Memorial Day Weekend (Update)

It's been a while since I posted a blog update so I'm just chiming in to keep you guys up to date. I've been working full time at a job that is very interesting. No it's not a full time writing job, (I'm not there yet.), but I get to carry a gun with me everywhere I go. Contractually I'm not allowed to say who or where I work, so I'll let your imagination fill in the blanks.

As far as writing, I'm still aiming to complete Self Aware 2, by Christmas of this year. I'm the type of writer that plots out everything from start to finish on paper and then goes back to fill in the rest. This acts as a guide or map for me to follow, keeping me on track. Believe it or not, the characters do the talking. I just try to keep up and get their words all down. It's funny, when you type something someone says, you automatically hear a response, or in my case, see an action or reaction in my head, so I write what the other person did.

I've been doing an experiment ~ seeing how my book sales are doing with no marketing or advertising. The answer: Not good. That's good to know, because that tells me that while I am busy with work and writing, I need to focus some time on marketing and advertising. With more and more writers publishing books, competition for you, the reader, is getting harder. Especially since there was a report the other day from microsoft saying that goldfish now have a higher attention span than humans. (You can read more on that article here)

So much data and information passes in front of our eyes, almost every second of our day. We choose this, pick that, or buy this. Our attention bounces around, multi-tasking on all kinds of things. With people not buying my books - it's not personal, or that they suck, it's just that there's so many other things competing for you attention that if I don't actively engage you or let you know "Hey, here's a great ZOMBIE book you might want to read while you're waiting for the next season of the Walking Dead." How are you to know? Someone else, who's doing the same thing will let you know they have a book. Then all kinds of factors will come into play (book cover, description, price, if you looking for another book to read, etc.) that will make you make a choice (buy or skip to the next one.)

The important thing I take away from this, is that while yes, it's important for me to continue writing the best book I can for part two of Self Aware, I still need to try to compete for your attention. I will do my best to blog and tweet more in the upcoming months, as well as continue writing. For now, I ask you do me one favor... tomorrow (or today, depending on when you're reading this), will you take a few minutes out of your busy day and give thanks/appreciation to those who gave their lives in the name of freedom & liberty.

Memorial day is just a reminder, that great men and women, straight, gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender and from all kinds of backgrounds & nationalities, gave their lives in service of our country, going as far back as our own Civil war, to the most recent conflicts. Lets give them thanks, even silently ~ if just for a moment in our everyday, busy lives...

Thanks!

 :-)

Fall is here and there is a chill in the air...

It's been a while since I last posted on here. I apologize, life has been pretty crazy over the summer and into the fall. I've been working on my Zombie book called Self-Aware (A Zombie Series) and I love everything about it. It's a fresh twist to the popular Zombie genre that's currently making its rounds. 

I am a huge fan of the Walking Dead series and I appreciate the simplicity of the show, even though its story and drama is complex. In a post apocalyptic world, there is no technology. Think about it. You don't see them playing with their smart phones or tablets, etc. Things kinda go back to a time like the 1980s and earlier.

In my book, it's the same world, same everything, expect there's a twist to the genre. I won't spoil it but trust me, you'll want to read this if you're a fan of anything Zombie. Currently I'm polishing episode one and when it's ready, I'm looking forward to making it an audio book that I read as well. (Complete with subtle sound effects.) 

There's a lot still to be done and it's taking up my time, on top of going to a full time job and having a relationship. Writing is something you have to do everyday. It has to be a routine, a habit, otherwise you will fall out of it and quit. Last year when I made my first book, I had NO CLUE what I was doing. Yes, I  read all the things I needed to know but still... this was unfamiliar territory. How much would I make? Would people like my work? Will they hate it?

I had all kinds of anxieties and butterflies, as does everyone else releasing their work into the world. No one likes to be told their work sucks because they take it personally. Sometimes we need negative reviews if they highlight where our short comings are. "This author doesn't know how to use a comma!" ~ If that's what they say to you, focus on learning  where to put them. Sometimes negative reviews can be a blessing in disguise. Another negative can be false positives. You know, when your friends and family post nothing but rainbows and unicorns reviews about your book, saying you're the next Harry Potter writer.

You maybe, but these reviews also set the reader up for a certain level of expectation. If you don't meet it, they might turn around and rant about how they feel betrayed. When you ask for reviews, ask for honest reviews. It's okay to have someone  say your book is "okay" and not "OMG You gotta read this." Because when you're at okay, you know that with more work and focus, you can work towards getting those kind of reviews that people are not kidding when they say your book is a must read.

If you're a reader, do your favorite author a favor and leave them an honest review, even if they have a whole bunch of them. Add your two cents. Keep in mind though that this is a living for some authors and words are very powerful. If you slam an author, that can hurt them financially in the long run. If they suck, then tell them where they can improve so they can learn from that and do better. (If they don't know they're doing wrong, how can they fix it?)

If you like their work, tell your friends, tell your family. Better yet, loan the book you just bought to your friends. (Authors make more money when you loan books!) And leave a review of why you liked what they wrote. "I loved how you kept me on the edge of my seat until the last page!"  These really help.

I must lurk back into the shadows of writing and next time I pop back out, I hope to have some good news and content for you guys to enjoy. Don't forget, with Halloween coming up, there's two great books that talk about real paranormal events that I investigated. Things DO go bump in the night and these books are a collection of the cases we went on!

Until next time,

Stay Crunchy, Even in Milk...

Author Steven Wolff

www.steven-wolff.com