Monthly Archives: January 2015

Lesson 40

28 Wednesday Jan 2015

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Another Wednesday, another lesson. This week, we’re looking at keeping the anxiety down.

I know, you’re probably thinking, “What does anxiety have to do with writing?” Well, to answer that question, everything.

You heard me. Everything.

New authors, I’m especially talking to you. I’m in the same boat as you. We work hard, edit, and then all of a sudden, boom. Our first book is out (I’ll get there…someday…). We automatically think we have made the biggest mistake in our life. Don’t deny it. I know how it feels.

I may not have had an actual experience with publishing yet, but I did send out my manuscript to my beta readers. That was a terrifying experience in itself. The first eight people to ever see my manuscript and they get to critique the shit out of it… Yeah, you can see why that’s terrifying.

Anyway, I’ve gotten a little off track. How do we keep the anxiety down? Well, really, the answer is simple. You work on other things. Or go on that vacation you’ve always wanted to go on. Or…you know, do other things.

Personally, I chose to keep my mind off of my anxiety by working on two other projects. The Path to Biological is currently in second draft stage, and The Child of Fault is currently in first draft stage. I still think about Days of the Kill, but I refuse to let it consume my thoughts. And I don’t bring it up with my beta readers (well, maybe I’ll keep that up… Hanging out with one of them on Saturday will be the real test!).

So, I guess basically, don’t let yourself think about it too much. Seriously. You’ll just get stressed out. And you’ll be a major annoyance to your beta readers and your readers. Don’t do that. Work on other things. Start a new book if you want. Just read if you want. That’s still allowed, believe it or not.

Ready to be done with the anxiety? Go start working on that new project. Go Right now.

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The Trouble With Writing

26 Monday Jan 2015

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Another Monday, so another day to look at the trouble with writing. Like we need another reason to think Monday is terrible. At least this is sort of fun, right? Well, it is for me, anyway.

Today, we’re looking at waiting expectantly. If you’ve read my past posts, you’ll know that last week I was getting ready to send out my manuscript to beta readers. Well, I sent it out on Friday. After I sent it out, I couldn’t help but think I had made the worst mistake in my life. I was about to freak out. I kept checking my email every five minutes, and surprise, surprise, none ever came.

Yeah, you could say my anxiety was up.

I was talking to one of my beta readers shortly after I sent it out. I talked to him a little about how I felt after sending it out, and while I was really tempted to ask if he had started it and what he thought, I didn’t. I didn’t want to be annoying. You don’t ever want to be annoying with it. Don’t bombard your beta readers. That just slows you down.

Just yesterday, I was talking to another beta reader. We were joking around like the good friends we are, and then all of a sudden he started asking me all these questions about my book, and my heart was pounding. I knew he was starting to read it. And then, to make it worse, he actually said he was. I wish he hadn’t said that. I had just gotten past the initial anxiety level. But I usually talk to him most days anyway, so maybe he’ll keep me updated, maybe he won’t… That’s his choice. I’m not going to be the one to bring it up. I hope.

That’s the trouble, isn’t it, writers? We want to know what people think, but we don’t want to know what people think. I’ll know what they think in a month. We’ll see what happens, and I will definitely keep you updated.

And just think…it could very well be just 162 days until I hit publish!

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Prompt 25

23 Friday Jan 2015

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Oh, hey. A prompt. Would you look at that. It’s kind of hard to get these up with my day job schedule being the way it is. Which brings me to today’s prompt…

What job have you had in the past that you’ve liked the best? You’ve liked the least? What made this job so great or so terrible?

I’m going to have a lot of fun with this one… I hope you do, too!

Feel free to send in your prompt responses to whatnottowriteandwritingtips@gmail.com. I hope to hear from you all!

Lesson 39

21 Wednesday Jan 2015

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Yet another day to take a look at lessons we can all learn. This week, we’re taking a look at knowing your beta readers.

If you read Monday’s post, you know that I’m in the process of sending my work out to beta readers. Well, really, it will be sent out on Friday, but you get the picture. I’m looking for them. And I have them. Now just getting the contact information remains. Then, the fun begins.

I would advise you to not get just anyone to read your work. There are trolls out there. People will slaughter your work just to slaughter it. Don’t hand it those people. Hand it to people you trust.

On the other side of that, don’t give it to people that aren’t going to be honest with you. Your family and some friends may not be a good choice. They might not want to hurt your feelings and say, “Oh, well, it’s really good. I loved it!” Chances are, they know a lot of work needs to be done. They just don’t want to cause waves.

So, how do you balance it out? It can be hard. Believe me, I know. I wasn’t really sure who I was going to use as a beta reader before I started. Personally, I chose friends who tell it like it is. It’s a small group of friends, and I’m glad to have them. I feel like these people will be honest with me. You do the same.

I’m not saying that to say you should be exactly like me. No way. You don’t want to be like me. I don’t deal with copycats. What I’m saying is, get a small group of friends together that will be honest with you. Get a small group of friends that will help your book become the best it can be.

Ready for beta readers? Now that you know who to look for, go find them. Right now. Let the hunt begin!

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The Trouble With Writing

19 Monday Jan 2015

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Yet another time to look at what the trouble with writing is. This week, we’re looking at beta readers.

I just started looking for beta readers. It started out great. I was getting people to volunteer, and then, boom. You really find out who your true friends are… You can’t think of near as many people as you thought you could. You don’t know who will be completely honest. Well, some people you know about, but others you aren’t so sure…

I admit, I thought I would have no problem finding twenty people to beta read. Yeah, twenty. I didn’t see it as a big problem… Life tends to get in the way for a lot of people so they never get back to you. It happens to me all the time. I only thought of eight people. Well, at least I have them.

I’m actually glad to not have an overwhelming amount of people to be reading, because honestly, it terrifies me to think that these eight people will be the first people to be reading my book. What will they say? What will they think? Oh, my anxiety is starting to rise again.

I hope to not worry about what they think too much. All I’m wanting is to get my book to be the best it can be, and starting Friday, I will have people having me do that.

That’s the trouble, though, isn’t it? As authors, we want people to see our work, but we don’t want to have them pick it to pieces. Really, it’s a catch-22.download (12)

Lesson 38

14 Wednesday Jan 2015

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I’ve been doing fairly well on getting posts up lately… Let’s hope I don’t blow it.

Today, I want to talk to you about project management. As someone who is planning on working on more than one project at a time from now on, I’m here to tell you, it’s okay, but only if you feel like you can handle it.

Confused yet? I was at first, too.

As writers, we want to get our work out there as soon as possible, right? But at the same time, we don’t want our baby to leave the nest, right? We’re anxious. We get nervous. We get worked up about nothing.

You may be shaking your head right now thinking that has nothing to do with project management. That’s where you’re wrong.

I love being able to work on more than one project at a time. For me, there’s a lot of thrill. I’ll be able to get books out faster that way. Not everyone can handle that. I know, it’s hard to accept. Are you not one of the ones that can handle that? You’ll be okay. I have faith in you.

If you are one of those people that can handle more than one at a time, good for you! Your readers must enjoy that. I know I love it when the authors I like to read books by are always coming out with new books.

Here’s the thing. Even if you can handle more than one at a time, be warned: You have to make sure it has quality. That’s right. Quality. Want to make sure your readers enjoy what you write? Get it looked at by a professional.

Whether or not you can handle more than one project at a time, you can get a book out there. Just get started. Ready to write? Of course you are. One, two, three, go.

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The Trouble With Writing

12 Monday Jan 2015

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I’m so glad to be doing so well on getting back to updating my blog. I missed it so much when I was forced to take a break!

Lately, I’ve been editing. A lot. I’m getting sick and tired of my own work. Well, actually, I was there before, but the break I was forced to take definitely helped.

That’s another problem with writing, isn’t it? During the editing process, we get sick and tired of our own work. Yeah, it happens. I know. It’s terrible, isn’t it? We start out so passionately, but yet we get sick and tired of reading our own words. Over, and over, and over again… It hurts. It really hurts. We get so sick of it, it’s painful to go over it just one more time.

Getting to the fourth draft of your book can really suck the life out of you…writing wise, anyway. I’m sick and tired of looking at my own words. I’m ready to be able to send this off to beta readers so I don’t have to look at it anymore for a month.

Beta readers. See, that’s another problem with writing! These are the first few people that will ever see your work. Ever. You get your first ever feedback of what people think of your work. What if they think it’s crap? What if they think it’s great? What if the sales are nothing like you think they should be out of the response you get? Okay, time to calm down… My anxiety is skyrocketing.

There’s a lot of problems with writing, but you have to get past them. I know, it’s not easy. It’s easier to say forget it, but let’s not do that. Come on, writers. Show everyone who’s boss. You are. Let’s do this.download (8)

Prompt 24

09 Friday Jan 2015

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I’m finally getting back to the prompt. I enjoy doing these, but I’m afraid they do seem to becoming a rarity. I will continue to do them when I can.

As you know, the holidays just passed. I don’t know about you, but I love celebrating. Most of the time. There are, however, some days when nothing goes right, no matter how much you try to make it. So, on that note, here is today’s prompt:

What is the one thing that went wrong on the holidays? Did the meal go up in flames? Did you have to deal with relatives you didn’t want to deal with? What part of the holidays could you just not stand?

I know I’m going to have a good time with this one. I hope you do, too!

Holiday Disaster

Lesson 37

07 Wednesday Jan 2015

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I’m so glad to be getting back to lessons. I enjoy these and I missed doing them!

Today, I’m going to talk to you about letting life get in the way. I know, I let it, so I’m going to seem like the biggest hypocrite ever today. I hated it, trust me.

I understand that sometimes you can’t help it. The family is in town and you want to spend time with them, you’re taking care of your newborn and too tired to think straight, or you just don’t feel like dealing with anything. I know. I get it.

Your fans depend on you. Even if you don’t have a big fan base, I’m sure you have some. I didn’t think I had any, but then I met one. But that’s not important right now. The point is, you have fans. Let them know you’re still alive.

Guess what letting your fans know you’re still alive means? You guessed it — making time! Make time for your website, make time for working on your manuscript, make time for anything you need to do. If you really want to write, you can make time.

You might say, “But I don’t see where I can squeeze in time. My child is little and all of my time is devoted to him.” Wrong. There’s this thing called nap time and bed time. Don’t take a nap and write while your kid is asleep. Write after your kid goes to bed. You have time. you’re just making excuses.

“But what about my job? I can’t make time because of that.” You have your lunch break, don’t you? Get to writing!

Excuses are way too common when it comes to writing. Don’t be that way. Get to writing.

The Trouble With Writing

05 Monday Jan 2015

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It feels so good to get back to blogging! I apologize for being gone for so long. First I had a cold, then my dog destroyed my laptop and I had to get it fixed, then the holidays came up… Well, you get the picture. I let life get the best of me. It’s a shame that I started a new series and then all of that came up.

That’s the trouble with writing, isn’t it? So many times we let life get the best of us, and then we seem to not have time at all. Don’t get me wrong, I made time for editing once I got my laptop back. I made time late at night when everyone else was asleep if I didn’t have a chance during the day!

We’ve all been there. We all let life get in the way at some point or another. I’ve been writing on a normal basis for less than a year, and I still let life get in the way. I know, it’s difficult sometimes. I know how busy life is. There’s kids, holidays, jobs…the list goes on and on. Trust me, I know.

We can get through it. There’s a way to make sure we have time. It’s called making time. Just fifteen minutes a day. Heck, even five minutes a day is better than nothing! Who can’t spare an extra five minutes? If you want to write, and I mean REALLY want to write, you can squeeze in an extra five minutes. Trust me. You may surprise yourself and get more done than you think.

Life gets in the way. It becomes difficult to find time. You know what? I don’t care. If you have time to read this, you have time to squeeze in five minutes. What are you still doing here? Go write. Right now. One, two, three, go.