“Writing fiction, especially a long work of fiction can be difficult, lonely job; it’s like crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a bathtub. There’s plenty of opportunity for self-doubt.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Do you doubt yourself while you’re writing? I know I do. Is that a good thing? Perhaps some of the junkiest books come from folks who believe that nothing but rainbows comes out of their pen? Perhaps some of the best writing comes from people who have toiled away, questioning and self-debating every single, solitary last word choice?
Netflix provides all the movies you can watch for a flat fee per month. Hulu does the same thing for the latest TV shows.
Pandora provides streaming music. If you’re willing to listen to a commercial after a few songs, you can listen for free!
Will subscription services take over books? And if they do, what will it mean for authors?
As I read the myriad of self-publishing advice info out there, there seems to be a consistent strategy for success: Write a lot. Promote a lot. Every additional book you put out, every blog post, every tweet, every thing is just one more “net” you’re putting out into the ocean of the Internet in the hopes of catching a “fish” i.e. another loyal reader.
Sorry readers, I didn’t mean to call you fish. I meant it in the nicest possible way.
And usually, indie authors end up giving their work away for free or close to free just to promote themselves and attract readers.
So, won’t subscription services just steal those profits away?
Or, if the author gets a certain amount per download (usually if the reader reads a certain amount of the book), will that provide more exposure to the author? The reader may not have been willing to pay for an unknown indie author’s work, but might read the work if it is available through a subscription…and then if they like it, maybe they’ll be willing to buy the author’s next book.
I don’t know. It seems hard enough for new authors to make money that I worry about the growing subscription trend. But then again, I suppose we’re in a world where we follow consumer demands.
What say you? If you’re an Indie Author, will you put your work on subscription services?
Just read Stephen King’s It will be turned into a 2-part film by director Carey Fukunaga of True Detective fame.
There was an early 1990’s made for TV version. I recall being scared crapless by it. I’d probably laugh at it now. It did star the late great John Ritter aka Jack Tripper.
Many of you recently noted under one of my posts that you rank this as one of your favorite novels. What do you think. Will Hollywood do It justice?
I’m working on a sci-fi book idea and it is a new experience for me. So for the next week or so, I’m going to pop in to ask you, the sci-fi nerds of the world, to answer some questions.
Here’s my first one – the flying car – beloved Sci-Fi must-have or outdated trope?
My personal opinion – there are a lot of people, right now, who shouldn’t even be behind the wheel of a regular land car, do we really want them in the equivalent of a small, personal spacecraft? People would literally drive into buildings every 2 seconds. And if your mechanic doesn’t check everything, your car is going to drop out of the sky.
Plus, wouldn’t people crash their flying cars into each other constantly? Is every flying car going to be equipped with some kind of satellite monitoring so they can detect when another car is near so there isn’t a crash?
On the other hand, hey, let’s be honest, they’re cool, and who knows? Tech might evolve one day to the point where they’re feasible and even idiots can drive them with a minimal amount of damage.
My sci-fi world will most likely have flying cars. As a potential reader, is that cool or infuriating?
“My regrets are about the people I couldn’t save—Marines, soldiers, my buddies. I still feel their loss. I still ache for my failure to protect them.”
– Chris Kyle, American Sniper
Chris Kyle – Husband. Father. Navy Seal. Most Lethal U.S. Sniper. Punisher comic-book fan. Self-declared bad-ass. Let’s talk about the film based on Kyle’s autobiography.
I recently saw it and was blown away (no pun intended). Actor Bradley Cooper was recently on The Howard Stern Show, discussing how he gained forty pounds of muscle to play the role, and man did it show. Cooper turned in a solid performance that did Kyle justice, and he’s definitely an Oscar contender.
Kyle’s friends and fellow soldiers nicknamed him, “The Legend.” The name starts out as a joke, but soon it fits as he starts racking up one enemy kill after another. Soldiers say they literally feel better when he’s watching out for them through the lens of his rifle scope. The terrorists hate him, putting out a $180,000 bounty on his head. Kyle jokes, “Don’t tell my wife. She might collect on it.” Self-Deprecating humor is one of his trademarks throughout the film.
Kyle takes an active role in a unit chasing after a terrorist nicknamed, “The Butcher.” As shown in the film, the Butcher has a penchant for running around Iraq with a power drill, which he tortures Iraqis when they dare work with U.S. forces. Also dogging Kyle throughout the film is a sniper known as Mustafa, an Iraqi who once went to the Olympics as a marksman, but later joined the terrorists in fighting against American forces.
The movie follows Kyle through four tours of duty, showing the stresses he experiences on the battlefield, as well as the toll it makes on his life back at home. His wife is unhappy that he keeps returning to battle, and he is suffering from out of control blood pressure.
I’ve read some reader reviews of the book, many positive, some negative (no writer gets off without at least some negative reviews unfortunately). The negative reviews claim Kyle comes across as having a big ego and being full of himself, that he just enjoyed being “a bad-ass.”
Well, here’s the thing – He was a bad-ass. The man made Chuck Norris look like a choir boy. (No offense, Chuck). And according to the movie, he was his own worst self-critic. Rather than be content with all the soldiers he did save, he often focused on those he died, wishing he could have saved them. And when he was home, he felt bad for being home, feeling he needed to be back in Iraq, back in the fight.
Eventually, he does leave active duty and returns to civilian life, but he’s haunted by the war, and still feels he should be helping his fellow soldiers.
Finally, a psychiatrist tells him there are plenty of returned soldiers in the US that could use his help. Kyle begins volunteering with wounded soldiers, taking them out for target practice. The idea was to help struggling veterans feel empowered by working on their marksman skills.
Thankfully the movie does not show it, but Kyle died when a veteran with mental problems he’d volunteered to help shoots him. Very sad to think about how this man cheated death over and over in Iraq only to be murdered by someone he was trying to help.
The book’s a good read, the film’s fast-paced and full of action, both worth your time. Check them out!
Thankfully, the movie doesn’t show it, but sadly, Kyle died when he was shot by a veteran with mental problems he had volunteered to help.
“I’ll never know, and neither will you, of the life you don’t choose. We’ll only know that whatever that sister life was, it was important and beautiful and not ours. It was the ghost ship that didn’t carry us. There’s nothing to do but salute it from the shore.”
― Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar
I’m glad the movie Wild introduced me to this author, because the quote above is important to remember. Honestly, how much time do we waste thinking, “Oh, I wish I’d done this?” or “I wish I’d done that?” It doesn’t matter, does it? What’s done is done. What’s in the past can’t be changed.
Bookshelf Battle 