Hi! I’m popping in quickly with a link to a great article that someone just forwarded to me from today’s New York Times. As I work through the latest edit of Separation of Faith, I know I’m guilty of some of this. Perhaps you’ll find something of value in the piece as well.
http://topics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/tangled-passages-4/?emc=eta1
Later …
Cheri
Posted in Creative Writing, Writing, writing process | Tagged Creative Writing, grammar, grammar and punctuation, punctuation, writing blog | Leave a Comment »
Another Plug for My Mini (See original comments in Post #5, Nov. 11.)
This morning I had an early appointment to get my car serviced, and I expected a long wait, since a gear shift issue needed to be tended to along with the regular maintenance due. So, I took my Netbook (aka “mini”) with me.
During the three hours I was there, I prepared the seventh issue of Cinnamon’s free serialization. That process usually takes between one and two hours due to the formatting problems that resulted from the publisher’s book-blocked version being translated into my computer. I also made progress on the new edit of Separation of Faith (yes, another one–see separate topic in this post).
As I was working, I would occasionally look up at the other customers in the waiting room, who were either watching television or staring off into nothing, as if in a coma. If not for my mini, that might have been me as well 
.
As I mentioned in my November 11 post, anyone who is trying to squeeze out precious minutes here and there, from an otherwise crammed-full life, to get a little writing done (or maybe finish a book) really needs to investigate the idea of a mini. There’s no cumbersome, heavy laptop to worry about–just a little thing that fits in my purse.
I’ve used my mini while riding the bus into the City, while waiting in doctor’s offices, while waiting anywhere. When I suspect in advance that waiting will be a possibility, I simply put my mini in my purse or tote, along with a flash drive. The fully charged battery gives me three hours without a power cord. (Today I had an outlet near me, so the battery wasn’t even an issue. But on the bus, for example, I never worry–and the mini is slightly larger than a sandwich bag, fitting easily on my lap, even in a cramped seat.)
As I said in November, the acquisition of the mini enabled me to finish Separation of Faith sooner than anticipated (which is a good thing, considering how many edits have accrued/continue to accrue since then). So, if you can possibly find a way to secure a mini for yourself, you won’t believe how many extra hours of writing you can accomplish in a week. Just a thought …
Here’s the link I included in November, for some initial comparisons of netbook models: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=2814.
7th Free Issue of Cinnamon Available for Downloading
Here you go: http://www.filedby.com/author/cheri_laser/2721580/documents/26568982/. As always, please let me know if you’re giving this a try.
Another Edit of Separation of Faith
Last week I received the first editorial evaluation back from the publisher and, as expected, there are a few more issues that I need to address. My goal is to earn the “Editor’s Choice” designation for the book prior to release, but in order for that to happen, the work has to meet a long list of extremely high standards. According to the evaluation, all the elements of characterization, plot, and setting are there and at the mandated level. But there are three issues I need to address:
These are such important lessons that I’m hoping there will be writers out there who recognize themselves and their stories in my situation. When I’m wearing my other hat as a freelance editor, I can easily spot these issues in the manuscripts I’m given. Seeing them in my own writing, however, is not so easy. That’s why we all need to release our work into the hands of others–lots of others–and ask them for specific feedback (not just “this is great”) on the basic elements of a novel. Here are a few links on the subject (because we can never read too much about this stuff):
I received the editorial evaluation back at the end of last week and started the edit on Saturday. This one is moving pretty quickly since the scope of what needs to be “tweaked”–the verb used in the evaluation–has now been narrowed to the three issues. Some portions will take longer than others, because turning a journal entry into a flashback is challenging. But my goal is to be finished by my next post on the 15th, or shortly thereafter.
Once I’ve completed the edit, there will be another evaluation–and then we’ll see where we are at that point, with respect to the “Editor’s Choice” designation. I’ll keep you posted.
Stats Update
Have a great week, everybody! I’m looking forward to your comments and to checking you out while tag surfing! (If we get the big snow predicted for tomorrow (Tuesday) night and Wednesday, I’ll try to sneak in a picture or two. We totally missed out on the storm over the weekend. Not even a single flake fell in the New York City metro area. But this new blast has some promise … …)
Posted in Creative Writing, How do I get published?, How do you get published?, How to Get Published, How to get a book published, How to get a novel published, I want to be published, I want to get published, Publishing, Social media and publishing, Writing, achieving goals, get published, new authors, publishing options, publishing process, self-pubishing, traditional versus self-publishing, unknown authors, writer motivation, writing motivation, writing novels, writing process | Tagged achieving goals, Blogging learning curve, bookselling, Creative Writing, get published, novel, novel writing, Publishing, writer motivation, writing motivation, writing process | 4 Comments »
Sixth Free Issue of Cinnamon Now Available for Downloading
Good morning on another Monday–and on the first day of another month already in 2010. Those of us with time-specific objectives sure can’t dawdle around, with the calendar flipping away so fast! (And speaking of fast, on a personal note, we celebrated on Saturday my daughter’s 40th birthday. Good grief! I’d like to tell you that I gave birth to her when I was a mere child myself … … At any rate, each new day is certainly one to be treasured and made to last as long as possible!)
On schedule again, the 6th issue of Cinnamon is now available for your downloading pleasure. You can find the newest issue at http://www.filedby.com/author/cheri_laser/2721580/documents/26206047/.
Originally, I was only going to offer to the first seven chapters. But I think I’ll keep going while the other parts of my plan are in-process. There are enough chapters in the book to extend this for awhile.
Please let me know if you’re giving the series a try. I’d love to hear from you.
Plan Update
Hip-hip-hurray! On Wednesday of last week (January 27), I submitted the manuscript for Separation of Faith to the publisher. What a feeling that was–and a great big checkmark was added to the plan list!
Now there will be about two or three weeks of “interim” space while the book undergoes yet another edit–this time by an editor at the publisher. This is such an important lesson for all aspiring novelists (and all aspiring writers, actually), because no matter how many times we put our work through our own editing cycles, there will always be more work to come, after the manuscript is released into the hands of a publishing professional.
No author–regardless of how famous–ever submits the final version of a book. At least two more edit cycles (and maybe more) will be required, once an editor completes his or his review of our work. This is why we need to practice by getting input from others prior to submitting anything in the first place. We need to become very accomplished at receiving and responding to constructive suggestions.
As you know, the input from my beta readers resulted in the writing of a whole new chapter and the revision of several other areas in the book. Believe me when I say that my first reaction wasn’t one of unbridled joy. “You have to be kidding!” was more like it.
But when I began to internalize all of their suggestions, the value of what they were telling me became immeasurably clear. And even though the subsequent work took more than a month to complete, that effort filled in holes that someone would have pointed out to me eventually. In this case, however, those holes weren’t there when I submitted the manuscript to the publisher.
A note to all aspiring writers who are fearful of releasing their work into the hands of others: Remember that the majority of readers and editors who are giving us input are not also authors themselves. Their role is to help us understand how to make our books the most fulfilling reading experiences possible. They are not our competition. But they do know a good read (or a not-so-good read) when they see one. And we need to listen to what they are saying. We won’t agree with and incorporate every single one of their suggestions. But they will help us see major areas in our books that need to be fixed.
So, now I await the input from the editor who’s been assigned my project at my publisher. There is, to be sure, a sense of trepidation. After all, what if he/she totally hates the story? But I have to maintain some belief in myself and my work as I wait. I know I’ve done the best job possible up to this point, and we’ll just have to see what more is left to be done. As soon as I know, you’ll know too.
Reduction Edit of Cinnamon
While I’m waiting for the results of the edit, I’ll be working on the part of the plan that reduces the length of The Truth About Cinnamon, in preparation for the second edition printing.
For those of you who are following this aspect of the Journey, remember that as soon as the newly edited version goes into production, you won’t be able to buy the original anymore. And the original will become a first edition. If you’re interested, check out the free serialization. And if you’d like to secure a copy of the original novel, the easiest and least expensive way is through www.TheTruthAboutCinnamon.com. Books purchased through that website come directly from me, and you can customize your autograph.
Something New
As a result of my tag surfing, I learned about a contest that Amazon is sponsoring: the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. This contest is for books that are either unpublished or self-published, and the deadline for submissions is February 7. Since this is free, and since there didn’t seem to be any downside, I submitted Separation of Faith. After all, you can’t win if you don’t play. Right? So, we’ll see what happens.
If you’d like to explore the details of this contest, check things out at http://www.amazon.com/b?node=332264011.
Stats
All the best to you out there who are plugging away at your own Journeys. I’m looking forward to talking with you through your comments on this blog and through my tag surfing. Have a great week!
Cheri
Posted in Creative Writing, Editors, How do I get published?, How do you get published?, How to Get Published, How to get a book published, How to get a novel published, I want to be published, I want to get published, Publishing, Social media and publishing, Writing, achieving goals, get published, new authors, publishing options, publishing process, self-pubishing, traditional versus self-publishing, unknown authors, writer motivation, writing motivation, writing process | Tagged achieving goals, bookselling, Creative Writing, Editors, get published, How do I get published?, How do you get a book published?, I want to be published, novel writing, Publishing, writer motivation, Writing, writing motivation, writing process | Leave a Comment »
Priorities
Today is Wednesday. In my short post on Monday, I said I’d be back as soon as I finished the final edit of Separation of Faith prior to sending the manuscript to the publisher. Well, that took a little longer than planned!
Doesn’t everything involved with writing a novel (or any category of book, for that matter) always take so much longer than planned? For example, as I mentioned in an earlier post, the input from my beta readers resulted in the writing of a whole new chapter that takes the reader through part of the story in flashback. That, of course, required going back into research mode so the setting and details of the 1948 time frame would be authentic. That process took a couple of days, with several dips back into the research mode again after I began writing the chapter, whenever I bumped into something I hadn’t anticipated.
Once the chapter was completed, I then had to make sure there was a smooth transition from the previous chapter, the ending of which had to be reworked to lead into the flashback. And I had to rework the beginning of the following chapter as well. Also, there were some things that developed in the new chapter that required a reference later in the book, which had to be worked into existing scenes.
Additional input from my beta readers suggested that one of the relationships in the story was “too perfect.” So, I wove in a dust-up between the two characters. But that insertion resulted in the need for careful scrutiny and revision in subsequent chapters, because every scene after the dust-up that contained those two characters had to be reworked to gradually transition them out of their new conflict/problem back into their good relationship.
And those are just two of the half-dozen elements that came out of the beta reader process. Needless to say, I was off the mark in every single time estimation, the latest of those being on Monday when I implied that I’d be “right back.”
But I’m now here to report that only one stage of the edit remains. Thus far, I’ve been doing all of the editing on the computer, and yet I always like to do the last read-through on hard copy. Some things tend to leap off the printed page, for some reason, that can be easily overlooked on a monitor. For example, I have one character who speaks with a southern dialect. Maintaining consistency with that sort of dialogue is really important, and spotting slip-ups is easier (for me, at least) when the words are on paper.
The manuscript just finished printing a little while ago and is in a binder. I’ll start reading shortly–and my new target for getting the book to the publisher is this Friday, January 22, slightly more than a month beyond my original target. Factoring in the nightmare move into this house that started right before Thanksgiving, and the five-week-long bronchitis, and Christmas, I guess that’s not too bad.
So, why is the heading of this section “Priorities”? Because, in order to get this far since Monday, I finally had to shut down all the other parts of my life except family and food (and food even started to slip yesterday).
Throughout all of my tag surfing since I started to chronicle this Journey last November 4, I have yet to run across anyone who’s figured out how to fully support themselves from their writing and the various offshoots than can grow from a published book. That scenario is, of course, the goal–the dream. And when that time comes, the various components of the writing process will move up to the top of my priority list, taking the place of other things I’ve been able to remove (such as doing something else to pay the bills).
Maybe then I’ll get better about estimating how much time I’m going to need to get something done.
Speaking of Various Offshoots …
This entire Journey is part of a much longer process, in which I’ve been reinventing myself from a corporate marketing person to a writer/editor. Reinventing my resume and the accompanying mindset has taken about fifteen years. But I’m pretty comfortable in the new role and have been speaking on the subject of Reinventing Yourself for some time now. Initially, the presentation was titled Reinventing Yourself over the Age of 50. Then that changed to “over the Age of 60.” Now the title is Reinventing Yourself at Any Age–and the thought has occurred to me that this could very possibly develop into a “platform” (see earlier posts on the important element of establishing a platform for aspiring authors).
On March 5, I’ll be giving that speech on a college campus to a group of senior citizens, some of whom are in their 80’s. Fortunately, I honestly believe in the possibility of reinventing ourselves at any age, so I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to get at least some of those in the audience exciting about pursuing a long-delayed passion, or writing a novel, or maybe a memoir, or taking up ballroom dancing. We’ll see how things go, and I’ll report my findings.
The most significant point about that booking, though, is that I’ll be paid for the speech–and that will be a first. I won’t be getting very much money, but I will be getting some. And the only reason they called me is because several of their members read and loved my first novel (and they know I live in the area).
Speaking engagements will become a big part of my plan/Journey once Separation of Faith and the re-edited version of Cinnamon are released. And this “offshoot” is something for everyone chasing the dream to consider. Successful authors are frequently found on the speaker’s/lecture circuit where they supplement their income, often to the tune of large numbers.
Here are a few links to whet your whistle on this subject:
Once we have a book, that’s only the beginning, if we want to push this job to the furthest limits. But linking back to the first section of this post, prioritization remains a critical task. And the very first priority for all of us is to create the highest quality book possible, even if that process takes a little longer than planned.
Stats Update
See you here next time, and while tag surfing in between!
Cheri
Posted in How do I get published?, How do you get published?, How to get a book published, Publishing, Social media and publishing, Writing, achieving goals, bookselling, get published, new authors, self-pubishing, unknown authors, writer motivation, writing motivation, writing novels, writing process | Tagged achieving goals, Blogging learning curve, bookselling, Creative Writing, get published, How do I get published?, novel writing, Publishing, writer motivation, Writing, writing motivation, writing process | 5 Comments »
4th Serialized Issue of Cinnamon Available for Downloading
Monday is here again already, and so is the 4th issue of The Truth About Cinnamon’s free serialization for your downloading and reading pleasure. http://www.filedby.com/author/cheri_laser/2721580/documents/25379887/
There are a number of other things I’d like to talk about today, but I’m trying to finish up the final edit of Separation of Faith so I can check off that part of the plan by submitting the manuscript to the publisher by tomorrow or Wednesday, at the latest. As soon as I complete the edit, I’ll be back here to add to this post and to do some tag surfing, which has become one of my new favorite things.
If you’re fortunate enough to have a holiday today, I hope you’re having fun with the extra time. Later …
Posted in Creative Writing, Editors, How do I get published?, How do you get published?, How to Get Published, How to get a book published, How to get a novel published, I want to be published, I want to get published, Publishing, Social media and publishing, Writing, achieving goals, bookselling, get published, new authors, publishing options, publishing process, self-pubishing, traditional versus self-publishing, unknown authors, writer motivation, writing motivation, writing novels, writing process | Tagged achieving goals, achieving your goals, authors, Blog Launch Posting, Blogging learning curve, blogging process, Blogging tips, bookselling, Creative Writing, ebooks, Editors, get published, How do I get published?, How do you get a book published?, How to Get Published, I want to be published, I want to get published, novel writing, Publishing, writer motivation, writing blog, writing motivation, writing process | Leave a Comment »
Hitch a Ride on the Experience of Others
One of the books I purchased at that goal-altering conference last September (see Blog Launch Post from November 4) is Get Known before the Book Deal by Christina Katz (http://christinakatz.com/about/). Ms. Katz was also a speaker at the conference and, although I was thoroughly impressed and anxious to learn from her, I realized just the other day that I hadn’t even opened her book yet. Fortunately, all of my books are now unpacked and on the book shelf in my new office, so I went right to Get Known before the Book Deal and began reading.
The whole experiment underlying this blog, of course, involves learning how to create a presence and establish a following out in the open, with the process fully exposed so everyone watching can learn along with me. Then we’ll learn how to use that presence and following to help leverage publishing success down the road, using me and my two books as a test tube.
Well, Ms. Katz has already traveled a similar road and stresses the importance of establishing and building a platform (there’s that word again) as the foundation for everything else on my particular list. But her book really clarifies the platform concept and offers simple, practical things for us to do to help move our dreams forward.
I haven’t finished the book yet and will report on relevant points in my next post. But one point rang especially clear: When we’re tracking things like hits on our websites and blogs, we need to be looking at numbers in the hundreds per day, in order to record real progress. And the numbers need to be in the thousands per day before our online presence signifies any sort of arrival.
Consequently, I do have a long way to go–but I still believe I’ll get there.
Plan Update
The new chapter I realized I needed to write in Separation of Faith (following the beta readers’ input) is now finished. That exercise was challenging, to say the least because, in addition to inserting a new chapter, I had to make sure that the linkage in the chapters immediately ahead of and behind the new one were smooth and accurate. As I complete the balance of the edit, I’ll probably do more tweaking, but I’m happy with what I see–and I absolutely cannot believe that I originally thought the book would work without that chapter! Thank heavens for those beta readers!
In another week, I hope to be ready to submit Separation of Faith to the publisher. Then, while they’re putting the manuscript through their own editing process (which will take several weeks), I’ll complete the edit of The Truth About Cinnamon. The move and being sick ended up costing me a full month, and I’m now trying to make some of that up. But in the long run, a few weeks one way or another won’t be very memorable twenty years from now …
Speaking of Cinnamon …
Three of the planned seven issues are now available for free downloading (http://www.filedby.com/author/cheri_laser/2721580/documents/24081497/). Please let me know if you’re giving this a try. I’d love to hear from you!
The existing version of The Truth About Cinnamon will become an official 1st Edition next month, as soon as the re-edited version goes into production. I’m offering huge discounts through the book store on my website (www.TheTruthAboutCinnamon.com), if you’re interested in giving the whole thing a try.
Stats
Although I have a long way to go to reach the “arrived” level or even the “making good progress” level, the deal behind this blog is that I will share everything along the way. So, here’s where things stand today:
Have a great week! I’m looking forward to talking with a lot of you as I’m tag surfing until my next post!
All the best to you–Cheri
Posted in Creative Writing, Editors, How do I get published?, How do you get published?, How to Get Published, How to get a book published, How to get a novel published, I want to be published, I want to get published, Publishing, Social media and publishing, Writing, achieving goals, bookselling, get published, new authors, publishing options, publishing process, self-pubishing, traditional versus self-publishing, unknown authors, writer motivation, writing motivation, writing novels, writing process | Tagged achieving your goals, authors, Blog Launch Posting, Blogging learning curve, blogging process, Blogging tips, books, bookselling, Creative Writing, ebooks, Editors, get published, grammar, grammar and punctuation, How do I get published?, How do you get a book published?, How to Get Published, I want to be published, I want to get published, novel, Publishing, publishing companies, writer motivation, Writing, writing motivation, writing process | 8 Comments »
Emerging from the Moving Abyss
Hi, everybody! Well, I’m back at last, and that’s all I’m going to say, unless someone out there really wants to know all the ugly details of what’s been going on through the move over the last 3+ weeks. Still unpacking; Christmas isn’t up yet; but I’m back. And returning feels terrific! Thanks to all of you who kept checking in. I hope your holiday season has been, and continues to be, joyful, safe, and blessed.
1st Free Serialized Section of The Truth About Cinnamon Now Available
As mentioned in an earlier post, a major element of this Journey from Publishing Obscurity to Somewhere Else is to release a newly edited, shorter version of my first novel, The Truth About Cinnamon, approximately one month ahead of my second novel, Separation of Faith (targeted for release now by end of 2nd quarter 2010). Once the new version of Cinnamon enters the production phase (sometime in late January, I’m guessing), we will no longer be able to sell the original version. So, at that point, anyone who has a copy of the original will be in possession of a 1st Edition, which could be significant, if the journey/experiment being chronicled through this blog works.
In preparation for the disappearance of the original Cinnamon, I’m going to release the first seven chapters of that version–one chapter per week–for free.
For those who would subsequently like to purchase a copy of the original, the most interesting way to do that (in my unbiased opinion, of course) is through the book store on my main website (www.eWritersRUs.com). Not only is the book for sale there at huge discounts, but you can customize the wording for your autograph at checkout. The book will then come directly to you from me .
If you’d like to get a feel for The Truth ABout Cinnamon:
, I highly recommend that you explore the resources available on Scribd for all of us.Update: Separation of Faith
Due to the unanticipated down time from my move, I’m a little behind on this piece of the plan. There are a few sections of the book that need a little reworking following the input from my beta readers. At first I thought I’d need to re-edit the entire manuscript. But after revisiting the beta readers’ remarks and speaking in depth with some of them, I’m only going to focus on the chapters/scenes where the betas had issues/concerns. Then I’ll do a complete read-through once those changes have been made.
Consequently, I think I can finish the edit before New Year’s, which means the publisher should have the manuscript by January 4, the first working day of 2010. Hopefully, that will still position me for a release date prior to the end of 2nd quarter.
The Re-Edit of Cinnamon
Several weeks will be required for the publisher’s initial edit cycle of Separation of Faith. That’s the time I will use to re-edit Cinnamon–the goal being to shave off as many pages as possible, without my Cinnamon fans being able to tell that anything is missing.
I’d like to cut 100 pages, since publishing professionals (99.9% of the time) won’t even open a novel by an unknown author, if the book/manuscript looks like Gone with the Wind. Cinnamon isn’t that long, but I need to get the page count down into at least the mid 400’s (from the current 531).
Most of my readers bristle at that thought, but I’m trying to assure them that everything they love about the book will still be there. Hopefully, my five years of editing experience will enable me to be right. You will, of course, be updated on my progress through this blog and commentary.
Stats
Holiday Wishes
My intent is to publish one more post before Christmas. But I want to take a moment here, just in case, to wish all of you the very happiest and the most fulfilling holiday season ever.
A new year is just around the corner, which gives all of us dreamers a fresh set of twelve months to transform our goals into reality. I’m looking forward to traveling through those months together with you, all of us sharing and learning as we go.
Here’s to the journey!
Posted in Editors, How do I get published?, How do you get published?, How to Get Published, How to get a book published, How to get a novel published, I want to be published, I want to get published, Publishing, Social media and publishing, Writing, achieving goals, bookselling, get published, new authors, publishing options, publishing process, self-pubishing, traditional versus self-publishing, unknown authors, writer motivation, writing motivation | Tagged achieving goals, achieving your goals, authors, Blogging learning curve, books, bookselling, get published, How do I get published?, How do you get a book published?, How to Get Published, I want to be published, I want to get published, Publishing, writer motivation, writing motivation | 4 Comments »
