Canister X – A.P. Fuchs: Zombie, Paranormal Romance and Superhero Novelist, Blogger, Artist, Publisher

I’m nearly 30,000 words in to the new Axiom-man novel, which means I’m almost halfway done as I see this book being about as long as the first one. My mission is to do about 4,000 words a day on it so I can ensure it’s done for C4 this year, which is the first weekend of November. Readers have been asking year after year for a new Axiom-man book, the last being in 2008, which was a pathetically long time ago. Anyway, you will get your wish and City of Ruin will be ready. You’ll also really enjoy it, I think, as the storyline heads in a new direction and a new secret villain is introduced.

I’m also finishing up my Undead World Trilogy simultaneously with the third book titled–as of now–Redemption of the Dead. This is also aimed at being written at 4,000 words a day and will be 75-80,000 words when done and, hopefully, ready to debut at C4 this year as well.

I’m behind in writing all this because of my burn out earlier this year, publishing company duties and a venture into comics. Regardless, and as personally stretching at it is, working like a dog on these two books at the same time–the first time I’ve ever done that–is proving to be very healthy for my own mental well-being. I need to dive into complete and utter fantasy where that’s my whole reality every now and then to help keep my brain from going into overdrive with story ideas. All I’m living right now is superheroes and zombies, angels and demons. But if all stays on track, the crazy workload will alleviate in about a week as City of Ruin will be done–first draft, anyway–and then I can pound out the rest of Redemption of the Dead and just focus on finishing that. After that, then the books hit the editing phase, etc.

These books are important to my readers so I want them to be happy. They are also important to my family’s well-being as C4 is a big weekend for us on a success level and the proceeds from that helps keep my family afloat for a month or two following.

If you’d like to get caught up on both The Axiom-man Saga and the Undead World Trilogy, there are links on either side of this column for both eBook and paperback editions of each. Thank you in advance for your support and for helping me provide for my family. God bless.

February 17, 2006

Dear Dave:

There are services offered from POD subsidy outfits for the editing of the books, but this is at the author’s option. Due to the extremely high prices for this service (typically the subsidy outfit has a pool of freelance editors they utilize for it–no doubt the subsidy outfit overcharges so they, too, make a profit on top of whatever the editor is making) most authors neglect this service. Some simply don’t understand the necessity for editing and others, as mentioned, just can’t afford it. A smart author recognizes that no matter how good of a job they’ve done on their book that that book still needs to have a set of eyes that are not theirs to go over it. Editors come in two varieties: the copyeditor (who checks everything from simple punctuation and spelling to the stuff of content–continuity, clichéd sentences, inconsistent character behavior–the deeper stuff) and the proofreader (who only checks for spelling and basic grammatical issues and leaves the deeper stuff alone). Most editors charge either by the word or by the page. For myself, I charge by the word as that method is more accurate in terms of the actual work needed to be done on a particular piece as precise word count does vary from page to page. I think most authors would go for an editor, one they’d have to hire, based on a) the editor’s experience/reputation, b) the price for the service of either copyediting or proofreading. And if one is putting out their own work, affordability is a huge factor. I would ill-advise an author to utilize an editor suggested by a subsidy outfit (if I could not convince them to steer clear of the subsidy/vanity outfit altogether) as I’ve heard horror stories how even the editors these places use are of the sub par variety.

As a point of interest, I maintain a weekly webblog (blog) at http://coscomentertainment.blogspot.com The first chunk of entries deal with self-publishing, the bigger issues. (After all, you can fill a whole book on the topic of self-publishing.) One of them discusses the importance of editing. Consider having Gerhard visit the site for you and print off the articles for your own reading. Perhaps we can get a dialogue going on those items.

Your reply to my question regarding where all this “gray stuff” may have come from is very true. The Civil Rights movement having been indirectly responsible is a good assessment. The summation of your point is applicable to how we as a people (on the whole) often address our mistakes. If we err one way, we tend to overcompensate in the other direction to ensure that we don’t mess up again “just in case.” Race is a good example. We treated blacks poorly so it wound us up in a lot of trouble. Thankfully, we’re past that (unfortunately there are still those out there who hold prejudices against a person’s skin tone–garbage, if you ask me), but so we don’t screw up again, we embrace all things “different” from us (whites and/or people) so as to not “screw up” again. As noble as that intention may have started out, it’s obviously gotten sidetracked and then we’re back on the subject of the absence of absolute black and absolute white in society and are instead stuck with a bunch of gray tones for fear of messing up again. Anyone who maintains a view of “absolutes” are then labeled as extremists or fundamentalists (i.e. like many Christians are labeled as) and then we get scolded for not being “open” or “tolerant.” As mentioned in my previous letter, tolerance and “letting anything go” has been historically proven to send society on a spiral downward. It’s only a matter of time but, like you said, a process we need to go through. I can only help but wonder when we’ll “wake up” and realize that how we’ve been doing things truly isn’t the way to go. How bad will it have to get before we slap ourselves on the forehead and go, “Duh! We’re idiots and we screwed up!”? Only the future will tell, I suppose.

Anyway, I’m enjoying our talks and look forward to further correspondence. Will you be releasing a Collected Letters 2005 or was the 2004 edition a one-off thing?

Sincerely,

December 13, 2005

Dear Dave:

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my letter. Your letter is dated December 6 and I got it today, so given that it takes 3-5 business days for a letter to arrive from one Canadian address to another, it arrived right on time.

You had asked me in your letter if I use Print-on-Demand. The answer is yes. What really got me excited was that you said you might consider using it sometime in the future. I have to admit, I was tempted to give you a call and tell you everything I know about POD, but then I thought, No, I better write it all down so that way Dave has something tangible to refer to instead. So here we are. I will add, before I go on and on about POD, that you are more than welcome to use me as a “POD resource/info trough” as I’m quite versed in how it works, the pros and cons, and how the publishing world currently views POD. I have enclosed my business card for that purpose and printed on it is my phone number should the mood strike you. Sometimes quick questions are better answered via phone than waiting for old Postman Pat to deliver the news.

I have no idea what your POD knowledge is at present so I’ll tell you the main points of what I know under the assumption that you know very little or nothing about it. That way, I figure, I’ll cover all the bases.

So here we go.

Like most anything, POD has its pros and cons. Off the top of my head, unlike offset printing, your per-unit print cost doesn’t change with quantity (i.e. printing one copy is going to cost you, say, $3.50 per unit, and printing one thousand copies will still cost you $3.50 per unit; I’m also speaking in US funds as that’s where my current printer is located. More on that in a second). So that’s a con. It is advantageous for the self-publisher who doesn’t have $3500US lying around to print up a thousand copies in one go, or whatever the per-unit cost would be at a thousand. Can only afford to print a hundred or two? No problem. Get the rest when you’re ready.

You’re Canadian, as well as I, so this next bit might be useful. Currently I’m using a printer in the US called Lightning Source (www.lightningsource.com; feel free to have Gerhard look it up for you online; perhaps also consider giving them a call). The advantage with them is that it’s true Print-on-Demand printing, meaning they follow the “print anywhere from one copy to a zillion copies” rule. In Canada, I have only found a handful of “digital printers” but each still requires a hundred-to-five-hundred-copy minimum print run. I have yet to find one that would print me up only one copy, should I ever need just one copy or even, say, ten copies. The other advantage with Lightning Source is that they’re owned by Ingram, the wholesaler giant in the US, and each title you set up with them can be included in Ingram’s catalogue with nothing more than the simple click of the mouse (it also lists you automatically with Baker & Taylor, one of the main library ordering systems in the States; for both the Ingram and Baker & Taylor listing, there’s an annual fee; for myself, since most of my readers are in the States, utilizing US distribution works to my advantage). This helps for not only bookstore orders, but also for being listed with online retailers like Amazon.com (and listed with any online retailer tapped into the Ingram feed; the listing with these websites is automatic). The disadvantage when it comes to the brick and mortar stores is that though your title is “available” through Ingram, it’s still up to the bookstore to order it in and unless you’re an author with a name, that can be difficult unless you solicit the stores themselves via whatever marketing method(s) you choose. Another advantage to using Lightning Source is that if either an online or offline retailer orders X amount of copies of your book via Ingram, Lightning Source takes care of the fulfillment and shipping for you (which would take care of the problem you had with Amazon) and you get a check ninety days later for however many you sold (the formula being: retail price less bookstore discount (which you set) less per unit print cost equals your Net take home pay for one copy). This definitely frees up more time for the self-publisher to create future product and/or to market his/her current work and/or take care of any office work and/or fill any direct orders to both readers and libraries (that is, Canadian library orders). It is also worth noting that Canada’s main wholesaler, Indigo, can also hook up to Ingram for order fulfillment (i.e. if Gerhard goes to www.indigo.ca, he can show you my own titles and the others my company has produced; this is something you’d have to set up with Indigo.ca though, the website listing; having your titles listed in the main Indigo system, meaning the system the major Canadian chains use to order books, is a different matter as the Indigo website is a separate system altogether; strange but true; hope that made sense). The good part about my printer being in the States is that I get paid in US dollars, which works well for me as our dollar is worth less than the American dollar. More bang for your buck, depending on how you look at it.

One of the major cons of POD is its reputation. What has happened is a bunch of vanity—or as they call themselves, “subsidy”—presses have been using POD because of its low overhead. This in turn has allowed anything under the sun to be printed, namely unedited material and terrible, terrible stories (i.e. clichéd fiction, rip-off fiction, you name it). Over the past few years bookstores have wisened up to this and are very reluctant to stock POD titles unless it’s by a well-known and respectable firm like Random House (who uses primarily offset but also uses POD for its smaller titles or just to keep slow-moving titles in print, or so I’ve heard) or other firms like them. It’s even hard for those with a small press like mine—those of us who take this business seriously and produce edited and quality original material—to fight our way through the mentality/stigma that POD equals, essentially, crap. In short, subsidy presses (which are bad news altogether; I used one for my first book and, man, what a HUGE mistake; it was a nightmare start to finish) have given POD a bad name. Same with other outfits like lulu.com where, though there is no cost to you to set up your title, anything can be printed and there is no monitoring of content. Lulu.com makes their money by charging very high per unit costs to their authors (i.e. what would normally be a $4 POD book, they would charge around $9, roughly). Yikes! I think their service is a great one in allowing an author to “test the waters” with his/her work, but I really do wish there was some sort of standard one had to adhere to regarding what is published (I’m mainly referring to having it mandatory your material is edited). What needs to happen, in my opinion, is for these companies to be exposed for what they are and, further, shut down. I could tell you countless stories about dozens of authors whose dreams have been crushed by these so called “publishers.” (“Publishers” who, even after charging an author an arm and a leg to “publish” their book, only pay out to their authors a small royalty of 10-20% Net.) I think a writer (or comic book creator) has only two options when it comes to seeing their work in print. Either a) go the traditional route via a small or large press or, b) self-publish the work via your own company. The option of subsidy/vanity publishing shouldn’t be there. Too many people get hurt (I was one of them). The only “out of house,” in my opinion, that a self-publisher should do is pay the printing bill. And even then, if you had a million or two to spare, then by all means get your own printing press. (Provided you’ll recoup the cost, of course.)

One of the downsides to POD is the per unit print cost, which, as mentioned, is a flat cost per book regardless of quantity printed. I look at the justification (perhaps just for my own comfort) of the higher per unit cost like this: a) Lightning Source is fulfilling all my wholesale orders for me so they should be compensated for that (fair is fair), b) though there are no physical books until the book is actually “printed when ordered,” they are acting like a virtual warehouse so instead of spending X amount per book housing them somewhere (like the big publishers do; or they buy their own huge warehouses or pay for “land” in another warehouse), I give the printer a little bit for that as well. So, if you took away those two costs, I suppose my per unit print cost would be about what it would cost via offset printing, again depending on quantity produced.

In the end, yeah, if you’re looking to sell five hundred to around a thousand copies of something, POD is definitely a good choice and, as said, with Lightning Source, most of your fulfillment is taken care of (that is except for direct market orders and any Canadian library orders you might get). Otherwise I’d stick with offset.

I hope the above information was helpful, Dave, and like I said, my door is open to any questions you might have.

I hope this letter finds you well. Say hello to Gerhard for me. Thanks again. Keep in touch.

Sincerely,

PS. I just finished watching the Ye Bookes of Cerebus Dvd the other night. Jeff Tundis sent me a copy. Very informative, and the Cerebus artwork—from what I could see on the Dvd—was truly amazing. The exhibit runs till end of January. How is it going so far?

Author Charles Stross really nails it with this essay on his website.

If you’re a writer wondering about the biz and how you’re doing in comparison to other authors, or if you’re a reader and wondering if that recent $100,000 book contract you saw that author get in the news was really the path to a life of riches, this is must-read reading. And though it’s from 2010, it’s still current.

Go here.

For a long, long time–over a year–I’ve been talking about bringing Axiom-man to comics. That’s finally going to happen as I’ve now decided on how I can produce the comic myself in a timely manner and not get slaughtered monthly by the book’s production. Thanks to ideas from my wife and some of my own, a manner of presentation has been reached. I also believe I’ve come up with a business model that will move the book from just being a hobby into an actual viable way for indie creators to make their own comics and actually make money on it.

Working hard on the pages now. They’re already drawn, inked, the lettering is done–just need to add in more crosshatching and graytones.

What? A superhero comic can’t be in black-and-white with graytones? As if. One of the things I pride myself on regarding the Axiom-man Saga is that his story is different than your usual superhero fanfare. It’s a life and times story, approached from the idea if this happened to a regular Joe tomorrow, how would reality most likely pan out? That said, I’m willing to push the envelope a bit and try a superhero comic with a presentation akin to Sin City and The Walking Dead as opposed to your typical DC or Marvel gradient color-fest. I also have a passion for good black-and-white comics (i.e. Cerebus, Echo, Rachel Rising, Walking Dead, Sin City, Alec, etc.) and know that tha medium is wrought with potential and just plain awesomeness.

The first story arc is a brand new tale which also covers Axiom-man’s origin and takes place one year after he got his powers.

My goal is to get the book out around the beginning of February.

I just finished this graphic novel and, man, I loved it. It was inspiring, encouraging, and really connected me to my fellow man in a way very few books ever have. I originally bought it because it was adapted by Harvey Pekar, of whom I’m a giant fan. But I got much more than just a Pekar book. I got a book–based on another, mind you, that now I just have to read–filled with stories of human triumph and failure, happiness and sadness, love and loss, and the challenges of providing for your family.

If you’re one of those folks who work ever so hard for their loved ones and feel like you need a boost, I highly recommend picking up this graphic novel. The price of admission is certainly worth the value of its edification.

I also included a link to the original book published in 1977 as well.

Highly recommended.

Click Here to Order from Amazon.com

Click Here to Order from Amazon.com

As promised, Canister X Comix have now hit the Amazon Kindle and I’m really excited about this as I know that the future of single-issue comics lies in the eBook/eComic arena. Now I got stuff there on the ground floor. It served me well when eBooks finally exploded and I know it’ll be the same when comics catch up digitally as well. I don’t mind waiting because that day is fast approaching.

Anyway, the first three issues of Canister X Comix are now available for immediate download to your Kindle or Kindle app. (The apps are free, btw.)

Simply follow the links below to check them out and view the free preview.

Thanks in advance for your support. Enjoy.

Canister X Comix No. 1 – October 2011	Inside: A day in the life of . . ., booksigning woes, fame runs backwards, journey’s beginning, . . . more! B&W Please click here to download.
Canister X Comix No. 2 – January 2012	Inside: 24 pages of comix in 24 hours as part of the famous 24-hour-comic challenge. Inside: A sleepless night, a bizarre superhero’s origin, kids and bad language, expensive cupcakes, . . . and more! B&W Please click here to download
Canister X Comix No. 3 – April 2012	Inside: Every once in a while we lose track of ourselves and wander away from life, people, even the core of who we are. It happened to Abigail. Is it happening to you? In this introspective comic, A.P. Fuchs takes on the comics medium utilizing photos and captions to tell a unique story about a girl who went missing. B&W Please click here to download.

For the majority of Coscom Entertainment’s books, I like to do something other than plain *** for scene breaks in a novel/story. Whether it’s the dripping blood in A Red Dark Night or the claw-made slash marks in Animal Behavior and Other Tales of Lycanthropy, to me, inserting something other than a simple *** adds to a book, creates some atmosphere and, in the end, gives the reader a little something extra as a thank you for picking up a Coscom book.

I’m in the process of finishing up the formatting for the newest anthology I’ve edited called Metahumans vs the Undead, which is a superhero vs zombie anthology featuring a bunch of stories all spotlighting established indie superheroes vs zombies.

Below is the image I drew to replace the *** breaks in the stories, a kind of zombie super symbol.

For those who follow me on Twitter and Facebook, you know I’m a huge American Splendor fan. Harvey’s autobiographical comic book series is sheer genius and displays not only his writing talents, but also fantastic art from R. Crumb, Gary Dumm, and even *gasp* Alan Moore (back when he did cartooning). Of course, a ton of other awesome artists have illustrated Harvey’s stories over the years. The more American Splendor I read, the sadder I get that Harvey is no longer with us. Would loved to have met him at one point.

The movie, American Splendor, is awesome. The following graphic novel gives you a look behind-the-scenes at how the movie came to be, Harvey’s adventures and misadventures while promoting it, and an inside look at a man who found out that fame isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.

Pick up this book. It’ll be good for you.

I know I’m not the only writer who feels this way.