The earlier blog entry on my favorite books of 2014 got me thinking. I may not have a new book out this year for the holidays, but I do have a few extra copies of INFECTED and MURDERED lying around.
If you’re interested, I’ll sign and ship to you, a friend, family, co-worker, Secret Santa, whoever or wherever. Call it $20 even and I’ll pay for shipping. I’m limited to what I have on hand, so it’s first-come first-served until they’re gone.
Hit me up on my contact form and we can iron out the payment details over email. Priority mail is 1-3 business days, so you’ve got a week or so to get your orders in!
I believe this makes my first “online author signing.” I usually reserve signed books for in-person appearances but you’ve caught me in a rare non-Grinch mood. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
The day you’ve been waiting for (or at least the day I’ve been waiting for, either way) is finally here!
Check it out, the mystery/thriller book trailer in all its glory:
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Some people have said it’s a bit odd to put out a book trailer almost a year after a book’s release (or again, just a voice in my head, either way), yet I couldn’t be happier with the decision. I’m extremely pleased with PixelTwister Studio, and I think you can see why. What an incredibly professional product. The feeling of seeing my words turned into art is, well, let me put it this way…Shortly after completion, Jeremy and Ellen asked if I’d be willing to give a testimonial for their website. I was glad to do so, and I’ll leave you with my glowing review:
When I first saw my words come to life in the trailer, I got chills. Not figurative chills, literal chills. I can’t recommend PixelTwister Studio enough. Ellen and Jeremy are ideal collaborative partners–they’ll listen to your ideas, then use their own intuition and artistry to make the world you’ve created not only richer, but instantly accessible to readers in a tangible way. PixelTwister represents everything I love about the indie publishing front; passionate people doing professional work on their own terms.”
So, what do YOU think? Make you want to read the book all over again?
While hauling my earthly goods from California to Colorado, I listened to the audiobook version of The Martian by Andy Weir. I was intrigued by the self-published success story, and decided to give it a go. You should too, it’s a fantastic book. Here’s a blurb, paraphrased from the Amazon product description:
After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, [astronaut Mark Watney] finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive…. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?”
My wife and I loved the central character so much, we started saying I was Mark Watney-ing whenever I’d creatively solve a problem around the house. It’s the new MacGyver-ing.
Now then, beyond a simple book recommendation, I have a theory about the book. Very, very minor spoilers follow. As someone who hates spoilers, trust me, you’re fine.
I originally described this book to friends as, “a near-future where we’ve started manned missions to Mars,” but upon further reflection, I’m going to update that stance. It’s not a near-future, it’s an alternate-present. All the technology for these fictional Ares missions currently exists. The only problem is that we haven’t spent billions of dollars on space travel and Mars research.
Here it is, my theory on The Martian: In the story-world, the September 11th attacks never happened. Instead, we spent all of those billions of dollars funding NASA and manned missions to Mars.
Think about it. There’s never a mention of a terrorism. There’s never a mention of 9/11. There’s never a mention of tightened regulations, security, or a slashed NASA budget. The world comes together on a cooperative level with such ease, it fits the political atmosphere of an America that hasn’t been at war for well over a decade.
The Martian takes place in a parallel universe where there is no Global War on Terror.
For those who’ve read the book, I’d love to hear what you think about my theory, or if you have any theories of your own. Do you think it’s an alternate-present where there was no recession either? And if you haven’t read the book yet, don’t forget to check back in once you do!
“Have a thick skin.” If you’re a writer, whether you’re a hobbyist or a pro, you’re probably given this piece of advice dozens of times throughout your creative lifetime. The gist of the sentiment is: “Don’t take criticism too personally.” And while this is a lovely aphorism, it’s also easier said than done.
To follow the metaphor, having a thick skin makes my professional persona armored like an elephant or a rhinoceros. But here’s the thing–those noble beasts are born thick-skinned, whereas a creative person is nearly always the opposite.
We wouldn’t need a battlecry to “toughen up” if it came naturally. We’re told to desensitize ourselves to criticism because it’s the opposite of our instinctual reaction. When someone judges a writer’s work harshly, this tends to feel like a judgement of the author on a personal level. How can it not? You pour yourself onto the page, whether it be genre writing or memoir, and dedicate months or years to perfecting the product.
Okay, so what inspired this newest bout of self-reflection (and/or pity)? A negative review, of course.
A thoughtful, honest, and thorough skewering of MURDERED appeared on Amazon yesterday in the form of a 3-star review and it’s been eating at me (read the review here). And before you say, “3-stars isn’t negative,” allow me to direct your attention here:
Exhibit A: See the titles? “Most Helpful Critical Review.” The defense rests its case.
While the reviewer has some lovely things to say about the book and its author (he said in third-person), there’s quite a bit in there that I can only describe as “scathing.”
But I digress. The point of this blog post is for me to expand on how it is that I’m able to have a thick skin. How I “take a licking and keep on ticking.” Sure, I allow myself a moment of self-pity (and by “allow” I mean I accept the fact that I will experience these emotions and resign myself to it). But then I move on. What’s my secret?
My thick skin doesn’t come naturally, it’s formed from callouses.
That is to say, it’s built up as a defense against injury and assault. Each affront, no matter how small, toughens me up. Now, I’m able to look past the surface review and ask myself, “Okay, what did the reviewer really not like?”
The reviewer in my personal example compares MURDERED to a Rubik’s Cube, in a negative way. Their impression is that the book is nothing more than a simple curiosity; fun for a few minutes until the novelty wears off. And yet when I was writing the book, I actually told several friends I felt like I was creating a “literary Rubik’s Cube!” I naturally meant this as a positive–as a challenge. As a game that is fun to pick up and play with from time to time, but actually difficult and time-consuming to solve in full.
Not everyone loves a Rubik’s Cube. Then again, there are whole clubs and competitions formed by those who do. Not everyone will love my books, and some of those people will review them, but there are others who enjoy what I do and I’ll keep writing for that audience. The negative reviews still sting, but with my callouses I’m able to move past them more quickly.
Soon, I’ll be charging forward and there’ll be no stopping me.
January 9th Good morning, again! Today Book Blast is set to go out and, with (fingers’ crossed) the continued buzz from yesterday’s promotion, this should make for an exciting day. I don’t know about you, but I could hardly sleep a wink. Whattdya say we see how much action happened overnight?
NOTE: CLICK ALL IMAGES TO ENLARGE
2686 Downloads as of 0600, January 9th.Woo-hoo! Made it into the coveted Top 100.
Two interesting points of order based on these stats. First, is that I’m still listed in Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure (an old category) as well as Science Fiction > Post-Apocalyptic (new category). Could this be because my update is still “processing”? I’m not sure. I’ll have to watch carefully as this develops. Second, even though my rank has surpassed the Top 100 free books in the kindle store, I only gave away 450 copies over the course of the entire night. Which leads to…
LESSON LEARNED: Be patient/don’t panic. Within the first two hours of the day, my rank got worse and shot up to #99. If this is a race to #1, that means I’m not doing well… or does it? Amazon’s best seller ranking is elastically flexible and doesn’t necessarily correspond to current downloads. Maybe someone else’s rank simply processed before mine? I could just need some time to catch up. Tough to say. Amazon keeps their ranking algorithm a closely-guarded secret, but it pays to go with the flow. Just keep doing what you know you should be doing, and let the ranking system do its thing.
Here’s a mid-day update, after Book Blast has gone out:
4113 Downloads as of 1400, January 9th.Back to “increasing!” Slow and steady wins the race today.
Interesting to note that the categories are still switching. Could this be a good thing? It’s putting me on several different categories throughout the day (the maximum allowed is two), so I can’t see how it would hurt… Hmm. But the main point is that it’s getting better. From all I’ve heard and read, Book Bub is the behemoth service that’ll push any promotion over the edge. So if I can just keep climbing the charts, no matter how slowly, I should be in for a treat tomorrow.
The snowball is your book promotion. The more people you get to help push it along, the bigger it’ll get until it eventually starts feeding itself.
The afternoon was spent doing more promoting and marketing, of course, which leads to another…
LESSON LEARNED: Set up everything beforehand. I started contacting book sites a month out, but I found a great list of resources I was planning to contact during the promotion. Big mistake. Just going through with everything I’d had planned, to include continued social media marketing, took up all my time. You should have everything ready to go before you promotion starts, so the most work you have to do during the event involves the copy/paste function.
It’s getting late. Let’s do one last look at the stats before bed:
5358 Downloads as of 2200, January 9th.Still increasing and — BONUS — now it’s topping 3 categories!
It’s getting significantly more difficult for INFECTED to climb the ranks, but at least it still is. And with tomorrow set to be my “anchor day” I’m hopeful. You might also notice 3 more sales of MURDERED in 24 hours. Not exactly the boost I was hoping for, but it’s still early (and I’m thankful for each sale I get). Time to try and sleep and prepare for the exciting conclusion tomorrow…
A week into the New Year, I’ve finally decided to write a post pertaining to my goals in 2014. I have personal resolutions for health and happiness, but I’d like to keep this post focused on my goals as an author and as the owner of this blog.
The first, as an author, is a fairly straightforward one: Complete the next book in my Click Your Poison series.
As far as a blogging resolution, I feel a bit hesitant. But… I think I should embrace being a “blogger” — and for me, that’s easier said than done. I have a voice in my head saying, “Why should you shout your opinion at the world? Why should anyone care?”
Well, in order to silence that voice, I pledge to post more often and more honestly about the two things that should draw you to this page: 1) My writing, and 2) My journey from unknown writer to self-published rock star (gotta dream big, right?)
This year, just like this kid, I’m resolving not to lose my sense of humor.
Topic #1 will include include progress updates and samples (hooray, samples!), and will involve the community when and where I can. Maybe I’ll bounce story ideas off you, give polls, or even host contests for naming characters, businesses; that kind of thing. It should be light and fun.
Topic #2 will focus on what I’ve learned in this business from pitfalls and successes. This will primarily be of interest to other writers. In that vein, I’m introducing a new topic: Lessons Learned (to be populated gradually over the year)
Hey! Amazon deleted that 1-star review written in Dutch!
Haters need not apply
It would appear that the 1-star review of INFECTED was deemed invalid by Amazon’s filters, but… Why do you care?
I doubt you do. This post is a blending of narcissistic and cathartic, which I believe comes out to narcotic, and fits the definition of a substance offering a hollow, fleeting happiness that will consume your life if you let it.
But that’s what blogs are for, right? Sharing the good and the bad. Exposing shortcomings.
Like this one: I actually cared about a review written in Dutch that said my book “wasn’t for people with actual zombie experience” (according to google translate), whatever that means. In my dark hours I would see zonder inspiratie flash across my mind and I’d wonder if maybe this was the one guy who had it right. Maybe my writing is uninspired. Maybe he’s the only one with the guts to tell the truth.
The fact that the review was taken down (no, I did not “flag” it or anything of the sort) doesn’t eliminate doubt. Comes with the territory, I guess. But it helps.
I’m in trouble if and when my books ever go wide and–God forbid–thousands of people review it and some small percentage is negative. I realize that will happen, and I’ll be fine. Even if all those negative reviews get to stay up, I’ll know that all the positive reviews are unquestionably valid.
See? That’s what this did. It’s a good thing. Okay, enough narcotic. It’s Halloween! Time for a zombie author to celebrate.
Oh, and if you hear a scratching at your door, you may want to look through the peephole before you open up to give out candy:
I just got invited to sell my book at “Walker-Stalker Con” in Georgia. It’s a zombie convention where the cast of The Walking Dead will be present to sign autographs.
The bad news? I’m a groomsman at a wedding that weekend!
And I got a call from the Ft Hood PX (only the largest US military shopping outlet in the world) asking if I’d do a Halloween signing. Which, if not for the wedding, I could do an epic roadtrip and hit both. Pack the Prius full of books and make it a thing.
Obviously, I want to be part of the wedding (love you Brian & Emily!), I just wish they didn’t conflict. The gods mock us mortal men!
Positive spin: my ‘little book’ is starting to get some big attention. There’s always next time, right? Right?!
I hit 100,000 words on my next Click Your Poison book the other day. I figure as long as I’m celebrating base-10 accomplishments, from 1k to 10k, I think I should toast myself for hitting 100k words on MURDERED. That’s long for a novel (which typically runs 60-90k words), and I’m not even done yet. Chalk it up to the three storyline schtick. Hopefully it’ll result in a more immersing experience for you, the reader. That’s the plan anyway. Now if I could just finish the first draft! Although, I did celebrate this today as well:
Just wrote my first “winning” end to Click Your Poison #2, MURDERED. The end is nigh, mystery fans… or is it?
July marks over 1000 copies of INFECTED sold in less than 10 months! Since September 17th, roughly 750 ebooks have sold. Since November 13th, roughly 250 paperbacks have sold.
Thanks so much to all my awesome readers who’ve enjoyed the book and shared it with others. None of this would be possible without you! I am ‘eternally’ grateful (zombie pun intended)…
Good morning, again! Today Book Blast is set to go out and, with (fingers’ crossed) the continued buzz from yesterday’s promotion, this should make for an exciting day. I don’t know about you, but I could hardly sleep a wink. Whattdya say we see how much action happened overnight?
Author James Schannep 