"Like" The Skull Ring For $

(WINNERS!!!! Mildred dot Cady, WilsonWriter, and Kristie D have each won $10 gift cards. Thanks for entering, and you're welcome to subscribe to my monthly newsletter where there are more great prizes and contests and freebies--just email scottsinner-circle-subscribe AT yahoogroups.com)

So here's the deal. Go to The Skull Ring's page at Amazon and hit "Like," then hit the F in the bubble to share it on Facebook (or Twitter if you don't use FB)--it's important to hit the F so you share it on Facebook, which is the goal:

http://www.amazon.com/Skull-Ring-Suspense-Thriller-ebook/dp/B003980ELA


Come back here and put your contact info below (such as "hauntedcomputer AT yahoo dot com"). On May 6, I randomly select three $10 gift card winners. Simple enough?

No purchase necessary, though of course you are welcome to buy the book! This is a kooky experiment to see if Facebook can sell books. Anyone having trouble commenting here can ding me on Facebook or Twitter and I'll add your entry. Thank you!
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Positive Presence--author Jeff Bennington

As an author and a family man I’ve found that writing and working a day job can be extremely hazardous to my health. As the years go by, my wife and I have determined that with the effort it takes to be an indie author, I’m working the equivalent of a second job. I never thought of it that way, but then again, I’ve just recently crossed over from the self-pubbed world into the do-it-all-myself world…a world that’ll snatch you away from your family if you’re not careful

When you take on the task writing a novel (Hello! That’s a job in itself!) and contracting an editor, working with editor, cover art,  formatting, marketing, blogging, uploading etc, etc, etc, you tend to have a little too much on your plate. If you have a day job, it’s even worse. If you have a family, worse yet!

I have four children and a wife and plenty of chores to do. I’m no different than other writers with responsibilities. Scott Nicholson might have to feed the chickens and repair the barn, but I’ve got a basement to remodel and boys who need to be taught how to cut the grass and a daughter who has a lot of questions that she needs me, and only me to answer! Aaaauuuuughh! 

I love my family dearly and I would never put writing above them, but I have had to learn that I can’t be the dad and husband that I want to be if I let writing consume me. Now you might be thinking that this is the point where I bring up time management for writers, or a four point system for prioritizing your prose. If so, you’re wrong. There aren’t enough hours in the day for me to organize. Every minute is already full. I’m not sure, but I think I’ve already micro-managed my time. What I want to talk about is how indie authors have to fight to be present at home.

If you’re an indie, and you have a family, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Have you ever been told, “You’re here, but you’re not really here!” or “I know you were listening, but did you hear me?” or how about this one, “I don’t want you to be here, I want you to be present, not just physically but mentally and emotionally.” Sound familiar? 

These are all reminders to me that I’ve let writing consume my life. It’s not so much the writing that gets me; it’s the twittering, blogging, facebooking and kindle-ranking obsessions that take over my though life when I have family business to tend to. The extra activities aren’t bad things, but I have certain goals for my family, certain objectives that I’d like to accomplish with those four kiddies before they become adults. When I’m constantly thinking about what I should tweet, or who I can promote on a Saturday morning, or if I’m caught up on my blog tour, I’m not thinking about what I really need to be doing in my home, with my wife and kids. I’ve always been keen on my family. They mean everything to me. But writing, writing and everything that goes with it, especially with indie publishing, can take a serious toll on me if I’m not present when I’m at home. 

Okay, now I’ll tell you my Four Point Path for Positive Presence (That’s psycho-babble for how to manage your family and be an indie author).

1.      Before you write, get all of your chores done. My wife educates our children and teaches piano and does 80% of the chores that keep our home functioning. I do the laundry, pick up the house, make repairs and help with meals and keeping the kitchen clean. I will not write if the sink is full of dishes or the laundry needs done; it’s not fair to my wife and I need clean clothes. When the house is clean, I don’t have to worry about my wife feeling like everything rests on her shoulder.

2.      Frequently take your spouse on dates. My wife needs time to talk to me. She needs to keep me updated on the state of our children, the state of our extended family, our schedule, children’s events, etc. She also needs to be with an adult and get away about once a week. I cannot give her what she needs if all I’m doing is writing or thinking about writing stuff. When we go out, I leave my writing world behind. As expected, when she’s talked herself back into a state of sanity, she’ll inevitably have the energy to ask about my writing…our evil, yet beloved stepchild.

3.      Turn the computer & iPhone off. When it’s time to be with the family, I literally have to turn my world off. Clicking the switch on my phone and powering down my computer is the best way for me to make a conscious choice to be present with my precious little boogers. 

4.      Make an agreement with your spouse. I have found that good communication is always the best way to avoid hurt feelings. As writers, we need to be aware that our second job (writing) can very quickly pull us away from our families. And your family will most likely notice that you’re no longer present before you do. Your emotional absence can cause hurt feelings if your spouse or children begin to think that your writing is more important than they are. If that’s not what you want, than you should make an agreement with your spouse/family on what times work best for you to write and how you can meet their needs without neglecting your literary masterpiece. The key is to talk about it before your writing spills over and makes a mess of your life. 

The point is, when you write… write. And when you need to be with your family… be with your family. They need you more than your book does. There are thousands of books published everyday and your book will be just as much a tiny drop of water in the ocean of words today as it will be a week or month from now.

If you’re a newer author, heed these words. If you’re a veteran, tell us how you manage to be present at home. Thanks for reading.

Jeff Bennington

Author of Reunion & Other Thrillers (linked to http://jeffbennington.com)

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004S7AR0E

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The $6 Bestseller: The Fallacy of "Use Pros"

While we are engaging in new thinking, there's a new universal truth that is clearly not so universal--that you need to be edited by a pro and that you need pro book covers to be successful, and you need to invest $2,000 to get published.

Here's a little secret--nobody touched Liquid Fear or even saw it besides my all-star proofreader, Neal Hock at Bookhound's Den. I did the editing, I did the cover, I did the formatting, all in house, all with easily available and free tools. Besides my time, I have maybe $6 invested in the book (Neal and I work in trade). It hit #25 on the Kindle bestseller list and has sold pretty well. Conclusion: You DON'T need to pay a whole bunch of money to look like a certain thing in order to be "successful."

In fact, I've found the opposite to be true--if you duplicate the professional-quality look of NY, the expectation of what a book should "look like," guess what? You look like all the other hundreds of thousands of books. If you have your kid go into a Paint program for the first time and make you a cover, you're going to look like the other hundreds of thousands of people who totally don't get the new era and do the amateur thing because they are trying to imitate a book cover but don't know what one is.

Here's why I will probably do all my own covers from now on: it's fun!

I don't claim to be a graphic designer, because I'm not. I did spend a couple of years learning basic skills to function in the new arena, but since I don't care about making a NY cover, or a crappy cover (which may take even longer than a pro cover), I can just find an image that tells my story and then come up with clean, legible font and look at in it postage-stamp size, in black-and-white.

That's another reason I started doing my own covers--I was having a difficult time explaining to people with big, fancy computers and large, high-resolution screens that this wasn't art, this was NOT a book cover, it's an icon button for a digital product. An entirely new product, and it needs an entirely new presentation.

The third reason-- since few cover artists ever read the books for which they do covers, they work only from their own idea of what the book should be. In NY, that may be a synopsis or editorial instructions, but very rarely is the author consulted. See the problem? The author knows the book better than anyone else and would complicate matters tremendously by trying to explain it to an artist. I know the tone and feel and nuance of my book and how I think it should be presented. I should know better than anyone how I want to invite my reader inside.

I hear my writer friends talk about the exhausting back-and-forth with a cover artist, or the four-month wait, and I can only shake my head. That's another reason I re-did a few of my existing covers. I discovered the ones I did in 20 minutes were more effective than the ones I labored over for days, because simplicity is the keyword for today.

Editing. I am a professional editor, but that doesn't mean I think everyone needs to be edited. Potential clients send me five-page samples for free. Sometimes the writer is not yet at a stage where I can help--that writer needs more experience and it would be immoral for me to take the money. If I feel we can each benefit, I will take on the job. But it's also not uncommon for me to realize a particular writer doesn't need my services, and I tell the writer so.

I don't think editing is an absolute need. I do believe you need a proofreader, no matter who you are, and preferably several, even if your book is professionally edited. I would probably be kicked out of the editor's union if I were in one, but the idea that "Every book can be improved by editing" is one of those stories told to keep editorial jobs alive. Why should anyone know the book better than the writer? And if editors are so brilliant, why aren't they writers instead?

Formatting is another skill that can be learned. I like doing it and I put in a year tinkering, even though I am not naturally a tech whiz. It's hard work. But I realized it was critical to my business. If you sell widgets, you should understand how widgets are made. My friends at Dellaster Design and Book Looks do low-priced e-book formatting, and Stephen at Book Looks does the print formatting of my books. I can use them if I want, but I don't need them.

The point of all this is not to minimize the wonderful skills of artists, editors, and e-book formatters everywhere. If you personally need them, by all means, you owe it to your book and your creative happiness to do everything within your means to make your baby shine. But you don't need them. That type of thinking is just setting up another gatekeeper system, where only those with money can play in the sandbox.

Could Liquid Fear have been improved with the guidance of an outside editor? Maybe. Or maybe it would have been merely changed. That's subjective, and the world will never know. I may even revise it myself later--I have revised at least four of my books while they were already on sale. Why not? I can do it, and if it improves the book, I have an obligation to do so. Maybe an editor would have pushed Liquid Fear to #1. I don't care, because I don't need #1 to be "successful."

I play in my sandbox because it's fun, and I love every single aspect of what I do, and there are no rules and no absolutes and no certain direction--it seems like every universal truth I ignore, the happier I am and the more creative I can be and the freer I am. That's "success" for me. And, guess what? I earned my $6 back. The rest is candy.

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Indie Flip Side: The Fallacy of "Just Writing"

(Note: This is NOT a judgment of someone else's decisions, or a declaration that a traditional publishing deal is "wrong," or that I think anyone makes a "mistake" by accepting a traditional publishing deal. This is simply a philosophical exploration of consequences of paths you choose in your life, and what you want. If a publishing deal gives you what you want, you absolutely, positively should take it.


I refer to Amanda Hocking for the sole reason that she is the current symbolic lightning rod. Two years ago, it would have been Boyd Morrison. Last year, J.A. Konrath, and in two months it will probably be John Locke. While "Scott slams Amanda" would get me more blog hits, I'd rather take the post--and the entire blog--down than suggest such a thing.


I can't make those choices for you or anyone else, only myself. And I won't even know until the next one is offered, and then I will only know it for that one deal at that time for me, not all deals for anyone at any other time. That is the point of what follows. I thought it was clear but I apparently failed to communicate it well)

The discussion (and it is now a discussion, not an "argument" or a "debate") on whether writers should choose the indie or the traditional path, or both, usually focuses on money alone. That's odd, because money is usually one of the least valuable considerations when you are choosing how to spend your life. Clearly time is the most valuable resource, because it's non-renewable and finite, unlike money.

A successful writer friend recently gave me a "hot tip" on an emerging book sector--it was all the rage at an international book fair, and now publishers have the stats to back it up. Stats mean sales people can buy in, which means editors can spend money, and writers can get book deals, and everybody's happy. Right? He was trying to get me in on it as an act of generosity, with connections in place and everything. And I thought about it, because that siren song of "Your name on a REAL BOOK" is still pretty melodic. I could do it. I have an agent and enough success and this market is new enough that my old genre sales numbers wouldn't matter.

The next morning I woke up and thought, "No way in hell." Think of the drama. First off I'd have to explain it all to my agent, come up with an outline and sample chapters, wait to see if it sold, then work with editors and PR department and then wait up to a year for anything to happen, all the while getting approvals and requests for revisions. Dozens and probably hundreds of emails and phone calls. Just thinking about it exhausts me, when my biggest worry today is whether I should plant beans or plant spinach.

When compared to just typing and publishing as I do now, a big manufacturing process is not very appealing. That's not to say a good editor can't greatly improve a book. But you know what? I am already an editor. I edit other people's books, and I am probably better at it than some who are doing it on salary, because I'm a writer and not just a reader. That's not ego, that's 15 years of experience.

I have to laugh every time someone quotes Amanda Hocking saying she took her deal so she could "just write." I saw on a blog that her assistant had turned down a request by the blog for an interview. So, aside from the layer she's now installed from her former real life when she dealt with the book bloggers who were important to her success, she is managing an assistant, as well as the "lawyers, accountants, and financial advisors" that success brought. And an agent, and probably several agents if you count film and foreign rights, and Hollywood people for the movie versions. And at least one editor, until those foreign rights sell, and then there are multiple editors.

And despite the oohs and ahs over a $2 mil contract, that is not a lot for four books/English world rights when the superstars earn $10 mil per book. By industry standard definitions, she is an upper midlist writer, which means she will still have to do a lot of promo work, which means dealing with a PR department--and book signings, events, travel, and she will be working harder than ever to run a business, because now it's not as simple as watching it dump into her bank account now. She is managing a staff, or perhaps a better word for it is an "empire." And even if she continues self-publishing on the side, she can't remove those layers and obligations and interruptions.

Before you light the torches and storm the castle, please note I am in no way demeaning, second-guessing, or wishing Amanda Hocking ill--we have traded emails in the past and in her social media presence she is clearly sweet and compassionate, and I wish her all continued success and happiness and nothing less than utter joy. But I suspect her life just got more complicated than ever and the one thing she can no longer do is "just write." Perhaps there's a reason J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer went dark.

People overlook the value of quality of life and how time is spent. I can't speak for anyone else, but for me, I realize lots of money would NOT make my life "better." Just having to buy the next used car fills me with fear--choices! My wife and I tried to picture ourselves in the perfect vehicles for us, and we agreed--for me, it's the rusty 1986 Isuzu pickup I already own. It's my dream car, I love driving it, I like my self-image when I am driving it (a working-class hero), and it's useful. I am incredibly happy when I stop by the landfill to salvage firewood or get a load of manure from the neighbor's pasture.

A boatload of cash would just create more burdens and deplete the one finite resource that is most valuable--time. Another friend of mine is struggling with this same situation--whether to go corporate and what the gain would be, when he's already living the life of his dreams.I'm already burdened by the money I do have, because it begets desire. I am going to find the cheapest potatoes in town, buy a truckload, and drive it to our local Hunger Coalition. I trust God will fill that hole back up in my bank account, because She's done it over and over. I don't say that to brag about how humble I am, but from the acute awareness that all the goodness that comes to me is an obligation to return goodness to the world.

There's no way a big fat book deal would improve my life. I don't care how much money it is. It would be a step backward. Because I am already doing everything I want on my own terms, and that is all I ever wanted. Going that route would be someone else's (many someones) routes. I'd go from being a business owner to a temp contract employee.

That's not to say I'd never take a corporate deal. The point is, I don't need to. Just the offer from my friend made me anxious and unhappy, because it sounded like the sort of opportunity I should leap at, and that I should rush before the crowd gets there.

But, guess what? I am quite happy outside the crowd. And I've had my best success, luck, and happiness following my own path. That doesn't mean I am isolated, because without you, my writing and my dream becomes rather meaningless. But we're connected precisely because I am outside the crowd, not because I'm in it.

I am already doing everything I wanted in my writing career--writing stories for a living. My life wouldn't be improved by a shinier car or a third house or a bass boat. While there is a "next" to shoot for, there's not a "better" or a "next level." When you're living a dream, why leave it for someone else's dream?

If your dream is $2 million, there are tons of millions out there. If you want to spend more time on the phone with strangers talking about money, that is possible, too. I just hope each of you are happy. It's the hardest thing in the world to be, and a thing writers often seem least capable of achieving.

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Liquid Fear sequel

For the Indie Writers in the crowd (which is almost everyone int he English-speaking world at this point): my buddy Jim C. Hines from Writers of the Future, back in 1999 when we both had more hair, interviewed me about indie publishing. (mirrored at Live Journal)

I'm working on the Liquid Fear sequel, planning to release it before the Liquid Fear buzz evaporates. Or freezes. Or some other physical-state metaphor. Dribbles away? Goes down the drain? Gets flushed?

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Kindles In Libraries

The wonderful CJ West hosted me on Book Talk Radio, you can catch the archived audio file here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/author-cj-west/2011/04/20/thriller-30-with-scott-nicholson

The big news in the book world is Amazon's announcement of a partnership with Overdrive to get Kindle books into libraries. It's unclear how that is going to affect writers (usually the last part of any business equation, the Afterthought of Books) but I believe it is going to help almost everyone--writers will be getting tax dollars, libraries will get a lot more content with their shrinking book budgets, and readers will have a virtually unlimited supply of reading material. The losers, of course, are those who want to sell their e-books for more than the price of a paper book. 

Savvy librarians stretching a budget are going to broaden their choices and seek out more writers. "Hmm, I can buy these 10 books for my patrons, or I can buy this one book. Whatever do I do?" And with 11,000 libraries buying books, if every indie writer in America sells one book to each library, that's a nice bundle of cash. We'll have to see how it plays out. I already have an accoiunt with Overdrive but their upload and distribution system is a little awkward. Hopefully, the Kindle will smooth things out for everyone and be big news for readers.


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A Book Bucket List from Guido Henkel

A guest post from Guido Henkel, a indie author who is generous in sharing technical information as well as delivering the spooky fun Jason Dark series)

As you are reading this, I have just released Curse of Kali, the tenth Jason Dark supernatural mystery that I have written. Taking place in Victorian England, it is once again a riveting mystery that our occult detective has to solve — though this time he has some help from a very, very famous detective of his time, also.

Releasing a book is always a little like the end of school. You take a breath, sit back and just kick back for a tick, enjoying the moment with a clean slate.

For me, this usually also means I need something new to read. The past weeks have kept me busy with rewrites, edits and the preparations for the launch and I did not have a whole lot of time to read other than my own stuff.

So, as I am trying to decide upon a new book, — most likely one I’ve been pushing off for too long — it occurred to me that there should be some kind of list of books that everyone should read. I’m not talking about the classics like Dickinson, Shakespeare, Kafka or even books like Dracula where it is implied that everyone has read them. No, I’m talking about books that I have read over the years and that impressed me so much that I would like to recommend them to you with my warmest regards. They are the books I would not want to have missed out on. Of course, such a list can never be complete and reflects my own personal taste, so feel free to suggest other books that you find too valuable to be missed.

So here goes my Book Bucket List for you in no particular order

• The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Mars, by Ben Bova
• The List of Seven, by Mark Frost
• The Sword of Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
• Brimstone, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
• The Horatio Hornblower Series, bt C. S. Forrester
• Crime Beat, by Scott Nicholson (ed. note: I didn't put this in here!)
• There will be Dragons, by John Ringo
• The Seance, by John Harwood
• Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden

And then last, but not least, Curse of Kali. Yes, I know it reeks of self-promotion but if you want to know how Jason Dark and Sherlock Holmes met for the first time in their lives, you have to read this mystery. If you have only half as much fun reading it as I had writing it, we should all be in for a treat.
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