N is for Novice Novelist

That is me, a novice novelist, a newbie.  Like any other new undertaking I started with loads of enthusiasm and research.  However with this undertaking, unlike any other, everyone I have come into contact with was helpful.  Not reluctantly helpful but happily helpful.

I have learned so much thanks to the assistance of others and I know I will be relying on the assistance of others as I try to decide my path forward with my maiden manuscript.  Agent or no, traditional publishing, indie or self?

I think this processes is going so slowly for me not only because I am new to it but because it is my first novel.  My first baby that I am putting out into the world and you can only be a first time author once.  For that reason I want to make the best decisions possible and am weighing all options for my introduction to the world as an author.

I would love to hear what other authors have learned along the way, any advice that they wish they had know before they published their book.

Thanks for the support.

Happy Writing.

C is for Comparison

I know when I began writing I believed my work to be wholly and completely unique and my own. Why would I want to find other authors to whom I am similar?  Why would I want my book to be like someone else's story?

As I learn about publishing and what it will take to get my baby out into the world I discovered that it is actually important to know which authors and which books are similar to you and your story.  It is also very important to know how your story is different from these comparison authors and books.

When you are pitching your story to an agent, a publisher or a potential buyer you have to be able to tell them your story is like an author or book that they already know and love and then how your book is different so they know they have not already read your story and now they know why they want to read your book.

Take a moment to read the reviews of books, the book synopsis, the blurbs, and you will see many of them contain comparisons to other popular books or authors.

If you are an unknown author knowing your comparison author or story are very important to selling your book to the right audience and helping your audience find you.

Go to your local bookstore and ask the staff what books they have that are similar to yours.  Purchase them and start reading.   When you find the one that you think is the best comparison you can go back to the bookstore or go to Amazon and see the recommendations that pop up for people who bought that story. Then read those books.  Now you have your arsenal full and can talk with agents and publishers intelligently about how your book compares and is different to these other wonderful published books.

Happy reading.

Best Laid Plans (Theme Reveal)

I am not a planner.  If you have done NaNoWriMo then you know the term pantster and I should be the poster child for that term.  

If something is going to be a lot of effort, is very important or will require the help of others I try so hard to plan ahead.  But I usually find myself running around at the last minute saying, "I meant to do this two weeks ago.  Where did that time go?"

But not this year, oh no.  I was all prepared and ready to go for Blogging A to Z.  I had my theme and all my work and research done.  I just had to start writing the blog posts this weekend and then...

I had the most amazing, uplifting, exciting phone conversation with David Henry Sterry of the Book Doctors the other day and all my planning- which I never do and was feeling so accomplished and responsible adult about- has been shot to hell.   Please realize that I am not, I repeat, not complaining.  David gave me some very favorable feedback- which I am tempering with a lot of realism as he has not actually read my manuscript - but this feedback has re-energized my interest in my first book, which I hadn't touched since November because I wrote another book during NaNoWriMo.  I also set a deadline for myself and it may not have been realistic but I told him it would be done in a month; right in the middle of blogging A to Z.   Do you see my problem here?

So my theme will go away- and I was really excited about it so I will make it part of my normal blog instead- and blogging A-Z will follow the challenges of getting my manuscript ready to go.

The Book Doctors are available for consultation and I recommend reaching out to them through their website if you need professional advice.  I love my writing groups but none of us have ever been published and one of my groups couldn't find a bad thing to say about a tornado if it had recently torn through their homes and left them homeless and destitute. Super wonderful group, God bless their hearts, who I love dearly but my book and everything I write cannot be as fabulous as they say.

Working with the Book Doctors through seminars and personal consultations has given me a lot of very helpful and useful as well as realistic information about writing and publishing my book. 

http://www.thebookdoctors.com/

I can't wait for Blogging A-Z and a chance to have some of you cheer me on as I work tirelessly to shore up my manuscript and get it out into the world.  I am sure I will be needing some encouragement.

I look forward to all the new blogs I will discover and some new friends along the way.  

Happy blogging everyone.