Thank you to all and I sincerely hope that you have the most enjoyable holiday season that can be had. Take care!
J.M.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Giving thanks...
As we near the end of 2010, many of us will look back on the year with mixed emotions. Our country is in an extreme state of distress; the economy isn't better, jobs are still slim, and the cost of everything continues to rise. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I think it is important that we, both as a country and individually, make an effort to discover the good that resides within us instead of listening to the media's constant reminders of our short-comings.
My thanks go to my family. I'm a lucky man, what more can I say?
Thanks to my friends in the great state of Kansas. I don't know what I'd do without you.
Thanks to my Kindle Board author friends. Someday I hope we can all get together and talk about at least one of us being on the NYTimes Best Seller list.
My thanks to all of the fans. Thank you for your support and I promise that I'll continue to provide you with the best stories that I can possibly write.
I'm sure that I'll add more to this list. For now I'm going to sign off. It is a Sunday morning, and I am going to make it a good day.
Take care all.
J.M.
My thanks go to my family. I'm a lucky man, what more can I say?
Thanks to my friends in the great state of Kansas. I don't know what I'd do without you.
Thanks to my Kindle Board author friends. Someday I hope we can all get together and talk about at least one of us being on the NYTimes Best Seller list.
My thanks to all of the fans. Thank you for your support and I promise that I'll continue to provide you with the best stories that I can possibly write.
I'm sure that I'll add more to this list. For now I'm going to sign off. It is a Sunday morning, and I am going to make it a good day.
Take care all.
J.M.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Taking care to take care.
I end nearly every conversation, email, or forum post with the phrase "take care". I don't even think about it, it's just what I say. But I mean it. I never want to be the one thought of as the jerk who thinks he's better than anyone else; the one who thinks that he is somehow higher in rank than another person. When I say "take care", I want you to do just that. "Take care" in your interactions with your family. Those moments are precious. "Take care" when you go to work. Jobs are hard to come by and you can't afford to do something careless. "Take care" when you are driving, when you are walking, when you are jogging; life is short. Show respect, be kind, and be generous with aid if needed. Aid comes in many forms and doesn't have to be monetary. Just being there to grieve, to celebrate, to encourage, or to help someone is necessary. Yes, I said necessary. In my mind it's required.
Take care. ;)
J.M.
Take care. ;)
J.M.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Thanks to Steven Windwalker and Kindle Nation Daily, Failing Test is having its best day yet!
Mr. Windwalker said this about Failing Test on his enormously popular "Kindle Nation Daily" blog:
"At the risk of "creeping you out," to borrow from the parlance of my 12-year-old son, I have a confession to make. When his older sisters were teenagers, I used to actually read the latest issues of YM and Sassy when they came into the house, initially because I figured that part of my job as a Dad was to kind of be inside their heads enough to know what the challenges and dangers were. Then I branched out a bit and started reading the fiction that they were reading. Not so much the things they had to read for school, but the things they read on their own. One of the things that I discovered in the process, and it is something that I still believe, is that some of the best writing for adults is fiction that may actually be intended for teens. Some of the walls come down, the imagination is set free, and a sense of wonder is unleashed. Or, in the case of a dystopian novel like the one that Danny and I are reading together as a bedtime story just now, an essential sense of hope against an unutterably gloomy backdrop. I had a point here that relates back to the undiscovered, highly original 99-cent gem that is today's sponsoring novel, and here it is: you don't have to be a teenager to read, enjoy, and even recommend a book like J.M. Pierce's Failing Test. Don't read it because it only costs 99 cents or because 15 of its 18 reviewers gave it 5 stars. Read it because there are teenagers in your life and it may be a gateway not only to getting them reading but also to your ability to connect with them and learn something about their worlds. Just a thought. --S.W.)"
I am very happy to have been able to sponsor KND today and thank Mr. Windwalker for his kind words. As of this post (7:30 CST), Failing Test is currently sitting at a Kindle Store ranking of #484.
"At the risk of "creeping you out," to borrow from the parlance of my 12-year-old son, I have a confession to make. When his older sisters were teenagers, I used to actually read the latest issues of YM and Sassy when they came into the house, initially because I figured that part of my job as a Dad was to kind of be inside their heads enough to know what the challenges and dangers were. Then I branched out a bit and started reading the fiction that they were reading. Not so much the things they had to read for school, but the things they read on their own. One of the things that I discovered in the process, and it is something that I still believe, is that some of the best writing for adults is fiction that may actually be intended for teens. Some of the walls come down, the imagination is set free, and a sense of wonder is unleashed. Or, in the case of a dystopian novel like the one that Danny and I are reading together as a bedtime story just now, an essential sense of hope against an unutterably gloomy backdrop. I had a point here that relates back to the undiscovered, highly original 99-cent gem that is today's sponsoring novel, and here it is: you don't have to be a teenager to read, enjoy, and even recommend a book like J.M. Pierce's Failing Test. Don't read it because it only costs 99 cents or because 15 of its 18 reviewers gave it 5 stars. Read it because there are teenagers in your life and it may be a gateway not only to getting them reading but also to your ability to connect with them and learn something about their worlds. Just a thought. --S.W.)"
I am very happy to have been able to sponsor KND today and thank Mr. Windwalker for his kind words. As of this post (7:30 CST), Failing Test is currently sitting at a Kindle Store ranking of #484.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Duality is now in the hands of a select group of readers!
I have finished a preliminary edit for Duality and sent it off to seven beta readers. So far it is on schedule for publishing the first week in November. Here is a pic of the cover.
Stay tuned for updates!!!
Friday, September 17, 2010
DUALITY = FIRST DRAFT COMPLETE
I finished the first draft of Duality last night. I'm shooting for having it ready for print the first week in November.
Now, I know; you're saying "but J.M., this book isn't related to Failing Test. Where is the sequel you promised?" Rest assured, it is coming. My muse kicked me off of "A Shadow's Light" a little over a month ago to write Duality. To put a smile on your face, I'll tell you that ASL is about 70% complete and I hope to have it finished in time for Christmas. Be patient with me! Have a great one and take care!
J.M.
Now, I know; you're saying "but J.M., this book isn't related to Failing Test. Where is the sequel you promised?" Rest assured, it is coming. My muse kicked me off of "A Shadow's Light" a little over a month ago to write Duality. To put a smile on your face, I'll tell you that ASL is about 70% complete and I hope to have it finished in time for Christmas. Be patient with me! Have a great one and take care!
J.M.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
THE REALITY OF BEING AN INDIE AUTHOR
Happy weekend everyone!
Today's post is about what it means to be an indie author, both the good and the bad. Let's start with the good, shall we?
1. You get to be the first one to read every great new book that you write! (Okay, that's a little tongue in cheek so let's get a little more real.)
2. We have a wonderous outlet that provides the opportunity to go to different worlds and times at any moment we chose, and when the writing session is good, our hearts pound with the emotions of our characters. It is a very cathartic thing.
3. We get to provide others with an escape and the opportunity to go to different worlds and times. If our writing was good, their hearts pound with the emotions of our characters.
4. The sense of accomplishment upon finishing a novel is huge. While there are always the worries (to be discussed below) the enormity of what was just completed is fully gratifying.
5. As an indie, we have full control over our content, covers, sales channels...everything!
6. We belong to an incredible community of fellow authors that are as diverse as the world is large. No matter the situation, there is someone there to show support and give praise for your success and sympathy for a failure.
Okay, now the bad.
1. Writing a novel takes a lot of time and energy, sometimes taking away time that needs to be spent with others and doing other things. We have to strike a careful balance and take care not to lose sight of why we may have started writing in the first place, which for some, is to take care of our family.
2. Negative reviews. This is a hard thing for any author to swallow. EVERYONE will get one. Personally, when I began writing, I never thought about this. I really wanted to finish my book and put it out there for everyone to enjoy. It not once occured to me that not only would someone not like it, but they would post a review on it for the world to see! We learn to grow thick skins quickly. I know I did.
3. People making assumptions. This is a tough one for me as of late. I am a fantasy fiction author. I tell stories about people, places, and things. I do not write autobiographical fantasy!!!!!!! People taking an authors work as an indication of who that author is and what their intentions in life are have no concept of a true reality. Do any of my books get inspiration from my life? Of course. Are any of my books about me? Nope, though it would be awesome to have Test's abilities! Make sure that you check your assumptions. Remember the saying...
4. Promoting yourself and your work. This is a neverending and exhausting part of the job. As stated earlier, we indies are in charge of everything. That means that not only did we get to write the book, but now we have to market it! Yeah!!!!! Honestly, it's not a horrible thing. You just have to be careful not to fall into the same pitfall of time spent on the computer. Marketing can easily chew up the writing time that chews up the family time. It's a challenge.
5. One of the worst things, in my opinion, is the fact that there are a lot of people that won't even give your work a chance simply because you are not traditionally published. With the price of e-books, I've been able to buy a bunch of books, all of them indie, and find some great new authors out there!
Well that's about all I have for now. This was very spontaneous so if any of my author friends have anything to add, please do so! Take care everyone and I hope that you have a fantastic weekend!
Sincerely,
J.M.
Today's post is about what it means to be an indie author, both the good and the bad. Let's start with the good, shall we?
1. You get to be the first one to read every great new book that you write! (Okay, that's a little tongue in cheek so let's get a little more real.)
2. We have a wonderous outlet that provides the opportunity to go to different worlds and times at any moment we chose, and when the writing session is good, our hearts pound with the emotions of our characters. It is a very cathartic thing.
3. We get to provide others with an escape and the opportunity to go to different worlds and times. If our writing was good, their hearts pound with the emotions of our characters.
4. The sense of accomplishment upon finishing a novel is huge. While there are always the worries (to be discussed below) the enormity of what was just completed is fully gratifying.
5. As an indie, we have full control over our content, covers, sales channels...everything!
6. We belong to an incredible community of fellow authors that are as diverse as the world is large. No matter the situation, there is someone there to show support and give praise for your success and sympathy for a failure.
Okay, now the bad.
1. Writing a novel takes a lot of time and energy, sometimes taking away time that needs to be spent with others and doing other things. We have to strike a careful balance and take care not to lose sight of why we may have started writing in the first place, which for some, is to take care of our family.
2. Negative reviews. This is a hard thing for any author to swallow. EVERYONE will get one. Personally, when I began writing, I never thought about this. I really wanted to finish my book and put it out there for everyone to enjoy. It not once occured to me that not only would someone not like it, but they would post a review on it for the world to see! We learn to grow thick skins quickly. I know I did.
3. People making assumptions. This is a tough one for me as of late. I am a fantasy fiction author. I tell stories about people, places, and things. I do not write autobiographical fantasy!!!!!!! People taking an authors work as an indication of who that author is and what their intentions in life are have no concept of a true reality. Do any of my books get inspiration from my life? Of course. Are any of my books about me? Nope, though it would be awesome to have Test's abilities! Make sure that you check your assumptions. Remember the saying...
4. Promoting yourself and your work. This is a neverending and exhausting part of the job. As stated earlier, we indies are in charge of everything. That means that not only did we get to write the book, but now we have to market it! Yeah!!!!! Honestly, it's not a horrible thing. You just have to be careful not to fall into the same pitfall of time spent on the computer. Marketing can easily chew up the writing time that chews up the family time. It's a challenge.
5. One of the worst things, in my opinion, is the fact that there are a lot of people that won't even give your work a chance simply because you are not traditionally published. With the price of e-books, I've been able to buy a bunch of books, all of them indie, and find some great new authors out there!
Well that's about all I have for now. This was very spontaneous so if any of my author friends have anything to add, please do so! Take care everyone and I hope that you have a fantastic weekend!
Sincerely,
J.M.
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