Southern Writing

The need to read

There is at least one piece of writing advice that is universal: if you want to be a writer, read.

Different schools of thought prescribe different genres to read. Some say you should read the best in your genre. Some say you should read the best literary masterpieces the world has to offer. And, some say you should read everything you can get your hands on. I lean towards the last piece of advice, because everyone has their own opinions on what the "best" is. Also, if you want to make money on writing, chances are you're going to be writing commercial fiction. Bad commercial fiction can be a good example of what not to do.

The other night, I was reading Jack Ketchum's The Offspring. Once I started, I couldn't put the book down. I read all 200+ pages in three hours. And, the reason for the need to read was suddenly clear.

I've written manuscripts before. I've even finished them. But, I've never been so involved with a WiP as I am with my current one. And, while I was reading the novel, a ton of things in my own novel became clear. Like, I need more blood. My villains need to be more ominous and creepy. There need to be more scenes that describe what's going on with the main character's thoughts and feelings.

Some of these were suggestions I received from beta readers, but it took a horror novel to make everything click into place.

In the world of horror fiction, Ketchum is a god. Stephen King has pretty much bowed before the mind that creates mazes of psychological and gory horror. But, in the world of literary fiction, he isn't even a blip on the screen.

So, read often. Read as much material as you can. And, don't be a snob about it. You never know what will inspire you to be better until you've taken a chance.

Life, life, life

Today has been a very busy and productive day. Not in the writing sense, but in the life sense.

I am currently getting ready for some sort of double blind date thing, so that is awesome. But, earlier, I was thinking about how as a writer I will have to work five times harder than everyone else. I'm going to have to have at least one day job and write in my spare time. This worked fine for the last novel, but it's important to consider that, at all times, I will have at least two jobs.

I'm up for the challenge. I'm not sure I could live without writing. Although, I do have to say it would be more difficult to live without reading.

 I was reading Chip MacGregor's blog today, and he had a great post on making a writing career plan. Any writers out there, whether you're a freelance journalist or a novelist, should read it. Not enough blogs/ sites/ books focus on the business aspect of writing, probably because it's the least romantic.

Working and writing

I've had a hard time with supporting myself by freelancing. I've had paychecks that came months late and publishers who took stories and disappeared. I've had a beat assigned and then reassigned to a publication's part time employee who probably won't get paid much extra for her work and most definitely won't get paid as much as I was to do her new job.

Through it all, I worked full time. Then, I moved down to part time when I realized I could make more by freelancing more and working less. This has resulted in tumultuous finances on my part. But, considering we're in a recession and I've had constant employment and constant freelancing work, I can't really complain. I'm poor and overworked, but I'm not living on the street.

Here's where I'm going with this: Use money you make freelancing as leverage to get what you want out of life. If you have to have a day job, make sure it's something and somewhere you like. Some writers have full time day jobs. Some, like me, work part time. And, some take temp or contract jobs to bring in the money when it's needed.

This economy is redefining the way people work, and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. But, it's an important thing. Because, if you think the company that's using you for cheap labor now is going to support you in a few months, when the job market is still flaccid and things have gotten REALLY bad and thousands more panicked professionals have entered the ranks of the unemployed, freelancing and working a couple jobs might look like paradise. There is no longer such a thing as job security.

The importance of networking

Someone in a writing group on She Writes asked for advice on how to get into freelancing. There is one essential secret I can share on how to break into any kind of writing, and it is this: networking.

I got my first regular writing gigs, both as a freelancer and an intern, from networking. My first published short story was sold because of networking. My first big girl job interviews in newspapers came about from networking. Networking is the key to writing, if you want to get published. (This is a big "if." There's nothing wrong with writing for fun or putting publishing off while you explore your style and learn more about the business. But, even so, it's still good to network.)

It can be as simple as reading a network blog and sending out an email for advice or as complicated as attending a convention. There is LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs, Myspace, Facebook, magazines, newspapers, books on the writing market; all of these can be used as ways to touch ground with people. Not to mention She Writes, which is a social network for women writers.

It's up to you to find an approach that works, but here are some tips:

• Don't be afraid to approach pros for help. They are usually flattered.
• Put your best foot forward. Be professional, courteous, and patient.
• Don't be afraid to send out your resume in an email. Two of my big opportunities came from me asking professionals if I could get some resume advice from them.
• If you want to be a writer, have writing samples, a blog, and/ or a website ready to show to people.
• Join writing groups and critique groups online and in real life to share support and connections.

Playing with Scrivener, Part 1

I downloaded a free trial of Scrivenerover the weekend and started playing with it. Some parts are confusing after a couple days (Why do I need a corkboard again?) but the features I have been using are probably going to lead me to buying the software after my 30 day trial.

When I wrote my last novel and started editing, I had to constantly scroll through 240 pages of text. Within 10 minutes of downloading Scrivener, I had 17 chapters all in their own files. 20 minutes later, I had all of my feedback also imported into individual files that related to each chapter. By last night, I was writing notes to use as a reference to ensure foreign words spelled correctly and had research files for each character, including pictures of people I could use for inspiration and descriptions.

Even though I have heard of Scrivener numerous times before, I decided to look at its website up after reading some tweets by @phiala, one of my Twitter friends. I'm glad I did, because I'm thinking this Scrivener revolution means no more scrolling through hundreds of pages trying to make sure one word is spelled correctly the entire way through or tabbing through programs trying to find the one file I need to tell me whether my character's eyes are brown or blue.

The question isn't why I didn't download Scrivener before, it's why I was adamant about staying in Word.

Keeping social networking from becoming a disadvantage

A couple months ago, I had a less than fun exchange with one of my biggest writing crushes on her blog. I followed it for some time, wrote what I thought was a helpful comment on a post, and got a snarky reply back.

I was crushed. I unfollowed her and went as far as wondering if I'd ever be able to enjoy her work in the same way again. This is the power of the internet; I was interacting with a star in an intimate, instant way, and we both got burned. She had a fan who was questioning her entire body of work, and I got an idol who possibly saw the interaction in a number of different ways, from a personal attack to a petty annoyance or even as an already forgotten blip on her radar.

It's hard to interact with people who read your work. If you are unfailingly polite to everyone and do your best to keep from every being controversial, you will seem too artificial. If you protect your personal life in a guarded bundle, you'll seem to cold. And, if you let it all loose, you'll lose credibility. The balance is even more difficult now that we're online and out in the public eye before our first piece is published. Intrepid readers can often find old blogs, public records, and our first stories before we're aware anyone's even looking for them.

I have no clear cut answers for how to deal with online living. But, here are some suggestions on how to minimize damage on the internet if you're a published author or trying to break in:

• Never write when anger hits. If you're going to rant, think it through to the point that hitting the send button will no longer cause a vindictive thrill to ease up your spine.
• Assume no one cares about your love life.
• Assume a private profile isn't really private.
• If someone offers advice or catches an error in a blog, article, or work of fiction, THEN is the time to be unfailingly polite.
• Write in your voice as much as possible.
• Shun smileys and emoticons as much as possible. Nobody cares that you can make a Kirby dance through Twitter.
• Consider what you're saying and your potential audience. If you want to go on a religious themed tirade, that might be fine if you're a novelist or a playwright, but it would probably be career suicide if you're a hard-hitting journalist.
• Help as many people as you can.
• Realize some people are beyond your help and just don't get it.

Eventually I decided that the writer with the snarky comment was someone I would continue reading, but not someone I would continue talking to online. I'm not a big fan of flame wars, and all future conversations we could have would be tainted with just a little bit of resentment for being snapped at. If I ever meet her at a convention, I would probably go up and talk to her and see what happens, but for now I'm happy with being someone who just enjoys her writing.

It's going to be interesting to see how fandom evolves as more and more fans connect to their favorite celebrities online.

Links as currency

On the web, linking is important. It's almost like money- if  you like someone's blog, you link to it. If you have something to add to a conversation, you link to the original posts. If you find a news article you like, you link to it. Links are flying everywhere!

That's why it is unacceptable that up to now my blogs have been lacking in the links department. I'm building my blog roll right now, so if you're a friend, and I read your blog, or you just think I read your blog, remind me that I should include you. Right now, I've got a few of my friends up, but this is just a start. I need more!

Coming soon: complete blog roll for friends and my list of must-read blogs!

Creating motivation

I joined a writing group, She Writes, a week or two back. One of the preoccupations of many of its members is motivation, and what to do when it's lacking.

Lately, I've been lacking in motivation myself. A number of factors have been contributing to it. It's summer, and I battle a hot weather depression every year. (I like snow, not beach weather.) I'm poor and stress out way too much about money. Plus, it seems like no one is willing to pay me a living wage to do anything I'm qualified to do. ($8 an hour just isn't cutting it, even if I were to move back to full time.)

I'm not writing this to be a downer, or to whine about how my life isn't exactly how I planned it would be while still in school. This is just to illustrate the hows and whys of my current motivation problems.

There are a few ways I've been able to combat ennui. I figured I'd share them for everyone who isn't on She Writes and hasn't been reading my responses there.

• Clearing out clutter. I'm naturally a packrat. Or, as some would call it, a hoarder. Except, when I'm at my worst, I can barely function. Right now, I'm working on clearing out all my old junk and cleaning out my apartment, which has been increasing my productivity 10-fold. Plus, cleaning is a good task to work on when I get tired of writing. After about 10 minutes of scrubbing floors, I'm ready to get down to business.
• Working out. This can be a double edged sword. Sometimes, after I work out, I crash. Sometimes, I'm so hyper I run around my apartment like a crazy person and can't concentrate on anything. But, I've noticed a correlation between working out and my energy levels. More energy = more writing. Feeling strong = more confidence. More energy + more confidence = writing my debut novel in a little more than a month's time.
• Reading. This makes a lot of sense. Reading is the foundation of writing. But, when writer's fatigue sets in, I find it helpful to read for a while. I pick a time limit or a page length and read until I reach my stopping point or replenish the will to write.
• Writing in small snippets. I usually do this a lot when I first start writing every day. Sometimes it's not even writing. Sometimes it's just putting a title on a page or opening notes I have to work by. But, the little things add up over time. After a few quick spurts of work, I usually end up writing up a storm without noticing I've gotten into the groove until I look up and realized I've written a few hundred words.
• Ignoring the end goal. In writing, keeping your eyes on the prize can be a fatal mistake. I'm not saying you shouldn't think about your ending. You should. In fact, I usually write the end to a project long before I finish it. What will be fatal to your project is keeping track of your progress in relation to your word count. If you do that, you will probably either get overwhelmed with your inability to reach the count or freak out when you realize you're almost finished. That's just the excuse your inner censor needs to start in on you. This brings us to my last bit of advice.
• Shitty First Draft. I read about this philosophy years ago. In fact, I can't even remember where. (If you know where, please let me know in the comments, so I can attribute properly.) Understand that a first draft isn't supposed to be perfect. It's a first draft. It's supposed to suck. As silly as this concept might seem, it really is freeing to know that a first draft is a ROUGH draft, and no one needs to see it if you aren't happy with it. Just keep writing and worry about grammar, spelling, and rewrites when you're done. Kill that inner censor. You don't need it, especially when you first sit down to write.

Freelance writing in the new economy

The economy is officially in the shitter. Because of this, freelancing is an attractive option for people looking to fortify their finances or make money when they can't find a job elsewhere. However, there are some important things about freelance writing potential writers should know before they get started.

Writing features and news articles for papers, websites, and magazines is a lot different than writing papers for school.

Some people don't get that every publication has its own style, and submissions should be tailored to the publication's audience. There are also legal issues to think about, like libel and plagiarism. Freelancers need to familiarize themselves with the ins and outs of the publishing world, otherwise a pile of rejections will ensue.

Adsense and affiliate accounts won't pay off right off the bat, if they ever do.

If you're trying to blog for a living, expect to take a loss for months, or even years after you get started. If you're lucky, you might be able to sell banner ads to businesses. Keep in mind that most of the big, corporate publishers out there haven't found ways to make money off the web.

Don't expect to qualify for loans or credit.

Even if you're trying to get credit from your bank or credit union, chances are slim you'll qualify, especially in the beginning. If you start making money, get a business account at your financial institution and start funneling your earnings directly into it so you can prove you are turning a profit.

Save receipts for just about everything.

You can deduct expenses like gas mileage and file folders for your home office, as long as you can prove you spent the money. You can even deduct part of your rent (for a home office) and meals paid for at conventions and during work trips.

Kiss your insurance goodbye, unless you want to pay an arm and a leg for independent health insurance.

If you are lucky enough to still have access to insurance from a previous employer or your spouse, good for you.

Expect to juggle another job and freelancing for months or even years.

I work about 28 hours a week and write 15- 20. That means I'm working 43 hours at minimum. That doesn't include driving time, and for some of the city council meetings I cover I have to commute about 50 minutes one way. I've met established authors who still work in marketing or as a secretary, even though they've written anywhere from a single novel to an extensive book series. Freelancing is hard work, and chances are you'll have to work hard at a day job to make ends meet.

The Wil Wheaton model for freelance writers

I've been following Wil Wheaton's blog for a few months now, and his business as a freelance writer is pretty impressive. In fact, I've been following him to try to capture his secrets and use them in my own writing.

His most recent feat is with the book Sunken Treasure, which is a compilation of his favorite pieces from his books and blog.

Here's the short version of his success with the book:

Wheaton self published the book and automatically started marketing it, especially on his blog. He backed it up with tweets on Twitter and offered limited special offers for the book.

Then, last night Saturday afternoon, he started asking around on Twitter if his fans would like to buy a PDF version of the book for $5 a download. With an overwhelming demand and a few clicks of his mouse, he made the download instantly available. He saw both his digital and print sales rise, and as of the last update on sales, he said he was 17 digital sales away from overtaking the print sales he's amassed in the weeks since the print version went on sale. (You can check out Wheaton's version of events here.)

There are quite a few things beginning (and weathered) freelance writers can take away from his story.

• Diversifying content is a good thing. Write for a number of print and online publications and blog and tweet as much as possible, even if it's just to amuse yourself. This will build up a fan base. (Although, having a built in fan base of people who have watched your TV shows and movies doesn't hurt.)
• Write personal stories in your blog (as much as you feel comfortable) because people like feeling connected to who they're reading.
• If you blog and have a large readership, flirt with print on demand (Wheaton used Lulu), whether it be a book or 'zine. You don't have much to lose, and you can play around with marketing and readership to see if a print product is viable.
• Ask your readership what they would like to see. If you ask around and don't get any bites for your pet project, you might want to rethink your approach. But, if you find an enthusiastic response, you might want to take a risk.
• Look for services that will make your life as easy as possible. Wheaton could easily convert his book to a PDF format and offer it up on the Lulu website.

In a media environment where professionals from newspapers to book publishing are screaming loudly about a falling sky, it's refreshing to see someone taking advantage of digital outlets and making a living. Any other pointers about digital publishing and marketing are appreciated.