IWSG - Time Management, and Please Help Prince

It's time for another entry for the Insecure Writers' Support Group, where writers can share their doubts and insecurities with no fear of ridicule. Go here to sign up and find other participants and please visit our excellent co-hosts for February, Gwen Gardner, Dolorah, Sarah Foster, and M. Pax.

Lately I have been reading several posts by well-loved blogger friends announcing that due to time constraints they would need to sacrifice some aspect of their writer selves - blogging, writing, Facebooking etc - even if only on a temporary basis. This is quite a saddening state of affairs, but I know what they mean. In the month of January I didn't get much "writing" writing done, in terms of putting new made up things on a page. Okay, I've done some editing and some freelance writing, but some of this is procrastinating working on the final part of my series. I need to pull my socks up and get down to it. Maybe it is stage fright of coming up with a really good finale. Anyway, my time management problem is compounded by being a little bit stuck, but that will not be the case for everyone.

I think what to bear in mind is that if you're going to sacrifice anything, it shouldn't be writing. That's kind of the bare bones of what we do and how we define ourselves. But sacrifice marketing? We all know that even the most sublime stories need a bit of a push if they are not to languish, forgotten. We would probably be better off writing solely for ourselves if we didn't support our own work.

So the answer is to keep up both of these pursuits, but how can this be done? A lot of marketing can be labour intensive, like scheduling and writing posts for a blog tour, and you might need to take a week off writing your WIP to focus on that. But that's okay, if you're doing things like character posts and interviews it's still creative writing, and you will probably end up learning even more about your characters. And it's well worth making posts unique and engaging because a handful of buy links repeated time and again is a turn-off.

Other marketing pursuits can be done in odd moments, such as sending your book off to a reviewer, or setting up a giveaway on Goodreads. Something I haven't done yet, but which sounds worthwhile, is dropping in on forums and other venues that focus on your genre. It was Christine Rains who pointed out to me the importance of reaching out to your intended audience.

Something which tends to divide opinion is Facebook. I haven't set up an author page on there, but as there tend to be shorter posts it might be more time efficient than a blog. After reading this excellent post from Chrys Fey, I'm now giving it much more consideration than I did before.

Do you have any time management tips?

On another note, I'd like to ask for some help for a special little pup if you can manage it. This guy was
adopted from Spain, from the same rescue as our dog Tobi, but the family who adopted him have found themselves faced with an exorbitant medical bill through no fault of their own. Please follow the link below to my wife's Crowdfunder page, and if you can spare anything to help Prince it would be hugely appreciated.

Please Help Pay Prince's Fees

WOVEN Release Day!

Today, I'm helping to "thread" the word for a book by two very talented authors, that's been a long time coming. It's had a few ups and downs on its road to publication, but I think it'll be worth the wait! Ladies and gentlemen, I present "Woven" by David Powers King and Michael Jensen.

WOVEN by Michael Jensen and David Powers King, published by Scholastic

Two unlikely allies must journey across a kingdom in the hopes of thwarting death itself.

All his life, Nels has wanted to be a knight of the kingdom of Avërand. Tall and strong, and with a knack for helping those in need, the people of his sleepy little village have even taken to calling him the Knight of Cobblestown.

But that was before Nels died, murdered outside his home by a mysterious figure.

Now the young hero has awoken as a ghost, invisible to all around him save one person—his only hope for understanding what happened to him—the kingdom’s heir, Princess Tyra. At first the spoiled royal wants nothing to do with Nels, but as the mystery of his death unravels, the two find themselves linked by a secret, and an enemy who could be hiding behind any face.

Nels and Tyra have no choice but to abscond from the castle, charting a hidden world of tangled magic and forlorn phantoms. They must seek out an ancient needle with the power to mend what has been torn, and they have to move fast. Because soon Nels will disappear forever.

Available now wherever books are sold

IndieBound

Amazon

Barnes&Noble

Books A Million!

Rakuten

iTunes             

About the Authors:

Michael Jensen is a graduate of Brigham Young University’s prestigious music, dance, and theater program. Michael taught voice at BYU before establishing his own vocal instruction studio. In addition to being an imaginative storyteller, Michael is an accomplished composer and vocalist. He lives in Salt Lake City with his husband and their four dogs.

Photo credit: Michael Schoenfeld

Links:

Facebook

Goodreads

Woven Website

Woven Facebook Page

David Powers King was born in beautiful downtown Burbank, California where his love for film inspired him to become a writer. An avid fan of science fiction and fantasy, David also has a soft spot for zombies and the paranormal. He now lives in the mountain West with his wife and three children.

Photo credit: Katie Pyne Rasmussen

Links:

Facebook

Goodreads

Twitter

Blog

Praise for Woven:

"It’s not often that you read a fantasy that feels as epic and original as Woven by King and Jensen. Clever, well-paced, and full of intrigue, it’s a superb read. Highly recommended."

— James Dashner, author of The Maze Runner

"WOVEN reads like a lost classic that was somehow just rediscovered. It has the feel of a comfortable, familiar blanket that's somehow been newly-made of the brightest, most original material possible, and it is pure pleasure to read."

— James A. Owen, author & illustrator of Here, There Be Dragons

"The worldbuilding is dynamic, original and intriguing … and the characters, appealing. A sure bet for high-fantasy fans." — Kirkus Reviews

"This brisk adventure from first-time authors Jensen and King is a charming quest tale in classic fantasy tradition." — Publisher’s Weekly

Rafflecopper Giveaway Link (One of 5 copies of Woven – signed by both authors):

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lessons from Journalism and the Joy of Non-Fiction

This post is, I guess, an extension of the previous goals I posted for this year. 2015 for me is about going back to the grass roots of why I enjoy writing, and that means all kinds of writing. I like writing non-fiction. In fact, the first thing I did when taking tentative steps towards a writing career was press releases for my sixth form college at 16. While taking a year out globetrotting I kept a travelogue of all the places I'd been. And then I enrolled for a qualification in journalism in Glasgow, and was lucky enough to get a reporter's position at my local paper.

I miss it. I miss the buzz of uncovering facts, doing interviews and getting a great quote. I think I've been so obsessed with developing my fiction writing that I forgot the pleasure that can be gained from a well-honed article. Furthermore, there are lessons to be learned from journalism that we can apply to our fiction. What's interesting about the story? Who are the main players, what troubles have they seen and what are their triumphs? In journalism you have to find the most important thread and put that front and centre.

So this year I'm going to devote more effort to my freelance writing career by pitching some article ideas to paying markets on topics I enjoy writing about. I know a bit about being a step-parent, raising a disabled child and coping with the loss of a child. Plus, all the ephemera that swirls about my head to do with music, movies and historical figures has to be useful for something.

I also need to get over the idea I'm not good enough. I'm qualified, people have said I'm alright, I need to start having more faith in myself if I'm going to get anywhere.

I'm also going to restart the goal to write and submit one short story a month. I spaced on it in January as I was just getting back into the swing of things after the holiday, but I'm definitely going to refocus on this in February.

Do you enjoy non-fiction? I know we all do it via blogging, but do you enjoy reading it or writing in-depth articles? Do you think fiction and non-fiction have lessons to teach each other?

IWSG

It's the first Insecure Writers' Support Group meeting of 2015! The group was set up to share writerly woes and offer support and encouragement to others. I hope all members have an enjoyable and productive year.

EDIT: I forgot today was the day for introductions, so I'm adding this in here before I get to my insecurity!

I'm Nick, a former print journalist now mining the realms of fiction with a little freelance writing and editing on the side. I also do a paper round seven days a week, so I guess you could say that's also in the field of written media! Over the course of various experiments, I have discovered my passion lies in the speculative side of fiction, taking in science fiction, dystopian, and I hope to add a little fantasy to that list one day. My favourite author of all time is Terry Pratchett, although it would be impossible to pick a favourite book of his. I've included a little of my publication plans underneath this intro.

I'm married, with two stepdaughters and one daughter. As many of you know, my stepson Andrew passed away in November 2013. Andrew was a wee fighter all his life, and he's now my guardian angel and inspiration. We've got three dogs - Pippa, Rudi and Tobi, and we'll be adding little Charlie to the pack in February.

I find it hard to pick a favourite movie, but my favourite TV show is Red Dwarf, especially the "shrinking boxer shorts" scene. I'm sure this is available on YouTube if you want to know what I'm talking about!

You can also find me on Twitter and Goodreads.

Now onto the "insecurity" portion of today's post...

I guess my insecurity this month is the prospect of publication. I posted on Monday about my goals for the year, including publication of my collection in May and my trilogy starting in 2016.

But how do you know when things are right? These days it seems the ebook market in particular is saturated, more and more books are being released every day, and it's getting harder and harder to stand out. The best promotion, I hear, is to have many books available, but I worry that rushing will sacrifice quality. It takes me a very long time to do anything.

I guess the answer is to be even more focused on task. Reduce non-essential elements of life and make every editing or writing stint count for something. Try not to worry about outside pressures such as promotion - although that's hard. And know when to let go - even though it's not perfection, get as close as you can.

What are your experiences of publication? How do you deal with the stress of deadlines, be they self-imposed or from a publisher? How do you know when a book is ready?

Be sure to visit some of the other fine IWSG bloggers here.

2014 Roundup and 2015 Goals

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a stress-free festive season, and you're suitably rested and getting stuck into a productive 2015.

2014 got off to a slow start. We had just lost Andrew the previous November and I was drifting aimlessly, not sure what to do with myself. I did write one short story to try to make sense of the situation, but it was the A-Z Challenge and reconnecting with some of you wonderful writers that made me realise doing what I love was the only thing that would get me through. Nothing is certain, so I redoubled my commitment to give my writing career everything I've got. I made a start on Part 2 of my YA dystopian fantasy, writing 38,024 words from May to August. I also made a submission to Write Club. However, I then seemed to hit another slump with the story, although I was honoured to contribute to some excellent anthologies during this time. When NaNoWriMo rolled around, it was a great opportunity to power through the story without listening to the inner editor too much, and I'm pleased to say I accomplished this, finishing Part 2 and writing the majority of a prequel novella which I had the idea for during November. I only wrote about 2000 words in December, but it was enough to finish my novella, so from going from not even knowing if I would do any more writing I eventually drafted two books and wrote over 90,000 words. I hope to do much better this year.

So, to those goals. I aim to write Part 3 of my trilogy and get all three plus the novella edited and polished for release starting in 2016. Maybe this will come sooner, but for now I'm giving myself plenty of time to get everything right. In the meantime I have another project I'm very excited about - a novella I wrote a couple of years ago, tentatively titled "A Change of Mind", which I intend to publish in May, together with some previously published stories. My novella is a speculative science fiction piece, quite dark in tone, and the other stories have a similar feel so I think they'll go quite well together. Looking forward to sharing more details on this once they're firmed up!

Other goals - read and review more fellow bloggers' books. I read some excellent ones in 2014, but I've been quite remiss on reviewing them. I need to address that!

Spend more quality time with the kids.

What are your goals for 2015?

I'll be back on Wednesday for this year's first installment of the IWSG. Got your copy of the IWSG book yet? I've been loving soaking up all the great nuggets of wisdom and inspiration!

IWSG Anthology - Out Now!

Yes, it's a great day for the IWSG as its very own "Guide to Publishing and Beyond" is out now, completely gratis! I was very proud to contribute to this tome which is chock full of advice on anything and everything to do with writing, publishing and marketing. Having read some of the posts from the bloghop I can vouch that this is a fantastic resource for anyone at any stage of the game, from the members of the IWSG who have been through the battles. I look forward to reading the rest of the entries I missed. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Smashwords.

So onto my post for this month. Well my insecurity is something that I imagine a fair few writers have some trouble grappling with - money. Now, I know that very few writers go into the game hoping they will clean up - if they do, they're either doing it for the wrong reasons or they're suffering under an illusion. I accept that I'm never going to make megabucks from my writing. My insecurity stems from how this relates to everyday life. We have three kids, Christmas is nipping at our heels, and I can't help sometimes feeling guilty for not contributing enough. I've got my paper round, I'm continuing with my freelance writing and editing which, by nature, ebbs and flows. I never earn more than £250 in a week. I feel I'm doing what I can as the stay-at-home parent, but then my wife's working-at-home business has taken off in a big way and is almost earning as much as her day job.

I don't know, I've never been very savvy with money and don't feel like I've got the right sort of brain for it. It was always a bone of contention that the short stories I had published were unpaid. For me, the achievement was getting the publishing credits and the satisfaction that someone had deemed my words worthy of putting into print. I recently submitted a story to an ezine after a friend had success with the venue. It was rejected, but it was that Holy Grail of rejections, containing personal feedback! That was very exciting, and made me feel like I was halfway towards being paid for a piece of fiction for the very first time. Still, though, the payment was three dollars. Not a big difference to our bank balance, but money all the same.

I'm now looking at setting a goal of writing and submitting one short story a month with payment, but instead of this and the freelance stuff, should I be pursuing some sort of other work that offers a more regular income? I really don't know what else I'd do that would fit around my home responsibilities. I'm good at writing and I don't get any complaints.

Sorry for rambling on here. I guess my question is, if you write for no or very little money and spend a lot of time on it, do you feel guilty about that? How do you deal with it?

Be sure to visit the other IWSG bloggers here!

NaNoWriMo 2014 - Winner!

Yes! I did it. It was a long month of computer crashes and 4am starts, but I did it and wrapped up 50,000 words early on Sunday. Right in the middle of a crucial scene, too - so I've let myself have one day off today and then back on it tomorrow. After all, writing isn't just done during November, right?

I'd say it was a productive month with Part 2 of my trilogy finished and 17,000 words of my novella prequel written. It will probably require another 10k or so to be done. I had no idea this novella would even exist before NaNo started, so even though I started out by continuing previous work, it still threw up surprises! It was nice to work on something different but still related. I must admit I hit a slight slump during the middle of the month, which equated to the end of Part 2. Endings are always tricky for me and I need to regroup before starting Part 3. Nevertheless, I'm excited about the progress that has been made and looking forward to seeing how it all turns out. Also, I said hello to repetitive phrasing, clumsy constructions and other first draft sins - which I'd always been quite precious about, but that's why it took me so long to write drafts! I learnt from NaNo that getting the story out comes first.

So that's it. I'll try to get back to a regular blogging schedule this month, too.

How was your month? Did you NaNo? Did it go well for you?