by Scott W Clemens | Mar 20, 2017 | Author's Blog
“But it’s all right now, I learned my lesson well. You see, ya can’t please everyone, so ya got to please yourself” — Garden Party, Rick Nelson
One of the things you learn early on in the fiction game is that you need to lose your ego, because it’s going to be tromped on. You have to learn to take criticism with equanimity, because you’re going to take a lot of abuse. Sometimes the criticism is constructive. In fact, I cut more than 10,000 words from WITH ARTISTIC LICENSE after beta readers all complained about the same thing (belaboring the protagonist’s daily grind at the office). Sometimes a story takes you in a direction the reader doesn’t want to go. TIME MANAGEMENT, A NOVEL, got rave reviews from most readers, but a few objected to the story taking a left turn (essentially changing genres) at the one quarter mark. It was planned, and most readers found that the most compelling aspect of the book. But it wasn’t for everyone. Similarly, I’ve had some wildly enthusiastic and flattering 5-star reviews for EVELYN MARSH. It also received a 1-star review that read as follows: “Offensive. Didn’t make it to chapter five. Used God’s name as a curse word. Returned.” Yes, indeed, one of my characters muttered a goddamn. It’s good she didn’t get beyond chapter five, because there are a couple of fucks in there too, not too mention some sexual content I’m sure she would have found offensive. C’est la vie. I’m not disturbed by her taking offense; I’m amused. But I did click on her name beside the review to see what else she’d reviewed. It turns out she mostly reads books on Christian scripture, which begs the question as to why she would choose a psychological suspense novel for reading material. The point is, no matter what you write, you can’t please everyone. Another reader strongly objected to the trope of the hunky pool boy, and another to Evelyn’s upper middle class lifestyle (“Who cares about rich people?”). Evelyn is who she is. Take her or leave her.
I can only write what is presented to me by the muse, or my subconscious, or the creative ether — whatever it is that sparks the imagination. It’s why I haven’t repeated a genre yet. I can’t please everyone, so I have to please myself. Nonetheless, I’m not here to break new ground, to expand the form, or break the rules. I’ll leave that to someone else. Because to me the purpose of literature is to communicate and entertain. If your prose is formless, or you try writing without punctuation, or write stream-of-consciousness novels with no story behind them, there’s a slim chance of holding a reader’s interest to the last page. There are rare exceptions, and they’re notable for it. In the old days (pre 2010 or so) that manuscript would have been rejected and end up in the bottom drawer of the writer’s desk, where it would languish until the writer’s heirs threw it in the dustbin. Today any writer, talented or not, can self-publish a novel and put it up on Amazon. There is no agent, or editor, publishing house, or literary critic to prevent it. The gatekeepers have all left the building. The final arbiter of a work’s worth is you the reader. If I write a decent book, I’ll have a chance at finding readers. If I disappoint them, I’ll lose readers. Simple as that. The publishing world has become very democratic.
by Scott W Clemens | Mar 20, 2017 | Author's Blog
In celebration of their second anniversary, Kindle Press is putting all Kindle Scout winning books on sale for 99c through April 3rd, 2017 (you can find them all at KindleScout.amazon.com). Evelyn Marsh has only been out a week. It normally sells for a modest $2.99. I’m anxious to see how the 99c sale price will affect the number of books sold. And I want to sell lots of books. Like anyone else, I’d like to be remunerated for the many months or years it takes to write a novel and bring it to market. But more importantly, a sale means a reader. It’s also a validation that what you’ve written is entertaining enough to attract readers. I have no use for esoteric books that sit unread on the shelf. I have no interest in being remembered a hundred years from now for experimental prose that no one will read today. I’m writing to connect with readers during my lifetime. Finding readers is no easy task. You’d think with the millions of English speaking readers in the world, it would be easy enough to attract the attention and loyalty of a few thousand. It turns out it isn’t easy at all. It takes craft and art to write the story. It also takes marketing and promotional skills that take time time and effort away from writing.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of self-published writers today are only too happy to give away their work to attract the attention of readers. My own feeling about this is that the only time it makes sense to give away a book, is if it’s the first in a series, which gets the reader hooked and ready to buy and read more. Otherwise it’s disrespectful and a disservice to the writer. Ebooks are so cheap that a 350 page novel sells for about a penny a page, or less. I don’t know of any other product or art form that is valued so cheaply.
by Scott W Clemens | Mar 18, 2017 | Author's Blog
Evelyn Marsh launched this week. In preparation for Kindle Press’s 2nd anniversary sale, they’ve revamped my cover. The old cover, on the left, had a noir feel to it, due to the old house, font etc., but it didn’t tell the reader much about the content. The new cover has a more modern feel, though still in the noir tradition, and the house, the pool and the stiletto heels don’t reflect the descriptions in the book, but it does clue the reader into the genre, and Kindle Press feels the new cover will spur sales. Your comments?
by Scott W Clemens | Nov 28, 2016 | Author's Blog
Evelyn Marsh is a Kindle Scout winner! As a Kindle Scout selection, Kindle Press has acquired the ebook and audible rights and will promote the book on Amazon.com. It’s currently undergoing editorial review and should be available around March, 2017.
by Scott W Clemens | Oct 27, 2016 | Author's Blog
In June I wrote a blog entry regarding Evelyn Marsh.Let me tell you a little about Evelyn. The concept arose a couple of years ago when my wife and I were vacationing in Santa Barbara. I was getting toward the end of writing Time Management: a novel. I said I’d kind of like to write a mystery, but I’ve neither been a policeman nor a private detective. I’d have to take a different tack. Furthermore, I wanted to show how thin the veneer of civilization is when your loved ones are threatened. What would turn a mild-mannered woman of privileged means into a cold-blooded murderer? I suspect we all have the capacity to commit murder, given the right circumstances.
I put the idea of Evelyn on the back burner as I finished and worked on marketing Time Management. With Artistic License, and Time Management, each took more than three years to write (many more, if you count false starts), and were both around 130,000 words (370 – 400 pages, depending on the font, etc.). That’s a long time to live with the same characters and story. I thought it would be a fun exercise to attempt a novella instead, to see if I was capable of writing at a faster pace. I planned to write 51,000 words, which, at 300 words per page, works out to 170 pages. I began planning on February 1st, 2016, started writing on April 1st, and was finished on September 1st. It came in at 51,161 words, right on target. So as an exercise it was entirely successful.
It’s probably not a good business model to write in different genres, because your readers may not follow where you choose to lead. With Artistic License is my take on a Romantic Comedy, which may or may not appeal to fans of Time Management, a time travel fantasy. Evelyn Marsh is, I suppose, a psychological thriller. A blurb for Evelyn Marsh might read something like this: “Everyone agreed Evelyn wouldn’t hurt a fly, but they didn’t count on a mother’s ferocity, nor the fury of a woman scorned.”
Written in the spirit of Patricia Highsmith (Strangers on a Train; The Talented Mr. Ripley), Evelyn Marsh begins with the provocative statement that “Evelyn’s first murder was an accident.” It’s only a mystery in the sense that the rest of the book exists to explain the implication embedded in the first line. It’s a why-done-it and how-done-it, instead of a who-done-it. I don’t know if it will appeal to fans of With Artistic License, or Time Management, but Evelyn demanded I write her story, and I couldn’t very well refuse.
I really enjoyed my time with her. I had an outline to point me in the general direction, but most days Evelyn presented a nice surprise I hadn’t counted on. I feel privileged to be allowed to tell her story. I hope you enjoy your time with her as well.
I decided to submit Evelyn Marsh to the Kindle Scout program (www.kindlescout.com), where authors have ONE MONTH to present excerpts of unpublished works, and readers vote on which books they’d like to see published. The advantage of the program for authors is that books that are selected receive promotion on Amazon.com, which means thousands of readers. My campaign runs through October 17th. I hope you’ll pay it a visit and register your vote. In any case, whether selected by Kindle Scout or not, the ebook version of Evelyn Marsh should be published around December 1st.
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