Posts filed under ‘writer's information’
STRUGGLING TO GET IT WRITE: SELF-PUBLISHING
It is a journey we shall take together, seeking out information on the road to becoming a self-published author. In a recent post, I went into great detail on why I have not self-published – yet. That attitude is in the process of transition. Even I am capable of change. While I’m on the road to obtaining knowledge on self-publishing I invite you to come along.
We begin with an excellent article to get us started, full of useful information. I received it through an online writer’s group to which I belong, IndieWriterSupport. I suggest joining as many writer’s groups as you can. You will inundated with a wealth of information, not all useful, but a great deal with value to the writer. Join LinkedIn! Once you do offers to join other groups will come pouring in.
Look for future pieces with more in-depth information into the world of self-publishing.
Take advantage of the active links you will find in the article.
STRUGGLING TO GET IT WRITE: SELF-PUBLISHING, AN INTRODUCTION
It is said that we all have a book within us. I don’t know who said it, and if no one has, I just did. However, it has never been said, to my knowledge, that we all have a GOOD book within us. What follows is my own take on self-publishing with more episodes to follow. As always, feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Writing is an ego driven endeavor. To put your words out there and know that someone will pay money to read them is quite a stretch. But many of us do just that and bruise our egos along the way. Who among us truly thinks their ability to put words together isn’t worth shit, but I’m going to do it and reveal my shit to the world. In the not too distant past the only available avenue a writer could take, other than the traditional route of, agent-editor-publisher was lovingly referred to as the vanity press.
The end result of association with a vanity press was usually hundreds of books moldering away in a basement or attic and the author thousands of dollars poorer. Now we have a much better, cheaper option – the wonderful world of self-publishing. For an excellent in-depth look at self-publishing I refer you to the May/June 2012 issue of Writer’s Digest providing an overview on the topic. In a later piece I will offer some of the information from that issue and update the information contained in this issue for, in this day and age, 2012 is distant history.
Self-publishing, in conjunction with print-on-demand allows the writer to bring his work directly to the reading public without encountering the messy world of agents and publishers. I know many out there have taken the agent and or publisher route and have shed blood, sweat and tears with no results. Been there, done that. That’s why the vast majority of my work remains unpublished. I’ll get to my personal experiences and the reason I still beat my head against a stone wall in a later piece. Many of those who have put the effort and see no other avenue to present their work to the public other than to self-publish. Here, the decision to self-publish has merit. You’ve paid your dues with nothing to show for it; give it a shot.
There is another form of exposure providing a means to present your work, your thoughts, poetry, and stories, to the world. If you’ve gotten this far you’re participating in that medium now – the blog. Of course you won’t make any money unless your ego permits you to go hat-in-hand to those wanting to read the beauty of your words. Enough of that.
I have met one author, in my opinion, who has a healthy approach to self-publishing. She established a reputation through the traditional route of agent and publisher. Only after her reputation was established did she begin to self-publish. For now the public knew the value of her work, work accepted by the industry, and she could approach that public directly.
With the above in mind, I’m sure you see that self-publishing is a complicated and convoluted topic. It is a medium offering a new publishing opportunity, and each year hundreds of thousands of people employ it. It can yield great success, but to those that it has you could probably count using your fingers and toes, and perhaps not even need to take off your shoes.
Yet with all the uncertainty and rejection and no matter how you bear that twisted cross we call the writing addiction, you know you have no choice but to endure and hope for the
MY WRITING STYLE
Presently, I’m in a quandary about the subject of this piece, my writing style.
Every writer has his or her own style, the way of expressing in word the thoughts they are trying to convey. How does this characteristic of the author originate? Is it some deep-seated voice that represents your essence, or is it merely a manufacture of all the authors whose works you have read?
My reason for pondering this question is that I am in the process of editing my novel, Sweet Depression, and in this endeavor I am attempting to cure what others have pointed out to me as a major fault – my brevity. I tend to concentrate on the core of the story and leave out details that would give the story more life. But where is the line you must be careful not to cross when that life would morph into a boring existence?
Take a look at your bookshelves. If you’re as voracious a reader as I and share my fault of not being able to part with a book once read, those shelves are overflowing. Science fiction and horror are my writing genres, but lately some of my stories have spilled into the murky boundaries of the thriller. But back to science fiction. I look at the science fiction novels of fifty or more years ago and those of today and see a distinct difference. Older science fiction is more concise, more to the point. Of course, you have the epic series Dune written by Frank Herbert and continued by his son which are massive in length, tomes of a complex series. But I look at H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds which is little more than a novella and see the more typical length of science fiction of a bygone era.
Recently I have talked to writers whose work are massive and needed to be cut for publication. My work doe not require deletion but rather addition. But how much to add without diluting down the story or slowing the action, that’s the quandary.
While thinking this piece through I may have come up with the answer to my problem. It is not the length that is important, rather the content and the skill of the writer. Talent is the bottom line. The writer must take the readers by the hand and lead them down a path without detours causing them to lose their way. And when the readers reach the end of that path, if the writer has been successful, they are left with a treasure.
A WRITER’S VOICE
I don’t know about other writers, but when I read work by a successful author, especially one writing in my chosen genre, I have a desire to mimic the voice of that writer. After all, their voice has worked where mine is less than well-known. However, I resist temptation and, for better or for worse, adhere to my own style, my own writing voice.
What determines a writer’s voice?
Perhaps the most important element is the writer’s life, his experiences along that bumpy road to his vocation and hopefully his avocation. Certainly his age is a determining factor. I began my writing career at an advanced age, some would say almost elderly. And as I stumbled down my own road, I was molded by what I experienced. I sometimes wonder what words I would have produced had I begun writing at an earlier age and how my writing would have developed as I aged.
I feel another determinate of a writer’s voice is the genre you choose to work in. I write science fiction and horror. Science fiction is terse, detail oriented with the story and plot more important than character development. Horror leaves more room for character development but also depends heavily on atmosphere and a host of nonhuman characters. Horror tends to be more ‘wordy’ than science fiction.
These are my opinions on what goes into developing a writer’s voice. For you writers out there, am I on target or completely off the mark?
Someday, time permitting; I may try to stretch my voice into other genres.
THE NEED FOR OBSERVATION
The following is my observation of the writer to be constantly aware of the world he or she occupies. I do a great deal of reading, both fiction and nonfiction, and as I read find a great deal of depth some authors give, to their characters in the case of fiction or the events they are recording in the case of nonfiction, by asides that bring to their writing, details which enliven their work, springing from the well of their life’s experiences. These details are born from a life spent closely observing their world. Only from my limited experience as an author do I speak of the importance of a keen sense of observation necessary to enhance your stories, bring life to your characters, to add dimension to their experiences.
To those experience authors who may stumble across this blog, I am perhaps stating the obvious, the power of observation and the ability to file those observations away. Then as a character is being developed, you go back to that well of memories to breathe life into that being of your imagination.
Can this strong power to observe be taught?
When an individual decides to become a writer, if he hasn’t already spent his life in absorbing the world around can he suddenly begin?
Are writers born or created?
UPDATE INTERVIEW
I thought I’d share this interview with you, my loyal readers.
My interview is at the end of the article.
http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/interview-with-debra-englander.html
WRITING TECHNIQUES
This was an assignment for my writers group.
WRITING TECHNIQUES
HOW I AVOID THE
‘WRITING FUNK’
I think the ‘writing funk’ depends on the individual. Writing is a difficult profession. To constantly write takes a high level of dedication and fortitude.
So what is ‘the writing funk’? It could be the lack of ideas or the daily grind of life, or a combination of both. It could also result from having too many ideas and not enough time to see them through. I suffer from the latter.
I write science fiction and horror stories. My sick mind provides the horror; however, science fiction ideas come from another source. I constantly search newspapers and online science websites for anything that may speak to my imagination. When I come across something interesting, I print it out and store it in a folder marked, ‘future stories’. Periodically, I will go through this folder and group articles with a common theme that may build a story that speaks to my imagination. From there, I go to a notebook entitled, ‘future stories’, where I keep the articles and any of my first impressions and thoughts. This way, I am never at a loss for material for a story.
Also, whatever I’m going to write, whether it is a short story or a novel, I constantly think about it before I put pencil to paper. That’s right, all my initial drafts are written out in longhand.
Now for the process that goes into building a novel. At this point, I have written three novels. One of which will be published early next year.
When writing a novel, I start with an outline which is dynamic. I record this initial outline in a steno pad which I keep with me until the novel is completed. I constantly rewrite the outline with new ideas and changes to the plot, constantly adding details as the writing progresses. At times, I can hear the characters talking. I add those conversations to the pad and sometimes they eventually make it into the novel.
I can honestly say, in the ten years I have been writing – two fulltime, that I have never felt a funk for lack of material. Rather, when I’m in a ‘funk’, it’s for lack of time.
Walttriznastories's Blog 