Advice for the Beginning Writer

In early 2019 when I began writing I discovered various writing communities on social media platforms. It was a great way to break into the scene and get some great pointers on which way to go. I learned a lot about subjects like querying, editing, grammar, word processing software, formatting my work, and the local vernacular. It really helped spur me on to the eventual publication of my debut novel. 

However, there is a caution to anyone else who may be new on the scene or simply getting overwhelmed by everything that they read in these communities. There is a dark side to it. It is perfectly alright to mute and block people who are unhealthy to your creativity or punch down at you because they feel like since they are published they have a right to tell you that your approach is wrong.

I think the biggest one that I see is the battle between Independent and Traditional publishing. People go back and forth over what is better. There is no clear answer, it depends on what works for you. Some people want total control (I am one) while others just want to write and not worry about all of the publication process.

Then there are the gatekeepers. These folks have already published and will be the first ones to curate lists of advice that YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST FOLLOW OR YOUR BOOK WILL SUCK. These are the ones who get on my nerves the most. They have created often silly rules that really have no bearing on the quality of your work or the odds of you getting published. My personal favorite is that you need at least 10,000 followers on social media or agents won't even consider your work. Runner up is that you need to pay an editor to edit your book before submitting to an agent. Both of these tidbits are complete bullcrap. Many agents will say they want to see YOUR work, not an editors. Also, if your manuscript gets accepted by a publisher their own editors will polish your script the way that the publishing house wants. Agents could care less about your follower count. Publishers could care less about your follower count. That is something that will billow naturally as your work starts to find an audience.

There are the people in the communities who tell you that they will only support you or consider your work if you follow them. A lot of people don't have issues with that but understand you aren't alone if you don't want to hop on the Quid Pro Quo highway. I prefer not to. It leads to very one sided relationships that you will likely gain absolutely nothing from. Why? Because those people have built a following by doing things like that. They are likely now on muted lists for spamming advertisements or writers lifts, etc. So, of their 5k-10k follower count their 'support' of you in whatever posting or retweeting form may be seen by a grand total of 20 people...and they won't follow you back because the ratio is more important to them. That's the point of offering support for follows in the first place.

So, new writer, what is the best writing advice for your new journey?

Take absolutely everything with a grain of salt. Realize that there are no magic steps, no secret to success, just hard work and believing in your craft. Do try to make it the best possible but don't let a bunch of nonsense spewed by 'professionals' pollute your work. Get feedback from people who like to read the genre that you write. That's your audience. If they love it then it doesn't matter what some high and mighty writer thinks. 

Like with any other subject on social media, you have to learn to ignore the disinformation. Not everyone is an expert -- no matter how professionally they may present themselves.

If I had encountered some of the horrible advice and gatekeeping before I had already began my book it may have made me stop writing. It breaks my heart to think there may be other people out there in the same boat or thinking of quitting because of what they read in these communities.

Chin up. You are going to succeed. Even if there are times you feel like an impostor or don't believe in yourself, I do. Now hold your head up high and let the words flow. You're a writer.

The Long Run

Last night I was listening to that classic Eagles album while tweaking my outline for the second act of Maestra. It seemed incredibly appropriate. This book is twice as long as my last and it feels like the second draft has stretched on for a long time now. Most writers would view being nearly 70,000 words into a draft as nearing the home stretch. I may be halfway through this draft. The more I write in it the more convinced I am that the word count at the end of this draft will be in the neighborhood of 135,000 to 145,000 words. 

Between drafts I began re-writing my outline for the second act. There were a lot of things that worked well but there were also a lot of empty space and things that seemed to fall flat. So, even as I am now 20,000 words into part two of the second draft , I am still redoing the outline for it every few days. It's not a mess, but it is certainly a form of controlled chaos. 

When I began this project I knew from the outline that it was going to be much broader in scope than The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett, but I felt it was a tale that could be contained in 100,000 to 110,000 words. As the first draft progressed I quickly realized that these characters really needed room to spread their wings and come to life. I even pondered breaking the entire story down into three separate novels but I have to be honest -- that feels ridiculously pretentious for someone who is working on their second novel. 

So, here I am, listening to the Eagles in the twilight of their original run sounding tired and worn out from the journey. My characters are certainly at the point in their story where events have taken a toll on all of them, and the writer of their tale is feeling pretty weary, as well. I'm looking forward to finishing this draft (hopefully by the end of July) and taking a break before editing. 

They say that good art comes from negativity and boy is there enough of that in the world right now. It would be nice to think that any part of the bleakness in the world can be used for something positive right now.

The Misconception of What Independently Published Means

In my journey as an author I have encountered very few stigmas with the trade, save for one -- and it is perpetuated within the writing community, itself. What is an Independently published book?

It's also known as Self-Publish.

For me, the first thought goes back to an old episode of the sitcom Night Court from the 1980s in which a character had a book published that was ridiculous and hideously terrible. It was a punchline in the episode. The impression of what Self-Publishing meant formed in my young head in that moment. Ever since childhood I carried around this presumption that anything independently published must be terrible.

I was really mistaken. I never realized so many authors were self (or independently) published. Hemingway, Jane Austen, Andy Weir, and many others have not only written critically and commercially successful independent books -- but their stories have also enthralled us on the big screen as well.

Unfortunately, a tribal mentality forms within the arts. Independent filmmakers are crapped on by the larger studios and those who operate within them. Likewise, independent authors are similarly crapped on by traditional publishing companies and, sometimes, the authors and editors within them.

The truth is that so many wonderful stories are lost to the void because people won't pick up an independent book because there is a presumption that the story or writing is too terrible to warrant being published by a large house imprint. What these people don't realize is that many authors independently publish books for the same reason that independent filmmakers make their movies the way that they do: It's all about retaining control of your own vision.

Many authors are unwilling to make concessions that they feel will utterly break their stories, just for the hope of making more money from a mass appeal factor. I had some experience with this while shopping around The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett. I had an agent who was interested in my book but wanted me to make several changes. They didn't like the concept of an adult oriented horror story. They thought it would sell better if I toned down the violence, made the characters younger, and threw in a new love interest to divide them. It would put my book in the category of Young Adult and gain more traction that way.

The feedback felt like a knife in my skull. My whole intention behind writing that book the way I did was to appeal to adult fans of the horror genre. In my humble opinion the YA market is absolutely flooded with cliched stories such as what this agent wanted me to provide. I wanted to write something different, something that could become part of an arc that crossed genres and brought something a bit refreshing and original to the table. That was when I learned that traditional publishing companies aren't interested in fresh and original so much as what will sell and sell quick.

So, I went independent. What is the difference? I've had to do my own promotion, work hard to make sure that I connect with potential readers -- including answering questions and concerns from potential readers who are curious what is in the book. I have had to set up my own critical reviews (which I have failed at miserably -- but it's a learning curve.) There is no advance for writing, but there is no one to pay back, either. I get to keep a much larger portion of my proceeds than a traditionally published author. So who wins? For the authors it is pretty much a wash. For the readers, it is a victory because it brings so much more choice to market.

If you have snubbed a self or independently published book, in the past, I highly recommend that you give a few a try. You may find some that aren't great -- but you will certainly find that with some traditionally published books, as well. What you will find in independently published books is the author's true vision, the intact story that they meant to tell -- not diluted for market saturation. There are incredible books out there, just waiting to be discovered!

The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett. Only 99 cents on Kindle, or $12.99 in beautiful matte finished paperback with gentle-on-the-eyes cream colored paper.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1701845431

Writer Interrupted

I honestly felt like I was back on track with my writing over the past couple of weeks. I mean, I don't think motivation is my problem right now but a furry little monkey wrench was tossed into the process yesterday afternoon.

My 4 year old was playing in the front yard when he stepped on a bee and got stung in the bottom of the foot. As luck would have it we couldn't find our antibacterial ointment. So, my wife left to drive up to the local dollar store to pick some up. About five minutes later she opened the door and called for me to help her.

I had been in the middle of relaxing with a paint by number beach scene for our cottage and sweating through my shorts on a 95 degree day when I heard the commotion. I got up and saw my wife holding a kitten. It had been on the hot pavement at a 4 way stop in the downtown area of our rural farm town. She was panicked and the kitten was bug-eyed and wild. She wasn't having any of it. Little baby tiger girl had a bad limp, conjunctivitis in her eyes, and a bloated belly. It didn't take long to realize that she was likely part of a feral litter a block from where my wife had found her. 

Now, caring for feral cats is great but PLEASE try to work with your veterinarian on a trap/neuter or spay/release plan to cut down on the likelihood of neglected kittens getting thwacked by traffic on busy roads. This little girl was lucky and, though we know where she likely came from, we won't be returning her to live outdoors and wild. 

She was maybe 7 weeks old. Her eyes are transitioning to their adult color and she immediately went to the food bowl. Within an hour she was welcoming pets and by the evening wanting to snuggle. Feral kittens this young tame quickly. It helped that the moment she came into the house our 14 year old ginger turkish van welcomed her, showing her the food bowl. 

By this morning she has already litter trained and made peace with the other cats. 

My poor wife had the little girl at the vet until 11pm last night, getting xrays on her hip and leg. Fortunately nothing is broken and she was sent home with dewormer and antibiotic. We both slept like crap, still stressed from the day and wondering if our other cats would rough her up overnight.

They were all fine this morning. When things get too hectic young Arabella (named after the protagonist in my forthcoming novel, Maestra) hides beneath the television stand for a few moments until things quiet down. Her limp isn't as bad and she enjoys playing with toys -- both her own and my 4 year old's, much to his chagrin. 

Life will slowly return to a new normal, but for a couple of days it probably means no writing. I didn't have time as I was tending to a concerned 4 year old who couldn't understand why mommy wasn't home to tuck him in last night. Today I am groggy after maybe 2 or 3 hours of sleep last night, wondering if baby was going to hold her own in our house or find a way to injure herself with a house full of fun and potentially fatal toys!

Just when the ducks are in a row, one waddles away again. So I am spending a couple of days just ushering them back into place while Mango, Clarysse, and Coal adapt to sharing their home with hyper little Ari. 

In the end the journey will resume. Sometimes life gets in the way...as it should!

Finding My Voice as a Writer

One year ago I was wrapping up the final draft of The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett. I thoroughly loved writing the story but it was also one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. In my life I have written hundreds of short stories, essays, poems, but for my first published work I decided to write in first person for the first time -- not only in first person, but in the form of journal entries. Oh, holy crap was that a choice.

In the end it all worked but for months I labored to strike a balance between telling the story and showing the events through the character's eyes. In order to present it with a proper believability I had to restrain myself from describing things in too much detail, limiting what was shown to what the main character could possibly know or understand. During the course of the story he gradually succumbs to oppression and other factors that deteriorate his mental faculties until we're left with a story that has a number of loose ends.

In feedback and reviews I have had plenty of questions about these loose ends. My answer is, that there are more stories to be told within this universe that began with David Bennett's tale. He is just a small part of a world that will continue to expand over many novels. The other books aren't necessarily sequels or prequels but take place within the same universe and occasionally characters from one book will find themselves with roles in others. 

The storytelling will also evolve. 

In Maestra we will see a few familiar faces from The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett, but this isn't necessarily their story. This one belongs to new characters who are the focus of the events within. The perspective has also changed. I have traded first person for third person perspective in order to tell this tale properly. We have left the pure closed quarters paranormal horror behind and are venturing into a dynamic new world with fluid characters. Maestra is much more dark fantasy than horror, although there will be plenty of chilling events to freeze the soul within its binding.

I just finished the second draft of part one of three. It grew about 11,000 words from the first. The complete first draft of Maestra (then Maestri) was 105,000 words. It is safe to say that this draft will be anywhere from 130,000 to 150,000 words. A lot of elements are changing along the way. Some things that I thought would work in the first draft just didn't click by the end. Also, I came up with a few new ideas to incorporate before starting the second draft and I wanted to fit them in. Those things, along with fleshing out characters, locations, and events will lead to a hefty word count. I don't expect editing to knock the count back all that much.

So things are plopping along, a bit slowly, but they are happening. Hopefully I will have part two done by the end of June, or early July. Ideally I would love to have edits wrapped up in September.

In the meanwhile, The Morbid Fascinations of David Bennett is only 99 cents, right now, on Kindle or FREE with Kindle Unlimited. The paperback is also beautiful and would look wonderful in any physical collection. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1701845431

I hope you join me on the ground floor of this epic new universe, filled with things both wondrous and horrific.