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Advice for Writers: Checklists are your friend!

15 April, 2013 By Leave a Comment

This week’s lesson is a little early and inspired by a great twitter chat called #writersroad. Check it out. The topic is checklists for your writing.

I’m a big believer in checklists. In fact, I think it’s important to create checklists even if you never use it again. Why? Because the process of creating a checklist is important. It requires you to think things through and pull out the common threads and recurring actions.

For a long time I struggled with my process. It changed with every book I wrote.

When I finally took a good hard look at the steps I took with each book I wrote I could see where I was efficient, which areas I always completed and I was able to develop a handy dandy checklist. Now I’m never left floundering, wondering where I should go from here.

Here’s an example of my writing process:

  1. Write first chapter
    1. Revise
  2. Write chapters 2 & 3
    1. Revise as necessary
  3. Write to the middle
    1. Revise (looking for story arc, plot, characterization, what makes the book special, habits, theme, a running joke that ties the story together.)
  4. Finish the book.
  5. Print off and revise.
  6. Send to CPs and Betas. Send exit survey.
    1. Revise.
  7. Send to editor.
  8. Do final edits.
  9. Make Final Copy.
    1. Make amazon, nook, smash, blank copy.
    2. Make Review copy.
    3. Make Contest copy.
  10. Publish.

I could go on and on, but that’s a good start. Do you use checklists in your writing?

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Back to Basics

12 October, 2011 By Leave a Comment

SAIP_buttonHello to all the sexy writers in the audience. Just a quick thought for you today.

This little tidbit has worked for me several times over the years and who am I not to share? When you’re stuck in the middle of the book (it happens to be best of us) and you just can’t decide what happens next (or if it’s all crap…Crap…CRAP!) take a moment to go back to one of writing’s Basics: outlining.

I find that writing up a quick outline of “where I’ve been” helps me figure out “where to go next.”

Try it. It might just work for you.

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Ready to Jump on the Indie Publishing Train? STOP!

24 September, 2011 By 3 Comments

 

Here’s a blast from the past (blog posts I wrote a while back but never posted until now. ) This one is from February of 2011. Enjoy.

* * *

Adventures In Publishing blogIn the comments of this blog post Zoe Winters says: it’s stupid to just rush and rush to meet an opportunity if your stuff isn’t ready for prime time. Because putting out crap or throwing together a sloppy business plan built on sand is not sane business.

That’s so true. All the sneering about self-publishing is still alive and well and it’ll only get worse if those who are choosing to go the Kindle route aren’t publishing quality material. It takes a lot of time and effort to write a great book, triple that and that’s what it takes to publish the book yourself.

As an Indie, you alone are responsible for editing, cover art, blurbs, did I mention editing? Let me put it another way. I’m currently in the process of rereleasing a book that was at a publisher for 2 years. It went through rounds of critiquing, revision and then 3 rounds of editing with my editor. I’ve decided that since I no longer have a word count constraint on the book that there is more to tell, more the characters want to tell. My readers have expressed an interest in knowing more about the world I’ve created. They want a deeper look into the characters. The cover for this book has been complete for two months. But I’m still revising the book to get it just right. Two months. On a book that was good enough to be published in the first place. It’s been to critique partners and will go back to an independent editor before it goes live.

Maybe Zoe and I are crazy for working so hard on our indie releases. But I know I cringe when I hear a writer talking about jumping on board the money train and releasing the first thing that comes out of their fingertips.

photo cred: Simon Pielow

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Do you believe in Synchronicity?

9 June, 2011 By 2 Comments

I do.

There’s usually a point in each of my books where I’m trudging through, trying to make sure all the pieces of the puzzle are fitting, jamming to a song thanks to my trusty ear phones.

And then it hits. A crescendo in a song, a puzzle piece falls, and everything comes together. And it’s a moment of unequalled beauty. Perfect synchronicity. The clue that I’ve been waiting for that will hold the book together and make it soar in readers’ minds.

I’ve found it. I write it. I smile.

This is why I write.

Those joyful little moments where a story comes together after lots of chaos, tears, and much tribulation. Triumph. It’s all there. And at that moment I believe that anything, absolutely anything, is possible. These characters will be together. They, among all the other souls that they could have found or met, are perfect for one another. And all will be right with their world.

Dragons will be slain. Demons with be exorcised. And true love, whether you believe in it or not, will rein.

Happy reading dear friends. Happy reading.

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Talk to Your Genius

27 April, 2011 By 2 Comments

Adventures In Publishing blogOne of the things I find extraordinary about the path to publication is all the ideas you’ll discover along the way. Sometimes I’ll read something that will click with me and I’ll save it for later. Other times I will stumble accross the exact piece of information I needed at that moment.

My latest find?

I came across a great video from author Elizabeth Gilbert and it really spoke to me. I love what she says about embracing a power outside of yourself. For me, I know that luck has a great part to play not only in my writing but in my career. Hardwork of course, is a large part too.

This video is almost twenty minutes, but well worth a watch.

As with any time you have success, I think it’s natural to worry that you’ll never be successful again. You finished your novel, will you be able to write another one? You sold your book, will a publisher buy your next one? You sell X number of copies of your latest release, will you ever hope to sell that many again?

Anxiety, a writer’s middle name. Or perhaps, my middle name.

I’ll leave you with a final thought:

And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise.  The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. ~Sylvia Plath

Selena

PS. If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up to my newsletter? I promise to be entertaining.

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23,000 Copies. Now What?

10 March, 2011 By 6 Comments

It’s right under the two month mark of when I released The Cajun’s Captive and Bitten in the Bayou on Kindle, Nook and Smashwords. In those two short months the books have zoomed up to #11 in the Romance category on Nook and dipped below the #900 mark on the Kindle Paid list. I’ve gotten many reviews and lots of email from readers. Thus far in 2011, I’ve sold over 23,000 copies of my indie titles.

Needless to say, it’s been an exciting few months.

This is the sort of place I’ve always dreamed of being. Selling my work. Making a living. Hearing how much readers are enjoying my stories. That’s what any author wants, I assume.

But it’s also a place of uncertainty. The market is changing so quickly that many of the books on writing that I’ve read and that grace my bookshelves are now obsolete. Promotion is different. Distribution is different. Publishers, contracts, and even querying are different.

And I’ll admit, I’m feeling the pressure. While there are Indie writers selling far more than me, I still think 23,000 is a pretty awesome number. And more importantly, readers are emailing me almost daily about the next books in my series. It’s similar to when my books were first released at Cobblestone Press and they shot to the very top of their bestseller lists. Exciting? You have no idea! I took screenshots. LOL But at the same time, that sort of success made me work harder to produce better books. (Which is not a bad thing, in my opinion, unless it contributes to writer’s block.)

After I made that list, I put a lot of pressure on myself and for a while it stifled my creativity. This is still a demon I’m fighting today.

So for those of you who are going through the same thing (the doubts, the pressure, the uncertainty of this shift in the industry), here are a few suggestions that I’ve found helpful.

  1. Return your focus to your book. It’s all about the book. It’s all about the writing.
  2. Keep writing, no matter what. Disregard bad reviews, a dip in sales, or gloom-and-doom outlooks. You must keep writing.
  3. Keep your eye on the prize. If it’s a new dishwasher or a car for Junior, print out a picture and keep it where you can see it. It’ll help keep you focused.
  4. Crawl under a rock if you need to. You must protect yourself and your work. If that means socializing less, so be it.
  5. Create an “I Don’t Suck” folder and fill it with praise. Take a screenshot of good reviews, reader praise, high sales rankings, or even a copy of your royalty report.
  6. Don’t be afraid to go back to your Craft books. Good writers never stop learning in my opinion. So, if you find yourself stumped, go back to the basics. Read a craft book. Use what you learn and get back to work.
  7. Put your Butt-in-the-chair, hands-on-the-keyboard!
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Love and Loathing

18 September, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I was reading a post by Cassandra Moore on Cobblestone’s message boards yesterday. It’s called Love and Loathing. Cassandra explains how when she starts a book she loves everything about it and by the end, well, she hates every word.

It probably surprises readers to discover this about their favorite authors, but I’m sure it’s a sentiment shared by many. It’s hard to be confident in an industry that can be ruthless, filled with cynics and critics.

Sometimes it works the other way though. Sometimes I’ll start out hating the book. And that’s usually because I haven’t gotten the story just right. But by the end, I love it. I think the best feeling in the whole world is when I read over a story I’ve written and I fall in love all over again.

I know that if I love it, chances are my readers will as well. I’m my toughest critic, so I know if I’m wowed, others will be too. At least I hope they will be. That’s the constant state of fear that an author lives in.

If you’ve read a book recently that you enjoyed, why not write the author and let them know. Spread the love. ;)

Stay sexy,

Selena

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Too Much Plot?

7 August, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I’ve always looked forward to writing the fourth book in the Stormy Weather series. The hero is Andre. You’ve met him in the other books. But I know him as a dark, slightly dangerous, brooding, quiet Alpha male. The Alpha of the Alphas in fact.

I’ve known for a while now that he needs his own pack. And he would never challenge his brother, Sebastian, to become leader of their pack.

So as I set about writing Andre’s book I wrote several outlines and scrapped them all. There was just too much plot there. Too much stuff happening. And Andre’s book…well, it’s really all about him and his heroine Juliette. Having too much other stuff going on was just detracting from their relationship and all the hundreds of years worth of issues they need to work out.

Less plot may sound strange to some people. In fact, I worried about it a lot. But then I realized there’s plenty of conflict and this is a romance novel after all. It’s about the central couple. It’s about learning to communicate, learning what makes your partner happy and falling in love. It’s about exploring your passion and fulfilling your desires. It’s about teaming up to overcome whatever obstacles stand in your way.

And in this novella, that’s really all I have room for I think.

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