R.J. Blain's Blog, page 74

The State of the Blain Address

I figure if the President of the United States can give a State of the Union address (when is that, anyway?) I can give a State of the Blain address. Welcome to 2015 and all of that jazz. I haven’t even written 2014 on any important papers for this year yet. I’m on a roll!

Let me begin with my home life. There are some turbulent things going on in my day to day life. On Friday, it was so bad that my husband kicked me out of the house with a gift card we’d received for Christmas, told me to go shopping, and was glad to be rid of me for a few hours. I don’t need shopping therapy often, but the news had me pretty much in tears, and the husband figured I needed some retail medication–and the best place to send me to do that? The book store. So, off I went with his blessings.

It was something neither one of us were at fault for. Both of our general ability to cope was hammered fairly hard. It happens.

I came home with five moleskine journals. It was really that bad. They were also 20% off. How could I resist that?!

My stress levels were so intense that I, in my dire need to escape reality, destroyed Earth.

Okay, so I wrote a quarter of an entire novel over the weekend. Here’s what it is about:

Project Zeta is a slipstreaming YA apoc Science Fiction exploratory story.

Here is a sneak peek about the beginning of the book:

Some believe the Earth has had enough of humanity and is trying to renew itself. Others believe their planet is dying. Either way, humanity faces extinction due to increased volcanic and earthquake activity.

Meet Dr. Athene Dellis, a fifteen years old geologist with a doctorate in Crystalline Mineralogy and an associate’s degree in Volcanology.

When she was five, she foresaw an earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands in Africa, one of the Earth’s last safe havens. Her attempts to warn others resulted in her being blacklisted, never to permitted membership to one of the twenty-four Projects.

Then her dream changed to the final destruction of Earth, where her sister’s shuttle is destroyed in the eruption triggering the end of all life on Earth.

She has survived so she can change fate and see her sister live, even though it means she’s doomed to be among those left behind.

Athene’s story begins the day the Earth dies.

I’m really in love with this story for far too many reasons to list. It is one of the novels I am determined to somehow add to my publishing schedule for 2015.

Since the thought of my ‘out of our direct control’ home life problems make me stressed, I’m skipping them. Screw them with a stick.

Let’s talk books. Because books. Do I need another reason?

I didn’t think so.

I’ve already mentioned Project Zeta, so I will begin with the novel I will be publishing next: Storm Surge.

This is one of my favorite covers. Kalen and Breton’s story continues. I am hoping to have the novel to my editor on February 15, 2015. After that, I expect approximately two months until completion–if that. Depends on how long it takes my proofing editor(s) to work once my primary editor is done hacking the novel to bits.

Two months seems like a long time, but it’s not. It’ll be frantic. While I’m waiting on Storm Surge’s editorial work to be completed, there is a lot of other work to be done!

Next up is a science-fiction project. I haven’t decided which one I will working on completing next: Zero, Evolulite, or Project Zeta.

Project Zeta is getting a following… but Zero is nearest to completion. Honestly, this also depends on how much work I get done on Project Zeta in the next few weeks. I might do something crazy and split my time half and half between Project Zeta and Zero. This would dump two novels on my editor’s lap at around the same time, but she’s flexible and is already aware this might happen.

After the first round of Science Fiction happens, next up will be The City of Clocks. This has been on the back burner for too long. I have a great deal of work to do on this YA, but I’m eager to get it done. Once again, it already has a gorgeous cover by the talented Chris Howard.

(c) RJ Blain – Cover Art by Chris Howard

I’m really trying to clear out the old projects I’ve been sitting on for a while. Something I’ve always loved about The City of Clocks is the fact that it’s a YA–something that I don’t usually pursue. (Yet I’ll be releasing two of them this year. Two!)

The deal with my YA is that they aren’t really written for teenagers or those who are in the same age bracket. I never really considered the age audience. I wrote stories I am interested in–the marketing and audience element was never a factor in these two novels. But the main characters are, by definition, in the YA bracket.

The City of Clocks is misleading–it’s a fantasy with clocks. It’s not really even a proper steampunk. There’s only one location in this world with clocks like this at all.

It takes place in the same world as Requiem for the Rift King and The Fall of Erelith. Weird, huh?

So, here’s a recap of the to-do list so far for this year: Storm Surge, Zero or Project Zeta or both, The City of Clocks.

Potentially four novels. That’s insane. It’s about to get even more crazy. Because if I’m going to be sniffing the crazy glue, why not snort it all the way, right?

Next up will be the remaining science fiction stories–I am cleaning my entire SF docket this year. That puts the count up to five.

Now, here’s where things get complicated: I am sitting on a story currently entitled Rider of the Sun Horse. The draft is done (I think. I might add another POV. I might not. I will find out when I transcribe it.) I don’t have the cover for this or the three science fictions. If the cover for Rider of the Sun Horse is ready, it will get shunted in line after SS / CoC. Why? Because I will have the cover!

That makes six.

Number seven is Royal Slaves.

You guessed it. Another book with a cover. Hi, book seven!

I have stated Royal Slaves… but I’m not all that far into the novel. So, while I am hoping to squeeze this one in, I would need an epic burst of inspiration and productivity to finish it on time. Truth be told, I am expecting 2016 for this one–but who knows? Because I’m doing so little client editorial, my writing productivity has skyrocketed. I have some client work I am working at, but I’m averaging 2 hours a day on that. The rest of my day is going to my books–or real life stuff.

It has made a huge difference.

Ever since I have significantly cut down on client editorial work and focused on my writing, my battles with depression have gotten much better. I haven’t had an notable episodes in months. Stress levels (with the exception of this week’s idiocy) have been incredibly low. My productivity has also increased tenfold.

I guess it’s true what they say. When working for yourself and only yourself, doing something you truly love, you work better, you work harder, and you work happier.

Here’s to a stellar 2015.

Oops, I punned.

 

 

 

 

 

Goals for 2015: A Very Tentative Publishing and Writing Schedule

I’m one of those people who needs to have solid goals and deadlines. It’s simply how I work best. If I know I have a job, I sit down and I do it. If I leave things open-ended, I end up flailing uselessly.

I had intended on drafting Rider of the Sun Horse (Title TBD) in 2015 while working on three other projects.

I completed the handwritten draft on December 31, 2014. I was months ahead of schedule thanks to a lot of effort over the holidays. I managed to write a staggering amount while in the car on the way home from Christmas holiday. I wrote a lot at home. I wrote. A lot.

I wasn’t expecting to start 2015 with two completed, handwritten novel drafts and one half-completed novel in the computer. These three books represent three of the four novels I plan to release within the next 7 or so months.

The fourth book is one I’ve been hammering at for a long time. It is a quarter completed. It’s going to be a shorter book, estimated at 80,000 words. The other three are longer, which I have a ballpark estimate of 150,000 words each.

I have a great deal of work ahead of me. Will I succeed? I don’t know. If I do, however, by the end of July, I will release the four following novels:

Traditional Fantasy Rider of the Sun Horse. Title will be changed, as it doesn’t fit as well as I thought it would originally.
Epic Fantasy Storm Surge. This is Book 2 of Requiem for the Rift King.
Traditional Fantasy with steampunk elements The City of Clocks.
Science Fiction/Science Fantasy Zero.

In order to accomplish this, I need to write 1,000 words a day on each of these projects. Some of these projects will be in editorial phase, which is a phrase for ‘one major scene or chapter of edits per day.’

If I am working as I should be, this is approximately 6 hours of work per day.

In reality, this will be approximately 8-10 hours a day.

In addition to this, I will be setting aside 2 hours per day for client editorial until all of my editorial obligations are completed.

The second half of the year is up in the air. If you have any requests or things you’d really like to see me work on, feel free to leave a comment!

Royal Slaves, book 2 of the Fall of Erelith, very probably be a title I work on in the second half of 2015, along with a Science Fiction (Space Opera) entitled Evolulite.

I hope you all have a fantastic 2015.

A Year in Review: 1 Million Words

Earlier this month, I promised myself I wouldn’t do a year in review. It’d mostly be a long chain of disasters and other unpleasant things. However, today, I discovered I had done something well worth reviewing and sharing.

Between my blog posts, my book reviews, my client editorial work, and my fiction writing, I wrote over 1,000,000 words of text. 668,000 of those words were fiction.

That’s a huge accomplishment.

Once upon a time, I was a writer who was content and happy with writing maybe 50,000 words in a year of fiction. Non-ficiton was a different story, as I worked as a freelance author for quite a long time. Truthfully, I didn’t track those words because they didn’t really mean all that much to me beyond a paycheck.

Never before have I written so many words in a year. When I think about how many words I could have written if I hadn’t been working on so much editorial work, I’m gobsmacked.

In 2015, I am setting myself up to write as much fiction as I possibly can, hoping to create a real career for myself–one where I can help support my family. I’m not there yet. But I’m going to work exceptionally hard to get there. I intend on establishing an even better writing and editorial process for myself so my books are even higher quality. If I have the time, I intend on going over my previously released titles and fixing those small little things that bother me. I can’t do a whole lot of writing-style adjustment, I don’t think that’s fair to my readers, but I will fix what I can.

Most of all, I will actively keep trying to improve my writing.

If it takes 1 million bad words to write a good word, I might be getting close to reaching that point. I feel like I’ve improved at my writing.

Time will tell… but my year in review is this: I wrote a million words.

Next year, I’ll write more words, and they’ll be better.

2015 Resolution: Make a Living Wage

I’ve talked about my financial situation before and all of the many challenges associated with trying to be ‘one of those authors who dropped everything to write.’ I’ve talked about the costs it takes for me to produce a novel. I’ve talked about my income (and often the lack thereof.)

I’ve also talked about what a living wage is where I live. Not minimum wage. A living wage. They’re two totally different fish. One’s a pretty Siamese Fighting Fish and the other one is a slimy Hag fish. I’ll let you figure out which one is which.

I’m not doing a proper New Years Resolution list this year, which I will surely fail. I’m setting myself up for one significant goal, one I will be chasing after with the frenzied glee of a piranha hunting a deliciously bloody steak thrown into the Amazon.

I want to make a living wage on my novels.

I want to be taxed for my work. (I am currently below the poverty line where I live, thus for individual tax credits mean I am not charged taxes.)

I want to have enough income where it is worth the heartache and effort to make an appointment with H&R block and slap down $500 for them to file my US taxes for me. Because complicated, yo.

I even have the slip of paper that says I’m not required to pay any US taxes up to the limit. Which is woo!

And if I am making enough money to have to pay US taxes, I will be okay with paying them because it means I made a lot of freaking money!!!

But on a serious note, my goal for 2015 is to catch the dream: to make a living wage. In my area, with my novel-writing expenses added, this equals roughly $31,000.

Here’s hoping I can do it. I’m working hard to set myself up for success… but here’s hoping I manage to grab it in a very rude and intimate place and make success mine.

My method, for the curious, is to write more books.

The next four releases have been planned, and I’m hoping I can manage to finish them promptly by working hard each and every day.

I may be foolish to believe that hard work pays off… but we shall see. We shall see indeed.

The Price of Creativity

With the recent kerfuffle over Pomplamoose being straight forward and honest about their expenditures for a tour,  I am among those who are stepping up to speak out about the price of creativity.

I have always been pretty up front about the costs of my creativity and the lengths I will go to ensure my dream job–writing novels–remains a reality. Every author is different. Some choose to do their editorial all on their own, create covers on their own, and handle every aspect of their publishing process on their own.

I can’t do that. I work with Chris Howard for my cover art. (I also reserve covers sometimes up to six months in advance. I’ve had the cover for City of Clocks for over a year, waiting for the book to be ready.) I work with Rachel Desilets for the first round of my editorial process. My proofing editorial staff is currently up in the air, although I think I’ve managed to select my main proofing editor. (I sometimes hire two–I prefer having two, as editors are human and so am I.)

I also work with Brooke Johnson for cover layout and interior design for the print editions of my novels.

I do not expect these individuals to work for free. We negotiated prices we both felt were fair and conducive for a long-term relationship. It’s the same way I handled my editorial work. I could have made more money, but when I started, I really enjoyed working with other authors. I worked in editorial to pay my novel-writing expenses. It was a way for me to balance my books.

But at the end of the day, it was–and still is–an unsound financial decision for me. I chose to martyr my finances for editorial because I wanted people to have access to something I offered. I never worked for free (nor would I) but I definitely didn’t value my work at what I should have.

As an author, I am presented with a lot of choices. How much do I charge for a book? Can I profit from this story? How much do I need to invest to make this novel happen?

How can I get the funds needed to make my career a financially sound one. My writing is a business. I’m not interested in martyring my novels for exposure. I am a philanthropist, though. I love giving to people. That’s why, instead of going for an actual sale, I gave away most of my books for free for Black Friday. While I did want exposure, I wanted to give people who couldn’t afford books a chance to get them legitimately. I wanted fans as well.

It was a conscious decision and risk to give up any hope of actual sales.

This is also why I refuse to give my novels away perma free on Amazon: I value myself and my work. My novels are my lifeline, my career, and the foundation of my hopes and dreams.

This is important to me, and my creativity, my dreams, and my hopes should not be valueless.

Let me break down the reality of this situation for you. I’m an author. My job is to write books for the enjoyment of readers. Movie actors expect to get paid for entertaining you. I expect to get paid for entertaining you.

I don’t have the hopes of a movie actor. I want a living wage.

The actual living wage where I live is $24,900. (This number was gotten by speaking to low-wage friends and finding out when they considered they had a decent quality of life.)

This is approximately $12.00 per hour. Minimum wage in Quebec is $10.35.

Considering my friends and the nature of their lifestyles, it’s entirely possible someone could survive with a good quality life at minimum wage.

So, for the sake of this discussion, I will value my work at $10.35 an hour before taxes.

In the past, I have released two novels a year. However, before I divide the wage per hour against the number of novels written, there are a few considerations I need to make:

First and foremost, I need to make $10.35 an hour after my expenses for creating the novel. This needs to be money earned for the purpose of having a good quality of life.

And to anyone who thinks authors, musicians, entertainers, and anyone who works to make you happy shouldn’t enjoy a basic and good quality of life… fuck off. I deserve to have a good living wage just like every other hard working individual out there.

Rude, yes, but I am not a martyr for your entertainment. I’m not someone to be sacrificed because you don’t want to pay for moments of happiness. Authors, musicians, and entertainers shouldn’t starve because too many people want everything for cheap.

We work hard so readers can enjoy themselves. We work very hard for that.

I work full time as an author. Next year, I’m on track to release four novels. (Most of these books are partially completed.)

This is a rough estimate, but I am expecting to spend roughly $1,500 to $2,000 per novel next year. I’ll roll with $1,500 in a best-hope situation. That’s $6,000 in general expenses for next year.

If I make $10.35 an hour at full time hours (I actually work more than full time) I would earn $24,960. In total, to make the minimum wage, I would need to bring in $31,060.

I made, approximately, a third of that before expenses.

I’m hoping with four new books in the works, I can start seeing a snowball effect and start making a minimum living wage.

No, I should not have to go ‘get a real job.’ Writing is a real job. I sit down and I work hard for more hours in a week than full-time work dictates.

It’s about time people started accepting that the entertainment industry is real work.

After all, there are men and women who will pay hookers $300 an hour. Is it really so much to ask for an author to get paid $10.35 an hour? It takes most people a lot longer than an hour to read a novel.

I think the amount of time it takes to read a novel is well worth the $3.99 to $5.99 I charge for my ebooks, don’t you?

I think this nonsense about entertainers, including authors, being valued at near-to-nothing needs to stop. I don’t write for exposure.

I write to eat.

I write to live comfortably.

I write because I like it–but that doesn’t mean I should be forced to work for nothing.

No one should have to work for nothing in the hope of someday making money.

Red Flags and Publishers

It isn’t unusual for my (editorial) clients to come to me for advice on agents and publishers. Over the years, I have forged many connections with a variety of industry professionals as I considered pursing traditional publication. If I can’t find information on a publisher, I likely know someone who does know something about the group (or individual) I’m researching.

I was asked about J Ellington Ashton Press, as my client was approached by them regarding an unfinished book she is working on–a project I’m in progress of helping her develop and edit. I encourage my clients to try to push the boundaries and look for opportunities. Sometimes good things happen; an author meets another author and gets a connection to a publisher. Sometimes an author takes a project and approaches a publisher with promising results.

Sometimes my clients are simply curious and want more information.

While my job is to help them strengthen their manuscript, if I can provide a factual answer to their questions regarding other facets of the industry, I will. I want my clients to be able to make sound decisions for themselves and their novels.

My client met an author from this press who tried to recruit her for the press after discussing the book. (This, honestly, triggered a bit of a red flag for me. That’s a personal red flag, so I filed it away as a note and went about my vetting process as normal.)

As a side trip, let me explain why this is a red flag for me: Publishing houses are looking for authors all of the time. However, most of them use an agent model or a submissions call model; authors and agents go to them. However, this tends to change at places like conventions and after certain relationships have been built. There are exceptions to every rule and stereotype, but mostly authors and agents approach publishers.

Legitimate agents will approach authors, though–and sometimes from startling prestigious agencies. Once upon a time, I was approached by an agent from a very notable house in London. As I did with my client, I vetted the existence of the agent and that they were authentically a part of the agency. I was gobsmacked. It didn’t work out for us as a author/agent pairing, but such approaches do happen.

Back to the main subject.

When I’m checking out a publisher (or literary agent) for myself (or for others) there are a few criteria I look for. I check the cover quality. I click through most of the publisher’s catalog and check for sales rankings, reviews, and read samples. Depending on what I find, I’ll check for business reviews and complaints. (I did not do this last step for this publisher.)

I asked my client some questions, and here is what I found out.

Editorial: The publishing house utilizes two editors. (This is typically good.) Authors are not charged for editorial. (Also good.)

Here’s my personal issue with this press: Authors who sign with this house are, apparently, asked not to make use of beta readers or hired editors to improve their stories. (Bad. This means a writer can’t follow their process to create better books. Hiring an editor is flat-out banned, and the house grudgingly permits betas. Keyword, grudgingly.) I’m biased because I’m an editor, but I’m also biased because hiring editors is a critical part of my progress. Even if I wasn’t a self publisher, I’d probably hire before submitting to an agent. Hiring an editor who works well with me and my writing style is an integral part of how I produce a book. I need someone to ask advice, brainstorm ideas with, and run issues by as I’m working on a book.

Not all folks are like this, of course.

Cover Art: Ouch, my eyes. There were one or two decent covers, but most of them were… not. Authors are given the option to provide their own covers if they can get the artist to sign over all rights to the cover. (This is typically a good thing, as many authors can’t afford cover artists. However, I found the covers to be lacking in appeal. See more about this in the Sales section.)

Sales: Here is the real kicker. Does a publisher provide marketing and ways to improve an author’s sales? So, here is where the most research happens. I clicked a lot of their books, including ones from their top author.

Most titles ranked between 500,000 to 1,300,000 in sales ranking with Amazon. Their best author had quite a few books, but only one of his titles had 10 reviews. (The rest had fewer.) While I expect new releases to have less than 10 reviews, I have higher expectations for novels released by a publisher. The publisher should be making efforts to contact reviewers and making certain their books have good visibility. That is important for sales; it’s also important for their authors.

So, after looking at the press, I really recommended that my client decline their invitation. I have nothing against small presses; I think they open a lot of doors to authors… but I do feel authors shouldn’t be so desperate as to lose control of their novels and writing process without a high chance of it paying forward in sales and visibility with major ebook vendors.

Be aware. Don’t just jump at an offer because someone is interested in you. (It feels great having someone interested in you, I know! But make the best choice for your novel. That choice may ultimately be self publish with your own skills, but don’t just dive in because you perceive an open door.)

It could slam you in the ass–or worse, in your royalty check.

In conclusion: Could this press be viable for some people? Sure, it’s possible. However, it’s a very risky gamble, and considering that the publisher doesn’t encourage authors to improve themselves outside of their contracts, it’s a very risky proposition indeed.

On Self-Publishing: Ebook Sales versus Print Sales

One of my dear writer friends, Megan, asked me a question about self-publishing and income. She wanted to know if ebook or print sales were more profitable when publishing through Amazon.

I have no data beyond my own, so please consider this as anecdotal information. I am one individual. I do not have access to sales like a publisher does. All I can share with you is the performance of my novels.

In order for this post to work, I must first discuss the differences between print and e-book copies, particularly in the royalty department.

Ebooks are far, far more profitable. There is no contest between the two formats. Here is a list of my ebooks and their royalty rates for Amazon.com:

Winter Wolf: $4.13
Inquisitor: $2.74
Storm Without End: $2.74
The Eye of God: $2.74

Here is a list of my print versions and their royalty rates for Amazon.com:

Winter Wolf: $1.74
Inquisitor: $0.61
Storm Without End: $0.56
The Eye of God: $1.04

Here is a convenient list showing how many print copies I need to sell to stay on par with ebook sales:

Winter Wolf: 2.3 Print Copies
Inquisitor: 4.49 Print Copies
Storm Without End: 4.89 Print Copies
The Eye of God: 2.6 Print Copies

I tried to price the print copies to make them somewhat affordable for their length for those who want print versions of my titles.

Most people want ebook copies.

Here is a list of all of my print sales through Amazon.com:

Winter Wolf: 0 Sales. $0.00 Royalties.
Inquisitor: 41 Sales. $24.62 Royalties.
Storm Without End: 17 Sales. $13.22 Royalties.
The Eye of God: 3 Sales. $3.12 Royalties.

Here is the data for the past six weeks of ebook sales for Amazon.com, including number of sales and royalty figures:

Winter Wolf: 102 Copies. $404.04 Royalties.
Inquisitor: 53 Copies. 213.53 Royalties.
Storm Without End: 0 Copies. $0.00 Royalties.
The Eye of God: 0 Copies. $0.00 Royalties.

Now, something that did factor into these sales (and in some cases, the lack thereof) is the fact I did a free promotion on three of the four novels. Here’s the number of free copies given away by title:

Inquisitor: 6,332 Copies.
Storm Without End: 1,555 Copies.
The Eye of God: 388 Copies.

For my final presentation of numbers, the current week’s royalties. (No number of copies sold data, sorry–Amazon’s reporting system can be mean sometimes.)

Winter Wolf: $299.15
Inquisitor: $98.76
Storm Without End: $10.92
The Eye of God: $1.40

Because I’m unwilling to jack the price of my print novels up by $5.00+ a copy for expanded distribution, I do not have a presence in bookstores. As a self-published indie with limited budget, this is just something I have to live with. I think I’m in the same situation with many others.

I won’t stop doing print copies because I like having them–and I know fans enjoy print copies as well. However, I write my investment into formatting and print costs as a loss with no expectation to get it back. It is a luxury I can afford, because it makes me happy and it makes some of my fans happy.

That alone makes the hassle of producing a print version worthwhile for me.

Your mileage will vary.

Writing is Hard

(c) qisur (Creative Commons – Flickr)

Sometimes, I really wonder why I picked writing as a career choice. There are days where I think any career would be better, including garbage dumpster diver, tripe maker, and snow crab fisher. Let’s add septic system cleaner to the list while I’m at it, simply to make sure the list of yicky jobs is robust enough.

You can use a thesaurus to replace ‘robust’ with a few other descriptors. The less flattering, the better.

When I was working on Winter Wolf, I entertained the thought of just giving up multiple times. I was behind schedule, often due to circumstances far outside of my control. Money hasn’t been my friend this year, entirely thanks to the sewage flood in June or July or whatever the hell month ruined my finances. I try not to think of it overly much.

My pride took a huge kick when I had to ask my mother for financial help so I could go on vacation and we could keep our plans for the future intact. My mother, being who she is, was game to helping out. That’s what families do for each other.

(Friends too.)

But I kept going. Work was slow and painful, but I kept going. Every time I opened an editorial file from one of my editors, I verged on panicking because there was going to be some tragic error needing corrected!! My pride always takes a kick during the editorial phase. It is a necessary but painful step in the writing process for me. But I sit down, shut up, and fix the things my editors tell me need to be fixed. That’s an integral part of the editorial process.

It doesn’t matter how good of an editor you hire if you ignore what they tell you. There are a lot of talented editors I know that I’ll never approach because I can’t trust them. Their manners either annoy me or come across as egotistical. That doesn’t work in an editor-to-client relationship. When I accept a client for editorial, I make certain they’re aware of my sense of humor and need to be very direct in how I write my feedback and comments. I don’t sugarcoat things. I don’t tell them something is good when it is not. I give compliments when compliments are earned (thus throwing the sandwiching bad news with good news on both sides method out the window.)

This is part of why writing is so hard. Anyone can write words. But not everyone can write words, entrust their manuscript to someone, and make use of everything they’re being taught. Writing is hard–improving your writing is harder still.

I believe readers are very quick to judge authors by the words they have written. If a story doesn’t meld with their tastes, the author has gone on a personal vendetta to waste their time. It makes having writing and releasing a novel a very scary proposition sometimes.

But because it’s hard, it is worth doing. I never liked doing things the easy way, not really. If I did, I would have self-published ten years ago, producing something truly terrifying.

But I didn’t.

I wanted to get better.

And that’s when I learned writing was hard.

But just because something is hard doesn’t mean it isn’t worthwhile. That was one of the harder lessons I had to learn with Winter Wolf. Right up until its release day, I questioned if I should have invested so much time and heartache into the book. In truth, I still do question it. I worry constantly over those who won’t like the book and feel I have done them a personal injustice because of it.

I care about my readers and fans… and that is one of the biggest burdens of all. But it also drives me onward. Because I care about my fans and readers, I want to write even better books. And this hope is what makes writing hard–it’s hard because I make it hard, because I have great expectations for myself, and I know it will be very difficult to live up to them.

And that is why I keep going forward: writing is hard…

… but quitting is unacceptable, because I care about my readers and fans. It isn’t just about me anymore. It’s about me, my fans, my readers, and about creating a career I can live from. (Sorry, the money does matter. I like eating. I also like feeding my cats, keeping the heat in the house on, and saving up to go on a nice vacation to get away from life for a little while. I want to live because I write. I want my job to be a good part of my life, not just a way of feeding myself.)

And that’s also why writing is hard.

I care.

Writing a Functional Outline

Writing is hard. We’ve heard it before. Whether you’re a pantser or a plotter, the act of sitting down and writing a novel is difficult. It never ceases to amaze me how many people try to convince others writing a novel is easy.

I’ve published four novels. It doesn’t get easier with the next book. If anything, it becomes harder. Why? I want to write even better books. This is challenging. It’s tiring. It’s difficult. I want to tell stories readers love. That’s conceited, but there you have it. I want to reach that next level, and each time I improve, it’s never enough for me.

I want to do even better. The Eye of God was a beginner’s foray into publishing. It’s a flawed book–it’s really a flawed book. The first version had too many errors. I went back, hired yet another editor, and fixed as many of them as I could. But the book is flawed–because my writing skills hadn’t improved as much as I wanted before I published.

I had to start somewhere. It’s still my baby, but… it’s flawed. Storm Without End came next. There were, thankfully, fewer errors in this novel. But I wasn’t where I wanted to be. (I”m still not.)

Inquisitor was better than SWE. Winter Wolf is better than Inquisitor.

There are some notable differences between all four of my novels.

The Eye of God had little to no planning. Pantsed it all, including the rewrites.

Storm Without End had little planning–I knew a few important concepts of the novel through trial, error, and many rewrites, until I essentially outlined the series through more than five rewrites of the first book and the main character’s backstory. (This is inefficient as a method of writing.)

Inquisitor had basic preplanning done. Mostly, I plotted the deaths because they amused me.

Winter Wolf was fully outlined prior to drafting the rewritten version. I had written the original draft of Winter Wolf prior to ever trying an outline.

Oh, the difference an outline made.

I can already hear the pansters huffing, puffing, and snorting over this. Bear with me, pantsers. You likely do these things in your head as you write. You just don’t write them down.

(And if you aren’t, well, I invite you to consider trying it sometime and seeing how your writing changes.)

But outlines are finicky things. I’m currently helping one of my clients with her writing process; she’s inexperienced but a very hard worker. She’s cramming more into a few months than some writers ever do in a year. Because she’s working so hard, so am I–it’s very easy for me to respond to someone putting in a great deal of effort on their work. She’s treating herself very seriously, and in turn, I treat her very seriously.

(One of my other clients also falls into this exact same boat–and she is getting the same treatment, although I think she is cursing me. Actually, I think they’re both cursing me. That’s okay.)

The issue of outlining has come up with both of these wonderful writing ladies. They have both smacked into hurdles with their outlining.

At the end, the problems they both faced were the same… and it is the secret to writing a functional outline.

Most people outline for plot events not for characters. A novel is the story of people, of characters, and their lives. So, when you write an outline based on events and not on characters, the outline is likely going to result in being a glorious waste of time full of good ideas you can’t use because your characters would never do that.

Pantsers site their characters as the reason they don’t outline. They don’t know how their characters will react. And that is the absolute best reason I’ve ever heard against outlining.

Characters drive plot and story, not events. Many plotters forget this when they go to outlining, resulting in a book with wooden, boring characters. The characters have been molded to fit the circumstances of the book–they were not the circumstances of the book. The characters are always what make or break a book. This is what a character-driven book is about.

Let me tell you what a character-driven book is. Many people roll their eyes and go “Marketing lingo!!!” when they hear the term. Well, I got a news flash for you: It matters. It isn’t lingo. It is the heart and soul of a good novel.

A character-driven story is any story where the events, the emotions, the circumstances, the consequences, and very essence of a novel are driven by the decisions and personalities of all of the characters in the story. When one character says something, it matters. It changes how the story works out. It means when a character makes a decision, it matters. It changes the entire dynamic of the story.

A plot-driven story are those stories where things happen to the characters. The characters never take the front seat. They aren’t real.

Plot-driven stories are often a consequence of outlining by those who don’t know how to factor their characters into their outlines.

I outline now. Sometimes I outline in my head without bothering to write down the outline to paper, but I outline all the same. I consider my characters, who they are, what their goals are, what their motivations are, and how far they will go to accomplish something–then I take that knowledge and apply it to their actions. When I outline, I stop asking “What happens?” and start asking “Why did this happen?”

If the answer is character did this, then I feel I’m on the right track.

I can’t tell you how to write a functional outline. It’s a personal journey. All I can do is share with you how I write a functional outline.

It all begins with the main character.

Gratuitous Winter Wolf Cover

When I outlined Winter Wolf, I sat down and wrote an entire page of information on the main character, Nicole. I wrote about what she faced in her life. I wrote very little about her past–only the important tid bits that got her from Point A to Here I am Now. Armed with that, I picked something a different character needed from Nicole. I gave this person motivations, a story, and why this favor would be important to Nicole.

Starting a novel is difficult for me–almost as hard as finishing the damned thing. So, I dove in right away. I gave my character a reason she would face something she feared. (Someone she appreciates asked her to.)

Thus the first bit of her characterization was created. Nicole is a person who does things for others–and for herself as a secondary. She’s more likely to face problems she really doesn’t want to face for the sake of someone else.

I made a note of this.

My outline began and ended with characterization notes. My outline mostly consisted of characterization notes. Why did a character do this? What will drive a character through a conversation? Who is the most dominant character? How will they sway the conversations?

Why would these characters do things?

Nicole’s characterization was always focused on what she would do for others–no matter what the cost was to her. That’s Nicole.

And because of it, she ended up in a lot of crappy situations. She’s often blind to what is best for her because she’s so busy seeing what is best for others. When I wrote the outline, I had to remind myself of this.

I had to do this with all of the major characters–on and off screen. I had to track what the ‘unseen characters’ were doing so I knew how their decisions would impact the novel.

My outline wasn’t about events. It never was. It included the events… but the outline was the story of the characters. It’s a game of chess; each character is a piece. It’s up to them whether they’re a pawn or a Queen, a knight or the King. While events were important, no event happened without a character being responsible for it in some fashion.

That’s the most important thing I’ve learned about writing a functional outline: by writing for the characters, I learn who they are. By learning who they are, I’m able to write an outline they can flourish in. I gave myself a map–an accurate one–about how these characters think.

As such, my outline remained viable through the entire book.

But I will make a confession: I only used approximately half of what I had actually outlined. At 125,000 words, Winter Wolf is my longest novel. I had plenty of material to have written a 250,000 word novel. In a way, I regret I didn’t have the time to write out every little detour I took. It would have been a fun ride. I was halfway through the rewrite when I realized, while I had great fun working out these side trips, they weren’t really necessary for the book. So I cut them out.

But because I spent so much time working on the characterization in my outline, the cuts didn’t hurt me. Nicole was still Nicole, and every event, every conversation, and every bit of story was founded on who she was at her heart and soul.

And because I wrote considering her at all levels, I was able to consider how she would change over the course of the novel, becoming the type of person she needed to be to accomplish her goals.

It took me almost two weeks of effort to fully outline Winter Wolf. This was done for about six hours a day. Outlining isn’t quick when you’re considering so many elements and characters… but it made all of the difference in the world for me.

I used to be a pantser. Now I’m a plotter, because I first learned how to write characters–and then I learned to outline them.

But at the end of the day? Characters matter. That’s the entire point of an outline; to create characters who can live within the pages of your book.

A good plot helps… but good characters make a book great.

Three Novels Free until Saturday!

Happy Thanksgiving to those who are celebrating! For those who want to enjoy a good book after dinner (and have a good excuse to avoid Black Friday shopping) please feel free to download one, two, or all three of the free novels available!

If you like them, please consider purchasing a copy of Winter Wolf to support my writing. ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N1BXDMW )

About the Books!

Storm Without End ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GI7C0QG )

Kalen’s throne is his saddle, his crown is the dirt on his brow, and his right to rule is sealed in the blood that stains his hand. Few know the truth about the one-armed Rift King, and he prefers it that way. When people get too close to him, they either betray him or die. The Rift he rules cares nothing for the weak. More often than not, even the strong fail to survive.

When he’s abducted, his disappearance threatens to destroy his home, his people, and start a hopeless and bloody war. There are many who desire his death, and few who hope for his survival. With peace in the Six Kingdoms quickly crumbling, it falls on him to try to stop the conflict swiftly taking the entire continent by storm.

But something even more terrifying than the machinations of men has returned to the lands: The skreed. They haven’t been seen for a thousand years, and even the true power of the Rift King might not be enough to save his people — and the world — from destruction.

Inquisitor ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K0SDX88 )

When Allison is asked to play Cinderella-turned-Fianceé at a Halloween ball, the last thing she expected was to be accused of murder on the same night. She has to find the killer or she’ll be put to death for the crimes she didn’t commit. To make matters worse, the victims are all werewolves.

On the short list of potential victims, Allison has to act fast, or the killer will have one more body to add to his little black book of corpses.

There’s only one problem: One of the deaths has struck too close to home, and Allison’s desire for self-preservation may transform into a quest for vengeance…

The Eye of God ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E5R8Y2A )

Blaise tries to act like a good human, but someone always manages to ruin things for him. When the Emperor’s most powerful weapon is stolen and its human vessel is kidnapped from the Arena, Blaise must choose between meddling in the affairs of mortals or remaining true to his duty.

To make matters worse, the Archbishop has betrayed the church and God by giving the Emperor the second piece of the Triad, the Heart of God. Should Blaise stand idle and leave the mortals to their own devices, the people of Erelith won’t just lose their lives: Their souls will be destroyed by a power that was never meant to fall into mortal hands.

If Blaise can find the Eye of God, he might be able to save the humans from themselves. Unfortunately, his only hope for success lies in the hands of a slave who wants nothing more than to die. If Blaise can’t save Terin and enlist his help, the Erelith Empire will fall.