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

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?

Nothing fancy, but something I like to call home.

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.

The Same Six Questions have posted their interview with me, in which we talk about which of my characters I’d like to meet in real life, when I knew I wanted to be a writer, what my first long piece of fiction was, and more.

The interview can be found here.

Thanks.

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

Are you a writer? Do you look the part? If not, then you need to get on it for folks to take you seriously. See this ad to get what I’m talking about.

Last night I finished my revisions on the forthcoming reissue of my B-horror novel, A Red Dark Night. It was written in 2002 (I think) and published in 2004. Instead of doing a massive overhaul, I did a proofread instead, fixing some words, adding others, tweaked punctuation and adjusted some of the content to fit my sensibilities today. The voice of the book, that of a 22-year-old writer still learning his craft–and I’m still learning, btw, like every other writer out there–I left intact, so upon reading it, you’ll see a similarity in tone to my work of today, but also a voice of someone you might not be used to.

A Red Dark Night is a very special book to me for many reasons, some of which are it was written when all I had to worry about was writing and nothing else. No kids. No wife. Still lived at home with my folks. There’s also a sense of focus to the work that cries out with the passion of a new writer who only wants to tell stories and that’s it. It’s also a book without any paradoxes. I can’t elaborate without giving stuff away, but I’m very proud of it for that reason, too.

There was an intro I wrote for it back in the day and this new edition with have a new intro talking about the book, the original and the revision. I’m also getting done a killer cover, one that will blow the previous edition’s out of the water.

Today–more like tonight–I’ll be typing up the edits then sending the book over to my editor for another look for anything obvious. Then it’s back to me for one more read-through before press.

A Red Dark Night–now with the subtitle “Rise of the Bloodans”–should be out in the next 2-3 weeks. I hope you get a copy when the time comes.

Walter Rhein has an interview with me up on his blog.

In it we talk about the most important attribute of any writer, books, Axiom-man, the undead, comics and more.

You can access the interview by going here.

Thanks.

My collection of horror stories, Magic Man Plus 15 Tales of Terror, is now available for a measly .99 cents on the Kindle and at Smashwords. Other eBook retailers’ listings will update shortly. This collection represents ten years of my career and even contains the first short story I wrote–Ragman–when I decided to be serious about becoming a writer.

Loads of tales of fear and suspense within, especially the Magic Man stories that explain his origin, those he’s harmed and how in order to give you what you want, you need to give him something in return. And, no, it’s not your soul.

Here’s the official synopsis from the book jacket, a summary of the stories within its pages:

15 Tales of Darkness Lie Within this Thrilling Collection of Horrific Adventure

The Magic Man comes when you least expect him. Give him what he wants and he’ll grant you your heart’s desire, but are you prepared to pay the price?

A mother of two is en route to take her kids to the babysitter’s when darkness envelops her car and covers the world in black and gray.

No matter how many times Sharon tries to beat the Spinning Room, someone always dies, unless she can find a way to conquer this tower of terror once and for all.

Jimmy learns plenty about his life when he encounters an evil version of himself in his car’s rearview mirror.

A trip out to the family cabin is not what it seems and cigarette-loving Robert is granted the chill of his life.

It’s dinner at the Michaels’s Estate and Terrance Michaels must face the truth of what goes on beneath his house’s roof.

Father Haldo has heard every sin imaginable. He just wasn’t prepared to enter Booth 2 for this particular round of confessions.

Imagine waking up surrounded by damp soil only to find yourself in a room with half-buried bodies, faces sticking out from the dirt, and mysterious creatures called Benders. That’s exactly what happens to Gary Smith when he finds himself in a place under the earth.

Bernie Calhoun knows nightmares, and the one he had about the Man in the Woods when he was a boy still haunts him to this day. To make matters worse, he realizes he might have brought something back with him into the real world long ago.

These tales and more await you within.

Gathering material spanning a decade, A.P. Fuchs shares his nightmares.

Please click here or the cover above to be taken to the book’s Kindle page, or go here to grab the book–available in multiple formats–at Smashwords. Thanks.

Zoe E. Whitten and I are friends on Twitter, and each day we’re treated to each other’s rantings, writing tips, promotions, random thoughts, etc. When she asked to do a guest blog over here at Canister X, I was happy to oblige. I’m always curious how other writers think, especially indie authors, and since Zoe is one of those, I wanted to see how she operates, her thoughts on the writing life, and whatever other goodies she wanted to throw in.

I’ll let her take over from here.
__________________________________________

When I approached A.P. about a guest post, I offered to write on request or come up with a random topic. He chose, and he wanted to know about my writing routine. This is harder than it sounds because I don’t have a routine. I’ve heard how some writers have strict schedules, and they operate according to these schedules for maximum efficiency. I know a guy like this, and he is the very model of a modern mid-list missive man.

I, however, am not one of those writers. I don’t do schedules, and I’ve never been good at keeping them. I don’t even make government-mandated appointments on time, a behavior that made hubby nervous when we were getting my new sojourn permit here. (It worked out fine, and the cops loved my blue hair. It’s pink now. I’m going through a phase, you see.) I showed up late to my Army base when I flew in for basic training, and most of the time that I was on the base, I continued to move at my own pace despite the frantic screaming and shouting of my drill instructors. (Oh, they loved me. I could just feel it.) We were late to our wedding by ten minutes. I was four days late for my birth. What I’m saying is, I am the nemesis of the schedule-maker.

It may be in my blood. My great-grandmother used to complain, “I’m going to be late for my own funeral!” It was almost her catch-phrase, which is funny, because a train stopped her funeral procession a mile from the cemetery, and then the train stopped moving for half an hour. When we got to the cemetery, the funeral home director had no clue why so many of us looked so very amused.

The idea of sticking to a schedule sounds good, in theory, but I can’t make myself care once I fall behind. If I miss something today, I’ll get it tomorrow. It’s no big deal. (Which might make me sound lazy.) I retired from regular work due to multiple sclerosis, but before my symptoms made holding a regular job too painful, I frequently signed up for double shifts or overtime. Even now, I’m a workaholic. On any given day, I can crank out anywhere from 2500-10,000 words, with the very rare gust up to 13,000. But that shouldn’t be the topic of a routine day. (Also, any day over 8,000 words means the day after will be a light work day, in the 1,500 range.)

So, let’s look at a routine day for me. I probably went to bed around 5 AM the day before, but I wake up around 11 AM. First step is turning on the computer, even before I get on my jeans. (Assuming I manage to get them on. This is not always the case.) Once the PC is booting up, I shuffle to the bathroom, and then to the kitchen to make tea.

Tea deserves its own special place in this routine, because I’m often a bit distracted in the mornings. Because of my MS, some days it takes longer for my thoughts to boot up around the plaque scars in my brain. So, I’ll put water on the fire and head back to my room to open my apps, get my iTunes running, and open whichever story I’ll be working on for the day. I’ll hope not to get distracted and forget about my tea, but half an hour later, I reach for a mug that isn’t there, and then look down. My brain spins through my recent memory and, DOH, I did not ever make the tea. So, I head to the kitchen, clean out the white dust remaining in the bottom of my overcooked tea pan, and fill it again. Then I head back to the room.

On a “good” day, I may not get tea until well after 3 PM. But it should be noted that these are also the days when I look down at 4 and realize I’m still not wearing pants either. But, let us assume for this routine I got the tea on the second try. Then, laughing at myself, I return back to my room to peck at the keyboard and sip my tea.

Sometime around 4-5, my stomach will remind me that I skipped breakfast, as usual. I will typically stop for a cheese sandwich (yes, I laughed like a loon when Margaret Atwood mentioned cheese sandwiches in her recent “tech speech” on publishing), or a ramen or some other snack food. Then, with the stomach placated, I return to my room and keep pecking.

Hubby comes home, so I take more frequent breaks to go in the living room and alternate between cuddling with him and intentionally messing up his game. (He plays Mount and Blade: Warband, and he takes it very seriously.) But by this point in the day, I’m running out of creative steam, so even when I’m at the PC, more of my time is spent staring at Tweetdeck or a browser. Hubby will call me away for dinner, unless it’s my turn to cook, in which case, he’ll come in much later and remind me that if I want to eat, I might want to think about cooking. Then, with food nommed, I return to the room refreshed and ready for . . . a nap in my chair. But before I do, I hit the keys for an hour or two more, just to get the last little bit of work done.

Once the work is all done, I will reward myself by grabbing a book from my TBR pile, or my CyBook, and I’ll read for half an hour or so before bed. By this point, my brain is mushy, so despite the length of time I’m reading, at best it’s 10-15 pages before I’m too drowsy to recall what I’ve read. So I set aside my book/ereader, roll over on my couch, say a final prayer, and then crash for a few hours of rest.

This is a writing day, and during writing days, I won’t do much else besides take breaks to check in with the social sites or read email. I work until fatigue sends me back to my couch for a midday nap, and then I get up and do it all over again. But what if it isn’t a writing day? What other thingies might I be doing? Well, there’s research days, which look suspiciously like goofing off on the web. Granted, there are a lot of times where I need to write to someone for research, like consulting a gun enthusiast about packing shotgun shells, or something similar. But most of the time, I can find what I need using a combination of Google, Wiki, and Ask.com.

Research days and writing days rarely go together. I can do it if I struggle, but it’s just like a bottle of oil and vinegar dressing. The two elements separate almost from the moment I stop forcing them together. I get stuck in the middle, staring blankly at the screen as I debate whether to research a topic further or just run with what I learned.

Similarly, I cannot write and edit at the same time. If I’m writing, I don’t want to be distracted by thinking of what another story needs to be better. I have writing seasons, and editing seasons. I’m in an editing season and have completed final edits on my March ebook release, Confessions of a Zombie Lover, the sequel to Zombie Punter. After this I really want to get back to writing, but I have to continue the editing season just a bit longer to make a second draft of Revival of the Magi, and third drafts of Wereporno and Stark Raving Bonkers. Then, and only then, can I get back to playing with shiny new things.

Editing days look suspiciously like writing days, only with more cringing and self-loathing, and less alcohol. Not much else needs to be said on this.

And then there’s my routine days off, which occurs about every third weekend. Then I get up and try to read while my muse says dreadful, awful things like, “If you died goofing off, you’ll never finish the series.”

Which makes no sense. If I die working myself to death, the series will be just as incomplete, and thus, there is a flaw in the muse’s logic. This flaw has never made her shut up, and so, even if I would rather be thinking about the book I’m reading–not mine, somebody else’s–I’m instead thinking about how I’m going to die soon, unknown, unwanted, and unloved. Like Poe, but less liked by my peers. (Also, my cousin said no when I proposed marriage. Boh.) So, typically, I have a few sips of rum to change my muse’s tune, and I read while she wanders around the back of my head cooing, “Oooh, pretty colors!”

If hubby is in the mood, I like to “drag” him to the couch for late afternoon “inspiration.” Sadly, hubby had a heart attack last month, so right now, I’m stuck inspiring myself. I’m not bad, but hubby is definitely more inspirational, more . . . deeply moving, one might say. Knowledgeable in three languages, he is indeed a gifted and cunning linguist.

But on the days off after I’ve had the afternoon inspiration on the couch, I’ll help hubby make a light lunch and follow it with more rum. I’ll go back to reading my recreational book while I sip a mixed drink: rum and coke, rum and tonic, or a dark and stormy, which is ginger beer and rum. In the evening, I know I’ve had enough rum when the letters in my book are wandering. This is when I switch back to my decaf tea, and then I like to shift from the book over to video games. Yeah, you’d think with ruined hand-eye coordination, I’d avoid the humiliation, But I actually like playing games while I’m sedated ’cause I’m less likely to break the controller.

So we come to the end on my night off, still a bit ditzy from “hard partying.” I head to my couch to crash and recharge for another week of emptying my brains onto blank pages.

Zoe E. Whitten is a writer of weird and dark fiction. She has written many novels and novellas, among them The Lesser of Two Evils, Waiting for a Miracle, and Zombie Punter. In May, Belfire Press will release a duel novella featuring two of Zoe’s sci-fi stories, Adopting a Sex Doll and When a Sex Doll Dies. Later on this year, Skullvines Press/KHP Books will publish her first bizarro story, NINJAWORLD.