I love money. I love being able to do the things I want to do without worrying if doing them will prevent me from paying my bills. I love that feeling of clarity that comes with the bank statement telling me that those setbacks that life sometimes throws at me are hardly setbacks at all.
I also love the satisfaction of a job well-done. I love raises, and promotions, and the praise of coworkers and bosses. I love having some structure to my day. In short, I love having a day job.
It’s easy to make the case that we can’t live without our day jobs. It’s even easier in such tough economic times, when it becomes clear to so many of us what not having one is like.
But I sometimes wonder: what if that was all I had? What if, on my deathbed, I realized that the greatest thing I achieved in life was middle management?
What if I had to make a choice between the comfort that a steady paycheck brought and the dreams that defined who I am?
Of course, one of the nice things about our modern society, even in its current state, is that we don’t have to make that choice. I am a writer with a day job. I am able to both pay my bills and follow my dreams. One need not be sacrificed to the other.
Yet knowing how you would answer such questions can help shape your future. Both your day job and your dreams exist in tension because they both compete for your time (what little time is left over from daily living).
It’s easy for us newer writers to frantically scramble for the top in this fast-paced new world of electronic publishing. There’s nothing wrong with that, except that it brings us the unreasonable expectation that if you’re not an immediate success, you’re an immediate failure. It’s easy to forget that there’s still the future in which we can make our mark. Writers are notoriously easy to discourage, perhaps in part because the world wants so badly to discourage us, and now we have sales rankings that can disappoint us every hour on the hour that only provide one more such opportunity.
As writers, our work doesn’t have an expiration date, especially now that the term “out-of-print” has gone the way of the dodo. But even before that was true, many writers had to wait years – decades even – before seeing an inkling of success. Yet still they persevered because they knew that without following their dreams, every other little success they achieved was but part of a greater failure. And fail, they could not. Writing was their lives. Without it, breathing was merely a countdown to death.
In taking the long view, we don’t have to answer the dilemma between day job and dream. It may be hard working two jobs, but no one said this would be easy. Patience and perseverance are job requirements; if you don’t have them, you may want to start thinking about middle management. It may make you happier.
So how would I answer this dilemma? Would I take comfort and security, a life with few surprises and few adventures? Or would I risk it all for the ultimate prize?
If you’ve read any of my fiction, you already know.
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Help me quit my day job!
Read a ripping good yarn while you’re at it!
Today only, my epic fantasy, The Clans: Tales of the Fourth World, is free on Kindle! Click here for more details.
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The Fourth World is ending. Brother Willfonde, the man destined to save it, is dead. Yet he left behind six clues-one historical text from each clan-in the hope that someone could finish what he started. Or so it is believed.
Led by a novice named Kularro, a group of young geniuses is tasked to find what the Magisters of the Church of the Overarch could not: an answer to the riddle of Willfonde’s six texts. Will they be able to find a way to save their world? Or is Willfonde’s final message one of despair?
Rhiannon is a successful independent horror writer who found her way to Tor through an interesting confluence of events. She was kind enough to take time out of her weekend and sit down for an interview.
Joshua Essoe: How long did it take you to get the steam going in your career? Did you ever feel like giving up?
Rhiannon Frater: I’ve been writing since I was a little girl, so I guess it took all my life to get to the point where I am presently. The journey wasn’t just about getting a big break and a publishing deal, but also developing my voice and finding my genre. For a long time I thought I was going to be a mystery writer like Agatha Christie. I was rather surprised when horror ended up being my niche.
JE: Did you ever consider giving up?
RF: I did for about nine years. My husband helped me get back on track. Being an author is a very tough business. You have to have a thick skin, a good support system, and a lot of ambition along with the talent to write, of course.
JE: Of course. Take that one as a given and work on the rest! Who did you learn from, or are you self-taught? Did you take workshops to hone your craft?
I read a lot of books and wrote a lot of books to discover my writing voice. I have also learned a lot from reading the editing notes from my editor at Tor and my indie editor. I also learned a lot about plot structure and character development from being an avid fan of Alfred Hitchcock and Joss Whedon. I’ve been told many times that I write cinematically. Readers tell me that when they finish one of my books they feel like they just watched a movie.
JE: You started indie, you put your books out yourself and collected a following with your As the World Dies Trilogy. Eventually Tor took notice. What was the process you went through to produce your books? Did you hire professional editing, cover art, and book design?
RF: As The World Dies started out as an online serial. It gained a huge following, much to my surprise. The original fans were the ones who wanted to have the series published so they could have physical copies on their bookshelves. It was with their encouragement that I tried very hard to find an agent or a publisher who would be interested in my zombie epic. Instead, I was met with rejection. My husband approached me about self-publishing utilizing the new media. I was reluctant at first, but after a lot of research we felt it was the best way to go about it. A friend did the cover art, I formatted the interior, my husband did the layout of the full cover, and some friends helped with the editing. This was back in 2008 so there weren’t the resources available then that there are now.
I’ve learned so much since those early days. I now have an editor who works with Permuted Press edit my indie novels, I have a professional formatter, and my cover artists are top notch.
JE: I loved the updated covers that you and Tor released. How did things change when you signed with Tor? What are the pros and cons of Indy vs. trad publishing in your experience?
RF: Well, the purchase of the trilogy allowed me to quit my day job and give the full-time writing gig a shot, but what keeps me writing full-time are my self-published novels. I have only seen one royalty statement since the books were published by Tor, which is the norm with big publishers. It’s my monthly royalty payments from Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Audiobook Creation Exchange, and Createspace (trade paperbacks) that pays my bills and keeps me happily writing at home. So even though the bigger lump payments come from the big publisher, the more consistent monthly earnings are from my indie works.
Creatively, the indie side of things is much more in my court. I can write a very long novel with no worries of a word count restriction. I can write whatever I want to write next and not worry about writing a synopsis, summary, etc., to pitch to my editor. The interior design, cover art, and layout are things I have full control over with my indie novels. Tor has been really kind with taking my suggestions for the covers of the As The World Dies Trilogy, but they have final say.
Both publishing paths have pros and cons. I happen to enjoy doing both, that’s why I’m a hybrid author.
JE: You’ve achieved what many indy writers strive for, that big publisher staring you in the face and telling you you’re good enough. First of all, it must have felt amazing. Second, do you think it’s necessary? What do you think of the gatekeepers and what is your advice for new authors trying to decide what route to take, and what steps along that route?
RF: In my case it has definitely been worth it to traditionally publish. The initial advance money gave me the freedom to pursue a full-time career. I have also enjoyed the editing process with my editor at Tor. I’ve learned a lot from her. Because the books were published by Tor, Publishers Weekly reviewed The First Days and it received a Starred Review. Also, many people who have never heard of me gained access to my books because they were on the shelves of local bookstores.
What’s nice about self-publishing is that the books that Tor may not want can still find their way onto the e-readers and bookshelves of readers. Big publishers have to buy what they feel will sell to a wide audience. I may come up with an idea that they think is awesome, but won’t sell. Those books don’t die in the back of a writer’s closet anymore.
The best advice I can give up-and-coming writers is in the F.A.Q. on my website.
JE: How big a part is the social aspect to the success of a writer’s career? Did you go to cons, workshops, seminars, meet particular people, pitch, plead or beg?
RF: Everyone’s path to success in writing is different. I know of people who have taken every writing class offered in their area, traveled to workshops, seminars, etc…. They even know a lot of writers, agents, and publishers from constantly networking, but they don’t have a book deal. There are also people who write their first book, send it to an agent, and have a seven figure deal two weeks later. There is no set path. There is no magic key.
In my case I self-published, a producer saw the cover of my second book and thought the character looked like his wife, he bought it, loved it, optioned the series, and the next thing I know I have an entertainment lawyer referring me to a literary agent in New York. I had an agent by Thanksgiving, she pitched in January, and I had a deal with Tor in early March.
JE: That’s amazing. Your latest, Pretty When She Kills, came out last month. How is it being received, and what is your next big project?
RF: I actually returned to the old vampires. My vampires are scary and kill people, but holy relics and sunlight are deadly. The series has been gaining quite a fervent following since True Blood gave us back the scary bloodsuckers. The reviews have been really awesome and I hope the third book will bring a fitting end to the trilogy.
I’m wrapping up my latest project for Tor right now called Dead Spots. It’s a really bizarre horror novel that I absolutely love. Once I turn that in, I’m probably going to return to the Pretty When She Dies universe and write the last book in the trilogy, along with a side novella.
JE: Sounds intriguing. I love the title. Now, for the serious. Complete this sentence: “Like I said…”
RF: …kill all the things.
Guest Writer Bio: Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the As the World Dies trilogy (The First Days, Fighting to Survive, Siege,) and the author of several other books, including the vampire novels Pretty When She Dies, The Tale of the Vampire Bride, and the young-adult zombie novel The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters. Inspired to independently produce her work from the urging of her fans, she published The First Days in late 2008 and quickly gathered a cult following. She won the Dead Letter Award back-to-back for both The First Days and Fighting to Survive, the former of which the Harrisburg Book Examiner called “one of the best zombie books of the decade.’ Rhiannon is currently represented by Hannah Gordon of the Foundry + Literary Media agency. You may contact her by sending an email to rhiannonfrater@gmail.com.
Lately I’ve been experimenting with telling short stories from different points of view and in different tenses than my usual preferred method, and wanted to share some of my perspectives.
First person past tense
“I felt the damp air of the cave close around me like a shroud. Beside me, Tina gasped in surprise.”
First person feels…well, personal. The reader is very quickly drawn into the main character’s world. The intimacy of a viewpoint taking place from behind the main character’s eyes lets me easily imagine how it would feel to be that person. On the down side, first person-past or present-means we have only one window onto this world.
It’s often awkward to switch between first person narrators, which is why most stories written in first person are told entirely from one character’s point of view. This can prove a trap for the writer if s/he needs to convey something to the audience that the narrating character can’t possibly know. If major events are happening out of the narrator’s knowledge, it can seem contrived or confusing when their effects are suddenly revealed. There are also no opposing viewpoints to counter your narrator’s ideas and perceptions. Make sure your first person narrator is interesting enough to deserve a whole story about “me, me, me!”
I admit, I love unreliable narrators. That moment when as a reader, I pick up on little hints in the narrative suggesting that the narrator is mistaken/missing something/mentally unsound just give me the shivers. Unreliable narrators are difficult to do well, though-making the distinctions between the narrator’s perception and the actual reality can feel heavy-handed if done too obviously, while if it’s done too subtly, many readers might miss it entirely.
First person present tense
My high school English teachers made a point of “curing” their students of the urge to write in first person present tense, for example:
“I run into the mouth of the cave. My heart pounds and my lungs constrict.”
During my university years, first person present tense became the language I used while roleplaying, acting out my character’s words and actions literally as they happened. I never would have thought to write a story in this tense.
Imagine my surprise when I opened The Hunger Games.
Today, trilogies from the Hunger Games to Fifty Shades of Grey are written with this sense of the immediate present. In a novel like the Hunger Games, the present tense adds to the sense of urgency, creating the illusion that the narrator might die at any time-after all, this story is being related as it occurs, as opposed to a past-tense framing which would make the story sound like a tale told by the narrator after the fact. If your story needs that urgency, first person present might work for you, even if it’s less common than past tense.
Want to win one of the LAST of the limited-edition hardcover copies of “Drawing out the Dragons,” personally signed by James A. Owen? Post on twitter (#JAOfreebook), fb, in our comments section, or anyplace on the internet about someone/something that inspires you, mention James and this fictorians post, and let us know about it in our comments section. For each mention, we’ll enter your name in the drawing. The winner will have their signed book shipped free of charge. We’ll run the contest until midnight, Thursday Oct. 18th, and announce the winner Friday morning, Oct. 19th. Play today, and tell a friend. James Owen’s book is for writers, artists, and anyone with a dream to achieve. It even saves lives.
One of my greatest inspirations was my older brother. It may sound cliche, but the situation won’t. At the spurring of his wife, my brother earned a degree in accounting. He hated it, didn’t earn his CPA, and after a year teaching in a small high school in Northern Arizona, he divorced, started working construction to pay the bills, and remarried. As their kids grew older, his wife suggested it was time to pursue a job he liked. She worked extra hours so he could enter a training program, and he now works as a helicopter mechanic. In his forties, he made a complete career shift and he loves his job. It was his dream.
Sometimes, we think achieving our dreams means a big paycheck, a prestigious academic piece of paper, or celebrity status, but I don’t think that’s the point. Achieving our dreams is working our butts off so we can do what we love. I like the part in Disney’s motion picture, “Tangled”, where they sing about having a dream, especially the really big guy who wants to collect miniature unicorns. That seems simple and pointless to some, but the point is, there’s no dream too big or too small, every dream is individual, and we’re never too old to engage in its pursuit.Your dream is not mine, but we gather here at fictorians because we have similar dreams–we want to write. Our goals may be different in what we want to achieve with that writing, but the story drives us. I once expressed the great sense of belonging I feel at writing conventions. James Owen smiled at me and said with absolute understanding, “You’ve found your tribe.”
Yes, among you, my friends, I have found my tribe. Thank you. Now, go forth and fulfill your dreams for good, whatever they may be.
