Creating: Experimenting with Murder-By Charm Baker
[New FBI writers please use this as an EXAMPLE for your own 1st story]
My name is Charm Baker and I’m a Los Angeles based freelance writer and author of multiple self-help guides. I’ve covered everything from personal growth and development topics, to how to stop the embarrassing habit of biting your nails. In addition to my non-fiction titles, I currently have two novels available for sale on Amazon.
The stories I plan to share here with the First Book Issues (FBI) audience are not about any of my non-fiction ebooks or my most recent novels. I’ll actually be talking about the problems and issues I had with writing and self-publishing my first novel.
1. Experimenting with Murder was marketed as a fantasy, sci-fi adventure
2. It consisted of 452 pages in paperback format (though content and size has been modified)
3. This book is not currently on sale (I voluntarily UNPUBLISHED it)
4. There is no book buy link, nor is it available to the public (not free or for purchase)
Brief Book Description
Experimenting with Murder is about an island owned by a billionaire (Tyler Payne), who is also a heartless scientist who conducts unethical research. His two college friends are also scientists interested in marine life, and they work with him in his labs, both in public and in secret. When a pair of mermaids wash up on the secluded New Zealand island, Tyler becomes obsessed with experimenting on the creatures. But eventually, his colleagues refuse to continue participating, and all hell proceeds to break out.
The other element that add to the intricacy of the story include the group of teenagers who arrive every year on the island to visit their parents (the researchers who work there). They arrive and find themselves in the midst of a series of unbelievable events, and end up having to hide in the jungle and run for their lives.
My Book Inspiration
In spite of the many issues that I later discovered after releasing my first novel, I still believe the story has a lot of good aspects. After all, who doesn’t love a good mermaid story? My inspiration and motivation for writing this novel originated with my love for the subject of mermaids. I started writing it at a time when the topic was in the airwaves, due to a television program that aired on the Animal Planet Network. My book also references the topic of whale beachings in the New Zealand area; a subject that was also in the news at the time. I was inspired to use real life happenings and events, in a way that added authenticity to my story.
Summary of Book Issues
I’ve been writing non-fiction articles, posts, and ebooks for several years; the kind that require research and a narrative voice. While I always wanted to write a novel on the subject of mermaid, this book was my first serious attempt at self-publishing a work of fiction. I later found this particular issue to be a primary factor in what went wrong with my book. Wordiness became a big problem in the story, though I didn’t realize it until later. But there were also other issues with my first novel. Among the problems that I ran into were multiple book cover changes, a title change, and identifying correct genre for positioning and marketing sake.
Current Work in Progress
By writing about my experiences, I hope to investigate these issues more closely, in hopes of avoiding the same mistakes in the future. My goal is to do a total rewrite of Experimenting with Murder this coming November for National Novel Writing Month (NANO). By then, I should have a better understanding of how to correct significant mistakes and make the book a best seller. I’ve already learned a great deal since I first published the book in 2014. This time, I’ll be applying everything I’ve learned over the years, and maybe this time around, I’ll really get it right.
Thanks for choosing to read one of my Medium stories. Since the writing of this particular story, a lot has happened and I invite you to visit my Justiss Goode Medium profile and read some of my recent personal essays and miscellaneous life lessons that I know you will enjoy and benefit from.
