What I Learned in Two Years as an Indie Author

I abruptly realized the other day that Aug. 29 would mark my two year anniversary as an indie author.

It actually feels much longer. When I launched A Soul to Steal, my outside hope was that it would sell 1,000 copies and maybe garner 40 or 50 reviews on Amazon. It cleared that sales milestone after three months and went on to sell several times that. At last count, it has earned more than 200 reviews, the vast majority of which are four and five stars. On paper, at least, the novel has surpassed my wildest expectations, and I’ve been very touched by the fans who have contacted me during the past two years .

But these have also been two of the most challenging years of my life. Here’s the secret nobody tells you when you publish your own book – this shit will consume your life. It starts as a hobby, something you do on the side, but it ends up as a full-blown second career.

Don’t get me wrong: the ability to publish my own books is fantastic. I sat on A Soul to Steal for 10 bloody years. I didn’t bother trying to write another novel because I couldn’t see the point. If this wasn’t going to be published, why would the next one fare any better? Once I found I could publish my novel – and people actually liked it – it was like a dam opened up. Suddenly I wanted to do this all the time. I plotted not just sequels to the book I had put out, but whole other series of novels. I found that I loved writing novels. Really, truly loved it. It was challenging, yet immensely fulfilling. In short, it felt like something I was meant to do.

And therein lies the problem. As much as I love writing novels, I am not at the point – or even remotely close – where I can do it full-time. But that hasn’t stopped me from constantly trying to figure out a way to change that situation. Instead of being pleased with the success I’ve enjoyed so far, I’m constantly setting the bar higher. The result has been utterly demoralizing.

As a result, I’ve turned my once relatively stable existence into a roller coaster ride. Until recently (like say, two years ago), I did not consider myself a moody person. But after I published my book, my moods were often dominated by daily sales figures. If sales were up, I was on my way to a future career in novel writing. If they were down, I was a miserable failure. Unfortunately for my family, I became more difficult to live with. Instead of listening to my children’s stories about their day, I was internally debating if a new sales tactic would bring me more readers. I obsessed about what I should be doing to promote my novels.

The Internet helped feed this anxiety. I couldn’t stumble across a Web page without finding more advice on how to become a bestselling author. They told me some variation on the following: blog often, Tweet about your books, connect with readers on Facebook, join groups on Goodreads, host free days, do blog tours, talk to fellow authors on the Kindle forum boards and – oh, yeah – write more books. Individually, that’s all sound advice. Taken as a collective, however, it was difficult to see how I could accomplish all of these things and a) continue to hold down my very full-time job as a journalist, and b) be a decent husband and father.

For the first year, I tried doing all this and managed to publish a second novel, Band of Demons, with which I was very pleased. But as I headed into my second year as an indie author and I buckled down to write a third novel, I realized something had to give.

For the most part, that meant dropping most of the advice. I stopped the Facebook ads (they don’t work anymore), ceased reading the daily sales figures (weekly will do just fine), and became an infrequent blogger.  I abandoned my official “author” Twitter handle altogether (although you can find me on Twitter for my job at @abwashbureau.)

I wasn’t giving up, but getting back to basics. I focused on three things: being a good dad and husband; doing a good job at work; and writing more books. I still keep abreast of what’s happening with the industry and read about new strategies that are working (Kickstarter) and old ones that have failed (Free KDP Select days). I try new things, book dates with BookBub, and watch for opportunities.

But I try not to put the same amount of pressure on myself that I did when I first started. If the goal is to become a bestselling author, there’s no guarantee that will ever happen. Indeed, the odds are very much against me. But if the goal is to write novels that thousands of readers buy and enjoy, that’s already happening. And that is an amazing thing, something I didn’t think was even possible two years ago.

The very talented author Hugh Howey recently wrote that the key to success is to enjoy writing and keep your expectations low. It’s taken me two years to come to the same conclusion. After all, if you are really meant to do something, you should just do it, whether or not you are compensated for it.

Indie Authors: Here's How to Hire Bob Woodward's Copyeditor for Your Next Novel

One of the most common critiques of indie authors is that we’re unprofessional. You see the stereotype again and again – we just write quickly and throw our stuff up on Amazon or Nook without any thought to revising, editing, or copyediting. While I don’t doubt that some folks do this, all of the serious indie authors that I’ve read clearly take the time to work through the process properly.

As I was finishing the last of several rounds of edits on Band of Demons last year, I decided to hire a copyeditor. With my first book, after editing and heavily revising multiple times, I spread the job of copyediting out to several friends, imploring them to catch typos. They caught many, but not all. With my sequel, I wanted a professional to take a fresh look after the editing and revising was done to catch any mistakes that my editor and I missed. Enter Evelyn Duffy.

A journalist friend of mine suggested I ask Evelyn for help. He said she was very talented, loved fiction and – I admit this had a lot of appeal – had already copyedited books for legendary journalist Bob Woodward. After reaching out to Evelyn  at her company, Open Boat Editing, I hired her to copyedit Band of Demons.

The results were fantastic. She was quick, thorough, caught all of the small errors and provided valuable feedback more generally.  In addition to finding typos, she pointed out plot inconsistencies (which were blessedly few and easy to fix), repetitive phrasing and many other little issues that can draw a reader out of the narrative. Having her read the book was a great relief since both my editor and I had looked over the book too many times, making it harder to catch mistakes. As many of you know, pressing the “publish” button can be nerve-wracking. After Evelyn’s copyedit, I had extra confidence that the book was finally ready to go.

For those looking for a professional copyeditor, I recommend Evelyn wholeheartedly. She was a pleasure to work with from start to finish and I think indie books could benefit from her keen eye.

To help promote her work, I asked her a few questions about her company, how she ended up working for Bob Woodward and her own career as a novelist.

1) What attracted you to editing and writing? 

I come from a literary family, and there were always lots of books around. My grandfather was a renowned English teacher, and my family is full of teachers and librarians. My parents encouraged my writing - in fact, they still do: they're my first readers and best editors. 

A frank and straightforward editor, with a sense of humor and an appreciation for collaboration, is something most people are lucky to encounter once in their writing career; I was born into a family of them. It seemed a natural fit for me.

2) Can you tell us more about your company, Open Boat Editing?

Sure! Through Open Boat I've edited every kind of work imaginable. You can find info and rates at

www.openboatediting.com/services, and you can contact me via the form on the site or at EvelynDuffy@Prodigy.net.

I've worked with novelists, playwrights, and writers of short creative fiction and nonfiction. I've also helped a variety of nonfiction authors on politics, history, military affairs, current events, science, and business projects. 

I've edited New York Times best-selling books, newspaper articles and columns that have run in The Washington Post, and scholarly theses - but I've also done movie scripts, websites, resumes, and even wedding invitations.

No matter the size of the project, establishing a relationship of trust with an author is crucial. As your editor, I'm on your side, and I'm here to bring out the very best in your work.

3) I particularly like the story of how that name came about. Can you tell us more about that? 

I took my company's name from one of the best-written (and best-edited) short stories in the English language, Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat". It comes from the expressive first sentence of a startlingly stark and beautiful paragraph:

"A night on the sea in an open boat is a long night. As darkness settled finally, the shine of the light, lifting from the sea in the south, changed to full gold. On the northern horizon a new light appeared, a small bluish gleam on the edge of the waters. These two lights were the furniture of the world. Otherwise there was nothing but waves."

4) You've worked with Bob Woodward. How did that come about?

During my senior year in college, I did some freelance transcribing for "In A Time of War", a moving book by Bill Murphy that followed the lives of West Point graduates serving in Iraq. Bill had worked as Bob's research assistant, and when Bob began writing the book on the Bush administration that would become "The War Within", Bill recommended me. 

5) What was it like to work for a journalism legend? 

It's never boring. The job has been an unfolding education, and I'm grateful for the amazing opportunities. It's also given me an unfiltered view of leaders and events that's indelible. 

6) A lot of self-published authors skip the editing and copyediting part of the process. Is this a mistake? Does everyone really need an editor? Why? 

This question reminds me of a time in high school when several hundred free shirts were handed out to students for some public event. I can't remember what the occasion was, but I recall with perfect clarity that the printer of the shirts left the "L" out of "public". Everybody needs an editor. 

The saying goes that he who represents himself in court has a fool for a client. The same is true of writers who publish without editors. At best, you're missing out on a second pair of eyes to catch embarrassing mistakes. At worst, you're depriving yourself of the chance to make your good work great.

7) Are you open to working with any genre or are their particular ones you prefer? 

I actually really enjoy genre-hopping. Reading works on varied subjects I might not otherwise come across expands my mind and keeps me sharp; it's my favorite part of the job. 

I have lots of experience with current events and political books, and I enjoy working on them. Fiction, particularly young adult fiction, is a particular passion of mine.

8) I saw you mention you are working on your own novel. Can you tell us more about that?
I'd love to! It's a fantasy adventure story for high-school age readers with a strong heroine at the center of the action. It's about a young girl named Anne who is forced to flee her homeland when her father, a tyrannical king, orders her killed to clear the way for his new male heir, and her fight to return and take her place as queen.

I've also written a number of short stories and had a one-act play, "Nighthawks", (based on the Edward Hopper painting) staged at The George Washington University. 

9) Will it be traditionally published or are you going the indie route?

My aim is to finish it first and explore all my options after that (and hopefully while working on a new story). I'm open to anything!

10) What are some of your favorite books?
My favorite book is "A Christmas Carol", by Charles Dickens. This little book captures the essence of human nature; we've all got a little Scrooge in us sometimes, but hopefully we manage to be more like him at the end of the story as often as possible.

Other favorites of mine are the "His Dark Materials" series by Phillip Pullman, anything by John Irving, and "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood.

Indie Author Settles Suit With Charlie Daniels Band; Agrees to Change Book Titles

It’s with a heavy heart – and a little relief – that I announce a final legal settlement between myself and The Charlie Daniels Band.

As some of you know, The Charlie Daniels Band sued me exactly a year ago today, arguing I had violated copyright on the song “The Devil Goes Down to Georgia,” from which I drew inspiration for the titles of my novels “A Soul to Steal” and “Band of Demons.”

With few resources to challenge the band in court, I eventually had to give in to its demands. As a result of the settlement, I am now changing the names of my books. “A Soul to Steal” will henceforth be known as “A Spirit With Which to Abscond” while “Band of Demons” will be re-titled “A Group of Evil Creatures.”

As always, I’m grateful for the assistance of my cover artist, Travis Pennington, who at the last minute agreed to re-work the covers of my books. You can take a peek at what the new cover for “Band of Demons” will look like to the left once it goes live on Amazon later today.

I am, of course, sorry to see the old titles go, but I think the new ones work almost as well. Unfortunately, the legal agreement does stipulate other changes. I must remove the following words from both of my novels: devil, demon, soul, steal, fiddle, fire, dare, Georgia and “hickory stump.”

I must also give the band at least half of my proceeds to date, which I calculate to be roughly $6.66, a fitting figure.

As I said, I’m sorry it came to this, but I’m hopeful that my fans will accept this decision and we can all put this sorry episode behind us.

As part of the legal agreement, please know that “A Soul to Steal” will be FREE on Amazon on April 2 and April 3. I doubt the new cover will be up by then, so it’s your last chance to enjoy it in its original form. 

For a larger view of the new cover, see below: 

New 'Bookish' Site Ignores Indie Authors

According to a new site launched late Monday by a group of publishers, "Bookish" is supposed to collect the best books out there and provide readers with recommendations. 
“The Bookish team reads non-stop, continuously enhancing recommendations with its analysis and intelligence," the site promises.
That may well be true, but what the Bookish team apparently doesn’t do—at least for now—is read indie authors. 

Want to read more? Check out my full blog post on Indiereader here: http://bit.ly/14SmPbj

Creating a New Halloween Myth

Probably the question I’ve received most often about A Soul to Steal is whether its central mythology, a legend called “The Prince of Sanheim,” is based on something real. I’ve had friends admit that they Googled the term after finishing the book, and others who suggested they had heard of it before.

There is very little as gratifying for a writer, since the truth is that I made up the entire story. What makes me happy is that it doesn’t feel fake. A good mythology should seem real or vaguely familiar, the kind of thing you heard once but have since forgotten.

I’m not sure exactly when the idea came to me. I know a lot about Halloween, and much of what we think we know is not actually true. Occult fanatics and religious zealots in the 19^th century invented a past for All Hallow’s Eve which has very little to do with actual history.

Instead of rejecting that, however, I wanted to embrace it. I wanted a legend that drew from those old myths—real and fictional—and created something new. And I needed something that would go to my central theme: the nature of fear.

What I wanted to know was this: do your fears define you as a person? What would it be like if your worst fear—whatever that is—suddenly took shape? Would you have the strength and courage to face it?

I also wanted something that drew from a dark place. Fear is a powerful thing. We tend to view it negatively, but it’s also a great motivator, among other advantages. Still, it cuts both ways. It can either save you or paralyze you, depending on the person and circumstances.

So I needed a legend that drew on old Halloween myths, explored the nature of fear, but also was something unique.

Here’s what I came up with. Do you want to hear a new Halloween legend? Pull up your chair and I’ll tell you a story: Centuries ago, a Celtic tribe was on the verge of annihilation, facing the increasing incursions of a rival. In desperation, they made a deal with Sanheim, the Celtic god of the dead. Despite the fact that most of their young people were killed as a result of the neighboring tribe’s attacks, they agreed to sacrifice one man and one woman to Sanheim. They tied them to a post, bound their wrists together and left them there to die.

But they didn’t die. A few days later, they returned to the village and the young man—who had seemed like just a boy before—was now a powerful warrior. The woman was his priestess. The town elders were frightened, but pleased. The two left the next day to wreak vengeance on the rival tribe. Except when they returned, instead of taking orders from the town elders, they took control.

The two had immense powers—and were intimately bound together. When there was a battle to be fought, the man led the charge. But it was the woman guiding the tribe, making most of the decisions. Apart they were nothing. Together they were what became known as the “Prince of Sanheim.”

But there was a weakness. Their powers waxed and waned with the changing of the seasons. They were strongest at Samhain, the harvest festival we now call Halloween. They were weakest the next day, what Christians call All Soul’s Day. And the power they wielded tended to corrupt them.

Every generation, a man and a woman had the chance to become the Prince of Sanheim, but there was a catch. The man must first face his Cennad—a Celtic word for ambassador—that embodied his worst nightmare. If the man could defeat his Cennad, he and the woman would have access to great powers. The woman, too, would have to face her own test, but of a different nature.

That was the basic legend, but I couldn’t really stop there. I didn’t want to just have an old myth with no echoes through history. So I invented stories for several Princes of Sanheim through the ages. In the original version of the novel, there were flashbacks to many of them so that the reader got a greater sense of their powers and vulnerabilities.

In the end, however, I cut most of that, simply because my novel already has a lot going on. The entire backdrop of the Prince of Sanheim unfolds while on the hunt for a serial killer with his own twisted history and I was wary of throwing too much at the reader.

The story I did tell was that of the most famous Prince of Sanheim: a Romantic-era poet named Robert Crowley. On Halloween night in 1873, he hosted a party at his estate in Scotland. Over 50 men showed up and history does not record the number of women who also attended. What is important, however, is that all but one disappeared. Only a man named Horace Camden survived and he shouted to anyone who would listen that Crowley had found his bride and become the Prince of Sanheim.

The event was so mysterious it gave birth to a creepy rhyme: “Fifty men went up a hill, none of them came down. Fifty men went to see him, but none of them were found.” Camden went on to become a priest of the movement, talking about the coming of the next Prince of Sanheim.

The final step was to set up an environment where this new legend was born again. Quinn O’Brion and Kate Tassel, the main characters of the novel, don’t know anything about the “Prince of Sanheim” when the book starts. Instead, they are more worried about catching the killer named Lord Halloween before he strikes again. But as the novel goes on, they eventually realize that the key to finding the killer may lie in uncovering the mystery of the ancient Celtic myth.

They also have to learn something else: you are what you fear.

For more on A Soul to Steal, please “like” the Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/asoultosteal. 

The novel can be bought for Kindle here. 

This post was originally published in October 2011. This year's guest post can be found here: http://bit.ly/NBRGuest.

Infamous Serial Killer: Why I Love Halloween

Between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31 of 1994, a serial killer calling himself “Lord Halloween” terrorized Loudoun County, Virginia. While he communicated with police only through brief post-it notes left at crime scenes, he wrote long, detailed letters to Tim Anderson, a local reporter at the Loudoun Chronicle.

Those letters only recently came to light after Lord Halloween’s second killing spree in 2006. Most have remained sealed by the courts—until now. Following is a previously unreleased letter from Lord Halloween to Tim Anderson near the beginning of his first rampage.

LH File: Letter #4

Date: Oct. 12, 1994

Investigation Status: Closed

Contents: Unclassified

Mr. Anderson,

Sometimes I wish we could meet face to face. I’ve watched you, of course. I’ve seen you go to the grocery store and the gym. I’ve even watched you on assignment—talking to the police about me. So I feel like I know you already.

But I wish you could ask me questions. One-sided conversations are always unsatisfying and it’s so hard for me to know what you’re thinking. Do you hate me? Do you think I’m a monster? Or am I the best thing that’s ever happened to you?

Come on: what’s a crime reporter without a story? I’m the biggest story this place has ever seen and you’re at the center of it.

Still, I keep wondering what you would ask me if you could. I bet I know one question: why Halloween? I could have picked any name. I could call myself Son of Satan or something equally ridiculous. Why be Lord Halloween? Why kill just in October? Why focus on a stupid holiday that’s just for kids?

The truth is it’s not for kids. It never was. It was a pagan holiday celebrated with human sacrifice. It was a tribute to death and decay and the end of the world. I’m just bringing it back into style, the way it was meant to be.

It makes me sick to see how twisted and lifeless (excuse the pun) Halloween has become. The little painted ghosts in the shop windows and the cute witches with their frisky kittens. All the kids bobbing for apples and dressing up like super heroes and fairy princesses.  That’s not what Halloween is about, Mr. Anderson. It’s not meant to be something the kids look forward to. It’s meant to be the thing they dread.

Halloween is about fear. Fear of the thing that goes bump in the night. Panic at what lies beneath you while you sleep. There’s a whole world out there we don’t know or understand and it’s filled with terrors we can’t begin to comprehend. Halloween is a reminder of everything we don’t want to face, including our own mortality.

But like everything else, we’ve corrupted it. We’ve made it insipid and bland, tried to tame it and pretend it’s all in good fun. But it’s not fun, Mr. Anderson.

Jack O’ Lanterns were lit as a way to ward off demons roaming the night. They weren’t meant to be craft projects for school kids. Costumes were a way to hide from the things haunting you, not play make believe. Even the candy we hand out was originally a tribute to the Old Gods to let us live for one more year. Now the only person who finds Halloween threatening is the dentist.

The world needs to be reminded what Halloween is about. It needs a teacher. I am that person.

I promise you that when I am done, this entire area—hell, even the country—won’t even want to think about Halloween again. If anyone shows their face on All Hallow's Eve, I will consider them fair game.

I am staking my claim to Halloween, making me part of the legend. For now and forever, we will be intertwined. In future years, Leesburg residents will shudder when the very mention of Halloween passes someone’s lips. They’ll look behind them and wonder if I’m lurking in the shadows.

And I will be, Mr. Anderson. I always will be. I’ve told you before, but soon you will know first-hand: I am night. I am fear. I am Halloween.

Sincerely,

Lord Halloween

For more on Lord Halloween, check out “A Soul to Steal,” now available on Amazon.

Great Halloween Reads by Indie Reader, including Band of Demons

Indie Reader has released a list of "Spooktacular Seasonal Selections" for Halloween this year, and I'm pleased to say "Band of Demons: The Sanheim Chronicles Book Two" has topped the list!

Here's what reviewer Keri English says about the book: "In book one, we met The Headless Horseman and were ensconced by ancient Celtic mythology. Band of Demons delves deeper, bringing ancient Irish lore to the forefront of our already twitching minds. Sanheim, Horseman, ghosts and creatures…this is the perfect book for Halloween." (emphasis hers)

For more about Band of Demons-- plus a whole selection of other great reads -- follow the link here: http://bit.ly/IRHalloween