (or is it?). The experience is often done out of the spotlight. The destination is unknown. There is light at the end of the road (or is there?). I could go on, but you get the point.

Being an author is an endless journey.

Unless your goal is to fire off one book and then close your laptop/writing journal forever without worrying if anyone’s reading it and never think about it or another story again, publishing your first tale is just the very beginning of an endless slog. Merriam-Webster gives us three definitions for slog, and they all apply to the author’s path after publishing: a hard dogged march or journey, a prolonged arduous task or effort, and hard persistent work. All are true. But first, a word from our sponsor: the traditional publishing industry.

This is a (brief) aside on the state of the traditional publishing world. In 2022, all the tea was spilt in court when the US Government succeeded with an anti-trust lawsuit to stop Penguin Random House from acquiring Simon & Schuster (a $2.2B acquisition that would have reduced the quantity of bona fide big house traditional publishers to four, down from six in the 2010s and dozens in the 1990s). During the weekslong court hearing, publishing executives revealed how only a third of new books published are profitable, and 20% of those making up 80% of the profit. Almost all of that 20% are established, name brand authors like Stephen King, Lee Child, and Brandon Sanderson. There are a few younger upstarts that have recently driven strong sales like Sarah J. Maas, Colleen Hoover, and Rebecca Yarros, but for every one of those newer authors, there are thousands whose books are picked up by a traditional publisher and never reach any real measure of success. And they never get a second book deal. Plus, for every traditionally published author, there are millions more unpublished writers out there hoping to get a chance.

Publishers are, in the PRH CEO’s words, “angel investors in our authors and their dreams, their stories”. For the uninitiated, angel investor is a venture capital term. Incredibly wealthy people invest a very small amount of money for a large stake in something, because at that moment in time, the perceived value is very low, but has at least some potential to be enormous. Back in 2016, the Harry Potter franchise was worth around $25 billion dollars. Before the Philosopher’s Stone came out (1997), a short, off-the-wall, worldbuilding-heavy middle grade story about an orphan boy being sent to wizard school had almost no perceived value. For something that so greatly impacted pop culture, JK Rowling was paid a measly $2000 advance for the first book. Talk about a return on investment!

The publisher had no idea what they were getting.

Publishers guess as to what will be successful, mostly because they don’t know and have admitted it’s more or less impossible to predict how well a debut author’s book will do. Pretty sure a decade ago, no one would have ever guessed that New Adult fantasy (which includes seriously “spicy” content, as the Internet likes to call it) would become the smash success it is today.

Sadly, because of the dynamics of capitalism, publishers focus on what they know will make them money. Those guaranteed wins get far more organizational attention. Subsequently, publishers have pushed far more of the work they used to do onto the laps of authors. Manuscripts have to be edited and revised to perfection before an agent will even touch them. Authors are expected to have a moderate-to-large social network already established. Advances for no-name authors are miniscule to zero. There are a bunch of little small presses still out there who may accept your manuscript, but the story is the same. They can only invest a little time, a spot on their website, an email to Barnes and Noble, and their name on the spine of your book for a slice of the pie. They may be a “traditional” publisher, but is that worth it considering the effort and strain it takes? What’s your return on investment there? Dubious.

But perhaps most damning of all, the marketing and PR heft of the publishing houses are hyper-focused on the already established authors they know will move books. This leaves the bulk of the marketing work to the author.

Enter the slog.

No one likes an unwelcome slog. Yet I use the term with begrudging acknowledgement here, because for some, that slog is a joy. There are actually people out there who take relish in tackling all this:

  • Researching & communicating with bookstores to get books on shelves
  • Designing, purchasing, and managing swag like bookmarks and stickers
  • Researching & booking author signings
  • Designing, purchasing, and managing online ads
  • And the biggest time sink in history, social media. All of the above are supported by your social media reach.

For me, I’d rather spend time writing stories than promoting them. I suspect that mindset is common among most writers. But, as a (currently) self-published author, 100% of my success is on my shoulders. To date, I’ve pursued marketing with limited effort and received commensurate success for it. Knowing myself, once I have another book or two published, my interest in marketing will increase. But while all of the slog belongs to self-published authors, those few lucky enough to be picked by a traditional publishing house are increasingly responsible for the vast majority of promoting their book.

Before, when a traditional publisher bought a book, everything was pretty hands-off for the author, apart from the occasional signing appearance or tour and (hopefully) collecting a check. Each book was kind of like a road trip that had a beginning (finish the story), middle (get an agent and revise) and an end (get published). Success was prescribed and defined by a fairly simple path.

Now, that journey never ends. Sure, you will write and publish more books. But the obligations of promotion of the first book through the last will forever be on your shoulders. Regardless of how your book gets published, we’re all in the same marketing boat. And because of the diminishing benefits for new authors to be traditionally published, more and more authors will set their sights on self-publishing straight from the start and skip the query trenches, because the return on time investment there is approaching infinitesimal. Making it increasingly likely that the next Harry Potter won’t be found by the Big 5.

So how does a writer know they’re having a successful writing career?

Embrace the journey of authorship as the goal.

There is no spoon. Writers who hope to nurture a lasting career can’t look at the milestone of becoming an author as a road trip with a destination. Neither self-publishing a book or being traditionally published counts as crossing the finish line. Both are almost identical paths along a side-scrolling, endless adventure full of traps and pitfalls, speed bumps, potholes, and plot holes. And marketing. Lots and lots of marketing. It only stops if you give up or get big enough to be worthy of the almighty marketing dollar of the traditional publisher. It’s the experience we’re after. Hopefully we make a few bucks along the way. Some will even earn a sustainable living.

The point is this: in this modern age of books, being a writer no longer only involves typing out words on the page. It will never be that again. As long as you accept that fact, there’s still some great scenery to enjoy.

Time to hit the (writing) road! M

by Matthew

Launch Day

Hey everyone, long time no post.

I’m back, and well, I have news. I’m an author.

Not a writer. Not an aspiring writer. An honest-to-goodness author.

It’s interesting that funny little distinction exists. I am very much the same person today as I was yesterday: slightly older, arguably wiser, perhaps in some circles more distinguished, and certainly in the case of my dermatologist, more profitable. Yet I digress.

I published a book. Steelwing, a middle grade-tween video game fantasy. It’s super fun. Got a lot of traction with literary agents with it, but ultimately none of them “fell in love” with it, as they all like to say. For some, I think the video game setting wasn’t their cup of tea. For others, maybe my writing style didn’t jive with them. Yet for all, I think the honest answer was this: “I don’t know anyone who will buy this right now.”

And by someone, we’re talking acquisition editors at a traditional publishing house. Large or small, the agents and AEs talk. So agents know what AEs are looking for. There are myriad hurdles to get past even if you get to the point where you get an agent and an acquisition editor picks up your story. But the agent’s primary concern is to filter through their slush pile for the rare gems that happen to be at least two things: decent enough writing and something they know with reasonable confidence at least one acquisition editor already wants.

So that wasn’t Steelwing. C’est la vie.

What’s a writer with a “good enough but not wanted” story to do? Do it themselves.

I got Vellum. I learned how to format the interior pages.

I scoured the internet for a cover artist that was both awesome and within my budget.

I learned the mechanisms of setup in both Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark (where bookstores and libraries get their books).

I decided to create my own business, Building Worlds Books, and become my own publisher.

And I picked a date out of the blue. Gave myself a deadline to just say it’s ready. Without that, I’m certain this process could have dragged on and on. My eye for detail is keen, and my first-born perfectionism complex is pronounced. Amazon and Ingram will let you update files after things are launched, which I’m sure will be needed. So I’ll be okay. The hardcover’s cover file hasn’t passed Amazon’s scrutiny yet, and undoubtedly there’ll be a typo or misnomer or some other textual oddity that I won’t abide existing and will want to fix. So that’s nice. But it’s out there as of today.

Unfortunately, that’s just the beginning. Now comes the marketing. And the marketing. And the marketing. I’ve gotta get better at using social media. I need to buy some ads on Amazon and Facebook. Self-publishing is definitely a pay-to-play arena.

And now that Steelwing’s book birthday has arrived, I come to the understanding that today is not crossing the finish line, but starting the race. Everything up to this point has been training. Now comes the marathon of marketing. Ads. Book signings. Getting the word out. Rinse, repeat.

Here’s where I put on the salesman hat: If you’d like a signed copy of Steelwing, head over to Building Worlds Books and click the shop link. I’m doing the fulfilment all by myself, so it will be done with love and kindness.

If you’d like a less expensive, unsigned copy, head over to Amazon (sponsored link), where I will appreciate you just as much.

I also have a book signing coming up already on Sunday, November 12th from 1:00PM-3:00PM at the Half Price Books flagship bookstore in Dallas. 5803 E NW Hwy, Dallas, TX 75231. I will have books there for sale. Come say hi!

That’s it for now. Lots more to come on how the whole process went down, what I’ve learned, and what’s in store for the future. Stay tuned! M

by Matthew

Unconventionally Conventional

There are some genre rules writers just can’t ignore. But with some creative choices, you can still create a unique story while satisfying reader expectations.

Are you a writer who wants to break free from the shackles of genre conventions? Do you want to be remembered as the one who shook up the literary world with your unabashedly unique storytelling? Well, hold your horses, because I’ve got some news for you: it’s not that simple.

As much as we love a good original story, there are some rules writers just can’t ignore. Genre fiction has certain expectations, and while adhering to a formula might seem limiting, there’s a reason those expectations exist. They work. In my previous post, I detailed why writers must be good readers. One of the most important reasons is so that we can understand the formulas that make genre fiction successful.

Fear not. Following a recipe doesn’t mean you can’t be original (insert your favorite writers-are-bakers metaphor here). In fact, some of the most memorable books in recent years have managed to be both unconventional and conventional at the same time. Let’s take a look at some examples (note, these feature affiliate links to Amazon in case you’re eager to make a purchase):

Fantasy: Naomi Novik’s “A Deadly Education“

Sure, we’ve seen the magical school trope before. A lot. But Novik takes it to a whole new level by creating a world where the school itself is trying to kill its students. It’s a fresh take on a familiar concept. There are still fantasy bread-and-butter tropes like rival factions, a slow-burn romance, historical references, and political themes, but within the killer school bounds she truly delivers on the key elements readers expect from a fantasy novel: magic, world-building, and a strong protagonist. Novik’s choice of first-person point of view blends internal monologues and snarky commentary with the overarching plot structure which adds a sense of closeness for the reader.

Sci-fi: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s “Illuminae“

Told through a series of documents and transcripts, “Illuminae” is not your average sci-fi novel. The story’s presentation as a dossier of interviews, chat logs, pictures, diagrams, and other digital files allows for an immersive experience that makes readers feel like they’re part of the action by assuming the role of the investigator after an interstellar incident. Despite the complete lack of narrative, it still hits all the right notes: spaceships (many), explosions (lots), life-or-death decisions (every turn), a gripping plot, and plenty of action. By breaking the mold of traditional narrative structure, Kaufman and Kristoff keeps things fresh while still satisfying readers’ expectations.

Romance: Jesse Sutanto’s “Well, That Was Unexpected“

Romance novels often follow a predictable formula: girl meets boy, they fall in love, they hit a bump in the road, but eventually they end up together. “Well, That Was Unexpected” manages to surprise with twists at every turn. Its rom-com staples include characters who are flawed and relatable, cringe-inducing YA awkwardness, and a storyline that’s both hilarious and heartwarming. But those staples are all set against a rich cultural immersion in Indonesia, both in place and family. It also features awesome side characters that are, at times, even more engrossing than the protagonists. Additionally, Sutanto’s use of multiple narrators, including one who isn’t involved in the central romance, adds depth and complexity to the story, making it far more than just a typical rom-com.

Thriller: Alex Michaelides’ “The Silent Patient“

A good thriller needs to keep readers on the edge of their seat, and “The Silent Patient” does just that. But Michaelides also manages to subvert expectations by flipping the narrative on its head. Instead of following the detective trying to solve the case, we’re following the patient who’s at the center of it all. It’s a clever twist that keeps readers guessing until the very end. Michaelides’ use of a non-linear narrative structure, jumping between present-day events and flashbacks to the past, adds layers of intrigue to the story, further enhancing the thriller experience.

Let’s try an exercise. I made the above photo on the AI diffusion art site Midjourney. Based on that picture alone, I will, on the fly right now, come up with an unconventional approach to the story that is represented by the thriller/supernatural/fantasy/whatever that picture is. I’ll give myself two minutes to brainstorm. Grab a pen and paper (or type it out) and come up with a query blurb with me. Here goes:

Carter Bullford’s life was completely on track. High profile corporate law gig with a prime NYC office. Aston Martin. Private island off the Keys. Gorgeous Val and stunning Katy both after his attention. But most importantly of all, the sins of his past had been completely forgotten.

A legal malpractice suit brings that all to a halt. Piece by piece, everything that he built crashes down and his life comes to ruin. Then the storm comes. Black as night clouds belch red lightning. One by one, every person in Carter’s life disappears into the storm. The city grinds to a halt with scant few left to run it. Desperate for an end, Carter finds the storm won’t claim him. When he comes across Dalia, a former colleague he screwed when he left her firm, the tatters of his world are obliterated.

Turns out, he’s not in his world, he’s in ours. For reasons forgotten, Carter had stopped trying to find a way home. Now, home has found him, his sins have reemerged, and he’s in for the trial of his life. Conviction means going home. Exoneration means exile on Earth. He’s not sure which one’s worse.

Okay, pencils down. So, that could be a hot mess, but it could be really fun. At the very least, it sounds different. What (correctly submitted to) genre agent wouldn’t at least take a peek at the first few pages? Aimed toward the sci-fi alien politics crowd, it plays like a legal procedural. Or maybe it’s for the legal procedural fans who get an emotional tale of interplanetary intrigue amidst the court battle. Don’t expect me to flesh this one out into 100k words; it’s going to the bottom of my book ideas pile. But, hopefully you get the point.

The point is, genre conventions exist for a reason. They’re the building blocks of a successful story. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be original within those constraints. In fact, by taking a well-worn trope and giving it a unique spin, you just might create something truly memorable. So fully embrace the tried and true boundaries that your genre readers love and expect, then go ahead and break them – with a scalpel.

by Matthew

Why Writers Must Read

More often than not, the first piece of advice given to aspiring writers is they need to be good readers. Let’s take a deeper dive into the reasons.

Writers must read? More often than not, the first piece of advice given to an aspiring author is they need to be good readers. On the surface, it seems like good advice, but the reasons why it is so important don’t always follow up the advice.

Hello 2023! Bit of a long pause to the blog with the holidays, couple bouts of bronchitis, ski vacation, sick fam, yada yada. But I’m back for more writing fun, and some news on two of my books (next post).

A book gives writers more than just a story.

But first, a thought on reading, as a writer. There are many facets to the sage wisdom, so let’s take a deeper dive into a few.

  1. Writers must read in their genre
    The reasons for this are pretty obvious. You need to know what’s popular. What has come before you. Where the market is saturated, and where there are opportunities to carve a niche. What’s hot (imagine anything fantasy school-related after Harry Potter, or vampires and werewolves after Twilight)? What’s overdone (those things a few years later)? If your goal is just to write a specific story, without any kind of publishing-related goals other than to just ‘put it out there’, then write the story your heart wants to write. If you aim to be a financially successful author, then you need read your genre’s tea leaves, and if not be an expert, be at least aware.
  2. Writers must read outside their genre
    Maybe a little less obvious here. Most fiction stories contain elements from multiple genres. Your historical romance might have a bit of mystery to it. Your swashbuckling space opera has a heist subplot. Your epic fantasy turns into a costumed police procedural. You need to appreciate the elements (tropes, structure, character types, etc.) that make stories in those genres successful, if you are to be successful in applying horror to your bake-sale comedy.
  3. Writers must read recent releases
    This is good advice, but especially applies to anyone hoping to be traditionally published. You need to know what agents (and publishing houses) are looking for, what’s selling, and where the market is headed. In addition to reading recent books, you have to follow up by absorbing any metadata you can find about them via sites like Publisher’s Marketplace.
  4. Writers must read debut authors
    Right next to #3 is this, and also important to those who want to find a literary agent. You need to understand (and incorporate) trends from modern publishing. Read a dozen debut novels and identify trends – how do the opening pages look? Lots of dialogue? Lots of action? How much backstory? How purple is the prose? Is the story told chronologically or out of order? If your 150k-word moose-on-skis spy thriller doesn’t conform to what publishers want right this moment from a debut author, you’re guaranteed to not get an agent’s attention.
  5. Writers must read classics
    This one, to me, is probably the least important, because we only have so much time in our day to dedicate to reading. I think an aspiring writer will get more mileage out of reading modern works simply because today’s publishers aren’t looking for Tolkien, they’re looking for VE Schwab. Read classics if it’s important to you. Do it so you’re versed in your genre’s history, but do it with the understanding that all the classics have serious flaws when looked at with a modern publisher’s lens.
  6. Writers must read for ideas
    This one is my favorite, and a great example of it struck me this week (and what kicked me in the butt to get back onto my blog). I am at present listening to the audiobook of a fantasy titled Unraveller. About a quarter of the way in, the protagonists are deep in a murky forest when one protagonist remarks (I’m paraphrasing) that she is natively able to discern the noises and nuances of the marsh far better than her companion and his ‘highland ears’. Immediately when I heard that, I thought “Wow, that is a great piece of worldbuilding.” In a single sentence, we’re educated on the protagonists’ regions of upbringing, differences in their observational abilities, and the makeup of their environment. Now, I am not advocating that you go out and copy another author’s hard work. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with saying your grizzled space pirate can isolate the mating calls of the Nimbus VII glow-monkeys ten clicks sooner than his alien co-pilot can.

So there you go, writers. Some great reasons to be a great reader. If anyone in your writing sphere (writing group, classes, critique partners, etc.) says they don’t think reading is important for writers, you have my emphatic endorsement to completely ignore anything they have to say.

by Matthew

Dial Me for Murder

Hello everyone, welcome back! The end of summer is approaching, and the insane heat here in Texas has let up (a touch). Took some time off for an epic, 7-week European adventure in ten cities across five countries. Didn’t get much of any writing done, but did have plenty of time for thinking about my completed manuscripts and works-in-progress.

About a quarter into the trip, I got rejection emails on back-to-back days from the final two full manuscript request queries I had unresolved for a middle grade video game fantasy manuscript. Which sucked, of course. This story has been queried a ton. Dozens of cold queries, plus at least twenty pitch sessions across several writing conferences, all of which but one resulted in requests for pages. Half of all of these queries received no reply at all, which is (I assume) a typical response rate for modern day literary agents. Most of the rejections were canned form letters with nothing meaningful to say (typical). A few rejections said they liked what I had submitted, but it just didn’t grab the agent enough to request more.

It wasn’t all bad though. I had a total of seven full requests on this story, six from conference pitches and one from a slush pile cold query. But a pattern had developed over time with the limited feedback I had received from agents: they liked the writing and voice, they liked the characters, but I wasn’t getting to the heart of the adventure soon enough.

So, armed with time to think while riding across Europe on planes, trains, and automobiles, I came up with a plan of action for another revision to my story.

Actually, I already knew what I had to do. Kill the darlings.

We authors, especially those of us in the worldbuilding-heavy fantasy/sci-fi genres, love to add details. Lots of details. Character details. Setting details. Historical details. Details of detailed details. All the details. And a lot of times, readers eat them up.

However, what the prevailing wisdom for an author seeking first-time representation tells us is that we should keep our manuscripts lean and mean. What does that mean for all of those detailed details? Only keep what’s necessary.

So, as I was working through the first revision of this middle grade story, about two chapters’ worth stuck out to me as entirely extraneous. The story is set in my old college town. At the end of every summer the town has a huge outdoor festival, and I wrote a little scene where the heroine has to face some anxieties while going through the crowd. Super fun, well-written, relevant to the character, and enjoyable to all those who had beta read the story, and -bonus- a personal connection for me the author. The true definition of a darling.

BUT

When you start getting a pattern of feedback from agents telling you the story isn’t moving along quick enough, it’s time for those things to go. Why? Because the pace suffers. An agent’s professional success depends on an ability to identify a commercially viable story out of a pile of thousands. So, if their slow-plot alarm bells are ringing, you’d better pay attention.

Back to my story. The heroine, while indeed facing anxieties (conflict) in her trip through the festival crowd, didn’t particularly grow any from the experience. She went on to face more anxieties in other scenes not long after. And while it was relevant to her internal journey, it wasn’t particularly connected to the external plot at all. The festival has nothing to do with the adventure of the plot. So, it had to go. Along with every other reference to the festival. Plus another handful of similar occurrences, where the progress of the plot was bogged down for a fun, but unnecessary detour.

And oh, the pain. Making deep revision cuts can be heartbreaking. I carved out nearly 10% of my story, dropping from 56k words to 51k. All darlings. All gone to the bin. Actually, they’re saved in a separate file that I can go back to in one of two scenarios. 1) After a publisher has fallen in love with my lean and mean manuscript and asks for some more words to make the book a little longer. 2) After this story is published and a sequel calls for the heroine to work her way through a crowd. Grab that text, edit it up, and paste it in. In this digital age, nothing is truly lost, so I say be a little more generous with that scalpel.

Great examples of this lean and mean strategy are the early entries in the Harry Potter series. The first two books are very light on extraneous worldbuilding details, and only later on in books three and onward does JK Rowling add the little interesting flourishes that may not see actual payoff of relevance until a later volume, if at all. The evidence is right there on the shelf.

So, as you’re revising and asking yourself, “Won’t anyone think of those poor, innocent darlings?”

The correct response is: No. They must die.

by Matthew

The Call of the Writing Conference

Thinking about attending a writing conference? Here’s what you can expect!

Well I’m mostly recovered from my respiratory infection, so it’s time to talk Writing Conferences! The above photo is from the Hurst Conference Center, which is the site of the DFW Writer’s Conference (aka, DFWCon). After missing 2020 and being online-only last year, DFWCon is going in-person again October 8-9, 2022. Check it out here if you’re in the area and interested. I plan to be there! Favor the online thing? Check out Writing Day Workshops‘ online events, they do one every month (though they will resume in-person at some point in the future).

The 3 Sides to Every Writing Conference

Listed in order of importance (my opinion): Pitching, Classes, Networking

PITCHING

One of the two big reasons to go to a writing conference is the opportunity to pitch to agents. As I have discussed previously in my Lessons from Querying posts (1, 2, 3), getting representation from a literary agent is difficult. Like hitting a 100-mph fastball difficult. So finding any avenue to help you through that process will greatly increase your chances, and there is no better way to do that than in-person pitch sessions with an agent.

Why? Well in that 8 to 10-minute window, you’re given the opportunity to cross several agent hurdles at once:

  • Did you write something that is of interest to the agent?
  • Are you passionate about writing and what you’ve written in particular?
  • Did you throw your story together, or put some real effort into the crafting of it?
  • Are you a one-and-done author, or do you have a long-term writing career goal?
  • Are you rude, insensitive, bigoted, or possess other personality flaws that might prevent you from crossing the finish line with a publisher?
  • Do you seem like someone that would be fun/easy to work with?

The wrong answer to any of those is an easy reject for the agent, so it also helps them skip to the ultimate end in the event you pass the first hurdle that would have gotten you past the slush pile into deeper review.

I’ve had way more success in getting agent interest in at least reading my material from pitches than I have through cold querying. I imagine practically anyone would have the same experience, unless they’re failing one of the sanity checks in the list above.

So here’s the downside to pitches: they’re expensive. Some conferences give you a pitch as part of your conference fee, others don’t. They’ll all let you buy more, which can range from $10-$30 per session. Want to talk to ten agents? $300. That’s more than many conference fees. And you’re going to want to go to several conferences. The cost will add up fast. Why talk to that many? Because you’re still up against the odds of numbers that even if you talk to the single-most-likely agent to want to represent your work, if the timing isn’t right (list is full, they rep a similar manuscript already, they don’t have a publisher resource that would want it), you won’t have success in getting representation. A wide net is required.

And I’m gonna reveal the elephant in the room: not all agents you talk to at a conference are there to take on another author. Some of them are there simply for the additional paycheck. It’s an unfortunate side-effect of the machine of the publishing world. Agents don’t get paid for all the up-front effort they go through in scouring the planet for works to represent. They get paid for the fraction of those works that actually get published. And they’ve got to pay the bills like anyone else, so they’ll come to these conferences, go through a bunch of pitch sessions, not actually request materials from anyone, and just collect a check in the end.

Now to be fair, most agents are there to find new authors to rep. I’ve only come across a couple of these bad-faith agents in the dozens of pitch sessions I’ve done, but they’re easy to identify. They don’t ask questions about you or your work, but instead go straight into a planned spiel about the effectiveness of your pitch and ways to improve it. Sometimes they won’t even say that they aren’t interested. I just smile and take whatever feedback they deign to provide and move on.

What to Expect During a Pitch Session

Depending on your conference, pitch sessions last 8 to 10 minutes. You’re going to know who you’re pitching to ahead of time (because you’ve requested/paid to pitch to that particular agent), so you’ve already done your research. You requested that particular agent because they said they rep the kind of thing you wrote. You know their manuscript wishlist, which is typically listed on the conference website, but can also be found elsewhere on the Internet (#MSWL on Twitter, manuscriptwishlist.com, Publisher’s Marketplace, or the agent’s agency website).

When the pitch begins, spend 30-60 seconds talking to the agent as if they’re a human being. Ask how they’re doing, mention a shared hobby or pets or their Twitter feed, or a book they liked on their MWSL that you’ve also read. Be sociable. This helps check boxes from the list above. They’ll probably invite you in short order to talk about your manuscript. I won’t go into the what’s and how’s to pitch your manuscript here, but spend 4-5 minutes talking about your story, then leave the rest of the time for the agent to ask questions.

If they like you and what you’ve discussed, they’ll request pages. Some will have you send it through regular query channels. Most will have a dedicated means for you to skip ahead of the slush pile line (these are the agents that are taking the pitch sessions most seriously), usually a special Query Manager link or separate email.

If they pass, and some will because you will inevitably find yourself barking up the wrong tree on occasion, graciously accept any feedback they provide and then get yourself ready for your next pitch. Because you’re not going to pitch to just one agent, are you?

CLASSES

Anyone who has yet to become a represented and published author still probably has a thing or two to learn about writing stories and/or the publishing industry. The second big draw of a writing conference is all the various breakout room classes you can attend to drink from the proverbial author firehose. Here’s a sampling of various sessions you can expect:

  • Query letters
  • Query dos and don’ts
  • Hooking readers with your opening pages
  • Compelling dialogue
  • Crafting believable characters
  • Avoiding the “mushy middle”
  • World building
  • Author platforms and social media
  • The life of a literary agent
  • Self-publishing vs. traditional
  • Non-fiction book proposals
  • Workshops where you read your first chapter or query letter and receive feedback
  • Agent Q&A panels
  • Agent “First Page Gong Show” panels

Large conferences like DFWCon will typically also have a keynote speaker (usually a known published author) in a big audience space like the picture above. The rest of the classes will be in small, 20-30 person breakout rooms.

Most conferences will have some variation of the above. Depending on the size they’ll have some, all, or even more than the above to choose from (like genre-specific workshops for say thrillers or romance). Once you’ve gone to a few conferences, you’ll find the vast majority of the advice inside any one of the sessions is the same, so the return you’ll get from these classes will diminish over time because you will presumably have already been taking the lessons to heart and applying what you’ve learned to your craft and your queries.

The “Gong Show” panels are where a handful of agents will sit and listen as a moderator reads an anonymously submitted first page from a conference attendee (submit yours if you’re brave!). Each agent raises their hand at the point when they would have stopped reading and rejected the query, and if enough agents raise their hand, the moderator will stop reading and then discussion will ensue. These panels are the most useful conference session to me (having attended many conferences in the past few years), as they provide insight from a handful of agents as to what the publishing world is looking for right at that very second. It also reveals the sheer subjectivity of the matter when an agent starts reading a prospective manuscript. Very easy to identify flaws in your own approach to the first page when the agents are all raising their hands at the point when they would have stopped reading. Usually in an hour, the panel will get through 10-12 submissions, and typically only one or two make it through the full page read without most or all of the agents raising their hand and the moderator stopping early.

NETWORKING

Here’s where the online and in-person conferences diverge, as there is limited-to-no networking taking place during online conferences. If you’re like me and find it hard to walk up to random strangers and start making small talk, you won’t find this a huge loss. Online conferences usually lean on social media as the forum for attendees to talk to each other (with limited to middling results).

Big conferences like DFWCon have networking time in the evenings where authors, agents, and others can meet and mingle. Adult beverages will be on offer. The prospect of having time to talk to agents outside of a short pitch session is attractive, but in my experience the opportunities for this are few. Most agents don’t attend the networking hours, and those that do are mobbed. There are hundreds to thousands of writers at these conferences and maybe a couple dozen agents tops. The numbers are not in your favor to get quality alone time with an agent, much less the one that you really want to talk to that reps what you wrote. If you have a positive pitch session with an agent and can arrange to meet with them at the networking event ahead of time, then great. But don’t count on it.

What can you expect to get out of the networking time? You’ll find a few freelance editors and cover art designers milling about, handing out business cards and looking for prospective clients. If you’re in the market for such services, avail yourself. But the vast majority of people there are writers, just like you. If you don’t have a solid group of writers you work with for feedback and accountability, then this could be a good chance for you to find some new peeps.

Attend, rinse, repeat.

There you have it. Now all you gotta do is find a writing conference to attend and get your butt in the chair. Hope to see you there! M

by Matthew

Remain in Character, Characters!

Actors work hard to remain in character for their films. Some, such as Daniel Day Lewis (above, in Gangs of New York) go so far as to stay in character even while not shooting, to maximize their approach to authenticity. As writers, we have to make sure the characters we are putting to the page remain just as true to who and what they are.

I’m in the car quite a lot and have developed a pretty voracious audiobook habit whilst driving. To improve my own writing, I go through 1-3 books a week at 1.5-2x speed to analyze every story I can cram into my ears. If you’re an audiobookphile and haven’t checked out the Libby app, I highly recommend it. Because it’s free. All you gotta do is connect it to your local library account, and you’ll potentially have access to thousands upon thousands of audiobooks, courtesy of your (already paid for via taxes) library. I can’t imagine my Amazon bill if I was paying Audible for all the audiobooks I go through in a year. Sheesh.

Anyhoo, I digress. I started a new audiobook today (from a bona fide publisher) and a couple hours in got smacked into the face with one of my worldbuilding pet peeves, a failure to keep a character in character. It’s something that many, many writers do without thinking, and (apparently) many professional editors miss during editing.

A character said something they shouldn’t have said.

I don’t mean the character misspoke, or accidentally revealed a secret, or anything like that. In this story, a YA sci-fi tale, the protagonist heard and felt an unfamiliar rumbling and compared it to thunder.

What’s the problem with that? Well, our hero lives in space, on space stations, and has her entire life. In this book’s fictional universe, the people do not have a terrestrial existence. I imagine it’s possible she would have learned of thunder through school or film or whatever. But would it be so ingrained into her speech patterns that she’d use it in a metaphor to describe that rumbling? Noooooooooooo.

Her life is spaceships and space stations. She lived among all manner of noisy, mechanical things. The rumbling could have sounded like an off-balance pressure regulator. Or a T34 Interlocking Phase Inhibitor. Or the ore tumblers at the refinery on Thrackas VII. We’re in space. She’s in space. Stay in space!

Am I being picky? Sure. I imagine plenty of readers would blow right past that and get on with the story. But not everyone. At 60+ audiobooks a year, I’m not exactly the most discriminating of consumers. But in almost every story I’ll hear a detail or two that just makes my inner worldbuilder sad. And this detail pulled me out of the story enough to want to write a blog post about it, so I imagine there are plenty of others out there whose Spidey-senses tingle every time they come across a mistake like this.

I’ll give you a couple more examples.

I did a deep-dive developmental edit for an epic other-world fantasy story for a writer in New Zealand a while back. Ten percent of the way through the entertaining tale, we’re well into the worldbuilding of a chaste anti-magic brotherhood in pursuit of an unknown magic-user among them. Low tech. A castles, swords, carts, and horses affair. A brother hands the hero a plate of food to be delivered to the head of their order. In the first person narrative, the hero describes the plate as mostly vegetables, with the only protein being a wedge of cheese.

The problem there? The word ‘protein’ is something that didn’t come around until the mid 1800s. Over a millennium after the scientific development period of the story. Yes, the story was set in a world other than Earth, but there was absolutely nothing in the writing to indicate that science had developed any farther there than it had here for the level of technology at the time.

The levels of science and technology matter in your writing, even if you’re doing something with medieval knights and castles. Because your characters have to remain in character, in both deed and word. Your knight in shining armor can’t name his speedy horse ‘Turbo’ any more than he can drive a Corvette to save the princess or use a rocket launcher to defeat the dragon. Likewise, he also can’t consider cheese as a part of a group of protein-rich foods because he can’t know about such things. The science to understand what a protein is has yet to be invented.

Later on, still a young man, the hero says he “slept like a baby”. Perfectly normal phrase, one I’m sure we’ve all used at some time or another. Except given the existence the reader is presented with, the orphan hero would have had exactly zero interactions with a baby or parent-of-a-current-baby figure his entire life. He would not be comparing anything, even sleep, to that of a baby, because babies are just not on his mind. Sure, he knows what a baby is, but there are many better ways to skin this cat. I mean, skin a razor-clawed gnurffle.

Colloquial phrases like these are opportunities to instead add depth to the world building. He slept like Old Man Shaw’s toothless guard dog Fezz. He slept like he had eaten three helpings of Father Dooba’s delicious autumn pheasant stew. He slept like he had bathed in the vat of Healer Burdock’s numbing balm she keeps locked in her secret pantry. Pick something in-world, to keep your reader in-world.

In short, we’re building entire worlds here, people. Don’t lean too much on ours, intentionally or otherwise, lest your characters briefly leap out of their boots into a different time or place!

Vigilance and creativity, my friends. M

by Matthew

No Cheat Days

Writers should write every day. Right? Eh, I have a few thoughts…

Not a picture of me. But we all make that face some days. I know I do.

If you’re not ready to write (go read my post on understanding your process), sitting at the computer or your notebook and attempting to pound out word count for the sake of word count is not the most productive thing you could do with your time. Sure, seeing those numbers go up is gratifying, but if your first time quality sucks, you’re really only creating more revising work for yourself later while wasting the “writing time” you have today on words you ultimately have to throw away.

I put “writing time” in quotes, because you can still be productive with those minutes or hours you have in your schedule, even if you’re not adding word count to your work in progress. Have a list:

Writing Things to Do When Not Actually Writing

  1. Think about your work in progress. If you pants like me, then you should be doing this on the regular, “writing time” or not. I may not have an outline written down, but I do know where my scenes and chapters are going, what the character arcs are, how the climax fits, etc. If you’re a plotter, then examine your outline, make sure the setup you had originally still fits what you’ve written down.
  2. Read. Educate yourself on the craft of writing, or just read a novel and pick it apart as you go. Identify themes, arcs, subplots, things you would improve, etc. Understanding the methods other authors use to craft stories you love can only help you do the same.
  3. Take a class. Early on in the process of writing my first manuscript, I realized I needed some training. SMU in Dallas had a great program (sadly now shuttered) called The Writer’s Path, where people from all walks of life would come together to learn from published authors and faculty about writing. I came away well-prepared. You can too!
  4. Read your own stuff. If you have an outline that you are betrothed to, make sure your writing is going to get you to the altar. If you’re pantsing, make sure the voice is appropriate for your genre and age group, and your characters’ actions are internally consistent.
  5. Revise. Here’s where some of you will disagree heartily with me about editing while writing the first draft. If you’ve read my post on process, then I’ve stated my case there. First time quality matters.
  6. Research agents. If you’re planning to enter the query trenches with your manuscript eventually, it doesn’t hurt to build your to-be-queried list as you go. There are a TON of agents out there, but only a small percentage of them are going to be interested in exactly what you wrote. You need to spend your querying time on them, and no others. Read my #1 lesson from querying.
  7. Research self-publishing. If you’re going the other route, then you’ve a lot of work ahead of you. Find your editor(s), cover artist, learn layout, research Amazon vs. everyone else, create a budget strategy, etc.
  8. Find a local writing group or critique partners. If you have those, converse with your compatriots or review their material. If you don’t make time for them, they’re unlikely to make time for you.
  9. Find a conference to attend. Better yet, find several. You can find online-only or in-person events. There are plenty to choose from. I’ve had solid success with pitches through Writing Day Workshops. Dallas has a great event in October called DFWCon. Most of these conferences aren’t free, and pitches cost even more, so mind your budget. But you can learn a lot about all facets of writing, get material reviewed, meet new writing buddies, and speak directly to agents. There is no better way to get through the slush pile than to step around it entirely. I have had *way* more interest in my stories from pitch sessions than I’ve received in responses to unsolicited queries. Way more.
  10. Social media. Use sparingly. Interacting with the writing and reading communities is great if you’re doing it to an end. Build your follower list. Make connections with critique partners or editors or artists. If you’re entertaining yourself and not much else, you could use your writing time better.

So there you have it. Lots of ways to be productive as a writer in those times when the words aren’t coming.

Get to work! M