Reading Update
Last night I did a lot of catch-up reading on all sorts of writing information I’ve come across over the last week. Not only did I find a bunch of stuff that I think will be of use or interest to you, but my to-do list has expanded considerably. So, thank you very much to me for all the extra work I’ve added to myself … 🙂 Hopefully those new tasks will help you as well as I chronicle them in this blog, learning as I go.
Giving Stuff Away for Free
Because I spent ten weeks posting a free chapter per week from my first novel, The Truth About Cinnamon (http://www.filedby.com/author/cheri_laser/2721580/documents/24081497/), an article titled “Giving it away for free: Obscurity vs. Making Money as a Writer” caught my attention immediately.
Pros and cons are listed in both the post and the comments. Let me know what you think: http://www.bradsreader.com/2010/03/giving-it-away-for-free-obscurity-vs-making-money-as-a-writer/.
If You Love a Little Controversy … 🙂
Since the whole experiment of this blog is to see if a high quality, meticulously edited, self-published novel can get the attention of traditional publishers, the article “Self-Publishing Pro and Con(temptuous)” jumped right off the page into my lap. And since I’ve already had a number of conversations with some of you on the subject, here’s another perspective. And the blog by Alan Rinzler (referenced in my post #30 on March 19) is also addressed again in the article.
If you check this one out, please read all of the comments as well to get the full picture being presented: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/03/self-publishing-pro-and-contemptuous/.
Using Video as Part of the Book’s Promo
I’ve been thinking a lot about this subject because I will soon need some sort of trailer for Separation of Faith—and I have absolutely no clue how to do one. I also have a video of a television interview done with me at a small, regional Connecticut TV station after The Truth About Cinnamon was released. There’s undoubtedly a way to fit that interview video into my plan as well, to help people find out who I am.
So the article titled “7 Reasons Why Writers Need To Start Using Video For Book Promotion” could not have been more timely. Not only did I pick up some great ideas, but I began considering which of my tech guru friends I can tap for assistance (in return for a case of beer or something … 🙂 …)
I might start experimenting soon with the interview video that I already have, maybe posting it here in my blog or on my FiledBy site (where I have the free chapters of Cinnamon). I also have a slick webcam on my mini, and the article said that YouTube has a recording site where you can create your own videos using your webcam.
This is where some of that extra work I mentioned at the beginning of my post is coming from. But I’m getting sort of excited about this video thing–especially if I can find yet another use for my mini.
Take a look at the article if you have a minute: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2010/03/08/7-reasons-why-writers-need-to-start-using-video-for-book-promotion/. And I’d love to hear about any of your own rookie experiences with the video element of this dream journey.
Your Own Writing Retreat
Here’s one I almost forgot to include. Several of you have commented on the difficulty of finding time for our writing as we juggle families, jobs, and life in general. So this article, “Create Your Own Mini-Writing Retreat,” might inspire some ideas: http://writersdigest.com/article/Do-It-Yourself-Writing-Retreats/?print=1.
I also discovered several other links on the subject by Googling “Create Your Own Writing Retreat.” I guess lots of us are in search of solutions to this dilemma.
Editing Update
Separation of Faith is still undergoing the copyedit at the publisher. I probably won’t see those results for another two or three weeks, so I’ll keep you posted.
Meanwhile, I have a client who’s asked me to edit two more books for him. Actually, one of the books is by his daughter, who is twelve and has already written a novel! I know! How can that be possible? I did a development edit on her book last August, and she is so tenacious that she’s now coming back for more. I’m so impressed with her! Not only impressed with her writing skill, which is quite amazing for one so young, but also with her drive, her courage about seeking input, and her willingness to write beyond her own personal experiences. When I was twelve, I was writing short stories but never even considered writing a whole book! The idea of doing research to fill in the blanks for things I hadn’t yet experienced hadn’t crossed my mind at that point.
I’ll let you know when this young lady becomes famous.
After I finish the edit for her, I need to get busy again with the reduction edit on The Truth About Cinnamon. Every time I turn around, something else seems to be getting in the way of that. So the moment has come to get firm and stay focused. (Of course, I also have to do my taxes and my dad’s before the 15th. Oh brother.)
Health Update
My appointment with the surgeon is on the 14th in Manhattan. I will, of course, be taking my mini. Not sure if I’ll be working on my book, my client’s book, or my taxes–but with the mini on hand at that sort of appointment, I’m surely going to be working on something.
Meanwhile, I’m too busy to worry about the details of the diagnosis. After receiving a copy of the pathology report, I took a half day to do research on the various facts and options. But I won’t really know the whole story until I see that surgeon. So I’m not allowing myself to fret too much until then.
Stats
Hits on this blog: 1796 (1625 at last report). Definitely moving in the right direction!
Take care. Hope to see you while I’m tag surfing over the next few days.
Cheri
WOW! I’m always looking for new resources and you’ve certainly given me a lot to look at. Thanks for adding to MY to-do list. 😀 It’s great to see another self-published author working toward her dream. Keep it up.
Hi! I’m so happy to meet you too! We probably already have a number of great stories to share with each other, and I’m looking forward to staying in touch!
Cheri,
Thanks for your shout-out, I hope you find something useful for your publishing journey on my blog. Best of luck.
Thanks, Joel. I’ll keep you posted.
On giving writing away for free: This comments is with regards to fiction, and not non-fiction, which probably does have different rules. I used to think it was okay to write for free, because I was building credits. Guess what? I can’t use the non-paying credits on my queries. Over time, I started seeing a lot of online magazines that basically said, “We can’t afford to pay you, but we’ll give you a link and a bio.” I also ran into numerous calls for anthologies where it was obvious the editor was intending to not pay the writers while he raked in the money.
And there was a point in there where I realized that my work was valuable, and that I wasn’t going to give it away any more. After all, we get contractors who charge millions for consulting–they aren’t giving anything away for free. Or an architect who designs a building. How about plumber, or air conditioning repair person? No one else gives their services or work away for free. Why is expected and encouraged of writers?
Hi! Thanks so much for your interesting comment. You make an excellent point, and giving stuff away for free as writers does need to be carefully managed.
I think a major difference between a plumber/architect/etc. and a writer is that the entertainment and arts industries (of which writers are a part) have so many tens of millions of people vying for visibility, and only a relative few are going to get noticed. There isn’t even a fraction of that same level of competition in the service industry. So that leaves us all with the need to get creative in order to be noticed.
The key, as I’ve learned, is to build a following. Of course, before we can do that, we have to be certain that what we’re writing is really good and meticulously edited. Once that critical criteria is met, we then have to find our readers. They are not going to find us (at least not in the beginning). So giving stuff away for free is one way to pull readers into what we’ve written.
With my free give-away of The Truth About Cinnamon (http://www.scribd.com/fb_claser), I’m not offering the whole book. Just the first ten chapters. And there are new online resources popping up every day that enable us to “publish” something we’ve written that will be available for millions of reading eyes. (www.Scribd.com is where I have the Cinnamon chapters–and publishing on that site is completely free!)
So, in summary, we need to build a following before anyone (individuals or publishers) will pay money for our stuff. And giving portions of our writing away is a great way to hook readers on what we have to say, on our style, or whatever our writing strength(s) might be.
But in this wide-open shark’s pool, if our writing isn’t good, no one is going to read what we’ve written whether we give stuff away or not. So the first and most important to-do is making sure that what we’re putting out there is quality stuff.
Then, if we publish it, readers will come … eventually. 🙂
Great list of resources, Cheri! Best of luck in your experiment — very cool 🙂
Hi, Amy! Thank you for reaching out! I’m happy you found something useful, and I hope we’ll be staying in touch.
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Thanks so much for Tweeting about my post!
Good job, i am heading over to check out your entire site now. I should just give up and take lessons from you
Hi! I’m so happy you reached out and that you’re finding something of value in my blog! Let me know if you have any questions or ideas that you’d like to talk about. I’d love to have a conversation!