Adam Croft's Blog, page 40

Editing – what not to do

Ah, editing. Some writers love it, some aren’t as keen. Either way, it’s essential. Without editing, the books we write would be full of plot holes, bizarre and unlikely grammar errors, and characters with names that aren’t necessarily static thanks to a ‘change of heart’ halfway through writing draft one. So it certainly matters.

And there are many ways of going about editing. There are lots of methods to use and different things that you can try. Still, as well as all those editing tricks you can do, there are also some things it’s probably better not to do. Here are some of the don’ts of editing a book…

Don’t… ignore it

Of course, the biggest editing don’t of all is don’t ignore it. It needs to be done. We can put it off and pretend that the need doesn’t exist for a while – sometimes it helps to do that so we can concentrate on sorting out the first draft – but eventually we need to come around to the fact that it is Time to Edit.

Don’t… do it all yourself

Writers can make a lot of progress through editing on their own. As you make your way through your first draft, you’ll probably be noting issues you need to come back to later and bits of the plot that you know you need to re-do. They can all be fixed when you edit the work, but it also helps to get someone else to look over what you’ve written. We don’t always notice our own mistakes, and even when we do, our closeness to the text can make it hard to know what to do about them. A professional editor (and proof reader) can be a valuable addition to your work.

Don’t… just do it once

For most of us, editing is not just a one-time thing, so don’t automatically declare it done once you’ve gone through the entire draft once. Most writers tend to edit in several rounds – fixing the glaring errors and issues first before combing back through the text to fix the more subtle issues. It’s unlikely you’ll pick up on everything that needs sorting on the first go round, so be prepared to spend a lot of time with your manuscript.

Don’t… ignore those small niggling issues

So your book is 80,000 words long and there’s a tiny detail on page 3 that doesn’t match up with something on page 123. It might be tempting to leave it because to fix it would mess up other things that you’d have to go back and alter, but don’t. Don’t leave it. Someone will notice, and even if they don’t, you’ll know it’s there. Even if you’ve been editing for months and are sick of the sight of your own book, don’t ignore that little error. You’ll feel better for fixing it, and your work will be better too.

Don’t… do it forever

That said, there comes a point when we have to let things go. We could edit forever if we wanted to, but eventually we need to be able to declare it done. Learn how to tell when you’ve done enough. Then start thinking about what comes next.

Tips for marketing your book before publication

It’s a well-known fact that if you are planning to self-publish your book (or, indeed, if you are being published the traditional way), there is going to be a fair amount of marketing involved. A lot of this marketing will obviously occur once your book has been published, but there is also a lot that you can (and should) do in the pre-publication phase of the process.

With this in mind, here are a few tips and ideas for marketing your book before publication…

Make sure you’ve got a killer title

If you’re going to be promoting your book before it’s published, you’ll want to make sure there’s something to get people excited. In the early stages, it’s unlikely you’ll have a huge amount of ‘official’ information about your book to use in your marketing, but since the title is usually announced in advance of publication, make sure it’s a good one.

We all make judgements based on a book’s title, so ensuring yours is catchy, memorable and intriguing will give you a great place to start from with your marketing. And, when it comes to it, make sure your advance summaries and book descriptions are just as amazing to really get people hooked.

Get yourself a platform

You don’t have to literally get yourself a soapbox and stand on it to shout about your book (although, y’know, there’s nothing stopping you from doing that too), but developing yourself a platform is a crucial early stage of marketing. Get onto social media for instance, if you haven’t already, and starting building up a profile. This can take time, so the earlier you start, the better.

Get a blog and use it to build up your readership and your credibility. Again, this can be a lengthy process, so it’s something best started well in advance of publication. You might also like to do some market research to make sure you’re targeting the right places – does the genre you’re writing in mean you need to be looking at specific websites and forums, for example?

Come up with a plan

There’s no doubting that writing and publishing a book keeps you busy. It takes a lot of time, and when you’re lurching from one stage to the next, it can sometimes be a little bit chaotic. This is why it makes sense to take a bit of time out and create yourself a good plan.

For instance, if you’re able to plan when your book is likely to be published, you’ll then be able to plan your marketing much better. The book launch is one example of something that should definitely go in the plan. How will you launch the book? Will it be online or will you have an actual ‘real world’ event? Will you do giveaways to promote it? Have you thought about giving out advance review copies so you can get some testimonials out there as quickly as possible?

A plan of action for the run up to the launch, the launch itself and those crucial early days after it is certainly a useful tool to help you make sense of all those tasks left to do and ensure that everything is under control.

What do you think are the most important marketing actions you need to take before your book is published?

What can go wrong with social media?

A lot has been written about how social media can help writers (including on this blog), particularly those involved in independent publishing who are trying to make a name for themselves. There is certainly no doubting that social media is a useful tool, but things can still go wrong. Your plans might not work out as you’d hoped and your marketing might not have as much impact as you’d like. Here are some of the issues writers can face with social media, to give you an idea of what to do and what not to do when using it to promote your work…

Lack of consistent effort

It’s OK to take a bit of time out from Facebook and Twitter now and then, but long periods of no social media action could well be harming your marketing activities. It takes time and effort to build up good followings on social media, and lengthy breaks between posts will only add to the time it takes to get where you want to be.

Lack of communication

One thing we should never forget about social media is that it’s a two way street. It isn’t just there for authors to plug their books or effectively fill their Twitter timelines with announcements to themselves. It’s also for talking to people, and one of the best ways to build your presence on social media is to be serious about this. Engage with people. Get involved in conversations. Reach out to people. After all, it’ll be hard to get anywhere with your book marketing if you don’t.

Lack of content

Why should people engage with you on social media? If they’re going to stick with you, you need to give them something to stick with – and that means you need good content. Whether it’s hilarious tweets, informative blog posts or content shared from people you admire, you need to make sure you social media content is interesting and relevant. A lack of interesting stuff could well harm your marketing plans.

Lack of resultant sales

You could have thousands of Twitter followers and loads of likes on your Facebook page, but there’s no guarantee that this will translate into epic sales for your book. This is a reminder that success is not (usually) an overnight phenomenon, and it takes time and a combination of other activities alongside your social media to make a difference. Plus we can’t forget that all important sales factor: luck. And that’s something that’s never certain.

We shouldn’t expect social media to be the magic bullet, magically propelling us up the bestseller lists. Rather, we should see it for what it is: something useful, that can help us increase our profile and perhaps make some sales, as well as a bit of fun that gives us a chance to get to know others. The value of social media is not always – or even often – monetary, but it can bring us other rewards that, with any luck, will help us on our way to achieving what we want out of our writing goals.

The power of reading

As writers, we are well aware of the power of a good story and the fun of losing yourself in a book, putting yourself in the position of various characters and following them throughout the story. It’s one of the great things about reading – as well as part of the fun of writing – and it also seems that losing yourself in a character’s trials could affect your real life too.

This article offers an interesting insight into what can happen when we get really caught up in a story – it can influence our opinions and our actions. The article is an interesting read for anyone who loves reading or writing, offering an overview of a couple of experiments where people were asked to read a story and the results were examined. For instance, it was found that when people read a story about a character overcoming difficulties in order to vote, they were more likely to vote in an upcoming election.

It also looks at things that might affect a reader’s ability to take on the character’s identity – if they are unable to forget about their own identity (such as if they’re in a room with a mirror, as found by one experiment), it is harder for them to achieve the effect.

It could also offer some useful thoughts for writers hoping to create a character that readers are really able to lose themselves in, and perhaps highlights the need for us to create compelling characters that people are able to identify with if we want our books to have as much impact as possible. Whatever your view on the matter, it’s certainly an interesting issue and an important reminder of just what stories can be capable of.

What’s the biggest cost of independent publishing?

How much does it cost to self-publish a book? That question is a bit like asking how long the proverbial piece of string is. A lot depends.

It depends whether you get someone to design a cover for you or do it yourself. It depends how and where you publish your book. It depends whether you pay someone to edit it for you, and on who you choose to do the job. It depends how many books you sell and what you count as a ‘win’.

So there are a lot of factors that have an impact on the cost of independent publishing, but when we’re talking about the costs involved, we should never forget what is arguably the most significant cost of all – your own time.

Writing a book takes up a lot of time. Usually it takes months, sometimes it takes years. Then you have to factor in the time it will take to go through the independent publishing process, from editing to formatting to design to pricing to publication to marketing… the list goes on. In short, it takes quite a bit of time.

And, while we do this because we love it and are happy to give our time to make as much of a success as possible of our books, we can’t deny that it also comes with costs on the side. Whether it’s social activities we cut back on to focus on our writing or professional sacrifices we make because we’re so keen to work on our book, we need to be able to weigh up the costs and benefits of independent publishing so that we can make an informed decision.

How much time can you afford to spend on your book, for instance? If you’re someone who only has the odd hour free from time to time, you might find that there are increased costs in terms of finding more time to achieve your writing goals. By contrast, if you have lots of free time, finding time to write and publish your book might not be so expensive.

However, no matter how ‘time rich’ (or not) you are, your time will always have a cost. It might not involve you spending your hard earned money in the way that other aspects of independent publishing might require, but time is a precious commodity, and a finite one at that. We need to make sure we use it wisely, and just like when we’re looking for the best deals on publishing-related services, we need to make sure we get as much value out of it as we possibly can.

New Kindle on the way?

For those of you who are fans of Amazon’s Kindle (and I think that probably applies to a lot of people), this news is likely to be of interest to you. It has been rumoured that Amazon is getting ready to launch a new backlit version of the Kindle – a step that makes sense when you consider that e-reader rivals Nook as well as tablet competitors like Google and Apple have already released backlit devices.

This news has yet to be confirmed, but if you take a look at this post as well as this other post, it seems that some moves may well be afoot and it might not be all that long before we see a new Kindle (or even more than one) hit the shelves – in the US at least. Either way, that’s a development certainly worth keeping our eyes peeled for.

Recent UK figures from Amazon show that the site is now selling 114 ebooks for every 100 print books it sells, so the Kindle is clearly big business on both sides of the pond, and readers are sure to be keen to learn of any upgrades or new models of the popular ereader that are due to be released. Even though it might be a while before any new models are released, the popularity of the device and ebooks in general suggest this is definitely something worth keeping abreast of.

Key skills of independent publishers

Following on from yesterday’s post about mistakes to avoid in independent publishing, today let’s take a look at what key skills independent publishers need to have…

Writing

It doesn’t really need to be said, does it? If you are going to be successful in independent publishing, you ideally need a big dollop of writing ability. An ability to put together a good story, told well and in an engaging manner is probably the most important skill of all.

Business sense

It also helps if you understand the business aspect of independent publishing. That doesn’t mean you need to be an expert straight away, but it does require a willingness to learn and acquire new skills along the way.

For instance, you will need to look at important business issues such as personal accounting, pricing your books, the process and implications of publishing, and paying any hired help you might have.

Another important aspect of business sense is knowing your own limitations. It might not sound like a skill, but I’d say that being able to tell when someone could do a better job than you at a certain aspect of independent publishing (such as proofreading your book or designing its cover) is certainly an important quality.

We all have different strengths, and while we can often improve on things we’re currently not as good at, sometimes it just makes more sense to use someone who really knows what they’re doing.

Commitment and perseverance

Can you say that commitment and perseverance are skills? I think so, because they both take a lot of discipline and dedication, without which you’d never get anywhere as an independent publisher. They are also qualities that you can work on improving.

For example, many writers have half-finished manuscripts in a drawer somewhere, and it’s only as they learn more about their craft and develop their discipline that they manage to persevere and see projects through to the end. It’s an important skill, that.

These skills are also important because success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, and hard work, and often more than one book to achieve what you want to – and even then there are no guarantees. And we often need even more commitment and perseverance when we’re trying to fit in independent publishing on top of a day job. Which brings us onto…

Time management

It might not sound much fun, but it’s a vital skill. It matters not only in terms of finding the time to write your book in the first place, but also when it comes to learning about publishing, actually publishing it and everything that comes after.

If you decide to carry on with independent publishing after your first book, you’ll probably find yourself trying to juggle writing with marketing and all of the other ‘business bits’ that go along with the industry. That requires careful time management, so doing whatever you can to develop this skill will certainly be important.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but hopefully it offers an idea of some of the key attributes you’ll need if you’re serious about independent publishing. Over to you. What do you think are the key skills independent publishers need to have?

4 independent publishing errors to avoid

Independent publishing is an increasingly popular option for writers, and it can be a great way to go if you’re keen to develop yourself as a writer while having as much control as possible over the process. However, like any other activity, there are common mistakes that could hinder your chances of success. Here are four independent publishing errors to avoid.

Publishing too early

There are several ways you could end up publishing your work too early:

The plot still has holes in it
The characters are two-dimensional or otherwise unbelievable
You’re not confident enough yet, or not quite as good as you could be with a bit more practice
The work is full of editing/proofreading errors
It hasn’t been formatted properly or some other aspect of the independent publishing process has gone awry (for instance, you’re not quite ready with your marketing)

It’s easy to see why writers are eager to get their work out there, but sometimes it does pay to hold off a little bit to make sure everything is perfect before publishing. After all, none of us want to publish a below par book, and readers don’t want to read them either, so if you’re not yet convinced you’re entirely ready, it might well be better to wait.

Waiting for readers to find you

It would be lovely if readers automatically discovered your book and made it a bestseller, but in reality this happens very rarely. No matter how good your book is, don’t make the error of failing to market it, because it’s extremely unlikely it will be a success (and certainly not as successful as it could be) if you don’t.

It’s worth taking the time to build up your author platform, such as by developing your social media presence, setting up a blog and website and so on. It takes time to build up a readership, and finding readers can be very hard work.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with publishing your book and then stepping back if that’s what you want to do, but if you’re hoping for success and as many readers as possible, you’ll definitely need to be proactive.

Not dealing with the ‘business’ properly

The business side of independent publishing is important, and it requires us to have more skills than just being able to write a good story. We also need to know about important things like formatting ebooks, the process of publishing, and managing pricing and royalties and other money issues.

You might decide that you want to learn how to do everything yourself, or you might choose to hire people to undertake certain business functions for you. Either is fine, but what matters is that you have systems in place for dealing with the business side of publishing – without it, you could well end up running into difficulty.

Forgetting what’s next

Putting energy into your current book is naturally hugely important, but a mistake that some independent publishers make is to forget about the next book. Lots of readers look for writers with multiple books out, and it can also be harder to build up momentum if you’ve only got one book to your name.

Multiple books give you more potential for sales. It will also give you more options in terms of marketing and building up your reputation. You’ll also be able to apply what you’ve learned from Book One to future books – and hopefully have more success as a result.

What do you think are the independent publishing mistakes we need to avoid?

The benefits of writing every day

You will no doubt have heard lots of writers say that it’s vital for you to write every day. Not everyone does, and there are undoubtedly plenty of authors who manage to make it work snatching writing time whenever they can as opposed to working to a specific schedule, but there are also undoubtedly benefits to making sure you write every day.

One of those benefits is that ‘little and often’ can sometimes be more manageable than ‘lots in one go’. Of course, if writing all weekend is the only option open to you, go for it. However, if you are able to fit in just a short amount of writing time every single day, such as half an hour at a time, the process of writing can become much more manageable and less daunting.

Simply put, it helps you to form a habit, and it’s easier to form a habit when you’re doing something every day as opposed to just a couple of times a week. After all, if you only write one or two days a week, it will be all too easy to change your days around, skip sessions telling yourself you’ll do it later in the week, and generally get behind on your plan. And before you know it, those one or two sessions a week might have disappeared altogether.

Writing every day can be a slog, but you will see the difference. It can also help us to be more professional in our writing, which is something we need if we’re going to make it to the end of our novels and move onto the next stage of the writing/publishing process.

Oddly, writing every day could also help you to prevent a brain drain. For instance, say you don’t write at all during the working week but then write for six hours on Sunday. Writing for so long once in a while can be great fun and wonderful for progress, but writing for so long every time we write can fast become tedious. Your brain becomes tired, and it becomes ever more difficult. You remember that difficulty and sitting down for your regular six hour marathon becomes less appealing next time around. By contrast, short bursts of writing every day can help your creative brain to stay fresh because you never work for long enough to get exhausted by it.

Different things work for different people. You might like longer, less regular sessions and if that’s something that works for you then great. But for many writers, particularly newer writers who are perhaps looking to finish their first major project, writing every day could well be much more conducive to progress.

And we can’t forget that writing is a job. It might not be our main job and we might do it mainly because it’s fun, but if we’re publishing our work in any form, we need to be clear that it is also work – and working on it every day can help with that mind-set.

What’s your view on the issue? Do you find it helps you to write every day or do you prefer to do things differently?

10 more ideas for beating procrastination

A few months ago, we took a look at some ideas for beating procrastination. Given how easy it is to succumb to what we might otherwise call Easily Distracted Writers Syndrome, here are a few more ideas to add to the list.

1)      Try some positive thinking. For example, “I need to write this scene. It will take me half an hour to do it if I concentrate and then I can go and watch telly/drink beer/engage the cat in staring contest. Therefore I will focus.” Then put your positive thinking into action.

2)      Make a chart detailing how you spend your time each day. Include things like time spent sleeping, time at work, time travelling, time writing and so on. The process of making the chart is both a form of procrastination (from your writing) and productivity (because it is designed to help your writing), so you can feel guilty and good all at the same time. Once you’ve made the chart, work out where your procrastination fits in and then eliminate it (possibly easier said than done but hey, we have to start somewhere).

3)      Write anywhere and everywhere. Well. Not really anywhere and everywhere. Don’t write at your desk when you’re meant to be doing Important Work Things involving spreadsheets, or in meetings where your attention is required. But learning to write in a range of situations can help us boost productivity, so see if you could fit in five minutes while you’re waiting for the pasta to boil etc. Don’t wait for the ‘perfect writing scenario’. That’s a form of procrastination in itself.

4)      Enlist the help of a friend. Get them to stand over you while you write and tell you off when you start to procrastinate. Promise them beer or other treat in return for their time.

5)      Close the curtains. Looking out the window can be great for inspiration, but it can also inspire us to procrastinate endlessly. Removing visual distractions can help to force us to focus on the task at hand.

6)      Do something else related to your writing. We might not be making any progress on our soon-to-bestselling (hopefully) novel, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make progress on something else, thereby being productive and not resorting to procrastination (at least not really). Research independent publishing, for instance, or learn more about whatever it is you’re writing about. Work on your social media platform. Write a blog post. Then get back to that novel.

7)      If you’re someone who just gets into the process of writing but then gets distracted by other things (messages on Twitter, how your Amazon sales are doing etc), build those things into your writing time. For instance, give yourself five minutes before you start to write to check what you need to check, and reward yourself with Twitter/Amazon breaks once an hour or so. That way, you’ll keep your writing discipline while still allowing your mind time to think about other things.

8)      Break it down. If one of your reasons for procrastinating is that the scene you need to write is a bit of a whopper or just generally scary, split it into sections and just focus on them one at a time. Hopefully it won’t be so daunting that way, and you’ll be able to make steady progress.

9)      Have a deadline. Whether it’s a competition deadline, a National Novel Writing Month deadline or something self-imposed, setting yourself a date for when you want to have finished your project can help you to force away the temptation to procrastinate.

10)  Work on your writing discipline. If you’ve got the writing habit, with any luck, procrastination will start to fade into the background. It’s something we all have to deal with sometimes, but writing habitually can help us to banish it faster than we otherwise would.

What are your tips for beating procrastination?