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The Arkoff Method, Publishing, N'at

People have been asking questions about my books, and I think that's great! A common theme seems to be about how much and how often I write.

The reality is that I write all the time. Always have. I usually have a notebook or some bit of paper nearby, just in case. This doesn't mean it always turns into something - but sometimes it does.

The bigger question, I think, is that I've started to publish a lot. 3 books in 3 months seems prolific to some folks. The reality is simple.

I have a backlog. In all honesty, this makes it difficult for me to move forward. It's just how I've always been. When The Rowdy Bovines split up and I formed The Tremblers, people were surprised at how many 'new' songs I'd already written. The songs weren't 'new' to me. I'd been writing them all along. I had to do something with them. So - new band. 

My books function along the same lines. 

One thing I enjoy is working on the covers. I'm no great artist by any means. But I do come up with some pretty good ideas - I just lack the skill to make them happen without a little help. If you know me, you know that I'm pretty handy with Photoshop, etc. I collect fonts (because yes, I am that nerdy).

Collections of short stories were never much of a thought to me until about a year ago. I'd been plugging away at my first novel (COMING SOON) but kept writing bits of prose or shorts. Once I get busy doing something, I like to stay busy. It wasn't long before I realized a had a lot of short stories. So, what to do with them?

At first, I tried putting all of them in one collection. It was just way too much. A lot of the stories didn't fit well with others, so I set it aside. 

Around this time, I started corresponding with literary agents and small publishers. Both reminded me of everything I can't stand in the music industry, so I started to look into self-publishing. Honestly, I don't create anything with the thought of making money. I've always figured if I enjoy something, someone else might. That's it. Plain and simple. 

Self-publishing gives me the freedom to publish books the way I want them to be presented. Sure, some things are out of my control. I don't always like the finished formatting, but I'm finding workarounds for that. 

I love old movies, especially old B-movies. A childhood spent watching Chiller Theater developed that particular appreciation. Back in the 1950s (and through the 1970s) legendary B-movie producers Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson reversed the traditional filmmaking process to minimize financial risk. They would come up with a title and a poster and then find a filmmaker (who could work on a limited budget) to make it. My book covers work along the same lines.

I'll look at a collection of my stories and think "If this was a book, what would I call it?" 

Using a single title as a name for the collection - that comes from the record industry. If one story feels representative of the collection, BOOM! There's the title. Then I just think up an image to go with it.

The cover for BODIES started out as 2 separate images. An old chair in my garage, and a window from an old, abandoned house. I mixed them together in a photo-editing app and got close. I used another app to clean it up. Same with LITTLE GUY. I sketched out the image, worked on it, and then ran it through a few apps. I'm happy with both of these!

My latest collection, THE HOUSE REMEMBERS, uses a still from a video shoot we did in 2012. I'm all about recycling! It's just too good of an image not to get some use out of it. I ran it through different apps until I got it how I wanted, added text, and BAM! Cover completed. 

The aforementioned novel will be published next month. It's taken over a year, but I finally got the cover the way I want it, thanks to a photo shared with me by a friend. Took some editing but I finally got it how I wanted it. You'll be seeing it soon!

In the meantime, I'll attach links to my other books (for those who might be interested). Until next time, Stay Moist Citizens! - MCM 8/5/26 

BODIES: A Rustbelt Gothic Collection | Barnes & Noble®

LITTLE GUY: another daring, dastardly collection | Barnes & Noble®


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