By Scott Nicholson
Haunted Computer
[Editor’s Note: this is a guest post as part of Scott Nicholson’s blog tour. Enjoy!]
“Whatever happened to you, man?”
That innocent question came from my friend Mark Justice, early in our podcast interview last year for Pod of Horror. I was silent for a moment, considering the implications of the question. To many outside observers, particularly those who primarily knew me from my six supernatural thrillers that came out in mass-market paperback, it looked like I had disappeared. I haven’t listened to Mark’s recording yet, but I was probably a little uneasy and defensive, as if I had somehow failed at something.
Of course, if you measure me as a “horror writer,” because of what was stamped on the sides of the books, then maybe I had disappeared and failed. There are plenty of reasons, both internal and external, but the truth is, even during that era that I now consider Act I of my career, I was writing in many different formats and genres. Those paperbacks were just the most visible artifacts of the era.
Even the “horror” thing seems a little odd to me. In the last few years, I have become less interested in the more unsavory elements of the genre, particularly the violence commonly associated with the graphic movies that come out under the banner. I see the genre as broad enough to hold both supernatural suspense and brutality, and I’d never stop anyone from getting the reading material they want, as long as it doesn’t directly harm someone. But I want more than a cheap thrill.
So what happened to me? Well, life changes, career changes, passion changes.
I’ve been working on comic books, screenplays, and children’s books, as well as some mystery, fantasy, and humor. Some of it is scary and has paranormal elements. Some of it is so unlike what people think of as a “Scott Nicholson book” that they probably won’t believe I wrote it. Which is exactly how I like it. Something like As I Die Lying is billed as The Worst Novel Ever Written. New York turned it down 117 times, just like in the book. And now it is out. “No” didn’t work. The book happened.
The era has changed so much that getting published in mass-market paperback is nearly the worst possible way to reach readers, and certainly one of the most time-consuming, clumsy, and least rewarding. And readers are now paying $8 or $9 for the privilege, which seems unfair for a disposable pulp product that was designed to be carried in a purse or back pocket.
So the new era means I can publish everything, and I can do whatever I want without worrying about branding or platform or market or genre label or store category or all the other publishing considerations of Act I. All I have to worry about now is you.
If I give you what you want, you can give me a few bucks. Not much in between us.
What happened to me? Forever Never Ends, a revision of my 2003 paperback The Harvest, is now in the author’s preferred edition. Speed Dating with the Dead. Drummer Boy, a coming-of-age story about the misfit kid in all of us that just happens to use supernatural elements.
These days, I just want to leave something lasting for my kids, important messages and lessons that will help them deal with the world. Sure, the world is scary. But it’s also a world where you follow your dreams, and you move on from people who hinder or darken the dreams.
More than three years after my last mass-market release, I have more books out than ever before, all available around the world at any time. I’m working on multiple translations to get stories to more people. Three years after I looked dead, I am shambling back like a zombie with a typewriter, cooking up a witch’s brew of strange fiction that has me giggling, disturbed, and satisfied, yet eternally hungry for more all at the same time.
What happened to me?
Everything.
Read me and see.
[Editor’s Note]
Scott Nicholson is author of The Red Church, The Skull Ring, and 10 other novels, five story collections, four comics series, and six screenplays. A journalist and freelance editor in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, he often uses local legends in his work. This tour is sponsored by Amazon, Kindle Nation Daily, and Dellaster Design.
To be eligible for the Kindle DX, simply post a comment below with contact info. Feel free to debate and discuss the topic, but you will only be entered once per blog. Visit all the blogs on the tour and increase your odds. Nicholson is also giving away a Kindle 3 through the tour newsletter and a Pandora’s Box of free ebooks to a follower of “hauntedcomputer” on Twitter. And, hey, buy his books and put him in the Top 100 and he’ll throw in another random Kindle 3 giveaway. Thanks for playing. Complete details at: Nicholson Blog Tour
Scott– it has been so interesting reading about your life! I can’t wait to check out all of the stops on the tour 🙂 Thanks for all of these great posts.
What a wonderful success story, Scott. You’ve latched on to the future of books with both hands, and I look forward to reading your stories.
caity_mack at yahoo dot com
I am dying to read your books! It is nice to be able to write and only focus on the readers and not all the other junk that gets in the way of your audience.
gigglesandlollipops at gmail dot com
It’s kind of stupid of people to think that authors, like anyone else, won’t change. Life changes, people change, writing styles change and thankfully!
How could an author survive telling the same story over and over again? (Maybe Dan Brown can answer that one)
Making my Kindle stop 😉
mayarend -at- yahoo.com.br
Hey, it’s about time. I’ve been waiting all morning for Scott Nicholson’s guest blog (get a life, Christa).
What? You’ve been sleeping in? No excuse. This is LABOR day after all! Hi Scott, your annoying Swiss-American is stalking you again. Read “Speed Dating with the Dead”, folks. It’s not just a great title, but a spooky, funny, and, at times, tender book. It rocks.
Cheers,
Christa
[email protected]
What? I’m the first one?! Well, I guess I got my stalking down pretty good now. As soon as that newsletter is out I’m hitting up the blog hosting for that day. Can you tell I really want a kindle? Well, I’m also enjoying finding new blogs, and reading Scott’s post for the day, of course. It’s entertaining as always! But I think it’s really great that a person can really follow their dreams and writing/doing whatever they wish and still ‘make it’, depending on what their idea of ‘making it’ is, I suppose.
candace_redinger at yahoo dot com
Well, that answers that question…..I love the visual of a shambling zombie with a typewriter. I’ll have to get this one, sounds like my kind of book.
Scott,
Thanks for sharing “what happened to you”. As an aspiring story-teller myself, I’ve no experience in the world of publishing however after discovering your books (starting with The Red Church) in Barnes & Nobel and loving them, only to have you mysteriously disappear from their shelves, it’s good to understand what direction you are taking now. This gives me hope for any future work I may try to get out there. Keep at it Scott, you’re work is too good to be hidden.
calseeor (at) gmail (dot) com
So glad your career was reborn with ebooks!
kissinoak at verizon dot net
Thanks the post Scott. Could you go into more details about how independent authors can find and use translators?
Thanks!
Tom
tztomfromcali _ at _ gmail _ com
Yet another stop on Scott’s blog tour – yippee! It’s been great fun discovering all of the new book blogs – thanks Scott!
lorraine_lanning[at]yahoo[dot]com
You definitely give what we want Scott!
Hi Scott. Following your tour. Continued success and may you have the best year ever. For the book As I Die Lying being billed as The Worst Novel Ever Written my question is~How did you keep from being discouraged and giving up on getting that book out? Congrats on it being released. Hope it becomes a best seller so you can say I told you it was a great book.
katsrus(at)gmail(dot)com
I think you’re right on, leaving something lasting for your kids. And publishing various genres in various outlets matches the new creative model. Keep it up.
[email protected]
We all change and grow. Writers, too. Look at Anne Rice – about-face! 😉 Hopefully your change goes a little deeper than that (and I imagine it does, knowing you). The things that were important to us in our 20’s just aren’t the same when we’re in our 30’s or 40’s. It’s good to leave a legacy.
-Inanna
inannajourney at gmail dot com
I have serious trouble imagining anything Scott wrote being dubbed as the worst anything. He is such a talented author! Thanks for being a blog stop for us!
Hoping I win a Kindle.
web at jasonfedelem dot com
“Whatever happened to you, man?”
Maybe, when your friend Mark asked that question, he was referring to your post-sex change? You are quite stunning now as a woman–especially with the beard (I am so glad you decided to keep it).
You look FABULOUS! I just hope the wife never finds out…
Continue to be the change
michaellmartinjr[at]gmail[dot]com
Another great blog you have turned us onto
I’m beginning to feel like a stalker! I have a number of books to read, but looking forward to starting on some of Scott’s books soon.
What happened to me?
Everything.
Not many people can say this. In today’s economic challenges we must be willing to leave our comfort zone and try something new. Good luck Scott and continued success with this tour.
Nothing wrong with breaking out of a specific genre. Some of my all-time favorite books have been from “categorized” genre authors who decided to write something different than that for which they became known. (Is that the most awkward sentence of the day? It should be.)
geekgirlunveiled at gmail dot com
I like the idea that you can write what you want to write, without having to make it fit into any specific category.
Just stopping by
I like the idea that you can write what you want to write, without having to make it fit into any specific category.
chey127 at hotmail dot com
Great post! Awesome giveaway!
Sounds like you are really enjoying this new phase of your career. Which in my book is more important than sticking to writing just for a small segment of readers.
Sandra
dreamsgate at clearwire dot net
So excited about this blog tour. I’m finding so many fun new blogs and have found a great new author!
kelly.r.morin(at)gmail(dot)com
I’ve always said that in order to make friends, you have to open up, give a little of yourself. Well, Scott, you’re putting yourself out there on this tour, turning loyal readers into friends. Each day we learn a little more about you. You’re a family man. You like chickens. And “Life” has happened to you, just as “Life” happens to all of us. We can feel something in common with you, and like you all the more, not just for your entertainment value, but for yourself, the person you are. Thanks for sharing.
Gail in Florida
cowgirl3000 at gmail dot com
Woo! 1st comment. Thanks for the contest!
dancer_girl76(at)sbcglobal(dot)net
I look at book publishing like I do music, there’s some great mainstream stuff out there, but I guarantee that there is some equally great (if not greater stuff) that never sees the light of day!
Go to the store and buy some apples. You can purchase a prepackaged bag of them for a good price and get some good ones. Or you can go hand sort through them and pick the ones YOU want individually. Yeah, you might get home with one that had a soft spot you didn’t notice, but YOU picked it. Not someone in a warehouse somewhere. Plus, you don’t have to settle for just one kind. One day you might feel like a Fuji and tomorrow you might want a Rome.
Scott, I like your apples! (Oh my, that could be taken WAY out of context)
I think many of us older readers are only beginning to catch on to the idea of books going into the digital age and therefor have been more reluctant than the younger readers to embrace the new formats. After reading your post I am aware of so many more advantages there are for an author- and as you pointed out- those advantages benefit us readers. Thanks again for another informative post.
waitmantwillie at hotmail dot com
117 rejections! This shows you should not give up which other authors need to realize as rejection is hard to take.
Scott
Enjoying Drummer Boy. Keep the tour going!
Doug
dwdorow(at)gmail(dot)com
I’m really enjoying reading your guest blogs, Scott. This spot is especially inspiring because you took your writing in the direction you wanted, all on your own, and are better for it.
This is proof positive that the major publishers don’t know what’s best. I look forward to more authors taking control of their works and their careers via the digital publishing platform.
Way to go!
not sure i am into reading horror but might have to try it a bit to see how you view ‘horror’…see if there is a difference between horror and gory.
Hm… Sounds great! I’m officialy the stalker of Scott (scary) I simply love his books. And the Kindle giveaway is simply too amazing for words. Anyway, thanks for the lovely guest post. You can reach me at [email protected]
“I just want to leave something lasting for my kids, important messages and lessons that will help them deal with the world. Sure, the world is scary. But it’s also a world where you follow your dreams, and you move on from people who hinder or darken the dreams.” I completely agree with this statement. All I want is for my kids to be safe and enjoy life and follow their dreams, not mine.
rbooth43(at)yahoo(dot)com
You’re getting quite a pack of stalkers, aren’t you? I’m starting to picture the whole lot of us as a pack of zombies shambling after you, shouting “Kindle!” instead of “Braaaaains!”
[email protected]
what a nice post – I got a good idea of why Scott started to write and the way he writes!
Contact info – [email protected]
e-Volving Books
I agree with the $8 for paperbacks! Gak! Buying them used is the best way, but then the author doesn’t profit from it so I feel bad about doing that. That is why I love my kindle, you can find great titles for great prices if you are willing to take a chance on someone new 🙂
blog hopping hoping for a chance at the kindle…there are some really interesting blogs out here. thanks for the opportunity
neednspace at aol dot com
I’m reminded of the hide-and-seek cry: Ready or not, here I come. That seems to be the cry now for e-publishing. Whether you like e-books or not, they are here to stay.
I would LOVE a Kindle DX. Thanks for the opportunity to win one! 🙂
Interesting to note the growing aversion to graphic horror. I can certainly relate to that when it comes to films, as so many seem predisposed to gore for gore’s sake nowadays. Perhaps it’s the Hollywood mentality towards the genre that keeps it shackled to purely jump scares without offering real substance.
Mind you, I think there is plenty of room for blood and gore if it serves the story rather than the audience.
Quick replies before I bop you over to KindleObsessed.com for the Sept 7 stop–
translations–just get out there and look. There is a translation society but I haven’t had luck because I pay royalty and they want cash. Look for writers in other countries. I do thing there is a cottage industry in matchmaking waiting to happen if anyone is into that.
Sue–during the tour I will be highlighting one specific book at some of the stops. One of the questions was, “How can I do 90 different posts and not repeat myself?” Well, there’s 15 books so that’s a sixth of the tour!
Bring it on, stalkers! But if you break into my house, you better be cute!
Scott
Following in your wake, Scott 😉
It’s interesting to read your thoughts about digital publishing and how easy it is making it to publish.
Sigh. Another blog I didn’t ‘need’ know about…. I can see myself ‘wasting’ far too much time here.
Loving the tour, so far!
briank68{at}gmail{dot}com
Scott for president. Turn all the democrats to zombies. Reg