C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m

See all my books at AllThatChazz.com.

12/31/2010 • 3:46 PM 0

Writers: The Edge of 2011 Happy New Year Top 10

Image by Heavybm via Flickr

Hey Cool People of the Planet! I woke in a sweat very early this morning tormented with thoughts about the annual holiday VISA bill slopped over an undercurrent of vague worries about what would happen if I forgot all my passwords at once. Let’s be honest. Worldwide, this past decade sucked. However, things are looking up in some ways. Time to focus on the positive.

My mind tends to go to the dark side, but let’s focus on today, here, now.

Top 10 reasons today is a great day:

1. After the arid desert that is Christmas music, suddenly the radio doesn’t suck here at the oasis. For the next two days I’m listening to a marathon of hits from the last decade and rocking out hard.

2. I’m riding high from a marathon of Big Bang Theory (Season One). Despite that neurotic touch of insomnia, I then slept until 1 PM. I win!

3. I’m a columnist for Massage & Bodywork Magazine and I love working with them. My relationship with my editor can best be described as a mutual admiration society of two and this morning a Fed Ex package arrived with all sorts of goodies (corn bread, chili, soup mixes.) It was from the magazine, just to say thanks. That’s rare and wonderful.

4. I just confirmed I have a new editing gig. I’m editing an e-book for a client. I’ve edited books I’m not so interested in but I’m really looking forward to reading this book. Plus, the author is super nice.

5. My own manuscript is awaiting revision. Someone asked me how my book was. “Coming,” I said. “Does that mean you’re still writing it?” “Nope. It’s written. Now I’m editing.” It feels great to say that. I’m focussed.

6. I’ve lost 40 pounds so far and in the next few months will achieve my goal. The holidays were tough, but I’m energized about getting to sexy. At my college reunion, I expect to be the guy no one knows.

7. Just now I found out my article on what I learned from Joe Rogan about book marketing was picked up b Literary Agents & Publishers News. Nice. I’m feeling appreciated today!

8. Tomorrow I’m hanging out with friends and relaxing. The blog’s already prepared and I’m feeling loose in the shoulders. There’s so much to look forward to this year. I’m planning to attend two publishing conferences and I’ll take my manuscript to market.

9. This is a pregnant moment. There is potential energy coiling in our resolutions as we set out to correct our courses and get our lives on the track we want. It can be done. We know that because it has been done. (Ten Lessons Received from an Evening with Kevin Smith.)

10. I’m happy to be here. I’m happy you’re here. Got any doubts we’ll make it big? Just watch me. Follow me or run beside me. We’re going to make it huge, sweetheart. Bet on it.

Book Marketing: What I learned from Joe Rogan (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
2010: The Year Self-Publishing Lost Its Stigma (pbs.org)
The Big Bang Theory’s geekiest guest stars (canada.com)
How to Upload Your Digital Book to Kindle, by Nancy May (artistmarketingsalon.wordpress.com)
Endings, Beginnings, & Transitions (trishussey.com)

Filed under: getting it done, My fiction, publishing, Rant, Top Ten, What about Chazz?, Writers, 2011, An Evening with Kevin Smith, book, editing, happy new year, Joe Rogan, Kevin Smith, Literary agent, resolutions

12/29/2010 • 1:07 PM 0

Writers: Does the term “wannabe” irk you?

Image by wvs via Flickr

Just read an editor using the term “wannabe.” I’ve probably used it in the past, too, but no more. (I am a writer and I’m an editor who works with writers, so why wouldn’t I show them as much respect as I can and avoid an irksome term?)

Whether the editor in question meant it that way or not, it came off as dismissive. Anyone who read my blog regularly knows I have a man crush on writer-director indie legend Kevin Smith. He wrote something a while ago that really got my attention and it applies here.

He wanted to be a director. He was in Jersey and no money and no plan.

When he told his sister of his ambition, she replied,

“Then BE a director!”

Don’t want it. Be it.

If you write, you’re a writer. If you aren’t published yet, approach the work professionally and act as if you already are. (That means improve your craft, take criticism, educate yourself about the industry and comport yourself with grace and ease.)

I’m a published writer and I can tell you, after a time, seeing your name in print is not that big a deal. It’s the work that matters, and when it’s at its best, it will feel like play.

What matters is the writing:

Do it.

Enjoy it.

Get it down,

Get it done.

Write more.

Write again.

Writers write.

Don’t get caught up in status, hierarchy and aspirations. Do the work because writers write, whether they’re going to be published or not.

Writers: DIY vs traditional publishing (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Book Information Centre Blues (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Difference Between “Real” Writers And “Wannabe” Writers (dyske.com)
effort v. output: the second of several posts on writing. (infomational.wordpress.com)

Filed under: authors, Books, DIY, Editing, Editors, getting it done, publishing, Writers, writing tips, editing, editors, Kevin Smith, offensive, wannabe writers, wannabes, writers, writing, writing tips

12/19/2010 • 3:38 PM 5

Writers: DIY vs traditional publishing

Figure 1:Conceptual Model of Philosophical Com...

Image via Wikipedia

Last month I posted a piece in appreciation of director Kevin Smith after attending one of his Q&As.

Today I ran across Alex Greenwood’s guest post, Shoot the Gatekeepers on Shelly Kramer’s blog. It reminded me again of that indie spirit I love to see.

I’m not telling anyone to go independent exactly. Going rogue is not for everyone because not everyone has the entrepreneurial spirit.

You can find the knowledge and tech support you need to make it happen, but if you don’t want to do all that in the first place, it’s not for you. I guess that’s why I straddle the line here between traditional publishing and going indie. I talk about how to get an agent and a publisher. I also talk a lot about maintaining control of your work, DIY, and marketing yourself to the world. Authors from both sides of the coin need many of the same skill sets, anyway. For instance, even if you’re a traditionally published author, you’re crazy to depend on your publisher to promote and publicize you much at all and none of those efforts are sustained.

It’s frustrating when one entrenched camp mocks the other for their choices. It’s especially bad when those opinions are not so much informed as they are outmoded dogma. For instance, once again today I ran across writers and editors who fail to make a distinction between vanity publishing and independent publishing. I gritted my teeth. Then I found the link above, took a few deep breaths and smelled the roses of someone who gets it. Thanks for a solid post, Mr. Greenwood. I love the indie spirit.

Here’s the shameless plug: If going alone is for you, I’m an editor so I can help. However, if you’re going the traditional route, I’ve been on the inside, so I appreciate what you’re going through and can help with that, too. (At my business site you’ll find more information on getting editing help for your manuscript or web content.)

Here’s the crux: I love books, no matter how they’re produced. It’s about story! Love of story is at the heart. Contrary to what you’ve heard, the medium is not the message. I care much less about a book’s process to publication than I do its narrative. Sometimes I think people who fetishize paper over electronic books love stories much less than they think they do. They’re worrying too much about how the story go to their brains. Dump that worry. Just get your art out there!

Write your story. Make it the best you can. Send it to agents, publishers or directly to fans. Whatever. Just commit to art and the value of your creativity.

Filed under: DIY, getting it done, Publicity & Promotion, publishing, Rejection, self-publishing, Author, Business, DIY, Do it yourself, E-book, indie spirit, Kevin Smith, publishing, self-publishing, Vanity press

12/14/2010 • 8:22 AM 2

Bookstores are disappearing. Time to sell my book collection.

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I came to two realizations about books today:

1. We aren’t being brave enough.

and

2. It’s time to sell my book collection.

Two film directors (Kevin Smith and the guy behind Donny Darko) talked on a podcast about cross-promotion with their movies and how five years from now there will be no bookstores. Though they are both authors as well, their main focus is film so they could be dispassionate about our sick industry. Contrary to what you may have heard, that’s a reason to take their assessment of bookstore extinction more seriously, not less. People inside the publishing industry often have their judgment clouded.

When confronted with such dim prospects for bookstores, many inside the book industry answer:

1. Nonsense! Horrors! Unthinkable!

or

2. It won’t happen that fast. We still have lots of time to bleed the old paradigm dry.

But five bookstores a day are closing across the United States. E-book sales are growing faster than most publishers anticipated. It won’t be long before even your Grammy is buying her books in an electronic format. At first she’ll hold back on buying in, but when the variety of large print books diminishes—they always were a marginal asset—those electronic readers that allow her to easily bump up the text size will push her over the edge. The rise in e-book reading tells me we’re already past the time when digital book consumption is only about the early adopters. That goes double once Christmas morning hits.

Sure, there will still be specialty bookstores, or rather, premium collectibles bookstores. You’ll come for the books, but it’s the coffee they sell which will make the serious money.

I write this without glee. I love bookstores. They are my last retreat. Where else besides my office, will I go willingly? Bookstores and libraries are to me what graveyards and remote girls’ schools with lax curfews are to vampires.

I hope many bookstores find a way to survive. A bunch of them may do it, but those will be digital books on the shelves, mocked up to look like tree books. Yes, grandfather, there will still be tree books, but you’ll pay substantially more for them. Big print runs keep the unit price low by producing large volumes. Those print runs are about to be cut (further) so that paper book you’re so attached to will be a specialty item. (Have you noticed the rise in the prices of buggy whips lately? It’s crazy.)

Then I listened to another podcast. Blowhard’s Malcolm Ingram was speaking with a porn actor/director. Ingram observed that the skills are transferable to mainstream film. (Insert your own joke here.) But he was talking about technical skills. Then he mentioned that it’s never been easier to make a film. It’s true. The cameras come fancier and cheaper than ever. YouTube is a young filmmaker’s playground (search Nigahiga and you’ll see what I mean.) Technology has democratized filmmaking. “I’ve directed two documentaries,” Ingram said, “and I’m borderline retarded.”

That, ladies and germs, is indie spirit.It’s brave. It’s what we’re lacking.

What’s true for film is also true for publishing. Becoming an independent publisher has never been easier and the technology to make a book and market it is only getting better. People have done it. A bunch of industry experts with their own agendas are holding with opinions which were once valid. They get less valid each day (and another five more bookstores go extinct.) They have their reasons to mistrust self-publishing, but if they’re still confusing self-publishing with vanity publishing…frankly, now those people are boring me.

We’ve already hit the iceberg so stop wringing your hands about whether we’ll make it to New York harbor. Honestly, your obstinacy is titanic.

Oh. That other dire conclusion? Paper books are on the way out. I have thousands of them.

It’s time for me to sell them while someone’s still interested in buying them.

The last country house party? Ebooks and publishing’s phony war, by Peter Ginna (teleread.com)
Publisher Releases Landmark Children’s Book About Saying Thanks and Giving Back; A Tribute to Tuskegee Airmen and Military Families (prweb.com)
eBookIt.com Announced Today Their Grand Opening (prweb.com)
Alfred Introduces the World’s First Enhanced Music E-Books with Alfred’s Kid’s Guitar Course, Now Available in Apple’s iBookstore (prweb.com)
Is the Google eBookstore any different? (cnn.com)
Bookstores next chapter hard to read (theglobeandmail.com)
Hard times for bookstores (search.japantimes.co.jp)
Best Bookstores: Huffington Post Readers Pick Their 12 Favorites (PHOTOS) (huffingtonpost.com)
What impact might bookstores and sites selling ebooks have? (ireaderreview.com)
The Fundamentals of Operating a Successful Used Bookstore (bookshopblog.com)
A war of words (boston.com)
Favorite Bookstores (finebooksmagazine.com)
Why I Don’t Shop at Bookstores Any More – Barnes and Noble Needs to Learn a Few Things From Amazon (drdianehamilton.wordpress.com)
Self-Publishing: First Espresso Book Machine In Continental Europe (huffingtonpost.com)

Filed under: Books, DIY, ebooks, getting it done, Media, movies, publishing, Rant, self-publishing, Bookselling, bookstores dying, E-book, ebooks, how will bookstores survive?, Kevin Smith, Malcolm Ingram, Nigahiga, paper books, publishing, tree books

11/15/2010 • 11:04 AM 2

#@ThatKevinSmith : Feelgood Story of the Day (Week, Year…)

Image by Clintus McGintus via Flickr

Writing matters.

What you put out into the world matters.

And you never know how what you do will affect others (all the more reason to be careful.)

Last night, I got this reaction to my post on An Evening with Kevin Smith.

And the blessings and inspirations just keep on flowing.

When the good energy comes your way, run with it.

Find my original post on what I learned from Kevin Smith here.

Kevin Smith surprises me by having something more to say (onegoodminute.wordpress.com)
Which SModcast is the best kind of SModcast? Does @ThatKevinSmith agree? (onegoodminute.wordpress.com)
Kevin Smith Launches Podcast For Red State (cinemablend.com)

Filed under: getting it done, links, web reviews, Writers, An Evening with Kevin Smith, inspiration, Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, SModcast, writing inspiration

11/05/2010 • 9:47 AM 2

Kevin Smith loved the blog post! The aftermath…

Image via Wikipedia

Good morning! First off, big thanks to Kevin Smith for the bump love and encouragement. He liked yesterday’s post, twittered it to his followers and within 20 minutes my blog got 500 hits. A couple of hours later? Seven-hundred and climbing. Kevin has a huge following and every morning he must wake up, blaze up and say, “It’s good to be the king.” Because it is and he’s earned it.

Thanks, too, to all the kind tweeple who sent me such nice feedback on the blog post and shared their feelings about the event. I wasn’t the only one so impressed with the experience. I received several tweets from people from Kitchener and area who were equally effected. We went for the laughs. We got much more than we expected. I know he must inspire tons of people because, of all the feedback I got, people were kind and there wasn’t even a hater in the bunch.

I’m earnest about earning my piece, too. An Evening with Kevin Smith really was an eye-opener and course correction for me and I’m already working away on that. (I hope some of you stick around or swing by once in a while to see my progress.) I have books to write and books to edit and I’m going into overdrive to get them edited, out the door and into the marketplace.

Great people make you feel like you can be great, too. Someone famous said something like that. Kevin exemplifies it. Thanks again, sir!

Okay, a little later today, I’ve got a story about American Psycho and me wrestling with censors…who, strangely, didn’t think they were censors.

Also, some ace writing and publishing links will be posted this afternoon.

Finally, a National Novel Writing Month update will be posted this evening.

Are you making progress? That’s what it’s all about.

‘Red State’ teaser poster: Is this Kevin Smith’s comeback? (popwatch.ew.com)
Kevin Smith Teaser Poster for Red State (screenhead.com)
Kevin Smith’s Red State Is Finished, Already Has A Teaser Poster (cinemablend.com)
“Kevin Smith Wants to Screen Red State at Sundance Film Festival” and related posts (shockya.com)

Filed under: blogs & blogging, getting it done, web reviews, An Evening with Kevin Smith, Kevin Smith

10/02/2010 • 2:10 PM 0

Contest #1 Winner Announcement

JEFritz won Kevin Smith‘s graphic novel Cacophony (art by Walt Flanagan.) Find her blog here.

Thanks, JEFritz, for supporting Chazz Writes and congratulations! It’s a great book. (Regular readers know I love all things Kevin Smith and I’m even seeing him in person next month!)

Thanks to all those who sent left comments, linked to the blog, discovered the blog or just sent me nice notes on Twitter. If you’re disappointed, please don’t be. Contests #2 and #3 are still open! Submit a book review or write a short essay and let us in on your thoughts on the future of publishing (pretty wide topic, so take liberties if you like as long as it’s about writing, publishing or editing.)

I want into the draws! Take me to the contest rules, Chazz!

Filed under: Contest announcement, book review, contest winner, Graphic novel, Kevin Smith, publishing, Walt Flanagan

09/23/2010 • 6:00 PM 1

Are You a Consumer or a Creator?

To cleanse the palate of all the publishing links I’m sharing this week, a brief original post to tide you over if that’s what you crave:

You love books. You buy books from bookstores. You whip out your credit card for books from Amazon and Chapters. You poke about the used bookstore down the street that has that ugly mixture of the aromas of old book glue, yellowed pages and desperation.

And if you read this blog, you’re want to write books as well. Tell me, are you a creator or just a consumer. There’s nothing wrong with being a consumer, but if you have dreams of writing a novel, you really have to sit and get your hands on a keyboard.

There are so many things I love. All things Kevin Smith does amuse me, for instance. The director of many films, small and large, has developed quite a cult and at this moment is leading a podcast revolution and redefining what it is to have a comedy show. The jokes come not from stand-up comics, but a bunch of his friends have become sit-down comics who deliver fun and interest not by thought-out routines, but by arguing with each other and asking a lot fo what-if questions. The comedy can be uneven, but he’s developed a following who may or may not love his movies. Simultaneously, Kevin Smith has taken a low-tech medium—podcasting—and redefines its use for large numbers of people who have, ironically, abandoned radio. He has also resurrected a form that has hovered near death for a long time: he’d brought back the milieu of the raconteur.

In short, Kevin Smith is a creator and still retains his title of indie film legend, though he hasn’t made an “indie” in quite some time. That’s not a criticism, but a tribute to his success. His movies are getting bigger and bigger budgets because all his movies make money (even the perceived flops.) In podcasting (or smodcasting as he and Scott Mosier have name it when they do it) he gives much away free. Obviously he has a lot of fun doing it. He travels the world building his brand (and the continent by his own tour bus.) He recently bought a small theatre for his podcast home and he’s behind six smodcasts in total. He’s busy and productive, continuing his schedule despite having a new film, Red State, in the works.

As much as I admire Mr. Smith and his quick wit and filthy sense of humour, my idolatry reminds me that I, too, have to get off my ass. Or, more accurately, get on my ass, and write. I am a dedicated consumer. Recently, after beginning a diet, I resolved that I needed to get out of the house so I wouldn’t eat something I shouldn’t. The problem was, if I was going to go somewhere and not eat…where would I go? I settled on the library and the closest bookstore. The experience made clear to me that, as much as I consume books, I must allot time for my novel (and other income-generating products.)

I reconsidered my priorities. A friend’s example on Twitter reminded me how productive I am the earlier I start the day. Good health makes me more energetic so I plotted time for the gym on a regular basis. I must commit to a schedule at regular times (daily) to ensure that progress on my own work continues. I enjoy reading helpful publishing information (and today’s writer must be more aware of the market much more than writers from just a few years ago.) Instead of medicating myself with delicious sugar and carbohydrates, I’m writing more. I’m being proactive in my reading so I don’t use the sly anaesthetic of more and more reading as an unconscious tool of procrastination.

In short, I’m more aware. I’m watching how I spend my time and marrying up those activities with my goals. If you’re stuck as a writer, perhaps you should reevaluate how you’re spending your time, too.

Today’s Book Recommendation: The Other 8 Hours by Robert Pagliarini will help you focus your energies to your greater success in managing your time and becoming a creator, not just a consumer. Money flows to creators (among many other less tangible, but no less important, rewards.)

Kevin Smith’s Smodcast Joins Sirius XM Radio (slashfilm.com)
Kevin Smith Selects Wizzard Media’s LibsynPro To Distribute The SModcast Podcasts (eon.businesswire.com)
John Goodman Cast In Kevin Smith’s Red State (cinemablend.com)
7 Podcasts Every Guy Should Listen To (coedmagazine.com)

Filed under: getting it done, My fiction, publishing, Rant, writing tips, Kevin Smith, The Other 8 Hours, time managememt, writers are creators

08/04/2010 • 3:27 PM 2

My Top Three (Living) Writing Heroes. Who are Yours?

1. William Goldman: Author of Adventures in the Screen Trade and The Princess Bride. He wrote All the President’s Men, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and many others. He also wrote my favorite novel, The Color of Light. What sets him apart is his ability to twist a plot. Just when you think you know what will happen next is when he suckerpunches you with a surprise.

2. Kevin Smith: Director, raconteur, actor, comic book writer, Smodcaster. He wrote and directed Clerks starting with nothing at all. That alone makes him a DIY hero, but there’s more to this cat than 1992. He’s funny and smart, but it’s his facility with dialogue that gets him on my list. If it’s got quotes around it, he writes the shit out of it. Also, we could all learn something from his dedication to his fans and his horizons. He started a podcast, took it on the road and now has a regular home for his shows (Smodcastle.) He’s made a lot out of a little with merchandising and owns two comic book stores to boot. The dude knows how to work a keyboard and a fan base. He is loved.

3. Chuck Pahlaniuk: This author of Fight Club started late (early 30s) but is prolific. He has already equalled the number of books Kurt Vonnegut wrote in his lifetime. His fan base is The Cult and he spread a cultural phenomenon once Fight Club hit the public consciousness. He’s on this list because I share his dark sensibility, but my respect for his work goes deeper than that. He’s a very successful author who is willing to push his envelope with experimental fiction. You either love or hate Pygmy, in which the entire text is related through the broken english of a terrorist infiltrating America. Rant is a weird biography. Snuff details the weirdness of a porn shoot in gruesome detail. He’s not trying to do the same book over and over (Yes, I’m looking at you Bret Easton Ellis.) Is it horror or is it funny? The answer depends on the reader.

That’s the first three who came to mind. These three might strike you as strange choices. For instance, where’s Hemingway? Lists like this usually point to dead writers. It’s what I call “generational inertia.” Our english teachers and professors are still talking about a lot of dead writers because that’s who their english teachers and professors talked about. Stephen King won’t be on anybody’s else’s immortality list for years yet (such an idea was sacrilege when I was in university and is merely implausible now.) Yes, I love a lot of dead writers, but they are easily found on lots of other lists.

So the question today is:

Who are the living writers you idolize?