After thinking about the comments received on the first three cover ideas, I decided to go with a fourth one. It looks like this:
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Well That Was Exhausting!
After 10 days of tireless editing, proofreading and design by me and my team, the PDF version of Zen Madman's Flash Fiction Folio is finally finished. I found the actual writing of the material relatively easy and got through it very quickly. Despite numerous careful reviews, we kept finding little things that needed fixing. It didn't help that Microsoft Word and Adobe InDesign got along about as well as Oscar Madison and Felix Unger. Hopefully you'll find the final result just as entertaining as The Odd Couple.
After thinking about the comments received on the first three cover ideas, I decided to go with a fourth one. It looks like this:
After thinking about the comments received on the first three cover ideas, I decided to go with a fourth one. It looks like this:
January 2012
In reviewing this first month in Germany, things have been a mix of awesome, good, and moderately frustrating. I've written and/or revised about sixteen-thousand words in the past few days, so I'll just fire out some bullet points. The awesome:
- Thanks to friends and strangers alike, my Kickstarter was a complete success.
- Zen Madman's Flash Fiction Folio is complete. The design is mostly done, too. Just a few adjustments here and there, and we're ready to go to print.
- I've gotten to know a new country, home to delicious caramel soy pudding and "Happy end" toilettenpapier.
- Reached my goal of weighing 80kg, despite my new Nirwana Noir addiction.
- I started playing Heads Up Limit Holdem again. Man is this game fun!
The good:
- Got set up on a few Euro poker sites.
- Published the Poker Player Bill of Rights.
- Made some decent cash playing HULHE.
- Kept up with my blog for the first couple weeks.
- Learned enough German to avoid the soup with Schweinefleisch in it.
The moderately frustrating:
- Failed to reopen my PokerStars account. This was a mix of logistics and distraction on my part.
- Importing a Word document into Indesign resulted in some data loss, slowing the process.
- Still feel like an ignorant American who can only speak one language.
To review, I'm happy with the month, but I'm already working hard for a better February.
A Little Help From My Friends
Dear Friends,
I'm putting together my first work of published fiction, and you can help make it a success. My project is a collection of (mostly dark) short stories titled Zen Madman's Flash Fiction Folio. You can read samples HERE and HERE. I've launched the project on Kickstarter.com, which is an all-or-nothing funding site where you can pledge support in exchange for rewards. For $9 or $15, you can pre-order the book (PDF or hard copy, respectively), and there are bigger rewards as well. My goal is to raise $777 by January 16 to cover the cost of printing, shipping, and design. While financial backing would be outstanding, Kickstarter is as much about promotion as it is about funding. There are lots of totally free ways you can help:
- Like: Right under the video on my project page there is a Facebook Like button. Click it. Easy.
- Tweet: You can use this prefilled tweet, click the tweet button on my Kickstarter page, or compose your own tweet containing my project link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zenmadman/zen-madmans-flash-fiction-folio/
- Share: Throw my link up on your facebook, tumblr, blog, or anywhere fiction lovers might find it. If you're more ambitious, you can embed my project video or even a full widget by using the Embed button below the video on my project page.
- Forward: Perhaps the most helpful thing you can do is forward this email to everyone you know who likes fiction and might forward it on to their friends. Friends are awesome, but friends of friends of friends are geometrically more powerful.
- Comment: Put a comment on my Kickstarter page letting me know what you think of my stories, what you'd like to see, and any questions you have.
And of course, you can:
- Pledge: It's super easy; it goes through amazon.com - if you have an account there you don't even have to reenter your credit card info. You can pledge as little as $1, get the ebook for $9, the hard copy for $15, or both for $20. There are a bunch of higher pledge levels, too, but i'd rather get lots of little ones than a few big ones. Of course, no pledge will be turned away. :p
Here's the direct link to my project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zenmadman/zen-madmans-flash-fiction-folio/
My long-term goal is to become a professional writer (and publisher) of fiction, so this is a huge first step. Not only is your help (in any form) useful, but knowing that my success comes with a little help from my friends means more to me than doing it alone.
Signed in virtual blood with actual undying gratitude,
- Paul
To Do (Ha Ha!)
I'm a big fan of To Do lists. Maybe it goes back to my parents' "To Do (Ha Ha!)" file*, but I'm great at making lists of things to do. I'm slightly less awesome at crossing everything off of them. I've pretty much been moping around the house all day, not for any particular reason. But we're coming up on low noon here on the East Coast, and that usually means I'm about to get productive. At the very least, it means I'll force myself to write a blog. Here's my to do list before dawn:
* (My mom had written "To Do" in pen. My dad responded by writing "Ha Ha!" in pencil, referencing the fact that items stayed in the folder past their due dates.)
- Print out a copy of "No Balls, Two Strikes" and mail it to my grandmother along with a Happy New Year card.
- Get at least "very close to done" with Part 2 of my newest poker article.
- Indulge in shameless self-promotion for my Flash Fiction Folio.
- Eat some warm oatmeal with maple syrup.
Walk my girlfriend's sister's dog.
* (My mom had written "To Do" in pen. My dad responded by writing "Ha Ha!" in pencil, referencing the fact that items stayed in the folder past their due dates.)
No Balls, Two Strikes
I just finished up a new story for my Flash Fiction Folio. This one's about baseball and may have too much lingo for those who aren't fans. Let me know what you think, though. I'm always interested in the opinions of fans and critics alike. You can read it on Free Association.
Flash Fiction Folio Kickstarter
Yesterday's blog was about writing every day. Continuing in that trend, I'm happy to launch the kickstarter for Zen Madman's Flash Fiction Folio. Kickstarter.com is an all-or-nothing funding site, where you can pledge to help me publish my first collection of fiction. Pledges are not donations. Instead, you receive rewards based on the amount of your pledge. You can essentially pre-order the book, get special stories just for you, or receive copy-editing, proofreading, or discount coaching services. Click here to pledge or learn more, and check out the video below.
Write Now, Every Day
Almost every book ever written on the subject of writing contains the following advice: "If you want to be a writer, start writing every day." Now that may seem obvious, a less generic version of "Just Do It." And while everything in life may seem as simple as that, two things make it particularly applicable to writing.
The first is that anyone can be a writer. In fact, you don't even need to know how to write. You only need to know how to speak. A friend recently related to me the story of his father, an illiterate man who wrote technical manuals by dictating to his secretary. Only if you're mute and illiterate are you precluded from joining the ranks of writers worldwide.
So it's easy to be a writer? Well, yes and no. The other side of writing is its permanency. Most would-be writers fall short because of a fear of commitment. When you write something, you commit those words to the page (or computer). Yes, your words can be edited, erased, or deleted later, but there's a special terror that comes with putting your thoughts down in a semi-permanent fashion. Even for those that overcome this initial fear, there is a secondary fear of showing your writing to another person, and the tertiary fear of the finality of publication.
How many great stories are left untold because of the teller's fear of telling? I fear many. So if you have a story to tell, put pen to paper, hands to keyboard, chalk to cave wall, and write now. I'll be going with the "every day" thing, writing an entry in this blog every day for the rest of the year. To put my money where my hands are (on the keyboard), I'll give 2 books or 1 hour of coaching to the first person who calls me out should I fail to make a post on any day between December 18th and December 31st (EST).
The first is that anyone can be a writer. In fact, you don't even need to know how to write. You only need to know how to speak. A friend recently related to me the story of his father, an illiterate man who wrote technical manuals by dictating to his secretary. Only if you're mute and illiterate are you precluded from joining the ranks of writers worldwide.
So it's easy to be a writer? Well, yes and no. The other side of writing is its permanency. Most would-be writers fall short because of a fear of commitment. When you write something, you commit those words to the page (or computer). Yes, your words can be edited, erased, or deleted later, but there's a special terror that comes with putting your thoughts down in a semi-permanent fashion. Even for those that overcome this initial fear, there is a secondary fear of showing your writing to another person, and the tertiary fear of the finality of publication.
How many great stories are left untold because of the teller's fear of telling? I fear many. So if you have a story to tell, put pen to paper, hands to keyboard, chalk to cave wall, and write now. I'll be going with the "every day" thing, writing an entry in this blog every day for the rest of the year. To put my money where my hands are (on the keyboard), I'll give 2 books or 1 hour of coaching to the first person who calls me out should I fail to make a post on any day between December 18th and December 31st (EST).
Where the Hell Have I Been?
Casinos, not-so-seedy underground New York card clubs, and on my couch, watching Mad Men, mostly. I was going to write a blog reviewing the first six months after Black Friday, but it's looking more like seven now. I've enjoyed live poker a fair bit, but while the games are softer, it turns out to be a harder way to make a living than playing online. That's not to say it's impossible or not worthwhile. It just requires a larger bankroll relative to your hourly expectation, and even more patience.
I've played around on the US-friendly sites a bit, although the high rake and lack of game selection is frustrating. And the software! If you live anywhere but here, count your lucky Stars. It's easy to take excellence for granted.
I've managed to squeeze out a few videos here and there, even dipping my toes in the No Limit Holdem pond. But lately I've been thinking about writing a lot. I banged out this little story on 11/11: http://freeassn.com/drupal/node/99. It's my first flash fiction piece. More to come. For now, it's back to the poker tables, both physical and pixelated.
I've played around on the US-friendly sites a bit, although the high rake and lack of game selection is frustrating. And the software! If you live anywhere but here, count your lucky Stars. It's easy to take excellence for granted.
I've managed to squeeze out a few videos here and there, even dipping my toes in the No Limit Holdem pond. But lately I've been thinking about writing a lot. I banged out this little story on 11/11: http://freeassn.com/drupal/node/99. It's my first flash fiction piece. More to come. For now, it's back to the poker tables, both physical and pixelated.
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