Ask the Author: David Erik Nelson
Answered Questions (11)
David Erik Nelson
Thx! I've added 'em (I'm so used to Goodreads automagically slurping things up from Amazon, I'd totally forgotten that titles being published through less conventional channels won't pop up on their own).
David Erik Nelson
That's tricky. I've been mulling this over, and have mentally drafted about four or five answers, none of them satisfactory and all of them sort of disturbing. This answer is no different than those, it's just the one I'm committing to.
The shortest answer is "Writing DIY is ultimately most satisfying." Part of that is a function of commerce--I write DIY projects that have a clear path to the light of day (either in a book, or on my blog, or for a specific talk/event), while I write fiction that only very slowly wends its why to the public (the submission/rejection cycle for short SF can be *very* slow, and publication even slower; a story I write today is likely three or more years away from publication).
Part of it has to do with the functions of these kinds of writing in my life: I write SF in order to sort out personal moral quandaries, and I write DIY in order to share fun projects. This inevitable leads to another complicating factor, which has to do with the lifecycle of written things: When I write fiction, that story dies with submission to a publication. The piece lived in my head, and sorting it out and pinning it to paper sorta tends to render it inert, like a taxidermied animal mounted in a case. Yeah, the results can be fascinating or neat or beautiful or admirable--someone can love the resulting story, and experiencing it can be very meaningful to them--but just like the wolverine in the display case, it's not a live animal anymore; it's a skin stretched over an armature and posed amid some plastic leaves and hunks of log. Meanwhile, the DIY stuff is *born* when it hits the printed page: Folks start picking those projects up and doing their own weird things with them. The street finds its uses, and breathes life into the inert thing I handed them. It's like the DIY projects grow up and get married and move in with other people, and that's sorta great (in, yes, a clearly weird way).
And this sorta winds around to maybe the real reason I'm most satisfied by DIY. When push comes to shove, there are really only two ethical things you can do with writing: You either increase someone's joy, or decrease their dread. I see the DIY projects increasing joy--folks are thrilled by them, and thrilled to make their own things, and to discover they have the power to do new crazy things. Meanwhile, my stories that succeed are the ones that tend to fill folks with dread. Yeah, the stories can be funny--in an admittedly gallows-humor way--but they're dark. Maybe there's value in that--I see readers and reviewers write things like "this story disturbed me, but really got me thinking"--but, still, I feel weird about that, and a little embarrassed. It would be hard to categorize that feeling I feel as "satisfaction."
The shortest answer is "Writing DIY is ultimately most satisfying." Part of that is a function of commerce--I write DIY projects that have a clear path to the light of day (either in a book, or on my blog, or for a specific talk/event), while I write fiction that only very slowly wends its why to the public (the submission/rejection cycle for short SF can be *very* slow, and publication even slower; a story I write today is likely three or more years away from publication).
Part of it has to do with the functions of these kinds of writing in my life: I write SF in order to sort out personal moral quandaries, and I write DIY in order to share fun projects. This inevitable leads to another complicating factor, which has to do with the lifecycle of written things: When I write fiction, that story dies with submission to a publication. The piece lived in my head, and sorting it out and pinning it to paper sorta tends to render it inert, like a taxidermied animal mounted in a case. Yeah, the results can be fascinating or neat or beautiful or admirable--someone can love the resulting story, and experiencing it can be very meaningful to them--but just like the wolverine in the display case, it's not a live animal anymore; it's a skin stretched over an armature and posed amid some plastic leaves and hunks of log. Meanwhile, the DIY stuff is *born* when it hits the printed page: Folks start picking those projects up and doing their own weird things with them. The street finds its uses, and breathes life into the inert thing I handed them. It's like the DIY projects grow up and get married and move in with other people, and that's sorta great (in, yes, a clearly weird way).
And this sorta winds around to maybe the real reason I'm most satisfied by DIY. When push comes to shove, there are really only two ethical things you can do with writing: You either increase someone's joy, or decrease their dread. I see the DIY projects increasing joy--folks are thrilled by them, and thrilled to make their own things, and to discover they have the power to do new crazy things. Meanwhile, my stories that succeed are the ones that tend to fill folks with dread. Yeah, the stories can be funny--in an admittedly gallows-humor way--but they're dark. Maybe there's value in that--I see readers and reviewers write things like "this story disturbed me, but really got me thinking"--but, still, I feel weird about that, and a little embarrassed. It would be hard to categorize that feeling I feel as "satisfaction."
David Erik Nelson
Thanks so much! Writing that column for the Chronicle (http://annarborchronicle.com/tag/in-i...) was a terrific opportunity--I got to meet Noam Chomsky and Miss America and Canadian political big-wigs and to deeply, regularly indulge my obtusely obsessive streak--but it was also terrifically grueling, both for me and for my editor (Dave Askins--without whom none of those pieces would have been even half what they were). I miss writing for Dave and Mary at the Chronicle, but also very much doubt I'll ever do anything quite like it again; too many stars would have to align in a manner that no just God would ever permit.
That said, I still write these sorts of essays (albeit with greater brevity and less tangled syntax) over on my blog (http://davideriknelson.com/sbsb/). They pop up at a rate of one or two per month, sometimes more, rarely less. If you want an occasional email heads-up linking to my latest posts, you can sign up here: http://eepurl.com/IZckf
That said, I still write these sorts of essays (albeit with greater brevity and less tangled syntax) over on my blog (http://davideriknelson.com/sbsb/). They pop up at a rate of one or two per month, sometimes more, rarely less. If you want an occasional email heads-up linking to my latest posts, you can sign up here: http://eepurl.com/IZckf
David Erik Nelson
The Quick-n-Easy Water Rocket is my go-to project for any outdoor event, because it's downright magical: We take a few pieces of actual garbage (a tire stem cut from an old bike inner tube--you can get popped ones from any bike shop; their trash is full of them--a wine cork, a soda bottle), drill a hole, and combine those elements into a something that sprays water everywhere and flies an easy 30-100 feet in the air.
Here's my classic quick-build water rocket video:
http://youtu.be/pzq9kqJ3sj4
Here's my classic quick-build water rocket video:
http://youtu.be/pzq9kqJ3sj4
David Erik Nelson
My first homebrew instrument was Tim Escobedo's "synthstick": http://www.davideriknelson.com/sbsb/2... —which is a great project, although some of the materials (certain types of cassette tape and Mylar wrapping paper), which were just the most common back-of-the-closet junk in the world when I first stumbled across his design, are getting increasingly scarce. Still, it's a really great synth circuit to start out with, and I continue to use the same basic core design in lots of projects.
As for selling instruments, I don't, but folks are always offering to buy them (esp. the electric guitars), and I can never really fathom why they'd want to do that. It reminds me of this story I once heard about Jobs and Wozniak. This is back in their blue boxes and garage-tinkering days. Early on, when they were developing that first Apple computer, they got into an argument over whether or not there was a market for a computer, as a finished consumer product. Woz was of the mind that the fun was in building it--that a computer, at most, should be a kit--and Job was of the mind that the fun was in using it, that you should open the box and power up and immediately have easy access to doing something cool. Evidenced by the fact that I'm writing this on an Applie bluetooth keyboard mated to an Apple iPad while listening to music on an Apple phone and running Disk Utility on an Apple laptop, I guess we know who was right. But still, I'm a Woz kinda guy. I don't want to sell guitars and synths that are all just like the guitars and synths I'd build; I want folks to build their own guitars and synths, and then show me what they did and why it's better for them.
As for selling instruments, I don't, but folks are always offering to buy them (esp. the electric guitars), and I can never really fathom why they'd want to do that. It reminds me of this story I once heard about Jobs and Wozniak. This is back in their blue boxes and garage-tinkering days. Early on, when they were developing that first Apple computer, they got into an argument over whether or not there was a market for a computer, as a finished consumer product. Woz was of the mind that the fun was in building it--that a computer, at most, should be a kit--and Job was of the mind that the fun was in using it, that you should open the box and power up and immediately have easy access to doing something cool. Evidenced by the fact that I'm writing this on an Applie bluetooth keyboard mated to an Apple iPad while listening to music on an Apple phone and running Disk Utility on an Apple laptop, I guess we know who was right. But still, I'm a Woz kinda guy. I don't want to sell guitars and synths that are all just like the guitars and synths I'd build; I want folks to build their own guitars and synths, and then show me what they did and why it's better for them.
David Erik Nelson
"May be" sadly having become "is not." (FUN FACT: RadioShack declared bankruptcy *the same day* I finalized the draft of the final synthesizer project in "Junkyard Jam Band"--a project that benefited greatly from me being able to quickly run to RadioShack to get emergency parts) So, I'm down to all online shopping for parts. I always check Mouser and DigiKey; usually prices are pretty close, but occasionally one or the other offers a *huge* savings (esp. when you factor in shipping--which can vary drastically with both). The one problem is with printed circuit boards; the PCB offerings at both of these are pretty weak. I've recently started using AdaFruit's "Perma-Proto" breadboard-style PCBs, and *love* those (great form-factor, super easy to take your breadboarded prototype to permanent layout, and just a great build-quality PCB--and absolute dream to solder on). Also, SparkFun has started carrying a lot of the weirder-sized/shaped PCBs RadioShack used to stock (e.g., small circles, little 2" and 1" squares, etc.)
David Erik Nelson
With my first DIY book, "Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred," there were about 100 projects that didn't make it in--but that's sort of a crazy outlier situation, since that book began as a very nebulous concept that sharply focused as we worked on it. For example, the pitch I sold it on had an entire section on homebrewing and making liquor--the sample project I showed them was for kombucha--which is a decidedly odd choice for a book billed as "Things to Do with Your Kids." There were also a bunch of homebrew fireworks projects (Aside: Since publishing "Snip, Burn" I've done various DIY events and talked to tons of AMerican makers and DIYers from all walks of life, and come to realize that my own personal childhood was maybe a lot more dangerous than I'd understood at the time.)
Many of the projects in my upcoming book ("Junkyard Jam Band") were ones that were cut from "Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred" (which already had a solid musical instrument section)--and even "Junkyard Jam Band," which includes 16 projects, had another 8 or 10 that were cut either because the book was running long, was growing too heavy in one sort of project, or because they still weren't quite ready for prime time. Among the "memorable" cuts were a trio of projects that were cut from *both* books: a percussion synth and two different drum machines. I love 'em, but finding ways to make them both reliable and not-cripplingly-intimidating to build has eluded me. Other notable cuts: Homemade "sugar" bottle rockets that use the same grocery/hardware-store fuel formula that Hezbollah once relied on, and my limoncello recipe (this last one is a consistent crowd pleasure at after-dark SF convention sessions. Here's the skinny: http://davideriknelson.com/booze/ )
Many of the projects in my upcoming book ("Junkyard Jam Band") were ones that were cut from "Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred" (which already had a solid musical instrument section)--and even "Junkyard Jam Band," which includes 16 projects, had another 8 or 10 that were cut either because the book was running long, was growing too heavy in one sort of project, or because they still weren't quite ready for prime time. Among the "memorable" cuts were a trio of projects that were cut from *both* books: a percussion synth and two different drum machines. I love 'em, but finding ways to make them both reliable and not-cripplingly-intimidating to build has eluded me. Other notable cuts: Homemade "sugar" bottle rockets that use the same grocery/hardware-store fuel formula that Hezbollah once relied on, and my limoncello recipe (this last one is a consistent crowd pleasure at after-dark SF convention sessions. Here's the skinny: http://davideriknelson.com/booze/ )
David Erik Nelson
I'm not a big fan of "inspiration." I used to really stress out about it, tying myself up in knots. But when I started making most of my money writing copy, it finally hit me that any art is primarily a craft. I've known plenty of of craftsmen--carpenters and mechanics and plumbers and doctors and so on--and none of them ever worried about getting inspired to frame a wall, replace a serpentine belt, seat a toilet, or sew up a gash. They do the work that presents itself. I do the same.
Of course, I know that sounds like gruff self-made-men bullshit, and presented as I have above it is indeed such BS. I was quick to embrace copywriting as a craft (after all, when you are seeing steady paychecks, it's pretty easy to see that a job is a job), but I struggled with getting inspired to work on fiction for a long time. And then one day I suddenly saw that it was all the same craft, and I was using all the same tools to do it. I stopped worrying about getting "inspired," and started just getting up early: 6am, 5:30am, early enough to be out of bed and coherent and sitting at the kitchen table before my kids woke up. And that's when I work on fiction, 30 minutes at a time, sometimes an hour. I write a page or four a day. I revise the same way (cutting a page or two a session). It's slow--especially as the fiction gets longer--but the stories get done and get revised, and then the get sold. I.e., the system works. To hell with "inspiration."
Of course, I know that sounds like gruff self-made-men bullshit, and presented as I have above it is indeed such BS. I was quick to embrace copywriting as a craft (after all, when you are seeing steady paychecks, it's pretty easy to see that a job is a job), but I struggled with getting inspired to work on fiction for a long time. And then one day I suddenly saw that it was all the same craft, and I was using all the same tools to do it. I stopped worrying about getting "inspired," and started just getting up early: 6am, 5:30am, early enough to be out of bed and coherent and sitting at the kitchen table before my kids woke up. And that's when I work on fiction, 30 minutes at a time, sometimes an hour. I write a page or four a day. I revise the same way (cutting a page or two a session). It's slow--especially as the fiction gets longer--but the stories get done and get revised, and then the get sold. I.e., the system works. To hell with "inspiration."
David Erik Nelson
Just to clarify for folks who don't know me personally, while I have indeed never worked with an agent, that's just a matter of happenstance, not any sort of legitimate stance (some folks are strongly anti-agent; I'm not one of them). The happenstance:
1) I make a big chunk of my living running a small business (I write commercial copy, mostly B2B stuff). This involves a good bit of sales and "rainmaking," just as a matter of course. I'm not a shy person, and I am good at selling myself. That obviously pays off in other areas of life, too.
2) When it comes to writing fiction and non-fiction, I'm working in areas where an agent offers fewer advantages: Short fiction is basically never handled by an agent (agents are paid a percentage, and 10% of 6-cents per word ain't worth the hustle), and I sort of blundered into the DIY niche working with a publisher with whom I had a pre-existing relationship (providing professional as per #1 above).
That said, I'm finishing an SF novel this year, and will be looking for an agent to rep it, because that's a super-competitive, super-overcrowded market where I'll be well out of my depth in negotiating a damn thing.
With your situation:
1) Congrats! Anyone who finishes a book deserves kudus and tacos! It's a grueling, nutso thing to do. HIGH FIVES TO ALL THE NOVELISTS IN THE JOINT!
2) YA is an awesome place to be right now, from a business perspective (it's one of the few segments seeing consistent and meaningful growth) and artistically (authors and publishers are doing really interesting, provocative, substantial things in YA). Well played!
3) This also means that it is an insanely crowded, jumbled field with lots of moving pieces. Get a good agent; agents live and die by being able to quickly and profitably navigate this jungle.
As for the tools you need for making connections:
* Publishers Marketplace: http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/ PM offers agent listings, industry reports, industry news, etc. You have to pay to join, but the word from folks I know who make their living writing fiction (including YA) is that PM earns its keep and is a trustworthy source.
* Query Shark: http://queryshark.blogspot.com/ This is a blog operated by an anonymous agent who tears down, dissects, and rebuilds actual queries, walking readers through exactly where each goes wrong. She's on Query #266 now. Read the entire blog. Can't get an agent without a query, and queries are downright treacherous.
* Writer Beware: http://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/f... Hosted by the Science Fiction Writers of America, but dealing with scams and lousy business dealings that befall fiction authors of all stripes.
Best of luck! Oh, that reminds me, I saw your "Images of America: Downtown Ann Arbor" book for sale recently and was vicariously thrilled; congrats!
1) I make a big chunk of my living running a small business (I write commercial copy, mostly B2B stuff). This involves a good bit of sales and "rainmaking," just as a matter of course. I'm not a shy person, and I am good at selling myself. That obviously pays off in other areas of life, too.
2) When it comes to writing fiction and non-fiction, I'm working in areas where an agent offers fewer advantages: Short fiction is basically never handled by an agent (agents are paid a percentage, and 10% of 6-cents per word ain't worth the hustle), and I sort of blundered into the DIY niche working with a publisher with whom I had a pre-existing relationship (providing professional as per #1 above).
That said, I'm finishing an SF novel this year, and will be looking for an agent to rep it, because that's a super-competitive, super-overcrowded market where I'll be well out of my depth in negotiating a damn thing.
With your situation:
1) Congrats! Anyone who finishes a book deserves kudus and tacos! It's a grueling, nutso thing to do. HIGH FIVES TO ALL THE NOVELISTS IN THE JOINT!
2) YA is an awesome place to be right now, from a business perspective (it's one of the few segments seeing consistent and meaningful growth) and artistically (authors and publishers are doing really interesting, provocative, substantial things in YA). Well played!
3) This also means that it is an insanely crowded, jumbled field with lots of moving pieces. Get a good agent; agents live and die by being able to quickly and profitably navigate this jungle.
As for the tools you need for making connections:
* Publishers Marketplace: http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/ PM offers agent listings, industry reports, industry news, etc. You have to pay to join, but the word from folks I know who make their living writing fiction (including YA) is that PM earns its keep and is a trustworthy source.
* Query Shark: http://queryshark.blogspot.com/ This is a blog operated by an anonymous agent who tears down, dissects, and rebuilds actual queries, walking readers through exactly where each goes wrong. She's on Query #266 now. Read the entire blog. Can't get an agent without a query, and queries are downright treacherous.
* Writer Beware: http://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/f... Hosted by the Science Fiction Writers of America, but dealing with scams and lousy business dealings that befall fiction authors of all stripes.
Best of luck! Oh, that reminds me, I saw your "Images of America: Downtown Ann Arbor" book for sale recently and was vicariously thrilled; congrats!
David Erik Nelson
My mom is a trained painter (the art kind, not the house kind--although she's a hella rad house painter, too), and so I was indoctrinated early on in with a firm and abiding faith in primers, base-coats, gesso (opaque white base coat used to prep canvasses; it's basically thin plaster, and not that different from White-Out), etc. What impressed me as a kid was how gesso transformed surfaces: Once you laid out a good, smooth coat of gesso you could basically decorate that surface with whatever you liked: pencil, crayon, paints of any formula, etc. Same with primers: It ain't the paint, it's the primer. Once a surface is properly primed, it is an accepting canvas. And the king of primers is Kilz. I've yet to meet the surface--plaster, drywall, wall-board, woods of all varieties, plastics, rocks glass--that couldn't be Kilzed into submission, and then painted with whatever pigment you like. Apply a good primer, my son, and sin no more.
David Erik Nelson
When it comes to writing craft and DIY, I've learned a couple things the Very Very Hard Way:
1) TAKE GOOD NOTES! (Including supply costs, where you sourced parts, stock numbers, etc.) Everything is clear and obvious while you're developing a project, but let it sit on the shelf for a week or two, and you'll find yourself wondering why you made the decisions you did and how the hell you pulled them off.
2) Work through a project while writing it up, even if you've done the project a hundred times. Actually working through your steps while writing, and then again while revising, makes it much easier to see the places where folks might go off track or get confused.
3) Don't fall in love with insider jargon. There are plenty of folks who never get into knitting, for example, because they can't get their heads around the jargon and codes that knitters use. Feel free to be the person who describes it differently, and thus opens that craft up to the folks who were previously locked out.
4) Learn to take decent photos. Publishers (and readers) will want them, and want them to be as clear as possible (non-distracting, solid-colored background; lots of bright light; soft shadows; no glare; etc.) Similarly, if your work is best described with diagrams, learn to use SketchUp or Fritzing or Pixelmator or whatever it takes to make the images you need.
1) TAKE GOOD NOTES! (Including supply costs, where you sourced parts, stock numbers, etc.) Everything is clear and obvious while you're developing a project, but let it sit on the shelf for a week or two, and you'll find yourself wondering why you made the decisions you did and how the hell you pulled them off.
2) Work through a project while writing it up, even if you've done the project a hundred times. Actually working through your steps while writing, and then again while revising, makes it much easier to see the places where folks might go off track or get confused.
3) Don't fall in love with insider jargon. There are plenty of folks who never get into knitting, for example, because they can't get their heads around the jargon and codes that knitters use. Feel free to be the person who describes it differently, and thus opens that craft up to the folks who were previously locked out.
4) Learn to take decent photos. Publishers (and readers) will want them, and want them to be as clear as possible (non-distracting, solid-colored background; lots of bright light; soft shadows; no glare; etc.) Similarly, if your work is best described with diagrams, learn to use SketchUp or Fritzing or Pixelmator or whatever it takes to make the images you need.
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