Baby, I’m Ready To Go
December 31, 2009
There are few songs that fire me up like Republica’s US mix of “Ready To Go.” While the mid-90s tune is actually about a damaged romantic relationship, its pop-rock beat and chorus are an anthem for anyone craving to break free and take on the world:
Baby I’m ready to go … I’m back and ready to go … From the rooftops, shout it out. Shout it out. (Listen to the song here.)
Goodness, yes. A thousand hell yeses. From the rooftops, shout it out. With the new year here, are you ready to go? Ready to roll up your sleeves, put on a playful self-confident sneer, and get your hands dirty with some go?
I am. 2009 was an epic year. Personal Effects: Dark Art. 7th Son: Descent. Both on bookstore bookshelves, a dream come true. I conceived and personally executed several ambitious never-before-seen online promotions — Commit Yourself To The Brink, groundbreaking “vlurb” book trailers, multi-site cross-promotional projects (including a 10-chapter 7th Son excerpt distributed across more than 20 websites, and the recent “In the Nick of Time!” holiday sampler). More than 30 promotional blog guest posts. More than 70 podcast and radio interviews. Lots of first-evers and more-thans and many-mores.
I spent most of 2009 running on three or four hours of sleep each day. I went broke promoting the books. (This is not an exaggeration. Flat-ass, overdrawn-bank-account broke. My finances still haven’t recovered.) The result was stellar “Week One” debuts for both novels, followed by weeks of better-than-average sales. The publishing business is brutal and hyper-competitive, people. Standing out requires a lot of creative thought and effort (which I had) and money (which I didn’t, and wasn’t provided).
I also released two podcast-exclusive fiction projects in ‘09, both prequels: Personal Effects: Sword of Blood, and 7th Son: 7 Days. Both were written in the midst of actively promoting the novels, and I’m pretty proud of how they turned out. This brings me to 2010.
I love the crazy-cool creative challenge of podcasting and promoting my stuff. For the past four years, I’ve lived to entertain you with my stories, and dazzle you with unconventional, fun promotions. I’ve made deliberate, informed decisions on how to spend my time, money and creative energy. Since 2006, most of my free time has been funneled into projects designed for you to consume and enjoy, for free.
Businesspeople talk about ROI: return on investment. I realized long ago that it would be impossible to receive an equitable ROI on the time, energy and monetary investment I’ve made in being an active creator in the social media space … so I stopped thinking about that. Instead, I bit into new media and social media with the same abandon I have when chomping into a nectarine — and you rewarded me with amazing feedback and unrivaled devotion, and helped make my lifelong dream of becoming a published novelist come true. My wallet may be a burnt cinder, but my soul lives in a palatial emotional mansion thanks to your generosity and kindness. I am forever grateful for that.
But baby, I’m ready to go.
Here are some not-so-secret secrets about most social media creators: We obsess about statistics. We keenly watch our blog subscriber numbers, our downloads, our website traffic, retweets and more. We crow about consistency, and how a steady output of content ensures the sustained interest of longtime readers (or listeners), and attracts newcomers. We relentlessly “feed the feed,” as I call it — we pipe out stuff of varying quality in our blog/podcast feeds to keep you coming back for more. Some of us do this successfully, and turn a profit. Some of us do this successfully, and don’t turn a profit. Still others feel beholden to these rules and produce content, even when they don’t want to. Burnout. A lack of perceived value from the audience. Real world obligations. It goes on.
I’ve been obsessing and red-lining it for so long, I’ve forgotten what a normal life feels like. I need to know what a normal life feels like. What eight hours of sleep feels like. What writing fiction feels like.
That last part — writing fiction — is critically important, peeps. This year, I felt my most alive when I was writing Sword of Blood and 7 Days, and brainstorming new projects. I took great pride in creating stories around my promotions (World War 7 is a recent fictional scenario that was a blast to concoct and execute), but when just it’s me and the page and the words … oh baby-baby, that’s the primo stuff. I live to tell tall tales, my friends. I’ve missed telling tall tales.
And so it’s time to go.
Time to roll up my sleeves, put on a playful self-confident sneer, and get my hands dirty with some go, that is. You didn’t think I was abandoning this site, and you, and several thousand other awesome peeps, didja? Heavens no. The party’s just getting started. I may not be the ever-present host I was in 2009 and years past, but I’ll certainly be here to entertain you in 2010.
There’s lots to give you. The Personal Effects: Dark Art serialized audiobook. My new podcast fiction project, The 33. I’ll still interview people who amaze me — the people I call UltraCreatives — and I’ll post written and podcast updates on my life, creative projects and other sundries. (I know most of you care less about my non-fiction content than my fiction. That’s okay. But these non-fiction projects are important to me, and I will continue to pursue them.)
So yes. Content shall abound in this blog/podcast feed in 2010. But I need to make something clear, in the kindest and most constructive way possible: this content will be released when my schedule permits. In addition to the Dark Art audiobook (which will debut by Spring 2010) and The 33 (which will debut not long after), I have other creative projects to pursue. There are movie treatments I owe my film agent — original story ideas we want to sell to Hollywood for big bucks. There are other novels to write, which I want to sell to publishers for big bucks. God willing, there will be 7th Son books Two and Three to edit for print release. And I want to pursue ways of telling stories you’ve never seen before; stuff that’s as wide-eyed and untested as a newborn.
Jeepers, all the stories. All the stories I need to tell.
If you choose to abandon my blog/podcast feed because I won’t be delivering free audio content on a weekly basis in 2010, I understand. I do hope, however, that you have an equal understanding and respect for my decision. Of course, I also hope you’ll stick around. There’s a great deal of fun and adventure in what I do … and you can’t beat the price with a stick.
2010 is my year of go. Go beyond podcasting, beyond 7th Son and Personal Effects, and Twitter and Facebook, and my always-shameless, sometimes-crass ass-shaking. It’s time to take down the megaphones. It’s time to start building more worlds. New worlds. Go worlds.
Wanna come along? Just take my hand. There’ll be weeks when I’m loud and sassy, and weeks when you may never hear a peep. But we’ll be running toward the horizon together, grinning at the sun. Running together, adventurers.
Come with me. Baby, I’m ready to go.
–J.C.
What am I thankful for?
November 26, 2009
YOU.
Blue Stahli gets it, Part 2
October 29, 2009
A few months back, I told you about how one of my favorite musicians, bret — aka Blue Stahli — gets it.
Further evidence of the man’s cleverness, creativity and marketing savvy? The video posted below. Dig this: bret wanted to announce his remix contest in an interesting way (and, as he told me, “have an excuse to play with video stuff”). Behold what he created on a budget of $5, using an old jailbroken iPhone. He did all the editing, sound effects and musical score.
Truly badass stuff. Check it, and check the remix contest for his awesome song UltraNumb, which launches in mere days.
7th Son: Descent reviewed in Publisher’s Weekly
September 8, 2009
I’m honored and humbled by Publisher’s Weekly recent review of 7th Son: Descent, which will be in bookstores next month…
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7th Son: Descent J.C. Hutchins. St. Martin’s Griffin, $14.99 paper (352p) ISBN 978-0-312-38437-1
Hutchins’s debut SF thriller, the first in a trilogy, has the unusual distinction of starting life as a popular podcast. The fast pace set from the beginning serves the story well in audio or print, especially considering that most of the characters are clones of the same man. They’re sent to find their “Alpha” after he rigs a proxy assassination of the president of the United States through stolen government technology capable of unleashing chaos everywhere. Hutchins successfully fleshes out each clone as a separate personality, from happy everyman John Smith to the priest who fears that, as a clone, he has no soul. Though there’s not a lot for the hard SF crowd, thriller readers seeking edge-of-your-seat action flavored with conspiracy and futuristic tech will love every page. (Nov.)
—
I’m proud of my little book, and am absolutely thrilled PW dug it, too. And let’s not forget why PW was able to review the novel in the first place: YOU.
For more than three years, you’ve cheered and challenged me creatively. I haven’t the words to fully express my gratitude for all the love and support you’ve shown me … but know that it is reciprocated a hundred-fold. You inspire me.
–J.C.
Blue Stahli gets it
August 19, 2009
If you know me, you know I’m a hardcore Celldweller fan, and a great supporter of Celldweller mastermind Klayton’s work. For the past three years, I’ve used his killer music as the anthems for my podcasts, and I’ve talked him up something fierce, because I think he crafts music that is as brilliant as it is epic.
Klayton runs a company called FiXT, which helps independent artists (often fellow electronica musicians) distribute their music to the masses. One of these artists is Blue Stahli, who is a stellar talent himself. His AntiSleep Vol. 1 album is packed with aggressive and awesome instrumental music, stuff I live to write by. Highly recommended.
Today, I purchased Blue Stahli’s new single, ULTRAnumb … and I was absolutely delighted by the email I received after I clicked the “buy” button:
Hi, this is bret from Blue Stahli. Just wanted to thank you for throwing down your hard earned coin on my brand-spankin’ new single ULTRAnumb. i know there’s much cooler stuff you could be spending your money on, like a feeder monkey, bedazzled cowboy hat, tub of whipped cream and a lifetime supply of rope licorice (but not for eating, if you catch my drift), so it’s freakishly appreciated that you’re supporting some music that you dig. More comin’ atcha soon…
This, of course, was an automated email — but it was an unexpected gesture, which I appreciated. When was the last time U2 thanked you for purchasing their most recent album? When was the last time James Patterson gave you a hat-tip for picking up the most recent Alex Cross novel? Did Joss Whedon zip you a grateful email when you snagged that copy of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog?
Blue Stahli and the FiXT crew get it. This email exceeded my expectations, and — if only for a moment — piped me full of warm and fuzzies, because the artist himself wanted me to know that I made a tangible difference by supporting his work, and that he appreciated it. It was a step beyond the expected. That’s killer customer service, and it’s something a great many of us — myself included — could learn from.
What are you doing to exceed expectations, either in your art, business or personal life? How are you delighting the world by giving a little more than is required?
–J.C.
J.C. on the Typical Mac User Podcast
July 3, 2009
I recently had the great pleasure to appear on Victor Cajiao’s terrific program, the Typical Mac User Podcast, to chat about Personal Effects: Dark Art, new media, creativity, and how Apple products and software play mission-critical roles in my creative endeavors. Victor, TMUP contributor George Starcher and I had a blast.
Victor has generously provided me the audio from that interview, and I’m delighted to share it with you. I also heartily endorse Victor’s world-class show, and hope that you — regardless of if you’re an Apple fanboy or a hard-core PC user — check it out. And for the photographers in my audience, check out Victor’s stellar Typical Shutterbug Podcast, too!
–J.C.
Liveblog winners announced!
June 15, 2009
Last Tuesday, we had a helluva fun time watching Personal Effects: Dark Art ascend the sales charts during the day’s liveblog event. To make things even more fun, I gave away six signed copies of the book. I’ve processed more than 100 qualifying entries from that day, and am thrilled to announce the six winners:
- Michelle Wolverton
- Daniel Rodriguez
- Jeffrey Conolly
- Donna Phillips
- David Taylor
- Doug from Geek Acres
Thanks to the more than 100 folks who participated in last Tuesday’s giveaway! More ways to evangelize the novel (and score free books) are on the way…
–J.C.
Fan-Created Trailer: Personal Effects: Dark Art
June 10, 2009
The fan-created awesomeness keeps rolling in today. First, an amazing must-listen piece of orchestral music, and now a killer trailer crafted by German fan Merzmensch Kosmopol. Suspense … spooky filmography … shots of Dark Art’s transmedia personal effects … this has it all.
You were born to hit play.
Fan-Created Music: “7th Son, Movement 1: Descent”
June 10, 2009
I want you to meet Brandon Winrich, an undergraduate at the University of Rhode Island majoring in Music Composition and Computer science. Last July, Brandon emailed me and asked for permission to create a piece of orchestral music based on my 7th Son podcast novel trilogy. Flattered, I happily encouraged him to do so. And he did. He sent me the audio yesterday.
This is so cool. This is sooooo cool.
Click the play button.
Here are some in-depth notes from the email I received yesterday, from Brandon (Warning: There are Book One spoilers):
7th Son, Movement 1: Decent had its world premiere on November 9th, 2008. Before the first rehearsal, I played [Descent's] prologue for everyone … to set the mood, and hopefully get some of them interested in the novel. …
7th Son, Movement 1: Descent is comprised of eight sections:
- “The President of the United States is Dead. He was murdered in the morning sunlight by a four year old boy.” [0:14]
- A Former Life [0:49]
- Send in the Clones [1:38]
- Descent / The Womb [2:23]
- Contacting the Outside [3:28]
- Following Alpha’s Trail / “I Comply” / Hacking the CDC [4:13]
- Showdown at Folie à Deux [5:28]
- “It’s Never Over” [6:11]
The piece begins with “the chord,” that musical interlude that can be heard between sections of the novel. I asked a friend to help me figure it out, and its essentially a Gb Major chord, possibly with some added tones.
“The President of the United States is Dead” acts as a mourning funeral song for President Griffin. The Trumpet plays a modified version of the beginning of “Purple” (the song by Ethic that served as the anthem for Book One), as church bells chime in the background.
While slightly out of order from the novel, musically it made more sense to put this section here. “A Former Life” portrays the early life of John Michael Smith, before the car crash that brought him to the 7th Son facility.
“Send In The Clones” is a march-like section, depicting the Beta Clones being rounded up and taken to the 7th Son facility, as heard in the first chapter. The melody that the trumpet is playing was created by assigning a note from an A harmonic minor scale to each Beta, based on their number and order of appearance (7, 1, 6, 5, 2, 3, 4; or John, Michael, Kilroy 2.0, Father Thomas, Jonathan, Dr. Mike, and Jack).
“Descent” refers to the elevator plunge down, represented by a chaotic chromatic 7/8 measure as the Beta Clones plummet down towards “The Womb.” One of the concepts behind cloning is about breaking the rules. So, in this section, I decided to break the rules of typical classical music. The melodies have a constantly shifting tonal center, and feature many parallel fifths (which are usually frowned upon).
“Contacting the Outside” refers to the events of chapter 14/15, when the Betas are allowed brief phone called to the people they were dragged away from. It’s a happier moment (in the Lydian mode), almost the calm before the storm, which transitions to…
“Following Alpha’s Trail” depicts the efforts of the Jonathan, Jack, Kilroy 2.0, and John, as they work to find out what John Alpha is up to. A literal chase is depicted between the 4-bar trombone melody, and the trumpet with a truncated 3-bar version of the same melody, the two instruments getting closer with each repetition. Kilroy 2.0 calls upon his flock for assistance, and they respond with “I Comply” (represented by a 3 note repeated ostinato played by the xylophone). Having caught up with Alpha’s clues, Kilroy 2.0 hacks the CDC database.…
“Showdown at Folie à Deux” is certainly one of the most exciting things in Book One, and I tried to depict that in the music. With a tempo of 150, this is the fastest section of the piece. The meter occasionally changes from 3 to 4, as the trumpet plays an augmented version of the melody from “Send In the Clones” against a trombone ostinato. The tempo slows down slightly and the music gets softer, now with the upper woodwinds playing chords, depicting Father Thomas’ leap of faith (this subsection even ends with a plagal cadence, which is also called the ‘amen cadence’ due to its association with religious hymns). The tempo quickly picks back up, modulates up a half step to add excitement, and briefly revisits the theme from the beginning of the section as the Beta Clones gain the upper hand…
“It’s Never Over” serves almost as a coda to the movement, a slow finale after all of the excitement. Mourning the loss of one of their own, the Betas realize that even though John Alpha may be dead, the adventures are just beginning. The piece ends with a deceptive cadence (possible foreshadowing for Movement 2: Deceit, perhaps?), ending on “the chord” that we started with.
Credits:
- Geri Muller: Flute
- Theresa Procopio: Oboe
- Brandon Winrich: Clarinet
- Peter Gilli: Alto Saxophone
- Joshua Sayer: Trumpet
- Scott W. Benson II and Michael Ottaviano: Trombone
- Charles Kalajian, Bobby Cavallaro, and Zach Friedland: Percussion
- Stephen M. Grueb: Conductor
Back to J.C.
I nearly wept when I heard Brandon’s piece; my arms were covered in goosebumps. The time he invested not only in researching my book (his synopsis is better than anything I could’ve written!), but also composing, organizing and preparing the piece for public performance must have been staggering. To me, this is nothing less than awesome. I am humbled, and starstruck, by Brandon’s creation.
Thank you, Brandon, and to the team of talented performers you assembled to play 7th Son, Movement 1: Descent. If you choose to compose Movement 2: Deceit, it will most certainly have a home here.
–J.C.
Personal Effects covered on several blogs, podcasts
June 10, 2009
Hey there! Yesterday was a huge day for Personal Effects: Dark Art (see liveblogging reports here and here; older updates are at the bottom the page), and we kicked some major booty. The adventure’s just starting, however.
If you’re new to JCHutchins.net and want to learn more about Personal Effects, please visit this page. There, you’ll get the full skinny on this groundbreaking novel (which I co-authored with game designer Jordan Weisman). Be sure to check out the sidebar on that page for even more goodies and information about the book.
New fans and old can feast thier peepers and ears on these really cool blogs/projects/podcasts that rolled out recently, all covering PE:DA:
- Dan Tabor’s text interview with me for Geekadelphia
- Jay Hathaway’s text interview with me for SuicideGirls
- Her Side, a groundbreaking multimedia fiction project, created by J.R. Blackwell and Mur Lafferty, which helps support Personal Effects
- My audio interview with the BBC’s Pods and Blogs program
- My interview with Grammar Girl for her new Behind the Grammar podcast
- Author Matthew Wayne Selznick’s review of PE:DA
If you enjoy this content, and are persuaded to purchase a copy of Personal Effects: Dark Art, the book is now available in North American bookstores, and for immediate purchase online.
Jetpack on! Higher! Higher!
–J.C.
Personal Effects reviewed at the “A Life In The Day” blog
June 1, 2009
Make no mistake: As an author, I’m tremendously grateful for the positive reviews that industry publications such as Publishers Weekly and The Library Journal have recently given my debut thriller, Personal Effects: Dark Art. Those publications’ comments represent invaluable validation of my skills, and bring credibility to the story I’ve told.
But nothing beats the comments of a “real” reader (like this one) — someone like you and me, an in-the-trenches lover of books who’s far removed from the publishing biz. That’s why I was delighted to read Greg’s comments over at his A Life In The Day blog, in which he reviewed Dark Art. A snippet:
(P)eppered throughout the book and the included papers are websites to visit with background on the characters and on The Brink, phone numbers and voicemail codes …. All these enhance the total experience, and I found myself more invested in how the novel played out. …
As for the story itself, J.C. Hutchins and Jordan Weisman have crafted a fine horror/thriller that can stand on its own, without the “out of book” experience. Incredibly well-drawn characters … and an involving story made this a novel that I didn’t want to put down. I had to know what happened next to the characters, and some nights begrudgingly set aside the book so I could get some sleep.
You can’t beat that review with a stick, peeps. Many thanks to Greg for the killer review. Check it out here — and if you’d like to support this trailblazing new breed of storytelling, consider pre-ordering a copy of the book.
Welcome to The Brink,
–J.C.
BONUS: J.C.’s family-filled Dragon*Con shout-out
September 4, 2008
Howdy, faithful Beta Clones! Sorry for the delay in posting new OBSIDIAN content, but as many of you know, I spent the past weekend at Dragon*Con … and as you’ll soon see, I obviously needed a few days to recover from the sleep deprivation. 
While I was in Atlanta, I did shoot a very brief video that delights me to no end. You get to meet a member of my family in this handheld minute-thirty masterpiece! You also get to see what I’m like in person, when in the company of my wonderful sister, Melissa. Enjoy … and expect OBSIDIAN to resume next week!
–J.C.
Why 7th Son fans rock my effing socks
August 26, 2008
Words cannot describe how awesome 7th Son listener Helljack is. From a recent blog post:
“I’ve mentioned J.C. Hutchins a couple of times in the past. His three-fucking-book atomic bomb of a tale 7th Son is something that vaults the line well past genius. If you have never tuned into single retinal-dilating, heart-stammering, brain-crushing chapter…then you, my friend, must either have an inner ear condition that inhibits your enjoyment of audio bliss or a serious desire to live your life to only half its enjoyment capabilities. Heh…yeah, it’s that good…”
I bet Stephen King himself doesn’t get such killer write-ups from readers. Helljack, you and every other 7th Son fan out there rock my little world.
–J.C.
Cool feedback from a REAL blackout…
June 19, 2008
The kindest comment an artist can receive is when he’s told that the value of his work transcends the media in which his art is being shared. That’s a fancy way of saying, “It’s really frickin’ cool when people think about your stuff long after they listen to it.”
Take this email I received today from Lorin in Pheonixville, Pennsylvania:
After listening to your “Voices from the Darkness” podcast at work, it really freaked me out when the lights suddenly went out in my apartment later that day. … The storm that followed was a mighty one — the wind was blowing, and my husband and I quickly jumped up in search of our flashlights.
After we resettled into seats at our kitchen table, I looked my husband and said I felt like I had steeped into “Voices from the Darkness.” He asked what I was talking about, and together we listened to the podcast as police sirens were heard in the distance and someone was cursing up a storm outside. It was really creepy! Too real for us! What a great way to listen to the podcast.
After listening, we sat in the darkness in the quiet, and I wondered what it would be like to live like that for several weeks, or even years! Blackouts never used to make me think about what it might like to be in one for longer than a day or so, until I started listening to the stories told throughout your podcasts. … Here’s hoping that we do not have a nationwide blackout anytime soon, because you are right — when the lights go out, chaos does reign!
For a guy like me, emails don’t get much better than that. According to Lorin, she’s in good hands when the lights go out: her husband is a former Eagle Scout, and is prepared for nearly any problem. Dig the photo: hubby whipped up a head-mounted flashlight solution later that evening so they could play Scrabble. How cool!
Thanks for the awesome email, Lorin … and thanks for reminding me that the best feedback an entertainer can receive is when he’s told that his work is being appreciated long after it’s been experienced.
–J.C.
John Alpha campaign takes to the blogosphere!
June 19, 2008
Yes! It appears that the bona-fide’s presidential campaign transcends mere bumper stickers. Behold, an excerpt from Robert Romero’s blog, in which he proclaims his loyalty to John Alpha in the upcoming U.S. election:
John Alpha: A fitting name for a new beginning that is desperately needed in our country. John Alpha is a visionary with a grand outlook for our country. He feels that he can truly bring the United States to a place of respectability and honor. He is a man of many skills, traits, and dare I say, personalities. His personality is so powerful that it seems like he is more than one person at the same time.
Rock on! Read the full text of Robert’s blog post here. And if YOU want to evangelize Alpha’s cause, either visit JohnAlphaForPresident.com to get your free bumper sticker, or just as cool, post a message of loyalty yourself on your blog, Twitter stream, Facebook or Myspace profiles! Be sure to email me your proclamation; I’ll be sure to spread the word.
Thanks, Robert, for casting your vote for Alpha. “A” is for America!
–J.C.
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