[Letters From the Labyrinth] Official Brian Keene Newsletter

Howdy. I'm Brian Keene. Welcome back to Letters From the Labyrinth -- a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. This is the 122nd issue. Previous issues are archived here.
More than 100 million Americans will watch the Super Bowl tonight. I am not one of them. I couldn't even tell you who is playing. I think it's someone named Brady and he's with the Atlanta Rams, and they're playing Mercedes Benz stadium in New England?
But don't quote me on that. I might be wrong.
It's not that I dislike football or any other sport. I don't. As a younger man, I enjoyed playing them. Hell, in my mid-twenties to mid-thirties I used to play volleyball and football with friends nearly every weekend. And I'm happy to watch someone who I know playing sports, as well. If one of my sons or my godson has a sporting event, I'm there. But with the exception of boxing, I've never been one for watching professional sports on television or in a stadium. The Super Bowl. The World Series. The Indie 500. None of these have ever appealed to me.
I feel the same way about professional sports as I do organized religion. Both are all about making money and keeping you pacified while the people who make that money carve this world up a little bit more among themselves. It's all bread and circuses.
That's not to disparage you're enjoyment of the event. If you dig the Super Bowl, then I hope it's a good game for you tonight, and that you have a good time.
Me? I'll be reading a book. Space and Time editor Hildy Silverman suggested on Twitter yesterday that we call it #SuperReadWeekend. I like that hashtag.
I'll be finishing up David Barbee's Jimbo Yojimbo, which is a superb dystopian post-apocalyptic pulp samurai novel. If you'll be reading, as well, use the #SuperReadWeekend on Twitter and lets us know what you're reading.
Over the last two months, there's been a LOT of uncertainty and worry and hand-wringing going on behind the scenes among horror authors in our industry. There are concerns about the health of the small press. There are concerns about the health of specific small publishers. There are concerns about rumored impending changes at Amazon for self-publishers. There are concerns about mainstream publishers scaling back on horror again. There are concerns about the health of specific mainstream publishers. There are concerns about the health of comic book retailers, comic book publishers, and comic book distribution. There are concerns about the fate of Barnes & Noble.
Yesterday, I heard a young author privately express that the situation with Eraserhead and Deadite and the news that TOR had dropped F. Paul Wilson and the venerable Repairman Jack was like Delirium and Dorchester all over again.
I disagree with that. They are very different situations. But history does indeed echo, and if you listen to those echoes, it's not hard to see a downturn coming. But it's not a crash like the Delirium/Dorchester/Shocklines/Borders implosion. And it's not like the 90s crash that took out Zebra, Dell-Abyss, destroyed countless comic book retailers, and forced Marvel Comics into bankruptcy. It has echoes of both of those, yes. And once again comic retailers, booksellers, small presses, and genre writers could be at risk.
But there's a wild card. Amazon. They did not exist in the state they are in now during those previous crashes. And with Amazon in the picture, I can't tell you how everything will shake out.
But I can tell you that this year and into 2020 are going to be a bumpy road for writers, particularly horror writers. As always, it's good to take a day off, and take stock of where your career is. Are all of your books tied up with one publisher or one revenue stream or one distributor? If so, then you are repeating the mistakes of the past. It's absolutely essential that you diversify, bringing books out from different publishers and different sources, so that if one collapses, you've got money coming in from somewhere else. It's also important to check up on your rights. If you are concerned about the health of your publisher, pull out your contract and check your rights reversion clause. And make sure your rights are earning for you. If you own movie, television, audiobook, comic book, and other rights to that published novel, make sure you are actively trying to tap those revenue streams.
Yes, changes are coming again. These things are cyclical. It seems to hit our genre about every ten years. But if you listen to history's echoes, and prep accordingly, you will always be standing and stronger on the other side.

This is Parker. He is my ten-year old's dog. Normally he stays at my ex-wife's house, but she was traveling for work all last week, so I babysat him.
Parker is an exceptional dog. But between him, my kid, and the crazy snowstorm and cold snap, I got very little writing done last week. School was cancelled due to the weather. So, I had to focus primarily on my son, and make sure he didn't go stir crazy, and make sure he didn't just spend the week playing Fortnite 24/7. And I also had to focus on Parker, who is a big fan of having someone throw his bone, and then bringing that bone back and dropping it so that it can be thrown again. He also like to herd cats.
He's also a bad influence, because instead of writing, he convinced me most afternoons that we should do this.

And I got very little writing done yesterday, because Mary and fellow authors Kelli Owen and Somer Canon had a girl's day, and I made myself scarce so they could have fun without my special brand of nonsense looming in the background.
So, I'm going to hit send on this now, and write until the Super Bowl comes on, at which point I'll catch up on my reading.
Enjoy your day. Spend it with someone you love, or spend it in content solitude. Spend it watching the game or reading a book or doing something else that brings you joy.
Naps are good, too.
That's it for this week. As always:
PATREON - Where I post new short stories, writing advice essays, two serialized ongoing novels, and behind-the-scenes stuff.
TWITTER - The only social media outlet I still use regularly.
YOUTUBE - Where I'm posting free stuff each and every day.
I'll see you back here next week!