Writers in the Storm

Writers In The Storm is delighted to welcome Romance and Women's Fiction author Jane Porter in the first of a two-part blog on success and survival.

I first gave this workshop in February 2004, and boy has this industry changed in the past nine years!

I first sold in January 2000 after nearly 14 years, having written 13 different novels which never sold.  Since then I’ve written 43 more books, with 43 coming out this September from Berkley.  All of my publishing to date has been with ‘traditional’ publishing -- print first, e-second, for Harlequin, Berkley, and Grand Central.

Many things have changed over the years, but my first 5 keys, or tips, to success and survival in this business haven’t.   In fact, the first five tips are more important than ever.

Let me warn you, I am going to be brutally candid.  But remember, whatever I say is my opinion, and that can change, too, just as our industry continues to evolve and change.

So let’s dive in.  Let’s talk about getting published.  Let’s talk about selling.

What is the secret to selling?

Great writing.

I used to think the secret to selling was luck, timing, networking…used to think I had the craft down, and yes, much of writing and connecting with a reader is subjective, but that’s what writing is about.  Connecting with a reader.  And if you can’t connect with a reader, whether its an acquiring editor, agent, or the person that is browsing online or picks your book up at the bookstore, then you’re not going to sell…or continue to sell.

1. The Secret to Selling is Craft
   
   

You have to know your craft.  Craft isn’t optional, and just because you’ve sold a book, or twenty, doesn’t mean you can ever get lazy about learning your craft, developing the creative muscle, honing your editing ability.  In fact, selling that first book or two means upping your standards.  Increasing your appeal.  Growing that readership and you did it by continually pushing yourself, seeking to expand your knowledge base and having very high standards.

So if you’re going to work on craft, what’s essential?

Plot is important, but a great plot with weak characters goes nowhere.  I think characters are key but even more important is character motivation.  What happens and why…

Pacing is also vital.  Good ideas, great ideas, aren’t enough if the reader puts your book down mid way through chapter 4 or 7 or before they reach the happy ending.  Pacing is what drives the story forward.  And pacing is about smart decision making while writing and especially while revising.

Whether you’re trying to get your first book sold, or your tenth, continue your education.  Read craft oriented books.  Attend workshops on topics that focus on craft.  Work with a trusted writer friend in a brainstorming/critiquing/or goal setting session and see how you can help each other grow as a writer.

2. The Secret to Survival is Getting Real

What do I mean by getting real?  First and foremost, I’m referring to Attitude

I put Attitude near the top of the Survival list because attitude is everything.

Your attitude will make or break you.  Your attitude is what will set you apart from other authors.  Attitude is what will get you to the finish line—will define how successful you’ll be.  And attitude doesn’t just happen.  You make attitude happen.  You choose your outlook, the way you cope with rejection.  You choose your friends.  You choose when and if you’re going to keep writing.

Attitude at work:  Be proactive.

I’ve learned to surround myself with only the most positive, supportive friends.  My writer friends are all very real, very giving, but also very tough.  They understand what it takes to make it in this business, they know we’ll all have highs and lows, that our careers won’t be equal, that life isn’t fair—and because we understand the inequities, we get on with it.

And that’s what I’m here to say to you.  Get your head together, get your attitude in the right place, and get on with it.  You have to write and write and write.  And then write some more.

3.    Success & Survival Depend on Goal Setting

Know what you want.  It’s that simple.  It’s that hard.  Know what you want.  Identify your goals.  Define your idea of success.  Be clear.  Be specific.  Be realistic.  And be prepared to work hard.

In terms of goals, think personally and professionally.

Have short term goals, and long term goals.

When I set professional goals, I differentiate between business/marketing goals and craft goals.  I write my goals down.  I pin them up or put them in a place I can see them—some people suggest your wallet—but refer to them at least once a month.  Think about them.  Goal setting works.

4. Success/Survival Require Perseverance & Mental Strength

I’ve written several articles on this—including Getting Game which was published in the Nov issue of RWR several years ago. Mental strength goes hand in hand with attitude but takes it one step further.  You’re not just choosing to be positive, you’re going to push yourself, challenge your capacity to learn and grow, and stop limiting yourself with real or perceived roadblocks.

Roadblocks to success?

–Fear of Failure
–Fear of Success
–Sense of Unworthiness
–Lack of confidence
–Lack of ambition
–Fear of Risk
–Inability to Commit

Okay.  Two bits of advice here—first, confront your fears. 

Second:  deal with them.

Stop pretending they don’t exist.  Everybody struggles with insecurity.  Everybody has self-doubts.  And you know, these things aren’t horrible, or embarrassing.  There’s no reason to feel shame.  The important thing is to acknowledge your fears, and then address them.

We have to stop thinking in terms of what we can’t do, but of what we can.

We can learn.  We can grow.  We can improve.  We can master new skills.  We can be great.  We can be brilliant.  We can sell.  We can be bestsellers.

You know, its okay to cry.  Its okay to hurt.  Its okay to be disappointed.  But what you do with the disappointment is key.

5.  To Succeed Act, Don’t Just React

Be careful not to be a trend follower.  If you begin chasing trends, you’re going to end up reacting to the industry, instead of acting and owning your voice, your vision, your themes, and your goals.

If what you write happens to fit today’s market, that’s awesome.  Take advantage of every opportunity to succeed, but don’t let the tail wag the dog.

You’re a writer.  An artist.  But also a businesswoman (or man).  Find the balance between creativity and industry, muse and bills.  This is where personal goal setting is really helpful.

Make sure you know what you want.

Define success for yourself.  (Is it a pay check?  Is it being in print, in a particular store?  Is it freedom?  Is it challenge?)

Once you know yourself, and what is most important to you, you’ll be able to respond to industry change with strength as well as confidence.  Because you don’t want to merely survive, you want to thrive.  But to do that, you have to be willing to take risks and honor your dream and vision for your books, your voice, and your career.

See you Friday for the next five keys to success and survival!

About Jane

Bestselling author of the  Jane Porter has been a finalist for the prestigious RITA award four times, has over 12 million copies in print.  Jane's novel, Flirting With Forty, picked by Redbook as its Red Hot Summer Read, went back for seven printings in six weeks before being made into a Lifetime movie starring Heather Locklear.  September 2012 brought the release of The Good Woman, the first of her Brennan Sisters trilogy, followed in February 2013 by The Good Daughter, and book three in the series, The Good Wife, is slotted for release in September.  A mother of three sons, Jane holds an MA in Writing from the University of San Francisco and makes her home in sunny San Clemente, CA with her surfer husband.

Writers In The Storm is thrilled to welcome Stacy Green!

This is my first time posting at Writers In The Storm, and I am very excited to be here. Jenny and the gals wanted me to talk about writing suspense, so I’m going to give it my best shot.

My version of suspense goes something like this: bone-tingling, spine-chilling, heart stopping rollercoaster ride. It’s the anticipation of what might happen to the hero or heroine and the fear of what horrible thing might be on the next page. Good suspense means readers keep turning the pages, and that’s what writing is all about.

There are a lot of skills that go into writing great suspense, but I’m going to talk about three vital components you find in every great suspense novel.

Believable Red Herrings.

Everyone wants to know whodunit. And no one wants to figure that out with half a book to go. Which means that once you get your basic plot nailed down, you need to figure out who your red herrings are. Have at least two (if not three characters) who are viable bad guy candidates.

If you’re a plotter, create a new file for each character and jot down why he could have done the deed. I take notes on how he fits into the fabric of the book, and as I progress, I will go back to those files and add more details. Not a plotter? No worries. Try keeping a notebook for ideas of who the RH could be and why. When he or she does something suspicious, jot it down. And when it’s time to work on the second draft, you’ll be able to weave those guys in.

For example, in TIN GOD, I had a separate file for a character called Royce Newton (a murder victim’s husband and possible conspirator in an illegal adoption ring). In that file, I had several sections: connection to victim, connection to protagonist, motive, alibi, reasons for suspicion/dishonest actions, connection to antagonist.

You can create your files to your liking, but the key is to knowing WHY that character could have committed the crime and the connections he or she has to various characters and the plot.

Remember your red herrings need to fit seamlessly into the plot and be a natural suspect, but the character also needs to be well rounded. Very few people are all bad, so showing snippets of decency about your RH will really keep the reader guessing. Any time I read a book with a guy who is obviously all bad without any teeny tiny shred of decency, I know he DIDN’T do it. Because that would be way too easy.

It’s not easy juggling multiple red herrings. Organization is the key. Whatever system you use, make sure you have a separate file for each possible red herring.

Set the Scene.

Why is this important? Because your reader needs to feel immersed in the world you created, and because setting equals mood.

For instance, in one of the pivotal scenes in TIN GOD, the protagonist is in a very bad situation. I used the weather to add to the tension and played up the fear of the lightening, the pelting rain, and the low visibility. We’ve all driven in a thunderstorm, and we know how nerve wracking it is. So it set the perfect mood for the climax of the book.

You can also play up your book’s location. TIN GOD is set in Mississippi, so I used the heat and humidity to layer the conflicts. Nothing makes an argument worse than feeling like you’re being smothered. If you’ve got a winter setting, and your hero or heroine is putting himself or herself in harms way, play up that scenery. Is it so cold their breath is freezing? The sky glowing with the deep purple bruising of an oncoming snowstorm? Are they driving down a road covered with ice and passing vehicles that have slid into the ditch? All of this will help get your readers hearts beating just a little bit faster.

Here is an example from the climax of TIN GOD, where I used the storm to set the stage for the final showdown between the heroine and the antagonist.

Storm clouds chased their escape and swiftly passed the speeding vehicle. Soon they were engulfed in the deep purple and black tempest, driving head-on into its wrath. A coffin on wheels, Jaymee thought as the storm swept the minivan into its embrace. Lightning shattered the purple sky and thunder boomed hard enough to rattle the van windows. They were at nature’s mercy.

But you don’t have to rely on the weather. Use all of the senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Is the air foul? Are there birds making a lot of racket? Is your character so tense their mouth is dry, or feeling like its covered with cotton.

Here’s an example from my debut novel, INTO THE DARK, where my heroine Emilie makes a daring decision to find her stalker on her own.

She readied her keys, took one last nervous look around, then jumped out of the Acadia. It was only about twenty feet to the employee’s entrance.

Her Nike’s slapped against the concrete as she ran. Blood rushed to her ears. She envisioned a shadow creeping behind her, mirroring her steps until she came to a stop. She grabbed for the door, key at the ready. The lock turned, a loud click in the middle of the night. A whisper of hot night air grazed the back of her neck, a phantom touch. Emilie whirled around so fast her ponytail smacked against her cheek.

Every sensory detail in a scene can be used to up the suspense. You can talk about dry mouth, cracked lips, hot skin, bitter taste, churning stomach, etc. The trick is to SHOW the suspense with description.

Sentence Structure.

I know, not nearly as fun of a topic, but it really does matter, especially if you’re writing suspense. You never want to have several similar sentences close together anyway, and that mistake will definitely ruin an otherwise suspenseful scene.

Changing up your sentence structure controls the pace, and when your goal is make the reader’s heart pound, short sentences are key.

Lisa Gardner is a master of this. One of my favorite books of hers, SAY GOODBYE, is loaded with tension and psychological suspense. This is just a snippet of how she controls the pace with sentence structure, as well as keeps suspense building for the reader.

Kimberley’s hands dropped in front of her rounded belly. Field kit, she thought again. Quick dash, unzip the bag, reach inside for her weapon…No dice. Kid could pull the trigger of his gun in a split second. And the spider…she didn’t want to think about it.

Another example, later in the scene:

Kimberley’s hand flew to her duffel bag, fingernails scrambling frantically against the nylon surface. Goddammit, why’d she have to zip the bag? She was never gonna make it. The gun leveling, pointing…

See how the different types of sentences ups the tension?

Practice makes perfect!

All of these things are tough to do, because most writers get into a pattern of specific sentences. It takes a lot of objectivity and good editing, but it can be done. Go to an important scene in your current WIP–a scene where you want the reader to have a strong visceral reaction. How is your sentence structure? Do you have a good mix? What about the five senses? Are you employing them? And think back over the story as a whole – do you have enough red herrings (or tricks) to keep the reader guessing and entertained?

TIN GOD
Kindle
Paperback

About Stacy

Born in Indiana and raised in Iowa, Stacy Green earned degrees in journalism and sociology from Drake University. After a successful advertising career, Stacy became a proud stay-at-home mom to her miracle child. Now a full-time author, Stacy juggles her time between her demanding characters and supportive family. She loves reading, cooking, and the occasional gardening excursion. Stacy lives in Marion, Iowa with her husband Rob, their daughter Grace, and the family’s three obnoxious but lovable canine children.

Website: www.stacygreen.net
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Twitter @StacyGreen26

Susan Spann joins us again for the second in her series about protecting your writing and your author rights in your estate planning. Even though many of us don't like to think about that particular future, it's an important part of your writing business that no one talks about.

by Susan Spann

Big thanks to Writers in the Storm for inviting me back to continue our new series on estate planning for authors!

As we discussed in April, every author needs an estate plan, including a properly drafted will or trust, which addresses the ownership and management of copyrights and other intellectual property the author owns at the time of the author’s death.

All authors have an estate plan. Surprise! You have one, whether you know about it or not. If you haven’t written a will or a trust, then you’re operating with plan #3: intestacy, which essentially means the estate plan the state establishes by law for anyone who dies without a valid will or trust.

A hint for the wise: option #3 is bad.

Authors who have no written estate plan will find their estates (and copyrights) subjected to the laws of the state (or country) where the author resided at the time of death. In most U.S. jurisdictions, the law provides that spouses and biological or legally adopted children inherit the property and rights of a person who dies. However, state laws vary, and in some places property ends up escheating to the state – which means the government could end up with your copyrights.

Unless you leave a written will or trust, you’re gambling with your intellectual property. Don’t do that.

Take charge. Create your own estate plan.

In most states (and countries), the estate planning choices come down to wills and trusts. We’ll look at trusts in next month’s post. Today, let’s talk about wills.

A will (or a “testament”) is a writing which disposes of property belonging to the testator (the person who wrote the will) at the time of his or her death. The legal name for the property that belongs to a person at the time of his or her death is the “estate” – which is also the reason wills and trusts are called “estate plans.” These documents provide a road map for your heirs—and the state—to ensure that after your death, your property is distributed in the manner you desire.

In many places, if your estate equals or exceeds $100,000 in value, your will must be administered through a probate proceeding. (If you have a trust, there is no probate. More about that next month.)

In probate, the will is administered, and the decedent’s property distributed, by a court or by a court-appointed executor (with or without direct court supervision). You don’t have to have an attorney to probate an estate, but in most cases the executor (the person the will appoints, by name, to handle the estate and its distribution) does hire legal counsel. This is because probate courts have special rules and procedures which can be confusing, especially when the executor is also a grieving family member. Probate lawyers’ fees are generally set by statute (often on a sliding scale, measured as a percentage of the estate).

Authors with small estates (less than $100,000 cash value at the time of death) may find a will sufficient for their needs. This is particularly true where the copyrighted works included in the estate produce relatively little active income. You’ll want to consult an experienced attorney familiar with both publishing and estate planning issues to see what level of income will require your estate to go through probate – once your royalties hit that threshold, you may want to consider a trust instead of a simple will.

A will can contain specific language stating how copyrights and creative works should be distributed, and to whom, and how the author would like them managed after death. (We’ll talk about these options in coming months.)

At a minimum, every author needs a will (many states allow handwritten wills, also called “holographic” wills – check the requirements in your state to be certain). Authors should also prepare a list of copyrights, publishers, and contact information relating to every published and copyrighted work in the author’s estate. The author’s heirs will need that information to collect and manage the author’s creative works. Remember—you won’t be there to help them answer the questions after you’re gone.

Even if your state allows handwritten wills, once your works are published you should consider paying for a professionally drafted will (or trust) to ensure that your estate plan manages and transfers your creative works in the manner and to the people you intend.

Authors whose estates exceed the statutory minimum to require probate should also consider establishing a revocable trust, which offers more flexibility than a will and, in many jurisdictions, allows your estate to avoid probate proceedings altogether.

But that’s the topic of next month’s post.

Have questions about authors’ wills? Feel free to ask them in the comments!

Susan Spann is a publishing attorney and author from Sacramento, California. Her debut mystery novel, CLAWS OF THE CAT (Thomas Dunne Books, July 2013), is the first in a series featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori. Susan blogs about writing, publishing law and seahorses at http://www.SusanSpann.com. Find her on Twitter @SusanSpann or on Facebook.