SOMEONE DOTH SPOKETH MY NAME!!! I AWAKEN FROM MY SLUMBER!!!Just kidding.
Okay, from the previous five pages, I gather, SyTF1, you've written either a collection of short stories you want people to read or a single short story that showcases the rest of the collection? Do I have that right? And this particular short story--which is...18,000 words, if I remember out of the whole five pages of this thread--is technically a novella or a novelette, depending on where you go for your answer.
So to address some of the stuff going on in this thread--and take this with a grain of salt cuz a lot of this is just one man's opinion, though I've got a fair amount of logic and experience going into this response:
SlyTF1, you want to be self-published. First of all, kudos, cuz it's hard. Really hard. Self-publishing is generally the trend nowadays, but the problem is that 99% of the world doesn't know how to string together a sentence to save their lives. It's all OMG ROLF Internet speak nowadays, which, hey, is great for me because it weeds out the competition. A lot of self-published authors are self-published because no agent or publisher will touch them, mostly because of the Internet speak. (Internet speak is to prose the same as valley girl speak is to conversation.)
That means if you want to set yourself above the rest, you need to know every single thing you can about the English language. Otherwise, you look like--guess what?--a self-published author, which still has a great big stigma attached to it because of the Internet speak. You want to showcase your talent. You have to use perfect English everywhere you go, Seibertron.com included, or else no one is going to want to read what you've got, even if the story itself is absolutely perfect. You're your own publicist, and even a single "their vs. there" mistake could cost you a reader, or a publisher (since publishers know how to Google you).
And learn your craft. Learn the three-act structure, what keeps a reader enticed, what suspense is, how to create a character, etc. This is the reason why, of that 1% who can string together a sentence, 99% of
them fail: they don't know how to craft a story.
Writing for money? Meh. I hate to sound like a cliche, but it's not a great way to start. Sure, it's a start, but what happens when the boredom outweighs the money. Your writing flattens. My reasons are because I love to write and I love to create. I love what I do. Proof? I have a series in which I'm seventeen stories deep, called
In a Galaxy Far, Far Awry (
shameless plug, not out yet, coming soon, I'll post a link when it does if you want to see it, blah blah blah), and that series has, so far, enjoyed a readership of two and a net profit of zero. And I'm just now starting to publish that series. I'm not in it for the money. I'd love to make money off it, sure, but only to quit my job and write for a living. (Also to afford that European vacation, but sssshhhhh.) What's your reason? Money won't get you through the day. It's the same soulless garbage you'd pick up from a musician who's in it only for the money.
You don't have a hook. You need a hook. It's called a logline. Mine is "Spaceballs vs. X-Men." My short blurb is "Nothing is more dangerous than a halfwit who controls all of crime." Every movie or book has it, and train yourself on how to write one by checking the blurbs on the backs of books or listening (not viewing) to movie trailers. It's as easy as that. But if you have no hook, what sets your evil government story above every other evil government story, including
V for Vendetta, The Lego Movie, Resident Evil, Soylent Green, District 9, Beast Machines (yes, boo, hiss, I know), and countless other movies (or books, or what-have-yous) with an evil government or corporation bent on world domination? Why should I plunk down ten bucks on your story when I'm already a fan of
Resident Evil or
Ready Player One? It's part of your marketing. Show me why I should spend money on yours specifically. I spent money on a marketer who can write an enticing back blurb. If you know a guy, great. If you can educate yourself, even better. But get that hook.
Speaking of marketing. Ahem. Yeah, self-publishers are their own marketers. You gotta learn to market. Have a plan. Budget for it. What do I do? Gotta admit my "Spaceballs vs. X-Men" series is my first foray into self-publishing so I'm kind of learning the ropes. I've got a few schemes, but they all involve hiring a publicist. So you have to have some spare money or really educate yourself on what you're doing. Facebook and Twitter are steps, but they're not the end. I'll get back to you when I've got this one figured out.
And finally, should I like the personality or beliefs of the author, actor, director, etc. whose stuff I'm entertaining myself with? Maybe or maybe not. I don't know. It's up to each person. My general way of thinking is I'll more than likely watch a movie where the star is someone I could see myself hanging out with. I think I'd get along with Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Evans, Jack Black and Kyle Gass, Seth Rogen, Simon Pegg, and a slew of others. Even Tom Cruise, for all his crazy assness, went up a couple of notches in my estimation when I found out he's saved some lives. Actual human lives. (I still watch the
M:I movies for Ving Rhames, though.) So go figure. But I'm more likely to enjoy their wares. These people shouldn't have any consequence on if I enjoy a movie if that movie itself is good, but I'm a stupid human and this is one of my stupid human tricks. Oprah Winfrey hasn't done anything wrong per se, but I can't stand anything with her name on it because I find her preachy and artificial. So anything off the Oprah Network is an instant miss for me, even if she doesn't appear in something or wrote the articles in her magazine.
But here's the final word. Do I want to check over your stuff? Sure. Send it over to stevegershwin at hotmail dot com (my spam address). But never fall into the trap of thinking something is perfect. That's a bad place to be. And if you want me to post the feedback here, I'll be more than happy to.
