The Foundation

Pouring a foundation

I've been writing fiction since I was a kid.  I never really did anything with the stories.  My idea of publishing at the time was to bind the hand written note paper with string, add covers stripped off an old 3-ring binder, write a fancy title on the cover in black marker, and then pass it around to my friends at school.  I actually still remember a few of the stories.  One was about a boy who shrunk down so small that he was able to meet people who lived on a planet the size of a molecule.  Another was about a treasure hunter who found a space ship under the ocean.  These always had leanings into science fiction.  I think it was due to my fascination with science itself and my early exposure to H.G. Wells and Andre Norton.

Back then, I never really had an interest in becoming a published writer.  Once I learned how to play guitar, nothing else mattered.  If I had stuck with the writing, my approach would have been to just start submitting my stories to some of the popular magazines.  Asimov's Science Fiction, Amazing Stories, and Fantasy & Science Fiction were the ones on the shelves at the time.  Once anyone got published there, it was just a matter of continuing the writing and submissions.  I think I missed the boat back then.

Today, my interest is back on the fiction writing.  I've managed to get a couple computer books under my belt, a few technical writing projects, and a whole slew of magazine articles - all having to do with non-fiction technology topics.  All the while, the stories are still sitting in the back of my head, asking to be set free.

With my new found writing focus, comes the realization of how it has to be done in today's world.  The paper based trades are slowly fading into electronic media.  Web sites, eBooks, eReaders, and hand-held media are becoming the standard for publishing.  If any author wants to get any kind of recognition for their writing, it's not just a matter of writing and submitting (while that might still work for some).  Now, an author needs to have a web presence - a web page, a blog, a twitter account, a Facebook site, and it looks like Ping (from Apple) is going to be the next big thing.  Basically, good author marketing requires a foundation in electronic media space - a presence.

So, I'm setting the main cornerstones into place.  This posting marks the beginning of my author based web site.  I'm not going the route of Facebook or MySpace.  I just don't feel that I need to play in that space in order to get exposure as a writer.  A publisher might tell me differently in the future.  I guess I'll play that tune when it comes.  For the time being, I'll maintain the web site, make some twitters here and there, and then write, submit, write, submit, write, and submit. Overall, I'm in this for my personal enjoyment - I love creating and telling stories.  If I can get those stories out, share them with a greater market, and possibly make a few credits in the process - then I'll be a happy camper.

Soon, this blogger space will become a part of timothytrimble.com.  My old and un-maintained timothytrimble.info site will eventually go away.  And hopefully, this will be the start of a very enjoyable ride.  Feel free to hop on for the ride.  Let me know what you think.

Timothy Trimble