Hello Readers,
It’s time for another quick update.
You are probably well aware that there is more to writing than just writing. Any writer worth their salt will read, not just for the love of it, but to hone their skills. Then there is the research for our stories, the blogging to keep our audience engaged, the management of the financial side of writing, the updating of keywords to help people find our books, and everything else that goes with being a writer.
Personally, I have spent a bit of time over the last month or 2 trying to source some new reviewers interested in a free review copy of my book. This is a time-consuming process, but it pays to do a little research to find legitimate reviewers that like to read in the review book’s genre. After all, there’s no point sending a fantasy novel to someone who only reads non-fiction titles, as they are not likely to enjoy it. It also helps identify reviewers whose style I like, potentially providing a quality review or some good constructive feedback on my writing.
There have also been some changes to amazon lately. This has seen a drop in sales for a substantial amount of authors on the platform. It prompted me to check and update my blurbs and my keywords across all my sales channels. A good thing too, because when I checked my book blurbs on Draft 2 Digital, I noticed that I only had 1 category selected for some of my books (when I can choose up to 3 categories). Categories help place my book so it can be found in relevant searches (for instance I could put a book into Fantasy/Dark Fantasy and Fiction/General fantasy). This is strange as I know that I selected 3 categories originally, but things change, systems are updated and sometimes things drop off or become obsolete. So, I guess it is a reminder to me (and any other author out there) to do regular maintenance checks on the books uploaded.
As far as actual writing goes, I started out writing as a ‘Pantser’ – someone who just sits down and writes and sees where the story takes them. The more I write though, the more I move towards becoming a ‘Plotter’. It gets harder for me to ‘pants’ the further into a story I get; I tend to have the need to go back and read over things before moving forwards. This wastes time, and when I only have an hour or 2 to write, it can have a big impact on how much writing I actually get done. I have found that if I complete an outline it gives me a direction to follow, and it helps me stay on track (without referring back to previous writing so much). It also doesn’t hinder my ‘Pantser’ creativity. In light of this, I have just gone and dug up a half completed story that I put aside a while ago. I have had a look at all the scenes and filled in some descriptions so I can create a detailed scene list. This is a step further than my outlining process, and I’m going to see how it pans out for me. I’m hoping that it will give me both the motivation and the direction to finish this piece.
On another note, and call me crazy if you will, but I have just signed up as a volunteer English tutor, and I have taken on a double diploma – all while I continue to look for a new job. So, let’s see how I manage with the extra work I have committed myself to. It should keep my busy for a while.
Happy Reading!
The Writer’s Complete Fantasy Reference: An Indispensable Compendium of Myth and Magic from the editors of Writer’s Digest Books
Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success by K.M. Weiland
Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel by Lisa Cron