S.G. Basu's Blog, page 43
June 25, 2014
Small change, big difference
May 15, 2014
Thoughts on book promotions : Part 3 (CoPromote.com)
May 8, 2014
Thoughts on book promotions : Part 2 (BookDaily.com)
May 1, 2014
Thoughts on book promotions : Part 1
April 22, 2014
The business of ‘business cards’
April 2, 2014
Goodreads giveaways – yay or nay?
March 19, 2014
What makes an author an indie?
I have only recently spent time thinking about the meaning of the word indie when applied to authors. Before I self-published, I heard more of traditional and self-published, and very little of the word indie. But, I keep hearing it more and more these days and after I looked into its usage and meaning, I realized that hearing more of this word is a good thing.
Like any other word, there are a lot of interpretations of indie. The way I like to think – it is all about creative control over the process of getting your product (book/books) to the consumers (readers). If you have direct control of said product from conception to marketing, you are an indie.
I have come across a lot of opinions – I have friends to whom being an indie means having done everything (editing, cover design, promotions) on their own, without help from anyone else. It is a purist’s definition. A lot of authors, sometimes either due to the lack of expertise or time or both, approach self publishing companies. Does it make those authors less of an indie? I do not believe so. Not unless they have given up that directorial control over their product in the process.
When working on my debut novel, I had quickly figured the need for a good editor. Allison Itterly, my editor, did what I could not. I wanted illustrations for my book, which I clearly could not do myself. Nora Meek, my illustrator helped me out with those. Next came designing the layout – I love formatting my own books, I have enjoyed designing covers as well. So, I did those myself. Overall, although I did not use a self publishing company, I did partner with people who had specific expertise.
The process will get even more partnership dependent this year. I had more time to spare and the energy to expend on these various facets when I was working on just one book. Now, the more I get into marketing and writing sequels and a multitude of other things to continue publishing more books, I am being drawn by the idea of getting more help. In addition to editing and illustrating help, I will likely want someone to design the cover of my second book. I have started thinking along similar lines for marketing/promotions as well. I am mulling over divvying up the promos – parts of which I could do myself and then get help when I need.
Will such outsourcing make me a non-indie? I think not. As long as the vision and control remains mine, I will remain proudly and fiercely, an indie author.
March 12, 2014
A credible character arc? Or not?
Lately, I have had too many conversations debating writing a series. Far too many, really. On realizing just how many, I got nervous, the anxiety fueled by my quasi-writers’ block. I kept worrying – was it because I was not too keen about my own series anymore? Was I feeling overwhelmed and in turn discouraged? Or maybe it was nothing of the sort and just a series of coincidences leading up to the discussions? Turned out, it was the third. I am still excited about Maia’s story and the work is progressing nicely as well. All my well laid plans are alive and thriving.
So then, back to those debates. Of the many challenges involved in writing a series, one is managing the pace at which the characters develop, particularly the development of the protagonist, in my case the teenage heroine, Maia. My series starts when she is thirteen and I hope to conclude the story before she turns seventeen. I get about three years to show how she matures as a person, finds her calling and figures out what role she wants to play in healing the crumbling world around her. Three years is a very short span, and it had to be sprinkled with the losses, the wins, the joys, the heartbreaks at the right places to make her journey intriguing.
Maia has little interest going down the heroic path that is forced upon her. A reluctant hero then? This is how one is defined - ”A reluctant hero is a tarnished or ordinary man with several faults or a troubled past, and he is pulled reluctantly into the story, or into heroic acts. During the story, he rises to the occasion, sometimes even vanquishing a mighty foe, sometimes avenging a wrong. But he questions whether he’s cut out for the hero business. His doubts, misgivings, and mistakes add a satisfying layer of tension to a story”. Nice, that fitted her persona well.
But then, that meant I had to start off low key, even put multiple not-so-positive traits in her to make her the “reluctant” protagonist. So I did. The trouble started right off the bat – I had to be careful, I was cautioned – I could not make her look too weak or too indifferent, because she would not be an interest provoking character anymore. Especially, since she is surrounded by a team of youngsters, I had to make sure that Maia remained the focus of the story, and not have the limelight wrested away by one of her teammates. Okay. I got that.
At the time, my question was, if I start out painting her too positive, how bright can I make her in the first book alone? I had to sustain that character arc across five books – there had to be ebb and flow. I could make her strong in the beginning, but if I just let her grow stronger, then by the end of the series she would be a demi-god. And I wanted Maia to remain human and believable and stay interesting all the way. So, maybe, I could plan a cataclysmic event midway, that would justify toning her down in the middle of the series. But, then I thought – it is hard for a strong character with minimal flaws to succumb to the pain too easily, so the cataclysmic event would have too be too dramatic and unreal for my tastes. Nope, that would not work.
What if I did mini arcs for each book? No, too repetitive and BORING. What if I strengthened her through the first book and then pushed her off the cliff in the second? Hmm … could be. But then selling the second book would be a nightmare. And who wants to plunge into darkness right after they have gathered some hard earned following? Oh, this was getting tricky, this business of writing a series.
I ended up making her an ordinary girl – she was strong, but vulnerable at the same time and prone to making mistakes and misjudging people. I decided to build up her confidence in the first part, make her progress from a talented yet unenthusiastic also-ran to a spirited and much admired leader by the end of the book. I figured that if I could make her outshine her teammates in the first episode, that memory would linger in the second. Come the third part, I could unleash aforementioned “cataclysmic” event to get her down into the depths of darkness. And there she would rediscover herself and when she emerges from it in the fourth act, my reluctant hero would be truly ready to shine bright in the final act.
Oh well, that is the plan. How well I can execute it remains to be seen. Fingers crossed!
March 7, 2014
How I got my 1000 words back
I do not hold myself to writing regimens too much. For me, regimens don’t always work. It stifles my creative bursts and makes me more resistant to things I try to get done in the first place. So, I have never disciplined the writer in me very often. And for the most part, that has not caused much trouble. Until now, when it is time for me to start getting the draft together for book #4 of The Lightbound Saga.
True, I just published book #1, and #4 is some way to go. Maybe, I should cut myself some slack? Guess not.
Being an indie author has taught me one thing – with all the different caps I have to wear, all the tasks I have to constantly juggle between, I have to be prepared well ahead of time. There was no room for slack, not this time.
The problem was though, when I sat down with my laptop, I just could not write. Not exactly a writer’s block, because I could write other things, just not book #4. Oh well, whatever it was, the big question was – how could I get out of it? And fast?
First, I decided to keep the despised regimen in place. I allotted some time for writing book #4, and I made myself sit down and if it came to that – just stare at the screen for an hour. That worked a little bit, but still no breakthrough.
Then an author friend happened to mention a problem he was facing with his novel – he had written it in parts and now the challenge was stitching it all together. I had an idea! Maybe I could pick random chapters, or maybe I could pick the chapters that interested me most and slowly get the outline filled in?
It has been a week since – I have written more than an average of a 1000 words/day. I have completed four chapters, and all that while working on editing book #2, marketing book#1 and being a mommy to a super active 3 year old. I can now officially declare myself out of the block.
Giveaway on Goodreads.com
Another giveaway at Goodreads.3 autographed copies up for grabs.
