Confessions of a Writer

The Work In Progess...

I have not been blogging all that much of late.

In fact, I've pulled back on Twitter, KDP, Facebook groups and anything that smacks of the treadmill of marketing.

I confess: I sort of lost heart. For months and months, I pushed and prodded and presented my most upbeat positive self... and barely budged my sales. It was depressing. The fact that my 'day job' of descriptive video script writing has gone from slow to nil lately didn't help my mood. I figured people didn't want to hear about it if all I felt like doing was whining about crappy sales and pounding my head against the wall about the vagaries of self-promotion.

That much is true: no one wants to hear me bitch!

Things will look up. My day job work will resume this month, so at least I won't be without income for too much longer. That's a scary place to be. I don't wish it on anyone.

I'm still not in a totally fantastic mood, frankly. But I also can't ignore my blog. That doesn't accomplish much of anything! I promise to post more often moving forward into happier, more optimistic times. I have some special guests coming up soon, and I'll try to be inspiring or at least entertaining.

The other big reason I've not been spending so much time on social networking and platform building is because I've been WRITING. Remember writing? You know, that thing authors do so that we have books to market in the first place? Yep. I'm waist-deep in Book One of The Dead Drunk mystery series In The Bag.

If you are excited to get your hands on my new book, I'm grateful. But? Please don't hold your breath. I don't rush when I write. I'm not about crankin' 'em out and slappin' 'em up on Kindle. I want to work until I have the best possible version of In The Bag before I foist it upon the world of paying readers. That will mean at least a few weeks more hard work before I show this draft to my editor, and start that whole fun process of rewriting and polishing. Once that's done, there are at least three other titles in the series that have already been planned out or started.

And then will I self-publish The Dead Drunks?

Frankly, I'm not so sure. This has been liberating in a lot of ways. It's great to have total creative control and reach readers world-wide. I've loved getting to know some of the truly amazing, talented and supportive folks on the Indie scene. Overall, reviews for Base Spirits and my Kindle short story 'Family Secrets' have been outstanding. And sure: the theory of earning a whopping 70% in royalties is wonderful... but the harsh reality has been a mere trickle of money. In my case. So far.

I won't turn my back on the Indie route. There are plans to contribute to an Indie ghost story anthology later in the year with a handful of other quality authors. It's an interesting project, and I like the idea of collaboration. I still have a bunch of previously published short stories that I intend to polish and publish individually on Kindle-- with an eye to eventually bundling them into a collection.

Traditional vs. Indie. Does it have to be either/or? I don't think so. I think what authors have now more than ever is the freedom to choose. I believe in getting help in the more traditional sense with a commercial mystery series if I want things like translations and film or TV rights (and I bloody well do want those things!) I know there are some rabid/stubborn/successful Indie authors out there who will scream at me not to bother with the 'old ways', but to them I'd like to say with respect that I'd like to give it a shot. I DO know what I'm up against, believe me. Been there, done that. But I've learned a lot of lessons over the past year, and I'd just like to see what happens this time around. Maybe that's foolish or masochistic, but please humour me. I may end up Indie publishing after all. No shame in either method. Let's see what happens.

So for now, I promise I will pay more attention to my blog. I'd like to spend my energy primarily on writing, but I also know that I need to keep my platform current and active. Mea culpa. I'd also like to see what the effect of getting more good reviews has on sales and word of mouth rather than engaging in endless rounds of Tweeting and hopping and waving my virtual arms in the air. I just need a break from the marketing madness. I believe in my work. Its time will come. 

If you'd like to read and review my writing, here are my links:

For a spooky full-length chill ride, try Base Spirits: http://www.amazon.com/Base-Spirits-ebook/dp/B005L38G8E

For an unsettling short read about a family's dark side, here's 'Family Secrets': http://www.amazon.com/Family-Secrets-ebook/dp/B007D8TLP2

See? I'm done sulking. I'm back. I'll see you soon.

An Overnight Success... in Only 25 Years!

This post is all about being in it for the long haul.

Let me tell you about my dear friend Stephen Ayres. (Remember that name. You'll start hearing about him soon, I promise... and not just here on my blog.)

Cheers to Success!

I met Steve in our first year at Trent University in 1986. He was relatively shy compared to my general 'out there' self, but we were in a lot of the same classes and the same residence hall. He came to see me in a terrible play I was in during first term, and we both worked on a production of Othello later in the year: him backstage and me 'out there' as Emilia. We also ended up doing some short films around campus-- just 'cause we wanted to.

Steve was-- and is-- a 'film guy'. He loves movies. He has a quick wit, a great eye, and a way with storytelling. He's always wanted nothing more than to be a part of it all. After earning his BA at Trent, he moved on to Ryerson for film and the shy guy really blossomed.

Jump ahead a few years.

Steve met and married a lovely Australian woman, Kim. They ended up living Down Under in Sydney and have two great kids... now teenagers. Kim works in health, and has become very busy in her career with a cancer foundation and the specialty training of nurses. Steve ended up working in banking and finance for years, and all but put the idea of filmmaking on the back-burner. Where does the time go?

Yes. Where does it go? And what about the idealistic dreams and goals we have in our younger days? Do they ever entirely vanish, even as people build a family and a home, and make all those realistic tough decisions along the way... like getting a 'real' job? Who was that clean-shaven guy in the mirror wearing a suit and heading out everyday to a job he loathed in the core of Sydney's financial district?

So-- a few years ago-- a very unhappy Steve decided to give himself a little time to get back to screenwriting and see what he could do. Kim's job is good, and he took a package from the bank when he left. It was enough to buy some time: not indefinite, but a bit of breathing and writing space.

He sweated over ideas and honed scripts. Pitched to agents and producers. Felt hope. Saw hope dashed. Made his kids' lunches and ironed their school uniforms. Cooked dinner for Kim and did the laundry and the yard work. Soul searched. Nearly gave up but never did. Got into some prestigious Australian screenwriting programs, and inched further ahead toward that elusive dream.

Finally, a couple of years ago, a big producer finally took proper notice of one of his many scripts. Su Armstrong produced a little movie called Good Will Hunting. You may have heard of it.

Wow. Surely this was the proverbial 'it'. Any second now his film would be shot and hit the big time, right?

Not quite.

It still took a lot of back-and-forthing. A lot of pitching to get a director and a cast on board. That meant chasing a lot of dead ends and the heartache of schedule conflicts. Even with the main players falling into place, funding still needed to be secured... and that meant getting an international distributor on board to win the funding bodies' confidence. It's a long, slow state of limbo with no guarantee.

But? He kept that hope alive through some very dark moments.

And we don't get there alone, folks. His family and friends stuck by, and enough people along the way believed in his writing to make it happen. And now a distribution agent is backing the film... and suddenly it's a go!

I am THRILLED to be able to tell you that my pal's screenplay 33 Liberty Lane is going to be shot this summer directed by Peter Hewitt. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sandra-oh-emily-watson-nia-vardalos-melora-hardin-317904 Yep. That's the Hollywood Reporter carrying the story. And yes, those are the incredible women who are starring in MY old buddy's first produced script! Not too shabby.

I am so, so proud of Steve. For over two decades I've watched-- from up close and at a distance-- as he took baby steps forward and got shoved back time and time again by bad luck and circumstance, and the vagaries of the film industry, and real life and family being more important. Here we are at last!

This story is an example to all of us who struggle to keep that spark of hope alive through the darkest of times. We can do this. We CAN.

Now go follow your own paths, and I'll stop blogging and get back to my novel in progress.