Recycling and Good Will

Wrote two articles yesterday, and sent in three. One was for my publisher's publicist, the indomitable Barbara; the other two for Concealed Carry Magazine.

Originally, Barbara had suggested something that ties in with the Martin/Zimmerman shooting and the public uproar, since my next book coming out will be about how police make force decisions. My answer was "Hell, no!" and my reasoning was:

1) I can count the actual facts that we have on the fingers of one hand.

2) Even a trained investigator doesn't necessarily know local
policies, procedures and local law. To comment on any investigation
without this is blowing smoke out your ass and that's one thing I
don't want to do.

3) Everyone is so emotional over the issue that absolutely nothing
said will in any way help or calm things down. It will just be picked
apart for any wording that can justify not listening to any unwanted
conclusion or fact.

I answered a few more questions in the e-mail, particularly why a book on police decision making has so little relevance to this case (duty to act)...

But I did wind up writing an article on necessary steps to evaluate a force decision as a third party. And it was pretty good. And I knew CCM would like it, but I had written it for YMAA.

So I asked if they could both use it. And both said 'yes'. Not only yes, but 'Absolutely let them print/post it, but make sure it's okay if we do because you shouldn't burn bridges.'

Basically, when everyone is more worried about hurting other people's feelings than what is in it for themselves, you know you are working with great people.

Update and Advice

Nothing posted since August on a blog for a crew of writers. Shameful.

I, for one, have been writing. Five volumes of the blog are up in e-book as well as "Talking Them Through: Crisis Communication with the Mentally Ill and Emotionally Disturbed" and "Drills: Training for Sudden Violence."

"Force Decisions" a citizen's guide to how cops decide to use force is due out from YMAA in a couple of months, and two videos later in the year. Still haven't seen the rough cuts so I have to assume that I'm not photogenic at all and David Silver is trying to salvage something in post-production. Damn, should have done videos when I was younger and prettier...

---------------

I'm going to give y'all some advice on writing for a living:

1) Do some non-fiction. I am clearly the least talented writer in INK. But I have the most sales. Look at a magazine rack. How many fiction magazines are still publishing? Compare them to the hundreds of magazines on non-fiction subjects. And each of those mags has a deadline and a page requirement. Every month they need stories. If you can write half-way decently, if you can do basic research and especially if you can supply some pictures, you can get published. And paid.

Corollaries: 1a) Strangely enough, you write a few articles on the same subject and people label you an expert. Kind of sad and scary if you think about it.

1b) It is still a professional writing credit that goes in your cover letter and possibly on your resume. Nonfiction can help you sell your fiction.

2) I'm still working on this, but diversify your income streams. Royalties are cool and I have every intention on living off them some day. E-books may become a big part of that. Add magazine articles. When you are successful or if you have or develop an expertise, you can teach classes on line.

3) e-books for the hard-to-place stuff. "Talking Them Through" and "Drills" were too short to be practical for traditional publishing. Doesn't matter for e-formats. If there is a super-niche market you want to reach, e-books are likely your only hope.

4) Recycling. I did blog compilations and I've been doing a series of articles for Concealed Carry Magazine that might make a stand-alone short book. You can sell stories separately AND gather them into collections. Be careful, though. I despise it when someone just repackages the same information over and over so (except for the blog compilations) I try not to do that. Even in the blog compilations, I added thousands of words of new material to each one. And put a notice right up front that most of it was available for free at:

http://chirontraining.blogspot.com/

5) Get the word out. Unless someone happens to be cruising Smashwords in those three minutes where your newly uploaded book is on the first page, no one is going to buy your stuff because no one knows to look for it. Your networks will start things rolling. Some people will buy it because they like you or want to support a friend. If it's good, though, that will turn into word of mouth, and that will keep people looking for other things you have written. No one can buy a product if they are unaware of the existence of said product.

6) Quit dithering. This is for two people whose names shall not be mentioned but have the initials Kami and Carole. Spending hours reworking cover art and years rewriting is time spent not writing, no matter what you tell yourself. You guys are fundamentally, magically dispassionate with my work and as such you give me great advice and produce great covers. You are gifted writers and artists. Start acting like it. Quit agonizing and get the work done.

And I said that last one was for two people, but it applies to all y'all and you damn well know it.

-------------

Current works available on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Rory-Miller/e/B002M54CNW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

And Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/RoryMiller

Back from Worldcon

I got back from Worldcon (Renovation in Reno, Nevada) a while ago. It's taken this long to sort of catch up with life, if that makes any sense.

I learned a ton from the few panels I attended. I mainly looked for ways to fill in holes rather than to go to panels where I already knew a lot about the subject. Here are some highlights:

Victorian and pre-Victorian war stuff: I had no idea that you could keep a firearm loaded pretty well indefinitely if you prepared for weather. Some antique weapons still sitting in attics could theoretically fire just fine--so be careful whenever you pick up something firearm-like no matter how ancient, dusty, rusted, dysfunctional, etc. it might appear. I know, duh, but it bears repeating. Your great-great-great-grandfather's flintlock might be loaded and go off. Seriously. Plus, cannonballs traveled really, really far. They just bounced on and on and on for thousands of meters.

Seriously cool. I wrote down some good sources for those hard-to-find non-technical details that describe, for example, that black powder firearms emit a gorgeous, pure white smoke (the lecturer told us it's the purest white he's ever seen.)

Panel about consistency when writing in a series, shared world, etc.: The main good idea I got from this is to write notes and an outline after you finish a chapter in a book or a short story in a world that you may intend to write in again someday. Character details that are revealed (age, that she loves bourbon, etc.) plus a general list of events is all you need. One writer on the panel had to hire someone to read her books and take extensive notes for her to go off of because after several years she needed to start writing in the series again and had forgotten most of those telling details writers keep in their heads with varying degrees of success. Reading those books would have taken too much time out of her writing schedule and would have put her behind on several deadlines.

I'm going to start doing that from now on. Much easier and cheaper than hiring someone ten years from now to read Masks and take notes on it so that I don't mess up someone's mother's age and get hate mail from fans about it. (Wouldn't it be grand to get fan mail and to work with multiple deadlines on projects because I'm such a busy writer? I know, I know, be careful what you wish for ....)

I watched master artists sketching a life model (who was somewhat clothed for propriety's sake as it was in a public area) for quite some time. It made me itch to do art again, which is good because I also studied cover design at the convention, first at the art show and then again at a cover design panel and yet again at a 'what's coming out this year' panel for Orbit. (I missed the one for Tor, darn it!) My brain is now brimming with ideas--the perfect time to start rough design ideas for various book covers before those ideas vanish into mist.

I also talked shop with a Canadian publisher. I hope to send some stuff their way soon.

There's lots more to tell, but I ought to actually, you know, write. Today.

Right now ....

Another INK Victory!

I've sold a story to a great market--more details when I can officially announce them.  The story is "Neighbors"--the expanded version I wrote when I realized that the end couldn't really be the end.

I also sent a story in to the Writers of the Future contest.  With two stories sold in the whole universe so far, as far as the WotF contest is concerned, I can only sell one more story before I become ineligible for the contest.

Which I'm totally fine with on a lot of levels.  I'd of course love to win the contest, but I won't hold back on sending out stories just so that I keep my eligibility, you know?  That would be weird, and not in a good way.

Gee, I'm so calm posting this.  When I got the email, I had so many exclamation points inside me I couldn't stay sitting down!

Oops.  I guess they're still there.  They're probably just tired.  

Editorial Woes

Never get into a relationship where the other person thinks you need to be fixed.

The editorial process for "Citizen's Guide to Police Use of Force" is going painfully slow. How slow? No actual work done since I rejected my editor's last set of changes. There's been minor contact, but the next vital step, where she returns the manuscript with her suggestions is two or three weeks late. I think we're already behind schedule and this shouldn't be hard.

The last one was bad. I should have got a clue when I noticed the "Track Changes" function had been turned off. Maybe hoping I wouldn't notice the changes because they would be so smooth? I sent it back, rejected utterly. It wasn't an editing job, it was an unauthorized re-write, and not a good one.

I'm pretending I'm writing this blog post so that any would-be writers reading this learn some of the pitfalls. I'm still learning them. And up until now, working with my publisher, YMAA has been really wonderful. But really I'm just writing to vent a little.

I want to get this book finished. Done. And then I don't want to even look at it again. Sick and tired of every last word. But I always feel that way toward the end of the process. I'll get over it.

Numbers

I won't get hard numbers until royalty statements come in, and the statements covering these few days won't be in until December...

But "Facing Violence" has been hanging out at about the 3000 sales rank (out of eight million) on Amazon for most of the week, and almost all of that based on pre-orders. It doesn't officially ship until tomorrow.

Product Details Paperback: 280 pages Publisher: Ymaa Publication Center (May 16, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 1594392137 ISBN-13: 978-1594392139 Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews) Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #3 in Books > Sports > Individual Sports > Martial Arts #74 in Books > Health, Mind & Body > Exercise & Fitness

It's also has given Meditations a slight bump in sales. Or so it seems.

Life is cool. Signing at the Cedar Hills Powell's in Beaverton the 25th. Hope to see some of the dozen or so fans then.

Two Ways

There are two ways to take really good pictures.  If you get an excellent camera and really learn what it can do, you can take amazing pictures.

Or you can get a pretty good, simple to operate, durable camera and go to amazing places.  Keep your eye open for things that take your breath away... and take the shot.

My first parachute jump, the jumpmaster asked what was in the pouch on my shoulder strap.

"My camera.  I thought I'd take some shots on my way down."

He smirked.  "You're an idiot.  The second you jump out of that plane you'll forget it's even there."

One of my favorite pictures (predigital, I can't post it) is of my own boots at 3000 feet.

Same with a lot of things.  I'm plowing through a book right now that will be coming out in '12, doing the rewrites, making the editor happy and it is really, really apparent (especially on first drafts) that I'm not that good a writer.  But the book is about things that you really can't see at a distance.  About what goes on inside (and what is supposed to) when an officer makes a force decision.

Go to amazing places and keep your eyes open, or polish the skill.  Either creates some good stuff.

Doing both is best.  Working on it.

Productive Day

Finished another article today, third in a series of five (or possibly six).  Combined with the previous series, they'll actually make a good little book, a primer on social and asocial violence.  If it breaks 50k words, I'll think about traditional publishing.  Otherwise, e-books seem to be the way to go.

Also worked on a set of notes for Conflict Communications students.  That's a delicate balance.  A handbook would be neat, but people actually learn and remember better with hints than with passages.

Formatted two of the next three articles.

Still undone (but not tonight, I think.  I've earned a break).   ahem.  Still undone: seven weeks to get A Citizen's Guide to Police Use of Force into final shape.  Karen is my editor on this project and I like working with her... but the manuscript I originally sent to David was just to give him an idea and it is a really rough draft.  Done that twice now, sent and sold manuscripts before I even cleaned them up.  Still want to work on a manual for calming emotionally disturbed, drugged and mentally ill people.  Need to format Chiron 2008.

Kami did a great cover for 2008 and it cover my first seven months in Iraq.  There will be lots of new material, mostly things I couldn't right at the time and maybe a few chapters of the Nanowrimo novel I did in Baghdad.

It's Not all Crickets

The silence on INK has been deafening, like the sound of crickets you get when you ask for volunteers...

Things are moving apace in my little writing world.

Sold my third article to Concealed Carry Magazine.  It's been a series on different types of violent criminals.  Asked to do a regular column.

Three e-books out at Smashwords.  Two are compilations of the blog with some added material.  One is based on the course I did for Savvy Authors.  (Thanks, Mark, for the recommendation.)  Kami did the covers for all three and they look great.  A fourth e-book will be out before the end of the week, barring the unexpected.  It's a collection of drills and some people seem really eager to see it.

"Facing Violence" is scheduled for a May release and already available for pre-order.  There is a signing scheduled for 7 PM, May 25th at Powell's in Beaverton.  And in early September we should be filming a DVD version in Boston.

The collaboration with Lawrence Kane is pretty much done and we're looking at an Autumn 2012 release through YMAA.  YMAA also bought "A Citizen's Guide to Police Use of Force" for 2012 release and David wants to do a print version of the Drills Manual, but that won't be out until late 2012 at the earliest, probably 2013.

Conflict Communications has been blowing away audiences, but the book is going slower than I had hoped.  First draft is long done, but hammering out changes is hard.  Collaboration isn't for sissys.

Next project is a handbook on crisis communication for the Mentally Ill/Emotionally Disturbed.  Basically just putting in words what I did for most of my last  several years at MCIJ.  Doubt if it will come out to full book length.  If not, another e-book.

Busy is good.

Fighting Shifting Priorities.

It's probably no surprise to anyone in the know I've been fighting chaos and drama at home for nearly a year now. Lost my first reader, lost momentum time and again, nearly lost point and purpose. I've been asked to do a few things I didn't want to do and I hope to pick back up some I won't entirely let go.

Through it all, while I had cut back dedicated writing from last February 14th through December 28th (no significance in dates), and while I fully realize it's not the weekly chaos, the daily drama that derails me, it's how I react to it all. Coming up on a year since my family came close to losing much due to the dipping job market, I see that this is the new normal and as that I'm not the only one living under this roof, there will always be chaos and drama, every single day. But that doesn't mean I have to walk into that constant pit of despair.

I've been pecking at a project that should have been finished years ago. I wrote my first flash fiction that is marinating for a week before I look at it again and wait for a reputable site to open submissions again. I'm still struggling with the thought that others don't have my best interest at heart. I'm trying to smooth and calm life around me while sticking to my passion here and there. I hope those roles are reversed in frequency some time in the future.

And I want to thank everyone here at INK, past and present, who helped me shape my skills. Thanks for your words. Thanks for your patience.

Offer

Got a verbal offer on "Citizen's Guide to Police Use of Force" yesterday.

That makes one book out (Meditations on Violence) one e-book out (Violence: A Writer's Guide) and two books coming out- Facing Violence due in May from YMAA and Citizen's Guide with an unknown date.

Also have another e-book about ready...

Damn, I'm starting to feel like a writer.

Tonight's INK online meet up.

The first INK online meet up is tonight from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. I hope to see a post from INK members or an email saying you're here with me. If not, well, I'm here working on my NaNoWriMo novel for the year. What are you working on? Something old? Something new? Something you or someone came up with at the last minute? Outline or not? Winging it? And how often has the NaNoWriMo.org site crashed for you? (I'm at six and counting.)

Anyone looking forward to OryCon next week? Or do you have a 'can take it or leave it' attitude? Looking forward to your next writer/author convention/event/out of town talk?

Finally, We're All Published.

Two hours before NaNoWriMo begins and I'm told Andromeda Spaceways #48 is out containing "Ash" my first published short story. How's that for writing motivation? Last of the INK group to become a published author, but better late than never, right? Thanks INKers for helping me grow as a writer. Today, I'm an author!

Accountability Cam is up and running at http://www.cscole.com/. I'll probably write for a couple of hours after midnight (less than an hour away now) and return around noon tomorrow after the daily workout. Finally preparations in order now. Go INK NaNo-ers!

E-Book

A few months ago, I taught an online class for the Savvy Authors chapter of the Romance Writers of America. The class, of course, was about violence. It was well-received and the students were a kick: intelligent, insightful and full of good questions.

So it seemed natural to expand the lessons into a manual.

It was too short, just barely, for a standard book. Plus I doubt I have the reputation to get a book on writing to a major publisher.

A third consideration is that considering the lag time between submission and publishing, even if I was very lucky it wouldn't be out to readers for two years.

So I asked Steve Perry about e-publishing, he told me about Smashwords and...

30 sales in less than 48 hours. It may actually have an ISBN soon.

It's a whole new world.

Suggestion: INK Non-meetings 1st Sunday of the month - 7:30-8:30 p.m.

Hi. My name is C.S. Cole and I'm a member of INK, the group of writers who have a hard time scheduling INK meetings. I miss our meetings but life has encroached heavily on every last one of us. Couldn't be helped. Nothing wrong with that.

I propose that we take the pressure off trying to schedule INK meetings in its old form and try something different. Once a month, at 7:30 on the very first Sunday of the month, I'll be online and I'll be here for a single hour. Anyone else who can make it to this non-meeting is welcome to do the same. No pressure or guilt if you can't come.

We can post something here on INK, or email each other with thoughts, links to ponder, and/or creative motivational words during this time. Whoever happens to show up can enjoy some writer camaraderie and a quick, on-the-spot prompt to get the juices flowing.

Proceeding toward a more dedicated method of meeting via Skipe or IM might be fun for the future. But in all honesty, I'm not looking for anything more yet, not because of lack of dedication or committment to writing but because I know, first-hand, how hard life can make things happen on a regular basis.

Long Time, No Write.

*BIG SIGH* Well, that only took long enough. I completely lost my INK login information and had to go a round about way to get back here...which worked fine because my email address was wrong from the original get-go.

I apologize for being so long out of the loop. I'm well aware of how life can interfere with the writing life if one is apt to let it. I just needed to wrap my head around how much more I needed writing than minute-by-minute dealings with the life I not-so-jokingly refer to as "The Daily Drama, The Weekly Crisis." That life is the norm now. I get it. What I'm working on is wedging my former writing self back into that life, come Hell or high water.  Been through near Hell. I'm told high water is a hoot and ain't so bad.

Thanks for not abandoning me, INK. Any thoughts on getting together soon? Any thoughts on NaNo?

Unrelated, sort of, I've got publishing news as of next week.

Honorable Mention for Writers of the Future

Yay!  I got an honorable mention for a story I sent to Writers of the Future.  

Keep sending those stories in to the contest, people!  You can't win if you don't play.

Okay, this is just sad....

No new posts since April? Tsk tsk. No meetings since...what, RadCon in February?

I know we're all busy. I've been busy writing--when I wasn't sick, which seems like all the damn time lately. But even so, since my last post--over the course of April and May--I finished the 98,000 word first draft of my starship repo man novel. I've played goalie for a few shorts that have come back to me in the mail, getting them back into play ASAP. And I've sent out one or two new stories.

And I know y'all have been busy too, but c'mon, fellow Kultists. We might as well all be laboring in solitude for all the group-type work we've done. Really, now, we ought to be doing just a wee bit better, don't you think?

I plan to spend the remainder of June doing a polish on my novel before letting my lovely and talented wife (and first reader) take a look at it. Assuming it passes her inspection, it'll go into the mail to five or six publishers. If it doesn't, I'll clean up the problems and then drop it in the mail. Either way, it'll be done and I'll start looking toward the next novel.

To quote Raoul Julia from some silly road race movie (as he ripped the rear-view mirror from the windshield of his race car and tossed it away, "What's behind me is not important!"

Goals

When I updated my INK goals today I blanched. Boy, setting the bar a little high, y'think? But I'm not going to change it. I can write at that pace. I'll even go so far to say that I can write at that pace easily. Why am I not? Because I'm spending too many of my evenings watching DVDs. Oh, I can curse The Tudors all I want. The blame must fall to me and my choices.

I am getting a new short story out almost every week, though. I think I can do two. That's what I'll aim for by next Monday.

Stayed tuned to see if Kami falls on her butt!

Aaaah

The best thing, no, the second best thing... maybe third. What the hell. One of the very cool things about having a wise, intelligent and extremely well-educated wife is that some of her knowledge occasionally get absorbed into my brain. Probably via friction.

Concluded the negotiations on the contract for "7". The hard copies should be in the mail very soon. The publisher is also interested in the possibility of a DVD. I have some very dark ideas for a DVD...

Anyway, the negotiation went extremely well. There was only one serious sticking point for me and David didn't consider it a problem at all. He offered a little better deal on one of the rights and even extended it to the contract for my last book. These are great people to work with.

Here's hoping that "7" makes YMAA (and me) an excellent profit.

EEEEEEEKKKKK!

[Hiding]

The scariest April Fool's post I've seen so far: Victoria knocks publishing horror out of the park.

Terrifying. Simply terrifying.

[Still hiding]

Goals & Meetings

So I completely bombed out on my March goals. I've kept my stories and novel submissions in circulation when they came back to me, but I haven't finished any short stories this month. In part, I was sick. But only in part. I've produced considerable wordage, but nothing that jelled into a story.

However, as Raoul Julia once said in a road race movie, "What's behind you is not important!"

Tomorrow is the first of April. I plan to start on not one but two--two!--novels. I don't guarantee to finish either one in April, but certainly by the end of May. Two novels so I can switch projects if I bog down on one. One science fiction (starship repo man!) and one urban fantasy.

But I'm gonna need some support along the way, I think. So...when are we meeting again?

Status

Things are moving apace.

Got a verbal offer on "7". The verbal offer triggered an agent hunt, and those queries just went out. I like my publisher, but as writing transitions from something on the side to a primary job, I feel obligated to start seeking more options and to negotiate smarter.

Two established authors have asked me to collaborate. I expect to have the first draft of both manuscripts done in four months. When nothing interrupts 5000-6000 words are going on the page between 0600 and 0930. Some of it is decent, too.

And, for some reason, two different chapters of the Romance Writers of America have asked me to put together on-line courses on violence, criminals and cop stuff. That's odd.

Teaching a seminar tomorrow and pitching the Conflict Communications course Wednesday.

Busy is good.

INK Visitor David Levine talks about Mars on Earth.

From INK friend and visitor David Levine on his recent Mars Mission on Earth:

"I had a great interview on KATU-TV this morning and it is already available online!

Mars Mission on Earth (KATU-TV, 2/26/10):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFOXSzzCtbM
or http://www.katu.com/amnw/segments/85507062.html

My previous TV appearance is stil available, if you haven't seen it:

Life on Mars... or at least a close facsimile (KGW-TV, 2/20/10):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcuOwpdkWCM
or http://www.kgw.com/thesquare/Life-on-Mars-or-at-least-a-close-facsimile-84735647.html

I think this may be the end of my 15 minutes of fame, for this round at least. I'll let you know if I get any more media attention.
--

David D. Levine | dlevine@spiritone.com | http://www.BentoPress.com/"

These are great interviews. David is an incredible author and speaker. I highly recommend checking out these videos.

Welcome Mark Jones and Next INK meetup!

Welcome Mark, our newest INK member! Mark is a very patient man, and talented author too with books and story sales left and right. INK is proud to have him onboard.

Next INK meeting is Friday, February 12th, 2010. Since all current members will be at RadCon (most of us in 'interesting' panels too, I believe, ahem), INK will meet when we're all free for a few hours. Maybe at the unofficial INK room Pajama Party!