Tag Archives: publishing

February 17, 2013 · 2:04 pm

Playing in Someone Else’s Playground

I’ve been working on a story to submit that takes place in an already established universe and the experience has been…interesting, to say the least.

When I’m writing for myself, it’s fairly speedy. I make up the rules for the world and away I go, only stopping because I saw something shiny on the internet. The story will be fully formed in my head and I’ll usually only change things based on the story itself.

But because I’m playing in someone else’s world, I have to abide by the rules. Which means research. Lots and lots and lots of research. Keeping in mind that I only have to write a thousand word sample, I would say that I’ve devoted a good three or four hours to just reading articles and books to make sure that what I’m writing makes sense within the confines of the world. And this is a lot for someone who never does research when they write.

I’ll write for a little bit, then wonder if I can actually do what I’ve done and then head back onto wikipedia. And then go back and erase three hundred words. It’s a jarring and jolting process, like riding in a car driven by someone who doesn’t know how to drive stick; I go forward a foot, jerk to a violent stop, roll back a few feet and start again.

But, in a way, it’s freeing. Most of the heavy lifting has been taken off of my shoulders. I can just focus on the plot and the characters without spending too much time on world building. Its a shift in priorities and a different type of writing that I’m enjoying and fits better into the time I have available.

So, maybe, in a few months I’ll be contributing to someone else’s universe and then I can take another whack at my own worlds.

-D-

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March 21, 2012 · 10:32 am

Relearning the Craft

Last time, I announced yet another new project. Unlike all my other projects, I’m still working on this one. But I’m having a lot of trouble.  I need to basically learn a whole new set of skills to get this one done. And I need to learn a whole new style.

It’s an interesting process for me, because I haven’t really stretched myself as a writer in a long time. I’ve been working on the same stuff for more than a year now, and it involves a very set style and language. It’s very formal, very descriptive and much less horror based.

But the pulps stories I’m writing are over-the-top, violent and absurd. I’m having to let go and open up a little bit. I’m trying to let myself go crazy, but it’s turning out to be very hard.

The word count is also a bit of a problem. For this to work, I’m going to have to write a lot of words in a very short amount of time and that’s never been something I’ve been very good at. I write a thousand words and then I call it a day. But now I need to start writing five to ten thousand words a day. And really, if I could write more, that’d be even better.

I need to get into shape is what I’m saying. But with words.

Dylan Charles

 

 

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December 31, 2011 · 8:34 pm

The Death of a Year

Let’s see if I can remember how to do this.

We’ll start with an opening sentence and take it from there.

Oh hi! I don’t really know if there are people who still read this. It’s been about, oh, two months since I last updated. I’ll make the assumption that everyone who reads my blog assumed that I had died over that little break. Well, I’m not dead. Far from it.

I’m here to do what’s likely to become the annual tradition around here. I’ll weep about my failures over the last year and make promises to do better next year.

Actually, you know what, let’s do this up right. Let’s not talk about failures. It’s boring, it’s whiny and no-one likes reading that. Let’s do the opposite of that. So here it is. My top five list of awesome shit that I did.

5. I killed three bookstores and a nationwide bookstore chain in the process. Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Dylan, that’s…not such a good thing.” But it had to be done and I made sure it gone done smoothly. No one died, product got sold and there are people all over the city with Borders bookcases in their homes cause I did my job like a ninja. A retail ninja. And I did while remaining sane.

4. I submitted a whole crapton of stuff to be published. None of it got published, but that’s not the point. After a few years of sitting around and not doing anything with my writing career, I actually got out there and started things up again. It’s awfully hard for me to get going once I’ve stopped doing something (see: this blog), but by God, I did it.

3. I read a metric-crapton of books. For those of you who use Imperial measurement, a metric-crapton is a lot of books. Every book I read helps me be a better writer. You know what else helps me be a better writer?

2. I started writing stories again. I hadn’t written a new piece of fiction in almost a year and I finally got back up on that horse. But! The biggest piece of news from the previous year?

1. I self-published a book. It’s still there on Amazon and for even cheaper now. You should go buy it if you haven’t done so already. And, if you want it in paperback, then, holy crap, you have that option now too. There’s people out there, right now, reading my work. Bam.

So that’s sounds like a pretty well seized year. Sometimes I’m pretty bummed about how a year went and I’ve been feeling that a little bit the last couple of weeks. But, you know, looking at that list there, I think I can live with how 2011 went. I’m ready for even bigger things next year.

Just…please, no more store closings.

Dylan

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November 1, 2011 · 8:48 am

Back in the Game

After a month and a half of eating, drinking and breathing horror, I think I’m ready to get back to work.

To be honest, it’s been a long time since I’ve written anything fiction, but now that I’ve given myself a deadline for the second book (May 1st) I really need to get back on track if I want the book to be done on time and lookin’ purty.

I’m going to start working on the book a little bit every day. No massive goals, but I need to at least start looking at it again. I’m not even sure where the files are anymore. Hopefully I didn’t lose them.

So! Expect to see more Dylan as I write on the blog to avoid writing on the book.

Dylan Charles

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October 1, 2011 · 9:45 pm

Tales of the Whispering Mad and the Mis-Dead: Now in Paperback!

You may remember that I have a book, which is available on the Kindle.

Now, everytime I tell people that I have a book and it’s only on the Kindle, they tell me, “But I don’t have a Kindle.” To which I respond, “Then buy a Kindle and then buy my book!” This never goes over well.

So! I’ve come up with a solution. You can now buy my book IN PAPERBACK. No ereaders required, you just go online, order the book and it arrives in the mail, in paper form. Truly, a miracle in modern technology.

Go HERE to buy my book in dead tree form.

Go HERE to buy my book in electronic radioactive form.

Some day, I might even get around to putting it on the Nook.

Dylan Charles

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July 1, 2011 · 10:49 am

Marketing

I’ve never been good at self-marketing. When I had to write the description for my book, I got hung up and spent at least three days agonizing over it. Now I have to write a biography for my author page on Amazon and I’m, once again, stuck on what I’m supposed to say. I’ve somehow got to package myself in a way that makes people say, “Hey now, this chap seems to produce good works. I wish to buy the entirety of everything that he creates. Pip pip!”

Unfortunately, the sum total of my marketing ability seems to be, “Buy my book!” And even in that, I feel reluctant. What if I’m pushing my book too much? What if I just end up driving people away with my constant shilling? My god, what if the book isn’t really good enough to sell?

It’s times like these that I wish have someone else to sell my book for me, someone with reach and connections and all that jazz. Since I’m left to my own devices, it’s my own drive that determines how well this turns out. And that’s a terrifying notion.

In the end, it will be me, from one end of the process to the other, from the writing to the editing to the publishing, that determines my own success and failure. And as scary as that is, it’s preferable to the alternative. I want to be in control, I want to be the determining factor in my own life.

So I will.

Dylan Charles

Also, you should buy my book, if you haven’t already. And, if you have, consider reviewing it on Amazon.

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June 26, 2011 · 9:57 pm

Do-It Yourself Publishing

Since finishing my book, I’m feeling reinvigorated about writing.

For a long while, I’ve been waiting for some kind of validation. I’ve been waiting for someone to tell me, “Ah-ha! You’ve reached the point where you’re a writer. Congratulations!”

But this time, I said to hell with it and just put it all together and sent it out into the world. And while this isn’t as satisfying as having someone else confirm how awesome I am, there’s still something to be said for pulling myself up by my own bootstraps and getting it done on my own.

And that has given me the boost I need to keep writing and to keep moving forward. It doesn’t matter that the whole ePublishing thing nearly made me pull out all of my own hair. I feel energized, like I could take on anything. So I’ve immediately started working on my next book.

I hope you’re ready for it, cause I sure am.

Dylan Charles

Speaking of my book, go buy my book! Please.

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June 25, 2011 · 8:24 pm

Tales of the Whispering Mad and the Mis-Dead

After months of (sporadic) work, it’s done. The book is done.

You can read it on the Kindle.

You can read it on your computer.

You can read it on your iPad or your iPhone.

Fact is, you can read my book for the low, low price of $2.99. It’s at LEAST an hour’s worth of entertainment; even more if you’re a slow reader. And it’s riproaring good fun.

So buy my book. And when you’re done, tell other people to check it out too. Cause, here’s the deal: ya’ll are my advertising, every last one of you. And the more people who buy this book, the more likely it is that I can do this fulltime and put out another, even better book much sooner.

And if horror’s not your thing, tell that friend you have who digs horror. You all have that one friend who watches the Friday the 13th movies way too much or who REALLY digs Clive Barker. Tell them about Tales of the Whispering Mad and the Mis-Dead. Spread the word, tell your friends. Blog reviews. Tweet the links.

Go forth my minions and spread the gospel!

And read my book.

Dylan Charles

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June 24, 2011 · 5:55 am

The Panic Horizon

The closer I reach a deadline, the more I start to implode. I begin to notice a thousand different things that are going wrong.

I notice the spelling, the font is too large, the lines are spaced too far apart, the link in the table of contents aren’t working, the title isn’t centered, there are too many spaces after the period in the second story, the spaces aren’t showing up in the third story, where did the italics go, the program doesn’t recognize the table of contents, this story really isn’t that good, oh god why did I decide to do this!?

I become so broken down and worked up and on edge that I want to throw the computer out the window. And then, shortly after that, myself. This is how it’s always been for major projects, whether it’s school papers or movie reviews 0r goddamn self-published books.

Now, after a certain point I hit the panic horizon. That’s the point at which I stop caring and I just want it done. It’s a last minute dash where I throw out all concern. Who cares that the book is smooshed together in an unreadable lump of terrible font? Who cares that the cover looks like it was designed by a three-year-old with no design sense? Who cares that there’s a typo on every page? This needs to be DONE.

But…this project is important, so I can’t, mustn’t let that happen. I must stay focused on making this the best I can get it. Absolutely focused. And I’m getting so close to the end. The book will be ready for tomorrow’s publication date, so I hope you’re ready.

Dylan Charles

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June 23, 2011 · 9:05 pm

A Writer Wearing Many Hats

Self-publishing is not as easy as I was expecting it to be. And I wasn’t really expecting it to be easy. Little obnoxious problems keep cropping up; like GIMP crashing and formatting errors springing up from nowhere and spelling mistakes showing up that I thought I’d hammered out ages ago.

The biggest issue is that I’m not actually doing much in the way of writing. I’ve done a LOT of editing and trimming. I’ve done a lot of research and poking around dingy internet forums looking for the best ways to format a table of contents for a kindle. I’ve been trying to learn a couple of different image editing programs so I could learn how to make my own cover.

It’s a mountain of stuff and I wonder how those people who do this for a living manage it. So many little tasks are demanding my attention right now that I’m being torn six different ways.

Fortunately for you and unfortunately for me and my peace of mind, I’ve gone into stubborn mode and I absolutely refuse to miss this deadline. “Tales of the Whispering Mad and the Mis-Dead” WILL be online this Saturday.

Dylan Charles

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