Turning "Takeover" into a Hart Davis book.

"Takeover."

Awhile back, I wrote a book about the fictional takeover the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, based on the Malhuer standoff. The first half was an experiment in storytelling, pretending to be first hand witness accounts by the various players.

The second half turned into a regular thriller.

I ended up liking the second half better. I mean, I liked what I did in the first half, but it just didn't really come together as a complete book. It needed a lead narrator, really, to tie it all together.

I've been thinking about it ever since. I know which character could do the best job of it. I would have to have him as the POV in the first two or three chapters, then I could seed in the other 1st person accounts--or turn those into 3rd person accounts.

The only reason to do this is that I think the story is pretty good, but because of the way I wrote it, the current book just doesn't work.

So I always had the intention of rewriting the first part of the book.

With "Deadfall Ridge" doing so well, I'm wondering if I can't turn the main character into Hart Davis, the protagonist of the latter book. I've sort of figured out a way, I think.

It also kind of excites me to try to do it, which is the crucial factor in any writing endeavor. So now I know what I'm going to be doing in January.

BookBub is a hell of a thing.

BookBub is a hell of a thing.

It really works, like nothing else works. I mean, I was happy just to be selected, because I knew that wasn't an easy thing.

It's doing better than I expected, really. Amazing.

As you may have noticed, I've stayed out of the way while the BookBub promotion is going on. Fortunately, I did a little research in advance so wasn't nervous about the time-lag. I think I've been superstitious about jinxing it.

I can get a general sense of how things are going from the rankings. David Wilson from Crossroad emailed me mid-afternoon to say they've already covered it, so I'm happy about that.

I'm exposing myself to a lot of new readers. With any luck they'll check out some of my other books.

It's interesting that I've gotten these encouragements on a regular basis--not too often, but often enough--to keep me going. I've sold out of my physical copies at the store, needed to order more.

So it's back to writing full-time next year, pretty much the same way I've been doing it. The writing is the thing, though I don't mind seeing some results once in awhile!

duncanmcgeary.com

Many of you are reading this blog on the front page of my new namesake website, thanks to my wizardess, Chloe Leis.

https://www.duncanmcgeary.com/

What I like best about it is that this blog is that is now front and center on my homepage. I've written on this blog almost everyday for over 12 years now, so there will always been something fresh. (There does seem to be a time lag, but this post will get there soon enough.)

For those who are new here, I mostly talk about my writing process these days. Sometimes I talk about my business, Pegasus Books, in downtown Bend, which I've owned for 35 years.

The impetus to finally get this up to date is my newest book, "Deadfall Ridge," which has a Featured New Release from Bookbub on December 26th, 2018, which is pretty exciting. (For those who don't know what BookBub is, read my earlier blog post.)

So welcome everyone, and thanks to all who have continued to read this blog over the years. There won't be any change to those who come to "The Best Minimum Wage Job a Middle-Aged Guy Ever Had" site.

So to everyone discovering this site, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Working at Pegasus Books.

I worked the first three hours yesterday at my book store, Pegasus Books, and felt completely overwhelmed. I'm sort of out of the routine these days. People were calling and asking obscure questions, which I would normally try to answer, but I had to resort to "We're insanely busy. Could you call back a little later?"

One of our busiest days ever.

I was tied to the register for a couple of hours, not really able to go out onto the floor and ask if people needed help.

It seems like Christmas spending takes off later and later every year, so it's a bit nerve wracking. What if something happens? Several feet of snow? National emergency? But I think people are determined to at least have the happiness of those last couple weeks of the year.

I'm really thankful for Sabrina and Dylan, who are so cheerful and do such a good job.

I came into the Christmas season certain it was going to be a slow one. So far, it's been good, a little better than last year, though it might be hard to do as well the last week. Still, I was keeping my expectations slow.

I also sold almost all the "Deadfall Ridge"s I had in stock. Too bad I don't work at the store all the time, because I could probably sell some of my books every day. But then I wouldn't be writing.

I'm giving myself a break this season, not worrying about whether I write. What it reminds me of was the pure creative surge I felt those first few years. Absolutely nothing got in the way of my writing--I was a maniac.

Now that I've accomplished much of what I set out to do, that mania is dying down. So it will be interesting what happens from here on out.

I will be writing, without a doubt. I'm too addicted to it now. 

Holiday break.

I'm taking the holidays off. I've been kinda stuck on "Ruby Red and Robot" anyway, so giving it more time to percolate isn't a bad thing. Todd and Toby will be home for Christmas.

I figure I'll probably be glued to the computer on December 26 for my BookBub promotion for "Deadfall Ridge." I mean, I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much. It appears to really help some books, but other books fall between the cracks. Since I'm not particularly known, nor do I generally write in this genre, and because it is a stand-alone, I probably should keep my expectations low. If I have real guts, I'd just ignore it and let whatever happen...happen.

But I don't think I can pull that off.

Saw an old friend at the writer's group X-Mas party and gave her a copy of "Deadfall Ridge" and she wrote back and told me she'd read it in two sittings and loved it. It pleased me a great deal because it's hard to get friends and family to read my stuff. (Understandable because I've written so much.)  And I respect her opinion. Sometimes that's enough to keep me going. Also got a 5 star review from Sandy in Texas, who was my first real reader, and I'm really grateful for that. 

My wizardess, Chloe, and I are still working on updating my duncanmcgeary.com site. We're going to use a different provider in order to place this blog on the front page. Lots of details to fill in. It's not something I could have done on my own.

I'm hoping to get back to my regular walking and writing routine next year. They work so well together. I've been losing weight, but not because of a diet. I'm not eating anything before noon, which was always true, but now I'm not eating after 6:00. In between, I'm eating when I want to, but being moderate about it.

Poor Panga's belly is swollen. She doesn't seem to be in pain. We're watching her carefully. She still seems to have more good days than bad. But I fear the end is near.

Going to work today to put away books. Always an exciting time at the store. Also meeting my wizardess to work on the domain site some more.

Trying not to get too frightened by national affairs. (Oh, my poor IRA!!)

Hiring a Wizardess.

URBAN DICTIONARY:  "Wizardess:

a rare breed female wizards with magical powers to transform internet content."

I'm hiring a wizardess.

With my BookBub coming up on December 26, I decided it was time to get my Duncan McGeary.com up to date. I've neglected it forever.

I need to update it to current publishers and titles and links, if nothing else. What I'd really like to do is link this blog to the first page so that there is constant new material. Not sure if that is possible.

Anyway, I called my internet Wizard, Aaron, and asked for help. He directed me to his high school aged daughter, Chloe, who "is better at it."

Hopefully she's coming over to help both Linda and me with our internet troubles. If not, I'll tackle the site myself and at least make it presentable.

I haven't been writing. I'm sort of stuck with "Ruby Red and the Robot."

I've got 20 books currently up for sale online, with eleven paperbacks. "The Darkness You Fear" should soon join them again, and Fateplay has been sent to be edited and a cover done.

So, you know, no hurry. That lack of urgency is not completely a good thing.

BookBub happening on December 26, instead of 25th.

For some strange reason, the people at BookBub don't want to work December 25th, so my "Featured New Release" for Deadfall Ridge is happening on December 26.

I was listening to a podcast yesterday about BookBub and it was exhausting. Not so much the BookBub itself but all the things they do tangentally. They started throwing around jargon about different methods and I didn't have a clue.

The amount of work and thought these authors put into promotion is mind-numbing. I mean, I get it. I don't think writing is enough. You have to play the game or you won't score.

Fine. I mean, I'm willing when the opportunities arise. But it sort of reminds me of how I've had to handle certain product lines in my store over the years: either you're all in, or you may as well get out. The moment you start slacking or backing away, the whole thing falls apart.

Some projects require complete immersion.

What's weird about writing--and probably most of the arts--is that you have to be totally immersed in the art, and at the same time, totally immersed in the promotion of that art.

There are not the same thing. They are two different worlds.

As I mentioned yesterday, it's really the equivalent of taking on a full time job. Not even counting the writing.

I keep having these unexpected advances in my career. That is, I do put myself forward when I see a chance, but I'm not thinking about it all the time. Who knows, maybe as I learn more, I'll do more.

The other thing happening is that many of the promotional  techniques that have worked in the past no longer work. It's changing all the time, as new players get in and old players change the rules. If something works and everyone does it, then it no longer works. And so on.

Like I said, it requires complete immersion and constant monitoring to keep track.

My timing was a little off. If I'd jumped in the pool about three years sooner, it probably would have been a bit easier. Or, as another author mentioned, if you weren't established by 2000 you have a much higher hill to climb.

I swore I wouldn't get hung up on this stuff. I mean, the writing is the thing. As always, I want my publisher to do well, I want them to make their money back.

What I want, when I want.

It's funny. Here I am, probably about to sell the most books I've ever sold, and I'm not currently writing. I'm reassessing my writing "career." (I had a book promotion a few years back for Led to the Slaughter, and it got several hundred downloads in a few days, but that one was free.) I hope Book Bub comes through for Crossroad more than anything.

But it got me thinking about what a "career" means. Thing is, I came back to writing to prove to myself, if no one else, that I could do it. Finish a book and put it out in the world. The secondary goal was to write a "good" book. The actual sales and reviews were more or less a third goal.

So the writing took off enough that I needed to fulfill some commitments. I needed to finish the Vampire Evolution Trilogy. I need to finish the Tuskers Sage. I wanted to keep the Virginia Reed Adventures going.

Even that felt a little bit like an imposition. I mean, I loved all those books and I enjoyed writing them, but it was still done with a bit of the "need to be done" about it.

So from the start, I've told myself to write "what I want, when I want." And that has been very freeing. Strictly speaking, I haven't been that concerned about strategy and or tactical placement. For instance, choosing better selling genres or settling in on one lone series, both of which are proven techniques of growing an audience.

I did start writing thrillers because the mainstream publisher I was dealing with didn't want to do SF, Fantasy, or Horror. But that was OK because I wanted to try that anyway. Thrillers are mostly what I read these days.

The mainstream publisher bought a thriller from me, as a ghost written book. This was definitely strategic in that I thought there was an implied promise that they would accept another book from me under my own name. Two thrillers later and no response--Not a rejection, but No Response--I gave up on that idea. (Meanwhile the ghostwritten thriller I wrote three years ago, which was extremely topical when I wrote it, has now become almost dated. I am flabbergasted by the lost opportunity...)

So that road was one I never really contemplated. I was invited in. The editor got in touch with me and asked. So what the hell--I thought thought something might happen, but I was fully aware it might not. My previous experience with New York publishers back in the 80s had been disillusioning. I'm not surprised the same thing has happened.

But that's what drew me back to writing. The wonderful opportunity to ignore the big guys and still find an audience, no matter how small.

So my goal was relatively modest.

And that has brought me to a realization. A full-blown "career" in writing means being fully engaged. Not in writing--I'm perfectly fine with that--but with everything else involved. I mean, if I can write "what I want, when I want" and it takes off and I'm allowed to keep doing "what I want, when I want," it, that would be a fine career.

But I don't think it works that way.

So here I go back to my real career as a small bookshop owner. I made this choice 35 years ago and fully committed to it--at first just trying to survive and pay off the loans, and then to make it work, and before I know it, I had a "career." Somewhat accidental, but I had put the work in. I'd done all the things I needed to do, whether they were things I wanted to do or not. I made the choice--and did the necessary things.

Over the years, I've often had people say to me--"Oh, I've thought of doing that as a sideline." Whether it be a game store, or a comic store, or a bookstore, or Magic, beanie babies, whatever.

And my ready answer was: "Do you believe that I could do your job as a sideline and make a go of it. Not put in the amount of work and effort and stress that you do?" And the answer, obviously, is probably not. Those kinds of jobs--that ones that don't actually lose money--require full-time commitment. (Another little saying I have: "If you aren't trying to make money, you are going to lose money.)

I've been in this game long enough now to observe full-time writers and their careers, and I can see how much work, effort, and stress they are putting into it. Lots of interaction with their fans, online and in person, lots of tactical decisions, lots of promotions, lots of planning and working.

And this doesn't even count the actual writing!

Well, that makes sense, the same way the commitment I made to Pegasus Books--and still so--makes sense.

So the truth is, if I was presented with the opportunity of a "career" and all that demands, I'd have to take a step back and go, "Whoa..."

The answer is yes---but only if I can keep doing "what I want, when I want." I mean, hey, maybe that will work. There are probably a few writers out there that get away with that. But taking it on with the kind of energy I gave to Pegasus Books? That probably isn't going to happen.

I guess I'm hoping that I can keep on doing "what I want, when I want," and have it all work out. But I know that would probably be a miracle.

Changing bad habits.

The only trick I've learned about bad habits is to give myself a break.

It's almost impossible to change in the moment. But if you break away, think about it for an extended time, figure out what and how you want to change, then fix a future date and prepare for it, that seems to work.

Sometimes.

I remember way back when I was trying to quit smoking. I read something about sometimes it's better not to keep failing. So I quit trying to quit, but thought about it, figured out all the mistakes I'd made, then pinpointed a date to make a "real" effort.

I've gone through different approaches to employees over the years, and I've been pretty terrible about it sometimes. So during those times when it all fell apart and I couldn't afford employees, I had a chance to think about what I'd done wrong and to try and correct it. Each time, I've gotten a little bit better.

When I quit writing in 1984 I had so many bad pernicious habits that it was overwhelming. Over the next 25 years I thought about it, tried to figure out how to fix them. Frankly, if I'd come back to writing too soon I probably would have got it wrong.

When I finally did dive in, I had winnowed it down to one rock solid rule: Finish the book before engaging in re-writing.

Once I started writing, I found a freedom to write more often than I'd ever contemplated before. I wrote what and when I wanted, and gave myself permission to "do it all."

So now I think I've reached a point of diminishing returns. I want to take another step upward, but I'm not sure how to do that. So it is probably time to give myself another break, even if it's just a few months. I have actually identified things I should do--researching, outlining, and planning, rewriting--but "in the moment" I haven't been able to install these new habits effectively.

I've written a lot of words over the last six or seven years. Each book has been different. It's often been a case of three steps forward and two steps back. Sometimes the improvements are hard to identify, and sometimes a book just doesn't work. I'm not sure this can ever be fixed.

But I can identify my strengths and weaknesses, refine the process, and try a fresh start. It's a little messy. I have unfinished projects I want to finish. I'm in the middle of a book (See above #1 rule.) But I'm kind of working toward one of those breaks, giving myself time to absorb it all, and come back with a sharper focus.

“I hate writing, I love having written.”

― Dorothy Parker

I don't actually completely agree with this. I like writing, but I do love "Having Written."

Linda is on book four of my Tuskers series. She turned to me and said, "I'm glad Paco is alive. I thought he was dead."

That got me to thinking about the complexity of this world I created. I'm amazed. It's a weird feeling of "I Did That!"

So I don't know if this is egotistical of me, but I'm impressed by what I've done. I mean, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, or what kind of reviews I get, or how many I sell--I'm amazed that they came out as well as they did.

What I'm saying is--these books are better than I thought I could do. I had a jaundiced view of my abilities. I still do. I still think I could do so much better. I read other writers and think, "I could never do that."

But I measure this view of my writing with what is actually out there and I think, "Well, that turned out better than I expected."

It's more a matter of "I finished this Marathon at a faster pace than I expected," than "I won the Marathon!"'

I reached my goal and exceeded it.

When I wrote my first three books, I could never read them without seeing all the flaws. Now I read one of my books and think, "Hey, not bad." I see small things I would change, but mostly I think they came out the way I wanted.

My books being judged for the quality of "The way I wanted" is different than being judged for a book that isn't "The way I wanted," if that makes sense. 

I'm at a point where I've written so much, I'm starting to rest on my laurels, which is probably a dangerous place.

But it does spur me to try to think more about the next book, what I can do to improve.

"Wait a minute..."

A couple of days of not writing.  I got all excited about the Bookbub thing. (Buy Deadfall Ridge on preorder for 2.99--it all counts on the day it is released, Dec. 18...)

I've decided these breaks actually serve a purpose--my subconscious is saying, "Wait a minute..."

So today, as I picked up my computer, I realized that I need to figure out some things. I'm 10K words in, and I like the characters and scenario, but this morning I realized it was missing a few things.

1.) I need a Big Bad--someone who is behind the Strike and the berserk robots.

2.) There needs to be an urgent reason for Ruby to get Antony to Kunlun Mountain. Some kind of time limit.

3.) She needs to be chased. The Bad Guys know who she is and what she's got.

So I need to ponder those three things. I'm not going back and rewriting what I've written. I'm proceeding as if those things were there from the beginning.


Later: Figured out that the start of the book could come with a messenger telling them these exact same things--followed by an attack. After that Ruby is on the run.

Snagged a Bookbub.

So it appears that "Deadfall Ridge" will be a "Featured New Release" from Bookbub on Christmas Day. It will be under the "Action and Adventure" category, and this is a pretty big thing.

So what's Bookbub?

It's the premier book promotion site.

So I probably should explain a few things. The "Featured New Release" is a newer thing for Bookbub, been around about six months. It's a "Featured" thing, that is it must go through a submission process and is curated. But it is not the famous "Featured Deal," which Bookbub is most known for.

This is more about being "New" than being a "Deal," though Crossroad Press has lowered the price to $2.99. 

The Daily "Deals" go out to millions of readers. Authors submit established books at lower prices, usually free or .99.

In return "Featured" books usually get tens of thousands of downloads. Bookbub charges a significant amount for it--based on the genre--but from all accounts, even though the book is often free or very low priced, the author more than evens out from extra sales.

The real problem is that is almost impossible to get accepted by the "Deal." Less than 5% are accepted, or something like that, which may not sound that impossible--but remember, included in that 5% is every author you've ever heard of.

My understanding was that it was easier to hook up with Bookbub if you were a new author five or six years ago. But with their success has come the major authors.

Bookbub has recently started the "Featured New Release," which is similar to the Deal except that it refers to new books, and isn't required to be discounted.

It is still very hard to get into: only about 20% are accepted, according to their own website. Its costs are similar to the Deal, but because heavy discounting isn't required, it probably doesn't need the tens of thousands of downloads to break even.

So this is validation of a sorts. I think "Deadfall Ridge" is a good book, and it's nice to see it accepted by some tough gatekeepers. I'm also proud that Crossroad Press has enough faith in my writing to take the risk.

Christmas Day is interesting. Not sure how that will work out. But no matter what, I'm proud that this is happening.

"Deadfall Ridge" is already available for pre-order on Amazon, and the paperback is already published (I'll have it in my store in the next few days...)

The preorder is now only 2.99 and the preorder determines the all important rank of the book on day one.

https://www.amazon.com/Deadfall-Ridge-Duncan-McGeary-ebook/dp/B07KNLK2WL/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1543792426&sr=8-1