Oh the places you'll go....

That book was given to me by a good friend in Alaska when I was moving to the Pacific Northwest back in 2003. 

It's one of my favorite books because it reminds me that life is a journey that you can never really tell where you will end up. I'm almost finished with a book I've been working on for over a year now called Self-Aware (A Zombie Series with a Twist!)

I'm excited to bring it to you and inside it has all kinds of really cool things if you like post apocalyptic Zombie stuff. Someone I was talking to mentioned "What if..." my book became a New York Times & USA Today best seller? What if I became famous and everyone knows my name?

Well, for one, Yay! That would be cool. As far as celebrity status, I doubt it, but it's still fun to think about. Will it change me? I don't think so. At least I hope not. As far as my writing, I've got quite a few books that I want to write for the next few years, enough to keep me busy. I don't think that kind of recognition would change my writing.

My advice to all writers and inspiring writers is don't worry about what other people think.

There's too many opinions and someone somewhere is either going to like you or hate you. Let them. Instead, focus on writing the best story possible.

Get it down out of your head and onto paper. Don't worry about being perfect the first time. Nobody who is successful is ever on the first try. That's why there's editors and people who polish things. 

Make sure you have a good description (what people call Copy) and make sure you have a professional cover, that makes all the difference in the world. 

Most importantly, make sure it's formatted properly too or you will have a lot of angry readers.

Once you release it into the world, take a moment and pat yourself on the back. You did good! You've accomplished what hundreds or thousands of people *want* to do, but because of procrastination or excuses, they don't.

Go out somewhere, celebrate in private or have a shindig. Once that's done, clear your mind and get back to work the next day.

Rinse and repeat. If you can't write every day, do what I do... Study. Buy books on writing, editing, the Hero's Journey, marketing, selling, etc. 

As a writer, you have many hats to wear if you want your book to be seen. (I'm talking via the self publishing route. It might also apply to the traditional publising as well.)

One thing I've learned from writing these past few years is that one can really fall in love with it. 

Let me tell you, that's one of the greatest feelings ever and it makes it easier to sit down and write when you enjoy what you're doing.

Well that's it for now. Thank YOU to all my readers, my fans, and to anyone who is still reading. You're awesome and it's because of you I write so again, Thanks!

Steven Wolff
www.steven-wolff.com

It's not the END of the book that matters...

Hello everyone, Sorry for the delay in blogging. Life has been busy for me with all kinds of interesting twists and turns for the better. I wanted to write about something I discovered on my journey as a writer.

One thing I learned is that you can fall in love with writing (and all the multi dimensions that go with it.) You can fall in love with creating the world, the characters, the conflict, the little details that make you stop and think "Where did that come from in my head?"

It's like turning on a faucet and letting the hose of creativity flow. If you want, you can put your thumb on it and watch it spray fast, you can hold it up and watch gravity make it flow like a gyser... there's so much you can do! What's not to love?

The hardest thing, for all writers, is making yourself sit down and write. So many distractions, so many excuses... but it's those who actually write (Pen to paper or press the keys on the keyboard) who are the true writers, because they are bringing words to life.

When you write, you are way ahead of all those wannabe's who dream of writing. You're putting words down, even if its a first draft, all writers have to go back and edit/polish their book. The most important thing is to get it out of your head and down on paper.

Right now I'm in the middle of writing a Zombie series called Self-Aware. It's about a woman who wakes up in a post apocalyptic world with a defective zombie virus that instead of destroying her, it's constantly regenerating her.

Still technically a Zombie, she remembers everything, she still feels and has emotions. Basically, Self-Aware, but every few days, she has to eat another human or the virus starts to break down, turning her into a regular Zombie.

I can't tell you how much I love writing this book. I love adding to the world, hearing the dialog come out as I type and seeing the characters react. It's almost like you're a director of a movie and you call the shots. If you don't like something, change it. Don't like someone? Kill them. There's so much you can do.

People keep asking me "When are you going to be finished with your book?" and I keep telling them "Soon..." but what I'm finding is that it's not the end of the book that matters, it's the joy and love in writing it that does. You can take forever as long as you keep writing because the more you write, the better you become.

Most importantly.... if it brings you joy... keep doing it. That's the greatest thing I've learned so far.

Writing is not about the end of the book, but the journey within.

:-)

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