Wow, it’s been a while.
First, let me start off by making the usual excuses. I was very busy, I had so much writing to do, I had a ton of editing jobs, and a lot of personal appearances (at least for me).
Now that I have that out of the way, let me knock all those excuses down.
It’s our first guest post, folks, brought to us by Cassie Phillips from Secure Thoughts! Enjoy!
Self-publishing is a great way for new and up-and-coming authors to get their work seen and bought. It’s given the power back to the hands of the writer and negated the need to deal with big-name publishing houses and other middlemen.
However, just because you’ve chosen to self-publish doesn’t guarantee you’ll have automatic success. These tips will help aspiring authors get the most out of their online book releases.
Yes, that was a pun in the title, though a very simple and obvious one. Groans are appreciated.
Seriously, though, this week we need to talk about the importance of tenses and tense agreement, specifically through the lens of the style of your writing. Now, obviously, keeping your tenses straight when writing is critical. The tenses you use form what could be likened as time-stamps for the actions that are described in the book. When these time-stamps are misused, confusion reigns supreme!
Quick update this Monday before I get back to the hard work of writing!
The third book of Clans of Shadows is reaching completion, at least the manuscript I and J. A. are working on. Then it’s the usual editing and all that jazz, but we should still be able to squeak it out before the end of the month.
What this means is that my writing load is going to lighten some for the next few months. Oh, there’s still books to be written, like Packie’s Problem (the next Redmane Mystery) and the final editing for The Twelfth Labor, but there won’t be the very tight deadlines needed for this collaboration series.
What that really means is that Starving Reviews should be back on the table in November! Let’s hope I get some good books on the plate to come back to!
Until Wednesday, good reading, good writing, and good luck!
Collaborative writing is a fascinating thing. I’ve never been really involved with it before the past few months, but I’ve always wanted to try it. Obviously when I was given the opportunity, I jumped at the chance.
Needless to say, it’s been a real learning experience for me. Collaboration means many things to many people and the first step is to define exactly what that collaboration means for, uh, that, uh, collaboration. Who has what responsibilities? How much interaction will the writing team have? Who has final say on things? Who’s footing the bills and who’s in creative control?
There’s a lot that goes into just that essential first step! However, it’s vital to get all of that done, as it makes every other step of the creative process that much easier. After that, if you set up everything well, you get to step into a truly revolutionary creative experience.
There’s one big rule when it comes to the actual writing part though, one that took me a few days to really get down. It’s a give and take process. No matter who has what duties, outside of that vital final call thing, it is something that all the writers are pouring themselves into. Even if one writer has ‘primary’ writing duties, s/he isn’t the sole writer! It’s not called a collaboration because one person’s doing the job, right?
If you ever get the chance to enter a collaboration, I’d wholeheartedly suggest going for it. It’s a brilliant learning experience and, if you make sure to have everything laid out properly, a hell of a lot of fun as well!
Until next time, good reading, good writing, and good luck!
Okay, so we all know that it’s generally a bad idea to self-edit. When you edit your own work, it is quite easy to let your knowledge of the story and your own intentions to color the editing job. The human mind is a master of filling in the blanks and you’ll find missing words inserted, misspelled words corrected, and extraneous words edited out, all because YOU know what’s up.
Of course, the problem arises that, well, many of us out in Starving Authorland simply don’t have the cash to get professional editing, even if you have cheap sources for it (SHAMELESS PLUG INSERTED HERE). So I’m going to reveal what, to me, is the secret if you find that you must self-edit.
Just a quick update from Starving Author LLC headquarters, here in sunny (if cold) Pensacola:
I think that about covers it. Time to get back to the books I intend to review next Friday. Until next time, good reading, good writing, and good luck!
For the past few months, I’ve been doing more than writing, reviewing, and fretting over publishing stuff. I’ve also been taken on as an editor for a comic book series. A small, independent one, but a comic book all the same. Originally today I was going to do a review of the series so far, but then I realized that would be an ethical morass from which I couldn’t extract myself. Le sigh!
However, what I can do, is point/direct you at said comic book series, both where you can buy it and where you can get news about it! I’ve mentioned it before, but said comic book series is Galactic Wrestling All-Stars, which combines classic pro wrestling action with a 1950s science-fiction kitsch to make a uniquely nostalgic reading experience. Add to that a format much like Golden and Silver Age comic books, complete with back-up features introducing characters and back-story and threads starting to weave some surprisingly deep characterization and …. DAMMIT! I’m reviewing it, aren’t I?
Okay, before I shove my foot deeper into my mouth, let’s get the links done so you can check it out!
You can buy the issues of the series HERE, and you can keep up with releases and previews of new issues HERE!
Until next time, good reading, good writing, and good luck!
We are almost to the end of Revision Road. The files for the revised edition of The Tale of the Tape are working through Amazon and Smashwords as we speak. This fully cleaned-up edition should be available later today for download. If you previously purchased the book, all you need to do is update it (Kindles at the least should do this auto-magically).
All that’s left in terms of ‘old business’ is to revise Indefatigable and then it’s time to progress to new writing. Huzzah!
Thanks to all those people who have read, reviewed, rated, and provided input to this point! You have been a fantastic help in this process!
There’s nothing to be said for it, friends, I’m just very late.
Yes, there are obviously circumstances, reasonable ones, involving finishing editing and rewrite work not only for The Twelfth Labor (second revision done!) but the next edition of Indomitable (dear God, your first book is always be far your worst). Still, circumstances do not excuse a lack of content. You don’t read this blog to hear my latest excuse why I haven’t posted a writing article or review, right?
Well, expect a remedy for this in the next day or two. A light is at the end of the tunnel. Just pray it isn’t an oncoming train!
Until then, good luck, good reading, and good writing!
J. B. Garner - Musings of a Starving Author 