Debut Year

So, reality:

My debut year was two years in the making. I sold my first ever tale to Clive Barker's Hellraiser, a comic book that came out from Epic Comics (a division of Marvel). I spent the next three months after it was accepted waiting to hear what issue it would appear in (fifteen as I recall) and then waited another  twenty months months waiting or the story to get printed.

During that rime I was not idle. I did my best to use that sale as a springboard to other sales. I did a lot of work for White Wolf Games Studios, and I did some writing and interviews for Game Shop News. By the time that debut had taken place, I was knee deep in articles and had four game supplements come out. Such is the nature of the beast.

I am extremely proud of the work that came out. i am delighted to this day about my little tale "Of Love, Cats & Curiosity." But if i'm being honest I never stopped to celebrate other than a very quick yelp of excitement when I got the news that I had made my first professional sale.

The Myth of the Debut Year

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is "If I could go back to my Debut Year..." You can tell I didn't suggest this one because I don't believe in the "Debut Year."

See, the "Debut Year" is a bit of magical, sparkle-pony mythology of Author Land.

This is how the myth goes:

One day a writer receives "The Call" where an editor offers the Big Book Deal. The writer's First Book comes out - their Debut Book - and they have their Debut Year. It's a time of glory and terror and dancing sparkle ponies. The writer is hopefully toasted as the New Big Thing. Reviews always discuss the book in terms of it being the author's First Book. And every mention of the author after that will note their First Book.

All of this is a fictionalization. We're novelists, after all! But I think it's also a damaging bit of mythology, so I'd like to discuss why.

First, let me break this down in reality.

1. All of this is cast in traditional publishing terms. Not only that, it's pretty much only for deals with the Big Five. So, only authors who publish their first book (see caveats to this) with the Big Five get an experience anything close to the Debut Year.

2. Almost nobody gets "The Call," even though you still hear people talk about it. If you're working with traditional publishing, you'll almost certainly be working with an agent. Those exchanges happen first via email. Your agent may call with exciting news, but very rarely - even vanishingly rarely - is there a single phone call with the final deal news. This is a fictionalization that makes it sound good.

3. Not many authors get a Big Book Deal. You just hear about the ones who do. And, because it's a Big Book Deal, the publisher puts a lot of marketing behind the book, so you hear about that, too. But hey - it's a book deal and that's fabulous!

4. But, you know what? It's one book deal. If you plan to make a career as an author, there will be more book deals. Lots of them. You might also self-publish or do that instead. We tend to celebrate "Firsts" of all kinds, but there's no particular magic to them. (Besides that you're a newbie, which is likely the point of this topic, but I'm ignoring that. You'll find out why. Stick with me.)

5. There is a lot of terror. Moments of glory. Mostly a lot of work. Spoiler alert: No sparkle ponies.

6. Some writers get to be the Big New Thing, which is super cool. Most don't. Even those that do? Well, like prom queens and MVPs, there's a finite shelf life to being one, and there's a replacement coming the following year, if not sooner.

7. The "First Book" is a myth I'd really like to see die.

• Most writers have written many books before their first published one.
• Most writers have written and published extensively before their first published novel - poems, essays, other nonfiction, short stories, novellas, etc. By making a big deal about the first novel, we're elevating it above all other forms.
• Because they understand the "magic" of the debut, very often publishers will ask an author to adopt a pseudonym and present the initial book under that name as a first book by a debut author. All smoke and mirrors.
• In new publishing landscape, an author's first book is much more likely to be self-published or published by a small/digital-first publisher. These don't get the same splash.

The reason I think this mythology of the Debut Year is damaging is that any author who doesn't get this particular brass ring ends up feeling less than. Because this is most authors - I want to say 95% or more - that makes a lot of people laboring under a false perception of being lesser.

For myself, my "First Book" was WYOMING TRUCKS, TRUE LOVE, AND THE WEATHER CHANNEL, an essay collection published by a university press back in 2004. A lot of those essays had been published in literary journals and magazines - including Redbook, my big score - so the collection wasn't even my first publication. 

After that...

[insert montage of time passing here]

...when I transitioned into fiction, my "first book" was a digitally published novella. My first novel-length work was published by Carina, an imprint of Harlequin, also a digital-first publisher.

My first print deal was with Kensington, for The Twelve Kingdoms trilogy. The first book, THE MARK OF THE TALA, was my 4th novel-length publication, my 2nd print book, my 13th fiction publication, and I have no idea what number it would be in overall number of creative works.

The first book in my first Big Five book deal, THE ORCHID THRONE, comes out next summer. It will be something like my 30th novel-length publication.

The point is, I never had a Debut Year.

Okay, yeah - maybe we could say it was 2004, when Wyoming Trucks came out. That's why I put that photo at the top, because that's at my signing and launch party, where I'm clearly bright-eyed, cheeks flushed with excitement.

It was a great night.

And good things came of that book.

But I was never the New Big Thing. I didn't get rich or famous. The only sparkle pony I have is a plastic one that an author friend gave me.

What's most important is that this is just fine! My career has grown slowly and steadily, which I will absolutely take over what some of my friends have gone through - a Debut Year that burns fast and hot, but ends in ashes and reinvention. Building a career through small presses and thoughtful self-publishing is a viable path - often a far better one - than shooting for the moon and the Big Book Deal. Even if you *do* get the Big Book Deal, that's no guarantee of the future.

So, the others of the SFF Seven might have more to offer on the actual topic. But when I consider going back to my Debut Year, I don't know when that was.

Even if I did know, and could go back - I wouldn't change a thing.

What's Stopping You?

DepositPhoto

Our topic this week is what do we say to people who tell us, “I’ve always wanted to write a book.” I think my fellow SFF7 bloggers have covered the subject pretty well. I tend to think to myself in these cases “Well, what’s stopping you?” but I try to be more tactful out loud and offer a bit of encouragement. Something along the lines of urging them to just stop thinking about it and dive in, even if they just write a few words every day. Those words do add up!

Of course I offer advice if the person seems serious (rather than them classifying their ever writing a novel along with their ever winning the lottery or someday climbing Mt. Everest). And if the person had actually written a book and wants specific tips, I’m happy to help because I received much help along the way. Pay it forward!

I’ve got twenty five books out at the moment with three more to come in the next two months and I wrote them one word at a time and I wrote them because I have to write the way I have to breathe, having written since the age of 7, so possibly I’m not the best person to wistfully inform “I’ve always wanted to write a book.”

Comments I’ve had made to me of a slightly different but related tenor include “Hey, I have a great idea for a book so why don’t you write it for me?!” Um, because I have all my own ideas, thanks, and utterly no interest in writing someone else’s story. I’m not a ghost writer or a nonfiction author.

Or this one:  “I have some great plot ideas for your next book!” Yeah, DON’T tell me.  It’s highly unlikely that anyone else’s ideas are going to fit with where I’m going on my own with my characters, my world building and my plots. Besides in this litigious world of today, I don’t want the slightest hint of “idea stealing”. In recent events in Romancelandia it’s been made abundantly clear that many naïve people have no idea how common certain ideas, tropes, words and plot twists, even character names are. I’ll just do my own thing over here in this corner and if you like the books, yay!

Additionally, when I release a book, I’m usually already knee deep in writing not the next book, but the book after that, so the person making suggestions has no idea of the events they haven’t seen yet, in whichever of my worlds I happen to be writing.

I don’t mind if readers want to discuss the books or the characters and say to me wistfully, “You really need to give so-and-so his own book.”  Or “I wish you’d write a sequel to Book XYZ.” Reader involvement and feedback is priceless. Golden.  BUT  I’m not looking for plot ideas. I have so many bursting in my head at all times, I’ll never get them all written in this lifetime. And truthfully, I’m not going to have the enthusiasm for someone else’s idea that I’ll have for one of my own. Not sure what fiction author would? That’s the point where I say, “Oh you should write a book!”

My next Sectors scifi romance novel is releasing this coming week, on the 9^th. It’s STAR CRUISE: MYSTERY DANCER, in the Pets In Space 3 anthology…

STAR CRUISE: MYSTERY DANCER blurb:  Tassia Megg is a woman on the run after the death of her elderly guardian. Her search to get off the planet in a hurry comes when chance directs her to an open dance audition for the luxury cruise liner Nebula Zephyr’s resident troupe. If there is one thing Tassia can do, it is dance!

Security Officer Liam Austin is suspicious of the newest performer to join the Comettes. She shows all the signs of being a woman on the run and seems to fit the Sectors-wide broadcast description of a missing thief, accused of stealing priceless artifacts. As he gets to know Tassia during the cruise, he starts to wonder if she’s something more – a long vanished princess in hiding from deadly political enemies of her family perhaps? And what’s the story with the three-eyed feline companion other crew members swear Tassia brought aboard the ship? Does the animal even exist?

As the ship approaches its next port of call, all the issues come to a boil and Liam must decide if he’ll step in to help Tassia or betray her. Life is about to get very interesting aboard the Nebula Zephyr as Liam tries to uncover the truth. Could F’rrh, the peculiar alien cat he has been hearing about, be the key to the mystery and Tassia’s fate?

Anthology Blurb:

Pets in Space™ is back! Join us as we unveil eleven original, never-before-published action-filled romances that will heat your blood and warm your heart! New York Times, USA Today and Award-winning authors S.E. Smith, Anna Hackett, Ruby Lionsdrake, Veronica Scott, Pauline Baird Jones, Carol Van Natta, Tiffany Roberts, Alexis Glynn Latner, E D Walker, JC Hay, and Kyndra Hatch combine their love for Science Fiction Romance and pets to bring readers sexy, action-packed romances while helping our favorite charity. Proud supporters of Hero-Dogs.org, Pets in Space™ authors have donated over $4,400 in the past two years to help place specially trained dogs with veterans. Open your hearts and grab your limited release copy of Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space™ 3 today!

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Decoding 'I've Always Wanted to Write a Book'

You've always wanted to write a book, you say. Crow will give you a few seconds of attention before he tips over asleep. It's a kitten thing.

Anyone who tells me they want to write a book is going to get encouraging noises from me. Always. I recognize there's a gap between wanting to do something and knowing how to do something. If it's the how-to someone lacks, I'll step up for that. Won't hold hands, necessarily, but pointers to writing groups and classes teaching writing - I'll absolutely lay that list on you.

And then I expect absolutely nothing is going to happen.

You know that 'I've always wanted to write a book' is code for the same thing as 'I should exercise', right? It's code for 'never going to happen.'

It's because in our heads, a sentence that starts 'I've always wanted . . .' or 'I should . . .' ends internally with 'but I won't.' It's a weird psychological thing but language matters and the 'always wanted' and 'should' statements are victim positions. When someone makes a 'should' statement, try immediately asking 'why don't you?' Watch the excuses flow. The person may even become irate and defensive. Until the language changes, the brain won't change, victimhood won't change, and that book sure as hell will never be written. (Nor will the exercise get done.)

The people who are eventually going to get a book written are the ones who confess in a shaking voice that they have this story knocking around inside their heads and they've set aside a half an hour every day to play around with it. They've taken ownership of their own longing and identified a small first step forward. Even if someone sidles up to ask what tiny first step they should take, I'm all enthusiastic because that's action-oriented, not an excuse to not take a tangible step in direction of a dream.

I don't mean this to sound harsh. Writing can be hard. You start with this grandiose mountain of an idea that you distill down to paper only to find out you've birthed a tiny, misshapen mouse. Some days the mouse is prettier than others, but almost never does it resemble the noble edifice towering in our imaginations. Writers have to learn to find joy somewhere in between the ideal in their heads and what ends up in the hands of readers. There are a lot of ego purges in writing. I suspect on some level the 99.5% of people who say they want to write a book but who are clearly never going to do so actually understand that they don't really want to *write* a book. They want to have written one. They want what they imagine follows from writing a book - notice, attention, adoration, money. Maybe a book tour that requires a passport.

But I know of almost no one who says 'I am SO looking forward to hours and hours of toil on something that may never see the light of day!'

That's why, if you're brave enough to decide  you no longer want to write a book, instead you ARE writing that book, feel free to ping me so I can cheer for you.

You Can Write The Book

So, here's the question put forth this week:  What do you want to tell someone who says 'I always wanted to write a book'?

My answer is always, YES DO IT.  DOOOOOOO ITTTTT.

DO IT.

Yeah, I'm not subtle about it.

And this is because I'm well aware that the world at large, not to mention those ugly voices that whisper in the night, is constantly sending a message that it can't be done.  That YOU cannot do it.  DON'T EVEN TRY.

I'm not about that.  I want you to do it.  I want you to try.  I want you to point to the damn bleachers and then swing as hard as you can so you'll crack that baby out of the park.

I've got an old friend from High School who recently got back in touch, and that's largely because he saw that I have a whole mess of books out there and he was all, "Well, damn, Marshall actually did it.  I always wanted to do it."  AND NOW HE IS.  He's pretty much got a completed draft and he's doing the research in the business end and asking the right questions and I COULD NOT BE PROUDER.

That's a big reason why I've made a point of working things like the ArmadilloCon Writers Workshop and the Writers League of Texas Conference.  Because I know that this "writing a book" thing is a brutal goddamn marathon and the least I can do is be there with water every few miles.

So you think you wanna do it?

DO IT.

Do the magic, write the book

I always wanted to write a book. Yet I didn't succeed in doing so until I was almost 40.

Which was totally coincidence and not at all biological. I mean, there's no verifiable link between crackly kneecaps, elongated nose hairs, and understanding of story structure. It's not like I woke up one day, realized my kids were no longer climbing the furniture and watching Dora the Explorer and thought, "Today is the day I will finally write a book, because oh look I finally have scads of time!"

Nope. I'd been writing diligently since childhood, and doing it every day and producing a certain number of words and which-hunting and search-and-destroying the verb "to be" wasn't making me a better storyteller.

Between the ages of 5 and 40, I wrote dozens of [terrible] short stories and possibly hundreds of [even terribler] beginnings of books that never got finished. All that practice was not completely useless. It did yield mad sentence-crafting skills. Eventually I could even produce a fairly decent scene. But when it came to putting together a coherent narrative longer than 10k words, I was worse than incompetent. I was clueless, just a gal consumed by want-to, staring at a wall of thou-shalt-never.

Two things helped me over that wall:

1. I joined my local chapter of Romance Writers of America and attended all their talks and workshops and read the craft books my chapter mates recommended.

2. I found a private ecosystem of critique partners, beta readers, and cheerleaders. 

The Austin RWA built out my resources, but my circle of CPs was the pixie dust. The magic. I have three critique partners, plus a handful of awesome beta readers who are almost CPish in that they know how to offer feedback that is both helpful and not soul-killing. We all write in different subgenres, sometimes in different genres entirely. We are all on a similar level of experience and commitment. We speak this weird story-structure nerd language. We respect each other and lean on each other and support each other. We do not compete. We build up.

At first all I could offer this community was the aforementioned mad sentence-making skills, but the more I learned the more comfortable I got with the process, both mine and theirs.

At this point, we have all completed novel-length books. Some of us have sold those books.

So if you were to come to me and say -- with some sincerity, mind, not just making idle chitchat -- that you've "always wanted to write a book," I would lead you to the head of this path:

1. Find your tribe.
2. Find your crit partners.
3. Read a shitload of craft books.
4. Forget the details of those craft books, but remember the essence of structure.
5. Find your process.
6. Do the magic.

And then I'd applaud like hell when you climbed the wall.

Release Day: THE WAY OF THE SHIELD by Marshall Ryan Maresca

Today, our Thursday co-conspirator Marshall releases the newest hero in the fantasy world of Maradaine! Welcome to the Maradaine Elite...

THE WAY OF THE SHIELD

The first novel in the Maradaine Elite series blends fast-paced high fantasy and political intrigue.

Dayne Heldrin always dreamed of being a member of the Tarian Order. In centuries past, the Elite Orders of Druthal were warriors that stood for order, justice, and the common people. But now, with constables, King's Marshals, and a standing army, there is little need for such organizations, and the Tarian Order is one of the last remnants of this ancient legacy. Nevertheless, Dayne trained his body and mind, learned the arts of defense and fighting, to become a candidate for the Tarian Order.

When a failed rescue puts Dayne at fault for injuring the child of a powerful family, his future with the Tarians is in jeopardy. The Parliament controls the purse strings for the Order, and Dayne has angered the wrong members of Parliament. He returns to the capital city of Maradaine in shame, ready to be cast out of the Order when the period of his candidacy ends.

Dayne finds Maradaine in turmoil, as revolutions and dark conspiracies brew around him, threatening members of Parliament and common people alike. Dayne is drawn into the uproar, desperate not to have one more death or injury on his conscience, but the Order wants him to stay out of the situation. The city threatens to tear itself apart, and Dayne must decide between his own future and his vow to always stand between the helpless and harm.

BUY IT NOW: Amazon | B&N | BAM! | Indiebound

READ AN EXCERPT

WELL, DON'T LET ME STOP YOU....

You want to write a novel?

Whats stopping you?

It isn't me.

Even if I wanted to stop you, I wouldn't. I kind of get a kick out of reading, you see. Heck, some of my best friends re writers. actually Most of my friends are writers. There are exception of course, but not as many as you might think.

Listen, it's just this simple. if you want it, DO IT.

Here's a line I've used many, many times: You want to be a writer? Sit your butt in the chair and start writing. You might think that's too much effort, but if it is, you don;t want to be a writer.

Here's my standard justification for that comment: I spent 12 years going to seventeen different schools in five different States. MOST of those schools were in the first eight years of schooling, and I promise you I did remarkably little studying. I was far to busy having nervous breakdowns and avoiding getting my butt handed to me. See, I was the short, fat, nerdy new kid with glasses and there's always a bully/jackass who is looking for fresh meat to terrorize.

So when it came to deciding to be a writer, I had to teach myself grammar. I had a bit f help, but not as much as I could have used.

Since then I've written over 45 novels, and probably a good 100 short stories, plus roleplaying game supplements that equal at least another 30 novels in total word count, oh, and a handful of comics. So what the hell is stopping YOU? I can do it, you can do it. You just have to want it bad enough to sit your butt in the chair and start writing.

Listen, a thousand words a day and you've got the first draft of a novel in three months. Give up an hour of TV, Stay off social media for an your. You got this if you want it.

Because again, I'm not going to stop you.  Your biggest obstacle is you and the excuses you find for not doing the work.

One hour a day.

Do it.