Solar Six and 13SC seeking designers and illustrators

Solar Six, Cesar Torres’ publishing company, and 13SC, its related apparel brand, are  seeking illustrators and designers for Winter of 2016/2017 to actively work on book covers, book illustrations, tee designgs, men’s fitness apparel design, video and web branding. These opportunities are on a freelance basis, with the possibility of more long term options if there is a fit. We prefer to develop a relationship with a business-minded artist, and we select candidates who show promise and interest in working with startups and innovation. We pay a flat fee per project with clear deadlines for deliverables.

We are seeking two kinds of people. If you happen to fit both, even better.

• Illustrators with strong experience in drawing human figures in movement. Any artists who have comic book experience are welcome, though this is not required.

• Graphic designers who can develop branding elements for tees, posters and other physical products in photoshop and illustrator. We are looking for folks who have a real visual style but can adapt to the needs of the creative vision.

To apply, please email your resume, cover letter and link to an online portfolio to editor@solarsixbooks.com.

More information about Cesar Torres:

Cesar Torres is a writer and journalist with more than 20 years of experience across various areas of publishing and business including digital news, book publishing (fiction), startups, human-computer interaction and emerging technologies.

Cesar graduated from the undergraduate program from Medill at Northwestern University in 1996, and he earned a masters in science in human-computer interaction from DePaul University. He spent the first ten years of his career at Tribune Company and Tribune Interactive as a producer, developing breaking news content for Tribune’s network of newspaper web sites. During the tech boom of the late 90’s he also served as a syndication producer for Encyclopaedia Britannica’s foray into search technology and web-based encyclopedic content. After spending a few years in the middle aughts as editor and web publisher for healthcare entities such as HIMSS and The Rehabilitation Institute in Chicago, Cesar made a change in his focus by turning his focus to technology and the ways in which tech is impacting human culture and human behaviors. He served as Social Editor for the Conde Nast tech publication Ars Technica. Cesar also served a key role as managing editor in the founding stages of the consumer-product sites The Wirecutter and The Sweethome.

Cesar is also a longtime fiction writer. Even as far back as his undergraduate days at Northwestern, he wrote short stories. Cesar’s first published short story ran in the now-defunct Willows magazine in 2008. In 2012, Cesar created Solar Six, a startup that publishes his books in paperback and as e-books. Cesar’s debut novel 13 Secret Cities, launched in 2013. Since then, Cesar has published three more novels under a pseudonym. His next novel, 9 Lords of Night, a thriller set in Chicago and New York City, is scheduled to publish in 2017.

Cesar is also the designer and creator of 13SC apparel, a brand of gym and fitness wear inspired by mythical figures.

How to Kill a Superhero books and clothing now available in Chicago retail

Gratitude post 🙏: I am proud to announce my partnership the men's fashion and fetish boutique Men's Room here in Chicago to sell my How to Kill a Superhero book series (NSFW!) and the clothing line inspired by the superheroes from the books, starting this week, in their store. This is a HUGE milestone for my books, and I am grateful to all of you friends, family and loyal readers who support my efforts. If you are curious about the crossover between superheroes, LGBTQ and fetish communities, then stop into the store (located in Boystown at 3420 N. Halsted) where you can purchase the books, leggings, and wrestling singlets that are part of my artistic vision. This ain't no 50 shades! It's BETTER.

And don't forget, I write How to Kill a Superhero under the pseudonym Pablo Greene. Don't forget it! Hugs.

Podcast #11: What happened to me at Tuesday Funk

In which I tell you what happened to me at Tuesday Funk, and I discuss a different kind of "Tuesday funk", which could happen on November 8 in the U.S.

The Cesar Torres podcast is dedicated to coaching people in fiction writing and self publishing, as well productivity and digital strategy. Cesar is the author of the novel 13 Secret Cities and How to Kill a Superhero (under the pen name Pablo Greene). For more info, visit cesartorres.me. 

Catch a Preview of 9 Lords of Night at Tuesday Funk Nov 1

Want to get a preview of my new novel 9 Lords of Night? Come on out to Tuesday Funk Nov. 1 at the Hopleaf in Chicago! I'll be reading an excerpt from my new book (and will be celebrating Dia de los Muertos, as well). For more details, please visit the Tuesday Funk web site. 💀🌸💀 For

Podcast #10: Why you need $1,000 to self publish your first book

The Cesar Torres podcast is dedicated to coaching people in fiction writing and self publishing, as well productivity and digital strategy. Cesar is the author of the novel 13 Secret Cities and How to Kill a Superhero (under the pen name Pablo Greene). For more info, visit cesartorres.me. For more episodes, please subscribe via Stitcher or iTunes.

Podcast #8 The Day You Wrote Down Your Busines Vision

The Cesar Torres podcast is dedicated to coaching people in fiction writing and self publishing, as well productivity and digital strategy. Cesar is the author of the novel 13 Secret Cities and How to Kill a Superhero (under the pen name Pablo Greene). For more info, visit cesartorres.me. For more episodes, please subscribe via Stitcher or iTunes.

Podcast #7 This Isn't Going to Work

The Cesar Torres podcast is dedicated to coaching people in fiction writing and self publishing, as well productivity and digital strategy. Cesar Torres is the author of the novel 13 Secret Cities and How to Kill a Superhero (under the pen name Pablo Greene). For more episodes, please subscribe via Stitcher or iTunes.

Podcast #6 The Day You Wrote Down Your Editorial Vision

The Cesar Torres podcast is dedicated to coaching people in fiction writing and self publishing, as well productivity and digital strategy. Cesar Torres is the author of the novel 13 Secret Cities and How to Kill a Superhero (under the pen name Pablo Greene). If you would like to support this podcast, you can do so at Cesar Torres' Patreon page.

I'll Be Teaching at the Medill School of Journalism this Fall

I have some very exciting news to share today. I will be teaching news reporting and digital storytelling this Fall at The Medill Content Lab at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern in the graduate program. The Content Lab provides a fast-paced immersion into a news and editorial environment for graduate students. Medill at Northwestern is my alma mater, so this opportunity is extra special.

I will be teaching graduate students 2-3 days during the week in an environment that very much resembles a real newsroom, and in the process, I'll also be working alongside faculty and mentors from my days at Tribune Interactive, as well as Northwestern from my undergrad years. The future of journalism rests on the alchemy of disciplines of news writing, video story telling in short and long form, podcasting, and the smart use of user experience and human computer interaction. Add to that mix the rigor of the Medill School, and you get a very challenging experience. I can't wait to meet the students in my class, and to learn more about them, and what kind of stories they will tell and report. If you live in Chicago and you want to grab lunch downtown, that means we can do that, too, since the graduate school campus is located there. It's going to be a great Fall Quarter.

Podcast #5: Be Ready to Deal

The Cesar Torres podcast is dedicated to coaching people in fiction writing and self publishing, as well productivity and digital strategy. Cesar Torres is the author of the novel 13 Secret Cities and How to Kill a Superhero (under the pen name Pablo Greene). For more info, visit cesartorres.me. 

Book Update: Haunting the Somerset Hotel

Most readers aren't going to give a shit how many words I am writing daily. That's the kind of stuff only other writers care about. And if you want to know the counts, just message me, I'll tell you privately. But it's still worth sharing with you the journey I take in creating my books, isn't it? That's why starting today, I'll be writing about some of the real-life places, events and people I am researching as I write 9 Lords of Night, my next thriller.

NOTE: Though these updates feature parts of my research, not all of these elements may make into the final published book.

The characters of 9 Lords of Night will be visiting the Somerset Hotel, a magnificent building from 1919 that still stands today in the historic Uptown neighborhood. (I wrote about Uptown in 2013 in 13 Secret Cities as the main characters attended a concert at the Aragon Ballroom.)

The Somerset Hotel launched at the height of Uptown's glory. Before Hollywood rose as the pinnacle of moviemaking in the United States, Uptown held a title as the movie nucleus. Most people can't imagine how this mixed-income neighborhood known for its theaters and music venues could have held so much prestige, but they should be imagining it. 

For a deeper historical look at the hotel's early history, including information about its architect Samuel N. Crowen, please visit the excellent Jazz Age Chicago blog.

The Somerset was born into a decade of jazz,  luxury and glamour, but as you will learn, it fell into new hands in the late 20th century. At one point, it housed hundreds of people as a sheltered care facility for senior citizens. Stories about its downturn are grim. At some point, the Somerset was housing inmates and the mentally ill along with the senior population. The facility was shut down in 2010 for myriad violations, and in the past six years, the building was re-zoned to allow for a developer to turn it into apartments.

This is the kind of deep history that resounds in Uptown. The Somerset is haunted by the luxurious, the decadent, the corrupt, and the ill. And now it has a chance for a new beginning, though history never forgets. 

As I research further into the Somerset history, I can't help but to go deeper into the research. This week, I plan to walk over to the apartment building and ask its management company to let me tour the halls and the rooms. I need to see it for myself. Even if the site ends up as background in the novel, this is the sort of context that will give the manuscript solidity.

If you live in Chicago, I recommend you drive by the hotel and get brunch at Tweet, the restaurant across the street. I am amazed to see the gigantic structure revitalized this way. Just a few years ago it was nothing but a shell, a ghost of itself. 

And with that, I now return to my manuscript for 9 Lords of Night. I'll share more updates as I run across more shiny objects in the dark. You will want to see admire their glow.

Do you like these updates? Become a patron of Author Cesar Torres for $1

Podcast #4: You Should Self Publish Your Book

Direct download link: http://traffic.libsyn.com/cesartorres/ep_4_yes_you_should_self_publish.mp3 For more episodes, please subscribe via Stitcher or iTunes.

Podcast #3: A Writing Lesson All Novelists Can Use

For more episodes, please subscribe via Stitcher or iTunes.

Why I launched my own clothing label

Earlier this month, I launched the beta version of 13SC Clothing, my new label that tells the narrative of my life through archetypal images. Visual artists, from El Greco, to Frida Kahlo, to Cindy Sherman and Jose Clemente Orozco found the courage to tell stories through painting and photography. I too, have this urge to use images to express the deeper parts of my consciousness. The storytelling I am able to do through the designs of 13SC Clothing is very personal for me. I employ archetypal images. These are the symbols and representations of thepeople, events and figures literally threatened to destroy me. These images will also tell you how I was able to face them, and what happened when I survived. The storytelling in the designs of these tees and streetwear is not concerned with chronology. In other words, you don't have to read the images in a sequence to understand their power. In some other instances you will notice that I am using typography as an image. Since I was a boy, I have experienced synesthesia, where I see letters, words and numbers in particular fixed colors. These designs convey that phenomenon.

I am the designer of most of the images you see on the site. In a few instances, such as in Corazones (by JJ Roberson), I have commissioned artists to tell those stories better (because I do have some limitations in my skill as a visual artist, let's get real).

13SC tees are printed on American Apparel tees that are both athletic, durable, and soft. We ship world wide, and my hope is that when you put that tee on, that something special happens for you and to you. I have many designs to come, and if you have questions about the history of these pieces of art, please be sure to contact me.

13SC Clothing continues to move me forward in my journey as a storyteller. If youhave friends who love fashion, design, literature or the archetypal ideas brought forth by scholars like Carl Jung, please tell them to check out my store at 13SC.net. This is a way you can support this independent artist in a way that is different from simply buying one of my books once every couple of years.

I hope you enjoy the designs, and I hope they encourage you to tell your own story someday.

Cesar Torres

Chicago

Presenting 9 Lords of Night

Back when I started self publishing my books through my company Solar Six, I told myself, "You are NOT allowed to fail." That was about four years ago.

In reality, I have failed many times since then. My hubris led me to many mistakes. My naiveté fooled me. I didn't always hit my targets.  

But you know what? That's exactly what was supposed to happen. I was meant to make mistakes, both as a writer and publisher. Just like everyone before me has had to do as they learn a craft, and a skill. Every time I made a mistake, every time I caught a printing error, a typo, or book sales didn't hit targets I fell down. Hard. And that was part of my story.

Whenever I fell, I wiped my face off, dusted my knees and got right back up. I kept on going. 

That is how I published four novels via my own imprint, Solar Six Books. 

I failed at many things last year: I failed at balancing my life out while living in New York. I failed at delivering the third How to Kill a Superhero book on time (I delivered it one year late). And I failed on finding the right start for my follow-up book after 13 Secret Cities. But I didn't just lament my errors. I sought solutions. I made some changes to my life, my business model, and the way I allocate my attention and resources to Solar Six. As I made each of those mistakes above, and as I got up again and again, I got stronger. 

And that, my friends, is how I can happily announce today the title of my second novel. My new book is titled 9 Lords of Night. This book explores the darkest edges of obsession. We will meet men and women obsessed with love, obsessed with murder, and obsessed to a dangerous degree with a sinister piece of art and its creator. 

Now that I have moved to Chicago, I have the right level of resources to dedicate to the writing process of 9LN. This means I can now commit to a schedule that will help me deliver the book next year in late Spring. Then the book will go into production (which takes about 6 months) leading up to a Fall of 2017 release.  

This is big news I am sharing with you today. If you care to help support the literary arts, I encourage  you to become one of my patrons. Other ways of supporting me as a writer include buying one of the new tees from my clothing line 13SC, which I beta launched this month, as well. 13SC Clothing tells you my story as a person through images. My fears, my joys, my sadness, my totems and my archetypal catalysts tell my story through the multiple tee designs you will find there. Your purchases directly contribute to the artistic work behind my imprint. We ship world wide, too. 

I am 100 percent independent from the traditional publishing system, and I reach readers thanks to you. I don't do this alone. 

Over the next few weeks I'll reveal more teasers and excerpts from 9 Lords of Night. This book is quite different from 13 Secret Cities, and I think you may really like it. I hope you walk down the caverns of obsession together with me. 

Thank you again for your help. Those of you who are current patrons make these books a reality, and you provide me with so much strength and love. I am excited for the future. More updates to come.

Cesar Torres

Chicago

Life Update and Thank You

After two years of growth as Managing Editor at The Wirecutter and Sweethome, I have moved on this month to head in a new direction. It’s incredibly hard to leave a publication of such energy and innovation, but I am very excited for the path that lies before me. At the moment I am focusing on the writing of my next two novels and continuing to publish them under my imprint Solar Six. I also just kicked off the beta of http://13SC.net, a clothing label that tells my personal story through archetypal images and art. These entrepreneurial endeavors will bring me closer to literary life and art than ever before. I will be operating now from a home base of Chicago, at least until wanderlust possesses me one more time. Won’t be long, I know.

Most importantly, I want to thank all of you for providing me with such love and support as I move forward into a new phase and face new challenges. If you want to grab coffee, a drink, now is the time, since I am traveling often back and forth between NYC and Chicago. If you have any suggestions about ideas I should be exploring, or people I should be talking to for opportunities, please get in touch. I am VERY excited to connect with all of you.

Cesar Torres

Chicago

Podcast #2: 3 Business lessons from my life as an erotica author

Direct Download URL

Subscribe: iTunes or Stitcher

Podcast #1: The difference between happiness and satisfaction

Kicked off a new podcast, cheers. You should see it appear shortly in iTunes, iHeart Radio and Stitcher. You can play it in the player below, too.

Why Authors Should Be Snapchatting

The age of Snapchatting has arrived, friends. Snapchat is fun, fast, and offers two of my favorite features: brevity and stickers. I hear a lot of my peers complain about how it makes no sense, and how silly it can seem to use this social platform originally favored by millennials.

I disagree. There’s some really smart ways to engage with my readers on Snapchat, which is currently my favorite social media tool for engagement.

I post my wordcounts on Snapchat at user killsuperhero

Nieman Lab pointed out in a post last year that relevance and visibility is tough for publishers because of so many platforms on which they need to exist. “This is a winning combination; a distinguishable brand across multiple platforms that speaks directly to a desirable, niche audience will create meaningful exposure to new audiences as well as a pathway for more engaged and loyal readers.”

Now, before you begin your complaint about exhaustion, let me put a finger to your lips. Chill. I have stressed to many authors before that their individual brand relevance determines the number of social platforms they will need to maintain. In other words, you don’t have to be on every single platform. If you have taken the time to understand your audience, and quantify that audience using analytics of some kind, you will logically toss away a few social platforms in order to focus on where your readers thrive. Work smarter, not harder.

For example, if you write paranormal romance novels, and your readership is made of female readers between the ages of 25-45, you can already start deciding on some platforms, such as Pinterest and Instagram, over others. Better yet, if you have ever surveyed your readers, asked them questions about what sites they use or investigated some of their habits causally, you can make that list of sites even more specific. In some cases, that data may lead you to Snapchat.

Snapchat matters right now because people (especially users older than the original Millennial first adopters) are starting to adopt it. Statista published projections of Snapchat user penetration for the US from 2012 to 2020, and it’s clear to see that it’s likely to stay very relevant.

So, if you have determined that your readers are using Snapchat, then it’s time to use it. In my case, I have a lot of anecdotal data to show that many of my readers who connect with me on Twitter and Facebook are also on Snapchat. I have also learned that part of my following includes males who are early adopters of technology; during the years I was social editor at Ars Technica, I think a few of those readers came along for the ride with my novels.

A Wonderful Case Study

A great example is wonderbruno. He’s one of my most engaged readers. We met during his trip to NYC in 2014. He lives in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and he’s an avid reader of gay romance, paranormal, sci fi and fantasy. He’s also very funny on camera, and he has an amazing collection of Wonder Woman paraphernalia. Bruno is exactly the kind of reader that I need to engage in Snapchat.

Bruno often sends DMs on my Snaps to interact back with me, and I have learned more about his reading tastes through his Snaps than his Instagram. He has given me valuable feedback about my books in DM, as well, and that kind of interaction is gold for any author. I also get a very honest window into Bruno's life in Sao Paolo. He's one of many readers who really connect in a deeper way with me thanks to this platform.

Putting it all together

Here’s my strategy in using Snapchat with my readers:

• Leverage the levity and ephemeral nature of the medium: Quick snapshot of city scenes, interesting graffiti and people watching lets my readers know that I don’t sit at home all day and that my gaze catches many odd things in the street.

• I publish posts about progress in my books, such as word counts. This keeps me accountable, and you would be surprised how many readers love seeing the daily word counts whenever I post them.

• I Snapchat at live events, particularly book readings and lit events. I use the geofilters and also post to the story for my city to also make contributions to local Snapchats.

• I post snaps of my sketches for landscapes and creatures from my books. Because the images vanish so quickly, they provide some intrigue for my readers, and it’s precisely these sketches that spark the most interactions for me.

• Run promotions for free books, discount codes and Snapchat exclusives. This is a great tactic, but please be sure you have enough of a following on Snapchat if you will invest the time in this. And by enough, I don’t mean thousands of followers. Just make sure that the readers who follow you on Snapchat are likely to engage with promotions, sales and coupons. Nothing worse than people feeling like they are being spammed.

Like with any new platform, you should feel free to experiment, and please, please, write down you results and milestones. Don’t just Snapchat without rhyme or reason. Keep your Snaps relevant and also honest, and you’ll have a lot of fun. Be sure to view your analytics for your posts (you can tap your snap history to see who’s viewed your snaps). And if by adopting Snapchat you have to retire another social platform to protect your valuable time, be ready to do so.

Got questions? Leave a comment or send me a tweet at @13Secretcities.

You can follow me on Snapchat at the user name killsuperhero. See you on the other side.

Read past issues of Pen & Pixel

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Read past issues of Pen & Pixel by author Cesar Torrres