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Have you ever stripped a piece of furniture to give it a new life and a fresh purpose? Recently, I finished a project that I’ve been dragging my feet on, and found the process actually refreshing and satisfying. I inherited my late brother’s trunk, which he in turn inherited from our late father. It was sooo dated that it would have made a great prop for a pirate movie. Yet, there was so much history and character to this trunk, I wanted it for a personal challenge, as well as to have a keepsake from my brother and father. So, after being ‘stuck’ as my hubby called it, in the garage since February, I began to seriously work on my trunk at the end of the August.
Honestly, I really, really hate the stripping process. It’s kind of like editing the first draft of your book. You know you have to grin and bear it to remove the gunk, and get to the bones of the story. So you do it. My elbows and hands are still screaming at me! Slowly, but surely, the old red and gold paint peeled off to reveal the trunk’s original color. The poor thing appeared so naked, so exposed, like a newborn baby with bits of after-birth stuck to it. Sorry for the visual, but it’s true.
Next came choosing the new paint color. I wanted to go with a dark brown—mostly to hide all the flaws in the trunk’s body caused by my scraper. Perhaps I used little too much elbow grease. Hubby helped me with this part, carefully spraying the sides, allowing the trunk time to dry, then giving it another coat. Covering the flaws reminded me of the care a writer takes in creating characters. Like the gouges and grooves in my trunk, your characters NEED flaws because readers must feel some sort of connection with them. Readers WANT to cheer on those flawed underdogs, see them scream, watch them change and grow. And when that connection happens, they wholeheartedly invest in your characters and the hell authors drag them through.
Once the paint was completely dry, it was on to varnishing the trunk. Boo-yah! This was a painstakingly long process, done by hand. But there was no turning back now! I did two coats and allowed the varnish time to dry and hardened. Like revising and polishing your book before submitting for publication (self or traditional), the varnishing step protects and gives a glossy finish to the trunk to give it life. This process reflects something every writer needs to do in order to get the best quality book in the hands of their readers.
Finally came the finishing, the piece de resistance. I wanted the trunk to be cedar-lined. Call me anal (hubby did), I don’t care. I wanted to be able to use the trunk to store bedding for guests, as well as double as a coffee table. I’d already invested quite a lot of time and money into this project—think how much time writers invest in their books, and you’ll understand me completely. So I went all in and did it the way I visualized the trunk that I wanted. This was hubby’s job, as he’s a skilled woodworker and finisher. And he didn’t disappoint. The trunk smelled of cedar (love the smell) and had a fresher, cleaner look to it. Truly an improvement my brother and father would have been proud of!
Speaking of improvements, Book #2 of the Last Timekeepers time travel series, The Last Timekeepers and the Dark Secret was originally written in 2001. There’s been so many revisions and rewrites to this novel that fifteen years later, I’m so proud of the final product. I do hope you get a chance to check it out when this Timekeeper mission is released on October 17th! So grab your spy gear and suit up, the Timekeepers are going undercover in their next time travel adventure! Cheers and thank you for reading my blog!
By: Sharon Ledwith,
on 8/1/2016
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We Canadians love our summer holidays, and other than major holidays such as Christmas or Thanksgiving, it’s the only time when we can get together with our families and just chill. This begs me to ask the question: Is it possible to write during the summer months? Um. Yeah. It’s a toughie, but I did manage to get
some writing done. And I have been busy editing the second book in my young adult time travel series,
The Last Timekeepers and the Dark Secret. So there’s a thumbs up for that. But when I read a recent post from Mirror World Publishing’s blog entitled
It’s Okay Not to Write, I decided to put aside any guilty feelings of ‘not’ writing regularly in the summer, and just enjoy this hot, sunny season and time spent with my family.
The first Monday in August is our Civic Holiday, which is a roundabout way of saying ‘Public’ Holiday. It’s not a statutory holiday in the province where I live (Ontario), but if your employer is on the generous side, then you can probably book that long weekend away with no problem. The Civic Holiday weekend also marks the middle of summer—halfway to fall and five weeks till school starts. Sorry, kids!
When we lived at our cottage, it seemed like the busiest weekend of the summer, and since we were on a medium-sized lake, you had to take turns going out water skiing or tubing. Our kids usually ambushed visited us that weekend for food and fun-in-the-sun, and somehow they left their children behind. LOL! Thankfully, there was a lot to do around the cottage for the grandkids with swimming, fishing, boating, tubing, canoeing, reading on the beach (yes, I have a few readers), watching movies, and campfires. We found that the week just flew by! I truly miss those days, and I’m grateful for those cottage memories with our family and friends.
Now that we live in the ‘Banana’ belt of Canada (think Florida weather), and farther from some of our family, we see the kids less. Most of the grandchildren have their own lives now. Sigh. The bright spot is we do get to see our youngest grandchild (now ten), and have her for the week of the Civic Holiday. Yay! So I’ve compiled a list of things to do around in this area to keep the little minion busy, happy, and motivated. Read on…
1. Baking with Grandpa (Grandma doesn’t do baking)
3.
Movie night at
Silver City in Windsor; granddaughter’s pick!
7. Heading to my brother’s pool for a swim. Thank God for relatives with pools!
8. Catching up on Disney shows! (Grandpa is looking forward to this!)
9.
Keeping cool at the
Devonshire Mall in Windsor where I’m sure someone is bound to score a gift or two.
Now, if we play our cards right, our granddaughter will look like this each night:
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| Nighty, night. Sleep tight. |
I hope you have a safe and happy holiday with your family or friends, and enjoy the rest of your summer! Remember life is short, and no one who is on their death bed says that they wished they could have spent more time at work. Think about it. Relationships truly matter. Cheers and thank you for reading my blog!
Now that summer is in full swing in the banana belt of Canada, I’m willing to bet most kids in the northern hemisphere are enjoying their free time doing their favorite things like playing with their friends, hanging out at the beach, reading books by their favorite authors (wink), or going on vacations with their families. That said, I thought I’d compile a list and share my ten top favorite things that I enjoy whether it’s summer, fall, winter or spring.
1. Enjoying my morning coffee outside (weather permitting) on our patio. True therapy.
2. Big. Bang. Theory. Sheldon still cracks me up!
3. The original Star Wars movie. I know, I’m dating myself, but I was one of those people who went
to the movie theatre to see it again and again. Of course movies were cheaper back then!
4. My reading chair. It’s comfy and cozy. Even when I have to share it with the cat.
5. Reading...in my reading chair…with or without the cat.
6. Writing the first draft of a novel that nobody sees because that’s where the fun begins!
7. My pets. After all, I have to read my first draft to someone. Right?
8. Writing ‘THE END’ on the final draft of my novel. Trust me, it’s a BIG deal!
9. Connecting with my readers online and offline. Trust me, it’s a HUGE deal!
10. Single. Malt. Scotch. No explanation necessary.
So, what are some your favorite things? Would love you to comment and share! Enjoy the rest of your summer, and thank you for reading my blog! Cheers!
I thought I’d try something completely different (cue the Monty Python music), and give my readers and followers a glimpse into my writing world by asking my ‘author’ self these five fun questions…
1. Given unlimited resources, what would be your ideal writing environment?
Hmmm…unlimited resources? I honestly don’t know how to answer that because I DO have the perfect writing environment. But if I had a choice, I’d like a condo in Florida for the winter months, so I could continue to enjoy the warm weather all year round! After all, didn’t Hemingway have a place down there? Grin.
2. Where do you actually write?
I set up a writing office in my home. Since we’re empty nesters, one of the bedrooms was a perfect fit to fill with my book shelves, books, a reading chair, L-shaped desk, computer, printer, and story board. I don’t have a great view, but I figure it helps keep me staring at my computer and pounding the keys. Wink.
3. How did you come to write The Last Timekeepers series?
Both the idea and inspiration came to me through a dream I had around 1998. In this dream, I saw seven arches, and there were seven people (five kids, two adults) with crystals in their hands, walking up to these arches. It definitely had an Indiana Jones feel to it. At that time, I was writing a paranormal romance (before there was a distinct genre) and had no intention of writing a middle-grade/young adult book like The Last Timekeepers. But this idea kept growing in my mind, and wouldn’t leave, like some mystical force pushing you from behind. So, I thought I’d challenge myself and write a novel—a series—that would appeal to my son, who at the time was the target age of my audience. I’ve always loved the time travel genre, so I imagined the arches I saw vividly in my dream as time portals. It was a no-brainer for me.
4. What was the hardest part of writing your book, and how did you overcome it?
Hardest part? I think starting from scratch and learning the process of actually writing a book. I’m strong at dialogue, so that part wasn’t a problem, but I lacked in novel structure and how to construct a novel. I had to learn from the ground up, so I went to night classes, joined writing workshops, read books on writing to hone my skills enough to get the first draft done. And then when the book was complete, I had to learn how to edit, revise, and redo. This part of writing a novel is an ongoing work in progress! LOL!
5. What is your favorite late night snack?I’m gonna say a bag of party mix—the cheesier the better! I do love my salty snacks! And thankfully, I don’t indulge that often.
The writing business can be messy and hard at times, but it can also be fun and rewarding. Givingreaders a small glimpse into an author’s life can provide an avenue for engagement, life-long connections, and fans for life. Cheers and thank you for reading my post!
By: Sharon Ledwith,
on 3/21/2016
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I’ve gotten into this purging habit. Around the middle of February, I clear out my filing cabinet, and shred any papers that are useless or I don’t need anymore. Bills, sales receipts, accounting documents, and manuscripts that should have never seen the light of day. This got me to thinking how I could apply shredding to my writing career. What am I doing that isn’t working anymore? What book marketing strategies need to be purged? What type of book promotions are a waste of time? Is blogging worth the effort?
Does any of these questions sound familiar?
March is the month I revise my business and life plan. So I thought, what better way to shred the old from my life (things that aren’t working), keep what’s working, and start up with new ideas. I love it when I’ve gone through the filing cabinet, cleaned out the files, then either shred any bills older than 2 years, or file the rest in a plastic container for a period of one year. The exception being our taxes, which I keep for the recommended seven years. The filing cabinet seems so much lighter after this task is done. And for some reason, so do I.
Sitting down to revise my business and life plan this year, I went through the document page by page, striking what I’ve accomplished under the WORKS IN PROGRESS subtitle (and feeling good about it), to eliminating what I thought were time wasters (blog hops, certain social media groups, dropping Tumblr) under AUTHOR BRAND AND PLATFORM. Blogging is time consuming, but I believe my name (BRAND) is getting enough weekly Google Alerts and views to continue creating posts. When it came to the subtitle PROMOTION AND MARKETING STRATEGY I added a few new ideas, and kept the old tried and true. Goodreads Giveaways and Book Blog Tours (only for new releases) seem to work well for me. I’ve recently joined Pinterest, so I’ll see how this pans out for me in the future, creating boards based on my characters, time travel historical settings, and personal interests. Wink.
I’m also very happy with the freedom I have with my new publishers, Mirror World Publishing, who have promised to keep a yearly slot open for my ongoing time travel series The Last Timekeepers. This year, I will have Book #2: The Last Timekeepers and the Dark Secret out sometime in the fall. I’ve already started gathering research for Book #3, and I'm looking forward to delving into a fresh story. I know the key is to focus on what I enjoy, and build for the long term. That’s what a lot of writers forget—they’re building a career, and careers take time.
So shred what’s not working for you, and lighten up your load. Remember: slowly but surely wins the race. Do you have a yearly shredding ritual? Have you removed what isn’t working for you in your life or career? Would love to hear your comments. Cheers and thank you for reading my blog!
No one in life gets a free pass on stress. It’s like our shadow, following us around, sometimes huge, sometimes small, and thankfully sometimes not there at all. We writers face stress all the time in the form of looming deadlines, writer’s block, research, misbehaving characters, editing and revising, finding time to write, not enough money flowing to the author, and so on. We get so caught up in life (which is truly the messy bits), that we forget to take a breath, and let go.
Stress is our body’s alarm system telling us that there are new changes and demands in our environment. Stress is also a natural response when there are big changes in our lives. Unfortunately, stress can drain our body and mind, making it difficult to focus on other things – like finishing writing that freaking book! In the long run, all we can do is our best.
So how might you do your best?
Increase your activity – especially in pleasurable activities and tackling your list of tasks and responsibilities. Sometimes it’s just a matter of getting out of your seat to stretch, or taking a walk that will release the cork.
Goalsetting – Break long-term goals down into short-term and attainable goals. I know life can get (and does get) in the way of your writing goals. Moving. Publisher closes. Death in family. Parent in hospital. It’s taken me almost two years to complete the next installment of my time travel series. Go with the flow or you’ll be swept away. You need goals to keep you from going under. Plus, they will keep you sane while the hurricane is blowing you around in different directions. Remember: This too shall pass.
Mental Imagery – Imagine yourself successfully coping with a situation, and do a mental rehearsal by envisioning yourself doing the task successfully. This works great for athletes, so give it a try!
Being assertive – Stick up for yourself while being respectful of others. Block off time for you to write or your goals will never be reached. Use “I” statements rather than “you” statements. This sets up your boundaries for others to respect.
Deep breathing 101 – Relaxed breathing is slower and deeper than normal breathing, so when things get crazy, take a mental step back and try this:
· Close your eyes, sit comfortably, scan your body for tension
· Breathe from your belly, not chest
· Your stomach should move out as you breath in, and out as you breath out
· Breath out any anxiety, tension, or pain
· Count from 1 to 8 slowly as you breath:
· One – breathe in
· Two – breathe out
· Three – breathe in
· Four – breathe out
· Five – breathe in
· Six – breathe out
· Seven – breath in
· Eight – breath out
Feel better? Works for me always! I even do this breathing exercise in the car. So in the future, if life gets too messy and those words aren’t making it to the page, then remember to take a deep breath and relax, and know you’re going to do your best to get you through this stressful time in your life.
How do you cope with stress as a writer? What are some of the strategies you use to defuse stress? Would love to read your comments! Cheers and thank you for reading my blog!
If you know me at all, you probably know I have this annoying little habit of getting out for exercise everyday. Either the gym, or outside for a hike or bike ride. I admit I love my exercise. But not for the reasons you might think. I mean, physical health is important and all, but honestly, would that be enough to motivate me? No way.
The truth is, I go to the gym for YOU. When I’m at the gym, I have all kinds of insights about the writing life, then I come back and share them on my blog and you might think these things just sort of come to me, but they wouldn’t if I hadn’t been at the gym.
Case in point. I’ve been thinking lately about the fact that there are parts of a writing career that writers don’t enjoy. It’s different for each person, and some of you might be very strange and actually enjoy all of it, but the parts writers typically don’t enjoy include:
→ Writing a synopsis
→ Writing a proposal
→ Writing a query
→ The entire query process
→ Blogging and social networking
→ Being patient for things to happen
→ Any aspect of marketing the book
To be successful in any business, sometimes we need to step outside the comfort zone. It isn’t enough to just write your book; there are other things that need to be done.
I was thinking about this while I was going through a similar thought process about my gym regimen. I needed to shake things up a bit, kick it up a notch. I decided to try some new exercise classes. So I went for it, and here’s what I learned:
→ Lesson 1: If you’re focused on how much you hate something, you’re not going to do it well.
Class: Zumba. Can I just tell you how much I detest Zumba? Possibly as much as some of you hate synopsis or query-writing. I’m not at the gym to shake my booty and swivel my hips, but I tried it anyway. From the first song, I was in torture. Hating every second. Doing the fancy footwork, shimmying my shoulders, all that stuff. I wanted to leave but I promised myself I’d stay at least 30 minutes. It felt like 30 hours.
And you know what? Since I was so focused on my intense dislike of all things Zumba, I was unwilling to try hard. I couldn’t give it my all. I couldn’t break a sweat, my heart rate didn’t even go up. I wasn’t getting a good workout because I wasn’t giving all I had.
For you: Ask yourself: is this something I must do? Or is there another way to accomplish my goal? If the activity is a must (i.e writing a query) then face the dislike head-on and figure out a way to get past it so that you can truly give it your all. If there’s another way to accomplish your goal, by all means, head that direction!
Which is what I did. Next up:
→ Lesson 2: Sometimes, the fact that you know something will help you is enough to motivate you.
Class: Interval Step. An advanced step class where the movement never stops for 55 minutes. I never took step classes because the complicated foot work scares me. At the beginning, it seemed pretty easy to follow. Gradually the steps became more complicated until it became laughable to try and keep up. I persisted and to my amazement, it got my heart rate up and I was really sweating. I was getting a good workout regardless of how goofy I looked, and that was incredibly motivating for me. Now step class is my go-to, and surprise! I love it.
For you: You may not enjoy social networking or writing a proposal, but perhaps if you focus on the end result, the task will become easier. Who knows, you might end up enjoying it.
→ Lesson 3: Sometimes results come slowly. Don’t quit too soon out of impatience.
Class: Bosu Core Training
. This is a class of slow & steady movements that are difficult and awkward yet they don’t seem like they’re doing much good. I prefer a quicker pace in my exercise classes, and I prefer not to feel like a dork, so I didn’t really like this one.
Until the next day. Wow, muscles I hadn’t talked with in awhile were communicating loud and clear. I finally realized that slow and steady sometimes works, and that I should do this class once in awhile to shake up my routine.
For you: Don’t quit blogging and social networking because you’re not seeing immediate results. Don’t quit querying, don’t quit improving your craft. Give it time.
What parts of the writing career do you find less than enjoyable? How do you deal with them?
Comment below, or by clicking: HERE.
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There parts of a writing career that writers don’t enjoy. What to do? Thoughts from @RachelleGardner. (Click to Tweet.)
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We wish to give an especially warm welcome today to our guest blogger, Alexander Gordon Smith. Not only did he bring some great writing advice to share, but HE ALSO BROUGHT HIS BABY! I know you'll join with me in congratulating Gordon on his beautiful new arrival not only because she's just so adorable (check out pic below), but because she also inspired this wonderful post you're about to read. If you've had kids....or any other schedule altering lifestyle change...then you'll greatly identify with what Gordon's about to share.
And, Gordon, we're so glad you brought Elspeth along...and that she didn't get punted!
Don't Punt the Baby: A Craft of Writing Post by Alexander Gordon Smith
Hi everyone! It's an absolute pleasure to be back here on Adventures in YA Publishing! I have been looking forward to writing a Craft Friday post for a while now, and I had planned exactly what I wanted to say. Then life flung a spanner in the works. Well, not so much a spanner as a 9lb 8oz baby with the sleeping patterns of a walrus (Google it!) and the lungs of a soprano. It's pretty awesome, but it means I'm sitting here with said baby splatted across my chest a day after the deadline for my post trying to plumb the depths of my sleep deprived (depraved?!) mind for whatever it is I'd wanted to talk to you about.
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By: Sharon Ledwith,
on 1/4/2016
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In the Tarot Cards, the Seven of Pentacles is all about taking stock. Reevaluating what you’ve been working on for some time, and reflecting on what you’ve accomplished so far. The beginning of a new year is a perfect time this. It’s a time for assessment and future planning, as well as a time for a change.
I’m lucky to be with a publishing company who sets business goals for the year and shares these plans with their authors. Some of these plans include to publish a certain amount of books while keeping slots open for authors who are writing an ongoing series, featuring a new book each month with blog posts, videos, and discounts, attending many events and festivals, and producing audiobooks. They want to continue improving and growing, and so do I. Part of that growth includes building their brand. And that’s my goal too.
So how am I going to continue building my author brand? By blogging weekly, sharing interesting and helpful information on the social media, helping other authors achieve their goals, connecting with readers through events and visits, offering sales and giveaways, and of course writing more books. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I’ve not been able to get more of my books into the hands of my readers these last two years. This will change in the upcoming year with the publication of the second installment of The Last Timekeepers series, The Last Timekeepers and the Dark Secretlater in 2016. I also plan to work on researching and outlining the third book in the series next year too!
My literary agent also has big plans as Walden House (Books & Stuff) has set up a satellite office in the UK, and will begin re-submitting the first book in my Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls series throughout North America and Europe. Patience is the name of the game when you’re working with an agent, and since I’m busy producing my time travel series, it’s a win-win for me. This is the beauty of developing an author brand. When potential publishers check you out, you’ve got a platform and a body of work already on the go. And that’s when all your hard work and persistent effort will pay off!
Finally, I can’t stress this enough, but having a positive mental attitude helps tremendously. It will not only carry you through the tough writing times where you’re lucky to get a paragraph written in a day or make enough sales in a month to buy a coffee and donut, but will see to it that you stay true to your dreams. Trust me, you’ll have good days and bad days, but if you take stock on where you’ve been and how far you’ve come as a writer, things will become brighter, better, and lighter.
How do you take stock? Are you in a happy place now with your writing career? Wishing you all a very Happy New Year, and thank you for taking the time to read my blog! Cheers!
Recently, my hubby and I just got back from vacation. We went on a Caribbean cruise for our 30th Anniversary—a trip that had been on our bucket list for such a long time. We also spent a couple of nights in New Orleans—love the energy and party atmosphere down there! This was also the first long vacation we took together (read: no kids in tow) in twenty-five years. Um, yeah. You read that right. Twenty-five years? That’s like 175 in dog years!
In the past, vacations were usually centered around family. We journeyed to our cottage with our son or camped up north with our daughters. Ah, the good old days of black flies and mosquitoes! That said, when you own a vacation home, you really become popular to family, friends, and long-lost relatives, especially in the hot, summer months. But when it’s time to pull in the boats and docks or put away garden furniture for the colder seasons, you can’t see their butts through the dust. Wink.
My writing seemed to flow with the seasons too. I’d wrap up stories and schedule a pile of blog posts by the end of June in anticipation for school wrapping up, the hot weather, and onslaught of summer guests. Although I loved seeing family and friends, it wasn’t much of a ‘vacation’ for me. You know what I mean. Someone has to cook, clean, fetch drinks, feed the pets, wash the clothes, grocery shop while others are sitting on the dock, sunning themselves with a cold one. By mid-October, I was finally back in my writing groove, working on the next novel, doing research, or picking up where I left off with my story. Oh, and don’t forget about all the book promotion and marketing an author has to do. No wonder many writers burn out!
I believe 2015 was my turnaround year—click HEREto read the full story. Every writer needs a year that shakes up things like one of those snow globes until everything settles and you can see clearly. What I saw was one stressed-out author who barely kept it together. We writers can only do so much. We need down time just as much as a doctor or accountant or a plumber. Vacations are meant to recharge us, take us away from our same old routines. We all need a period of renewal to calm our minds and rejuvenate our bodies. Play time is just as important as work time, even if you can get away for only a few days.
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| I found it - the 7th Arch of Atlantis! |
Since I’ve returned, I feel renewed and relaxed, and certain things don’t bother me as much. I even unplugged from my phone during the entire seven day cruise. Egad! And you know what? Life went on, and the world didn’t stop turning because I wasn’t tweeting or sharing. Being away from my keyboard also gave me a fresher perspective on my work-in-progress too, and I was able sit down with no distractions and make a plan for the rest of the year. I’d forgotten why I started writing in the first place—yes I want to supplement my income (what writer doesn’t?), but also want to follow my dream, and do what makes me happy. And isn’t that why we’re all here on Earth in the first place?
So what about you? Do you have any plans for a vacation in the future? Are you ready to unplug and relax? Would love to hear your comments! Cheers and thank you for reading my blog!
We are pleased to welcome author J.J. Howard to the blog today. J.J. has enjoyed one of the highest pleasures of an author...to see her book made into a movie. Her YA novel, Tracers, pictured below, was released as a film in March starring Taylor Lautner from Twilight.
J.J. is here today to share with us some of her insight and advice on the writing life learned from her years of experience. She's also giving away two books, so be sure to check the Rafflecopter at the end of the post!
The Writing Life by J.J. Howard
1) Get a dog
The writing life is lonely. It’s nice to have company during the long process of writing and the long, long, long process of revision
Cats are classic, but I say go dog. First, dogs are more the encouraging type. When it’s hour nine of a work slog and you look like a person who lives in a box and forgot how to shower, dogs will still look at you like you’re a rock star. At a moment like this, I’m thinking the aloof and, let’s face it, slightly judgmental cat is not your best bet. Also, dogs need to be walked, and this forces you to take a break once in a while to go be with the outside people.
2) Embrace bribery
I don’t mean slip an envelope under your publisher’s door—no, I’m referring to bribing yourself. Unless I’m absolutely on fire with a new idea—which is too infrequent to be counted upon—I must rely on bribery. I suppose there may be writers out there who wake up every morning filled with the bright, pure light of inspiration, who float on a cloud of ideas from one chapter to the next. If you’re one of those, good on you, but for the rest of us, there’s the bribery-based word sprint.
My sprint system works like this: I select a target word count, give myself a defined period of time (usually one hour), then give myself a “reward” when I hit the target. I personally try to ignore the sports-connotation of the words
sprint completely, probably because most of the time I’m sprinting toward some sort of food. But you could sprint towards a spot of yoga or a long run, or whatever, if that’s your bent.
Sometimes my reward is a snack and a short break. Sometimes it’s lunch. The logic here is muddy, since I allow myself to have lunch even on days when I don’t write a word, but it’s really more the taking-a-break aspect that’s the lure. Once in a while, if I’m really stuck, I’ll give myself a bigger carrot, like a half hour to shop online and even a budget of how much I can spend in that time.
After a few weeks of treating myself like an errant teenager, complete with curfews and spending limit, viola, first draft. Of course, the first draft is just the beginning, which brings me to…
3) Don’t marry your characters
By that I mean, don’t get too married/attached to the first version of any of your characters. Or settings. Or plot. I know they seemed brilliant when you had the idea at one in the morning, when after a long day of writing the light bulb appeared above your head and you figured out the perfect way to fix chapter 13. Your dog certainly seemed impressed.
However (the writing life is full of howevers—they say to avoid adverbs, but there’s no avoiding this one). However, what you wrote at first is going to change. First, your beta readers or writing group won’t
get chapter 13. It confused them, maybe. Or maybe it was just boring. You’ll fee sad. It was your favorite part.
You may stubbornly cling to the original chapter 13, but the next round of folks to read it may very likely say the same thing. Or perhaps 13 will skate by, but the best friend character you adore will suddenly have his head on the chopping block. The point is, writing is rewriting, and it’s less painful—and more productive—to view your first draft as a work in progress. No one’s ever sold a raw first draft. Or, if they have, I sure don’t want to hear about it.
4) Guard your writing time
This is harder than it sounds. The outside people can be tempting, with their lunches in restaurants, movies, and other fun outings. Sometimes you have to actually turn down an invite, which is hard, but hard work
and sacrifice are often part of the deal. This advice may be more for folks like me who work full time plus write. I teach high school, so I get plenty of chances to socialize, so that’s not an issue. But sometimes my weekend has to be about writing or revision, rather than weekending. I’d imagine weekending is very necessary for the full-time writer. When I get there I’ll let you know (notice the lack of conditional
if there—power of positive thinking and all that.)
5) Keep your sense of humor
Not just for writing—this is life advice, really. But the book business can be kind of crazy. You’ll get conflicting advice from separate, reliable sources. Your favorite project will languish in a drawer while something you weren’t sure about at the start takes off. Someone will see you walking your dog with a Cheeto in your hair. Learn to laugh about the ups and downs, and remember, it’s all material for your next WIP.
About the Book:
Cam is a New York City bike messenger with no family and some dangerous debts. While on his route one day, he runs into a beautiful stranger named Nikki—but she quickly disappears. When he sees her again around town, he realizes that she lives within the intense world of parkour: an underground group of teens who have turned New York City into their own personal playground—running, jumping, seemingly flying through the city like an urban obstacle course.
Cam becomes fascinated with Nikki and falls in with the group, who offer him the chance to make some extra money. But Nikki is dating their brazen leader, and when the stakes become life-or-death, Cam is torn between following his heart and sacrificing everything to pay off his debts.
In the vein of great box-office blockbusters, the high-stakes romance here sizzles within this page-turning thriller that will leave readers feeling like they are flying through the streets of New York.
Amazon |
Indiebound |
Goodreads About the Author:
By day I teach English, Humanities, and Media Studies at a prep school in Florida. By nighttime I’m really tired, but I still love to write books: my debut YA,
That Time I Joined the Circus was published by Scholastic in 2013, followed by
Tracers from Putnam in 2014. My debut MG,
Sit, Stay, Love is coming this January from Scholastic. Way back in the way back, I went to Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, and I got my Masters from Tiffin University in 2010. I am moderately obsessed with coffee, French fries, and pop culture, especially anything by Joss Whedon.
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How many times have you heard the new-writer’s advice: Develop a thick skin.
You’d think this would be even more of a requirement for an agent. It’s good advice for anyone who’s visible on the Internet, frequently giving their opinion on things. So all in all, you probably think I’d be a person with a thick skin.
However, I have a confession: 
I don’t have a thick skin.
Not at all. I have a fragile heart, I take things personally, and I don’t just bounce back right away when I receive criticism.
Paradoxically, I truly appreciate helpful critiques of my work,or advice on how to improve any area of my life. I crave it. I value the input of others. Yet at the same time, if it’s not always positive, I have a hard time getting over the hurt feelings (or the knee-jerk angry reaction) and moving on to actually learning from the criticism.
The reason I’m telling you this is because I know people are telling you “develop a thick skin” and I know some of you are thinking, “I don’t know how to do that.” And I’m here to tell you: Some of you will never develop a thick skin.
But the important thing is: You’ll survive.
If I’ve survived all these years in the competitive environment of publishing, and previously, five years in the extremely dog-eat-dog world of network television, you will survive, too. You survive by first, allowing yourself to experience the pain. You find ways to express it in a healthy way, perhaps by taking a day to cry, or talking it over with your best friend, or calling your mom because she’s the one person who always supports you no matter what.
Then, you turn it around. You ask yourself if the criticism came from someone to whom you should listen. If the answer is yes, then you begin looking for ways to learn from what they said. You ask yourself whether you disagree or agree with what they said. (You give yourself permission to disagree with at least part of it.) Then you take what you can learn from, and discard the rest. Move on to the next thing.
Easier said than done, of course. And I admit, it sometimes takes me awhile to work through this process!
So what about you? Are you thick skinned? If not, how do you handle criticism? Are you able to learn from it anyway?
The post Thick Skin: The Key to a Writer’s Survival appeared first on Rachelle Gardner.
It seems to me, there are more orphans in publishing than in any other industry. Not only do we have the poor orphans we write about in YA -- gotta get rid of those parents so the teens can take the lead, don't we? -- but then we writers become orphans as well. Editors move houses or leave the industry. Imprints get bought out. Publishing houses close. Wherever you look, orphans abound, and many writers are left wondering what is to become of published stories they once thought well placed.
Author Kaitlin Bevis shares with us today her story of becoming orphaned with not one, but three books. Read on to learn how she found new and better publishing life for her three beloved orphans plus one new sibling. And be sure to check out her giveaway at the end.
Please, sir, may I have some more: From Orphan to Multi-Book Contract by Kaitlin Bevis
I am very lucky. In the middle of February, my publisher, Musa Publishing, announced they would be closing their doors. All rights were reverted back to the author and a letter stating as much was immediately produced. I had three books published by Musa in the
Daughters of Zeus series:
Persephone,
Daughter of Earth and Sky, and
The Iron Queen. Book four,
Venus and Adonis, I’d held on to in hopes of finding a different publisher.
How is that lucky? Because Musa closed down the right way. If you know where to look, you’ll find hundreds of thousands of horror stories featuring authors trapped in limbo after their publisher went bankrupt. You’d think the rights would revert immediately, but sometimes they’re held on to as assets. Authors are stuck in legal limbo, their books off the market, yet not allowed to be published elsewhere. So in that regard I was incredibly lucky.
I was also partially lucky because I’d been querying
Venus and Adonis since June when I received this news. I say partially lucky because my decision to take
Venus and Adonis elsewhere wasn’t luck, it was business. Musa was a fantastic publisher and I am glad that I published the
Persephone trilogy through them. I learned a lot and I sold well. But the fact of the matter was as amazing as a publisher as they were; I’d reached the maximum audience as I possibly could through Musa, and at this point, thanks to everything Musa taught me, it was the same audience I could reach through self-publishing so sharing royalties no longer made sense.
Even typing that, knowing that they have since closed their doors, feels awful. I no longer needed them to reach the audience I only had because of them? On a personal level it felt like I was stabbing them in the back by even considering self-publishing. It would have been easy for me to take the contract they offered me for
Venus and Adonis out of guilt and gratitude. But unlike writing, publishing isn’t an emotional decision. It’s a business one. If I wanted to gain readers for Aphrodite’s trilogy, I needed a publisher with a different marketing plan and different connections.
I knew it was unlikely to find a new publisher for book four in an over arching series, even if book four did kick off a new trilogy, so I made myself a promise. I would give
Venus and Adonis one year of querying upon completion before opting to self-publish. Anything more than that wasn’t fair to the readers waiting for it to come out. As it was the time it took to write
Venus and Adonis could have cost me a lot of loyal readers, so a year was the most I could reasonably expect to still have carry over if I was solely in charge of the marketing. Anything less wasn’t fair to me, because while I have the highest respect for self-published writers, I know enough about self-publishing to know that I personally need all the services a publisher provides. But I also know myself well enough to know that every rejection letter and email from a reader asking when the next book was coming out would tempt me to rush into self-publishing. So I wrote a date on the calendar before I sent out the first query, and instead of working on book five of the series, decided to work on something different while I waited to hear back just in case I did have to self-publish. I still needed to reach a larger audience, and if I failed to find a publisher and self-published, that wasn’t going to happen through me. I’d hit my ceiling.
My second largest stroke of luck was the timing of all these decisions I made. Because I didn’t accept Musa’s offer on
Venus or Adonis or rush into self-publishing, I suddenly had a really important advantage when Musa closed. I wasn’t just querying a set of reprints. I had a set of reprints with an established audience anticipating the next book and the next book to offer along with it. The moment Musa produced the right’s-reversion letter I began contacting the agencies and publishing houses I’d queried with
Venus and Adonis to let them know that the remainder of the series was up for grabs. I also emailed every friend I had in the writing world to see if they knew of any opportunities. In another stroke of luck, one of those opportunities was #pitmad.
In an unlikely turn of events an agency known for horror novels responded to my pitch on twitter. The agency ultimately passed on the Persephone trilogy, as I figured they would, but they said they did enjoy my writing style, did I have anything else? As luck would have it, my current WIP happened to be a horror story. So I sent over the first twenty-five pages of
Blood and Other Matter.
Within an hour of receiving the first twenty-five pages, they requested the full manuscript with the caveat that it would be awhile before I heard from them because they had to go through all the #pitmad requests first. I’m still waiting to hear back from them, but even having that opportunity was sheer luck and timing.
Meanwhile, Belle Bridge Books, a publisher I’d queried
Venus and Adonis with back in August, responded that they enjoyed the books, were impressed with my sales, and were impressed with my marketing platform. They offered me a contract and before I knew it, the Persephone trilogy was back out there, in print, and reaching an entirely new reader base.
I do realize I’m incredibly lucky. Things don’t always work out this well for people with orphaned books. Any number of things could have stopped my books from getting back out there. But those things are beyond any writer’s control so they aren’t worth dwelling on. What is worth dwelling on if you are a writer with an orphaned book is anything you can possibly control. Write good books. Market the hell out of them. Maintain a social media presence even if it feels pointless because your publisher just closed, your books are no longer for sale, and you’ve been querying your WIP for over eight months without a single bite of interest. Don’t let emotions cloud business decision.
Your publisher isn’t your friend; they’re your business partner. There may be some really amazing and wonderful people who can turn out to be the very best of friends you’ll ever meet working with that publisher, but at the end of the day those fuzzy warm feelings have nothing to do with what’s in the best interest of your book. Make a plan before you query, because emotions will get the best of you with every bit of news, good or bad, that you get if you don’t have a solid plan in place. Network. Other advice, encouragement, and opportunities pointed out by other writers matter. A lot. And most importantly, keep writing. The exact same factors that told me not to publish Venus and Adonis with Musa could have also told me to just end the universe with the third book in the Persephone trilogy and move on. The same stubbornness that didn’t allow me to do that could have resulted in me working on book five during the querying year instead of branching out to expand my options. Planning matters. Don’t just make choices. Have reasons.
Luck was absolutely a factor in getting my books back out there. But it wasn’t the only one. The decisions along the way that stopped the doors luck propped open from slamming shut in my face.
About the Book:
The Daughters of Zeus, Book OneOne day Persephone is an ordinary high school senior working at her mom's flower shop in Athens, Georgia. The next she's fighting off Boreas, the brutal god of winter, and learning that she's a bonafide goddess--a rare daughter of the now-dead Zeus. Her goddess mom whisks her off to the Underworld to hide until spring.
There she finds herself under the protection of handsome Hades, the god of the dead, and she's automatically married to him. It's the only way he can keep her safe. Older, wiser, and far more powerful than she, Hades isn't interested in becoming her lover, at least not anytime soon. But every time he rescues her from another of Boreas' schemes, they fall in love a little more. Will Hades ever admit his feelings for her?
Can she escape the grasp of the god of winter's minions? The Underworld is a very nice place, but is it worth giving up her life in the realm of the living? Her goddess powers are developing some serious, kick-butt potential. She's going to fight back.
Amazon |
Barnes&Noble |
Goodreads About the Author:
Kaitlin Bevis spent her childhood curled up with a book and a pen. If the ending didn't agree with her, she rewrote it. Because she's always wanted to be a writer, she spent high school and college learning everything she could to achieve that goal. After graduating college with a BFA and Masters in English, Kaitlin went on to write
The Daughters of Zeus series.
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Goodreadsa Rafflecopter giveaway-- posted by Susan Sipal,
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Author Kate A. Boorman joins us today to share some ideas for creating space and rituals for preserving our writing time (a lovely toolkit of ideas I definitely need!). She's also giving away a copy of her recently released UK cover for
Winterkill (a limited edition as a new cover is coming out) PLUS an ARC for her upcoming
Darkthaw! Be sure to enter below!
When You Are Your Own Worst, Time-Wasting Enemy By Kate A. Boorman
Back in the olden times, like five years ago, I had some interesting ideas about what being published might be like. Many of these ideas came from interviews with authors who were enjoying a degree of success. They said other things, but for reasons (like optimism!) I focused on the sunshine and bubbles. I tuned in when an author talked about how fun the job of writing was because it involved collecting great names for her characters—she even had a file on her desktop for that! I focused on the words of another, who spent a lot of her free time shopping for new dresses to wear to book signings.
This is great! I thought.
I love names! I love dresses! If this is the lay of the publishing land, SIGN ME UP.Okay. I didn’t really think that frocks and sexy nicknames would form the bulk of my work load as a publishing/published writer. Having worked freelance on contract, I was aware that writing to deadline could be pretty taxing. I was starting to get an idea of the Titanic amount of work it takes to write a book. I knew that these authors were pinpointing the rays of sunshine in (possibly) frustrating, tethered-to-the-keyboard, kinds of days.
I even knew there would be things out of my control—covers, blurbs, titles (titles!), MARKET, reader response, shelf-space and placement—things I’d need to put into a little corner of my mind because dwelling on them is not conducive to creativity (read: can paralyze us with self-loathing and doubt).
What I didn’t imagine is how much I might struggle with the one thing I
can control: making the most of my writing time.
There was a time I would sit down at the laptop when the muse struck. When I got really excited about a particular scene, I would hop to the keyboard and write until it was out of me. When I didn’t feel excited about what I was writing, I… just didn’t think about it for awhile. That time is over. It’s over because I owe books to my publisher, yes, but it’s also over because I realized I needed to develop better writing habits or forever feel inadequate and frustrated with myself.
If you’re like me, you know you could be more productive, not because you look around and see people completing half a dozen books a year, but because you KNOW, deep down, that you are wasting your own time. Gauging your productivity against others’ productivity is useless. Writers are different. What takes you three months might take another writer two weeks. What takes you half an hour might take another writer half a day. There’s no merit in comparing your output to others. Only
you can tell you if you’re wasting time. And if you’re like me, you need concrete suggestions to help you STOP DOING THAT. You need suggestions that help you buckle down and write the damn book.
Here are mine.
Create SpaceThis one may seem like a no-brainer, but it took me a couple of years to allow myself the luxury of space. I don’t mean mental space: time to create when you are NOT obligated to respond to a work call or the laundry or your perpetually-fraught-friend—these things are givens—I mean
actual space. A physical, THIS IS MY WRITING SPACE space. I know this can be tricky. My house has no potential for such space. Putting my laptop on the laundry-folding counter next to the junk drawer is not a legit option. In the olden times, I went to a coffee shop and bought caffeine and claimed a space. This didn’t work perfectly for me. In fact, at $5/coffee, I started to realize I was paying Starbucks around $60-70/month for the privilege of sitting in a crowded, drafty and rather loud space that wasn’t totally conducive to my productivity because I hate
people* crowds, I’m perpetually cold, and I need quiet. When my book sold, I knew I could do better for myself. I set aside a portion of my advance to pay rent at a shared-artists space. Having a hidey-hole away from the cereal-crusted breakfast table aside, being around other creatives is incredibly inspiring.
Good for you, Boorman, you’re thinking,
I’ll just head to my magic chest of endless gold doubloons and procure myself a writing penthouse. But I’m not suggesting you fork out cash you don’t have for a space you might not need. I’m suggesting you ask yourself what you
can afford, weigh that against what you
do need, and then consider it an investment in yourself. If the coffeehouse IS conducive to getting the words out, then you should totally claim that space. Maybe your space is a desk in a corner of the spare room beside the ugliest bedspread known to humankind. That’s legit. The important thing is that if you give yourself permission to create a writing space, you give yourself permission to write. When you are there, your brain is cued (it hears “and now: the writings, brain” and trumpets blare and angels sing) and other people are cued, too (“I’m not available; I’m in my writing space”). Besides? Working in your lap is a sure path to muscular headaches of epic proportions. Laptops: keeping massage therapists in business since 1981.
*I kid! I like you all. (Yes: LIKE, like.)
Establish RitualPursuant to creating an actual writing space, something that has helped my productivity is establishing rituals around my writing time. These rituals are not fancy or outlandish, they’re just consistent. They involve a little walk through my studio, switching on the kettle to make tea, setting up my notebook and pen just so, making sure I have a granola bar/piece of fruit on hand for when I remember that I forgot to eat breakfast, and playing a badass song on full volume because my studio-mates aren’t in yet and they can’t raise an eyebrow. See? Rituals can be unfancy and landish. But they’re important because there is something immensely calming and grounding in completing them. Why? For me, it’s because even though I’m not thinking about writing, I can sense that I’m preparing to write. I don’t have to make decisions; I just have to go through the motions. It could be ten minutes of yoga. It could be shadow puppets telling one another inappropriate jokes. It could be lining Troll-dolls up in particular order and sculling handfuls of Skittles. Whatever it is, don’t think about it. Just do it. Consistently.
Black it OutWhen I’m feeling particularly beleaguered by social media/email, I spend a couple of weeks in “morning black out” mode. Morning black out is simple: no screen time—no phone, no laptop—until I have written at least a hundred words in a journal. If I don’t get to my journal until noon, SO BE IT (though the thought of not checking email even though I’ve been conscious five hours already is a pretty good motivator). This helps my productivity because if I start my day with my own thoughts, as opposed to allowing myself to be bombarded with ALL THE THOUGHTS or being asked to respond to THIS THOUGHT, I have a far easier time finding my feet in my manuscript when my writing window rolls around. Try it for a week? And remember that the words don’t have to be related to your manuscript. They don’t even have to be coherent. They can be a floating, talking head. The point is not to create something you will ever use (although you’d be surprised); the point is to remind yourself that you have thoughts that are not reactions to current events or other people’s angst. The point is to remind your brain that you can create something from those thoughts.
Reimagine “Writing”How do you write a book? You sit and put your hands on a keyboard. You write it. This is all true-ish. But something that kept me rather paralytic for some time was the notion that if I was not writing x number of words a day (and I know, I know, it “doesn’t matter
how many words, it matters that you wrote
something”) that you can’t call yourself a writer. Whelp.
Okay. Definitely writing takes place when you are madly typing away. But… some days I can’t write. Not because I don’t want to; because the freaking vortex of lost permission-slip-laundry-pile-up-empty-fridge-car-maintenance-yard-work-birthday-party-soccer-game-menagerie just doesn’t allow it. I used to try to “make up” for the writing time I missed. I don’t do that anymore because I realized the pressure of being twice as productive (or three times or four or whatever) was working against me. And something that has been an A-HA moment for me is the realization that writing still happens, even when I am not, in fact, tapping away at the keyboard.
Actually, some of the best writing happens when I am away from the laptop, living my life. I am always surprised at what ideas spring forth and what plot points are untangled when I am digging in my flower bed or going for a run or driving into the middle of lost with a friend or staring at people in a mall. When I’m out engaging with my world I would hazard a guess that all kinds of writing is happening. Don’t downplay the significance of living life when you are attempting to write about it. And certainly don’t feel bad if you “haven’t written a thing” today. You might actually have written a thing, back in the dark recesses of your weird little brain. It’s just not on the hard drive. Yet.
Which brings me to my final thought….
Walk AwayNo. Seriously.
When you are puzzling out a plot point/scene and you realize you’ve been staring at the blinking cursor so long you can’t remember when you began staring, stand up and walk away. Cut a lap around your writing space and keep that plot point in your head. You’d be amazed at how a quick shift in scenery can shift the scene in your head.
And that’s it: my suggestions for ways to make the most of your writing time.
What are yours?About the Book:
Emmeline knows the woods outside her settlement are forbidden. The mysterious enemy that wiped out half her people lurks there, keeping them isolated in an unfamiliar land with merciless winters.
Living with the shame of her grandmother's insubordination, Emmeline has learned to keep her head down and her quick tongue silent. When the settlement leader asks for her hand in marriage, it's a rare opportunity to wash the family stain clean--even if she has eyes for another.
But before she is forced into an impossible decision, her dreams urge her out to the woods, where she finds a path she can't help but follow. The trail leads to a secret that someone in the settlement will kill to protect. Her grandmother went down that path and paid the price.
If Emmeline isn't careful, she will be next.
Amazon |
Indiebound |
Goodreads About the Author:
Kate A. Boorman is a writer from Edmonton, Alberta. She was born in Nepal and grew up on the Canadian prairies where the winters are long and the spring thaw a highly anticipated event. She spends her free time sitting under starry skies with her friends and scheming up travel to faraway lands.
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We are thrilled to welcome to the blog today an author who has dared to push beyond the boundaries of prose. Todd Hasak-Lowy's newest release,
Me Being Me is Exactly as Insane as You Being You, is a novel told in lists.
Lists. Perhaps he is very well suited to share with us his ideas on
how to embrace your deformity to become a better writer! :-) Read on to discover his advice for breaking out of the "becoming a perfect writer" mentality.
Embrace Your Deformity: A WOW-Wednesday Post by Todd Hasak-Lowy
I think most of us, when we start off writing, have some idea in our head of the perfect writer. This writer is the writer who can do anything. We all want to be that writer, naturally. Someone who can create life-like characters, place them in a brilliantly crafted plot, and represent the whole thing through one magical sentence after another. Plus about twenty other daunting literary things.
But we tend not to start off like that. Usually, if we have any talent at all, it’s for just one or two things down along that long, long checklist of writerly skills. We have a finely tuned ear for dialogue, or an innate sense for pacing, or a boundless imagination for strange and wonderful details. Our instinct, as beginning writers regularly preoccupied with perfect writers, is to fudge the rest. This is understandable, because, to take just one example, what kind of novel or short story is made up of 90% dialogue?
We don’t trust that what we do well will be enough, because even if what we create is good on its own terms, it will seem incomplete and deformed in comparison to the perfect writer’s work. And no one wants to be incomplete, let alone deformed.
But here’s my advice, especially when starting out: embrace your deformity. No, celebrate it. For two reasons. First, there may be readers out there with similarly deformed tastes. Readers who, for instance, love nothing more than great dialogue that sounds to them like the actual voices of actual people, readers who are perfectly happy reading a story that is told through nothing more than a few people talking. After all, whatever ridiculous thing makes us writers believe there is something called a “perfect” writer out there probably also makes most readers believe there is something called a “perfect” book as well. But, it turns out, many wonderfully idiosyncratic readers are grateful for writing that might seem odd to everyone else.
Second, and more important, if that’s all you’re good at, don’t get hung up on the fact that what you’re writing right now is kind of weird. You don’t know how to end a scene, big deal. You can’t describe what someone looks like to save your life, you’re not alone. Figure out what you can do and lean on it with everything you’ve got. Because it’s not incomplete, it’s just different. Turn your talent, however small and inadequate it may seem to you, into a foundation you can rely on and build off of and call your own.
Let me give myself as an example. When I started writing, all I was interested in was playing around with words. I loved writing strange (and often very long) sentences. I was ignorant of such quaint matters as plot and character. Due to my ignorance of those things, most of the early pieces I wrote didn’t go anywhere. How could they, I had no idea what I was doing. But occasionally I would get lucky and stumble onto a viable plot or a character I somehow already knew. The results, though still kind of weird, now looked somewhat like actual fiction. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was forging a voice, which was all mine and rather unusual and, because of all my practice writing pieces that went nowhere, something I eventually could produce pretty much whenever I wanted. I actually published an entire book of short stories thanks more or less to this one conscious skill.
After a while, this one skill wasn’t as interesting to me as it once had been. Because this skill was no longer new, the writing I created through it no longer contained within itself the same vibrancy my prose had when every sentence felt like a great discovery. So, quite naturally, I found myself getting interested in other aspects of prose. Dialogue, in particular. Using the foundation I already had, I started writing (and, just as important, reading) with an eye on how characters speak in fiction. I wasn’t a master right away, but I got better and better until this was a genuine strength in my arsenal as well.
Moreover, I realized that this new strength had all along been connected to the first. If I liked to play around with language, then it only made sense—after getting my own voice down—that I’d find my way into other people’s voices. This is the case with whatever your talent may already include, because everything is connected. If you’re great at describing what things and people look like, then you’ll probably be able to figure out how to describe how their appearances change over time—which sounds to me awfully close to the beginnings of a plot.
There are hundreds of doors into the world of fiction, but probably only a few different rooms. The point is to find your way inside, patiently and confidently and not while pretending to be someone you’re not. After all, who wants to get invited to (or even just sneak into) the party of their dreams if they have to show up as a confused phony? If you can only (“only” should be in quotes here, because being able to do anything well ought to be enough) do things A and B, but then try, all at once, to take your best stab at things C through Z, you’ll wind up with a mess. Even worse, you’ll muddy up what you actually do well, because that precious thing will get lost in all the approximating and guessing and generalizing you’ll be forcing on yourself line after line.
So accept who you are right now and what you can write well right now. And know that if you serve your present ability as you should that it will serve you in return. Over time it will become a reliable home base from which you can wander in order to scrap together more skills. That’s how I write and try to grow as a writer. I’m always trying to take on some new aspect of writing that was once foreign to me. But always gradually and always in such a way as to import them into the stable set of skills I already have. My writing remains mine, even as it evolves. I’m still far from being that “perfect” writer, but I’m an ever-changing me, which as far as consolations go isn’t half bad.
About the Book:
Darren hasn’t had an easy year.
There was his parents’ divorce, which just so happened to come at the same time his older brother Nate left for college and his longtime best friend moved away. And of course there’s the whole not having a girlfriend thing.
Then one Thursday morning Darren’s dad shows up at his house at 6 a.m. with a glazed chocolate doughnut and a revelation that turns Darren’s world inside out. In full freakout mode, Darren, in a totally un-Darren move, ditches school to go visit Nate. Barely twenty-four hours at Nate’s school makes everything much better or much worse—Darren has no idea. It might somehow be both. All he knows for sure is that in addition to trying to figure out why none of his family members are who they used to be, he’s now obsessed with a strangely amazing girl who showed up out of nowhere but then totally disappeared.
Told entirely in lists, Todd Hasak-Lowy’s debut YA novel perfectly captures why having anything to do with anyone, including yourself, is:
- painful
- unavoidable
- ridiculously complicated
- possibly, hopefully the right thing after all.
Amazon |
Indiebound |
GoodreadsAbout the Author:
Todd Hasak-Lowy’s first young adult novel,
Me Being Me is Exactly as Insane as You Being You, was recently published by Simon Pulse and is written entirely in lists.
33 Minutes, his first book for younger readers, came out in 2013. He will publish his second middle grade book,
Somewhere There is Still a Sun, a memoir co-written with Holocaust survivor Michael Gruenbaum, later this year. Before writing for a younger audience, Todd published two works of fiction for adults, a short story collection (
The Task of This Translator, 2005) and a novel (
Captives, 2008). Todd lives in Evanston, IL with his wife and two daughters.
Website |
Twitter |
Goodreads -- posted by Susan Sipal,
@HP4Writers
I am so thrilled to welcome the phenomenal Jami Gold to the blog today! Jami is well known among many writers as she has run her own fabulous blog for years, filled with insightful articles on items of interest in the publishing world and in a writer's life. Jami's not afraid to go deep and ask tough questions about changes in the industry.
I am also excited to have Jami here with us on the day of the release of her adult paranormal romance, Treasured Claim. I was fortunate enough to read this wonderful story of a shape-shifting dragon woman when Jami was still polishing it, and am so happy to see its release and beautiful cover.
Jami shares with us some great advice for teen writers who should never stop writing! Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter below for a giveaway of her new release!
Dear Teen Writer: The Worst Mistake You Can Make, by Jami Gold
I don’t write YA, and my books are definitely for adults, but guess what? I remember what it was like to be a teen writer. And I know
the absolute worst mistake you can make.
(Actually, this advice can apply to writers of any age. So read on… *grin*)
I was about 15 when I got in trouble with my school and my parents. My school didn’t appreciate the writing I turned in for a class assignment. They called my parents, who freaked out and demanded that I explain myself.
(The assignment was to write a short story. I chose to write a fictional diary entry from a disturbed character. A first person point-of-view rant with profanity. *ahem* Yeah, that didn’t go over well.)
As a teenager, I felt
misunderstood.
I felt like I’d done something
wrong by listening to my characters and following my muse.
Due to that discouragement,
I didn’t write again for years and years.
Worst. Mistake. Ever.Unfortunately, as writers, we have to get used to people being discouraging. There will be no end of those eager to tell us that we’re wasting our time, that we’re not cut out for it, or that it’s not a “real” career. Or we’ll encounter those quick to judge us by assuming we
are our characters or that the morals or values of our characters reflect
our morals or values.
That last issue is often a problem when we’re teens, when adults have some measure of control over our lives. Concerned parents can outright forbid us to write or can delete all our work. Talk about discouraging.
So if you’re a teen facing family, friends, or teachers who don’t get you or your writing—and they might, in fact, have
forbidden you from writing—you have a couple of choices:
- You can fight and argue and make the next few years miserable for everyone.
- You can be sneaky and try to write without them discovering what you’re doing and hope not to get caught.
- You can see if your parents will save your writing so far on a flash drive for when you turn 18 or they realize you’re not going to go nuts.
- You can focus your writing energy on learning craft, plotting, and character building until you’re out on your own.
- You can see if your parents will permit you to write outlines of story ideas so you don’t forget the different turning points you planned to explore.
- You can talk to your parents (or other concerned adults) about why your stories speak to you (especially if they have a happy-ish ending or a moral/lesson) and share what you find interesting in the themes of your stories.
- You can try plotting out a story to share with your parents (or other concerned adults) and show how you come up with ideas for stories and for how characters act.
It’s up to you on how to handle it, but you’ll notice that “You can feel so discouraged that you give up writing for decades” isn’t on the list. I
really don’t recommend that one. *grin*
I also don’t recommend the destructive options of 1 or 2. Destructive behaviors will just cause more problems and make your parents think you
are “crying for help.” Besides, as option 4 shows, there’s work you can do to improve your writing skills until you’re on your own. In other words, the time won’t be wasted.
Options 3, 4, and 5 are best if your parents have
forbidden you to write. Yes, it’ll suck to have to wait in order to write whatever you want, but you’ll be improving your skills and using the time to prove your sanity to your parents. And things may change next year or the year after that, especially if you mix in a bit of options 6 and 7.
Options 6 and 7 are best if the adults in your life are just worried about you, and you want to work with them to gain and keep their trust. Then your goal can be to get them used to the ideas in your head and work toward their understanding of what those ideas mean to you. With their comfort comes their acceptance.
No matter what you decide, use this time to make something positive out of the situation. Life will always throw us challenges, and the only thing we can control is how we respond to those challenges.
Whether we’re a teen or an adult, we’ll occasionally need to take a break from writing. Real life can interfere with our writing plans, and discouragement can leave us less than enthused about our options for moving forward. But that break doesn’t have to be the end of the world.
Just don’t let discouragement make you give up or surrender your dreams. As long as you avoid my mistake of waiting for years to return to writing, you’ll emerge from your challenges as a stronger writer than before. *smile*
About the Book:
A shapeshifting dragon on the verge of starvation…
For Elaina Drake, sparkling jewels aren’t a frivolous matter. Without more treasure for her hoard, she’ll starve. On the run from her murderous father, she’s desperate enough to steal—er, acquire.
A modern-day knight seeking redemption…
Disgusted by his father’s immorality, Alexander Wyatt, Chicago’s biggest corporate titan, is determined to be a man of honor. Yet the theft of a necklace, stolen by an exotic beauty at his latest fundraiser, threatens to destroy all his charitable work.
A predator made prey…
Passion ignites between thief and philanthropist, sparking a game of temptation where jewelry is the prize. But when Elaina’s exposure jeopardizes Alex’s life, she must choose: run again to evade her father—or risk both their lives for love.
Available at
Amazon,
iTunes,
B&N, and
Kobo, or go to
Jami’s website for more information.
About the Author:
After completing a crime sweep of Diagon Alley, Jami Gold moved to Arizona and decided to become a writer, where she could put her talent for making up stuff to good use. Fortunately, her muse, an arrogant male who delights in causing her to sound as insane as possible, rewards her with unique and rich story ideas. Fueled by chocolate, she writes paranormal romance and urban fantasy tales that range from dark to humorous, but one thing remains the same: Normal need not apply. Just ask her family—and zombie cat.
Find Jami at her
blog,
Twitter,
Google+,
Facebook,
Pinterest, and
Goodreads.
a Rafflecopter giveaway-- posted by Susan Sipal,
@HP4Writers
Insecurities and self-doubt seem to be an elemental part of being a writer. Author Rosamund Hodge joins us today to share a very deep and heartfelt post on facing these invisible monsters and writing on.
The Invisible Monster of Self-Criticism by Rosamund Hodge
This post nearly included productivity tips.
"I'm writing about anxiety and self-criticism," I said to myself. "And if you're feeling like you're a terrible writer, obviously the answer is to
become a better writer by working harder and more efficiently! . . . Wait."
And that right there is why I'm writing this article.
The Invisible MonsterIn 2013, I thought I had the writerly anxiety thing pretty much beat. I had learned to finish novels. I had learned to revise them. I had survived getting rejected by 65 agents, and as my reward I had found an agent and sold my novel. I had completed all the revisions; in six months,
Cruel Beauty was going to hit shelves and I would be a really-for-real Published Author. Life was
great.
Then it was time to write the second novel.
I had heard, of course, about the Dread Second Novel, and how terrible it was. "That won't be a problem for me," I thought. "I've already written multiple novels!
Cruel Beauty is technically #4! No Second Novel Syndrome for me!"
Ha. Ha. Ha.
Long story short: I wrote the novel. Then I rewrote it nine times. I added, removed, or added-then-removed-then-put-back-again characters, sub-plots, chapters, a prologue, a plague, a giant serpent, and a neighboring country. This list is not exhaustive.
The end result was a novel of which I am now extremely proud. But at the time? It nearly destroyed me as a writer. And yes, I have a career in being dramatic, but I am not exaggerating. As long as I have been writing (nineteen years, if you're curious), I have struggled with anxiety and self-criticism. And over the years, I have dealt with that better or worse.
But by the time I finished revising
Crimson Bound, it was different. This wasn't feeling burnt-out sometimes, or about a particular project. This was feeling like I had an invisible monster--heavy, slimy, malicious--sitting on my shoulder all of the time, telling me that my book was worthless, that everything I wrote was worthless, that I should just
stop. I couldn't read a sentence from my novel without getting depressed. I couldn't enjoy writing--not just working on the novel, but writing
anything.
Writing had always been my passion, and more than that, my freedom. No matter what else was going wrong with my life, I could still write. I could still have that joy. You can’t take the sky from me!
. . . Except the invisible monster can. He took the sky away from me: that’s what it felt like, when writing suddenly became a burden.
Since this blog post is not titled "How I Quit Writing, At Last I'm Free," you can probably guess that I got better. But it took a while. It's still something that I'm working on--perhaps because my Second Book Trauma wasn't an Attack Of The Foreign Neurosis. Writing the second book, because it was so challenging, forced me to confront a lot of really old fault-lines in my coping skills.
Which leads me to my disclaimer: I think I have some pretty good advice in this blog post. But there are plenty of times when I don't follow it myself. I can't claim to be actually good at this stuff, just to have been forced to think about it.
KindnessI have a long and complicated history with self-loathing. When I finally started finishing novels in 2009, it was because I threatened myself with complete public humiliation: I signed up for NaNoWriMo and told everybody I knew that I was doing it--including a bunch of much-admired professional authors I had just met at World Fantasy Convention--and then posted my word-counts every day on a blog. Failure was unthinkable. So I succeeded: I wrote 50,000 words in less than thirty days, and wrote another 170,000 words in the next eight months.
It was
magnificent. I had never felt so confident in my life.
Clearly, I decided, guilt-trips and the threat of humiliation were the answer to all my writing problems.
And for a while, they were the answer. I kept writing, and I kept finishing novels, and I kept feeling good about myself. But the threat of seething self-hatred works as a motivator only when you're already succeeding--when you normally feel good about yourself, and therefore you have something to lose. When the problem is just that you don't feel the project is urgent enough.
But when the problem is that you already hate yourself? When you hate your writing to such a paralyzing degree that you can't write anymore?
Trying to hate yourself out of self-hatred
supremely doesn't work. Trust me; I really, thoroughly tried. I only started being kind to myself because I didn't have any other options left. And it was really scary, because by that point I had programmed myself to feel that self-hatred meant getting things done meant
safety.
But facing that fear was worth it. Because it turns out that when you start being kind to yourself, you can start to heal.
Don't Talk to the MonsterProbably one of the most helpful things I ever did was learn to think of the invisible monster
as an invisible monster. I've always had that voice in my head--I think we all do--but I'd always seen it as intrinsically part of myself. If it was my own logical judgment that I was worthless as a writer and a person, how could I fight that? All I had to use against my own logic was my own logic, and there's a kind of psychic entropy that prevents that kind of bootstrapping from working.
But then I learned to imagine that voice as something separate from me: an invisible monster talking
to me. And for the first time, it occurred to me that maybe I should tell him to shut up.
I'd always tried to argue with the monster--he would tell me that I was worthless, I would try to come up with reasons why I wasn't so bad, and then I would conscientiously try to evaluate each one. Logic and intellectual integrity
demanded that I consider each time whether or not the monster had a point.
The problem with that approach is that the monster is a lying liar who lies. He hates you. He wants to stop you from writing. He is your personal demon, and he tells the truth only to make you believe his lies.
Don't listen to him. Don't argue with him. Don't talk to him. He is not even worth fighting.
Don't.
TherapyDo you know who taught me to think of my invisible monster as something separate? My therapist.
PSA: Therapy is really great! I think a lot of us have the impression that it's only for people who are:
- suicidal
- trying to save their marriages
- self-absorbed, over-entitled yuppies.
But this is not true. Therapy is not magic, arcane and mystical and completely unrelated to normal life. Talking to your friends is therapy. This article is an attempt at therapy. And if one kind of therapy doesn’t work, it is completely normal and rational to try a different form. Like talking to a professional, licensed therapist.
I didn't start seeing a therapist because of my writing problems; I was already seeing one because of some other (not entirely unrelated) anxiety issues. But when my writing fell apart, that therapist really helped me a lot with putting myself back together. If you have already read all the motivational articles, and you have already tried changing your writing habits, your sleeping habits, and your eating/exercise habits, and you have given yourself plenty of time to work through things and recover, and you are
still feeling really sad and anxious about your writing . . . you might want to consider therapy.
Of course, therapy is not an option for everyone, whether because of location, or finances, or you just can’t stand the idea. If so, I would
strongly advise finding somebody whom you both respect and trust, and talking to him or her about your problems. I have gotten a whole lot of help out of therapy. I have also gotten a whole lot of help out of talking to my mom. Sometimes, all you really need is to tell somebody you trust about the crazy thoughts, and to have the person assure you that (a) those thoughts really are crazy, and (b) you are worth something anyway.
HumilityI would rather be self-loathing than humble.
This sounds like a contradiction, but it's really not.
I've always wanted to be perfect. I don't really consider that a flaw. There is never anything wrong in wanting to be better, and to keep becoming better.
But it is a flaw when you want to be an omnipotent goddess of writing who completes her exquisite, entirely-on-time novels without any sort of outside assistance. And it is a flaw when you decide that if you're not perfect, that means you are
the worst ever, and your terribleness is of such an epic degree that nobody in the world can help you.
That kind of willful despair is not an excess of humility. It's a form of pride. It's the determination to be more special than anyone else, no matter the cost. And it's deeply attractive.
But here's the problem: if you value something more than happiness? You are probably going to get something that's not happiness.
And that's where humility comes in. Because happiness is humble. Happiness is saying, "I am small enough that writing this deeply imperfect story delights me."
Humility is saying, "I need help. I can be helped."
I don't like being humble. At all, ever, for any reason. I would much rather be the Supreme Princess of Despair. But I love writing even more than I love my own pride. When the only way I could keep writing was by losing my pride . . . I chose to keep writing.
And here is the magic, the special secret: when you let go of your pride, people can help you. People can love you.
This past month, I was struggling with a deadline. I wanted to believe I could do it all on my own, but I couldn't. So I told some of my writing friends. And you know what? One of them sent me animated GIFs every morning to remind me that I needed to keep writing. One of them read every chapter as I finished it, and told me what she loved about it.
The Rosamund of two years ago would never have admitted she had those needs. And she would never have received that loving support.
It still hurts, every day, when I choose to be humble. Or when I
try to be humble. But I keep trying. And I when I do succeed, I never regret.
FinallySeveral months ago, I was telling my therapist how I'd had a lifelong problem with perseverance. Ever since I was twelve, I'd been trying to write, but I kept starting stories that I failed to finish. I had completed novels, but every time it had taken a cataclysmic effort that turned my life upside-down. I was a terrible person and nobody should ever respect me as a writer.
She looked at me and she said, "So what you're saying is, despite sabotaging yourself with self-hatred for years at every turn, you've still kept writing."
I had literally never thought of it that way before. And hearing it honestly changed my life, or at least how I felt about my life.
So this is what I really want to say, and what I want you to hear, if you pay attention to no other part of this blog post:
If you're struggling with writing; if you keep trying, and you keep failing worse and worse; if you can only sometimes manage to try anymore--if you are even just barely hanging onto this life by your fingernails--
Then: you are already strong. You are already brave. You have been fighting for years, and if you are still here? That makes you a hero.
About the Book:
When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.
Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?
Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood,
Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption.
Amazon |
Indiebound |
GoodreadsAbout the Author:
Rosamund Hodge loves mythology, Hello Kitty, and T. S. Eliot. She writes YA fantasy that draws on two of those things. In her wild youth, she studied Medieval English at Oxford; she now lives in Seattle and writes wildly.
Visit her on the web at
http://www.rosamundhodge.net or follow her on Twitter: @rosamundhodge.
Website |
Twitter |
Goodreads-- posted by Susan Sipal,
@HP4Writers
Chris Ledbetter is a man who's paid his writing dues. A friend of many of us here on the blog, Chris is well known in Twitter writing circles for always providing a helpful link to great topics of interest for writers of all stripes, and supportive RTs to new and old authors alike. Having spent his fair share of time in the query trenches and now the joys (and struggles) of a newly published author, he's learned a lot about what makes a book shine and a writer tough, and he's here to share with us some of the nuggets he's panned along the way. Take it away, Chris.
Advice to Get You Through the Query Trenches and Beyond: A WOW-Wednesday Post by Chris Ledbetter
My writing ego has been bruised and battered on this crazy journey. But calluses have now formed where I’ve punched my way through the wall the way even dripping water on a stone can bore a hole. Persistence is key, yes. But smart persistence is even better. I hope what I offer is a way to work smarter. I raise a glass to all those who came before me and showed me the value of intelligent effort.
1)
Read to Succeed:Read in the genre in which you wish to write. Read to discover the accepted norms and the rule breakers. Read to find out what you like and what you don’t. Read to discover what you can offer that will be distinct from the current voices. The worst thing is thinking you have this uber original story only to find out it’s been run through and no editors will ever buy it again.
But then, also read craft books and articles. I hate to say it, but you could get an MFA’s worth of craft information on Pinterest. You really can’t read enough craft posts.
2)
Don't Go it Alone:
Join supportive organizations like SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) or an appropriate group to your genre. And go to conferences. I’m constantly learning about worldbuilding, dialogue, structure, etc. ((And put yourself out there. My very first conference, I signed up to read my first five pages aloud... to complete strangers. And while you're at it, enter contests and workshops like the First Five Pages workshop run by this blog. I'm a proud graduate of this workshop. I also am a proud graduate of the Nevada SCBWI Mentor Program. These have been invaluable to me.))
Find a good group of critique partners who don’t hold punches. It may hurt to get your work torn apart by your critiquers, but as long as it’s leveled constructively, you’ll learn and grow… and be closer to the brass ring.
3)
Flex Some Bility with Your Writing Schedule:My time is so disjointed that I typically find whatever time I can to get my butt-in-chair. When I first began writing, I wrote everything longhand and transcribed it later. I love the flow of longhand. There’s a certain freedom to it. The blood seeps from my soul a little easier.
Now, more often than not, my best drafting time is 4am in the morning. That’s the only time that my house is completely quiet. And now, I draft straight to computer to save time. I’ve been reading articles about drafting faster, so I’m going to try some new techniques with my next story. I’ll save my report about their effectiveness for a later date.
The most important aspect of writing and revising is filling that page. It doesn't matter how fugly your first draft is... or even your second. Give yourself permission to suck. Because you can't edit or revise an empty page.
4)
Getting Hit in the Feels & Facing Your Fears:My fears are the same as any other writer… any artist… my greatest fear is that no one will like my work. Or worst, they’ll hate it. The amount of time that we spend on our projects is enormous. Our stories are aptly compared to children.
If your child comes home from school and says he or she has been bullied, you get hit in the feels. You feel all the pain in an amplified state. It’s no different with our literary babies. But at the end of the day, you have to write the book that you would read and hope that your own enthusiasm catches fire.
5)
When You're Ready to Give Up, Write Another StoryThere have been a few times when I really and truly felt like hanging up my pencil. None of my stories were being accepted by agents or publishers. I had told the best stories I knew how to tell. And what’s worse, I knew that it wasn’t necessarily that my writing was bad. The stories I’d written just weren’t saleable at the time I’d written them. So I changed my focus, wrote something new, and still got rejected.
I told myself that I had one story left in me to try to woo the traditional publishing market. And once I’d finished the story, even it kept meeting wall after wall. Until, lo and behold, a small publisher decided to give me a shot. And the story Evernight Teen accepted was DRAWN. And then unrelated to that, I also signed with my agent Ella Kennen shortly thereafter regarding a totally different story.
So keep plugging away. Keep punching the wall. Bandage yourself up and pour yourself a drink if you must, but keep fighting.
6)
Approach Reviews with an Analytical Mind:I probably shouldn’t read reviews, but I do. I may yet get to a point when I don’t read them. Good or bad, though, I like the more descriptive ones that really get into the meat of what they liked and/ or didn’t like. This might sound crazy, but I learn a great deal from detailed reviews. Even from reviews that I read for other authors’ books.
From my own personal experience in disliking certain books despite their being wildly popular, I know that my stories won’t reach everyone. And that’s all right, too. My hope is that if someone dislikes my stories, that they engage a scholarly, constructive tone in their review versus a vitriolic diatribe. The latter is unhelpful.
About the Book:
Caught between the sweltering fall landscape of Wilmington, NC beaches and southern illusions and expectations, all sixteen year-old Cameron Shade thinks about is art. That, and for Farrah Spangled to view him as more than just a friend. Cameron longs to win her heart through art.
After several warm interactions with Farrah, including painting together at the beach, Cameron discovers just how complex Farrah’s life is with her boyfriend and her family. Following a tense run-in with Farrah’s father, she forbids Cameron to ever speak to her again, but Cameron’s convinced there’s more behind the request.
To impress Farrah with a last-ditch effort, Cameron sketches her portrait. But the sketchbook he uses hides a dark secret. Farrah’s now in grave danger because the sketch he drew of her siphons her real-life’s soul into the sketchbook. Cameron now has twenty days to extract Farrah. To save her, he must draw himself into the book.
If he fails… they both die.
Amazon |
Goodreads About the Author:
Chris Ledbetter grew up in Durham, NC before moving to Charlottesville, VA in 11th grade. After high school, he attended Hampton University where he promptly "walked-on" to the best drum line in the CIAA. And, without any prior percussion experience. He carried the bass drum for four years, something his back is not very happy about now.
After a change of heart and major, he enrolled in Old Dominion University and earned his degree in Business Administration. He's worked in various managerial and marketing capacities throughout his life. While teaching high school for six years in Culpeper, Virginia, he taught business management, business law, marketing, and sports marketing. He also coached football.
As a self-described, young reluctant reader, he writes young adult stories specifically to reach other reluctant readers. As a participant in the prestigious Nevada SCBWI Mentor Program, he was blessed to be mentored by Suzanne Morgan Williams, 2012 SCBWI member of the year.
He now lives in Wilmington, NC with his family, including three cats.
Website |
Twitter |
Goodreads-- posted by Susan Sipal,
@HP4Writers
As writers, many of us got our storytelling start when we were very young. Have you ever thought to yourself...if only I'd known then, what I know now? So here on Adventures in YA Publishing, we like to feature authors sharing a letter of advice to teen writers. Today, author Lynn Carthage details three important secrets she wished she'd known when she started out. And I LOVE her term of "micro-writing sessions." Thank you, Lynn!
Dear Teen Writer: On Micro-Writing Sessions and Persevering by Lynn Carthage
Write Every Day:
I would make a point of saying that writing something every day (or very close to it) is terribly important. At previous times in my life I felt that if I didn't have a good three-hour stretch to devote, then there wasn't "enough time" for a writing session, and thus I wouldn't even bother. What I've learned from experience is that even a paragraph jotted on the back on an envelope is worthwhile. A snatch of dialogue I scribble in a tiny notebook that fits in my purse is still considered writing. I don't need to be stationed at my computer and I don't need a moose-sized number of hours.
Those "micro-writing sessions" not only add up, they keep me in touch with my novel in a vital way. It's as if I've sent a quick text to the characters; we're still in contact and they're on my mind. I don't need to send them a long email, to extend the metaphor. A bunch of texts is probably just as valuable as one lengthy email, right? Maybe more so, since it's more frequent interaction.
I've often told my novel-writing students that even a page a day, as small an investment as that is, would mean a book-sized manuscript in a year.
Store that Basket Under the Stairs:
The other thing I'd like to travel back in time to tell myself is that it's okay to set aside a completed writing project that has stalled and start on something fresh. I'm
definitely not encouraging anyone to set a book aside until it's finished, though. Write until the end, then revise and try to get it published by querying agents (www.agentquery.com is a great source for finding agents because it sorts them by the genre they like to read: young adult, historical, mystery, etc.).
If that latter cycle of querying agents becomes a little too much repetitive, then yes, by all means, set the manuscript aside for a bit and start something brand new. Recharge the batteries and finish
that manuscript.
Then while you send it out and await word from agents or editors, turn your attention back to revising the original book. Chances are, with the experience gained from Book Two, you will know better how to attack Book One. I used to feel like all my eggs were in one basket, and that basket just had to sell. It was relieving to put the basket under the stairs (and I have to admit that three traditionally-published novels later, that basket is still gathering dust).
It hurts to put a book aside. Well do I know. But sometimes the world just isn't ready for it, and if your second book idea is more marketable, get on it! It's great to have more than one book on submission, and we've all heard about debut authors getting two-book deals that can only happen if you have the second book in the works.
Believe in Yourself and Keep Writing:
I was never someone that burned too much over rejections. I'm very sensitive about other sorts of rejections in real life, but for some reason I'm usually able to shrug over literary rejections. But for those of you who find those hard, please know that my novel
Haunted: The Arnaud Legacy was rejected many, many, many times and today is in print with Kensington Books, under contract for two more books in the series. If you can believe in yourself and your writing, and always remember that it only takes one editor to love your work to change everything, then you can find that publication you crave someday.
About the Book:
Sixteen-year-old Phoebe Irving has traded life in San Francisco for her stepfather’s ancestral mansion in rural England. It’s supposed to be the new start her family needs. But from the moment she crosses the threshold into the ancient estate, Phoebe senses something ominous. Then again, she’s a little sensitive lately—not surprising when her parents are oblivious to her, her old life is six thousand miles away, and the only guy around is completely gorgeous but giving her mixed messages.
But at least Miles doesn’t laugh at Phoebe’s growing fears. And she can trust him…maybe. The locals whisper about the manor’s infamous original owner, Madame Arnaud, and tell grim stories of missing children and vengeful spirits. Phoebe is determined to protect her loved ones—especially her little sister, Tabby. But even amidst the manor’s dark shadows, the deepest mysteries may involve Phoebe herself….
To learn more, visit
www.lynncarthage.comAmazon |
Indiebound |
Goodreads About the Author:
Lynn Carthage is a novelist living near Sacramento. Under her real name, she was a Bram Stoker Award finalist. Born in Vermont, Lynn has lived in Maine, Ireland, and Arizona. She reads voraciously, loves anything French, gets “itchy feet” to travel on a regular basis, and finds peace in the woods, in meadows, in nature. She has always been fascinated by how history allows us to imagine how people of the past lived and breathed and felt.
HAUNTED is her first young adult novel, and will be followed by the next two books in the
Arnaud Legacy trilogy.
Website |
Twitter |
Goodreads-- posted by Susan Sipal,
@HP4Writers
Writing is hard. It's a lesson many of us learn early on in our writing careers. And so it is easy to let the rest of our lives slip as we focus our entirety on mastering this craft and business. But author Jeanne Ryan is here to remind us that what we write about comes from the lives we lead. Even if it means jumping (or shimmying) through hoops! (And congrats to Jeanne on having her first book, Nerve, being adapted for a film by Lionsgate!)
The Importance of Mastering a Second Skill by Jeanne Ryan
Whenever I’m asked to share advice with other writers, a theme I often return to is the importance of
having a life while you’re struggling to
make a life of writing. For one thing, nothing you do goes to waste since it can be incorporated into your writing. So the Type A part of your brain can rest assured it’s all in the name of research. However, there’s a broader issue at stake. Publishing is a business for folks with the long-term view, measured in years and decades. During those eons spent in limbo between celebratory “news”, we’re advised to keep writing, keep learning, and keep trying--which is great advice. The writers I’ve seen make it have put in tons of work toward mastering their craft. But all this single-minded toiling, striving, and angsting can have a downside, when the focus turns to obsession, and too much of our perceived self-worth hinges upon meeting an overarching publishing goal.
That certainly happened in my case, so much so that those around me could easily see how my quest was progressing (or, more often, not) by how morose I was on any given day. One afternoon, back in 2007, after three years of “serious” writing and a year of rejected queries, I was (morosely) ambling around town and stumbled upon a professional hula-hooper. It was an unusual enough sight to get my attention, and, instantly, I perked up. When I tried out one of his hoops myself, I was transported back to my childhood and the fun I had shoop-shooping. But I’d given it up when I got older (i.e., bigger) and the hoops no longer worked. The secret, it turned out, was that grown-up hoopers need grown-up sized hoops. (Um, duh?) Once I learned that, my sweetheart constructed one for me out of PVC tubing. (Yes, homemade hoops are a thing; thanks, YouTube!)
I spent that summer teaching myself tricks from online videos (YouTube once again to the rescue). Knee hooping, chest hooping, halos and helicopters, with a galaxy of bruises to mark my attempts. I enrolled in a class at a local circus school to learn tricks, and then another at a yoga studio to focus upon flow. Yes, I kept writing, but what a marvelous thing it was to try something out of my comfort zone, and then practice until I saw progress, actual progress, which had become difficult to witness in the middle of my writing journey, especially when rejections were telling me otherwise. (Hooping also turned out to be a great stress reducer when those icky emails arrived in bulk.)
I believe a second path, one where you can witness tangible results, is an empowering antidote to the rejection-filled, hair-pulling angst we so often feel in the publishing biz, where the milestones are so few and achingly far between. If I could produce video commentaries like John Green, sing like Gretchen McNeil, or draw/play bagpipes/excel in a gazillion forms of artistic expression like Maggie Stiefvater, I would. But, for me, the “other” skill was found by shimmying a hoop of PVC tubing up, down, and off my body. And, who knows, there may be a hooper in one of my books someday, because it’s all research, baby, research.
About the Book:
A chance at the ultimate makeover means deadly consequences in this Sarah Dessen-meets-Robin Cook thriller
Aislyn suffers from crippling shyness—that is, until she’s offered a dose of Charisma, an underground gene therapy drug guaranteed to make her shine. The effects are instant. She’s charming, vivacious, and popular. But strangely, so are some other kids she knows. The media goes into a frenzy when the disease turns contagious, and then deadly, and the doctor who gave it to them disappears. Aislyn must find a way to stop it, before it's too late.
Part medical thriller, part social justice commentary,
Charisma will have readers on the edge of their seats.
Amazon |
Indiebound |
GoodreadsAbout the Author:
I’ve lived all over the world, raised in a family with eleven brothers and sisters. I spent my early childhood in Hawaii and the rest of my growing-up years trying to figure out a way to get back there, with stops in South Korea, Michigan and Germany along the way. Before writing fiction, I tried my hand at many things, including war game simulation and youth development research. But I decided it was much more fun to work on stories than statistics.
These days, I still love Hawaii, but have found my home under the moody skies of the Pacific Northwest.
Website |
Twitter |
Goodreads-- posted by Susan Sipal,
@HP4Writers
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| Gabi & her crows |
Did you hear the news story that was going the rounds a couple of weeks ago about the
young girl in Seattle who has been feeding the crows in her backyard for years and they repay her kindness with gifts? From buttons to broken beer glass to paperclips to a Lego piece, the crows bring the mini-human who feeds them faithfully the plunder of their scavenging. And she saves, documents, and treasures each one.
Perhaps it is because I have a backyard full of crows, or because my own daughter has always had a fascination with birds (or any animal for that matter), but this story really touched my heart. However, when I looked at the picture of some of Gabi's prized gifts, it was my imagination that was stirred. I saw something else...pieces for a mosaic.
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| crow gifts |
Mosaics, traditionally made from shards of colored glass or stones, may have always been a product of recycling, even in ancient times. But recently, a new practice of "found-art" mosaics has grown in popularity. Taking bits and pieces of our discarded culture, of items considered worthless trash, these artists create stunning images that also say something about the way we live.
Much as Gabi's crows have done for her and the people who've heard her story. From birds usually seen as pests, comes a collection of debris a young girl treasures as priceless. A lovely mosaic is formed of the surprising connection that is still possible between human and nature when we pay attention.
So much of storytelling, it seems to me, is built upon feeding the crows. In the beginning, as fledgling writers, we flit about on the changing winds of craft and market, trying to find our way. We gather nuggets of advice, some good, some bad, and hoard it close, hoping to come upon the one piece that will transform us from ugly duckling to published author.
For most of us, time passes...and passes...and passes. Yet if we keep faithfully feeding our muse, writing new stories, making connections with other writers, living a full live, and always observing the people we interact with...then somewhere down the line, our crow of a muse may just gift us with one shiny, ocean-rubbed piece of glass. A request for a full. Or perhaps a sale of a short story.
Encouraged that this muse we thought had bird brains has finally been paying attention, we seek her guidance faithfully. And, eventually, the scattered shards of our writer's life comes together to form a beautiful picture. A sale of a novel. A touching letter from a fan.
And this is the point, it seems to me, where the gathering transcends our personal interests. For while we have been crafting our writer's life, we have also been gluing together the elements of our story. The tip of the hat from the old man at our corner grocer that works its way into our character's goodbye. The clean trace of a tear (last seen on our child) through a soot-covered cheek of our firefighter hero. The rough shards that make up the work we create are brought forth from a faithful feeding of of our muse. Authentic storytelling emerges from the life we live...more fully when we pay attention...and touches the lives of people beyond ourselves.
Writing can be a long and lonely road. But gradually, if we're patient, and if we keep feeding the crows, and value the bits and pieces of experience and connection they bring us, then one day we can piece together all these shiny discards into something harmonious. An amazing found-art mosaic of Story.
To celebrate the release of
Southern Fried Wiccan, I am giving away a beautiful bee pendant. The honey bee was a symbol of Artemis of Ephesus, who greatly influenced my young heroine, Cilla. This handcrafted pendant also symbolizes the shards of inspiration that come together to form a story...like a beautiful mosaic.
a Rafflecopter giveawayAnd "bee" sure to check out another giveaway on my
home blog for a Turkish tea set!
About the Book:
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| Southern Fried Wiccan by S.P. Sipal |
Cilla Swaney is thrilled to return stateside, where she can hang up her military-brat boots for good. Finally, she'll be free to explore her own interests--magick and Wicca. But when she arrives at her grandma's farm, Cilla discovers that life in the South isn't quite what she expected. At least while country hopping, she never had to drink G-ma's crazy fermented concoctions, attend church youth group, make co-op deliveries...or share her locker with a snake-loving, fire-lighting, grimoire-stealing Goth girl...
...Who later invites her to a coven that Cilla's not sure she has the guts to attend. But then Emilio, the dark-haired hottie from her charter school, shows up and awakens her inner goddess. Finally, Cilla starts believing in her ability to conjure magick. Until...
...All Hades breaks loose. A prank goes wrong during their high school production of
Macbeth, and although it seems Emilio is to blame, Cilla and Goth may pay the price. Will Cilla be able to keep the boy, her coven, and the trust of her family? Or will this Southern Wiccan get battered and fried?
Amazon |
Kobo |
Barnes & Noble |
Goodreads About the Author:
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| S.P. Sipal |
Born and raised in North Carolina, Susan Sipal had to travel halfway across the world and return home to embrace her father and grandfather’s penchant for telling a tall tale. After having lived with her husband in his homeland of Turkey for many years, she suddenly saw the world with new eyes and had to write about it.
Perhaps it was the emptiness of the Library of Celsus at Ephesus that cried out to be refilled, or the myths surrounding the ancient Temple of Artemis, but she’s been writing stories filled with myth and mystery ever since. She can’t wait to share
Southern Fried Wiccan with readers.
Website |
Twitter |
Goodreads 
As an author I had to ask myself this question: do we sell a product (book) or an experience (memory)? I recently read a marketing post where there was a study conducted in which people were asked if they would prefer to purchase a product (car, couch, etc.) or an experience (holiday, concert, etc.), and guess what most said? Yup. You guessed it. An experience.
So this got me to thinking that authors have it pretty good. Yes, we sell a product whether it’s a book or an ebook or an audio-book or all three. We still have to market and promote these ‘products’ in order for our consumers (readers) to find them. But once our books are in the hands of readers, magic happens and they’re whisked away into another place, and another time. We authors create an experience for each of our readers. And that’s the payoff. Experiences tend to have a lasting effect on people. Sure, buy a car and you’ve got that new car smell for about a year. But I bet you remember going to your first concert, don’t you? Or maybe your first trip to Disneyland? I certainly do.
If you purchase a book, true you may lose it, but I guarantee you that story will stay with you for years to come if the tale hits an emotional cord. And isn’t that why we authors are in this vocation to begin with?
And since February is my birthday month, I’m hoping to generate lasting memories for readers by offering two Goodreads Giveways. One for The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, and one for the prequel to my time travel series, Legend of the Timekeepers. BTW—both giveaways are international so no one is left out in the cold! Happy Birthday to me!
Every time someone asks me how the new novel is going, I say the writing’s going fine, apart from all the things that get in the way. If only I could get a clear run at it, I say, I could have this book written in a month.
But I never get a clear run at it. And things always get in the way.
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| a week in which I did not get a lot of writing done, due to life happening |
What gets in the way? School holidays. Leaking roof at the back of the house. Exam leave. Orthodontist appointments. Leaking roof at the front of the house. Promoting other books. And that’s just this month.
So I write in the gaps. In the moments of peace and quiet in the hurly burly of life. At night. Early in the morning. At bus stops. In staff rooms.
And I say, if only I could get a clear run at it… And I dream of the ideal conditions for writing a book.
Then I remember that I have never written a novel under ‘ideal conditions’. That every book I have written has been scribbled down around dentist’s appointments and ballet exams and minor household disasters. And that every book but the very first one has been written around author visits and promotional events.
So despite never writing under my vision of ideal conditions to write - long stretches of peace and quiet to think and to gaze at lovely scenery, while supportive but not intrusive people
quietly provide healthy meals at regular intervals then clear up afterwards – despite that, I have already written six novels. (And more than a dozen other kids’ books.)
So perhaps I’m already writing under ideal conditions for making up stories. After all, what is currently getting in the way of my writing? Events (the roof!) and people (my wonderful family).
And what are my stories about? Events (the plot) and people (the characters).
So perhaps I need to be surrounded by, distracted by and infuriated by the messy and noisy business of being a human being, in order to be able to write.
Perhaps ideal conditions of peace and quiet and calmness would be far too sterile to inspire me.
Now, I must go and text the roofer, and while I’m waiting for him to get back to me, I’m sure I can write another few lines of that fight scene…
Lari Donis the award-winning author of 22 books for all ages, including a teen thriller, fantasy novels for 8 – 12s, picture books, retellings of traditional tales and novellas for reluctant readers.
I just read a post by Jody Hedlund about coping with reviews, and I was struck by a couple of things that she said.
- Reviews are for readers, not for writers, and
- If, as an author, you choose to read your reviews, be prepared for open, honest feedback.
Having just gone through this with an author friend who is getting her first reviews, and having dealt with my share of stinging reviews as well--ALL authors get them--I've given this some thought.
My conclusions? (And yes, I'm going to share them, even though talking about reviews in public is scary as hell.)
Reviews Can Force You to Examine Your Writing ChoicesI wrote a guest post for one of my favorite writing sites yesterday (it will be out soon!) and I mentioned that one of the things that makes me grateful for editorial feedback is that it forces me to understand the choices that I make in my books.
There's a reason I choose to pace my stories the way I do; there's a reason the scenes are layered the way they are; there's a reason I choose the characters I chose. But not everyone will understand those choices. Not everyone will love any book or read it the same way.
I wrote about my main character, Barrie, because I want a dialogue about strength. About bravery. About women and our roles in society. (My theme song for Barrie--for all girls--is "
Truly Brave," the collaboration between Sara Bareilles and Cyndi Lauper, which is an incredible anthem for women and artists and victims and anyone who struggles. Barrie is so lost at the beginning of the trilogy. But it's a trilogy, and she's got a huge arc. Her "brave" is big. And although there are people who don't love Barrie, there are many more people who do love her and "get" her.
Reviews Tell Us Whether We've Done Our Job As Authors Just today, right after I started this post,
a reader Tweeted a post about Compulsion, and I stopped over to see if I could use it as an example. It happened to talk about the fact that the blogger is a tutor and that she's "had some intense talks [with her students] about Barrie as a female protagonist."
As a writer, I can ask no more than that. And I wouldn't have known that I had made that connection unless I read that review or the many letters I get privately from girls and women who have made similar points.
Getting that affirmation isn't about vanity. It's about making sure I'm doing the job that I set out to do and finding out what else those readers need. Reader reviews are like a giant focus group. They're gold for writers--provided the writer is able to set aside the occasional "ouch" factor that's involved.
Reviews Are Not Always About the Book Obviously, not every book is going to be for every reader. I've been very fortunate with
Compulsion, and I'll admit I've stopped stalking my reviews the way that I did when they first started coming. It took me a long time to get "zen" about reviews, or to be able to laugh about some of them. Some of them still make for very brittle laughter.
Even people who review because they love books and want to share great books with others won't love every book. A reader brings her own life and life experience into each book she reads. That's the magic of reading.
As a writer, finding out what a reader brought to my book is one of the greatest and most unexpected joys I've experienced since being published. Whether it's about my book or someone else's story, I appreciate knowing why a plot or character does or doesn't work for someone. Negative reviews can be good reading. I enjoy a well-phrased bit of sarcasm, a bit of political-correctness policing, a bit of humor--until it crosses the line and becomes bullying.
As with
the Kathleen Hale scandal, reviewers can become extreme with bashing a book, and that can drive authors crazy and destroy books that took a lot of time and resources to bring to market. There are various reasons that happens. In some cases, there's truly a problem in the book. But all too frequently, it's because a book hits a trigger and the reviewer stops being rational or even considering whether the book is making a point about the very thing that the reviewer abhors. Character arcs exist for a reason--characters learn as they go, but sometimes they have to begin in places that some people don't like in order to get to a better place.
Reviews Are Not Always FairIf someone abandons the book and then writes about it, as may have been the case with the Kathleen Hale scandal, they're not getting the whole picture. And that's okay, too--as long they make that clear in the review. I'm all about free speech. My family and I came to this country because it was a place where we could speak our minds, and I would defend that right to my dying breath.
But I'm also an advocate for justice. I would prefer that the world of reviewing was perfect, and that if a reviewer didn't finish a book, or only skimmed it and assumed that gave them the same interpretation as a full and careful reading, that they would mention that in their review. I would prefer that if someone reviews YA books from an adult perspective and dings the characters for making teen choices, they not write up a one-star review. I would prefer fairness from all reviewers, for every book, for every author, but I still defend every reviewer's, and every author's, right to write whatever they damn well want.
Reviews Need To Be Viewed in Context Jody Hedlund mentions that reviews are open, honest feedback. That's not always true, unfortunately. There are as many different reasons that reviewers write reviews as there are reasons why authors penned the books they have written.
If, as authors, we are going to read reviews, then I think that we need to learn to recognize the
type of review, the
type of reviewer, and take what we can from the feedback.
Bulling Shouldn't Be Dismissed As Free Speech I chaired an advisory council on school safety for the second largest school district in Virginia for many years. In that capacity, I focused on bringing anti-bullying programs into the schools and creating safer school environments. I recognize bullying when I see it. And I am seeing it online. Fortunately, I've not really been a victim myself, and I'm probably making myself a target by writing this. That's unfortunate, but here goes anyway.
It worries me to hear authors and bloggers -- even huge authors and huge bloggers -- say privately that they do not feel that they can speak freely in defense of the victims of online bullying. Let me clarify here. I am not speaking about defending stalking or bad behavior, as in the case of Kathleen Hale. I'm saying that over and over again, I see female authors treated differently than male authors, and I see female authors get bullied in a way that makes me feel like I am back in middle school. There's a cult of extreme behavior going around the internet that makes me want to cry.
Bullying begins with individuals. It grows because people let themselves become bystanders. But kindness begins with individuals, too, as does responsibility.
Take What You Can From Reviews and Move On As authors, I believe we have a responsibility to our readers. For that reason, I do think that reviews are helpful. The vast majority of reviewers are responsible, lovely, incredible people who review books because they love books and want to share that love with others.
I Have WONDERFUL Readers I am so grateful that I have the readers I have.
Compulsion has gotten such wonderful support--more than I ever dreamed--and I have met so many incredible readers along this journey that I am truly, truly overwhelmed. Not all of my reviews have been favorable. Duh. But my favorite reviews aren't always five star, or even four star reviews.
My favorite reviews are the ones that are honest. That make me think. That make me grow as a reader and as an author. There have been many of those.
And I thank everyone who has taken the time to read
Compulsion and think about it. I thank you for your letters, and emails, and messages, and reviews, and tweets, and support.
Which brings me to this week's giveaway!
READER APPRECIATION GIVEAWAY
You'll find this giveaway on a lot of sites this week, and if you'd like to share it on your site, please email me at ayaplit (at) gmail dot com. I'd love to spread the word. The cover reveal for
Persuasion will be next week. Next week! Yikes. And for anyone who would like a good deal on Compulsion, this is the final week it is available for
Kindle,
Nook, and
iBooks for $1.99!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Today we welcome Kate Brauning to the blog to share a different type of craft article -- the rewards of doing the craft well. Publication! But with publication comes its own stress, and Kate is in a great position to tell us how to handle it as not only did her first novel,
How We Fall, release this month, but she's also an editor with Entangled Publishing, guiding many other writers through their first release month and beyond.
Preparing for Release Month by Kate Brauning
Release month is almost always a hectic, stressful time for authors. As an editor, I’ve seen my clients go through it, and my first novel just released on the 11th, so I’m going through it myself! Especially with all the different opportunities and strategies available to authors now, it’s easy to get bogged down, worry about what you aren’t doing, stress over what you are doing, and lose the excitement of it altogether.
One thing seasoned authors kept telling me was that this one is special because it’s the first. Enjoy it.
Do something for yourself. Celebrate in market-smart ways, but also celebrate in personal, zero-stress ways.
One of the things I did to personally celebrate my release week was to go on a weekend writing retreat with my critique partners. It was so, so much fun, and a great stress relief. I planned as if my release day was 3 days earlier than it was, so 95% of what I needed to do, I already had done. I took very little work on the retreat with me. Also, it was tremendously good stress relief to not think about the launch and get back to actually writing that next book. And of course, my critique partners are the ones who have been through this with me, and getting to celebrate with them was so meaningful and just plain fun.
Aside from celebrating for yourself, authors can do a few simple things to prepare for a book release that will make that week and month a little less stressful.
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| image credit: thepenandinkblog.blogspot.com |
Marketing:
Get started on major marketing elements as soon as possible. As soon as you have a book deal/decide to self-publish, (or even before) you can get started on these things:
1.
Author photos. Many authors have a friend take a photo, but there’s a big difference between a snapshot and a professional headshot. If you know someone talented, that’s great and definitely take the less expensive route. But first, look at the author photos of major authors in your genre and aim for that kind of result. Author photos are a significant piece of your marketing, and a great photo helps you look like a professional, and it might end up on your book jacket. It can take several months to line up a photographer, schedule the session, and get your edited photos back, so do this ASAP.
I was interviewed by my own photographer, Jenni O Photography, where I discussed what I looked for in my author photos, so check that out if you’re interested.
2.
Author website. Every author needs a website, even if you don’t blog. A site where readers can see your book and read a bit about you is definitely something you need as an author. You can design it yourself, but if you don’t have experience and talent there, hire someone. Friends who will cut you a deal can work out well, but again, look at the sites of authors in your genre who are doing well. See what’s possible for professional, clean layouts and informative, interesting content. Decide what kind of site you want, and then hire someone who can do that. Your website is another major piece of marketing, so to me, it’s worth spending a little money to have a quality website. Design, revisions, and launching the site can take a long time, too, so get started right away.
3.
Street team. Many authors assemble a street team from fans, friends, book bloggers, and fellow authors. Not everyone wants a street team, and it’s important to be grateful, courteous, and reasonable with your team members, but they can be a huge help. Many authors have street team members get the word out through book blasts, reviews, and social media, and they can help word about your book break out of your own circle of friends and fellow writers. Start building that street team immediately—you can start this as soon as you have a book deal. Keep in mind street team members need to be able to reach people you can’t, so look beyond friends and family members, though they can certainly be enthusiastic supporters, too. It’s also great to let your team earn some value for their work. I sent each of mine a welcome package with swag and an ARC, and prizes along the way. It has definitely paid off.
4.
Think about your dedication and acknowledgements. A lot of writers take a long time to get these done because they mean so much to the author. These don’t have to wait until your editor asks for them, and waiting to do them until then can make edits even more hectic, so you can definitely start them early. At the very least, you can start a list of who you need to thank and what you need to thank them for—don’t lose track of those early beta readers. And keep in mind there are a lot of people behind the scenes at your publishing house who are working hard for your book. It’s not a bad idea to email to ask who has been working on it, so you can specifically thank people besides your editor and publicist.
5.
Conferences. Talk to your editor and publicist (or figure out for yourself) what the plan is for appearances and conferences leading up to and after your book release. Early-bird pricing and promotional opportunities are a great reason to get started on this early, and if you know you have a conference during a certain week, it can be something you plan your other launch preparations around. That way you don’t have to cross conference days off an already-full schedule. Conferences, even just for the connections, are wonderful marketing. I’ve never been to a conference that hasn’t paid off well for my investment.
6.
Launch Party. There are so many options here! An in-person party, an online Facebook or Twitter party, a bookstore signing as your party, etc. As far as I know, those are the three main models, and they all have pros and cons. Online parties can be impersonal, and I’ve seen a lot of online parties that are poorly attended, even though hundreds or even thousands of people were invited. Authors work hard on their launch parties to make them have fabulous content, but it is really hard to engage a crowd online for a long period of time. They tend to drop by, learn a bit about you and your book, play a game, and then move on. And that’s great if that’s how you want to reach your readers. In-person & bookstore launch parties can have the same drawbacks—a small crowd, and difficulty reaching new readers. They can also be expensive, depending on what you do, and they are limited to people within traveling distance. Of course, there are pros to both—reaching fans who can’t travel to you and lower costs for online parties, and more personal connections with in-person parties, etc. I did a blend of both, and hosted 9 other authors at a livestreamed book party, so readers could ask questions, see, hear, and interact with all 10 of us. The combined draw meant we had a large audience, and we discussed everything from publishing paths to movie adaptations. Can you blend models to limit cons? Release vlogs during an online party, for example, or host other authors to draw on combined platforms.
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| image credit: http://jasouders.blogspot.com |
Launch Month:
Prepare for launch month events ahead of time. There are so many things authors can do: book blasts, blog tours, book giveaways, book hunts, library appearances, book signings, etc. Debut authors are often encouraged to say yes to much of it, but that can lead to stress and burn-out, and it can take a toll on that next book you need to be writing. So here’s how to keep it manageable:
1.
My advice is immediately start researching the opportunities and identifying your goals.
- What’s possible? Realistically—what will you have time and money for? Can you re-prioritize to change any of that? What are your boundaries?
- What sounds fun? Ideas you’re enthusiastic about will feel like less work than ones you’re already dreading, and they’re more likely to get done.
- What meets your specific goals for your book release? Some authors want the launch to build their platform, some want to push for ranking high on Amazon or bestseller lists, and some want a stress-free way to celebrate with friends and family.
See what’s out there before you settle on anything, and think creatively. Talk to other authors about what worked for them. Do you want a book trailer? Can you do something high concept for your launch party?
2.
When you do decide what you’d like to do, and when someone comes to you with an opportunity, calculate the time and financial investment, and choose wisely where you’re putting your hours and money. Keep in mind it will almost always cost more and take more time than you’re figuring. Chose the things that sound fun to you, because they will automatically be less stressful and you’ll be less likely to procrastinate on them! Also, choose the opportunities that reach a wide audience or allow for deeper connections with readers.
3.
Order swag/promotional items ASAP. Calculate amounts you’ll need, and as soon as you have the information and images you’ll need for on any paper products (like postcards, bookmarks, and business cards), order them. Printing and shipping can take a while, and rush shipping costs can be expensive. This is something that can be done early and stored safely until you need them. My personal advice is to not spend a ton of money on swag. Thick, professional business cards and bookmarks that won’t crease are a great idea. (As soon as it creases or crumples, people tend to throw it out. Moo.com does fabulous, high-quality work.) Swag can be expensive, especially considering how much authors make per book sold, so keep that in mind when you’re laying out your budget—calculate what you make per book, and balance that against the value the swag will provide. Some of it depends on the book, of course, but I went with nice business cards, postcards, and book pins. I haven’t found myself needing anything else so far, though I might do a mix of postcards and bookmarks next time.
4.
Don’t leave preparing for a few weeks before release. Treat it a bit like wedding planning. Make a to-do list for each event you’re doing for your launch, right down to items to purchase and announcements to make, and figure out which items can be done ahead of time. Schedule them into a certain day or week on your calendar. For example, if you’re doing a blog tour, start writing the posts three months in advance. One or two a week means you don’t have to scramble and you can keep your schedule balanced. You can even write your release day post early and have it saved as a draft to make changes to as the event gets closer. If you’re doing a book blast/blitz, you can write that material far in advance, too.
Stress Management:
This whole post is about stress management, really, but there are a few specific things you can do to help keep balanced and to enjoy your book release instead of dreading it.
1.
Schedule R&R. And I actually mean plan it into your day. An hour for reading, an evening or two a week where you catch up on that show you love, time with your family and friends. You aren’t a machine, and if you act like one, you’ll break down. The most efficient, productive thing you can do during busy, demanding times is take care of your brain and your body. So rest well, eat well, and take that R&R. I’m not kidding. If I push myself hard a few days in a row with a stressful project, it takes me several days to feel like I’m functioning at 100% again. And don’t forget to schedule R&R for after your release—staying balanced will help reduce those nerves.
2.
Disconnect. If you don’t need to be on Twitter or your email, close them. As it gets closer to my release date, I feel more and more bombarded by stats, reviews, emails, and questions. It’s overwhelming. Closing up email and social media frees up my concentration and lowers my stress levels. It can be tempting to stalk relatively meaningless rankings and count reviews, but don’t do it. Let yourself look once in a while if you have to, but several times a day or even once a day is usually both a time drain and a cause of stress.
3.
Keep writing. One of the best things you can do for your book is to write another one. A new book is great marketing for the old book. Writing also lets us invest somewhere else, and helps us see that not everything hangs on this one book. And it can be fun and inspiring to keep working on a new project, and it can take our minds off everything about release day. Writers write, so keep writing!
About the Author:
Kate Brauning grew up in rural Missouri and fell in love with young adult books in college. She’s now an editor at Entangled Publishing and pursues her lifelong dream of telling stories she'd want to read. Visit her online at
www.katebrauning.com or on Twitter at
@KateBrauning, and order
How We Fall from
Barnes & Noble,
Amazon, or
IndieBound.
About the Book:
Ever since Jackie moved to her uncle's sleepy farming town, she's been flirting way too much--and with her own cousin, Marcus.
Her friendship with him has turned into something she can't control, and he's the reason Jackie lost track of her best friend, Ellie, who left for...no one knows where. Now Ellie has been missing for months, and the police, fearing the worst, are searching for her body. Swamped with guilt and the knowledge that acting on her love for Marcus would tear their families apart, Jackie pushes her cousin away. The plan is to fall out of love, and, just as she hoped he would, Marcus falls for the new girl in town. But something isn't right about this stranger, and Jackie's suspicions about the new girl's secrets only drive the wedge deeper between Jackie and Marcus.
Then Marcus is forced to pay the price for someone else's lies as the mystery around Ellie's disappearance starts to become horribly clear. Jackie has to face terrible choices. Can she leave her first love behind, and can she go on living with the fact that she failed her best friend?
Barnes & Noble |
Amazon |
IndieBound |
Goodreads
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Next came choosing the new paint color. I wanted to go with a dark brown—mostly to hide all the flaws in the trunk’s body caused by my scraper. Perhaps I used little too much elbow grease. Hubby helped me with this part, carefully spraying the sides, allowing the trunk time to dry, then giving it another coat. Covering the flaws reminded me of the care a writer takes in creating characters. Like the gouges and grooves in my trunk, your characters NEED flaws because readers must feel some sort of connection with them. Readers WANT to cheer on those flawed underdogs, see them scream, watch them change and grow. And when that connection happens, they wholeheartedly invest in your characters and the hell authors drag them through.
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