What would it be like?

Hello all, and welcome to another installment of Ulises Babbles On and On ^_^;

So what’s been going on? A few things. I already started editing Inventing Vazquez, and am very excited about where it’s going. I don’t know how long it will take me to edit all 850 pages of it @_@, but I’m hoping I can move quickly and get to a second draft by April. I think that’s feasible.

Part of my urgency now is because I’ve begun to think that I will try and find an agent for Inventing Vazquez. After hearing some disturbing news about small-press distributors, I’ve started to weigh all my options. Self-publishing fiction is always a risk; that goes without saying. But when you throw in something as uncertain as the future of small-press distribution into the mix, it increases that risk. And there’s no denying that Solstice wouldn’t have had its success without the support of Biblio Distribution. They’re the ones who got it into bookstores, after all.

Besides, when I start to think of all that we’ve achieved with Solstice, I sometimes wonder what I could have achieved with the support of an agent, a publisher, and a real marketing budget. Consider the numbers. I wrote, printed, distributed, marketed, and promoted Solstice with an impossibly small budget (roughly $6000 less than the standard budget for self-publishing a book). I had to learn and do a lot of things myself (like typesetting, graphic design, and accounting) in order to save costs. Yet despite it all, we’ve sold more than 1,400 copies in less than four months. That’s about 50% of our total print run thus far. We’ve gotten five reviews (and a possible sixth one coming soon on horrorwatch.com), including in premier publications like Library Journal, and all of them have been positive. We’ve turned a profit, and according to the industry numbers, 95% of self-published books fail to do so. Even with a microscopic budget and a lot of improvisation, Solstice bucked the odds and became a small-time hit in its own right (well, it’s a hit in my own mind, but that’s probably because my only real goal was giving it to my family, not making money).

When I consider what I achieved with Solstice, I wonder what I could have achieved if I’d had a real budget to work with. If, say, I had some money to actually buy some promotional space (I’ve targeted some web sites for advertising, but right now I simply don’t have the cash), or the contacts to spread the word, who knows what Solstice could have become. Given the success it had on such a small scale, I wonder what it would have done on a larger scale.

I think this is one of the reasons why I’m considering going with an agent for Inventing Vazquez, or at least try to (you’ve heard the horror stories about finding an agent, I’m sure). I’m nervous about the distribution aspect, for sure. But I’m confident the new novel is better, and will have a much broader appeal for readers (my two test readers are already saying so, and that the book is really funny), and so I think there’s a chance it can perform well in the literary marketplace. So maybe it’s in my best interest to at least try and land a reputable agent, and see how things work.

Of course, how do you market a doofus that writes an apocalyptic novel about the end of the world, and then a comedic satire about a mousy film consultant? ^_^; Oh well…

I’m not adverse, though, to self-publishing Inventing Vazquez too. The fact is, I love the creative control that comes with self-publishing (in fact, we already have a crazy idea for a catchy book cover). I think that’s the single-best aspect of self-publishing; you call your own shots. As long as you’re willing to take the risks, temper your expectations, and do a LOT of work, I think self-publishing is an amazing challenge, and an even better experience.

Speaking of happy novels about the end of the world, my girlfriend and I were doing some brainstorming about The Mourning Syndrome on Sunday, and once we were done, I felt completely energized and excited about writing the novel. I think I was stalling because I was trying to be too clever, and maybe outsmarting myself in the process (not a hard thing to do -_-). But once I simplified things (e.g., a single narration instead of two narrations from different characters), and once we talked about the other main character, things started to open up. I now have a very solid and promising direction for the book, and some chilling possibilities for the main character’s initial antagonist. So I’m going to try and keep working on The Mourning Syndrome alongside Inventing Vazquez’ editing. We’ll see how that works.

Oh, and because I need more to do with my life, I’m trying to get a band together ^__^; Not an easy thing to form an indie rock band with Japanese rock influence here in Michigan, let me tell ya…

Anything is possible

Happy New Year, everyone. A few days late, but wishing it all the same. Hope everyone had a painless transition into 08.

Things have been both busy and quiet here. Next week I pick up Inventing Vazquez again, which is good because I’ve stalled on The Mourning Syndrome. I’m actually giving thought to going with another project, but then, I really do like the idea of MS, so maybe I just need to find the right inspiration.

In the meantime, I’ve got a bit of cool news. We got another review, this time from Midwest Book Review! That’s five reviews (all positive) for a book that was not supposed to get any. Wow. Anyway, I thought I’d recap and post the five blurbs Solstice has received (beginning with the newest one ^^):

“A riveting, original saga.” – Midwest Book Review

“Latino author Silva brings a fresh new voice to the genre in this debut featuring a Latino-Asian hero and expanding the demographic appeal of sf. A good selection for most sf collections.” – Library Journal

“Silva spends much of his time investing in characterisation, bringing the players to life in front of the reader’s eyes…a very impressive launch for an exciting new author.” – SciFiNow Magazine

“This debut speculative fiction/horror novel is reminiscent of The Matrix and John Twelve Hawks’ The Traveler (2005).” – Booklist Reviews

"A clever spin and a birthing of a universe equal to Dick's replicants and humans in Blade Runner, or Marv Wolfman's skinwalkers and vampires in Blade…While Dick's influence is clear, Silva's terrain is a unique one, his style noirish, his female characters strong and tender, ruthless and unstoppable." – Lisa Alvarado, La Bloga

Oh, and Lisa Alvarado over at La Bloga was kind enough to interview me ^^; You can read our conversation here. In it, I also talk a little about Inventing Vazquez, so think of it as a sneak peak ^^;;

On top of that, the book is definitely getting some attention out there. In fact, the president of the company I work at (yes, the President and CEO ^^;) posted a blurb about Solstice on the company Intranet, where he describes it as a terrific book ^^; Angry Asian Man posted a blurb about it on his site (thank you!). And I'm starting to see the book being mentioned on forums and in blogs (including this one here ^^;;; Thank you, Roni!). Total craziness, I tells ya...

I guess it goes to show that anything is possible. That, no matter what people say (e.g., “self-published books are never reviewed, self-publishing is a big mistake, you suck”), you can accomplish anything if you set out to do it right. I mean, who would have guessed it that even a premier sci-fi magazine in the UK would feature Solstice in its book reviews? Or that the Library Journal would review it? Always aim high, I guess. And always take your best shot.

So what else is going on? Well, I’ve got a crazy new idea, one that’s actually been on the drawing boards for years. My brother and I are big Anime fans, and both of us dabble in Anime artwork (him more than me). And for the longest time, we’ve had it in mind to do some kind of manga or webcomic. The other day, it hit me: why not just do it? He’s got the talent and the means now to produce quality artwork relatively quickly. I’ve got the story ideas and writing. So we’re going to consider doing a joint project: a webcomic or *gasp* an actual manga (i.e., a published book). Art is something he loves and is GREAT at (take a look at his latest opus, which I ADORE). And assuming we can find a way to split up the workload and still create something that looks consistent, then why not? Hopefully we can pull it off. In fact, there’s an outside chance we’ll actually do a manga based off Inventing Vazquez! He’s the one who suggested it, and I’m still trying to figure out that angle. But it’d be awesome…

Anyway, that’s the New Year babble. I’ll shut up now.