Ever since I began writing I have held onto the dream of being a traditionally published author. I used to imagine the moment when I would receive first my acceptance letter from my new agent followed shortly by the contract from the major company eager to publish my book. I could close my eyes and see the launch party and book signings that would follow. The idea was a dream come true. Well part of that is still true, it is a dream. It also isn't the way things work anymore.
It is possible, of course, to get that acceptance letter. It is just as likely to receive a contract for publishing my book. The idea of of the launch party and book tour though are just a whisper of a dream at this point. Those things still happen but they are reserved for people like Stephen King, Jonathan Maberry, James Patterson, or JK Rowlings. These are people who can sell books simply because their name appears on the cover. I may be there someday but right now I am still unknown. It is also very difficult to reach that level and become a household name.
Many authors don't want to deal with the drama of submitting agents or negotiating contracts. They choose instead to go the independent path, also known as self-publishing. Along with not having to find an agent and hold their breath until they get an offer from a publisher there are other benefits. The two most often brought up when I speak to other authors are keeping all of their royalties and having full control. Traditionally published authors must wait a year or more to see their work released while Indie authors choose when to publish their books. They create their own covers, set up their formatting, and run their own marketing campaigns.
Because of the control though, there is no team helping design a cover with the experience to know what sells. There is no distribution channel already established for marketing and you have to know formatting before self-publishing companies will approve your book. You need to make a cover that will catch the eye of potential readers, write a synopsis to capture the attention of those readers, and find a price to give them value while making you those royalties. When it comes to marketing you have to take full advantage of every connection you have while always reaching out to make new ones.
One of the biggest concerns of readers I've found is the quality of the work. A great cover can't mask poor editing. A good story idea can't be understood if the writing style is choppy. Because anyone can self-publish there is a stigma as soon as you tell someone that is what you did. On the other hand there is a certain level of credibility when a book is traditionally published. Whether earned or not, people tend to trust something put out by a member of the big five publishing companies. There is an entire team working to put out the book when you go through a publishing company but remember, that whole team has to get paid.
After examining the pros and cons I think my best option is to actually walk both paths. By choosing certain books to submit while maintaining control an my own personal touch with others I will be a hybrid author. I will have the credibility of having a traditional publisher behind me while still having the design and elements of the books I created. I have three different names I write under and am hoping that I can keep one of those names as my own while the other two will be under the traditional publishers. It's time to start walking my dual journeys and see where it takes me.
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Monday, January 8, 2018
Trying To Be Brave
For the last few weeks I have been navigating the jungle of newsletters and the delivery services available for people on a budget like myself. I am thankful I finally found one simple enough to understand and this afternoon I sent out a few test emails with positive feedback. Now I am preparing to begin sending out the monthly newsletters in a week.
It's strange that I spend all day, everyday talking to people and yet when it comes to writing a newsletter or sharing my thoughts here I find myself at a loss. I wonder sometimes if it is an odd form of stage fright. Much like a person can entertain friends in their home but when asked to make a presentation in class or at work they struggle to articulate what is happening in their minds. I don't have trouble finding words to write but I worry about the ones I choose and the topics I cover. I find myself stressing over every decision and obsessing over each potential inclusion.
Artists of all sorts tend to be an insecure bunch. Many are extremely introverted, avoiding human contact to varying levels. They are constant need of reassurance in order to believe they and their work are appreciated and desired. At times there is professional or even personal jealousies interfering with their ability to function at a normal level. I have seen authors shut down completely because they couldn't handle the idea of going out to deal with readers and critics. They openly complained about their concern someone else was playing the writing game better.
Personally I have shades of these but I do my best to reign them in. For one thing I am not introverted or anti-social in the least. I have been called a social butterfly weekly since I was a child. When it comes to speaking to crowds and striking up a conversation with perfect strangers I feel no hesitation at all. I do not vocalize often when I am jealous but I do tend to get depressed slightly when things seem easier for another author and I am struggling to understand something simple. I keep most concerns inside for the most part in order to portray the image I want the public to see.
I am insecure. That is the biggest trait I share with other artists. My newsletter is just the most recent example of something for me to worry about. Every time I publish something, whether it is a blog post or full length novel, I am exposing myself to the world and its lack of filters. Other people and their opinions may not shape my personal life but they can break me professionally. I have developed a rather thick skin from my day job but a negative review still has the power to pierce that armor. I guess I still have some more growing to do.
It's strange that I spend all day, everyday talking to people and yet when it comes to writing a newsletter or sharing my thoughts here I find myself at a loss. I wonder sometimes if it is an odd form of stage fright. Much like a person can entertain friends in their home but when asked to make a presentation in class or at work they struggle to articulate what is happening in their minds. I don't have trouble finding words to write but I worry about the ones I choose and the topics I cover. I find myself stressing over every decision and obsessing over each potential inclusion.
Artists of all sorts tend to be an insecure bunch. Many are extremely introverted, avoiding human contact to varying levels. They are constant need of reassurance in order to believe they and their work are appreciated and desired. At times there is professional or even personal jealousies interfering with their ability to function at a normal level. I have seen authors shut down completely because they couldn't handle the idea of going out to deal with readers and critics. They openly complained about their concern someone else was playing the writing game better.
Personally I have shades of these but I do my best to reign them in. For one thing I am not introverted or anti-social in the least. I have been called a social butterfly weekly since I was a child. When it comes to speaking to crowds and striking up a conversation with perfect strangers I feel no hesitation at all. I do not vocalize often when I am jealous but I do tend to get depressed slightly when things seem easier for another author and I am struggling to understand something simple. I keep most concerns inside for the most part in order to portray the image I want the public to see.
I am insecure. That is the biggest trait I share with other artists. My newsletter is just the most recent example of something for me to worry about. Every time I publish something, whether it is a blog post or full length novel, I am exposing myself to the world and its lack of filters. Other people and their opinions may not shape my personal life but they can break me professionally. I have developed a rather thick skin from my day job but a negative review still has the power to pierce that armor. I guess I still have some more growing to do.
Sunday, January 7, 2018
Knowing Your Limits
As week one of 2018 comes to a close I have already learned several lessons. As part of my goals I am working to be well rounded. I am working on paying off some bills for my financial goals, I have printed out my the manuscript next book I will be editing, and I have begun my running training. My personal ideas on how to move forward on my goals don't always line up with traditional methods.
Instead of writing one book, editing it, running through a few rounds of rewrites and a final edit, then publishing it, I have written half a dozen full length novels. They all now need to move on to the editing phase but I have to fight my desire to write other books instead because that would simply put me further behind in my publishing goals. Originally I had intended to get all of my current projects ready to be published while also finishing the first draft of three new novellas. If I were successful in doing all of this I would have a decent number of books I could have available for shows but it would also put tremendous stress on me and my time.
No one has ever made the statement that I am not ambitious. In fact my overly ambitious nature has been a topic of debate among my family and friends most of my life. I realized I may have been trying to take on too much by pushing to complete so many writing projects on such a short period of time. It is probable my work and quality would suffer if I tried to push that much. Today as I sat, combining my multiple lists of goals and ideas, I pared down to what I felt was a more achievable and focused group of goals.
The strange thing is, writing had nothing to do with my realization that I was taking on too much. It was physical training that proved to me I may be trying to take on too much. For the health and physical training side of my goals I am participating in a bike ride, half marathon, and three obstacle courses of varying lengths this year. I came up with the idea of running a collective fifteen miles each week to begin my cardio exercise. However since I only have a couple days off from the day jobs I had to push myself and do six miles one day and seven miles the following day. As someone who has never been a runner that was so much it nearly took me down for the count.
It got me thinking about doing things in a reasonable time or quantity. Running is difficult and understanding how forcing my body to do more than it was capable of doing in a healthy manner made me see how I may be trying to spread myself too thin in my writing as well. Now that I have re-evaluated what my abilities are I am hoping to begin starting to make progress crossing things off the to do list.
Instead of writing one book, editing it, running through a few rounds of rewrites and a final edit, then publishing it, I have written half a dozen full length novels. They all now need to move on to the editing phase but I have to fight my desire to write other books instead because that would simply put me further behind in my publishing goals. Originally I had intended to get all of my current projects ready to be published while also finishing the first draft of three new novellas. If I were successful in doing all of this I would have a decent number of books I could have available for shows but it would also put tremendous stress on me and my time.
No one has ever made the statement that I am not ambitious. In fact my overly ambitious nature has been a topic of debate among my family and friends most of my life. I realized I may have been trying to take on too much by pushing to complete so many writing projects on such a short period of time. It is probable my work and quality would suffer if I tried to push that much. Today as I sat, combining my multiple lists of goals and ideas, I pared down to what I felt was a more achievable and focused group of goals.
The strange thing is, writing had nothing to do with my realization that I was taking on too much. It was physical training that proved to me I may be trying to take on too much. For the health and physical training side of my goals I am participating in a bike ride, half marathon, and three obstacle courses of varying lengths this year. I came up with the idea of running a collective fifteen miles each week to begin my cardio exercise. However since I only have a couple days off from the day jobs I had to push myself and do six miles one day and seven miles the following day. As someone who has never been a runner that was so much it nearly took me down for the count.
It got me thinking about doing things in a reasonable time or quantity. Running is difficult and understanding how forcing my body to do more than it was capable of doing in a healthy manner made me see how I may be trying to spread myself too thin in my writing as well. Now that I have re-evaluated what my abilities are I am hoping to begin starting to make progress crossing things off the to do list.
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Starting The New Year Off Right
With the new year beginning I am examining my goals like I always do. As usual I broke down my list into three categories. I have financial, physical, and writing. I learned a long time ago setting goals to accomplish was a better mindset for me than establishing resolutions I would break eventually. I am better at crossing things off the to do list than trying to do something everyday. One of my goals that goes hand in hand with all of my writing list is being more objective.
Two nights ago I sat at my computer, preparing to print out my manuscript from my first book in order to go through it for editing. I was appalled by the amateur level not only of the writing but of the editing. I had, of course, gone through the book so many times I swore I knew it by heart. There were also three others who had their hand in the editing process as well though, and that made it all the more frustrating. Knowing the things I do now, it is painful to think I trusted them.
I was nervous to go the self-publishing route, or in this case, allow someone else to do the publishing part for me. This book is a demonstration of why I should have trusted my instincts. The cover is unclear, the font choice and size for my name are questionable, event the layout inside shows how clueless the person I believed in actually was. I admit I would have been even more lost than they were had I tried it myself but I took them at their word that they were professional with the experience needed.
I made the decision to pull my book from Amazon until I was able to fix the glaring mistakes. I just had no idea how many of them there would be. I will be sitting down to begin the next level of edits either tonight or tomorrow and will hopefully be done by the end of the month. I have learned a lot and am looking forward to stepping back and trying to look at my work through the eyes of a reader or traditional publisher. Getting Never Give Up published and back on Amazon is one of the first major goals on my 2018 list.
It also plays into one of my financial goals of achieving a royalty check large enough to pay a bill. It is something I read in Stephen King's On Writing. He said he considers a writer a success when they make enough to pay a bill. I am not concerned with paying my mortgage or even a utility bill, I would be happy to cover the water bill or have enough from one royalty check to pay for a book signing event. These are just a few of my goals for this year and I am excited to get to work on everything.
Two nights ago I sat at my computer, preparing to print out my manuscript from my first book in order to go through it for editing. I was appalled by the amateur level not only of the writing but of the editing. I had, of course, gone through the book so many times I swore I knew it by heart. There were also three others who had their hand in the editing process as well though, and that made it all the more frustrating. Knowing the things I do now, it is painful to think I trusted them.
I was nervous to go the self-publishing route, or in this case, allow someone else to do the publishing part for me. This book is a demonstration of why I should have trusted my instincts. The cover is unclear, the font choice and size for my name are questionable, event the layout inside shows how clueless the person I believed in actually was. I admit I would have been even more lost than they were had I tried it myself but I took them at their word that they were professional with the experience needed.
I made the decision to pull my book from Amazon until I was able to fix the glaring mistakes. I just had no idea how many of them there would be. I will be sitting down to begin the next level of edits either tonight or tomorrow and will hopefully be done by the end of the month. I have learned a lot and am looking forward to stepping back and trying to look at my work through the eyes of a reader or traditional publisher. Getting Never Give Up published and back on Amazon is one of the first major goals on my 2018 list.
It also plays into one of my financial goals of achieving a royalty check large enough to pay a bill. It is something I read in Stephen King's On Writing. He said he considers a writer a success when they make enough to pay a bill. I am not concerned with paying my mortgage or even a utility bill, I would be happy to cover the water bill or have enough from one royalty check to pay for a book signing event. These are just a few of my goals for this year and I am excited to get to work on everything.
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Kitten's Corner - New Years
You see, back when it was hot outside, right before all the sparkly thunder happens every year, Mom took my sister, Puppy, to the doctor because she was really sick. She didn't come home with them but when Mom got home she laid on the couch and cried a lot. My brother has been spending as much time as possible with her since to cheer her up. We all miss Puppy, even if she was a know-it-all. Dad kept telling Mom they could have more cats when Mom was ready but it has just been the three of us since that day.
Then it happened. Mom's friend took her out to look for something called a Dog. The next night she and Dad came home from work with the new cat. It is small and looks a lot like Puppy did. And the darn thing plays with my tail. She took my toy and follows me around. Yesterday she even tried to jump on me while I was taking a bath. She never stops. I mean, I remember when I was her age. Always running around, but come on, it gets old after awhile.
Now Mom is making all those lists she makes every year when the tree goes away. She said something about goals for the new year. I think all humans have some version of this. I wouldn't mind if the little one didn't roam around and attack my tail when Mom wasn't looking. Well if you will excuse me I need to go lay in the sun upstairs and rest until the small one finds me again. See you all soon.
Friday, December 29, 2017
Finding Your Niche
I know the title suggests I am going to talk about marketing or finding the unique way your book fits into a store or already established genre. At some time in the near future I will discuss that. Right now I want to focus on the author instead of the work though.
Almost a year and a half ago I took part in a signing in Mesquite, NV. Shortly after the event a Facebook group was formed to help bring independent authors, like myself, together in the greater Las Vegas area. It was a small group. We had monthly coffees and would share ideas. As time went on we began to grow. More local authors heard about the group and joined in. There were no specific rules other than being from the area and being related to the writing business. We would share our cover reveals and the group could boost visibility. We could ask advice. We even talked about doing something for charity.
That charity discussion gave birth to what is now the For The Love Of Books event held in February leading up to Nevada Reading Week. It was co-founded by myself and another author in our group Victoria Kaer. One of the founding members of the Indies in Las Vegas group showed with us at the inaugural charity signing. Since then she has fallen off the map. It is near impossible to reach her and many other members of the Indies group. We became so large, we fractioned.
Sometimes in the professional world, much like the high school personal world, you can find yourself without a group. Try as you might, it is possible you will never fit in and feel isolated. I went through that in high school. As I got older though, I learned. First I came to understand it is not a shortfall to not fit in with a specific group. It just means there is something I am better suited for. The others are different from me not better or worse. Second, it is possible to establish a group of your own instead of trying to make another one work.
In life, professional and personal, it is important to have support. It is impossible for someone to support you if they don't know who you are, however. It is even more difficult for others to know you if you do not know yourself. Do not try to become someone you are not to be accepted. Be who you are and find those willing to stand with you anyway. That is your group. If they are not currently a group, bring them together. You would be surprised by the things you can accomplish when surrounded by those like yourself. It isn;t all about finding a way to be a part of something. It is about proving you are something to be a part of.
Almost a year and a half ago I took part in a signing in Mesquite, NV. Shortly after the event a Facebook group was formed to help bring independent authors, like myself, together in the greater Las Vegas area. It was a small group. We had monthly coffees and would share ideas. As time went on we began to grow. More local authors heard about the group and joined in. There were no specific rules other than being from the area and being related to the writing business. We would share our cover reveals and the group could boost visibility. We could ask advice. We even talked about doing something for charity.
That charity discussion gave birth to what is now the For The Love Of Books event held in February leading up to Nevada Reading Week. It was co-founded by myself and another author in our group Victoria Kaer. One of the founding members of the Indies in Las Vegas group showed with us at the inaugural charity signing. Since then she has fallen off the map. It is near impossible to reach her and many other members of the Indies group. We became so large, we fractioned.
Sometimes in the professional world, much like the high school personal world, you can find yourself without a group. Try as you might, it is possible you will never fit in and feel isolated. I went through that in high school. As I got older though, I learned. First I came to understand it is not a shortfall to not fit in with a specific group. It just means there is something I am better suited for. The others are different from me not better or worse. Second, it is possible to establish a group of your own instead of trying to make another one work.
In life, professional and personal, it is important to have support. It is impossible for someone to support you if they don't know who you are, however. It is even more difficult for others to know you if you do not know yourself. Do not try to become someone you are not to be accepted. Be who you are and find those willing to stand with you anyway. That is your group. If they are not currently a group, bring them together. You would be surprised by the things you can accomplish when surrounded by those like yourself. It isn;t all about finding a way to be a part of something. It is about proving you are something to be a part of.
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Remaking: My Book, My Career
Yesterday I wrote about the advantages of being able to update my books anytime I want and the distraction that drive toward perfection can bring. Today I am only focusing on the updates and my book Never Give Up which I released almost four years ago. I was then and am still immensely proud of the story and my ability to finally make something happen in my writing world. It was my debut novel, and let me tell you, that much is obvious.
The editing was sloppy to say the least. The formatting is a joke. The cover is an image I adore but it was created by someone who obviously had no idea how to use the program, I think given time to play around with it I could have done just as well when I have no graphic design experience at all. In short, I allowed my book, what I poured my heart and soul into, to become the thing self-published authors hate. It looks like a complete amateur because it was a collaboration of amateurs putting it together. I have now learned so much it is time to see how I can improve.
The story, for the most part, will remain the same. I will be changing the formatting entirely, while also editing and perhaps working on rewriting for grammar and flow. It is also shorter than I think it needs to be with some flapping loose ends to tie up. I am thrilled to get the chance to fix these problems. I will not be changing the characters, their motivations or the overall storyline however. The book will be what I intended it to be. I will also be remaking the cover. I fell in love with the image on the front so I am hoping to find it again but the rest will be changed, right down to the font on my name.
This will be the first major overhaul I have done on any of my work which makes it slightly more daunting. I am hoping to have to ready to release either by the charity book signing event I help organize in February or at the latest, in April as a way of erasing the previous release and remaking the day into my own celebration. It is the first item on a long to do list I have planned for the upcoming year. I am ready to make things happen.
The editing was sloppy to say the least. The formatting is a joke. The cover is an image I adore but it was created by someone who obviously had no idea how to use the program, I think given time to play around with it I could have done just as well when I have no graphic design experience at all. In short, I allowed my book, what I poured my heart and soul into, to become the thing self-published authors hate. It looks like a complete amateur because it was a collaboration of amateurs putting it together. I have now learned so much it is time to see how I can improve.
The story, for the most part, will remain the same. I will be changing the formatting entirely, while also editing and perhaps working on rewriting for grammar and flow. It is also shorter than I think it needs to be with some flapping loose ends to tie up. I am thrilled to get the chance to fix these problems. I will not be changing the characters, their motivations or the overall storyline however. The book will be what I intended it to be. I will also be remaking the cover. I fell in love with the image on the front so I am hoping to find it again but the rest will be changed, right down to the font on my name.
This will be the first major overhaul I have done on any of my work which makes it slightly more daunting. I am hoping to have to ready to release either by the charity book signing event I help organize in February or at the latest, in April as a way of erasing the previous release and remaking the day into my own celebration. It is the first item on a long to do list I have planned for the upcoming year. I am ready to make things happen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)