The power of writing

The books are scheduled to arrive in a couple of weeks, and everything, so far, seems to be going as planned. I’m halfway through compiling the final review mailing list. And, best of all, I’ve got a couple of folks from Quiet Earth who have agreed to review the book! Considering how stacked the odds are against me that Solstice will be reviewed (the industry is very biased against self-published works), it’s great to know that at least two people will review the book! ^_^

With mid-July almost here, I’m getting really excited about launching the official marketing campaign for Solstice. In fact, last night, I completed a new trailer for it. It’s a shorter teaser trailer emphasizing the Scribe aspect of the novel (i.e., that, in this story, people called Scribes can make anything they write come true). The main trailer, which is now 100% ready to go, focuses on the apocalyptic aspect of the story. I’m planning a third trailer, another teaser, that focuses on Io, the main character. For this one, my brother is lending his vast creative talents. He’s going to (hopefully) render some images of Io that I can then put into a trailer, so I’m really excited about that. Hopefully, the three trailers, put together, will provide a real sense of what the story is all about, and pique the interest of those who see them.

The question now is, do I launch the first teaser trailer on YouTube and my web site, or do I wait a bit more? Decisions, decisions ^^;;

One decision is made, though! I’ve decided that, even though the books will be officially available in bookstores, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com in October and November, I’m going to launch an “early bird” sale on September 15 (the day of Mexican independence, no less). People who want to get the book immediately can buy it direct from my web site. By then, the Tragical Mirth Publishing site will be fully enabled to process credit card and Paypal transactions on a secure server, so I’m hoping the early bird sale will drive enough people to buy it from me directly.

Some stressful times are coming, no doubt, but at least I’ve rid myself of one source of stress ^_^ I quit the band I was in. A bad combination of financial disagreements, alcohol issues, egos, and the prevailing homophobic/semi-racist attitudes among the senior band members made me realize that I was better off moving on. When something as fun as playing music stops being fun because of the people you’re with, you know you’ve reached your end. So at least I don’t have to worry about that anymore ^_^

Which is good, because I’m really getting into my new novel. I completed Chapter 7 two days ago and am at around page 91. What’s weird about it is that it’s a complete departure from Solstice. If I build any kind of fan base with my first novel, I wonder if I won’t shock (or disappoint) them once the next one comes out. Whereas Solstice is a dark, apocalyptic drama, the next novel is a comedic satire. Whereas the heroine for Solstice is this tough, kickass woman named Io, the heroine for the new one is this mousy, timid woman named Liliana who’s hopelessly clumsy and can barely utter a single sentence without stammering and stumbling! ^_^

Still, it’s a novel that deals with something that I feel is very important: namely, Hollywood’s portrayal of people of color. As a Mexican-American, I’ve always been kind of disappointed at how Hollywood chooses to portray not only Latinos, but essentially any person of color. For the most part, we’re either invisible, or we’re stock characters, or we’re comic relief, or we’re criminals, or we’re token characters. The new novel is my way of addressing this. And although it’s meant to be funny, its deeply satirical tone argues that the situation itself is hardly funny.

I guess that’s the one thing I love about writing. When you write, you can write anything you want. I remember when I first started writing “seriously” (i.e., novel-length stuff). Okay, so maybe it wasn’t that serious! After all, my “first novel” was actually a 500-page Anime fanfic (based off the Slayers series) called Nightmares in the Apocalypse (sheesh, am I obsessed with apocalyptic stuff or what? ^^). But even then, I saw writing as a way of telling the stories that I wanted to hear. Of telling the stories no one else was telling. It was then that I truly realized what a wonderful, and powerful, thing writing was. As a writer, you have complete control over the storytelling process.

And when you control the storytelling process, you control everything. You know how it’s like when you’re reading a book, or watching a movie? And something happens, and you wish it hadn’t, or you wish it had been different, or you wish the ending had been better, or you wish the dialogue had been sharper, or you wish the characters had been more likable (or less likeable, depending on your mood)? Well, when you write, it’s all up to you. You decide where the story goes, what the twists are, what the characters will say, and you alone determine the ending. And, well, you decide who the characters are. And that, to me, was one of the most alluring things about writing from the moment I started writing that silly fanfic all those years ago.

I mean, in Solstice, all my main characters are people of color. Io, the main protagonist, is Mexican-Japanese. Her partner, Yuniko, is Japanese. Io’s boss, Anika, is African-American. The other two main characters, Jai Lin and Viala, are Lao. A couple of people asked me why I made, say, Io Mexican-Japanese. My answer: why not? ^_^ Besides, I’m Mexican-American, so of course I wanted a character that reflected and upheld my ethnic background. But I also deeply admire the histories, cultures, and languages of Asia, and I wanted to reflect that as well. When you’re the storyteller, and when you control the narrative, you can make the story, and its characters, reflect the things that are most important to you.

And, frankly, I don’t think there are enough heroes/heroines of color out there in mainstream media, especially films. I don’t see a lot of heroes/heroines out there that make me think, “Oh wow, now THAT’S a strong Latino/a!” Solstice was my opportunity to introduce a few at least. And I’m hoping my next novel continues to do so (Liliana, after all, is also Mexican-American ^_^).

Because, really, I don’t have enough things to do…

Heard back from my printer. The books are scheduled to ship out in late July, so that’s when I start jumping up and down and exclaiming excitable things in English, Spanish, and possibly Japanese just for the hell of it. That means I have that much time to assemble my final review mailing list, create a bunch of packets, stuff them in envelopes, and have them all ready. That way, when the books arrive, my girlfriend and I slip a book into each envelope, seal it up, and *whoosh* send them out, in the process compiling the largest postage bill of my life ^_^

Things seem to be moving along with Biblio. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve sent them all the necessary forms and application materials. So I guess it’s pretty much official now that they will be handling the distribution for Solstice.

Of course, while it’ll be cool to have my book available at major bookstores, I’m really hoping people buy the book direct from me (hey, you get an autographed copy that way! ^^; It’ll be worth millions…never! ^^;;;). And, I’m going to give folks an incentive to do so. What will it be? Hmmm, you’ll have to wait to find out…

One change to my plans, though: I think I’ll be pushing the start of the main marketing campaign until late July or even August. Since I won’t be able to get review packets out until July 23 or so anyway, it makes sense to hold off on posting the trailer, and creating the rest of my characters’ MySpace pages, until later. (Did I say “rest of”? Why yes I did! My main character, Io, already has one. Want to look her up?) Does that mean I won’t post up at least a “teaser” book trailer on my web site soon? Hmmm…

Speaking of which, I’m discussing revamping the Solstice site with my webmistress ^^; In anticipation of the start of the marketing blitz, I want to make it more robust, give visitors more to check out. That should be fun.

And, seriously, because I have SO LITTLE TO DO, I figured, I should add more things to my list of tasks. Like possibly starting a small freelance art-and-music-video-for-weddings business. After doing the Solstice book trailer, I made a couple of music videos for my friend, Dan. A couple of people, after seeing them, suggested I try and start a side business doing that for wedding parties. So, before Sunday, I’ll have to put up a quick “Portfolio” page on my main TMP site.

Wow, this was a long, babble-filled entry, wasn’t it? ^^; I imagine, as the big day (October 1…maybe…hint hint) approaches, I’ll have even more to babble about. Much to your chagrin.

Oh, and a special HELLO to Tsubashi-san, who has the distinction of being the first person to leave a comment! Arigato gozaimashita!!! And thank you very much for your kind words about Solstice ^_^

We’ve got distribution!

So things are really starting to pick up speed around here. With the books already in print and scheduled to be delivered to me in July, and as the marketing campaign is almost ready for its official launch, I received some encouraging news on Tuesday. Turns out Biblio Distribution has agreed to distribute Solstice ^_^

While there are many pros and cons with using a distributor (one of the main cons being the percentage they take, which is higher than what bookstores and wholesalers will take), there’s no denying one simple fact. How else am I going to get a bookstore in, say, San Francisco to purchase a few copies of Solstice? Like Dan Poynter says, let a distributor handle the big chain bookstores, so you can focus more on niche markets and independent sales. It’s like outsourcing a big, and messy, part of your fulfillment process.

So I’m pretty excited to now have a distributor who’ll help me get the book into actual bookstores (although I still hope most people will buy it directly from my web site, hint hint! ^^). To me, it feels like Solstice is now a completely legitimate endeavor with some strong backing (first Acid Mothers Temple agreeing to let me use their song, now a national distributor that works with all the big names in the bookstore and wholesale industries). My girlfriend and friends have argued that Solstice was always a legitimate project, but at least it’s starting to feel that way for me.

Of course, I still have to do my part to promote the book. Having a distributor will be nice, but unless I promote Solstice, they’re not going to get any orders from bookstores. The trailer, I hope, will be key in doing this. So far, everyone who’s seen a sneak peek of it has said it is awesome, and creepy! I can hardly wait to officially launch it. I figure its launch will be a good indicator of potential interest in the book. Because it’s one thing to have friends and significant others say good things about your work. It’s a completely different thing to have perfect strangers say them ^^;

As if I don’t have enough to do, I’m also plodding away with my next novel. Already starting Chapter 5, and having a ton of fun writing it. See, unlike Solstice (a happy, apocalyptic tale ^^), the new novel is a comedic satire. I guess it’s a much welcome, and needed, distraction from the rigors of managing a self-publishing venture.

Going to work with my webmaster (or is it, webmistress? ^^) on updating my web site. In anticipation of the marketing campaign, I want to bolster my main site, make it more robust, add in an “author page,” things like that. I also need to connect with my fellow Latino/a authors, because so far I’ve been very insular about all this, and there’s a large network of Latino/a authors out there that I need to start connecting with.

This is, in many ways, all very odd for me. See, I’ve always been a fairly low-key, humble person. I’ve never been one to do shameless self-promotion, but in this business, it really seems that you have no choice but to be shamelessly self-promoting. Maybe even have a bit of an ego. While I’d rather not develop the ego, I guess I have to quickly learn how to promote myself and my work. Oh well.

Moving along

It’s been a while since I updated this thing. With the official start of the marketing blitz for Solstice only two weeks away, things are definitely picking up.

For starters, the book trailer is done. And, thanks to some nice voice recordings provided by some supportive friends, the end result is something that has been called “gripping,” “intense,” “intriguing,” and “professional.” I used a lot of different kinds of stock photography from istockphoto.com and similar sites to pull off the visual narrative. And I used some sound editing software to create some very creepy sound effects. In any event, I’ll be posting that trailer on this blog, on my site, and on YouTube on July 1, so hopefully it’ll have the reaction I’m hoping for (“Wow, your book sounds great!” vs. “Uh-huh, and you printed how many of these things?”).

Second, I’m now in the proofing stages with my printer, Edwards Brothers. Yesterday I sent them the okay on the actual text part, and tomorrow I’ll be going to Ann Arbor to finalize the details on the cover. Turns out the proof of the cover was a little too red for my artist’s tastes. She recommended I show them the original painting so that the printers get a better sense of the color matching. So after tomorrow, I can officially, 100% say that the book is in print.

Third, since the book will be ready within six weeks, I have to start prepping the next round of review packets. Who knows if any of the ones I sent with the bound galleys will be reviewed, but hopefully some of my target publications will be intrigued by the book and the materials I’ve enclosed in these packets.

Regardless, it’s a real thrill to know that, sometime in July, I’ll have my first novel in my hands.

Now I just need to figure out where I’m going to fit all of them ^__^;

The Marketing Campaign is Launched!

So things are starting to move along quickly now. On Wednesday, I received the bound galleys for Solstice, and this morning, they went out to the first batch of prepublication reviewers and two distributors. I guess this is the official start of the novel’s marketing campaign! ^_^

When it comes to having your work reviewed, the odds are stacked against self-publishers, especially self-publishers of fiction (or worse, apocalyptic fiction ^^) like yours truly. But I think that, with the right presentation, anyone can have a fair shot. Dan Poynter, the self-publishing guru, will be the first to tell you that presenting yourself as a legitimate publisher is critical to any self-publishing venture. What I’ve found through my own experience is that there are lots of little ways you can achieve this. And it doesn’t involve spending loads of money on hiring publicists, marketing specialists, or specialty services. It can start with something as simple as a clean, consistent look for all your marketing pieces.

I guess it’s helped me a lot that I work in a marketing department for a Fortune 500 company, in a Creative Services department to be exact ^_^; Where I work, there’s a big emphasis on image standards, so that every piece of marketing collateral produced by the company has a standard, consistent look and verbiage style. This helps to create brand recognition, so that anyone who sees one of our pieces can say, “Oh, this is a [company name] piece.” Even fonts need to be consistent across all pieces. So this helped me create a set of Tragical Mirth Publishing marketing pieces that, like my employer, has a common, consistent look. And this, in turn, has given all my pieces a more professional appearance.

The review packets themselves were in exercise in careful, strategic positioning ^_^ (don’t I sound all knowledgeable and stuff? Yeah right…). The first step was to buy good, black, laminated folders with a business card slot. On the cover of each, I placed a full-color label featuring the novel’s cover art, a teaser tagline, and vital information (ISBN, publishing house, etc). The hope is that it will intrigue them enough to actually want to open up the folder (which, in this industry, is never a sure thing)! In the inner left pocket, I put in a press release, a fact sheet (that again featured the cover art), and an “about the author” flier. In the inner right pocket went the cover letter and a full-color flier detailing the novel, its plot, and its pertinent information. As I mentioned before, every item had a consistent look and feel, with Melior being my font of choice, and blue/green being the company’s colors. So the reviewers aren’t getting a hodgepodge of randomly created fliers and things. They’re getting an information packet that’s reiterating key points, speaking in a consistent tone, and presenting a series of key images (the cover art and the company logo) repeatedly and consistently so as to create that elusive brand recognition.

This is just one thing I hope will present Tragical Mirth Publishing as a legitimate venture, and not just a one-time, vanity-press author trying to make a quick buck. Writing is my passion, and being an author is my ultimate career dream. So I wanted to make sure that passion translated into top-line professionalism when it came to designing this first marketing campaign. Because if a reviewer can appreciate your professionalism, then maybe he or she will be that much more inclined to review your book. So hopefully it’ll work. And if not, well, I blame the Melior font! ^^; And my friend Pam.

The novel’s first big break!

Something funny happened yesterday on my way to my e-mail inbox. I got a response from someone I didn’t at all expect one from! And the result is a big break for Solstice.

A few weeks ago, my friends James and Dan took me to see Acid Mothers Temple at the Magic Stick here in good ol’ Detroit. It was at this show that I first heard their song, “Pink Lady Lemonade.” As I listened to it, I thought to myself, “This song would be PERFECT for the Solstice book trailer soundtrack!” (Yes, I’m developing a book trailer for Solstice, to be released in July.) So, after the show, I asked my friends what they’d think about me asking the band for permission to use their song for the trailer. They told me to give it a shot, that I had nothing to lose. So I did. I left Acid Mothers Temple a message on their web site’s message board (the only way I could find to get a message to them), asking for permission to use “Pink Lady Lemonade.”

So after pretty much assuming that 1) they wouldn’t respond, and 2) even if they did, they’d say no, it was a major shock when I saw an e-mail in my inbox yesterday from none other than Kawabata Makoto, the band’s awesome guitarist.

In a simple message, he said that it was okay for me to use the song for the book trailer, and that I should send him a link to the video once it was completed.

My first instinct was to e-mail my friends James and Dan with the subject line, “HOLY FRICKIN CRAP!” ^^;

I consider this a pretty huge deal. Not only do I now have permission to use a song I think is perfect for the Solstice trailer, but having the support of a band as well-known as Acid Mothers Temple certainly lends the project a new level of legitimacy. At least, that’s how I feel.

Everything else seems to be moving along well too. The novel’s bound galleys are complete, and I’ll be shipping them off to prepublication reviewers tomorrow morning. I’ve already printed out the necessary marketing collateral (e.g., fliers, postcards), and am a week away from sending the files to the printer to begin the official printing of the final product.

I’m really excited about my other project too. Even though I’m juggling everything else, I’m still trying to find time to work on my next novel. This last weekend, after returning to my main place of inspiration—the local coffeehouse—I churned out almost two chapters, just like that. Needless to say, I’m going to start hitting the coffeehouses again. Considering 70% of Solstice was written in a bunch of coffeehouses, I’d say it’s fairly conclusive that those are my best places to write ^__^

Okay, gonna shut up now. I talk too much. ^^; But check back soon, because the moment I start working on the trailer in earnest, you know I’ll be here, blabbing on and on about how it’s going!

So I'm blogging now...

Several years after everyone's started a blog, here I am. Blogging. Yay ^_^;

Well, I've heard from numerous sources that starting a blog is a great thing to do when you're self-publishing. Which, it just so happens, is what I'm doing. So, let the shameless self-promotion begin!

Anyway, I'm a writer, and I'm self-publishing a novel, Solstice, that's scheduled for an October 2007 release. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk about this crazy, but wonderfully fulfilling, process that's called "self-publishing."

Solstice
First off, if you want to know more about the actual novel, you can visit my web site at www.verytragicalmirth.com. It’s primarily apocalyptic fiction, a speculative fiction (i.e., involving science fiction and fantasy elements) book about people called Scribes who have the power to make anything they write come true. The story centers on one Scribe, Nadie, who decides to use her powers to punish humanity for its crimes. It’s a thriller incorporating elements of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. The first three chapters are available for download.

Why Self-publishing?
What made me go the self-publishing route, even knowing it's a labor-intensive, and reasonably expensive, process? There were actually a few reasons:

One: I’m too much of a control freak. Like anyone who’s written a novel, I’m very attached to my work. The thought of having someone else tell me to change the title, change the names, and change the characters’ ethnicities (my main protagonist, for example, is a Mexican-Japanese woman named Io) didn’t appeal to me. I also heard major publishers don’t really let their authors (especially first-timers like me) provide feedback and/or suggestions for the cover art, and I had some definite ideas on what I wanted the cover to be. So self-publishing seemed like an ideal solution to appease my control-freakish ways.

Two: I tried doing the agent thing in 2006, but after about 15 mailings, all I had to show for my efforts were a stack of form letters that told me nothing about why my novel wasn’t their thing. And it’s not like I even sent unsolicited manuscripts. I followed all the rules, including looking up each agent and sending them only what they asked for (e.g., query letters, first three chapters). So it got kind of disheartening that, despite all the effort that goes into crafting individualized letters, packages, and sending it all off, the most you could hope to get was a photocopied piece of torn-off paper telling you they have no interest in your project. Had I gotten any kind of actual feedback (e.g., “your novel is no good to us because, well, your story actually sucks!”), at least I could have worked on improving my weak points. But how can you improve when no one tells you anything about what you need to improve?

So I came to a decision: if I’m going to invest that much time, and money, into securing an agent, I may as well redirect my efforts towards self-publishing. I’m happy with my decision, no matter how it turns out in October. My book will be done, and I don’t have to spend all these months waiting around for agent replies that might never even come.

Three: My parents. You see, I used to be a grad student at the University of Michigan. But after five frustrating years of feeling significantly dumber than everyone around me, I came to a long-belated conclusion: academia and I didn’t mix. So I ended my graduate career without attaining that Ph.D. my parents really wanted me to get. I left grad school because I knew I wanted to be a writer of fiction. So, in a way, my novel is my dissertation, my gift to my family, and my way of saying, “hey, it’s not a Ph.D., but I hope it makes you proud.”

This gave me all the more reason to want to speed things up. Rather than waiting the (at least) two-year cycle from finding an agent to having your book published by a major publisher, I decided to just skim ahead and do it myself. I made this decision in January: the book’s coming out this October. That’s less than 10 months to get my book printed. I’d say that’s reasonably quicker than 2+ years ^_^

What’s going on now
The novel is actually set to go to print next month, so I’m in the middle of prepping and finalizing the files for that. But the next few weeks will be critical. After all, I plan to launch my marketing blitz in July. Part of this blitz is a book trailer, which I’m currently working on. Book trailers, I think, are a great way to promote a novel because they provide a visual element to something that’s strictly literary. And because my novel is primarily a thriller, I’m incorporating the kind of structural and thematic elements that we’re used to seeing at theaters. At least, that’s my hope ^_^

And, well, I’m also finalizing a lot of the marketing support materials that will go out with the review packets in June. That includes press releases, a bio on yours truly, a flier, and some additional artwork. Most of this stuff I’ve had to do myself because I’m on a shoestring budget. But hey, so far, everything’s going according to plan ^_^;

Anyway, now that I’ve started yammering on and on, I better stop now. So for now, I hope you’ll stop by at www.verytragicalmirth.com. Thanks for reading!