Scott Moon's Blog

Blue Hearts of Mars is the first book I have signed to read in the Shut Up and Read Group. This is the first YA Science Fiction novel I have read and I am enjoying it so far, which should not be surprising, since it has made it to the quarter finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest.

I am a slow reader, or more accurately, a distracted reader. (I currently have three fiction books going and one book on writing. And I am, of course, working on my latest WIP, working, and raising a famly. Not in that order.)

The deadline for this book, by the Shut Up and Read group rules, is May 2. So I guess I better stop blogging and start reading.

I have not been a very good patron of Goodreads. Sometimes, when I finish a book I add it to my list and post a review, but I feel I have missed out on the community here.

Recently, a writer I met on Twitter, Shannon Mayer, announced that she was quitting her regular job to write full time. I have read two of her books and enjoyed them, but have followed the progress of her other books series with interest. It is great to see someone's career take off.

This is not a promotion for her book, I am merely writing about living vicariously. Many people I meet on Twitter, Goodreads, and all the other social media sites are writers. I wish everyone the best.

This May I am going to the OWFI writer's conference again. Last year was the first conference I attended and I was on cloud nine. A few of my off line friends are writers, but none of them are as fanatic about it as I am. OWFI was better than Disney Land for me. Everything was exciting. Just being there made me feel I was living the dream.

I have friends at work that discuss books with great enthusiasm, and that's great too, though most of my friends and acquaintances want to talk about sports and hunting. I don't have time for either, so I usually feel like the odd man out.

I am reading Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni and Browne for the second time, because I am in the midst of editing a book I just got back from a professional editor. First time for me. Wish me luck.

I hope to see more of everyone on Goodreads. I could promote my book, but I would rather get the feeling I had at the writer's conference.

My wife and I recently had our 17th anniversary. We went to a movie, without the kids, which is a rare treat for us. We chose something simple, a movie. Romantic? Well I guess you had to be there. She wanted to see Skyfall, because we are both James Bond fans, but also because she appreciates Daniel Craig’s acting ability. Yes, I agree he is the best Bond since Sir Sean Connery. Yet, I am beginning to feel I should actually read the Daniel Craig Workout advertisement that keeps popping up on my iPhone.

Last year, about this time, we sallied forth together and purchased iPhones. Jen had the idea it might help me with organization. She has since mentioned a developing jealousy of the phone, but I can’t put it down. It is plugged straight into my brain like a bad Dean Koontz novel. (And slow down, angry reader, I am not disrespecting Dean Koontz, he’s a favorite. I merely draw on a mental picture—from Midnight I think, or possibly from Fear Nothing.) The device, it doesn’t have a name because then my wife really would be jealous, is extremely useful for many things. I have more apps than I know what do with. The Goodreads mobile app, however, gives me a headache. I enjoy my visits to Goodreads, but when I get a notification of virtual life wizzing by me as I try to participate via my Goodreads mobile app, I am deeply wounded. It seems I am continually forced into using the mobile version when I can only respond to forums and messages using the web version.

Alas, I doth protest too much.

The list of books I want to read is expanding exponentially, largely due to Goodreads and people I meet on Twitter. Once we are moved into our new house (so soon –crosses fingers) I need to dig out a book I used with some success years ago: Break-through Rapid Reading by Peter Kump. It’s a good book, but I quit doing the drills. I have always been a slow reader, partly because I am prone to daydreaming through the landscape of the story.

In the mean time, I am going to use my computer to access Goodreads (unless I just can’t get to a computer).

How many writers have looked up from the keyboard and thought, "This is good. This is really good. Look out world, I am on fire!"

That feeling is something I live for. Success as a fiction writer, published or not, is a matter of finding this zone more often than wandering in the land of self doubt, self criticism, and "practical reasoning." These latter emotions can come at any time, day or night, and must be endured. By contrast, inspiration is best when there is an opportunity to do something with it. Odds are stacked against fiction writers. Fortunately, what the moments of inspiration lack in duration and convenience, they make up for with intensity and day dreams.

My favorite exclamations on twitter ( https://twitter.com/Scottmoonwriter ) are variations of "I love writing!" I tweet with friends. There are a lot of great people on Twitter. I promote my book and the books of other people. I make jokes. But being able to exclaim your passion is priceless. People even answer back! Of course, in my Twitterverse, the writer population is dense.

"Morning writer. How's your free day?"

"Great. Yours?"

"Did one last month. Top ten in free contemporary fantasy. Hey, hey."

"Yeah! You should do a blog tour."

"Wish I had the time, patience, and know-how. What is up with Stumbleupon? Do you know how to use it?"

"No idea."

"I love writing!"

"Me too!"

High five.

There are many tools available to the writer. Five months ago I attended the OWFI Writer's Conference. Each presenter spent at least some time addressing "platform" and “social media,” which are not actually synonymous. So I went home and opened a twitter account. Everything was about Twitter was strange and non-intuitive. My confidence in my computer / internet skills suffered a mental groin shot, but people answered my tweet questions and I now enjoy the community.

Google Drive (formerly Google Docs) is helpful because it allows me to take projects with me wherever I go, so that when life really comes down on the writer in me, I can at least stay in touch with my work in progress. I tried several iPhone word processing apps, this works best for me.

I now use Serenity Software Editor as part of my review and revision process. This program has limitations but is a big help. The program does not like jargon or slang. There is a free trial. The full version with in-document editing is easier and uses less paper, because the free trial and cheaper version require you to print out the suggestions and enter them by hand. http://www.serenity-software.com/
I have also experimented with Liquid Story Binder, which is really cool, but I have not fully bought into using it, primarily because I don’t have time to learn to use another complex system. For my current projects I am using an Excel spreadsheet to plot using scene lists, character charts, and chapter outlines. I would recommend the free trial for LSB http://www.blackobelisksoftware.com/ for world building in particular.

But I digress. I love stories. When I manage to write something exciting, it is a really good day. Just wanted to share.

When I published Dragon Badge on Kindle Direct and CreateSpace, it was because I loved the story and desperately wanted to share it with people. Every writer knows what it is like to build a scene and work out a bit of dialogue that has your ego busting at the seams. You say, “Wow, this is really good. I can’t wait to share it with everyone I know.” I shared a separate work-in-progress novel with several non-writers who love to read. These beta readers are work colleagues who were probably surprised when I actually dropped a 600 page manuscript on each of their desks and said, “tell me what you think.” That work-in-progress is similar in some ways to Dragon Badge, in that it contains cop characters, but the main characters were bikers, runaways, priests, and vampires. These beta readers loved it. I pitched the book at a writing conference (OWFI 2012) and was two for two on sample requests. During the conference I almost pitched a different book, because every agent, editor, and writer that did presentations said they were not interested in vampire books. I felt good that my vampire tale was original enough to hook them.

Thus far I am very happy with my self-publishing experience. I have learned about eBook and CreateSpace formatting, found a great place to buy book covers, read many books on writing, editing, and marketing. But the key element that will help me improve my craft are book reviews. A lot of people love Dragon Badge. Scores of people I know personally have approached me and complemented the book, while asking if there will be another (there will, I am working on it now). The real test has been the impartial reviewers. My first three star review was like a punch in the gut, even though I have thick skin, tons of confidence, and understand not everyone will like it. Yet, I pay attention to the reviews and have done some serious soul searching on what I need to do to improve the next book.

In high school I had a choir director who always said it was important to sing loud, put yourself out there, and hear your mistakes. Publishing a book has the same result. While I understand it is foolish to write to the critics, this does not mean their comments are not valuable. In fact, they are probably the most valuable part of this entire adventure. All I want to do is write the best book I can. I love writing and most of the time it loves me back.

I wrote the first draft of Dragon Badge almost nine years ago, before I became a detective in the Exploited Missing Child Unit. Seven years ago I submitted it to a major publishing house that accepted unsolicited, un-agented, complete manuscripts. The day I received the letter informing me that the publisher's first reader liked the book and passed it up the chain was very good for me. I was informed that if the second reader liked it, the book would go to the purchasing editor.

Seven years later I received a very nice rejection letter, stating that the book was well liked, but not right for their current needs. Included in the rejection were some critique points, which I attacked furiously. My primary beta reader gave it another read, and I began editing with a ruthless efficiency that I had not been capable of years ago. During the last decade, I worked on special tasks forces and teams, fathered more wonderful children, and continued to write books.

When I had done all that I could and it passed another beta reader review, I published Dragon Badge as my first Kindle Direct Book (and also a paperback version on CreateSpace.com). I hope you read and enjoy Dragon Badge. I tried to write what I know while keeping it clearly in the realm of fiction.