Tag Archives: publishing

Another hotel room, another night of writing on the road

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You’d think I’d be used to writing in hotel rooms by now. Sadly, I’ve discovered that most hotel rooms are the exact opposite of conducive to decent writing time. It’s driving me nuts!

There are many advantages to writing in this golden age of the internet. It doesn’t matter that I’m sitting here at a strange desk, not when I can google any pieces of information I don’t have immediately to hand. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for those using a typewriter, reaching for a thesaurus and only finding a Gideons bible and some hotel headed notepaper.

Maybe a room service menu, if you were staying somewhere classy…

Several of the greatest authors of all time produced career-defining works whilst living in hotel rooms. But let’s face it, none of them were probably staying at a Holiday Inn…

If you want to get things done, you have to force yourself to do them. I’ve realised over the past year that I actually do my best work when surrounded by creature comforts: my inspirational artwork on the walls, the sofa in the office, the books lining the walls. A stack of pens and notepads within arm’s reach to jot ideas. This is the perfect place for me to write.

It’s also the place I’m not in nearly as much as I would like.

I’m now beginning a quest instead to beat this frustration. Instead of just getting annoyed by the reduced output, I’m going to find a way to make the most of the time on the road, no matter how luxurious or shoddy the hotel is. I’m going to become a writing road warrior.

For now my only piece of advice, to quote Ben Folds, is ‘do it anyway’. Which, although it is probably the singular most important thing, is trite and meaningless without working out how. I love a good mystery, so I’m going to get to the bottom of it. Tonight, I’m going to revise this terrible scene that is refusing to co-operate, regardless of where I am sitting when I look at it. Maybe fixing that will help me unlock the keys to making the whole thing work.

Wish me luck!

Independent authors – how much content should you create?

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It started with a simple question: ‘How many books do self-published authors write per year?’

It seems as though there are varying opinions on this. But it seems safe to say that the traditional publishing model of one book a year, perhaps one book every two years, just isn’t going to cut it any more. The number of titles an independent author can release is the one advantage they have over the traditional publishing houses. The amount of gears involved in getting a book through the publishing mill means that most tradpub authors will be doing one book a year. Prolific ones can do two.

Some independent authors are releasing between six and ten titles a year. Two is probably considered the very minimum. It’s easy to see why. In those first days of publishing your title, there is a surge – maybe into the heady heights of double digit sales (I’m just being honest and realistic here). The best way to ride the wave is to have another book – assuming you’ve wowed your reader – for them to jump right onto the back of. The more titles you can have for them to select from, the more chance there is of them seeing something they like. They’re also more likely to see you as committed; a ‘proper’ author writing books for a living. Which may or may not be true.

Welcome to this century – where perception is everything.

I started this year with a plan to self publish two books. That seemed reasonable. Now, some days, it does not seem like enough. I will be trying instead to release three full length novels, but with one big caveat:

I don’t want to compromise on quality.

Now, I’m not saying I’m going to be churning out three literary masterpieces a year. If only.

The simple reality is that there still needs to be a certain level of quality if you expect people to go on to make that next purchase. Even traditionally published ebooks seem more prone to formatting errors than good old paper ones. Nothing is going to be one hundred per cent, because humans are involved. Pesky, pesky humans.

It still needs to make the reader feel like they haven’t just forked out their hard earned cash for something that has been churned out and not even run through spell check first. They especially don’t want to feel scammed because that first ten per cent they’ve downloaded as a free sample was markedly better quality than the rest of the book.

So a minimum of two books, of an acceptable quality.

If possible, then a novella or two also doesn’t hurt. One thing I would suggest – something I’ve learned the hard way – is to make sure that short pieces are consistent with your novels. If not, it can be confusing and off-putting for the reader. I’ll hold my hand up to making that mistake and can simply do my best to rectify it over time as I publish more.

If you’ve yet to publish anything then I’m sure the above seems like a daunting task. Six months ago, I felt the same way. Take comfort in the knowledge that it is the first of anything that is the hardest. Once you’ve wrangled with the various platforms and requirements, had your editors make demands yet again (even friends beta-reading it for you as a favour will have demands), and agonised over your cover design, it becomes easier each time to press ‘publish’.

Do you think two books is enough? Or does it need to be more? Or is quality more important than quantity every single time?

Writing update: new fantasy series

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When I started this blog, I thought my first released novel would be from my urban fantasy series. Somehow that didn’t happen, and instead The Crochet Killer, a crime thriller, was released into the wild.

That doesn’t mean the fantasy series has stopped, or that it will not see the light of day. Far from it. While I am writing book two of the Teddie McKay series, I’m still editing books one and two of the urban fantasy series.

It’s not easy. My characters are very different across the books, and keeping all the voices in my head during intense periods of writing and editing is tough. It’s also fun. A lot of fun.

I love the urban fantasy series enough that the first three books are already written, and the next two already plotted out in granular detail. In some ways, that makes me glad that they’re not the first eBooks I independently publish. Let’s face it, you’re never going to be perfect at something the first time you do it. You can study and research the detail of ‘how to’ as much as you like, but at some point you just have to get it out there. Make mistakes, learn from them, do it better next time.

Things like advance promotion, pre-sales and sending copies off for review before release were all things that seemed like a step too far for me. Getting it released was the main thing. It’s often like that when you do something for the first time; you can only really focus on one task. The more experienced you get, the more you can take advantages of the nuances of the skill, no matter what it is.

That said, I’m getting quite excited about getting everything together. I hope to publish three books this year, which wouldn’t be a bad start. I want to entertain, inform and create characters that aren’t mainstream.

That’s not a bad ambition to have.

Setting up a new project in Scrivener

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Now my first full length novel has been out for a month, it is time to turn my attention to writing the sequel. I’m a plotter and a planner, which is why I absolutely adore Scrivener. I can hand on heart say it is the best software investment I have ever made.

Here’s why. I can control everything I need, all in one place.

My characters

I love the character template feature. As Teddie McKay is back again for a second instalment, I can just copy the template from The Crochet Killer straight into the new setup and we’re good to go:

Characters

 

I can just update them with any new information, such as internal or external conflicts, character development and move on, knowing that the information will be there for me if I need to reference it. No scrabbling through notebooks to see if that tattoo was of a dolphin or a unicorn.

The cork board

This is a huge benefit if you’re a plotter like me. I have all my scenes planned out, then I can put them together in cork board view. Like a real cork board, I can see the overall picture in one place, and move around anything I need.

Cork board

So here, for example, I’m not sure opening with the restaurant scene is dynamic enough. Each index card is tied to the scene itself, so if it’s not in the right place once it’s written, I can just move the index card and the scene within the manuscript will automatically move with it. Genius.

Name generator

This is a key feature that sets Scrivener above most word processing apps. When a book appears, the main characters usually bring with them a name. They’re not the ones you have to worry about. It’s when the secretary pops his head around the door to deliver some information and the protagonist says ‘Thank you -‘ and you don’t have that one-off name. Instead of agonising, or inserting ‘Secretary’s name here’, you can just pop up the word generator, set as much or as little background info as you like, and away you go!

Name generator

 

I think Hamish is a great name for a secretary…

 

Putting it all into Scrivener makes it real. It also removes any friction, so I don’t get distracted from the actual process. Once the detail has been loaded, it’s just down to the best and most exciting part of all.

Writing.

You can purchase, or find out more about Scrivener here.

To find out why they are meeting in the restaurant in that first (or maybe later!) scene, read The Crochet Killer on kindle, or Kobo.

Crochet Killer Cover

(also available on Nook and through the iBooks store)

Using Smashwords to promote across ebook platforms

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For my first full length self-published eBook, The Crochet Killer, I started with what I knew: Kindle.

Amazon and KDP make it quite simple for authors to get their work out there. As a toe in the water it is a good place to start. But quite clearly, it is not the only place to market your eBook. There are many, many options.

All ever so slightly different.

smashwords

Getting your work out there is the priority for most writers, but the reality is that it’s the writing part they enjoy. Not the formatting. Not the setting up the Table of Contents at the front in a slightly different manner for each individual retailer. Or setting up the accounts on a multitude of sites.

Let’s be realistic here: most authors do not independently self-publish a book and then sit back as the royalties roll in. The dream of an overnight and massive success in publishing remains just that for most people: a dream.

This is only my first book. I am finding new readers and introducing myself to the world. My platform is in its infancy. A simple time / cost equation made my mind up about using Smashwords to instantly make all these options available to me:

smashwordsall

I took the hourly rate I charge for the day job. I then calculated the time it takes me to format each version of the book, set up the account, create the bio, sort out the accounting details (including additional time to make sure you meet with the tax requirements of the retailer’s home country etc) and see what it comes to. For book one, it wasn’t worth it when I can upload it to Smashwords and then they push it out for me.

In the future, depending on sales, I might do it on a site by site basis. But until then, this is the most easy and cost-effective option I can see of getting my books out there.

Available on Amazon.com (US)

Amazon.co.uk

Nook at Barnes and Noble

Kobo

And of course, Smashwords itself, along with now being available to download via the iBooks app, if that is your reader of choice.

Crochet Killer Cover

Why I wanted to write a lesbian detective

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In my latest book, The Crochet Killer, the main character is a lesbian detective named Teddie McKay. I wanted to write this character for several reasons, and not just because all the lady police officers I know also like the ladies. I’m sure that’s just coincidence. Also, if you’re reading this, she’s totally not based on you. Honest.

Firstly, and most importantly, she came to me that way. There was never any doubt from the moment I pictured the opening chapter, with her diving into the pool on vacation in the Caribbean, that she was gay. It was just who she was, and that wasn’t a problem. It also wasn’t going to be a big deal.

In life, it shouldn’t be a big deal. So why should it be the one and only personality point of my character?

For most of the story, who she sleeps with is not a primary focus anyway. There is romance, but it is not the main theme or driver to the narrative. That would be the killing bits, obviously.

Other than times when a protagonist’s sexuality is front and centre to the narrative, it seemed to me like writers tended to default to straight. That’s not necessarily a problem, but a character being gay doesn’t have to make a point. The Crochet Killer isn’t a gruesome, terrifying thriller, designed to make you puke your guts up and unable to sleep at night. It’s for the kind of people who enjoy watching Castle, whilst having a secret hankering for seeing Beckett make out with a girl (again, if you’re reading this, you know who you are).

I suppose, what I am trying to say is that I wanted to write a lesbian detective because I wanted a regular, slightly mal-adjusted main character who just also happens to be gay. Will it narrow my audience? Probably. And if it does, then I’m okay with that. Because I would rather keep the character with the integrity she came with and the story she has to tell (and will continue to tell over the course of the series) than sell out by aiming for the safety of the middle ground.

That’s where everyone else is. I’d rather give a detective who isn’t white, straight and male a chance for once.

(Even though it’s set in Portland, Maine, for any British Kindle readers, you can find the UK edition here.)

Random Title Generator

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I love a good random title generator. Actually, I love a bad random title generator. The ones which come up with the most cheesy and clichéd titles. You know the ones, they come with a narrator in your head that sounds a bit like you’re listening to someone from Downton Abbey.

The Professional Dreamer

The Memory of the Beginning

The Moon’s Willow

Apologies if those are anyone’s actual titles. But I’ve actually discovered something quite useful as part of this humour. For some reason, by scrolling through those randomly generated nonsense titles, it can actually trigger something at the back of your brain which is infinitely more creative.

You don’t have to be just seeking a title in order for this to work. I have found that when I have reached a tricky plot point, where I’ve painted myself into a corner and realised that despite my best laid plans, the whole thing has got stuck, that using this tool can actually help. The randomness of it is the key, I think, in that it forces your brain to start looking for patterns that you might not spot elsewhere.

I’ve tried this a few times now and find that it works pretty well. Even when it doesn’t fully get me to undo the problem, it still gives me a firm shove in the right direction. Leaving my subconscious to work on it for a few more days afterwards generally does the trick.

So next time you find yourself floundering, give it a go. And if nothing else, some of them are so bad it will give you a genuine belly laugh that will help you to forget the problem altogether for a while.

Doing The Genre Swap

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For all you writers out there, I have a question: do you write in multiple genres?

I was having a discussion with an author friend the other day and it occurred to me that it is becoming increasingly more common. In many other areas of our lives, we have come to expect the freedom to choose. For most of us, especially those of us who have tried our hand at self-publishing, it is more than just failing to be picked up by traditional publishers. I know many people believe that to be the case about what we do. I think that is making too simplistic an argument.

‘Traditional’ authors have started to dabble in the world of self-publishing because it gives them the taste of freedom that they can’t get as part of their three book deal. The one that states you will provide us with three books that sit comfortably in the brand that has been created for you. Please do not waste our investment in you by being adventurous. More of the same please. None of that creativity rubbish.

Which is where the theme of genre swap comes in. I write in several genres, and keeping up a pseudonym for all of them is like plate spinning. If you believe everything you read, then there needs to be a distinct platform for each genre, leading to twenty seven different twitter accounts.

No thanks.

I like to think that the reading audience is becoming more savvy. Or perhaps they have always been savvy, but traditional publishers have never seen the need to present them as such. Like writers, readers are more than happy to have a little variety. Sure, most people have a favourite genre, one they would go to first. But very few people I know would declare that they ‘only’ read crime these days. Or romance. People want to have a choice. A good story is a good story and more importantly, they want a character they can relate to.

Of course, when you have these multiple projects on the go, it can be hard to change between tone sometimes. The best way I’ve found is to create a distinct playlist for each book. For example, when I was writing The Crochet Killer I had a playlist with Crush by Jennifer Paige on it. Completely out of keeping with the crime tone of the book, but it always instantly reminded me of the main character when I needed to get back into her head. For another series I’m working on which is squarely Urban Fantasy, there’s a bit of Lady Gaga: Bad Romance sums up the darker side of the relationship between the two main characters perfectly.

So I’m not saying it’s easy, but it’s certainly possible and becoming more common. If you want to write in multiple genres, then go ahead.

And if you have any tips and tricks for swapping between the two (or more) then let me know!

****

Crochet Killer Cover

He likes to make women smile.
For eternity.

From her hot Caribbean vacation to a freak New England snowstorm, when the fourth mutilated victim is found, Detective Teddie McKay knows she has to break the case or lose it. The killer is always one step ahead, and even the hot-shot forensic investigator the Chief has shipped in from out of state hasn’t produced a solid lead. The pressure is coming from everywhere; the press and even the Mayor are questioning whether Teddie’s up to the task. Now her ex-lover, TV reporter Tammy Johnson, has re-entered her life and is covering the story. Teddie knows that if someone makes the connection it will be the final nail in the coffin for her credibility.

As the clock ticks down towards victim number five, Teddie knows she has to do something to solve the case. But how much is she prepared to risk to lure a psychopath out into the open?

Never too late

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I was reading this article about Tony Schumacher’s novel, The Darkest Hour, and all the other jobs he  tried before making it as a writer. It struck me how, for many people, the dream is there, burning inside them, no matter how many setbacks they face on their own personal journey.

I think 80%* of the population say they have a novel inside them. I’ve heard it said that for most of them, it should stay there. Nevertheless, there is something so completely human about wanting to tell a story. It is how we reason out our lives, how we make sense of the world around us. Even if it is not fiction, the hardest hitting stories on the news are the ones which have that human seed of either hope or despair at their core.

So for most people there is a willingness to tell a story, but for others this burning desire is a vocation. Deep in the heart, it is the thing they truly believe they were put on the planet to do. No matter how long it takes to get there, no matter what diversions are in place, the people who are meant to do it are the ones who keep going, especially when the world is set against them.

It is an inspiring story. It is a reminder for those of you who want to dance with words forever, that it’s not over with unless you decide to give up.

 

*This statistic is entirely made up. But it sounds plausible enough so let’s pretend eh?

Crochet Killer Cover

He likes to make women smile.
For eternity.

From her hot Caribbean vacation to a freak New England snowstorm, when the fourth mutilated victim is found, Detective Teddie McKay knows she has to break the case or lose it. The killer is always one step ahead, and even the hot-shot forensic investigator the Chief has shipped in from out of state hasn’t produced a solid lead. The pressure is coming from everywhere; the press and even the Mayor are questioning whether Teddie’s up to the task. Now her ex-lover, TV reporter Tammy Johnson, has re-entered her life and is covering the story. Teddie knows that if someone makes the connection it will be the final nail in the coffin for her credibility.

As the clock ticks down towards victim number five, Teddie knows she has to do something to solve the case. But how much is she prepared to risk to lure a psychopath out into the open?

The Writing Year Ahead

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It is only fitting at this time of year that we look to the year ahead. I’ve taken stock of my life and I know that there will be some challenges ahead in 2015, but at least I have a vague sense of direction now.

I’ve been trying to find a way to make sure my fiction writing doesn’t fall to the side around the travel and paying work commitments. It is easier said than done, as 2014 has already taught me. That makes me more determined to hit the targets I’ve set for myself.

I have a few key goals for the writing year ahead.

Publish – I have two books in the final stages of preparation for publication. One of them has been waiting on a graphic designer for a cover and the other has just been sent for copy edits. My dilemma is that they both sit under different genres, so I’m not sure I’ll publish them both under this name. I have to not let the debate hold things up too much.

Creating – I have another two books outlined ready for writing this year. I use Scrivener which is amazing for getting set up – I’ll try to do a blogpost about how to get the most out of that in the coming year. If I can write two books a year, which I think is perfectly doable, even with the craziness of my life, then that’s the foundation for 2016 already laid.

Travel – I still want to do this, even if it is a double edged sword. This year, travel commitments have shafted my writing schedule. But going to new places is an enriching experience which informs my writing in countless ways. I don’t want to live a life without it. So my goal for 2015 is to make the most out of each experience and try to see it through the eyes of a writer whenever possible.

So there it is, a brief overview of my hopes and dreams, underpinned by a bit of a plan, for the next twelve months. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed and hopefully you’ll have a plan too – good luck with whatever you decide to do with your year. I hope it’s a good one!

And it wouldn’t be fair to start the year without an inspirational hedgehog to move things along….

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