Tuesday, October 23, 2007

My long, strange road to becoming a published novelist (Part IX)

(This entry is the last of my nine-part chain that began as a guest blog on author Gabriella Hewitt's blog and continued on through six others to author Jamieson Wolf’s blog, before ending here. Click here to return to Part VIII.)

I’d have to say that all the time I spent on editing and polishing paid off in the long run. The first drafts of either of the two books I sold (or my later ones) would never have passed muster. It was the endless, painstaking editing that made the difference. (That and critiques by other authors on critiquing web sites, and readers who’d liked some of my short stories and wanted more, that forced me to keep improving my writing.) Remember that, if you ever feel the urge to “leave it to the editor to fix.” Trust me, you’ll never get to the editor unless the manuscript is in reasonably good shape to begin with. It’ll be rejected long before you get that far.

As for my novels, The Mars Imperative (formerly Lichen or Not) was published in June 2007 (available in paperback from Amazon, and in ebook format on Fictionwise.com), and The Tesserene Imperative (formerly Tesserene) just came out this month (October 2007). I’m still editing and polishing Sunrise Destiny, and I finally finished the first draft of My Other Car is a Spaceship in July 2007. (All the editing and promoting of The Mars Imperative took its toll on my writing time in June and July. The 27,000 words I wrote after signing the contracts took me almost as long as the 85,000 words I wrote before then.)

Now that I’ve sold Lichen and Tesserene, it’s time to get back to work on Reunion, the third book in the trilogy (which will eventually be renamed The [something-or-other] Imperative). That is, if I can find some time to write betwixt and between all the promoting I’m doing….

Clearly, the route I took is the not the traditional one for getting published as a novelist. But with the advent of micropublishers, print-on-demand (POD), self-publishing, ebooks, and the like, there are more routes to getting published than just the “find an agent and wait while they try to get a major publisher interested and then wait some more” route, which can take many years, if it ever happens. Any of these routes could be the “right” route for you. Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities, but don’t wait for opportunity to knock—seek it out. (And, of course, selling that first—or second—novel isn’t the end of the journey. It’s only the beginning.)

In the end, I may not be the astronaut—or baseball player or pirate—that I wanted to be as a youth, but—almost as good, and much safer—I get to write about them, and indeed have, in various books and short stories. And, I get to share those stories with others. What could be better than that?

My books are available from Amazon.com/Amazon.ca (paperback), Fictionwise.com (ebook), and other retailers. Or visit my web site at http://tesserene.com.

(Now that you’ve read this nine-part blog chain, what do you think of the idea? Leave me a comment and let me know. Also, please spend some time reading the other entries on the other blogs. There are some terrific authors represented in this chain.)

To begin with Part 1 of this story, click here to jump to author Gabriella Hewitt’s blog.

Mark.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Blog chain, Tuesday Oct. 23, 2007

Join me on a journey to find out how I became a published novelist. Each leg of the nine-part 'round-the-world (three times!) odyssey will be hosted on the blog of another published novelist.

Part I of "My long, strange road to becoming a published novelist" begins on the blog of author Gabriella Hewitt (Japan). That blog entry contains a link to Part II, hosted by David Boultbee (Canada), which in turn links to Part III (and back to Part I), hosted by Joyce Anthony (USA), and on to the blogs of Suzanne Kamata (Japan), Karina Fabian (USA), Ron Berry (USA), KS Augustin (Malaysia), Jamieson Wolf (Canada), and then finishing up here, on my very own blog (USA), which includes a link back to the beginning (Part I). All nine segments should go live by 8:00pm EDT on October 23, 2007.

Please join us. This should be fun. And while you read each entry,
I hope you'll take a moment to check out the other blogs. These are some terrific writers, in several different genres, whom you may not have encountered before.

Mark.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

The Tesserene Imperative is now available!

The Tesserene Imperative, the follow-on to The Mars Imperative, has just been released in ebook format. Currently, it is available on the publisher's website.

Shortly, it will appear on Fictionwise.com. Then, in a few weeks, it will be available in trade paperback format, from Amazon.com and other booksellers.

For more information about either The Tesserene Imperative or The Mars Imperative, please visit my web site at http://tesserene.com.

Mark.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

More reader reviews for The Mars Imperative

Just in the last few days, a couple of readers have posted brief reviews of The Mars Imperative on Amazon.com, as follows:

The Mars Imperative is a great adventure. I loved it when McKie found a type of life form waiting for discovery. The lichen provides the missing link necessary to reestablish an atmosphere that may support life on Mars. Mark mixed some nice intrigue, drama, and romance along with a touch of Hollywood fame. Well done! I'm proud to have an autographed copy of this wonderful book.
E.S. Thurman

I enjoyed the book very much. It was a fast paced book that was also an enjoyable read. I enjoy sci-fi that doesn't talk down to me that is explained in such a way that I feel like I'm always in the loop as I'm reading!

Mr. Chapman is going to be a voice to be heard in this genre!
Author Erin Gordon

Thanks, E.S., and Erin, for such kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed the book so much.

Mark.

I'll be appearing in Sci-Fi Octoberfest 2007

Author Gabriella Hewitt has graciously asked me to participate in her Sci Fi Octoberfest 2007 blog. Throughout the month of October, you'll find interviews of myself and seven other authors and bloggers, including Susan Grant, David Boultbee, Christine d'Abo, Heather Holland, Liz Kreger, Bev Katz Rosenbaum, and Angela Sci Fi Chick, along with some guest blogs. (The interviewees represent an intriguing mix of sci-fi, romance, and YA fiction.)

Please join us and learn my deepest, darkest secrets, such as if I were a Star Trek character, which would I be, and why? Or what three things would I take with me right before being evacuated from a doomed planet? These and other immensely intriguing questions await you at Sci Fi Octoberfest 2007, where I'll also be talking about my first novel, The Mars Imperative, and my upcoming second novel from the same series, The Tesserene Imperative.

Mark.