Firming up the roster.

My goal this year is to firm up my existing roster of books, as well as continue to write original content.  I have a career worth of books I've written in the last couple of years -- if I can actually finish them.

Two of the books are more or less ready to be published, and either need to be finished editing and/or formatted.  Blood of Gold is being edited right now.  Led to the Slaughter needs a cover.

I'd say a third of the remaining books are within one re-write of being published.  The rest are going to need extensive re-working (What I'd call an overhaul, instead of re-write.)  Some of the books that are almost ready are sequels to books that need more work, so that is a bit of a roadblock.

Over the course of this year, I'm hoping to mix a little re-writing -- with a little re-working -- with the writing of new material.

I'm also thinking of these books as a roster, which kind of makes me a publisher.  So I've been thinking that I need to look at these as a publisher, as well as a writer.

Sagewind Publishing.

I'd really like to create professional caliber books -- not only in the writing, but also in the presentation.  As well as a professional distribution system -- a nice webpage, and an ability to sell to bookstores and distributors.

Not so much as a self-published writer, but as a publisher.  Between Linda and me, we have enough content to be considered a publisher.  To be a publisher, I'd need an art director, a office manager, an editor, a tech person, and a publicist. 

Most likely me, but with some help from others -- people not so much on the payroll but on a retainer.  I know some artists, I have a tech guy, I have an editor.  Linda and me can be the office managers.  The biggest challenge would be an effective promotions person.

Promotions:  This is the necessary skill set that I just don't have.  Not only don't I have it, but I've avoided it for all the years of business.  I concentrated on creating content -- and because I was on a busy street, the content was enough.

In effect, I have to find the busy street in publishing.  To extend that analogy, right now I'm not only not in a busy street downtown, I'm not even in the city, I'm somewhere east of John Day.  Something like that.

It is an incredibly crowded field, and I've got to find a way to plop myself down on the internet equivalent of a busy street.

Anyway, all that is in the future for now.  I'm going to concentrate on the actual writing and re-writing over the coming year, and continue to think about and research how to publish mine and Linda's books.

Between books feels weird.

I guess this has become a habit, or something.  If I go more than a few days without writing, I start getting antsy. 

Right now, I'm reading Linda's book.  I'm doing some of the necessary store stuff.  I'm going to work on my "painting" today.  I'm sort of taking it easy.

But each day, the pressure starts to build. 

What are you going to to do now, boy?  What are you going to do?

My instinct is to just dive into something, just follow my instincts.  But my brain tells me it wouldn't hurt to plan a little first.  The beginning especially needs to be right, or all the rest that follows is wasted.

I wrote down a bunch of ideas over New Year's as to what I thought a good book contains.  It is pretty much a reflection of the books I've loved.  It's kind of a loose list, with some crossover, and somewhat vague, but I do believe it's valid.

Tell you what.  Why don't I just write it down here:

Underdog/underestimated.

Surprise.

Unique.

Nostalgic.

The worm turns...

Intimate voice (present and engaging).

Sense of hidden history.

Friendships.

Interesting places.

Unexpected turns.

Believable.

Love interest.

Reluctant adventure, comes thru in the end, grows.

Rebel character, gets into trouble because of his integrity.

Inner world/not outer.


Like I said, pretty universal and vague, but it doesn't hurt to think about them in advance, make sure that these elements are included.

Friday fuds.

I'm between books, so that along with the New Year, it gives me a chance to think about what I'm doing.

I'm not sure of the utility of writing sequels, if no one is reading the earlier books.  There is a nice symmetry to a "trilogy" so when I've gotten two books under my belt, I'm tempted to write a third.

Besides, I'm not worrying about selling books this year, just writing them.  So I'll go ahead and write the third "Lander" book even though neither Faerylander or Wolflander have been published.

I think I could do so more rewriting -- I'm sort of waiting for the mood, or the lull.  If I can continue to write fresh books, I think I should do that.  Still and all, that is my major goal this year -- to spend much more time and effort on rewriting.

I'm going to write Ghostlander, but then I want to try something new.  See if I can't incorporate all the things I've learned over the last couple of years.

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Yesterday's business just flat wore me out.  I slept 9 hours last night, went to bed an hour earlier.  It was a lot like a Saturday, which I generally avoid.  Lots of people, but few of them really into what we do.

The irony of the lack of snow in the mountains is that we probably got more business out of it.  It was the perfect set-up -- just enough snow early to make it look like the skiing would be all right so that no one cancels their vacations, and then lousy conditions when they get here.

What's tourist to do?

Go shopping, in our quaint little downtown.

It's a short-term benefit obviously, because without snow they don't come at all.

That plus the extra week we got after Christmas this year,  has been nice for business.

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I try, generally, to buy local.  But I'm not making a crusade out of it.  I went looking for a small laptop that had a long battery life and could do Word and was affordable.

No one in town had what I wanted, so I went online and bought it.  (Whisper -- Amazon.)

Despite their size, I'm not actually all that impressed by the selection in the big chainstores.

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Tortoise wins!

Didn't beat last year until the last ten days of December, but beat last year I did.  A few percentage points, because the last ten days were damn good.  In other words, I was behind last year all year until then.  Six months behind, six months ahead.

Books and Games continue their steady increases.  I intend to keep following that lead.  Comics had a small increase, cards and card games were about even, and toys continued their steady decline.

I'm not getting rid of toys because they serve a valuable purpose -- they are basically the only thing I can effectively sell at the 10 foot and up range on the walls.  They look good, they add to the ambiance.  But they are going to be steadily removed from the under 10 foot areas and replaced by either games or books.

So I just need to keep getting more and more books and games.  And find places to put them.  I'm constantly getting ideas.

I want to put in a "writing" shelf.  More of a "how-to" art shelf.  A Beatles and Dylan and a few others shelf.

Just keep continually morphing the store to my interests.  People seem to respond, more or less, to my interests.  Especially tourists.

I have an odd store, but it seems to work.  (I'm an odd person, but I seem to work.)

My wife the writer.

I'm so proud of Linda.  I've always known she has a vivid imagination and a beautiful heart and can tell a great story.  The only thing stopping her was her problem with grammar and spelling. 

And you know what?  She's fixed that.  A combination of the new technology and an editor -- but mostly, her hard work.  Truly an impressive thing.  I don't think I've learned a thing since high school about grammar but she's taught herself the whole thing.  Wow.  That takes an amazing amount of willpower to do that.

I'm loving her book.  It's got great characters, and a really interesting story,  themes that make it resonate, and a terrific pacing.  It's the real deal.

You guys should read it!

Linda McGeary -- at Amazon and Smashwords.

New Year this and that.

Don't you just know this new campus sitting on top of a pumice mine is going to be a disaster? 

And that they'll go ahead anyway, despite all the warnings?

I'm not saying they're wrong, just that all will not be smooth...

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I'm amazed that the citizens have been so generous to the Parks and Recreation.  And I think, rightly so.  This is our town, folks.  We are tourist and retirement and we'd better make sure our town fits that image...

That pavilion could be pretty spectacular.

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The Bulletin has been pretty relentless in their slamming of Obamacare.

Yeah, yeah, whatever. 

It's been nothing but a blessing for me.

**********

Whenever I bemoan how I'm dependent on the customer, and how I can't predict what they're going to do, I think of poor Hoodoo Ski Area, and count my blessings.

At least I'm not dependent on snow.

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I don't understand the appeal of Mad Men.  Honestly, didn't we rebel against that bullshit in 60's?

I've spent my whole life trying to avoid that nonsense.  Awful way of life.  (Screw the nostalgia for Dallas, too.)

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Reading John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee novels is a bit of time-travel.  I'm up to 1970's and those dirty hippies and the awful menace of Marijuana.  Heh.

*********

Stock market was good this year.  Why does that make me nervous?

**********

Watched a documentary about the making of Born to Run.  Oh, the work!  Oh, the toil! 

I'm a lazy bastard.

*********

please, sir, I want some more.

More?

MORE!!??


This was a pretty productive year, both at the store and writing.  Another year like this would please me just fine. 

I want to fit a bit more of a regular life into my writing.  (Or fit writing into my life...)  I'd like to take a few more trips out of town, and get out into nature.  Read a few more books, see a few more movies.

But another year like last, would be just great.

Happy New Year, everyone.