Hello everyone! I hope the week is being nice to you all so far. I am trying so hard to make it through, but it is so hard knowing that I have a relatively (well hopefully, we'll see how today goes) easy rest of the week. I have tomorrow and Friday off, work Saturday, then have Sunday and Monday off. I know I need to work, but my brain is already in time-off mode, which is not really that great. It doesn't help that the cat really has the right idea when I get up and he gets all curled up and comfortable in the blankets, purrs really loud and looks at me like I'm some kind of crazy person for getting up. I know kitty, I know, don't rub it in you jerk!
So you're all here for a reason though, so rather than listen to me lament about the fact I have to do what everyone else does, let's do that instead. As things get closer to a point where I have to start making a choice about what to work on, my brain has started being kind of a jerk to me, so I wanted to take a step back and talk about that a bit. I know I've brought similar up before, but it really is important enough to bring up again, at least I think so. The brain is a wonderful piece of machinery, but it also ends up playing tricks on us, and we end up digging ourselves into holes that we can't necessarily get out of if we don't recognize what's happening.
To give an example the problem I'm having right now, and I understand that this might not seem like a big deal when put into a text format, but this is why the brain is a jerk, is this: I have about eight to ten pages left in 'Daughter of the Shackled King' at the editing stage its in now, which is super cool because I love making progress in that story. The thing is that I know I need to get to work on 'Through the Broken Mirror' because it needs to actually be published first, so I know I need to get that story to some place I feel comfortable showing people. That isn't the problem as much as currently people have 'Rending the Seal' and my brain is/has almost convinced me that they don't want to read something else by me so soon, so there isn't a point in working on either story in such earnest. Not to mention asking my normal alpha-reader to look at 'Daughter of the Shackled King' wouldn't make much sense because it really isn't their genre and most of what I'll get back from them is a request to put in explained that my actual audience won't need. This is the problem I'm having, and while logically I know that is likely not a real problem, my brain has decided to make this a major issue.
The reason for this is something that I've brought up previously; your brain loves habits, and when things are getting close to finishing that means that the habits are going to be disappearing, likely to be replaced by new ones. The problem is that forming new habits is actually kind of hard. In general it takes about 30 - 40 days for a task to become habitual, and once that happens your brain becomes comfortable and happy with the routine. The problem is that when you know that the habit you've made is going to be ending soon, your brain starts panicking, mostly because it doesn't want the habit to change. This is all an attempt to get you to slow down to make it last longer, or stop entirely so that you'll have to pick it up later. Again, your brain is a jerk and you can't let this get in the way of progress.
When it comes to having choices you brain also panics because somewhere you want to be able to do everything at once. As awesome as that would be though, we don't have computers in our brains (yet) so a decision must be made. Now you can go with the option that is the most fun for you, or you can go with the logical one. Hopefully they are the same thing, because that would be awesome. Also, maybe there's a chance that you can do both, obviously not at the same time, but maybe one thing will only take a couple weeks and the other you can start up right away afterward. You can do some rough time gauging, and I do understand wanting to actually complete one project because moving onto another. It makes sense and it drives me nuts to leave something unfinished just sitting there, but sometimes that is what needs to happen. As much as I want to get 'Daughter of the Shackled King' done, I know that I need to start editing 'Through the Broken Mirror' and it's not that I like the story any less, it's just that I know that one story is actually closer to the finished mark than the other.
Your brain will also come in and play around here and make you crippled by choice. You will sit there and wonder what you should do next until things just sit there and gather dust (pixels if they are files in a computer, maybe?) because somewhere your brain wants you to do everything and not just settle on one thing. This is the 'if I can't have it, no one can' logic that sometimes your brain will employ, again because it's a jerk. This is when being a writer means sitting down and making a tough decision. Sure I want to work on flash fiction or make up things all the time, but I know that I need to get this done because if I don't, with the way my wrists are, I risk not being able to finish everything before things get too bad. You just need to convince yourself that just because you're taking a break from one piece of work now, doesn't mean you'll never work on it again. It might just be a few weeks or a month or so. Maybe look at a calendar when you do it, whatever helps convince yourself that things will be alright.
Thanks everyone for stopping by today. I hope you have a great rest of your week and also the start of next week. I am going to try really hard to push through today so I can get to tomorrow even though my imagination is still asleep in bed. If you have any questions, suggestions, comments, or concerns feel free to contact me and I will respond as soon as I'm able. For now though, have a good day!
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
02/10/2014 Magnificent Monday!
Well hello everyone and welcome back! I hope this weekend was nicer to you than it was to me! As you may have guessed it has been ridiculously cold up here the last week or so, and this Saturday it decided to finally let the snow happen. While it did make seeing Frozen super appropriate it was by no means a fun-times winter wonderland that it looked like when I looked out the window.
Not a whole lot got done over the weekend, since yet another sprained ankle (took a fall after the movie because gravity wishes for me to be on the ground) made doing anything uncomfortable while I tried to figure out how to keep it elevated, and yet still covered without pulling it or putting too much pressure on it. During the week I did make some good progress though, and I am getting kind of excited to be able to see 'Daughter of the Shackled King' being so far along.
Saturday did not go as planned at all, since I ended up being stuck in the snow at a friend's place. Luckily I wasn't alone, but that wasn't enough to stop the stress from being just awful. We did play an entire game of Cards Against Humanity where we learn who is likely going to hell between the lot of us. I was really thankful that the roads were good enough in the morning though and as soon as I got home I hugged the cat, gave him food and took a nap. I really don't like sleeping away from home, always has bothered me.
This week will hopefully be able to make up for it. While I do work on Saturday, I have worked out my schedule so that I only work Monday - Wednesday, then I have both Thursday and Friday off. I want to give a word in advance that there won't be a post on Friday, but that is because it is Valentine's day and I am going to be spending that day relaxing and such. The following Monday is also President's Day, so I will be sleeping in, so there won't be a post that day either. Just wanted to give the heads up.
Anyway, thanks for everyone for stopping by today. I hope you are all keeping warm and having lots of fun. If there is a question or a topic you'd like for me to cover on Wednesday, just let me know that I will do what I can do get that done. Have a great start to your week!
Not a whole lot got done over the weekend, since yet another sprained ankle (took a fall after the movie because gravity wishes for me to be on the ground) made doing anything uncomfortable while I tried to figure out how to keep it elevated, and yet still covered without pulling it or putting too much pressure on it. During the week I did make some good progress though, and I am getting kind of excited to be able to see 'Daughter of the Shackled King' being so far along.
Saturday did not go as planned at all, since I ended up being stuck in the snow at a friend's place. Luckily I wasn't alone, but that wasn't enough to stop the stress from being just awful. We did play an entire game of Cards Against Humanity where we learn who is likely going to hell between the lot of us. I was really thankful that the roads were good enough in the morning though and as soon as I got home I hugged the cat, gave him food and took a nap. I really don't like sleeping away from home, always has bothered me.
This week will hopefully be able to make up for it. While I do work on Saturday, I have worked out my schedule so that I only work Monday - Wednesday, then I have both Thursday and Friday off. I want to give a word in advance that there won't be a post on Friday, but that is because it is Valentine's day and I am going to be spending that day relaxing and such. The following Monday is also President's Day, so I will be sleeping in, so there won't be a post that day either. Just wanted to give the heads up.
Anyway, thanks for everyone for stopping by today. I hope you are all keeping warm and having lots of fun. If there is a question or a topic you'd like for me to cover on Wednesday, just let me know that I will do what I can do get that done. Have a great start to your week!
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
02/05/2013 Writing Wednesday!
Hello everyone and welcome back! I hope you are able to keep warm today. I am doing my best, but I am 100% convinced I will never be warm again. According to what I've seen, with the wind being what it is, it feels like it's about 10 degrees Fahrenheit out there...or will...or something. Either way, it's terrible and I don't like it. That is just way too cold and I need it to be warmer. If you're in my area of the world and will be heading out to the ridiculous celebration downtown, please bundle up because you are going to need it. Also, please hope and wish for me because I will be working while there is a mass exodus from my work of people heading out to join you.
I've been doing a lot of thinking about what to talk about today, and while my main focus has been on staying warm and harassing the cat, I have managed to cobble something together. I have been doing a lot of thinking about what I'm going to do once I am actually done with my work. I know that taking a super long break is going to be in there somewhere, but other than that, I mean there has to be something else to do, right? I mean, how do you come up right more ideas after a series like that?
I look to authors like J.K. Rowling and Stephen King for references like this. I use them as references/jokes a lot, and while there may be some debate about whether or not they are good/the best/terrible authors no one can deny that they don't know what they're doing. Sure they do things a bit differently. J.K. Rowling wrote her license to print money that was the Harry Potter series and then started working on stand-alone projects, which did apparently have some bumps along the way, but she did end up getting them done. (I do have my own opinions about how her last stand-alone book that came out showed just how many problems there are with the industry, but that is for another time.) With Mr. King you have him basically telling the industry that he can do whatever he wants and it's going to work. His actual series is the Gunslinger books, and while he basically writes them whenever he feels like adding to the series (to the well-tested patience of his fan-base) he does pretty much nothing else but stand-alone books and/or short story collections. These two have done so well for themselves that if I could sit down and ask them questions until they politely asked me to leave I would.
Now I know you're also about to say that both of the authors mentioned said they had finished their series and then went back on their word and have both announced new books for their series coming out at some point in the not-too-distant future. Very good, and that's perfectly fine too. I am actually super interested in the new stuff for the Harry Potter world, but that's because from what I've heard it's going to be about filling out some of the lore and stuff on the monsters and that's pretty awesome. With the Gunslinger...I could say I was surprised, but I wasn't. The thing is that there is never anything wrong with deciding there is more that needs to be told about your world. The point I'm trying to make is that you can write a series, do some other side projects, then come back and do something else that maybe taking time away from the world inspired you to do. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Maybe you wanted to go into the bloodline of one particular character, go and do that it might be super fun!
I haven't really decided what I'm going to do once my actual series is done. I am tempted to play around with some sci-fi stuff, but I am also looking at doing stuff set during a specific event mentioned in later books. I suppose we'll have to wait and see, at the very least I'll need something to do during NaNoWriMo, right? Maybe you don't want to do anything once your masterwork is done. That's completely understandable too, and you shouldn't feel obligated to do so. If you're tired or there is something that is stopping you from doing anything else, then don't worry about it. Do what's best for you and what will end up making you happy.
Thanks everyone for stopping by today. I'll hopefully be back on Friday! We have the launch party for the new Magic set so I am super excited for that. The pre-release was lots of fun last Saturday too! Try to stay warm, that is also the most important, so grab a blanket or three, some sweaters, and a cat or five (your neighbor won't miss theirs right?) and do whatever you need to do! Have a great rest of the week!
I've been doing a lot of thinking about what to talk about today, and while my main focus has been on staying warm and harassing the cat, I have managed to cobble something together. I have been doing a lot of thinking about what I'm going to do once I am actually done with my work. I know that taking a super long break is going to be in there somewhere, but other than that, I mean there has to be something else to do, right? I mean, how do you come up right more ideas after a series like that?
I look to authors like J.K. Rowling and Stephen King for references like this. I use them as references/jokes a lot, and while there may be some debate about whether or not they are good/the best/terrible authors no one can deny that they don't know what they're doing. Sure they do things a bit differently. J.K. Rowling wrote her license to print money that was the Harry Potter series and then started working on stand-alone projects, which did apparently have some bumps along the way, but she did end up getting them done. (I do have my own opinions about how her last stand-alone book that came out showed just how many problems there are with the industry, but that is for another time.) With Mr. King you have him basically telling the industry that he can do whatever he wants and it's going to work. His actual series is the Gunslinger books, and while he basically writes them whenever he feels like adding to the series (to the well-tested patience of his fan-base) he does pretty much nothing else but stand-alone books and/or short story collections. These two have done so well for themselves that if I could sit down and ask them questions until they politely asked me to leave I would.
Now I know you're also about to say that both of the authors mentioned said they had finished their series and then went back on their word and have both announced new books for their series coming out at some point in the not-too-distant future. Very good, and that's perfectly fine too. I am actually super interested in the new stuff for the Harry Potter world, but that's because from what I've heard it's going to be about filling out some of the lore and stuff on the monsters and that's pretty awesome. With the Gunslinger...I could say I was surprised, but I wasn't. The thing is that there is never anything wrong with deciding there is more that needs to be told about your world. The point I'm trying to make is that you can write a series, do some other side projects, then come back and do something else that maybe taking time away from the world inspired you to do. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Maybe you wanted to go into the bloodline of one particular character, go and do that it might be super fun!
I haven't really decided what I'm going to do once my actual series is done. I am tempted to play around with some sci-fi stuff, but I am also looking at doing stuff set during a specific event mentioned in later books. I suppose we'll have to wait and see, at the very least I'll need something to do during NaNoWriMo, right? Maybe you don't want to do anything once your masterwork is done. That's completely understandable too, and you shouldn't feel obligated to do so. If you're tired or there is something that is stopping you from doing anything else, then don't worry about it. Do what's best for you and what will end up making you happy.
Thanks everyone for stopping by today. I'll hopefully be back on Friday! We have the launch party for the new Magic set so I am super excited for that. The pre-release was lots of fun last Saturday too! Try to stay warm, that is also the most important, so grab a blanket or three, some sweaters, and a cat or five (your neighbor won't miss theirs right?) and do whatever you need to do! Have a great rest of the week!
Monday, February 3, 2014
02/03/2014 Magnificent Monday!
Hello everyone and welcome back! Even if you are not a sport person, you likely heard about the outcome of that thing that happened yesterday. People around here are still recovering as I'm assuming the partied until some crazy hour of the morning. There were people setting off fireworks and I could hear cheering for blocks. It was probably one of the coolest things I've ever experienced. We had the windows closed and I was watching stuff on Hulu and I could still hear people, they were so incredibly happy and it made me happy for them.
The writing progress continues and I am almost done with the first stage of 'Daughter of the Shackled King's editing. My hope is to get it at least over 100,000 words by the time I get to the end. I don't know how many pages that will make it, but the word count will make me at least feel like it isn't a short story. It's almost there and I'm sure I'll make it, but all it's really doing is telling me just how short 'Feathers of the Dead' actually is. So that will be an experience once that all starts. I'm trying to decide if I want to keep working on its editing or if I want to move onto 'Through the Broken Mirror' and get that process started once I'm at the end though. I can see benefits to both, which is what's making it a difficult decision. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
I am looking forward to next week though. Not because I work on the 15th, which is super not fun, but because I will have a a couple days off during the week. I made the executive decision to take Valentine's Day off, which I was surprised I got it, so have Thursday and Friday to relax will be nice after having things to do for two Saturdays in a row and it not feeling like I actually have a full weekend because of it. I don't know what this week has in store for me, there is talk that our reviews will be done, which I am anxious about, mostly because I haven't had a full-year review done before. I'm sure it'll be fine, but that doesn't mean I'm not nervous. It will likely also involve listening to calls and I hate that so much.
For now I will focus on what I can control; my work and my writing. I am still really excited to be making the progress that I am. I know that I will end up hitting a bit of a slowdown when I start having to transcribe 'Feathers of the Dead' but my hope is that since I've already done it once, it won't be as slow of a process this time around. Once 'Rending the Seal' is ready for the public to see, I'll make a big announcement, so I hope everyone's excited for it!
Right now I hope you all have a great start to your week. If you live up in the Washington State area, I know you're having a good day so far. Everyone else I hope you are too. I'll be back on Wednesday so if you have any topics you'd like me to look into, please let me know. See you then!
The writing progress continues and I am almost done with the first stage of 'Daughter of the Shackled King's editing. My hope is to get it at least over 100,000 words by the time I get to the end. I don't know how many pages that will make it, but the word count will make me at least feel like it isn't a short story. It's almost there and I'm sure I'll make it, but all it's really doing is telling me just how short 'Feathers of the Dead' actually is. So that will be an experience once that all starts. I'm trying to decide if I want to keep working on its editing or if I want to move onto 'Through the Broken Mirror' and get that process started once I'm at the end though. I can see benefits to both, which is what's making it a difficult decision. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
I am looking forward to next week though. Not because I work on the 15th, which is super not fun, but because I will have a a couple days off during the week. I made the executive decision to take Valentine's Day off, which I was surprised I got it, so have Thursday and Friday to relax will be nice after having things to do for two Saturdays in a row and it not feeling like I actually have a full weekend because of it. I don't know what this week has in store for me, there is talk that our reviews will be done, which I am anxious about, mostly because I haven't had a full-year review done before. I'm sure it'll be fine, but that doesn't mean I'm not nervous. It will likely also involve listening to calls and I hate that so much.
For now I will focus on what I can control; my work and my writing. I am still really excited to be making the progress that I am. I know that I will end up hitting a bit of a slowdown when I start having to transcribe 'Feathers of the Dead' but my hope is that since I've already done it once, it won't be as slow of a process this time around. Once 'Rending the Seal' is ready for the public to see, I'll make a big announcement, so I hope everyone's excited for it!
Right now I hope you all have a great start to your week. If you live up in the Washington State area, I know you're having a good day so far. Everyone else I hope you are too. I'll be back on Wednesday so if you have any topics you'd like me to look into, please let me know. See you then!
Friday, January 31, 2014
01/31/2014 Fantastic Friday!
Hello! I am really happy you all stopped by today! Not only is if Friday, but it also happens to be the end of January. Maybe it was because I spent half the month sick, but it really feels like the whole thing just blew by. There's also some kind of rally for the Seahawks today at my work, so that'll be interesting to see. Let's actually get to what you came here for though.
Today I bring you 'Children From Stone' by W. Blake Heitzman. It's a fiction story told in the form of a Norse fairy tale. Being the sucker I am for myths, especially Nordic ones, I'm sure you can understand why I picked the story with little to no hesitation.
It basically is a story about Loki being, well Loki, and trying to cause terribly strife and conflict in a small village. That fails so he puts a curse on the town when he leaves. Being, surprisingly optimistic about their situation, they find a way to still have what they aren't able to and live rich and fulfilling lives.
Maybe it's because not-so-deep down I am a sucker for Nordic myths, or that whenever I picture Loki now he's only ever being played by Tom Hiddleston (did you see either of the Thor movies or the Avengers for anyone else? I didn't! Loki forever!) but I did really enjoy this story. It had a feeling of making the best of a super not good situation, and even when talking to Odin about it, still the villagers, while saddened, were optimistic.
'Children From Stone' is available on Smashwords for Free, so please go and check it out and tell everyone you know and love about it. I'm sure they would find it absolutely enjoyable and the author would very much appreciate the publicity.
Thanks again everyone for stopping by. I am trying so hard to get back into the swing of things. Monday should be still normal, which is good. I hope everything at work goes well today, and then tomorrow it's theoretically off to win...something, maybe, at the prerelease! Super excited for that! Anyway, have a great weekend!
Today I bring you 'Children From Stone' by W. Blake Heitzman. It's a fiction story told in the form of a Norse fairy tale. Being the sucker I am for myths, especially Nordic ones, I'm sure you can understand why I picked the story with little to no hesitation.It basically is a story about Loki being, well Loki, and trying to cause terribly strife and conflict in a small village. That fails so he puts a curse on the town when he leaves. Being, surprisingly optimistic about their situation, they find a way to still have what they aren't able to and live rich and fulfilling lives.
Maybe it's because not-so-deep down I am a sucker for Nordic myths, or that whenever I picture Loki now he's only ever being played by Tom Hiddleston (did you see either of the Thor movies or the Avengers for anyone else? I didn't! Loki forever!) but I did really enjoy this story. It had a feeling of making the best of a super not good situation, and even when talking to Odin about it, still the villagers, while saddened, were optimistic.
'Children From Stone' is available on Smashwords for Free, so please go and check it out and tell everyone you know and love about it. I'm sure they would find it absolutely enjoyable and the author would very much appreciate the publicity.
Thanks again everyone for stopping by. I am trying so hard to get back into the swing of things. Monday should be still normal, which is good. I hope everything at work goes well today, and then tomorrow it's theoretically off to win...something, maybe, at the prerelease! Super excited for that! Anyway, have a great weekend!
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
01/29/2014 Writing Wednesday!
Welcome back everyone! I am working on getting my habits all back in order so I appreciate you coming back to see how things are going today. I'm not a sports person, really at all, but living where I do it's hard not to get into the spirit of things with the Super Bowl coming up on Sunday. Everyone around me is just so excited about it that it's almost infectious. They had the Media Day on at my work, and even the players looked excited, which admittedly they SUPER were because why wouldn't they be? It just made it feel like they were excited because all of their fans back home were just as excited for them. It's a very fascinating thing to watch in my opinion. I'll be fantastic to see how happy everyone gets if we actually win. (Rather than being completely screwed like the last time we went...)
Anyway, for a topic that you all generally care significantly more about, as do I! Having people read my work before it actually goes to publication, while fully knowing that it is still in the editing stages has made me realize a few things. One, that it's like watching someone else drive my car; stressful and makes me absolutely freak out on some level. Two, that unlike watching someone drive my car, I need to just let go and understand that they are only trying to help and not trying to do something that will potentially hurt my feelings. (I really don't like people driving my car) Three, it's not like they are critiquing a finished product, which was the point in the first place. So I wanted to bring that up as a topic for today.
Beta-readers are wonderful people who deserve a lot of credit because they are taking time, sometimes a lot of it, out of their busy day to read your work that is likely in some form of pieces, and give you opinions and advice about where things need to be worked on and/or adjusted or potentially removed entirely. It is not an easy task, and not a lot of people are willing to do it because it seems very intimidating when the request is thrown upon them. This is something that you need to keep in mind when you get your story back and you see a note or comment or something (however you asked them to put their words down) that immediately annoys or irritates you. You asked them to do this, they did precisely what you wanted them to do. Yes, going on the defensive because you really wanted your work to be perfect is understandable, but that is also unreasonable to think that. They didn't put down that maybe you shouldn't call your protagonist Blood McKillfist because they wanted to make you mad, they put it there because they really didn't think it was a good idea or would fit well into the romance novel you were writing.
Something else to keep in mind, when they put down comments about things they are confused about or there was some kind of continuity issue, do not take that as an insult. That means that either something needs to be explained further somewhere else, or it is a matter of you haven't gotten there yet (because it's in another story or something) and they didn't know that. It wasn't a matter of the reader not being knowledgeable enough or don't have all the information that you do because you are the author, which by default means you have everything.
Now, understand also there are times when your beta reader is not going to be the target audience for your book, and they may honestly not have the background for what you've written in some areas. This tends to happen with pulls that pull heavily from historical facts, myths, or some specific areas of science. I would say pick your readers carefully, but having someone who isn't 100% familiar with those areas read your story is still a good idea. It tells you where you may actually need to put in a bit more information, but also if they still enjoy the story then you have done a very good job. Also, they will be the ones best suited for picking out errors in spelling and grammar because they won't be hooked on picking out potential inaccuracies or creative licenses that were taken with some of the topical information. You likely have friends or other people around you for that, ask them to read your story to nit-pick about that sort of stuff.
Finally, and something that is for some reason the hardest thing, at least for me, to always remind myself of; you don't have to put in all of the their recommendations. Your readers are going to put in a lot of notes, if they are going to be of any help to you that page is going to be covered in stuff and you are going to want to immediately throw the page away or close the computer or whatever you use to do your work on the moment you get it back. However, once you start sifting through everything just remember that this is how they would write it, and that doesn't necessarily mean that's how you would do it. You wrote this story, not them, and they are just putting in suggestions and questions because they feel more information needs to be in there or that something needs to be brought up in something else or removed. If you don't agree with them, and you feel strongly enough about it, then don't use it. You really don't have to, and the reader won't be insulted if you don't. They may ask you about it later, but that doesn't mean it has to be a difficult conversation. It's still your story, you don't need to make every change and follow every suggestion given to you. All they are doing is trying to help.
Thanks everyone for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. Please remember, while everything is getting geared up for the release of 'Rending the Seal' to get caught up by reading 'The Light Rises' through Smashwords, where you can get it for really any format you want to read it on. For now I'm going to head out. Hopefully things will work out and I'll have a post on Friday. I'm super excited for the new Magic pre-release this weekend so I might just be too distracted for that! Either way, we'll see what happens! Have a great rest of the week!
Anyway, for a topic that you all generally care significantly more about, as do I! Having people read my work before it actually goes to publication, while fully knowing that it is still in the editing stages has made me realize a few things. One, that it's like watching someone else drive my car; stressful and makes me absolutely freak out on some level. Two, that unlike watching someone drive my car, I need to just let go and understand that they are only trying to help and not trying to do something that will potentially hurt my feelings. (I really don't like people driving my car) Three, it's not like they are critiquing a finished product, which was the point in the first place. So I wanted to bring that up as a topic for today.
Beta-readers are wonderful people who deserve a lot of credit because they are taking time, sometimes a lot of it, out of their busy day to read your work that is likely in some form of pieces, and give you opinions and advice about where things need to be worked on and/or adjusted or potentially removed entirely. It is not an easy task, and not a lot of people are willing to do it because it seems very intimidating when the request is thrown upon them. This is something that you need to keep in mind when you get your story back and you see a note or comment or something (however you asked them to put their words down) that immediately annoys or irritates you. You asked them to do this, they did precisely what you wanted them to do. Yes, going on the defensive because you really wanted your work to be perfect is understandable, but that is also unreasonable to think that. They didn't put down that maybe you shouldn't call your protagonist Blood McKillfist because they wanted to make you mad, they put it there because they really didn't think it was a good idea or would fit well into the romance novel you were writing.
Something else to keep in mind, when they put down comments about things they are confused about or there was some kind of continuity issue, do not take that as an insult. That means that either something needs to be explained further somewhere else, or it is a matter of you haven't gotten there yet (because it's in another story or something) and they didn't know that. It wasn't a matter of the reader not being knowledgeable enough or don't have all the information that you do because you are the author, which by default means you have everything.
Now, understand also there are times when your beta reader is not going to be the target audience for your book, and they may honestly not have the background for what you've written in some areas. This tends to happen with pulls that pull heavily from historical facts, myths, or some specific areas of science. I would say pick your readers carefully, but having someone who isn't 100% familiar with those areas read your story is still a good idea. It tells you where you may actually need to put in a bit more information, but also if they still enjoy the story then you have done a very good job. Also, they will be the ones best suited for picking out errors in spelling and grammar because they won't be hooked on picking out potential inaccuracies or creative licenses that were taken with some of the topical information. You likely have friends or other people around you for that, ask them to read your story to nit-pick about that sort of stuff.
Finally, and something that is for some reason the hardest thing, at least for me, to always remind myself of; you don't have to put in all of the their recommendations. Your readers are going to put in a lot of notes, if they are going to be of any help to you that page is going to be covered in stuff and you are going to want to immediately throw the page away or close the computer or whatever you use to do your work on the moment you get it back. However, once you start sifting through everything just remember that this is how they would write it, and that doesn't necessarily mean that's how you would do it. You wrote this story, not them, and they are just putting in suggestions and questions because they feel more information needs to be in there or that something needs to be brought up in something else or removed. If you don't agree with them, and you feel strongly enough about it, then don't use it. You really don't have to, and the reader won't be insulted if you don't. They may ask you about it later, but that doesn't mean it has to be a difficult conversation. It's still your story, you don't need to make every change and follow every suggestion given to you. All they are doing is trying to help.
Thanks everyone for stopping by today, I really do appreciate it. Please remember, while everything is getting geared up for the release of 'Rending the Seal' to get caught up by reading 'The Light Rises' through Smashwords, where you can get it for really any format you want to read it on. For now I'm going to head out. Hopefully things will work out and I'll have a post on Friday. I'm super excited for the new Magic pre-release this weekend so I might just be too distracted for that! Either way, we'll see what happens! Have a great rest of the week!
Monday, January 27, 2014
01/27/2014 Magnificent Monday!
Hello everyone! Super sorry I've been gone forever. I want to let you all know that I am not, contrary to whatever the rumors might say, dead. I have been sick for close to a month though and generally my mornings have been spent being a pile of miserable so I didn't want to feel that I needed to try and rush that and also try and get some kind of coherent post out of it. It started with a cold that turned into a sinus infection, during that time I started getting (wicked bad) nose bleeds, so the doctor cauterized the artery, which meant during the sinus infection I was on the antibiotics and unable to do anything to clear out the drainage that was happening. That was two weeks of just awful, while being sick from the antibiotics. Once I was done with those, my sinuses were still draining, though the bleeding was over so we have 2 victories there, and according to sources, that is normal, so I just needed to wait until that was done on its own. Things are now to the point where I can basically function in the mornings again, so, I have returned to you all.
That was a long paragraph and I apologize. I just wanted to give some kind of sense of what I was dealing with that kept me from here. I think the stress the holidays, family, and friend's family being sick caused my immune system to take a dive. Things are on the upswing now though so I just need them to all get stable and strong again so I don't need to worry.
During my time of healing I have been getting work done mind you. My first beta reader (alpha reader then?) finished up 'Rending the Seal' and I was able to get the necessary edits done from that. Now I have two others reading it over and once that's done I'll be able to get even more work done on it. While that's happening I've remembered that I have 'Daughter of the Shackled King' about halfway done with the initial editing process, so I decided to jump into that for fun while the time passes. I know I should be working on other things, like 'Through the Broken Mirror' but that I believe is still a little too fresh in my mind and I want to give it a bit more time to be a little more of a stranger before I go off and get it printed. Soon though. I think I'll get that started once I'm done with what I'm working on now.
I think I have developed a decent strategy; while beta readers have things work on the things that are/were in notebooks. By the time that 'Through the Broken Mirror' is in the beta reading stages I should be able to start transposing 'Feathers of the Dead' and while my hope is that it won't take the forever and a day the other one did, it will at least get that process started. I have a feeling that 2014 is going to be an exciting year when it comes to the self publishing side of my life. At least I hope so.
Thanks everyone for stopping by. I am really sorry for the hiatus, it was unexpected and I would have rather take one because I went on vacation, not because I felt like utter crap. I am back though and I hope that you all haven't wandered off. I will be back on Wednesday, so please stop by then! Have a great start to your week!
That was a long paragraph and I apologize. I just wanted to give some kind of sense of what I was dealing with that kept me from here. I think the stress the holidays, family, and friend's family being sick caused my immune system to take a dive. Things are on the upswing now though so I just need them to all get stable and strong again so I don't need to worry.
During my time of healing I have been getting work done mind you. My first beta reader (alpha reader then?) finished up 'Rending the Seal' and I was able to get the necessary edits done from that. Now I have two others reading it over and once that's done I'll be able to get even more work done on it. While that's happening I've remembered that I have 'Daughter of the Shackled King' about halfway done with the initial editing process, so I decided to jump into that for fun while the time passes. I know I should be working on other things, like 'Through the Broken Mirror' but that I believe is still a little too fresh in my mind and I want to give it a bit more time to be a little more of a stranger before I go off and get it printed. Soon though. I think I'll get that started once I'm done with what I'm working on now.
I think I have developed a decent strategy; while beta readers have things work on the things that are/were in notebooks. By the time that 'Through the Broken Mirror' is in the beta reading stages I should be able to start transposing 'Feathers of the Dead' and while my hope is that it won't take the forever and a day the other one did, it will at least get that process started. I have a feeling that 2014 is going to be an exciting year when it comes to the self publishing side of my life. At least I hope so.
Thanks everyone for stopping by. I am really sorry for the hiatus, it was unexpected and I would have rather take one because I went on vacation, not because I felt like utter crap. I am back though and I hope that you all haven't wandered off. I will be back on Wednesday, so please stop by then! Have a great start to your week!
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