An update and a mixed rant.

Disclaimer: This is probably one of the worst posts I'll ever write, so you may want to just move on after these next three paragraphs. Just saying. You were warned.

So. Time for a little update on my writing life. My first book is pretty much ready to go, I'm still waiting on a cover and hoping I can get a preview copy before I hit that big Publish button. I don't expect that to take more than a few weeks or so depending on how long it takes to properly finish the cover.

In addition to that I'm plodding along on two more books at the moment, both of which already getting good encouragement from the people I've shown it to. Who knows, at this rate I may even build up enough self-confidence to write an entire book with the "door closed" so-to-speak.

One book almost done and two more in the works, yeah, that sounds like a Writer. But that isn't the reason I think I might actually be a Writer now. The real reason I feel like I might actually be a writer is that I have a few things in the pipeline that I can't talk about yet. :-D Yay! Wasn't that irritating after that nice little build-up?

I want to take this time to just speak my mind on a few things. First off, deciding to write isn't a choice to be made lightly. You're not likely to jump into the money and it's a very isolated profession for a lot of people. Gone are the days of hundred-thousand dollar advances from the major publishing companies and despite the better pay you make off of being self-published, expect years and multiple books before you're making any real kind of income. Some people might get lucky, lightning does strike people after all, but those are few and far between and if you think you're going to be one of those without putting in a massive amount of effort you might as well save everyone else the bandwidth and just go buy a lotto ticket. I knew this full well when I sat down and started writing my first novel and I'm willing to part with what little money I have to try and make my book the best it can be. If you want to be a writer, more power to you, but be realistic about your odds and don't give up the day job.

If you want to publish a book just because you think it's "cool" or something, here's a tip. Don't. Please, just don't. One of the weaknesses of the self-publishing industry is that everyone has access to it. A lot of books are getting published which don't even have proper editing, let alone a decent cover or even a good story. You might think it neat to publish a book with your name on it to wave under your family's collective nose and maybe even milk a few unsuspecting saps out of a few bucks, but you're actively harming the rest of us who put forth real effort to create works that people not only want to read, but which are worthy of reading. If you're not going to put real effort into the book you're trying to write and you're not going to go through the effort of multiple revisions, paid editors, cover art and everything that makes a good book good, I implore you, go play a video game instead.

 I've seen more than a few people on several forums that not only seem to think that because they're self-published as opposed to going through a traditional publishing company, they deserve extra slack. I'm sorry. You don't. You deserve less slack. Those of us who chose to self-publish are going up against books which comparatively get the royal treatment and we have to work that much harder to make sure that in some way or another our books can compete. We're not going to pave the way with sub-par books and whining about the breaks we didn't get because of the way we published. We're going to pave the way by showing that self-published authors can create books which are every bit as good as those published by Penguin or Random House.

Thus, I implore you, if you want to write, great. But don't come lightly to the pen and paper (or word processor as the case may be.). As harsh as it sounds, (and trust me, this is nothing compared to the first several drafts I typed up.) take writing seriously or don't even step up. This is really one of those things where just because everyone can do it, doesn't mean just anybody should.

Also, I wanted to share this review that was brought to my attention. It's an absolutely hilarious review of what sounds like a supremely bad book.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1LPA5YOND6TGD

~ Shaun

Space Corps Directive 98247: No officer should be left behind on an inhabited planet unless he is missing two or more limbs.