Writing 101: If You're an Indie, You've Got a Bad Reputation

Indie authors have to face a few hard truths when they first embark on the road to self-publishing, and the worst one is this: some readers will never read an indie author. In fact, among certain circles you're getting a bad reputation the moment you identify as an indie. You've got a stigma, and you can't deal with it unless you know what it is. 

Indie Authors

So, what is an indie author? Lots of writers have used it to mean lots of different things, but at the end of the day an indie author is someone who is not working with a publisher. Authors belonging to micro-presses and indie publishers, however, often still claim the title (and we'll go ahead and let them). But usually, an indie author is someone who has ownership of their own ISBNs and directly reaps the rewards of the sales they earn through Amazon, Smashwords, and so on.

Self-Publishing

Because indie publishing houses and micro-presses are often indie-owned, some indie authors don't self-publish. However, many do. Self-publishing is exactly that: an author who publishes their own work under their own steam without the help of a publisher or similar professional. Self-publishing as a whole has seen a dramatic increase, and many indie authors are taking advantage. Some have even managed to create big names for themselves in the world of self-publishing, and have gone on to put ink on big-time book deals.

But once you take on one of these labels, or both, you're getting painted with a brush that's not always flattering -- and you're limiting part of your market.

The Stigma

Some people avoid self-published and indie books as a rule, at least until the authors land more traditional deals and get a wider distribution. Being an indie author or a self-published author, or both, comes with a stigma. Many, many readers are operating under the impression that indie authors simply aren't "good enough" to go the more traditional literary route, and some readers summarily dismiss any and all books that have been self-published or otherwise produced by an indie. It's a cold reality, but it's the truth.

Why? Lots of people have written lots of articles and blog posts about this very topic, but by and large the biggest complaint from the reading community in relation to indie authors can be summed up in just one word: editing. Many readers believe, not necessarily incorrectly, that a large number of indie authors produce poorly-edited and ill-formatted books. 

I, too, had a bit of a rude awakening in the indie book market. The very first indie book I ever read was so well-done, so picture-perfect, so spot-on and fantastic, I figured they must all be like this. I read many, many more indie books before I found another that was as well-edited or well-written.

The Reality

 Spend any time reading among the indie community, and you're going to find plenty of books that make you grimace. I've broken up with my Kindle more than once already, but I always go back because of one simple truth: you can find crap just as easily among the traditionally-published books. Bad editing? Bad grammar? Weird phrasing and piss-poor plots? Yeah, you can get that anywhere. 

There is a stigma among self-published and indie authors, and that's a harsh reality -- but there is balance, too. Indie authors are defined by their independence, but together they come together to form a very wide, very welcoming community. Indie authors know how to find each other, and by and large they tend to stick together to support each other. Visit forums dedicated to self-publishing, and you'll find plenty of encouragement. Indies work together to swap reviews, trade promotions and further each other's efforts. The term indie author, in fact, feels like a bit of a misnomer -- when you self-publish, you're never really alone. 

Some readers are going to keep their noses stuck up in the air, but indie bestsellers are just going to keep raining down (threatening to drown them). The traditional book market is changing, and the traditional book publishing market is changing just to keep up with it. The indie community is so wide and so warm, any stigma you get is just a small burden. The freedom of independence more than makes up for the bad reputation. With careful editing, any indie can potentially out-write any traditional author any day .

From the Trenches: The Starving Editor

How many times have you been asked to study "The Raven" in school? Have you ever heard of the Tell-Tale Heart? Even if you're not an avid reader of his works, chances are extremely high that you've heard the name Edgar Allan Poe at some point in your life. He's still being referenced in popular culture today, and he's credited with inventing the detective fiction drama that's served so many writers so well. 

He died alone, broke and didn't receive much recognition for his work during his own lifetime. One may even infer that at the time of his death, by many perspectives Poe was something of a failure as a writer. 

Starving Editor

His life, sadly, played out a little like something out of one of his own grim tales. After a brief military career, during which Poe asked to be discharged early, he moved to a city that has been a mecca for writers for centuries: New York. 

Poe had published a book of poetry while in the army, but it didn't receive any real attention. His writing aspirations wouldn't get life again until he won a short story contest a few years later, after his poetry was rejected by many different magazines in the United States. The contest landed him a job as an editor. He did pretty well at the job, increasing the publication's circulation by a whopping 3,000 subscribers. 

But the money wasn't good, and Poe was a writer -- not an editor. So he left the magazine and started writing short stories. Two more years passed before he got something published, a collection of short stories. He received 20 copies of the book...and not much else.

Poe accepted another editing position the next year, because a man's gotta eat, and after increasing the magazine's circulation he left the job after two years to start his own magazine. It failed. He published some booklets of his stories, but they didn't really sell all that many copies. Finally he accepted yet another editing position at yet another magazine, but it went bankrupt after a year and Poe was out of a job again.

He left New York in 1849. Edgar Allen Poe was found a few weeks later in Baltimore, semi-conscious, and taken to a hospital. This is where he died four days later, never explaining exactly what had happened to him. His death remains a mystery, though popular opinion blames his ongoing struggle with alcoholism. In his life, he was best-known as a literary critic, and he never much held a steady job for any length of time. He wrote prolifically, and tried on many occassions to get his work published and read. These attempts would, largely, fail. 

Enduring Fame

Poe did gain attention for the poem "The Raven," which was first published in 1845. Following his death, more people became aware of Poe's works and today he's considered to be one of the greatest writers and poets of all time, a true pioneer in the mystery genre (to which I personally belong). Poe wrote with passion, and that's the way he lived...but as a writer, he had little to celebrate. He worked in the trenches, and he got as close as he could to the literary world he loved. In the end, his struggle did pay off -- albeit, a little too late for him to enjoy it himself. Somehow, I don't think Poe would really mind that too much -- he was a true lover of words, and I like to think he'd be happy just knowing that so many of us have read his.

Writing 101: When Al Shows Up

You know that guy who shows up to all your parties, even when he's not invited? His name is Al -- and if you're not being careful, he might be attaching himself to all kinds of words inside your ebooks. When Al shows up to the party, you'd better make sure he's attached to the right word in the right way...because he's got a terrible habit of showing up where he's not needed.

Al and Other Words

By now, you might be wondering who Al is. He's the guy that shows up in words like altogether, already and  alright. Sometimes, Al gets together with a word and everything's great. Sometimes, however, he's not actually creating a new word -- he's making a mess of your writing. 

• All Together/Altogether

By themselves, all and together are two separate words...so it follows that when you use them as a pair, they form a unique phrase that is more than the sum of its parts. All together just means as a group, like if you shout "Everyone out! All together now," at a party, it's because you're kicking everyone out. You can separate them, however, and the sentence will be essentially the same: "Everyone, all out! Together, now." 

Altogether is a different word, and it's got a different meaning attached to it. When Al shows up, he changes everything. When he's with together, the word is a single unit and it means wholly or utterly. "This party is making me altogether miserable." It's actually just a combination of all and together that appeared in the 1600s; the meaning is closely related to the older phrase. But since it's been around for so long, altogether is an altogether acceptable word. The same can't be said of all Al words. 

• All Right/Alright

All right is another common two-word phrase that has its own meaning: everything's good. You could as easily say all is right and it would mean the exact same thing. Alright, however, is another matter entirely. 

It's not a word. Yes, Jim Carey lied to you ("alrighty then"), but it's okay. It's easy to get fooled by this one, and among some grammarians it's actually a point of contention. According to the old maxim, alright is not all right. But it's a pretty common mistake, and alrighty has been accepted into a variety of slang dictionaries, which only muddies the grammar waters. Alright is commonly used in casual writings of all types, but the official definition is all right, and in formal writing it's properly extended to two words. 

• All Ready/Already

All ready means that everything is prepared, it's good to go: "We're all ready to read the rest of this blog!" Already, however, is usually used to mean something a little different, and it almost always applies to a period of time. Already means right now or at present: "We're near the end already?" The word was first used in America about a hundred years ago, and since then it's been accepted into the language. Since two distinct meanings have emerged, you have to be careful to use both in their correct context.

Other Al Words

Al gets attached to a lot of words, but in most other cases he doesn't make things too confusing. Continue to use almighty as much as you like -- it still means pretty much the same thing as all mighty, but generally almighty is reserved to reference a god. When it is used thus, almighty must be capitalized.

Month-Long Release Celebration

Death has arrived! To help you get caught up on the story so far, I'm giving away Justice and The Tower all month long free.

Visit my Smashwords page to download both books in the format of your choice. Enter the coupon code SSWIN to get a 100% price reduction. 

About Justice

When you build an entire life on a foundation of lies, it only takes one truth for the whole thing to come crashing down. I never invited the truth in. I never went searching for it. I never had any reason to suspect that the two people I loved most were dishonest with me every second of every day.

I made one bad decision, and in a single day my entire world changed. If I’m ever going to discover the truth about myself and my parents, I have to trace all the lies back to their source. I have to try to find the truth that they’re hiding.

The more I discover about myself, and my past, the more I realize that lies really are better than the truth. But now that I know the lies are all around me, I can’t stop until I’ve discovered them all. I’ll pull each lie away, one by one, and examine it to see what’s underneath…until this house of cards crumbles into dust at my feet.

I just hope I can survive the crash.

 About The Tower

 

Death brings some families closer, but it’s ripped mine apart. I wanted to convince the police that they had the wrong suspect…but I never expected them to start suspecting me. Now, I have no choice but to keep searching for the truth, even if all my relationships fall to pieces around me.

Someone is trying to make me look guilty. I never thought my mission to prove my own innocence would lead me to more family secrets. I thought I had already discovered the truth about myself. But every answer raises more questions, and everything I think I know is about to change…again.

I have to find the truth, no matter how much it hurts -- before I get charged with murder.

 

Death Released!

It's July 1, and that can only mean one thing -- Death has been released!

Get the book at Amazon and Smashwords, and get all the new lies.

Books on Film: Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables is one of the most beloved children's books of all time, and if you haven't read it (or any of the successive books in the series), you've probably seen some pieces of the four films it inspired. Lots of girls identify with Anne, who reads books and hates her hair, but lots of fans are surprised when they start comparing the book to the film.

The Book

The original book, and the first in what would become an iconic series, was published way back in 1908. It remains extremely popular; even today, young girls show up in Canada with their hair dyed red and styled in pigtails. They come to walk the same paths that Anne took and to see the iconic Green Gables farmhouse, located in Cavendish.

Anne Shirley is an orphan girl who has been tossed to and fro for much of her life. The bane of her existence is her hair, which is as red as carrots, though the matching freckles on her face are cause for some concern as well. A pair of elder siblings, Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, have decided to adopt an orphan boy to help with the running of their farm. The orphanage sends Anne instead, much to everyone's dismay. Anne wishes to stay at Green Gables immediately, but she's a talkative and brash little thing -- not to mention female. At first it seems certain she'll be sent back, but Marilla decides that Anne should stay instead.

What follows is a series of enjoyable hijinks as Anne goes through her teen years. She develops an instant dislike for Gilbert Blythe, and strikes up a great friendship with Diana Barry. She's easily distracted by books and by her own imagination, prone to getting into scrapes and thoroughly lovable in all ways. Gilbert, of course, is wildly interested her and does all he can to earn her affections -- but he is being punished for teasing her about her red hair. At the end of the book, Anne has decided to stay at Green Gables rather than go to college due to a tragic event. The story continues in 7 books that follow.

The Film

Lucy Maud Montgomery is truly a literary icon and an accomplished author, and she created one of the most memorable and beloved characters of all time...but Anne of Green Gables is one of those rare books that's actually better on film.

It's easy to see the book is an early effort from Montgomery, and riddled with classic first-book problems. Frequently, Montgomery has her characters standing in empty rooms simply talking out loud to themselves -- having very in-depth one-sided conversations, no less, and it's disruptive. Much of the book is, in fact, dialogue. It is most definitely a delightful read, but you're missing out if you don't see the book on film, too.

Anne of Green Gables is a popular story, and it's been adapted for the screen more than once. But without question the best version of the book is the 1985 television movie of the same name, starring Megan Follows in the title role. Montgomery's rich characters come to life in this version, and though I have my doubts about some of her early prose there's no questioning the author's gift for creating wonderful characters. The setting is also the same, and positively gorgeous on screen. 

What Got Adapted?

But there are several differences between the book and film versions of Anne of Green Gables. The opening scenes of the film give a very detailed glimpse at Anne's life before she arrives at Green Gables, something the book does not do. Many fans of both are also annoyed by the trial period in the movie, an event which does not occur in the book. Once Marilla makes up her mind, it's made up -- in the movie, there is some suggestion that she might be swayed in one direction or another, but this is not the case in the book. Some characters, particularly the Reverend's wife, fade into the background in the movie more than they should. 

Most notably, the concert Diana and Anne attend in the book is changed to a ball where Anne, in behavior that's outlandishly out of character, attempts to prove her own feminine wiles by exerting her spell over Gilbert Blythe. Anne is sort of accidentally pretty, and through her life never seems to realize it, so this entire scene is out of keeping with the books. Anne and Diana are too aware of boys by half in the movie; Anne absolutely isn't thinking of Gilbert romantically in the book.

That said, it's still an amazing movie and the best adaptation of the well-loved book. The world Anne inhabits, and the people in it, come to life beautifully and the casting is absolutely spot-on. I've loved it for so long, I actually own it on VHS (taped from public television, what). Go and watch it right now.

My Secret Writing Method

How long do you stare at your screen before you start typing away at your latest story? How much time do you spend wrestling with your scenes to get them just so? I always know what I'm going to write next, thanks to a little trick I call pre-writing. It's one of my secrets, and I've shared the entire method in my latest guest post. 

Visit Annalisa Crawford's blog to read all about it, and make sure you take a look at the rest of her site while you're there -- she's one of my favorite bloggers!

Writing 101: Abbreviations Can Ruin Your Books

The world moves fast. Email can be transmitted in moments, practically everything has a drive-through window, and the moment you hit "send" on Facebook your words are out there for everyone to see -- you might even get a comment or a "like" within seconds. Sometimes, it's necessary to use abbreviations (after all, Twitter only gives you 140 characters). But you should think twice, and edit heavily, before you put them in your book. Don't let abbreviations ruin your work.

Everyday Abbreviations

Common abbreviations crop up in writing all the time. They're included in online articles, they're used on blogs, they're great for Twitter and other social media sites where space is limited. It's so easy to use them, you might never even think about it.

But you should, because even everyday abbreviations should be absolutely left out of your books.  Have you ever actually heard someone use one in conversation? When was the last time you said e.g., when you meant for example, or i.e. for that is? People do commonly say et cetera, but if they're doing it in your book it should presented spelled out and not as etc.

Using abbreviations in book writing, even the very common ones, looks lazy and unrealistic. People don't use them in speech, and you certainly should use them in your writing...well, for the most part. Like every good rule of writing, there are plenty of exceptions to this one.

Acronyms

Certain acronyms, which are definitely in the same language family as abbreviations, are used all the time in speech and in writing. PETA, MADD, NASA -- the list goes on. Your book could easily become cumbersome if you're spelling out People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals instead of PETA, and some readers definitely won't know what you mean because the acronym is much more common. 

OMG and other acronyms that crop up frequently in social media are trickier, and still new enough that many standard style guides don't address them. People do commonly use text-speak acronyms in everyday conversation, particularly younger people, so if you're writing a book with teenagers and kids in it these common acronyms are going to crop up. Some writers spell them out phonetically (oh em gee, for example), but it's simpler to just use the acronym itself, and this will create less confusion.

Titles

Titles are commonly abbreviated, and most readers are comfortable with seeing this. Keep on using abbreviations for Mr., Mrs., Dr. and all the other common titles that everyone abbreviates in writing. The exception to this is when the name isn't attached to the title. If my character says Doctor, what should I do? the title should be spelled out; but it's fine for me to write Dr. Green, what should I do?

Dates

When I'm writing in my notebook or making a notation on my to-do list, I might write "Jul 4" or "Aug 8" -- but I'm not ever going to do that in one of my books. It's all well and good to use shorthand when you're writing to yourself, but not to an audience. Don't abbreviate your dates unless you're specifically quoting something a character has written down (for example, Laurel had written "Mar 12" at the top of the page).

Text Messages, Emails, et al.

Speaking of stuff that characters are writing down, you may have the occasion to include emails, text messages and similar stuff in your book. When this is the case, it's more than okay to write with abbreviations, acronyms and even misspellings because that's how people write their texts and emails. Always make them authentic, and to heck with the rules. Again, and I cannot stress this enough, realism always trumps in writing.