"The Gamble of Sisyphus" or "How Many Goddamn Books Do You Need To Write!?"

As punishment for cheating death, Sisyphus was tasked with rolling an immense boulder up a hill. A challenging task, for certain, but one he was capable of completing. One would imagine he set to with gusto as he strained and pushed, finding the best face to roll the stone up the incline. Perhaps he lost his grip a time or two, and backslid somewhat, but eventually he made it to the top.

And the stone rolled right back down to where it was.

You can imagine the annoyance on Sisyphus's face. The consternation. The frustration of all that effort gone to waste when the goal had supposedly been within his grasp. But he walked back down the hill, muscles trembling, and he set to again. Maybe he tried a different grip, took a different path, or tried using different shoes. In the end, it didn't matter, because the boulder rolled right back down the hill again. And again. And again.

If you're an author, chances are good that Sisyphus is probably your muse. Because no matter how you tone your craft, how hard you push, or how jacked your prose has become, chances are good that when you reach the pinnacle and finish your book that your only reward is going to be walking right down that hill to do the whole goddamn thing over again.

Just write the book. "Is there money at the top this time?" There... could be, I suppose...

As always, for those who want to stay on top of all my latest releases don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter. And if you want to help me break this particular cycle so it's that much easier for me to get my own boulders to the top of the hill, consider becoming a Patreon patron to offer your support!

How Many Does It Take?

Folks who know me know that I keep pretty damn busy when it comes to content. So not only do I currently have two novels out right now (my sword and sorcery book Crier's Knife, and my noir mystery book that happens to be about cats, mice, rats, raccoons and more in NYC Marked Territory), but I've got one more getting prepped for release, and a fourth manuscript I'm going over right now. I've got a collection of short stories, The Rejects, out as well. And in addition to all of that nonsense I run two blogs, my Vocal archive is approaching 200 articles, and my name officially appears on over 100 roleplaying game supplements for sale.

And even with all of that nonsense going on, do you want to know a secret? I'll be surprised as hell if my earnings for the entire year even break 5 digits.

Stepping back to look at that fact is, in a very real way, like watching the boulder roll back down the hill one more time. Because I've been pushing it up the hill for years now, and I've gotten pretty good at that part of it. I like to think that I've cut my style, bulked my prose, and that I've got lean, tasty plots where they need to be rippling and muscular. There are even some people who cheer me on from the sidelines, waiting to see just how I get the boulder back up the hill this time.

But there is a part of my brain that just wants to pull a Maximus, hurl my sword out into the ether and bellow, "Are you not entertained?!"

Seriously, just tell me what you want, and I'll make it happen!

The cold, hard truth that I've stated several times on this blog is that there is no knowing what will be a commercial success when you're a writer. Your first book could skyrocket to the top of the charts and make you a household name in the snap of the zeitgeist's fingers. You could write five, or ten, or twenty, and remain utterly unknown except to a small handful of people who see you at cons. Your book might sit for years in obscurity, only to be raised up by the next generation of critics who adore your work, resurrecting a project you'd all but forgotten about.

It's all a roll of the dice. Talent helps, dedication is good, and attention to detail with marketing, collaboration, interviews, getting reviews... all of that helps stack the odds in your favor. But the bones of the issue is that what makes you money and what doesn't in the world of publishing is nothing more than blind, unpredictable chance.

And it's one thing to know that, academically. But it is very cold comfort to remind yourself of this fact as you walk back down the hill, your fingertips throbbing and your mental muscles aching, whispering that it's the next one, for sure. The next one has to be the one!

You're Not Alone in This

My purpose in sharing all this with people this week is because I've been trying to talk to other creators about this feeling for months now, and every, single person I spoke to intrinsically knew what I was talking about. Not only that, but most of them are dealing with it in some capacity or another.

So if you are having trouble rolling that rock back up your hill, if you catch yourself wanting to break down and ask what's the point, I see you. And I don't have a solution, but I want you to know that you can get that sonofabitch up the hill. Because you won't know if this is the one until you haul it up there or not.

Can't win if you don't play the game.

For folks who see their friends struggling with these boulders, and who want to help, I've provided a handy list in 10 Concrete Ways You Can Help The Authors You Like. A shorter version, though, is to provide emotional support when they need it, financial support if you can by becoming a patron or buying their books, and to boost their signals so they can find more people who want to help.

Because, honestly, the struggle isn't the rock. Rolling the rock up the hill is a breeze once you've done it a few times. But that rock is a lot lighter when you aren't worried about paying your rent, buying food, covering your taxes at the end of the year, and the thousand-and-one other little worries that drag you down and make the task so much harder.

You want to see your author soar? Help take those ankle weights off, and watch those rocks really roll!

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing! If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my noir thriller Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

Not Every Villain Needs (or Deserves) a Redemption Arc

Villains (or at least antagonists) are a necessary part of our stories. Heroes need something to fight against, and even when that something is a metaphor, or a concept, it usually needs to be personified in some way. Because while Star Wars is mainly about stopping fascism on a galactic scale, it's easier to think of it in terms of resisting one old sith lord flinging around force lightning and giving orders to space Nazis to blow up planets with his giant death beam.

Speaking of fashionably dressed bastards in black...

The issue that a lot of writers grapple with, though, is the idea of a villain redemption arc. Because it seems like most of us are dying to bend over backward to close our villain's past, and recruit them to Team Good Guy. And it's not that you shouldn't do that. Rather it's that you need to come to terms with who your villains are, what they've done, and how to keep telling their story without erasing their past impact.

As always, if you haven't done so yet, consider signing up for my weekly newsletter to stay up to date on all my releases. And if you want to help me keep the wheels turning on this blog then become a Patreon patron today!

What a Villain Redemption Arc Is (And Isn't)

I led with Star Wars because it contains one of the best-known (and shortest) villain redemption arcs in pop culture. Darth Vader is a figure of iconic dread, and we spend every movie fearing him and what he represents. He is, in a very real sense, the dark path our protagonist wants to avoid going down. And being that evil reflection of what Luke is trying to become makes him taboo. However, just as Luke believes his father has goodness left in him, we too want to believe that.

And then it comes out at the clutch moment. Vader saves his son, murders the emperor (or so it seems), and then dies. He'd been on life support for decades, and he chose to let go in a final act of sacrifice. It's epic, operatic, and it is precisely the opposite of what a good villain redemption arc should be.

Changing your face takes time... and effort.

Star Wars gets the first part of this right. It gives us an iconic villain in the form of Vader, and it shows us some glimpses of who he once was (the prequels aren't part of this discussion, just the original three films). It gives us enough wiggle room as the audience to ask, "But what if he chose another path?"

This is extremely important. As we all know, good villains should have sensical (if not sympathetic) motivations for the things they do. We should be able to look at their actions, and even if we don't condone them, we understand how they got there. Whether it's the Phantom of The Opera's obsession with Christine, or the Punisher's one-man war on criminals, we can see why they chose the course of action they did. This rules out characters like General Kael from Willow, or the Kurgan from Highlander because they simply aren't given that crack in their villainous facade. All we see is bloodshed, greed, and a desire for dominance and death. There's no glimmer of gold beneath the black armor, there.

Where I would argue that Star Wars (and a lot of other series) fails, though, is that a redemption arc that ends with immediate death is not an arc; it's a moment. A villain cannot do the right thing one time then die, and have that single sacrifice undo all the bad things they did. It's something that takes time, energy, effort, and which should be expanded on over time. If you watch Mad Max: Fury Road you see how this can be done in under two hours with all the character development Nux goes through, and his final sacrifices to save the main characters (the motivation for the act now being to protect, rather than for some sort of toxic, self-aggrandizing idea of glory and martyrdom).

A better example of a long-term arc, though, can be found in the character of Prince Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender, or in the character of Nebula from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In both cases we have an antagonist who has been doggedly following a protagonist with ill intent, whose mask begins to crack around the edges. In both cases we find characters who, despite their flaws, are acting out of pain, pride, desire for control, and to prove something, only to come to terms with who they are as time goes on. And once they have that moment, they don't just exit stage right... they hang around, become part of the ongoing story, and have to grow as characters into new roles. They stumble, make mistakes, and at least once or twice we see glimmers of who they used to be, and it makes it all the more triumphant when they manage to hold on to their new selves.

It Doesn't Count if They Don't Change

Another point that I feel should be made in this discussion is that if the villain does not change, but the situation alters around them, that doesn't count as a redemption arc. For those looking for examples, Dr. Doom remains a villain in most of his stories, even if he is helping the heroes in a given endeavor. Doom isn't turning over a new leaf, and he isn't trying to be a better or different person... it just so happens that his goals and the heroes' goals coincide in that moment, which makes an alliance more advantageous than antagonizing them.

While this can be a good place to start a redemption arc, usually by allowing the villain to win some respect from the heroes and to get that tingly feeling that comes with being part of a team and a good cause, it is not in and of itself a redemption arc. Much the same way as having the Punisher put supervillains in his crosshairs doesn't immediately make him a good guy... Frank's nature, and the actions he's taking, haven't changed in this situation, even if his targets have.

Faces change. War's still the same.

Changing situation, and altered circumstances, can do a lot to let us see villains (and anti-heroes) in a different, more relatable light. But they do not turn these characters into heroes, even if it makes them more palatable as protagonists.

Most of The Time You Should Let Your Villains BE Villains

Being a villain doesn't mean you're not a sympathetic character. It doesn't mean you lack depth, or that the audience isn't going to absolutely love you. It doesn't mean you don't have humanizing qualities that can add context for the things you're doing. Villains, in my experience, get a majority of the love (as well as the best lines) unless they are either bland, repugnant, or irredeemable... and sometimes even that's not enough to stop fans from falling in love with them.

But you don't have to apologize for them. You don't have to clean them up, or make them play nice with the good guys. You don't have to make every villain just a hero-in-waiting who needs the proper push to put them back on the right path. You can do that, and it can be a lot of fun both as a creator and as a fan to see it happen. But choose which villains you're doing this with carefully, and ask if it's really necessary. Because a lot of the time villains are most effective when they're just allowed to be villains.

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my cat noir novel Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list. 

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

A Cautionary Tale About Book Covers and Audience Reactions

Regular readers know that in addition to writing novels like my noir cat mystery Marked Territory, and short stories for collections like The Rejects, I also write a lot of supplements for tabletop roleplaying games. By the end of this month my name will officially be on a triple-digit number of these projects in one capacity or another, and these days I tend to have a good enough working relationship with most publishers I pen for that I can offer input and direction on projects I propose, or agree to work on.

Recently I've been developing my own fantasy RPG setting, and doing my best to get people to check it out through a series of smaller, bite-sized releases. And it has been through this that I have a piece of wisdom all authors should keep in mind. Namely that most people do not double-check a source for cover art, and if the art you have is more famous somewhere else (a common issue for those of us who use stock art for our book covers) then the conversation surrounding the cover is quickly going to eclipse the product itself... and in the worst possible way.

Before we get too deep into this issue, remember to subscribe to my weekly newsletter to stay up-to-date on all my latest releases! And for those who are interested in some of the lessons I've learned while making my own cities from the ground up, don't forget to check out 5 Tips For Creating Fantasy Towns and Cities!

The Conversation You Don't Want To Have About Your Cover

The idea behind Sundara: Dawn of a New Age is that the setting, as a whole, is about embracing progress in a world that's moving forward. Rather than a lot of fantasy that latches onto a Tolkien-esque longing for a lost, mythic time, Sundara is about finding new methods, new resources, and new solutions to the problems people are facing.

As an example, Moüd was a ruined, dead city that had been abandoned due to an unspecified cataclysm that has left the city shunned, and actively dangerous to the living. It was only through the efforts of an entire guild of necromancers that the remnants of this damage were pushed back, and contained. Despite being abandoned for so long, the City of Bones was in an advantageous location for trade, if people could cross the dead wastes of the desert. Normal beasts of burden often couldn't, but the undead beasts raised by the Silver Wraiths could. As such the necropolis has become a metropolis once more, and is a center of trade, arcane learning, and delves into the history that lies beneath, waiting to be discovered.

The guide is available in Pathfinder 1st Edition format, as well as a Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition format, and it has a pretty baller cover if I do say so.

Seriously... look at how pretty that is!

If you're not a big fan of RPGs, then you've probably never seen that gorgeous painting before. However, if you are part of that scene then you might be scratching your head and wondering, "Hey, why does your game have the cover art from Godbound on it?"

The answer to this question is because the creators of the game, Sine Nomine Publishing, put out the Godbound art pack for free, usable for anyone who needs bitching artwork for their games, books and other projects. And because my publisher is on something of a shoestring budget (and I don't have a massive fan base of thousands eager to eat up everything I release to justify paying an artist for individually-commissioned work), using these resources seemed like something of a godsend (pun very much intended).

And it worked like a charm for the first installment, Ironfire: The City of Steel (also available for Pathfinder or Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition).

It still makes me smile looking at this.

While the first cover sailed by mostly unremarked on (it's from the same art pack, but didn't feature anywhere nearly as prominently in the original game), the second one generated a constant string of throat clearing, less-than-helpful comments, subtle accusations of plagiarism and art theft, and not-so-subtle accusations of the same in a lot of groups and forums.

On the one hand, you could argue there's no such thing as bad publicity, and every comment made or accusation flung still boosted the signal. While there is some truth to that, the bigger issue I ran into was that the conversation quickly moved from, "Why is this product a good one to add to my gaming shelf?" to "Are you a thief, or an idiot?" And even when I did correct people on their misconceptions (some of whom apologized once I shared the link and showed my receipts), there was no getting the conversation back on track after that. Once I explained where the art assets had come from, and that I was using them with permission rather than stealing another, more successful game's art, the conversation just died.

A Lesson Learned

I can't say at this point whether or not the negative aspects of this decision outweighed the positive ones. Because while there was a lot of outrage from people who didn't check to make sure the art was free to use, the Godbound pack did allow my publisher to create a smooth, universal look to the series in order to make them feel connected. And while the number of comments and arguments did boost the signal, that doesn't seem to have done anything for the bottom line when it comes to sales.

However, there is something I didn't mention in Looking For Cover Art For Your Book? Try Drive Thru RPG! that I feel applies to all of us who use stock art for our projects. In short, even if you think you have the perfect image for your project, take a moment to do a reverse-image search. Consider how many other folks have used that art, and what the reaction to your use is likely to be (as well as what sort of overlap you can realistically expect from your target audience, and the audience who may be more familiar with it).

You might decide to use it anyway... but it's something to consider. Especially if you want to avoid the headache of explaining something two dozen times a day while you're just trying to do a bit of promotion.

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing! If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my noir thriller Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

If You Want To Be a Better Author, Broaden Your Reading Horizons

One of the most common pieces of advice that gets flung at writers from an early age is that we need to be good readers. It seems obvious on the surface. If you want to learn how to create a finished product, then you need to understand the process behind it, and to get an idea of how all the different parts fit together to make it function. If you want to be a mechanic, you learn how cars work. If you want to be a carpenter, you study woodworking. If you want to be an author, you eat stories until you can identify the themes and metaphors with your eyes closed.

Seriously, folks, keep your diet varied.

This next statement is something that a lot of folks aren't going to want to hear, and there's probably some people who are going to want to argue with it. However, if you want to really grow as a creator, you need to read books in as many other genres and styles as you can; particularly well-known stories that have left an imprint on the world of writing and whose DNA shows up in a variety of other works that took inspiration from them.

You don't have to like these stories, and a lot of the time you can get away with reading the cliff notes version rather than the full text, but you need to at least be aware of the influential stories that are floating around out there. Especially because there's nothing new under the sun, and your book is going to have people placing it in literary family trees... whether you knew your idea was related to what came before, or not.

As always, before we go any further, consider signing up for my weekly newsletter! And if you want to help me keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron today, too.

Become a Better Story Chef

If you've ever watched a popular cooking show, then you've likely seen that whoever the master chef is tends to have a wide variety of skills and recipes to draw on. They understand not just how to make a specific dish, but what makes the flavors work together, what techniques need to be used to bring it out, and what you can do to transform a failure into a success. They can break a meal down to its component parts, change around elements, and combine different traditions and spices to create entrees and appetizers with a twist.

Being an author is like that, but with words and ideas instead of rib tips, sauces, and spices.

Different tools, same idea.

Whether you're writing romance or fantasy, sci-fi or horror, you need to understand all the tools you have at your disposal. The best way to do that is to look at how others did it (especially those who are considered to have written lasting/popular works), and to study the methods they used to achieve their results. What was it about Mary Shelley's Frankenstein that makes the monster so horrifying, yet relatable? What makes the comedy really work in The Ransom of Red Chief, and how could it be used to tell a darker, more serious story if that was what you wanted? What are the differences between Robert E. Howard, Tolkien, and Moorcock, and how do their unique styles and flourishes create their particular tones and worlds?

You don't need to be able to break things down into academic terms, either. No one is going to challenge you to attach an appendix to your novel explaining the styles, influences, and techniques you were drawing on (though if you can, it gives you something to talk about in interviews, and on panels at conventions). However, there is nothing worse than thinking you have a new, unique idea, stewing on it for weeks, months, or even years, only to find that when you talk to a writing group (or worse, and editor) that your story is actually really similar to a piece that's been around for decades, and is considered a staple in its genre.

As I said in There Are No New Stories To Tell (But That Shouldn't Stop You From Writing), there are always going to be tales your work shares DNA with. Hell, if someone were to sit down and crack the cover on my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife they'd probably feel like they were getting something composed by Louis L'amour by way of Robert Howard. However, there's a difference between creating an accidental homage because you didn't know any better, and making a deliberate choice to invoke a certain feeling and style in your story.

Because it's entirely possible that just chucking a bunch of spices into a dish, setting the heat at what sort of sounds like a good temperature, and letting it simmer will produce an amazing end product. However, if you've read about the recipes used in different genres, experienced the dishes created by other authors, and you understand what makes the process work, you're a lot less likely to reach that positive end via luck and accident.

You're also a lot more likely to be able to do it at will, rather than hoping good fortune guides your hands.

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my cat noir novel Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list. 

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!