All Entries Tagged With: "tough love"
The myth of tomorrow
Bled Sunrise by bslmmrs - CC BY 2.0
I just got an email from a listener who is telling me how much ISBW has helped him. (I love these, they really help keep me going.) But he had one quote that was just amazing:
I would talk about tomorrow but it was a far off concept more than a reality.
And that really says it all. We talk about tomorrow as if it is a new day and a new opportunity. It’s on a lot of inspirational posters. But tomorrow is simply 24 hours from now. If you think nothing will change in the next hour, or the next two, or the next six… then why think the world will shift to accommodate your new plan in 24 hours? You don’t automatically reboot every day, a new blank slate to start afresh. Sure, the weather may be different. A very tiny percentage may have shifts in their lives, (marriage change, job change, new life or a death in the family) but for most of us, the movement from day to day sparks no change.
This is one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves. The external “tomorrow” is not the opportunity here. Something has to shift within YOU.
I fall prey to this all the time. My big thing is I want to get up before the family morning chaos. And with that time I’ll run, or do housework, or get writing done. But every day I don’t do it, and every day I say I will tomorrow. And sure, right now, at 9:45am, it’s easy to say tomorrow will be different. And then tomorrow morning, 6am Mur will give the finger to idealistic 9:45 Mur and roll over for more sleep.
It’s so freaking easy to say something “will” be. Tomorrow lives in an eternal state of “will” – “I WILL get up early, I WILL work out, I WILL eat better, I WILL cancel that credit card.”
Tomorrow is the wuss’s way out. Today is when you ARE. If there’s something you can do right now, do it. If you’re like me and the big change can only come at a certain time, prepare as much as possible (For example, I can go to bed early, drinking herbal tea to calm me down, and remember to set my alarm) and then when the time comes, there’s no WILL. There’s ARE and AM and NOW.
Think that tomorrow you’ll start writing? Bull****. Start now. Start on your lunch break. Start when you get home. The next time you have a free moment, don’t think “I WILL do this later.” Say “I AM doing it now.”
NaNoWriMo Reality Check
I follow a lot of agents on twitter, and apparently many of them look forward to December with trepidation. That’s when “novels” that are 50K or so, rough, unedited, and sloppy, hit their desks.
I find this unbelievable. Not that the agents dread it, and not that it happens, but that so little common sense takes hold in our frantic writing minds. So I want to go over some basic rules of publishing that may clash with the awesome positive-feeling-fest that is NaNoWriMo. Not trying to rain on parades, but consider this your umbrella for the deluge to follow.
- 50K words is not a novel. OK, it may be a middle grade novel, or YA, and it technically is a novel by definition, but in most cases a publisher won’t look at your work if it’s not at least 80K words. So if you write 50K, you may not be done with it.
- Write. Let it sit a week or two. Read. Rewrite. Send to First Readers. Rewrite again. Then-and only then-submit. This process will take you past December and into January or February, depending mostly on your readers. If you’re proud of this book, your baby, then make sure to wash its face and brush its hair and make sure breakfast isn’t smeared all over its shirt before you send it to school for picture day.
- Learn how to write a good cover letter. This bit of advice was going to be, “don’t say you did NaNoWriMo in your cover letter” but I decided just to remind you about good cover letters overall. Remember- take out all pointless details regarding you, your writing process, and your book. This includes how much your mom liked it, how you are a school teacher/librarian/doctor/real estate agent, the number of children you have, how long you’ve wanted to be a writer, and any details about the actual writing of the book. It’s not necessary information, and there still is a decidedly amateur stigma around NaNoWriMo. It’s a program designed to get people writing, not to get people published. If you get published, great, but think about trying out for the Yankees because you signed up for a community baseball team last summer. Telling an agent/editor that you wrote the book really fast implies that you didn’t research, edit, or even care. And it’s true, to win at NaNoWriMo, you shouldn’t be researching, editing, or caring about the polished product — in November. That’s what editing is for. See #2.
- Don’t let their grumbling stop you. Lastly, no one can stop you from submitting. They may grumble, but its their job to find the diamond in the rough. So you write that book, then flesh it out, then edit it, then next spring you submit it with a pro cover letter, and they may never know it was a NaNoWriMo novel unless you tell them — AFTER you’ve signed.
Keep writing. That is your focus, nothing more.
Oh, and:
More tough love – get a workshop
Because this is a blog all about support, I will spin this positively.
You need a writer’s group. You need a workshop.
Just that word, “workshop,” has the feeling of transition to it. You don’t take a piece of wood and smile and say it’s a chair. No, you take it to a workshop and work on it. When you enter a workshop, you’re saying, “My story needs work.” You’ve already accepted that.
Within this group, you will meet with peers and have them look at your manuscript. They will point out the flaws and hopefully do so in a constructive manner, making the story better and you a better writer. Hopefully they will not say, “this is awesome, no notes here!”
What you do not need is a pro-writer’s opinion.
Many writers have blogged about this. Some more harshly than others. But the boiled down response is:
- I have my own writing to do.
- I have people whose writing I already need to crit.
- I don’t like to work for free.
- If I said yes to everyone, I’d have no time.
- You likely don’t want a real crit; you want me to lie and tell you it’s awesome, which puts me in an uncomfortable position, as I’m the bad guy no matter what I say. Lying doesn’t help you, and the truth will make you frustrated and angry, if you’re not ready for it.
So yeah. Before you ask a pro to read your story, think about how much time you’re asking a stranger to give you, ask yourself if you’d ply your craft for free, for a stranger, for several hours. Ask yourself if you want a real critique or if you just want to be coddled. And then go get a writer’s group. You’ll be better off.
OK, if this positive post wasn’t enough for you, if you’re thinking, Yeah, but maybe it’ll be different for me, then read the following: I will not read your f****** script (obviously strong language here – this is all tough, no love), I will not publish your book, and What to Know Before You Ask Me to Read Your (Unpublished) Work.
How do you find a workshop? Locally, check at libraries, or go to NaNoWriMo.org and see if there are local groups gearing up for the grand race in November. That’s a great place to find a group. Online, just Google search for writer’s groups. There are several. Look for ones with password protection, and some require yearly fees. Those are often worth it, because it can mean they have considerable benefits.
But yes, please don’t ask people you don’t know for critiques. They’re busy, many are trying to make money with their writing, and you may not be sure what you’re asking for.
(New ISBW tonight!)
Media
I was a child of the television. Cartoons, Brady Bunch reruns, Family Feud (I so wanted to be on that show but the biggest thing holding me back – besides, you know, the rest of my family being on board – was creepy-ass Richard Dawson insisting on kissing all the females.), Tic Tak Dough, Smurfs, Snorks, Disney, Fraggle Rock, etc.
I was a child of video games. Duck Hunt on the Commodore 64, Defender and Pac-Man on the Atari, Super Mario on the SNES, Final Fantasy on the Game Boy.
While I grew up reading and writing, I was the sort of person who always had to have the television on, something in the background to keep me company. I hated silence. Music sometimes helped, but it wasn’t the TV.
So please understand that I am the person who will likely resist this the most – if you argue, then you have to know that I have already come up with those arguments before.
To be a prolific writer, you have to cut back on the media.
Yes. It sucks. A lot.
But when I was at WorldCon interviewing authors, one thing came through- the prolific ones either don’t have TVs or they simply regulate what they watch or play. If they have media in their lives, the writing comes first, the media is the reward.
I have to do this. I have to remove the media need from my life.
Step one started when the kiddo was born. We didn’t want a big TV influence in her baby years (Yeah, she’s downstairs watching Spongebob right now, what’s your point?) so for the first time, TV was not my constant companion. And I went a little mad, but boy did I read a lot. Step two was cancelling the World of Warcraft account. I picked it back up a whlie later, but it wasn’t the same. Warcraft is a lonely game for me because all my friends are childless and start before I can and play later than I can (And I get no fun out of random group adventuring). So no dungeons and raids for me. I soloed as a Hunter till I hit level 57 and then got bored. I quit WoW. (And I miss it like I still miss cigarettes.)
Step three happens today. We’re cutting off cable TV. Time Warner increases the rates faster than inflation, we don’t watch most of our channels, and DVDs, Netflix, and our console games are enough to keep us entertained. It also saves money (w00t). (Aside- boy, Time Warner hates it when you cancel cable. “We’ll lower your rates! You won’t be locked in! Why are you leaving? Is there anything we can do? Foot massage?”)
Once I deal with this addiction, I have another one to tackle, and it’s the biggie. The Internet. With the chat programs and facebook (my daughter delights when she catches me playing Robot Builder when I say I’m writing) and Wikipedia (I went to research Thor, I swear, I don’t know how I ended up on the Golden Girls episode guide) and email…. I can’t concentrate for more than 10 minutes. And the thing is, it’s not the net doing this. It’s me. People don’t ping me that often online (although I do wish people would respect the Do Not Disturb status more), it’s me going to look at email, facebook, twitter, my twitchy mind saying, “Anything new? Huh? How about now? Huh? Anything?”
But I write better when I can concentrate for more than a paragraph’s length, and media/Internet removal will help this. But it’s tough.
To beat an old cliche’ to death, when you’re on your deathbed are you going to look back and be happy that you watched those A-Team reruns, or wrote 23 novels in your lifetime?
This blog available for Kindle – and a secret
As there’s a lot more regular content on this blog now, I’ve decided to publish it via the Kindle platform. If you want writing prompts delivered to your Kindle wherever you go, regardless of connection, subscribe for $1.99 a month!
And if you’re not a Kindle owner or don’t want to subscribe for whatever reason, but you have a moment, could you drop by and rate the site and leave a comment? I’m hoping using the Kindle and Amazon will also drive traffic for the podcast. Why the hell not try?
I took most of the weekend off, as I was relaxing Saturday and sick yesterday. I now am behind, but at least I’m well rested.
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So I promised you a writing secret. The secret is this- Nearly everything I tell you not to do, I’m guilty of. That’s how I know it’s bad. When I get rejected, I’m positive my writing is utter crap and there’s a tiny little voice saying, “Maybe you should just quit.” When I get even constructive criticism that is meant to make the work better, part of me is crushed that it wasn’t perfect the first time out. I find it nigh impossible to write every day unless I’m faced with a deadline.
Essentially I don’t want you to think I’ve conquered all of these things. I haven’t conquered a damn one of them. Which is why I continue to blog and podcast about them. This is a war that may be won some day, but for now all I see are battles. Someday perhaps I’ll have the thick skin needed to really charge ahead no matter what arrows hit me.
Writing prompt for June 8: Send a character on a healing walkabout.
Tough love post for the day: What are the odds of your first novel actually being your first novel?
The “job” of writing
This blog post is for the people who are serious about making writing your career, about selling your books and stories. If you’re at the stage of trying to get (back) into putting words on paper, then ignore it. Bookmark it and read it in a year.
It’s not enough to write.
And I don’t care if you’re going the POD route, the podiobook route, a small press, or you have a publisher with buckets of money to give you for a book tour and marketing. Writing is still not enough.
Ever since I started podcasting I have tried to think of other ways to promote the fiction I was bringing out. With the Heaven series, I didn’t work very hard on it. I estimate Heaven had upwards of 10,000 listeners. With Playing For Keeps, I worked my butt off promoting the podcast and then again with the print version. I estimate it had around 24,000 listeners.
Many of my listeners have told me Heaven is a better book. But PFK got the attention because I made sure it did.
(Incidentally I’ll be promoting Heaven Season 5: War like nobody’s business, so we’ll see what that does to all the numbers.)
It stil surprises me that people aren’t doing more to promote their work. At worst, they’ll have a podiobook and a blog, sometimes maybe a Twitter account. They don’t update frequently, or promote via other social networking, or address their community.
That’s a key point, addressing the community. People love an underdog. They love someone who’s not afraid to say, “Here’s my book. It’s free, but I think it’s worth your valuable time.” (They like it if the content is good, too, but that’s now what I’m talking about right now.) They love knowing you’re trying to claw your way to the top. They love it partly because they get someone to root for, but also because they know that they can help you get there. They realize the power this gives them, that them telling a friend about your work really does make a difference. They love that you will address them directly if they email you or poke you on twitter or talk about you on their blog.
If these people are behind you, there’s nothing you can’t do. So you have to address them, treat them with respect, tell them what you need from them, and let them be your evangelizers. Give them shoutouts, brag about them in public, name characters after them. Note that everything I mentioned above is free. If you want to go further and give out merchandise or free print books, knock yourself out.
You can’t be afraid in this business. You can’t be hesitant. The phrase that feels like should go right here is “if you do, they’ll eat you alive,” but that’s not true. It’s worse than that. If you do, they just won’t notice you. You’ll drift upon the Internet waves like foam – not really fading away, but definitely not making an impact.
Two blog posts recently have said things such as this a lot better than I have:
JC Hutchins on Spontaneous Human Promotion
When you’ve got nothing to lose, you have everything to gain. When you don’t have the cash to blitz radio, TV and big blogs with advertising, you get creative with your resources. When you’re jonesing to make your voice heard, you look for new places to shout — and you use a different kind of megaphone to cut through the noise.
Desperation fuels innovation, fearlessness breeds chutzpah. The words “the worst they can say is no” becomes a mantra. You look at your surroundings, take the best of what works, and quest for an even better, and more resonant, way to present your work.
Colleen Lindsay on Self-promotion or, Warning: being a published author means you are entering a whine-free zone.
It just seems that today I’m hearing writers complain about [self promotion] a lot more.
Well, stop whining and suck it up. Every job comes with unpleasant tasks, even being a published writer.
When I first started working in bookstores in the early 1980s, new authors came by our tiny little store every week to self-promote, setting up their own signings, and leaving flyers, brochures and sample chapters that they’d created themselves. And might I remind you that this was years before word processors, people. Think about how much time and energy they’d invested. (Have you ever tried using rub-off typesetters letters from film? It’s not easy!)
They had elaborate mailing lists – MAIL! ON PAPER! WITH STAMPS! – that they’d use to invite friends, neighbors and business colleagues. (Stamps, people! USPS!) And it worked, because the writers worked their collective asses off.
So the “job” is more than just writing. It’s a lot more. If you do it, you’ll stand out. If you don’t, expect to be overlooked. I don’t care how brilliant you are. Things are changing and if you don’t have a direct line to your audience to give them an IV drip of you and your content, you’ll blow away on the wind.
Are you ready for some tough love?
I recently saw something about an author whose “dreams were destroyed” because she couldn’t get her book published. And it annoyed me. So I wanted to post something. You may not want to hear it. But Lordy, it needs to be said.
Your current book might suck.
“OH NO!” you’re saying. “I knew it! I’ll never be a writer now! It’s time to quit!”
No. That’s not what I said. My point is that if you write a book, and you can’t get it published, it doesn’t mean the dream is over. It doesn’t mean that you as a writer suck. It means that book wasn’t attractive to agents/editors. It means that perhaps you need to improve as a writer, see your first book as an exercise to make yourself a better writer.
When you fail, you look at your next step. So you can’t sell your book. What now?
- If you really believe in it (like countless podcasters and bloggers like Scott Sigler, JC Hutchins, and I did), then release via your blog. Make an audio podcast. Put it into a downloadable PDF. Release it and let the readers decide its fate.
- Edit it. Most authors can’t stand editing, and are so happy we finished a book that we want to send it out RIGHT AWAY. Maybe it needs a polish. Give it to a trusted friend. join a workshop. Get some comments. Put your ego away, then edit.
- Put it in a drawer. It may have been a lovely dream in your head, but it honestly may not be ready for publication. Allow yourself a day of sad, but ultimately think of it as a stepping stone to publication. Cause I’ll bet cash money that you are a better writer now than you were when you started the book.
- Write. Something. New.
Your dream is over when one of two things happen: you die, or you decide it’s over. No one can make you quit writing. Not agents, editors, well-meaning family (or for that matter, poor-meaning family), or a workshop. Your dream is not dead because other people say the book isn’t good. It’s one book. Just a book. If you’re a writer, it’s likely you’ll have a lot more in you. And they’ll be better, in some part, because you wrote that book. It wasn’t wasted time, even though it’ll feel like it.
The difference between published writers and unpublished writers is not talent. It’s persistence. If you keep writing and keep submitting, you will get better, and it’s likely you’ll get something published. If you decide your dream is dead, then it’s because you let it die.
