Writing is my lifeblood

March 1, 2013 2 Comments

IMG_3581After four years, three versions, two editions, one name change, multiple rewrites and much stress, my novel Fake Profile is about to launch. I am relieved and excited and just a wee bit scared. Terrified actually! Writing this novel has taken me on a roller coaster of a journey unlike anything I have experienced in my professional life.

I’ve felt the highs and lows with equal intensity. From the exhilaration of winning an Australian Society of Authors Mentorship Award for the raw manuscript in 2010, to the crushing disappointment of having a publishing contract offer withdrawn because I unwittingly uploaded an e-version and elected to retain the Digital Management Rights for the manuscript.

I’ve felt the warmth and enthusiasm of a supportive writing community and the harsh cold reality of a publishing industry fighting for its life in a changing world. A few times I stuffed the manuscript deep inside a folder hidden on my computer, vowing to throw in the towel , only to drag it back out and rewrite the whole thing again.

And through the whole process, I learnt much about myself—the most important of which is: I am a writer. I can’t ignore the fact. It doesn’t matter how disillusioned I become, or how harsh the critics are, I can’t not write. It’s as necessary to me as breathing. It’s difficult to explain how much a part of my being is dependent upon my writing. If I don’t write for any length of time, I feel the life force begin to drain. I become weaker and sadder and this influences every other aspect of my life. My teaching suffers, my friendships suffer, my connection to myself suffers, the way I view the world is affected.

I love being a writer. I thrive on the solitude it requires. I love the writing community. They get it. When I talk about the voices in my head, they know exactly what it means. My writing colleagues can follow my chaotic thought processes from manuscript to manuscript and character to character without blinking an eye.

I had barely finished Fake Profile before starting the next novel, Say Nothing. And the first draft of Say Nothing was complete before I began the long, slow and laborious road to publication for Fake Profile (and that itself, is a post for another day). Now I’m almost finished the first draft of my third, and while that is happening the first of a trilogy is incubating.

It’s been a very long time coming. I’ve been writing since I was very young, but it’s only been the last ten years or so (I have earlier manuscripts sitting in drawers that have never seen the light of day), that I began to take my writing seriously enough to recognise it is my lifeblood. I have no choice. I have to write. It is as simple as that.

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Who do you write for?

March 9, 2012 1 Comment

Writing —like reading— is a very subjective pursuit. People write and/or read for a myriad of reasons, ranging from catharsis to leisure, as a profession, a boredom buster or in pursuit of knowledge. To achieve success in the field a writer needs to first develop an understanding of why they themselves write, then get to know why people read, and develop an understanding of the readership for which they write.

Sound daunting? It can be. But if you are serious about being a writer and you dream about making a living out of your writing, it’s important to understand every aspect of what makes a successful writer, apart from the obvious—having the ability to write! Rightly or wrongly, some of the most successful writers (particularly eAuthors) are not necessarily the ones with the best writing ability.

So how do you make sure that you are successful in attracting a readership to your book? As I mentioned before, thinking about why you write, what you write, and for whom you write is imperative. Understanding your target audience can mean the difference between your book collecting dust on a shelf (physical or electronic) or being consistently downloaded and read.

Writing for yourself is a fabulous thing to do, but don’t be surprised if others don’t engage with it at the rate you’d like them to. Of course, it doesn’t really matter whether or not anyone reads your work if building a readership is not your focus. What is meaningful and enjoyable to you personally may not necessarily be what appeals to others.

An experienced and successful author once told me that the road to success was to select a genre and stick to it. At the time, I dismissed this advice as being unnecessarily pejorative. But now, a few years down the track, I understand what she meant. An enormous amount of time and energy goes into building an audience, so it is more productive and effective to focus your energies on one particular demographic.

Firstly, you need to identify the genre in which you most enjoy writing. For me it’s young adult fiction. Probably because I spend a lot of time around this demographic. I am familiar with their vernacular, their behaviours, their hopes and fears and dreams. And their realities — harsh and unjust as they sometimes are. The old adage ‘write what you know’ works for me here. This doesn’t mean you (or I) will be stuck with the same genre forever, but it is a good idea to establish yourself first. When you become better known, you’ll be able to diversify, and carry your readership with you.

Once you have identified your genre (and sub-genre), you need to refine your target readership. Will it be gender specific? The novel I am writing now is a young adult crime fiction. The readership I am targeting is boys aged between thirteen and fifteen.  Typically with young adult fiction, boys won’t read ‘books for girls’ but girls will read everything, so targeting this narrowly will enable me to capture of broader audience than my focus.

The next step is to think about the components necessary to draw this group in. Of course, I am speaking very generally here, but boys of this age typically prefer fast-paced, action-packed narrative that is outcomes based. They also prefer series. How do I know this? Apart from the anecdotal information I pick up working in a high school as a writer-in-residence, I did my research.

Local libraries are a great resource for info about reading behaviour. So too, are bookshops (those left standing). Pick a less busy time to visit either and ask those who work there about popular titles, plots, and demographics. I’ve had some fabulous conversations of this nature with people for whom books are a passion. Arts sections of newspapers commonly run features about book trends, bestseller lists are indicative of genres that are popular and will reflect local as well as national or international trends.

Another important thing to think about is matching content, plot and storyline, to the demographic. There is no point targeting 30-35 year old men for your readership if you are writing romance—they won’t read it. Now, I’m sure there are probably men in this age group who love reading romance (but may never admit it); there are always exceptions. But I’m speaking generally; you need to consider ‘the group’ you are targeting, rather than individuals within it.

And don’t underestimate the power of sourcing information word-of-mouth. Find other readers. If you are a writer, then you will be a reader and know other readers. Ask them. If you write for adults, join a book club where you get to hear and participate in discussions about books. You’ll learn the likes, dislikes and preferences of other readers. And seek out and talk to people in the demographic for which you want to write. If you can write narrative with plots that people want to read, there is a higher probability that well-written books will sell. Consultation is invaluable in developing plot. Knowing where to find and how to target your chosen readership to promote your work is for another post.

 ”Nothing stinks like a pile of unpublished writing.” Sylvia Plath

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Tempers, trolls and twisted logic

March 2, 2012 4 Comments

The other night one of the current affairs shows ran a story about social media trolls. I don’t generally watch these types of tabloid programs but the story got my attention. Trolls are people who roam sites like Facebook and Twitter with the single focus of upsetting people. They are relentless and completely random in their attacks, but their actions can have devastating results on hapless victims.

How do we, as authors, deal with this issue should it affect us? There is no denying the need for authors to establish and maintain a social media profile to help promote books. And the law of probability being what it is; odds are we will have to deal with it at some stage.

I’m not going to delve into the psyche of the social misfits that engage in trolling—I can’t, I don’t understand them. But I do understand social media so I can provide assistance and advice in dealing with their actions.

The most important thing to remember is that you need to protect your professional (and personal) brand. DO NOT engage with anyone attempting to attack your reputation. Trolls seek a reaction and thrive on the conflict and distress they create. Familiarise yourself with the security settings on your social media pages and use them. Block anyone who is particularly vitriolic. They’ll go elsewhere to satisfy whatever twisted need they’re seeking to fulfil. Facebook fan pages and Twitter both have reasonably effective means of blocking, deleting and reporting trolls.

In the same category as trolls, but perhaps more relevant to authors are the ‘repellent reviewers.’ These people post reviews that are downright destructive and serve no other purpose than to attack and destroy your reputation. There seems to be an increasing trend where a jealous and spiteful person gathers others and over the course of a few days, they target a particular author or book and fire off one-star ratings accompanied by a few mean words (crap story, don’t bother, etc).

There is no justification for this type of behaviour. It is one thing to post a negative review if the reviewer is genuine and explains what aspect of the book they found not to their satisfaction. Whether it is a lack of plot, bad grammar and structure, superficial characterisation or sloppy style, readers are generally quite discerning. It is not enough just to say the book was crap. These types of reviews are trying to keep a book lower in the rating charts, mostly in a misguided attempt to give a rival’s book a stronger profile. Like trolling, repellent reviewing is an abhorrent practice that has no place online.

If you notice that you have been targeted in this way, report it. Etailers and distributors generally take the matter seriously. In July last year, Smashwords deleted the accounts of people who engaged in this practise on their site. Never ever engage with these people. They cannot be reasoned with. Report it.

Stay vigilant, monitor your social media profiles and don’t let the twisted logic of these horrible people impact on your work or reputation.

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Terrible titles

January 11, 2012 6 Comments

The header for this post is Terrible Titles, but perhaps it should have been: Creating a Suitable Title For Your Novel That Doesn’t Put People Off Reading it But Clues Them Into What It May be About Without Being Irrelevant or Long-winded. Snappy right? Would you read any further?

Finding a suitable title for your novel is a delicate matter. A novel title needs to be catchy, or at least rhythmic. It needs to roll around the mouth and off the tongue in a sanguine manner that makes the potential reader want to say it over and over again until it gets stuck in their head and they feel compelled to navigate to Amazon and click on that purchase button.

A book title has to speak volumes to the multitudes. It needs to enthrall and entice a reader to download the novel, or open the cover, or at least read the blurb, which ideally should build the magic. It needs to be indicative of the genre, to allude to the content, even if in a very subtle way. A book title needs to create intrigue and engage the reader. And it needs to do it all in just a few words. No problem, right? I wish! It was easier to name my child.

So how does an author come up with a title that does this for their book? It’s a process. And like most things relating to writing, it is subjective. I guess it’s a bit like naming characters, sometimes the names just pop into your head when your characters begin speaking to you. Other times you change the name so many times your character can’t help but develop an identity crisis.

The title for my first novel—the one that still sits in the drawer unpublished—came to me the day I started writing it, and hasn’t changed since. It doesn’t need to. It fits. My second novel Fake Profile began life as Turning Point. I thought it was poignant; market research of the target demographic didn’t get it. They thought Fake Profile fit better because it’s about a group of friends who create a Fake Facebook Profile for someone. Go figure.

The novel I’m about to finish has had three title changes so far. And will probably have another few before publication. But I have learnt enough about appropriate naming to realise the value of consultation. After all, it is the reader that needs to be drawn to your book if you want it to sell. It’s counter-productive to stick with a title you absolutely love, but no one else relates to. Check your demographic. If you write romance, there’s little point in giving your book a title akin to the horror genre. And vice-versa. Ask your potential audience. Come up with a few options that you think might be suitable and create a poll. Most people are happy to give their opinion, especially if it is sought. Listen to your audience.

I’ve seen book titles I get bored with before I’ve finished reading them, but others that I’ll click through and bookmark so I can return to read the blurb later on. Of course it’s subjective, but you can give yourself a head start by doing your research. Google your potential title to see if it’s already being used. Consult. Try it out on people. Say it, write it, ensure that it fits with your cover design.

A title is the first thing you share with your audience. Make sure it’s a good one. Oh, and if you come up with an awesome title for a Young Adult Crime Fiction novel, let me know!

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Sourcing reviews

December 20, 2011 10 Comments

I have two reviews for my book on Amazon. Two. That’s probably about 274 less than I hoped I would have by now. And 119 less than I’d have if everyone who bought the book reviewed it on whatever platform they bought it from.

It’s a bit disheartening really. Especially since having reviews can mean the difference between effective promotion and mediocre promotion.  But it’s sourcing reviewers that has become a little problematic for me. A few months ago when I first published, I put out a general (and very polite) call on my personal Facebook profile (where I only have people I know) suggesting that if people would like to review the book, I’d be very happy to provide it to them. Only one person did so. I didn’t push it, or ask again. I don’t want to be one of those annoying ‘friends’ who rabbits on about nothing else but my books all the time.

So I stepped outside of my personal circle and began to investigate options for having eBooks reviewed. And I found some very interesting, and somewhat disturbing, trends.

It’s difficult to get traditional hardcopy book reviewers to look at an eBook. Publishing online is still regarded with somewhat less-than-credible suspicion by the mainstream, particularly here in Australia, where we seem to be a little slower in adapting to a changing industry than in the UK or US. That leaves authors with few options.

There’s a few ‘review’ sites around (for example Authonomy, IWriteReadRate) where you register and upload your book and review and receive reviews. I’ve experimented with some of these sites and found all but one to be quite unpleasant. On Authonomy I was bombarded with tit-for-tat requests for reviews. You know, the ‘I’ll give you a positive review if you give me one’ type arrangement, where quality and content of the manuscript seems to be irrelevant. It might work for some, but it just doesn’t work for me. I don’t think I’m the right personality type for this kind of thing―I’m far too straightforward and honest.

Of the review sites, the one I found to be most beneficial is YouWriteOn, because their review process is far more independent. Authors are assigned random books to review and earn ‘credits’ which then are used to receive reviews that have been randomly assigned to to others. This gives the author a more realistic idea of what readers think of their writing. The drawback is, it’s a development site so you can only upload the first 5000 words of your manuscript, and the reviews are not public. Still, I’d recommend it if you want to get an objective opinion about your writing.

More recently, I’ve noticed a few entrepreneurial reviewing endeavors popping up claiming to be assisting authors to increase their book profiles online. A book is targeted by a series of reviewers, usually other authors, and the reviews are then posted on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and wherever else your book may be. For a price.

The cost varies according to the site you use to source your reviews. Now I’m not suggesting that anything particularly untoward is happening here. I just wonder, if you are paying to have your book reviewed by other authors participating in the program, how objective the reviews could be. Especially when it’s a reciprocal arrangement.

Of course I want people to review my book. But I want honest reviews. Constructive reviews. And I don’t want to pay for them. Or badger people to write them.
I want to know what readers really think. I know that I might not always like what people say. And as every author knows, a bad review is like a kick in the guts. But I’m prepared to take the risk because I want to grow as an author.

I’m serious about making a living out of writing fiction full-time, so I need to deepen my understanding of the market and write accordingly.  Reading, like writing, is a subjective pursuit. And very personal, for both the reader and the writer. I’m not naïve enough to think that everyone is going to love what I write.  But I am realistic enough to know that I need to be conscious of what people want to read, what they enjoy reading, and what they think of my writing. Independently, realistically. After all I can’t support myself with my writing if no-one buys my books. And books are often bought on word-of-mouth recommendations. Or reviews.

Have you had your book reviewed? How did you go about finding a reviewer? What has been your experience of the process?

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A contract lost

December 12, 2011 4 Comments

I lost a publishing contract. The offer of a contract to publish my novel Fake Profile with a traditional publisher was withdrawn. Before it was made. I didn’t even know about it, but I was gutted when I found out. At least, I was until I realised that I was no worse off than if I hadn’t known about it. And really, I can’t be sure I would have accepted the offer of a contract if it had been made.

The contract offer was NOT made,  apparently, because I hold the Digital Management Rights to my own book. Recently the Sydney Morning Herald, the Melbourne Age, and the West Australian, all ran an article about authors who were pursuing publication through electronic means as an alternative to seeking traditional publishing deals. I was featured in the article as an Australian Author who had opted to publish electronically.

The eBook cover for Fake Profile featured prominently in the article and sales have been steadily increasing ever since. Fake Profile is listed on Amazon and is distributed through Smashwords to Apple iBooks on iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Diesel and Kobo. Most of my sales come through Apple AU, followed by Amazon. I’m happy with the way sales are going. I didn’t expect them to be too high in the first months, particularly as I don’t have a publicist and haven’t yet gone into full promotion mode. But I have been pleasantly surprised with sales so far. And I’m very much looking forward to listing my next book in January.

When I began the journey toward publication, I would have loved a traditional publishing contract. And I tried to get one. I queried agents and submitted to those Australian publishers that still accept unsolicited manuscripts, all to no avail. I even pitched the book to a panel of publishers at a NSW Writers’ Centre writers’ festival. By that time I had my author website and blog up and running, I had a Facebook fanpage as an author and a Twitter account. And the beginnings of a marketing plan. Following the pitching session, I received some fabulous feedback, except from the publisher — her response was “If you’ve done all that, what’s left for the publisher to do?” Indeed.

It was then that I decided to pursue the electronic publishing route. However, it seems it was a publisher who was at that festival and had heard my pitch, who intended offering me a contract. Until the article was published.  The article referred to reasonably strong sales and an increasing profile. Seems the publisher was spooked by the fact that my book was already out there, with a variety of retailers in a variety of locations. And its Digital Rights Management (DRM) remained with me.

I’d not really thought too much about DRM when I published Fake Profile. It’s my book, why wouldn’t they stay with me. But apparently, DRM is a sticking point with traditional publishers. They want exclusive rights—total control—over your book. It means that they would get to say where the eBook is listed for sale and how your royalties are paid, (50% net seems to be shaping up as the norm for eBooks, though there are some publishers that are still vying for much more than this in contracts offered to authors). And you couldn’t sell your own book from your own website. Seems a little counter-productive to me.

A non-exclusive DRM contract would be far more reasonable, and I think, acceptable to authors. I want to have some control over my books. If only so that I could continue to promote them and sell them from my website (once I get my eShop up and running).

I’ve written before about the need for publishers to adapt their practise in this changing environment, or risk losing relevance. The news that I lost a contract because I decided to publish electronically was hard to take at first, but I’ve since realised that it is indicative of the turmoil in which the industry finds itself.

Authors are no longer reliant on publishers. We are not restricted to the Australian marketplace; we can choose who sells our books, we can experiment with price, and we can earn between 35% and 60% royalties. And if we want to see our books in hardcopy, Print-on-demand is free and easy and accessible to everyone.

If I’d been offered a traditional publishing contract for Fake Profile in the first instance, I would’ve jumped at the chance to be published in hardcopy. Would I have the same enthusiasm for a traditional contract now? I don’t know. Maybe. But I’m pretty happy with things as they are. My book Fake Profile is selling well; my new one, Say Nothing, will be out soon, and I probably won’t waste time trying to pitch it to nervous publishers while it could already be earning me money online.

I’m not aiming to be a best-seller just yet. I’m happy having the time to write. I’m refining my craft, experimenting with the market, and enjoying my writer-in-residence job. And I’m very happy heading toward being a mid-lister while I do it.

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Do you write to live or live to write?

November 7, 2011 Leave a comment

They say that when you love what you do, you never have to work a day in your life. I get that. When I write, I am at peace with myself, the universe and everything. I love creating characters and plots and watching them come to together to form ‘story.’ I love being woken in the middle of the night with that flash of inspiration and having to scramble around to find a pen before I forget it. I love the excitement I feel when a new story idea comes to mind. And the satisfaction when a character finally finds ‘their’ voice.  I even quite enjoy the battle with procrastination I sometimes (okay, often) have.

I just love being a writer. At least, I do when I can just write. Fiction is my first love, but I’m also happy writing creative non-fiction and other articles. But writing for a living these days involves so much more than just writing. Writers are finding themselves increasingly responsible for the marketing, publicity and promotion of their work. And if they publish eBooks, they often have to format, design and distribute themselves as well.

We are in the midst of an industry metamorphosis where the only certainty is change. It’s hard to navigate a constantly evolving landscape, and what the publish industry will look like in a few years time is anyone’s guess. In the meantime, authors are left wondering what the best course of action might be to get their work into the public domain.  Especially emerging and developing authors.

Traditional publishers seem less likely to take a risk on a new author and if they do, author advances appear not to be as common as they once were. One emerging author I know was recently offered —as a first contract, a three-book deal with no advance and 7% of net royalties. 7% of NET royalties. An enormous amount of time and hard work goes in to writing a book. Then there’s the redrafting and editing and agonising. I don’t think any writer worth their salt would accept such an insulting offer. And luckily, neither did the aforementioned author. She told them what they could do with their 7% of net royalties.

That brings me back to the business of being a writer. If traditional publishers cannot adapt to a changing industry quickly enough, it is up to authors to take the reins to ensure that readers are not left without enough new material available in emerging formats to keep them reading. And this is where it becomes challenging.

Creating an eBook is not just a matter of writing the narrative and sending it off for someone else to do the work. Learning to format the manuscript into the various document styles required by the different eReader technology is both challenging and time-consuming. And just as time-consuming is designing the cover for the eBook, which needs to be a jpg image file. There are plenty of people out there who will do it for you and small businesses are cropping up purporting to manage everything for you—for a price.

Problem is, without an advance on the manuscript, writers often don’t always have the initial outlay required to get their manuscript eBook ready. And then there’s the publicity side of things to be concerned about. Writers need to let people know that their book is ready for reading. This means marketing and promotion. And of course, the best means of marketing and promoting an eBook (or any book for that matter) is by using social media.

An author website, a blog, a Facebook fan page, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts, have all become necessities. And that’s before you start thinking about a YouTube book trailer. All these practices are incredibly time-consuming and labour intensive, and though you may be able to outsource some of them, they still need regular and consistent input and maintenance.

Yep, writing the book the book is the easy part and probably makes up about 15% of the journey. The hard work begins when you complete that manuscript.

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Does genre matter?

November 1, 2011 4 Comments

Someone once told me that to be a successful writer, you need to choose a genre you are happy to be known for and stick to it. The idea is that to establish credibility and develop your profile as an author, you have to make your mark in a specific genre before you can risk delving into other styles for fear of undermining your appeal.

I don’t know if this is an accurate assumption. I can certainly see the reasoning behind the advice. I suppose it’s important to carve out a niche for your writing, and I guess the more you write in a particular genre, the greater exposure you gain, but would being a multi-genre writer really make that much difference? What if you have expertise or interest in a few different areas?

If you are a quality writer, wouldn’t that be conveyed whatever you write? And if you are a developing writer, isn’t it a better idea to try your hand at different styles/genres until you find something you are completely comfortable with?

More recently a YA publisher told me that they were only interested in ‘genre’ books. But isn’t this a contradiction in terms? Is YA not a genre in itself? Now not to get technical, after all, I’m no pedant, but the etymology of the word ‘genre’ details it’s Old French origin as meaning “kind, sort, style” and was typically used in French to denote “independent style.”

That suggests to me that genre should refer to the style of writing rather than the content, but the industry tends to classify content as well, which means creating sub-genres. My current novel is Young Adult Crime Fiction, does that mean I’m writing in a multi-genre format? Young Adult +Crime +Fiction…?

Is it really necessary to classify each aspect of our writing? Would it really muddy the waters if we branched out a bit? Thoughts….?

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Inspiration or insomnia?

October 12, 2011 Leave a comment

I woke up at 2:00 this morning, suddenly alert. From the depths of my dreams into my startled (and sleepy) consciousness poured forth a succession of plot points, character traits, scenes and scenarios for my next novel. Frantic to get them down on paper before the bubble popped and they disappeared into the ether, I scrambled around in the darkness looking for the pen and notebook I keep in my bedside table in case of such occurrences.

Fellow authors might consider this a breakthrough, and it is, kind of. Problem was, these wonderful flashes of inspiration, though very welcome, were for a new, as yet unplotted, novel. Another project altogether!

I just want to finish the one I’m working on now. But this particular project has ground to an agonising halt. A week of being in the zone with words flowing continuously, whether I was at the computer or not, stopped. Just stopped. As quickly and easily as it started. And now it’s like pulling teeth to get a paragraph a day down. Ugh.

Don’t get me wrong, these flashes of inspiration in the middle of the night are welcome, I just need to find a way to make sure they’re about the right novel!

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Are you ‘in the zone’?

October 5, 2011 4 Comments

I’m in the zone. And I’m loving it! A fabulous five thousand words down today.

For the uninitiated being ‘in the zone’ is a condition for which all writers yearn. It is often elusive, and sometimes hidden behind a solid wall, impossible to conjure. It’s that time when inspiration, motivation, and circumstance all converge to create a synergy so powerful that it drives the manuscript forward using the writer merely as a conduit.

It’s an awesome space to be in. Ideas flow through the fingers to the keyboard like water over a waterfall and everything else falls into insignificance. It becomes all that there is in that time, that place. When I’m in that space hours pass as easily as minutes and if it were not for the physical requirement to take in and release food and drink, and eventually sleep, I’d sit in front of my computer indefinitely.

Being in the zone this time around comes after months of writing through a thick fog. Every word extracted through a veil of frustration.  I’d write a hundred words and delete ninety-nine. Rewrite and delete again. Edit, delete, rewrite, over and over and over again. It was painful.

I was lucky to write one thousand words a month these past few months, so to sit down today and pen five thousand words in one day (as well as write two book reviews) is wonderful. I want to yell to the world, ‘I’m ba-ack!’ But I’ll just settle for this blog post.

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