FROM THE CAT LAB: THE HOBBCAT BLOG

EBOOKS: WHAT WORKS FOR YOU?

2012-02-17T01:35:00.004-05:00

E Books have started to become the rave in literature. For a one time price a reader can download their favorite books, magazines and newspapers to their ereader device (Kindle, Nook, Sony, IPad) and enjoy reading their titles. The added bonus to having the ability to get their favorite book anywhere at any time is that they can carry as many as the device can hold at one time.

These devices are also changing things with self publishing. Now a writer can directly upload their books to the systems servers, set a price and start to bring in a return. But a question I often get from writers; Are publishing ebooks better than traditional publishing? Well, let’s compare the two.

I broke down the system of getting your book put together in another blog. With the exception of having to do a layout for your book, everything else still applies. You want your work to be at its cleanest so you cannot avoid those first steps. Having your work edited should always be a must and you do need to have a cover for you book to attract customers.

The major differences between traditional and ebooks is pricing and printing.

There are no printing costs with EBooks. You do not need to keep boxes of books in your home to sell, no print on demand necessary nor to you pay a storage fee for distribution. The technology now has the customer simply download the book to their device.

If you need to make changes to your work, you can simply switch your ebook to draft mode, fix your document and upload it back. Unlike traditional where you have to recall the book, fix the problem, redo the entire layout then reissue the book which costs.

There are no barcodes necessary for ebooks, another cost saver. With ebooks, all you do is assign a price to the book and you’re good to go. You can also change the price without having to fix the cover. Barcodes on books are found on the back cover and to change them requires a recall of the book, reissuance then back to print. If you go with a regular printer and order 100 books then decide to change the price, those books you have can’t be sold in a store.

As for pricing your ebooks, the same concept applies here as it applies to your print books; you make up the price. But there are some things you need to consider about that.

With print books, take into consideration your printing costs. You need to price your book good enough to offset that price as well as tax. This way you get a decent return in sales.

Also with print, the size and texture of your book should be considered. Paperback books are always cheaper because shipping costs for them are lower. Hardcover books are heavier and cost more to ship. They also don’t sell as well as paperbacks because they both more money for the consumer and aren’t as travel friendly.

Ebooks tend to be very consumer conscious. Many of them are under $10. Kindle even has books that start at $.99. Kindle has a deal that as long as you set the price of your book below $9.99 you get 70% of your sales. You can set the price higher but, like hardcover books, people will tend to gravitate to the more affordable end of the deal. You will find that many people will ask if your book is on Kindle or Nook as that’s the way they like to purchase and read their books.

Publishing through ebooks does not exclude the fact that you still need to market your work. Even if you price your work for cheap, you still need people to get out there and purchase the book. Making sure you market your book is very important.

Now while the ebook way is cheaper and cost effective in many ways, I wouldn’t suggest it be the only way. It’s difficult to promote books at fairs and conventions when you don’t have something to show. You can carry an ereader around with you and show off your book, but potential buyers like to have a product they can hold. Also, most reviewers and book clubs like sample copies and won’t go out of their way to download a book to read or pay for it to review it. Also, you cannot sign ebooks and the novelty of having something signed by the author will never fade away.

Ebooks, though, can be great ways for you to push other works you may want to print but feel don’t warrant the full book treatment as well. Short stories can be sold for a dollar, maybe you have a novella you want to just get out there for your fan base. You could even put a companion piece to a novel you have already written and give a code to your readers to read it in one of your books.

The choice will ultimately be yours in the end. Check out both options and see what fits your budget and, more importantly, your goals.

A FLY ON THE WALL PREMIERE HAS BEGUN

2012-02-08T18:14:00.000-05:00

The premiere of A Fly on the Wall has begun. The film is now up on YouTube and Vimeo for you to watch and enjoy. See the introduction of the film by me before watching all three parts of the film. The film can be viewed on channel Hobbcat2012 on YouTube and The Cat Lab on Vimeo. And feel free to comment. Thank you.

A FLY ON THE WALL: THE MOVIE

2012-02-07T23:38:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone. I wanted to announce that on February 8th I will be launching my film from 2001 A Fly on the Wall. Long before i started writing plays and books, I was writing screenplays. This film was my first venture in directing. The film was shot over the course of three weekends in the month of May of 2001. The film was intended to go out to festivals but because of it's length (49 minutes) it was deemed either too long or not long enough. The film has sat dormant until now.

The film had to be broken into three parts because of time constraints on both YouTube and Vimeo. You can watch all three parts on both sites.

I hope you enjoy this little gem and feel free to comment on it.

Look for the film February 8th on Hobbcat2012 on YouTube and The Cat Lab with Marc L Abbott on Vimeo.

WRITERS WRITE: BLOCKAGE, MOTIVATION AND WORD FLOW

2012-02-01T22:03:00.001-05:00

“There is no such thing as writers block!”

I have heard this said loud and clear. The explanation that followed was just as absurd. “Writer’s block happens because the writer isn’t serious.”

Now, I’m here to tell you that writer’s block does exist. It can come a variation of things; fatigue, lack of motivation, sometimes you just get stuck. Look, writing is a job. Yes, it’s an art form too but its work.

Most of us writers don’t live off their writing. The vast majority of writers I have met have other day or night jobs. Physicians, teachers, professors, security guards and even newspaper reporters. We love to write, it’s our passion, and it’s what we love to do. But it does take up hours in the day to do and concentration to do it. For some of us words come easy, others need to be more focused.

I am the kind of writer who can write nearly anywhere except a quiet room. If it’s quiet, I go to sleep. If the tv is on, or I’m at work on my break, I can write like there is no tomorrow. Writing is my distraction from the everyday and it helps me get through it all. But there are times when a story will just stop in my head and I can’t go around the wall.

My newest novel, The Dead Syndicate, took me close to 18 years to complete. Of course in that time I published other works, but this was to be my opus and every time I got to a certain point in the book, I would draw a blank. I would have to put it down and work on something else until the juices started flowing again.

How do we get past writers block? I am a firm believer in putting something to the side until it speaks to you again and going with the flow. If you have another story in your head or even an idea for one, write it out. Put it to paper and get it out of the way. Sometimes that’s what’s blocking your flow. A fresh idea can always lead you back to a piece you’re stuck on.

Sharing Your Work In ProgressConsider joining a writers group if you’re not part of one already. My experiences with a writers group have helped me immensely. By taking about my work and reading it aloud, I get feedback from the others that normally wouldn’t have crossed my mind. It’s a great way to get rid of that writers block, get motivated and get those words flowing again.

Script Writing Writing your work in script form can help with both dialogue and structure. Think of a script as the skeleton. You can build conversations and create description without getting bogged down with a lot of detail. Then go back and overlay the story, filling in the gaps along the way.

When I wrote A Gamble of Faith the play, it never occurred to me to do a novel version of it. The idea came from a member of the audience who had seen the play several times. The request that I write the book version sent me back to the script with a fresh set of eyes. With all the dialogue in place, I simply wrote the novel around it, keeping much of the dialogue intact.

What does have to do with writers block? Despite the fact that the dialogue was there, creating a story around it took some doing. But in this case I could read ahead through the dialogue and regain my foothold on the story.

Go someplace outside your comfort zone: Every writer has a place where they write; coffee shop, home, library. Sometimes, getting away from these places and writing someplace else can stimulate the brain and help formulate new ideas. I make it a habit to always have two composition notebooks and a journal with me where ever I go. Ideas can come at anytime. So if I am at home and nothing is flowing, I may go out to the park or jump on the subway and head to the city and ideas will come to me. A change in scenery is always helpful.

Walking Away: Believe it or not, a great way to motivate yourself and to break that writers block is to walk away from the writing for awhile. I sometimes will play a video game or go for a walk just to get away from the piece I’m working on to clear my head. There are times I will walk away from a piece for months and work on something else until I find the inspiration I need to go back to the story. This is something I always do when I’m writing a play and have a lot of dialogue to write.

PART THREE: SELLING YOURSELF/GETTING THE WORD OUT

2012-01-17T23:35:00.004-05:00

This is the hardest part of being a self published author. I like to engage people, talk about my work, talk to people who have read my work and so on. But selling myself? Convincing people to buy my work? That’s another story all together.

As a self-published author, the work doesn’t end after you have written the book. Just because you have found a way to get your book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble website, it doesn’t mean that it will sell. Telling friends and family that you have published a book does not mean they’re going to go out and buy your book either. Besides, they are not your core audience. The people who read your genre of writing is your audience and that’s who you need to reach.

And even though you plan to attend that huge book fair near you, remember you are in competition with other writers. In some cases you may be up against big named writers so you have to step your game up. You need to make a business plan.

When you self publish a book, you are selling yourself to the public. You want them to read your novel but to get them to do that you have to get them to know you. So you have to get out there and sell yourself, right? But how? Here are some ways to get both you and your work out there.

WEBSITE: Build a website. You can either hire someone to do it or maintain your own. The website is your home base. It’s where you direct people to find out who you are, what kind of books you write, to get in touch with you and to sell through. Now when I say website I mean a site with multiple tabs and pages, not a single webpage with everything thrown on it. Not a blog page with multiple links to things. You have an opportunity on the site to offer people what you can’t in person such as discounts on books, contests where people can win copies of your book and sneak peeks like sample chapters of current or upcoming work. Make it inviting, easy to navigate and interesting. Be sure to update it regularly and keep your readers informed.

On my Hobbcat Website I have pages devoted to certain books, a library with links to my books as well as a photo gallery and media section with my reviews and interviews. People can easily track what’s going on with my work.

SOCIAL MEDIA and BLOGS: Social Media is another way to reach the masses. It’s free, it’s easy and the best way to reroute people to your website. The most important thing you should keep in mind is that your social media page should be kept separate from your personal media page. It’s always good to share your business information to friends and family but you want to keep business contacts and readers closer. They visit your page to be a part of your work. They don’t need to know about your family reunion in Vermont. Unless of course, you were selling books there.

On Facebook you should create a separate page for your company. Create a fan page for yourself and a group page that you can directly link friends and family to. Link your Facebook page to Twitter because when you update your status, Twitter is updated too. You don’t have to go back and forth. Use Linkedin for the more profession and business feel. Scribd is a popular site for writers you can also join as well.

Blogs are a great way to reach people who are interested in the same topics and dynamics you are. You can raise questions that attract both fans and other writers who may be able to help you in numerous ways. I like to use mine to pass on information to others and discuss my upcoming work. A blog can also inspire others and add to your fan base. That’s always good.

BOOK REVIEWS: You want to do this. Send your book to reviewers 6 months before the book is due to come out. You want to send it to reviewers no family and friends. They will not be a critical. You will want a write up done, especially if it’s a positive one. Taking a blurb from a positive review and putting on the book always helps.

You will also have to grow a thick skin which is not easy to do. Nowadays, thanks to the internet, people can go online and review your books who are not even book critics. They maybe avid readers of a genre you write in and if they feel strongly about what you do, they will voice it. Take into account you have to have a strong stomach for this sort of thing. Not everyone is going to like what you do. I have had some solid reviews come out about my work in the papers. But I had one online about a horror anthology I wrote that got a very mean review. I wasn’t prepared for it. In the review I was informed by the reader of errors in the book but they didn’t stop there. But the reader went on to not only bad mouth the work but bad mouth me. Naturally I pulled the book again and reworked it, but his review was seen by a lot of people and it cut me deep. I wasn’t sure what prompted such a mean review but I had to get over it if I was going to keep going. In the end, I needed that review because as a writer and, more importantly as a business man, I didn’t want my readers/customers unhappy.

INTERNET RADIO: There are so many book review radio shows out there. Blog Talk Radio is a large site that you can go through. I have been interviewed on at least four of them and soon after the interview I post them to my website for people to hear. These can be a great way for you to reach a mass audience. It’s free and the hosts are always looking for guests. Who knows, you could become a regular on one if the host likes you. You can also host your own. Talk about your work or talk about the genre you write in and have people call in. The more you put yourself out there the better.

PRESS KITS: Always have a press kit ready. You never know when a member of the press will pass by and you can give them a package. Put the essentials in there; Book launch announcement, post cards, business card, information about the book(s). In some cases you can even include a copy of one of your books. Get the press hungry for your work.

SAMPLE COPIES: This is the real tricky thing. We want to make money from our books; after all we are a business. But there will come times where you will have to give the product away to gain attention. Reviewers, book clubs, press and interviewers are usually the best people to give sample copies to. You will have to accept the fact that you will have to eat the money on this. But also use your judgment. For example, you may give a sample copy to the head of a book club but don’t give the entire club the book. The idea is so that they will go out and buy it. You may, if you are selling the book through your own website, want to offer them a bulk discount.

BOOK FAIRS: What you have to understand about book fairs is that it’s a double edged sword. Yes, you can sell books and yes, it’s a great place to network and be seen. But what you want to do is market yourself here. You need to reach out to the readers, talk with them and get to know them. You are on display here, not the books. The books are the bonus.

An example of this was at the Brooklyn Book Fair in 2007. I had unveiled my new book The Hooky Party. Unlike my first time going to a book fair with A Gamble of Faith I came prepared with postcards, a book review on poster board and a couple of friends willing to spend the day with me.

The book is a young adult novel so that was my target audience for the day. There were many young adults at the fair, most were with parents. So my friends would go over to the parents with the book and postcard, ask them did they remember when they were teenagers what it was like to be at a hooky party. The reactions to the question drew their attention to the book then to me. When the parents came over, I would just reminisce about the days when we were young then segue into the book. Meanwhile the teen is looking at the book and reading the back. They were so taken by what I was doing, boom, I’d make a sale. The fact that I was the author and willing to talk was the plus.

To the teens, meeting a ‘real author’ is the treat. So I would talk to them about school and trade stories and soon they wanted to know more about the Hooky Party so they bought the book. In that instance, I never really talked about the book but about me and why I wrote it. So they think there’s some secret in there they will learn so they bought it. At the end of the day, I went home with only three books left.

Book Fairs can be slow going and if you don’t have patience you may want to think twice before going. While you do want to make money that day, remember readers look for bargains and take little risk on new authors. So you have to sell them on you and why they should put money down for your book. My advice would be never to sell the book for cover price unless it’s already cheap. Meaning that if your book is $15, don’t sell it for $15 as an unknown author. No one will touch it. Shave off a couple of bucks. If you have more than one book, do a bundle pack. My books range in price but I will do a bundle if people are interested. If I have 2 books priced at $15 each, I will sell both for $25. I personally don’t charge for an autograph but some authors do. They will charge $12 for a book with the autograph, $10 without it. That’s completely up to you but I don’t do it.

My final word on book fairs is to do your homework about them. What do I mean?

The Brooklyn Book Fair is a book fair, meaning the only thing you will see being sold and displayed are books. I have been to book fairs where there are people selling music CD’s, jewelry, t-shirts, scented oils, food, none of which have anything to do with books. Some even invite street vendors selling popular book titles for dirt cheap which, of course, takes away all potential customers from you. Then, peppered throughout the fair, are actual authors trying to sell. In essence the fair is more of a flea market than a place to sell books. There is a 99.9% chance you will sell nothing at all and worse, draw no attention to yourself. That’s a complete waste of time and money. So you should always plan to visit the fairs first and plan to sell the following year. Get out and experience them.

CONVENTIONS: Always great for networking, not always a great place to sell unless it’s a genre convention like Comic Conventions or Fantasy Conventions if that is what you write. If you plan to sell at one of these, build a fan base before you do. People who are familiar with you, your blogs or your marketing will want to meet you and thus bring potential buyers of your work to you. But networking, making yourself seen and getting your name out here is what’s important.

You should attend a couple of conventions first so you can get an idea of their set up, what people sell and how you will fit in. Unlike a book fair, Conventions are filled with a host of other events like panels and signing by celebrities. There are also a wide range of vendors selling collectables and other paraphernalia.

As a self published author you cannot be a recluse. Nobody knows who you are if you don’t come out or people meet you. The best promotion is self promotion. Be seen, talk about what you do and get people interested in your work.

GRANT APPEARANCES: For book clubs, offer to come and meet with the club about the book and answer questions. Make yourself accessible.
In the end, it boils down to the amount of time, effort and money you feel you want to put into being a self published author. Not everyone is cut out for it, not everyone can afford it and not everyone wants to do what I have above.

Writers write, that’s what we do, end of story (no pun intended). For the majority of us, getting published is the goal but it can a long time to reach. I’m not saying that self publishing is the quick and easy way to get published, it’s not. But is an option you have available for you.

THE VIDEO BLOGS ARE UP!!

2012-01-13T12:30:00.003-05:00

Announcing Hobbcat2012 on Youtube. Go to Youtube and join Hobbcat2012 to see my video blogs. Get further information about self publishing and writing from me via video. Click the link below and check them out.

http://youtu.be/PR3HpykzvoU

Next blog coming next week.

PART TWO: COMPANY, OWNERSHIP & PRINTING

2012-01-02T23:58:00.002-05:00

If you are ready to move to the next phase of self publishing, these next few steps are essential. You might be asking yourself why I would mention starting a company when we’re talking about writing your own book. Well, if you’re going to self publish, you’re going to want to establish a name for yourself via a company. Also, many printing companies only provide services to those with tax id numbers. But take a look at some of the next steps you want to take.

Since you are self-publishing, you want to establish a brand name. This brand name will be key for your fans that will come to know your work. Establish a company name and make sure it’s not taken by someone else. Try to avoid using your name for the company. Be creative but not silly that way people take you seriously. For example my company name, Hobbcat, was named after my house cat.

You may also decide if you want to become and Incorporation or an LLC. Before you make that final decision, be sure you do your homework on the difference between the two. Most people go with the LLC because it’s easier to deal with for tax reasons. Incorporations require much more attention to detail. You will want to find out your state tax laws and how you need to file. Do not make this decision lightly or you will pay for it down the line. You can either check with your state website or Legal Zoom about the differences.

Next you will need to get ISBN (International Standard Book Number) numbers and barcodes for your books. This is that 13 digit number you find with the barcodes and inside the copyright page of the book. Why do you need to buy this number is you are going to self publish?

Let’s go back to IUniverse. Remember when I told you I went to them first to self publish my book because I was considered the self publisher and retained my rights? That was only half right. I will explain.

When you publish with them, you retain your copyright which means you keep ownership of the book. But the ISBN is assigned to you by them. That number is owned by the company, IUniverse, thus making them the publisher, not you. That means you cannot duplicate that book with that ISBN number anywhere because you don’t have that right. If you own your own ISBN, then you are the publisher. It is linked to you. You need that number to sell in bookstores and abroad. Without it, you won’t be able to get it in the stores.

The Barcodes contain the price that you set for your book. How do you determine how much to set the price for? It all depends on you. Really, it does. As the publisher you set the price. Keep in mind what you’re spending to put the book together and printing costs. If you’re not sure how much to price your book for, my advice is to go to the book store and look at the shelves. Hard cover books often cost much more than soft cover book. One reason for this is both shipping and printing costs. The heavier the book, the more you will pay across the board. Soft cover book vary in size and price so depending on what size you want to print, you should adjust your price accordingly. Again, go to the bookstores and check out the shelves and see what prices have been set on the books. Remember now; think about your printing costs and how much you want to take in.

PRINTING: There was a time when printing was done in bulk. Traditional Printing, as it is called, is still done. But for the most part self published authors tend to avoid bulk printing unless it’s necessary. It used to be that if you took your book to a printer to have copies done you had to print a minimum amount of copies. Anywhere from 200 to 1000 and then you had to store them someplace.

There isn’t anything wrong with traditional printing. If you have only one title having five hundred copies of the same book on hand for when you are doing speaking engagements or signings is always a good idea. However if you are a self publishing author with multiple titles you may not want to have five hundred of the same titles sitting around you home. You may not even have room for it all. So what can you do in that case?

Well printing has changed. Now a day you don’t have to do traditional printing. There are a lot of companies offering what is called print on demand. They are offering discounts for ordering in bulk and even shipping directly to other addresses per your request. It is more cost effective for the self published author to go this route unless you prefer to have thousands of copies of your book on hand.

So what is print on demand?

Print on Demand (POD) is a printing service by which books are printed in the amount they are requested. As opposed to having to order a set amount of books, you can choose to print only what you need. You can order one book or a hundred. I have found this process to be the best for me especially since I have multiple titles under my name. Since I also don’t sell too many books out of my home, I can always order what I need for events.

For example, if I am going to be at a book fair or a convention and I know that certain titles will sell better than others, I can order up just enough of the best sellers to have on the table.

When you are ready to print, you should look into Lightning Source as a way to go. They not only offer good prices on POD but they when you sign up with them they will list your books on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It’s always a plus to have your work listed on these sites.

If you are willing to put in the time and the money to follow the above steps, you are halfway there to self publishing your own book. If not, that’s okay. But you still need to follow that editing step before you send a manuscript out to a publishing house. The cleaner your work is, the better it will be received.

PART ONE: PUTTING YOUR BOOK TOGETHER

2011-12-14T11:55:00.002-05:00

Like any business, it costs money to be a self publisher. Regardless to the fact that we are in the age of Kindle, Nook, E-Reading where uploading a book for you to these services are free, you still need money to self publish. Book covers are still needed, editing services are a must and you will need to purchase sample copies of your books to make sure everything is done right. If you plan to print books, either traditional printing or print on demand, you need to buy copies of your books to sell. You should research how much it will cost to do all of this. If you choose to skimp on quality, you will get what you pay for. Here are some essential steps.

Drafts: Before anything you will end up writing several drafts of your book. Take your time. A book does not need to be rushed. Since we are talking self publishing here and you are not on a publisher’s deadline, you have time to get things together. When you are done with your draft, re-read it and make corrections. Look for as many mistakes that you can find. Give it to someone else to read and let a fresh set of eyes look for mistakes. Do this and make as many rewrites as you can before you send it to an editor. The fewer mistakes you have in the manuscript, the easier you make it for the editor to concentrate on editing the structure of the story.

Editing takes place after writing the final draft of your book. You need to find someone to do a good copy edit which means they will not only work on grammar and spelling but story structure as well. A really good editor will give you some great tips on how to make you work stronger and more appealing to your readers.

Do your homework and make sure you get a reputable editor. Although we live in a time where going online to look for our needs in the norm, you will want to do more than surf the web for an editor. Talk with other writers who have success with them. Get recommendations. Do not just trust testimonials on editor websites, be proactive and try and reach out to the clients they serviced. There are some good editors out there but there are a lot of shams out there as well.

Editors are not cheap. The most disheartening thing for a writer is to pay a lot of money for a service and it turns out to be terribly done. I fell victim to this. I had two books that I paid a lot of money to be edited by professional editors I found online. Six months after they were on the market, readers and former editors informed me that my books were filled with mistakes. Keep in mind that even top selling authors books from major publishing houses sometimes have mistakes in them. But there were so many mistakes in mine that the books had to be recalled. I had to suspend working on new work and spend months fixing them.

When that editor is done, you give it to someone else to proof read and make corrections. Then you get a proof reader to proofread that. Regardless to the fact that I proofread it before giving the final payment, I missed things. If you are a writer and do not have editing experience or know what to look for, you will not pick up on these; as is my case. I am not a former English teacher or editor and I can find the basic errors. But a really good editor will find the mistakes. But even they miss things so it’s always better to get another set of knowledgeable eyes to look over your work. I will have another blog just on this situation coming soon.

Copyright your work and make sure you copyright your work through Washington DC copyright office. Although you are considered the sole owner of a piece the second you put pen to paper, for legal reasons, you want to be on file with them. www.copyright.gov There are several different stories out there about poor man’s copyright, the most notable is mailing the documents to yourself and not opening it. Whether this is a myth or not, you don’t want to leave anything to chance. The fee to copyright is a small price to pay to ensure ownership. It will take a few weeks to get the official; document back for your work but you can continue to move forward on the rest of your duties.

Book Covers are very important and would be the next thing you want to do. Prices on these will vary and depending on the quality of what you want, can be worth the price. You will often hear people say go to a book store and look at the books and see how your genre covers are done. I will add one more to that; go and look at movie posters too. Ever notice that after a book becomes a movie, that movie poster will appear as the new cover? Movie posters can provide further in inspiration for your covers. Can you do a book cover yourself? Sure, if you have a friend who does great work who can do it for little or nothing. If you are an artist yourself and can do it, by all means take that route. But remember the cover catches the eye like a movie poster. Poor or very generic looking covers will shun potential readers. No matter how well the story is inside, the cover is important. When I published my first book, A Gamble of Faith, I used the cover art from the playbill of the stage play. It was a very wonderful drawing and I thought that it would go over well with readers. I took the book to a writer’s conference and a book reviewer took one look at it and said “You need to get rid of that cover.” I asked why and he told me that because it was a drawing, it looked more like a book for teens than a book for my target audience which was adults. He told me that it looked childish (this was not a knock against the artist in anyway) and that no adult would buy it. I did explain that I kept it because people were familiar with the art and he said “That’s understandable if you were just selling the book at the play, but this is the book business. No one will buy it.” I took his advice and found a professional book cover artist to do a fresh cover based on the story.

The professional book cover artist took time to create something that matched the book. He talked with me and ran off ideas. With the new cover, I did see a change in sales. More people came to my table at the book fairs to get a closer look than they did before.

Book Layout will be the next thing you have to do. That’s the inside of the book. Font size, spacing, page numbering all have to be clean and straight. Next to editing, this too needs to be proof read so that you don’t send a book to print with. When you are done with your manuscript, apply for an LCCN number from the Library of Congress. You can file for one at www.pcn.loc.gov . The number is free and takes a few days to get. Once you have the number place it on the interior of the book where you put your copyright and ISBN number. You will have to send them a copy of the book for their records. I will address those in a minute.

So once you have done these things, it means you’re ready to print and sell right? Not just yet. Remember, it’s a business. You have a few more things to do that will add to your costs.

IS SELF PUBLISHING RIGHT FOR YOU? INTRODUCTION

2011-12-14T11:39:00.000-05:00

I am often asked by writers if it’s a good idea to just go ahead and self publish their own material. Rather than try and get a publishing house to publish their work. The answer to that all depends on whether or not you are willing to do the kind of leg work to be a self published author. I can only speak from my experience as to the choice a person should make. I will share that with you now. First you have to understand what self publishing means. Self Publishing is publishing. Publishing is a business. So when you hear someone say I’m a self published author it means they are in the publishing business for themselves. They are not doing books for multiple authors, just their own work. So essentially they are doing everything a traditional publisher would do and more.

As a self-published author your work doesn’t end when you have finished the manuscript. It’s actually beginning. You will be putting the entire book together, from cover to cover. Overseeing every detail for your book. It’s going to take up a lot of time. So you need to educate yourself on the things that you will need before you put the book to bed. It requires time, money, patience and perseverance. Once you decide to publish the book on your own, you now have stepped into a world that requires your full attention. It’s not an undertaking you go into lightly.
If you have no desire, beyond just writing, to do the leg work it will take to get your books out there, stick with sending your manuscript out to publishing houses and/or agents.

But if you want to go forward with it, allow me to help you get on your way with some pointers and lessons I learned along the way. Let’s start from the beginning.

When I decided to self publish in 2004, I had no idea what I was in for.

My first novel A Gamble of Faith was based on a play I wrote. I took the advice of a former classmate of mine to publish through IUniverse. At the time, IUniverse was the way everyone who self published was going.

Several things attracted me to them. They touted that you are the self published author. You retain all the rights to your work. They took care of it all, the cover, layout, printing and a direct link to Barnes and Nobles after your book was printed. You also got print on demand which also meant that I would only have to print the amount I needed, not 1000 copies up front like you would have to with a regular printer. What aspiring writer wouldn’t pass up a deal to be on Barnes and Nobles? I would be selling thousands in no time. So I went with them, got the book done, sent a blast out to friends and family and waited. I was under the assumption that all I had to do is get the book to print, get the word out and I was on my way.

Boy was I wrong. I saw barely saw any money come in other than the copies I sold at the plays performances I was still doing. What went wrong?
I had published a book with no plan. No idea of who to sell to, where to sell, no marketing concepts (other than selling at plays) and pretty much not clue as to what to do. That was my first mistake, not having a plan.

A trip to a writer’s conference taught me a few other things I was completely unaware of. I would have to start all over again if I wanted to do it right. Just because the book is on the Barnes and Nobles list didn’t mean it was going to sell. I had to get out there and talk to bookstores, go to book fairs and make appearances to get the book known. I was in business whether I knew it or not. The business of selling a book and myself.

Putting Pen to Paper: Getting Started on the Path to Writing

2011-12-01T08:51:00.002-05:00

I am at a signing or convention. Someone will walk up to me, tell me they have a story they have always wanted to write. It’s a really good story they feel will make a good book. The only problem is that they have no idea how to go about writing it. They tell me their issues with writing and want to know how I am able to sit and write an entire novel. Here are some of the things I am told and how I respond.

“I just don’t have the discipline to sit and write.”- Okay, you want to write a book. You have the story in your head but you don’t have the discipline to sit down and spend a few hours a day to write. Well here is the bottom line, if you don’t have discipline, you can’t be a novelist. You can disagree with me all you want but this goes for anything you pursue in life. You have to have discipline to be a writer. The book is not going to write itself because you will it to do so.
First and foremost, writing is not only work, its hard work. I cannot stress this enough. Authors enjoy writing but the process takes awhile. When you pick up a book from the bookstore and take it home, does it ever cross your mind how much time and effort is put into a novel? Every single word on the page was thought out by the author then edited many times before reaching your hands. Authors spend many hours in front of their computers and/or notebooks fleshing out stories. It takes time and patience to do this, especially in a series.

I often hear people ask “Why does it take so long for my favorite writer to put the next part of the series out? All he/she has to do is write. It shouldn’t take that long.” News flash, just like you go to work from 9 to 5 and labor, so do writers. Yes, writing maybe the only thing we do for a living (if many of us are lucky to do that) but it is still work. Some stories require months of research. Others take longer because of a pace the writer maybe working at. Sometimes, a writer may have more than one series they are working on and tend to work on what is speaking to them at the time.

“But I just can’t sit in silence and write.” - Who says you have to sit in silence? Every writer is unique in their own way. Some writers can sit in silence for hours and work. Others listen to music that inspires their work. I like to work in a place where there are distractions (i.e. work, bar, television playing). It keeps my brain active and distractions force me to focus on my story. You have to find what works for you. Once you do, you can find your rhythm

“Do I need to write an outline before I can start writing a novel?” – There is only one time I don’t write an outline and that’s when I am doing a short story. An outline is very important and necessary when writing a novel. You might have an idea for a great story but you’re going have to break it down into chapters. By outlining each chapter beforehand it helps you make the story flow better. This also gives you the chance to design the characters better by working out their back story and strengthening your plot.

Writers will tell you that a story has a nasty habit of going where it wants to go, not where you tell it. So you may start out coming up with a story and heading down one path then all of a sudden something unplanned happens and you end up going in a different direction. By having an outline written and following that, you can determine just how far off course you can go. You might find yourself coming up with a completely better story than you first came up with.

“How many hours do I need to work on my novel?” – This goes back to discipline. You should devote how many hours you feel your work deserves. I personally devote about three hours in the evening to writing and leave Saturdays and Sundays up in the air. Even a writer needs to take a day off from the voices in their head.

Even if it’s not a major piece, I am always writing something in that time frame. Just to keep the creative juices flowing.
Come up with a time frame that works for you and use it. You can write in the morning, during your lunchtime, break the time up into different points of the day. But use that time to the fullest.

"Do you need to do research if you are writing a fiction novel?" - I do. It does help to make your story more believable if you have facts tied into it. Some writers like to put fictitious characters in real world settings. A good example of that is historical fiction. John “Jack” Aubrey is one such character. The famous character from the Patrick O’Brian books (Master and Commander, Far Side of the World) commands ships on the high seas during the Napoleonic War. Though he never existed, most of his naval battles and adventures are drawn from actual Royal Navy history.

I spent five years reading about angels for my book The Dead Syndicate. Learning about their powers, their weapons, what they look like. It helped me to build a world around them that was believable.

With horror stories, I watched a lot of the Discovery Channel and followed up reading up of various animals and insect that became characters in my stories. In my book Anthorrorgy, the story called Vampsquito is based on some research I did on mosquitoes. Knowing the habits of mosquitoes and what makes them annoying to people helped make the story more realistic. That helped me to create the monster that terrorizes a town.

Even though its fiction, it still has to be believable to the reader.

“Should I go to school for writing or take a class?” – There is nothing wrong in furthering your education. Sometimes just taking a simple class can help you tighten your technique; build upon your story structure and how to create an effective plot. It all depends on what you feel you will need help with in order to make you a stronger writer. It’s not a requirement that you go to school to be a writer but every little bit does help.

“Can I just write my entire book by hand? Do I need to type it because I don’t know how to type?” – I know what you’re thinking and the answer is yes; someone actually has asked me about that. You can write the draft of a novel anyway you feel comfortable. But if you plan to print or even try and sell your manuscript, you better learn how to type. Even if you have to do it hunt and peck style, it has to be typed. No one will read it in a hand written form.
Your manuscript will go through a lot of drafts before its ready to be put out on the market in any form (publishing house or self-published) and it will be 100x’s easier to retype the work on a computer than hand writing the pages.

“I don’t have the patience to sit and write for hours.” – I put this statement last because I'm usually very blunt about answering it. It's not to be mean but I take writing very seriously. This statement is a tad bit different than the discipline one. Whereas you find it hard to sit and focus on what you have to do to write, this means you lose interest quickly and just stop doing it. There is nothing wrong with taking a break to recharge your batteries to keep going. But if being out with friends is more important or playing that video game is a must and seems better than sitting for how ever long you need to write, you’re not ready to be a writer. I tell people flat out you either do it or you don’t. Writing, whether a career or hobby, does require a level of devotion. If you can't give it the attention it needs, writing may not be for you.

Overall,if you have a passion for writing, sit and write. It's that simple. Writing is like any other venture in life. It requires time and focus. Give it that and the return will be great.

Next up I will talk about self-publishing and give tips on going down that road.

Do you have any questions about writing? Let me know how I can help.

Message from Marc L Abbott

2011-11-30T23:20:00.002-05:00

Good Evening,

I first want to thank all of you who have supported me and my work these past seven years. The journey so far has been an eventful one.

After seven years, I have decided shut down Hobbcat Publishing Inc. It was not an easy decision to make but something I had to do. My books will still be available and my revised editions will be launched through Hobbcat LLC. Under the new company I will be broaden my work through theater and film as well as books. A new undertaking I am excited to begin.

I have learned a great deal in those seven years and I want to share that with you. Over the next few months my posts will be filled with information on self publishing, tips on being a better writer, mistakes to avoid and announcements of my new work. I look forward to your feed back and I hope that my future posts help inspire, educate and prepare you on your future endeavors as a writer.

Marc L Abbott
Hobbcat LLC

DEAD SYNDICATE ISSUES

2011-11-23T09:24:00.002-05:00

For those who brought the errors to my attention regarding The Dead Syndicate I want to let you know that the book was sent to an editor.

A-1 Editing Services, which I found online and hired to edit my tome, is the company that edited the manuscript. I published the final edit that was emailed to me by the editor who was supposed to do a full edit including grammar, spelling and structure. I felt it was my duty to let you all know who the editor was as you have now seen the level of work they do.

I have had another editor rework the book and I am currently working to get a proper copy put out for 2012 before the launch of Hobbcat LLC. I have pulled the book from Kindle for the time being and will be pulling the print copy as well.

I apologize for giving you a subpar product and promise that for the coming New Year, and beyond, that no more of my books will be published without proper post edit review.

ANTHORROGY BEING PULLED

2011-04-10T19:17:00.002-04:00

To my readers.It has been recently brought to my attention that Anthorrogy sufferes from serious editing problems. Rest assured I would not have released this work if I had known this.

Therefore I am pulling the book from both Kindle and print until they are corrected. I am sorry for any disappointment you have with my work. it is important that you receive the best quality work.

Once I have corrected these issues I will let you all know.

Again, I am sorry for the issues you have had with this piece and I hope to have it back up again soon.

Marc L Abbott

WRITING TIP: DIALOGUE

2011-03-11T14:11:00.000-05:00

One of the hardest parts of a story for some writers is dialogue. How much to use, when to use it and most importantly; what to say. Normally dialogue is infused as the story unfolds around a series of sequences and descriptions. But I found a way that can make it easy.

Many people have often commented that my work reads and sounds like a movie. You want to know a secret? They read that way because much of my work started out in script form. That’s right, at one time I aspired to be a screenwriter and wrote a lot of scripts in college.

In fact, A Gamble of Faith and The Hooky Party, started out as scripts before I turned them into books. I spent hours writing dialogue for characters and immersed myself in their conversations. I didn’t really have to worry too much about being very descriptive like I do in a book, so I would gloss over the rest of the script. Creating brief details with the scene descriptions and shot designs, dialogue got most of the attention.

When I decided to write the books, I simply used the scripts as the skeletons and filled in everything around the dialogue. So for example, in the Hooky Party screenplay, I briefly describe the locker area as being “a corner section of the hall with blue and brown lockers”. After that I get into the dialogue. For the book, I expanded on the locker area by being more descriptive about the lockers themselves, who hangs out there, their importance to the characters that are in the area and why they are the color they are. That description is not important in a screenplay and if in fact some of that is relevant, a character can be given a couple of lines to mention it. In the book, that detail allows the reader to visualize the place as they read. All I had to do with the dialogue after that is make small revision to it or, in most cases, never touched it.

Writing your stories out in script form before the novel is a great way to concentrate on your characters voices. It also enables you to build better scenery around it. Little nuances like the description of leaves blowing in the wind, textures of faces or items, and even action or romance sequences can get the just attention they need instead of you worrying about getting everything down at one time.

So on your next project, try writing your work out as a script first and get involved with your characters dialogue. You just might find that everything else will fall into place.

EBooks: The Self Published Authors Perspective

2011-02-28T23:49:00.003-05:00

Recently, I have been getting messages and articles sent to me informing me about the new trend; Ebooks. Much of this information is given to me to convince me that ebooks are now the way to go and why I should let go of print publishing. Yes, I still print books and I will not stop printing books until printing goes the way of the 8 Track and Laserdisk. I am a firm believer that printing will not actually die out but it will take a backseat to ebooks. I mean, let’s face it, you can read the newspaper online for free but people still like to buy it, grab the free copies and even have it delivered. Book Fairs are still very popular and people flood them to get their hands on famous and local favorite books. So printing's not down and out just yet.

With that said, I have been intrigued by the ebook. Many people swear by them and love he convenience of them. No more paperback or hardcover books to carry around. Now it’s all about ereaders and tablets. You can even buy books to read on your phone. They have certainly come a long way from reading them on your computer. I certainly see the appeal and I will be the first to admit that I own one and, from time to time, downloaded a book or two. Yes, even an old print lover like me finds the ebook and ereader a great tool to enjoy.

The steady appeal I have been noticing isn’t so much the idea of books disappearing, but the advent that now anyone or everyone can now publish their works to sell to consumers nearly worldwide. Writers no longer need to go to traditional publishing houses to try and get signed to book deals. Pretty soon authors will forgo setup sites like Xlibris and IUniverse for the opportunity to call their own shots in pricing and sales distribution.

This is especially the case with Kindle and their Self-publish with us program which offers writers up to 70% of their profit of sales. No writer today could ask for a better deal than that. The deal sounds even sweeter when reports pop up of authors making close to millions of dollars in ebook sales alone. But as I always say, the Hollywood side of the story always sounds better.

I call it the Hollywood side because the end result always sounds so glamorous. The over night sensation who is outselling established authors or that writer who appeared from nowhere and is now a phenom in sales and fans. It does happen but this is not the norm for many writers. One rule still applies, whether print or ebook, anyone deciding to go forward as a self published author has to work very hard at it. Understand that the “e” in ebooks doesn’t stand for easy. It’s not an easy way out from conventional publishing, just a different way to publish. Hard work is still necessary.

As a self published author with my own label, I have thought a lot about the effects of ebooks. True printing isn’t down and out, and it may never be, but one thing history has taught us is that you have to move with the times. So I decided to look at how self publishing benefits from the ebook. It has its pros and cons, as you will read what I have written below. But understand, though, my points come from the inside looking out, not vice-versa. But both sides are important to look at.

AFFORDABILITY: If you have ever self published a book, you know that a great deal of money is spent in the process. Everything from editors to cover artists to layout; it can get pretty pricey. Ebooks cut out a small portion of this. You no longer need to hire someone to lay out the book as files are transferred onto a digital platform. HTML coding does the rest. If you are cover savvy, you can design and upload your own cover rather than hire someone to do it. Also, in most cases, you don’t need an ISBN number to assign to your book. I noticed this with Kindle and anyone who has had to buy those blocks of numbers know, that’s a major cost you save on as well as bar codes.

PRINT NO MORE: Ereaders make it so you no longer have to print and store copies of books at home. There was a time where if you printed your book with a conventional printer you had to order thousands of copies of books for the printer to do business with you. That was a requirement. Then along came Print on Demand which meant that you could print only the amount you needed or wanted at a time. You only need 50 books, that’s all you had to print. Of course shipping charges and applicable taxes were added in, but it was better than bulk purchasing. Now, with Ebooks, you don’t need to print at all. A considerable price that is lifted off your shoulders.

REACHING THE MASSES: The biggest concern of a self published author is getting your book into the bookstores and on the shelf. Whether it is the big chain stores or your local mom and pop, getting your book out there for all to see has been the number one priority. With Ebooks, there is no worry of getting on the shelf. With Kindle, your book is posted right on Amazon for millions of readers to see. The same goes for Nook as you will be posted to Barnes and Noble.

INSTANT CONSUMER GRATIFICATION: Ereaders now allow readers to get their ebooks instantly anytime and anywhere. Instead of making trips to the store, they can by from home, at the office or any wifi hotspot.

A GREAT TOOL: Now just because Ebooks have become popular, doesn’t mean you should immediately stop offering your print books to the masses. Ereaders are a hot item but there are still many who still prefer to buy print books. Also, print books are a great selling and marketing tool at conventions and fairs. Readers like to browse, thumb through the pages and get a sense of how much reading they will get out of your book. An Ebook can be your added bonus for the consumer that may not be 100% sure they want to take a chance on buying your paperbacks. Ebooks are a great alternative.

MARKETING EBOOKS NOT EASY: If you read about the million dollar sellers, many of them have sold so many Ebooks because they have a heavy blog or weblit fan base. You must understand that or you will be gravely disappointed with your sales. Ebooks, like print books, do not sell themselves and just because you made the book affordable doesn’t mean the world will come flocking. You have to market yourself. As I said before, they are a great tool. That being said, they are not the easiest things to market at conventions or fairs. I have yet to see a person pull out a Kindle at a book fair and say “Here is my book.” Build author pages on Amazon, keep an active website going offering the ebook versions for sale on them. But above all, build a fan base online. Those are the people who surf to learn more about you and your work and will buy. Build Facebook fan pages, link them to Twitter and keep people coming back to want your work.

PRICING: While I like the fact that you can make 70% from ebooks (an yes, three of my titles are available on ebooks) consumers are not going to pay full price for your book. What does that mean? Along with the ease of acquiring titles and the ability to carry many titles in an ereader, the consumer likes a bargain. They do not expect to pay the same price for your book on an ereader as they do in the store. And here is where many believe publishing companies are going to get hit hardest the most. Most readers rather not pay more than $5 for an ebook (average price for paperback goes from $9.99 - $15.00 Hardcovers are always more).

The fact is, many of the titles that sell really well fall into the $.99 - $3.00 range for ebooks. Since printing costs are non existent, setting a high price for an ebook makes it less appealing. So does this mean that setting a low price for your book compromises your integrity as a self published author? That is a question only you can answer. Even at fairs, I never charged cover price for my books because I knew the consumer liked a good deal. Keep that in mind when you look to price your ebooks. Will you make money with such low prices? Go back and see what I said about marketing. How you market yourself will determine if you will sell well or not. Remember, if you want to see those hefty returns they write about in some articles you have to sell a lot of ebooks.

PHYSICAL PRODUCT NOT AVAILABLE: If there is one con I have with ebooks, it’s that they are not physical books. Now one would say simply; that’s the whole point. And to that I say, “You have to be an author to understand.” One of the best and most self gratifying things for many self published authors is to be able to sign their work for a fan. I’m not talking some digital signature, I mean your own. You cannot do that with an ebook. The only real setback I see in the ereader/ebook world.

In all, I feel that ebook is staking its claim well in the literary market. Much like audio books have, and still do. It is a new tool on the block that will advance in its own way and its own time. While I will flow with the tides of time, I still like to crack open a paperback too.

Happy reading everyone.

Marc L Abbott

FEBRUARY 2011 UPDATE

2011-02-18T15:42:00.002-05:00

Hello one and all. We are in the second month of the year and this is the first post update for the New Year.

I have been very, very busy getting things up and running for the New Year and trust me you will not be disappointed.

First I want to thank all of you who have been purchasing my work on Kindle. i hope to have all my titles there by the end of the year. It seems that A Gamble of Faith has become a very hot title amoung my book on Kindle so for all of you who have been reading it, I have big news.

The stage play version of A Gamble of Faith will be back this spring. We are in rehearsals at the momen tand hope to have a show up by May. I will keep you posted on the progress and when to expect to see it up and running.

There are changes coming to my website soon. I will no longer be selling books through the company but each book will have a link to where you can purchase those and their Kindle counter parts. Also the Dead Syndicate book review will be available soon as well.

My new novel The Dead Syndicate is out at bookstores. It won't be available for Kindle for a while so don't wait, order your copy today at your retail bookstores. If you live in the NY/NJ/CT area I will be at this years Lunacon in Rye, NY selling and discussing The Dead Syndicate. Lunacon is running March 18th-20th and you can learn more about it at http://2011.lunacon.org/

My long anticipated childrens book will be out late April/early May entitled Etienne and the Stardust Express.

Two new horror stories will be available for Kindle in September.

So get ready for a very active year from Hobbcat Publishing. I'll be back soon for Lunacon announcements.

Be well!

OCTOBER UPDATE

2010-10-01T15:03:00.001-04:00

Happy October,

I’d first like to thank all of you who came out to the Brooklyn Book Fair last month. I was great seeing old faces and meeting new ones. There is a lot to announce so without further adieu lets go down the line.

After 18 years and countless rewrites, the first book in my Dead Syndicate series made its debut at the Brooklyn Book Fair. The Dead Syndicate: Trial of the Archnemesis, which chronicles a fallen angels’ fight in the war between good and evil, is available now in limited run. The book officially launches at the end of the month just in time for Halloween. You can check out the blurb in the bookstore on the Hobbcat website. Those of you who have Anthorrorgy and have read The Diary of the Archnemesis already know the troubles Archnemesis Clide is facing, this first book will take you further down his dark path. So if you haven’t gotten a copy of Anthorrorgy yet, this will be the perfect time to purchase a copy.

Many readers have asked me when will I make some of my books available for the popular eReaders. In the beginning I had my doubts about the devices but I caved in a bought one for myself. After a smooth test drive of the product I made the decision make my work available. So I am excited to announce that The Hooky Party, my most popular novel and first book published under Hobbcat Publishing Inc., made its debut on Kindle last month. If you have any of the Kindle eReaders , you can purchase the book for ½ off the cover price at the Kindle store on Amazon. The other novels will follow in months to come. By next year, all of my titles will be available for all eReaders. So stop by the Kindle store and get your copy of The Hooky Party and don’t forget to tell a friend.

A Gamble of Faith is in the works again to be brought to the stage. I am working with a new producer and in talks of bringing the stage play back in the New York area and possibly further. The play is due to go up early 2011 and may go on the road as the year progresses so I will keep you posted on that.

I will be adding a new section to my website soon called Shorts! which will feature a short story, poem or excerpts from upcoming larger works of mine. Right now I am putting together a small collection that will change from month to month. Availability for download to eReaders will also be made available for a small price. How small, well you won’t break the bank I promise you.

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for the next set of announcements during the month of October.

Until next time!

AUGUST UPDATE

2010-08-20T13:39:00.000-04:00

The Brooklyn Book Fair is just a few weeks away and Hobbcat Publishing is going to be there. Join us this year as celebrate the launch of my new novel The Dead Syndicate: Trial of the Archnemesis. This book has been a labor of love for me for the last 18 years and finally it is out for you to enjoy. This is book one in a four part series so you’ll want to get your hands on this and get started. For those of you who read Anthorrorgy, you are familiar with the last story Diary of the Archnemesis. This story gives you a brief background of the main character in The Dead Syndicate. For those of you who have not read Anthorrorgy, here’s as good a reason as any to get yourself a copy.

Also, this year at the fair, we will be having our first ever Hobbcat Raffle. Lucky winners will get an autograph copy of a book of their choice and one grand prize winner will get a complete set of four books. That’s all four titles (A Gamble of Faith, The Hooky Party, Anthorrorgy, The Dead Syndicate) for one very low price. So the raffle tickets will be as follows:

Three red tickets for $5. The winner will have their choice of any one title.

One blue ticket for $10. The winner will win a collection of all four titles.

Times for the drawing will be announced at the fair along with the rules.

So come on out on Sunday September 12 from 10am – 6pm to the Brooklyn Book Fair located behind Brooklyn’s Borough Hall. For more information go to http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/BrooklynBookFestival/festival.html

We’re also asking our readers to let us know if you want to see our titles made available for E-Readers. We would like to provide our work to all who are using the devices.

Hope to see you all at the fair!

Anthorrorgy and the Rebirth of A Gamble of Faith - Part 3

2010-03-08T12:10:00.005-05:00

I have always loved horror and I have my father to thank for that. Though my mother would later tell me later that my father was actually afraid of horror movies (he left her sitting in the Exorcist in 1972 because it frightened him so bad), he had a very enchanting way of making horror sound captivating. He would tell me, with a deep voice, about Dracula and his castle. How a cursed man can turn into a werewolf and the terrible things the Invisible Man did to his victims. And to accent these terror tales we would watch the old Universal horror movies together on Saturday nights on PBS on a 13 inch black and white TV he kept in his den.

So imagine his suprise when he started to see the “modern” monsters of horror gracing my wall. As much as he hated seeing Freddy, Jason, Pinhead and Michael Meyers on my wall and in my video library, he continued to fuel me with the likes of King, Barker, and Straub by buying me their books for my literary library. My mother didn’t help the matter much by providing me with a book of Edgar Allen Poe’s collective works.

The books were my favorite because I could envision the sequences in my mind (hence the anger I spewed whenever a beloved book was turned into a bad movie) and I was always up on whatever my favorite authors were printing. When I knew for certain I was going to be a writer, I knew I wanted to write horror for sure.

Though writing in general is not easy, certain genres I found were more difficult than others. Horror is one of the more difficult. It’s not just the style that makes it difficult, the subject matter as well is hard to. It’s not easy to scare an reader. Many of the classic monsters that we have grown up with have changed so much that they have lost their appeal. Vampires, for example, have come to the point where the reader now sympathizes with the monster rather than fear it. What used to destroy them we are now told are myths (the myth has myths) and that they are now misunderstood creatures of the night. Trying to revert back to the classic image now is nearly impossible.

So I sat down and started to think of different kinds of stories to tell. I made a list of things that scare me, conventional monsters and monsters in nature (i.e. plants and animals) that either maim or kill.

Once I had enough on the list I began to weed out the ones that would not make a strong story. There were just some creatures that just would go over well in a horror story; the ones that you could believe would come after you in the dark. I kept the traditional ones like vampires, werewolves and ghosts. Then I added spiders, mosquitoes and plants along with a couple of aliens and a demon. I threw in a couple of surprises just to spice it up and when I was done I began writing.
Many of the stories had already been fleshed out prior to the list. They were stories I had already begun so I added them to the list in order to focus on finishing them. Now my mind works in a very strange way. By that I mean that while I was finishing one story I had started writing two others. So I would have three word windows open on my computer and I would switch back and forth from story to story as ideas for each came to me. This didn’t speed up the process but it did keep me on top of things.

While doing the stories, I started to think about a name for the book. I had first considered using one of the story titles followed by “and other stories of horror and suspense” but that had been used too many times before. I needed an original name, something that snapped and was very different.

I love to play with words (if you read Gamble you know what I mean) and I did that very thing with this book. Since I knew I was writing an anthology of horror stories, I decided to mesh the two words (horror and anthology) together to form one. Removing “olo” and replacing it with the word horror, I came up with Anthorrorgy. Pronouncing it, some people found, was difficult so how I explained it was like this: You say it the same way you would say anthology except you have the word horror in the middle (ie. An – thor –rorgy). It takes some getting used to but once you get it, you understand it.

Once I had the name, I started thinking about the cover. I wanted something really disturbing but not gross for the cover. I spent a lot of time looking at covers for horror novels and many of them weren’t really that eye catching. It seemed that as long as the authors name was large and yelling out at the reader, that’s all it took. The cover art was very subtle and maybe hinted on what was inside, but for the most part they didn’t seem to be big attention grabbers.

I then turned to the fantasy novels for some help and noticed that almost every cover had either some kind of action sequence or battle ready character that drew the reader in. I liked that concept so I decided that was one way to go.

But a lot of those covers were drawn. The artwork was impeccable and eye catching. I had been told that artwork, in terms of the kind of fiction I was doing, was not the best idea for a cover. But I knew that it would have to do for what I was thinking about for the cover. I had developed a very distinct idea in my head about what I wanted at that point and no photographer was going to be able to capture it.
The idea came from two of the stories in the book; The Pheromone Incident and Five by Seven. Both stories were unsettling in the fact that the people in them were suffering great deals of pain at the hands of some creature. So I wanted to showcase someone in great pain, but which of the two creatures to showcase was the question.

I went with the one I knew everyone could identify with and that was the spider. But I was particular about the kind of spider it would be. I chose the Australian Funnel Web Spider, one of the worlds deadliest spiders, as my “model”. The idea was to show it crawling out of a person’s mouth as their screaming in agony while their eyes were stitched closed. Knowing no one in the world would voluntarily put one in their mouth for a photo shoot, I had to find someone who could bring the concept to life.
At the time, I was part of a lightsber stage combat crew called NY Jedi. The group was comprised of many different artists, musicians and writers who all had a soft spot for performing and lightsaber lore. In this group I met an artist named Tara Lopez who was working on a comic strip she was pushing to the public. On her website, I found wonderful sketches and designs but what caught my eye was a style of “living art”. It’s where the art work looked almost alive. Peoples features were distinct and simply amazing.

I approached her with the idea of doing a book cover and she was excited about it until she heard the idea. She literally cringed because, as I found out, spiders were not her thing. I knew from that response I had a great cover coming. I gathered pictures of the spider in its most menacing poses and gave them to her and left her to do her work.

I went back to writing and editing the stories. When I was done I had fourteen stories I felt would work well in the book. But as I did a reread of each one, I started to discover that some of them just didn’t fit right. They were all good but there were some that I could use for a different book at a later date so I removed them. Then I decided to take a page from The Twilight Zone and write an introduction for each one. But after I put the chosen few together, the introductions seemed to be a bit much. They felt forced rather than adding something special as I intended them to. So upon working on the fourth draft, I got rid of the introductions and left the stories alone.

Next was to put them order. I had read that Stephen King, for his anthology of stories in Everything’s Eventual, used a deck of cards to help him decide the order for his stories. I went in order of when the stories were created. So the oldest and more seasoned stories came first then the newer stories followed. The final story in the book, however, was chosen specifically because it was a precursor to a series I had been working on for several years.

Satisfied with the order, I did one more edit before I got the cover from Tara and put the book together. I sent the book to the printer and had twenty copies printed right away. I sent one to the book reviewer and the others I handed out as review copies. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

One reviewer called me and said that he and his wife found errors running rapid through the book. That is probably the worse thing a writer can hear. He sent me a list of the pages I needed to look at and I went back to work correcting the stories. While working on the corrections, I discovered another minor setback; a story that did not fit with the others. The whole situation began to frustrate me so I walked away from the book for a week so that I could gather my thoughts.

I ended up taking off two weeks then I picked the book up again and got back to work. With a fresh set of eyes, I was able to find the errors and clean the manuscript up. Then I removed the story Ms. Elliston and put it to the side to use in another collection. I passed the revised edition onto an editor who made sure the mistakes were corrected then I prepped the book for print.

As I awaited the book to be reprinted, I began looking into redoing A Gamble of Faith with a new cover and a new description on the back. I contacted IUniverse to see if I could send a new cover in and they told me in order to change the cover, I needed to pay the same processing fee I did when I set the book up. I thought that was a bit much seeing as how the interior of the book was not changing. But it was further explained that they would have to issue me a new ISBN number on the new cover and that constituted as a new set up.

I took a few days to think about it and came to the conclusion that if I was going to pay to have the book redone under IUniverse, I might as well move the title under Hobbcat Publishing where I could have the freedom to do what I needed and it would be easier to manage. So I wrote a letter to IUniverse telling them that I wanted to discontinue my novel with them and that the book had been picked up by another publishing company.

While awaiting an answer from them, I began rewriting A Gamble of Faith. My original manuscript had been lost when my computer crashed and I had to begin again from scratch. Using one of the IUniverse copies I began working on copying the story over and adding a few new details to the story.

Anthorrorgy, meanwhile, made it to print and was released in May followed by a book review featured in the New York Amsterdam News. I put together a release party for the book which had a strong turnout and soon after I went back to working on A Gamble of Faith.

I went back to Marion Designs for the cover again. I knew that I wanted to keep the same theme as the original cover but I didn’t want to carbon copy it using models. I gave them a few ideas to work with and settled on a design that kept the card game feel. Whereas the original artistic cover captured nearly all the characters on the front, the new cover only encompassed three of the characters during a pivotal moment in the game.

The layout was the next phase and that outcome was surprising to say the least. When I first published the book with IUniverse, the print was small and page count was around 170 pages. This time around, the book length was 270 pages with the print size slightly larger. For the exception of a few additions, the manuscript was pretty much the same one I had originally wrote. So I had to ask myself why the original Gamble was so much thinner and smaller than this revised edition. Putting the two side by side I was able to see the difference in font seizes, page size and spacing. In the end I didn’t worry about what the book used to be, only that it was now the book it should have been all along and I was pleased with it.

A Gamble of Faith was re-released in June, a month after Anthorrorgy made its debut. I didn’t do as heavy of a release with Gamble since it technically wasn’t a new title. I did have a small release party for it which allowed people who had not read it to finally get a copy.

With the launch of two books, I went on to the Brooklyn Book Fair in September. Anthorrorgy, with its frightening cover and blurb from the Amsterdam News, drew readers right away. Those who were disturbed by the cover turned their sights to A Gamble of Faith and The Hooky Party for more light hearted reading. Sales went well for Hobbcat Publishing, Inc. and a week later I was back to work on A Gamble of Faith again. This time, I was working on revising the play.

The Hooky Party and the Birth of Hobbcat Publishing, Inc.- Part 2 of The Writers Journey

2010-01-25T21:29:00.004-05:00

The Hooky Party was my second book and, technically, my first self published novel. Like Gamble, it was based on a screenplay I had started working on with my childhood buddy Michael Barksdale. Originally we had started with a bevy of different ideas and events that developed into the concept. But after years of not being able to make the screenplay come together fully, we abandoned it and it became another idea that never got fleshed out.

I got the idea of turning it into a novel when I stumbled across the old script three years after it’s rough draft was done. Rereading it with a fresh set of eyes I started to see how to mold and shape the story better. Being able to fill in the gaps through a novel rather than tip toe around parts due to screenplay time constraints was very refreshing. Initially there was no real story behind Hooky Party other than some guys cutting school to throw one. But the novel gave me a chance to create an entire plot behind it all. So rather than just have a story about kids cutting school, I developed an entire reason behind it.

Using the names of people I knew to help me focus on the characters better, the story of teen rebellion, love and friendship slowly unfolded. Two teen friends decide to throw the Hooky Party after their new tough-as-nails principal cancels the long awaited and much beloved Senior Cut Day. Underlining that plot is a story about taking responsibility for ones own actions; a lesson the two friends learn when their party doesn’t go as planned. The intention was to make this more about a life lesson than just about rambunctious teens going wild.

In the beginning, I intended the story to be a trip down memory lane for people of my generation. I made references to things that were familiar to my growing up in New York as well as setting the story in the early nineties. I even created characters that nearly everyone could relate to (ie. The kids that steals tater tots from people, the underclassmen that liked hanging out with the older crowd and student that kissed up to the principle). But As I neared the completion of the story, I realized that the story could easily appeal to today’s youth.

But that was going to be a hard sell. I observed that many teens I saw reading books on the train were reading some very adult books. Urban Fiction (a label given to many of today’s African American books whose stories focus on or are driven by the street, sex and some violence) was a big draw for them. Very few were reading classics or even were immersed in the popular teen vampire/romance/drama stories. Was it even possible for this story to get through to them or would they even consider reading it?

I realized after looking over it that there were no stories like this out there for young adults. True, most young adults read mature subject matter, but rarely do they read something that they can really relate to in fiction. The story, a coming of age story with a lesson in taking responsibility for one’s own actions, seemed like a good fit for many of today’s teens but would they want it? That was a question I wouldn’t know for sure until I put it out there.

The novel took seven months to complete. Since this was my second novel, and I had learned so much from my initial outing with Gamble, I put a lot behind this project. I also did things a little different.

With Gamble, I edited the book myself. This time, with Hooky Party, I sought out an editor to properly go through the book and make the corrections that were needed. Granted I didn’t have a great deal of mistakes in Gamble, but it was a shorter book. This one was more intricate and detailed so I needed a second set of eyes for it. I had the entire book checked for grammar, spelling, story structure and redundancy. When I got the manuscript back and double checked it, I decided that this time I would go through a traditional publishing house.

With help from the editor, I had a query letter drawn up and I proceeded to send out copies of it to publishing houses that would take unsolicited material. As they made their way to their destinations, I sent a second set of letters out to agents, looking for representation. I knew two things going into the letter writing campaign. The first was that it would be some time before I heard anything back. The second was that many of them would come back as rejections. It was very rare for one to get picked up right away but I remained hopeful.

Within three weeks, the first round of letters came back from publishing houses with the usual “thanks but no thanks” kinds of answers. I wasn’t surprised by this and took them in stride. By the forth week, I started to get letters back from a handful of agents who wanted to see the manuscript. I packaged up several of them and shipped them out immediately.

Within a month I started to get letters back from them saying that they were passing on representation. While the rejection wasn’t too surprising, the statements following the initial rejection was. “Although the manuscript was a good read, we are not sure who to target this story to. The demographic is unclear.” One agent even stated that it seemed too difficult to even market. I was both confused and taken aback by this.

For starters, the majority of the characters in the story are high school students. Many of them are African American and Hispanic. The story is set in a high school and its about high school hi- jinx. It seemed pretty obvious to me who the demographic were. I also stated it’s a coming of age story as well. It didn’t seem confusing to me who would want to read it.

It was never made clear to me why anyone didn’t think they could move the book. Even minority companies declined the novel. If it wasn’t the writing, then what was it about the book people felt they couldn’t sell it? I never received an answer to that question and I was just left with a batch of rejection letters.

After sending out close to 50 letters and landing not a single deal, Hooky Party was destined to end up with its screenplay counter part; collecting dust in a drawer. I was left with one option and that was to publish it myself. I had enlisted the help of an artist to do a cover for me but after several months of waiting and not getting anything back, I was pretty much stuck. I had considered going back with IUniverse but at the same time, Gamble wasn’t doing too well either. As I contemplated on what to do, I received an email from Gotham Writers Workshop (I was on their mailing list) that the Center of Independent Publishers was hosting a seminar and workshop on self publishing. I figured I had nothing to loose so I enrolled in the workshop and spent my entire Saturday going to panels and learning what it meant to be a self published author.

I discovered that my decision not to go back to IUniverse was correct and in a way, the fact that my cover never got done was a blessing.

One of the panelists took a look at Gamble and told we everything that was wrong with the book. From the artist drawn cover down to the font size and pricing. Then I found out why I was not touted as an self published author. There was something on the book itself that did not belong to me but rather to the IUniverse that signified that they were the publisher, not me.

The ISBN number on the barcode had been issued to me by IUniverse. Because I didn’t buy the number myself and it was provided to me by them; it meant that they were the publisher, not me. I had to own that number and it could not be bought from them. I had to buy it under my own company name or my own. But it was strongly advised that I have a company, which I didn’t have. I also found out that there were companies out there that did book covers. I had always been under the assumption that only publishing houses issued covers. It never dawned on me to look for a company to do that. Then there was the matter of finding a printer to print the books, pricing the book and marketing. None of this had ever crossed my mind, but it didn’t sound terribly difficult to do as long as I knew where to go for what I needed.

So for nearly nine hours I listened, learned, took advice and gathered as much research material as I could. Then I went back home and for several days I did homework.

The first thing I had to do was find out how to get incorporated. I was told to check out Legal Zoom where I could have incorporations done online. On the site they offered to research the name I had chosen for my company to make sure it wasn’t already taken. I chose the name Hobbcat for the company because I had used the name before as a trademark which had long since been cancelled. Once the name was approved I went through the steps of setting it up as incorporation. The entire process took only a few weeks to have done.

My next step was getting the ISBN numbers for the company. Following the directions I got from one of the panel discussions, I went to the website where I bought 25 numbers along with some barcodes. I assigned the first number to The Hooky Party then put it to the side while I went looking for a book cover designer.
Marion Designs was my choice for cover design. The experience wasn’t what I had expected. When they replied to my email about working with me, they wanted to know what I had in mind for the cover. Granted I had thought about some ideas but I figured that the company was going to just come up with ideas on their own. But they involved me in the process and I was happy to pass along some of my ideas. They even helped me to design my company logo.

Approximately one month later I had a finished cover complete with bar code, ISBN numbers and an eye catching font design. All that was left was to do was have it printed. But I didn’t immediately have a printer to work with. I knew that I wanted to print books like I did with IUniverse which was by small volume. Many printers wanted me to order and print large quantities which would mean I would have to make room in my apartment for thousands of books. Marion Designs told me about a company that did what is called Print On Demand which allowed me to order only the amount I needed. The company was called Lightning Source. Not only were they a good place for me to print but they also work with Barnes and Noble and Amazon so when my novel was finished and approved, it was listed on their sites.

Ten months after its initial completion, The Hooky Party was finally published and was the first book released under Hobbcat Publishing , Inc.
Soon after its release, I wanted to run an ad for it in The New York Amsterdam News. I was advised that instead of an ad, to have the book reviewed. I was a little apprehensive at first because a review can swing both ways. A good one would give it life. A bad one could stop it dead in its tracks. It was a 50/50 chance I had to take.

In August of that year, reviewer Glenn Townes wrote a solid review of the book which helped kick off sales. By September, The Hooky Party, made its official debut at the Brooklyn Book Fair and nearly sold out before the day was over.

Once I knew exactly what self publishing entailed, I decided I would work to bring A Gable of Faith over from IUniverse into Hobbcat’s fold. Unfortunately, a computer crash destroyed the manuscript and I was forced to start over from scratch using the novel I had in my possession. While working on that, I started putting together the finishing touches on my third book.

A Gamble of Faith: Journey from Concept to Stage to Book- Part 1 of The Writers Journey

2009-12-22T22:43:00.004-05:00

A Gamble of Faith was a story that was spawned from two different things; a concept story and a tragic event in my life.

The concept behind the story was originally one I created for a freshman class I was taking in college back in 1990. In that story; a gangster who had just escaped being killed by a rival, runs into the devil at a diner. There, he is forced to play the devil in a game of 21 with the prize being his soul should he win. The story was received well by my professor and my classmates alike. I liked the story so much I attempted to film it as part of a project for a class. But in my attempt to transfer it to screen, I discovered it was lacking substance. With only three characters in the entire story there wasn’t much there to build on. Telling it was easy when spoken. Visually it didn’t work. So I abandoned script, not looking at it for close to nine years. Then in 1999 I picked it back up shortly after tragedy struck my family.

On a chilly night in February of that year my mother came home to find my father, Milton, dead from a heart attack in the kitchen. I was living across town at the time and had to rush home to console her. Though I had faced death in the family many times before, losing him was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It was completely unexpected and very confusing in that I always felt, better yet I should say believed, that he would ALWAYS be around. I remember thinking that the whole thing was some kind of surreal dream and that at any moment I would wake up and things would be the way they should be. But life went on, we buried him and no sooner was he buried did the anger inside me come to a boiling point. That anger went in one direction and I focused it on the only individual I could. The one who took him from us; God. Forget medical conditions or anything like that, I blamed God totally for this act.

I will admit I felt a bit guilty for doing that, since I knew that death was just a part of life. A moment in time everyone will eventually face. But grief doesn’t know rationality and blaming God was something that I couldn't help but do. I found myself asking that question, "Why God? Why did you take him? Why are you punishing me and my family?" I played it over and over in my mind and from my lips until one day I realized I wasn’t going to get an answer. It was something I had to accept and live with. And I wasn't the only one asking or saying that. Stepping back and seeing and hearing the rest of my family’s response to it, I realized that it wasn't a question to be guilty of asking. And though you know that there will be no answer to it, just being able to say it brought about a level of acceptance to the fact that he was gone. Still, being human, I wondered why it happened at all and I would say I was angrier that I couldn't get that answer from any source.

In the wake of things, I started cleaning up my files and found buried deep in a file cabinet “The Hood and The Devil” the original script based on that story I told almost a decade ago in college. I sat down and read it several times and when I was done I had this question gnawing at brain, "What would I say to God if he walked into a room and sat down across from me and asked me how I felt about my father passing?" At the time I was not sure why this particular story made me ask that question but it did.

Thinking back, it might have had something to do with the fact that the main character in the script “cheated” death by inches only to have his faith be tested by the devil. Could a person, in the wake of death, find the courage to carry on and change the person they are through simple faith and believing in themselves? I sat down and wrote out a series of questions and then tried to guess what God would say. I later applied some of those questions to the life of the thug in the story and discovered that they didn’t fit the characters persona. So I changed him to just an every day Joe and when I did that, I found there was a brand new story to tell with a greater amount of substance to go into it than before.

Now I never intended the story to be anything more than that; a story. A classic tale of good vs. evil set in the wake of one mans tragedy. The fact that everyone, at one point in their lives, faced loosing someone was something I knew people could relate to. And that feeling of betrayal when a person dies was defiantly something I knew people would understand. Couple that with the people around you that share that experience in their own way and Gamble was born. The risk I took was including God in the story. The idea was not to intrude on people's belief systems but rather include the one individual you would not think would show up; given the events in the story. I wasn’t trying to preach or force a point of view either. That was part of the reason God’s partner was finally included. That and he was very essential in throwing off the reader.

It took a year to turn the screenplay into a stage play. I got the idea in late 2000 after seeing a buddy of mine at the time, performing in a play he too wrote and directed. I first tried to go through the small production company that bankrolled his production. I had read on the playbill that they were looking for new stories to produce and I figured it was the best way to get my work out there. But after scheduling several meetings with the head of the company and constantly having to reschedule them at the last minute due to "conflicts" on their end, I became agitated and gave up.

But after talking to my buddy about the process and what he went through, I realized that all I needed was a good cast, a stage to rent out, some meager props and advertisement. All of these things I was familiar with from college and working on some independent film projects around the city. After having worked in the industry for ten years at that point, and coming off a run on the show Law and Order, I had connections in places where I could get the things I needed. What I didn't have a lot of, which was the key element, was money for the theater rental.

I did what so many had done before me which was take a credit card and pay for the rental of the theater. I made sure that I priced the tickets so that I could make both a small profit and pay the bills. Then I began rehearsals in the summer of 2002 for a fall release of the show.

The show opened at the Producers Club in New York City in October of 2002. Promotions for the show mostly went out to family and friends, encouraging them to bring a friend. When I first did the play it was on a double billing with the show Duppy which was the name of the show my friend Ron Haynie wrote, directed and starred in. The show did moderately well for its first two nights. While I was content that the first two shows went well, I was excited when I discovered that a pastor of a church, who was in the audience, requested that I perform the show at his church as a fundraiser.

That was the beginning of a two year run where the cast and myself performed the show for several churches around New York City as a fundraiser for them. In that time the show saw several cast changes happen followed by a revision to the show's opening sequence. That came after several audience members commented on the slow start of the show and felt it could get a bigger boost.

The show did get its share of critics. While many loved the show for its message and its uplifting tone, there were some who felt the portrayal of God was not a positive one. The fact that I had him playing poker and placing bets left a bad taste with many people. A line in the shows final sequence between God and the devil caused a bit of controversy regarding its meaning as well. I did my best to reiterate that it was a work of fiction and that it was never meant to offend but I learned that when people a married to a belief, there isn’t much you can say to sway them. So I took the punches and chalked it up as a learning experience on how to deal with critics.

There was one suggestion, however, I did get vocal about and that was the use of special effects in the show. There were some who felt I should have used special effects to highlight the devils coming and going. There was even the suggestion of adding some form of pyrotechnics and creating some sort of huge battle sequence between them. Though it was in big demand that I do that, I stuck to my guns and refused. I explained that special effects had no place in a story like this. One of the appeals of the show was the fact that the events of the story were actually happening. The audience gets pulled into the drama. The moment smoke and fire erupts, the audience becomes detached from the drama and start to focus on the next visual surprise. They would completely miss the subtleties of the actual story and that’s where the twists and turns are. I always remind people that up until the shocking revelation, no one knows what is really happening. Special effects would certainly give it away.

Gamble, as a play, did moderately well. I was content with the success of it and hadn’t really planned to much more with it until 2004. After one performance, several audience members who had seen the show multiple times, came to me and wanted to know if there was a novel version of the play which they could read and pass on to friends who missed the show. The question caught me off guard as that I had never thought about writing a book. They pointed out that there were things in the story that they would have liked to know more about and that a book would be the best way to address them. When I thought about it from that stand point, I agreed.

I spend the next three months transposing the script into a novel. It gave me the chance to add certain bits of information that I couldn’t put on stage due to both time and money. Characters like Eddie, the best friend who dies of a deadly disease, were able to have a voice and help push the story along and give new insight to the characters involved.

When the book was done and edited, I was going to shop the manuscript around to publishing houses. But I was swayed from doing that when I was told about self publishing. A college classmate of mine had self published his book and was finding success. He told me that I could control everything from how the book looked to the revenues all on my own without the worry of someone screwing me over. It did sound intriguing and safe so I took his advice.

He then put me on to a company called IUniverse, which specialized in working with self published authors in terms of getting them started with printing, covers and publishing. I went to their website and started the process of getting A Gamble of Faith published.

A Gamble of Faith was released in May 2004 and debuted at the Harlem Book Fair. The 137 page novel was graced with the cover that was originally on the playbill for the show which was done by Demetrius Bullock who also starred in the show. The book was subsequently sold at the remaining performances until the play closed in May of 2006.

Though the novel sold well at the shows, it did not sell too well in book stores. Lack of marketing caused it to be over looked by readers. As I moved forward in trying to understand how to make things better sale wise for the book, I learned a great deal more about self publishing and just what that meant to be self-published.

A GAMBLE OF FAITH BOOK SIGNING JULY 24th 8pm @ THE ASPEN LOUNGE- NYC

2009-07-01T14:02:00.002-04:00

Hobbcat Publishing, Inc. in association with OTT Entertainment announces the signing event of the summer. Come out and meet Brooklyn based author Marc L Abbott as he signs copies of the release of another exciting novel.

A GAMBLE OF FAITH, the inspirational story that spawned the successful play, is back in an exciting novel. It's the story of one man struggling with his faith as the forces of heaven and hell converge on him at a poker game. Filled with humor, drama, and a shocking twist tha'ts sure to surprise readers, this newly revised version of Marc Abbott's classic story is a must read, not only of the summer, but of the year.

Marc L Abbott will be on hand to sign copies of this new version for a special release price. You don't want to miss out on your chance to get this new novel.

And if you missed the ANTHORRORGY signing event and have been waiting for your chance to get a copy, the wait is over! A limited quantity of Anthorrorgy will be on sale as well. You don't want to miss out on reading the novel that Glenn Townes of The Amsterdam News called "a riveting and frightening event."

So grab a friend and come on out on Friday, July 24th to the Aspen Lounge located at 30 West 22nd Street between 5th and 6th Avenue. The event is from 8pm to 10:30. Hope to see you there!!

For more information contact us at hobbcatpublishing@yahoo.com

A GAMBLE OF FAITH IS BACK

2009-06-28T22:26:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone. I just wanted to let you know that A Gamble of Faith is back! New cover, revised story and a new length, this is edition is better than the original. Keep an eye out here and on my Facebook page and also follow me on twitter under hobbcatpublish and I will let you know when it will be available for purchase through me and Barnes and Nobles. And keep an eye out for the book signing that will be in New York City in July.

Happy Reading!

Thanks for listening to the Urban Literary Review Interview

2008-11-21T15:00:00.002-05:00

I wanted to take a moment out to thank all of you who tuned into the Urban Literary Review Interview last night. Special thank you to Martin for having me on. I really enjoyed sharing my information with everyone.

If you missed it, you can still go to their website and listen to it. www.blogtalkradio.com/urbanliteraryreview is the link. Just click on there and look for the Marc Abbott interview.

Thanks again to all of you for your support.

Urban Literary Review Interview Rescheduled to Thursday November 20th at 9pm

2008-11-19T13:27:00.001-05:00

Hey Everyone,

Please be advised that the interview with the Urban Literary Review which was to take place tonight has been cancelled.

The show has been moved to Thursday November 20th at 9pm. So tune in tomorrow night at 9pm to hear me talk about my new book and Hobbcat Publishing, Inc.

www.blogtalkradio.com/urbanliteraryreview is the link for the show tomorrow night at 9pm people not near a computer can listen via the phone 347-215-8932.

Hobbcat Publishing, Inc. on the Urban Literary Review November 19th @ 9pm

2008-11-18T13:51:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone,

I'm excited to announce that I will be on talk radio tomorrow night, November 19th at 9pm. I will be on the Urban Literary Review discussing my new book, Anthorrorgy, and talking about Hobbcat Publishing Inc. as well. If you are going to be near a computer tomorrow night be sure to tune in and listen. Be sure to tell your friends and family.

Remember thats tomorrow night, November 19th starting at 9pm. Hope you tune in.

www.blogtalkradio.com/urbanliteraryreview is the link for the show tomorrow night at 9pm people not near a computer can listen via the phone 347-215-8932.

ANTHORRORGY HAS ARRIVED

2008-11-16T17:13:00.002-05:00

Hey Everyone,

I’m here to announce that beginning Wednesday November 19th my new book, Anthorrorgy, will be available for purchase.

Anthorrorgy is a collection of thirteen original stories of horror and suspense written by me. Retail price is $15.95. It will be available on my website as well as through Barnes and Noble and Borders Bookstores. You can either order it on line or go down to your local store and order it through them.

So starting Wednesday November 19th be sure to check out the website bookstore so you can place your order.

Happy reading

ANTHORRORGY ARRIVES IN NOVEMBER!!!

2008-10-22T16:58:00.002-04:00

The weather has gotten brisk. The days are getting shorter. Darkness is lasting longer and that can only mean one thing...my new book is almost here.

Anthorrorgy will be here in November. In the meantime, here is the brub from the back of the book.

Everyone has nightmares and Marc L. Abbott invites you to delve deep into his. Enter his world where the monsters your parents told you don’t exist actually do, and they are anxiously awaiting your arrival.

The Turbulent Voyage of Flight 722 to New York – A man infected with a deadly disease threatens the lives of airline passengers when it transforms him into something inhuman.

A Language Deciphered – A writer combines ancient languages to create a tale of dread but inadvertently summons something not of this world.

The Pheromone Incident – A sweet fragrance lures three friends into a creature’s lair where it’s determined to make them its next meal.

Vampsquito – Attempts to stop the West Nile Virus spawn a breed of mosquito whose bite turns humans into blood thirsty killers.

Five by Seven – Aliens painfully interrogate the captain of a deep space shuttle mission in a makeshift prison cell after one of their own is kidnapped by his crew.

Those are just some of the nightmares that wait you.
Welcome to the darkness.
Welcome to the Anthorrorgy.

The Nightmare is Almost Here

2008-09-28T22:02:00.002-04:00

Hey Everyone,

With Halloween on itsway, its the perfect time to give you an update on my upcoming book.

It will be a collection of horror and suspense stories marking my first venture into the genre. I'm really excited about this new project. The name of the new book is called Anthorrogy (the combination of Anthology and Horror). Each story is an original one by me with wonderful cover art by artist Tarita Lopez.

If you would like to see this new cover check out the gallery page and bookstore link. For a sample of one of the stories go to the sample stories page and read Patience.

The new book is due out at the end of this month but I will keep you updated on its progress.

Until the next time....keep reading.

MLA

Thank You to all who came by the Hobbcat Publishing, Inc. Table

2008-09-16T12:26:00.002-04:00

I wanted to say thank you to all of you who came by our table at the Brooklyn Book Fair this weekend. Even if you didn't purchase a book, meeting all of you was a sheer joy.

Those of you who did purchase copies of my work, I hope you are enjoying them.

Keep your eye out for my new novel coming later in October called Anthorrorgy: A collection of horror and suspense stories written by yours truly.

We will be at Boys and Girls HS on Saturday September 27th again promoting and selling our work.

Until next time, take care.

Marc L Abbott

Hobbcat Publishing, Inc. & Author Marc L Abbott @ The Brooklyn Book Fair Sunday September 14th, 2008

2008-09-08T15:44:00.004-04:00

Hey Everyone!

The fair is fast approaching! It will happening this coming Sunday September 14th here in Brooklyn, NY at Borough Hall. If you have never been to this event you are in for a real treat. Join hundreds of writers and publishers at this outdoor event from 10am - 6pm.

Look for Hobbcat Publishing, Inc. as we will be selling copies of my books A Gamble of Faith and The Hooky Party and join us for the announcement of my new book due out in October entitled Anthorrorgy.

For more information on the fair visit www.brooklynbookfestival.org and be sure to come on down and check us out at booth space 128.

Hope to see you there.

Hobbcat Publishing, Inc. & Author Marc L Abbott @ The Brooklyn Book Fair Sunday September 14th, 2008

2008-08-15T07:50:00.000-04:00

It’s that time of year again! The Brooklyn Book Fair is coming. Sunday September 14th at Brooklyn Borough Hall and Plaza. Now in it’s third year, the festival it is a book lovers dream.

Last year Hobbcat Publishing, Inc. made its first appearance at the festival. We sold out of copies of my sophomore book, The Hooky Party, before the day was out. This year we hope to repeat. Come on down and visit us, get your copies of The Hooky Party and A Gamble of Faith and get information on the upcoming novel Anthorrorgy: A Collection of Horror and Suspense Stories due out this fall.

Visit www.brooklynbookfestival.org for more information on the festival. Hope to see you there!

A MESSAGE FROM MARC L ABBOTT

2008-08-04T23:08:00.001-04:00

To the Avid Reader:

In today’s market geared toward urban fiction, there are very few stories aimed toward our youth that contain a strong positive message or characters to go along with it. Amid the sex and the violence, there are no stories that seem to relate to coming of age without a grim and deadly fate waiting for them at the end. You will find just the opposite in my novel The Hooky Party.
With positive characters combined with the mischief of being a teenager, this story teaches our youth the value of taking responsibility for your actions as they make their way into adulthood. The life of a teenager involves issues with friendship, honesty and trust, the things that are important to a teenager’s life. The Hooky Party touches on these issues. The story is built on the concept of what happens when a good plan goes terribly wrong.
When two best friends plan an event which they feel will make them both popular and is well within their rights to do, they discount the possibilities of what could happen if things go wrong. Though they are both excellent students and very smart, like most teenagers they don’t believe that they will get caught nor face any consequences for their actions. Even when the plan starts to unravel, they refuse to back down and push forward.
But when they get caught, they find out that there is no one to blame but themselves. They also learn that friendship, no matter how strong, does have its limit. Even though it is easier to be a follower, the true test of one’s character is to be a leader of your own life. Should I say no to a friend? Will my decisions to go against the flow result in peer disappointment? Who do you blame when a joint decision goes bad? These are some of the questions that get answered in The Hooky Party as our characters learn valuable life lessons.
Though the setting is an urban high school, the teenagers depicted in The Hooky Party are not what you might think. While they are rambunctious, they are also intelligent students, family orientated and caring. Like all teenagers, they tackle the hardships of peer pressure, lean on friends for support and, most importantly, learn from their mistakes.
The Hooky Party is a good read for both teenagers and adults. Parents and teenagers can both relate to the story. It is sure to bring back fond memories; teenagers sometime forget that their parents were once teenagers too. The Hooky Party is a wonderful discussion piece for both.
A delightful urban story about coming of age without the dark and violent undertones consistently associated with urban life; The Hooky Party is a novel for everyone to enjoy. It will make a great addition to your home or school library. For more on this and my other works visit my website at www.hobbcatpresents.com.

Thank you

THE HARLEM BOOK FAIR IS ALMOST HERE! - JULY 19, 2008

2008-07-12T00:18:00.002-04:00

The fair is almost here!

Hobbcat Publishing Inc. will be at the Harlem Book Fair on Saturday July 19th. The fair will begin at 10am and go until 6pm. I will be on hand to sign and sell copies of my two novels, A Gamble of Faith and The Hooky Party. I will also be presenting a sneak preview of my next book.

Sale Prices for the books are $12 each. There will be a combo deal available that day if you buy both books together.

Also keep a special look out for our street team who will be out and about handing out fliers and pointing the way to out table. Just look for the people in the Hobbcat Publishing t-shirts and they will tell you where we are.

The Book Fair is located along West 135th Street, Fifth Avenue to Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard. For more information go to www.qbr.com. Hope to see you all there.

HOBBCAT PUBLISHING INC. at the HARLEM BOOK FAIR 2008

2008-06-04T22:40:00.001-04:00

Hello Everyone,

Get ready for an exciting summer in New York. Get out your pens and mark this date on your calendar; Saturday July 19th.

What’s so special about that date? I’ll tell you.

Hobbcat Publishing Inc. will be at the Harlem Book Fair on Saturday July 19th.

Come on down and join us at one of New York’s largest book fairs this summer. Meet me, Marc L Abbott, as I will be on hand to sign and sell copies of my two novels, A Gamble of Faith and The Hooky Party. I will also be presenting a sneak preview of my next book with a special unveiling of…well you just have to come down to the book fair to find out what it is.

The Book Fair is located along West 135th Street, Fifth Avenue to Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard.

I will update you with exact location of our booth as we get closer to the fair date.

THE HOOKY PARTY: REVISED AND AVAILABLE NOW!

2008-03-24T22:32:00.001-04:00

Good News!

The Hooky Party is back on the market. Freshly re-edited at the new price of $13.95 it is ready for order.

Thank you to all of you who brought the issues of the first edition to my attention. Pass the word on to your friends the new version is out.

A RESPONSE TO CONCERNS ABOUT THE HOOKY PARTY

2008-03-14T11:07:00.001-04:00

Hello Everyone,

Sorry I have not updated this blog in awhile, I have been busy promoting The Hooky Party and working on my collection of horror stories that will be out later this year. I want to thank all of you who have bought The Hooky Party for your support.

I wanted to take this moment to address a concern that has been brought to my attention.

Many people have come to me and said that while they have enjoyed The Hooky Party, there were some errors they discovered in the book. I myself was suprised to hear this because I had a professional editor copy edit the book before it went to print and, until recently, had not heard there were problems. One reader even brought me their copy of the book and pointed them out to me. I was mortified so I quickly went and pulled the finalized copy edited manuscript from my files fearing I might have sent the wrong manuscript to print. But when I went back through it I discovered that these errors were present.

The errors were not major in that I needed to rewrite the entire book, but if my audience is bothered by it, I'm bothered by it as well. Needless to say I got right to work correcting these problems. So for the past couple of months I have been cleaning up the mistakes. So what does this mean?

The Hooky Party is getting a little makeover. It will be the same story, just with those errors cleared up. Those of you who have noticed them, know that I am aware and that a cleaner edition is coming. When it is ready I will announce it. The book also has new price $13.95.

So know that I am busy making your reading experience the best one possible.

Look of the new announcment.

The Hooky Party Price Change

2007-11-30T16:10:00.001-05:00

Hello Eeveryone,

I just wanted to let you all know that effective December 3rd, the price of my novel The Hooky Party will change from $10.99 to $13.95. In an effort to expand sales of the book this change was needed.

If you have any questions please email me at hobbcatpublishing@yahoo.com

Thank you for your support

Annual Independent and Small Press Book Fair This Upcoming Weekend Dec. 1 & 2

2007-11-30T16:04:00.000-05:00

Hobbcat Publishing, Inc. will be present at the Annual Independent and Small Press Book Fair this upcoming weekend December 1 and 2, 2007 in New York City.

The Book Fair will be held at the New York City Center for Independnat Publishing located at 20 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036.

Admission is free but a donation of $1 is being asked at the door to support the fair. So if you are around this weekend come on in and stop by. We will be on the second floor.

Hope to see you there. For more information go to www.nycip.org

BE A BOOK REVIEWER AT BARNES AND NOBLE AND BORDERS WEBSITES

2007-10-29T15:19:00.000-04:00

I'm asking everyone who has bought and read The Hooky Party to please let the masses know what you think of it. How do you do that?

Go to either Barnes and Noble or Borders websites, search for my book and when it comes up, kindly write a review of what you think. It only takes a few minutes to do. When people see a review they tend to gravitate toward the title more and it's a great way to generate more interest in my other titles as well.

So take a moment and do a review.

Thank you all again for your support.

HOOKY PARTY UPDATE

2007-10-05T13:57:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone. I just wanted to keep you up to date on my latest novel. As of today, since it's release in August, I have sold over 80 copies independantly. Thank you to all of you who have supported my second novel. I encourage everyone to tell a friend and get them to buy a copy as well. I have receieved a lot of positive feed back about the novel as well a wonderful review of it in The Amsterdam News.

Remember, ordering it directly from me means I can autograph it and send it to you.

Thank you all again for your support.

MLA

OTHER OUTLETS WHERE YOU CAN PURCHASE OUR BOOKS

2007-09-26T15:18:00.000-04:00

We have distribution going on with both Barnes and Nobles and Borders as well as Amazon. If you would like to purchase any of our books through these retailers simply go to their websites and look up our titles. You can also request these books at your local Barnes and Nobles or Borders books stores. Ask how at your closest store.

Here are their websites:

www.bn.com
www.borders.com
www.amazon.com

ORDERING AND DISCOUNT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

2007-09-25T19:08:00.000-04:00

Q: How do I order from Hobbcat Publishing, Inc.?

A: Go to www.hobbcatpresents.com and go to the bookstore. Choose the book that you wish to purchase and click on the buy now buttons. You will be directed to the purchasing pages for each book.

Q: Why are your books published by two different publishers?

A: When I wrote my first book I enlisted the services of IUniverse and published it through them. They are the current publisher of that title. The Hooky Party is published by Hobbcat Publishing, Inc. my own company.

Q: Can I get an autographed copy of a book?

A: You can get an autographed copy of The Hooky Party if you order it directly from me. I will sign it when you purchase it and send it to you. Currently A Gamble of Faith is being offered through another company. If you order directly through them, the book will be shipped from that publisher, not from me. I am working on changing that so you can purchase it along side The Hooky Party.

Q: Do you give discounts on bulk orders on your titles?

A: At the current time we are not offering discounts on bulk orders for The Hooky Party. For discounts for A Gamble of Faith contact the publisher IUniverse for details.

Q: Do you offer any deals with bulk orders of The Hooky Party?

A: For every 50 books you buy I will throw in a free copy.

THE HOOKY PARTY BOOK REVIEW IN THE AMSTERDAM NEWS

2007-09-25T19:07:00.000-04:00

On Thursday September 27th, head down to your local newsstand or magazine shop and pick up a copy of the Amsterdam News. In it you will find a book review of my new book The Hooky Party. Pass the word on to your friends and family.

Book Review of The Hooky Party in the Amsterdam News

2007-09-18T10:35:00.000-04:00

I have been told that on Thursday September 27th, 2007 there will be a book review of The Hooky Party in that issue of The Amsterdam News. I will keep you posted on the details as the date gets closer.

Thank You to all who came by the Hobbcat Publishing, Inc. Table

2007-09-18T10:30:00.001-04:00

I wanted to extend a thank you to all of you who came by our table at the 2nd Annual Brooklyn Book Festival on Sunday. Whether you purchased a book or just stopped by to say hello, your support was heartfelt. For everyone who bought a copy of The Hooky Party, I hope you enjoy the read. Feedback from you after you have finished the book would be appreciated as well.

Thank you all again and I will keep you posted on upcoming events.

Take Care,

MLA

THE HOOKY PARTY: GET IT NOW!

2007-08-29T15:57:00.000-04:00

The Hooky Party, the first novel out under Hobbcat Publishing, Inc. is now available for you. Ask for it at any bookstore or order it direct from me from the website. All books purchased through the website will be autographed by me. Just mention to whom you would like the book made out to in your order.

Remember, books make great gifts! So order your copy today.

And see me in person at the Brooklyn Book Fair on September 16th from 10am to 6pm.

Hobbcat Publishing, Inc. & Author Marc L Abbott @ The Brooklyn Book Fair Sunday September 16th, 2007

2007-08-29T15:55:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to let you all know that I will be selling and signing copies of my books A Gamble of Faith and The Hooky Party on Sunday September 16th at the 2nd annual Brooklyn Book Fair. If you have not purchased your copies of these books you can do so at the fair. If you have purchased copies and would like to have them autographed I will be on hand to sign them for you. I am providing a link to the Brooklyn Book Fair site below.

http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/

Mark this event down on your calendar. I hope to see you all there.

THE HOOKY PARTY: NOVEL RELEASE UPDATE

2007-08-15T15:41:00.000-04:00

As you all know August 17th is the official launch of my new novel The Hooky Party. But you don't have to wait until Friday to order it.

The novel is available NOW for purchase online at Borders.

Barnes and Noble will have it available soon for purchace online but why wait? Take a trip down to your local Barnes and Noble and tell them you want to order a copy.

Or you can wait until August 17th for it to be released at my website www.hobbcatpresents.com. But I know you don't want to sit around until then.

So what are you waiting for? Head to your local Barnes and Nobles or got to Borders online bookstore (here, I'll make it easy for you http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/577394) and order your copy today.

It makes a great gift and read for the teenager in your life and a great read for all of you who are feeling a bit nostalgic for the high school days.

Get it today!

APRIL 2007 UPDATE

2007-04-18T13:44:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone,

First let me say sorry to all of you for being away so long. Alot has been happening and I had not been able to update my blog since November.

At this current moment, the email at Hobbcat is down so if any of you would like to send me an email or have anyquestions about my work or just want to say hi you can reach me at bklynfilm@hotmail.com

Big things are coming up on the horizon and I would like to share that information with all of you.

I have completed my first collection of horror stories which will include some of the ones you have seen both on my website and on writerscafe.org. No official release date has been set of them but the target time is sometime in the fall. I will keep you posted on the details of that.

I will be doing a major overhaul of my website soon with a new logo and look. Also in the works is an exclusive trailer of A Gamble of Faith that will be seen on my site. Production has begun and I'm sure you will really enjoy what you see.

Kats In Motion is working on new Bobbie and Peanut comics and they will be available soon. If you have not seen www.katsinmotion.com please check it out and drop us a line.

Finally, my new novel The Hooky Party is now in it's final stages and should be available to you all by June. The following is from the back of the book:

A story that combines street smarts with a morality lesson, The Hooky Party is set in 1990 during the final days of the senior year at JT Samuel, a predominantly black public high school in Brooklyn, New York.

Upon learning the new principal has cancelled their beloved Senior Cut Day, seniors Marc Price and Michael Starkes plot to throw a huge Hooky Party as an act of defiance. With the aid of their buddies, Anthony and Horace, they hatch a plan that looks flawless. But looks can be deceiving.

Can they pull off the party of the year, a social event that somehow manages to bind the class nerds, the cool, the jocks and the thugs together in harmony … and not get caught?

A light-hearted mixture of caper and conscience, The Hooky Party is a serious-but-funny look into the lives of African American teens with a lively cast of characters who explore friendship, loyalty, true love, and learning to take responsibility for their decisions.

I won't say anymore about the novel only that you should keep an eye out for it in June.

Until the next time my friends, take care and we'll talk soon.

Marc L Abbott

New addition to Online Novels Section

2006-11-21T14:21:00.000-05:00

Hello all. I just wanted to take a moment and announce that there is a new Online Novella on my website. It's called Goodbye and it's based on a screenplay I wrote some years ago. Since the movie was never released I decided to tell the story in novella form for everyone to enjoy. Take a moment out and check out all four parts to my novella and tell me what you think. There is also a new synopsis of my book A Gamble of Faith up as well that is a lot more intriguing.

So stop by in the online novels section and check out Goodbye and let me know what you think.

October/November

2006-10-25T23:01:00.000-04:00

Hello all. It's been a while since I have been here. I have been busy working on my latest book The Hooky Party. Trying to get it out to the masses while pushing A Gamble of Faith as well. Please tell your friends and family and co workers about my novel. Have them read it and send me some feedback. It always helps.

I will be redoing the site soon complete with new stories and a new online novella. I will make an announcement when its up and running but as always check back to the site and see whats new. My film, A Fly on the Wall is temporarily down right now but I will be putting up in a new section just for that piece and up comming clips of Gamble of Faith which is slated for shooting in April.

As always I wish you all well. Please visit me at www.Katsinmotion.com and read Boobie and Peanut. And keep a look out for the Kats In Motion tour which will begin in 2007. We'll keep you posted.

Take care.

August Update

2006-08-15T12:50:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone. It has been a while since I have been on so let me catch you all up to speed.

As you know Kats In Motion, my partnership with artist Motion, has kicked off with a new website. If you have not been to www.Katsinmotion.com go check it out. Comic strips will bee uploaded bi weekly so keep an eye out for the new stuff. And see my Navigation blog on how to get around the site.

I have completed my next novel Hooky Party and hope to publish it soon. Keep a look out here and stop by my MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/hobbcat for any new news both in and outside my literary life.

The NY Comic Con will be rolling into town in February 2007. Motion and I will be there as well as the NY Jedi, a fight coreography group I am associated with. I will provide links and details as they come to me for all of you.

Thats all for now. I will be back in a few weeks with more news.

Take care

WritersCafe.Org

2006-08-15T12:45:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone.

Just wanted to let you all know, if I haven't already, about a wonderful site called www.Writerscafe.org. It's filled with unique stories and very talented writers from all over. Stop buy and read some of their work and you can even read some of my work there as well. Plent of genres there for everyone.

Navigating Kats In Motion

2006-08-15T12:44:00.000-04:00

I have been told by many of you that when you visit the Kats in Motion site you cannot find the comic strip and that when you click on Motion Illustrations there is nothing there. Here's a brief tutorial.

Our website has a menu bar that scrolls. If you look at the right hand corner of the bar you will see an arrow. Click that and the menu bar wiill scroll over and the new headings will come up.

When you click on strips/blogs you will see the comic strip there. If it appears small or you cannot read it, click on the strip to enlarge it and enjoy the comedy.

Hope this was helpful.

Boobie and Peanut have arrived!

2006-07-28T01:04:00.000-04:00

I am proud to announce the arrival of Boobie and Peanut. Who are Boobie and Peanut? They are the new comic characters created by artist Demetrius “Motion” Bullock and writer Marc L Abbott and can only be found at their new home www.KatsinMotion.com.

The comic tells of the adventures of two married men who, when facing certain situations, reach inward and appear as their ten year old selves to the reader. Everyone else around them still sees them as adults. They touch on such topics as marriage, kids, home theater systems, friendship and, of course, being men. There’s comedy around every turn.

Stop by and meet the creators, read the Boobie and Peanut comic strips, see new artistic work by Motion, get linked to Hobbcat Chronicles or leave a message and tell the guys what you think of the site.

Be sure to keep an eye out for monthly updates and announcements about special appearances, signings and when Boobie and Peanut will hit the shelves of your local bookstore.

You never know where Kats in Motion will show up next.

MARCH MADNESS

2006-03-29T13:48:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. It has definitely been a while since I have updated so I'm ready to let you all in on what's going on.

I am beginning a new venture with the artist known as Motion. For those of you who are not familiar with his work, just check out the cover of my book. He and I are coming out with a comic strip and book called Boobie and Peanut. Who are Boobie and Peanut? You'll have to wait and see. For now, I'll keep you posted on the opening of our new website, Katz In Motion, and the details of our new venture.

I have completed my new novel The Hooky Party. It will be out in June, in time for the Harlem Book Fair in July. I'm sure you will all enjoy it. Keep a look out for the synopsis coming soon.

For those of you who read Before Dawn and have been wondering what happened to the rest of it, I regret to tell you that I am removing the series from the site pretty soon. Why? I have completely revamped the story and will be putting the complete series up in parts. I'm sure you will enjoy the new version and the explosive ending to the small series.

And finally, I am a member of a new group called NY Jedi and yes it's exactly what you think. We are a group of lightsaber enthusiasts who have been showing off our lightsaber skills at the local comic cons. We're actually having lightsaber classes here in NY in April so if you live in the tri sate area and like Star Wars or lightsabers, come on down and check us out. Details are on www.NYJedi.com.

I promise to update you all more often. Take care and be well.

Until the next time....

MLA

HOBBCAT ON MYSPACE.COM

2005-12-28T09:42:00.000-05:00

I have also joined MySpace.com. I have placed a link below so if you're in the area, drop by and say hi. I will have a blog there as well with extra info about whats going on around my city as well as new projects coming up. So if you can't make it to this blog as often as you can, just look me up on MySpace.com. Talk with you all soon.

And don't forget to pick up your copy of A Gamble of Faith this holiday season.

http://www.myspace.com/hobbcat
http://blog.myspace.com/hobbcat

DECEMBER: MUSIC

2005-12-28T09:35:00.000-05:00

Greetings everyone. I just wanted to pass this on to all of you who enjoy good original music. A fellow Alumi of my Alma Mater Clark Atlanta University has put together a band which plays reguarly in Atlanta. He goes by the name Chilton and if you have never heard of him, now would be the perfect time to become aquainted with him. I have added links to his site below. Check him out and check out his wonderful music.

http://cdbaby.com/cd/chilton

http://www.chiltonmusic.com

http://www.sonicbids.com/ChiltonTexBukSex

A Gamble of Faith in Barnes and Nobles

2005-12-21T14:01:00.000-05:00

I just wanted everyone to hear the exciting news. On a recent visit to a Barnes and Nobles here in Downtown Brooklyn in New York City, I discovered that my book, A Gamble of Faith, is on the shelf. Yes, the book I wrote and published is on the shelf! There was only one copy but one is enough to get the momentum started. I extend my heartfelt thanks to all of you who have supported my writing and share this peice of good news with all of you.

Thank you.

Marc L Abbott

DECEMBER UPDATE

2005-12-08T15:18:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!

Can you believe it? It’s December already. How the time does fly. Be sure to take time out to give thanks that you and your family are safe and healthy. I would also like to wish all of you a very happy holiday and continued success in all your endeavors. If any of you are looking for a Christmas gift for that special someone, why not order up a copy of A Gamble of Faith. Nothings better than a good book on a cold night.

As the year comes to a close, I look forward to the New Year and what it will bring. My next book entitled Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn should be out by spring. This book will contain two stories that I am currently in the final stages of editing.

Also, look for the coming of a really hilarious comic strip from myself and the artist that did the cover of A Gamble of Faith; Motion. He is a very talented brother who hails from Queens, NY via The Bronx and will be starting up his website soon to showcase his artistic work. If you’re looking for an illustrator, he’s your man. Drop me an email if you would like some work done and I’ll send that to him. But look for that website and comic in the spring.

I will be adding a new story here to the Blog real soon and remember you can order your copy of A Gamble of Faith through Barnes & Nobles, I universe and Borders. Be sure to tell a friend.

Take care,

Marc L Abbott

NOVEMBER UPDATE

2005-11-05T10:12:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!

It has been a while hasn't it. October was a very busy month for me and I neglected to sit down and touch bases with all of you. For that I do apologize. But during the month of October I was finishing up on a new book. As you all know I have been telling you about a collection of short stories I have been working on. Well I spent October editing some of those stories and I have finished the first draft of another book that is called Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn. This new book will feature two stories for which I am very proud of. It's still in the proofing stage but I should have some word on the published date by December.

In the mean time, I am still cleaning up the short stories and will let you know when that can be expected to be released.

I hope you are all well and keeping safe. Until next time.

All my best.

Marc L Abbott

A Fly on the Wall: The Movie is here!

2005-09-22T08:24:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone,

I am pleased to announce that my movie A Fly on the Wall is now up and running. When you visit the Online Novels section, you will find the link to the film at the bottom. Simply click on it. The film takes a moment to download so please be patient. Running time is 45min. There is no rating but there is some adult language and themes.

I wanted to do something different in my second outing as a writer and director. This film, both ambitious and unique, allows the viewer to continuously move through an anniversary party and listen in on the conversations of the guests. It wasn’t easy to achieve this goal and it took many long hours both on the set and in post production to get it to look just right. This is the first time this film is being shown to the public.

The story centers on a group of friends and couples waiting the arrival of their friend Eric to his anniversary party. Trouble is that no one seems to know exactly where he is. As his girlfriend fumes and his best friend takes the blame for his disappearance, we learn about the lives of those invited by listening in on their conversations. Will a high school crush finally lead to something more? Will one woman’s decision to be celibate ruin her relationship? Will Eric ever show up? The answer to these questions and many others surrounding the guests will surprise you.

Enjoy.

M. L. Abbott

September Notice

2005-09-13T09:06:00.000-04:00

Hello one and all,

The summer is almost gone which means cooler weather, changing colors of the leaves and a new set of projects. I hope to have my second book out by winter. I am currently in rewrites which is always the hardest part of the process. It takes up a great deal of time but it is nessesary and, at times, a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to giving you all something special.

There is a new story up in the stories section The Turbulent Voyage of Flight 722 to New York. When you have a chance stop by and check it out. And my movie A Fly on the Wall, will be up soon. As soon as it's up, I'll let you all know.

On a different note, I would like to send out condolences to all those who have lost some one due to Hurricane Katrina. I encourage you all to send whatever you can through whatever means you know to help aid those effected by the storm. And I send out my prayers to the children of the hurricane who are still searching for their families. May God's love and light guide them safely back to their families.

Take care

AUGUST UPDATE

2005-08-04T21:46:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone. It's been one really hot summer so far and August looks like its going to be relentless. But I'm keeping cool and making plans. By the end of the month I should have a link set up so that you can view my film A Fly on the Wall in its entirety here on line. And since I got such positive feed back from my last story post, I will be putting another story up here on the blog for you all to enjoy. Soon as my editing is done. I'm still working on the next book which I hope to have out this fall. So even in the heat, I'm keeping busy. Keep an eye out for the next story The Turbulent Voyage of Flight 722 to New York. I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Stay safe and keep cool!

Marginal Error

2005-07-11T01:11:00.000-04:00

Due to the fact that there are no tabs for me to work with, the story will be featured without paragraph indents.

New Story on Blog

2005-07-11T00:43:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone,

I had some time on my hands and decided to present a story right here to the Blog. For you horror fans I hope you enjoy it. Give me some feed back and tell me what you think.

Take Care

NEW MONTH, NEW THINGS

2005-07-05T08:53:00.000-04:00

Greetings everyone. It has been a while since I have reached out to you. I have been busy as always working on a variety of things these past few months. But I wanted to take time out to reach out to all of you.

As always, thank you to all of you who have purchased Gamble of Faith. Please pass the word to a friend or family member and encourage them to pick up a copy.

A lot of you have given me very positive criticisms of the book and others have been brutally honest about different aspects of the book. The best thing I could hope for are these types of comments. Only that way do I get a feel of what mistakes I have made and what I can do in the future to make sure I do not repeat them. I want you, as the reader, to get the best from me and enjoy my work. So I have taken what you have told me and applied it to my next batch of work.

While the cast takes some time off from the play to tackle different projects, we shall be back in production with a show in the fall. I will keep you posted.

I am still working on my collection of stories as well. Work on those is coming along nicely and I hope to have it completed before the summer is out. Look for a fall/winter release.

Back in 2001 I wrote and directed a film called A Fly on the Wall. Until now, the film has been locked away in my apartment but thanks to some encouragement and a little help from modern technology, it will be seen by all of you for the first time. The 44 min. film tell the story of several friends at a party who take the opportunity to express their love, lives and personal issues with one another while they await the arrival of their guest of honor. You, the audience, are guided through the party and eavesdrops on each conversation as they unfold. The film will be exclusively shown here so keep an eye out for it in the weeks ahead. I will have a special link for it so that you can watch it in its entirety.

Exciting things are happening and I will continue to keep you all in the loop. Until we talk again, have a safe and wonderful summer and continue to support aspiring writers!

Take care & God bless!

M.L. Abbott

THE CHRONICLES ARE IN THE WORKS

2005-05-10T01:01:00.000-04:00

Hello one and all. Spring has finally settled in and with that comes new and exciting things. As you all know I have been busy with several writing projects. Though I admit it's not the best way to work, I feel I work better when my mind is designing different things at one time. The coming together happens during the editing process which is the hardest part next to creating the work.

As you know I have mentioned that I have a collection of stories that I have been working on. Well it is almost done and when the editing is done, which will take a while, I will be releasing The Hobbcat Chronicles which will be made up of a couple of stories from the site plus some new stories that have never been released. As the time gets closer to the release I will let you know more.

In the mean time, run out and get yourself a copy of Gamble and curl up and relax with it. I will keep you posted on the upcoming release of my new book.

Peace and God Bless

A SUCCESSFUL GAMBLE

2005-04-24T22:07:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to thank all of you who came out to the show on Friday and Saturday. Both nights were a stellar success and we couldn't have done it without your support. But there is no rest for the wery. I am back putting pen to paper and working on a new project. So keep an eye out for the next production.

Thank you.

April Is Here

2005-04-05T23:05:00.000-04:00

Hello one and all. April is here and my how the time does fly. Seems like only yesterday it was January. Things are getting mild here in the Big Apple and I wanted to extend a thank you to all of you that have been supporting me. As you all know, Gamble will be at the Producers Club April 22 & 23 so if you haven't gotten you ticket yet, get a move on. They're going fast!

I'm still working on some side projects. My new novel, some shorts and some new things for the site. Just taking my time so I can get it right. Until the play is over, however, I won't be ready to send you Before Dawn yet. But all good things come to those who wait.

With that said, I bid you all a wonderful month and look forward to seeing you all at the show.

Take care.

MARCH UPDATE

2005-03-24T10:35:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. March is slowly coming to a close and there are a lot of events coming up in the coming months. I'd like to thank all of you who have purchased a copy of Gamble and I hope you have enjoyed it. I am currently working on a couple of new projects which are now in edit mode. I projected a spring release for my collection of short stories but I've decided to wait. It's requiring some extra attention and as always, I want to give you the best. But for all of you Gamble fans out there, the play is back and making a 2 night run at the Producers club here in New York City. Information on the play is provided on the blog so if you want to come out and see the show, please do. I have something special planned for one lucky audience member each night of the show. So come out and enjoy a great evening of live theater.

I have put Before Dawn on hold for the time being so those of you who are waiting for the next installment, don't worry. I have not forgotten you. The next one will appear sometime in April.

Until next time, be safe and God bless!

The Gamble Begins April 2005

2005-03-03T01:01:00.000-05:00

A Gamble of Faith: The Play
Based on the novel by Marc L. Abbott

Starring:
Monique Andress
Demitrius “Motion” Bullock
Brother John Hendrickson
Malinda Logan
Waliek Crandall
Marc L. Abbott

Stage Manager
Benereia M. Abbott

Stage Assistant
Constance Brown

Written and Directed for the stage by
Marc L. Abbott

Performances: Friday April 22nd at 7PM
Saturday April 23rd at 7PM
At The Producers Club 358 West 44th Street
New York, New York

Tickets are $20 in advance and at the door
Contact Marc at 212-767-9399 for Tickets

A Gamble of Faith: When Terrence decides to bring his new girlfriend Lucy to an annual Friday night poker game, his friends Marquis and Alyssa welcome her with little reluctance. But then two mysterious men from her past crash the game and slowly a world of trouble unfolds.
Arguments ensue, old gripes and bottled up emotions bring untold truths to the surface. Bitter feelings pit nearly everyone at each other’s throat.
That is until one of them discovers the true identity of the guests and uncovers the presence of something evil in their own midst. An evil bent on taking one of them away forever unless someone is willing to lay everything on the line…

A GAMBLE OF FAITH SET TO RETURN

2005-02-16T21:42:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! After a minor set back, A Gamble of Faith is back on. We have set the dates, Friday and Saturday April 22 & 23 at 7pm at the Producers Club in New York City. I will let you all know the ticket prices, transportation and other general information real soon. So mark the days down and keep an eye out for more information.

Take care!

BEFORE DAWN PT. 3

2005-02-15T18:33:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Before Dawn Part 3 is now up and available for your reading pleasure. And just to keep you up on things, we are definatly planning the showing of A Gamble of Faith. I should have the deatils for all of you by the end of the week as to where and when. So keep reading and I'll be in touch.

Take care!

GAMBLE PLAY POSTPONED

2005-02-07T10:24:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that the play has been cancelled. The people hosting the event cancelled the show and did not inform us until recently. So there is no show for February 19th. So what does this mean?

We know so many of you want to see the show who have missed it in the past and those who have read the book want to see it too. So we are planning a new show! That's right, we want to give you what want. The cast and myself are working on a new date which will probably be sometime in April and we will be giving you two nights instead of one. Details on this will be up in two weeks so if you planned on coming, keep April in mind. It will be a great treat for the spring. So as soon as we set the date, we will announce it to you all. We'll let you know where tickets can be purchased and trust me, you will not be disappointed.

Keep checking here for details. And keep a look out for Before Dawn Part 3. The fight still wages on.

Take care!

A New Year

2005-01-16T02:19:00.000-05:00

Hello one and all. I hope the holidays were good for all of you. With the new year here, I am preparing to make things bigger and better. Before Dawn Part 2 will be up soon so keep an eye out for that. Gamble the play will hit the stage on February 19th and finally, a collection of my short stories will be out before the summer. As always I will keep you all posted.

Take care & God Bless!

Holiday Wishes And More

2004-12-21T16:17:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. I hope the weather isn't getting you down and the spirit of Christmas is flowing through your veins. I just wanted to take this time out to thank you all for your support and look forward to giving you some new stuff in the New Year. If you were wondering, Before Dawn is currently in edit mode. I want to bring you the best possible continuation I can. I am also busy with my novel The Dead Syndicate. You might want to check out the online novel area for a sneak peek into the life of the main character in his diary.

Have a safe and happy holiday and I will see you all in the new year!

Before Dawn Unleashed

2004-11-28T23:23:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I would like to announce that part one of Before Dawn is up and running. Just go to the Online Novels section and check out the beginning of this series!

A Gamble of Faith Play Update

2004-11-23T23:33:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. Hope you all are doing well. I'm looking forward to the start of my new series Before Dawn, which you will soon be able to read here on my site. I promise it will be an exciting, frightening and interesting series.

On the play, it will take place on February 19th, 2005. The tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door. You can call Constance at 718-783-5761 or Sheila at 347-244-4682 for ticket information. This will be a dinner theater event with dinner being served from 5pm to 6pm. So come out and see the show. And don't forget to read the novel.

Enjoy the holiday!

Before Dawn: A New Series Coming Soon

2004-11-16T18:46:00.000-05:00

Jason Creed walked out of his apartment and into a nightmare. The apocalypse came while he slept. The world as he knows it is over or is this the beginning of something else?

Seven people have survived the end of the world, now they must defend it or die trying. Before Dawn is a tale of good versus evil in a post apocalyptic world. Where demons hunt the last of mankind and seven warriors draw their powers from angelic weapons to stop them.

Coming exclusively to the online novels section, a new series just for you readers. Will those left behind be able to stop evil Before Dawn? Come find out.

Gamble of Faith at the Schomburg Center

2004-11-11T22:55:00.000-05:00

I received a letter telling my that my novel has become a part of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture here in New York City. Those of you who visit the Schomburg, stop in and ask for the book.

Take Care

A Gamble of Faith: The Revised Edition

2004-11-09T09:43:00.000-05:00

The plays the thing! As reported earlier, A Gamble of Faith will be making it's return to the stage in February. I have advance information for you all about the venue and a number you can call if you have questions about tickets.

Sacred Impressions Productions in conjunction with Hobbcat Productions Presents:

A GAMBLE OF FAITH
February 19th, 2005
at John Wesley United Methodist Banquet Hall
260 Quincy Street (Between Bedford Avenue & Nostrand Avenue)
Brooklyn, NY
(718) 783-5761

I will continue to update you on the tickets and show time as the months move on. In the mean time, why not grab yourself a copy of the book and read it before seeing the show. Just go to the short story section on the site and punch the link to iUniverse.

Take care one and all.

A Gamble of Faith Returning to the Stage

2004-11-05T13:29:00.000-05:00

Before it became a book, A Gamble of Faith was a play. Now's your chance to see it. We are returning to the stage February 19th 2005. Details on where and show times will be coming soon. Advance ticket sales will also be announced as well. Mark the date on your calendar now and before you see the play, pick up a copy on the book at www.iuniverse.com

Open Mic Night Every Wednesday In Brooklyn, NY

2004-10-26T19:00:00.000-04:00

Every Wednesday Night in Brooklyn, my friend and restaurateur Luther hosts Open Mic Night at his new restaurant called Cafe Shanes. Here, people from all over the five boroughs come to do a host of different things from Jazz to spoken word to poetry. I will be doing short fiction and storytelling. For those of you who would like to come and hear some of my work or participate yourself in open mic or even better, come for the vibe and really great food, then come on down to Cafe Shane in Brooklyn.

Cafe Shane is located at 794 Washington Avenue b/w St. Johns Place and Sterling Place. Take the number 2 or 3 Trains to Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum, exit to your left and walk straight to Washington Avenue. Cafe Shane is only three blocks from the train. Or if you're in Brooklyn take the number 45 Bus to the corner of Sterling Place and Washington Ave. You can call them at 718-399-9001.

Open Mic sign up is at 7pm and begins at 8pm to Closing. So come on down for a night of prose, good food and friendly atmosphere. I recommend the cheeseburgers but they have a full menu of great dishes. Hope to see you there!

Welcome To Hobbcat Chronicles

2004-10-25T11:48:00.000-04:00

Welcome one and all! The site offically opened at 11:30AM NYC time on October 25th 2004! I want to take this moment to welcome each and everyone of you to my site. Take a minure to browse around and see what's what. I have short stories, special online posts and will be updating often.

With Halloween right around the corner (my favorite time of year) enjoy the tales of terror that are in the short stories department. I will be adding a new story in the coming months as well as update all of you on my collection of short stories I plan to release in the spring.

Also get aquainted with the characters of the Dead Syndicate. Only here will you get special background information on certain characters and a sample chapter from the first volume of the book due out in late 2005.

In the mean time, enjoy. Send the word out to friends and family and if you haven't had the chance, check out my first novel A Gamble of Faith which is out now. For those of you who saw the stage version, you'll enjoy the new twists and turns of the novel. There is a link to the iUnivers site where you can buy it or just log onto Barnes and Nobles or Borders and order it from there.

Take care!