Thursday Technicalities: Genre-Switching In a Series

Introduction

When I asked those who follow this blog on Facebook to give me some topics they’d like discussed, this was one of the suggestions. This is a somewhat nuanced topic, and the question is: how do we approach genre-switching in a series, and is it going to lose readers? That’s the question I will be getting into today.

When can you employ genre-switching?

First of all, every book in a series has different needs to make it a good story. Generally, series stick to the same overall genre, but they may change in tone or flavor through the progression of the series. For example, book one in a steampunk fantasy might focus more on action and fantasy while maybe the second one moves to a more urban fantasy/steampunk mix.

A good example that comes to mind is Orson Scott Card’s Ender series. Ender’s Game is mainly action/sci-fi. But the second book, Speaker for the Dead, sees Ender a bit older and traveling through space. The book takes on a heavily political tone with less action/adventure undertones while remaining sci-fi. The books after that were more philosophical than anything, though, again, they remained sci-fi.

So what do we take from this? Primary genre shouldn’t change. If book one is fantasy, you can’t switch to realistic fiction and romance in book two. But you can change the secondary genre. Perhaps book one is fantasy romance but in book two the characters are now married and the focus shifts from romance to adventure giving you a fantasy adventure. As long as the transition is smooth, you’re unlikely to lose readers over this. A well-told story is more important than a contrived adherence to secondary genres or elements.

How do we make the genre-switch?

This depends on the needs of your series. Some switches are easier than others. Going from action to adventure or from fantasy to science fantasy is easier than going from urban fantasy to high fantasy might be. The goal is to make the transition smooth whatever switch you are trying to make.

Abrupt changes in genre are no better than abruptly going from a kick-butt heroine to a whiny teenage girl between books with no warning (Divergent…). We want a gradual transition. Setting up a shift in secondary genre–especially if the change is big–is a part of setting up for book two. It’s your job to leave the clues there in the end of book so that the reader is unsurprised by the genre shift.

Unless the series is made up of standalones tied by some sort of theme besides genre, you don’t want your genre-switching to be a surprise. Again, I want to stress that how this is achieved varies from book series to book series. I would be doing you a disservice if I told you there was a one-size-fits-all solution. That is rarely true in writing, even in grammar.

How do i know if genre-switching is working?

I have two suggestions when looking at how well genre-switching is working for your series. First, you should be an avid reader. If you are a writer and want to be a good one, you need to read. You need to know what a good story looks like to construct it. As is the case in so many things, learning by example and by doing is much better than reading thousands of books on the topic. If you have been reading well-written fiction, then the first suggestion I have will work well for you. Use your intuition.

So long as you’re honest in your assessment of the transition, your intuition can go a long way in helping you decide if genre-switching is working.

Second, get outside perspectives from friends who read a lot of books, especially ones that are well-written and in your genre. They don’t need to be fellow writers, but if they are, that’s a bonus. This is especially important if you’re a new writer or don’t read much because your intuition will likely catch only the most glaring issues.

However, even seasoned authors should be looking for outside input. I started writing at eleven. I’m twenty-two now, and even after eleven years of writing, I still hold the insight of my beta-readers (or listeners since my mom prefers I read the stories to her instead) in high regard. No matter how well I can write or edit, there will always be blind spots I have that my readers don’t. Every honest, seasoned writer admits the same. Never discount the usefulness of beta-readers and critique partners. They are indispensable and the really good ones deserve your appreciation and a huge thank you at the very least.

Conclusion

I hope this has been helpful in providing you with guidance on handling this nuanced area of writing. There’s no one way to handle genre-switching mid-series, but there are some ways that work better than others. So be willing to try several methods until you find the one that works for your series. You can always delete, re-write, and edit. It’ll be worth it for a piece that is of exceptional quality.

Getting Back Into Writing After Publishing

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Introduction

Anyone who has published before knows it’s a long, involved process. It isn’t easy, and getting back into writing after publishing can be hard. After pushing so hard to reach the finish line of publication, we often feel burned out and unprepared to dive back in. But if we’re trying to build our list of publications, we have to keep writing. So how can we get back to writing after publishing?

Tip #1 For Getting Back into Writing: Take a Break

Not all of us are able to do this. We may have deadlines looming for other projects. This is the case for me as I just finished editing Trader Prince of Aleshtain and am preparing to launch in in December, but I also have to dive headlong into pounding out the words on my Children of Chaos project then editing and launching that, all before April 2021. It doesn’t leave much wiggle room to take a break.

However, if your deadlines allow for it, do take a break! Often, we feel burned out because we haven’t properly balanced work with life. I know I’m absolutely horrid about balancing these two areas. My family and best friend will tell you that I would probably work myself to death if my health issues didn’t flare and force my body to quit going at some point. And even, then, I still push myself far past when the first warning signs of a breakdown in health appear and frequently need to be told by others I trust and respect to stop. So I know very well how easily imbalance leads to burnout, unfortunately. While the opportunity to step away is often impossible during the process of getting a book publish-ready and then actually published, a break after goes a long way.

Tip #2 For Getting Back into Writing: Lessen Time

If you can’t take a full break, try lessening your time on other projects for a bit or breaking it up a little more. This allows for a little breathing room if you’re struggling with burn out or going back to writing after publishing. This is most frequently the method I employ, and it’s the one I’ve employed with Shadow’s Dissident for the Children of Chaos series. After the whirlwind of writing and editing and now formatting with Trader Prince of Aleshtain, I really do need a break, but I can’t take one. Lessening my time spent a bit and breaking it up so that I can focus on sewing (something else I really love) in between or can go read really works wonders.

Tip #3 for Getting Back into Writing: Vary What You Write

This one is a little less obvious, but sometimes I find that writing in a different genre or having two projects going that I can switch between does help. Especially if one of those projects is just for fun and has no deadline. It helps me to remember why I love writing, and that makes it easier to go back to the writing that’s on a deadline. It puts the life, creativity, and fun back into things and gets me out of any ruts I might have ended up stuck in with the previous project. It also gets the previous project out of my head. Sometimes it’s hard to let go of the project you just finished because you’re so invested and you just need to find a way to let go and be excited about something new.

Tip #4 For Getting Back Into Writing: Rewards

We are reward-driven creatures. None of us does anything on any frequent basis that we don’t feel like doing unless there is a reward for it or, alternatively, an unwanted consequence for not doing it. Since there aren’t always consequences to choosing not to write when you should be (especially if you are only answerable to yourself for the missed deadlines), rewards are the way to go. It doesn’t have to be big, but set small goals and corresponding rewards for finishing them.

Tip #5 For Getting Back Into Writing: Take It At Your Pace

Lastly, take it at your pace. There’s something to be said for sitting down and writing a little bit each day, even when you’re not feeling inspired. It builds a good habit. However, overwhelming yourself with huge word count goals or large time commitments right after a large project’s completion is setting yourself up for a struggle at best and failure at worst. Start small and build into your routine for the new book. No two books are the same, and you may find that the routine you had with the last book changes for the new one. Be flexible and learn to know when you’re overdoing it.

Conclusion

Everyone handles burnout differently. These are just a few tips I’ve found work well for me. Some may work better for you than others, and some may not work at all. That’s fine! The important part is finding what works for you so you can still get writing done if you need to without burning out. Have tips to add? Feel free to share them in the comments!

Thursday Technicalities: Story Ideas

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Introduction

Today, we’re talking about story ideas, both before and during the writing process. After all, all the things we’ve been discussing about plot do us no good if we have no ideas or concepts to play with. Often, people I meet discuss the idea of writing a book but not the idea they will write about. One results in a pipe dream that never happens. The other gives the chance, at least, to see a dream become reality. Fellow writers and those aspiring to be writers alike have asked me how I come up with ideas so easily, hinting to me that–especially in the realm of fantasy–they don’t know all of the areas of inspiration open to them. So let’s talk about where ideas can come from and what to look at when you’re stuck.

Story Ideas in the Real World

One of the things I notice disappearing from fantasy as a genre these days is the grounding in reality. The great fantasy writers of old, and even today, certainly included many fantastical elements, but they also brought it back to Earth by including in those elements a glimpse of reality. They took real world problems into their fiction, whether it was through the ideas of the day or a specific event they wished to focus on. For example, Tolkien’s inspiration for the final scene in the Shire has been said to be the destruction of the countryside he loved so well in the real world. He drew that into his story, and it leaves something that can resonate with fellow lovers of nature and idyllic beauty seen in the countryside. We can do the same in finding story ideas.

All of us have experiences and see the events around us in our world. Why waste those two things? They make the books you write, however fictional, seem even more real to the reader when you artfully weave reality with your fictional world. This is what an author does. They tell truths in the form of artfully woven lies. The truths are the themes behind the tale, and the story itself is the lie since it isn’t reality.

Experiences

This is, in a way, a subset of the real world, but we all have experiences that have taught us things about life. We can use those experiences which are unique to us to find story ideas that can inspire or touch others. My book, In Darkness Lost, is entirely founded on that premise. It is fantasy, but it is inspired entirely by an experience that occurred in my life when I was around eleven or twelve. You would be surprised how many people are more connected to a book that has its roots in a personal experience of the author.

In Darkness Lost received the most notes from readers who were touched by it and wanted to tell me it had encouraged them. Readers have said my other works are eye-openingly realistic at times. However, they have not left notes saying that it was an encouragement. Why? Because the encouragement to the reader came from hearing a story rooted in personal difficulties. They then read about the real story behind the book in the author’s note and felt encouraged. They felt that encouragement, many times, because someone else understood their pain.

Story Ideas from History

The third place of inspiration is history. You may have heard the saying that reality is often stranger than fiction. Well, it’s true. Even if your book isn’t about history, you can find many strange tales in history to draw ideas from. In the process, you give your story grounding in the real world even if the tale itself is fantasy. It brings that sense of humanity to the story that otherwise might not have been present.

As an added bonus, this has the effect of expanding your mind and your knowledge. Two birds with one stone, right? You get story ideas and a chance to learn interesting things you hadn’t heard before.

Story Ideas from Other Books

This is the final place I frequently find inspiration. You have to be careful here because you don’t want to plagiarize, obviously. However, other books can be great places to draw inspiration, ideas, and learning. I’ve found some of my greatest inspirations for books in reading someone else’s handling of a topic then having an idea spark on the topic from another angle. You can do this as well.

This one, like history, has an added bonus. You get to see the trends going on in your genre and in the world of writing in general. For authors, this is indispensable. Knowing what the competition is doing so that you can stand out in a manner appealing to your target audience is essential. So while you’re drawing inspiration for your own work, you can also use it for research purposes.

Conclusion

There are so many avenues of inspiration available to us if we will learn to stop, observe, and remember. Wherever you choose to find inspiration, there is little reason to be bankrupt of ideas when you’re actively taking the time to observe, live, and learn. Even fantasy writers can use these sources of inspiration to give them the characters or a plot for their next novel. We just have to learn how to utilize it. Once we do that, we often end up with more ideas than we know what to do with!

Thursday Technicalities: Plot Complexity

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Introduction

Today we move away from our discussions on character to discussing plot. A good plot is one that is both character driven and intricate, but many new authors (and even some who have been at it for a while) struggle in this area. Often, writers are unsure how to deepen plot, make it interesting, and keep it from becoming predictable. Today, our discussion will focus on the idea of intricacy and complexity in plot, but in future weeks, we will also discuss how writers can make plot less predictable, up the stakes, increase tension, and make things matter more in relation to the characters. We will also discuss sub plots and how you can properly use them to add dimension to the book and to keep life in every page. Let’s get started on today’s discussion, shall we?

The Importance of Complexity and Intricacy in Plot

While characters are the lifeblood of a good story, plot is the foundation. If you don’t have an interesting plot, the story will still end up collapsing or falling short. You need both elements to make the story go well. It is true that you can have a somewhat generic plot (as is often the case in many romance novels) and manage to make the book somewhat memorable if only because the characters are memorable. However, if you want a truly exceptional novel, the plot needs to be just as exceptional as the characters.

This makes complexity and intricacy in a plot integral parts of any story that an author wants to polish until it shines. I don’t mean that it has to be the level of complex or intricate you see in many murder mysteries or thrillers, though it could certainly become that complex depending on your genre. What I mean is that there should be many layers to the plot. It should not be simplistic, nor should the layers clash in such a way that there is no subtlety to them at all. Crafting fiction is an art, and it must be done with balance and artistry to be done beautifully.

There is a great deal of variety in how this goal might be accomplished when it comes to writing. You’ve probably heard that there’s no one way to do things as a writer. This is very true in most areas, with the exception, in some instances, of grammar-related issues. But there are just as many wrong ways (or ways that do not work) to do things. Therefore, our goal is to know some of the key tools that will help us to do the right things so that we can succeed.

Giving Plot Complexity and Intricacy

One of the first, and simplest, ways to add complexity to plot is to ensure that nothing is too easy for your hero. Make sure that your protagonist can’t get what they want easily. This could mean they have an internal conflict that’s preventing them from having one thing if they go after the second thing they want equally, or it could mean that some external force gets in the way. But what other options are there for adding much-needed complexity besides this first, obvious one?

Obstacle Difficulty Mounts

The obstacles that show up in their way should be increasingly difficult to surmount. What do I mean by this? Well, take Trader Prince of Aleshtain for example. In my current work-in-progress, the goal of both main characters is ultimately freedom. But one thing after another stands in the way. For Rhubhian, the female lead, she has the entire Aleshtainian system, which has enslaved her in the way. Then she has Eras, the male protagonist, and her own feelings in the way of what she perceives as freedom. Even once she has a chance to live free, she isn’t able to live with the brand of freedom she’s won back for herself because she has lost the other thing–love–that she now realizes she wanted more than her “freedom”.

For Eras, he finds that duty, his father, the priesthood in his kingdom, and financial straits keep him from gaining his freedom. Then, in a desperate bid for freedom, he signs a contract with his father–the king–that takes an incredibly risky gamble with his future while allowing him at least the chance to win it. But even here he meets obstacles as the pieces he was relying on to allow him his victory prove to be against him instead. The two of them face problem after problem, some due to intentional intervention from outside forces and enemies and some due to simple misfortune and life getting in the way.

But that’s what keeps the story moving. The goal is always just out of reach or, at their worst moments, seems impossible to achieve. In a very real way, failure is always on the table for these two, and while it may or may not be how things end for these characters, it should always be something you consider an option.

Multiple Plot Lines

Another way you can add complexity is with the introduction of several plot lines. Each main character has their own thread to follow in the tapestry that is your story. Sometimes those threads will tangle with other threads along the way, and at times, a character may even have multiple threads at once as they pursue multiple goals. But either way, however many threads you have, if you are able to successfully bring them all together, you can create a plot that is complex and seemingly genius or effortless to any who don’t see the hard work that went into it.

Subplots

Finally, you can introduce subplots. We’ll discuss these in more detail later on, but essentially these are the other threads in the story that run beneath the overarching story goal or plot. So, in the case of my earlier example, freedom for the two main characters is the overarching story goal, but the attempt to keep Rhubhian safe from others in the castle would be a sub plot for Eras. It adds complexity, but it is only an underlying thread in the larger tapestry and the goals both are ultimately striving to achieve. The goal is not to keep Rhubhian safe and a slave for the rest of her life. The goal is her freedom. Keeping her safe is just a necessary journey or sub-goal along the way.

Weaving It All Together

In the end, the best method to add complexity and intricacy to a plot is to have several threads all running throughout the story. Some may be immediately obvious in their connections while others may be less so, but in the end, you have to bring them all together.

One example of this is Pathway of the Moon, a piece I wrote about a year ago and am in the process of editing. In this story, the book has two distinct storylines for much of the book: that of the assassin-vigilante, Leo Ryalin, and that of High Imperial Knight, Alrian Haridan. These two interact under various aliases throughout the course of the book without ever realizing who the other is until, finally, circumstances, an investigation into the assassin on Haridan’s part, and the connecting link–a maid Ryalin rescued–end up bringing Haridan to an Aha kind of moment.

Examples

But the two have entirely separate story lines for much of it and only hear about the other’s story line when they happen to hear rumors or are directly investigating, in the case of Haridan. The clues pile up, and while the reader knows that Ryalin is the assassin, they begin to realize there’s far more to him than just that as Haridan’s investigation uncovers threads of his ties to other happenings in the kingdom, which were seemingly unrelated.

Another example, which is far more masterful at tying things together than my own work is, would be Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archives. If ever you want to see a master of plot and character in action, you should read Sanderson. As an author and editor, I can imagine (and in some cases know all too well) how much work goes into making the kind of sweeping plot lines, intricate connections, and unexpected twists Sanderson utilizes work properly. If this is an area you’re trying to improve, read this series. I say that as someone who learned most of what she knows about plot intricacy and characterization from simply reading and observing this master in action via his own work.

The Concept in Action

Practically speaking, this is an exercise in imagination, logic, and creativity. You can find some initial connections quite easily by considering your characters, your major plot lines, and your locations. Donald Maas, in his Writing the Breakout Novel, suggests that you write them down and start pairing a character with one item each off the other lists. Some connections aren’t going to make any sense, but often you’ll find ones that do that you never anticipated would work. Write those ones down to keep. Make notes on them. Use them. It will make the novel better and far more complex if you can find a way to weave all of the key connections you’ve made together.

Conclusion

Good plot, like good character, is something you must develop. It takes time and planning. Some books may require much more formal planning than others, but all will require some degree of planning or else a great deal of revision if you want your plot to shine like it can. While the effort may to some seem an unworthy use of time, I can promise you that this is an area you don’t want to skip. It’s an area that Donald Maas focuses on heavily in his book because, as a literary agent, he rejected thousands of manuscripts due to issues with plot. It pays to pay attention to and to develop soundly the plot for any book you’re endeavoring to write. Don’t ignore this crucial piece of crafting a novel.

Thursday Technicalities: Editing and Formatting

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Last week, I put up a post on publishing tips and tricks. It was an overview of the most important things to do before your publication date along with some tips on them. Well, now we’re going to go through them one at a time and talk about them in more detail. Today, we’re talking about editing and formatting!

Editing and formatting are two of my favorite parts of the publishing prep process. I know they’re probably not most people’s, but they are mine. And as a freelance editor and editorial designer (interior book designers/editorial designers make the actual book pages between the cover pages look pretty), I’d be pretty miserable if I didn’t! So this is one of my favorite subjects to talk about besides actual writing topics. I’m sure it shows as this is a bit long. However, there’s a lot to cover. I’ve done my best to ensure it’s all useful.

This week, we’re going to do something a little different format wise. Depending on what you guys think, maybe I’ll do these a little more often. But for today, I decided to record the discussion about this instead of writing it out! It’s on YouTube, but I’m embedding it here to make it easy for you guys to view it. If for some reason it won’t load, you can also access it here.

Let me know in the comments if you prefer this format, the usual blog post, or both! If you guys have any questions for me regarding editing and formatting or even about other areas of writing and publishing, feel free to ask! I’m happy to answer the questions or to save them for my next video/post if I’m going to be discussing the topic soon anyway.

The Vine Witch: Integration of Magic

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I recently finished listening to The Vine Witch on Audible. It was a great listen and a wonderfully written fantasy novel. This is the first fantasy novel I’ve reviewed on here that wasn’t by request too, actually. As always, I’ll start with the reader’s review and then go into the writer’s review. Don’t read the writer’s review if you want to avoid spoilers!

The Vine Witch – Reader’s Review

This book was a great listen! I got it from Audible and wasn’t at all disappointed. The characterization, imagination, and craft behind the story creates quite a bewitching tale. The only fault I had with it was that I didn’t like the way they brought actual words in for the spells here and there. They didn’t always do so, but I’m not fond of magic systems that use spoken incantations. While I don’t necessarily get too upset over being told a character chanted an incantation or spell, I dislike when actual words are used since I have no way to know what’s actually being said if it’s in a foreign language, which it sometimes was here.

The author clearly did her research on the darker side of the arcane arts, but I was pleased that she kept it clear that blood magic, demonic activity, and arcane/dark magic were considered evil and not to be meddled with. Whatever problems I had with the way she handled spells, this clear delineation between a magic that allows for things like crafting superb wine or creating pastries that allow one to realize the validity of love towards another and magic that kills, consorts with demons, and delves into darkness was something I greatly appreciated.

The other thing that I’ll note is that it’s fairly clean. No sex scenes, barely any heated kissing, and little that would cause me to say the book wouldn’t be okay for a younger audience. The only thing that might cause some parents to prevent their children from reading it would be the dealings with the darker, Satanic type of magic. I wouldn’t recommend the book for young children because of it, but it’s probably okay for thirteen and up.

The Vine Witch – Writer’s Review

As the sub-title of this post notes, we’re going to be looking at the integration of magic into the world within The Vine Witch. We’ve talked about magic in previous posts on Saturday Setups, with the most recent being on the consequences of it. Weaving it into the world can be difficult. However, Smith did a good job, and we can learn a lot from her techniques. So what were her techniques?

Spoken Spells

As I mentioned in the reader’s review, I didn’t like the use of spoken spells. Smith didn’t use them every time you turned around, which was good, but it still bothered me. That said, it did lend a certain sense of realism to the piece. Why do I say that? Well, not every type of magic that Smith had used spoken spells. Some did, but often, the spells used by the vine witches in the vineyards had more to do with remedies and unspoken communication with nature than it did spoken words.

Still, other kinds of witches, especially those dealing in hexes or curses, do use spoken spells. One interesting thing about how Smith chose to weave this into the story is that she uses rhymes. While some of the words used to activate spells weren’t English (And who knows what language they were. They didn’t sound familiar to me.), many of them were actually rhymes.

That part was quite interesting. Many of the spells the main character used were nursery rhymes she’d learned as a child. That isn’t something I’ve seen done much, but it gave the magic a unique flavor and served to blend it into the world more clearly.

Making Magic Indispensable

Worth noting is that this book is set in the real world somewhere in France (I believe). So while Smith didn’t have to create a new world, she did have to find a way to spin a tale where magic could fit in. In the case of The Vine Witch, people are actually quite open about the use of witches.

Everyone in the Chateau valley where the vine witches work knows about the witches who work the vineyards. In fact, the witches are revered because no one makes good wine without them. In this way, Smith makes magic an indispensable part of life. Usually, magic used on an Earth setting for a book tends to be less relied upon. Smith didn’t choose that path. She wove a tale where magic and life couldn’t be separated.

In fact, that was proved many times over in The Vine Witch because when the male lead tried to force the use of magic out of his vineyard, the vineyard constantly failed. He didn’t make good wine, and everything kept going downhill until he was willing to open up to a world he couldn’t see.

Differing Views on Magic

The other thing that Smith uses to bring the world to life is the difference in views on magic. Some view it as purely evil while others have a more complicated view of it. Even the witches themselves have areas of magic that they believe are absolutely foul and should never be touched (such as blood magic). The main character initially falls into the camp that magic is superstition at best and evil at worst.

He finally is able to reconcile magic with reason when one of the monks at the local church talks to him about it. The monk tells him that once upon a time, the ideas of bacteria, pasteurization, and cars would have all seemed like magic too.

Why? Because they were beyond the realm of human imagination and senses at the time. The monk notes that the vine witches are able to see a part of the world that normal human senses can’t but that being able to do so doesn’t necessarily make them evil. Magic, like any other tool, can be used for good or for evil.

I don’t necessarily condone that perspective of things as some of the magic used in the book is undeniably evil. The author doesn’t try to make it seem good either, but in moments like this, there is cause to question whether she really believes it’s evil in every case.

As a Christian speculative fiction author, I prefer more clarity here. However, each author and reader has to make that choice for themselves. My personal convictions won’t match everyone’s, and that’s fine. As I said earlier, there were things that bothered me about the book. However, it was a good read overall with a lot that authors can take away from it.

Conclusion

As both a reader and a writer, I found The Vine Witch to be an engaging and interesting read. I was pulled in to the story and kept enthralled until the very end. It had twists and turns I didn’t expect and characters I could relate to and bond with emotionally. I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy with the caution that if you’re staunchly against any kind of spell-based or spoken-word magic, you may want to steer clear.

Thursday Technicalities – Publishing Preparation

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Introduction to Publishing

Switching gears, we’re going to talk about publishing. Today, we’ll go over the things you need to take care of in order to get your book and its launch prepared for your publication date. There’s a lot to consider and a lot to do, so getting started roughly six months in advance is generally a good idea, especially if you don’t have a lot of extra time to work on things. Let’s dive in.

Publishing Checklist

Item #1: Editing, Formatting, and Proofreading

So, you have your book written, but now what? Before you can publish it, assuming you want it to have its best chance at getting into the hands of your intended audience and doing well, you need to have it edited professionally.

Yes, professionally. Sure, you can self-edit, but here’s the thing. You’re not going to as good a job as someone else (assuming that person knows what they’re doing or is at the same level as you are). Why? Because while you can (and should) take the time to edit your own work, you will always have a certain level of blindness on your own work. As an editor myself, I can attest to this. Editing other people’s work not only takes less time but also goes better. I catch more because, even if I’m enjoying the story, I see all the problems too. The characters aren’t my characters, and the story isn’t my story. So I’m able to keep perspective. We’ll talk more about what you should expect to pay an editor and why you should be willing to pay those rates.

Second, in conjunction with professional editing, you want to either do the formatting yourself or pay someone to do it. If you’re not design oriented, you’ll want to hire someone to do it for the paperback at the very least. Ebook is stricter on what it does and doesn’t allow due to what the ereaders and their programs are able to read. I have an entire post dedicated to ebook formatting if you’re interested in doing it yourself. You can read it here.

Finally, do a last proofread, even if you had a professional editor go over it. This will help you ensure you caught as much as possible. If there were typos, spelling errors, or grammar mistakes, then this would be the time to catch them.

Checklist Item #2: Book Cover

Really, you can have this done whenever, but do know that in order to have the paperback cover copy done, you need to know your page count using the proper page size (based on the trim size you chose through your publishing platform). Hire a designer that has examples of work in your genre. Just because a designer can do a cover doesn’t mean you’ll get an eye-catching one. If they don’t do covers in your genre, then hiring them may not be the best option.

To have one made, make sure that you’ve done a few things.

First and foremost to know with this part of publishing. You need to make sure you have or make sure your designer uses images you have the license for. So no Unsplash, Pixabay, Pexels, or any other free and “creative commons zero” license sites. Yes, they’re free. But you’re highly likely to end up infringing on copyright because these sites do not vet their artists well.

People can post anything and claim it as theirs. There have been issues on these sites with stolen artwork. If the individual doesn’t own it, they don’t have a license. Ergo, neither do you. Even if they have a license, they can’t confer that on you if they’re not the original owner. The same thing goes for fonts, though those ones can be trickier because free for commercial use might not mean free for ebook and print covers (dumb, I know, but it is how it is).

If you insist on using sites that offer free fonts, images, and so on, then mitigate some of your risk by getting in touch with the artist and asking them to confirm ownership (on the image sites) and the rights you have to use it. That way, at least, you can say you did do your due diligence. With fonts, get in touch with the font creator and ask them what you’re allowed to use it for. Tell them what you want to use it for and ask if the license covers it. If not, sometimes they’re willing to negotiate a price for a license if you ask nicely.

Point is, never ever assume that sites with no fees and free images are actually okay to use. If you don’t want any risks, Envato Elements is a good option. It’s a year’s subscription for around 160-200 USD, and you can download as many images, fonts, and other things on their site as you need to. The only thing is, you need to license each download to a specific project, and you can’t keep any unused (or used) images after the subscription expires. Read the instructions for licensing the images carefully though. They’ve got some rules you need to follow to make sure they’re properly licensed for your use.

Checklist Item #3: ARC Team

Next up, you want to gather your ARC (Advanced Review Copy) team. These people, ideally, should be ones who are interested in your genre and have some or all of the characteristics of your ideal reader. When asking for ARC readers, you should make sure you provide the blurb of the book, links for them to go look at the book (if it’s available), and any information on who the intended audience is and what they can expect. Then ask those interested to get in touch if they’ve got questions or want to participate.

Be clear on when the review is due. Give readers enough time to go through the book (I’d give about a month if possible), but tell them the review needs to be in by the deadline agreed on. You can’t force them to review, but if you agree on a date that will work for each individual, you’ll get the reviews by that time most of the time. Even if not, you know when you should be following up with them if you need to. Sometimes this will be necessary. People forget or get behind, and they fail to communicate. So it’s best if you both agree on when you should follow up if there’s no review.

Checklist Item #4: Marketing

This one is one of the trickier parts of publishing, and I could discuss a lot of different options. But I’ll go over some marketing strategies and techniques in more detail in later posts. For now, you should know that you should be utilizing the various outlets available to you.

Social media and Pinterest are free exposure and should be used. It’s not an instant thing though. You need to be active on your social media and Pinterest accounts long before pushing your work . If you aren’t, you won’t have the connections you need with readers and other writers to really make marketing work.

When it comes to publishing, your connections with other writers and reviewers is key. Those you connect with are valuable resources at launch point. It’s a long road to launch, and it would be sad if the book failed from lacking exposure. Your connections give you people to go to when you need people to review the book, share it, and help you out with blog tours should you choose to do that.

Another area of marketing for your upcoming publication is to share it with your newsletter subscribers and on your own blog. Again, however, this only works well if you have an established readership on your blog and with your newsletter.

It does no good if it goes out to people who only subscribed for free stuff and then ditch as soon as you try to “sell” them anything. No matter how nicely you put it, if you’re trying to get them to consider buying something, they’re going to jump ship. However, if your readership is interested in your work, free or otherwise, then you’ll find more success here.

Checklist Item #5: Publishing

Finally, we’re to publishing. If you’re using Amazon, know that you will need to change your browse categories after it’s live (pre-order or actually live) on the site. The options in Amazon’s KDP setup for ebooks and paperbacks represent only 25% of the available categories. However, they’re the most competitive categories available. You’ll need to do research to figure out what categories are less competitive that your book can fit into.

To illustrate how important this is, your categories will make the difference between needing to sell thousands of copies a day to reach bestseller status and needing to sell somewhere between 30 and 40 a day to reach that. For doing this research, I recommend using Publisher Rocket’s free tool for calculating how many copies a day you need to make it into #1 Bestseller category as well as the article they have on changing categories.

Once you’ve gotten your browse categories fixed, it’s time to let people know that your book is available for sale and that your ARC readers can provide reviews any time they’re ready (as long as it’s before the agreed upon deadlines).

Make sure people know not to buy the book until you’ve gotten those categories updated. Any sales you make before go to the generic categories you chose and don’t help your rankings at all. So, make sure you let people know to wait on buying or reviewing until you have those updated if you want the reviews and sales to count.

Conclusion

That’s it for this post! I know it’s been quite long, but I hope it’s been useful. Feel free to ask questions if you have them. I’ll go more detail on some of these topics in the upcoming weeks. Thanks for reading!

New Ebook on Writing – Input from You All

Featured Ariel Paiement

Hey, everyone! As I mentioned before, I’m putting together an ebook about the craft of writing. I’ve placed the table of contents (currently) below so you can see the topics I’ll be covering. I’ve already gotten one suggestion from an author on something they thought would be useful, and I’d love to have more! I might end up having to split the book up and do a second volume if I get too many new topics, but that’s not a bad problem to have. So, please give your input. What would you find useful for you as a writer that isn’t on here?

What I put above is what I’ve got right now in the order I’m discussing it. Feel free to email ideas or just comment on this post with them!

Thursday Technicalities: Why Beta-Readers and Critiquers?

February 26, 2020February 26, 2020 Ariel Paiement

Introduction

This week is the start of a new section on beta-readers and critiquers. For today, we’re going to discuss why you need these special people in your life and looking at your novel. Let’s face it. It’s easier not to bother with it at all. But that doesn’t mean it’s better not to bother.

Why Bother?

This is a valid question. If it’s a lot of work to find the right critique partner or beta-reader and even more to work through a book with them, then why would you even take the time? This post will explain that for those of you who have questions and haven’t worked with a good critiquer or beta-reader (or anyone at all).

Catching Blind Spots

Critiquers and beta-readers can give you an idea of where the manuscript still needs work. Your story is kind of like your baby. You don’t see anything wrong with it, or, at least, you don’t see it as being as bad as it probably is. But a good critiquer or beta-reader is going to notice all the bumps and kinks in the manuscript, and they’re going to tell you. So that’s one big reason you should have a critiquer and a beta-reader.

Knowing the Audience

Your critique partner or beta-reader is a representation of your audience. They can tell you what’s actually working and what isn’t because they (if you’ve chosen well) know the genre. They read it all the time, so if something isn’t fitting or is going to lose the audience, they’re going to pick up on it.

They may even be able to tell you how to fix it. It’s like getting reviews ahead of time on the book without ever having it affect how many people want to read it. Don’t throw away a chance to get this kind of feedback!

Third, they’re going to catch mistakes you didn’t. This is slightly different from the first point. By mistakes, I don’t mean plot holes or long narrative passages. I mean those pesky misplaced commas or grammar errors that can trip a reader up. Or how about when you said on page two that Susan’s eyes were blue but then said they were green on page fifty? Lots of times, beta-readers or critiquers will catch those things if you didn’t. A second or third set of eyes on the manuscript doesn’t hurt.

Thickening Up Your Skin

Giving your manuscript to a critiquer or beta-reader gets your book some exposure and thickens up your skin.

You can’t write in a vacuum. Or, perhaps I should say you can’t write well in a vacuum. What do I mean by that? I mean that you’re never going to get better or go anywhere if you don’t put yourself out there. Writers have to have very thick skins. Not everyone will love the book even if you wrote it in the best way possible. It could be amazing, and someone is going to give it a bad review.

But I’m going to tell you now. If you’re just starting out and you haven’t had many people really work with you to develop your skill, it’s not going to be amazing. It probably sucks. That’s okay because you’re learning and you have to crawl before you walk. But you need to be aware of reality before you’re going to make any progress.

Beta-readers and critiquers give you a chance to hear the bad news from someone you’ve built some connection with. It helps prepare you to take criticism in stride if you respond to it properly. And it gives you a chance to fix what’s wrong before anyone else sees it, which is always a bonus.

Conclusion

Hopefully you can see now why a critique partner or beta-reader is so important. They’re as important as having an editor can be. More so, even, if you’ve been unable to afford an editor and had to self-edit. Don’t write off these important partners. They can really make a big difference in getting to your finished product.

Do you have other ways that critiquers or beta-readers have proved themselves invaluable? If so, feel free to share it in the comments!

Thursday Technicalities: Deep POV

February 26, 2020February 26, 2020 Ariel Paiement

Introduction

This week on Thursday Technicalities, we’re going to discuss writing in deep point-of-view. This point-of-view, really, is more of a viewpoint to write from than it is a literal point-of-view, and as such, it can be used with both third, first, and second person. However, it works best with first and third person since those are the ones that readers have the easiest time acclimating to. So let’s take a look at it.

What is Deep POV?

Deep POV involves an entire shift in viewpoint and perspective as a writer. It requires you to go deep into your characters’ minds to understand how they talk and how they think. Why? Because deep POV is, at the heart of it, writing the scenes in the voice of the character. This is relatively easy to do in first person because it naturally lends itself to this, but it’s much harder to do in third person. However, it makes a huge difference in the writing.

Writing Deep POV

With deep POV defined, let’s go over how to write it. To begin with, let’s take a look at the difference deep POV makes. We should know what it looks like before we go into how to write in deep POV.

Consider this example before it’s written in deep POV:

“Orian couldn’t believe they’d asked him to do this. If he’d known what was at stake, he thought, he wouldn’t have done this. He never would’ve gotten her involved either. Now, with the betrayal in her eyes fresh in his mind, he found it was all he could think of. He couldn’t think of the fact that he’d won or the fact that his masters were pleased. He could only think of those bright blue eyes full of pain and disappointment.”

Now consider the same paragraph, but in deep POV.

“Why had they asked him to do this? He never should’ve done what they said. Never would’ve if they’d told him what was at stake before they’d sent him here. He clutched at his chest. Those bright blue eyes invaded his mind, his very being. He wouldn’t have gotten her involved either, really, he wouldn’t have. But it was too late. With the look of betrayal in her eyes filling his head, he had never hated himself more. That anguish cut to the quick. What sort of pleasure had duty brought? None. Pain and bitterness were his only companions now. That and the galling pleasure his masters took in his success. But what was that worth? Nothing. Not when he’d lost her. Not when the disappointment and despair in her eyes was all he could think of.”

See the difference? In the first, the narrator tells us about what Orian is thinking and feeling. In the second one, we see everything through Orian’s eyes, and he tells us what is going on. Something worth noting about deep POV is that it often results in longer writing, not just richer writing. The nice thing is, though, that even though it leads to longer pieces, readers are still willing to read it because deep POV has an effect that pulls the reader right into the story as if they themselves could be the character.

Now, let’s go over some of the key things you need to keep in mind in order to write something that’s deep point-of-view.

Key One

To begin with, the first key to writing in deep point-of-view is to let your author’s voice disappear in favor of the characters’. You aren’t writing about your viewpoint character. You’re writing as them. Therefore, don’t use words or phrases that remind the reader of the author’s presence. These are filter words like: heard, smelled, notice, feel, know, or noted, among others. If a character is telling us the story in the immediate moment, they won’t tell us he heard the birds chirping. He’d just say the birds are chirping. Here are a few examples of how this works:

Third-Person Limited before Deep POV

Horace noticed that the woman was unusually tall.

Deep POV:

The woman was freakishly tall.

Third Person Limited (Before Deep POV)

Angelina felt he couldn’t get much worse than he was, but somehow, she thought, he had managed.

After Deep POV:

He couldn’t get much worse, but somehow he had managed. Angelina shook her head.

Key Two

The second key ties into the first, and that’s the voice you use as you’re writing. Since you’re writing in deep POV, each scene must be written in the voice of your viewpoint character. This means that if you have a character who speaks British English, then you would use phrases and lingo within the narration itself that your viewpoint character would use. Let’s look at an example of how this works out with a character who is a bit more of the backwoods hillbilly character.

Written outside of deep POV:

He couldn’t believe she’d just said that. She should know that sort of thing wasn’t acceptable here. If she’d said it to anyone else, he thought, she’d be sent out of town with a gun barrel to her head. But, here she was with a smile on her face, expecting him to just overlook her behavior.

Deep POV:

She ain’t kiddin’, is she? The girl had been sniffing around enough to know that kinda thing wasn’t going to fly around here. Anyone else woulda marched her on outta town with a gun to her pretty temple. But here she was, with as pretty a smile as could be on that fresh face of hers, and just waiting for him to smile back. Crazy city girl.

In this version, you can see that not everything is formal or even “grammatically” correct, but you get an immediate idea of the voice of the character.

Key Three

The final thing we’ll discuss on writing deep point-of-view has to do with explanations. Sometimes, it’s okay for a character to explain something. But many times explanations become extraneous and end with the character explaining to themselves something they already know. For example:

Rowen eyed the buck. If he didn’t hit it just right with the arrow, it would ruin the meat. Then his mother would be angry with him for failing to bring back food for the night.

Okay, so if Rowen is a hunter, even if he isn’t the best hunter, he already knows he needs to hit the deer just right or risk ruining the meat. He would also already know that his mother will be angry. So, here’s the deep POV version.

Rowen eyed the buck. Hit it just right and they’d have dinner. He leveled the bow and smiled. The best part was the way his mother’s eyes would light up when she saw him dragging this buck into camp.

Here, he isn’t explaining anything that he already knows. Only reflecting on the information in brief in a way that anyone might do. This is really important in writing in deep POV because no one explains things to themselves that they already know, so you have to find ways to write it that avoids that.

Conclusion

Alright, everyone! I know this is a long article, but hopefully it’s helpful to everyone. If you have questions or other things you want to add that you’ve learned about deep POV, please feel free to share those in the comments! I have also included some links below for additional reading on this subject because it’s a huge subject and not something this article is able to cover completely.

Well-Storied

The Editor’s Blog