Self-Promotion, Self-Confidence & Reflection

I want to welcome back today author Andrew Joyce. We’ve worked together extensively in the past, including two interviews (2015 & 2016), a spotlight and another guest post! I’ve asked him to talk a bit about his history in terms of promoting his novels and staying true to his own writing self.

My name is Andrew Joyce and I write books for a living. Rosemarie has been kind enough to allow me a little space on her blog to promote my new book, Mahoney. She thought it might be interesting to any new writers out there if I talked about my journey in general and the publishing business in particular.

I sold one of my first short stories and it was published in an anthology of short fiction entitled The Best of 2011. Since then I have written seven books. Several have become best-sellers on Amazon and two went on to win awards in their genres.

My first book, Yellow Hair, was a 164,000-word historical novel. And in the publishing world, anything over 80,000 words for a first-time author is heresy. Or so I was told time and time again when I approached an agent for representation. After two years of research and writing and a year of trying to secure the services of an agent, I got angry. To be told that my efforts were meaningless was somewhat demoralizing, to say the least. I mean, those rejections were coming from people who had never even read my book.

“So you want an 80,000-word novel?” I said to no one in particular, unless you count my dog, because he was the only one around at the time. Consequently, I decided to show them City Slickers that I could write an 80,000-word novel!

I had just finished reading Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn for the third time, and I started thinking about what ever happened to those boys, Tom and Huck. They must have grown up, but then what? So I sat down at my computer and banged out Redemption: The Further Adventures of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer in two months. I had them as adults in the Old West. Then I sent out query letters to literary agents.

A few weeks later, the chairman of one of the biggest agencies in the country emailed me. He loved the story and suggested a few changes. They were good suggestions, and I incorporated some of them into the book. We signed a contract and it was off to the races, or so I thought. But then the real fun began: the serious editing. Seven months later, I gave birth to Huck and Tom as adults. The book went on to reach #1 status in its category on Amazon (twice) and won the Editor’s Choice Award for Best Western of 2013. And just for the record, the final word count was 79,914.

My readers really enjoyed the book. So I ended up writing two sequels, one of which reached #5 in its category on Amazon. Then I turned my attention to my first novel, the one I couldn’t sell to an agent. I whittled it down from 164,000 words to 132,000 and published it myself. It won Book of the Year from one outfit and Best Historical Fiction of 2016 from another.

Okay, now that I’ve conveyed my bona fides, I think I’ll tell you what I’ve learned along the way. It might help you with your writing career or it might not. I hope it does.

The first piece of advice I received from a fellow writer (while I was writing my first novel) was that the process of writing is what’s important. Not the dreams of becoming a best-selling author. Not the certainty that Hollywood would come a-knocking on my door, begging me to let them turn my book into a movie. No, what is important, according to my friend, is the act of creating.

Of course, I did not believe him. I was going to be the next Stephen King, and I was already (figuratively speaking) picking out a tuxedo to wear to the Academy Awards. I was not going to self-publish. I was going to get an agent and get published by one of the Big Five Publishing Houses.

I did everything I had to do. I spent ten hours a day, seven days a week sitting at my computer, writing. When the book was finished, I spent ten hours a day sending out query letters to agents. When the book was rejected because of word count, I wrote another, shorter novel. When it was accepted and published, I spent ten hours a day sending out emails (over 3,000) to book bloggers (each addressed to the blogger by name, and that takes a lot of work) requesting an opportunity to write a Guest Post for the purpose of marketing my book. Then writing the Guest Posts took up another serious chunk of time. To date, I’ve written well over three hundred Guest Posts (another of which can be found right here on The Cosy Dragon). At first, the rate of return was not much. But once I worked with a blogger, they were more apt to respond positively when I came to them for help in marketing my next book.

Side note: Even Stephen King has to market his own books. He puts aside $200,000 of his own money to buy advertising for each book he writes.

Now, ten years later, this is what I can tell you: My friend was right, plain and simple.

My agent and I have since gone our separate ways. His client roster included some of the most famous authors in the world who, combined, sell millions of books a month. Understandably, he was more focused on them than me, so I set out on my own.

I love writing. I used to hate editing, but now I like it. And I really hate marketing. This kind of marketing is okay because I’m writing. Before I wrote my latest novel, I came to a decision. I was going to write Mahoney for myself. I had a story I wanted to tell and I wanted to tell it in my own way. I didn’t care if the book sold or not. It’s a long story (171,000 words). I was told time and time again that I should make it into a trilogy. But that’s not what I wanted. I ended up doing it my way and it worked out pretty well.

This post has gone on a little bit longer than expected. So, I better wrap it up. Here’s my advice for all you new or aspiring writers:

• Sit down at your computer and write. Let the words flow. You have to have the fire in the belly. Turn off the TV. Better yet, throw it out the window.
• Write for yourself. Enjoy the process.
• If you want, try to get an agent. But do your homework. Learn how to write a killer query letter. And never approach an agent until your book is finished and 110% edited!!!
• There’s a lot to be said for self-publishing. Here’s an article you should check out.
• Read, read, and then read some more. Read everything you can get your hands on! Reading to a writer is as medical school is to a doctor, as physical training is to an athlete … as breathing is to life.
• NEVER, EVER RESPOND TO A NEGATIVE REVIEW. Do so at your own risk.

That’s about it. Good luck in your endeavors.

Andrew Joyce
August, 2019
Gloucester, Massachusetts

About the Author

Andrew Joyce left home at seventeen to hitchhike throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico. He wouldn’t return from his journey until years later when he decided to become a writer. Joyce has written seven books. His first novel, Redemption: The Further Adventures of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, was awarded the Editors’ Choice Award for Best Western of 2013. A subsequent novel, Yellow Hair, received the Book of the Year award from Just Reviews and Best Historical Fiction of 2016 from Colleen’s Book Reviews.

Mahoney

In this compelling, richly researched novel, author Andrew Joyce tells a riveting story of adventure, endurance, and hope as the Mahoney clan fights to gain a foothold in America.

In the second year of an Gorta Mhór—the Great Famine—nineteen-year-old Devin Mahoney lies on the dirt floor of his small, dark cabin. He has not eaten in five days. His only hope of survival is to get to America, the land of milk and honey. After surviving disease and storms at sea that decimate crew and passengers alike, Devin’s ship limps into New York Harbor three days before Christmas, 1849. Thus starts an epic journey that will take him and his descendants through one hundred and fourteen years of American history, including the Civil War, the Wild West, and the Great Depression.

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Writing Historical Fiction: beyond getting the names and places right.

History gives us a path to tell our stories, but how we transverse it says a great deal about ourselves as writers.

Historical fiction is a word that carries contradiction. As writers we have the instinct to weave our narratives to our whims. Yet, when writing historical fiction, we must maintain a delicate balance between fiction and fact.

Some of these details are small: a character can’t fire a colt peacemaker before 1873 or make a cellphone call before 1983; however, the greatest challenge for many historical fiction writers is creating the cultural context of the time period with which our stories are set. In this difficult task we face misrepresenting and appropriating a culture and people. Never is this more true than when writing stories about America History and the indigenous tribes whose past on this continent are far greater and longer than our own.

One of the most important details to the story of Kado: Lost Treasure of Kadohadacho was respectfully representing the culture and history of the Caddo people. This is all the more important since the cultural impact of the Caddo people has been erased or destroyed by narratives with heavy bias towards native tribes. The Caddo people were a large nation of ethnically diverse citizens who had a complex economy of goods and trade. They did not fit the historical stereotypes and for that reason they have been pushed to the footnotes of history. Though the story of Kado takes place in a period of decline for the Caddo Nation (caused by violent colonial expansion and disease), it is vital to speak to the rich history of this people.

Therefore, telling the story of a young pioneer in the early 1800’s requires navigating the pitfalls of past narratives. This means that extensive research needed to be undertaken and the story needed to go through many periods of review by members of the Caddo Nation and experts in Caddo culture and history. Two experts in the fields of the Caddos and their homeland played a vital part in telling this story, Phil Cross and Jeffery Girard.

Phil Cross is a Caddo elder, former chairman of the Caddo Culture Club, and expert in all things Caddo. He provided Caddo stories, and invaluable help with the language and background of Caddo culture. This insight was vital in representing the Caddo language both within the book, but also in creating the pronunciation guide that can be found on the official Kados website. His expertise in the Caddo Grass dwellings helped to inform the illustrations of Jean Guillet. These illustrations can be found in the book and on the Kados website. These beautiful images are pivotal in representing the complex society of the Caddo people while debunking stereotypes of natives residing only in impermanent dwellings.

Jeffery Girard is an archaeologist and author of The Caddos and Their Ancestors. He provided a great deal of scientific evidence of the Caddoan culture. He also aided with research and ensured that the descriptions in the book were accurate to his archaeological findings at sites in northwest Louisiana where Kado: Lost Treasure of Kadohadacho takes place.

The additional research and review of Kado by tribal members and experts added a great deal of cultural context to the book. As historical fiction writers we have a responsibility to retain the facts of history, but even more so we have a moral obligation to ensure that our stories do not uphold bias and misrepresentations of the past. All while creating engaging and alluring characters and stories.

In Kado: Lost Treasure of the Kadochadacho we meet 18-year-old Tom Murrell who feels restless after his family moves to the Arkansaw Territory. Upon arriving to his new town, a single arrow nearly strikes Tom. The event causes a great stir as there hasn’t been conflicts with any tribes in the territory.

One such person that stokes the flames of this event is James, a young man that Tom befriends rather begrudgingly as James is known for telling tall tales. Tom makes another friend in Mattie, a smart and honest young woman with an interest in Kado culture. She begins teaching Tom words in the Kado language.

While Tom settles into his new home, conflict is on the horizon as a band of renegade Osage plot against the Kado. Tom is pulled into the dispute after witnessing the death of Tiatesun, the spiritual leader of the Kadohadacho tribe. The stakes get dangerously high as the only chance to save his family is for Tom and his new friends to join with six Kado warriors, make sense of the many clues they uncover on their quest, and discover the real Na-Da-cah-ah.

Packed with action and adventure, Kado draws on the rich history of the Caddo people to create a lush and nearly fantastical world.

About the Author

E. Russell (“Rusty”) Braziel is the author of KADO – Lost Treasure of the Kadohadacho. He has been a rock musician, company executive, serial entrepreneur, widely read blogger and is the author of The Domino Effect, bestselling nonfiction book about energy resources.

Born in Caddo country in Northeast Texas, Rusty is the gggg-grandson of John Murrell, patriarch of the Murrell family whose 1818 expedition from Tennessee to a frontier settlement in Arkansas launches the story in Lost Treasure of the Kadohadacho

For over 15 years, Braziel has been a student of the Caddo tribal culture in pre-Columbian and early frontier periods, including the tribe’s history, language and beliefs.

He and his wife Teresa split their time between a homestead in Northeast Texas and grandkids in Houston.

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