Indie Life: Back to School

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…at least for parents of school age parents. It’s back to school time. Even if you don’t have children or your children have all grown up, there is something changes at the end of summer. Vacations and play are over. Time to get back to learning.

Since we’re in a season when so many are thinking about their educational pursuits, maybe indie writers should do the same. Now would be a good time to go back and focus on the basics: writing craft.

So much of our indie lives are focused on marketing and promotion. Or on getting our website in order or scheduling our blog posts, but what about our actual writing? How much time do we spend becoming better writers?

A well-crafted book is the foundational of a successful indie life. There is no substitute for it. You can promote to the high heavens, but if your prose doesn’t shine, it will all be for naught.

Poorly written book is one of the stigmas of indie books, and unfortunately, in some cases, it’s true. Since indie publishing is so easy now, anyone with some free time and a Word document can have a book live for purchase in a few hours. I have certainly read my share of poorly written indie books with poor sales, but our books don’t have to end up that way.

Putting time into improving craft can be very beneficial to not only your sales, but to your as a writer. Learning something new will put fresh wind in your writing sails. Mastering a technique can boost your confidence. Pushing to improve as a writer can also cure writer’s block and eliminate any feelings of stagnation.

How do we go about improving? Most of us can’t enroll in writing classes (but if you can, I suggest you do), so our education takes other forms.

Read. I’ve heard the advice of reading in your genre, but I would suggest broadening that to reading everything. Some elements of writing, like pacing and character arcs, can be learned from a well-written book from any genre. Read more and pay attention to what is working and what is not in the book. Take notes and see if it can apply to your writing.

Read writing craft books. If you have a library card, you can improve your writing. Most library systems are well stocked with writing craft books. Check a few and read them. Pick up a copy of Writer’s Digest. Many of these resources will present different suggestions on tackling a particular technique, but keep reading until you find one that works for you.

Do your homework. Now that you are armed with information, it’s time to apply it to your writing. This will require you to really take a hard, objective look at your writing. Most writers already know what their writing weaknesses are. Practice some of the tips you gained on your weak areas. And don’t forget your strong areas. Yes, they are already working, but look at ways to make them better.

Get critiqued. This is a challenging one because most of us have had some interesting experiences in critique groups. That being said, having someone other than your mother or husband critique is very helpful. Find two or three people who are broad readers, people who read all genres, and ask them to read your manuscript. These people are called beta readers. Even if they can’t tell you what exact technique you need to improve on, they can tell you when something is not working.

Our writing careers started with us learning about writing craft, and that learning shouldn’t stop once we’ve published. We need to push to learn and improve. Learn something new today.

CampNaNoWriMo Update: Momentum

It’s time for a CampNaNoWriMo update.

Since July 1^st, I’ve been working on the sequel to my first indie published book. I would like to say that it’s going well, but it’s not. I’ve been sidetracked by migraines and other random busyness. On the days that I do write, I’ve made good progress. Unfortunately, those days don’t come as frequently as I’d like.

I am, however, seeing some positive things out of this experience beyond increasing my word count. I’m learning lessons that impact my whole life and that’s what makes camp so memorable. I’m seeing that there are some morals to this story. I’ve come across a few during this month. One of them is momentum.

The value of momentum is greatly underappreciated. It’s the whole “a body in motion tends to stay in motion” principle. I’ve found when I’ve got some momentum going, my words flow easier. This month has proven this. Losing my momentum is like starting a car on a cold day. It will start, but it takes a minute to get warmed up. I’ve also found that it’s harder to get back in the “mood” of the novel after I’ve let a few days pass.

This is a camp great lesson. Keep moving. And it’s a great camp lesson to apply to every area of life. If I’m allowed to modify the principal above, I’d say “a life in motion tends to stay in motion.” Whether your “motion” is exercising, studying or any other activity that takes more than five minutes to complete, keep moving.

Which brings us to another story moral: to get moving, take a step. A simple statement, I know, but so often, I find myself standing still while lamenting over how hard it is to get moving. Getting moving, most of the time, is taking the simplest and most obvious step, but it is the hardest to accomplish. I think that’s because we expect to take on the whole process at once, instead of realizing that it is a process. Processes are accomplished in steps.

In order to get through the process, you need momentum. In order to get some momentum, you’ve got to get moving. Try it this week. Get moving and get some momentum going.  Onward, campers!

A Different Kind of Tough

I’ve come to the conclusion every writer needs to self-publish at least one of their books. That’s a cringe worthy statement for those who haven’t quite embraced self-publishing, but I believe it’s true. Self-publishing is challenging, heart-wrenching, confusing, and hard work.

Most authors are familiar with the hard work portion of writing. Crafting irresistible hooks and realistic dialog requires effort. An indie author, however, experiences another level of hard work, and in some ways, harder than traditionally published authors.

Now this post isn’t about us vs. them. That gets us, the writing community, nowhere. I’m not interested in belittling traditionally published authors or others who do want to go that route. I can’t because my publishing dreams include traditional and indie books. I am, however, saying that indie publishing is a different kind of tough.

There are several differences in the tough for indie authors. For traditionally published authors, the publishing house will ask for suggestions for the marketing plan. For indie authors, you come up with the plan, approve it and execute it. Same with promotion. Both traditional and indie authors need a good editor. The different kind of tough for indie authors is that we have to find one ourselves. We also have to look for a cover artist, give direction on how the cover should look and approve the final version.

The point is that indie authors are responsible for the whole book process. Again, not to minimize the struggles of traditionally published authors, just saying it’s different. Indie publishing requires time and effort beyond turning in a manuscript to a publishing house and moving on the next book. Indie authors are solely responsible for the whole process, the creative and the business side.

Those two sides are exactly why I think every author should self-publish. When you are responsible for everything, you develop a great respect for your work and for all the pieces that make it great. You want your book to be the best it can be because you have invested many hours of frustration, education and tears into it. As an indie author, you fully own the responsibility of putting out a great book. The sole responsibility adds gravity to the process of writing and producing a book. And when you realize the weight of that responsibility, you approach the process of publishing very differently than you have before.

You learn your craft because no one in their right mind would go through the process of self-publishing only to have you book fail because of bad writing. Or bad cover art. You market your book, run great giveaways because you’ve invested in this book. You intimately know what it takes to bring the whole product together. You learn to respect your gift. It’s really hard to be flip about your writing when you understand ALL that goes into publishing a book.

I am now working on the sequel to my first self-published book, and my approach is totally different than it was for the first one. Gone are my pie-in-the-sky, emotional responses to seeing my name in print. I am much more serious about this one than the last one. Not to the point of taking the fun out of it, but I respect the process more. I wouldn’t have learned any of this if I hadn’t lived through the different kind of tough of self-publishing. 

Camp NaNoWriMo Begins...

I’ve have neglected my blog but I’m back.

Camp NaNoWriMo began yesterday. I so excited about this new program from NaNoWriMo. I normally do NaNoWriMo in November, so this gives me another shot to write like crazy.

Camp NaNo is very much like the official event in November, except for a few changes. For Camp NaNo, you can set your own word count. You also get assigned to cabins with other writers that you can instant message during the month. My favorite difference is that you can be a “rebel,” and write whatever you want, including things you already started.

This month I’ll be writing the sequel to my first self-published novel. I’ve been plotting the story for some time, so I’m expecting it to flow. I’m praying to get the rust off my brain and fingers. I’ve been neglecting my writing lately. Hopefully, Camp NaNo will help me get my mojo back.

It’s very interesting how the lost mojo (or writer’s block) effects me. I dread the blank page and avoid it like any other good writer. Then, when the block finally breaks, the rush of relief is almost like a high. Words flow and I’m a happy girl. Now if I could only remember that feeling when I have writer’s block.

So I’m off to the noveling...

Indelibles: Living the Life

One of the laments I often hear when people are considering going indie is that the author has to do everything themselves. Not exactly an accurate statement since there are many tasks that an indie author has to outsource but I understand their meaning. The author is responsible for the whole shebang. You have to make the plan and execute it.

Of course, that can seem a little daunting but how hard is it really? It’s not really that hard…it’s no harder than life. Not to minimize the challenges of indie publishing or life in general, but if you manage to live, you can manage an indie publishing career.

Everyday, we make plans and decisions. We plan our careers and to go back to school despite having a full time job. We plan to homeschool our children. Some of us plan weeklong vacations…vacations that include children. Others plan the most effective way to live in the Sandwich Generation, caring for both elderly parents and children. We do all this and then carry out the plan. And if we don’t know what to do, we do the research and find out.

Becoming an indie author is pretty much the same thing. Yes, we are making different kinds of plans, but it’s the same principal. We decide what’s best for us, we make a plan and we carry it out. If there is something we don’t know, we do research and figure it out. Or we figure out that we can’t figure it out and find someone who already has. This is life, indie life, but life nonetheless.

So for those who are planning to become an indie author, or those of us who are already on that journey, just keep living life. Indie life can be a tremendous undertaking, but so is life.