by john | Dec 15, 2012 | Real Life
In the wake of the tragic events in Connecticut yesterday, my heart goes out to the parents and families of the children, teachers and school personnel that lost their lives. I’m not a parent, so I can’t imagine what it would feel like to have my heart and soul ripped out like that. But it brings a lot of emotions to the forefront, a lot of fear, a lot of anger, and a lot of helplessness. And in America, when we feel helpless, we lash out blindly at whatever is nearest, even if they’re our friends. So you’ll see a lot of wide-ranging things on Facebook over the next week or so that will piss you off, hurt your feelings, and make you re-think people you thought were your friends.
Please don’t.
Don’t be the person that refuses to be friends with someone because they are blind on one issue, or because when they feel that an important part of their lifestyle is under attack, that they respond in kind. Take a step back, remember why you’re friends with that person, and see if there’s more than one reason. There probably is. If there are more reasons to be friends with them than there are reasons not to, then you should still be friends.
A very personal example of this is my friend Special K and I. I consider K to be one of my best friends in the world. He’s one of the guys that no matter what I need, I know I can call him and he’ll be there as soon as possible. We disagree politically more than pretty much anyone else I associate with. There’s almost no point in a political discussion that we come down on the same side on. In today’s world of wall posts, de-friending and snap judgements, there’s no way he and I should still be friends. But we are.
Because our friendship is real, and exists outside of a computer program.
Now I’m not saying that simply because you’ve accepted a friend request from someone that you ride the elevator or subway with each morning and have never spoken three words to outside of your commute, that you should listen to any kind of craziness that they’re spewing. But I am saying that if there are people that you’ve broken bread with, drank a beer with, laughed with, and had meaningful contact with – you should maybe not have a knee-jerk reaction to something they spew out on Facebook in a time of high emotion.
We need our friends. We may not need everyone that the computer tells us is a friend, but the real ones are worth more than just a button-click whenever they say something to piss you off. A real friend is someone like me & K, who can argue vehemently opposing positions, but still drink a beer together, watch a football game together, and be there for each other. Friend is a word that has a lot of meaning to me, and it’s used too lightly for my taste, but it’s one of the most important jobs that you can have. Don’t fire a real one over a political disagreement. Real friends argue.
This was not what I planned to write about. At some point in the next few days I’ll polish up my nascent idea for reforming gun control laws in the US that will likely make no one happy on any side of the issue, but I think is fair to everyone. I’m not quite ready to put that out there, and it still feels a little too soon, so I’ll let it percolate for a couple more days. For now, hug somebody you care about.
by john | Dec 13, 2012 | Uncategorized
So in my ongoing efforts to avoid getting a day job, I’m going to start offering more services to other writers here on this blog. There is a huge gap missing in the independent writing scene, and that’s developmental editing. This is the hardest type of editing, the kind that makes writers willing to give up the vast majority of their revenue to New York publishers. This is the kind of editing that every writer needs, and very few places offer.
So I’m offering it. Call it book doctoring, call it developmental editing, call it comprehensive story development, whatever. Here’s the long and the short of it. I offer the following editorial services, all quoted on a per-project basis built on an hourly rate and how long I think the job will take.
Developmental Editing – multiple passes to get the story right. This isn’t a line edit, or a copy edit, and it certainly isn’t a good proofread for grammar. This is taking the book apart and putting it back together. This might include killing off a character that’s not working, reworking point of view, adding or removing fights, nothing is off limits. This is going to be expensive, and time-consuming, and I can only do a few books each month.
Line & Copy Editing – This is where we make sure that the book is written well. We go through and make sure character names are consistent, that weapons tech is correct, that people are the same height throughout the book, that the sentences make sense and we know who is talking and who they’re talking about. This is a lot easier than developmental editing, and I can do a couple of these each week.
Proofreading – This is the grammar edit. We’ll go through the manuscript twice to make sure that everything is spelled right, the commas are in the right places, and that the place names are correct.
Formatting & Ebook Conversion – I can do this, too, and quite inexpensively. I can format for Barnes & Noble, Amazon and Kobo. I can job it out for Smashwords. I can also format your book for print.
I don’t do cover design. You can look at my Bubba covers and see the truth in that statement. That said, if you like the Bubba covers and would like something in that vein, let me know.
If you’re interested in any of these services, contact me at johnhartness AT gmail DOT com.
by john | Dec 12, 2012 | Uncategorized
So hey there. It’s hard to get back in the habit of blogging regularly when you’ve been the kind of slackass I have lately, but I’m working on it. Just wanted to pop by and give y’all a heads up on the classes I’ll be offering and the cons I’ll be attending in the next couple of months. All these classes are offered through Carolina Learning Connection, and you can click the linky to sign up.
December 29 – Self-Promotion and Marketing for the Writer – this is how to use social media to sell yourself, how to market your book, how to dress and behave at conventions, essentially the entire guide to how to sell yourself and your books, all in a 4-hour workshop.
January 5 – The Next Step – What to do with a short story or manuscript after you’ve finished it. We’ll talk about all the various forms of publishing from magazines and literary journals to self-publishing or selling s series to a NY publisher.
January 19 – Self-Publishing – We’ll talk about what it is, what it isn’t, why should, why you shouldn’t, and what to expect from a self-publishing experience.
February 5-26 (One Night per Week) – Novel Writing – We’ll go through the whole thing – the outlines, the pantsing, the character development, the turning points, the two and three-act structure, word count, world-building, the whole nine yards. Then you’ll need to go take The Next Step class to figure out what to do with it.
February 27-March 13 (one night per week) – Short Story Writing – like the one above, but for short stories. Duh.
March 30 – Teaching Self-Promotion again. Most writers need this more than any class I teach. Less of them sign up for it. Silly writers.
Conventions and Appearances –
Sunday 12/16 – Charlotte Comicon – Come on out to our new, larger location and check out this awesome one-day family-friendly con! I’ll be there with books, t-shirts and other awesome Christmas gifts.
January 11-13 – Illogicon 2 – I went up to hang out at this new con last year, now I’m going back as a guest! Should be a lot of fun, but still pretty low-key. I dig low-key.
February 22-24 – Mysticon – This will be my first trip to Mysticon, so y’all come out and make a brother feel welcome!
So that’s what I’m up to the next few months. Come out and say hello, especially this weekend at the Charlotte ComiCon!
by john | Dec 7, 2012 | Real Life, Vampires, Writing
I get distracted easily. By shiny things, loud noises, Magic cards, eBay, Craigslist, Facebook, the like.
Pretty much anything.
And lately I’ve been distracted by looking for a job.
It’s not that the writing thing isn’t working out, it’s that the writing thing isn’t working out quite well enough to support me. We’re not starving (which is evident from my waistline) or in danger of losing our house, but we’re eating through our savings a little more quickly than I’d hoped, so I’m probably re-entering the workforce. It’s not a huge deal, I have skills that people are willing to pay for, and I have an interview on Monday.
So that’s happening.
And I finished most of my Bubba work for the year, except the super-secret Skeeter Christmas story that I’m working on that should release next week, just in time for some ho-ho-hilarity.
Guess that’s not much of a secret anymore, is it?
So that’s kinda what’s going on here. I’m looking for full-time employment, or part-time employment, and working hard on resurrecting a local theatre advocacy organization, and writing a bit, and playing Magic. Now it’s time to go work on the rewrites for Paint it Black.
You know, that fourth book in The Black Knight Chronicles that you guys have been waiting a year and a half for? Yeah, the first draft is done, the revised draft is due to my publisher around the first of the year, and hopefully we’ll get that in your hands early in 2013.
Merry Christmas!
