Word Slinging & Life Wrangling

Originally published at Sherry D. Ramsey. You can comment here or there.

This week I’m talking (okay, maybe ranting just a wee bit, but it’s for your own good, fellow self-publishers!) about the fundamental things many self-publishers are still doing wrong, resulting in alienated potential readers and harm to the author’s reputation. Part 1, on book covers, is here.

Obstacle #2 – The Blurb

When I speak of the Blurb, I mean the description of your book that you’ll upload to online sellers. This is generally the next thing your potential buyer/reader will see, after your cover. It’s usually a paragraph or two long and basically explains what your book is about. Sounds pretty simple, right?

And yet I’m amazed at the number of books I come across that are not just missing out on the opportunity to hook readers with their blurb, but actively turning readers away with it. Let’s look at the most common problems:

1. Bad writing. The blurb contains spelling errors, poor grammar, typos and other mistakes. It doesn’t matter how polished and perfect the writing in your book might be, I am never going to get that far if the blurb is badly written. This is your “advertisement” for your book. This is where you tell me what I’m going to get if I invest time and money to read your book. And I’m not going to invest either if the blurb is a mess. I will–I have to–assume the book is, too.

2. Incoherence. Even if there are no overt mistakes in the blurb, it can still turn readers away. If what you have to say in the blurb is confusing, convoluted, or a mismatch with the cover, your potential reader is likely to pass on it. You must craft your blurb as carefully and precisely as you’ve written your book—if not more so. Again, get others to read, proof, and give you feedback on your blurb. It should intrigue and introduce your readers to your book, not alienate them, and it should complement the cover of your book in genre, theme, and style.

3. Invisibility. The author hasn’t even tried to write a blurb for the book, or if they have, they’ve simply provided a vague, generic description. “Detective X must solve the murder of Y before time runs out!” Well, that’s just about every mystery novel I’ve ever read, how about you?

The blurb is your chance to sell me on reading your book. Your chance to make me want to read it. Try to infuse your blurb with the excitement that made you want to write the book. What makes it special? What will keep me turning the pages? Be specific and try to make me care about the problem the character(s) face. If you can do that in your blurb and your cover is good, I’ll likely take a chance on your book.

However, the obstacles are not all behind us yet. Watch for Part 3 tomorrow!

Originally published at Sherry D. Ramsey. You can comment here or there.

I was having a good blogging year until some personal life THINGS happened and everything ran off the rails for a bit. So I’m coming back to it slowly, and today, with something I stole shamelessly from Bare Knuckle Writer, who stole it from Terrible Minds. You know what they say in writing; if you’re going to steal, steal from the best.

So this is a little writerly self-evaluation. Take it yourself if you like, post on your blog, and just to be polite, post in the comments on the original post, as well. Deep breath, here we go.

a) What’s your greatest strength / skill in terms of writing/storytelling?
I think my characters come across as believable, and I’m pretty good at dialogue. This is based on comments I’ve had from others as well as my own opinion, which is pretty hard to give on a question like this without sounding like a giant a**.

b) What’s your greatest weakness in writing/storytelling? What gives you the most trouble?
Plot, plot, plot. I have a deeply ingrained aversion to detailed outlines, and sometimes that just makes plotting akin to trying to put an octopus in a bottle.* But you do what you gotta do.

c) How many books or other projects have you actually finished? What did you do with them?
Three novels totally complete; one published, one in submission, one about to be self-pubbed. Under contract for another one. Numerous others in various stages. Short stories, I’ve sold maybe two out of every three I’ve written. I think I’m doing pretty well at finishing and submitting.

d) Best writing advice you’ve ever been given? (i.e. really helped you)
Write to the end, then go back and fix what needs to be fixed. Finishing that first draft is just so unbelievably key to everything else.

e) Worst writing advice you’ve ever been given? (i.e. didn’t help at all, may have hurt)
That there’s really no market for what I write (fantasy and science fiction). That was from a grant officer. He’s already been proven wrong, but it was disheartening at the time.

f) One piece of advice you’d give other writers?
Don’t rush to publish or self-publish. Your work is worth the time and effort it takes to learn your craft and get it right before you let anyone else see it. And don’t take a bad contract just because it’s offered. Your work is also worth finding the right home for it.

*Not that I’ve ever done this. But the writer’s imagination…

Photo credit: ros

Originally published at Sherry D. Ramsey. You can comment here or there.

They’re definitely plotting something…

I’ve belonged to writer’s groups–in real life and online–for many years and in many different formats. Face to face meetings, message boards, email lists and Second Life; I’ve reaped many benefits from those interactions. Here’s why you should consider becoming part of a group:

1. Company. Writing is (in most cases) a solitary endeavour. It’s you and your writing implement of choice, and a whole lot of imaginary folks with whom you do interact, but in a wholly different way. Sometimes it’s nice to share some aspects of your writing life with others who understand, just so you don’t get lonely.

2. Information. No one can find every good book on writing, every great article on the internet, or every helpful resource on their own. Writing pals are great for passing along information that’s helped them, and might help you, too.

3. Curing Self-Doubt. Almost every writer suffers from self-doubt at some point, but connecting with other writers reminds us that we are not alone in these feelings. It’s always heartening to voice a worry and have someone else agree that they’re bothered by that, too, or, better yet, share how they got past it.

4. Critique. Not all writer’s groups swap writing for critique, but it’s a benefit of belonging that far outweighs the time you spend reading others’ work. The better you get at catching and commenting on mistakes made by someone else, the better you get at catching your own–or avoiding them altogether. A group can set guidelines and methodologies that work for all members to make sure the experience is a positive one.

5. Comrades in Arms. The great noveling experiment that is NaNoWriMo attests to the power of attempting something crazy, new, or daunting with others at your side. All the struggling you do to finish that first draft or complete that umpteenth revision is just a little easier when you know that your friend is at his or her desk wrestling the exact same thing.

6. Feedback. Sometimes you don’t need a full critique, you just need to throw out a problem and listen while your writing comrades chew it over. Not sure how to get your hero out of a pickle? With a writer’s group, you can sketch his dilemma and ask for opinions, then sit back and take notes. Chances are the discussion will reveal an answer, or spark a new idea in your own brain.

7. Empowerment. There’s nothing like the power of a group mind to help when poring over the arcane terms of a publishing contract or bolstering you up to make a tough decision like pulling a manuscript out of submission. Again, you’ll make better decisions and rest easier on them when you don’t undertake them alone. Having the insights of others with experience and knowledge helps you see and evaluate all sides of the issue.

8. Fun. Most writing groups are not all business. Other writers appreciate the value of writing for play, so freewriting, prompts, timed challenges, and other ways to play with words are often on offer. Nothing frees the creative mind like play, and it’s that much more fun when it’s shared.

9. Collaboration. Not everyone wants to collaborate with other writers, but there are many kinds of shared projects that can blossom when writing comrades get together. It could be a chapbook of your group’s work, a project you take on with just one other writer, or something completely unique. But it takes those minds meeting up for the idea to be born.

10. Validation. It’s not always easy to stand up and say “I am a writer,” especially if you’re just starting out. Being part of a group of writers who are also just getting their feet under them, or who remember what that was like, makes it easier to think of yourself as a writer. And that makes it easier to make writing a priority in your life. Which is another side benefit. You’re likely to simply write more when you’re regularly meeting with other writers and talking about writing.

11. Opportunities. Besides simply having more information about opportunities coming your way as part of a group, sometimes the group itself engenders opportunities. A member might decide to put together an anthology and offer first submission opportunities to fellow members. Or a member might start a blog or podcast and draw on fellow members as guests or contributors. The possibilities are really endless, but you have to be part of the group, on the spot, to be able to take advantage of them.

Do you belong to a writer’s group, physical or online? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments!

Photo credit: lvklaveren

Originally published at Sherry D. Ramsey. You can comment here or there.

I love making book trailers. I’ve done them for most of the Third Person Press titles, and it’s really quite easy to do with all the resources available on the Internet. You can find free-to-use graphics at places like Morguefile.com and StockXchng, video clips at MotionBackgroundsForFree , and great music at Incompetech.com.  Of course, there are many others around the web, but these are some resources I’ve used and been very pleased with. I generally use Windows Movie Maker and Photoshop, although of course there are other video programs with more bells and whistles on offer.

So of course I had to make one for One’s Aspect to the Sun. I had a ton of fun making this one!

Do book trailers really make a big impact in book promotions? Who knows? But the way I see it, having a good one can’t hurt. :)

Originally published at Sherry D. Ramsey. You can comment here or there.

I love making book trailers. I’ve done them for most of the Third Person Press titles, and it’s really quite easy to do with all the resources available on the Internet. You can find free-to-use graphics at places like Morguefile.com and StockXchng, video clips at MotionBackgroundsForFree , and great music at Incompetech.com.  Of course, there are many others around the web, but these are some resources I’ve used and been very pleased with. I generally use Windows Movie Maker and Photoshop, although of course there are other video programs with more bells and whistles on offer.

So of course I had to make one for One’s Aspect to the Sun. I had a ton of fun making this one!

Do book trailers really make a big impact in book promotions? Who knows? But the way I see it, having a good one can’t hurt. :)

Originally published at Sherry D. Ramsey. You can comment here or there.

Look up…look waaaaaay up….

A long time ago, in 2001, when ebooks were barely a “thing” yet and the only format for them was .pdf (ancient history, I know), I self-published an ebook for writers. It was called The New Writer’s Guide to Just About Everything and yes, it’s still around, although it’s sorely in need of an update and a new edition. Another thing on my too-long to-do list. But I digress.

Today I am thinking about a piece in that ebook, titled “The Writer’s Ladder of Success.” In it, I talked about how some new writers think their first sale is the top rung of that ladder, but in reality, that’s only a few steps up. Writing, I said, is the first rung. Finishing is the second. Submitting is the third. You may be stuck on that rung of the ladder for a while before you can climb up to the next one, which is making a sale. That analogy still holds true, I think.

Then, I said, you climb back down and start climbing all over again, writing, finishing, submitting. I think now, with the wisdom and experience of my years of writing (stop laughing!) I’d look at it differently. I think instead of climbing back down, I’d say we can look at it one of two ways: either we go sideways onto another ladder and start climbing from there, or the ladder we started on just keeps going, stretching up into the distance ahead of us. Either way, we’re not starting from scratch; we’re building on what we’ve already accomplished in order to climb to greater heights. Some might find that long, long ladder too daunting to look up at, and like the idea of shorter ones that lead to another, so either way works.

And either view is far more encouraging than feeling like you’re starting every piece from scratch. Of course that’s true in a way, since each writing project is new and comes with its own unique challenges. But we always have the comfortable cushion of our past accomplishments to buoy us up as we tackle the new.

There’s a saying that a writer is only as good as his or her last book. It’s true that we’re often judged that way–and we have to keep our fans happy or we’ll lose them. That’s a lot of pressure, though. I think we’re much more likely to succeed if we continue to feel good about our past successes–and not lose sight of that part of the ladder we’ve already climbed, stretching away below us. One bad song doesn’t make a failed musician; one strikeout doesn’t make a failed baseball player. Why do we hold ourselves as writers to a stricter standard? Why do critics and readers? I’m not really sure.

I closed out that section of the ebook by saying, “…you were a writer from the time you reached that first rung. Don’t let anyone tell you the ladder is not yours to climb.” I think that’s still good advice. I don’t think I’ll change that, should I ever get around to producing a second edition of The New Writer’s Guide.

Keep writing. Keep climbing. Build on what came before. Good advice, and advice I have to keep reminding myself of as I tackle a new project and a new deadline. Because frankly, I like the view from up here.

Photo credit: mensatic

Originally published at Sherry D. Ramsey. You can comment here or there.

Who are you, anyway?

I have this character who’s been on my mind a lot lately. She’s a part of the novel I’m re-thinking and rewriting right now, and she’s sort of a sub-villain. Well, that’s not exactly right–she’s not really a villain at all, but definitely an antagonist to the main character. She’s had an interesting life, lived largely in the grey areas of society, because of who she is and who her father was. In a way her life has been a big lie, or a series of big lies, but since her father passed away, she’s felt the itch to do something. To confront the forces from her father’s past that impacted their lives every day. She plays a moderately important role in the draft as it stands now, but lately I’ve been thinking her part needs to be expanded. In fact, I’m thinking about getting inside her head a little more, and giving her more of a voice in the story.

She likes the notion, although she’s not giving up all of her secrets to me yet. I know she’s a bit of a maverick, with a devil-may-care attitude and a motivation to make life difficult for my main character. As she’s written right now, that’s almost all I know about her, and that’s the extent of how she comes across. That, and the fact that she has some secrets she’s not yet ready to share.

However, I’m thinking there’s more to her than that. I’m trying to understand her motivations, and, even more importantly, her goals.

Her goals as she was written in the first draft were mainly to find out more information about my main character, and hassle her a little without doing any real damage. Those goals work, but I’ve come to realize that they are not deep enough, or at least that I have not thought them through enough. I don’t really know why she has these goals. I don’t know if she really hates my main character, or only thinks she ought to hate her. I don’t know what she thinks she will get out of her current course of action. I’m not sure she knows, herself.

I do understand something of her motivations–my main character’s family “wronged” this character’s family, or at least that’s the way she sees it. And she definitely wants to do something about that. She’s driven by a mix of curiosity and a desire for vengeance, but she’s also searching for something. She knows that in some important ways, my main character and her family are like her, so I think she’s unwittingly drawn to them. It could be that without meaning to or expecting it, she actually comes to like my main character.

That may influence her actions, or it may only influence how she feels about her actions. I’m not sure yet. The storyline as it currently stands leaves much about this character unresolved, left for another time and another book. I’d like to retain some of this open-endedness, but I’m not sure how I’m going to do it if I do end up inside her head. I’ll have to reveal a lot more about what she knows and how she thinks. It might not be as neat and tidy as it is now.

But I think…I think it will make for a much stronger story, which is really the bottom line, isn’t it? And once we start hearing these little whispers from the characters in our heads, they become pretty difficult to ignore. She’s telling me “I have more to say,” and I think I’d probably be wise to listen…

Photo credit: mzacha

Originally published at Sherry D. Ramsey. You can comment here or there.

Even a pretty wall is still a wall

“Love writer’s bock? Come on!” you’re saying. There cannot be even a handful of reasons to love writer’s block, let alone eleven. Well, let’s see what we can come up with.

1. Being blocked is often a clue. A clue to the fact that *something* has gone wrong with your manuscript. It’s often your brain telling you, hey, something is wrong here, and I’m not letting you keep going until you figure out what it is and fix it. Listen to your brain. Sometimes it’s the smart one.

2. Being blocked is an opportunity to change gears. If you’re stuck on one project, you can sometimes get unstuck by going off and working on something else for a while. Concentrating your efforts elsewhere allows your subconscious to mull over the problem with your stuck project without the pressure. And: bonus! You’ve made progress on something else.

3. Being blocked can result in a really clean house. Or garage, or desk, or closet. In other words, go do something else productive that isn’t writing. Again, it can lift you out of the rut of worrying at the problem and let your subconscious work at it.

4. Being blocked offers a great time to do research. If you can’t move ahead in the story, use your time productively by working on something associated with the story, that isn’t actually writing it. Sometimes looking at photos or floor plans, reading up on time periods or settings, or working out how the murderer actually did it can be the key to getting you unstuck, and as a bonus, you have your research done.

5. Being blocked is a great excuse to get some exercise. Go for a walk, take a hike, sweat it out at the gym instead of staring at the blank page or screen. You’ll feel better even if you don’t get unstuck, but often the rush of endorphins lets new ideas rush in, too.

6. Being blocked makes you try new things. Ask some writer friends how they get unblocked, and you’ll likely get a lot of different suggestions for things you’ve never tried. Even if you don’t expect them to work, take them for a spin. You never know when you’ll try something that will become part of your regular writing arsenal in the future.

7. Being blocked can improve your social life. Been shunning your friends and family while you struggle with this manuscript? Walk away from it and have a party, go out to dinner, or see a movie. Any change of pace can get you unstuck, and you can reconnect with people at the same time. People, you know? Those folks we base our characters on? It’s good to interact with them once in a while.

8. Being blocked is a great excuse to read something new. Forget your own characters’ problems and get immersed in some other writer’s world for a little while. Chances are, they struggled with their story, too, but in the end they overcame their pitfalls. Besides being enjoyable, it’s a little reminder that you can, too.

9. Being blocked is an opportunity to do something else creative. Most writers I know are creative in other ways, too. Turn your left-brain on to something else it can sink its teeth into. Draw, paint, sew, craft, take photos, do woodworking–whatever is your thing. Any creative efforts can prime the pump for your writing.

10. Being blocked forces you to try harder. So you’ve realized that there’s a problem with the manuscript and you don’t know how to fix it? Now is the time to level up as a writer. Read some books or articles that might help, confer with writer friends, draw charts, make index cards, brainstorm a mind map. You’re a writer, dammit. Keep trying new things until you hit the one that works.

11. Being blocked is a chance to start over. Maybe your manuscript has gone off the rails so badly that there’s just no fixing it. While this is a drastic response, sometimes you just have to ditch the whole thing and start again. Save this for your last-ditch effort to break the block.

See? Eleven reasons to love writer’s block, not hate it. Next time it comes around to visit, don’t despair. Use one or more of these ideas to make it actually work for you.

Photo credit: ba1969

Originally published at Sherry D. Ramsey. You can comment here or there.

In other words, looking back and looking ahead. :)

2013 was a great writing year for me. I started the year by completing revisions on One’s Aspect to the Sun, which then came out from Tyche Books in November. So far it’s been getting wonderful reviews and readers really seem to be enjoying it, which makes me very happy. That was my big news and my big accomplishment, but there were other writing accomplishments, too.

My story, “ePrayer,” came out in Third Person Press’ newest anthology, Grey Area, which also added another notch to my editorial belt. Grey Area was partially funded through our Indiegogo campaign, which was quite an experience in itself–time consuming and sometimes frustrating, but ultimately satisfying. Also with Third Person Press, we read submissions and made final decisions for our next anthology, Flashpoint, so we’ll be moving on to line edits for those stories soon.

I finished a short story for submission to another anthology, and that story became the jumping-off point for my NaNoWriMo effort. NNWM was a win, and although that story is far from finished, I’m pleased with it and will continue to work on it.

I also put two other novels into submission, in March. I’m still waiting to hear on those, and, to tell the truth, I’m getting impatient. Having been through the experience of waiting a long time for a publisher and eventually pulling the manuscript, I’ve vowed not to do that again. That’s a blog post all by itself, though, so I’ll talk more about that another day.

I worked on yet another novel manuscript, which is very close to being finished. I had planned a “novel swap” with a writer friend, but it didn’t come to be. I just couldn’t seem to finish the last few chapters in a way that satisfied me. With luck, he’ll still be willing and we’ll get to that this year, once I wrangle those chapters into shape.

I did preliminary revision work on two other unfinished novel manuscripts, and did some background work on Nearspace, the setting for One’s Aspect to the Sun. Yes, there are more stories to be told in that universe. No, I don’t have any details to share with you yet.

All of which is wonderful but…I could do more.

Once upon a time, I used to start more stories than I finished. Over time, I learned that this was, at least in part, due to starting to write too soon. I’d get an idea and start writing before I had let it “simmer” long enough in my brain. I don’t get along well with outlines, but I’ve learned that I do need to be able to see the structure of the story in my head before I start writing that first scene. That scene usually comes to me full-blown, so it’s very, very tempting to just “get it down” quickly. But as I said, I learned not to give in to that temptation, and finished more stories.

However, I find myself in the position of having a lot of unfinished manuscripts on my hard drive again. I’m not sure what the problem is now; partly trying to juggle too many projects, partly spending too much time on “writerly” things that are not actually writing, partly my propensity to procrastinate. (There, I’ve admitted it!) This time they are mostly novels, as opposed to short stories, thanks to NaNoWriMo, but still…they need to be finished. I came close to finishing that one I mentioned earlier, but didn’t quite make it.

Last year I set just one goal for myself for 2013; I would publish a novel. I’ve decided to make 2014 the Year of Finishing. I’m not saying I won’t start anything new this year, of course, but I really like many of these stories that are languishing only partially complete. I want to go back to them, finish writing them, and make them shine.

I also hope to blog more consistently this year. Last night at our New Year’s celebrations I threw two hopes into the resolution box: more consistency and less procrastinating in my writing life overall. With some luck and determination, they should combine to produce more finished manuscripts in the months to come. Stay tuned and we’ll see what happens from here.

Photo credit: Stealth37

Originally published at Sherry D. Ramsey. You can comment here or there.

I know I’m not the first writer to use Pinterest as a visual aid in story-writing, but I was thinking about all the ways it could be used and thought–I may as well think out loud!

I started a Pinterest storyboard for my new novel, One’s Aspect to the Sun, during one of its numerous rewrites. If I remember correctly, I was trying to draw my mind back into the world of the novel after being away from it for a while, and I always find visual imagery very creatively stimulating. At first the board was a “secret” one, which is a great Pinterest feature for a board you’re not ready to share with the world yet. I was throwing all kinds of things into the mix to put me back inside the story.

Later, though, I realized that it also makes a good marketing tool. With judicious pinning, a writer can create a board that really reflects the mood, genre, time period, setting, and style of a book or story, as well as elements that play into the plot. Potential readers can get an impression about whether the book might be one they’d enjoy. Images can also pique a reader’s interest…why did the author include *this* particular image? My One’s Aspect to the Sun board is here: http://www.pinterest.com/wordsmith101/storyboard-ones-aspect-to-the-sun/

I’m currently creating a Pinterest storyboard for my current NaNoWriMo novel, which has a working title of B.R.A.N.E., Inc. I’m using this board as a repository for things I might want to refer back to as I’m writing, as well as images that represent places in the novel, clothing, ideas, and bits of plot that are floating around in my head but not committed to paper or file yet. I have a mockup of a cover for the book, so that’s there, too. No doubt this board will be a mishmash of many things as the novel develops, but I can always pare it down later to better reflect the actual tale that emerges.

Do you use Pinterest in your writing life? If so, how?