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News, Fiction Updates & General MusingsAmazon’s New Free Ebook Rules = Huge KDP Select Changes Ahead
1st March is a day where everything changes (again) for KDP Select and, more specifically, the promotion of free eBooks. It’s news that will affect all authors, whether partaking in KDP Select or not, so I suggest you read on if you haven’t already heard the news. It’s made me blog on a frigging Saturday, goddammit, so if that isn’t an indication of the scale of the news, then I don’t know what is.
It all started with an email from the Amazon Associates programme on updates to their affiliates terms. I scanned through it: the usual minor update here and there. Then, somewhere around the middle, the following lines stuck out at me:
“In addition, notwithstanding the advertising fee rates described on this page or anything to the contrary contained in this Operating Agreement, if we determine you are primarily promoting free Kindle eBooks (i.e., eBooks for which the customer purchase price is $0.00), YOU WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO EARN ANY ADVERTISING FEES DURING ANY MONTH IN WHICH YOU MEET THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS:
(a) 20,000 or more free Kindle eBooks are ordered and downloaded during Sessions attributed to your Special Links; and
(b) At least 80% of all Kindle eBooks ordered and downloaded during Sessions attributed to your Special Links are free Kindle eBooks.”
At first glance, this probably seems pretty impenetrable, so I’ll summarise the key points (which I’ve also highlighted in bold) before assessing the implications this has on the future of KDP Select, free eBooks, and whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing in the long run.
- ‘If you are primarily promoting free Kindle eBooks…’
In other words, the big free eBook promotion sites, such as Pixel of Ink, Ereader News Today, and Digital Book Today. They primarily promote free Kindle books, do a damn good job of promoting free eBooks, and are integral to the success of KDP Select promotions.
2. ‘You are not eligible to earn any advertising fees during any month in which… 20,000 or more free Kindle eBooks are ordered and downloaded…’
20,000 ebooks might seem like a lot, at a glance, but think about this. There are hundreds of free eBook promotion websites out there. Every day, they each list something like 15-20 books (on average). They’re probably going to be giving away a few thousand free eBooks a day through their own affiliate links, let alone a month. Furthermore…
3. ‘You are not eligible to earn any advertising fees during any month in which… 80% of all Kindle eBooks ordered are free Kindle eBooks…’
In other words: if a book promotion website is giving away loads of free eBooks for Kindle and not advertising enough paid books, then the book promotion websites don’t get their monthly advertising fees through the Amazon affiliate programme. Edward Robertson reckons that, on average, the majority of the book promotion websites give away free eBooks at a 15:1 ratio compared to paid books. They need to get this average down to 4:1 if they are to succeed, or in other words, post four times as many paid ads as free ones. read more…
eBook Launch: How to Launch an eBook in 2013
It’s quite a while since I did a ‘how to’ guide of sorts. In fact, I think the last one might have been before I launched my debut novel, What We Saw. Wow, that is a long time ago. Okay, okay — only two months. But still, in blogging terms, that’s practically a lifetime ago. Anyway, now we’re into 2013 and I have an actual book launch behind me, I feel like I’m in a position to talk about the best ways to launch an ebook in 2013.
One of the biggest questions I’m emailed/messaged about is how to actually get a finished novel out there. Will it sell? Will it be worth it?
To the first question — probably, but only if you give it time. Nobody gets rich off writing overnight. Nobody. The sooner you get that myth out of your head, the sooner you can move on to becoming a more professional and disciplined writer. It sucks, I know, but if it were as simple as writing a good book and rolling in it, then there’d be more people doing it.
That said, to the second question, I think it will be worth it in the long run. Imagine yourself in ten years time. Imagine you’re putting two to three books out per year. Every one of those books is a brick, if you will, and the more quality books you get out there, the higher your brick wall will rise. Sure, your first book might be crushed in the long run, but everybody has to write and launch that first book before they can write and launch a tenth. That’s just mathematics, I’m afraid.
Before you launch your ebook
Anyway, before I digress, I want to get a few assumptions out of the way before we start this ‘guide’ to the ebook launch.
1.) I’m going to assume your book has been professionally edited. I’ve seen countless rants about how self-publishing just isn’t worth it because someone knocked up a first draft and dumped it on Amazon. Listen — if your book is shit, readers will tell you it’s shit. Readers don’t care whether it’s your first effort, or whether you studied English Language at college or not — they want a good book. That’s what they’ve paid for, so they are damn well entitled to it. So, make sure you read a few how-to guides on writing; steal your kid’s textbooks — whatever.
Then, send the book to a professional editor. Read this post. Find an editor who clicks with you, and treat them well. Make sure your book is as tidy as it can be before you send it to them, and you’ll get a better book out of it. Simple.
2.) I’m going to assume your book has had a cover designed professionally. None of this Microsoft Paint (or, dare I say it, Microsoft Word) bullshit — I’m talking a proper, professional cover. Carl Graves has some amazing stuff . My designer, Lloyd Lelina, created an unbelievable cover for What We Saw.
Put a bit of cash to one side and have a professional handle your cover. Otherwise, you have no excuses for why your book isn’t selling. You want to write for a living, right? Then respect your readers. Give yourself the best shot of success by thinking professionally. If this is a hobby to you, then expect it to remain a hobby, and nothing more. However, if you want to sell books and make a living, you need to go toe to toe with the aesthetic delights of the traditionally published books. Make yourself indistinguishable and you’ll go far.
Launching your ebook
Mark Coker from Smashwords argues that authors need to learn to become better publishers before better marketers. I agree with him. Before your book launch, get to know the ins and outs of the platforms you are publishing with. Royalty rates? Book pricing? KDP Se-what?
My best advice would be to check out David Gaughran’s excellent guide to publishing, Let’s Get Digital (or pick up a copy here
). It’s one of my all-time favourite resources. He has a sequel out soon, and I for one cannot wait.
When you’ve got to grips with the basics of publishing, upload your book files. Before your ebook launch, check, check and check again that everything is spot on.
Done? Okay.
Check again. Seriously. The last thing you want is a dodgy formatted book. You’ve put your life into this, so don’t be naive at the last hurdle of ebook launch — remain professional. Quality control don’t lapse in judgement at the last stage of food testing, or any horsey behaviour like that, so don’t slip into the trap. Ney.
What now?
I’d highly recommend you enrol your book in the KDP Select programme. (2014 update: Lots has changed in the last year. I’d recommend skipping the Select step and distributing everywhere at 99c for your mailing list).
I’ve been telling fellow authors for months that the thing still works. ‘It works!’ I cried, back at the end of 2012. ‘IT REALLY WORKS!’ I cried again, at the start of 2013.
And then the excellent Joe Konrath came along a few days back and cried, ‘IT WORKS,’ and everyone listened.
I’m not going to cover old ground again, but if you enrol in KDP Select, remember two things: 1.) your free days should be treated as a major advertising opportunity on prime time TV. Don’t fluff them. 2.) Promotion doesn’t stop at the end of the free days. It goes on for (at least) a week afterwards. Otherwise, you might as well just pull from KDP Select and not bother.
Enrolled with KDP Select and checked your book files? Good.
Now, make your book free for two days.
What?! Free, already?
If this is your first book, then yes. You see, Amazon is one of the best retailers for gaining visibility. The three biggest keys to visibility are the ‘Customer Also Bought…’ sections, reviews, and bestseller/popularity charts. You get into the latter by obtaining the former.
The best way to get ‘Also Boughts’? By giving away a few hundred free books from the off. The best way to get reviews right away? You guessed it.
Several indie publishers have already been testing this book launch method, and while I’m not so sure about promoting this very first free day, it’s a good way to get your book into the hands of a few right away. Then, when it goes back to paid, you can announce the launch of your book and combine post-free sales with launch sales.
I gave away a few hundred ebooks when I sneakily followed this book launch method with What We Saw, and my launch figures were alright. They didn’t make me rich overnight, but they gained me some positive early visibility.
And I think that’s the key to it — launch isn’t necessarily about sales, but more about gaining visibility in those all-important avenues to success. That way, you’ll sell more in the long run.
What else can I do to help my ebook launch?
To be honest: whatever you enjoy. If you’ve spent months building a mailing list, let them know. If you have loads of Facebook friends, give them a shout. Tweet about it a couple of times if you want. Write an awesome blog post.
Or, do none of these. It’s really up to you. If you’re going to spend any money on promotional opportunities, I’d recommend an Orangeberry book tour. I got some great reviews/feedback on What We Saw by taking this route, and they’re a great bunch of people. Assess your costs and see whether or not it’ll work for you.
But mainly, just enjoy yourself. The best thing you can do on a ebook’s launch date is begin building those visibility routes. Ebooks aren’t like print books — once they’re out, they’re out forever. Use the launch month to assess which price works for you, to post to a few review sites. Gear up for your first big promotional opportunity and subsequent promotions, which I’ll talk about more in-depth next week.
So, a recap of the key points of ebook launch:
- Make sure your book looks and reads professionally
- Check, check, and check your ebook files
- Enrol your book in KDP Select and go free from the off
- Let your friends/family/neighbours’ cats know about your book (they will be forever the best promoters. Friends/fam, not cats.)
- Get to work on your next project and spend launch month experimenting with what works/doesn’t work for you
What about after launch month? How do I start actually selling books?
I would tell you, but this post is at 1,400 words as it is and I really need some of that delicious pasta bake I popped in the oven. However, I will say that little promotional opportunities every now and then are beneficial. I’ll go into that in more depth next week, but for now…
What We Saw is 99c/77p this weekend!
Not so subtle transition, I realise. But anyway, What We Saw, my debut novel which has been described as ‘a mystery novel for the new generation’ and ‘A triumph’ (thanks!) as well as ‘forcing me to question the author’s attachment to the real world’ (thanks even more!) is a mind-bogglingly, recession-beating 99c/77p for this weekend only.
It’s Kindle exclusive, and you can grab it from Amazon by clicking here.
Remember — you don’t need a Kindle to read Kindle books. Have an iPhone? How about a Blackberry? No? How about a computer? Yeah? Thought that’d get you. Well, you can download all the Kindle reading software you’d ever need over here.
Cheers, and as usual, any questions in the comments. Have a brilliant weekend! I’ve just written what I believe is the best chapter I’ve ever written in my third WIP, so I’m pretty buzzing. To be notified as soon as the book (as well as any other new books of mine) are available, please do sign up to my mailing list. It’s free, easy, and 100% spam-free.
Ryan.
Have you launched a book? What would you do differently now you’ve had some time to reflect?
Image courtesy of goXunuReviews via Flickr
Book Piracy: A Reader Gained, Not a Sale Lost
I’m going to be open and honest to start off: I have illegally downloaded music in the past.
I’ve pirated plenty of films too. Books? A few, yeah. I guess my excuse is that during my teen years, I belonged to an age-group where digital content sharing was just, well, both formality and normality. Receiving music files over MSN Messenger was just the way I grew my music collection, before spreading it to other willing recipients like some sort of beautifully sounding infection.
I don’t pirate so much any more. Spotify provides me with an affordable, and more importantly, easy way to discover new bands and artists. Services like Netflix, while far from perfect, are a step in the right direction for cinema and TV. For books, the Kindle Store is usually good value enough for me to buy a book or two each month.
That said, I don’t see book piracy as something authors should rally against. If anything, we should embrace it.
The Anti-Piracy argument
I can’t begin to count the amount of times I’ve seen an author getting precious or insulted upon finding their book on a piracy website. ‘They’re not entitled to my book because they haven’t paid for it!’ they cry. ‘Burn them! Tie them to a stake and throw rocks at them!’
It’s a fair point: us authors put all sorts of blood, sweat and spilt coffee into our work. Why should someone simply take what we have to offer? I mean, how can anyone ever hope to make an honest living with the shadow of piracy looming over?
Sure, it’s a fair point, like I said. Fair, but slightly idiotic.
Warning: if you’re a radical anti-pirate, you probably won’t like what you’re about to read. I don’t really care. The following content is for forward thinkers. Join us, if you dare.
Seriously? Why is piracy a good thing?
It’s not a good thing. I never said that. But trying to combat it is like trying to stop rain hitting the ground — it’s here and it’s here to stay, so instead of trying to fight it, we should try to embrace it.
Wait — embrace book piracy?! Seriously?
I want to share a little hypothetical situation, so bear with me. A friend sends you an mp3 file of a new band. You quite like the sound of the track, so you download their album. You stick it on repeat for weeks to the point where even your computer speakers are getting fed up of hearing the same old thing. The band tour: you and your friend buy a ticket and go see them live. You grab a t-shirt, perhaps even a physical copy of the album.
If it wasn’t for that one file your friend sent you, you probably would never have discovered the band.
Why should book piracy be treated any differently? Say your book is included in one of those ‘1000+ FREE EBOOKS!’ pirate packs which goes around the torrent sites. Is that really a sale lost? Is it bollocks. You’re telling me that one illegal downloader is seriously going to head over to the Kindle Store after noticing your book is missing, and buy it? Of course they won’t. They’ll just download another pack of 1,000 free books. Your name will remain irrelevant to them.
But let’s say, just on the off-chance, that the pirate reader really engages with and enjoys your book. They might take a note of your name and check out some of your other works. Sure — they might just download them for free again, but how is that any different to a single downloader picking up your book on a KDP Select free day? Food for thought.
A Reader Gained, Not a Sale Lost
This notion that book piracy amounts to lost sales is absurd. Sure — maybe that is the case with the top ten selling authors on the planet, but they are making enough cash from their books that book piracy is irrelevant anyway.
To new authors, I don’t think book piracy is as big a problem as some like to make out. Again, remember the band analogy: maybe that book pirate will stumble upon your work by accident and decide to buy it on the complete off-chance. I doubt it.
Kick up a fuss if you want; it’s generally what people do where book piracy is concerned. Personally, I think it’s about time we stopped moaning about book piracy and started to actually do something about it. Ever thought about throwing a note to pirates in there? Ask them to donate $1 to your PayPal if they really love the book, or something? They probably won’t, but it’s still a reader gained and not a sale lost.
If you’re not yet selling enough books to make a living and yet piracy is your biggest concern, then look in the mirror and question your motives. Are you really concerned about piracy? Or are you just so desperate for overnight financial success that you need something to blame?
Keep writing good fiction and the rewards will come. Seriously.
The Weekend Book Marketing Makeover
Those brilliant people over at Duolit have a little gift for you all that they’d like me to share — it’s called The Weekend Book Marketing Makeover. It pretty much does what it says on the tin: offers tips on balancing marketing with writing and finding the confidence to self-promote. I’ve read through it and found some fantastic tips.
Oh, and did I tell you it’s completely free?
Just head over to this link. All Duolit ask in return is for you to share the book on Facebook or Twitter.
Enjoy!
Progress Report
I’m still grafting away on the rewrites of my second novel. I’m actually enjoying this rewrite a lot more than my one for What We Saw, so hopefully that’s a good thing. I’ll have more news on release dates and things when they are available, but for now, summer is looking likely.
First draft of book three is progressing nicely too. Considering my target was to get two novels out in 2013, I’m confident that I can not only meet that but exceed it. Watch this space for novella news over the coming weeks and months…
Ryan
What are your thoughts on book piracy? A sale lost or a reader gained? Have you ever illegally downloaded anything? If so, how has it changed your buying habits?
Image courtesy of Earl – What I Saw 2.0 via Flickr
Back Matter: The Simple Secret to Selling More Books
The End.
A great pair of words to write, huh? An even greater pair of words when your readers reach them. If they stuck with your book right through to that point, then you succeeded in your goal of creating an engaging story. Pat yourself on the back.
But a book does not end with those two words. It might appear to, but it would be foolish not to take advantage of your reader’s commitment to your book. I’m talking about back matter — the most important tool for not only building your author platform, but boosting sales.
Significantly.
Meet B. Matter and N.B. Matter
Let’s use two hypothetical and originally named people as an example: B. Matter and N.B. Matter. First of all, give them a congratulations for publishing their books. Finished? Okay. I hope you had fun there.
So, you read N.B. Matter’s book and really enjoyed it? Great! Only, slight problem: N.B. Matter’s book ends with the acknowledgements. There are no options or embedded links to lead the reader towards his website. There are no mentions of where to be notified of new releases. N.B. Matter is hoping you’ll remember his book and Google his name every day on the off-chance that he’s put a new book out.
On the other hand, B. Matter (N.B. Matter’s wiser brother) has included a link to his website right at the end of the book. He’s got social media links, as well as a nice shiny mailing list sign-up option. On top of that, B. Matter put a short story out last year, so he’s got a sample of that in there — as well as purchase and review links. Enjoy B. Matter’s book? Then ‘like’ his Facebook page. You can then forget about him for a year whilst he works on his next book and announces it via Facebook as soon as it’s released.
Which of the pair do you think will sell the most copies of their follow-up release?
A book without back matter is a maze with no way out.
When a reader finishes your book, you want to leave a trail of breadcrumbs in your back matter, leading them to your website and other purchase links. The back matter has two purposes:
1. To build your author platform
2. To help you sell more books
A book with back matter will pick up the occasional ‘like’ or two. It’ll even sell a few more books via the purchase links. More importantly though, it’ll help you sell loads more copies of your follow-up book simply because you’ve found a way (or a few ways) to remind readers of your existence.
Newsflash: people read a lot of books, more so than ever before in this digital age. Do you really think someone will enjoy your book so much that your name will be imprinted on their brains a year from now? You’d certainly hope so, but things don’t work like that. They’ll forget about you. I forget the names of great authors all the time. And guess what? Most of those great authors don’t make adequate use of their back matter. They don’t lead me towards their new release mailing list. They don’t tell me where to drop by at their blog or send them my praise via Twitter.
They write ‘The End’ and they really mean it.
What should back matter include?
Because I’m not a complete arsehole and actually want to help fellow authors, here’s a list of pretty much everything you need in the back matter of your book. Remember: back matter is an advertising space. The key to all good advertising is dressing it up so it doesn’t even feel like advertising. Be chatty. Stay in voice. Hell — stay in character if you want. Meta-back matter. Wow, that’s got quite a ring to it.
Most importantly, give your readers a choice.
1. A mailing list
David Gaughran loves them. Joanna Penn loves them. Edward Robertson loves them. See a pattern forming here?
Having a mailing list is the best way to let readers who enjoyed your book know about new releases. Grabbing someone’s email address is worth five sales in itself — it’s a form of contact that you have forever. That does sound a little sinister, I know. I’m not condoning spam, or anything like that.
It’s just a nice friendly way of reminding that person when you put something new out.
I rarely use my mailing list to send emails. In fact, I only use it to share info of new releases or promotions that I think my most loyal subscribers deserve to know about before anyone else. A few emails per year is enough. Nobody has a problem with an email every once in a while. Send an email every few days though, and you’ll likely irritate your readers.
You want every single damn email you send to be an event. Sure, I have a separate mailing list for my blog subscribers, but that’s the choice of those subscribers. It’s not something I moderate — it’s automated, and I make that pretty clear in the description. I keep the two separate because I generally blog for writers and write for readers (hence the website slogan). Some authors prefer to combine the two. I don’t, but that’s just a taste thing.
Head over to Mailchimp and set up your mailing list. It’s free, and it’ll sell you more books in the future. Simple as that.
2. Links to other releases
I always include purchase links to my other releases in the back matter of my books. A brief description of the release followed by, ‘You can purchase X below…’ is absolutely all you need. You might never sell any copies of your other books this way, but why not just throw it in there anyway? It’s better than simply ending your book or, even worse, expecting your readers to remember to check you out later.
Give your readers somewhere to go. We live in a digital age where ease of access is valued above anything: make use of that.
3. Website and social media links
Social media links are becoming the new mailing lists. Yes, I know I just sang the praises of the mailing list, but sometimes filling in forms and signing up to have stuff dumped in your inbox is just too much hassle.
‘Follow on Twitter’ and ‘Like on Facebook’, on the other hand, are simple ways of breaking the defences of your readers. People enjoy social media. They like to connect with authors, actors, and hashtag abusers. I’ve had a lot of success with putting ‘like’ buttons in the back matter of my eBooks. It’s a great accompaniment to the mailing list. It’s also a great chance to throw in ‘Subscribe by Email’ again, just to further convince/trick people into signing up.
And that’s about it. Three links are all you need to create successful back matter. It could be the difference between anonymity and visibility.
What can I guarantee? I like guaranteeing things. Okay: I guarantee that you’ll thank yourself for doing this now rather than two or three years down the line. A sad fact: every book sold without any of these links in the back matter is a book sold in a vacuum. It’s a book sold in a maze with no route out (I knew I had to revisit that metaphor at some stage). People might reach the end, but they’ll be stuck there, until they… get a helicopter out and move onto the, um, next maze.
Maybe mazes weren’t the best metaphor after all. Note to self — stay away from the mazes.
***
Just a little writing update because I don’t blog as regularly these days and like to keep you all in the loop: I’m still rewriting Killing Freedom at the moment, and reaching the conclusion of my UNTITLED CRIME NOVEL 1!!! first draft. Both books will be out in 2013. To be the first to be notified when the books are available, click here to sign up to my new release mailing list (see what I did there?).
Otherwise, all is well. I ate too many pancakes yesterday, and will be spending my Valentine’s Day with a horror movie or two and a beer or twenty-two. I hope you have a similarly romantic day.
Ryan
What do you include in your back matter? Are there any particularly interesting/original uses of back matter that you have encountered? When you finish a book, do you read the back matter? How likely are you to sign up to a mailing list?
Image courtesy of Simon Cocks via Flickr
Rewriting a Novel: Five Ways to Make It Less Painful
I’ll let you in on a little secret: I hate rewriting.
I know, I know. I should enjoy rebuilding characters and their motives. I should take pleasure in ironing out all those little plot inconsistencies and cutting away the excess weight of irrelevancies. I should, but I don’t.
Context: I finished a new first draft back in December. Yay! More books! Only not quite. I refer to characters by different names throughout. Everything seems to be spelt incorrectly. I go off on wild, irrelevant tangents, and the initial brilliance of the plot in my mind appears lost underneath bad pacing and inconsistent voice. Why can’t it just be as easy as getting down those first draft words and sending it out to the world? Sadly, that’s just the way it is.
Fortunately, there are ways to make the rewriting process somewhat more bearable. So, dust off that old manuscript you’ve had lying in that digital drawer for years and get ready to enter a world of annoying technicalities and crises of confidence!
1. Take a break from your manuscript, if you want to.
One of the top rules that pretty much every writer appears to agree on is that for a rewrite to be successful, or legitimate, us writers need to distance ourselves from our work before jumping into the rewrite. Personally, I spend four weeks maximum away from the work, but within those four weeks, I don’t detach myself from the world of the story. I might have a read through after two weeks. I might hop into a section and see how it’s panned out, and jot down a few notes on how I could improve it.
The thing is with these rules that writers set is that you really should just take them with a pinch of salt. I realise I’m being kind of hypocritical, sitting here writing a list of methods myself, but note the ‘if you want to’ in the heading. What does that mean? Well, don’t just spend a few weeks away from it because ‘Author X’ said that’s the way to do it. If you wake up after a week and are raring to get rewriting, then firstly, credit to you. Secondly, just follow what feels good. Don’t hold off just because another writer said they do.
A word on these little lists us bloggers write — sometimes, believe it or not, we don’t follow our own rules. We write what we know will appeal to the masses. That’s just the nature of the internet and attracting readers, I’m afraid. While I try not to do it myself, we’re all guilty of writing an idealistic sentence or two in our lives when in reality, we’re struggling away like the rest of you.
We’re all human. Find what works for you. There’s some great advice out there, but it’s absolutely fine to ignore it if it doesn’t click with you.
2. Create a rewriting outline.
So, I’m going to pretend I didn’t type any of those last few words and give you another suggestion. I’d highly recommend creating a rewriting outline if you’re struggling with the process. I know for a fact that I struggle, and creating an outline really seems to be helping me this time round.
What is an outline? Roz Morris calls it a ‘beat sheet’ in her (excellent) Nail Your Novel eBook. The idea is that you go through your manuscript and write down a snapshot of the intended purpose of each scene on a spreadsheet/piece of paper/loo roll. That way, when you’re done, you’ll have a bird’s-eye view of what your novel looks like. You’ll be able to work out where you should slip in a quieter scene, whether you build up to a strong enough climax, and whether your book lags in the middle.
It’s also a great way of ticking off your rewriting process. I highlight a scene in red on the beat sheet when I’ve completed rewriting it. There are few feelings better than seeing that red box increase as the days go by. Great way to stay sane, for sure.
3. Set realistic targets.
A word on staying sane — rewriting will probably challenge your sanity, so set yourself some realistic targets. I like to try to get at least two scenes rewritten a day, depending on length, and that works for me. It’s important not to overkill rewriting much in the same way as first drafting: you don’t want to burn out. It’ll just make for more rewriting in the future, and nobody wants that, huh?
Another reason why not to go too crazy on rewriting, perhaps more so than first draft writing: you don’t want to become too absorbed in your novel. When I write a first draft, I tend to write from a semi-subconscious state whereby words are flowing out of my head based on what sounds good, and matches up to my first draft ‘roadmap’.
Rewriting is kind of different, though. You’re making your protagonist’s goals more streamlined, really throwing yourself into their perspective and mindset to try to feel their dilemma. So, if you’re rewriting 20,000 words per day of a negative-themed novel, chances are you’re going to feel a bit shit afterwards.
As with everything in writing (and life!), know your limits, and set your targets based on those limits. Rewriting may be a slow, fatiguing process that seems to drag on and on, but you and your readers will thank you for it if you are patient. It’ll make for a better novel.
4. Accept that the first draft is a very different beast to your initial idea.
This is a hard lesson that all of us writers learn: our writing rarely matches up to the initial idea. Maybe a character that you planned an epic plot twist for is kind of in the background more than first imagined. Maybe the protagonist’s entire persona has taken on a whole new meaning. ‘It’s rubbish! It’s nothing like I planned!’
Well, time to accept that, my friend. Our brain is a magnificent tool, but it’s very rare that we totally capture its inspirational ideas in full. Something happens in the stage between thinking up something and committing it to paper. I guess in the same manner that music files lose quality the moment they are ripped from intangible abstract sounds on a disc, to mp3 files on computer hard drives, ideas lose their sharpness in their ‘conversion’ from pure thought to writing.
But it’s not such a bad thing. Celebrate the fact that you’ve got even just a fragment of that idea jotted down. I used to get stressed about this point in particular, but as I write more, I find myself marvelling at the beauty of this amazing conversion process. Even the initial plan I had for this blog post and how it has ultimately turned out is phenomenal, and totally unpredictable.
So, instead of lamenting the inadequacies, embrace the inconsistencies. I reckon that would make for an amazing t-shirt slogan, right?
5. Work on a new project to boost creative energy.
Of course, we’re writers, so the last thing we should be doing is spending too much time in the critical side of our brains when the creative side is crying out for some love.
Well, what’s stopping you commencing work on a new project?
The What We Saw rewrites were difficult at first, mainly because I didn’t give myself anything fresh to focus on. Being my first novel, I was still very much in the ‘one project at a time’ camp. But late on in the rewrite process, I worked on a couple of short stories (Something in the Cellar and Silhouette), and found that not only were my ideas still very much intact despite the rigours of the rewriting process, but the critical side of my brain was actually stimulated by these new ideas.
Now I’ve finished the first draft of Killing Freedom and started working on the rewrites, what am I doing to keep the creative side of my brain stimulated? Well, I’ve only gone and written 40,000 words of another novel. It’s tricky balancing both projects at times, but simply knowing that I’ll most likely have two books out this year is what gets me through it.
If the rewriting is getting you down, pick up your pen and get creative. It’s healthy to be writing daily, so this is a great way to keep yourself in check.
Something in the Cellar and Silhouette now available on Kobo; other stores to follow.
After reaching the end of their KDP Select commitments, I’ve decided to make my two short stories, Something in the Cellar and Silhouette, available cross-platform.
I’m a big fan of KDP Select (thoughts on that here and, more recently, here) and will continue to enrol my novels in it, however I don’t see much in the way of benefits for short stories. I’ve given a few thousand away, but without any real impact on sales, so it makes sense to ‘push the boulders‘ out of Select and onto pastures new.
Both books are available on the Kobo and Smashwords stores right now, however other stores may be somewhat delayed due to issues with Smashwords. One day, that place will be brilliant. One day…
Do you enjoy the rewriting process? How do you motivate yourself to battle through it? Any tips for readers?
Image courtesy of found_drama via Flickr
Indies Forward: Anxiety & Overcoming Life’s Obstacles
You might remember a few weeks back I spoke about author Julie Forward DeMay, and how I was planning to dedicate a blog post to her on January 31st as part of SelfPublishingTeam’s ‘Indies Forward’ event.
The premise of the event is simple: What if you couldn’t promote your own book?
Julie Forward DeMay, a mother with a lifelong passion for writing, finally realised her dream when her book, Cell War Notebooks, was released in 2011.
Tragically, Julie was never able to promote or enjoy the success of her book, because it was published by her mother two years after she passed away with cervical cancer, leaving behind a nine-year-old daughter, Luka, and a husband.
Cancer is a cruel disease. I remember when I was younger, seeing those adverts where they claim that one in three people are touched by it in one way or another, and thinking, ‘Yeah, but that doesn’t mean me, right?’
But life is cruel sometimes. My auntie passed away with pancreatic cancer over the Christmas holidays. She always seemed bright and full of life, even a matter of weeks before her diagnosis, so the speed at which the disease moves is truly shocking at times.
Back to the premise: the organisers of this Indies Forward ‘blog-a-thon’ over at Duolit suggested each participating blogger posted about a time in life where we were inspired to overcome an obstacle. I want to talk about something that I don’t like talking about a lot, to anyone: anxiety.
What is anxiety?
Bit of a stupid and loose sounding question, I know, but anxiety seems to have a load of definitions. To some, it’s a sense of dread. To others, it’s butterflies in the stomach in social environments and the like. But I read loads and loads of definitions and nothing seemed to help when I suspected I was suffering from a bout of anxiety back in 2011.
Damn, this is going to be a tough post to write. I’ll give you a bit of context: in the summer of 2011, I finished my first year at university. First year was great — I made loads of friends, had a whole host of new experiences. It helped that by nature, I was confident and extroverted. I could pretty much talk to anyone, or deliver a presentation in a room of 10 or 10,000 — it really didn’t matter to me.
But something happened at the start of my three month summer holiday.
I started to gradually become wary of everyday processes. It started with, say, taking a trip to the supermarket, whereby I’d put it off because it wasn’t entirely necessary. Then eventually, it grew to other aspects of life. Visiting town with friends. Going to parties. I didn’t quite get as far as becoming a recluse, but I’d say if I wasn’t as strong-headed as I am, I’d probably have got close.
Some days, I just wanted to lie in bed and hide from the world. I’d wake up with a sense of dread about… well, absolutely nothing at all. In hindsight, I know exactly what caused it — in returning home from a long stint at university, I lost my everyday routine. By slipping into a mindset whereby I’d put off events like social gatherings and trips to the shops, I grew more wary of the routines.
Why? I think it’s because at university, you have to do these things to live. You have to go to the shops because you have to eat. You have to go to lectures and seminars and live with friends, therefore interacting becomes a part of life. In hindsight, I know exactly what brought on this bout of mild anxiety — a loss of everyday routine, therefore a confusion of purpose.
How did I overcome this obstacle?
In August of 2011, I decided enough was enough. I’d wanted to write a novel all my life, but that month, I decided it was time. Initially, I felt resistance. My inner critic whispered down my ear, ‘You can’t do it because you don’t feel up to it.’
But I ignored it and wrote through it.
I know these epiphany moments sound cliché and cheesy, but something definitely switched in my mindset the moment I started writing. I had something to look forward to every day. A routine. And that’s when I realised that it was a lack of routine that caused my problem that summer.
What happened next?
This post is getting rather lengthy, so I’ll cut the next chapter short: I kept on writing. I started to grow more confident in my abilities. I talked to people about my writing. I returned to university. Things just got better and better and better. I kept on working away on my book.
I released that book in December 2012. It’s What We Saw.
I won’t lie though: some days I still wake up and think, ‘damn, I’d rather not go out today,’ or ‘I’m not sure I have it in me to write anything.’
But instead of getting all het up and trying to resist these feelings, I embrace and accept them. ‘These feelings are okay because I’ve seen how great things get. Today is just an off day.’
Usually, when I’ve accepted this, ‘today’ usually ends up a pretty good day regardless. The mind is a cruel thing sometimes, and indeed very powerful. Instead of fighting a losing battle with it, accept what it has to say, and move on.
Of course, the same cannot be said about a physical battle such as cancer. Nature is even crueller than the mind in that it always has its way. But the point I’m trying to put across is that it’s so important to keep a sense of routine in order to keep our mind healthy. Julie will have found her memoirs a great comfort to her whilst battling with cancer; a way of keeping the fragile mind healthy, regardless of what was going on inside her.
I know this sounds a bit ‘me me me’, but the story of Julie Forward DeMay has made me realise how lucky I am to be able to celebrate the launch of my book, and made me appreciate my own life more.
Conclusion
I hope you have found this post enlightening. I realise it’s a bit stream-of-consciousness, but I’m not entirely comfortable talking about things like this in a linear, structured way. I guess we all have our ways of dealing with things.
‘How’s today,’ I hear you ask? Today’s good. In fact, my life’s been pretty close to perfect since the start of 2012. Summer 2012 was nothing like summer 2011, something I was concerned about. I set up my blog, gave myself a routine, and enjoyed some really happy and productive months.
But if an off-day does crop up, I accept it, and I move on. Life’s too short to worry about things. Instead of aspiring to do something, embrace your dreams and act on them. Julie always wanted to publish a book. It’s just so tragic that it couldn’t have been a more positive release of which she was able to celebrate the success.
In memory of Julie Forward DeMay and the Indies Forward movement, instead of saying, ‘I will do this,’ today, do that thing you’ve wanted to do but have put off for weeks or months. Life is cruel and unpredictable, but it’s also beautiful. Make it count.
Have you ever been affected by an obstacle in life? Does writing help you battle this obstacle?
Cell War Notebooks is available to purchase from Amazon.com for $11.65. All proceeds go to Julie’s nine year old daughter.