For the last few weeks I have dutifully been reading up on novel writing, publishing and such. I also went to the Fullerton Writers Meetup which was extremely informative. I got some new books about writing from Barnes & Noble as well as the library and started reading those. Here is a list of some things I have come to understand.
1. Writers have to be responsible for their own marketing. Anne, the instructor in the beginning writers class, mentioned this as well, and it was reiterated by the workshop on marketing your writing. I was told once upon a time (or maybe I read it somewhere and now I can't even remember where) that publishers didn't like to take on new authors that had previously been published on the web through blog, fan fiction or other venues. But it seems that submitting to a publisher as an unknown and unpublished (even on the web) author is detrimental. Maybe publishers are finally realizing that e-publishing (in all its forms) can help weed out flops and focus on writers who come with a guaranteed fan base.
When Furyan's Return was blossoming in my head, I wrote and posted each chapter one at a time before the other was complete. Each time readers gave such great feedback, it motivated me to keep writing. I could use Create Space in a similar way as Fanfic.net. It would be a greater benefit if my first story was published on Create Space, sold chapter by chapter to see if there is an interest in my writing. If Create Space is the way to go, I have to complete the entire novel first and proof read it CAREFULLY before posting in installments. If readers are willing to pay, say, 99 cents a chapter, I could live with that. Of course, in this situation, I have to self-motivate to complete the story before I ever get close to posting. *sigh* But it sure feels good when readers stroke my writing ego.
2. Don't get lost in the forest for the trees. Thank you Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing. Now I understand why I can't read JRR Tolkien. I could care less about the individual leaves reflecting the sunlight in the forest. For the love of Aphrodite, just say "There was a thick forest" and move on. I will endeavor not to do this to my readers. If the setting isn't relevant to the action, mention it as briefly as possible. Perhaps the opening of a chapter would be a good place to expand on setting in terms of setting the mood. Beyond that, get down to business.
3. Writers take a backseat. Again, thanks to Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing in which he talks about writers waxing poetic serving to distract readers for the story. The action of characters and dialog serve to carry the reader through the story, so let it. This rule makes complete sense, but I really liked how Leonard put it.
4. The quality and integrity of every piece posted should be publish-worthy. Not really a NEW idea but one I have to take seriously. That means even this blog that I sometimes post to with little thought. One of my goals is to go through my fanfic and edit it again. I STILL find errors over three years later. And I've been through it, had another reader read it over. I am the worst at editing my own work because my brain "auto-corrects" what my eyes see. I know there are ways to improve my proofreading; I just need to DO them.
5. Sometimes you have to start over. Learning about the 3 act outline, checkpoints, triggers, themes, epiphanies has forced me to face the fact that I started Second Chances without any idea of where the plot was going. I had a vague idea of theme and that was about it. I need to reread the Mercy Thompson books because some of the facts are incorrect. So I'm going to pull that story with a note to readers about my plans to rewrite SC and the plans to write and publish Dangerous Beauty. I can use this existing audience to generate interest in my original idea. But I still want to finish SC. I want to redeem Ben and tell Vanessa's story because that is still important to me.
6. Don't depend on the existing fanbase. Since I have three stories under Fanfic.net, I have an existing fanbase. After looking over the stats though, it is 4-5 readers who read through to the end of story. Not an overwhelming number but a start. That is a good platform to start interest in Dangerous Beauty. I plan to post an excerpt of the first chapter at the end of the fanfic stories to generate interest. I have to see if Fanfic.net restricts self-promotion too.
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