Serpents Unwound will have it’s first promotional run on Amazon Saturday, 9/7/2013 as part of the KDP Select program. Click on the book cover here and pick up a free Kindle copy. Remember, it’s 1 day only!
Author of Serpents Unwound
I’ve been away for a bit. Research as well as a full time job can take it’s toll on blog updating. I’ve been thinking about trying out the KDP Select Program with Amazon for my novel Serpents Unwound. I figure I don’t have much to lose over 90 days considering sales on Barnes and Noble weren’t doing anything. So, as soon as the book is taken offline at B&N, I will setup KDP Select and see what happens.
I’ll be sure to provide some updates about my experiences with KDP Select.
The experiment continues…
I’ve been away from the computer for awhile working on a landscaping project that has waited years to start and complete. After finishing putting the sod in I thought heck… this project was a lot like writing a book. Yeah, I know, that’s kind of a stretch but really… check it out.
Measuring square footage and locating where sprinklers are going to be put is a lot like developing characters and the plot. What direction is the story going to go? Is there an overall theme? Do you need to plan for a drip system subplot? This high level planning sets the stage for the rest of the project even though there are going to be some changes as the story unfolds.
Time to get dirty. The parts and pieces of the sprinkler system fit together like the chapters in your book. The trench lays the path but you have to make connections with the pipe to water where you need it. It’s no different than tying chapters together as you work your way to the final goal.
You’ve got all the fundamental pieces in place but now you need to polish off the foundation to be ready for the finale of grass being put in. This is the detail work of editing. Cutting and expanding chapters is no different than adding depth or bringing down the level of topsoil to make for a level field. There was a lot of heavy lifting with topsoil and often, editing is the heavy lifting of the book writing process. Once you have what you think is the right amount you still need to go back and make sure things are level. Is it ready?
You’ve done all the planning, writing, and editing and now comes time to pull the trigger and publish. With the backyard, this was ordering the sod and laying it down. The best part is you get to see your creation, based on a lot of hard work, come to life. Making sure the sod fits together is no different than making sure your book layout is right. A lot of hard work but you get to see the end result.
But is your work ever really finished? Especially in the self-publishing world there is always something to do. Market your work. Work on your blog. Participate in social media. And of course, start the process all over again with the next novel. No different than watering, mowing and fertilizing your new lawn.
A bit whimsical in today’s post but fun nonetheless. I hope you’re enjoying the work and results of your writing projects and may they continue to be lush and green.
Photo courtesy of: Gualberto107 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
What inspired you to start writing this book? A particular scene or character?
I like to dream up “what if” scenarios and then plop characters smack dab in the middle of it. In Serpents Unwound, I wondered what would happen if someone with malicious intent hacked into a hospital’s electronic medical record system. The rest of the plot just took off from there with a storyline that I hope successfully pulls in motivations such as retribution, revenge, and redemption.
How did you build your characters for Serpents Unwound?
For most characters I start with a quick character sketch that gives me an idea of their name, where they were born or what skill they bring to the table. I then use my 4-page character chart that is available on my website if anyone is interested. In addition to physical description it allows me to create the person with their favorites, their habits, information about their family, their attitude, traits and personality. That doesn’t complete the process for me. After I’m done with the character chart I’ll typically write a one-page narrative about the character just to get a better feel for him/her in writing.
This takes time but it helps me to keep a character true throughout a story. If a character is at ease or tense in particular situations, my character chart will help define that and I can put that type of description in the story. The character leads the action, not the scene itself.
You are a certified information security professional. Does your story reflect your experiences?
I think you’ll see common practices and mistakes that many organizations make in defense of their information assets in my writing. I will usually look at well publicized incidents and then add twists and turns to them. With so many breaches happening every day, it’s not really hard to come up with ideas that the reader can relate to because they saw something similar happen on the 11:00 news.
What was the toughest part of your writing debut novel?
Serpents Unwound has been a tremendous learning experience for me. From the moment I hit “publish” I thought of a couple million things I could have done differently. The “indie” route is like running a business so better planning would have helped me. That said, revisions and editing was probably the toughest part for me and from this first experience I think I’ll be changing up my editing process for my next novel.
Speaking of your next novel, what’s next for you?
I’m currently doing character development for a series that I’m interested in writing. It will dive into the realm of cyber-terrorism and cyber-warfare. The news has played on the term “critical infrastructure” for a while now but what is critical? With much of the developed world dependent on technology to meet every day needs, there is a lot of opportunity to create fear and panic among citizens.
Serpents Unwound now available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and CreateSpace.
Need inspiration for your next novel? Need to add a subplot to your thriller? Are you simply stuck and need a little shove to get the writing juices flowing? The news is a wonderful source for ideas especially, in my case, in the information security, cyber-war, and cybercrime arenas. Take any one of these headlines and use your imagination and exaggeration (if needed):
All of these headlines were from a single day on the Security Week website. I look at these and think about placing characters into these environments. How would a character react if he were targeted by the President of the United States? Is the target a crime syndicate or a nation state? Would one of these targets take preemptive action to protect their own interests? What kind of action would that be and who might be affected by it? If they launched a cyber-attack how would a hero thwart the plan?
You can find news stories from all types of genres. Do these draw up some inspiration for your own stories?
BioTech: “Biotech wheat furor shows GM food safety debate far from settled.”
Legal: “Federal Circuit Buries Seed Patent Case Against Monsanto”
Healthcare: “Mental Health Care not only reduces arrest rates, but also saves money”
Now, you still have to use your own imagination but sometimes factual news is stranger than fiction. You can make these your own by adding a new twist, exaggerating the events, swapping the outcomes, changing the players (e.g. new company, a different country, or heck, a whole new world of your creation), and most important, placing your own characters into the primary roles to see how they would react.
Bending and tweaking real events can spur an incredible creation. Where do you grab ideas for your stories?
Photo courtesy of: Idea go at freedigitalphotos.net
Some have asked me why I chose the “indie” route to publishing my first book, Serpents Unwound? There seems to be some stigma associated with it. Personally, I think it’s a choice each author needs to make and one that they are comfortable with. By all means, if you want to take the traditional route with an agent and query letters go for it! That path wasn’t for me and here’s some reasons why:
My first novel was written as part of the NanoWriMo challenge and it was a blast! I had a lot of fun building characters and seeing them interact with each other in an environment of my choosing. I wanted to complete the project by putting it to print in the quickest way possible. For me, that was self-publishing through CreateSpace, Amazon KDP, and Nook Press.
Now, I’m not saying that working with others who have been in business of writing, editing, publishing, cover design and promoting wouldn’t have been beneficial. What I am saying is I find a sense of satisfaction doing my own work from start-to-finish. It’s part of the fun for me. It’s challenging and sometimes frustrating but that’s where I want to be. I may enlist some help on future projects but at the end of the day, it’s about controlling the choices being made about my work.
Like anybody who sees the thumbnail of their book on major outlets of course I dream about selling hundreds of thousands of copies. Back in the real world…. that wasn’t the primary goal of writing the story. I write to satisfy my own creative desire. Publishing the book is the end result of that effort. Sales, while nice to have, isn’t a primary motivator for me though I’d love to have a huge following of people who enjoy my books.
I have the demands of a full-time job in a pretty exciting field. Right now, I don’t have the bandwidth to meet deadlines and commitments set by other people. Being an indie author allows me to write and publish at a pace that is comfortable for me without any added pressures. The only deadline I plan on committing to is NanoWriMo in November. 50,000 words in 30 days! It was an incredible experience before and worth repeating even if it creates some late nights and coffee filled days.
So there you have it. Are you an indie author? What drove you to self-publish? What has been your motivation? I’d love to hear.
Image courtesy of thaikrit at freedigitalphotos.net.