Beth Greenslade's Blog, page 102

Conversion (Subversion?) from Author to Publisher

I joined the dark side. After years spent grumbling about editors and publishers and the tawdry unfairness of their gatekeeping, I became one. I launched a website and a Kickstarter, let Her Majesty know she should tax my meagre takings, and Bob's your uncle: I'm a publisher.

Of course, I'm a writer first. It's not an easy thing, being an author. Just the writing alone is a monumental accomplishment; we know it is our joy, but it's a little like heroin, too. It fulfils us, it drives us, and sometimes it can ruin us.

Getting published is another feat altogether. Suddenly you have to peep out of your introverted writerly shell and start selling yourself (because let's face it, we put ourselves into our writing; otherwise, why do it?). You have to pretend like you know way more about this business than you do, and that you're way better at it than you think you are. And that you don't spend every day wearing a groove into your sofa in your pyjamas, cat and laptop fighting for space, resisting the urge to loll the day away on social media and writing forums.

All those newsfeeds and forums lately have been filled with the great news: we can all become our own publishers (even as I write this blog post, there's an ad in the sidebar for a Kindle publishing webinar). I'm a researcher in creative writing for my day job, and for years I've taught students about the publishing industry, including the recent developments in digital publishing. I've published my own fiction (an ongoing experiment with the digital fiction that regular publishers aren't doing yet), but that didn't really prepare me for the job of a publisher.

The key difference is this: as a writer, I'm a creative practitioner with a vague interest in making money (i.e., paying the bills). As a publisher, I'm a business with an interest in developing stories that other people will want to spend money on.

That switch in focus is everything.

As a writer, I have a little fun with social media and blogging. I tweet my #midnightWritingJournal, I blog about my trials and tribulations, and I'm happy to get a few 5-star ratings on the stuff I have that's out there. I have a few dozen followers, and that's cool.

As a publisher, nothing is cool. First and foremost, I need people to know about me. I need writers to know I'm legit, and that they want to publish with me. I need readers to be interested in what I'm selling and to actually buy it. I need to keep all these people informed about my projects in an era when we are constantly bombarded with information and advertisements.

In short, I have to sell, sell, sell! And that's before we start thinking about business things like bookkeeping, shipping, taxes, contracts, paying royalties, book design, and all the other things publishers have always done that writers usually bemoan.

I'm still at the beginning of this transition, and I still have a lot of hope and ambition (those of you with years under your belt can laugh now). I don't know if I'll succeed, but at the very least I'll get a few academic papers out of it!

Come visit me at Wonderbox Publishing, where we're looking for digital and speculative fiction. Our first project, #NormalDeviation, is funding on Kickstarter now - we're open for submissions of short fiction based on our weird-ass pic!

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An Author’s Inspiration

Failing is part of life. It's been said that failure is not the problem, rather it's how long you take to recover or feel sorry for yourself before moving forward. I know this too well. Last year I applied to my local library to carry my first book on their shelves. It was a long process. Many friends and supporters filled out "request to carry" forms to support my application. After about nine months I heard back from them. They were denying my request because there were not enough reviews for my book. I was disappointed, to say the least, but more frustrated. My "request to purchase" endeavor fell flat. I even offered to donate a few copies but was turned down based on their policy they must purchase the books. I thought it a little odd but I put a period there. This didn't stop me. I told myself this was a practice run and I would be back with something they can't turn down. It's about attitude.

I took to social media and let all those who supported me in my endeavor know of the decision and why. I had failed. I didn't give myself a hard time or blame anyone. Rather I said that I would be reaching out to them again when the time came. There was lots of support with everyone saying to keep moving, to not get discouraged and learn from the experience.

I have learned a lot through successful authors and those that are aspiring writers. They all have a story to tell about how they got to where they are today. It's my hope that through my blogs and social media posts, that I will not only inspire others but also receive the inspiration to move forward and get my message across.

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How To Effectively Plan Your Non-Fiction Book In 10 Days or Less

Do any of the following apply to you?

You have a great idea for a non-fiction book but don’t know where to start
You want to write a book but can’t focus your attention on one idea
You have some ideas mapped out but the idea of writing a whole book is overwhelming!

I hear you. Writers come to me all the time with an awesome idea for a book, but no idea how to get it down on paper.

By following this simple guide you will have your next non-fiction book planned out and ready to write in as little as 10 days.

And the best part? This plan will make the process of writing SO much easier because you'll have a nice, easy structure to follow.

I've broken the entire process down into small steps to complete over the course of ten days. You'll focus on one step each day to prevent an overload of information.

So let's jump straight in!

 

Day 1: Choose Your Topic

What are you going to write about? This might sound like a pretty basic place to start. But many writers have a millions different ideas and don’t know which one to focus on.

When you are choosing your topic, there are a few things to keep in mind…

1. Don’t choose a topic just because others have made money from it.

You won’t have a passion for it and it will come across in your writing. Plus you’ll probably hate writing about it and get bored. Just because Sandra from work made money with a book on knitting patterns doesn’t mean you should write one too. Unless you love knitting, of course.

2. Think about what you have experience in.

It is always best when you have experience in the niche you are writing about. Are you a personal trainer who is brilliant at keeping people motivated? Write about that! Do you have a knack for creating beautiful organic soaps that everyone compliments you on? Write about it!

Many people don’t think that the thing they are good at is special, because they are naturally good at it. But there are a million people who aren’t as good as you who want your knowledge and are willing to pay for it.

3. Think about what you love.

Ok, so you are a coder in your day job and are pretty good at it. But holy crap do you hate doing it. Don't write a book on it!

You need to have a love for what you’re writing about too, because that love and passion is what readers will resonate with.

Your book will take weeks or months, you don’t want to write about something you’re not passionate about.

Although something to remember here is that “passion” doesn’t have to mean you’re obsessed with every aspect of your topic. It simply means that you are going to want to write about this topic every day for a few weeks, months or even years. Because that is what is going to take.

An awesome idea here is to combine what you are good at and what you love to find a niche. For example, perhaps you are passionate about gardening and you're great at time management.

You could think about writing, “5-minute a day gardening to grow your own vegetables”. Doesn’t that sounds so much more fun and interesting that “How to be a great gardener”?

By combining your love and what you are good at, you may find a niche you didn’t even think about. It will specify your message and speak much more deeply to your audience, which at the end of the day will increase your sales.

Day 1 Round-Up:

Think about what you love and what you are good at
Combine these to find a niche that you are excited to write for
Write down your topic!


Day 2: Research

So you’ve got a great topic that you are excited to write about. Great! Next it’s time to do some quick research to make sure you have a market for it.

Many writers believe that there is a market for whatever they write. This just isn’t the case. You might have hit on such a niche topic that there isn’t a big enough audience to sell to. Alternatively, you might be targeting a market that just isn't going to buy a book.

Maybe you want to write a book about how broke students can stretch their money to support themselves through school. This target market probably isn’t going to be spending money on your book.

There is a quick and easy way to check this out, though. Go over to a book selling platform (Amazon is the easiest one) and do a key word search for your book. If you were going to search for your specific book, what would you type in to find it?

For example if you’ve decided to write about how to train your dog so you can enter him in shows, you’d write “dog training for shows” or “training my dog to win a show” and see what comes up.

If there are hundreds of books, then perhaps you’ve picked a niche that is too saturated for anything new. If amazon comes back telling you they have a big fat nothing on this topic, is there an audience for you? Or is there an audience that no one is catering for? This would be fantastic!

When I go to Amazon and type in “train your dog for a show”, Amazon has 2 books, both from a few years ago with just a couple of reviews. So if this was your topic, you’d need to dig a little deeper to see if there is an audience for this.

If your idea brings up a million different books already in that niche, think about narrowing your focus down. Instead of “how to make money blogging”, something like “how to make 2K a month blogging about overcoming anxiety.” The more specific the better!

Another great free tool for research is buzzsumo.com. You can simply type in your key words and it will bring up the most-searched content from the past days, weeks, months and years. This will give you a great indication of what is popular and what is missing in your niche!

Day 2 Round-Up:

Head to Amazon to do a key-word search
Use Buzzsumo to find the most-shared content in your niche
Think about narrowing down your idea as much as possible
Keep saleability and audience in mind


Day 3: Reaching Out

You’ve got your topic and your niche and you have found there is an audience for it. Now you need to reach out to that audience and ask what they want. Find out what problems they have. What are there pain points? What would make their lives easier?

It’s easy to assume that we know what our readers want, or what their biggest problem is. But you’ll be surprised with what you find!

You want to include specific issues within your book that your audience are struggling with. And the only way to find what these are is to reach out and ask.

Many writers have a fear of reaching out to their target market for fear of sounding 'salesy' or annoying. But there is no need to even mention that you are researching a book.

Join a Facebook group of your target audience and simply engage the members with a question like, “I’d love to hear about everyone’s number one issue with [BOOK TOPIC]! What do you wish you had to make your life easier with this?”

The audience will love the engagement and you’ll get loads of valuable feedback without anyone ever knowing they were part of your market research.

If you are feeling confident, you can tell the group that you are writing a book and would love their feedback on the topic.

People will be as passionate about the niche as you are and will be happy to help. This also begins to build your audience for when the book goes on sale (but marketing is a whole other topic!)

Day 3 Round-Up

Find a Facebook group of your target audience
Engage and find out what they would really love to read about
Find the most common problem or pain point and plan great solutions!


Day 4: Brain Dump

You’ve spoken to your target market and you’ve got some feedback and awesome new ideas. It’s time to brain dump. Yeah, that’s exactly what it sounds like.

You're going to take every idea you've got about this book, and dump it all into a document on your computer. Or write it all down on paper if you're more old-school. I like to use Scrivener for this so I'll be using that as a reference.

Open up scrivener and literally dump every idea you have for your book into a new file. Don’t worry about spelling, grammar, making sense, or being structured. Just write it all down. No matter how irrelevant an idea seems, just chuck it in.

When you are at this point in the planning process, your brain is going to be so full with all the new and wonderful ideas that you’ll be overwhelmed.

By dumping out every idea you possibly have, you remove the worry of missing anything important, and give yourself the memory space to focus on one idea at a time.

Every time a new idea pops into your head, stick it in the BRAIN DUMP file. If inspiration strikes away from the computer, write it down and add it in later.

Have fun with this part of the process. Go crazy with ideas. You never know what will tumble out of your brain when you give yourself freedom. And remember that no one is ever going to see this file, so don’t stress over it being perfect.

 

Day 4 Round-Up

Dump all of your ideas into a file for safekeeping!
Use the method that suits you best, be it pen and paper, Google Docs or whatever else
If you'd like to use scrivener too, you can get their awesome training program here (that's an affiliate link - I only recommend products that I use almost every day and couldn't live without!)


Day 5: The Contents Page

Now it’s time to plan a contents page! This can change down the road, so don’t stress too much about this part of the plan.

But in order to have a solid plan to begin writing, you need a basic layout. Look at your brain dump and pick out the biggest topics or themes that can act as the 'headings' for your other content.

Then think about putting these topics into a coherent and logical order. Your book should take your readers on a journey from the beginning where they have a problem, through a learning and information stage, to the end where their problem is solved.

Your contents should reflect this journey. So go ahead and plan out a draft of contents. Again, this is going to change, so don’t worry about it being perfect - we are still only planning!

Day 5 Round-Up:

Go through your brain dump and pick out the main topics and themes
Structure these into a coherent order that will form your contents page!


Day 6: Pick Your Favourite Bits

Look at your contents page and put each of your sections or chapters into order of preference. This might sound a little strange and you might be thinking, “Well surely I should love all of my sections?”

Short answer: No.

There are going to be sections that you are extra excited to write about because they’re your favourite parts of your topic. On the flip side, there may be sections that are integral to the book that you find a little boring.

If you are writing about building a blog and you’re starting with the physical process of building it, you might find this really boring because you know it so well. Whereas you might be really excited to write about the design process because designing is your true passion.

Put the chapters in order from your favourite chapter, to your least favourite.

Here’s a top writing secret: You don’t have to write your book in chronological order (waits for gasp). In fact, it’s best to start with the chapter that you are most excited about.

You are way more likely to just get going if you start with the fun part, and once this is done, seeing your progress will spur you on to create the not-so-fun parts.

Plan to write chapters in a love-hate sequence. Start with your favourite, move to your least favourite, then do your second favourite and so on. You’ll be surprised how much this little planning tip will keep your writing flowing easily.

Day 6 Round-Up:

Put your contents headings into your order of preference
Plan to write your favourite topic first to motivate you to get started!


Day 7: Create Separate Files For Your Headings

This is where Scrivener becomes your best friend. You can create separate files within one master document with different headings.

When you are planning out your book, create separate files named with your contents headings. This way, when you go to work on a section, you can go to the specific file and work on it individually, rather than scrolling through a long Word document.

You’ll also be able to switch about the order of your sections if you feel the flow isn’t quite right, since Scrivener has a great drag and drop feature.

There’s a psychology to this compartmentalised method, too. By having separate files that you work on individually, you’ll feel instantly more organised and prepared for the writing process.

You’ll also see your progress far more clearly. Whenever you finish a section, you can flag it as done so you know how far you have to go!

Here’s a screenshot of my folders for this blog post. You can see I’ve got each heading in its own file and work on each part separately.

<img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/stati..." />

You can carry out this planning process in word, Google Docs, in a physical notepad, or chiselled into marble. Do whatever works best for you as a writer.

Day 7 Round-Up:

Create a separate file for each of your content headings so you can work on each one separately.


Day 8: Organise Your Content

Next, it’s time to go back through your brain dump file (still loving that name) and move all of your ideas into your separate ‘heading’ files.

Figure out where all of your ideas best fit under these headings and copy and paste them into the appropriate files. This gives you a nice idea of what information you are going to add to each section.

This part of the plan will give you 'mini brain dumps' under each heading that you can work on later in the writing phase.

You’ll also see which chapters have enough content to build on, and which need more research or detail. Don’t worry about the information being tidy or structured yet, just get all of your information into the separate files.

Day 8 Round-Up:

Organise all of your ideas and resources into your content files
Keep it all separate and in a simple, coherent order


Day 9: Plan Your Sub-Headings

To plan out each chapter, you’re going to make a mini content page for each one. Look at your chapter and decide on subheadings to break up the information.

For example, if you are writing the book, “A beginners guide to ghost hunting” and you’ve got a chapter labelled “equipment”, you might want to break this chapter up with the headings of the different pieces of equipment you’ll use, like "EMP", "Night Vision Camera" and then you can write about each one.

I apologise now to any ghost hunting pros for my terrible knowledge of ghost hunting equipment.

These subheadings or 'mini contents pages' break each of your chapters down into even more manageable sections, so writing becomes extremely easy.

You can even plan on tackling one mini-section a day, which is minimal writing work but progresses your book along nicely.

Day 9 Round-Up:

Go through your chapters and work out subheadings to add in
Make sure these are relevant, helpful and flow well together within each chapter

At this point, give yourself a huge pat on the back! You’ve got a non-fiction book for a specific niche planned out and almost ready to write! Don’t you feel super motivated?

Day 10: Edit Down Your Plan and Research

The final stage in planning before you actually start the writing process, is editing down your ideas and researching any areas you need to.

Just because you have a million ideas doesn’t mean that you should include them all. You should edit down your plan to make sure the book you are writing is concise, useful and gives only the most valuable information.

You might have thought about adding in “planning for the queen to visit” for your book on “how to prepare your home for a big event”. The queen coming might be a bit far-fetched if you’re not Prince William, so you can edit this idea out.

Be ruthless here and go through all of your planning and cut out any ideas that you think are either too far from your core message and niche, or that you don't have enough experience or research to write about.

Remember, the more ideas and content you plan, the longer and more time-consuming the writing process will be. And you’ll find that the extra time and effort doesn’t always add value to your book.

Don’t throw these ideas away though, just take them out of the main plan and put them back in the brain dump. You never know what ideas might come in handy later on. Who knows when the queen is going to swing by for a visit?

At this point you may want to do some extra research. It's important to keep your book as close to your own experience and knowledge as you can, this will show your readers you are an expert in your niche.

But it's also important to have other research, case studies, and facts and figures that support your message. But remember that your book should be 80% your own experience and unique point of view.

Most writers will have most of this information at their fingertips. Especially since this is a book in a topic that you are extremely familiar and passionate about.

But if you have any extra research you want to include, now is the time to get it done.

Having everything you need prior to beginning the writing process will make getting it all down on paper a much smoother process. So save yourself future headaches and get as much as you possibly can prepared now!

Day 10 Round-Up:

Edit down your work to your most valuable and useful ideas
Do any extra research you need to strengthen your message
Celebrate that you've finished planning your book!


Congrats! You're Done!

You now have a comprehensive plan and are prepared to write your book! I hope this post has given you the confidence and motivation to get your book planned and ready to write.

Planning your book out in this easy to follow way will save you so much time and effort during the writing process and it’s a blueprint you can use for all of your non-fiction books in the future.

 

The post How To Effectively Plan Your Non-Fiction Book In 10 Days or Less appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

5 Tips for Staying Motivated When Writing a Novel

“This is how you do it: You sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it’s done. It’s that easy, and that hard.” Neil Gaiman

Every writer, even the famous ones, and especially me, knows what it’s like to get stuck: a character that’s not fully formed yet, a stilted piece of dialogue, a setting that isn’t completely visualized, a plot twist that isn’t packing enough punch.

The initial enthusiasm for your manuscript has all but dissipated and you’re losing heart. It feels like a slog and you’re on the point of giving up. Don’t! A blank page need not be a road to nowhere. Here is my 5 top tips for staying motivated and in control of your creativity while you work on your novel.

Tip #1: Write something else for a while

Unless your editor is expecting your finished manuscript next week, put it aside and do something new. The annual NanoWrimo competition challenges you to write a 50,000-word novel in a month. An online portal keeps track of your word count and the intensity of the total immersion in the project keeps your writing fresh and exciting.

Tip #2: Try a different scene

There’s no rule that says you have to write the scenes in order. So if one scene just isn’t coming together no matter how hard you try, set it aside and start working on a new one. Chances are you’ll be swapping scenes around during the editing process anyway so don’t be precious about finishing each one in turn before moving onto the next.

Tip #3: Take a (short) break

Instead of staring at the screen in paralysis, walk away and do something physical for a few hours, preferably something mundane and repetitive, like gardening, going for a walk or swim, or doing the ironing. That way your brain will still be ruminating in the background while your body is working on something else. BUT you must return to your writing at the end of it and try to do a little more. You might surprise yourself at how much creativity is released by a few exercise endorphins.

Tip #4: Reward yourself

This really helps you focus on the positive. Set small targets (the next 1,000 words, a completed chapter, a new character fleshed out) then reward yourself with something small that will make you smile: buy a new notebook, meet a friend for coffee, go and see a film. A novel takes a long time to write so break up the work by planning small treats for yourself on a regular basis.

Tip #5: Read something

Good writers also read. It doesn’t matter what – a book, magazine, newspaper – anything that submerses you in someone else’s writing for a while. Read like a writer – pay attention to style, language, learn new words and fall back in love with your own writing again. You don’t need to read to the end, just dip in enough to get some ideas and inspiration for your project.

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A Constant Reader Manisfesto

I am an avid reader of the fiction and nonfiction of Stephen King. I do not apologize for this. It is a condition. Once I started reading his work—beginning with Carrie three decades back—I became a fan forever compelled to continue reading. I’ve read much: novels, novellas, stories, nonfiction, his forwords and afterwords. I’ve also read his unfinished masterpiece: The Plant.

Why horror fiction, and why Stephen King?

Having discovered the works of Edgar Allan Poe as a youth (as had many of my generation), I was enthralled by horror early. It was natural then—perhaps even inevitable—that I would progress to the (shades of Mr. Mercedes) high-octane fiction of the King of Horror, though at the time I first became aware of his work, he was not a “king”—not even an errant knight, if you will. The potential for greatness, however, was always there.

Why then King?

The answer that comes immediately to mind is this: the fabulous Kingly prose. The prose was (and continues to be) like a blade, honed sharp on both sides. The prose was and is unapologetic, grossed-out in places, memorable in others, and, at its horrific best: creepy. Not just ordinary, everyday, afraid-of-my-own-shadow kind of creepy. But more raising-the-hackles-on-the-back-of-my-neck kind of creepy.

It’s a creepy feeling that once experienced, remains with the reader forever. It’s spine-chilling with a vengeance. It’s scary to the nth degree. It’s unforgettable, like your first crush, or if I may be more prosaic: like the first time you went “all the way.” In this era of “The Walking Dead,” it’s the difference between a fresh corpse and a not-so-fresh corpse that leaks.

And the stories. The stories are always thought-provoking and redolent with human truth.

In conclusion I vow to continue to read and enjoy Stephen King’s work until I have the strength and the breath to do so, or until the world of The Dark Tower has "moved on."

As Salman Rushdie would say: “… I inhabit [my condition of loving King’s prose]. I am trying to learn from it.”

 

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How To Separate Yourself From Your Writing

When writing a novel, it can be all too easy to lose yourself in your work. While it’s good to feel committed and passionate about your writing, it is also good to know how to get some distance.

Separating yourself from your writing is beneficial for many different reasons. If you can take a step back, you can observe your work objectively which will help you create a better story. You’ll be able to take criticism better rather than feeling it is a personal insult to you, and you may be able to come up for air and remember to have a life outside your writing too!

However, when you are in the middle of writing or editing your book, it can be difficult to find ways to distance yourself from it. Often writers become so immersed in their stories it feels as though they are part of them and it can become increasingly difficult to pause, to critique one's own work effectively, and not to feel dangerously attached to it.

So what are some of the methods we can use to gain some distance from our work to help ourselves observe it from a more objective standpoint?

Have more than one project on the go at the same time

While we may want to commit all our writing time to writing our novel, having other writing projects on the go can be helpful. If you pour all your energy into just one thing it is easy to become too involved in it. Take some time to write a blog or a short story or a poem - whatever you like, just have other things on the go too - that way you’ll naturally take breaks from your novel and won’t be putting all your energy, hopes and dreams into just one thing.

Be open to new ideas, read and learn as much as you can

It’s important for writers to keep learning throughout the writing process, and always stay open to new ideas and suggestions, even when it comes to your book. It’s never too late to change or improve your book, so always keep your eyes and ears open. Let yourself be influenced, experiment with new techniques and keep on learning. Your book will be all the better for it.

Take a break

Of course, one of the easiest and most effective ways to gain some distance from your writing is to take a break from it for a while. Give yourself a week or two where you don’t look or think about your book, then come back to it. You may be surprised at how simply giving yourself time away can give you a fresh perspective and highlight places where you perhaps need to do more work.

Don’t base characters entirely on one person

While we cannot help but use our life experiences, our emotions the things we see and do, and the people we meet to influence our stories, creating characters that are complete imitations of someone we know in real life can make it difficult to treat these characters objectively. Whether we love or hate the people, we meet in real life that we want to fictionalise in our stories, we still need to ensure that our own emotions about them don’t get in the way of creating a brilliant piece of work.

Open yourself up to criticism at every stage

If you wait until your book is finished before you ask for someone to critique it, you will have already invested so much time and energy into it that hearing any negative feedback will be a lot harder to take. Try to get feedback continually while you are writing your novel, this way you will be more used to it, but also will be improving your book as you go so editing won’t feel like such a mammoth task when you do finish that final chapter.

We all know how personal and time consuming writing can be, and feeling completely at one with your writing, falling in love with your characters and feeling proud and protective of your story just demonstrates how much you adore what you do. However, there are times where separating yourself from your writing can benefit both it and you, so if you do feel you need to gain some distance try the methods above and see how they work for you.

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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A Lesson in Perseverance

I am a writer and so can you be.

I wrote my first novel twenty-five years ago. A run of the mill US based cop thriller handwritten on A4 paper; remember it was before the digital age. A few friends read it and said it was good- they would hardly say anything else. A couple of years later I wrote another. A few friends said it was good - they would hardly say anything else.

Number three was written in early 2003 when I was in the strange position at work of having two months sitting at my desk waiting for a new role to be allocated to me. Nobody has ever read that one. For the following years I read a lot; mostly quality, literary fiction by the likes of David Mitchell, Rose Tremain, Joseph O'Connor, Sebastian Faulks et al. A close friend grown weary of me enthusing about the latest book I had finished, told me to stop reading and get back to writing.

In early 2012 I wrote a book in six weeks. It simply fell out of me. Four months followed of typing it up, editing and arranging the rather complex story into a finished product I was both proud of and a little excited by. The book I titled 'The End of the Valley' is difficult to assign to a specific genre. It is a drama about life, love and loss that was very much written from the heart. My next door neighbour described it as a love story which it is, though not by any intention of design. If the old adage is true that everyone has one book in them, then this is mine. Finally I felt I had written a piece of work that was maybe OK. A few friends read it and well, you get the picture.

Now what? For me the challenge was to see if I could possibly repeat the process and construct another hundred thousand word novel. I had some ideas floating around about World War Two and Nazi wonder weapons but I was also so emotionally involved with the central characters from 'The End of the Valley' that I wanted to revisit their lives. A tortuous two years it took to complete an overambitious and complicated story that married past and present. 'The Children of the Valley' I was simply glad to have finished but did not have the courage to expose the raw emotion of the story to the scrutiny of friends or family. My creative juices were really flowing and I dedicated 2015 to completing what simply had to be a trilogy. 'The Heart of the Valley' proved to be the longest of the three, introducing new characters and weaving timelines from WW2 and the Cold War with the present day.

My confidence about the books fluctuated greatly over the next period of time but I did plan to have them printed and professionally bound so I could display them in my bookcase and leave something tangible for my children if they were ever curious and wanted to know more about what made me tick.

Around Easter last year I read an article in a newspaper on self-publishing of e-books. I would never have sent my books to a publishing house because I was worried the certainty of rejection would kill off my enthusiasm and love of writing. A few weeks later I had taken my courage in both hands and uploaded the trilogy onto Amazon's Kindle database. It was a real buzz to be able to look my books up on Amazon but again it seemed to be a dead end. There are hundred's of thousands, maybe millions of books on Amazon. Why would anyone even look for mine, never mind want to download them. There are links to promote and advertise your books but advertising costs money that I would never see any return on so I forgot about the dream and went back to writing.

Spin forward to the beginning of October. Two cheques arrived totalling £1000.00- royalties for downloads of my books!

I immediately started digging into the author's section of the Amazon website and was able to see that my books were being downloaded at the rate of a few hundred per month starting in August. I have no idea what triggered off the sudden interest in my books across the globe or indeed why the great majority of sales is on the second part of the trilogy, the 'difficult' to write 'Children of the Valley.'

To date the total sales across the trilogy stands at 1500 with maybe a similar number read in the Kindle lending library. I am still coming to terms with that so many people have read my work. The downside of this exposure is learning to deal with critical reviews though for every one star savage review on Amazon, there is a four star positive one; some people hate my work and thankfully, amazingly, some people like it. I was recently introduced to the 'Goodreads' website where the reviews of my books are generally very positive which is an absolute thrill.

If I can do it, anyone can. To all budding authors out there, your work is wasted sitting on your hard drive or at the bottom of your sock drawer. It's time to let the world hear your voice

My name is J.D. Ferguson and I am a writer.

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Writing Lessons Worth Remembering

When it comes to our writing, we all have different ways of working best. Because of this it 's hard to give writing advice that is going to suit everyone. There is no one size fits all’ approach to writing, and, for many writers, it is most helpful to try and experiment with different methods and approaches until they find the way that makes them their most effective, productive and brilliant.

However, to get there writers may need to try writing in different ways, at different times, in different places and so on, to discover how to be at their writing best. It’s also important to remember that there is always more to learn and new avenues to explore when it comes to our writing. Therefore, it is a good idea to keep testing and pushing yourself - that way you’ll never end up stagnant and will always be improving.

With that in mind, here are some tips that every writer should try.

Stop writing linearly

Try writing your next piece not in chronological order. You may find this incredibly refreshing and your ability to concentrate on each scene as a standalone piece will improve - which may make for a better story overall.

Work on different projects at the same time

It can be easy to get writing fatigue if we focus all our energy on just one project. OK, so your book might be your pride and joy and the thing you want to concentrate on the most - but have a couple of smaller, side projects on the go as well. This way you can take a break from your novel, and gain some distance from it, without stopping writing altogether - and then return to it with renewed energy and enthusiasm when you’re ready.

Switch between writing and editing

If you write your entire book without looking back, editing it will seem like a mammoth and somewhat overwhelming task. Try writing a chapter at a time and then editing it. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but at least when you reach the end of your novel, you will know you have already edited out the most common mistakes.

Always get feedback

Writers all need to get feedback on their work, and learn how to take it if it’s helpful, or reject it if it’s useless!

Read both good and bad literature

Understanding the differences between good and bad literature will help you ensure yours is the former! Therefore, don’t just restrict yourself to reading incredible books. Pick some you think might be terrible too - you can learn just as many lessons from these.

Write down your writing goals, and create deadlines

Having clear, visual writing goals and deadlines to achieve them will keep you moving forward and pushing yourself to achieve that next writing milestone.

Be organised

When it comes to time management, research, having a tidy workspace, being productive, and editing and marketing your book, the thing that will help you the most is being organised. An efficient organiser will have plans, timelines, deadlines and will always be one step ahead of themselves. Being organised will stop you panicking or becoming overwhelmed and will help you to approach each stage of your writing with a clear head and a sense of purpose.

Have patience, positivity and determination

Learning how to remain positive every day will stop you from wasting your time despairing or becoming overly critical. Having determination will keep you going even when you feel like giving up, and being patient will stop you from rushing and allow you to remain calm in those long waits when you have sent your book to publishers and editors and are hoping for a response.

These writing tips are certainly worth taking on board. Some are just good advice, and some are more practical and may not work for you. But good writing is all about testing and experimenting, so why not give them a go and see if they improve your writing and help you to become more effective?

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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How to overcome Writer’s Block and Blank Page Syndrome?

How to overcome Writer’s Block and Blank Page Syndrome?

 

By: Chesz Dylan

Have you experienced a time wherein your mind was like in a total blank? Where you can’t think of any ideas or have run out of words to say? Or perhaps, you’re just staring at your blank sheet of paper or word document and not a single idea ever crossed your mind? Probably, it’s either you are experiencing a Writer’s Block, or a Blank Page Syndrome.

What is the difference between the two? Actually, they are both similar in terms of description. However, Writer’s Block deals more in psychological aspects, whereas the latter has no symptoms at all.

Writer’s Block happens mostly to writers. It is a condition wherein, you are unable to think or come up with an idea for your story or article. It could be because you lack inspiration, you are distracted, you are stressed or due to a creative problem within your work.

 

Inspiration is one of the important factors in writing a story. It is where you create your plot, the twists, and sometimes (if not oftentimes), it affects the ending of your story. Your inspiration could come from your relationship, your idol or mentor and your favorite book, movie or anime. It could also be based on your surroundings and your habits.

 

People are distracted most of the times. And for a writer, it could cause a delay or slow pace in your story. Not that you don’t need it for a break. The problem of distraction is when it’s diverting your goal, attention or your time, instead of focusing on your story. All writers need things to be done with a deadline.

 

Some serious reasons, why writers are encountering Writer’s Block, is due to stress. Stress that can lead to serious physical illnesses and depressions. You run out of ideas because your mental condition is unstable. Or you are suffering from a migraine that hinders your thought to process information. You cannot think because of the pressure in your work, pressure in your relationship and pressure in your surroundings. You are comparing your story to those now-famous writers who were once in your league. And most especially, you are stress because of the deadline. This stress could cause hiatus if you didn’t respond to it immediately.

Another issue that most writers are unaware of is the problem in your story itself. All writers want compelling stories that will motivate their readers. Because we think of many ideas and thoughts, we ended up with plot holes that oftentimes, we don’t know how to connect those ideas to our story.

 

Unlike Writer’s Block, the Blank Page Syndrome is indicated by not having an idea from the beginning. It could probably have something to do with your mood, so you can’t think of anything to write. It’s also because you lack in sleep, so your mind is wandering or not functioning at that time. And you are just staring at a blank page, and you completely forgot what you’re supposed to write.

Either of these two could take from short-term or long-term loss of ideas and thoughts. But, in order to avoid Writer’s Block and Blank Page Syndrome, you should have thought about it from the beginning. Write on a paper or type on your word document the plot, the characters, the settings and the supposed-to-be ending of your story. That way, you can still trace, organize and connect your thoughts and stories if you came up with a new idea. Take a break, like travel somewhere or take a short stroll at the park. What you perceived around you could contribute to your story. Engage yourself in free writing and brainstorming. Sometimes, making a new story will refresh your mind and create new ideas and plot twists. And lastly, read any stories or articles and watch any, if not new, movies or animes.

In general, it’s inevitable as all writers have experienced and or experiencing one of these. The question would be, how are you coming up with your Writer’s Block or Blank Page Syndrome?

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Writing Milestones To Aim For

Every writer should make goals for themselves. Goals help a writer to plan our their time, to have a clear picture in their head of what they are aiming for, and to keep pushing themselves and stay on the right track - even when times get tough.

But what are good milestones for novice writers to set themselves? If you are just starting out, use this helpful list to outline some writing milestones and start you off on the right track.

A completed story

It’s easy for new writers to make their first writing goal something huge, like finishing a novel. But starting off smaller will help you set the ball rolling. Finish a short piece of writing, a short story perhaps or a blog post or even a poem. Once you have your first completed piece of work in hand, and experience that feeling of satisfaction and elation for doing so, you can then begin to broaden your horizons and set bigger goals.

First time you share your work

Many writers write for years before they are brave enough to share their work, even with family or close friends. Still, while doing to may seem daunting, it is necessary. It’s OK to start sharing your work with people you know are likely to be enthusiastic and complimentary - it will give you that boost to keep on going.

A proper critique of your work

While sharing work with family and friends is great, the next step is to get a proper critique of some of your pieces of writing from an impartial expert. Be prepared not to love everything you hear, but doing this is invaluable and will help you see how you can improve your work.

A publication

Try to gt one of your pieces published. This might be by entering a local competition or sending off a short story to a magazine. Keep trying until you get something in print (either online or in paper). This will help you to understand what it takes to get published and also be an amazing confidence boost when it happens to you.

Getting paid for your writing

Money may not be your main motivation for writing, but getting paid for your work validates it and also opens up doors for many writers. Getting your first payment for a piece is also a fantastic feeling for any writer too.

First draft of your novel

Now it’s time to set your sights on bigger and better things. Getting that first draft of your novel completed is a game changer for many writers.

A fully completed and edited manuscript

There is nothing quite like the feeling of getting your first manuscript finished. Once you have done everything you can to get it into a publishable condition, it’s time to let it go, send it off to agents and publishers and see what happens.

First rejection

The chances of your work getting snapped up as soon as you send it off are extremely minimal. Getting a first rejection is a rite of passage for many writers. Don’t be too downhearted when you get yours. Instead, celebrate it - you’re a real writer now!

A published book

Whether you find a publisher or decide to self-publish, holding that first physical copy of your book in your hands is an unbeatable feeling and something which is cause for celebration.

First reviews

Getting your first book reviews can feel daunting but seeing a book review pop up from someone who has taken the time to buy and read your book is incredibly satisfying.

First fans

Finally, establishing a fanbase should be something on every writer’s to-do list. Doing so will not only feel very rewarding but make marketing your next piece of work so much easier!

These writing milestones will take you from first setting out as a writer to having your very own published novel. Of course, once you have achieved these you need to set new goals to complete - for the key to being a good writer is to keep writing and keep improving every single day!

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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