In Search of Momentum

Personally, it has been a good month or so,

     I have done very little writing or editing though.  To be honest, I have been enjoying the freedom of just going home, putting me feet up and turning my mind off.  It has been a while since I was able to do this and I have been taking full advantage.  The downside to this, is my writing time and editing has suffered for it.

     That isn't to say I've been completely idle.  I have been focusing on what directions I want to shift with my writing.  The Dragon's Apprentice is working through an edit with the help of Grammerly.  Thought I would give it a spin.  Grimmack is going through... an expansion is the best I can call it.  I want to work on my world building in that book.  That means I will be working to add a map to the front, which may take a bit, and then I will be working on details and events in the chapters to bring the world further to life.  I am not planning on changing the story, I like the story and think it works well, I am more interested in the threads that hold the story together.

     My marketing has changed as well.  I am going to mock up a cover and put Grimmack on Amazon when I am happy with it.  Grimmack's books are going to be about the right length etc.. that I think I can put 2-3 books out a year on Amazon with little issue, if I can keep my focus.  Dragon's apprentice is going to take the place of Grimmack as far as what I try to traditionally market.  And yes, I want to keep trying to play both.

    I have put Grimmack out there enough, I am content to self publish.  Mr. Brady Frost added me to a great group on Facebook that is all about self-publishing and it has whetted my interest in that direction.  That being said, I have never been an eggs in one basket type person and I will continue to explore different options.

     Grimmack, has about nine story lines right now that I have documented that I can work on. Dragon's Apprentice will be a Trilogy.  Under a Broken Moon will be a stand alone, for the moment but it has potential moving forward.  That one I haven't decided where to market, but it is so early in it's lifespan that I am more worried about giving it all the bones it needs to walk.

    That means nothing if I can't focus.  Between doing new house searches, planning for my daughter to go to DC for her History Day competition and everything else, my focus has not been on my writing like it should be.  I am hoping to remedy that soon.

    I am hoping by next month, I will be announcing my release date for Grimmack the Goblin on Amazon... Mwha ha ha.



    How is ya'll writing going?

Ben Marble

If you would like to support Ben Marble and his unnatural obsession with the Ewok resistance, consider buying on of his short stories at Amazon.com

New Years Goals and Resolutions.

I am not a big fan of New Years Goals.

     It is not that I think it is bad to make goals and resolutions for yourself, but I think it should be an ongoing process throughout the year that you can look at as needed.  We all live this messy little thing called life, which means from time to time plans have to be adjusted or changed.  At times we all have the big eyes syndrome where we take on more than we can chew.

     So, for this year I am going to restate my goals that I am working on.  I am presently working on Marketing Grimmack a little, (I could be better) I have one more full edit of "The Dragon's Apprentice" to do. (I plan on having it ready in the next month or so.) and I want to finish the story I am working on (Demon Skies is my working title) by June.

     As far as school goes, I want to be done with my certifications at DATC.  I graduate sometime this month as long as I pass my CompTIA security+ but I plan on getting my Project+, Cloud based Administrators, Linux and Cisco certifications.  All in all that means almost a year longer than I originally planned.  After that I will be looking at my Bachelor's degree in Computer Science with a focus on Network administration.  My goal is to get that by the time I am 40, which gives me two years.  If I don't beat that I intend to be close.

    With my family I will have all new fun challenges.  My oldest will be learning to drive this year.  If I wasn't getting grey hair yet, that will do it.  I would like to go camping sometime this summer.  I haven't really been in years but once, and it would be nice to expand my children's experience a little more.  There are a lot of nice places out here in Utah, several that I went to as a child and it would be nice to give my children a bit more outdoor experience.

    That is pretty much my list of things I am looking at.  For some of you it might seem simple, for some it might look like a lot.  I have said it before, life is about priorities.  You have to keep them straight if you want to accomplish your goals.  Right now my main focus is education and bettering my situation.  (My career change and current job is a big step, but I don't want to become complacent.)

     How is your new year looking?  Have you set any goals for new projects or writing?  What about your personal life?  Expanding your personal experience can only benefit the words you type out or scribble down on paper.  What do you plan on doing different or better?

    And most of all, how are you going to enjoy your new year?

Happy 2017 everybody.
Ben Marble

If you would like to support Ben Marble and his desire to construct a wild snowman habitat, consider purchasing one of his short stories at Amazon.com.  Including his newest short, "The Trap."

   

Two Separate Paths: Looking at R. Brady Frost.

Why I find it fascinating to follow R. Brady Frost.

     Yes, I'm calling out a fellow writer whom I have known since High School.  To be fair, several years passed before we reconnected via Facebook, and I have seen his physical present since we were both young and skinny.  Well, he still looks kinda skinny.  We have however, had several moments of correspondence. Read each others work, and traded opinions here and there.

      We both have a lot in common.  We are both fathers who are tackling family, jobs, and other such things.  We both work in IT, (though he is well established, and I'm up and coming as I'm still in school.)  We also both face challenges on a weekly basis on getting our writing done as one would figure from the things mentioned above.

     There are differences too.  Brady is focused more on a Sci-fi path with his current work on Clorophyllium 9: A Final Hope.  And his short stories are more inspiration based than mine.  Well, he does have the zombie one, but his focus is in different areas, that are still fiction based, than I generally pursue.  I tend to focus more on fantasy, urban fantasy, and horror.  His attention to small detail in writing is something I would love to develop and emulate as I find myself often skipping the little stuff and having to add it in later.  I know he has mainly discovery written, while I like to outline.

     The biggest difference I see is that Brady seems focused on being self-published, while I am looking towards trying to be traditionally published.  Now, I say that fully realizing that I have short stories that I have written and put up on amazon.com.  For my book though, my full stories, I plan on trying to pursue traditional publication.  Brady has always (and I could be wrong) seemed focused on self publication.

     Now, there is nothing wrong with either path.  My pull towards traditional publishing comes from the lack of desire to have to work hard on marketing myself at this point.  I also am not sure about how to market myself beyond growing an internet presence and putting up the odd short story to hope I garner some attention.

     Brady has a great website rbradyfrost.com.  He has a podcast he has been working on at hunting the muse.  And is often a lot more present on social media that I manage to be.  His podcast has writing prompts on a weekly basis, and they are great for getting you to think about different ideas. He is constantly working on his writing and even has a book, COMA: The Cataclysm on his website so people can read and actively give him feedback.

     I compare that to the fact I tried to start a Facebook page for prospective writers, and it fizzled after a couple months.  I have wanted to podcast about things myself, but have never really sat down and banged out what I would need to do one.  I don't even know what platform I would go for, as writing is not the only think I would like to discuss.

    So why do I follow Brady and make comparisons? Well I will tell you.

    It fascinates me to see what he is able to accomplish with his time.  It gives me a standard to compare myself to, that is more realistic than looking at a published author such as Larry Correia or Jim Butcher.  Those folks are published and established.  With Brady I can watch him develop and achieve success form the ground up.  It makes him more relate-able to me.  Of course it helps that I remember him from when we were younger as well.

    I also watch, because as he finds success I can learn from it.  I already know I'm not great at sitting down and writing daily.  Though I do put out a good weekly word count.  I am constantly developing my stories in my head as I go through out my day, and I have goals I am starting to set and meet better than I ever have.

    So fellow authors, who do you watch and learn from?  Who are those you look up to that may not be already published big name authors, and why?  How do you learn from these folks?  How does that fit into your goals?

Ben Marble

Please drop by and visit R. Brady Frost at his website rbradyfrost.com and/or check out his podcast at hunting the muse.  You can also find his short stories at Amazon.com for your kindle or e-book reader.

As always, if you would like to support my clubbing of select baby seals, you can always purchase on of my short stories at Amazon.com as well.

Nailing my Priorities

Guess who’s back, back again!

     So, it has been a little bit.  Time for an update folks.

     Grimmack has passed through edit number three and has now been pushed to a publisher’s inbox whom I won’t name.  I have some hopes here, as I think my story is very fun and solid.  The final product was just north of 50k words which is on the low end of young adolescent to teens which is where I’m aiming this story.  That being said I feel it is something that appeals to older readers as well.  According to the website I should get a response between Thanksgiving and Christmas time.  I was surprised actually as I know that Tor (not the one I submitted this too) has about a six month turn around on a response.

     Now, honestly I am bracing myself for a rejection letter while hoping for an acceptance.  I do believe my story is good, but it is up to someone whom I have never met who digs through these manuscripts to decide if it is something they want to publish. They hopefully will love my story, but they may decide they don’t.  Or they may decide it’s not a fit for their publisher, or… well there are many “ors.”  I have done what I can for now within my sphere of control, for now I have put the story to the side as I wait for judgement.  I also am looking for plan B, C, and so on for if this publisher rejects my story.  Because it doesn’t fit one place doesn’t mean it won’t fit anywhere.

      I have been a little distant from my writing otherwise.  I have been cramming the last few weeks for my Network+ certification and thankfully I have passed.  Now I am on to learning Security Fundamentals and then Security+.  For now, I can take a small breath, but a new test will be on me soon.

     So, what am I working on then?  Well, I am still writing Grimmack 2 on the side.  I also am going to be working on editing “The dragon’s apprentice” which is the other book I have finished that needs some love.  That one I have had on the back burner for a while for a variety of reasons, but I have finally figured out a few things I want to do to fix the story, and while it might mean sacrificing a few darlings, I am looking forward to getting it to a point where I can submit it.

     Oh, and there is this little November thing called NaNoWriMo I am hoping to do again this year.  If you haven’t done it before, you should.  It is a fun challenge for aspiring writers.

      Otherwise life is moving on.  I am continuing in school, working on watching for ways to advance myself in my new chosen career path.  Yes, I want to write for a living, but until I get to that point I do need to pay the bills.

      So, there you have it.  A lot of fun, and work to getting to where I want to be.

      Because, let’s be honest, this is all about priorities.  If I don’t prioritize my writing, then all I am doing is talking.  That doesn’t help anyone, least of all myself.

Ben Marble

If you want to support Ben Marble you can buy his short stories at Amazon.com

Grimmack 1.1 done.

Grimmack the Goblin is done, roughly.

     So that means that I am doing a quick run through this draft, and then it will be on to Alpha readers. Ah, that step where I beg people for feedback so that I might get an idea of what to work on and what is working and not working.  This is the interesting part.

     I have already gotten some feedback because I had the advantage of having a co-worker I sent each chapter to as I finished it.  My goal, (and it was achieved a bit) was to have him laughing here and there behind me at the very serious book that is Grimmack the Goblin.

    Really this book is very much a poke at fantasy genres.  It is silly, the main character telling the story is sarcastic, and a bit of a coward.  This book, unlike other was not a slog in parts to write because I had fun the whole time.  If I manage to do anything with this story, I think I have a few more Grimmack stories in me as well.  Like I said, it was absolute fun to write, and I look forward to doing the next one.

     The amazing thing was that this story is much brighter and more fun than anything I have written before.

     Here comes my challenge.  Right now the book is sitting at about 43,000 words.  I'm adding a bit in this edit, but to hit the "standard" length of a YA or younger book I am looking at moving that count up to 50k-75k words.  So, part of what I will be looking for from Alpha readers is "what is this story missing?" "What would you like to see more of."  part of the problem with this also being that there are some arcs I would like to make a whole story out of.  I'm fairly certain that if you read the story you will know which ones.

      So here it is, anyone who is interested in giving me some honest feedback, let me know.  I do not want anyone to feel obligated to read this, but if you are interested I will happily send you a copy to read through.

      I want to state:  I am not looking for an editor, or someone to judge the prose, though if by all means something in my writing style bugs you, let me know.  What I am looking at is people to read this story, and give my an opinion.

      Opinions like, "I think this story would be better if..." or "I think this character needs more development...."  or even "I love this part where..."

     If you tell me I am no Brandon Sanderson, I will be like, "umm... Not trying to write a Sanderson."

    So, anyone who wants to volunteer let me know.  I will keep posting about this story as it progresses.  My hope is to be marketing it in a few weeks.  If from the point where I start marketing it, and six month pass then I will probably look at self publishing instead.  However, I want to try the traditional route first.

Good reading and great adventures,
Ben Marble

Grimmack is coming.

It's been a while.

     I'll be honest, sometimes I feel I neglect this blog just because time is not my friend.  Between school and work I haven't had a lot of time.  However, a couple of good things have come from this. 

     My new job gives me some writing freedom when I don't have homework, and we aren't busy.  It's been sporadic but helpful.  I've gotten some more editing on The Dragon's Apprentice done, finished a short story ("A Fey Deal") and now I'm working on another book.

     Grimmack is the story of a goblin illegally taught magic whose world gets upended.  His master is accused of practicing black magic, and the fallout pulls him out of the safety of his studies into the big wide world of humans.  You know, the big folk who somehow don't understand how the world is supposed to work.

     I'm having fun with this one.  It's a bit of adventure story versus thumbing my nose at a few fantasy tropes.  It's not intended to be a long book, as I'm thinking of young junior high age children for my target demographic, but when I finish I plan on being a little over 50,000 words.  I was originally planning on publishing this book through Amazon and going the self-published route, but I think before I do that I want to see if I can find an agent to try and go traditional.

     I'm also hoping that doing a smaller project like this will help me get my editing brain to the point where I can finish "The dragon's apprentice."  I want to do that trilogy as well, and might jump back and forth.  Grimmak promises to be an open ended story, that I can keep going on as long as I find ideas and situations.  However I feel it will have a more limited audience.  I have an overall story arc for Grimmack in mind, but It will be a long time before he realized it.

    Other than that, I'm progressing in school. I have my A+ certification and am diving straight into my Network+ certification.  Then I have Security+, Administers, and Project+.  Seems a long way to go.

    Kids are great and out of school for summer.  Keeping me busy of course.

    That is pretty much what I have for now, other than buy my new short story, A Fey Deal on Amazon and Kindle if you would like to support me.  I appreciate any reviews, good or bad, people drop on my work as well.

Thank you,

Ben

Discussing alpha readers.

So, I had a unique experience this week.

     I am working on a short story that will soon be up on Kindle.  This one will bridge my other two shorts "The Choice," and "The Black Oak" and create a connection between them, while continuing Elias' story.  I'm very happy with this piece so far and I am enjoying having time between phone calls at work to devote myself more to my writing.  I look forward to getting some long awaited editing done once I get a pass for my laptop, and I hope to do NaNoWriMo again this year.

    To get feedback I let two of my new co-workers read through the short.  It's not a long piece, at the moment sitting at about 5.5k words and it's meant to be quick and to the point.  I made a point of actually not digging into details that weren't pertinent to the story.  And happily I got two levels of feedback.

    The first reader said he rather enjoyed it, pointed out a few punctuation issues I might need to work on but pretty much left me at that.  I enjoy getting the feedback and the praise and happily discussed my other two shorts a little with him, and he may pick them up on his Kindle  (If not, I'm not worried about it.)

    The second reader immediately started discussing very technical aspects of the fey, as they are part of my story, pushing about whether my demon was the christian version, more elemental, etc... etc...  He went into naming schemes, base roots of these different aspects and pulled things a lot deeper than I had an intent to go.  I found that fantastic but heavy feeling.

    I bring this up because these are both two kinds of Alpha readers you may get, and they both have great points, and bad ones.

   First of all, remember the first person you are writing for is you.  If you aren't enjoying it, question why and fix it.  Feedback is great, but measure it against your vision of the story.  Take everything you hear and consider it, but don't get married to any one idea someone else gives you.

    The first Alpha reader was great, but I didn't get anything constructive from him.  I am glad he enjoyed the story, but I was hoping i could at least get an answer to "was there anything that felt out of place, or glaringly inaccurate" Instead I got a warm response, and that's good but it doesn't help me improve.

    The second Alpha went the opposite direction and I was getting information overload.  While he had some great mentions and ideas I may add and use, a lot of the information he thought I needed at the end of the day does not fit my vision or the feel of the story I am working on.  I am not looking at giving people a deep discussion on the Seelie/Unseelie courts or spending a long time defining my demon at this point.  That is beyond the scope of the story I want to tell.  Some of the information is important and likely to be added, but if I double my word count just to go into tangents I'm really not treading the path I want.

    The point is, remember when you get feedback to balance it.  Look for good feedback but don't worry about taking it all.  I will probably share with both again in the future.  I will also be better prepared on how to elicit feedback, or temper it from each now that I know what to expect.

    The best alpha reader I have had to date, and I have to give him credit, is Brady Frost.  On the first book I finished for NaNoWriMo he gave me incredible feedback.  That book is still being changed and edited, and I'm hoping someday to mail him a signed copy so he can see all I did to it. He gave me great feedback, didn't push too much information, and spent a lot of time making great notes.  Part of the reason I want to finish that book and publish it, is because of his contribution to it.

    That is all I have for the moment.  If you have opinions or comments, as always share bellow.  Feel free to tell me I'm full of it, or add to the conversation.

Ben Marble.

Support Your Local Writing Friends.

     So, you have a friend who has self-published.  Or even traditionally published.  How do you support them best?

    Look, this is a question on my mind as I've now delved into the world of self-publishing.  Not only do I wonder how to best get people to support myself, I ponder the best way to support my friends who are venturing into this abyss where you cast you net of words and hope to pull something back from it.  I have thought of a few ways.

     First and formost, buy their book.  Look, if it's $0.99 it's not a big deal.  If it's a tad bit more expensive just remember that you are supporting someone.  When you are first starting out on this adventure every little sale makes your heart leap and gives you a bit of a grin.  I know I have purchased a couple of R. Brady Frost's books from the Nook Store, and when his latest Chlorophyllium 9: A Short Story comes to the Nook I will buy it too.  This short story I have already read (and enjoyed) but it's not about just reading it to me.  It's giving that little ego boost that every author needs every now and then.

     Rate their books honestly.  Now wait a moment before you raise and eyebrow and hear me out here.  I know you want to give your friend a five star, ultra awesome, changed my life rating.  That's cool because you are a good friend.  However, think of what it will do when someone browses over his book, see's that 5 star rating decides to give it a go.  If the story does not live up to that hype this prospective fan could be turned off.

     Think of it this way, there is a movie you really want to see.  You hear all these rave reviews, your buddies tell you it's awesome, and everything builds the expected Wow factor higher and higher.  Then you see this movie.  The movie can be good, even great, but if it doesn't meet  that Wow factor you have build for it you feel a sense of dissapointment.  The same kind of feeling can happen if you read a bunch of five star reviews, then find you don't like the story or you feel it's not that good.  The sense of betrayal you get could turn you off of an author before you get to see some of their work you might really like.  This could also cut your friend off from prospective fans if you oversell the experience to them.

    So give them a rating that fits the story for you.  You can speak positively about what you like about their story and try to sell it for what it is.  If you don't have anything nice to say, don't leave the review.  Seriously, it's O.k. to tell someone you didn't like their story.  If your are writing you have to accept not everyone will like what you write.  It might sting initially coming from a friend, but be honest and tell them why and they might be able to improve their writing off the feedback.  If not, well like I said above not everyone is going to like what you write.  That includes friends.  And family members.

     I have already decided that when the day comes that someone tells me what a crappy writer I am, and how horrible my story or writing is that I'm just going to smile.  Then I'm going to thank them for taking the time to read my story and tell them I'm sorry they didn't like it and keep it at that.  I know when the time comes it will harder then just writing these words down and making the plan, but I feel this plan is solid.

     My last bit of advice is help your friend share their story to the world.  Take a moment to share their link on facebook.  Retweet a link for them.  Talk about their book if it comes up in discussion and do what you can the help raise awareness.  I think of it this way.  If all my friends have one hundred friends on their Facebook accounts, and two share my post.  That is two hundred more people that will glance at my book that I may have not reached.  That number only goes up with each share I get.

     Most of all, just be supportive.  Let your friend know your excited they are writing and taking the risks that come with it. (Rejection, Mental Breakdowns, Self doubt, and all the other fun)  Let them know you are happy for them every step of the way.  Even if I never sell a single copy of anything I write, I know just having people like that in my life helps keep me writing.

Ben Marble

P.S.  My short story The Choice is now available on Amazon.com.