Congratulations on the recent release of your first novel, The Adventures of Stanley Delacourt: Book I of Hartlandia. How does it feel to be a published author?

Thank you so much for your well wishes, Mr. Schmidt! It feels very gratifying to finally have this book in the world. It’s been in my head for nearly ten years, hollering to get out!

Can you tell our readers a bit about the novel?

Ten-year-old Stanley Delacourt loves his quiet life in the peaceful village of Meadowwood. At least, he does until his best friend is killed. Then the town library—where Stanley lives and works—is burned to the ground. The individuals responsible for both tragedies are a nasty group of soldiers. They work for the kingdom’s new leader: Christopher Siren.

No one understands the rules Siren’s creating. They don’t know why breaking them means death, or why the leader is so keen to destroy books. And no one can figure out where the former queen and king disappeared to—or if they’ll ever return.

With the grown-ups too fearful to take action, Stanley vows to confront Siren. He plans to get answers and demand justice. Little does he know that his journey will involve sword-wielding knights, kidnapper fairies, and dark magic.

Stanley has only two allies back home. One is an intimidated witch named Meredith. The other is a young apothecary called Sophie—who may have enchantment problems of her own. Can they help him discover the reason behind Siren’s crimes and end this terrible reign? Or is Stanley set to become the next victim in the tyrant’s evil plot?

If you enjoy the fantasy works of Rick Riordan, Lemony Snicket, or Philip Pullman, then explore the world of Stanley Delacourt today!

Although the book is set in the fictional Hartlandia, the story begins in the village of Meadowwood. I couldn’t help but be reminded of The Shire and other literary towns that time forgot. Where did you draw your inspiration from for these worlds?

It’s funny you reference works like The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings—that’s sort of the feeling I was going for. Not to copy Tolkien of course, but to return to that need for home deep within us. I specifically wanted to create a timeless world where nothing changed—until adventure came calling!

As the title suggests, in the book we’re following the journey of young Stanley Delacourt, a shy, quiet, but precocious boy. He’s obviously had to grow up a lot faster than most kids, but it’s obvious he still has a youthful fascination with the world. What was the thought process that went into creating this character, and do you feel like he’s an identifiable figure for any particular type of reader?

The character is a combination of someone I knew in real life, and my own relationship with the world. Specifically, Stanley is the part of me that is (was?) afraid to take a chance. Some of us won’t do anything outside our comfort zone unless we’re pushed to. And as you can see from your reading, Stanley is definitely pushed! I think shy, quiet kids (and some adults) can relate to him, as well as anyone who wants to escape the real world . . . but can’t.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you plan to turn this book into a trilogy. Do you already have the entire adventure mapped out, or is the story still evolving?

You are correct, sir! The Adventures of Stanley Delacourt is indeed the first of a trilogy. I have the adventure mapped out for Book II of Hartlandia, but Book III is still evolving. However, I am planting seeds in Book II that will sprout into exciting things in Book III. The most exciting part is . . . not even I know what they are yet!

Without giving too much away, will Stanley’s journeys give readers a glimpse into the full world of Hartlandia? You mentioned earlier that ‘need for home’ that Meadowwood provides to readers, so I’m wondering if you will continue to come back to that setting.

Wow—you ask very insightful questions! Rest assured that I will flesh out a great deal more about Hartlandia. I plan to do this throughout the trilogy, as well as other novels, novellas, and short stories that take place in that world. Meadowwood remains a setting throughout the first and second volumes. However, in the third one, the main characters will once again have to venture outside their comfort zones and leave the village.

Ilana Waters, author of the Stanley Delacourt series

You also mentioned earlier that you had this book in mind for 10 years. What was the tipping point in getting you to write and publish it?

I finally got to the point where I had to follow my dream of being a writer. I was in a very stable job, but it failed to satisfy me (to say the least). I thought I’d got what I wanted. But when it wasn’t enough to make me happy, I decided to take the leap into something that did. To my delight and surprise, Stanley was waiting. 

What are your thoughts on the Young Adult genre in literature today? Obviously big name series like Harry Potter or The Hunger Games have made people of all ages take notice.

I think the Young Adult (YA) genre today is fantastic. I wish we’d had books like this when I was a teen. I mean, we did to some extent, but not nearly in the numbers we have now. There were a few Middle Grade (MG) and YA fantasy authors, like Tamora Pierce and Patricia C. Wrede. But most literature—especially fantasy—was aimed at adults. If you were younger and not up to that reading level, there was little from which you could choose. Now we have things written at all levels, being enjoyed by all ages. It’s a great time to be a writer for young people!

I’m big on technology, so I’d like to know what you think about e-readers and self-publishing methods that allow more authors to get their works to more people. What has this done for you personally, and do you feel like this is necessarily a good thing for the industry?

I used to despise technology. Then, with a lot of practice (and more than a little hair-pulling), I slowly realized its benefits. I think a lot of this had to do with online shopping.

And that’s sort of what e-readers (and free e-reading apps) are all about, in a way. The bridge between authors and readers has shortened considerably, making for a much more streamlined experience. What this has done for me (and countless other authors) is let us launch new careers over which we have complete control. Of course, it also comes with a ton of work, but I think the freedom is worth it.

I also think the new technology is a great thing for the publishing industry in general. Readers get more books faster and cheaper. Their money is then freed up to pursue traditionally-published books as well, so that side of the industry benefits. Really, I think whatever is done to get people reading more can only be good for the business side of things.

Readers can pick up Book I of Stanley’s adventures right now, but when can we expect to see the sequel?

I’m hoping to have the sequel to Stanley out sometime in 2013. But before that, I’ll have a Hartlandia novella and short story made into e-books. Oh, and a vampire paranormal romance as well—really! Because I heard there was a shortage. So hopefully, readers who enjoy Stanley will have something to tide them over until that sequel!

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Mr. Schmidt, for having me on your site! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

© 2012 – 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

In our latest interview, The Indie Mine talks with author Michelle Barclay. Barclay recently published her first novel, the horror story Morrigan’s Shadows. In the interview we discuss her genesis as a writer, what inspired her novel, and some of the valuable lessons that all new writers must learn. I hope you all enjoy.

Michelle, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. You’ve had quite the interesting journey to becoming a writer including leaving high school early, becoming a cook, and moving from coast to coast to coast. When did you know you wanted to be a writer, and what made you finally make that leap?

I knew I wanted to become a writer around the age of ten. I always enjoyed school assignments that involved writing and I was an avid reader. My mother is a poet and I have several writers in my family, so I think it was hardwired into me. However, what made me start writing for the fun of it was my little sister Mindy. We shared a room when I was that age and she used to con me into making up stories for her every night at bedtime. She particularly loved ghost stories and witch stories, so I told a lot of them. Finally, I sat at our desk and started writing them. I think the first written one was called “The Witch’s Hand,” though she might remember a different title.

I finally made the leap to becoming a writer when I got sick about five years ago. I got some awful bug while on vacation that hung around for a few months. I couldn’t keep up with the cooking and was bored at home, so I started writing. I eventually found my niche and found ways to make it a career and I have not stopped since.

In your day-to-day life you write non-fiction, mostly involving history. How does the fictional writing process compare to that?

Writing non-fiction is a careful process. You want to make it your own and include your observations, but you always want to adhere to the facts and find good sources for those facts. You spend most of your time reading. Only a small fraction of what I do is actually writing. I’m always learning and finding the most interesting information for my readers and clients.

Most fiction writing requires very little research, so I am doing much less reading to prepare for a novel. It is also very personal. It is like writing your daydreams on paper and showing them to other people. With non-fiction, I can put what I have out there and discuss the contents of it from an outsider perspective. With fiction, everything about it is me. Everything that happened in that piece first happened in my mind. I guess that is the best way I can describe it.

Which do you prefer and why?

That is a tough question. Each has its own pros and cons. However, if I had to choose between the two, I would choose fiction. Non-fiction is informative and what I write can be helpful, but fiction gives people an escape. If one person reads a novel I have written and finds it engrossing, I have given that one person a story to get lost in and given them enjoyment for however long it took them to read it. Because I cherish the countless novels that have done that for me, but remember only a handful of non-fiction books as providing that, I have to go with fiction.

Well let’s talk about your first fictional novel, Morrigan’s Shadows, which recently made its debut. How would you describe this horror novel?

I would describe it as a horror novel that uses elements of mythology and dreams to allow reality to shift for the protagonist Morrigan. It has themes of romance, loneliness, horror, fear and friendship.

You mentioned earlier about how fictional writing is about the author. What part(s) of Morrigan’s Shadows are you?

Well, the idea for the novel came from my love of writing unreal landscapes into existence. I used to write blurbs about settings that I never made into stories. I would just create oddities. There were no characters, just places that l felt were the characters. In addition, since I was a child, I have had very vivid, seemingly long dreams. At least one of the nightmare sequences in Morrigan’s Shadows takes place in a setting that I frequently revisit in my own dreams. Also, I chose to make Morrigan a chef because I could easily relate to a main character who spends all of her time in a kitchen. It made her more real to me and more like a friend.

I feel like most artists and creative types are hoping to reach their audience by creating a particular connection often through introducing a lesson learned or by evoking a particular emotion. What do you hope your readers get out of Morrigan’s Shadows?

Well, I think the most base emotions I strive to evoke are those associated with fear. If I can get one person to leave the light on just a bit longer, I have done my job. It would be nice for people to be as fascinated by the landscapes in Morrigan’s Shadows as I am, as well.

What was the experience like getting your first fictional novel out there for the world to see?

Oh, it was terrifying. Having people read my fiction to me is like being naked. I actually never intended to publish it. It was just something I wanted to write. Then, someone very dear to me begged me to let him read it for several months. When I finally did, he urged me to publish it and so I went through that process. Now that I have, I am very happy that I did. Even if only one person likes it, I should give him or her the chance to read it, I think.

Well now that you’ve overcome that fear, what else do you feel like you’ve learned from the process that you think will help with future projects?

I put aside Morrigan’s Shadows for six months after the rough draft before I even re-read it. I think that was a good move and I will do that with every novel from here on. It is good to get a fresh perspective before editing and then again before publishing. As for the publishing process, I learned that it can be fun and will go into in the future with more enthusiasm.

I noticed that you’ve already started work on your next novel. Are you ready to reveal any info about it or are the details a secret?

Well, this novel is going to delve into the story of another character that I am excited to write more about. It is going off in quite a different direction, but it is a necessary path to take for this series. I will likely have more to say about it once I am closer to publishing. I am not very good at keeping secrets and if someone is excited to know, I will be excited to tease them with little details, so stay tuned.

Are there any specific authors out there that you feel inspire you as a writer?

Well, I have to go a little cliche here and say Stephen King, firstly. His work ethic is very inspiring. I would love to be as prolific as King some day. Another is Ray Bradbury. To me, Fahrenheit 451 is among the creepiest novels ever written. The feeling of suspense, of seeing a character sneak novels like one would hide away a dirty secret was very thought provoking. I would love to be able to evoke such feelings in a reader. Lastly, Harper Lee. She wrote one novel. One single novel that burned her name into American literature forever. She did not have to write a lot. She just wrote the best. Also, Atticus Finch is my favorite character of all time.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

You are going to have to get to the promoting, editing, slashing, burning and sharing part eventually, but do not rush it. It all starts with writing. Sit down and write. Do not think about where the words are going to end up while you write them. That would be like a midwife stressing about a child’s college fund while bringing it into the world. Focus on your story. Worry about the rest once you have one.

I want to close today by asking is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers who might be interested in checking out Morrigan’s Shadows?

Thank you for checking it out. I enjoyed writing it and hope you enjoy reading it. I do wish it will make you squirm a little at least once.

Readers interested in checking out Morrigan’s Shadows can find it available in paperback or Kindle versions on Amazon, or through CreateSpace.

© 2012 – 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Hi Andy. We’re here to specifically talk about your novel The Darkening Dream, but before we get into that I’d like to discuss Andy Gavin the author. You’re probably best known for being a co-founder of video game studio Naughty Dog. Can you tell us a bit about the journey that took you from there to becoming an author? When and how did your interest in writing begin?

From at least high school on I always intended to write a bunch of novels. Work just got in the way.

And the thing about making games is that you can no longer do it mostly by yourself. These days, most games are big teams of over a hundred people, with budgets over 50 million dollars. It’s no longer about your creative expression (most of the time), but about getting it done well, on time, and on budget. And the role of team lead is largely about fire fighting and resource (achem… people) wrangling.

So, I really wanted to focus directly on the creative aspects. Dozens of story ideas have been bouncing around in my head for years, and I felt it was time to let a couple of them out.

Have there been any times where you began to doubt your future as an author?

Of course. Fundamentally I believe in the strength of my writing and I get enough positive feedback to support that, but novels have a visibility problem. There are hundreds of thousands published every year and only a few rise to popularity. I’m pretty confident that a lot of people who read my books will love them, I just worry that not enough will find them.

Have you considered going back into game development?

I occasionally evaluate what that might mean. I love video games. They are also very creative, and it’s a bigger industry dollar-wise. But games today are also large projects that take a lot of money and people to get started.

You’ve had a lot of interests over the years and you seem to really dive into whatever creative field it is you’re currently working in. Knowing that, I’m curious if you have any opinions on the self-publishing scene?

I never do anything halfway. So in 2010 I read about 20 books on publishing and query writing and spent hundreds of hours researching and querying agents. Since I’ve self published one book and also have a real literary agent (my second book is on submission to New York) I know a bit about both.

The traditional route is all about waiting and bashing your head against a wall. You query and query, investing time and emotional currency, only to get back very little feedback. I eventually landed a great agent, although it took two books to do it. Then you submit and wait and also get very little feedback. With self publishing you have control of your destiny. I think with The Darkening Dream I made an A quality product. It’s heavily edited and proofed, professional typeset, and has a brilliant cover by acclaimed fantasy artist Cliff Nielsen. I have a great Kindle edition, a beautiful trade paperback, and a gorgeous hard cover edition (rare for an Indie book). But the marketing and sales arena is new and constantly shifting. There is no guaranteed way to get it out there and advertising is not very effective for novels. So you have to be creative and lucky.

Let’s talk about your first novel, The Darkening Dream, which released earlier this year. It’s a dark fantasy novel set in early twentieth century Salem. What made you settle on both the genre and the time period?

When I started writing the book I wasn’t thinking YA/adult, I was just thinking about my story. I find this age based slotting to be a recent and artificial construct of the big chain bookstores and marketing departments. Regardless, I like to read books with young protagonists, and you write what you like to read. In some ways, the meta idea of The Darkening Dream is a twisted gritty historic reinvention of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which is my favorite television show of all time). I wanted to emulate the angst and wonder factor of dealing with newly discovered weirdness as a young person, but also ground the entire story in researched and “real” magic and occult, and “sell” it via a very hardboiled and matter of fact style.

As a history buff, I’m always thinking, “that could have been so much better if they didn’t make up the historical backstory” so I started with the villains. What kind of ancient evil creatures might still be around? What do they want? And what legitimate human reason would they have to destroy the world (which is so Buffy)? I don’t exactly answer the question in TDD, because the motives of 5,000 year old baddies should be mysterious. But trust me, they have a plan, and the sheer audacity of it will literally shake the foundations of the heavens.

The focal point of the novel is Sarah, a young girl coming of age and fearing the pressures of what that brings. Were there any challenges in writing a young, female lead from that time period?

I chose 1913 for a number of reasons. I wanted a time before mobile phones and the internet and a time when people’s knowledge of the world left a little more room for mystery. Additionally, as I always intended this as a series with long lived (achem… immortal) characters, I wanted some runway to cross through history. I also loved the idea of a “vampire in the trenches” so I stuck it right before World War I.

Fundamentally, I think I settled on a female protagonist because of contrast. A bookish female is the less expected character in the role of budding sorcerer and central pivot. I enjoyed trying to get inside the female head. They’re more exotic and foreign. I like exotic and foreign.

There are a lot of different supernatural elements to The Darkening Dream. Did you have any particular literary or religious influences that helped shape the story you created?

The book has a bunch of themes, but one of the overriding ones is the relativity of belief. Each religion, and even esoteric belief structure, has its own lens through which to view the world. I wanted to envision a system that made real the myriad magical and supernatural ideas people have historically held. But how to properly envision a world in which vampires, the Archangel Gabriel, witchcraft, and Egyptian gods all exist? Many writers might just toss them together arbitrarily, but I wanted to find a framework consistent with traditional mysticism. Having read hundreds of religious and magical texts I have identified numerous consistencies in the thought patterns of the esoteric mind. I have a more extensive write up on my magical researches here.

What was the experience like finally getting that first book out the door? Relief? Fear? Triumph?

After nine or more drafts, total exhaustion. Like a game release, it was very anticlimactic.

Judging by Amazon and other sources, the reviews seem overwhelmingly positive. Do you feel like that’s an affirmation that you’re doing just fine? Is it inspiring you to try even harder? Basically, what’s your reaction to the feedback you’ve received?

Reviews have been great. About 50 professional and blog reviews have been posted and eighty-seven on Amazon. The overwhelming majority are positive, even some going as far as to say it’s one of their favourite books ever. A few people love the book but don’t love the ending. But even Publishers Weekly, notoriously hardass, gave it a starred review and said, “Gorgeously creepy, strangely humorous, and sincerely terrifying tale.”

It’s gratifying that a lot of people seem to get what I was trying to do with the book and enjoy it.

What audience do you feel like your novel is targeted at? Who do you feel would get the most enjoyment out of it?

The book has a couple different audiences. At one level it’s a fast paced horror story packed with action, pretty solid characters, and even a bit of dark humor. I tried to marry a fairly hardboiled realistic tone with some pretty wild and dark stuff. The overall effect is pretty creepy and should appeal to those that like HBO fantasy dramas (True Blood, Carnivàle). There’s also a lot of interesting history and religious and occult detail in there which appeals to an older more historically oriented audience. But I tried not to ever let it bog the story, which (at Renni’s insistence) just moves and moves. Finally, the book has young characters and some romance for the younger fan of urban fantasy (Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher).

You’ve already been hard at work on your next novel, Untimed. In what ways has the writing process for that novel benefitted from your experiences writing The Darkening Dream?

I learned a tremendous amount while writing (and more importantly revising) The Darkening Dream. I used these lessons to make Untimed a stronger and more sellable novel. In early drafts TDD was too long and too unfocused, so for Untimed I chose a single first-person point of view. This helped focus the book. I also worked to make this voice unique and individual from the start. It’s unclear how much this matters to readers, but agents and editors love “voicey” prose. And perhaps most importantly, I went with a more high concept story that begins with a big hook and a dramatic inciting event in the first chapter.

Do you have any advice for up-and-coming authors out there?

Read, read, write, write, edit, edit, edit. And hire good professional help too. Friends and family can give you a sense of how the book reads, but they can’t usually tell you how to fix anything serious. I’ve read a lot of half-decent Indie books on my Kindle that are at their core good, but just need some serious tightening and polish. Hell, I’ve read plenty of big-six bestsellers you can say this about.

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us today.

If you’re curious about The Darkening Dream, you can read the first couple of chapters for free via the official website.
 For updates on Andy Gavin and his future projects, be sure to Follow him on Twitter and Subscribe on Facebook.

© 2012 – 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

In our latest interview, I talk with Aaron Jacobs and C. Brian Hickey about their new urban fantasy/horror anthology That Weird City, out now for the Amazon Kindle. We connect the dots between H. P. Lovecraft and Robert Howard, discuss black magic and other forms of tech support, and dig into the workings of the indie writing world.

The Indie Mine: Aaron, C. Brian, thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Before we get to That Weird City, can you talk a little bit about your backgrounds and how you started collaborating?

Aaron: Hello, and thanks for having us. My background is that I’ve always been writing weird shit – one of the earliest stories I remember writing was as a seven or eight year old, getting Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials as a birthday present from my father and putting together some strange story where an Old One (which I took to mean like a crotchety old man alien) takes his half alien, half husky The Thing out on a walk and discovers buried treasure. Based more on the illustrations and names than any sort of cogent background info, but I like to think that writing the equivalent of HP Lovecraft/John Carpenter mashup fiction before hitting puberty gives me a leg up on the weird horror/fantasy. Since then I’ve just been writing down every bizarre thing my brain comes up with, and that’s how I mesh well with Chris. I’ve known him for… Christ, close to a decade now and most of that has been us badgering each other to write more. We decided last year that our styles are complementary, and that maybe if we both jumped at the same time we’d have enough false bravado between the two of us to actually self-publish something.

C. Brian: Yeah, I come from that same sort of early childhood brain-rewiring. When I was little, my dad had this great big box of pulp novels from the ’60s and ’70s–tons of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Howard’s Conan stories, maybe a little Lovecraft–and even before I could read, I’d get the stories from those gorgeous covers. That set the tone for the sorts of things I read as a kid; while the other children were getting the The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, I was sneaking Stephen King into my bookbag instead. It wasn’t until I was thirty, though, when a buddy of mine let me read Harlan Ellison’s Deathbird Stories, that I knew I wanted to be a writer. My discipline was for shit before then, so I think the idea landed on me at the right time.

Besides, and I think Aaron will back me up on this, if you have the predisposition to write, and you don’t do it, you go crazy.

The Indie Mine: With those influences it’s not hard to guess the overall shape of That Weird City, but Howard to Lovecraft is a rather wide range. Can you tell us a bit more about the book itself, and what catapulted it into the “write or go crazy” level for both of you?

C. Brian: I blame Aaron.

One day last year, he suggests we do a little experiment. Ten stories, five stories apiece, six thousand words per story, kick it up to Amazon, see what happens.

ONE YEAR LATER

Aaron: I think that in spite of the wide range, one of the coolest things about Howard and Lovecraft is how they buddied up and interwove their stories together so that Conan and company could have conceivably lived in the Lovecraft universe. Bran Mak Morn certainly did, what with the Worms of the Earth. I promise this isn’t a random pulp fiction tangent; that interwoven feeling one of the elements we tried to bring to That Weird City, and in fact provided some of the inspiration for the book. We thought it would be cool to take a bunch of the most mundane, normal things in the real world (GPS nav systems, technical support, DJing) and put together a common mythology of strange things happening behind the scenes. Sharing a universe gave it a bit more weight too, made it feel like the whole planet could have bizarre stuff happening right under our noses instead of an isolated case of two like traditional horror stories. Once we decided to use that as a skeleton for the anthology, everything grew very organically. We brainstormed a handful of possible story ideas and they all sounded too cool not to write, if that makes sense.

C. Brian: Also, bear in mind: “write or go crazy” wasn’t just the battle cry for this collection. It’s often said that writing isn’t a career; it’s an affliction, and I think that’s absolutely true in our cases.

The Indie Mine: As a fan of short stories in general that’s really interesting; I’m only a few stories in and didn’t realize you’d deliberately put them into a shared universe. Do you have any plans to come back and add to that world, or have any favorite ideas or characters you want to revisit?

Aaron: We kept them deliberately separate so it wouldn’t feel like some kind of novella with disparate chapters, but there are some key phrases and themes we try to keep consistent throughout, based mainly off Chris’s Jason December serials. He has some cool ideas on the astral plane and outsides that I had to rework some of my stuff to adhere to. I’d definitely like to revisit some of the characters I came up with for this, though. I have some twists on the vampire legend that I had to cut due to pacing problems, and I want to expand upon the idea of magitechnical support in general.

The Indie Mine: I remember waiting for each Jason December story to show up on Weaponizer, so I’m excited to hear you’re both expanding on that world. Switching gears for a moment, what was it like moving from a web-based serial to print? Any lessons from your run on Weaponizer that helped make That Weird City a reality? Any changes or challenges you didn’t see coming?

Aaron: I’ll let Chris take this one since he has the experience with actual serials instead of just shorts and flash fiction, but I do think even doing the one-off pieces for Weaponizer were fantastic prep for That Weird City. Good training for deadlines, handling criticism and putting work out in front of a large audience without having a panic attack. I will say that working on That Weird City made me want to try some serialized stories myself some day, if I can tear myself away from novel-writing long enough.

C. Brian: I always think of Weaponizer as physical therapy for my brain. I was coming off a long blockage, and submitting stuff was absolutely key in getting my discipline in line. The serials were an evolution in that, having the confidence to try longer-form fiction.

The Indie Mine: That kind of discipline must come in handy when you don’t have a publisher waiting for a draft. What can you tell us about the process of publishing independently? What did you learn along the way?

Aaron: That it’s never as easy as it sounds at first. When we went into this, we were quite literally thinking “we’ll write this up in a month, have it edited a week after that, and then upload it.” MONTHS LATER, here we are publishing and promoting it. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing, as our product would have been absolute trash without the polish we’ve have time to put on it. The other major thing, while it hasn’t directly impacted us yet, is reading up on self publishing and finding that it really is a bit of a wild west scenario out there right now. It’s very difficult to attract attention without a professional advertising campaign just because of the sheer amount of books going online at an hourly basis, but at the same time traditional publishers are as selective as ever. When you hear about breakout self publishers, they’ve typically gained a fan group through traditional publishing (or more rarely, sheer force of personality) and then splintered off to do their own thing with more freedoms and greater rewards for the risk, ala Trent Reznor.

C. Brian: The most important thing we’ve learned is that you don’t need anybody’s permission to do something like this. With the channels opening up, and the technology opening up, if you want to make something–a book, an album, a podcast, whatever–you can just go do it. That’s a powerful thing.

The Indie Mine: That’s one of the most exciting aspects of the indie community; we see so many great ideas that might never have seen the light of day a few years ago. Plus, when we talk to indie game developers, it seems like the community is very willing to share information and advice to help other creators. Does the wild west mentality dominate the independent writing community, or did you find a similar level of support?

Aaron: I think that it’s been very supportive. There’s a whole slew of sites out there dedicated to self publishing advice, for free, and almost always advocating that new writers try to make mutually beneficial connections. There’s this vibe I’ve gotten from the self publishing community as a whole that eschews the more cutthroat world of traditional publication and prefers working together as creators. I forget the site that said it, but back when we were originally researching one particular quote really stood out to me in regards to twitter advertising – authors should always retweet and help each other out, because it’s better for someone to sell some stories than no one.

C. Brian: Everybody we’ve gone up to with a question or for advice has been extremely helpful so far. I think the Wild West metaphor only holds up as far as people racing to stake a claim in a new frontier. If you’re clever, and have a good product, you can make a little money. If you’re lucky on top of that, you can make a whole lot of money. As long as you don’t go in looking for a big payday, you’ll do well.

I honestly thought we’d only sell maybe ten copies, and use it as proof-of-concept. Everything beyond that is extra.

The Indie Mine: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers who might be interested in That Weird City, or with other writers considering independent publishing?

Aaron: The best advice I can offer, honestly, is to just go for it. It’s easier than ever to put your stuff out there to read, and if you have a good story bubbling inside you it’s criminal not to take advantage of just how simple and risk-free self publishing has become. There really is no better feeling than selling even one or two books. And if anyone does decide to buy our book after reading this, thank you in advance and I sincerely hope you find it enjoyable.

C. Brian: Agreed. In most cases, it’ll cost you nothing but your hard work, and who knows? You might hit it big.

The Indie Mine: Aaron, C. Brian, thanks for taking the time to talk with us, and best of luck with That Weird City. We’ll look forward to seeing what’s next for both of you.

C. Brian: Thanks–this was fun!

Aaron: Yeah, thanks again for having us. It was great.

© 2012, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.