Thoughts About Going Indie - Part I

More authors have asked me about going indie in the last two months than in all previous months combined. Does it have to do with Amanda Hocking's success? Or perhaps John Locke's?

Actually, I think it's because writers are finally realizing that they have a choice. And regardless of what you're doing, it's always smart to at least check out all your options. Educate yourself on everything available and make an informed decision that best works for you. So I'll share what I can, starting with my "predictions" and one of the reasons I chose this path to publication.

My personal opinion and forecast (which I had over a year ago when I first decided to go this way) is that in today’s industry and economy, there is too much luck involved in going the traditional route. Not just for authors, but for publishers, too. After all, it's really hard to predict what readers will love in 18 months or more down the road, especially when most of the Big 6 publishers don't even do focused studies of their markets.

The Big 6 publishers will soon be looking for their next deals by looking at the self-pubbed best-sellers. In other words, Amanda Hocking has set a precedence that I think will eventually become the norm, rather than the exception. Last year, I was saying within the next 5-7 years. Now I’m saying in the next 3-5 years. It makes too much sense for publishers to let the author build their own fan base before making an investment in them.

Agents won’t go away, though. In fact, really, they’ll be the ones out looking for the best-selling self-pubbed authors who they like and want to take to the publishers. Rather than writers having to do all the work of identifying potential agents, querying, jumping through hoops, etc., it will be the other way around. Agents will seek out authors they want to represent, which is a win-win for everyone. Authors will need them – an author who goes into a deal, especially a huge auction like Amanda did, without an agent or attorney needs a sanity check. We still need someone who knows what they’re doing to protect us.

My own opinion is that writers shouldn’t wait for this to be required of them. They can be proactive about it, which is why I did it. I started building my fan base in 2010 and now it’s grown exponentially. If I’d kept on querying, relying on luck more than anything, for the next few years, only to learn then that publishers prefer to find their next deals through Amazon and Nook best-seller lists, I’d lost all that time. All those fans. All of that opportunity. I’d be starting at zero in 2012 or 2013, instead of already having sold tens of thousands books.

That’s one way to look at going the self-pubbed route. Rather than it being a mark on your career or reputation, as it once was, it’s a jumpstart on where the industry will likely go anyway.

Next time, I'll talk about the "However" to this last statement.


Have a question about going indie? Please, do ask!

Let the Revising Begin...Any Time Now

After a few days of no writing or revising - not even a peek into a file - today was the day to start revising Book 3. I've been excited to get back to Alexis and Tristan's world after six weeks in the world of the novella and I made allowed myself a break over the weekend, upping the can't-wait-to-get-started factor. I expected to bound out of bed this morning, too excited to sleep and ready to get to work.

Except I couldn't. I awoke and just lay there, wondering what on earth I was supposed to do. I drew a total blank on the revision process. I've been thinking all along that I need to start by simply printing it out so I can read through the story - the plot - without editing the writing along the way. But, for some reason, that made no sense to me this morning. I already know some parts that need to come out and others that need to be developed better. Why waste the paper and toner now?

So I thought about just diving in. Open the file and get to work. But that made no sense either. It's been a while since I've worked on this project. I've never read it start to finish. I don't really know the story as a whole - not well enough to know what parts should be moved around, what's been repeated, what's not necessary.

I felt so lost. I felt like a writer-baby who'd never done this in her life. Was this reviser's block? Is there such a thing?

If there is, the answer to overcoming it is the same as overcoming writer's block. Just do it. Do something. Get started. Once you get going, it eventually comes to you. It's physics - an object in motion stays in motion and one that's not in motion...well, isn't doing anything (very scientific there, I know - brownies in place of cookies, please).

Whether writing or revising, we have to put ourselves in motion. We have to type out some words or scrawl them in a notebook. We have to simply start reading and thinking about the story and how to make it better. At some point, momentum builds and we overcome that block. We get down to business. And before we know it, we're on our way to accomplishing great things.

Well...I don't know if I'm on my way to the great things just yet, but I did finally get started today. I decided to stick with the plan and print it out and read through it. This phase of the revision process allows me to absorb the entire story and make notes on what needs to be changed, only focusing on plot right now. Reading it on paper prevents me from actually changing anything yet, because there's no point in rewriting something that might not be there next week.

I just had to make the decision to do something and then put myself in motion by starting to read. Once I started to read the first couple paragraphs, I knew what I needed to do and the momentum has built. So...I'm off to do some more reading and scribbling.

How do you overcome writer's block? Have you ever had reviser's block?

Novella Done! And Now for My Next Trick...

Finally! The novella is done!

It took a lot longer to finish this novella than expected. I mean, it's barely 60,000 words. It took me longer to write it than it did to write the 124,000 +/- words of the first draft of Promise & Purpose. But it's done. (Did you feel that breeze Wednesday afternoon? That was me letting out a major sigh of relief.) And hopefully it won't need nearly as much work as Promise and Purpose did.

Because, of course, it's the best thing I've ever written. I'm allowed to think that for now. I get a few days to bask in that glory. But that's it.

Then it's time to move on to the next trick. Well, actually, to go back to the previous one. Back to Book 3 for rewrites and revisions. Since it's had to sit and stew for much longer than expected, my brain should be good and ready to work on it. After the brain gets acclimated.

I had fun meeting new characters and learning about them and their world, but it'll be nice to get back to the "known" - Alexis, Tristan and all the other characters I know so well. Also the "known" as in today's world. The novella takes place over 2,000 years ago. So now I have to fast-forward to...now. Get re-oriented with the modern world. Remind myself that they have cell phones and running water and don't eat with their fingers. Well, most of them don't. Some just eat with their fangs. Haha!

Anyway, I expect it might be a bit of a challenge. I've never done such an about face. And it's been a long time since I've started revisions from the first draft. Since I shared all my woes and joys of new writing methods with these two stories, I imagine next I'll be sharing what I learn with new revising methods.

So...here I go! Wish me luck. And speed. I need speed. Definitely getting behind on deadlines.

How do you handle switching between such different projects? Do you enjoy the change-up? Or does it take time to get back into each world? Or do you stay with the same story from beginning to end and avoid the confusion altogether?

On Deadline

Me, working on deadline.

...and if I don't make deadline...

Me next week, after making deadline, because I totally refuse to miss it!

In case it's not obvious, I'm working on a deadline this week. If I don't get my first draft in by the end of this coming weekend, I have some very nasty ramifications. Seriously nasty. Since I really don't want to face them - and don't have the time to do them - I'll be totally focused on writing this week...and not on blog writing.

So play among yourselves. Have fun. Stay out of trouble. And get your own writing done while I'm gone. I'll be asking for wordcounts next week. Okay, just kidding. But really, have a good week and I'll pop in when I get a chance.

I Feel Like Such a Traitor

 

 I think I might have switched teams. The other side really seems to be working out better for me now. But I feel so guilty. I see my old team staring at me with mouths open, unable to believe that I would betray them so blatantly.

"Don't leave us! This is the fun side where all the exciting stuff happens! You'll hate it over there - it's so rigid and conforming. You'll miss our chaos, our uncertainty and our passion! You said you'd never leave us again!"

Yes, indeed, I did say that. I said I'd never be a plotter or a planner. I'd always be a pantser. I said planning just doesn't work for me. I said I need the excitement of not knowing what comes next, just like reading a book.

I said all these things based on experience. When I was young and wrote for fun, my stories went nowhere. They were about characters I loved, not anything really happening. Of course, that didn't make a story and I eventually lost interest as a new, shinier character grabbed my attention. Perhaps plotting would have been my answer.

But...when I had to write outlines for my short stories for school, I hated it. I hated having to stick to the outline and knowing exactly what came next. I did finish the stories, though. But only because I had to if I wanted a grade. I knew I just couldn't write that way for fun.

For many years, based on these experiences, I believed fiction writing just wasn't my thing. I didn't think I had a full book in me. In 2002, though, a story idea came to me. A full book, with a beginning, middle and end. I subscribed to Writer's Digest and bought all kinds of books on craft. I began to learn the tricks of novel writing and, following the experts' advice, I wrote an outline for my book idea. Actually, it was more like a synopsis and I thought, "Wow! Good book!" And then I was done. I knew what was going to happen and I lost all interest. I even tried writing a couple scenes and they were good enough to give me confidence that I could write, but the story lost its draw. I gave up again.

Promise and Purpose happened pretty much on accident. I decided I wanted to get back into fiction writing just for fun and the next thing I knew, I'd written 140,000 words. With a lot of rewrites, revisions and polishing, those became what are now my first two published books.

None of it was planned. I just kept writing and the characters told me what happened. I'd never been so passionate and absorbed in anything. The way everything came together felt like magic. So, I thought, "That's the secret! Don't plan and plot. Just let the story unfold on its own." It worked so well and fit right in with my love for character-driven stories.

So I've been terrified of planning and plotting. I had to do some for the entire series just so I could figure out the build to the climactic scene in the last book. I created some basic outlines, then I opened up Book 3 to finish writing it. And I struggled. I just couldn't get into it. And I panicked. Did the little bit of planning totally screw me up and ruin everything? I wondered. I couldn't let that happen! I had a series to finish.

I kept fighting myself about what I'd already written a year ago (about half the book!) - Did I keep it? Did it fit with the plans for the rest of the series or did I need to start over? I ditched it. I brought it back. I tweaked it. Then I finally realized that I wouldn't know how it fit until I finished the book. But I couldn't finish the book because I didn't know if what already happened was really going to happen. Does that make any sense?

Anyway, I did the unthinkable. I wrote a 9-page synopsis, chapter-by-chapter. Beginning to end. I knew pretty much everything that would happen. I told myself nobody else had to see it and the characters could change things however they wanted to, that they would tell me the real story, but this at least gave me some kind of direction to keep me moving.

Holy guacamole! It's worked! And I haven't lost interest. In fact, Alexis and the others have thrown me some extra scenes that are absolutely necessary, but aren't in the synopsis. So the excitement of the unknown is still there. The passion has returned. It's kind of like guessing what's going to happen in a book you're reading, but wanting to know how it's going to happen.

So, at least for Book 3, I'm a plotter and a planner. They say every author is different in how they write. I've also heard every book is different in how it's written, even for the same author. What works for one book doesn't always work for the next and if our past ways aren't doing the trick, we need to try something new.

I'm sorry, Team Pantsers, but I've crossed the line to the other side. I may be back, though. There are lots more books to write.

The Write-Brain & a Gerbil

I picked up some craft-y books for my Christmas present to myself. Craft-y as in writer's craft stuff. One, The Write-Brain Workbook: 366 Exercises to Liberate Your Writing by Bonnie Neubauer, is, well, exactly that. 366 fun writing exercises.

I decided that each day, before cracking open my WIP (currently titled the enigmatic, glamorous and oh-so-original "Book 3"), I would do one of these exercises. You know, warm up my brain and fingers, get the juices flowing...should be a great way to spark some awesome writing. It's day 12 of the new year and I've done one so far.

It was fun, though, and I enjoyed seeing where I went with it. The direction actually surprised me - no paranormal/fantastical/supernatural!!! - and it makes me wonder now what I had on my mind!! lol Actually, I DO know what's been on my mind and it's quite apparent here.

The exercise provided 3 sets of words and I had to pick 1 word from each set. Then I had to write something using all three words and starting with the sentence provided. Here's what I wrote (warning - total free-writing, unedited, unproofed, unimaginative and all - I feel a little naked) (sentence in italics is what I had to start with):

Three words: banister, insensitive, keepsake

Sometimes I feel just like a gerbil, running around and around on his wheel! I keep running and running, though I go nowhere, stuck in this place I call life. A box surrounds me, one I can’t see but can’t escape, either. It closes me in, confining me within its boundaries. I can press my face to the glass and see a world beyond it. A world much bigger than me, than this box, a world taunting me with so many places to see and explore, things to do and experience.

Others go by, moving about freely, doing all those things I want to do. They come and go, share exciting stories with each other about their adventures and they feel so insensitive to me, who sits here, trapped, scurrying back and forth in this box, running and running on my wheel, pretending if I run hard and fast enough, I might actually escape.

Through the glass of my world, I see them descend and ascend stairs, taking them to new levels that I will never know. A door sits ajar at the bottom of the stairs, a door opening to something unknown to me. Part of me wants to slide down the banister, feel the air rushing in my hair as it takes me to a new place, a new life, a new world beyond that door. But, admittedly, part of me tenses with anxiety with the fear of the unknown.

What if I’m fooling myself? I know what to expect in my box—food, water, basic comforts, all that I need for survival. I know every square inch, having traversed the same paths over and over again. It is all familiar. I know what I’m doing. I can’t fail here.

That world out there, beyond my glass walls, promises so much…including the potential for complete and utter failure. What if I can’t make it? What if it’s not what I thought? It looks so bright and shiny from here, but what if, up close, it’s dingy, grimy, dark and dim?  What if I lose my way? Lose myself?

As I ponder these thoughts, the shrill sound of shattering glass pierces my ears. A curtain of rain—sharp-edged little pieces, not water drops—falls before me. The wall. The glass wall that confines me no longer exists. Something has destroyed it, giving me the freedom I ache for.

I sniff the air. It smells so different, scents of promise, hope, disaster and failure layering the air. But mostly I smell fear. My own fear. Fear I must overcome. I must not be afraid. I must take this opportunity given to me, not hide out in my three-sided box, always wondering…wondering.

I take with me a little bell. A token to remind me of this place and this life that was comforting but never enough for me. It is my keepsake so I can remember who I am and not lose myself, even as I get lost in the big world ahead of me.

I think I'm going to like this book and the exercises. I've browsed ahead and I know there are some I won't do, but I don't get to write every single day either, so maybe it'll all work out and I'll get through most of it by the end of the year. If you'd like a little jump-start to writing sessions, check it out.

What do you think? Did I go in a totally different direction than you would have with the same words and sentence? Would what you'd write change if accompanied by this picture instead: