Self-Publishing Scams

      When self-publishing became easier because of the Internet more people started to write and publish their work in this manner.  Of course, this opened up a lot of other issues.  Like most things, when something generally becomes easier there is usually a small percentage of people who will always find a way to play on others vulnerabilities.  Let's face it, writing a book and publishing for most writer's is serious and highly personal...so writer's beware.

Here is a video discussing this topic:  (Part 1)

Here is another video giving you tips to avoid the scammer: (Part 2)

     So if you are self-published or thinking about self-publishing your book you might want to make note of the above videos and their advice.

     In my next blog article, I am going to discuss "Book Trailers" and whether your book should have one.

     So stay tuned!

The Fear of Writing and Publishing a Book

 When you get an idea for a book and decide to write a story based on this idea I refer to this as the infancy stage.  It's as if you've just given birth to a baby and it is up to you to raise it.  You start your story and just like a baby you have to teach this young idea the ropes about the world in which it will live in.  As your story starts to grow, so will your baby into adolescents and all the problems this will bring to your story, and the many challenges, plus writer's block you will face. But, as you continue writing, eventually your story will finish as it reaches adulthood.  You will then have to make sure your story has learned everything it needs one last time before you think about sending it out into the world for all to witness how well you did in raising it.
 

     When the day finally comes and it is time to release your book to the world, whether you do it the traditional way or self-published way the fear of sending your grown-up child out into the world will be one of the most exciting, yet most stressful and self-doubting times in your life. And, if this is the first time you've ever published a book your fear of sharing what you wrote to the world who doesn't know you will scare some of you into not publishing your work in the end.

(Here is a video discussing this topic)

Here is another video that talks about our self-doubt and how to get beyond all of these fears and doubts to live your dreams.

     Personally speaking from my own experience, I think the first time you publish or do anything it is usually the hardest for most people; at least it was for me.  But, I have found once you do something that repeating it, again and again, gets easier.  So if you are a writer sitting on your manuscript because you are just plain scared to have someone read it who isn't related to you, my suggestion is to just do it.  

     Will your book be judged?                YES!

     Will your book be picked on?            YES!

     Will some readers hate your book?   YES!

     Knowing all of this should you just throw in the towel and give up your dream of ever being a published author?  I hope your answer here is NO!  What I am trying to say here is don't let your fear get in the way of your dreams, because like the lady stated in the above video life really is too short to live like that.  Just know as a writer you are not going to please every reader.  There is not an author alive or dead; for that matter who hasn't had some form of negativity thrown at their writing, or even them.  Like I said in other articles, writing a book is tough, but dealing with haters will be even tougher.  To walk in the author shoes is going to require that you grow a thick skin and learn to maneuver through it.

     In my next blog article, I am going to discuss self-publishing scams and what you need to know.

     So stay tuned!

     

Now That NaNoWriMo is Over...Now What?

     Now that NaNoWriMo is over I have been watching videos and listening to a lot of people who have stated that they won NaNoWriMo.  My response is CONGRATULATIONS!  As I stated in previous blog entries I did not participate in this event.  But, I am sort of interested in now that NaNoWriMo is over what all of the winners and non-winners will do with what they started and accomplished with the first draft of their manuscript.  (Here is a video discussing this topic).

          I agree with the young woman in the video, now that NaNoWriMo is over you should let your manuscript sit for a month if you are done writing it, if not I hope you continue writing the story that you invested the whole month of November on.  I know a lot of people who participated in NaNoWriMo have the intent of publishing this work in the future, but I also know there are a lot of people who won't do anything with this manuscript.

     If you have every intention of publishing your NaNoWriMo manuscript here is a video explaining how you might want to go about editing your first draft when January 2018' rolls around.

     Here is Part 2 of editing your NaNoWriMo manuscript:

     Whatever you choose to do with your NaNoWriMo manuscript whether you won or didn't the object of this event is to get you moving on your writing and creativity.  So don't just save your writing up for November of every year, but let it continue throughout the New Year.  Good Luck!

     In my next blog article, I am going to discuss the fear of publishing a book.

     So stay tuned!

Author's Do You Ever Wonder About Where You Should Start Your Story?

     I was in a writer's group on Facebook recently and the topic came up about how to begin a story.  There was a debate about whether to start with a prologue that dealt with something exciting that would appear later in the story, or just starting with chapter 1 and setting the scene.  I have to admit that I have started my books in various places, although I do like having a prologue.  I wrote an article previously about a prologue on this blog and if you missed it you can still view it here. 

     There was someone in this group who admitted that because they didn't know where to begin their story that they hadn't begun writing their book.  I asked them how long they had been stuck in the where should I start my book mode? Surprisingly, they told me for about three months. I suggested since they didn't know where to start their story that they should just write the part of the story where their idea resided.  I then told them to work on that idea and see where the story led them.   

     I have found this to work for me recently in the historical romance novel that I am currently writing.  Yes, I knew where to start this book, and I also knew how I wanted this book to end, but the middle part of the story has been troublesome for me.  So I wrote as far as I could from the beginning, then I just jumped over to the ending, and I have been basically writing backward; hoping I'll make it back to the beginning of the story.  I've never written a book this way, but so far it seems to be working.

     Here is a video discussing this topic:

     I think the best thing to do if you are struggling with your beginning is to just start writing.  Remember this is usually your first draft so it definitely won't be written in stone.  You might find when you go back to edit your first draft that you'll discover a better beginning for your story.  So just start writing and stop worrying about where you're beginning your story at in the first draft.

     In my next blog article, I am going to discuss now that NaNoWriMo is over, what to do next.

     So stay tuned!

How Do You Find Success as a Writer?

      Now that NaNoWriMo has ended...how did you all do who participated?  Personally, I didn't participate because I know NaNoWriMo would never work for me.  I'm generally a writer who writes every day but I only have a target of writing 500 words a day.  So for the month of November, I wrote 15,310 words.  If you participated in NaNoWriMo and didn't win don't feel bad.  The main thing is that you wrote something, maybe even more than you've been writing normally.  If that is the case, pat yourself on the back for that.  
 
     Those of you who participated in NaNoWriMo and won by writing 50,000 words...CONGRATULATIONS.  Now I hope you will continue writing this book to its completion and hopefully get it published.

     The thing I always hate hearing is when someone wins NaNoWriMo and then does nothing with what they wrote.  I think the thing you have to decide is did you just enter NaNoWriMo just to see if you could write 50,000 words in one month, or was your intent to actually write a book and finish it to its completion so that you could go on to publish it?

     I guess my question here is what this article is truly about:  "How Do You Find Success as a Writer"?  For some of you just winning NaNoWriMo will be one way you find success but for others, it may be something totally different.

     I have to admit for me it was finishing a book to its completion and publishing it for the world to read.  Of course, I have admitted in previous articles that I have struggled with finding my reading audience.  Anyway, what I have come to discover recently is that I truly find success as a writer just knowing that what I have written and published will live on long after I am gone as long as I don't unpublish my books.  So in a way, it is sort of my legacy for future generations.

     I wonder if authors from long ago felt this way.  Let's face it we have many classic stories today and the authors have now departed this life.  At this time of year, one classic is told in many different ways and that story is:  "A Christmas Carole" by Charles Dickens.  I'm sure Charles Dickens at the time of writing "A Christmas Carol" had no idea what a classic story this would become one day.

     So how do you find success as a writer?  (Here is a video below that I found on youtube from a vlogger who basically summed it up for her).

     However you find success as a writer, I think the main thing that any writer can do to find success is to just keep writing and never give up.  As the young woman in the vlog stated above, "Success isn't determined by how lucky you are but by how badly you want it?"  I couldn't have said it better!

     In my next blog article, I am going to discuss the topic that a lot of writer's wonder about when starting a book and that is, where should I start my story? 

     So stay tuned!