Before the bananas ripe
let's meet at least once
lest the fog dampen passion
let's water our love
the sun is bright this morning
and night's promising
let's meet and unfreeze winter
of years, drink some wine
restore warmth of faith and hope
and heal the breaches
without black goggles for seeing
let's meet at least once
From: YOU CAN'T SCENT ME AND OTHER SELECTED POEMS, 2016
One of my clients asked me this question. This may seem like a dumb question, but it’s worth discussing so as to help writers who are new to the game. Short answer: The god of fiction has not prescribed the length of a scene. A scene should be as long as it needs to be in order to accomplish its goal. Each scene should be planned before the writing begins. The plan must begin with establishing its purpose. The scene should incorporate at least one of these purposes:
• Move the main plot line ahead.
• Present necessary information
• Introduce or develop characters
• Create atmosphere or develop setting
• Introduce or worsen a problem
• Solve a problem
• Set up a later scene.
In addition, you must answer the following questions before you begin writing a scene:
• Who will be the viewpoint character?
• What other characters will be in this scene?
• Where will this scene take place?
• When will it take place?
• What is the primary action that will occur in the scene?
• What will generate conflict?
When you have determined the purpose of the scene, answered the questions above, and fulfilled its purpose, the scene will find its natural length.
A Twisted Shade Of Green series, book one "Portrayal Of Lust and Revenge", is now at amazon.com, authorhouse.com, barnesandnoble.com. Paperback: $13.99 e-book/kindle: $3.99. Visit website for more details: http://www.emackinn01.com/
BOOK TEASER AND TRAILER
Two opposites illustrate how love can conquer hearts of lust, revenge, and deception. Kali Mathias possesses an appetite of lust, and Glen Monroe has a raging spirit for vengeance. And together, Glen and Kali both have deceit souls within. But, love turns one date among two total conflicting hearts into one which requires each other to be alive in the midst of any storm. Through a new-found love, God taught Kali to know that not everything has a price tag; at least, not real love! God taught Glen to realize even love can conquer the grips of a sought-after heart’s revenge!
Oleg Dou Art.
I am me.
I am flesh and blood.
I have knowledge.
I have a talent.
I have desires.
I am me.
Since starting Thayer Literary Services, a book editing business, in 1997 and after reading what seems like a gazillion first novels, I have seen the same mistakes over and over again. After a while I started calling them “the usual suspects.” I have considered collecting them into a book, but I thought that seeing so many of them all in one place would drive me to drink.
So I decided to create this blog as a way to discuss grammar and punctuation problems one at a time, along with many other writing issues, all of which I think will be helpful to budding writers. Follow this blog, and I’m sure you will find some information that will help you become a better writer.
Welcome aboard!
Paul Thayer
Thayer Literary Services
paulthayerbookeditor.com
____________________________________________________________________
Paul Thayer is a full-time professional book editor with more than 35 years of experience. During that time he worked in the trenches of the real world of writers, editors, and publishers. He uses his extensive knowledge to help writers who still have a lot to learn, offering them critiques and line editing of their work.
First off, thank you Indie Writer’s Support for giving me this opportunity to air my dirty laundry, well not all of it. I’ll save something for next time.
Every writer’s journey is fraught with humorous anecdotes, stumbles, pitfalls, and miracles. Yes, it is a journey that perfectly mirrors this adventure we call life, and just like life, you better hold on tight, because as the country western lyric says it’s going to be “one Hell of a ride”.
I have always been a writer, or at least dabbled in it, whether it be speeches, short stories, poetry, screen treatments, but it was my sideline, not my profession. However, my serious journey began in 2010, when I published In the Face of Evil a historical novel based on my mother’s survival of the Holocaust. I should say self-published, as no one showed any interest in doing it for me. Much of that was due to the lack of editing, and not knowing the publishing business. It took me three years to write, and a stack of rejection notices wasn’t going to stop me from publishing it. Call it beginners luck, but that book became a Finalist in the National Jewish Book Awards. Not bad. Imagine if I would have had it professionally edited? To this day it is one of the highest rated books on Amazon and Goodreads, not easy to maintain with those angry trolls that cruise the virtual world and live and breathe to write abusive one and two-star reviews. Anyway, after toiling, suffering, through one of the darkest times in human history I needed to write something lighter, less taxing on my psyche.
Just around that time I read this little book entitled Fifty Shades of Grey. Well, it doesn’t get lighter than that. Not a particularly well-written book, but it held my interest. I began to study the romance genre, reading voraciously, everything from paranormal to BDSM. Oh, my goodness those sweaty nights of reading, who wouldn’t be hooked. I was literally infected with the romance germ and the only cure was for me to pass it on through my writing. In February 2014 I self-published (at this point I was fairly turned off by the publishing industry) my first book in the Romance/Sexy/Suspense genre The One, which became the first in my The Only One series. In June, I published The One & More, bringing me to my release with Soul Mate Publishing One More Time is Not Enough. These three-feature explicit sex with very suspenseful stories.
Then came a publishing contract with Hartwood Publishing and my next two books Escape and Vengeance about an uber Mossad agent and his art curator muse Layla. In this serie,s I toned the sex down and focused more on the suspense and thriller aspects.
In between I wrote and self-published on June 1, 2018, a romance/thriller/paranormal entitled The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci, which is the first in my Out of Time series. Really excited about this book as its doing phenomenally well.
Presently I'm finishing my third in my Tip of the Spear series, which will be titled Ransom, before starting the next book in the Out of Time series.
What I’ve learned along the way could fill a book, however, I have no interest in writing that one. Suffice it to say, I’ve spent a lot of money on poor editing, PR, advertising, the list goes on-and-on. Yes, I’ve sold books in a vacuum, despite myself. What I wanted was a home, a place to hang my hat. Fellow authors to communicate with, share ideas, brainstorm, all of which had been lacking in my creative world.
My goodness, what an inspiration it is to finally develop a writing family. I have a notebook filled with review site possibilities, book tour companies, raffle copter events, marketing tips, and a whole slew of new Facebook and Twitter friends and my very own, growing with leaps and bounds, newsletter. I’m learning what works and what doesn’t work from writers who’ve walked barefoot over the burning coals and are kind enough to share, preventing me from burning my Tootsies.
I now have a fabulous critique group and most importantly I have a personal assistant who has changed my life. She’s my editor and marketer and I bless the day I found her.
My thank-you to all who have come before and who continue to be an inspiration. It just keeps getting better, and the future looks ever so bright.
For those of you who already know the answer to the question at hand, I applaud you.
But there are a few who might be wondering why, in fact, one would ever worry about editing. Two schools of thought rally around this subject. Some of you might be thinking one or both of the following:
It’s true that indie publishing has simplified the once traditional route to getting our work out to readers. But that’s all the more reason to take your writing seriously. By overlooking the editing process, you’re only hurting yourself. Once you decided, “I’m getting published someday!”, you essentially said goodbye to writing as a hobby. Look, I’m not telling you to stop enjoying the creative process. Of course not. I think we should all remember why we got into it, why we still love writing. However, you should see your manuscript as a potential book.
Notice I said potential? Before you hit ‘publish’ on that Amazon screen, think carefully about the ramifications of publishing a book without official edits.
We’re all familiar with bad reviews, right? Not only have we seen them on book purchase pages, reviews have changed the fate of restaurants and hotels alike, even something as simple as a pair of shoes.
Words have power. Just as our books can move readers on an emotional level, enough bad reviews can kill your book’s reputation. Having said that, a negative review happens now and then. No author, not even a famous one, is immune. It’s true that you can’t win every reader over. But, wouldn’t you want to be judged on the merit of your work, the quality of your story, rather than the editing mistakes and glaring grammar problems you thought weren’t so relevant?
Take it from me. I’ve been a published author since 2010, and I still jump to catch all the editing issues before I even consider publishing the book. With my latest book, Directions of the Heart, I fortunately fixed the mistakes in the proof copy CreateSpace sent and was still able to meet my deadline before the collection officially released. And this occurred after numerous rounds of self-editing, and assistance from outside sources. To date, no one has mentioned any editing issues in the book's reviews.
But let’s get back to the discussion here.
Consider this. If you decide to go the traditional route and you skip the editing step, you’re not going to win any points with literary agencies or publishers to which you send query letters. Once they get a load of the first few pages of your manuscript, you’ll get a tasteful yet boring form letter that basically says, “Sorry, but no thanks!”
So…the question you need to ask yourself is:
“How important is the finished product to me?”
I think most writers want to put their best work out there. Some are even perfectionists about it. Does it irk you when you missed making a word plural on an email or social media? You want to fix it right away, yes? But it's not always possible. I feel your pain. Now, why wouldn’t you have the same reaction with the book that you’d like to show readers?
“I’m ready, Marie. I am hitting ‘publish’ right now!”
Whoa…slow your roll there, cupcake. Have you read through your manuscript a few times? For example, two or three weeks between each round? Did you read it aloud or even print it out? Sometimes these different techniques allow us to see glaring errors we missed before. And I’m not even touching the idea of having to format your book for release.
But let’s go back to the beginning. Remember the eager writer who can’t wait for the world to see his or her work? Ditch that dream just for the moment. You need to put your editing hat on!
Look, this is when things get gritty, or at least they should. Think of yourself as the girl who fell for the bad boy. He can do no wrong, but your family is trying to tell you otherwise. Yet the intelligent thing to do would be to weigh your options, consider your future with this guy. Likewise, you’ve got to look at your manuscript with a critical eye, not rose-colored glasses. Fall out of love with your book for a while. I’m not asking you to second guess everything, just to be smart. Now is the time to keep an eye out for plot holes, character confusion (using the same name for two different secondary characters…yeah, it happens), and, among a thousand other aspects, making sure you didn’t miss any important details.
Believe me, when you’re finally ready to see them, they’ll pop out at you. For example, if you want to ensure your characters are fully developed, answer these questions. You won’t include every detail in the book, but at least you’ll know your protagonist much better and be more aware of when those facts matter within the story.
By now, you’ve probably realized that I’m talking about self-editing. Mmm-hmm…it’s a thing. Even if you are open to using an outside source for help (critique partners, beta readers, a proofreader or other editing service), do you really want to hand your hard work over to a total stranger without perfecting it on your own first? Nah, probably not.
Here are some possible questions to ask yourself with any work of fiction:
A critique partner will often help you narrow down many such problem areas. Still, it doesn’t hurt to suss out some of it for yourself.
Okay, let’s say you’ve tackled that as well as possible on your own. Now comes the dreaded part. Unless you’re a total editing maven (and even if you’re an editor in real life, I still wouldn’t suggest editing everything on your own), then self-editing can be a grueling yet necessary process. Luckily, the internet has provided us with awesome tips. Hallelujah!
I swear by these next two articles from The Write Life:
10 Simple Ways to Edit Your Own Book
25 Editing Tips for Tightening Your Copy
With my first pass, I use article number one, and then I read through the manuscript. During round two, I launch into the second article. This is a more detailed look at the mistakes people often make while writing. After implementing the article’s suggestions, I read through the book again. Take decent breaks between each round (you don’t want to be too familiar with your work). With both articles, utilize the advice but try not to drown out your unique writing voice. I always do another read-through before anyone else sees my work. That’s three full rounds of self-editing.
“Marie, this could take a while!”
No kidding. But the best endeavors often do.
Will you catch everything? Nope. But I guarantee it will be a lot better than where any of us started out with the first draft.
So…hopefully, your work is edited well enough to hand over to a critique partner or beta readers. Try to provide a questionnaire to help focus your betas on what kind of feedback that you’re looking for. It looks something like this, but you can tailor it to your specific genre.
Perhaps you’re thinking of checking out an editing service. I’ve worked with a lot of good editors through my publisher. I would advise you to compare rates. Most editors charge per word. That can really add up, especially if you have a novel-length manuscript. Plus, there are different types of editing. Are you looking for basic copy editing or something more thorough, like line, content or developmental editing? Word of mouth is usually the best way to find a good editor. Ask your fellow writers or authors who they used for their latest book editing.
I hope we’ve established the importance of editing. Do errors still slip through at times? Even with the professionals? Sure. I’ve noticed the occasional typo in a big six bestselling novel. The fact is no one is perfect. But I bet you’ll agree that one or two minor issues would be far better than a 100,000 word manuscript riddled with errors (which is likely to cause your reader to toss the book, or their Kindle, out the window).
Editing is too damn important, both for your professional integrity as a writer, and to avoid making your eyes cross when you reread your published book. Plus, readers will love you for giving them a polished product! You can’t lose there. I know you’d prefer them to talk to their friends about the story and how it makes them feel, rather than get hung up on all the grammar problems. Right?
I thought so. Despite how much of a pain it can be, editing is your friend.
Really! ;) Are you still with me?
Okay, we’ll go with whatever makes you comfortable. In any case, editing is an aspect of the writing process that you can’t afford to ignore. At least, if you want to survive as an author. A well-edited and published book is certainly something of which you should be proud!
I hope you found some helpful tips here. Have a great weekend, and, as always, happy reading! :)
It is a writer’s worst fear – what they call ‘writer’s block’. Being frozen when you intend to work on your project. The idea that the well has officially dried up. Perhaps you encountered a deadline and just went blank because of the strain. Or, out of the blue, you cannot find the urge to write. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s not exactly temporary.
The truth is that this is one of those moments every writer simply doesn’t relish. Sure, we can try to be reasonable and say…ah, what a relief! I’ll just take some much needed time off. No problem.
But then the fears creep in.
What if this is it?
What if my last story or book was the last one I’ll ever write?
Even if this is short-term, what if I lose my readers in the time it takes to get the urge back?
Will my best efforts be good enough?
All that, among other worries, of course.
Writer’s block happens, even to the best of us. We all have moments when life’s stressors have just overloaded our mental capacity to be creative any longer. Maybe there was a period of grief, financial strain, or a number of other personal situations that can interfere with one’s imagination. Whatever the cause – or even if you don’t believe there is one, it’s likely a multitude of things that fed into the block – do yourself a favor. Give your inner writer a break.
I really mean that.
Draw a deep breath. No matter how long your writer’s block lasts, it’s not going to do any good to stress too much over the whole thing. Why? For one, freaking out will not only put more stress on you, it may lengthen the period of the barrier jarring your creativity. I can name around two or three points in my life when I experienced writer’s block, and putting extra pressure on myself only made it ten times worse.
Let’s face it; as humans, we tend to fear the worst, and then we jump to try to fix everything. Even things that may not be so ‘fixable’. Often it’s not just a lack of willpower for a project which is blocking you, but a bunch of stressors that led to the problem. That’s why patience is key.
Stay positive. Believe me, I know it’s tough. Especially if the cause of the block is more emotional, it is harder to look up rather than down. But keeping a positive outlook, at least about your creativity, will seriously help. Plus, who knows? This could be a brief situation, right? That leads me to my next point.
Take a break. However long you need, take some time to chill. Relax, and STOP overthinking.
Go enjoy your life! Heck, go on vacation if necessary. That deadline or story will still be sitting there tomorrow. Why work yourself beyond your limits for something that may result in what…one word? Keep a small notepad on hand, just in case, though. You never know when a great line or idea will pop up, which you can use for a future project.
Distract yourself. Maybe this is a good time to really start launching your blog. Or work on that DIY project in the kitchen. Anything you have to do to distract yourself from the ‘block’ that’s hanging over your head, just do it. Some writers use this time to approach specific parts of the impending project that don’t require too much of your creative juices. For example, learning more about your characters, or doing research on the locations which you’ll use to create a great setting in the novel. It isn’t necessary at this point, though. In my opinion, throwing yourself into a project that has nothing to do with your book or story is better. But, hey, you may as well get some things done in the process. ;)
Measure the muse. You’re going to have moments that feel like false hope. You really want to work on your story, but you are afraid to dive in, that it might result in…well, nothing. If ideas are creeping up, it won’t hurt to write them down somewhere. However, be certain that your urge to write isn’t only a way to pressure yourself into finishing something. Until you’re truly ready to get fully immersed in the writing process, try to discern what urges are real or just temptation.
Other projects. Depending on the source of your writer’s block – an external reason, such as an event that happened in your personal life – or an internal writing dilemma, such as needing to resolve a plot conflict – it might even behoove you to work on a different idea entirely. Sometimes we have to step away from something to get better clarity.
Try writing a new story. Or, work on a project you’ve kept on the backburner for months or years. And if that doesn’t pan out, try using a different part of your brain. Edit a work in progress. At times the best solution is to do a complete turnaround. Maybe once you’re done with that project, you’ll have a ‘Eureka!’ moment and suddenly the motivation to work on whatever you had trouble with before will return.
The struggle is REAL, as they say. All right, let’s suppose that you can’t even handle working on a brand-new project, or something which is just sitting around. Consider other options. What might some of those be? Relax; I’ll tell you…
Reading is awesome! Huh? That’s right. If you’re a writer, you are almost certainly a reader at heart. Read a ton of books, especially those in your preferred genre. But don’t be afraid to change things up and try something that’s a little out of your wheelhouse from time to time.
Reading is actually a two-part “cure”, so to speak. It gets you out of your head, and into the fictional world. That’s where we love to be! Even better, it helps to familiarize you more with what other authors are doing, so you can develop your own style when you’re ready to start writing again.
You’re ready to dip your toes in the water of success. Notice I said ‘dip’. That means, for God’s sake, please…you gotta take it slow. Unless you’re an old pro at handling writer’s block, you do not want to relapse. I suggest you try a few writing exercises first. These are really helpful for jumpstarting a writer’s creativity. There are some great prompts in Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones. And if you’ve never had a journal, consider the idea of journaling for a while. Sometimes you need to get all the junk out of your head before you can find the real meat which results in a story or book. We humans have so much going on up there!
To help you out, there are some links below with exercises or writing prompts that might get you started in the right creative direction. And if a book or story doesn’t come from any of these, don’t sweat it. This is just for fun. Remember, the point of writing is also to enjoy what you’re doing. Why else did you become a writer? :)
Ideas for Exercises
https://www.pw.org/writing-prompts-exercises
https://daringtolivefully.com/journal-prompts
http://writetodone.com/10-best-creative-writing-exercises/
http://inside.warren-wilson.edu/~creativewriting/Prompts.php
http://blog.ed.ted.com/2015/11/17/21-fun-things-to-write-about-in-10-minutes-or-less/
http://www.writersdigest.com/prompts
https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/13/500-prompts-for-narrative-and-personal-writing/
http://thinkwritten.com/365-creative-writing-prompts/
http://www.dailyteachingtools.com/journal-writing-prompts.html
So…you’re finally ready to take on the real world. Okay, let’s say I trust your judgment. Perhaps that story or book, or even an entirely new one, is calling to you. Consider the following statement first.
Ease into the project at hand. As aforementioned, putting too much pressure on yourself all at once is just going to place you right back where you started. In the black hole of writer’s block, of course! Don’t get me wrong. I understand your excitement. To experience the genuine call of the muse is like a beautiful madness has descended upon you. But, try to be patient.
At first, cut the book or story into small segments, parts that are more approachable. Work on each section separately. Remember, you don’t want to find yourself in a pit of regression as soon as you’ve started. I like to separate everything into individual scenes or chapters that eventually make a whole, and even handle my research topics one at a time, so I don’t feel as overwhelmed. When you finish, you’ll be amazed at what you’ve accomplished overall.
Seriously…no worries. If you’re currently suffering from writer’s block, the best thing to do is to distract yourself and do your best not to stress out about it. The time will pass before you know it, and then the muse will return in full force. With some patience, you’ll be right back to constructing those stories freely, and enjoying your life as a writer. That’s what we’re here for anyway, right? ;)
Life can get pretty crazy sometimes. Just when it seems normal, then there’s a curveball which knocks you completely off that axis you got so comfortable with. And, more often than not, life gets in the way of writing. About when you’re ready to sit down to the task and focus, something comes up. There’s an emergency, or maybe not. Life happens. The kids need to be driven somewhere. Before you know it, a whole day has flown by and you’re not only exhausted from the ride, you’re disappointed that you couldn’t get any writing done. And especially around this time of year, the holidays make it all worse, right? There is so much to do. Well, what can be done? It’s not like those million things you do every day will go away. How can you fit writing into your incredibly hectic schedule?
“What? You’re crazy, Marie.”
No, I’m saying this for a reason. Take two minutes and concentrate on breathing. Slowly. Inhale, exhale. Set a timer if you want. Easy, right? There, you did it.
“I did what exactly?”
You took a moment to breathe. This is something all of us naturally do, but we never even think about it. Well, unless you’re lucky enough to be into meditation. And I’ll bet most of us don’t even take full breaths because our lives are too hectic. But, think about it. Don’t you feel calmer, more relaxed? Can’t you think better now? And for those two minutes, I bet you forgot about the rest of the world.
“What’s your point?”
If you can take a couple extra moments to focus on deep breathing, then you can certainly turn your attention to your current writing project as well.
“How do you figure?”
Well, isn’t writing as natural to you as breathing? For most of us, the art of writing is like an extension of ourselves. It’s something we do, or find ourselves doing whether we’re prepared for it or not.
And yet, carving the time out for it can elude us. So, I’ll make it simple with some other steps.
Yeah, lists just aren’t for Santa’s nice and naughty lists. Lists will keep you organized on what you need to get done on your current manuscript. And the more specific, the better. Need to research a certain detail regarding your character or his profession? Maybe you want to learn more about the setting, the city in which the story takes place? Make a note of it somewhere. For me, post-it notes are a godsend. They are a constant reminder of what I need to do, and the bright colored things are annoying enough to spur me into action. LOL. My family thinks I’m crazy for using them around my computer, but honestly they help more than hurt. And once that task is done, the note gets trashed. Yay! You accomplished something for that day. Doesn’t that feel great?
“Easier said than done, Marie.”
Maybe. But then, you’ve more than proven that a couple of minutes of deep breathing is doable. How about five or even ten? Is that manageable in the span of 24 hours?
Believe me, every little bit of time you devote to your writing helps. Try to do something associated with your writing project each day. Editing, researching, even write a paragraph or sentence if that’s all you can do.
Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night with a story idea or the answer to your current manuscript, a niggling sense that won’t leave you alone? Don’t ignore it. Write no matter the time. And if you’re too exhausted, take some notes and work on it the next day. Even if you think you’re too busy one day, try to carve out a small amount of time to simply “think” about your work in progress. Just ruminate a little. A lot of plotting happens in your head when you’re doing a mundane task like washing dishes or folding laundry. Don’t tell me you’ve never caught yourself thinking about your story in that manner?
“But, Marie, I’m a pantster.”
Oh, so you write as you go along, and the story unfolds naturally? Great! Believe it or not, your subconscious is still working on that manuscript, toying with new ideas. Think of it as a jumble of noise that eventually makes sense. And if you do this kind of extemporaneous writing, just launch into it when you get a moment to yourself. Even a paragraph at a time, as aforementioned.
But, at least you took some time to devote to your story or novel. That brings me to my next point.
Is that character nagging at you? Do you have an image of the scene in your head? Is some plot element drawing you away from another task? Well, why not give in? There’s a reason this happens. The muse is trying to tell you something. Even if you can only jot down a few notes, that’s a step in the right direction. Take it from me, though. The fresher the idea is in your mind, the better.
We put a lot of pressure on ourselves, and we’re all our own worst critics. Don’t beat yourself up if you didn’t get a chance to work on your manuscript one day.
Also, don’t be afraid to take breaks to unwind. Go shopping. Visit a museum. Head to the beach. And if money is tight, take a walk around your neighborhood or go to your local park. Do something a little different than usual. It may help you recharge your batteries now and then, and that change in scenery can fuel your creativity in different ways. You may take away from it a new experience, and recall details that you’ll include in your current work, or one down the road. I still recall all the times I spent on the beach, and I use that when writing ocean scenes.
A brief time away from your novel may give you the perspective you’ve been looking for to finish that manuscript. Maybe that break allowed you to see a great plot element. Go with it. Fuel your mind for your work in progress by giving yourself an occasional break.
Know your limits. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, or you’ll get so overwhelmed that you will eventually find reasons to stall or stop your project entirely. And you don’t want that.
Learn when to say “no” to yourself, and to others. Know when your writing takes priority and when it doesn’t. Most likely, those who aren’t writers won’t understand the extreme drive you suddenly have to finish your manuscript. For them, life goes on as it always does. Nothing has changed. Choose your battles wisely. Some authors I know have miraculously managed to train their families (“If Mom is in her office, she’s busy!”). Most of us have to try to balance everything. Utilize step #3 and “give yourself a break” if you can’t figure it all out right away. Just take it one day at a time.
Know what works for you, and what doesn’t. If you’re at all like me, then maybe sometimes you need to see a printed page to spot something big. Do you have large spaces between your scenes or chapters, or you sense a weak spot somewhere? Consider printing the pages around those sections. Perhaps that will be just the motivation your creativity needs to jump into writing.
Diversely, don’t be afraid to try new things either. If you usually write everything by hand first, try composing directly on the computer. And vice versa. This gives your mental focus a bit of a challenge, and a fresh perspective on everything.
We’ve all heard the term and nothing makes you cringe more than seeing it. All writers dread and try to avoid getting it, as if that’s even possible. If you are a victim of this horrible, debilitating syndrome, consider these two options:
1) Distract yourself.
Embrace this “break”, if you will. Distractions are just what the doctor ordered. Do anything except writing. Are you allowed to think about your story? Sure, I won’t stop you. But, it’s probably only helpful if you’re entertaining possible routes the story could take. In the end, the most natural writing experience is the best choice. Don’t force it, but don’t be afraid to challenge yourself either. So, distract yourself as long as necessary.
Having said that, you’ll soon be fed up with the distractions and you’ll want a real cure.
2) Ignore your writer’s block.
“How can you ignore it, Marie? It’s pretty obvious.”
Well, try pushing through the block by doing the grunt work of writing, the bare bones of the process. Work on character worksheets. Learning more about your characters can only help your story in the long run.
Also, consider doing research when you’ve hit a writing plateau. Who knows? Maybe a tidbit, some random fact, can be just the spark you needed to launch back into the storytelling routine.
Another thing I would suggest is writing exercises. Maybe focusing on another project entirely or starting a new one can distract you long enough to clear your head. Here are some tips in that regard. And here are a few links to good writing prompts:
http://thinkwritten.com/365-creative-writing-prompts/
http://www.writingforward.com/writing-prompts/creative-writing-prompts/25-creative-writing-prompts
http://www.writersdigest.com/prompts
http://www.pw.org/writing-prompts-exercises
Yes, I have had writer’s block many times before. It was the darkest time of my creative life. Eventually, I had to quit stressing about it. That’s when the ideas came back.
Some people only make writing look easy, when in truth, it’s not. A lot of us struggle with various aspects of the process. Heck, with one novel, I didn’t even realize my character’s basic motivation until I’d already sent the manuscript off to beta readers! Creativity works in mysterious ways.
Why? Just do it. You’ll thank me later. LOL. But seriously, this will save you a lot of heartache if you often reconnect with your writing motivation.
If you’re doing it for the money, then I’d say you’re in the wrong profession. A reason like that won’t keep you warm on the long, cold journey of publishing. And it won’t save you while you’re trying to make a name for yourself. But, if you have a deeper reason, it’s gold.
Most of us have no choice. Our characters call to us, and the exciting path of the story is why we put ourselves through so much, through all the obstacles a writer encounters. That calling, that desire to tell a story, to give voice to the characters in your head? Now that’s a reason to keep going. And it’s good to remind yourself of it now and then.
Really, it’s not. I can’t stress that enough. Though having a sense of focus may help you write a tad faster, life will still happen. You can bet your car will have a flat tire. You’ll get a toothache. Somebody will get a minor injury from a harmless roughhousing incident. Your kid will need a ride to band practice. And you can’t predict how long the writing process will take.
That being said, every project is different. Though I’ve written stories nearly all my life, my first full-length novel took nine years to write, and a whole other year to perfect. No joke. The second book in the series took a year to write. And the sequel? A year and a half. Other manuscripts took only months to compose. How do I account for my nine-year novel project? Life got in the way, but I know a part of the delay was seasoned by fear, fear of taking the steps that come after you finish a project. Hey, we’re only human, right? But, I also know it was meant to be. I wasn’t ready then. At some point, a writer wakes up and decides, “Now is my time.” But, I digress.
Your project will take as long as it takes. You may look at the progress of other authors, at their long list of accomplishments, and feel you’re lagging behind. You’re not. We all go through the same struggles in the writing process. Your manuscript is yours, to put it plainly. It is as unique as your identity. And the time span between when you start and when you metaphorically write “THE END” is dependent upon the characters, the story and you as the writer.
Relax. It will be done when it’s done. And when it is finished, you’ll just feel it. You will know, like all your other writing instincts.
I hope I’ve helped you to navigate this crazy world. Hmm…well, at least with regards to finding some time to write every day. Remember: even a sentence or paragraph helps. Every little bit gets you one step closer to fastening that last piece of the puzzle, to finishing your work in progress.
Trust me. When that moment comes, you’ll see the journey was all worth it. That’s part of the beauty of writing, isn’t it? The satisfaction you get from finishing something? And the rest? When a reader reads it, of course! But, one step at a time, remember?
So, get back to that project of yours. I know it’s waiting for you on the page, daring you to try. What are you waiting for anyway? Go ahead! You won’t regret it.
Speaking of, I’d better get back to mine as well. Duty calls. The muse never rests.
As always, happy reading, readers!
This topic is really big right now. Any writer or reader familiar with books coming out these days has probably noticed a huge trend in shorter fiction. Short stories, novellas, even episodic or chapter-length works are releasing all of the time on Amazon and other book sellers. And it appears that there are two schools of thought in response.
One is comprised of a group of writers and readers who see no issues with shorter fiction. In fact, they encourage it!
Writers enjoy publishing these works because they can write faster and move on to the next project on their ridiculously long to-do list. Not that writing such a story doesn't take a lot of plotting or research. Believe me, they still do. But, instead of cranking out a big novel every six months to a year, or longer, the turnaround time is a few weeks to, at most, a few months to completely polish one and have it ready for release. For some readers, they enjoy what the industry terms as an hour or "two hour fiction", a quick read on your Kindle while you're at the beach during your vacation, or when you finally get a moment alone at home. And I guess it depends on how fast you read too. LOL. A certain group of readers even enjoy the episodic, sort of Dickensian approach certain books are taking now.
There's nothing wrong with liking shorter fiction. Most writers who start out are practicing their skills by writing short stories. Even writing workshops or classes at universities usually will only expect a story turned in as the project because it's hard enough to write, but still deemed 'manageable' during the time that a semester runs. Only a Master's program would expect a full-length novel pitched as a dissertation. In some ways, shorter works are a tad easier to read or write because they just go faster.
Why, I bet you've even seen more multi-author anthologies coming out these days. Writers will submit short stories to publishers for such anthologies. It's a good way to launch new authors before they come out with a larger piece, like a novel. A lot of seasoned authors, as well, are participating in charity anthologies. I know a few writers who enjoy a little break between their full-length novels, so they tackle shorter works during that time. I have submitted for several anthologies as well, and for those I've seen anywhere from 1,000 to 6,000 words, but sometimes up to 10,000 word stories accepted. It probably depends on how many authors are involved.
So, let's talk length. I have included a few good diagrams and tips below depicting the range of length on shorter and longer fiction. This is just to give you an idea of the industry standards. Shorter fiction exists as well. I have seen writing contests for one-sentence or one-paragraph fiction. That is called micro fiction. Flash fiction, which is different, is about a page long, and will sometimes be termed 'short-short'.
"That's weird, Marie."
Maybe. But the writer who can accomplish it is quite talented. I don't think I'm brave enough to try it. I'll stick with works that are a bit longer, at least for now.
As you can see, it's looking like they really can't decide what should be counted as a novel or a novella. And every publisher has different requirements.
There's nothing wrong with writing short fiction. Right?
Well, it's a matter of opinion. In fact, there's also a group of readers (and writers, for that matter) who never bother with shorter works. Stories or novellas aren't long enough, they say. And in some circles, they feel that only longer fiction is "true fiction".
Everyone has the right to their preferences in books – genres or lengths – but I can't agree with the former assessment. Length doesn't affect quality in any way. As long as the writer develops the characters, gives enough description of the setting and such, moves the plot along and offers a satisfying conclusion, should it really matter if the work in question is a short story or a novel? Apparently, for some people, it does matter. But that's completely fine. We're all entitled to our own opinions.
So, what's my approach? As a writer, I try not to fuss over length while I'm focused on a project. When I'm editing, I can worry all I want about length. But, during the composition of a work-in-progress, the story stands on its own. For me, it's all about the characters and what makes them tick. It's about the story, what drives me to tell it. Where is the tale set? How can I flesh out a character or even a scene a little better so that a reader can "see it" in his or her mind? What's next in the story? How do I keep the action going? And how do I wrap it all up in the end? These are subconscious, and conscious, questions that, I think, most writers try to tackle. However, during the writing process, it's not about length for me. Do I celebrate milestones with word count? "I made it to 25,000 words!" "I reached 50,000 words today!" Yes, of course, I celebrate it. Every writer likes to make progress.
But we shouldn't place a huge emphasis on word count or manuscript length during composition. Why? Because it can affect everything. I know one writer who can't finish more than one chapter because he's always asking, "But, how long should my book be?"
And that's a problem. It's possible that some writers need the aforementioned word count guidelines to give themselves a goal. However, it can be extremely limiting at the same time. My answer on how long it should be? The manuscript will be however long it is. If it ends up a short story, then so be it. A novella or novelette? Great! A full-length novel? Nothing wrong with that. It is what it is. By the time you're done writing and polishing, you have a finished product and, as a writer, you should be satisfied with the results. You have to love your story or book as much as your readers do. If you don't fall in love with your characters, if the story doesn't "compel" you, then you're in the wrong profession.
Enjoy writing your manuscript and, I assure you, you'll get more out of it. AND you'll worry less about book length. Be concerned about word count when you're ready to tackle editing and about to research possible publishers to submit the book to, not BEFORE you start a project or while you're writing.
Remember when I said it will ruin everything if you're concerned with length? It's true. Because if you listen to those naysayers who feel your story isn't "true fiction" due to its length, then you have spoiled the joy of writing for yourself. And that assumption? That's all it is, just a belief, not fact. Don't let one opinion discourage you from writing. You can see more about this and other issues in my article, "Don't Limit Yourself", also on the Writing in the Modern Age blog, and you can learn about how to cope with such adverse opinions in my guest post on Penny Estelle's blog. It is titled "Fighting the Naysayers".
There are plenty of readers who LOVE short fiction. Just out of curiosity, let's count some of the famous authors who became known by their shorter works: Aldous Huxley, Anton Chekhov, Dr. Seuss, Elizabeth Gaskell, Honoré de Balzac, Herman Melville, J.D. Salinger, Jack London, James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, Joyce Carol Oates, Jules Verne, Louisa May Alcott, Roald Dahl, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Washington Irving, Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, Oscar Wilde, Franz Kafka, Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens and so many more! Obviously, the word count snobs never thought of that one, did they? LOL. And it should be about what's inside the book, anyway.
In the end, does book length really matter? Not really. The point is that you write your story or novel to the best of your ability, then you sit back and are proud of your work. And what is the second goal of writing? To reach readers who appreciate our stories, who 'see' our characters the way they were meant to be seen, of course. If in the process, you give someone a wonderful experience for an hour, two hours, a day or however long it takes to read the book, then I'd say you've done your job as a writer.
So, get out there, pick up a pen and your favorite journal, or set up your laptop, and start writing! After all, who's stopping you? No one. Just you, and I hope by the time you've read this article, you won't be stopping yourself either. Write that book to wherever it takes you. You won't be disappointed by the experience. I hope I've helped to shed some light on the question 'does size matter in books?'.
Have a great week, everyone. And, as always, happy reading :)
(Sources: Wikipedia, Writing-World.com, http://bit.ly/1MbdnSz, Better Storytelling,The Famous People.com, Ranker, Classic Shorts, Listverse)
Being an author is hard. One must not only write books, but also take on different roles. They have to be editors, marketers, bloggers, advisers, and the list goes on. In the publishing journey, a writer learns that very few things are for free, or at least affordable.
Book trailers are a great tool in promoting your own work. You can not only tie them to your Youtube channel, but also link them to author interviews or even press releases. They can really come in handy, anyway.
I have been publishing books since 2010, and in 2012, I received my first book contract. That book, titled Upon Your Return, a Victorian romance and book one of the Heiresses in Love Series, was released in February of 2013 through Summer Solstice Publishing. It wasn’t until the following September that I attempted this crazy thing called ‘a book trailer’.
But, what do we need book trailers for, huh? There seems to be a lot of people for them, and a lot against them. Some people don’t see the merit it in them, while others swear by them. The good trailers I have seen, though, have sold me on the books. Of course, the blurbs and covers don’t hurt either, right? LOL. Still, a good book trailer can go a long way towards helping you to market your books effectively. I’ve been designing them since 2013, and I haven’t had any complaints yet.
However, during my first foray into creating a book trailer, I crashed. Hard. As a starving artist, I desperately wanted to have a book trailer, but really didn’t know how to go about it. I was told someone had to design it for you. So, I looked around. I couldn't find anything less than $150-200 to create a book trailer. I thought that was normal. And I'm sure it is if you want something that is smashing. I did find a place that charged $5.00, but the low price made me wary. What? You might fork over that small bit of cash and see nothing from it.
So, after numerous months of mourning the fact that I didn't have my own book trailer, I decided to research it. I had read somewhere that you could create your own if you had the right software. I read up on it more.
My first attempt was all right, if not a bit long. It ended up being between two to three minutes. People complained that it lagged, and I soon agreed. There were also copyright issues, as I didn’t realize that I couldn’t use just any old picture I found or an MP3 of my favorite song.
I learned my lesson, though. Now I know better.
We have to think carefully about these things. Have you thought about designing your own book trailer? You probably saw them on Youtube, or saw links to them on Facebook or Twitter. Didn’t you ever wonder where the images or music came from? They most likely came from reputable sources, were purchased legally.
So, to be fair, I’m including my first attempt here. You won’t hear any music, but you can sort of see what it was before if it plays correctly.
Attempt 1
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/marielavender58-1922324-upon-return-book-trailer/
Well, after several attempts, I managed to get something I’m proud to show you.
Final Attempt
If you're an author or business person, you may be wondering how in the world was this accomplished? I will tell you. There's no reason to keep secrets like this to oneself. I don't know how many times I've been clueless about something and felt so grateful when someone bothered to post an article about it online. So I will give you step by step instructions here.
1) Pictures.
You want to find some great pictures for your video. As we all know, there are sites out there that let you purchase pictures for said price. Here are some great sites that give you the ability to pay affordably for images. I know there are many more.
http://www.istockphoto.com/plans-and-pricing
http://www.dreamstime.com/credits.php?fcr=1
There are some decent sites out there that offer free pictures as well. Some sites I have used are freedigitalphotos.net, Stock Xchng (http://www.sxc.hu/), stockfreeimages.com, pixabay.com, Fotolia, Photobucket , freeimages.com and morgueFile.com.
On any of these sites, you have to be pretty unique with your search terms or you won’t find what you’re looking for. The best one I have found so far, and it does require a small investment ($20 for 20 credits, or less, depending on your budget), is 123RF. I also used Fotolia for a book cover recently, and that was a very positive experience. If you want a sneak peek of the kind of images you can find on free sites, though, please visit my website at http://marielavender.com/about/my-books/. I have used free, yet legal images for all of my self-published books thus far. Of course, I gave credit to the photographers. All the ones listed under Erica Sutherhome, Kathryn Layne and Heather Crouse were not only self-published, but royalty-free images were used. Purchased images were used for the ones under this name, Marie Lavender.
You should be able to find some decent pictures on any of the aforementioned sites. Have I missed any? Probably. But, you'll be searching for a long time if you just go on Google and say "free images". You will get the ones I found, but also clip art and things that are definitely not free. You could get yourself in a lot of trouble. Try looking for "royalty-free". You can, of course, do whatever you like. I still advise you to keep copyrights in mind. For myself, it’s safer to pay a small amount for something than to assume it’s free and regret it later. Sound good?
2) Adding Music
Let’s say you want to add music or sounds to your video. Some people do voice-overs. There are royalty-free music sites out there as well. Here is a list. Some charge a little, while others don't.
http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/20-sites-of-free-music-for-your-book-trailer/
Here is the best one I've found, and I’ve used it for a few years now. http://freeplaymusic.com/
Carefully select your music. I usually spend a lot of time trying to decide what theme or feeling I want the music to convey. I narrow mine down to about five or six songs, then narrow it down further. Be patient. This takes time. Sometimes I wait until after I have the design before I look for music and then see what might work for the trailer. Purchase your music or bookmark it for future reference.
3) Figure out your design or layout.
What all do you want to say in your video or book trailer? What message do you want to convey? Think of this as you would if you were making your own book cover, only it’s in video format. What idea are you trying to show in the short time you’ll have to explain things? For mine, I opened a Word document and typed up everything I wanted to say. Don’t give away too much about your book, but you do want to give a good tease as you would in a blurb. The great thing about this is that you can edit it as you go along.
At that point, I started looking for pictures to go with each section. You’ll see more about what I mean shortly.
So, what's next? What do you do after you figure out what you want to say?
4) Powerpoint.
Make a Powerpoint presentation using the layout and pictures you found. Adjust sizes of the images and font, and make sure you have even spaces on both sides of the slide. An image that is slightly off on the pages is like a crooked picture. Even an untrained eye will catch it. Oh, and please, please, please give credit to photographers, composers and book cover artists in the 'Credits' page.
You should have a pretty good presentation going for you. If you like, you can save the presentation for future reference. In fact, I encourage it. Do something else for me now. Also save the presentation as a jpg.
“What? Why in the world would you do that, Marie?”
Just trust me. Powerpoint will ask you if you want to save all the slides as jpegs. Say ‘yes’. You can close out of your presentation. And what's next, you may ask.
5) Forget Authorstream. When you do a search online for how to convert Powerpoint presentations to video, it will probably be mentioned. It's just a useless tool, in my opinion. So let's forget it please.
6) Open Windows Movie Maker. You should have it somewhere in your programs. If you aren't aware of it, you have most likely overlooked it in your day to day operations. I know I did. And if you don't have it, it's free to download from Microsoft.
From that point, you will see a white space on Movie Maker that looks like a whiteboard. Locate your jpgs from your presentation. Powerpoint would have saved them in a folder for you on your computer. Open the folder and then select all of the jpgs. That's CTRL +A for a shortcut. You can drag them in or you can import them in as files.
Movie Maker will place them in the white area. Then, you need to drag each slide (in chronological order, of course) into the storyboard below. You can also click the button 'show timeline' after you've finished. This shows your whole movie as it's progressing.
Now, do you want to add music to your video? I found it was damn near impossible with Powerpoint, but easy with this software. Let's say you have your own MP3, or at least one song you want to use. You will click "import audio file" or just "import" and select the file from wherever you saved it. That should add the file to your timeline as well.
You will see two lines: the first shows your slides and the second is your music. There is also a play button on the right side of the screen where you can monitor your progress of the video by playing it back.
So, from here you want to decide how long to make each slide and how you want to match it up to the music. This, my friends, could take awhile because you'll most likely have to listen to the clip over and over again. However, if you like the song you selected, it's not really that bad. To lengthen the slides, just click on one and drag it to the right. Above all of that, you will see a minute and second counter that tells you how long each slide will last in your video.
Once you have your video the way you want it, you can add end credits or titles. That would be in the 'tools' section. And to finish your video, you have to select where you want it to end on the timeline (minutes and seconds or at the end of slides) and then go to the tab at the top that says "clip". You will find this thing that says "set end trim point". This will effectively end your video wherever you put the line so make sure you know where you're ending it first.
But, really how long should your trailer be? The ideal length of most effective trailers are between 45 seconds and one minute, 10 seconds.
“Wow, so short!”
It’s true. So, my basic rule? I try to keep them to about a minute. If it goes a bit over, fine. But then, I go back and look at the whole video critically. Does it seem to be lagging anywhere? Did I express all that I needed to say without giving too much away? Does the music match to each section, or flow well? Think about emotions that might come from the music too. That will determine a lot of it. Still, you don't want to exceed about a minute and a half. Any longer, and you'll just lose your audience.
If you feel you're done building your video (or book trailer), you will want to save it. Click "save movie file" under "File". It will ask if you want to save it to your computer or elsewhere. Just save it to your computer, name it and let it do it's thing. Movie Maker will also create a folder for your video so you will have to locate it that way. What's next?
Well, what do you want to do with your video? Let's say you want to publish it to Youtube or just add as a video on your website or Facebook. You can do that.
7) Find your movie file.
It should have a .wmv extension. For the purposes of this article, let's say you want to upload it to Youtube.
8) Make sure you have an account on Youtube (this is usually a Google or Gmail-related account).
There should be an option to upload on your account. It will be at the top of the page.
Add the file and name it. Add a description and tags (keywords related to the trailer or video). It should save itself, but give it time to load your video entirely.
Youtube will also give you a URL for your video. Notate that somewhere.
Within a few minutes, you should be in business.
So, you’re probably wondering if I even know what I’m talking about. Well, why wouldn’t you? I’m not an expert by any means, but I get by well enough by creating my own trailers. Below, I am including all of the book trailers I have designed. They are also on my Youtube channel and the 'videos' page of my author website. The trailer for my new release should be added soon.
Upon Your Return (book one of the Heiresses in Love Series)
genre: Historical Romance, Victorian
Magick & Moonlight (book one of the Magick Series)
genre: Lighthearted Romantic Fantasy
Upon Your Honor (book one of the Heiresses in Love Series)
genre: Historical Romance, Victorian
Second Nature (book one of the Blood at First Sight Series)
genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
A Little Magick (book two of the Magick Series)
genre: Children's Fantasy
Second Chance Heart
genre: Contemporary Romance
Blue Vision (book one of the Code of Endhivar Series)
genre: Science Fiction Romance
Upon Your Love (book three of the Heiresses in Love Series)
genre: Historical Romance/Family Saga, Victorian
Directions of the Heart
genre: Contemporary Romance, Drama
Well, that’s how you can create your own trailer or video for promotional purposes. I hope I have helped you figure it all out.
9) Other Options.
But, let’s say you’ve decided, “Nah, this isn’t for me. I’m going to let someone else design it.”
Well, there is certainly no shame in that. So, where would you go to find someone who designs a good book trailer?
First, you must decide on your budget. What are you willing to spend for a decent trailer that will help you market your book effectively? What is out of your price range? And what is a fair amount? That will narrow down your choices considerably. There are some good options out there. As with any purchase, make an informed decision. Research the services you find. Are there reviews? What do other people say about that designer?
Obviously, some of the options can get rather expensive. Doing it myself, I save tons of money and usually only spend no more than $20 total on the whole project.
Here are a few companies that offer book trailer production.
http://inkwater.com/book-trailer-menu/trailer-options/
http://www.cosproductions.com/videoproducts
http://www.crimsonriverproductions.com/#
http://ebookindiecovers.com/book-trailers/
http://www.dgtbookpromotions.com/book-videos
http://authorsbroadcast.com/book-trailer-price-order-information/
http://www.bookvideocreation.com/book-trailer-packages/
http://storymerchantbookmarketing.com/book-trailer/
http://www.selectografix.com/custombooktraliers.php
“Wow, pricey!”
I’m not saying there are only expensive options out there, just that a lot of them exist.
“So, where can I still find an affordable trailer?”
Here are a few.
http://bookblogs.ning.com/forum/topics/affordable-book-trailers
https://www.fiverr.com/amongus/create-a-30-second-book-trailer-for-authors
https://www.fiverr.com/aaronarnold/create-a-professional-movie-trailer
Beyond that, all I can say is…just start looking. Check online on Google, even look on social media. I know a lot of them have Facebook pages. You never know. You may find a really great place that does it professionally and affordably! ;)
Whatever you decide, whether you want to risk attempting this book trailer thing on your own or you want to pay someone to do it for you, I’m sure you have it all in hand. With the right tools, why, we are capable of anything as human beings, aren’t we?
Happy creating! And, as always, happy reading! :)
If you’ve ever self-published or considered it at least, it probably crossed your mind that a good book cover would probably help to “sell” the book. It’s true that presentation is everything; how the sales page appears with the book description and the cover are extremely important. Often, if the book cover isn’t up to par, some readers won’t take an author seriously. The cover is half the battle in marketing. The rest, well the rest is how you reach your audience. But, that’s a topic of discussion for another day.
There are so many options out there these days. It seems that everyone is trying to sell you something, book covers included. I’m not saying there aren’t talented cover artists. I am amazed at the quality of work in the industry. There are just as many unprofessional ones as well, who try to capitalize on the idea of creating a book cover. I won’t name any names, but I’m sure you’ve come across them before. They charge a lot of money, but the product just isn’t to your taste. And then there are the ones who don’t charge much at all, and you have to wonder what kind of quality you’re getting for so little. Are the covers they are touting actually theirs or are they using someone else’s work to sell their services? That’s why I won’t go to sites like https://www.fiverr.com/ to get a book cover. I'm not saying the vendors aren't legitimate, just that I won't take the chance if that is the case.
Getting a professional book cover can be an expensive endeavor. Cover artists can charge anywhere from $30-79 for a pre-made cover or charge you hundreds of dollars for something custom made. Granted, if you go the custom route, I have no doubt that you’ll get what you request. The problem is that I have read the disclaimers on some of these sites. A few artists will expect you to pay the basic design fee, but then you have to go out and purchase your own stock images. In the end, your cost has gone up considerably. I’ve spent a lot of time ruminating about using a professional cover artist for certain books. I got lucky with my publisher because they front that cost. But, when you self-publish, the stakes are a bit higher. Let me give you some options that I found. They look good, right?
http://bookcover-designs.blogspot.com/
http://www.goonwrite.com/order.htm
http://coveryourdreams.net/pre-made-customizable-covers-from-79/
http://www.selfpubbookcovers.com/index.php
And then there are the options on the higher end of the scale.
https://www.hiretheworld.com/pricing/
http://ebookindiecovers.com/custom-orders/
http://aeternumdesigns.com/cover-art-design
Do the prices get worse? Oh, yes. Big name publishers will pay their professional cover artists anywhere from $500-1200 per project.
“Uh…yikes, Marie. That’s really out of my budget.”
No kidding. But, let's say one of the options could work for you. A lot of questions go into a purchasing decision.
It’s all good food for thought, and a decision like this isn’t to be taken lightly. With so many cover art services out there, it can seem incredibly daunting. If you decide to go this route, exercise caution but use your instincts. If a premade cover just calls to you, shouldn’t you at least consider it? Maybe the muse is trying to tell you something. And if it’s out of your budget, go for something similar.
But seriously evaluate these different cover art services. Read the fine print. Do they have certain disclaimers you didn’t notice before? Are there hidden costs? Is the final decision yours? Some of the artists will go through three rounds with you when doing a custom design. I've worked with them before. They offer some possible covers or images for your approval and you pick the one or ones you like. Then they try to honor your wishes by incorporating other elements. They come back with a design, and you can approve it or say what needs to be adjusted. That is, hopefully, how most of them work, but you might want to stick with the ones that clearly outline their process just to be sure.
There is another option, however, that you may not have considered. You can design your own cover.
“What? I could never do that, Marie. I’m not an artist.”
Well, neither am I. I mean, I never had official training. But, after a few times around the block, I’ve managed to do well enough on my own because I’m working within my budget for now. If you’ve been following me for awhile, then you know I’m all about doing these different parts of publishing and marketing on my own. For example, I even design my own book trailers.
I started attempting this DIY madness with book covers when I began self-publishing under other pen names in 2010. At that point, I used the distributor’s cover art wizard and manipulated certain elements within the image I’d purchased for the cover. Around 2014, I starting getting more creative, using the tools I had found online to accomplish the job, at least for my indie books. You can see a full list of my titles here. If you browse from the bottom of the list to the top, you can see the chronological order of my book releases, and what covers I used.
I’m not perfect, but I think I have it down to a few great resources to use in order to come up with something to present to readers. So, I will offer a little advice.
If you’re going to try to design your own book cover, really think about what you want your cover to look like. Can you picture it in your mind or do you just want to look for inspiration in order to come up with something specific?
If you’re focusing on another genre, the same rule still applies. Just see what's available, and know what you’re allowed to do. Always think about what symbols mean, and what negative connotations could be derived from them. Certain pagan symbols are often mistakenly associated with devil worship, for example. In any case, keep an eye on what’s out there. But, don’t be afraid to get creative either.
As with cover artists, there are different ranges of fees for photos. I stick with the more affordable ones. Some sites want you to purchase a subscription, while others will allow you to do a custom price or a pay-as-you-go plan. I prefer to pay for each individual photo at a time. I can acquire them, and then add to projects. With certain sites, you can pay a specific amount for credits, then use the credits toward images. Those are good too, as long as they are within your budget. Here are some great sites that give you the ability to pay affordably for images. I know there are many more.
http://www.istockphoto.com/plans-and-pricing
http://www.dreamstime.com/credits.php?fcr=1
Here are a few expensive options, if that’s a route you’re willing to take. I found more in the past, but I usually avoid them. LOL.
http://www.stocksy.com/service/support
http://www.maxximages.com/subscription/photo-subscription.php
“What about the opposite side of the spectrum, Marie? I’ve heard you can get free images.”
Tricky stuff...that is, of course, always an option. There are royalty-free no cost sites available as well. Here is the rub: can you really assure yourself of how legitimate they are? How do you know that someone didn’t steal an image and try to resell it? I leave the decision in your capable hands, but I can’t stress enough how you’ll still have to give credit to the photographer or contributor. I will list a few that are pretty safe, but I only use them for blog posts or a book trailer, when I'm looking for a specific image.
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/
http://www.stockfreeimages.com/
http://morguefile.com/
http://unsplash.com/
https://www.freepik.com/
For myself, it’s always better to purchase a license to use something for a book cover rather than take it, shove it on a product and pretend I have the rights to it. Make sense?
All right. So, let’s assume you’ll purchase a stock image legally. Use the search boxes on these sites carefully. By that I meant that you may need to get creative in your search terms or keywords. It can quickly become frustrating when you can’t find what you want. Be prepared to spend time on this project, and take breaks when necessary for sanity. LOL. Take your time and breathe.
You also have to decide what size of image you need. Anything which is the size of your book cover or just a bit larger is always good because you can resize down to whatever you need. And cover software handles most of this for you. For cover images, I usually pick anywhere from 1300 to 2400 pixels. For other types of projects (graphic teasers, banners and bookmarks, I can go much smaller.
Eventually, I always find the perfect image and experience that “gotcha!” moment. It’s good to use your instincts in this case as well. If you feel so-so about an image or don’t like it all that much, don’t feel obligated to use it. Do you want to hate your book cover? No, you want to be satisfied with the finished product.
5. Designing the book cover. Most professional cover artists use special software, something that most of us can’t afford. Here are some links if you’re willing to go that route.
If you’re not willing to do that, some people use Photoshop.
There are also some free options. I know a few sites that let you edit images or transpose them onto backgrounds. Here are a couple I have used.
These tools are awesome because you can do so much with them! I often use them to cut out shapes or trim, even frame something. You can also change the lighting on a picture or include textures. Anyway, nothing is final and you can always save different draft files for each version. You can then start from scratch with your original image, knowing it’s still as perfect as it was. For a couple of those you can even change eye color so it truly looks legitimate (that one made my day!) Again, take your time with these tools. It’s so easy to get frustrated. Just breathe and learn how everything works. It’s okay to even use Microsoft Paint, but you will want to use it sparingly because it may not always look professional. (Update: PicMonkey is now asking for a subscription to save your work, but they do have great themes and photo effects.)
Now, how do you actually create a cover? Paint lets you resize items after the completed product, but if you want something truly authentic, there is a very cool tool you can use. Canva is my savior, and I have loved it since I found it several months ago. https://www.canva.com/
With Canva, you can select a type of product or project to work with (the dimensions are already set for you or you can do a custom size). For this one, I usually choose ‘Kindle Cover’ under the ‘Create a design’ option. Yes, it’s time to be impressed. This will be the size you need to upload to Amazon KDP or any other bookseller.
If you’ve chosen ‘Kindle Cover’, you’ll see the page load into a white space where your book cover will go. Remember that ‘layout’ I was talking about before? Do you have an idea where you want your title to go? Do you have a series name or subtitle to add? And, of course, you’ll want to include your name as the author. There are ‘layout’ buttons on the left side of the page where you can select how each line of text lays on the cover. Be very careful about which elements you choose to use in Canva. Most are free, but some have paid options (like $1.00 or so). For the most part, I choose the free ones. In the ‘layout’ section, you’ll see sample book covers showing how the text looks on a cover. Be careful of the ones that look entirely centered with several lines of text in a column. Unless you’re willing to go with that option, you may not be able to change how the text lays because those elements are saved as templates.
Choose a layout that works for you and your vision for the book cover. It will automatically load onto the cover. Now you should change the font colors for the titles and subtitles, even the author name. Probably something bright like blue. Why? Because you’ll want to be able to see them when you load your images in. It might take a while to navigate around the page to select the different text elements. If you’ve ever designed your own greeting card using card software, it’s the same idea.
After that is done, select the full book cover using your mouse. You’ll see the dotted line outlining the size of the book cover. Then delete it. If it works correctly, you should still be able to see your text. If you mess up the preloaded text, you can add your own using the ‘text’ option on the left side of the page. Some are paid elements, while others are free. Be careful and use the free options if you don’t want to pay.
Now go to each section of text and when you click on it, you should see some options like color, size of font, type of font and a little arrow. Click on the arrow, and then go down the list until you find an option that says ‘move forward’. That will ensure that your font stays above everything.
You'll need to decide if you want a basic color background, a provided free pattern or if you want to use your purchased stock images as the background for your cover. To put a color background in the page on Canva, just go to ‘background’ on the left side and select a color. To use custom colors, use the plus (+) symbol. There are also background templates, but some of them require you to pay, as aforementioned. Once you have your background color, you should see an option that says ‘uploads’ on the left side of the website page. There is a green button which says ‘upload your own images’. Click that to find your images. As the file uploads, you’ll see a small thumbnail of your image down below. Click there and drag the photo to your page. On the cover space, you’ll be able to resize the image as large or as small as you want. This is where it gets tricky. As you manipulate things on the page, you’ll probably have to use the ‘move forward’ option on your text once more to ensure that you can move it over your new image.
If you need to manipulate how an image looks, such as wanting a shape like a circle, you’ll have to use those tools that I mentioned above and then upload that image in. Using PicMonkey, you can go to ‘edit an image’, upload the file then choose the frame symbol on the left hand side. Pick ‘shape cutouts’, then it will give you shapes to choose from. You can alter the size of the circle or whatever shape you choose using the bar on the left hand side. If you want an angle for the image, you can alter that as well. Once you’re done, save and then upload the image to Canva. Make sure you keep it as a PNG image or the outside of the circle won’t remain transparent.You can bring the image into your project on Canva by uploading the file when your ready, and then dragging it to the cover page.
Next, go back to Canva in your browser and move your text around to where you want it on the cover. Make it larger if necessary, or even change the font type or color.
Now you need to think about layout. Where does the book title sit as opposed to your series title or your author name? Do you want everything centered? How does the text relate to the image you want to convey? Is it crowding your picture? Adjust as necessary.
Again, be prepared to spend a little time learning how to use these tools. If you have to, do a temporary project and play with the different options.
Once you have your cover designed to perfection, save it using the download' button in the upper right corner. It will save using Canva’s own file name so you’ll have to rename it when you find it in your ‘downloads’ folder on your PC or wherever your downloaded files save.
Another cool thing that Canva does is they save your projects so that you can go back in and edit them later. You just need to register for a free account. You’ll also see options to make your designs public, but don’t press that unless you’re willing to give up your rights to your cover.
(Note: You can also use Canva for other photo projects like your Facebook author page or Twitter page.)
And there you have your cover! Before you do anything, check the final product to be sure you didn’t miss anything. You can use Windows Photo Viewer for that. Now is the time that you may notice white space that you didn’t see before, or issues with the layout (title isn’t centered and such). Print it out if you need to. Make sure you are absolutely satisfied with the final product. Send it to a friend or someone you trust for a second opinion. It is okay to have five or six versions of a cover before you’re happy with it.
Another technique I use is doing mockup covers. I take an image I found online so that I can decide on the layout. That helps me figure out what I want for a cover before I make any purchases.
I launched my own graphic design business back in June of 2016. Though the website is now closed, you can still find the premade covers I designed on my author website here on this page.
This is another helpful article on cover design: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/06/top-8-cover-design-tips-for-self-publishers/
By now, I hope you have a book cover that you love and can’t do without. It is my wish that I’ve helped you navigate the sea of decision in choosing whether to go with a cover designer or doing it on your own. Or, at least given you the steps to try it for yourself.
If you decide to have someone else design it for you, that’s great too! Personally, I think Sherry Soule at SwoonWorthy Book Covers is fantastic! The point is that you find a cover you are perfectly content with.
Have a great rest of your week, and, as always, happy reading! :)
I wanted to come in and talk about a specific topic. I get so many people, mostly aspiring writers, reaching out to me for advice and the one question I see the most is…
“What should I do next?”
In other words, the writers believe they have exhausted their options. Or maybe they simply haven’t read up on that particular subject. But, there is a moment, I think, in every writer’s career in which you don’t know what to do next, what steps to take. This is usually the moment I become a sponge; I try to absorb every article around and glean every tidbit I can from other writers who have been through the process.
Nothing…I repeat, nothing prepares you for the writing or publishing journey like making mistakes and learning from them. Is it a hard road? Definitely. Will I offer up some advice anyway? Of course. That’s what writing blogs are all about.
So, what am I really discussing today? Well, it’s that moment when you throw up your hands and ask yourself if the process is worth it. I’ll never encourage anyone to give up, but we all have to decide if we’re willing to put forth the effort. If you have the determination to keep going, then you can survive in this crazy business. And that’s not to say that all writers have to be published. Some are totally content with using writing as a hobby, and there’s nothing at all wrong with that. You should do what makes you happy, no matter what dream you have.
Let’s talk about writing for a minute, though. You’ve poured your heart out onto a manuscript, fallen in love with your characters (or maybe not in the case of non-fiction, but you at least believe in your subject) and made that story or novel the best you can. Do you do this for the joy of writing? Or because you want a quick path to money? Maybe you want more than anything to see your name in print or to see the proof of your work in the best form possible. A bookstore? An ebook?
So, what are your motivations? Figure that out first because this road isn’t easy and having that goal in mind will help you through so much. For myself, I do it because I love to write, because I can’t imagine doing anything else. Seeing my name in print? Well, that’s just a bonus. I don’t do it for money. If that was my real motivation, I think it would be an empty journey. But, I digress.
Writing should be a fun process. Is it full of work? Sure. Research is work. Though it’s fascinating, it can occasionally be hard to find the right information. And when you’re designing your story, it can be challenging if you encounter a character that is particularly difficult or a plot element that requires some finesse. Despite the random obstacles, you should love this process if you love writing at all.
I get questions related to writing such as “I have an idea for a story or book, but I don’t know what to do next. What do I do?”
My advice? Write.
“Yeah, that’s pretty obvious, Marie.”
Look, I know you think it’s a challenge because of all those articles out there telling you how to write a perfect scene or what words NOT to use. But, believe me, that is something you can worry about later. You think you have an idea for the next Great American novel? That’s wonderful! Stop talking about it and write. Even if you only write a paragraph or a chapter, you’ve made progress. You don’t have any time? Believe me, I understand. We're all busy people. But, it is feasible. Read Matty Millard’s article on the Writing in the Modern Age blog here. He explains how you can fit writing into your crazy life. I’ve said it time and time again. The only person disappointed in the fact that you’re not writing is YOU. Well, unless you already have books out and then you’re just making your readers antsy too. LOL.
But, if you’re an aspiring writer, all you have to do is try.
There is no perfect way to start writing. If you have trouble getting there, maybe you need to break through that clutter in your brain.
We carry so much responsibility, so much worry, so much junk in our heads that it’s sometimes necessary to bypass it. How do you break through that clutter? Try brainstorming or journaling. Or, just freewrite for ten minutes about whatever comes into your mind. Break through that block and get to the heart of what matters. Your story.
Think all of that brainstorming/journaling/freewriting is useless? It’s not. Not really. I have written poems from entire passages when I went back and read them months later. I have started great stories based on one random line of text. Never think that any effort is stupid. It’s not. You just have to be open-minded enough to use what's there in front of you.
So start writing. Get down a paragraph or a chapter. Too daunting? Even just a scene would be an excellent start. Maybe you know more about your characters than what’s going to happen in the story. Great! Do a character worksheet. Here are some good questions to answer. I did a guest blog post on it once. Any effort, even the smallest ones, will get you closer to the goal.
“What goal is that?” you ask. Well, in this case, it’s finishing that short story or book. Just write. You can worry about the technical stuff later.
“What should I do next?”
Yes, what do you do after your book is written? Do you look for a publisher? Nope. The real work begins now.
Become an editor.
What? Isn’t that what editors are for?
Hmm…yes, in a way, but don’t be arrogant enough to think that someone else will do all the work for you. This is your story, which means the final call is yours now and you have to make the changes. When I say “become an editor”, you don’t have to go to school for it, by any means. By now, if you are a writer, maybe you’ve taken a Creative Writing class. And even if you haven’t, we’ve certainly had English classes in school, telling us the correct ways to use grammar.
Apply what you’ve learned. I imagine some of you get annoyed when you see a typo in the newspaper or even in a published book. Have you ever read something that didn’t sound quite right, but you weren't sure why? That was most likely awkward wording and it could have been improved. So, if any of this sounds familiar, you are quickly on your way to becoming a writer-editor.
That’s not a word, Marie.
Yes, I know. Thanks. Now I’m talking to myself, but I digress.
You need to be both writer and editor in this business. You MUST edit your own work. I recommend that you take a break from your manuscript for awhile, at least a couple of weeks or longer, before you try. If you do it sooner than that, you probably will overlook most errors because you’re way too close to the text. One method to brush up on your editing skills is to offer to become a beta reader or critique partner for another writer. You’ll see more glaring errors in someone else's work first. We are just naturally wired that way. In Creative Writing classes, workshops are done with this very idea in mind. It is also bad to start reading and bookmarking articles about how to edit your own work. I find C.S. Lakin (or Susanne Lakin) to be an invaluable resource in this regard. Subscribe to her blog/newsletter and you’ll get an email several times a week, or at least once a week. Subscribe to other blogs that provide this kind of help too. Ryan Lanz has some good tips, as does Now Novel, Crimson League, Write to Done and The Write Life.
Also, take some time to read books by other authors. Maybe that is just the key to stepping away from your own work for a bit. Pay attention to the story and the way it reads. It is always good to get an idea of voice and particular techniques other writers use. You may even find your internal editor waking up, ready to chomp at the bit. Enjoy the book, but also ask questions. “Why did this author decide to use first person point of view?” Or, “should the writer be switching point of view so much?” All good questions. (By the way, head-hopping is actually a bad thing.)
There are, of course, lots of story elements to wonder about. Examine techniques used, but don’t necessarily mimic them.
You want to be true to yourself, but be open to fixing mistakes in your work. And prepare yourself. In the beginning, there will probably be a LOT of mistakes in your work. That’s normal. You’ll receive feedback from people and you’ll quickly see the merits of this system. After you’ve gained some much needed space from your manuscript, you can go back to it with an editor’s approach. If you have to, picture the editor on your shoulder as that stern teacher you had in grade school, the one that was willing to smack your knuckles with a ruler if you stepped out of line. Okay, maybe she wasn’t that bad, but we all had a pretty stern one.In any case, this perspective keeps you from straying too far away from editor mode. You may have moments in which you think, “Oh, that line is good! Did I really write that?” It might not happen often, but it could. Okay, bask in it for a moment, then move on. Don’t let yourself fall in love with the story as it is. Now is not the time. You need to look at the manuscript with an eagle eye.
I usually do three rounds of self-editing with some time between before I let anyone else look at my work. I don’t like to send out a total rough draft; that’s just me. But, it is courteous to get the major errors that you can find corrected before foisting your work on anyone else. And it will make you feel better about sending your work into the ether too.
Where do you find critique partners or beta readers? There are some groups on Yahoo! There are also plenty of writer discussion groups on Facebook and LinkedIn where you can put out requests. Give a brief description of your work (blurb), the length and anything else you think they might need to know. Offer to proof or beta read someone else's work. People usually want something in exchange for their time. However, I have had just as many betas happy enough to read a new story. Writing classes are also great resources if you have the money. Most of the time, you won’t be able to offer an entire manuscript in those, but you can get part of it looked at. There are also some places out that help you find local writing groups.
After you have edited your work as much as you can and made the suggested corrections, I would recommend sending that final draft to a proofreader or professional editor. There will always be something you missed. Oh, one final thing. You are not going to agree with every suggestion from betas or critique partners. You will be asked to make drastic changes, and some might make you want to scream. If you come upon this dilemma, weigh the change carefully to see if it will really alter your story’s vision or not. Perhaps it will improve the manuscript. Who knows? Just keep an open mind.
So…
“What should I do next?”
What, you thought the real work was over? Nah. It gets more interesting. Now, you have to decide whether you’ll make a go of traditional publishing or opt for self-publishing. They are completely different animals. Maybe you want to try traditional and use self-publishing as back-up plan. If you’re going to try traditional publishing, two invaluable resource are Authors Publish (they often email about noteworthy publishers) and QueryTracker (helps to track your query progress). And if you’re going to self-publish, finding a great cover is key. I have seen some very affordable options on GoOnWrite. They offer pre-designed covers or premades. Of course, there are tons of other options on the internet, depending on the genre of your book. I have browsed for potential covers on SelfPub Book Covers and The Book Cover Designer. There are lots of others, complete with different price ranges. You can also go for a custom cover. I have used the remarkable talents of Sherry Soule at SwoonWorthy Book Covers several times.
It’s likely I have confused you now. “What are you talking about, Marie? What are all these sites?” For more details about traditional and self-publishing, you can look at this article I did on Linda Lee Williams’ blog about the “big choice” and what to do in both cases. I would go into more detail here, but I am running out of time and space.
I hope I have helped you cut through some of those “What should I do next?” questions. As always, happy writing and I’m so glad you got to visit the blog today! :)
If you are an avid follower of writing blogs, then you know there is a plethora of information, advice to offer. Guest authors have offered tips on writing from the time these blogs first began to grow into what it they have become today. Most aspiring writers know that to look for writing tips on a specific topic (point of view, research, any story elements), it is as simple as doing an internet search. The world is at our fingertips.
Unfortunately, for some writers, all of that information can look overwhelming. What advice did I give in my last article, “What Should I Do Next (in Writing or Publishing”? I said something along the lines of “Just write!” Just do it and worry about the finer points later (grammar or anything else that needs improvement). Just write.
It’s just not that easy for some writers. I have a friend, an aspiring writer, with these great ideas in his head. He keeps saying, “I really need to write my story.” I agree. I encourage him as much as I can. I try to be supportive and offer advice that might propel him to move forward. It isn’t fear, though, that blocks him. It is what I call the “What if?” syndrome.
What if?
Most of the time, we think of those two words as the epitome of being a worrywart. What if my story is stupid? What if everyone hates it? What if I crash and burn? No, my friend doesn’t lack confidence. If that were that case, I would say, “Write for yourself. Write for the love of writing because you’re getting way ahead of yourself. Readers come later. You have to love what you write first. You have to create a story and characters that make you so excited, you have trouble tearing yourself away.” That’s not bad advice, right?
But, it’s not that issue for this writer. He has “What if?” syndrome. Sounds a bit ominous, I know. Let me explain. He knows the characters, the plot and story. They are all in his head. So, what’s stopping this writer if he seems to have it all together? The problem is that he can see different avenues, so many directions the story could take and he can’t decide on one to save his life.
Say you have the basic premise of a man walking down the street. Or at least the sidewalk. He’s carrying a briefcase, and his gait is a little stiff from an old injury. He is a polished gentleman in his attire, but let’s add in a habit of readjusting his tie when he’s nervous. He also tends to sweat a lot. He is sweating more today as he ambles along. He has a lot on his mind. Why? He just had a disturbing phone call. We’re creating quite a picture, right? Any fiction writer could expand on this premise and keep going. But, to make things more exciting, we’ll add in some possibilities:
What if he entered a nearby apartment building? Who would he visit?
What if he used the elevator and it got stuck?
What if he was still walking down that street and a bike messenger clipped him? What would he do?
What if a car drove by and splashed through puddles made by that morning’s rain and he got drenched?
What if the moment he steps into the street to cross the road, he gets hit? Then he wakes up two days later, not knowing who he is or anything about that disturbing phone call.
The list can go on and on. So many possibilities, right? This is the writer’s dilemma, my friend’s problem. The premise I just mentioned has nothing to do with his story at all. It’s just an example.
One day, the writer in question told me all the different routes his story could take and I was unimpressed. Why? It wasn’t that any of the ideas were bad. They were great. It wasn’t that they weren’t feasible. Sure, each one covered a different genre, but you can go in any direction with fiction. It wasn’t even that I was frustrated by my friend’s inability to pick a scenario and run with it.
You see, I remembered the way he spoke about the story originally. I recalled the “spark” in it, the excitement in the way he described it.
And even though it was kind of the same with the other ideas, it wasn’t the same at all. He already had this golden nugget, this genius seed of an idea forming, and he didn’t even know it. He knew, for the most part, what would happen in the story; he didn’t have some of the finer details, but I digress. What bothered me about these proposed changes was just a simple matter, but something we authors have to rely on at every turn.
Trust.
“Huh? Marie, have you lost it again?”
LOL. No, but I will explain. To write a good story, you not only have to trust your own instincts, you have to trust your characters and your vision for the story. Deep down, you know what’s right, what direction to go. Sometimes it’s the story telling you. Sometimes the characters are running the show. It should naturally progress. It doesn’t matter what project you’re working on; you will encounter this dilemma at some point.
Am I ever plagued by “What if?” scenarios during a story’s composition? Sure. I’ll run into roadblocks where I think, “So what happens next?”
A bunch of ideas go through my head, most of them at odds with each other. I step away and give myself a pep talk. When I come back to it later, I have a better perspective. Sometimes one of those scenarios is really good and it works; most of the time they don’t work.
See, we like to think we’re in control as writers. We’re not. Sometimes I am just the conduit. No, I’m not crazy. The story, the characters take control. You can exercise some control over certain details, but the story usually tells itself. That’s what I have to tell myself in the “What if?” situations.
“How do you know all of this, Marie?”
Because I’ve been there many times. For example, when I was writing the manuscript for Upon Your Honor, I had half-convinced myself to make drastic changes (I won’t go into details) because I thought it would satisfy readers who were used to the genre. In the end, the characters decided for me and none of it would have seemed right if I hadn’t listened to them and to what the story was telling me.
Always trust your original vision for a story. Try to be true to it as much as you can. Your characters will tell you what comes next. The story will feel like it’s writing itself when you’re really into it. During revisions and editing, then you can look at the whole picture and see if those other “scenarios” would even fit at that point.
The “What if?” questions are a way to second guess your instincts.
Trust yourself as a writer. Trust your instincts. They will never lead you astray. Never. As for the “What if” syndrome? File those scenarios away for future use. They might come in handy for another story. Or, just be amused and move on. Your story will tell you what to do next.
