Haunting Social Media

Andrea Van Orsouw

Haunting.
It sounds better than stalking.
Because it is.
A stalker shows up outside your house. They look through your mail. They wait for you at your favorite places. They peek in the windows. They want to be a part of your life. A big part.
You close the shades. You leave town. You file a restraining order.
The real world sucks.
Social media is different.
If social media were the real world,

How to Take Criticism

Be as humble in victory as in defeat. 

This week one of my novels won an award, but I did not attend the ceremony. I'd like to say I eschew popular support or that I write for arts' sake or some similar nonsense. No. The truth is, I avoided it. I am very grateful for the selection and pleased that someone not only read my work but was inspired to an opinion. That said, the only way to weather the manic storm of infamy is to watertight both bow and stern against the spittle of the masses.

Authorship is self-motivational. Seldom are we asked to retire from humanity for the lengthy production of speculative work. No, we bring it on ourselves and, whether tortuous or fair, some part of us believes the exercise worthwhile, either for our own benefit or the edification of our peers. I believe the concise word is 'conceit'. For that reason, the best thing that can happen to any author is

Five Promotion Mistakes Writers Make

Now more than ever, all authors must self-promote in order to survive. But how do you do that without irritating your audience? Here are five things to watch out for:

Self-promotion on Twitter. One word. Don’t. This holds for any form of social media. Too often, you see writers who only tweet like this: “This is my favorite sentence from my book! Buy it here: bitly/xy123”. If I wanted ads in my feed, I’d go to Facebook. Twitter is a way to connect and build an audience. To do that, you need to post something the reader finds interesting.

Kickstarter Kicks My Ass

Maybe you've heard of Kickstarter? It's the new diet and exercise program. You worry about pledges to the exclusion of eating and run around looking for donors. It's more grueling than a zombie 5K. But don't take my word for it. Read my recent post over at The Scrib!

Dust Eaters Kickstarter LIVE

Back in college I ran for Student Senate. Voter turnout was low the previous years, so I set a goal: win more votes than the highest voted person last year. I had no campaign manager, no team, nothing. I spoke in front of auditoriums filled with students, published articles in the school paper, inked out hand made signs based on Burma Shave ads paced out to and from the stadium and library.
The result?

Why We Need Horror

I often question the worth of the words I write. Does the world really need another gruesome horror novel? I look at writers like Nicholas Sparks and think, the world needs more writers like that, stories with romance and tension without death and carnage. The world is a tough, brutal place that needs a little light now and then.
A that's the problem.

Read Dust Eaters Prologue

Dear readers,
As I slave away at my next novel, I have to wonder, "Is this any good, or am I indulging in my own little fantasy?" Frankly, I can answer that question myself, but your opinion is equally valid. So I posted the Prologue and Chapters 1 and 2 on Wattpad. I hope you'll do me the favor of providing excruciating, excoriating feedback. What good is horror without a little discomfort, even for the author?
Cheers!
Ronan Cray

How to Win the Self-Publishing Revolution!

Thanks to Ampren7a on DeviantArt

In every revolution there are quick wins and impossible walls, and self-publishing is no exception. That wall stands solidly on the line between the digital and physical realms, and, like any medieval construction, there are defenders and gatekeepers. I don’t know them by name, yet, but I do know the job descriptions. Let me introduce you...

The Problem: Publishers

I self-published. There. I said it. Like most authors, I was frustrated by the traditional method of publishing. It goes something like this:

1.  You send in a manuscript and wait months for someone to review it and get back to you. They get angry if you send it to more than one company, but it could take 100 submissions to find a publisher. A little math: (100 divided by… carry the one…) yeah, lucky to publish one book per lifetime.

2.  “What’s your platform?” That’s the first question a publisher asks. They don’t care if the book is good, what it’s about, or if you wrote the manuscript on a toilet paper roll in one sitting. They want to know how many people you, the author, can bring to it. Reality check: if you had time to write a book, you probably aren’t the most outgoing person. Long periods of fictional introspection trumps social advancement on your calendar. Publishers want the impossible – a popular writer, a contradiction if I ever heard one. (aka. "Why ghost writers exist")

3. Let’s say you convince them you are such a writer, and they publish you.

Ronan Cray Takes Manhattan!

If you happen to duck into St. Mark's Bookshop in Manhattan; if you happen to browse the Mystery section for the likes of Robin Cook, Michael Connelly, and Harlan Coben; and if you find yourself staring into the eye of a hurricane, it's your lucky day! You just found a signed, first edition copy of Red Sand. That's right, Red Sand is now available in stores!

Kickstarter with Emma Larkins and Mechalarum

How often do you get a drink named after your book? For Emma Larkins that moment came last week as she launched her Kickstarter campaign. The Mechalarum, a supreme green concoction mixed exclusively at Chelsea Manor in New York City, launched her guests into outer space just as she launched her effort to publish the book of the same name. Check out her seductive video and pitch in a few tenners here. 

How to use Formulas for Writing

How to Write, Part III 

How to use Formulas for Writing

With an infinite range of characters and plots, how do you consistently make the storytelling interesting for the reader?  Think about a scientific book about the first trip to the moon. The most amazing event of mankind! A feat of engineering genius! The pinnacle of evolution! Yet, your eyes droop, your mind wanders, you reach for the remote. No plot is compelling in its own right. What matters is how it’s told.

Over the years, I've noted some of the techniques other authors use to spruce up their stories, plots, and character development. You’ll forgive me if I make as many film references as I do novels. Scriptwriters are writers too, and in many ways even more attuned to keeping an audience enthralled. Here they are, in no particular order:

How To Write: Part II

The greatest enemy to your unwritten project is you. Your fears, your insecurities, your priorities, your procrastination all block those stories from being told.

Unlike anything else in this crazy world, the written word is always black and white. You're either writing or you're not.

Writers operate under the Newton’s First Law: an object at rest tends to remain at rest until acted upon by an unbalanced force. Journalists have deadlines, authors have editors, copywriters have clients. For an independent or freelancer, getting that push from someone other than a spouse can be hard to find. Who do you have?

Red Sand Book Launch a Success!

Thank you to everyone who suffered a bitterly cold New York night to attend my book launch. As a writer, I spend long hours in front of a computer screen with nothing but Netflix for company. It’s nice to see other human beings once in a while. It was a great night with beer, friends, and frivolity. I admit I really enjoyed the attention! It’s good to see stacks of Red Sand in print, and even better to see those stacks dwindle into eager readers’ hands. My little books have started their journey. Like a sail, they’re meant to unfurl, not to decorate the deck. My aspiration is to spot my work in a used book store someday. A book that holds value through several hands is a success, and only time makes it so. For those of you who missed it, I’m planning another launch in January. Until then, Cheers!

How to Write a Book

My writing desk. If only we had time to write long hand. 

After Red Sand came out, friends and strangers have been asking me, "How did you do it? How did you write an entire book?” With almost 1.8 million book titles on Amazon, I’m hardly unique, but not all of those authors are sharing advice.

I think everyone has a book in them. My only goal with the following information is to inspire you to write a book of your own. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know. But first, here are a few tips:

Rule Number One

Don't Blog Drunk

"Everything mankind does is much, much easier if you're ever so slightly drunk." - The Mitchell and Webb Look.

Don't blog drunk. The reason is, you will write something to regret later. Why? Because society is unforgiving when it comes to our weaknesses. You don't care? You disagree? Certain people disappoint you? You are finding it hard to cope with reality?
Well, fuck all that. Blogging is about expressing yourself. Your true self. The part of you that other people don't hear on a daily basis.
So why blog drunk?

How to Blog

Writing a blog is like being stranded on a desert island, writing a message, putting it in a bottle, and throwing it out to sea, except the island is the entire earth filled with people, the message is electronic so it technically doesn't physically exist, the bottle is one of trillions already in the sea, and the sea is a black hole.

But it doesn't have to be that way.
I haven't been blogging long, but I'm learning, and I'll share what I know with you.