Something New, Finally

I've been tied up writing a new novel most of this month. So I apologize for no posting at all.

The good news is that the novel is more than half complete. In excess of 50,000 words have poured out of my brain and onto the pages of my writing program. In the next few weeks, I will complete the manuscript. And it should come in somewhere around 85,000 words (if not a little longer).

And there's a surprise with this one; it is not part of the WWIV series. It is a true Dystopian novel, taking place here in America - at least what once was America - some seventy years from now.

This writing is very Orwellesque, if I do say so myself. And once again, it came to me at night, in a dream. Read more about that dream (actually a group of dreams) here:  Click here!

Also, book three of the longer tales in the WWIV series is all written and just going through some rewrites before being sent off to the editors. I truly believe it is the star of the series. I love everything about it: the cast of characters, the setting, the triangulated story-line. Proud is how I describe the feeling when I think of it. Look for that book, WWIV - Basin of Secrets, later this summer.

Be sure to check out the above-mentioned post before you leave. Again, here is the link:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/new-dystopia-e-lake/edit
It's all about how my dreams turn into novels.


Have a great Memorial Day weekend to all my US readers. Grab a new read for the extended holiday!


e a lake

                       

The Year in Review - 2014

As many of you know, 2014 was my first year in the writing/author/novel game. Looking back twelve months, I can't honestly tell you what I thought 2014 would bring. But, I can say now that this past year has been fruitful beyond any of my wildest dreams.

Book Sales

In 2014, I managed to sell almost 4,000 copies of two books: WWIV - In The Beginning, and, WWIV - Kids at War. Not bad for a rookie. In dollars, I grossed slightly more than $6,000 from these sales. Again, I'm happy with this result.

What did I expect going into this business? I actually have no idea. I'm a planner, a financial guy, so I should have had some sort of budget figured out beforehand. But the cold truth is, I didn't. I just wanted to sell some books in 2014. Honestly, I can't tell you if that meant 30 copies, 300 copies, or almost 4,000 copies.

I do know this, though: my plan would have been much closer to 300 (one book per day) than 3,000.

For 2015, I'd like to raise my gross sales number to $15,000. To do this, I plan on releasing three more novels (actually two novels and a novella). Total book sales, in units, will reach approximately 9,000, perhaps as high as 10,000. At least these are my goals.


P&L for the Year

Somehow, against the usual odds a first-time writer faces, I made money in this venture last year. While I'm still compiling the final numbers, I believe my expenses, all told, were somewhere around $3,600. That means I made about $2,400 at this business.

The two categories where I spent the most money were editing ($1150) and advertising ($750). The editing expense is necessary in my mind. The first book had one edit, book two had three edits. Most books going forward will have three edits. The way I see it, it's better to have a good product than a cheap product. There are still some errors I find that need fixing. But overall, I want to present a decent product first and foremost.

Advertising money in 2014 was mostly thrown to the wind. I didn't really have a plan, so I had no roadmap to follow. I did a little of this and that, but mostly very little as far as well-planned advertising. I need to do a much better job of this in 2015.


Blogging

In 2014, I posted 65 posts that were visited some 3,600 times. That's an average of 360 visits per month (I began blogging in late February).

I'd like to have better reach in 2015. Perhaps increase my visits to 500 per month. That will give my 52 posts in 2015 some 115 views each week. I realize in 2014 a number of views were bot driven; so if I can, I'd like my 2015 numbers to be real people visiting.

I would also like the content of my blog to be more consistent, more about this writing life I have chosen. While, for the most part, I stuck to that in 2014, 2015 needs better focus on my part.


Website

I have a website. Occasionally, like two or three times daily, that site receives visits. But that's where it ends for me.

My website is a disaster; and absolute colossal failure on my part. I'd invite you to visit the abyss, but it wouldn't be worth your time.

The only improvements I made last year to my site was occasionally updating my 2014 reading list. I need to, I must, do a better job of making this site usable and relevant.


Writing Projects

I created three manuscripts this past year. Books three and four of my WWIV series, and a prequel that will be released soon (and given away for free).

Proofing, editing, rewriting and such took up more time than I had planned in 2014. I can't tell you how many times I read and reread my first two novels last year. I know it was at least a dozen times each. Also, I format my own manuscripts; both for e-books and paperback. You want a time-sucker? Formatting! But I did it and I'm proud of my accomplishments.

Between the small amount of research and marketing, I seem to waste time on, I manage to rob myself of what could otherwise be productive, creative hours. I have so many ideas for new novels. And most of them are just swirling around in my brain, laid down on paper nowhere. I need to do better and create more content. What I really need is a time machine so my days have 50 hours each.

In 2015, I will finish my WWIV series. The last book most likely will not be published until 2016, but I may get it out yet this year. 2016 will also bring the release of book one in my epic series, The Smith Chronicles. I need to spend some time this year being sure that book one, Golden 5, is ready for beta reading later in the year.


There it is, my 2014 raw data and 2015 projections. A person without a plan can never fail, nor succeed. So I challenge all of you, writings and readers, to make some plans for 2015. And maybe even make them public; hold yourself accountable. Develop a plan and work it to fruition.


e a lake

My Books:

                        

War of the Worlds: Part Two

Just before Christmas, I'll be releasing a prequel to my WWIV series. I wish I could tell you the title of this creation, but I haven't finalized that as of yet. The good news is it will be available for all types of e-readers for the holidays. The great news is that this prequel (primer) will be FREE!


So lake, tell us what happened - what caused WWIV

Sure, my pleasure.

Wait, no one really knows yet. Some say nuclear war, others vote EMPs. A few brave souls have gone with high intensity solar flares. But here's the point:

It doesn't matter what caused the event, it's how people deal with it

Really, trust me on this. I'll tell you exactly what happened to cause WWIV, but all in good time. Specifically, I'll lay out all the juicy details in Book Five, WWIV - The Truth. At least that's what I'm calling it right now.

However - spoiler alert - there will be hints in this prequel. But the prequel, much like my novels, will deal mostly with small bits of humanity; and how these tiny insignificant people try and exist.

You see, five weeks after our world (as we know it) ends, will anyone really care what caused it? Or will most people be busy trying to survive, trying to find fresh food and water, trying to find help for their medical maladies? You get the point.

Don't believe everything you see on TV

There is a popular show on one of the major networks portraying a similar situation as to what you find in my series. But here's the rub; these people on TV had it too easy. They had food and water (What a Miracle!) and only seemed to worry about getting the power back on. Hmmmm.

How much fresh water do you have at your house? Me - about a days worth. Food - I have plenty, but most of it requires cooking. And it's not very transportable. And here's a fun tidbit to add - the temp here this morning was 12 degrees. At least it was above zero.

So just who in the world, a world decimated by some unknown force/war, is going to have much extra time to go about trying to get the power back up and running? If it even will, people! Survival will become paramount. A few fights or stabbings over food, and we'll see what society looks like on the other side.


Enjoy Thanksgiving (here in America)! Eat too much, drink too much, and sleep too much. Who knows...this may be your last peaceful holiday. Until next time, read something to a child! They'll love you for it.


lake

Click on either book below to purchase

  

                      

Why I love James Patterson

One of the easiest things to do in life is to give up. I know this for a fact; several times, I've done it - give up, that is. I won't relive these experiences here, but let me say something loud and clear: Never Give In or Give Up! You don't want to form a habit of doing something so self-defeating to yourself.

Now that I'm older, well - 55, I don't make a habit of giving up. Especially when it comes to my still nearly infant writing career. I admit, not giving up was made easier by selling a large number of my debut novel (WWIV - In The Beginning), but I still had two or three more manuscripts ready for editing before I released that book.

Book two of the WWIV series (Kids at War) is now available on Amazon Kindle and in paperback, also from Amazon. So I can't give up now, can I? Books three and four are in manuscript form with rewrites and edits beginning shortly. Sales are slow ten days in on this second book, but I have all the confidence in the world they will pick up sometime, perhaps even soon. I don't expect to sell as many of this book as I did with the first, and that's okay. I just hope people like it and it shows my continued growth as a writer.

It is said that the average self-published book will sell somewhere near 250 copies...in its life. Going in, we know - as writers - that the odds are stacked against our success. Thus, we need to measure success on a very personal level; using only our own expectations as a yard stick.

All I wanted to do with the first book was sell "some" copies. I still don't know how many I expected to sell, but as I close in on the 4,000 mark, I'm sure I have far exceeded any expectations I might have had.

But what if I had sold only 50 copies of the book. Would this have not also been a success given my lofty goal of wanting to sell "some"? Of course it would. Would I have thrown my hands in the air, proclaiming myself a failure if I was approaching the 55 mark in sales? NO! I had very low expectations for book one. AND, and this is important, I refuse to give up on this venture.

Why do I refuse to give up? Perhaps it's because I am about 80% stubborn Norwegian. Perhaps I'm too dumb to know any better. Or perhaps it's because I didn't enter this endeavor in life to become a huge overnight success. I wanted to write a few books, and - if lucky - sell "some" copies of each.

This is very cliche, but it bears repeating. Upon retirement, Harland Sanders realized his social security check wasn't enough to live on. So, he decided to sell the only thing he had of value; his grandmother's fried chicken recipe. After many, many "no thank you's" (by some accounts, well over a hundred), he finally decided to go it on his own and established his now infamous brand. That brand sold for $2 million later; thus, giving him a great retirement. And all of us "giver uppers" a grand story to live by.

You do realize that most of the Harland Sanders story is urban legend, right? Actually, the only part of the above that is accurate is the $2 million. And even that was only for some of the rights to his many franchises in the continental US. But it makes a great story. One that I've heard repeated so many times by motivational speakers that I've lost count of the number.

The point of this tale, though, is still valid - Never Give Up! I will rise again tomorrow and do more writing; whether my current novels sells "some", or not.


Until next week, don't give up on yourself. Read something positive and even motivational. But remember, everything published may not be 100% true. Take it all with a grain of salt.



lake

Dystopia 101

This is going to be a two-part post about the ins and outs of dystopian writing. At least my take on dystopian writing. Part one is this week; part two will follow next Wednesday.

The first rule is there ain’t no rules

As most of you will realize, I stole that quote from the movie Grease. You remember the scene; Danny (John Travolta) and the slimly guy from the gang (I don’t recall their name) are lined up for a drag race in the aqueducts of LA. That’s when our hero’s opponent leans over and gives Danny a rundown on the rules - the short and simple rules.

Here’s what I like to do: tear society apart bit by bit. Sounds easy, right? Maybe not quite that simple. I can do away with of protection (Police and National Guard) but I have to give the reader a believable scenario in which the protection disappears.

A good writer cannot and will not create something so unbelievable that their audience immediately reacts with, “oh come on!” No, you have to give it some forethought. Find a good, viable (and believable) reason why the usual protectors of the people don’t show up to do their tasks.

In WWIV – In The Beginning I took away all power, all communications, most running cars. Gone was fresh water, delivery of fresh food, our most technical forms of medical care. I didn’t say how (that comes in a later book), but I put the entire world in the same boat.

Some folks figured this dystopian setting was caused by solar flares; others – EMPs. Later, some will blame it on nuclear war, or even God’s wrath. Here, the how was not overly important. Most people, to varying degrees, believe this can happen to our world.

The important take away from this step: The situation was believable.

Next: Begin the slow crumble of society

History shows us this is an easy step; a simple leap for the reader to make. Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami that struck Japan, earthquakes, tornadoes, riots. What do these events all have in common? The way that our society reacts.

Some people rise to the occasion. There are always a number of brave, selfless people who shine during troubled times. They believe in the good of all humanity, they are cheerleaders rallying the troops, believers in the common good.  My example was Bill Carlson from Book One (mentioned above).

Bill didn’t let a little thing like The End of the World As We Know It get in his way. No, immediately he set about trying to helps his friends, his neighbors. When someone was frightened, he tried to be rational. When someone was injured, his compassionate side shined. He was the All-American guy next door. The neighbor we all wish we had.

Creating Bill did not come without its critics. Some readers find him unbelievable, unrealistic. “Who would hang around 18 days while the world crumbled around him?” one reader asked. Others found his “come-on let’s hold hands and sign songs” attitude far beyond what their realism meters would allow.

No matter what you think of Bill, and his actions, I believe we can admit one thing – there are people like Bill all around us. Perhaps they’re not your friends or neighbors, but they exist. Bill is real; in every sense of the word (except for being a fictionalized character in a novel).

Then come the bad

How many times have you seen news footage of looters after some catastrophic event? A lot, right? Too many times most likely. The bad will always come to the surface during times of crisis. And sometimes, they will grab the upper hand.

Imagine, if you will, a world without power and police. No one can report any of your ill deeds to anyone. Absolutely no cavalry will come in and save the day. Whatever you want to do, for the most part you can. And if you’re stronger and better armed than the rest – too bad for them.

This is not to say that all of us will descend into lawlessness, but some will. Perhaps many will. In my dystopian world, many do. With no one to hold them and their dastardly deeds in check, they will do what they do best – cause chaos. I’m mean, who’s going to stop them? The character Bill Carlson I mentioned above? No, I don’t think so.

No one actually knows how bad the bad will be. How far humanity will slide. Many believe that most honest law abiding citizens cannot comprehend how far our world will fall. Bill Carlson didn’t know; thus, he was shocked at what he witnessed outside his own cul-de-sac in Woodbury, Minnesota.

                               

My summary statement for part one of this post is: Keep your story believable. Give it some thought, a lot of thought. Look back on history, do some research. Somewhere you will find a believable voice for your dystopian creation.

Next week we will dive even deeper into dystopia. We will explore what it is, and just as important, what it isn’t. Until then, have a great week.

lake

I know how will you DIE

Here's the rub; I know how most of you will die. In a post-apocalyptic setting that is. And after I warn you about it below, chances are there'll be nothing you can do to stop this type of death.

Post-Apocalyptically Speaking:

If events occur, such as the scenario laid out in my WWIV series, death will most likely come to 50% of all people reading this within one year. Some experts say the entire earth's population could decrease by as much as 75% in a year. Please remember, these numbers are merely estimates; some based on math and science, others based on "intuition".

So let's grab some of these numbers that the "experts" have come up with and dissect them a little more.

Medical

Some of you will die from your current medical maladies. I, for instance, have a son with Type I insulin dependent diabetes. Without a fresh supply of insulin, his life will be tougher. Without a meter to monitor his blood, his death moves up years. But he's not the only demographic in trouble. Think of all the infirmed and elderly; dependent on oxygen and other daily supplies. No one will be delivering anything new for a very very long time (make that never).

The medical issue could account for a 50% mortality rate in the first year all by itself. Forget about the spread of disease as people start to die and go unburied. Or eating spoiled and tainted food, or drinking contaminated water. We have enough medical issues in the US of A to cause enough trouble alone. And that's before the Apocalypse ever comes.

War and Fighting

There's going to be the have's and the havenot's. And one of these groups is going to want some (perhaps ALL) of what the other group has - mainly food and water.

Yes, if times get desperate enough, people will kill you for your supplies. If the choice is either die from starvation/dehydration or kill someone so you can live, you'd be surprised how many people will be willing to make the otherwise unimaginable choice.

Now, these attacks may come at home. The place where you and your family have barricaded yourself as protection against the wandering hoards of marauders. In some fiction these people take the form of zombies or vampires, In my fiction, I just use your neighbors or people living nearby. So go ahead, arm yourself, lock you and your family inside. It only makes it more obvious to others that you have what they don't. And when your protection and ammo run out, so will your luck.

Or maybe you and the wife and kiddies take to the road. For that scenario, I invented road-scum. These are those nefarious members of society that quickly discover the easiest place to find what they need is traveling right down the road in front of their faces. They're not stupid, though many of the upper-crust believes the lower-crusts are, so they know what to do. And perhaps they have less rules than the rest of society. Perhaps their morals are askew. Or perhaps, just by bad luck and planning, they were the first groups to run out of fresh food and water.

Starvation

Yep, some of us will run out of food, plain and simple. Look in your pantry; if it's anything like mine it's stocked with more goodies than you could eat in a year, right? Ha! Not even close. A family of four will wipe out their food supplies in less than a month; probably closer to two weeks.

The biggest error most people will make is not preserving a stock of food. No, they'll eat like kings and queens, then soon discover their food is low, mighty low. And if you're low on water you certainly aren't going to use the last of that precious resource to boil your instant potatoes or white rice, are you? Come on folks, remember the saying; three weeks without food and you could die. Three days without water and you will die.

Water

This, I believe, will be the death of most people. The lack of clean drinking water.

In case of an emergency, the DHS recommends you have one gallon of clean water, per person, with a three days supply. For an average family of four that will require 12 gallons of water. Be honest, do you have that on hand? I don't, and I doubt you do either.

Further, most stored water has a shelf life of six to twelve months. It's not good forever you know. Stagnant water allows bacteria to grow. Bacteria that will kill you so quick, you'll never know. I use this as a rule of thumb - if my dogs turn their noses up at it, I'm not drinking it either.

I did a search of my house last night. If I'm lucky, and I mean really lucky, I can round up three to four gallons of water if the power goes out. If it's too dangerous to be outdoors, you are going to need to stick inside. So that's about two days of water for two people (and I'd be getting real creative at the end, like emptying the tanks above the toilet).

I have food for a while, weeks most likely. But water for only two, maybe three days. There's a problem. That means I'll probably meet my Maker dying from thirst, or disease from drinking bad water. Look up water on the internet and do some of the research about the clear odorless fluid. There's more to it than you think.

Roughly one to two weeks before anyone will begin to die of starvation, you'll most likely be dead from lack of clean drinking water. That's an ugly future, if it were to ever happen.

I'm not telling you this to scare you

I just want people to be aware that if there ever is a problem, it might be worse than you even imagine. You can fight off wandering hoards of ruffians; you can somehow keep your blood sugar in check; you can eat the family pets if you have to. But if you go beyond that third day without water - well, all your hard work will soon be for naught. I'm not advocating you stock up on fresh drinking water, no! Just educate yourself in case you ever lose your water supply for a week because of a flood, or an earthquake...or a large solar flare, or massive mid-level EMPs.

Hey, it could happen.


See you next week where I hope to have a more uplifting topic. Something perhaps that doesn't keep you awake at night.


lake

Learn from MY mistakes

"Mistakes, I've made a few, but then again, too few to mention..."

Can you name that song? (My Way)   How about any of the many performers? (Elvis should be first on the list)   Whenever I hear that song, or read the words, the voice of Elvis Presley jumps into my head and takes over. It did just now, writing those words again.

But, the point to this week's post is about learning from mistakes, my mistakes. And trust me, I've made plenty. So whether you're a first time author, or somewhere in your sophomore year (like me), please read on.

Mistake #1: I rushed my first novel to press

In my defense, I wanted to have it on the market in November of 2013. I had to wait, and none to patiently, until March 28, 2014. I know, that's only four months. And in a lifetime that will hopefully span 80+ years, it's a mere 0.4% of my time here on earth. But I really wanted it out for Christmas! Big mistake.

Even when I released it on March 28th, it still wasn't really ready for publication. In the first three months I found, and more embarrassingly readers pointed out, at least two dozen grammar, punctuation and misplaced word mistakes. Had I waited for a few more people to carefully read the book, I could have avoided these issues.

Mistake #2: I skipped the line editing process

This kind of goes with the first mistake actually. But even if I had rushed the publication of my baby, and had taken the time to somehow get the darn thing line edited, it would have been a much better piece of work.

Now, line editing can be expensive; I realize that. In place of the cost I could have had three more betas read the final version and asked them to look for everything that made their eyes bleed. Here's an example:

On page 153 of the original paperback proof, near the end of the first paragraph, it reads:

The was no way could I object to her request. (Think could and I got transposed there?)

I read through this manuscript more than twenty times. Members of my family another dozen. Four beta readers saw this version. And still no one caught this error until approximately July 15th. That almost four months after I released the book. UGH!


Mistake #3: I failed to plan any promotion for the release

This was kind of silly on my part; especially since I did it on purpose. Without any fanfare, I quickly struck the publish button on the Amazon KDP site at approximately 3:30 p.m. on March 27, 2014. The next day the novel was on Amazon in ebook format. Yay me...

Sort of.

You see, I wanted to find out if this book would grow organically. I wanted it to live or die on its on merits. That was so stupid on my part. I failed to realize that most ebooks by first time authors rarely sell many copies, outside of their family and friends. Most of the time they don't sell any outside of your inner circle.

But dumb me decided to do an experiment. So when I sold my first copy on March 29th or 30th, I patted myself on the back and beamed proudly. It worked; my great cover and perfect blurb were enough to sell my novel. I got lucky; I've sold plenty of copies of WWIV - In The Beginning. For my next book, I plan on doing a much better job of promoting the book's release...ahead of time.


So, learn from MY mistakes

Don't rush things, take your time. Make sure you put the best possible product in front of the public. And plan your release. Plan a promotion of any size. Just do something! Anything is better than what I did (or failed to do).

Do you have mistakes form your debut novel you'd like to share? Please feel free to add them in the comments below. Realizing that everyone makes mistkes helps us all feel better - more human.


Until next week, keep reading.


lake

What did the Lion need?

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire

‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar

I don’t care who you are, what your station may be in life, or whatever situation you may be facing. The words above are absolutely inspiring. Do you recognize them? I’ll give you a hint; they’re from a popular song. And a pretty decent music video as well.

Still don’t know? Well this may surprise you, but these words come to us by way of Katy Perry. They’re from her hit Roar. If you haven’t ever listened to the song or watched the video, here’s a link to it. I don’t think Katy will mind me sharing it with you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CevxZvSJLk8

So, what’s my point here? Aside from introducing you to an extremely popular song and person of course. You have to admit, it’s a pretty encouraging song. And quite a catchy chorus. Almost enough to give a person hope, inspiration – courage. And that’s what we are talking about today – courage!

I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely

Whether it’s finding a new job, leaving an abusive spouse, standing up to a bully, or even something as simple as writing a novel – we all need courage. In the past year I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat alone, late at night, wondering exactly what I was doing. Using up valuable sleeping time, both morning and night, creating something that maybe a dozen people would ever read.

I was a coward, so many times. You see it’s easier to give up than it is to put yourself out there and face possible (read that likely) rejection. So I delayed. And did I ever have the reasons for the delays. I wanted it perfect (yeah, right), I needed to check the POV for the 700^th time (a great stall technique that muggles don’t really understand), I needed to give Brit a sharper edge, Bill a more realistic back-story. The list goes on.

I poured eight and a half months into this 70,000+ word novel. That was enough time. Tolsty probably published War and Peace in that same time frame. Why couldn’t I hit the publish button? One simple word. I lacked courage.

You held me down, but I got up
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder gonna shake the ground

We are told every day that we can’t do something. If you leave here, you’ll never find another job. You are such a loser, who else will ever hire you? Whether it’s your boss, or a co-worker, you may have heard something like this before. You can’t stand up to me, I’m bigger and stronger. Bullies stand over our cowering children, and as adults we do so little. You can’t leave me, no one will ever want a person like you. We allow others to define who we are. You can’t write (or publish) a novel. You don’t know the first thing about it. In my case, this was true – very true. But the voice badgering me came from inside my own head. Self-doubt, self-loathing, self-shame. We need to give ourselves a break, the benefit of the doubt. We can do anything we put our minds to.

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
'Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
'Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar

Who says you can’t start anew? Who says you’re a loser and that’s all you’ll ever be? Who says you’re a rotten person, incapable of love? Who says you’re not good enough to do anything? Those cretins that surround you every day with their negativity? No, don’t listen to them. Maybe it’s a co-worker or your spouse. Break the mold. Aspire to be a better person … and then do it. Become that person; the one you dream about becoming every single day. Go For It! You deserve it.

But let’s be honest. Many times we are our own worst enemy. It’s what’s rolling around in our own heads that stop us and hold us back. You can change that. It’s hard, but you can win. And you deserve it.

Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and exhale. Now, repeat after me:

I can and will become the person I want to be. I will be fearless and tenacious in obtaining my goals. Nothing will stand in my way. Nothing will stop me.

‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar.

As always, I wish you the best of everything. Go out and live your dreams.
(And thank you Katy Perry for the inspiring words shown in bold above).

lake