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About Me

Yeah, I should have done this way back when. I procrastinate. Now you know.

I've been writing short fiction since 4th grade, back in the 60s. I was first published around the age of 14 or 15, paid $5 for a non-fiction paragraph submitted to Argosy magazine. Opening the acceptance envelope was a proud moment for me.

At a young age, I read a piece of advice from an author I respected, aimed at aspiring authors, advising you to wait until you're in your thirties to start trying to publish fiction, after you've gained some life experience. I wish I had ignored that advice. Before I even reached my thirties, starting with the death of my mother, my life went into a downward spiral, and I couldn't find the energy to write anything as complicated as a novel.

Nearing my forties, I found my way back to the land of the living and the sane. That last one is still debatable. I got back to writing short fiction. Some of it was published by independent publishers. Some of it I self-published. I didn't make a lot of money from it, but I wasn't in it then for the money. I had the unpleasant experience of having some of my work stolen, published by the thieves after stripping my name from the credits, and in some cases claiming to have written it themselves. In one occasion, the thief was someone I had considered a friend, and that especially hurt.

In the late 2000s, I became more interested in trying to make money from the written word. I started an independent publishing company, Eposic Diversions LLC. The first project for Eposic was an anthology of short speculative fiction, titled "The Book of Exodi." I put out a call for submissions, selected the ones I liked, edited the lot, commissioned cover art and interior illustrations, formatted the book, and published it through CreateSpace. You can still find the page for it on Amazon, though it's out of print now. The anthology included new stories from some authors who have gone on to better things. It included one reprint, from Harry Turtledove, who also wrote the introduction to the book. I was super excited to have Harry on the project.

The second project for Eposic began immediately after, another anthology, this one titled "Out of Order." Sadly, my efforts with marketing/selling the first anthology were not going as well as I thought they should. I started doubting myself, and let my doubts overwhelm me. After I had selected and edited stories for "Out of Order," and made payments to authors for them -- and to artists for artwork, I made the decision to cut my losses and bail on the LLC. "Out of Order" was never published. Looking back, I wonder where the LLC would be now if I had stuck with it, and sometimes wish I'd found out.

In 2012, after dropping the LLC, I thought maybe I had garnered enough "life experience" to write a novel. So I started one. I'd made some stabs at novel writing before that, including one win at National Novel Writing Month, but not with a serious intent to write anything publishable. I've been studying the craft of novel writing at an accelerated pace since then, reading book after book, magazine after magazine, blog post after blog post, forum thread after forum thread. I keep applying what I learn to my WIP, and have completely restarted my WIP twice. I think the third time might be the charm. Things better start looking up soon, because I'm already in my sixties. Publishing a hundred novels before I die is going to be a stretch. :) But I'll happily try.
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
Hail and well met Michael K. Eidson
Good to [slightly more formally] meet you!
That first cheque can be a mighty drug.
I once got a royalty cheque [for less than £1]. I had it framed!
In this occasion Yoda was wrong, we can always try...
 

I'm not sure what you're trying to say by posting a single emoticon. Are you calling me greedy? That's a laugh.

greedy: adjective - having or showing an intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth or power.

I do have an intense and selfish desire to live. Most people do. I just want writing to be part of how I manage to survive in my retirement years, which are approaching too fast for my liking. Or I can come knock on your door and ask for handouts. Damn, I feel like Rodney Dangerfield right now.
 
I'm not sure what you're trying to say by posting a single emoticon. Are you calling me greedy? Or I can come knock on your door and ask for handouts.
No dear - it was merely a gest. I hadan actual message, but apparently, I posted without text. My computer is doing all sorts of funky things right now. The text keeps j
umpingI can see where that appears condescending without context ... Mea Culpa.

Who wouldn't want to be paid for their writing? Getting that royalty money is one ofthe most gratifying feelings for any writer (right next to seeing your name in print). I wouldn't label t hat greed unless you feel guilty about wanting to be compensated for your
time and effort (which you shouldn't)... If you want to work for free that's up to you, but now that you have tasted the sweet fruits of paid writing you will never be the same :) Follow that trail of green, good sir. Live long and prosper.

You can try knocking on my door but I probably won't answer ;)

Congrats onyour achieveme nts and good luck in all future endeavors.
 
I don't use emoticons much, other than the smiley face. I usually hover the mouse over them to see what they mean. In the case of the one you posted, it said Greedy. I didn't know how to interpret that. If it had said Money, I would have taken it more in jest. Thanks for clearing that up. Now I don't need to come knock on your door. I'll just stay right here and eat my yogurt and trail mix.
 

LWFlouisa

Troubadour
Yeah, I should have done this way back when. I procrastinate. Now you know.

I've been writing short fiction since 4th grade, back in the 60s. I was first published around the age of 14 or 15, paid $5 for a non-fiction paragraph submitted to Argosy magazine. Opening the acceptance envelope was a proud moment for me.

At a young age, I read a piece of advice from an author I respected, aimed at aspiring authors, advising you to wait until you're in your thirties to start trying to publish fiction, after you've gained some life experience. I wish I had ignored that advice. Before I even reached my thirties, starting with the death of my mother, my life went into a downward spiral, and I couldn't find the energy to write anything as complicated as a novel.

Nearing my forties, I found my way back to the land of the living and the sane. That last one is still debatable. I got back to writing short fiction. Some of it was published by independent publishers. Some of it I self-published. I didn't make a lot of money from it, but I wasn't in it then for the money. I had the unpleasant experience of having some of my work stolen, published by the thieves after stripping my name from the credits, and in some cases claiming to have written it themselves. In one occasion, the thief was someone I had considered a friend, and that especially hurt.

In the late 2000s, I became more interested in trying to make money from the written word. I started an independent publishing company, Eposic Diversions LLC. The first project for Eposic was an anthology of short speculative fiction, titled "The Book of Exodi." I put out a call for submissions, selected the ones I liked, edited the lot, commissioned cover art and interior illustrations, formatted the book, and published it through CreateSpace. You can still find the page for it on Amazon, though it's out of print now. The anthology included new stories from some authors who have gone on to better things. It included one reprint, from Harry Turtledove, who also wrote the introduction to the book. I was super excited to have Harry on the project.

The second project for Eposic began immediately after, another anthology, this one titled "Out of Order." Sadly, my efforts with marketing/selling the first anthology were not going as well as I thought they should. I started doubting myself, and let my doubts overwhelm me. After I had selected and edited stories for "Out of Order," and made payments to authors for them -- and to artists for artwork, I made the decision to cut my losses and bail on the LLC. "Out of Order" was never published. Looking back, I wonder where the LLC would be now if I had stuck with it, and sometimes wish I'd found out.

In 2012, after dropping the LLC, I thought maybe I had garnered enough "life experience" to write a novel. So I started one. I'd made some stabs at novel writing before that, including one win at National Novel Writing Month, but not with a serious intent to write anything publishable. I've been studying the craft of novel writing at an accelerated pace since then, reading book after book, magazine after magazine, blog post after blog post, forum thread after forum thread. I keep applying what I learn to my WIP, and have completely restarted my WIP twice. I think the third time might be the charm. Things better start looking up soon, because I'm already in my sixties. Publishing a hundred novels before I die is going to be a stretch. :) But I'll happily try.

I can relate to this quite a bit, although thankfully when I got published (Tevun Cruz magazine on Wattpad) I was considerably younger.

Nice to meet you!
 
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