Writing 101: Forcing It

There are times when you need inspiration to strike, when you have to wait for the right creative mood to hit you. And then, there are times when you just have to sit down in front of the keyboard...and force it to come.

Disciplined

More than any other trait, I think writers have to be disciplined. It's incredibly difficult to sit down in front of a screen for 12 hours at a stretch, making little black characters appear on a white screen. Your family will be all around you talking and yelling and asking questions. Intriguing stuff will show up on TV, and weird questions will appear in your mind to tempt you into using Wikipedia. Twitter will beckon, emails will arrive, phones will ring and at some point you may wander off to go get a snack. Discipline is the only thing that makes it all work. But discipline isn't just about ignoring the TV show or telling your family to hush up. It needs to go much deeper than that.

Writing 101: You May Not Be Googling Enough

If you're like me, Google is your homepage. You refer to it constantly to look up words, find information...and sometimes, figure out the name of that person in that movie who's now in the TV show that's driving you crazy. But Google isn't just there to lead you on weird Wikipedia trivia hunts or help you find that particular Family Guy clip you've got to watch again. In fact, as an indie author you may not be Googling enough. 

Are You There, Google? It's Me, Jade

I use Google to take a look at maps, learn more about trees and figure out if I'm really using further the right way in that sentence. It's always open on all my devices, and I've asked it any number of insane questions. But there's something else I always do with Google, and all other indie authors should as well: I check all my titles and names. Do you? 

I Can't Believe I Forgot About Craigslist

Regular readers of the blog know that I've written posts about countless ways to market your indie titles. I've written about social media and finding book bloggers, trading reviews and using forums. And today, while doing my regular online chores, I saw something that managed to catch even me by surprise: an ad on Craigslist.

No, Not Literally

No, I haven't been living under a rock and yes, I've been well aware of Craigslist for many years now. I used it once during a brief stint where I played editor and had to hire a couple of freelance writers. I tried using it to find a cover designer for Justice, which didn't work out too well. But I never even considered using it to get reviews...until I saw someone else doing it first.

Writing 101: Misunderstood

If you're a self-published author, it's because you failed in traditional markets. If you're an indie, it means you're struggling just to get your words read (because who really wants to read an indie?). If you're not a well-known author being published by one of the Big Six, you're just not worth reading. These are just some of the misconceptions that people have about indie authors...and I'm here to debunk all of them.

Never Less Than

It has come to my attention that some people think self-publishing is some sort of last resort for authors. After years of desperate struggle and rejection, they finally turn to self-publishing because this is the only way for them to be heard. And naturally, because they are amateurs, they flood the market with substandard material. 

To play Devil's advocate, this story probably rings true for some authors and some books that are currently available at Amazon.com. But for a great many of the authors who go the indie route, it doesn't. I've found that many self-published authors are being plain misunderstood by readers, even by book bloggers. 

Writing 101: Don't Try to Do Everything

As an indie author, you will spend most of your time doing things other than writing. It sounds strange, but it's true. You will spend more time editing the book than writing it, and more time promoting it than you even want to think about. But don't try to do everything. Don't try to be on every site or promote every book on the same day. If you do, you'll find you don't have time to do anything else.

Burning Both Ends

How many times have you logged into Twitter or Facebook to check out one thing, and suddenly an hour has passed? Social media is time-consuming, just like book marketing. That's why you have to focus your marketing, because you just don't have time to do it all. 

Writing 101: 'S

Language is an ever-changing entity. It lives and breathes. You can easily find the proof of it. Open up a novel written 100 years ago, something by Mark Twain for example, and now go open one that was published this year. You'll find extreme differences in the language used. But there are some grammar and punctuation rules that won't ever change, and never have changed...and yet somehow, people still manage to get it wrong. 

There's No Apostrophe in Yours

The rules of using 's are extremely clear. They're hard and fast. And they have not changed since the very first rules of language were invented. So why, why, do we keep getting it wrong?

It's a riddle for the ages. But I am dedicated to repeating this rule, and pointing to it, until no one is making the mistake anymore.

I'm going to make it very clear again: 's is not used to pluralize. It never makes anything plural, not ever. That's why all of the following examples are wrong: 

Did you see all these envelope's?

How many Twitter follower's do you have?

Have you watched all those episode's?

Yes, all of the above examples are wrong because all of the above examples are pluralized words. Eliminate all the apostrophes,  and now everything is correct. You see, 's is only used for two reasons, and neither of them have anything to do with making something plural. 

Let's look at the first example of 's: substitution. 

In the sentence above, I'm actually saying let us look at the first example. The same thing is true for the word it's. Such as it's a beautiful day. What I'm really saying is it is a beautiful day. The apostrophe in the sentence is used as a substitution for the missing letters. This is how all contractions work. 

But 's is also used in another way: to show possession.

That is Becky's envelope.

It was my follower's tweet.

That episode's final scene was crazy.

The above examples use the same subject matter as the first wrong examples we looked at, but all of these examples are correct. In the first, we are talking about something that belongs to Becky. This is why it becomes Becky's, with the 's. The tweet belongs to a follower on Twitter, so it is the follower's. The final scene in one episode is crazy, so it is the episode's. 

Use 's in any other way, and you're using it wrong.

Writing 101: How Do You Know You're Done Editing?

So when you mention self-publishing, at some point someone is going to bring up editing. They'll talk about the lack thereof, or they'll express amazement that an indie book is edited so well. It always comes up, and you always have to pay careful attention to it. So when you're working on a new novel, how do you know when you're done editing it? 

Words, Words, Words! 

For many, editing is the worst part about writing. It can be humbling to read through the pages of a first draft and catch all those ugly mistakes - the kind of errors that only a rookie would make. It can be daunting to find plot holes and gaps in your story, and it can be time-consuming to fix all of this mess and turn it into a smooth, polished book. 

Because first drafts usually are such a mess, you can't edit your book just once. You have to go back again and again, read it over and over, in order to catch all those mistakes. I read each one of my books at least 5 times. I read over everything I write once I'm done writing for the night. I read over it again if I get stuck anywhere. I edit the first draft from beginning to end. Then I read it at least three times, in three different ways, to catch all the tiny mistakes that are still left. But I may not stop at 5, because the book I'm checking may be too riddled with errors. 

How do I know when I'm done? How do you know when you're done? How does any author know when they're finally finished editing that book? 

The answer is simple. When you can read your entire manuscript, from title page to the last page, without finding a single error then you are done. As a matter of fact, you should still read it at least once more after this. Because no matter how many times you read it or how carefully you check it, that book will still have at least one mistake in it. That's the nature of the beast. But if you can get it down to just one mistake then you're doing amazing. 

You're done editing when you stop finding errors, and even then everything may not be completely perfect. Being an author means getting as close to perfect as you can with every book you write. Editing is the only way to do it.

Writing 101: Self-Published Authors and Paying Taxes

Most countries tax their citizens. Lots of people complain about that, but the world would stop functioning if goverments could not charge taxes. They're used to create roads and repair bridges, among many other important tasks, so we all pay them more or less willingly. And if you've been earning money as a self-published author, you may be required to pay them as well. 

Taxing Your Income

By law, you are required to give the government a certain percentage of your earnings. When you work and receive a paycheck, these taxes are automatically deducted from that paycheck. At the end of the year you may even receive a tax return from paying too many taxes throughout the year.

But when you earn income through self-publishing, taxes are not taken out because you do not receive a paycheck. You are not someone's employee; you are receiving royalties. Because this money is not taxed, legally it is labeled as self-employment income. And when you receive a self-employment income, your tax burden increases because now you have to claim that income and pay the necessary taxes.