Why Did I Write "Mai Shangri-La"?

Four Big Reasons...

1. I've always wanted to be a writer (haven't we all?)
2. I'm getting increasingly concerned about the future of the planet - and need to find something I can do that might influence more than just the kids I teach to do the right thing
3. I'm still healthy, involved in my life, and planning to live to 100 (even without dramatic life-extension intervention as seen by some futurists). I've got a vested interest in trying to make a difference for the future
4. At 54 (when I launched the book), I was about to become an official "senior" in some circles, and mandatory retirement is beginning to loom large. I need a second career; something engaging, challenging, meaninful - and hopefully at least somewhat remunerative. My overseas teaching "provident fund" (no pension plan) is not going to allow me to live the lifestyle to which I've become accustomed...
5. Although he was not a factor when I wrote the book, now that I'm trying to market it, my nine-month old son IS. He needs a stable family and a secure future. "Mai Shangri-La" for Reuben James could help finance "Shangri-La North" (my retirement place in northern BC) for my son.

...details coming soon...

Mai Shangri-La - the Blurb

Reuben James Runquist is finally facing facts; at eighty, he's stuck with a retirement condo in an environment that is decidedly "Mai" ("Not" in Thai) Shangri-La. Global sea levels have risen seven meters, plagues have killed hundreds of millions, and worldwide transportation and commercial infrastructures have collapsed. Reuben is reduced to s subsistence existence in the high-tech but questionably secure "Panic Room" of his barricaded condo in Pattaya.

Reuben needs to escape if he's going to truly live out his "golden years" in relative peace and security. By now, though, the Thai central plain is awash in a new inland sea, and Hong Kong tycoon Stanley Lee is ratcheting up the pressure to acquire rights to Reuben's new virtual reality game/novel "StimSim". Reuben's always been his own man, but what are his options? How can he escape global warming AND the clutches of a man who won't take no for an answer?

***

Third Draft'll Nail It?

Well, they never said it was easy. Working through the Proof Copy of Mai Shangri-La has been something of a humbling experience. I finished the first draft in a whirlwind six-month stint where I never missed a writing day, and then, following Stephen King's advice in "On Writing", I put it aside for several months while I went on to other writing projects. Then I printed a hard-copy, read it over again and cleaned up the remaining punctuation errors, grammatical faux pas and basic story detail. I guess I came back to it too soon, though, because when I submitted the second draft to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest, I actually thought it was a pretty clean copy. It's only now, when I'm actually holding what feels like a "real" novel in my hands, that I can so clearly see the many rough edges that still need polishing. I'm almost glad now that I got knocked out of ABNA early on. The MS needs a LOT more work!

And so it's back to the beginning, doing a line-by-line edit and review, rechecking, of course, for things like punctation that's still buggy and adverbs that still dangle obtrusively (see what I mean?) following verbs that aren't specific enough, but this time also stepping back a bit and scanning for an overal narrative flow and story cohesiveness. So far, I'm finding an average of four obvious edit requireemnts per page, and these are taking me anything from five to fifteen minutes to fix, so quickly doing the math, I see that I've got about a hundred hours of third draft work here before I'll be satisfied that I've finally got the thing ready to release. My intent is to get this all done by the end of April - but you know what they say about Good Intentions...

Having just complete the first draft of the second story (the Wayback Machine), I'm also finding a lot of potential for linking back from the second story to the first, and in some cases, this means I need to set these links up a little better in MSL so that bringing them out in Wayback makes more sense. Chalk up another few dozen midnight-oil sessions. Sigh...

It's Real!!!

So far, so good, as they say. The Proof Copy of my first "baby" arrived yesterday. It badly needs some cover art and a quick flip through reveals that it definitely needs another line-by-line edit (how could I have missed so many close-quotation marks and periods?!!!), but it's an actual, 379 page paperback novel. It says so, right there on the cover!

Mai Shangri-La

A Novel

Robert J. Rubis

So far, CreateSpace has definitely lieved up to their end of our "agreement". They've taken my uploaded file, laid it out in a 6X9 format, added a cover, and bound it in a finished product. The rest is just tweaking. I'll hope to complete the next round of editing within the month, and hopefully by Easter, I'll have my first book available (Print-on-Demand) for sale. Exciting stuff!

Watch for "Mai Shangri-La" on YOUR CreateSpace homepage sometime soon.

If Ya Can't Beat Em..

...Call 'em names...

Well, I did refrain from namecalling when I first mentioned the overtures I'd received following my ellimination from the ABNA contest. I have to admit that I was cynical about the motives for offering me a POD contract, and perhaps about the motives behind the ABNA contest in general. I mean, what better way to create a potential client base for a fledgling online venture than to provide several thousand unsuccessful candidates, all dressed up to get their work finally published and now nowhere to go...

But I have to admit that, to date, my dealings with CreateSpace, the POD arm of the ABNA contest, have been nothing but satisfactory. The good people at CreateSpace have been responsive, encouraging and professional, and while they've offered me no "magic bullet" to getting published in a traditional format, I'm inevitably being won over by their soft but supportive approach to finally seeing my completed manuscript actively FOR SALE on their site.

The biggest thing that's deciding me, aside from their quick response time, is the fact that to their credit, so far, there has been no high-pressure sales pitch; although they offer a "Professional POD Package" for a fee of $50, they make no big deal of it. It seems quite ok with them if I want to stay with the basic program. Their offer of a free "proof" copy of my MS seems genuine, as is their promise to create a sales page on their website. My draft copy of Author bio and cover blur is up there now, waiting my final approval after checking out the proof copy they tell me is on the way.

I've long believed in, touted, as a matter of fact, as the only logical way to save the planet, that we harness the power of modern communications technology to eliminate the incredible waste inherent in manufacturing items "on spec", many, most perhaps, of which languish in showroom,s or almost as bad, end up in remainders sales and second-hand stores where the original creators reap no benefits from their sales. Why not develop the capability to produce, on demand, and to the customer's specifications, whatever gizmo, widget or complex machine the customers desires?

The same logic holds true for books. The convergence of POD and Amazon's ability to exploit the "long-tail" of consumer demands is coming into its own - and my book is moving a step closer to being available at CreateSpace as a Print-on-Demand title only. If it's any good, the customer reviews and vast customer outreach potential of the web and Amazon will ensure that it actually becomes a legitimate in-demand publication. If it's basically wasted words, then it probably makes sense for it to simply fade away into POD Heaven.

Watch for it at CreateSpace. "Mai Shangri-La": a novel of the near future by Robert J. Rubis

on the other hand...

...maybe there is... After reviewing the setup steps laid out to get my "free" galley copy of my ABNA entry, I found that it didn't seem like I could get through the setup to the "Order your Free Copy" without choosing the "Enable" button on the "POD with us?" question.

Finally, after reviewing the setup another three times and not actually getting the "ask" for my credit card number (although the "offer" is there to upgrade to a premium package, which will, it says so right in print, MAXIMIZE my profits on any sales of my book!)

So far, this whole venture hasn't cost me a dime (if you don't count my time, and I don't want to even go there...) I decided to call them on it. So, apparently my book will appear on the virtual shelves of an online (to remain nameless for the moment) POD company at the low, low price (set my me) of $24.99 (of which around $3 will be my cut - turns out they compacted my tome into 380 pages, which saves money on copy costs). In exchange, I'm supposed to get my very own, real (paperback bound) copy of my book, shipped to me in the real mail.

We'll see...

Ain't no Free Lunch, Abigail...

I've finally had a close look at the consolation "offer" I received as one of the 4,000 or so Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award "entrants" that didn't make the cut to become official "Semi-finalists"

At a glance, it looks enticing. "Get a free proof copy of your novel" as an Amazon entrant. "...as well as discounted publishing services ... as a benefit of entering the contest." Then there are the teasers, embedded in the flashy text that comes along with the offer. "Set your own price" "YOU choose how much you want to make on your book". What is there to lose, right?

Well, actually, Abigail, there is, if you do the math on the fine-print that follows just the opening screen. Or at least, there's no pot of gold at the end of the POD rainbow.

"Royalty Summary", it reads. Sounds grand, doesn't it? Then there's the kicker.

"Amount earned on sales = Your list price minus our share (shown below)"
Our Share = Fixed Charge $3.15 / unit PLUS Black and White Printing (or) + $.02 / page*
PLUS Share for sales on E-Store +20% / sale PLUS Share for sales on Amazon.com +30% / sale .

When I add that up, it looks to me that if I set the price for my 600 page blockbuster wanna-be at $30, I'm going to earn exactly - WAIT a minute! At $30 selling price (a bit steep, you might say, for a First Novel by an unknown author), I'm going LOSE 15 Cents on every book I sell...

Such a deal. So, Abigail, I guess it's back to the Editing desk. Let's cut that 600 page white elephant down to a 300 page white rhin0. At that size, I can sell the book for $20 (sounds more reasonable, right?) and make a grand profit of 85 cents on each copy I sell. If I BUY at least 50 copies for friends and relatives, I can get my book for the super-delux deal of $18.00/copy.

Maybe I should concentrate on cutting my SECOND book (it's only 300 pages) down to 200. The, with $20 sale price, I'd make the princely sum of $2.85 on each book sold.

Guess I'd better not quit the Day-Job, Abigail...

Writing with the Door Closed

I became a Dad a few months ago. Although this event was not entirely unanticipated (we had tried for three years), when it did happen, it took me almost completely by surprise. Suddenlly, every routine I had established over a lifetime of childless adulthood was turned on its ear. The first to go, it seemed was the writing regimen I had established only two years ago. Luckily, by the time my son made his appearance, I had my first book (Mai Shangri-La) "in the can", so to speak, and my second book at what I estimated was 70% complete.

So much for good intentions. In the seven months since Jr.'s birth, I have completed the first draft of the second book ("The Wayback Machine"), but the second draft rewrite has languished - and my marketing efforts have pretty much dried up on Mai Shangri-La.

"Too long for a first novel," said one publisher. "Too complicated," said one prospective agent. "The flashback technique isn't compelling," said another. "Not my kind of book," said a third, although I HAD carefully (I thought) researched the market to match potential agents with my genre and writing style.

And so, I find myself now with TWO completed manuscripts, and, at the moment, nothing in the way of a really promising publishing prospect in the works. This begs the question, "Should I launch the new book that's been simmering away on the back burner ever since I was halfway through Mai Shangri-La, or should I concentrate on getting something into print to confirm my belief that make the break into the publishing world will, ultimately be achievable.

I'm not a whiner by nature, but if anyone was ever to read this post who can offer a new, sure-fire suggestion for making that first big break, I"m all ears....

Tradin' in my Feather-Duster for a Quill-Pen (figuratively speaking, of course)

The world is going through a paroxysm of change that hasn't been seen since Gutenberg. People are, more and more, "voting with their mice", selecting electronic information services, social networking options and even personal reading selections online from the "virtual" library of everything from the latest news to the current buzz in to the hottest new story offerings.

Recent posts in one of my colleagues blogs (http://talkingtech.edublogs.org/) has me thinking again about the balance between traditional library services and the emerging information-gathering and idea-generating power of Web2.0. The bottom line for me, though, still that Even Libraries 2.0 Need Material

Put another way, even Libraries 2.0 need WRITERS.

I've been tinkering with my own personal writing now for two and a half years. I decided at some point that rather than just REACTING to the things I'm finding in my Reading world (both in print and online) that it was time I became PROACTIVE about the things that are important to me. I've been a librarian now for more than 3 decades (IMPOSSIBLE! - but True) And so this foray into the blogging world. Let the (writing) Games begin!!!

Books that got me REALLY Cranked

This Post was my first entry into the blogging world. It also roughly coincides roughly with the beginning of my attempt to make writing more than a random pastime - and it coincides with a new consciousness about the fragilily of our place in the world as we're recreating it. The books mentioned here had a lot to do with that new consciousness.

"So what did YOU read over the summer that absolutely "knocked your socks off"?

For me, it was T. C. Boyle's A Friend of the Earth. This was published back in '95, but just came across my radar screen this year. Boy does this book give a gritty picture of where we might end up if we don't "get with the program" to address global warming...

Following this, I browsed through my "Audible" catalog to find Atwood's "Oryx & Crake" and went on to read this one too. Another little blip on the environmental literature radar.

Along with this, I browsed through Al Gore's new book An Inconvenient Truth. This is sobering too. I'm waiting to see the movie. "

R. J.Rubis