T. Patrick Phelps's Blog
April 7, 2016
Self Publishing is Like a Quiet Car Accident
I was around twelve when I wrote my first "book." It was seven pages long and told the story of a man who had just purchased a brand new car. He was jazzed! The car he picked out was exactly what he wanted (and probably a bit more than he could afford.) Didn't matter. He felt amazing when he first sat behind the wheel, sparked the engine to life and put the transmission into gear.
He was on top of the world! To think, he could actually be the owner of a brand new car; one that would certainly turn heads and have all the women fawning over the presumed successful man behind the wheel.
He pulls out of the dealership and onto a very busy road. He could have turned left (which was the logical and shorter way to his home) but instead chose to turn right and to take the more scenic route home.
The car was twenty feet away from the auto dealer's parking lot when it is crushed from behind by a delivery truck.
Totaled.
He was battered, bruised and more than a bit disappointed, but he would live to see another day.
Welcome to the world of self publishing.
When most authors publish a book, they are filled with excitement; thinking that once their book leaves their desk and enters the market, it will become an overnight success! Millions of copies will be sold and at least one out of every two people who purchase the book will leave a five star (or at least a four star) review. The author should be able to quit their day job after a couple months of solid book royalties and movie rights are certainly just around the corner.
For most self published authors however, launching their book is akin to my story of a man pulling out into traffic with his brand new car. They (we) get crushed.
My first book was Heartless, and while it has been downloaded over 50,000 times (many of these downloads were when Amazon allowed me to price the book at $0) actual "sales" results felt more like getting T-Boned. My next few books, Those of the Margin, The Observer, The Devil's Snare and The Demon Senders were all launched with greater enthusiasm and haven't moved that much further down that road towards my desired destination.
But yet I keep writing.
The character in my first seven page book could have said, "Fuck this! I'm done with driving. I'm going back to riding my bike or walking everywhere." But he didn't. He walked back into the dealership and bought another car. This time, he chose more safety features and opted for a more powerful engine so he could get into the traffic stream more quickly. And each time he drove off the dealer's lot, his car (and his dreams) were totaled.
Each time I launch a book, sending it into the traffic of the book market, my dreams and hopes have taken a hard shot. But I walk back into the dealership in my mind, pick out a vehicle (story) that is way more likely to navigate its way through the traffic than my previous book and start dreaming all over again.
I just launched Still Heartless, the conclusion to Heartless. First day sales were 158! Not bad and based on my research, the book should have reached the top 5 in two genres. However, when I checked my Author's page and my ranking, I was met with a message telling me that Amazon was experiencing issues reporting my results and that they hoped to have the issue corrected soon.
Well, the issue was corrected but the correction happened a few hours after 151 of my 158 sales were made. And since Amazon updates rankings every hour, well, you probably have figured out that Still Heartless is not listed in even the top 25 in any genre.
Crushing? For a few seconds, it was
So now what?
Back to the dealership. I have my eye on an amazing looking SUV!
He was on top of the world! To think, he could actually be the owner of a brand new car; one that would certainly turn heads and have all the women fawning over the presumed successful man behind the wheel.
He pulls out of the dealership and onto a very busy road. He could have turned left (which was the logical and shorter way to his home) but instead chose to turn right and to take the more scenic route home.
The car was twenty feet away from the auto dealer's parking lot when it is crushed from behind by a delivery truck.
Totaled.
He was battered, bruised and more than a bit disappointed, but he would live to see another day.
Welcome to the world of self publishing.
When most authors publish a book, they are filled with excitement; thinking that once their book leaves their desk and enters the market, it will become an overnight success! Millions of copies will be sold and at least one out of every two people who purchase the book will leave a five star (or at least a four star) review. The author should be able to quit their day job after a couple months of solid book royalties and movie rights are certainly just around the corner.
For most self published authors however, launching their book is akin to my story of a man pulling out into traffic with his brand new car. They (we) get crushed.
My first book was Heartless, and while it has been downloaded over 50,000 times (many of these downloads were when Amazon allowed me to price the book at $0) actual "sales" results felt more like getting T-Boned. My next few books, Those of the Margin, The Observer, The Devil's Snare and The Demon Senders were all launched with greater enthusiasm and haven't moved that much further down that road towards my desired destination.
But yet I keep writing.
The character in my first seven page book could have said, "Fuck this! I'm done with driving. I'm going back to riding my bike or walking everywhere." But he didn't. He walked back into the dealership and bought another car. This time, he chose more safety features and opted for a more powerful engine so he could get into the traffic stream more quickly. And each time he drove off the dealer's lot, his car (and his dreams) were totaled.
Each time I launch a book, sending it into the traffic of the book market, my dreams and hopes have taken a hard shot. But I walk back into the dealership in my mind, pick out a vehicle (story) that is way more likely to navigate its way through the traffic than my previous book and start dreaming all over again.
I just launched Still Heartless, the conclusion to Heartless. First day sales were 158! Not bad and based on my research, the book should have reached the top 5 in two genres. However, when I checked my Author's page and my ranking, I was met with a message telling me that Amazon was experiencing issues reporting my results and that they hoped to have the issue corrected soon.
Well, the issue was corrected but the correction happened a few hours after 151 of my 158 sales were made. And since Amazon updates rankings every hour, well, you probably have figured out that Still Heartless is not listed in even the top 25 in any genre.
Crushing? For a few seconds, it was
So now what?
Back to the dealership. I have my eye on an amazing looking SUV!
March 23, 2016
First Things First
I've received an awful (wonderful) number of questions, via my website, my Author's Page on Facebook and via email, from writers wondering what the most important things are when starting a writing career. While I consider myself to have enjoyed only a modest amount of success with my novels, I have learned a thing or two along the way. In this short posting, I want to list the three things I believe are MUST DO's for any indie author pursuing the dream of success in the publishing world.
I highly doubt my three suggested must do's will be controversial and this list is certainly not intended to be an exhaustive list of things an indie author must do when starting off, but, without ensuring these three are rock solid, a writer's career will be severely handicapped.
Write a Damn Good Book : Here is the painful truth—Many of the books currently in publication today, suck. I read a book a week and have made a point of making at least two or three of the books I read each month from indie authors. If I had to guess, I'd say that over the last year I've read 25 books from various indie authors. Of those 25, three were excellent, 5 were okay and the rest were either horrible or so bad I couldn't get through at least 50% of the book to really know if they were horrible or awful. Many of the emails I've received from readers point out how rare it is for them to find an author they really like. Now, before it sounds like I'm bragging, I've also received a few emails telling me how bad I am! (Which emails do YOU think I pay attention to?) The fact is, Amazon made publishing a book very easy. But the fact something is easy doesn't mean everyone should do it. If you want to be an author, be a good author, write a good book and avoid putting things out for sale that, frankly, suck. There's more than enough books and authors falling into the "suck" category. Get a Damn Good Editor: I made two really bad mistakes when I first started publishing. The first was believing I could edit my own books. The results? After I hired my first editor (mistake number two) she found over 125 errors in Heartless alone! You may be a great editor for someone else's work, but it is a bad idea to think you can take an objective view of your own work. Sure, you may find all the misspelled words and clean up syntax error, but you won't give yourself an honest content critique. My second mistake was hiring the first editor suggested to me. In short, she was terrible and actually scolded me when I told her I wasn't happy with all the mistakes she didn't correct. Her response was something along the line of "No one can be expected to correct every mistake in a full length novel." Do yourself a favor and hire a good editor, but only after you get a sample of their work and more than just one recommendation. Get a Damn Good Cover and Book Description: I recently was asked to read and review a book by a young author. The book was WAY outside my normal reading genre, but I read the whole story. She's a good author. Tells a good story and ties things in together like a pro. But her cover was horrible! I told her to expect terrible to poor sales results until she spent enough money on a new cover. I checked a few minutes ago and, guess what? she hasn't changed her cover and her sales results are horrible. As for the book description, I've read so many books that say you need to flood the description with keywords, use every last character Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, etc will allow you to use in your description. But, in my experience, the best book descriptions answer a simple question: "Why should a reader buy your book?" Answer this, and you'll make a sale.
A quick update (a bit delayed) on my February goals.
I set a goal to sell 250 books and I ended up selling 309 ! Far from any best selling list but not a horrible month.
I set a goal to give away 6,500 books and crushed that goal by giving away over 8,200 copies of Heartless.
Lastly, I set a goal of having 14,500 KDP pages read and ended the month with just shy of 19,000 KDP pages read.
It's always good to beat all your goals, but, that means my next goals need to be even more aggressive!
Happy Reading and Happy Writing!
T Patrick Phelps
I highly doubt my three suggested must do's will be controversial and this list is certainly not intended to be an exhaustive list of things an indie author must do when starting off, but, without ensuring these three are rock solid, a writer's career will be severely handicapped.
Write a Damn Good Book : Here is the painful truth—Many of the books currently in publication today, suck. I read a book a week and have made a point of making at least two or three of the books I read each month from indie authors. If I had to guess, I'd say that over the last year I've read 25 books from various indie authors. Of those 25, three were excellent, 5 were okay and the rest were either horrible or so bad I couldn't get through at least 50% of the book to really know if they were horrible or awful. Many of the emails I've received from readers point out how rare it is for them to find an author they really like. Now, before it sounds like I'm bragging, I've also received a few emails telling me how bad I am! (Which emails do YOU think I pay attention to?) The fact is, Amazon made publishing a book very easy. But the fact something is easy doesn't mean everyone should do it. If you want to be an author, be a good author, write a good book and avoid putting things out for sale that, frankly, suck. There's more than enough books and authors falling into the "suck" category. Get a Damn Good Editor: I made two really bad mistakes when I first started publishing. The first was believing I could edit my own books. The results? After I hired my first editor (mistake number two) she found over 125 errors in Heartless alone! You may be a great editor for someone else's work, but it is a bad idea to think you can take an objective view of your own work. Sure, you may find all the misspelled words and clean up syntax error, but you won't give yourself an honest content critique. My second mistake was hiring the first editor suggested to me. In short, she was terrible and actually scolded me when I told her I wasn't happy with all the mistakes she didn't correct. Her response was something along the line of "No one can be expected to correct every mistake in a full length novel." Do yourself a favor and hire a good editor, but only after you get a sample of their work and more than just one recommendation. Get a Damn Good Cover and Book Description: I recently was asked to read and review a book by a young author. The book was WAY outside my normal reading genre, but I read the whole story. She's a good author. Tells a good story and ties things in together like a pro. But her cover was horrible! I told her to expect terrible to poor sales results until she spent enough money on a new cover. I checked a few minutes ago and, guess what? she hasn't changed her cover and her sales results are horrible. As for the book description, I've read so many books that say you need to flood the description with keywords, use every last character Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, etc will allow you to use in your description. But, in my experience, the best book descriptions answer a simple question: "Why should a reader buy your book?" Answer this, and you'll make a sale.
A quick update (a bit delayed) on my February goals.
I set a goal to sell 250 books and I ended up selling 309 ! Far from any best selling list but not a horrible month.
I set a goal to give away 6,500 books and crushed that goal by giving away over 8,200 copies of Heartless.
Lastly, I set a goal of having 14,500 KDP pages read and ended the month with just shy of 19,000 KDP pages read.
It's always good to beat all your goals, but, that means my next goals need to be even more aggressive!
Happy Reading and Happy Writing!
T Patrick Phelps
February 7, 2016
Suggested Reading for Indie Authors
If you're an indie publisher, I can almost guarantee you've searched Amazon for books about the wonderful world of indie publishing. That search certainly produced books with very promising titles, encouraging book descriptions and there might have been a mention of authors like Hugh Howey or other indie authors that made it HUGE in the self-publishing world.
I've run the same search, read the same headlines and felt the same twinge of expectant hope after leaning more about what is possible.
I bought the books, read them and implemented many of the suggestions contained in the pages. And guess what?
Over two years after publishing my first novel, Heartless, I'm still running the search, reading the headlines and feeling a somewhat muted twinge of expectant hope.
As with everything in the world, some things work and some don't.
To date, I've read fifteen books on self-publishing, self-promoting, self-marketing, self-ad nauseam. Some of these fifteen were pretty horrible: Reformatted versions of one another, complete with different spins of the exact same advice. Some stressed the importance of social media while others downplayed the role and importance of social media.
A few said books sale success is "All about your cover and book blurb," while at the same time directing me to Fiverr where, for $5, I can get a custom made eBook cover! (Nothing against Fiverr. I have worked with a designer and got great results. But I believe you get what you pay for and will stick with designers deserving of a much higher rate.)
In the end, after reading these fifteen then reviewing the notes I had taken, I find myself with a bit more clarity of direction but saddled with even more questions.
That said, there are a couple books I would recommend and a bunch I would not. I have no interest in putting any author's work down, so I will only post links to those books I am confident about.
Before I do exactly that, a quick update on this blog and my February goals;
Seems since switching the theme of this blog from random postings about my thoughts to an honest sharing of my journey through the world of Indie publishing, more readers are showing an interest. To date, blog visits climbed from seven (you read that right) to 200! Okay, I'll keep seeing where this goes.Book Sales - In January, I sold 221 books, averaged a bit over 500 KDP read per day and averaged 217 free downloads per day. In February, I'm on track to sell 227 books (short of my goal of 250), am averaging 557 KDP pages read per day and am tracking to "give away" close to 8,800 copies of my perma-free book, Heartless.Suggested Books on Self Publishing
Let's Get Visible by David Gaughran - The author bounces around a bit too much in this book but only due to the fact that the book is full of links and resources. Strangely enough, despite the version I have suggesting a recent update, some links jump to another part in the book that suggests an even better resource. I guess it doesn't matter. As long as I'm not wasting time following links to content that have been lapped by the competition, no bother.
Give this one a serious look. Highly rated and is darn good.
How to Market a Book by Joanna Penn - Stay in the indie world long enough and you are certain to hear about Joanna Penn. And for good reason; She's a successful indie author who has an amazingly helpful blog and a damn good book on Marketing.
How I Sold 30,000 eBooks on Amazon's Kindle by Martin Crosbie - I've never met this author but he just seems like the type of dude I'd like to have a beer with. Down to earth and very realistic. I read this book right after I finished another book whose title claimed an author's success at selling a much greater number of books. That book sucked, but this one was rock solid.
That's it for now. If you have a suggestion, please comment below. And hey, yours might very well be the first comment on this blog. I believe there should be a prize for that. Not sure, however. Maybe a free ebook of mine.
Time to write.
T Patrick Phelps
I've run the same search, read the same headlines and felt the same twinge of expectant hope after leaning more about what is possible.
I bought the books, read them and implemented many of the suggestions contained in the pages. And guess what?
Over two years after publishing my first novel, Heartless, I'm still running the search, reading the headlines and feeling a somewhat muted twinge of expectant hope.
As with everything in the world, some things work and some don't.
To date, I've read fifteen books on self-publishing, self-promoting, self-marketing, self-ad nauseam. Some of these fifteen were pretty horrible: Reformatted versions of one another, complete with different spins of the exact same advice. Some stressed the importance of social media while others downplayed the role and importance of social media.
A few said books sale success is "All about your cover and book blurb," while at the same time directing me to Fiverr where, for $5, I can get a custom made eBook cover! (Nothing against Fiverr. I have worked with a designer and got great results. But I believe you get what you pay for and will stick with designers deserving of a much higher rate.)
In the end, after reading these fifteen then reviewing the notes I had taken, I find myself with a bit more clarity of direction but saddled with even more questions.
That said, there are a couple books I would recommend and a bunch I would not. I have no interest in putting any author's work down, so I will only post links to those books I am confident about.
Before I do exactly that, a quick update on this blog and my February goals;
Seems since switching the theme of this blog from random postings about my thoughts to an honest sharing of my journey through the world of Indie publishing, more readers are showing an interest. To date, blog visits climbed from seven (you read that right) to 200! Okay, I'll keep seeing where this goes.Book Sales - In January, I sold 221 books, averaged a bit over 500 KDP read per day and averaged 217 free downloads per day. In February, I'm on track to sell 227 books (short of my goal of 250), am averaging 557 KDP pages read per day and am tracking to "give away" close to 8,800 copies of my perma-free book, Heartless.Suggested Books on Self Publishing
Let's Get Visible by David Gaughran - The author bounces around a bit too much in this book but only due to the fact that the book is full of links and resources. Strangely enough, despite the version I have suggesting a recent update, some links jump to another part in the book that suggests an even better resource. I guess it doesn't matter. As long as I'm not wasting time following links to content that have been lapped by the competition, no bother.
Give this one a serious look. Highly rated and is darn good.
How to Market a Book by Joanna Penn - Stay in the indie world long enough and you are certain to hear about Joanna Penn. And for good reason; She's a successful indie author who has an amazingly helpful blog and a damn good book on Marketing.
How I Sold 30,000 eBooks on Amazon's Kindle by Martin Crosbie - I've never met this author but he just seems like the type of dude I'd like to have a beer with. Down to earth and very realistic. I read this book right after I finished another book whose title claimed an author's success at selling a much greater number of books. That book sucked, but this one was rock solid.
That's it for now. If you have a suggestion, please comment below. And hey, yours might very well be the first comment on this blog. I believe there should be a prize for that. Not sure, however. Maybe a free ebook of mine.
Time to write.
T Patrick Phelps
February 2, 2016
Whoever Came Up With the Idea of Self-Publishing?
I shouldn't complain. After all, the books I've published do a heck of a lot better than plenty of other indie authors. Heck, two of my books have sold way more than a book written by a certain presidential candidate's book has. But, damn, it ain't nearly as easy as I thought it would be.
Since I was ten, I wanted to be an author. Not just any old author, I wanted to be a best selling author. The kind of author that sits around in his underwear, pounding away at the keyboard for a few hours a day, then retreats to a log cabin in the woods. The kind of author that never need worry about paying bills, or saving enough money to take the family to DisneyWorld, or to Maui, or anywhere else in the world.
That kind of author.
So as I start my third year as an indie author, I sit here, pounding away at my keyboard (taking an extended lunch break from my full-time job), fully clothed and wondering how much I can save between now and next year when my family and I hope to have enough money to vacation down in St. John's.
Don't get me wrong, I know I have nothing to complain about. My family has a roof over our heads, two cars (both less than two years old) in our garage. We have money in the bank, medical benefits and we are all happy and healthy.
I have nothing to complain about.
Yet, this indie author thing is really getting to me!
Over the next year or so, I am going to blog about what works, what doesn't work, what sucks and what is great about being an indie author. I will, more than likely, throw in several shameless plugs for my books (like right now: The link to my newest Derek Cole Thriller) and will also talk about some of the books on self publishing as well.
I will also be brutally honest with how my book sales are going, which promotions are working and which have failed and, lastly, I'll also share how many people are actually reading this blog. When I checked the blog hits today, I saw that a whopping total of seven people have visited this site.
Stellar results!
To end this post, I want to share my goals for February. As the month rolls along, I'll give updates to the seven or so people who visit this site.
Feb Goals
Book Sales-250
Free Book Downloads-6,500
KDP Pages Read- 14,500
T Patrick Phelps
Since I was ten, I wanted to be an author. Not just any old author, I wanted to be a best selling author. The kind of author that sits around in his underwear, pounding away at the keyboard for a few hours a day, then retreats to a log cabin in the woods. The kind of author that never need worry about paying bills, or saving enough money to take the family to DisneyWorld, or to Maui, or anywhere else in the world.
That kind of author.
So as I start my third year as an indie author, I sit here, pounding away at my keyboard (taking an extended lunch break from my full-time job), fully clothed and wondering how much I can save between now and next year when my family and I hope to have enough money to vacation down in St. John's.
Don't get me wrong, I know I have nothing to complain about. My family has a roof over our heads, two cars (both less than two years old) in our garage. We have money in the bank, medical benefits and we are all happy and healthy.
I have nothing to complain about.
Yet, this indie author thing is really getting to me!
Over the next year or so, I am going to blog about what works, what doesn't work, what sucks and what is great about being an indie author. I will, more than likely, throw in several shameless plugs for my books (like right now: The link to my newest Derek Cole Thriller) and will also talk about some of the books on self publishing as well.
I will also be brutally honest with how my book sales are going, which promotions are working and which have failed and, lastly, I'll also share how many people are actually reading this blog. When I checked the blog hits today, I saw that a whopping total of seven people have visited this site.
Stellar results!
To end this post, I want to share my goals for February. As the month rolls along, I'll give updates to the seven or so people who visit this site.
Feb Goals
Book Sales-250
Free Book Downloads-6,500
KDP Pages Read- 14,500
T Patrick Phelps
December 28, 2015
Getting a Jump on 2016 Resolutions
I'm what you might call, a slow reader. Not slow in my ability to grasp and understand what I'm reading, but in my pace. Several readers of my novels tell me they frequently rip through two or even three novels per week. Me? I'm a two book per month type of reader.
Slow and steady.
While I am brewing up a typically long and aggressive list of resolutions for 2016, one that I am particularly resolute on accomplishing is to read at least two books from Indie authors each month and leave reviews on as many sites as I am a registered user. (Those currently being Amazon, iBooks, Nook and Kobo.)
The world of publishing continues to undergo rapid and transformational changes. Indie authors are now not only free to publish their art on sites like Amazon, but many are gaining fame, wealth and respect.
But only some.
I have no way to substantiate this, but I'm comfortable in saying that for every 100 indie authors, one earns the respect and fame (and wealth) most desire and another ten deserve to be counted among the one percent, but have yet to experience all that comes with recognition.
Honestly, I've read a lot of books by Indie authors that were simply awful. But I've also read some that are as good (or, in some cases, better) than authors published with one of the Big Three houses.
So here's what I'm planning to do in 2016: Read at least two books from indie authors whose books have less than ten posted reviews. If I can't leave at least a three star review, I won't leave one at all. But for all the others, I will leave a detailed and somewhat expansive review.
I've already chosen my books for January but would love to hear any suggestions. If you are an indie author and want me to read and then leave an honest review, let me know.
I won't ask for a free copy and I won't ask for reciprocity. I will ask that you consider adding some indie authors to your reading list this coming year and that you leave honest, positive reviews whenever possible.
Happy New Year!
T Patrick Phelps
Slow and steady.
While I am brewing up a typically long and aggressive list of resolutions for 2016, one that I am particularly resolute on accomplishing is to read at least two books from Indie authors each month and leave reviews on as many sites as I am a registered user. (Those currently being Amazon, iBooks, Nook and Kobo.)
The world of publishing continues to undergo rapid and transformational changes. Indie authors are now not only free to publish their art on sites like Amazon, but many are gaining fame, wealth and respect.
But only some.
I have no way to substantiate this, but I'm comfortable in saying that for every 100 indie authors, one earns the respect and fame (and wealth) most desire and another ten deserve to be counted among the one percent, but have yet to experience all that comes with recognition.
Honestly, I've read a lot of books by Indie authors that were simply awful. But I've also read some that are as good (or, in some cases, better) than authors published with one of the Big Three houses.
So here's what I'm planning to do in 2016: Read at least two books from indie authors whose books have less than ten posted reviews. If I can't leave at least a three star review, I won't leave one at all. But for all the others, I will leave a detailed and somewhat expansive review.
I've already chosen my books for January but would love to hear any suggestions. If you are an indie author and want me to read and then leave an honest review, let me know.
I won't ask for a free copy and I won't ask for reciprocity. I will ask that you consider adding some indie authors to your reading list this coming year and that you leave honest, positive reviews whenever possible.
Happy New Year!
T Patrick Phelps
November 17, 2015
The Fragility of Humanity
There seems to be no escape. News, it seems, is like water: Slipping through the tiniest of cracks, seeking out its target. From scrolling headlines during non-news related shows, to social media, we cannot seem to get away from hearing about the fragility of humanity.A few days ago, citizens of Paris were (again) thrust into the world's spotlight. Terrorists, intent on winning whatever game they believe we all are playing, killed over 100 people.
Innocent.
Defenseless.
Fragile.
People around the world have shown solidarity with Paris, through overlaid Facebook profile images, through lighted candles, prayers gatherings, etc, etc, etc. I've heard many ask, "What good is a display of support? What we need is to put an end, once and for all, to extremism."
But what these people overlook, what they cannot or refuse to see is that the fragility of humanity comes in countless expressions. And of all these expressions, fear is the most damning.
You may ask, "How does fear come into play with terrorists?" The answer is simple: Those who use terror as their statement of power, do so to bury, deny, mitigate their fears. They are fearful of not belonging. Fearful of being outcasted, being ignored, being seen as insignificant, useless, wholly unimportant. They scream with guns, knives and bombs, "See me! Hear me! I am significant. I matter."
So many guise their fears by accepting a way of life, prescribed and designed by others, who also share their same fears.
It is the ultimate expression of our shared, universal fragility.
We are innocent.
We are defenseless.
We are fragile.
To follow when we are too unsure to lead.
To listen when we are too conflicted to speak.
To do when we are too lost to wait.
There is no harm in showing your support, your solidarity with Paris, just know it won't accomplish anything lasting. So long as humanity stands apart from itself, there will be more places, more people and more events, catastrophic or mundane, that will beg for your solidarity.
Change your profile pic.
Send money.
Send prayers.
Demand change.
Demand the reversal of change.
Then sit, wait and return, as best you can, to improving your own expressions of your fears.
As an author, I create lives. I give my characters strengths, weaknesses, habits, humor, hatred, love, broken hearts, life and death. But I do not need to breathe fragility into them. That, it seems, comes standard with humanity.
My main character in my Derek Cole Series, is no stranger to fear. No stranger to the human condition and far from a stranger to the many expressions of fragility of humanity.
November 2, 2014
Impatience
If you're a parent, you probably are well aware of times when your patience has been tested. Some of these tests are passed and some serve to remind us that we are far from perfect. Patience, it seems, is both extremely important and extraordinarily difficult to claim as being owned. Even those that I would consider to be very patient have told me that they wish they were more patient.
Is anyone patient? Can anyone say, with certainty that they possess an adequate level of patience?
The main character in my Derek Cole Suspense Thriller Series, Derek Cole, is a character that I intentionally gave characteristics that I find lacking in myself or wish that were more prevalent in my life. He is extremely focused, confident in his abilities, lives independent of the good opinion of others and is patient.
Derek doesn't rush to judgements or reach hasty conclusions. He let's people finish what they're saying before offering his opinion. Though he would admit to rushing into dangerous situations from time to time, he does so only when being patient is an ill-advised approach to an event or circumstance.
When I started developing Derek Cole, the character notes in my Scrivener writing application listed his main characteristic as being patient. As I wrote "patient," on his character sheet, I immediately became jealous. I wished all it would take is being labeled as patient to actually possess the trait. I wrote that Derek Cole is patient and instantly, magically, he became patient.
I'm sure, if he was real, that Derek Cole would thank me for making him so patient. He would probably say that patience made his a good private investigator, a good husband to his wife, Lucy, and a good friend to those that I allowed him the honor of knowing.
In the first novel in the Derek Cole series, Heartless, Derek is faced with several challenges. Some of these challenges will test his patience, others will place demands on his skills that are greater than anything he's ever faced. And most importantly, Derek will be forced to deal with his most tragic event in his life: his wife's murder.
Somehow, I believe as I re-read Heartless again, I have come to know that Derek Cole would never be the character he has become if it were not for the main characteristic I gave him. It is, at the end of the day, Derek's patience that helps him overcome all of the challenges I throw at him in the story. And knowing what's in store for him in the next book in the Derek Cole Series, "Those of the Margin," he may need more patience than what I already awarded him.
Is anyone patient? Can anyone say, with certainty that they possess an adequate level of patience?
The main character in my Derek Cole Suspense Thriller Series, Derek Cole, is a character that I intentionally gave characteristics that I find lacking in myself or wish that were more prevalent in my life. He is extremely focused, confident in his abilities, lives independent of the good opinion of others and is patient.
Derek doesn't rush to judgements or reach hasty conclusions. He let's people finish what they're saying before offering his opinion. Though he would admit to rushing into dangerous situations from time to time, he does so only when being patient is an ill-advised approach to an event or circumstance.
When I started developing Derek Cole, the character notes in my Scrivener writing application listed his main characteristic as being patient. As I wrote "patient," on his character sheet, I immediately became jealous. I wished all it would take is being labeled as patient to actually possess the trait. I wrote that Derek Cole is patient and instantly, magically, he became patient.
I'm sure, if he was real, that Derek Cole would thank me for making him so patient. He would probably say that patience made his a good private investigator, a good husband to his wife, Lucy, and a good friend to those that I allowed him the honor of knowing.
In the first novel in the Derek Cole series, Heartless, Derek is faced with several challenges. Some of these challenges will test his patience, others will place demands on his skills that are greater than anything he's ever faced. And most importantly, Derek will be forced to deal with his most tragic event in his life: his wife's murder.
Somehow, I believe as I re-read Heartless again, I have come to know that Derek Cole would never be the character he has become if it were not for the main characteristic I gave him. It is, at the end of the day, Derek's patience that helps him overcome all of the challenges I throw at him in the story. And knowing what's in store for him in the next book in the Derek Cole Series, "Those of the Margin," he may need more patience than what I already awarded him.
