Okay. So, my Instafreebie list is now fully automated. I just tested it…and it works. It took me a day and a half to set up, but it’s done. Praise be! I do hope that it gives me a solid list of engaged readers. Otherwise, what’s the point of an email list, right? I’m just bugging people that don’t want to be bugged.
Tomorrow, I have some social media stuff to set up – a secret facebook page to fill up with content. My goal just a second ago was to schedule stuff out for a solid month…but in retrospect, I think I’m just going to stick to two weeks. Maybe three, finish out November. That’s my work task tomorrow. Maybe do some Netflix clip-gathering for my next project. We’ll see.
Leg is feeling much, muuuuuccchhhhh better. Phew. It’s almost totally back to normal, which is great. Maybe a little tight still. I’m thinking of that right now because I remember that Disjointed softball happens tomorrow. I won’t be playing, but it’s a big game. If they win, they’re the top seed for the playoffs. They seriously might win it all. That would be pretty dope. Dope. Hehe. See what I did there.
Oh! And all the capital “I” weirdness should be over! Apple fixed it. Finally. It’s so stupid, but that might actually be the most annoying software glitch I’ve ever experienced using an apple product. It really, really annoyed me.
I finished this movie tonight called Space Pirate Captain Harlock, and it was really super interesting. The story and script were utter crap, unfortunately, BUT…it was absolutely stunning visually. I mean STUN-NING. One of the most beautiful and impressive animated SciFi movies I’ve ever seen. Yes, that good. AND, it was also super education in terms of tropes and storytelling conventions in the genre.
I realized something today that was a bit deflating. Or, perhaps not deflating, but mildly worrisome…I have not yet found my tribe amongst the indie author community. Not really, anyway. Close, but not quite. I…am not someone who can read or write pure pulp SciFi or other fiction. I’m just not; it’s not how I’m wired. Shoot ‘em up action sequences, big ships, kickass weapons, and badass characters who just don’t give a fuck…are not enough for me. I love those things, but only when they’re woven into a larger narrative that’s well constructed, with characters that are well fleshed out, with events and character developments that are properly justified, and when the overall ethos and pathos that Aristotle demanded be inserted and balanced are being properly executed.
I will only like a book (or tv/movie, for that matter) if it’s well written and well-executed. Those are the only stories that actually draw me in, make me feel something, and make me want to read more.
My biggest criticism of the indie community is that almost without fail, the books are not that well written. This is true even for 99% of the best-sellers I’ve read, who have literally thousands of adoring fans…and that fact scares me a bit, to be honest. Those authors have readers who ARE NOT ME. How can I then write to those readers? If I don’t want the same things out of story as they do, or put the opposite way: if they don’t want the same things out of a story as I do…aren’t I doomed to obscurity?
Perhaps.
The other option might be that those readers love their tropes and they’ll read them even when not well executed…and they’ll love them EVEN MORE when they are adeptly done. That’s my hope, I guess.
It’s more than that, though, as I think about my own book series in comparison to the other SciFi authors I know out there who are killing it: I’m not a military SciFi guy. I’m just not. I like a dash of that, sure, but I don’t read books that are exclusively about soldiers. It’s not my style. So…who are the other indie authors out there who like their SciFi to be in space, but something other than all-soldiers-all-the-time. Those are the people I need to find. That’s the tribe I need to find.
So, yeah…it was in a post on Facebook, I think, reciting a piece of advice someone gave at the Vegas convention about “finding your tribe” and how important that was to do as an author, and it just made me realize that I haven’t done that yet. Nor have I found an author who’s doing what I want to be doing in the indie space at a level of craft that I can really, truly look up to. Marketing: fuck yes. The indie community gurus have my full attention there. But…the WRITING? No. I haven’t found it yet.
Just as a side note, and to be very clear: I am not even close to that level yet myself writing-wise. I’ll get there eventually, with hard work and practice…what I’m talking about is someone to look up to.
Hugh Howey, here are your props: you’re the only indie author I’ve read to this point who really impressed me with their writing. Your silo books were excellent. Granted, I haven’t nearly read everyone “good” in the indie space yet…but still, I’ve read a few. And Hugh is the only one I can really say, “this guy knows exactly what he’s doing when he writes.” Everyone else is a work in progress, just like me.
On that, good night. I love my indie authors, and I really, really, really mean that. Love them with all my heart, and I see how hard we are all working to get better. BUT…we do have a long, long way to go.
Here’s to climbing the mountain!