Writers Wet Behind the Ears

Eeek. Beginning writers, I still feel like I’m there a lot of days. So I'm going to do my best to share with you the things I’ve learned from the mistakes that I made in the very beginning. This is in no particular order, number 1 is not more important than number 5.

1. Don’t think that your family can actually help you edit or beta read your work. They will lie through their teeth about how good it is because they love you. Trust me on this one. They don’t want to hurt your feelings, so they will do their best to sugar coat everything they say.

2. Plot your books! I have heard so many times people say things like “Oh, I don’t plot, the characters just take me where they take me.” Here’s the thing. I was like that, I had twenty five novels started, not one of them finished. Because when I got to the middle and I had no plot to work from, I got stuck and started a new idea. Sound familiar? So start plotting, even if it’s only a beginning, middle and end, that will give you a path to follow.

3. Please don’t think you are artist enough to do your own cover art (this is for Indie authors) You aren’t. And that’s okay, your talent is writing, focus on that. A cover can literally make or break your book, and yes, I did learn this the very hard way. Once I got my cover done right, my sales jumped to a degree I could have only hoped for.

4. Along with number 3. If you are self publishing, allow others to work for you. Hire people to do the jobs that you don’t know, or can’t do.  If you think that you can do it all, and do it well, you’re fooling yourself.

5. Don’t whine and complain that you can’t afford an editor. You cannot afford NOT to have an editor. They are essential to your success as an author, they will teach you things about your writing that you never knew. Like using the word “palatable” in every single chapter. Or using adverbs like Clearly, heavily, scarily, pushily. They will help you grow and they will help you make sure your ms is polished so that readers don’t want to throw it across the room because “Ooops” you forgot about the plot thread.

6. If you are going the traditional route and are going to query editors and agents, LEARN THE RULES OF THE QUERY. The fastest way to get booted out of an agent’s potential list is to not pay attention to the details. Do your research, and then have your query read by a few people before sending it off. I went the traditional route prior to self publishing, I landed an agent, in this, please trust me.

Okay, those are six points that I think every green, new, wet behind the ears author needs to take into account. Not that they are all the mistakes I made *clears throat* , but some of the bigger ones I tried on for size at least once. LOL.

Humility? In writers? You must be thinking of someone else. . .

I am a naturally confident woman. That is good, but it can also get me into trouble. Yes, in that picture, I would be the cat . . .

November has taught me humility. I cannot do it all. I am not super woman who can type three novels at a time, while promoting a fourth, while plotting a fifth, while editing a sixth, while participating in Nanowrimo, while running my business that pays the bills, while taking care of my farm, while getting in enough sleep not to lose my mind. Amongst other things that I shall not name now for fear you will think me nuts.

I do no like to fail. But, November taught me that if I try to do all the things on my to-do list in one shot, none of those things will be done to the high standards I hold myself to.

If I want to be seen as a writer who puts only good books out (always the goal) I have to realize my limitations. I will always push them, that is just who I am, but I also have to acknowledge when enough is enough.

So, thanks November, for kicking my ass and teaching me that it's okay to let go, to focus on just one project, complete it and then start another. It was a tough lesson, but one I needed to learn, even if it was the hard way.

Commen Speling Mistackes

For those of us (and by that I mean me) who can write but still struggle with spelling from time to time, this post is for you. (And by you I mean me again.) I think I have come to rely so much on my spell checker that I have gotten lazy when it comes to correct spelling. It’s so easy to hit the spell check button and have the whole manuscript in perfect order in such a short time it almost seems redundant to bother doing it yourself.

But from time to time I think it’s a good idea to make sure our grammar and spelling is up to snuff. It would do us no good to have an article or blog come out riddled with mistakes. What kind of authors would that make us? (I try to fix mine I do!)

For fun and a little wake up call for us bad spellers, here’s a list of 10 words with a correct spelling and an incorrect spelling. Now no cheating and using a dictionary or your spell check, this is all on you. I’ll put the answers in the comments. Good luck and happy spelling!

accommodate or accomodate

concensus or consensus

seige or siege

exhuberant or exuberant

marshal or marshall

quandary or quandry

propeller or propellor

occassion or occasion

alotted or allotted

dispel or dispell

Angry Writers

I think there needs to be a warning label attached to writers, especially those who get interrupted frequently. I find that it's not unlike taking the first bite of your meal at a fancy restaurant, savouring the flavour, identifying the spices to have, "How's your meal?" barked at you by the host. You choke on the piece of food, swallow it down in order to answer them in time to see them walk away. Lost is the savouring, the flavour and the spices. All you're left with is the taste of irritation on the back of your tongue.

This is no different than disturbing a writer mid flow of creativity. Except with a writer your more like to get a rather snappish response to the "What 'cha doing?" question. In fact, you might just get your head bit off.

So fair warning to those who live with, work with, love and are related to writers. If you don't want a serious melt down on your hands, think about what the writer in your life is doing before asking any questions, particularly those that could be considered obvious. It might just save your life. ;p

An Honest Writer's Christmas List

Ah, the Christmas list. A serious bone of contention in our house, one that leads often to heated debates of to be surprised or not be surprised, which is better?

Regardless of the fact that yes, I do like surprises and prefer not to write an exhaustive Christmas list, I thought it might be interesting to write a list of the things that I and many other writers really do want.

1. Pens and paper aside as those always end up in a writer’s stocking, how about a laptop? Maybe a Mac, cause we all know that the better the laptop, the better the writing.

2. Don’t forget that just because we have a laptop, doesn’t mean an I Pad isn’t useful. In fact, we as writers could be writing and researching at the same time if these first two items were under the tree.

3. A nice big, fat substantial edit from someone like CA Marshall (who is holding a contest right now to win said edit). If only our loved ones knew how we’d squeal and jump to see this lit up by sparkling lights and tinsel.

4. To find the paper work to a major writer’s conference, like Pacific Northwest Writers or Surrey International would be enough for some writers to break out of their usual quiet, reclusive writer self and go screaming around the house scaring all the cats.

5. A writers retreat us something most writers only dream of, a place of solitude and inspiration where the only demand is to write is on my list. I prefer a beach side hut, or mountain chalet if I’m being really honest.

6. Here comes the big one. Have the loving spouse go and find you an agent. Surely at Best Buy there is an isle where you could pick and choose. Or maybe Bed Bath and Beyond would have a back room of agents.

7. And if an agent seems to difficult for the loved ones to find, perhaps they would have better luck going straight to the source and be able to procure a contract with a publisher. Hmm. That would be the best ever!

8. Our own personal marketer and PR director to run all the social media that is needed to get your name out there so you as a writer could focus on just the writing.

9. A dinner/lunch date with your favourite author and they didn’t mind when you peppered them with questions.

10. And the realist in me is going to put out there that if you are totally stumped on what to buy for your reclusive, cranky writer, get them a gift card for Chapters, Barnes and Noble or some other bookstore (e-book counts too).

There’s the list, hope it helps for all of you buying for a writer or two. As always, if you would like to add to the list, please do, I have a few writers I need to buy for and damn they are a hard bunch!