Category: Blog

Transparency: Whatever Happened to that Velociraptor Western Book?

Posted on by Matthew

A man peeks out over the cover of a book titled Raptors of Eckus VI

In 2017, I finished writing my first book.

 

It was terrible.

 

But I did not despair! I learned a lot from writing it and I had a shiny new idea on deck: a sci-fi western with Velociraptors. 

 

Seven months later I had a draft. I spent the next three years revising, editing, querying, hiring an editor, querying again, and then, finally, an agent offered me representation! O frabjous day callooh callay!

 

Now it’s 2024. It’s been almost 3 years since Song of the Raptors went on sub. Ever since then, writer friends and acquaintances came to know me as the raptors guy or even “Dino Man.” So when no news showed up and I started talking about new books instead, people asked me, “Wait, what happened to Raptors?” My friends, family, and coworkers ask about it too. It’s rather flattering to have people asking after a book solely based on the pitch “cowboys riding raptors”. So I thought, “Hey, my website needs some content. Why not make a post about it and talk about some highs and lows of the industry?”

 

So, what happened to that Velociraptor western book? The answer is simple: editors didn’t want it. 

 

They all had different reasons. Some loved the book but thought the western spin would be a harder sell. Some loved it and brought it to their superiors only to have it turned down. Some said it was too niche and wasn’t a good fit. Some offered the usual stuff you hear: didn’t connect, not for me, etc. A lot of the feedback actually included praise, which was nice! Until I got to the part where they said “But I’m passing on this”. It’s definitely strange knowing some editors enjoyed it but wouldn’t take it on for one reason or another, a very “it’s not you it’s me” kind of vibe.

 

Once we realized Raptors wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, my agent and I changed tack and focused on my next book instead, this one being a heroic fantasy titled The Ten of Shrike and Krait.

 

“How could they not want it?!” I hear this a lot. The fact is, I was fighting an uphill battle even when I was querying agents. Westerns are not a hot genre in publishing (unless it’s also a romance). Moreover, successful space westerns are more of an exception, not a rule, and usually found in different mediums. Sci-fi? Doesn’t sell as well as fantasy does these days. And dinosaurs? What was the last successful dino inclusive story that wasn’t either A) Jurassic Park or B) for children? Publishers take on books they know how to market and sell. Raptors was not one of those books.

 

“Just self-publish it!” Ah, the ever-present advocate for self-publishing. Make no mistake: self-published authors work their asses off and some make good money doing it. Some authors make a living with both trad and indie publishing. But self-publishing isn’t just a backup option, it is work. Some can hack it, some can’t, and I’m not willing to go down that route at this time.

 

Yes, it’s disappointing, of course it is. But that’s the name of the game. People who’ve been at this longer than me will tell you the same. Believe me, I want Song of the Raptors to be published as much as any of you (and my agent wants it more than all of you combined). I’ve even got a finished draft of the sequel that nobody has read yet. I’ve got a doc full of ideas and brainstorming for the third book. But I came to accept a while ago that whatever my first published book is, it will not be Song of the Raptors. Unless there’s an editor out there reading this who decides they needed this book yesterday.

 

I’m okay if you ask me about it though! Really, I won’t be sore about it. It is what it is. I’ve since learned it’s common for debut books to go out on sub without a bite (Andrea G. Stewart is one such example). I’ve written more books since then, I’m on sub again, and the book I started in January has been an absolute blast to write.

 

In an industry where trends rise and fall or smash-hits come out of left field, I can offer you these bits of advice:

 

1. All you can do is write the next book.

2. Write what you want to write.

3. Your worth as a writer is not contingent upon being published.

4. Jealousy is a natural feeling. It’s what you do with it that matters (a.k.a. don’t be a dick).

5. Support your fellow writers and cheer on their successes.

 

One day, I hope Song of the Raptors finds a home. Then I’ll look back on this post and smile. Incidentally, if you want a taste of what to expect from Raptors, I recommend checking out my short story “Pepperdam Luck: Tales from Eckus VI”.

 

Speculative Sandbox: Am I The Drama? Problematic Protagonists (Special Guest: Me!)

Posted on by Matthew

I’m on a podcast! As a guest! What a first!

Back in 2019 when the world made a bit more sense, I became acquainted with Vickie Lan through a Twitter pitch event. Vickie is an OwnVoices sci-fi fantasy writer who also blogs about her experiences as a Vietnamese-American. Since then, we’ve talked over our various WIPs and their struggles. We’ve also both signed with literary agents and are working hard at getting our books picked up by publishers (and by working hard I mean waiting very patiently). It was actually Vickie who recommended I hire the fantastic editor Leslie Hinson to bump my book into shape.

Vickie recently started a new podcast called Speculative Sandbox where she discusses speculative fiction prompts with a fellow writer. In this case, that writer is yours truly! In this episode, dubbed “Am I The Drama? Problematic Protagonists,” Vickie and I discuss different types of protagonists: our favorites, the ones who are clearly villains, the ones who are more nuanced, and what kind of protagonists does modern society gravitate toward? I hope you give it a listen and that you’ll check out more episodes of Speculative Sandbox!

Links:

Speculative Sandbox Linktree 

Vickie’s Website

 

 

 

 

What Happened in 2021 & Looking Ahead at 2022

Posted on by Matthew

Howdy! The new year is here, and my website needs some content, so I thought I’d look back at what I got done in 2021 and what I’ve got planned for 2022.

 

Agent Signing

The biggest and most exciting development this year was that I signed with literary agent John Baker of Bell Lomax Moreton. I started pitching Song of the Raptors almost exactly 3 years ago in 2019, and as is the case with most writers, it was a long road of rejections. Many were just outright “no’s” while some were more specific: “I’m working on something similar”; “I’m not the right fit”; “I don’t think I can do a Western.” I even stopped querying at one point and hired the fantastic Leslie Hinson to help me get the manuscript in the best shape possible. I was beginning to think that maybe a sci-fi western with velociraptors just wasn’t going to find an agent and that I’d be better off writing a new story. Finally, John replied and asked for a full manuscript. From our first meeting I knew he was the guy; he just got what Raptors is all about. He might be even more hyped about my book than I am.

For the next couple months, we went over some more revisions to give the book that last bit of polish that it needed before sending it off to editors. The book finally got shipped off to editors in July, and it’s been a familiar waiting game since. I’m hoping that 2022 brings some good news on this front!

 

A Stand-Alone Fantasy Novel

I finished the first draft of Song of the Raptors four years ago at the very end of 2017. My time between then and now has been spent editing Raptors, experimenting short stories, starting and not finishing three different books, querying Raptors, editing Raptors again, and querying the newly revised Raptors again. Somewhere in there I also moved cross-country and became a father.

I beat myself up many, many times over the fact that I hadn’t finished another book. I thought that the six months spent on Raptors was a flash in the pan that would never happen again and that maybe I just wasn’t cut out for writing books. In retrospect, it was unreasonable for me to think this way. Big life events are bound to throw things out of whack, especially when you include a pandemic in there somewhere. Plus, each book has its own life cycle and they all work differently.

That said, I really wanted to get another book under my belt. I finally did back in July and I gotta say completing my first draft in 3 1/2 years felt really good. I won’t go into it too much yet, but it’s a stand-alone fantasy novel. I’m spending the first few months of 2022 revising and editing it.

 

The Sequel to Song of the Raptors

Writing Song of the Raptors was a lot of fun. It was quick, enjoyable, with only a few roadblocks. Most importantly, I felt good about it, confident I’d written a good book. While riding that high, I decided to get right to work on Raptors 2 almost immediately.

This was a mistake. I should have waited to start but I was a little too impatient and way overconfident. I stopped and started writing Raptors 2 so many times until I reached a point where I was just plain burned out. I did not like what I’d written and had no idea where it was going. So I shelved it, focused on editing and querying the first book, and flexed my creative muscles elsewhere.

When John prepared to ship Raptors off to editors, he asked me to write a synopsis of Raptors 2, including the ending. That made me panic a little bit: I hadn’t touched the book in months! I had no idea how it ended! I wasn’t even sure how much of the book I was going to keep! I also just don’t like writing a synopsis for an unfinished story; I’m not a big outliner. But, I needed to write it, so I did, reminding myself that whatever the synopsis said was not set in stone.

And wouldn’t you know it? I figured out how to end the book and set it back on course. Like I said, the process for each book works differently.

I spent the last 5 1/2 months of 2021 writing Raptors 2, and I finally completed it shortly before Christmas. Victory never tasted so sweet. Now it shall sit for a good long while until I’m ready to edit and revise. It’ll be a lot of work, but at least the draft is finally done.

 

What’s Next?

There’s no telling what’s coming this year. Looks like I’ll be spending more time doing revising/editing than writing new stuff. Of course, I’ve got many ideas simmering on many different burners, so we’ll see. Otherwise, I’m just waiting for some editor somewhere to pick up Song of the Raptors. Here’s hoping that happens sooner rather than later.

Thanks for reading! I hope I can post some good news here soon.

Getting Lost In Middle-Earth: A Look Back At 20 Years Of “The Fellowship of the Ring”

Posted on by Matthew
The Lord Of The Rings – The Fellowship Of The Ring © NEW LINE CINEMA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

In December 2001, I was ten years old and unaware that my life was about to change for the better: I was going to be formally introduced to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. I had seen the teasers on TV, the Burger King commercial with the light up figures, and even some kids at my school carrying the books around. At the time, I only really knew three things: the main character’s name is Frodo, he has a glowing blue sword, and a Ring. That’s it.

On Christmas, one of my gifts was a copy of The Hobbit. My father explained to me that it was the story set before The Lord of the Rings and that we were going to go see the film. So, now I knew four things: Frodo, sword, Ring, hobbit, whatever that was. I literally knew nothing else before my father and uncle took my cousins and I to the theater. I didn’t ask either. I just went along with it. I liked movies and I was already on a fantasy high after the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone a month prior. I figured this film had to be just as good.

But, of course, it was so, so much more than that. The moment Galadriel’s hushed, mysterious voice flowed through the theater, I was spirited away to Middle-Earth. Nothing else in the world mattered to me more than Frodo’s quest. Sam’s loyalty warmed my heart. The antics of Merry and Pippin elicited endless laughter. Gandalf’s presence was calming, protective, and his death, such as it was, was an absolute shock. Aragorn became my favorite character the moment he fought off the Ringwraiths on Weathertop. Legolas and Gimli were a trustworthy duo. And Boromir…well, let’s just say that I couldn’t believe that not one but two heroes died in the same movie.

But that wasn’t all. The villains, from the lowly orc to Sauron himself, were foul and terrifying. The battles were fraught with enough danger to keep me on my toes. Jump scares jolted me out of my seat. The world was both lush and hard and cold and ruinous and beautiful. And the score was perfect. Sometimes I put on “Concerning Hobbits” just to try and recapture that feeling of the first time I laid eyes on the Shire, a land of innocence, unaware of the harshness of the outside world.

Then the film ended the same way it always does: Frodo turns to Sam and says “Sam, I’m glad you are with me,” and the two hobbits head off towards Mordor.

Fade to black. Credits roll. Lights come on.

And I shouted “What?!” when I realized the story was over for now. Needless to say, I tore into my copy of The Hobbit not long after.

Twenty years later, I’ve read and reread The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and other selections of Tolkien’s works. I’ve played any video game based on The Lord of the Rings that I could get my hands on. A map of Middle-Earth hangs on display in my home, courtesy of my wife, who loves LOTR as much as I do. The soundtrack is a staple on many of my playlists. I saw each film in The Hobbit trilogy multiple times in theaters and, yes, I liked them. And I am cautiously optimistic about the television series still in the works. Also, I’m a writer now, and while the shape of high fantasy has changed and evolved since Tolkien, I know I would not be doing what I do if I hadn’t walked into that movie theater twenty years ago.

Still, after all this time, with so much to enjoy from this franchise, I often crave more than the next game, the next adaptation, or the next Tolkien-related book. What I long for the most is the escape. I want to be ten years old, enjoying the winter and Christmas season, not a care in the world, sitting in the theater ready to go to Middle-Earth for the first time again. And I know that I can never truly go back to those days and that the nostalgia attached to them pales in comparison. Still, I try to recapture the magic, and the only way I ever get close to accomplishing that is by watching The Fellowship of the Ring, my favorite film of the trilogy and one of my favorites of all time. My great hope is, now that I have a child of my own, I will one day hand her a special book and tell her that we’re going to sit down and watch a special movie. And maybe, just maybe, she will bask in the very same magic that captured me when I was a child of ten.

Welcome and FAQ

Posted on by Matthew

Welcome! I’m Matthew and this is my brand new website. It’s a bit sparse at the moment, so I thought I’d start off with an introductory FAQ.

 

Matt or Matthew?

Either is fine. Just don’t say Matt within earshot of my mother.

 

What do you write?

Mostly sci-fi fantasy. Occasionally I dabble in horror.

 

When’s your book coming out?

No idea! It still needs a publisher.

 

What’s your book about?

Song of the Raptors is a sci-fi fantasy western following the adventures of rookie deputy Willa Matten and her velociraptor steed, Mitzi. Head to my works page for a more detailed summary.

 

What else are you working on right now?

Not telling just yet! I don’t like to talk about a WIP until it’s in a more concrete state.

 

What are you going to post about in the meantime?

I dunno, maybe music, book, movie, and video game recommendations. That’s what I used to blog about. You can check out the old blog here if you feel so inclined.