Get Ready
21 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in about writing, blog, publishing, Short Story Tags: creative, creme brulee, fiction, internet, publishing, September 2042, short story, writing
I’ve decided that the best way to get people to read my work is to publish it for free.
Of course, I also want to make money as a writer (eventually), so I won’t publish everything for free. But I want to start really getting my writing out there for readers. Today I dug out a copy of a short story with revision comments, to rewrite and polish and then put on self-publishing sites for free. I won’t be posting it here, but I will certainly put links to it several places on this site. It’s called Creme Brulee: A Love Story. Look out for it!
After which I plan to work on September 2042 until I’m happy with it, and that story will also be published on the same sites. (Right now I’m thinking Amazon and Smashwords, but I will have to do research on that.)
I figure that people will be more inclined to “purchase” these things and, hopefully, read them if they’re offered for free. If I create a fan base, however small, with my short stories, then they should be willing to buy my books, or ebooks, when I finally publish one.
In other news, the rapture is about to happen and I got my third tattoo. Interesting day…
Remember That You’re A Writer
24 Mar 2011 1 Comment
in about writing, blog, novel, publishing Tags: creative, ebook, fairy tale, fiction, goals, novel, publishing, sleeping beauty, writing
To recap: I have started a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, which, I have no doubt, is very different from every version you’ve ever heard, seen, or read. I wanted to finish writing my first draft by Tax Day and have it published as an ebook later this year.
I realized a few days ago: I’m doing it wrong.
I don’t mean that I don’t want to publish it as an ebook or have it done by this year. Here is what I mean -
I’ve been obsessing over my plans for the end product (i.e. something that does not yet exist) instead of focusing on the process of writing. Yes, while I’m actually putting words to the page I’m thinking about writing it, but the rest of the time I’m just thinking about publishing. And it’s great to have goals and plans for your work, because otherwise, what’s the point of writing at all? Right?
Wrong. The writing itself is the point for all born writers. We want to have our work published because we want others to read our work, but let’s be honest – we write without the promise of ever being published, even if we expect that one day we will.
I’m going back to the core and just writing the project. I’m not setting deadlines for finishing the whole book or publishing it. I am going to write, a page at a time, and make this story something I can be very proud to publish. I want there to be no question of my talent and effort when I send this thing out into the world. It’s not ready yet, and I may have been putting too much pressure on it by giving it a coming-out date too early. It will be better if I coax it out slowly. I’ll let the story unfold, see what emerges in the first draft, work hard on the first round of revisions, and THEN we’ll talk about publishing the damn thing.
In the meantime, I plan to start doing some research about self-publishing and ebooks, so that when I do start figuring out what to do with Sleeping Beauty, I’m not just launching myself blind into a vast and judgmental world.
Sleeping Beauty is waking up!
07 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in about writing, blog, novel, publishing Tags: creative, fairy tale, fiction, productivity, sleeping beauty, weather, writing
I am very very happy to report that I’ve made some headway in my retelling of Sleeping Beauty and the story is really starting to take shape! I am still regretting all the writing I didn’t do in February, considering how much farther I would be now, but I guess it was just one of those things that had to happen in its own time. I have a much clearer picture of everything now. I’m aching to go back and add all the things a reader needs from exposition. I have not decided whether I will do that before my first full revision, or as part of the “first draft” writing.
I can share one idea with you now: I was going to have the entire book be told from Ric’s point of view, but I had what I deemed a brilliant thought that I would do the first part from Ric’s point of view, the second from Elli’s (whose name might change), and then the final part from several different POVs, depending on whose story is resolving. (To remind yourself who these characters are, see this post.)
I’d love to hear what you think, but of course ultimately I will write it the way I think it feels right.
On a side note, spring is fighting its way forward and I’m very excited to put away my winter clothing! Crossing my fingers for an extended stretch of mild weather before it starts to get hot and summerly.
Ebook-ing
30 Jan 2011 1 Comment
in about writing, blog, publishing
Once Ric, the main character in my Sleeping Beauty tale, has gotten on his way, then I will be on my way to publishing an ebook. This will not be a work of literary genius. It will be more of a well-written, high-fantasy style novel/novella with a fair bit more originality than most high fantasy tends to have. Although I’m not writing it that way, I might list it as a YA book, because it might make sense to target that group in order to sell books. There are plenty of adults of my age and even older that still read YA books. Including me, sometimes.
I have never bought or read an ebook. I’ve read fanfiction online, and various online literary mags, but so far no ebooks. I feel like doing market research in the form of acquiring some ebooks, or maybe reading available samples of titles that have sold well in that form. It will help me when I get to the editing and marketing stages…
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a writer in order to make money. I’m a writer because I’m a writer. With that in mind, I’d strongly prefer to make money from my writing than not to. Screw being a misunderstood artist in my time, I’d rather have readers who appreciate my work now, and who I can talk to and be actively grateful for their admiration.
The 2011 Plan
16 Jan 2011 4 Comments
in about writing, blog, publishing Tags: 2011, coming soon, creative, fairy, fiction, Helen, historical, mythology, September 2042, tales, writing
My god… it’s so strange to think that it’s already 2011. I remember the last millenium. In some ways, I think it was better – but of course I’m looking forward, not back. Or trying to.
My Helen of Troy novel is going on hiatus. I’ve got a good base to work from, but I need to research the myths and ancient greek history a little to have a better visual of the world of Helen. Unfortunately, doing such research now would interfere with my other plans, so it’ll have to wait. For the convenience of anyone who is interested in reading or re-reading Helen, I will make a page that includes the first two chapters sometime in the next few days. And, as usual, I will point it out in a post, so you won’t be able to miss it if you try.
Speaking of Helen, I’m thinking of titling the work The Life of Helen. Have I mentioned that already? Any thoughts?
My main goal for 2011, aside from attempting to publish my Mythology Project (for which I still need to write a synopsis…), is about my fairy tales. I am going to write some more stories, polish up some others, overhaul one completely, and look into self-publishing in ebook format. It’s really time to get my writing out there, I think.
As for the blog, I’m thinking you’re mostly going to see microfiction and progress updates, as well as a few musings on random-ish subjects of my choosing.
Side note: If you didn’t see the link to September 2042 in the last post, please go check it out now! I’d love some feedback, on the fictionpress site or as a blog comment, doesn’t matter.
Sorry for the mostly administrative post. I’ll try to get some new creative material up very soon.
Someday, I Will
21 Sep 2010 1 Comment
in about writing, blog, publishing Tags: anthology, creative, dream, fiction, goal, hope, literary, magazine, online, publication, publicity, speculation, website, writing
I’ve been considering lately how much I would enjoy creating my own publication. Whether it would be a one-time endeavor or an ongoing pursuit, I haven’t decided – perhaps it would have something to do with how it went the first time. Just the idea of creating something from start to finish completely by myself – not including the writing, as it would be a thing requiring submissions from other writers – appeals to me. With my own writing I’d rather it be published by someone else, but I would really enjoy making a publication using other people’s writing.
I might not be the best person to create a largely successful writing publication. I have good editing skills and a good aesthetic sense, and I could create a website that would appeal to readers and would display the writing well. Getting submissions, and then getting it in view for a wide readership, is another story. I don’t know much about publicity, as you could probably tell from looking at the views on this blog. I know things that one can do in theory to publicize a website (or print publication), but they don’t always work as you might expect. I suppose at that point it’s the writing that does the work, and if that part is well-chosen I would certainly get more views.
Of course, this is very speculative. I don’t have money to pay for a domain name, which means that I would most likely have to create another free blog for it – and I have two, and only maintain this one. I would enjoy the experience but it would not be lucrative, and so I’d still have to manage gainful employment. At the moment, such an endeavor might just be too much for me to manage.
I am keeping this idea on the table. “The” meaning my table – my list of things to do. Who knows, maybe I’ll pick it up again a few months from now – or maybe I’ll wait until I’ve got a reliable fan base from works being published, and then start an anthology project, or a semi-annual online literary magazine. I love the idea of this. I will continue to consider it.
What do you think?
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