How To Be An Indie Author 1: Beginning

By request, this is the first post in a series about self-publishing.  I'm going to go through and every week there will be at least one indie publishing post until I'm finished describing this process.

Through the series I will explain every aspect of the process, as I've learned it, including the pain in the ass parts and the obvious easy bits. If you are starting from the beginning, this will save you a lot of grief. If you're coming at this from the middle, you may have something to add. That would be good too (i.e. comment!). There is always more to learn, more to understand, and room for improvement. As such, accept this for what it is - my experience. It is BY NO MEANS the singular authority on self-publishing. It will, however, contain a lot of information that will be valuable to anyone considering such a venture.

I've written about indie publishing before, but always piecemeal. So
I'm going to pretend you're starting from the beginning.

That is, you don't have a book yet.

Beginning

Is this a complete book idea?

Everyone has at least material for one book. At least. That said, everyone should not write that book. Writing is for disciplined people - people who commit to seeing a project through to the end. Most people will start a book and never finish it. Sometimes they'll start it several times over. Sometimes they'll brainstorm, outline, and even create a wiki for their world.

If that is all you can do, that's fine. Don't beat yourself up about it. Few people can handle the grueling process of writing a complete book.

But let's say you are disciplined. Let's say you actually finish things. Let's say, you have nothing else going on for a month and you'd like to finish a manuscript.

I've heard many different ideas about how to start, and how to finish. One that sounds good is to focus on a character. Develop a character, and then put them in a certain environment. Let the character drive the story from there, and they will, if they are a complete character. I like this as a concept, though I can't say this is how I write personally.

Another is to have a kernel of a story, or format, or whatever the hook is.

My first book, THE BROTHERS, was based on an idea of three real brothers, whose real story continues to fascinate me to this day. While the Grechs are not derived directly from these three boys, there are parts that are clear parallels. The idea of a fantasy novel based on them came to me twelve years before I wrote a single line of Khloe's story.

BELOW THE BELT came from a very different place - the need to have a science-fiction story that would appeal to female readers while still maintaining classic elements of the genre. It is affectionately called my "sell-out" book because I tried to write something commercially appealing...and...maybe it is. It sold as many copies as any of my other books. The idea was flippant, and I added pieces based on my husband's feedback and knowledge of the genre.

I can say, while I've publishing over ten books, I have probably twice as many ideas that never got off the ground. For one reason or another, I just never finished the books. So what's the difference?

Even if you never finish anything normally, you still may finish a book if the idea is right.

The idea must inspire commitment. This is especially true if writing is a hobby as opposed to your vocation. If the idea doesn't speak to you, you won't finish. Period.

Vetting Ideas

How do you know if an idea is good enough to carry you through to the end?

When I started writing, I needed the idea to nag at me. When I say nag, I mean it needs to keep popping up until I can't ignore it any more. The story idea needs to reach a point where I have to write it down or else go crazy.

This is why I have journals everywhere. And if it isn't a journal, it's a notepad. And if it isn't a notepad, it's an email to myself. I write down a few notes about whatever story kernel or character I have. If I find myself returning to that idea, imagining the next plot point or supporting characters or setting, then I know I need to write the book. This is especially true if I feel excited about the idea. If I keep thinking about the idea, but it drains my energy, it isn't worth my time. I probably won't finish writing it.

And most likely, neither will you.


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If you're starting out from scratch, does your idea feel like it will carry you through? If you have a finished manuscript, how did you decide on your idea? Leave a comment below.

Check out next week's publishing post about process and of course, be sure to visit my website to support your neighborhood indie author!

Changing the Writing Process

I feel pretty good about this plan thing - still.

I have 2 nonfiction books close to done (just a few tweaks here and there and then they can be published! Woohoo!).

Currently I'm working on my third book in my 2014 master writer plan, which has been a real learning experience. The nonfiction books were easy for me to write because they were based on real life experience. This fiction book, while not difficult, has stretched me as a writer.

Typically when I write fiction I don't know what's going to happen. In fact, if I know what's going to happen (i.e. outline the story in advance) I can't write it. I don't care. it's one of the reasons I've put off finishing Khloe's final book and the third in the ROLLINS PACK. I already know the answer to the question I'm asking and I'd much rather be surprised by the direction of the story than know exactly what I'm getting.

There are serious disadvantages to such a process. For example, I never know what's going to happen. It means that I can sometimes get lost in weird details and then in the rewriting process I have to go back and rework significant portions of the story. Often I get stuck on a part. The characters end up at a point which should be easy to write (this happens, so x follows) but instead I get blocked and I have no idea what happens next.

I become a slave to my creative inspiration with this type of process. But it's not all bad.

The major benefit of this process style is that I'm motivated to finish. It's how I wrote THE BROTHERS in 2 weeks time. It's how I wrote JAMES in less than a month. When I'm on, I'm really on. I'm manic.

This current book however, is too complicated for that. It's a single narrative, and yet it's episodic. There are themes and hidden gems in every chapter. There are connections and layers upon layers. There are a lot of things that have to happen at the right time in the right order for it to work as a book. Everything has to be just right. On top of that, everything in the writing changes from chapter to chapter so it makes it difficult to navigate without some kind of road map. I can't rely on my creative muse of the moment. I had to change my process.


While I didn't create an outline as such, I did make a list of plot points. I also have another list I'm using as direction for each chapter (though I won't explain what the list is because I don't want to spoil the book for you when you read it). I have to consult this every time I work on it. This is in part so that I keep in mind the general direction of the book, but also to get my mind back into gear. If I didn't, I really would get lost in the writing.

Because of this process, I could still finish writing this in a week as long as I figure out how everything fits together (and I have enough writing time with caring for the baby). I want to finish it in a week, but we'll see.

By way of letting you know a little more, I will say this: the current project is for adults - VERY much for adults. The themes are sometimes gruesome, sometimes sexual, very philosophical, sometimes spiritual and things get pretty graphic. This is the book I've always wanted to write but couldn't until now. I didn't realize I wanted to write it until now (sounds weird, but it's a process, so bear with me). It's home is somewhere between fantasy and science-fiction with a dose of literary fiction.

If it ends up being the length I expect, then I'm a third done with the first draft.

I know. That told you hardly anything. But I promise my next post will be less of a tease. Really. In the mean time, send me positive vibes and hopefully I'll get an average of 4x my daily goal written in the next 7 days.

That would mean I'd be finished with writing this current project. And I could get to rewriting. And coverart. And publishing.

And that would be awesome.

Help! - Project Poll

I need your help. Seriously. I'm blocked. Not sure if it's  sleep deprivation, stress, sleep deprivation, illness, or sleep deprivation. Whatever the deal is, I'm at an impasse with writing. SO...I need your vote and here are the fiction project options:

1. FAMILY, FRIEND, or FOE - the last book in the Khloe series. I'm maybe half way done with this and I can't figure out where to go next. The ending is in my head, but how to get there is tough.
2. ANDREW - the third book in the Rollins Pack. Again, I'm about half way done (maybe more) and I know how it ends, but I'm struggling with the path between here and there.
3. CERIDWEN - a stand alone college/adult project with series potential. This is my mutant/alien/disease/sci-fi book and is maybe a quarter done. I have no idea how it ends or where to go next (lots of intrigue and scandal potential).
4. VICE & VIRTUE - working title, a stand alone adult project. I'm probably between a third and half way finished. This is my angels, demons, and general mayhem theological exploration book. I have no idea how it ends, and I'm not sure what needs to happen next in the story.
5. ???? - there are several "other" options including a story about a family where the son strays from his parents to pursue his dream (think night circus style); a sister who decides to leave the family business with catastrophic consequences (think myth); there's also a psychological book idea involving God and the nature of reality. Christian thinks I should write a sequel to BELOW THE BELT (it's a very popular download on Smashwords and it's FREE this week so get it now!)

 The other option is something non-fiction. I have two real projects there, both in relative infancy (one in lines of the unexpected, and the other having to do with a taboo topic and the process of exposing it).


What do you think? VOTE! PLEASE! I need to figure something out. I must make progress! And, please tell me why you want me to work on a given project. Also, suggestions for something completely different are also options, along with reasoning behind them.


Thanks in advance!

Good Idea, Bad Idea? Tactics for the Writer

I've been thinking a lot about ideas. How do we have them? Where do they come from? When we're trying to write, what kind of ideas stick and which ones get pitched before they've been fully vetted?

If you're like me, you have a new idea every other second. It's dizzying. I actually throw out more ideas than I work on because I just don't have time, energy, or money to complete them.

And honestly, it's disappointing not to work on them all. I'd really like about 12 hours more per day for the rest of my life. I think that might make up the difference, but enough about my ridiculous ambition...

But what if you struggle to have ideas? I've been in situations where I wanted desperately to come up with something and just hit wall after wall. Forcing an idea to happen feels impossible, but it can be done. The question is, will that forced idea be good enough to pursue?

So how do you come up with a good idea when you need it? The best way I know is to be systematic.

First you need to come up with problems to solve. So make a list of problems or types of books/stories you'd like to write. For me this was pretty simple. Last year I decided I wanted to write a stand alone book for adults. If I could, I wanted it to be science fiction. I came to this conclusion because I hadn't written any stand alone books yet, nor had I written anything for adults or anything in science fiction. Basically I wanted to see if I could do it (the key here was discovering the problem I wanted to solve - setting a goal of achieving something I hadn't done).

Then I had to figure out where it would get started. To come up with a location, I delved into places I knew. In order to limit my location possibilities, I decided I wanted to have the main character in graduate school. I thought this would be a good bridge age (you can still attract some young adult readers while appealing to a more mature audience). From there, I decided to pick the character's major. Most people pick graduate school based on one of two things - cost or quality. I wanted to eliminate cost as a factor for my character and so gave her a scholarship to one of the best programs in the country for her major.

I wanted to have a game changer in the middle of the book - a large twist that would throw sci-fi nerds through a loop (maybe a sucker punch?). So I did that. I incorporated some marginal ideas that I saw on a reality TV show and BAM! I had BELOW THE BELT.

Another thing I wanted was to have a book of short stories. While my stories have not developed into books yet (I'm still sitting on them waiting to get published in lit zines), I had to come up with a few themes. I could have sat down and brainstormed themes, but as it was, I started by writing a story. The story was about a political issue that bothered me deeply - women's reproductive rights. From there, it was easy to write several more stories about women and children. I picked one aspect of women and children's wellness for each story. I still have several more to write if I want them to be a biddable collection.

The next idea in writing I'd like to pursue is the interlude short story. This is a story that happens between books to main or supportive characters and often fills in the gaps that fans want filled. Currently I'm pondering possible stories in the Khloe Alwell saga. I figure one short could be about the Ceres-Lugh-Llewellyn debacle. Another could be about the writer of the Lilith-Ammon prophecy. These are points that were raised in my books, but could not be developed because of the chronology involved.

The best way to come up with ideas? Decide on goals. Brainstorm. Make lists. Ask questions and then answer them. These are different tactics that can be used separately or in conjunction with one another. The result is you'll figure out something that speaks to you - and if it speaks to you, it's probably a good idea.

Happy Birthday Khloe or Happy Halloween!

SPOILER ALERT: I'm going to try to keep the spoilers to a minimum, but if you haven't read LOVERS & RIVALS and you like surprises, don't read the rest of this post.

It seems like just yesterday that I began Khloe's story. Now I'm working on the fourth book in (and conclusion of) her series. Wild!

Since today is Khloe's birthday, I thought I'd let you in on some questions that I plan to answer in book 4 (FAMILY, FRIEND, OR FOE):

1. How far off the reservation will Freyr go? Can Freyr be redeemed or will he just fade into crazytown?
2. What happened to Bruce Nichols?
3. Just who was masquerading as Lord Bran?
4. What's going on in the black out zone in Mag Mell?
5. Who is the reincarnation of Zeus?
6. Who visited Khloe in the fall during her lunch hour? Was it a vision of Ammon or was it someone else?
7. Just what do the unicorns and brownies know? What aren't they saying?
8. What actually happened to Laran's parents? Were their deaths connected to the prophecy somehow or just anti-Seelie sentiment?
9. How will Khloe and Laran unite the Otherworld? Can they convince humanity to change their ways or is humanity doomed?

I think that's probably enough to ponder. Any thoughts?  Leave a comment below!