Less Than Random Thoughts From a Science Fiction Author and Generally Good Guy [ Fawkes ]

Monday, September 12, 2016

I've always found it hard to start writing a book. Many authors plan the storyline out like a military campaign, but that's not my style. So, starting the first chapter can be like starting a car on a snowy morning. But, once I get rolling, it moves fluidly. Yesterday I got Book 4 of TFS to start. What a relief! I like it already. Imagine that.

Monday, September 5, 2016

Smiles!

I want to thank everyone for their support. The Forever Life is in the top 1% of Kindle Sales USA and The Forever Enemy is in the top 2%. Okay, make me smile. Book 3, The Forever Fight, is off to my editor as of yesterday.

Friday, September 2, 2016

Poems of Sleep

  Once a year or so, I wake up with a poem in my head. They are usually nice, so I take the time to write them down. The last one I polished up appears at the end of Time Diving. I stuck it there because the book is so downbeat and, I ask you, where is one to place a poem nowadays? Here it is:

Feel wonderful!
I know what it is to soar,
And to feel God's love in every cell of my body.
Feel good, I am a creature of The Lord.

Feel Wonderful!,
by Craig A. Robertson, 2011.

  Corny? If so, I own it. I'll post the new poem when it's ready...someday. 
  I heard Neil Gaiman talking once about sources for ideas that make good novels. He said dreams didn't. They were too abstract and personal. I have found our brains label dreams as cool and a half because they can, as opposed to the fact that they were so divine. Anyway.

  I'm about a month, tops, from the release of The Forever Fight, Book 3 in the Forever Series. I really like it, but my brain may be labeling optimistically, as with dreams. Oh well.

Sunday, August 14, 2016

The Future, Eh, Not So Bright

The publishing world is like a city after a massive earthquake. What was is gone and what's next is unclear. The only certainty is that no one knows what comes next. New players emerge, old one vie for relevance, and some brash latecomer may emerge as the new boss.

The walls of the citadel known as "Traditional Publishing" (TP) are being successfully breached by the upstart, "Independent Publishing" (IP). Recent estimates have it that the revenues of IP have surpassed those of the Big Five TPs. Such a feat was unimaginable a decade ago, and a ludicrous pipe dream a decade before that.

Of the multiple ramifications of this switch from TP to IP, the one which is most lamentable death to my way of seeing it is the demise of the great novel. Name a few of the greats. Moby Dick, Something Wicked This Way Comes, 1984, The Odyssey. New entries into this exclusive club will never see the light of day. They will become unpublishable relics. Why? They will go the way of the dinosaur because they are stand-alone books. There will be no Book 2: Something Wicked Is Still This Way Coming or Book 3:Dudes, It's Almost Here, The Wicked Something.

The reason stand-alones seem doomed is the sea change in marketing strategy that is occurring in this brave new world of publishing. In order for an IP author to be successful, he or she must create a series. To earn a viable, sustainable income, indie authors must lock their readers into a long set of sequels. A prolific author may have several unrelated series concurrently, so called worlds. The serial format is king because it is the only sure bet for commercial success. Mark Dawson has his John Milton series. Marie Force has her Gansett Island, Fatal, and A Green Mountain Romance sagas. Bella Andre has even more, including several Sullivans worlds.

TP is no stranger to the power of series, either. Need I say anything past the names Nora Roberts, JK Rowlings, and Spider Robinson. In the tumultuous battle between TP and IP, the series will be the new gold standard. I could imagine with a cringe the response F. Scott Fitzgerald would receive to his pitch to the Big Five for his ideas for The Great Gatsby:
FSFA...a sequel? No, gentlemen, remember I said Gatsby is killed in at the end? There can be no next book."
TP: What if he was only badly wounded?
FSF: No! He's dies. That's absolutely central to my intent for the story.
TP: Fine, son. We'll get back to you, okay?
FSF: Oh, when will you get back to me?
TP: Soon. Very soon. Ah, look, we have a 2:00 with some gal named Christie, so we gotta end this now. Our secretary will show you out.
FSF (over his shoulder): I've been thinking about another book. A couple moves to southern France. They're not too happy and there's a lot of psychiatric issue at play.
The sound of a door slamming is heard.

Even now, big name authors like Steven King or John Grisham can certainly write whatever they choose. If the muse inspires them to write a stand-alone, TP will published it, promote it, and profit from it. But, there will come a day where all the cash-cows of today are gone. Who will stand ready to replace them? I betting it will be someone with two gifts ahead of all others. High productivity and the willingness to commit to a long series. Likeliest of all, it will be someone who already has started with IP and made a name for themselves and their series. They will bring a huge flock of hungry sheep to the fold and they will cash in handsomely on their catalogues.

I don't maintain that authors who produce such serialized work are inferior in any way. Many are yeoman writers worthy of great praise. But, they will not be business people with one-hit wonders rattling around in their heads. Sorry Emily Bronte, Margaret Mitchell, Sylvia Plath, and J.D. Salinger, there's just no room for you on the bus any longer. Please, don't quit your day jobs.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

I Wonder

I'm a wondering, and that may be good. The issue is one of writing versus marketing. I've mentioned this before, but I keep wondering what I need to do and want to do. I have completely given up on traditional publishing. The only way I'd agree to give one of the Big 5 a print only deal would be if I was wildly successful. I'd only do it if I called the ball, as the say in the Navy. I'd have to be in a position to say how much I wanted, take it or leave it.
I plan on slowly ramping up my email list and online advertising. There is basically no chance for being widely read without those moves. Random chance and going viral do not fly from the same hanger.
The reason I want to be widely read is because I truly feel I have an outstanding set of products to offer. I believe people would enjoy and be entertained by my work. I also lace in some messages and I want people to hear them and, perchance, change for the better.
Money? I'm mixed. I would, duh, like to be wealthy, but I don't need it to reinforce my ego. I know big authors who have met with huge financial success only to find it simply replaces the problems you had with new ones. It is not a goal worth aiming for, in my opinion.
So, over the next year, we'll see. I will inch out of my snail-shell and see if I encounter some notice. Hm. Yes, we'll see.

Friday, August 5, 2016

Long Time Gone

I check this blog occasionally. I tend not to post much, because, as a proper self-effacing sort, I fancy I've little to say. That is called, in psychiatric lingo, reaction formation. Others call it lazy stalling procrastination. Anyway, I've two superb new books out with two breath-taking covers.

I have a long term vision for a series called The Forever Series. The first book, The Forever Life, follows an astronaut who's downloaded into an android so he can explore for a new home for doomed Earth. Seriously, its a hoot!

The first sequel, The Forever Enemy, is also on Amazon. Jon struggles against the many potent enemies he's made over time. The next installment is The Forever Fight, where several enemies are dealt with. Sadly, worse ones are made. Can an android catch a break? No. Look for it in a couple months.

Sales are slowly inching up. I am following a podcast that may allow me to increase my exposure. Self Publishing Formula is nice 5 episodes in. Hopefully I'll be better exposed after I get to episode 20.