James Noll's Blog - Posts Tagged "indiepublishing"
Indie Publishing Guide Tip #1: Read widely and all the time
One day, in the summer of my fifth grade year, my parents sent away to visit Grandma Francis.
"Your grandmother hasn't seen you in a while," my mother explained. "She wants to get to know you better."
I was supposed to spend one week with Grandma Francis in New Jersey, which was great, but about half way through the week, my parents called and explained that since my other set of grandparents (my dad's parents) lived in Pennsylvania, she was going to drop me off with them for another week-long visit.
So I think I'm justified in saying that they were just trying to get rid of me.
Grandma and Grandpa Noll were still working back then, so essentially I stayed in their house until they came home. Grandma Noll left me with a stack of books to read during the day when they were gone, most of them westerns, but I ended up finding a series of mysteries that I ripped through. The first one had something to do with a murder on a boat. There was a knife plunged into the deck, a dead body, several suspects, etc . . . . Whatever. It worked. I was hooked.
Not that I needed very much encouragement to read. I come from a family of readers. My mother read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to me when I was too young to do it by myself, and when I could read, I devoured everything I could get my hands on. Dr. Seuss led to Lloyd Alexander, then The Hobbit, then The Lord of the Rings. When I was in ninth grade, my brother introduced me to Stephen King, and I ripped through everything he'd written, from Carrie to The Talisman. (This was the 80's though, so I didn't do it strictly in that order. I started with Night Shift, then moved on to Firestarter, then to Pet Semetery, The Bachman Books, Skelton Crew, The Dead Zone, etc . . . .) The Stand was a revelation, and my adolescent mind was blown away by the sheer magnitude and complexity of IT when it was published.
Then came all of the science fiction, The Foundation Trilogy being my favorite, followed by deeper reads, books that were interesting and complex, containing important social criticism : A Clockwork Orange, Catch-22, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Brave New World, The Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451, Of Mice and Men, and To Kill A Mockingbird.
I still maintained my connection to so-called fun books, though. Especially Stephen King. When his The Dark Tower books came out, I drove over to the mall to pick up my pre-ordered copy with each new volume. I was so eager to read them that I sat in the parking lot and read the first couple of chapters before I went home.
In college I was exposed to literature the likes of which I'd never seen, plots, diction, syntax, structures, ideas, etc . . . that were difficult to comprehend, that made me think deeply, critically, creatively, and which challenged me to consider beliefs, opinions, and way's of life vastly different from my own.
These days, I read anything I can get my hands on. Recently I've been on a biography binge. I read Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman, And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life, Ambrose Bierce: Alone in Bad Company, and Petty: The Biography. Right now I'm reading Silence: A Novel, mainly because I want to see the Scorsese adaptation, and the rule in my house is that if a movie comes out that's based on a book, I have to read the book first.
My point is this: if you want to write, you have to read, and you have to read widely. Read everything you can get your hands on. Broaden your interests. Read fiction and non-fiction. Read poetry, newspapers, magazines. The more styles you expose yourself to, the more ideas you encounter, the more structures you puzzle through, the better your writing will be.
Next up: Write as much as possible, even if it's bad.
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction? Join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
www.jamesnoll.net
"Your grandmother hasn't seen you in a while," my mother explained. "She wants to get to know you better."
I was supposed to spend one week with Grandma Francis in New Jersey, which was great, but about half way through the week, my parents called and explained that since my other set of grandparents (my dad's parents) lived in Pennsylvania, she was going to drop me off with them for another week-long visit.
So I think I'm justified in saying that they were just trying to get rid of me.
Grandma and Grandpa Noll were still working back then, so essentially I stayed in their house until they came home. Grandma Noll left me with a stack of books to read during the day when they were gone, most of them westerns, but I ended up finding a series of mysteries that I ripped through. The first one had something to do with a murder on a boat. There was a knife plunged into the deck, a dead body, several suspects, etc . . . . Whatever. It worked. I was hooked.
Not that I needed very much encouragement to read. I come from a family of readers. My mother read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to me when I was too young to do it by myself, and when I could read, I devoured everything I could get my hands on. Dr. Seuss led to Lloyd Alexander, then The Hobbit, then The Lord of the Rings. When I was in ninth grade, my brother introduced me to Stephen King, and I ripped through everything he'd written, from Carrie to The Talisman. (This was the 80's though, so I didn't do it strictly in that order. I started with Night Shift, then moved on to Firestarter, then to Pet Semetery, The Bachman Books, Skelton Crew, The Dead Zone, etc . . . .) The Stand was a revelation, and my adolescent mind was blown away by the sheer magnitude and complexity of IT when it was published.
Then came all of the science fiction, The Foundation Trilogy being my favorite, followed by deeper reads, books that were interesting and complex, containing important social criticism : A Clockwork Orange, Catch-22, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Brave New World, The Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451, Of Mice and Men, and To Kill A Mockingbird.
I still maintained my connection to so-called fun books, though. Especially Stephen King. When his The Dark Tower books came out, I drove over to the mall to pick up my pre-ordered copy with each new volume. I was so eager to read them that I sat in the parking lot and read the first couple of chapters before I went home.
In college I was exposed to literature the likes of which I'd never seen, plots, diction, syntax, structures, ideas, etc . . . that were difficult to comprehend, that made me think deeply, critically, creatively, and which challenged me to consider beliefs, opinions, and way's of life vastly different from my own.
These days, I read anything I can get my hands on. Recently I've been on a biography binge. I read Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman, And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life, Ambrose Bierce: Alone in Bad Company, and Petty: The Biography. Right now I'm reading Silence: A Novel, mainly because I want to see the Scorsese adaptation, and the rule in my house is that if a movie comes out that's based on a book, I have to read the book first.
My point is this: if you want to write, you have to read, and you have to read widely. Read everything you can get your hands on. Broaden your interests. Read fiction and non-fiction. Read poetry, newspapers, magazines. The more styles you expose yourself to, the more ideas you encounter, the more structures you puzzle through, the better your writing will be.
Next up: Write as much as possible, even if it's bad.
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction? Join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
www.jamesnoll.net
Indie Publishing Guide Tip #2: Write as much as possible, even if it's bad
One day, my sixth grade teacher, Mrs. MacDonald, gave the class an assignment to write a story. She didn't care what the story was about, just as long as we wrote one. Maybe I was inspired by of all of the things that happened to me a few months before that, but I knew I was going to write a murder mystery, and I knew I was going name my characters after the other kids in my class. Grant Hill (yes, the former NBA player) was in my class, and I described the character I based on him as a "three-time loser." I had no idea what it meant at the time, but Mrs. MacDonald laughed when I read the story out loud to the class, and I liked being able to get somebody to respond to something I created. From that moment I knew what I wanted to do with my life.
Of course, the gauntlet that is middle school intervened, and I didn't try to write another story until I was sixteen. It was pretty bad, but I wasn't discouraged for some reason. I suppose I already knew it was going to take a long time. (I tell the story of that in an interview with Mercedes Fox. You can read it here: https://mercedesfoxbooks.com/meet-aut...)
I kept hacking away at storytelling throughout college. I was never really happy with what I wrote but that didn't stop me. I aimed for longer and longer pieces, things I intended to be novels but which I could never complete. They were a combination of fantasy and comedy, Tolkien meets Tom Robbins, only with squirrels and talking forks instead of elves and dwarves. In my early twenties I got deeply into H.P. Lovecraft, which is why, I suppose, the first novel length manuscript I ever completed was a wildly unsuccessful weird tale set in Fredericksburg, VA. It was about massive worms and homegrown superheroes and some kind of Illuminati plotting the end of the world. It was terrible. My boss at the time read it. That was nice of her.
At that point, none of the what I'd written, none of the stories I'd slaved over, amounted to very much in terms of published work (let alone paid work), they did give me something even more invaluable: practice, time, and experience. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book, Outliers, estimates that human beings need 10,000 of practice at something to be able to master it.
My point is this: the best way to become a good writer is to write. And write and write and write. Some of it will be good, some terrible, but that shouldn't stop you.
Next up: Persistence
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction? Join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
Of course, the gauntlet that is middle school intervened, and I didn't try to write another story until I was sixteen. It was pretty bad, but I wasn't discouraged for some reason. I suppose I already knew it was going to take a long time. (I tell the story of that in an interview with Mercedes Fox. You can read it here: https://mercedesfoxbooks.com/meet-aut...)
I kept hacking away at storytelling throughout college. I was never really happy with what I wrote but that didn't stop me. I aimed for longer and longer pieces, things I intended to be novels but which I could never complete. They were a combination of fantasy and comedy, Tolkien meets Tom Robbins, only with squirrels and talking forks instead of elves and dwarves. In my early twenties I got deeply into H.P. Lovecraft, which is why, I suppose, the first novel length manuscript I ever completed was a wildly unsuccessful weird tale set in Fredericksburg, VA. It was about massive worms and homegrown superheroes and some kind of Illuminati plotting the end of the world. It was terrible. My boss at the time read it. That was nice of her.
At that point, none of the what I'd written, none of the stories I'd slaved over, amounted to very much in terms of published work (let alone paid work), they did give me something even more invaluable: practice, time, and experience. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book, Outliers, estimates that human beings need 10,000 of practice at something to be able to master it.
My point is this: the best way to become a good writer is to write. And write and write and write. Some of it will be good, some terrible, but that shouldn't stop you.
Next up: Persistence
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction? Join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
Indie Publishing Guide Tip #3: Be persistent
My next (unsuccessful) novel featured a character that I ended up spending over a decade developing. His name is Topher, and he is arrogant, impetuous, immoral, and extremely funny. I don't know where he came from exactly, but I do remember wanting to create an anti-hero who was entirely repellent but whom the reader couldn't help liking.
In that novel, simply titled Topher, he stuffs the ballot boxes of a small beach town in Virginia in order to become the mayor. Once elected, he embezzles all the town's money, buys a Korean mail-order bride, and builds a subterranean casino with water slides and cat races. Then a hurricane comes and wipes it all out, essentially bankrupting the town. To apologize, Topher throws a parade in his honor. In the middle of it he looses a team of monkeys and dozens of little people armed with water guns filled with cooking oil on the unsuspecting townspeople, and is carried away into the air by a hot air balloon.
Even though that novel didn't work, I liked Topher and his friends (Michael Zorn and Kenneth "Gertrude" Hughes) so much that I wrote a sequel in which they find themselves held captive in another small Virginia town straight out of a Twilight Zone episode. At first everything seems to be going well, but soon the men realize that if they're ever going to get out alive, they must fight to the death in a series of bizarre games. After a few initial successes, they die one by one and end up in hell. That novel, titled Igor's Inn, was a little bit better, but it also failed.
Even so, I still couldn't get Topher, Zorn, and Gertrude out of my mind. I always knew I was going to write about their past together, something having to do with the boarding school they attended as teenagers, but I didn't want to change anything about their personalities. I thought that if they were younger, they wouldn't be able to speak in as elevated a manner as they did later on in life or be as corrupt. I struggled with it for a while before finally saying, "Screw it. They've always been that way." That's when I wrote Raleigh's Prep.
Though it took nearly half a decade to draft and draft and re-draft, I wouldn't give up on the idea. I knew there was something about it that worked, I just needed to learn how to write it better. I finally published Raleigh's Prep as a part of my first book, A Knife in the Back, in 2013.
It's garnered some nice reviews. Most recently, I sold a copy to someone at Marscon, and this is what she wrote about it on Amazon:
"I bought this book at Marscon directly from Mr. Noll himself. I love the horror genre, and the book definitely interested me. I truly enjoyed all the stories in the book. There are 7 short stories and a novella, plus the beginning of another story with some of the same characters from the novella. I enjoyed all the stories, but a couple of my favorites were 'Beta', regarding a remote village being terrorized by...something in the woods, and 'Under the Rocks', which dealt with a river and the monster therein. The novella was different as well; interesting characters, quite a lot of death and gore and some twists and turns.
I look forward to reading more of Mr. Noll's work in the future!"
A year later, I published Tracker's Travail, the second novel in the series, in my second book, You Will Be Safe Here
, which also received some nice reviews:
"I really enjoyed these stories. They contain a nice variety of themes, some of which are dark and some of which are actually pretty humorous.
My favorites were "The Unan" and "Savages." (These two stories actually tie together.) There were elements to The Unan that reminded me of the world of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series and I imagine the Gunslinger would have fit in pretty well in this setting. Anyway, the author has done a good job or world building here, the stories contain good characterization and solid action, and I greatly enjoyed them. Going into more detail would be doing a disservice to any readers who plan on checking these stories out.
Recommended, especially for fans of sci-fi fantasy or readers who simply appreciate a diverse and interesting collection of stories."
Thank you, Dr. Gonzo!
Those reviews, and my tenacity, led me to finish the final book in the series, Topher's Ton, which I published in my third book, Burn All The Bodies.
Raleigh's Prep was a mess from the start. Episodic, disjointed, and too zany, I had no idea what it was about or where it was going. Still, I worked on it wherever I could: sitting on the hillside during my daughters' soccer games, after school (I'd become a teacher by that point) while the girls were playing, in the few moments I had before bed. I dropped it several times, frustrated with the lack of shape or momentum. Eventually I hit upon the idea that the school was actually a prison, and that the boys had done something horrible to get there. I always knew that there was something equally horrible in the woods that was gradually taking over the school, but I never knew why until I had another epiphany: nobody was ever supposed to leave. From there the structure became simple. There was a new headmaster, and he was trying to put a stop to the practice, to actually reform and rehabilitate the boys, but it was too late. It took a few more months before I was able to whip it into any kind of shape, something worth publishing, which I did in 2013.
My point is this: I wrote two novels featuring Topher in his friends before finding the right one that worked. It took a few years and thousands of words that nobody would ever (thankfully) read. Then I spent a few more years writing, tweaking, beta-testing, and writing again until I was satisfied with the result.
It's easy to rely on platitudes like "Never give up," and "You need to have grit," but that's not totally what I mean here anyway. If you find a character or set of characters (or setting or time period or subject—anything) you like to write about, find a way to write about them. Don't be afraid to try out several different scenarios, to write entire books featuring them. Eventually you will hit upon something. You just have to do the work.
Next up: Three tips for Book Marketing Indie Publishers Need to Follow
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction? Join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
In that novel, simply titled Topher, he stuffs the ballot boxes of a small beach town in Virginia in order to become the mayor. Once elected, he embezzles all the town's money, buys a Korean mail-order bride, and builds a subterranean casino with water slides and cat races. Then a hurricane comes and wipes it all out, essentially bankrupting the town. To apologize, Topher throws a parade in his honor. In the middle of it he looses a team of monkeys and dozens of little people armed with water guns filled with cooking oil on the unsuspecting townspeople, and is carried away into the air by a hot air balloon.
Even though that novel didn't work, I liked Topher and his friends (Michael Zorn and Kenneth "Gertrude" Hughes) so much that I wrote a sequel in which they find themselves held captive in another small Virginia town straight out of a Twilight Zone episode. At first everything seems to be going well, but soon the men realize that if they're ever going to get out alive, they must fight to the death in a series of bizarre games. After a few initial successes, they die one by one and end up in hell. That novel, titled Igor's Inn, was a little bit better, but it also failed.
Even so, I still couldn't get Topher, Zorn, and Gertrude out of my mind. I always knew I was going to write about their past together, something having to do with the boarding school they attended as teenagers, but I didn't want to change anything about their personalities. I thought that if they were younger, they wouldn't be able to speak in as elevated a manner as they did later on in life or be as corrupt. I struggled with it for a while before finally saying, "Screw it. They've always been that way." That's when I wrote Raleigh's Prep.
Though it took nearly half a decade to draft and draft and re-draft, I wouldn't give up on the idea. I knew there was something about it that worked, I just needed to learn how to write it better. I finally published Raleigh's Prep as a part of my first book, A Knife in the Back, in 2013.
It's garnered some nice reviews. Most recently, I sold a copy to someone at Marscon, and this is what she wrote about it on Amazon:"I bought this book at Marscon directly from Mr. Noll himself. I love the horror genre, and the book definitely interested me. I truly enjoyed all the stories in the book. There are 7 short stories and a novella, plus the beginning of another story with some of the same characters from the novella. I enjoyed all the stories, but a couple of my favorites were 'Beta', regarding a remote village being terrorized by...something in the woods, and 'Under the Rocks', which dealt with a river and the monster therein. The novella was different as well; interesting characters, quite a lot of death and gore and some twists and turns.
I look forward to reading more of Mr. Noll's work in the future!"
A year later, I published Tracker's Travail, the second novel in the series, in my second book, You Will Be Safe Here
, which also received some nice reviews:"I really enjoyed these stories. They contain a nice variety of themes, some of which are dark and some of which are actually pretty humorous.
My favorites were "The Unan" and "Savages." (These two stories actually tie together.) There were elements to The Unan that reminded me of the world of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series and I imagine the Gunslinger would have fit in pretty well in this setting. Anyway, the author has done a good job or world building here, the stories contain good characterization and solid action, and I greatly enjoyed them. Going into more detail would be doing a disservice to any readers who plan on checking these stories out.
Recommended, especially for fans of sci-fi fantasy or readers who simply appreciate a diverse and interesting collection of stories."
Thank you, Dr. Gonzo!
Those reviews, and my tenacity, led me to finish the final book in the series, Topher's Ton, which I published in my third book, Burn All The Bodies.
Raleigh's Prep was a mess from the start. Episodic, disjointed, and too zany, I had no idea what it was about or where it was going. Still, I worked on it wherever I could: sitting on the hillside during my daughters' soccer games, after school (I'd become a teacher by that point) while the girls were playing, in the few moments I had before bed. I dropped it several times, frustrated with the lack of shape or momentum. Eventually I hit upon the idea that the school was actually a prison, and that the boys had done something horrible to get there. I always knew that there was something equally horrible in the woods that was gradually taking over the school, but I never knew why until I had another epiphany: nobody was ever supposed to leave. From there the structure became simple. There was a new headmaster, and he was trying to put a stop to the practice, to actually reform and rehabilitate the boys, but it was too late. It took a few more months before I was able to whip it into any kind of shape, something worth publishing, which I did in 2013.
My point is this: I wrote two novels featuring Topher in his friends before finding the right one that worked. It took a few years and thousands of words that nobody would ever (thankfully) read. Then I spent a few more years writing, tweaking, beta-testing, and writing again until I was satisfied with the result.
It's easy to rely on platitudes like "Never give up," and "You need to have grit," but that's not totally what I mean here anyway. If you find a character or set of characters (or setting or time period or subject—anything) you like to write about, find a way to write about them. Don't be afraid to try out several different scenarios, to write entire books featuring them. Eventually you will hit upon something. You just have to do the work.
Next up: Three tips for Book Marketing Indie Publishers Need to Follow
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction? Join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
Indie Publishing Guide: Three tips for Book Marketing Indie Publishers Need to Follow
If you're anything like I was when I finished writing my first series, you're confident that the material is worth an audience but have no idea how to find that audience. For three years after I first published my first book, A Knife in the Back
, I cast around for ways to get it read. I had some success, but most of the time I felt like I was just spinning my wheels. Here's a list of things I did in attempt to market my work:
1. Run Goodreads giveaways.
2. Run freebies on KDP.
3. Held local readings.
4. Used Facebook and Twitter to advertise.
5. Given copies to my local library system.
6. Sold copies at my local library system.
Despite all of this, and seemingly despite my dedication, nothing really worked. Other than some freebie winners and a few intrepid Amazon buyers, my fan base was relegated to family and friends. (Not that I don't appreciate that! In fact, it's what kept me going!)
I'd always known I needed to do a better job marking my work, but I just couldn't get past my negative view of "selling". To me, selling my books was synonymous with taking someone's money. It felt gross and slimy. But there is a big difference between that and marketing. The turn began when I realized that marketing is just letting people know what I was doing.
That's it.
No pressure techniques. No scheming or smarminess. There are people out there who like to read horror, post-apocalyptic, and science fiction. I'm one of them. I know tons of them. So marketing is just letting people who like horror, post-apocalyptic, and science-fiction that I have a book they might like. More, "Do you like reading cool stuff?" and not at all "Please give me your money."
Before I even get started, all of the ideas for this I learned from reading four great books:
1. Your first 1,000 copies, by Tim Grahl
2. Write. Publish. Repeat, by Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, and David Wright
3. Permission Marketing, by Seth Godin
4. How to Market A Book, by Joanna Penn
I definitely recommend reading them. They helped me overcome that first hurdle (the idea that marketing is slimy), and the second hurdle (defeating "the imposter syndrome"), and provided very practical tips for getting started.
In the next series of articles, I'm going to tell you how I applied their advice, techniques, strategies, and tactics, and give you an idea about my experience with it so far—what I learned, what I dumped, what I added, and what I made up myself.
Next up: Marketing Tip #1—Bring your work to the people who want to read it.
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction? Join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
, I cast around for ways to get it read. I had some success, but most of the time I felt like I was just spinning my wheels. Here's a list of things I did in attempt to market my work:1. Run Goodreads giveaways.
2. Run freebies on KDP.
3. Held local readings.
4. Used Facebook and Twitter to advertise.
5. Given copies to my local library system.
6. Sold copies at my local library system.
Despite all of this, and seemingly despite my dedication, nothing really worked. Other than some freebie winners and a few intrepid Amazon buyers, my fan base was relegated to family and friends. (Not that I don't appreciate that! In fact, it's what kept me going!)
I'd always known I needed to do a better job marking my work, but I just couldn't get past my negative view of "selling". To me, selling my books was synonymous with taking someone's money. It felt gross and slimy. But there is a big difference between that and marketing. The turn began when I realized that marketing is just letting people know what I was doing.
That's it.
No pressure techniques. No scheming or smarminess. There are people out there who like to read horror, post-apocalyptic, and science fiction. I'm one of them. I know tons of them. So marketing is just letting people who like horror, post-apocalyptic, and science-fiction that I have a book they might like. More, "Do you like reading cool stuff?" and not at all "Please give me your money."
Before I even get started, all of the ideas for this I learned from reading four great books:
1. Your first 1,000 copies, by Tim Grahl
2. Write. Publish. Repeat, by Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, and David Wright
3. Permission Marketing, by Seth Godin
4. How to Market A Book, by Joanna Penn
I definitely recommend reading them. They helped me overcome that first hurdle (the idea that marketing is slimy), and the second hurdle (defeating "the imposter syndrome"), and provided very practical tips for getting started.
In the next series of articles, I'm going to tell you how I applied their advice, techniques, strategies, and tactics, and give you an idea about my experience with it so far—what I learned, what I dumped, what I added, and what I made up myself.
Next up: Marketing Tip #1—Bring your work to the people who want to read it.
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction? Join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
Indie Publishing Guide: Book Marketing Tip #1—Bring your work to the people who want to read it.
It sounds pretty obvious, but most likely the reason your book isn't selling is because nobody knows about it. So take it to them. Since I write horror, post-apocalyptic, and science fiction books, the first thing I did was sign up to be a vendor at as many comic and horror cons as I could afford. (I got this idea from Tim Grahl's book
, by the way.)
*NOTE It can be expensive. The tables at some of these conferences fall somewhere between $100 and $350. Some conferences (mainly the publishing industry conferences) can charge somewhere between $850 and $1,000 (or more) per table. Add to that gas, a hotel room, and food, and it can be quite a bill.*
I chose to start small. The first con I attended as a vendor was the Gaithersburg Book Festival in 2013 (www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org). The table was only $100, and Gaithersburg is only an hour or so away. Unfortunately, It was rainy that day and not very many people showed up, so I didn't really think much of it at the time. In hindsight, I should have been more persistent.
More recently, I was asked to vend at the CRRL Comic Con, hosted by the local library system. It was free and close, and the organizers invited me, which was very nice. I thought of it as my practice run. It went very well. Over 1,100 people attended over the course of three hours, I sold fifteen books, and, more importantly, started my email list.
Since June 2016, I've attended about fourteen different events, some big, some small. Here are ten of the larger events I've attended:
Awesome Con (Washington D.C.)
The VA Comic Con (Richmond, VA)
Heroes Con (Charlotte, NC)
Art in the Park (Fredericksburg, VA)
Scares that Care (Williamsburg, VA)
The Baltimore Comic Con (Baltimore, MD)
The Fredericksburg Independent Book Festival (Fredericksburg, VA)
The VA Comic Con Halloweekend (Richmond, VA)
The Garfield Craft Show (Prince William County, Va)
Alexandria Holiday Market (Alexandria, VA)
Here's what I've learned so far:
On average, I've sold about fifteen to twenty books at each event—even the CRRL con and Art in the Park-- both of which were small, local events. One cost nothing for me, and the other was only $25, so monetarily, they were both more successful.
I didn't do as well at Scares that Care as I anticipated, mainly because there was tons more competition. At the comic cons, I'm one of two or three horror writers. At a horror con, I'm one of ten to twenty. At the Garfield Craft Fair, I was the only author there!
The VA Comic Con's Halloweekend was a huge success, both in terms of selling books and growing my email list. As the guy next to me said at the end of it, "I love these events because I get to talk to people who really like what I'm doing. And tomorrow I have to go back to work, where that doesn't happen."
It is very difficult to turn a profit at any of the larger events. Like I said, the tables generally run between $250-$300 for the weekend. Add travel expenses (hotel, gas, and food), and I'd have to gross at least $800 to break even.
The exposure is good: I've built my email list from zero to 250.
I've been able to network a little bit with some authors and other publishers.
Because of all of this, until I can turn a profit otherwise (through my email list or other venues), staying local is the better option. For the time being, I'm not going to travel more than three hours to any event.
Three day events are great, especially if they're run well. However, they're long and draining. They usually start on Friday afternoons and run until Sunday evenings. The Fridays, as a whole, seem to be a bust in terms of sales, but very good for making connections, talking to other vendors, and checking out all of the cool stuff. Attendance is low, and while I do get to meet some very nice people, they're just browsing or chatting. Not a bad thing! But very rarely does it translate to an email list signup or a transaction.
One to two day events are great; they seem to work just as well as the three day events. Less time, equal amounts of sales, and, if they're within driving distance, very little extra expenses (hotel, food, gas).
Of all the tactics I've tried so far, attending these conventions works the best, for obvious reasons. In seven months, I've gotten my books into the hands of 286 people (about 41 a month). There are people out there doing tons better than me (especially in e-book sales), and in industry terms, my numbers are nothing, and I get that. But what's the alternative? Doing nothing. And doing nothing will result in . . . nothing. These are 286 people who are now reading (or have read) my fiction that wouldn't have otherwise, and who will, if they like what I've done, either pick up the next book in that series, or be waiting for my next series (the first book of which I'm publishing in the late summer).
Even more importantly, I get to make a personal connection to the people who attend these shows, who are there to meet celebrities (I met William Zabka and Martin Kove—Johnny and Kreese from The Karate Kid—at Scares That Care!), and shop and support indie-efforts: artists, graphic novelists, and writers like me (and you!). It's pretty awesome to talk to these folks. They obviously love reading, and we get to talk about our favorite books, movies, actors, authors, shows. Many of them are aspiring authors, too, and I get to talk to them about writing and indie-publishing. Never underestimate the power of engaging with people who share your interests. It's fantastic.
Next up: Book Marketing Tip #2: Build an email list
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction?
CLICK HERE to join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. The cobbler's son decides to investigate, putting himself in grave danger. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
, by the way.)*NOTE It can be expensive. The tables at some of these conferences fall somewhere between $100 and $350. Some conferences (mainly the publishing industry conferences) can charge somewhere between $850 and $1,000 (or more) per table. Add to that gas, a hotel room, and food, and it can be quite a bill.*
I chose to start small. The first con I attended as a vendor was the Gaithersburg Book Festival in 2013 (www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org). The table was only $100, and Gaithersburg is only an hour or so away. Unfortunately, It was rainy that day and not very many people showed up, so I didn't really think much of it at the time. In hindsight, I should have been more persistent.
More recently, I was asked to vend at the CRRL Comic Con, hosted by the local library system. It was free and close, and the organizers invited me, which was very nice. I thought of it as my practice run. It went very well. Over 1,100 people attended over the course of three hours, I sold fifteen books, and, more importantly, started my email list.
Since June 2016, I've attended about fourteen different events, some big, some small. Here are ten of the larger events I've attended:
Awesome Con (Washington D.C.)
The VA Comic Con (Richmond, VA)
Heroes Con (Charlotte, NC)
Art in the Park (Fredericksburg, VA)
Scares that Care (Williamsburg, VA)
The Baltimore Comic Con (Baltimore, MD)
The Fredericksburg Independent Book Festival (Fredericksburg, VA)
The VA Comic Con Halloweekend (Richmond, VA)
The Garfield Craft Show (Prince William County, Va)
Alexandria Holiday Market (Alexandria, VA)
Here's what I've learned so far:
On average, I've sold about fifteen to twenty books at each event—even the CRRL con and Art in the Park-- both of which were small, local events. One cost nothing for me, and the other was only $25, so monetarily, they were both more successful.
I didn't do as well at Scares that Care as I anticipated, mainly because there was tons more competition. At the comic cons, I'm one of two or three horror writers. At a horror con, I'm one of ten to twenty. At the Garfield Craft Fair, I was the only author there!
The VA Comic Con's Halloweekend was a huge success, both in terms of selling books and growing my email list. As the guy next to me said at the end of it, "I love these events because I get to talk to people who really like what I'm doing. And tomorrow I have to go back to work, where that doesn't happen."
It is very difficult to turn a profit at any of the larger events. Like I said, the tables generally run between $250-$300 for the weekend. Add travel expenses (hotel, gas, and food), and I'd have to gross at least $800 to break even.
The exposure is good: I've built my email list from zero to 250.
I've been able to network a little bit with some authors and other publishers.
Because of all of this, until I can turn a profit otherwise (through my email list or other venues), staying local is the better option. For the time being, I'm not going to travel more than three hours to any event.
Three day events are great, especially if they're run well. However, they're long and draining. They usually start on Friday afternoons and run until Sunday evenings. The Fridays, as a whole, seem to be a bust in terms of sales, but very good for making connections, talking to other vendors, and checking out all of the cool stuff. Attendance is low, and while I do get to meet some very nice people, they're just browsing or chatting. Not a bad thing! But very rarely does it translate to an email list signup or a transaction.
One to two day events are great; they seem to work just as well as the three day events. Less time, equal amounts of sales, and, if they're within driving distance, very little extra expenses (hotel, food, gas).
Of all the tactics I've tried so far, attending these conventions works the best, for obvious reasons. In seven months, I've gotten my books into the hands of 286 people (about 41 a month). There are people out there doing tons better than me (especially in e-book sales), and in industry terms, my numbers are nothing, and I get that. But what's the alternative? Doing nothing. And doing nothing will result in . . . nothing. These are 286 people who are now reading (or have read) my fiction that wouldn't have otherwise, and who will, if they like what I've done, either pick up the next book in that series, or be waiting for my next series (the first book of which I'm publishing in the late summer).
Even more importantly, I get to make a personal connection to the people who attend these shows, who are there to meet celebrities (I met William Zabka and Martin Kove—Johnny and Kreese from The Karate Kid—at Scares That Care!), and shop and support indie-efforts: artists, graphic novelists, and writers like me (and you!). It's pretty awesome to talk to these folks. They obviously love reading, and we get to talk about our favorite books, movies, actors, authors, shows. Many of them are aspiring authors, too, and I get to talk to them about writing and indie-publishing. Never underestimate the power of engaging with people who share your interests. It's fantastic.
Next up: Book Marketing Tip #2: Build an email list
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction?
CLICK HERE to join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. The cobbler's son decides to investigate, putting himself in grave danger. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
Indie Publishing Guide: Book Marketing Tip #2—Set Some Initial Distance Limits
Last June (2016), I had an open weekend available in my schedule and decided to register for a table at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC. I was fresh off my experience at Awesome Con (which lives up to it's name), and didn't want to lose the momentum I'd built. Plus, Charlotte is out of the area, and I saw it as an opportunity to expand my audience.
The conference was fantastic. Great people, well-planned, and really fun. Charlotte is a beautiful city, too, and one of my favorite memories from that trip was standing outside the baseball stadium right next to my hotel and watching a minor league baseball game for an inning. I won't wax poetic here, but it was a warm summer evening, not a cloud in the sky, and the sun was slowly setting as the game went on.
After that, however, I decided that I needed to set a limit to how far I was going to travel, at least initially. I'd be willing to make the twelve hour drive (round trip) if I knew I'd be able to break even, or if I knew the experience was of massive benefit to the brand in terms of networking, building an email list, or being on a popular panel. At this point I typically sell between fifteen to twenty seven books, which is great, but just enough to cover the table.
At first I was going to limit myself to 2 1/2 hours, but quickly added an extra hour to it because it was too restrictive. That's not to say that I'll never drive more than four hours away. If I ever get into Dragon con or the San Diego Comic Con, I'll take the hit and chalk it up to a marketing experience. But as much fun as I have at these events, I have finally come to terms with the fact that I am running a business, and in order to keep doing what I love, I need to turn a profit. So if I can't make my table and cover my gas and food, I have to take that into consideration.
Fortunately, I'm within driving distance of three very large metropolitan areas, so the 3.5 limit allows for plenty of reach. The strategy is to establish my local audience first and then gradually build out. If the event is for one day, driving home is a no-brainer, even if it's at the end of my reach. If the event lasts two or three days, the limit lets me save on hotel and food, because a lot of the venues are within an hour or an hour and a half away, and I'll save money by packing food and going home for the night.
When I was younger, I viewed writing from a very romantic perspective. Ah! The life of the artist! Traveling the world, thinking deep thoughts, experiencing LIFE, and being a writer. To me, art was not commerce, and if someone wanted to have something I wrote without paying for it, I'd give it to them. It's a lovely worldview, but a bit stone-headed and not at all realistic. Accepting the necessary collusion of art and business and embracing my inner entrepreneur has been one of the most important lessons I've learned in this process.
Yes, creating interesting, awesome new stories and producing amazing work is at the core of what I'm doing. It's the reason I got into this in the first place. But there needs to be a practical, business-oriented component, too, because without it, all I'm only writing for an audience of one. If I want this to go farther than my own front door, then money matters. Turning a profit matters. Making decisions based on a budget matters.
--JN
Next up: Book Marketing Tip #3: Get on a panel
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction?
CLICK HERE to join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. The cobbler's son decides to investigate, putting himself in grave danger. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
The conference was fantastic. Great people, well-planned, and really fun. Charlotte is a beautiful city, too, and one of my favorite memories from that trip was standing outside the baseball stadium right next to my hotel and watching a minor league baseball game for an inning. I won't wax poetic here, but it was a warm summer evening, not a cloud in the sky, and the sun was slowly setting as the game went on.
After that, however, I decided that I needed to set a limit to how far I was going to travel, at least initially. I'd be willing to make the twelve hour drive (round trip) if I knew I'd be able to break even, or if I knew the experience was of massive benefit to the brand in terms of networking, building an email list, or being on a popular panel. At this point I typically sell between fifteen to twenty seven books, which is great, but just enough to cover the table.
At first I was going to limit myself to 2 1/2 hours, but quickly added an extra hour to it because it was too restrictive. That's not to say that I'll never drive more than four hours away. If I ever get into Dragon con or the San Diego Comic Con, I'll take the hit and chalk it up to a marketing experience. But as much fun as I have at these events, I have finally come to terms with the fact that I am running a business, and in order to keep doing what I love, I need to turn a profit. So if I can't make my table and cover my gas and food, I have to take that into consideration.
Fortunately, I'm within driving distance of three very large metropolitan areas, so the 3.5 limit allows for plenty of reach. The strategy is to establish my local audience first and then gradually build out. If the event is for one day, driving home is a no-brainer, even if it's at the end of my reach. If the event lasts two or three days, the limit lets me save on hotel and food, because a lot of the venues are within an hour or an hour and a half away, and I'll save money by packing food and going home for the night.
When I was younger, I viewed writing from a very romantic perspective. Ah! The life of the artist! Traveling the world, thinking deep thoughts, experiencing LIFE, and being a writer. To me, art was not commerce, and if someone wanted to have something I wrote without paying for it, I'd give it to them. It's a lovely worldview, but a bit stone-headed and not at all realistic. Accepting the necessary collusion of art and business and embracing my inner entrepreneur has been one of the most important lessons I've learned in this process.
Yes, creating interesting, awesome new stories and producing amazing work is at the core of what I'm doing. It's the reason I got into this in the first place. But there needs to be a practical, business-oriented component, too, because without it, all I'm only writing for an audience of one. If I want this to go farther than my own front door, then money matters. Turning a profit matters. Making decisions based on a budget matters.
--JN
Next up: Book Marketing Tip #3: Get on a panel
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction?
CLICK HERE to join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. The cobbler's son decides to investigate, putting himself in grave danger. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
Indie Publishing Guide: Book Marketing Tip #3-- Collaborate
One sure-fire way to set yourself up for misery is if you spend your conference worrying about how many books you sell and/or compare your sales to those of the vendors around you. Of course sales are important, setting your book out there is important, and building your audience is important, but nobody can control the amount of sales at any given convention. However, there are ways doing business that go well-beyond a point-of-sale. People might get to know you if you're obnoxious about drawing attention to your work, and you might even sell a book or two, but nobody will like or trust you very much if that's all you're worried about. Which leads me to my first suggestion:
Don't Be A Jerk
Let me give you an example.
Last year, at a con-that-remains-to-be-unnamed, I was set up next to another horror author who literally stepped out in front of people and guided them away from other tables and towards his. I remember watching one potential customer see my books from about ten feet away and start to walk toward my display, only to be intercepted and steered away. It was the most brazenly awful behavior I'd seen at a convention.
Don't do this.
I agree with competition, but that kind of behavior is not competition. It's poaching. Some people might say, "All's fair when it comes to business," but I refuse to run my operation that way. Competitors, especially in the indie-arts world, can work together and still be profitable and successful. In fact, Nick Stephenson devotes several podcast's and emails to the idea of cross-promotion between indie-authors, specifically emphasizing the idea of networking and collaboration with your fellow authors—people who are effectively your competition. I've seen it work in a different indie-medium when I was touring and playing music (a looooooong time ago). There might have been three or four bands on a bill, but we all helped each other out. We encouraged our fans to watch each other's set, to purchase each other's shirts and cds, and we even loaded in each other's gear. Not once did one of us say, "Don't buy their stuff. Buy ours. We're better." Instead we networked and collaborated, and we all ended up better off for it.
Stealing customers effectively cuts you out of any kind of networking, because who wants to work with someone who acts like that? Here's an example of what you can instead of poaching: At the last convention I went to, the guy at the table next to mine, of his own accord, asked people who were at his table if they liked horror books. If they did, he sent told them to check my stuff out. So I returned the favor. I asked my potential customers if they liked what he was selling, and if they did, I sent them his way. Though we worked in different mediums, we figured out a way to make the day work for both of us, and, more importantly, set up a business relationship for the future.
See If You Can Get On A Panel
If you're an artist or a writer, you have more to offer than just your work. You have your experience. People are fascinated by the creative process. They love talking to me about writing, where I get my ideas, how long it takes to draft a novel, how I market my work. And I, of course, really like talking about what I do! At nearly every single conference I go to, one of my fellow vendors will eventually approach me and ask me about writing, like it's some secret, romantic world they want access to but can't seem to give themselves permission to join.
The first time it happened was at Awesome Con. The woman selling bags and shoes and shirts at the table next to mine crept over to my side one day and, very timidly, said, "I've always wanted to write."
"Well why don't you!" I replied.
We spoke for thirty minutes. I gave her tips, talked to her about how I do it, provided some practical information about which services I use as well as some book titles on marketing.
Most of the conventions I've attended have panels running all day long, ranging in topics from "Big Cons v Little Cons," to "Tips on Making Your Costume," to "Is it Hard Sci-fi or just a Space Opera?" If you want to build your audience, get to know other authors and people in your industry, offer to join or moderate one of these panels. Often the organizers are looking for events to fill up the day, and if you can propose a topic and gather together a couple of interested artists, some might be happy to give you some time.
Recently, I sent an email to the organizer offering to be on a panel at one of the cons I was attending, and I ended up moderating one about organizing conventions. I met three really cool, hard-working organizers, talked to some just-as-cool attendees, and even made a sale out of the whole thing.
I didn't get into this to be a cut-throat seller of horror fiction (pun intended). I don't want to make enemies or irritate people. I want to be a part of a community and work with people, not against them. Creating a community allows people to get to know, like, and trust not just me but the entire group. And that seems to spell success for everyone
Next up: Three Tips for Varying Your Reading
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction?
CLICK HERE to join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. The cobbler's son decides to investigate, putting himself in grave danger. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
Don't Be A Jerk
Let me give you an example.
Last year, at a con-that-remains-to-be-unnamed, I was set up next to another horror author who literally stepped out in front of people and guided them away from other tables and towards his. I remember watching one potential customer see my books from about ten feet away and start to walk toward my display, only to be intercepted and steered away. It was the most brazenly awful behavior I'd seen at a convention.
Don't do this.
I agree with competition, but that kind of behavior is not competition. It's poaching. Some people might say, "All's fair when it comes to business," but I refuse to run my operation that way. Competitors, especially in the indie-arts world, can work together and still be profitable and successful. In fact, Nick Stephenson devotes several podcast's and emails to the idea of cross-promotion between indie-authors, specifically emphasizing the idea of networking and collaboration with your fellow authors—people who are effectively your competition. I've seen it work in a different indie-medium when I was touring and playing music (a looooooong time ago). There might have been three or four bands on a bill, but we all helped each other out. We encouraged our fans to watch each other's set, to purchase each other's shirts and cds, and we even loaded in each other's gear. Not once did one of us say, "Don't buy their stuff. Buy ours. We're better." Instead we networked and collaborated, and we all ended up better off for it.
Stealing customers effectively cuts you out of any kind of networking, because who wants to work with someone who acts like that? Here's an example of what you can instead of poaching: At the last convention I went to, the guy at the table next to mine, of his own accord, asked people who were at his table if they liked horror books. If they did, he sent told them to check my stuff out. So I returned the favor. I asked my potential customers if they liked what he was selling, and if they did, I sent them his way. Though we worked in different mediums, we figured out a way to make the day work for both of us, and, more importantly, set up a business relationship for the future.
See If You Can Get On A Panel
If you're an artist or a writer, you have more to offer than just your work. You have your experience. People are fascinated by the creative process. They love talking to me about writing, where I get my ideas, how long it takes to draft a novel, how I market my work. And I, of course, really like talking about what I do! At nearly every single conference I go to, one of my fellow vendors will eventually approach me and ask me about writing, like it's some secret, romantic world they want access to but can't seem to give themselves permission to join.
The first time it happened was at Awesome Con. The woman selling bags and shoes and shirts at the table next to mine crept over to my side one day and, very timidly, said, "I've always wanted to write."
"Well why don't you!" I replied.
We spoke for thirty minutes. I gave her tips, talked to her about how I do it, provided some practical information about which services I use as well as some book titles on marketing.
Most of the conventions I've attended have panels running all day long, ranging in topics from "Big Cons v Little Cons," to "Tips on Making Your Costume," to "Is it Hard Sci-fi or just a Space Opera?" If you want to build your audience, get to know other authors and people in your industry, offer to join or moderate one of these panels. Often the organizers are looking for events to fill up the day, and if you can propose a topic and gather together a couple of interested artists, some might be happy to give you some time.
Recently, I sent an email to the organizer offering to be on a panel at one of the cons I was attending, and I ended up moderating one about organizing conventions. I met three really cool, hard-working organizers, talked to some just-as-cool attendees, and even made a sale out of the whole thing.
I didn't get into this to be a cut-throat seller of horror fiction (pun intended). I don't want to make enemies or irritate people. I want to be a part of a community and work with people, not against them. Creating a community allows people to get to know, like, and trust not just me but the entire group. And that seems to spell success for everyone
Next up: Three Tips for Varying Your Reading
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction?
CLICK HERE to join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. The cobbler's son decides to investigate, putting himself in grave danger. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
Indie Publishing Guide: Why You Should Consider Varying Your Reading List
One of the reasons most of us became writers in the first place is because we all love to read. I bet each one of us can point to a specific poem, short story, or novel (or play or work of non-fiction) that inspired us in some way. For me it was "'Repent Harlequin!' said the Ticktock Man" by Harlan Ellison. I talk all about how that story inspired me in an interview with Mercedes Fox here: https://mercedesfoxbooks.com/meet-aut...
The business end of marketing, while interesting and important, takes a lot of work. There are boxes to check, events to attend, numbers to crunch, contacts to make, websites to maintain, blogs to update, social media updates to make, and while doing all of this feels good, feels like achievement, it can be mindless at times. It's easy to get caught up in all of it and forget about the main thing: reading and writing—the two things that are the core of being an author.
I do not presume to preach about the kinds of books anybody should read. I'm not a book snob. Read what you want, just as long as you want to read it! However, I must say that as much as I love to read, I do sometimes get stuck in my favorite genre, horror. The problem isn't so much reading the same kind of story, because by doing so, an author becomes pretty well-versed in the conventions of that kind of writing, but rather the boredom that comes with that knowledge. This is what's happening with blockbuster superhero movies. Now that CGI makes it possible to realistically create anything a comic book artist dreams up, and now that we've become used to seeing it, those movies are really starting to bore me. Why? Because barring a few, they all have the same plot: The Hero's Journey. It's like all of the money goes into the effects and none of it into good writing. Avatar is guilty of the same thing. I love that movie. Amazing, groundbreaking effects. Awesome monsters and battle scenes. But the plot is just a version of the "Hero is transformed by the natives he once tried to kill, becomes one of them, and fights on their side."
But for every Thor or Spiderman or Superman plot (and I still like those movies, by the way), there's a Legion or a Jessica Jones. Both of these shows, the first on FX, the second on Netflix, contain all of the familiar elements of the superhero plot. Tortured protagonist with special powers? Check. Call to Adventure? Check. Fall Into The Abyss Followed By Miraculous Return With More Strength? Check. (At least that last one is the case for Jessica Jones.) But Legion, if you haven't seen it, adds layer after layer of David Lynchian weirdness to it, to the point where it might decide not to let our hero win. Or if he does, it'll be an ironic victory. Jessica Jones isn't as surreal as Legion but does a good job standing the traditional superhero story on its end, mainly (in my opinion), through the creation of Killgrave (great name, huh?), one of the most disturbing villains in the genre. Killgrave doesn't necessarily want to take over the world (though he wouldn't mind). He just wants Jessica. Like want wants her. Gross.
So how do you do it? How do you become an expert in your genre and subvert your genre at the same time? Other than stating the obvious (that you should continue to read no matter what), here are three suggestions you might want to follow.
Next up: Tip #1—Variety Is Imperative
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction?
CLICK HERE to join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. The cobbler's son decides to investigate, putting himself in grave danger. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
The business end of marketing, while interesting and important, takes a lot of work. There are boxes to check, events to attend, numbers to crunch, contacts to make, websites to maintain, blogs to update, social media updates to make, and while doing all of this feels good, feels like achievement, it can be mindless at times. It's easy to get caught up in all of it and forget about the main thing: reading and writing—the two things that are the core of being an author.
I do not presume to preach about the kinds of books anybody should read. I'm not a book snob. Read what you want, just as long as you want to read it! However, I must say that as much as I love to read, I do sometimes get stuck in my favorite genre, horror. The problem isn't so much reading the same kind of story, because by doing so, an author becomes pretty well-versed in the conventions of that kind of writing, but rather the boredom that comes with that knowledge. This is what's happening with blockbuster superhero movies. Now that CGI makes it possible to realistically create anything a comic book artist dreams up, and now that we've become used to seeing it, those movies are really starting to bore me. Why? Because barring a few, they all have the same plot: The Hero's Journey. It's like all of the money goes into the effects and none of it into good writing. Avatar is guilty of the same thing. I love that movie. Amazing, groundbreaking effects. Awesome monsters and battle scenes. But the plot is just a version of the "Hero is transformed by the natives he once tried to kill, becomes one of them, and fights on their side."
But for every Thor or Spiderman or Superman plot (and I still like those movies, by the way), there's a Legion or a Jessica Jones. Both of these shows, the first on FX, the second on Netflix, contain all of the familiar elements of the superhero plot. Tortured protagonist with special powers? Check. Call to Adventure? Check. Fall Into The Abyss Followed By Miraculous Return With More Strength? Check. (At least that last one is the case for Jessica Jones.) But Legion, if you haven't seen it, adds layer after layer of David Lynchian weirdness to it, to the point where it might decide not to let our hero win. Or if he does, it'll be an ironic victory. Jessica Jones isn't as surreal as Legion but does a good job standing the traditional superhero story on its end, mainly (in my opinion), through the creation of Killgrave (great name, huh?), one of the most disturbing villains in the genre. Killgrave doesn't necessarily want to take over the world (though he wouldn't mind). He just wants Jessica. Like want wants her. Gross.
So how do you do it? How do you become an expert in your genre and subvert your genre at the same time? Other than stating the obvious (that you should continue to read no matter what), here are three suggestions you might want to follow.
Next up: Tip #1—Variety Is Imperative
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction?
CLICK HERE to join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. The cobbler's son decides to investigate, putting himself in grave danger. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
Indie Publishing Guide: Reading Tip #1: Variety Is Imperative
Here are some statistics for you: according to the L.A. Times, a study conducted by the Pew Research Center indicates that only "72% of American adults have read a book in the past year, while the percentage for millennials, ages 18 to 29, was higher: 80%.in the last year," and "[t]he percentage of Americans who reported reading e-books actually dropped slightly, from 28% to 27%."
I'm not sure if that's grim or not, but it's definitely telling. Maybe I should change the title of this article to "Read, Dammit!"?
Whatever.
More books for me.
Stats aside, if you're a writer, you better be reading. And if you're reading, it's best not to get stuck in one genre for too long. Don't get me wrong. Most of us are busy, and it's easy to fall back into reading our favorite kinds of books. I'm a sucker for horror, sci-fi, and post-apocalyptic novels or anything that contains those elements. Here is a list, in no particular order, of seven (it's a magic number!) of my favorite books of the last couple of years, along with a one sentence description. There are some spoilers here, so if all you want are the book titles, don’t read the descriptions.
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North—Like a more serious Phil from Groundhog Day, Harry August lives his life over and over again, retaining his memories and knowledge until he’s over a thousand years old, at which point another one of his kind tries to destroy humanity, but he’s really too tired to do anything about it—just kidding; he really tries to stop it.
The Book of Strange New Things: A Novel by Michel Faber–Peter Leigh, an ex-junkie turned Christian missionary, is selected to minister to the native inhabitants of the far-off planet Oasis (who have faces that resemble “a placenta with two fetuses — maybe 3-month-old twins, hairless and blind — nestled head to head, knee to knee”), while back on Earth the climate change ravages the world, and everybody turns to violence and tribalism in order to survive.
Your House is on Fire, Your Children All Gone by Stefan Keisbye—One of the most dark and disturbing books I’ve ever read, Your House is on Fire, Your Children All Gone has been described as combination of The White Ribbon, The Village of the Damned, and every whacked out episode of The Twilight Zone, the former of which involves horse mutilation, the blinding of an intellectually disabled boy, and nascent nazism.
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker —One of my favorite parts is when the jin gets the socialite pregnant—not the act itself, or the pregnancy specifically, but the weird changes the poor woman undergoes.
The Goldfinch: A Novel by Donna Tartt—Theo Decker survives a terrorist attack on the Metropolitan Museum, steals the titular painting, is shipped out west to live with his ne’er-do-well father, does drugs with his bff, kidnaps his step-mother’s dog, escapes back to NYC, is taken in by his mentor/father figure (who teaches him how to be an antique furniture dealer), and finally ends up in Amsterdam where he gets into a firefight with a gang of art thieves.
The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey—Every morning before school, the soldiers come into Melanie's cell and strap her to her wheelchair, making sure to fix her head in place just in case she tries to bite someone; that would be bad.
The Library At Mount Char by Scott Hopkins—The young adults in this horrifying fantasy novel (for adults) all have special powers given to them by "Father"—not their real father but a mythical figure who has . . . . adopted them: David kills everything, Margaret dies and resurrects herself, Michael talks to animals, and Carolyn learns every language ever written; when they are bad or disappoint Father, he puts them in a barbecue-shaped like a bronze bull and cooks them until there's nothing left but charred bones, then brings them back to life.
Honorable Mentions:
Slade House, by David Mitchell, and
The Stolen Child, by Keith Donohue,
The Reapers Are the Angels, by Alden Bell, and
Lovecraft Country, by Matt Ruff. (Actually, I loved these, too, but I wanted keep my list at seven.)
Two of them, The Girl With All The Gifts and The Reapers Are the Angels, are post-apocalyptic zombie novels, my go-to plot of my go-to genre. The only odd man out on that list is The Goldfinch. It's definitely imaginative, but I wouldn't call it Sci-Fi, Fantasy, or Horror, which are my go-to genres. And I loved reading all of them, by the way, but by the time I finished Lovecraft Country, I felt as though I was on autopilot. The plots started becoming predictable (something I'll address in the third article of this series), and the characters a little run-of-the-mill. It wasn't the author's fault; those books are excellent representations of their genre. I'd just read too many of them.
Fortunately, a good friend of mine suggested a non-fiction book,
And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life. It's a great read, and it led to me reading a biography of another one of my favorite authors, Joseph Heller (it was okay), which for some reason led to me reading
Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman. This past January, I was asked to do a talk at Fredericksburg Nerd Nite. I chose to talk about Ambrose Bierce, so I read his biography,
Alone In Bad Company.
And so now my biography binge is over, replaced by four completely different books:
Moonglow: A Novel, by Michael Chabon,
Silence: A Novel, by Shusaku Endo,
The Hapless Child, by Edward Gorey, and, for some reason,
The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done, by Peter Drucker.
The best thing about this kind of variety is not just the breadth of information and subject matter, but also ingesting the numerous styles, approaches, and purposes of the work. All of it matters to a writer. Why? Because it's your profession, and it isn't just a suggestion to know as much as possible about your profession, it's imperative.
Next up: Varying Your Reading Tip #2—Challenge Yourself
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction?
CLICK HERE to join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. The cobbler's son decides to investigate, putting himself in grave danger. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
I'm not sure if that's grim or not, but it's definitely telling. Maybe I should change the title of this article to "Read, Dammit!"?
Whatever.
More books for me.
Stats aside, if you're a writer, you better be reading. And if you're reading, it's best not to get stuck in one genre for too long. Don't get me wrong. Most of us are busy, and it's easy to fall back into reading our favorite kinds of books. I'm a sucker for horror, sci-fi, and post-apocalyptic novels or anything that contains those elements. Here is a list, in no particular order, of seven (it's a magic number!) of my favorite books of the last couple of years, along with a one sentence description. There are some spoilers here, so if all you want are the book titles, don’t read the descriptions.
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North—Like a more serious Phil from Groundhog Day, Harry August lives his life over and over again, retaining his memories and knowledge until he’s over a thousand years old, at which point another one of his kind tries to destroy humanity, but he’s really too tired to do anything about it—just kidding; he really tries to stop it.
The Book of Strange New Things: A Novel by Michel Faber–Peter Leigh, an ex-junkie turned Christian missionary, is selected to minister to the native inhabitants of the far-off planet Oasis (who have faces that resemble “a placenta with two fetuses — maybe 3-month-old twins, hairless and blind — nestled head to head, knee to knee”), while back on Earth the climate change ravages the world, and everybody turns to violence and tribalism in order to survive.
Your House is on Fire, Your Children All Gone by Stefan Keisbye—One of the most dark and disturbing books I’ve ever read, Your House is on Fire, Your Children All Gone has been described as combination of The White Ribbon, The Village of the Damned, and every whacked out episode of The Twilight Zone, the former of which involves horse mutilation, the blinding of an intellectually disabled boy, and nascent nazism.
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker —One of my favorite parts is when the jin gets the socialite pregnant—not the act itself, or the pregnancy specifically, but the weird changes the poor woman undergoes.
The Goldfinch: A Novel by Donna Tartt—Theo Decker survives a terrorist attack on the Metropolitan Museum, steals the titular painting, is shipped out west to live with his ne’er-do-well father, does drugs with his bff, kidnaps his step-mother’s dog, escapes back to NYC, is taken in by his mentor/father figure (who teaches him how to be an antique furniture dealer), and finally ends up in Amsterdam where he gets into a firefight with a gang of art thieves.
The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey—Every morning before school, the soldiers come into Melanie's cell and strap her to her wheelchair, making sure to fix her head in place just in case she tries to bite someone; that would be bad.
The Library At Mount Char by Scott Hopkins—The young adults in this horrifying fantasy novel (for adults) all have special powers given to them by "Father"—not their real father but a mythical figure who has . . . . adopted them: David kills everything, Margaret dies and resurrects herself, Michael talks to animals, and Carolyn learns every language ever written; when they are bad or disappoint Father, he puts them in a barbecue-shaped like a bronze bull and cooks them until there's nothing left but charred bones, then brings them back to life.Honorable Mentions:
Slade House, by David Mitchell, and
The Stolen Child, by Keith Donohue,
The Reapers Are the Angels, by Alden Bell, and
Lovecraft Country, by Matt Ruff. (Actually, I loved these, too, but I wanted keep my list at seven.)Two of them, The Girl With All The Gifts and The Reapers Are the Angels, are post-apocalyptic zombie novels, my go-to plot of my go-to genre. The only odd man out on that list is The Goldfinch. It's definitely imaginative, but I wouldn't call it Sci-Fi, Fantasy, or Horror, which are my go-to genres. And I loved reading all of them, by the way, but by the time I finished Lovecraft Country, I felt as though I was on autopilot. The plots started becoming predictable (something I'll address in the third article of this series), and the characters a little run-of-the-mill. It wasn't the author's fault; those books are excellent representations of their genre. I'd just read too many of them.
Fortunately, a good friend of mine suggested a non-fiction book,
And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life. It's a great read, and it led to me reading a biography of another one of my favorite authors, Joseph Heller (it was okay), which for some reason led to me reading
Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman. This past January, I was asked to do a talk at Fredericksburg Nerd Nite. I chose to talk about Ambrose Bierce, so I read his biography,
Alone In Bad Company.And so now my biography binge is over, replaced by four completely different books:
Moonglow: A Novel, by Michael Chabon,
Silence: A Novel, by Shusaku Endo,
The Hapless Child, by Edward Gorey, and, for some reason,
The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done, by Peter Drucker.The best thing about this kind of variety is not just the breadth of information and subject matter, but also ingesting the numerous styles, approaches, and purposes of the work. All of it matters to a writer. Why? Because it's your profession, and it isn't just a suggestion to know as much as possible about your profession, it's imperative.
Next up: Varying Your Reading Tip #2—Challenge Yourself
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction?
CLICK HERE to join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. The cobbler's son decides to investigate, putting himself in grave danger. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
Indie Publishing Guide: Reading Tip #2: Flex Your Reading Muscles
When I was in college, I complained about reading Shakespeare. It was too hard, too dense, too poetic. I felt like I was spending all of my time interpreting each line rather than being able to get into the plot. And the plots were mechanical and cliche', filled with deus ex machina and silly contrivances. Plus, it felt like I'd seen those plots a dozen times over. Of course, the reason I'd seen or read those plots before was because of Shakespeare's influence, but I was too hard-headed to realize it. I felt the same way about any text that challenged me, actually, and even though I waded through those books, I did so begrudgingly.
I don't feel that way any more. The value in reading challenging works goes beyond being entertained or loving plots and characters, and while I understand knowing one's audience, I also think that can be misinterpreted as "only give your audience what they want." My audience, any audience, for that matter, is smart. Readers enjoy books that are surprising and make them work just as much as they like easy texts, and authors will go a long way to providing that by challenging themselves in their own reading.
With that in mind, it's important for writers to not just vary the kinds of literature they read, but to challenge themselves every now and then. Read something that uses elevated diction and compound complex syntax. Read something that presents difficult to understand ideas. On one level, it improves vocabulary and sentence structure, and at the very least, it reveals some allusions an author can use. On a mechanical level, it forces readers to inspect the text closely, to slow down and chew the language, to admire the poetry of a line, to ponder the nature of a metaphor or a symbol. In terms of ideas, it presents information or complex concepts that to store away for later. It's amazing how these things can, either purposefully or subconsciously, seep into one's own writing.
So yeah, read Shakespeare. You don't have to read every last one. Read one or two that seem interesting. For me, teaching Macbeth was a revelation. I had to know it back and forth to be able to sell it to classes of disinterested high school seniors, so I took my time, broke down each scene, interpreted my favorite lines. Here's one from Act 1, Scene 2, as the Sergeant is explaining Macbeth's badassery to King Duncan:
"For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name--/Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel,/Which smoked with bloody execution,/Like valour's minion carved out his passage/Till he faced the slave;/Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him/Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps,/And fix'd his head upon our battlements."
Macbeth cut a guy in half, from his stomach to his jaw, then decapitated him and stuck his head on the castle wall. And poetically! Shakespeare basically wrote heavy metal lyrics some four hundred and seventy years before Dio.
You don't just have to read early 17th Century Drama, though. Try Patrick Henry's "Speech To The Virginia Convention" (his famous "Give me liberty or give me death" speech). His use of repetition and poetic imagery, his sense of rhythm, all can be used in your own writing in some way.
If you really want to set yourself up a challenging but approachable course of study, read some American 19th Century authors. Try Poe ("The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Black Cat," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Purloined Letter"), Hawthorne ("The Minister's Black Veil"), Bierce ("The Horseman In The Sky," "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge") Crane ("An Episode of War," "A Mystery Of Heroism").
You probably won't read this kind of text entirely for pleasure. (At least not at first.) Don't read them in bed or at the beach. You won't get very far. Instead, treat them like something to study. Since the reading might be difficult, underline passages that are interesting or meaningful. Stop and make notes in the margins. STUDY the work, don't just consume it. You'd be surprised how it will inform your own writing.
I wouldn't recommend reading like this all the time, but it does make my last tip more meaningful.
Next up: Varying Your Reading Tip #3—Become an expert in more than one genre
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction?
CLICK HERE to join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. The cobbler's son decides to investigate, putting himself in grave danger. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
I don't feel that way any more. The value in reading challenging works goes beyond being entertained or loving plots and characters, and while I understand knowing one's audience, I also think that can be misinterpreted as "only give your audience what they want." My audience, any audience, for that matter, is smart. Readers enjoy books that are surprising and make them work just as much as they like easy texts, and authors will go a long way to providing that by challenging themselves in their own reading.
With that in mind, it's important for writers to not just vary the kinds of literature they read, but to challenge themselves every now and then. Read something that uses elevated diction and compound complex syntax. Read something that presents difficult to understand ideas. On one level, it improves vocabulary and sentence structure, and at the very least, it reveals some allusions an author can use. On a mechanical level, it forces readers to inspect the text closely, to slow down and chew the language, to admire the poetry of a line, to ponder the nature of a metaphor or a symbol. In terms of ideas, it presents information or complex concepts that to store away for later. It's amazing how these things can, either purposefully or subconsciously, seep into one's own writing.
So yeah, read Shakespeare. You don't have to read every last one. Read one or two that seem interesting. For me, teaching Macbeth was a revelation. I had to know it back and forth to be able to sell it to classes of disinterested high school seniors, so I took my time, broke down each scene, interpreted my favorite lines. Here's one from Act 1, Scene 2, as the Sergeant is explaining Macbeth's badassery to King Duncan:
"For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name--/Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel,/Which smoked with bloody execution,/Like valour's minion carved out his passage/Till he faced the slave;/Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him/Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps,/And fix'd his head upon our battlements."
Macbeth cut a guy in half, from his stomach to his jaw, then decapitated him and stuck his head on the castle wall. And poetically! Shakespeare basically wrote heavy metal lyrics some four hundred and seventy years before Dio.
You don't just have to read early 17th Century Drama, though. Try Patrick Henry's "Speech To The Virginia Convention" (his famous "Give me liberty or give me death" speech). His use of repetition and poetic imagery, his sense of rhythm, all can be used in your own writing in some way.
If you really want to set yourself up a challenging but approachable course of study, read some American 19th Century authors. Try Poe ("The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Black Cat," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Purloined Letter"), Hawthorne ("The Minister's Black Veil"), Bierce ("The Horseman In The Sky," "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge") Crane ("An Episode of War," "A Mystery Of Heroism").
You probably won't read this kind of text entirely for pleasure. (At least not at first.) Don't read them in bed or at the beach. You won't get very far. Instead, treat them like something to study. Since the reading might be difficult, underline passages that are interesting or meaningful. Stop and make notes in the margins. STUDY the work, don't just consume it. You'd be surprised how it will inform your own writing.
I wouldn't recommend reading like this all the time, but it does make my last tip more meaningful.
Next up: Varying Your Reading Tip #3—Become an expert in more than one genre
Are you a fan of horror or post-apocalyptic fiction?
CLICK HERE to join my email list and receive a free short story, audio book, and theme song for "Beta":
A monster terrorizes an isolated village in the mountains of Eastern Europe, draining the blood of its victims, leaving them frozen in the snow. The villagers hunt wolves, decapitate “vampires,” but the murders continue. As each new body is found, the residents grow more and more paranoid. The cobbler's son decides to investigate, putting himself in grave danger. Who will be next? Will it ever end?
Sign up here!
www.jamesnoll.net
--JN
