tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11953586797213733522024-03-12T21:55:31.302-07:00ALEX LUKEMANAlex Lukeman's Blogalexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-5083952706931597622019-01-26T08:45:00.000-08:002019-01-26T08:46:37.835-08:00<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Motorcycles</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Unless you ride you might find it hard to understand why
motorcyclists are so keen to hop on their bikes. I've been riding motorcycles
since 1957. There were a few years when I didn't have a bike, but for most of
those years I've had something with two wheels and an engine. I even had a bike
when I lived in Spain, a 250 Ducati. I consider that a small motorcycle but it
was large for Spain. It was also a hell of a lot of fun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ask a motorcyclist why he loves to ride and he'll tell you it's
because it's fun. He (or she, as the case might be) may also tell you it's
about freedom. When you're on a bike you are on your own with a wonderful sense
of being in control. Maybe that's just an illusion, but motorcycles are better
than psychotherapy for most people who ride. There is something about being out
on the highway with a motorcycle and a beautiful day that clears all the BS
life throws at us right out of our minds. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My first bike was a 1941 Indian Chief. I was sixteen years
old and weighed about 160 pounds. The chief weighed closer to 750. It was a
beast and I didn't like it much when it fell over, which it did once or twice.
Those old bikes are nothing like the machines produced today. For example, there
was no such thing as an auto advance. You controlled advance and retard with a
twist grip on the handlebar. The brakes were 7 inch drums and exciting to use
for such a big machine, meaning that it took a really long time to stop. The
engine was an 80 cubic inch flathead that could kick back and damn near break
your leg if you weren't careful. But once it was up and running it was smooth
and powerful and could take that big bike up to about 110 miles an hour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The suspension was completely inadequate by today's
standards. It consisted of a leaf spring girder fork in front and a pair of laughable
devices called plunger shocks in the rear. The throttle stayed exactly where
you put it, open, closed or anywhere in between, which meant you had better pay
attention when it was time to stop. The clutch was called a suicide clutch, for
good reason. It was a big, flat plate operated by your foot that stayed where
you put it and wasn't the easiest thing in the world to move. To stop the bike,
you had to disengage the clutch by moving that plate, gear down with a long lever
on the side of the tank, roll off the throttle, reengage, and repeat while you
applied brakes. Harleys of the period were similar to Indians, with everything
generally reversed from the Indians. Of course you had to learn all that. When
I first got on that bike I knew nothing. I'd never ridden a motorcycle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I bought the bike for seventy dollars. Today that same bike
in exactly the same condition would bring closer to thirty thousand. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The guy I bought it from said, "Here's where you turn
it on. Here's how you turn on the gas. This is the spark advance and retard and
this is the throttle. That's the clutch. You shift using that lever there. You
kick it over here. See you later."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I didn't even know what the spark advance and retard was or
how to use it. Anyway, being young, stupid, and immortal I got on the bike,
managed to get it started and rode it home, in traffic. The battery fell out on
the way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Cool. I had a motorcycle, a great black monster that bellowed
with a throaty roar through a home made megaphone. I thought it would be easy
to master but I had a lot to learn and no one to show me. There were no
programs for training people in motorcycle safety, no licensing requirements
beyond a driver's license, no helmet laws, no convenient shops in every town where
you could buy everything from a spark plug to a new bike. If you had a bike,
you were on your own. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That suited me just fine. Bikes have always been about
freedom and independence for me. They still are. As long as I can ride I know
I'm not ready for the old folks' home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It takes a while to make someone a competent rider. It takes
years to make a good one, and until you become competent you are at risk of
serious injury. The only way to learn is through experience. That hasn't
changed, even with all the courses of instruction and modern safety features.
It scares me to see middle aged men having a mid-life crisis on their big
Hondas and Harleys, with the wife on back and a few months of riding under
their belts. I stay well away from them on the road. You can tell when someone
is inexperienced.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I got my first serious lesson in competence about a week
after I got the bike. I was still somewhat tentative with all that power and
potential speed. But I was gaining confidence. The old adage about a little
confidence being a dangerous thing is never more true than when you begin to ride
motorcycles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was riding home in traffic going about 50 miles an hour,
following a car ahead of me. I didn't realize that I was too close for the
braking power of the machine. Suddenly the car stopped without warning in the
middle of the road to make a left-hand turn across traffic. Okay, I hit the
brakes. Not much happened. I was still going 50 miles an hour and I was rapidly
closing on his back bumper. I was going to hit him if I couldn't get around
him. To the left was oncoming traffic on the narrow highway. I couldn't go
around that way without being splattered across someone's big chrome grill. Remember,
it's 1957. Lots of chrome, back then.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I had to go right. To the right was a deep ditch with water
in it, faced with a narrow stone wall that came just to the level of the
roadway. Between the car and the drop into the ditch there was very little room,
perhaps a couple of feet. The adrenaline surge that hit me when I realized that
just about lifted me off that big, sprung seat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I had no choice. I veered right and onto the top of the
stone wall of the ditch. If I went in I wasn't coming out except in an
ambulance. I looked down and saw that the front wheel was half on the wall and
half over the ditch. I was still going almost 50. My arms were locked on the
handlebars. They clipped the passenger side mirror on the car as I went by. I made
it past, pulled back on the highway and accelerated away. About a mile down the
road I began shaking and pulled over.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lesson number one: always allow more than enough braking
distance between you and things that might hurt you. This is fundamental.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A month later I was taking turns at eighty and throwing
sparks off the muffler. I had learned how to handle the bike and had a good
idea of what it could do. That began a lifelong addiction to speed on two
wheels. I'm a street rider. Others prefer the dirt. Not me. Give me horsepower
and pavement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Chief was a great bike, classic American iron. I still
have one of the tank emblems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I rode it across country, all the way from Philadelphia to
California. That was the America of the old Route 40 and Route 66, legendary
highways that deserve their reputation. I'll never forget coming over a rise in
eastern Colorado and seeing the Rocky Mountains for the first time, marching across
the horizon. The sun was setting behind them, sending rays of light from the snowcapped
peaks. I remember starting down a long, twisting highway toward Salt Lake City,
spread out below in the evening twilight like diamonds on the desert. I
remember being in the middle of Kansas on a sunny day and watching a curtain of
black advance toward me on the highway, a summer storm. When I hit it, it was
like hitting a liquid wall. I was drenched in an instant. I slept that night in
a soggy field. When I woke, it was sunny. I looked around me. I was lying in a
field of marijuana.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That world is gone now and it will never return. I count
myself blessed to have taken that ride. There's nothing like a motorcycle if
you want to really feel and experience the beauty and variety of this place we
call America. That is still true. There are still places where the unspoiled
beauty exists but you have to find them. A motorcycle is one of the best ways
to do that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I started riding British motorcycles in 1969. My first Brit
bike was a '66 Norton Atlas, a 750 cc vertical twin that vibrated like mad and
handled like a dream. Modern bikes are mostly vibration free, but the old bikes
were a different story. British bikes don't weigh as much as American bikes and
you can find ways to make them even lighter. Set up correctly, they are very
fast and agile and will run rings around their contemporaries. I'm not talking
about modern bikes but motorcycles manufactured up to 1970. For me that's the
cutoff point for classic British bikes. Today I have a 1966 Triumph Bonneville,
a Harley, and a 56 BSA A7.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've had plenty of non.British bikes. Hondas, Suzuki's, a
BMW,a Ducati, a Laverda and a couple of Harleys. But my real love is the
British machines. There's something about the way they sound, the way they
feel, the way you sit on them. I love the designs, the complexity of British
engineering, often a head scratcher from an American point of view. Take a look
at a Vincent Black Shadow or an Aerial Square Four and you'll see what I mean.
British motorcycles have soul. I never got that feeling from a Japanese bike,
as reliable and trouble-free as they can be. It has nothing to do with the
quality of engineering or performance. It's a feeling. Harley riders feel the
same way. Harleys have soul. It's that indefinable something I call soul that
keeps me engaged with bikes, along with the feeling of aliveness that comes
when you are tooling down the highway at 70 miles an hour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you ride long enough you develop an intuitive sense of
hazards and potential danger, what people in the military call situational
awareness. It doesn't require a lot of thought, it just pops into your
awareness. Is there someone in that parked car ready to open a door in front of
you? Is that vehicle going to stop for that yellow light? Is that person going
to turn left in front of you without warning? All of these are real hazards
that can kill you or put you in a hospital. What about those wet leaves or pine
needles on the road? Is that gravel? Sand? Oil? Debris? How deep is that
puddle? That pothole? Are there deer in the woods? You can assume nothing.
Riding a motorcycle develops keen situational awareness that carries over into
driving a car and every other activity in your life. Bikes teach you to
observe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've known a lot of bikers over the years, good and bad.
It's too bad that the outlaw biker is the one many people still think of when
they think about motorcycles. It's the Wild One, Sons of Anarchy image. The 1%
is exactly that, a fraction of the motorcycle riding community. Every community
has a piece of it that is not what you would call socially constructive. Motorcyclists
run charity drives for any cause you can think of, contribute all sorts of
services and in general are good people. If you ride a bike, you will meet
people from every walk of life with whom you can connect through your mutual
love of motorcycling. If you go abroad you will find people riding motorcycles
who will be happy to welcome you. Bikers have a common language that goes
beyond nationalities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you don't already have one, get a bike and learn how to
ride it. You are in for a great time. The only limits are those you set for
yourself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Copyright 2019 by Alex Lukeman</span></div>
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<br />alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-7557360347957823822015-09-29T10:29:00.001-07:002015-09-29T10:29:32.025-07:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thrillers and Superheroes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's been a while since I posted last. I've been working on the newest book in the PROJECT series, <i>The Russian Deception</i>... and now it's done. Well, the hardest part is done, i.e. writing it. Now comes the next hardest part, getting the word out there that the book is available.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Right now it's on preorder, here:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015KYAQP4">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015KYAQP4</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The release date is October 10 but it can be ordered now by going to the link on Amazon. It's also available on all other platforms. I gave up on exclusivity with Amazon some time ago and it was the right move for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>The Russian Deception</i> continues the saga of the Project team, a covert group of men and women who work under the radar to keep America safe. They always get in a lot of trouble and somehow, one way or another, most of them come out alive. Sometimes people tell me that the characters are superheroes. They're not. The kinds of things Nick and Selena and the others do aren't easy but they are not impossible. Just take a look at modern special forces and the things real heroes are asked to do. For most of us mortals it's true that they're not possible because we don't have the discipline and training necessary to take on the challenges faced by these men every day. I never ask my characters to do something that is impossible. I do ask them to never give up. I think that's not a bad philosophy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For example, in <i>White Jade</i> the team is climbing in the Himalayas at 17,000 feet with about a 35 pound pack and another 15 pounds or so of weapons and ammo. I can tell you from personal experience that this is possible. I've done it (without the weapons) and I wasn't as young or in the kind of shape my characters are. I got dinged for that by a couple of readers who didn't think it could be done.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You want a superhero, go to the movies. You won't find them in my books.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another criticism I sometimes hear is that the secret weapons described in my books couldn't possibly exist or are something from the realm of science fiction. The problem is that they do exist or are in development, things like powerful laser cannons or satellites in space capable of doing serious damage on earth. I research everything extensively when it comes to weapons and technology. If I'm not familiar with it or I can't find something to back up the concept it doesn't go in the book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sometimes my characters get wounded, sometimes seriously. Getting shot doesn't mean you have to die. Wounds leave scars, physical and mental and my characters have plenty of them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The plots are based on real-world possibilities and/or events. For example, part of the plot in <i>The Russian Deception</i> involves the current problems in the Ukraine. It's not hard to create a storyline when the world provides plenty of free material to work with. The trick is to make it entertaining. Nobody needs another news brief.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's a picture of the cover for The Russian Deception.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwl3wiHU3-1YzikGxLPDrsGyHd8g-LN-lMIb3MHxwUelLqH_NlEs889i_vaje0FaGpFSAAuPnyH3rs-bb-O1pD3oiWyXyOCfxwhMpfVRYOauXpspdia5SbiUpwW959TNr5spSOW9LZhk64/s1600/The+Russian+Deception+-+Concept+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwl3wiHU3-1YzikGxLPDrsGyHd8g-LN-lMIb3MHxwUelLqH_NlEs889i_vaje0FaGpFSAAuPnyH3rs-bb-O1pD3oiWyXyOCfxwhMpfVRYOauXpspdia5SbiUpwW959TNr5spSOW9LZhk64/s320/The+Russian+Deception+-+Concept+2.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is Book 11 in the series. I'm not sure how many more there will be but it's not done yet. I may start a new series with different characters and put off Book 12 for a bit. I'm not sure about that yet, but it might be the next creative step.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What do you think? </span></div>
alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-48030908299209904172015-03-07T09:36:00.000-08:002015-03-07T09:36:05.850-08:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Marketing Musings</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'd like to share a few random thoughts about marketing. Making
a living as a writer is a goal most authors never realize. Unfortunately for those
of us who write, it requires marketing. Most writers resent marketing because
it distracts them from writing. When I decided to get serious about writing and
turn it into a full-time occupation, I knew nothing at all about marketing.
Once the first book (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/White-Jade-The-Project-Book-ebook/DPB0007FIR01M">White
Jade</a>) was up on Amazon I faced the reality that my book was one choice for
readers among what amounted to an infinite number of choices. How was I going
to get people to notice it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The world is awash with books in any given genre. No one
could possibly read them all. I write thrillers, which means that at first
glance it looked as though I was competing against blockbuster stars like Steve
Berry, Clive Cussler, James Rollins and Tom Clancy. Not to mention Vince Flynn
and Brad Thor. A little intimidating, no? You get the idea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Therein lies marketing truth #1 as an independent writer. Competition
is an illusion. It's a mistake of perception. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Your Perception is Everything<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Change Your Perception and Change Your Reality<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are millions and millions and millions of readers,
more than enough for everyone. More than enough to find and enjoy your work.
It's not about competition, it's about discovery. Change your perception about
competition. Give up the idea that you are competing for market share. That's a
waste of time which will drain your energy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Okay, you say, I'm not competing. So how do I get noticed?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm not going to give you advice about social media, book
signings, podcasts, etc. There's plenty of that available and you don't need to
hear it from me. If those things work for you, that's fine. One of the truths
about marketing is that nobody's quite sure what really works. I do know one
thing that works. Before you can succeed at marketing, you have to have a
product people want. That means you must learn your craft and write a good
story people want to read. You need to have a professional presentation. A good
cover, clean copy, an edited manuscript and so on. If you don't have those
things you're wasting your time trying to sell your book. Marketing truth #2 is:</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">You Have to Write Something People Want To Read<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Let's assume you've done that and have a decent product.
Good. Write another book. Write another book. Write another book. Am I getting
through? Selling one book is difficult unless you are very lucky. Writing is a
business you make out of something that you love to do. At least I hope you
love to do it, because otherwise you will not be able to sustain the output
required to succeed. Lee Child said that he became an overnight success after he'd
written ten books. Think about that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If I had to pick one single tool that has helped me sell
books, it would be free promotion. I've lost count but I know I've given away more
than three hundred thousand books in the past few years. I've seen articles and
posts from people who hate the whole idea of letting books go for free. They
think it cheapens the price for everyone and devalues the quality of the book.
They think their work is too precious to give away and that they should always
be paid something for it. They get very annoyed at the idea that someone's free
book might be chosen over their not-so-free offering. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most of the people I see complaining aren't selling very
many books. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Readers who discovered my work through a freebie and liked
it will buy another book in the series or even all of them. I get emails all
the time from people who picked up one of the Project books in a free promotion
and discovered the rest of the series. They're happy to find a new author they
enjoy. They're grateful that I made the book available to them for nothing.
Some wouldn't be able to afford the book if it weren't free. So here is marketing
truth #3 of Indie marketing as I see it:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Free Works</span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The marketplace for books is in constant flux and change is
a given. Just the same, I find it hard to think that a good product offered for
free will not be picked up by someone who knows a deal when they see it. In
turn that will stimulate sales.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Remember what I said earlier about perception? If you want
to succeed as a writer, you must see yourself as a writer who is successful, a
writer who sells books. Picture yourself successful, whatever that means to
you. It doesn't necessarily mean you have the number one bestseller in the New
York Times. Maybe it means that you make enough money to pay for the groceries.
Maybe it means you make enough to quit your day job and write full time. Maybe
it means you make so much that you can take that European vacation you've
always wanted. It doesn't matter. What matters is your perception. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Perceiving/Feeling yourself as successful is the most powerful marketing tool you can apply</b>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">You
still have to chop wood and carry water. You still have to get your book listed
wherever you think it needs to be. You still have to pay for ads to get the
word out. But the key lies in perception and feeling, seeing yourself as a writer who
succeeds.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Reality Follows Perception<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The last thing I want to mention in this post is branding.
Branding is one of those words straight out of Madison Avenue. See <i>Mad Men</i>, if you don't know about Madison
Avenue and how it has shaped our world. It seems to me that the primary place
to establish brand is on the cover of your book. There are lots of opinions
about covers, about how they should look. About what goes on top, for example.
Should it be the title or the author's name? I've been told many times that the
title should be the primary information on the cover, with the author's name in
smaller type and of less importance than the title. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I disagree with this. What are you branding here? Is it the
book? The book is ephemeral. It will be read and then the reader will move on.
The author is the brand, not the book. I want people to remember my name as a
writer they enjoy. It's not important to me that they remember which book in
the series they read. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">When I want to buy a book I rarely look for a title. I look for a favorite author. Robert Crais, Alex Berenson, James Lee Burke,
Craig Johnson, Daniel Silva, James Rollins, Michael Connelly, to mention a few.
These authors are branded. I remember them. I don't know how many books they've
written and I don't really care. I just know that I like what they write and
when I want to purchase a book for entertainment I automatically think of them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">That's branding. How can you get your brand across? I'll
leave you with that question.</span></div>
alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-6958621036063639922015-02-07T10:24:00.000-08:002015-02-07T10:37:44.426-08:00Kindle Unlimited<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Kindle Unlimited</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">If you are enrolled in Amazon's KDP Select program and have
concerns about Kindle Unlimited, I have a few thoughts I'd like to share with
you. I now have nine books in the Project series and am working on number ten.
Until very recently, all my books were
in the KDPS program. Then along came Kindle Unlimited. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">KU cut the income from my books by half, almost overnight.
Half is a pretty big hit, which meant I needed to make a few business decisions. Remember:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Writing is a Business<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">How was I going to regain income lost with the introduction
of KU?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 39.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 39.25pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->I could pull all the books out of KDP Select as
the contracts expired and begin posting on other platforms. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 39.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 39.25pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->I could raise the price.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 39.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 39.25pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->I could do both.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 39.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 39.25pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->I could do nothing and hope for the best. (not a
good option!)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">KDP Select has enabled me to earn a living writing. The
promotional advantages are the strongest feature and I didn't want to lose
those. Placing books on other platforms meant a long delay for results. It would
eventually produce income but take time for readers to discover my work. I decided to try a hybrid approach, while
still keeping everything on Amazon for the time being.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I raised the price of all the books except White Jade by a
dollar, making them $4.99. White Jade is the first in the series and will
remain at $0.99. I didn't really want to raise prices because I want the books
to be accessible to as many people as possible and a buck is a buck. I figured
a dollar less made it easier for people to purchase and gave readers a break. To my surprise, sales actually
increased after the change. The price increase has had no negative effect. Of course, I don't know <i>why</i> sales increased or if the price had anything to do with that,
but it's an odd coincidence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Second, the latest books in the series, Eye of Shiva and Black
Rose are not enrolled and not available for free to KU subscribers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Third, all except the first three books will go out of
Select as the dates for renewal pass. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">My thinking is that KU subscribers will discover the first
three, like the series enough to continue and buy the rest. In that way all of
the first three books serve as loss leaders, although they still provide some
income. I encourage new readers and I protect the full royalty payments for the
later books. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm hedging on placing the books on other platforms, because
once I do, it becomes a real hassle to clear the decks for putting them back
into KDP Select. I'm taking a wait and see attitude. I want to see what happens
over the next couple of months to the royalty payments.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">This strategy can only work because I have more than one or
two books out there. If I had only one or two, I'm not sure what I would do. KU
may be a very good thing for some, because the author gets paid and people can
discover the books. Discovery is everything, and Amazon has around 60-70% of
the market. Whatever best supports discovery is worth doing. On the other hand,
KU makes the book(s) look cheap. The price shows up as FREE and free books
aren't always good books.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">What's your stratgey?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-16620564647642747762014-12-27T16:10:00.000-08:002014-12-27T16:26:51.505-08:00The Next Move<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Next Move</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I've been thinking about Amazon's Kindle Unlimited program and
the effect it's had on sales for writers like myself. Big names in self-publishing (read:
Indie) are bailing on the KDP Select program because of Kindle Unlimited
(KU). Joe Konrath and Russell Blake are two that I've heard of. Both of these
writers are millionaire Indie success stories, partly because they're prolific,
partly because they write entertaining books people want to read and mostly
because of hard work and clear focus. And oh, yeah, they treat writing as a
business.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Dropping out of KDP Select is a business decision these writers
and others have made or are considering. It's not an easy decision to make.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Amazon's KDPS program has been very successful for me. I'm
not a super star like Blake or Konrath but I'm a successful mid-list writer. I
make a living at it, which puts me on a fairly short list. Over the past couple
of years I've sold somewhere around a hundred thousand books, counting in the
loaners and KU grabs. It helps that I have 8 books out there in my Project
thriller series, with #9 in the tube for publication next month. One book, and
I wouldn't be doing so well.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I have resisted putting my books on Kobo, Apple and Nook for
a lot of reasons. Visibility is difficult to achieve, just like it still is on
Amazon. I don't have the time or desire to program for those platforms, which
means giving the books to someone else (like Smashwords) to convert and
distribute. But if I do that, I lose the promotion options KDPS provides as
well as whatever income comes from KU and the KOLL loaners.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">For me, that is a significant portion. It's about 1/4 of the
monthly royalties I receive from Amazon. That's a lot to give up for the
possibility of increased sales and exposure elsewhere. Did Kindle Unlimited cut
into my royalties? Yes, because I now receive about 1/2 or less than what I would have
gotten for books picked up by folks using the service. No,
because these are readers who might not have taken a shot at books priced at $3.99 or $4.99 by an unknown author.
It's not a number I can accurately quantify, because I don't know if those KU
readers would have bothered to pick up one of my books otherwise. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Royalties and sales are definitely down compared to 6 months
ago, but it's clear to me that KU is not the only reason. For one thing, the
traditional publishers are now competing with Indies in the one area where we
held an advantage: price. Michael Connelly's latest is $3.99. That's called
pricing strategy. The old line publishers have discovered that eBooks make
money. Another market factor is saturation. There are millions of cheap books
competing for reader attention. Millions. More than any of us can read in a
lifetime, regardless of what genre we prefer. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Welcome to the real world of writing for a living.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">If you are an Indie writer relying on KDPS, it may be time
to rethink your business plan. You have one, right? At least a good idea of
what you're trying to do and how you are going to do it over the next year or
two. Something more than "I want to sell a lot of books." </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Remember:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">IT'S A BUSINESS<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The bottom line has always been about gaining exposure. I've
decided to try a hybrid approach. I believe in my books. I am confident that if
someone buys and enjoys any of the books they will want to read another and
eventually, the entire series. Book 1 in the series is White Jade, the
"loss leader" at $0.99. I don't make any significant income from the
book. It's purpose is to tell a good story and introduce the series and the characters.
KU and loaner royalties are small. I'm going to pull White Jade from KDPS and
place it on the other platforms. I'm going to see if that encourages new
readers. I may pull a second book as well. In six months or so I might have an
answer. It takes time to build readership on any platform. That's the hardest
part, aside from the writing itself. I've learned to be patient.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">If you are having second thoughts about KDP Select and KU,
I'd love to hear what they are.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">More about KDPS in the next blog.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-81494203309431391492014-12-07T14:55:00.000-08:002014-12-07T17:13:11.454-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">If You Build it...</span></b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Remember the movie with Kevin Costner and the "field of
dreams" he built in the middle of a corn field? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>"If you build it, they will come."</b><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The phrase "they will come" has become American shorthand for entrepreneurial spirit and hope,
the fulfillment of one's deepest desire. It's a brilliant conception of words,
the core concept of the movie. The words resonate in us, activating the inner
hope we all possess that applying ourselves to what we love will bring success.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The key word here is love. No one would write unless some
part of them loved it. No one would labor over building a novel or a story if
they didn't love the magic that happens when words appear out of nothing, bits
and pieces of a story that didn't exist. Characters that do surprising things.
Reflections of ourselves we can identify with. All of the separate threads of a
narrative that lead the reader into the story.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">There are endless articles and books instructing writers in
how to write a good story, filled with so many dos and don'ts that it is
impossible to remember all of those good ideas. That part of writing is the <i>craft</i> part, the part of learning how to
use the tools of language and narrative to construct something someone might
want to read. There's only one problem: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>You can build it and no one
will come, </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>if you can't tell a good story.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">W</span><span style="font-size: large;">riters are story tellers. Fiction or non-fiction, it doesn't matter. If you don't tell a good story, the reader will go away and never come back.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">All successful books have one thing in common, no matter how
well or badly built: they tell an engaging story. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Do you want to tell a good story? If you do, you have to put passion into
your work and believe in your words. You have to forget about all those dos and don'ts and let the characters tell you what the story is really about. You have to listen to them. If you can't hear them, why
should anyone else care what they say or do?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Everyone develops their own way of doing it, over time.
Build your work with persistence and a belief in your ability. Clear the field
in the middle of the corn jungle. Do your research, learn how to use the tools.
If you tell a good story, sooner or later they will come.</span></div>
alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-48427114830286408102013-08-03T15:29:00.004-07:002013-08-03T15:29:47.814-07:00Blog GremlinsFor some reason my blog posted one of the very first posts offering a giveaway of White Jade.<br />
<br />
GREMLIN ALERT!<br />
<br />
That book has not been on Smashwords for almost three years, so, sorry, no giveaway. I don't know why it did that...alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-878606751089852612013-06-23T09:56:00.000-07:002013-06-23T09:56:44.891-07:00When is it Done? Some Random Thoughts for the Self-Published..<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm about to release Book Six in the PROJECT series, <i>The Nostradamus File</i>. There is a
predictable process for understanding when a book is ready for publication.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">How do you know when your epic is done? You've been through
it a dozen times or more, editing, revising things, moving things around,
tweaking descriptions, etc. etc. You have corrected spelling errors, and not
just with spell check. You have eliminated unnecessary spaces, at least the
ones you can find. You've eliminated typos, the ones you can find. You have
made sure the formatting is consistent. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">You HAVE been through it a dozen times or more, haven't you?
Because if not, you are definitely NOT done. Revision is the key to any decent
read, much less a good one. You must revise until you would cheerfully throw
your monitor, your computer and possibly your mother into the ocean, or if you
don't live near an ocean, off the nearest cliff. If you don't live near a
cliff, I pity you because you probably don't have enough visual stimulation
around you to make your scenic descriptions interesting. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">But I digress.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Okay, you have done your dozen or more revisions. You have
added in a few things to round out the story for your readers. You have
considered how your market readers think, what they want from you and your
book. You have incorporated any appropriate feedback from your Beta readers
(you have Beta readers, right?). You have reached the point of changing a phrase here, a word there. Not
often. The changes you make aren't doing much for you, in your story-teller's
mind. They leave you with a ho-hum feeling. In fact, you find yourself changing
something and then you change it back.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Are you done? Yes, you say. Then something in your mind says
"NO YOU'RE NOT!"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">That part of your mind will never, ever, believe you are
done. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">You have to do two things: </span></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">quell
the urge to get the book out there as fast as possible so you don't have
to think about it anymore</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">trust
yourself to know when the time has come to quit messing with it.</span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Doing the first thing leads to the second. Simple.</span></div>
alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-14609152274102791462013-06-05T08:53:00.000-07:002013-06-05T08:53:41.711-07:00Go Forth and Prosper<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Today's post is geared toward writers who want to earn a
living by writing. If you are a writer who writes only for the love of it, a
writer for whom financial return is unimportant, a writer who writes with no
thought of recognition or reward, God bless you. This might not interest you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm not like that. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I write because I really enjoy writing but I also write
because it's the only plan I have after a life spent ignoring things like
"wise retirement planning" and "a well-balanced portfolio".
I never bought into the standard options. I frequently burned the candle at
both ends <b>(yes, a cliché!),</b> which
was almost always interesting, created an eclectic and varied life experience
and took me all over the world. It provided me with material for my writing, since
I've been in a lot of situations most people wouldn't experience. It also left
me without any late life backup except Social Security, and not a lot of that.
Writing is my retirement plan, my 401K, my Golden Parachute, my "portfolio".</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">What does it take to make a living as a writer? If you are
an independent writer, you have to shoulder the entire process yourself. You
don't have to DO it all. In fact, it's a better idea if you don't "do it
all". But you do have to oversee the process, from the creation of the
manuscript all the way to the marketplace and beyond. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Five years ago, I began White Jade, the first book in the
Project series. Prior to writing fiction I'd had modest success with
non-fiction in the traditional publishing world. Nothing earth shaking, just
some money up front, some hard-bound editions and satisfaction. But it wasn't a
living, not by a long shot. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">With the Project series I have reached a point where I can
honestly say I'm "making a living". Not a Stephen King/NFL kind of
living (think of King as the Peyton Manning of popular literature), but enough
to start paying bills. What does it take to do that? I've put together a list
of things that worked for me and could work for you as well. For what it's
worth, here it is:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Write
a minimum of five days a week. Write at least 1000 words a day.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Believe
in yourself.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Either
hire a good editor or REALLY learn how to edit: this is critical.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Revise
until you want to throw things at the computer. Go away for awhile. Revise
some more. I usually go through 8 or 10 revisions or more. Plus I revise as I
write the draft.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Believe
in yourself.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Get a
professional cover. Yeah, it costs a few hundred bucks. It's worth it. See
Joel Friedman's excellent blog, The Book Designer (<a href="http://www.thebookdesigner.com/">www.thebookdesigner.com</a>)</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Use
Amazon's KDP Select. I won't go into all the arguments about this program.
It works for me. In my opinion, putting your unknown book on all those
other platforms is a waste of time and energy and is counter-productive. I
tried it; it didn't work. KDP Select gives you the benefit of Amazon's
expertise and it gives you powerful promotional opportunities. It gives
you real time figures. It pays royalties with consistency and provides
statements that are accurate and timely. If you want the best shot at
exposure, KDP Select is the only way to go. Without exposure, your book
will die. Later, if you do well, you can move books off the program and
onto other platforms, if you think it is worth the effort.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">ADVERTISE</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Don't
let critics, writing group members, others, tell you your stuff is no
good. Assume it always needs work. Find someone who can give you honest
feedback. There's room for improvement, but: <i>Believe in yourself.<o:p></o:p></i></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Develop
the virtue of PATIENCE. There is no overnight success. I'm fond of Lee
Childs' comment about becoming an "overnight success" after ten
years.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Writing
is a business. It is essential to
understand this, if you want to make money at it. I admit, it took me a
while to get past my resistance to the reality. </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Believe
in yourself.</span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Advertising is a big stumbling
block for a lot of people, because ads cost money. The big sites can get very
expensive. Which site, which ad option, that is something each of us has to
determine for him/herself. There are too many variables for a simple answer,
except the basic one: you MUST advertise. You can start with simple $5.00 fees
on sites that list freebies or discounted books. Take a look at www.authormarketingclub.com,
which is free and features a convenient page that lets you submit your book to
a number of sites when it's time to run a promotion. As sales improve, dedicate
a significant part of the revenue to better ad venues. Let the book(s) pay for
themselves.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I could put more info in here, more
advice, but it's all out there if you look for it. For example, understand who
your market is and write for them. Understand what keywords are. Don't try to
be all things to all people. Study Amazon's category system. I highly recommend
a book by David Gaugrahn called <i>Let's Get
Visible.</i> Every self-published author should have this book, along with
Stephen King's memoir <i>On Writing</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">You can do it. Go forth and
prosper!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-52957593499678511272013-02-07T07:33:00.000-08:002013-02-07T07:35:55.219-08:00The Zombie Dilemma<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Zombie" got your attention, didn't it?</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I love the word dilemma. It has such a poetic ring to it. In
the sense I'm thinking of it, dilemma means <i>"a
position where each of two alternative courses (or all of the feasible courses)
is eminently undesirable".</i> That definition is from my 1972 edition of
Webster's Dictionary (New Edition). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">DIGRESSION ALERT<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are a lot of words that can't be found in my trusty 1972 New Edition,
like <i>internet</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm about to start the next book in my thriller series and I
have a dilemma: who is the villain and what is the crisis? What nefarious plot
is hatching? Why should I (and the reader) care? I have to come up with a
theme/plot that will be fresh to the reader's eye. The dilemma arises because every
option I think of seems boring at first glance. You don't want boring when you
are writing or reading a book. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are many options for a thriller. Meteors, a new ice
age, volcanoes, nuclear bombs, earthquakes, plague, zombies, evil terrorists, global
warming, world conspiracies, Nazis, a stolen secret that creates big problems
for the forces of light. Not to mention assassinations, traitors in high places,
military misadventures. They've all been done. I've done some of them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It wouldn't be a dilemma if I didn't care, but I do. If a
writer doesn't care, he/she probably isn't going to write a very good book,
much less a successful one. There are, of course, exceptions. Many awful books
have made gazillions of bucks for their authors. You may have come across a
few, particularly in the last year or two. Bad books that sell well seem to be proliferating.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For many writers, especially new ones, there is a temptation
to copy whatever is popular. Romance is big? Write a romance novel. Zombies are
huge? Attack the White House or some other significant icon with hoards of 'em.
That is a serious mistake, if you care. Authenticity demands that you write
about what interests and excites you, not about what happens to be the latest
big trend. Besides, by the time your book is done there will be another latest
big trend. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">OPINION ALERT<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Write what you love or you will go down in flames.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I could write a novel about terrorist zombies attacking the
Pentagon while the heroine (the Secretary of Defense) falls in love with the
Zombie leader, who is desperately seeking a cure that is being withheld by a
military conspiracy. Maybe that would be big, sell a lot of books...hmmm...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A WRITER SECRET<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The writer's mind is often filled with voices suggesting ridiculous
plot situations. This is called "Inspiration".<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">ANOTHER WRITER SECRET<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The best way to stimulate inspiration is to write something.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I began today in a dilemma (if it's possible to be <i>in</i> a dilemma-and if it <i>is</i> possible, what does it look like,
inside a dilemma? I imagine it's rather like a bad motel), the dilemma being
who will the villain be and what will he/she do to provoke the engagement of my
heroes? Not to mention the fact that a thriller should rightly begin <i>in media res</i>, i.e., with action, stuff
happening, things blowing up, threats. I have this nit-picky need to be
believable. That contributes to the dilemma.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Since I couldn't come up with anything, I decided to doodle
around in the garage with a motorcycle I'm working on and then write this blog
piece in an effort to get the inspiration flowing. I'm still waiting. But I
feel better, because I wrote something. That's one of the reasons to write, it
makes you feel good when you do it. If it doesn't, consider a different career
path.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you like the zombie idea, feel free to use it. If you make
millions, I want 10%. </span></div>
alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-43868667549016704892013-01-17T07:46:00.000-08:002013-01-17T07:46:50.027-08:00Some Thoughts About Promotion<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Just what you needed, another blog post about how to sell
your books. I don't want to repeat everything you have seen a hundred times
already. Things like "use social media" or "do
giveaways". There's some of that in
this post, because those two things are inescapable must do's for anyone who
wants to sell more than three books to Aunt Mary and mom and dad.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Here is what I do to promote my books. It works well enough
that I actually sell some of them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Use Amazon Kindle
Select.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">This is number one. Yeah, I know, everyone bitches about
Amazon and its policy of exclusivity and so on. But unless you are doing really
well on the other platforms and selling a significant number of books, KDP
Select is the only way to go. Why? Because you want to take advantage of the
many websites that will list your book when it goes free and almost all of them
want an Amazon page to link to. You MUST do free promos. You can't list for
free on Amazon. Amazon will sometimes match a $0.00 price on another platform,
but you can't count on it, you can't plan for it and that means you don't have
a plan that includes Amazon. Without Amazon you have eliminated around 80% of
your potential market. Therefore, an opinion:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">WARNING: OPINION ALERT<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">You can't reasonably plan a successful free promotion without Amazon.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">KDP Select success depends on a lot of things. You need eight
or ten or more 4 and 5 star reviews. You plan a promo a month ahead. Many sites
want three to four weeks notice of a freebie. Sites change, the requirements
change, sites come and go. The whole thing of self promotion is in constant
flux. BTW, if you write erotica many sites will not list your promotion, so
that might be a consideration for you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Some sites want three days, some the same day or one day
notice. <b>Author Marketing Club</b> (<a href="http://www.authormarketingclub.com/">http://www.authormarketingclub.com</a>)
is a good resource, free, and gives an easy way to list promos on many sites. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Plan a 3 day promo Friday-Sunday. Make sure you tweet about
it, mention it on facebook (follow the posting rules in various groups) ,
Goodreads (join), and especially a few select Amazon discussion forums for
authors (the only ones that allow self promo and product listing).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Follow up with a thank you to the groups, etc. where you
posted. Success means a lot of free downloads. To me, that means at least a few
thousand. Giveaways work better if the writer has a series. One book, okay, but
the idea is to stimulate sales of all books. In my thriller series, White Jade is
the first in the series and gets people interested in the series as a whole. It's
priced at .99. The other books are 3.99. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Where else except KDP Select can you instantly get ten or
fifteen thousand people to discover your book for free? Plus you get borrows
that pay, a shot at being on one or two top 100 lists and if you do okay, promo
flyers go out from Amazon. Yes! Amazon promotes you!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I rest my case.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Social Media (okay,
have to talk about it)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Facebook:</b> you
need an author page. <b>Pay FB to promote
likes</b>, it's worth it. Figure $60.00/month. Acknowledge the folks who
"like" your page.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Twitter:</b> <b>Get an account.</b> G<b>et as many followers as you can</b>. It's simple and free. Follow everyone
back, follow the suggestions Twitter sends, don't worry about it. Tweet as
often as you feel like it but don't always push the books. (conventional
wisdom). Post stuff that's interesting. Retweet anything you find interesting. Support
people. <b>Don't spend a lot of time on it.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Twitter has a lot of members who will retweet your free
promo post if you follow them and/or let them know about your promo. You can
find them by a search on the web (Google) or by looking for "free"
etc on Twitter. Learn about hashtags. There's a lot of info out there, but you
have to look for it. I'm not going to attempt to put it here.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Amazon forums</b>:
pick one or two and join in. On promo days, look for other Amazon author forums
(there are many) to post. Again, don't spend a lot of time...maybe a half hour
or so.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Goodreads</b>: same
thing as Amazon.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">There are a lot of other social media sites like Pinterest.
If you like them and use them, fine. Don't get caught up in all the social
media whirl or you won't have any energy or time to write.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">What else should you do?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ads: </b>Use
discretion and don't spend a lot of money. There are a lot of sites that will
advertise your promo for $5 or less. Use them if you like. Ads are hit and
miss. I don't know what works and what doesn't. Don't worry about it, use your
intuition and do your research.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Make a plan</b>. A
budget is good (I'm bad at that). DON'T spend hours a day on self-promotion.
Write instead. An hour a day is probably right at most for self promo.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Get a professionally
designed website.</b> This is your main portal, your contact point, your key exposure
on the web. Do it as well as you can.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Get a professionally
designed cover.</b> Everyone who knows anything says this. They're right. Use
the money you didn't spend on ads to get the design services you need. It
doesn't have to cost thousands of dollars. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Use the author page
on Amazon.</b> It's important. Make it interesting but not full of your life
history.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Write good
descriptions for the sales page and the best blurbs you can.</b> Study how the
big guys do it and shamelessly copy their style.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Respond to readers</b>,
<b>always.</b> Acknowledge people who help
you. Share resources.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Help out other
authors</b> when you can. That can be an encouraging word, a retweet, a comment
in a blog, a shared article or something on your facebook page. It's not hard.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>There is no
competition</b>. <i>What,</i> you say? Think
about it. There are over 30,000,000 readers in the US alone. Enough for
everyone. Just write a good book. If you're not thinking about how the other
guy is taking sales from you, you are not immersing yourself in resentment and
poverty thinking. No one is taking sales from you. Everyone can succeed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Keep writing.</b> Get more than one book out
there. DON'T fall into the trap of quantity vs. quality. Write the best book
you can. Lately I see and hear a lot of talk about "commodity"
writing, the idea being that cheap junk will bring in money because a lot of
people don't care about quality, they just want something to read. I hate the
whole idea of that and I don't agree.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Don't give up</b> and
get discouraged. If your book is well written and it's not selling, you need to
find ways to get it out to as many people as possible, which brings us back to
KDP Select as the best venue.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Be patient.</b> This
process takes time. It took Lee Child ten years to be an "overnight
success". Figure a couple of years to start making consistent sales, maybe
longer, maybe less. But believe in yourself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Give up resentment
about Amazon</b>. I see a lot of that. It's a waste of time. Without Amazon the
Indie Revolution would be almost non-existent. Be grateful. It's okay if they
make a lot of money.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Set your intention. This
is the most important thing of all.</b> By this I mean that you KNOW you are <b>a.)</b> successful <b>b.)</b> going to make a bunch of bucks someday <b>c.) </b>you can trust the universe to back you up <b>d.)</b> your work is good enough to sell and sell well and <b>e.)</b> you're not worried about it,
because you are definitely going to succeed AND you can FEEL it. Try it, you'll
see.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Now go out there and sell a lot of books.</span></div>
alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-34089264332818180412013-01-01T11:46:00.000-08:002013-01-01T13:33:40.603-08:00A New Year For Writers<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I hope all of you have had a successful year in 2012. Hey,
the world didn't end after all. Pretty hard to beat that for success, don't you
think? I ended the year with an award for Best Thriller Series from a
wonderfully supportive group called the Paranormal Romance Guild. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I don't write Paranormal Romance, which makes the award all
the more significant to me. For me, the year ends with success. What comes in 2013?
Let's see...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">2 +0 + 1 + 3 = 6. 6 is the mystical number of relationship.
6 is the number of creativity. 6 is 2/3 of the way through a cycle of 9. I am
in a 9 year. Surely, this means something. Or not.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I choose to believe that it does and that it is a very good
year for anyone who is a writer. Why? Because relationship is the key to our
success. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">There is relationship to our readers. There is
relationship to the characters in the story. Relationship to everyone else in
our life and world. I don't think it's possible to write about relationship with any success unless it has been experienced it in the outer,
"real" world. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">That doesn't mean we have had to live the lives of our
characters. It means that as writers we have to extract the core of our experience and
observation of relationship in a way that communicates through the actions
and feelings, thoughts and events we create for our characters.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I am currently hooked on the show "Sons of
Anarchy", a powerful drama I would characterize as a soap opera of the
highest order with guns and motorcycles. Now I am a bit biased, since I love
motorcycles and have known people like the ones
portrayed in the show. There is a degree of reality to the show that is based
on more than imagination. I doubt that the writers belong to an outlaw
motorcycle club and wear their colors to the studio. Yet they are
brilliant at capturing the milieu of the outlaw. They portray a complexity of
relationship and action worthy of Shakespeare, a story of moral corruption, betrayal,
loyalty and love.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">It's a violent show, not for the faint of heart, bloody and
brutal. It is also a paean to love and brotherhood. The plot twists and turns in every direction. The characters
grow and change. Dark minions from both sides of law and order weave their way
through the maze. There are times when I want to groan when I hear the
line about protecting family. But for an engrossing crime drama of complex
relationship, nothing except The Godfather even comes close.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The show is popular because it goes beyond mere violence for
effect. It resonates because each of us is, in some way, like different
characters in the story. A piece here, a piece there. We watch and understand
the demons that drive the actions of the protagonists. Maybe we wouldn't pick up a
gun and shoot the evil ATF agent (fully justified by the story line) but we understand why it should be done. The writing and plot line make it
right and inevitable. If there is any justice in the world, it has to happen. If
I have a wish for the new year, it is that I learn to write as well as what I
see in this show.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Before anyone jumps on me for advocating gun violence,
please, that isn't what I'm doing. It's a STORY, meant to entertain and
provoke. Shakespeare did the same thing and as I recall, left many a stage
strewn with bodes. No one accuses him of advocating violence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">If this is a year mystically tied to relationship, then your
writing will succeed if you remember to make that the foundation of what you
write. </span></div>
alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-65670246818685871452012-11-03T09:50:00.002-07:002012-11-03T21:30:11.510-07:00New Website Is Up!<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The new website is up and running. Please take a look at <a href="http://www.alexlukeman.com/">www.alexlukeman.com</a>...Designed by Rae Monet. She did a fantastic job integrating the branded look of the book covers by Neil Jackson into the new site.<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: large;">You can't go wrong with either of these folks. Professional, friendly, helpful, creative--what more can you ask?</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now all I need is about a million people or so to check the site out... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-85898859514152894802012-10-24T09:48:00.000-07:002012-10-24T09:48:32.711-07:00Changes<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Time for a change, as the Mayans might say. In the past this
blog has been about writing. Tips, thoughts, hints, a few personal stories (not
many) and perhaps a different take on the kind of advice to writers that fills
the blogosphere for anyone who cares to look.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm not going to do that, anymore. There is more information
out there about writing than any of us could possibly absorb or remember. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span>ANNOUNCEMENT</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I am about to launch a new website. It's in early stages of
design, but should be up within a few weeks at most. The old .org address will
automatically roll over to the new site once it's done. The blog will be easy
to find, linked from the site and still at the same address here on blogger.
But it will be different.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">All of my books document the missions of The Project, a small,
dedicated black ops team of men and women who work only for the President. The
Project is run by Elizabeth Harker. Her job is to stop America's enemies before
they can accomplish their destructive goals. The Project is good at it,
though it isn't easy work.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">In the future you will be able to read the confidential dossiers
of the Project team members. There may be an occasional interview, although the
covert nature of their work and security requirements necessarily limits what can
be said. There will be ongoing updates on mission progress as new stories are
declassified. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Set for declassification in December of 2012 is the next
mission file: THE TESLA SECRET.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I love to hear from readers and will always respond to emails.
My email address is:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">alexlukeman@yahoo.com</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Please stay tuned for further updates.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-89414378352622991842012-08-23T12:36:00.000-07:002012-08-25T15:33:10.636-07:00Balance<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes I think there is a container filled with words
somewhere in the back of my mind. Not only words, but a kind of fluid energy
that makes its way through the mystery of consciousness to movements of fingers
on keyboard and brings those words into form. Manifestation of something from
nothing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">In a perfect world that reservoir would be dedicated to just
one task: writing. It's not a perfect world, as you may have noticed. The same
reservoir is used to comprehend words, write words in emails, participate in forums
and so on. Research, reading, anything written. Communication in language. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Including SELF-PROMOTION, the dreaded demon that sits waiting
to pounce on all writers except those who have already sold millions of books. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>WHITE JADE BOOK TRAILER</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://youtu.be/4TfTMEoXWBY">http://youtu.be/4TfTMEoXWBY</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Which brings me to the heart of today's post: Balance.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">How do you strike a balance in time and energy between
getting the writing done and doing the promotional things to make your writing
a commercial success? By commercial, I mean sell enough books to make a reasonable
living doing it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Everyone has a different definition of "reasonable
living". It probably revolves around a dollar figure that allows you to
take care of all your obligations, provide a sense of future security and leave
enough left over for that trip to Hawaii or whatever without breaking the bank.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">To reach that goal as a writer, you have to sell lot of
books. Selling a lot of books requires self-promotion. Earning a living as a
writer may not be important to you. If that's the case, God bless you, but you
still need to promote yourself if you want anyone except friends and family to
read your work.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Discipline is essential. If you don't apply discipline and
organization, you will drain the reservoir. You will lose the balance. Life
will become dreary. That is not a good thing. Here are a few suggestions to
maintain. They aren't written in stone and may go out the window during a big
promotion. Something like a 3 day deal on Kindle Select, or planning new book
covers, or getting a book trailer together.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">For what it's worth, here's what works for me. It's partly
practical, partly my particular philosophy about writing. Alas, I sometimes
fail to follow my own advice. That always has consequences, in terms of energy
and focus.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Don't fall into the trap of checking email more than
a few times a day</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Keep a notebook of who you've contacted, what you've
planned</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Write at least five days a week</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Write at least 1000 words each day</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Take frequent breaks from the computer</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Set a time each day to write</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Promote yourself when you are done writing, not
before</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Keep track of ideas for your book and for your
promotions: a whiteboard is good</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Focus with high intensity on promotion when there are
specific events like the KDP 3 day promos: these require intensive
planning for success, sometimes months in advance</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Be friendly in the various groups, forums and
networks you follow. </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Look for opportunities to support other writers. Not
because you think it's a good idea to help sell your books but because you
really do want to support them. </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Don't get hooked into hours of "liking"
pages and "tagging" books. That can really suck up your time and
energy. Do it when you feel like it, when it's convenient, and because you
actually like someone's book/work. </span></li>
</ul>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">In General:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Keep writing. </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Take a break when you are done with the draft. </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">And when you're done editing. </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">And when you are done revising.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Revise again</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Find Beta readers, but trust your judgement</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Don't dilute the reservoir with self-doubt</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hold yourself to the highest standard you are capable
of</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Keep learning</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Read a lot and improve your understanding of the
craft</span></li>
</ul>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Easy, right? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">In the future, I'm going to try some different things here.
Maybe interviews with my characters. Maybe flash fiction. Stay tuned...</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-28933080074285007332012-07-17T05:55:00.000-07:002012-07-17T05:55:02.240-07:00100 Shades of Blue and Gray<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Today I'm privileged to have as my guest an as yet
undiscovered author, Leia Davenport, who has a work in progress titled
"100 Shades of Blue and Gray". Leia received a seven figure advance
for the work, so I'm very excited to learn more about it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Me: Welcome, Leia. Thanks so much for joining me today.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">LD: My pleasure. It's wonderful to have a chance to talk
about my new book.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Me: Tell us a bit about yourself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">LD: Oh, there's not much to tell, really. I'm a housewife
with three kids. (Laughs). I live in Charleston.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Me: Charlestown? Boston?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">LD: No, silly, Charleston. You know, South Carolina? Fort
Sumter?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Me: Oh, right. Isn't your book set during the Civil War?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">LD: Well, my heroine, Melody Anne, doesn't call it that. She
lives in Atlanta and she calls it the War Between the States. Yes, it's a
historical romance that begins in 1861 and ends...well I haven't got to the
ending yet, But I might take my characters through the entire war. Maybe a
series, three or four books.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Me: That's ambitious.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">LD: Oh, it really isn't. I mean it will only take me a month
or so to write the first one and I expect the others will go just as quickly.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Me: How can you turn out a book so quickly?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">LD: Well, you know, all that editing and revision stuff, it
just seems so...unnecessary. I mean, it's a story. Stories don't need a lot of
editing. I just use my spell checker and that's good enough. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Me: That's certainly one way to do it. Would you share
something from the book?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">LD: I'm so glad you asked me that. I brought along a few
paragraphs. I was hoping you might include them as a kind of sneak preview.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Me: Would you like to read them to me? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">(We paused while Ms. Davenport opened her portmanteau
and pulled out a sheet of paper.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">LD: "Oh Rhett," Melody Anne exclaimed
meaningfully, "this terrible war. I don't know what I'm going to do while
you go off to fight those damned Yankees. Whatever will I do?"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Me (Interrupting): Wait a sec. Wasn't Rhett the name of one
of the characters in Gone With The Wind?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">LD: Well, I don't see what difference that makes. I mean
it's a good, strong male name and readers will already think of the South when
they hear it. You know? And Rhett is VERY strong, well endowed, with stamina,
if you get my meaning.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Me: Sorry, please go on.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">LD: Where was I...oh, yes. Rhett looked meaningfully at her.
He was dark and handsome in his gray officer's uniform with the curly gold
stripes on the sleeves. His eyes were blue and hard, as hard as the sword
hanging by his side, as hard as the marbles in the fish bowl. He was a hard
man, indifferent to her concerns. But his indifference didn't make any
difference. He had ignited a fire within her and only he could quench it. The
muscles under his shirt moved seductively. Melody Anne felt herself getting hot
and wet. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Oh Rhett," she said
meaningfully. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He came close, took her in his
muscular arms. The strong, male scent of him almost made her swoon. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"I must have you. Before I go
off to die." He took her hand and placed it on his swollen organ. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Oh Rhett," she
exclaimed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He kissed her, a hard, indifferent
kiss. He threw her down on the daybed and ripped her bodice open. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Oh, Rhett," she cried
meaningfully, fumbling at the wide leather belt around his waist. "No, no,
we mustn't."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Yes, we must." </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">His trousers fell around his knees.
His sword clanked on the old yellow pine floor put in by her daddy when he'd
first built the plantation house years ago right after he'd emigrated from
Ireland to this gentle land of peach blossoms and happy people and become a
successful gentleman before Momma died of the fever and little sister Harmony
was called to the angels before those damned Yankees and that ugly Mister
Lincoln got set to ruin everything.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.3in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Damn these petticoats," Rhett
exclaimed passionately with passion.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">LD: Well? What do you think?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Me: I'm in awe. You seem to have captured something
definitive. It's hard to put a name to it...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">LD: Well, that's what I was trying to do. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.3in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Me: Thanks for coming today, Leia. Perhaps we can do it
again and you can share some more of your book with us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">LD: Well, I'd love that. Thanks for having me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-55425294398196693682012-07-05T11:58:00.000-07:002012-07-05T11:58:47.500-07:00Readers and Writers<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">A writer's job is to tell stories, to capture some piece of
human experience with words and do it in such a way that other people want to
read it. Really good stories open our minds to a deeper understanding of our common
humanity. Really bad stories are so bad they make us want to cringe, even if
they sell fifty million copies, which just proves that humans are about as
diverse a bunch as you can find anywhere in the universe.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>WARNING: Cliché Alert</b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Everybody has a story.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ants don't tell stories. It's a human thing. The essence of
storytelling is its <i>humanness</i>.
Somehow a successful story taps into the reader's story. Since a writer doesn't
know the reader's story, the challenge is to write something that strikes a
chord with the reader, something that taps into the reader's real or imagined or
possible human experience. Marketing and demographics try to pin down the
reader's story, but that's not what I mean.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I have read many thousands of stories, books and poems. They
ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous, in every genre, from the earliest
epics to the latest wave of eBooks. I've gotten really picky about what I like.
I am no longer engaged simply by plot and setting, although a good plot is
essential and the right setting helps the book come alive in my mind. What
engages me is something which resonates inside and puts me in the characters'
world, a world different from the one I'm used to. I'm not a cop, but I love
characters like Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly's very human detective. I'm not a
semi-literate criminal but I love stories by Elmore Leonard, who brings his
characters to life with brilliant dialogue that makes me feel like I'm a fly on
the wall in the motel room listening to these morons plan a heist. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Thrillers? Come with our heroes into dark and dangerous
places, confront ruthless and terrible enemies, overcome life-threatening challenges,
dodge flying bullets and against all odds make the world a temporarily less
dangerous place.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Romance? Be transported into the arms of the ultimate lover,
travel to distant and exotic places where you find hot love with someone who
satisfies and exceeds your inner fantasies.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Mystery? Follow the puzzling clues, put it all together,
escape danger (kind of like thrillers) and engage with dark and psychotic people
you probably never want to meet in your real life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Sci-Fi? Explore the dangerous and unknown universe where
anything can and possibly does exist.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">History? Ride with Stonewall Jackson and General Lee through
days filled with senseless death over the bloody battlefields of the Civil War.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The reader doesn't have to be similar to the characters. One
reason people read is to become someone else. I write thrillers, but most of my
readers don't carry a gun. They're not familiar with high-tech explosives. They
don't jump out of helicopters armed to the teeth or find themselves trapped in
an ancient crypt filled with bones while bad guys try to kill them. The folks
who read my books may never do any of those things in real life, but through
the magic of words they can. A manual of how to jump out of an airplane at
22,000 feet won't do it, but a story that successfully makes the reader feel
the experience as the character jumps into danger certainly will. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">A scene like that would include the feelings and thoughts of
the character, the sound and feel and look of the aircraft, the kind of
weather, air, temperature, time of day, the feeling of the air rushing by, the
snap of the chute opening, the hard contact with the ground, the way everything
smells, the way the harness grabs you in the groin, the smell of everything and
more, all done in a few sentences or paragraphs. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Good writers allow the reader to enter the character's world
so completely that it comes alive in that reader's mind. Good writers make the
reader forget it's a book. Good writers make the reader want to keep turning
pages.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Want a challenge? Become a writer. </span></div>alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-5371668454413352992012-06-15T08:35:00.005-07:002012-06-27T15:57:30.162-07:00KDP Select: The Road to Exposure<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">By now everyone in the Indie publishing world has formed an
opinion about KDP Select, Amazon's program to promote ebooks on an exclusive
basis. Arguments rage, pro and con. You can't have your ebook on any other
platform. Should you give those exclusive rights
away?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The short answer is yes, unless you are selling a bunch of
books on B&N, Kobo, Sony, Apple, etc. etc., or on your own author website
(you can't do that in the KDP program). So the short answer is absolutely
dependent on what kind of success you are having elsewhere.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The program only applies to ebooks, not paper editions. For
me, it was a no-brainer. I had my digital books on those other sites. Sales
were flatter than a three day old birthday balloon. Wasn't doing a whole lot on
Amazon, either. I write action adventure thrillers. That means I'm competing
with superstars like Steve Berry or Lee Child or Clive Cussler. I'm not well
known, yet. How was I going to gain exposure to the potentially millions of
readers of my books? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The main argument against KDP Select seems to be the
exclusivity clause. Hey, folks, it's only for 90 days at a time. You can always
take any book out of the program. There isn't any long term obligation. What
you get in return for enrollment is the attention of Amazon's mighty marketing
machine.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Warning: Opinion Alert</b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Amazon is the major leagues of ebook marketing and exposure. Why play
for an AA or AAA team if you can step into the majors? </b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">A successful free promotion does a couple of things. It
gains you X number of readers. It punches you into the "popularity"
list in your genre. You could be #1 in free, #20 in the sub set of
action/adventure or whatever, and still be nowhere near the top 100 paid, the
golden hill we all want to scale. Top 100 paid means you are selling mucho
copies. You get there, you're thinking about that new Mercedes. In the meantime
you can get your book somewhere on that top 100 popularity list for your genre.
White Jade is currently #20 on the Action/Adventure list on Kindle devices, #68
on the PC. I haven't a clue why it's different. Possibly it depends on where a
reader buys the book. It can stay on the list for weeks and readers see it.
Those popularity lists are driven by the number of free downloads.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I got more than 10,000 downloads when I promoted White Jade.
That stimulated sales of the other books in the series. Enough to pay the light
bill, not enough for the Mercedes. That's okay. Patience is everything. I'm
happy to see royalties waiting. I'm happy to see any royalties at all. And I'm
really happy knowing all those potential readers have my book waiting on their
Kindles. Eventually they'll get to it and when they read it, many of them will
want to buy the other books in the series. I can already see that happening.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Thank you, everyone who picked up White Jade.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">A great feature of KDP Select is the tracking. You can see
sales numbers by the hour, day, month, year. You have an exact record of
royalties, updated regularly. Amazon pays directly to your account. You can see
how many loaners there are and you get a royalty for those. Distribution cost,
deducted from royalties, is only $0.15 per 1 Megabyte. You get 70% royalty on a
book for $2.99 or more.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">You have a behemoth marketing and distribution machine
working for you, but you still have to self promote. You need good reviews, a
4+ star rating. You need to list your promotion on sites like Pixel of Ink,
along with all of the usual social media stuff you might be doing. If you can tell
me a better way to reach 10,000 plus readers in three days with no advertising
budget, I'd love to know.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Amazon is in business to make a lot of money. They're
willing to help self published writers succeed. If you're looking for a way to
get the attention of readers who never heard of you, KDP Select is a good
program. </span></div>alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-48159615409028603212012-06-08T13:24:00.000-07:002012-06-08T16:29:55.657-07:00Visit This Site<span style="font-size: large;">Today's post was inadvertently set up on two sites. I'd like everyone to visit Tony-Paul Vissage's excellent site to see my guest post for him. It's been one of those mornings when :a )Microsoft decided my copy of Windows was invalid (it was genuine) b.) my .pdf creator went south c.) The sprinkler timer decided to go south d.) my browser thought it would be fun to post the same thing 8 times on Facebook. e.) blogger decided Explorer wouldn't work with it anymore.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Tony-Paul Vissage has created a beautiful site. You'll like it, trust me. Wish I could design like that...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Please visit Tony-Paul at <a href="http://www.tony-paul.com/">http://www.tony-paul.com/</a></span>alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-27095677247690810602012-05-15T11:46:00.003-07:002012-05-15T11:46:45.648-07:00The Stages of Revision<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This just in from the Department of Redundancy Department, Division for Provision of Revision. I thought I'd share this for all of you who have reached the stage of finishing the draft of your next book. Perhaps it will help...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Stages of Revision</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Stage One: Optimism</b>: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This won't take long, the book's done. Hooray!</span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">spell check, that was easy</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">looks nice</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">format</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">print</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stage Two: Initial Edit</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Follow Stephen King's advice. Ferret out passive voice. Fewer adverbs. "Kill your darlings".</span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">assessment</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">rearrange</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">note ideas with red pen</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">cross out things with red pen. </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">discover serious continuity issues</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">discover you used the same word two hundred and ninety-seven times</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">cross out more things with red pen</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">doubts creep in</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stage Three: Despair</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Why did I begin this in the first place?</span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">this book sucks</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">why would anyone care what happens to that character?</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">it's a thriller; it's full of people getting killed, why does this depress me?</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">what was I thinking of?</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">why would anyone think this could actually happen?</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stage Four: Salvage</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It's not the Titanic.</span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">add more sex</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">edit again</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">drink more coffee</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">add whiskey to coffee</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">edit again</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">drink whiskey without coffee</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">turn off computer</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stage Five: "Final" revision</span></b></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">I can't look at this anymore</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">take out some of what I just added</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">put some of it back</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">I really can't look at this again</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">consider Beta readers</span></li>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stage Six: Beta</span></b></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">convert format to send to readers</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">catch a mistake, edit, reformat</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">email to readers with caveats</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">consider becoming a janitor, dentist or Life Coach</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">wait for comments</span></li>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stage Seven: Acceptance</span></b></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">readers point out glaring errors and Freudian slips</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">incorporate good suggestions</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">notice annoyance at picky picky comments</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">final edit, more coffee.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">more whiskey</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">the inner editor quits</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">final format</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">make mistakes in formatting, reformat</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">submit</span></li>
</ul>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stage Eight: Optimism: Plan next book</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-1641778521815350092012-03-25T11:31:00.002-07:002012-03-25T11:55:05.245-07:00To Plot Or Not<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I confess, I'm a non-plotter. I don't plot, not really. When I begin a book I have an overall theme in mind and that's about it. I start off with a scene, maybe a murder (murder is always popular) and that triggers the next scene and so on. I have only a broad idea of the story, which writes itself around the theme as I go along. The characters have to step out of my unconscious and take the story where it needs to go. I know there will be major events along the way, but I don't know what they will be. I know the ending, in the general sense that the good guys will probably win. They may, however, win in ways not expected. The victory may be pyrrhic. But I don't know that when I begin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are writers who plot everything, an approach often recommended in books and articles about writing. These folks outline and develop the entire story in detail. They follow their outline and know what's going to happen before they put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Both approaches work. Both have positive and negative aspects. Both will succeed or fail based on all the indefinable skills that make up the creative process.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I tried to be a detailed plotter. It bored the hell out of me and I could never stick to it. It felt confining, artificial. I wish I could do it that way. It would make things a lot simpler.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As a non-plotter, I sometimes get in trouble. The thrillers I write demand accuracy in detail and a relentless logic to events. Things have to happen for a reason, not because a nice big explosion might be exciting. The more complicated the story, the more traps I can fall into. Because I write a series, it is inevitable that things will get more complicated. I've reached a point with the PROJECT series where I am challenged to give the reader more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am comfortable with the sense of when to end a chapter and how to do it. I trust my feel for the pacing of a story, so that is not a problem for me. I know when things are too slow or too fast, though that might not be apparent until revision. Since I revise as I go along, I usually catch it early.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But...I might be 20,000 words in and realize something is missing in the logical reasoning behind events. That will almost always have to do with hidden motivation that must be revealed as the story moves along. If someone is secretly watching my characters, why are they doing it? Maybe I didn't think that through enough before I stuck it in there, but now it's embedded and I must do something about it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Being a non-plotter can come back and bite you. These days I'm working on the fourth book in the PROJECT series. I like to move my characters all over the world. It's fun for me and fun for the readers. They get to travel to places they would probably never visit, much less places where people were doing their best to kill them. I realized yesterday that I had moved my protagonists to a key place in the story far too easily. Now I have to fix it, which is moderately difficult. That happened because I did not have a detailed story line worked out. Easy moves the story, but it's a cheap shot at a reader. Readers invest time and money and deserve better. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">WARNING: OPINION ALERT</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Deus Ex Machina worked for Sophocles</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">but it won't work for you.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So where does the confession part come in? I confess, I do a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sort of </i>plotting as I go along. I start with eight or ten bullet points, ideas for the story. These may or may not end up in the book. I have a big whiteboard on the wall of my office, my primary tool to keep things straight as the story develops. I constantly put things on it, ideas, questions, possibilities. I list the names of new characters and their role, e.g., part of the Russian Security Services. If there's a hole in the logic, it will end up there until it's plugged. As I incorporate or discard those ideas, I erase them. The board is always full.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love the freedom of not knowing how things will work out. If I can surprise myself, then I should surprise my readers. I love it when a new character appears from nowhere, driven by the logic of the story, someone I've never thought of until that moment. The real enjoyment for me of the hard work of writing comes in those moments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is also satisfying when the day comes that I erase that entire whiteboard and start over with the next book. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I can tear my hair out over a glaring hole in the logical development of my non-plotted story, but that becomes another opportunity to improve my writing. I wouldn't have it any other way. If you want a challenge, you might try writing from the seat of your pants. What British writers call a "pantser". It's not for everybody.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What kind of plotter are you? </span></div>
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<br /></div>alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-8076992290671466502012-03-18T12:46:00.000-07:002012-03-18T12:46:35.005-07:00Why Write A Series?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">You've probably heard all the conventional wisdom about why you might want to write a series. How you need more than one book out there. How someone who buys one book and likes it will want to read the others. In my opinion those are not the best reasons to write a series. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I write a series is because it's fun and it's challenging. I like my characters. I want to see what is going to happen to them. I don't know what's going to happen to them until I write the next chapter in their lives. If you are fond of the people you have created, you might like the challenge of a series.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A series is a lot of work. After the first book you must carry things forward in a consistent and developmental pattern. You must remember the details. You can't change things. Your characters must be alive in your mind as real people, with real histories and real interactions. All that personal history moves forward in each book. As the series progresses, your characters change in ways difficult to show in a single book. You must deal with issues seeded by the past events of the earlier books. That's the fun part. It's also the challenging part. A series gives you a wonderful platform to hone your skills as a writer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The mechanics of writing a series is part of that skill development. It's a major hurdle. How do you create a later book in the series and still have it stand on its own, so a reader can pick it up and fall comfortably into the story without knowing what happened in the books before? How do you put in just enough back story to support the current effort? There are no guidelines. There is no handy manual to follow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm not saying I've mastered the skill, no indeed. At the moment I am a quarter of the way through writing the fourth book in the PROJECT series and it's getting complicated. My protagonists now have a lot of history together and it affects everything--plot, dialogue, description--you name it. It gets even more complicated because I am the kind of writer who has only a broad idea of the details of the book when I begin. An opening scene, a theme, something exciting in the middle, the good guys probably win at the end.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Digression: Check out http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">A great guest post on plotting by Debby Harris that I wish I had written...</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are plenty of excellent series writers out there to learn from. J.K. Rowling comes to mind. Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. McCall Smith's The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Lee Child's Reacher books. Robert Crais' Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. Michael Connelly's Lincoln Lawyer series and the Harry Bosch books. Any of these writers can teach you a lot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Reasons to write a series:</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">You have a set of characters you know and are familiar with to build on </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">You don't have to start completely anew </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">You have a built in story thread because of the prior interactions</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">You develop more skill in characterization</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">You develop organizational writing skills </span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Reasons you may not want to write a series:</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">You are faced with keeping readers interested in those same characters over time</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">You must have your characters change in ways consistent with all that has gone before</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">You must work with the inner psychology of your characters in ways somewhat different from a one-off story</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Your organizational skills will be challenged</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">You are forced to dig ever deeper for originality and freshness of plot, motivation and setting </span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I can think of several well-known series writers (here unnamed) whose books I no longer purchase. Those writers got lazy in their success. Their books became boring and careless. They failed to maintain that freshness and originality mentioned above. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Writing a series is not for everybody, but if you love your characters you might consider it. Don't you want to know what's going to happen to them over time? Only a series gives you that freedom. Go for it, if you want a different kind of writing challenge... </span></div>alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-10441181319680265402012-03-01T11:48:00.000-08:002012-03-01T11:48:06.817-08:00Realism and Description<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I received a wonderful comment this morning from a reader about my newest
book, <u>The Seventh Pillar</u> (you can check it out by clicking on the
cover picture to your left). Part of the book is set in the desert wastelands of the
Western Sahara. I try to make the settings and details of my books accurate and
real enough so the reader can picture him/herself right there, in this case
with sand and heartless rock under their feet and heat beating down from a sky
as intense and vivid as my imagination and experience can make it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The reader had not been to the part of the desert I used in
the book, but she had spent time in Saudi Arabia and she felt like she was
there, with my characters, under that relentless sun and endless sky. Her
comment made my day because it meant that I had succeeded in
what I had tried to do, make the reader FEEL like she was THERE, where it counts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Realism. Description. The challenge we face as writers to
transport our readers to the worlds of our imagination, wherever and whatever
they may be. It is unlikely my reader will ever find herself in a place where
very bad people want to kill her, at least I certainly hope not. The magic of
realistic description took her there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I think one of the great challenges of story-making is
knowing how much description is enough, or when it is called for.<span> </span>Too much, the reader goes to sleep. Too
little, there is no context for the actions of the characters. It's like the
three bears--too hard, too soft, just right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Complicate that by the kind of book it is. Some books linger
forever. The Naked and the Dead (remember that one?). East of Eden. The Sun Also Rises. The Grapes of Wrath. Somehow we become imbued
with a sense of time and place that stays even when the details of character,
plot and story become hazy. Although I hated the book (not too strong a word),
The Road comes to mind. Cold Mountain. And I really like Calumet City for </span><span style="font-size: large;">crime noir </span><span style="font-size: large;">urban
grit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">These books are as different as can be from one another in
setting and intent, but they all have incredibly skilled description of time
and place as a core strength. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Good description is far more than the color of the sand or
the haze over the mountains. It's a sensual
experience when you get it right. You hear and feel the rustle of the wind, see the ominous beauty of a
desert sunset and smell the heat coming off the barren lands around you. As much as possible, all senses are involved. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>WARNING: OPINION ALERT</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Unless you are a
Steinbeck or a Thomas Wolfe, </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">exercise caution.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When I write, the draft is always full of extraneous
description which must be edited down to essence, something the reader can
digest and feel while the story moves on. I can wax rhapsodic about almost anything</span><span style="font-size: large;"> (one of the things I love about blogging is that you can get
away with </span><span style="font-size: large;">clichés</span><span style="font-size: large;"> like that)</span><span style="font-size: large;">. But how much
does a reader need? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Take a descriptive passage from whatever book you are
working on out of context and open it in a new document. Read it again, out of
context. Does it put you where you want the reader to be? If the reader didn't
know the plot or who the characters were or what was happening, would that
passage stand on its own? Does it feel real? If the answer is in doubt, perhaps
you should rethink that description.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Michael Connelly is one of my favorite contemporary authors,
for many reasons. Often he has his protagonist Harry Bosch standing on the deck
of a precariously perched house in one of the canyons of LA. Each time, I get a
new sense of the place even though I've stood on that deck with Harry through many books. Connelly doesn't need pages to make it work. He's a master of essence. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That's a challenge for all of us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Write Like A Champion today.</span></div>
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<br /></div>alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-5826002109698692402012-02-19T13:44:00.000-08:002012-02-19T13:44:21.777-08:00Depth of Character: Masterpiece Theater's Downton Abbey<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">So you want to write good characters? Are you suffering from information overload from all those hundreds (if not thousands) of articles, books, blogs and what not with great tips about making your characters believable and real?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is hope. Learn from the British writers of Masterpiece Theater Classics and have fun doing it. Learning the craft and entertainment at the same time, what could be better?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Downton Abbey is one of those Upstairs/Downstairs dramas the Brits are so fond of, set in the sunset of Empire and the time of extreme class distinctions. You know. 200 room country houses with a huge staff and Gainsborough paintings in the dining room. Where the silverware is laid out with a ruler. Servants who face poverty and disaster if they lose their position. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I won't go into details of the plot. It's quite complicated. What makes it work is the characters. What might be a ho-hum story with lots of tea and silverware becomes intensely involving. All this without large explosions and such a la Sherlock Holmes. WWI is approaching, so there will probably be future explosions, but I haven't seen that part yet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Upstairs, devious women, sibling rivalry of the most hateful kind, flighty and highly intelligent people, an activist sister, an heirless master trying to deal with the issues of passing on the estate (complicated again) and four different women with a full range of conflicting emotions and ideas in a world ruled by men. Marriage for the daughters on everyone's mind. Changing times as women's rights become a factor. A dowager duchess control freak. A meddling aunt. The duties and restrictions of the upper class. And to cap it off, a middle class lawyer cousin from Manchester<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Manchester! Horror!) who is suddenly thrust into this unfamiliar world of extreme wealth by the untimely sinking of the Titanic and the deaths of the heirs presumptive. He's the new heir. And he doesn't even have a valet!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Downstairs, the new, mysterious valet to the master, immediately threatened by a scheming footman and m'lady's maid. A cook going blind, putting salt instead of sugar on the dessert. A ditsy, innocent country girl, cook's helper, coal carrier. The butler, who rules the servants, a man of honor and integrity and quite a lot of intuitive intelligence. The housemistress, who rules the maids and so forth. A maid who wants to improve herself, rise above her station and (Horror, Again!) become a secretary. The Irish revolutionary chauffeur, falling in love with the activist sister. And more. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A cast worthy of Shakespeare. Every single actor in this series is superb. Every actor is totally convincing. Every actor becomes the character in a way that illumines his or her motivation, desires, needs, flaws, challenges, mistakes, backstory.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">WARNING: OPINION ALERT</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I believe in the osmosis effect. Just as I think we learn most about writing by reading the work of authors we think are good and consciously observing how they do it, I think we can learn all anyone ever needs to know about character development by watching this show. Well, perhaps not all, but a hell of a lot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Okay, you're settled in front of the big screen with a single malt or whatever, and you are wondering why I think this show is important for your personal craft of writing. The music begins, the credits roll. You have opened the writer's eye. Watch how you begin to form opinions about the various people in the story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At first you know little, but infer much. The setting tells you that. Then you begin to see how people interact, what they are thinking about, how they behave. You are looking from a writer's eye. How the behavior of the characters speaks volumes about who they are. How the writers keep things back but let the viewer know something is hidden. How the story takes on life through the characters. How a sudden twist is completely unexpected and how it dramatically alters the course of the story. How the characters are affected by that. How you begin to infer more of where things are going and what someone might do and how you are surprised by what actually happens.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There's a good reason it's called Masterpiece Theater. Downton Abbey is an amazing production. From a writer's point of view, it's a graduate course in character definition and development. Watch it. I think you will agree.</span></div>alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195358679721373352.post-4355750682275184902012-02-15T17:16:00.000-08:002012-02-17T08:23:58.892-08:00Write Like A Champion<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I saw an interesting interview program the other day, quite by accident. I normally don't watch TV, much less news and "personality" shows. I watch NetFlix. Right now I'm hooked on "Downton Abbey", an amazing piece of English television, a genuine visual novel masterpiece. But more about that in the next post. Suffice it to say that if you want to see how writing turns what could be a boring yarn turn into an amazing study of people, character and motivation, watch that show. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The program I watched featured George Clooney, Warren Buffet and Bon Jovi. Quite a mix. All very wealthy, all doing the TV bit to show you around their digs, and very nice digs they were, too. What I noticed was that Warren Buffet had a sign over the door in his office: "Play Like A Champion". That is a copy of the sign which hangs in the Notre Dame locker room. Knute Rockne. The Four Horsemen. All of that glory and tradition and, yes, championship. Success at the highest level. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Okay. Segue to Bon Jovi, who has only sold 350,000,000 records or so and earned a billion dollars doing it. Not bad for a kid from New Jersey, where he still lives. Not the same house, though. He took the TV audience on a little tour, including his recording studio. There on the wall was...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You guessed it. A sign that said "Play Like A Champion".</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe these folks are on to something. Clooney didn't have a sign but I think it's safe to say he's made it to the Champion category. If he can act like a champion, if WB can invest like a champion, if Bon Jovi can play like a champion, you and I can write like a champion. Champions, to be grammatically correct. That got me thinking about champions and what makes them so. What do champions do?</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They never quit</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They take all obstacles as challenges to be met and overcome</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They never stop improving their skills</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They never stop studying and learning</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They never think it's "good enough"</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They always believe in their ability</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They see setbacks as an opportunity to get better at what they do</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They listen to people who know more than they do</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They seek coaching and direction</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They give everything they have to their field</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They stay totally focused</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They are generous in victory and gracious in defeat</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They never buy into the idea that it is someone else's fault if they fail</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They always explore new avenues to accomplish their goals</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I could find more thoughts about it, but you have your own. It's clear to me that becoming a successful writer means thinking like a champion. So I now have that sign right on my computer. Write Like A Champion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's a hell of a challenge.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span>alexlukemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429204799613793974noreply@blogger.com6