Habits that are hard to break…
Anyone who has examined this website’s list of my books knows that I’ve been writing fiction for a while now. Full Medical, the first novel in the “Clones and Mutants” trilogy, was published in 2006, but its dedication page shows that I started to get serious about my writing fiction (but still having fun!) shortly after 9/11. So let’s say I’ve been spinning yarns for a quarter century now, a duration much longer than I ever spent in one day-job (where I actually made some good money!).
This body of work was made possible by work habits that I developed early on and are hard to break now. My day (even many a weekend day!) isn’t complete until I’ve written something, even if it’s just jotting down a what-if, theme, character or setting description, or plot idea. I suppose some people might call that an addiction (my wife might be your candidate, but she’s also a great cheerleader and has a lot of patience with me).
While these habits are hard to break, I am slowing down: I’ve avoided running that literary marathon required to write a novel for a while now. I’m still relaxing a bit after finishing “The Last Humans” trilogy’s last novel, Menace from Moscow, by focusing on short fiction and political op-eds (because I’m concerned about what the 2024 election means for future of American democracy and our world).
But what has all this writing done for me? Certainly not bring me riches! I’m probably the most prolific writer that most people never heard of. You might think that’s explained by the fact there’s a lot of competition now, and you’d be partially correct. Some of it’s quite good, and I read some of those other good books. Some books are just terrible, though, and I don’t waste my time on them. (Even Trump’s second wannabe assassin self-published a book! Maybe the FBI should have read it, but I wouldn’t…and Mr. Trump couldn’t—he didn’t even read his national security briefs!)
There are other factors beyond competition, though. Covid ended my public book events. I’ve even halted the meager efforts I used to publicize the launch of a new novel, primarily because many of mine are part of a series, and no book marketing service seems to know how to market a series (I don’t know how to do that either, to be honest…but shouldn’t they know? My series certainly aren’t as long as Sue Grafton’s, although she never made it to Z.)
Perhaps giving away a lot of my short fiction (see the long list on the “Free Stuff & Contests” web page) might be considered a marketing gimmick, but it really isn’t. Two sales facts counter that idea: Published short fiction collections rarely sell well; and the so-called PR and marketing “experts” don’t know how to advertise these either! Okay, I suppose there’s a third fact, a largely irrelevant one when considering how easy it is to use Draft2Digital/Smashwords: Making a PDF document from an MS Word file is so easy—one click and I’m done. (Yeah, I know, I still have to content- and copy-edit the manuscript, i.e., worry about making it all readable, but I can skip the worry about finding a cover and somebody willing to market the story or stories.)
Surprisingly, what I’ve done by eliminating the stuff that’s the most time-consuming (writing the novel, preparing its manuscript for publication, planning an advertising campaign, and so forth) has been liberating and allowed me to rediscover my voice for writing short fiction. I suppose most writers start by writing short fiction. (I too did a lot of it at the start, but many of those short pieces became parts of novels…and that still occurred over the years.) Maybe writing short fiction is how I’ll end my days when arthritis in my hands diminishes my touch-typing skills too much. (Best damn course I had in high school!)
But writing is still my addiction, a positive and fulfilling one. And it’s a lot more fun than playing golf, especially with global warming going on!
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“The Last Humans” trilogy. A bioengineered virus spreads around Earth and kills billions. Penny Castro an ex-USN SAR expert and LA County Sheriff’s forensics diver, survives and creates a future for her blended family after many adventures in what’s left of the US and two countries overseas. These three post-apocalyptic sci-fi novels, The Last Humans, A New Dawn, and Menace from Moscow, blend together warnings about global warming, biological and nuclear warfare, and failed political systems that will make you wonder about humanity’s future. Available wherever quality ebooks are sold. (The first novel is also available in print format.)
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!