The revolt in politics follows a revolt in publishing

Several years ago, writers revolted against the publishing industry gatekeepers, the so-called experts, the insiders playing an insider’s game. They were the agents, literary critics, and other hangers-on who were in it to make money, to promote their own agendas, and further the interests of their friends. Suddenly, we as writers were on to them and their game.

So, writers started publishing, publicizing, and marketing their own books, which was something that wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for the Internet. There was a burst of expression, some of it well done, a lot of it un-refined. Things are still shaking out but overall it’s been a boon for writers.

It seems to me that same sort of revolt is now happening in politics. Suddenly, voters are on to the so-called experts, the fakes, the people who’ve been lining their pockets by being self-serving poseurs. You know, lobbyists, pundits, and professional politicos. That old adage, "Pretty words are not always true, and true words are not always pretty," never seemed more true.

As with any revolution, it’s not pretty. Things have to even out again. People have to get over being mad. The inauthentic have to be weeded out. We know who they are. It’s painfully obvious every time they appear on television and proclaim their shifting, self-serving messages, trying desperately to win us back. Those of us who’ve had bad spouses are familiar with this game of manipulation.

I read a story recently in the New York Times about how the GOP elites can still control the situation if they just follow certain guidelines. Has it come to that? People think nothing of openly trying to subvert the will of the people, however misguided their will may be. When the people speak, they speak. That is democracy, take it or leave it. What a writer writes, he or she writes. Both are pure expression, not to be feared. It’s a process and until some stop trying to manipulate what people do and what they think for their own motives, things won’t get back to normal.

My historical fiction series, The Juan Miguel Series (The Legend of Juan Miguel, The Passion of Juan Miguel, and The Return of Juan Miguel), is available online from most book sellers.

Foreign films can teach us about the state of our own culture

If you want to know how cynical our entertainment industry is, watch some foreign films and compare them to our own. Personally, I gave up on American film and television several years ago. I reduced my cable to the basics so I won’t be a complete hermit and I rarely go to the mainstream blockbuster films in theaters.

American films can now be divided into three categories: things that go boom, puerile comedy, and partisan propaganda from Hollywood elites. These just don’t interest me.

How do I entertain myself? I watch movies and television from other countries. Almost any country has better drama than ours does. Better structured plots. More intelligent dialogue. More finely drawn characters. More heart-felt emotions and themes.

British drama is the best, hands down. They are, after all, the land of Shakespeare. But many of the Scandinavian countries also have wonderful television series. Our neighbors south of the border do an array of exciting films, many of them quite controversial and provocative. Asian film is also really good, from its historical drama to its romances and comedic dramas.

Yes, you have to get used to the subtitles, but once you’re over that obstacle, there’s a world of good plotlines to explore. It’s a wonderful way for a writer to see, within a few hours, the differences in plot construction from one culture to the next.

Here are a couple of really good dramas I watched recently—the Dutch movie, “Secrets of War,” and the Korean series, “Secret Affair.” The word secret in both titles is coincidental. One is about a couple of boys during World War II who befriend a young Jewish girl before she’s sent away to the concentration camp. Such a beautiful story and such great young actors. The other is a romance about a young man who’s a talented but poor pianist and his older female mentor. Of course, they fall in love, but the ins and outs of the plot are artfully done and the acting is superb.

My series, The Juan Miguel Series, on Amazon:

The Legend of Juan Miguel 

The Passion of Juan Miguel

The Return of Juan Miguel

On being a published author

Word to the wise: writing and publishing a book is way, way more trouble than anyone could ever imagine.

Having said that, it’s also second only to raising a daughter in good old-fashioned gratification.

The feeling of accomplishment is huge but Oh My Lord, the frustrations. Just when you think you’ve figured out how to structure a novel, then suddenly you’ve forgotten everything you knew. Extend that ad infinitum to designing, publishing, and marketing and dealing with Amazon and Smashwords and iTunes and Book Bub and Goodreads and people who love you and people who can’t stand you.

It’s been a long, hard climb but all three of the books in The Juan Miguel Series are now available on Amazon. And the first book is available on Barnes & Noble, Kobo and other Internet sites for a reduced price.

Thank you to everyone who’s read or supported my books so far. And thank you, Brené Brown, for giving me the courage to go on. We’ve come too far to quit now.

3 Reasons the ‘Look of Your Book’ is important

My own experience is that the look of a book is second only to the contents of a book in importance. It’s that other artistic expression that will sell it, explain it, express it, and hold it in the readers’ imaginations. Tonight, I’ll be appearing on a panel discussion titled, “The Look of the Book” at the Writers League of Texas. I’m looking forward to hearing what my fellow panelists have to say. Here’s why I think the design and cover art of a book is so important.

1)   The cover is the number one marketing tool.

I happen to be a published author as well as a book designer. I’ve been through the marketing paces, so to speak. For my first published book, The Legend of Juan Miguel, which was an Amazon.com bestseller in 2014, I was an integral part of the marketing planning. I learned a great deal from the woman who actually did the marketing. One of the first things she asked me when we began was, “Do you have a good cover? A good cover will make or break a book.”

            Many authors these days concentrate on ebook sales because, frankly, for many of us, that’s where the money is. And ebooks are sold online, mostly through book marketing sites. The first thing browsers of those sites see is the book covers. Sometimes that’s all they see. Many of them judge the books solely on the covers. Or the covers and the first few lines of the sales blur. If the book cover doesn’t catch their attention, the book has no second chance.

2)   The cover image kick starts the reader’s imagination.

Writers—especially fiction writers, but nonfiction writers too—have to catch the reader’s imagination within the first few pages. The story should begin to live in the reader’s mind very early in the process or the reader will close the book and never open it again. The characters and how they look and sound need to come alive in their heads and the book cover often kick starts this process. The reader uses the image on the cover to set the scene in his/her own mind and begin to visualize-fantasize the story. Even a nonfiction book needs to present a good visual for the reader. Thus, all of the photos, charts, and lists often contained in a nonfiction book.

      Without this visual advantage, your readers are swimming in uncharted territory. They’re relying solely on your word descriptions and we all know how tricky description can be. Too much or too little loses the reader. A good descriptive cover image, along with a compatible back cover and inside design, are the author’s main visual aids.

3)   A professionally done design makes your book look professional.

Nothing says “amateur” like a homemade, not-very-good book cover. It’s like broadcasting to the world that you’re just “dabbling” and are not a serious author who’s willing to put time and money into the book’s presentation. Don’t brand your book as a throw-away, unprofessional, amateurish effort by throwing together your own book cover. Your book and you as an author will be forever branded that way.

Visit my book design website, www.idbks.com. My published novels, The Legend of Juan Miguel and The Passion of Juan Miguel, are available on Amazon.com.