Real Authorship

I'm going to link an article.  And this is my response to this article, but I want to ask that you not give the writer of this article any credit by giving him page views.  But I understand reading the article to understand the full extent of my argument.

'Self-Publishers Should Not Be Called Authors'

Mind the language, but I feel like this is an elitist piece of bull shit.

I am self-published and I introduce myself as an author. So I suppose, yes, in some format, I am taking this personally. But how can you expect me not to when the intensive amount of work I have put into for my book(s) is suddenly written off because of the medium I used to publish it?

And this is going off a rather subjective definition of "professional." Professional doesn't determine x-amount of dollars you make in that profession. First, just as a "professional lawyer" may have a low number of clientele, a professional artist can make a meager income. And second, MY income and MY sales are none of your damn business.

.When you're looking for a photographer, you don't look for the number of clients they've had. You look at their work, specifically, you look at the QUALITY of their work. A photographer isn't going to have spreadsheets of the number of their customers and most of the time, they don't even have price lists. What do you see instead? Pages upon pages of their work, links to portfolios and the like.

Similarly, when regarding "professional authorship", you first look at the cover, perhaps read the back summary, maybe even thumb through a few pages (or use the "see more" option on websites).

And then? They'll look up reviews.

If you self-publish with a decent cover, a decent short synopsis, and have managed to nab at least a handful or so of good reviews, then you're good. Because (potential) readers will do that, whether your self-published or traditionally published. (Circumventing the stigma that self-published books = bad quality).

Because, honestly, that's my opinion. Real "authorship" is relative to the quality, if you even want to put benchmarks to it at all. Yes, I've self-published, but I've done a lot of work. Writing the actual book was only a fraction of the process.

I spent months editing, designing the cover, formatting both the ebook and paperback until I felt it was complete. 

I did the file conversions.
I did my own photography, bought the costume for my model.
I hired the collaborators.
I formatted the fonts and drop-cases, the margins, front matter and back matter.
I researched the necessary free public use font-faces.
I purchased my own ISBN's.
I bought my own proof copies.
I read the legal exclusivity rights of retailers. All of them. Every piece of fine print.
I catered my sales and uploaded/made my book available to retailers at the appropriate times.
I contacted book reviewers.
I represented myself in conducting email interviews.
I got myself and my book featured in the local newspaper.
I built my own website.
I established my own online presence and platform.
I adjusted the prices of my books to fit my needs.
I conducted my own free ebook promotion.
I have researched various narrators/producers for my audiobook.
I am conducting the process to have my audiobook produced.
And I will be the one to pay/hire my narrator.

And I am writing my second book to start this process all over again.

And I filed my own taxes as a sole proprietor for my business.

So do not even THINK to tell me that I am not professional or an author, particularly with the amount of work I've invested, over something as insignificant as "publisher name" listed with your book. Because I don't have some fancy building in New York or Chicago.

Because guess what?

Not only am I an AUTHOR, but I'm a PUBLISHER. And I've done a hell of a lot more work than your traditionally published, "professional author."

The difference? I do EVERYTHING that the "professional author" and the "professional publisher" do ON MY OWN. Because I am smart enough. Because I am capable. Because I have the determination to be an AUTHOR.

The Scoop on Self-Publishing

I run a rather small, casual writing community on Facebook called the Drunken Lion.  It's not as active as like, but I try to occasionally post some things to get conversations sparked about writing.

Note:  If you would like to join, feel free to do so!  Check out the Drunken Lion!

Anyway, one particular post attracted the attention of a certain person, who had written a book of poetry.  He mentioned publishing it, and I asked him if he thought about self-publishing.  Basically, the conversation sparked this blog post.  As a self-published author, I wanted to give my take on the world of independent publishing, to help perspective writers.

Why publish?

First, before you even consider the question of traditional publishing versus independent, you want to take a long look at yourself and writing.  People write for vastly personal, vastly different reasons.   Publishing is a common goal for any writers, sometimes it's not and that's fine.

Your reason for publishing doesn't have to be particularly significant or meaningful.  It's understandable that someone wants to publish to pursue a career goal, but at the same time, it is important to understand that, realistically, you shouldn't approach writing or publishing with the assumption you'll automatically big.  (Just did my taxes--ended up spending more money on the business than making it).

My reason: I want to share my own stories with the world.  A reason can be simple as that.  You don't owe it to anyone to share this reason or explain it to anyone.  Publishing, like writing, may be for deeply personal reasons.

Self-Publishing:  The Good

I've only published one book, so my thoughts will be based off that perspective.

• Complete creative control
• Royalties
• Definitive

Complete Creative Control

This is the most hailed reason to pursue the path of self-publishing.  You decide EVERYTHING.  The content of your book, cover, format, pricing.  You decide which editor and cover artist to utilize.  If you're into micromanaging, then you can have your way with every single detail.  Even down to the font face for chapter headings and the drop case.

Royalties

Depending on which retailers you decide to publish through, you will generally receive a higher percentage of royalties.  Some retailers, mostly Amazon, will ask for exclusivity rights, meaning they will offer 70% of royalties (per unit sold) versus a mere 30% and in exchange, you promise not to sell your book (usually ebook) through other retailers.  This is up for you to decide.  Some people may find it more advantageous to sell exclusively through Amazon, as it is one of the largest, most popular book sellers.  Others may prefer to have their book available through other formats (Nook, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, Google Play).  Again, it is all up to you.

Definitive

One of the other big appeals to self-publishing for aspiring writers is to definitively have their work published--either in digital format or in a tangible book.  To have it available and out there for potential readers.  This bypasses the anxiety of waiting for query letter responses.

Self-Publishing: The Bad

• Out-of-pocket
• Less security
• One man show

Out-of-pocket

Self-publishing means you don't have the traditional publishing houses to take care of the other collaborators.  That means, if you can't or have no desire to do your own editing, cover design, formatting, narrating the audiobook, then you will have to find someone to do that for you.  And unless you are personally familiar with someone capable of performing those services, you will have to pay someone to do those things for you.  Even the cheaper, lower quality services cost a somewhat hefty some.  And you will have to purchase these service before you even publish your first book.  Publishing is a business, even if done for personal or vanity reasons, and it requires investment.

Less Security

As an independent publisher, unless you already have an established platform for yourself, you won't have job security.  Your sales are not guaranteed or consistent.  You may go months without selling a unit.  Even when you extensively promote and market your book, your efforts are not guaranteed to make money.  Even most writers, traditionally published or no, supply their income with part-time jobs.

One Man Show

You do everything yourself.  This goes hand in hand with compete creative control.  Even when you hire other collaborators (editor, cover artist, audiobook producer), you are still responsible for contacting and hiring these people in lieu of an agent or publisher.  In self-publishing, writing is only half the job.  The other responsibilities of publishing are dependent upon what you're willing to put forth and what you're comfortable with.  This includes marketing and setting up your website, contacting other authors or book reviewers to establish your platform presence and social networking.

In Conclusion

This is just a brief insight on the world of self-publishing from my perspective.  So whether you're considering diving into independent publishing or querying agents/publishers, perhaps this post has provided enough overview in order to make an educated decision!  And I definitely recommend researching the subject more, whether you are certain or not!

Kelly's Tips for Rewriting

Doodlings can help too.

Let's all pretend I have an iota of writing sense to be able to teach people what I know on the subject.  Today's topic is about 'rewriting' because that's what I've been doing lately with Archer, RE-writing it.  I was extremely hesitant to do so because, well honestly, I'd spent a year and a half just completing it.  I'm not really a fast writer, and I want to get it published as quickly as possible.  Plus, rewriting something is just tedious work.  All the same, it needed to be done.  Not all of it, mind you, mostly the beginning and some sparse scenes throughout.  Drawing from this experience, I have compiled a list of things that I hope can help others with rewriting.  Let's be honest, I just hoped for one take and to be over with it.  When I read articles of authors talking about their "second draft", I'd always cringe a little.  But perhaps some enlightenment on the approach can make the task a little more bearable and a little less daunting

*Make bullets.
And by this, I mean to compile a list of the bare necessities of what is needed to be expressed in scene x.  Whether the list is written or mental, it doesn't matter.  You just need a grasp of what you're trying to get across--why should these bits make it into the final cut?

Also, don't forget those one-liners you were so proud of.  They were great for a reason.  It's okay to cross reference with the original draft.  It can help keep your second draft on track.  Remember, the first draft is finished, and your second draft won't be finished if you veer off wildly into the abyss.

*Start fresh.
Add new details, different dialogue, and variant actions.  Sometimes, it's hard to do this when you have so much planned and set in stone.  While rewriting the beginning of Archer, I have changed a lot of introductions--the way a scene is approached, the way a character is introduced.  You can use this opportunity to create new characters or reintroduce/re-purpose your old ones.  For example, I had a character who originally did not show up until the end.  Second draft allowed a glimpse of him in the very beginning, which can help prove you know what you're doing and that you have plans for your characters.

Create new scenes.  My protagonist had to take exams to be accepted into magic school.  Originally, I skipped over the actual exams and her first impression of the school.  Next time around, I fleshed those details out. I also had to develop my world with physical details. Following that same train of thought, you can develop your characters by adding internal dialogue.  Some people may not have problems with going into detail, but after reviewing the comments from my editors, I have found that's where I suffered.

But the biggest problem with starting fresh in the rewriting process is reworking your fixed scenes, because that can be hard.  Here's some bullet points to help with that:

• Rethink your narrator.  Can they enter a scene differently?  At a different time?  Can they meet the other characters in a different fashion?  
• Perform osmosis with a dictionary.  Look for words you are unfamiliar with and challenge yourself to use one in rewriting a scene, write around the word, and either keep it or throw it away as the need fits.  The goal is to approach a scene differently.
• Translate your writing with an online translator. (I use Google Translate)  See how your writing translates into another language.  Sometimes, the translations offer synonyms or other such suggestions.  Use those to your advantage and let them inspire you to do some more writing to fit the needs of another language.

*Transition.
Look at the order of your scenes and see if they can be logically switched around.  By doing so, obviously, observation details and introductions will have to be rearranged.  Is it possible?  Schedule characters to enter a different time.  It may work better for your story.

*Foreshadow.
By the time you rewrite your second draft, it should go without saying that you've already written the first one.  You've finished; you know, for certain, what happens (because we all know that stories can change on you while in the writing process).  So by the time you rewrite, you can sprinkle some seemingly throwaway details that will later allow your reader to go, "Oh!" when they fit the puzzle pieces together.  Foreshadowing makes you a better writer and readers appreciate that.

*Emulate the masters.
Of course, the best way to perfect writing or rewriting is to read the works of successful authors.  They made it for a reason; so research that reason.  Analyze how they approach a scene, introduce a character, express sensory or internal details.  Don't copy or plagiarize, obviously, but let it inspire you.

Kelly's Writing Rules

Look! I'm doing a blog post!  I've seen countless other writers, self-published or no, come up with their own set of writing rules or reiterating ones they hail as absolute truth.  You know, Stephen King says the road to hell is paved with adverbs, right?  I wanted to come up with my own.  I'm not a fan of those type of writing rules, like the one Mr. King gives us, because I believe they're so limiting.  I suppose we'll find out when I publish Archer how well MY writing rules work.  If they don't, then feel free to taunt about how wrong I was for not listening.  I was a very stubborn child.

Anyway, I posted these on Twitter, but I'll make a collective blog post every now and then on some and explain.

1. Don't choreograph your fight scenes to Carmen's Habanera. Unless you're awesome.

Should be self-explanatory.  Habanera, while I LOVE the piece (particularly by Maria Callas), does not go well with action or climactic scenes.  I'm at the point of developing the final climax of Archer, so as I was driving home one day, my radio played Habanera and I began visualizing the scene in my head.  While interesting, it just did not fit the mood.  I think, given a different scene or situation though, the result would be awesome.

2. Showers are a good place to think on plot development. But watch that shampoo. Quarter-sized dots come quickly.

I have a LOT of hair, and I do ruminate on many things whilst in the shower, plot development included.  Since I have a lot of hair, I've always taken the recommended amount of shampoo needed on the bottles lightly.  However, pay attention when applying soap or shampoo because after blinking at the amount I poured into my hand the other night, I realized I had way too much.

3. When writing in the employee lounge, avoid eye contact with every familiar who would approach you.

This is a problem I face quite often.  A good portion of my writing is completed while on my lunch break.  To allow myself enough time to concentrate on this task, I scarf down my food in a semi-timely manner and pop in my headphones to write, trying to look as unfriendly as possible.  Sometimes, I am caught before I put my headphones on, or I look up at the wrong moment.  Then people approach me and stay however long they feel they should which either cuts into my writing time or eliminates it completely.

4. When working with sharp instruments, do not slice your thumb that would make it uncomfortable to hold a pen.

I work with sharp instruments.  I cut open a spot on my thumb yesterday, and since most of my writing is done by hand, it has been very uncomfortable to support my pen while writing.  Overall, it becomes an unnecessarily uncomfortable experience.

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So, I would like to believe these writing rules are useful, and I've no doubt I'll come up with more as time goes by.

In the way of updates, I've created a new outline for my next project:

The Runewell Fairytale Outline

 I've purposely edited it this way so most of the text becomes unreadable.  Also, my handwriting!

Finally, if you would just look up at the list of tabs, you will see I've added new ones for my upcoming projects.  Runewell is still in the outlining process.  Under each tab you will see promotional covers, a term I've coined to mean as "viable to change."  Also, the Archer one will be ten times better, I'm sure.

The model for Archer is a friend.  I picked out the costume and I took the pictures.  I have over a hundred pictures total and I plan to use some of the amazing ones for more promotional things--banners and a book trailer.  Be excited!  More to come!