Wednesday Writing

Hi all,

Sorry I haven't been posting like I used to. I have suddenly become inundated with work - which is pretty funny because it was projects I came up with on my own.

Anyway, while working (I was, I swear) I found this lovely infographic about Old World Languages and a Ted-Ed Original lesson about fictional languages - something people really enjoy (like me, though I am currently only fluent in one language - and I even consider that a stretch).

Here's the link to the presentation: Are Elvish, Lingon, Dothraki, and Na'vi real languages? - John McWhorter
And here is the lovely infographic (from dailyinfographic.com/)

Wednesday Writing

I have been away, and due to poor planning, didn't have blog posts scheduled for Friday, Monday, or Tuesday. The good news is I have a travel story to tell for Thursday.

While I was away, self-publishing became a major topic for people. I was surprised how many people I know are acquainted with people who self-published a book. The person who was talking about me and my publishing journey, was confused as to why I want to go with traditional publishing and why I am going to fight a long fight for traditional over self-publishing.

Self-publishing is a blessing and a curse (like so many things in life). For people who write in their free time and just want to put their writing out, and make some money for it, self-publishing is wonderful. I have read many great books that were published through Amazon.

My decision in what publishing route I wanted to pursue first was solely based on the work load. Publishing is by no means easy, but when you put in your work varies on which route you take. Let's assume you have polished your MS to beyond the best of your capabilities and your ready to journey into publishing.

For traditional publishing, you have an uphill battle up front. You will most likely need to find an agent, who may need to/will find an editor, and then the agent will find a publisher. Each person in the chain to publishing your MS needs to be found through research and luck. As I've learned from other blogs about writing, at any point your MS could be dropped. It's a helluva rollercoaster, but from conversing with success stories, it's worth it. I don't know all the ins and outs of publishing and all the strange things that can happen between signing with an agent and your book sitting in Barnes and Noble.

The other bright side is that you have a marketing team on your side to promote your book. No, they aren't solely for you and your career, but they will work on getting your book in front of people as part of their job. They do this for the benefit of the publishing company, because when the company makes money from your book, you will make money from your book.

Of course, self-promotion doesn't hurt and is recommended. If your book becomes popular, fans will hope to be able to connect with you via social media. So, yes, there is more work to do after your book is released, but if you miss a day or two, the world won't end for you and your soon to be best-seller.

These are just things from my research and my time working in marketing for a publishing company. I'll cover self-publishing next week.

Wednesday Writing

Today I'm going to link to two topics from Janet Reid's (Literary Agent) blog (again) on something that has given me trouble since it was introduced in grade school, the synopsis.

I could never grasp what was important, what was filler, and when to add the emotion (well, the latter was something I've only had to deal with now).

I found some pretty good sites on the internet that detail out how to write a short synopsis, but if I'm teaching myself, I need to see it multiple ways.

So, here is another way: Query Question: What the "deuce" is a brief synopsis? and the follow up, How to Write a Brief Synopsis.

I am certainly no expert when it come to a synopsis, I can tell you they need to have the conclusion of the story and some emotion, but besides that, I'm not a good source. I recommend checking these links out.

Wednesday Writing

For this Wednesday, a guide for writers or an insight for readers on what part of the publishing process looks like.

This was posted on Janet Reid's (the literary agent) blog last week, but I thought it so fantastically amazing, it needed to be linked to this week:

http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2015/05/query-question-withdrawing-query.html.

The question, as the link suggests, was about withdrawing a query. However, the editing advice for people who want to submit their stories was fantastic. It bluntly tells you the steps and if you (should) consider yourself ready to submit to agents.

Like anything you put your name on, you want to make sure the work you are sending out is the best you can possibly make it. I'm sure the first time I submitted my MS to agents it was the best I could possibly do at the time. Now, I'm sitting on it again, working on another story, and making plans to learn more about writing so that when I face that MS again, I'll be ready to make it even better.