Not a Political Post, My Favorite Books in 2024, Latest Author Interview, and More

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Welcome to the December 2024 edition of my newsletter and the beginning of the December holiday season! My family celebrates secular Christmas, a version that focuses on our family. For many including Linus on A Charlie Brown Christmas TV special, this holiday is also about the birth of Christ. But in America, we all know that Christmas is really about Santa Claus and a decorated tree and presents and candy and watching classic Christmas movies and drinking spiked eggnog and… y’all know the holiday drill. So whether you believe in Christ or believe in Santa (or BOTH!), this is the perfect time of year to argue about that, but also to enjoy treats and movies and stuff. Anyway, onward to the newsletter content / wordy part / my thoughts and ramblings!

One thing I promised myself NOT to write about after the 2024 U.S. election was politics. Even though for some fucked-up reason, America elected a sexual predator / felon / narcissist / moron who can barely string a cogent sentence together as our next president, I promised myself to move on and discuss other more important topics, preferably books or publishing or creative writing, all of which are much more interesting than an orange fascist man-baby regurgitating word-salad. So, as promised, this is NOT a political post. What are the books I liked best in 2024? Well, let me tell you.

Best classic book reread: Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck. Funny and empathetic, what a great read about the comradery of downtrodden friends. If you thought Steinbeck only wrote downers, then you’d be wrong. Steinbeck wrote several comedies. I know! Hard to believe, but it’s true. Start with this novel.

Being “Famous”, My Latest Author Interview, and More

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Welcome to the November 2024 edition of my newsletter and the beginning of the holiday season, my favorite time of the year to eat! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because I get to spend time with my family and stuff my face with my favorite holiday dishes and desserts. Turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and gravy? It’s food coma time! Three kinds of pie for dessert? I’m dead. Anyway, onward to the newsletter stuff.

Recently, a coworker of mine (yes, I have a day job besides being a writer. You think writers earn a living wage? Ha ha ha ha ha ha nope). Sorry, I got sidetracked. A coworker of mine heard my name on NPR and asked me what it felt like to be famous. And I’m here to say that I’m decidedly NOT famous, not even close. In fact, I don’t have a desire to be famous at all—widely read maybe, but not famous in the I-know-your-face-from-somewhere famous like Stephen King or something. I like my anonymity, but I do enjoy talking to readers and sharing my love for books and literature. My coworker’s comment got me thinking because there’s a distorted perception of what constitutes success or fame when it comes to creative people, particularly writers, putting themselves out into the world.

For every book award I’ve received, there’s a dismal sales report right behind it. For every book festival or TV appearance I’ve made, there’s a book event with two people in attendance right behind it. Being a published writer is truly a mixed bag. There are some great and memorable things and equally humiliating and humbling things that have happened in my writing “career.” And for every Stephen King or Margaret Atwood mega-successful career, there are literally thousands who barely make a decent living. According to a report from the Authors Guild, the median income for all writers in 2023 was about $6,080, with full-time writers averaging around $20,300. That’s not good at all.

Dealing with Writer Envy, Upcoming Events, My Latest Author Interview, and More

Welcome to the October 2024 edition of my newsletter and the beginning of fall, my favorite season! Send me all the baked fruit pies and pumpkin spice, et al, that you have!! Now that this brutal summer in Texas is finally over, I can get outside and go for walks which will help me write more books. Subscribe to get the newsletter in your email inbox. Never miss an update. Subscribe today! Alright, onto the newsletter stuff.

One of the things that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is the envy that comes from seeing other writers post on social media about their successes and experiencing the jealousy that comes from feeling left out or rejected by several outlets in the literary establishment. It’s not a good feeling particularly in light of the struggle I went through to get to this point in my writing career. Having independently published eight books over 16 years, I’d hoped that finally releasing my ninth book through a traditional publisher would open doors that had been closed to authors like me who’d “self-published” their books. What I discovered was that not many new doors opened for me.

What did I hope would happen? Well, in the months leading up to my book’s publication in March 2024, I hired a publicist and I’d hoped that all the trade publications (or at least ONE) would review my book without me having to pay for a book review like I did as a self-published author. None did. I'd hoped that traditional media, particularly in Texas and in Austin—the city I've lived in for 35 years—would publish a profile about me or, at least, review my book. None did. I felt dejected because I'd finally released my ninth book on a traditional publisher and I was still discovering that the doors were closed for my new book.

So, when I'd see other authors and their similar books to mine receiving reviews in Publishers Weekly or Kirkus Reviews, I felt envious. When I'd see other Texas authors being profiled in Texas Monthly or Texas Highways or the Austin Chronicle, I felt jealous. Why wasn't my book getting that attention? Why wasn't I being featured at that time? I hate admitting that I felt this way, but I'm only human. I'm not perfect.

Welcome to the September 2024 edition of my newsletter. I’ve moved it back to Substack from Mailchimp, a platform I didn’t really enjoy using. So, here I am again on Substack. Hello! Subscribe to get the newsletter in your email inbox. Never miss an update. Subscribe today!

Not long ago, I read a great post on Jane Friedman’s website by author Denise Massar about her decision to self-publish her memoir after it died on submission. She had a dream of landing a “Big 5” book deal and she couldn’t fathom that her “manuscript would reach 50 editor inboxes and not find a publisher.” And I certainly understand her frustration. You would think out of 50 editors that at least one would offer her a deal. It just didn’t happen for a number of reasons.

She was dejected, but also couldn’t imagine self-publishing her memoir. It just seemed like the wrong path for her book. But what she didn’t realize at first was that there are so many paths to publication and self-publishing can be just as successful as a “Big 5” deal. With self-publishing, an author can learn about not only writing and editing a book, but designing and publishing a book. An author can work with a graphic designer to create a cover for an eBook as well as a print book. An author can learn how to create book layouts or work with a book designer. And an author can work with a distributor like Ingram and release their book through IngramSpark, Ingram’s self-publishing platform.

The Codger and the Sparrow book launch, future events, and more

It's been a little bit since my last newsletter and so much has happened since March 1st. My new novel, The Codger and the Sparrow, was released on March 22^nd by TCU Press. On March 28^th, the book launch event was at BookPeople in Austin, Texas. It was a night to remember! Fifty friends, family members, and readers came out to watch the conversation I had with extraordinary writer James Wade. I sold a bunch of books and signed a bunch more and hugged a lot of necks. It was such a fantastic event!



On March 30^th, I drove down to San Antonio, Texas with my wife and daughter Sophia for a book event at Nowhere Bookshop. I was in conversation there with exceptional writer Andrew Porter. Afterwards Andrew, my wife, daughter, and I had dinner and drinks and it was such a great night!



On May 1st, the audiobook for The Codger and the Sparrow was released by Vibrance Press. Narrated by Brian P. Craig, he did such an exceptional job bringing my novel to life, particularly with voicing main character Hank. I am so proud of this audiobook!

The Codger and the Sparrow will be released on March 22nd

March 2024 is here and the only topic I have for this month’s newsletter is this: my new novel THE CODGER AND THE SPARROW will be released on March 22nd! It’ll be available in paperback and eBook and you can find it at the retailers below. The audiobook will be available from Vibrance Press around the end of April 2024. Preorders are so important for sales and I would appreciate it if you would preorder this comical yet moving story about a widower’s unlikely friendship with a young troublemaker.
 
Here’s what some of my favorite writers had to say about my new novel.
 
“Scott Semegran’s The Codger and the Sparrow is a wondrous novel of the road, where two unlikely people seek out the larger world, and in their uncertainty, help each other navigate the way toward something like home. Told with such an abundance of both humor and tenderness, this is a novel of discovery, of searching for answers, and I could not think of two people I’d rather ride alongside than Hank and Luis.” – Kevin Wilson, New York Times Bestselling author of Nothing to See Here and The Family Fang
 
“The Codger and The Sparrow is delicious fun. A story told with an abundance of surprise and humor; I loved the characters, the snappy dialogue, and hitting the road in the pink Barracuda. Scott Semegran is one hell of a writer, and this is a terrific novel.” – Annie Hartnett, author of Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals
 
“Semegran deftly blends humor with heart in a road trip romp that crosses generational divides. A coming-of-age for one, a coming-to-terms for the other, Semegran’s characters are deeply drawn in a way that envelops readers from the start of their journey to its unexpected end. The Codger and the Sparrow is a fun, fresh meditation on friendship, loss, and new beginnings.” – James Wade, Spur Award-winning author of All Things Left Wild and River, Sing Out
 
“Scott Semegran’s characters capture the essential human contradiction: that deep flaws and bad decisions exist right alongside our beautiful capacity for kindness and compassion. With equal parts heart and humor, The Codger and the Sparrow is an ode to the strange, messy, and transformative power of friendship.” – Stacey Swann, author of Olympus, Texas
 
Also, the book launch event for THE CODGER AND THE SPARROW will be at BookPeople in Austin, Texas on Thursday, March 28th at 7pm. I’ll be in conversation with the wonderful James Wade. A second book launch event will be in San Antonio on Saturday, March 30th at Nowhere Bookshop at 6pm. I’ll be in conversation with the fantastic Andrew Porter. Links to both events are also below.
 
Thank you for your support. I hope you enjoy this novel and I hope to see you at one of these events.
 
Preorder the paperback and eBook here:  Bookshop, BookPeople, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Thrift Books, TCU Press
 
Book launch event at BookPeople on Thursday, March 28th: RSVP and preorder the book
 
Book Launch event at Nowhere Bookshop on Saturday, March 30th: Preorder the book
 
I’ll be back next month with regularly scheduled programming about books, reviews, interviews, and more. Until then: take care and read more books.
 
Sincerely,
Scott

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Book Publicity, My Latest Book Review, an Author Interview, and More

Book Publicity

Hello, hello! I’ve been busy getting ready for the publication of my new novel, THE CODGER AND THE SPARROW! If you’re in the Austin area on March 28^th, there’ll be a book launch event at BookPeople, a fantastic bookstore in downtown Austin, Texas. RSVP and preorder the book at this link. The event starts at 7pm and I’ll be in conversation with James Wade. There will also be an event at Nowhere Bookshop in San Antonio, Texas on March 30^th at 6pm. I don’t have a link yet. I’ll be in conversation with Andrew Porter at this one. Both events should be fun! Hope to see you at either one. These are the only two events I’ll be doing in March; more events to come later in the year (I’m looking at you Texas Book Festival).

Now that there’s only 49 days (!!!) until my new novel is published, I’ve been in book publicity mode, not my favorite mode to be in, but I do it nonetheless because I want readers to find my books and read them and enjoy them and hopefully feel inspired by them. But in this day and age, all of us creative types of people (I refuse to call us “creatives” because that’s stupid; I’m a writer, not a creative) are pretty much forced to put on our marketing and publicity hats and tasked with selling our wares…I mean products----I mean, our books. Most authors, including myself, are not extroverts or salespeople or marketers, not our strong points, anyway. We like to be by ourselves and write stories, preferably with lots of coffee and a fuzzy pet nearby. Asking us to publicize our books is a BIG ask. But why do publishers expect us to promote our books when our specialty is to write down our words in a secluded room? You got me. Doesn’t seem to me to be the best strategy for selling books. But what do I know?

New Year New Things, My Latest Book Review, an Excellent Author Interview, and More

New Year New Things

Happy New Year! I hope you’re 2024 is an exceptional year and, if not, well give it your best. What more can we do, right? Anyway, you may have noticed my newsletter looks a little different. I made a switch from Substack to Mailchimp last month, mainly because the owners of Substack wouldn’t denounce the proliferation of Nazi and white-supremacist content on their platform or the fact they were making money off this disgusting content. You can read all about it here, if you’d like:

https://www.techpolicy.press/substack-founder-defends-commercial-relationships-with-nazis/

Now, I’m all for free speech, but there comes a time when a stance needs to be scrutinized and I morally can’t get behind a company who thinks it’s okay to take money from Nazis or white supremacist groups. As a person with fifty-percent Jewish heritage, I just can’t. I understand corporations are not perfect and the owners of Mailchimp, Intuit, may not be perfect as well, but I haven’t found any public comments from Intuit stating their cool with Nazis using their services. And so, for me, if someone asks me, “Are you cool being associated with a company that is okay with making money from Nazi content?” then my answer is a “hard NO.” It wasn’t a difficult decision for me to make.

But, it was a pain in the ass. Switching to a different newsletter service with great email features was not easy to do. It was quite time consuming and tedious. I had to update a ton of things on my website including CNAME references on my web host and all the links in my website menus and content. I’m having to use a different interface and, I have to admit, Substack’s was pretty nice. But Mailchimp’s is nice, too. Substack was more about “platform building” and connecting me with new readers. Mailchimp is more an email service rather than a platform builder. If all of this makes your head hurt, then—yeah, I get that. Nerd stuff and blah blah blah. Sorry.

Making a Living as a Writer, My Latest Book Review, One of My Favorite Author Interviews, and More

Making a Living as a Writer

“I feel disappointed having to tell people that because [having books published with a prestigious publisher] sort of seems like a mark of success,” author Andrew Lipstein said. “If I’m not just supporting myself by writing, to those who don't know the reality of it, it seems like it's a failure in some way.” And this is how an article in Esquire begins about the financial reality of being an author. You can read the entire article here:

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a45751827/make-a-living-as-a-writer/

Making a living as a writer has never been harder and this article is the most comprehensive I've read recently about this topic. As an author myself, it really sucks to admit that the dream job I've always wanted just doesn't pay well enough to support my family. But with the way authors get paid by publishers, it just isn't feasible. Authors get paid like contractors not employees, so they pay more in taxes. Authors with publishing deals are not offered benefits like health insurance or retirement accounts like regular employees at corporations. Plus, authors pay commissions to literary agents and have to hire a publicist on their own dime. If you've ever dreamed of having a career as a author, then you better be ready for the reality of just how little you could make in terms of money.

Full disclosure: I have a day job. I've worked as a webmaster for over twenty years. When I first started this tech career, I tried to do anything and everything to get out of it. It just became mind-crushingly boring at times and my passion was really in writing fiction. I tried my best to get a book deal by finding a literary agent. I tried selling short stories to journals and magazines. I even had a couple of stints as a cartoonist and sold my comic strips to alternative weekly newspapers. But the big, gigantic book deal never came and I was stuck with being a webmaster during the day. I eventually figured out how to keep writing while I had a career as a web guy. With a little bit of planning, I've been able to write three novels and one book of short stories over the last five years during the lunch breaks of my day job. I've even grown to love this routine and look forward to my lunch breaks as my favorite part of my workday. Now that I'm at the end of my career as a webmaster and getting ready to retire, I will soon be a full-time writer supported by my pension.

After all of these years trying to get out of this career, I'm glad I stuck with it. Through my day job I have health insurance, vision and dental benefits, life insurance, and a retirement that is about to start soon. After I retire, I can write whatever I want without worrying about the financial side of being an author. I won't have to write for a market; I'll only be writing for myself. If I get a book contract, then great. If I don't get a book contract, then I'll put a book out myself and start writing the next book. Being a hybrid author (one that both traditionally publishes as well as self-publishes) is what the future holds for me. I have a novel coming out on a university press in March 2024, but I have a book of short stories that I may be self-publishing in late 2024. I'll have choices.