SS Hampton, Sr. Interview with D. Alan Binder Stan’s Bio: Stan Hampton, Sr. is a full-blood Choctaw of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a divorced grandfather to 13 wonderful grandchildren, and a published photographer and photojournalist. He retired on 1 July 2013 from the Army National Guard with the rank of Sergeant First Class; he previously served in the active duty Army (1974-1985), the Army Individual Ready Reserve (1985-1995) (mobilized for the Persian Gulf War), and enlisted in the Nevada Army National Guard in October 2004, after which he was mobilized for Federal active duty for almost three years. Hampton is a veteran of Operations Noble Eagle (2004-2006) and Iraqi Freedom (2006-2007) with deployment to northern Kuwait and several convoy security missions into Iraq. He has had two solo photographic exhibitions and curated a third. His writings have appeared as stand-alone stories and in anthologies from Dark Opus Press, Edge Science Fiction & Fantasy, Melange Books, Musa Publishing, MuseItUp Publishing, Ravenous Romance, and as stand-alone stories in Horror Bound Magazine, The Harrow, and River Walk Journal, among others. As of April 2014, after being in a 2-year Veterans Administration program for Homeless Veterans, Hampton is officially no longer a homeless Iraq War veteran. In May 2014 he graduated from the College of Southern Nevada with an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Photography – Commercial Photography Emphasis. A future goal is to study for a degree in archaeology—hopefully to someday work in and photograph underwater archaeology (and also learning to paint). He is currently studying in a double major in Art and English at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. After over 14 years of brown desert in the Southwest and overseas, he misses the Rocky Mountains, yellow aspens in the fall, running rivers, and a warm fireplace during snowy winters. Hampton can be found at: Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sharing-rachel-ss-hampton-sr/1120349766?ean=2940046334791 Dark Opus Press https://www.createspace.com/3685965 Edge Science Fiction & Fantasy Publishing http://www.edgewebsite.com/books/dansemacabre/dansemacabre.html Melange Books http://www.melange-books.com/authors/sshampton/index.html MuseItUp Publishing Ravenous Romance http://www.ravenousromance.com/anthologies/back-door-lover.php http://www.ravenousromance.com/anthologies/virgin-ass-first-times-tales-of-anal-sex.php Amazon.com Author Page http://www.amazon.com/SS-Hampton-Sr/e/B00BJ9EVKQ Amazon.com. UK Author Page http://www.amazon.co.uk/SS-Hampton-Sr/e/B00BJ9EVKQ Goodreads Author Page http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6888342.S_S_Hampton_Sr_
 1. I live in Las Vegas, Nevada, and have since January 2001. 2. The most surprising thing I have learned in my writing experience is that writing is a business. Yes, creativity, grammatical skill, and storytelling still matters, but so does the business aspect. By that I mean planning on how to get word of your product (novel or story) “out into the world.” No one buys if they are not aware of you and your writing. So, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, competitions for best book covers, competitions for best fiction in categories, etc., are important. Establish a blog and a website, with a newsletter, if you can. In-person, set up book signings, find opportunities to speak before audiences, attend book festivals, etc. And keep track of all of your expenses, with receipts, for business deductions when you file your taxes. I did not realize until I had three publishers (now two, after one closed their doors in 2015) that writing really is a business. 3. I prefer having a publisher. If I were self-published I would be responsible for paying a good editor, paying an artist for the cover, and I would be responsible for formatting the story and setting up a distribution system. That’s if I were writing an e-book. If self-publishing was print oriented, I would have boxes of books in my garage and attempting to sell them wherever I could. I believe the business end would outweigh the writing end. So, for all of these reasons and more, I prefer the traditional publishing route. My publishers, in alphabetical order, are Melange Books in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and MuseItUp Publishing in Quebec, Canada. 4. My primary suggestion for new writers is to remember that writing is a business, including the need to keep track of expenses. Before I go further, I have always done my own taxes. Be sure to consult a tax professional before you plunge into records and tax keeping. So, keep track of your expenses, keep your receipts, and at the end of the year claim (within reason) all business deductions. For example, writing includes Xerox paper, inkjet cartridges, a combination scanner/Xerox/copy machine, and a computer. For live appearances, there are business cards and banners, mouse pads, bookmarks, and a host of other items to hand out. There is the cost of books and magazines as reference materials, etc. All of that and much more adds up to legitimate expenses. And again, consult a tax professional before deciding what to claim as business expenses. 5. I have only one novel published—Sharing Rachel (MuseItUp HOT), about a happily married couple in their 40s pushing societal, marital, and personal boundaries in exploring the ‘HotWife’ lifestyle. I have another novel, Prairie Muse, a sequel to Sharing Rachel, waiting editing. Everything else I have written in the past 15 years have been novellas, novelettes, and short stories. The short stories are ‘standalones’ and as a part of various anthologies. 6. Regarding writing promotion, at the moment, my efforts consist of my personal FaceBook page, writing guest posts on blogs and providing an excerpt with links to my writings, and applying to various blogs for reviews. I also make personal appearances here and there. 7. Regarding writing, editing, publishing, or illustrating, there is nothing I would change. From a business aspect, I would identify blogs and review sites to which I could submit guest posts and excerpts before my writing was published. And set up a blog and website before everything else. 8. Well, not so much a mantra as two things that I keep in mind, considering my life. First, “That which doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.” In some ways my life is better than it has been—it has been a long journey to get to this point. And, “Thank you for this day, thank you for yesterday, and thank you for tomorrow.” I am 60+ years old—I survived a deployment to Iraq while others did not, including a Soldier in my company who was killed by an IED when we were barely 30 days away from returning home. In the past year I have lost two friends due to natural causes. I served with and deployed with both, and both were younger than I am. So yes, I remember to be grateful for each day. Finally, especially for new writers, do not let the business aspect of writing distract you. It is a fact of life. It is also a fact that you have stories to tell; otherwise you would not be a writer. And remember that you are the bearer of a proud and important tradition that began around long-forgotten prehistoric campfires. |