Finishing Touches…

When you start a new manuscript it’s all about get the story down. But when you finish it’s all about getting it ready for your readers. Some writers have said they write like a mad person for the first draft and then polish it to a shine afterwards. Others say they like to take their time while writing so that the polishing is to a minimum. For me I fall somewhere in between. I do some corrections as I go during the first draft, but I’m trying to wean myself from doing that. It really hurts the writing process.

When you type The End it’s nowhere near the end. This is when the work begins. The task ahead is sometimes daunting and hard for the author. There’s so much to do in the final stages. Most of it is painful for a writer. The reason being, while writing the first draft you’re doing what you’re made to do, but in the final stages you’re not writing, you’re correcting and deleting. It hurt’s and takes time.

What happens if you put out the first draft without polishing it up? Well, let’s just say, don’t go out and buy anything on credit in hopes to pay it off with a disaster. What’s funny is even the biggest authors say that their finished product still has flaws. Sometimes it’s hard to get it all out of there, especially if it’s a really long manuscript.

So here are some of the steps that I go through to polish up my manuscripts:

1: As soon as a manuscript is finished I take a breather. I step back for at least a couple of hours, if not a couple of days. It helps to get you into the right state of mind to do the deed at hand.

2: Then I hit spellcheck. This helps to eliminate the common spelling and grammar issues, but please don’t leave it just to spellcheck.

3: Make sure that you read the manuscript all the way through. You’d be amazed what spellcheck misses as far as grammar. I recently found some of the craziest errors in my work. When you’re in a writing frenzy sometimes what’s in your head doesn’t come out of your fingers exactly the same.

4: It might help to read it out loud. Sometimes certain parts need to read out loud to make sense. I’ve made more changes after readind out loud.

5: Make sure you read it from a readers point of view, not your own. Make sure the plot has a pivotal point and that your characters draw interest, not flies…

Of course I only listed 5 items to start with, you need to take your manuscript apart. Make it the best possible writing you can. This is what sells more books. If you make stupid errors and don’t correct them, readers will grow weary and ignore your work.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

It’s Spring! I’m so over Winter!

Well, today around lunch time it will become officially Spring. Of course that doesn’t mean that Winter has let go of it’s grip here in the US. Here in Georgia we’re looking at cold temps next week and yep, a hint was given about a possible snow scenario coming really close to us next week. Really, we live in the South and for some reason Mother Nature has forgotten that. Oh well, we’ll deal with it as it comes.

When you think of Spring you usually think of Spring cleaning and refreshing everything around you. For me it’s crunch time in tax season and that means I’m up to my elbows in tax returns. My writing usually suffers some during this time of the year. I can’t keep my brain solidly on a story line when I finally get back into the house at night. But I think maybe I can go through my old manuscripts and do some refreshing.

I’ve spoken several times about revising older releases and making them new. Usually when you do this you change the cover and give the book a new outlook. I’m planning on a couple of revisions in the next couple of weeks. I’m also following some advice from a couple of my reviewers.

Also, this is a good time to clean up your files on your computer. In the Winter we get bogged down in the Winter time slow down of our brain. We let junk emails pile up, we let old, unuseful files pile up. Well, let’s clean up that computer and get ready for the Spring/Summer inspiration that comes to most writers. I write more in the Spring/Summer time period. So if the computer is clean and ready, you can write unhindered.

So, how are you Spring Cleaning your writing?

As always, Good Writing and May God Bless You…

Good or bad, it’s your choice…

When you sat down to write your first manuscript you made the choice to do that. You decided that it was time to put your thoughts on paper and it was the right choice for you at that moment. But what then? Would you decide to publish it? How would you do that? Would you go traditional or self publish? Decisions, Decisions!

It’s a critical choice in any writer’s mind. I talked to a writer not too long ago that has written several complete manuscripts but she was confused as to what road to take. She actually contacted me with the hopes of getting a little more insight into how I chose the path I did. As I told her it’s really as simple as making a list and figuring out what’s best for you.

For me, I had other options than self publishing, but it was a good fit for me, maybe not for others. After I had self published a couple of books I received “THE CALL” that all authors love to receive. It was a rather large publishing house that I’d heard of and actually had several books in my library published through them. The gentleman was nice and had knowledge of my books and style of writing. He’d actually read one of them and was interested in putting it under their label. Of course my heart did a quick pitter patter, but then I started asking questions. I’m a very analytical person, so I had questions. What are you planning to do for my book that I don’t already do? What’s the royalty percentage? Will I lose my rights? Turns out I was better off where I was at. The royalties were 1/2 of what I was already making and yes I had to sign my rights to my work over to them and then the promotional package they offered for a nice little sum was exactly what I was already doing on my own for free. I kindly thanked him and said I’d keep his number. He hounded me for a couple of months with different ‘offers’, but I stayed true to my decision.

Here’s a couple of things that you need to decide on before you make the choice:

1: Do you have the discipline to do the marketing and social media presence that’s needed to keep your name available?

2: What about the business end of publishing? Can you handle all the ins and outs of the publishing business? Self Publishing is a business and it can take some time to put things together.

3: What type of royalties are you looking at? If higher royalties are needed, then self publishing my be the route to go, but be aware of the needs of self publishing.

4: You’re in charge of getting a cover made, either you design it or you hire someone to do it. Remember this is the first thing someone will see and first impressions are valuable.

5: Editing is still a must even with self publishing. I know that we all think our work is great, but it needs to be edited by someone other than your best friend. Editing is important.

Of course I could go on and on, but this is a couple of things I told the author. She sat for a moment thinking and then she told me that this had helped her start the decision process.

Either way you go, it’s your choice. If you send your manuscript to a traditional publisher, be patient. If they like what they see it’ll happen. Take their advice and use it. If you choose self publishing, please take it seriously. You are in the hot seat if you choose this route. Either way you go, it’s your choice. You’re in charge of this decision.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Faith Through The Tears in final stages!

As you know I’ve had several works in progress. One in particular is “Faith Through The Tears” which is the 2nd book in the Lean On Him Christian Romance Series. I’m in the final stages of it and getting really excited. If things go well, I look to have it up and run this weekend. It still has a couple of nudges and tweaks, but it’s going smoothly.

It’s amazing when you get in the groove and everything just falls into place. Since the cover has been completed for months that makes the process much smoother. Now it’s down to those pesky little edits that plague every writer. But this one has been close to my heart so I look forward to the final read through before we hit publish.

Let me give you a little hint of what this book is all about. It’s a continuation of come of the characters from “With All My Heart”. It starts with Randy and Rachel’s love story and her battle with cancer. But it takes a sad turn and yes, it’s a box of tissues kind of book. I cried the whole time I wrote the first half of this book. It just tore at my heart.

A couple of months ago I posted the first chapter on Avon Romance’s blog site and I received responses ranging from ‘you made me cry’ to ‘I’ve got to know how this comes out’. It’s so exciting when you can grab the reader with just an excerpt.

This book has some surprises from the first book regarding Luke and Amanda. So many readers fell in love with their story of faith and love through the challenges. I’ve brought out some of their lives too. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with this one. It’s filled with tremendous faith and the challenges that life brings when you lose your soul mate.

So, I hope everyone is staying warm and safe from the world’s crazy weather patterns. But for now it’s time to pick up the ledgers and get back to accounting. At least I’m in a beautiful environment with the snow covered back ground behind me. But bring on Spring!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Cleaning up a mess…

Have you ever started an edit on your manuscript and wondered what happened? It’s the weirdest thing when you’re writing it sounds good and then you start to edit and wonder who wrote it. You know it’s happened to you before. I sometimes think that maybe I write in my sleep. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it…

I was working on one of my WIP and got a little sidetracked, well maybe a lot sidetracked. I couldn’t seem to keep the story in my head. So, I decided to do a read through. I reached a section that I know I wrote several nights ago and I was really tired that night. Well, it was going well and all of a sudden it was like, What? I laughed out loud at my own mistakes. Several words were not even recognizable and some of the sentences were just plain out horrible. They didn’t make sense and a couple of times I just drifted off into lala land.

Well, to say the least, I spent a lot of time rewriting and I’m glad I did. While cleaning up the mess I made I actually had a ah ha moment and changed a whole scene in the middle of the book. It flows so much better and I’m happy with it. It makes the ending seem so much clearer. Funny how our clean up edits can bring about a whole new outlook on a story.

So, as I sit here writing this cold Saturday morning, I hope all of you are writing or doing something you enjoy. It’s Saturday. Give yourself a break and enjoy yourself.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Changing up…

Before I published my first book I did a lot of investigating. The general comment that I saw from several well known writers was to keep writing. They said that the more you write the better your craft and the better the sales. Well, I wondered how this would pan out for my future career as a writer.

Now that I’m coming up on my two year publishing anniversary I can say that this is a fact. It’s funny that when I read my first published book I shake my head. I’m in the process of revising a couple of my first books. I’ve learned so much about the process and writing in the last two years. I changed a lot of how the process goes. Also, I’ve slowed down a bit. Of course that could be age, but let’s get past that point.

I’ve seen a huge difference in sales. The first 6 months after publishing my first book my sales were minimal. Every month after that I’ve seen a upswing. I’ve also learned to put a decent price on my work. Even though you might sell less in numbers, the end result if a larger profit.

As for my covers I’ve stepped up the game. Now I put more effort in making each new cover pack a punch. I want them to stand out in the enormous crowd of other newly published books. I study other covers that I see and what the current trends are. I get a lot of response on my covers which makes me smile.

One thing I’ve learned from multiple published books, I’ve added more descriptions. I’ve added more insight into the characters and more information on the surroundings. Some of this comes from fans writing to me. They tell me that my earlier books were good, but they wanted more from the characters. I’ve listened to the readers and now I write further detail into every book. Patience has been a hard thing for me to have in my writing. When you can see the end and your excited, sometimes you press it too quickly and lose the middle structure.

My publishing process has become very detailed. I’ve slowed that process too. Now I do a little more marketing than before. As you’ve noticed in my blogs I’m working on several manuscripts that have been in the works for a while. I also have a couple of surprises coming up, but that’s for another blog down the road.

As always, good writing, and May God Bless You…

3 Ways Indie Authors Can Improve Self Publishing

As you know I’m a self published author. When I decided to publish my manuscripts I studied the market. I’m an Accountant and I have a strong analytical background so that pushed me to make a study into this. I looked into both the traditional market and the self publishing market. One thing I realized was that more and more traditionally published authors are going to the self publishing market. But let me tell you this, in order to do it right you’ve got to keep up the traditional publishing standards strictly enforced.

Here are 3 of the ways Authors can improve Self Publishing:

1: Editing: This is a very important part of publishing and this is where several self published authors fail at. It’s also part of why some people will not pick up a self published book because they’ve been burned before. You’ve got to read your manuscript and read it again. Also you need to either get Beta Readers or someone that will be critical and unbiased to read your work. When you read your manuscript pull yourself away. Read it as though you’re a reader and are you inspired to read it again. If it falls flat, then how can you expect anyone else to get into. Have you corrected all the spelling errors, grammatical errors, and just plain out story line disasters?

2: Covers: I can’t stress this enough. Covers can sell even a badly written book. This is the first thing that a reader sees. This is the first line of selling rank. If you don’t spend money on anything else, please spend a little on this. There are so many talented cover designers out there. I’ve been so fortunate to have a awesome cover designer. I’ve seen some really cool covers and then some really horrible attempts. Your cover needs to tell something about what’s inside. It need to pull the reader in. I’ve purchased so many books just from the cover.

3: Book Blurbs: I stress about this with all my books. This is the hardest part of writing to me, no kidding. Make sure you don’t give away too much in the blurb. Too many authors tell the story on the back of the book. This is not good. Be very descriptive and use complimentary words that will draw in the reader. I’ve done a study on this with my very own books. I put out a blurb on a couple of my books that I was somewhat happy with, but I noticed a lag in sales. Then I sat down and poured over the blurbs changing some of the key words and adding some small elements. This helped the sales dramatically. Try it and see if your sales go up.

It’s hard to be an author, period! When I say I’m an author, people come back with yeah, I could write a book. Well, yeah, anyone can write a book, but can they write a book that will go anywhere? Do they have the drive to publish that book and do all the marketing? Being an author is not as easy as it looks and being self published is brutal at times.

But let me tell you the rewards far outweigh the difficulties. The first time a fan comes up to you at the grocery store and says, “Oh my goodness you’re that author.” The first time this happened to me I was so embarassed and excited at the same time. When you get emails from fans excited about your work it makes you smile all day. I’ve gained so many new friends from all over the world that some days I’m just amazed. Yes it’s a lot of work, but it’s so worth it.

Have I thought about traditionally publishing? Yes. I sent Ghost Lover to a traditional publisher and never heard a word. Then I decided to self publish it and it was all uphill from there. It was my introduction into the publishing world and the response to that book has been really great. I’ve had a couple of big publishers call me about coming on board with them, but they couldn’t offer my anything different from what I do now, so not now. I do have a work in progress at the moment that it’s been in my heart to send to a publisher that I contribute to as a blogger. We’ll see how that goes.

So, my advice to you is to go for it, but be prepared to do it right. This is your name you’re putting out there, so make it shine. If you need any help with it, I’m in partnership with my editor/cover designer in a publishing service, Horseshoe Publishing. We’ll help you iron out those wrinkles and make your work shine like a new penny.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Editing, a writer’s worst nightmare…

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/indigoskies/11527801016/”>Indigo Skies Photography</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a

Editing is a process not to be taken lightly. Sometimes I look forward to this process because that means the manuscripts is almost done, but other times I dread it like a shot in the arm. But it’s a process that if you don’t do it you’ll regret it, believe me.

I talked with a fellow Indie author one day about editing. She said the only thing she does is run spell check and grammar check. I was horrified. Can anyone say “Oh my goodness”? That’s what I said and then I sat down with her and we had a long talk. I then picked up her finished manuscript and when I was finished reading it there was more red than black. She was shocked and mortified. She now goes through a detailed editing process.

When I finish a manuscript I always step back for a day or two before I even start editing. That way I’m not too excited to do what I need to do. When I start I always run the spell and grammar checks just to get rid of those pesky extra spaces, oopsy words (you know the ones) and the bad grammar that always follows a wild writing marathon. This helps to make the editing process go a little smoother, but only a little.

Then comes the fun part, I sit down and read the manuscript. Have you ever read over your finished manuscript and wondered at what point you lost your whole brain? Well I have. The things I’ve done while writing amaze me. I know I took english and writing in college, but sometimes when I read my own writing I laugh out loud. Where the heck did that come from? Surely I didn’t write that sentence.

Have you ever changed a characters name mid book? Come on, don’t be shy. Well, I’ll admit to doing that on a couple of occasions. I was reading a manuscript the other day and a minor character went from Betty to Betsy. I had to read the chapter over again to make sure I hadn’t fired the housekeeper in the previous chapter. But alas, no, she should have stayed Betty. Easy fix, not hardly, but it was taken care of by the nice little editing tool called “FIND”.

Now as you are the writer, do make sure that someone other than your closest friend reads it too. My editor is my niece, but let me tell you she can be strict. I have been working and felt someone boring a hole in my head. She’d be staring at me like I’d grown two heads. Then she’d point out something totally off the wall that I typed. She has asked me several times if I was drinking something stronger than hot tea as I was writing.

Let me give you some honest advice from someone who learned this the hard way. If you don’t want to spend the money for a professional editor then please find several people who will be brutally honest and let them read it. You can’t do it yourself. It’s your baby and you don’t want to change a thing. Believe me, nobody writes a perfect manuscript from the get go, NOBODY! I was reading a NYT bestselling book the other night and I felt pretty good with some of my errors. There in black and white was some really big goofs that had not been caught. It happens people, so get over it and try to do better.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

What’s your goal?

A goal is something that we strive to get to. Maybe it’s a financial goal where you want to pay off a bill. Maybe it’s a raise on your job. As a writer most of us want to write full time. Is that your goal? Do you know how to achieve it?

As for me that would be nice, but I still work full time in my accounting office. Some writers go into writing expecting instant gratification. Well, I’m sorry to tell you it doesn’t work that way most of the time. Now don’t get me wrong, some authors have actually made it pretty big in a short time, but it’s not always the case. Some writers I’ve talked to said it was years before they made enough to even think about quitting their full time job.

One thing I’ve noticed with my writing is that patience is a virtue. Well it may be a virtue but sometimes it’s frustrating waiting on that sale to come through. One big author that I’ve always looked up to and read everything she published messaged me one day. Which for me that was a success in it’s self. She told me to keep up the good work and not to worry about sales that they would come. Her advice was to get out several books and make sure my name was out there. She said it took over two years for her to really see a big up flow of sales. This totally took me by surprise. In my mind I figured she was living the good life, but as she stated, she’s doing well now but it wasn’t always that case. I left the conversation feeling lots better.

I’ve turned out 11 books and have several in the works. As I studied my sales over the last year and a half, I see a trend. And you know, she was right. The more books I have published the more they sale. It’s strange how it works, but I guess a reader picks up a book by an author and if they like the authors style they pick up more of their books. It also helps to have several series going so that the reader is in wanting of the rest of the story.

Don’t forget that as in any business you have to keep up with expenses and royalties. Some authors don’t think about this until it’s too late. Every website expense, writing program, notebook, computer, advertising expense and postage to send books out are expenses to keep up with. Make sure you start a business plan as soon as possible so that this part of your writing life is not swamped with needless stress.

Enjoy your writing and the sales will come. Write what’s in your heart and make it the best you can. Give it the tender loving care it deserves by editing, editing and editing some more. Make the cover a dreamy concoction of what the story means to you. As a writer usually you have in your mind how you want it to look. Then tell everyone about it. Do a social media blitz and show the passion you have for the story. It will be contagious and soon people will catch the passion.

Don’t get discouraged. You’re a writer. It’s an awesome thing and you now have the ability to touch the lives of many, many people.

As always, good writing and may God Bless You…

Writing is like dead heading the mums…

I know, you’re say, what the heck? I was out dead heading my mums the other evening with a flashlight, yep I said with a flashlight. I had my time scheduled out so that I could get some things taken care of like dead heading my mums. This helps them to rebloom sooner and even better. Well I forgot to weigh in the time change, which made it dark at that time. So I got it done and felt a little better.

As for writing, here’s what I’m saying. When we first have the thoughts for a book it’s like the seedling of our little mum. It’s fresh and vulnerable. Then we water it and fertilize it so that it grows chapter by chapter into a mature, stabile plant. But once it’s mature and the blooms are in full blossom, that’s not the end of it. We have to keep it watered and the dead blooms pinched off. That essentially means in writing that we have to make sure we’ve edited it and eliminated all of the badly spelled words and terrible grammar that comes along in a frantic first draft.

I know, sometimes my analogies are a little strange, but some people like to have a for instance situation. I don’t like that part of writing. Of course it’s a very important part of the process. Nothing’s worse than finding a huge error and knowing that you just published it and will have to unpublish to correct. So get it dead headed to start with.

Hope all is well on this Veteran’s Day. I want to thank all of the Veteran’s out there for your huge sacrifice for our freedom. Also a salute out to your families as they also sacrificed while waiting for your return. Love you all. So take a moment today for a little silent time thanking those that fought and a prayer for those still fighting for the freedom we know today.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…