Tag Archives: Author

How to be a Success

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I was having a conversation on Twitter last month about making writing your day job, and I sent this to the guys over at SPP:

I thought I’d expand upon this “simple” idea, because out of all the writing books, blogs, articles, websites, podcasts, and videos, everything distills down into these four points.

1. Write Well.

“Well” seems to be such a simple word. But it includes a lot of things. Grammar, spelling, characters, plot, and everything else involved with a story. It also involves knowing the difference between a workable story, and something that you should just let go.

You can always get help with the mechanics of a story. Workshops abound. Editors are for hire. You can even hire a ghost writer to write up the idea/plot/storyline you came up with and stick your name on it (not generally recommended.)

If you have a compelling story, with characters your readers care about, then you are headed in the right direction.

2. Write a lot.

Be PROLIFIC! I can not stress this enough. I don’t care if you are writing in your journal every day, but the fact remains the more you write, the more you will write. However, you shouldn’t JUST write things in your diary. Practice writing short stories, articles, blog posts, and anything else. Write as though you are writing to someone, expecting someone to read it.

Writing also helps you improve your ability to write. Grammar and spelling, as well as just coherence. This goes for reading as well. If you don’t read, or hate reading, then how can you write well?

3. Publish often.

Some of the best selling authors are there simply because they write a lot of books. The more books they write, the better visibility they have. The better chance someone has to see something they wrote that was great. 

Here is a list of some prolific authors, many of which are well known.
4. Engage readers.

Email lists. Blogs. Fan mail. Twitter. Facebook. Websites… really it doesn’t matter how you engage your readers, but the internet makes it incredible easy to do just that. If you don’t do so, or come off as a grumpy old guy/gal who doesn’t give a half a penny for their fans then it is less likely you will grow your reading ranks.

Look, we live in a connected world. I actively talk to some of my favorite writers now. I send them tweets, or comment on their Facebook status, and they answer me. It’s awesome. I love the fact that they know their fans are their bread and butter, and they love interacting with me, and all the other people who love their work.

Kim Harrison got feedback for, and changed the cover for one of her new books. Sean Platt and David Write added three chapters to the end of their series to clarify their writing. Piers Anthony has answered every single fan letter he could, and even included characters, puns, and small plot lines to really engage his readers.

Will all of this get you tons of fans? Ultimately only time can tell, but these four things will get you closer then any one of them by itself.

Around the Web

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It’s a new year, and the internet has been buzzing. Interviews, AMA’s, and some discussions.

Also, there was no new “Self Publishing Podcast” this week. Johnny tweeted that they had an extra super secret erotic writer who wished to remain anonymous  so we will hear her next week. Perhaps this means we’ll get two SPP’s? One audio, one youtube?

Wool by Huge Howey

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I just finished reading “Wool: Omnibus” by Hugh Howey.

This was an amazing read. A post apocalyptic look at a world trapped inside of a silo.

And while I admit that half the reason to continue reading the story is trying to piece together how the world got into this state (nuclear war? Meteor? Disease?) the true story is the examination of how people would react to being stuck in such a small space together, underground, for generations.

Imagine having only a few thousand people stuck inside the empire state building. Not just for a few years, but for generations. Then put the whole thing underground with no sunlight, no fields  no room to grow or expand. What would you have to do to keep them from overpopulating? From killing one another? From over eating or escaping?

And the how of it all… how did the silo start? Now that answer was quite revealing after all…

“Wool” began as one self published short story that took off. Since then Hugh has written several installments and is on “Wool 9” at the moment. He continues to self publish each of his books, though he now goes through a traditional publisher for his over seas sales.

It was a shocker not long ago when Ridley Scott nabbed wool for a movie option. But as Hugh says, just because someone has the option doesn’t mean the movie will be made.

Creating in a Vacuum

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I was listening to the last Self Publishing Podcast again and something Sean said at the begining stuck out.

While talking about giving a speaking presentation in front of 500 people he said it had been difficult for the first couple of minutes, but when you have that many people laughing at your jokes together its hard to be nervous.

Most creative people, be they writers, artists, or even some game designers, tend to work in a vacuum. We don’t have someone reading our copy as it comes off the press. We don’t have someone pointing out that the color is off, or the grammar is bad, or the game is amazing and “Can I play it please?”

The same thing that makes it appealing (no boss, no scheduled  no deadlines) also makes it sometimes frustrating, and can even help that age old “writers block” come on us. Don’t let it.

As NaNoWriMo approaches I find myself gravitating to some of the forums in order to make that vacuum of space around my writing just that little bit fuller. There I can talk to other writers, tell them my struggles, and get inspiration, or tell them my successes and inspire someone else.

There are other ways to fill the vacuum. Joining writers groups, or discussion boards. Going to writer Meetups. Just making friends who are in the same situation helps a lot.

Enjoy NaNo. Keep sane. And WRITE! WRITE! WRITE!

I was mentioned in a You Tube Video

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At 57:30, I’m Christy, the one that sent in the question. For the record my voice is pretty high pitched, even for a girl. I’ve been asked a few times if my mommy was home. Not as often now, as I am in my 30’s, but still enough that I will be having someone else do my audio books. I also found this to be a really good discussion about “buying reviews” which has been hitting the news lately. In a nutshell… it’s a bad way to do business, makes other self publishers look bad, and for actual physical goods (like toasters) it can be even worse. On the other hand, it is really beneficial for actual readers to leave comments and reviews on books. I’ve sold mine 4 times and have yet to get a review (though someone raved about it on FB which was really nice). Good reviews, honest reviews, are sometimes hard to come buy. It’s really no wonder some people turn to buying them. Its still not the highest ethical standard.

Are You a Writer? Or an Excuse Maker?

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An aspiring writer asked Nail Gaiman the following:

 “I’m shockingly lazy and find it hard to get motivated to sit in front of that computer and write. Help me!

 Neil Gaiman’s Response: “Why? You being lazy and unmotivated and not writing allows another writer, who does sit down and write, to get published in your place. Magazines and publishers only have so many pages, so many annual publishing spots. You’re letting someone else who wants to do the work get published. Surely that’s a good thing…?”

This, of course, offended a lot of people. How dare Gaiman tell people things like this! How dare he be so insensitive. Blunt even.

It reminded me, on the other hand, of a story I read a while back.

 A man who played the violin simply beautifully was doing an interview. Someone came up afterward and said “I always loved the violin. I wish I could play like that.”

 To which he responded: “No you don’t. If you did, then you’d be practicing every day, eight hours a day. You wouldn’t be wishing. You’d be doing.”

To be a truly great violinist you must practice. Learn. Practice some more. Memorize great amounts of music, and then recreate it as your own.

Really, writing, like any other art form, takes the same thing. Practice. Time. Patience. Tenasity. If you really want it you will do it. If not, then your just making excuses.

Neil Gaiman had it right. If you don’t write then someone else will. Someone else will be published, and they will have their dream while you are still wishing on a star for it to be handed to you.