Painting With Light

Why Pay It Forward?

October 3, 2014

I’m getting ready to go to the seventh annual Rochester Writers’ Conference at Oakland University tomorrow … an event I look forward to every year. Over the years I’ve found it a great way to bone up on the basics of the business, while I network with other writers and industry professionals.

Early Fall on the Oakland University Campus, Rochester, Michigan

The Seventh Annual
Rochester Writers’ Conference
Saturday, October 3, 2014
Oakland University

A good conference, which this one always proves to be, can offer an interesting inside look at the craft of writing.

In fact, if you’re a newbie, or just new to writing conferences, I suggest you start with a smaller, local conference like this. It’s less expensive and much less intimidating than big, national multi-day events, but you can still make vital connections.

As much as I may think I know, I learn something every year. You may only occasionally meet a literary agent but, and probably more importantly, you get to network with other local authors.

But I won’t lie to you; it can be an exhausting experience. There are a lot of choices to make and a lot of ground to cover in a day.

Good Writing is Hard Work
Good writing is very hard work, but the journey is worth it. Why do I say that? Well, the answer could be as simple as “writers write.”

Every fiction author I’ve ever met says pretty much the same thing. They all write to tell a story, make an esoteric point, chronicle an era or expound on an event. Some say they actually write to please their readers.

But I think they really write for the same reason I do … the joy of the writing process itself.

It’s for those almost mystical and ethereal moments when the all the hard work you put in finally allows the muse to spit a few words from your brain onto the page … in the process creating something exciting and new.

Publishing Has Changed
Publishing has produced its own exciting, dynamic story arc since I first submitted a story for consideration … way back when I was seventeen (to give yourself some idea of just how long ago that was, think pterodactyls).

Back then, except for the monthly magazines that bought a lot of fiction, we all knew that in order to be published in a book, you had to pitch a traditional publisher.

After I decided (much to my sweet bride’s dismay) to take an early retirement from my nine-to-whenever corporate marketing job, I thought, OK, pitch to a publisher, that’s writing, too … I can do that. How hard can it be?

Of course, I soon discovered that in order for that to happen I first had to secure an agent, since no large publisher would deign to talk to me without one.

However, at my age, finding an agent willing to take a chance on my writing was tough. I suspect every one I contacted really wanted to find an erudite thirty-something with many, many years of writing time ahead of him.

They probably didn’t see me fitting into their picture of a nice, long, sustained collaboration. Which was ultimately fine with me because, conversely, I didn’t feel like I had the time to search for someone who would.

Since self-publishing was quickly becoming the new pathway for getting noticed, as good, entrepreneurial indie authors made ever more assured strides in the marketplace, I decided to join them. I became a published indie author.

Once I made up my mind I was an indie, my path was set. Good things have followed, and I don’t regret it.

But why a conference?

You Will Get Energized
The real answer is why the hell not? It may sound like an obvious statement, but where else can you meet so many people at varying stages in their writing careers?

I find that writers, as a group, are very supportive. If you sit at tables with people you don’t know and make an effort to say hello, it’s easy to meet others who are not only willing to talk, but are willing to offer help and advice for any problems you encounter.

It’s one of the reasons I write this blog in the first place.

Call it paying it forward. I’ve already met others who’ve been there before and who were ready to go out of their way to help me as I tried to figure out some of the rough spots, so why shouldn’t I pass it along to everyone I can?

Besides, there’s nothing more infectious than a bunch of people all excited about the same thing.

My brother-in-law, whom I affectionately call Little Brother, does it with his buddies and baseball. I go to a writing conference with an ear to listen, because I guarantee there will be speakers who seem to be talking directly to me.

You might attend a session on how to query an editor, create dynamic characters, or even self-publish; or how to effectively use social media, as I’ve talked about here so often.

You might even find one on exactly how to pitch to that publisher you’ve been salivating over … and those sessions can be just as interesting as college classes. Sometimes even better.

The only difference … there are no tests … and everyone wins.

Excited now? I am. I can hardly wait for tomorrow!

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You can find my books as eBooks or paperback on Amazon, or at Barnes & Noble. You’re also invited to visit my web site, BROKEN GLASS, or like my Book of Face page. You can also follow my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.

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Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags: indie writers, Rochester Writer's Conference, self-publishing
Posted in Award-Winning Fiction, Independent Publishing, Self-Published | 2 Comments »

Why Drink the Social Media Snake Oil?

September 23, 2014

At nearly every writers conference you hear about these days, one of the hottest topics is “using social media.”

Wannabe indies and more-established writers alike seem to flock to that session topic like royalty-financed fifteenth century explorers seeking a new route to Asia.

I confess I intend to look for a discussion about it at the Rochester Writers Conference I’ll attend in less than two weeks.

However, unlike many, I won’t come to the lecture convinced that with the right information, I can use those new tools to promote myself into overnight writing stardom.

I already know it’s not going to happen.

Why not?
The promise seems to be, if you figure out how to use The Twitter and the Book of Face … along with all the rest of the new and ever-expanding electronic social forums … your books will magically vault into the Top 100.

The implication is you’ll quickly have tens of thousands of followers to the various electronic areas of your chosen platform and, hell, you might even develop your own lifestyle brand to be emulated by millions while making you comfortably rich.

I repeat … it probably ain’t gonna happen.

While I readily admit using (and telling my readers) that today’s social media is an integral part of an author’s platform, I know it isn’t my ticket to the stratified levels of a King or a Rowling.

How do I know? Because I’ve already lived it, and it isn’t like that at all. I’ve got the reviews to show I can write really good books, but I only sell enough to buy lunch for my beautiful bride once in a while. I’m not out shopping for mansions.

But it certainly is a nice dream, isn’t it?

Hence the Social Media Hype
For some reason, writers seem to have a particular love for quick fixes and snake oil. They always have, and indie writers are no different. What a beautiful temptation it is to imagine yourself just one hashtag away from fame and fortune.

C’mon, admit it. It’s all right. We all dream it, even if we don’t go around shouting it publicly.

Just like every other promotional fad (think blog tours and Skyping to book groups), I think there’s more chance too much focus on social media for authors will only divert you from what you should be doing … writing.

You see, whether we like it or not, writing has always been intensely competitive, and the explosion of indie authors has only made it more so. There were 391,000 new indie titles published in 2012 … and that’s only 20 percent of the market.

The sad truth is the average author will never sell more than 250 copies. That makes it highly likely you’ll always find someone selling lots more books, appearing at more venues, getting better reviews, winning more prizes and making more money than you are.

Get over it.

I know it’s hard for most to imagine having any kind of writing career without comparing yourself to other writers … but we have enough ways already to make ourselves miserable, and we’ve gotten extraordinarily good at it. Who needs more help doing it?

Don’t think for a moment that I’m telling you to ignore social media. I’m not. I’ve said it here before. Even if you’re fortunate enough to find an agent and publisher, instead of going indie, you’re going to discover … surprise, surprise … the big publishing houses expect you to have a digital platform, too.

And I strongly believe in it as a powerful marketing tool. After all, I’ve already created a web page, a media page and a blog for myself … and I participate to some extent in a lot of other social media, including the Book of Face and a place to Tweet my little heart out. I encourage you to do the same.

But keep your priorities straight.

Always Remember This
Don’t put all your effort into social media at the expense of your literary efforts. You can’t market what you don’t have.

To call yourself a writer, first, foremost and forever you need to write. Then, to call yourself a good writer, you need to write well and that, my friend, takes practice.

None of the really good things that can happen to an author occur without doing the work.

So get busy.

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Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags: award-winning writing, book marketing, indie writers
Posted in Award-Winning Fiction, Book Promotion, Market Your Book | 2 Comments »

Why Writers Write

September 5, 2014

I’ve had a lot of time lately to think and read. Can’t do much else. Doc says I tore ligaments right off the bone in my shoulder … it’s one of the worst repairs he’s had to make.

Whoopee. Not exactly the way I wanted to enter the record book.

Surgery was weeks ago, but I’m finally able to get out of the restrictive sling that immobilized my arm and into rehabilitation therapy … where they tell me it will be six months to a year before things return to normal.

Word of advice. Don’t tear your rotator cuff. There’s a reason pro ball players often don’t return from this injury. It’s a long and damned painful rehabilitation.

Oh, I know there are a lot worse things that could happen … and I’m grateful they didn’t, so I try not to complain. But, just so you know, my bride says I’m not very successful at it.

What really bums me the most, I wanted to finish the third book of my REICHOLD STREET trilogy this year, but I may not make it. I’ve only written about six thousand words and my writing has been slowed to a crawl.

On the good side, I’ve discovered I can hunt-and-peck with one hand on the keyboard … so I blog. Doing it this way (peck, peck, peck), at least I have a lot of time to think.

I Like What I Do
I like being a writer. Human beings are born to communicate and make connections. Words give us the means to reflect upon and interpret the world around us, and to share our interpretation of the world with others.

As babies we imitated the sounds we heard in the language of those around us. We delighted in repeating them and seeing recognition in the eyes of listeners.

As artists, and especially as writers, we long to recapture the enthusiasm of childhood. I know I do. Authors use words to bring thoughts to life on the page, and I find that exciting.

Stephen King once said, Words create sentences; sentences create paragraphs; and sometimes paragraphs quicken and begin to breathe.

And while today most of us have exchanged pen and paper for the computer screen, we still use the words we learned as children to express our emotions.

In those ancient days before electronic communication (or even typewriters) an author wrote with a pen, one letter at a time, with cursive letters (do they still teach that?) joining and blooming into a word, each word helping to shape the sentence structure.

How you wrote, and what you wrote about, were uniquely your own. But you wrote.

Everyone Writes
Everyone writes. Think about it. We all create with words, spoken or written. Most of us have written stories and essays in school, kept a journal, written or commented on a blog, composed a business letter, or exchanged emails with our neighbors.

Authors, however, try to create wings for their thoughts, releasing them to reflect the life stories around them … and shape the thoughts echoed in everyone’s soul.

Words are never more alive than this.

Writers … good ones anyway … can create worlds. Through the process of their writing we discover their stories are true, even though we know they’re fiction, because they reflect a universe in which we are all inexplicably linked to everything around us.

For some, writing is redemption. They sculpt ordinary words until they shine, putting out into the universe something that has never existed before, tales that delight or entertain or inform.

Just like everything else in life, there are those with a natural ability for the craft, but the ones who succeed also make room for the practice involved. That’s right … practice.

Good writing is part science and part gift. The gift part is something a lucky few are born with. The science part is called reading. Reading the works of other people who wrote the books you wish you had written … that is studying the craft.

Without that study, a writer only possesses a small piece of the puzzle. Good writers have to read. Have to.

Writers seem to know by intuition that somewhere in the gray fog of the world there are words with their name on them, imprisoned like a fairy-tale princess, waiting to be released.

I like to believe that’s true.

To be a writer, your task is to to discover them and share them with the world. No one else can do it for you.

For now, I’ll do my prescribed exercises getting ready for rehab again in the morning. Then I’ll read a bit, to get tuned-up.

Tomorrow, it’s back to work.

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