Category Archives: The Writing Life

Social networking can be both a blessing and a curse for the writer. A blessing because it gives us an avenue to connect with both writers and readers, but a curse because it can be a massive timesink. So when a new social networking site starts up, I usually avoid it. I can find plenty of ways to proscrastinate as it is, thanks very much. Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest – I haven’t tried them (although I confess I’m eyeing Pinterest with interest). So when I first found Goodreads, I was hesitant to jump in. But, oh boy, am I glad I did.

I admit it: I’m a Goodreads junkie. As soon as I start a new book, I update Goodreads. When I finish the book, I rate it. I’m constantly adding to my “to read” list and right now I have more books listed there than I could read in 18 months. So what are the benefits of Goodreads?

For the reader:

A place to interact with writers I enjoy. I can follow them, see what they’re reading, what they’ve liked and not liked.
A place to store my ever-expanding “to read” list. No longer is my desk covered with post-it notes bearing scribbled reminders about books I thought looked interesting. Now it’s all in Goodreads.
I can see what my friends are reading. A lot of the books on my “to read” list are there because a friend added them to their list.
I can show my friends what I think of each book I read. My personal policy is that I don’t rate any book as less than three stars. If I disliked it to that extent, I leave it unstarred. I also have a “not finished” shelf for the books I couldn’t bear to persist with.
I can check out reviews and ratings of books I’m considering reading before I purchase. On the odd occasion that I’ve ignored low ratings and scathing reviews, I’ve left the book unfinished. Unfortunately I have gotten caught a couple of times with books that had high ratings and glowing reviews but which turned out to be awful.
I can connect with other readers via various reading groups.

But what about the benefits of Goodreads for the writer?

I got as far as:

A place to interact with readers and potential readers.
A place where readers can easily write reviews and rate books.
A place to generate buzz by providing giveaways and writing blogs. Your Goodreads account can be synced with your blog for easy updating (although, I confess it bores me seeing the same blog post everywhere I follow a writer).
A place to connect with like-minded writers via various reading groups.

What am I missing here? How else does Goodreads benefit writers? Or is it more about the reader? Should writers stay out of the way?

Jess Owen: Kickstarter – The Indie Author’s New Secret Weapon

September 24, 2012

fictorians

Guest Post by Jess Owen

If you haven’t heard of Kickstarter yet, as soon as you finish this article you’re going to be inundated with emails from old friends, family members and distant colleagues asking you to support their Kickstarter campaign. Just wait.

So what is it? A streamlined, user-friendly website to facilitate an idea called crowd funding. The folks at Kickstarter believe that, “…a good idea, communicated well, can spread fast and wide,”* . . . and gain support. Monetary support. What began as a grass roots fund raising method for indie music bands has exploded into a worldwide phenomenon that gives individuals the financial power to see any creative project through to completion, and gain a tribe of new friends and fans in the process.

Artists, musicians, authors, inventors, restaurateurs, film makers, you name it, Kickstarter supports it.

All you need is one tangible project, a timeline, a bag of goodies to hand out at the end, and you are ready to dive in. Don’t forget a “can-do attitude.”

I used Kickstarter to fund the hardback printing of my debut novel, Song of the Summer King. Rather than turn to POD, I decided to research printers in order to gain a wide view of all available options to the modern self-publisher. While I waffled on how best to go about paying for and distributing my book, a friend mentioned Kickstarter.

This is how it works: an individual creates a project. This must be a tangible goal with an end date and a product (like an album, a book, an art show; no “fund my life” projects). For me, it was printing the hardback book. A traditionally published author might want to create a whole bunch of snazzy schwag for her launch event, but not have enough funds. Kickstarter can do that too. Once you create your project, you figure how much money you need, set the financial goal, give yourself a time limit within the maximum of 6o days, and launch! (For more detailed information on the mechanics, read through the Kickstarter School on their web page.)

I raised $9,000 in thirty days, with an initial goal of $6,000. Here’s how I did it.

I found my audience. It is critical that you know where to find the people who will actually want to read your book. If this is starting to sound like every other writing article on marketing, it should. If you don’t understand marketing yet, it will be difficult for you to succeed with Kickstarter or any other fund raising program. Kickstarter is basically a way for readers to pre-order your book, plus fun and prizes. So know where your peeps are, and how to get their attention. I write fantasy, and for years have also been a minor member of the fantasy art community. Still, this was a place to start. I began to draw a lot more gryfons and wolves when I knew I was going to self-publish, and with that work, I started to attract fans, fellow artists and readers with those interests.

In other words, I built a platform. Start doing that now, no matter what stage you’re in.

Next, involve your family and friends. My family and friends were my biggest supporters. I hope yours are too. If they aren’t, go to your chosen family, your good friends, your writing buddies, your neighbors, church-whoever supports you. Don’t be ashamed that you’re asking for money, either. Be proud! Be excited! You have created something, or you’re certainly about to, and the people who love you will be excited for you.

Have a plan. I had a plan to give interest a boost at the beginning of each week of my campaign. The first week was family and friends. The second week, I had artists post pieces of special promotional works centered around my book. Yes, I had to pay for them, but I was supporting other artists. Also, their work was better than a simple advertisement, because their 10,000 interested fans were suddenly looking at beautiful pieces of art about my book, with links back to Kickstarter. The next week I was in my hometown newspapers, and after that, I appealed to bloggers. It doesn’t matter what your plan involves, as long as it targets your audience base.

As far as figuring out rewards and timeline, I researched other projects. Art featured heavily in my rewards, because I’m close to the fantasy art community. I picked a cover artist who appeals to my target audience, and offered prints of her work at several reward tiers. I was also surprised that my own artwork was a relatively popular reward option.

Choose rewards that are pertinent to your story. Got a cool sci-fi novel? Get nifty badges or buttons or figure out a way to do super slick holographic bookmarks. Think of what you’d want in a grab bag from your favorite author, and offer that stuff as rewards. Study what other publishing projects are offering. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just figure out what’s already working.

Remember to factor the cost of rewards into your funding goal. This is a mistake I made, and I’ll admit it without shame. (The point is I’m wiser now . . .) Factor in rewards, shipping, and the percentage that Kickstarter takes out for processing credit cards. I asked for $6,000, raised $9,000, and walked away with $8,110 because of the processing fees and people whose pledges didn’t go through. I had just enough to cover my project.

Aside from all the technical information, what I will say is what I think Kickstarter, and websites like it, mean for authors-particularly, self-published authors. Many aspiring authors have sometimes said or thought, “If I could just get my work out to the people, they would love it.” Well now’s the time to saddle up. You can use Kickstarter to raise money for that professional editor, cover artist, layout and lettering designer, and any other initial costs associated with self-publishing.

We are in the Information Age. Anyone who understands how to move information and get it to the masses will succeed. Writers who can track down and target their fan base will sell books. Now, that fan base can invest even more love and support by actually helping you publish your work. The psychological power of active community support is going to be huge in the near future. Your fans are not just fans anymore. They’re investors. They’re partners. They’re going to be excited for more than just your next book, they’re going to be excited for you. And that is priceless.

Kickstarter and other websites that facilitate crowd funding are about more than just money. They’re about community. They help you find your fans, your friends, your colleagues. They help you build your tribe. The people who pledge to your project don’t just want to buy your book. They want to help worthy dreams come true and watch people succeed. And they want to be a part of it. Even if you’re an independent author, there’s no reason you have to do it alone.

To me, that’s pretty darn exciting.

Guest Writer Bio: Jess has been creating works of fantasy art and fiction for over a decade, and founded her own publishing company, Five Elements Press, to publish her own works and someday, that of others. She’s a proud member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Authors of the Flathead. She lives with her husband in the mountains of northwest Montana, which offer daily inspiration for creating worlds of wise, wild creatures, magic, and adventure. Jess can be contacted directly through her website, www.jessowen.com, or the SOTSK facebook fan page, www.facebook.com/songofthesummerking

Metaphors

September 21, 2012

Brandon M Lindsay

Brandon M. Lindsay Craft & Skills Writing Tools 2 Comments

I remember from a non-fiction writing class I took in college that the three most important things to consider when writing any non-fiction piece are: clarity, clarity, and clarity. While the purposes of non-fiction and fiction are different-non-fiction is primarily informative, and fiction is primarily artistic-I think we as fiction writers can take a note from our non-fiction comrades.

I recently read a fantasy novel from a few decades ago-a classic by many standards-and although I enjoyed it, I found that the author’s use of metaphor and simile to be ridiculous. His books are almost universally lauded, and whenever anyone finds fault with his books, they don’t mention this aspect of them.

He isn’t the only author like this that I’ve read. There have been a few. Not a lot, but what disturbs me is how writing like this is oftentimes (most often by the literary fiction crowd; sorry, literary fiction crowd) considered to be profound. Worse is when a new author sees it and wants to emulate it with no idea what it is or what effect it will have. Perhaps in capable hands this profundity is achieved sometimes, but I think that more often it achieves the opposite of what a metaphor is designed to do, which is to clarify a concept.

A demonstration is in order. Instead of using an example from the book I read and risking the alienation of this author’s legion of fans, I’m going to create a somewhat hyperbolic example of what I mean: Tears scrambled down his face like alligators. There is very little in common with the concept of tears and those of scrambling and alligators. The image that comes to my mind when I read this is not that of someone crying, but someone whose face is being ravaged by tiny reptiles. Perhaps there is some very distant parallel that can be drawn between these two images, but more likely is that in the mind of the reader they are going to exist in conflict.

Hopefully your experience was different, but all the formal writing education I had encouraged this sort of free-association tomfoolery. I think the reason for this is that the denotative (cognitive) aspects of metaphor and simile are often actively ignored while the connotative (aesthetic) aspects are given full sovereignty. Which is fine if you only plan on writing the literary equivalent of inkblots, but for those of us writing about characters taking actions in places, such a limited approach will not suffice.

Consider another example, that of a bloody sunset. Although maybe a bit trite, it can be effective from both a denotative and a connotative perspective, depending, of course, on the context in which it’s used. Sunsets can be red like blood, and the colors seem to ooze as if bleeding from a wound, so it paints a mental picture that actually describes this particular sunset as against other sunsets. By calling it bloody, the concept of this sunset is concretized and thus clarified, as opposed to a vague abstraction, or, as in the case above, a mishmash of conflicting concretes that no rational mind can grasp.

Also, it did so without sacrificing the connotative aspect of the metaphor; indeed, the metaphor imbued the image of the sunset with a sense of violent finality, and would serve well as a setting element for, say, the aftermath of a battle. I think the reason this particular metaphor is so commonly used is because it is effective at capturing both the connotative and denotative elements of an image that resonates with so many of us.

Yes, we fiction writers are artists. But we are also communicators. Even if all we are communicating is the products of our imagination, I think it is important that we never lose sight of that.

Existing in a Writing Group

September 14, 2012

Matt Jones

Matt Jones The Writing Life 1 Comment

A year ago, fellow fictorian Kevin Cioffi wrote about starting a writing group, and I thought I would give my own advice on starting and existing within a writing group. I personally find that having a writing group provides one of the best benefits I could ask for, a deadline. I write for the joy of telling an awesome story, and that’s really about it. Without the weekly deadline, I find myself putting off my writing to pursue other hobbies. With a writing group, I know I have two weeks to finish the next chapter. If nothing else, that’s reason enough for me to find and stay in a writing group. So, lets say you take my advice and follow Kevins steps to find or create your own writing group, what steps can you take that will help both you and your group?

First, learn to step away from your work. This may be one of the hardest things to do, but when your work is being critiqued you should step back and stay silent. Pull out your notebook and write down what the other members talk about, but don’t defend your work! We all love our writing and we want to correct every misconception or issue that arises. If someone says something that is wildly different from what you meant, write it down and listen to everyone else. Wait to see what the other members of the group thought. If you need to, feel free to ask other members if they agree or how they felt about a section, but don’t stop the conversation or try to point it in a certain way. If you do this, you may give information that is crucial to later parts of the novel, which your group will understand but will be lost on any other reader. Use your common sense to give only as much info as needed and make sure your group makes the connections you wish.

Similar to the prior suggestion, be as detailed as you can when you read others works. I like to write emotions or idle thoughts in the margins as I read. I may not bring a lot of these thoughts up during the group meeting, but it might be useful to the author as he reads it after the fact. Something that I idly wrote down and didn’t think was important enough to bring up could have been the plot hole nobody noticed. If someone else mentions feeling odd about a certain point of the novel, I can respond with my feelings and give another point of view.

Feel free to experiment. Writing groups are the best place to try that bit of trickery that might not work. If it doesn’t work, you’ll know right away and maybe even get advice on how to fix or improve the idea. You’re all there for each other and you should feel comfortable around your group. If not, you might want to find/refine your group until you are.

Make sure you have something for every meeting. This may seem obvious, but you might get stuck on a chapter and have no clue how to precede. It happens to all of us, so be prepared and have other things to contribute. Take a character and write a small side story, or step away and write something wildly different. I’ve heard of two authors in a writing group who both got stuck so they switched novels for a week and wrote the others next chapter. It helped give ideas while keeping the creative juices flowing. As the mantra goes, keep writing!

Have fun. You want your writing groups to be something you look forward to. Prepare fun writing exorcizes to start each session or save extra time for word games. Bring food or drinks and enjoy the company of your friends. Make it an environment that keeps bringing you back.

The real goal of a writing group is to provide a forum for you to go over your work and receive feedback on the fly. You understand your novel more than anyone, but your writing group will provide your first real insight into what the rest of the world will think.

Have your own suggestions or experience with a writing group? Don’t agree with my suggestions? Add a comment below. I’m looking forward for more tips or suggestions that can improve my writing groups.