Going All In On The Newsletter

Greetings to one and all! We have made it to the end of January, and into February. Here in VA we had a wicked bad cold snap a couple weeks ago, and other than causing my electric bill to jump, I tried not to leave the house, but that thing I call a day job (insert depressed groan here) made me. Granted, there was one day where I had to work from home because the roads weren't the best. Looking forward to some warmer weather. Not Summer, but just mild weather. The kind of weather where you can open the house windows during the day, and burn a nice fire in the pit at night. That kind of weather.

January also saw the return of my monthly newsletter. If you received it, what'd you think? It wasn't anything special, but I think it was a good way to re-introduce myself to my readers. If you haven't read it yet, you can head over to the archive on my website and read it. Do note, any freebies or coupon codes in archived newsletters have expired, so there's no point in clicking on them or trying to use them.

February's newsletter will be a lot more entertaining. As the title of this blog post implies, I'm going to be going all in on my newsletter because social media is a nightmare, and I'm leaning more towards it being my primary mode of interacting with readers and supporters of my work. I think it'll create some interesting interactions. So, to roll out this interactive newsletter I'm going to be accepting questions from people, and will be publishing my favorite questions in my March newsletter. If you have a question, you can send it to me via email or you can use the contact page on my website. I plan to publish all selected questions without names, but if you really want me to shout you out for the question just let me know.

Another thing, and you'll want to click on this link the moment you read this, but I'll be distributing a teaser of my next book Outside The Game in February's newsletter. If you don't want to miss out on this opportunity, go head and click that link I mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph so you don't miss out. I'm almost done with the second pass through of the manuscript, so I feel really good about releasing this teaser.

The next newsletter is going to be released on February 15th just an FYI for those interested in getting that sneak peek of Outside The Game.

So, I've been reading Reappearance of Summer because I found myself wanting to revist it. And, to be quiet frank, while the story is good, there are some issues with it. I mean love the book, the characters, and the world I created within it, but one thing that annoys the piss out of me, are all the minor errors that I'm coming across while reading it. A lot of it is my fault because I didn't have a good grasp of stylistic choices vs. grammar rules, and clearly I have learned since then. I've actually taken time to study The Chicago Manual of Style on top of re-learning grammar rules, and so during my re-read of Reappearance of Summer, I've come to realize a lot of my mistakes could have been prevented by having a copy editor. This is probably true for most of my books, and I do plan to hire one for Outside The Game, but I'm going to need help getting one. 

I've set up a goal on my Ko-Fi page. It's a lofty one of 250 USD, but I'm curious to see how it goes. It'll probably be up for a while. If I don't make goal, I'll keep it up but change it to where I get a copy editor for one of my older books. Yep, that's right, I'm finally going to go through my backlist and re-do the editing on them, update the formatting, and possibly get new covers for them. I haven't decided on the cover thing yet. I want to commission someone to make art for them, but I also just want to refresh it on a basic level. Plus, I'm super finicky about my art. We'll see which way I land on that one.

Anywho, this blog post got away from me. Remember newsletter subscribers will be getting a sneak peek into Outside The Game, I've got a goal on my Ko-Fi page, and if you want to have a question featured in next month's newsletter, you can email me or do it on my contact page.

Don't forget to leave reviews of the books you read, especially the ones by indie publishers and self-published authors.

Until next time...

-DJ Small

The Struggle Bus

 I know we've all heard about pandemic "burnout" and all that jazz, but is pandemic inadequacy a thing? When it comes to my writing, I have felt so inadequate about it since the start of the pandemic. Like I've been trying to edit the second Avery Lawson book for the last year and some change, and I've barely made a dent in it. I've been working on it in starts and fits, and when I am able to get into it, I get maybe three or four pages done. This is why I'm getting bummed out because I know I'm able to write, edit, and publish a book in a decent amount of time. I mean in 2018, I put out two books, one of which was outlined, written, edited, and published with quick turnaround. So quick, I fcking impressed myself, but I'm seriously having a hard time putting the pedal to the metal on this second Avery Lawson book.

This feeling of inadequacy is wreaking havoc on my confidence as a writer, and I've been questioning if I even want to continue with being a writer. Most of the time, I come to the conclusion that I'm going to write regardless if I "quit" or not. It's just in my nature to always be writing something. It's an ingrained habit I can't seem to just let go of. So, since I've decided I'm not going to quit, I've been trying to work on some other projects like outlining the next Detective Miller book or even some of my unfinished fanfiction, but even working on any of those seems like a chore than an exciting escape I can get lost in. So I'm sort of floating in this mindless abyss where I'm highly aware of what I should be doing writing wise, but unable to focus or do anything with it.

At this point, I'm just trying to find something that will not only enthrall me but also excite me enough to where I want to share it with the masses. The Adventures of Swift actually gives me that feeling, but I also need to edit it. Perhaps I'll work on that, see if it gets my writing engines going again, then I'll jump back into Avery Lawson. Who knows lol. I'm just hoping for a miracle or something. 

Anyway just wanted to type out a quick blog post to let everyone know I am alive and kicking, but on this struggle bus. We'll see what the rest of the year brings since I'll be heading back to the office at some point between September and December. 

Everyone stay safe, and remember to rate and/or review the books you read/listen to. Especially those by indie and self-pubbed authors.

Until next time....

-DJ Small

June Got Away From Me

I was supposed to put up a true update on what I'm doing at the end of June, but then I quit being a human. Shout out to my depression and feeling 100% like crap for that one. I'm trying to work through it with my therapist so I can get back to something that look like a functional person, but it currently remains to be elusive.

Onto what you actually came here for....author ramblings!

Fate Unseen....Fate Unseesn...FATE UNSEEN! It's like Bloody Mary. Say it three times and it'll pop out of nowhere, or so I wished. Still editing it. My editing has been reduced to fits of trying to get it done because I have lost all motivation for it, so I'm doing what I can. What does that mean for the book coming out this year? A miracle. That's it. If I manage to publish it before the end of this year it will definitely be a miracle and I'm gonna have me some peach Jim Beam and tea to celebrate.

My struggle with editing has nothing to do with the story itself because once I'm in it, I'm in it and I'm engaged. The story is still wonderful, but with me being off kilter mentally, it really messes with my ability to focus. So again, the story is not shit. Or I don't think it's shit.

I've been outlining my next book and working on Adventures of Swift when I haven't been editing. Both of these projects are fun and light so they're a form of escapism for me on top of the fanfiction that I've read a million times...anyways...

The new book's working title is called "The Plumber's Daughter." A cute small-town romance about a former investigative journalist by the name of Carolyn Knox who buys a house in a small country town in Virginia as an attempt to escape the evil clutches of Washington D.C. The house of course needs a little love, and when her side lawn gets a sudden toxic pond thanks to her septic tank; she calls the local plumber, Tyler Meade. However, the person who ends up knocking on Carolyn's door is his daughter, Tyshell a.ka. Ty.

This story is going to be nothing but cuteness with a low level of tension. I'm refuse to even call it angst because I'm trying to minimize the angst. If you want angst go read Pool of Lies or Reappearance of Summer.

As for Adventures of Swift, I finished episode five and I'm writing episode 6. I may do a surprise drop on Patreon and post episode 2 since I can't work on what I need to. I fleshed out episode five wonderfully though last week, and I'm in love with the lore I've created for it. This means I'm anxious to share it with the world Squee. I'm also enjoying the fact that I'm keeping to my 10k words or less for each episode.

Oh, I completely forgot! There is a sale happening on Smashwords, and all my books are 50% off until the end of the month, and each week one of them is going to be free. This week it is Avery Lawson: The Last Pureblood. You call can acquire that one while I beat myself over the head and try to finish editing Fate Unseen.

Last thing I have is, put a poll in my July newsletter asking my readers which of my books they would like to see on Kindle Unlimited beginning August. I really don't like the Kindle Unlimited program because it means Amazon gets exclusivity for 3 months, but I'm willing to compromise by enrolling one book at a time in the progam. If you've been anxious to read one of my books and are a part of the KU program, click here to vote. A new window will open, taking you to the July newsletter where you can cast your vote.

I'll count up all the votes on July 31st, so anything that comes in after 12:00AM (EST) on July 30th, will not be counted for. And the book that gets the most votes will be announced on 8/1.

Heyyy, I think this was a decent sized post. I'm going to wrestle my brain and get something done, don't know what, but something. Remember to review the books you've read especially those written by indie and self-published authors. Side note: If you're reviewing my books, please leave a review on Smashwords. No one reviews there, and yeah, sure, Amazon is king, but I prefer Smashwords over them.

Until next time....

-DJ Small

Differrent Kind Of Blog Post

Here is June's second blog post of the month. Yes! I did it!

This blog post, however, is going to be a little different because I updated you all a week ago on my writer and book things, and nothing has change there. I'll plug the usual bits at the end, but the meat of this post is something else.

Today, I'm going to talk about the critiquing of fictional work that portrays marginalized communities that is written by a person from a marginalized community. This falls in the #ownvoices category of things if you follow the literary world of Twitter. The idea to write about this was sparked by a tweet I failed to capture, but it provoked an excellent question and I wanted to pose it to my readers as well as anyone else that happens to stumble upon my blog.

I think I'll start this off with my own personal example, and go from there. In 2016, I entered a screenplay I had written into a diversity competition for screenwriters. I knew it was probably crap, but I wanted to do it to get a feel for the process and see if my script could pass muster in regards to formatting, "white space", and being engaging enough. The story itself wasn't anything too deep. It's about a guy who has been in love with his best friend since college, and when this other guy comes into the picture, he becomes an unwilling matchmaker, but it's his own damn fault. It's supposed to be more rom-com than drama. See? Nothing deep.

Now the caveat. My main character is a transguy. The inspiration came from something I didn't go through personally, but a scenario imagined in my head, so the story--to me--could only be about a transguy and his cis-female friend who he is in love with.

When I entered this pile of mush into this competition, I had low expectations and believed it would be cut in the first round. However, it didn't, and the script made it to round two. Kudos to me. The feedback I received from the judge that had read it were some great one. They pointed out areas that needed work, and I actually still look back on those so I don't repeat the same mistakes twice. But in their analysis of the my main character, Jack, they pointed out that him being trans doesn't add more to the story line, and he would be another cis guy in this same situation, which is exactly the point.

Here is the full analysis of Jack for any interested parties



My point in writing this story was to take something that we've seen a thousand times, but gear it to a different audience. This story was never about Jack being trans, he just so happens to be trans and in this situation. Yet, the judge wanted more angst and drama that was rooted in Jack's transness. It could be my fault for not providing enough drama in the story as a writer, but for this post, this situation highlights what I'm getting at

End anecdote.

This brings me back to the topic at hand. When an individual writes a story where the main characters are marginalized in someway, and it isn't used as a source of angst or drama, it doesn't mean the writer has failed in telling a story. It has given depth and breadth to a group of people who are probably starving for something more than the angst driven stories that only end in tragedy or they are some poor imitation of a stereotypes before the character vanishes into obscurity.

And when these types of stories get written by those that come from marginalized communities then it is even better because it's validation, and not as just a writer, but as a person too. I mean, when a black woman writes a SciFi story where the main character is also black woman that becomes the ruler of Earth and saves it from total destruction it's satisfying. But when that story is read by others and accepted as is, then I'm sure pure elation happens. This is a good thing.

Yet, when someone comes out of the woodwork and says they want to see more of the "black woman's struggle" in the story, first, it makes you take pause. What exactly is the "black woman's struggle?" Secondly, why can't this story be about a carefree black woman who has an inner badass? Why does she need to go through some hardship to make the story believable?

In my case why, does Jack's transness need to be a point of drama? Jack is an average guy living his life, but has been secretly pining for his best friend for who knows how long. Why do I need to include a scene of his love interest rejecting him, and then changing her mind because she accepts him as is? I'm spitballing here, but you know what I mean.

Life is hard enough and we use TV, books, and movies as an escape. It's nice when these forms of media not only represent the varying nuances of  life and the world at large, but it's even more enjoyable when the angst and drama isn't borne from marginalized aspect of a character.

In short,what I want to do is challenge people's thinking. If you're reading a manuscript or critiquing a script and find yourself needing drama or angst that is rooted in a character's difference, ask yourself why you want this character to suffer for being different.

That's today's blog post. I'll throw in a couple plugs here

If you haven't already, sign up for the newsletter which re-starts on July 14th. Also, if you sign-up for before the 14th's issue is released, you'll  get a coupon code that will give you 50% off Murderous Profession when it comes out. I actually just got that back from my editor, so I'll be able to give a release date sometime in July.

Oh, here's another tidbit. When you sign-up for the newsletter you get a free book of your choosing, so why not do it for the free book and unsubscribe? Yeah, I just said that.

Almost forgot, July 1st-7th all my books are free on Smashwords as a part of their Summer sale.

All right, I look forward to your thoughts and comments on the post. This isn't a new thing, but sometimes, I have thoughts and need to get them out. Whether anyone reads them or not is subjective.

As always, if you've read a book by an indie or self-published author, take a second to review their work. Help get them some exposure.

Until next time...

-DJ Small