One Year Anniversary…

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

As a full time writer.

Actually, it was  September 17.  The day, one year ago, that my regular paychecks stopped, my cell phone allotment ceased, my ridiculously generous healthcare insurance ended, and “the man” quit paying for my car (and gas).

ONE OF THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE!  

Life has been hectic…no doubt about that…but I have never once looked back. Probably because I don’t have the time! Here’s what I’ve accomplished in the past year.

Published 423,772 words broken down into:

3 Novels—The Perseid Collapse, Event Horizon, Point of Crisis

3 Novellas for Kindle Worlds—First Contact, Last Betrayal and Sanctuary (coming very soon)

1 Non-fiction collaboration on personal readiness and disaster preparedness—Practical Prepping: No Apocalypse Required.

Pursued several franchising opportunities:

Re-edited and re-issued 2 books—The Jakarta Pandemic and Black Flagged.

Launched 4 audiobooks through Audible—The Perseid Collapse, Event Horizon, Point of Crisis and Black Flagged Redux. The rest of the Black Flagged franchise is on the way.

Signed a deal with Amazon Crossing to translate and publish The Jakarta Pandemic in German. E-book and hardcopy.

Signed a deal to translate The Perseid Collapse into German. I’ll publish it as an e-book.

Sounds like no time for fun and games, right? Don’t shed any tears for me. I had plenty of downtime.

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My name is Steven Konkoly—

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

And I have Amazon Infatuation Syndrome.

It started nearly four years ago, when I decided to forego sending query letters to agents, after reading Joe Konrath’s blog from top to bottom.

I independently uploaded my first novel to Amazon’s various retail platforms and sold 5,000 copies (with minimal marketing) within 6 months. I quickly decided that self-publishing through Amazon presented a viable path to becoming a full-time writer. I published my second book (in a completely different genre) one year after my Amazon debut, selling 8,000 copies in six months. A new book followed every six month—all while I worked a lucrative day job and dreamed about the day I would resign to pursue full-time writing. Each book brought me closer, until I finally developed enough sales and readership velocity to escape the gravity of an easy, six figure salary job. Amazon didn’t write my books, but they played a more than nominal role in my quiet success. For that, I’m a little infatuated with Amazon.

Nate Hoelfelder at The Digital Reader thinks I’m deluded because I’m happy with Amazon. Read his article. His blog post is the latest reaction to the ongoing corporate negotiation battle between Amazon and Hachette Publishing. In essence, he says that corporations only care about the bottom line and cannot be your friend. Friend? How about business partner? How about EXCELLENT business partner? Then, he goes on to say that Amazon’s words are meaningless, because they are a corporation spewing PR desperation that should be taken for face value.

I understand the concept of “acta non verba,” which is why I judge my friends and business partners by their actions more than their words.

Here’s a run down of the actions Amazon has taken to earn my trust and friendship.

– They promptly (every month) and transparently  pay 70% royalties on my titles. I can see my sales figures and calculated royalties through an always-accessible, near real-time sales report system).

– They allow me to control pricing, so I can optimize product performance based on market conditions. They also provide me with real-time analytics to decide the best price point. 

– They don’t require onerous contracts or knee-capping non-compete clauses. I can terminate my contract at any time. The most “draconian” non-compete measure implemented by Amazon’s Kindle Direct Program requires 90 days of exclusivity, in exchange for enhanced marketing tools. Kindle exclusivity has netted me over $35,000 since its inception in late 2012. I’m feeling dewy-eyed.

–I retain the necessary rights to expand in all media, like audiobooks, foreign sales, movie/TV rights. I earn a significant portion of my income from these media, and plan to expand my presence further.

–Friendly and responsive customer service across all platforms. They’ve quickly resolved every issue I’ve brought to their attention

–They’ve provided marketing opportunities that have allowed me to grow readership drastically.

–They market my book every second of every day through customer emails, matching preferences on related books’ sales pages, and search algorithms. I didn’t sell 5,000 copies of my first book in six months through any genius marketing plan of my own.

–I’ve sold 55,000 books over the past 12 months, all through Amazon.

–They’re nice! I’ve personally met everyone directly involved with the different Amazon platforms. No evil smiles. This crew genuinely cares about authors, and we all share a common vision. To sell more books! As an author, if you’re suspicious of that sentiment, you have a serious problem on your hands.

BUT I DON’T JUST LIKE THEM AS AN AUTHOR!

As a customer:

–They shipped a basket ball stand (60lbs at least) for free because I paid roughly $80 to be a member of Amazon Prime. I recoup at least five times the cost of membership in free shipping every year.

–They provide hassle free returns on nearly every product I’ve purchased. I don’t hesitate to order an item. If I don’t like it, I print a return label, tape up the same box and get a refund immediately. I’m lazy like that. Beautiful!

–The only items I can’t find on Amazon are ammunition, guns, cigarettes, booze, and pornography. Apparently Hachette’s parent company, Lagardere, had a tough first quarter this year due to the loss of cigarette sales in Hungary. Now that’s a company to be proud of! Sorry, that’s my AIS shining through. Forgot my meds.

If supporting Amazon as an author and customer means I suffer from Amazon Infatuation Syndrome, then so be it. I’m infatuated.

To read more about this curious syndrome label, and how it is utterly preposterous, please check out Hugh Howey’s most recent post and David Gaughram’s guest post at Words with JAM.

 

 

and Amazon qualifies as a good friend. Will that change?

Standby…Standby…BLACK FLAGGED is a GO!

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

UPDATED  11/13/2011: Thank you for a great launch week! So far, the total raised for the campaign is $253.50. Simply fantastic. I am extending the matching donation campaign one more week. All proceeds from sales for this next week will go to the Disabled American Veterans organization, and once again, I will match them. Spread the word! Early holiday gift? 

Purchase from all sources here: www.blackflaggedseries.com

After some masterful stalling on my part, Black Flagged is now available and ready for public consumption. Only one year after my first novel, The Jakarta Pandemic…not bad for a part-time writer? Now that I have settled into a regular writing routine, the next one will come quicker.

What’s new about Black Flagged? This time I did it right from the start. My first novel was a learning experience across the board. A good story from the beginning…but I had to relaunch the book at the start of the summer, with professional editing and a real cover (by a real artist). My sincere thanks goes out to everyone that somehow overlooked the editing issues and enjoyed the story…or just didn’t say anything. At this point, with 101 reviews on Amazon, and countless reader emails…my skin is pretty thick, and I take feedback to heart. So please don’t hesitate to let me know what you think…good or bad.

With Veterans Day right around the corner, I am launching the book with a special campaign to raise money for Disabled American Veterans. If you plan to order a hard copy of my book, please consider taking a few extra steps to order the book from the special links listed in the BOOK STORE to the right, or at the appropriate button on the each book’s individual website. I’m doing this for both books.  Learn more here.

If you’re new to Black Flagged, here are a few links to bring you up to speed, and give you a taste of what’s in store, if you decide to take the plunge.

Character Teasers

Black Flagged Website

Prologue Sample

More Samples are available in the SAMPLES section to the right.Grab a copy and sit back for a gritty, non-stop ride through some shadowy places, where trust is a hard concept to sell, and the term “economy of violence” is the key to hour by hour survival.

OFFICIAL BOOK TEASER

Book One of the Black Flagged Series.

A graduate of the Department of Defense’s experimental Black Flag program, Daniel Petrovich carries a secret he’d rather keep buried. A secret his government has hidden in the deepest vaults of the Pentagon. Unfortunately for Daniel, some secrets carry a debt that can never be repaid, and certain acquired skills will always hold their value. Someone is trying to raise Black Flag from the dead, and bring Daniel back with it. Someone who knows all of his darkest secrets.

In exchange for the promise of a clean slate, and a chance to keep the life he has built with the woman he loves, he agrees to carry out one final mission. Now Daniel has an even bigger problem. The assassination of Mohammed Ghani, a wealthy Muslim importer, wasn’t the uncomplicated mission he had been promised.

Seven other prominent Muslim businessmen are killed on the same night along the East Coast, suddenly extinguishing Task Force HYDRA, the most significant counter-terrorism investigation in recent FBI history.

Daniel’s life is about to disintegrate, as he becomes the focus of a relentless FBI manhunt, and the target of a vengeful CIA agent. To survive, he’ll be forced to release a dark side he fought for years to keep suppressed. A dark side with few boundaries, and even fewer loyalties.

Chapter One of Black Flagged on #samplesunday

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

There is a Twitter tradition called #samplesunday, and this will be my first time participating.

To celebrate, I will release Chapter One  of Black Flagged. If you are paying attention to the Word Count box on the top right corner of my blog, you’ve noticed that I am making considerable progress with this novel. I should have a rough draft finished by the middle or end of September, and if all goes well, I’d love to launch it before Thanksgiving.

What is Black Flagged about? This is my biggest challenge as a writer. Quickly explaining what my book is about. I still don’t do any justice to The Jakarta Pandemic in casual conversation. I guess I need to start developing a blurb. Better to start now. Here it goes…very rough.

Black Flagged centers around Daniel Petrovich, a former covert military operative with a past he buried long ago. An explosive past he’s gone to extreme lengths to keep hidden from everyone around him. Daniel is about to find out that some secrets have a way of clawing back out of the ground, and he’ll be forced to resurrect a part of him better left for dead.  Thrust into the middle of an international conspiracy, Daniel fights to stay ahead of the FBI and CIA, in a desperate struggle to survive the day, and reunite with the woman he loves.

Very rough indeed.

The first two samples, Prologue and Chapter One, should give you a solid sense of where the novel is headed. In the Prologue, we meet Daniel Petrovich in another life, as another person. He’s not someone you’d want to meet under any circumstances. In Chapter One, we get a brief glimpse of the new Daniel Petrovich, right before his normal life unravels.

Enjoy #samplesunday!

The Culprit

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Not sure how this will look on my blog…this is my first mobile posting. The vessel in the picture is the reason I have written a grand total of two pages in two weeks. Painting, waxing, buffing, varnishing, washing…more waxing. Leaving town for Memorial Day weekend didn’t help either.

Vessel Name: Dolci (Italian for candy or sweet). She certainly is a sweet boat, and well worth the distraction. Thanks to April showers, she’s almost three weeks late reaching the water. Today is the big day.

One more excuse for a low word count…but can you really blame me?

Six months into self-publishing, and what have I learned?

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Everything…from the ground up. Uhhh.

I’d like to sit here and tell everyone that I’m always a “do it yourself” kind of guy. I framed our attic for its eventual transformation into a beautiful 800 square foot home for my son’s Xbox 360 (that’s about sums up its purpose now). I even did all of the trim work, built shelving and helped paint (I hate painting). But I didn’t mow my own lawn last year. Why? Because I’m not obstinate when it comes to the do-it-yourself mentality…and when a good price comes along, I’ll let someone else breath noxious fumes and spend two hours on a lawn that’s going to brown up in August anyways (no matter how much water or fertilizer I pour onto it! Even The Lawn Dawg couldn’t prevent that). It doesn’t look like I’m going to win the noxious fume argument this year. My wife wants to direct this money elsewhere, which is fine…I really don’t mind mowing the lawn. So, what am I talking about at this point?

Self-publishing. I get a lot of inquiries about my experience, from other aspiring writers and curious friends. The question I get from everyone is: “Did I choose to self-publish?”  Yes and no. If my first query letter to a NYC agency had been received with a warm welcome and a huge advance on royalties, I’d probably be scoffing at self-publishing right now. How dare these so called “writers” publish their own material, without the nod of the traditional literary institution. I fired off about seven letters in total, before I decided against continuing to prostrate myself to “the industry.” Once again, I wasn’t opposed to the concept of a lavish check, in advance of my certain bestseller, and I’m sure there’s a number out there that would convert me immediately. We all have our buy off amount.

What did I do differently than most of the aspiring writers that send hundreds of letters a year to agents? First, I quit sending letters. I’ll tell you why shortly. Second, I self-published The Jakarta Pandemic for the Kindle, NOOK and as a paperback…before I started sending letters to literary agents. Now, for the hardcore pursuers of a NYC literary agent, this is tantamount to committing writer suicide. Tainted! No agent or publisher will touch you now that you’ve had the audacity to self-publish your CRAP, without them. And that’s the key to it all. Without them. I’m not going to reiterate what a million other blogs have repeated, but the traditional publishing industry has a vested interest in scaring aspiring self-publishers. Just like real estate agents have no interest in you putting a “for sale by owner” sign in front of your house. Imagine if Stephen King took his business “in house.” It doesn’t cost very much to put a quality book on the market yourself. Good editor, good cover artist…a few more bells and whistles. With Stephen King’s name…the books will sell. You get the picture. Imagine if this became the standard across the literary landscape. It’s a post-apocalyptic tale for publishers. So, don’t you dare try to self-publish.

Why did I quit sending letters? I started reading blogs and articles by authors that have successfully navigated the self-publishing world. I didn’t reach this decision by myself…I’d love to say I did, but that would be dishonest. The more I read about the declining traditional industry, and the rise of the self-publishing realm…the more I wanted to give this a go on my own. Their words appealed to the deep rooted part of me that didn’t like to beg (the industry) and the visionary side that said “I can find readers for this book on my own.” I liked the idea of having complete control of my book, a larger share of the yet unseen profits, and the challenge of learning some new skills, like how to create a website, start a blog, and market my book. If I had a million dollars, I would have hired some help from the star…I’m practical. Since I didn’t have a large book launch budget, I found my own way.

More and more authors should be finding their own way. The traditional publishing world is in jeopardy, and they aren’t taking as many chances on new authors. It’s simple financial math for them, nothing personal…Borders is closing stores everywhere, local shops are scraping by (if they’re lucky). People aren’t buying as many physical books anymore. Blame the economy…OR blame E-readers, but make no mistake, E-readers are here to stay, and they’re proliferating at every turn. iPad 2…3 coming soon? Kindle for $114. I bet it goes for under a hundred this next holiday season. Every electronics company has a version of an e-reader. Hell, I’ve had people read my book on their iPhone! (I felt like sending them a free copy for the effort…holy cow that would hurt my eyes).

New authors will still get through, but not as many. Every time I walk through Borders, I see more books by the same, financially sound names. I don’t blame the industry, but I’m not going to lock my novels in a vault and wait for an agent to take a chance on my book. I’ll take my own chances. So far, nearly 4000 readers have taken a chance on my book.

If you’re interested in reading more on the topic of self-publishing, you need to check out Joe Konrath’s Blog, A Newbies Guide to Self-Publishing. He predicted the rise of Self-Publishing years ago…and turned his back on the traditional publishing industry. He’s gruff and tells it like it is. His blog archives motived me to keep the rights to my books…for now. Coincidentally, I just read his most recent post, and he also predicts the under $100 e-reader by Christmas. I swear I wrote this minutes before I read his post.

Some changes afoot…

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Artist Jeroen ten Berge created an incredible cover design for The Jakarta Pandemic. Check out his write-up of my novel…along with more of his influential design work. 

Jeroen ten Berge

Eagerly awaiting my 40th…

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

book review.

I turned 40 at the end of February, and the event was anti-climactic. I didn’t feel the decay of old bones, or slight degradation in my eyesight. One more candle, and a wonderful family birthday party. I was spared the surprise, “this is your life” event that I’ve seen unfold for other quadragenarians.

My book turned 30 last week, which kicked off an exciting flurry of review activity. I had high hopes for the 30th review…looking for a reason to celebrate. The title of the review? “Wow…this book.” And not in a good way. A one-star 30th birthday review for The Jakarta Pandemic. The review was quite lengthy for Amazon, and had nothing good to say. The only positive? I could tell that the reviewer hadn’t read the entire book, probably not more than 30 pages. Needless to say, I was a little irritated. I wrote a nice response and let it go. Not everyone is going to like this book…or any book. Little did I realize that this would be the first of nine reviews written in four days. Thick skin? I would have felt better suited up in Kevlar.

Every time I checked Amazon, I cringed. I took two more solid hits, and then nothing but good reviews. I have been solidly impressed by the quality of people reviewing my book, and the readers that have reached out via e-mail. I frequently invite reviewers to contact me, especially if I see something that worries me (misunderstanding of meaning or purpose of my writing…not for pointing out typos). The reviews help shape future works, and revisions of the Jakarta Pandemic. I’m self-published, so I can do whatever I want with the book. I have a free-lance editor (who reviewed my book and responded to my request for help) working on some improvements as I type. These are all reader suggested enhancements, which will be available in new editions by mid-May (I hope).

Before I check Amazon for more reviews…Fridays always seem to be the biggest day for The Jakarta Pandemic…let me share with you an example of how not to handle a negative review. Read the string of posts, if you can. It’s cringe-worthy. Warning: Profanity.

How Not To Handle A Negative Review

Wish me luck on my 40th Review…it’s out there somewhere. Maybe it’s one of you.

Expand your reading list…

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

And I don’t mean add more books to it. Consider reading a different genre.

I learned a cool lesson the other night. I recently joined a local writing group…let me correct myself. I was finally invited to join by a friend.

I was concerned about presenting the opening scene of my new novel to the group…because it’s violent. Not overly so, for me…but I needed a better gauge of the group. I asked the host to describe the types of writing involved at the meetings, and he gave me a list. Person matched with genre.

Crime fiction- That was my friend’s work. I had already read a few chapters. Excellent.

Memoir-Huh? OK, I just read a book written by a Navy Seal…definitely memoir. Not the best book, but memoir. I know what memoir is…just being dramatic

More memoir-Oh boy. And both memoir writers are women. I’m still not too worried.

Poetic Memoir-Now I’m worried. I think I’ll definitely keep my book’s prologue on my own computer. Eight people are shot to death in the span of thirty seconds. Not very poetic. I have other chapters to share.

Literary Fiction – I was an English major. No worries here.

Young Adult Fiction – Actually, the host was wrong about the genre…it’s Middle Aged Fiction. My 10 year old son’s realm…Now I’m worried again.

I uploaded my chapter to the group’s share site, and downloaded all of their samples. I sat down late at night and started to dig into…memoir, memoir and more memoir? Had I ever really read memoir before? Not like this. I thoroughly enjoyed reading real memoir. There is something about the personal style of writing memoir that grabs me. I hope they submit more.

Same with Middle Aged and Literary Fiction. I read with my son all the time, but I don’t really dig into his books anymore. He reads silently while I read one of my books. I think I need to pick up a few of his books. Reading the sample passage brought back nice memories of a much less complicated time in my life. It was a nice break, but a lot of fun.

I read three or four good literary fiction novels each year. I’m pretty careful with these, basing my decision on critical recommendation. I can tell within two pages whether I made the right choice. I won’t read past that. I save a lot of money in Borders browsing these books for the right tone, description, and pace. Were it not for a technical problem, I would have read all forty pages submitted. As it stood, I read close to fifteen without hesitation. I look forward to reading more…from everyone.

It’s hard to read another genre, especially as a writer. I view everything through my own personal genre lens.  My current work sits squarely in the thriller camp..ala Bourne Identity.  But I have a feeling that I’m going to learn some subtle ways to imbue this story with cross genre techniques. Touches that will greatly enhance the work…or have silo-genre readers bitching. Either way, I’ll be happy to hear from them.

Sometimes I like the bitching more.

 

 

 

Realistic dialogue…

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

in 19th Century London…what a mess.

My wife is reading a very thick, fiction novel set in 19th century London, and she occasionally draws my attention to passages from the book. Yes, she interrupts whatever I’m reading to do this, and since I love both historical fiction and my wife, I’m usually game to take a look.

I’m always amazed by the richness of detail in these novels, which can at times almost appear obsessive. From the era appropriate napkin folds at table settings, to intimate descriptions of every article of clothing that adorns a character…and not just the main character, but everyone in the scene. This is one of the main draws to period or historical fiction. The details of another time. It’s an amazing feat, which must involve painstaking research, travel and imagination. As a part time writer, I’m thankful for Google and an active, roaming imagination.

The other night, she pointed out another feature of this tome she’s lugged around for a few weeks. The dialogue. I couldn’t believe it, but the author had taken pains to mimic the speech of the 19th century London too. I can barely understand some of the thicker British accents even today! I must admit that I couldn’t stand it. I was forced to work too hard to understand the dialogue, and I can only imagine that my wife feels like she’s learned a second language at this point…though I don’t hear her complaining.

I take dialogue seriously, and if I can’t follow it, or it’s unrealistic, I’m likely to tune out of the book.  In fiction all dialogue is contrived, so I use a simple strategy to test it. I read and re-read lines of dialogue out loud (I don’t do this for every line…I seem to know when the test is necessary). It’s amazing how crappy a genius line can sound when you put a voice, and some inflection to it. I’ve eliminated some stinkers this way…and probably missed a few. I still find them.

Do you pay close attention to dialogue in a story, or are you more tied to the action?

Updates!

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

I have a few exciting updates to announce:

1.)    My book has been professionally edited, so the typos and grammar errors that most of you have been so kind not to mention, should be mostly eradicated. When I get unsolicited emails from readers, complimenting the story, then volunteering to edit my next book…I know it’s time to put this in the hands of a professional. Still, I took a few readers up on the offer to sweep The Jakarta Pandemic, and they turned up enough errors (I’m embarrassed to say how many), that my editor didn’t consider re-negotiating terms in the middle of the project. Thank you guys and ladies for taking the time. You know who you are. And thank you, Noah Mullett-Gillman, for taking on the editing project. You should check out his book, Luminous and Ominous, another recently released Post Apocalyptic tale.

2.)    Noah also recently hosted Post Apocapalooza II, a series of interviews with new/indie Post Apocalyptic writers…and I was included in this group. The term apocalyptic fiction wasn’t in my vernacular until a few months ago, and I’m not kidding. I’ve read plenty of PA fiction…The Stand, The Road, World War Z…and I love apocalyptic movies, but I classified my book as a thriller/horror novel. Noah contacted me regarding this interview series, and I did a double take…it was really so obvious, I almost laughed. I wrote a book about a pandemic that will likely wipe out over 700 million people, which certainly places you well within the PA genre. Thanks again, Noah. Check out the Post Apocapalooza II. Several writers are featured, and their books range from pandemics to zombies, to biblical prophesies…back to more zombies.  You can read an excerpt of my interview below…regarding zombies.

NOAH K. MULLETTE-GILLMAN: “If a world-wide zombie outbreak occurred, what would you do?”

STEVE KONKOLY: “I’m not worried about this one, because I think at this point we should be well prepared for a zombie outbreak. Hundreds of films, dozens of books…even an instruction manual for surviving a zombie attack (thanks to Max Brooks). Human awareness of zombies is at an all-time historic high, so I can’t envision a scenario where an outbreak could spiral out of control. Unless it was an infection like in 28 Days, and then I would barricade myself and re-read Max’s book, over and over again.

Did you ever notice how people fall victim to zombies (slow moving type) at the beginning of most zombie movies…like they have no idea what they are confronting. We watched The Walking Dead this fall on AMC, and I turned to my wife at one point and said, “I guess this whole genre is predicated on the concept that nobody has ever heard of a zombie before.”

3. I added a prologue to The Jakarta Pandemic, to give the readers a glimpse into the future of the disaster that unfolds in suburban Maine, when the Jakarta Flu is in full swing. The story takes a little time to gather steam, as the groundwork for the epic disaster is carefully put into place, so I thought that the addition of a prologue would give readers some reassurance that they are in for a thrill ride through panic-stricken suburbia.

Jakarta Pandemic New Prologue

Enjoy!

Don’t characterize my characters…just yet.

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Good plot. Immersing detail. Popular genre.  Quick tempo. All the trappings of a worthy read…right? While these qualities in a book might draw you in, and keep you there for a spell, nothing, in my humble view, detaches the reader quicker than hollow characters. I’ve read the reviews (not on mine thankfully…yet). “Cardboard, one-dimensional, flat, undeveloped, unrealistic…” The list goes on.

Unrealistic?   Now this description captures my attention the most, because it reminds me of something Stephen King said about writing good stories. I am paraphrasing at my worst, but he said something to the effect that an interesting story pits normal people against extraordinary circumstances, not extraordinary people against normal situations. Realism defined? I don’t know, but I like reading stories about characters that have to struggle to overcome an extraordinary problem. Is James Bond one of these characters? At first you’d probably say “no way!” I might agree, but I’d argue that he is an extraordinary person pitted against insanely extraordinary circumstances. It’s the same formula, just presented in a higher octane fashion, which is why it works…more so in the recent Bond films.

Ever read a book where the protagonist is an unstoppable, unbeatable hero? Mentally or physically? It’s fun for a while, but falls flat very quickly, because ultimately, there is no real drama. You know the protagonist will come out on top. It might be fun getting there, but on some level I get bored…really quickly. If the protagonist’s success is in question, or he/she takes a beating along the way…even though I still suspect, or know it’ll turn out alright, I’m pulled along.

Another aspect of a realistic protagonist is their moral stance. I think a little moral complexity is critical for a realistic character. We don’t all help old ladies cross the street…sometimes we’re in a hurry and don’t want to stand two more places back at Starbucks. Sorry. Moral complexity can vary across the spectrum, which can become confusing, so traditionally, we think of categorization in terms of good vs. evil, or some form of this. It’s a simple recipe for conflict, which usually drives a story along.

In my first novel, The Jakarta Pandemic, the moral ambiguity was a little hazy. The structural “good guys vs. bad guys” dichotomy was fairly simple to process, and I’ve received little feedback to suggest otherwise. However, since the book’s release, I still eagerly wait to hear from the camp of people who think that Alex Fletcher was a terrible person, and could not associate with them at all. I built a subtle stage for this into the story (maybe not so subtle), and so far, nobody has walked up onto it for a solid rant against them.

My next story won’t be so easy for most of you. Although most of you will like the protagonist from the start, and turn the last page with the same sentiment intact (mostly)…the ride may leave you with an uneasy feeling. You might find yourself not so eagerly clinking champagne glasses with this character, as you sail away into the sunset.

What kind of protagonist keeps you reading a story?  What kind makes you toss the book aside?

Enduring the next epic disaster

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Does the current situation in Japan qualify as an “epic” disaster?

I don’t know, but the unfolding drama at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant will cast the final vote.  All eyes are focused on the crisis, but what exactly are most of us seeing…and learning?

As a writer that recently launched a novel centered around an “epic” human disaster…The Jakarta Pandemic, I saw frightening similarities between the research driven scenario I had created for my story, and the media stories spilling out of Japan. I admit, there is a big difference between the instantly devastating impact of an earthquake/tsunami hit, and the slower burn of a gradually worsening pandemic disaster. However, I wasn’t thinking in terms of the immediate blunt physical impact.  I really focused on the after-effects.  Stories of evacuation, refugees, food and supply shortages…and not just for the immediate victims, but everyone ultimately affected, even as far away as Tokyo.

I especially considered the citizens forced to evacuate the 12 mile radius around the Fukushima plant.  What did they bring with them? How much did they have to bring? What about the people in the next distance ring, who were told to stay indoors? Do they have enough food, water and supplies to stay put for an extended period of time?  Or would they be forced to flee due to lack of necessities. Where are all of these people going?

I wondered if the individual families had ever planned for this type of disaster?  I know you can’t devise a plan to thwart a thirty foot high wall of water, but did people immediately head away from the coast after the earthquake? They certainly didn’t have much time to react.

I thought about the concept of what survivalist/preppers call a Bug Out Bag (BOB)…actually, they have an entire lingo (Bug Out Vehicle, Bug Out Location…etc).  A BOB is a conveniently located, pre-packed bag designed to get you (and your family) through the first 72 hours of an emergency that requires you to leave your home.  I won’t get into detail about the contents, but you get the idea.  If the tidal wave alarm sounds, or you experience an earthquake (and you live close to the ocean)…you can throw this bag into your BOV, start driving inland, and rest assured that you have the basics covered (cash, clothes, first-aid, food, water…more).

There are some basic preparation steps that can make an immense difference, whether you are stuck in your residence with no way to resupply essential items, or are forced to flee (immediately or with plenty of time)  a disaster zone.  Many of these preparations overlap, and can serve you well during something as minor as a nasty winter storm.

How much thought have you put into some of the more likely or unlikely disaster scenarios for your area?  (Even a two day power outage)

Can you see the future?

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Or the ending to your story?  I thought I could see it clearly.  So clearly, that four chapters into The Jakarta Pandemic, I decided to write what I thought would be the last chapter, or final conflict of the story.  What a waste of time.  Well, I shouldn’t say a complete waste.  I kept a few elements of the scene for the final draft, and writing in general is rarely a waste, but I took a two-week detour (yes, that’s how long a chapter used to take me…part time) from a solid writing stretch.  I’m glad that a writing genie didn’t appear and laugh at my face as soon as I finished it.  I would have been pissed.

Instead, it took me months to figure out that this chapter just wouldn’t fit into the story as written, which was fine.  Though I remember being a little disappointed, and possibly angry when I took a look at the chapter’s word count.  I learned a valuable lesson from this, and of course, probably reinforced a bad habit.  Let me explain.

The good first:

1.)  I’ll probably never jump ahead and write a complete scene or chapter again.  I’ll still wake up in the middle of the night and take detailed notes about what I might write, but I won’t spend two weeks on a scenic detour again. For those of you who have read The Jakarta Pandemic, or anyone (it won’t spoil the story), I have attached the “detour” so you can see how differently things appeared to me in the beginning.  Alternate ending

2.)  Since this was my first writing endeavor, I experienced something that I had only read about in articles and books about writing craft.  This sounds way more dramatic than it should…sorry.  I got my first, good taste, of a story and characters taking on a life of their own.  Now this may sound cheesy, but I arrived at a point where I could no longer force the characters or storyline exactly where I wanted to go.  It was still going in the cardinal direction I had chosen, but the details were up for grabs.  I no longer knew, with certainty, who would survive the pandemic?  I didn’t know which neighbors would turn out to be allies or enemies.  It was a great feeling.  Not that I had been chained to a structured plot (far from it), but I finally understood what so many other writers have described.  Like experiencing “runner’s high” for the first time, or the “green flash” seen at sunset over a calm, cloudless ocean.

As an aside, I spent two years on board one of our Navy’s finest warships and many, many days at sea…and I can bitterly report that I have never seen this mythical flash, though I’ve heard and read about it.  I have even supposedly missed it while tending to more pressing matters on the bridge (in plain view of the horizon).

The bad:

This experience reinforced my innate disdain for using an existing, planned and structured approach to writing.    I know it can help, to a certain degree (see, my own prejudice seeps through everywhere on the topic), but I couldn’t drag myself to do it for the first novel, and….you know the rest.

A good friend and writer has given me a few excellent resources, which I have reviewed, but when I sit down to start plotting or structuring…I get a few minutes into it before staring off into space.  I inevitably open the “current novel” file and start to work on the new story instead.  Admittedly, I do use a time line, lists of characters and abundant notes…but not much beyond that.

So, enough about me.  What do you do as a writer?  As a reader, what are your thoughts?

Past or Present?

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

Tense.  This isn’t exactly a new topic for writer’s blogs, but it’s an amusingly controversial one.  If you Google “present vs. past tense writing,” you’ll end up in the middle of an angry battle between the fiercely entrenched forces of the past, and the anti-establishment present.  I’m not going to reiterate the arguments here, you should really check them out for yourself.  This one heats up pretty quick (Fiction Master sounded like he wanted to punch the blog author in the neck).  I think it’s fair to say that we’ll see Glenn Beck and President Obama having beers together in the White House garden before any of the “pro-past tense” folks acknowledge the possible use of the present tense in fiction writing.

I feel like I’m listening to an argument between two sci-fi fans over time travel, and I’ve heard it all before…maybe because I’m caught in a perpetual time travel loop that keeps replaying my past experiences…or I’m listening to an author tell a story, which clearly already happened, giving me the impression that I’m hearing it again.  Does any of this make sense?  Probably not, because if you’re like me, after listening to the time travel argument for let’s say…two minutes, I feel compelled to interject.  “Time travel doesn’t exist, so what exactly are you arguing about?”  The same goes for arguing that the present tense has no place in fiction writing.  It doesn’t matter whether you think it happened in the past, or the present.  It really never happened at all, and only the author holds the key to why the tense was chosen.  This is the heart of the matter, as I have experienced.

The Jakarta Pandemic started in the present tense for no reason at all.  I wrote the story solely from the protagonists view, and after writing about ten pages, the present tense dominated.  I actually had to rework the pages to eliminate the past tense.  About fifty pages later, I re-read one of my favorite writing guide books, Stephen King’s, On Writing.  At some point in there, he discusses tense, and states that present tense is typically only suited for short stories.  I didn’t remember much more than that, because I had closed the book and uttered a few profanities.  I really didn’t want to dig back through fifty pages and shift the tense back to the past, but I did…or at least I fought my way through about five pages.  It was miserable, and didn’t work for me.  For my story, it became clear that the past tense was not the right choice, and that a single point of view, fast paced story was well suited for the present tense.  Not that I haven’t received some critique.  I can live with it, because the past tense failed to propel The Jakarta Pandemic forward.

As for my new novel?  With multiple points of view, changing settings, a much larger host of characters, I naturally tended to use past tense.  I strayed back to present tense for action sequences (out of habit), but upon re-reading a few pages, it became clear that sticking to the present tense would not be a sustainable practice for the novel.  I edited about fifteen pages to conform everything to the past tense, and at first it felt like I was writing in a foreign language, but after a few pages, it flowed naturally.

I think the story chooses the tense, and not the writer.

What do you think?

Behind the scenes of The Jakarta Pandemic

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

About a month ago, I received some great feedback regarding my book.  My neighbor and I were discussing the book, and he thought that a map of the novel’s fictional neighborhood would have helped him to visualize the action in story.  A friend of his shared the same sentiment, going even further to say that he quit trying to keep it straight after a while.   There are thirty-eight households on Durham Road, not all of them an intrinsic part of the story, but most of them are referenced repeatedly.  If you read carefully, you should be able to figure it all out…just kidding.

I sympathize with anyone who had trouble geographically tracking the story throughout the Durham Road neighborhood.  As a stickler for details, I couldn’t hope to keep it all clear in my own head while writing the story, so I created a cheat sheet from the very start.  Actually, it was a poster-board, very much like the one created by Alex Fletcher in the story.  Take a look at both versions.  One is obviously my marked up, faded “cheat sheet.”  The other is a page I added to the beginning of The Jakarta Pandemic, at the request of some concerned readers.

Starting somewhere

Posted on by Steven Konkoly

How to start this blog?  I can’t imagine going wrong with a thank you to anyone who has put their stamp on my first novel.   Whether you took the plunge and bought the book, or simply passed the word on to a friend (or both hopefully), I’m humbled and impressed by your efforts.   Clearly you have all done something very right to help the word get out…sales via Amazon have steadily climbed since I uploaded the book into Kindle format.  I’m sure Amazon’s Christmas Kindle Proliferation didn’t hurt.  How many Kindles were sold last year?  iPads?

I certainly can’t claim to have pulled off a mastermind marketing campaign.   Or maybe I did, in sort of a low budget, high tech way.  Facebook, email lists, business cards (which my wife hands to everyone…she hands out ten for every single card I sheepishly offer).  I can’t thank her enough (though she might disagree).  I also started posting chapters on a fantastic survivalist/disaster preparation forum, mainly to get feedback from “the experts.”   People who really give some serious thought to modern day survival scenarios (every aspect).   I’d be willing to bet that this group spread the word far and wide.  Many thanks to the WSHTF readers…I’m almost done posting the entire novel there.

So what’s next?  Another novel for sure.   Not a disaster survival thriller, but more of a fast paced (frenetic) thriller, with plenty of twists.  I can envision a series of three novels…now if only I could start to envision my hands on the keyboard, writing the first book.  I’ve started, no worries there, and I’ve roughly mapped the story.  I just need to get serious about carving out some time.  Between family, friends, full time job, maintaining a house, TV shows I can’t miss, and exercise…what was I talking about?  Yes.  More excuses not to sit down and dig into a great story.

Before I get back into the mindset of my new protagonist…please let me know what you’d like to see or hear about on this blog.  You can post comments, review The Jakarta Pandemic…whatever you’d like.

Warmest regards,

Steven