Success

Today I thought I’d share a bit of encouragement with my fellow writers. I don’t normally give writing advice. Primarily because I’m not pulling in 5 figures a month, or have a mailing list of 60,000, or receive critical accolades from dozens of book critics, or been approached by a major publishing house offering me a 7 figure advance for my next book.

Whatever I might have to say on the business side of writing, or on the mechanics of writing, has been said by many others more qualified than I. And I can’t see the advantage in serving up twice fried hash.

However, what I can offer is encouragement. Because I do know what a little bit of encouragement can do to help keep the hands on the plow so the field can be planted.

My writing mentor is Anthony Trollope. He offers sage, timeless, and practical advice, along with inspiration for all author wannabes.

Are you struggling with whether or not you should even be a writer? Rainer Maria Rilke has the answer in his first letter to the young poet. The advice is profound.

Today, I want to talk about success. Particularly, what it means to be a successful writer.

At various times I’ve asked myself, Am I a successful writer? I mean, I’ve written 30 books and am lucky to make $300 in a year. Nobody who’s anybody has discovered me and promoted me and let me ride his or her coattails to fame and glory. And I thought getting recognition in the poetry world was tough!

So am I successful? A successful fiction author? After much thought, my answer is YES!

Of course that “yes” is according to my definition of success. And everyone’s definition is different. I’ll tell you a story to illustrate what I mean by success.

In 1989, when I was 36, I decided to write a novel. I’d never tried a novel and wasn’t sure I could write one. So I thought I’d give it a try and see if I had the makings of a novelist in me.

For over half a dozen years I’d been sitting on my sister and brother PI duo, Tina and Harry Wright, and decided they deserved to be in a novel.

Over the course of a year, I wrote my novel. When completed, I garnered a couple rejections. Then I took a long, hard look at what I’d written. Well, I had written a novel. So now I knew I could do it. I could write novels. I also realized my first attempt wasn’t overly good.

I took stock of my life at that point in time. I was working in an emotionally draining job. I had a family. And I realized I didn’t have the emotional energy to rework the novel, or to spend another year writing a new one.

With a sad heart, I put the typescript away.

But I had to write!

In those days, there was no indie author movement. Traditional publishing was king. An iron-fisted despot. Self-publishing was for losers and the vain. Fiction markets were few and far between, those that paid money that is. There were plenty of small zines that would take your stories. Zines with a circ of 50 or 100 readers at best. Payment was usually 2 contributor copies.

I knew writers who submitted to such zines in the hope of earning publishing credits and a chance at the big time. None of them made it.

After some soul searching, I decided to switch from fiction to poetry. The most important thing in making this change was giving up my dream of making a living from writing.

Because there is no money in poetry.

No money. Period. Nada. Zip. Even those who are lucky enough to have a publisher publish a book of their poetry don’t make money on it. Poets themselves have told me this.

In the world of poetry, there is no money and no hope of money. The last poet who supported himself with his poetry, near as I can tell, was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. So if there is no money to measure success, success has to be measured by some other marker than cash.

In fiction, the marker is obviously money. Quitting the day job. Living from one’s pen. Poets, however, must come up with some other currency to measure success.

Poets, pure and simple, write for the love of writing. Secondarily they seek prestige and name recognition. Prestige from other poets and the few readers of poetry that are out there. And the thought that when their name is mentioned someone will recognize it. That’s it. 

Poets never get rid of the day job, until they retire.

And I am proud to say that I made something of a splash in the micro-poetry world that I chose to write in. I won a few contests, got accepted in some “name” zines, and garnered a bit of name recognition. I was a “success” in the poetry world.

The other day, on Twitter, B. Bernard Ferguson tweeted the quote below. There was no attribution, so I don’t know if the quote is original with him, or copied from another source. Whatever its origin — it’s a beauty.

To all who ever doubted they would become a successful writer…the moment your written words resonate with anyone, including yourself, YOU became a “successful” writer.

I learned the message of that quote writing poetry. Touching another person’s heart and soul — even if only your own — was payment enough.

One man I know, older than I, read one of my poems and told me it helped him understand and come to terms with the dysfunctional relationship he’d had with his father. And I’ve been fortunate to have others express similar comments. That, my friends, is payment enough.

Now I write fiction which has always been my dream, my first love. I don’t make much money. If folks read those free books I gave away, I might have a thousand people who have read my books. But what counts is that I’m having a blast. I’m doing what a mere 25 years ago was impossible — because the technology didn’t exist. I’m writing and publishing books. A dream come true.

And today the self-published stigma, while still present in some circles, is fast disappearing. There are truly excellent self-published books out there. Eat your heart out Big 5!

And along the way of my fiction journey, I’ve touched people. Not a lot, but more than I could have 25 years ago. These folk love Justinia Wright, or Pierce Mostyn, or Bill Arthur. I’ve given them enjoyment and at times something to think about. I’ve helped them enter a different world than the one they live in day to day. I’ve helped them escape boredom, the pressure of their jobs, and even pain. That’s something to think about.

If I never make 4 or 5 figures a month, I will at least leave this life knowing that what I wrote touched other human beings.

I’ve been successful. And that is payment enough.

Steve Bargdill

Good Books You Probably Never Heard Of - Part 6

Okay, Steve Bargdill is not a book. He’s a writer. A doggone good one, too. To date, he’s self-published four books and they are all winners. He’s also shopping a novel around to agents. I read a draft and it’s dynamite. I wish him much success.

I’ve read all of his books and I’m waiting for more. His only fault, as far as I’m concerned, is that he doesn’t write fast enough.

Banana Sandwich

Banana Sandwich was my first foray into the fictional world of Steve Bargdill. I noticed his tweet that his book was more popular than Moon Pies. And that got us talking and got me reading his book. I’m glad I saw that tweet.

The book is a dark and gritty rollercoaster ride of mental illness and emotions. There is enough comic relief so that the book isn’t oppressively dark. Bargdill knows pacing. And the ending… Well, it will blow you away.

As an aside, I’ve seen people rip the cover. Personally, I love the cover. It says everything about the story. And being lit fic, what else can the cover say? It’s perfect. 

Banana Sandwich is a fabulous book. Don’t pass it by. You’ll regret it. Truly, you will.

Wasteland: The Complete Series

Wasteland is a compilation of 6 separately published novellas. Here’s the review I posted on Amazon:

Six novellas. One novel. People bound, chained, imprisoned by the warden of their minds to views of what is and isn’t possible.

Steve Bargdill takes us on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, delirium, sanity, and insanity. People who are trapped and feel they have no other choice but to do what they are doing. People who feel hopeless and helpless. Crushed by life.

And yet because the only constant is change, new people and new dynamics intersect with the lives of the main characters. What seems to be a life without purpose and without hope, very often isn’t. It all depends on what we think is possible.

Dark. Gritty. Surreal. Absurd. Wasteland by Steve Bargdill is the 21st century Our Town and Winesburg, Ohio. This book is a must read.

I can’t add anything more. Get Wasteland. It could be life changing.

Color of Hope

Color of Hope is a very short collection of poetry and flash fiction. Every single poem and story is good, with some being truly superb. Definitely the kind of collection to keep handy for when you have five minutes to spare and want something far more enjoyable then that old magazine in the mechanic’s waiting room, or the dentist’s office. Or while you’re waiting for the rain to pass.

It’s a wonderful little book and it’s only a buck. You can’t go wrong.

Neighborhood Mums

Neighborhood Mums is a short story — and an excellent one. Because it stays with you long after you’ve finished the story — and that’s the mark of an excellent writer.

The narrator and his dog, Sebastian, are on a neighborhood search for a couple of mum plants that were stolen from his yard.

What we are treated to in this simple story, is picture after picture of people. People going about their business. It’s a look into ourselves, and those around us.

Neighborhood Mums is a short story you will definitely remember.

Please do yourself a favor and read Steve Bargdill. His work is entertaining and thought provoking. He’ll make you cry and laugh. And you’ll remember his books long after you’ve read the last word.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

A Reader’s and Writer’s Life

I love to read. Give me a book any day. I’ll take it over TV, movies, and video games. Nothing can replace my imagination. TV, movies, and video games give me someone else’s imagination which may be truly fabulous, but it isn’t mine. With my imagination, I can interact with a book’s author in a way that’s impossible through other media.

My love of reading goes back to the beginning of my life. My mother was not a good reader, by her own admission. But she did think reading was important. She read to me before I could read and once I could read on my own, she did not stint on the books I could have.

And I had all manner of books: novels, books on science and technology, the World Book Encyclopedia, books on archeology and history and ships and the sea.

To this day, my choice of reading material is still broad. I read novels and short stories in a wide range of genres. Books of history and biography. Poetry. Philosophy. Science and technology, mostly online. Cookbooks. Travelogues. Art.

Currently I’m reading Zeppelin: The Story of Lighter-Than-Air Craft by Ernst Lehmann, who was an important figure in the history of the airship. But that’s not all I’m reading. Also on the pile of works in progress are 2 short story collections, a book on criminology, and one on the famous Route 66. And as if that wasn’t enough, also on the pile is a post-apocalyptic cozy catastrophe novel. And the occasional letter from my favorite philosopher, Seneca, might just start my day.

I almost always have a book with me. And the reason I so love my iPad is because at present it contains over 600 books and that’s a lot of books! And I can carry them all with me wherever I go. What a wonderful age we live in!

Most readers don’t have so many books going at once and that’s certainly okay. Everyone needs to read at the pace which is comfortable for them. Just as long as people read. Lots of people.

I think my love of reading played in to my desire to be a writer. Why not create the books I so loved to read? Pretty much ever since I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a writer. And now I am!

Being a multi-genre reader pretty much dictated I’d be a multi-genre writer. I write what I like to read. I read private detective novels and I write them. I read post-apocalyptic cozy catastrophes and I write them. I enjoy dieselpunk and I write it. I like a good psychological or supernatural horror story, and I write those too.

But that’s not all that I like. So sometime down the road, if I live long enough, I intend to add space opera, historical novels, fantasy, poetry collections, and philosophy to the mix.

Isaac Asimov wrote over 500 books on all but one of the major Dewey Decimal System divisions. I’ve always thought that to be a wonderful accomplishment. Something I’d like to do myself. After all, variety is the spice of life!

The reading life and the writing life are the best of lives, in my opinion. Only the imagination is the limit and the imagination is limitless.

Comments are always welcome and, until next time, happy reading!

Gestation Period

I’m a late bloomer.  Have been my entire life.  I’m not complaining, just stating a fact.

Festival of Death was my first novel.  I wrote the manuscript over the course of a year.  1989, to be precise.  When finished, I sent off a couple query letters and got my obligatory rejection letters.

Taking a second look at the manuscript, I realized it needed revision.  I was working full time and raising a family.  I put the manuscript in the drawer and turned to poetry.  Less concentrated time investment and more immediate results.

In February of this year I finished a 2200+ page manuscript which is being serialized as The Rocheport Saga.  Book 1, The Morning Star is out and Book 2 will be released shortly.  While researching indie publishing, I cast about for what to write next and decided to pull Festival of Death out of the drawer.

A lot of time had passed between 1989 and 2014.  The story was woefully dated.  Cell phones turned to smart phones were now on the scene.  The Kindle and iPad and iPod were no longer dreams, but ubiquitous realities.  WYSIWYG blogs and websites and indie authors making big bucks were also a reality.  A lot can happen in 25 years -- and did!

Most importantly, I’d changed.  I’d matured.  As a person and a writer.  I was an apple ready to pick.

To get back into my PI’s and her assistant’s heads, I wrote 3 novellas.  They’ll be released soon as Trio in Death-Sharp Minor.  Then I went back and completely re-wrote Festival of Death.  The storyline remained the same.  Pretty much everything else changed.

Good things come to those who wait.  A combination of persistence and perseverance is needed to achieve dreams.

Have you dusted off an old manuscript, re-worked it, and sent it forth?  If so, tell us your story.