Writers in the Storm

Holly Robinson

I'm in a semi-comatose state after crashing through the first draft of a novel in six months to meet my editor's deadline.

Not that I'm complaining. I've been struggling to get to this point in my career for over twenty-five years. After earning a degree in biology, I started writing fiction and went for an MFA. I wrote a novel as my thesis and found an agent.  Surely, I thought, New York would find me now! Could Oprah be far behind?

Apparently, New York and Oprah had better things to do. My manuscript was rejected by a couple of dozen editors. So were the next five novels. Finally, I self-published my novel Sleeping Tigers through CreateSpace. Two weeks later, my agent sold the manuscript he'd been shopping around, The Wishing Hill, to New American Library/Penguin.

As a hybrid author, I straddle the worlds of Indie and traditional publishing, and this is the question I get asked most often: “Which did you like better?”

That, my friends, is a thorny question, but I've tried to describe the differences here so you can decide the best route for you.

THE ACTUAL WRITING AND EDITING PROCESS

Any way you want to publish, if you're a first-time novelist, you will have to write the whole book before you sell it. However, there are some significant differences in the writing and editing process.

Going Indie: In writing an Indie novel, you obviously have to finish the manuscript entirely before you can make any money. If you collaborate with an editor and copy editor along the way (and I hope you will), you call the shots. You can write as slowly or quickly as you choose, and you don't need an agent.  Indie authors who make the most money are those who 1) typically write genre fiction, like romance or fantasy; and 2) write quickly and 3) usually in series.

The Flip Side: If you're going to publish with a traditional house, you need to first convince an agent that you're worthy, which can take months. Then, when the agent sells your book, the editor will probably send an editorial letter with holistic revisions, talking about things like character and structure. After, that you'll do a second round of pickier line edits. Finally, you'll get the copy editor's draft with dozens of queries that make you want to tear your eyes out with a fork. The bad news is that this process takes a year or more. The good news? Your book will ultimately be much better than you could make it on your own.

MARKETING YOUR BOOK

People naturally assume that, if you're with a big publisher, you'll have a publicist and everything will come up roses. You can simply hole up, focus on writing and forget about pimping your book. That's not exactly true.

The DIY World of Indie Book Marketing: With Indie novels, you are the only one steering the plane. If you want a Kirkus review, you pay for it. Ditto an ad on Goodreads.  It's difficult to get Indie novels in bookstores. This all takes time, patience and creativity, but the good news is that you can build buzz yourself through online promotions, blog tours, Goodreads giveaways, etc.

The Flip Side: Once I was with Penguin, I was astonished to discover that, months before a novel comes out, it's appearing all over: Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Powell's. I recently went on Goodreads and was shocked to discover there was a giveaway of Haven Lake, my newest novel—100 copies—five months before its April pub date!  The weird part was that I didn't even know it was happening. Months before a book is released, I also start getting emails from the publicist describing which book bloggers she has contacted, where the book is out for reviews, etc.  Bookstores order my books after visits by Penguin sales reps. However, traditionally published authors must still do their share of marketing, because publishers only devote about three months to pushing each book out the doors. In today's world, few writers can afford to closet themselves. Marketing happens 24/7.

The Bottom Line: Where's the Money?

Some Indie Authors Do Make Money: I know a lot of Indie authors who are disappointed when they publish books and sell only a handful of copies—certainly not enough to pay back their initial investments. I also know Indie authors who make bank. Most Indie authors keep a lion's share of their royalties—usually 70 percent—and they have no agents, so they don't pay commission. Other than the initial investment in cover design, copy editing, etc., most of the money goes to you—or to advertising.

The Flip Side: Traditional authors get a much smaller percentage of royalties—25 percent, if we're lucky—and we have to pay agents 20 percent of our earnings on top of that. We have no control over the prices of our books. Advances are paid on the basis of an entire manuscript first, and then on the basis of a synopsis and a few chapters for subsequent books. It's nice to get money up front, but those advances are divvied up in three parts—the first on signing, the second on delivery, and the fourth on publication—and have been waning in size over the past decade. An advance now can be as low as $3000 for a full-length novel. Traditional authors can, and are, dumped by their publishers if they don't make their advances. This all sounds terrible, I know, but remember that you're not pulling your wallet out of your pocket for anything, either. Whatever you make is profit, and it's great to have the wheels of marketing turning without you having to grease them.

Where's My Home?

I love self publishing. I love having control over everything from the cover to the marketing. I take huge satisfaction in watching sales grow, and enjoy those surprising “lottery win” moments, like when Audible recently bought the audio rights for Sleeping Tigers—which, right there, made up for my initial publishing investment. Most of all, I love the idea that I can write what I want, when I want.

However, immediately after Penguin published my first novel, they bought the next on the basis of a synopsis—and then two novels after that. I feel like I'm balancing on top of a speeding train and I love this, too. I adore working with this particular editor, whose sensibilities mirror mine. And, because I don't write genre fiction in series, but stand-alone novels, Penguin has sold many, many more of my books than I could have done on my own. For now, I am happily at home in the traditional publishing camp. But I'm glad I self-published first, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

What publishing camp are you in? Do you have questions, or observations to share?

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About Holly

Novelist, journalist and celebrity ghost writer Holly Robinson is the author of several books, including The Gerbil Farmer's Daughter: A Memoir and the novels Beach Plum Island and Haven Lake.

Her articles and essays appear frequently in The Huffington Post, More, Parents, Redbook and dozens of other publications. She and her husband have five children and a stubborn Pekingese.

 

Margie Lawson

If you wish review the rule that started it all... Margie-Rule #1: Never Take Any Word for Granted. Or read the whole series!

Are you an NCIS fan? A Jethro Gibbs fan? A Mark Harmon fan?

If you said YES, you know Jethro Gibbs has rules. Smart rules. I wanted smart rules too.

Margie’s Rule #8: Beware of "Writerly!"

Writerly is my term for writing in a way that sounds more like the writer than the character.

Writers know they are supposed to limit backstory. Writers know they are supposed to  avoid clichés. Cautions about backstory and clichés are in every basic how-to book for writers.

I don’t see cautions about what I call writerly writing.

Elmore Leonard, NYT Bestselling mystery/suspense writer, has the best quote that defines my take on writerly writing.

If it sounds like a writer wrote it, rewrite.  – Elmore Leonard

Kudos to Elmore Leonard!

If his name doesn’t trigger an immediate reaction, these book, movie, and TV Series titles might:

• Get Shorty
• The Big Bounce 
• Mr. Majestyk
• Out of Sight 
• Justified

Tens of millions of his books are in print.

Um. Wow!

Back to Elmore Leonard’s quote.

If it sounds like a writer wrote it, rewrite.  

– Elmore Leonard

Writing that’s writerly doesn’t sound natural.

It may be dialogue or an internalization.

If something sounds like it was written by a writer, it doesn’t sound natural for that character to have said or thought those words.

Some writers may be great at writing dialogue that sounds right for that character. But the character’s thoughts sound like a writer wrote them. They don’t sound like words or phrases that character would think.

You may be wondering, what’s wrong with writerly writing?

So what? Who cares?

The problem is keeping the reader locked in the scene. If the writing is writerly, it’s not a strong fit for the character. The reader is less engaged. Less likely to keep reading.

How do you avoid writerly?

You go deep into deep POV, explore the character’s emotional set, and ask yourself what words they would use in dialogue and in their thoughts.

• Imagine being in that scene. Imagine if you were that character. Consider their life.
• How they were raised. What’s happened to them.
• Put yourself in that character’s skin and heart.
• What’s their relationship with the non-POV character?
• What’s the POV character’s emotional set?
• How would they react? What would they say? What would they think?
• What words would they choose?

The writer has to get out of their own way. Cliché alert. :-)

They have to become less cognitive, more reactive. When a stimulus presents, think colored-by-emotions first responses, not processed responses.

Writerly writing may be beautiful. It may be perfectly cadenced. It may have power words and backloading. It may have perfect words, but those words may not be ones that character would use at that time.

Beware of Diluting the Power!

Sometimes it’s the little things that are writerly.

Writers may slip good details in a scene, but they do it in a way that dilutes the power.

A character who is upset wouldn’t think about the color of the couch they sit on.

A character who puts on a hat wouldn’t think about the color of their hair.

A character talking to their spouse usually wouldn’t say the names

Here are a few examples of what I usually call writerly. Some are cliched and writerly.

I am not saying these sentences are always undesirable. Some may be perfect for a particular character.

1. He gave me a sardonic
2. My foot found purchase.
3. I gave him a dismissive
4. He ascended the stairs.
5. Her hope was submerged.
6. He released her from his embrace.
7. He propelled me toward the receiving line.
8. He questioned his cavalier attitude toward self-preservation.

Some of those examples may not seem writerly. They may sound right to you because you’re used to reading them. You may be used to writing them.

You may think what I consider writerly is what writers are supposed to write.

Ask yourself if the words you put on the page are your best choice for that character in that situation.

Beware of Nicey-Nice!

Some writers fall into what I call Nicey-Nice. They choose reactions and words that are nicer than their characters could use.

It’s hard for those writers to step out of their nicey-nice response set. If a character wishes they could do something really strong, maybe really wrong, it may be your best choice.

More examples of writerly.

1. “Stop scratching.” Shannon drew my hand away from my neck.
2. I didn’t bother to hide my disdain.
3. Rob diverted his gaze.
4. He expelled a laugh.
5. She tried to suppress her lips from showing her reaction.
6. She unfolded herself from the chair.
7. Rex put his hands on my shoulders and pivoted me to face him.
8. I grab her hand so fast she doesn’t have time to evade me.

Where’s your spotlight?

In examples 4 – 8, the spotlight is on the bolded letters. Not what the writer intended.

Be sure you have the spotlight on the words you want to emphasize. The ones that share the power.

Sometimes writers try too hard to avoid using a word they recently used. But a gun is a gun is a gun. It may work to use weapon or revolver or the type of gun as long as the word choice has to fit the character.

Writerly, Writerly, Writerly

Is writerly writing a contract breaker?  Probably not. We see writerly lines in print. We see I-can’t-believe-that-got-published in print too.

Writerly writing falls in the small stuff category. Definitely not horrible. But we know too many things in the small stuff category can make agents, editors, reviewers, and readers stop reading.

Beware of writerly writing. It only takes seconds to choose words that are a better fit.

BLOG GUESTS:  IT’S YOUR TURN!

Post a comment and you could win an online course from Lawson Writer’s Academy!

Check out the courses offered by Lawson Writer's Academy in March:

1. Scene and Sequel—Superpowered Writing Tool, Instructor: Kathleen Baldwin
2. Screenwriting Strategies for Fiction Writers, Susie McCauley
3. Taming Twitter and Facebook Too! Instructor: Julie Rowe
4. Digging Deep Into Deep POV, Instructor: Rhay Christou
5. Avoiding Author Meltdown, Instructor: Susannah Scott
6. Getting Serious About Writing a Series, Instructor: Lisa Wells

The drawing will be Sunday, Feb. 8th, 8:00 PM Mountain Time.

See you on the blog!

All smiles................Margie

About Margie

Margie Lawson—editor, international presenter—teaches writers how to use her psychologically-based editing systems and deep editing techniques to create page turners. Margie has presented over ninety full day master classes for writers in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. She’s excited to share that Romance Writers of Australia is bringing her back to present at their conference next summer.

To learn about Lawson Writer’s Academy, Margie’s 4-day Immersion Master Classes (in Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Dallas, Seattle, San Antonio, Columbus, Jacksonville, Houston, and on Whidbey Island), her full day Master Class presentations, on-line courses, lecture packets, and newsletter, please visit www.MargieLawson.com.

Mine is the last of our writing process throwdowns (or in my case, throw up). In case you missed the others, here they are: Fae, Orly, Jenny.

I’ve been dreading this. Not because I’m embarrassed - I’m of the school that if it works, DO IT! I’m been more worried about how to explain my total pantser mess.

First, the good part: 

No haters, now . . .  I'm done in one pass.  I write anywhere from 500 - 1100 words a day. The next morning, I review and tweak what I wrote the day before. When a chapter is done, I turn it into my critters, and when I get it back, I edit based on their input.Then I'm done. I don't go back and do second and third edits. I never read the whole thing again until I get suggestions from my editor. 

Linda Howard spoke at our our local RWA  years ago, and that's how she does it (only she doesn't have a crit group). I'm really happy with this part of my process. The thought of skipping ahead, or writing out of order Freaks. Me. Out. (Yes, I'm looking at you, Jenny.)

The other parts: 

The Beginning

 I this part. I start with a character. A person I’d like to know more about. Timid? Stubborn? Angry? Guilty (a go-to theme of mine . . . let’s leave it at that, unless you know of a meeting I can attend?) I understand who this person is, and their misunderstanding of the world (fatal flaw) before I start. I know the first scene, and spend a lot of time getting it just right. Then I'm off and running, deepening the character with backstory, introducing secondary characters, setting up the world.

In a word: Playing.

I'm having a BLAST! This is going to be a work of untold brilliance. My protagonist is as sparkly as a glitter explosion. Seriously, Atticus's kid, Scout has nothing on my character.

The DUM-DA-DUM-DUM,  Middle

When did my amazing protagonist turn into a whiny, boring, mumu-wearing, cigar smoking, biotch?

Where did my plot go? I swear, it was just here!

From  33% through 62% of of the novel (not that I keep track or anything),  the novel is a wasteland. I know the ending. It's the glimmer over there on the horizon. But between my brilliant beginning and that glimmer? I've got nothing. And I mean nothing.

I know what has to happen. My protagonist needs to move along her arc, in logical, small steps. But those steps seem dry as Midland, Texas dust to me (and after a year of living here, I know Midland dust). I HATE this part. I call and whine, complain, beg for help from my critters. Thank God for them. They calm me down (okay, they laugh) and remind me that I do this every single book (which I forget, every time), tell me I'm not delusional and I will live through it. This book WILL get done, and it'll be good.

Then they help me plot my way through the wasteland, laying stones in the mud as we go. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without them holding my hand and laughing at, encouraging me.

 It's here! It's finally here! 

Somewhere after 62.5% (not that I'm counting), as quickly as my brilliant plot dissolved, it reappears. My protagonist is the sparkly character I first envisioned, only better, because now they've resolved their issues, and the plot threads are woven together by bluebirds who sing a happy song while they work. It rocks on until . . .

 

Let it be known: I do not suggest, recommend, or in any way endorse this method. It will add gray to your hair and lines to your face.
Your ass will spread, and your skin will sag.

Do not try this at home.

So, WITS readers, seriously, is your process this challenging?

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About Laura

Laura Drake is a city girl who never grew out of her tomboy ways, or a serious cowboy crush. She writes both Women's Fiction and Romance.

She sold her Sweet on a Cowboy series, romances set in the world of professional bull riding, to Grand Central. The Sweet Spot (May 2013), Nothing Sweeter (Jan 2014) and Sweet on You (August 2014). The Sweet Spot won the 2014 Romance Writers of America^®   RITA^® award in the Best First Book category.

Her 'biker-chick' novel, Her Road Home, sold to Harlequin's Superomance line (August, 2013) and has expanded to three more stories set in the same small town. The Reasons to Stay released August, 2014.

In 2014, Laura realized a lifelong dream of becoming a Texan and is currently working on her accent. She gave up the corporate CFO gig to write full time. She's a wife, grandmother, and motorcycle chick in the remaining waking hours.

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