A Matter of Perception

If, per chance, you have the opportunity and the wherewithal to engage mathematicians, or theoretical physicists, or most any science fiction writer that delves in temporal mechanics, and you ask them about the characteristics of Time, I believe they will tell you that Time, when boiled down to its simplest form, is essentially a variable; that it travels linearly through space at various rates depending on where you are, depending on who you are.

Case in point:

Any little kid will tell you that Time slows down the closer they get to summer vacation, or their birthday, or Christmas, but once there, Time speeds up, and it’s over too soon.

Ask the parents of those kids the same question, of the same events, and they’ll say the exact opposite.

So it is with the launch of Chain of Evidence. It seemed that just the other day I had weeks and weeks before the event. Now there is less than one. Where did all that time go? It seems that Time began to accelerate as the appointed date grew closer.

There was so much to do, so much preparation, and it’s nearly all complete thanks to Maggie—my wife and biggest fan. Without her help, I’d be floundering like a schooner on a windless sea.

“Behind every successful man,” as they say.

Thank you, honey.

Of course, Maggie has an ulterior motive.

She wants to see me succeed. She thinks me a great writer, and who am I to contradict her? But I am of a different opinion. I like to think that I spin a good yarn. Without a good story to tell, the writing is just the writing. It can be good or bad. It’s the story that counts.

Another case in point:

Fifty Shades of Grey – A story that hit at just the right time. Apparently, no one cared about the writing.

Now I have a story that I want to tell. It’s a good story, and it will appeal to anyone who enjoys a good mystery, or thriller, or forensics whodunit, or even a slap-in-the-face twist, because Chain of Evidence employs all those aspects. It also speaks to our aging populace—The Baby Boomers. The story addresses current times where the economy, the political climate, and one’s physical abilities are changing, diminishing, and these changes force the Protagonist, Moby Truax, to deal with them all. This story comes at the right time as well.

Now I begin the groveling.

A goodly number of folks from all parts of the world read this blog, and that humbles me in ways for which I can find no words—not such a good thing for a writer to admit, so let me just say this:

Thank You.

I am honored that folks take time from their busy lives to read these words.

Now that the book is out, I’ll ask those folks who enjoy reading this blog, to read the book and discover what it is that inspires these writings, and after they read it, write a short review or a blurb and post it here, or on Customer Reviews on Amazon, or even on Goodreads. Then I’ll ask them to ask their friends to do the same. I promise … it will do for you what a work of fiction is supposed to do.

I have a great deal of confidence that readers of Chain of Evidence will enjoy the hell out of it, and I’m confident they won’t see the twist coming until it hits them like an open hand on the forehead. Then, I hope, they’ll anticipate my next book, which I should complete by year’s end, thus starting he process all over again.

This is what it’s all about.

The story telling is what I want to do, but the marketing is what I have to do, if I’m to keep writing.

Please … let me know how you like the novel.

I’ll be waiting.

DB

Website - www.dbcorey.com

Twitter - DB Corey

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The Crimes, Creatures, and Creativity Conference—9/13/2013—Cockeysville Maryland

I’ve attended writer’s conferences before. Maryland Writer’s Association, Bay to Ocean Writer’s Conference ... a couple others whose names escape me at the moment. I found them enjoyable, even if I did feel like a fish out of water.

I had been writing for maybe a year-and-a-half, had finished what I call today my practice novel (it wasn’t very good), and began my quest for publication. I heard that conferences were the way to go to get a feel for the industry. I could meet publishers and editors, attend Q&As with authors manning a variety of panels and roundtables, and the pièce de résistance, if you will, schedule a sit-down with an agent; a fifteen-minute, one-on-one shot to deliver your pitch to one of publishing’s gatekeepers. But that kind of undivided attention costs extra. And it should. Time is money, as they say, and your fifty-or-so-bucks buys you that time.

But, I decided I wouldn’t spend the money. “Fifty bucks buys a lot of U.S. stamps,” I said to myself. “I can reach a lot of agents for fifty bucks. Why should I spend it on just one?”

Looking back at the experience now, I realize that I was the person folks refer to as the guy who just fell off the proverbial turnip truck. Soliciting an agent takes months and months of customized query crafting, synopsis sculpting (at different page lengths), cover-letter cobbling, label printing, stamp sticking, and envelope licking—all to be able to finally sit back and collect the rejections. Additionally, some agents won’t accept queries if they didn’t meet you at a conference somewhere, so in light of that, fifty bucks seemed like a bargain.

So I spent the dough; talked to an agent from one of the BIG New York agencies, delivered a flawless pitch, and sat back to listen to what he had to say. The feedback was immediate. I had more work to do.

Was I disappointed? Of course. Did I learn something? Yup! Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. And I did. Why? Because what I didn’t have to do, was wait months on end for responses that contained zero advice, and that’s if they responded at all.

And what does this have to do with the C3 Conference you ask? Well there will be agents, editors, publishers, and authors like most writers’ conferences, but the C3 isn’t just a writer’s conference. It’s a fan conference, and speaking as a newly minted author whose book will be released in August, I’m just dying to meet (and make) some fans. Just a couple will do, and family doesn’t count. Plus I am anxious to meet Jeffery Deaver, Trice Hickman, and John Gilstrap ... just to name a few; accomplished authors who I hope will bestow upon me the benefit of their invaluable experience while allowing me a glimpse at the big-time—and I think that’s pretty cool.

If you are a writer, and want to publish (and what writer doesn’t?), I think you will find C3 a better fit than going the traditional route. The old established way is hard. Very hard! Even today’s most well known names were rejected uncounted times. Independent publishers like Intrigue and Acorn are coming into their own, and represent a new direction in the publishing industry. They are in the hunt for writers who are good, but have experienced rejection after rejection like me. They will give you a chance, simply because they are new, they are hungry, and they are looking for the next Stephen King or James Patterson or Isaac Asimov. The publishing industry is changing because technology has allowed it, and anyone who ever dreamed of seeing their novel on a bookstore’s New Releases shelf will benefit.

I think you will be very excited about what you find here. Take advantage of this conference while you can. There aren’t many like it, and you don’t want to be standing on the platform when the train leaves the station.  

As someone very special to me said when I was about to quit, “You’ve worked so hard and learned so much, why would you give up now?”

Good advice. I’m glad I took it.

DB Corey

Illustration used with permission from Debbie Ridpath Ohi at Inkygirl.com

The Marketing of a Writer

I've never been comfortable talking about myself; blowing my own horn, or any of those self-promoting things I hear one must do to become a much read author. I suppose it's because of the “lessons” my ol' man drummed into me when I was a kid:

 

“Don’t be a showboat!”

“Stop talkin’ about yourself!”

“Nobody likes a blowhard!”

Yep. That was my ol’ man.

But now I find that those self-serving behaviors are necessary since self-promotion is required to market an author’s novel. So in order to market my work, I must rebel against the mandates of my father and convince you that you'll marry your high school heart-throb, get the job of your dreams, move into a big house in the country, and that your life will change ever for the better—if, and only if, you spend your hard-earned money on my new novel, Chain of Evidence.

"Yes Ladies and Gents, step right up for the cure to what ails ya! This book cures neuritis and neuralgia, insomnia and narcolepsy, iron-poor-blood and hardening of the arteries. It cures thinning hair, wakes you up if you’re drowsy and lulls you to sleep if you’re not. That’s right friends and neighbors, it’s the wonder-book of the 21^st Century. Don’t miss out! Get your copy today! Don't be shy! That's it, step right up!" 

 ​

Literary snake-oil salesman.

That's how I feel, asking you to buy something that I'm peddling when you know nothing about who I am. So! I will try to make you comfortable enough with me to spend the cash that you work so hard to earn.

I am not an English major by any stretch of the imagination. I barely graduated high school and flunked out of my probationary semester of junior college. It was not an auspicious start to an illustrious writing career, but Life has a way about it. It waited patiently as I engaged in all the self-destructive behaviors of Youth, and when the Better Judgment I had denied in those formative years finally revealed itself, Life stepped in with a question.

“Are you good enough to write a book?”     

I liked reading, although I didn’t do that much of it. Usually on the beach during summer vacation. Clancy, Koontz, and Coonts were a couple of my favorites. King as well. But how could I write like those guys? Well, I couldn’t. But if I wanted to answer Life’s question, I had to learn the lessons that I passed up when I had the chance.

I knew I wasn’t stupid, just behind the curve. After the Navy, I went back to college at night. My grades surprised me; 3.0—even in English 101 & 102. I figured I had a fighting chance. All I needed was a refresher. So I took a couple creative writing courses at the local college, and found—to my amazement—that I enjoyed them.

I began writing the novel. I’d type a couple pages and check the word count. Type a couple more pages and check the word count. 1400 words.

“Damn! This is tough! And no, I’m not using too many exclamation points!”

A novel should start at around 80,000 words. Fewer than that and you have a novella; the novel’s little sister. So I plodded through, joined critiques groups, a writing site, and The Maryland Writers Association. Everything helped and the writing became better. Family and friends encouraged me, and I found that I had more money. Writing takes lots of time, so the nights I spent in the bar shooting pool had to go. Either that, or I shift to acting and audition for The Hustler. Not likely with my billiard skills.

I spent a shade over a year on the first novel, and it took 2^nd place in a writing contest. I was elated ... until the thirtieth agent rejected it. It was then I realized that the first novel sucked, and after discussing it with other writers, it seems the first one always does. It’s all part of the process ... unless your name is Hemingway. But I kinda think that maybe his first wasn’t all that either. I had a decision to make. Keep trying ... or quit.

I quit a bunch of stuff in my life: the clarinet, high school baseball, college, Tae Kwon Do, three marriages, a couple of diets, and one or two lousy jobs. I didn’t want to quit this too, although writing was hard. But as I credited to Tom Hanks in an earlier post—

“If it wasn’t hard everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.”

I believe that to be true. If writing a novel wasn’t hard, anyone could do it.

Anyone....

At this stage of my life, with three grand children to look up to me, I want to achieve something more, even if it is just writing a book.

See ya next week.
DB

Website - www.dbcorey.com

Twitter - DB Corey

Twitter - Detective Moby Truax

DB Corey on Facebook - tinyurl.com/mltv6rs 

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Meet Myster Write on Facebook – www.facebook.com/MeetMysterWrite

Gittin’ Published Ain’t Easy

So you wrote a book. 85,000 words give or take. You sent query letters to many, many agents. Some used form letters to reply, and some didn’t reply at all. Those are especially annoying since they tell you, “If we do not respond, we’re not interested. Please wait four to six weeks for our non-response.” And you do. But when four to six weeks roll around, you forget who it was that you were waiting not to hear from. Others are civil enough to scribble a note saying, “Your work does not fit out needs at this time, but keep trying. We’re fairly certain someone will like it.”

      Well, the “keep trying” part becomes tiring.

As an unproven writer, you don’t know if the problem is your work, if the agent is speaking the truth, or if it’s a little of both. You don’t trust your family or friends to proof your work and give you an honest critique, because if it’s bad, they will always lie to you in a misguided attempt to spare your feelings. And that’s the rub, isn’t it? The Catch-22! If they don’t tell you that your writing needs work, how can you hope to improve?

They will tell you what they think you want to hear because they don’t want to discourage you. If they discourage you, you might quit. If you quit, you may never amount to anything, and if you never amount of anything, it’ll be their fault.

So they lie.

They tell you they’ve never read such a great book in all of their lives. You see dollar signs, big houses on the lake, and throngs of adoring fans. You look in the mirror and see J.K. Rowling if you’re a woman, or Stephen King if you’re a guy (ok, maybe not King).

You get all revved up and submit a query, a bio, a synopsis, and a couple of chapters. Then, you wait. Eventually you come to the realization that rejection takes a very long time. Meanwhile, you find that insisting on an honest critique helps a little with friends and family, and they try, but they dip it in sugar so it’s easier for you to swallow, and the process starts all over again.

All of this is part of becoming a writer. It’s painful and it’s hard. But as Tom Hanks said in A League of Their Own—

“If it wasn't hard everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.”

       Keep writing.

DB

Website - www.dbcorey.com

Twitter - DB Corey

Twitter - Detective Moby Truax

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Meet Myster Write on Facebook – www.facebook.com/MeetMysterWrite

2013

  

Yet another New Year. For me, the 64^th of 64.

A bit late to start a writing career, wouldn’t you think? But I say, why not! Because as it is with each New Year, 2013 rings in with the promise and the celebration and the optimism of a new birth.

Is it a fresh start? You betcha! With all the potential and promise of a new day. Every New Year is. If they weren’t, what would we have? We may as well just go behind the barn and shoot ourselves ... unless we bought Apple at six.

In 2005, someone told me that I was a good writer, that my emails were compelling, and suggested that I write a book.

Write a book.

     That’s what authors do.

     That’s how authors make their living. They entertain the masses by taking them out of their humdrum, everyday existence into the dynamic lives of the people they’d like to be: cops and robbers, astronauts and aliens, witches and warlocks ... hustlers and hookers.

     We all wonder ... what would it be like?

     The author shows us.  Takes us there, and we become that which we seek; if for just a little while. The author has the power to transform our ordinary worlds into something extra-ordinary, and we seek them out in every bookstore we encounter.

2013 is my new day, for in August I will have finally attained the goal of “published author.” But nothing on this road has been easy: the writing, the rewriting, the submissions, the rejections, the rejections, the rejections. I often wonder how I stayed with it; maybe because I never really thought I’d ever make it, or maybe because someone very special prodded me not to quit. But whatever the reason, I have reached the first level.

Now comes the hard part.

Care to follow me?

Press the subscribe button.

DB Corey

Illustration used with permission from Debbie Ridpath Ohi at Inkygirl.com

DB

Website - www.dbcorey.com

Twitter - DB Corey

Twitter - Detective Moby Truax

DB Corey on Facebook - tinyurl.com/mltv6rs 

DB Corey Author FB site bit.ly/DBCorey-Author

DB Corey on LinkIn - tinyurl.com/oftk7do

Meet Myster Write on Facebook – www.facebook.com/MeetMysterWrite