"Mr. Stratman, how much money do writers make?"

            I started making writer visits to middle-grade classrooms in the early ’80s. I was a Cricket magazine author in my spare time, writing and selling short stories. I’d made several cash sales by then and seen my first story actually published by Cricket the year before. Getting to visit kids and their teachers to read my stuff and to talk about writing, felt—still feels—like a bonus.

            The ‘money question’ surprised me, but probably shouldn’t have. It’s a way of asking, “How successful are you? How important?” And we all do it, though not usually so directly. An adult will always ask: “Are you published?” which is a form of the same question.

            It’s fun to be paid for writing something creative. Money is a tangible reward we all recognize and understand. But here’s the thing: money is not why most writers write.

            I write because I like to tell stories and certainly am not immune to praise—which includes cash. But I started writing at about age fourteen—songs and poems, then stories. I wrote through college, went to teaching where I saved my ideas all week, and wrote way late on Friday and Saturday. I wrote all that time, and published, without even the hope of money.

            The fact is, writing feels good. It feels good to do and it feels good when someone is moved by it.

            My cousin called from China to tell me he couldn’t go to bed without finishing one of my mysteries. Can you imagine how good that feels?

            These days I get up at six and write for about two hours, an average of four rough-draft pages, usually about six mornings a week. It feels right.

            I’m about halfway through my sixth novel. I have an adult series and a middle-grade series. And I admit there are times when I ask myself about the money, and occasionally times I fret about it.

            But here’s the thing. Would I be writing if nobody paid me for it?

            Oh … wait a minute … I am!

            

For Readers Who Love Alaska Adventure

Check out the Cheechako Series, for Grade 5 through Adult

The really great thing about giving a book as a gift? It's never just a book. It's a ticket to adventure, a passport to thrills and triumph, the key to a door that takes your reader into a different world.

Available NOW, in paperback or Kindle format. Great reading for all ages.

Cheechako, Book 1, here's what readers say: 

"I absolutely adored this fast-paced, well-written book ..."

"... sends your heart racing ..."

"This great novel is worth 5 stars, I would have given 10 if allowed."

"...kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I read it ..."

"... also for any adult looking for a stirring, original story with engaging, realistic characters."

"This book can be for all ages who appreciate a good clean read."

"... for anyone who loves adventure, Alaska or the warming experience of watching an anxious boy grow into a young man."

Float Monkeys, Book 2, here's what readers say: 

"Adventure? Absolutely! ... Action? It never stops!"

"I couldn't go to bed without finishing."

"...  pulled me into a summer adventure I could not walk away from."

"One amazing adventure after another ... genuine life and death crises ..."

"Such fun! Lots of action, twists and turns ... well developed characters."

"Well written, charged with adventure ... a true page turner!"

"Surprises galore await young readers (and old ones, too).



And coming soon: 

Musher! Book 3, here's what readers say: 

"You kept me guessing the whole way."

"Here's a surprise, in a book about two boys and a dog, a vibrant female character. Bravo!"

"I had to read the ending twice to believe it."

"...marvelous, hair-raising adventures!"

"I can still feel the stinging wind on my cheeks and hear the frenetic yapping of the sled dogs ..."

"... one heck of a ride through the Alaskan wilderness."

"... you'll be swept up in the action from page 1. No way I'm telling you who wins!"


Books 1 & 2 are available online at this link:

Available in paperback or Kindle format HERE!

Happy Reading!

Gift Books for Bold Readers

I want you to know about two writers that I'm fortunate to have in my extended family. They've each written some interesting stuff that, frankly, isn't for every reader. But if it turns out either of these writers does suit you, you're in for a treat.

Vernelle Judy ... roads less taken

Vernelle writes for the wanderer. Any age, any gender. Her book, "Tripping on a Shoestring," is about outfitting/adjusting your typical mini-van and hitting the road. That simple. She tells you exactly what to buy and how to use it. And although she is writing about a mature, solo female touring Oregon, her advice suits any backroads adventurer, of any age, anywhere.

This is a book that not only says you can do it, but tells you how!

Sure, it's great for winters by the fire, but you could also buy the book tomorrow, spend a couple of enjoyable days leafing through and reading, then pick up the modicum of gear it takes and be out touring the blue highways (backroads on the map) by the weekend. 

Check out "Tripping on a Shoestring," here.

Toni Gilbert ... and now for something a little different

So, what do you think you know about tarot (tur-oh)? Yes, the cards. This book, "Gaining Archetypal Vision," is not an easy read, but will be an eye-opener for those on your list with an interest in the healing professions. 

Don't let the cards put you off. Forget what you think you know about carnivals, fortune-telling and mysterious gypsies. I'm going to over-simplify and say that this is the art and science of tarot dressed up to go to work. This is tarot as an investigative part of the healing and diagnostic experience, an essential process and prompt for people in distress to be able to talk to their caregivers, to say things that may otherwise be impossible for them, or unknown to them.

For enquiring minds as well as the professional caregivers on your list. 

Check out Toni's first book, "Gaining Archetypal Vision," here.

The best books are more than ink and paper ... or electrons. They are ideas and adventure in neat cardboard covers, waiting for us to pick them up, carry them home, and get carried away by them. 

Happy travels!

Maybe You Should Write a Book!

When I was about twelve, I read a story in Boy's Life Magazine that just thrilled me. I went to my father, showed him the story and told him that writing was what I wanted to do with my life.

My father told me that there were people who did that, and who made a pretty good living at it, but I probably wouldn't be one of them, and that I should think of something practical to do. (Yes, he was a Depression child ... the original Depression. )

I reminded him of this when he was in his 70s and he was properly embarrassed. I think all of us parents ultimately learn we should mostly encourage and let life help to determine practical limits.

But anyway, I both did and didn't follow his advice. (Yes, this has been a pattern in my life.) On the one hand I went to college and got a teaching degree, and on the other, I've never not written.

Songs and poems in high school, poems and stories in college, where I began to be published. Short stories in Cricket Magazine during my teaching years. Thirty years of ad agency work, during which I was paid to write about a million words. And finally–quite a bit later–novels.

I'm currently writing my sixth with three published, and yes, even though few in the world know who I am, my books are well-reviewed and finding an audience.

Writing because you can't not write.

Whenever I tell people I'm a writer–a considerable number of people tell me they've always wanted to be a writer, too. What I tell them is what I'm telling you now: if you really think you'd like to, do it. 

Will you be a famous, wealthy novelist? Well, odds are maybe against that. But I do know a best-selling mystery writer who was a non-writing adult when he wrote his first novel, got an agent, and landed a contract in one swell foop. He said he thought that was how it worked for everybody. 

It isn't. 

A Few Ideas for Getting Started

There are lots of guidelines out there for writing. Here are some that work for me. 

1. Figure out what kind of thing you want to write. Poems, short stories, a novel, a "how-to" ... it kind of doesn't matter. 

2. Don't start writing right away. Walk around with the notion a while. Think about your book while you're walking or ironing or occupied with some activity that leaves your brain free.

3. Once you know what you want to try, start writing every day. I get up at six and typically write about four (first draft) pages in two hours. 

4. Don't let yourself get tangled up in details. The Internet is great because if I want to know what day ice on the Tanana river in Alaska went out in 1956, it's right there at my fingertips. But if you don't know it and can't quickly get it, keep moving. Just make up a date and keep writing. 

5. Each time you sit down, re-read and tighten-up what you wrote in your previous session. Just a little. It helps you to remember where you're starting from. 

6. DON'T get all worked up and blurt your whole story to someone. You know you want to. Somehow it dissipates the energy and your writing of it won't be nearly as exciting as the story you told and now can't quite remember. 

7. If something really hangs you up ... like writing dialogue, for example ... open a favorite writer and see how others do it. And then keep writing. 

8. Finally, when you have a whole book and you've written an ending, put it away for a few days and then start reading, re-writing, fixing and adjusting, from the beginning. After you've done that a time or two, you can try reading a good part to someone you trust.

9. You have to like it yourself. If there are things wrong with it, you may find yourself hoping your readers won't notice. They will. You have to write it until it works for you. We all write for ourselves, others are gravy.

10. Before you can consider submitting to anyone, you still need to have it copy-edited. Don't fuss, everyone needs an editor. Well, okay, yes I do fuss, but I still need editing, too. 

So There You Are.

Can it be that simple? Yep. That's the bulk of it, honest! Write a page a day and you'll have the rough draft of your novel in a year, easy. Remember: the important part is that you finished (most people don't) and that you like it. 

Will it sell? That's a whole other story. 

Comments and questions are always welcome: jonathanthomasstratman@gmail.com

If this seems useful, please forward to interested friends. 

It's here! Final version of the new Cheechako cover

Several of you have written to ask, "what's become of the third Cheechako Series cover? I'm happy to say I have it in my hot little hands. The cover, painted by noted cover artist, Jesse Joshua Watson, turned out very well, and I'm excited to see it on the book ... which is now officially called "Musher!" Yes, with the exclamation mark.

So here it is!

And just for fun, here's an earlier comp ... with the name not quite right.

Did you know that these cover paintings are actually about two-feet square? I didn't until fairly recently when Jesse gifted me the original painting for the first book. Here it is in scale.

This may be more than you ever wanted to know about book covers, but for me, a writer who spends endless hours ... usually in the early morning, making this stuff up out of my head, the chance to see details of it realized through the filter of another's creativity is pretty darned exciting.

The new book is about a month out, in edit now. Yes, we did just miss the Christmas rush. Sigh. Oh well, for those of you looking for Christmas gifts for the readers (and teachers) in your family, check out Cheechako and Float Monkeys ... also Indecent Exposure, an adult book for you mystery fiends.

Here's the link. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=node%3D154606011&field-keywords=jonathan+thomas+stratman


Thanks for reading.

Constructing the Jesse Watson Book Cover

Honestly, I never thought much about where book covers came from. Have you?

I never even thought about some of them being painted, like a portrait. So the process of how they really are created, and watching my new book cover take shape, continues to be fascinating.

Forget just painting on a canvas. Jesse is preparing a gessoed board for this one ... yes, he did the same for the last one but didn't send pictures. So the texture in the snowy background is more than just painted on. Here's where it starts.

Yes, a little under-whelming. So he works on it, layering and sanding. Here's the next progress shot. The tool is an attention-getter.

Here's what Jesse says about the process.

"Taking the smooth and sanded board with its layers of gesso that have been sanded down and adding flat layers of texture. The end result will be a very organic and unique looking underpainting, much of which will be visible in the final stage.

Now it's starting to get interesting. Here Jesse has begun to paint in the outline detail.

His description: Small brush and dioxizadine violet, burnt umber and paynes grey mixed thin but opaque. Lining is quicker in hopes to infuse energy. Mistakes are corrected later on. But if it were perfect but slowly done, the energy would never be in the piece to begin with.

Notice how the worked gesso, with the wash of blue and other colors, now expresses the turmoil and potential danger of bad weather. This is a detail of the sled and Will's friend, Elias.

This larger view features a rough of Will and Blackie, and what will be the campfire in the foreground. Check my last blog for the working rough draft of how this cover will look.

And here's where the color comes from!

The book is called "Musher!". It is book three in my Cheechako series for readers, grade 5 to adult, and is scheduled to be available in paperback and on Amazon about October 1st.  The first book in the series, "Cheechako," is already in use in classrooms and I particularly like writing back and forth or video messaging with students and teachers about my book or writing in general.

Tell all your teaching friends.

Write any time with comments or questions.

Jesse Joshua Watson Creates the New Cheechako, Book 3 cover: "Musher!"

It's odd that the book cover, hence your first glimpse of my new book, is often the last thing I think about. Go figure.

I know some writers who start out thinking about the title and the cover. I usually don't think (much) about either until the book is completed, or "in the can," as we say in the documentary film business.

When Jesse sends me a first sketch of his cover concept, I confess, I'm thrilled. Because this where the world that I created in my head becomes a visual image that all can see and share. And ... one that attracts thoughtful readers, convinces them to pick the book up–or click on it in Kindle–and take that all-important closer look.

Yes, the words on both the spine title and the cover face titles are wrong. But we don't care about that now. This is the first sketch Jesse has felt strongly enough about to send along for my input and comments.

There's a lot to like about this, right out of the chute. I like the boy and dog in the  foreground, Will and Blackie. You readers will recognize them from the previous two books, "Cheechako" and "Float Monkeys." The second boy, poking at the fire, readers will also recognize as Elias, Will's co-conspirator. He's very rough here and will be filled in later, in the actual cover painting.

Not to give away too much, but there is a grizzly bear at the "back" of the image. Right now he's too small and too distinct. We want him more vague, scary and BIG.


USE A GENERIC COVER?

I'm paying nearly a thousand dollars a cover. Yes. I could pay a lot less for an off-the-shelf generic cover, good-looking, in the current popular style, with a "Your title here," presentation. Is it tempting? Honestly, not really.

Jesse is one of the premiere "youth" cover artists in the country. With him in my corner, focussed on my work, I get to speak directly to the prospective reader, with an image that makes the reader–faced with an entire display of middle-grade novels to select from–extend a hand to pick up mine. I've seen it happen.


JESSE JOSHUA WATSON ... CHECK HIM OUT!

You can learn more about Jesse and see pictures of him and samples of his covers and his art, at www.jessewatson. com or http://jessewatson.blogspot.com/2011/07/new-work.html

Take the time to take a look. I'm sure you'll agree, it's exciting stuff!