Buffy Greentree's Blog, page 2

Quick ROW 80 Check In

Last post I wrote about how I'd given up my Will To Fail. It was a pretty good post, and I stand by everything I said in it. However, I just want to let all other aspiring life correctors in on a little secret:

The moment you post anything like that, everything in your life will conspire to bring you down.

Throw a challenge out to the universe, and it will try to slap you down. The only thing you can do about it is tuck your head in and get on with your work.

So, I'm proud to announce that despite wanting to curl up from the light of day forever and ever, I managed to keep writing. A little bit at a time, not always the full two hours, but enough. I had wanted to get the first draft of Episode 1 of my new chick-lit serial (name still being decided. Might end up stick with 'An Ideal Boyfriend', regardless of another book under that name) done by Friday. I then planned to have the whole thing out by Tuesday. I was therefore disheartened when I was still trying to complete it Saturday morning. But complete it I did.

And the reason it took so long, it turns out, is because it was actually long enough, with enough climaxes and developments, to be two episodes. So from feeling despondent Saturday morning for being behind, I cut it in half and by Saturday noon felt satisfied that I was now ahead an episode.

I edited up the new first episode on Sunday and sent it to one of my brilliant on-call editors, Jo. She's got back to me today with the first scene, seeing if I'm happy with what she's doing (which I am), and will finish the episode by tomorrow. Another read through, final edit, and then it's ready to go. I just need to make a cover.

I contacted someone on Fiverr.com yesterday about getting a digital watercolour done for the cover, but still waiting to hear back. Otherwise, I'll pull out my developing photoshop skills and see what I can do.

I'm starting to edit episode two now, and then settle into writing episode three.

So, new goals for this week:
- Create cover for series.
- Get Episode 1 out. (yah!)
- Edit episode 2 and send to editor.
- Start writing episode 3.

As actually publishing something always takes long than I think it will, I'm not going to say 'finish episode 3', but starting it will be good.

Also should think about marketing the serial. Hmm... Any ideas?

No More Will To Fail!

We all set goals, and 99% of the time we fail at them. There are thousands of things written out there about how to achieve your goals, and most of it we read, know to be true, and then don't do anyway.

Most People Operate Under A Will To Fail. 
We know what we need to do. We all agree that watching less TV and eating better will in the long run make us feel better and healthier. And yet we constantly fail to do these things. Why? No good reason. It seemed a bit easier, but really it's not. We put just as much effort into failing as we would need to put into succeeding.

So I'm trying to combat that.

I'm saying 'No' to the will to fail, and shifting through my life to find all the areas where I don't do what I know I should. 





Bio- Hacking:

Recently, through one of those googling chains where you look up something and follow that to something else, my brother introduced me to a website called 'Bulletproof Executive'. Now, I don't agree with everything he says, but his basic concept is very interesting. It's about how he tries everything he can to perform at his peak all of the time. Basically, he looks at how he can 'biohack' his life through diet, sleep, supplements, meditation techniques etc to make the most of his body and mind. He's spent $300,000 on finding out how to operate at a higher level of performance. Interesting, huh?


Ultimate Flow:

It also led me to a podcast where he interviews the author of 'The Rise Of The Superman'. Steven Kolter has dedicated the last number of years studying how people use Flow for all great achievements.

Anyone who has followed me for a while will know my love affair with Flow, from one of my earliest posts ever, On Creating Flow, through to more recent study into Happiness and Flow. So I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one obsessed with this concept.

One big challenge I got from listening to Steven is that he argues Flow is so important for achieving excellence, he does absolutely everything he can in order to maximise it in his life. This includes focusing only on activities that induce flow, and cutting out as much extraneous things he can. You can see why Bulletproof guy was interviewing him. 


Maximising My Life:

Luckily this came at a time when I was already doing a bit of soul searching and life rearranging (it's nice how these things work together. It just shows that taking the first step can open up new thoughts and paths that you never would have seen if you hadn't started.)

I'm dedicated to writing. I love it, and know that it makes me a happier, better person. But it's still hard at time. So, even after writing and publishing my book on creating a lifestyle of writing (which still has a lot of awesome stuff: The Five Day Writer's Retreat, available now) I am still looking for ways to improve.

So here are the things I've done recently to maximise my life. Some are specific to me, but some you might be able to use yourself.

1. Lifestyle change. The move up to Brisbane in January has made a huge difference in my life. It's not something everyone can do, but for me it has given me the following advantages:
a) a full time income so I never need to worry about money or selling out my writing.
b) a living situation where I don't need to cook, do much cleaning, do any maintenance or even pay my own bills = more time/energy to write.
c) more sunlight (which has an amazing affect on mood, and was an important part of my decision to move.)
d) a job that doesn't drain my writing resources like my last one.
e) 11 weeks paid holidays a year (being paid for school holidays is awesome!).
f) plenty of inspiration in the 170 girls that I help to look after. They are forever surprising me with their antics and ideas.

2. I've given up refined sugar and flour. Today is Day 12. (Though I haven't been perfect, there's lots of hidden sugar and flour, and when your meals are cooked for you, you can't be too nosy). For a long time people had been telling me how much better they felt when they gave up sugar and refined flour. Most of the big popular diets at the moment - Paleo, Dukan, Lean and Clean, No Sugar Diet, Low Carb - appear to agree that definitely getting rid of sugar, and possibly getting rid of refined flour, is better for our bodies.

Yeah, yeah, I thought, but I can't give up my chocolate, or my toast.

But then my little sister did it for 30 days. And honestly, if she can do it, anyone can. (I don't want to say she has the will power of a gnat, but it's pretty close). 

I have a few other things going on at the moment, so I can't say that I'm suddenly overwhelmed with energy, but I do seem to be struggling less to find words after a long day, and I definitely feel more in control. If giving up sugar and flour can make me need a bit less sleep (that's what my mother claims), can stop me getting as sick, and can help me think clearer, then I owe it to my writing to do it. 

I've started with a 30 day covenant, but I'm looking at the no refined sugar as a lifestyle after this, and probably the no refined flour as well. (Once you start cooking without it, you know what you can do and you don't feel you're missing out. Made chocolate brownies last night with almond meal and honey, and they are delicious!)

3. I'm limiting TV. We all know that it's bad for us. That if we want to relax, reading is much, much better, not just for writers but anyone who wants to look after their brains. But we all still do it.

So, as I really believe it is not good for me, I now limit it to once a week. I don't have a TV in my room, and I don't watch anything on my laptop. Instead, I go over to my brother's house, and we watch all our favourite shows together. It is saving me hours every day, which I can put towards reading and other great creativity inducing pursuits.

4. Exercise. Sitting down all day is bad for your body. Sad but true. Exercising is good for your brain. Happy and true. So, if I want my body to be able to write and think clearly, I have to schedule in exercise. Again, we all know this, but sit in front of the TV instead anyway. 

Therefore, I'm now going to a CrossFit gym and doing an intense workout 4-5 times a week. This particular style works for me, but I'm definitely not saying everyone should be a CrossFitter. I'm just saying you should be doing something. It is a will to fail that stops you from doing anything at all.

5. Sleep. This is another one we all joke about, knowing we should get more or better sleep. We've been told to turn off our computers an hour before we go to bed, and to stop drinking stimulants a couple of hours before that. But how often do we actually do this?

There's really no excuse not to build a good sleep hygiene routine if you want the best performance. So I'm seeing a specialist about getting some of my sleep issues worked out, and I've started implementing a better routine towards the end of my shift so I can get to sleep when I finish. This is starting to pay dividends, and once it's all worked out, might win me back hours of unproductive time (either sleeping badly or being only half awake).

6. Clearing Your Head. Everywhere you will see recommendations to relax, manage stress, meditate and focus on your breathing. We are made to take time out and clear our heads of ourselves. As a Christian, I believe we are meant to do this by focusing on God, through prayer and meditation. I've always kept a prayer journal where I discuss my issues with God, but now we're working on taking sometime in the morning to meditate, so I can get God's focus on things. It's hard to make myself stop what I'm doing, not rush into my day, and take a few moments breathing. But again, it's starting to pay dividends. I wait on the Lord until I feel a little push to get started with my day. Then I use that push to keep the momentum rolling. 


The Simple Version:

Here are the steps I've put together which I think are the most important for me to implement  (prioritisation, I like it)

1. Resist refined sugar and flour.
2. Go to the gym (4-5 times a week, I do need a bit of rest).
3. Write for at least 2 hours every day.
4. Meditate every morning. 


Compound Interest:

The goals I'm achieving almost daily now were individually completely impossible for me to think of six months ago. If I managed even one of these done a day I would have been happy. It shows how all the little effects build together. The more little things you do right, the more energy and ability you have to do the rest right as well. Because I'm meditating, I'm in control and can eat better. Because I'm eating better, I am able to exercise more. Because I'm exercising more, I'm able to sit down and write. Because I'm writing more, I feel happy and satisfied that I'm achieving my goals. It's a matter of identifying the smallest things that will make the biggest difference and building up from there.

If I had to say just one thing to start you off on, which is tricky because they work together so much, I would say sleep. If you aren't getting enough or good sleep, get this fixed. Everything in life is easier when you aren't tired. Then move onto diet. Putting in good foods and getting rid of bad will have the next biggest effect. Then I'd tackle your thinking, and finally your exercise. They are all a bit of a feedback loop, each becoming easier as you get another one sorted. But the most important thing is to start.

(Disclaimer: there are certain times in your life when it is impossible to start a new system or routine. I've created a new start for myself by moving, but you might not have that opportunity. But there will be some little thing that you can do to start improving. Even if it's just having a 20 minute nap.)

 
My ROW 80 Goals:

Right now I'm 'behind' in my serial, as I thought each episode would be 12,000 words but I'm at 21,000 for the first one and think I need another few thousand to make it work. But I'm still going to work to get this first one done within the two weeks I set myself. So, by next Tuesday, you can expect to see the first episode of The Virtual Boyfriend available as an ebook.

What changes can you make now to optimise your life, and why haven't you made them? 

Publishing Basics Part 2 Why I Write To Agents and Publishers

  In my last post Part 1 on why I self-publish, I looked at the very good reasons for self publishing some of your own work. However, I also mentioned that I still do, and think you should too, send in proposals and query letters to agents and publishers. 
The first obvious reason is that anyone who refuses to do this usually cites reasons that show a lack of humility. As a Christian, I think humility is an important virtue. The act of sending off my work and waiting for someone to critique it is important in stopping my ego inflating and taking over what little talent I may actually possess. (There might be some ego involved in wanting a traditional publisher to recognise my work, but the stream of rejections keeps that in check.)
Okay, personal character development aside. The second reason that I like to send out query letters and proposals is that they force me to write engaging product descriptions. Nearly everything that an agent requires in a proposal you need to know to self-publish anyway. By putting a good proposal together, you are forced to assess your target audience and marketing strategies in much more detail than you might otherwise do.
Further, if you get rejected, it gives you an indication that your pitch may not be as convincing as you think. You might also, hopefully, get a piece of advice from a professional. People pay for this stuff.
Third, if you intend to be prolific (like I do), being a 'hybrid' author (part self published, part traditionally published) is the ideal situation. You get greater royalties by self publishing, but generally speaking a traditional publisher will have better distribution. Being a hybrid you get the advantages of both. Your traditionally published books reach a wider audience, and these readers then go and find your self-published works. And for your publisher, the works that you self-publish prove to them your marketability so they aren't taking such a big risk. 
Fourth, it makes you slow down and realise that your books should be edited, and edited again. If I had self-published the first novel I ever wrote when I thought it was ready, I never would have gotten it anywhere near as good as it is now. Because I've waited for agents and publishers to get back to me, I've worked to improve it, entered it into competitions, and then polished it some more. I've also written a few other books since then, so know what I'm doing. Conversely, writing the proposals for my first book taught me the issues I should think about while writing the rest. I now keep a note open while I write for great pitch ideas or summaries. This has saved me a lot of time and effort later on. 
So, those are my basic reasons. Got any to add?
ROW80 Check In:
How am I going with my goals? 
Well, I'm writing everyday, which is great. I don't always get to two hours, but I usually get close.  I'm currently over halfway through the first episode of my chicklit on internet dating (I'm currently thinking of calling it 'Virtually An Ideal Boyfriend', thoughts?). I had optimistically (it turns out) planned to write each episode as 12,000 words, and publish one every two weeks. So far it's 16,000 words, and I'm 4/7th of the way through (each episode covers a week, that's how I know it's 4/7th). But I like where it's going, and I should still be able to get it written and edited within the two weeks. Just need to come up with a great piece of cover art for it. 
For those who are waiting for the second Five Day Writer's book, it is coming. I'm just taking a break to do some fresh writing. I got a bit edited-out with After The Winter, which, by the way, has been out for almost two weeks. Big thanks to everyone who supported it. You are all great.
So, do you think self-published authors should take the time to write query letters?

Publishing Basics Part 1 Why I Self Publish

Exciting news; have just self-published my very first fiction book!

Yes, After The Winter is live on Amazon as an ebook and paperback.

Considering this big event, I thought I would take the time today to talk about publishing. I've self-published three of my own works now, and I highly recommend self-publishing to most writers. However, I also recommend that all writers go through the process of submitting to traditional publishers and agents as well. But I'll tell you more on that in Part 2.

Today I'm going to tell you why I self publish.

There are two facts that most writers need to acknowledge (for a very few it might not stand true, but I've never actually heard of any):
1. Your first million words (give or take a few hundred thousand) are going to be practice. 
2.  You can't make it with just one book. To become noticed, you need to write at least three books, preferably five.

Now consider the traditional publishing path.

First of all, they are expecting great quality work (which they should, don't get me wrong). If you are a debut author, you need to do the drafting and editing until it is as close to a publishable product as possible.

Second, then they will take 1-3+ years to take that almost ready to be published product and publish it. During this time you will be called to re-work, re-think, and basically chain your life's blood to this book. If you are disciplined you will be working on the next book, but otherwise you'll get to the end of the three years with nothing else ready.

Third, as a debut author, they are unlikely to do much, if any, marketing for you. It is true that they have a much larger distribution, so if people know to look for you they will be able to find you much more easily, but otherwise your one little book is going to sit on a shelf in a bookstore all alone.

So after a few years, you're not going to be any further along in your quest for glory.

However, replay that scenario this way. Think of these first three years as your apprenticeship to the art of writing.

You start your first year with a, let's be honest, reasonably rough draft (despite thinking it is ready to submit to agents). However, you know that you have to do everything yourself, so you edit it as well as you can (much better than if you think eventually someone else is going to come along and edit it) and you pay for an editor to go over it.

You then learn about marketing, categorisation, writing product descriptions, what's involved in a good back blurb and cover. In doing this you realise you've written a book that's a pain in the ass to market because you don't have a firm audience. You publish it all the same, and go through the process of getting reviews and building an audience... slowly. You sell a few to family, and through running giveaways you get a few more people interested in it. From this you get some useful (and some not so useful) feedback about your book.

In the second year you think you know what you did wrong last time. You write another book, this time making sure it's more marketable and fixing up the mistakes your editor pointed out last time. You are already thinking of great taglines and descriptions as you write. You realise now that you need an audience so you start visiting forums and blogs in your area. You get it edited again, and this time the editor can point out a whole new area you might need to work on, now that you've gotten over the basic mistakes.

When you are almost ready to publish, you contact the people who were kind enough to write a review last time and ask them if they'd like a free pre-launch copy of the second book. Some of the blogs you've interacted with ask if you want to do a guest blog post, and run a giveaway of your book. You publish your book and run another free giveaway. People see it has some good reviews, and so take the time to buy the first one and get the second for free. You then get a bit more feedback. You also try playing with the first book's description, to see if you can get it tighter. You might even republish it.

Then in your third year you really feel you've gotten this under control. Your first draft is a hundred times better than that initial book, it's market orientated and you've got a killer tagline for the series now. Also, you've got a great team who are willing to review your book and an audience who are waiting for your next book.

From this point you can choose. You could try submitting the series to a publisher, as you now have a much stronger product (you've had to re-write the first book a bit, but it's better because of it) and can point to your loyal fans. Or you love what you do and decide to keep doing it yourself.

Another option is to finish this series off yourself, and submit your next work to a publisher. The great advantage to this method is that your publisher will get the new book out far and wide, and people who like that will then go 'wow, I wonder if they've written anything else?' and find your self-published work on Amazon.

It's also good for the publisher as everyone who loved your self-published work will buy the book they produce.

Now, if you do something silly like publish three books in completely different areas, say like writing, internet dating, and romance, then it is going to take a while longer. But luckily I'm prepared for that. I think if I haven't made it after twenty years, then I'll think about changing careers.

I should also point out that despite self-publishing three books, I haven't actually published the very first book that I wrote. Or the very first three books. Those three, a trilogy, are still in the queue for a traditional publishing contract. I love them too much to bring them before I'm working at the standard of a traditional publisher.

So want to know why I'm holding onto these three to traditionally publish? Well, tune back in next time.


But so as not to leave you hanging with nothing to read, I'm going to run a giveaway of my 1920's romance.

For the next week, until the end of Thursday 8th, leave a comment with the worst line in a published Romance you've read and I'll send you a epub version of my new book; After The Winter.

World Building 101

It's a disheartening experience to be part way through editing a first draft to find you haven't actually written a whole section.

Nothing.

Zilch.

Zero.

Worse, you realise that the reason you didn't write it was because you had no idea what you wanted to say. You knew it had to be said, but the content, the very basics of 'this is my topic sentence' never came.

I faced this problem a few weeks ago with one of my new books; The Five Day Writer's Bootcamp. The purpose of the book is to build up the strength, endurance and necessary technical skill for a particular project before actually starting to draft. And reading through the draft, there are a lot of good ideas in there, if I do say so myself.

But on Day 3, when creating a framework for the tone, setting and characters of the soon-to-be novel, I had the heading for a vital subject, world building, but no content.

Where do you start in developing a quick and easy method for world building?

Well, thank you for asking. Since I'm rather proud of this piece of cross-discipline work, I thought I would share it with you today.

First I should mention that I'm talking more in terms of the characters' everyday world, rather than the more technical physical world building, where you are deciding between two suns or three. As I challenge my reader in the book, it's about understanding if, how and why your characters buy milk.

So where did I start?

Well, don't let anyone tell you a degree in archaeology is useless, for what does it spend a lot of time doing? Defining and categorising civilisations. And luckily for us writers, it has a very neat systems for doing so.

All major aspects of a culture can be considered under one of four headings. Thus, by taking the time to define and enumerate these four areas, an author can get a quick and easy in depth understanding of the characters' society, and possibly culture clashes they might encounter.

Ok, enough teasing, the four categories are ... economical, religious, political and social.

Now, let me expand these for you a little bit.


Economics: 

There are a set number of ways people can trade goods within a society. There are also requirements and restrictions on these different forms. Break these fundamental rules, or ignore them, and your book will be less believable. For example, it's not possible to have a purely barter based economy in very large societies, mainly because it's too difficult to connect with all the people that can supply your needs. Similarly, it's unlikely to have a free market economy with a very controlling government. The main basic systems available are: barter economies, traditional economies (resources distributed by the same groups in the same ways as they have for a long time), command/planned economies (government decides), and market economies, (individuals and companies decide), mixed economies (part market part command).
 (In the book I go through in detail what's involved and how it can be used by writers, but that's why it's a book and not a blog post. Sorry.)

Exercise: to get you thinking, describe how your main character buys milk in the morning, or if they can't, why they can't.


Religious: 

This field does not necessarily need to refer to beliefs in a higher being. Some science fiction might have societies that have no ritual practices. Regardless, you need to think of what religion does: answers the big questions. Every society that has conscious beings should be asking and finding some answers to the 'why's of life.

For example, in this culture, what do they believe happens after death? What is the ultimate purpose to life?

These are important questions which you need to know your character's answers to. Even if you never write a word of their beliefs, their actions should be dictated by these beliefs. Can be awfully useful if you get them into a situation where you aren't sure what they are going to do.


Political: 

So, it turns out there are a multiple different ways to approach defining a culture's political systems, depending on which aspects you're interested in. Sociologists and anthropologists have both studied political systems but with different focuses. 

Anthropologists are particularly interested in the size and grouping of the systems, so categorise political systems into two uncentralised and two centralised types; band and tribe, chiefdom and state.

Sociologists, on the other hand, are more interested in the figure holding power, and the relationship between the government and its people. They consider three types of political systems: authoritarian, monarchies and democracy.

Try mixing up different elements of the two and see where your main character is in the political structure, what power they have, and how the system effects them.


Social:

This is a very vague term in the English language which can include all the elements we have discussed already; religion, economy and politics. In fact, all the different aspects or features of societies include: communities, culture, economy, education, government, identity, infrastructure, institutions, land, law and law enforcement, military, natural resources, people, politics, social control, social structure, technology and wealth. I decided to list them all, because they might spark off ideas of areas you could differentiate your society, such as an abundance of a particular natural resource, or a peculiar form of social control.

While that long list hopefully sparked some ideas for you, an easier to define model has been created by sociology. It identifies six types of society based on their levels of technology and how they subsist. These include: hunter gatherer, horticultural, pastoral, agricultural, industrial and postindustrial.

Of course, these levels are based on the societies that have developed on this planet, and as you will see the last few have been recent creations. Therefore, it is entirely possible that a completely different system can and will develop, or might have already in your world.


And those are the basics of creating your own world. If you can outline the political system, and from that the economic, the religious and the social, then you can get a very good feel for how your character lives their everyday life.

So why not pick up some basic sociology books to add to your reading list (until my brilliant Bootcamp comes out, of course)? You never know when it might come in handy.


ROW 80 Check In:

So, first week of my term down and dusted, yah!
How did I go with my goals?
I completed at least 2 hours of editing everyday since last check in. Go me.
I went to the gym Tuesday and Wednesday (as it was closed Monday, and I've flown down to Melbourne today/Thursday). So, pretty good.
Didn't write anymore blog posts, some technical failures can be used as a vaguly plausible excuse.
Um, okay, so 1 out of 3 tweets is better than none, right?
And don't even ask about visiting other sites.

But I'm very happy with the editing I've gotten done. Still on track at the moment to get my 1920's romance published Sunday, maybe Monday.

In great news, my GoodReads pre-launch giveaway just finished, and over 1,300 people signed up! Furthermore, over 500 people have added it to their 'to read' list. Now, I just need some of those people to actually buy the book and write reviews. Will you be one of them? (stay tuned for actual publish date, and introductory price).

Why not add it to your 'to read' shelf? After The Winter, it's coming soon. (The Winter Is Coming... no, that's another series, sorry.)

Start Of A New Term and The Benefits of Serialisation

Start of Term:

One of the great things about working at a school, other than getting a whole lot of paid holiday, is that your life is neatly divided up into manageable chunks: 4 terms, each time a chance to re-prioritise and get down to business.

(For those of you who don't have such an easy, inbuilt system, a writing challenge like Round Of Words in 80 Days is a great alternative.)

Today is my first day back at work, so time to look at how I went last term, and what I can do to improve and move forward this term.

Last term I was overly optimistic about how much I would be able to get done while settling into a new job, etc. In the end I managed to do a few edits of After The Winter, get the cover done, and do one edit of The Five Day Writer's Bootcamp.

So this term I think I might set myself more realistic goals.


My major priority for the term is to establish a strong routine. Yes, I have specific things that I want to get done, but my focus is going to be on doing a bit each day, and not always thinking 'oh, but today is special, I don't have to do it today, I'll do it tomorrow'. This is a recipe for disaster.

So, considering I work a rotating roster of 4 days on, 2 days off, the goals for my work days are:
- Two hours of writing or editing/day
- Gym every work day that I can (gym not open on Sundays)
- One blog post/day
- Visit at least one blog/day 
- One tweet/day
- Read 1/2 a book/ work week.

I think that should be pretty manageable.

The next big question is what am I working on?

After The Winter: my 1920's romance - I've just (today) finished going through the notes returned by my editor. It really made a big difference to the writing so thank you Anna. Tomorrow, I'm going to print off a paper copy and do the final proof-reading edit by hand (I find more typos that way). Hope to get it all finished by the end of the week, and get it published over the weekend. Yah!

Once that is gone, I've started writing out the story notes for a contemporary romance serial about internet dating. What are serials, you ask? Good question.


The Wonders of Serials:

A serial, compared to a series, is a story told over a number of episodes that eventually form one book, very much like a TV show will have episodes which are individual stories but are still part of an overarching storyline that is the season. A series, on the other hand, is a number of books.

I'm going to be writing my serial in roughly 12,000 word episodes, with seven episodes to a season. I plan to publish one episode every fortnight as an ebook until all seven have been published and then bundle them together into a print on demand paper copy.  (My hope is to be able to write each episode in a week, then have the second week to edit it, and so publish one every fortnight. Will have to see how this goes.)

I've been very excited about the serial concept since I first heard about it on The Self Publishing Podcast , probably about a year ago now. So I'm thrilled to be finally testing it out. The basic theory with serials is that you can get more content out there, faster, for cheaper, which is a great model for self-publishing. It allows people to get a taste of your writing style without too much investment. And if your work is good enough, then they come back each week/fortnight to get the rest of the episodes, or wait until the end of the season when you bundle them all together and publish them as a single book.

It is not at all a new concept for authors. This is how Dickens and many others produced a lot of their work, serializing it in a newspaper or magazine, then collating them as a book at the end. 

It is also not an unusual idea for modern readers, who get their TV in the same way. There are those who rush home each Thursday night to watch the latest episode and be the first to know what happens, and there are those who wait to get the whole season and watch it in a block.

For self-published authors it has a lot of advantages. As already mentioned, it gets more work out there, faster, and is more affordable for people to take a risk on (generally serial episodes are around 99c, and then bundled together for something like $4.95). However, it also allows you to do a lot more with KDP Select.

With a normal book, you get 5 days on KDP Select to give it away for free. This gets it free advertising, but unless you have another book for customers to buy, or it does spectacularly well, not much is gained. With a serial, you have five days per episode, so if you have 10 episodes in one season, that's 50 days of free advertising for that book. Further, you aren't giving away the entire book for free, only ever 1/10 of it. When people download episode 3 for free, they might still buy episodes 1 and 2. Each time you list an episode for free, you get back sales.

All this for the same amount of work that you would normally put into writing a book.

Of course, your writing still needs to be good. And you still need to get cover design (which hopefully you can easily modify for each episode), and each episode needs to be edited. Also, it is more difficult to write as you can't go back and change things later on (without seriously upsetting your audience). However, those are difficulties that you can definitely plan against.

So when am I getting my first episode out?

Well, I'm not sure yet, but you'll definitely be the first to know.

And while you are waiting, why not sign up to my GoodReads giveaway for the chance to win one of ten free copies of After The Winter (closes 24th April)? Also, adding it to your shelf is much appreciated :D

Quick Note, Check Me Out!

Just a quick note to point you across to Christian Writer's Downunder, where I've done a guest post looking at the four parts of the creative nature.
It's rather good, if I do say so myself.
(Long time First Drafters will have heard the concepts before, but it was a nice refresher even for me).

Writing Process Blog Tour Continued!

In my last post I put up my answers to Adele Jones' writing process blog tour. However, I failed at continuing the blog tour, not being able to find someone to carry on the torch.

I can now rectify that situation!

Lisa from 1stoneatatime.blogspot.com has very kindly offered to pick up where I left off. On Wednesday 9th April she will be posting her answers to the four writing process questions.


Lisa is a fellow Australian and ROW80 blogger, as well as being an emerging writer and stay at home mum, so she's got some great tips on writing when distracted! She is currently editing three novellas and is exploring the world of self-publishing.

So, a big thank you to Lisa, and I recommend you all bounce on over and check out her blog before the big day. 

The Writing Process Blog Tour

Welcome to the next stage of the writing process blog tour!

Last week, the wonderful Adele Jones answered four questions about her writing process on her blog, and then passed the torch to me to answer the same four questions.


I first met Adele last year at the 2013 Caleb Christian Writers Conference, where she won the unpublished manuscript Caleb Award for her forth coming YA novel Integrate, being published through Rhiza Press in September (yah!).


Trust the science - unless your life depends on it.
Blaine Colton had been handed a genetic death sentence until revolutionary gene therapy changed his life. Living a relatively normal existence, he is called to an unscheduled post-treatment appointment just weeks before his eighteenth birthday. Informed that his life saving procedure was never approved, he is held against his will for his status as an apparent illegal GMO. Subjected to constant testing, refused contact with his parents and deprived of life sustaining medication, Blaine begins to suspect that something is wrong. Wanting answers, he escapes the Institute and ambitious Chief Scientist, Dr Melissa Hartfield. Now a fugitive with a failing body, Blaine must find Professor Ramer, the developer of his therapy. But the Professor has vanished and time is running out. Fast.

For more about Adele's writing process, check out www.adelejonesauthor.com/writing-process-blog-tour/

So, now it's my turn to answer the big four questions. Here I go.


1. What Am I Currently Working On?

While I'm a firm believer in focusing on one task at a time, as you might have noticed I'm much better at giving advice than following even my own. I spent the weekend finishing off my third edit of my 1920's romance, After The Winter, and have finally sent it to my editor for the final check over (unless she comes back suggesting otherwise). I've started a GoodReads giveaway ending on the 24th April, by which time hopefully I will have the book available though Amazon, yah! If you want the chance to win a free paperback copy of it, feel free to enter!

(On the GoodReads note, I'm just going to say that to the person who has already rated the book, even though it hasn't come out yet, thank you, but why 4/5? Is my description only 4/5 worthy? Or is that your prediction about how good the book is going to be?).


After spending the weekend solidly editing, I took this morning off (and went shopping; new gym clothes and bras, exciting). But tomorrow I am back to doing the structural edit of The Five Day Writer's Bootcamp. My goal is to have this done by the end of this week, but that might be a bit ambitious (this is just the structural edit, it will need another few rounds after that.)

As this is the last week of term, I then have two weeks of holidays. During that time I'm going to do more editing of Bootcamp and start writing a new project: a modern rom-com serial. I want to get the plot planned out for the full six episodes and the first episode completely written.

So, at least no one can say I don't have goals!


2. How Does My Work Differ From Others In My Genre?

I'm going to address this in terms of After The Winter, the 1920's romance. One thing that was important for me as I wrote this was not to have a romance based purely on physical attraction. In fact, my main female actively rejects the playboy because he is trying to win her over by being sexually inappropriate. As she later tells him, she is proud of her modesty because she has waited and trusted in love while what he is offering her is second best, offered to too many other women before her.

I have also walked a thin line between being a Christian romance. I didn't want it to specifically Christian, but when I faced the issue of whether rakes really could reform, I found it period-appropriate to bring redemption and repentance into the discussion. I suppose I will always write 'Christian' fiction, as it will always come from a Christian worldview. Even if I don't quote bible verses, sin is sin and humanity fallen but redeemable.


3. Why Do I Write What I Write?

I started writing my first historical romance many years ago when confronted with so many that anachronistically put sex in inappropriate places. I was on a discussion board saying that it was possible to write page-turning romances without having sex in the second chapter (or at all, shock horror!). Others told me it wasn't, so I wrote to prove it to them. I planned to write just the first two chapters and posted them, but eventually ended up writing 50,000 words because they kept begging for more, even though through all of that the two characters didn't even kiss. I have always been a huge fan (if you haven't been able to tell) of Georgette Heyer, so knew it could be done. Of course there are some Christian romances out there that are brilliant examples, but really, who doesn't want more?


4. How Does My Writing Process Work?

The purpose of the 100 first drafts challenge is to test out lots of different methods, and particularly pantsing (writing by the seat of your pants). I'm so glad I started on the challenge, even if I'm not really keeping up at the moment (damn you full time job, or more accurately, the necessity to pay for life).

So far, my conclusion on how to write fast and well:

Step 1: develop the initial image/spark into a set of characters and a desired atmosphere/tone. This will help dictate style and plot development. (My Five Day Writer's Bootcamp is an in depth discussion of this pre-writing preparation.)

Step 2: write first draft as fast as you can (for me preferrably two weeks). Long writing sessions train you to keep writing through multiple scenes, and help you to enter into the flow more readily (see my previous post on the benefits of regularly getting into the flow.)

Step 3: Structural Edit - Go through and make sure that the ordering of the story is optimal and realistic; no plot holes, that chapter flows into chapter, and paragraph into paragraph.

Step 4: Copy Edit - Make sure the language is optimal, that appropriate terms are used, tone and style are consistent, check for repetition, weasel words, etc.

Step 5: Proof Read - I often contract this out as proofing your own work is really hard, but I am learning to print off a copy at the end and with a pen read through it line by line, making sure that each sentence is the best that it can be.

You can see why turning my first drafts into published books is taking me so long! But every time I do this, I pick up on my own idiosyncrasies that weaken my writing, and next time I do a new draft it is stronger.


And Now The Bad News:

So this is meant to be a blog tour, so I was meant to get someone to follow after me. Here would be the part where I would introduce them. Unfortunately, I'm a bad blog tourer. I only bothered to ask one person, and I only saw their message yesterday saying they couldn't do it. So yes, I'm that person that kills the tour.

If there is another writer out there reading this in the next week, and would like to pick up my fallen torch, email me at b.greentr@gmail.com and I'll give you a proper introduction.


And don't forget to sign up at GoodReads if you want to win a free copy of After The Winter!

The Dreaded Book Description - 15 Top Tips To Writing It

Bring the magic of your book to your description. (Photo courtesy of ostillac callisto at stock.xchng)
I have come to that time again. I've done the drafting and a bit of editing. I've spent hours playing with different cover designs and finally found one that I like. And now, in order to start the pre-launch GoodReads giveaway, I have to write the dreaded book description.

I know what the book is about, I wrote it. So why is it so hard for me to summarise it in 150-400 words?

Well, partly because it's not just about summarising the book. It's about creating a piece of writing that is more fantastic than the whole book put together. It is about creating the few words that will sell all my other words, that will justify and pay for all the hours of work I've put into writing this book.

And sadly, how much time do I usually put into writing these all important words? Usually about ten-twenty minutes while I'm loading it up onto Amazon (or making the back cover, or creating the GoodReads giveaway, or ... you get the idea).

So this time, a month before I hope to release my brand new historical romance, I've taken the time to do some research into what other authors suggest as the top tips for writing a selling book description (I've focused mainly on fiction books, as it is quite a different skill to sell a non-fiction book, though I did also apply these tips to my Online Dating guide.)

Top 15 Tips for Writing a Fiction Book Description:


1.     Read the descriptions of the top 10 books in your genre. a.     I cannot recommend this one enough. I've just been putting this into practice and it's amazing how helpful this is. Remember that your audience probably has read these descriptions, and might be comparing you to them right now to see which one they want to buy. Use that! Differentiate yourself as well as copying their strong points. 2.     The first line needs to sum it all up. a.     You need a hook here at the beginning. Don't be afraid to even separate out a tagline to draw someone in, the big guys do it. 3.     Make it clear. a.     Best way to do this is to not include subplots Stick to the main story.  4.     Write in genre. a.     Your description writing should be a good indication of your book's style, and should meet the expectations of the reader. 5.     Don't be boring.a.     Even if you think it is necessary to explain something, if it's boring, cut it. 6.     Play to your strengths as a writer.a.     Great at building atmosphere? Good, do that. Superb at dialogue? Quote a bit of it. 7.     Recreate the atmosphere of the book in the description. a.     Sprinkle your writing with power words, highly emotive words such as tormented, obsession, charismatic, etc., to build tone fast. 8.     Make your characters live.a.     You want your reader to fall in love at first read with your characters. 9.     Don't be afraid to reference other books. a.     Especially in the beginning or finishing lines. I've gone with 'The light hearted banter of Georgette Heyer with the fun and fashion of the Art Deco period' because it tells people exactly what to expect. Just don't say you are the next Tolkien. 10. Leave the reader wanting more.a.     If in doubt, end on a cliffhanger. Or use open ended questions to make your reader need to know what happens next. 11. Err on the side of short. a.     When in doubt, cut. 12. It doesn't have to be all one piece of writing.a.     Mix it up with a quote from the book, your tag line, a description and some great reviews. 13. Write in the present tense, third person a.     If writing fiction, non-fiction can break this rule. 14. Where possible, include reviews. a.     No one needs to know that 'Amazon Review' was actually from your Aunt. If your Aunt happened to say something snappy and true, then use it. 15. [Optional] A call to action.a.     This is not a necessary step, and more natural in a non-fiction book, but there is no reason not to have one with a fiction book. Something simple like: Pick up your copy of After The Winter to find out if a rake really can change his ways.
My Personal Hates In Desctipions:

Now that I've covered a few do's, I thought I would share a few of my most hated don't's as a reader.

1. Giving away the twist. Why, why would you do this?
2. Lying in the description, saying things that don't actually happen.
3. Not saying anything.
4. Talking only about the author, not the book.

Testing The Theory:

Now, I don't want you to think that I'm all talk. Not only did I apply all this to my historical romance, I thought I would test out the theory that it makes a big difference to sales by editing my Nice Guy's Guide To Online Dating Profiles description.

I will be completely honest and say I did a very last minute job doing the last description. I had totally forgotten about it and so when I came to load the book onto Amazon I suddenly had to put something together. So, I cut a bit out of the introduction which I thought gave the general vibe of my writing and described what I was going to be talking about. It wasn't bad, but it definitely wasn't following all of these rules.

Also, the sales of the book haven't been amazing. After the first few weeks, when I stopped promoting it and the buzz died down, I wasn't getting many sales at all. In fact, for all of March I haven't had a single sale of it.

I have to admit I was skeptical that changing the description would really make any difference to a book that was so low down on the sales list. The description can really only help if people are already finding it, right?

Well, I changed it, and within a few hours of it going live, I had my first sale for the month. Seriously.
Now, I know that's not the amazing story a lot of people tell, 'within the first day I was in the Top 10 best sellers on Amazon', but going from no sales to 1 in just a few hours is pretty amazing when you think about it. So I'll just have to see how it keeps going. And I might try playing around with my Five Day Writer's Retreat description.

But to finish off, I thought I would get your input into my description for my historical romance. I actually have two options for the main body and I don't know which one works best. What do you think?

Quote from book:


'You, sir, are a flirt.’ Miss Lucinda Hargraves held firmly onto her hat. ‘A flirt?’ The play of the smile around his mobile mouth was rather distracting.‘Yes … I think. I have not had a lot of experience, but I think so.’‘And are you not worried about being seen alone in a car with me, if I’m such a terrible flirt?’‘Well, I have to admit I did consider it, but in all honesty, no one would ever think I was the type of woman a man like you would find interesting.’ She took a deep breath. ‘It is actually quite a liberating experience.’
Main body possibility 1: At 27 Lucinda Hargraves is too old to believe that rakes will reform for the love of a good woman. It may work in books, but this is the roaring 20's where men just want a good time and girls are left broken hearted. So the more the charismatic Lord Everdale pulls out his usual tricks for winning over women, the more skeptical Lucinda becomes about his motives. But what if for once Lord Everdale is actually being serious? Is there anything he can do to prove to her that he really has changed? And can he do it before it's too late, or will she choose the upright American John Huntington the Third instead?  
Main body possibility 2: It's the roaring 20's and Lord George Everdale has a reputation he wants to maintain; fast cars, fast women, good times. Lucinda Hargraves has a reputation she believes can't be damaged; spinster, modest and now in possession of a large fortune. So when Lord Everdale comes crashing into Miss Hargraves' life, it seems an unlikely pairing to everyone. But could Lord Everdale be correct, that opposites attract? Or is Miss Hargraves more on course when she predicts that a playboy never changes? 
Finish line: The light hearted banter of Georgette Heyer with the fun and fashion of the Art Deco period. 
Any thoughts?Also, I'm running a GoodReads giveaway for the book to mark its launch on the 25th of April. So why not enter or add it to your shelf?