Writing Contests

               When you are a writer, contests can help you get noticed. Some contests are fee based, but others you can enter at no cost to you. These contests allow a person to gain a fan base. When there is a fan base present the publishing companies will take notice. If there is feedback on the written work, then that makes it easier for the publisher to see how the work is received and if the person is worth publishing.

                You have a chance to enter contests daily, if you search the internet looking for them. You can also sign up for newsletters that will send contest information to you for you to look over and pick out the ones you want to enter. Some contest may be based overseas, but most are here. There are some that may publish you in a magazine and others will be online. For instance, at this moment one of my stories is entered in a contest for pixelhose. They are a new website looking for new writers or stories that have yet to be published. The stories this website is looking for are fiction, non-fiction, travel, unwritten, wild-n-weird, and then everything else.

                The story I entered is titled “My Death.” It is about an office romance gone bad, very bad. This contest will be for a short time period. A person can begin a wordpress account and like the story after you read it or just leave feedback through a Twitter or Facebook account. I would appreciate it and would love to see some feedback on the story.  Thank you.

Thanksgiving

            When you are a writer, there are many things to be thankful for. While you may struggle to get your book into publishers or to finish it, you have the love and support of your family and friends. Those people who stand behind you are the ones that will be the first to give you praise. They will be the first ones to congratulate you when you sign the contract with a publisher. They may be the ones to hand you money when you are struggling to pay the bills. A writer’s life is not a guarantee, but your loved ones will always be there.

            Having that strong support system, allows a writer to feel accomplished over the littlest things. You may have some people in your life who do not support you as a writer. You should be thankful for those people, too. They are the ones that will give you the drive to complete a book and get it into the publisher. A writer should be thankful for the talent he or she posses to come up with the ideas for the things he or she writes.

          This holiday is important to remember those that we are thankful for. You should remember the ones that you lost. Those are the people you will find popping up in your memory as you write. Your characters may take on traits from past loves, family members, or friends. These people are the ones who have inspired you throughout the years to writer, though, at the time, you may have never known it.

So, be thankful for everyone and everything in your life this year.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

How to Turn a Book into a Screenplay

               Writing a screenplay based on a book will not be an easy task. You will have to make cuts and changes that will upset some of the people who love the book. The internal conflicts the characters in the book go through must now be externalized. The settings in the book will have to change to make it more cinematically friendly. You might even have to change some details about the characters, in order, for the script to become more visual. You must remember to stay true to the heart and soul of the text for the script to be creative and inspiring.

                The first thing you need to do is obtain the rights to use the material. If the book is not your own, it is necessary to contact the author or publisher of the book before you write the script. While you can make a great screenplay, no one will ever see it, if you do not have the rights. You can contact most authors through a website.

                Once you have secured the rights to create the script, you must read the novel twice. The first read through should be for fun. After reading the book, if you are not inspired or do not feel passionate about the story, then do not progress. If you feel passionate about the story being told, then read it a second time. While you are reading it, imagine the text as a screenplay. You should picture the scenes in your head. This will give you a clear ideal as to what scenes have a strong visual image and what scenes need to be dropped.

                Analyze the characters. Doing this allows you to combine, eliminate, and adapt the characters. Do not be scared of this step.  There may be two characters that are so alike you can combine them into one person to create a better script. There may be fringe characters that do not add to the story. If that is the case, then cut them out completely. You can even take the time to adapt the leading characters to create a theme. You should make the changes you need to make to develop the characters.

                You will need to make the story more visual. This is one of the most important aspects of developing a book into a script.  You will need to look at the internal conflicts the characters are going through and develop them to manifest in an external form. Take the time to examine each scene and setting. You should look to see if there is a lapse in visual content and make the changes necessary to create a more cinematic story.

                Writer the script based on what the story is telling you. Preserving the major scenes and important sub plots will help you keep the heart and soul of the book. You do not want to stray too far from the story, because this is what the audience has come to know and love.

                Finally, after the script is finished, then you should compare it with the book. You will need to make sure that there is a strong relation between the two texts. If you find that the script is complete different than the book, then you need revise the script.

                

Literary Agents: Are They Necessary?

           The answer to that question is yes and no.  It depends on how you want to publish your book.  If you are looking to publish with a large company, such as Simon and Schuster, then yes a literary agent is a must.  Some publishing companies will only accept your manuscript if a proposal is written up by a literary agent.  There are smaller publishing companies that will accept a manuscript directly from the writer.  In my opinion, it is best to start off at a small company before you make a move to a bigger well known company or even self-publish your books.

            A smaller publishing company can offer you all the same things a larger company can.  When you prove yourself with a smaller publishing company first, then a literary agent and a larger company may be more willing to accept your next manuscript.  Sales maybe slow going when you start out with a smaller company, but you need to promote, and promote as much as possible.  The more you promote your books, the better the sales will be.  When the sales increase, then you can take your next manuscript to a literary agent and have a proven track record.  With that, you can be signed onto a larger publishing company’s roster. 

            Self-publishing is another option for your first manuscript, just be sure to edit your manuscript.  If you have read over the manuscript to the point of not being able to see the mistakes, let another person read it before you self-publish it.  It can be another writer, or even an editor you hire.  After that person is done reading it, then let another person read it over to make sure nothing was missed.  Three sets of eyes on it will make sure there are no mistakes and it will be perfect for your readers.  There are plenty of sites that you can self-publish your books or pay to have them published.  Amazon even offers self publishing for the Kindle and on Createspace.  Selling books through Amazon will, most likely, be the best way to go.  

How to Write a Mystery Novel

Many people dream of writing a great mystery novel, a real who done it? There are many mystery novelists who have perfected the craft, James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, Sue Graton, and many others. These particular novelists create series out of a few key characters. While they are masters at the craft of creating a mystery novel series, there were definite steps they took to creating their first mystery novel.

The first thing that is necessary is the preliminary steps of picking. You will have to pick a protagonist, the person who is going to solve the mystery. This person can be picked based on his or her job, or by his or her personality. For instance, if you are not using a police officer, then the person can be nosy, investigative, driven, avenging, funny, or sardonic. You will need to pick the type of mystery you want to write. It can be a very police oriented, or an academic type of novel, a cozy mystery, or a historical recount of events. Picking the field of work your main character does will be next on your agenda. He or she can be a part of any type of police force, or be an average person who gardens. If you visit your local bookstore or library, you will see that a person who solves a mystery can do anything. Next you have to pick the voice you are going to write the book in. It can be first person voice or third person voice, or you can make it a combination of both. You can pick the tone of the mystery novel. The novel can be funny, serious, or a combination of both. You must pick the additional characters that will help the story move along. These characters can be sidekicks, law enforcement helpers, bad guys, and good guys. This is the part of a series where you decide which characters will continue on to other books and which characters are for only this book. The last part of the preliminary picking steps is picking whether to outline or not. You can use a full outline or index cards or charts.

Your next step to writing a mystery novel is to begin the writing process. The first page of your novel should set the tone for the rest of the novel. You should get into the story. For example, think of something exciting happening to you and you are telling a friend about it. This is how you should approach the writing of the novel. You are your character. You should tell the story in steps. You can add characters along the way as you need them. You have to let the characters speak for you in whatever way needed. It can be bad language, a nasty personality, or a kind personality. You have to set up your story to have points of conflict and danger. There will need to be characters that stand in the way of the crime being solved and things need to happen to your character along the way. You will need to create a murder within the first 50 pages of the novel. This will give a reason for the protagonist to begin snooping around. When you are ending a chapter, create a cliffhanger. You will want your reader to read on. Set up some false leads through the book to keep your reader guessing. Lead the reader to the solution with little clues and hints, but not too much information. You never want them to guess the mystery until the end. If you are writing a novel where the culprit is known from the beginning, then it has to be structured to where the reader knows more than the hero. If you have done some research for the character of your novel, then you have to be sure to include the information in a way it does not slow down the progress of the story.  When you are writing the end, you have two ways to consider ending the novel. You can leaved your reader with the fulfillment that the mystery was solved, or you can leave them confounded by the out come, which will make them pick up the next in the series. You never want to end your novel with a thud.

         The final thing you want to do when you are writing a mystery novel is execute good work habits. Like any job, writing is working on a project daily. You have to set a schedule to write a certain amount of pages a day. Make sure to work through to the end as fast as you possibly can. Revise your draft at least five times before you read it aloud to someone or to yourself. Print out the draft and edit it on paper, not the computer screen. Be sure to check for spelling and grammar errors. During the editing process, you will have to be sure that the key points to the story make sense. You have to be sure that you are consistent throughout the novel. The facts, plot points, names, methods and murders all match up. Save the final version of the manuscript on a disk. Prepare a final outline of the entire book. You will want to send the out line with some sample chapters, generally the first 50 pages of the manuscript to a literary agent or publishing company

How to write a Short Story

           If you want to be a writer, but you are unsure if writing a novel is the best way to go, then begin by writing a short story or a series of short stories. There are many people who would rather read a short story than an entire novel. There have also been novels that are a series of short stories. These stories can be turned into movies, TV series, and may spawn longer novels. Some of the most famous short story writers include Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allan Poe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Updike, Stephen King, and O. Henry. You could end up in the same categories as these writers. Taking steps to create a short story is essential, if you want to end up like the famous writers.

First, you have to study the language. Studying the art of writing is the best way to begin. Read short stories and novels. Read current short stories and classics. The classics will teach you more about writing than the current stories. Keep a journal; write letters, not just emails to friends and families. You can even take writing courses. All of these things will help you hone your skills as a writer and teach you the art of writing.

Secondly, you have to have an idea of the story you wish to write. A skilled writer can come up with an idea in a flash. Inspiration can come from anywhere. For instance, in Stephen King’s new novel, Full Dark, No Stars, he got his inspiration for one story watching a truck driver change a tire. Another story’s inspiration came from walking along the road and seeing a road side stand. A new writer needs to figure out how to take those moments of inspiration and build upon them. For instance, say there was an important time in your life that you want to write about, perhaps, a vacation. What is it about that vacation that you want to write about? How can you expand on it to make it capture the reader? You have to take you initial concept and expand on it. 

For instance, say you want to write about your trip to Rocky Mountains. You could begin by saying “The summer we spent in the Rocky Mountains.” Then you can expand on this. Say you met someone who seemed a bit shady. “The mountaineer the summer we spent in the Rocky Mountains” becomes your concept. Then you have to figure out what made him shady, perhaps, you could see him committing murders. “The mountaineer who murdered over a dozen people the summer we spent in the Rocky Mountains” becomes the idea for your story.  You can start with this concept and move into your angle.

Thirdly, you have to figure out what direction your story is going to go. Will you cover all of the murders? Will you speak of how he came after you and you escaped, only to find out later how many people he did murder? Will you talk about how he was captured and then you found that he was plotting your murder next? There are dozens of ways you can take the story. If you cannot take the idea and expand on it, then you should rethink your idea all together.

Fourthly, you have to map out your scenes. Having the idea and direction is a great start, but you have to outline your scenes, so you can keep on task. For a short story, there should be about ten pages worth of writing, so three good scenes will be necessary. Let’s use the murdering mountaineer concept as an example.

You could go with: (1) Meeting the mountaineer at the Ranger’s Station; (2) seeing someone outside your bedroom window; (2) encountering the mountaineer on a walk through the woods.

Or another way to go is (1) Meeting the mountaineer at the Ranger’s station where he questions you and warns of the murders happening; (2) reading about the murders in the newspaper; (3) police showing up at your home to tell you about the murder plot to end your life.

The outline you create for the story can be loose and just general ideas of where you want to take the story or it can be very tight and concise.

Fifthly, character development needs to happen. There should be no more than four main characters. You can have as many minor players as you want, but they should not stand in the way of story development. You now have all the basic needs to write your story.

Sixthly, it is time to write. Be enthusiastic about the project. Writing should be as fun for you as when you first learned to ride a bike or danced. Putting life into the story should be your main goal. You will be able to see something from a new perspective for the first time. This should give you the life and enthusiasm you need.

The last thing you will need to do is edit. Editing does not only fix the mistakes that happen your first time out of the gate, but it is meant to make the story shine. No story is written perfectly the first time. Every story needs to be set aside and edited a couple of times before submitted to a publisher. There are writers who will put their stories through 30 to 50 editing cycles before they are satisfied with it. You will learn to know when you have done all the editing you possibly can. The story will not improve with another edit.

The best thing you can do to enhance your writing skills is practice. Write, write, and write more.  If you think this is what you really want to do with your life, then keep doing it. It is the only way you may become good at it and receive recognition.

Social Media, Your Career, Your Reputation

Social Media

The impact social media sites have on your reputation or business can be great. These sites have to be used with care. Being careful of what you say and how you say it is very important when you are utilizing one of these sites for personal and professional purposes. When a person uses one of these sites for business, it is important that the person use his or her words wisely. Taking the time to really think about what you are going to say to promote your business, product, or service, can capture the attention of the reader. If you are able to grab his or her attention, then you can possibly sell your service or product and bring attention to your business. When you are using the sites for personal use, being careful of what you say is especially important. Employers will search for you online. If you have posted something about someone or something that they disapprove of, then you will most likely not get the job. Your digital foot print is very important when it comes to all aspects of your life.

Keeping your posts to the allotted 140 characters or fewer will help to get a message across that is meaningful and engaging to your readers.  For instance, when I am promoting a book I have written, I make sure to make my post relevant to the month, season, or reason you should buy it and include a link to it. Here is an example of my promotion for my cook book:

“With the holidays fast approaching, learn how to spend more time with your family and less time in your kitchen.” http://www.publishamerica.net/product25673.html

This approach appeals to people with families who lack the time to spend with them throughout the holiday season.  This book was written to appeal to families and those that simply are too busy to cook a meal everyday. Keeping within the theme of the book allows me to promote it to its fullest extent and for its intended purposes.

This is one of the ways you can use social media to your advantage. There are many more ways to use it. It is just a matter of thinking before you type out those words. 

How to Write a Horror Novel

                Ever wanted to write a book that makes the reader jump at the lease little thing? Becoming a horror writer will allow you to do that. You could join the ranks of fellow horror writers, like Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Clive Barker, and Peter Straub.

                First things first, you have to write about what scares you. In order to produce a good horror novel or short story, you will have to confront your own fears. To some, this is a difficult task. There are those who do not even want to admit to having a fear, but we all have them. Daydreaming and imagining yourself in a scary situation will help you create your story. If you take the time to allow yourself to be a pert of the main character, then the character will come off as real because you are pouring your emotions, fears, and anxiety into him or her. The best horror stories are those that come from real situations. Writing about an event that may have occurred in your life or you fear will happen to you or a loved one is the best way to write a horror novel or short story.

                Reading is the foundation to writing a great book. If you have never read a horror story or watched a horror movie, then you will not be able to create one. Reading other horror books will help you to develop the skills necessary to create a horror story.

                You will need to grab the reader’s attention by placing a scary scene in the beginning, just not the scariest scene in the book. You have to time and pace your story. Your novel will have to capture the fright in your story’s surroundings and scenarios. There are those writers who believe that a fast paced description is always the goal. That is not always true. You will need to slow the pace down to allow the reader to soak in the quieter horror moments. Without there being a slower pace to certain parts, the books more quicker paced moments would not be so explosive. You will want to take the time to tease your readers. Putting in scary scenes that turn out to be not so scary will accomplish this. You have to give your readers the feeling that something scary is coming, then when they are least expecting it to happen the climax of the horror should take place. Before the climax occurs, make sure there is a place in the book that you have described the villain or monster.

                You will want to avoid all the horror clichés when you are writing your novel. For instance, a black cat lurking in an alleyway, strange noises coming from the woods while everyone is seated around a campfire. Things of this nature will be considered a cliché. You will have to take the time to explore how to incorporate horror in your novel in an original way. Your horror story could involve classic horror elements with your own unique twist, or not resemble traditional horror at all.

                You must remember to write realistically. Making your horror story seem real will make it scarier. You want your reader to feel as though the events could actually happen. When you are first beginning as a horror writer, you should write about the town you live in and your own situations. Then you can add in the fear elements, such as a murderer or an apparition. When you begin by using a real person, place or situation, it will make your reader think what is about to happen really did take place.

                Writing habits for horror novelists are different than traditional books. You never want to lose your emotional momentum, so you will have to take the time to write every day. To establish a sense of fear within yourself, write in your attic, basement, or at night after everyone has gone to bed. This will heighten your sense of fear and cause you to write the scary scenes that much better.   

How to Write a Romance Novel

               There are some great romance novels out there for those who enjoy reading about the throws of passion. If you are an avid reader of these novels, you may have thought about writing one yourself. This can be a long process, but if it is well thought out, then you may be able to see your novel next to those of your favorite authors.

                The first thing you will need to do is pick your characters names and plan out the setting for the story. Your characters will be a huge part of your story. When you are creating your female and male lead, you will have to make them realistic in order for your readers to get into your characters. Both characters need to have their flaws. No one is perfect and your characters should not be. While they can be perfect for each other, they should have their problems.

                You will have to pick an age for your characters. Picking their age will allow you to know who your target audience is going to be. If you are attempting to write a romance novel for the teens, then you should keep your characters between the ages of 18 and 24. If you are catering to a more adult audience, then you should make your characters a bit older, between the ages of 25-40.

                Your setting in a romance novel is different than in a traditionally written fiction book. With a romance novel you do not have to be specific. Most romance novels take place in very vague areas. For example, you may read one that takes place on a wintery night in the mountains. Conversely, you can also be as specific as you wish. If you want your readers to have more details about the setting, you may include it. Your setting can even be fictional. You do not have to have a real place in mind, especially if it a fantasy romance. You can make up towns and places, like a soap opera.

                You never want your characters to jump right into a romance. You must build the romance between the characters. For example, your characters could start out as friends, moving into best friends, and then romantic partners. The male character could have saved the girl from a mugging, a car accident, or from drowning. You can even start the characters out as disliking each other, but then something happens to make them get a long.  Build on the sexual tension between the characters.

                When you are creating conversation between your characters, make sure it sounds like a real conversation. Some cheesy dialogue is expected in romance novels, but you cannot make the entire novel about the cheesy dialogue. When it comes to romance novels, there needs to be a level of passion. Your characters must feel and express emotions.

                Make sure your characters have some trouble along the way. For instance, say they fight because one thinks the other is cheating or they hate each other in the beginning and are constantly fighting. You can even carry some of that fighting into their newly formed relationship. You can make the problems come from outside the relationship. For instance, one can be older than the other and the family disapproves of the relationship. One can be an ex of a best friend and that causes trouble. If you are going for the fantasy aspect, one can be a ghost or from a futuristic time.

                You must remember that the main characters of the book have to have a well developed relationship. The relationship between the two main characters is crucial. Even in a well developed relationship there has to be some excitement to it or the reader will get bored fast. Using other characters as part of the setting will aid in the development of the relationship. The other characters can put up roadblocks for the characters or help in encouraging the two main characters to come together.

                The novel should end well. Your ending will determine if the novel is “okay” or if it will be remembered as an “I liked the novel, but the end was awful.” You can end your novel one of three ways. The couple can end up together, which will make the readers happy. The couple could end up not together, because they are unable to handle the pressure of the outer forces. The couple could come to a tragic end, like in Romeo and Juliet.

                Lastly, have fun writing this novel. Use your own imagination and fantasies to write this novel. You could even use aspects from your own life. Write this novel because it makes you happy and you want to share it with the world.

How to Promote Your Book

                Promoting your book is much like marketing your book. The steps are pretty much the same, but there are some additional things you can do to ensure that you will have good sales for your book.

                First, you will want to send copies to all the journals and magazines that review the genre of your book. This is one of the more important aspects of book writing. If you have a traditional publisher, they will do this for you, but you can help out with doing some yourself. If you are self publishing your book, you will definitely want to do this.

                Second, get your friends, colleagues, clients and anyone who has read and liked your book to place a review on Amazon.com and other bookstore websites. These reviews are very important to the sales of your book.

                Third, contact radios stations, newspapers, and magazines for interviews. You will have to write a publicity letter or a press release about the book.

                Fourth, create a separate webpage for the book. You should have a separate webpage for each book. The address should feature the book title and traffic can be driven to the sight with comments, blogs, quotes, and extracts. You should have a link to show where a person can buy the book. Make sure that you encourage user feedback, comments and reviews of the book.

                Fifth, you should offer sample chapters as free downloads. You should take a few chapters and turn them into PDFs. Allow people to download the chapters. This is like them browsing through your book at the bookstore.

                Sixth, start a blog and use material from your book in it. When you are quoting the material, make sure to use the book as a citation and post a link to it. This will help to build a community of interest around the topic of the book.

                Seventh, take the time to review other books in the same genre as your book. When you review a book on Amazon, sign the review with your name accompanied by “the author of…..” The person reading the reviews will, most likely, click on your name and go look for your book.

                Eighth, you can begin an email newsletter. You can encourage people to sign up for your newsletter on the website. When you create the newsletter, be sure to include new information about other books in this genre.

                Ninth, be sure to give away copies to the right people. Your book can be your calling card. Giving away copies to potential and existing clients is the best way to get the word out. Encourage your clients and potential clients to read the book and then pass it on to their friends and family.

                Tenth, offer your book as a prize in a contest. The local radio station, magazines, or societies will, often times, run contests. Your book could be the prize for these contests, giving you even more publicity. 

Marketing Your Book

                Congratulations! You have finally finished your book and it has been published. The next step in seeing sales in your book is marketing it. The first step you will have to do is come up with a plan.

                Your plan should outline how you plan on selling your book. It should be the guideline as to where you want to go with your books. Your marketing plan should answer some questions. You have to ask who the audience of the book is. Why do you feel it is important the people read this book? What makes your book so different from the others in the same genre? What made you qualified to write the book? How are you to go about promoting the book? How much money do you want to spend marketing your book? Your answers to these questions will tell you just how hard you are willing to work for your book. There are things you can do to ensure your book sells.

                Using your personal network is the first thing you can do. You have to make sure everyone in your personal network knows that you have a book coming out. Encourage them to tell everyone in their personal network. Take the time to use social networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter, or Goggle +. Make up business cards and hand them out to people you meet. You can even give out a few extras to those people, so they are able to spread the word. Using word of mouth can be very effective and is one of the most inexpensive ways to market your book.

                You have to get your book onto the bookstore shelves. When you are a new author, this is a hard task. The spots that are on the shelves are generally there for the author’s who have a proven track record. You will have to show the bookstore a record of sales and a marketing plan that you plan on using to move the books off the shelves. There are a few ways you can get your book onto book shelves. Go to your local bookstore and talk to the buyer of the books. There are many stores that have a local author section and will be willing to carry your book just base on that. Make sure that your book is returnable and is sold at the standard bookstore discount. These are the magic words to bookstore buyers. You can also apply the bookstore’s acquisition department directly to ask if they are willing to carry your book. The criteria may be different from bookstore to bookstore. You will need to provide the department with all the information they will need to make their decision.

                Plan on having book signings, seminars, and talks, these three things are great for you to sell your books. There is no one who knows your book better than you do. Having a seminar about your book will give you the opportunity to sell it to potential readers. If you are going to opt for a book signing, then you will need to speak to the community relations manager. You will both need to come to a decision as to when and where you have it. The bookstore will be interested in holding the event, because they believe that it will bring customers into the store. You will need to be sure to invite as many people as you can to the event. 

How to Get Your Book Published By a Traditional Publisher

                Every writer wants to have his or her book published by a traditional publisher, but it is harder than you would think. You may or may not need an agent, depending on the publisher. As previously mentioned, Simon and Schuster requires your manuscript to be submitted by an agent. Most publishing companies will open their submissions a couple times of year to people who want to submit their manuscripts without an agent. There are steps you can follow to get your book published.

                First, you must read. You have to read a lot. Not only do you have to read the books that are your inspiration for writing, but you want to read everything you can. If you want to write fiction, read nonfiction. If you are writing nonfiction, read fiction. Read classical works, read books from other cultures and times, read poetry. Read books that come from a foreign language. Read books you have already read. This will help you to understand how books are written.

                Secondly, you have to ask yourself a few questions. Why are you writing? What type of book are you attempting to write? Do you want it to be a popular book? Will you be proud of the book you write? Are doing this as a competition with a friend? Do you crave the attention you could receive from writing a book? Are you looking to change the world with your book? Would you be satisfied with a small audience? Are you in it for the fame, money, or respect? Is there something that you really believe in? What are the types of books you enjoy reading? Are you attempting to create a book that is a complete disconnect from what you read? For instance, if you love horror novels and are attempting to write a romance novel, is this the right way to go?   You have to be honest with yourself as to why you are writing. If you choose not to be, then your work will come off as false. Any good reader, including editors, will spot this.

                Thirdly, you will need to delve further into the publishing industry than the advice being given here. Attempt to become an intern for a publishing company or do some volunteer reading. Try to meet and chat with someone who is in the industry. Attempt to work in the publishing industry. Work in a bookstore. Learn as much as you can about the industry. Your chances of succeeding in it will be better.

                Fourthly, make sure to do your research. Knowing the market for the book you are going to write is very important. This is an important step if you are writing a nonfiction book. You will have to know how the topic is covered for the book you are writing.  You will have to see how well the topic is covered and if there is new information about the topic that causes the other books to be outdated. Visiting the library and bookstores will give you a chance to see how books are formatted and how they are priced. You will also be able to see if every area of the topic has been covered or if just the board spectrum of the topic has been covered. This research can give you a chance to cover a certain aspect of the topic that could bring in an audience. When you are writing a fiction book, market research is a bit more difficult. You can see what publishers are publishing the fiction book you are planning on writing.

                Fifthly, take the time to actually write the book. There are writers that will just write a chapter and attempt to land a publishing deal. That only works if you are an already established writer or you are one of the leading authorities on your subject matter. This is one of the best things you can do. Writing the book will help you learn more about your subject of choice. You will be able to understand your topic more. Your book may take a direction you did not plan on, which is great. You have to be open to allowing this to happen. You will just want to write the book until you get to the end to see where it goes. Do not try and go over it and polish it up. At this stage, never worry if it is good enough, it will not be. Do not worry about formatting it or the length of it. Writing a book is all about making it work, not the number of words you can write. Toward the middle of the book, you may feel like you have painted yourself into a corner, you may think the book will not be good enough, or that you may never finish it. You will need to push through the book. When you are almost to the end, the excitement of being done will kick in. When you are writing a fiction novel, the best thing you can do is to start with a few scenes and fill in the gaps between them. Not finishing the book is the most common reason for failing.

                Sixthly, always take the time to rewrite. Your first draft is just that, a draft. Once you have written the book, you will have to put it aside for a while and then look at it with critical eyes. Change the point of view of the book, move chapters around, eliminate characters. Never get the sense of satisfaction too early. Always get a friend or two to look at it before you send it in. If you have a feeling that something may be wrong with your manuscript, it most likely is. Take the time to revise it. Your first few pages should capture an editor’s attention as well as a reader’s attention. Take the time to be sure that is the case.

                Seventhly, after you are completely satisfied with your manuscript it is time for you to do additional market research. If you took the time to go to the bookstores and libraries, then you have already identified publishers who may be interested in the book you have written. It is time to double check your findings. See if the author’s of books with a similar subject matter thank publishers and agents in his or her acknowledgements. The reference desk in your library should have the Literary Marketplace. This will give you the names, addresses, and phone numbers you want.

                Eighthly, write a query letter. A short query letter is the best kind to write. The goal of the letter is to find out if the publisher is looking for a book like the one you have written. You will also want to know if they are going to take the time to actually read your manuscript. Will you need an agent? Not necessarily, if you go with a smaller publishing company. If you are looking to get into a bigger named company, then you are going to need an agent. Agents are also good at looking over contracts and being sure everything is in order. If you are going to opt for finding an agent, do not go with one who charges a reading fee. Before you commit to sending your manuscript, always right a query letter. A publisher will turn you away, if your book is too similar to one of the titles they already have, if they have too many manuscripts to look at, or if they have shifted the focus of what they are seeking. Always keep your letter to one page. In the letter, explain who you are, what your book is about, and the potential market for the book.

                Ninthly, if you have received a positive response from a publisher, then submit your manuscript with a brief cover letter. Included in the letter should be why you think the publisher is right for your manuscript. The publishing company may request a synopsis and a sample of your characters. Keep this as brief as you possibly can. Always make sure your manuscript is double spaced and the pages are numbered. Never send a self addressed stamped envelope, always ask them just to recycle the pages. Never send your photo, but always include your address.

 

Tenthly, always wait two to three months before you politely request a progress report on your manuscript. Never mistake a slow response as interest in your manuscript. The main thing to remember is to not give up. Most people will drop out after a few months, never ever drop it. Keep writing and you will get ahead.  Remember to improve your writing skills, write, write, and write some more.

Overcoming Fear and Doubt

                Fear and doubt is one of the biggest things anyone has to face, especially a writer. We doubt our abilities to write a novel. We doubt our novels will sell. We doubt we can write a best seller, like some of our favorite writers. Doubt leads into fear and questioning. What if I do not have the skills to write a full length novel? What if no one wants to read my stories? What if I begin a story and never finish? What if I am not good enough? What will happen if I cannot find a publisher?  What will happen if I get writer’s block? Self-doubt and fear can keep you from achieving your dreams to be a writer. There are ways to overcome these fears and doubts.

                The first thing you need to do is admit to having them. The only way you will ever overcome them is to acknowledge them. Write down how your fear and doubt is affecting your progress to becoming a writer. Doing this will show you how you perceive the gravity of the situation. After you have acknowledged your fear and self-doubt, you can find practical ways of coping with these issues. Take the time to imagine the worst case scenario of becoming a writer. For instance, you may think the worst case scenario is that your book will never sell. You can take steps in the marketing and promotion of your book to ensure that you sell copies. The next step to overcoming fear and self-doubt is to build a support group of friends and family who believe in you. Their encouragement and support will help in making you believe that you can achieve your dreams. When someone makes a negative comment about you abilities, you will need to learn to take it as constructive criticism.

Keeping this criticism close to you at all times will force you to strive to do better the next time.  Letting go of the things that were said in the past about your ability to achieve anything will help you to succeed. Create a list of your goals and then take action to achieve one a day. For instance, if your ultimate goal is to write a novel, your list can begin with coming up with the characters to your story. Then on the day you plan on achieving the goal, you can sit down and begin thinking about character traits and what you want them to look like. This may change as you are going through with writing your story, but you will have accomplished your first goal. Taking the action to complete one goal a day will help you overcome your fear and self-doubt.

Personally, I have been down this road. I had plenty of fears and self doubt. When I began writing, I took my time and began slow. I started with an article on our local bands. With the bands feeling grateful that I wrote about them and placing what I said on their websites, I began expanding my horizons. I have written articles on many topics. I have even ventured into writing books. I have written one fiction short story, a poetry book, a cookbook, and a book on body language in the workplace, that have all been published. I have ghostwritten books for clients that have gone on to being published. I have edited books for clients that have gone on to being published. I have entered a couple of contests for fiction writing that I will know the results later this year. Do I still have doubts about my writing ability? Yes, of course, I do. But having a support system that believes in what I do, helps to alleviate that self-doubt and fear. I write my goals out for the day and achieve them daily. There will always be a bit of self doubt and fear in this business, but with some hard work everyone can achieve their goals of being a successful writer.

Inspiration

            In order for a writer to write, there needs to be inspiration. This can come from a variety of different places. You do not need to search for inspiration. It will hit you at a moments notice. Seasoned writers will walk around with a pen and paper in hand constantly, because they never know when inspiration will hit. I would advise you to do this. Personally speaking, I have been in a restaurant, driving down the road and in the grocery store when inspiration has struck.

            Inspiration can come from anything. It can come from a life experience. For instance, your current job can bring on inspiration for a character, plot, or setting.  Inspiration can come from some thing you see. For instance, you could be taking a walk in your neighborhood or on a trail when you come up with scene of a chase through the woods or a neighborhood. A painting can inspire you to write about a certain time period. A drive can inspire you to write about a neighborhood. A person can inspire you to use some of their personality traits for one of your characters. A fight with a loved one can inspire you to write about a conflict in your story.

            Like musicians, writers have to draw from real life experiences. Using the things that inspire you will help you become a better writer. Your imagination is the key to a good story. The next time you are in a grocery store or at a social event, look at a complete stranger and come up with their life story without ever speaking to them.  Put him or her through different scenarios and come up with ways he or she came out of them. This will help you gain inspiration from different things and keep your imagination going. You will then be able to create different characters, settings, and plots for your characters.

Being able to draw inspiration from anything will help you gain a better understanding to becoming a writer. Allowing yourself to come up with different plots using different sets of characters can help you write a novel series. Remember to always carry a pen and paper with you because you never know when you need it. If you have a phone where you can get a program that allows you to write, like notepad, then be sure to have it handy at all times. You may never know when inspiration will take over, but you must always remember to be prepared for it. 

Creating a Setting

           The combination of time and place is what a setting consists of. It may include the physical environment your character interacts in and the cultural factors that effect how your character thinks and reacts to situations.  When a well developed setting is combined with realistic characters, it will make your short story, novel, or series of novels much more believable to its readers. The plot will come together more naturally, leaving the story realistic to its readers. You never want to dump all the details about the setting out at once. This will slow the plot down. As you develop your story, the setting should be revealed slowly, allowing the reader to get a picture of the time, place and details over the course of the story. You may gather more details about a place than you will ever reveal to a reader. These details will help you to develop the story. The following steps will help you in developing a setting for your story.

First, like organizing your characters profiles, you have to organize the materials you are using to conjur up your setting. Setting up a way to gain easy access to the research material you are using for your setting is important, especially when you are writing a novel or a series of novels. Like with your character profiles, you can use files folders, notebooks, post-its, index cards, or word documents. It may take some trial and error before you figure out what works best for you, but do not get discouraged if one way does not work.

Your background information may change by the time you reach the end of your story, but doing the majority of the setting development before you begin to write will allow the process of writing to go more smoothly. You will be able to focus on the minor changes and smaller details as you write your story.

Secondly, you will need to decide on the broader picture elements. You can accomplish this by asking yourself a few questions. You need to ask what type of mood you are looking for your setting to convey throughout the story. You will need to decide if the mood is going to remain the same throughout the story or will it change throughout the scenes. You will need to ask what your time frame is for the story to take place. You will need to ask about the main location of the story.

A good way to visualize the location is to draw a rough map. You can take the time to create a separate file for each location. To get a feel for everything the character will see, hear, taste, touch, and smell, you will need to imagine yourself in the place. If you are writing a book in the current time frame, then you should take the time to explore the place and take notes on everything you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch.

Thirdly, you will need to take into consideration the physical environment and the biology encompassed in it. These elements can vary from planetary (mainly used for sci-fi books) to the physical layout of an environment (lakes, rivers, mountains, trees, plants, etc.). You will need to ask what kind of plants and animals a character will encounter. You will also need to know how each character will react to those elements.

Fourthly, you must take the time to consider your cultural elements. This area can be very broad. It can include such things as family, social structure, government, law, religion, politics, traditions, occupations, economy, communications, and different types of technology. When you are attempting to go for realism in your stories, you most likely will not have to alter much. You can focus on certain elements throughout your story that will add to it. When you are beginning from scratch, you will need to think carefully about each area. Adding a unique, yet clear, element for readers to grasp without having to have a lot of explanation about the element is important for the flow of the story.

Fifthly, you must consider the impact of the setting on each of your characters. You have to ask where your characters feel safe and where they may feel anxiety or tension. Settings will, often times, impact how a person speaks. When you are creating new words for your characters, you have to think about new ways to bring it into conversations without feeling the need to explain it to the reader. If you want to create a surprise element in your plot, you can use an environment the character generally feels safe in and compromise it. This will have a greater impact on the plot than a setting where the readers will expect things to happen.

Sixthly, you will need to see that your setting and the story you are telling are connected. While you are writing, you will see areas that need improvement. You can take the time to update the setting as your story progresses, but be sure that it does not damage the flow of the story. This will help you with future books, should you be writing a series, and help in marketing the books. 

Creating Characters

Creating a character that is realistic and believable is one of the most important parts of novel or novel series. Without a realistic character, your novel will not come together as well as it should. Introducing a character takes finesse. Dumping a list of traits on your readers is not good character development. Throughout the story it is important that you weave details about the characters without bringing the plot to a halt. Traits can be linked to behaviors. Showing actions with your characters will allow the reader to see the traits without you telling the reader the trait you are looking to portray. There are steps to achieving a proper character development.

First, organization is important when you are creating character profiles. You will need to organize the materials you are using for the characters you are creating. When you are creating a short story, this step may not be necessary, but when you are creating a novel and a series of novels you will have to reference profiles often. Being prepared will allow your characters to become more realistic, because you can be consistent with even the smallest details. For instance, if the character had brown hair in one book, you do not want him or her to have sandy blonde hair in another book. Your readers will spot the inconsistency in your character. It will take a bit of work to create your character before diving into your plot, but keeping consistent will allow the writing process to flow better.

Your personality comes into play when you are organizing your character profiles. You could be a person who likes physical documents, such as file folders, note cards, or post-its. This will allow you to move things around for a different combination of things. You may prefer to keep everything on your computer. This allows you to open documents in addition to the manuscript. You can keep the profiles as detailed as you need them to be, but keep the organization of these profiles simple. You do not want to be stressed out when you are looking for the profiles, because it can cause you not to make progress in your books.

Secondly, you will need to begin to develop your characters traits and backgrounds. Each character that appears in your novels should have a list of general traits and a background that can be worked into the story. You can make a list of traits. The physical attributes can consist of eye color, hair color, height, weight, and body type. The Demographics should consist of age, birth order, place of birth, and income level. The personality type and other related traits should consist of whether the character is an extrovert or introvert, is organized or disorganized, driven or relaxed, and any other aspect that may be important to the story you plan to write. For example, if you are writing a sci-fi/fantasy novel, then there will need to be more details added that characters in other genres may not need. The dominant traits of your character should have range. What is the strong trait in one part of the story should be the weak trait in another part of the story.

Psychology plays a part in how you turn out in life. You could have a twin that is the complete opposite of you, even though you have both had the same upbringing. Your personal choices and beliefs will shape who you are as a person. This same holds true for your characters. You will have to put some thought into what makes your character special and different. What traits your character has will allow him or her to overcome conflicts and obstacles he or she may encounter within your plot.

If you can draw or know someone who can, you can create a sketch of your character to include with the profiles for your own use. You can also use magazine clips or internet images. These can help you to visualize and understand your characters better.

Thirdly, when you are ready to begin your story you must determine where you are going to need extra research. Your characters may have different experiences and careers from what you have had. This will require some research. Your knowledgeable readers will notice the inconsistency in the details of the profession or experience. This will cause them to put the book down and not continue reading. It is hard to bring these readers back to your story. You will need to take notes on the areas that you will need to research, so your character will be more believable to those readers.

Fourthly, there will be a connection between your characters and books; you will need to be able to recognize it. Ideas will surface about your characters as you are writing your books that were not there while you were profiling your characters. This is a normal part of the process. Keeping your profiles in a format that is easily edited and manipulated is very important. When you have decided to write a novel series, the characters profiles will grow larger in time. Keeping the profiles separate will save you the trouble of going through different books to ensure that you have the right traits for each character.

Fifthly, save your character profiles for future use, even after your story has been completed. There are times that you may know more about your characters than you will reveal to your readers. Using these characters profiles is great for marketing your books. You can reveal more on sites that allow author’s to provide extra tidbits about the characters in books.

Saving the profiles can also help if and when your book is adapted into a movie format. The detailed material you have gathered will help the actor or actress get to know your character better and portray him or her to the readers liking.