Writing: The Business

I've spent several pleasant hours this afternoon reading all about indie publishing. I am a huge fan of April Hamilton's. I followed her on Twitter prior to seeing her in person at the Writer's Digest Conference, and her Publetariat site is a MUST for anyone thinking of going at publishing on your own.

Now I have two completed manuscripts- one is still in its rough first draft form, and the second is the one that I have been working on revising since early August. I am "close" to being at the point where I need to make a rather critical decision. Do I start down the path of traditional publishing, or do I look at indie publishing options?

One thing that never occurred to me, that I just read about tonight, was the idea of starting my own indie publishing house. Intriguing... I am a big DIY person, and all of this information really resonated with me. I like the idea of controlling my own destiny. I like the idea of being able to connect with readers sooner rather than later. I like the idea of setting up a structure that would not only allow me to publish my own work, but publish other deserving work as well.

Lots of options to consider. Lots of things to think about. And in the meantime, my writing continues with my Tiny Tales of Terror. This is truly a great time to be a writer!

Walk Before You Run

I've learned a few valuable lessons over the last week: time is not my friend, and I have to set reasonable expectations for myself.

I have a working manuscript that I like, however it isn't truly the genre that I always envisioned I'd write. I somehow ended up with a paranormal romance when I want to write horror. (This is the part where I mention for the tenth time that I have always wanted to be Stephen King.) Chris Baty talks about this in his book No Plot? No Problem! that is the basis for National Novel Writing Month. He recommends making lists of what you do and don't like in stories, because you may find yourself writing what you don't like if you aren't careful.

Now it's not that I don't like paranormal romance. I don't think writing romance is a strength of mine. I decided that I needed to go back and rework my manuscript and darken it up ALOT. I could keep the romance, but as a subplot. I needed to focus on the main character, and rewrite it so that it kept me up at night. If the writing isn't scaring me, then it won't work.

Deborah Riley-Magnus (@rileymagnus on Twitter) wrote a great blog post on deconstructing a novel right at the same time, which I took as an omen that I was on the right path.

Horror being my genre focus, I also saw an opportunity to leverage some inspiration with my favorite holiday right around the corner: Halloween. Wouldn't it be cool to launch to a podcast series based on another story that I'm working on in honor of Halloween? So I did some more research on podcasting and with my husband's studio set-up I thought "well this can't be THAT hard". I put together an insane writing schedule for the remainder of September and October with an end goal of 10 podcasts and 1 reworked manuscript by the end of October.

Are you laughing at me yet? Let's just say that I was a bit overly ambitious.

It didn't take me long to find out that one 25-minute podcast for me is running about 5000 words. 5000 words!! So 10 podcasts would be about 50,000 words. That's a NaNoWriMo novel, not including some serious editing. Hmmm- maybe I needed to think about that some more.

I should also mention that I do have a day job. You wouldn't think so with the schedule I put together.

After one week, I wasn't close my goal and I was okay with that. I did have some great accomplishments:

1) My podcast concept came from a 750 word story that I put together for the Your Story Writer's Digest contest. In 2 days I turned that 750 words into over 12,000 words. I've created an episode framework and writing prompts for each of the podcast episodes. I do need to finish the story before I can record it, so the earliest that would probably happen would be November- December.

2) I wrote a completely different opening scene to my manuscript. It turns the old one on its ear. I honestly don't know how much of the old manuscript I could use if I go that direction, and that would mean I'm really starting from scratch. (A new NanoWriMo novel from an old one perhaps?) I need to think about that some more.

3) To get my Halloween fix, I decided to go smaller, but still have fun and offer up something to my readers. So I am introducing my Tiny Tales of Terror blog series on my new author blog.

All in all, I've had a great week, learned a lot, and even gave myself permission to put my Halloween decorations up.

I've Got Plans

Do you know that feeling when you are eating a terrific meal, but realize that you are starting to feel full? Your eyes were bigger than your stomach, and if you only had a bit more time maybe you'd be able to finish everything? That's the way I felt after the last session of the Writer's Digest Conference this past weekend.

Don't get me wrong. It was a fantastic event and I'd pay the money in a heartbeat to attend again. But the sheer volume of information threw my brain into overdrive after the FIRST session. I found out about some amazing possibilities for moving forward in my writing career, and it is really just up to me to figure out how to make things happen. Jane Friedman posted a great recap of key takeaways here.

I've spent the last few days just processing the info and deciding what's next. I made a top 10 to-do list on the plane, but I already know that as I move through them the list will shift and change. I've also decided to go back to the drawing board with my manuscript and make some important changes that I feel will speak better to the intended audience for my work.

The conference was just the shot in the arm I needed! Oh yes I have plans, and I can't wait to see what happens!

I Heart My Beta Readers

I went out a select group of friends and colleagues two weeks ago and asked a very big favor. Would you read my manuscript for me? Oh, and can you possibly do that in the next two weeks and send me feedback before I go to my conference? Pretty please?

I was pleasantly surprised that I had 13 1/2 brave volunteers offer to help me out. (The 1/2 is my husband. The book that I wrote is completely outside his usual genre of interest. Being the supportive spouse that he is though, he did offer to read it and has read the first 5 chapters so far.)

I sent out the manuscript on September 1st with my specific request for feedback on:

* Gaping "plot"holes
* Places where there should more detail
* Places where the story moves too fast/too slow
* Under-developed characters
* Stiff/uninspired/boring dialogue
* Anything else they thought may be helpful to tighten up or expand the story to make it more interesting

I also told them to chuck being nice by the wayside and give it to me straight. The only way I was going to improve the story was by getting honest feedback. (And I'm a big girl and can take it.)

As of today, I have had 7 wonderful people finish the book, and 2 others who are well into the story offering feedback as they go along. Each one said that the plot had some good twists and that is was easy to read.

The great thing is that no one spotted anything major that I didn't already know needed to be fixed. (There were two subplots that got lost in the mad dash to the end of the story.) Questions about characters and story lines have been insightful and telling. It has been a great experience so far.

This has given me the extra boost of positivity and energy that I needed to finalize the manuscript and get it ready for prime time! Thank you beta readers!!

Conference Prep 101

I am in prep mode getting ready to attend the Writer's Digest Conference The Business of Getting Published in NYC next week. I decided earlier this summer that I was going to spring some hard earned dough (and frequent flyer miles) on ONE writing conference this year. Considering I'm looking to get published, and figure out how to successfully use all of these wonderful social media tools to promote my material, this conference seemed like the perfect fit.

Now I have the jitters. It's not like I have never been to conference before. I've attended many over the course of my professional life (both as a vendor and a participant). I know the importance of taking good notes, making sure you have lots of business cards, and networking with anyone and everyone you can strike up a conversation with (at appropriate times of course). I learned long ago that conferences and alcohol do not mix.

There are lots of different articles and blogs out there to help prep for a writer's conference. It shouldn't surprise anyone that after reading several, I started to see a contradiction or two. (One blogger says DO make sure you bring your manuscript, another says that is a big DON'T.)

One DON'T that surprised me was a blogger who said not to put "writer" or "author" on your business cards because that is viewed as pretentious. What?? These days it is all about your "author's platform" when you are talking about marketing yourself. If it is pretentious to even call yourself what you are then we have a problem. I've written two books, and while they remain unpublished (for the moment) I defend my right to claim my "Author" status!

One of the most interesting bits of info I found was a LinkedIn discussion thread. I liked the Q&A format there, and thought there was some good advice beyond the normal tips/tricks.

I plan on blogging and tweeting from the conference. I thought that would be a great way to keep up with what I'm learning and share relevant nuggets. I can't wait!

A Great Love Affair

After I wrote my last post, it got me thinking about how much writing a book mirrors a relationship. It will make it laugh. It will make you cry. You will feel frustrated, miserable, and unworthy. It will also make you feel like you are on Cloud 9. Once it begins you never know where it will take you, and it is a guarantee that you will have many surprises along the way. Ultimately, it should make you a better person by being part of it.

Starting a book feels a lot like the beginning of new relationship. You're a bit trepidatious the first time you sit down to write "the book" and you will probably have a few false starts before the words start to flow. You meet your characters for the first time, and it takes awhile to get in their heads and figure them out.

Soon, if things are going well, you feel that rush as you crank out the first several chapters. Your characters are moving around in their world, and you feel like you know just how the plot is going to play out. Things feel amazing and you are rushing to your keyboard everyday.

Inevitably, the better you get to know your characters, and the further you get into the midst of the plot, things are going to start feeling a bit confusing. You wonder if you are doing the right thing, and you begin to second guess yourself. (Would that character really do that? Does that scene even make sense? Where the hell did that guy come from?) You go back to read earlier chapters to try to rediscover that earlier passion because walking to the keyboard now feels more difficult. You feel the pressure of trying to keep everything together and things feel like they are unraveling in completely unexpected ways. You are completely out of control.

You see, no matter how well you thought you knew your book when you started, it will have some surprises for you. At that point you need to make a decision. Are these nuances you've found going to make you story better, or are they so havoc wrecking that you may have to consider starting over? Things just may not have lined up the way that you planned, and it would be easier to cut it off now before you get in too deep. You don't want to waste your time with something that isn't right, right?

If you can make it past the stormy middle, you will find that approaching the end brings the rush of excitement and passion that you remember from when you started. Now your characters and plot have evolved into something mature; something that can last. You've made a commitment and you want to follow through. You've put something of yourself in those pages that will be there forever.

I Think We Should Take a Break

Dearest manuscript,

I know that when we began this journey together so long ago (okay 4 weeks, but who's counting?), I pledged to be faithful and utterly committed to you. I told you I would put away all those other distractions, that I wouldn't read a single word in any other book, that I would give to you every lunch break, every evening, and do whatever it took to fulfill your wishes and make you complete.

It has been a wild ride. I found myself tossing and turning every night imagining what new experiences tomorrow would hold. I got upset when schedules shifted and we couldn't be together at lunch like I planned(stupid day job!!). You and I have been through some crazy plot lines and shaken out some woefully underdeveloped scenes. We created new characters and discovered some insightful things in our main characters. Together we bolted through the last 4000 words when we saw the finish line. It was exhilarating!

But this incredible thing we have must come to an end, at least for now. I have given you all that I have and I think it is time that we take a break. It would be good for both of us to see some other people and find out what's working in our relationship and what is horribly wrong. It can only make us stronger. Be a good little manuscript for my beta readers and show them all the love that you've shown me.

Don't despair! I promise when the time comes, I will be there to fix you.

I miss you already,
Christy