Some background on my efforts to publish “Relvan’s Rescue” would probably help to set the stage. This will just be an overview, as there are multiple posts in the blog archives that provide more depth for anyone interested. “Relvan’s Rescue” was originally written as a submission for a small press anthology way back in 2005. It was rejected, I made some revisions, and sent it back out to several professional markets. There were no takers, so it sat for a few years until I came across another small press anthology looking for stories. Stories like “Relvan’s Rescue.” I dusted off the manuscript, touched it up, and sent it off.

Bam! The publisher, Metahuman Press, snapped it up and published it in their 2011 anthology Pirates & Swashbucklers. Now, I should mention that during the intervening time from when I first began submitting “Relvan’s Rescue” to its acceptance by Metahuman Press, my personal philosophy concerning publication had shifted. Back in 2005, after having a couple professional publication credits under my belt, I believed it was in my best interests to pursue future publication only with markets that paid professional rates. If I wanted to make progress toward my goal of making a living from my fiction writing, this seemed the logical conclusion. Other factors, some under my control and some not, pushed this goal further and further away, and it no longer became an issue of getting paid for my writing, but just getting my writing out in front of an audience. So, small presses like Metahuman became attractive and viable options to me.

I’m telling you this because a similar shift in my thinking occurred with my opinion of publishing my writing in ebook format. Having grown up with the dream of being an author long before e-readers were a twinkle in Jeff Bezos’s eye, publication meant seeing my name printed on paper in ink and stacked on a physical bookshelf. I knew the difference between a real publishing house and a vanity press, and it was the latter who first flocked to the new digital medium, making me leery of the format.

But as I said at the start, it soon became obvious where things were headed, and I consider myself a fairly tech-savvy person. The urge to try the waters was growing, and two events egged me on to jump in with both feet. The first was the publication of the Pirates & Swashbucklers anthology. As I worked with Nick Ahlhelm, the editor and publisher, and observed the process, I thought to myself–and I say this with no disrespect meant toward Nick–this is something I could do myself. Of course, that’s always easy to say, and things tend to turn out different when you actually try to do it, but I’ll take about that later.

The second event was the purchase of a Kindle Fire for my kids this past summer. I’m secure enough to admit that part of my resistance toward ebooks was a fear of the unknown. Now we had the technology in hand, however, and I could see for myself that it wasn’t so bad. In fact, it was pretty neat.

With the last of my arguments about self-publishing ebooks crumbling at my feet, I was ready to give it a try. And I had just the story to use for the project. But that didn’t mean everything was smooth sailing. I had three obstacles I had to overcome before I could publish “Revlan’s Rescue” as an ebook, and I’ll talk about those in my next post.

What is the working title of your story?
“Mig’s Rebellion” is the second Janner Kohl story I’ve written. Janner is a mercenary, employed by the Brigade, one of many mercenary guilds that operate in the world I’ve created for these adventures. Mig Daro is his best friend and fellow mercenary.

Where did the idea for the story come from?
This particular tale was inspired by the computer roleplaying game Icewind Dale. Janner Kohl and the Brigade were birthed from my experience playing Pool of Radiance in my early teens, and the love I have for the Moonsea region of the Forgotten Realms that grew from those memories. I can think of many other influences that found their way into this story, and the larger world of Janner Kohl, but that’s primarily the germ that got the ball rolling, if I may mix my metaphors.

What genre does your story fall under?
The adventures of Janner Kohl are pure sword and sorcery. I’ve likened Janner to Solomon Kane in the past, and there are certainly aspects of the relationship between Janner and Mig that give nods back to the quintessential duo of sword and sorcery, Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser. I’m really trying to capture what I love most about those classic stories, while putting my own unique spin on them.

What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie version?
I’m a very visual writer, meaning that I write from vivid pictures that are in my head. I have very definitive images of both Janner and Mig, though I have, up to this point, purposefully given minimal details about their looks in both stories. That said, I really haven’t spent much time searching out actors that I think match those mental portraits. Off the top of my head, I could see Gerard Butler as Janner. Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, but with shorter hair (and taller than a dwarf), could also work. William Kircher as Bifur, twenty years younger, a shorter beard, but keep the wild hair, is close to what I imagine Mig like.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of the story?
Janner Kohl’s belief that discipline equals obeying orders is tested when his friend Mig Daro questions their captain’s judgement, and Janner must choose a side if he hopes to survive the guardians of a dangerous magic sealed inside the cursed crypt of an ancient barbarian warlord.

Will your story be self-published?
I am currently shopping it around different markets. I just heard back from LORE over the weekend, and they decided not to accept it. As of right now, it is sitting in the submission queue at Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show.

That does bring me to another “Big Thing” I would like to announce. I will be spending the rest of this month formatting and creating a cover for the re-release of the first Janner Kohl story, “Relvan’s Rescue,” as an ebook. The story originally appeared in last year’s Pirates & Swashbucklers anthology from Metahuman Press (which is still available and a great value as an ebook if you have a pirate lover on your Christmas list). I’ve been interested in testing out the ebook market since Wizards of the Coast re-issued Maiden of Pain in that format, and I thought this might be a good opportunity.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
“Mig’s Rebellion” is just over 5000 words. I don’t think it took more than two or three days to get out that first draft.

What other stories would you compare this to within your genre?
See my answer to the other question on genre.

Who or what inspired you to write this story?
See my answer to the question about where the idea for the story came from.

What else about your story might pique the interest of readers?
Even though my main goal for the adventures of Janner Kohl is to tell a fun and entertaining sword and sorcery story, I can’t help but explore deeper themes when the opportunities arise. “Mig’s Rebellion” presented such an opportunity, and in the process, I discovered a side to Mig that I hadn’t really considered. He really grew into his own as a character in this story, whereas he was presented more as a sidekick in “Relvan’s Rescue.” That was a very enjoyable process for me as a writer, and I hope readers will be just as thrilled as I was by the results.

Stay tuned for news on where you can find “Mig’s Rebellion” and when “Relvan’s Rescue” will be released. In the meantime, go check out the Next Big Thing for these authors:

• Rosemary Jones, another “Young Dragons” author that has gone on to bigger and better things, has a new novella out. “Wrecker of Engines” is included in the Cobalt City Rookies anthology from Timid Pirate Publishing. If you like superheroes, you need to read this.
• Cynthia Ward, a fellow Pirates & Swashbucklers author, recently co-authored Writing the Other (Conversation Pieces); a non-fiction ebook that “discusses basic aspects of characterization and offers elementary techniques, practical exercises, and examples for helping writers create richer and more accurate characters” from different ethnic and cultural background. I believe she also has some short fiction looking for a home.

Similar Posts:

• Janner Kohl is not a Harlequin romance
• Throwing It All Away
• Relvan Rescued
• Mig’s Rebellion Is Over
• Pulp, Pirates, and Me

I’m still waiting to hear back from Lore about “Mig’s Rebellion,” the new Janner Kohl story. It hasn’t quite been 90 days yet, but I was hoping for some news to be thankful for before the holiday.

In the meantime, I’ve started work on my own e-book project. Like many authors and readers, I was initially resistant to the idea of the e-book. I feared losing the ability to hold an actual book, and e-book publishers were too similar to vanity presses. The market has evolved, matured, making those concerns less relevant. I guess I truly gave up the fight this summer when we bought a Kindle. For the most part, I don’t mind “flipping” or scrolling through pages, and Amazon and B&N appeal to the entrepreneur in me as markets for short stories, especially as traditional markets disappear. My lack of name recognition and prolificacy means I don’t have a built-in audience, but I’m willing to do some marketing legwork through social media, and have no expectations of becoming a self-published sensation and striking it rich. This is just an exercise in how to best get my writing to people who want to read it.

So now I’m doing my best to embrace the format as an author. I’ve been reading up on how to format manuscripts and publish through Amazon and B&N. I’m also collaborating with an illustrator on a cover design. I thought I might have things ready to go in time to release the e-book alongside Maiden, but grad school has been a killer this term. As things stand now, putting the e-book together will end up being my Winter Break project, and should generate a few posts relating things I learned going through the process.Similar Posts:

• Lifespan of a pulp novel
• Reaction to a shrinking market
• Amazon maiden
• Maiden’s rank
• Don’t write a Dungeons and Dragons novel

The first item that got work was the ending. Both readers felt it was too abrupt and left them unsatisfied, so I extended it by three or four sentences to give closure without changing the theme I was trying to express. This was the single biggest revision. Others included some pronoun confusion during one or two of the action sequences, a little bit more description to enhance the tension and “creepiness” of one particular scene, and a really cheesy line of dialogue that my wife–I mean, one of my beta readers said had to go.

“Mig’s Rebellion” currently sits at 5200 words, a little over half the length of the first Janner Kohl story. I’m very happy with this, as it opens additional markets that I can submit to which weren’t available to “Relvan’s Rescue” due to its word count. The one market I really wanted to submit to, based on their previous interest in my writing, was Black Gate, but according to its listing on Duotrope, it is closed to submissions until 2016. I haven’t been able to confirm this directly with editors at the magazine that I have communicated with in the past, though I don’t really have a reason to doubt Duotrope. Can anyone else corroborate the status of this market?

Assuming Black Gate is not open for the present (and foreseeable future), the first market I will be submitting to is Lore. I have not submitted to them before, and Duotrope ranks them at number 6 in their 25 Most Challenging Markets. They also pay professional rates. On the downside, according to their submission guidelines, their response time is 90 days as of this June. While not the worst I’ve encountered, I’m not enthusiastic about my manuscript sitting around for longer than 30 days, especially when another market I’m considering will be opening and closing in September.

Fortunately, that market–Heroic Fantasy Quarterly–has four different reading periods per year, so if I miss this one, it won’t be long until I can submit to them again. Unfortunately, they pay a flat fee for fiction, though the amount is more than I made in royalties after a year for the Pirates & Swashbucklers anthology. HFQ rejected “Relvan’s Rescue” for being too “talky” and using the word “pirates” (they’re not fans), but they did like the writing and encouraged me to consider them in the future (in a generic sort of way).

I will, but after I submit “Mig’s Rebellion” to Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show. This is another market that offers professional rates, and one I’ve submitted to previously, though they also rejected “Relvan’s Rescue” (without any personalized feedback).

I expect to hear back from my other beta readers by the end of the week. That gives me the weekend to make one final round of revisions, and then its off to the markets.

UPDATE: I just heard back from John O’Neill, editor at Black Gate. “Thanks for checking. Yes, we are closed until at least 2016.”Similar Posts:

• Beta reading before submitting
• Discovering Duotrope’s Digest
• Pirates and Editors
• Relvan returns from Black Gate
• Relvan Rescued

Pirates & Swashbucklers

However, by the end of the week, I no longer felt I was writing a Janner Kohl story. You see, there are certain elements and themes that make a story a Janner Kohl story. First is the prevalence of magic in the world. Magic, which includes monsters and mythical beasts, is a thing of legends, a relic from the past. It pops up in every Janner Kohl story, but not until the end, and usually in a way meant to surprise both the characters and the reader.

That was not the case with this first draft of “Mig’s Rebellion.” I was barely halfway through the story when Janner and his fellow mercenaries found themselves fighting the undead, and if I had kept going, he would have been fighting them for the rest of the story. That was not what a Janner Kohl story was about.

Another element that makes a story a Janner Kohl story is that it is told from his point of view. Now, “Mig’s Rebellion” presented me with a challenge because I wanted Mig to be a central figure in the story, to explore who he was and his relationship to Janner early in their career, but I had to present events from Janner’s perspective. What ended up happening was that as I wrote more and more of the story, I painted Janner into the role of observer rather than participant. Even though the story was still being told from Janner’s point of view, it was no longer a Janner Kohl story because of the simple fact that it wasn’t really about him any more, and that is arguably the most important element that makes up a Janner Kohl story: it features Janner Kohl.

Faced with these facts, I spent the weekend thinking over my options. The story was unacceptable in its current form, but there were parts of it I didn’t want to discard because I liked how they turned out, how they characterized Mig. In the end, though, most of it had to go. I kept the opening paragraph, a couple other paragraphs from the opening scene that still fit with the new direction, and a line of dialogue from a later confrontation between Mig and the Captain that will be transplanted into a new scene midway through the story.

It was a painful decision to throw away all those words I had written, but I sat down Monday morning, rewrote my outline, and added 500 words to the new opening scene. Now Janner is right in the middle of the action from the start, and he’ll be there until the end of the story. And, the plot is tighter and closer to my original intentions than the previous version.

I’m interested in hearing from you about times you’ve had to throw away a big chunk of words for the sake of a better story. How did you reach that decision, and how bad did it hurt? Let me know in the comments.Similar Posts:

• Mig’s Rebellion Is Over
• My Next Big Thing
• Janner Kohl is not a Harlequin romance
• Pirates and Editors
• How one woman rocked Relvan’s Rescue

I’m sure some people feel they’re not really “writing” unless their sentences form pretty paragraphs that fill up the screen or page, but let’s be honest and admit that most of us will spend too many hours staring at that daunting, blank white space, waiting for the muse to give us more than a sentence or two at a time. I do, and it’s frustrating because I already know what I want to happen in the scene–in the whole story, for that matter. The difficulty is in the details.

Wouldn’t it be great if I could just write out the main points of the story then come back and flesh it out a sentence at a time? Each time I ran through it, I’d add more and more detail until those two sentences became a paragraph, the paragraph expanded into a scene, and the scene grew into a chapter.

Guess what, I just described the process of outlining. I know there are many writers out there who prefer not to work with an outline. I write using an outline. I find them to be invaluable tools for keeping a story on track and identifying plot holes. When I’m working on an academic paper, an outline helps me to organize the flow of my argument and confirm that my paragraphs tie back to my thesis.

One reason why some writers might resist using an outline is the perception that it is a static document that constrains creativity and new thought. As I’ve shown above, nothing could be farther from the truth. Your outline should evolve as you clarify your thoughts. I usually keep two windows open when I write: one for the manuscript and one for the outline. I find myself many times going back and fleshing out chapters in the outline, adding several layers of detail until I’ve nearly written entire scenes word for word.

My outline also helps me stay productive when I struggle with the infamous “writer’s block.” I am a very linear writer; I don’t like skipping around my plot writing scenes. There are times when I’m stuck on a particular scene, and my mind starts to wander to another part of the story. I find these occurrences to be a distraction. The outline becomes an outlet for me to capture my thoughts about that future scene with minimal effort, and I can return to my previous scene with a clearer head.

Another reason writers shy away from outlines is the classical form we’ve all been trained to use. It seems like an inefficient use of time, when we struggle to make room in our busy schedules for writing, to create a separate, stiff, formal document rather than just jumping in. Fortunately, a page full of Roman numerals is not the only method for outlining.

For those of us who are visual learners, sticky notes or index cards provide a great way to keep our writing organized. Each note or card contains a main idea or a quote (with the citation). The cards are then spread out—floors or tables work great; if you have a large bulletin board, you can pin them up and avoid the lower back pain that comes with hours of bending over—creating a visual map of your paper. From there, you can move the cards around to create logical flows from point to point, and make sure your quotes are grouped with the relevant ideas.

Either method, classic outline or notecard, will allow you to grow your outline detail by detail into a full-fledged story, but outlines can also be useful to develop after you’ve finished writing. A reverse outline is an outline created from the paper by identifying your thesis and labeling it as Roman numeral one (I.). Your subsequent points are the main ideas from each paragraph. Distilling your paper into this format gives you the opportunity to confirm that your argument flows smoothly and each idea supports your thesis.

Outlining is a valuable writing tool at any point during the writing process. It helps to organize your thoughts and strengthen your paper. There are different ways to create an outline, and the outline should continue to evolve as you write, rather than exist as a static, constraining document, so there is little reason not to use one. I encourage you to give outlining a try the next time you sit down to write.Similar Posts:

• Growing an outline into a story
• Filling in details
• Stopping the rush
• Back in the spotlight

Writers make writing a priority. That means they arrange their routine around writing: when, where, and how long. If any of those three are undefined, I know I will struggle to even open up my manuscript file. “When” is important because everyone has a different time of day that not only fits their schedule, but is also when they are the most productive. My window seems to be 9am to noon. I’m a night owl, so you’d think that I’d work better from 9pm to midnight, but after a long day, all I want to do is watch a movie or play video games once the kids are in bed. “When” also needs to include how often during the week. Right now, I’m on a Monday through Friday schedule. The closer I can keep it to a standard work schedule, the more likely I am to keep up with my writing, and frequency is a major factor in developing habits.

“Where” is important in finding time to write because some locations provide easier access to distractions, or are environments that don’t isolate you enough from old routines. I find it very hard to write at home, whether it’s because of family responsibilities or because “home” equals “playtime” in my mind and there are too many recreational distractions close at hand. For the past two summers, I have been successful writing when I left the house and went to the local branch of the public library. I don’t ask for the password to connect to the Internet and I sit at a table in the corner, plug in my headphones to cut out any noise, and start writing.

My sessions at the library last about two hours, which brings me to the last component of always finding time to write. I don’t know about you, but my life seems to organize pretty well into two-hour blocks. Some of that has to do with my own attention span, and some of it is based on trying to fit all the demands and commitments I have into a 24-hour day and still find some time to sleep. A two-hour window gives me plenty of time to write at least a page (~500 words), if not more a day. It also serves as a mini-deadline that keeps me on task. And I usually find myself mentally moving on to other things after a couple hours. That’s not to say that if I’m in a zone, I won’t keep going, but two hours seems to be about the limit for my writing endurance before it becomes a chore.

So, by planning for the when, where, and how long, I’ve been able to find time to write, even when there are a million other things I need to, have to, or want to do. If you’re struggling with scheduling time for your writing, I hope you’ll give some of the ideas I’ve suggested a try. I’d love to hear how they work out for you.Similar Posts:

• Why I write fantasy fiction
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I’ve been sitting behind a pretty big writer’s block in Shattered Amulet. Chapter six begins with a return to Logan Shadowhand as the point-of-view (POV) character. When last we left him, he had unwisely provoked a fight with his guards and was anticipating the beatdown of his life. My outline for the chapter picks up the story somewhere in the middle of his recovery, but as I made several attempts to start writing, I struggled to find a good way of summarizing the resolution of Logan’s pummeling and how his fellow prisoner nursed him back to health in the time elapsed.

Part of my issue was coming up with a reason why the guards didn’t beat Logan to death. He was nothing special to them; his labor easily replaced. I considered ways his comrade-in-chains might intervene, but none of them felt right. Every logical path in my head led to the same conclusion: Logan should be dead. That wouldn’t make for a very good novel, however.

When I opened the file to do some writing on Thursday, all the abortive starts I had previously made were staring me in the face. Determined to move past this point–and not wanting to tell Stuart I hadn’t made any progress our first week–I followed my usual first steps in trying to overcome blocks. I reread the previous two chapters, all the while keeping the current scene percolating in the back of my mind.

As I neared the end of chapter five, I got an idea for how Logan’s fellow prisoner could intervene on his behalf that wouldn’t compromise my plans for that character. I went back to my outline to fix in my head the main plot points of the chapter. Then I rewrote the chapter outline with the new beginning, fleshing out points as I went. When I was done, I had a chapter that accomplished what I wanted and made sense within the context of the rest of the novel.

Now I just had to write it. I kept the paragraphs I had written previously so I could mine them as needed. Then I started writing, but I quickly ran into the same issue I had before with summary. I wanted the reader right there in the action, but using Logan’s point of view didn’t work. It didn’t take me long to see that I need a different POV character. And with the new outline of the chapter, Logan’s prisonmate was the obvious choice. The decision made, I was able to produce about 200 words in the couple hours I had left to write that morning. Writer’s block removed, and all it took was a different point of view.Similar Posts:

• Filling in details
• The evolution of Logan Shadowhand
• Growing an outline into a story
• My Love for Logan
• Stop kicking against the goads

Several different emotions ran through me as I pondered the question. The one submission I had sent to Black Gate had been rejected, though it had been a close call and the rejection contained praise for my writing. That was a couple years ago. The story eventually got published this past September in Pulp Empire’s Pirates & Swashbucklers anthology. I wondered if they remembered the story, or if the editor had been a fan of my Forgotten Realms work. The thought that my writing had made such an impact was a stroke to the ego.

However, the feelings that followed were not so affirming. I had nothing to submit. I had no finished manuscript. Shattered Amulet sat untouched for months; I hadn’t worked on it since the summer. I told myself–and the editor from Black Gate–that I could finish it in a couple months. And I could have. Deadlines do wonders. But I was kicking myself for having procrastinated. I told myself I should have had this story written long before now.

I started to examine my desire to write, and I had to admit it was almost non-existent. If nothing else, my neglect of this blog is ample evidence. I could come up with excuses: school, stress from recent personal upheavals; there will always be excuses, obstacles, though. If I want to write bad enough, I’ll find ways to overcome them. I have (and do) in other arenas.

The fact that I hadn’t made me question my love for Logan. Was I no longer interested in his story? I had other story ideas, both novel and short form, and they failed to fuel my desire any more than Logan did. I had to admit that non-academic writing just wasn’t a priority for me at the moment.

Scott was kind enough to suggest I send him a synopsis and the first three chapters of Shattered Amulet for him to look over. If they interested him, we’d go from there. I sent them, of course. Yet, as I waited to hear back, another aspect of my love for Logan surfaced. Black Gate Books was to be exclusively ebooks, with a word count range between 50-75k. Based on my outline, I envisioned Shattered Amulet to come in around 90-100k. I couldn’t imagine cutting out a quarter of Logan’s story.

And I wanted a print version. Not that I was against ebooks, but having grown up on paper, I wanted to be able to feel the weight of my first non-media tie-in novel in my hands, to flip its pages. As much as I wanted to see Logan in print (electronic and ink), I did not think he would be a good fit for what Black Gate wanted.

I heard back from Scott last week, and he didn’t think it would fit either. He enjoyed the storytelling, thought it would find a place in another market, and hoped I would continue work on it.

I hope I do, too.Similar Posts:

• Relvan returns from Black Gate
• Shattered Amulet, page 23
• A Different Point of View
• The evolution of Logan Shadowhand
• A common theme

Let me start by saying how much I admire Marcy. She humbles me with her productivity and her resilience in the face of the many personal trials she and her family have suffered and continue to endure. I am also a stalwart fan of many of her poems and short stories. I enjoyed her first novel, Legacy of Wolves, and looked forward to her next excursion into the world of Eberron. When it comes to Marcy’s writing, I am a little bias. Just so you know.

The Shard Axe did not disappoint me. Both Eberron as a setting, and sword-and-sorcery as a genre, tend to favor stories where Good and Evil come in shades of gray. Marcy capitalizes on that feature by populating her story with characters that all carry some sort of scar or baggage that taints them with suspicion at various points as the plot progresses. For me, that was perhaps the greatest strength of the story. I think I suspected everyone at least once of some culpability in the various intrigues–if not the primary crime–and some characters twice.

Sabira is a great female protagonist. Haunted by guilt and chased by creditors, she is a complex woman, and we are given full access to her thoughts, feelings, and motivations. That’s not to say the book is full of introspective soliloquies or angst-ridden dialogue. This is a sword-and-sorcery tale, after all. There is plenty of swordplay–or axeplay, as it were–and I really liked how low key the magic was, especially in a setting like Eberron where magic is a form of technology that powers the society. The vast majority of magic in the story is artifact-based; there wasn’t very much spellslinging. Sabira proves she can hold her own with her enchanted axe, but while she takes her nickname from it, the weapon is clearly not what defines her.

There were few things I didn’t enjoy about The Shard Axe, but in some sort of attempt to appear fair and balanced, I thought I’d mention a couple concerns I had. First, I didn’t buy the budding romance with the brother of her former partner, but I blame my own sense of suspicious cynicism, which Marcy played on perfectly. I also had a hard time orienting myself once the characters reached the dwarven city that serves as the setting for the second half of the book. I just didn’t get a good sense of landmarks and topographical features. The resulting confusion distracted me enough from the plot that once I finally got back on track, things felt rushed. Maybe compressed is a better word.

I’m happy to say that my lack of familiarity with Eberron or the Dungeons & Dragons Online MMO that the book is tied to did not inhibit my ability to understand or enjoy The Shard Axe, and to me, that is one characteristic of good media tie-in fiction. You’ll have to check some other reviews by fans of DDO and Eberron to see if Marcy stayed true to the themes and traits that are central to those intellectual properties, but I have a feeling she did. I recommend The Shard Axe to anyone who likes to read fantasy fiction, and I am pleased to learn she is already at work on a sequel.Similar Posts:

• Writing sword-and-sorcery fiction
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