How to cope with the status quo

The most difficult part of being a self-publishing 1st time author is writing something that you hope others want to read.  I'm willing to venture that this is the case for most of us who aren't under the wing of someone else.

Blind faith plays a huge role in the process, for there are 0% percent assurances that what we are writing will find an audience outside of friends and family.    

We risk time, money, not to mention all the other loses that are incurred because of sitting in front of a computer for eight hours a day for whatever the length of time is required to get our work out there.  And yet we proceed forward anyway.  Why?

Are we all out of our minds for doing something that might bankrupt us emotionally, physically and financially?  Some would say yes.

In some regards writing that first work intended for the world is much like being married with children.

Example: A young single person who finds out a friend is getting married with the intention of having a child might think them crazy.  The single person can't believe their friend would want to give up the so-called good life of being single and young to be burdened with a spouse and child.

With a first time author it is much the same.  People second guess your decision: Why give up so much to work so hard on something that might not bring any return?

They are "Not seeing the Forest for the Trees."

In both cases the big picture is more important than the smaller self-focused details that others cling to.  That is part of the reason that artistic works, like marriages and other ventures that require faith are created in the first place.  You have to be focused on something without regard for what others might think.

This runs counter to how most of the civilized world runs.  Most of the time we all go with what works, what is proven, what is comfortable, what is expected.  Sometimes there is that spark that forces us to alter our present situation and do what feels right.  Be it love, passion or inspiration of any sort.  A real spark is truly rare find, so much so that if you don't pursue it you will be worse off then if you had.

Sure, one might maintain the status quo, but they'll have lost something that could fulfill them more than anything they already have.

It requires sacrifice of the self.

Some just can't do that, especially in today's society.  That is due in large part because of the rapid evolution of technology.  There is not anything wrong with that.  It's how things are.  To some extent to go against the status quo goes against what it is to be a living creature, but it is at the very heart of what makes us human.

Not pursing what inspires you to its end because it would be difficult or different from what you are used to is a defeatists mentality.  Self-publishing 1st time authors are anything but defeatists.  We are creative warriors fighting against the status quo.  Not because we want to but because we have to.

Thanks for reading.

-aaron

Stage One Update... finally

Good News!   After a month-long tussle with Amazon over changes I made to Stage One of Monarch, they have finally made an update available for those who have purchased either Monarch or Monarch: Egg -- that also includes those of you who received it for free.

Amazon has changed their procedure for updates, so this will be different from what happened in December.   In December Amazon was sending out email notifications after I sent them a request to update Stage One.  I believe they have since changed their policy or my update now falls into a different category.   Anyway, this is my concern and not yours.  I'm just hoping that if this is a new policy it doesn't affect the timely release of Stages II-IV.

Nonetheless, an update for Stage One is now be available.

Simply log on to Amazon,  go to the "Manage Your Kindle " page, scroll down and next to the title you should see in blue text "update available "  Once you press on this you MAY need to resend the title to your device.  You do this by moving the cursor over the beige "Actions" button on the same line... all the way over to the right.  There will be four or five options that come up:

› Read Now
› Deliver to my...
› Clear furthest page read...
› Update this title
› Delete from library
› Loan this title

Unless the pressing of the "Update Available" button replaced the old version with the newer one, you will need to click on the " › Deliver to my... " tab and then choose the device that you would like it sent to.  It may take a few minutes but it will pop up on your device shortly.

I apologize for it taking so long for me to get you all an update for Stage One.  Hopefully, the next time you get an update notification it is an email from Amazon regarding Stage Two.  This should be somewhere around May 31st, or if troubles arise June 20th (my alternate release date for Stage II).

Thanks for reading.

-Aaron

Cipher Poems (Vol. 1)

As promised here are a couple of poems.  Having gone through several notebooks, I realized that it might be best to use some of the poems that were in the original screenplay for Cipher.      

Walls

Within these walls you can begin anew.  Some have cowered at the magnitude of their surroundings, and so they should. For the knowledge obtained here just may come with a price. 

Now.  

With your sex on, having dawned an animal mask, you easily slip through.

Natural Law now absorbing what man once made.  Soft green surroundings rounding off what once was square.  Slowly you enter its dark wooden inlayed heart and soul.  Dimly lit warm and inviting your pulse begins to race and time as you know it ceases to exist.  For within these walls you become atmosphere and mystery for another.

Having each other’s free will to play with, you watch it waged upon like horses and cattle at auction.  All the while drinking from vessels usually reserved for celebration.  Drawing forth a golden nectar from within these walls and toasting with those who have resolved. 

With a head full of spirited confidence you rise and begin to dance.  Circling one another and then surrounded.  You toss your head back and think of long lingering memories with a smile. 

(Snap)

It’s time for your branding. 

For within these walls there is just one kind of understanding.  And while beauty in youth does reside, from the cipher none can hide.

Witches Cauldron

Cauldron of significant occurrence,

Mix it and watch it bubble.

Worry not for those in trouble;

They’ll catch up or fate shall double.

Rendered helpless by intricate design; 

Help shall be offered, 

Creeping forth from behind. 

April Update

Spring is now in full throat.  My favorite time of year: sweet scents, warm weather (not hot), everything is lush and colorful, baseball is starting up and people are just a little kinder.  Best enjoy it while it lasts.

I am thrilled to say that I have had a chance to get a good deal of work done on the last three stages of Monarch.  I've done a solid rewrite on Stage Two.  This was troublesome due to the story within the story aspect of this novel.  If I incorporated all of Cipher, a reader would be left with a twelve-hundred page book from a first-time author.  While I would like to detail every word of that tale, it would take away from Ginger Reed's story and there would be no way to deliver it in a timely fashion.  Deciding what needed to stay in and what had to come out caused more than one sleepless night.

Just waiting on my editor to give Stage Two back to me so I can proceed.  In that time I have been able to also rewrite Stage Three.  Fortunately, this was not as cumbersome as Stage Two and I lost very little sleep over it.  It was such a pleasure to just tweak and move on, tweak and move on.  However, there were a few big changes made; I had to cut one of my favorite scenes.  This was frustrating but had to be done.   I can't say that Stage Three was the main reason I wrote this story, but it has been the most enjoyable to write and rewrite, so far.

Over the past week I also had an opportunity to look over Stage Four for the first time in almost a year.  I was worried with the arduous task of rewriting Two and relative ease of Three that the law of averages would require there to be some major problems with Stage Four. There are a couple of issues that will need to be addressed before anyone else lays eyes on it, but thankfully they are not as abundant as with Stage Two.

In addition to being able to run through Stages Two-Four, I have also uploaded a tweaked version of Stage One to Amazon.  Unfortunately, they are giving me a hard time about "why" I am requesting people be notified.  They were not so obstinate about my requests in December.  I fear something has changed over there and that the change may affect the release of Stage Two.  Grrr!  Since I can't do an official pre-order I've had to do it this way.  It appears I am running into my first setbacks of the year.  I may have to ride Amazon's tookus for the next few months so they don't mess up the release of the next three stages.