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ART & SOUL

I want to be upfront: I borrowed that headline. I saw it in the Los Angeles Times this morning and it started me thinking about how we, as writers, view ourselves. Actually, that’s not quite correct. I’ve been thinking about this ever since I joined a discussion on LinkedIn. It went something like this.

Author #1:How do you decide on your novel titles?

Author #2: I like to use lots of words.

Author #3: I like titles that keep people guessing.

Author #4: I hate publishers. They always change my titles.

Author #5: Publishers have no soul. They aren’t creative.

Me: I disagree. Publishers are creative in a different way, a business way. We should appreciate that and learn from it.

So, while we write, immersing ourselves in our fictional character’s lives and worlds, we are being artistic and creative. When we come up for air, we need to be something else. We need to be publishers: clear-eyed, objective, and strategic.

If it weren’t for traditional publishers taking a chance on me, investing in my art, offering me a platform for the work of my soul, I wouldn’t have grown as a writer. I still have every rejection and acceptance letter I ever received because reading them reminds me of why I failed as much as why I succeeded. I still can visualize every editorial letter that came in the mail (after 28 books, that’s a lot of letters). They outlined where I could do better: style, grammar, character development, transitional efforts, titles, plot and story. I still remember meetings with sales reps, buyers, distributors and realizing that at every level there was effort and money being spent on my behalf in ways that were corporately creative. I also know that the administrators did the research I could never do regarding an ever-changing marketplace. Sure there were inequities. Sure there were things I didn’t agree with but my interaction with the publishers, more than any writing lesson, taught me the true art of bringing my work to an audience.

Now that I’m indie, I wear a publisher’s hat. I can hire a freelance editor, a cover designer, and a formatter. I can even hire marketing experts to handle the last, critical part of the publishing puzzle. But if I do not understand and appreciate the creativity of the input they provide me – a title that will cut through the ever-growing clutter, a cover image that is arresting even though it appears as a thumbnail, interesting ways to communicate with the marketplace – then my money is wasted. I will never be able to truly control my own brand.

When your book is finished and it’s time to publish, take off the rose colored glasses of an author and get out your publisher’s magnifying glass to assess the marketability of your work. Ask yourself “what would a publisher do?” I promise, if you answer that question honestly you will find avenues for success you never dreamed. In my book, that last step qualifies as creativity. That is the Art & Soul of the business of publishing.

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Time Management for Writers

August 12, 2014 by Marianne H. Donley in category Archives tagged as California Dreamin' Conference, Kitty Bucholtz, OCCRWA Online Class

by Kitty Bucholtz

There is a lot of talk about self-publishing nowadays. The pros being bandied about include having more control, publishing faster, and potentially making more money. But thatâ€™s not what I was thinking when I heard about Kindle Direct Publishing in 2011.

I was thinking – this is the business Iâ€™ve been waiting for!

Ever since I was a little kid with a Kool-Aid stand, Iâ€™ve wanted to own my own business. By the time KDP came along, Iâ€™d already had two businesses, both writing-related. But Iâ€™d come to dread getting more work each week because I couldnâ€™t tell if my customers were going to be easy and fun to work with or complete nut cases.

Now I have what Iâ€™ve always wanted – a business I run mostly by myself. If I hire an outside contractor for something like editing or design and they donâ€™t perform as Iâ€™d like, or we have a personality clash, I can hire someone else for the next book.

The down side is that I am in charge of everything. Everything.

So after I published my first book, Little Miss Lovesick, in 2011, I quickly realized I was going to need tools to manage my time. I considered tools Iâ€™d already used as a magazine editor and a conference director, and I tweaked them for my new business. I bought books on organization and time management. I tried a lot of new things and took a lot of notes on what worked and what didnâ€™t.

Eventually, I started sharing what Iâ€™d learned with other writers, then started an online class on time management for writers. Other creatives started asking questions, so I tweaked the class slightly to accommodate other creative people. Iâ€™m excited to say Iâ€™ll be teaching the class in person at the California Dreaminâ€™ Conference next March!

Some of the tips Iâ€™ve shared with writers include :

â€¢ Start now – You donâ€™t have to wait until January to start planning your calendar; you donâ€™t even have to wait until Monday.

â€¢ Restart – Time management is slippery. Things will always come up that force changes to your schedule. You can hit the restart button at any moment and work around the changes.

â€¢ Write it down – People carry a lot of information in their heads, but even the most organized people compartmentalize and forget things. Writing your target deadlines down on a calendar will help you to keep track of where you are and what still needs to be done.

â€¢ Sticky notes can keep you calm – If you write directly on your calendar and something changes, the new information might be difficult to find. Worse, the scratched out information may be a reminder that you didnâ€™t make your original deadline. That can end up making you feel bad, and no good can come of wasting your energy that way.

Iâ€™m excited to share this and much more at my workshop in March. I hope youâ€™ll join me!

If you, too, love the idea of owning your own writing business, if you have a manuscript ready to self-publish but donâ€™t know quite how to start, or if you want to learn how to do it in case you decide to self-publish in the future, Iâ€™ll be teaching â€œYour How-to Guide to Self-Publishingâ€ next month. This online class offered by OCC RWA runs September 15 – October 12. You can get more information and sign up at http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassSept14.html. Or come to the OCC meeting on September 13 and hear an abbreviated version of the class.

Happy Writing!

KittyBucholtz decided to combine her undergraduate degree in business, her years of experience in accounting and finance, and her graduate degree in creative writing to become a writer-turned-independent-publisher. Her novels, Little Miss Lovesick and Unexpected Superhero, and the free short story, “Superhero in Disguise,” are now available at most online retail sites. Superhero in the Making will be released this summer.

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Self-Pub Corner: Back Cover Copy “FInalist” in I Heart Indie Contest by Jina Bacarr

August 11, 2014 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as audio, Christmas, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, contest, excerpt, finalist, Italian, las vegas rwa, romance novel, self-publishing, soldier, video, Vimeo

The sales pitch.

You either love it or hate it.

For your novel, it’s called the back cover copy. It can be even more difficult to write than the dreaded synopsis when you’re self-pubbing a novel. But you gotta do it.

The tease. The logline. The character descriptions.

Sometimes it seems it takes longer the write the back cover copy than the novel itself (just kidding…).

So you can imagine how excited I was when I found out my back cover copy and beautiful cover from Covers by Ramona for A Soldier’s Italian Christmas is a finalist in the Novella category in the I Heart Indie contest!

Here’s the back copy cover:

He is a U.S Army captain, a battle-weary soldier who has lost his faith.
She is a nun, her life dedicated to God.
Together they are going to commit an act the civilized world will not tolerate.
They are about to fall in love.

December 1943
Italy

The ravages of combat have taken a toll on Captain Mack Oâ€™Casey, who has lost his faith after seeing the horrors of war as the Nazis fight hard to keep the Allies from reaching Rome. His beliefs are challenged even more when he loses his way and ends up in a mystical place called Monte D’Oro Rose during the cold winter of 1943â€¦and falls in love with the beautiful Sister Angelina.

The young nun has a secret of her own, one she will die trying to protect: the lost Cross of Saint Cecelia. She must find the religious relic first before the brutal Nazi major who will stop at nothing to get it. Even murder. Sister Angelina risks her life to save the cross for the Church, but will she also risk her heart? Falling in love with the handsome American soldier is against the rules, but she canâ€™t deny the stolen moments with him have made her question her vows.

It is Christmas Eve when these two lonely people come together on this holiest of holidays and how faith helps them overcome their greatest fears. A time when the whole world holds its breath as brave men and women fight for freedom.

And a soldier and a nun dare to fall in loveâ€¦

=============

And here is the cover! Check out this extended video excerpt from Chapter One from A Soldier’s Italian Christmas

A Soldier’s Italian Christmas: Excerpt from Chapter One from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.

To celebrate being a finalist in the I Heart Indie contest, A Soldier’s Italian Christmas is FREE for August 11, 12, and 13th!! Grab your copy HERE.

Best,
Jina

www.jinabacarr.com

www.facebook.com/JinaBacarr.author
https://twitter.com/JinaBacarr
http://www.pinterest.com/jbacarr

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NOVEL EDITS

July 14, 2014 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Craft, romance writing, writing

I spend more time editing a novel than writing it. Writing is done in a fit of passion, fingers flying furiously over the keyboard as I create heart-palpitating dialogue and brilliant flash-bang action that is never as good as I think it is. Itâ€™s sort of like a first date with an absolutely gorgeous human being who is funny and wise and wonderful â€“ only not. What I might have seen in a sultry, shadowy bar after two glasses of wine is not what I face in the light of day. The sooner I acknowledge that, the better.

Editing is the day after the first date. It is addressed with objectivity, reserve, and grave consideration of the future of my novel. Okay, maybe it’s not as grave as assessing a man the morning after a first date but Iâ€™m darn serious about it. Itâ€™s taken me years to discipline myself and admit that my writing is never publishable after the first – or even third – go-round. In fact, itâ€™s so hard to be objective that I made a list of bottom-line, life-and-death edits, so that I wouldnâ€™t be seduced by my own pretty phrase, an arrogant word, or ridiculous scenario.

Here are the 6 edits I canâ€™t live without (and neither should you).

1) Same Word Edit: If you use the same word over and over, learn a new one. Words lose their potency just like spices. It is sort of like whining, after a while itâ€™s just another high-pitched sound.

2) The Thesaurus Edit: Donâ€™t use big words, vague words, or unusual names. Readers will trip over them, be upset that you are taking them out of the story, and, worse, that you made them feel stupid. A book is like a float down a river, you never want a reader to run aground.

3) The Logical Movement Edit: Move characters from point A to point B with sensible purpose and the story the same way. If you donâ€™t, the reader will be puzzled and spend more time wondering how things happened rather than accepting that they happened.

4) Love or Lust Edit: Characters make love if thereâ€™s reason to be in love. Be clear about why your characters deserve to be cherished and admired. If they are just in lust, be clear about that too. The two â€˜Lâ€™ words should never be confused.

5) Iâ€™m Tired Edit: Readers can tell when an author gets tired. Step away and recharge. Come back at it in full form.

6) The Consistency Edit: A character must stay in character, details build a scene, red herrings need to be revisited and wrapped up. Life in a novel should be tidy at the end even if itâ€™s a marvelous mess of storytelling.

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