Is Kindle Worlds Right for You?

I was recently asked to share my thoughts on Kindle Worlds and whether I would ever contribute to it. For those of you who don’t know, this is a relatively new platform created by Amazon to facilitate collaborative world-building between writers. Here’s how it works.

An author with an established series of books in a unique universe is invited by Amazon to set up a Kindle World, a platform for other writers to create stories based on the characters and world building of the original author. These new stories are sold on Amazon, with the new writer getting paid royalties for their work. The idea behind it all is to provide lesser-known writers with a means of writing stories with a broader fan-base while the author gets additional publicity for the original series. It can also be good for fans of established franchises, as they get to have more content than a single author can produce. Some people are claiming it to be a perfect marriage between the roles of a professional author and a fan fiction writer.

There are, however, some important things to note. First, unlike most fan fiction, a reader has to pay to read it, just like a normal book. It’s also forbidden to do any sort of crossover story (Star Wars meets Star Trek, Yu-Gi-Oh meets My Little Pony, etc.) preventing one of the most common tropes of fan fiction stories. Perhaps most importantly, contributing writers lose nearly all rights to their story once it’s been published through this platform, meaning (among other things) that a writer’s characters and/or story can be adapted into a film, tv show, another book, and any other type of media and the writer will not receive any payment or creative control.

While many of these facts could affect a writer’s decision about whether or not to participate, I think there’s a more subtle issue going on with Kindle Worlds. A while back I wrote an article called The Different Faces of a Storyteller in which I compared the purpose of different types of writing. I described the purpose of fan fiction as a type of goodwill gesture and community outreach to fellow fans of a particular story. It’s a way to connect with other fans and pay tribute to something that they both love, free of any limitations or restrictions.

Kindle Worlds seems less like a paid fan fiction platform and more like an easy way to create a franchise out of a series of stories, generating as many titles as possible within a familiar universe. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it limits the potential audience. Fan fiction readers can go to a place like Wattpad and read a plethora of similar stories for free, while fans of the author (not the franchise) will ignore the attempts of other writers to “copy” them.

So, will I ever contribute a story to another writer’s Kindle World? No. Even as a child playing make-believe, I was more likely to make up my own characters and stories than pretend to be a character in someone else’s story. Would I ever allow a series of mine to become a Kindle World? Probably not. I’d worry that the writers weren’t being faithful to the source material while at the same time feeling bad about the many restrictions placed on their creativity.

If you’re interested in either reading Kindle Worlds stories or contributing to them, you should definitely check it out. My friend, Terry Persun, has a Kindle World dedicated to one of his series and was very generous in providing a great deal of insight as I wrote this article. My only caution to writers is to carefully read the user agreement (long as it may be) before you give Amazon your story.

Now's a Great Time to Join my Team

This month, my street team -known as Lindsay's Guild of Adventurers- completed their first monthly quest since the creation of the group. As a reward, I'll be hosting an online role-playing experience set in the world of The Beast Hunter sometime in February. I've been busy creating a basic rule system designed to provide structure for combat and beast hunting while allowing enough freedom for players to really role-play their interactions between each other and the various characters they'll encounter. The system is almost ready for testing, and soon players will receive copies of the rules so they can start preparing their characters.

If you're not a member of my street team, there's still time to join this month if you'd like to participate in next month's game. Joining the team is easy, and it's one of the best ways to engage with other fans while helping to spread the word about my stories. For more information on my Guild of Adventurers just check out the Get Involved link at the top of this blog.

See you soon future guild members!

Highlights from the Magic, Mystery and Mirth Online Launch Party

Last Tuesday I hosted an online launch party for my latest title, a collection of fanciful short stories called Magic, Mystery and Mirth. For two hours, I answered fan questions and shared videos and games, each of which was based on one of the eight stories. For those of you who missed the party, here are some of the games and videos that attendees enjoyed...


STORY ONE: SHARP SWORD DULL SWORD – A sarcastic talking sword is less than thrilled when a smelly barbarian tries to claim him.

Game: Take a look at this picture of a warrior, his sword, and a dragon and give it an appropriately snarky caption. Bonus points if it’s from the sword’s point of view!

"I find myself between a jock and a carapace..."

Pens never have to deal with this!

And with a snap of massive jaws, Sir Overly-Confident was never heard from again.

"What I wouldn't give to be a crossbow..."

Mmm... I hope this tasty morsel is not one of those nasty cherry-cordials masquerading as a hero...

"You kiss ya motha with that mouth?"

"This again?! I am not a dental instrument damn it!"

"NO! I refuse to be used as a toothpick!"

"Oh great, first Smatila the Hunbearable, now I can look forward to rusting as Smaug's toothpick!"

STORY FOUR: TAKING A DJINN TO COURT – An attorney specializing in fanciful cases takes a genie to court for giving out bad wishes.

Game: Write your best wish contract for any wish you want. Then, take a look at other people’s contracts and try to find as many loopholes as you can!

Best Entry: I, [Name Withheld], wish to be granted three wishes per year ad infinitum, whereas one year is defined as one full rotation of the earth around the sun of our solar system (365 days) and shall begin at midnight on my birthday of February 1st and shall end at 11:59:59 of January 31st. These three annual wishes shall only be granted after they have been put in the proper format*, as described below. If the wish in question should cause any disastrous, catastrophic, or apocalyptic effects when implemented, the Djinni is obligated to inform me before granting said wish.

*Proper format of a wish is either:

A) Written Wish Request, placed in a pre-determined agreed upon place between the Wisher and the Djinn, i.e. a "wish-box" or altar shelf.

B) If a spoken wish is to be granted, it must contain at least one of the following phrases:

1. "This is an emergency!"

2. "Danger!"

3. "Help!" or "Help me!" or Help me now!"

STORY SIX: LUMPY – This story about a boy and his puppet is a humorous tribute to Jim Henson and following your dreams.

Video: Here’s a look at a group of puppeteers that I think carry the spirit of the original Muppets much better than the current reality-television version. Be sure to watch the whole song!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJRUo1zmIQ4 

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our online party. I had a great time, and I will definitely be doing more events like this one in the future!

Magic, Mystery and Mirth Amazon Page

My Personal Hunt for Moby Dick

There are some books that we read again and again because we love them. There are others that we put down in disgust and never return to. But occasionally, the reading of a book becomes something much more. A personal journey. A life-goal that transcends anything the author originally intended and becomes something intensely personal and life-changing for the reader.

My first sighting of the White Whale came from the 1992 April issue of Boy’s Life magazine when I was eight years old. In addition to articles on how to be a good cub scout and some otherwise average comic strips, this monthly publication would sometimes include a graphic novel-style retelling of a classic novel. To this day, I can still remember the amazing artwork and evocative imagery in their version of Herman Melville’s most famous work. The single image that’s stayed with me the most from that comic was of Moby Dick himself. Unlike all other depictions I’ve ever seen, this whale wasn’t a pristine white. He was dirty, old, and wrinkled, with more than a dozen old harpoons lodged into his massive body. He seemed ancient, unworldly, less a mortal animal and more a mythical force that man was powerless against. I finished that comic with a desperate need to encounter the beast again.

Searching through my mother’s impressive collection of classic literature, I quickly found a copy of the unedited, unabridged novel. It was large and imposing, but I’d already read similarly impressive novels, both on my own and with my mother before bedtime every night. I started to read, and at first things went well. I recognized Ishmael and Queequeg from the comic, and followed their adventures through Nantucket until they signed on to the ill-fated Pequod under the sinister Captain Ahab. But then the story stopped, and for the first time I encountered the first storms in my personal odyssey.

Anyone who’s ever tried to read this novel will know what I’m talking about. Chapter after chapter dedicated to subjects like the anatomy of whales or the supposed prestige of the whaling profession dominate the entire book. I hate these sections. While the occasional philosophical side-track or insight into 1850’s marine biology can be interesting, Melville’s self-indulgent ramblings soon become infuriating. Needless to say, my eight-year-old self didn’t get very far, but the phantom of the White Whale stayed with me.

For several years I flirted with starting the book over again. I’d pick it up, read a chapter or two, then give up again. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I decided to make another serious voyage in search of the White Whale. I started from the beginning again, full of confidence and bravado. Since this was part of an assignment for English class, I kept a reading journal and faithfully made entries every time something interested me. I made good progress, powering through the arrogantly bloated chapters with the stubborn determination of a student trying to get a good grade in his best subject.

But I couldn’t do it. By the end of the course I’d only made it about two-thirds of the way through the novel. I fell back on a tactic that would save me (perhaps too often) at various times throughout my academic career, writing an eloquent appeal explaining why I didn’t finish an assignment. I told my teacher how important this novel was to me on a personal level, and I committed to continue reading it on my own time to finally conquer this personal demon. I got an A on the assignment, graduated from high school, and put Moby Dick back on the shelf, unfinished.

I made several more failed voyages in the decade or so that followed. Each time I began from page one, fully committed to seeing this hunt all the way to the end, and every time I fell short. It wasn’t until late 2014 that I decided to try yet again. I wish I could say that there had been some compelling, dramatic reason why this time would be different, but I can’t think of anything specific. Maybe I took the novel in smaller portions at a time. Maybe I was just more stubborn. Whatever the reason, I managed to get as far as I’d ever gotten in the book, and then just kept going.

It never got any easier. Even when the book finally started focusing on the characters again in the last hundred pages or so, nearly every line of dialogue was a page-long soliloquy that was about as engaging as the dusty-dry expositional chapters had been. In fact, I was shocked to find that the titular Moby Dick doesn’t even make a physical appearance until the last thirty or so pages. Friends who had read the book encouraged me, saying that the final confrontation between man and beast would make it all worthwhile. And did it?

No. How could it? No single scene could live up to the more-than twenty years it took to reach it, especially a scene written by the self-important Melville. But the truth is that reading and finishing this book had gone beyond just the words on the page. When I finally got to the one-page epilogue and read the last word of the last sentence, I felt I had driven my own lance deep into the eye of this hard-bound leviathan. After twenty four years, I had finally, successfully, hunted my own Moby Dick.

Note: While writing today’s article, I thought I’d try doing an online search for the Boy’s Life comic that had first captured my imagination. To my surprise and delight, I found a free, online copy on Google Books. I eagerly read through the comic again, and felt the same stirrings of emotion and wonder that I felt years ago as a young boy. I’ve provided a link to the issue below, in the hopes that someone might want to share in this tender memory with me. Just beware the siren’s call of the White Whale…

Link to Boy’s Life April 1992 Issue (comic begins on page 43)

Looking to 2016 – Adjusting my Priorities

This quote, often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi,
was actually made by Charles. A. Garfield. in
Peak Performers (1987)

This has been an amazing year for me. Another new book, the best sales figures I’ve had yet, and the most author appearances and workshops that I’ve given in a single year so far. It’s all been very exciting, but the truth is that I feel like I need to make some changes to the way I’m managing my career. In the spirit of a New Year’s Resolution, here’s a look at what will be different for me next year.

The biggest change I want to make is a reemphasis on my own writing. The truth is that if I hadn’t released an anthology of short stories this year, I wouldn’t have had a new title for 2015. This is particularly frustrating for me (and many of my fans) since I’ve got two novels that have sequels in the works, one of which was published three years ago! While some of this is the result of story issues with the respective projects, the fact is that I’ve dedicated so much time to my teaching schedule lately that my creative time has often taken a begrudging backseat.

I’ve always said that I wanted to be an author first and a writing coach second, but last year I spent much more time traveling and teaching than I ever had before. Of course, this was very exciting, as the majority of my appearances were made by request, but the truth is that speaking at a writers conference or a Con is an honor that comes with a lot of expenses. Few speaker fees cover the cost of attending these events, and many organizations provide little-to-no compensation at all.

In addition to the financial costs, teaching at conferences represents a significant time investment well beyond the few days that the event actually takes up. I’ve always resisted the urge to give the same presentation at every event, and I now have a catalog of over a dozen workshops and panels, most of which can be given in a single hour or expanded to take up an entire day, if need be. That level of preparation takes time and energy, much of which I would prefer dedicating to my writing.

So does this mean that I’m planning on becoming a hermit who hides in my room and just writes all day? Of course not. I still love connecting with my fans and helping writers improve their craft. But I’m going to be more judicious in 2016 when deciding how I’ll be spending my time. Rather than chasing down more speaking engagements or similar cold-contacting, I plan to dedicate my time and energy to more effective activities like writing my books, interacting with my street team, and working with organizations that value my time and expertise.

I’ve already had some great feedback and displays of support from my fans on my proposed change of focus. Several fans have even shown their support by generously donating to my Patreon account, which will allow me to dedicate even more time to my writing. I’m so grateful for the enthusiasm and support of my fans. It was all of you that made this such a great year for me, and I look forward to writing more of the stories I love in 2016!