Paranormal and Horror Lovers discussion
Author Help and Tips
>
What's your greatest challenge as an author?
date
newest »
newest »
Mod
My greatest challenge is the pre-publication jitters. My stomach's been doing flips for months! hahaha My other problem is patience, which kind of contradicts the first one :/Craig
Craig wrote: "My greatest challenge is the pre-publication jitters. My stomach's been doing flips for months! hahaha My other problem is patience, which kind of contradicts the first one :/Craig"
Oh no! I totally understand, but I'm sure you'll be fine, Craig. And think how awesome it'll be once it's published. :)
Mod
Rebecca wrote: "My biggest challenge as an author is myself, I often think that what i write is crap and I fear not being the best. It is a constant struggle inside between wanting to share my stories with the wor..."I definitely know what you mean! I'm really bad about this sometimes, too. It really takes a lot of courage to put your stuff out there for people to read!
I'm finding marketing to be the worst. The fine line between letting people know, but not wanting to be a pushy jerk, but also because of what Rebecca said. The fear of rejection is very real. Still, writing the blurbs is far harder work than the manuscript, at least for me. My book is nonfiction, so that might make a difference.
Jennifer wrote: "Craig wrote: "My greatest challenge is the pre-publication jitters. My stomach's been doing flips for months! hahaha My other problem is patience, which kind of contradicts the first one :/Craig"..."
I hope so! hahaha Not long to go now, and the jitters just keep jittering :D
Rebecca wrote: "My biggest challenge as an author is myself, I often think that what i write is crap and I fear not being the best. It is a constant struggle inside between wanting to share my stories with the wor..."I think this is true for many authors. I know the lack of self-confidence with my writing holds me back at times from doing my best work. I have to reign in that demon voice whispering in my head, criticizing my abilities. I am still amazed when I get good feedback from people critiquing my work. I fully expect to be in tears, sobbing my heart out when I publish and get a bad review - which is inevitable. I just can't please everyone, no matter how hard I try! lol
What has helped me the most with this challenge is networking with other authors and writers. Not only do I get to learn from them, but it helps to know I'm not alone in all this. And they are great motivators too! :)
Horace wrote: "I'm finding marketing to be the worst. The fine line between letting people know, but not wanting to be a pushy jerk, but also because of what Rebecca said. The fear of rejection is very real. S..."Marketing sucks, too. :( I totally know what you mean. And it's not just the fine line between marketing well and being way too pushy; it's also that I'd much rather be writing than doing it! :P
Jennifer wrote: "... it's also that I'd much rather be writing than doing it! :P"
Absolutely!
Absolutely!
When do you decide to stop re-writing & fiddling with your manuscript? It seems every time I look at mine, I find a few things to fix. Sometimes I'll re-read a section & wonder why I wrote it that way. I'll re-write & then read on to realize I left out something that the next section references or mentioned something that is repeated.
It seems as if there is a point of diminishing returns. How do you tell when you've fiddled enough?
It seems as if there is a point of diminishing returns. How do you tell when you've fiddled enough?
Horace wrote: "When do you decide to stop re-writing & fiddling with your manuscript? It seems every time I look at mine, I find a few things to fix. Sometimes I'll re-read a section & wonder why I wrote it tha..."Have you ever used an editor? They can help with a set of fresh eyes and they can pick up if you really do need to change something, or you're just being paranoid lol.
I'd love to use an editor, but how do you find a good one? I've ARC read pieces for indy authors that have paid a lot of money for those services & have not been impressed. I haven't been terribly impressed by some of the stuff the Big 6 have edited, either. Overall, I'd say they're better probably because there is a team of editors.
I've heard that it takes a team of editors to handle a book properly. I'm not sure what their titles are & who does what, though. In some places I've read that one looks at the overall story, another looks for logical errors (especially a problem with series) while another looks for punctuation & sentence structure. Then ARC readers go through it & find more issues.
Still, all of that is after the author feels the work is ready. I phrased my last question poorly. I should have asked when do you decide your work is ready for an editor?
If I let a piece of writing sit for a few weeks & re-read it, I almost always want to change portions of it. Usually the writing is serviceable enough, though. Fiddling with it more doesn't really help all that much. It might just be a mood thing on my part. Does anyone else have that problem or am I just weird?
I've heard that it takes a team of editors to handle a book properly. I'm not sure what their titles are & who does what, though. In some places I've read that one looks at the overall story, another looks for logical errors (especially a problem with series) while another looks for punctuation & sentence structure. Then ARC readers go through it & find more issues.
Still, all of that is after the author feels the work is ready. I phrased my last question poorly. I should have asked when do you decide your work is ready for an editor?
If I let a piece of writing sit for a few weeks & re-read it, I almost always want to change portions of it. Usually the writing is serviceable enough, though. Fiddling with it more doesn't really help all that much. It might just be a mood thing on my part. Does anyone else have that problem or am I just weird?
Horace wrote: "I'd love to use an editor, but how do you find a good one? I've ARC read pieces for indy authors that have paid a lot of money for those services & have not been impressed. I haven't been terribl..."I admit, I went through my book 5 times before an editor got to it, and 4 times afterwards lol. I edit as well and a good editor should give you a few sample pages - for no obligation. An editor should be able to see any issues from grammar and punctuation to pacing, plot and characterisation, from the small details to the overall structure of the work. I guess not all editors are created equal but I've never heard of a team of editors :) The other thing you could do is get some trusted writer friends to beta read for you and they can point out any obvious issues that you may be missing.
Horace wrote: "I'd love to use an editor, but how do you find a good one? I've ARC read pieces for indy authors that have paid a lot of money for those services & have not been impressed. I haven't been terribl..."Have you ever checked out the Indie Writers Unite Facebook group? It's a great resource, and they have yellow pages with listings of editors, cover-designers, website builders... It's really helpful. My editor is someone from my hometown, which is splendid because that means I can actually meet her face to face and directly discuss problem scenes (it also stings even more when someone is telling you a certain scene sucks to your face! It gets you motivated, LOL!). I know most people don't have that luxury, though.
Thanks, Jennifer. Never heard of it before, but it sounds like a great resource. I'll check it out.
I tend to ramble in my writing. That seems to be my biggest issue in my latest manuscript according to my editor. So, I'm doing some major cuts and simplification right now. It's like they say, a book is like a rose bush. You've got to prune it if you want it to be beautiful. :P It's hard to get rid of good writing, especially, but just remember: you have to do what's best for the book.