Authors - "How Independent are you?"

 

What does it mean to be an independant author?

Freedom? Write your way, not the trade way?

Well, here is the list of rules for indie authors --

See any?  No?  That's because there are no rules. 

To truly be an independant author, you march to the beat of your own drum. It's risky, of course, but if readers read your books - Bravo!

Okay, before I drive deeper into this subject, there are a few things that I need to clear up. Number one, anybody can be a writer. It's easy. You write stuff down and presto, you're a writer.

However, to be an author, especially an independant author, you have to invest in yourself. Not just money, but also time; and as we all know, time is far more precious than money.

Indie Authors Need Lots of Hugs

Now, back to the indie thing:

Want a ten page prologue or and index - Check the rules first

Want to use AI for your cover - Check the rules first

Semi- colons, commas, dashes - Check the rules first

I could go on, but you get the point? There are no rules.

That being said, some indie authors seem to forget that there are no rules for the indie. Although, a few indie authors will belittle their fellow indie brethren for the choices they make or do. Strange isn't it? 

The line I like the best - "Do whatever you want, but I would never do that." 

I'm older now, and the world of writing and being an indie author is evolving - so I must incorporate a rule -- 

Rule #1 - As an indie writer/ author - when you write, the words must be your words, your thoughts, your ideas - everything else about getting those words thoughts and ideas to the readers are fair game.

Sorry, I know, rules suck, but that one is an important one. 

Here's the rub of it; if author 'A' is selling a lot of books and they followed the one and only rule - I say Bravo! 

If Author 'B' thinks they cheated or they aren't doing it the right way - too bad - a capitalist will always seek a way to stay ahead of the game, and as an (indie) author or any other kind, sales are a good thing. 

Hackers or AI prompt authors are like processed food - sure it taste good with a few drinks or a glass of wine, but the next day, well, dare I say, no one likes diarrhea. 

Be kind to strangers, because they're strange, and scary too.

Love the one you're with!

j/k

Book Title and the Name Below It

The title of a book, in my opinion, has an unequivocal function - be relevant to what is inside.

Picking a title is a small thing compared to the herculean task of writing a novel, but nevertheless, a vital element that should not be taken lightly. Your work will be remembered by the title and if your story is worthy enough, your name will eventually supersede the title. 

When your name is larger than the title – you’re famous!

I was a novice about such things as assigning a title to a book, and I agonized for days over each one before deciding, but in the end, I was pleased with my choices; and they are relevant to the books.

Writing a Book is Exciting

Vanguard – leading the way of the Trilogy. (It seemed like an appropriate choice.)

Warfolkan – Warrior of the Folk and defender. (Warfolkan was the name of my character  when I was playing AD&D long ago, and he is the main character of the Trilogy.)

Sagacity – profound knowledge and understanding, coupled with foresight and good judgment. (While using my old dictionary one day, and I saw the word Sagacity. I decided to use it to name a character in the story and used it as the title – a satirical name for a satirical character. (I am forever thankful that fate was on my side that day.)

As for my name on the cover below the title, ( I know it’s a famous name) which I often think confuses readers, but at this point in my novel writing career, if someone buys my books by mistake, I‘ll take the win.  

When I was growing up, I’m frequently asked if I’m related to Franz Kafka. No, I am not related to Franz Kafka, although I am big fan of his work.

I did not choose my name, nor would I ever change it, however, I did get to choose the title of the books I wrote, a challenge I pleasantly accepted.

 

Enjoy each day, speak with passion, and climb the rungs of life carefully. Wisdom and Fate walk upon the same path. Absorb the experience and learn from it.

 

“jimmy, if I were to change my name, I suppose I’d go with ‘Outrageous Awesomeness’. Mr. Awesomeness, your table is ready. Hey, Outrageous, how’s it going? Yeah, that sounds outrageously awesome!”   

“Mr. Kafka.”

“Yes?”

“Take your medication.”

“Okay.”

 

-jk-

Broke Punctuation

History of the Punctuation of English Writing

After reading a brief narrative about how punctuation evolved over the years, I noticed it had an eerie similarity to the seven Ecumenical Councils.

Wikipedia Note: The first seven Ecumenical Councils, recognized by both the eastern and western branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, were convoked by Christian Roman Emperors, who also enforced the decisions of those councils within the state church of the Roman Empire. Acceptance of councils as ecumenical and authoritative varies between different Christian denominations. Disputes over Christological and other questions have led certain branches to reject some of the councils that others accepted.

The key words in the above text are enforced, acceptance, disputes, and reject. Let’s translate that to today’s world, shall we?

The Enforcers are the Literary Police whose only purpose in life is to point out mistakes. The Acceptee’s are the Readers; they like a good story and don’t dwell on disputable punctuation. The Disputers are unimaginative 12th Grade English teachers and College Professors; they know everything, just ask them. And finally the Rejecters, they're people like me; we play with punctuation like a child plays with Legos.

Out of necessity, jimmy and I convened our own Literary Ecumenical Council to determine our preferred definitions of all punctuation.

jimmy likes Semicolons

A Period means stop, start a new sentence, go pee pee, get a drink, then continue reading.

A Comma means you need to take a short breath, or perhaps, you just want to be a drama queen, and, add, an excessive, amount of, pauses.

A Semicolon is for adding extra thoughts or for specific, important stuff; or to make a crazy long sentence that takes the readers breath away; hey, you gotta exercise a little bit while reading!

A Colon is for listing things like: rum, coke, ice, and lemon; a cool refreshing drink while reading is vital.

Quotation Marks are a writer’s paradise. Inside them you can say it and spell it however you want. Quotation Marks are like Las Vegas – What happens in the quotes, stays in the quotes. Party Time!

An Exclamation Mark means you're excited about what you just wrote! More than one is redundant!!! , but fun!!!!!!

A Question Mark denotes a question or confusion. What? HUH?

Parenthesis they are a writer's VIP room. You get a peek inside the writers head. Yikes! (See Quotation Marks.)   

Dashes and Ellipses – use them for extremely . . . exciting . . . dramatic pauses, or . . . you simply want the reader to take a . . . breath. Breathing is very important. Dashes are for additional information, instead of a new sentence, or a dramatic pause. 

There you have it! Dr. jimmy says that exploiting and manipulating punctuation is a great way to relieve stress.

Note: Italicizing and Underlining mean you probably should pay attention to those words or sentences; there might be a pop-quiz about them later.

Librarians are the gatekeepers, protecting written knowledge for future generations to study, explore, and repeat mistakes.

“Mr. Kafka; did you reread Homer's Iliad last night?”

“Yes . . . yes I did, jimmy.”

“That explains it.”

“Explains what?”

“Nothing. I’ll make you a grilled cheese sandwich, and then we’ll go take a nap under the willow tree.”

                                         

“Thanks jimmy. That’s a great idea!”

-jk- 

Sept. 15th 2015