Writers in the Storm

Janice Hardy

I love the online world just as much as the next person, but writers already spend so much time alone--it's good to get out into the sunshine once in a while. There's a different energy you get from having a physical in-person conversation versus typing a conversation online, and that energy can be, well, energizing to the creative process.

Here are a few options for getting out of your writing cave and interacting with other writers:

1. Write-Ins (They're Not Just For NaNo)

Many local writers' groups hold regular write-ins at coffee shops and libraries. The goal is to write, but there's also a social aspect as people catch up and share ideas, or ask questions if they get stuck on a scene. It's like having an office with fellow writer co-workers.

If you're not sure where to find a local group, the NaNo web site is a great resource. It lets you know what groups are near you, and many of the groups have blogs or Facebook pages where you can learn more information. You might also ask your favorite coffee shop or local library if any groups meet there.

2. Regional Chapters of National Writing Organizations

The big organizations, such as Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, have local chapters in a multitude of regions. These groups are full of local writers with a variety of skill levels, so there's bound to be people at the same stage you're at in your career.

Even better, these groups hold smaller events and meetings throughout the year, so there's something going on every month or two. You can find the local chapters listed on the main websites of the national groups, or if you don't write genre, look for a state-wide group (or do both!). Since these groups are always looking for new members, they're usually very welcoming to newcomers and first-timers.

3. Local Writers' Conferences

Most regional chapters of larger organizations hold their own conferences every year, and some larger writing groups even host conferences. These are typically less expensive, smaller (and less intimidating), and more conveniently located than the big national conferences. Networking is a big part of a conference, so there are usually several events for attendees to mix and mingle.

Speaking of local, smaller conferences, here one coming up in my region...

If you're a kidlit writer in the Georgia area, the Springmingle '15 Writers' and Illustrators' Conference will take place on March 13-15, 2015 in Decatur, GA. Meet editors and agents from industry-leading agencies and publishing houses—and the friendliest, most supportive colleagues one could ever hope to find. Attendees will find nearly a dozen workshop sessions, including: 101+ Reasons for Rejection, Writing La Vida Loca, and Traditional Picture Books in a Digital Age. Visit their website for a complete listing of workshops (just click on the hyperlink, above). Presented by SCBWI/Southern Breeze Region.

4. National Writers' Conferences

If you're looking for a high-octane experience, try the national conferences. There's an amazing energy in the air when you're surrounded by thousands of other writers, and even if you attend alone, you know you can strike up a conversation with anyone by asking, "So, what do you write?" There are always a few places where attendees gather to socialize (usually the bar or lobby area), and it's common to have people join random groups when they see free seats and welcoming smiles.

Extra tip: Volunteering to help out at a conference is a fun and rewarding way to meet other writers and become familiar with the writers' groups in your area.

5. Author Events

Authors do events all the time, so check with your local bookstores and libraries to see what's coming up in your area. Meeting people who love to read (or write) the same things you do is a fun way to socialize, and remind you who your readers (or potential future readers) are.

I know a lot of writers are shy, so if the thought of doing any of these things terrifies you, by all means stay home and chat online. You certainly don't need the stress of socializing if that's hard for you. But if you like the idea of meeting people who share your love of books and writing, then head on out and see what the writing world has to offer.

Where do you like to socialize with fellow writers?

 

Looking for tips on planning your novel? Check out my book Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, a series of self-guided workshops that help you turn your idea into a novel. It's also a great guide for revisions! 

Janice Hardy is the founder of Fiction University, and the author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, where she tapped into her own dark side to create a world where healing was dangerous, and those with the best intentions often made the worst choices. Her novels include The Shifter, (Picked as one of the 10 Books All Young Georgians Should Read, 2014) Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The first book in her Foundations of Fiction series, Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure is out now. She is also a contributor at Pub(lishing) Crawl, and Writers in the Storm.

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Our lives are about change.

Some people look at change as a bad thing, as something to avoid. Others view change as a possibility for something better. No matter how you feel about the life detours called change, nothing in our lives is permanent.

The past six months of my life have revolved around change. Small changes in daily routines to large, rest-of-my-life changes. I was blindsided by most of them.

Now that I can look back with a degree of rational thought, I realize how change is not good or bad–though depending on the circumstances, this is a hard stance to defend. Change just is.

Who hasn't experienced moving away from your parents? What feelings do you remember? Excitement? Anxiety?

What about a loss? Did you feel grief? Anger? Relief?

The concept of change got me thinking more about my new book and new characters. 

How your characters deal with the changes you throw at them shows their mettle. For instance, a girl leaves home to go to college. Does she take advantage of a lack of supervision to party? Does she miss her family and friends and end up moping? Or does she dip her toes into newfound freedom, think fondly of home, and work hard to attain her goal of an education? You can show her emotions at each step of her adventure to help your readers connect with her feelings while revealing backstory and motivation in a seamless, natural fashion. How would a woman who views herself as strong react if a stranger catches her crying in a new situation?

Change can be the wave that carries your character arc through your story. In fact, Chris Vogler's,  The Hero's Journey is all about showing the character in his "normal" life and then propelling him onto the roller coaster of adventure and change.

Resistance to changes perceived as "bad" can make a character's life come to a standstill, just like they can get us "stuck" in real life. In real life, we work through those stuck times to get to the better side of the change. How powerful our writing is when we allow our readers to root for our characters as they traverse those dark, shadowy depths of their souls to find inner strength, new wisdom, and new resolve! And how hopeful it can be to those in similar conditions!

If you're wondering about how to look at your current WIP through the lens of change, start with your inciting incident to find the good,the bad and the ugly in the changes you give your character. And remember, the change needs to have all three elements for you to squeeze every bit of "juice" from the lemon!

My character is leaving the small, underground community of her mining planet to join the military to get an education and become a doctor. Sounds like a great change, right?

The Ugly: On the shuttle ride to the battle cruiser that will transport her to the Academy, she throws up. Yes, she's nervous and scared, but she throws up because she's never been to the surface of her deadly planet and to see the vastness of space and be in the small space craft dangling above her world, her body revolts. It's a symbol of her not being able to control any of the changes that will bombard her through the first third of the book. (Symbolism is a great way to convey your theme--but that's a whole 'nuther blog!)

The Bad: Instead of the supportive community she's used to, she is in the competitive worlds of the military and academia. She finds herself treating others harshly, as she's being treated–and she doesn't like the person she's becoming. She yearns for the "good old" days.

The Good: She learns to respect the differing values of others while clarifying her own beliefs. She develops skills and strengths she would never have known without leaving her own world.

Try reading the first three chapters of your novel and mark the changes your characters face. Those changes are the easiest way to use deep POV to show your characters' emotions. Don't miss the opportunity.

If your plot is dragging, insert a change to keep your story fresh. Changes can give you the ability to take the story in a direction that will surprise, and hopefully delight, your readers.

Everything in life changes. That's what makes the journey interesting.

Have you taken advantage of a change in your life by including it in your writing? Do you have tips on how to deal with the stress of change?

About Fae:

Fae Rowen discovered the romance genre after years as a science fiction freak.  Writing futuristics and medieval paranormals, she jokes  that she can live anywhere but the present.  As a mathematician, she knows life’s a lot more fun when you get to define your world and its rules.

Punished, oh-no, that’s published as a co-author of a math textbook, she yearns to hear personal stories about finding love from those who read her books, rather than the horrors of algebra lessons gone wrong.  She is grateful for good friends who remind her to do the practical things in life like grocery shop, show up at the airport for a flight and pay bills.

A “hard” scientist who avoided writing classes like the plague, she now enjoys sharing her brain with characters who demand that their stories be told.  Amazing, gifted critique partners keep her on the straight and narrow. Feedback from readers keeps her fingers on the keyboard.

When she’s not hanging out at Writers in the Storm, you can visit Fae at http://faerowen.com  or www.facebook.com/fae.rowen

 

Kate Moretti

Congratulations! You published a book. It’s out there in the world, all new and shiny, bouncing like the newborn its constantly compared to. The hard part is over, right?

Um… well this is awkward.

Maybe you watch Amazon rank or your Bookscan data or if you’re lucky, get numbers from your publisher and you realize that books don’t sell themselves. That, even though your book is positively brilliant, it’s not flying off the shelves. Every week, you sell a bit less than the week before and you reach a bit more to the outer edges of your existing circles. Your grandmother’s hairdresser likes to read, right? RIGHT?

Panic time.

Marketing your book feels uncomfortable, like you’re the guy at the party with the bad toupee who traps people in a corner, spouting the benefits of a multi-level marketing product.

There are many ways to market a book, not all of them good. In fact, many of them are terrible. You can spam everyone you know on Facebook and Twitter with generic, impersonal messages that include links to your book on every available format. I don’t think you need me to tell you that your toupee is crooked.

But, there are some truly invaluable ways to market your book and although none of them are without effort, they won’t make you feel like you need a shower.

Reach out to other writers

This one is a bit of a *duh* moment. It’s why you’re reading this, and possibly commenting (hopefully commenting!). But take it a step further. Reaching out to strangers can feel awkward. I promise you, reaching out to writers when you are a writer is NEVER awkward. It took me a year to realize this. A YEAR! I’ve always been a book nerd: writers are my rock stars. When I published a book I thought, “who on earth would want to hear from me?”  You know who? Anyone.  Yes, literally any other writer. Writers love readers. We love other writers.  If there is someone you admire, tell them. Find them on social media, share their Facebook posts, retweet their tweets on Twitter, friend them on Goodreads. Go to their book signings, tell them you’re a writer, too. Tell them why you like their work, how they inspired you. They won’t forget it.

Be Open. It’s hard. I’m an oldest child: overachiever, independent, I don’t need anyone, just ask my mother. It’s hard to be open. To say, 'I think you’re great' and 'Let’s be friends'. We’re not ten years old anymore, it’s hard to give admiration with abandon. Do it anyway.

This is the one that never goes away for me. Writers are everywhere. Connect with them, share their audiences and share yours with them as you grow. Never stop reaching up, out, and back. Other writers will be there to catch you when you stumble, but only if you let them.

This is true for book bloggers, too. Reach out, comment on their reviews. Follow your favorite authors around the internet and pay attention to their reviews. Book bloggers are really awesome, fun people who love to read and talk about books. They are our PEOPLE. Love them.

 

Get out the Elbow Grease

You know what book marketing is like? Building a house with nothing but toothpicks. There’s no one big brick. You get little boosts along the way, but mostly it’s a series of tiny actions (I think my metaphor is falling apart), that altogether add up to a steady stream of readers.

Try everything once: Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, buying ads, price point fluctuation (if you can), sales, giveaways. You don’t have to do it all right away, your head will spin. Just pick something and dive in. When you have a handle on it, dive into something else. Do this enough times, and you’ll realize you have a platform!

It’s also fun to explore and figure out new things that attract readers and fans. I live for those moments: finding new readers who come back later and tell me they loved my work? Ahhh, it’s what I do this for!

I recently started up a newsletter. My blog is intermittently maintained and it’s mostly about my kids. I have an active Facebook page, and a growing Twitter following, but I struggle with conferences and signings because of my schedule. I’ve recently taken on Goodreads in earnest and am trying to get the zillions of books I’ve read recently reviewed. It doesn’t matter, it’s all toothpicks. Stack, stack, stack…

No matter what you take on at any time, know this: there is no one thing that sells books. Stop asking for it. Oh wait, there totally is. The New York Times list doesn’t hurt (but for most, is still short lived). A million dollar marketing budget would sell a helluva lotta books. Don’t have that? Hmmmm,… as I was saying: there’s no one thing that sells books.

 

Be Yourself

More trope advice. No, really. Your own person is your brand. Be that person. On social media, at events, even when you think: everyone is more literary. Everyone here is smarter than me. Everyone here sells a lot more books than I do. Everyone here has better shoes because I just stepped in a puddle.

The thing is, people know when you’re putting on an act. They won’t like you as much. If you’re at an event and everyone is talking about their favorite books and you say Gatsby when really its Twilight, then you’re passing up the awesome opportunity for an instant connection with someone in that room whose favorite book is Breaking Dawn because Twilight was just too simplistic. And you can stumble through the themes of society and class in the 1920’s if you want, but everyone will see through it and you will bore them. If you love Twilight, just say you love Twilight. Newsflash: you’re not the only one. That book sold a billion copies,

 

Give your book away

Sigh. How many of you just cringed? I’m sorry. It’s true. Unless you’re the walking, talking personification of the adage Everyone has a book in them, you need to believe that your first book will not be the book that gets you a beach house. Yes, it happens. Maybe? Not to anyone I know.

Your first book is the book that introduces YOU, WRITER to the world. It shows readers who you are, gives them a taste of your voice.  This is important, like a long term investment. I’m not saying offer your book, your hard work, free for the taking on your website. Rather, participate in group giveaways (or organize them!), offer to give copies away on other blogs, other writers' Facebook pages, hold contests to boost engagement. There will be times where you feel like you can’t even give your book away. Happily send it off to that one entrant, as though there were a thousand and never do anything but say, THANK YOU. Say thank you a million times. I think of my first book as an audition for my future readers. I’m happy to be here, I hope I earn a spot on your bookshelf.

 

The bottom line

Marketing your book is one long Sisyphean exercise. Don’t work for every sale. Instead, just be a person who loves to talk about books to other people. And some of those books you gab about are yours! And that’s more than okay, that’s wonderful. Stop asking if this action, right here, this giveaway or this ad or this event or this conference will sell books. It doesn’t matter. It’s all about how many different ways you can reach the same person. Connect with the same reader until eventually they think it’s just kismet.

I had a reader tell me that once: “I see your book everywhere, like I’m meant to buy it! It must be fate!”

Yep, totally fate. Exhausting, carefully engineered fate.

So what do you think? Are the above doable for you? Do you have any other tips for us?

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About Kate

Kate Moretti is the New York Times Bestselling author of the women’s fiction novel, Thought I Knew You. Her second novel Binds That Tie was released in March 2014. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids, and a dog. She’s worked in the pharmaceutical industry for ten years as a scientist, and has been an avid fiction reader her entire life.

She enjoys traveling and cooking, although with two kids, a day job, and writing, she doesn’t get to do those things as much as she’d like. Her lifelong dream is to buy an old house with a secret passageway.

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