22
Jun
Okay.
I've always been interested in communal sites for writers. Although writing is a solitary thing, we're still social creatures who like to hang out with other people. Especially people who understand about those voices in our heads without calling for strange jackets with very long sleeves, leather straps and heavy duty buckles.
(No, not THAT kind! Sheesh. Mind. Out. Of. Gutter.)
I used to hang out on Compuserve's Literary Forum long before there was a Romance Forum… and I still hang out (mostly lurking) in the Litforum from time to time, even though the Romance Forum is long gone.
The CIS LitForum was my spiritual home for many years.
New sites spring up from time to time, some last, some don't.
Querytracker is one I hang out on every now and then, both the forum and the blog are very informative.
Authoradvance started back in October 2009, taking over from LitMatch. It's getting on it's feet but could use more involvement.
There is also Writer's BBS, which as been around for many years. It looks a bit quiet these days though.
I'm not fond of sites splattered with ads, which is probably why I'm not too keen on hanging out at Writer's Net, but don't let that deter you.
The same goes for Romance Divas, it's not my kind of thing, but I'm sure many will love the place.
There are tons more, I won't list them all. Then again, maybe I'll put up a page with URL's for them.
If you have one you'd like to suggest to others, feel free to leave a comment with the link.
I do approve legitimate links only, so if you want to post a link to a porn site… you'll never see the link materialize here, and you'll only get your IP banned if you do it again. (Picture me with that nasty cat o'nine, why don'tcha?)
Once I have a relatively good list… I'll put up a page with them on it, for reference purposes.
Please note that I'm not a member at all of those sites, so I'll have to go by what I'm told about them by others, a lot of the time.
http://www.authoradvance.com/ (Formerly Litmatch)
http://writers-bbs.com/forums/
http://www.writers.net/ (Full of google ads)
http://www.querytracker.net (Check out the forum)
http://romancedivas.com/
Here are some links for you to check out.
6
Feb
It's up to you.
I don't like being overly snarky, though sometimes I might be.
I don't want to go and offend anyone, but I also have my own opinions. If others don't agree with them – fine. Live and let die. Or something in that vein.
The topic of this post is content, and what your content says about you, the author.
Believe it or not, it says a lot.
The topics you choose tell your readers where your mind goes to wander, where it tiptoes through fields of daisies, or tapdances through minefields. (The latter is to be avoided, you tend to end up minus some limbs.)
Personally, I prefer to tiptoe through minefields, but hey… that's me.
The crux of the matter is this: What you post is out there for all to see. Once it's out there, you can't take it back. Even if you delete it, some search engine probably already archived it someplace you can't demolish — even if you want to.
And don't for one second think no one will see your unfortunate outburst. When you query an agent or a publisher, if they consider to take you on — they will research you. They'll see all that dirty laundry you hung out, rummage through your virtual drawers and navigate around your Pr0n collection. (I call 'em hunks, my other half calls it my dirty little secret. HA! What does he know…)
Anyway, what I'm saying is, people see what you write and they judge you by those posts. They'll form an opinion about what you're like. How well they may get on with you, or work with you.
If you post stuff you wouldn't want your boss to see — then don't post it.
Don't deceive yourself – any publisher / editor / agent out there is pretty much a potential boss.
They look at it with a far more critical eye than any employer ever would, because while you might never set foot out of an office - having a book out there is rather different.
There is marketing to consider. Image.
Your image can be ruined before you even get noticed, and rebuilding it is a tricky business.
And Image is important. Sure, you can pretend to be nicey-nice and all that, but that just makes you a bit bland in my opinion.
You can have opinions, we all do, but if you post it, then be rational about it, and don't jump on people if they comment and disagree with you.
Some things (and I've seen stuff like this) are just a total no-no.
For instance, if you query a sweet historical with a publisher, yet on your blog you rant and scream about how the genre sucks, and is only read by imbeciles — you think they want to work with someone who doesn't believe in their own book? Or who insults their entire readership? Them?
Not bloody likely.
(I'm being very nasty and harsh above, that isn't reflecting how I feel about sweet historicals or it's readers, it's just an example — before someone comes and hits me over the head with a brick, or something!)
Or hey, go all political! It's not like anyone cares, right? Then add religion into the mix and you've found an almost guaranteed way to offend half the population. (While the other half likely agrees with you.)
As I said, I prefer to tiptoe around in my minefields. I have my own opinion, obviously, and it may (or may not) mesh with other people's opinions. But why take the chance? I don't need to ram it down their throats, they don't need to know what I think about how well a president or prime minister is doing, or whether I do or don't like the church. Keep that stuff private, or among friends. Not out there, for all to see (and judge). There are plenty of neutral topics, blog about those instead.
Keep it light and informative. Research anything you present as fact – or else it will likely come back to bite you in the ass.
If you have a writing blog, treat it as such. Stick to topics about writing, or writing life. If you mix business and pleasure, don't go into too much detail. In both cases, be aware of your audience and consider your topics carefully.
Your content is your marketing tool. If it would impact negatively on your career – then don't put it out there.
Ah. Now look what I've done.
I've put my opinion out there, for all to see!
(I tend to avoid writing about any of my real hotbuttons though…)
Obviously you don't have to take this advice, especially since I'm not always sticking to it either, but maybe it'll give you some food for thought.
There are many blogs out there where the authors rant about every topic imaginable. It gets kind of boring, you know? And they aren't doing themselves any favors, either.
I mean, if you were a publisher — would you want to work with someone who explodes on the page every two seconds?
I know I wouldn't.
So consider what you post, before you hit that publish button.
4
Feb
One of the most asked questions in my critique group (and most other places where writers linger and mingle) is "Should I have a website?"
The answer isn't as simple as you might think.
It isn't a simple yes or no.
In fact, it's not the right question to ask.
The real question is: Should you have a web presence.
Then the answer is a resounding "Yes"
Confused?
Isn't a website the same as a web presence?
What if I have a blog? Is it also a website?
It may be confusing terminology, but it is really very straightforward.
A blog, a website, a facebook page, a myspace place, Livejournal… any of those is a web presence. I don't count Twitter among those, btw.
A website is a static entity. Most "websites" you find are what web developers and savvy internet users refer to as "Cobwebs".
A cobweb refers to an unchanging, dead site. It goes up, and never gets modified. It's static. It's… dead.
Why should your visitors return? What is the point of having a page that never changes? (Or gets only minimal updates, maybe once a year.)
Most writers are far better served by having a blog. Blogs, while they can also be static if you never post anything, allow visitors to interact with the blog owner. (There are also tons of abandoned blogs out there. It's by no means a surefire way of being on the cusp of technology.)
Most blogs allow you to have a fixed page, or articles. Use those for static content, like book listings, useful link collections, biographies etc.
Use your actual blog posts to update your readers. Be that a new book release, a sale, an agent who signed you, an appearance, a contest, or maybe just what you had for breakfast this morning.
Keep it lively. Think of topics that might interest your readers. Maybe post a snippet of a WIP sometimes. That kind of thing.
Keep it interesting and you'll have people coming back. That's what you want. Build up a following.
Static webpages are a thing of the past, the web has evolved way beyond those, so really you don't want a webpage – you want a place where you can interact.
There are other considerations that go hand in hand with building a web presence.
Should you have your own domain?
The domain is the bit after the http://, in case you're confused.
Yes, you can certainly have a web address of iamagreatauthor.blogspot.com. Nothing wrong with that.
There are cost considerations too. A domain needs to be paid for. (About $10/pa for a .com). That's not a hell of a lot, now is it?
Then you need to consider your image. Do you mind if your "free" host (where your blog lives) puts adverts on your pages? (Most do, and they won't ask what they can put on your page, they just slap it on there.) What if that free host goes bust? It happens. Are you prepared to lose all your hard work and words of wisdom and find a new place for it? (Which you then have to set up and configure.)
If you write under the name Joan Smith – would you prefer if your readers found you via joansmith.com?
Another thing about those free hosts…
I am betting NONE of the writers who host their blogs on wordpress.com or blogspot.com / blogger.com ever read the terms of service.
Well, on those two your content is safe. It still belongs to you. I haven't really checked any others (I don't use them), but it behooves you to read those terms and conditions carefully.
For instance, a while back I posted about a "Buyer beware" when it comes to terms and conditions, after I read About.com's terms — which state anything posted on their site belongs to them and their affiliates. So make sure you read carefully before you sign on the dotted line, or you could find all those articles you write, snippets you post — belong to the service who is hosting your blog / webpages.
Hosting your own isn't as hard as people think, nor is it all that expensive.
You can get started from as little at $3 a month and often the hosting company will throw in the cost of the domain. (Beware on that, too, but I'll explain in a little bit. Bear with me.)
If you want your own, and want to host a blog, but you're not comfortable with installing it yourself, then look for a host who offers something like "Fantastico" which is a script that does it for you.
If you write erotica — make sure you choose a host who doesn't mind "Adult Content". Yes, I know it's a writer's site, not a porn site, but 99% of hosts out there will class the site of an erotica writer as an adult site. All it takes is one visitor to email your host and complain — and you will be minus a web presence because you violated their terms and conditions. (The same goes for free hosting — double check! If not sure, ASK!)
On that "Free" domain thing…
Domains cost very little to register. I would always — ALWAYS — register the domain myself, not let some webhosting company register it for me.
Why?
Because it's not hard to do, but if the hosting company registers the domain in their name (instead of yours) then it's their domain (not yours) even though you might think it is. And if you don't like it there anymore, and want to move, that super domain you found and which is associated with you — might not belong to you. Then you're faced with a domain name dispute and that's messy.
What's more, if you register your domain yourself, you often get the option to add privacy on it. That's important, because any domain out there is registered with a full address, which people can look up via a "Whois" service.
(Godaddy.com offer privacy registration, their domain panel is straightforward and they are good to work with.)
So unless you have a postbox, or you don't mind every stalker knowing where you live and what your phone number is — go for private registration.
Another thing on domains: Good, short, meaningful .com domains are practically gone.
Unless you have a name like mine, you'll likely find your name is not available as a .com.
There are other extensions available, but the first one people look for is a .com, so if you can get a great one — grab it now. Even if you don't use it right now, keep it registered. Because when you are ready to use it, and possibly need that domain… it may be gone.
Yes, it's a lot to take in, a lot to consider.
But ask yourself this:
Do you want freedom, no ads, and a domain name that never changes and which you can build on? Or will you be happy with what you can get from a free provider?
It's up to you, but I hope I've given you an idea of what is out there, and that it's not as daunting as it seems if you follow a few simple rules:
- Register a domain yourself
- Protect your privacy
- Read the terms and conditions
- Be aware of what you need, and get hosting accordingly (bought or free)
That's pretty much it.
I'll harp on about the content of a blog some other time. Because that's important too.
P.S. I'm not a Godaddy affiliate, I just like their service.
P.P.S If you come across "Myhosting.com" as a registrar… don't even think about it. If I could award them a -10 for ease of use and competence, I would. I am currently in week 5 of trying to get a domain away from them. So far, it's still sitting there, over two months after registration, and I can't do anything with it. AVOID them at all costs, it's the worst experience I've ever had with a registrar — and I've used plenty of them.
30
Jan
Do you like Vampires? Demons? Werewolves?
I do. Well, I like the stories, not the monsters. I don't think I'd want to ever encounter a real vampire, or get bitten by a werewolf.
Kinda not my thing, the whole blood and pain deal.
Writing about it? Sure.
There is plenty of blood and gore in my books, my heroes get stabbed, shot, tortured… even killed. (Yes, I have been known to kill off the hero about 1/4 into the story…)
But it isn't always a bad guy doing the stabbing and shooting, it's not always a monster doing it, either. Sometimes it's an average Joe, who feels threatened enough to defend himself by any means possible.
When we speak of monsters, we inevitably picture Nosferatu, Frankenstein, or something like Predator. We never think of the man next door, who may be perfectly nice when we meet him in the street — but who secretly buries people alive in his back yard.
Sometimes human monsters are worse than supernatural ones.
Take Elizabeth Bathory for example.
Born in 1560 in Hungary, she managed to kill over six hundred girls in about thirty years. No one stopped her, until she made the mistake of killing noblewomen, rather than peasants.
People knew about this, but because the girls were peasants, no one did anything.
It wouldn't surprise me if those (of her own standing) who met her saw a very different woman to the murderous monster the peasant girls got to meet.
The human race definitely has its own monsters, and sometimes they are scarier than anything we can make up.
So next time you find yourself stuck for something to write, and reach for the werewolf or the vampire — consider turning that innocent looking elderly man next door into a monster.
Then ask yourself… What if?
We've been talking about writing habits, over at Passionate Critters. (My critique group)
Mostly about revision, but also writing in general. Harper did a very nice blog post about it.
There are different habits, different ways of doing things. None of us are the same, we all have our little quirks. Little things we like to do. What works for one person, might not work for another.
Personally, I'm a night owl. I do my best writing at night, way past midnight usually, slurping a tepid (or cold) cup of coffee that has sat on my desk so long, I forgot it's there. (I used to work in IT. Cold coffee is… not unusual.)
When I concentrate, when I'm in the story, I don't see or hear anything else. You could probably rob me blind while I am that deep into it, I wouldn't notice. Well, not until you tried to take my computer. I'd probably murder the burglar for interrupting the flow.
To concentrate, I often fiddle with little strips of fabric, roll it between my fingers while my mind goes into overdrive. For some odd reason the feel of the fabric helps me to focus.
I go outside, stare into the darkness while I have a cigarette (yes, filthy blah blah…) and my characters usually have a conversation in my head while I do it. If there is a particular pose I want to convey, I try it out, see how it would look or feel. My neighbors probably wonder about me. Oh well.
I write everywhere. There isn't a second of the day when I don't write — even if it's just in my head. I get incredibly annoyed when I have something I need to put on paper or screen, and I can't. Boy, do I ever!
But if you watch me — I won't write a word. Not even one. I will wait until everyone is out of the room, because I can't stand having someone watch me. It drives me nuts when someone does that.
Yep, weird.
That's me, you may well have your own habits.
So how do I revise?
Pretty much the same way. I don't have set formula. I don't do it chapter by chapter. I read my stuff many, many, times though.
Over and over. Sometimes just for pleasure. That's when I find things, when I read it as a reader, not as a writer.
I step away for at least a week before I revise. I won't open the file, won't read any of it.
Then I read it again and hopefully notice those odd bits that don't work, or the ones in the wrong place, or where the pace slows down, or… you get the idea.
I cut words. Sometimes just one, sometimes entire chapters. If I get bored reading it, then so does anyone else. Out it comes.
What I don't do is throw that stuff out. It goes into another file.
I look for duplications. I sometimes say the same thing twice, using different words. In fact, I do this a lot.
I look for repetition, words I use a lot, phrases too. Unless it's a trademark of the character, it comes out.
You could say I have a habit of culling my habits. 
25
Jan
That query thing is hard.
Worse, it's putting your heart and soul out there.
I've heard so many different takes on this. Pretty much everyone told me "Be professional".
Well, duh. I am.
But the thing is, I kept sending queries that were dry and bland and just plain boring.
Yeah, they were professional, but they had no soul.
None.
My last query went out about two weeks ago. I haven't heard anything yet, but I have a better feeling about this one, than any previous ones.
When I posted it on our board, the entire crew had a good ole giggle reading it.
Hopefully the agent I sent it to will get a chuckle out of it too, and remember to read what I've submitted to her.
I figured this professional lark is all very well, but if I can't bring my personality into it, my voice, then I've already failed before the query even lands in anyone's in box.
I let you in on a little secret — writing that particular query letter was SO much easier than any I wrote before. Why?
Because I wrote it the same way I write my books. Off the cuff, making the reader grin or laugh outright. (With the odd Kleenex moment thrown in.)
Okay, no need for Kleenex when someone reads my query, that would be taking things too far.
But there are a few things anyone can do:
- Make sure your full (real) name is on the email you use, not a screen name or something.
- Make sure the email address is your own. With shared mail accounts, there is a default email. Before you hit "Send", make sure you're sending from the right account.
- The subject line should be short, and not too generic.
Query – Welcome to Hell – Juppenlatz
rather than:
Query – Paranormal Romance
I imagine they get lots of those. Make yours stand out. - Be professional, but be yourself.
That's all the advice I have. Clearly I haven't gotten anywhere with it yet, but I'm hopeful.
And if it doesn't work, then I'll just keep on going, because… I believe I can do this. I believe there is a market for my writing out there — and when I find the editor who believes this as much as I do, then things will happen.
So, my best advice is…
Put some SOUL into your query, not just into your book.
14
Jan
*clamps a knife between her teeth and adjusts the eye patch*
"Drink up me 'earties, yo ho. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me."
Or something like that.
So, is this your theme song? Or do you diligently pay for everything?
I'm sure all of us are guilty of downloading something we shouldn't, or using some shareware program beyond it's terms.
How many people downloaded Winzip and kept using it? (I think it expires now, but not sure. My copy doesn't, because it's… well… a legal one.)
Yes, I've done it. I don't anymore, because good software, or good music, or a good book, is worth supporting the author / artist. Let's face it, if we don't pay for the stuff we use, then how are the people creating it supposed to earn anything, so they can keep producing things we like?
The subject reared it's ugly head recently, when one of my fellow critique partners found her book pirated and uploaded on a site.
Now, I don't blame the site. They didn't go out there with the express purpose of pirating her book. In fact, they don't pirate anything — their users do.
I still hold them responsible, but not as responsible as the person who actually uploaded it and shared the link.
So, how does this affect my friend?
She makes a pittance off her books. She's not going to get rich off the royalties, but it pays for the odd cup of coffee.
The book has her soul, blood, sweat and tears invested in it — and some scumbag gave it away free.
First it was software, then it was music, now it's books.
Yes, we've all given used paperbacks to other people. I'm sure you were given one by someone too.
It still means that there is one copy in circulation and someone had to pay for it in the first place. And you can't give someone more than that one copy.
That's not the case with an ebook. That link will deprive her of a bunch of sales, and in this market, even a few lost sales hurt.
Sometimes, for instance a book that's out of print, there is a genuine reason to obtain it second hand. Sometimes a book isn't available in your country.
You can't get it any other way, so you do what you can.
Ebooks don't really go out of print, nor do they have real boundaries. You can get the book inside of five minutes, legally, from pretty much anywhere. It's not even down to price. At $5 it's not exactly expensive or unaffordable for people.
So if you're one of those who download the books — please think about what you're doing. Think about the author you are hurting. They get precious little in royalties, and many of those books took years to write, query and finally sell.
The publishers do what they can to have copies taken down, so do the authors, but they keep reappearing.
The same goes for music.
Yeah, when I was a kid, I used to tape tracks straight off the radio. We didn't think of it as stealing, but really… it was. It's the same thing as downloading an mp3 which you didn't pay for.
I'd rather buy the album and so make sure the band I like can make another one.
I have no doubt they'd keep making music even if they didn't see a dime — but the record company won't.
The same goes for the publishers. The author is going to keep writing, but if the publisher can't sell the books because everyone downloads a pirated copy… then eventually they are going to stop publishing that author.
Images are another thing. Just because it's on the web, doesn't mean it's free to take. (And I'm guilty of that too, but I tend to make my own graphics a lot of the time — and I tend to go for royalty free stock images instead, now.)
What if we end up with ads in books to cover costs?
No one wants THAT, now do we?
Not to mention, how do you know the copy you're downloading… isn't a malicious virus?
Do you really want your computer infected with something that will cost you precious digital family photographs, which you forgot to back up?
Support the authors and buy the books. And if you want to give a copy away, then buy a second copy for the person you want to give it to.
It'll keep our heartbroken author in a few cups of coffee — and she'll need those, while she's working on the next book.
Think before you click.
19
Oct
From Writers Organizations –
-
Ebook / Print author equality
Join the 21st Century, people! Yes, it’s very nice to be published in print, but a lot of books are ebooks now. It’s time to treat a writer like a published author, if they are published, you know what I mean?
You can’t have your cake and eat it. Either a published author is a published author regardless of medium, or we need a new categorization for writers on a whole. Anything else is simply unacceptable. And if those ebook authors don’t qualify for published status, then frankly, I’d like to see a dues reduction, as they often do not get the same benefits as other published authors. - Global rather than National affiliations
The Net has no borders! If you accept dues from international members, then how about broadening the horizon of the organization? How about embracing all writers, regardless of location? How about conferences in other countries, albeit smaller ones?
- Support for Local groups
And I mean SUPPORT, not just "You may use our initials". I am talking about providing those local groups with something more. Frankly what I don’t want to see is members paying extra to belong to a local chapter. That should be a given.
If a local group has to rent space to meet, then I’d like to see a subsidy for this, or a bit of a discount on the fees. After all — they don’t have to belong to your "club" to meet up.
- Fair dues
I mean membership dues. Just because you do not live in the same country, you shouldn’t be penalized for it. (If you are a RWA member, you know I’m talking about the shipping costs for RWR, which you should be able to opt OUT of — and which, incidentally, should be available electronically. Global warming, carbon emissions etc!)
I’d like to see a tiered approach to membership dues. The more you get, the more you’ll likely pay. But I don’t think an unpublished author (who, after all, doesn’t earn from their writing) should pay the same as a published author, who may have access to a great deal more resources than an unpublished one.
- Discount negotiations
Things like writing books, paper, ink, toner, notebooks, software, insurance, web hosting, web design, travel, promotional items… you name it. Benefits, you know?
- Services
Things like legal advice, mediation, that kind of thing. Discounted writing retreats, stuff like that.
I pay dues for benefits, so the more an organization can offer its members, the more people will be willing to join.
There are more I can think of, many more, especially when it comes to benefits. I’d love to see an organization take up the gauntlet I’ve thrown down here and run with those suggestions.
And if there isn’t one — maybe it’s time some writers got together and started a truly global "club". An inclusive, rather than exclusive one.
And if Nanowrimo.org can negotiate deals with various companies… then I don’t see why writers organizations can’t do this.
What would you like to see?