Overwhelmed

I made a list of what I need to do as a writer. I'm like a small business owner. Back in the day, I had a very tiny sewing business I ran out of our dining room. I realized it's very easy to become so busy with the business end that I didn't have much time to do what I was in business to do: sew things for people.
Writing is the same way. Granted, I waste a bunch of time. Sometimes. I haven't really been doing much writing the past few weeks, but I feel like I have been working. Here are some things an indie-author has to do, which can be especially challenging in the beginning.



1. Network.
a) Blogs. This involves writing a blog like this, reading other writer's and general blogs and leaving thoughtful, encouraging comments.
b) Twitter--finding and following new people and people who follow me and composing intelligent, humorous tweets that are inconspicuously self-promoting. And retweeting and replying. And tweeting articles and such I think people might find interesting.
c) Facebook. First, there is personal Facebook I use for fun and to keep in touch with friends and family. Then there are a few writing groups I belong to where we help each other with answers, info and encouragement. And my author page--maintaining, sounding interesting and figuring out how to get people to notice and like it.
d) Goodreads. I have yet to use this to anywhere close to it's potential.
e) Pinterest? Haven't done that yet.
What's really great about this is I've met lots of other authors--indie and otherwise and we love to help each other out. But--always a but--do I know how to help anyone? How much should I do? Because that takes time away from what only I can do for me.
2. Publishing
a) learning how to format for various publishing platforms. E-books and paper and the differences in e-books formats.
b) recently, I went through my manuscript and caught typos and took down the versions I had online ad republished with the improved ones. That was just the e-book. The paper version is waiting for the same thing.
c) I also spent a few days seeing if I could make Kindle behave by learning some HTML-with very limited success.
d) cover design
e) interior design
3. Marketing
a) social networking--see above, minus the personal interests
b) media kit--bio, photo, book blurbs, interview...all from scratch.
c) researching outlets, options, resources, etc.
d) book launch--how do I throw a party for me and my book?
e) Speaking-preparing and presenting programs to inform, inspire and entertain people--then setting them up and actually doing them.
f) website-one that doesn't look like a bad one from week 1 of the internet.
4. Writing
a) research. One example is I need to talk to real police about some procedures for one of my works-in-progress (WIP).
b) improving my craft, honing my skills
c) pushing through "I don't feel like it" and dry, uncreative spells.
d) writing
e) rewriting
f) revising
g) editing
h) recruiting helpers-readers, editors, reviewers
i) critique group


5. Reading.
a) reading the genre I write
b) reading great books in other genres
c) reading about writing
6) Business
a) tracking sales (hopefully)
b) paperwork, records, etc.
c) tax laws for the self-employed writer (gah!)

E.L. James-writing's newest gazillionaire

 I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining. I love that I can do this, and most of these tasks are enjoyable for me--except the business aspect. But it's a lot, especially since most of it is new.
I could use a publicist and a personal assistant, a publisher and a graphic designer. And a housekeeper and cook.

Well, one day when I'm on the NYT Bestsellers List. 
One day. Until then, back to my bio.

What do you find overwhelming about your profession?

Unintended Consequences of Writing # 1: Fangirl

 So, I'm a late bloomer. Or maybe, I like to take my time checking out social phenomena before I decide to risk embarrassment.

Barnabas Collins--I never quite got it.

My first love-Michael Cole

When I was a girl, back in the Dark Ages of the Dark Shadows TV series and the live-action Batman, my peers were gaga for Barnabas Collins (don't know the actor) and Adam West (Batman) and Burt Ward (Robin) and whoever else was the flavor of the month. They bought the teen magazines and tabloids and did the whole teeny-bopper squeal thing. Oh, and the Monkees and Davy Jones, holy cats! Me, not so much. It made me sick. I relented and maybe bought 1 magazine and pulled out a picture of Michael Cole who played Pete on The Mod Squad.

I've always tended to live in my head because I often found reality uninteresting. And the stories I made up usually involved some male TV heroes--Steve McGarrett and Dan-o (Hawaii 5-0), Sam Beckett (Quantum Leap) Mr. Spock (Original Star Trek), Jean Luc Picard (Star Trek TNG). Yes, this even continued into adulthood. I managed to be functional-mostly, maybe. My home was never condemned, my family was fed and I held down a job or two or three and went back to school, plus volunteer stuff.

In my last post, I shared that I had to research filmmaking because the movie director, Charlie, walked into my head to be the love interest of my MC, Lily. He's interesting, all right. But, I digress.

So besides reading books about filmmaking, I also started going to more movies at the theaters, something I never did much of before. I also began watching more movies at home more carefully. They became more than stories made with moving pictures and hopefully a theme.

James Franco

I noticed they had ACTORS. AKA, men. Please note, I was never boy crazy. I had 4 brothers-enough to make a girl not care so much about boys, knowing the true nature of the beasts. So, at my advanced age, noticing actors was like a mini-epiphany, or at least something new to look at and learn about. And I could call it "Research."

The first actor to catch my fancy was James Franco. I hadn't seen anything he was in at that point, but he showed up all the time In Entertainment Weekly. I liked the fact he was studying filmmaking at one school, design somewhere else and English or something somewhere else. Plus he was putting on a show of his artwork and publishing a book of short stories. A Renaissance Man after my own heart. I liked him a lot in 127 Hours. Not as impressed with The Planet of the Apes.

Here's a cutie. Aaron Eckhart

Next, there's Aaron Eckhart who has a large body of work for somebody who's not a household name. Cute, too. I think by now I've managed to see most of his movies and have found a few gems in there like Neverwas, Suspect Zero and Possession. I especially liked him in Rabbit Hole. In his mid-forties, he's the oldest of my "pretend boyfriends," as my sister-in-law calls her favorites.

Michael Fassbender

Finally, Michael Fassbender. He's been hot lately, but I haven't seen it all. I wrote a post about going to see Shame as research for sex addiction (thanks, Charlie). Then I watched him in Hunger, the story about Bobby Sands, who died from the hunger strike he was on to protest the treatment of members of the IRA in the British run prison. Lots of (gasp!) full frontal nudity in those two. Last week, I watched A Bear Named Winnie, a family flick about a Canadian WWI soldier who keep a bear cub that eventually inspired Winnie the Pooh. The way his character loved that bear...mm mm. Sweet!

And I swear I saw Ryan Reynolds at Yosemite last year. Twice. And he waved to me.

Yeah, so, this is all kind of embarrassing to admit, but given the fact nobody forced me, I guess I had to get it out of my system. And knowing there other fangirls of my general age makes it not so scary.

“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.”
― Philip K. Dick, I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon

Coming soon: Unintended Consequences of Writing #2: Baring of the Soul

Writing What You Know

When I started my first novel, A Box of Rain--well, technically the second--in 2008, I followed the old advice-write what you know. I knew very little about novel writing or myself as a writer at that point. I knew about teaching and schools. So, it started out about a teacher who's marriage is going to hell fast. She develops a relationship with another teacher who helps her through and they fall in love, etc. In the end, she ends up a teacher married to a teacher, which is actually quite common. And boring and predictable--to me, anyway. It didn't help that I was disillusioned with the education field, big time.

I devised an alternate ending which involved a relationship with somebody who wasn't a teacher and that was better, but...meh.

So I thought, who would take my MC, challenge her to the nth degree and put her in an environment she never planned on. Hmm. I remember sitting on my sofa, laptop on lap and thinking...an actor. Meh...maybe. Ah! A movie director! This became Another Place on the Planet.

But, I knew very little about filmmaking. But this director character stuck with me. He wasn't going away. So, I researched filmmaking.

For about a year, I checked out and read books from the library about directing, producing, assistant directing, the language and little recognized but important areas of making movies. I found websites and studied a lot about the politics and lifestyles. I am by no means an expert, but I know more than I used to and it was enjoyable.I appreciate movies on different levels so much more. It made me wish I wouldn't have given up on my theatrical leanings in my college days and would have pursued some field of it like costume or set design. Much like my MC wishes she wouldn't have dropped her music.

My next stand alone novel, What Doesn't Kill You, involves filmmaking, too, to a degree. I figured why waste all that new knowledge I had acquired? I threw in dressmaking, of which I know a bunch. And Leukemia, which I also am familiar with.

My sequel to Another Place on the Planet is Places Bright and Dark and has me researching sex addiction, co-addiction and recovery. I'm slightly amazed at how some of the knew information I'm already familiar with. Writing what I know. Hmmm...

I'm an Indie Author!

We do it for love before we do it for money.

I decided to call myself and indie author instead of self-published. Indie puts one in the same circles as indie filmmakers and musicians. Those folks are viewed as adventurous and risk-takers, and buckers of the system. They have the aura of mystique and are held in awe by anyone who ever wished they could break out of the mold.We all put our vision into the medium we love or can use the best, then spend a lot of our own time and our own money to get it out into the world.

Some of us go to school to learn to do what we love, others learn as we go. We learn the rules and break them when it makes sense to us. We talk to others who do the same thing. We form friendships and networks in real life and on the internet. We share experiences and tips and resources and encouragement.

Fans of indie artists want to be ones who "knew him when he published his first book online," or, "saw their show at a little pub years before they signed with that big record label." (I don't even know what big record labels there are anymore!) Or, "I saw her first film at the local film festival and stayed for the question and answer part."

Sometimes fans of indies want their discoveries to stay indie, to not sell out to the labels and studios and publishers. I imagine most indies want to get noticed by some big entity so we can do what we love full time and have someone else manage the business end while we do the creative part. And I suppose a lot of us hope someday we can have the money that goes with being on the top of the heap.

Most of us know that probably won't happen. That we'll labor in obscurity, doing what we love. But some people get noticed and get that lucky break or know how to put themselves in front to the right people at the right time and place. They work hard and have everything in place and are ready.

I've never been happy doing things the same way as most people. Maybe that's just because I never really figured out how! I'm proud to be indie and proud of my friends who are.

Now, back to work to get ready for that lucky break...