6 Benefits of Having an Agent in Today's Publishing World

In today's quickly changing publishing industry, what role do agents play? With the growing prevalence of self-epublishing and ebooks, many writers are opting to publish without the help of an agent. Even those pursuing traditional publication are beginning to see that an agent’s job description will likely need to morph as publishing evolves.

Obviously, most traditional publishers still work primarily through agents who essentially act as curators for publishing houses. (Agent Steve Laube had a great article about the function of curation in publishing.) So, yes, for now agents are still important to writers who want to land book deals with traditional publishers.

But what need (if any) do agents serve above and beyond the initial book deal? Should a writer pursue representation, particularly if they’re planning to self-epublish? Are there benefits to having an agent that transcend the type of publication we pursue?

As I’ve wrestled through these questions, I jotted down six benefits I’ve experienced from having an agent in today’s turbulent publishing world:

1. Agents have connections.

Agents are in regular contact with others in the publishing industry. They work behind the scenes with a variety of editors and publishers. As a result of their inside connections, they’re privy to industry news and publishers needs. They can pass those needs along to clients giving them an advantage. And because agents are always on the lookout for ways to help their clients, sometimes opportunities arise in unexpected and unplanned ways.

2. Agents help with career planning.

I recently finished a three book contract with my publisher. So over the past few weeks my agent and I have had many conversations (via phone and email). We hashed out potential scenarios for what will ultimately be best for my long-term writing career. With her knowledge of the industry and her experience, she was able to direct me how to proceed.

After all the discussion, I wrote up six ideas for future books with the hope that my publisher would like at least three of the ideas and offer me another 3-book contract. Rachelle tweaked what I wrote, put the ideas into a professional format (which is something else she’s very good at), and sent them to my publisher.

3. Agents act as arbitrators and negotiators.

My agent is skilled at acting as a go-between. Even though I have a very open and amiable working-relationship with my publisher, Rachelle is able to act rationally, calmly, and logically on my behalf during times when I’m more emotionally invested in the situation.

She’s tactful and proceeds carefully. Through experience, she’s developed the skill of working with a variety of publishers and professionals without harming relationships or future prospects.

4. Agents offer feedback on books.

Many agents will read their clients’ books and give editorial notes before attempting to sell the book to publishers. They want to help the writer polish the manuscript to make it all the better in order to have the best possible chance of making the sale.

During my previous book deal, whenever I completed book, I sent it directly to my publisher. There was no need for my agent to read it first since my synopses and ideas had already been accepted and approved. But, my agent went above and beyond with The Doctor’s Lady. After my second rewrite, Rachelle read it and offered both encouragement and valuable feedback.

5. Agents can provide emotional support.

The writing industry is tough. The waits are long. The revenues are low. It’s easy to get discouraged. My agent is adept at sensing when I’m having a low moment. She has surprised me with encouraging calls at those times.

Whenever I have a conversation with my agent, I feel inspired to keep going and work harder. She has a way of building me up, telling me the things I need to hear, and pushing me to give my writing all I’ve got.

6. Agents are in touch with the industry pulse.

With the speed at which things are changing in the publishing industry, I have a hard time keeping up. I'm already devoting my most concentrated work time to my writing. And now we're needing to take ownership of our own marketing as Michael Hyatt explained in his post: Four Reasons Why You Must Take Responsibility For Your Own Marketing.

So, with both writing and marketing, I don't have time to keep up with all of the changes within the industry. Rather, I rely on my agent to stay on top of the latest developments and to keep me informed of what I need to know as it pertains to my writing career.

My Summary: Yes, the publishing climate is changing and agents’ roles will likely change too. But in working with my agent, I’ve come to realize the incredible benefit of having an advocate who’s working in my best interest.

Sidenote: Since I write my blog posts a week ahead of schedule, I had no idea the role of agents would end up being the topic of the week! For additional thoughts check out Elizabeth Spann Craig's article: Why My Agent is Still Needed and Anne R. Allen's post: Literary Agents: An Endangered Species?

What about you? Do you think that the need for agents is changing? Are there are still benefits to having an agent in today’s turbulent publishing world? Why or why not?

How Genuine Are Online Friendships?

As writers we often hear the need to build connections, particularly online. Those relationships can help form the foundation of our marketing Team or Tribe—a group of friends who support and encourage our writing endeavors.

But how genuine are those online connections? I mean, really, how well can you get to know someone through 140-character tweets or sporadic blog comments? Are such relationships authentic? Or are they merely a phantom of real life friendships?

I posed the question over on my facebook page last week. I asked, “Do you consider the friendships you've made ONLINE to be as genuine as REAL LIFE friendships? Why or why not?”

The responses ranged from emphatic YES to absolute NO. Here’s just a sampling (feel free to read the rest of the comments here.):

• Elizabeth Flora Ross: Absolutely! In fact, I have dropped the "online" label and simply refer to the people I have connected with online as friends. They are as supportive to me as my "real life" friends, and mean as much. And, in many cases, they know even more about me.

• Author Jessica Bell: Some of mine are actually BETTER. I think because none of my real life friend understand my writing obsession.

• Jenny Lee Sulpizio: This is a tough one. I think developing online relationships is harder than in person. Connections are made but if not kept up, or worked upon, are easily lost.

• Erma Brown: No, the people you meet on face book you really don't know, they could be telling you lies and how would you know. With your true friends you know them warts and all.

In reading all the comments, I came to several conclusions:

1. We can find an enormous amount of support online from others in the same situation.

Whether cancer survivors, new moms, writers, or whatever our situation—when we link up with others who are going through a similar experience, we’re likely to find mutual support and encouragement.

As much as I love my real life friends, most of them aren’t writers and don’t understand what’s involved in my writing career. In fact, when I’m together with real life friends, we talk about ordinary things like our kids, school, and house projects. Many of them don’t grasp the significance of what I’m doing or accomplishing (even now that I’m published) and that’s okay. I don’t expect them to “get it.”

However, I need people in my life who don’t mind if I talk about my writing, who understand how hard the journey is, and who can relate to the highs and the lows. Thanks to the internet, I’ve been able to connect with those kinds of writers. And over time, many of those friends have come to understand and support me better than real life friends.

So yes, the internet provides connections that aren’t always possible in real life. But . . .

2. We may need to use extra discernment for online friendships.

While the possibilities for forming online friendships can be very beneficial, I believe we need to use caution too. It’s easy to hide behind our screens and only give people glimpses into our lives—sometimes even a false picture of who we really are. We can hide our warts (as Erma said above).

Of course, we can put on facades for our real life friends too. But when we’re online we have more control. We can choose what to reveal, to whom, and how much—which isn’t always possible in real life.

I’m not saying we should dump our personal garbage in cyberland for all the world to see. But I do think we should attempt to be as real as possible. If you were to meet an online friend for the first time, would your online persona match who you are in real life? Would your friends feel like they’re meeting a total stranger or would they feel like they already know you?

3. Whether online or real life, friendships take work.

It’s just not possible to form close relationships with everyone we meet online, especially as we’re broadening our web presence. We’ll spread ourselves too thin and stress ourselves out trying to keep up. We can (and should) remain friendly to everyone, encourage others, reach out, and be a blessing to those we come across.

But, we all need a smaller cluster of friends that we can relate to on a more intimate basis. For many writers, that group usually ends up being their critique partners.

Like any friendship, there has to be a mutual give and take to grow closer. Essentially, we have to be the kind of friend we want in return.

What about you? Do you consider your online friendships to be as genuine as real life? Why or why not? I’d love to hear more of your thoughts on this issue!

How Do We Stay Content With Our Own Writing Journeys?

This summer new neighbors moved next door. They have three little boys—one who is almost 4 and twins who are 16 months. When I look at this family, I have major déjà vu. Approximately ten years ago, I was in the same situation with my oldest being 4 and my twins almost 2 (except my twins are girls).

As my neighbors chase after all their little ones, I get sweaty just watching. I remember how much work it was at that stage. My twins (now almost 12), adore their miniature counterparts and rush over to play with the boys whenever they’re outside. So I’m hoping we can bless our neighbors and lighten the load for them at times.

However, one evening, as I was sitting on my back porch watching the children play, I began to compare our “toys” to theirs. Our young neighbors have a big swingset-fort combination with all of the latest gadgets. The wood is stained a deep reddish color and the slide is bright yellow. Everything about it is solid. And their trampoline is sturdy, the canvas tight, and the colors vibrant.

Then I looked at our swingset and trampoline and felt a pang of jealousy. Our trampoline is faded and frayed, and our swingset is barely hanging together with its weathered boards, dirt-streaked slide, and rusty chains.

As I nursed my wish for bigger and better “toys” for my children, I realized how foolish I was. Why was I comparing? After five children and ten years of loving use, our backyard toys are worn out, and rightly so. The toys have brought us plenty of joy and memories. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

Comparison is an enemy. And for writers it can be one of the most deadly.

Recently I chatted with a fellow author about how things were going with her publication experience. Once again, I found myself comparing. I began to look with envy at her writing journey and all that she was doing, and discontentment crept in. Before I knew it, I was unsettled, unhappy, and even slightly depressed.

As I chatted with my agent, Rachelle Gardner, about the comparison, she shared something she'd recently read: “Comparing is the enemy of joy. It's painful and unskillful to compare, no matter what conclusion we draw. Comparison creates agitation in the mind. Whether you come out ahead in the comparison, or behind, or equal—comparison itself is the problem.”

How do we stay content with our own writing journeys and resist the temptation to compare with others? I’m not really sure I have all the answers. As you can see, I recently failed twice at avoiding the comparison trap! But, as I wrestled through my comparison issues, here are three things I realized:

1. Each of our writing journeys will be completely and uniquely different.

We’re all individuals with differing writing styles, voices, personalities, goals, and values. Thus it stands to reason that each of us will have varied publishing experiences.

No one else is going to have a journey exactly like mine, and I can’t expect to imitate someone else. We have to be open to where our journeys will take us—even if the path looks different from others.

2. The grass is not always greener on the other side.

Usually we put on our best face for others to see and keep our problems private. As open and vulnerable as I am on this blog, I still only share my deepest heartaches with a trusted few. And we’re wise to do so.

However, that means when we look at what others are doing, we often only see their positives. While everything might appear wonderful, that the grass is tall and beautiful and perfect on their side of the fence, the reality is that there are always weeds and bugs in every yard.

3. Remember to count our blessings.

When we think we’re coming up short compared to others, that’s a good time to take stock of what we have. If we look hard enough we can find things to be thankful for. In fact, sometimes it’s helpful to remember that there are plenty of others in this world with so much less.

My writing journey definitely has its unique struggles. But whenever I’m tempted to compare, I need to count all the many blessings my journey has brought so far. 

What about you? Do you ever compare your writing journey to those of other writers? Does it leave you feeling agitated or discontent? How do you work through the dissatisfaction that comparison brings?

*Photo credit: Flickr Fraser Scott

How Much Time Should Writers Devote to Social Media?

Most writers struggle to know how much time to give to marketing (including social media). We all know that marketing is part of the writer’s job description. But sometimes it starts to seem like a hungry monster with an insatiable appetite.

Elizabeth Loraine asked this in a recent comment: “When I started writing I had no idea the marketing would be so much work and take so much time. I have to really budget my time to get it in and I still feel I'm not doing enough. Can you tell me how much time is spent doing what?”

Yes, we do need to budget marketing time in to our work days. But “how much” time we spend on the various aspects of marketing are going to depend largely upon where we’re at in our writing careers.

I see writers falling into approximately 5 different levels:

Level A—Beginners: (Working on our first novel or two.) This is the time to dip our toes into social media waters, perhaps set up a Facebook or Twitter account. We can enjoy making friends, but we shouldn’t worry yet about what everyone in the deep-end of the pool is doing. We should spend the majority of our time writing.

Level B—Advanced Beginners: (Completed two novels and studying fiction-writing techniques.) At this point, we should start reading blogs that will help us grow. We’ll begin to interact more online. This is a good time to get comfortable with our own blogs, purposefully visit others, and gain new followers.

Level C—Intermediate: (Consistent feedback indicates we’re ready for querying/publication.) When we actively begin querying, we should have a professional-looking online office—a blog or website. Our contact information should be very clear for agents or editors who might want to track us down. We’ll want to begin more earnestly to establish an online presence and mingle with industry professionals and other writers.

Level D—Advanced: (Agented, contracted, or seriously considering self-Epublishing.) If we’ve been slowly building up our connections all along, then we’ll hopefully already have a good base of friends and followers. At this stage, we’ll need to vamp up our efforts and be more strategic about reaching out. This is the stage where I spent the majority of my marketing efforts. In fact, I put in a LOT of long hours (but never at the expense of my writing).

Level E—Published: (One or more published books.) By this point, we’re learning what works best and how to maximize our time. If we’ve done THE most important marketing factor (which is writing a book that resonates), then our readers/followers will begin to play a larger role in our promotional efforts, and all the earlier efforts will begin to pay off. Authors at this stage need to continue to maintain relationships between books rather than putting in effort at the release of a book and then disappearing until the next one.

In some ways, the above levels are similar to the levels my kids have gone through for swimming lessons. In the early stages, they stayed in the shallow end and did more playing and getting used to the water than actual learning. But as they graduated from one level to the next, they continually added more techniques and slowly moved into deeper water, until finally they were diving head first in the 12 foot end of the pool.

Too many beginning writers jump into the deep end before they’re ready. Instead of relaxing and focusing primarily on enjoying their writing in the shallow end, they’re drowning under the weight of too much social media pressure.

On the other hand, some authors wait until too late. They dive into social media right before publication and wonder why it isn’t working well for them. They haven’t taken the time to work their way through the levels, gradually building connections and broadening their web presence.

I can’t put a percentage of time that I think writers should spend on marketing at the different levels, just like I can’t tell others how much time they should write every day. It will vary from person to person and situation to situation.

However, I can say this: the time we give to our writing should be greater than the time we spend on marketing. When I’m in first draft mode or in the editing phase, I always devote the larger portion of my day to my actual writing. When I’m between projects, I can give social media a little additional effort, strategize more, and plan ahead.

But I continually remind myself that my STORIES matter the most. Without a well-told story that readers can enjoy, all the marketing efforts in the world won’t amount to much.

What about you? What level are you in? Are you putting too much pressure on yourself too early? Or are you waiting too long before starting your marketing efforts? Or do you think you're right where you need to be? 

4 Ways to Get Your Family to Support Your Writing Career

“Are you writing again?” or “Why do you have to spend so much time writing?”

Have you ever heard questions like that from your family or loved ones?

I have.

They’re the kind of questions that make you duck your head in guilt. The kind of questions that cause you to wonder if you’re really doing the right thing in pursuing a writing career.

After all, my family comes first. My relationships are more important than success. I want to cherish the time I have with my children. My oldest starts high school in the fall, and I’m realizing the time passes in seconds from when we bring them home from the hospital to when they pull out of the driveway to start lives of their own.

Even so, my writing is an important part of my life too.

So the question becomes, how do we juggle our families and our writing? How do we make sure we don’t neglect one for the other?

Over time, I’ve realized that one of the most helpful aspects to successfully juggling family and writing is to enlist my family’s support. When they get behind me and realize the importance of what I’m doing, I’ve found that the quantity and quality of my writing time has improved. It isn’t perfect! In fact, it’s far from it!

But . . . family support can go a long way in helping us juggle our writing and everything else.

Here are 4 things I’ve learned about gaining our families’ support for our writing:

1. Help family understand the importance of our writing early in our careers.

Prepublication writing often brings the most guilt. We usually tell ourselves something like this, “How can I justify taking time away from my family for my writing when I’m not making any money yet?” or “I’ll get more serious when I get an agent or a book contract.” And sure, there’s something about making money or landing an agent/book deal that validates the hours we spend on our books. But is that really what should legitimize our writing?

If something is important to us and brings us happiness, shouldn’t that be enough of a reason for our families to respect what we do? After all, we respect the things they’re passionate about. We give them the freedom to pursue their dreams.

Why should we expect any less for ourselves and our writing—no matter where we’re at in our journeys—published or not?

If we start early in our careers helping our families understand how important writing is to us—the fulfillment and joy it brings—then writing becomes more than just getting a paycheck or book contract. Our families can learn support us no matter the outcome.

2. Teach family to respect our work time.

If we want our family to respect our time, first we have to set the example. We need to schedule in writing time, then stick to it and work diligently. When we show them we take our writing time seriously, then they’ll begin to model us.

We can’t let other activities crowd out scheduled work time or get to it only if nothing else is on the calendar. If we treat it like a hobby and drop it for our other interests, then our families will expect us to drop our writing for their activities. But if we stick to our writing time religiously, they’ll begin to see it as a natural part our lives.

3. Plan family time too.

If we make a priority to schedule writing time, then why not schedule family time too? If we know that we’re going to have specific time to focus on our children or spouses at some point in the day, then we can approach our writing time without guilt.

Our families will have an easier time letting us work because they’ll be able to anticipate spending time with us. They’ll know they’re still important and that we don’t work “all” the time.

4. Make writing accomplishments a family affair.

I make a point of keeping my family informed of my writing plans. When I’m in first draft mode, they know I’m working on a daily word count goal. Frequently someone will ask, “Did you make your word count today, Mom?”

When I’m in editing mode, they’ll ask, “Did you get your two chapters done yet?” Whenever I complete a book or rewrites or something (big or small!), I try to make it a celebration that involves my family.

The more informed and involved my family is in my writing career the more they can understand and appreciate what I’m doing.

My Summary: With time and effort I’ve seen my family gradually come to accept and support my writing. In fact, our families can become our biggest cheerleaders on this road to publication and beyond.

How about you? How supportive is your family of your writing? What are things you’ve done to gain more of their support?

How to Reap Benefits From the Painful Moments of Life

I’ve experienced a couple incidents recently that remind me of the frailty of life.

First, one of our cats got sick. (Yes, that's a picture of him drinking out of our kitchen sink!) He was a big cat that looked like he should roar. Instead, he had a high-pitched chirp. And he was very loving, earning the nickname “Lovey.” Anytime we needed to track down his whereabouts, we’d usually find him snuggled next to one of the kids on their beds. He’d even climb bunk bed ladders so that he could curl up next to someone.

So, it was with great sadness that we watched our big lovey cat slowly deteriorate over a month’s time. We took him to the vet and thought he was perking up, but even with help, he still kept losing weight until eventually we were practically hand feeding him. During his last few days of life, he stopped drinking, and my husband I worked together to syringe water into him. By the end, he could hardly walk without having to stop every couple of feet and lay down in exhaustion.

Another incident, about a week later, involved our dog catching a baby squirrel. Those who’ve been following my blog for a while might remember that last spring my daughters and I rescued four tiny motherless squirrels that fell out of a tree in our back yard. Ever since, I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for them.

Well, this time, our dog happened to come upon a little red squirrel in the back yard. It was old enough to be out of its nest and zip around the trees with its siblings, but it certainly wasn’t nimble enough to escape our dog. Even though our sweet Golden Retriever only “played” with the baby for a few minutes, she broke a front arm and back leg.

I donned garden gloves, scooped up the baby, and deposited it into an old hamster cage on a soft bed of rags. I kept it warm on a bag of heated rice, syringe-fed it puppy formula, and gave it as much TLC as I could, but it grew continually lethargic until after a couple of days it finally died.

The death of the cat and then the squirrel both really affected me. Yes, I cried. And I felt a heavy, depressing ache in my heart that didn’t seem to want to go away.

Both of the experiences reminded me that life is indeed frail. So many things are like a flower—here today but gone tomorrow. It’s easy to want to pull away and to stop caring in order to protect ourselves from feeling the heartache and pain that come with loss.

But through the death of first the cat and then the squirrel, I tried to tell myself the pain never has to be wasted, that we can reap so much from the painful moments of life, particularly as writers:

Don’t avoid the pain. The painful moments in life help us appreciate the joys of life with more keenness. If we taste of bitterness, then when we finally bite into sweetness, it will be all the sweeter.

Pain can make us stronger. The longer I live, and the more heartache I experience, the stronger I grow as a person. I gain wisdom, perspective, appreciation, and more character through each challenge.

Channel the emotions. Let them flow into our books and bring them to life. The more deeply we allow ourselves to feel the joys and pains of life, the more passion we can pour into our stories.

Keep life in perspective. It’s short. We don’t have forever. Remember the things that matter most, especially when we’re discouraged by rejections, low sales, or stinging reviews.

I know one of my writing strengths is that I’m a passionate person. I’m passionate about life, about cats, about baby squirrels, about my family, about many things. I feel things deeply, which comes with the deeper heartaches but ultimately higher highs.

Hopefully, the more passionately we feel things, the more passionately we can live out the time we have on earth, and the more life we can bring into the stories we write.

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: When we write, we pour out our hearts and souls; when we live, we fill our hearts back up.

How about you? Are you letting your pains and difficulties make you into a better writer? Are you channeling your passion into your stories?

10 Ways to Avoid Mid-Book Doldrums

I have a confession to make. When I’m reading a book, I can rarely make it all the way through to the end.

Recently while on vacation, I started to blaze through my To-Be-Read (TBR) pile. After just a few books, I noticed a pattern emerging—I only got about a third to half way through each book. I’d start a book with good intentions. I’d try to give the story a chance to captivate me. I’d put it down before bed thinking I’d continue the next day. But then I didn’t go back to the book, even though I’d planned on it.

Why? Why do I start so many books, maybe even like them, but then stop reading them? What’s my problem?

Yes, I realize part of the problem is that I’m a writer and can’t turn off my internal editor. And yes, I realize the average reader won’t have the same hang-ups I have.

But . . . I’m also realizing that we as writers have to find ways to keep our readers from stalling. We might have a great beginning hook that draws them into the book, but then somehow we fail to keep the sails full of air. The reader hits doldrums. And as nice as the story is, there’s not much to keep them moving forward. They turn the pages slower and slower. And if they’re like me, they might even stall in reading the book altogether.

What kinds of things can we do to make sure our readers keep moving forward? In fact, what can we do to ensure that the story grips them and drags them onward, so that they can’t put it down, finally have to tear themselves away, and then can’t wait to get back to it?

Here are a few techniques we can employ to avoid mid-book doldrums:

1. Always have unanswered story questions. When one issue is solved, we must have several more problems we’ve already introduced.

2. Make use of the ticking clock. Set a time limit for accomplishing a goal with severe consequences for not meeting the deadline. If a life is on the line, that makes the ticking clock even more harrowing.

3. Continually layer in new conflicts. Conflicts should abound on all levels—emotional, physical, and relational. Look for ways to have additional conflicts cropping up as the story evolves.

4. Keep raising the stakes higher. Increase the importance of the character’s objective. Make her needs critical—she must get objective or else be devastated/ruined/killed, etc.

5. Refrain from wrapping up problems too soon and too neatly. Lack of resolution keeps readers turning the pages to find out what happens next.

6. Make sure conflicts with the antagonist are slowly and steadily escalating. The “bad guy” can be any number of things: natural elements, a killer, a mental illness, etc. Make it seem like the antagonist will come out the victor.

7. In a romance, don’t get the couple together too early in the book. They should be falling in love, but there needs to be something (sometimes many issues) that hold them apart until the end. Prolong the courtship as long as possible or have them “break up” so they can court again.

8. Make the situation look impossible to resolve. In fact, we as writers should wonder how in the world we’ll ever get our characters out of their trouble without a major miracle.

9. Introduce a secret. The reader needs to know there is a secret, but suspense develops when the reader doesn’t know the answer to the secret. Or we can give one of our characters a big secret that they refrain from sharing at a huge expense to those involved.

10. Leave needs unfulfilled. If we’re helping our readers to fall in love with our characters, then they’ll be rooting for the character to get their needs filled. But we want to wait as long as possible to reveal how the need will be met.

Of course, we may not be able to do use all of the above techniques in one book. But as I plot out a book, I look through the list and brainstorm for each. I search for ways I can give my characters as many problems and as much conflict as possible.

How about you? Have you ever put a book down because of mid-book doldrums? In your writing, do you have any techniques that can keep the reader sailing powerfully forward?

Why Staying Silent Can Cost You

I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon in blogging. Over time, my number of unique visitors has increased, but the number of people leaving comments hasn’t gone up in the same proportion.

From time to time, I’ll chat with people via an email or twitter and discover they follow my blog but have never left a comment. Or occasionally someone will leave a comment and say something like, “I’ve been reading your blog for a while, and this is the first time I’ve commented.”

I’m sure the reasons vary from person to person for why they don’t leave blog comments. But to satisfy my curiosity, I decided to take a Facebook poll.

Here were the choices in answer to the question “If you read blog posts and do NOT leave comments, what's your MAIN reason for staying silent?”

• Have nothing new to add to what others have already said

• Too busy/Not enough time

• The post didn't resonate/wasn't engaging enough

• Too many comments already/blogger seems untouchable because of popularity

• Don't know much about the subject

• If I read, I always comment

• Too shy to comment

• Prefer reading blogs for information rather for socializing

I thought for sure the main answer would be that people are just too busy. But I was surprised to discover the top reason the majority (48%) of people don’t leave comments is because they have nothing new to add to what others have already said. Only 17% answered that they’re too busy. (Hop over to my FB page, scroll down to check out the rest of the results, and make sure you click on the question itself to see all of the options.)

Not commenting because of lack of time is one thing—it can be a valid excuse. But if we have time and don’t comment because we have nothing new to say, that’s another issue altogether. It’s an excuse I would encourage all of us to toss out and here’s why:

We’re writers. It’s our job to find things to “say.”

Blogging is a great way to hone our writing skills, learn to write tightly, and get initial feedback on our writing. When we write our posts AND comments, we learn how to think quickly, formulate our thoughts coherently, and share our opinions succinctly. All of that practice can translate over into our books.

Besides, if someone else has already left a comment saying what we would have, then it’s great practice for us to find a way to put a new spin on the thought, delve a little deeper, and add our unique twist. Once again, the practice can help us in doing the same in our books.

In the blogging world, it’s okay to keep our comments simple.

When a post hits home, bloggers tend to leave longer comments—which is great and I love when that happens. But just because the post resonated with some people and they pour out their hearts into their comments, doesn’t mean everyone has to leave a long comment every time.

In fact, sometimes it’s okay to say just a few words, to keep it brief, and to say something like, “I agree” or “Thanks for the tips.” Of course, it’s ideal when a blogger can pick out something specific within the post to comment about. But most of the time it’s better to say something small, than to say nothing at all, because . . .

When we don’t join in the discussion, our silence could hurt our blogging efforts.

If we're actively trying to build up our blog followings, then neglecting to comment could hurt our efforts. When we leave a comment, we’re spreading our social presence. Others will begin to see our names and pictures around cyberland. Not only does the blogger get to know us, but other commenters will begin to recognize us and our names as well.

Many times, those bloggers will reciprocate visits and followings. When they see us often enough, they may follow the comment link back to our blogs (which is why it’s important to leave your link within your username!) Early in my blogging career, I found leaving comments to be one of the best ways to meet new people and gain new followers.

My Summary: If we’re actively seeking to build our platforms and broaden our online presence, then staying silent on social media sites is NOT the best strategy. Instead, we should look for ways to get off the sidelines and join in the discussion. We make our names more visible, people begin to recognize us, and we get to know others more personally.

What about you? If you don’t leave blog comments, what’s your main reason from those listed above? And if you do comment regularly, how has commenting benefitted you?

Hard Core Writer Fear: How to Talk Yourself Off the Cliff

Recently I finished reading through the Galleys for The Doctor’s Lady (releasing in Sept.). Review Galleys are usually sent to the author after all the in-house editing has been completed. The author is required to read through the manuscript one last time to accept the changes that have been made.

The author can also do some editing, but usually only minor tweaking. Since the book is moving down the pipeline at a fast speed toward publication, the Galleys have to be back within about a week’s time. They’re in hardcopy format (at least with my publisher). And any changes have to be made in a colored pen in the right margin. The Galley stage isn’t the time to do any major overhauls.

I’ve gone through Galleys before and should have expected my reaction. Nevertheless, I was unprepared for the absolute fear that came over me as I combed through my manuscript. Various thoughts filtered through my mind over the week, growing into near-panic by the end of the book:

“Who wrote this garbage? A two year old?”

“I can’t believe how amateur this sounds, all the stilted words, clunky sentences, and repetitions.”

“The plot is boring, slow, and choppy. And the characters are completely unlikable cardboard cut-outs.”

Finally, the cacophony of distress turns into one last long wail: “I wish I’d never written this book. Everyone is going to hate it.”

And that’s when the truth comes out. I’m afraid. Of failing.

I want others to like what I write. And perhaps the fear of failing is even stronger with this set of Galleys on my second book than it was on my first book. I’ve learned what it’s like to have reader/reviewer feedback (both good and bad). And I’d really like the positives to outweigh the negatives.

That’s only natural. As writers we want our words to resonate with our readers. We want to connect with them. If we didn’t, we likely wouldn’t pursue publication. Instead we’d write for pure personal satisfaction and nothing more.

We need to please our readers. We should want to give them the most satisfying reading experience possible.

But that desire to please the reader often leads to fear. What if they see my mistakes? What if they don’t like the story? What if they fail to fall in love with the characters?

We’ll all face fear—whether that’s during the query stage when we cringe every time we open an email, wondering what agents will say (if anything). We whittle our nails away to nothing while we wait for publishers to make decisions on our proposals. And with each book we publish, we hold our breath as we read each review, bracing ourselves for the worst and hoping for the best.

In handling my recent attack of fear, I tried to talk myself off the cliff with these reminders:

Let fear push us to work harder. A healthy amount of fear is a good thing. It keeps us from getting too proud or over-confident. Fear can motivate us to work even harder on the next book.

Don’t let fear paralyze us. We have to remind ourselves that perfection is not possible. Do the best we can, then let go. We can’t let fear stop us from finishing the story, sending the query, or letting it go public.

Stay self-confident. If my next book doesn’t resonate with readers the way I hope, I can still be proud of myself for working hard and doing all I possibly could.

In our desire to please the reader, we can’t forget to please ourselves too. We won’t be able to please everyone. That’s why it’s so important that at the core of what we write, especially during the first draft, we find pleasure in the story. If we’re not deriving joy from the story, then why are we writing?

What about you? Have you experienced any hard core writer fear? How do you talk yourself off the cliff?

*Photo credit: flickr by mikeyx1212

How to Build an Online Platform That Will Last

Around cyberland writers are busy building their platforms. They’re working at gaining name recognition, support, followers, and ultimately readers. I personally think writers who are taking the time to build a web presence are wise. Sure, we can look at examples of successful authors who don’t mingle online, but most of them became popular in the days before the social media revolution. 

No matter our publishing choice (traditional or self e-book), there are millions of books and authors clamoring for attention. If we want to give our books an advantage, a growing web presence can help.

Kristen Lamb had a recent post in which she emphasized the importance of writers working together to help each other build their brands. Her post was titled, T.E.A.M.—Together Everyone Achieves More. She said: “Everyone does a little for everyone else and then everyone sees success . . . When we plug in with a team, we multiply efforts exponentially. . . If we focus on serving our teammates, they will do the same. Together everyone achieves more.”

Whether we call our online community our tribe, team, friends, or whatever, the fact is, when we’re networking with other writers online, we have the opportunity to help each other build our platforms. The efforts through facebook and twitter really do multiply exponentially. There is a snowball effect that’s hard to measure.

But . . . we can labor to build an online platform and then just as easily lose it. I’ve seen plenty of authors work hard at gaining followers, start hype over a new release, and generate a lot of support from fellow writers. Then, in the end, they fizzle out of cyberland.

Jill Domschott mentioned this phenomenon in a recent comment: “I watched an intriguing experiment unfold not too long ago. I saw a very young female blogger boost her blog and twitter followers by hitting on and following every blog she found. After she worked at this for months, had a few thousand followers, she self-published her novel, and many of her blog followers helped her market the book by reviewing it, etc. etc. But her book was amateurish, and so the hype soon died down. The numbers said she was successful, until the truth bore itself out. She was not offering a quality product.”

We can do ALL we possibly can to build an online platform, but the efforts won’t do us much good unless we’re building on a solid foundation to begin with. And what is that foundation?

Of course, we all know the answer. We MUST have a book that resonates with readers. Plain and simple.

As Jill said, the truth will bear itself out. We pour out incredible amounts of time and energy into networking and building our online presence. But it will be a big waste of time if we don’t spend as much, if not more time, honing our writing skills, writing book after book, and taking our craft to a continually higher level.

The best way to build an online platform that will last is to become a better writer. Deliver the goods. Give our supporters something they can truly be proud to review and promote. Provide our team with a book they can genuinely get behind and be excited to share with their followers.

Ultimately, a lasting brand is built upon a solidly crafted, well-told story. That’s the kind of platform that will survive the test of time and continue to grow.

What do you think? Have you seen authors work hard at enlarging a platform but fail to deliver on their books? Are you building your online presence on a solid foundation? Are you spending enough time working on your writing so that you'll have a platform that will last?

How Honest Should We Be With Each Other?

In the writing community, most of us want to support each other. One way to generously show support is to buy each other’s books. We can’t discount fellow writers as a segment of our readership. (See this post: The New Growing Segment of the Reading Population: Writers)

But in buying and reading each other’s books, we’ll inevitably come across books we don’t like. That’s just a fact of life. We won’t like all books all the time.

We might not like the subject, the writing style, the plot, the development of the story, the typos, the characters. There could be a hundred and one reasons why we don’t like a book. And that’s okay.

But what should we do about the negative reaction we have to a book? Particularly when the book was written by an author who happens to be an acquaintance or friend? What should we do when that particular author knows we read his or her book (and is perhaps waiting for word on how we liked it)?

Let’s face it, as more of us publish our books (either traditionally or self-pub), we’ll continually have more writer friends’ books to read. How are we going to handle the books that don’t resonate for one reason or another? How can we offer our support to our fellow writers when we don’t like the book? How do we tell them our true feelings without hurting their feelings and/or our relationship?

When we read a book we don’t like, here are several possible scenarios:

• We lie totally and completely. We tell our friend we liked her book and think she’s a good writer, when in reality we couldn’t finish the book.
• We tell a half-lie (if that’s possible!) We fudge just slightly. We think of the positive aspects we liked about the story and tell the author those things (like how well they used commas), but refrain from telling her how much we disliked the rest.
• We’re politely honest. We give truthful but tactful feedback. We figure from one writer to another, our friend will want to know her weaknesses so she can improve. However, we make sure to point out the positives too.
• We’re brutally and painfully honest. We decide if the author thought it was good enough to publish then they need to get a backbone and be able to take criticism.
• We find ways to support the author, even if we can’t support her book. We praise and uplift the person, but don’t say anything about the book in particular. We reason that writing is subjective, and just because the book didn’t resonate with us doesn’t mean others will dislike it.
• We don’t say anything at all. We opt for silence. We live by the mantra, if we can’t say anything nice, then we won’t say anything at all.

I’m quite positive fellow writers have used all of the above scenarios on my debut book. I have no doubt friends have lied to me so that they wouldn’t hurt my feelings. And I’ve also received outright negativity to complete silence, and everything in between.

But what is the best way to handle sharing our feedback with writer friends? Which of the above scenarios is the best? Which is the most supportive? After all, we truly do want to support fellow authors—at least that’s my goal.

I’m not a personal advocate of lying, but neither do I believe in being brutally and painfully honest. I like to think I fall somewhere in the middle.

In deciding what and how to share with fellow writers, it’s important to keep in mind one key fact: Writers tend to READ more critically than non-writers. The more we grow in our writing skill the more faults we begin to see in the books we’re reading.

In fact, if you’re like me, you may have a difficult time turning off your pesky internal editor when you’re reading. It’s the writer’s curse—being unable to enjoy a pleasurable reading experience without stopping to analyze the writing technique or plot development or the dialog tags or whatever.

But we need to remember most readers don’t view books with the critical mindset we writers do. Most readers will enjoy the story, skim through our mistakes, and are often much more forgiving than fellow writers.

Writer friend Naomi Rawlings said it well, “Do you remember being a regular, normal reader who didn't write and just liked to read? I do. Once in a while I found errors, but they DIDN'T pull me out of the story, though they do now . . . Writing a publishable novel takes a lot of hard work, and I refuse to be publicly critical of someone's effort."

So how honest should we be with one another in our feedback on each other’s books?

1. Decide upon the level of your relationship. The closer we are, the more trust we have, the more right we have to share our feedback.

2. Refrain from passing judgment too quickly and too publicly. As writers our reviews and feedback will likely be more critical than the average reader.

3. Remember no writer is perfect. Not me. Not you. No one. Show some grace.

What’s your philosophy when it comes to giving reviews of books and sharing feedback with fellow writers?

*Photo credit: flickr kxlly

First Page or Last? Which is More Important?

Which is more important to the success of a book, the first page or the last?

Of course, we all know the ENTIRE book has to hold a reader’s attention. But if we’re going to try to really WOW our readers, where should we put the most energy? At the beginning of the book or the end?

Here’s how I see it: The first page is critical in making the first sale. The last chapter is crucial to making the second.

The first page is critical in making the first sale.

Most of us have heard just how critical the first page is to a book—especially to readers who are picking it up cold, off the shelf in a bookstore. The cover will attract them first, maybe the title. Then they’ll read the back cover blurb and if that perks their interest, they’ll probably flip it open to the first page of the first chapter.

If the beginning line grabs their attention, they’ll read a little further to determine whether the book is indeed worthy of their hard-earned dollar. Most won’t flip to the back chapter and read the ending. Instead they’ll base their initial impressions on what they find in Chapter One. For e-books, this is especially true due to the convenience of downloading free samples.

Same thing with agents and editors. The first chapter or two is critical in “selling” our books to them. Author, Cheryl Wyatt did a poll of agents and editors to find out how far they read before they know if they want the book: Close to 97% of them said they know by page 10. Over 50% of them know by the end of page 1.

Without a doubt, the first page (or pages) have to be our best or we won’t have a flying chance to get a reader or agent or editor to stay with us long enough to wow them with our story.

The last chapter is crucial to making the second sale.

Everything that happens in the middle of the book is important too. After all, if you’re like me, you’ve put down more than one book that began to drag near the middle and then never picked it back up again.

However, I can forgive a bit of middle doldrums every now and then if the story is riveting enough. But I can’t forgive a bad ending. When we invest hours of our time into reading the book, when we grow attached to the characters, and when the plot moves us, there’s nothing more disappointing than a “bad” ending.

I’m not saying every story needs a happily-ever-after (HEA). But every author must have enough skill to weave all of the seemingly impossible internal and external plot threads together in such a way that the reader puts the book down with a satisfied sigh.

Endings that are contrived, rushed, tied up too neatly, or any other number of problems, can cost us. Our readers will be less likely to buy our next book if we don’t give them the satisfying conclusion to the story they’re expecting. Sure, we can surprise our readers with HOW we end the book, but we can’t let them down with WHAT. And that WHAT is satisfaction.

Ultimately, readers want to walk away from a book satisfied. And the climax, resolution, and last scene will stick—for good or bad—long after the book is done.

In summary: The first and last pages are both HOOKS. For debut authors, the first page hook is incredibly critical in getting people interested in reading further. But if we want to develop a loyal readership and sell subsequent books, then our endings need to hook our readers into wanting to go out and buy our next one.

So that’s my opinion! What’s yours? Which do you think is more important, the first or last page? And why?

This post is a revised version of a guest post I did for New Author.

Cliched Writing: Avoid it Like the Plague

Why do writers slip so easily into the cliché trap? I was a judge for a writer’s contest in the spring, and I ended up having to give lower marks to some of the entries for the use of clichés. Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about clichéd writing—especially how I can avoid it in my own books.

Often we think that only new writers have a problem using clichés, that seasoned authors have learned to express themselves more uniquely. But what I’m realizing is that it’s a trap for any writer at any point in the writing journey, because clichéd writing has more to do with laziness than ignorance.

Cliché by definition is:
1. A trite phrase or expression
2. A hackneyed theme, characterization, or situation
3. Something that has become overly familiar or commonplace

When we use a cliché, usually we’re not pushing ourselves hard enough to do the work of finding something more original. Often we gravitate toward the commonplace because those are the ideas already in the front of our brains. They simmer there, a jumble of all of the books and stories we’ve ever read.

A book or story that smells of cliché is usually going to garner us a quick “no thanks.” In fact, if we’ve worked on our writing skills, improved our story-telling abilities, but continue to get rejections, we would be wise to consider if anything about our books hints at cliché.

What ways do writers slip into the cliché trap? And how can we push ourselves harder to go beyond the trite words and stories at the fronts of our minds to the deeper thoughts and unique expressions just waiting to be discovered?

1. Clichéd descriptions:

“Her lips were as red as roses” or “The flowers bloomed in the colors of a rainbow.” Anytime we describe something—setting, emotions, or a character—we need to use our mind’s camera to get beyond the clichéd. We have to focus on the specific details a particular character would notice while in her point of view (POV)and think of the kinds of words that character would use to describe things.

In every scene, we have to slow down and use the five senses to describe the tastes, smells, sights, touches, sounds that are unique and important to our POV character.

2. Clichéd characters:

“The hunky, macho hero who can save the world and the beautiful, but helpless damsel in distress.” It’s all too easy fill in our characters like we do the figures in a coloring book. We can dress them up, pick a hairstyle, and figure out an eye color and think we’re being unique.

But to go beyond clichéd, we have to make a concerted effort to infuse the very breath of life into them. That doesn’t come without time and effort getting to know them, their past hurts, goals, motivations, etc. For a comprehensive character worksheet you’re welcome to use the one I’ve developed.

3. Clichéd plots:

“The runaway heroine falls from her horse and is rescued by the dashing hero who just happens to be riding by.” Of course, we’ve all heard it said that there are no new plots, that every conceivable basic story line has been written numerous times in one form or another. I’m not sure if that’s really true. But the point is that most plots are probably already “discovered.”

We may not be able to re-invent the wheel, but we can however, find new, clever, and daring places to drive it. It requires us to cast aside the first, easy plot ideas we have, and instead ask questions like: What problems would hurt the character? What kinds of issues would make life more difficult for her? What surprises can I spring upon her? What winding, downhill trail can I make her stumble down—something that increases tension each step of the way?

My Summary: There are other numerous cliché traps we can fall into with our settings, themes, romances, etc. The point is that we should always be challenging ourselves to disregard what comes easy, the ideas that pop to our minds first. Instead we need work harder and search the far reaches of our brains, continually training ourselves to delve into greater depths of creativity.

I like the way Blake Snyder encourages writers to deal with clichés in Save the Cat: “You can be near the cliché, you can dance around it, you can run up to it and almost embrace it. But at the last second you must turn away. You must give it a twist.”

Are you avoiding the cliché trap? Have you done the hard work of sifting through all your ideas and finding the original ones? What else do YOU do to be creative but not clichéd?

This post is an updated version of a guest post I did for Not Enough Words.