Jeff Haws

Independent author

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What happens when someone steals your book title?

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When I was getting ready to publish my first novel, “Killing the Immortals,” last year, I did a good deal of research on the title to make sure there was nothing similar in the marketplace that it would be confused with. I was excited about the title, and wanted to have something unique. Fortunately, there was nothing like it out there, so I plowed forward with it last July.

Suddenly, though, I noticed last week that a Bosnian author self-published a book on June 30 with the title “Killing the Immortal.” So, basically the same title as mine. I don’t publish a book for 37 years, put out my first one, and then somebody essentially rips off my unique title within a year. It was a little bit frustrating. [Read more…] about What happens when someone steals your book title?

Behold, as I Insult the Written Word

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Making the rounds of the indie publishing world lately has been this HuffPo piece from Laurie Gough about the scourge that is self-published books, and how those books are “an insult to the written word.” It’s, shall we say, harsh toward indie authors. It’s also typical HuffPo click bait. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s all wrong. [Read more…] about Behold, as I Insult the Written Word

Tomorrow’s News Today … is Out Today

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hitchcock

Yes, the rumors are true. I’ve got a second book out on the Amazon stage. It’s been a different journey on this one than with the first. I knew a bit more about the publishing game this time around. I knew a bit more about my own writing, and how to get this whole thing to work. I’m still trying different things, and I’m a long way from having any secret formula, but I’m hoping I’ll keep learning as I go.

This one’s called “Tomorrow’s News Today,” and it’s hugely influenced by the hours upon hours of Hitchcock and Twilight Zone I’ve spent watching over the past 30+ years. [Read more…] about Tomorrow’s News Today … is Out Today

What’s the Hardest Part of Writing a Novel?

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Mountain

Not much of this whole “writing a book” thing is easy. That’s particularly true if you’re looking to get it published. And sell the damn thing. And even more so if nobody knows who the hell you are, except for your mom, and even she’s not sure all the time. Talk about a mountain to climb, from the first tiny, uncertain steps of just coming up with the kernel of an idea to outlining, storyboarding, deciding on a structure, figuring out who the characters are, writing the first chapter, driving through the parts you think suck, finally finishing a draft, then realizing your work has only barely begun. The hardest part is tough to nail down.

There are plenty of points at which your average person drops out of this particular climb. Lots of opportunities to say “Screw this” and turn on Netflix. I have no doubt that the vast majority of people who talk about writing a novel never start, just as the vast majority of people who start a novel never finish, and most of those who finish a novel don’t sell enough to even make up for their costs, much less make anything approaching a “living.” [Read more…] about What’s the Hardest Part of Writing a Novel?

New Books By Nobodies Don’t Sell Jack

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Sell

In the week since “Killing the Immortals” was released, I’ve been asked dozens of times by numerous people, “So, how are sales going?” These people generally mean well and are just trying to engage with me on the subject of the book, but the answer for pretty much all brand-new authors who have no real platform to sell from and are completely unknown outside a fairly small set of friends, family and acquaintances: “Predictably slowly.” I tend to tell people they’re “trickling in.” That’s pretty much right. It’s also pretty much exactly what I anticipated. There’s a reason new indie authors don’t just quit their day jobs once their book is out. Like any other small business, it takes a long time (and a good bit of luck) to build a following and a foundation for success. I’m a long way from that.

I don’t mind when people ask that. I’ve yet to punch anyone who did so, in fact. I make no promises, but it’s likely I won’t. But, in the interest of addressing the question, I thought I’d take a look at that in this post. Full disclosure and all. One of the things I never could find as I researched the business of publishing was an idea of reasonable expectations. This won’t solve that completely, but maybe it will help a bit. It’s a sample size of one, though, so bring your grain of salt with you. Here we go … [Read more…] about New Books By Nobodies Don’t Sell Jack

5 Lessons from a First-Time Author

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Lessons 3

Writing your first novel is, in many ways, a grueling experience. Some of it, I wasn’t entirely prepared for. A lot of it, I definitely didn’t see coming. Through the process, I learned I was well suited and trained for much of it, and not really ready at all for some of it.

I started writing on the morning of Dec. 19, and it took me right at six weeks to write about 85,000 words. From there, it took me six months to edit it and get it to where I felt like it didn’t suck, and could go out into the world. Sometimes, I got frustrated. Other times, I was excited. Almost all the time, I wanted it to be over, and be where I am today, with a brand new novel sitting on Amazon’s virtual shelves and several positive reviews alongside it.

Here are five key lessons I’ve learned from going through this process. If you ever think about writing a book of your own, hopefully you can learn from the stupid things I did, and do fewer stupid things yourself. [Read more…] about 5 Lessons from a First-Time Author