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REACH YOUR APEX
Early October Updates
Can you believe it's October? It's my favorite time of the year. The weather cools down. Horror movies are released in theaters. Writers are inspired to reach into the dark depths of their imagination!
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This month we have some horror-related writing workshops for you. Check them out!
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THE HORROR, THE HORROR
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In the spirit of the season, today I will share five of my favorite horror novels. In our next newsletter later in the month, I'll share five outstanding horror shorts.
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- THE TROOP by Nick Cutter - A scout leader takes his troop on a weekend trip on an isolated island off the coast of Canada. Parasites, body horror, and a whole bunch of terror ensues.
- THE TERROR by Dan Simmons - Another situation of isolation, being trapped, and a mysterious entity killing its way through the book's characters. Based on the doomed Franklin Expedition.
- FOUR AND TWENTY BLACKBIRDS by Cherie Priest - A wonderfully crafted piece of American Southern Gothic of ghosts, graveyards, and family roots.
- THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM by Victor Lavalle - A stunning breakout that turns the tropes of Lovecraft into an unsettling story of a cursed musician with the power of summoning the Old Ones.
- THE PASSENGER by Justin Cronin - A flawed classic and perhaps my favorite vampire novel. A government agent protects a young girl who is immune to a lab created virus that's spreading out of control.
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PAYING IT FORWARD: MARK ALLAN GUNNELLS
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RYA asks Mark Allan Gunnell "What advice do you have for writers just beginning in their career?"
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Remember that you aren't just looking for a publisher to pick you; you need to pick the publisher. What I mean by that is that you need to be selective.
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Starting out, we are all eager to be published, the temptation exists to accept any contract put before us immediately without consideration. I suggest that you need to be more thoughtful than that.
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First, read the contract thoroughly and make sure all the terms are acceptable to you. If you aren't sure what the industry standards are, it's easier than ever to consult other writers and ask them what is standard in publishing contracts these days. If you find there are things in the contract that aren't to your liking, you are perfectly within your rights to ask the publisher to make changes. The publisher does not have to, and then it's perfectly okay to walk away and keep shopping the work around. That can be difficult, but you don't want to be taken advantage of.
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Also, the publisher with the most recognizable name isn't always the perfect match for you. I recommend that you look at how they treat their lesser known authors. I have noticed certain publishers do a lot of promotion for authors who are well known in the field, but if they publish someone new, that book is dumped on the market with little promotion or effort. You don't want that. You want a publisher that treats all their authors like big names and gives them equal promotion. It publishing with a company that has greater prestige doesn't do you any good if no one even knows you put that book out. I've found greater success at times with smaller upstart publishers because they put the work into promoting my book.
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And above all, you need to know what YOU want out of being published. It might not be the same thing I want out of it or other writers. You need to figure out your goals, and they don't have to match anyone else's, then find a publisher you think will be the best fit for helping you achieve those goals.
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ABOUT MARK ALLAN GUNNELLS
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Mark Allan Gunnells loves to tell stories. He has since he was a kid, penning one-page tales that were Twilight Zone knockoffs. He likes to think he has gotten a little better since then. He loves reader feedback, and above all he loves telling stories. He lives in Greer, SC, with his husband Craig A. Metcalf.
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OCTOBER WORKSHOPS
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World-building in Cosmic Horror
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$30.00
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Even in the unblinking glare of infinite darkness, there are rules that must be followed. The good news is that as a writer, you get to define those rules. Author Mary SanGiovanni will provide tips, recommendations, and exercises to help you build the most dreadful, hopeless cosmic horror world possible.
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The Horror Hero's Journey
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$30.00
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Learn to use the pattern of the Hero’s Journey to construct effective horror fiction from multiple Stoker Award winner Tim Waggoner.
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$30.00
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Using chapter two of Jeff Vandermeer's WONDERBOOK, we will explore narrative life forms (what’s the difference between a novel and novella?), the elements of fiction (such as POV, dialogue, description and style), different approaches to style, and the lifecycle of a story. Finally, we will wrap with a writing challenge as well!
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This is a standalone workshop. You do not need to have taken chapter one to understand this one.
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LATEST VIDEO ON DEMAND WORKSHOPS
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Learn at your pace for the right price!
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A Guided Exploration of Wonderbook - Video On Demand
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$15.00
We explore how Jeff Vandermeer's Wonderbook is set up to guide you, work through the information presented in the introduction and chapter one, and wrap up with a writing challenge.
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This standalone workshop is part of an ongoing series that uses Wonderbook as its focal point for studies.
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Workshop led by Darian Bianco.
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The Art of Finishing - Video On Demand
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$15.00
Do you have three-quarters of a novel? Eighteen short stories without endings? A dozen half-poems? Like everything else, finishing projects is a skill that can be taught. We’ll cover common barriers to finishing, the joy of crappy first drafts, and provide each student with a roadmap to finish that thing they’ve been meaning to finish!
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Workshop led by Marie Vibbert.
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BLOG THOUGHTS: Five Great Writing Craft Books You Might Have Overlooked
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Recently, as I’ve treated my writing as a skill to be honed, to be perfected but never perfect, and as a source of income on a professional basis, more and more of that reading has gone into consuming books about the craft of writing, about the unique profession of creating original artistic work, and about how to build a life around such endeavors.
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