Frankensteinbeck mentioned in the comments the other day that he has a book coming out soon, so I asked if he would be willing to write something up for a Celebrating Jackals post. He graciously agreed, and what he wrote could lead to some good conversation, I think.
Read on and see for yourself!
Frankensteinbeck
I have a book coming out on May 4th!
Many of you know that my most successful set of books are the Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m A Supervillain series. I’m finally back to it, which raises a topic worthy of a post:
Selling out, and money vs art.
This is a tough one, folks. Author gotta eat. My previous publisher stealing from me nuked my career. But the topic went back to before they went bad. A writer is an artist, and an artist needs to make money, but also care at least two figs, preferably an entire cargo ship’s worth of figs about his art. It’s hard to do that and keep it from wedging itself sideways in the canal of your career and blocking…
I think I’ve stretched that metaphor too far.
When Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m A Supervillain took off, I was faced with a problem. I hate story creep. Open-ended series end up wrecking themselves. But again, author gotta eat, and here was my chance to live the dream and support myself on writing! So, I made a deal with myself. I’m not going to write the same book twice. I could make a longer series out of Penny’s story, but it would have an ending, period, decided on before I started. I wrote book two knowing generally what would be in book five.
Now I need to bring my career back to life, and the dark, exotic fantasy I write for passion ain’t gonna do it. A Supervillain book had to happen. What to do, without compromising my need to create stories I am proud to tell? I decided to go the Discworld model. I will write books about different characters in the same world, branching out as each book gives me more people to write about. Maybe some of those characters will deserve more than one book. This I can do while keeping things fresh, although I mourn that I don’t have the freedom of time and creative resources to write the freaky stuff in my heart.
I’ll add an extra twist, that’s on topic for art vs money. I don’t like repeating myself. I wanted individual ridiculous names for each book. My original title for the second Supervillain book was At Least I Didn’t Blow Up Our Moon. But… artistically, titles and cover art don’t matter. They’re marketing. They’re the thing that’s supposed to get someone to take a peek so you have a chance to snare them with your writing. So my initial publisher insisted on the Please Don’t Tell My Parents title formula, and since I badly need to reclaim my former fan base, I stuck with it here. Similarly, my new publisher goes way cheaper on cover art (Watergirl said she was going to attach this book’s cover) so what I worked out with the artist is something that thematically resembles the covers of the previous books. What I need for this book is a sense of continuity.
As an ironic twist, after writing this new ‘back to the Supervillain world’ book, I needed a break, to write something purely for me. It… turned out to be another Supervillain world book.
And so, on May 4th enjoy Please Don’t Tell My Parents I Work For A Supervillain, about a teenage girl who wants to be a heroine, finds out she doesn’t have what it takes, and finds a kind of adventure and fame that does suit her.
And then once I get through the beta reader phase, my publisher and I will put up Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m Queen Of The Dead, about a teenage girl (get used to that in my books) who finds out being the only necromancer in a generation means trouble. Lots of trouble.
Enjoy, and may your art be meaningful and profitable!
If you have something to celebrate, don’t be shy. Let us know in the comments or send me an email message.
WaterGirl
Frankensteinbeck should be joining us soon, I believe. Frankensteinbeck, are you here?
Frankensteinbeck
Woe, woe, that even in my own thread I am not First!
MisterForkbeard
Just want to chime in that my wife and I both really enjoyed your previous series. Hadn’t heard about your previous publisher, which sucks an enormous amount of butt. But we’ll definitely pick these up.
You addressed this a little, but how did you decide what went into this book? Are you taking other ideas you had and retrofitting them into the Supervillain universe, or did this spring fully-formed into your mind?
pacem appellant
Congrats on the new book! As a guide to potential readers here, how do we read the book? Electronic or dead-tree? Since it’s a series, is there a place to start or does each book stand on its own?
MisterForkbeard
@Frankensteinbeck: But you claimed the coveted “second”, which is technically way better.
It’s like being fashionably late. The Firsts people are dorks. :)
John Revolta
I don’t see anything wrong with having a “brand”. It helps people who presumably like your stuff recognize you. It’s like a band name. And “Please Don’t Tell My Parents…..” is great “hook” IMO.
Sister Golden Bear
Congratulations!
And a celebratory song to mark the occasion.
Frankensteinbeck
While I’m at it, I figured I might as well quote the ad blurb. And the book is at Amazon in ebook or paper format!
What do you do when you have the wrong super powers? Magenta’s older brother is a superhero. She’s starting high school at the school where kids with powers go, including the famous Inscrutable Machine. Except, Magenta’s powers are no good for fighting. Her potions are useful, not dangerous. Her other power is just humiliating. What Magenta has plenty of is determination, and she tries fighting a supervillain anyway.
She fails.
But for Magenta, failure is the beginning, not the ending. Suddenly she has a part-time job working for that same supervillain, who doesn’t seem very villainous. She spends her afternoons buying mad science from smugglers, copying memories into a magic book, delivering messages to evil lawyers, and always, always, putting on a show. Soon, she’s ducking heroes who want to save her from herself, and her best friends, who don’t know the sidekick they’re chasing is Magenta.
Compared to all that, making sure her parents don’t find out is the easy part.
gkoutnik
As a kid, books were my best friends. I read all the Hardy Boys, Happy Hollisters, Landmark Books (nonfiction), and I really appreciated having some familiar characters to read more about. I wasn’t that concerned about their artistic merit. So – I’ll bet there are a lot of kids who are thrilled to learn that there’s another Supervillan novel coming out. You’re giving them the opportunity to be welcomed into a different world that is engaging and satisfying (and, I assume, funny), all while developing the fundamental lifelong skill – reading.
Frankensteinbeck
@MisterForkbeard:
Ha! That’s a great example of how I get ideas. Originally I was going to write something with an established character, Mirabelle. For practical reasons, I decided I needed something more similar to the tone of the original series. Mirabelle’s disability makes her story a touch darker. Then I saw some art of a character with pink dreadlocks and a cool steampunk gauntlet, and I said “ONE OF MY CHARACTERS MUST HAVE THESE.” So I invented Magenta, and the rest fell into place.
rikyrah
@Frankensteinbeck:
Came to look for a link. Thanks
MomSense
Your first please don’t tell my parents was the first book my youngest read to me, so it holds a special place for me in addition to being a good book. Looking forward to reading this new one.
Felanius Kootea
Congratulations on the new book!
J R in WV
But when you mention the “dark, exotic fantasy I write for passion” I wonder if you’re missing a great opportunity? I see exotic fantasy books on Amazon all the time, and they seem to sell. Surely B-J jackals would be interested! You can use a different pen name if it’s too embarrassing….
I’m tempted to go for the whole series, I enjoy a long read, but somehow I have misplaced my tablet, which is my Kimble tool… Yesterday I went shopping and took it with… where could it be? I did figure out how to get Kimble books on my laptop, which was hard as there is no Kimble tool for Linux computers.
If anyone knows where the tablet is, please, let me know! It’s my alarm clock, my everything!!
Brachiator
@Frankensteinbeck:
Congratulations
I am not a writer, but enjoy reading about how artists approach their craft.
I have read writers who say, “I write for myself.”
But this could not entirely be true since I have never heard a writer say “I do not want anyone to read my books.”
I have been watching some YouTube interviews with TV writers, some of whom got into the business accidentally and who discovered that they had a talent for it. They never saw themselves as wanting to be great artists, but they developed a respect for the craft of writing, and knew when they were doing good work, even if it was as a writer for hire.
Anyway, it is cool to see that you have a book out and I hope it is a great success.
Baud
Jeez, just what we need, another book from a Trump administration flunkie.
RedDirtGirl
Congrats!
Frankensteinbeck
@J R in WV:
My personal experience is unfortunately otherwise. Quite Contrary has had the biggest sales spikes of any of my books. It hit rank 18 on all of Amazon once! But over time, the fun stuff vastly outsells the rest, and the more exotic books like Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Teeth just do not sell at all.
@Brachiator:
Heh. For me my priorities are very clear. My greatest joy is other people reading and enjoying my books. I would really, really love fame and fortune, however, or at least enough money that I don’t have to do anything but write.
@Baud:
I may praise Trump in my books*, but I voted for Baud in 2020, AND again in 2021.
*Snark in case anyone didn’t get it.
Miss Bianca
Oh, I have been meaning to start Frankensteinbeck’s Supervillain series, they seem like just the thing for me right now! They sound like such fun!
And, I am a Pratchett agnostic (shocking, I know), but I entirely approve of the Discworld model for multi-volume stories.
ETA: OK, after the description I just read, it sounds delicious. Oh, to hell with it – I’ll read that one first regardless of where it falls in the series!
Frankensteinbeck
@Miss Bianca:
If you start with the original series, you don’t have to wait until the 4th to read it. Something to consider!
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Congratulations!
Out of curiosity, having never read any of your “Supervillain” books, how “evil” is your protagonist? Is there a campiness to it?
CaseyL
Congratulations, Frankensteinbeck! It takes a lot of grit to overcome being ripped off by a publisher, continuing to write, and finding a new publisher.
Your series sounds intriguing. How YA is it? I mean, what age group is it aimed at? Is the series one that adults can enjoy, too? I love the concept of (inadvertent)-sidekick-to-villains.
Amir Khalid
@Frankensteinbeck:
Who is this Richard Roberts guy, and why is his name on your book?
Frankensteinbeck
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
One of the biggest challenges was designing an anti-villain, a character who is officially a bad guy, but is likable and mostly morally good. Penny wants to be a hero, hates hurting people, but rapidly becomes addicted to the theater and chaotic strangeness of supervillainy.
She can do that because of the answer to #2: I wanted to capture the tropes of comic book worlds, but have fun with them. I designed a world/background to justify that while heroes and villains may take their jobs seriously, they are pretty friendly with each other and very few have hard feelings. The concept centers around an inflexible rule enforced by both sides: No one’s super powered life follows them home. Secret identities are sacrosanct. They are not to be revealed, and not to be touched. That way nobody feels desperate and pushed to extremes. The authorities are happy to leave them to it. It keeps damage and casualties down and saves the police from having to deal with people who, unarmed, can destroy a city block.
Frankensteinbeck
@CaseyL:
It’s aimed at middle schoolers. Penny in the first series is 13. Magenta is 14. However, my strong opinion is that you don’t have to talk down to kids, and honestly they tend to like more mentally challenging books than adults. Plus, they take vocabulary tests every week. I have never heard an adult complain the books are too childish, or a child complain they’re too difficult.
@Amir Khalid:
Some weirdo who comments on an almost top 10,000 blog.
RepubAnon
@Frankensteinbeck: “Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m a Republican” might be a good promotional blurb…
;-)
Lacuna Synecdoche
@Amir Khalid:
It’s a pseudonym, to keep the authorities from tracking him down.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
I’m looking for a good silly book to read to a 7-year-old girl who’s an advanced reader, and I wonder if this series will work.
We do Grandma & Grandpa read-aloud time once a week, mostly chapter books (every word of every Ramona book by Beverly Cleary) and we’re working our way right now through the Club of Mysteries series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.
But they get a little intense and she’s requested to add a little more silly stuff into the mix. There are a couple I’ve gotten from the library that crack me up but that are way too much on the easy side, and she mostly just smiles politely (what does it say that my sense of humor is more juvenile than a 7-year-old’s?).
So what do jackals thing? Is this a good series to get her started on, and hopefully really plant a good twisted subversive sense of humor the way Rocky & Bullwinkle did for me when I was a kid?
Sister Golden Bear
On the topic of other things to celebrate, this week I not only got the HVAC replaced — hallelujah for now having AC and a whole-house HEPA filter — but the solar panels arrived early, so they just finished installing that as well.
Looking forward to watching the electric meter spin backwards. Not looking forward to writing the checks with lots of zeros.
JaySinWA
@J R in WV: You can read kindle books via a web browser. I do it on my Chromebook.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Frankensteinbeck:
Thanks. That sounds like a really fun and interesting universe. I agree that would be a big challenge designing a likeable anti-villain
RSA
Congratulations on the new book!
@Frankensteinbeck:
I have that on my Kindle! And I only now discover you are the author. An enjoyable read—thanks.
Frankensteinbeck
@Miss Bianca:
If you want a one and done, another option is my (currently) stand-alone cyberpunk book, You Can Be A Cyborg When You’re Older. I wanted to introduce modern teens to how goofy 80s cyberpunk was. Here’s the blurb to that:
In the bleak future of West Angel City, Vanity Rose is having a great time. She has a loving robot caretaker, a fake elf for a sister, and she roams the walls of West Angel’s endless skyscrapers every night, thanks to her precious gravity shoes.
What Vanity doesn’t have are money and adventure, but she has a plan to get both. She’s going to walk the dark side, joining the thieves and mercenaries who get paid to do all the little jobs that make a corrupt city go around. She’ll only have to deal with killer robots, vengeance-crazed and not very bright computer programs, cyborg vampires, telepathic capybaras, mean girl mech pilots, and have every homemade weapon in the city pointed at her.
Fourteen is old enough for that, right?
Miss Bianca
@Frankensteinbeck: That one sounds great, too!
I just looked up the series in the library catalog (ex-library worker, can’t help myself) and I can’t believe *none* of the libraries in our system seem to have any of them! Maybe I’ll have to “suggest a purchase”.
Frankensteinbeck
@Miss Bianca:
It is very good for me if my books are in libraries.
New Deal democrat
Congratulations!
Since one of my favorite guilty pleasures is Teen Titans Go! (where one of the heroes dates one of the supervillains), this series looks right up my alley.
BruceFromOhio
Anne McCaffrey, baby. Andre Norton. Star Trek!
Go sell a zillion books and live happily ever after!
rikyrah
Vegan Social media influencer Tabitha Brown went to a vegan Mexican restaurant in my city.
So, I ordered from it today.
Back with a review of the vegan Mexican.
1. They used Brown rice. Seasoned, so ok.
2. Beans were good.
3. Chorizo was excellent, I don’t usually like chorizo.
4. Didn’t like the Pastor, and I love Pastor in pretty much every Mexican restaurant??
5. Asada- good
6. Green sauce- spicy and delicious
7. Tamales- ordered two and both were delicious??
8. Veggie taco-: uh uh. Have had way better veggie tacos elsewhere (ironic, huh?)
Bottom line: I will order again. Stay away from the Pastor, and next time, I amgoing to. Try the flauta plate.
Doc Sardonic
@rikyrah: How does one do vegan chorizo and pastor?
mrmoshpotato
@Sister Golden Bear:
May the Sun shine on you and your abode.
zhena gogolia
Congratulations!
PaulWartenberg
Good luck Frankensteinbeck and always remember I ENVY YOU, YOU PUBLISHED BASTARD! (cries)
cain
@Frankensteinbeck:
But you are #2 a much harder one to come by than #1. Embrace your #2!
Interestingly enough, your book came into my kindle recommended list! I remember looking at it last night and thinking – oh I should look at it and lo – and behold I find out it’s you! Niice! :)
oatler.
@Doc Sardonic: Discretely pick the saliva glands from your teeth.
Baud
@Frankensteinbeck:
Who am I to Listerine?
HalcyonS
@Frankensteinbeck:
Just wanted to pop in and say I’ve been a huge fan of your Supervillain series so far and had already ordered your new book, but imagine my surprise seeing your post here on a blog I’ve been reading for ages now. That said it was very cool to read about your art and how you decided what to write, and I admit, I’m already sold on your Necromancer book.
Sister Golden Bear
@mrmoshpotato: Thanks!
3.5 kWh in the last 90 minutes (i.e. enough to run a 100-watt light bulb for 35 hours). But who’s counting? ?
James E Powell
This is awesome. Congratulations
In addition to “writers gotta eat” there’s also knowing you still got it.
mrmoshpotato
Congrats, Frankensteinbeck!
Looks like the Chicago public library system doesn’t have any of your books. Gonna have to see if they’ll fix that error.
mrmoshpotato
@Sister Golden Bear: Awesome.
Baud
Test
mrmoshpotato
@rikyrah: Was this vegan pastor sweet or spicy?
mrmoshpotato
@Doc Sardonic: Soy chorizo exists. As for the pastor, ummm….soy too?
NotMax
On tenterhooks awaiting “Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m a Blogger.”
:)
Frankensteinbeck
@Baud:
If this had been an actual Baud, the Secret Service would be moderating the thread.
Doc Sardonic
@mrmoshpotato: Anytime I see “soy” in front of a meat item, ie. Soy burger, soy sausage, my brain translates it to inedible burger, inedible sausage.
Frankensteinbeck
It’s been fun, kids, but I’ve monitored this thread as long as I can. You all do you, have fun doing it, buy my books, and tell me I’m wonderful.
In all seriousness, if you get this book, leave an Amazon review as soon as you read it. VERY important to authors.
Benw
Very nice to hear your career’s getting back on track!
I think in general the idea of ‘selling out’ puts more onus on the artist, so that others can judge them, when really capitalism doesn’t give us as many choices as we think we have. The onslaught of the need to make $ to survive is the problem. The accusations of selling out in the punk and hardcore community have done more damage than good IMO over the years.
NotMax
@Baud
Y’know, don’t believe I’ve ever mentioned this before.
Ever considered “Baud is the way” as a campaign slogan?
:)
Dorothy A. Winsor
I really like the idea of using characters in the same world, or taking secondary characters and giving them a story of their own. Love the way you’ve developed this series. Also, I admire the way you fought your way back from your first publisher’s dishonest treatment.
Miss Bianca
@Doc Sardonic:
That was gonna be my question…
Miss Bianca
@mrmoshpotato: Hmmm…that’s a thing…persuade some of our library systems to carry our Balloon Juice authors’ books. I know I’ve looked for Dorothy’s as well and ours doesn’t carry them.
NotMax
@Miss Bianca
Whether it is a widespread practice, dunno – the library system’s site here has a hard to miss section soliciting recommendations for acquisitions.
If anyone actually reads those or is empowered to do follow-up, them’s other questions.
WaterGirl
@Frankensteinbeck: Thank you for writing this up and for sharing your book(s) with us!
WaterGirl
@Miss Bianca: Just a reminder – though I’m sure you know – that the BJ author’s list is in the footer on every page.
rikyrah
@Doc Sardonic:
The spices that you used with the regular dishes, but with meat substitutes
rikyrah
@mrmoshpotato:
Sweet, and I like spicy
Doc Sardonic
@rikyrah: That makes perfect sense, meat substitutes are just not something I am familiar with beyond soy.
susanna
Best of fortune to you. The many aspects of writing and doing it well enough to be published, must be hugely satisfying and fun. All those creativity bulbs going off and on, then eventually putting the puzzle together to the last paragraph.
Congratulations
WereBear
Congratulations by finding a way to continue. It will also please my niece, who is becoming a fan thanks to some recent Christmas presents :)
I find industry veteran Kristine Kathryn Rusch (at kriswrites.com) is a great source on the business of writing.
NotMax
@Doc Sardonic
With a nod to G&S:
Things no longer quite as neat
Soy now masquerades as meat
Chocolate mousse is labeled diet
It’s enough to make chefs riot
.
Penty
This sounds like fun. Preordered! Good luck with the sales.
Captain C
@Frankensteinbeck:
Do you know that your books have TV Tropes pages?
zattarra
I love this series of books. I’ve been anxiously awaiting this new one. The Please Don’t Tell My Parents series is great for all ages fans of superheroes and sci-fi. Highly recommend picking these up. Especially if you have teens that will read superhero or sci-fi (regrettably mine will not).