For those of you who know me (or have read the “About Me” section of this site) you will know I typically write Fantasy, Science Fiction and YA Adventure.  You would also probably know that I prefer to write novels over short stories.  But is that the limit to my creativity?  Am I a one (or in this case three) trick pony?

I certainly hope not.

I like to try new things.  For example, I’ve always wanted to write humor.  Specific to humor, I’ve always loved “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”.  Not the movie or old BBC episodes, but the books themselves.  I used to read the Guide at least once per year, usually when I was in a funk.  It always pulled me out of the bad mood and helped me see the fun in the world around me.

Do I believe I can do justice to the genre?  I’m certainly no Terry Pratchett (not yet anyway), but I shouldn’t let that hold me back.  Even Terry Pratchett wasn’t as funny in his early books as he is now.  Like all other writing, practice makes perfect.

But it’s out of my comfort zone and therefore scary.  Maybe I should avoid it?  Maybe not.  If it is scary, it is worth doing if for no other reason than to challenge myself.  The results could be good.

Last year (in March) I decided to challenge myself with a 30-in-30 day short story self challenge.  The challenge was to write 30 short stories in 30 days.  I was amazed at the end of the month when I had stories that covered genres I had never EVER considered writing in.  Horror, erotica, mystery.  I was amazed by what I accomplished.

If I hadn’t challenged myself, I never would have known I could do it.  Even if every one of the stories was garbage (and I don’t believe that to be the case) it was worth it.

So, with a bit of fear I’m preparing for my next writing project.  It will have two elements that I have never done (at least not purposely):  writing comedy and writing a weekly serial.  I’ve listened to several serials that I have enjoyed a great deal.  Two immediately come to mind:  ”The Takeover” by Mur Lafferty and friends and “Down the Road” by Jack Jaffee.  Both serials are written episode to episode and both were podcast and both were very enjoyable.

That’s what I want to do.  I will write and podcast a comedy serial by mid-year.  I won’t plan beyond the current episode and I will try to have a lot of fun with it.  I hope it turns out the way I hope it does.  The reason for this approach is central to my love of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”.  When Douglas Adams wrote it for radio broadcast, he didn’t know from one week to the next what was going to happen.  The result is a wonderful, disjointed mess that is a wonderful frolic to read.  That’s what I want too.

Am I a fan of trying new things?  I guess I could say I am in the same way that I’m a fan of walking up to strangers and introducing myself.  Both things are frightening and both can have great, positive results.

Personal Update

I had a fantastic editing weekend last weekend.  I managed to get another 10,000 words worth of editing and new material done.  That leaves me with 8,000 words of editing/rewriting to complete and the major rework of “The Goddess Renewed” is done.  To say I’m happy about this is a major understatement.  This has been the biggest writing project of my life for several years and I just want to get it done the way it needs to be done and off my plate.

I’m also writing/recording episode two of “Get Published”.  I was a bit too stiff and afraid of the microphone in the first episode.  Hopefully this one will be more fun.

Have a great week!

I have made no secret my desire to get my work out in print but there are days when I wonder if I’ve got the chops to actually make it.  I’ve had several established (see published) authors tell me that I have what it takes.  The interesting (to me at least) thing about that is most of them have not read a single word of my prose.  If they haven’t read my work how can they honestly say I have what it takes?

I actually asked that very question of one of my author friends.  He is a writer with five books out and I have known him for a few years now.  I trust his opinion.  When he said I had what it takes I was troubled.  After all, like most people he has never seen my writing.  When I asked him how he could make such a statement he had this to say:  ”It’s not the quality of your work as much as the quality of your persistence.  You have the fire to see this through.  Eventually you will prevail.”

Now I am paraphrasing what he said a little and while it boosted my spirits I still had doubts.  I have submitted my work and I have a nice collection of rejection slips.  Still it doesn’t feel like I’m making any progress.  I’ve thought long and hard about the problem and I’ve come to a conclusion.  There is one major barrier to getting published and that barrier is me.

Huh?

Let me explain.

I am a procrastinator by nature.  I also tend to focus on one (major) project at a time.  Add a pinch of self-doubt and you have a recipe for problems.  I won’t call it disaster.  That would be too harsh, but it certainly slows things down.

Case in point, last year I did something that worked very well.  I sent out nine query letters to publishers for one of my books.  I got three positive responses to send in more of my work.  I sent the work into those three and waited.  That may sound normal because it takes time for publishers to scrutinize a submission.

The problem was, I didn’t do any more market research.  I should have had another nine ready to go when I sent the third submission out.  I didn’t.  Instead, I waited to hear back and lost lots of time.  I fell away from what had worked and went back to my haphazard submission style.  I’m still stuck in that rut.

Then I wrote a story specifically for a publisher thinking I knew exactly what they wanted.  Since they were sure to accept, I didn’t bother with market research or sending out queries.  It turns out I didn’t have quite the understanding I thought I did.  Fallback position?  Haphazard submissions.

Now are you starting to see why I consider myself a barrier?

What I need to do is formulate a solid plan and execute it.  And I will once I’ve got the edits done on my current manuscript (remember I mentioned my tendency to focus on one project at a time?).  Actually, I’ve got to break out of that habit and start the market research now and get those books on a more chartered submission path.  I don’t have to stop editing (or writing) to do that.

While you may be seeing a bit of a trend, there are other things a writer (say me, for example) can do to oneself to scuttle the chances of publishing.  For example:

1. Let fear get in the way of submissions.  What if they don’t like me?
2. Tweak a story continuously to get a  good enough quality product to actually interest publishers.  Of course, it’s never good enough, is it?
3. Not know the market (this is a key one:  who is out there?  what mediums? where do you find this out?)
4. No guts, no glory or lack of determination.

Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom.  There are also things you can do to increase your chances:

1. Meet people:  publishers, agents, other writers.
2. Know your goals and plan with them in mind.
3. Just send your stories out.

Looking at that list, I’m not as badly off as I could be.  I know several publishers, many writers and a couple agents.  That has helped.  I am also very single-minded in my ambition.  I will get published.  And once that happens, I will get published again. There is no doubt in my mind (most of the time).  And I am sending my stories out.

Are you a barrier or an enabler?

Personal Update

I sent out “Mik Murdoch” again to a publisher I know.  I’m also busy editing my fantasy novel.  I expect the fantasy novel edit to be done by the end of March.  I’m also recording the next episode of “Get Published” next week.

How are you doing?