Two Short Stories

I’m waiting a bit longer before releasing the first short story.

I am hoping to hear from the proofreader and a friend soon with any suggestions for improvements.  Since this is my maiden voyage within the world of fiction-for-sale, I want it to be more or less perfect–more, if possible.

I may release two short stories next week.  And they couldn’t be more different.

The first one is called, “Tanaka and the Yakuza’s Daughter.”  The title feels a little generic and it may change, but it captures the three (really four) themes in the story well.  This story is a little violent (will post snippets probably in the next post), but it is otherwise PG or PG-13.  The feel is similar to the television show, 24.

The other story concerns rats and a guy named George–yes, it really is that exciting.  This one is a little Kafka-esque full of twists and we aren’t really sure of what’s real until the end.  Again, more on this later.

The Goal of this Blog

Well, here I go.

I have had a reoccurring dream (meaning, I start, then stop, then start…) of writing a novel.  I do enjoy writing–I won’t say I love it–but the reason for my stunted writing career is, quite simply, money.  I love my family too much to spend hundreds of hours on a writing project that never gets published.  In the past “never gets published” meant to never get paid. I figured my chances of being published was one in a million at best.

But now things are different.

For years, the internet and blogging systems like WordPress have given individuals a voice and a platform for that voice to reach thousands, if not millions.  But only very recently has this same opportunity presented itself for for-profit authors.  Amazon’s Kindle is doing what the blog did but, and this is the kicker, authors actually get paid by their readers.

No longer is an author at the mercy of some New York publisher.  No longer does an author have to wait months or even years for her book to come out.  Everyman can upload his Great American Novel on his own terms.  Obviously, this means more crap and a crap load of crap (I promise I won’t use that word again–it has been cleared out of my system!).  But people are smarter than politicians and self-appointed philosopher kings give them credit for.  People gravitate toward quality whether it be a blog or a $2.99 Amazon ebook.  Self-interested people make informed and deliberate choices that inevitably means better books will rise in sales rank, have better ratings, and will gain better than average visibility.

Back to my introduction…  I read Joe Konrath’s inspirational blog about how he has made an impressive living for himself mostly from self-publishing.  If you haven’t read any of his stuff, forget this blog and spend an afternoon over there while downing a full pot of coffee.

Mr. Konrath has been very open about his earnings, successes, and failures.  This has inspired me to do the same with this blog.  I am about to release my first short story (which may turn out to be the beginning of a series of short stories or the beginning of the end of a writing career) and I will post the good with the bad at least until my attention turns elsewhere (what a way to leave an out, CJ.).

I actually have a few non-fiction ebooks selling both at Amazon and BN.com right now; so I’m not going into this totally blind.  I’m not making much with those (about $200-300 a month) but for the purpose of this blog, I’m pretending like they don’t exist.  This blog will record the successes and failures of what’s new to me, fiction.

I have no illusions of making $50,000 a month like Mr. Konrath, but I do believe–if the readers like what I have to offer–I can create a decent passive income.  My first goal will be $500 USD a month.  Considering I’m starting with only one short story done (almost), I realize this will take some time (a year?) if I’m diligent.  But that is one of the purposes of this blog.  In addition to recording sales and feedback data for others to be inspired or laugh at, I also want it to be my daily New Year’s resolution reminder.  This blog will hold me accountable to my goals and promises I make to myself.

So, with that, I begin this blog full of hope, but as Benjamin Franklin once wisely said, “He that lives upon hope dies farting” (Yes, he actually wrote that: Almanack, 1736) I’ll take that advice and start writing. Now.