Writing 101: Who are You Writing To?

When you're  writing, how often do you think about the reader? If you don't  know who you're  writing to, you're  not writing at your best.

Playing to the Audience

Have you ever been on a stage? If you perform for a crowd, you'll be told to play to the very back of the room. This way, the entire audience will feel included on your performance. Writing is sort of like that, too.

Writing 101: You Need to Change Your Twitter Photos

If you're trying to be an indie author, the first thing you need to do is change your Twitter photo. Do not take a picture of yourself with a webcam. Do not scan your High School yearbook photo. Take a nice head shot. Otherwise, you could wind up looking at me with googly eyes while I'm trying to enjoy social media. 

Michele Bachmann Eyes

Always double- and triple-check your photos before you upload them to Twitter. Have a picture of your face taken by someone who likes you. Look at yourself in the mirror and practice your author pose. If you don't do this, you could end up with Michele Bachmann face. Don't have  profile that looks like this picture of Jon Stewart. He's making fun of Michele Bachmann here, but I see people on Twitter who look like this all the time.

Writing 101: Can You Always Come Last?

I've said this several different times, and in a few different ways, but here it is: it's really, really hard to be a writer. It's hard in ways you won't think of and hard in ways you can't even imagine. It doesn't get easier. And even if you still want to do it after reading that, and I know you do, you have to ask yourself a question: can you always come last? Because when you are a writer, you probably will. 

From Hero to Zero

Even if you don't use an entirely different pen name, like I do, you have to create an entire new persona when you're in author mode. You can't put all your opinions out there on social media, you have to stay polite and professional even when someone is coming at you with criticism, and above all you've got to keep writing. You have to write, and you have to research. You have to edit. And of course, you've got to promote. Then you've got to make the cover, and the trailer, and write a blurb... 

In other words, you -- the real you -- is going to come last. And you're going to come last all the time. 

Writing 101: Doing It Yourself

Some of my Twitter followers may know that I have only recently emerged from a battle, me against my newest book cover. And in addition to getting a few (invisible) scars, I learned an important lesson about doing it yourself. Even when you have to step outside of your own skill set, sometimes -- most of the time -- you have to do it yourself first. It's a lot easier to move forward from there. 

The Starting Point

It all started when I had to hire someone to do my book cover. I don't have a standard person that I use, mostly because I want every cover to look really different (because they're different books). So I used the site that I like to hire an artist. And I hated the cover. Things got a whole lot worse from there. 

Writing 101: Forcing Inspiration

A lot of people who like to give advice to writers say that you have to write from your own experience. You've got to write what you know, they say. Some authors even go out to experience life before they write. But I find that the best way to write is just to sit down and write. That doesn't leave a lot of time for living. Never worry. There's another way to force inspiration to come to you, and you can still pull from your own life experiences...sort of. Because the way I'm going to tell you to do it, you don't actually need to have the experiences that you're going to write about. 

The Writer's Life for Me 

People ask me where I get my ideas, and my answer is always the same: by asking questions. You don't need to have a bunch of life experience to write about. To be a writer, there's really only one thing you need (outside of a rudimentary command of the English language): an imagination. If you've got that, all the rest is going to take care of itself. Well, with a little help from me...naturally. 

Writing 101: What Other People Think

Remember when you were growing up and your parents or parental figures told you "just be yourself?" When you become an indie author, you've got to disregard all that advice. In a way, the author's career hinges upon the opinions of others.And that means the last thing you really want to do is be yourself. What other people think is very, very important...and it's going to be harder to face than you think. 

What I Think...

What other people think of you as an author is important, and if you don't use a pen name then how you act in life becomes a part of the picture as well. I always advocate using pen names because it's the easiest way to keep your true self and your author persona separate. As an author, you can't get political or religious or express too many opinions. That might affect your readers. The exception is, of course, if you write political or religious books. But if you write ordinary genre fiction, you've got to keep it buttoned up during election season. It feels impossible. I know it's hard for me. But what other people think is always going to matter when you're an author. It matters even more when you're an indie.

Writing 101: It's Not About Money, But...

Somebody asked me about being a writer the other day, and I told them what I always tell everyone: I don't recommend it. The person replied that they know it's hard, but they don't expect to make any money from their writing anyway. It's a romantic notion, isn't it, to simply write for the love of writing? But long gone are the days when the noble artist could be sponsored by a wealthy patron, some sort of Duke or maybe even a King, and simply do their writing for the love of it. You can't eat words. So maybe it's not about the money, but it's still going to be about a whole lot of hard work. When you don't even get money for doing it, you're setting yourself up for a long, hard, uphill walk.

It's Not About the Money, Money, Money

If you're not into writing for the money, that's just swell. But you're going to have to be into something for the money, unless your last name is Vanderbilt and then this doesn't apply to you. But on the off chance that it's not and you're a pretty normal person, you're going to need some money. If you're not writing to get money then you're doing something else to get money and writing just for fun. And now, things are getting dicey.

Writing 101: Public Exposure

The days of Jane Austen and Louisa Mae Alcott are over. No longer do authors sit in romantic little rooms, cut off from the rest of the world. Now, authors need to be in the public eye. Indie authors have to be public figures. They have to be exposed. And when you're exposed, you are a target. Are you really ready for that?

In the Line of Fire

I've blogged a lot about marketing and promoting books. I've written about Twitter and blogging and being on forums and all the other stuff that indie authors have to do. What I have failed to mention is the consequences of all this public exposure. I have failed to mention that you are making yourself a target.

Now, it's time to take a look at the dark side of your marketing.

 

Writing 101: The 5 Character Names All Writers Should Avoid

In fiction, certain names have associations that you just can't shake. No YA author can include a "Bella" in their book, for example, and if you throw a "Romeo" out there it's just going to be a distraction. Some names have a deeper meaning and a preexisting link to another literary project. That's why you should avoid those names altogether.

Betty and Veronica 

There are many, many names that are probably a bad idea when it comes to writing fiction. After all, Dagmar is a name. But when it comes to naming characters, be sure to avoid these 5: 

Writing 101: Hybrid Authors

Not all authors choose one side or the other, you know. Some keep one foot firmly planted in the old, established world of traditional publishing, and the other foot floating on the cloud of digital age technology and ebook publishing. Some authors are not just one thing, but two. These are the hybrid authors, and they are suddenly everywhere.

Classic By Day, Modern By Night

Hybrid authors are the "in" thing right now in the literary world. These are authors who digitally self-publish ebooks, but still traditionally publish paper books. Some authors do this by keeping entire pen names separate. Others may write certain books intended for self-publishing. And still others hang on tenaciously to the digital rights for all their books, selling off the rights piecemeal to traditional publishers while holding onto the rest. No matter what type, hybrid authors are out there. Should you be one of them?

Writing 101: It Doesn't Get Easier

Authors are artists who paint with words instead of colors. And artists, by nature, are sensitive types. When you first start publishing, you're going to feel a lot of self-doubt. You'll be wounded by negative reviews. You'll be hurt by rejection. You'll agonize over decisions, and question your books and your writing skills again and again. But here's what you have to know about it: being an author doesn't get any easier. 

They're All Going To Laugh At You

What if they don't like it? What if everyone says it's terrible? What if you had written something else, instead? These questions will go through your mind when you write books, because this goes through every author's mind. But it doesn't matter how many books you publish. Questions like this will always go through your mind. 

Writing 101: Pre-Orders, Will They Work with Self-Publishing?

Pre-orders work for big-name titles like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, but what about for you? If you do a long pre-order, won't all your fans end up owning your book before the actual publish date? What would you do then?

Selling, Before You Start Selling

Smashwords and Amazon, which are both very indie-friendly sites, both offer pre-order options that allow customers to pay for the book even before it's published. According to market research, books that are available through the pre-order option tend to sell more copies overall than the books that do not. And you need to know that, because the numbers also show that most indie authors don't use it. Why?

Writing 101: Answering Questions About Your Book

Can you tell me about your book in 10 words or less? If you can't, figure out how to do it right now. Because people are going to ask you questions about your books. When they do, your answers need to be short and to the point. Otherwise, the person asking will lose interest...and they definitely won't read the book, then. 

10 Words or Less

A story of deception, murder and self-discovery.

A world where life is already mapped out for you.

What happens when a world of lies comes crashing down?

Each one of those lines describes one of my books, and they do it in 10 words or less. If you feel any interest or curiosity at all about those lines, I've done my job. If someone asked me what is your book about, I could answer with one of these lines and call it day. And that's exactly what I would do. Save the much longer answer for the blurb. The shorter answers you get to use everywhere else.

Writing 101: Grin and Bear It

You have to be "out there" as an indie author, easy to find and easy to access. You've got to be on social media and build up your author page, join in on forums and respond to fans who have something to say to you. But there will be lots of times when you don't like what they say. Not everyone's going to be a fan. When those non-fans approach you, and they will, you have to learn how to master a necessary skill: grin and bear it.

Let's Get Critical 

The entire world is full of critics, and the Internet allows everyone to get critical about anything that they see. Many, many people choose to exercise this right. Some of them are going to do it with you. Can you handle that? 

The Internet allows for a type of communication never before seen. It allows for spacial barriers to fall away, so that two people can have real time conversations even from opposite sides of the globe. It allows for exploration that was never possible before. And it allows for people to act a lot like jerks. 

Writing 101: Write Other Stuff, Too

Indie books appear on the market every single day. The only way for self-published authors to keep up is to keep publishing more and more books, right? It's nice in theory, but it's not all that practical for authors who maintain full-time schedules and want to write really high-quality books. It's okay. You can just write other stuff, too. 

The Next Best Thing

 

Can't write four new novels and get them published this year? You're only human, so don't be discouraged if you're not writing and publishing your books as fast as you'd hoped. However, it is important for you to stay in the game and keep your name out there. There's only one thing you can do: write other stuff.

Writing 101: Are You Shy?

As an indie author, you've got to be a bit of a braggart. You've got to shove yourself in other people's faces constantly. If you're shy by nature, that's a big problem. It's one you're going to have to learn how to overcome. 

What Worked for Emily Dickinson...

 

It's not enough for you to write amazing stuff and then keep it all to yourself. Emily Dickinson did it, and it didn't really make her happy. If it had, she wouldn't have written so many poems about death and dying. If you're naturally shy, you have to learn how to pretend not to be. As an indie author, you have to find ways to be extroverted. So you have to find a way to flip your personality. 

Writing 101: When to Change Your Story

You've just started your new book, and you're excited. Everything is great...until you go to the movies, and you see a trailer for a plot that looks exactly the same as your new book. Being an author means you have to know when to change your story.

Simpsons Did It

I had to face a similar circumstance recently. I went back to an old project to complete it, and found that one of my characters has the same name as a character in another book series.  A much more popular book series.  And it's also a TV show. And even if I were to take a magic potion, my book isn't going to become as popular as that other book. Doesn't that mean that I have to change my story?

Writing 101: Fear of Failure

For every single indie author who takes the plunge and self-publishes a book, there are probably 5 or 6 authors who write books they don't ever publish. But it doesn't matter how many books you publish. You can always wind up struggling with a fear of failure. The real question is: can you defeat it?

Are You Afraid of the Words?

Anyone can fail at something, no matter how good they are at it ordinarily. Professional athletes, great actors and career politicians prove this to us all the time. Failure is a part of life, and we all do it. But when you're an indie author, failure feels especially frightening. What if you spend all this time working on your book, pouring your love and your sweat into it? What if you fall in love with it and you truly know how great it is? What if no one buys it? Even worse, what if everyone hates it? 

Doesn't that make you a failure? 

Writing 101: Use Current Events to Promote Your Books

How long ago did you start talking more about "Divergent" than "Twilight?" The world moves fast and things fade away quickly. Don't let it happen to your book. Use current events to your advantage by using them to promote your book. 

What's Goin' On?

Books don't have a shelf life. We know it's true because schools still assign "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," and that story is dated. But you can keep your book feeling a bit fresher if you find ways to link it to current events. Do it well, and you can keep regular sales coming in for your work.

Writing 101: What Do You Do for a Living?

When someone asks what you do for a living, what's your answer? If you say anything other than "writer" or "author," it's wrong. You're probably also an employee. Maybe a waitress, or a police officer, a teacher or a stay-at-home mom. But your first answer should always be "writer" or "author." You can add the other thing, too, if you want. As an indie author, you should always be promoting. Start by marketing yourself as the writer you are, right away at the first introduction.

Writer, Author, Indian Chief

According to the cold, hard numbers, indie authors are successful -- in some ways, more so than traditionally-published authors. So you have no reason to shy away from telling people that you're an author, and an indie author to boot. People know about Amanda Hocking and John Locke and Fifty Shades of Grey. So be proud of who you are and what you do. If you present yourself like a professional who has pride in themselves, that's exactly how others will see you.

So what do you do for a living? You're an indie author. Be a smart one, and be prepared to offer information when people ask for more. Give them an easy link or easy names to remember. Give them a bookmark or something physical to hold. Let them see a book cover. You never know who you're going to meet, or what they might like to read. So always present yourself as an author, along with all that other stuff you already are.