Posts Tagged ‘young adult’

14
Dec

Writing Shouldn’t Be a Solitary Activity

   Posted by: Michell    in About Writing, Books, Irreverent Muse

In my early writing days I believed that it was just me and the words. No one else would ever be involved. I was totally alone.

I’ve since learned that writing doesn’t need to be so solitary. True, there are times when it should be just you and the keyboard, but there are many times when you should be around and involve other people. For example.

  • critiquing and feedback of your work – I have heard the opinion that a writer must write a million words before they have anything worth sending out. I would argue that a million words without any outside scrutiny doesn’t improve one’s writing much at all. The feedback around what works and what needs work is more valuable than the actual wordcount itself.
  • marketing and self-promotion – you might be surprised at how useful talking to editors, publishers, agents and other writers can be. A publisher who has a chance to get to know you might ask you to send your work to them because they like you and think you would be a good person to do business with (btw, if you didn’t know that writing is a business, it is). The same holds true for agents, editors and so on. It can also be useful to know other people doing similar things to you because then you can setup cross-promotion activities. The more ways people have to find you (unless you are trying to avoid notice), the better.
  • collaboration opportunities – not every book or story should be written by one person. Some projects are simply too big for one person to tackle. Case in point, my first anthology (being worked on with Jeffrey Hite). I’ve never done it before and I don’t think I personally have enough time to do (or even think of) everything that needs doing. Jeffrey is a great partner and has skills I don’t have that will make this project even better. Another reason for a collaboration is to bring in additional point-of-view. My example for this: the YA Steampunk JRMurdock and I are writing. We each bring a unique perspective to the story that has made it a lot of fun for both of us to write and I think to read.
  • shoulder to lean on – let’s face it, only writers really understand writers. Our fears and anxieties, our hopes. They tend to resonate with other writers. When we stumble, it’s nice to have someone there to help us back up. When we reach a  new height, it’s fantastic to share the news with people who can truly appreciate it.

There are other reasons, but trust me when I say, I owe much of my success to others. Yes, I’ve kept working at my writing but there have been times when I’ve needed that little kick in the butt to keep going. To not give up. Some of my best ideas have come from conversations with other writers and friends that I couldn’t have gotten on my own.

You owe it to yourself to get out there and talk to people. It will help you to make the key contacts that will push you to the next level.

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21
Aug

Get Published Episode 64 – Know Your Audience

   Posted by: Michell    in Get Published (Podcast)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I was very fortunate to attend a brand new Convention for Writers and Readers here in Calgary called “When Words Collide” a week ago. The convention had several VIP guests including Robert J Sawyer who agreed to be interviewed for the show. He talks about marketing and promotion in the Tips and Typos section.

I also interviewed Marc Johnson. Marc is a self-published fantasy author living in the Bay area. He talks about why he made the decision to self-publish and how he is treating his writing as a business.

Both authors talk about something I found very interesting and that is, knowing your market and targeting it. It’s an important lesson for me and one I think all authors need to hear.

I hope you enjoy the show.

Show Notes

00:00 — Opening – Get Published Episode 64 – Know Your Audience

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

00:14 — Introduction – Get Published Episode 64 – Know Your Audience

Welcome to the show.

01:06 — Promo – V for Vertigo

01:43— Tips and Typos – Get Published Episode 64 – Know Your Audience (continued)

  • Michell talks to Robert J. Sawyer about marketing, promotion and knowing your audience.
  • Email feedback at getpublishedpodcast dot com with your comments

13:40 - Promo - Flying Island Press

14:24 — Get Published Episode 64 – Know Your Audience (continued)

Marc Johnson talks about writing, podcasting, eBooks and self-publishing among many other topics.

47:37 - Promo - The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences

48:38 — Closing

Thank you for listening.

Websites mentioned in this episode:

Marc Johnson - http://www.marcanthonyjohnson.com/

V for Vertigo - http://johnmierau.wordpress.com/category/podcast-teardown/

Flying Island Press - http://flyingislandpress.com/

The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences - http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/

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27
Apr

Variety is the Spice of Life

   Posted by: Michell    in About Writing

A little while ago I posed the question: should I focus on a single series or write a number of different things. I received several responses to my question, all of which I appreciated. The general consensus was that I shouldn’t limit myself, but write a number of different things. By doing so I stretch my writing muscles and I give myself the best chance to appeal to a larger group of people.

While I was considering the question myself I also came to the conclusion that not only should I write in multiple genres, but I should write many different things beyond that.

For example, I write this post every week which allows me to express myself in one way. I also write the copy for Get Published which takes me in a different direction. There is, of course, my fiction, and at work I write contractual language, project management plans and process documentation. As if that wasn’t enough, I do a few pieces of non-fiction writing every month or so for various places.

All though things mean that I am writing for multiple audiences, from multiple points of view in multiple ways (have I used the word “multiple” enough yet?). I can’t help but think that all that is useful to honing my writing skills.

It also means that I’m always writing, even when I don’t think I am. That’s good too because it helps to improve my vocabulary and feel for sentence structure and writing mechanics. All important stuff.

The downside to all this is it takes much longer to finish a project. Lots of irons in the fire means that my attention is pulled in many directions, not to mention my actual time.

Such is the life of a writer, I suppose.

So, my question to you is this: how do you stretch your writing muscles? I bet if you look you will find that there is more going on than you think. Do the quick exercise to find out and next time you are feeling badly about your own progress, remind yourself of how much you are actually doing. The self-congratulations vs. self-flagelation will be a step in the right (write?) direction.

Personal Update

I’m closing in on completion of my revising for my YA novel “The Mystery of Lake Chulala”. This is going to be the first in an ongoing Young Adult/Middle Grade series. I still have hopes that it will be available in May.

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