AUTHOR CHATS
writers write about aspects of their craft
publishing, book covers, influences, plots, editing, criticism,
writing courses,motivation, marketing
Working with and without publishers.
Authors! Should you try to find a publisher or self-publish? Should you abandon your current publisher and go it alone? Author James Gault recounts his experiences and explores the options.
I self-publish my books. Mr Amazon puts them in his shop window and sells them for me. It’s my job to make sure people know about them, a task at which I am afraid I am woefully inadequate. I’m not making a fortune or setting the world on fire. So why don’t I bite the bullet, and crawl around the literary establishment, pleading until a publisher feels sorry for me and picks me up.
I’ve been published by the established press before. I’ve written some magazine articles. I also wrote some English language books for a major publisher in the field, and it was great working with them. I put the stuff together and they sold it. Sure, the editor was a bit of a pain, but she taught me a lot. No chance of getting away with second best with her; she knew her job inside out. And the publisher took on all the legal, technical and marketing tasks and left me free to do what I loved: use my imagination and create.
I thought that what I could in non-fiction I could also do for fiction. I was a bit hopeful. Non-fiction publishers have specific markets they seek to serve and may even seek you out to write for them if you have some special knowledge in the field. But there is no ready-made market for works of fiction. Each book has to find its own readership in an environment where supply drowns demand. Publishers need to make money. To say that they are fussy about choosing new authors is a big understatement. 'Still, worth a try,' I thought.
I diligently sent out copies of the three initial chapters and synopsis of my first novel to about a dozen selected publishers, although I was warned that most of them would go straight to the bin, and the very few that didn’t would go to ‘the pile’, where they would languish for months before being summarily rejected. Which is more or less exactly what happened. With one exception: a large and prestigious publisher wrote back to me (after a long delay, of course) and invited me to send the whole book. Celebrations! I had got to stage two.
Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to stage three. A whole year later, I got a very nice long letter from the publisher telling me they weren’t sure they could sell enough copies, but my work was very interesting. They gave me a whole critique of my work with lots of helpful comments on how I could improve and make my future writing more marketable. Although disappointed, I was encouraged enough to keep writing.
My problem is that I’m not young. If I have to wait three years between finishing a book and getting it to the market, I may no longer be around. I wanted to give the public the chance to read my work, so I decided to self-publish. It wasn’t a hard decision; I had the computer skills needed and literary-educated friends to help with editorial advice and copy-editing. I would have liked some sales and marketing support, but my author friends pointed out that, when it comes to marketing fiction, even authors with the big publishers are pretty much on their own. It made me wonder what a publisher would really do for me anyway.
So now I’ve got six books up on Amazon, and another on Smashwords. Three others are in progress. My work is there for those who discover it and want to read it. So would I recommend self-publishing to others? Yes, if you have the skills you need or can find the support. Self-publishing is quicker, more certain, you have control of your pricing and you can make better royalties, if making money is why you write. But you have to really work on the marketing.
But let’s suppose all new authors decided to start or continue their careers as independent self-publishers. Where would this leave the established publishing houses? Not in a very good place, and this is why I think fiction publishing will change.
First of all, I envisage them becoming even more selective and less likely to take a chance on authors. Already they favour well established names and sequels or look-alikes of successful works. To stay in business, they will need to find new talent, but they will be wary of innovation, because they won’t have the luxury of wasting resources on failures. It doesn’t bode well for unknown writers who are trying to expand the horizons of the written word; the ‘new’ will be too much of a risk for the bean-counters in publishing houses.
On the other hand, they will need to keep successful talent, and this is why I think they will be forced to beef up their marketing and sales teams, so that their brand dominates that of the authors themselves. The publisher will have to make significant efforts to sell the books, otherwise why would a best-selling author stay with them? But if that success is based on the author’s name rather than the imprint, the cash-cow writers will simply say goodbye and do it all themselves. So if an author is lucky enough to get a publishing contract in the future, it is likely to be better in terms of support but more stringent in term of conditions.
If any authors out there have any comments or experiences they wish to share about publishing or self-publishing, please send them via our contact form below and we’ll share them.
I self-publish my books. Mr Amazon puts them in his shop window and sells them for me. It’s my job to make sure people know about them, a task at which I am afraid I am woefully inadequate. I’m not making a fortune or setting the world on fire. So why don’t I bite the bullet, and crawl around the literary establishment, pleading until a publisher feels sorry for me and picks me up.
I’ve been published by the established press before. I’ve written some magazine articles. I also wrote some English language books for a major publisher in the field, and it was great working with them. I put the stuff together and they sold it. Sure, the editor was a bit of a pain, but she taught me a lot. No chance of getting away with second best with her; she knew her job inside out. And the publisher took on all the legal, technical and marketing tasks and left me free to do what I loved: use my imagination and create.
I thought that what I could in non-fiction I could also do for fiction. I was a bit hopeful. Non-fiction publishers have specific markets they seek to serve and may even seek you out to write for them if you have some special knowledge in the field. But there is no ready-made market for works of fiction. Each book has to find its own readership in an environment where supply drowns demand. Publishers need to make money. To say that they are fussy about choosing new authors is a big understatement. 'Still, worth a try,' I thought.
I diligently sent out copies of the three initial chapters and synopsis of my first novel to about a dozen selected publishers, although I was warned that most of them would go straight to the bin, and the very few that didn’t would go to ‘the pile’, where they would languish for months before being summarily rejected. Which is more or less exactly what happened. With one exception: a large and prestigious publisher wrote back to me (after a long delay, of course) and invited me to send the whole book. Celebrations! I had got to stage two.
Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to stage three. A whole year later, I got a very nice long letter from the publisher telling me they weren’t sure they could sell enough copies, but my work was very interesting. They gave me a whole critique of my work with lots of helpful comments on how I could improve and make my future writing more marketable. Although disappointed, I was encouraged enough to keep writing.
My problem is that I’m not young. If I have to wait three years between finishing a book and getting it to the market, I may no longer be around. I wanted to give the public the chance to read my work, so I decided to self-publish. It wasn’t a hard decision; I had the computer skills needed and literary-educated friends to help with editorial advice and copy-editing. I would have liked some sales and marketing support, but my author friends pointed out that, when it comes to marketing fiction, even authors with the big publishers are pretty much on their own. It made me wonder what a publisher would really do for me anyway.
So now I’ve got six books up on Amazon, and another on Smashwords. Three others are in progress. My work is there for those who discover it and want to read it. So would I recommend self-publishing to others? Yes, if you have the skills you need or can find the support. Self-publishing is quicker, more certain, you have control of your pricing and you can make better royalties, if making money is why you write. But you have to really work on the marketing.
But let’s suppose all new authors decided to start or continue their careers as independent self-publishers. Where would this leave the established publishing houses? Not in a very good place, and this is why I think fiction publishing will change.
First of all, I envisage them becoming even more selective and less likely to take a chance on authors. Already they favour well established names and sequels or look-alikes of successful works. To stay in business, they will need to find new talent, but they will be wary of innovation, because they won’t have the luxury of wasting resources on failures. It doesn’t bode well for unknown writers who are trying to expand the horizons of the written word; the ‘new’ will be too much of a risk for the bean-counters in publishing houses.
On the other hand, they will need to keep successful talent, and this is why I think they will be forced to beef up their marketing and sales teams, so that their brand dominates that of the authors themselves. The publisher will have to make significant efforts to sell the books, otherwise why would a best-selling author stay with them? But if that success is based on the author’s name rather than the imprint, the cash-cow writers will simply say goodbye and do it all themselves. So if an author is lucky enough to get a publishing contract in the future, it is likely to be better in terms of support but more stringent in term of conditions.
If any authors out there have any comments or experiences they wish to share about publishing or self-publishing, please send them via our contact form below and we’ll share them.
Where do plots come from?
The philosophical novel
This is the first of a series of articles exploring the source of ideas that inspire writers to produce their works. In each article, two or more authors will discuss their books and how their imagination was stimulated to produce them.
This is the first of a series of articles exploring the source of ideas that inspire writers to produce their works. In each article, two or more authors will discuss their books and how their imagination was stimulated to produce them.
Timothy Balding is the author of two novels with philosophical themes, The Man Who Couldn’t Stop Thinking and The Impostors. His next novel, a political satire, will be published in December 2019. He lives and works in the Basque country in France.
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James Gault has written five novels including the comic philosophical fantasy OGG. His latest novella, A Flower in the Wind, is a political drama and is currently available on Amazon. His home is in the Occitania region of SW France.
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James: In your novel 'The Man Who Couldn't Stop Thinking' you introduce the idea that the ‘unconscious mind’ is a myth. Could you explain this further?
Timothy: The popular portrayal of the famous 'unconscious mind' is that it is an area of our brains to which we do not have access but where thoughts are formulated that we do not even know about! This has led to the absolutely absurd situation where people accuse others of not actually knowing what they really think! "Ah, but that's not what you think unconsciously," they say blithely. Or, "unconsciously, I probably think this and feel that." And such like. For me, this is a confusion and a contradiction. If a thought is not accessible to you, it is not a thought. You have no reason at all to believe that it exists. The question is rather elsewhere: to what extent are you aware and thinking about what you thinking? James: So are you suggesting that the concept of the unconscious is some kind of hindrance to understanding ourselves? Timothy: Since I believe that this thing is a pure misunderstanding, all I can say is that the failure to be aware of what you think is certainly a handicap, for you and, above all, the others. I would like to think that all men could be aware of, and be able to articulate, everything they believe, think and feel, in which case the 'unconscious mind' would disappear into thin air as a concept. All it means for now is that many people are blind to their own views, incapable of hearing them, barely know what they are, because they do not ever reflect on them. Research by psychologists actually confirms this. James: This is an interesting idea. In my own work, OGG, I make the case that the inability to grasp what one knows and believes is the cause of many of the problems of humanity. It’s based on my understanding from epistemology that true knowledge can only come from deductive logic, and that deductive logic cannot lead us to truth, it can only illuminate the consistency of different statements: If x is true, y follows. So to have any view on anything, it is necessary to have some of the ‘x’s: fundamental beliefs that we consider self-evident. In my book, I send an omnipotent and omniscient ‘Great Being’ to teach his (or her) followers how to think logically and question their fundamental beliefs. So I think I am arriving at your conclusion that people are blind to their own views from a slightly different direction. But to take the argument on, do you have a view on the implications of this, both at an individual level and at the level of mankind as a whole? Timothy: I have only ever been interested in philosophy inasmuch as it addresses the actual questions we humans face when we confront 'reality', whether within us or in the external world, and, of course, in their interaction. This requires a certain good faith and acceptance that we largely share the same perceptions and, if we don't, that there are identifiable causes for any such discrepancies. Questions like, 'Are we actually living in reality or is this all a dream?', or 'Does truth really exist?', I have to leave to others. They don't interest me in the slightest and are a waste of my time. I live and think on the basis that we as humans have a brotherly pact to discuss and explore our existence and our condition on the basis of a fundamental common understanding of its elementary nature. But, to address myself to your question ... Two things: I do not have your scepticism or disbelief in the absolute value of 'deductive logic'. Of course it leads us to truth! The 'fundamental beliefs that we consider self-evident', as you put it, all arise, it seems to me, from 2 + 2 = 4. Dostoevsky made a very good joke about the charming nature of 2 + 2 = 5 - but it doesn't! If we admit that it might, we are just lost for ever as a species. No quantum physicist (whatever that might be), will ever convince me, nor ever should, that when my mother gave me two crayons one day, then another two the next, that I then had four crayons. Anyone who says the contrary is not worth talking to. So, my point: I think that our notions of justice, of equity, of ethics, of truth, all arise, basically, out of our recognition and acceptance that 2 + 2 does indeed equal 4, something our brains could see and test in our very early days. And anyone who tells me that this conclusion is 'subjective', or individual to each of us, will have a fight with me on their hands! You ask about the 'implications' on individuals and on humanity of the incapacity of many people to be aware of - or, more importantly, to question - their own views. This is the most important question of all! I don't want to sound too dramatic, but the future of mankind depends completely on man's ability to be aware of his biases, his prejudices, his hatreds, his lies to himself. And thus possibly capable NOT of changing them - I never ask for so much - but of refusing to act on them, of refusing to join the lynch party on the tail of those who disagree with him. Very little else matters at the end of the day! This is the central lesson, I must say, of my novel, 'The Man Who Couldn't Stop Thinking.' James: Looking at your two ‘things’, I don’t totally accept the first but on the second I’m completely in agreement. I’m very aware that philosophers are often accused of being removed from the real world and self-indulging in ‘yoga for the mind’, but I do think a lot of it is relevant to understanding our thoughts. When you seem to suggest that ‘2 + 2 = 4’ is some kind of fundamental truth, I disagree. I understand that ‘2+2 = 4’ follows by logical deduction from what we mean by ‘2’, ‘4’, ‘+’ and ‘=’. Knowing this is of little consequence in itself, but what it does is demonstrate that if we search for the real truth behind our assumed true beliefs, we can be surprised to find how little justification we have for them. My whole comic novel, OGG, repeatedly emphases that point in an ironical and hopefully amusing way. On your second point I agree completely. We may believe, for example, that God exists and our version is the only true one. But when we look at why, we come to understand that such a belief is very hard to justify rationally, and this, I would hope, leads us to be more tolerant of others. I suppose all my writing challenges these kind of beliefs people have, which are to some extent only opinion or even prejudice. Ah, I say, you may believe that, but what if you’re wrong? And then I go on to show them some of the implications of holding such unfounded opinions. In A Flower in the Wind, for example, I say this: I know you think that there are unthinkable bad deeds that could never be done by my country, only the ‘enemy’, but….. But, to wind up this discussion, can I ask you this? In your writing so far, what would you choose as the most significant philosophical point that you want to get across to readers? Timothy: We are indeed some ways apart. If you do not accept that 2 + 2 = 4, or rather that you do not feel that this is a fundamental truth, then, unhappily, dialogue between nice and intelligent and friendly gentlemen like the two of us, is unlikely to end in a conciliation of views on this question. I certainly possess a large number of very stupid and unjustifiable biases and prejudices, but I consider them to be of no importance at all, to be 'false' inasmuch as they are neither right nor wrong, and to be merely objects of my own mockery and laughter, never to be taken as a serious basis for any action. For they are precisely NOT 'beliefs', not rational conclusions and arguments from my inner dialogue, which is entirely built on reason. You seem to suggest that some of your beliefs lie in the realm of magical phenomena, or something. I don't suffer from any such illusions. I know very well where all my beliefs originate. They have been crafted out of the simple observation of reality from my 2 + 2 = 4 standpoint. The 'most significant philosophical point' of my writing? First of all, and above everything else, I want to make people laugh - as you do too - and embrace the joy of life. (It is not for nothing that Nietzsche is my real hero as a philosopher, because he too aimed for these ends). Beyond that, I have tried to illustrate the evolution of the human species towards complete consciousness of self and, thus, complete objectivity. Practically no one accepts that this evolution is taking place. Among my few allies are Shakespeare - the first writer to illustrate on stage the personal, solitary inner dialogue - and Nietszche, with his brilliant perception that the Greeks and the Romans, when they thought 'the gods' were speaking to them, were actually hearing themselves - for the first time in human history! Yes, we have come a long way and are entering, one by one, a new era of man. This is the discussion I hope to provoke with my writing. James: Let’s agree to disagree amicably on esoteric matters of epistemology. Suffice to say I am a confirmed and severe sceptic and it often leads me into troubled waters. More important, in the realm of practical matters, is that I am 100% with you on the importance of objectivity. I don’t unfortunately have your optimism that all of mankind will achieve such objectivity. I’m struck by the similarity between Socrates and Nietszche, and wonder if perhaps there will also be the ‘ubermencsh’ or ‘philsophers’ whose insight into their own thinking far outstrips that of the ordinary man. But, for the sake of mankind, I hope you will be proved to be right. Thanks for talking to me. |
LINKS TO THEIR BOOKS
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Author Holly Bargo describes her creative influences
In conversation years ago with one of the executives where I worked, that executive showed me a book and mentioned its importance to her, its influence on her life. "How is that?" I asked. Her answer: "It convinced me to divorce my husband."
I was floored. Until then, I'd not thought any book could have such a dramatic effect on someone's life or could so strongly influence someone's decisions. I'm glad to say I have never been so influenced by any book as to divorce my husband or make another such momentous decision.
However, that doesn't mean books haven't influenced me.
I learned witty repartee and succinct dialogue from Dick Francis and Robert B. Parker. I learned how to write engrossing scenes of intimacy from Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz, and Christine Feehan. I learned how to inject gently sardonic, wry humor into my characters from Robin McKinley. I learned epic awesomeness from Guy Gavriel Kay, David Eddings, and Robin Hobb. And I learned what not to do from countless other authors whose writing made me cringe.
But to name one specific book that influenced my life? I can't. I can name books that I've read and reread, which obviously means they meant something to me beyond, "Hey, that's a good story." Something about those books moved me. I found something new in them each time I reread one. Their influence did not convince me to make decisions that held great impact on my life; their influence was subtle.
In their unique ways, those books taught me the elements of good writing. Some might dismiss those authors because they write (or wrote, considering some of them are deceased) commercially successful fiction. Success has no bearing on whether the writing is good. A lot of poorly written books hit the bestseller lists. Fifty Shades of Grey, anyone?
So, what book influenced me the most? Those interested in spiritual welfare and character would expect me to name a religious text. Others might think that an instructional guide, such as Stephen King's On Writing or the iconic Elements of Style by E. B. White, deserve that honor--me being a writer and everything. But, if I have to assign a "most influential" award to a single title, I suppose it would have to go to Beauty by Robin McKinley, the most reread book in my personal library.
With deft skill and tact and gentle humor, McKinley breathes new life into an oft-repeated fairy tale that no Disney movie can touch. She imbues her characters with vivid imagery and depth of character without resorting to mind-numbing information dumps or paragraph upon paragraph of boring description. The writing touches upon the lyrical; the reader can almost hear the protagonist speaking. This is the evocative, eloquent level of writing to which I aspire.
I think I came close in The Falcon of Imenotash.
contributed by Holly Bargo
In conversation years ago with one of the executives where I worked, that executive showed me a book and mentioned its importance to her, its influence on her life. "How is that?" I asked. Her answer: "It convinced me to divorce my husband."
I was floored. Until then, I'd not thought any book could have such a dramatic effect on someone's life or could so strongly influence someone's decisions. I'm glad to say I have never been so influenced by any book as to divorce my husband or make another such momentous decision.
However, that doesn't mean books haven't influenced me.
I learned witty repartee and succinct dialogue from Dick Francis and Robert B. Parker. I learned how to write engrossing scenes of intimacy from Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz, and Christine Feehan. I learned how to inject gently sardonic, wry humor into my characters from Robin McKinley. I learned epic awesomeness from Guy Gavriel Kay, David Eddings, and Robin Hobb. And I learned what not to do from countless other authors whose writing made me cringe.
But to name one specific book that influenced my life? I can't. I can name books that I've read and reread, which obviously means they meant something to me beyond, "Hey, that's a good story." Something about those books moved me. I found something new in them each time I reread one. Their influence did not convince me to make decisions that held great impact on my life; their influence was subtle.
In their unique ways, those books taught me the elements of good writing. Some might dismiss those authors because they write (or wrote, considering some of them are deceased) commercially successful fiction. Success has no bearing on whether the writing is good. A lot of poorly written books hit the bestseller lists. Fifty Shades of Grey, anyone?
So, what book influenced me the most? Those interested in spiritual welfare and character would expect me to name a religious text. Others might think that an instructional guide, such as Stephen King's On Writing or the iconic Elements of Style by E. B. White, deserve that honor--me being a writer and everything. But, if I have to assign a "most influential" award to a single title, I suppose it would have to go to Beauty by Robin McKinley, the most reread book in my personal library.
With deft skill and tact and gentle humor, McKinley breathes new life into an oft-repeated fairy tale that no Disney movie can touch. She imbues her characters with vivid imagery and depth of character without resorting to mind-numbing information dumps or paragraph upon paragraph of boring description. The writing touches upon the lyrical; the reader can almost hear the protagonist speaking. This is the evocative, eloquent level of writing to which I aspire.
I think I came close in The Falcon of Imenotash.
contributed by Holly Bargo
Author Sherry LeClerc describes her publishing journey
Traditional Publishing, Assisted Self-Publishing, or Self-Publishing?
I published my very first novel, The Guardians of Eastgate: Seers Book I, this past summer. It was officially released for sale on all online platforms on August 30th. During the process of getting that first edition out to the public, and since then, I have learned a lot. And I’ve learned enough to know that there is still a lot more left to learn. It’s a never-ending process. I say ‘never-ending’ because there are always new things happening, so I expect I will never know everything there is about the subject.
In order to help other authors who are starting out and thinking about self-publishing, I decided to start writing this blog series. In it, I will tell you about the things I’ve discovered while stumbling my way through the dark.
I will talk to you a little about traditional publishing, assisted self-publishing, and self-publishing.
When I finished writing my first manuscript, I knew I would need it edited, formatted for print and eBook, and so on. Really, though, I was aware there was a lot to be done, but I didn’t know what it all was, or how to go about doing it. So, I searched online for help.
Some major benefits of going with a traditional publisher, I have learned, are that they take on the costs of publishing the book, and they provide editors, cover artists, and pretty much every other service that you need to get your story from manuscript to published book. So, it’s the publisher who takes on the risk of putting money into a book that may or may not make back the value of the investment.
Sounds great, right? Especially if you are a new author who can’t afford to carry all the costs yourself, or you don’t have the time to search for all the talent you need.
Well, it can be great, but there is also a flip side. Traditional publishing companies provide you with everything you need, but they also claim much of the royalties from the sales of the book. Of course, you can negotiate contracts most of the time, but some publishers will actually take up to 70% or more of the royalties. On top of that, the publishing house will most likely hold the copyright and take the creative control.
And, that’s assuming you can get a traditional publishing company to take you on in the first place. Did you know that when J.K. Rowling was looking for a publisher for her first Harry Potter book, she was turned down many times before a small publishing company decided to take a chance on her? And look where she is today.
There are two morals to that story.
First, never give up!
Second, don’t expect that you’ll find a company to take you on right away.
Publishing Companies can end up with more manuscripts sent to them than they can process. At the same time, though, some publishers don’t like it if you’ve sent the same manuscript out to other publishers to look at while it’s with them. Manuscripts can end up sitting for years on an editor’s desk before they even get the chance to look at them. Then, once they do, your manuscript may end up rejected, not because it wasn’t a good story, or because it wasn’t well-written. It could end up being rejected for reasons such as, how many manuscripts in your genre has the company taken on presently? What genres are selling well at that moment in time? And so on and so on.
However, you may never know why the manuscript was rejected. For example, one of the members of a Facebook writers’ groups I belong to recently wrote about how he had asked an editor that “why” question. He was told, in not a very nice fashion, to never ask that question again. So, you may end up sitting there, deflated, thinking your story is not good enough and/or your writing is not good enough. Of course, there is always the possibility that’s the case. But there is also the possibility that it was rejected for a completely different reason.
Many authors write query letters to the publishing company instead of submitting their manuscripts cold. A good query letter can help your book stand out, so it is a good idea to learn how to write one well if you are going with traditional publishing. Some authors also go the route of finding literary agents to take them on as clients. These agents can help make them more noticeable to traditional publishing companies. Again, you have to write query letters and be prepared to go to numerous agents before finding one who will take you on as a client.
Another thing I discovered is that there are many so-called “Assisted Self-Publishing” companies out there. However, many of them are linked to traditional publishers and, while you still have to pay for everything yourself since you are “self-publishing,” these companies still charge for services, and even claim royalties. In some cases, they claim much more than I would have expected, considering that the initial costs come out of the author’s own pocket. So, if you go this route, you have to be very careful in researching and choosing a company.
As for myself, I decided to go the assisted self-publishing route, in the beginning because, I had waited more than 25 years to get the story in my head down on paper, darn it! I didn’t want to take years more to get it out to the world. But, since I knew nothing, I decided to go the ‘assisted self-publishing’ route.
I know what you’re thinking. Why would I go that route after all the negative things I said about it above? Well, there were a couple of reasons. First of all, I had a book that needed publishing and not enough time or patience to learn to do everything myself. More importantly, I managed to find a Canadian company called Tellwell (www.tellwell.ca), who provides the ‘talent’ (editors, layout people, cover designers, etc.), sets up distribution accounts, and various other things you might need, depending on how much you want to spend. And this was the ONE company I found who didn’t claim the copyright, and who did not take ANY royalties.
They can even, if you purchase that particular service, set you up with a domain name and a website. In fact, they have recently helped me transfer the domain name owner from them (because they do all the initial set-up) to me.
If you go the true self-publishing route, you can either do it all yourself using a service such as CreateSpace, or find and pay the people and/or services you need to get your book published. I will give you more information about self-publishing and self-publishing options in Issue 2 of this newsletter.
contributed by Sherry LeClerc
Traditional Publishing, Assisted Self-Publishing, or Self-Publishing?
I published my very first novel, The Guardians of Eastgate: Seers Book I, this past summer. It was officially released for sale on all online platforms on August 30th. During the process of getting that first edition out to the public, and since then, I have learned a lot. And I’ve learned enough to know that there is still a lot more left to learn. It’s a never-ending process. I say ‘never-ending’ because there are always new things happening, so I expect I will never know everything there is about the subject.
In order to help other authors who are starting out and thinking about self-publishing, I decided to start writing this blog series. In it, I will tell you about the things I’ve discovered while stumbling my way through the dark.
I will talk to you a little about traditional publishing, assisted self-publishing, and self-publishing.
When I finished writing my first manuscript, I knew I would need it edited, formatted for print and eBook, and so on. Really, though, I was aware there was a lot to be done, but I didn’t know what it all was, or how to go about doing it. So, I searched online for help.
Some major benefits of going with a traditional publisher, I have learned, are that they take on the costs of publishing the book, and they provide editors, cover artists, and pretty much every other service that you need to get your story from manuscript to published book. So, it’s the publisher who takes on the risk of putting money into a book that may or may not make back the value of the investment.
Sounds great, right? Especially if you are a new author who can’t afford to carry all the costs yourself, or you don’t have the time to search for all the talent you need.
Well, it can be great, but there is also a flip side. Traditional publishing companies provide you with everything you need, but they also claim much of the royalties from the sales of the book. Of course, you can negotiate contracts most of the time, but some publishers will actually take up to 70% or more of the royalties. On top of that, the publishing house will most likely hold the copyright and take the creative control.
And, that’s assuming you can get a traditional publishing company to take you on in the first place. Did you know that when J.K. Rowling was looking for a publisher for her first Harry Potter book, she was turned down many times before a small publishing company decided to take a chance on her? And look where she is today.
There are two morals to that story.
First, never give up!
Second, don’t expect that you’ll find a company to take you on right away.
Publishing Companies can end up with more manuscripts sent to them than they can process. At the same time, though, some publishers don’t like it if you’ve sent the same manuscript out to other publishers to look at while it’s with them. Manuscripts can end up sitting for years on an editor’s desk before they even get the chance to look at them. Then, once they do, your manuscript may end up rejected, not because it wasn’t a good story, or because it wasn’t well-written. It could end up being rejected for reasons such as, how many manuscripts in your genre has the company taken on presently? What genres are selling well at that moment in time? And so on and so on.
However, you may never know why the manuscript was rejected. For example, one of the members of a Facebook writers’ groups I belong to recently wrote about how he had asked an editor that “why” question. He was told, in not a very nice fashion, to never ask that question again. So, you may end up sitting there, deflated, thinking your story is not good enough and/or your writing is not good enough. Of course, there is always the possibility that’s the case. But there is also the possibility that it was rejected for a completely different reason.
Many authors write query letters to the publishing company instead of submitting their manuscripts cold. A good query letter can help your book stand out, so it is a good idea to learn how to write one well if you are going with traditional publishing. Some authors also go the route of finding literary agents to take them on as clients. These agents can help make them more noticeable to traditional publishing companies. Again, you have to write query letters and be prepared to go to numerous agents before finding one who will take you on as a client.
Another thing I discovered is that there are many so-called “Assisted Self-Publishing” companies out there. However, many of them are linked to traditional publishers and, while you still have to pay for everything yourself since you are “self-publishing,” these companies still charge for services, and even claim royalties. In some cases, they claim much more than I would have expected, considering that the initial costs come out of the author’s own pocket. So, if you go this route, you have to be very careful in researching and choosing a company.
As for myself, I decided to go the assisted self-publishing route, in the beginning because, I had waited more than 25 years to get the story in my head down on paper, darn it! I didn’t want to take years more to get it out to the world. But, since I knew nothing, I decided to go the ‘assisted self-publishing’ route.
I know what you’re thinking. Why would I go that route after all the negative things I said about it above? Well, there were a couple of reasons. First of all, I had a book that needed publishing and not enough time or patience to learn to do everything myself. More importantly, I managed to find a Canadian company called Tellwell (www.tellwell.ca), who provides the ‘talent’ (editors, layout people, cover designers, etc.), sets up distribution accounts, and various other things you might need, depending on how much you want to spend. And this was the ONE company I found who didn’t claim the copyright, and who did not take ANY royalties.
They can even, if you purchase that particular service, set you up with a domain name and a website. In fact, they have recently helped me transfer the domain name owner from them (because they do all the initial set-up) to me.
If you go the true self-publishing route, you can either do it all yourself using a service such as CreateSpace, or find and pay the people and/or services you need to get your book published. I will give you more information about self-publishing and self-publishing options in Issue 2 of this newsletter.
contributed by Sherry LeClerc
Sci-fi writer John Dill writes about his influences.
I was recently asked by a young published author about my writing techniques, influences and such. Specifically, if I did a lot of reading of science fiction and if so, how did that influence my own writing? Giles Blackley-Wiertelak, author of Closeburn Crossing, being the initiator of the questions.
He was referring to the science aspects of my recent release of the first two books of the Braxin King series. This series does include a good deal of theoretical science and philosophy.
I don't read as much science fiction as I'd like to. Time being the major obstacle. What I did during the writing process of The Braxin King was draw upon memories of times past when I was much more engaged in the theoretical aspect of actual science discussions among many theoretical physicists on message boards dedicated to such.
During that period of my life I became friends with a very smart physicist by the name of Johan Masraliez who has also written a book on his very astute theories, revolving around our universe and how it works. Not a fiction but a complete exposition of his SEC theory and all it entails. His theory even has a title very much like the Big Bang theory. He calls it the SEC theory for Scale Expanding Cosmos. It is very intriguing in that he has developed his equations consistent with Einstein's equations that posits our universe is expanding in scale, as opposed to just dimension.
What this does basically is include TIME in the expansion. It also provides a scientific expression for the "progression of time", something no other theoretical physicist has ever even tried to tackle. Thus far, his theory stands unrefuted. I happen to agree with him. I also added an additional attachment to his theory demonstrating his theory also accounts for the existence of multitudes of black holes, something that is readily confirmable via observation.
And I devised a workable hypothesis assigning "phases" to gravity. This, too has never been seriously considered by modern physics.
I say all of that to demonstrate I was not just a casual observer in these discussions but a very astute participant and contributor. However, not holding any pedigree in physics renders my contributions as nothing more than that. Maybe one day, when more progress is made in the study of this phenomenon, my theories will prove to be more than just theories.
And this is the source of the science in the very science fiction of The Braxin King. It came not via the conventional methodology of borrowing from other writers and expanding on what’s out there but came from actual discussions and participation with very real physicists in specific fields of inquiry about what’s out there…in real spacetime. This lends an aura of both originality and uniqueness to my writing that cannot be captured otherwise.
I hope this helps other writers understand there are many avenues of influence a writer may draw upon when doing fiction. Reading other’s books within the same genre being only one such avenue or resource. A great deal of modern physics discussion, experimentation and submission for peer review cannot help but come across to the general public as science fiction. Some of it is. But occasionally some of it proves out to be science reality.
I was recently asked by a young published author about my writing techniques, influences and such. Specifically, if I did a lot of reading of science fiction and if so, how did that influence my own writing? Giles Blackley-Wiertelak, author of Closeburn Crossing, being the initiator of the questions.
He was referring to the science aspects of my recent release of the first two books of the Braxin King series. This series does include a good deal of theoretical science and philosophy.
I don't read as much science fiction as I'd like to. Time being the major obstacle. What I did during the writing process of The Braxin King was draw upon memories of times past when I was much more engaged in the theoretical aspect of actual science discussions among many theoretical physicists on message boards dedicated to such.
During that period of my life I became friends with a very smart physicist by the name of Johan Masraliez who has also written a book on his very astute theories, revolving around our universe and how it works. Not a fiction but a complete exposition of his SEC theory and all it entails. His theory even has a title very much like the Big Bang theory. He calls it the SEC theory for Scale Expanding Cosmos. It is very intriguing in that he has developed his equations consistent with Einstein's equations that posits our universe is expanding in scale, as opposed to just dimension.
What this does basically is include TIME in the expansion. It also provides a scientific expression for the "progression of time", something no other theoretical physicist has ever even tried to tackle. Thus far, his theory stands unrefuted. I happen to agree with him. I also added an additional attachment to his theory demonstrating his theory also accounts for the existence of multitudes of black holes, something that is readily confirmable via observation.
And I devised a workable hypothesis assigning "phases" to gravity. This, too has never been seriously considered by modern physics.
I say all of that to demonstrate I was not just a casual observer in these discussions but a very astute participant and contributor. However, not holding any pedigree in physics renders my contributions as nothing more than that. Maybe one day, when more progress is made in the study of this phenomenon, my theories will prove to be more than just theories.
And this is the source of the science in the very science fiction of The Braxin King. It came not via the conventional methodology of borrowing from other writers and expanding on what’s out there but came from actual discussions and participation with very real physicists in specific fields of inquiry about what’s out there…in real spacetime. This lends an aura of both originality and uniqueness to my writing that cannot be captured otherwise.
I hope this helps other writers understand there are many avenues of influence a writer may draw upon when doing fiction. Reading other’s books within the same genre being only one such avenue or resource. A great deal of modern physics discussion, experimentation and submission for peer review cannot help but come across to the general public as science fiction. Some of it is. But occasionally some of it proves out to be science reality.
How writing can change your life.
Author Amanda Whitbeck writes about a life-changing writing retreat.
This last weekend I went to a writing retreat. Typically, one goes to a writing event to learn about writing, marketing, publishing, and so on.
What I didn’t expect to learn about, was myself.
During a panel titled “Writing About Your Life”, which I figured would mostly be about stuff I already knew since I spent the last 4 years writing a memoir about my life, I learned that I truly believe I am where I am supposed to be in life. After finishing the writing prompt, I felt like this would be a good exercise to share on my blog.
So, you start off by picking an event that changed the course of your life. Then you write a summary about what actually happened as you remember it.
The first thing that came to mind was the day that I almost attempted suicide. I was already struggling during my freshman year at high school, and every little mistake I made always felt like the end of the world. Every failure, no matter how small, was just a constant reminder that I was a failure as a person and good for nothing. So on this particular day, I was supposed to give a speech about a sentimental object in my English class. There had been a fight at home the night before and I had forgotten my item and my speech at home. Since it was a scheduled speech that we had to sign up for ahead of time, failure to do the speech on that day would result in a failed grade. No exceptions. So, when my name was called, I told the teacher I didn’t have my speech and walked out of the class.
Now up until this point, I had done a lot of research about the best ways to commit suicide. I had already decided how I wanted to kill myself, but I hadn’t chosen a place or time. Quite often I kept a small pocket knife on me because I would walk to school every day. On this particular day, I decided that my knife would be the perfect way to end my misery. I was sitting in the hallway just outside my classroom. The door to the classroom was at the end of the hallway so there wasn’t much foot traffic.
My mind was on an endless loop of every failure that I’d had up until that point in my life. A broken record of being told that the childhood sexual abuse that I endured was my fault. That because I was abused as a child I ruined their family. My own voice in my head told me that I would never amount to anything and that I could never escape the cycle of abuse.
I slowly pulled the knife out of my pocket and opened the blade. The glint of the shiny silver blade intrigued me. It was peaceful knowing that something so beautiful would put an end to my miserable life. As I started to pull the knife to my own throat and prepared to tilt my head down so that it would only take one swipe, a classmate that I knew walked by at that exact moment. Startled, I quickly hid the knife before my classmate could see what I had. He only gave me a simple hello and continued to walk by.
It was in this moment that I realized I had hit rock bottom, and the only way I would be able to survive was to get up, feed my stubborn nature, and fight to live the life that I wanted. I told myself that someday I would no longer be a victim, but instead I would be a survivor.
Now the second part of this exercise was to write about what would’ve happened.
For me, there is a very short would-have -xzbeen scenario. If that classmate had not walked by me at that exact moment… It could’ve gone two ways. Either I would’ve slit my own throat and died, or I wouldn’t have made the cut deep enough and been taken to the hospital. If the second scenario had happened, I probably would’ve continued to spiral out of control until I managed to take my own life.
The third part of this writing exercise is to contemplate what should have happened.
I will admit, that at first, I struggled to come up with an answer for this.
Among the 30 or so people who were attending the panel either typing or writing away, here I sat at a loss for words. What should have happened in that pivotal moment? The only answer that I could come up with was that what actually happened is what should’ve happened. I spent somewhere around 10 minutes trying to come up with another answer. Something witty or creative, but in the end what actually happened felt like it was exactly what should’ve happened.
Now I know this is kind of a dark piece of writing. It was a very dark time in my life, but I wanted to take a moment to show that when we reflect on the actions of the past we may find that however dark that moment was, we managed to find the light. It wasn’t right away that I knew I had made the right choice. For several years I considered suicide, but it no longer made sense for me. The idea of struggling to survive no longer sounded daunting. I knew it was going to be a lot of work, but I had a goal and it felt achievable.
Humans like to ask question, “What if?” What if this thing hadn’t happened or on the flip side what if this thing that didn’t happen did happened? Quite often, we sit and reflect on our decisions or non-decisions of the past. Rarely do we feel confident that we made the right choice. Usually we only reflect on the wrong decisions when we should be reflecting on the right decisions.
Take a moment to think back about a big decision you made that you know was truly what should have happened. Then use that to have confidence in yourself.
contributed by Amanda Whitbeck
Author Amanda Whitbeck writes about a life-changing writing retreat.
This last weekend I went to a writing retreat. Typically, one goes to a writing event to learn about writing, marketing, publishing, and so on.
What I didn’t expect to learn about, was myself.
During a panel titled “Writing About Your Life”, which I figured would mostly be about stuff I already knew since I spent the last 4 years writing a memoir about my life, I learned that I truly believe I am where I am supposed to be in life. After finishing the writing prompt, I felt like this would be a good exercise to share on my blog.
So, you start off by picking an event that changed the course of your life. Then you write a summary about what actually happened as you remember it.
The first thing that came to mind was the day that I almost attempted suicide. I was already struggling during my freshman year at high school, and every little mistake I made always felt like the end of the world. Every failure, no matter how small, was just a constant reminder that I was a failure as a person and good for nothing. So on this particular day, I was supposed to give a speech about a sentimental object in my English class. There had been a fight at home the night before and I had forgotten my item and my speech at home. Since it was a scheduled speech that we had to sign up for ahead of time, failure to do the speech on that day would result in a failed grade. No exceptions. So, when my name was called, I told the teacher I didn’t have my speech and walked out of the class.
Now up until this point, I had done a lot of research about the best ways to commit suicide. I had already decided how I wanted to kill myself, but I hadn’t chosen a place or time. Quite often I kept a small pocket knife on me because I would walk to school every day. On this particular day, I decided that my knife would be the perfect way to end my misery. I was sitting in the hallway just outside my classroom. The door to the classroom was at the end of the hallway so there wasn’t much foot traffic.
My mind was on an endless loop of every failure that I’d had up until that point in my life. A broken record of being told that the childhood sexual abuse that I endured was my fault. That because I was abused as a child I ruined their family. My own voice in my head told me that I would never amount to anything and that I could never escape the cycle of abuse.
I slowly pulled the knife out of my pocket and opened the blade. The glint of the shiny silver blade intrigued me. It was peaceful knowing that something so beautiful would put an end to my miserable life. As I started to pull the knife to my own throat and prepared to tilt my head down so that it would only take one swipe, a classmate that I knew walked by at that exact moment. Startled, I quickly hid the knife before my classmate could see what I had. He only gave me a simple hello and continued to walk by.
It was in this moment that I realized I had hit rock bottom, and the only way I would be able to survive was to get up, feed my stubborn nature, and fight to live the life that I wanted. I told myself that someday I would no longer be a victim, but instead I would be a survivor.
Now the second part of this exercise was to write about what would’ve happened.
For me, there is a very short would-have -xzbeen scenario. If that classmate had not walked by me at that exact moment… It could’ve gone two ways. Either I would’ve slit my own throat and died, or I wouldn’t have made the cut deep enough and been taken to the hospital. If the second scenario had happened, I probably would’ve continued to spiral out of control until I managed to take my own life.
The third part of this writing exercise is to contemplate what should have happened.
I will admit, that at first, I struggled to come up with an answer for this.
Among the 30 or so people who were attending the panel either typing or writing away, here I sat at a loss for words. What should have happened in that pivotal moment? The only answer that I could come up with was that what actually happened is what should’ve happened. I spent somewhere around 10 minutes trying to come up with another answer. Something witty or creative, but in the end what actually happened felt like it was exactly what should’ve happened.
Now I know this is kind of a dark piece of writing. It was a very dark time in my life, but I wanted to take a moment to show that when we reflect on the actions of the past we may find that however dark that moment was, we managed to find the light. It wasn’t right away that I knew I had made the right choice. For several years I considered suicide, but it no longer made sense for me. The idea of struggling to survive no longer sounded daunting. I knew it was going to be a lot of work, but I had a goal and it felt achievable.
Humans like to ask question, “What if?” What if this thing hadn’t happened or on the flip side what if this thing that didn’t happen did happened? Quite often, we sit and reflect on our decisions or non-decisions of the past. Rarely do we feel confident that we made the right choice. Usually we only reflect on the wrong decisions when we should be reflecting on the right decisions.
Take a moment to think back about a big decision you made that you know was truly what should have happened. Then use that to have confidence in yourself.
contributed by Amanda Whitbeck
The Art of Procrastination by AMANDA WHITBECK
What is it about Procrastination that is so appealing? It’s not that we set out to procrastinate, but while we are doing it, it can feel soothing. And yet, so amazingly stressful. It is fascinating some of the excuses we justify just so that we can continue to procrastinate.
“It won’t take me that long to actually do it, so I can wait a bit longer.”
“I’ll start right after I finish…”
“It’s just not the right time to start yet…”
“I’m just so busy right now…”
My current procrastination project is my Memoir. I’ve worked on this book for two years now. I put off writing it because it was highly emotional, which I admit was some procrastination, but it was also that I really wasn’t ready for people to read my story yet. It took me a month to actually write, thank you NaNoWriMo. I spent 3 months pretending to edit which was me telling myself that I would get to it, but I was too busy with any number of things. A few times I told myself that it would wait because there wasn’t actually a deadline. Then Camp NaNoWriMo came around and I decided that it was time.
Now that I’ve revised it and edited it multiple times, I put off deciding how I wanted to publish. I did a lot of research, but even after I made my mind up, I kept putting off working towards publication. That was about a year. I know exactly what I want to do and how, but even with all the resources out I need, I still keep procrastinating. I’m currently working on:
Making a list of Literary Agents
Writing a query
A last edit polish
Finding Beta Readers
I find myself with prospective beta readers and I still can’t seem to get myself into gear.
Now I’m writing this article about procrastination while I procrastinate… Talk about avoidance. What is it that makes us put off something that is clearly important to ourselves?
It could be that due to the high emotional nature of my memoir, I am just not ready to put it into print. It could be that I’m having some self esteem issues now that I have a beta reader and don’t think my writing is up to par. Maybe I feel that my story isn’t important enough for other people to read. Or better yet, maybe my fear of rejection has stopped me in my tracks and is filling me with excuses. I can’t be rejected if I don’t try… right?
So while I am being honest here, let me admit to what I find myself doing instead of getting my memoir finalized.
Cleaning detailed things that could take a long time
Cooking unnecessary and over-complicated recipes
Over researching pointless or useless information
Starting new writing projects
Reading books
Starting new craft projects
I’m hoping that I will pep talk myself with this article so that I can get myself moving forward.
What have you been putting off lately and why? What tactics and excuses do you use to justify it?
Contributed by Amanda Whitbeck
What is it about Procrastination that is so appealing? It’s not that we set out to procrastinate, but while we are doing it, it can feel soothing. And yet, so amazingly stressful. It is fascinating some of the excuses we justify just so that we can continue to procrastinate.
“It won’t take me that long to actually do it, so I can wait a bit longer.”
“I’ll start right after I finish…”
“It’s just not the right time to start yet…”
“I’m just so busy right now…”
My current procrastination project is my Memoir. I’ve worked on this book for two years now. I put off writing it because it was highly emotional, which I admit was some procrastination, but it was also that I really wasn’t ready for people to read my story yet. It took me a month to actually write, thank you NaNoWriMo. I spent 3 months pretending to edit which was me telling myself that I would get to it, but I was too busy with any number of things. A few times I told myself that it would wait because there wasn’t actually a deadline. Then Camp NaNoWriMo came around and I decided that it was time.
Now that I’ve revised it and edited it multiple times, I put off deciding how I wanted to publish. I did a lot of research, but even after I made my mind up, I kept putting off working towards publication. That was about a year. I know exactly what I want to do and how, but even with all the resources out I need, I still keep procrastinating. I’m currently working on:
Making a list of Literary Agents
Writing a query
A last edit polish
Finding Beta Readers
I find myself with prospective beta readers and I still can’t seem to get myself into gear.
Now I’m writing this article about procrastination while I procrastinate… Talk about avoidance. What is it that makes us put off something that is clearly important to ourselves?
It could be that due to the high emotional nature of my memoir, I am just not ready to put it into print. It could be that I’m having some self esteem issues now that I have a beta reader and don’t think my writing is up to par. Maybe I feel that my story isn’t important enough for other people to read. Or better yet, maybe my fear of rejection has stopped me in my tracks and is filling me with excuses. I can’t be rejected if I don’t try… right?
So while I am being honest here, let me admit to what I find myself doing instead of getting my memoir finalized.
Cleaning detailed things that could take a long time
Cooking unnecessary and over-complicated recipes
Over researching pointless or useless information
Starting new writing projects
Reading books
Starting new craft projects
I’m hoping that I will pep talk myself with this article so that I can get myself moving forward.
What have you been putting off lately and why? What tactics and excuses do you use to justify it?
Contributed by Amanda Whitbeck
Author Sherry LeClerc ponders on the wisdom of editing as you write
Many first-time writers wonder if they should edit during the writing process. The simple answer, and the resounding consensus that you will hear online and in books, is NO.
Writing is an art. It is a creative process where you bring your story to life.
Writing is an art. It is a creative process where you bring your story to life. Editing, on the other hand, is more of a logical and methodical process, where you are looking at things like sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and the like.
I have read articles that claim that writing and editing use different areas of the brain, and if you try to do both at the same time it can be detrimental to the creative process. I have read other articles that say you actually use both the logical and the creative when writing.
I believe that the latter is true, but that the importance lies in what you are most focusing on in different stages of the writing and editing processes.
The general advice…is to put your nose to the grindstone and focus on getting your first draft done before moving on to the editing process.
The general advice is to put your nose to the grindstone and focus on getting your first draft done before moving on to the editing process. Of course, you are going to use some logic in plotting and structuring your book, but world, character, and story building – in other words, the creative aspect – will be your priority during the writing stage.
Once you go back to edit, you are going to focus on the details, such as spelling, grammar, structure, and so on, to make your creation as accurate and appealing as possible. It’s the cutting and polishing of the diamond you’ve just made.
There are certainly many benefits to approaching writing in this way. There will likely be less time to spend on worry and self-doubt as you just get your thoughts down on paper. Your mind will be focused on the story itself, thus allowing the story to flow naturally.
Is going back and re-reading the same as editing?
But what if you’ve been away from your book for some time due to work or family responsibilities or illness? Should you go back and read what you’d written previously? Is going back and re-reading the same as editing?
It depends on what your focus and goals are when you go back. If you go back and pick at the grammar and look for plot holes, for example, you would be venturing into the editing area. Try and stay away from the urge to do this before the first draft of your manuscript is complete.
To use myself as an example, I have a full-time day job where I often take work home with me. I also have two young children. There are times when I have to be away from my work-in-progress (WIP) for some time. Because of this, I will often go back and re-read sections of what I have written.
I do this to get back into the world of the novel, to re-acquaint myself with my characters, and to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything that I could accidentally contradict going forward (this can happen more easily than you might think when you are writing 70,000 words plus).
What I don’t do at this point is any line, content, or structural editing. I don’t nit-pick the grammar, fact check, or edit the content. I will leave these for after I have completed the first draft.
Of course, it goes without saying that everyone is different, and what works for most may not work for all. And that’s okay. The general advice, as I said above, is to approach the crafting of your story and the editing of your story in different passes, and this seems to work well for me.
In the end though, you need to find a process that works for you personally, and you will find it with time and practice.
contributed by Sherry LeClerc
Many first-time writers wonder if they should edit during the writing process. The simple answer, and the resounding consensus that you will hear online and in books, is NO.
Writing is an art. It is a creative process where you bring your story to life.
Writing is an art. It is a creative process where you bring your story to life. Editing, on the other hand, is more of a logical and methodical process, where you are looking at things like sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and the like.
I have read articles that claim that writing and editing use different areas of the brain, and if you try to do both at the same time it can be detrimental to the creative process. I have read other articles that say you actually use both the logical and the creative when writing.
I believe that the latter is true, but that the importance lies in what you are most focusing on in different stages of the writing and editing processes.
The general advice…is to put your nose to the grindstone and focus on getting your first draft done before moving on to the editing process.
The general advice is to put your nose to the grindstone and focus on getting your first draft done before moving on to the editing process. Of course, you are going to use some logic in plotting and structuring your book, but world, character, and story building – in other words, the creative aspect – will be your priority during the writing stage.
Once you go back to edit, you are going to focus on the details, such as spelling, grammar, structure, and so on, to make your creation as accurate and appealing as possible. It’s the cutting and polishing of the diamond you’ve just made.
There are certainly many benefits to approaching writing in this way. There will likely be less time to spend on worry and self-doubt as you just get your thoughts down on paper. Your mind will be focused on the story itself, thus allowing the story to flow naturally.
Is going back and re-reading the same as editing?
But what if you’ve been away from your book for some time due to work or family responsibilities or illness? Should you go back and read what you’d written previously? Is going back and re-reading the same as editing?
It depends on what your focus and goals are when you go back. If you go back and pick at the grammar and look for plot holes, for example, you would be venturing into the editing area. Try and stay away from the urge to do this before the first draft of your manuscript is complete.
To use myself as an example, I have a full-time day job where I often take work home with me. I also have two young children. There are times when I have to be away from my work-in-progress (WIP) for some time. Because of this, I will often go back and re-read sections of what I have written.
I do this to get back into the world of the novel, to re-acquaint myself with my characters, and to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything that I could accidentally contradict going forward (this can happen more easily than you might think when you are writing 70,000 words plus).
What I don’t do at this point is any line, content, or structural editing. I don’t nit-pick the grammar, fact check, or edit the content. I will leave these for after I have completed the first draft.
Of course, it goes without saying that everyone is different, and what works for most may not work for all. And that’s okay. The general advice, as I said above, is to approach the crafting of your story and the editing of your story in different passes, and this seems to work well for me.
In the end though, you need to find a process that works for you personally, and you will find it with time and practice.
contributed by Sherry LeClerc
Author Ted Bun explains what Naturist Fiction is
Naturist Fiction
The Self-publishing boom enabled by e-books has encouraged whole areas of writing that a conventional publisher wouldn’t have thought economically viable. This includes a genre where some or all of the protagonists are nudists, naturist or clothes free for some reason.
If you type the word ‘Naturist’ or worse still ‘Nudist’ into the Amazon books search engine, you will get a very mixed bag of results. However, lurking in the list are a number of books that can be described as Naturist Fiction.
In all the naturist fiction stories that I have read, people are trying to go about their normal, everyday lives, not wearing clothes. Sexual activity may or may not be mentioned depending on the author and the needs of the story. If there is any sexual activity it is between consenting adults and is seldom the main focus of the story. Non-consensual sex is rare and always treated as a crime.
In the typical Naturist Fiction, the narrative will tend to focus on a storyline that involves people not wearing clothes. It may be in a naturist resort, a modified reality or deep in the past or future. That the protagonists are going to be mainly be undressed is used to add complexity to the story as the naked characters encounter the clothed world. For example, the hero chases the thief out of the locker room of the naked gym but should he or she give up the pursuit when the thief crashes through the door onto a busy London street.? Or just keep going?
Alternatively, the ever popular American, ‘Murder in the Nudist Camp’ stories are more about the doubts and uncertainties of the hard-bitten, often bigoted, police officer sent to investigate. Sometimes his uncertainties and the crime are resolved, at other times they leave the door open to the enterprising journalist or private investigator to forsake their fears and clothes to solve the crime from within.
There are Naturist Fiction stories in almost every class of story-telling. From science fiction, fantasy, crime, religion, romance, historical fiction through to out and out comedy. In settings, as diverse as the English Home Counties to Remote Scottish Islands. From identifiable towns in France to anonymous resorts in the former Native American territories of America. From Imaginary Islands (somewhere near Cape Verde is my guess) to planets in distant galaxies. From the Bible-belt of USA to Mexico. Naturist fiction spans the globe and beyond.
As with all unregulated endeavours, the standard of the work is variable. In the early days of self-publishing, errors were very common and nearly destroyed the concept. It is a great concept too, write your story, make a book cover for the front and adverts, post it to a website and collect huge royalties. Well, you do if you are E. L. James, who self-published Fifty Shades of Grey before being picked up by Vintage Press.
The volume of sales, why the traditional publishers didn’t engage, does not allow for professional editing at £30 or more an hour. I have a small group of readers who proof and consistency read for me. They then tell me it is great except … and send a list of corrections. Even so, I had a character sitting, naked of course, in the sun; then six months later it is April. That was picked up by a reader and was quickly corrected. One of the joys of self-publishing e-books and print-on-demand paperbacks, you can correct the manuscript as often as you like. Most of the authors can easily be found on Twitter or Facebook and are pretty approachable. A nicely worded private message pointing out the odd mistake is generally welcomed.
A few names to play with:
Matthew Black
A series of humorous books most involving a naturist planning officer
Andrew Calow
Romantic stories set in a legal firm
Olaf Danielson
An American writer and nude bird watcher
Jacob Drake
An American writer who has cleverly written the same story from different viewpoints.
Brad Eases
A bit racy but writes some clever material, USA based
Will Forest
A variety of different well-researched stories
Wallace M Greensage
Has created a new country for his stories of a group of naked friends.
John David Harding
Two light-hearted stories of naked musicians
Kenneth A Moe
Anyone who can create and sustain a Naturist Church over several books gets my vote!
Richard Schillig
Owner of a campsite in Portugal, Richards first foray into fiction is a fun play on words.
P Z Walker
Science Fiction, Fantasy and Historical Fiction all get a naturist re-working from the prolific PZ
And, of course, Ted Bun.
The Uncovered Policeman a lot of froth and fun signifying nothing
contributed by Ted Bun © 2018
Naturist Fiction
The Self-publishing boom enabled by e-books has encouraged whole areas of writing that a conventional publisher wouldn’t have thought economically viable. This includes a genre where some or all of the protagonists are nudists, naturist or clothes free for some reason.
If you type the word ‘Naturist’ or worse still ‘Nudist’ into the Amazon books search engine, you will get a very mixed bag of results. However, lurking in the list are a number of books that can be described as Naturist Fiction.
In all the naturist fiction stories that I have read, people are trying to go about their normal, everyday lives, not wearing clothes. Sexual activity may or may not be mentioned depending on the author and the needs of the story. If there is any sexual activity it is between consenting adults and is seldom the main focus of the story. Non-consensual sex is rare and always treated as a crime.
In the typical Naturist Fiction, the narrative will tend to focus on a storyline that involves people not wearing clothes. It may be in a naturist resort, a modified reality or deep in the past or future. That the protagonists are going to be mainly be undressed is used to add complexity to the story as the naked characters encounter the clothed world. For example, the hero chases the thief out of the locker room of the naked gym but should he or she give up the pursuit when the thief crashes through the door onto a busy London street.? Or just keep going?
Alternatively, the ever popular American, ‘Murder in the Nudist Camp’ stories are more about the doubts and uncertainties of the hard-bitten, often bigoted, police officer sent to investigate. Sometimes his uncertainties and the crime are resolved, at other times they leave the door open to the enterprising journalist or private investigator to forsake their fears and clothes to solve the crime from within.
There are Naturist Fiction stories in almost every class of story-telling. From science fiction, fantasy, crime, religion, romance, historical fiction through to out and out comedy. In settings, as diverse as the English Home Counties to Remote Scottish Islands. From identifiable towns in France to anonymous resorts in the former Native American territories of America. From Imaginary Islands (somewhere near Cape Verde is my guess) to planets in distant galaxies. From the Bible-belt of USA to Mexico. Naturist fiction spans the globe and beyond.
As with all unregulated endeavours, the standard of the work is variable. In the early days of self-publishing, errors were very common and nearly destroyed the concept. It is a great concept too, write your story, make a book cover for the front and adverts, post it to a website and collect huge royalties. Well, you do if you are E. L. James, who self-published Fifty Shades of Grey before being picked up by Vintage Press.
The volume of sales, why the traditional publishers didn’t engage, does not allow for professional editing at £30 or more an hour. I have a small group of readers who proof and consistency read for me. They then tell me it is great except … and send a list of corrections. Even so, I had a character sitting, naked of course, in the sun; then six months later it is April. That was picked up by a reader and was quickly corrected. One of the joys of self-publishing e-books and print-on-demand paperbacks, you can correct the manuscript as often as you like. Most of the authors can easily be found on Twitter or Facebook and are pretty approachable. A nicely worded private message pointing out the odd mistake is generally welcomed.
A few names to play with:
Matthew Black
A series of humorous books most involving a naturist planning officer
Andrew Calow
Romantic stories set in a legal firm
Olaf Danielson
An American writer and nude bird watcher
Jacob Drake
An American writer who has cleverly written the same story from different viewpoints.
Brad Eases
A bit racy but writes some clever material, USA based
Will Forest
A variety of different well-researched stories
Wallace M Greensage
Has created a new country for his stories of a group of naked friends.
John David Harding
Two light-hearted stories of naked musicians
Kenneth A Moe
Anyone who can create and sustain a Naturist Church over several books gets my vote!
Richard Schillig
Owner of a campsite in Portugal, Richards first foray into fiction is a fun play on words.
P Z Walker
Science Fiction, Fantasy and Historical Fiction all get a naturist re-working from the prolific PZ
And, of course, Ted Bun.
The Uncovered Policeman a lot of froth and fun signifying nothing
contributed by Ted Bun © 2018
The Rewrite - Why Didn't Anyone Tell Me About the Rewrite?
Andrea Lechner-Becker writes about the task that faces writers AFTER they think they've finished the book.
Done. It's a word that many authors ascribe to completing their manuscript, When he or she types "The End" that's what's happened, the manuscript is complete. Allow me to share how I found that's just when things get started.
I "finished" my debut novel, Sixty Days Left, at the end of last year. I quit my lucrative job as a marketing executive to publish and promote my book full-time. Before I began promoting, I decided to have a professional edit it. My newbie nature assumed the editor would fine-tune the grammar and give me some light feedback. What I received back for my $1,000 was a fifteen page editorial letter and over a thousand comments ranging from, "What's the point of this?" to dots between my ams and pms.
I spent all of February retooling, AKA rewriting, large swathes of the book, carving out 30,000 words from my 90,000 word manuscript and adding in 7,000. These edits ranged from completely removing characters to tightening up verbs.
As I reviewed other self-published author's works after this experience, it became obvious that these authors had not yet invested in a professional editor. The result? It harmed the overall quality of their book. So, some free advice. Here are the things to address in a first draft:
1. Boring verbs. Search your manuscript for "was", then systematically destroy as many as you can. "He was walking..." So, "He walked..." This activity will also challenge you to say things in a more interesting way, which leads me to...
2. Show don't tell. It's not a fresh mantra, but certainly a challenging one to maintain through tens of thousands of words. While you're in changing "was walking" to "walked" think about whether he just walked, or did he stride? This happened in my book with looking and smiling. During long dialogue scene, my characters looked and smiled at each other a lot, this bothered my editor. It challenged me to build more depth to characters as I thought about just how they would search a room with their eyes or crinkle their nose during a half-smile.
3. Ask yourself, "Does it matter?" Be aggressive with this question. This character has a dog with floppy ears. Why does the reader care? That paragraph where you explain North 77th Street for almost an entire page. Why does the reader care? Would the story survive without that "thing"? If yes, then remove it. Do it with characters, do it with details, do it with words. If you can say something with less words, it should likely be said that way. Don't waste your reader's energy.
Now then, once you've done these things, pay someone to edit your work. I understand the starving nature of many self-published authors, but during the next phase of publishing, you'll be asking a lot of people to invest their time in reading your stuff. If you aren't willing to invest in yourself, why should they invest in you? There is simply no substitute for a great editor, who you can trust to make your book far better than you can do alone.
As Pulitzer Prize winning author James A. Michener said, "I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter."
Contributed by Andrea Lechner-Becker
Andrea Lechner-Becker writes about the task that faces writers AFTER they think they've finished the book.
Done. It's a word that many authors ascribe to completing their manuscript, When he or she types "The End" that's what's happened, the manuscript is complete. Allow me to share how I found that's just when things get started.
I "finished" my debut novel, Sixty Days Left, at the end of last year. I quit my lucrative job as a marketing executive to publish and promote my book full-time. Before I began promoting, I decided to have a professional edit it. My newbie nature assumed the editor would fine-tune the grammar and give me some light feedback. What I received back for my $1,000 was a fifteen page editorial letter and over a thousand comments ranging from, "What's the point of this?" to dots between my ams and pms.
I spent all of February retooling, AKA rewriting, large swathes of the book, carving out 30,000 words from my 90,000 word manuscript and adding in 7,000. These edits ranged from completely removing characters to tightening up verbs.
As I reviewed other self-published author's works after this experience, it became obvious that these authors had not yet invested in a professional editor. The result? It harmed the overall quality of their book. So, some free advice. Here are the things to address in a first draft:
1. Boring verbs. Search your manuscript for "was", then systematically destroy as many as you can. "He was walking..." So, "He walked..." This activity will also challenge you to say things in a more interesting way, which leads me to...
2. Show don't tell. It's not a fresh mantra, but certainly a challenging one to maintain through tens of thousands of words. While you're in changing "was walking" to "walked" think about whether he just walked, or did he stride? This happened in my book with looking and smiling. During long dialogue scene, my characters looked and smiled at each other a lot, this bothered my editor. It challenged me to build more depth to characters as I thought about just how they would search a room with their eyes or crinkle their nose during a half-smile.
3. Ask yourself, "Does it matter?" Be aggressive with this question. This character has a dog with floppy ears. Why does the reader care? That paragraph where you explain North 77th Street for almost an entire page. Why does the reader care? Would the story survive without that "thing"? If yes, then remove it. Do it with characters, do it with details, do it with words. If you can say something with less words, it should likely be said that way. Don't waste your reader's energy.
Now then, once you've done these things, pay someone to edit your work. I understand the starving nature of many self-published authors, but during the next phase of publishing, you'll be asking a lot of people to invest their time in reading your stuff. If you aren't willing to invest in yourself, why should they invest in you? There is simply no substitute for a great editor, who you can trust to make your book far better than you can do alone.
As Pulitzer Prize winning author James A. Michener said, "I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter."
Contributed by Andrea Lechner-Becker
CHANGING YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON CRITICISM HELPS!
“What other people think of me is none of my business.”
Yes, I’ve heard that, too, but I agree only in part. We still have to be accountable for our behavior, and it doesn’t help to stubbornly insist we are fine—and that whatever we do is okay regardless of how many people say otherwise.
It doesn’t mean we have to believe every negative thing anyone says about us. It’s more about the willingness to consider what others have to say, whether we like what they’re saying or not. It’s about our responsibility to learn, grow, and evolve.
Everything comes back to balance for me, but when you’re able to set aside ego and keep an open mind, discernment about what to take personally and what to blow off becomes easier.
You can surely tell if something is malicious or plain stupid.
For example, and speaking as an author now, we put our work out there before a world that seems divided on just about everything. Everyone has opinions, not all of them based on reality or given by someone who has a reasonable frame of reference. Someone may read about a tragic event and say it isn’t an accurate portrayal. You can write something that did happen or describe someone that was very real, and someone might see it is a misrepresentation because that’s not what they’ve experienced. People also have personal biases and triggers. And, yes, sometimes the reason they don’t like something has more to do with them than you. I have seen fellow writers get two-star book reviews for reasons that had nothing to do with the book. Some trolls will say negative things merely because they can.
But most of our antagonists or legitimate critics in life, personally and professionally, are people with their own agendas who may or may not have a vested interest in us. And sometimes, they are right on the money.
Unfortunately, however, some people fear criticism so much that they’re not able to live their dreams or find true happiness, They may put a toe in the water but never dive in.
What I have to say may help. It’s worked for me.
That helped tremendously, and I soon realized you could do that with just about anything.
Criticism, like pain, isn’t comfortable. It feels horrible, and we don’t like feeling horrible, so we tell ourselves we can’t handle it.
Take yourself out of fear mode and the feeling of helplessness and powerlessness. Acknowledge that you’re not comfortable. Tell yourself you can handle it, then decide how you will do that. You want to find the solution, control whatever it is you can control, and let go of whatever you can’t. Stress only makes things worse.
You’re not alone. What’s happening to you is happening to others, maybe even at the same moment. So many people have been through it. You are no different from any of them and no less capable of handling it. Maybe it seems so much worse because it is happening to you.
Take Yourself Off the Pedestal
On a professional level, people could tell us a thousand times about all the famous people who’d been rejected over and over before the world realized how amazing they were. Many will say, “Well that won’t be me. Oh, but, what am I going to do if it is? How can I control that?”
You can’t, and it’s not easy to get past all that righteous indignation you feel. Someone is criticizing or rejecting you or your behavior or your work, and you instinctively want to defend yourself. You become angry. You feel sad or ashamed. It hurts.
Understand first, that you are not the exception to every rule.
In recovery circles, we laughingly refer to ourselves as “just another Bozo on the bus.” It may sound a bit harsh, but it’s a way of humbling yourself, and taking yourself off the pedestal. I like to think of myself as just another writer, another voice in the choir, and mostly just another person trying to learn and figure things out. That’s an accurate description. We are babies in this astounding old universe, and it’s okay to accept that we’re all vulnerable—not only to the force of nature and random happenings but to each other.
When we respect that, we don’t see people as enemies and haters. We see them as people struggling to survive, like we are.
You are not this person the whole world is watching, and with ridiculous expectations, all the while hoping you will fail or die. I know we meet some nasty people in life that make it seem that way. It’s not surprising that we end up seeing people through such a negative lens. But let’s refuse to believe anyone is that obsessed with us or that petty.
No matter what’s happening, we need to believe that the world is with us, and that the universe supports us.
And with this shift in perspective, there’s little need to be competitive or combative, no need for drama or denial or damage control.
I don’t know about you, but I can think of better things to do than spend my time and energy doing damage control for the sake of my ego. It’s a full-time job, really, with plenty of overtime—controlling how the world sees us and everything that we do. In fact, the business of hiding an inferiority complex behind some shield of superiority is downright exhausting. It becomes impossible to admit you are wrong and say you are sorry. It has you taking credit for all the good in situations and relationships but none of the bad.
Listen to Learn
Do you enjoy a challenge? Do you love to overcome problems and obstacles? I know I do. Understanding that you can do better helps. Wanting to do better can save your life.
Sometimes, we are lazy about fixing stuff. It’s overwhelming. It’s too much work. The reality of life is harsh and can bring unbearable pain. Denial is much more comforting.
I can tell you that, in the past decade, many people have praised me for things I once sucked at, and that’s because somewhere along the line, someone provided me with valuable insight. I was willing to work at it, and so I benefited in the end.
Every critic is a teacher, planting seeds for our improvement and healing.
As far as I can tell, we have to keep listening to learn. On both a personal and professional level, there is always room for improvement. I am obsessed with learning more and more about things that have affected me in my life—things that tripped me up when I had to deal with them in others or myself. I want to learn all I can, not because I’m looking to point fingers but because awareness is everything. I’ve loved those big hallelujah moments where I’ve said, “Hah! So, that’s what’s been going on!” Those were game-changing, life-altering moments. I can’t help feeling grateful for every one of those opportunities.
So, fall in love with the process of learning, growing, evolving, and recovering. It helps us to succeed more and suffer less. And do it with the understanding that this is precisely how it’s supposed to go. Everything is an opportunity for growth, and even shitheads can make valid points. Embrace it. Accept it.
It’s all part of a divine process that is always happening, and we are both a part of and a child of that divinity.
Contributed by Kyrian Lyndon
“What other people think of me is none of my business.”
Yes, I’ve heard that, too, but I agree only in part. We still have to be accountable for our behavior, and it doesn’t help to stubbornly insist we are fine—and that whatever we do is okay regardless of how many people say otherwise.
It doesn’t mean we have to believe every negative thing anyone says about us. It’s more about the willingness to consider what others have to say, whether we like what they’re saying or not. It’s about our responsibility to learn, grow, and evolve.
Everything comes back to balance for me, but when you’re able to set aside ego and keep an open mind, discernment about what to take personally and what to blow off becomes easier.
You can surely tell if something is malicious or plain stupid.
For example, and speaking as an author now, we put our work out there before a world that seems divided on just about everything. Everyone has opinions, not all of them based on reality or given by someone who has a reasonable frame of reference. Someone may read about a tragic event and say it isn’t an accurate portrayal. You can write something that did happen or describe someone that was very real, and someone might see it is a misrepresentation because that’s not what they’ve experienced. People also have personal biases and triggers. And, yes, sometimes the reason they don’t like something has more to do with them than you. I have seen fellow writers get two-star book reviews for reasons that had nothing to do with the book. Some trolls will say negative things merely because they can.
But most of our antagonists or legitimate critics in life, personally and professionally, are people with their own agendas who may or may not have a vested interest in us. And sometimes, they are right on the money.
Unfortunately, however, some people fear criticism so much that they’re not able to live their dreams or find true happiness, They may put a toe in the water but never dive in.
What I have to say may help. It’s worked for me.
- Change Your Relationship with Criticism
That helped tremendously, and I soon realized you could do that with just about anything.
Criticism, like pain, isn’t comfortable. It feels horrible, and we don’t like feeling horrible, so we tell ourselves we can’t handle it.
Take yourself out of fear mode and the feeling of helplessness and powerlessness. Acknowledge that you’re not comfortable. Tell yourself you can handle it, then decide how you will do that. You want to find the solution, control whatever it is you can control, and let go of whatever you can’t. Stress only makes things worse.
You’re not alone. What’s happening to you is happening to others, maybe even at the same moment. So many people have been through it. You are no different from any of them and no less capable of handling it. Maybe it seems so much worse because it is happening to you.
Take Yourself Off the Pedestal
On a professional level, people could tell us a thousand times about all the famous people who’d been rejected over and over before the world realized how amazing they were. Many will say, “Well that won’t be me. Oh, but, what am I going to do if it is? How can I control that?”
You can’t, and it’s not easy to get past all that righteous indignation you feel. Someone is criticizing or rejecting you or your behavior or your work, and you instinctively want to defend yourself. You become angry. You feel sad or ashamed. It hurts.
Understand first, that you are not the exception to every rule.
In recovery circles, we laughingly refer to ourselves as “just another Bozo on the bus.” It may sound a bit harsh, but it’s a way of humbling yourself, and taking yourself off the pedestal. I like to think of myself as just another writer, another voice in the choir, and mostly just another person trying to learn and figure things out. That’s an accurate description. We are babies in this astounding old universe, and it’s okay to accept that we’re all vulnerable—not only to the force of nature and random happenings but to each other.
When we respect that, we don’t see people as enemies and haters. We see them as people struggling to survive, like we are.
You are not this person the whole world is watching, and with ridiculous expectations, all the while hoping you will fail or die. I know we meet some nasty people in life that make it seem that way. It’s not surprising that we end up seeing people through such a negative lens. But let’s refuse to believe anyone is that obsessed with us or that petty.
No matter what’s happening, we need to believe that the world is with us, and that the universe supports us.
And with this shift in perspective, there’s little need to be competitive or combative, no need for drama or denial or damage control.
I don’t know about you, but I can think of better things to do than spend my time and energy doing damage control for the sake of my ego. It’s a full-time job, really, with plenty of overtime—controlling how the world sees us and everything that we do. In fact, the business of hiding an inferiority complex behind some shield of superiority is downright exhausting. It becomes impossible to admit you are wrong and say you are sorry. It has you taking credit for all the good in situations and relationships but none of the bad.
Listen to Learn
Do you enjoy a challenge? Do you love to overcome problems and obstacles? I know I do. Understanding that you can do better helps. Wanting to do better can save your life.
Sometimes, we are lazy about fixing stuff. It’s overwhelming. It’s too much work. The reality of life is harsh and can bring unbearable pain. Denial is much more comforting.
I can tell you that, in the past decade, many people have praised me for things I once sucked at, and that’s because somewhere along the line, someone provided me with valuable insight. I was willing to work at it, and so I benefited in the end.
Every critic is a teacher, planting seeds for our improvement and healing.
As far as I can tell, we have to keep listening to learn. On both a personal and professional level, there is always room for improvement. I am obsessed with learning more and more about things that have affected me in my life—things that tripped me up when I had to deal with them in others or myself. I want to learn all I can, not because I’m looking to point fingers but because awareness is everything. I’ve loved those big hallelujah moments where I’ve said, “Hah! So, that’s what’s been going on!” Those were game-changing, life-altering moments. I can’t help feeling grateful for every one of those opportunities.
So, fall in love with the process of learning, growing, evolving, and recovering. It helps us to succeed more and suffer less. And do it with the understanding that this is precisely how it’s supposed to go. Everything is an opportunity for growth, and even shitheads can make valid points. Embrace it. Accept it.
It’s all part of a divine process that is always happening, and we are both a part of and a child of that divinity.
Contributed by Kyrian Lyndon
James Gault asks Why do writers write?
Writing is a time-consuming activity, and more so if you are a writer of novels or full length non-fiction books. What’s more, it’s not very lucrative, unless you’re a famous best-selling author. And becoming one of those is a bit like winning the lottery, except that writing requires a much bigger slice of your time than buying a lottery ticket. So are authors unremitting optimists, every one of them believing they are the chosen ones with the unique talent and fabulous luck that will ensure they become the next BIG NAME? Apparently not!
I have interviewed several of the Voice of Literature contributors for this magazine, and, like me, not one of them is daydreaming of fame and fortune. Instead they all have valid and logical reasons for writing, both self-centred ones about pleasing themselves and philanthropic ones where the interest of the reader takes pride of place.
What seems to be important for all writers is the self-satisfaction they get both from the process of writing, and, perhaps even more, from the sense of achievement which comes when the hours and hours of hard work and creative inspiration result at last in a finished book. But writing a full-length book takes a long time to achieve. Most writers know the idea of finishing it is not what got us started nor what keeps us going. Rather, it seems we all just seem compelled to write: we really can’t help it.
In the other roles we have had to take on to put food on the table, we convince ourselves that we are actually not really salesmen, IT specialists, teachers, reporters or whatever. No, we’re really writers, giving our creative spirit full reign. Sales proposals, crime reports, computer system designs, even school reports or class exams are our own private masterpieces of invention and communication. But the self-delusion eventually breaks down, and we finally buckle down to the hard task of writing those fictional stories that have always been in our heads.
Of course, if you write, you also want to be read. And authors are just as interested in pleasing the reader as they are in the pleasure they get from the writing process. All of them, even non-fiction writers, agree that their prime aim is to entertain and amuse their readership. But there are other goals as well. Some of us would like to influence how our readers see the world, in the hope that they may in some small way be inspired to change it for the better. Author Sherry Leclerc is one example: she wants to portray ‘a different look at the world’. And, if you look through the many reviews we have done in the Voice of Literature, you’ll see how often novelists are making us face up to troubling themes from contemporary society.
So that’s your typical author then: a prisoner of an undeniable desire to write and a passion to make the world a better place. Why not become one? Or at least support those affected by this unfortunate affliction by reading some of their works.
Contributed by James Gault
Writing is a time-consuming activity, and more so if you are a writer of novels or full length non-fiction books. What’s more, it’s not very lucrative, unless you’re a famous best-selling author. And becoming one of those is a bit like winning the lottery, except that writing requires a much bigger slice of your time than buying a lottery ticket. So are authors unremitting optimists, every one of them believing they are the chosen ones with the unique talent and fabulous luck that will ensure they become the next BIG NAME? Apparently not!
I have interviewed several of the Voice of Literature contributors for this magazine, and, like me, not one of them is daydreaming of fame and fortune. Instead they all have valid and logical reasons for writing, both self-centred ones about pleasing themselves and philanthropic ones where the interest of the reader takes pride of place.
What seems to be important for all writers is the self-satisfaction they get both from the process of writing, and, perhaps even more, from the sense of achievement which comes when the hours and hours of hard work and creative inspiration result at last in a finished book. But writing a full-length book takes a long time to achieve. Most writers know the idea of finishing it is not what got us started nor what keeps us going. Rather, it seems we all just seem compelled to write: we really can’t help it.
In the other roles we have had to take on to put food on the table, we convince ourselves that we are actually not really salesmen, IT specialists, teachers, reporters or whatever. No, we’re really writers, giving our creative spirit full reign. Sales proposals, crime reports, computer system designs, even school reports or class exams are our own private masterpieces of invention and communication. But the self-delusion eventually breaks down, and we finally buckle down to the hard task of writing those fictional stories that have always been in our heads.
Of course, if you write, you also want to be read. And authors are just as interested in pleasing the reader as they are in the pleasure they get from the writing process. All of them, even non-fiction writers, agree that their prime aim is to entertain and amuse their readership. But there are other goals as well. Some of us would like to influence how our readers see the world, in the hope that they may in some small way be inspired to change it for the better. Author Sherry Leclerc is one example: she wants to portray ‘a different look at the world’. And, if you look through the many reviews we have done in the Voice of Literature, you’ll see how often novelists are making us face up to troubling themes from contemporary society.
So that’s your typical author then: a prisoner of an undeniable desire to write and a passion to make the world a better place. Why not become one? Or at least support those affected by this unfortunate affliction by reading some of their works.
Contributed by James Gault
Author Sherry LeClerc describes the pitfalls of choosing a book cover
Cover design is one service new and aspiring indie authors can’t afford to skimp on. We often start out with limited resources, trying to decide which services we need, and which we can do without.+
There are many things you can do on your own if you are patient and willing to learn. However, unless you are an accomplished artist or graphic designer as well as a writer, you will want to choose a professionally made cover. A poorly designed cover can cause readers to overlook or turn away from a book that might otherwise have great content inside.
Your cover is the first thing readers will notice about your book. It needs to be attention-grabbing and indicative of what the readers will find inside. It needs to hook people. It is said that the cover is what gets readers to pick up the book and flip it over to read the synopsis on the back cover, and it’s the synopsis on the back that convinces the reader to look inside.
Aside from the art itself, there are other considerations that should not be overlooked. These include, but aren’t limited to, color scheme, font, text size, and how easy it is to see the art and text when the cover is in thumbnail size on Amazon. Get any of these wrong, and it could negatively affect your book sales.
There are different alternatives to book cover creation, and prices can vary greatly. You can buy a pre-made book cover from a reputable site by choosing from a large variety of options. You choose a cover that fits with your book, and the artist will add your author name and book title. You can find some relatively inexpensive covers this way, but the end price will depend on the artist and/or cover you choose, and whether you are looking for an eBook cover, paperback cover, hardcover, audiobook cover, or some combination of these.
The Book Cover Designer, https://thebookcoverdesigner.com/ is a site where you can purchase pre-made covers from a large selection. You can choose from featured covers or browse by genre or artist. Once a cover is sold, it will never be sold again, so you don’t have to worry about another author ending up with the same cover as you.
I purchased my cover for my Seers Series short story collection, The Guardians of Sterrenvar from this site. I happened upon an attention-grabbing cover that fit perfectly with my series. I originally only ordered the eBook cover, since I intend to add to the collection before releasing the paperback version. However, the artist has expressed willingness to add the paperback version when I am ready for it – for a fee, of course.
Some other sites I have found that sell pre-made covers, but with which I do not have personal experience, are:
https://www.selfpubbookcovers.com/
https://www.rockingbookcovers.com/premade-covers/
http://www.thecovercollection.com/
There are plenty more out there still for those of you who wish to check out the options before deciding.
The other alternative is to find an independent book cover artist, which I did for the second edition of The Guardians of Eastgate. I found my cover artist on Twitter. I had seen her Twitter posts and examples of her work many times before I decided to contact her about contracting her services.
One benefit to this is that I will be using the same artist, https://willowraven.weebly.com/ , for the subsequent books in the series, so that they are all uniform. She was also able to help me create my author and series logos, which will be included in all the books in the series. Also, I was able to be in contact with her regularly so that the cover fit with my vision, while still having that professional input.
There are a couple of drawbacks for this method for new indie authors, however. First, you need to make sure you’ve done your research, checked testimonials and reviews, looked at portfolios and so on. You can probably find an inexpensive cover artist on Fivrr.com, for example, but that doesn’t guarantee you’ll end up with a quality cover. Do your homework.
Another drawback is that using a reputable cover designer to create an original cover from scratch can be more expensive and take more time than purchasing pre-made covers. The time and money cost will also depend on whether the cover designer works with photographs or creates original art.
One site I found where you can choose from pre-made covers or find an artist to work with to create your cover is https://damonza.com/ebook-cover-design/ . They do formatting as well, which many cover artists will do.
In the end it comes down to what your budget is, what time line you are hoping for, and what you are looking for in a book cover.
However, your book cover will be important enough, both for your professional reputation and your sales, for you to take it seriously and find yourself a professionally designed cover that is representative of both your book and yourself as a
Cover design is one service new and aspiring indie authors can’t afford to skimp on. We often start out with limited resources, trying to decide which services we need, and which we can do without.+
There are many things you can do on your own if you are patient and willing to learn. However, unless you are an accomplished artist or graphic designer as well as a writer, you will want to choose a professionally made cover. A poorly designed cover can cause readers to overlook or turn away from a book that might otherwise have great content inside.
Your cover is the first thing readers will notice about your book. It needs to be attention-grabbing and indicative of what the readers will find inside. It needs to hook people. It is said that the cover is what gets readers to pick up the book and flip it over to read the synopsis on the back cover, and it’s the synopsis on the back that convinces the reader to look inside.
Aside from the art itself, there are other considerations that should not be overlooked. These include, but aren’t limited to, color scheme, font, text size, and how easy it is to see the art and text when the cover is in thumbnail size on Amazon. Get any of these wrong, and it could negatively affect your book sales.
There are different alternatives to book cover creation, and prices can vary greatly. You can buy a pre-made book cover from a reputable site by choosing from a large variety of options. You choose a cover that fits with your book, and the artist will add your author name and book title. You can find some relatively inexpensive covers this way, but the end price will depend on the artist and/or cover you choose, and whether you are looking for an eBook cover, paperback cover, hardcover, audiobook cover, or some combination of these.
The Book Cover Designer, https://thebookcoverdesigner.com/ is a site where you can purchase pre-made covers from a large selection. You can choose from featured covers or browse by genre or artist. Once a cover is sold, it will never be sold again, so you don’t have to worry about another author ending up with the same cover as you.
I purchased my cover for my Seers Series short story collection, The Guardians of Sterrenvar from this site. I happened upon an attention-grabbing cover that fit perfectly with my series. I originally only ordered the eBook cover, since I intend to add to the collection before releasing the paperback version. However, the artist has expressed willingness to add the paperback version when I am ready for it – for a fee, of course.
Some other sites I have found that sell pre-made covers, but with which I do not have personal experience, are:
https://www.selfpubbookcovers.com/
https://www.rockingbookcovers.com/premade-covers/
http://www.thecovercollection.com/
There are plenty more out there still for those of you who wish to check out the options before deciding.
The other alternative is to find an independent book cover artist, which I did for the second edition of The Guardians of Eastgate. I found my cover artist on Twitter. I had seen her Twitter posts and examples of her work many times before I decided to contact her about contracting her services.
One benefit to this is that I will be using the same artist, https://willowraven.weebly.com/ , for the subsequent books in the series, so that they are all uniform. She was also able to help me create my author and series logos, which will be included in all the books in the series. Also, I was able to be in contact with her regularly so that the cover fit with my vision, while still having that professional input.
There are a couple of drawbacks for this method for new indie authors, however. First, you need to make sure you’ve done your research, checked testimonials and reviews, looked at portfolios and so on. You can probably find an inexpensive cover artist on Fivrr.com, for example, but that doesn’t guarantee you’ll end up with a quality cover. Do your homework.
Another drawback is that using a reputable cover designer to create an original cover from scratch can be more expensive and take more time than purchasing pre-made covers. The time and money cost will also depend on whether the cover designer works with photographs or creates original art.
One site I found where you can choose from pre-made covers or find an artist to work with to create your cover is https://damonza.com/ebook-cover-design/ . They do formatting as well, which many cover artists will do.
In the end it comes down to what your budget is, what time line you are hoping for, and what you are looking for in a book cover.
However, your book cover will be important enough, both for your professional reputation and your sales, for you to take it seriously and find yourself a professionally designed cover that is representative of both your book and yourself as a
Business writer Cherise Castle-Blugh tell us how pre-selling your book can increase your sales
PRE-SELLING A NEW BOOK
One of the worst things that can happen to an author, is to write a book that no one buys or reads. Just the thought of this happening really breaks our spirit, and some downtrodden writers might choose to never even bother to write again.
Of course, no one plans to write a book that doesn’t sell. But by neglecting to plan how they’re going to sell their books, authors inadvertently risk writing a book that generates very few, if any, sales once published. With no marketing plan, they’ll find that despite all of their efforts, no one buys their book and all their hard work and research was in vain.
Pre selling can solve this, and writers can choose to add this as part of their marketing plan. This might take some time though if you're an entirely new author. However, if you've already written a good book or two, then you'll have an eager group of followers who can't wait for the release of your next book. They are already peaked from your previous content.
Pre selling helps to create an eager and fully interactive audience. People start talking and the buzz for your book increases as the release dates draw nearer. By releasing little bits of information, authors make their readers anticipate what is to come and they await your new book with bated breath. Pre selling will allow the author time to build momentum for the big release. It's about creating hype and demand for your book or your products, and preparing the market for what you have to offer.
I've met authors, including myself at one time, who didn't want to jinx their book by talking about it before it was ready. I totally get that. But you can manage a bit of wiggle room for marketing. And while it's easier not to talk about something, it's critical to do so, because without talking, no one knows.
Pre Selling is a great way to gauge interest, and make sales before you launch your grand novel. This method of creating awareness, allows you to get a headstart on promoting/marketing for your book. Your readers will be ready when you finally release.
When pre selling your book, make sure to let potential buyers know that the book is not yet available for purchase. You can do this by editing text and buttons on your sales page. Repeat phrases like “Releasing Soon” and “Launching on [date]” so it is clear to your audience that the book you are pre selling, is not available for immediate access. Some authors also effectively use mock up teasers and book trailers to pull their audience closer and arouse their curiosity.
A great benefit of pre selling, is that it creates scarcity. In business, we learn that creating scarcity increases a product’s desirability, thus prompting customers to rush to purchase, even if the product isn't ready yet.
Pre Selling an item can also validate the viability of a product and provide 'social proof'. If lots of people are talking about your book and buying it, it gives credibility to you and your work.
Authors will also be able to forcast a level of demand when they pre sell their books. Undeniably so, the urgency to purchase the book will start to dwindle once the book is actually released and in stores, but using pre-selling as a validation technique, you will be able to work out, just how much you should print/produce. In addition to the above, (and this is great for the times authors feel like giving up), when you know that people who have paid you are waiting for your book, you are more likely to follow through with your writing and publication plans.
Pre selling will also bring in some much needed revenue that can be used to pay for the books.
Any revenue at this time is a massive benefit and sanity saver, as I'm sure all authors will agree.
Don’t forget to listen attentively to your audience’s feedback when you pre sell. This is important in case you need to adjust your writing plans as you seek to make improvements before your official release and begin promoting to a much wider audience.
A word of caution on pre selling:
If you sell your book/product before you actually create and release it, be prepared to actually create/release it in the time frame that you promised your customers. If you don’t give them what was promised, it won’t take long for the complaints and refund requests to start pouring in. Some authors have tactfully and humbly apologized for changes in release dates and this can work well when you build a relationship with your audience. So make sure to give your editors, publishers and yourself, enough time to be fully ready for your big release before you begin to pre sell.
The Timely Entrepreneur
contributed by Cherise Castle-Blugh
PRE-SELLING A NEW BOOK
One of the worst things that can happen to an author, is to write a book that no one buys or reads. Just the thought of this happening really breaks our spirit, and some downtrodden writers might choose to never even bother to write again.
Of course, no one plans to write a book that doesn’t sell. But by neglecting to plan how they’re going to sell their books, authors inadvertently risk writing a book that generates very few, if any, sales once published. With no marketing plan, they’ll find that despite all of their efforts, no one buys their book and all their hard work and research was in vain.
Pre selling can solve this, and writers can choose to add this as part of their marketing plan. This might take some time though if you're an entirely new author. However, if you've already written a good book or two, then you'll have an eager group of followers who can't wait for the release of your next book. They are already peaked from your previous content.
Pre selling helps to create an eager and fully interactive audience. People start talking and the buzz for your book increases as the release dates draw nearer. By releasing little bits of information, authors make their readers anticipate what is to come and they await your new book with bated breath. Pre selling will allow the author time to build momentum for the big release. It's about creating hype and demand for your book or your products, and preparing the market for what you have to offer.
I've met authors, including myself at one time, who didn't want to jinx their book by talking about it before it was ready. I totally get that. But you can manage a bit of wiggle room for marketing. And while it's easier not to talk about something, it's critical to do so, because without talking, no one knows.
Pre Selling is a great way to gauge interest, and make sales before you launch your grand novel. This method of creating awareness, allows you to get a headstart on promoting/marketing for your book. Your readers will be ready when you finally release.
When pre selling your book, make sure to let potential buyers know that the book is not yet available for purchase. You can do this by editing text and buttons on your sales page. Repeat phrases like “Releasing Soon” and “Launching on [date]” so it is clear to your audience that the book you are pre selling, is not available for immediate access. Some authors also effectively use mock up teasers and book trailers to pull their audience closer and arouse their curiosity.
A great benefit of pre selling, is that it creates scarcity. In business, we learn that creating scarcity increases a product’s desirability, thus prompting customers to rush to purchase, even if the product isn't ready yet.
Pre Selling an item can also validate the viability of a product and provide 'social proof'. If lots of people are talking about your book and buying it, it gives credibility to you and your work.
Authors will also be able to forcast a level of demand when they pre sell their books. Undeniably so, the urgency to purchase the book will start to dwindle once the book is actually released and in stores, but using pre-selling as a validation technique, you will be able to work out, just how much you should print/produce. In addition to the above, (and this is great for the times authors feel like giving up), when you know that people who have paid you are waiting for your book, you are more likely to follow through with your writing and publication plans.
Pre selling will also bring in some much needed revenue that can be used to pay for the books.
Any revenue at this time is a massive benefit and sanity saver, as I'm sure all authors will agree.
Don’t forget to listen attentively to your audience’s feedback when you pre sell. This is important in case you need to adjust your writing plans as you seek to make improvements before your official release and begin promoting to a much wider audience.
A word of caution on pre selling:
If you sell your book/product before you actually create and release it, be prepared to actually create/release it in the time frame that you promised your customers. If you don’t give them what was promised, it won’t take long for the complaints and refund requests to start pouring in. Some authors have tactfully and humbly apologized for changes in release dates and this can work well when you build a relationship with your audience. So make sure to give your editors, publishers and yourself, enough time to be fully ready for your big release before you begin to pre sell.
The Timely Entrepreneur
contributed by Cherise Castle-Blugh