Monday Musing: Making It Matter
Greetings and happy Monday Liz fans and others!
Today we are gonna talk about what matters.
I know, I know this is a Super Duper Important and Yet Somehow Utterly Vague Topic.
But bear with me.
You see, I've been thinking a lot about my journey as an author and how at various stages I've felt proud, frustrated, elated, horrified, happy, miserable many times all of these things at once. Writer's have giant egos. But yet their size is in direct correlation to their frailty. We need feedback, stroking, props and more to keep us going. I know this and perversely the more books I write and the more fans I manage to rope into my somewhat unique, romance-but-not-quite-"romance" world I find I need it even more.
Kind of a lot of pressure to put on people who just enjoy reading books and have the advantage of the new digital age of easy access to authors. But yet so thrilling to open up Facebook or twitter and find someone totally new saying "I just love all your books!"
This matters, dear ones. Never discount the power of your time and effort to seek out an author you've recently enjoyed and telling them so.
I have always been a vocal proponent both to myself and any poor newbie who thinks my advice might be worth asking to WRITE WHAT YOU WANT TO READ.
This may dovetail with current trends. You may love reading dinosaur porn, or about mysterious billionaires who love to spank, or even the latest "steps" trend. Yes, this is A Thing and I'll keep my opinion to myself on it. It sells. As a marketer first, author second I respect this no matter my "ick" factor.
Or you may be like me an prefer to read about strong characters no matter how much money they have in the bank or how they got it, in situations that require them to be honest about their emotions. "Relationship fiction" I like to think of it and have called it as such. Not so much "romance" but that's another blog post, as you know.
As an author, be you raw newcomer with fingertip hovering over the "send" on that query or "publish" on your first novel or seasoned, cynical, glass-half-empty grump like myself, you owe it to yourself to write a book that you would pick up and read.
This matters.
One of the more prolific and entertaining advice-givers out there, Kristen Lamb whose book on using social media to your advantage as an author is something you should pick up and read, put her finger on something for me that I struggled with for a while. The stage we all pass through in which we find it impossible to read a book, watch a TV show or a movie without ripping it apart in our heads, critiquing it within an inch of its life and getting red-faced pissed-off about how in the name of all holy did that piece of utter dog mess make it onto a best seller list/the screen. This is a frustrating thing and something I still struggle with but less so, now that I understand what matters.
What matters is that you understand story structure, plotting and characterization as others have put them into play. It can not only inspire you to concoct a side story from something already existing (less "fan fiction" and more "what about that intern in the law office and what's HIS story maybe I'll tell something like it") but it also helps you understand what works and what does not. The human brain is wired to accept certain things as viable, even if YOUR "viable" might be a tad different from mine (see: Liz as cynical curmudgeon). But as an Author, you take on the responsibility to be not only a consumer of your craft but a producer.
If you thought you had the world's most amazing recipe for apple pie, but yet claimed you "never eat apple pie because that's cruel" or whatever, I would hardly consider you an expert and would give your apple pie a pass (and I rarely, if ever, give apple pie a pass). You must understand what's out there, what works for the general public (or for specific areas of it) and what doesn't (for you). Then you craft something that you would read but that has all the elements required of Your Product: pacing, plot, characterization and dialogue that you have slaved over, yes, but things slaved over are the best.
My case in point for this (and the impetus for today's highly alliterative Monday Musing) is my current Work in Progress. I am crafting a thriller novel for the first time, and read some of the more popular and best selling thrillers in order to understand pacing. I mean, I know what I'm doing, right? Well, I did until I put my hand to this thing and it got so wildly out of control thanks to my pantser tendencies I am now on version 4 of it.
When I got back comments from an editor on it recently and we did some back-and-forth about what wasn't working for her about it I had my initial, knee-jerk "OH NO SHE D'INT" reaction. But there I was, guilty of not understanding that if I wanted to sell this book Big Time (and I do, make no mistake) I had to get back to being a consumer. I had to understand that thriller novels are just as formula-driven as romance and it behooved me to embrace that (again) and dig deep into the manuscript (again) to coax out the first half that matched the ("near perfect" were her words and I sometimes stare at them to remind myself that not all is lost) second half of this book.
It matters when you re-work something and give it the attention it deserves. In this "hurry up and publish more and more and yet more" environment we inhabit the "let it sit and simmer and come back to it" concept is almost lost. It's a vicious circle--you publish a book or 2, make a small amount of money, gain a few fans and you feel that you must push out the next one fast. While on some levels this is the case because frankly, unless you're promoting something new in this crazy publishing world you might as well be banging your cowbell in an empty room. On the other hand, I'm smack in the middle of something that I thought I could rush and have found that I simply cannot and should not.
Hopefully by the end of this frustrating horrible useful process I will have a book that will be what I want it to be: The Liz Crowe Breakthrough Novel that drives everyone to my 20+ book backlist--that will get me noticed and turn into a movie but you know, every author wants that.
But what matters really? That as an author I have matured to the point where I know letting it simmer and stew and get better via revisions is just as viable a process as my previously acclaimed "marathon writing" sessions. These sessions have produced the vast majority of my books so far and I anticipate they will again but this time, this book needs to "age" and I'm letting it.
Because It Matters.
Random Promotional Update :
LOVE BREWING, the novel about Love Brother number 3 Dominic is on sale for a few days this week over at the 'Zon. It's part of the "Kindle Countdown Deal" so keep checking back to see how low the price will go. In keeping with my "Romance. Worth the Risk" motto, this novel delves into Dominic's past (the bad boy brother that fans were dying to read about) and is in part "new adult," but also a realistic look at manic depression and how it affects the depressed but also everyone around them. Snag your copy for a buck for the next 3 days.
VEGAS MIRACLE, one the hottest books I've written, is slated for a re-release under a lovely new cover. Click here if you're a blogger and want in on the cover reveal/release day/ARC reading action!
Movie Review : The Theory of Everything.
I do NOT cry at movies. This one made me bawl, and not because I'm sad that Stephen Hawking is an amazing human being and got a raw deal, physically. But because of the Real Life Love Story--one where people try and fail and try again. And while not everyone ends up with the person they started with (and loved, whole heartedly) they do end up happy. I've walked around in a bit of a daze all weekend, pondering this movie's awesomeness. It was subtle. There were no hot 'n heavy hookups between people who were not married to each other. But there was real desire, shown in a glance, or an expression that trumps EVERY SINGLE EXPLICIT SCENE I HAVE EVER SEEN OR READ YET.
Today we are gonna talk about what matters.
I know, I know this is a Super Duper Important and Yet Somehow Utterly Vague Topic.
But bear with me.
You see, I've been thinking a lot about my journey as an author and how at various stages I've felt proud, frustrated, elated, horrified, happy, miserable many times all of these things at once. Writer's have giant egos. But yet their size is in direct correlation to their frailty. We need feedback, stroking, props and more to keep us going. I know this and perversely the more books I write and the more fans I manage to rope into my somewhat unique, romance-but-not-quite-"romance" world I find I need it even more.
Kind of a lot of pressure to put on people who just enjoy reading books and have the advantage of the new digital age of easy access to authors. But yet so thrilling to open up Facebook or twitter and find someone totally new saying "I just love all your books!" This matters, dear ones. Never discount the power of your time and effort to seek out an author you've recently enjoyed and telling them so.
I have always been a vocal proponent both to myself and any poor newbie who thinks my advice might be worth asking to WRITE WHAT YOU WANT TO READ.
This may dovetail with current trends. You may love reading dinosaur porn, or about mysterious billionaires who love to spank, or even the latest "steps" trend. Yes, this is A Thing and I'll keep my opinion to myself on it. It sells. As a marketer first, author second I respect this no matter my "ick" factor.
Or you may be like me an prefer to read about strong characters no matter how much money they have in the bank or how they got it, in situations that require them to be honest about their emotions. "Relationship fiction" I like to think of it and have called it as such. Not so much "romance" but that's another blog post, as you know.
As an author, be you raw newcomer with fingertip hovering over the "send" on that query or "publish" on your first novel or seasoned, cynical, glass-half-empty grump like myself, you owe it to yourself to write a book that you would pick up and read.
This matters.
One of the more prolific and entertaining advice-givers out there, Kristen Lamb whose book on using social media to your advantage as an author is something you should pick up and read, put her finger on something for me that I struggled with for a while. The stage we all pass through in which we find it impossible to read a book, watch a TV show or a movie without ripping it apart in our heads, critiquing it within an inch of its life and getting red-faced pissed-off about how in the name of all holy did that piece of utter dog mess make it onto a best seller list/the screen. This is a frustrating thing and something I still struggle with but less so, now that I understand what matters.
What matters is that you understand story structure, plotting and characterization as others have put them into play. It can not only inspire you to concoct a side story from something already existing (less "fan fiction" and more "what about that intern in the law office and what's HIS story maybe I'll tell something like it") but it also helps you understand what works and what does not. The human brain is wired to accept certain things as viable, even if YOUR "viable" might be a tad different from mine (see: Liz as cynical curmudgeon). But as an Author, you take on the responsibility to be not only a consumer of your craft but a producer.
If you thought you had the world's most amazing recipe for apple pie, but yet claimed you "never eat apple pie because that's cruel" or whatever, I would hardly consider you an expert and would give your apple pie a pass (and I rarely, if ever, give apple pie a pass). You must understand what's out there, what works for the general public (or for specific areas of it) and what doesn't (for you). Then you craft something that you would read but that has all the elements required of Your Product: pacing, plot, characterization and dialogue that you have slaved over, yes, but things slaved over are the best.
My case in point for this (and the impetus for today's highly alliterative Monday Musing) is my current Work in Progress. I am crafting a thriller novel for the first time, and read some of the more popular and best selling thrillers in order to understand pacing. I mean, I know what I'm doing, right? Well, I did until I put my hand to this thing and it got so wildly out of control thanks to my pantser tendencies I am now on version 4 of it.
When I got back comments from an editor on it recently and we did some back-and-forth about what wasn't working for her about it I had my initial, knee-jerk "OH NO SHE D'INT" reaction. But there I was, guilty of not understanding that if I wanted to sell this book Big Time (and I do, make no mistake) I had to get back to being a consumer. I had to understand that thriller novels are just as formula-driven as romance and it behooved me to embrace that (again) and dig deep into the manuscript (again) to coax out the first half that matched the ("near perfect" were her words and I sometimes stare at them to remind myself that not all is lost) second half of this book.
It matters when you re-work something and give it the attention it deserves. In this "hurry up and publish more and more and yet more" environment we inhabit the "let it sit and simmer and come back to it" concept is almost lost. It's a vicious circle--you publish a book or 2, make a small amount of money, gain a few fans and you feel that you must push out the next one fast. While on some levels this is the case because frankly, unless you're promoting something new in this crazy publishing world you might as well be banging your cowbell in an empty room. On the other hand, I'm smack in the middle of something that I thought I could rush and have found that I simply cannot and should not.
Hopefully by the end of this frustrating horrible useful process I will have a book that will be what I want it to be: The Liz Crowe Breakthrough Novel that drives everyone to my 20+ book backlist--that will get me noticed and turn into a movie but you know, every author wants that.
But what matters really? That as an author I have matured to the point where I know letting it simmer and stew and get better via revisions is just as viable a process as my previously acclaimed "marathon writing" sessions. These sessions have produced the vast majority of my books so far and I anticipate they will again but this time, this book needs to "age" and I'm letting it.
Because It Matters.
Random Promotional Update :
LOVE BREWING, the novel about Love Brother number 3 Dominic is on sale for a few days this week over at the 'Zon. It's part of the "Kindle Countdown Deal" so keep checking back to see how low the price will go. In keeping with my "Romance. Worth the Risk" motto, this novel delves into Dominic's past (the bad boy brother that fans were dying to read about) and is in part "new adult," but also a realistic look at manic depression and how it affects the depressed but also everyone around them. Snag your copy for a buck for the next 3 days.
VEGAS MIRACLE, one the hottest books I've written, is slated for a re-release under a lovely new cover. Click here if you're a blogger and want in on the cover reveal/release day/ARC reading action!
Movie Review : The Theory of Everything.
I do NOT cry at movies. This one made me bawl, and not because I'm sad that Stephen Hawking is an amazing human being and got a raw deal, physically. But because of the Real Life Love Story--one where people try and fail and try again. And while not everyone ends up with the person they started with (and loved, whole heartedly) they do end up happy. I've walked around in a bit of a daze all weekend, pondering this movie's awesomeness. It was subtle. There were no hot 'n heavy hookups between people who were not married to each other. But there was real desire, shown in a glance, or an expression that trumps EVERY SINGLE EXPLICIT SCENE I HAVE EVER SEEN OR READ YET.
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