Constance Williams's Blog: Absolutely Me, page 5

Procrastination

procrastination

Pronunciation: /prə(ʊ)ˌkrastɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n/

noun
[mass noun]
the action of delaying or postponing something:
your first tip is to avoid procrastination

Phrases

procrastination is the thief of time
proverb if you delay doing something, it will take longer to do later on:
maybe TV and procrastination really are the thieves of time

My inevitable example:

The amount of stuff I've found myself doing this morning and into the afternoon putting off writing this blog post...

I know there was a reason that I promised myself I would write at least one post a week, but right now it's escaping me.

Plus, I know I have, in the past, read blog posts by my favourite writers and gone "No! Why are you wasting time on blog posts when you need to be hard at work on your next novel! Go - write story things!"

So, that's it for now - I'm going to go write story things.

...Well, maybe after I've cleaned the bathroom. Oh, and there were those things I've been meaning to sort...

(On a more serious note, if you want to be kept updated about progress with our next novel, you can now add it to your 'to read' shelf.)

Everything That's Not Writing

If someone had said to me when I started out on this whole ‘writing a series of novels thing’ that writing and publishing a novel (or a series thereof) is about so much more than putting words down on a page in the right order, would I have thought twice before starting?

...Okay, no, probably not. I’m stubborn like that. But, for those who are just starting out, especially those people who are considering the self-published route, it really does pay to be very aware of what you are signing up for. Some of it is obvious. Some of it, well, kind of silly. All of it will come up sooner or later.

This is some of what I’ve been up to, other than working on the second half of The Protectors.

Editing - 48 hours. That was how long we took off between finishing the editing of The Dreamwalker and starting on editing The Protectors. My husband now tells people that he had always thought that the hardest part of writing a book is the actual writing, but that he now knows he was wrong. It’s the editing. Anyone can write a book. It is the editing that ensures that it’s a good book. Preferably, a great book. Find a good editor. Someone you have a working relationship with. Then listen to them. If they don’t like something, it’s not because they’re out to get you. It’s because they believe in you, and they want your book to be the best it can be. Sure, there’ll be times when you fight to keep something in, because it’s there for a reason. Generally, though, if they say something needs changing, it needs changing. Together, as a team, you can make something wonderful. Won’t happen overnight though.

Social Media - Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest. Hell, even Goodreads. Watch these become your new second home. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, but you need to get into all of these places, and let them get into you. It is, however, important to realise that you need time for yourself. I forget that sometimes. It’s hard – I have a full time job. I have a novel out and I’m working on the sequel. I’m marketing the first novel whilst writing the second. I have a husband, and a cat. There are only so many hours in the day. The phrase work life balance has never been more important. The smart phone is both a blessing and a curse.

Marketing - A follow on from the above. Our marketing budget is pretty small, so we have to watch every penny. We do pay for some advertising, but my co-author and myself have a lot of meetings where we end up analysing the return we’re getting for our money. It is being a real learning curve, and so much of what we’re doing is trial and error. We read everything we can get our hands on about what does and doesn’t (or what should and shouldn’t) work. At the end of the day, though, the only real way of finding out is to try it out.

Images - We’re currently working on designing the cover for The Protectors, the sequel to The Dreamwalker. Now, my co-author and I generally design our own covers. This is not something that I would recommend that you do yourself unless you have a real handle on graphic design. There are some great professional cover designers out there, at really reasonable prices. Given that so many people do actually judge a book by its cover, making sure that yours is as good as it can be can really pay off.

Anyway, that said, we design our own (we’ve both had a sideline in graphics for over a decade and a working knowledge of some pretty powerful art programmes). We’ve sat down and worked out what we want for the cover of The Protectors. Ideally, what we would love, is to be able to feature both Rhionnan and Colleen McCarthy on the front page. In order to do that, the starting point has to be trying to find stock models who embody the two women. This morning, all morning, has been spent on Skype together, pouring over stock imagery. Colleen is a challenge, because she doesn’t fit what people like to photograph. Colleen McCarthy is a mid-twenties, frumpy, plus sized redhead with terrible fashion sense. Really not that easy to find. Seriously – I’m currently taking any and all suggestions on our fan page, so if anyone has any suggestions of how they see either Colleen, or how they see Rhionnan (18 years old, petite redhead with a round face), please do drop them in!

Web Design - We are lucky. Very, very lucky. I’m married to a professional web designer. Check out our website to see some of his work! (Thank you Serious Ninja Productions) That’s the upside – we got a professional, bespoke website at a very reasonable price. The downside? I have spent most of the afternoon restructuring menus layouts and discussing coding. In other words: he does the hard stuff, but he teaches me how to do the donkey work myself. The rewrite is still ongoing. We’ve received such positive feedback for The Dreamwalker that we’re putting in a testimonials block in the next few days. Exciting, but another thing to add to the list that is ‘Not Writing Book Work’.

There are days when it all feels too much. There are certainly days when I realise why people travel down the traditionally published route. Most days, however, aren’t those days. Doing everything ourselves, whilst hard work, means that we really appreciate every sale. We really appreciate every ‘like’ we get on our facebook fan page. Every comment we get about the book. Every person who friends either of us on Goodreads, or follows us on Twitter. It’s hard work, but vastly rewarding.

Bring on the next challenge.

Just... make sure it comes with a cup of tea.

4.5 stars for The Dreamwalker

Girl in the Woods reviews had this to say about The Dreamwalker:-



Detailed Review: First off, I thought this book was quite original and not too cliche like other books. But maybe what it lacked was a bit more pace. Overall though, the book fetched a quite high rating.

Sam Gardener has an ability he never wanted and thinks of it as a curse. When he returns to high school, he is changed. He is a loner and doesn't make the effort to make friends. Instead, he stays cut off from the real world. His only friends are the ghost of a long-dead witch and a werewolf. In order to uncover the mystery that is unfolding between two of his teachers, he explores his ability and ultimately finds him in dangerous situations.

Beware, the ending has a twist in it. And I really am curious to know how the two authors managed to pull off such an interesting story. It is truly well-written and well-planned but just needs a bit more excitement to really get the adrenaline pumping and heart racing. Overall, this is a good start for both authors. I would really love to see what they have in store for their next book!

Brief Review: I really thought this book was well-written and the story was really interesting and fascinating as well. If the authors could just make the story more exciting with more twists, I would be more than happy to give it a high rating. This is a must-read for fantasy, paranormal and mystery lovers!

Final Rating: 4.5/5 'Really Liked It!'

Read the entire review here at Girl in the Woods Reviews!

Get The Dreamwalker FREE on Kindle

We would like to let everyone know that, for a limited time only, The Dreamwalker will be available FOR FREE for Kindle download.

This LIMITED TIME OFFER will go live 12am PST on 25th June 2013 and will last until 12am PST on 29th June.

Don't miss out!!

All we ask in return for this FREEBIE is that you take the time to post a review on Amazon and here on Goodreads. We'd love to hear what you think and reviews are so important to letting other people know that we're out there.

Thanks guys!

The Protectors on Goodreads

The Protectors - the second book of The Witch Lake Chronicles is now listed on Goodreads! Don't forget to add this book to your 'to read' shelf, and we will contact you personally when the book is released!

Furthermore, the more people who add this book to their 'to read' shelves, the more we will release exclusive preview content! Go on - you know you want to!

First Chapter of The Witch Lake Chronicles: Book Two released

The first chapter of The Protectors is now available exclusively on our website. The second book in The Witch Lake Chronicles, The Protectors continues the journey of Sam Gardener and his friends.

You can read the first chapter here

(By the way, it is highly recommended that you read the first book The Dreamwalker. Otherwise, nothing is going to make sense!)

Good Deed

I feel like I did a good deed recently. I got talking to someone at a party a few weeks ago, and he mentioned that when he was a child, his mother and father wrote a series of fairly successful children’s books. As these things tend to go sometimes, the books are no longer in print, the rights are firmly back with the family, and the manuscripts are sitting, mouldering in the attic. His father had passed away and his mother is now very elderly.

He was bemoaning the fact that he often got asked by people he met, who had grown up with the series, what had happened to them, and if they could buy them anywhere. It was clear that the family would like to get them back into print again, but no publishing house is interested.

He had never heard of self-publishing. So, we had a long and illuminating conversation about Kindle, about CreateSpace, about Smashwords and the various other ebook options. He was absolutely thrilled, and he went on his way buoyed up with ideas. I heard from him the following week to say that he had discussed matters with his mother who loved the idea of being able to get her books out there again. The family is unlikely to do much in the way of actively marketing the series, but for them, the idea that they can get a once successful series back out there again gives a sentimental pleasure.

It’s not all about the money. Sometimes, it’s about the love. I’m thrilled to have been a part of that, even if it was just a small part.

Let’s hope they follow through - I’ll let you know what comes of this.

Introducing Loki

I have a confession to make – the cat in my icon isn’t my cat. It’s a very cute cat – but not my cat. It’s just some random, cute cat off the internet on what I feel is a somewhat calming green background.

My reason for the cat at all (instead of using a photograph of myself) is that I’m not particularly photogenic – the cat, is, in fact, much cuter than me. I know – shallow, isn’t it?

The reason for not using my cat is this. Here is a photo of my cat:



Meet Loki. He has gorgeous eyes but, really – black cats aren’t easy to photograph. Plus, he’s a tart of a cat who likes to lie in odd poses. Or hide in things.

He’s lovely, though. Except for last night. Last night he decided that 3am was a great time to jump up onto the bed, walk up to my pillow and purr. Loudly. Loudly enough to wake me up. And then when I refused to open my eyes? He started to lick my forehead.

See – he loves me really.

Maybe.

And I love him. Well, on all those moments save when he decides to sit on my keyboard, because he knows it's the only way to distract me from writing when I'm in the zone and he wants to be fed. Or, failing that trick, stands in front of my monitor.

He’s eight years old now. He came from a local family and has exactly no kind of pedigree. He cost less than a night at the movies, and was far more entertainment in the first 24 hours. He's now absolutely priceless and I wouldn't trade him for the world. He’s been an accident prone mess ever since day one. He’s exited the house from the upper storey at least four times (twice on purpose, once slipping on ice, once just because he’s stupid) and no, there’s no handy ledges – it’s straight down.

He’s never broken a bone.

He nearly lost an eye running into a rose bush during a thunderstorm. He spent a week at the vet’s and now has a misty patch across his left eye. We wondered if we should really have called him Odin.

Our lives wouldn’t be the same without him.

My writing space

Sometime I feel as if I’m the only person left with a desktop.

Yes, yes – I’m aware that’s a gross exaggeration, but it does feel that way at times. Like I should stand up and say to a group of people ‘Hi, my name’s Constance and I’m tied to my desk’.

Except, of course, saying it that way makes it sound like I’m ashamed to be a desktop user. I’m really, really not. I’m happiest working the way I am. I do have a laptop, but I choose not to use it unless I’m away for a few days (the days when I would pack up my entire computer into the back of the car and take it with me are long gone – and usually related to some kind of a LAN party anyhow...).

Being a desktop user has some real advantages. I adore my dual monitor set up and wonder how people cope with only one. And so small as well! I have all the space I need. I have a large desk, with room for my notepads and all the bits and pieces which inevitably surround me. I am not a tidy person by nature, unfortunately – though I can only stand a certain amount of mess before my imagination shuts down and I have to have a tidy up before I can write another word.

What would make my writing space better? A view. Unfortunately, I’m stuck in a corner, facing the door. Not ideal, but I share the space with my husband, who beat me out for the window spot. Of course, for my ideal view – maybe across some cliffs to the wild and racing seas beyond; or rolling hills where wild horses roam – we’d have to move house.

What’s your writing space like?

Positivity v Negativity

I try and limit this blog to talking about things which are at least in some way connected to writing. However, today, I have a question for you.

What do pessimistic people get out of life?

I try and be an optimist. Not naively so - I am one of the most cynical people that you will meet. Throughout my life, I have been in situations, both personally and professionally, where the worst in people has most definitely been brought out. Yet still, when I'm faced with a situation, I try and look at a way to spin it in a positive way. To at least give things a chance.

Today I was in a situation where I was surrounded by people who were determined to look at the task we faced in the worst possible light. Who couldn't even see the possibility that it could be a good thing, or that we could at least take what we had been given and make it work for us. Nothing was good enough, or even vaguely acceptable.

I found it exhausting to be around. I would really like to understand people like that. Mostly because I have always wanted to understand people different from me.

So, wider world - any sage advice, or opinions?