January 2018
Blog
Resolutions 2018
Revived
from their dis-use last year: Must
Write! Must Edit! Must Publish! Must Promote!
Resolved:
A Haiku
There
must come a peace –
Within
if not without; I
Pray
this be the year.
So
much for the best laid plans of mice and men. This blog almost didn’t happen – or
might have been very, very late. I’ve been down with a crummy cold for the past
few days. Not much thought for the pen
and paper. I’m full of Alka-Seltzer fizzy stuff, so I’m up for writing this. Should
get it posted before my midnight, once again.
I’m
actually looking forward to this coming year. I plan on accomplishing a lot .
(See, I said plan, not hope.) Hoping
doesn’t feed the bulldog – or so I’ve been told. (Just usurped part of an old saying
I never really understood, except that it fits right here.)
As
part of my Writer’s Resolutions for 2018:
I
will chart each part of my writing goals this year. (See, I said will, not
should or might.)
My
“Must Write!” section will include
the rough draft, the plotting and maintaining a bible of who’s who and what they’re doing, as well as what
they look like. That way, I catch if my heroine’s eyes change from blue to
brown, or my hero’s hair from blond to sandy and back again. I might even keep
a log of how many hours I spend on each. (Okay, I said might, and it might be
might.)
The
“Must Edit!” section on editing will
include the first pass of checking the rough draft against the first printout
for errors, omissions, or to make preliminary changes. The second pass is where
weak dialog is punched up and story is expanded where needed (or changed if I made
a really, really bad start). Then comes the final pass where all the little
formatting problems are fixed and the bible is fleshed out with story and plot
lines and how each character ends up, so that the dead stay dead, if I’m doing
a series.
The
“Must Publish!” section is relatively
simple for an independent author. It is also the really hard part. I usually
use a CreateSpace ( https://www.createspace.com ) template, so I can cut and paste the body of the book and
the front material. But it is tedious and not everything goes smoothly. You
need to pay close attention to detail including scene breaks, chapter headings,
contents and index. (I try to index or at least list poetry titles in my
chapbooks.)
Special Note:
It’s always best to order a proof copy of your novel before it goes
live. It’s amazing the little things that pop out at you when you actually have
the book in your hand. After you’ve corrected and/or okayed the print copy on
line, you get to push the button to publish the book and make it available on
Amazon and as many of its subsidiaries and outlets as possible.
Then
you get to “Must Promote!” That’s
where I still fall a little short. I’m great (or at least okay) with the
technical stuff, but I’m a rank amateur at asking people to buy my book.
Perhaps I should rethink that and say that I have difficulty letting potential
readers know that I have something they might enjoy reading.
I
believe I will find that promotion is the hardest thing of all, yet it is
perhaps the most important. I don’t believe there’s any writer out there who
doesn’t want what Stephen King has – fame and fortune. Seeing your book on the
big screen can’t hurt either. I always picture my novels as movies. Too bad
they will not get there in my lifetime.
Again,
the happiest of New Years to you and yours. If you are a writer, the best luck
to you. If you are a reader, please enjoy what I (and other independent
authors) have to offer – our hearts and our souls on every page.
Until
next month, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love
to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook
accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:
All
of my books are available on Amazon.
This
month’s featured novel is my paranormal Western “Black Oak: Town of Joy” http://tinyurl.com/hohuhce
This
month’s featured poetry chapbook is “Life's
Lemons and Lemonade: A Collection of Haiku: Volume One: One for the Book” http://tinyurl.com/zuayqu8
