BattleTech - The Board Game of Armored Combat
Off Topic and Technical Support => Off Topic => Topic started by: trboturtle on 20 April 2015, 20:44:59
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Okay, after a year, (and needing grist for my blog), I am opening a new "Ask a Battletech Writer" thread. I see a few new faces and since this isn't anything different from last year's thread, here's the original post from a year ago:
I have a blog devoted to Battletech --- The Battletech State (Link in my sig file). I post a little bit of everything relating to Battletech, including 'Mech designs, a few AToW characters, and some of my pre-battlecorps author fanfiction. A couple of years back, I opened up a thread on the forum in which people could ask me questions, and I would take those questions (when I got enough of them) and answered them on my blog. So, I'm opening another thread to anyone who has a question about writing for Battletech or anything else related to the gaming universe with a couple of caveats:
First, I am limited by what I can discuss by my NDA with Catalyst Games Lab. So, I can't say anything about what's coming up, or any private discussions about the universe's future. (not that I know too much of the future plans to begin with....)
Second, it may take me a couple of days to answer some questions. I will answer the questions here and take the thread and transpose it to my blog in a future post.
Ask away!
Craig
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How do manuscript workshops go online typically for you guys and gals doing this? Assuming of course that one has finished a decent draft (ie, not a rough draft) to turn in for a writing group.
edit: For the sake of those lurkers and quiet folk here who would be most positively encouraged to understand and learn of it from a true source. Sorry to spring the possible biggest question first.
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Interesting idea. Nice blog, by the way.
Not sure how this jives with any NDAs you might have signed, my apologies if this is something you can't discuss, but one question that hangs in my mind is how the "gray" areas of the universe are handled? By that I mean, are there specific guidelines for stories involving factions, worlds, and organizations that don't have a lot of current fluff to them? Or are writers more encouraged to stick to information "safe zones" and leave such matters to other products? Thanks!
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How do manuscript workshops go online typically for you guys and gals doing this? Assuming of course that one has finished a decent draft (ie, not a rough draft) to turn in for a writing group.
edit: For the sake of those lurkers and quiet folk here who would be most positively encouraged to understand and learn of it from a true source. Sorry to spring the possible biggest question first.
Okay.....
There is a on-line workshop, invitation only, for those writers seriously wanting to be published by Battlecorps. We have a good track record for stories.
The way the system is set up is a writer posts is story to the workgroup. The members take the story, go through it and looking for mistakes --- grammar, continuity, style --- and notes them. They then post their notes into the thread and the story's writer takes the notes and makes the changes. It may take two or three passes and several weeks (As we also have other things taking up our time --- jobs, family, social obligations, etc), but the stories are much better.
We do have a rough copy of a writer's primer that we really need to polish up and post somewhere. I'll see if we can do that soon.
Craig
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Okay.....
There is a on-line workshop, invitation only, for those writers seriously wanting to be published by Battlecorps. We have a good track record for stories.
The way the system is set up is a writer posts is story to the workgroup. The members take the story, go through it and looking for mistakes --- grammar, continuity, style --- and notes them. They then post their notes into the thread and the story's writer takes the notes and makes the changes. It may take two or three passes and several weeks (As we also have other things taking up our time --- jobs, family, social obligations, etc), but the stories are much better.
We do have a rough copy of a writer's primer that we really need to polish up and post somewhere. I'll see if we can do that soon.
Craig
This inspires me to try writing something (short)
Although a lot of the inspiration comes from having a looming essay deadline for my Masters and being keen on doing anything else right now
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Interesting idea. Nice blog, by the way.
Not sure how this jives with any NDAs you might have signed, my apologies if this is something you can't discuss, but one question that hangs in my mind is how the "gray" areas of the universe are handled? By that I mean, are there specific guidelines for stories involving factions, worlds, and organizations that don't have a lot of current fluff to them? Or are writers more encouraged to stick to information "safe zones" and leave such matters to other products? Thanks!
There are few "gray" areas in the Battletech universe. Most of the stuff out there is in print, but there are a few things that aren't made public, and a lot more that that is kept from even the writers (For example, I have no idea what is going to happen after 3145). A few products like Interstellar Players, Interstellar Players 2, and the April Fools and Halloween products are not part of the core reference we writers use. My personal reference Battletech library takes up two bookshelves and 4.5GB of computer hard drive space.
The first thing I do is read up on everything I can find about the planet, faction and group that I can find. Worlds are the ones least likely to have a lot written up about them, but I need to check to make sure. That involves reading a number of different books. As for the major faction, they are fully written up. Minor factions have enough down that I can work with.
Creating factions and worlds is not the job of a story writers; that is he sourcebook writers (I wear both hats). For IP3, I created the New Delphi Compact. While it doesn't have the depth or the breath of a successor state Housebook, there's enough information there for a writer to write a story set in the Compact or a GM to base an adventure on. Most groups have enough written about them to use in a story.
Once a story is written and passes the first hurdle (Not being rejected by Battlecorps editor Jason Schmitzer), the story is sent to a group of fact-checkers (AKA, the Continuity Hooligans) who scour the story looking for problems. It is possible that something unknown to the writer will invalidate the story, or cause serious continuity problems that causes the story to either be junked entirely or need to be massively rewritten.
Personally, I try to stay away from those gray areas, There enough stories and enough background to write hundreds of stories without straying into unknown territory.
Hope that answer your question!
Craig
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There are few "gray" areas in the Battletech universe. Most of the stuff out there is in print, but there are a few things that aren't made public, and a lot more that that is kept from even the writers (For example, I have no idea what is going to happen after 3145). A few products like Interstellar Players, Interstellar Players 2, and the April Fools and Halloween products are not part of the core reference we writers use. My personal reference Battletech library takes up two bookshelves and 4.5GB of computer hard drive space.
The first thing I do is read up on everything I can find about the planet, faction and group that I can find. Worlds are the ones least likely to have a lot written up about them, but I need to check to make sure. That involves reading a number of different books. As for the major faction, they are fully written up. Minor factions have enough down that I can work with.
Creating factions and worlds is not the job of a story writers; that is he sourcebook writers (I wear both hats). For IP3, I created the New Delphi Compact. While it doesn't have the depth or the breath of a successor state Housebook, there's enough information there for a writer to write a story set in the Compact or a GM to base an adventure on. Most groups have enough written about them to use in a story.
Once a story is written and passes the first hurdle (Not being rejected by Battlecorps editor Jason Schmitzer), the story is sent to a group of fact-checkers (AKA, the Continuity Hooligans) who scour the story looking for problems. It is possible that something unknown to the writer will invalidate the story, or cause serious continuity problems that causes the story to either be junked entirely or need to be massively rewritten.
Personally, I try to stay away from those gray areas, There enough stories and enough background to write hundreds of stories without straying into unknown territory.
Hope that answer your question!
Craig
It does, quite wonderfully. Thanks! O0
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As a print reader, I'm wondering if you guys will keep publishing anthologies and hopefully larger arcs. Something about flipping pages never gets old; that analog feel is just... right? I feel detached reading from a screen, even on a TV, and I don't need a tablet in my life (smartphone suits me just fine).
As a teen, I dove into the novels and enjoyed the pulp feel that the setting had -and saw the writing mature along the way as more authors became involved and a changing of the guard transpired. Things became a little grim for me during Dark Age, and it felt like the Jihad arc was a puzzle I had to piece through but a novel in its own way -treating half the entries of the news/snippets as unreliable narrators in perspective.
Are there going to be novels that flesh out the Jihad and the Republic Period, especially the bit where Fortress Republic cracks open and Devlin Stone emerges on a Death Ride?
So much potential out there, from the ELH/Goliath Scorpion Exodus, how the Taurians reconciled, or the sundered FWL.
Loved how Reunification War, LoT, and Klondike were fleshed out and I guess the Succession Wars are on the table next, but a Historical on the Fall of the Republic would be awesome too if you guys had the rights to the Dark Age stuff(?) The Nais Atlas volumes and Historical: Brush Wars were my favorite books till Total Chaos came about to give things a tactical feel and sum up the Jihad period.
P.S. Thanks for the memories. I was angry at a lot of the developments as I first read long (reader attachment), but accept that heroism cannot exist without equivalent or greater evil/challenges and that empires, good or bad, rise and fall. Can't be a good story without tragedy and setbacks.
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As a print reader, I'm wondering if you guys will keep publishing anthologies and hopefully larger arcs. Something about flipping pages never gets old; that analog feel is just... right? I feel detached reading from a screen, even on a TV, and I don't need a tablet in my life (smartphone suits me just fine).
As a teen, I dove into the novels and enjoyed the pulp feel that the setting had -and saw the writing mature along the way as more authors became involved and a changing of the guard transpired. Things became a little grim for me during Dark Age, and it felt like the Jihad arc was a puzzle I had to piece through but a novel in its own way -treating half the entries of the news/snippets as unreliable narrators in perspective.
Are there going to be novels that flesh out the Jihad and the Republic Period, especially the bit where Fortress Republic cracks open and Devlin Stone emerges on a Death Ride?
So much potential out there, from the ELH/Goliath Scorpion Exodus, how the Taurians reconciled, or the sundered FWL.
Loved how Reunification War, LoT, and Klondike were fleshed out and I guess the Succession Wars are on the table next, but a Historical on the Fall of the Republic would be awesome too if you guys had the rights to the Dark Age stuff(?) The Nais Atlas volumes and Historical: Brush Wars were my favorite books till Total Chaos came about to give things a tactical feel and sum up the Jihad period.
P.S. Thanks for the memories. I was angry at a lot of the developments as I first read long (reader attachment), but accept that heroism cannot exist without equivalent or greater evil/challenges and that empires, good or bad, rise and fall. Can't be a good story without tragedy and setbacks.
Thank you for your words...
Most of what you mention above is above my level of involvement. I want novels and long-form fiction, but that has to be decided at the company level, where I have no knowledge or input. While I don't know any details, I think there are roadblocks to novels happening, but as to what those roadblocks are and how long to overcome them, I have no clue.
If it was up to me (and it isn't), I would publish a series of Jihad novels, a novel series covering the Amaris Civil War, and a few set during the the Successor wars. What happens after 3145 I have no idea, nor do I know how the fiction for that is going to run. As of right now, we can write up to 3145, but no farther.
Novellas are a possibility, but Jason Schmitzer will only chose the best. And as hard as he is with short stories, novellas have to be flawless for him to buy it. Still if a story is good enough, he will buy it, regardless of what era it is in.
Hope that helps,
Craig
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Okay.....
There is a on-line workshop, invitation only, for those writers seriously wanting to be published by Battlecorps. We have a good track record for stories.
The way the system is set up is a writer posts is story to the workgroup. The members take the story, go through it and looking for mistakes --- grammar, continuity, style --- and notes them. They then post their notes into the thread and the story's writer takes the notes and makes the changes. It may take two or three passes and several weeks (As we also have other things taking up our time --- jobs, family, social obligations, etc), but the stories are much better.
We do have a rough copy of a writer's primer that we really need to polish up and post somewhere. I'll see if we can do that soon.
Craig
Always informative. I was sure you all go through surprisingly human processes, and still have lives to lead outside of writing. It's good for the aspiring writers out there to understand that the processes you describe are far from arcane, but would actually be quite familiar to many, and as such, less daunting a prospect.
Thanks for the care taken in response, sir. edit: And the primer/basic training manual sounds good, too.
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And in case you were wondering, here's the blog with the latest post!
http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/04/april-update.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/04/april-update.html)
Craig
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I surmised there may be a nightmare maze of licensing, as if staying within continuity across the decades was not hard enough. Probably why mercs were half the novels, then again half the developments and problems were from those merc novels ^_^. I wonder if this generator of writers ever gets frustrated at some of the first works that just set precedents that are either incredulous, dubious, or just a nightmare to work into, from, or around.
BTech has outlasted many of the franchises that it drew inspiration from, until Harmony Gold and Studio Nue/Big West (Robotech vs. Macross) comes to terms and BTech mirrors it, fusing Aerofighters/Battlemechs and WarShips/Battlemechs forever! Whoa, lost control there, nerded out, excuse me.
Here's to hoping a serial picks up enough steam to where it becomes a novel told through self-contained chapters/entries. Always looking for them to post on Amazon... to the point where I've debated picking up the unofficial German novels and just throwing them into the translator.
Just curious, the "Jihad" aspect draws from historical and current events and is not some grand homage to Dune? Pretty superficial coincidence, but it'd awesome to see a Sandworm statted out. Total Warfare Addendum: "Stuff 6D6 potatoes into a tube sock and drop directly onto battlefield against a targeted hex. Roll as per DFA."
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And a new blog post is up! :D
http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/05/first-story-to-work-group-and-word.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/05/first-story-to-work-group-and-word.html)
Enjoy!
Craig
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Craig, finding your blog is a blessing! I love how brief yet descriptive you are about what you do and it gives insight into a world I've always been interested yet always kept away from...
In your latest blog you say you cut away a scene and saved it for maybe later use, I find it fascinating! Is it too personal to ask how exactly you classify your material? When a story is unfortunately rejected, what do you do with it?
One last question: Are you working with an editor? I have part time friends that send their manuscripts to editors before sending them out to publishers, I must confess my main road block is that: the quality of my grammar since English isn't my first language.
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Craig, finding your blog is a blessing! I love how brief yet descriptive you are about what you do and it gives insight into a world I've always been interested yet always kept away from...
You're welcome. Granted, it's not a major peek behind the curtain, but I can tell you how I do things without violating my NDA.
In your latest blog you say you cut away a scene and saved it for maybe later use, I find it fascinating! Is it too personal to ask how exactly you classify your material? When a story is unfortunately rejected, what do you do with it?
I don't classify my saved scenes. I peruse them one in a while and see if the scene sparks an idea, or as an addition to a ongoing story I'm writing. As for the rejected stories, I hang onto them and let them simmer. There is one story I submitted that was rejected, so I stripped away everything except the basic situation of the story and rewritten it, using different characters, different location, and a different thrust. The stories are nothing alike except for the basic situation. The second story was published. But the second, successful story couldn't have come about unless the first story was written.
One last question: Are you working with an editor? I have part time friends that send their manuscripts to editors before sending them out to publishers, I must confess my main road block is that: the quality of my grammar since English isn't my first language.
Well, our workgroup acts as an editor of sorts, looking for grammar as well as story itself. They do pick up a number of mistakes that are up to the writer to change. IN addition, there is some editing at the Battlecorps level, but I try hard to make sure the editing for my story is as minimum as possible. Sometimes, mistakes get through and I cringe every time I see a wrong tense or a any other grammar problem.
Hope that helps!
Craig
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And New post up on my Blog!
http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/05/stories-status-and-thoughts-about.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/05/stories-status-and-thoughts-about.html) ;)
Craig
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so I tentatively started to write again and one thing I've noticed is; I write in a rhythm! As I let go of my creative flow, I seem to build my paragraphs into three to four sentences max (unless I get into a more complex action or descriptive). I guess my question is; do you fall into these habits? How do you suggest one could go around getting rid of it? I often go back and add stuff to break that rhythm but it's kind of funny nonetheless!
Oh and more blogs please :)
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so I tentatively started to write again and one thing I've noticed is; I write in a rhythm! As I let go of my creative flow, I seem to build my paragraphs into three to four sentences max (unless I get into a more complex action or descriptive). I guess my question is; do you fall into these habits? How do you suggest one could go around getting rid of it? I often go back and add stuff to break that rhythm but it's kind of funny nonetheless!
Oh and more blogs please :)
Rule number one for writers: WRITE!
Write it down, don't worry about going back until the story is done. It's tempting to make changes with what you've written, but you will bog down as you keep going back and making changes. Going for perfection right out of the box screws up more would-be writers than not writing.
If your writing in rhythm, KEEP writing until you are finished. Once the story is done, then go back and makes changes. I've never written a story exactly right first draft. First drafts are the basics house. It's rewriting that makes it a nice house.
Hope that helps....
Craig
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And a another new blog post!
http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/05/battlecorps-update-and-thoughts-about.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/05/battlecorps-update-and-thoughts-about.html)
Craig
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New Blog Post: http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-lack-of-battlecorps-stories.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-lack-of-battlecorps-stories.html)
I discuss the lack of Battlecorps stories and why.
Craig
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http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-benefits-of-writing-for-battlecorps.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-benefits-of-writing-for-battlecorps.html)
Another Blog post! Two in two days!
Craig
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I've still got the links open from your last blog post!
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Craig
Are you planning to large novellet for Battlecorp? Thanks
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Craig
Are you planning to large novellet for Battlecorp? Thanks
I do have a couple of Novellas in the planning stages, but they are more of a risk. Because they are longer they are more expensive, and thus have to absolutely perfect in Jason's eyes. Right now, I have a plateful of short stories I need to clear out first before I can rally concentrate on the novellas.
That being said, I do like the idea of Battlecorps Novellas. It's just they have to be exactly right, and not a padded-out short story.
Craig
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That being said, I do like the idea of Battlecorps Novellas. It's just they have to be exactly right, and not a padded-out short story.
Craig
Are novellas so hard because they still need to be rather short so writers tend to treat them as extended short stories? What is considered a novella in BT? Through your blogs a short seems to be less than 10 000 words and (if memory serves) ROC was publishing about 60 000 words BT books, much to Stackpole's distress lol.
again, thanks for your time Craig.. oh and, eventhough you are keeping a BT blog.. are you going to talk about your upcoming novel in more details?
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Are novellas so hard because they still need to be rather short so writers tend to treat them as extended short stories? What is considered a novella in BT? Through your blogs a short seems to be less than 10 000 words and (if memory serves) ROC was publishing about 60 000 words BT books, much to Stackpole's distress lol.
again, thanks for your time Craig.. oh and, even though you are keeping a BT blog.. are you going to talk about your upcoming novel in more details?
A Novella is between 17,500-40,000 words, which is 2-5 times the length of a normal Battlecorps short stories. Anything over 40,000 words is considered a Novel and not something Battlecorps would publish.
Anything less than 7,500 words is a short story, and a Novelette is 7,500-17,500 words.
No Battletech novel at this time. For updates on the non-BT novel I'm writing, check out my other blog, listed in the sig file below.
Craig
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New Blog Post!
http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/06/honor-code-stories-of-draconis-combine.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/06/honor-code-stories-of-draconis-combine.html)
Craig
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Hello Craig
I have a random question for you. When you do your stories, be Novella or typical short story. What kind of permissions do you have for introducing a new vehicle/mechs/etc in story? What i guess you could term a fluff machine, since never been seen before.
Thanks for sharing the beautiful picture of Handbook: House Kurita with us!
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I'm entertaining the idea of writing once again.
I used to do fan-fics of various types from After Action Fluff to stories.
I've read the Do and Do Nots, along with the rest of your blog.
I guess my big question is, what types of stories do you think Battlecorp would have better acceptance of?
Assuming both stories would be well written, which would have a better chance:
1. A simple story about a backwater system with a not so important character.
2. A story that is still "low key" (in terms of our universe), but offers an explanation to some throw away line in a sourcebook.
2a. For example, if we discovered a line about only one (or just some small amount) casualty in some war. It was never expanded past that.
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I'm entertaining the idea of writing once again.
I used to do fan-fics of various types from After Action Fluff to stories.
I've read the Do and Do Nots, along with the rest of your blog.
I guess my big question is, what types of stories do you think Battlecorp would have better acceptance of?
Assuming both stories would be well written, which would have a better chance:
1. A simple story about a backwater system with a not so important character.
2. A story that is still "low key" (in terms of our universe), but offers an explanation to some throw away line in a sourcebook.
2a. For example, if we discovered a line about only one (or just some small amount) casualty in some war. It was never expanded past that.
I've submitted a story along the lines of #2. It was rejected not because of the subject material, but more for the story-telling structure. The topic was interesting and a good choice, but how I told that story just wasn't up to what Jason was looking for.
In my opinion, I don't think it matters as much whether you take option 1 or 2, as long as you tell the story in an interesting and captivating manner.
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In my opinion, I don't think it matters as much whether you take option 1 or 2, as long as you tell the story in an interesting and captivating manner.
Ah good, I'm trying to write out something from option 1.
Not because of any canon issues, heaven knows I can research like crazy on my topic.
There's enough 'holes' where I'm writing to create something entertaining (at least to me) without being a Gary Stu.
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Hello Craig
I have a random question for you. When you do your stories, be Novella or typical short story. What kind of permissions do you have for introducing a new vehicle/mechs/etc in story? What i guess you could term a fluff machine, since never been seen before.
Thanks for sharing the beautiful picture of Handbook: House Kurita with us!
I suppose I'm at the stage in which I could introduce a new machine or a variant, but it's a major concern. There's already over 2,000 BattleMechs and their variants, so to introduce a new design would need a strong explanation......
That being said, I think I have a story that could fit a new variant on an existing design. I'll have to think it through......
Craig
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I'm entertaining the idea of writing once again.
I used to do fan-fics of various types from After Action Fluff to stories.
I've read the Do and Do Nots, along with the rest of your blog.
I guess my big question is, what types of stories do you think Battlecorp would have better acceptance of?
Assuming both stories would be well written, which would have a better chance:
1. A simple story about a backwater system with a not so important character.
2. A story that is still "low key" (in terms of our universe), but offers an explanation to some throw away line in a sourcebook.
2a. For example, if we discovered a line about only one (or just some small amount) casualty in some war. It was never expanded past that.
A good story will give you the best chance. Any of the three choices you mention above can be the basis for a good story.
You can look at a battle description and find a story there. I did it with most of my stories -- looked for a situation and fit the story into it. This blog post I did several years ago shows how I did it for my first story, The Lance Killer: http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2013/01/story-thoughts-lance-killer.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2013/01/story-thoughts-lance-killer.html).
I stay away from established characters unless they're really needed for a story. For example, Peter Stenier-Davion's presence was needed for the climax of my story Thirteen, to complete a character's backstory. Jason Hansa's Irreplaceable is something I would not have written --- it's a great story, gives Hanse Davion more depth and sets up the Fourth Successor War --- but not my story.
Write your story, stay within the boundries, but otherwise go with whatever you feel works for you.
Craig
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http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/06/there-will-be-battletech-novels.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/06/there-will-be-battletech-novels.html)
In case you missed the conversation......
Craig
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Lord i hope it's true if the Novels happen. I hope you get your shot to write one Craig. Truely hope so.
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Jason Hansa's Irreplaceable is something I would not have written --- it's a great story, gives Hanse Davion more depth and sets up the Fourth Successor War --- but not my story.
Jason Hansa still can't believe that one got accepted- writing in the shadow of Stackpole was INSANELY hard. :D
Everything Craig says is true. :-) How we're a little different is I hunt down those little blurbs in the sourcebooks and flesh them out; I look for continuity errors so I can explain them. He often looks for open fields to play in, I look to shine light on the shadow. But step one: tell a good story. Often times the best stories are the small ones, 1-3 characters that are timeless: you could pull the characters out of Btech and drop them into to American civil war (with some small changes, or course) and the story still rings true. This is REALLY my weak spot: I love the epicness of the universe, to the point I forget what the hell I'm writing about "why do we care about HIM?" find your groove, tell a good story, and WRITE WRITE WRITE. :-)
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Lord i hope it's true if the Novels happen. I hope you get your shot to write one Craig. Truely hope so.
Indeed! Some of the BattleCorps stories have been the best I've read in the setting. I'd love to see you guys get a chance to shine like that.
Jason Hansa still can't believe that one got accepted- writing in the shadow of Stackpole was INSANELY hard. :D
Everything Craig says is true. :-) How we're a little different is I hunt down those little blurbs in the sourcebooks and flesh them out; I look for continuity errors so I can explain them. He often looks for open fields to play in, I look to shine light on the shadow. But step one: tell a good story. Often times the best stories are the small ones, 1-3 characters that are timeless: you could pull the characters out of Btech and drop them into to American civil war (with some small changes, or course) and the story still rings true. This is REALLY my weak spot: I love the epicness of the universe, to the point I forget what the hell I'm writing about "why do we care about HIM?" find your groove, tell a good story, and WRITE WRITE WRITE. :-)
I've often had similar "ooh" moments when reading through FMs, Scenario books, etc. Kind of like an itch at the back of my brain on why certain blurbs were noteworthy, from an in-universe perspective. I've also tried to do the whole "from scratch" method, but I'm a bit, well, gun shy when it comes to writing like that. Too afraid that I'm going to step on someone else's toes, and all that.
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I've also tried to do the whole "from scratch" method, but I'm a bit, well, gun shy when it comes to writing like that. Too afraid that I'm going to step on someone else's toes, and all that.
From the current atmosphere it seems that if you write a decent story, toes will be forgiven.
Remember these guys have fact checkers to make sure you don't do anything too horrible. ;D
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I've been a bit behind the hammer on a couple of things and haven't been keeping everyone updated on my "The Battletech State" Blog. So to get everyone caught up:
Rewrites--Bleh!: http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/06/rewrites-bleh.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/06/rewrites-bleh.html)
It's quiet --- A little too quiet: http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/06/its-quieta-little-too-quiet.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/06/its-quieta-little-too-quiet.html)
The one I put up last night: Anthologies: http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/07/anthologies.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/07/anthologies.html)
Enjoy and remember, you can any reasonable questions about writing for Battletech!
Craig
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Craig, I bought your Outcast Ops but I don<t read it through a Kindle. Does it mean you don't get paid because Amazon doesn't know if I'm reading it or not?
Got it off amazon.ca. Sorry to steer a bit off of your Battletech blogs but I just read your July 1st blog for your next novel and how amazon pays writers doesn't make sense to me.
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Craig, I bought your Outcast Ops but I don<t read it through a Kindle. Does it mean you don't get paid because Amazon doesn't know if I'm reading it or not?
Well, if your bought it, I still get paid, because it's a sale. I think Amazon is tracking only the borrows, and that's because they're now paying by the page for the borrows instead of a flat fee like they were doing.
Got it off amazon.ca. Sorry to steer a bit off of your Battletech blogs but I just read your July 1st blog for your next novel and how amazon pays writers doesn't make sense to me.
Well, according to my sales stats, as of now, you're one of three people who bought African Firestorm through Amazon.ca! O0
Amazon's payment plan, as I understand it is this:
For sales, the author(s) receive 70% of book's sale price, if it falls within a certain value range ($1.99-$9.99, I think), or 35% of the price outside of that price range. So, for a $2.99 book like African Firestorm Rick Chesler and myself receive about $2.09 per sale.
For borrows, that's a longer explanation. It use to be (Before this month), that if a book was borrowed through the Kindle select program (which African Firestorm is a part of) and the reader read 10% of the book, the authors would receive a fee (Somewhere around $1.30-$1.40 per book) That fee was based on a monthly pot ($11-$13 million dollars a month) divided by the number of borrowed books that reaches the the 10% level.
The problem that Amazon found was that someone who was publishing a 20-page story was receiving the same amount as someone who was publishing a 250-page book, with a lower threshold to be paid. (The author with the 20-page story would get paid after a reader read only 2 pages, as opposed to the author with the 250-page novel would only get paid after the reader read 25 pages of their novel.)
So, starting this month, Amazon is paying by the page for their borrows. It works out to about the same for African Firestorm, so we're not losing any money, and it's actually better because the author gets credit for those readers that don't reach the 10% threshold under the old system. Comparing what we're seeing now with the previous two months, it's looking good for our bottom line.
Am I making money hand over with with African Firestorm? No. But what I am getting is some money, enough to pay a bill or two. And I'm working on another Outcast Ops Novel right now that will hopefully increase the cash flow in the future.
I hope that answers your questions!
Craig
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Question...what is a borrow?
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Question...what is a borrow?
Amazon has this service where you can read books, like music streaming. You pay so much a month and you can read certain books.
oh and thanks for the answers Craig, you gave more than the customer asked for! O0
You seem to be writing a lot, have you ever sat down and averaged how many hours a week you write? In one of your blogs you said you would try and write at least an hour... every day?
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And a brief update! :D
http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/07/update.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/07/update.html)
Craig
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Is BattleTech the only thing you write for? If not, what else have you written? Do you have your own sandboxes to play in, or are you still playing in other folks?
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Is BattleTech the only thing you write for? If not, what else have you written? Do you have your own sandboxes to play in, or are you still playing in other folks?
Look up Outcast Ops on Amazon kindle. I co-wrote the third novel, Outcast Ops: African Firestorm. I won't link to it here, but it will be easy to find. It part of the Kindle select program, so if you have Amazon Prime or that other program I can't remember at the moment, you can borrow it.
I am currently writing another one in the series, Outcast Ops: Red Ice. I'm about 2/3 of the way through the first draft. If you want to see the cover for the new novel, go to my sig file and click on the second blog listed (I have two blogs, one for just Battletech [The Battletetech State] and another for my other writing [Trboturtle's Writing Pad])
Craig
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What Battletech thing are you most proud of writing?
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What Battletech thing are you most proud of writing?
The writing I did for Total Chaos, especially for Gannon's Cannons. The real Gannon Deer is a kid who battle leukemia, and is the son of one of CGL's agents. Unlike the others two mercs units covered in the book, I had a unit name and a commanding officer to work with before I wrote the first word. Using the real Gannon as a basis, I created the Battletech Gannon as a person with an strong fortitude and able to handle anything thrown at him. Through the introductions and aftermath for each track the Cannons took part in, I hopefully did justice to the real Gannon.
I hope one day to tell the story of the Cannons in fiction.
Craig
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A blog post about the new Battletech Novel, Embers of War (no spoilers)
http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/08/embers-of-war-is-in-my-hands.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/08/embers-of-war-is-in-my-hands.html)
Craig
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A blog post about the new Battletech Novel, Embers of War (no spoilers)
http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/08/embers-of-war-is-in-my-hands.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/08/embers-of-war-is-in-my-hands.html)
Craig
Now I hate you Craig.. dammit I want that novel! :)
Best of luck (or break a leg) in your process to get green lighted for a BattleTech novel
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http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/09/another-q-and-session-part-1.html (http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/2015/09/another-q-and-session-part-1.html)
The first couple of questions from this thread, now on my blog!
Craig
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How does someone become a Proofreader for CGL? I might not know when a certain event happened according to Canon, or the name of what particular Warship was attacked and destroyed over (insert planet name here), but I can spot a misspelled word without even looking for one. :-\ Of course my OWN tend to slip through the cracks. ::) :-[