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+ advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Opinion, Science Fiction, Writing

The Ins and Outs of Publishing, A Directory of Advice. #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

Okay, so it looks like I’m still getting a lot of publishing questions. These are recurrent questions I get on a regular basis, and while I want to try to respond to everyone who reaches out to me, I don’t want my blog becoming redundant. So I think I’m going to repost this on a weekly basis from now on to help people navigate the publishing world. I don’t really see another way around it.

So if you have questions regarding publishing, PLEASE check below to see if any of this helps you before reaching out. I’m always happy to help, but I may have already answered your question.

Publishing is a tough road to navigate. Please check out the links below. These are previous posts I’ve made about the ins and outs of publishing. They should be of assistance in your journey:

Am I Ready To Publish? This is a must read BEFORE even considering starting the process. I can’t tell you how many authors burned bridges by not being ready.

Editing… There is a Cost That Must be Paid… or is There? You can skip this one if you’ve already had your writing edited (by someone other than you!). However, I’d still recommend reading.

Getting Published… the basics… In this post, we explore traditional publishing vs. self-publishing. Here you’ll get the pros on cons of each and the steps you need to go through in order to be successful in either.

Finally…

Copyrighting my Writing. Am I Protected? This isn’t required reading… however, if you’re concerned about plagiarism, or in the future may need to file a copyright claim, I recommend giving it a read.

Feeling overwhelmed yet? I’d be surprised if you didn’t. The only sage advice I can offer you other than the documents above is simple…

  1. Do not give up. A million “No’s” suddenly become irrelevant if you get that one “yes”.
  2. People will tell you that everyone and their mother wants to publish a book. You’re up against insurmountable odds and a flooded market. This is false. You’re not up against everyone and their mother. Permit me the luxury and I’ll prove this mathematically: First of all, take the entire group of people who want to get published. Now take that number and reduce it by roughly 60%. You just eliminated all the people who want to get something published, but don’t have the time, ability, drive, or inspiration to write. Next, eliminate another 20%. You’ve now taken down all the people who can put pen to paper but can’t afford the time/money to put the work into advertising and getting published. Eliminate another 10% who can’t take criticism and thus aren’t going to be able to get their writing properly edited. Now eliminate another 5% either don’t have the patience for or get discouraged by receiving a series of “No’s” from publishers.
    Now take that last 5% and eliminate all of them, except you. Why? Because they’re irrelevant. You have your writing and they have there’s. Whether or not you get published and how successful you are isn’t about other people’s writing. Yes, in the end, it’s you against one person, you. Whether or not I’ll ever get to buy your book off the shelf depends on you; how much time, effort, and funds you’re willing to put into your writing. So make it good!

Let’s open it up to the floor. Readers, do you have any publishing advice for our friend here? Let her know in the comments!

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

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+ advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Science Fiction, Uncategorized, Writing

Sequel Block and Work-Arounds #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

 

Hi Jim,

HELP!!! I’M TRYING TO WRITE A SEQUEL, BUT I CAN’T COME UP WITH ANYTHING! I JUST DON’T HAVE THE SAME INSPIRATION WITH THESE CHARACTERS AS I DID IN THE FIRST BOOK! I GET HALF WAY THROUGH, AND JUST CAN’T SEEM TO GET THROUGH IT BECAUSE IT BADLY CHANGES THE CHARACTERS PERSONALITIES AND THE DYNAMIC OF THEIR RELATIONSHIPS!

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE???

THANKS,
KHIMBAY

Hi Khimbay,

First of all, you don’t have to shout. Do you know how many internet etiquette laws you’re breaking by typing in all caps? You’re breaking one; Do Not Type In All Caps!

Okay, on to your question… I’m in the same boat. I know that there has been a lot of people asking about Soul Siphon’s sequel and I tried to give the audience what they wanted. However I couldn’t get anywhere with it…

What was holding me up? Well for starters, I spent a lot of time writing Mary Kelly. I was very careful to portray her in a way I think would be like who the actual historical MK was… if she was resurrected and lived for another 130 years. However I couldn’t replicate that in the second story. Why? Because all the mystery behind her was gone. We know about her soft side now, we know that her bitterness was shield against her own problems. I kept trying, but I wasn’t happy with how she was coming out.

The second issue was writing the devil. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get her (yes, HER) right. I wanted her to be flamboyant, outgoing, and an all-around like-able character,  but that came off too much like a certain TV show we all know and most of us love.

So I tried again with the devil, trying to make her lose her memory so that the one lacking her previous history isn’t even and the group is left with the moral conundrum of what to do with the devil, who may not actually be the devil. Again, it went nowhere and I couldn’t get her right in a way that would have made people like her.

So… sorry everybody, the Soul Siphon series is… at this point in time, defunct. Will I revisit the universe at some point, yes. I still have things l’d like to do there, but I doubt it’ll be in the form of a direct sequel.

So… unfortunately Khimbay, I can’t help you as I don’t have an answer to this problem either. My solution is to simply wash my hands of the whole situation and simply say ‘That’s it, no more direct sequels.’

This is something I did with Damnation. I refused to drag the characters from Divinity back out into another adventure when the characters already been possessed, beaten, one had been tortured, raped, and murdered, while the others had been put through LITERAL Hell. I know they’re characters that I just made up, but to me, that’s just cruel, and I’ve honestly seen how mean-spirited writing hurts a story.
However, I knew I wanted to do a follow-up to show the effects of what happened in Divinity and needed to find a way around that. So I created new characters and wrote a whole new story around the events of the previous novel. Yes, a few of the old characters made appearances, but they were strictly cameos.

I’m actually planning on doing the same thing with Drakin: The Story of Raiya after its published. There will be other stories (hopefully many) that take place in the same world. Yes characters from  The Story of Raiya may make appearances (if they survive), and will get honorable mentions, but the follow-up stories will not be about them. A post-apocalyptic world where humanity is recovering from literal decades of bloodshed to the point where they were facing extinction, opens up the possibility to a plethora of stories that can be created. The potential is there and the characters are waiting to be written… and I personally can’t wait. I plan on spending a lot of time in that world. Who knows, maybe we’ll see a familiar face or two along the way.

So that’s my advice to you, Khimbay and I apologize for going off-topic a little. If you don’t want to write a direct sequel, but do want to do a follow-up? Write a new story in the same universe. It’s technically still a sequel.

Hope this helps, but maybe our readers have other ideas, so I’ll open it up to the floor. What does everyone think? Do you have advice for Khimbay? Let me know in the comments.

 

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have multiple published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

 

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+ Heavy Metal, Inspiration, Metal, Music, Uncategorized, Writing

From My Writing Playlist #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

 

 

First of all… I really fucking hate this movie. The fast-paced editing gave me an absolute headache, there were limited original songs, the story was akin to a Disney princess tale mix with the Bohemian Rhapsody, and just… ugh. Nothing but the scenery was worth watching… until the finale. This song, one of the few originals was actually well done. I can’t find the original version where the owner sings the final refrain… the better version, but oh well.

When to listen: Duh… ITS A LOVE SONG! Play it at the conclusion of any love story plot line, even if that’s not the end of the book. Let the romance go out with a bang!

 

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

+

+ Heavy Metal, Inspiration, Metal, Music, Uncategorized, Writing

From My Writing Playlist #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

 

Not going to lie, this one is on my normal playlist. I am a huge fan of Lindsey Stirling and I do like Peter Hollens as well. They do a great job with this song, which is the opening to my favorite game of all time; Skyrim.

When to listen: Fight scenes. Any fight scenes will do. This song has all the dynamic of a fight. A build up, the initial clash, the quiet agony and pushing yourself to continue and the triumphant close. Give it a listen.

 

 

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

+

+ advice, Artist, Belief, Book, Disney, Fairy Tale, fantasy, ficiton, Fiction, History, Inspiration, literature, Mary Poppins, Movie, Script, The NeverEnding Story, Walt Disney

Why do books not always translate well to movies? #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

It’s not always the easiest question to answer. A lot of things go into making the jump from the written word to the big screen. Sometimes it works well, sometimes it doesn’t. Some stories weren’t ever meant to be turned into movies while others seem like they were made for it. Let’s explore some of the reason why a book may not translate well:

1. Scripting issues.
Contrary to some ill-informed beliefs, you can’t just have someone read from the book. You can’t. As a result, a writer has to sit down and turn the book into a playwright that can be acted out. Most often, it’s not the author of the original book that does this and it’s usually not just one writer. As with all things, one writer’s creative interpretations are usually quite different from another’s. This will result in the writer’s ‘interpretation’ through dramatic license of how they think the author’s story is supposed to go.

-A second problem is that while a script may have been sold, it’s not necessarily finished and more writers need to be called in finish the job, more writers mean more interpretations. Sometimes for the better… sometimes not…

-Another problem is a director, whose vision differs from that of the writer. In the end he has the final say and script rewrites can happen here at the director’s behest.

2. Studio Interference.
So you have your story, it’s great, people love it, and it’s well-known. So then you sell the rights to make it into a movie. Congrats, you’re rolling in dough… but now the studio takes over control of the story and the work begins to make it more fitting for the screen. Now some of these changes are obvious and necessary, such as cutting scenes to keep with a shortened run time or perhaps turning large blocks of dialogue into a more visual medium. This is to be expected with every story that makes its way to the big screen.
Books are taken through a lot of dialogue, that’s the medium, but movies are a visual medium and people want to see, they don’t want things described to them.
However… these changes are not always positive and some times they degenerate into a rather blatant form of meddling, adding more sex appeal to characters, perhaps adding in a comic relief character that wasn’t in the book or was a much less important character. Finally, product placement and merchandising comes into play. Once everything is done… the story can way too easily become unrecognizable from the original work.

3. Author interference.
In many cases, when we’re dealing with a more well-known author, extra steps have to be taken in order to get the rights to their books. The writers may make certain demands that the studios will have to work around. They also may often want to appease the author afterwards as there is no greater death sentence to a movie than a poor review from the person who wrote the original story.

This is one area that I’d caution about. If your film does get looked at to be turned into a play or a movie, be careful! Is the money you’re being offered worth having your story cannibalized? Most would say yes, but just make sure what you’re getting into, make sure that you can have your name pulled if you don’t like it, and make sure to have a lawyer read over the contract and negotiate things that you don’t want changed. Otherwise… you end up like these people…

Michael Ende:
This is one of my most beloved movies from my childhood. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the theme of the movie is actually ass-backwards from that of the book it was based on. It turns out that the book was condemning people who get lost in a fantasy world whereas the movie promoted the idea, saying that people no longer dreamed and thus were destroying themselves.
Ende absolutely loathed The NeverEnding Story to the point that he did everything he could until his dying day to destroy the movie. Apparently, the producers of the film hired other writers to do the above-mentioned edits to Ende’s script… completely neglecting to tell him anything about it. Ende was furious when he found out, but because the studio already owned the rights, he was largely ignored.
Ende was so angry that he had his name removed from the movie and proceeded to throw a multi-decade temper tantrum in the form of lawsuit after lawsuit. Ironically as the movie franchise became little more than a $1.99 at the gas station movie bin filler, starring Hollywood nuisance, Jack Black, by the time the 3rd movie came out, makes Ende’s anger seem… almost understandable.

P.L. Travers
I have never heard of anyone hating the movie that was based on their story more than her! She actually hated Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins more than I did!
By no means did she want her beloved story made into a movie and didn’t want Walt Disney’s… tackiness anywhere near it. Walt wouldn’t acquire the rights to MP for nearly 2 decades. It wasn’t until she fell on financial hardship that she finally surrendered the rights. Even so, she fought hard against the movie in almost every aspect. She hated the animated penguins, the senseless made up words, Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, even the color red was objected to. Rumor has it she was also deeply offended by Dick Van Dyke’s accent!
After seeing the finished product, she was so distraught that she went to tear Disney a new one, but there was nothing she could do.
As she began to get on in years, Travers gave her consent for a stage version of Mary Poppins under the very strict condition that absolutely no one who worked on the Disney film could be involved in any way, shape of form. Furthermore, she wanted  only British writers to be hired to write it.
Rumor has it that she went so far as to attack Walt Disney in her will. Making her hatred of the film known one last time… eesh.

So clearly you can see what happens when studios go out of control. So before parting with the rights over your intellectual work in any way shape or form, please know what you may be getting yourself into!

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+ Book, fantasy, Fiction, News, Uncategorized, Writing

Drakin, where to buy, and what’s next? #Writing #Fantasy #SciFi

by Unknown's avatar

Hello all!

I hope everyone has enjoyed The Drakin Series!! Please don’t forget to leave me a review on Amazon once you’re done. That really helps me out a lot.

Copies of these books, as well as my others, can be purchased on Amazon by following this link:

James Harrington’s Author Page

They’re also available at Barnes and Noble, as well as many other places where books are sold!

Please feel free to like and reblog this post. Word of mouth helps us writers out a lot!

Drakin: The Story of Raiya

Book Synopsis:
‘ “Abomination, freak, monster…”  You get used to names like these when you have yellow eyes, horns, and scales, but Raiya could have really cared less.

After being forced into exile because of her appearance, Raiya’s mind has been focused on one goal; hunting down the dragon lord that killed her parents. For over thirty years, humanity has been locked in a struggle for survival against a race of dragons that had fallen from the heavens. They took everything from her and consumed the planet in a fierce war. Humanity’s numbers are quickly dwindling, leaving her few options in the way of allies.

What she doesn’t know is that her journey will strike at the very heart of the Red War and uncover truths about her past that she may not want to know. Can she finish what she started while coming to terms with the truths of her origin? ‘

Drakin: The Orphans of Haven

Book Synopsis:

The Red War may be over, but not all wounds have healed. For Sergeant Radley Zall, the nightmares never end. After years of struggling for survival, he finds himself in a dead end job, deporting wayward dragons to the Exclusion Zone. The horrors of his past have left him a broken man, slowing killing himself in a bottle of whiskey. It’s a wearying existence that many former soldiers have been subject to since the war ended, but for Radley, that is all about to change. Throughout his life, Radley’s hatred of dragons has been unmatched until one evening when a small one shows up on his doorstep. The pathetic creature is emaciated and begging for shelter. Her appearance reminds him of his younger self, compelling him to help her. That uncharacteristic decision forces him to confront his past actions— some of which may have contributed to a sinister plot to reignite the Red War and wipe out the few remaining dragons on Earth.

DRAKIN: An Empire of Ashes

 

Synopsis:

Two hundred years have passed, and the Red War has become a distant memory for most. Dragons and humans now live together in peace… but one powerful woman who has been deranged by her own history unleashes her vengeance on a helpless population.

Now, the world’s only hope for survival rests with Kaori, a naïve and wayward princess of the Eastern Empire. Having been disillusioned with her mother’s rule, she discovers a dark secret about her family that will change the course of history forever. She soon crosses paths with Nayeli and Joaquim, a pair of rogues living within her borders.

Their fight for survival takes an unexpected turn as a shadow of from the past reveals that the situation is more dangerous than they know. The fate of billions of lives rests on these three unlikely companions putting aside their differences to stand against the world.

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

+ advice, Opinion, topics

Three Tips to Improve Your Memory and Other Ideas from Jordan Harry — bellus vita

by Unknown's avatar

I was watching this TED Talk, “How to Read a Book a Day,” by Jordan Harry, founder of StudyFast. He has courses on StudyFast for improving memory and improving speed reading skills. From there I stumbled on the “Three Simple Tips to Improve Your Memory,” also featuring Jordan Harry. Two of them stuck with me, […]

Three Tips to Improve Your Memory and Other Ideas from Jordan Harry — bellus vita
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+ advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Opinion, Science Fiction, Writing

Linear Writing Rule? #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

Hi Jim, 

I was actually hoping you could help me out with a problem I was having. I’m currently writing a book that will be part of an established series. It’s been a pretty good run so far, but I’m worried because this next book actually takes place before the one I just published.  I got this idea fairly late in the game, but want to include it. I’m just worried about publishing my books out of order. What should I do?

Thanks,
Randy

Hi Randy

Prequels and bridging stories are always tough. The hardest thing about them is creating an engaging story, despite people already knowing the outcome. In many cases, unless you’re writing a series where each novel surrounds a different cast in the same universe, I’d recommend avoiding it altogether. However, if you can find a way to tell a story within a story, you may have something there. My advice to you is to look at your story outline and then go back and read the other book. Is too much already revealed? Is everyone going to know what’s going on the moment they open the cover? If your answer is yes, you may want to consider abandoning it or releasing it as sort of a free addendum to the book you already have out. That one is really up to you.

However, if you think that you can make a good story out of the in-between years, then by all means, go for it. The space between one story and the next could easily be a story of its own. Don’t worry about writing out of order. Though it may be slightly confusing for some readers, I think most will pick up on what’s going on. There’s no rule saying that series have to be written in order… look at Lucasfilms!

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

+

+ Heavy Metal, Inspiration, Metal, Music, Uncategorized, Writing

From My Writing Playlist #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

 

 

This beautiful power ballad brings a tear to my eye every time. It has everything an 80s hair metal band would have and more. Definitely one of the band’s stronger songs.

When to Listen: Eh… I mean there are two places I suppose you could. One could make the argument that this could be a song for a romantic or intimate scene, but I don’t.
With lines like ‘The Kiss of Death is All I need, Set me free from the night.’ Yeah this is a death or loss song. I listened to this in the past when I’ve killed off a character that wasn’t easy to part with. Simply put, this song can help push you past the hesitation.

 

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

+

+ Andrew Lloyd Webber, Characters, Fiction, Love Never Dies, Music, Musical, Opinion, Phantom of the Opera, Romance, Uncategorized

Love Never Dies: The Musical Review. #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

I try to stick to the positive… so if you read my blog for writing advice or new books to read, feel free to skip over this review. No one would blame you.

Phantom of the Opera was without a doubt the most awesome music I’ve ever seen! It had everything, action, romance, suspense. and horror. After seeing it at the Wang Theater in Boston Multiple times, my first being one of the early off-broadway casts, one has to wonder, how could anything ruin such a wonderful creation.

Well… Andrew Llyod Webber found a way…
To quote an angry video game critic ‘ya done f@#$ed it up, man!’

Ugh… have you ever watch/read a story that is so great you think that it’ll be a story told for years to come. Perhaps it’s a movie, a play, or a book, where once it’s over, the first words out of your mouth are “Oh wow, instant classic!”
You think the story is perfect. The character developement is complete, all the loose ends are tied up and when the story comes to a close, everything is as it should be. It’s a perfect story with a perfect ending…

Then they come out with a sequel. A totally unnecessary sequel to a story that had no loose ends or loopholes that contains forced plot contrivances, nonsensical character developments that were totally unnecessary and offensive to the senses, and… suddenly the perfect story becomes one you never want to waste your time with again, knowing how it was continued? (Lookin at you Jurassic Park!)

Well unfortunately this happened to me with the Phantom of the Opera. As I said, this was a story was perfect, it was like an old world tragedy dealing with a demented genius who had a love for the theater. He tutored a young singer and eventually fell in love with her. However he eventually falls victim to his own madness and as a result, his love is one that can never be. Angry, he strikes back and tries to force her to marry him. When she agrees, he realized the error of his ways and releases her. It is perfect. You leave the theater thinking, “Wow, that was awesome! Even if it was the 10th time I’ve seen it. Still awesome.”

For years I think since my first time seeing it in 4th Grade, I have loved this play. It was remastered and released in a movie format (NO NOT THE ACTUAL MOVIE) for it’s 25th Anniversary on DVD. The performers were awesome, and the sets and the costumes were beautiful… again… unlike the a fore mentioned theatrical release.

Well then something awful happened… Andrew Llyod Webber, the creative genius behind this masterpiece got greedy. He decided to write a sequel, set 10 years after the original story. According to him this would be a completely new story that, while featuring the old characters and set in the same world, would be completely different from the Phantom and could be viewed without having previously watched the Phantom itself… nice way to cut out your big money maker.
Apparently he didn’t try hard enough because not only does this show feature excerpts from the Phantom, but also partial musical scores. Heck the whole story references scenes from the Phantom! HOW IS THAT SUPPOSED TO WORK!?!?

The basic plot is this… the Phantom apparently didn’t just disappear into ghost form or die, which we all thought. No, he escaped to America where he… opened a freak show carnival. You know, the same kind that he apparently escaped from. UGH!!! Then for some unexplained reason Madam and Meg Giri (reoccurring characters in the Phantom of the Opera)  show up and begin working for the Phantom. Of course, by working, I mean prostituting themselves out to help pay for the carnival.
Meg, an up and coming dancer, and Madam Giri, a sophisticated ballet instructor who was clearly fearful of the phantom.
Again, for unexplained reasons, the Phantom now, 10 years later, launches a plan to lure the now-married Christine Daae to America to sing for him. He posses as a wealthy business man and sends her a letter asking her to come and sing. Well, at this point Christine is a famous opera singer with a 10 year old son and the Viscount, Raul… Yeah you remember, the hero of risked life and limb to save her in the Phantom of the Opera, the childhood friend who vowed to be there for her forever? Well now he’s is a no good drunken loser up to his eyeballs in debt and pretty much living off his wife. He apparently suspects that her son isn’t his and that she… still loves the Phantom… even though there really wasn’t any sign that she really loved the man who was manipulating her in the original play.

See this is what I mean when I say a forced sequel. You have essentially taken the hero, the man everyone looked up to, and needlessly, and unbelievably turned him into a slimy wretch who now will have to play the villainous role that he is totally ill-equipped for. Now it’s hard to watch the original because you know how this hero is going to turn out.

But wait, Andre Llyod isn’t done yet! No sir! Apparently Daae accepts the Phantom’s invitation, though completely oblivious as to who he really is. I’m not going to give everything away but let me put it this way, when she arrives, she is reunited with the Phantom, who makes a startling discovery… their son is a genius and has several qualities similar to the Phantom!!! Does that mean that maybe *gasp* HE’S ACTUALLY THE PHANTOM’S SON!?

Well Christine and the Phantom apparently think so, while Raul’s fears are coming true… Then Christine and the Phantom partake in a musical number about the magical night when their son was conceived. Wait a minute…. WHAT???? Go back and watch the Phantom! When the hell in the Phantom would she have had sex with the guy? When? When she had just met him in the dungeon at the beginning? I think not. After she saw his face? I doubt it since he wouldn’t go near her at that point! After Raul showed up? Unlikely. After he killed Boque? Hmmm… nope! So you’ve basically just created a massive plot hole in your original story!

Anyway, long story short. The Phantom uses his skills at manipulation to try to lure Christine back to him romantically. Raul in a drunken stupor bets the Phantom that he can convince her not to sing for him… the stakes? He loses Christine and their child if she sings. The Phantom pays off Raul’s debt if she doesn’t. Of course he agrees to this with full knowledge of the Phantom’s powers of manipulation. Who wouldn’t just gamble away their family? Also, the song the Devil Takes the Hindmost… really really stinks!
So at some point along the way, the Phantom reveals that he is going to leave everything to Christine’s son…. everything, meaning all the money Madam and Meg Giri worked… indecently to get for the Phantom. As you can imagine, they are not happy about it at all. Meg is especially bothered, mostly because she thought that the Phantom would love her, and it appears as though she has a psychotic episode.
Finally, the Phantom works his magic, Christine sings “Love Never Dies” and Raul leaves… yeah that’s it. He just leaves. No words, no pleading, no tearful goodbyes, he just leaves his wife and child behind! No, I’m serious, that’s it, he is never heard from again in this play!

The Phantom is beyond words happy as he has his love back. But wait, there is still one plot contrivance to go. In a fit of jealousy and anger, Meg appears with a gun and tries to shoot the Phantom. Of course she misses and hits Christine and… well that’s it really. Meg and Madam Giri don’t appear again. Anyway, in her dying moments she reveals that she still loves the Phantom and that she always has… you know, even though he lied to her, tricked her, manipulated her, almost killed her as well as the man she supposedly loved, senselessly murdered two people for no reason, and then disappeared for 10 years. She then turns to her son who is by her side and tells her the truth about who his father is. The play closes with her dying while the Phantom and his son stare at each other. At this point, the screen fades out.

My initial reaction was… WHAT THE HECK IS THIS CRAP!? You have essentially destroyed at least three characters from the original and punched multiple plot holes in the original story. Good God!

Naturally, you can imagine this travesty didn’t go over so well…
Ben Brantley of The New York Times gave it zero stars, calling the production “a big, gaudy new show. And he might as well have a “kick me” sign pasted to his backside… This poor sap of a show feels as eager to be walloped as a clown in a carnival dunking booth. Why bother, when from beginning to end, Love Never Dies is its very own spoiler.”
Quentin Letts of The Daily Mail gave the show a negative review, stating that it “is as slow to motor as a lawnmower at spring’s first cut”. He also criticized the show for lacking in storytelling and romance, stating that it “assumes that we understand the attraction these two dullards [Phantom and Raoul] have for the beautiful Christine. Could she do no better? … In the end you conclude that she simply seeks out suffering to improve her art.”
Susannah Clapp of The Observer was also critical of the book and called the show “drab” and “about as tension-filled as winding wool.” Even the musical numbers, she wrote, “never meld with the visual splendors, never give the effect, which is Lloyd Webber’s gift, of the music delivering the scenery.”
Sam Marlowe of Time Out London gave the show one out of five stars, calling it “ghastly” and “an interminable musical monstrosity”. He observes: “With its sickening swirls of video imagery, pointless plot, and protracted, repetitive songs, Love Never Dies … is punishingly wearisome.”
The show went through several rewrites and was postponed indefinitely from showing up on Broadway… yeah that’s right. A NY stage where plenty of crappy shows appear, was too good for Love Never Dies!

I would personally like to thank Andrew Llyod Webber. The wanton destruction of the beloved classic he gave us was quite extensive and complete! After watching the DVD release of this play on Youtube, I can safely say, I can never watch the Phantom again. All attempts at sitting through it have failed as I know what becomes of the characters after the curtain falls.

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+ Heavy Metal, Inspiration, Metal, Music, Uncategorized, Writing

From My Writing Playlist #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

 

Another one of Edguy’s best. They’re technically a metal band, but I wonder if they would be more appropriately labeled as a ballad or showtune metal band? Honestly I’m not sure.

When to Listen: I have a very specific view of this song. This is a reflection song. What do I mean by that? Place yourself in the scene where you two main characters, your breeding pair if you have one, either meet for the first time, or have a successful first date. It’s a time when they realize that somethings there. So let’s go through a specific set of lyrics: (Starting at 3:12)
One of your characters is walking into her building after the encounter. In fact, have him/her sing the parts… (Yeah I’ve been dying to use the Edguy songs in a Rock Opera).
9-2-9 A number at Sundown
(She leans against the door of her apartment after closing it. )
A Room with a view
(She walks over to her balcony, throws the door open, leans against the railing as she looks out a the city…)
9-2-9
(…and throws her arms up.)
A night to remember!
9-2-9 I’ve been reaching out
(She leans back with a content smile.)
I’m finally home. 

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

+

+ advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Science Fiction, Uncategorized, Writing

What to Pay for When Publishing… #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

 

Hello all,

So this is mostly for the self-publishing people. There’s been a lot of back and forth about how to make publishing affordable. Obviously with self-publishing, there are a lot of expenses and nuances to the process. Sites like Createspace and Lulu make the process easier, but it’s still a lot of work and decision-making.

Below is a list of expenses, what to pay for and what not to pay for… Keep in mind though, this is my own opinion. So if you’ve had other experiences or disagree on where the priorities are, feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.

So let’s get started…

You’ve written your book and you’ve decided to go with the self-publishing route. Awesome! There are quite a few advantages here, but also several disadvantages. I’ve explored these in other topics, so feel free to take a look back through my posts.

Now obviously with self-publishing, you’re going to incur a lot more in the way of up front costs for publishing. Let’s go through them one at a time. I’ll address what each one is, how much it’ll cost, and whether or not you can avoid it.

  1. ISBN Numbers…
    There’s really no way around this one. If you want to publish, you need at least one. If you plan on mulitple formats, you’ll need more than one. At the very least you’ll need 2; one digital, one print version ($100/apiece.) Many publishing services out there will offer you a free one… but you basically hand over the rights to the book if you do that and get less of a return on your investment. You also have limited options as to where you can sell your book.
    In short, you can go with the free option if you’re really strapped, but it could come back to haunt you later.
  2.  Copyright registration
    There are several different trains of thought here. Many argue that the ISBN is sufficient. Others say that it’s worth shelling out the $40 for the copyright to protect yourself in the case of copyright lawsuit initiated by you or someone else in the future.
    With these, I’ve adopted a ‘better safe than sorry’ philosophy. I pay for mine. I guess you can avoid it for now if you must, but remember that if someone plagiarizes you, you’re going to need register your work before filing a claim. (United States).
  3. Cover
    I can’t stress this enough, the cover is likely the most important part of what you’re going to pay for. Plan on a price of between $250-$900 for a truly professional cover design. My advice is to get in good with an artist and set up a good working relationship. They tend to offer discounts with the promise of future work. However DO NOT try to low ball them. I see this all the time and find it disrespectful. They work hard and often don’t get much for their work. Pay what they ask and if you can’t, then try to find another artist who will work within your budget. Either way, ALWAYS pay your artist. A lot of services will offer generic covers… AVOID these. One, other people have used them and two, they tend to be fairly plain and don’t really draw attention to your book.
    Finally, unless you’re artistically inclined, please don’t try to create the cover yourself. It rarely ends well and often looked a lot better in your head. While you can translate your thoughts from energy to the written word, an artist can take that written word and come up with an amazing design for you.
  4. Editing and Reviewing 
    Not going to lie this is fighting with the cover design for the most important piece. A lot of services and sites offer proofing… for a rather hefty price. I know $.05/word doesn’t sound bad… but when your book is 80k to 100k, that $.10 becomes thousands of dollars. If you go this route… be ready because you’re not going to break even on your writing for a while.
    My advice here is to seek out writing groups. There are a lot of people on both good reads and other sites that are as anxious as you to have someone edit their works. Help them and they’ll help you.
    If all else fails, there are plenty of college students with writing or journalism majors out there looking to make some money. They’re usually pretty cheap too ($100-$300).
    DO NOT RELY ON SELF-EDITING! While it is important, and independent pair of eyes is absolutely essential.
  5. Advertising
    This is one where I would say that you can get away without paying… If you’re good at social media. Create accounts on all sites, gain as many followers as you can, and occasionally peddle your works. Get people interested in what you have to say, and they’ll find the way to your book in fairly short order.
    If you need help or can’t navigate social media very well, then go ahead and shell out for the advertising (on average $30/month to $2,000 total)

 

In the end, I would say to expect your book to cost you roughly $800 on average. $400 is the MINIMUM. Anything less… I’d say don’t even bother because you’re going to be cutting way too many corners.

Anyway, hope this helps. We can discuss it further in the comments if anyone has any further advice or questions!

-Jim

 

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have multiple published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

 

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