Category Archives: On Writing

Discussions of writing, self-publishing, my books and other writings, the occasional review or other related content

“Kept” Self-Publishing Update #4

at the trails on Jacinto

Actually a shot from my old house in Palm Springs at dawn

this was from an exhibit at the PS Modernism Show

Top of the Tram observation area

The desert, looking toward San Gorgonio Pass

When you self-publish, you do all the marketing yourself, or you hire someone to do it. Since I’m in no position to hire anyone, I do it myself. I think my background in public relations helps with that – at least in the strategy department, I usually know what’s required. Having the energy to actually put all those things together is another thing entirely!

But we persist, because we must. So, last week I didn’t get around to a blog post because I was out in Palm Springs (2 days, though I mostly got it done in 1) taking pictures and video. Why? Because that’s where “Kept” is set. I’ll use the images in the social media campaign for the book, to illustrate blog posts here, but also Facebook, Twitter, and the book website pages .

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As for the finished text itself, I’m going through it one more time, reading it aloud to myself in the edit. This book, this genre, it’s the type of thing that just should flow. So I know if I get tongue tied, or say words that aren’t there, there may be a good reason to make the text reflect that. Does that make sense?

I hope so! Anyway, attached are a couple of photos I shot last week. Palm Springs, baby.

Self-Publishing Update #3 KEPT

OK, so that’s the computer in my office, where I write. And up on the screen is the newly copyedited version of my novel (soon to be published!) Kept.

The copyeditor uses the “track changes” function in Word to suggest corrections or changes to me which I then have to either accept or deny. She’s a marvelous editor; I usually end up accepting all her suggestions because, quite frankly, she makes me a much better writer.

So that is the process for this week (and likely next): Get a new draft incorporating changes. Will that be ready to be published? Probably not quite, but closer.
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Tasks for this week include re-calculating the budget for this project, and thinking about cover concepts. Provocative, that’s my guide word.

In the meantime I’m also working on the marketing plan for this book, trying to time the launch (several months it looks like), while also working on plot details for the sequel to Benediction, which is my next project after Kept.

How Self-Publishing is Like the School Bully

images OK so a blog generator came up with this title for me. (Kind of fun, though I rolled my eyes initially.) Deep in the process of self-publishing novel #3, so I figured I’d play along:

He’s big — it does seem everyone has a book in them and is self-publishing it. Here’s a state of the industry report from the beginning of the year.
He’s an enigma. It’s very hard to know just what will find an audience (or “sell”) and what won’t. We know there are popular genres (like romance and fantasy) and one subject American readers never seem to tire of is vampires. So writing a vampire book for young women would seem to be a good strategy, for instance.
It’s possible to beat him. Like the stout bully tripped up by the nimble skinny nerd, there are the occasional insane stories of success. There are authors who wrote/write things like the above-mentioned vampire novel, price them cheaply and reap a huge profit on volume sales. Then, of course, everyone copies the model and it doesn’t work again.
If you get creamed, you still have to go down the hall. In my opinion, this process still beats the traditional model of finding an agent or a publisher and going that route. Plus, if you’ve self-published and have had less than humongously successful results, it might even be less possible to get that traditional book deal on effort #2. Or 3 or 4 or 5 etc.
He might be best friends with your cute, popular sister. You will probably take writing classes and join writer groups and sooner or later someone you know is going to have a huge success in self-publishing. And then, dear writer, you must resist resentment and schadenfreude. You must take the high road and be happy for your friend, and also try to find out if there’s lessons to be learned there.
Complaining about him will get you nowhere. What’s the alternative – traditional publishing? That model seems to work only for the very, very successful author, the household name. Anecdotally I’ve been told by friends who have traditional publishing deals that they are still expected to bankroll their own publicity tours and other marketing. So it’s really difficult all around — see the link up top, the industry report, an industry in flux.
He mocks you incessantly. It seems every day there’s a new “insult” hurled your way – or a new way to market, or a new social media platform to use, or a new place to advertise your book. Kind of like that bully in the hallway you can’t ever really avoid.

There’s one nice thing about school bullies, and that’s that you eventually graduate and leave school. And you move on. With self-publishing, it’s my expectation that the longer you spend doing it, the more likely you’ll figure out the pathways to success. It’s true, however, not everyone has the luxury and time of publishing book after book until finally something clicks.

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Five Ways Creative Writing Can Keep You Out of Trouble

author under duress

For something that I approach with such trepidation (well, sometimes) it’s good to know that writing, especially creative writing, has the potential to keep one from trouble. Here’s five reasons:

Want to murder someone? Yeah well, don’t we all, occasionally? Or even more often? A better solution – write a story about the offender (artfully disguised, of course) and kill them off there. This has the multiplier effect of revisits anytime you want and fans may even applaud you. If only they knew the real story!
Participation in other crimes: Murder is perhaps the most heinous, but there’s loads of others — including bank robbery, art and jewel thievery, organized crime extortion, burglary, drug dealing — to name just a few — which are much safer to participate in from the relative calm of the writer’s desk. Bonus: you never go to jail.
It’s introvert therapy. Having the quiet time all to myself to enter into dream worlds are moments I crave. I believe it helps keep me sane.
In my creative writing, I’m always right, I’m always powerful. Don’t you love that feeling? In a world of your own creation, you make all the rules. So what you say, goes. How liberating is that?
You can work it out. Honestly, when I have problems of one sort or another, if I have a fictional character work them out, it’s like proxy therapy. I’ve found solutions seemingly coming from nowhere (though I believe they likely come from wisdom within) while writing fiction. It’s nice to know I can find solutions without spending $150 per hour to do so.

What benefits (both expected and unexpected) have you found from your writing endeavors?

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Are YOU Cut Out to Be a Self-Published Fiction Writer? Take my quiz.

It’s become such a popular past time, it seems. Everybody’s got a book, just like back in the 1990s, everybody had a screenplay.

Hey, nobody bought any of my screenplays for a million dollars, either. (But– I actually know people who did win this little lottery, it does happen, though very rarely.)

Ready? Dig in, Answer these questions.

Are you the type of person who likes spending hours, alone, every day for likely a year or much more, constructing an internal world?
Would it bother you if this internal world was never appreciated by any other single human being, ever?
Are you the type of person who could then take that project, that world of yours, and totally rewrite it (if necessary) or chuck it if it’s just not working?
Are you the type of person who needs external validation to think you’ve done something worthwhile?
Are you comfortable being pigeonholed into a well-defined (and hopefully popular) genre?
Also, in a general sense, are you the type of person who is proactive, or are you reactive and more comfortable being told what to do or generally directed by someone else, like a boss or a parental figure, etc?
Are you the type of person who can straddle the role of introvert (most writers) as well as the extremely crucial role of self-promotion (generally an extrovert role) with EQUAL ease?
Are you the type of person who relishes creating a platform, likely from scratch, on social media, including things like a personal blog, twitter, facebook, instagram, Pinterest, tumblr, possibly more, with thousands and thousands of followers?
Are you the type of person who is comfortable devising an ongoing marketing plan for your self-published book, a comprehensive plan which involves reviews, readings, interviews, social media posts, YouTube promo videos, Twitter posts, Facebook posts, self-promo blogs, guest blogs for other people, and more, in a campaign which truly never ever ends?
Finally, will you be motivated to write your next great novel even if after all that’s come before (see the above list) only results in a handful of sales? Which don’t even cover the cost of self-publishing the damn book?

So how did you answer? There’s not really a scoring system here – you can pretty much get the gist of what I’m saying – that basically you need to be driven by the desire to write, and get tremendous satisfaction from doing just that, without a guaranteed promise of anything beyond that. Otherwise, don’t go there, save yourself the costs in both time and money, and do something you have a true passion for.

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Self-Publishing Update #2: Kept

there’s a pool like this in my book. Or several!

It took longer than I anticipated to finish the book, and to do the edits I wanted, all the passes — one for plot, another for comments I’d made in the margins, yet another for character, yet one more for dialogue.

I will finish my latest pass through “Kept” in the next few days and get it off to the copyeditor — very much in demand, so I know she won’t get to it till September. So that and my own delay in finishing means that the book won’t come out for several months.

Which is OK. Because I want the best book possible. Also, the holidays are not the optimum time for book publicity, which is what I’ll now pivot to — that and the marketing/launch plan for “Kept.”

Because when you self-publish, you are as much of a marketer as you are an author. If someone asked me what I thought was the one thing potential self-publishers needed to think about seriously before going down that path, that’s what I’d say. Consider the marketing, consider if you’re up to it. It is essential, and you will either have to do it yourself or pay someone to do it for you — which most individual self-publishers can’t possibly afford.

Stay tuned for Update #3!

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WeHo 30th Anniversary Readings, Part 3

I just realized that I forgot to post the actual text of my WeHo memory! The photo of it blown up to poster size will not do, as I don’t imagine everyone has a magnifying glass.

So, here it is. It’s reality, not fiction, so perhaps not as exciting as it would be if I embellished. I erred on the side of truth as I remember it. Text below photo.

My memory of WeHo birthday

MY FIRST BIRTHDAY IN LOS ANGELES/WEHO

I moved to Los Angeles in January 1981, back when there were no computers, no Internet or mobile phones, or any other recent innovations like marriage equality, gay community centers, or the ability to serve openly in the armed forces.

I’d packed everything into a rental car. I didn’t have much, but I did have two crucial items for my new life in L.A.: my bicycle, and my Damron Gay Guide.

Every day was adventure, learning the city and doing my work at the university. But I hadn’t made friends yet, and I didn’t know how to navigate the overwhelming gay community.

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I lived in Echo Park and was carless. I rode the bus, so the main gay districts of Silver Lake and West Hollywood were either a semi-short ride or an excruciatingly long ride away.

I’d ventured into West Hollywood once to get my bike fixed. Old Pacific Red Car tracks were still visible on Santa Monica; those storied outdoor burger shacks still open everywhere. Hot, shirtless hustlers, channeling classic surferboy looks, “hitchhiked” along the Boulevard.

I got the bike repaired and fled!

But my birthday arrived in March and I was 26 and I wanted to do something. I’d never been to Beverly Hills, so I told myself I wanted to see Rodeo Drive—why, I have no idea, it was just a place I’d heard of.

I would ride my bike. It’s 10 miles. A straight route all the way down Sunset, then a quick turn down Rodeo.

That was to be my birthday celebration. I rode out there by myself on a dark Saturday night. Once I got there, all that greeted me were closed, if glittery stores. A few pedestrians were out; certainly not many: no cake shop was around to assist.

To say this was anticlimactic is an understatement. I was lying to myself. I didn’t want to see Beverly Hills; I didn’t care about that. I wanted to see what was always there for me in West Hollywood, and I knew this land of desire was just blocks away.

I’d copied the WeHo pages from Damron’s and brought them with me just in case. There was a place called the Blue Parrot (where Revolver is today). It sounded tropical; I’d had a fantastic gay time in Key West a year before this so I figured this might be a theme.

I tethered the bike to a pole in front. I went into the crowded, boisterous bar and the smiling, flair-juggling bartender made me my first ever West Hollywood birthday drink. I don’t remember what it was and I didn’t stay too long—I had to ride home.

I got the sense that I belonged in this place where gay bars fronted main streets and had picture windows looking out—and which also looked in. Although it took more time and more experience, that for me was the seed to loving this spot where one could hope to live a gay life free and authentic. — Jim Arnold

“Mad Men” Creator Matthew Weiner’s Reassuring Life Advice For Struggling Artists

Me on Mad Men: Not an actor, but I have done some background work. That’s the blogger on the left against the wall.

In Getting There: A Book of Mentors, the lauded creator candidly reveals his years of struggle and his eventual path to success.

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I read this today, and it was so great, just what I needed as I finish up a book, and need to find the spirit within to push on with it. I didn’t really know anything about Weiner’s past other than that he worked on Sopranos; I find it great that he was inspired by Clerks.

I’m going to keep this handy for those days I need an extra dose of inspiration!

homo-centric May 2015: the photo

And here’s the official post-reading photo from the May 2015 homo-centric readings at Stories Books & Cafe in Echo Park, Los Angeles.

From left, Hank Henderson, creator/producer of homo-centric, Jim Arnold, Albert Serna Jr., George Snyder.

I read from my upcoming book “Kept.” Albert read his wonderful poetry. George read from his great novel (I read it. I loved it!) “Into Deeper Water.”

homo-centric happens every third Thursday at Stories, starting at 7:30. Hope to see you at future readings!

photo: Rich Yap

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“Kept” reading inspiration: “Where Eagles Dare” Cable Car Fight

Ever since I saw this movie “Where Eagles Dare” (as a tiny child of course, in 1968, starring Richard Burton, among others), I’ve been fascinated with the idea of writing a version of a gondola or cable car fight. When you set a novel in Palm Springs, well, you get your chance.

I’m reading a selection from my novel-in-progress “Kept” on Thursday night (7:30 p.m. May 21, Stories Books and Cafe, 1716 Sunset Boulevard, Echo Park) at Hank Henderson’s homo-centric reading series. So, you can see how I re-imagined this idea for 21st century denizens of the desert. Also reading that night are Albert Serna, Jr. and George Snyder. Hope to see you there!

(for some reason lost the cable car fight scene that was on youtube. Here’s the movie trailer, below)

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