Updates & Transparency

So I know it’s been a very long time since I’ve updated this blog, but I’ve decided to make a quick update to offer some transparency on the current status of Ashwood and my writing, in general.

Ashwood was originally published by indie publisher Distinguished Press in September 2015. Like many small, indie pub houses, DP closed shop soon after Ashwood’s publication. It was then picked up by another indie publisher, FantasyWorks, and re-published under them in September 2016. Sadly, they too fell on hard times and had to close shop. This is the unfortunate fate of many small publishers. The publishing industry isn’t doing very well right now, even for the largest publishers so you can imagine how hard it is for newly budding indie houses. I knew the risks going into it when I first signed on with an indie house, and while it’s certainly disappointing it’s not unexpected.

As of the time of this posting, you can still get a copy of Ashwood here for the time being:

Amazon
CreateSpace
Kinokuniya NYC

As FantasyWorks phases out though, the supplies will dwindle so I’m going to look into self-publishing Ashwood in the future, and am still planning for a sequel, which will likely also be self-published. As much as I would like to avoid the self-publishing route, at this point I feel it’s the best option to keep Ashwood out there and accessible.

Lately my focus has been on producing game design content for tabletop and digital game companies. These freelance opportunities have been filling up my schedule since I made it into the Final Four of Paizo’s RPG SuperStar contest. Between this and working a full time job, I haven’t had a chance to keep up with this blog nor produce much fiction in the MG/YA literary arena. Please note, that I still absolutely love writing kids lit and plan to continue to do so, but I also very much enjoy game design writing and eagerly accept exciting contracts when they pop up. And luckily for me, they’ve been popping up quite a bit.

I currently have several freelance game design projects I’m committed to, but I plan to get started on the Ashwood sequel soon, as well as launch Ashwood as a self-published product. That said, I doubt I will continue to use this blog much, so if you’re looking for updates on Ashwood or any other of my works, please follow me on Twitter (@CJMalarsky) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCJMalarsky/) – both of which I update much more frequently than here. Twitter and Facebook is simply easier for me to maintain than a blog.

Thanks for reading!

Please Stop Asking Your Writer Friends for Free Copies of Their Work

When people think of children authors, big names are the ones immediately conjured in their minds. J.K. Rowling, Holly Black, John Green, Suzanne Collins.  But the publishing industry is huge, highly competitive, and full of authors you’ve likely never heard of before. Included in those are indie authors, like myself.

As an indie author, we often don’t have the same amenities popular authors have nor the luxury of an influential marketing staff. More often than not, we have to do much of the marketing and promotions ourselves. And that takes money. We’re not talking pocket change either. We’re talking about actually financial investments. This includes shelling out money to be a sponsor at conventions to get your name out, hosting book giveaways where you not only lose income on the book itself but also have to pay for mailing it out, as well as buying ads on various websites. It adds up and it takes a huge hit to our wallets. We do NOT make the income that those big name authors receive. Not even close. Most authors, in fact, make less than $10,000 a year. This isn’t something we do as a full time job. We work day jobs and do our writing careers on our “free time”. And when I say free time, I mean the fleeting hours we have between when we get home from our day jobs and go to bed, and the weekends when our friends are going out and we have to stay inside to continue our work. Pursuing a writing career means sacrificing a lot of money and social time. 

The amount an author invests in their careers and promoting their books can be upward of $1,000. It’s not cheap, but it is a necessity. So when you turn to your author friend and say “Oh hey, can I get a copy of your book?” and then balk when we state the price, you're essentially delivering a slap in the face to us. You’re disregarding the time, effort, and money we’ve put into creating our works and cultivating our careers. You’re saying that we’re not worthy as artists. Additionally, just think if we gave free copies to all our friends - we would barely make any profit from it at all. Friends and family often are our primary buyers. And if we’re being totally honest, I use the term “profit” with a grain of salt, because more often than not we still only just break even after everything else… if we’re lucky.

Have I given out free copies of Ashwood outside of promotional giveaways? Yes, I have. Two copies. One to my mother, the other to my cover artist. One because she gave birth to me, and the other because she was kind enough to design my cover for free (and no, I didn’t ask – she offered because she believed in me and wanted to give Ashwood the best chance it could in the market).

So here’s the deal, people. Unless you’ve played a significant role in the birth of said author or the book itself, don’t expect to get a copy for free. In fact, don’t even ask. It’s nothing less than an insult to us. No one is going to blame you if you don’t have the means to purchase a copy. If you can, great… but we don’t expect it. There are other ways you can support your writer friends than buying a copy – you can share information about it on social media. You can attend events your friend hosts. You can use your contacts to help them network and boost their careers. Things like that only costs your time and they truly do matter. But asking for a free copy? That only causes hurt feelings and bruised hearts, so please, please, please… just don’t do it.

Announcement: New Publisher

A number of exciting, new things are going on right now, the most important of which is that Ashwood is getting a new publisher. Due to unforeseen circumstances the original publisher, Distinguished Press, had to close their doors. But when one door closes, another opens and I am happy to announce that Ashwood will be re-published under Fantasy Works Publishing.

During this transition Ashwood will be unavailable for purchase. That said Kinokuniya has asked me to come back to their NYC branch as a guest speaker for their next "YA Talk" event. This event is scheduled for Saturday, March 26th at 3pm and signed print copies of the original Ashwood will be available. More information about the event will follow soon.

If you haven't yet had a chance to get your hands on a copy yet and are eager to do so, Kinokuniya will be the exclusive seller until it re-emerges under the Fantasy Works brand.

Please stay tuned for future publication announcements. 

Book Events at Kinokuniya

So happy to say that Kinokuniya Book Store has asked me back not once but TWICE! The first was to host their "YA Book Talk" on Alexandra Bracken's new time-traveling YA adventure, Passenger. The second is for an upcoming Q&A with Melissa Landers for the release of her new sci-fi YA, Starflight. I was happy to oblige considering I am as much a reader as I am a writer.

The "YA Book Talk" happened earlier this month, but the Q&A with Melissa Landers is occurring next week on Tuesday, Feb. 2nd at 6pm. I'll be moderating the discussion with Melissa and afterwards both she and I will be available to sign our books. So if you're in NYC, please drop by and say hello!

Kinokuniya NYC, Feb. 2nd at 6pm

And as an added bonus here's a few pictures from the "YA Book Talk" event this past month:

CJ hosts the YA Book Talk at Kinokuniya NYC

The crowd discussed the importance of diversity in YA literature

A curious reader checks out Passenger

Book Look: Ashwood

Happy New Year! 2015 was certainly and eventful year for me and I hope 2016 ends up being even better. Hoping that the New Year brings you all many good and happy things in your life.

To kick things off for the new year, check out this awesome "book look" inspired by the cover of Ashwood. Because who says that fashion and horror can't be mutually exclusive?

Horror couture!

I know I still owe my 2015 Autumn Pick, so that will be coming soon. I also have another event at Kinokuniya coming up, so please stay tuned for more information about that.

Top 5 Children's Winter Reads

The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann

With the holiday season in full swing and winter approaching, I thought it would be nice to share some of my favorite seasonal children’s stories. What books are on your winter reading list?

1. The Nutcracker by E.T. A. Hoffmann

As a lover of ballet, The Nutcracker is easily my favorite holiday story. This one keeps visions of sugar plums dancing in my head all winter long. A perfect choice for the tiny dancer in your life.

2. The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson

Fairy tales have a special place in my heart, and what better way to celebrate the season than by reading this wintery favorite. With the popularity of Disney’s Frozen, this will likely be an easy favorite for kids.

 3. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

For me, winter is the prime time for fairy tales and this YA retelling of the Norwegian fairy tale “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” is no different. While it might be better suited to teen readers, tweens and upper Middle Graders should be able to appreciate this one.

4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

A perennial favorite with adults and children alike, it’s not really Christmas time until our green-skinned friend comes out. It’s a classic for a reason.

5. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

What’s more magical and comforting than the thought of jumping on a train and heading up to the North Pole on a snowy night? Whimsy and wonder abound in this heartwarming little story, and it continues to charm readers of all ages. 

What is it Like to Write a Series?

I get this question a lot lately. My short answer is: “It’s like writing a book. But three of them.” But I don’t think that’s terribly helpful, so allow me to expand…

Writing a book is hard. It’s an endeavor you need to dedicate a lot of time to, as well as invest money into. If your dream is to see your work published, there are a lot of steps along the way. The first being education. Now, I don’t mean that you need to get a full degree, but you should consider getting some kind of formal education such as taking classes and regularly attending writing lectures. Classes and lectures not only help you hone your craft, but they also help you keep in touch with the industry.

On that note, keeping in touch with the industry is another huge step. Follow agents and publishers on social media. Attend conventions. Read blogs. It’s vital to have your finger on the pulse of this industry because it’s always changing. You may think that your dystopian YA is an easy sell because it’s so huge in the media right now, but if you aren’t keeping up with the inside of the industry you wouldn’t know that the market is saturated with that genre right now. As such, that genre is an incredibly difficult sell these days. Which leads me to some advice – never write to a trend. Ever. The trends change month to month. There is no point in anticipating what will be the next hot genre. Don’t do it. Just write from the heart. Write with sincerity. Don’t write with dreams of fame and Hollywood blockbuster movies in mind. Write what inspires you. Write the music in your heart.

Now we come to the actual writing process itself. Every writer is different – some (like myself) need to outline extensively and some are “pantsers”, meaning that they write by the seat of their pants, no outlining they just let they words flow and the story form organically. Now for a stand-alone story, pantsing works just fine but I think when it comes to writing a series, outlining is necessary. There are so many story threads to keep track of that in the interest of keeping continuity and making sure you are following up on your subplots, it’s important to think out the complete story. It also helps with establishing pacing and dissemination of information.

Okay, so you’ve gotten the first draft of your manuscript written. Now what? Well now you get together with a critique group and you let your partners hack your precious words to pieces. I advise not relying on friends outside of the industry for this. Friends and family are more likely to just pat you on the head and only provide positive feedback. And if they don’t understand the industry, they really aren’t going to be able to give you what you need to make your manuscript shine. Go on to writing forums and seek out other writers. Meet, connect, work.

After you’ve gone through another draft or two (or four) with your group, then it’s time to send it on to agents and editors. Like receiving critiques, you need a lot of thick skin for this. You will be rejected. Not once, not twice. You will be rejected over and over again, and it sucks. At this point you have already invested so much time, money, effort, blood, sweat, and tears into your project that to face rejection feels like being stabbed in the heart. But you can’t let it faze you. If you believe in your work, if writing is your passion, and if it’s a career you are serious about pursuing, you must push past it and continue on. As my mother often tells me, “Every no is closer to a yes.”

Now let’s say you finally get that acceptance – well then it’s time to celebrate. But then you have a whole other host of new tasks to deal with including (but not limited to) networking, marketing and promoting your project, and making a presence on social media. But that is really a whole other topic.

So what is it like to write a series? It’s like writing a book. But three of them. It means a huge time commitment and dedicating a lot of energy to planning. It means having to make sacrifices in favor of working hard and investing in education. There’s no easy, simple answer here. Every writer’s path is different, but it all boils down to drive and determination.