David Vienna's Blog, page 18

@shylilfox asked: I write a lot of short stories. They’re explicit. Some of the ones people have…

@shylilfox asked: I write a lot of short stories. They’re explicit. Some of the ones people have read told me I should publish a book. Are short stories worth publishing? If so, how would I go about it?

Short stories are definitely worth publishing. And short story collections can do pretty well in the market. (Personally, Stephen King’s countless short stories are what first made me consider becoming a writer.)

To accomplish this, there are a few routes.

1. Post some of them online and gauge the reaction. If they get traction, you can decide what to do with that momentum (see No. 2). If they don’t, it might be a sign some edits or rewrites are needed, which is still good information.

2. Submit to outlets that publish short stories. There are a ton out there and if you get a story or two or three published that way, you can then go out to book publishers with a pitch for a collection of those and your other stories. (This is also a good way to land an agent, by the way.)

3. Self-publish. Now, I know everyone loves this idea for their writing and I’m not against it. You can make sales with self-published books, it just requires more hustling than anyone usually expects. However, if your goal is simply to have a book of your short stories out in the world, this is a good way to make that happen fast and solely on your terms.

Do you have a good resource for story beats/templates? Story mapping?

(I assume you mean a resource to track story beats and mapping and not a resource for generating them. Forgive me if I am mistaken as I have no advice for the latter.)

I learned story mapping/beats/pacing by trial and error and I don't recommend that because it's like banging your head against a brick wall every time you sit down to write.

The two absolute best ways to perfect your pacing and story mapping skills are:

Read a lot of books or screenplays, depending on which format you're writingOutline, outline, outline

Reading helps build the muscle for beats and mapping because you ingest it to the point that when you encounter a pacing issue, you know it. You feel it in your belly.

As for outlining, it's an age-old tool for a reason. Personally, I hate outlining and often don't do it, but those stories and scripts are often the ones that need the most editing.

Beyond that, this may sound silly because it's kind of a cliché in the business, but the Save The Cat books are full of great tools and tips for pacing, character, etc. It started as a how-to for screenwriters, but now it's a whole media empire of instructionals for writers of all genres and formats, including novels.

You could try that resource (or one of the hundreds of copycats... see what I did there?) to build up your story mapping skill to the point where you know when to ignore those Save The Cat rules.

There are also a lot of other online tools in which you can enter character info and scenes to make pacing easier. (When writing More Than Stars, which had eight—yes, eight!—lead characters, I used a program that turned the character arcs into a graph just so I could keep track of it all.)

A major part of my day job is ghost writing articles and blog posts for a leadership team, so I’m curious about your experience ghosting writing books. How did that come about for you and how would you advise others go about getting into it? Is it the sort

My ghostwriting gigs came about because I already had a relationship with a publisher that put out some of my books. I’m sure landing a ghostwriting gig with just writing samples has happened for some, but it’s my understanding that the standard way to get ghostwriting gigs is: Write a book and get it published, which gets you on a publisher’s radar.

It’s much the same way you can’t just get a job as a script doctor. You have to have written a produced screenplay first.

As for doing it in tandem with a 9-5, it’s totally possible. I did it both times. But, it obviously depends on personal bandwidth.

[EDIT: I should add that a few professions lead to ghostwriting or co-writing gigs more naturally, like journalism or game writing.]

Hey, Writers…

Hey, Writers…

If you’re a writer and have questions about the publishing industry or the business of writing, I can offer some info and/or perspective from my experience.

And if you want to know what qualifies me to do such a thing, I’ve written five books for two publishers (the first of which was an actual bestseller) and ghostwritten two other books.

And with my business partner, I currently have a couple of with actress/producer Jaime Pressly’s recently launched production company Liston James.

Before all that, though, I was just shit-posting here on Tumblr about raising my twins sons.

So, reach out, if you want. Send me a question and I’ll post the answer.

New glasses, mofos.

New glasses, mofos.

Laptop

that-is-just-so-typically-me:

gayhoediaz:

@ people who carry bags everywhere what do you put in them what is there to bring other than chapstick, keys, phone and maybe a tampon why are you packing a suitcase to be outside for 5 hours

OTC pain medsPrescription meds (for mental health and if I ever get hit with a UTI while out in public)Wallet with every card I own (because I’ll likely forget to bring certain cards to certain stores or doctors’ appointments if I don’t just always have them there) and cash/coinsHand sanitizer LotionMore than one tampon because if you use the only one in your purse and forget to replenish the stock then you are totally fucked the next time you need itA pad in case someone doesn’t use tamponsNarcanSunglassesPhone charger with boxTissuesFlossGum/mintsCandy or snack bars if mine or someone else’s blood sugar dropsFacial sunscreen (you need to reapply that stuff every 80 minutes and that’s still true if you’re spending the day running errands around town or at the beach)LipstickPressed powder for touch-ups/blotting sweat on faceHair elasticsBobby pinsPen, pencil, and Sharpie (I or someone else inevitably needs it a couple times a year, which isn’t a lot, but you sure are glad you had it when you need it)Tiny notepadSafety pins Reusable grocery tote (it come in a zippered bag and it folds down to a very small size)

Laptop Laptop charger Phone charger Journal Pens Book I’m currently reading Glasses/Sunglasses Headphones Jars full of the blood of my enemies Chapstick

Little doggo. Big ears.

Little doggo. Big ears.

Leopards are scared of getting yelled at by all the newly faceless people who voted for them.

House Republicans hit the brakes on town halls after blowback over Trump’s cuts

Leopards are scared of getting yelled at by all the newly faceless people who voted for them.

well look who it is. my old friend. the conses of my quences.

well-gosh-diddly-darnit-minyard:

well-gosh-diddly-darnit-minyard:

well look who it is. my old friend. the conses of my quences.

do not 10k me stop that

In the 2010s, I had a career in social media and was hired mostly because of my innovative content…

MrBeast says he built his $700M YouTube empire on the “purple cow effect”

In the 2010s, I had a career in social media and was hired mostly because of my innovative content and strong social voice. Trying to convince clients to cut through the din with new ideas rather than chasing trends, however, usually proved futile. I can’t tell you how many times we pitched unique concepts only to be told — by major studios and streamers, mind you — to just mimic some overplayed meme.

And now, when asked about the key to his social media success that led to a whole multimillion-dollar goddamn empire, Mr. Beast says it’s all about unique content (aka the purple cow effect).

So fucking frustrating.