Alrighty! It’s 2015 and time for
some changes. First of all, I’m sure anyone who’s been to this blog before
notices the different layout. I love black and all, but got sick of looking at
the same backgrounds, etc on this page. Also, I want to dedicate this page to everything
I write so a new look seemed to be in order.
Another change for me is the shift
in focus as far as my writing goes. This entire industry has been knocked on
its ass for some time now. Ebooks are awesome, but to paraphrase the Joker from
Dark Knight, they’ve changed things…forever. And there’s no turning back. Man I
love that movie. I want to watch it now. Be right back…
…Ok. Awesome flick. What was I
saying? Right. Changes. With the rise of the ebook and the fall of so many
brick and mortar bookstores, the industry is still in upheaval. That might not
be as obvious to the readers. After all, there are still some bookstores out
there. Books are still being printed. There’s stuff to read. The Kindle is
coming out with new models all the time. (I desperately want one of the new
Paperwhite Kindles by the way) Trust me, though, it’s crazy from the inside of
this industry and only gets crazier as the months drag into years.
Someone like me who isn’t on the
receiving end of a publishers’ marketing budget needs to hustle for work
whenever possible to keep up with the ol’ rent. That means trying to line up
contracts wherever possible that pay some sort of advance so I can make ends
meet. I love ebooks and the sense of creative freedom that comes along with
them, but they’re a gamble financially. If writing is my only source of income,
waiting for royalties to trickle in is not a stress-free way to live. So, after
years of fighting the good fight and busting my butt to survive within the
publishing machine, I need to suck it up and find other sources of income. Does
that mean no more books from me? Uhh…why would I redo this blog if I was gonna
shut it off?
Actually, it means the opposite.
Once I secure myself in a more traditional manner (see also: day job) I can
stop jumping through so many goddamn hoops, begging for the attention of
publishers who only want me to write stuff that resembles whatever other author
is the flavor of the month, and scrambling to fit myself into someone else’s
category. I never was good at that kind of thing and haven’t gotten any better
as I ferment.
Pleasing so many higher-ups who
barely even know what they want anyway is a good way to drive yourself insane. The
good thing about being truly apart from the machine (and being insane, for that
matter) is that you don’t have a lot to lose. I will no longer worry about
taking a good idea and rearranging it to fit the current trend. I will now
focus on writing what I WANT and not just what I need to pay the bills.
I’ve been told my vampires need to
be more mysterious and sultry. I’ve been told that I need to adhere to the
concrete rules as set forth in legends in regards to mythological creatures. Legends
as FACT? Isn’t tweaking legend and playing within a genre the FUN part of
fiction? I’ve been told horror is no longer a genre. I’ve been told Steampunk
is dead. I’ve been told a lot of things and I don’t mind hearing people speak
their minds. I also don’t need to change what I do just to satisfy a bunch of rules
that will change in a day or two anyway.
Overall, it’s a scary time for me.
It’s also an exciting one. There’s a big weight lifted off my back when I stop
worrying about trying to please someone in an office reading my horror
manuscripts who doesn’t even like horror in the first place. I’m doing my own
thing again and it feels good. Check back soon and I’ll tell you all about it.
