Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick

In Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick episode 052, I acknowledge a rough couple of weeks and take the opportunity to express gratitude for the folks who have helped my creative endeavors across the decades. Who are the people who have made life-changing contributions enabling you to pursue your creative endeavors? As a creator, who are you grateful for? Be sure to give them a shout out in the comments ! Links and Topics Mentioned in This Episode

• Get Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights: "How It All Got Started," my freely offered fiction serial, and enjoy well over a year and a half of weekly free fiction, when you subscribe.  For free!
• After my September focus on the serial, I'll get back to my next novel, Shadow of the Outsider, the follow-up to  Light of the Outsider and "The Perfumed Air at Kwaanantag Bay."
• The day job? I'm a creative services provider helping authors, podcasters, and other creators bring their work to fruition, to market, and to an audience. How can I help you?
• My old laptop? It's a Dell Inspiron 17 5000 Series from 2014, which I purchased in December of 2015.
• My new laptop? It's a ‎Lenovo Legion 5 from 2021.
• The reason I can feel gratitude (or anything at all!), my late mother, biggest fan, and strongest champion, Priscilla Brieck. For the whole story, read this Scribtotum article.
• My patron community receives the uncut, unedited version of every episode. For this episode, they're privy to over eleven minutes of extra content! Want in on that? Become a patron for at least $5.00 per month (cancel any time) and get a bunch of other perks and special access, too.
  • Not much more than two dozen people listen to each new episode of this show during the first week it's released. If most of the listeners became Exceptional patrons ($5.00 per month), patron revenue would surpass $100 per month, and I could begin donating 10% every month to 826 National in support of literacy and creative writing advocacy for children. Let's go!
  • Oh, and speaking of patronage: This episode was made possible in part by the patronage of listeners like you, including J. C.  Hutchins and Ted Leonhardt. Want to support the show and be listed in the credits, plus get lots of other goodies, perks, and exclusive access? Become a patron with a $3, $5, $10, or $20 monthly pledge!

Love Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick and would like to make a one-time donation in support of the show? Donate via PayPal or leave a tip via Ko-Fi , with my grateful thanks.

The fifty-first Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick episode finds your host back in the lush and lavish studios of MWS Media to discuss the connections between flawed (even reprehensible!) protagonists, literary authenticity, and your reader community. I also say goodbye to reader community member, superfan, and generous soul Dave Alcock , as well as offer up the usual weekly recap of my creative adventure.  And what a week it was. Links and Topics Mentioned in This Episode

• The day job? I'm a creative services provider helping authors, podcasters, and other creators bring their work to fruition, to market, and to an audience. How can I help you?
• For the gearheads: I replaced my fiery computer with a Cyberpower GMA4800 BSTV10 with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600x 3.7GHz processor, 32 GB DDR4 RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB graphics card. I bought it at my local BestBuy, but it was the only one in stock. You might have better luck from NewEgg.
• Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights: "How It All Got Started" is my freely offered fiction serial and part of my Sovereign Era storyworld, which includes the novels Brave Men Run and Pilgrimage, the collection The Sovereign Era: Year One, the novelette "Canary in a Coal Mine" (by P.G. Holyfield), and the short stories "The World Revolves Around You" and "The News from Bewilder Pond."  So far.
• After my September focus on the serial, I'll get back to my next novel, Shadow of the Outsider, the follow-up to  Light of the Outsider and "The Perfumed Air at Kwaanantag Bay."
• It was likely a Facebook post from the author Adam-Troy Casto that first called my attention to the idea that some folks might be aghast at the character of Decker from the classic science fiction film Blade Runner (based on the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep). He might have shared if from a post from the author David Gerrold... do you forgive me for de-prioritizing the fact checking on this one? Where it came from is secondary to the point, after all...
• So why are they called "blade runners," anyway..?
• The Punisher -- Frank Castle -- was created by  by Gerry Conway, John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru (in the episode, I mistakenly credit Gil Kane). He first appeared in issue number 129 of The Amazing Spider-Man, which hit the spinner racks in November, 1973.
• I mention the quote, "Fiction is telling the truth with lies."  I'm paraphrasing something with a long, storied history of paraphrasing. The origin of this universal statement comes from Pablo Picasso, who was quoted in a 1923 article as saying, "Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand." The first person to apply this truism (see what I did, there?) to narrative fiction might have been the screenwriter Stephen Davis: “Drama is the lie that tells us the truth.” Check out Quote Investigator for more...
• Henry Rollins is quoted as saying, "It'll destroy you if you try to make it mean anything to anyone but yourself," At least, I think he did. I can't find the original source.
• In this episode, I reference the "Nope to Tropes" episode, which you should check out..!
• My patron community receives the uncut, unedited version of every episode. For this episode, they're privy to almost eighteen minutes of extra content! Want in on that? Become a patron for at least $5.00 per month (cancel any time) and get a bunch of other perks and special access, too.
  • Not much more than two dozen people listen to each new episode of this show during the first week it's released. If most of the listeners became Exceptional patrons ($5.00 per month), patron revenue would surpass $100 per month, and I could begin donating 10% every month to 826 National in support of literacy and creative writing advocacy for children. Let's go!
• Let's double the listenership by the next episode! This week, tell a kindred spirit about Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick! Share https://www.mattselznick.com/podcasts/sonitotum/ with them, or better yet, share your favorite episode of Sonitotum directly from your preferred podcasting app!

Oh, and speaking of patronage: This episode was made possible in part by the patronage of listeners like you, including J. C.  Hutchins and Ted Leonhardt . Want to support the show and be listed in the credits, plus get lots of other goodies, perks, and exclusive access? Become a patron with a $3, $5, $10, or $20 monthly pledge! Love Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick and would like to make a one-time donation in support of the show? Donate via PayPal or leave a tip via Ko-Fi , with my grateful thanks.

It's the fiftieth episode of Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick ! Join me as I sit in my car at a park, listening to the rain, while I reflect on the first fifty episodes of the show (and before!) and think about the future of this podcast, my creative endeavors, and our community. Links and Topics Mentioned in This Episode

• September is for writing a whole bunch of installments of Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights: "How It All Got Started," the free serial I deliver to e-mail subscribers. Get yours!
• Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights is, technically, a work of "new adult" fiction. In the episode, I compare it in tone to teen soap operas such as those that can (or could) be found on the CW television network. Example might include One Tree Hill or The OC.
• Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights: "How It All Got Started" is part of my Sovereign Era storyworld, which includes the novels Brave Men Run and Pilgrimage, the collection The Sovereign Era: Year One, the novelette "Canary in a Coal Mine" (by P.G. Holyfield), and the short stories "The World Revolves Around You" and "The News from Bewilder Pond."  So far.
• After my September focus on the serial, I'll get back to my next novel, Shadow of the Outsider, the follow-up to  Light of the Outsider and "The Perfumed Air at Kwaanantag Bay."
• My new non-fiction book for writers, Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure, is available everywhere you buy e-books, including directly from me. It's all here.
• My patron community receives the uncut, unedited version of every episode. For this episode, they're privy to over seventeen minutes minutes of extra content! Want in on that? Become a patron for at least $5.00 per month (cancel any time) and get a bunch of other perks and special access, too.
  • Not much more than two dozen people listen to each new episode of this show during the first week it's released. If most of the listeners became Exceptional patrons ($5.00 per month), patron revenue would surpass $100 per month, and I could begin donating 10% every month to 826 National in support of literacy and creative writing advocacy for children. Let's go!
• Want to hear the first episode of this iteration of Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick? The post is here; the MP3 audio file is here.
• Want to hear the first episodes of the first iteration of Sonitotum? Check it out over at the Internet Archive.
• The second iteration of Sonitotum was very short lived. I'm still trying to track down those files!
• Want to go farther back in my podcasting history (and hear a lot of great 2000s-era indie music)? Dig The MWS Media Radio Show Podcast and The DIY Endeavors Podcast on the Internet Archive.
• This latest iteration of Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick came about a month or so after I declared a kind of creative bankruptcy. Read about that here.
• Let's double the listenership by the next episode! This week, tell a kindred spirit about Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick! Share https://www.mattselznick.com/podcasts/sonitotum/ with them, or better yet, share your favorite episode of Sonitotum directly from your preferred podcasting app!

Oh, and speaking of patronage: This episode was made possible in part by the patronage of listeners like you, including J. C.  Hutchins and Ted Leonhardt . Want to support the show and be listed in the credits, plus get lots of other goodies, perks, and exclusive access? Become a patron with a $3, $5, $10, or $20 monthly pledge! Love Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick and would like to make a one-time donation in support of the show? Donate via PayPal or leave a tip via Ko-Fi , with my grateful thanks.

Another park cast edition of Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick , because it's too darn hot to be indoors standing in front of monitors and giant computers! Join me under a big tree as a young hawk yells at me from the boughs above and an eager squirrel in the grass (you'd think the two of them would have a problem!) pesters me for treats I did not have. Oh, and I talk both about why I think we all need to have our own websites, how no legitimate authority in indie publishing should ever use absolutes in their advice... and show, oddly, how the two topics both speak to the same larger point: the importance of building a community around your work. Is your author website more personal, or professional? Have you ever heard a successful author declare that you must not or must do this or that? How'd it all work out? Let me know... in the comments ! Links and Topics Mentioned in This Episode

• My new non-fiction book for writers, Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure, is available everywhere you buy e-books, including directly from me. It's all here.
• Read "What it Took to Write Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure."
• I wrote similar articles when I finished Light of the Outsider and "The Perfumed Air at Kwaanantag Bay," which you can read here and here, respectively.
• Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights: "How It All Got Started" is the free serial I deliver to e-mail subscribers. Get yours!
• My patron community receives the uncut, unedited version of every episode. For this episode, they're privy to almost fifteen minutes of extra content! Want in on that? Become a patron for at least $5.00 per month (cancel any time) and get a bunch of other perks and special access, too.

Speaking of patronage: This episode was made possible in part by the patronage of listeners like you, including J. C.  Hutchins and Ted Leonhardt . Want to support the show and be listed in the credits, plus get lots of other goodies, perks, and exclusive access? Become a patron with a $3, $5, $10, or $20 monthly pledge! Love Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick and would like to make a one-time donation in support of the show? Donate via PayPal or leave a tip via Ko-Fi , with my grateful thanks.

This episode of Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick is a park cast! It's just too hot and stuffy in the lush (as in swampy) and lavish studios of MWS Media, so I recorded this one strolling around a big local park. Enjoy the ambience as I talk about how and why new fiction writers (heck, all fiction writers) must avoid the pit of mediocrity that is tropes and genre expectations. Do you want your fiction to be known for what it's similar to? Or do you want people to hold up your work as the new standard? Just say nope to tropes, and write from your heart and soul. "If you make cookies with cookie cutters, your cookies will look just like the cookies from everyone else who bought those cookie cutters." What do you think? Leave a comment ; let's talk about it! Links and Topics Mentioned in This Episode

• My new non-fiction book for writers, Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure, comes out on August 30, 2022 everywhere you buy e-books. Click that link and buy direct from me!
• Mentioned around the nine minute, thirty second mark: Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick 043: "Writing is Hard."
• I cite a quote attributed to Orson Welles: "The absence of limitation is the enemy of art."
• Want to go waaaaay down the rabbit hole of tropes? Check out TVTropes.org.
• My (far as I know) trope-less fantasy novel is Light of the Outsider. You should read it.
• My very trope-y first novel is Brave Men Run. Lots of people have read it. You should, too!
• My second novel, a follow-up to my first, is far less trope-y and reflects my growing maturity and ability as a writer. It's called Pilgrimage, and you should read it, too!
• Authors I mention off the top of my head whose work defines a genre rather than being defined by a genre: Leo Tolstoy.  Anton Chekhov. O Henry. Raymond Chandler. Ursula K. Le Guin. Ray Bradbury.
• My patron community receives the uncut, unedited version of every episode. For this episode, they're privy to almost fifteen minutes of extra content! Want in on that? Become a patron for at least $5.00 per month (cancel any time).

This episode was made possible in part by the patronage of listeners like you, including J. C.  Hutchins and Ted Leonhardt . In my park-wandering state of mind, I didn't mention them in the original recording and so inserted my grateful thanks "in post." Want to support the show and be listed in the credits, plus get lots of other goodies, perks, and exclusive access? Become a patron -- and join at the Paramount tier before August 31, 2022 to get $100 worth of digital books, audiobooks, and music! Love Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick and would like to make a one-time donation in support of the show? Donate via PayPal or leave a tip via Ko-Fi , with my grateful thanks. Also! Don't forget: For a Limited-Time: All My Books and Music at a HUGE Discount! Big news! You can get up to 80% off my entire digital catalog of e-books, audiobooks, and music -- worth over $100 -- when you pledge to become a Paramount Patron for just $20.00 per month! Become a Paramount-tier patron before August 31, 2022 and get 14 fiction and non-fiction titles (including 14 e-books and six audiobooks) and six music titles (two full-length albums, one EP, and three singles -- 49 songs plus printable lyrics) when you pledge -- plus all the benefits of Paramount patronage:

• Every new creative work I create for the duration of your active patronage, including digital and print editions
• Real world goodies every three months for the first year of your active patronage
• A one-on-one call with me every three months
• Over-the-shoulder access to my works in progress -- often while I'm working
• Monthly group video chats with me and your fellow patrons
• Access to my notes and other materials supporting my creative works in progress22.09
• The uncut, unedited edition of Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick, including exclusive content
• Shout-outs and acknowledgements in the podcast, in books, and on the patron roster on this site
• Access to an exclusive Discord chat room for community members

You must become a Paramount patron before noon on August 31st, 2002 (Pacific Time / UTC -7) to receive my entire digital catalog. Don't wait! Click to Become a Paramount Patron and Get Twenty Digital Products Worth $100 Plus Patron Community Benefits Get My Complete Digital Catalog to Date:

• Books! Science Fiction, Fantasy, Literary, Horror, and Non-Fiction:
  • Brave Men Run -- A Novel of the Sovereign Era (e-book editions)
  • "The World Revolves Around You -- A Sovereign Era Tale" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • The Sovereign Era: Year One -- A Sovereign Era Anthology (e-book editions)
  • "Canary in a Coal Mine -- A Sovereign Era Tale" by P.G. Holyfield (e-book editions)
  • Paramount -- A Novel of the Sovereign Era (e-book editions)
  • "The News from Bewilder Pond -- A Sovereign Era Tale" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • Light of the Outsider -- The Outsider Trilogy Volume One -- A Novel of the Shaper's World Cycle (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • "The Perfumed Air at Kwaanantag Bay -- A Tale of the Shaper's World Cycle" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • "Reggie vs Kaiju Storm Chimera Wolf -- a Daikaiju Universe Tale" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • "Cloak -- A Tale of the Protector Cycle" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • Four Stories -- A Literary Collection of Stories and Essays (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • Worldbuilding for Writers, Gamers, and Other Creators: Star, Planet, Moon (e-book editions)
  • Reading "The Amazing Spider-Man" -- A Fun Critical Review for Writers (e-book editions)
  • Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure -- Three Things Every Independent Author Must Have for Self-Publishing Success (e-book editions)
• Music! Analog and Digital Solo Acoustic and Semi-Acoustic Studio and Live Recordings:
  • Hundred Seller / Background Music -- EP and Live Album Collection (MP3 and PDF files)
  • Test Pressing -- LP (MP3s and PDF files)
  • Anyman: The John Smith EP (MP3s and PDF files)
  • "Anastasia -- Theme from Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick" -- instrumental single (MP3 file)
  • "Gnatcatcher -- Theme from The DIY Endeavors Podcast" -- instrumental single (MP3 file)
  • "The Ghost in You" -- Psychedelic Furs cover -- single (MP3 file)

GET IT ALL! How It All Works Pledge as a patron at the Paramount patron level for $20.00 per month -- you'll gain immediate access to all patron benefits, including the Discord chat room and lots of exclusive content. After this special offer ends at noon PDT on August 31, 2022, you'll receive access to my entire commercially released digital catalog to date.  Your patron pledge will automatically renew on the first of every subsequent month, giving you access to all future products (digital and print) and all Paramount tier community benefits for the duration of your active patronage. You may cancel or downgrade your pledge at any time and still keep the twenty digital products and any other digital or tangible product you received / downloaded during your active patronage. Join the Community! Pledge as a Paramount Patron Before August 31, 2022 and Get 20 Digital Products Worth $100!

It took me over half an hour to arrive at the truth that finally became Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick episode 047: when we're burned out, there's just not enough energy to be anything but our authentic selves... and that's exactly who our reader community of friends and fans most wants us to be, so why fake it? Why fight it? I had planned to use this episode to talk about my upcoming non-fiction book, Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure . In what turned out to be an extension of last week's episode on the pressures of everyday life, I'm instead reminded of a fundamental of leading a creative life that speaks to the core message of the book after all! Are you burned out? Try relaxing and letting the current take you downstream a little. You might see things you've forgotten to notice. Let me know how it goes. Leave a comment ; let's talk about it! Links and Topics Mentioned in This Episode

• Be sure to pre-order my next work, the non-fiction book for writers, Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure so you can start reading it the moment it's released on August 30, 2022.
• My day job is helping authors, podcasters, and other creative people bring their creative works to fruition, to market, and to an audience. I can help you, too!
• My patron community receives the uncut, unedited version of every episode. For this episode, they're privy to forty four minutes of extra content! Want in on that? Become a patron for at least $5.00 per month (cancel any time).

This episode was made possible in part by the patronage of listeners like you, including J. C.  Hutchins and Ted Leonhardt , both of whom, in my brain-addled exhaustion, I neglected to mention in the episode. Want to support the show and be listed in the credits, plus get lots of other goodies, perks, and exclusive access? Become a patron -- and join at the Paramount tier before August 31, 2022 to get $100 worth of digital books, audiobooks, and music! Love Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick and would like to make a one-time donation in support of the show? Donate via PayPal or leave a tip via Ko-Fi , with my grateful thanks. Also! Don't forget: For a Limited-Time: All My Books and Music at a HUGE Discount! Big news! You can get up to 80% off my entire digital catalog of e-books, audiobooks, and music -- worth over $100 -- when you pledge to become a Paramount Patron for just $20.00 per month! Become a Paramount-tier patron in the month of August, 2022 and get 14 fiction and non-fiction titles (including 14 e-books and six audiobooks) and six music titles (two full-length albums, one EP, and three singles -- 49 songs plus printable lyrics) when you pledge -- plus all the benefits of Paramount patronage:

• Every new creative work I create for the duration of your active patronage, including digital and print editions
• Real world goodies every three months for the first year of your active patronage
• A one-on-one call with me every three months
• Over-the-shoulder access to my works in progress -- often while I'm working
• Monthly group video chats with me and your fellow patrons
• Access to my notes and other materials supporting my creative works in progress
• The uncut, unedited edition of Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick, including exclusive content
• Shout-outs and acknowledgements in the podcast, in books, and on the patron roster on this site
• Access to an exclusive Discord chat room for community members

You must become a Paramount patron before noon on August 31st, 2002 (Pacific Time / UTC -7) to receive my entire digital catalog. Don't wait! Click to Become a Paramount Patron and Get Twenty Digital Products Worth $100 Plus Patron Community Benefits Get My Complete Digital Catalog to Date:

• Books! Science Fiction, Fantasy, Literary, Horror, and Non-Fiction:
  • Brave Men Run -- A Novel of the Sovereign Era (e-book editions)
  • "The World Revolves Around You -- A Sovereign Era Tale" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • The Sovereign Era: Year One -- A Sovereign Era Anthology (e-book editions)
  • "Canary in a Coal Mine -- A Sovereign Era Tale" by P.G. Holyfield (e-book editions)
  • Paramount -- A Novel of the Sovereign Era (e-book editions)
  • "The News from Bewilder Pond -- A Sovereign Era Tale" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • Light of the Outsider -- The Outsider Trilogy Volume One -- A Novel of the Shaper's World Cycle (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • "The Perfumed Air at Kwaanantag Bay -- A Tale of the Shaper's World Cycle" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • "Reggie vs Kaiju Storm Chimera Wolf -- a Daikaiju Universe Tale" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • "Cloak -- A Tale of the Protector Cycle" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • Four Stories -- A Literary Collection of Stories and Essays (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • Worldbuilding for Writers, Gamers, and Other Creators: Star, Planet, Moon (e-book editions)
  • Reading "The Amazing Spider-Man" -- A Fun Critical Review for Writers (e-book editions)
  • Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure -- Three Things Every Independent Author Must Have for Self-Publishing Success (e-book editions)
• Music! Analog and Digital Solo Acoustic and Semi-Acoustic Studio and Live Recordings:
  • Hundred Seller / Background Music -- EP and Live Album Collection (MP3 and PDF files)
  • Test Pressing -- LP (MP3s and PDF files)
  • Anyman: The John Smith EP (MP3s and PDF files)
  • "Anastasia -- Theme from Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick" -- instrumental single (MP3 file)
  • "Gnatcatcher -- Theme from The DIY Endeavors Podcast" -- instrumental single (MP3 file)
  • "The Ghost in You" -- Psychedelic Furs cover -- single (MP3 file)

GET IT ALL! How It All Works Pledge as a patron at the Paramount patron level for $20.00 per month -- you'll gain immediate access to all patron benefits, including the Discord chat room and lots of exclusive content. After this special offer ends at noon PDT on August 31, 2022, you'll receive access to my entire commercially released digital catalog to date.  Your patron pledge will automatically renew on the first of every subsequent month, giving you access to all future products (digital and print) and all Paramount tier community benefits for the duration of your active patronage. You may cancel or downgrade your pledge at any time and still keep the twenty digital products and any other digital or tangible product you received / downloaded during your active patronage. Join the Community! Pledge as a Paramount Patron Before August 31, 2022 and Get 20 Digital Products Worth $100!

Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick episode 046 tackles a tough one: how do we manage to create under the pressures of everyday life? The personal, professional, and existential conflicts, crises, and challenges of day-to-day life can be exhausting... how can we have anything left for the intensive, deep-focus work of writing and other creative endeavors? For better or worse, I've got some experience with this (as, I'm sure, you do, too). I've found some helpful practices and techniques that I hope offer you some guidance to find the strength to remain productive and creative despite the pressures and difficulties of being a human being day in and day out. We must not allow the problems of today to defer achieving tomorrow's creative triumphs. What are you going through that's making it difficult to stick to your creative practice? Have you developed any helpful practices that might be different from what I mention in this episode? Leave a comment ; let's talk about it! Links and Topics Mentioned in This Episode

• Be sure to pre-order my next work, the non-fiction book for writers, Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure so you can start reading it the moment it's released on August 30, 2022.
• My day job is helping authors, podcasters, and other creative people bring their creative works to fruition, to market, and to an audience. I can help you, too!
• September will be dedicated to writing a whole bunch of installments of my free weekly serial, Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights: "How It All Got Started." You can subscribe for free and start getting over seventy five installments, starting from the beginning, while I'm working on the next batch!
• Yep, I'm on TikTok. Check out my First Lines Friday series, and other nonsense.
• Last week's Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick came up, especially with regard to the importance of endurance in our creative lives. Give it a listen!
• When I'm done with Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure and writing a bunch of Hazy Days installments in September, I'll return to my next novel, Shadow of the Outsider, the follow-up to Light of the Outsider and "The Perfumed Air at Kwaanantag Bay," in October.
• One of the "secrets" to creating in times of pressure and crisis is to have gratitude. I've written about how gratitude helps writers.

This episode was made possible in part by the patronage of listeners like you, including J. C.  Hutchins and Ted Leonhardt . Want to support the show and be listed in the credits, plus get lots of other goodies, perks, and exclusive access? Become a patron -- and join at the Paramount tier before August 31, 2022 to get $100 worth of digital books, audiobooks, and music! Love Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick and would like to make a one-time donation in support of the show? Donate via PayPal or leave a tip via Ko-Fi , with my grateful thanks. Also! Don't forget: For a Limited-Time: All My Books and Music at a HUGE Discount! Big news! You can get up to 80% off my entire digital catalog of e-books, audiobooks, and music -- worth over $100 -- when you pledge to become a Paramount Patron for just $20.00 per month! Become a Paramount-tier patron in the month of August, 2022 and get 14 fiction and non-fiction titles (including 14 e-books and six audiobooks) and six music titles (two full-length albums, one EP, and three singles -- 49 songs plus printable lyrics) when you pledge -- plus all the benefits of Paramount patronage:

• Every new creative work I create for the duration of your active patronage, including digital and print editions
• Real world goodies every three months for the first year of your active patronage
• A one-on-one call with me every three months
• Over-the-shoulder access to my works in progress -- often while I'm working
• Monthly group video chats with me and your fellow patrons
• Access to my notes and other materials supporting my creative works in progress
• The uncut, unedited edition of Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick, including exclusive content
• Shout-outs and acknowledgements in the podcast, in books, and on the patron roster on this site
• Access to an exclusive Discord chat room for community members

You must become a Paramount patron before noon on August 31st, 2002 (Pacific Time / UTC -7) to receive my entire digital catalog. Don't wait! Click to Become a Paramount Patron and Get Twenty Digital Products Worth $100 Plus Patron Community Benefits Get My Complete Digital Catalog to Date:

• Books! Science Fiction, Fantasy, Literary, Horror, and Non-Fiction:
  • Brave Men Run -- A Novel of the Sovereign Era (e-book editions)
  • "The World Revolves Around You -- A Sovereign Era Tale" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • The Sovereign Era: Year One -- A Sovereign Era Anthology (e-book editions)
  • "Canary in a Coal Mine -- A Sovereign Era Tale" by P.G. Holyfield (e-book editions)
  • Paramount -- A Novel of the Sovereign Era (e-book editions)
  • "The News from Bewilder Pond -- A Sovereign Era Tale" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • Light of the Outsider -- The Outsider Trilogy Volume One -- A Novel of the Shaper's World Cycle (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • "The Perfumed Air at Kwaanantag Bay -- A Tale of the Shaper's World Cycle" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • "Reggie vs Kaiju Storm Chimera Wolf -- a Daikaiju Universe Tale" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • "Cloak -- A Tale of the Protector Cycle" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • Four Stories -- A Literary Collection of Stories and Essays (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • Worldbuilding for Writers, Gamers, and Other Creators: Star, Planet, Moon (e-book editions)
  • Reading "The Amazing Spider-Man" -- A Fun Critical Review for Writers (e-book editions)
  • Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure -- Three Things Every Independent Author Must Have for Self-Publishing Success (e-book editions)
• Music! Analog and Digital Solo Acoustic and Semi-Acoustic Studio and Live Recordings:
  • Hundred Seller / Background Music -- EP and Live Album Collection (MP3 and PDF files)
  • Test Pressing -- LP (MP3s and PDF files)
  • Anyman: The John Smith EP (MP3s and PDF files)
  • "Anastasia -- Theme from Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick" -- instrumental single (MP3 file)
  • "Gnatcatcher -- Theme from The DIY Endeavors Podcast" -- instrumental single (MP3 file)
  • "The Ghost in You" -- Psychedelic Furs cover -- single (MP3 file)

GET IT ALL! How It All Works Pledge as a patron at the Paramount patron level for $20.00 per month -- you'll gain immediate access to all patron benefits, including the Discord chat room and lots of exclusive content. After this special offer ends at noon PDT on August 31, 2022, you'll receive access to my entire commercially released digital catalog to date.  Your patron pledge will automatically renew on the first of every subsequent month, giving you access to all future products (digital and print) and all Paramount tier community benefits for the duration of your active patronage. You may cancel or downgrade your pledge at any time and still keep the twenty digital products and any other digital or tangible product you received / downloaded during your active patronage. Join the Community! Pledge as a Paramount Patron Before August 31, 2022 and Get 20 Digital Products Worth $100!

In Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick episode 045, the topic is the unfortunate and all too common tendency for writers to compare themselves to other writers. I confess my own shortcomings in this regard, and offer suggestions for a different, healthier way to view how we think about the success and quality of other authors' careers and work in relation to our own. Do you compare yourself to other writers, or other creators in your field? I want to hear about it. Leave a comment ! Links and Topics Mentioned in This Episode

• Be sure to pre-order my next work, the non-fiction book for writers, Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure.
• When I'm done with Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure, I'll return to my next novel, Shadow of the Outsider, the follow-up to Light of the Outsider and "The Perfumed Air at Kwaanantag Bay."
• Get free weekly serial fiction delivered via email when you subscribe to Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights: "How It All Got Started."
• Publisher Rocket is a very useful tool for all independent authors. If you sell your books on Amazon, you need Publisher Rocket to guide your choice of genres, keywords, and so much more.
• I mention Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick 043: Writing is Hard a couple of times in the episode. Have you heard it yet?
• James Baldwin was an American writer and civil rights activist of some renown. The quote I refer to in the episode is from this interview in The Paris Review, which you really should read in its entirety.

This episode was made possible in part by the patronage of listeners like you, including J. C.  Hutchins and Ted Leonhardt . Want to support the show and be listed in the credits, plus get lots of other goodies, perks, and exclusive access? Become a patron -- and join at the Paramount tier before August 31, 2022 to get $100 worth of digital books, audiobooks, and music! Love Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick and would like to make a one-time donation in support of the show? Donate via PayPal or leave a tip via Ko-Fi , with my grateful thanks. Also! Don't forget: For a Limited-Time: All My Books and Music at a HUGE Discount! Big news! You can get up to 80% off my entire digital catalog of e-books, audiobooks, and music -- worth over $100 -- when you pledge to become a Paramount Patron for just $20.00 per month! Become a Paramount-tier patron in the month of August, 2022 and get 14 fiction and non-fiction titles (including 14 e-books and six audiobooks) and six music titles (two full-length albums, one EP, and three singles -- 49 songs plus printable lyrics) when you pledge -- plus all the benefits of Paramount patronage:

• Every new creative work I create for the duration of your active patronage, including digital and print editions
• Real world goodies every three months for the first year of your active patronage
• A one-on-one call with me every three months
• Over-the-shoulder access to my works in progress -- often while I'm working
• Monthly group video chats with me and your fellow patrons
• Access to my notes and other materials supporting my creative works in progress
• The uncut, unedited edition of Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick, including exclusive content
• Shout-outs and acknowledgements in the podcast, in books, and on the patron roster on this site
• Access to an exclusive Discord chat room for community members

You must become a Paramount patron before noon on August 31st, 2002 (Pacific Time / UTC -7) to receive my entire digital catalog. Don't wait! Click to Become a Paramount Patron and Get Twenty Digital Products Worth $100 Plus Patron Community Benefits Get My Complete Digital Catalog to Date:

• Books! Science Fiction, Fantasy, Literary, Horror, and Non-Fiction:
  • Brave Men Run -- A Novel of the Sovereign Era (e-book editions)
  • "The World Revolves Around You -- A Sovereign Era Tale" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • The Sovereign Era: Year One -- A Sovereign Era Anthology (e-book editions)
  • "Canary in a Coal Mine -- A Sovereign Era Tale" by P.G. Holyfield (e-book editions)
  • Paramount -- A Novel of the Sovereign Era (e-book editions)
  • "The News from Bewilder Pond -- A Sovereign Era Tale" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • Light of the Outsider -- The Outsider Trilogy Volume One -- A Novel of the Shaper's World Cycle (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • "The Perfumed Air at Kwaanantag Bay -- A Tale of the Shaper's World Cycle" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • "Reggie vs Kaiju Storm Chimera Wolf -- a Daikaiju Universe Tale" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • "Cloak -- A Tale of the Protector Cycle" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • Four Stories -- A Literary Collection of Stories and Essays (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • Worldbuilding for Writers, Gamers, and Other Creators: Star, Planet, Moon (e-book editions)
  • Reading "The Amazing Spider-Man" -- A Fun Critical Review for Writers (e-book editions)
  • Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure -- Three Things Every Independent Author Must Have for Self-Publishing Success (e-book editions)
• Music! Analog and Digital Solo Acoustic and Semi-Acoustic Studio and Live Recordings:
  • Hundred Seller / Background Music -- EP and Live Album Collection (MP3 and PDF files)
  • Test Pressing -- LP (MP3s and PDF files)
  • Anyman: The John Smith EP (MP3s and PDF files)
  • "Anastasia -- Theme from Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick" -- single (MP3 file)
  • "Gnatcatcher -- Theme from The DIY Endeavors Podcast" -- single (MP3 file)
  • "The Ghost in You" -- Psychedelic Furs cover -- single (MP3 file)

GET IT ALL! How It All Works Pledge as a patron at the Paramount patron level for $20.00 per month -- you'll gain immediate access to all patron benefits, including the Discord chat room and lots of exclusive content. After this special offer ends at noon PDT on August 31, 2022, you'll receive access to my entire commercially released digital catalog to date.  Your patron pledge will automatically renew on the first of every subsequent month, giving you access to all future products (digital and print) and all Paramount tier community benefits for the duration of your active patronage. You may cancel or downgrade your pledge at any time and still keep the twenty digital products and any other digital or tangible product you received / downloaded during your active patronage. Join the Community! Pledge as a Paramount Patron Before August 31, 2022 and Get 20 Digital Products Worth $100!  

In Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick episode 044, the question is posed: What is your creative worth? Why -- and how -- is your creative work worthy? What do you think when it comes to your own creative worth? Is your definition of creative worth actually creating anxiety, or lifting you up? How does the importance of community figure into it? Also..! For a Limited-Time: All My Books and Music at a HUGE Discount! Big news! You can get up to 80% off my entire digital catalog of e-books, audiobooks, and music -- worth over $100 -- when you pledge to become a Paramount Patron for just $20.00 per month! Become a Paramount-tier patron in the month of August, 2022 and get 14 fiction and non-fiction titles (including 14 e-books and six audiobooks) and six music titles (two full-length albums, one EP, and three singles -- 49 songs plus printable lyrics) when you pledge -- plus all the benefits of Paramount patronage:

• Every new creative work I create for the duration of your active patronage, including digital and print editions
• Real world goodies every three months for the first year of your active patronage
• A one-on-one call with me every three months
• Over-the-shoulder access to my works in progress -- often while I'm working
• Monthly group video chats with me and your fellow patrons
• Access to my notes and other materials supporting my creative works in progress
• The uncut, unedited edition of Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick, including exclusive content
• Shout-outs and acknowledgements in the podcast, in books, and on the patron roster on this site
• Access to an exclusive Discord chat room for community members

You must become a Paramount patron before noon on August 31st, 2002 (Pacific Time / UTC -7) to receive my entire digital catalog. Don't wait! Click to Become a Paramount Patron and Get Twenty Digital Products Worth $100 Plus Patron Community Benefits Get My Complete Digital Catalog to Date:

• Books! Science Fiction, Fantasy, Literary, Horror, and Non-Fiction:
  • Brave Men Run -- A Novel of the Sovereign Era (e-book editions)
  • "The World Revolves Around You -- A Sovereign Era Tale" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • The Sovereign Era: Year One -- A Sovereign Era Anthology (e-book editions)
  • "Canary in a Coal Mine -- A Sovereign Era Tale" by P.G. Holyfield (e-book editions)
  • Paramount -- A Novel of the Sovereign Era (e-book editions)
  • "The News from Bewilder Pond -- A Sovereign Era Tale" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • Light of the Outsider -- The Outsider Trilogy Volume One -- A Novel of the Shaper's World Cycle (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • "The Perfumed Air at Kwaanantag Bay -- A Tale of the Shaper's World Cycle" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • "Reggie vs Kaiju Storm Chimera Wolf -- a Daikaiju Universe Tale" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • "Cloak -- A Tale of the Protector Cycle" (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • Four Stories -- A Literary Collection of Stories and Essays (e-book and audiobook editions)
  • Worldbuilding for Writers, Gamers, and Other Creators: Star, Planet, Moon (e-book editions)
  • Reading "The Amazing Spider-Man" -- A Fun Critical Review for Writers (e-book editions)
  • Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure -- Three Things Every Independent Author Must Have for Self-Publishing Success (e-book editions)
• Music! Analog and Digital Solo Acoustic and Semi-Acoustic Studio and Live Recordings:
  • Hundred Seller / Background Music -- EP and Live Album Collection (MP3 and PDF files)
  • Test Pressing -- LP (MP3s and PDF files)
  • Anyman: The John Smith EP (MP3s and PDF files)
  • "Anastasia -- Theme from Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick" -- single (MP3 file)
  • "Gnatcatcher -- Theme from The DIY Endeavors Podcast" -- single (MP3 file)
  • "The Ghost in You" -- Psychedelic Furs cover -- single (MP3 file)

GET IT ALL! How It All Works Pledge as a patron at the Paramount patron level for $20.00 per month -- you'll gain immediate access to all patron benefits, including the Discord chat room and lots of exclusive content. After this special offer ends at noon PDT on August 31, 2022, you'll receive access to my entire commercially released digital catalog to date.  Your patron pledge will automatically renew on the first of every subsequent month, giving you access to all future products (digital and print) and all Paramount tier community benefits for the duration of your active patronage. You may cancel or downgrade your pledge at any time and still keep the twenty digital products and any other digital or tangible product you received / downloaded during your active patronage. Join the Community! Pledge as a Paramount Patron Before August 31, 2022 and Get 20 Digital Products Worth $100! Other Links and Topics Mentioned in This Episode

• The Open Source / Free software movement.
• The free, open-source WordPress content management system.
• Dreamhost, my web hosting platform of choice for over sixteen years.
• Dropbox, a premium cloud-based file hosting and sharing service.
• NextCloud, the open source, self-hosted alternative to Dropbox.
• Scrivener, a tool for writers.
• yWriter, a free alternative to Scrivener. Read my overview, too!
• Dynalist, an excellent, cross-platform freemium (free or paid levels) outliner and note collection app.
• Trello, a "kanban"-style project management tool.
• Trilium Notes, an open-source not-quite outliner and note taking app.
• My home server is powered by the Zima Board.
• I have joined TikTok! Follow me there for regular short videos, including the #FirstLinesFridays series.
• Get free weekly serial fiction delivered via email when you subscribe to Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights: "How It All Got Started."
• Seth Godin is someone you should probably be reading and listening to.
• 826 National is a non-profit dedicated to creating and supporting young writers. Become my patron and help me reach my goal of donating 10% of my net patron revenue to 826 National every month!

This episode was made possible in part by the patronage of listeners like you, including J. C.  Hutchins and Ted Leonhardt . Want to support the show and be listed in the credits, plus get lots of other goodies, perks, and exclusive access? Become a patron -- and join at the Paramount tier before August 31, 2022 to get $100 worth of digital books, audiobooks, and music! Love Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick and would like to make a one-time donation in support of the show? Donate via PayPal or leave a tip via Ko-Fi , with my grateful thanks.

In this episode of Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick, we examine the claim that if a writer isn't enjoying the act of writing, the reader will know it... and we declare shenanigans. Writing is hard. If, as a writer of fiction, you're enjoying the act of writing -- if it's not challenging you, pushing you, changing you -- you're not doing your best work. Let me tell you why. Listen! Links and topics mentioned in this episode include...

• My day job is providing a variety of creative services (like my writer's coaching service and my beginning indie author consulting) to authors, podcasters, and other creative professionals.
• My next book is a work of non-fiction. Pre-order Indie Author Marketing Infrastructure today, help push the book up the charts, and be among the first to read it!
• Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights: "How It All Got Started"  is my free serial available via email subscription
• I mention the particularly challenging writing session that inspired the discussion that inspired this episode... the session in question became part of my novelette "The Perfumed Air at Kwaanantag Bay," a follow-up to my novel Light of the Outsider.
• Two examples of a reading experience well worth having even though you might not enjoy them in the usual sense of the word: Ulysses by James Joyce and Moby Dick by Herman Melville.
• Sometimes we want our entertainment to blatantly manipulate us. The movie Forrest Gump from director Robert Zemeckis is an example.
• Get to Know Your Worst Self and become a better writer and maybe even a better person.
• Saltine crackers. You know. Those things we use to make soup less flavorful.
• Frank Norris is the first to have expressed the sentiment, "I don't like writing but I love having written."
• Responding the question of whether writing was a chore, Red Smith first said, "Why, no. You simply sit down at the typewriter, open your veins, and bleed." Before him, Paul Gallico wrote, "It is only when you open your veins and bleed onto the page a little that you establish contact with your reader." Explore the origins of this quote.
• Do you want to write Fun With Dick and Jane, or The Wind in the Willows?
• How's your creative week going? Tell me about it in the comments.
• Want uncut, unedited episodes of Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick, e-books, audiobooks, music, and more goodies? Become a patron and help support this podcast.

This episode was made possible in part by the patronage of listeners like you, including J. C.  Hutchins . Want to support the show and be listed in the credits, plus get lots of other goodies, perks, and exclusive access? Become a patron! Love Sonitotum with Matthew Wayne Selznick and would like to make a one-time donation in support of the show? Donate via PayPal or leave a tip via Ko-Fi , with my grateful thanks.