tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56266956155682768462024-02-09T15:58:39.058-06:00Jarrett WritesBlog home of Jarrett Rush, author of Chasing Filthy Lucre and the New Eden series.Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.comBlogger546125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-41120490002691669812019-10-29T07:09:00.000-05:002019-10-29T07:09:08.238-05:00Power Down pre-order is off<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHRtMyR33TmvRwJF9RItGfYoCcht75jdoq1kynV9ZH7_GcyMut6wfkqYB_zL2bAyE_j_8DLOyi33g0kybekZPZhj2m0c2xrrcJ8p2FQ-mTFtPNT_EHBATDqXuJ2C3CQdSyTyxopxk_dpO/s1600/RENNER.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1003" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHRtMyR33TmvRwJF9RItGfYoCcht75jdoq1kynV9ZH7_GcyMut6wfkqYB_zL2bAyE_j_8DLOyi33g0kybekZPZhj2m0c2xrrcJ8p2FQ-mTFtPNT_EHBATDqXuJ2C3CQdSyTyxopxk_dpO/s320/RENNER.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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I'm sitting here with a finished book. It's done. It's edited. And last night I was supposed to load the final file up to complete the pre-order process. Except that didn't happen. I screwed up, and now the pre-order for Power Down is off.<br />
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An explanation. <br />
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I'd been watching my deadline. I'd been editing toward that date. Or, I was editing to what I thought was that date. Turns out I was off by a couple of hours. Amazon asks that final manuscripts be loaded into its systems by 11:59 p.m. three days before the pre-order date. I was releasing Power Down in Nov. 1. So, I was operating under the assumption that I had until 11:59 last night to get the file loaded. I'd received emails reminding me of that. I'd checked my author dashboard. I kept seeing 11:59 p.m. What I didn't see, though, and where I screwed up, was that the time was actually 11:59 p.m. GMT. Greenwich Mean Time. London. Five hours ahead of Dallas. So, when I sat down last night at 9 p.m., I was already two hours late.<br />
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I called Amazon. I asked for grace, but none was extended. There was nothing the woman on the other end of the phone could do. The pre-order was going to be canceled.<br />
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So, if you were one of the people who'd already pre-ordered the book, I apologize. My mistake means you won't get your copy right away. I hope you will buy it again once the book officially goes live. That should be a day or two after the first of the month.<br />
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That's it. I'm frustrated that I didn't pay better attention. I'm slightly frustrated that there's little give in Amazon's rules, but I understand why there can't be. But mostly, I'm mad at myself that I've let readers down.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-32728571256333419882019-08-01T07:13:00.001-05:002019-08-01T09:32:58.647-05:00He's here. Everyone, meet Sam.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Earlier this year I mentioned that I was launching a pen name. Well, blast off. That pen name is here.<br />
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Everyone, meet Sam Renner.<br />
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Sam is in his mid 40s, just like me<br />
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Sam is married to a wonderful woman and has three kids, just like me.<br />
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Sam has been writing for years, just like me.<br />
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The truth is, Sam's a brand. Sam's space opera. Sam's serials. Sam's special.<br />
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Is he completely necessary? Maybe not. The stuff I write under my real name is definitely scifi/speculative fiction, and so is the stuff I write under Sam's name. So why launch him at all?<br />
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First, I'm not going to tell him you asked that question. But the real reason I started writing under his name is that his stuff is just different enough from what I do under Jarrett Rush that I wasn't sure the audiences would cross over naturally.<br />
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Under Jarrett, I write nearer future scifi/cyberpunk and dystopian fiction. Under Sam, it's space opera and it's much more heavily serialized (yes, light cliffhangers). That's like two different flavors of ice cream. Yes, all ice cream is good, and I'll likely try whatever flavor you put in front of me (Within reason, of course. You can keep your vegetable flavored mess to yourself.)<br />
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But if I'm a fan of chocolate and you give me a choice between that and vanilla I'm not going to stray from what I love. That's how space opera readers are. They like what they like. So, instead of confusing my already somewhat slightly split audience who knows me as Jarrett Rush, it made more sense to launch a new name. The people who liked the space opera weren't likely to cross over to the cyberpunk stuff anyway, so there was no harm.<br />
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Plus, this gave me a chance to do things the right way. Self-publishing has changed quite a bit over the last few years. There are some best practices now that weren't around when I started doing this so many years ago. I'd like to give those a shot and see if I can't find a real audience this time. So, Sam gives me a shot at doing that.<br />
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Sam's first book is up on Amazon for pre-order now. It goes live on Aug. 12. I'm super proud of it, and I'm excited about where this series is going. I'll tell you more about that in a post early next week. In the meantime, <a href="http://bit.ly/ZuluLost" target="_blank">go take a look at the new book. Read the blurb. Pre-order your copy.</a><br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-28389701138489587592019-06-20T07:17:00.000-05:002019-06-20T07:17:36.702-05:00Creating the Lazarus Moment<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Recently, I’ve been somewhat obsessed with this song:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Without saying the name in the lyrics, it’s the story of Lazarus, the man Christ raised from the dead. The Bible story comes from the book of John, something I recently read through and a book that Gina went through as part of an organized Bible study. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">For those unfamiliar: John 11:1-44 </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jarrett’s condensed summary: Lazarus gets sick. Mary and Martha send word to Jesus. He waits where he is two days. Lazarus dies. Jesus goes to Judea and comforts Mary and Martha then raises Lazarus from the dead. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, when I listen to this song, I try to imagine Lazarus in those final days, and here’s what I picture. He knows he’s sick. He knows that he’s probably not going to make it. He and his sisters send for Jesus. Lazarus believes that Jesus is the promised messiah, so he’s probably comfortable with his eternity. Still, like most of us, he probably wants a little more time. He’s obviously close to his family. We don’t know how old he is. We know that his sisters are roughly the same age as Jesus, so he’s not old. He’s probably OK with dying, but not ready to do it yet. So he’s hoping for his miracle. But as he doesn’t hear from Jesus and knows that things are looking more and more grim, he says to himself, “It’s OK. I know what’s next for me.” And then he dies. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s where the song comes in. It’s written from Lazarus’s point of view, and he starts saying “You came! I knew that you would come!” (I’m an advocate for proper exclamation point usage, and they feel totally appropriate here.) This is a man who thought he was dead. He thought he was destined for Heaven. Instead, he’s up and walking out of a tomb, alive again.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was literally at his lowest point, but now he’s not. He’s experienced a literal 180 degree change.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like a lot of things, this gets me thinking about my fiction and starts me asking questions about my writing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Are you giving the characters in your story that kind of 180 degree change? Are you allowing them to hit the bottom so they can then rise again? Are you putting their backs flat to the wall, trapping them in a corner, giving them long odds (or no odds at all)?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Characters need that kind of change so they can grow as people. Readers need that kind of virtual hopelessness so they have a reason to root for the character. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, you can’t let your characters live in a perpetual state of back-to-the-wall. Their lives can’t be all dark. No one wants to spend all of their reading time with characters who are constantly being thrown to the ground and stepped upon.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the same way, though, they don’t want to read about people who have no real victory. If someone wins all the time, or is dealt a hand that’s all aces you don’t have a story. Stories are about change--changes in situations, yes, but most of us read because we want to see changes in characters. We want to see growth in the fictional people we care about. That’s story, and if we don’t put our characters in situations where they can learn and grow then we don’t have a tale to tell.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Are you creating that Lazarus Moment for your characters? Are you knocking them down so they can have their miracle and get back up again?</span></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-9175581237186896162019-01-27T07:05:00.001-06:002019-01-27T07:05:26.375-06:002019: Let's launch a pen name<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Every year I sit down and make some goals for this whole publishing thing. Each year they involve some level of increased production and better marketing. This year's no different. I have some pretty aggressive publishing goals, and I have some marketing goals that will keep me busy. But the biggest thing that's going to change in 2019 is that not everything written by me is going to have my name on it, because I'm launching a pen name. <div>
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There are a couple reasons for this. Part of it comes down to marketing. I have built the Jarrett Rush brand around near-future, on-Earth speculative fiction. The sci-fi I write under my real name isn't happening millennia from now. It doesn't have space ships or alien overlords. I write monster stories under my own name. I write zombie stories under my own name. The people who red those stories don't necessarily read this new stuff I'm writing. This stuff is all spaceships and blasters. It's fun, and I love it. But promoting it to the people who read the stuff I write as Jarrett isn't going to drive sales and could confuse the book store algorithms that help sell books for you. So, to avoid that unhelpful cross pollination of audiences, I'm going to publish this new stuff under a new name.</div>
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Second reason: I started this publishing journey eight years ago this coming September. It's been fun, but it hasn't been profitable. I make a few bucks a month from my stories, but I'm not by any reasonable measure successful with it. But, I think I could be. The problem has been that I've sort of done everything wrong. When I started years ago, there weren't a lot of best practices. It was still a little bit the wild west, and I missed all of the tricks then that people did to make their books successful. And they really were tricks, most of them. They were exploiting loop holes in the algorithms that Amazon and other stores quickly closed.</div>
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From that, some best practices emerged, those things that didn't exploit any funny way that books rankings or promotions were handled. These were just solid ways to run a business. None of them are overly genius, but I haven't ever implemented them fully. I feel like, and this is going to sound fairly cocky, that if I did those things, I could be successful doing that. And launching a pen name is a chance for me to test that. Things like writing in clearly defined markets (RIP, cyberpunk), establishing a newsletter early, launching books quickly, running ads properly. All of this is stuff I see other authors doing and finding.</div>
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I haven't decided whether or not to keep the name secret. Right now, I'm leaning that way, just for the sake of purity. The whole cross pollination thing I mentioned earlier. My plans for him (There's your one hint, the pen name is still male) are pretty aggressive. I want to write five serial novellas, three short stories that introduce the world, and one standalone story. That's nine pieces of fiction for this new name. </div>
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It's kind of exciting for me personally. Like most writers, I have a lot of half started things on my hard drives. I didn't know where some of it was going. They were just stories that came to me, and I ran with them. Going back now, I see how they easily fit into the plans I have for this name. So, I'm not starting those none pieces from scratch. I actually have the first novella finished and am a good way into the second right now. I've also got a start on one of the stand alone shorts. It's kind of like God knew what he was doing when He gave me those stories when he did.</div>
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That doesn't mean I'm ignoring the series I've started under my Jarrett Rush name. I am planning on finishing the Rubble & Ruin series this year. There's one more book planned to wrap up that story. I also have more Jackson Cane stories planned. I think I can get those stories to start moving with a finished series and some smart advertising. And those stories are pretty short. I can write them quickly. </div>
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I also want to write that third New Eden book to wrap up the main series. </div>
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So, that's it. We'll say happy birthday to a new pen name in 2019. You'll also see me more here and on social media a bit more, specifically Facebook. I've got some ideas there too. I'm excited about this year, I think it has the potential to be a good one.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-69157180568159718852018-07-31T19:16:00.001-05:002018-07-31T19:16:20.217-05:00Cool Stuff I Found: Lo-fi and jazzy hip hopI can't write in silence. It's weird. I blame my days working in a busy newsroom for the need for noise. It's why I listen to music now. Thing is I can't write to music with words. I suppose that those years listening to the commotion of a newsroom all the voices blended together, nothing indistinguishable.<br />
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For years, I've spent time tweaking Pandora stations and Spotify playlists full of trance-style dance music. Then I discovered lo-fi hip hop, and I had to tell you all about it. Even if you aren't a writer and just need something that can play in the background, this is it. Most of if it is jazzy piano or sax or trumpet over a hip hop beat. There's occasionally a vocal sample, but even that is super low key.<br />
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There are several channels filled with mixes on YouTube. My favorite so far is Fantastic Music, but there are others that have their own style. Here's a few of my favorites so far, but check them out for yourself.<br />
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fA551WpQaO4" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-67630053384544939822017-12-28T06:19:00.002-06:002017-12-28T06:25:29.979-06:00Looking Back at 2017: New books, new baby, new job<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If anyone were to use this blog as a way to keep up with me and my well-being, they'd genuinely have reason to ask "Did something happen to him?" Well, here I am raising my hand saying "I'm still here. I'm OK." (Coincidentally, Pearl Jam's <i>Alive</i> is playing on Spotify right now.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And, truthfully, if you judge my year based on the posts live on the blog right now it looks bad. But reality is that you're missing a few dozen from January to June. I serially published a book here at the beginning of the year but had to take those posts down to make the book part of the Kindle Unlimited program. I'm a very, very small fish in Amazon's very, very big pond, but I didn't want to get sideways with the 800-pound gorilla of the book publishing industry.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">NEW BOOKS</span></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJaqMYMU__NL_al0XcC42kBOTFzmGFoEmqTcmdbpEDf9p2-ETL_YkXHDCEb9wS3IKrGXx4GJ9S_cBxDrgVC_YujEkZSh05BIlTFqXqGZlVIuicu_FHy8aFVc1JkerN3Qgc8jg8-d8l4b0r/s1600/RUBBLE+%2526+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1003" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJaqMYMU__NL_al0XcC42kBOTFzmGFoEmqTcmdbpEDf9p2-ETL_YkXHDCEb9wS3IKrGXx4GJ9S_cBxDrgVC_YujEkZSh05BIlTFqXqGZlVIuicu_FHy8aFVc1JkerN3Qgc8jg8-d8l4b0r/s200/RUBBLE+%2526+%25283%2529.jpg" width="125" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That book, by the way, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0734LTMH9">Rubble and Ruin: Welcome to the End</a>, is by far my most successful </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">publication to date. It's sold about 150 copies so far, and it's been read by about as many Kindle Unlimited readers. I've made twice as much from that one book as I've made from everything else.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Rubble and Ruin was my only book published in 2017, but it was one of three books written this year. I've also written the follow-up, the next part of Mac and Caroline's story. It's been edited, I just need to take another pass through it and it should be ready for publication in January. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There's also a book, the first in a series, about the crew of a space station that's edited and ready to go. And I'm about 10,000 words into a space adventure story about a group of freelance pirates and their semi-sentient ship. It's a fun story so far. I think you'll like it. Both of these should publish in the first part of 2018. I have a plan for next year, but I'll write more about that in another post.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">NEW BABY</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinsbseow-wRiE3_DkPwi3jbxB_cLMBo4Stc_de1Ce2dewaltmDWuXGM3YLN5UN0Rf1PtmhDgJ0nMDpBBWb9DQLwM6gsrSO45S-HAjfqt4tDraG8PNt0UmjFpVFvpSrehiaZ9MT_93dz8Ew/s1600/IMG_2989.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinsbseow-wRiE3_DkPwi3jbxB_cLMBo4Stc_de1Ce2dewaltmDWuXGM3YLN5UN0Rf1PtmhDgJ0nMDpBBWb9DQLwM6gsrSO45S-HAjfqt4tDraG8PNt0UmjFpVFvpSrehiaZ9MT_93dz8Ew/s200/IMG_2989.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On a personal note, our family of four became a family of five this year. And I became a little less outnumbered. We welcomed a son, Liam, to the family in mid-November. He's amazing so far, but I think all of my kids are. His sisters love him more than I thought they could. They are great with him. Mom is ecstatic. So is dad. Gina and I had always talked about having three kids, but actually having a third was something we wrestled with. We have two absolutely perfect girls. Were we pushing our luck trying to have one more? We decided that we didn't care. We've always seen our version of the Rush family as a party of five, and we trusted God. So we went for it, and I'm glad we did. Liam feels like he was the last piece of our puzzle. We're complete now. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">NEW JOB</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Because life wasn't chaotic enough with the holidays and a new baby, I left my job of almost four years and started a new one the week before Christmas. It's an amazing opportunity to combine everything I've done in my career so far into one job. I won't bore you with too many details, but I'm essentially getting to start a trade publication for a sector of the healthcare industry. I'm having to pull on some rusty journalism levers, and that's fun to do again. But I'm also taking some of the marketing tricks and tactics I've learned over the last six years to both bring readers and to build email lists that we can then eventually monetize. It's still very new, but it's also a lot of fun. I'm getting to envision what this publication actually looks like and how it operates. So, all of those things that I've suggested clients try over the last few years I can actually put into place. So I'll either prove myself a genius or a fool.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I think that's it. I've been gone a while from here, but I think I've got you all caught up now. Quickly, if you were one of the people who bought Rubble and Ruin, thanks. That book has been a fun ride so far. And like I mentioned briefly above, I've got some plans for 2018. Plans that I think are doable assuming life doesn't throw me some unexpected curve balls. I'll share those later this week or early next.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Until then, have a blessed end to 2017 and a wonderful start to 2018.</span><br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-36908680357019107392017-06-23T07:16:00.000-05:002017-06-23T07:16:23.105-05:00Rubble and Ruin:Welcome to the End is live now!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJaqMYMU__NL_al0XcC42kBOTFzmGFoEmqTcmdbpEDf9p2-ETL_YkXHDCEb9wS3IKrGXx4GJ9S_cBxDrgVC_YujEkZSh05BIlTFqXqGZlVIuicu_FHy8aFVc1JkerN3Qgc8jg8-d8l4b0r/s1600/RUBBLE+%2526+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1003" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJaqMYMU__NL_al0XcC42kBOTFzmGFoEmqTcmdbpEDf9p2-ETL_YkXHDCEb9wS3IKrGXx4GJ9S_cBxDrgVC_YujEkZSh05BIlTFqXqGZlVIuicu_FHy8aFVc1JkerN3Qgc8jg8-d8l4b0r/s400/RUBBLE+%2526+%25283%2529.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>
This is how I wanted to end the Rubble and Ruin serial experiment, with an announcement that the<br />
ebook was live the week after the final installment went up. And, today, that's what I'm able to do. It took a lot of work during a busy week at the day job, but the book is live. At Amazon at least. I've still got some work to do to get it ready for the other retailers, but Amazon is the giant. It was a priority to get it listed there. In the middle of the night last night that happened.<br />
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So, like I've been mentioning as we were publishing the individual installments, if you enjoyed the story I'd appreciate you picking up a copy. It won't cost you much, at least through the weekend. It's launching at 99 cents so those of you here can get it cheap. After that the price goes up to $2.99.<br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/RRWelcome">Get it here now for less than a buck.</a><br />
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Thanks for sticking with us for about seven or eight months, however long it took us to get the 33 parts posted. It's been a fun experiment for me. Hopefully, you'll keep coming back to the blog. I'm going to drink the marketing Kool Aid that I sell to clients, and start posting here more often. We may even do another serial story.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-52163971005413668882017-01-04T13:06:00.003-06:002017-01-04T13:06:48.296-06:00Goals for 2017: Go for itIt's a new year. Time for new goals. I've done these posts in the past and they've always been very specific. I'll write this. I'll finish that. Very ambitious. Very foolhardy. Not this year. This year I'm resolving to have a new attitude.<br />
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It comes from two things. The first, I was watching The Wall the other night. It was on. I was ironing. Quick setup for the game. You answer questions. If you get them right you drop a ball down a Plinko-style board. There are slots at the bottom of the board that represent dollar amounts. Wherever the ball lands, you win that amount. Get the question wrong, drop the ball and lose whatever amount it lands in.<br />
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The contestant I was watching at the time had earned $1.34 million in winnings so far. He gets to the last question. He decides to drop three balls on the next question. get it right and he could add $3 million to his total. Get it wrong and he loses, but what are the chances of losing it all? Slim, right?<br />
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You can likely see where this is going. He gets it wrong. He drops three balls. They land in $1 million; $300,000; and $50,000. Total: $1.35 million.<br />
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He lost it all.<br />
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There's more to the game, and he still had a chance to win $100,000 or something, but I had to attend to something else. I don't know if he walked away a winner. But, seeing him lose all of the money, literally a million dollars, on one question was heartbreaking. I laughed that awkward laugh that comes out when you don't really know how to react to something. I felt awful for him.<br />
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But then the next day or so, I thought about him more. And what I thought was "Good for him." No, he didn't win the big money. But he didn't lose it either. It was never his. It was just numbers on a screen. But that attitude, the one that says "Go for it," is one that I admire. And it's one that I want to adopt for my writing life in 2017. It's one I should also adopt in the non-writing part of my life too.<br />
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This attitude shift came from not just seeing the show, but something else helped cement the idea for me. I am reading through the Book of Luke every morning. The other day I got to the verses where Jesus feeds the 5,000, and something kind of clicked for me. It wasn't just in my writing life either, but throughout everything. God can take whatever we have, no matter how small, and make it great. He takes a few loaves and a few fish and feeds thousands. If he can do that then he can take what I have, no matter what it is, and turn it into something. So, if that's the case, then why am I holding back in my writing life? Why am I not being like the guy on the game show and just going for it? Why am I not writing more and publishing more? Why am I not giving my writing and my ideas around publishing to God and just going for it. Trusting that he can take whatever I give him and make something with it.<br />
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So, for 2017, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to go for it, and trust that if I bring God something—anything—he'll be able to make something with it.<br />
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There you go. Publicly stated goals. Can't take them back now.<br />
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Took a bit of a break from the serial story over new years, but that'll be back Friday. And if you need to catch up, you can do that <a href="http://bit.ly/WelcomeCompilation" target="_blank">here</a>. Until then, see you soon.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-56230107349408921932016-10-18T13:02:00.003-05:002017-02-15T13:49:20.923-06:00Storytelling lessons from my 4 year oldEllie is 4 years old, and she's starting to tell coherent stories that she makes up on her own. We play a lot of pretend. I'm usually some superhero and she's a princess. Now, that princess usually has some kind of super power, so she's somewhat a princess in name only. But it's fun.<br />
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That playing pretend and storytelling is starting to bleed over into our night time routine, and it's actually teaching me a bit about my own storytelling. A good thing. Not going to complain, even if it was a bit unexpected.<br />
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A couple of examples:<br />
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I was putting her to bed one night in the last month or so, and she asked for a story. Like I mentioned, she's getting into superheroes. She's not a DC or Marvel girl. If they have a cape or a mask or a cool uniform then she's in. She really seems to like Captain America.<br />
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So, this night she asked me to tell her how he was born. So I tell her an abbreviated version of the origin story. Steve Rodgers. Scrawny kid in Brooklyn. Experiments. Boom. Captain America. It was a bit more dawn out than that, and in the middle of it she stopped me and said "Dad, this is boring. Add Elsa and Anna." So, I did.<br />
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Then the other night we are sitting in her room, and she tells me that she's going to tell me a story. It involves princesses (her and her sister) and a castle that I made up a couple of years ago. There's a tall tower, a windy staircase, and any time I tell her these stories their mom is making breakfast in the kitchen.<br />
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So, her story starts with the princesses waking up and going downstairs for breakfast. Then in the middle of breakfast the evil witch comes and turns her mom into a monster, dad into Captain America, but he's trapped in a closet. She and her sister both get changed into something else that's slipped my mind at the moment. But it was crazy. It made no sense, but she got so into the telling of it that I got wrapped up in the moment. It didn't matter that the logic didn't work. She was excited about it, and I wanted to hear what was next.<br />
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Now, here's the lesson, and this for me as much as anyone else.<br />
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Get out of your head when you tell stories. Let the story go where it wants to go.<br />
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Too often I'll have an idea and then hesitate when it comes time to write it down, either while outlining or drafting. I shouldn't do that. I should let the story go where it wants to go. Let my mind take it to places that may not make a whole lot of sense, because that's where the passion is. That's often where I do my best writing. It's when I've found the flow of the story, and I'm letting it wash around me, not bothering with thoughts of "Does this make sense?"<br />
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My favorite reading experiences are the ones where you can feel the author's passion for that particular tale. Yes, we all love our books or stories, but you can tell as a reader (at least I think you can) when a writer telling the story with passion. At least I feel like you can. There's more to the reading experience than just getting things from Point A to Point B. I really believe that passion comes from being fully in the story and letting it go where it wants to go.<br />
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Now, you can't necessarily make illogical jumps or ignore natural laws. But other than that, don't let those ideas that seem too weird or too unexpected die on your mental vine. Put them down. Let them run. See where they take you. You can always call them back in the editing process if you find they didn't work.<br />
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So, that's it. Storytelling lessons that I learned from my 4 year old. Hope it was helpful for you. It was for me.<br />
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Thanks, Ellie. Daddy loves you.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-15968101204619994772016-09-06T15:21:00.000-05:002016-10-11T10:45:04.150-05:00Fanning the flames -- 2 Timothy 1:6-7It feels weird to talk about gifts or talents, to acknowledge that you think you're good at things. At least it does for me. I don't like talking about myself. Not at all. And saying that you think you are gifted in one way or another is definitely talking about yourself.<br />
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But just because we don't like to talk about it doesn't meant that we don't all have talents. We do. But reading through the Bible the other morning I came across a verse that challenged me, so thought I'd share it here. Faith is, after all, the third F in the tagline up top.</div>
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<span class="text 2Tim-1-6" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">"6 </span>For this reason I remind you to <b>FAN INTO FLAME THE GIFT GOD</b>, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29816N" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29816N" title="See cross-reference N">N</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span class="text 2Tim-1-7" id="en-NIV-29817" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">7 </span>For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29817O" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29817O" title="See cross-reference O">O</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> but gives us power,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-29817P" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29817P" title="See cross-reference P">P</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> love and self-discipline."</span></div>
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It's 2 Timothy 1:6-7, and the emphasis there is mine. And I know that how I'm reading it is not necessarily how Paul meant it when he wrote it, but this verse really hit me.</div>
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<b>"Fan into flame the gift of God." </b></div>
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For some reason, fire imagery has come up a lot in my work lately. I'm pretty sure I have some discussion of a fire being whipped into roaring flame in Digi City. And there's definitely similar imagery in the current WIP. So it's certainly something I've been thinking about. So maybe that's why the fanning into flame language struck me as I read.</div>
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This is kind of how I see the talents thing. When we are being formed God takes out his Holy Measuring Cup and gives us all an equal measure of everything that makes us human — kindness, love, compassion, etc ... Then he looks at each of us individually and gives us a little extra in a few places. Those extra portions are our gifts and talents, and He has an expectation that we will take those and do something with them. That we won't waste them in the service of nothing.</div>
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Now, I don't think that we have to take those talents and use them specifically for church work or kingdom goals. We can use them in other ways. I do think — and this does feel weird to type — that one of my gifts is written communication. I'm good with the words. Or pretty good. Good enough for someone to pay me for them and for the clients I work with to be happy.</div>
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Still, I wonder, am I doing all I can with those gifts? I think about it often. Have I fanned the flames? Or am I letting them smolder, eventually to go out? </div>
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I don't know that I've done all I can. I pray about it. I want to be a success as a writer. I want to use those talents for good things, but am I? I don't know. I'm not sure that anyone will ever feel like they've done everything they could with all they've been given. I guess I'm not alone in these feelings. But I feel like God wants to do more through me. I just don't know how. It's a trust thing in the end. Let Him lead. Follow where you think He's going, knowing that He's not going to take you down a path He hasn't equipped you to walk.</div>
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I don't think there's some big conclusion to this post. Not surprisingly, it helps me to write when I'm working through stuff, so thanks for letting me ramble on God for a bit. I'll probably be doing a bit more of this in the future. It's something I've wanted to do for a while. It's why I added Faith to the tagline when I added the header years ago, but I've always been hesitant. But this is my blog, right? And if there's anything I shouldn't be hesitant to talk about ...</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-11803752237083808722016-08-29T01:11:00.002-05:002016-08-29T01:15:36.628-05:00Outlining as a Biblical principle<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are on vacation as I’m writing this. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>(Not now as I'm posting it. We're back. All had fun. All worn out. Still.)</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> My family is all asleep in bed behind me. I’ve got my phone and a Bluetooth keyboard in front of me. I’ve just finished writing probably 1000 words before hitting the sack myself. It feels good to be regularly productive. I feel the best about myself when I am laying down the good words with some regularity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m writing the second book in what I hope will be an astonishingly successful space opera series with some definite Jarrett feel to it. Now, I say it will hopefully have Jarrett feel, but I am toying with the idea of publishing these as a serial. A true serial where one book builds on the previous and there are crazy plot twists and cliffhangers between books. Because of that, I am thinking of using a pen name for this one. It’s a pen name I’ve kept in my back pocket since I was literally a kid.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have a good idea of where this overall story is going, but hadn’t really plotted out all the different episodes. I am doing that now for the second book, and I like where it’s headed. But I can’t help but feel like my product may have suffered from that lack of an outline in these early drafts. I have a lot of stuff that needs to be revised in the initial drafts of the first story. Big things, too. Not small. It’s OK, though. That’s what the revision process is for.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">That said, plotting has been on my mind a lot lately. Even when I am spending time in the Bible in the mornings it’s there, and, if you think of outlining as creating a map, I’ve discovered a verse that proves that outlining is Biblical. Oh, and wait until you see the other post I have planned on plotting vs. pantsing. Like I said, it's something that's been on my mind lately.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway, outlining as Biblical principle. Here you go. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Proverbs 4: 25-26</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>25</b> Look straight ahead, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">and fix your eyes on what lies before you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>26</b> Mark out a straight path for your feet;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">stay on the safe path.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Until next time, and hopefully that will be sooner rather than later. </span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-41576336200570951602016-08-01T15:28:00.000-05:002016-08-02T12:23:37.910-05:00Hitting pause on the New Eden seriesI realized today that I wrapped up the first draft of my next story. Weird to say that I realized it, but sometimes weird happens. My concern while writing it was that I hadn't answered the main story question. I'd thought that I was going to need to do a bit more machining of the plot to get us to a place that satisfies the reader. But, just to make sure, I went back and read what I'd already written, and I think that main question is satisfied. So, with that question answered, story done.<br />
<br />
Here's the thing, and this is why I'm writing. This story is in a new series. Probably going to be published under a pen name. I'm still debating that last part. So, this isn't the next New Eden story, and that's what I want to talk about.<br />
<br />
I'm hitting pause on the New Eden series. I love it. I love the characters. I love the story and where it's going. I love writing it. The problem is, not enough people love reading it. And when I was writing it for fun, that was fine. I could still enjoy the process of creation. But I don't know that creation for the sake of creation is enough any more. I write to be read. It sounds a little weird and a lot selfish, but it's the truth. I don't want to do this creation thing in a vacuum. And while New Eden did have readers, their number was very small. Using all of my fingers and toes I could probably count them without the help of another person. So, treating this whole author/publisher thing like the business that it is, I'm not going to keep focusing on a product that's not of interest to consumers.<br />
<br />
To pull the curtain back, Digi City has sold six copies since release. One was to me.<br />
<br />
I think that the New Eden stuff has struggled for a couple of reasons. One of them is me. I haven't written them fast enough. Three stories, the equivalent of approximately 65,000 words in five years. That's painfully slow progress in a world where authors are regularly releasing series books at one month intervals. That's on me.<br />
<br />
The second problem is also partially on me, I suppose, and that's that the New Eden stories, while clearly cyberpunk, don't necessarily hit all of the subgenre's major tropes. If you accept that the main theme behind cyberpunk is the idea of "high tech, low life" then the New Eden stuff is square. But the bigger tropes, those things that the readers expect (mainly a hyper tech society), aren't there. New Eden is run down. There's no electricity to much of the city. No lights, and classic cyberpunk is full of neon. So, while it's fair to call them cyberpunk, they aren't really. Not what the readers want anyway.<br />
<br />
There's a third issue, and it's one out of my control. The cyberpunk category at Amazon is overrun with books that aren't cyberpunk. So much so that it's difficult for readers who want a true cyberpunk book to find anything that they'd want to read. Instead they'd find very traditional sci-fi, some sci-fi romance, and even some weird stuff that I don't know that I want to talk about here.<br />
<br />
So what's next? Writing something that has a chance to succeed. To find a readership and make me some money. A few years ago I had an idea for a setting. It was a space station out at the edge of the galaxy, and I called it Transfer Station: Zulu. It was a place, much like New Eden, that felt like fertile ground for stories. It would allow me to tell stories that I wanted to tell with characters that felt like mine but in a way that may be more appealing to more readers. The space opera and space Marines categories on Amazon are popular. The readers of these genres are a lot like romance readers. They do it voraciously. They need a lot of books to keep them happy and their Kindles well-stocked. They are also readers who are open to indie published books.<br />
<br />
With that in mind and my setting already in place, I began plotting, and that's how we get to where we are today. A finished space opera story. One that's rough but that I like. It definitely has holes, and it definitely needs a bit of depth added. But I can do that in the editing. That's what it's for, after all.<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-69619435913649904502016-07-07T07:24:00.001-05:002016-07-07T07:24:16.925-05:00On killing your darlings and making stories logically satisfyingSpent the morning working on the WIP. It's a space opera/military piece that I'll share more about later, but I tweeted at the end of my half hour morning write. That's not unusual. I somewhat often recount how the morning went on Twitter. Thought today's little burst of messages was worth sharing here. It's all about logically satisfying plots. I think that this barrage of tweets makes sense as a group. If not, let me know in the comments, and I'll be glad to clarify.<br />
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<br />
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Interesting <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/amwriting?src=hash">#amwriting</a> morning. Added 854 words to the WIP, sort of. 540 of those were actually pulled from another section of the story.</div>
— Jarrett Rush (@JarrettRush) <a href="https://twitter.com/JarrettRush/status/751023583506247681">July 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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So, I wrote 300 new words, but tweaked and modified the others to make them work here. I'm counting it. Editing is writing.</div>
— Jarrett Rush (@JarrettRush) <a href="https://twitter.com/JarrettRush/status/751023788381261824">July 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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This is the frustrating part of drafting. I had been writing to my outline, but started asking myself the dreaded "why" question.</div>
— Jarrett Rush (@JarrettRush) <a href="https://twitter.com/JarrettRush/status/751024054388158464">July 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Sure, that makes for a fun story, but is it a logically consistent story? Does it makes sense for the characters to make that decision?</div>
— Jarrett Rush (@JarrettRush) <a href="https://twitter.com/JarrettRush/status/751024246583750656">July 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Or, why are they doing that that way? Why would they? I had no good answer beyond "it serves my plot for them to do it that way."</div>
— Jarrett Rush (@JarrettRush) <a href="https://twitter.com/JarrettRush/status/751024472828719104">July 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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So, I pivoted. The story is better AND it makes logical sense now. But that means some stuff that I wrote previously will have to be redone.</div>
— Jarrett Rush (@JarrettRush) <a href="https://twitter.com/JarrettRush/status/751024750961397760">July 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Which is OK. That's part of the process. But there is some stuff from those bits that I really like. I was able to salvage one today.</div>
— Jarrett Rush (@JarrettRush) <a href="https://twitter.com/JarrettRush/status/751024919606022145">July 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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That makes me happy, because, even though we all kill darlings, some of those darlings are harder to kill than others.</div>
— Jarrett Rush (@JarrettRush) <a href="https://twitter.com/JarrettRush/status/751025141870522370">July 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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OK, that's it for today's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/amwriting?src=hash">#amwriting</a> ramblings. I'll check back in with you later, Twitter. Keep your nose clean.</div>
— Jarrett Rush (@JarrettRush) <a href="https://twitter.com/JarrettRush/status/751025291825287168">July 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Oh, if you're not already following me on Twitter, do that <a href="https://twitter.com/JarrettRush" target="_blank">here</a>.
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-8852712752353727532016-06-19T08:39:00.002-05:002016-06-19T08:39:29.609-05:00Happy Father's DayThere are three things that I really like being. I like being a husband. I like being a writer. And I like being a dad.<br />
<br />
So, for you on this Father's Day, a dad story.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCfAZhiZD7BLut-3drAdggZhTqwvJACn_L9ev0tePfHLSIDGre60v_Ep6soKIHAtOmypYRR-v-K7bdkIo8WbzX43V6keLkpaywPmBhrDT7LkK43c3S2s12kaslq1QhC4x_WVGaTCqN92s/s1600/IMG_5519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCfAZhiZD7BLut-3drAdggZhTqwvJACn_L9ev0tePfHLSIDGre60v_Ep6soKIHAtOmypYRR-v-K7bdkIo8WbzX43V6keLkpaywPmBhrDT7LkK43c3S2s12kaslq1QhC4x_WVGaTCqN92s/s320/IMG_5519.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The girls are adorable, as usual. Dad not as much.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I mentioned in a previous post that we recently made a quick trip to Kansas City for a family wedding. It was a great trip. Lots of fun. But also lots of time in the car and getting the girls in and out. One of those times I was buckling Ellie in and she was asking about rain. She's asking about rain and weather a lot lately. We have some theories as to why, but we do a lot of calming her when we get thunderstorms (and thunderstorms are a big part of spring in Texas).<br />
<br />
So we are in the car and she asks me "Why does it rain, daddy?" And I immediately start trying to remember all I can about evaporation and clouds and the water cycle. It's old information learned years ago. It's not in any mental instant recall files that I'm desperately trying to access.<br />
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Gina is across the seat from me getting Haddie situated, and I am guessing she's sensing my very modest panic. She pipes up with "God's just watering the plants so they can grow big and strong." Ellie says a simple "Oh, God's watering the plants."<br />
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Sometimes I may make this dad stuff harder than I need too. I'm just thankful that God made kids, at least my two, resilient, funny, loving, and curious enough to ask questions that make me think.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-53444255575252863052016-06-15T00:42:00.002-05:002016-06-15T00:42:59.939-05:00Digi City is out now. Plus ... DEALS!!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMkciArOBPIwnw6fBt37zYB39fNNNVnLkgQXteADO4cbRb88sNtjQvU2wMdLG_wFOsmyhrUjwNi3ue_wk5lkDRKXDjSRWncyjlGFgG2791GopAgi7i4JzxAuzCBxn2o5Uj7e_URFNu8WI/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMkciArOBPIwnw6fBt37zYB39fNNNVnLkgQXteADO4cbRb88sNtjQvU2wMdLG_wFOsmyhrUjwNi3ue_wk5lkDRKXDjSRWncyjlGFgG2791GopAgi7i4JzxAuzCBxn2o5Uj7e_URFNu8WI/s320/4.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Today's the big day. Publication day for Digi City, the latest story out of New Eden, and the first story from what I'm calling the In-between. I hope you've already pre-ordered your copy. If not, it's OK. Go ahead and get a copy <a href="http://bit.ly/DigiCity" target="_blank">here</a> today. It's finally available for immediate download.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjljJh7sLhtw8Pe5Imbf3jXv3G1_XCOEbcUO2hyCxPGec25dWjhxCKAmmLBLMlIBvK_rCW_UnxT8IDN4Op5gcbi7ORMpmbZCCxYGKReOWWONMpI3bdJoYciLH1k6zH-F5IMRVcnUfrZwvf7/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjljJh7sLhtw8Pe5Imbf3jXv3G1_XCOEbcUO2hyCxPGec25dWjhxCKAmmLBLMlIBvK_rCW_UnxT8IDN4Op5gcbi7ORMpmbZCCxYGKReOWWONMpI3bdJoYciLH1k6zH-F5IMRVcnUfrZwvf7/s320/1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
But that's not all. As a way to celebrate the new release, I've dropped prices on all the other books in the New Eden series. From today until Saturday, you can get <a href="http://bit.ly/CFLBookOne" target="_blank">Chasing Filthy Lucre for free</a>. That's the series starter at no cost.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHaMY0P5x9Tgz8D1Xj4GUCRITpYh1_iX8ynOyww4qbIyeF_kAuisuBnu3Ce2mNdUMxoBHPllhBHpUjE2MKu0b_H-y7RN4tggn_8TLw9JrKtVNjndWPIvLkqduaBIAHR3VsAHcO52xL5xZg/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHaMY0P5x9Tgz8D1Xj4GUCRITpYh1_iX8ynOyww4qbIyeF_kAuisuBnu3Ce2mNdUMxoBHPllhBHpUjE2MKu0b_H-y7RN4tggn_8TLw9JrKtVNjndWPIvLkqduaBIAHR3VsAHcO52xL5xZg/s320/2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://bit.ly/FFLBookTwo" target="_blank">Finding Faded Light is just 99 cents</a> instead of its regular $2.99. That means you can get all three books in the New Eden series for less than $2. Quite the deal if you ask me.<br />
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And I apologize for how much this sounds like an infomercial. <br />
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Get your copy of Digi City <a href="http://bit.ly/DigiCity" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
Get your copy of Chasing Filthy Lucre <a href="http://bit.ly/CFLBookOne" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
Get your copy of Finding Faded Light <a href="http://bit.ly/FFLBookTwo" target="_blank">here</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-88514095394279315162016-06-14T06:56:00.001-05:002016-06-14T06:56:24.663-05:00Digi City: Creating familiarityWe just got back from a quick trip to Kansas City for a family wedding. It was nice to get up there for a happy event. The last two trips have been up-and-back affairs for funerals. Never enough time to get quickly reacquainted with my hometown.<br />
<br />
This time, though, we had a little bit of extra time, and I got to show the girls the houses I lived in, the school I attended. Ellie even got to play at the park I played at as a kid. It was fun.<br />
<br />
The thing that was somewhat remarkable to me, as it was the last time I was up there and was able to see some old familiar places, was just how much I still knew the are of the city that I grew up in. I could find my way around. I could find landmarks without the help of a map, or much help at least.<br />
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I've been thinking a lot about book stuff lately. Honestly, I think about book stuff often, but it's more often now that I have a book release imminent (Tomorrow, in case you didn't know.). When I created New Eden I knew that it was a place that held a lot of stories, a lot of stories that I wanted to tell. To do that you need to create a world that people want to spend a lot of time in. Hopefully, I've done that. But what makes people want to spend a lot of time in a literary universe? To my thinking, and really that's all that I've got to go on, it's familiarity. It's a place that feels comfortable and familiar but leaves you with the want to explore more.<br />
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<b>Familiarity through character</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BBkxxCJk82anOqLWJjF3Ty8fIXIiRCVMF2cnYgF5yxwaMHoz3urFp7XGhbzO2KGADfpSfBPVzojf7qIwXELlILg2TKrIACKJqa5IjMtyxjIugihlBnN5wdEf_3AYhyphenhyphen65odvuMITxz_8a/s1600/Killing_Floor_Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BBkxxCJk82anOqLWJjF3Ty8fIXIiRCVMF2cnYgF5yxwaMHoz3urFp7XGhbzO2KGADfpSfBPVzojf7qIwXELlILg2TKrIACKJqa5IjMtyxjIugihlBnN5wdEf_3AYhyphenhyphen65odvuMITxz_8a/s200/Killing_Floor_Cover.jpg" width="113" /></a></div>
Some authors create that comfort and familiarity with a character. Think Jack Reacher or Harry Dresden. Or, if you're a movie person, think the Mission Impossible franchise. There are plenty of other examples. If these stories the settings change, but you have characters who are essentially the same throughout the series. Reacher is Reacher. Dresden is Dresden. For the most part, you know what you're going to get. Even when you're away from a series for a while, you can pick up a new release and settle into it quickly. That character is familiar.<br />
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There's nothing wrong with these types of series. They are obviously popular. I've read several of Lee Child's Reacher novels. They are very entertaining. Ditto for Dresden.<br />
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<b>Familiarity through setting</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIN0mir4MHdDw4Fa0zsaa7y0CfL_1uF8uVjItthqL5wpfq_JqQMOKdV9825OgGp0eyN5oYZMGHb9lluqnDD6X7ALMdC-KiuiNhfMtc7CX8fYxWqpGc1y3uMAN_P5NKAYT1cEurUZfsZhgq/s1600/Ringworld%25281stEd%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIN0mir4MHdDw4Fa0zsaa7y0CfL_1uF8uVjItthqL5wpfq_JqQMOKdV9825OgGp0eyN5oYZMGHb9lluqnDD6X7ALMdC-KiuiNhfMtc7CX8fYxWqpGc1y3uMAN_P5NKAYT1cEurUZfsZhgq/s200/Ringworld%25281stEd%2529.jpg" width="123" /></a></div>
The other route is creating familiarity through setting. What this is should be obvious. The players change, but the place they are playing doesn't. Larry Niven's Ringworld series is a popular example.<br />
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In the New Eden series, New Eden is the constant. Even though we've so far focused on just two main characters — Rexall and Berger — there are plenty of other stories that can and will take place in this world. That puts it on me to create some place that readers will want to spend a good amount of time. It has to be full of interesting people and interesting places. It can't, in my estimation, be a place where just Rexall and Berger and the people connected to them live and act. I need a cast of characters bigger than that because New Eden is a city that's bigger than that. That's what I'm starting to do with these Stories from the In-between.<br />
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It's a bit like concentric circles. If Rexall and Berger and their New Eden is the center, then the new characters I'll be introducing are those rings that pulse out from there. In Digi City, we get more on Jensen Miller, the Roma agent who is chasing Rexall and Berger in Finding Faded Light. He's a first ring character who has his own New Eden. He spends time in places that are familiar for anyone who has read the first two New Eden books, but he also has places that are his own. By reading Miller's story, readers get to learn more about not just him but the city he calls home. And hopefully, it's learning about these new places that will help New Eden become a place that readers will want to come back to often and will feel familiar when they do.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>+++++</b></div>
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Digi City publishes tomorrow, but you can pre-order your copy now so it'll be on your Kindle or Kindle App when you wake up. Click <a href="http://bit.ly/DigiCity" target="_blank">here</a> to do that.<br />
<br />
Still not sold? Get a sneak peek at the first chapter <a href="http://bit.ly/tenthfloortakedown" target="_blank">here</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-33953295997153326722016-06-13T02:13:00.000-05:002016-06-13T08:36:23.469-05:00Digi City: Pre-order your copy of my newest book before Wednesday's release<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFm5kR46NtAMUDQeCVMX5sQJ9tEVYmpHeTSzrhbfqe6Rv9M14KavUy0HTfczNZy1EcVpQBW6eajGgtT5mD3J1X_Jz8v3TX5SSyIagvC9kV-bf_emu2YCyN7FRhYAWykz-ya3fyzsCV7Igm/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFm5kR46NtAMUDQeCVMX5sQJ9tEVYmpHeTSzrhbfqe6Rv9M14KavUy0HTfczNZy1EcVpQBW6eajGgtT5mD3J1X_Jz8v3TX5SSyIagvC9kV-bf_emu2YCyN7FRhYAWykz-ya3fyzsCV7Igm/s320/4.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook then you've seen this news. If you follow me on Twitter you've probably seen it more than you care to. But, it's not something I've shared here yet, and I really should have.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I've got a new book, and it's coming out on Wednesday. What? Wednesday? Yes, Wednesday. It's the next in the New Eden series, and it's called Digi City. Technically, it's a novelette if you are keeping score. That's the cover over there, although it may not be for long. I'm playing with another idea. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, something to explain. While this is the third book in the New Eden series to be released, this is not the third book in the series chronologically. The New Eden story has always been bigger than Rexall and Berger for me. There are other people populating this world with tales that need to be told. This is the first of those stories.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Put the New Eden stories in chronological order, and Chasing Filthy Lucre and Finding Faded Light are one and two, respectively. Digi City is the first of four stories that falls in between the end of Chasing Filthy Lucre and the end of Finding Faded Light. So, if you were to number Digi City, it'd be book 1.2. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This book follows Jensen Miller, the Roma agent who chases Rexall and Berger to the Outer West in Finding Faded Light. He was always a complicated character and more interesting than he got to be the first time we saw him. Digi City fleshes him out, and, hopefully makes the world of New Eden a little less black and white.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
What's it about? Here's the book description:</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Jensen Miller has a new daughter, a beautiful wife and a relatively stable life in unstable New Eden. The fallen government and increasing number of data addicts have the city crumbling. When a group of terrorists sets off a series of explosions at the docks, the population comes together to rebuild. But a rising power, Roma Corp, uses the distraction as an opportunity to strengthen its ever-tightening grip on society.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Relying on Miller, the company's top security agent, Roma starts hunting down those it fears may be working against the company. For Miller, that hunt starts in Digi City, the place most of New Eden's data addicts go to get their fix.
</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>What Miller finds there will change how he sees Roma, these data addicts, and even himself.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Intriguing? I hope so, although writing the description is always the hardest part. If you thought you wanted to read more, I've put the first chapter up for free <a href="http://bit.ly/tenthfloortakedown" target="_blank">here</a>. Click that link and check it out. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
If you're thinking this is a story you'd like to read, you can pre-order Digi City before it's Wednesday launch by clicking <a href="http://bit.ly/DigiCity" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Thanks for your support in advance.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-23724714570112744732016-04-26T13:54:00.002-05:002016-04-26T13:54:42.962-05:00New covers for Reunion and Scouts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZErlrzA2-7h5QXEWQcMC4f2BEqg2yJVchog4wWbyTE0jakYRJhGEHHdjl6NduPRAE9xDtUVdO1FamDjnpZUSMUBj1IRke9wQ_Gww0bj2Jc8_O0-sJPP9VbpbJo0Tym_RPr8w37QyVourY/s1600/Untitled+design.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZErlrzA2-7h5QXEWQcMC4f2BEqg2yJVchog4wWbyTE0jakYRJhGEHHdjl6NduPRAE9xDtUVdO1FamDjnpZUSMUBj1IRke9wQ_Gww0bj2Jc8_O0-sJPP9VbpbJo0Tym_RPr8w37QyVourY/s400/Untitled+design.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I made a quick mention on Twitter the other day that I create new covers for Reunion and Scouts, the very light urban fantasy series that has been completely ignored by readers. I'm getting some ideas on how to try and fix that. Part of it includes actually finishing the series. Part of it includes trying some new ways of branding the series. I'm going to call them "a paranormal procedural" to try and give browsing readers something to identify with. Another part are these new covers, bringing them in line with the branding I'm creating for my entire catalogue. Catalogue. Sounds so serious. But here are the new covers, including one for the third part in the series. Would love to know what you think.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-65535725157724893892016-04-23T08:42:00.000-05:002016-04-25T09:19:10.055-05:005 self-publishing lessons from the first 5 years<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0BOpJuR754vwKDtnxrtw7zD_s1ehseYPI9jGmLdtwBPH8PCgcAaK3peEt_CZl89Tu4tHTdOch15_MM0XdyTWBkSGYh6CigD_79Q5pgmCWTjxMDmvq1jF6Ab0WYhCzB3UFNewetMnOqnq/s1600/final+lucre+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0BOpJuR754vwKDtnxrtw7zD_s1ehseYPI9jGmLdtwBPH8PCgcAaK3peEt_CZl89Tu4tHTdOch15_MM0XdyTWBkSGYh6CigD_79Q5pgmCWTjxMDmvq1jF6Ab0WYhCzB3UFNewetMnOqnq/s320/final+lucre+cover.jpg" width="219" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first cover for Chasing Filthy Lucre.<br />
It was done with my minimal Photoshop skills.<br />
I see all of the flaws in it, but, for some reason<br />
I still like it. Nostalgia maybe. Its current cover<br />
is below. There have been several<br />
variations in between.The latest version<br />
of the cover is below. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A pretty significant anniversary passed in the middle of last month. As someone who's admitted to liking commemoration of significant dates, I just can't let it go by without mentioning it.<br />
<br />
Chasing Filthy Lucre is five years old. I don't have the exact date that it was published, but it was mid March 2011. That I know for sure, because I put it up a day or two before Gina and I left for a trip over her Spring Break.<br />
<br />
It went up on Smashwords first, and I remember the moment when I got notification of my first sale. I was in line at a cheesesteak place, picking up food for me and Gina on the way home from work. Got an email form Smashwords that said someone had purchased a copy. I don't know who it was, I'm sure a friend or relative. It didn't matter, though. I got that heavy feeling — not heavy in a bad way, but more "whoa" — that you get when you realize something significant has just happened. Someone had just put money in my pocket for my fiction.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuJwSmEXbEJzAr7j2s_yBy_uU1PJk5s1doWJNKJgjzumpSAtqnvVkY5w1nVBhwnmfEdj2zdR3Zyb4i332koJvX5opWEEXna38O5SrcqQwT3Cv8XjlvQHR8ifInOUcTcbFeld5Oiyodk8O/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbuJwSmEXbEJzAr7j2s_yBy_uU1PJk5s1doWJNKJgjzumpSAtqnvVkY5w1nVBhwnmfEdj2zdR3Zyb4i332koJvX5opWEEXna38O5SrcqQwT3Cv8XjlvQHR8ifInOUcTcbFeld5Oiyodk8O/s320/1.jpg" width="200" /></a>I spent a good portion of our trip over the next week checking for updates to the Smashwords dashboard, and sales continued to trickle in. I think I'd hit a dozen by the time I got home, and the feeling never got old. Honestly, it still doesn't. Maybe that's because I've never broken through. <br />
I can still measure good sales months on two hands. Correction, if it takes two hands that's a pretty great month. But seeing that someone has bought a book still can be a little overwhelming. It is definitely a spirit boost. A morning sale can set a smile on my face for the rest of the day.<br />
<br />
The indie landscape is different now than it was then. Amanda Hocking hadn't happened, but she was close. There was no Hugh Howey and the Wool phenomenon. John Locke was about to explode onto the scene then explode almost as spectacularly off of it. People were still trying to figure out how to make this whole thing work. At least that was the perspective from my spot in Texas.<br />
<br />
I was also different. I was still working in newspapers without any idea that a few months later that would change. I hadn't yet become at all familiar with the ideas of marketing, or retailing for that matter. Nothing about email campaigns or mailing lists. Nothing about product funnels. Nothing about loss leaders. Well, not enough about those things to use them properly. I was just a guy who'd wanted to be a writer since elementary school who was now seeing a way, if things broke right, to actually make some real money doing that. At the time, that was enough to keep me going.<br />
<br />
That's not necessarily the case anymore. Not that I plan on quitting this whole indie thing, but I am ready to see more consistent results. I'm writing on a couple of series right now that I hope can provide those. I have some marketing ideas that I want to try out. I have some best practices that others have learned over the last five years that I want to try for myself.<br />
<br />
I still love New Eden, and I'll finish the series. But some strategies and ideas for marketing and sales can only be tried with series that don't have a five year history.<br />
<br />
But this isn't about frustrations, this is about being excited for the anniversary of the first book's release and also documenting some lessons that I've learned since then. The indie community is nothing if not helpful. We all turn around and try to help the next person up. So, with that in mind, here are five things I've learned since releasing my first book that might be of use to someone just starting out.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Write the next book.</b></h3>
I have no real frame of reference, but I feel like the release of Chasing Filthy Lucre went well. I was able to sell a few dozen each of the first few months. I was earning a few reviews, all good. I had momentum. I had readers. I needed to get another book to them, and I choked. I started writing what would become Finding Faded Light and got a good way into the book when I realized that I wasn't telling the right story, so I went back to the drawing board. I love how Finding Faded Light tuned out, so I don't regret that part of the process. But not having a second book ready to go soon after meant I started from zero each time I released something new. All of my momentum was gone.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Recognize that this is a business and you will have to wear multiple hats. </b></h3>
One of the things that I didn't expect when I started down this self publishing path was how much attention I was going to have to pay to so many things. I think I was like a lot of others who start this. I just wanted to write books and not think about the publishing side, but this doesn't work like that. Or, it doesn't work well like that. You can always just publish books and hope they get discovered organically. They won't, but you can try it. You need to be spending at least part of your time doing the marketing work that's required to get your book noticed, because it won't happen without some work on your part. And, yes, that means getting comfortable with talking about yourself and selling others on you and your book. It does get easier, but if it's not something you're naturally predisposed to, it never gets easy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Have a plan and stick to it.</b></h3>
This is the lesson that has been the hardest for me to learn, and I don't really know why. It seems like common sense, right? Plan your stories. Know how they fit together, if you're writing in a series (And you really should be writing in a series.) Know the release schedule. Stick to it. Know the plan; work the plan.<br />
<br />
I had a loose plan when I started and then deviated from it pretty quickly. Chasing Filthy Lucre was first. There were four books that would follow it, all of them being released over about a year and a half. Then I wrote something for a writers group that I was part of. It was fun. It had potential. So I followed my muse and published Reunion and followed that up with Scouts. I love both of those stories, and am going to do something with that series. But I shouldn't have deviated. I should have focused on New Eden stories. Series readers want to see momentum and regularity. I didn't show them either.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Social media isn't as important as you think.</h3>
I covered this in a previous post when I talked about three things writers get wrong on Twitter. While the examples were specific to Twitter, the concepts apply to any social platform. Social media is great for networking. It's great for making friends. It's great for finding other creative people. Beyond that, it's not going to bring you many sales, not directly. Not like many assume it will. So don't spend all of your time on social media shilling for your book. Instead, be friendly. Build relationships. Be social.<br />
<br />
<h3>
This is more fun than I thought it would be.</h3>
About halfway into this post, I realized it might come off as a bit negative. That's why this point is at the end. I had a bunch of false starts. I've wasted momentum. I took too long to try advertising or to start building a mailing list. But this has still been a lot of fun. I have always loved story. I've always dreamed of writing. I wrote stories as a kid, as a teen, as an adult. It's just part of who I am. And while writing stories for yourself is satisfying in its own way, there is something to seeing your work published and seeing strangers reactions to it that takes it to another level.<br />
<br />
Then there's the business side to this that's also interesting. Frustrating for sure, but also interesting. It's a hat that I spent most of my journalism career not wearing. I didn't think about things like marketing and product funnels and keeping customers satisfied. I've learned a lot more about that after I left journalism, and I'm starting to see how I can apply it to what I do as a writer. If you look at the covers for my four books over two series you'll see that they look similar. Not the same, but similar enough that you can tell they are from me. It's branding, and I'm trying it. I'm also becoming much more strategic about pricing, thinking about how I can encourage readers to buy more books with discounts.<br />
<br />
I know a lot of this is very inside baseball, and not necessarily interesting to those who aren't also self publishing. But, I said all that to say that this is a lot of fun and I don't regret any part of this journey. It's been a great first five years. If you're a reader, thanks for your support. If you're just a friend, thanks to you too. Doing this wouldn't be possible without either of you.<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-31791803280675300572016-04-03T01:13:00.004-05:002016-04-03T21:48:23.160-05:00Indie authors: We need to take time to write better books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM6yIT2O9zBINXK9KvoGwnoWiQp0EXy-iFLn-ZfSsQnsRGQylq5L67SZ7kg5ktbAl594vwJzPErpMPre830nXSI0ZuJqRMnKYrVTERmhQkfxqwz07YOFHAiBE4VKcKbfhs9bUaGNaeHuzB/s1600/time-1196952-1280x960.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Indie authors: We need to take time to write better books" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM6yIT2O9zBINXK9KvoGwnoWiQp0EXy-iFLn-ZfSsQnsRGQylq5L67SZ7kg5ktbAl594vwJzPErpMPre830nXSI0ZuJqRMnKYrVTERmhQkfxqwz07YOFHAiBE4VKcKbfhs9bUaGNaeHuzB/s320/time-1196952-1280x960.jpg" title="Books take time." width="320" /></a></div>
I've hesitated to write this post even though it's been rolling around in my head for a while now. The hesitation is for a couple of reasons.<br />
<br />
First, it's critical. I don't like being critical. It's not my nature to be purely critical. I'm an editor at the day job and have no problem delivering criticism, but I try to be constructive. I want whoever is on the receiving end of it to feel like it's beneficial. I hope that this post will be seen as that, but that's really all in the reader's interpretation. So, that makes me hesitant.<br />
<br />
Second, I am going to put a spotlight square on myself and my writing by the end of this. People are going to read what I have to say and then wonder "What makes him think his stuff is so great?" Well, as a preface, I don't think my stuff is so great. A lot of what I'm about to write is directed at me too.<br />
<br />
So, with that, let's dive in. Ready?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Indie authors, we are too hung up on the checklist and too many of our books just aren't very good.</span></b></div>
<br />
So, some clarifying statements then I'll dig into this a little bit deeper.<br />
<br />
What's the checklist? It's the list of things that everyone who's serious about this seems to agree you need to have a in order for your indie career to be successful: professional genre-specific covers, great blurbs, books that hit enough genre tropes, a release schedule that keeps new books in front of readers at least every few months. I'm sure I left a few thing off of that, and debating what should be on the checklist could last for days.<br />
<br />
Nothing is inherently wrong with that list. Each of those things has proven important, critical really, to success. What I've noticed, though, is that we seem to be putting more attention on those things and not as much on writing really good books. Where do I get this idea from? From reading a lot of indie stuff.<br />
<br />
I've been spending a bit of time doing some market research. Trying to figure out what is it that makes a bestseller in my genres. What are the readers responding to? I've also been reading in a few other genres that I've had ideas in. Again, trying to become familiar with the tropes and the things that readers are looking for. Not something that's necessary to do, I don't suppose, but seems like a smart thing to do.<br />
<br />
Here's the big thing that I've taken away from reading those books. The covers are great. The blurbs are good. They are priced in a way that is enticing to the reader. The actual writing, though, is just not very good. Indie authors, we need to work harder on the craft. Too many times I've seen characters who are paper thin. The dialogue they use is either unnatural or so melodramatic that it's unbelievable. Too often they have just the right skill needed to get them out of whatever situation they find themselves in. (He's trapped in an airplane hangar with his hands handcuffed behind his back and a running helicopter just outside? Good thing he flew sorties over in Iraq and also spent that summer touring as an escape artist. Granted, you hadn't mentioned any of that up to this point in the story.) The plots are either so far-fetched that they are unbelievable or so derivative that they are interchangeable with a dozen other books. Unique settings are non-existent or the writer has spent almost no time grounding the reader in the place where the action happens so the big action scene doesn't have the emotional impact that it needs to.<br />
<br />
I could go on to list a dozen other things that are wrong with many of the indie books that I've read lately, but I think my point is made.<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>How do we make them better?</b></h4>
<br />
The solution, as I see it, actually has two parts. The first is on the authors. There are a few things that we need to be doing. We need to be spending more time thinking about our stories. I am a big reader of Kboards and the message board there where many indie authors congregate. A lot of invaluable information is shared there. But something else that I've been seeing there a lot more lately are threads on how fast someone is trying to write a novel. They are writing quickly so they can edit quickly and release quickly and move onto the next book quickly.<br />
<br />
Speed and quality are not related. There's nothing at all wrong with writing quickly or releasing quickly. Not if you've taken the time before actually writing to make sure you know your story inside and out and that your story is unique. During that planning time is when we need to be asking ourselves critical questions that aren't going to leave us with books that read like a dozen others also in the genre. It's that planning time that will let us build characters who feel real, who have unique voices both in what they say and how they say it. It will let us create worlds that are fully formed and allow setting to be a player in the stories just as much as our characters are.<br />
<br />
I'd also argue that this planning time should take longer than you expect. Sometimes stories come to you fully formed. I've had it happen before. But more often than not they don't. You get them in bits and pieces. Take the time needed to knit those pieces into a great story. Recognize that some of those pieces may need to be changed to make them work together. And just like you should let a story sit before coming back to it, same thing holds true for an idea. Let it sit before you dive in and start writing.<br />
<br />
I really feel like that's the biggest problem. It's not a lack of creativity on the part of most indie authors. I think most of us have that in spades. We just don't give that creativity enough time to come out.<br />
<br />
The second part of this solution falls to anyone who is seeing these stories before they are published. That could be beta readers. That could be professional editors. It doesn't matter who. Both groups need to push authors harder for originality. Push harder for believable dialogue. Push for better everything. Whether or not you're being paid, if you're in a position to deliver critique, be critical. Flag those areas that feel derivative. Flag those areas that feel underdeveloped. Flag those areas that feel unbelievable. A good writer will want that from you. Yes, it stings sometimes, but you have to be OK being the person who make the writer cringe a bit.<br />
<br />
Like I said up top, a lot of this was written for my own benefit. I have plans for a new series that I'm working on. I've been thinking a lot about the checklist. I've already built some covers and the first book isn't even finished, for goodness sakes. Obviously, my cart is miles ahead of my horse. I need to do better about focusing on the most important part of an indie author career, the authoring. I decided to share this overly long post, though, because I didn't think I was the only one who needed to hear it. Hopefully, I delivered it in a way that wasn't offensive. And, I'd love to hear your thoughts.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-35110280373336447882016-01-20T12:46:00.002-06:002016-01-20T12:56:16.188-06:00Twitter for authors: 3 things to remember<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-lHbNcyBBtSnOvN6g7JclH8TsuqNrXn7KHb9W1TN7KCA0-yYAIb-Fcr8sZdM1fKlf6dYVlbccsEw3aWb-2jGweIwIehJ9VIDe-ZL3YlRkI4S8UcwVj9ejMEUtWahKZUa3O2AQEuP-QM_/s1600/index.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-lHbNcyBBtSnOvN6g7JclH8TsuqNrXn7KHb9W1TN7KCA0-yYAIb-Fcr8sZdM1fKlf6dYVlbccsEw3aWb-2jGweIwIehJ9VIDe-ZL3YlRkI4S8UcwVj9ejMEUtWahKZUa3O2AQEuP-QM_/s1600/index.png" /></a>I told myself that one of the things I wouldn't do on this blog is become a purveyor of writing advice. I'm<br />
more than happy to do a critique or offer thoughts on something, but I never saw myself as near enough of an expert to confidently tell people how they should or shouldn't write. Besides, I didn't create this blog to talk to other writers. That wasn't my goal.<br />
<br />
Today, I'm breaking that rule. Sort of. Something that I keep seeing over and over the last few years is authors having no idea how to use Twitter. They will talk in Facebook groups or online forums about how they post links to their books but see no sales from it. That's because they are expecting something from Twitter that it will never deliver. Twitter is not a sales tool. No social media is. At the best, social media will create interest. So, if you are using social media to drive sales you're doing it wrong.<br />
<br />
Delilah Dawson had a great post on social media and marketing recently. The takeaway was that expecting any of the channels to bring in reliable sales is foolish, because social media is about pushing content out to readers. What we should be concerned with as writers is pulling in readers and creating fans.<br />
<br />
She's right, but I don't think that means writers can ignore social completely. There's still value there once you get past the idea that you will be able to connect sales to posts. So, here are some things to keep in mind from someone who can loosely say that I get paid to do this stuff. (The day job that pays the bills is in marketing. While I'm not on our agency's social media team, I sit very close to them. And I do know the principles.) With that, here you go.<br />
<br />
<b>Twitter is always moving.</b><br />
Your feed on Twitter -- and, therefore, the feed of the people who follow you -- is like a river. It's constantly moving. For the people who follow you to see your tweet they have to be standing on the banks at the time it passes by. There will never be a time when all of them are there at the moment you send a message. That means even if you have 1500 followers on Twitter, 1500 people aren't seeing your tweets. I've seen some data from Twitter on my own account. I have roughly 1500 followers and the number of impressions from each Tweet was surprisingly low. Most of them never hit triple digits.<br />
<br />
Don't take this to mean that you need to be sending out the same "buy my book" tweet more often. You don't, because that's not what twitter is about. Which leads us to ...<br />
<br />
<b>Be social.</b><br />
This is the thing that might drive me the craziest when I see people write off Twitter wholesale. Granted, it may not be for you. That's fine. Not every social media platform is for everyone. But don't write off Twitter without actually using it to be social. Tweet at people. Respond to what they are saying. Offer your thoughts on topics of the day. Offer your thoughts on that book you just read. Offer your thoughts on anything. And when someone inevitably responds to those thoughts, engage with them.<br />
<br />
<b>Be judicious about who you follow. </b>It can be tempting to follow back everyone who follows you. Most people are hoping you will, because they are collectors. They aren't interested in what you are saying. They aren't interested in asking about your book. They want followers who they can shout to. If they seem to be shouting something you're interested in then follow them. But you aren't obligated to follow everyone who follows you. I had this mentality when I first joined Twitter. Then I realized that the only people following me were other authors, and we were all shouting "HERE'S MY BOOK! HERE'S MY BOOK!" at each other. That's when I started culling the people I followed. Not coincidentally, that's when I started to get more out of Twitter.<br />
<br />
That's it for now. Three quick thoughts. And since we are talking Twitter, you can find me here <a href="https://twitter.com/jarrettrush" target="_blank">@jarrettrush</a>.<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-55618322890530425102015-11-13T02:46:00.001-06:002015-11-13T12:13:38.419-06:00An update on the next releaseIf you follow me on Twitter you would might have seen a Tweet from me float through your stream in the early morning on Sunday.<br />
<br />
"And that is a first draft, everyone. The third New Eden story is finished."<br />
<br />
So that's the big update. I'm excited by this story. I like it a lot. I think it has some of the best writing I've done. I finished the first editing pass tonight and there are some scenes and phrases that I really like. I'm excited to get this one out there. I need to make some corrections then send this off to some beta readers to get their feedback. But we are close to having third New Eden story in readers' hands.<br />
<br />
This one is a little unique. If you've read Chasing Filthy Lucre and Finding Faded Light then you know that the two stories take place two years apart. This new story takes place in between those stories. So, if you were to number it then this story is New Eden//Rexall Cycle 1.2. Why 1.2? Because there are going to be three more after this one that fill in the gaps of what happened in the New Eden between CFL and FFL.<br />
<br />
If you haven't read CFL or FFL yet, you might want to get your hands on them now because, for the moment, they are both 99 cents. That's going to change once the new story is released. CFL will be 99 cents still and probably won't change much. Need to make it as easy for people to enter into the series. A low-priced first book is one way to do that. The new story is on the shorter side, about 15,000 words. That's a novellette. It'll likely be 99 cents too. Maybe a bit more, but not more than $2. FFL, though, will go to $2.99. Pricing like that lets me create a tiered structure for pricing. All of that's probably way too inside baseball. The key takeaway from that paragraph is get the first two books now befoer the price goes up.<br />
<br />
Think that's it. The story does have a title. It even has a cover. Well, tentatively it has a cover. Those will be revealed later. I have to save something for the push toward the release date.<br />
<br />
Wait. Last thing. So, I mentioned beta readers. I have a few lined up, but I'd love more. If you have time in your schedule to read and provide feedback on a 15k word story, let me know in the comments. I'll send a copy your way.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-54397250797275927422015-08-27T00:54:00.001-05:002015-08-27T00:55:39.320-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"We tell stories because they are interesting. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We offer narrative because
narrative is a bone-breaker: </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">it snaps the femur of the status quo. It
is in fact the sharp, gunshot-loud fracture-break of the expected story </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">is what perks our attention. Guy goes to work, works, comes home, has
dinner, goes to bed? Not interesting. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Guy goes to work, has the same
troubles with his boss, </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">endures the standard problems of the day, goes home, </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">eats an unsatisfying dinner, goes
to bed and sleeps restlessly </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">until the next day of the same thing? <i>Still not interesting</i>. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Guy goes to work and gets fired? Okay, maybe, depending </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">on if he does
something unexpected with it.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Guy goes to work and gets fired out of a
cannon into a warehouse full of ninjas? I’M LISTENING."</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>CHUCK WENDIG </b><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><a href="http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2015/08/26/i-smell-your-rookie-moves-new-writers/" target="_blank">"I Smell Your Rookie Moves, New Writers"</a> over at his blog.</i> </span></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-86882156433657195662015-08-17T10:39:00.000-05:002015-08-27T00:55:16.259-05:00What's coming after the current WIP? This. Or these.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxshSfBpA5lImescrVmOE-0FslJgSROVFipqUgNCtVmLkmLIT7ISqySHwxbA7edDTEn_IDpCi-J8kBc-Eoj3W430woJMF89MCWGq-nkNK4EVksLHdudhLXimKN1H2Px8JGHjbGcGq0vorh/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxshSfBpA5lImescrVmOE-0FslJgSROVFipqUgNCtVmLkmLIT7ISqySHwxbA7edDTEn_IDpCi-J8kBc-Eoj3W430woJMF89MCWGq-nkNK4EVksLHdudhLXimKN1H2Px8JGHjbGcGq0vorh/s200/2.jpg" width="125" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKtsLzYh8WauDQ2MlJNMqo3dl6W6z4FXCWdvs_AvGlDcjdd06GxIlI5yI4fMnVPRJF0MtyiGOik_l4seWAhlexjdb4R1V83-2tgsxG7bsXwlMJHbxWGVOHkAyXqdBJfok14Yn0uWIgoud/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKtsLzYh8WauDQ2MlJNMqo3dl6W6z4FXCWdvs_AvGlDcjdd06GxIlI5yI4fMnVPRJF0MtyiGOik_l4seWAhlexjdb4R1V83-2tgsxG7bsXwlMJHbxWGVOHkAyXqdBJfok14Yn0uWIgoud/s200/1.jpg" width="125" /></a>I'm just going to leave these here for now. Much more to explain later, but these should be coming soon. Soon, being a relative term, mind you. There are four in the series so far. I've them all loosely outlined, and I'm really excited about getting started on writing them. They all take place in a shared universe. The stories will be related, but able to be read individually.<br />
<br />
I've got to get back to writing the third New Eden book. Once I'm done with that, these are next.<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5626695615568276846.post-64615024707158903402015-08-13T13:07:00.002-05:002015-08-13T22:59:48.875-05:00HBO's Sesame Street: "Give Him to the 'Gus"Word came down today that the next five seasons of Sesame Street will be more than 30 episodes each and make their debut on HBO. They'll eventually make their way to PBS, the shows home for coming up on 50 years.<br />
<br />
I'm not the first to make this observation, but this obviously opens the door for life on the Street to make a much darker turn. Here's 500 words dashed off at lunch time imagining what that might look like.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Give Him to the 'Gus</span></b></div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVgTc3lmQowOj5rrXCWJBXfQij-tzIyUwdwOJ_p_Dzs77AKl5nHLXcSGWj_8wiZ0ZG9_MiTmh5-nyZqbWD7XKInB7TMAl27vs7apsXKhvh8zlZLBAVhIQ41e5LtO0ut8VWsQo5zMI3ANeV/s1600/BigBird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVgTc3lmQowOj5rrXCWJBXfQij-tzIyUwdwOJ_p_Dzs77AKl5nHLXcSGWj_8wiZ0ZG9_MiTmh5-nyZqbWD7XKInB7TMAl27vs7apsXKhvh8zlZLBAVhIQ41e5LtO0ut8VWsQo5zMI3ANeV/s320/BigBird.jpg" width="320" /></a>Gordon. He's strung out again. Vowed last time he'd stay clean. Tears-in-his-eyes promises to all the kids. But the Bird and the Grouch knew better. They knew he'd be back, and here he was.<br />
<br />
"You don't look good," Oscar tells him. "You're thin."<br />
<br />
"I'm fine." He stands up straighter. Pulls at the hem of his shirt, trying to tug it smooth. Runs a hand through his hair. "Is he in?"<br />
<br />
Oscar looks around the corner and back into the alley. Bird is sitting in his nest. He gives Oscar a slight nod. "He is. But he's going to say the same thing."<br />
<br />
"I'm fine," Gordon says again and walks into the alley. His hesitating shuffle steps betray the confident wide smile. He waves a dirty hand at Big Bird.<br />
<br />
Bird puts on a smile and says, "You lose weight?"<br />
<br />
"Just been watching what I eat," Gordon says.<br />
<br />
"Haven't seen you in a while."<br />
<br />
"I've been keeping busy." His eyes — heavy lids on top of dark circles — give away what's been occupying his time.<br />
<br />
"Look at me," Bird says and waits for Gordon to meet his gaze. It happens slowly, but it happens. "Who have you been seeing because you clearly haven't kept clean. You look as strung out as ever, but this is the first time you've come to see me since you've been back on the Street."<br />
<br />
Gordon looks away.<br />
<br />
"Up here," Bird snaps. Gordon slowly lifts his eyes.<br />
<br />
There's commotion out on the street. Oscar shouts something then drops into his can. The lid rattles as it settles into place.<br />
<br />
Big Bird waits for whoever is coming to pass. "Hey, kids," he says and waves a wing at them. They smile and wave back.<br />
<br />
"Who have you been going to?" Bird asks asks again when the kids have gone.<br />
<br />
"No, one," Gordon says. "I swear."<br />
<br />
Bird reaches out and slaps Gordon, his cheek left red. "Don't lie to me. You're bad at it."<br />
<br />
Gordon hesitates then admits "I met a guy while I was away. He said he knew a guy a couple blocks over if I wanted to score somewhere away from the Street."<br />
<br />
Bird nodded. "At last you were honest. Eventually." A pause. "His stuff any good?"<br />
<br />
Gordon shakes his head. "Not like yours."<br />
<br />
"Nobody has stuff like mine."<br />
<br />
"No, Big Bird. They don't." Gordon pushes his hands into his pockets and rocks on his heels.<br />
<br />
Big Bird nods. "How long've we known each other? Years? Decades?"<br />
<br />
Gordon nods.<br />
<br />
"Then you know me. You know I value friendship. You know I consider you a friend."<br />
<br />
Gordon nods.<br />
<br />
"But you know what I value more than friendship?" Gordon shakes his head.<br />
<br />
"Loyalty." Big Bird pauses. "Now, as friends I can overlook your dalliance with someone else. But, as a business man, there's a penance that I'm going to have to ask you to pay to make good. Now, a guy like me I can't get my hands dirty with that kind of work." Then he flaps his wings and says, "Besides, I don't have hands!"<br />
<br />
Bird enjoys his own joke. Gordon forces a smile and laugh. Both stop when they hear the shuffling coming from the shadows behind the nest. Gordon squints into the dark. His mouth drops open when he finally sees him, a thousand pounds of brown fur and a trunk.<br />
<br />
"He's real," Gordon whispers to no one.<br />
<br />
"Good," Bird says, "you've heard of my friend Gus."<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Read more at jarrettwrites.blogspot.com</div>Jarrett Rushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03880414261275692088noreply@blogger.com1