• If you’ve ever wondered why so many stores use bizarre prices rather than whole numbers (e.g. $9.99 rather than $10), check out my article on pricing psychology. (Short answer: the prices look cheaper, so customers are more likely to buy).
• Ads with the word “you” or “your” are generally more likely to persuade readers to make a purchase. Personally, my ads with “you”/”your” are about 11% more persuasive. I’m not sure that people consciously notice these little personal touches, but they definitely have an effect. 
• Some people read an ad and are wavering so close to making a purchase that even a little burst of enthusiasm might seal the deal. My ads with a single exclamation point are 6% more persuasive. Fortunately, nobody likes multiple exclamation points. I’d go crazy if I had to write like this!!!
• I mainly write 2-line online ads for Google, so my perspective here may be biased. In my limited experience, customers are more receptive to an unsubstantiated claim (like “Great [products]”) than any sort of evidence to substantiate the claim.
• The average customer actually does care about proofreading. My strongest recommendation for young writers would be to pay attention as closely as possible to spelling/punctuation/grammar in school, especially if you are thinking about possibly pursuing a full-time writing job.

If you’re interested in my writing advice and/or reviews of superhero movies, I would appreciate if you would buy a copy on Amazon or Hyperink and leave an Amazon review. If you write either the most helpful review on Amazon or the review I find the most hilarious, you will win a lifetime pass to a free copy of every other book I ever write.

I’m working with Hyperink on an ebook of superhero movie reviews aimed at prospective writers and movie-makers. I’ll let you know more details as they become available. Thanks for your help, everybody!

Hackers with a Stark-like appreciation for AC/DC have apparently let Iran know about their musical tastes. “[Iranian nuclear facilities] have been hit again by a bizarre attack forcing nuclear plant workstations to pump the song Thunderstruck by heavy metal band AC/DC through the speakers at full volume.”  Among other things, this would suggest that the scene in Avengers where Tony Stark hijacks the PA system on a helicopter (to blare AC/DC) is plausible.

You can read and/or subscribe to Superhero Nation’s RSS feed at Feedburner. If any other services ask you for the feed URL, it’s available at http://www.superheronation.com/feed/ . Please let me know if you have any questions.

In other news, I’ll be in Japan for the next 10 days or so. My access to a computer is limited, so updates will be sparse.

I’m working on a proposal for a superhero writing guidebook, Don’t Forget the Death-Ray. If you might be interested in buying a copy when it comes out, please sign up for my email list here so that I can show publishers that there is demand.

OVERVIEW

Don’t Forget the Death-Ray!: How to Write Compelling Superhero Stories will help prospective authors write superhero stories that are as effective and unforgettable as the titular doomsday implement. It will cover storytelling elements such as characterization, plotting, dialogue, and how to craft villainous schemes that will make would-be Supermen wish they were back in Smallville.

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I would appreciate if you would consider making a donation. Thanks.

I found this Bobby Fischer graphic novel interesting.  It’s refreshing to see a use of chess that isn’t a Hollywood cliche (e.g. the villain bullying the hero around the board until the hero unleashes a checkmate at the last moment).  I think the characterization could be stronger, though–that would probably help give it some appeal beyond chess fans.

If you’re not a chess fan, it’s similar to a sport, but with more violence*, State Department shenanigans, and (above all) bedroom hijinx with Russians of dubious character.  In most sports, if a guy flops, he’s probably trying to draw a foul call from a referee.  In chess, a guy flops because he drank a KGB cocktail.

*Assuming you’re playing it right.  Who would waste poison on a beginner?

Candlemark & Gleam is releasing Matt Adams’ superhero novel, I, Crimsonstreak this May.  I’m not sure which of his signature feats is more impressive–getting published or surviving a man-eating frog–but my panel of publishing consultants* agreed that the publishing deal would pay better.

*Three hobos and a bus-driver.  The bus-driver may have misunderstood my question, because he threatened to throw me into the street if I tried to pay my fare in frog legs.

If you’d like to be part 2 of the only series that combines publishing congratulations with man-eating fauna, please let me know if you have any exciting writing news to share.  (You’ll get a free link and help remind prospective authors that the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t necessarily an oncoming train).

…

I’m not sure if this counts as a preemptive huzzah, but I’m upping my New Year’s resolution from 275,000 hits this year (25% more than last year) to 300,000 hits (36% more).  So far, traffic this year is up 31% compared to the same period last year.  Thanks for reading!

• Free advice: I generally respond to writing/editing questions within 2-14 days. Please email your question to superheronation-at-gmail-dot-com or leave a comment anywhere on SN.  If you haven’t received a response within 5 days, please feel free to politely remind me once (either by emailing or commenting).
• Expedited advice: If 2-14 days is not fast enough, I’d be happy to expedite your request for some nominal fee (like $10 / hour). If an editor’s time is not worth even $10 an hour to you, I’d suggest waiting 2-14 days for free advice. If neither of those is an option, thank you for your time, but I’d like to pass on reviewing your work because I don’t think that it will be a mutually happy experience.

Thanks for your questions!

SN guest writer Jeremy Melloul is trying to raise funds for his upcoming comic book on KickStarter.  Screws Loose is a supernatural military thriller about a team of mercenaries that finds a mysterious crate.  Even a $10 donation gets you a copy of the comic (when it comes out) and a $25 donation gets you a copy and character designs.  I have donated $150 in the off-hand chance that the mysterious crate holds a bathtub full of rabid mongeese.  “That’ll teach you to be a mercenary in a supernatural thriller!”

(I wonder if there’s any chance his thank you card will have a sketch of his characters fighting off a bathtub of rabid mongeese.  That would be the most badass thank you card I’ve ever seen).

I’m moving tomorrow and it’ll take me a week or maybe two to replace my computer.  Unless a library is serendipitously close, I don’t anticipate doing much online during that time.

I was in a discussion earlier today about writing websites and their audiences. If you haven’t already done so, could you do me a favor and fill out an audience survey? It has seven six questions, all of which could fairly be described as hilarious and exciting*.

*If you’re sufficiently inebriated.

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If you’d like to write a guest article for Superhero Nation but aren’t quite sure what to write, here are a few ideas.

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1. Because you need the money.  It usually takes around 10 years to get published and the typical advance for a first novel is usually around $5000 (assuming it gets published), which is scandalously low for a project that will probably take thousands of hours and might not ever get published.  If you need money, get a day job.  If your main consideration is financial, other types of writing that typically pay better (and more reliably) include copywriting/advertising, corporate communications, journalism, nonfiction books and unemployment forms. Writing comic books also pays better than writing novels, but you’d still be dealing with some of the same risks/uncertainties and reliability issues.  Outside of writing, virtually every full-time job pays more reliably and more by the hour.  It is depressingly rare for a novelist to beat minimum wage, so you’d probably make more working at McDonald’s.

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Areeq is looking for reviews of his first novel, a teen-superhero meets Alex Rider meets The Matrix sort of book. Please read it and let him know what you think.  Here’s Areeq’s pitch:

Kaz Medina is thrust from his normal seventeen year old life in Manchester, into a world of danger, excitement, and the supernormal.

 

This is an original young adult novel relevant to this new millennium about a seventeen year old boy, called Kaz Medina, with an internet-based superpower. Kaz is a seemingly, normal adolescent living in the suburbs of Manchester, England, studying for his A Levels when one evening he discovers that he has absorbed a Wikipedia page into his mind.

 

With the help of his best friend Jade, he discovers and develops the extent of his power. Through the use of websites such as Facebook, Google, Wikipedia, and eBay, he is able to assimilate identities, teleport throughout the world, learn how to do almost anything, and gain access to almost everything.

 

Soon after, two men in black suits turn up at his house and Kaz’s life is turned upside down. Kaz becomes a weapon for the UK Government and embarks on his journey to becoming the most powerful teenager in the world.

I talked a little bit about my writing advice, amusing personal tidbits and The Taxman Must Die with the author of Rapid City, a superhero comic blog.  Among other dark secrets, you will learn which one of the following is not true:

1. I once worked for the least badass police agency in the world.
2. I was probably the beneficiary of my high school’s senior prank.   Either that, or everybody in my high school was ****ing blind.
3. It’s harder for me to deal with comments like “This is really good–when’s it coming out?” than “This is awful–go die in a fire.”
4. I think the most common problem with superhero scripts is that most authors don’t spend enough enough time developing interesting superpowers.

You will no longer have to type in crazy things like “Ukraine flibbertigibbet” to do comments.

I’ve passed my teaching interview and will be teaching high school assuming I pass my background check. But they’ll only start paying me three weeks after starting, so I need savings to cover those first three weeks.  I’d really appreciate if you would donate to help defray my costs, especially if you’ve benefited from my reviews and/or articles and/or would like to be a Benefactor of Badassery.

If you use the contact form, please make sure you type in your email address correctly.  Otherwise, I have no way to send you my response.

Right now, my to-do list includes:

• A submission review for AJ.
• A submission review for GG-T.
• Business/submission advice for Mumtaz.
• Crunching numbers/project details with RH.
• Reminding Ekimmak (at his request) not to comment on SN until he finishes his exams next week.  🙂
• Anything I received after June 1.

So, if you sent me a request before June 1 and are still waiting for a response, please feel free to send the email again to superheronation-at-gmail-dot-com, repost the comment or remind me.  Sorry for any inconvenience. 

I’m writing a comic book series, The Taxman Must Die, that’s a wacky mix of an office comedy and a national security thriller.  Two unlikely secret agents– an accountant and a mutant alligator–have to save the world. From themselves, mostly.  Check out five free sample pages here! Please sign up for my TTMD raffle (no registration required) and you might win a free signed copy of The Taxman Must Die whenever it comes out.  Everybody else in the raffle will get one e-mail letting them know where they can buy it when it comes out.

PS: I’m also giving a free signed copy to the person that responded to  “Which city is closest to you?” with “I’m an international man of mystery” and “Which state/province are you from?” with “What part of ‘international mystery’ don’t you understand?”  I like your style, mystery man, even though I can’t use your demographic information in my pitch to publishers.  🙂

• Why are editors laughing at me for “nonfiction novel?” Novels are always fiction.  If you’re writing nonfiction, I’d recommend pitching it as a “book” or something more specific (i.e. a memoir, a textbook, a machine gun ownership manual, a ninja survival guide, etc).  PS: I don’t think a professional would actually laugh at you for “nonfiction novel.”   Nobody you’d want to work with, certainly.  While “nonfiction novel” suggests the author is new to novel-publishing, it’s a minor mistake that won’t affect the manuscript much.  (In contrast, mixing up something like there/their/they’re will require major proofreading).  Laughing at someone for something so minor, particularly something rarely taught in school, suggests a serious lack of empathy.
• How late can a superhero get his superpowers in a novel? Personally, I think it’d be perfectly fine if the origin story took up the first quarter (maybe the first third) of the book.  It’s okay if there isn’t a clear superhero element before then–if I could make a fantasy analogue, the first clear fantasy element in Harry Potter was Harry getting told he was a wizard, and I think that was around page 50 or 60.   I don’t think you need to rush into the superhero angle because it should be immediately clear (from your cover art, from the backcover blurb and probably the title) that it’s a superhero story.
• How long is the average science fiction novel? For adult science fiction, I’d recommend submitting on the shorter end of 100,000-115,000 words.  Sci-fi (and fantasy) authors get a bit more room than most other novelists because their worldbuilding is usually more involved.
• Am I an ailurophage? Unless Garfield and Nermal strike you as pretty tasty, no.
• Why does Charleston Air Force Base have a pet alligator? To make its training course more interesting.  Or maybe to cut down on curfew violations.
• How to write an awesome male character. I can be reached at superheronation-at-gmail-dot-com.  Oh, wait…
• Character trait for being able to dodge unwanted situations. Savvy?  Intuition? A rocket-propelled grenade launcher?
• Do comic book characters have to be likable? Some protagonists are misanthropes and/or nasty to the people around them (i.e. Batman).  However, even if the other characters do not like the protagonists that much, I think it really helps if the readers do.  For example, Dr. House’s tirades are icy and totally unprofessional but he’s hilarious enough that I think he comes across as very likable (even though I’d hate to work with him).  With villains, I don’t think likability is as important.  Readers can be impressed by and/or interested in a villain even if they don’t like him.  On the other hand, you wouldn’t want readers to dislike a villain so much they are raptly waiting for the next page without him.  (I’m looking at YOU, Gorilla Grodd).
• Do police need a search warrant for a hotel room? If the suspect is still renting the room, then a search warrant (or the suspect’s permission) would be necessary.  If the suspect has checked out, the permission of the hotel staff will suffice.   (Legal reasoning: As soon as the suspect returns the room to the hotel, he has no expectation to privacy on whatever he has left behind).  For more details on warrantless searches, please read this.
• Do superhero novels sell well? Generally, not really.  If they sold better, I think we’d see more of them published every year.  (In the past decade, fewer than ~50 independent titles have been published professionally).  There are a few bright spots, though.  The Wild Cards series probably sold pretty well.  It had 12 books published by Bantam, 3 by Baen and 4 by Tor, and I doubt they would have continued if the books hadn’t been selling.  The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay was a bestseller and I get the impression that Soon I Will Be Invincible did well.   In these cases, I think the authors had strong reputations or at least strong literary backgrounds.  The books were at least somewhat intelligent and I think that plays really well among adult novel readers.  If you’re trying to write the next Hulk (or, God help you, the next Dragonball Z) as an adult novel, I think your prospects are exceedingly grim because there’s not much demand among novel readers for a novel that’s essentially a comic book without pictures.  (By the standards of the novel publishing industry, comic books themselves don’t sell all that well–only one comic book cracked 100,000 sales last month).
• What supervillain would you most want to be? Evil Editor.  Failing that, Bill Belichick.

I’m looking for informative and entertaining articles aimed at novelists and/or comic book writers.

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I have surgery on Thursday and I anticipate that I’ll be more or less out for 3-5 days. (Then again, they told me 3-5 days last time, and it ended up being half a day). Sorry for any delays. If you need a quick response on something, your best chance is to contact me before Wednesday night.

Yeah, I’m still getting eviscerated by auto-tuned cats, Newsweek and Lady Gaga.

Besides story reviews for Robert and Joel, I believe that I’ve responded to all comments and e-mails.  If you’re still waiting on a response and aren’t Robert or Joel, please feel free to repost your comment or resend your e-mail.  Thanks!

Here are some excerpts from my comments and reviews over March 2011.

• “The only reason a guy would go to see Titanic is if he loves his girlfriend more than his dignity. That’s why ladies make their boyfriends watch Titanic–to test their commitment.”
• “Moral of the story: Beanie Babies will make you a felon.”
• “[There are ways for characters to distinguish themselves besides having different superpowers]. Like how they use their superpowers or the quests they have to complete to attain their superpowers. For example, both Heroes’ Sylar and the Invisible Woman have telekinetic/force-projection powers, but the Invisible Woman uses hers to keep the team alive, whereas Sylar is a serial killer that psychically decapitates his victims to access their brains. (He doesn’t eat the brains, though. ‘That would be gross,’ he explains).”
• “For example, if we’re supposed to really feel how tough these drills are for her, maybe you could talk more about something like the heat or humidity or the air or sun or ground or whatever? (For example, the heat and humidity at Alabama’s Maxwell Air Force Base are almost bad enough to make a Marine cry, and the Marines training at Parris Island have lost enough boots in the muck there to stock a shoe store).”
• “I’m slightly amused that 3 people have shared my oral surgery post with their friends on Facebook. Slow week at work? 🙂 “
• “’Technically, Okie was a derogatory term, but it was crafted by those that hate Okies’ awesomeness.’ Like Steinbeck. He hated on Oklahoma so much he wrote a book about it.”
• “ ‘[He’s] a bit of a hick, but smarter than he acts… which generally results in him getting beaten to within an inch of his life. He doesn’t really have a secret identity, although he does have a codename/nickname. He’s… not super-buff like Superman or the Hulk, and he’s a little on the short side.’ That sounds so much like me it’s sort of scary. 😉 “
• “Number 4’s villain was neither interesting nor scary. He doesn’t even get a name! Come on. Even Godzilla got a name. You know who else didn’t get a name? The enemy commander in Battlefield Earth.  Name your villain or surrender to suck.”
• “Your sci-fi setting builds an interesting contrast between the calmness of the trees and the whip flowers strangling each other. I think that helps develop the characters because they react in such a different way than how I would (namely, freaking out–‘omgwtfarethoseflowersdoing’).”