Tag: professional

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Guest Posts

10 Tips to Ruin Your Book and Lose Your Readership

Writing your book should be something that the author finds interesting. However, in the long run, you aren’t writing the book for yourself. You’re writing it for your audience, which you aren’t a part of. This means that you need to offer them something worth their time and attention, which can put you under a lot of pressure. Some writers crack under this pressure and start to do things that are likely to ruin the book and make them lose their readership. This is something that you have to avoid.

In the spirit of learning through examples of what NOT to do, here are ten things that will cause you to ruin your book or lose your readership.

Wait for inspiration

This is something that too many writers are guilty of. I don’t know where they got the idea that you can’t write a good book (especially fiction) without inspiration. So, they do all sorts of time-wasting gimmicks, sit on a spot, and relax while waiting for inspiration, take coffee, take a walk, etc. These are not bad by themselves, but if you’re doing them to get inspiration, then it’s a waste. The best writers don’t wait for inspiration to write. They write to get inspired. The worst part about waiting for inspiration is that it might never come, and even when the inspiration does come, it’s not a guarantee for a good novel.

Feel insecure about your writing

Good writers have learned to write without stopping to think about what they’re writing and how good or bad it is. Taking time to dwell on your writing during early drafts will only make you feel bad about it. It might start as a self-critic or inner critic, but it might quickly degenerate into fear; fear of not selling a copy, fear of people hating your work, etc. Once these thoughts start creeping in, you begin to ruin the book you’re writing.

Ignoring the craft

Every craft has its rules, structures, and techniques which must be applied to be successful. Writing isn’t any different. One of the best ways to ruin your book is to be an artistic rebel and ignore the craft. Abandon the works of previous writers before you. Listen to no critique and don’t entertain feedback. Just do whatever you want; however, you want it.

Have a chip on your shoulder

Beyond ruining your book, this is the fastest way also to ruin your career. When it comes to publication, make sure that your best tools are defiance and arrogance. No one should ever reject your manuscript. It’s an insult to you and your hard work for anyone to say no to your writing. Rebuke them publicly if you can. Perhaps you can also drag them on social media for being so short-sighted. Do all of this instead of having a rethink and then learn from their criticism of your work and improve it.

Chase the market

There’s popular publishing saying that it’s too late to join a trend once you spot it. It would be best if you ignored this saying. Get the bestselling novels and study them to find a trend. Once you notice the trend, then write your book following this trend. Be extremely market-conscious. It would help if you neglected the fact that people would’ve moved on from that trend into something else by the time you’re done writing yours.

Take shortcuts

Since you’re trying to ruin your book, taking shortcuts to everything will do you much good. The boom in e-book and increasing ease of publishing means that you can self-publish, right? So, why work with a publisher when they’re likely to reject the work after all? Get your friends to help you preview your book and get a freelance editor to edit it, and you’re good to go.

Disregard the audience of your book

You’re trying to write a bad book, so why should you care about what the audience feels or says? That should be none of your concerns. Your book is your book, regardless of whatever experience the readers get while reading it. Write it as lazily and as carefree as you possibly can. Create boring plots and make them read your chapters without actually reading anything. You might lose a few readers, but that shouldn’t be a problem. That’s the goal, right?

Break every known (and unknown) writing rule

You don’t have to give yourself to learning writing rules and how to write in the first place. You don’t owe anyone that, do you? However, should you somehow know some writing rules already, make it a point to continuously break and disregard every one of them in your novel. After all, writing is about getting creative. So, get creative even with simple things like grammatical structure and create bad writing.

Don’t ask for or pay attention to any feedback.

People have a way of making others feel bad about their works. This is done out of jealousy most of the time. (Or so the bad writer thinks.) So, don’t allow anybody to get to you by asking for their feedback. You’re an island by yourself; you don’t need anybody’s feedback. You’ll be fine on your own. You’re a champion; that’s what champions do. If people peradventure send you their feedback, ignore them. Don’t even read or listen to it at all. You have no more growing up to do.

Be a quitter

There is no shame in quitting. If things seem to be going too well with your book, you can choose to stop and if things aren’t going well either, quitting is always an option. You don’t even have to finish the novel. Writing a good book can take a long while, and you’d need to persevere through that time, but you’re an author, not a marathon athlete. Why do you need to persevere with anything?

Conclusion

It’s important to note that this article is for those looking to ruin their books and reputation as authors and don’t mind losing their readership. If you’re looking to write a great book, you should do the exact opposite of this article or look elsewhere for tips.

Leon Collier is a blogger from the UK, working for AssignmentHolic, where he provides this writing paper service. He loves to write about everything: pop culture, history, travel, self-development, education, and marketing. When not writing, you can find him behind a book or playing tabletop games with his friends. Follow him on @LeonCollier12.

Categories
Becoming an Author

Acting Techniques to Deepen Your Writing – Part 4: Career

As an actress, I’ve always been fascinated with the many ways in which the craft of acting can compare to the craft of writing. There is much that writers can learn from actors that can help us deepen characterization, tap into emotion, and break down scenes and plot.

In the previous post of this series, I shared about other ways in which writers can glean from actors apart from the craft—specifically when it comes to the approach to the writing process. Today, I’d like to share a few realizations I’ve discovered about the career of acting that writers can benefit from as well.

On Career…

1. Your style will add a spark of uniqueness to your story in a way that only you can. When casting directors receive auditions for a particular role, they don’t necessarily make their casting decisions based upon who is the “best actor” (although acting ability is certainly vital, of course); rather, they choose the actor who brings a certain life to the character. Different actors will perform the same role various ways. Because of this, actors need to focus on what they specifically can bring to the character that others cannot. Let’s learn how to apply this to our writing as well. There is a unique voice, a “life,” that only you can bring to the page. Allow that to show forth in your writing.

2. Don’t underestimate the value of training. Actors understand this value; after all, they must include this in their resumes when they submit to casting directors! It’s impressive for a casting director to see that an actor has studied with professional acting coaches. Similarly, it’s impressive for agents and editors to see that writers have devoted time (and money) into sharpening their craft. This proves that the writer is serious about the profession and helps them come across as professional rather than amateur.

3. Rejections aren’t a sign that you’re a bad writer. Serious actors must face rejection nearly every day. With the overwhelming amount of competition, it’s impossible for an actor to land every role he/she auditions for. In the writing industry, publishers and agents have no choice but to be selective, too, as they have limited available slots in their roster to fill. Let’s view rejections as an inevitable byproduct to being a professional rather than a personal offense to our craft.

4. When we detach ourselves to our writing, we leave room to grow. Actors must get accustomed with following the direction given by a director, even if this requires performing a scene in a way that differs from how they had originally rehearsed. But if the actor refuses to follow direction and sticks with the original performance, he will likely come across as both amateur and prideful. Let’s apply this same lesson to our writing. The process of receiving feedback from an editor can be painful—but let’s not cling to our words so tightly that we refuse to change and listen to constructive feedback. It’s in this process of change that we grow as a writer.

5. Great art can never be rushed. It’s crazy how, in the filmmaking industry, the shortest scenes often take the longest to film! Yet it’s often those “small moments” that make for the biggest impact. When we write, let’s not rush those small moments either. Instead, let’s take the time necessary that will allow that scene to deliver the intended response.

6. When we approach writing, let’s not aim for perfection. Rather, let’s learn as much as we can about the craft, and when it’s actually time to write that first draft, we can let go and trust our inner artist. This is what I’ve been instructed to do from my acting coach, too, and it has really helped me to avoid perfectionist paralysis and deliver my best work.

7. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. How horrible would it be if actors thought about all of their friends and family members who would someday watch their emotional scenes? They’d probably refuse to allow themselves to “go there.” As writers, we, too, must be vulnerable. Don’t worry about who may someday read your book. Stay in the moment, remembering that vulnerability is often what connects most with our audience.

That concludes our series on acting techniques! What have you learned from actors, the acting process, or the career of acting that has most served to be beneficial for you as a writer? Let me know in the comments!

Tessa Emily Hall is an award-winning author who writes inspirational yet authentic books for teens to remind them they’re not alone. She writes both fiction and devotionals for teens, including her upcoming release, LOVE YOUR SELFIE (October 2020, Ellie Claire). Her latest devotional, COFFEE SHOP DEVOS, encourages teens to pursue a personal relationship with Christ. Tessa’s passion for shedding light on clean entertainment and media for teens led her to a career as a Literary Agent at Cyle Young Literary Elite, YA Acquisitions Editor for Illuminate YA (LPC Imprint), and Founder/Editor of PursueMagazine.net. She’s guilty of making way too many lattes and never finishing her to-read list. When her fingers aren’t flying 128 WPM across the keyboard, she can be found speaking to teens, decorating art journals, and acting in Christian films. Her favorite way to procrastinate is through connecting with readers on her blog, mailing list, social media (@tessaemilyhall), and website: tessaemilyhall.com.

Categories
Writing for YA

Why Your Beta Stopped Reading Your Manuscript

Finding a reliable and dependable beta reader can be a challenge. They often bail on you. Why? This topic comes up regularly on beta read groups.

First, let me point out the reasons why a beta reader may never start reading a manuscript.

  • The author ignores formatting requests. I ask writers to put their manuscript in standard submission format. Not everyone wants this, but if your reader asks for a certain format, then try to be respectful and accommodate. Try to avoid tiny print, colored font, weird formatting, or other issues that may be an obstacle to easy reading.
  • Ten chapters landing in their mailbox when they asked for one. 
  • A manuscript with the chapter numbers removed and several chapters squished together when they asked for one chapter.
  • The author makes unreasonable demands, such as fast turnaround, free line editing, and/or free proofreading.

Why a beta reader may stop reading a manuscript after one, two, three, or four chapters. Or pages.

  • Materials are vastly different from the description. If a book is listed as PG-13, graphic sex scenes or violence shouldn’t be in the book. If it’s pitched as a cozy, blood and gore on page one can be a shock. The novel also needs to fit within the expected market guidelines for content. A YA novel, even if self-published, still needs to follow certain standards.
  • Often, I will stop reading after a few chapters. This is because at this point of a beta read, the big picture problems are apparent. If the author consistently has the same issues in the first four chapters, I begin to repeat myself and my advice becomes repetitive. There’s no reason to continue until the writer has reworked the rest of the manuscript. To carry on is frustrating for both reader and author.
  • If a submission is too rough and has editing mistakes in every line, a reader may stop after a page.
  • Nonproductive dialogue with the author can ruin the reader-author relationship. Some writers desire affirmation rather than feedback. Encouragement is helpful to a certain degree, but beta readers primarily provide feedback to assist a writer find the flaws so they can improve. That does not mean writer must take all, or any, of their reader’s suggestions. But the author should expect suggestions rather than only praise. The beta should point out what works and what doesn’t.

Other reasons your beta stopped reading.

  • They got sick.
  • There was a family emergency. 
  • An unexpected work situation came up.

In other words, life happened.

It’s not always about the manuscript.  A reader can have many reasons for not finishing your book.

Beta reading is hard work and time consuming. Volunteer beta readers don’t owe anyone an explanation if they find they can’t or don’t want to finish reading a manuscript. 

Remember, your beta readers are doing you a service and should be treated with respect.

Always be kind if it doesn’t work out, and move on.

Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.

Categories
Authorpreneur

Supercharge Your Reach, Part Three

Throughout this series I’ve emphasized one main point—increasing your reach is vital to your writing career. I’ve also shared two ways to grow your reach. In this post, I’d like to proffer a third approach: creating a quality product.

As an authorpreneur, increasing revenue through writing is the driving force behind your efforts. Boost your sales by creating a quality product.

Milton Hershey once famously remarked, “Give them quality. That’s the best kind of advertising.” Since most of us have probably eaten, or at least heard about Hershey chocolate, I think it’s safe to assume that he knew what he was talking about.

As Hershey said, a quality product gets people talking. This is true for any product on the market, including books.

Time and again, I encounter clients who may have an exceptional story, but didn’t put enough time and effort into the typesetting, editing, cover design, or other features that subtly appeal to a reader. In the end, their book doesn’t have the impact they expected.

 Why this matters

Like it or not, quality sells. And it should. You’re asking people to part with their money and, as such, you should be prepared to give them something that really shines.

On a more practical side, if the product doesn’t look good, consumers are less likely to realize its true value.

Your story may be a real winner, but have you taken the time to verify the accents/dialects of your characters? Are the descriptions of buildings true-to-life for the time period? Is there an appropriately sized gutter and is the text appropriately spaced? Expand your reach by creating a book so good that people want to talk about it.

For example, I recently was tagged on an Instagram post made by a reader who loved In the Shadow of Your Wings (story and cover). She made up a gift basket that featured the book and some other products, then shared it with her followers. Getting people talking about your product is a free way to expand your reach.

How to boost your book’s quality

If you’re an indie author, you want to create a product so good that no one can tell you’ve indie published it. I’m not saying it’ll be perfect. According to an article carried by the University of California Press, a 95% error-free manuscript is the best a human can do. But the mistakes should be minimal and not hinder your opportunity to expand your reach through retail.

Hire a quality editor. If you’re self-editing, use quality control measures such as listening to the audio using Microsoft’s Read Aloud feature, and working backwards through your text. None of these are absolutely foolproof, but they should minimize the number of typos that can easily slip by if you’re already familiar with the text before you begin the editing process.

Invest in a cover-design professional. You can engage the services of a freelancer or contract out with a full-service publisher such as my house, Logos Publications, LLC.

From a production standpoint, it helps to make a publishing checklist if you’re an indie author. Include a section for such as proofreading, checking for homophones, punctuation checks etc. and another for the actual production (typesetting, formatting and the like).

Creating a quality product takes a lot of effort. It isn’t the quick-and-easy “write a book and sell it on Amazon” approach that many think. But in the end you’ll have a book that people will want to talk about, and one that you’ll be proud to call your own. Believe me, nothing in this business is more gratifying than that.

Takeaway: Invest time and effort into creating a solid plot and producing a quality product. That is still the best kind of advertising.

If you’d like an in-depth look at how this can apply to your manuscript, book a call with me online.

JP Robinson gained experience in the marketing field doing promotional work for multi-million dollar medical facilities and non-profit groups over the past decade. He is an international speaker, educator, and prolific author of both fiction and non-fiction.

JP also conducts writing seminars in various parts of the country and heads Logos Publications, LLC, an emerging publishing and book marketing team.

When he isn’t writing or teaching, JP loves spending time with his wonderful wife and children.

Categories
Book Proposals

Always Cover the Basics

From reading many submissions, I’ve seen numerous misspellings of my first and last name. This small but significant mistake makes an immediate negative impression for reading the rest of the proposal. Your professionalism needs to shine through your proposal to a literary agent or an editor.

For a minute,. Imagine yourself as an editor or agent receiving submissions. You are actively looking for wonderful writing and solid authors that you can publish. This fact is good news for authors who wonder if anyone even reads their submissions. The important truth for authors to recall is that you receive hundreds of submissions. The little known truth is writers have only seconds to interest the agent or editor in their work. If that professional opens your submission and sees a glaring error, then that submission is rejected and they press on to the next submission. Rejection can mean receiving a rejection letter or not receiving anything or silence because of the large volume of material the editor or agent is receiving

Here’s some important basics to cover in your submission:   

  1. Address a specific person. Never send an email addressing “Dear Agent” or “Dear Editor.” Besides looking funny, it makes the editor wonder if you are sending this material to thousands at the same time (and normally not saying it is a simultaneous submission). Editors and agents will change positions in the industry. It can be cause for rejection if you address someone who is no longer at that business. Check the agency or publisher website for their guidelines before sending and make sure you have all of the correct details.
  2. Double check every word of your submission is correctly spelled. This point is one of my 21 Secrets in Book Proposals That Sell. I’ve had readers say, “Obvious.” Often submissions contain typos.
  3. After you write your proposal and sample chapter, put it aside for several hours (or several days). With fresh eyes read your submission aloud and use a pencil to immediately adjust errors. The ear is less forgiving than the eye and you will pick up on more details reading aloud. Your goal is for every sentence to make sense.

Recently I’ve updated my free book proposal checklist: http://terrylinks.com/bookcheck Use this checklist to know you have sent a complete proposal. It is time-consuming for the editor to have to write an email asking for a missing section or missing address or _____.  Almost daily I write these emails to authors but I recognize I’m different. Because of the high volume of submissions, many agents and editors will not write for the missing information and instead they will never respond or send a quick rejection.

As a writer, you want to rejection-proof your submission and give it every possible opportunity to get their approval, interest and excitement. Every editor is looking for the next bestseller. Will it come from you? I hope so.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. He answers to your proposal questions at: www.AskAboutProposals.com.

Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.