Archive for September, 2009

Sep

Baby Steps

Posted by: Michell in About Writing, Irreverent Muse

The idea of trying something new is often daunting, whether it is writing a story or trying yoga for the first time. I know when I’m faced with something new I often ask myself if I think I can do it. Will I enjoy it? Is it really worth making a fool of myself.

Despite all the self-doubt and apprehension, I usually go through with it and check off another thing done in the life experiences list. If I enjoy myself, I might even do it again.

The thing about that is, because the activity is unknown, my mind begins to build it up to something potentially scary. I don’t really know what to expect so I start to expect the worst.

That was how it was when I considered writing my first book.

I decided to do it and then found lots of ways to avoid actually putting the words down. First, I convinced myself that I needed to write a short story set in the world of my book idea. I would use the short story to flesh out the setting and culture and, in doing so, get some much needed writing experience.

That 5,500 word short story took me SIX months to write. Six Months! These days, I can write 5,500 words in a single sitting (provided the sitting is 4 hours or more). Then, once the story was complete and I got around to starting the book, I took 20+ iterations to get the first chapter written (note, I didn’t say finished). Seven years later, the first complete draft of the novel was done.

I turned around the very next month and wrote a 50,000 word YA novel in 21 days.

I think you would agree, there was a tiny difference in productivity. So why the BIG change?

In a nutshell, I was able to write the second book quicker because I knew I could do it. I also had figured out one of the big time-sinks in writing (continuous editing). I wasn’t intimidated by the idea of writing a book when I did the second one.

That’s all very well, you might say, but what about me? Let me begin by giving a piece of advice that I’ve heard dozens of times and I’m sure you have too: write a little every day. I know it sounds cliche’ but, trust me, that is the only secret (besides avoiding continuous editing).

Let’s start easy. Say you only have 10 minutes a day available between brushing your teeth and having your shower. Now, let’s assume that you type a blistering 10 words per minute in the time-honored method of hunt-and-peck.

10 words per minute x 10 minutes = 100 words per day

You do that 5 days a week and you will have 500 words a week, 2,000 words a month, 24,000 words a year. 1/4 of the way to a finished novel. That will get you a first draft in 4 years; 3 years less than I took.

Now, if you can type 20 words per minute, you’re up to 200 words per day and 50,000 per year. That is a complete YA novel.

But, 200 words is a lot, right? Not really. Think of it as a page of text double-spaced and you have 250 words (12 point font). I mean, a grocery list is probably 25 – 50 words. Does that seem like a lot to you?

What if you don’t know what to write or you don’t know the right sentence structure or you aren’t sure how to structure your sentences? You can do what I do when I’m faced with a big, complex project. I use bullet points to jot down the ideas before I work to flesh them out. That allows me to easily rearrange, add and delete stuff as I go. And guess what? 10 bullet points can probably work out to be 100 words (give or take).

Not so hard, is it? At least, it doesn’t sound hard. The difficulty is always putting it into practice. You have to be diligent and force yourself to get into new habits. Once you have done that, it should become pretty natural.

Remember to watch the big picture, but always pay special attention to the tiny piece that’s right in front of you.

Personal Update

Well, I received word on my YA novel last week and it was a rejection, unfortunately. Maybe the nicest rejection I’ve ever gotten, but a rejection just the same. Still, I received some good advice from that publisher when I met her at ConVersion. “Write more than one book,” she said. “The big publishers want to see that you can write more than one good book and they like series.”

So, I’m going to do the second book in the series for this year’s NanoWriMo and then next year I’m going to pitch the series to agents. That’s the plan.

Tags: apprehension, book, doubt, edit, Get Published, Michell Plested, nanowrimo, new, writing

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Sep

Don’t Let the Proof Put You in the Pudding

Posted by: Michell in Get Published (Podcast), Irreverent Muse

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I had a hard lesson re-enforced this week and the re-enforcement made me feel like a bit of a clod. Let me begin with a story. It is a story of hard work and commitment and ultimately, stupid mistakes.

As you probably know, I have a podcast titled “Get Published”. When I first conceived the podcast I was only going to do an episode a month. That lasted until I put out a general call asking for interview subjects. The response was positive, VERY POSITIVE, and made me realize that I needed to increase the release schedule if I didn’t want to keep people waiting for months to hear their interview.

So I started releasing the podcast every two weeks.

Sunday was a release day so I got up early and began doing the final editing and mixing of the podcast. As I was working on it, I decided to try some new techniques which, I hoped, would make the episode better. Seven (yes, 7) hours later I had the finished product ready to post into the feed.

I had listened to the podcast several times over the course of the day so I felt confident that I was safe to upload it to my website. I started the upload and typed up the show notes. When everything was done, I posted the episode.

Here is where the stupid mistake comes in.

In every past episode I have taken the step of listening to the uploaded podcast. For whatever reason(s) I did not do that this time. I even remember saying to my wife “The Episode is done but I didn’t review it.” Her response “You know something will go wrong, don’t you?”

Prophetic words, indeed.

I discovered when I listened to it at work the next day that I had a 1:01 minute long space of blank air. I also found that one of the promos was wrong and I heard that one of the recording techniques was less successful than I thought. Triple whammy and I couldn’t do anything about it because work’s firewall prevents me from getting into my website to fix the problem.

Gee, do you think I should have reviewed the episode one last time?

It wasn’t until I got home (much later than usual do to a previous commitment) that I was able to fix the problem. And the stupid thing about it? I actually had a final mix that was correct. I loaded the wrong one.

GAH!

Has the lesson been absorbed? I certainly hope so! I will always do a final check before I release an episode from this moment on <crosses heart>. I will also do a final check before I submit any work of any kind (HA! You thought this only applied to podcasting, didn’t you?). That means, before I send a publisher or agent query, I’m going to reread my submission to ensure that format, spelling, address and name/title of recipient are all correct (along with any other ancilliary information too).

Maybe then I won’t have times where I look like a complete idiot.

Personal Update

Not a lot to report on. I was making good progress on the book edit until Sunday when the podcast ate my day. I’ve also had commitments all this week that are keeping me out of the house and away from my computer. On a different note, I am trying out Scrivener (http://www.literatureandlatte.com/) for my edit to see if it is a tool that will help me out. So far I’m liking it.

Tags: Get Published, irreverent muse, Michell Plested, proof reading, qa, quality assurance

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Sep

Get Published, Episode 13 – Self Publishing with Harold Curtis

Posted by: Michell in Get Published (Podcast)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

NEW Update

OK, so here’s the scoop… I had two versions of the podcast; a raw and a final. I ended up loading the raw version which, as you have heard, has a number of problems. The new version is now available for download.

Sorry for all the confusion. If you get it using iTunes, delete the old episode, check for all episodes of ‘Get Published’ and select Episode 13. That will pull it down for you.

UPDATE

Well, crap! I just listened to the episode and I have about 1 minute of dead space where the Varient Frequencies promo is supposed to play and I won’t be near my gear until late tonight. Please bear with me and I will get it fixed.

Sorry for this. That’s what happens when I run short of time and don’t listen to the finished product.

-Mike

Hello Everyone.

I’ve had a lot of questions about Twitter, specifically “Why bother?” so I thought I would give some of my thoughts on the matter. I also have a great interview with Harold Curtis.

Enjoy.

Get Published, Episode 13 – Self Publishing with Harold Curtis

Show Notes

00:00 — Opening – Get Published, Episode 13

Everything has to start somewhere and this is the start of “Get Published”

0:14 — Introduction – Show #13: Self Publishing with Harold Curtis

Welcome to the show.

00:38 — Promos: Variant Frequencies

www.variantfrequencies.com

01:39 — Show #13: Self Publishing with Harold Curtis (continued)

Michell talks about Twitter and why it is a valuable Social Media tool
Email feedback at getpublishedpodcast dot com with your comments or call the voiceline at (206) 339-1258

08:48 — Promos: Goblin Market

http://jenniferhudock.com/goblin-market

09:54 — Show #13: Self Publishing with Harold Curtis (continued)

I talk with Harold Curtis (www.hecurtis.com) about his publishing journey and why he chose self-publishing as a means to see his work in print.

36:58 — Promos: V & A Shipping

http://jrmurdock.wordpress.com/

38:02— Closing

Let me know what you think and definitely use the voicemail line to your heart’s content!

Tags: Get Published, getpublishedpodcast.com, goblin market, harold curtis, hecurtis.com, jc hutchins, jennifer hudock, jr murdoch, Michell Plested, self publishing, v&a shipping, varient frequencies, writing