Trying to De-scramble

  My mind is scrambling!  It is a nonstop scramble that is keeping me up at night.  The scrambling is with the endless short stories I have rattling about, my novel series I desire to keep moving ahead and the several comic book series I am writing with my artist.  Trying to maintain some sort of focus is becoming difficult and I do not have ADHD or any other form of concentration issues.  In fact, I have great concentration and can sit for hours keeping my focus on one thing.  Technically, I am doing this now since all of the above is considered writing but really I am scrambling.

  I have a schedule and each night is dedicated to accomplish one item but as I begin the inking an idea will creep in around one of the other stories.  How frustrating!  The real issue is my desire to have them all done and NOW.  I must take a writer’s moment, look at my outline I have before me and push the other voices to the side allowing the one with the conch to have their voice.  Easier said….

  Am I complaining here?  Nah, I am just in a moment where my ideas are scrambling my attention.  This is a great thing to have by the way since writer’s block seems to happen to other writers.  I am fortunate enough to not experience this lack of idea or motivation to ink it out.  I get to deal with the scramble.

  Now if I can find a way to put the egg back into the shell whole again I think I will be okay or maybe just stop complaining and write already.  I do enjoy this writer angst though!  I want to be no where else but with the words during these moments.

 I hear my novel calling me back and really want to be there for her.  Happy writings…..

Why I #WW those writers I follow!

  ***The following is a REPOST from an earlier post I wrote about those I follow on Twitter.  I am posting again because I decided to do some #WW and I really want those writers to know I am out here and listening.  I love being part of this community!  You all rock!!!!!***

  Writing for me is a place where I allow complete freedom of my senses and feelings.  I found it many many many years ago to be my bless, my awareness and often not, my meditation.  These similar connections follow me when I fall into a book.  Yes, I did say fall since this is the sensation I often get when I am reading a great book or enjoying a good tale. 

  Through these many years of participating in this writing thing I do and being part of the writing community, I found myself desiring the need for more information about it.  I read periodicals, magazines, blogs, tweets, forums, websites, etc… to gain this knowledge.  This need grows my energy and experience with it every day to the point now where I have become a picky writer.  Picky in the sense of where I get this information (often find the same thing repeated in several different platforms) and with who is releasing this material.

  This brings me to twitter and blog following and why I recommend those #WW.  I carefully peruse twitter and follow those writers, agents and publishers who are sending out good, no great information about the world of writing.  I do not just follow someone because they follow me.  My time spent reading and learning the ways of this writing world, to me, is precious because it has the ability to intervene between what is really important to me.  MY FAMILY. :)  I do not take it lightly when I follow someone and I certainly read the material they are writing and handing over to this world for consumption.  It was important to them to share so I find it important to read.

  I love this writing thing we do and will ALWAYS promote and market every person in this writing world of ours!

Happy #WW writers, agents and publishers!

Run Forrest Run!

   I found my writing doing something it had not done in a long time.  I was chasing it AND it was running; really fast!  It has been awhile since the last time I caught myself chasing after this story but sure enough there I was forcing it.  As a writer, the story should always flow from your mind to your fingertips and float onto the paper.  This is easy to do with your first piece of work since there really are no expectations and the freedom to write is all yours.  The chase begins, often not, when you get a fan base or following and the demand to have a sequel to the last masterpiece is sitting next to you screaming - 

“ARE YOU DONE YET?”

  I am in the midst of my 3^rd masterpiece and now with my readership having the true taste of my series they are wanting more and NOW.  They have dropped down their hard earned money for 2 pieces and are willing to depart with more if I can provide the goods.  Oh yeah, this monkey is jumping and screaming (plus throwing some pooh). 

  I must stop!  

  For the grace of the story and respect of my characters, I must stop the chase and allow it to come when it is ready.  I do not speak of writer’s block.  No, writer’s block is not having anything next in thought.  The chase is where I have the story, outline and the feel of where it is going but chasing the story to be written.  I cannot rush to get it finished and have it available for sale, what a rip off!  I know as a reader I am willing to wait for the next in line if it means the story continues to be inviting and adventurous to my imagination. 

  So I have put it down for the week and shall pick it up a week from today.  This gives me enough time to shake the chase away and smile when I begin plucking at the keys.  

  Happy Writing and remember this is not a race.  

  Unless your book is about racing, in this case type faster. :)

Why does this writer #WW those he follows?

  Writing for me is a place where I allow complete freedom of my senses and feelings.  I found it many many many years ago to be my bless, my awareness and often not, my meditation.  These similar connections follow me when I fall into a book.  Yes, I did say fall since this is the sensation I often get when I am reading a great book or enjoying a good tale. 

  Through these many years of participating in this writing thing I do and being part of the writing community, I found myself desiring the need for more information about it.  I read periodicals, magazines, blogs, tweets, forums, websites, etc… to gain this knowledge.  This need grows my energy and experience with it every day to the point now where I have become a picky writer.  Picky in the sense of where I get this information (often find the same thing repeated in several different platforms) and with who is releasing this material.

  This brings me to twitter and blog following and why I recommend those #WW.  I carefully peruse twitter and follow those writers, agents and publishers who are sending out good, no great information about the world of writing.  I do not just follow someone because they follow me.  My time spent reading and learning the ways of this writing world, to me, is precious because it has the ability to intervene between what is really important to me.  MY FAMILY. :)  I do not take it lightly when I follow someone and I certainly read the material they are writing and handing over to this world for consumption.  It was important to them to share so I find it important to read.

  I love this writing thing we do and will ALWAYS promote and market every person in this writing world of ours!

Happy #WW writers, agents and publishers!

When the Crazy gets me to pause and sigh.

  So here I am well into my third novel with my writing in full energy and this ecstatic pulse on each keystroke pumping into the story when I come across a conversation an agent is having with a writer.  The agent states she is often turned off by writers who carry a series with them and have several books already written.  I found this as an odd statement.  She goes on to say the publisher often will have some rewrites with this first novel which could change the outcome and change the fabric around novel two.  There is no reason to write your novels until the first one is picked up.

  What?!?!?

Quick series background:

·        There will be 8 novels.

·        They are outlined and are consistent with the next novel in line.  

·        There is a full story board on the characters.  

·        I have created a 3,000 yr lineage on each clan involved (10 total).

·        There is a full back story on how the 5 islands (this is my fantasy play land) was created.

·        This series is a smaller series within the larger story (Oh the endless drama).

·        I also have 4 other series spawning from this initial series.

  I know there is a lot, but I am a fantasy writer and not just a fantasy writer, a fantasy geek.  I love full series novels containing history, side stories/novels and a complete breakdown of the story environment.  It makes for an exciting read and I cannot wait to see how it will grow.

  So back to my story… All of the above is in my head, in my journals, on paper and in notes (organized actually so not scattered brain).  Even if parts of book one must change or must be removed, I am fine with it and as a writer I can easily adjust to the request.  I would think being this far ahead will give us an advantage and allow us to turn over the next novel faster.  Maybe I am wrong.

  Does this mean my luck with finding an agent is almost zero?  

  Do I continue my current course with finding an agent / traditional publisher or the one I set sail on many years ago and take care of it all on my own? 

  I have been at this crossroad for a while and the questions continue to rise.  I jumped into this for fun but found people enjoyed my story and so I went with it.  But I cannot stop writing.  Sorry, this is just like asking you not to walk until someone comes along and says I approve your first 20 steps so go ahead and step them now plus 5 more for good measure.

  Oh the drama of writing.  I love it.  I really do. 

  Where else do you get a bunch of critics and naysayers all wanting to be your friend until your novel tanks?

  

  Happy Writing!  :) 

And the Query goes on.

  I have sent 49 queries so far with 14 responses.  Here is the break down:

8 sound like this - "Many thanks for your query, but I'm afraid that your project doesn’t sound like the right fit for the list I’m building."

5 sound like this – "We are not the right fit for your project."

1 sounds like this – "Good luck but I am no longer accepting Fantasy queries."

  So far no blast or hidden laughter inside which brings a smile on where I am with my project.  I will continue to search for this right person who will assist me in becoming a famous and lasting author. <-- yeah laughter there.  In previous posts I listed the following websites I am using with my search but I have found a few others and want to list all of them below.  I find these very useful and easy to use. (I have no affiliation with any of them by the way)

Preditors & Editors (of course)

Agent Query.com

AAR 

AR&E 

1000 Literary Agents 

  Good luck if you are in a similar process.  I have a few other sites saved off but have not used them yet.  I will try them coming up and let everyone know what I find.  (Hopefully there will not be a need for it - *wink* *wink)

Sprinting in place!

  This is how I feel right now with my life as a writer.  I am working on several projects which are spinning and driving my attention but are still in the stall.  Bleh.  Now the spinning is not for naught because the efforts are building to become something but exhaustion is rising.  Here are a few items I have missed this past month I should have accomplished: 

• Website is still behind and out of date.  It should be rewritten as my resume versus my project.
• I only hit 40 agents for query versus the 100 I had listed.
• We did not get the first comic book out.  We have it completed but not finalized. :( 

  I did finalize though the following things so things were accomplished:

• A synopsis I am happy with and feel tells the story (of course, next week this will change)
• A series of query letters are finalized.
• A complete edit/revision of Book 1 "EverWing" completed and happy! <-- IMPORTANT.

  I also figured out my dilemma with Twitter and how to send out my thanks to those writers I follow by using #WW and include those non writer's I follow because of their great info by using #FF.  You may be asking what is the amazement behind this since these tags were created just for this purpose (DUH)??  When I sent out the #WW last night I was afraid to loose followers because I flooded their tweet view or in particular, PHONES!  This did not happen and my efforts were well taken with no issues from anyone asking why did I flood them.   I am using Twitter as a real go to informational thing and not just as a popularity contest.

  There is also a new item which was created last night that shall spin my head BUT be extremely productive for all writing ventures going forward.  HAPPY TIMES.

Happy Writings!

To #FF or not to #FF is thy question (maybe I should just #WW).

  I come to a Twitter quandary and must decide how to handle thy madness.

  What is thy madness?

  My follower list has grown and if I #FF everyone I believe tweet’s good information, it would do the opposite of what I am trying to accomplish and push people away.  Since Twitter is still a growing community and we are all still learning its abilities for us as writers, I will try this week to #WW just the writers and #FF the non-writers.

  Unfortunately, my writer list is growing faster than the non-writers (which is what I wanted) so we shall see if this idea will eliminate losing connections to other writers.  My entire purpose of Tweeting is connecting with the writing community and sharing our crazy experiences.  So far it is working….

Sigh, if things backfire.  

Oh if you want a great Twitter Do’s/Don’ts take a look at Roni Loren’s Blog:

http://fictiongroupie.blogspot.com/2010/11/twelve-ways-to-scare-away-twitter.html

By the way, she is part of the Crazy People I follow. :) 

Same gig, different requirements.

  I am disappointed.  No, very disappointed.  I had a small window this afternoon around lunch to begin my "Query Bonanza" to the selected few.  I began with all the hopes and dreams on getting out 25 within that hour.  Oh how wrong I truly was on this concept.  I finished only 10!  How could this possibly be since I have fine tuned my query with the wording I wanted and just had to add the Dear such and such.  You would not believe it but every single query I sent was different than the last.  Each agent desired something different with the synopsis or the chapters wanted or the bio or just the query alone.

  How could the same job require so different techniques.  I guess in the agent world it really comes down to personal preference and how they determine what is a good fit for them.  I get this but drastically underestimated what it would take to get the "bonanza" off the ground.  I now have a folder called Query and it currently contains 10 different possibilities on what an agent may want or need.  I am still in amazement I created 10 different ways to sell a book.

  No worries I am ready for the next 10. 

  Me thinks.....

My life wrapped in a Query.

  Here it is my life's work wrapped in a Query letter.  It seems a bit sad really to have all of this hard work and effort down to a couple of paragraphs and a single page.  I begin my first wave tonight but struggling to come up with a second wave (another 25 agents) since many agents do not carry the Fantasy genre.  I am also narrowing my search down to those that will take an email Query since I would find it hard to work with anyone who does not use technology. 

     "I am about to send you into a new fantasy adventure called EVERWING.  This 130,000 word story introduces a new creature forged forth from a unique blend of Elvin heritage and Eagle kind, creating the race called Masu¨ra.  These Masu¨ra differ little from their Elvish brethren except they possess wings on their backs and talons for feet.

       EVERWING, a historical adventure, brings us along with a young royal Masu¨ra named Gavee who discovers his understanding between right and wrong differs from his clans.  He finds himself torn between what he was trained to become and what he feels in his heart to be right.  This first book sends us into the Masu¨ra world and how Gavee answers the question on how he follows his heart versus the demands from his family.

      EVERWING is just the beginning for Gavee and his travels.  Our adventurer is sent into the struggles of his region and forced to watch one Masu¨ra, his brother, destroy a thousand year alliance and send his world into war.  EVERWING captivates you into a wonderful far away world of exciting and memorable characters with each having their own story to tell.  This is my first book which kicks off the series of eight.

       Now a little about myself, I have been wrapped inside the fantasy world since receiving my first Dungeon&Dragons book many ages ago and find my imagination overflowing with stories and ideas wrapped deep in magical lands.  I found myself creating and placing these short stories on paper for others to enjoy.  These short stories allowed me to perfect my art and turn them into a novel series called THE SAGA OF EVERWING.

       I am inviting you along on my journey in creating EVERWING a household name and look forward to hearing from you soon.  I hope you enjoy."

Short and sweet but to the point, I believe. Happy writing! 

How would you like to be addressed?

  I am gathering what I call the magic 50.  This magic 50 ties into the last post I made about querying 50 agents by Thanksgiving.  I am carefully perusing the agent listings out at P&E, 1000literary Agents and Publishers Marketplace to pick the chosen ones. There are many other sites carrying agent lists but found these three are pretty reliable and I am familiar with them.  So back to my point.....I came across an agent who is accepting queries and important enough, email queries that has the following information within their website and it confuses me a little.

"We also do not respond to emails that are not addressed to us personally (i.e.: we will NOT respond to: "Dear Agent", "Dear Editor", "Dear ***** Agency" or "Hi" etc.)"

  I understand this point of view BBBUUUTTT the different agent profiles are not listed anywhere giving me no names nor who accepts what genre.  If I sent it snail mail, which is another option, they request the same respect so either way I have no idea who I am sending it to in order to fulfill their request. :)  I take this as a sign stating they are not part of the chosen few.

  It is also amazing that I still come across many agents who do not accept email queries.  For me, as a technical person, they are immediately removed from my list.  Why kill a tree for someone to say no and throw it in the trash, ending the cycle in a dumpster.  In today's age, everyone should participate in the electronic phenomenon we call email.

Well wish me luck and once I said out my first batch of 25 you will be certain I will post my query letter along with many other things on my mind.

Time to hit the street again

I took a small hiatus from querying agents so I could spend more time focusing on some marketing ideas and more writing.  Now that I have finished what I wanted to accomplish it is time to hit the streets.  I am completing the agent list now and intend to hit up those just waiting for my manuscript. :)  You know who you are so stop being so bashful.  I figured a good round number like 50 should do me well on my first swing of things.  I have never sent this many prior so it shall be a somewhat interesting return.  I will keep you abreast of how it goes and what the answers are as they are returned (or not returned).

It feels like I am about to jump off a very high diving board into a pool that is still being filled...a.k.a they just turned on the water. :|

But wait, maybe I should end this on a positive note.  I am about to find the one person who is willing to take my work and present it.  They are so lucky. :)

Tweet your Friday Followers.

  I started something new last week on Twitter and found it an interesting event.  I actually participated in the #FF or “Friday Follows” by listing out everyone following me.  I have been watching many others do this and in fact, may participate in the #WW or “Writer Wednesdays”.  How did I do this you may be asking?  How do I grab everyone following and send out a massive tweet or series of tweets?

   Well, there is no magical way except patience and the use of copy/paste.  I copied the names into a document and created a line similar to below.  Yep!  It took me a while to structure this but I figured out a scheme and once I hit a rhythm it became pretty easy.  I created a document called Twitter Followers and placed it in my marketing directory since to me Twitter is nothing but marketing.  Here is an example of a few lines and yes these are real people following me and I, in turn, am following them.

Writers to #FF: @Sandra_Gulland @EmperorFranzen @JRobinsonAuthor @LornaSuzuki @ninatypewriter @jamesrollins

  I have also created a line for those that are not writers and are friends with their own business or followers who also tweet good information.  To me this key, I really use Twitter as a pot to grab great ideas, new techniques or tricks and information about the writing world so if your info is what I need I will follow you. 

#FF: @STLconciergeGuy @gregeales @RossPR @Tekwani

  Remember you may only have 140 characters (this includes spaces) so you will need to adjust each line accordingly. I would create the line, copy it into a “Tweet feed” and it would tell you if it falls within the Twitter magic number.  This led to having 15 individual groupings to copy/past into Twitter and will make future tweets easy to handle. 

  Why would I do this???  Good question since it took a lot of work and I have few followers compared to most tweeters.  The answer lies within the numbers! When I sent this out my follower list contained 180 names BUT after it contains 197.  I gained 17 more people following by a simple process.  It may seem like a small victory but if I do this twice a week and average 15 – 20 people each time this is an additional 40 people a week.  Average this through the entire year you are talking roughly an additional 2100 people I would never have had prior to putting together this list.

  One thing….do not forgot the new people who came along after you send your initial sweep.  Each time a person follows me I get an email and I do not delete this email until this person is added to my twitter follower list.  I want to make sure I miss no one because this could lead to a domino affect of losing followers.  

  Now the key to this success is how many will eventually buy my series and become a fan? :) 

  Still working this statistic!  Happy Writing!

The Writing Industries Upgrade X.x

  I feel like I have been sucked into the start of the writing industries latest and greatest upgrade where the Internet and access to books or e-books are changing it forever.  The writing world has done a few other big upgrades through the years, but often it appeared to be in a controlled manner.  This time around, the upgrade has not been tested, evaluated or “approved” by the current industry and this makes this industry angry.  It is why I give the upgrade not a number but letters indicating the unknown.

  

  The e-book debate about how much should be charged is a stickler because many traditional publishers are charging the same or in some cases, more for the e-book.  It makes little sense to me since it cost them nothing to provide a document that is saved on a computer somewhere.  On a computer they already probably had in the first place.  Example, I charge $6 a copy because my publisher has made this a mandatory minimum even though I pay a yearly charge for them to host it on a server somewhere.  They are double dipping by charging my customers again for this availability.  I call foul to this practice and I am working to fix it.

 

  Another practice, which has turned the sour heads of the traditional world and many, many of its writers, is the “self published” author or “self published” works.  I chuckle at being scoffed because of this notion since prior to the last industry upgrade all authors were self published.  It was not until the publishing world realized they could control the masses and the price point on its items did they than quickly “banish” the self published writer.  It did this banishment by raising the so called few and placing them on a pedestal and announcing these are your real authors; not them over there. Oh and they quietly started raising their prices.  I believe Dr. Seuss and his book “The Sneetches” fill this idea fully.

  But here we are today and in what some call the “Wild Wild West”, the www or Internet.  It has given everyone access to everything.  No longer do you need a mass amount of money and industry pull to enter this playing field.  It has unleashed and given us the ability to read GREAT works that in the old way would have never left the writers notepad.  How sad.

  Someone said the other day they only follow established authors.  I wonder what established means to them?  To me, established means one who has been working in a field of work for a period of time and has come to an understanding of their subject due to their length and involvement in their work.  I have been part of the writing community and doing my writing thing for the past 5 years, selling roughly 300 books without even trying.  Does this make me established or poor because it is only 300 books?  I consider it awesome because I sold one.  I feel established because I work on my craft every day along with the business side of things and have been for these past 5 years.  I understand what makes it tick and what makes it angry. :)

  So my rant today is telling everyone to watch and learn right now.  Learn by following.  Learn by reading.  Learn by participating.  Be a part of the X.x and you will be welcomed with open arms by this writer.

Edit me one more time pleeaassee.....

Oh yeah I hear both manuscripts calling me everyday when I go to write:

"Edit me.  No, edit me.  Me!  No ME!”

So when should you go back and do the dirty deed aka "editing the older work"?  When ever possible!  Yep, I fit my old stuff in with my monthly editing schedule and do the dirty dance continuous with this previous work.  I consider myself a serious writer (I say this with a slight giggle but I really do) and like any professional, a schedule is a MUST.  I have a monthly schedule which is broken into sections:  Create Me, Editing Brain Hour, Review It and Eat Pudding.  Okay maybe the last one is not officially on the calendar but I guarantee it is in the plans and is not missed. :)

The Create Me hour is my day to just write and write and write.  I turn off everything and sit down and allow my characters to follow the so-called outline and create the story they live in.  It is such a release and I find my bliss with each moment.  I also miss it when the time is gone and want to live in it ALWAYS.  But alas, I have creditors who wish to be paid so I must venture into the real world and deal with it too.

The Editing Brain Hour is just it, time to edit.  Time for the spell check, grammar check, bad word check and time line check.  It is my time to get in deep with the story and make it pretty.  This time period does NOT necessarily mean editing in Book 3 (this being the current manuscript I am writing now) but often I will take a chapter or three from Book 1 and edit.  And yes, sometimes I feel a little queasy wondering if I am just wasting my time with this whole passion of mine when I am finished.  I hate thinking I have done a wonderful writing job to find out I missed something simple.  UGH.  I also edit the other writing ventures I am looped into such as the comic books and video games.  It is a writer’s life.
   

Review It is my nights where I sit with the “outline” (I use “” because this outline does not follow a traditional rule of thumb) and take a look at where the characters have decided to bring the story.  I enjoy these night just as much as Create Me because my mind tunnels its way into the future and new ideas often “light bulb” their way in.

So remember your old work and make sure you give it some love often for it will only improve what you will be writing tomorrow.  And oh yeah, save some time for pudding because pudding…well, it’s just plain good.

Good Luck NaNoWriMo…

  I wish everyone in the NaNoWriMo community good luck this month in their challenge.  I have a few friends participating and I know how difficult the pace can be when you hold a day time gig that is not writing nor at home.  Keep the gentle sprint of 2k words a day and success shall be yours.  Oh yeah 2k a day is a great challenge to anyone who does this as a side event in their lives.  I wanted to participate this year but I must keep with my own calendar and it did not chime with it.  I have marked next November and want to do it next year.

I think all writers should participate in this exercise and not for practice but to show one self you can do this thing.  Oh and if you do write full time, the writing you do for this full time gig does not count.  It must be separate and on its own record just for NaNoWriMo.  Oh by the way, if you do have a wonderful writing day gig, congratulations.  Enjoy each letter. 

What is my average a day??  1K but often only 600. :(

If you are wondering what the heck NaNoWriMo is just look a the Crazies I follow and select National Novel Writing Month.  It will explain it better than I could ever.

You Gonna Query? I Gotta Query! Did you Query yet? Who did you Query?

  These phrases rattle in my skull sometimes before one of the other voices steps in (I call it the “controller”) and tells it to shut up and sit down.  I am not exactly sure why I go through this process sometimes because I am still on the fence with representation.  Don’t get me wrong, I want my books plastered in the windows at every book store around the world but I am also fearful of letting go and handing over control.  You know the one voice that says “My Precious! They takes it from me!”

   In my constant study of what I call “The Crazy”, the big houses will only speak to and deal with an agent.  And not any agent mined you.  So how do I know the agent I am sending my query to has the ability to send to the big house?  I wish there was an easy answer to this all vital question but there is not.  I guess if it was not a secret each of us would be querying the same people.  I do use one site though with great confidence knowing their information is stellar and reliable (again I own no stock nor am I affiliated with them) – P&E: Literary Agents (Preditors & Editors) pred-ed dot com.

  They list the agents alphabetically with indications on their validity and if they have signed a contract for money.  Google it and you shall find them.  Also another site I have been using for good Agent info is Absolutewrite dot com.  Click to their forums and search for Bewares, Recommendations & Background Check.  This, too, has great listings and valid info. It will help in your search for the Agent right for you.

  Oh and I also use Twitter actually.  NO, I DO NOT SEND A QUERY TO AN AGENT VIA TWITTER!  DON”T DO IT!  EVER!  I love following other authors and often not, their agent follows them.  If this person is in the same genre as I write in their Agent, obviously, represents and carries an understanding of the Fantasy writing world.  I realize I have chosen a tight path and a hard sell so my writing better be good!  One of these days I will create another subsection on this blog and start entering all of my sites I have collected through these many years.  It would be long (that’s what she said).<==Had to be said!

Your Internet Face!

  Having my own website is an absolute must to me and this does not include this blog or wordpress.  When I tag along with a writer, agent or artist I look for their website to give me an idea how they approach their business.  A well designed site shows the care they have put in place for their customers, fans, followers and anyone else fortunate enough to fall on their space.

  This comes at a cost (website fees) and a cost many of us do not have the funds to provide, but if you can provide this yearly cost a great product to use, which does not require you to be tech savvy, is Joomla. No, I do not own stock in this nor do I work there I just found it to be an awesome way to easily manipulate, modify or edit your site with critical information.  Now, today, my current website is not formatted in Joomla but this coming month of November it will be!  You will notice my News/Articles are from August of 2009. UGH! And each page you go to does not indicate in the tab what page you are on, it says content-blah. Another UGH!

  Over these years, I have crafted my site in different fashions and each one took time to update, which in turn, took away from my writing time (this is why my site is so out of date).  I went on a writer’s quest to find the best tool and found Joomla. It has thousands of templates allowing me quick access, quick updates and it is friendly so the windows you use are easy to manipulate.  

  Halleluiah!  

  I will implement this new version (I call it EW3.0) next month and will have the peace of mind my site will be fresh for all new customers or my favorite -- returning customers. I will have calendars, journals, RSfeed info and more! Once in place, I will put out an easy step by step guide for writers, artists and agents on what it took to make it fly.

Remember your site is your face to the world. Make it pretty. :)   

Keeping tabs on Marketing

  Many years ago I learned the only way to keep tabs on my marketing efforts (marketing = money out of my pocket) would be a nice little spreadsheet.  I was putting forth many different marketing adventures like setting up book signings, talking with small book stores on carrying my book, different advertisement options, etc… into a word document but trying to find what I was doing became confusing.  I tried using a calendar (I would enter events in a day on where or what I should be doing) but some events last 5 minutes to perform so this became bloated.  These things will easily go out of control if you have no one watching it (especially if you cannot afford a PR person; I wish but again it is all about the Benjamin’s!) especially if it is costing you out of pocket!

  I call my spreadsheet Marketing Objectives (give it an official business name and you will take it a little more serious) and it is forever green a.k.a growing; not green because of the money.  Here I have tabs such as Stores, Book Communities, Events, Internet Offerings, Query, Social Networking and Things to Purchase. Each one I believe is self explanatory.  ‘Stores’ contains all of the local book stores (NOT Borders or B&N) in which I have approached, should approach and have said no, get off my lawn.  This is an important tab and is towards the front of my tab listings since creating a local buzz about your book is more important than getting one anywhere else.  Why?  Because you can get in your car and be there within an hour if they call and say interested in doing a book signing today?  Okay, so this has not yet happened but I am prepared.

  Another one is ‘Query’.  I keep a running tab on every Agent I query to make sure I do not send to them twice in a year.  I also have a list of those I need to send too.  I keep the date I sent the query and if an answer has been returned.  This also helps with follow ups.  The ‘Social Networking’ tab is crazy because it seems like a new social online gathering is created everyday and so I keep this one simple.  If you see it showing up on every blog, wordpress and websites or even on FaceBook it is a good idea to market there.  Stay within the trend and you will gather more followers.

  I live in this spreadsheet just as much as I live in my book.  I keep a small notepad with me at all times just in case a new idea hits me on how to move me along.  As a writer, I have so many different writing adventures in the air so keeping the marketing aspects in a controlled fashion takes one less worry away.

NaNoNoTimeToSpare

  I have been contemplating joining the force and participate in NaNoWriMo in November but there is no way to fit it in……What is that, a writer cannot fit in writing?? Wrong. Besides being a writer I am also the manager, marketing agent, sales force, advertising agent, meeting facilitator and webmaster of my stuff. I am also a husband, father and oh yeah I have a day job I go to which pays the creditors what they are due (and some). Even though joining this writing hoopla would produce a lot more of Book 3, everything else would slide and in it the momentum lost.

  Sounds like an excuse? It is!

  But if you are interested in what I am talking about, click on the link under ‘The Crazies I follow…’ and select National Novel Writing Month. It is pretty cool but if you want to do this you better get ready for an all out writing bonanza in the month of November. Your fingers will never be the same.   

I Love Rock Star Parking

There is nothing like Rock Star Parking

I love pulling into a massive mall lot where cars are strewn everywhere and as you hunt closer to the front a spot or I should say “the” spot opens just for you. I dunno why but it is a feeling of great accomplishment. Now, all I did was head down the correct lane and show up at the right time and with little effort really. But for this moment, it is my spot! I want to stop everyone as they enter the store and show them MY great spot. Wallow in my success. It is even better if a friend is along so you can show them how things always work out for you. :)

Yeah right!

Isn’t this what it’s all about when it comes to your blog and twitter accounts? Getting the Rock Star Parking where you are in the front and everyone can see you, post you or follow you. I feel like it’s a race to the parking lot and we are all taking different lanes and working to beat each other to the Rock Star Parking twitter space. Yes, I too, am following or driving the same game as I trick out my nifty catch phrases or converse on things others do not, such as Rock Star Parking.

Some days I do feel I get close to the Rock Star Parking when I get a bunch of new followers all at once. It is part of the twitter game just like parking your car at the mall. It is MY spot not yours so excuse my big head as I point out how close I am to the door……just make sure the doors in the front and not the back. DOH!

Have I become the yeller?

Just read my last post and wonder when I became that person who yells at the other person for being a certain way. sigh. could always delete but I am sticking to the rule - once posted it stays. No more yelling and let others be what they want. No matter how wrong they are - BWAHAHAHAHA....... sigh.

Pompous Air Hole or Grateful Monk?

Which one shall it be? What type of writer will you become once the crazy show comes to town and request your participation? I frown upon the first and desire only the second but will my ego drive me to be what I wish not to become???

What the heck am I talking about?

Other writers and their arrogant tone in twitter and blogs! I hold back the vomit sometimes. If you want to follow some wonderful sarcasm on these types of things find these two on Twitter: @EvilWylie and @EmperorFranzen. These 2 accounts deep dive into the arrogant behavior from others, in particular, the writing others. I wait for their Tweets!

Do the others really believe because they are published they deserve to be thought of as intellectuals needing to be bathed in a daily prayer on how great their writing or “work” has become? Or do these others truly believe their intellect is far above us lower folk that we would have a difficult time understanding them?

What created today’s tantrum?

I was reading a blog about how the publishing world has changed drastically because people can do what they want and get a way with it. No one should bind a book without the proper people involved. Again just threw up a bit in my mouth. The proper people?? I did not realize there was such a place in the world of publishing or writing. I thought this is what writing was about; anyone and I mean anyone, may write for others. Even if grammatically they screw up, after some proper training and or schooling, they too may be a genius. Well even after training some may not succeed from a grammar stand point but what they have to say could be worth reading.

Please do not become one of them but instead become a grateful monk who lives in a world of practice and happy to receive whatever hand out they get for their service and time. And give back to the community that is supporting you. Remember, if you bite the hand that feeds you often, it will smack you down.

Okay shaking off the tantrum. Back to being what I am --- Writer.

Keeping the creeps away even though the voices like it!

A MUST HAVE for every writer is some sort of outline. I believe no matter how long the story may be (novel, novelette, short story, comic book, etc…) an outline keeps the creeps away from your well played tale. Now the format or look of said outline is completely up to your own flavor or desire. Here is the crazy behind my method of keeping the creep away.

I begin with a short summary explaining the premise (yes this is seen only by me but it keeps me from falling astray) and from it I create the first bullet or “Points of Light” (PL). A PL is considered “non-moveable” bullet and the information behind it will never be modified, moved or deleted. These PLs allow me to keep the creep away and maintains the story integrity by preventing it from bloating.  I then proceed to allow my mind to create the path the story or characters will follow. These bullets I call “Expendable Light” (EL) and often not, they are moved, deleted, reshaped, restructured and rewritten. This allows my creativity to walk freely between the PLs.

I do not maintain an exact number of PLs as the outline builds BUT once I feel the outline is finished, I cover each bullet and consider its status. This is when I mark it either as a PL or EL. Once it becomes a PL, like I stated prior, it will NEVER change its status. I write from one PL to the other keeping those ELs within thought but allowing a freedom to write.

I will go back and review this outline multiple times a week because as a Fantasy writer those ELs often change page by page. Those silly characters of mine have a mind of their own. They want to do want they want to do until the PL comes along and waves its nasty finger at them, directing the story back to its original path. They hate PLs!

How do I know?

They told me.  (Oh the voices….so many).

To the corner with you bad words.....

No, I am not speaking on those curse words we often use when someone cuts us off in traffic. I am not even talking those words falling close to this line where if you are my children….you understand and live this list. The list I speak on are those words which, when constructed into a sentence, should immediately be removed. The best book I have seen with a starting list for you is Ken Rand’s “The 10% Solution”. It is a link under “Crazy Must Haves”.

When writing, never lean on this list! Write freely and when the editing bug kicks in pull the list out and walk your document in search for these bad children. PULL THEM and restructure the sentence. Believe me you will feel better. Here is my list (again I pulled many of these from Ken Rand’s book so in no way do I take ownership of this idea). Create your list today and live it.

ly <-- any word ending in!

of

that

very

about

by

like

but

self <-- any word ending in!

     

I'm a BookMark Hoarder!

Are Bookmarks like clothes? If you have not used it in a year should you get rid of it? :) I have so many writing bookmarks I could never traverse this vast terrain of garbage to figure out what is helpful and what is wasteful. I wonder how many other crazies have gathered a litany of sites which lead to every type of writing community, marketing bonanza and publishing must haves.....

I may start tagging the names with dates indicating when I bookmarked the site so when they hit a year and I have not clicked on it, off it goes to an archive folder. But how long do I keep it there? I wonder if goodwill takes bookmarks? :)

Yeah it is Friday night and I started to go through my marketing spreadsheet finding several sites listed which drew me to my writing bookmarks. The true sadness behind my madness is before I started to write this I bookmarked three new sites. Bookmarking for me is like befriending everyone on FB or following anyone on Twitter. I CAN'T STOP! I wonder if there is a bookmark support group or a social disorder around us who cannot delete bookmarks never used. You never know when Woot! will have something you may need!

Twitters weekend sales. Must act now.....

  Why the title? :) Because I just popped Twitter open and was instantly barraged with "Read my blog to find the top five no-no's...." and "Click to see what agents don't want to hear" and "Top ten things to do at a book signing". To me each one says (remember use your radio voice) "Friday, Friday, Friday! This Friday, Saturday and Sunday selling bonanza! This weekend only. 20! no 30! no 40% off all items red tagged!"

  Yeah I know I am exaggerating but sometimes the quick twitter tags are more interesting than the post. At least there were a few stating "Hey, I am at my book release party come and stop by if you are here" or "Do not forgot to spread out your character's mischief if writing a series". I prefer it versus the midnight sales pitch. Of course, marketing and catchy lines is what it's all about...right? :) "Getting Close to the Crazy!"

Always improving the flow!

I am always reworking or "rewriting" my stories. I use double quotes around the word rewriting because it is not necessarily rewriting but improving grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and he said, she said structure. Really overall, I am improving the flow so the reader does not get interrupted by the sentence. Yes you can easily be interrupted by the sentence. My biggest pet peeve when reading a book is to be interrupted by the writer because they went, too far, with the he said “followers”. What are the he said “followers”?

            “You’re a bad boy Johnny,” he said with an indignant smile and chagrined chin.

Yes, I have seen this before in a book and it made me gag. I almost put the book down because I already understood the mood of the character and the body language he had on his face. TOO MUCH! I do not always need the scene written after he said something.

 This is also MY biggest worry. Not to feed too much so that the reader is disturbed or even worse, wants to gag! I also do not want the reader to skip lines because they appear to be just "fillers" for the scene. UGH, another bad word but for a different time.

So, if you ever hear me say "I am rewriting chapters" this really means I am working the flow. Hhhmm, maybe I should start saying what I mean. This could help. :)

It's called Focused Writing! Oh look a shinny penny....

I was asked by a friend the other day to explain how I go about writing a novel. How do I stay so focused on each chapter to make sure it fulfills the story? By the time he finished the last sentence my mind had drifted to a penny on the ground as we walked back to the car. I laughed. He asked what was so funny. I answered his question by picking up the penny and saying “shiny!”

I don’t know about the rest of you crazies but this crazy has a hard time staying focused on one chapter at a time. I mean yeah, you have an outline and so the story weaves its way along its string but staying focused on one chapter at a time is impossible. My method so far has been get chapter’s 1 thru 3 completed since this really lays the ground work down for the book than at this point I often drift ahead to a part of the story that is begging to be written. Heck, half the time I have no idea what chapter I am writing all I know is that I am writing. Once I have exhausted this period I scan the outline and inspiration steps in.

I hardly focus! Ok yes I focus on writing and the story but while I am writing a chapter my mind is instantly wandering forward on the new things screaming to get out. Oh and also often floating in reverse to areas wanting and desiring improvement.  :)

So, story focused yes. Chapter focused no. Needing the end to get closer – EVERY DAY! Not to finish it but to get the next novel going.  :)

They call it Independent writing.

This is a new term hitting the writing market or I should say old term since really the beginning of this past summer is when it was touched upon in a writing forum. It was a description one writer used on their resume because they freelanced, self published, traditionally published and submitted articles to various groups. Hhhmm, isn't this the definition of just a 'writer'? One who writes? :) This question was asked actually and I recall the answer was “Yes, but I write in many markets giving my a broader brush stroke.”

Ok I get that. I like the name. Of course, outside the field of writing it makes no sense since writing is just that, writing. You are a writer if you do any of the above on consistent bases. You may have written in one of those fields once but I consider a writer someone who writes consistently. My definition, no one else, all mine!

What is my point? I found over these many years of participating in this wonderful field of writing one must have a broad brush to stroke the canvas. If you only stick to one item your chances of fully engaging this field is slim. Not impossible but you narrow your way into it. Now this does not mean you jump from different genres or different areas of writing but you must tap into its full capacity. Example, I write fantasy novels. I also write comic book pieces, video game pieces, and short stories (of course) in the area of fantasy.

Write in it all and you never know who may be looking in saying “hey, I need a writer.”

Of course my answer is “Yeah I follow some of them!” :)

Re........jected streak!

To continue the rejected series here is another fine example where they answered the door and requested I stay off their lawn.

I have received your query.  After careful evaluation, I have decided that I am not the right agent to represent your work.  I'm sure another agent will feel quite differently about your material though. 

Thank you for considering our agency.  I wish you the best of luck finding representation.

This is again not so bad. It appears they may have read what I sent and may have considered my work…oooorrrrr their rejection email rule finally kicked in and I received the snub. Would be nice to know what in the evaluation failed to meet the criteria they were seeking from a writer. But I guess if they wanted me to know this they would say please submit more of such and such for further review.
Time for another Query rewrite!

Fumbling through my writing repertoire

I found through these many years, in writing, you must as a writer build your skills with not just one writing skill but amass many. One of these skills, especially in the fantasy / sci-fi realm, is writing for a gaming company. About a year ago I ventured into this possibility or I should say “stumbled into it” (I am friends with the owners) with both feet.

Let me tell ya, it is a different beast even though it is based on imagination. The writing format and expectations differ from writing a novel. The outcome is sadly enough 100% visual so your creative genius (yes I laugh as I write that word) is shown, not read. Does this mean I really wrote something? Is it really mine? Or does it belong to the programmer and artist whose work is really the one being shown on the screen? All I really did was provide some words and "non-fancy" ones at that!

The answer is yes it is theirs. I may have had a part in it but really the hard part is making it all work on the screen. I may have written the sequence of events but they make it work.

Oh, I also learned as a writer I went a little overboard on what they really needed and killed some of my own writing time. BUT hey, I now have a short story about a modern day Somali Pirate and how he became one. Maybe I should turn it in to a short story contest?????????? Probably not, since I am not into the contest thing.....not ripping it but just not into it.

Re........jected.

So below is a rejection I recently received from one of the various crazies I am working to be represented by or work with (whatever it may be called). I post because this is what my blog is all about, getting close to the crazy!

Dear MJ Grothoff,

Thank you so much for your query. Unfortunately, however, this project
doesn’t sound right for me. I encourage you to continue to submit
elsewhere, and I wish you every success in your writing career. Thanks
again for thinking of me.

This isn't so bad. I believe it to be somewhat encouraging since they did not recommend I stop and put down the pen slowly. I wish I could find out why this project does not sound right for them though. They do represent fantasy literature and have clients with TOR and DAW. Right up my alley. But nonetheless, I am continuing and appreciate the response.

We have several crazies still out there ignoring my email........Yeah you, you know who you are. I am watching. Always watching!

Twitter Writer (say this 5 times really fast)

I am following many writers while traversing the twitter universe and I keep some and throw others away. I do this because I find some can be vulgar and more about themselves than writing. I keep those writers who post but when they do post it is about writing or where they are in their writing. I followed one writer for a while who used twitter as her way to argue with other writers and/or even fans. She would often make crude remarks without, of course, stating her intended target yet when you follow the conversation you knew the target.

I may begin following agents again (I follow a few) but often they post about the authors they are managing and about upcoming books (which is not too bad if you like the authors they manage). Some of them have good blogs to follow and I plan on creating list of blogs but for now I will just follow via twitter. I am using it as my strainer on who has good advice, interesting things to say and using it as a way to follow other writers.

Oh I also follow Steve Martin because well....he just funny!

The silence of writing

Whatever. Writing fiction is no way silent. I heard this the other day and thought wow, how could they think that??? You have the conversations between your characters bouncing around your own thoughts and the storyline retelling itself with each line written, which is enough noise to drown out everything around you (Yes, in layman terms we do call these extra voices creepy or "you may need to seek professional advice". But for a writer it is called - Normal). In any silent moment I am given during the day, these said voices enjoy interrupting my peace and playing havoc with the outline.

Updates! Updates! Updates!

Yeah putting the bang at the end of each update makes it important, right? Ok so not really. I am working my way through the current series and wanting more from it. Not more in the story that has been written. No, no. More from what is coming. More from the outlines, notes and gathered thoughts. You ever feel that way when you look over what you wish to do next. I want more from it now. Not tomorrow. Now. In due time I guess.

Query crazy

I have been on a crazy tangent with queries to agents. Reading Agent blogs on what they expect in a query. Agent websites on how to write a query. Writer sites on how to query an Agent.

They are all ---- different.

On the bright side, I did find a cool mapping website which shows me all of the worlds forest fires. Yep no lie.

http://www.fao.org/nr/gfims/web-mapping/en/

Crazy talk

I follow a lot of different writers and agents retweeting the same links yet I do not stop following them.
Why? This is a befuddlement.

What the......

Why the Blog name? It defines exactly what I am working to achieve as a writer.

What am I working to achieve? To quit the day thing I go to (that which shall be nameless but you know who you are!) and support my family with my writing.

So again why the Blog name?  From my five years of participating and growing as a writer, I have come to realize my dream is to work with a bunch of people just like me -----crazy. :)

Why crazy?  You tell me --> I write every day of my life (including holidays). I write within every opportunity given in a day as the sunrises/sets and the moon follows. I write until my eyes burn and I no longer can see the paper, screen or whatever the writing choice is for that moment. I am in constant thought on my writing and I read blogs about writing. For what? Very little pay, A LOT of work and constant criticism of my work by the public.   YEP - CRAZY!