S.M. Thomas's Blog, page 2

When is it finished?

It’s something we all struggle with.

Knowing when to hit that save button for the last time. When to put the pen down. When to remove the field of post it notes from your mind.

The Diseased has been written and edited numerous times.

I’ve had Beta Readers, Editors and proof readers go over it numerous time. Each time I’ve taken their feedback on board and made changes. Each change has added depth to the characters and the story I never expected.

I could keep going with this process forever,

I don’t think a story is every really done. I look back at my first two books and wish I could rewrite them because I know now that I could make them infinitely better.

But you have to stop eventually. If you don’t you’ll probably go a little bit mad.

Everyone has an opinion on when you know a project is finished and here’s mine.

When you can’t stand the idea of reading it again. You still love the world and characters you’ve created but the idea of re-reading your own story for the hundredth time fills you with dread.

That’s when it’s done. That’s when you’ve given everything you can to it. That’s when you get to finish.

Marketing

So, if you’re brave enough to be self-publishing your book it turns out you don’t only have to write, edit, edit, cry and edit it again. No! You are also responsible for the marketing of your book.

This is something I’ve sorted of avoiding doing at a large scale until now, the occasional Facebook advert when the book is free as part of KDP etc, but next month we’re going to start doing things for real.

Not only is this new focus a steep learning curve but it’s also a nice distraction for the mind as I wait to hear back from the queries I have out with agents.

The Light will be discounted to 99p as of the 4th of April until the 29th and I’ve contacted various websites and newsletters asking them to consider it for inclusion during this time period.

We’ve sponsored genres on various sites and I spent last night pulling together images to be used on the new instagram account and various other social media portals. Needless to say I’m exhausted!

If you’re looking into creating images like the below for use on social media, goodreads profiles etc then I can fully recommend using Pexels to find royalty free images and then I use the IOS app Font Candy to edit the image so it matches my campaigns theme and finally I add the text.

Let me know your marketing strategies - I always need to learn more!

It takes a village

It takes a village to raise a child. It also takes one to write a book.

I am so blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people who not only keep me motivated but who are also willing to read the same book over and over to help me strengthen it.

Find your support network.
Lean on it.

Help other writers.

We’re all in this together.

My village for my writing doesn’t differentiate that much from the village that supports me through the trials and tribulations of parenting - Jackie, Nick, Charlotte, Viv, Sharon, Liz, Sophie, Andy, Debbie - thank you for being my village.

Whose in your village?

Taking a Chance

One of the hardest things about life is taking a chance.

Putting yourself out there opens you up to rejection. It’s far safer and preferable to stick to what you know, to write just for yourself and perhaps your friends and family. That way you never have to deal with the world telling you that you’re not quite there yet.

That’s the thing with taking a chance or taking a risk. Yes it opens you up to rejection, it opens you up to it on a massive scale. It opens you up to bad reviews, trolling comments and negativity. But do you know what else taking a chance can do? It can give you opportunities you never dreamt of. Not just the chance to be published, it gives you the opportunity to improve your craft. To go back to the drawing board. To shape your story into something stronger than you’ve ever had before.

If you don’t take a chance with your writing you will never improve. You will never know your weak spots. You will never grow as a writer.

So ask a friend to read your story. Create a submission pack for an agent. Post your words online for others to read.

Open yourself up to chance, know that even when things seem negative something good can grow from it.

A risk is always worth taking.

The Right Way To Write

Spoiler alert. There is no right way to write.

Write on your laptop. Write on your phone. Write on scraps of paper you find in your jacket.

Scratch your words into the floor with your bare hands. Dust off the typewriter you brought at Oxfam. Create a safe space. Lay in your bed. Sit up straight. Lounge

Write on the bus. Write on your sofa. Write at your desk. Write standing up. Write sitting down. Write on the toilet. But please, wash your hands.

Write in whatever way you have to, spill the words into the world like vomit from your heart until you are empty. Some days you’ll do it with passion and it will seem never ending. Some days you will do it reluctantly and create nothing more than a chapter header.

Then when all the creative bile has left your body and you are satisfied there is no more story to tell, you’ll know. That’s when you’ll know the right way to write. Because it will be the right way for you.

I mean sure then you have a world of editing ahead of you but that’s another stress for another day.

Inspiration

I don’t know about you but sometimes inspiration abandons me. It pisses off at the exact moment I need it most and leaves me frustrated and a little defeated.

What I’ve learnt over my years on the earth however is not to stress about it. It happens to us all and just because you don’t know what to write about today doesn’t mean you won’t know what to write about tomorrow. Or the next day. Or month. Or year.

You are on no-one’s timeline but your own.

In my humble opinion the more you try to force yourself to write the harder it becomes. The less polished your work becomes. Writing because you believe you should be writing is often counterproductive to your output. I would never encourage a fellow writer to sit down and force the words out of them.

Take time off. Watch television. Put on some awful music and dance around your living room. Have a drink. Have a coffee. Talk shit to a friend. Do whatever you feel you need to do and enjoy it. Don’t feel guilty that it’s time you should be writing. Inspiration will come back to you. I promise. It will most likely strike at the least convenient time but it will strike. You will not have writer’s block forever. Everything passes.

When I was writing ‘The Light 2’ I had two full months where I didn’t write a single word. I didn’t edit. I didn’t make notes. I didn’t even daydream about my characters. I was completely without any inspiration or drive to finish the story.

One day when mindlessly scrolling through my Facebook feed I came across this image from my very creative friend, Hannah Wilcox, illusive illustration:

It was as if she’d reached directly into my brain and unlocked all my creativity. I looked at that piece of art so many times as I wrote the rest of the book, in fact I finished the book two weeks after first seeing this image. That’s how powerful it was to my writing process.

So what I’m saying is please give yourself a break when inspiration abandons you. And please don’t feel bad about it. But please don’t ever give up. The story is still lurking there inside of your brain, just waiting for the right moment to be revealed to you.

If you’d like to check out the rest of Hannah’s work and see if anything starts the cylinders firing for you then you can find her website here: www.illusiveillustration.com