Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 223
July 23, 2011
How To Break Writing Habits Even If You're Not A Writer
We all tell stories. Some of us write them down. But I feel we all write our lives for others to read. Even if you can honestly say you're not and have never been and will never be a writer, I want to contend, for the length of this post, that you do "Write".
Writing is usually thought of as putting words on paper or screen but the word "write" came from roots that meant "carve, scratch, and cut".
In a previous post titled, Really, No *Really*, What The Heck Is Writing?, I took those meanings of writing (plus, "paint") and wrote this:
"Pardon me while a let the poetic side of my personality take control for a minute:
"Authors can sometimes be said to carve a place for themselves in our culture.
"There are also many writers barely scratching out a living.
"Many wish they could cut a swath of recognition through the crowd of other writers.
"And, our favorite writers are those who paint images in our minds with their words."
When I wrote that, I was having a little fun with words but, if you substitute "people" for "writers"/"authors" in those sentences, they do make sense.
OK, I admit, that in no way makes every person a writer; but, what is the carving, scratching, and cutting that writers do and can those activities be seen in anyone's life?
It seems fairly obvious to me that those root meanings for "write" come from the time in human history before pen and ink, when writing was not something that could be easily thrown away after being read or swiftly deleted with a keystroke. Our ancestor-writers wrote for keeps; they wrote to have their words clearly remembered; they cut and scratched and carved important ideas, even if they were "only" the tallies of goods flowing through a port.
So I'm proposing you consider the actions you perform to make an impression or influence someone or make an idea count as ways you Write your life for others to Read.
And, just as the commonly-accepted writer must edit what they write before they present it for reading, the actions we take to carve, scratch, and cut important feelings and thoughts into our social fabric should be as well-conceived as we can make them before we expect others to Read us right…
So, I suppose I'd better address that habit breaking I have in the title if my little cut/scratch/carve effort pays what it promised.
I have only one method I can offer that's worked for me:
Don't try to stop yourself from doing what you want to stop yourself from doing.
Do more of what you want yourself to do.
Spending your energy on doing the new thing may seem ineffective at first (while you're still also doing what you don't want to do) but, over time, the new Do can replace the old Don't with less stress and strain on your mental hygiene.
I can't reckon the time I've wasted in my life trying valiantly to ram my head into the brick walls of my bad habits.
I'm still surprised I still have a brain that can function.
Oh!! I shouldn't fail in offering a maxim I've learned about habit-breaking:
Avoid taking advice from folks who act like they're perfect.
I still have bad habits and I'm still persistently and Gently trying to Do what I wish I would do.
I am making progress…
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Tagged: bad habits, good habits, habit, habits, writer, Writers Resources, writing, writing habits
July 22, 2011
State of The Blog Message
Time to account for my nearly obsessive attention to posting five times a week on this blog.
Sure, I've got stuff to say and there's always info worth sharing but, over the short long-haul of this blog's life (6 months and 22 days), what have the folks who visited found most interesting?
First, in the wonderful Stats that WordPress compiles is the HomePage number of 3,710 views; which, of course can be as brief as an eye-blink :-)
So, subtracting those views from total visits leaves 5,323 views of individual posts.
But, next in the list of top views are the AboutPages for me and my book–246 & 206, respectively. BTW, the consensual wisdom is that AboutPages are usually the most-visited places on a blog; for good reason, eh?
And then come the numbers for the most-visited individual posts–something that informs me about the reaction of my readers to my efforts…
Here are the Top Ten:
Writing Challenge ~ Use The 1200 Most Common Words To Write A Story…
150
Author Interview ~ Maria Savva
133
Author Interview ~ Karla Telega
105
Author Interview ~ Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick
100
In Memorium, for Jamie…
77
Invitation To The Madhouse ~ Report On Self-Publishing
77
Author Interview ~ Simone Benedict
71
Author Interview ~ Stacy Juba
67
A Virtual Memorial That Brings Real Tears…
66
This Is The Way It Must Be Done!
65
Any thoughts about what folks like most on this blog??
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Tagged: Alexander M Zoltai, blog, blog stats, most visited, Notes from An Alien, popular posts, top blog posts, top posts
July 21, 2011
An "Open Source" Novel ??
Seeing the words "open source" can make many folks immediately think of computer software like LibreOffice, the free Productivity Suite that, to me, is as good as, or better than, Microsoft's Office.
Open source connotes creative, usable, free, swiftly updated, and, to some, radical…
But, an open source novel???
Enter Cheryl Ives and Timeless. I'll let her explain a bit:
"I am building a core story (previously known as a novel) and inviting everyone who loves it, me (or both!) to help create as I write, and help build a multi-media creative experience."
Here's a page on the various way you can be involved.
And, here's a look at some of the folks already involved.
Cheryl also says: "I have my own ideas about where the plot trails are going, but nothing's quite decided. You still have lots of leverage and room to sway the direction. If you don't like the turns I take, maybe take a stab at it yourself (I think they call this a 'fork')."
She's also looking for a "conversation widget" she can embed on the site. If you can help, give her a Tweet :-) Twitter: @MrsWhich by night,@cherylives by day.
And, if you're not on Twitter, she's accepting feedback, ideas, nitpicks, and flights of fancy right here :-)
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Tagged: Cheryl Ives, LibreOffice, novel, novels, Office suite, open source, open source project, opensource
July 19, 2011
Authors Want Readers & Need Money . . .
My recently published book is for sale and I'm still giving away free final manuscripts…
I need money and that's why the book is for sale…
I want readers and that's one reason I still give it away…
The second reason I still give it away is summed up in a past post: Free = Sales ~ Give It Away & Sell More…
Naturally, there are other ways for writers to make money with their art/craft.
Let me, by way of introduction, paste an About Page:
"Wrylilt is a 25 year old married mother of one.
"She lives in Queensland, Australia.
"She's currently one course away from completing a Diploma of Arts in Journalism.
"She worked in retail and administration up until March 2011 and is now working at home full time on her websites, articles and first book."
I met this woman in the virtual world Second Life and I recommend you visit her website for some ideas on how to turn writing into necessary cash…
If nothing else, check out her Tips, Tricks, and Guides page :-)
BTW, I don't think this woman's site is just for budding or seasoned fiction writers, or even for only those who aspire to journalism. Her ideas can be used by anyone who has something to say…
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Tagged: author, freelance writing, journalism, money from writing, publish, Second Life, writer, Writers Resources
July 18, 2011
My New Social Network . . .
One week ago I was pondering Google+, a new way of doing social networking, in the post, Book Promotion & Social Networking Frenzy ~ Pondering Google+.
A few hours after I published that post, my blogging-buddy, Lindsay Buroker, sent me an invite for Google+ :-)
I gave a couple introductory links about G+ in last week's post and I've been reading all the articles I can on what folks think and what it means in the Web's social landscape and how to do things inside it.
That last part generated the best news I can offer, being only a week old as a G+ user–it's not hard to get used to it :-)
All I had last week was a bad taste in my mouth from Facebook and Twitter and the hope that G+ would come through and create another dimension for my book promotion activities.
At the one week mark, I'm extremely satisfied with the Google+ experience and can see many ways to use it to broaden my connection with folks I already know and those I've wished I could know.
As far as finding people to follow, check out this G+ Directory; and do notice the links on the left side to narrow down your search…
I also found 40 Google Plus Tips for Newbies.
And, for all you Readers, Writers, and Publishers, there's literary/book people lists on Google+.
If you'd like to try Google+, I still have a few invites left to hand out–send me an email at amzolt@gmail.com and hope I still have one left for you :-)
G+ is still in what they're calling the "field test" stage but, heck, if it's as good as it is right now, I can imagine it can only get way better!!
And, if you want to check out a bit of the insides of Google+ before committing to try it, use this G+ Search tool…
Does Google+ intrigue you?
Are you going to try it??
Have you already gotten in???
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Tagged: book promotion, Facebook, Google, Google Plus, networking, Social network, social networking, Twitter
July 17, 2011
You Don't Have To Know Everything . . .
I'll begin this post with a quote from author Dina Santorelli:
"Although I feel firmly in control while I write, I never feel like I know everything, or if I'd want to know everything. In fact, one of my favorite things is when I'm asked a question about my book and I don't have a ready answer. I love when the question has me thinking, Hmmm… why DID he do that?…"
I'll make the middle of this post a heart-felt plea for you to go read the whole post that quote came from: Writing Tip #40
And the end of this post is another quote from Dina's post:
"That digging. That trying to understand….there are things that we, ourselves, do that surprise us and stymie us, that we try to make sense of. Our characters, who are really just extensions of ourselves, are no different…"
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Tagged: author, Dina Santorelli, Making Baby Grand, novel, writer, writing, writing tip, writing tips
July 16, 2011
Author Interview ~ Gwen Mayo
We've had two Author Mini-Interviews so far–with Sarah Glenn and Eve Macbeth. Of course, we still have all of our other, slightly longer, Author Interviews.
Today, we have another Mini and it needs mentioning that all of these shorter interviews come from the pages of Book Island's weekly newsletter, Heads Up, in the virtual world of Second Life.
So, let's get the interview with Gwen Mayo rolling:
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Gwen, when did you start writing?
I started writing poetry when they were building the Vietnam War Memorial. I really wanted to be there and hear my brother's name read on the plaza, but I was just a poor kid from Kentucky. Then I heard about this contest for a poem that would be part of the dedication. I must have written fifty poems that I threw away before coming up with the one that I sent. Probably the most profound and humbling moment of my life was standing there by that black wall reading my words into a microphone.
Completely Fascinating, Gwen… Tell me, what were your other early writings about?
My early stories weren't written. There were no libraries or bookstores in my home town. I was like a lot of other storytellers who grew up in the Appalachian region. I kind of lived inside my head, making up stories and telling them to my kid sister and her friends. A lot of the stories were about Kentucky, but my sister's favorites were adventures that took place in far away places. When she was about six, my sister refused to go to sleep until she got her nightly fix of Carson the Coconut Boy. I spent an entire year making up nightly chapters of the adventures of a three inch tall boy who lived in a coconut shell.
Whoot! That's great :-) Now, tell us about your "writing habits"?
Sarah tells me that my biggest writing habit is to wait until she isn't around. Seriously, living in a two writer household has its own special challenges. My wife believes life needs a soundtrack. To write, I need quiet. Usually, that means I write on weekend mornings while she sleeps in. I also write from beginning to end. When I start editing, I may discover the first chapter is backstory that needs to be cut. Parts of it may get worked into later chapters, but I have a finished draft first.
When were you published?
Aside from that first poem, there were several of my poems published in the 1980's and in the 1990's. A poem of mine was turned into a performance piece, and I got to go to college on an arts fellowship. I started writing short fiction in college. My first short story wasn't published until 2005. My debut novel came out on the 4th of July last year.
Tell us about that book.
Circle of Dishonor is a historical mystery. Nessa Donnelly, my detective, is a former Pinkerton Agent who has assumed her brother's identity. She's spent fourteen years chasing the secret society responsible for his death. In the spring of 1879, a young prostitute who befriended her is suspected of murder and in the course of trying to clear her friend, she discovers a plot that puts everyone she cares about in danger. The Knights of the Golden Circle, the secret society she has been hunting, is active again and Nessa is racing the clock to stop them before they wreck her life again.
Gwen, thanks, so much, for taking the time to give us a peek into your writing life!!
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So, folks, be sure to go to Gwen's site for more information on her debut novel and other interesting aspects of her life:
It's A World of Secrets…
And, if you're ever in Second Life, visit Gwen's bookshop…
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Tagged: author interview, Book Island, Circle of Dishonor, debut novel, Gwen Mayo, historical mystery, Second Life, Vietnam War Memorial
July 15, 2011
Bestsellers . . .
That title up there has a definition that rather surprised me. I typed it in and used the handy highlight-and-look-up-dictionary I have to check the spelling ( it's very late and I worked very hard today :-)
I'd spelled it right but the definition wasn't just something like: books that sell a lot of copies.
Here's my dictionary's entry ~ "A book that has had a large and rapid sale"
So, slightly taken aback by that "rapid" part, I'll forge ahead and recommend an exercise for Readers, Writers, and Publishers.
Whether you read books, write books, and/or publish books, it might be of some aid if you could familiarize yourself with books that fall into these categories I plucked from Wikipedia:
1 — List of best-selling single-volume books
1.1 More than 100 million copies
1.2 Between 50 million and 100 million copies
1.3 Between 30 million and 50 million copies
1.4 Between 20 million and 30 million copies
1.5 Between 10 million and 20 million copies
2 — List of best-selling book series
2.1 At least 100 million copies
2.2 Between 50 million and 100 million copies
2.3 Between 30 million and 50 million copies
2.4 Between 20 million and 30 million copies
2.5 Between 15 million and 20 million copies
3 — List of best-selling regularly updated books
3.1 More than 100 million copies
3.2 Between 50 million and 100 million copies
3.3 Between 30 million and 50 million copies
3.4 Between 20 million and 30 million copies
3.5 Between 10 million and 20 million copies
I'm sitting here trying to grasp the concept of 100 million copies of the same book and being hindered by being just as incapable of comprehending 20 million copies…
In case your not the type of person who clicks all the links in a blog post, I'll list the top three books in each of the three 100 million-catagories:
Best-selling single-volume books ~ More than 100 million copies
Best-selling book series ~ More than 100 million copies
Best-selling regularly updated books ~ More than 100 million copies
Xinhua Zidian / Xinhua Dictionary
Have any surprises?
Think they got the numbers wrong??
Wish other books had been in the top three???
Before you answer those questions, I'm compelled to put their disclaimer about why certain books were not included. I'll make it small in case you don't care about disclaimers:
"Religious books, especially the Bible and the Qur'an, are probably the most-printed books, but it is nearly impossible to find reliable figures about them. Many copies of the Bible and the Qur'an are printed and given away free, instead of being sold. The same goes for some political books, like the works of Mao Zedong or Adolf Hitler. All such books have been excluded from this list for those reasons."
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Tagged: A Tale of Two Cities, bestseller, books, Harry Potter, Perry Mason, publishing, The Lord of the Rings, Wikipedia
July 14, 2011
Considering The Writer/Reader Relationship…
I've referenced Joel Friedlander and his blog, The Book Designer, a number of times on this blog.
One post in particular, Where's The Gate? ~ More Thoughts On Publishing…, would make a good paired-reading with this post…
There's no doubt that the relationship between writer and reader is undergoing fundamental change.
My personal take, stated briefly, is that we'll see the reader replacing the publisher as the force determining which books get read.
Certainly, since books have been in existence, readers have shared their book picks and had some influence on book sales. However, much of the influence readers have been able to wield has been leveraged and/or payed for by publishers.
So, assuming readers are capable of gaining power in the process of book sales and distribution, how can an author facilitate the transfer of power?
Joel invited Mary Tod to guest post about the writer/reader relationship in, How Self-Publishing Changes the Bond Between Readers and Writers.
I'll share her bullet-points about what the self-published writer should consider when they ponder their readers:
Listening – create ways to listen to your readers and collect data about what you hear; use focus groups and surveys to support regular listening mechanisms. Make sure you respond when they 'talk' to you.
Customer knowledge – find out why people buy your products (or not), why they recommend you to others (or not), why they are repeat buyers. Understand what else they buy.
More customer knowledge – understand who your buyers are, what segment and communities they belong to.
Conversations – find unique ways of connecting with readers, ways that will enhance your brand as an author, ways that enable dialogue not one-way broadcast.
Collaborate – go beyond listening and conversation to collaborate with your readers, perhaps testing your products in advance of a full launch or soliciting ideas for additional content.
Long term relationships – develop mechanisms to foster long term connections with your readers. Keep them engaged even as you create new offerings.
Community – build a community of your readers. Facilitate mechanisms for readers to interact with one another as part of this community and to broaden the reach to additional readers.
I strongly encourage you to read the whole article.
Then, come back here and help me have a conversation about it, ok?
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Tagged: author, Joel Friedlander, Mary Tod, publish, reader, self-publish, The Book Designer, writer
July 13, 2011
Cramming Together What I Can't Make Stand Alone :-)
As I scan the news and other outlets of content on the Web, I often bookmark articles that seem to have promise as something to feature in a post here.
Well, not all bookmarks inspire me to the same degree but many of them still remain worthy as references some folks may find valuable.
Here are just a few:
Are MFA programs ruining American fiction? ~ Excerpt: "It's true that MFA programs have produced far more competent mediocrities than shining stars, but that's also true of every other literary ecosystem. Shining stars are by definition exceptional… Yes, MFA grads with nothing to say are now able to say it more skillfully, but authors were pretty good at being boring before university writing programs came along and would surely go on being boring if every MFA program were wiped off the face of the earth. The programs don't make them dull, even if they also can't make them interesting."
Digital fails to curb number of books published in US ~ Snippet: "Traditional US print book output increased 5% in 2010, despite the huge growth in e-books, though there was a continuing fall in the number of fiction titles published."
8 Things Readers Want From Self-Published Authors ~ "…an excellent to-do list of how self-published authors can be taken seriously by readers."
Why I Will Never, Ever Hire A "Social Media Expert" ~ Even though this article is written for "business" people, it's easily translatable for writers as long as the writer considers their promotional effort a business venture…
I've got some more "can't-seem-to-make-a-whole-post-out-of-this-article" selections but I'll save them for another day :-)
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Tagged: creative writing, Jane Friedman, Laura Miller, Master of Fine Arts, MFA, publishing, Salon, Writers Resources
