A.I. Martin's Blog, page 2

Midnight ice cream and self realization

It's 11:20 pm and I'm sitting at my kitchen table eating ice cream and doing up my marketing plan for my new Science Fiction Action Romance novel coming out in February.I've been spending a lot of time brainstorming in the last year and a half (since I had my daughter and had to put my writing on hold) about what I want out of this industry.About what I want out of my career.There have been many ventures started, many exciting projects that fizzled out for various reasons, but through it all there was always something that felt forced. Something about this whole crazy ride was slightly askew and recently I've been able to admit what it is.I don't want to be a writer that teaches other writers.This market is flooded with writers who seem to focus on catering to other writers.This is awesome. And I follow tons of them. Most of the things I've learned along the way have been from these awesome blogs.Some of my favorites includeKM Weiland,Chuck Wendig,Jolene Perry,Jeff Goins,Joanna Pennand lots more. These people know what they're talking about. They understand the industry, they teach with knowledge, humor, and understanding.They are the real deal. Experts.But I don't want to be a writer that teaches other writers.Admitting this to myself and saying it out loud has freed up a large part of my anxiety riddled mind.I'd love to be a writer who is friends with other writers, who encourages and supports other writers, but I don't want to be an expert blog.I want to write, and talk books, and share my process, and lets face it...mostly post pretty pictures of book covers because that's where my eyes really brighten.But the number one thing I want from my career is share my love of complex worlds and magical stories.I'm going back to my roots in almost every way and while starting over creates an intense amount of unknowns and struggles, it also offers something very liberating.A clean slate.***Join mymailing listto stay up to date on book news and author interviews! This month I got to sit down with New York Times Bestselling AuthorWENDY HIGGINS, don't miss her Quirks and Commas interview!

The five words/phrases that I’m purging from my vernacular

1. Instalove– This word is used primarily as an insult which is why it bugs me. Instalove is lust, that I'm not arguing. But lust can grow to love. I believe instalove is just a way of saying ‘I didn’t connect with the characters therefore I didn’t buy their feelings for each other’. I really don't think the scorn with which the word is thrown around is warranted.2. Strong Female Character– Most books that boast a SFC are simply men with vaginas. It still places the importance on men and dominant male attributes. Strong women act like men. I call bullshit. Women are people. Messy and complicated. Riddled with strengths and weakness, talents and flaws. Good and bad. Tangled with circumstance and complex human emotion. A product of their environment and societal pressures. One kind of woman isn't more worthy of story than another. How are women supposed to be confident in who they are when we hold even fictional women up to impossible standards?3. Unlikeable– Again, this is mostly tagged to female characters who show flaws, weakness or vulnerability(see number 2). A character does not have to be likeable, they have to be relatable. The only thing the reader needs is to understand why a character makes the decision they do. The reader doesn’t have to agree, or like it, they just have to get that it’s what that character would choose. I would have less of a problem with this one if it were equally applied to male characters, but unfortuately unlikable male characters are often seen as interesting and complex. Not the case for women.4. Clean– What in the world does this even mean? There are two sides to this coin I don’t like. A) A book without sex, swearing, violence etc is considered clean meaning that other books are dirty? Shameful? I don’t like the connotation there. The world is a dark and dirty place. We are already made to feel guilty and shamed about our looks, our desires, our feelings, our wants. We are already told to keep these things secret. Why must this societal shaming be applied to books? B) Books that aren’t clean are often referred to as books containing ‘Content’ which also bugs me because it’s implied that clean books are about nothing important, which is untrue. There are lots of books that touch on a lot of worthy topics that don't revolve around the taboos our culture and religions place on us. There needs to be new words for these two categories but I’m at a complete loss as to what they should be. Any suggestions?5. Romance vs. Love Story– Romance=crappy beach read to be laughed at and mocked. Love Story=A moving and emotional tale of how two people find each other and the struggles they endure for love. Nope. Bullshit. Romance=written by a woman. Love Story=written by a man. Don’t pretend it’s anything different. One could argue that romance=Happy Ever After and Love Story=tragedy, but even then why is it so horrible and unworthy of literary respect for two people to fall in love and stay that way? Why are we a society that puts the highest artistic value on suffering? The world is a lonley and dark place, why can't we at least hold on to fictional forevers?

Five ways you might be sabotaging your own book cover

As an author and adesigner, I truly and deeply understand how precarious the balance can be between the craft and the business of books. I design all my own book covers and there are many times where I want nothing more than to fire myself for just not‘getting it’.Those are the moments where I have to force myself to step back, shut off Photoshop, and remind myself that I’m getting too emotionally invested in what is meant to be an advertisement for the most important part–the story.Here are five things authors do to get in the way of their own cover success.1. Making it about youBooks are for readers. Yes, we write for ourselves and we write what we want/love to write about, but once that book is done and in the world it’s not about us anymore. That book belongs to the readers. The cover is meant to sell the reader, not the author. Creating something that is only meant to impress the author can potentially alienate people and we want ALL the people to read our books, right?2. Getting too attached to detailsSpending months and months finding a picture that is *exactly* like the character is accomplishing nothing but pushing deadlines. Take a browse through Goodreads reviews where so many readers are awesome enough to do fan casting or vision boards for books and there is one universal things in all of them…Everyone interprets the characters differently. Pushing deadlines and forcing images that may not be suitable for a cover design can also lower the potential reach a cover might have.3. Not understanding genre/marketTrends are hard. Especially for authors who don’t write to trend. But the temptation to design a cover to trend is shockingly common. Stay true to actual genre/tone of the book instead of chasing dollars. Readers will notice and authors will get called out for advertising their book as something it’s not.4. Hiring for cost instead of styleDon’t hire a designer just because they are cheap. In the same breath, don’t hire a designer just because they are popular or expensive.Hire a designer for their style. Designers are always looking for theirI-love-my-job clientswho let them swim freely in their talents. You are that client for some designer out there. Find them. The two of you will create cover magic together. I promise.5. Valuing friendship over businessThe author/designer relationship is one of business. Lots of designers are personable and friendly (or they should be at least polite) but their job is to help sell the book. Over time and many covers the relationship may develop into friendship over a mutual love of similar books or similar outside interests but for the sake of your career there has to be boundaries. Once the relationship tips into friendship the risk of it becoming too personal is too high.Bonus tip:As harsh as it may sound, your designer doesn’t love your book like you do. Most designers I know actually make a point of not reading the books they design (to avoid claims of bias or favor) but even if your designer has read and enjoyed your books they will still never love it like you do. Your book is their job, and often times, nothing more. Make sure to keep your expectations of your designer realistic.Sign up for ournewsletterwhere I’ll layout some ways to avoid getting caught in these cover derailing traps.

The Productivity Formula

“I’m a morning person,” we all say.Well, maybe a lot of us add a NOT in there, but the point is everyone has a time of day they either know they’re on top of life or know they need to pop some popcorn and accept it’s Netflix-time.But does productivity come at just one specific time of day? Or could there be a whole other array of productivity boosters we should be tapping into?I was watching an online presentation by author,Gretchen Rubin, on productivity and she said something that really struck me–hit me right in that sticky spot on the brain that goes “Of course!”She said (and I’m paraphrasing) if you want to be productive again, think back to times you were successful and try to recreate those circumstances.That’s what I did. I wrote down the three projects I’ve written solo that rushed out of me in a torrent. Before this moment, I always assumed I had written these books in a flurry of inspiration.This is false.Looking back on how I wrote these projects, other than my obvious (caffeine), there were a few things that I did consistently throughout the drafting process.1. I wrote early in the morning.2. I wrote in the same place3. I did writing sprints with author friends4. I stayed off social media during writing time5. I scheduled but didn’t planSo this month I challenge you to get out a piece of paper and jot down a time where everything was working and inspiration was flowing. Mark down everything you can remember around that success. What you wore, what you ate, when/how/where you wrote, anything you can think of. Is there a pattern? Some/many things you did repeatedly throughout the draft?Now try to recreate those circumstances in any way you can.Just remember that like with any formula, it will take some time to perfect it. You'll have to cut and paste a bit, but I promise it's there.If you are unable to think back to a time that everything just worked, that's okay. Keep your eyes open and look for your boosters. Keep track of your time and remember what was happening on the good days.Take control of your writing time and make it work for you.Because the difference between inspiration and productivity is control.***Sign up for the Quirks and CommasNewsletterwhere I’ll go more in depth about how I figured out my formula and made it work for me.

Building a Closet Office in Five Steps

It’s always been important for me to have my own space and feel in control of my environment. I think it’s especially important for writers to feel like they have a space to work, even if, like me, you end up writing on the couch while your husband watches Netflix, anyway.My family has moved around a lot over the last year and half, but we were finally placed in a town we love and want to stay in. The only issue is we’re in rental housing provided by P Charm’s work which makes nesting a little more difficult. We don’t have the extra rooms and my writing things (notebooks, bulletin boards, books, resources etc) were beginning to take up permanent residence on my kitchen table. My things were scattered and my brain felt the same way.This is when I took to Pinterest.There I discovered the closet office.I scrolled through hundreds of images for intricate and beautiful ideas that my handy-skill level could never handle. If you’ve ever been on Pinterest, you’ll know the feeling of crafty-inadequacy I felt…I also felt it was all a bit too permanent.My situation was a little different being a renter and I made a lot of excuses that some of you may have made, or are making right now.I’m too busy with my toddler.This isn’t even my house.I’m not fricken Martha Stewart…Once I actually sat down and tried to design something with my strengths and limitations, it was surprisingly simple.My criteria for my closet wasstorageandremove-ability.The nice thing about a closet is it’s mostly built for storage so very few modifications were necessary to go from junk to office.Supply List1 – five foot length of 1 inch Pine(for a four foot wide closet. Be sure to measure and adjust accordingly)2 – heavy duty L brackets4 – five inch L bracketsBox of drywall screwsBox of three inch wood screwsQuart of stain or paint and brushRoll of decalsTools neededCircular or Table Saw(If you don’t have one, can’t use one, or are otherwise terrified of removing un-removable appendages, most hardware stores will cut the wood for you)DrillMeasuring tapelevelStep one:Clear out closet and clean it.Step two:Measure the closet. Check to make sure it’s wide and deep enough for a desk. Keep in mind ergonomics such as how you sit, how you type, how high off the ground you should be. I measured the height of an actual desk to reference how high my L brackets needed to be.Step three:Cut your board to the right size and save the scrap chunk to make some shelves. If your board is precut or already at the exact length needed, shelves can be purchased separately.Step four:Paint or stain your wood.Step five:Mount large L brackets by finding studs or corner joints in your closet with drill bit and screws. My closet didn’t have studs, so the L brackets are right against the wall. Also keep in mind that any desk over four feet in length should have a third brace in the middle or run a strip of 2x4 along the back of the closet to keep the desk from bowing.ShelvesStep one:Cut scrap board lengthwise to create two shallow shelves.Step two:Level and mount with 5 inch L bracketsFinal step:DECORATE!Because I am in rental housing I decided to get a roll of stick-on-decals to make the closet look a little less like a closet. I mounted the decals, shelves, two bulletin boards and a calendar to take up maximum amount of wall space so painting or wallpapering became unnecessary. I salvaged everything else. An old crate and a kitchen organizer for under the desk storage. Mason jars for my pens/pencils. An old lamp I rummaged from the basement.If this is your own house the possibilities are endless. Wallpaper, paint, chalkboard paint, fabric, cork board…there are so many ways to make the wall space integrated into the office space to make it beautiful, useful, or both!GET CREATIVE!Join the Quirks and Commas Newsletter for more writing and design tips!

Quirks and Commas

Welcome to Quirks & Commas, the home of author and designer,  Allison Martin.On this blog, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on writing, reading and designing. I’m hoping to keep the blog short and to the point, but if you are looking for more information on anything I’ll be choosing one or two blog posts each month to expand in my newsletter.Sign up to stay connected!My newsletter will be split into 5 categories:Quirks– where I talk about random things from my personal interests to research for characters I find share – worthy to interviews with fascinating people.Commas– where I will talk both the mechanics and the journey of writing.D&M– Where I talk all things graphic design and marketingTop 5– My favourite books, authors, tropes, themes, genres, anything about reading!Promo– News about my own books and projects. Reveals, releases, and sales!When you sign up for the Quirks and Commas newsletter I will send ONE email a month, possibly two for a special promotion but never more than that.Sign up in the footer orclick here!

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