self-publishing

Writing update – July

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Book cover: Prophecy of Power - quarry, featuring a woman in a dress and a man in leather gear.My blog has been sadly neglected lately. I’ve been writing more guest posts than posts here, and I’m also in the middle of several projects which seem to be taking a lot of my time.

I wanted to blog about Conflux 9, Australia’s 52nd National Science Fiction Convention, but got all enthusiastic with another project and never got around to it. Catch-up time.

In short, Conflux was fantastic. I caught up with a lot of people from out of town (as well as plenty of locals I don’t see enough of), made new friends, rubbed shoulders with publishers and editors, convened a couple of panels, and even gave a workshop.

I purchased far more books than I probably should have too, but hey, if you can’t splurge at a con, when can you? Hopefully I’ll get the time to read them soon.

I’ve also managed to produce several printed copies of my manuscript through CreateSpace. I’ve sent three out to proof-readers, and hopefully I’ll get their feedback soon. The plan is that if I don’t get any joy from the agent and publisher I’ve sent the manuscript to, I’ll publish the book myself.

That decision has freed me up to write the sequels – something I’d avoided previously as being a waste of time. The reason was that if the first book never sold, spending time on the sequels was pointless because they’d never sell until the first one did.

That’s changed with the option of self-publishing.

I’ve also gained some insight into another story I’ve been wanting to tell, but couldn’t find a satisfying way into it. I think I’ve found that now. The entire story arc is beginning to fall into place. I needed to slow the pace a little – show the entire story, not just the end-game.

That’s it for now. Here’s a guest post I wrote for JW Alden’s blog on the dream of publishing books in hardcopy.

What I’ve learned about writing and publishing – Jen Christopherson

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Today I’ve got the amazing Jen Christopherson over for a chat on her writing process and experiences in the publishing game. Please make her feel welcome.

Photo of Jen Christopherson

Howdy!

Before we get started I would like to thank Chris and fandelyon.com for having me! I am very excited to be here!

I would like to say I am one of those writers that has a schedule and writes every day on a project, adding in communicating online on a regular basis (and in all fairness, I’ve tried!!), but I’m not one of those people.

I write and communicate as time permits. I try to keep in touch online at least five days a week, but sometimes… Well, sometimes life just happens!

When I’m writing, I write. I forget about everything else, including eating. My poor boyfriend! He has to remind me to do everything while I am writing!

Editing my work is easier because I have the inclination to “social edit”.

What I mean is that I share what I am working on with my boyfriend and we edit it together. Now, with my momma living with us, there will be three of us editing! LOL

Well, being a “pantser” (I like that term! I have always been a “seat of my pants” kind of gal!), I have a difficult time blogging! Oh! I missed my cover unveiling on Facebook, too! That was humiliating!!! LOL

Tior, by Jen ChristophersonWhen I wrote Tior, I wrote from start to finish. I wrote it in 30 days!

I wasn’t on the internet because I couldn’t afford it. I say that to let you know, I have been so poor I couldn’t afford the down payment on a free sandwich! LOL.

I had no idea about editing or having someone edit it for me. I wanted a second opinion on the book and asked a friend to read it. They liked it and wanted to help me get it published.

Well, I got wrapped up in the excitement of publishing and completely forgot to review the work to make sure it was publisher ready. Oh! I learned so much from that one little book! The story is good, I just want to “finish” it!

Warrior Crone by Jen ChristophersonWarrior Crone was different.

I kept being “visited” by Winaiva (Tar-Reesh’s favorite companion) and she was reading me Tar-Reesh’s journals. I know writers will understand, not sure others would though!

Anyway, I began writing it way back in 2008, but life had a way of putting a bunch of stuff in my way and I didn’t get it finished until now.

I’m thankful for the journey I have had writing it and look forward to what is to come!

My current project, Living Winter (working title), has begun by introducing characters and scenes. I will have to figure out where they all go and how it all works out! It’s an adventure fantasy.

I suppose that would be the “ultimate pantser”, right?

Three books and three different ways to start them! I do not feel that I am an author. I am more like a “ghost writer” who gets all the credit for the characters’ work, ya know?

Writing Tior taught me about writing, publishing and marketing (or the results of the lack of it!).

You should check it to make sure it’s ready, if you don’t want to “read it again”, put it away for a while and come back to it. Make sure you are not excited about the next step when you read it, you’ll miss a lot! Research publishers on Editors and Predators website. You can learn from others before you get into a mess o’ trouble!

When you are writing a book is the best time to start marketing it. Bring others along for the ride! Let them get to know the real you and you will find the people who will enjoy your writing!

Warrior Crone could be two books. The story before Warrior Crone is what taught me a “life lesson”. I learned not to judge a religion based on the actions of the people of the faith. Someone summed it up best, “Church is the one place where people go and not one of them is fit to be there.” In other words, “Principles are the perfection we are seeking.”

Warrior Crone, the book part, has taught me to not only accept criticism, but to embrace it. Without criticism, I cannot grow as a writer and THAT is what life is about, growing. At least, for me it is.

I haven’t tried to put any morals or theme into my books, I generally find them after they are written.

I think, if I tried to put it in there, the book would suck. I would be too focused on the moral and forget about the story.

I have found I love communicating with people about my writing. I love sharing it and hearing what they think of it.

I had people in my life when Tior was published who would only say things like, “It’s ok,” or “It sucks.” When I asked for more they would say, “I dunno.”

Now, I have people who tell me things like, “That’s a terrible place to end it! What happens next?!?” I like those responses much better. I can work with those!

I have one last thing to say before I go. I’ve heard people say, “It’s the journey, not the destination.”

I thought, “Yeah, they ain’t never been where I am, if they think that.”

Well, I have begun to follow my dreams and I can testify that the journey has been the best part. If you don’t believe me, then start following your own dreams and see what happens! I dare ya! I double dog dare you to follow your dreams!!! When you do, be sure to drop by and let me know how it’s going. I don’t care what your dream is, let me know what you’re doing to follow it and what your experiences have been so far.

Alright, that’s all I have for now. Thank you for letting me ramble and rant. I hope ya’ll come on by and visit a spell.

Please leave Jen a comment below or find her at her blog – JC Publishing or on Google Plus.

Read more interviews with authors.

Is self-publishing a good thing?

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I’ve come across a lot of free book giveaways by indie authors in the last few years, but I’ve been hesitant to download them for fear of disappointment.

That’s not to suggest that rejection by the major publishers is an indicator of quality, or that bypassing publishers isn’t.

But how does a writer make that call?

Curiosity piqued, I finally downloaded a bunch of indie books and tried three at random – authors I didn’t know.

Hero MetamorphosisThe first was H.E.R.O. –Metamorphosis, by Kevin Gerald Rau. He is clearly promoting the book in the hopes of selling the sequels. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even checking out the five sample chapters that followed.

Despite that, I’m fairly sure a major publisher would reject it, but not by much – Kevin has an easy style and his prose is polished. He drew me in, and that’s what really matters.

The next two books needed some industrial-strength red pens. On a scale of one to five, both would struggle to reach one.

The first was so wordy and bloated I barely made it through a full three chapters, and only succeeded by skipping chunks.

The second was a struggle in an entirely different way – it began with a prologue that did nothing but summarise the story’s world-building and history (classic newbie mistake), and it didn’t get any better after that. I gave up.

My question is, could self-publishing be doing more harm than good by exposing authors to readers before their skills are up to the job?

There are certainly pros and cons to both sides.

What do you think?

If you like this post, you might like to browse through The Craft of Writing.

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