IWSG and Flaming Crimes Blog Fest

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to the IWSG page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! If it links to Google+, be sure your blog is listed there. Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG

The awesome co-hosts for the January 3 posting of the IWSG are Tyrean Martinson, Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Megan Morgan, Jennifer Lane, and Rachna Chhabria!

January 3 question - What steps have you taken or plan to take to put a schedule in place for your writing and publishing? 

I struggle constantly with this, because I really *want* to be planning and scheduling and being very productive. But I'm not. I do try to set publication dates, but not until I'm close enough to done to be confident I'll make it--and that means no schedule through most of the process. But I'm working on the process, and as I said in my post on New Year's Day, I am very close to announcing a publication date for Death By Ice Cream, the 3rd book in the Pismawallops PTA mysteries. 

I am also hoping (planning might be too strong a word) to do more short-story work this year, in part in recognition of the life changes that will make it harder to do big projects. In part, that is also a result of the encouragement I got by (checks watch to be sure it's okay to say this) (sound trumpets) having my story, "The Tide Waits," accepted into the new IWSG anthology, Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime! I am over the moon about this wonderful start to my year, and have gained fresh motivation from this much-needed encouragement.

So watch this space for further announcements about the anthology, about Death By Adverb, and other news from a writer who is feeling fractionally less insecure than usual (but who still can't make a schedule and stick to it).

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And now for an exciting announcement from author Chris Fey, and some blog-hop fun:

Flaming Crimes Blogfest

Prompt: What is something ridiculous you would save if there was a fire?

For a Californian in 2017, this is a hard question to treat lightly. Too many of our neighbors (in a manner of speaking) have had to make this decision, if they had time to grab anything. But on the other hand, it means I've thought about it. 

There are so many ridiculous possibilities, or at least things that would make you go "huh?" But maybe my first choice would be...the bread loaf pans my mother got as a wedding present from her sister, and which have been in pretty constant use by her and then me since 1958.

Series: Disaster Crimes #4
Page Count: 304 
Digital Price: 4.99 
Print Price: 16.99

Rating: Spicy (PG13) 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

The Wild Rose Press

BLURB: Beth and Donovan are now happily married, and what Beth wants more than anything is a baby. Her dream of starting a family is put on hold as fires burn dangerously close and Donovan becomes a victim of sabotage.

Donovan escapes what could've been a deadly wreck. Their past enemies have been eliminated, so who is cutting brake lines and leaving bloody messages? He vows to find out, for the sake of the woman he loves and the life they're trying to build.

Amidst a criminal mind game, a fire ignites next to their home. They battle the flames and fight to keep their house safe from the blaze pressing in on all sides, but neither of them expects to confront a psychotic adversary in the middle of the inferno.

Their lives may just go up in flames…

About the Author: Chrys Fey is the author of the Disaster Crimes Series, a unique concept blending romance, crimes, and disasters. She’s partnered with the Insecure Writer’s Support Group and runs their Goodreads book club. She’s also an editor for Dancing Lemur Press.

Author Links:

Website / Blog / Goodreads

Facebook / Twitter / Amazon

IWSG:

This month's question: How do you know your story is ready?

This is a great question for me just now, since I'm in the final stages of editing, revising, re-editing, and cover design for my next book, the 3rd Ninja Librarian book (see below...).

Whether you are an author-publisher or have gone the traditional route, this is a question you have to address somewhere along the line. Whether the question is "is it ready to publish?" or "is it ready to send to agents?" you get to edit and revise and second-guess yourself more or less endlessly (having an editor and a contract might be helpful here, since someone will be telling you to finish it already). So how do you know when it's done?

I have no idea how you know when your book is done. For me, it's a gradual process and a fuzzy decision. I gather my feedback, do everything I can, get a little more feedback...and when I reach the point that I really don't think I can make it any better, I give it to my proof-reader, which puts an absolute end to my chances to make changes. But even then...when I re-read my first book, I want to make more changes. I'm never really satisfied, and so in some ways, it's a totally arbitrary line. I remember when I wrote my dissertation, and my director sent it back to me again and again until I drew a line and told her "this is as good as I can/am willing to make it. Take it or leave it" (there may have been some profanity involved there, at least in my mind). You never achieve perfection, but you want to come as close as you can, and then stop.

I think, with the endless possibilities for revision offered by ebooks and print-on-demand publishing, a more interesting question might be: when do you know you should unpublish and revise again? I haven't done that--yet--with any of my books, though I did have to re-proof one book after I released it, when early readers found more typos than I was comfortable with. (That was my fault--I didn't use my usual proof-reader, shame on me!). But I have considered pulling The Ninja Librarian--not for any big changes, but just to tinker some more with the language, smooth out some bits, and remove my efforts to show the characters' speech through idiosyncratic spelling.

What about you? Have you considered--or done--a revision on an already-published book? I realize this is only an option if you are your own publisher, but even if you aren't--have you wished you could?

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The Problem of Peggy is scheduled for release Nov. 28. Watch for advance sales information!

IWSG: Making time to write

The IWSG question this month is "How do you find time in your busy day to write?" This one hits me where I'm vulnerable.

Let me be clear: I'm not vulnerable because my days are so jam-packed I can't make time. I feel guilty when I see this question precisely because my days are NOT. Unlike many of my fellow writers, I don't hold down a full-time job (though I do hold a few part-time jobs, I still have more free time than most people). My kids are now pretty much grown. The oldest is out of the house, the younger is in his last year of high school.

I'm fresh out of excuses.

And still, I often seem to run out of time before I get to my writing (witness Monday: I didn't intentionally not post because it was Labor Day. I didn't post because I failed to prepare a post, and by the time I realized it, I was too tired to care). I'm forced to conclude that no matter how much time you do or don't have at your disposal, you have to consciously pick and defend your time to write, and it takes discipline.

The good news is, I've gotten back to work since everyone is back in school. I always do better when the house is empty (and what will I do in 2 years when the spouse retires? Build a shed in the back yard and "commute" to work?). But stuff interferes even so. Today, my sacred morning writing time was eaten up by a meeting and a breakfast party with a bunch of the old PTA moms. And those things are important, so I can't and don't want to say "no."

And yet: if we don't guard our writing time with a fierce intensity, however much or little we have of it, we'll soon have none. The best I can do is remind myself to treat it like any other job: "Sorry, I can't do that at that time. I have to work" is a line to practice. For me, it's best if I'm consistent with morning being my time to write. For some people who have younger kids and full-time jobs, it may be a matter of looking at each day and figuring out where you can get 20 minutes. Either way, you have to guard that time.

The final time-suck is the internet, and social media. I may well soon be investing in that amazing writer's tool, a timer that shuts off the internet for a set period of time. Sounds like a god-send to me!

So how are you doing at carving out and guarding your work time? Do you put people off so you can have your time, or let the demands of work and family eat it all up?

Reading or writing: you make your time where you find it. (The spouse is reading, the offspring is writing a novella. After a day's hiking).

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2016
As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated!

IWSG: Marketing

The purpose of the IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Click on the badge above to see the IWSG home page and the linky list.


So...What am I fretting over this month?
I have plenty to choose from for my anxiety-of-the-month. I'm still revising book three of the Ninja Librarian series, though I'd had hopes that I'd have it ready for beta-readers by the end of April. It's going to take at least another week. And I still don't have a title I like, nor any idea what the cover should look like. Not good.

Then there's the whole marketing thing, or building a platform, or just being visible out there. I had great hopes of making myself known and loved far and wide with extensive visiting during the A to Z Challenge (in which I didn't participate except as a visitor, in hopes of having more time to do that. HA!). That didn't go quite according to plan, and I've been pretty spotty in my appearances on Goodreads, too. I just get too busy and then I'm afraid to poke my nose in around there because there will be so much to catch up on (I know; bad reasoning. The longer I stay away, the farther behind I get).

My on-line sales have been up and down. There was a good initial reaction to a sale price on Death By Ice Cream during the month of May, but that tapered off quickly. And it's been forever since I had an event allowing for local sales. I haven't done my usual local library appearance for the latest release, for a variety of reason that we don't need to go into (I must learn to be pushier!), and haven't been asked to any classrooms this spring.

I recently learned from another Goodreads author that she does sales at craft fairs and farmers' markets and places that I would never have thought of. So my newest resolution is to start looking for events where I can take a table for a low enough price that I can hope to make the money back. We'll see how that goes. 

When I finish messing with the Ninja Librarian, there's the third Pismawallops PTA book to finish and revise, and a couple more books are clamoring to be written. I MUST learn to revise more efficiently so I can get on with the many stories that want out!

I guess there are worse problems a writer could have.

Try not to let your luggage get in the way of life!

 

IWSG: Got the Revise-My-Novel, Looks-Like-Work Blues

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means time for the IWSG!

The purpose of the IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Fear of Revisions

Okay, that header is a lie. I'm not afraid of revisions. I'm just lazy. There. I said it. I'm at that point where I am taking the big globby gloppy mess that is my first draft, looking at it with a cold and detached eye, and considering what must be done to make it right. I got spoiled with my last two books. Those were not only pretty well planned, but things went right with the plan, and the first draft really wasn't too bad. This time, the plan was weak and the execution spotty, and now I'm looking at a lot of work. Work that maybe no one but me cares if I get done, some part of my mind tries to tell me.

I'm set to do it, though. I did my first read-though and outlined what I had (oh-oh). Then I figured out where I needed to be (oh, man!). I looked at what was wrong with so many of the chapters/stories (ugh). I have to take a moment here to note that I"m working on the third book in the Ninja Librarian/Skunk Corners series, and these books are intentionally episodic, with each chapter meant to be a free-standing story in which the Librarian (or Big Al, the narrator, or some of the other townspeople) solves a  problem. That's exactly how it worked in the first book. In the second book, it was a little harder, because I was telling more of an over-arching story, too, but I managed to work it out for the most part.

This book is much the most novelistic of the three, and I've struggled with the change. The format matters; part of the books' appeal is the ability to read a chapter at a time and have a satisfying story (a bonus for reluctant readers and busy adults alike). But what I found when I read my draft was that a lot of my chapters had no real point, no problem, and nothing to make them stand alone. That's not the end of the world--but it wasn't what I was looking for. And it's not so easy to make them work that way while also keeping the overarching story in motion. I set myself a good challenge with that one!

Nor did the big story grow in the way I wanted it to. All told, I have a huge mess. And a huge mess is something that takes a lot of work to fix. It requires that I slap aside the tickling urge to start another book and focus on the problem. This is when it would help to have an agent sending me emails asking when I'll have it done, or someone threatening to withhold all chocolate if I don't get to work. Alas, I have no such outside pressure. I have to invent my own.

And that means saying "no" to distractions, from Facebook to demands that I attend meetings and events at all times and days. Of course, I have obligations and can't push them all aside. By the time you read this, I'll be on my way to a 3-day conference on issues in education for African American students (that's part of my other existence as a member of a local school board). It's an important topic, and definitely worthwhile--but I need to be sure to carve out at least a little time for my revisions every day. It might work. I have my plan, and extensive notes. If I just don't completely lose my focus, I'll...what? Where was I?...

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2016   Curious about the Ninja Librarian? Click the covers for the Amazon links!

      

Insecure Writer's Support Group: Book Launch Jitters

The purpose of the IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Publication Jitters

I brought out another book last month. That's always a perfect time to be insecure, since it then starts accumulating reviews and sales and...wait, that's not very many sales. And really, no one has reviewed it yet. Oh, no! What's wrong??!

See where I'm going here? Whatever happens after launch day, an author has the option of freaking out. A note from someone who found a typo or a bout of second-guessing your ending as you start on the next book can cause you (by which I mean "me") to assume that your career is over. What's more, everyone's going to know you're a fraud, and your big brother will laugh at you.

Wait. I think my author nerves have merged with the ones I developed to a fine pitch back in graduate school. Or is it just that whatever we do, and however well we do it, some part of our brains insists on freaking out?

Well, let it. I'm going to keep working on the next book and let this one go. That doesn't mean I'm not going to worry, mostly about my failure to leverage the launch in the most effective way possible. But I'm going to do that worrying while eating chocolate and writing another book.

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Congratulations to Helen H. and LL M., winners of the Goodreads Giveaway for Death By Trombone.

Watch for the blog tour in April, with Death By Ice Cream on sale for 99 cents for the ebook--and another giveaway! 

IWSG: 2015 round-up

It's the first Wednesday of the month (and of the year), and that means it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group!

Purpose of the IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Looking Back at 2015

It's a new year, and time to contemplate the year just past. Happily, I have this blog to help me remember what all went on in my writing life, because it does seem like a long year. There was a lot that went on in my personal life: my eldest son graduated from high school and went off to college (three states away); my younger son traveled to Mongolia with the Experiment in International Living (and if your kid wants to do some travel, I can recommend the organization; the trip did wonderful things for him); my husband turned 60 and started making concrete plans for retirement. All of that will do as an excuse for maybe not keeping my focus as well as I'd have liked.

My Year in Writing

I just snuck a peak at my 2014 year-end roundup and plans/hopes for 2015. Probably shouldn't have done that. One thing I'm a little disappointed in: I didn't publish any books in 2015, though I missed it by only days. With Death By Trombone officially released on Friday, it pretty much counts--everything was completed in 2015. Once again, the revision process took longer than I intended or expected, although most of the delay was not mine, but trying to get beta readers and editors lined up and then to get feedback from them. If I want to improve that process, I will probably have to stop bartering and start paying real money, so it probably won't happen.

Nor did I manage to do much to shake up the blog or increase my marketing efforts, though I had one triumph: I set up a newsletter sign-up and issued my first newsletter this week. It's becoming clear that I am pretty hopeless about marketing, and might have to be hatched all over again and hatched different to change that. I managed to use that new Twitter account a few times, but mostly not. I still haven't put the effort in to understand Twitter and don't feel like I have the energy to give to another branch of social media.

On the positive side: I kept up the regular blog posts, including almost-weekly flash fiction and a steady stream of book reviews in several genres. I drafted most of the 3rd book in the Pismawallops PTA mystery series during NaNoWriMo, and have chipped away at the 3rd Ninja Librarian book until it is probably 3/4 drafted. I also finished an editing and formatting project for a friend, resulting in the release of a book that means a great deal to him and may help some people deal with life. I learned a lot doing the project, both about editing (and formatting), and about wisdom.

In the end, I feel a little unsatisfied with my progress, and maybe that's as it should be. If I'm ever totally content, what will spur me to do more?

Goals for 2016

I'll keep this one simple:
--Improve marketing and increase my rather stagnant sales.
--Finish, edit and publish the Ninja Librarian, Book 3 (still lacking a satisfactory title).
--Finish and edit the Pismawallops PTA #3 (the working title, Death By Adverb, didn't work out so well as the story turned out, so that will be in search of a title as well).
--Begin submitting short stories for publication
--Begin work on Gorg the Troll's own book
--Continue the blog more or less as is: 1-2 book reviews/week, Friday Flash Fiction each week, and periodic photo posts from our travels

If I manage half of that, I should probably be pretty satisfied!

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Yup, I've finally done it: I've joined the IWSG, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, a large blog-hop group that airs our fears and insecurities around writing, in hope that we can help each other get over it and keep writing.

And what a great time to join: just as NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) kicks off. Nothing like being challenged to write 50,000 words in 30 days to bring out our insecurities. At least, my insecurities, at least this year. Because frankly, I've not been a very convincing author this year. I've taken pretty much the whole year to do a couple of rounds of edits on Death By Trombone, Book 2 in the Pismawallops PTA murder mystery series. And that from an MS (written during NaNo two years ago) that really wasn't THAT bad. [I suppose my next post will need to be about the agonies of editing. Or else about my utter failure as a marketing genius. Lots to be insecure about, now that I think about it.]

During that same period I managed to draft less than 40,000 words of a 3rd Ninja Librarian book, too. Not a very impressive output.

I have lots of excuses. I can sit around and make excuses. Or I could sit here and beat myself up: "You call yourself a writer? Writers write, you fool!"

Or I could sit down and enjoy the process of producing another draft in 45 days (I give myself 15 extra for the extra 25-30,000 words it takes to make a full-length novel).  I can also remind myself that since the beginning of the year I've posted 34 flash fiction pieces (for another 34,000+ words) and a bunch of photo essays. Sometimes you have to back away from what you think you should be or do, and appreciate what you did do.

I think I'll ignore my insecurities and enjoy NaNo. If you want to join me on the ride, I'm Nanning (I just made that up) under the highly imaginative name of Rebecca Douglass.

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Watch this site for news about Death By Ice Cream, because I'm going to reveal the cover here this week! Or just sign up for my newsletter and be the first to know all the details!