Everly Anders's Blog, page 2

Cold Skin by Albert Sanchez Pinol

[image error]I don't like scary books. I once saw a scary play and was afraid of my closet for weeks afterwards (sadly that's not a joke. It really happened). So, when my sister-in-law handed me her copy of Cold Skin and told me I just had to read it, I gave her my "I'm only doing this because we're family" smile and silently thanked the gods that it was a short book. I ended up reading it in one day. It was one of those page-turner books where you really want to jump ahead and see what happens, but you can't because you are worried you will miss something.

What I loved about Cold Skin was that it was not so much gory or violent as it was eerie. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up the entire time I was reading. I really enjoyed all the twists and turns, but then I got to the end and it was like the author slapped me around the head for assuming it was going to be your average horror story. The end of the book gave me a whole new perspective on the human condition and what a person can endure before they break; a horror story that teaches you something, who knew.

As soon as I was done with it I wanted to run out and make everyone I knew read it. So, I guess that's why I am giving this review. It's my way of handing you my copy off it and saying "You just have to read this".

Book Description:

On the edge of the Antarctic Circle, in the years after World War One, a steam ship approaches a desolate island far from all shipping lanes. On board is a young man, on his way to assume the lonely post of weather observer, to live in solitude for a year at the end of the world.

But on shore he finds no trace of the man whom he has been sent to replace, just a deranged castaway who has witnessed a horror he refuses to name. The rest is woods, a deserted cabin, rocks, silence, and the surrounding sea. And then night begins to fall . . .

Finally wised up…

[image error]

Judging a Book By It’s Cover

When I was a child and needed to get a shot, my mother used to say the same thing I am going to tell you now, “This will only hurt for a moment, but it’s going to make you better”. So here goes, your book cover sucks. Wait, don’t get mad and start defending yourself. Just hear me out. Yes, there are a few of you out there who this does not apply to, but for 90% of you it’s true. Believe me, I know I have had some of the worst in history. I know exactly what happens. You have slaved away at your manuscript for the last two years, working it out line by line on the weekends, after the kids go to bed and sometimes at work while you should have been doing something else. You finally finish it. Your baby is perfect. Your friends and family have been waiting for so long to see it completed and you just can’t wait to get it up online. You are not a graphic designer so you do the best you can. You find a free picture or take one yourself. Throw your name and title on it and put it up online. Then you refresh the screen about three thousand times and wonder why you haven’t sold one yet.

The problem is not your writing. This is the best piece of literature that has ever been written, Shakespeare has nothing on you. Unfortunately, no one knows that because your cover sucks. As we all know and don’t like to admit, people still judge a book by its cover. Raise your hand if you have ever bought a book just because you loved the cover. Be honest, my hand is raised. Now raise your hand if you have picked up a book and read the back because you liked the cover so much. Yep, that’s everyone. I hate to say this but your cover is actually more important than what you write inside, when it comes to sales. Hey, stop throwing things at me! Remember what I told you at the beginning.

There are two major problems you have when it comes to a cover. One is, you’re not a book designer or a graphic artist. You’re a writer for crying out loud, isn’t that enough? No, unfortunately now-a-days it’s not. A painter doesn’t paint his own painting, make his paint and pull his own canvas all by himself. He also isn’t the one who sits in a store and sells all his own paintings. He just paints. He buys what he needs and hires someone to do everything else. And you should too. Let me spell it out for you, you need to hire a cover artist or graphic designer. Let experts do what they do while you concentrate on writing the best book ever. The bottom line is that readers generally don’t give self-published authors a chance. They see our crudely put together cover and they avoid it, even though the best book ever written is inside. I’m not saying it’s right, it’s just reality. I can’t tell you how many times someone I know has bought a self-published book and loved it without ever knowing it was a self-published book. Why? Because the cover looked like any other cover from one of the big 6. That’s what your goal is and it takes a professional to get you there.

Fine, you say you want to do your own cover because you can’t afford a graphic designer or because you want the pride of doing it yourself and having it turn out just the way you want it. No problem, but that brings me to your second problem. Your friends and family lie to you. They do it because they love you and don’t want to hurt you. Yes, they lie even when you tell them to be honest about your book cover. You need their honest opinions. So, show them 3 or 4 book covers by different authors and slip yours in there as well. Ask them to tell you what they like and don’t like about each cover and ask which ones they would buy and why. You will get a much more honest answer. Then, go look at books that grab your attention and decide why you were drawn to them. Also try looking at covers of really successful books and figure out what makes them so good. This is even more important than the ones you like. Your not selling your books to yourself, your selling it to the masses. So, you need your book cover to appeal to them more than yourself. Lastly, buy a book or go on YouTube and watch some videos on graphic design. If your going to do it yourself then be the best at it you can be.

So don’t get down on yourself about your book cover, just change it and make it better. Remember that your cover needs to be one image that grabs the reader and says, “Spend your hard earned money and buy me, then spend your few precious hours of free in your busy life and read me”. If your cover doesn’t say that, don’t fret. Just follow these tips and try again.

Judging a Book By It's Cover

When I was a child and needed to get a shot, my mother used to say the same thing I am going to tell you now, "This will only hurt for a moment, but it's going to make you better". So here goes, your book cover sucks. Wait, don't get mad and start defending yourself. Just hear me out. Yes, there are a few of you out there who this does not apply to, but for 90% of you it's true. Believe me, I know I have had some of the worst in history. I know exactly what happens. You have slaved away at your manuscript for the last two years, working it out line by line on the weekends, after the kids go to bed and sometimes at work while you should have been doing something else. You finally finish it. Your baby is perfect. Your friends and family have been waiting for so long to see it completed and you just can't wait to get it up online. You are not a graphic designer so you do the best you can. You find a free picture or take one yourself. Throw your name and title on it and put it up online. Then you refresh the screen about three thousand times and wonder why you haven't sold one yet.

The problem is not your writing. This is the best piece of literature that has ever been written, Shakespeare has nothing on you. Unfortunately, no one knows that because your cover sucks. As we all know and don't like to admit, people still judge a book by its cover. Raise your hand if you have ever bought a book just because you loved the cover. Be honest, my hand is raised. Now raise your hand if you have picked up a book and read the back because you liked the cover so much. Yep, that's everyone. I hate to say this but your cover is actually more important than what you write inside, when it comes to sales. Hey, stop throwing things at me! Remember what I told you at the beginning.

There are two major problems you have when it comes to a cover. One is, you're not a book designer or a graphic artist. You're a writer for crying out loud, isn't that enough? No, unfortunately now-a-days it's not. A painter doesn't paint his own painting, make his paint and pull his own canvas all by himself. He also isn't the one who sits in a store and sells all his own paintings. He just paints. He buys what he needs and hires someone to do everything else. And you should too. Let me spell it out for you, you need to hire a cover artist or graphic designer. Let experts do what they do while you concentrate on writing the best book ever. The bottom line is that readers generally don't give self-published authors a chance. They see our crudely put together cover and they avoid it, even though the best book ever written is inside. I'm not saying it's right, it's just reality. I can't tell you how many times someone I know has bought a self-published book and loved it without ever knowing it was a self-published book. Why? Because the cover looked like any other cover from one of the big 6. That's what your goal is and it takes a professional to get you there.

Fine, you say you want to do your own cover because you can't afford a graphic designer or because you want the pride of doing it yourself and having it turn out just the way you want it. No problem, but that brings me to your second problem. Your friends and family lie to you. They do it because they love you and don't want to hurt you. Yes, they lie even when you tell them to be honest about your book cover. You need their honest opinions. So, show them 3 or 4 book covers by different authors and slip yours in there as well. Ask them to tell you what they like and don't like about each cover and ask which ones they would buy and why. You will get a much more honest answer. Then, go look at books that grab your attention and decide why you were drawn to them. Also try looking at covers of really successful books and figure out what makes them so good. This is even more important than the ones you like. Your not selling your books to yourself, your selling it to the masses. So, you need your book cover to appeal to them more than yourself. Lastly, buy a book or go on YouTube and watch some videos on graphic design. If your going to do it yourself then be the best at it you can be.

So don't get down on yourself about your book cover, just change it and make it better. Remember that your cover needs to be one image that grabs the reader and says, "Spend your hard earned money and buy me, then spend your few precious hours of free in your busy life and read me". If your cover doesn't say that, don't fret. Just follow these tips and try again.

It’s Okay to Suck

[image error]Several years ago I was lucky enough to see author David Sedaris give a talk in California. He told us a story that really stood out to me. He said a women came up to him after his show one time and asked if he would read her nineteen-year old daughters manuscript. She raved about what a good writer her daughter was and how much he would enjoy her work. Sedaris turned to the women and said, “I don’t have to read it to know that it sucks.” The woman stood stunned, so Sedaris added, “I know it sucks because she is nineteen and that is what she is suppose to be doing right now, writing things that suck. That’s the only way she will learn. You should not be pushing her to be anything more than what she is right now.”

When he told that story to the audience it elicited a few nervous giggles and a few more blank stares. I was one of those blank stares. I was around the same age and was hoping everything I wrote would be a best seller and launch me into stardom. When I look back to the things I wrote then, I realize that everything I wrote sucked too. I think about what he said differently now. He was giving us permission to suck, which is not something many people do. We all have to start somewhere so why not start with crap? They say it takes a writer a million written words to find their voice. If you don’t allow yourself to suck then you won’t even get to word two. We are so afraid that our writing will suck that we allow ourselves to fall into weeklong fits of writers block. We would rather not write at all than write something that wasn’t any good. The best advice I ever received about getting over writer’s block was that even if all you can do is write crap, then get a shovel and move it around a little. Eventually your brain will figure something out. So, my advice for the day is to go out there and write. While you are at it, write badly for an entire day and see what happens.

It's Okay to Suck

[image error]Several years ago I was lucky enough to see author David Sedaris give a talk in California. He told us a story that really stood out to me. He said a women came up to him after his show one time and asked if he would read her nineteen-year old daughters manuscript. She raved about what a good writer her daughter was and how much he would enjoy her work. Sedaris turned to the women and said, "I don't have to read it to know that it sucks." The woman stood stunned, so Sedaris added, "I know it sucks because she is nineteen and that is what she is suppose to be doing right now, writing things that suck. That's the only way she will learn. You should not be pushing her to be anything more than what she is right now."

When he told that story to the audience it elicited a few nervous giggles and a few more blank stares. I was one of those blank stares. I was around the same age and was hoping everything I wrote would be a best seller and launch me into stardom. When I look back to the things I wrote then, I realize that everything I wrote sucked too. I think about what he said differently now. He was giving us permission to suck, which is not something many people do. We all have to start somewhere so why not start with crap? They say it takes a writer a million written words to find their voice. If you don't allow yourself to suck then you won't even get to word two. We are so afraid that our writing will suck that we allow ourselves to fall into weeklong fits of writers block. We would rather not write at all than write something that wasn't any good. The best advice I ever received about getting over writer's block was that even if all you can do is write crap, then get a shovel and move it around a little. Eventually your brain will figure something out. So, my advice for the day is to go out there and write. While you are at it, write badly for an entire day and see what happens.

10 Ways To Overcome Writer’s Block

Writers block, you know what that is right? That thing that makes you stomp your feet, pull your hair out and bang your head against your computer at Starbucks. Wait, is it just me that does that? The point is, everyone gets writers block every once in a while. The thing about it is that your normal routine will not get you out of it. You need to wake your mind up with something new. Here are ten things to try next time you suffer this debilitating illness. Not all of them will work for everyone but give these a try because the whole point is that you need to get out of your comfort zone and look at things in a new way.

 

Go for a walk or run. This is great because it gets you outside and away from your computer. It is also good to get your blood running. Sitting all day pulls your blood away from your head. You need to stand up and move around in order to get the blood pumping again. Try going for a walk or run in a new place. You never know what will spark that new idea.

 

Write from a different character’s point of view for a while. If your writing a story about a man who loves to fish with his dog, why not try it from the dog’s point of view? You could always try it from the point of view of someone who is not in the story, like the guy who is fishing across the river. What does he think about your character? This is a great exercise because it forces you to look at your story and your characters differently.

 

Do a Character Analysis on your characters. Write your character’s name at the top of a piece of paper. Then answer questions about them, where did they grow up? How do they feel about their parents? What was their adolescence like? Those are a few to get you started. Write at least two pages about the life of your character. You might learn a thing or two. I like to try to find a picture of what I think they look like and pin it to my wall. That way I see them every time I sit down to write.

 

Find a writing exercise on the Internet or do one of the daily ones I put up on my Facebook page. Writing exercise are great because once again, they get you out of your element. The greatest thing about writing exercises is that you don’t want to do them. So when you do finally sit down to do one, you end up digging deeper than you would have normally. I know, you thought you were done with writing assignments long ago but sorry, you can’t escape them. They’re like death, taxes and dogs that go to the bathroom on your lawn.

 

Write in a different tense. This always helps me. If you are writing a story in first person, try writing it in third, or maybe second? This often opens up a world to you that you did not see before. Warning, don’t try this exercise if you already have schizophrenic tendencies.

 

Write to music. This will usually help with mood and tone. Make a different play list for each project you are working on. This really helps you stay motivated and focused. Sometimes it’s just what you need to be able to stay in the emotion and tone your working with.

 

Write in a new genre. If you’re having trouble coming up with your next great idea, try to write something completely different. If you’re a Horror writer, why not try a children’s book? If you’re a children’s book writer, why not try a Romance? This will get you out of your element and you might surprise yourself with how well rounded you can be. Just don’t get them confused, no one wants to read a children’s horror book with a little romance, or do they?

 

Make your story into a poem or song. Sometimes to move forward, you need to look back. It’s good to look at what you have written in a new way. By condensing what you have into a song or poem, you will be forced to look at the essence of what you are trying to get across and not just all of your flowery words. You are in no way required to sing your new song in public. In fact, please don’t.

 

Keep a file of inspiration. This can be a physical file or a computer file. It should be someplace where you can store anything you find inspiring. Whether it’s an art piece or a simple advertisement. Maybe it’s just a picture of your favorite kind of flower. Mine consists of authors who inspire me, pictures of people who I would like to be a future character, settings and my favorite costume ideas.

 

Read. Some people are against this, but I think it’s crucial when working. Nothing opens your mind up like watching the masters at work. When I need inspiration I read a classic. I save Stephanie Meyers and Cassandra Clair for guiltless weekend reading.

 

Plow through it. If everything you write is terrible, then let it be terrible and keep going. Some days are just meant for shoveling crap around, and that is OK. You never know when you will find a gem among all the crap (this metaphor is getting weird). Often, in the morning I have to write a solid hour of garbage before the good stuff wakes up and finally joins me at the table. Don’t be afraid of bad writing, it’s why they invented a “delete” button. Some days I am grateful there is a “Command all” and a “Delete” button so close together.

10 Ways To Overcome Writer's Block

Writers block, you know what that is right? That thing that makes you stomp your feet, pull your hair out and bang your head against your computer at Starbucks. Wait, is it just me that does that? The point is, everyone gets writers block every once in a while. The thing about it is that your normal routine will not get you out of it. You need to wake your mind up with something new. Here are ten things to try next time you suffer this debilitating illness. Not all of them will work for everyone but give these a try because the whole point is that you need to get out of your comfort zone and look at things in a new way.

 

Go for a walk or run. This is great because it gets you outside and away from your computer. It is also good to get your blood running. Sitting all day pulls your blood away from your head. You need to stand up and move around in order to get the blood pumping again. Try going for a walk or run in a new place. You never know what will spark that new idea.

 

Write from a different character's point of view for a while. If your writing a story about a man who loves to fish with his dog, why not try it from the dog's point of view? You could always try it from the point of view of someone who is not in the story, like the guy who is fishing across the river. What does he think about your character? This is a great exercise because it forces you to look at your story and your characters differently.

 

Do a Character Analysis on your characters. Write your character's name at the top of a piece of paper. Then answer questions about them, where did they grow up? How do they feel about their parents? What was their adolescence like? Those are a few to get you started. Write at least two pages about the life of your character. You might learn a thing or two. I like to try to find a picture of what I think they look like and pin it to my wall. That way I see them every time I sit down to write.

 

Find a writing exercise on the Internet or do one of the daily ones I put up on my Facebook page. Writing exercise are great because once again, they get you out of your element. The greatest thing about writing exercises is that you don't want to do them. So when you do finally sit down to do one, you end up digging deeper than you would have normally. I know, you thought you were done with writing assignments long ago but sorry, you can't escape them. They're like death, taxes and dogs that go to the bathroom on your lawn.

 

Write in a different tense. This always helps me. If you are writing a story in first person, try writing it in third, or maybe second? This often opens up a world to you that you did not see before. Warning, don't try this exercise if you already have schizophrenic tendencies.

 

Write to music. This will usually help with mood and tone. Make a different play list for each project you are working on. This really helps you stay motivated and focused. Sometimes it's just what you need to be able to stay in the emotion and tone your working with.

 

Write in a new genre. If you're having trouble coming up with your next great idea, try to write something completely different. If you're a Horror writer, why not try a children's book? If you're a children's book writer, why not try a Romance? This will get you out of your element and you might surprise yourself with how well rounded you can be. Just don't get them confused, no one wants to read a children's horror book with a little romance, or do they?

 

Make your story into a poem or song. Sometimes to move forward, you need to look back. It's good to look at what you have written in a new way. By condensing what you have into a song or poem, you will be forced to look at the essence of what you are trying to get across and not just all of your flowery words. You are in no way required to sing your new song in public. In fact, please don't.

 

Keep a file of inspiration. This can be a physical file or a computer file. It should be someplace where you can store anything you find inspiring. Whether it's an art piece or a simple advertisement. Maybe it's just a picture of your favorite kind of flower. Mine consists of authors who inspire me, pictures of people who I would like to be a future character, settings and my favorite costume ideas.

 

Read. Some people are against this, but I think it's crucial when working. Nothing opens your mind up like watching the masters at work. When I need inspiration I read a classic. I save Stephanie Meyers and Cassandra Clair for guiltless weekend reading.

 

Plow through it. If everything you write is terrible, then let it be terrible and keep going. Some days are just meant for shoveling crap around, and that is OK. You never know when you will find a gem among all the crap (this metaphor is getting weird). Often, in the morning I have to write a solid hour of garbage before the good stuff wakes up and finally joins me at the table. Don't be afraid of bad writing, it's why they invented a "delete" button. Some days I am grateful there is a "Command all" and a "Delete" button so close together.

The Importance of a Writer’s Mission Statement

I found a great definition for a mission statement on Wikipedia. It said, “A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making. It provides “the framework or context within which the company’s strategies are formulated.”

A mission statement for your career as an architect might be something like, “I will design a house that is featured in Architectural Digest”. For a chef, your statement might be something like, “I will own four successful bakeries in the New York area”. This statement is often written at the top of any business plan. It’s something you keep with you so that you know when you have achieved the success you set out for at the beginning of the journey.

I know it seems a little weird that you would need to remind yourself what success is. The problem is, sometimes you forget what your goal is and then you never achieve it, or you don’t do the things you need to do in order to achieve it. The bigger problem is often that the more success you get, the further away you push the bar of success. People say, “I will be successful when I make a lot of money”. Well, that is relative. You might make fifty thousand a year and decide that a hundred thousand is a lot of money. Then once you make a hundred thousand in one year, suddenly a million is what seems like a lot of money. See what I mean?

A lot of creative people forget that mission statements are not just for people in the business world. You need one as a creative person just as much, or maybe even more. As a creative or artistic person your career can be more fluid than other people’s, so you need a more concrete goal than someone who wants to be promoted in the corporate world. So sit down and think about what you really want from your career.

When I thought about what I wanted out of my career, I thought the same thing as most people. I wanted to be a famous author who sells a lot of books. Then I realized, that is not exactly true. I don’t think I want to be famous because when I eat ice cream, I can’t help but get it all over my face. I would hate to have people asking to take pictures with me while I have mint chocolate chip on my nose.

Then there is the idea of selling a lot of books. Yeah, that’s great, but what if they are buying the book because it wins the worst book of the year award and people just want to read it so that they can laugh. No, that would not be good. So after a lot of thought, here is my mission statement.

I want to write the kinds of books that people buy and say, “I’m different because of this book” or “I see the world in a new way because of the stories you tell”.

So, sit down for a while and brainstorm about what you’re looking for in your career. Good luck, and I hope this helps you to focus on your goals.

The Importance of a Writer's Mission Statement

I found a great definition for a mission statement on Wikipedia. It said, "A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making. It provides "the framework or context within which the company's strategies are formulated."

A mission statement for your career as an architect might be something like, "I will design a house that is featured in Architectural Digest". For a chef, your statement might be something like, "I will own four successful bakeries in the New York area". This statement is often written at the top of any business plan. It's something you keep with you so that you know when you have achieved the success you set out for at the beginning of the journey.

I know it seems a little weird that you would need to remind yourself what success is. The problem is, sometimes you forget what your goal is and then you never achieve it, or you don't do the things you need to do in order to achieve it. The bigger problem is often that the more success you get, the further away you push the bar of success. People say, "I will be successful when I make a lot of money". Well, that is relative. You might make fifty thousand a year and decide that a hundred thousand is a lot of money. Then once you make a hundred thousand in one year, suddenly a million is what seems like a lot of money. See what I mean?

A lot of creative people forget that mission statements are not just for people in the business world. You need one as a creative person just as much, or maybe even more. As a creative or artistic person your career can be more fluid than other people's, so you need a more concrete goal than someone who wants to be promoted in the corporate world. So sit down and think about what you really want from your career.

When I thought about what I wanted out of my career, I thought the same thing as most people. I wanted to be a famous author who sells a lot of books. Then I realized, that is not exactly true. I don't think I want to be famous because when I eat ice cream, I can't help but get it all over my face. I would hate to have people asking to take pictures with me while I have mint chocolate chip on my nose.

Then there is the idea of selling a lot of books. Yeah, that's great, but what if they are buying the book because it wins the worst book of the year award and people just want to read it so that they can laugh. No, that would not be good. So after a lot of thought, here is my mission statement.

I want to write the kinds of books that people buy and say, "I'm different because of this book" or "I see the world in a new way because of the stories you tell".

So, sit down for a while and brainstorm about what you're looking for in your career. Good luck, and I hope this helps you to focus on your goals.