I left you hanging on that cliff longer than I meant to, friends. Not that you were waiting with bated breath, but I appreciate your indulgence. I know half of you only drop in for the photos anyway (which makes me value the other 2.5 of you all the more).
Where were we? Discussing film, books, albums, and straining for high craft. I’d promised a couple of great modern examples.
Doctor Who. First ten seasons, anyway. Who ever heard of a show that got better with every season, never losing steam? So brilliant it ruined me for other shows. The protagonist’s obsession with peacemaking. And of course the humor–most powerful spaceship in the universe and he fixes it with twine! One you can watch with your middle-schoolers too. Strangely, I never read sci-fi, but love it in film.
I thought I’d never find another show on that level… then along comes The Chosen. What. A. Show. A deep breath of fresh air. Rustic. Low-tech like an old western. Impeccably written. I’ve always struggled to describe my books when asked what they’re like. Well, fantasy, yeah, but that’s so broad. Everything from Harry Potter to Dungeons & Dragons. You’ve all heard of epic fantasy and high fantasy–well there is such a thing as low fantasy. That’s right, my subgenre. And that of The Chosen.
When the time comes, instead of telling readers I write low fantasy, I think I’ll say, “My books are for people who love The Lord of the Rings and The Chosen.” What do you think? Resonates better than a subgenre most have never heard of, right? We’ve got time to develop this. Publication hovering obscurely in the distance. And while I have no time horizon on that, I am making progress. I’ve been working with an editor for the past six weeks.
I may have touched on this a little, but I don’t think I’ve ever laid out my writing plans here. In my day, you browsed the bookstore and bought a paperback off the shelf, and if a sequel came out two years later you were grateful for it. And you never knew if there were to be any more, or how many. If you were lucky, they’d tease the next one on that last page–but only the next one. There could be five more, who knew. Only backlogs were known, not future books.
Nowadays, authors are not only expected to develop a platform years in advance (ahem), but also list their books in advance of publication, defining if it’s a duology, series, etc. and how many books. Some folks have progress bars on their websites for each book. Wondering what’s next has its appeal, though. Nostalgic value, like before the information super highway (super old term for world wide web, for you young ones). But we’ve all got to adapt.
So how about this–two things for you before I sign off. Summary of my plans, plus a book (by someone else) you can buy this month!
I am working on a trilogy of low fantasy novels. I started more than 25 years ago. In all that time, the books have progressed from awful to subpar. In another 25 years, I may have something publishable. Seriously, the books are all written. The first one was edited two years ago, and in a few more weeks the second one will be edited–finito. Even though I’ve never published anything, I can’t tell you how good it feels to sign off on the final, polished version of a novel after 12 to 15 drafts to get there. Next year I begin self-editing the third book, prior to final editing.
For something to read right now, I’ve got you covered. J. A. Webb is publishing his first book later this month. It’s the perfect time if you’re looking to get into a new series. He writes fantasy/dystopian, and he’s won two awards. You can pre-order the book from his website – jawebbauthor.com. You can also get a free book sample of half a dozen chapters now.
No, I’m not getting kickbacks on this. Hearkening back to the discussion of so much content in the digital age, and how to find the good stuff when there is so much… other stuff. Believe it or not, the two most powerful marketing tools remain word of mouth and email lists, even more than Amazon ads, Youtube ads, and social media followers.
What about you? Any worthwhile reads to recommend for the rest of us?
Hope you don’t mind me switching it up this time with no journal entry. May your holidays be filled with fantastic books.
And coffee.
Write On,
Fellow Traveler