All posts tagged writing advice

Wednesday Weekly Roundup

And I got them paperbacks – pocket version, compared to the other paperbacks and especially the curated anthologies – and went through them catching typo faeries and other formatting mistakes… which of course were there, damn them. Now they should be clean and ready to go, both as ebook and as paperbacks!

Last week a friend posted a question to his “writing-type followers”: “Why did you start writing? Why do you keep writing? (If you’re a pro, other than money.)” My answer was rather short: “Because I was uprooted at 13 and my worlds were nicer than reality. Hence I married Mr.Writing and still love him more than Mr.Publishing (who is failing at his job, unlike my wonderful husband!)”

I would like to elaborate on that – if I manage, since it’s still rather hot on this side of the world and my brain might not connect the dots. I mean, I have often stated, especially lately, that I’ll never stop writing, even if I don’t make a living at it, but I might stop publishing, when I have enough of fighting with retailer algorithms and social media.

Even though the more I write (and read), the more I think I’m not really that good. I read a book and go “Wow, I wish I could write that” but it’s not really me, my voice, my way of telling stories, is it? Yes, I’m evolving as a writer as well (who doesn’t?), but I still feel I’m stuck in Stage 3 and will never get to that Stage 4 I’m aiming at (for info on the Stages of Fiction Writers, refer to Dean Wesley Smith’s book).

Yes, I’d love to make a living with my fiction, but I don’t see that coming anytime soon, so even if I consider myself a pro, I’m definitely not in it for the money. I don’t get paid enough to keep at it only for that reason! So, I keep writing because I still have stories to tell, and I know that the more I write, the better I become. It’s called practice. And I already vomited my one million words of crap – almost five times over, so I should be pretty good by now! 😀

Anyhow, here come some great words of advice from Blaze Ward (I’m in his Blaze Ward Presents series, and you can read about that too): The Secret Handshake. I’m being less prolific this year, but reality is actually catching up with me – what didn’t happen last year is happening now.

Still, I’m probably on track for my 500K/year wordcount, since last week I wrote over 13K. Now I’m going to order the paperbacks for his latest BWP along with my curated anthologies.

Of which there’s another one! Blurred Timelienes is now available as eBook and paperback with special thanks to PubShare! Check it out!

Somewhere in Nevada timelines meet and diverge. Falling in one of those timeslips can change your life forever.
Starting in 1849, thousands of prospectors traveled through Nevada on their way to the newly discovered gold fields in California. Some stopped before reaching the fields. The 1859 discovery of silver ore, known as the Comstock Lode, led to the establishment of many mining towns.
Most of those gold and silver mining towns are gone today. But some are still there, and will be for a little longer, strange places where stranger things happen.
Look out when visiting them, lest you become an accidental time traveler.
The stories:
“Cascading Gold” by Johanna Rothman
“As it Happens” by B.A. Paul
“Jazz Times” by Barbara G.Tarn
“Cold Promise” by Stephannie Tallent
“A Long Way from Dodd’s Pharmacy” by C.A. Rowland
“Sneaking Hootch” by Kate Pavelle
“A Look Like That” by Richard Freeborn
“Life is Good” by Johanna Rothman
“A Gift Through Time” by C.A. Rowland
“Stranger Than a Movie” by Barbara G.Tarn

I guess I rambled enough for today… have a great week! 🙂

by Barb on 04/08/2021 • Permalink

Posted in indie publishing, real world inspiration

Tagged curated anthologies, historical time travel, paperbacks, writing, writing advice

Posted by Barb on 04/08/2021

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2021/08/04/wednesday-weekly-roundup-95/

Sunday Surprise

And it’s writers on writing, words of wisdom, writers quotes and have a wonderful Sunday! 🙂

Write what you need to write, not what is currently popular or what you think will sell.
― P.D. James

Making money is about providing a product or service people will happily pay for. To publish profitably, you need a book that people want; a book they will enjoy reading. Then, you need to produce it into a beautiful product that appeals the target audience and immediately conveys benefits; then you need sales copy and reviews that overcome objections and convince them to buy. Then you need ways of driving traffic to your product.

After all that, you continue tweaking until your conversion rate is high and consistent. Most authors think “writing to market” or considering your audience means writing shitty bulks to fill a need. That’s not at all what I’m saying. I want you to write better books that people actually enjoy, not the book that you enjoy writing. Write for others, not for yourself.
– Derek Murphy

But let me give you a couple hints I gave last year (or you can learn how to fix in the blog posts, my book, or the sales workshop.)
If your blurb contains plot from more than the first chapter of your novel, you are in trouble.
If you can substitute the words… “and then this happened and then this happened and…(so on)” for your plot elements in your blurb, you are in trouble.
If you have any of the verbs… is, was, has, will… (and so on) in your blurb, you are in trouble.
If your blurb is a massive, long paragraph, or two, or three massively long paragraphs, you are in trouble.
Tags…? Got any?
Got any author information besides the fact you were born and love cats?
And so on and so on…
So, are your book sales not what you think they should be?? Then just maybe your actual sales tools are bad.
Your book might be great. But few people will ever read it in this modern world if you push them away.
Just saying…

– Dean Wesley Smith

There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
― W. Somerset Maugham

Recently I posted this comment on Facebook: “People always ask me how I find time to write. I don’t. I choose to write.” I was in the process of finishing a movie novelization that I had only a few days left to turn in to the editor, so I didn’t pay much attention to the comments that followed. When I checked Facebook later, I saw that several people found my comment “not supportive” and even hurtful to people who had so much else going on in their lives that they didn’t have the privilege of extra time to write. I tried to clarify by adding that “Everyone has their circumstances, but anyone should be able to find a few minutes a day or week to do some writing.” If people truly want to become writers, they need to make a commitment to producing writing, however they can work it into their lives. Seems like common sense, right? If you want to get good at something, you have to practice.
– Tim Waggoner

by Barb on 17/09/2017 • Permalink

Posted in Guest Post

Tagged words of wisdom, writers on writing, writing, writing advice

Posted by Barb on 17/09/2017

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2017/09/17/sunday-surprise-189/

Writer Wednesday

Okay, first the writerly news! Mind Control, the first two snippets, is out. Read about Ker-ris’s wedding and subsequent mind control by his beloved wife. Might entice you to buy Technological Angel, if you haven’t already! 🙂 buy the book, now!

Star Minds Snippets – Mind Control out now on Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords, Barnes&Noble and Apple US – buy the book, now!

Technological Angel out now on Smashwords, Kindle, B&N, Kobo, DriveThruFiction and XinXii. buy the book, now!

Star Minds omnibus – all three books in a single edition on DriveThruFiction, Smashwords, (all e-book formats) Barnes&Noble, Kobo (e-pub) Kindle (mobi) and POD (printed book) at Createspace. buy the book, now!

For your covers, more free art: Getty Museum’s Open Content project. I’ve been checking images for my historical novel (not that I’m any close to publishing it, but I stumbled on “costumes” on DeviantART and they made me think about it), and maybe a 12th century manuscript image on the cover will be the best solution – if I find one I like, that is. Or I can check Art Nouveau and early 20th century photos for inspiration. Or… well, you get the point. More at the bottom of the useful links for writers page.

Mighty Jo has gathered a number of title generators for your stories – just in case you really can’t come up with something. Like she said, it might just help finding the right title even if you don’t use what’s generated there. I might try to play with that sometime – since I’m not happy with the next Amazon story title, I’ve played with a couple of those. And yes, I’ve found new titles, albeit not for current stories, LOL! 😉

Finally someone who says tell, don’t show! So, go ahead and tell your story, like I’ve been doing for 30+ years! 🙂 Since the link in the newsletter doesn’t work, please check Writing World‘s latest – Victoria Grossak’s article on “Tell, Don’t Show”. It’s not on the website yet, it’s issue 13:16 of August 15. Dunno why it’s not “live” yet… maybe it will be, by the time this goes live! 🙂 Worthy is also Moira Allen’s article on Lists…

Advice from the dear departed: Elmore Leonard – I probably already posted this years ago, but worth repeating. Personally, I follow only #9 and 10 and totally ignore the rest… Again, this is only if you need rules! 🙂

Kris Rusch gives us the biggest news of the summer. Yup, the Big 6 are going the way of the dodo. Writer, start rethinking your strategy! 😉 You don’t need anyone’s validation – except your readers’. And they will find you, if you keep writing and publishing. If you keep everything in a drawer, hoping to find validation somewhere else, well, that’s where your writing is going to stay for the rest of its lifetime! 😉

And if you need help in taking criticism, again David Farland’s wisdom might do for you. Follow your heart and don’t take anything personally. If someone didn’t like your story, one’s not your reader and you’re better off without that one. Don’t wonder if you should write for the market (publishers) or for yourself. Write what you believe in, and then put it out there – your readers will find you.

I write because I like to imagine and make up stuff. Thank God I grew up before the internet, before writing schools and all that stuff. I never felt the need for rules – I didn’t even know there were some for creative writing! In David Icke’s words

Only you know if it feels right to you or not, you don’t need some guy with a fancy title and letters after his name to tell you what to think. What does your heart say? That’s all that matters.

Don’t let anyone tell you how and what to write. You know what to write and how. Don’t let anyone do the thinking for you – own your brain, if you still think you have one! Have a great week! 🙂

by Barb on 21/08/2013 • Permalink

Posted in struggles to get through, writing projects

Tagged writing, writing advice

Posted by Barb on 21/08/2013

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/writer-wednesday-76/

Writer Wednesday

So, how was the (long) weekend? My highlight was Monday, when I got to work on the body switch! 🙂 And finished struggling with formatting Fleur de Lys – final verdict is: a PDF for all sites, at least the lettering is big enough to be readable. Couldn’t create a decent mobi file neither with Calibre nor with Mobypocket Creator. On my Kindle it looked bad – either too small or one blank page between panels. I also have the word.doc version for Smashwords and I managed to keep it under 5MB. Meh.

So, this week’s writing will include more body switch and hopefully Star Minds 3 as soon as I get it back from Mighty Editor. It’s April, so this month’s writing goal is to jot down those Star Minds Snippets – some “recycled” from flashbacks I’ve taken out of Technological Angel, other totally new. I’m very excited to go back to the Milky Way and it’s varied Star Nations. I’m afraid out planet won’t be featured much (except in Kol-ian’s story), but I don’t think anyone will miss a short story that tells what happens to Mark – the Londonner who meets Maela in 1982, not the shortened version of Gaurishankar’s brother’s name (Markandeya). But if any of my 3 readers wants it, just ask – it won’t be a priority, though!

I want to tell Ker-ris’s wedding, and M’aera S’iva’s story and Gaurishankar and Noelia, and Mya Lylestar joining the galaxy police. And Maela’s story before Dadina’s birth. And then Kol-ian’s stay on Earth, of course! 🙂 Star Minds 3 should be out next week, so you can prepare for these new stories that will come out later in the year. They’re prequels to the series and if they’re short enough, I might post the first draft on this blog.

Now, to other writerly stuff. If you really really really think you need an agent in 2013, check Dean Wesley Smith’s post first – he does it every six months, and this time he tells you if and when you need one. And if you find yourself in Hugh Howey‘s position, make sure to ask him his agent’s name – and don’t forget the IP attorney! 🙂

I wish I could do like Joe Konrath – except I don’t have his numbers. And in spite of the date (March 31) I think this is Joe’s April’s Fool. Still, words of wisdom hidden there. If you’re smart enough to read between the lines! 😉 Or maybe we should all flood the Big 6’s mailboxes with our queries… especially Simon&Schuster! Check Kris Rusch’s post on the logic behind self publishing for more on the S&S vs. B&N war…

David Farland on writing for fun and profit. And Matt Haig’s 30 things that every writer should know – from a UK perspective. That’s all folks! Have a great week!

by Barb on 03/04/2013 • Permalink

Posted in struggles to get through, writing projects

Tagged publishing, writing, writing advice

Posted by Barb on 03/04/2013

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/writer-wednesday-56/

Guest post – David Baboulene

Today I’m resting before the big launch (can you see me going all “Ohm!” trying to keep the cool?) and will let somebody else speak. Please take note of these words of wisdom, as I believe there is much truth in this. It’s just rebel me that don’t want to play by the rules! 😉 BUT I do broadly know my genre, and will find my niche, probably online first, and then… we’ll see.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome David Baboulene!

Why is Genre Important?

When a writer tells me his story is so different it doesn’t fit a genre, he generally looks pretty pleased with himself. Rather than make myself unpopular, I refer him to my conversation with Stewart Ferris – the ex-MD of Summersdale Publishing – who told me the top three reasons why he will reject a book on the basis of its content:

Is the material appropriate for our brand and list?
Does it have a strong title?
Does it have a clear genre?

If the answer is ‘no’ to any of these, instant rejection is almost inevitable. So why is genre in this list?

Everyone in publishing builds a reputation on the decisions they make. Every publisher will go out of business if they don’t publish books that people want to buy. Every editor is only as good as the books she has her name against. Every buyer in the shops will be sacked if they fill precious shelf-space with books that doesn’t budge. And the key to selling a book (not writing – selling) is genre.

Since I started looking deeply into what makes stories grip and engage, I’ve found the roots of just about everything in psychology, and genre is no different. Our brains innately categorise and organise everything. Sales and marketing people know that products MUST match with a mental category to have any chance of making a sale. In Art, Genre is the label we use for this mental categorisation, and we are surprisingly rigid in how we want our lives, firstly, to be categorised, and secondly, for things to sit solidly within category boundaries.

Think about how you choose what to buy in a bookshop. Firstly, you generally know what type of book you want – let’s say you like ‘Travel’ books. You don’t know which specific book you want to buy, but you do know where to find the desired type of book, and you head for the Travel Section. There are, say, 100 books in that genre. Then what do you do? You narrow to a sub-genre. City guide? Map? Adventure? No – you want Humour. This will narrow it to say, 10 book, and you begin looking at them individually. You use the title and cover design to pick the ones that fit best (fit what? Your mental categorisation) and that will leave you with perhaps three that suit your personal idea of travel humour. You then read the back of each and if the publisher has their genre messages right, you probably buy all three of them on a ‘3 for the price of 2’ deal (Yes, that’s why they do that!). Note carefully that the content of the book – the words the author took years writing – are totally irrelevant. The top level genre messages that the publisher wrapped your words in are what sold it. Not the writing, but the wrapping. This is the job genre does for you – it helps the publisher to find appropriate writers and it helps readers to find material they are likely to appreciate.

A lot of writers get very frustrated by having their work and themselves forced into a pigeon hole. My advice is to embrace genre. Even the best writers only appeal to say 1% of the population, and you find your audience, and target them with appropriate marketing, because they are the ones who are attracted to the genre. So you need to be sure of one thing: Having a clear genre for your image, your writing, your books and publicity is absolutely key to commercial success.

If you would like to see the 106 page PDF of book categories published by the Book Industry Communications Trade Organisation which is used to categorise ALL published books, or if you would like a free chapter from The Story Book on any aspect of story theory or publishing, do please drop me a line via www.baboulene.com and I will send it to you.

Thanks to Barbara for the opportunity to be part of this wonderful blog. I do hope to do it all again some time!

David Baboulene

www.TheScienceOfStory.blogspot.com