Becoming a Publisher is a Lot of Work

 

Who knew?

So I've sent a few invites and now have 3 Yeses. Initials are GA(female), JB and KPB(males). I have some tentative yeses, and a bunch of non-responds. Nobody has said no before, and honestly I'd be surprised if they did because I'm paying more than anybody else is.

I've drawn up a contract based on a template the editor sent me. I've started putting the open call(that I had to write) out to places like HWA, Horror Tree, and a few others for the open calls.

My current worries are this: Might get too many authors saying yes to the invite, so might only have room for one or two stories from the open call.

What happens if one of the invited names turns in a shitty story? I don't wanna be the guy to say, "I know I invited you, but this doesn't really fit in." I'm not sure what I'm going to do if this happens. I could possibly save face by paying the author for the story and THEN telling them I can't use it. So they can sell it elsewhere right away, having already been paid for it.

I think it'll still sting, though. 

Or, do I just put it in, because the author's name will help sell the book? Guess we'll deal with that bridge when we get there.

My next big concern is the cover of the book. Let's face it, the cover is AT LEAST as important as who's in the book. It's the thing that catches someone's eye, that ultimately gets them to pull the trigger on the buy.

I'm trying to figure out how to go about this. My normal M.O. is to have the design in my head and go to the designer and have them make it. I don't really have an idea of what this should look like, other than to be full of Halloween goodness.

I don't even have a title for the book yet. I have a working title, but not sure if I'm happy with it so if you have any suggestions let me know. 

I guess I'll wait to get some of the stories and come up with the name before I look for a cover designer. I looked at some of those premade guys stuff, but the great ones have sold their excellent Halloween covers already.

Again, I don't wanna pay a dude for a cover and it turns out it's not good enough for me. It wouldn't be all their fault, as I don't have even a rough design idea about it. Maybe I'll put more thought into it.

Big Move

 

I'm keeping details pretty close to the vest, but I'd been mulling some stuff and finally pulled the trigger on it. Here's how my thought process worked.

I wrote a long H'ween short story. It's around 10K words, which is too many for any anthology or magazine I've seen. I was mulling over putting it in a book with some of my other short stories, but it just FEELS like it should be in a H'ween anthology.

You KNOW I love those anthologies. I read three of them this year.

My sudden thought was...why don't I just put one together with some horror authors I like plus some others who are popular? I could just pay them professional rates and publish this thing myself. It'll cost me some dough, but given who I think I can get in this, I'll make my money back eventually.

Besides, the bigger upside is that I'll have a story in a book with some bigger names, so more people will have a shot to check out my writing(and I'll put a link to my tubi movies also so who knows, might drive a few views there)

I've already reached out to some writers, have gotten a yes, a tentative yes, a maybe, and I'm mulling over who else to invite. Once I have a good stable of names I'll probably do an open call for a few other stories. I also got one of the bigger editors in horror on board as an editor, so he's been advising me on things I'm ignorant about.

---

The work slog is over. Far as I know, I'm free until mid January from the auction stuff. They keep trying to get me to go to their big January auction, but I have less than zero interest.

I'm wondering if they're going to hit me up last minute to do a video for them. I'll probably turn it down, especially if it's last minute. If they hit me up soon, then maybe. I don't want to be working through the holidays like I've done in the past.

 

These Should Be On Shirts

 

Nothing to say here, other than that these slogans that I saw at a patch shop should actually be on a shirt. I'd buy them.

ORAL SEX IS ALWAYS A GREAT LAST MINUTE GIFT IDEA

WOKE UP SEXY AS HELL AGAIN

DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO UNLESS YOU'RE NAKED

AS FAR AS I KNOW, I'M DELIGHTFUL(Really want this one)

 

This is My Title

 

I know...like, how do you come up with new titles after like 17 years of blogs? I'm getting bored just thinking about it.

The auction on Saturday was a disaster. There was some issue with the actual site that runs the auction--not on my end--and bidders kept getting weird messages that they were logged out, or their bid wasn't a valid bid. 

It cost the company I freelance for tens of thousands of dollars, AT LEAST. There was a very expensive, very rare doll that sold for a fraction of what it usually would sell for, and many people called to complain that they were trying to bid on it. 

We've seen them go for between $150,000-$300,000 but this one sold for $80K. I think our company is thinking about suing them. Sunday's auction went better, but was the lesser half of stuff so not as valuable.

Anyway, I'm smack in the middle of my 8 straight work days. After Saturday, I will have worked 18 out of the last 19 days. I mean, fuck this November. I'll get a nice little check, which is basically a bonus check since my work pays all my bills plus some.

But honestly, I'm getting very burned out. I feel tired ALL the time. I doze off for 15 minutes here and there when I sit down. I'm having health issues that I'm not excited about.

---

I put my novella up for free today, and it jumped up the horror/suspense charts very fast. It was like 3489 when the day started, and it's currently sitting at #10. That's right, top 10. I thought they had little graphics when a book was top 10 in a category. (maybe they don't have it for free books? Or maybe they got rid of them? No idea.)

And it's cool that it's THAT category. Like, my buddy Malf's book somehow got put into the "classics" category, so it went pretty high there. I say "somehow", but I know it's what a lot of publishers do to try to get high into a category.

Like, if there was a category called "Books With Cats That Fly And Shoot Laser Beams From Their Eyes", it would only have like three books in it, so that's the category you want to be in. Won't be hard to get to #1.

But horror/suspense is a broad, big category, and it's also correct for my book. Would be nice to get to #1, but I have no idea what that would take.

Oh damn, posted too quick. I hadn't checked in a couple of hours--it's at #7! Sweet.

 

 

Updated To Do List

 

Went back and found my old to-do list to remind myself what else I should be doing right now, but it's also a good time to see what I DID get accomplished.

Here's the list, with my notes--this was originally from December 1, 2020:

--Finish the book adaptation of the vampire script. It's basically done, but I'm just going through again and touching it up. Mebbe I'll let a couple of friends take a look and see if they think it's okay.

Hey, good news, I finished this and published it. It's gotten decent reviews and sold around 500 copies, which isn't amazing but who cares? At least this story won't die with me.

--Finish that Halloween story I started. I know now what happens in the end, just gotta get it down, get happy with it, and get it out. It's funny, the Malf gave me the title for it. He said it was one he was saving for it he came up with a story to fit it, but I could have it because it fit mine better.

More good news--I finished this one too. Bad news is, it's really too long to get placed in any anthologies. I was thinking about making my own book with some of my short stories, but my new idea is to maybe make a Halloween book that has my story, plus I'll just go ahead and pay other authors to put their work in.  I'm in the early stages of thinking about this, but I've reached out to some people about the possibility and for some info, cuz I know NOTHING about publishing a book.

--Revise that other weird story and send it out to somewhere to see if I can get it published.

Hmmmm, think I know what that story was and if so, it got done. I sent it to a couple of places but got rejected. Heck, I finished two stories and both have gotten rejected from the couple of places I sent them. I'm not too demoralized about it, because I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.

--Get serious about doing the Ttory 3 script, of which I have about ten pages of notes so far. Not that I think it will ever get shot, but because it occupies my mind. 

Wow, got this one done too. Man, I'm all of a sudden feeling pretty good about myself. I got a lot of this list done without even looking back on it.

-- Finish the Sharknado script. It's not Sharknado, but it's a pretty ludicrous premise like that. I don't want to put it out there. It's a little more than halfway done.

Fuck, spoke too soon. I only did a couple more pages of this, but it sometimes pops into my mind. Should concentrate on it.

--Finish that goddamn Halloween script that I've been working on for over 10 years. It's actually the origin story of Smiling Jack, though it was never intended to be. You'll see what I mean if you ever read it.

Okay, I haven't done a single thing on this one. 

--Finish the "Autasm" screenplay that I've been working on for 15 years, and fuck it, maybe turn it into a book.

Nothing on this either. I may let this one die, because I just don't know that I want to go into this subject matter at this point.

--Turn the screenplay that I was going to shoot as a movie last year into a novel or novella. Hell, might as well take that scarecrow screenplay I wrote and turn that into a novella too. I'd hate for nobody to ever see what I wrote, and it's too big budget for me to ever shoot.

This, specifically, is what I was looking for this list for. I couldn't remember which scripts were high up on my list of turn-into-novellas. I haven't done either of these yet, and out of the two the scarecrow one would be easier BUT...I'm already working on a scarecrow book...how much scarecrow is too much?

--Get serious about the other two books I started. One is a sort of time-travel thing--but in a way that I've never seen done--and the other is a sort of Under The Dome/Darkness At The Edge of Town kinda thing.

Another goose egg of work. I've done nothing on either of these.

--Maybe work on that superhero screenplay that dances in my mind on occasion. I wrote the opening years ago, and every once in a while I think of new scenes. Doesn't have an antagonist yet, which is the main problem.

Nope, but this one does tickle the brain on occasion. I have some ideas about it, and still love the way it opens. Still doesn't have the GIST of the story though, or I might give it a shot.

--

Other stuff I've added to the list since then:

Work on the Hell House script, as I'm calling it. This is currently pulling all my attention. Have written the first seven pages, and have another five pages of notes.

The scarecrow novel. This thing obsesses me. I'm writing a note or two about this EVERY night in bed in my phone. I've done the first ten or so pages, and then have another FORTY pages of notes.

Get back to the treatment with Malf so we can start on the script.

Continue to mull over the no-budget idea I had for possible shooting with Malf. He wants to do another fireside chat so we can go over some ideas and see if we can get on the same page for one.

 

Working Hell

 

 In the middle of it now. Shot a video on Saturday, spent all day working on it, then Sunday finishing it. 

(I also snuck out to catch Dawn of the Dead 3D in the theater with Zig--I'd thought I'd missed the opportunity, but it was still out there. Very cool to see it in a theater, and also the 3D was very cool.)

Then it's back to regular work, and then this whole weekend is another auction.

But hey, I guess I forgot to tell you a funny story about the ridiculous man who co-runs the auction company I do this freelance stuff for.

Couple of weeks ago I did a one-day auction for them, and it was the first one where they had a returning audience since the whole Covid thing started. Which I guess meant to them that everybody was going back to wearing suits and stuff.

Not me, baby.

I went in dressed okay. I wore slacks and a button-down shirt that I didn't tuck in, and then I also wore my baseball hat. I figured they'd have an issue with it, but I don't care. 

So this guy, we'll just call him Narcissist because that's his most-prominent quality, doesn't come over to say anything to me. Usually he'll come by to ask "how's it looking?", meaning, is it all working good, network quality strong? Not this time.

This time, a girl we'll call A came over to me. She said, "I'm not supposed to tell you he asked, but Narcissist wants me to jokingly ask you to take the hat off and tuck your shirt in." I laugh and tell her, "You can tell him I said No."

I know this has gotta bug the shit out of him, because he's a control freak used to getting his way. The rest of the auction he says nothing to me, including at the end when he usually has something to say.

So this weekend I go in to shoot the video, which stars Narcissist's mother. She started the company and is the head honcho, even if Narcissist is technically the CEO. Before we start the video, she says, "I have to talk to you about something and you probably know what it's about."

I laugh and say, "Yes I do, and the answer is no."

She's also pretty surprised by my answer, and says, "Oh, so you DO know what it's about."

I say, "Yeah, and I'm not taking off the hat."

She says, "Well, here's the options--"

And I cut her off--I smile, but I know she doesn't like being cut off. "The only two options are, I wear a hat at the auctions, or you get someone to replace me."

She acts confused, and tries a couple of tactics, but I keep saying, "Then you should replace me." She finally says, "Well, we can't really replace you because when stuff goes wrong and everybody's running around panicking, you're always over there calmly fixing the issue and getting us back up and running." 

Basically she knows that finding someone who can troubleshoot and do all the work required, and who also will only work 3-5 times a month, isn't someone who's easy to find. They tried at one point and it failed miserably. (they did an auction with NO video because stuff went wrong)

Anyway, convo ended with: "Can you at least tuck in your shirt?" So I said sure, I'll tuck in my shirt, and she said, "There, we compromised!" I was laughing my ass off inside, but honestly--I'm not far from just quitting it completely. If Narcissist says the wrong thing to me, boom, I'm gone.

---

Was interesting to see that book sales were down this Halloween period compared to others in the past. Wasn't completely dead--I made like $100--but that's way down from years past. 

Am mulling some other creative endeavors, but honestly I'm tired. Pretty much all the time. I don't know if this is just the way things are because of work and being on a sleep schedule that's not natural, or whether it's just because I'm not young any more.

The Malf still wants to shoot some low-budget ideas past me and get me to help him shoot and edit it, and possibly co-write. My point was this: Is he gonna do it under a pseudonym again? Cuz if so, I'm not really interested.

The problem to me is that he wants to make "a shitty no-budget movie", but I'm not into trying that. I don't aim for mediocrity, even though I certainly achieve it pretty regularly. I can't figure out WHY he wants to make one so badly.

It won't mean much money, especially if he won't put his name on it. Is he counting on MY name? Cuz if it's a piece of shit, I won't put my name on it either...

So I dunno. We gotta figure a time to get together, but my schedule is slammed now until November 20th. (I have a paid holiday this Friday, so maybe Thursday night, but other than that, I work every day until the 20th)

I mean, I shouldn't complain about all the work. I know a lot of people are having a hard time making ends meet, and for the first time in my life, I'm not.

It could all go away, I keep reminding myself. My company could lose the contract and I could suddenly become unemployed, though I doubt they'd want to lose me.

 

 

November. The Month Nobody Wants.

 

In mom news, she came home from the hospital and seems fine. She's already going out to the store again all the time, which seems to be her favorite thing to do. She hasn't gotten the results of all her tests back yet, so guess we'll see what's up then.

Work continues to be tedious, but I guess it's money. I also found out early that apparently I'm getting another promotion and raise. There was a spreadsheet accidentally circulated that showed me in a higher position than I'm in, so I asked..."Did I get promoted and nobody told me?"

They said it basically won't start until January 1st, but yeah. And as much as I don't want any sort of leadership role, apparently they're putting me as the Lead Tester in my division, which means I gotta handle the testers below me.

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I ended up watching Halloween II with the kid, so at least he's now seen the first two. Maybe next year we do part 4 and 5, and maybe part 3 if we get a chance. I already told him Myers isn't in part 3.

The movie I helped produce and do some effects for is up on Tubi for free now. You can see it at https://bit.ly/fuzzyontubi 

It's called Shriekshow, and if you like no-budget horror flicks with nudity and gore, you might dig it.

It's a shame it didn't show up by October 1st--it was delivered on June 10 to Tubi, so took them literally 4 months and 11 days to make it live.

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I'm in the middle of a long month. I thought I'd be working 19 straight days, because of regular work and this weekend I'm shooting and editing a video that needs to be up by Monday morning, and then the following weekend is the auction.

Turns out it's not QUITE that bad, because I get a paid holiday for Vets Day. I can get behind that.