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Don’t chase literary agents. Lure them.

My biggest fans got special t-shirts for Christmas.

Things haven’t gone to plan…yet.

I haven’t caught a virus since before the pandemic. Make that: I hadn’t caught anything since before the pandemic. Masks work, but something slipped through. I had forgotten how miserable a virus can be. I ruled out C-19 and pneumonia, but this virus was merciless and my ears are still plugged!

As a doctor friend of mine said, there’s some nasty smutz going around. It’s been weeks of it for me now. That ruined a family reunion, Christmas, my birthday, New Year’s, and as I write this, my head feels like a concrete block. I felt better for a few days, so I was okay for a family vacation in Cuba. Then the virus hit me again. My wife, She Who Must Be Obeyed, got sick, too. However, our kids had a great time, and we did get to spend precious time with them. Best of all, we escaped the polar vortex which swallowed our home on the frozen tundra. The Cuban weather was very agreeable, and I got extra time to read a few books amid all the aggressive napping. (More on the readings tomorrow.)

Moving forward into 2025

My original plan was to publish Vengeance Is Hers next month. However, a couple of things are going on I can’t really get into. What I can say is those variables and opportunities have encouraged me to reach out to a few agent about my next novel. Instead of going straight to hitting publish on my own, I have some agents to engage with. I have a few particular agents in mind because I have heard great things about them. The usual route is to make mass submissions to many agents hoping for a bite. I’m more picky than that, and I have options. If it doesn’t work out after submitting to this select handful of agents, I’ll go forward with my original plans.

The struggle is to make the right connection. We have all heard horror stories that can taint our views of literary agents. I am only moving in this direction now for those reasons I can’t get into and because I have personal recommendations from fellow authors. (I also know one personally from when I worked in publishing in Toronto.) I won’t chase agents. There’s no dignity in that. However, metaphorically flirting and seducing the right agent with my literary wares and making them a business partner appeals to me. I’m looking for someone special. Game on.

2025 will have some interesting challenges.

I have a very dim view of where things are going on the international political scene. I’m sure I’ll delve into that here, too, from time to time. On a personal level, I’m uncharacteristically optimistic. I’m confident in the book and my abilities as a novelist. I’m sure our health will improve with time and treatment. I’m excited to see what i can accomplish professionally this year.

I hope you feel the same way about 2025. Whatever strong winds may press us back, let’s keep sailing.

NOTE TO TRAVELERS: If you’ve never been to Cuba, don’t go for the food. We fled there for the weather. I’m a big fan of palm trees, sunshine, and walking in sugar sand. Despite our illnesses, I don’t regret going. There were a few moments of suffering when I desperately wanted to be home in my own bed, but an extremely rare vacation in the tropics was necessary, and mostly beautiful. This was our second trip to Cuba. While it is special, this trip also reminded me how deeply I appreciate the advantages of my snowy home. I feel so fortunate to live in Canada.

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Holiday Hours Begin Now!

I just spent a good part of the day at the hospital. It’s not dire. I had to get in to see an ER doc to rule out pneumonia. Both my wife and I are sick with different things, but we are confident all will be well. No pneumonia!

Happy New Year

As I wrap up the final edits on Vengeance Is Hers, I’ll also dig deeper into the design and marketing stuff (among many, many other things). I don’t plan to post here again until January 14, 2025, and I won’t be available until then.

First goal: Get over this virus. I tested negative for C-19, and I’m picking up a couple of prescriptions in the morning for this cough.

Second goal: Spend fun time with the family and help out She Who Must Be Obeyed.

Third: Final edits and locking in the manuscript.

Until then, friends and fiends, be as healthy and as happy as nature and the laws allow. Or don’t get caught.

Vengeance is coming in 2025!

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Is TikTok going away?

TikTok has asked the Supreme Court to block Biden’s law that would drive the app from the American market. The deal was that if the app’s parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t sell it before Jan. 19, TikTok is gone.  (The actual deletion could be delayed until April.)

At least seven million Americans depend on TikTok for income. Will Trump save it? There’s a rich lobbyist working on him, but who knows? The American government cites national security concerns to justify the abolition. In Canada, no government phone is allowed to run the app, but Canadian citizens can still use it.

If the app is deleted from the app store in the United States, its value will certainly plummet for me. Most of my readers are from the United States. If I can’t use TikTok to reach them, I won’t be looking at it much. BookTok has been a great marketing phenomenon for book publishing (at least for some books). Bookstores across the land have Booktok displays that move books. Several times, I’ve become aware of books I would have missed without TikTok influencers informing me of their existence.

The US government refuses to explain the deeper details of why TikTok is a security threat. What bothers me is that all social media platforms collect information from their users. While the CEO of TikTok was advocating for the app in a hearing with a racist senator, Meta was gleefully lobbying for its demise. That’s shifty. If your nonsense alarm is going off, you’re not wrong.

The threat to the platform has led many creators to lose interest in using TikTok. Others are running with it as long as they can, at least to point their followers to their new social media of choice.

What might replace TikTok?

Threads’ user interface is still hard to chew and swallow. Bluesky is increasing in popularity as X spirals. Many users are turning their energies to YouTube. That’s where most creators will go for the platform’s monetization advantages.

A New Hope

Here’s a list of possible alternatives to TikTok, including their pros and cons.

More people are talking about Lemon8, but I’m not convinced yet. There is another app lurking on the horizon, but it won’t even be released until February 2025. I will reserve judgment until we can learn more. None of these platforms has TikTok’s powerful algorithm. I’m hoping TikTok survives somehow, but there is no reason or justice in the world, so…hmph. At least for now, it seems like we’re stuck, doesn’t it?

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Become a Reviewer for Vengeance is Hers

Are you a book reviewer? Do you love thrillers filled with clever ways of exacting revenge upon the deserving? I’ve got a vigilante justice novel for you!

As I prepare to release Vengeance is Hers, I’m compiling a list of reviewers. Whether you’re a Booktuber on YouTube, a booktok maven, or you review on Amazon, I’m interested in getting a review copy to you!

We’re making a list and checking it twice. If interested, please email my assistant Holly at expartepress@gmail.com with your contact information and review channel on social media.

Please put BOOK REVIEWER in the subject line. Thank you!

Want to know more about what you’ll be reviewing? Here’s the pitch:

If you can’t forgive and forget, what’s next?

Poeticule Bay, Maine is a coastal village full of secrets. When a student is attacked and run out of town, police and the school administration prove useless. Enraged, Molly Jergins launches a campaign of vigilante justice against the school bully and his nasty family. 

As threats and vandalism escalate to a war ending in death, the line between right and wrong blurs. Molly tries to be a good person, but when hunting monsters, the safer route is to become a better monster.

In the end, is revenge the best success?

VENGEANCE IS HERS RELEASES IN EARLY 2025!

About the Author

Robert Chazz Chute is a former crime and science journalist for newspapers and magazines. A graduate of the University of King’s College and the Banff Publishing Workshop, Robert has won fifteen awards for his writing. He pens suspenseful crime fiction with muscle and apocalyptic tales with heart. His hidden headquarters is a blanket fort in Other London. Vengeance is Hers is his twenty-ninth book. 

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Review of Lily King’s Writers & Lovers: A Page-Turner

I just finished reading Writers & Lovers by Lily King. I don’t read a lot of literary fiction. I find that many writers of the genre favor character so much that little actually happens plotwise. Things do happen in this novel. The details are so well-observed and resonant that it’s a pleasure to read. I burned through the story quickly and didn’t want to put it down.

The best description of Writers and Lovers is Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman. King accomplishes what I love about writing. Though much of the book’s exposition is interior, the author puts a movie in your head. There’s much to admire in her writing style and eye for detail.

Writers of a certain literary bent drop ambiguous endings on their victims/readers. King doesn’t do that. This novel has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Best of all, King gives us a self-sabotaging protagonist we can root for. We want her to win, so we follow her journey, hoping things will work out okay. It works because we’re all hoping things will work out okay.

Find Lily King’s author page on Amazon here.

Lily King’s website is here.

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Preparing for the Launch of ‘Vengeance Is Hers’: Key Steps

Yesterday, I posted about the long and winding road to publication with Vengeance Is Hers. As I arrange the promotion and marketing for this vigilante justice thriller, there’s much more to do.

Here’s a short list:

  • There are bookmarks and promotional materials to order.
  • I’m toying with painted edges for a special edition hardcover I’d sell directly. I’m not that crafty, but it looks doable.
  • I want to make this an audiobook. That has expensive challenges, but I’ll explore the possibilities.
  • Identify and reach out to potential book reviewers and influencers is another challenge.
  • Setting up promotional giveaways will be on the agenda once I have a publication date.
  • Podcast interviews.
  • Set up advertising to coincide with the promotional campaigns, then more ads beyond that to keep the inertia going.
  • Submission for book awards will be on the agenda.
  • In 2025, I intend to attend book and craft fairs and sell directly that way. Gotta plan ahead for that.
  • The social media push has already begun so someone will be aware it’s coming, and happy to buy, read, and review Vengeance Is Hers.

Did I miss anything? Probably.

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Behind the Scenes of Vengeance Is Hers

If you’ve ever wondered about the writing and publishing process, I have answers. Vengeance Is Hers took longer than usual due to variables beyond my control. Creating Bigger Than Jesus took three months, from conception to publication. The trilogy of This Plague of Days took a little more than three years. At my fastest pace, I published four books in one year. The writing process for my next thriller was a mess, but in the end, it’s going to make a big happy splash.

Round One is back from the editor and the prime beta reader!

Now things start to speed up for Vengeance Is Hers! From the top, this is how we do it:

  • My official start for this novel was August 15, 2022.
  • I wrote the first draft, backed up halfway through, switched from first-person narration to third.
  • I endured two hip replacements in 2023, got distracted by a lot of pain and rehab, and relearned how to walk.
  • Wrote 120,000 words, and rethought the story arc. Clenched teeth in frustration.
  • Keeping most of the story in one small town in Maine, I had to cut 50,000 words. This was originally going to be about making a movement of female vigilantes. Some of what I wrote in the original draft may be used for a sequel. To make this a better book, I had to sacrifice a lot of words and time. I went back to rework the concept.
  • Second draft. A lot of back and forth here as I went deeper. The word count climbed back up to 105,000 words.
  • Hip pain receded almost entirely. Back to my old self, I have more energy to deal with this project.
  • Found words with the “-ion” suffix for every chapter title.
  • Third draft: filled in plot holes and found more jokes and clever turns of phrase.
  • Listened to most of it. Reread all of it. Cut the long chapters in half so most chapters are no more than 1,200 words. (For a fast pace, I like short, fast chapters so readers feel like they’re burning through the book).
  • Added tweaks, usually fleshing out something vague, adding a joke, or turning up the dialogue to eleven.
  • Woke up in the night, continually plagued by little tweaks to make the story better.
  • Word count climbed back up to 113,349.
  • When I can’t look at it anymore, it’s ready for more eyes on the prize. Prime beta reader begins.
  • The manuscript is shared to two more beta readers for comments.
  • Google Drive alters corrections I’ve already made! Frustration ensues.
  • Editrix Extraordinaire Gari Strawn begins her first round of editing. She downloads it off Google Drive so we won’t get new errors introduced to the manuscript.
  • I review all editing suggestions from beta readers and my editor, making all necessary changes. That’s the step I’m at today.
  • Gari will dig through the manuscript for Vengeance Is Hers for two more rounds.
  • When she’s done, and I finish final revisions, we’ll lock it in.
  • Then it’s back to the designers about the details of the paperback and hardcover.

Next post: What happens after all this!