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

See all my books at AllThatChazz.com.

07/12/2021 • 5:05 PM 3

Beware the Guru and Groupie Gap

The whole Amazon store went down. It was just for an hour or so, but no one knew what was going on. Probably a little glitch while they performed an update. Some authors checked their profiles and, naturally, assumed it was only their sales page that had transformed into an error page. After all, what seems more likely? The whole store crashing or just a few lowly authors getting it in the shorts? Worried, sweaty, and stressed, a few dared to ask on social media, “What’s going on?” Veteran authors mostly ignored the problem, confident that an army of Amazon techs were on it and would soon set things right. Those at the top of the heap didn’t sweat a drop.

Neither reaction was wrong, or at least, not exactly.

Successful authors sell a lot of books and good on ’em. We all want to be read and appreciated for the sweet gumdrops we are, claiming literary turf, inspiring awe, and whatnot. Those who have “made it” in the monetary sense have a cushion of comfort. They didn’t always enjoy such a margin for error, but they’re secure in their word empires now. Sometimes, safe in their bastions, they forget the stress of being an up-and-comer, a slogger, or a might-be. Masters of their domain often have vast newsletter lists, staggering backlists, connections, and more projects in the editorial pipeline. And Money with a capital M, of course. Sincerely, good for them! Anybody who can gain legions of fans in this environment (Earth) is impressive. A few may need an extra dose of compassion, though, especially when they get overly self-congratulatory about not sweating the small stuff.

No Kale for Kisses

Many moons ago, Amazon paid late. This was and is unusual. Used to receiving my cash infusion on the last day of the month, I was concerned. A reasonable human response, right? I did not panic, but I did make the mistake of posting to an author group about it. I even began the post with, “Nobody panic, but …” I was about to contact Amazon to look into it because, y’know, money. It makes the world go round (or is that love? No, it must be money because my grocer eschews my kisses even if all I want is kale.)

I digress. Back to my post in the author group: Quick as a flash, I got scolded for airing my petty worldly concerns. A fabulously oblivious author, immune to the struggle or forgetful that others may have rent to pay and children to feed, popped on to order me back to work. A delay in payment wouldn’t bring her down to ruin and desperate survival mode, so why worry? She’d just returned from a month-long writing retreat in Bali, so fiddle-dee-dee and fuck me, I guess.

I mention this because you may be an up-and-comer, a slogger, or a might-be. Those who dispense great advice sometimes develop a blind spot with age and experience. What helped them in 2012 may not apply to you. There are many variables, of course. If you don’t share the same genre, for instance. That said, successful people often have fantastic advice and can provide useful models to emulate. Cast a skeptic’s eye everywhere, including here. I’ve got the best of intentions, but how are you to know? I don’t say, “Ignore me at your peril.” I say, “Here’s what I see,” and hope you find value. If not, not.

The point is, when people make it big, they often rewrite their biographies in their heads. They forget how many people helped them along the way. They emphasize their go-getter affirmations and attribute their popularity to a wealth of talent. After the fact, nobody thinks they’re lucky, just hard charging and brilliant. This is a natural occurrence visible in all fields of human endeavor. Bill Gates infamously played down the free contributions of hordes of anonymous programmers in the early era of computing. Donald Trump claimed he got a “small loan” of a million bucks from his dad. (It was much more than $1,000,000.) Studies show BMW drivers are less likely to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks. Test subjects given a distinct advantage in a card game attribute their wins to intelligence and talent and mock other players even though they know they cheated! Humans are weird.

Sometimes, even the best masters fail to show compassion to the problems of those following in their wake. They may become indifferent to the struggles of their students. Those who sell tons of books have more resources than someone closer to the beginning of their writing career, or even mid-career. (Ahem. This is where I sheepishly raise my hand at the back of the class.) If someone who claims mastery has a huge mailing list and you don’t, that’s a gap in resources. Instructing you to announce your launch to your small list won’t be very helpful. Showing you how to develop said list and collaborate with others in advance of your launch would be much more on point.

Old joke: I moved here with nothing, phoned my rich uncle, and he sent me $2,500,000 to start my real estate business. Why can’t you do that?

You may be frustrated because you aren’t where you thought you’d be by now. Please have patience with yourself. Learn all you can from everyone whose strategies make sense to you. As long as being a writer makes you happy, keep going. Enjoy the trip because it’s not all about the destination. Day to day, the fun is found on the page, building stories, filling in plots, discovering characters, and expressing yourself. The static state of being an author is ultimately less important than the magic verb: write!

If you do make it to the summit, please have patience with others. We can’t all see your grand vistas from where we stand on our journey up the mountain, but we are climbing.

Bonus self-care hint: If you confess your honest troubles and someone replies with, “All you’ve got are excuses,” they’ve forgotten themselves. Remember who you are.

~ I’m Robert Chazz Chute. I write apocalyptic epics and killer crime thrillers. You’ll find many entertainments on my author site, AllThatChazz.com. This is the call-to-action part where I ask you to buy all my books. Do click over for the links. Whew! That was awkward, putting it all out on Front Street like that.

Filed under: publishing, author mindset, book marketing, Robert Chazz Chute, self-care for writers, writing gurus, writing instructors, writing success, writing successful fiction

06/02/2021 • 8:28 AM 1

Do Not Drop Those Dogs

Remember last year, early in the pandemic, when everybody jumped on the craze of making sourdough bread? Yeah, I did it, too. I’m not even sure why. My results were mixed, but it just became the thing to do. I got “Mother” going, feeding her and tending to her. I made a lot of bread and there’s nothing wrong with that…but….

Okay, here’s the deal:

We can only live our lives in a forward motion, or possibly static. Since the pandemic began, admittedly, I’ve been in a holding pattern quite a bit. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I have been writing a new apocalyptic novel, but I’ve been going at it very slowly. What else did I do? I listened to far too many virologists and immunologists as I fretted over the pandemic. It’s good to be informed, but my doom scrolling took hours out of the day and night. I obsessed over US politics because, wow, welcome to the circus, right? Love it or hate it, it was quite an exciting show with lots of twists and turns. I lost a lot of sleep, too. Netflix seemed to dominate my daily agenda. I hid in my blanket fort and stared into the existential abyss. The abyss stared back, but didn’t have anything to say. It wasn’t a meet-cute situation.

Here’s what I wish I’d done:

As a person with a few compounding co-morbidities to be paranoid about, I wish I’d used the time to take better care of my health. The sedentary nature of the writing life is bad enough without retreating into the couch and eating all the comfort food.

Her: What do you want to eat?
Me: Everything. All of it.

I am hypervigilant due to health anxiety, so I took precautions, of course. Trapped in a hotspot in perpetual lockdown (still!), I hardly went outside. When I did venture out for necessities, I double-masked. I wiped down groceries in the freezing cold, used hand sanitizer, and washed my hands obsessively as many others did. However, working out wasn’t really on my agenda. I told myself I didn’t have the energy for it. The gym was closed. At most, I tried to get 10,000 steps a day. If that’s all you can do, that’s fine. I could have and should have done more besides feel sorry for myself.

Last spring, we started a vegetable garden and that wasn’t all bad. The winters are harsh where I live. Since I hate Nature when it doesn’t offer a beach and palm trees, I was reduced to walking and sometimes running in circles inside the house. It was not a happy time. I contemplated ventilators a lot.

But things are changing.

The gym is still closed and we are in a situation where society will open up only if certain vaccination targets are met. I trust science, but I do not trust other people. Therefore, I’m going to be masking up for a very long time. Fortunately, the closure of the gym is no longer a barrier. In fact, I’m going to give up my gym membership. Instead, I’ve taken to working out at home using very little equipment. I got on an app called FitOn and it’s become part of my daily routine. It’s like having fitness and wellness coaches in your own home without the horror of actually having them in your home.

I had already changed my diet to be far more plant-based and that was good. A former athlete who has long since become apathetic about doing strenuous shit, I’m finally exercising again. I don’t have to go out and the workouts are very efficient. My cardio, strength, and flexibility are all improving. Using FitOn is much cheaper and more convenient than the gym I can’t currently attend. I’m a convert and, yes, I do feel a note of missionary zeal creeping into this post. I will only add that, despite some recent ongoing challenges, I think my mood is elevated, too. I carry myself differently now. I’ve been so consistent, my body composition is already changing in a good way.

If you’re a writer who is already getting regular exercise, please do continue. If not, you might look into the FitOn app. Failing that, there are plenty of other options, including programs you can enjoy on YouTube or that old Jane Fonda tape that’s still stuck in your dinosaur of a VCR. Whatever works to get you working on you.

Writers focus a lot on marketing. Frankly, I’d like to see a little more attention paid to craft. However, none of us will have long writing careers if we don’t take care of our health better. Write, but take frequent breaks to get up and move. Use a standing desk. Try a treadmill desk. Sit on a Swiss ball instead of a chair. Walk more, move more, juggle your Wire-haired Terrier, Pug, and Doberman while you enjoy interpretive dance. Whatever you can do, please take care of yourself (and don’t drop those dogs).

I knew better and I didn’t take care of myself enough. I let the viral apocalypse get me down, but I’m working on it. Physically, things are getting better. Mental improvement is sure to follow.