Writers in the Storm

Julie Glover

It’s Valentine’s Day! You may adore this holiday because it speaks of hope and romance, or you may hate this holiday because it’s too dedicated to couples or to Hallmark, florists, and candymakers.

Regardless, let's use this as an opportunity to look at how we’re loving ourselves. Do we embrace and care for our relationship to writing?

Here are a few ideas for how to love your writer self this Valentine’s Day—or any time of year.

Give Yourself a Gift

One year for my birthday, I asked for a gift card to Staples. My family thought that was odd, but all my writer friends were like, “Ooooh, yessss.” Because writers know how delightful shopping for office supplies can be!

You don’t have to wait for someone else to give you a writing-themed present. Valentine’s Day involves giving gifts of greeting cards, flowers, candy, and more. How about treating yourself to something that makes your work easier or sweeter! For lots of great ideas, check out Jami Gold’s Ultimate Gift Guide for Writers.

You get bonus points for wrapping the gift and opening it with the fresh excitement of a child or for snapping pics and sharing your beautiful new purchase on social media for others to ooh and aah.

Speak Tenderly

A core feature of Valentine’s Day is saying kind, romantic, or sexy things to your beloved. How tender a lover’s words can be to our eager ears!

Now think about all the things you’ve said to yourself about your own writing:

• “It’s crap!”
• “No one will want to read this.”
• “I should just quit!”
• “I suck.”

Whoa, you are a terrible valentine to yourself.

Hey, we all are at times. What if we rephrased our words in ways a lover would say?

• “This is actually really good, but if you want to edit, I support you.”
• “I would totally read this!”
• “Don’t quit yet. I believe in you.”
• “You don’t suck…at least not in that way.” ~wink, wink~

It’s okay to share frustration from time to time, but remember to also speak tenderly to yourself. Writing a wonderful book is far more difficult than many realize, and you’re pretty remarkable to do what you do.

Show Affection

Valentine’s Day also means hand-holding, snuggling up, smooching, etc. By no means do I expect you to kiss yourself for your fabulous writing. (But if you’re feeling it, go ahead.) So what kind of affection can you show yourself?

Look at your workspace. Is there any way to make it cozier? Consider ergonomics, creature comforts, inspiring quotes and art. Do you need to slip away to the couch sometimes? Or the recliner on your back patio? As much as you can, care for your body’s comfort as you write.

Get a massage. Sitting for long periods of time and/or slumping your shoulders over a keyboard can wreak havoc on your back. A massage can work out the kinks and relax those sore muscles. Schedule a professional massage, or if money is tight, get a back and neck massager you can keep nearby.

Prioritize self-care. Eat and sleep well! We writers can be so bad at that. Not to mention exercise and meditation. But self-care practices pay huge dividends both in our overall mood and our productivity.

Show yourself affection. And if you still want that self-kiss, pucker up and go for it!

Plan a Date or Getaway

Couples who celebrate Valentine’s Day expect to have a date. Dinner at least, but maybe more. Why not take yourself out to write?

Day Trip. Consider what setting helps your creative juices flow. Do you get great work done at the library? A local coffee shop? A seaside restaurant? Pack up your supplies and head out for the day to your favorite writing spot.

Getaway. Maybe you can swing a weekend getaway to a quiet place that sparks your imagination. Bring along another writer or two to keep yourself inspired and accountable. My critique partner and I have had many productive weekends at lake houses (some of which we found through Airbnb).

Retreat/Conference. Sign up to attend a longer retreat or conference. I’m a big fan of Cruising Writers, where I’ve both learned a lot from presenters and crafted some of my best scenes! (Also, I happen to be hosting this year’s event in the owner/manager’s stead.) But ask around and/or check out the lists from Romance Refined or Kotobee.

Make this Valentine’s Day—or any day—the time to love your writer self!

What area do you need to work on to show your writer self more love?

About Julie

Julie Glover writes mysteries and young adult fiction. Her YA contemporary novel, SHARING HUNTER, finaled in the 2015 RWA® Golden Heart® and is now on sale! When not writing, she collects boots, practices rampant sarcasm, and advocates for good grammar and the addition of the interrobang as a much-needed punctuation mark.

Julie is represented by Louise Fury of The Bent Agency. You can visit her website here and also follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

About Cruising Writers

Cruising Writers brings writers together with bestselling authors, an agent, and a world-renowned writing craft instructor writing retreats around the world. Cruise this November with Angela Ackerman, fabulous writing coach and co-author of The Emotion Thesaurus, NYT bestselling author Darynda Jones, and a high-quality literary agent (TBA).

For the week of Hearts and Flowers, WITS would like you to share a line of writing you love, your own or another's. Just one. We want to share our own favorite lines and hear about yours down in the comments.

Many writers struggle with self-doubt, with imposter syndrome, with anxiety. The conundrum is that before we ask others to believe in us and our writing, we must believe in ourselves and know that our words deserve to be heard.

Go ahead, be brave.

Kris (K. Maze)

From a YA short story I'm working on. The female protagonist discovers wrestling as a way to fight back after life has given her a beating.

She jogged to the third mat when her name was called over the loudspeaker. Her arms still ached, though the bruises were fading. Tonight she'd definitely fight back.

Ellen

Two from Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī on writing that I like very much:

Do you think I know what I'm doing? That for one breath or half-breath I belong to myself? As much as a pen knows what it's writing, or the ball can know where it's going next.

Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.

Julie

From my own work in progress, Awaken. For context, the characters are climbing a mountain.

“I’m coming up.” My voice is steadier than my nerves. They flutter in my stomach like birds trapped in a too-small cage. There’s no other sound but the thick rush of wind ripping at our hair and our clothing and our confidence.

And a bonus line from a wonderful novel that I recently copy edited and can now be purchased, His Lady to Protect by Justine Covington:

Bright cheeks and sparkling eyes reminded Susannah of the conspiratorial laughs her mother had shared with this woman, and a lump the size of her mother’s gravestone formed in her throat.

Jenny

From my high-risk pregnancy memoir.

Fear stalked through my childhood, a rabid dog that refused to be put down. As the child of a retired military officer, who cuddled his glittery narcissism beneath a shadowy cape of PTSD, I grew used to navigating a world filled with fear.

Your turn! Share a line you've written that you love, either from your current work in progress or a previously published book. Then the rest of us will show our love too!

Top photo: Image by silviarita from Pixabay

by Melinda VanLone

Are you an indie author about to create or commission a cover? If so, most likely you'll be using images to design your latest best seller. Did you know that those images have copyrights? Even if you found them on the interwebs like litter on a street corner, they still have rights. It's that fact that gets a lot of authors in trouble.

It's never a good idea to pull an image directly off of a Google search because you can't be sure where it's coming from, who has the rights, whether they've released them, or whether they are still very much the property of the creator.

To keep yourself protected from potential legal action, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Discover images at reputable websites

If you're designing the cover yourself, use reputable stock photography sites and purchase the right to use the image. In a future blog post I'll go over the rights each site gives, and the pros and cons of each, but in the meantime here's a few reputable sites I recommend:

• Depositphotos.com
• iStockPhotos.com
• shutterstock.com
• adobestock.com
• Dreamstime.com
• Bigstock.com
• 123rf.com
• GettyImages.com
• TheKillionGroupImages.com
• Neo-Stock.com

Pay attention to what rights you actually purchased 

Some sites sell you the right to use an image for personal reasons at one price, but charge a different price for commercial use. (Hint...you need commercial rights.)

Also take note of whether you're allowed to manipulate the image in any way. Most stock sites do grant you the right to tinker to your heart's desire, but a few don't. Be sure you adhere to whatever rules they set out for you. Some sites give you unlimited eBook reproduction but limit the number of print copies you can produce before requiring an "extended license."

When you purchase the image, I highly recommend saving a PDF of the license and storing it for future reference with the image/cover. 

Pass on by any image marked "for editorial use only." That means the image can't be used for personal or commercial purposes, which means you can't use it on a book cover. Those images are only used for magazine or news articles, and should never be manipulated (Photoshopped together with other images or retouched).

The buck stops with you

If you're hiring a designer to craft your cover for you, it's still ultimately your responsibility to make sure they've obtained the rights to the images they use to craft your cover, in the same way that if you hire an assassin you're still responsible for the murder they commit on your behalf. 

Most professional designers are well aware of the basic rights/rules, but some aren't. Don't be afraid to ask them where they purchased the image, and ask for a copy of the image license.

If they produced the image themselves (if, for instance, they are also a photographer and they used their own photography), then ask them to convey the rights to you in writing. There are boilerplate contracts you can use to convey the basic terms, just so there are no misunderstandings in the future.

Sometimes it seems silly to go through the motions of paperwork but trust me, should a lawsuit arise, you'll be glad you did it.

"Free" isn't worth it.

I avoid "free" sites because: 

1. The images are not great quality and they are overused. It's fine for a blog post or newsletter, not so fine for a book cover; and 2. The license is flawed.

Most free sites use a type of "Creative Commons" license which means yes you can use it for commercial use, but it does not guarantee that whoever posted the image to the site actually had the right to distribute the image, nor that they didn't violate privacy laws or property laws to obtain the image.

In other words, they may have infringed on someone else's rights...which makes you an accomplice if you use it. They also don't police the content at all, leaving you vulnerable.

The stock sites I've mentioned above do a certain amount of vetting of the photographers who post their images for use. There are statements and contracts which establish that they've obtained the model's permission, that they own the photo, etc. Which in turn gives you a certain level of protection you just don't get for free. 

In my next post, I'll go more in depth regarding the stock photography websites I've recommended and their painful-to-read rights. If you've been using a site that didn't make my list, please leave a note in the comments and I'll investigate it for you. 

Please note...I'm not a lawyer. I'm a graphic designer and an author. I have, however, spent years in the publishing industry handling images and dealing with the legal issues associated with using them, so I do have tips and advice that I hope helps you in your book covering quest. That said, when in doubt, please consult an actual lawyer or simply don't use the image.

Do you struggle with finding images? Have you ever had legal issues with photos? Melinda is ready for your questions down in the comments!

About Melinda

Melinda VanLone writes urban fantasy, freelances as a graphic designer, and dabbles in photography. She currently lives in Florida with her husband and furbabies.

When she's not playing with her imaginary friends, you can find Melinda playing World of Warcraft, wandering aimlessly through the streets taking photos, or hovered over coffee in Starbucks.

Her elementary fantasy series, House of Xannon, begins with Stronger Than Magic. And for more information on covers, visit BookCoverCorner.com.