Weekly Update

Max Weekly Updates , , , , , ,

Hey readers! It’s time for the news!

I know. It’s been a quiet week. Mostly because my fingers have been busily clicking away on the finale of that Jacob Rocke book. He’s knee-deep into things now, and it’s all but wrapped up. The draft is sitting at around 115,000 words, which is a bit longer than I expected, and there’s some rewriting and adjustments to make before it’ll go into Alpha, but overall I’m content.

Once that’s done (and it’ll be sometime next week; there really isn’t much left), I’ll start on Axtara 2, which I know a lot of you have been waiting anxiously for. It’s going to be a lot of fun, folks. And after that …

Well, might as well drop some other news. Somehow, in the span of a few mysterious hours, One Drink received today over twenty new ratings on Amazon. No reviews, just ratings. No other book received any attention. Doubly strange is that One Drink hasn’t even had any attention recently. I’ve got the sales numbers, and it’s far below the floor set by Axtara and Colony. Yet somehow, in the span of a few hours … boom.

It’s puzzling, so I guess I’ll keep an eye on it?

Anyway, that really is all there is for news this week. It’s been a quiet week, really. Just working on this still-unnamed Jacob Rocke book, and gearing up for Axtara 2.

Oh, and there was the fairy tale I put up for supporters on Patreon. I do have another short planned between the end of Rocke’s latest mystery and starting work on Axtara – Magic and Mayhem. It’ll go up on Patreon next month. No name, but it’s a fun little idea I had that just begged to be written.

And after Axtara 2 … Well, that’ll be for the Patreon Supporters to decide, I think. There are some fun options coming.

Back to work for me! I’ll see you all Monday!

Being a Better Writer: Don’t Get a Sensitivity Reader, Get an Expert

Max Being a Better Writer , , , , , , , ,

I can hear the torches being lit from here with a title like that. Like the Beacons of Gondor, save instead of summoning riders, they’re summoning an unhappy bunch.

And … I kind of get it. Today’s title is a controversial one which just so happens to take a stance that would see you broadly booted from many online spaces without even a question (but with lots of irony).

But as usual, and before with some of the more controversial subjects this series has discusses, I’m asking you, readers, to extend a bit of trust. Yes, I acknowledge that today’s topic will not be to everyone’s taste. As noted above, there are spheres on the web where such a suggestion would instantly see you banned without question, defense, or even time to say “I was just kidding!” Point being, there are people for whom the idea of a “sensitivity reader” is sacrosanct, even more important than an editor or a copy-edit session.

Thing is, this doesn’t usually produce good books, because there are fundamental issues with sensitivity readers and what they do. One that makes them ideologically appealing to certain circles but an unfortunately toxic tool in many instances.

So, let’s dive into it. Let’s discuss the post that’s probably going to be the most controversial thing I write all year. Hit the jump, and let’s talk about why instead of getting a sensitivity reader, you should probably just track down an expert.

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Patreon Supporter Reward and Other News!

Max Weekly Updates , , , ,

Hey folks! Max here with some great news! And well, the weekly news.

For starters, there’s a new Patreon Supporter Reward up! Supporters can find it here. This one’s a short I wrote, a classic-style fairy tale I got the idea for a few weeks back called The Farmer and the Giant. It’s … allegorical. But also amusing. I hope you supporters enjoy it. It’ll be another one for More Unusual Events when I get around to compiling things.

In other news, I’m finally done being sick as of today. I did get some writing done yesterday, but I’m two days behind on Jacob Rocke’s newest outing. It’s in the finale, however, so it’ll be done very soon. At which point I can start working on Axtara 2 …

And, uh … yeah, that’s the news. There’s not much to it on a sick week, unless you want to hear about my Stellaris antics while ill. But that’s what the Discord channel is for.

Anyway, I’ve got some errands to run. I’ll catch you all later! And remember, if you aren’t a Patreon Supporter yet, you can always become one!

Enjoy!

Being a Better Writer: Should You Read the “Pillars” of Sci-Fi/Fantasy?

Max Being a Better Writer , , , ,

Good afternoon readers! Yes, I know today’s post is a little late. Just a tad. And that’s for a reason. The same reason, in fact, it might be a bit rougher than normal: I’m ill today, but didn’t feel like skipping a week of Being a Better Writer. So my mind is a little muddled.

What am I muddled with? Sore throat, stuffy nose, and headache. Oh, and fatigue. Nothing serious. Just enough to make me feel all “blegh” and desire more sleep than normal. So today is not going to be a writing day. But I really didn’t want miss a Being a Better Writer installment, so I dug through Topic List #22 looking for a topic that hopefully wouldn’t take too much brainpower to write up and found one.

Really quick, and with no real smooth transition however, I do want to note the awesome amount of Five-Star reviews that dropped for a couple of books over the weekend. It was a small explosion, actually. One of them, for Starforge, had this to say:

Florschutz at his best … If you haven’t read Starforge–or the UNSEC trilogy as a whole–you owe it to yourself to rectify that injustice.

So yeah, feeling pretty good about that!

Anyway, it was a good weekend for reviews and in general, me coming down with my cold regardless. But, since my brain isn’t quite up to the ordinary task of weaving words together, let’s dive right into today’s topic and talk about whether or not you should read the pillars of Sci-Fi and Fantasy/

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News Roundup

Max Weekly Updates , , , , ,

A simple and sweet plain-old news roundup for this week, folks. Feels like it’s been a while since one of those.

So, what’s happening? Well, first of all, I have some news that might lead to temporary disruption of the site schedule, or at least a few lighter Being a Better Writer posts: My rental contract is up at the end of this month, and I’m fairly certain my landlords are going to be jacking my rent up an obscene amount on the logic of “because we can and we need more money” because that’s exactly what they did last time. With, of course, no improvements to an already less-than-stellar setup.

In other words, I’m looking to relocate, which means time spent checking out new apartments, basements, condos, etc. Plus the actual move itself, which even if about a third of my belongings are still in boxes, is always a pain. The last week of this month might be a little stressful, basically. Just a heads up.

Now, onto happier news. I’m pleased to report that on Amazon, Axtara has brought her review-race with Colony nearly to a tie. As of posting, Colony holds 61 total rankings (and with an average of 4.3 out of 5 atop that). Axtara? Why, she’s just one rating behind, with a total of 60 rankings (and a higher average of 4.8 out of 5)!

Given her speedier progress, it’s very possible that she’ll overtake Colony any day now, but I wouldn’t count the first book in the UNSEC Space Trilogy out yet. See, while Axtara has nearly brought things to a tie on Amazon, over on Goodreads she’s still almost lapped by Colony, her meager 43 ratings nearly doubled by Colony‘s 83. So Axtara‘s winning one race, but the long-term victory still goes to Colony.

Since I’m speaking of reviews and ratings, it’s worth mentioning that a bunch of new ones have swept in across most of the library in the wake of LTUE, as new readers have found—and from the reviews left, greatly enjoyed—their new adventures and discoveries. Starforge in particular seems to have really hit the mark with a lot of readers, being touted as a fantastic ending to the trilogy and a real thrill-ride besides.

That fills me with joy, because I spent a lot of time working on it. If you’re one of those readers that hasn’t swung over to Amazon to pick up a copy yet, I wholeheartedly recommend that you give the series a shot, especially now that it’s complete. I know there are a lot of readers out there that won’t touch a series or trilogy until its complete with a ten-foot pole, and for good reason, considering how much waiting might be had and the risk that a series may never finish. But hey, that risk is gone now with Colony and its sequels, so you can read to your heart’s content!

And if you’re waiting for an audiobook, well … crud. Anyone know how good Kindle’s “Text to speech” routines are these days? Sorry folks, but that’s still on the back-burner. As for paperbacks … Well, how’s this. I promise I’ll take a look at the formatting sometime after my housing situation gets resolved, and see exactly how the whole trilogy might make it into a paperback format, or if it’s even possible with Starforge‘s titanic size.

In the meantime, if you haven’t yet, consider taking part in the race between Colony and Axtara and leave one or both of them a rating/review!

Last bit of news, about what I’m currently working on, past the jump.

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Being a Better Writer: Antagonists Are Not Villains

Max Being a Better Writer , , , , , , , ,

Welcome back once again writers! It’s time for Being a Better Writer, your Monday installment of writing advice and guidance, and today … Well, today is actually a bit of a bump in the queue.

See, I actually had a whole lot of other topics I wanted to explore in the coming weeks, but sometimes something occurs that moves that schedule around a little bit. In this case, the pressure to move this topic up the queue came about due to a very good movie that came out a few months ago.

To be more specific, this post’s position today has come about due to the reactions to that movie found across the internet. I am speaking of one of 2022’s best movies—if not the best—which is Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

Now, if you’re reading that with a raised eyebrow and statement of “Really?” then let me reassure you: The Last Wish is one of those stunning films, not just because you wouldn’t expect a Dreamworks film that is both a spin-off and a sequel that was trapped in development hell for almost a decade to suddenly be one of the year’s best films. But it was. The team that finally drug it out of its painful development has produced one of the best films I’ve seen in recent memory, with stellar animation and yes, a story that is incredibly well paced, thought-out, and brimming with carefully designed, complex and realized characters that don’t waste a second of their time on screen.

It tells a fantastic story, and does it with superb visuals, pacing as tight as a drum, humor, and quite a bit of aplomb. This is a case of a film that didn’t need at all to try as hard as it did, given its spin-off and sequel status, but instead decided to give it its all and produce something greater than any of the films that gave it existence.

Seriously, if you have slept on this film, go see it now. On the big screen, if you can. It’s a feast for the eyes and a finger-licking good story. And with that story comes a bevy of characters, including one that has led to today’s post.

Now, I will warn you at this point, this post is going to discuss spoilers for The Last Wish. It is an unfortunate requirement of our writing topic today. So, I am going to hold off discussing it until after the jump. Now, you’ve likely already been spoiled by the YouTube algorithm, since the plethora of videos discussing this spoiler are constantly appearing on feeds, but if you haven’t been spoiled about one of The Last Wish‘s good twists (which some of you will see coming, recognizing the symbolism, but some I saw it with were still caught by surprise at the reveal) then either prepare to have it spoiled or come back and check out the post after you’ve seen The Last Wish.

Got that? Okay, we’re bringing up the jump now. Hit it, and let’s talk about our topic at last, plus the context behind it.

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An Alert for Starforge Readers – If You’re Seeing Odd Formatting Or the Like …

Max Books!, Misc , ,

Hey folks. Max here with a heads-up about Starforge. That big finale for the UNSEC Space Trilogy.

Well, it appears that it might be a bit … large. And this has led to some issues for some readers.

Okay, let me lay it out to you. Ereaders are not complicated programs. In fact, they’re quite simple. But this can mean that as you progress through a very large book, your reader of choice may start experiencing … oddities.

For example, I first discovered this when reading through The Wheel of Time back in the day on my old Kindle. Sometimes the formatting would get a little … funky. I’d close the book, reopen it, and voila! The issue would be gone.

Well, while doing the copy edit for Starforge, I did find that on one reader, for one format, after a good ten or so chapters, the formatting would have a chance to go … sideways on me. But it wasn’t because the file with the actual formatting was incorrect. It was because the reader itself was just having a bit of trouble after so many consecutive page turns. It happened largely with one format, but today I heard reports that someone else had seen something similar going on and was worried the book had broken formatting or other issues.

Well, it only appears that way, but the file itself is clean. What’s happening here is an ereader program that’s just kind of starting to let little errors pile up, built for 300 page books, not 2000 page ones. And as Starforge is DRM-free, this could especially be the case if you purchased it but converted it to another format.

So, if you’re reading Starforge, and see something funny, maybe broken formatting like odd page breaks, paragraph splits, or justification (text being centered instead of on the left) issues, don’t panic. The book isn’t broken. Here’s what you do.

  1. Back out of the story. Sorry for the interruption.
  2. Open another book with your reader. This loads it into the program’s memory.
  3. Back out of that book.
  4. Reopen Starforge. This loads it back in, right where you were, but without any accrued reader issues.

Voila! Your formatting issues should be fixed. If they are not, then take the more extreme tactic of restarting your ereader program or device. And if that does not fix the issue, try either A) redownloading the file or B) reconverting it to the format you’ve chosen, though if the error appears again, it may be a problem with your converter.

I do apologize for the inconvenience, but ereaders can in some cases be very simply programs or devices, which means errors are generally ignored under the rule of “How long could the book be?” meaning they aren’t usually an issue. And myself being fairly tech-literate, when I encountered the issue during the copy-edit, after confirming that it was the reader and not the file in each case (a fairly simply check), simply fixed it with the aforenoted process and called it good.

However, it did not occur to me that there would be plenty of people who had never encountered an ereader issue like this before and would be befuddled when faced with this.

So, if this has happened to you (especially if you converted the file into a different format), here are the ways to get it taken care of. I hope it hasn’t soured your Starforge experience, and if it helps look at it this way: It’s a limitation of the technology, the same way it would be if I’d printed it bound and your arms had gotten tired all 20+ pounds of it aloft, and you’d dropped it and broken a few toes.

Anyway, I’ll be tagging this on the Starforge blurb on the books page, but if you have seen these issues, hopefully this resolves them for you. Enjoy!

Colony, Jungle, and Starforge – My Look Back at the UNSEC Space Trilogy

Max Books! , , , , ,

Six years.

That’s how long the UNSEC Space Trilogy took. Not for me to write and edit, mind. That time period was even longer—though I do note that I had other, smaller projects in between each book in the series. But even so, six years.

Colony, the first book in the trilogy, released in November of 2016, and I’m sure at the time few expected anything from it, even my readers. Prior to Colony, I’d only released a few books, each of them much smaller and far less grand that what Colony promised within its pages. One Drink and Dead Silver, while respectable, were both regular a novella and novel, respectably. Unusual Events, a collection of “short” stories I’d worked on while editing Colony that made it to print first, had sold a few copies, but not lit any fires (in fact, it remains my lowest-selling work to date by a large margin).

Then, with some fanfare but little attention from the world at large, I dropped Colony. An epic Sci-Fi adventure, first book of three in an at-that-time unnamed trilogy. from an author who had only published Urban Fantasy and shorts? There were definitely a few raised eyebrows. I recall that Christmas, when I returned to my hometown to visit my parents, garnering confused questions from people as to my reasons for jumping genres, or whether or not I thought people would buy it.

By then however, I’d already seen the numbers. November was over, and with it came more money than I’d ever seen in my time as an author. Reviews were rolling in too, readers gushing with praise and urging others to “Buy it, now!” Colony had struck, for my tine authorial imprint at the time, gold. Those readers that had trusted me and picked up the book found themselves “immersed” (that’s a deliberate pun) into the underwater colony world of Pisces, wrapped up in far-reaching mysteries as a search for a missing computer programmer by three complete strangers slowly but steadily expanded into an earth-shattering and action-packed conclusion full of big Sci-Fi ideas and tantalizing hints of what was to come.

Not everyone enjoyed it. A few people left one or two star reviews, citing complaints of one form or another. My personal favorites were two reviewers who each left Colony two stars, one angerly citing that there was ‘too much worldbuilding and not enough action,’ the other citing ‘too much action and not enough worldbuilding.’ But those reviews largely slipped to the bottom, mud for those who fed at that level to sling while above them the rest of the world purchased copy after copy, rapidly outselling every other book I’d released at that time and still maintaining a strong lead today despite stiff competition from one of my other books.

Colony was a hit. By my standards, at least. And now, six years later, by indie book standards as well, its sales numbers well above the average for indie titles.

Oh, and did I mention it was huge? It didn’t shy away from the “Epic” part of its genre. The finale alone ended up being more pages in length than my first published book.

And readers loved it. They loved the characters, with fans evenly split over which of the three protagonists was their favorite character (to this day one my favorite questions when someone starts talking to me about Colony is “Who’s your favorite of the trio and why?” because never has one of the three won out, and everyone always has a wide range of reasons why they prefer Sweets, Anna, or Jake as their favorite protag). They loved the setting, the dark future of Earth, the underwater environs and cities of Pisces, that Colony painted. They loved the mystery, even if some questions went unanswered by the end of the book. They just loved it.

Speaking of those unanswered mysteries, one of the most common questions I’ve been asked about the series as a whole is “When you released Colony, was all this planned? Or were you just making it up as you went along?”

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Being a Better Writer: What Should My Characters Be Doing in a War or Battle?

Max Being a Better Writer , , , , , ,

Welcome back writers … to a bit of an odd topic, I’ll admit. Even now, looking at the title floating there above my text box, I can’t help but note how strange it is … But at the same time, I feel like there’s some value in this one. So, today, we’re going to talk about it.

Is this an odd way to kick off Topic List #22? Well, we’ll see. Sometimes Being a Better Writer discusses strange topics, topics that most other writing advice columns or YouTube channels don’t touch. I think this will be one of them. To those of you that are new to Being a Better Writer, either post-LTUE or from another part of the web, I’d say to stick around, because while this topic looks odd, I think there’s value in it, and you may be surprised what arises from it.

So without any further ado, or without hitting the news from last week or anything else that’s going on, let’s talk about today’s Being a Better Writer topic. Let’s talk about what your characters might be doing in a war or battle.

Hit the jump.

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One Drink Celebrates Its Tenth Anniversary, Plus a Topic Call and Other News!

Max Books!, Weekly Updates , , , , , , , ,

Well, it’s been a long road, hasn’t it? As of this week, One Drink, the first title I ever published, is ten years old. It released ten years ago, on February 20th, 2013. The first step in what would become a much wider, larger writing career.

Where it all began ...

So to celebrate this fact, I’ve made it free this week! Yup, all you have to do is click that cover there on the right, and you can grab a copy of your very own to keep and enjoy.

Sure, most of you probably have it already. I wouldn’t be surprised at this point. After all, it’s been ten years. And in my own personal opinion, it’s not that spectacular a book. Though that’s a point where I’ll be happy to disagree with my fans, many of whom consider it much better written than I do.

But hey, you can’t argue with free!

Better yet, its sequel, Dead Silver, while not ten years old, is on a 75% off sale too. It’s a safe bet that if you enjoyed One Drink in any capacity, you’ll find the sequel an even more entertaining read.

Again, as before, if you click the cover there, you’ll go right to it.

Though I’ll warn you, Dead Silver is a sequel. So I advise reading One Drink beforehand if you haven’t. You don’t have to, of course, but since one is free, if you’re grabbing Dead Silver to complete the set, you might as well read them in order.

Or not. I don’t have any control over that. And I’m well aware that some people like to read things backwards.

Anyway, it’s been TEN YEARS. It’s amazing to think that it’s been so long since I published my first book. Since those days, I’ve seen the world of writing shift and change. I’ve seen publishers people believed were unstoppable titans topple and fall. I’ve seen the authorial view of trad vs indie shift and slide away from the former and toward the latter, right up to the point where we’ve got authors at their peak doing forty-million dollar kickstarters and breaking from their old publishers.

And I’ve watched my books steadily climb in readership. I’ve watched the progression of new readers, new fans, and the slow but steady climb upward, my sales in one month now topping what I used to manage in a year.

And it’s still going. I won’t wax on this for much longer, but I hope most of you can excuse me a little bit of bittersweet satisfaction at how far things have come. It’s been a long ten years. At LTUE’s closing event, a particular speaker who I shall not name-drop spoke of writing and selling books as trying to climb a mountain, only to reach the top and realize you built that mountain, stone by stone. Or perhaps book by book.

They’re right. And while I don’t consider myself near the peak of this journey yet, right now taking a glance back and seeing the mountain of words I’ve assembled so far, with characters like Anna and Axtara, Jake and Jacob, Sweets and Salitore … Well, it’s been a long, steady climb.

But there’s a lot more to come.

Thank you. Readers, reviewers, folks that shared their favorite titles with friends. Patreon Supporters. Without all of you, the last ten years … Well, it couldn’t have happened. A man can build Rome, but if no one shows up, what good is it?

Thanks for reading, folks. And I hope you stick around for the next ten years. Because I’m not done yet. Not by a long shot. There’s more to come, more Axtara, more Indrim, more Jacob Rocke, and even a bunch of new worlds you’ve yet to set foot in.

Thanks for reading, sharing, and reviewing. I’ll build the mountain. You guys mine it.

Now, before we hit the jump for some other news, there’s one more thing I want to address: A Topic Call!

Yep, that’s right! It’s time again. Topic List #21 has reached its end. It’s time for Topic List #22.

Now, those of you that have been around for a while? You know what that means. Hit the comments below and post your topic requests!

Those of you that are new? This is a primary manner with which to request topics for future Being a Better Writer topics!

That’s right! Got something you want covered by Being a Better Writer? Post it! And Topic List #22 will take shape with your questions on it! Then watch each Monday, and your Being a Better Writer request will show up!

That’s all there is to it. So get to the comments and post the writing topics you want to hear about!

Now, on with the other news. Which isn’t much, but it’s news. Hit the jump for it!

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