Category: Why be a writer

All writers start out with some failings, so don’t get discouraged

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4-Inspirational-Quotes-for-Writers“All good writings begin with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.” — Anne Lamott

There are many hills and valleys associated with being a writer, but the hardest part of being a writer has been managing discouragement. It’s hard to keep a “stiff upper lip” when you get rejection letters, low book sales, or constant writer’s block.

Joel Osteen said, “We all have unfair situations and things we don’t like. You can get bitter, discouraged, and sour, or you can see it as fertilizer and say, ‘The difficulty is not going to defeat me, it’s going to promote me. It’s not going to hinder me, it’s going to help me.’ Do go through it, grow through it.”

I love that last line:  “Do go through it, grow through it!” That sentiment is how I work as a writer. I keep chugging away, learning from my mistakes, and fight on. I never stop writing, even if I’m the only one reading my stories. I can’t keep them inside and let them stew. I have to keep going, no matter what.

It’s hard not to get discouraged, but there are worse things than a rejection letter from a publisher. I have my health, my family, and a good job that allows me to pursue my writing career. It’s fighting back against the discouragement that adds to my passion for writing.

5ffe80f826477383c6083865818ce228I spent more than 30 years in the Navy as a Navy Journalist and Public Affairs Officer. That training and work experience gave me the tools I needed but did not satisfy my needs for more creative writing. I fight my own self doubt every day, but it’s a battle I have to win. Being a writer, an accomplished writer and storyteller, is something I desire more than anything. It’s not for the fame, the glory, or the recognition. It’s just for the satisfaction of having someone read my stories in the hope that it gives them a good feeling or a chance to escape.

There are thousands of quotes, advice, or methods out there to beat back the funk of being discouraged. Personally, I like to throw myself into my writing. It helps me when I take myself to a magical fantasy world and follow the adventures there into my stories. It gives me an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction and keeps my dream alive.

I may or may not achieve my goal of being a published author, but if even one person likes my stories, then I’ve done my job. I’d like to leave you with this thought.

“Very few writers know what they’re doing until they’ve done it.” — Anne Lamott

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.

What do you do when you wake up in the middle of the night with a story idea?

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frustration_zpsde5ab9fdDon’t you hate it when you wake up in the middle of the night, from a vivid dream or something else, and you have the next idea for the book you’re currently writing? As much as I love it when that instantaneous idea of genius hits me; after I wake up, it’s so hard to go back to sleep. I have to write it down before I forget it, or it will rumble around in my head, keeping me awake even longer. That’s the problem you run into as a writer… A lot of sleepless nights. The question is, do I ignore those late night inspirations for the sake of sleep?

Author and writing mentor Tom Bird writes, “Writing should be a comprehensive and holistic support system that opens participants to a free-flowing mental, physical, emotional and spiritual state.” I totally agree with that, but it’s kind of hard to be inspired at 2:00 a.m. after waking up from a wicked dream.

I find that inspiration is something that comes at a moments notice, whether from a dream or maybe something that pops into your head while out on a walk. For example, I was walking my dog the other night, thinking about the chapter I currently writing in my next book of the Forever Avalon series, The Prometheus Engine. I’ve been stuck at this one part when it suddenly hit me, as clear as day.

You see, I’ve been working on creating a new type of mage, a fighting mage called the Magus. These wizards are not worried about studying magic or understanding the philosophy of magic; but rather, they use their skills to fight and protect other wizards. Think of them as a magical Praetorian Guard. Their focus is on attack and defense. They are the warrior class of mages.

The problem is, I needed a way for the Magus to carry a variety of magical weapons at their disposal without looking like an overzealous, overburdened fighter. You see, to me, the Magus focus their magic on weapons, not wands and staffs, so they learn about the art of war like a mixed martial artist. Then I had this wonderful idea for a pauldron–a shoulder plate armor piece–that extended down a Magus’ arm into a gauntlet. Each piece in the armor would be storage for a different magical weapon. So a young Magus might have one or two weapons while a more powerful Magus could have 10 or more. All a Magus had to do was cast a summoning spell to bring out the weapon.

All this came to me while walking my dog. That’s what I love about being a writer. Inspiration hits me at different times and it makes writing so much more fun than I could imagine. It just takes a moment for that spark of imagination to ignite inside me.

It’s those late night, interactive, rolling movie set of a dream that keeps me awake all night sometimes. I have a dream where an idea for another part of my book hits me. I wake up and realize, “that’s what I’ve been looking for!” But now that I know what I’m going to do, I can’t stop thinking about it. It just goes on and on, like a multi-part mini-series spread over two weeks inside my head. No matter how hard I try, I can’t go back to sleep. It’s frustrating, especially when I have to get up for work the next morning.

So what do I do? I usually write it down. I find that writing down these bursts of imagination helps me go back to sleep. Normally, I’d say keep a pen and paper close by, but my Galaxy Note smartphone has a great note taking function that lets me jot down ideas, but to each his own. I still have trouble going back to sleep, but that’s okay. As long as I got the idea written down, it’s worth it.

So remember these words when you have those moments of instant clarity and inspiration that keep you up at night.

“The power of a writer is that he is a god of sorts. He can create his own worlds and populate them with his own people, all by the powers of his imagination. It’s the closest a man can come close to the gods. No wonder the most successful writers are considered immortals.” ― Bangambiki Habyarimana

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.

 

I’ve finished editing my third book, now what?

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book coverIt’s taken me over a year, but I’ve finally finished writing and editing the third book in the Forever Avalon series, The Outlander War. This is the finale of the first trilogy in the series following Forever Avalon and The Dark Tides. I want to thank my book editor, Michael Stettes, for helping me with editing my book. This was his first time editing a novel and, I have to admit, he did a great job. I also want to thank Adam Aldrich for the cover art he provided.

So, with all this done the question is, now what? Now comes the hard part that many writers face. What to do now that all the writing, editing, rewriting, nail biting, and late night coffee breaks have finished? The answer to that is publishing.

I want to try and find a regular publisher, hoping that someone will like my work and take a chance on me, but that isn’t easy. It takes research, time, and the stamina when those rejection letters start coming in. For independent authors, this is a decision that usually costs money. It you want to self-publish your novel, complete with ISBN number, etc., it can cost anywhere from $500 to $5000 dollars, depending on the publisher and whatever publishing package you pick. These options include help with editing and marketing your novel.

However, there is another option. If you just want to go the ebook route, these are usually inexpensive, sometimes even free. For example, Kindle Direct Publishing through Amazon is a FREE ebook publishing option. My first book, Forever Avalon, was originally only available in paperback. Since I owned the rights to my book (in most cases, as an independent author, the publisher doesn’t own the rights to your book) I was able to publish my book on Amazon as an ebook. It was easy to do and it added to my profile on Amazon.

Deep down, I want to take the easy route. I love writing and I just want to put my book out there as quickly as possible. But there’s a little voice down there telling me not to give up on my dream of being a writers full time. It’s like those old cartoons of the angle and the devil on opposite shoulders, trying to convince me that I should do this, not that.

I have a decision to make and its not an easy one. To be totally honest and up front with you, I have spent more than $10,000 on publishing and marketing my first two books, and I’ve made less than $500 on sales for both of them. Financially, it doesn’t make sense to throw more money at it.

But its my passion, and…Arrgh! You see what I mean? The angel and the devil are talking to me and it’s driving me crazy. I have a decision to make, as do a lot of other Independent Authors. What that is, we’ll just have to wait and see. I would appreciate any advice from people in the comments below.

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.

 

What is our love affair with myths and legends?

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:  “I am fed to the teeth with elevated themes! Old dead legends! Why must we go on forever writing about gods and legends?” 

Baron Van Swieten:  “Because they do. They go on forever. Or at least what they represent. The eternal in us.” 

─ Amadeus (1984)

I think it’s safe to say that people love stories. We’ve heard them since we were children, at bedtime, around a campfire, on our favorite TV show, and in the movies. Stories are what entertain us whether were sitting in a Broadway theater or watching the latest anime on our smartphone.

kingarthurThere are so many ways for authors and writers to tell their favorite stories, whether its a retelling of an old legend or a brand new story. These folk tales and fairy tales are the composite of our combined history. The give us hope, give us faith, and make us believe in something more than our everyday life. For writers like me, myths and legends are the source of inspiration for my writing.

As you travel around the world, you’ll find that every culture has a lot of the same stories, just told with different characters. There are creation stories, love stories, tales of famous heroes rescuing a damsel in distress, and some about a girl saving the day too. It’s all part of that shared history that all human beings have. No matter what the color of your skin, the language you speak or where you live, its the stories of the past that bring us together.

I’m reminded of the television miniseries Roots, based on the novel by author Alex Haley on how he discovered his lineage all the way back to Africa. He found it through a family story that was passed down from generation to generation. It was the story of how Kunta Kinte went out into the jungle to cut down a tree to make a drum for a gift, and how he was captured and taken away from his village. This story resonated through history until Alex Haley returned to the village of his ancestor and heard the story again, but from one of the village elders. That story connected them together over hundreds of years and thousands of miles That’s the power of stories.

“That’s how it is with legends. The greater they sound, the more must’ve got left out.”
― Tim Tharp, Knights of the Hill Country

Thou some are flights of fancy, others are based on some truths. We’ve seen some stories told over and over again, from Greek mythology and King Arthur, to stories from the Bible. These are some of the great tales that resound in all of us due to their morals, their heroism, their faith, and how they impact us emotionally. These tales have resonated from century to century, across thousands of miles and multiple languages. That is what makes them immortal.

Clash of the Titans is one of my favorite movies, from the original 1981 with Harry Hamlin and Sir Lawrence Olivier to the 2010 remake with Sam Worthington and Liam Neeson. No matter how much the story changed in 30 years, it still had the same myth at its base–Perseus, the Kraken, Medusa, etc. No matter how it inspired the writer, the story was the same at its core.

No matter how they’re told, myths and legends are the stories that we all share. We have a responsibility to keep passing these stories on to the next generation, in whatever form possible, to ensure they remain part of our history.

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Chapter 3 of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.

Without Excalibur, there wouldn’t be a fantasy genre

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excalibur-stone

“Behold Excalibur! The sword of power! Forged when birds and beasts and flower were One with Man, and death was but a dream!” — Merlin, from the movie Excalibur

If you want to trace back the origins of the fantasy genre that we know today, you have to start with the story of King Arthur and his sword, Excalibur. Magic swords are, without a doubt, the heart of many fantasy story arcs.  You know their names… Excalibur, Stormbringer, Kusanagi, Glamdring, the Master Sword, etc. Just the mention of their name evokes power.

Many of these blades are based in some form of mythology. For example, Beowolf’s sword Hrunting, was based on the Viking Ulfberht swords. The Ulfberht weren’t magical swords, but great swords of power , none the less. Dating between the 9th and 12th century, the Ulfberht swords were made with crucible steel, making the swords unbelievably strong. Such a sword was recently found in Iceland, completely intact and nearly 1,000 years old.

It’s the history and mythology of swords like this is essential for fantasy writers like myself. There has to be a history with the sword, not just a name and magical power. It has to have a history and a purpose.

Lord Bryan MoonDrake [2072845]My fantasy series, Forever Avalon and The Dark Tides, is centered around the twin swords wielded by the Gil-Gamesh, the champion of Avalon, Twilight and Dusk. These swords were forged from the shards of Excalibur, after the sword was shattered when Merlin focused his magical power through the sword. To protect Avalon, the swords were reforged into the Twin Swords of the Dragon Moon, Twilight and Dusk. The swords were wielded by Percival, the last Knight of the Round Table, who became the first Gil-Gamesh.

I created Twilight and Dusk on the notion that Excalibur shattered because it was tainted by King Arthur… His jealousy of Lancelot and Guinevere, his guilt over Morgana and Mordred. This caused an imbalance within the blade that caused it to shatter. The pieces were reforged into two swords, each with a different powerset. Twilight held the power behind Excalibur… the light of truth, justice and honor. It shined with a light capable of penetrating any darkness. Dusk contained the evil that tainted the sword. It was a soul reaper, fueling the dark with the souls of the wicked.

These swords played an integral part of my story. They define Lord Bryan MoonDrake, the Gil-Gamesh of Avalon, in how he came to be and his abilities as the champion of Avalon. It’s not just a plot device or another element in the story, these swords are almost another character themselves. To demonstrate this, he is an excerpt from Forever Avalon, when the Gil-Gamesh first appeared in the story.

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Biscane pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment paper from his belt, opened it and compared the image on the paper to Stephanie. “Yep, payday boys, it’s her all right,”Biscane proclaimed happily, as he rolled the paper up and tucked it back in his belt. The trolls laughed with glee, deep and hearty. Biscane grabbed Stephanie by the hair and pulled her away from the troll, dragging her toward his horse.

“What about them?”one of the trolls asked Biscane, pointing toward the three children. Biscane looked over at the children and pondered their fate for a moment.

“They’re not on the bounty. Kill them—eat them if you want—just don’t leave anything behind.”

“No!”Stephanie screamed, struggling against Biscane’s hold on her, reaching out to save her children. They screamed in terror, backing up against the boat as the troll reached toward them, chuckling and licking his lips with the thought of a juicy meal of fresh meat. But then, he stopped dead in his tracks and looked down at his chest.

A black blade sliced through him from behind. Dark black-red blood trickled down from the wound. The troll dropped his club as his body began shaking uncontrollably. The monster started to shrink and shrivel to dust and bones—as if consumed by an unnatural force—until what remained of the troll fell into the sand and sea.

The dust settled and now, standing where the troll once stood, a mysterious stranger appeared. A metal sheath hid his face, his head was hooded, hidden by a flowing grey cloak. Only his blue eyes pierced through the shadows under the hood. His body was armored in chain mail. He wielded two swords—one black and one gold colored—each hilt adorned with dragons clutching the blades in their claws. At the bottom of each hilt, the dragon’s tail curled around crystals resembling the moon. On his chest, a coat of arms—a dragon holding the moon coiled in its tail—was proudly worn. The same image rested on a silver pendant, hanging from a heavy chain around his neck.

He turned to face Biscane and the other trolls. Biscane looked in horror and spoke just one name, “Gil-Gamesh!” He looked over at the two remaining trolls, gawking at the stranger in awe and fear. “Well, what are you slobs waiting for, kill him!” Biscane shouted.

The trolls, though afraid and unsure, raised their weapons and rushed to attack. The stranger took a fighting stance, stepping between the hulking beasts and the children. “Take cover behind the boat,” he told them, his voice commanding, ringing with a metallic sound from the mask. Ashley grabbed her brother and sister and quickly pulled them behind the boat. They peeked over the top rail and watched the ensuing battle before them.

The troll swung wildly at the Gil-Gamesh, who reacted quickly by rolling under the swinging club and slashing the troll in his Achilles tendon, across the back of his leg. The troll fell in pain, dropping his club and grabbing his wounded leg. The Gil-Gamesh moved to one knee and thrust his sword in the troll’s forehead, quickly silencing the beast.

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Chapter 3 of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.

The art of war in medieval fantasy stories

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“Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.”

35-Sun-Tzu-Quotes-1The words of the great Sun Tzu have been used to motivate warriors for thousands of years. His wisdom in warfare is an essential read for those signing up for the armed forces. It is also essential for fantasy writers. Warfare between humans, Elves, Dwarves, dragons, centaurs, and other mythical creatures is an integral part of fantasy writing.

Combat is not just about sword swinging, arrow flinging, and spear thrusting. It’s about strategy, deception, and intricate maneuvers that will lead to victory. When considering what to do, think about something Sun Tzu said.

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”

Besides reading Sun Tzu, I’ve been able to develop fighting strategies in my stories through hours of Dungeons & Dragons role playing. Being immersed in the game, especially in combat situations, forced me to develop strategies and think about ways to fight in fantasy situations.

When your creating a combat situation, the devil’s in the details. You not only need to consider your characters and their capabilities, but also the enemies capabilities, the terrain, the weather, and more. There are so many elements involved in any combat scenario that a book like Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is almost required reading.

If you need inspiration for a great leader, “In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.” Do you need a plan where the odds are lopsided? “Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack.” Everything you need can be found in Sun Tzu. If it worked for Tony Soprano, it van work for you.

Just remember this:

“Order or disorder depends on organization; courage or cowardice on circumstances; strength or weakness on dispositions.”

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Chapter 3 of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.

Daydreaming is for dreamers, keeping writers like me feeling young again

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1218075500955_fRalph Waldo Emerson said, “Live in the sunshine. Swim the sea. Drink the wild air.” I like the sound of that, not only as a writer but as a human being. To me, it says “enjoy life” to the fullest possible sense. It also helps to keep one’s creative juices flowing.

I will admit that I daydream a lot. I find myself dreaming about the next chapter of my novel, or captain of a spaceship, travelling to the stars. I’ve even dreamed about being a rock star while listening to my favorite music. I think that dreaming comes naturally to people with a creative talent, like writers, artists and musicians.

It’s through dreams that we create and add to the building blocks of our stories. The whole concept for Forever Avalon came from a dream I had, and each story of the series has come to me through dreams. I’ll give you an example. I’m currently writing the fourth book in the Forever Avalon series, but I’ve been stuck on this one part. For weeks, I’ve been staring at my computer with little to no results. Then one night, as I laid in bed trying to sleep, it came to me. The story just laid itself out perfectly in my mind. It was exactly what I was looking for. The only problem was that because my mind was racing with all these ideas, I couldn’t fall asleep.

“Never let it be said that to dream is to waste one’s time, for dreams are our realities in waiting. In dreams, we plant the seeds of our future.” ─ Unknown

I think that’s the curse, for lack of a better word, for writers. Our ideas can come at the most inopportune time and we don’t know how to shut it off, no matter how much sleep we lose. That does present a problem, whether at work or late at night when you’ve got to get up for work the next day. Dreaming, and daydreaming, can both be a negative and a positive for writers.

Its a part of us that lets us bust loose with incredible adventures in worlds never imagined or seen before. I wouldn’t trade all the sleepless nights and missed deadlines if I had to give up my dreams. Even the smartest people in the world want to live in their dreams.

Albert Einstein said, “If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live in my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.”

We need our dreams to give us something to aspire too. Those dreams are the foundation of our future. Let’s not give up those dreams, otherwise we will stay stalled in our life. I will continue to dream and grow my world through my imagination. That way, I’ll never grow old.

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Chapter 3 of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.

Getting over the a writer’s wall requires inspiration, imagination, and ideas

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break throughThere are many walls that writers have to hurdle to make it to the finish line as a published author. Sometimes those walls are self-imposed, like writer’s block, and other times those walls are caused by outside forces, like a publisher’s rejection letter. All of these walls can be overcome and soon, you’re on your way to being a published author.

That’s the best feeling in the world, you know. Holding your book in your hands is a feeling of complete and unadulterated bliss. You know why? It’s because the journey it took to get there was an unrelenting, mind-crushing, pain-filled agony from beginning to end, but maybe, just maybe, its a good thing. Actor Will Smith said,

“You don’t try to build a wall, you don’t set out to build a wall. You don’t say I’m gonna build the biggest baddest wall that’s ever been built. you say, I’m gonna lay this brick, as perfectly as a brick can be laid, and you do that every single day, and soon you have a wall. It’s difficult to take the first step when you look how big the task is. The task is never huge to me, it’s always one brick.”

This is just an example of the challenges that await many writers. The walls we build can be both good and bad. When writing, a wall can represent the stagnation in your story, a writer’s block as big as the Great Wall of China. Yet, even these blockages can be diverted, like a beaver dam blocking the river. A little dynamite can go a long way; and by dynamite I mean inspiration, imagination and ideas. Michael Jordan said,

“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

You don’t need a five-step program or a life coach to overcome these obstacles in going from writer to published author. All it takes is a little research, some networking with other independent, self-published authors, and time and effort on your part. Remember, walls aren’t there as obstacles but rather as challenges.

You can break through any wall, without too much pain and damage to yourself. Persistence is the key to breaking down these walls. The whole Galaxy Quest, “Never give up, never surrender!” come to mind. Don’t let the walls discourage you or you may find yourself staring at your computer screen, waiting to type the next word, for weeks on end.

It’s not fun when you hit that wall, but remember, most of the pain is self-inflicted. Pull together that which inspires you to write and use it to climb over, break through or go around the wall. I know a lot of this sounds like a bunch of metaphors, and they are, but they’re good ones.

As writers, we know all the right words to do and say to get our characters out of any mess. The object is to apply those same foils to ourselves. It might not be practical, but it can be quite useful. You do what you have to do to get the story written. Your success counts on one thing and one thing only … YOU!

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Chapter 3 of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.

 

Self publishing gives an author hope of being discovered and hitting it big

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2016-07-25-21-06-14-writingHope…It’s a word associated with many things, like Star Wars, President Obama, and the first game of your favorite sports team’s season. Hope is a part of faith, family, and charity. This past week, watching the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey filled me with hope for humanity as I watched people helping others without thought of their own safety.

Hope is a big word that fills all our lives on a daily basis; but for an author like myself, hope is what makes us go on. After I finished my first novel, Forever Avalon, in 2007, my hope was to get it published and become a famous writer. I bought a book listing publishers and mailed out my manuscript. I received plenty of rejection letters, sometimes none at all. My hope was fading fast.

Then I received a phone call from a small publishing company, Rock Publishing, who offered to publish my book for a small fee. Now, at the time, I didn’t know what self-publishing was. I thought this was someone truly interested in me a writer and the small fee ($1,200) was because I was a new, untested author. How wrong I was…

The word “vanity publisher” was another way of describing self-publishing houses. It’s an appropriate word, preying on the “vanity” of the authors to be published. It’s true, though, as I was filled with pride, completely overjoyed at seeing my name on a book I could hold in my hands. I didn’t care about the cost. It was worth it.

The problem was in the writing. Most vanity publishers aren’t concerned if your book has been edited, polished, and thoroughly vetted, unless you pay for it that is. That’s the thing with self-publishing–you pay for everything you need from your publisher,including marketing, cover and interior art, editing, etc. I received more editing from my mother than I did my first publisher, and she gave me edits after it was already published.

My second book, The Dark Tides, was published through iUniverse publishing company. They gave me tons of support and wonderful customer service, for a higher price than my first. I paid even more for editing, marketing, special events, and artwork. Even with the higher cost, the results were similar to my first book. This would tell you that maybe writing isn’t your thing, that your stories are not what people are looking for, and yet I continue to write.

As an author who self publishes, you rely on yourself for everything from marketing, social media, setting up book signing events, all the while your working on your next story. It can be a frantic existence for any author, but we continue to strive on with that little bit of hope.

Self-publishing has its ups and downs, good and bad experiences for any independent author. Others would give up with little to no success, but I just can’t do it. Why is that? Is it vanity or something more? Its not vanity, its hope. Through it all, I still have that little bit of hope deep inside. I’m in the process of editing my third book and already started working on the fourth. That’s what it means to be an author, filled with hope in the spirit that one day your work will be recognized. “Never give up, never surrender!”

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Chapter 3 of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.

 

Let stupid people say stupid things because it only makes them look stupid

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“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” — 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution

The first amendment in the United States Constitution addresses something that is quite unheard of in some areas of the world. The founding fathers placed this at the top of our governing document to underscore the importance of these basic freedoms: Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech; Freedom of the Press, etc. These basic rights are undeniable in the United States of America.

ft-first-amendment-alliance-nonprofit-free-speechIn recent weeks, those rights have been tested with the events of Charlottesville and the subsequent rallies and protests since them. The question remains, is hate speech protected? If I disagree with what you’re saying, do I have the right to shut you up?

Even the strictest constitutional scholars will say that all speech is protected, even when you disagree with it. There are those that feel the hate speech shouldn’t be protected, but that’s grown now to include anytime a conservative speaks by groups like Black Lives Matter and ANTIFA. Some people also defend NFL players sitting or kneeling for the national anthem a type of free speech protest, but it has also come under scrutiny.

So, that’s the tough question. Is all speech protected or should certain speech be restricted. As authors, I am 100% for free speech. George Washington said, “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” To me, that quote epitomizes what freedom of speech is.

I don’t like the racists rants of white supremacists and the KKK, nor do I care to hear them. I also don’t care for the anti-American stance of ANTIFA and BLM. In any case, I will defend your right to say it. Speech is a choice. You can say whatever you want, and I can CHOSE whether or not to listen to you. That’s why there is a mute button on the TV. I can turn you off just as easy as changing the channel.

To me, that’s how freedom of speech works. Voltaire say, “I do not agree with what you said but I will defend to death your right to say it.” That is the ultimate truth. My opinion has always been to let stupid people say stupid things because it only makes them look stupid. You can make your point just as easy by letting people talk.

As an author, I love the fact that my words are protected. I’m going to leave it with a quote by Ray Bradbury from his novel Fahrenheit 451. I think it speaks volumes for what we are witnessing and feeling today.

“The books are to remind us what asses and fool we are. They’re Caeser’s praetorian guard, whispering as the parade roars down the avenue, ‘Remember, Caeser, thou art mortal.’ Most of us can’t rush around, talking to everyone, know all the cities of the world, we haven’t time, money or that many friends. The things you’re looking for, Montag, are in the world, but the only way the average chap will ever see ninety-nine per cent of them is in a book. Don’t ask for guarantees. And don’t look to be saved in any one thing, person, machine, or library. Do your own bit of saving, and if you drown, at least die knowing you were headed for shore.”
― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Chapter 3 of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.