about me

Please note my change in policy for backings and stars; read below.

A. SHAMELESS PLUGS (The important stuff first)
Agents may contact me at: frank_calcagno (you know the symbol) verizon (you also know what goes here) net.
(And a pox, I say, to all those nefarious data sniffers out there lurking for addresses.)

The first novel in the ‘Tales of the Antares Rangers’ YA series has been published in electronic format at www.smashwords.com. You may find Book 1, ‘The First Human War’ at:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/24673

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-First-Human-War/Jr-Calcagno/e/2940011104725/?itm=1&USRI=the+first+human+war

http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/cgi-bin/item/9781452434186/The-First-Human-War-eBook.html

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-first-human-war/id394838941?mt=11

(Coming soon to Sony, Borders-Kobo, and Amazon)

Book 2, ‘The D’war’en Heir’ will be published in 2011. I ask that any Authonomy reviews be done on ‘The D’war’en Heir’ instead of ‘The First Human War.’ The first four chapters of 'The D'war'en Heir' have been uploaded (the complete book is 93,000 words in length).


B. HOW I OPERATE ON AUTHONOMY (and this is where I shoot myself in my Authonomy foot and decide not to swim in the shark tank any longer)

Please take note of the following ground rules:
1. I am only interested in serious, detailed peer reviews and editing.
2. If you are still reading, I would like to trade detailed peer editing off-site with similarly minded authors (I can’t stand editing using the chapters provided on this site; I prefer using email and MS Word Tracked Changes - with some assurances of trust, to be sure. Send me a message and we can see if we are compatible - to get my attention, start the message with “Editing Possibilities”).
3. I’d like to work with only 1 or 2 people at a time and take 4-6 weeks to do a thorough review, expecting the same in return.
4. Seriously, please do not assign stars or backings to any of my posted books (I’m simply not playing the game any longer and if my ranking stays at 5,000 that is fine with me).
5. Please do not expect any reciprocal stars or backings (it is really a waste of effort trying to keep the arrow green, and my shelf is pretty much locked anyway).


C. BACKGROUND (Why it has come down to this for me, and if you are still reading, then God love ya)
When I first began on Authonomy, I expected a site where advanced and dedicated authors would meet to exchange peer reviews (a global writing group, so to speak). My goal was to obtain feedback to make my writing more accomplished. I must admit, the ‘old, broken system’ was not very good, but it did accomplish my goals to a large degree. I became caught up in the competition and played the game. In the span of only a couple months my book reached the 300s and my ‘Talent Spotter’ ranking climbed to around 85.

If you’ve been around for a while, you know how that happened. In my case, I looked to see who was online and read a chapter or two of their book. (How else can you wade through the thousands of books here other than reward those who are online?) If I liked what I saw, I threw them a backing for a good effort. If I really liked what I saw, I sent them a personal message. If I thought I could improve their work, I sent constructive comments. People did the same for me and that was how I received some valuable feedback; a small fraction of you may know who you are and I thank you very much.

That was the vehicle I used to get noticed; hoping that if others saw that my book existed and liked my work they would throw a reciprocal backing my way. If I read something I did not like (and there were many), I politely closed the book and looked for another. But, you know, as bad a system as they say that was, it really was not THAT bad. It rewarded one of the most critical aspects of the publishing world - marketing.

You see, I’ve come to learn that writing a good novel is just the first part of a long process. You can create the greatest piece of work ever to exist, but if it is not marketed you will never sell a single copy. Now, you can get all altruistic here and say that isn’t so, but think about it for a minute. Without advertising and strong marketing, a book will go unnoticed. The needed advertising either needs to come from a large publishing firm at your back, or by aggressive, non-stop work by the author (and most ‘authors’ hate that). As bad as the old system was, it really created a microcosm of the publishing industry (make your work be known, or perish). The new system … well, they tried to improve it but it is still being gamed. And the end result is much more awkward and is still essentially self-serving. There is still glad-handing going on (believe me, I did that too in the past) but the end result - when the day is done - becomes the GAME and not self IMPROVEMENT.

So here I am, trying to get what I first came to Authonomy to find. If you simply want to improve your writing skill (and improve mine along the way) send me a note. I’m not a professional editor by any means - I make the common mistakes, especially with placing comas where the sun does not shine. My organizational skills might be better. But I do know when I read something I like, and I will provide feedback. I will try any genre except poetry (I’d fail miserably commenting on that). To those who agree with this philosophy, I suggest you adopt it and change your bio. To all the rest, if you’ve been kind enough to read this far, I wish you all the luck in the world and hope you find the success we all truly deserve. (And HC, I do appreciate the opportunity you’ve given us to use your wonderful site.)

favourite books

Anything written by C.J. Cherryh; Bernard Cornwell; Orson Scott Card; Frank Herbert; Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.; James Clavell.

my websites

http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/TalesoftheA     http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26564&id=100