Okay, Maybe This is a Good Idea After All….

When I started this blog (first over at MySpace and later moving it here to Blogger) some years ago, I wasn’t looking for a following. I was just keeping an online journal for myself and for Collin. I’d never been good at that sort of thing, but after watching my mother slip away from us, the result of multiple strokes, watching her memory deteriorate until she no longer recognized either of us, I suddenly wanted to record my memories in case I ended up the same way–unable to remember important things from my life, from my parents’ lives. I wanted Collin to be able to come here and share those memories, if he chose.

I do have an author blog over at WordPress–I didn’t want a website, just something simple I could do myself to post information about upcoming books and other author-related stuff. Check out Beishir Books sometime, if you haven’t already.

When I started having memory issues, I was convinced I was headed down the road to dementia…or Alzheimers. It was a relief when my neurologist, after ordering an EEG and an MRI, assured me that I’m not even close to that.

My brain–please, no jokes about that wide, vacant space inside my skull. I’m told that’s “normal.”

My EEG–William (Kendall) says it looks like a seismograph of the San Andreas faultline!

Nor did I intend to do a “writer blog.” Yes, I have almost thirty years of experience as a published author, but I’m not quick to give advice to other writers these days for three reasons: 1. There’s no one size fits all formula for writing and marketing a book, no guaranteed formula for success. 2. I don’t believe writing can be taught. At least not fiction writing. Either you’re a storyteller or you’re not, and you can learn more by reading your favorite authors than you’ll ever get from any class. 3. Patience isn’t my strong suit. I’ve encountered aspiring writers who think they already know all there is to know about writing an publishing a book because they read a lot of how to books on writing or they’ve taken an online course. If they’re not willing to take advice, I’m not going to waste my time giving it…though I am more than willing to issue the “I-told-you-sos” when they screw up. (Yep, I’m bad.)

However, in the past couple of weeks, I’ve done two posts that were writing-related, and the responses have been overwhelming. So I’m thinking, maybe I do have something to say that might matter to someone. Maybe a weekly writing-related post here and at Beishir Books might prove informative (or at the very least, give you all a good laugh!). If it’s helpful to even one person, I’m good with that. Because of my brain issues, I’ve had to make some adjustments in the way I work. It takes longer. I have to use an outline now. I can’t set deadlines for myself. There are good days and bad days. But I’m still in the game, and if anyone else has these issues, maybe I can help there as well. 

But I don’t want to just impart my own advice and experiences. I’ll be spotlighting my fellow authors and bloggers as well–in profiles, interviews or guest posts. I’m sure it will surprise no one that my first spotlight writer/blogger will be my partner in crime for the past five years, William Kendall….

The Unwritten Rules of the Game (Seriously. There Are Rules!)

I love writers.

Seriously. Nobody understands a writer like other writers. Creative people don’t think like normal people. (Stop snickering!) Our brains are wired differently. Don’t believe me? It’s been researched by psychologists, neurologists, and probably a lot of other disciplines I’m currently unaware of. But that’s another topic for another time. Maybe.

Writers support each other. We listen to each other whine and complain when things aren’t going well. We celebrate each others’ successes. We promote each others’ books. We follow each others’ blogs and like each others’ Facebook pages. We retweet each others’ Tweets. Sure, there are always a few rotten apples, even in the literary barrel–those who give nothing but expect everything–but for the most part, we’re there for each other. Years ago, when I was starting out, a group of us got together once a month for dinner, during which we’d share publishing info and bounce ideas off each other. We traveled to writers conferences together. 

One of the best bits of advice my agent gave me shortly after the sale of my first novel was to join a local writers group. She stressed the importance of networking, of getting to know other writers. She was so right. No one, not even a writer, is an island. The more writers I got to know, the more I realized how much I didn’t know about “the business.”

I’ve been fortunate to have had good friends in the writers community throughout the almost thirty years I’ve been in the business, first in traditional publishing, then as a self-published author. And I’ve learned a great deal from each of them….

1. Read each others’ books–and review them! If you expect other authors to review your book, you’d better be reviewing theirs, too. (And if you’re reviewing books in your genre, readers will see those reviews and be more likely to buy yours, so think about that. When I post a review, my name is always followed  by “author, The Unicorn’s Daughter” since that book is now the first in an upcoming series.)

2. Same goes for blogs. If you’re not reading and commenting on others’ blogs, yours is going to be a pretty lonely place. Again, when you’re seen making clever comments on other bloggers’ blogs, their followers are likely to check out yours. That’s how I found some of my favorite bloggers.

3. Promote each others’ books. Invite other authors to guest post on your blog–or interview them. For my Amazon author page, I used an interview my partner in crime, William Kendall, did with me. It was a lot more interesting than the standard author bio!

4. Invite other authors to join you in promotions.  Example: Hilary Grossman, author of Dangled Carat (which, by the way, is now on sale at Amazon!). Hilary is an inspiration. She was working on her book when a rather nasty hurricane named Sandy hit the east coast. I remember Hilary’s struggles in the aftermath of Sandy’s devastation–but she finished her book, published it, and went on to arrange a couple of successful book giveaways–not only to promote her own book, but those of her friends as well. I was honored to be asked to participate–and pleased with the boost in sales I got each time.

A few years back, William Kendall, Mike Saxton, Beth Muscat, Krisztina Williams, Eve Gaal, Shelly Arkon, Mark Richard Hunter, April Morone, Lena Winfrey Seder and I formed Writers of Mass Distraction in the Writers Digest online community, a group where we could laugh, bitch and moan, whatever was needed, and have friendly ears listening and providing sympathy, advice and a few cyberhugs as needed. When the WD community went extinct, we moved the group to Facebook, adding a second group, Writers Mayhem, which we opened to a larger membership than the original group. We’ve had to boot a few bad apples from that group, but overall, it’s been a success.

Get a bunch of writers together and we’ll put a Shriners convention to shame. After being alone with our own thoughts and a cast of uncooperative characters for days on end, we need the release. Be patient with us. Sanity doesn’t come easily to writers!

The Magic Formula to Becoming a Bestselling Author–There Isn’t One!

Recently, I commented on a Facebook post, a link to a Buzzfeed story: 14 Books Every English Major Has Definitely, Totally Finished. Okay, first off, the title sounds like it was concocted by a teenager–“definitely, totally?” Talk about overkill! Not something one would expect of an English major, right?

To be fair, I wasn’t an English major. I started out an English major–but I switched to communications early on. I’m one of those authors who believes we don’t learn to be writers in a classroom–we learn by reading authors whose works we love, authors writing in the genres we want to write. By the time I went to college, I’d already been told by an editor at a major publishing house that I had talent, I just wasn’t ready for the commercial market. And at the time I wrote it, I’d dropped out of high school. I only ended up in college because of an accident (long story).

To this day, I wonder how much of that editorial assessment had to do with the embarrassing fact that I’d stupidly submitted a handwritten manuscript!

In my defense, I was only sixteen at the time. Brains haven’t completely formed at that age. But I’m getting off track here. Back to the claim that every English major has read the fourteen books on that list. I’ve read five of them. Maybe if I’d stuck with that English major, I would have read all of them–but probably not by choice.

The article made me think about how many of today’s bestselling authors were English majors and what they did before they were authors. Here’s some of what I found….

Not all of the biggest names in fiction even went to college. Nora Roberts didn’t. Neither did Janet Dailey, Jackie Collins or Jacqueline Susann (who had an IQ of 140). Roberts was a legal secretary; Dailey worked as a secretary at her husband’s construction business. Collins and Susann tried their hands at acting, with mediocre results. 

 
Stephen King and Dan Brown were English majors, and both were teachers before publishing their first novels. Stephenie Meyer also has a degree in English from Brigham Young University–but ended up working as a receptionist. Laurell K. Hamilton has degrees in both English and biology. Tom Clancy majored in English literature at Loyola University, but was working at an insurance agency owned by his then-wife’s grandfather when he wrote The Hunt for Red October.

John Grisham and Scott Turow are lawyers–though Turow was also an Edith Mirrelees Fellow at the Creative Writing Center at Stanford and taught creative writing at Stanford as an E. H. Jones Lecturer before attending Harvard Law School. Danielle Steel studied fashion design and worked in public relations. Janet Evanovich was an art major at Douglass College at Rutgers, but ended up working as a temp until she launched her writing career. J. K. Rowling has a degree in French and Classics and worked as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International–but was on welfare at the time she created Harry Potter. Meg Cabot has a Bachelor of Fine Arts and once worked as a residence hall director. Daniel Silva has a Masters in International Relations and worked as a correspondent for United Press International before he became a bestselling author. George R. R. Martin majored in journalism at Northwestern and was a story editor /story consultant/producer for TV shows including The Twilight Zone and Beauty and the Beast in his pre-Game of Thrones career. The late Sidney Sheldon also attended Northwestern and, like Martin, had a career in Hollywood before writing his first novel because he had an idea he felt wouldn’t work as a screenplay.

Novelists come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. It doesn’t require a degree in English, Literature or Creative Writing to have a successful career as a novelist. When I sold my first novel, nobody asked me to submit a resume or academic credits. They only cared about the manuscript–and that one was typed!